Joy to the World

Good morning, Happy Souls!

Bill Keller wrote a wonderful devotional today
that I highly recommend to you.  He has given
me permission to copy his e-mails, and I'm sure
he would be happy if you would share this with
people you know as well.

*********************************************

DAILY DEVOTIONAL   SATURDAY DECEMBER 24, 2005
(Luke 2:20)

***CHRISTMAS PASSAGE:  The shepherds returned,
glorifying and praising God for all the things
they had heard and seen, which were just as they
had been told.  (Luke 2:20)

The reason for joy.  This is the time of year
when the word joy is everywhere.  Joy to the world.
I have joy in my heart.  Joy, joy, joy, joy. Let me
just take a minute today and tell you the reason we
can even say the word joy.

God, our Creator, has opened our eyes and showed us
His plan.  He has showed us His Son being born of a
virgin in a manger.  He has showed us the example
of the perfect life as we read about Christ's life
in the Gospels.  He has given us the one and only
perfect sacrifice for our sins in Christ's death
on the cross.  He then verified it all in the
resurrection of our Lord on that 3rd day...assuring
us of everlasting life when we put our faith and
hope in Jesus.  I don't know about you, but if that
isn't reason for joy, I don't know what is.

I know many of you are struggling with your finances
....you can still have joy today because God said
you have riches beyond anything this world can
offer!  I know many of you are depressed because you
are alone...you can still have joy today because God
promised He would never leave you nor forsake you!
I know many of you are having marriage problems.....
you can still have joy today because God can mend
your broken heart and restore your marriage!

I know many of you are fighting addictions to sex,
drugs, alcohol, food, or tobacco....you can still
have joy today because God can deliver you and
set you free!  I know many of you are facing
battles at work or school....you can still have
joy today because God said He would fight for you!
I know many of you are dealing with health issues
....you can still have joy today because God is
still in the healing business!

It doesn't matter what the battle is, what the
problem is, you can still have joy today because
Jesus Christ was born, lived, died, and rose on
the 3rd day giving you the assurance that if you
have put your faith and trust in Jesus, when this
short time here on earth is over you will spend
eternity with Him!  THAT IS WHERE OUR JOY COMES
FROM!

Don't let the cares of the world steal your joy
on this Christmas Eve.  God is still on the throne
and still hearing and answering the prayers of
His children.  He is still working miracles in the
lives of people today!

I love you, care about you deeply, and want you to
know the joy this Christmas that those shepherds
knew on that first Christmas because of all that
God had shown them.  Because of His birth, because
of His life, because of His death, and because of
His resurrection, we can have true JOY in our lives
today if we will invite Christ into our hearts and
lives.

If you want to know that Joy today, the true joy
that only comes from a relationship with Jesus,
pray and ask God to open your heart, then read
the words at:  www.liveprayer.com/bdy_salvatn.html .
Give your heart and life to Christ today and not
only receive everlasting life, but JOY!!!

In His love and service,
Your friend and brother in Christ,
Bill Keller

***If I can help you in any way you can contact me
through my personal email at bkeller@liveprayer.com

***ARE YOU 100% CERTAIN WHERE YOU WILL SPEND
ETERNITY?  The fact is you will die one day.  At
that moment, you will either spend eternity with
the Lord or be cast into everlasting darkness
forever separated from God your creator.  To know
for certain you will be forever with Jesus, go to:
http://www.liveprayer.com/bdy_salvatn.html

***GET YOUR FREE LPeMAIL ACCOUNT!  Never miss
receiving your Daily Devotional again.  LPeMail is
an effective email SPAM filtering application
that most ISP's charge $10/mo, for FREE!  Get your
LPeMail account now at: www.lpemail.com.

***I am excited to let you know that the Liveprayer
Daily Devotional is now available via AUDIO each
day.  Simply go to
http://www.liveprayer.com/DailyDevotionalAudio.html
Also, you can now listen to the Daily Devotional by
phone by calling  toll-free,1-888-382-4662, or
access it on your wireless device by going to:
http://wapdd.com

(C) Copyright 2005, Bill Keller Ministries.
All rights reserved

************************************************

May God bless you as you learn from this message!

Merry Christmas!!

Donald W. Mitchell, Your Dream Concierge

Copyright 2005 Donald W. Mitchell

The Joys of Christmas Caroling

Good morning, Happy Souls!

Are you feeling motivated this morning? I certainly hope so. I know that I am!

You can usually tell that Christmas is coming when Christmas decorations begin to sprout like summer weeds on light posts and in store windows earlier and earlier in November. Next, the mall stores begin playing instrumental versions of traditional Christmas songs. Finally, the radio stations start to rotate in hymns and carols.

For too many, this sequence of the commercial Christmas misses one of the greatest joys of the spiritual Christmas -- joining with others to visit family, friends and fellow church members to serenade with Christmas carols.

My first memories of this wonderful tradition date back to being a youngster when unexpected groups would appear on our front lawn and begin the sweet strains of Silent Night. To me, it was more exciting than Santa Claus . . . because I never got to see Mr. Claus. I thought it was so amazing that people would take time out to come sing to us about Christmas!

Later, I would receive regular invitations to go caroling. I can remember just like it was yesterday the tears in some peoples' eyes as we arrived. Some people must have expected us because we would be invited in for a warm up and some hot cocoa. There was always lots of excited chatting about how much we all were enjoying the caroling.

In my little town, caroling is well established as a tradition. In mid-December, everyone is invited for an hour's outdoor sing (it gets cold here so most people are ready to go after an hour). For those who are rusty on the verses, there are handouts. A number of the high school students get together to provide instrumental accompaniment. But best of all, someone always hands out candles with drip papers so we can enjoy the candlelight as we sing. That's another traditional element that I enjoy. Near the end of the event, someone always points over to the nearby church and reminds us that a pastor of that church authored one of the most famous carols . . . and then we sing it. Can you guess which carol it is?

We also gather in the library for an indoor version of the same event. In the warmth, lusty voices vibrate with love and caring.

I try to attend both events each year. Travels this year kept me from being able to do so.

Maybe I'll just go out and sing solo for the neighbors on Christmas Eve!

If you haven't gone caroling yet this year, gather up your buddies and get going!

Could a billionaire do better? Not a chance!

************************************

Please let me know what else you would like to learn, and I'll do my best to help in future blog entries.

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Thank you to my many friends, students, clients and blog readers who are spreading the good word about this blog.

If you are visiting today because someone invited you, I'm delighted to meet you! Let's stay in touch.

Remember to also visit

Be More Successful than a Billionaire at http://bemoresuccessfulthanabillionaire.blogspot.com/,

Create Your Own 2,000 Percent Solutions at
http://2000percentsolutions.blogspot.com/,

Create a Billion Dollar Business at http://billiondollarbusiness.blogspot.com/,

Enjoy Mansions Better than a Billionaire at http://enjoymansionsbetterthanabillionaire.blogspot.com/,

Enjoy Football Better than a Billionaire at http://enjoyfootballbetterthanabillionaire.blogspot.com/ and

Be a World Hero Better than a Billionaire at http://beaworldherobetterthanabillionaire.blogspot.com/.

I am available to you as a speaker on these subjects. You can find my background at http://livebetterthanabillionaireon5dollars.blogspot.com/2005_08_30_livebetterthanabillionaireon5dollars_archive.html/.

May God bless you. Merry Christmas!

Donald W. Mitchell, Your Dream Concierge

Copyright 2005 Donald W. Mitchell

Baby Love

Good morning, Happy Souls!

Bill Keller wrote a wonderful devotional today
that I highly recommend to you.  He has given
me permission to copy his e-mails, and I'm sure
he would be happy if you would share this with
people you know as well.

*********************************************

DAILY DEVOTIONAL    THURSDAY DECEMBER 22, 2005
(Genesis 33:5, Psalms 127:3, Proverbs 17:6,
Deuteronomy 6:7)

***CHRISTMAS PASSAGE:  On the eighth day, when it
was time to circumcise him, he was named Jesus,
the name the angel had given him before he had
been conceived.  (Luke 2:21)

With Christmas, the day we celebrate the birth of
a baby only a few days away, I pray that this
Devotional on babies will be a blessing to you!

Babies, a special gift from God.  While death is
a sad part of this human experience we all have
to deal with throughout our journey and one day
face ourselves, today I want to deal with the
other end of that spectrum, when life begins. 
One of the great joys I have each day is receiving
emails from people excited that they are going to
have a child.  It is one of those special moments
in a person's life that crescendos less than a year
later with the birth of that precious baby.  It has
been an honor and privilege to pray for so many
babies still in the womb and in a few months
receive a picture of one of those babies that is
truly a gift from God.

Having a child is one of the greatest
responsibilities a person has during this lifetime. 
Raising that child is without a doubt the most
important ministry a parent will ever have.  The
Bible claims in 1 Timothy 5:8 that if you don't
take care of your relatives, especially those in
your family you have denied the faith and are worse
than an infidel or unbeliever.  There are no
exceptions to this verse.  It doesn't say, unless
you are a pastor. It doesn't say, unless you are
the head of a major company.  It doesn't say, unless
you are too busy helping other people.  The Word of
God is clear that the number one responsibility of
a parent is to your family and EVERYTHING else in
your life is secondary.

*I want every parent to take a moment right now,
pray, and ask God if your spouse and children are
truly the number one priority in your life after
your relationship with Christ.  If not, NOW is the
time to make whatever changes that need to be made
to insure they are!

For every man and woman who is reading this today
that is expecting a child, I want to encourage you
to start praying over your child even know while
that baby is still in the womb.  Pray health over
your baby.  Pray protection over your baby.  Pray
God's blessings over your baby.  Pray that your
baby will have a heart that yearns for Jesus.  Even
after that baby is born, you need to be praying over
your baby everyday.  God has entrusted this life
into your care.  Prayer demonstrates our dependence
upon God.  Never in your life will you be more
tested and more dependent upon the Lord than in
raising your child.

As your child begins to get older, teaching that
child how to pray, reading the Word of God to your
child, making sure your child is in church every
week, are all ways to follow God's Word and raise
that child in the admonition of the Lord.  GOD HAS
GIVEN YOU THE RESPONSIBILITY OF RAISING YOUR CHILD
IN THE FAITH AND WILL HOLD YOU ACCOUNTABLE.  The
Bible tells us in Proverbs 22:6, "Train a child in
the way he should go, and when he is old he will
not turn from it."  *The greatest thing you will
ever do for your child is to lay a foundation of
faith in Christ and God's Word in their life!

Listen moms and dads.  As your child gets older
they will begin to make their own decisions.  At
some point, you won't be able to make their choices
for them.  That is why laying that foundation of
faith is so critical.  Let me make sure you
understand something.  You are NOT responsible for
the decisions they make.  Just like your mother and
father were not responsible for the decisions you
made, you are not responsible for the decisions
your children will make.

That is why those early years are so critical,
since what they learn in those early years will
help to shape the choices they make as they get
older.  Know that even if they turn from the
Lord at some point, when times get difficult it
is that spiritual foundation you helped lay in
their life that will sustain them.  Just like
the prodigal son made some horrible
decisions, when he hit rock bottom he knew to
"go home" to his father.

Let me speak for a minute directly to those who
have had the pain of losing a child before you were
able to give birth, as well as those who have had a
baby or child die.  Let me remind you the Bible
tells us that tomorrow is promised to none of us. 
That means each day is a gift from God whether we
are in the womb, 2 months old, 5 years old, 15, 40,
or 90 years old.  We will never fully understand why
God chooses to allow someone to die when they do. 
However, the greatest desire and goal of any parent
should be for their child to know Christ as their
Savior and have the assurance of everlasting life.

For those who have lost a baby in the womb or a baby
or young child, you can be assured that your baby or
child is forever with the Lord.  The only thing that
will send a person to hell is rejecting Christ as
their Savior and since your baby or child never had
that opportunity, they are with the Lord for eternity.

Also, I know that many of you are in tears today
because you so desperately want a child and for
reasons only God knows, you have not been able to
conceive.  Again, why your prayers have not been
answered is something only God knows for certain,
but let me encourage you to continue to pray for
a child, knowing that with God ALL things are
possible.  We have too many testimonies both from
God's Word and from so many people of how God
allowed them to conceive later in life after many
years of not having any children. Never forget that
God may have a special calling on your life to be a
mom or dad to a child by adoption.  There are so
many children who have been given up for adoption
who need Godly parents, and God may be calling
you to have a child by adoption.

I love you and care about you so much.  There is
nothing more exciting in life than finding out that
you are going to have a child, going through
those months of preparing for the birth of your
child, and then that incredible day you will never
forget as long as you live when your baby is born. 
Of course, that is also the start of the most important
job you will ever have in this life, raising your child. 
Let me close today with a special prayer of blessing
for your baby, whether this baby is still in the
womb or recently born, and for you to be the Godly
parents God has called you to be.

"Father, I pray today for those precious babies who
are still in the womb. I pray oh Lord that you will
touch these precious lives and make their bodies
healthy, their minds sharp, and their hearts tender
towards the Lord.  I pray oh Lord that you will bring
forth these precious babies from the womb in your
perfect timing and that these babies will grow and
mature into mighty men and women of God should Jesus
tarry in His return.  For those babies and children,
I pray oh Lord that you will protect them from the
evils of this dark world. I pray oh Lord that they
will be raised in the admonition of the Lord, in the
strength of your Word, and become great men and women
of God to lead your people in these last days. 
Father, I lift up the moms and dads of these children. 
Give them your strength, your wisdom, your discernment
as they raise their children in the ways of the Lord. 
I pray oh Lord that you will guide them and help them
to be the Godly moms and dads to their children you
have called them to be.  Bless their homes oh Lord,
let the Sprit of the living God be present and make
their home and lives great beacons of light in this
lost and dying world.  I pray blessings on these
babies and children, blessings on these moms and dads
in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 
Amen!"

In His love and service,
Your friend and brother in Christ,
Bill Keller

***If I can help you in any way you can contact me
through my personal email at bkeller@liveprayer.com

***ARE YOU 100% CERTAIN WHERE YOU WILL SPEND
ETERNITY?  The fact is you will die one day.  At
that moment, you will either spend eternity with
the Lord or be cast into everlasting darkness
forever separated from God your creator.  To know
for certain you will be forever with Jesus, go to:
http://www.liveprayer.com/bdy_salvatn.html

***GET YOUR FREE LPeMAIL ACCOUNT!  Never miss
receiving your Daily Devotional again.  LPeMail is
an effective email SPAM filtering application
that most ISP's charge $10/mo, for FREE!  Get your
LPeMail account now at: www.lpemail.com.

***I am excited to let you know that the Liveprayer
Daily Devotional is now available via AUDIO each
day.  Simply go to
http://www.liveprayer.com/DailyDevotionalAudio.html
Also, you can now listen to the Daily Devotional by
phone by calling  toll-free,1-888-382-4662, or
access it on your wireless device by going to:
http://wapdd.com

(C) Copyright 2005, Bill Keller Ministries.
All rights reserved

************************************************

May God bless you as you learn from this message!

Merry Christmas!!

Donald W. Mitchell, Your Dream Concierge

Copyright 2005 Donald W. Mitchell

Announcing Create a Billion Dollar Business

Good morning, Happy Souls!

Are you feeling motivated this morning? I know that I am.

As a follow-up to my recent announcement of The Billionaire Entrepreneurs’ Master Mind I wanted to alert you to a new blog, Create a Billion Dollar Business (see http://billiondollarbusiness.blogspot.com/).

This new blog will share exciting details about the new master mind for those who want to create unprecedented entrepreneurial success in their careers.

If you think this opportunity might be right for you, contact me at ultimatecompetitiveadvantage@yahoo.com with a subject heading of "I Want to Create a Billion Dollar Business". I'll be back to you to answer your questions and provide application information.

Merry Christmas!

May God bless you.

With best regards, much appreciation and all good wishes,

Donald W. Mitchell
Your Dream Concierge

Copyright 2005 Donald W. Mitchell

Follow God's Rules . . . They Are Good for You!

Good morning, Happy Souls!

Bill Keller wrote a wonderful devotional today
that I highly recommend to you.  He has given
me permission to copy his e-mails, and I'm sure
he would be happy if you would share this with
people you know as well.

*********************************************

DAILY DEVOTIONAL     SUNDAY DECEMBER 18, 2005
(Deuteronomy 26:16, Joshua 1:8, Exodus 19:5,
Deuteronomy 5:29, Revelation 22:14)

***CHRISTMAS PASSAGE:  So Joseph also went up
from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to
Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged
to the house and line of David. He went there to
register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to
him and was expecting a child. While they were
there, the time came for the baby to be born, and
she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped
him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because
there was no room for them in the inn.  (Luke 2:4-7)

Because I could.  In an interview with Dan Rather on
60 Minutes prior to the release of his book, former
President Bill Clinton made a very profound statement
in regard to his affair with Monica Lewinsky. 
President Clinton said, "I think I did something for
the worst possible reason -- just because I could.  I
think that's the most, just about the most morally
indefensible reason that anybody could have for doing
anything. When you do something just because you
could.  I've thought about it a lot. And there are
lots of more sophisticated explanations, more
complicated psychological explanations. But none of
them are an excuse."  AMEN!!!

Everyday I am dealing with the very real lives of
very real people who have made the conscious choice
to sin against God.  Men and women.  Those who are
rich and those who are poor.  People of all ages. 
Regardless of what the sin is or the circumstances
involved, the bottom line is that it was a choice
that person made to disobey God....because they
could!  You see, God gave man free will to make
choices, otherwise we would be nothing more than
robots.  Everyday, many times throughout the day,
we make the choice to obey God or disobey Him.

I will never forget when I was 10, the first time I
was allowed to stay home all by myself.  It might
have been 20 minutes after my mother was gone that
I realized she was not around to see what I was
doing.  We had certain rules on what time we could
have snacks and what we were allowed to have.  As
I was watching television, I remembered thinking
that since mom wasn't home, she wouldn't know if I
had an extra snack.  So I went to the kitchen, to
the pantry where the cookies were, went to the
refrigerator and poured myself a big glass of milk,
and sat down at the table and for the next 15
minutes ate cookies.

I will never forget to this day knowing deep down
inside as I was getting the cookies out of the
pantry that what I was doing was wrong.  I am not
even sure if I was really that hungry or wanted
the cookies.  It really boiled down to the fact I
was all alone, nobody was there, and I COULD.  Oh,
something else about sin, it ALWAYS leaves a mess. 
Of course I did my best to put the cookies back
exactly where I got them ( not thinking that there
were now about a dozen fewer), did my normal poor
job of washing the glass I used for the milk and put
it back in the cabinet ( still dripping), and
cleaned the area of the table I used (but not the
floor underneath).

A few hours later at dinner, I remember that I was
not very hungry.  Normally I would clean my plate
in minutes and be begging for more.  But this night,
I had a hard time eating all of my food and had to
force down the last few bites.  I remember the guilt
as my mother asked me several times why I was not
hungry and giving her some lame excuse about not
feeling well.  It was later that evening as I was
getting in bed that my mother and father came into
my room.  As a child, you always know when mom and
dad come to see you right before you go to bed,
something is wrong.

My mother asked me how things went being in the
house all alone.  I told her everything went fine. 
She asked me what I did.  I told her I watched
television.  She asked if I did anything else, and
deep down I knew that somehow she knew I had eaten
the cookies.  The guilt was already more than I
could bear so I told her that I was hungry and
decided to eat some cookies. My father then got
involved and asked me if I realized that when I was
eating the cookies, I knew that I was breaking one
of the house rules since it was not snack time.  I
told him that I did and I was sorry.  He went on
to explain to me that one reason they had such a
rule was so that me and my brothers would be hungry
for dinner and have a good balanced diet.  The
rule was not to keep us from enjoying cookies, but
to keep us healthy.

They told me how disappointed they were and asked me
if I was sorry for what I had done.   I assured
them that I was.  My father then told me that I
would not be allowed to watch any football that
weekend and would have some extra chores to do
around the house.  Before they left, they prayed for
me.  I remember laying in my bed that night,
thinking how those few cookies weren't worth having
my parents disappointed in me, and it sure wasn't
worth having to miss football that weekend.  I was
mad at myself for doing something I knew that I
shouldn't, just because I could.

I love you and care about you so much.  I realize a
10-year-old boy eating some cookies he was not
supposed to while being home alone is not what most
would consider a horrible thing to do.  The fact
was we had rules in our home about when we were
allowed to eat snacks, I consciously chose to break
that rule, did a poor job of trying to cover it up,
was caught, and had to pay a price for my choice to
disobey.  In looking back, I wasn't starving to
death, I really didn't even want to eat the cookies
that bad.  As much as anything it was an opportunity
for me to rebel and do something I knew I wasn't
supposed to, if for no other reason than BECAUSE I
COULD!

The fact is, my parents rule on snacks was there to
make my life better, not worse.  So often we look at
God's "rules" in the Bible as being there to keep us
from having fun in life when in fact, they are there
to insure we have fun in life.  When we choose to
disobey God, there are always consequences, always a
price to pay.  After we sin, the first thing we do
is try to cover it up.  Adam literally did that
after his sin by making some crude clothes to cover
up his body.  We are foolish to even try to cover
up our sin, since God sees everything that we do. 
Sin always involves others, we don't sin in a
vacuum.  Sin is like throwing a pebble into a still
lake, watching the ripples of that initial pebble
expand out further and further. When you choose to
sin, others will always be affected in some way. 
Sadly, sin always carries a price tag greater than
we ever wanted to pay.  Sin costs my friend, and
costs much more than you ever imagined.

I will be praying for you today.  The reality is,
everyday, many times throughout the day, you have
the choice to obey God or disobey Him.  I pray
that in the coming hours of this day, these words
will ring in your heart and mind as you are faced
with the opportunity to obey God.  I pray that you
will understand that sin simply isn't worth it. 
Sin carries consequences, obedience carries
blessings.  What do you want today in your life,
consequences, or blessings?

***Instead of having to say I sinned because I
could, let your testimony be I obeyed God,
BECAUSE I COULD!!!

In His love and service,
Your friend and brother in Christ,
Bill Keller

***If I can help you in any way you can contact me
through my personal email at bkeller@liveprayer.com

***ARE YOU 100% CERTAIN WHERE YOU WILL SPEND
ETERNITY?  The fact is you will die one day.  At
that moment, you will either spend eternity with
the Lord or be cast into everlasting darkness
forever separated from God your creator.  To know
for certain you will be forever with Jesus, go to:
http://www.liveprayer.com/bdy_salvatn.html

***GET YOUR FREE LPeMAIL ACCOUNT!  Never miss
receiving your Daily Devotional again.  LPeMail is
an effective email SPAM filtering application
that most ISP's charge $10/mo, for FREE!  Get your
LPeMail account now at: www.lpemail.com.

***I am excited to let you know that the Liveprayer
Daily Devotional is now available via AUDIO each
day.  Simply go to
http://www.liveprayer.com/DailyDevotionalAudio.html
Also, you can now listen to the Daily Devotional by
phone by calling  toll-free,1-888-382-4662, or
access it on your wireless device by going to:
http://wapdd.com

(C) Copyright 2005, Bill Keller Ministries.
All rights reserved

************************************************

May God bless you as you learn from this message!

Merry Christmas!!

Donald W. Mitchell, Your Dream Concierge

Copyright 2005 Donald W. Mitchell

The Peace of Meditation

Good morning, Happy Souls!

Are you feeling motivated this morning? I certainly hope so. I know that I am!

Many people meditate on a daily basis. I have been following this practice for 11 years now. I spend about 30 minutes each morning and evening in my practice. I emerge fresh, energetic and focused.

When I first learned to meditate, I heard and read all kinds of claims. From my experience with meditation, I can now describe my own benefits.

Let me make a warning though. I suspect that each person gains something different from meditation. So don't assume that if you meditate that you will duplicate my experience . . . except perhaps the learning process.

Let me start by sharing a little background. About 19 years ago, I had a mysterious illness. I began stumbling and losing coordination while playing a round of golf with one of my children. By the time I got back to the car, I couldn't drive. My wife took me to the closest hospital, and I started to lose feeling all over my body. I thought I was a goner. While they were taking a CAT scan, I began to shiver violently . . . and gradually started to revive.

Nothing was ever diagnosed. It wasn't any of the usual suspects -- stroke, heart attack, meningitis, etc.

I was left with permanently reduced sensation on the left side of my body and searing pain (it hurt to even touch the sheets on my bed). Recovery was slow. It was almost a year before I could resume anything resembling a normal work schedule. And I would have setbacks from time to time after that.

The continued symptoms made it hard for me. I became grumpier and grumpier. I could hardly stand myself. I couldn't see how anyone else could stand me at all.

One day, I had an epiphany. I had been playing golf in a desert location. While playing my ball in the rough, I had walked into a cactus, torn the cactus stem off and had a large number of long needles connecting me to the torn-off part of the cactus. I didn't realize that I was carrying this cactus with me for several holes. I happened to look down and saw blood everywhere and this piece of cactus sticking out of my leg. The pain of having all those needles in me was so mild compared to my usual pain in that leg that I didn't even feel the needles. I decided it was time to take action.

I decided to try anything that anyone claimed had ever helped people to reduce pain or to control their moods. I took courses. I tried every kind of exotic treatment you've probably ever heard of. I changed my diet. I got various kinds of massages. I had hypnosis. And on it went.

Gradually, I began to find a few things that helped. During one of my setbacks when I was hospitalized, a nurse told me that many people with my problem were helped by chiropractors. I found someone who swore by her chiropractor's ability to reduce pain. It helped me, too. I eventually found that I needed orthotics. With the orthotics, I rarely needed the chiropractor. Acupuncture helped as well. Drinking more water was beneficial. And on it went into healthier, more balanced living.

But one day, I realized that although I was feeling better physically . . . I wasn't doing so well mentally and emotionally. I was worn out from trying to function in this impaired way while running from potential solution to potential solution.

A friend recommended transcendental meditation. The Beatles had experimented with this in the 60s so I had heard of it. I decided to give it a try.

The process of learning was easy. I could follow the directions immediately. I would relax so much that I would fall asleep in class and have a hard time waking up. This was an amazing result, because I had been suffering from insomnia for years. Within two weeks, I felt like the weight of the world was off my shoulders.

I immediately wanted to learn more and took a trial class to find out if I was ready for more advanced training, something called the Siddhi program. It turned out that I was ready and within six months I was enrolled. Rest became much deeper and sustained. My energy recovered. I became tranquil rather than in turmoil.

Gradually, I went from being angry all the time to being peaceful almost all the time.

One of the big differences was that the cacophony of self-directed abuse in my mind gradually quieted and went away.

More significantly, I found myself powerfully drawn to my Christian religion. I wanted to pray just as much as I wanted to meditate. The more I did of each, the more I wanted to develop my spiritual self. From there, it has been a profound, moving and delightful journey.

My ability to learn, work and communicate developed exponentially. They continue to do so today. It's like I acquired a higher level of mind than I was born with.

But the greatest gift is a sense of being at peace. I feel in touch with silence, tranquility and repose almost all the time. When I need to, I can quickly reconnect to those states of mind and body.

And by the way, although I still have reduced some sensation on the left side of my body, I usually don't have much pain any more.

In this season when we celebrate the birth of the Prince of Peace, I suggest that you investigate whether meditation is right for you . . . as a way to gain the blessed peace that God wants you to have.

I have no idea about how other forms of meditation compare. I have only done TM.

For more information on learning TM (including free introductory classes) in the U.S. and Canada call 1-888-532-7686. You can visit the official Web site at http://www.tm.org/.

Could a billionaire do better? I sincerely doubt it.

Meditation is something you have to do yourself. I have no idea if some people have more innate ability to meditate than others, but I'm confident that material wealth is . . . if anything . . . a hindrance. You are trying to reach a state where the material world dissolves around you and you experience existence at a more fundamental level. If you are thinking about your billions while you try to make this transition, it has to make the process more difficult. However, the billionaire may need meditation more than those who are less burdened by the material world to begin with.

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N.B. As you can tell, I'm experimenting with color. Let me know what you like and what I should change about my use of color.

Please let me know what else you would like to learn, and I'll do my best to help in future blog entries.

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Be More Successful than a Billionaire at http://bemoresuccessfulthanabillionaire.blogspot.com/,

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http://2000percentsolutions.blogspot.com/,

Enjoy Mansions Better than a Billionaire at http://enjoymansionsbetterthanabillionaire.blogspot.com/,

Enjoy Football Better than a Billionaire at http://enjoyfootballbetterthanabillionaire.blogspot.com/ and

Be a World Hero Better than a Billionaire at http://beaworldherobetterthanabillionaire.blogspot.com/.

I offer individual on-line tutorials and in-person seminars on living better than a billionaire on five dollars extra a day, creating 2,000 percent solutions (20 times the results with the same effort), developing more profitable business models and designing strategies that work regardless of the business environment. For information, contact me at ultimatecompetitiveadvantage@yahoo.com.

I am available to you as a speaker on these subjects. You can find my background at http://livebetterthanabillionaireon5dollars.blogspot.com/2005_08_30_livebetterthanabillionaireon5dollars_archive.html/.

May God bless you. Merry Christmas!

Donald W. Mitchell, Your Dream Concierge

Copyright 2005 Donald W. Mitchell