IS THE U.S. ECONOMY UNDER TERRORIST ATTACK?

Is the American economy under a terrorist attack? Most U.S. economic indicators are down. Consumer confidence is low; gas prices are high; food costs are soaring; unemployment is on the rise; the value of the dollar is declining; mortgage foreclosures are still rising, and basically, the economy is a mess. Is this just a normal cycle or is something else driving the downturn?
Most of what is happening to the U.S economy makes little sense and the turmoil seems self-induced. Banks and mortgage companies did not have to raise home interests even though the rates were not fixed. As soon as they saw what was happening, any rational mind would have stopped raising rates and re-evaluated its impact before it got out of control. It benefits no one to have banks foreclosing. Did they think that by doing so there would be thousands of more homebuyers waiting in the wings to scoff up the empty houses?
We all know what is happening to oil prices. Economists tell us that prices are usually driven by such factors as inventories, demand, political unrest, climate, value of the dollar and speculation. While these are often fabricated excuses to raise prices, the facts do not line up. According to most reports, inventories are fine; demand is actually down; political disruptions have been minimal and the climate has not recently destroyed or halted too many drilling operations. The dollar is certainly off, partly due to the oil issue but the key factor appears to be speculation. According to most analysts, it is speculation that id fueling the current absurd increases in oil. These same analysts also say that the speculation makes little sense and does appear to be driven by normal standards of supply and demand. The obvious question is who are these speculators and do they have a hidden agenda?
On the food front things are getting progressively worse. Prices rose 4% in 2007 and they are expected to rise at least another 4% in 2008. We have seen food riots in places such as Mexico, India, Italy, Indonesia and Africa. The U.N. is warning of massive food shortages as the ravages of global climate change and the use of food as biofuel greatly reduce world food supplies. There are persistent attempts by U.S truckers to stage a national strike over diesel costs which all but cripple deliveries of food to markets and many on fixed incomes are facing choices between food or medications. Here in Maine it is quite possible that the lobster and fishing industry will be decimated this summer by soaring fuel costs.
In the face of all of this negative news we see little or no public policy aimed at addressing these issues. Record oil profits go unchecked, food and energy costs are spiraling out of control, seasonal jobs are severely threatened and yet nothing is happening to deal with these issues. Scientists are reporting faster than expected rises in greenhouse gases and polar ice is also melting at unanticipated rates. Assuming an active storm season this summer, all of these factors combine to further exacerbate an unstable economic climate.
It is clear that things like environmental disasters may be out of our immediate abilities to change. However, the economy seems to be shooting itself in the foot and nothing is being done to attend to the victim; namely, the consumer. The underlying question is who is doing the shooting? Who stands to gain by all of this turmoil? Who is pulling the economic strings causing havoc to the economy? Are there “economic terrorists” bent on disrupting the world economy?

OUT OF THE BOX BOOK PROMOTION WINNERS!

TRI Studio LLC Announces Winners of the
2008 Out of the Box Promotion Idea Contest for Writers
Judged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson

TRI Studio LLC www.tri-studio.com, in cooperation with Authors’ Coaltion www.authorscoalitionandredenginepress.com, announces the winners of The 2008 Out of the Box Promotion Contest for Writers in an ebook publishing their winning ideas. The top winners include promotional experts Janet Elaine Smith, Allyn Evans, Phil Harris and Billie Williams. Ideas range from a Book-of-the-Week Club that partners the publisher and author with an internet radio program, to an Amazon Tour Group, a Video Tour Group, and an idea that allows readers to watch the progress as an author writes a book. The e-book is available from TRI Studio and Authors’ Coalition as a free download. It is also available for free distribution for interested parties to post on their websites.

Winners of the Honorable Mention awards are presented in random order and include authors Mindy P. Lawrence, Dorothea Buckingham, Nikki Leigh, Margot Finke, Karina Fabian and Jessica Kennedy. The contest was sponsored and created by TRI Studio LLC, producer of The Fiction Flyer, a free ezine for writers of fiction www.tri-studio.com/ezine.html.

Carolyn Howard-Johnson www.carolynhoward-johnson.com, author of The Frugal Book Promoter and The Frugal Editor, judged the contest based on the following criteria:1) the originality of the idea, 2) The breadth of applicability, and 3) the ease of use. Says Johnson, “There were some very interesting ideas which made judging extremely difficult.” According to Kathe Gogolewski, author and President of TRI Studio LLC, the contest was created as a way to showcase new and interesting promotion ideas by authors and for authors. “We wanted to create a tool to help writers in their craft,” she adds.

The ebook, The Winners of The 2008 Out of the Box Promotions Contest for Writers ebook is available for download and distribution here: www.tri-studio.com/outofthebox.html Interested parties may contact Kathe Gogolewski at kgogolewski@sbcglobal.net or Carolyn Howard-Johnson at hojonews@aol.com.

IF NOT NOW, WHEN?

MANIFESTING MONEY!

I have had the opportunity to interview, Dyan Garris, author of the new book, MONEY AND MANIFESTING. Given my recent blog on TIPS FOR THE RECESSION, the timing of this interview is perfect and the timing of the book is perfect. There is no lack of money, all you need to do is to manifest money in your life and the word recession will be a bad dream. read the interview, then buy and read the book!


1.Many critics of The Secret argue that focusing on the accumulation of wealth is a poor use of the Law of Attraction. While I disagree with this, why have you decided to make this at least one focus of your work?
The focus on the accumulation of “wealth,” which here we will define as “money” (because there are different types of “wealth”), is not in and of itself a poor use of the Law of Attraction. The problem is that having the focus there is focusing on attracting from a place of ego. Ego is not the place from which we manifest anything. So, we may be able to attract; but that isn’t really manifesting. One of the problems is that by having the focus there we are creating from a place of limitation, and/or within an existing framework, belief system or pattern, while one is trying to do exactly the opposite. I call this “negative manifesting.”

2.Do you unblock the energy flow of money or do you unblock energy that allows the flow of money?

This is a good question, Phil. The answer really is both. The energy flow of money is often blocked by the blockage of the energy that allows for the flow of money.

3.When you say “transform energy,” what exactly do you mean?

Everything is energy. Money is energy. It’s a form of exchange. The representation of that is “paper.” The paper itself has no real power. But the energy of money does because we believe it does. Our belief system fuels the energy of money. We firmly believe that money has power.

Here is a basic example of transforming energy: Let’s say we take a raw egg. It’s an egg. Whether we scramble or fry it or boil it, it’s still an egg; but its form has changed. The energy of it has changed. So it is still an egg, but now it vibrates differently than it did as a raw egg. There are a lot of things you can do with a hard boiled egg that you cannot do with a raw egg.

Taking this a bit further, if we add a raw egg to a cake batter and then bake the cake, the energy of the egg, which is still an egg, transforms into something that makes the cake rise. By doing something different with the raw material we have basically transformed the energy of it.

So if we’re talking about transforming the energy of money, it’s about really understanding at a basic level what money really is and then transforming that base energy into something you can use in a different way.

4.Is it a question of “learning to manifest,” or controlling what we manifest? According to the law of Attraction, we manifest everything in our life either consciously or unconsciously. So isn’t it really a matter of taking conscious responsibility and control of what we do every day?

Manifesting is a process. Utilizing the truths of the laws of attraction is one step in the process of manifesting. Form definitely follows thought. Our thoughts have power. And we can control our thoughts, and therefore ostensibly control what we manifest. So, yes, we need to take conscious responsibility of our everyday thoughts and actions. However, the energy of creation lies in another part of our body and that part of our body is the root, not the mind. So, in learning to manifest, one learns to connect the thoughts with the energy that rises up from the root, thus taking conscious responsibility of what we manifest and intend to create.

5.When you use the term “voice of the angels,” what do you mean? Is this in a religious context or a metaphor for spiritual guides?

It is neither. Angels cross all religious boundaries. Angels are bringers of information and messages. “Voice of the Angels” began as the title of my deck of angel cards, journal, and companion CD. Each card has a message from angels in quatrain verse. They are the “voice” in Voice of the Angels. They brought forth messages of comfort and angelic guidance and continue to do so through the music , meditations, and my entire body of work.

6.Please define clairvoyant, clairsentient and clairaudient.

We were not dropped off on the planet without ability to communicate with Creator, Source, angels, guides, or other disincarnate beings. Even if you don’t believe in a supreme being, we were still all given the ability to communicate. We all have intuitive ability. Lately as the veil thins between our world and the other realms, people continue to awaken to and accept the truth of who they really are. That is spirit in a physical vehicle, with the ability to naturally intuit.

Then we began to have a lot of people who started calling themselves “psychic” or “clairvoyant.” True clairvoyance means the ability to predict, to see into the future, usually without the aid of a bridge tool such as tarot cards or crystal balls or the like. And that “seeing” usually is in pictures or images. It is more than a “knowing” or a hearing of voices. If one understands time as multi-dimensional, rather than the linear concept of time that we have come to accept as reality for convenience sake, seeing into the “future” really isn’t so strange.

Clairsentient can be defined as an intuitive sense of “knowing.” Clairaudience is the ability to “hear” frequencies that other people aren’t usually tuned into. In other words, we are not all tuned into the same radio station. All of these gifts function similar to a radio. First one must turn the radio on; and then in order to “get” anything clearly, one must then tune in to a particular frequency.

7.What is a voice recognition psychic and how does this work?

Everything is energy. Every name and every number has a vibration and a sound vibration that equates to a particular unique frequency. When a name is said aloud, and together with a number - a birthdate, for example - that works like a personal unique key to that particular individual. A voice recognition psychic is simply someone who can recognize or “know” that person’s energy from the combination of the sound vibrations of their name, number and voice.

You can have two people named John Smith with the same birthdate, but the energy of their voice is very different and unique to them. You can have someone with a nom de plume, or even someone that gives you a fake name, and the minute they start talking I can tell that is not their given name. But the intrinsic vibration of their spirit is the same.

So, the name or number isn’t really that important. Most times I don’t need a last name or even a number really. I can usually tune in on someone’s energy just by hearing the voice and whatever they say their name is. It’s a sound vibration and frequency that connects the energy of a person with who they really are.

8.Can you read into a person’s written word as well? I will open myself up here to scrutiny so what sense might you be getting of me from these questions? I will print what you say!

Everything is energy including the written word, and so the written word also carries with it the energy of the person who wrote the words. You aren’t asking me for a reading, are you Phil? I’m smiling.

There is something I didn’t mention in question #6 about psychics and clairvoyants. Most “psychics” or “intuitives” or even empaths can read energy that already exists and therefore can tell you what has already happened or things that you already know. But they can’t tell you what’s going to happen because that isn’t where they’re looking. That isn’t where they’re putting their focus. It is relatively easy to read energy that already exists here already or that has existed.

Clairvoyance is forward moving energy and can read energy that perhaps to others doesn’t seem to exist. It does exist somewhere, but isn’t here yet. It just depends upon where you are looking in “time.” I just have the ability to bring that information back here. It’s what is normal, rather than paranormal, to me.

It never made much sense to me to tell people things they already know. This would perhaps make us both feel good in terms of you being able to think that I might actually know something, and verify that I am right about certain already existing facts. To me this serves no real purpose. My point is that I could tell you a lot of things you already know, but why? It wastes both our energy. You already know what you know about yourself. And there are perhaps a lot of things I could tell you about what I sense about you that someone could say I looked up somewhere, or surmised in some manner. Or, these things might sound very general. I like to be specific.

Therefore, I will tell you something you don’t already know and you can give me confirmation when it occurs. Spirit says that in June or July of 2008 you will have slight injury, sprain, twisting or similar to your left knee. Now, the common response to that usually is, “I don’t have anything wrong with my knee, “or “I had something wrong with my knee last year.” People have gotten very used to psychics telling them what already is or what has already happened. Clairvoyance is telling what has not yet occurred.

9. What is a channeled message for those who do not understand the concept? Who gives you the message and to what extent do you feel that your own thoughts and ideas intermingle with those messages?

I am simply just a bringer of information. The “Daily Channeled Message” on my site is information that I am asked to bring forth. I do not channel ascended masters and guides. I do not believe in the illusion of separation. I am channeling “source.” I’m tapping into a universal grid. I receive the theme of what I am to write about for the day while I am in prayer and meditation, and it is my choice as to form of delivery. I try to write it in terms that everyone can relate to in some way and apply in their daily life. My own thoughts and ideas don’t really have anything to do with the channeled message, but certainly my writing style or style of delivery does. Sometimes I do have my own ideas about what I think I’m going to address for the day or what I want to address, and I sit down to write it and out comes something entirely different.

10.What role does music play in achieving a higher state of awareness? Do you feel that popular music, in general, helps or hinders this process? Are there certain types of music, vibrations, that you feel enhance the awakening process?

Music is sound vibration and frequency. Music has the ability to help someone quiet their inner chatter, and therefore reach a relaxed state of being and through that a higher state of awareness. Everyone resonates to and feels resonant with a certain rhythm or beat. Popular music can make some people feel frenetic while at the same time helping another person to relax. It’s a matter of personal vibration, beat, frequency. All types of music have the ability to enhance the awakening process. It’s simply a matter of what one feels resonant to. Any music that relaxes a person can have an effect on the person’s ability to focus on whatever it is they need to focus on for their personal awakening process.

11.In your opinion, what are the basic steps in consciously manifesting your higher desires?

This is a very interesting question because when we’re defining “higher desires” we would be talking about desires that don’t have anything to do with what the ego thinks it wants, needs, and desires. The two really are disparate. To manifest higher desires one would have to first align one’s own will with universal will and go from there. However, I think what you’re asking me is to outline the basic steps in manifesting. The very first thing to do is to understand everything, including money, as energy. Then one needs to examine one’s learned belief systems and patterns about whatever it is they are trying to manifest to see if and where exactly they are blocking the flow of energy, and why. Then one needs to clear those limiting belief systems and open a pathway upon which energy can flow smoothly. Then one needs to connect up the energy and power of creation with the energy and power present in all of the other energy centers and integrate it as truth. Then you simply let go. Letting go is a necessary step in manifesting anything. In general, those are the basic steps.


12.Why the use of cards and what role does visual stimulation play in the awakening process?
The first goal in the awakening process is to quiet the chatter of the conscious mind to be able to begin to connect with inner guidance or higher guidance. If you’ve got a microwave, vacuum cleaner, television, radio, and ten cell phone conversations all going on at the same time, it’s hard to hear much of anything except noise. Cards can help in that way by providing an initial basis for centering, grounding, and, most importantly, focus. Visual stimulation plays a big part in this process, by stimulating different parts of the brain and also by activating things on an emotional level. So you could have a person that has read something over and over again and doesn’t understand it; but show the same person a picture or image and all of a sudden it triggers something inside them and they are then able to have complete understanding.

13.As you view your compiled messages, what major themes seem to be playing out in human consciousness?

“The Book of Daily Channeled Messages” is a compilation of messages from angels that I put together last year. I definitely see some major themes. One of these themes that translates very clearly and that is playing out in human consciousness is love. Love is what we need to remember. All of our earthly dramas give us opportunities to remember love. There is absolutely no power in fear. The power is in the love.

Thanks-I think these will suffice-LOL

Phil

For much more information about Dyan Garris and Money and Manifesting, visit http://inspiredauthor.com/promotion/Dyan+Garris for complete tour details. To learn about the products Dyan offers, visit her website - www.voiceoftheangels.com. You can order your copy of Money and Manifesting from her website or from http://www.amazon.com/Money-Manifesting-Dyan-Garris/dp/0977614069

RACE AND SEX IN THE 2008 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

“THE ETHNIC PRESIDENCY”

Is race and sex a factor in the 2008 Presidential election? Are Americans ready for a female President? Are they ready for an ethnic minority President? Is it possible that the Vice-Presidential candidate may be equally or even more important than the party nominee? The new book, “THE ETHNIC PRESIDENCY” by Earl Ofari Hutchinson addresses some of these issues. Americans should consume all that they can in order to make an intelligent decision in the fall elections. That would be different!

In July 2007, Barack Obama was still pretty much the mystery man among them. His popularity among Latinos then wallowed in the low double digit numbers. Obama and Hillary Clinton knew their presence at the event would send the message to Latinos that the Latino vote was crucial for them to win the White House.
The moment that both announced their presidential candidacies it was a foregone conclusion that they would pull out every stop to get the edge on the other in the battle for ethnic supremacy. This wasn’t solely because the Latino, black and Asian votes were make or break votes for each, but because they both had a strong sense of entitlement toward these votes. The starting point for Hillary was Bill. In a poll taken in January 1996 at the start of his second term, nine out of ten blacks liked and admired him. Latinos weren’t far behind in their like of Bill. He got more than 60 percent of the Latino vote in 1992 and seventy percent of their vote in his reelection victory in 1996.
In countless polls during the early months after both tossed their hats in the presidential ring, Clinton and Obama ran neck and neck in the avowed admiration and loyalty blacks gave the pair. In a June 2007 Gallup poll blacks by 8 to 1 margins had favorable views of both them. Hillary didn’t just rest on Bill’s laurels. As Senator she carefully built a strong network among black ministers, politicians, and Democrats within and without the Congressional Black Caucus, and state black elected officials.

The ethic jockeying of Clinton and Obama was really only a side show in the Democratic primaries. If either one of them got the nomination, they had a lock on the black vote, perhaps even a record turnout and vote of blacks. The Latino and Asian vote was another matter. It was very much in play both in the Democratic primaries, and possibly in the general election as well. The dash to La Raza’s convention by Obama and Clinton, and to just about any other major Latino or Asian political or voter forum nationally was a mandatory stop that both had to make.
The scramble for leading endorsements from top Latino elected officials was vital.For the moment though, Clinton had the political juice to get the biggest of the big names among Latino politicians in her camp. She also showed that she was adept at thinking on her feet to head off a potential public relations disaster with Asian-American supporters. When several Asian foreign language reporters were blocked from entering a Clinton townhall event in San Francisco in February 2007, Hillary rushed back to the city to hold a special session with Asian journalists there and that prominently included the journalists snubbed earlier.
The trek to Miami and other Latino conferences, and rallies, was only part of Obama’s plan to stay in the hunt with Hillary for the Latino vote. In a campaign stop in San Antonio, Texas, in July, Obama brashly attempted to wrap himself in the mantle of Cesar Chavez, the revered 1960s Latino labor leader and civil rights icon. Being an unknown political quantity among Latinos was only one problem for Obama. The other was the latent tensions and at times low intensity warfare that raged between blacks and Latinos in some cities such as Los Angeles over jobs, and immigration, and at times exploded in gang and prison violence. This could severely damage Obama’s court of Latino voters in the nation’s biggest delegate state, California. In Los Angeles County, Latinos made up nearly one-third of the voters.
For much more information about Earl Ofari Hutchinson and The Ethnic Presidency: How Race Affects the Race to the White House, visit his blog blitz homepage - http://inspiredauthor.com/promotion/Ethnic+Presidency+Blitz. To order your copy of the Ethnic Presidency, visit www.ethnicpresidency.com or
www.amazon.com/Ethnic-Presidency-Decides-White-House/dp/1881032256

TIPS FOR THE RECESSION

Stock market goes up; stock market down. Gas prices go up; employment down. Oil corporations get richer; average folk getting poorer. Food prices are up; energy costs are up, mortgage foreclosures are up, consumer confidence is way down. Does all of this sound familiar? While economic “experts” debate about the possibility of recession, millions are living a recession. The question is, why? There is ample energy in the world; food is plentiful; there is more than enough money; so much needs to be done there is no reason for people to be unemployed or underemployed. So what gives?

The government, economists and big business is imbuing the public with a sense of defeat. While the few are making their billions, they continue to insist that there is not enough to “go around.” Argue for your limitations and they are yours. We are at a point where the consumer can strike back with the power of their hard earned dollars and show all of the economic gurus that they are wrong. There are no “laws of economics.” You believe there are because that is what you are taught, but the truth of the matter is that what you believe, you manifest. We are all subject to the same events, yet some are having no problems while others are struggling to make ends meet in “these tough economic times.” People must come to understand that times are tough because that is what you believe.

Since so many people believe oil prices will go up; that money is scarce; that food may be hard to come by; that banks will foreclose; that jobs will be lost and that we may have to fight our way out this so called mess, that is the way it will be. Form follows thought. So what is the average person to do? How can you keep your eye on the prize while the winds of change seem unstoppable? The following are just a few ways to beat the system that seems intent on breaking your economic back.

1. The first thing to do is to not buy into all of the economic “doom and gloom.” If you think that things are getting rough, they will get rough.
2. The next thing you want to do is to truly evaluate all of the garbage that you have been wasting money on. It is obvious that we have been in a buy, use and throw away state of mind. This way of living is not sustainable and no longer acceptable. You are bombarded daily with commercials that want you to spend your money on things that you really do not need. Stop watching commercials.
3. Buy basic! I am not talking sacrifice; I am talking about living a healthy and less expensive lifestyle. Look at your cupboards and all of the junk food that is only killing you and your children. You do not need expensive, sugar filled cereals. You do not need all of the junk treats that are clogging your arteries and making you and your children fat. You do not need all of the sweets. Buy basic, healthy food and you will find it more nutritious and more filling. I will not list brands but your basic whole grain cereals, without the color and sugar added; real bread that is more filling; less prepared foods-they are expensive and not good for you. Make your own. A can of tomato sauce that you spice yourself for pasta is half the cost of prepared sauces. Frozen foods must go. Make your own and it will be cheaper. Get the family involved in food preparation and maybe actually talk to your children.
4. Get off of the meat kick. Meats are expensive and should not be the mainstay of your diet. Cut back and be healthier and if you must, buy no hormone meats. They may cost a little more but they will make you feel better. Use recipes that include some meat but which add vegetables and it will go a lot further.
5. You do not need all of those snack foods in the house. Again, this is not a sacrifice, it is common sense. Forget what your children demand. Make real popcorn, use fruit for snacks and get the sugar out of your diet.
6. Eliminate soda. Neither you nor your children need it and it is not good for you. Water works just fine. Cut back a little each week and watch how you feel better and watch your dollar go further.
7. Forget the latest fashion. Dress basic. You do not need to constantly purchase new clothes just because fashion changes. All you are doing is making someone else rich, at your expense. You are better off buying quality that lasts than buying cheap clothes that do not hold up.
8. Reduce unnecessary driving and save gas. If people do not show up to events, sports, or other social functions because of the cost of gas, maybe someone will get the hint.
9. Rent the movie, don’t go to one. The cost of movie theaters and the food that they sell are ridiculous. This is just wasted money.
10. Live differently. Forget how others say you should live and go with what your instincts say. A more natural life is a less expensive life. Stop mindless consuming and buy what makes sense. Your money can change the way business does business. Don’t buy what “they” say you need, buy what you really need and watch your expenses shrink.

The so called “economic crisis” that we seem to be in is self induced. The banks and lenders did not have to raise rates. They did not have to make loans to people they knew were not financially sound. Oil prices did not have to skyrocket. Consumers did not have to waste millions on junk. We did not have to settle for poor quality and products that polluted the environment. What we have done by default, can be undone by conscious choice. Consumers can make its own “course correction” and by their action create an economy that is sustainable, efficient, environmentally compatible and logical.

The tips offered are just a beginning. If you are loosing your home, let it go if it was truly out of your reach. Use this as an opportunity to re-think your priorities, the way you live, the way you spend your money. Use this as an opportunity to re-shape your world into one that makes sense to you, and not one created by the latest commercials that would have you give all to line the pockets of those who have much. Buy a few less beers, eat healthier foods, get off the sugar habit, stand up to wasteful buying, ignore the adds and take control of your life.