LogosSeven Magazine December Issue

S ta rt i n g P o i n t : O u r I n a u g u r a l I s s u e DECEMBER 2008

Red-Hot Mullins How Aimee Mullins

Became the New It Girl Special Report:

Airborne Killers Associated

With the Rise of Autism Is NCD the Cure for Toxicity?

Conquer Stress: Hello to the Calmer New Year

Male and Female

Reasoning How to Repair Your Bad Credit Score; Learn Fighting 101; Personality Traits and the Need for Happiness; Pearls for Girls; and more

Does the Self-Help Industry Need

Higher Help?

LOGOSSEVEN • DECEMBER 2008

PUBLISHER’S PERSPECTIVE

First Ranks Primary, I would like to say hello and thank you for welcoming my new magazine: LogosSeven. My name is Sidney D. Crippen. I am the

founder and Pastor of Rhema Worldwide Out-

reach Ministries and former Pastor of Soldiers For Christ Ministries. As a Pastor, I have become

empowered with vision from

God to reach the unreachable, the unchurched, and the future of tomorrow: Our Youth.

Throughout my years in ministry, I have always had a for the youth and new Christians. It always seems as though ministry is catered mostly in part to the middle-aged or older. Our youth sit in service after service and the messages though homiletically and hermeneutically correct miss their intended goal, which is the furtherance of the gospel to all people and ages.

passion

God has allowed me to see a vision of what the world would and could be like if the Gos-

without

boundaries

pel was spread the and roadblocks of tradition, religion, heresies, and false doctrine. In fact, if you do your research, this is exactly what God has asked from each of us. Yet I ask the question, is this currently being done to the fullest?

When we learn some basic guidelines to the intended purpose of the Bible, we will crack open the hidden treasures and veiled truths that has seemingly hid themselves from us through our selfishness and ignorance. What seemingly worked for our ancestors is not working in today’s society.

Our youth are encountered with a new on slaught of wicked devices intended to ensnare and enslave their minds, their hearts, and then their bodies. The Bible speaks and I paraphrase: “where a persons heart is; that is where his treasure lies.”

vision

With this, I introduce to you my for LogosSeven. Along with my staff, our goal is to consistently provide a resource for those that need to be inspired, enriched, and empowered through the media of writing and visual arts. For many years people have been forced to make a choice whether to serve God or its “Fire and Brimstone.” I want to reach those that have not yet made a choice to serve God in their current situation. We all need to be inspired and empowered, and know there is still hope.

Starting Over is the theme for this issue and an ideal position for our country’s new starting point. Through the collective prayers of America and the combined efforts of all those that will work alongside our new President Barack Obama, we can hopefully begin to experience a new journey of healing within the New Year to come. Applause go to the wise words of Maya Angelou: “Love life, engage in it, give it all you’ve got. Love it with a passion, because life truly does give back, many times over, what you put into it. And, if you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.”

I hope you enjoy our first issue and look forward to your feedback.

In Christ, Sidney Crippen DECEMBER 2008 • LOGOSSEVEN

EDITOR’S LETTER

Are words just words?

When will enough turn up?

It’s time for a year-in-review evaluation. I hit another milestone birthday; check. I looked into the mirror and whispered to myself messages from the book of Proverbs; check. I created breathtaking editorial; check. I gave my love and time to the charity of my choice; check. Experimented with the color orange; check.

I ended world hunger; provided to life and death; found a cure for Staph…no check.

new meaning

Does our Starting Over issue imply our world has issues and we need a starting point, a fresh perspective? Yes. My first Associate Publisher told me, ‘Issues and situations are different from problems. are like , they don’t have a cure; situations and issues can be settled.’ It has been 13 years since I heard this original statement. Sometimes I give him credit and agree, but the majority of times, I believe him to be a man with a clueless state of mind.

Problems

situations

Issues and evidently become problems. It may start as a stomachache and in a matter of months, colon cancer invades your privacy. It starts as a blister, and later you learn your child constitutes part of the first three children to contract the Staph disease in the state of Georgia. The news of losing the opportunity to adopt your favorite dog may have been shocking, but when this other type of information hits close to home, your life becomes a small motion picture in an IMAX setting. Tough. Very tough. These riptides take away everything you call your own.

Reporters and anchors can attest to the situations turned problems that invade our world on a daily basis. You hear of signs of wonders, miracles, and prayers. I ask myself: When is enough, enough? Who do you to protect your homeland? Better yet, who do you rely on to shelter our Earth, your path?

trust

In our spiritual travels without physical motion, yet with brisk deliberation, words develop stories and have the power to win or lose brightness. This is your introduction to LogosSeven. When we realize that issues and situations turn into problems, we are one step closer to knowing more. Whether it’s more , , we realize how small, yet how momentous our role can truly become when it reflects onto the big screen. Ask yourself this: Does your heartbeat belong to a drummer who is slowing down his pace? Don’t walk on deadend streets; instead, take your soul and make it sane in sense.

And if effervescent life depended on whether I eat the crumbs off of a table…I would eat crumbs. Why not?

wisdom or empathy

faith

Live, Laugh, Love, Mavian Arocha P.S. I leave you the following phrases and ask you to take your time to think before the clock strikes 12:00—A house doesn’t make a home. Wind wanders; you don’t have to always be right. Mouth is thirsty; listen to its tempo and drink. Happy New Year!

LOGOSSEVEN • DECEMBER 2008

cancer

Her New Year’s resolution is to change the world as we know it.

What’s yours?

It sounds like a big dream for a little girl.

a little help, they’re starting businesses

But fortunately, girls and women are out

to create new sources of income. And

there around the world who believe things

running for office to help stop corruption.

can be better. And they’re demanding to

They’re becoming powerful forces for

play their part. To fulfill their dreams. To

lasting change. So, what’s your New

unleash their potential that has been held

Year’s resolution? Perhaps you should be

back. At CARE, we’ve found that if women

thinking a bit bigger. Join the movement

can be empowered in places where they

to help empower women worldwide. Call

have historically been marginalized, it’s one

800-521-CARE or visit care.org. If she can

of the fastest ways to improve conditions

do it, so can you.

and reduce poverty. We’ve seen the spark ignite when we open the doors to education and opportunity that have been closed to them. They never look back. With

This space generously donated.

Photo © Phil Borges

DECEMBER 2008 • LOGOSSEVEN

v IN EVERY ISSUE Publisher’s Perspective v 3 Editor’s Letter v 4 Revelation v 56

v FEATURES Self-Made America v 28

An opportunist band of self-help celebrities are riding the wave within the self-help industry. They are building empires based on the proposition that its approach can change lives. With smart marketing and growing acceptance by mainstream authors, their rising popularity continues to rise. Who buys these materials and why?

Live Life v 32 The reality is, there will always be stress, but we are responsible on how we perceive the stress and the steps we take to manage it. Don’t challenge yourself to relax, make it part of your life; it will be enduring. Learn how to say good-bye to the old year and hello to a calmer New Year.

32

The Rich Responsibility v 36

Will the sin of greed destroy and kill the plan our Creator and ancestors had for us?

In High Spirits versus Commercialized Happiness v 38

42

Is happiness truly everywhere and does it mean the same to me, as it does to you? When do we get to be happy?

How do we get there? Is it even attainable?

This Thing Called Faith v 40

Is a walk filled with reliance a planned circumstance with a promised rainbow or a pivotal point in life when you are left with the act of silence, without logical proof?

Who is Betty Rosado? v 42

Convinced that change comes collectively, artist Betty Rosado was inspired by Dr. Kent M. Keith’s poem written in the late 1960s nicknamed “Anyway.” This poem of motivation is now art titled, “Like Minds.”

LOGOSSEVEN • DECEMBER 2008

56

DEPARTMENTS v Classic Culture

Fashion & Trends v 8

Beauty Routines v 10 Taste Tests v 12

Mind & Body

12

Health v 14 Personality v 14 Psychology v 15

Neighborhood

Being Missional: The World of Aimee Goes Round and Round v 16 Through her pure presence and unrelenting character, Aimee Mullins is challenging the definitions of physical beauty and ability. In doing so, she is not only celebrating her own achievements, but more so, rejoicing in her ability to challenge the conformist public mindset simply through her straightforward, unlocked personality and her implausible flair. Having both legs amputated below the knee when she was only a year old, who says you can’t defy all odds?

Green Projects: Killers in Disguise v 20 World-recognized bio-chemist and author Rik Deitsch evaluates the immense amount of toxins that surround our daily, core activities. Did you know the mercury compound thimerosal found in the U.S. has been linked to the rise of autism in our children?

16

Relationships

Love: Call it Cultural Anthropology v 22

Family: How to Fight v 24

Solutions

Finance: How to Repair a Poor Credit Score v 26

24 DECEMBER 2008 • LOGOSSEVEN

CLASSIC CULTURE v Fashion Trends

A Pearls First Steps

Pearls have long held an aura of mystery, intrigue, and beauty. Kings have adorned themselves with pearls. Cleopatra, according to legend, made a wager with the Roman general Mark Anthony that she could serve him the most expensive meal ever prepared. Again, according to legend, Cleopatra dissolved one of her pearl earrings in a glass of wine and then offered it to Mark Anthony.

For centuries pearls remained a mystery. Where did pearls come from? How could one coax an oyster or mollusk into forming a pearl? While natural pearls have been around since the first oysters, the cultured pearl is a fairly recent invention, with one exception; the blister pearl.

The Chinese originally cultured the blister pearl more than 700 years ago, but three Japanese men worked to culture the world’s first round cultured pearl in the mid to late 1800s. They were Tokichi Nishikawa, Tatsuhei Mise, and Kokichi Mikimoto. The most famous of these men was of course Kokichi Mikimoto, whose name has since become synonymous with the word “pearl” and gained acquisition of a patent in the early 1900s for culturing spherical pearls.

Nearly all pearls sold on today’s open market are cultured. They evolve in a similar manner as natural pearls, with the distinction being that cultured pearls have an irritant intentionally placed by a pearl farmer to start the formation of a pearl.

The process may take one to several years. Highly skilled technicians open the live pearl oysters carefully, then surgically implant a small polished shell bead and piece of mantle tissue in each. The shell bead serves as the nucleus around which the oyster secretes layer after layer of nacre, the crystalline substance that forms the pearl. The nucleated oysters are then returned to the sea in sheltered bays rich in natural nutrients. The oysters feed and grow, depositing lustrous layers of nacre around their nuclei. In winter, they are moved south to warmer waters to provide the best growing conditions. Those that survive such perils of the sea as typhoons, suffocating red tides, and attacks from predators are brought ashore and opened. If everything has gone well, the result is a lovely, lustrous and very valuable pearl.

Although Japan is famous for its introduction and promotion of the cultured pearl; unfortunately, pollution has devastated Japan’s pearl harvests and has decreased the quality of their pearls.

China initially started culturing pearls in the 1980s and is now producing pearls of equal and sometimes higher quality than many of the pearls coming from Japan. Since the waters in China are less polluted and warmer, Chinese pearls have thicker nacre and often a higher luster. Some Japanese firms have even started importing Chinese pearls and labeling them as Japanese pearls since it is more expensive to grow the pearls in Japan.

The only way to know the difference is if you are an expert.

LOGOSSEVEN • DECEMBER 2008

Twofold Pearls A girl’s best friend meets her soul mate this coming winter. Pearls accented with diamonds or sapphires add color brilliance to pearls, while bringing out their warmth and softness. South Sea Pearl Necklace with pave colored diamond accents, and Multicolored South Sea Pearl Necklace with colored sapphire studded links; both available at available at Levinson Jewelers. For more information, visit www. levinsonjewelers.com.

Charlie’s American Pearl is another manufacturing company that prefers to buy directly from Japan, Australia, China, Tahiti and Indonesia. What began as a tiny storefront in the heart of Manhattan’s Diamond District, American Pearl was founded by Charlie Bakhash and has preserved its ideals of trust, honor, and integrity while maintaining an unwavering eye for beauty and an honest source of pearls anywhere in the world. For more information, visit www.americanpearl.com.

King’s Corner

“The pearl industry has recently experienced a major resurgence as a very classic realm is sweeping through the fashion world.

From large classic whites to exotic golden strands, pearls offer a very traditional style with a bold and elegant look,” states David King, Director of Business Development for King Jewelers. “A few years ago a transition in the jewelry world began to shift to more simplistic, Decoinspired designs with common geometric shapes such as the circle and square. This transition has catalyzed the pearl business as leading designers are incorporating these timeless treasures into both classic and fashion-forward designs that will begin to flood the market this fall and winter,” he adds. South Sea Pearl Flower Ring with diamonds and mother-of pearl in 18kt white gold, custommade by King Jewelers and Three-Row South Sea Pearl Bracelet with diamonds in 18kt white gold; both custommade by and available at King Jewelers. For more information, call 305.935.4900.

CLASSIC CULTURE v Fashion Trends

The

Royal Treatment

Opera’s Beauty

The young and famous Opera soprano Anna Netrebko, who is now the new Chopard Jewelery-Ambassador, carried out their “cut-the-ribbon-ceremony” with dazzling charisma and great charm for the Chopard Boutique Berlin opening.

Netrebko was wearing breathtaking Chopard Haute Joaillerie Jewelery, which features their latest pearl creations.

The name IRIDESSE Pearls is inspired by the iridescent play of colors and light on the surface of a pearl. Founded by Tiffany & Co., they proudly present magnificent pearls of every type carefully selected from all over the world, and take great care in educating clients about the natural beauty of pearls. Vice President of Product Development & Pearl Acquisition, Inezita Gay has her fingers on the pulse of the jewelry industry, seeking out the latest and greatest styles. “Mixing and matching strands will add color and texture to your fall wardrobe, jazzing up your look with bold and elegant style,” says Gay. She suggest to try stacking different length strands or wearing pink, purple and white strands together. For a simpler look, try one multi-colored strand. And if you feel like dressing your strand, IRIDESSE created a signature interchangeable clasp where you can simply change to an IRIDESSE diamond ball clasp. For more information, visit www.iridesse.com.

Shepherd Knows Best Terry Shepherd, known worldwide as “The Pearl Hunter,” knows that no expense can be made when searching for the world’s finest pearls. When he’s not at home in the Pacific Northwest showcasing his latest jewels on thepearloutlet. com, he’s trekking the globe, typically en route to the far corners of Asia on the quest for another high-quality pearl bargain. Once he reaches the pearl farms of Southern China—it’s up to his savvy marketing skill to negotiate the best price possible. It’s a skill he has sharpened after years of attending the school of hard knocks, often learning “the hard way” at the feet of the world’s most brutal negotiators: China’s pearl farmers. Nevertheless, Shepherd’s first love is the Tahitian Pearl. They range from a metallic silver to black, both from inside of the oyster’s shell as well as the nutrients from the lagoon where it is nurtured, these pearls are a great way to stand out in a crowd and look fabulous doing it. Perfect for the stylish woman who is looking to make a statement, or man who is looking for an alternative to traditional pearl cufflinks. For more information, visit www.thepearloutlet.com.

DECEMBER 2008 • LOGOSSEVEN

CLASSIC CULTURE v Beauty Routines Previous line by Beauty By CLINICA IVO PITANGUY; available at Neiman Marcus, Bal Harbour and Beverly Hills, and Bergdorf Goodman, NYC.

Coqueta Shine Lipstick by CLINIQUE; available in select markets US markets, Puerto Rico, and www.clinique.com.

The Art of Brazil

From the legendary Clinica Ivo Pitanguy in Rio de Janeiro comes Beauty by Clinica Ivo Pitanguy, by the legendary professor and doctor himself. Famed and followed for his plastic surgery, Pitanguy finally responded to his patients who sought his products. Previous Instant Lifting Cure is for both men and women and is most effective when used morning and night. The ultra-light emulsion-gel with tensor effect comes to the rescue of tired, overworked skin such as expression lines of the face and around the eyes. Active ingredients include centella asiatica plant extract to fight aging and wrinkles; oil of flowering meadowfoam plant; candeia Brazilian tree extract, as well as other natural elements to reliever, fortify and protect over-stressed skin, including the neck area. In fact, centella asiatica plant has been used for centuries in Ayurvedic medicine to heal wounds and skin lesions. Commonly known as “Tiger Herb,” this unusual botanical is reputed to have unusual healing properties and derives it’s common name from the fact that tigers in the wilderness seek out the plant when injured, brushing against it’s leaves to help heal their wounds. Previous Instant Lifting Cure by Beauty by Clinica Ivo Pitanguy; available at Neiman Marcus, Bal Harbour and Beverly Hills, and Bergdorf Goodman, NYC.

CHA-CHA-CHA Laura Mohberg, Clinique Global Makeup Expert, who has adorned numerous celebrity faces, including Rosario Dawson, Nadine Velasquez, Josie Marin, Mia Maestro, Yamila Diaz, and Patricia Velasquez, created the official “Latin Grammy Look.” In addition, Mohberg and Clinique created a limited edition Latin Grammy Colour Surge Butter Shine Lipstick in Coqueta (flirt, in English), a shimmery, peachy-gold shade that can be worn on its own or with lip liner and is ideal for all skin tones; available in select markets US markets, Puerto Rico, and www.clinique.com.

Caviar for Hair?

A

Caviar Anti-Aging Radiant Smoothing Lotion and Caviar Anti-Aging Volume Molding Crème by ALTERNA, both $30; available at fine salons and www.4alterna.com.

10 LOGOSSEVEN • DECEMBER 2008

lterna claims that their newest products, Caviar Anti-Aging Radiant Smoothing Lotion and Caviar Anti-Aging Volume Molding Crème can actually adapt and adjust to your environment. Their secret is rhodiola extract, which is a powerful antioxidant that revives fragile hair and scalp while providing exceptional thermal protection. This robust plant is found in the artic regions of Eastern Siberia and miraculously adapts to nature’s most challenging climates. But how does hair age? Similar to skin, the hair is vulnerable to three types of aging: intrinsic (the scalp begins to thin and tighten inhibiting circulation and affecting the quality and rate of hair growth); chemical, which includes color, perms, highlighting, etc, resulting in dry, weak and unmanageable hair; environmental aging from exposure to the sun and artificial light causes color to fade.

Alterna’s new products utilize a blend of three proprietary technologies: Age-Control Technology, Enzymetherapy (the effective delivery of enzymes), and Photozyme Complex with Caviar Hold. Their Age-Control Technology incorporates three key ingredients: caviar extract, a rich source of Omega-3 fatty acids; Vitamin C, a proven anti-oxidant; and cytokines to encourage microcirculation—that works on three different levels to halt the visible signs of aging, resulting in more youthful-looking hair. The Photozyme Complex contains fruit enzymes, powerful UV protectants, and special silicones to prevent photo-degradation, while safeguarding color vibrancy. Caviar Anti-Aging Radiant Smoothing Lotion and Caviar Anti-Aging Volume Molding Crème, both $30; available at fine salons and www.4alterna.com.

Comfort Can Be Pretty

CLASSIC CULTURE v Beauty Routines

Designer and entrepreneur, Donna Nadeau is a 20 year veteran of the lingerie industry and has created a new lifestyle brand to meet the needs of today’s women, as they balance their careers and home life. Each collection contains luxurious fabrics, soft colors, and most comfortable shapes for the chic and feminine. She has found the most tactile and cozy fabrics to indulge in, including many organic cottons and bamboo. “It is my belief women who do it all deserve a moment of indulgence whenever and wherever they can; they are my most important constituency,” states Nadeau. Her signature lifestyle collection is available at select department stores and specialty boutiques this winter. For more information, visit www.donnanadeaucollections.com or call 877.880.9707.

Four Star Peachy Pink Women Cotton Jacquard Short Wrap with silver grey satin bands, $70, over silver grey Cotton Rib Chemise adjustable straps and built-in soft bra by DONNA NADEAU; available at www.donnanadeaucollections.com.

Softest Plush Ballet Slippers in champagne by DONNA NADEAU; available at www.donnanadeaucollections.com.

T’s the season for giving, sharing, rejoicing, and stress. We all know the holiday times can be extremely difficult, emotional, physical, and financial. All those tempting holiday foods, crowded shopping malls, and holiday spending can take a toll on your skin; sooner than later stress will cause blemishes to pop-up.

I have discovered a very simple, inexpensive solution for blemishes; HYDROGEN PEROXIDE. Yes, that $.99 item we can buy in any drug store or supermarket. If you think about it… it makes sense. Hydrogen Peroxide is doctors recommend as first aid, to heal scrapes, cuts, burns and infections. It is an antiseptic, gentle enough to be used orally and causes no burning, stinging or drying. So why not use it on our face?

Simply apply some Hydrogen Peroxide onto a cotton pad and then onto your blemish. You will clearly see how quickly it becomes disinfected and healed. You will notice a major difference and in most cases your blemish can be gone by

the next morning.

Invited to an after-work holiday party and need to transform your daytime makeup into night?

Here are four helpful tips to make you radiant: Eye Shadow: Add shimmer shadow both light and dark tones, to your lid and contour. This will automatically dress up and brighten your eyes.

Eye Liner: Add to your upper eyelids; this will accentuate and define your eyes.

Cheek Color: Brush shimmer onto your cheekbones to highlight.

Lip Gloss: Apply your favorite lip color; it will add the finishing touch.

For more insightful information and beauty tips, e-mail Nancy Rand, LogosSeven’s Beauty Editor at nancy.rand@logossevenmagazine.com.

DECEMBER 2008 • LOGOSSEVEN 11

CLASSIC CULTURE v Taste Tests

Ta s te B u d s fo r

Yo u a n d C h a r i t y

E

ating Jennifer’s Homemade delights doesn’t just equal satisfying your appetite, it also means you are contributing to feeding other hungry people. Jennifer’s Homemade consists of biscotti, breadsticks, and flatbreads made from scratch in a variety of flavors, of which a portion of the proceeds are donated to charity. The rosemary breadsticks were unforgettable with their crunchy and crisp texture. Biting into one of the sticks doesn’t feel as if your eating bread; instead, it is as if you are eating pure rosemary in the form of a stick. The bread is so light that eating an entire package in one sitting is not surprising.

Along with the light and flavorful breadsticks, Jennifer’s Homemade sells biscotti in five flavors including toasted almond, cranberry pistachio, and the new double chocolate chunk. The breadsticks and flatbreads come in sweet and salty flavors depending on your preference. The snacks make greats gifts for family and friends, or just as a treat for yourself. For more information, visit www.jennifershomemade.com.

i mple ; No t B a sic Repast is a small sanctuary in the middle of Atlanta designed with earth tones and a décor that exudes Japanese simplicity.

It sits in a hard-tofind corner of the city underneath a cluster of lofts. But the chef, owner, sommelier, and human resources department of the restaurant, Chef Joe Truex, knows how to draw a crowd even on a Monday night. Truex, along with his partner and wife Mihoko Obunai, maintain a menu of new American cuisine with strong Asian influences.

The restaurant’s menu changes three times a year, guaranteeing the freshest ingredients from the current season.

There is constant experimentation in the kitchen.

In fact, this distinctive approach was seen in their not-so-typical breadbasket. If it wasn’t for the intense infusion of rosemary, it could have easily been mistaken for pieces of cake because of its moisture and sweetness. Dipping the bread into the olive oil released the rosemary for a bold, not subtle, taste. The server, who was very knowledgeable about the entire menu, then presented a gazpacho soup. Gazpacho is a cold Spanish and Portuguese soup usually served in warmer regions during the summer months. The robust soup usually has a base of stale bread, garlic, olive oil, vinegar, and tomatoes. Truex’s version of the dish had a hint of spice that strengthened the other flavors in the soup.

The appetizers contained fruits that were balanced out by aromatic spices. The Spice Rubbed Quail was steeped in a green Thai curry vinai12 LOGOSSEVEN • DECEMBER 2008

grette and sat on a bed of double mango salad.

But zesty citrus seemed to be the theme of the night. The light, but powerful mango salad had just the right amount of lemon and definitely did not get lost among the flavors of the quail. The Bacon Wrapped Medjool Dates were a play on sweet and salty. The syrupy dates were wrapped in thick pieces of crispy bacon to contrast the sweetness, later served in a sweet sauce that had what seemed to be a touch of vinegar for vigor.

Even with the short list of entrées, the restaurant encompassed everything from tofu to veal and even sea scallops. The Anson Mills grits in the Butter Poached Georgia Shrimp can only be described as having the soft texture of rice pudding or even risotto when it touches the tongue.

Again there was a sweet and lemony contrast in the dish, its tang brought the entire dish together. The generous-sized Georgia shrimp and a poached farm egg topped off the dish. The yoke of the poached egg served as a mild transition between the grits and shrimp. A slightly heavier-flavored dish is the Pekin Duck Breast a la Plancha. The duck, which retained its moisture and flavor, was presented in long strips. Served over Carolina gold risotto with red wine and wild burgundian escargot, the entire dish was a robust experience.

The dessert selection surely did not disappoint with its unpredictable combination as the rest of the menu holds a unique track record. To start, a taste of Asian inspired yuzu ginger soup, which was milder than expected from the strong combination of tart yuzu and pungent ginger. Yuzu is a citrus fruit originating in East Asia and looks a

bit like a small grapefruit; it can easily be mistaken for a lemon. The Japanese-Style Soufflé Cheesecake was unexpected, even for a cheesecake lover. It was as delicate as is expected of a soufflé without sacrificing any flavor. The sauce portrayed the continued theme of the evening with its lemon touch. The most interesting dessert was the Dark Chocolate Terrine with extra virgin olive oil and seasoned with smoked sea salt. I was curious as to how the salt would complement the chocolate, and quickly found the richness of cocoa needed the salt to cleanse the palette in between bites. The desserts, being an unexpected fusion of ingredients, satisfied any extent of cravings for sweets, and in this case, even sour.

A crisp white wine, new to the menu from South Africa, accompanied the entire meal. The light wine, suggested by the personable server, harmonized perfectly with the meal. Truex said that whenever he tastes a new wine he loves, he has

to add it to the menu that is why the wines change almost as often as the menu.

Repast is located at 620 N. Glen Iris Drive in Atlanta.

For more information or reservations, call 404.870.8707 or visit www.repastrestaurant.com.

DECEMBER 2008 • LOGOSSEVEN 13

MIND & BODY v Health

Priority No. 1:

Grow Your Health With a philosophy of removing, replenishing, and restoring, Waiora’s products do just that in a natural way. Medicine and science have allowed us to live longer, but improving the quality of life has not been as easy. Waiora focuses on maintaining a healthy lifestyle and fighting the main causes of aging. By incorporating Waiora’s nutritional supplements into a diet rich in fiber, fruits, bran, and exercise, the main causes of aging are being attacked.

Our immune system is weakened daily by toxins, chemicals, and pollutants.

Sometimes the immune system needs a little help to prevent the accumulation of these substances. Zeolites, a natural volcanic rock, has been used in a powder form in Asia for centuries to promote health. Because of its crystalline structure, it traps toxins and pollutants that are affecting the body. Waiora’s Natural Cellular Defense contains zeolites that attract the toxins and remove them from the body.

The liquid also helps balance pH levels and is completely natural. The company has many other detoxifying products that follow the same philosophy, including teas, fiber blends, and cleansing packs. Health improvements will be noticed immediately after using the products.

After removing the toxins, the next step is to replenish and restore the body. The replenishing products, including Essential Daily Nutrients, help add the vital compounds your body needs. A lack of the compounds results in decreasing function by the cardiovascular system, the digestive system, and the immune system.

Taking the nutrients daily will make up for what the body is missing. For restoring the body, Waiora has face and body products for all skin types. The gentle products benefit even the most sensitive faces and remove redness from any other harsh products and daily toxins that affect the skin. For more information, visit www. waiora.com.

MIND & BODY v Personality

Is Being Clingy

Too Much to Handle?

In a country where the Marlboro Man rides alone across thousands of billboards, the “dependent personality” is never going to win the day.

But at least one psychologist thinks that dependency isn’t as bad as we think—and may even offer advantages that a lonely cowboy could envy.

Robert Bornstein, Ph.D., a professor of psychology at Fordham University, doesn’t deny that dependency has its downside—in high levels it’s associated with depression, anxiety, and eating disorders— but he thinks we ought to develop a more balanced view of the condition. Because they’re not shy about seeking help, says Bornstein, dependent people are quicker to go to a doctor when they detect a physical symptom. Students with dependent personalities tend to have higher GPAs, since they’re comfortable asking professors for assistance. Also, dependent people may be less likely to develop drug or alcohol problems, probably because their need for authority’s approval leads them to steer clear of illicit activity.

In a broader sense, advises Bornstein, we should recognize that we’re all dependent to a degree—on friends, 14 LOGOSSEVEN • DECEMBER 2008

neighbors, mentors, spouses. And men have just as many dependency needs as women. The healthiest approach is not to hide feelings of dependency, but to express them in productive ways. “They don’t go away if you don’t acknowledge them—they just come out indirectly,” he declares. “People get their needs met better when they’re aware of them.”

MIND & BODY v Fitness

Anchorage, Alaska Voted Top 10 Walking City

MIND & BODY v Psychology

Laughter, it Does a Body Good Laughter, it’s said, is the best medicine. And there’s lots of evidence that laughter does lots of good things for us.

It reduces pain and allows us to tolerate discomfort.

It reduces blood sugar levels, increasing glucose tolerance in diabetics and nondiabetics alike.

It improves your job performance, especially if your work depends on creativity and solving complex problems. Its role in intimate relationships is vastly underestimated and it really is the glue of good marriages. It synchronizes the brains of speaker and listener so that they are emotionally attuned.

Laughter establishes—or restores—a positive

Anchorage’s trail system is one of the best in the country, encompassing 128 of paved trails and 300 miles of unpaved and wilderness trails, offering endless opportunities for activities such as walking, hiking, running, biking, and roller blading. Anchorage locals have long enjoyed their city’s extensive trail system, extended summer daylight hours and easy accessibility to outdoor fun. In winter, when the weather gets snowy, locals and visitors alike pull out their skis and continue to enjoy the trail system. With so many miles of trail, it’s only fitting that Anchorage plays host to a number of running and skiing events including; however, visitors and residents don’t have to compete in an event to enjoy First Friday Arts Walk, which encourages people to stroll between local art galleries, stop at cafés and bars for poetry readings. For more information, visit www. anchorage.net.

emotional climate and a sense of connection between two people, In fact, some researchers believe that the major function of laughter is to bring people together. And all the health benefits of laughter may simply result from the social support that laughter stimulates.

Now comes hard new evidence that laughter helps your blood vessels function better. It acts on the inner lining of blood vessels, called the endothelium, causing vessels to relax and expand, increasing blood flow. In other words, it’s good for your heart and brain, two organs that require the steady flow of oxygen carried in the blood.

At last year’s meeting of the American College of Cardiology, Michael Miller, M.D., of the University of Maryland reported that in a study of 20 healthy people, provoking laughter did as much good for their arteries as aerobic activity. He doesn’t recommend that you laugh and not exercise. But he does advise that you try to laugh on a regular basis.

The endothelium, he explains, regulates blood flow and adjusts the propensity of blood

to coagulate and clot. In addition, it secretes assorted chemicals in response to wounds, infection or irritation. It also plays an important role in the development of cardiovascular disease.

“The endothelium is the first line in the development of atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries,” said Dr. Miller. “So given the results of our study, it is conceivable that laughing may be important to maintain a healthy endothelium.

And reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.”

At the very least, he adds, “laughter offsets the impact of mental stress, which is harmful to the endothelium.”

The researcher can’t say for sure exactly how laughter delivers its heart benefit. It could come from the vigorous movement of the diaphragm muscles as you chuckle or guffaw. Alternatively, or additionally, laughter might trigger the release in the brain of such hormones as endorphins that have an effect on arteries.

It’s also possible that laughter boosts levels of nitric oxide in artery walls. Nitric oxide is known to play a role in the dilation of the endothelium.

“Perhaps mental stress leads to a breakdown in nitric oxide or inhibits a stimulus to produce nitric oxide that results in vasoconstriction.”

Dr. Miller offers a simple prescription that won’t bankrupt you and could save your life. “Thirty minutes of exercise three times a week, and 15 minutes of laughter on a daily basis is probably good for the vascular system,” he says.

DECEMBER 2008 • LOGOSSEVEN 15

NEIGHBORHOOD v Being Missional

16 LOGOSSEVEN • DECEMBER 2008

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NEIGHBORHOOD v Being Missional

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Her latest film, Quid Pro Quo, was released at Sundance earlier this year, and with the given results for the Presidential elections, Aimee Mullins, actress, model, and athlete, is pleased to see that our country has been awakened from apathy during this political season. Mullins, who speaks of her continuous rollercoaster ride, invites us into her gentle world of humanistic and deferential communion. And soon, she’ll be at a billboard near us appearing in the Non Uniform Thinkers campaign by the famed Kenneth Cole, as well as staring in the independent film, Into the Woods.

Interview by Mavian Arocha

DECEMBER 2008 • LOGOSSEVEN 17

NEIGHBORHOOD v Being Missional Q: Has your condition helped you achieve your purpose?

A: I’m not sure I know what my ‘purpose’ is, and I suspect that I’ve had purposes at various stages before and they aren’t relevant to who I am and what I want to do now. I am intrigued by the idea of purpose, and surely there are issues I feel strongly about, but I am also very taken with the idea that throughout your lifetime, there are purposes that will come to call, as well as those that you choose. I am a big champion of recognizing the magic in everyday life, and I am aware that opportunities have presented themselves to me that I felt compelled to explore, even if they weren’t anywhere in the conscious plan of what I wanted to do at that stage of my life.

Certainly, having prosthetic legs has made me get to know who I really am. It has made me become comfortable with my physical Self, perhaps at an earlier age than most women. I can tell you that while the experience has—as do all of our life experiences—shaped who I am, as well as sharpened and polished aspects of my being, it has never, ever defined me. Aimee was always going to be Aimee, whether legs of flesh and bone or carbon fiber and silicone.

Q: With your advocacy efforts, you are helping people change their lives—why is it easier for people to relate to you, versus a doctor for example?

A: If people relate to me, then I suspect it’s because they know I give them both sides of the

story…I don’t gloss over the hard stuff, and I also don’t add saccharin to what is already a good story.

Q: How do you celebrate your life?

A: Actually, I think those who know me best would say that I’m always up for celebrating.

Not a single day goes by that I don’t do something for myself or with others. Cliché as it is, every single day we are alive is really occasion enough, and so, I don’t have perfumes or clothes or food or candles that I reserve for a time to celebrate, because there is no time like the present to recognize how much beauty is around us.

On a regular basis, I find myself thinking as I’m walking down the street or in a cab—and especially in my bathtub—how much I have to be ecstatic about, and it keeps me in a pretty consistent state of gratitude. Just today, the winter sky over Manhattan was extraordinary, clouds moving so quickly and changing color as they moved toward the sunset…getting that amber and peach tinge on the edge of an icy gray blue. I spent a few minutes just watching it; it was marvelous. I’m not saying there aren’t times when I don’t feel like whining or even days on end where I feel like things appear so dire it’s almost comical in that ‘when-it-rains-it’s-a-tsunami-ofbad-news,’ which gives more reason to regroup and remind myself to breathe through it. If you hang on and finish out the ride, the Ferris wheel always comes through for the upswing.

Q: What is more important, freedom of speech or freedom of religion?

A: Neither; they are equally important. I think they are undeniably linked, and I think that’s why the architects of the U.S. Constitution placed such a premium on both those freedoms by declaring them right in the first amendment.

Having the freedom to believe a set of principles that guide you, but not having the freedom to freely and respectfully express such beliefs effectively limits that first freedom. Inherent in the idea of freedom of speech is that you first have the right to believe what you want to believe, because what are you ‘freeing’ in someone’s right to speech if their true beliefs are suppressed?

Q: Are you seeking a religion or spirituality?

A: Well, they certainly feel very different to me, although they both have something to do with guidance. In the most simplistic description, spirituality is a personal relationship to a higher power or God. That Higher Power might manifest itself in the Earth and our surroundings, as some Native Americans believed; or, it might also be a sense of something dwelling within that you look inward to find, like your soul or spirit which harbors your true Self.

To me, spirituality is about reflection and examination, going to that place that knows right from wrong and connecting to that truth. I am not talking about value judgments here or ‘morality,’ I’m referring to ethical judgments where you accept your equality with other human beings and

18 LOGOSSEVEN • DECEMBER 2008

NEIGHBORHOOD v Being Missional your shared existence with all living things. In a basic sense, it is a difference between an objective and subjective system of values.

My view of religion is a set of rules by which you govern your life, by following such rules, you are more often in closer communion with that Higher Power. My real issue with most religions is that because they are designed and enforced by Man, they are inherently problematic.

Often, it seems that religion is about power and who maintains that power and about the pronouncements of moral judgments, which utilize those age-old tools of fear and guilt to keep people in line. I don’t think most religions empower people to find the impetus within themselves to

on others and instead, tried to communicate his views by inviting others to listen and share at His table, knowing that unless others really make that choice within themselves to believe in something, He can’t force it. For me, any religion that creates a hierarchy of power within its ranks doesn’t acknowledge the equality of men and women, doesn’t open its door and heart to all mankind, and keeps people in a state of fear by employing guilt rather than education and empowerment—such an entity is not in communion with the God I believe in.

Q: Which living person do you most admire?

A: Well, Muhammad Yunus is up there, as is Nicholas Negroponte and nearly everyone at the

with my strengths and my flaws. Just in the last two years, I have made peace with the fact that I do indeed feel fear. I can still be hurt very deeply, I have bad hair days, and my abs aren’t quite what they used to be if I don’t keep doing crunches. What I’ve learned is to have compassion for these parts of my being, to acknowledge that they are there, and that to not acknowledge them would be to disown some essential part of my humanity.

Q: Do you believe the greatest ignorance is believing the world exists in the way it appears to exist…how do you view the world and what exists for you?

A: My first response to this question was that

To me,

spirituality is about

reflection and examination, going to that place that

knows right from wrong and connecting to that

truth. live life with a code of ethics and fairness; in other words, I believe it’s better to do a good deed because you want to rather than because you should.

It’s symptomatic of how the type of wiring within us affects almost any situation; if inside you know you really would cheat on your wife because you want to, but the only reason you don’t is because your religion tells you not to and you’re afraid of punishment, you effectively ‘cheated’ on your wife anyway. I’m not talking about being tempted, which I think is natural and healthy to acknowledge that we all are at various times, it’s about what you know you would do if no one—human being or deity—is looking. Similarly, it’s why I don’t think diets work, because they’re about what you ‘should’ do for your body, rather than what you want to do even with all the freedom of choice in front of you.

Honestly, I was raised as a Roman Catholic, and the reason I don’t consider myself one anymore is because deep down, in my gut, it really seems to me that a lot of the rules and guidelines aren’t actually very Christian. Jesus Christ was revolutionary in his acceptance of everyone, no matter how obscene or dispossessed they were to others in society. He reserved his judgment

MIT Media Lab, Billie Jean King, and Madeline Albright. And, I love a good scamp, so I really miss Norman Mailer, Spalding Gray, and Hunter Thompson. I admire people who have the security of Self to be able to stand alone in the face of scrutiny and adversity, and I especially admire those wonderful people who can be eccentric—those who comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable. But, I also have a major soft spot for Sean Connery.

Q: What is it that you most dislike?

A: I’d have to say that people who aren’t selfaccountable really annoy me. So much damage is done in the world by people who aren’t being honest with themselves about who they are and what choices they make. There is always, I think, a sort of reckoning with the Self at some point. I would rather meet that willingly than have my future kids throw it back at me one day in family therapy.

Q: What quality do you lack that you wish you could attain?

A: Besides being able to bend my ankles? Jeez, this is hard. Being able to fly would be good— I’ve often had that fantasy. Seriously, I imagine that a lot of people would like to not feel fear or pain or would like to have more confidence or something like that; but honestly, I’m okay

I hold very little personal value in being ‘realistic.’ I have gotten very far in life by choosing to believe that I could do what I could imagine or dream up in my head, and I am a huge proponent of creating your own reality when it comes to what you are personally capable of achieving. But upon reevaluating the question, I will concede that there are certainly politicians and businesspeople who have wreaked havoc in our world because of a willful lying to themselves and others in order to make sense of their actions, to keep believing that they are ‘right’ about the way the world exists or the way they want it to exist.

Therefore, I will answer this question from a personal standpoint of what ignorance means to me. I believe ignorance is a deliberate choice to not engage in a dialogue with any subject, whether that is another person or a topic. Simply not knowing about something doesn’t denote ignorance to me, but rather a lack of opportunity to learn. Ignorance is when that opportunity presents itself and we turn away from the conversation, from the invitation to learn about something new to us.

Q: When you leave Earth, how will Aimee Mullins be remembered?

A: You tell me….

DECEMBER 2008 • LOGOSSEVEN 19

NEIGHBORHOOD v Green Projects

In Disguise Even though the holidays are around the corner, it’s vital to learn about our environmental toxicity and its deadly hazards that affect our bodies and health. Receive the gift of awareness and its beneficial rewards.

by Rik Deitsch

E

nvironmental toxins surround us; substances that cause distress or disease are found in everything we eat, drink, and even in the air we breathe. Research has determined that some of these compounds are a by-product of our industrialized world. Heavy metals like lead and cadmium are released from factories or produced as waste substances. That is in addition to the naturally occurring toxic substances we are already exposed to daily, like the free-floating mercury released by volcanic eruptions.

Our bodies have several mechanisms to deal with this toxicity, but the current intake of toxicity exceeds the body’s ability to adapt. When it fails to break down or remove these toxins, the only other way to deal with them is through sequestration.

We don’t often consider the toxins contained in our beauty products. For the most part, consumers believe that such products are harmless; unfortunately, this is not always the case. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a guide designed to help protect workers at nail salons from being overexposed to toxins that exist in the products. Once absorbed, the body will try to deposit these compounds into tissue to 20 LOGOSSEVEN • DECEMBER 2008

minimize their potential damage. For example, lead may be sequestered into bone displacing calcium and increasing the risk of osteoporosis.

Lead is one of the most common environmental toxins. Each year, there are an estimated 500,000 children in the United States with toxic levels of lead in their bodies. Because of this, governments around the world have developed programs to help prevent unnecessary exposure to this environmental toxin.

The overall load of these toxins on our body is referred to as “body burden.” A high body burden is thought to be one of the causes of: immunotoxicity—leading to asthma, allergies, cancers, and chronic disease; neurotoxicity—leading to cognition impairment, memory loss, as well as sensory and motor dysfunction; and endocrine toxicity—leading to reproductive issues, loss of libido, and metabolic impairment.

“As a society, we would be stupid not to feel the urgency of this matter,” says Sonya Lunder, a senior analyst at Environmental Working Group, a Washington-based watchdog. “This underscores the importance of making good decisions on the chemicals we are using in commercial products.”

Any metabolic-minded health practitioner will eventually come to the fundamental conclusion regarding the relationship of heavy metal toxicity and health issues.

Research published in 2005 by New York University’s School of Medicine provided some of the most compelling evidence yet: long-term exposure to air pollution—even at levels within federal standards—causes heart disease. Previous studies have linked air pollution to cardiovascular disease, but until now it was not clearly understood how pollution damaged the body’s blood vessels.

And environmental toxicity is a global concern.

These pollutants don’t recognize national or political boundaries. Japan has experienced a phenomenon known as “yellow sands” over the past several years. This is caused by pollution blowing in from Chinese factories across the Sea of Japan.

There are now 1460 metric tons of airborne toxins that travel on the jet stream around the world.

Because of this, there is no place on the planet that can be considered a pristine environment. Fa-

NEIGHBORHOOD v Green Projects cilities in the U.S. released 4.7 billion pounds of toxins into the air in 2005; 72 million pounds are known carcinogens. In fact, Chicago experienced 68 days when the air quality was too unhealthy for children, elderly, and the ill, so city officials asked people to stay indoors. Coal-fired power plants spew sulfates, nitrates, and mercury into the air, and these compounds have been linked to more than 20,000 premature deaths each year.

The presence of toxins in our drinking water is a primary health issue affecting many communities in the U.S. and around the world. The toxins, primarily from the dumping of industrial waste into our water systems, pollute the lakes, rivers, and reservoirs that supply our drinking water.

Another method by which toxins enter our water is through pesticide contamination. Pesticides that are not absorbed by plants or broken up through other chemical processes contaminate groundwater. It is these water-soluble pesticides that pose the greatest health threat to our bodies. The toxins from such pesticides can cause headaches, nausea, dizziness, GI tract disorders, nervous system disorders, convulsions, and even heart attacks. Long-term effects include cancer and death. In fact, there are an estimated seven million illnesses and 1000 deaths each year in the U.S. from these waterborne microbes. And, sewage treatment plant workers are at much higher risk of respiratory illness, skin rashes, headaches, and body aches due to water toxins.

Toxins often found in water include: Lead: Higher incidence levels of lead poisoning occur in areas where the water is contaminated with industrial waste. Lead can cause high blood pressure, headaches, and even nervous system disorders.

Arsenic: Arsenic contamination often occurs from phosphorus-based fertilizers. It can cause a number of adverse health conditions, such as skin lesions. If not treated properly and quickly, this condition can be fatal.

Chlorinated solvents and heavy metals: Chlorinated solvents are often seen in industrial wastewater. Drinking water contaminated by chlorinated solvents and heavy metals can lead to serious health problems.

Organic pollutants: A variety of organic pollutants, such as bacteria, pollute water, making it unsafe for consumption. Drinking water contaminated by organic pollutants can lead to a number of diseases, including malaria, cholera, and typhoid.

The U.S. government has implemented a number of measures to combat the threat of chemicals in our water. In areas containing water sources with traces of pesticides, the government has developed strategies for alternative water sources and has incorporated new technologies to remove the toxins. In addition, the government is more strongly regulating the use of pesticides, ensuring

that farmers and gardeners do not dump unused pesticides into water systems.

What else can we do to prevent, or at least reduce, the risk of developing health problems from contaminated drinking water? Besides becoming better educated about the water we’re consuming, it is becoming more important to consume water only from reliable sources. To help establish reliable sources in the home, many consumers are making use of and installing personal filtration systems, such as the PUR Water Filtration System and BRITA. Environmental toxins also work their way into the food chain. As of late 2005, 47 states have advisories to limit intake of freshwater fish due to mercury contamination. That same year, the FDA reported finding chlorinated pesticides, like DDE (dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene—a breakdown product of DDT), in 63 percent of foods surveyed. Pesticides and herbicides in food have been linked to many cancers.

The most surprising aspect about our body burden is that we are at risk even before we are born.

A study conducted in 2005 by the Environmental Working Group in cooperation with the American Red Cross, examined the umbilical cord blood of newborns. They found that the average newborn has 200 different industrial chemicals, pollutants, and pesticides in their blood. These included over 70 known carcinogens (toxins that may cause cancer). Other studies have found high levels of the metals cadmium and mercury in the breast milk of nursing mothers.

As we grow up, we are exposed to seemingly benign compounds that are meant to benefit us, but instead have been shown to have longterm negative consequences. For example, the fluoride in our drinking water has been linked to osteosarcoma and hypothyroidism. Additionally, vaccinations, which undoubtedly prevent disease, may contain the mercury compound thimerosal that has been linked to the rise of autism in children.

What can be done? We need to look at both the prevention of toxicity and how to deal with the inherent rise in body burden that occurs from birth. A healthy diet containing a lot of raw foods has been shown to be beneficial. Of course, make sure these foods are washed properly to remove pesticides and herbicides that cling to the surface of fruits and vegetables. Air purifiers may remove particulate matter and lower exposure to some of the airborne toxins. Lastly, avoid seafood, which has been shown to have higher mercury levels— like tuna, marlin, and sea bass.

Aside from limiting our exposure, we should all be actively aiding our bodies in the elimination of these toxins. Most programs for systemic detoxification begin in the digestive tract with products that act either as laxatives or diuretics. These include the ubiquitous colon-cleansing products.

By helping our bodies remove waste quickly, it

may aid in lowering body burden over time.

The ongoing investigation is continuously finding more efficient ways of eliminating tissue-bound metals and excreting them without further burden to already weakened tissues and organs. By not addressing the underlying metals issue, treatments using natural approaches become merely palliative and symptomatic relief. Removal of the stressors to a system is always the ideal option to improving its functioning.

But we cannot ignore the metals issue any longer, particularly when a product as efficient and easy to use as zeolites is available to us. Zeolites form in nature as a result of a chemical reaction between volcanic lava and saline water. Zeolites have large open spaces or cages in their structures that form channels. These channels allow the easy movement of ions and molecules in and out of the structure. This ability puts zeolites in the class of materials known as “molecular sieves.”

Zeolite crystals have been grown on board the space shuttle and are undergoing extensive research into their formation and unique properties. Promising research using zeolites to clean up environmental radioactivity is also underway.

Also, the zeolites are excreted with the absorbed metallic cations maintaining isotonicity, or same ‘tone,’ as compared to other fluids in the body.

This means there is no dumping, re-intoxicating, or trapping of the metal ions on their way out, and the liver, kidney (particularly), and bowels are uncompromised.

But does that mean the liquid zeolite will eventually get to these deeper encapsulated areas with a heavier protocol (10 drops 3x/day/10 days), or do we wait for the appropriate confluence of therapeutic interventions, conditions, and psycho-emotional release and resolutions inducing the next healing moment? Answers to this will be coming soon; however, it is wise to invest in the current antidote found in Waiora’s Natural Cellular Defense (NCD), which has been clinically formulated to help support a healthy immune system, remove heavy metal toxins, and balance the body’s pH levels. NCD has been tested and is comprised of active, naturally occurring zeolites. Its activation process eliminates unwanted toxins and nearly all trace minerals from inside the pores.

Government officials and world leaders may be cracking down on unnecessary toxic distribution; however, awareness is the key in this deadly matter. And although science is extending the quantity of life, today’s aging population is more focused on extending the quality of life. Advancements in medicine and breakthroughs in nutritional science, such as NCD, are allowing us to do just that—live longer and age gracefully, even if that means we breathe toxic air on a daily basis. For more information on the Human Toxome Project and how to map your pollution, visit www.bodyburden.org for healthy options during the current toxic era.

DECEMBER 2008 • LOGOSSEVEN 21

RELATIONSHIPS v Love

Call It

Anthropology

22 LOGOSSEVEN • DECEMBER 2008

RELATIONSHIPS v Love

What the woman does during the busiest shopping season of the year reflects her yearly rewards and her husband’s call of duty.

by Mia Guerra

Prada, Coach, and Louis Vuitton are beckoning.

Signature features and prominent logos are on her mind as she heads for the latest from her favorite designers. Sometimes that special woman can go shopping alone. But it serves a two-fold mission in a woman’s world to bring along a friend: she can share the joy of discovering the latest fashions, and she can spy on (perhaps even sabotage) her competition in the race to be chic.

She hasn’t been studying Sun Tzu’s The Art of War, but the tactic of bringing in your enemy close enough to destroy her...comes natural to the fashion maven. Hunting and gathering the things that speak to her style create a palpable lust, a fierce look in the eye, a quicker gait, and

Vaughan. He can call his best friend to set a tee time because his TaylorMade golf clubs are leaning, looking unloved, in the corner of the garage. He takes the time to detail his Porsche to remove the fine Islamorada sand out of the crannies and crevices, where the detailer usually misses, and remembers the last speeding ticket he received [while he was driving his Porsche, not her Mercedes-Benz] and winces in pain.

ling life stories, and appeal to the core loyalists of their respective party bases. Their roles have shifted from gatherer, to hunter and gatherer.

Political strategist Dick Morris even recently wrote a book entitled “Condi vs. Hillary: The Next Great Presidential Race,” which details the strength of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and his view of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton’s “calculated” run for the presidency.

As she cruises the mall proudly, she knows she is just as well off without him, but knows life is so much sweeter with him. She can provide for herself; excels in her career and enjoys opulence and financial security. But yet, this does not

Women are so much more than a piece of real estate, and in today’s date, more then ever before, they need their man to stake his claim.

Her tendency to nurture comes from centuries of motherhood, and she wants to express this

...she knows she is just as well off without him,

but knows life is so much sweeter with him.

She can provide for herself; excels in her career and enjoys opulence and financial security. But yet, this

does not complete her. deliberate and confident gestures. That woman on a quest for the best is about to leave her dwelling and her man.

So what does HE do when she goes shopping?

He cooks on his Char-Broil Professional Series Stainless Steel Gas Grill to impress his buddies and himself. He sneaks out to the back patio and smokes a Cohiba Robusto—without interruption, without condemnation. He feels some anxiety about his perfectionism, his mortality, his middle age, and his humanness. It’s time for him to “cave.” He needs room and time to work through her latest demand-request, his latest career challenge, the needs of the children, the needs of parents coming into the autumn of their years, and the need he feels to express himself in a visceral way.

He flips the power switch on his Line 6 guitar amplifier and plugs in his Paul Reed Smith Santana II guitar. While she is shopping he can be Carlos Santana, Steve Miller, Peter Frampton, Eddie Van Halen, Angus Young, or Stevie Ray

complete her. She wants him to be the leader, to surpass her in income and in professional status.

A primal call to submit is heard, but does he get the message? The clothes and fancy things are merely acquisitions, and the stuff and fluff is just an accounting system in today’s competitive society; yet, it means so much to her.

Her roles have changed as she, Woman, has moved from submissive helpmeet [1950s housewife] to a stand-alone unit. Last year brought us a new television series, “Commander-in-Chief,” chronicling the professional and personal life of President Mackenzie Allen, the first female President of the United States. Geena Davis plays the role masterfully, seeking to push a centrist agenda in the face of a snarling House Speaker played by Donald Sutherland. “I really find the parts of myself that the character has. So I believe that we all have everything within us, the ability to be a killer or the girlfriend of an insect,” states Davis in a recent USA Today article.

You see, women are smart, driven, have compel-

nurturing instinct. Woman wants to rub Man on his head while reiterating that everything will be all right, coaxing him tactfully to steel himself up against the day’s challenges. While the battle of the sexes is high and strong in the corporate world, this woman hangs her boxing gloves before she enters her home’s front door. She wants to be that enigma who needs her feet rubbed; yet she needs to serve him a silent night while stroking his ego. There is a need for him to be dominant (not domineering), and she wants him to cry when they watch The Notebook together—like he cries when he watches The Shawshank Redemption by himself. She wants to be taken care of, at home; but she doesn’t want to be told what to do.

This Man, this overgrown boy who must step up and be a man has just been rewarded a new life challenge. And although Rice says she isn’t interested in running for president, she can change her mind. And if she does, the race will be very attractive, but the dating game and family matters will be the holistic study of humanity.

DECEMBER 2008 • LOGOSSEVEN 23

DEPARTMENT v Section

Time-Out versus Time-In

24 LOGOSSEVEN • DECEMBER 2008

RELATIONSHIPS v Family

Is there such a thing as learning how to fight? Hmm. Either we are getting more educated or simply fighting more? You be the judge.

W

hen you get right down to it, most arguments follow a pattern that’s all too familiar. Boiled down, the essence of many quarrels goes something like this: I’m right. You’re wrong. And I absolutely positively will not back down or change the subject until you admit it.

So many arguments are so pointless. They start over something small and dumb: He forgot to pick up milk on the way home. She criticized him in front of his mother. He made plans without asking her first.

But they quickly escalate: You never listen to me. You’re inconsiderate. You’re mean. You’re

arguments, the terms may not exactly be kind and gentle, the language not always respectful and there may not be closure, but the argument has a beginning and an end.

Stupid arguments are something else. They take the shape of loops, endlessly replaying the conflicts in your relationship without resolving them, says Wolf, author of Why Can’t You Shut Up?: How We Ruin Relationships—And How Not To. In the heat of the moment, the subject of the argument leaps from the original disagreement over how you parked the car to some global indictment of how selfish you are to how you’re just like your mother.

Winning the argument becomes the most im-

is no, it’s time to stop talking, no matter how angry you are.

Don’t repeat yourself. Making your point once is much more powerful than repeating it over and over again. This applies in work situations too. Think of yourself like a lawyer presenting a brief. Say what you think, then keep your mouth shut. “Anything further that you say at this point is going to screw up your best chance at a good outcome,” says Wolf.

Don’t respond to retorts that are designed to make you angry. Ignore them. If your partner or father or friend baits you by saying something like: “You’re just like your mother” or “You always say that!” recognize it for what it is and

“Arguments aren’t inherently bad.

Conflict is often how we sort out

what we really want from what we’re

willing to compromise on.” a loser.

In the midst of one of these arguments, you often find yourself demanding that your partner agree with you, insisting that she accept your interpretation of the facts, relentlessly pushing your point.

It’s mindless, it’s not going to work, and you know it. But you can’t stop.

At the moment, it seems absolutely unacceptable that this other person—whether it’s a mother, a husband or a best friend—disagrees. It’s an outgrowth of the basic need that we all have to be close to and understood by the people we love the most, says psychologist Anthony Wolf, Ph.D. During arguments, that feeling can get out of control.

Arguments aren’t inherently bad. Conflict is often how we sort out what we really want from what we’re willing to compromise on. In good

portant thing in the world. At that point, we’ll say anything—even when it’s mean, humiliating and damaging to the relationship.

How can you get out of this cycle?

First, you have to recognize the number one warning sign: The feeling that you absolutely must get your partner to see it your way. “The feeling is, ‘I can’t shut up, I can’t move on, and I can’t leave it,’” says Wolf. “Recognizing that feeling and giving it a label allows you to be able to step outside of it.” It comes from an irrational but powerful fear of being alone—of being misunderstood or abandoned by people we count on the most.

When you start to feel that you must at all costs get the other person to agree with you, you know you must stop arguing. Follow these guidelines: Think: Is there anything that could be gained from the argument at this point? If the answer

tune it out.

When you hand out advice, don’t require the other person to recognize it as the most brilliant suggestion ever. Just say it and move on.

Above all, get used to the idea that the best outcome of an argument is that it ends. Don’t cling to the unrealistic expectation that you’ll be able to resolve the problem or get the other person to see it your way. Conciliation doesn’t happen when two people are face to face, says Wolf. It happens in your own head, hours or days after the fight.

Maybe you’ll be able to resolve the issue a couple of weeks later, when the feelings have died down. But many arguments never to do get settled. That’s normal. “In the best relationships, there remain serious pockets of unresolved bitterness,” says Wolf. Learning how to argue—and learning how to stop—will prevent these disagreements from damaging your relationship.

DECEMBER 2008 • LOGOSSEVEN 25

SOLUTIONS v Finance

How To Repair a

Poor Credit Score Le a r n t h e s teps to increase your credit score and diminish debt, one day at a t i m e…

By Carol Bell

Having a poor credit score thus needing to repair it makes it even more complicated for the growing numbers of people in America who seems to be trapped in a crisis that’s almost becoming a national problem and that is having a hard time acquiring credit in many forms like credit cards, loans or even from renting. The unfortunate problem is that to rebuild your bad credit rating means you need to obtain credit, which is being refused and is a situation that must be overcome if you are to move forward.

While it still possible to obtain loans with poor credit scores, having to suffer its consequences such as paying a variety of fees and conditions and getting undesirable interest rates, which can be higher, can never be avoided.

Often these loans come with a ‘sting in the tail’ in the form of security on the home in addition to a higher interest rate so it is essential this is checked first so at least the person taking out the loan is aware of any conditions before they accept. To help the consumer with this, a number of internet sites have started to offer their services in the poor credit loan area by supplying information on the loan types, conditions and interest rates charged so it easy to choose the most preferential company.

This is also one of preventing your credit score 26 LOGOSSEVEN • DECEMBER 2008

from getting worse since your application will directly be recorded every time you do so as per timeframe will somehow lower your credit score.

Being decisive in this case is greatly recommended because if you tend to frequently change your mind upon choosing the company to make applications for a loan then you will just end up putting yourself into a more complicated situation or even worst.

Agencies in charge of monitoring your credit that can also help you rebuild your credit scores frequently check most of your transactions to where it is easy to locate and that is through any of your purchase or transactions made using your credit card which is also one of the best ways to rebuild a poor credit rating.

Given that issuing credit cards to someone with a poor credit history can also be a risk to credit card issuers, it is more likely for them to make you fall for their own set of terms and guidelines so find the one with the best terms and conditions along with the lowest interest rate offered. Some credit cards have a high income level for applicants so be careful before you apply for a credit card which requires a higher income than you receive as it will be wasted and will go against your credit score.

Normally, once you have used your credit card in a responsible manner for a while, the finance com-

pany will raise your credit limit but you should refuse this as it could just put further temptation in your way.

Although many people may not be able to qualify for a home loan, despite the fact they may need the money for important remodeling work, using a home loan can be another method to improve a credit score. But for those who really cant make it, they should at least try applying for a loan from a bad credit mortgage lender who should be able to help. Aside from considering a particular interest rate when deciding for a mortgage, one should also bear in mind that there may be other charges on an annual basis, as well as any penalties that can be incurred so awareness for those can just save you tons of worries.

Do not despair because no matter how bad your financial situation is there are still options available in the form of bad credit loans, credit cards, and sometimes it is even possible to get an auto loan in these circumstances. In extreme cases where the above methods may not be possible, the next step is to seek advice from a debt counselor who may well suggest the best way out of your situation is to apply for a debt consolidation loan. For more information, visit www.beatbaddebt.co.uk or www.beatbaddebt.co.uk/blog.

SOLUTIONS v Finance

Powerful Steps

Gets You Closer to the Job

With today’s economy and people fighting to stay in a job, it’s no reason why more and more of us are stressing to get a new job or…a job (period). With these helpful points, you are sure to score a perfect 10.

Request more face-to-face meetings. During boom times, it might be okay to rely on phone conversations and e-mails with networking contacts and recruiters. But right now, “people need to have more in-person meetings, in order to gather more information and make a better impression,” says Annie Stevens, Managing Partner at Boston-based executive coaching firm ClearRock (www.clearrock.com).

Polish the hidden job market. “In good times, only about 20% of available positions are ever advertised or posted. In a slower economy, even fewer jobs than that are publicly announced in any way, because employers don’t want to be inundated with resumes,” Stevens says. So dig deeper into uncovering unadvertised openings through networking, and by contacting potential employers directly. Whenever possible, register on companies’ websites to receive e-mail updates about new openings that fit your experience and skills.

Step up your job-search activity. “The sheer numbers of letters and phone calls also need to increase,” says Greg Gostanian, Managing Partner at ClearRock. “Plan on making up to 40 phone calls a week, and sending out between 15 and 20 letters to prospective employers, recruiters, and others. It’s important to keep quality in mind when developing these contacts, but there’s no question that part of this process is a numbers game.

In a slower economy, you need to better your odds by making more contacts.”

Spend very little of your time on Internet job boards and help-wanted ads. It’s fine to keep an eye on the job boards and post your resume on job sites, especially niche sites that specialize in your industry or your area of expertise. But don’t waste away on too many hours online….the Internet is a wise tool, but an addicting source of distraction.

Try to be as flexible as you can. With so much uncertainty in the air, employers may not be jumping to offer you a full-time job at the salary you have in mind.

Instead, they might propose contract or project work, bringing you on-board part time or hiring you full time at less than what you were hoping to earn. If you can possibly afford to, at least for a few months, accept what they’re offering, especially if it’s at a company where you see growth and the potential for bigger opportunities later.

Consider relocating. Job candidates who are willing to move are in even shorter supply than usual these days…

Take advantage of social networking sites. If you are not already, tap into one of the following or all: LinkedIn, Facebook, Friendster, and MySpace to re-connect with old acquaintances and make new ones, this would be a good time to start.

Know who you are and believe in yourself. When struggling to get a job we tend to stop believing in ourselves, which is indeed a very wrong attitude.

Instead, believe in yourself, more than ever, and turn to higher help for guidance, patience, and control.

Many turn to prayers or even Bible studies to assist in strengthening their faith…this works, and is a sure fitted investment for this coming job and your future; plus it’s quality-guaranteed.

DECEMBER 2008 • LOGOSSEVEN 27

Self-Made 28 LOGOSSEVEN • DECEMBER 2008

America

ooks are just one avenue to a brandnew you. From seminars to CDs to personal coaching, the self-improvement industry in America ranks at approximately $9.6 billion, which commercializes a new you in a matter of days and predicts double-digit annual growth. This business of self-improvement provides well-being, insight, and wisdom to a mass of individuals, primarily on a come-one-come-all basis; that is, if you are ready for a shift of consciousness. As best-selling authors and highly acclaimed teachers, as well as film and television speakers, these individuals embody the industry. They are doctors, philosophers, metaphysical geniuses, healers, motivational speakers, and clairvoyants.

An opportunist band of self-help celebrities are riding that wave, building empires based on the proposition that its approach can change lives.

With smart marketing and growing acceptance by mainstream authors like Dr. Wayne Dyer, Anthony Robbins, and Dr. John Gray their amassing fortunes rival those of Hollywood moguls. Their rising popularity raises essential question. And the first would have to be, who buys these materials and why?

a Coral Gables executive and self-help fan. But are many religions quite as relevant today? Isaiah never discussed balancing work and family; how can ancient Scriptures compete with breezy reads like Jack Canfield’s Chicken Soup for the Soul?

Self-help has long been ridiculed as overly simplistic psychobabble, but each day brings more testimonials; even psychotherapists offer measured endorsements. And as more people adopt these teachings as quasi religions, some adherents say their belief systems are no less valid than those based on that older collection of maxims, the Ten Commandments. This much is clear: if success is the goal, the gurus have found it.

Many believe that Anthony Robbins leads the pack. Of all the gurus, he’s most focused on the Internet. Three summers ago Robbins took control of a publicly traded shell company whose stock cost pennies a share and announced plans to build a self-improvement website, Dreamlife. com. “It’s one thing to offer Tony Robbins on the Internet. It’s another thing to say let’s create the ultimate megasite, which we call Dreamlife.com, where you can take any dream you want and turn it into reality; where you can learn not only from Tony Robbins, but from anyone you can imagine,

Camp David to pump up President Clinton. But the podium is his true calling.

At a mega-event in Hartford, Connecticut, Robbins act was, as always, part church revival, part rock show, all centered on his core message: train your mind to achieve “outstanding performance,” the same way athletes tone muscles to hit home runs. A few times each hour the music rises and Robbins roams the stage, jumping and pumping his fists while speakers blast upbeat rock like Tina Turner’s “Simply the Best.” Ten thousand fans (general admission: $995, executive pricing starts at $1295) leap, Rocky-style, arms in the air.

After three hours the lights dim. Ten thousand hands raise and repeat Robbins’ pledge dozens of times. “I am the voice. I will lead, not follow...

Defy the odds. Step up! Step up! Step up! I am the voice...” It’s a scene that’s easy to mock, but like pro wrestlers or televangelists, the self-help celebrities are polarizing. People believe their message or think they’re totally bogus.

When 22-year-old Nanette Carmichael told friends she’d walked on hot coals at a Robbins seminar last summer, “they kind of rolled their eyeballs,” she says. “They think I’m nuts.” But

“Isaiah never discussed

balancing work and family; how can ancient Scriptures compete with breezy reads like Jack Canfield’s

Chicken Soup for the Soul?”

Most of us will agree that current media messages confuse who we are and plant the seed of clueless factors within the Self; leaving too much room for dissatisfaction and that yearning desire for more, more, more yet always feeling empty. And if you reside in South Florida, you will also agree that our region has become a hub for multicultural communication, therefore more confusion and more unsatisfied quenches.

Researchers say female baby boomers are the biggest customers, but self-help seminars are populated by all races, ages, and professions, including males. Many adherents are well educated, hold good jobs, and lead lives that appear pretty fulfilling. But once again, something’s missing.

Gurus and followers alike cite the same forces.

The simpler world of yesteryear lasting marriages, clear-cut career paths, and rock-solid religious beliefs has been replaced by stress, dysfunction, and doubt. That’s leading many people to seek a new compass. “People used to go to priests, pastors or rabbis for guidance,” says Clark Rawls,

the very best in the field, in relationships, finance, spirituality. And so what we did is we formed a company, and we took our company public, and it’s been very successful,” he explained on CNN’s Larry King Live. The site still isn’t operational, but investors don’t seem to mind. In many occasions its stock stood at $16 a share, putting Robbins’ stake at more than $300 million.

Robbins rose to prominence in the 80s as a motivational speaker who taught people to walk across hot coals. He penned two best sellers back then, but gained real fame in the early 90s on latenight television. At 6 feet 7, with a drill sergeant’s jaw line and a smile bigger than Jimmy Carter’s, Robbins is strangely handsome. But his infomercials cheesy classics of the get-rich-quick genre made him a walking punch line. “With infomercials, you’re in the midst of spray-on hair and kitchen mops,” he said on CNN grimacing. “But the benefits outweighed the downsides.” Soon he was consulting with pro athletes like Andre Agassi and the LA Kings. Then, in 1994, he visited

Carmichael, who’s been listening to Robbins’ tapes since she was nine, says they’ve helped her concentrate more and do better in school. To create more unabashed fans like Carmichael, the gurus aim for mainstream acceptance. It’s a goal best achieved by Stephen Covey. In The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, he urges people to “Be Proactive” and “Think Win/Win.” That message has won him a huge following throughout corporate America. He attributes it to his system’s effectiveness, but it’s also due to his credentials (a Harvard M.B.A. and years as a business professor), his consultant-like focus on fixing corporate cultures, and the testimonials he garners.

At Hard Rock Café, where every manager is put through Covey’s regimen, turnover is half the industry average. At Intel, the Habits help noncommunicative techies speak a common language.

People who think this is so much blather would be surprised by how many mainstream followers Covey attracts. Consider the number of uniforms at a Covey conference. More than 470 attendees DECEMBER 2008 • LOGOSSEVEN 29

are military officers or government workers, their $1895 admission and travel paid for with tax dollars. Among them: 18 staffers from the Clark City, Ohio Department of Human Services, where they’re spending $60,000 in an attempt to teach the “7 Habits” to troubled families and welfare recipients. Taxpayers may object, says the Clark City program’s coordinator, Kerry Pedraza, but “we’re being fiscally responsible, trying to prevent problems, teaching families to be families.”

tion” and distribute his books at 500 smaller workshops each month. He recently launched a “Men are from Mars...” syndicated talk show and currently published Mars and Venus Together Forever: Relationship Skills for Lasting Love. He’s planning an expanded website offering “romantic accessories,” from candles and aromatherapy to flowers and lingerie. “I’m actually thinking of buying some flower farms in Ecuador” to help supply it, he says.

For up-and-coming gurus, entrenched stars like Robbins and Covey can make this a tough industry to enter. Some respond by staying focused on

To promote new ventures, he keeps a database of 800,000 followers. Helping couples is a nice niche, but lately spiritual self-help has become the

of the books are in the category of self-help. The next question is, what are we searching for?

Historians describe how 18th- and 19th-century self-improvement focused on character virtues.

In the mid-20th century, they say, the movement took a turn that reduced its popularity. “It became more therapeutic, less concerned with education, but that’s everywhere, not just South Florida,” says University of Miami historian Jeyces Tatamanti. “Therapeutic” implies that devotees had a problem that needed fixing, creating a stigma.

Today some trend watchers including the gurus themselves detect a subtle shift back toward an

If you search Amazon.com for

self-help books, you will find 71,389 results.

If you ever wondered if our society had

too much sex on their mind; in mere awe or surprise only 12,110 results were given under the category of sex.

small niches. Suze Orman, a former stockbroker who’s rocketed up best-seller lists with books that combine advice on IRAs and prenups with discussion of people’s deep emotional connections to money, says she’d never consider expanding into, say, relationship advice. That might dilute her brand. But there’s a downside: “How many new things can you say about money?” she asks.

But gurus who diversify build bigger empires.

Consider Dr. John Gray, the former Hindu monk who wrote Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus, a book on how the genders communicate differently.

Today Gray preaches on everything from sex to parenting to all-round success and his admissions usually start at $109. Much of the session consists of Gray’s recycling tales from his books. Later in the afternoon Gray dims the lights and orders participants to pair up, hold hands, and pretend to speak to their fathers. They weep over childhood slights as assistants pass out tissues. During breaks, participants crowd tables to buy books and tapes. Those book sales are just one source of Gray’s $16 million-a-year income stream. He charges $50,000 per speech and he continues to train “facilitators,” who pay him for “certifica30 | LOGOSSEVEN | logossevenmagazine.com

industry’s real growth segment. “The source of happiness is within the Self. The more you share happiness with others, the more you will know it, but first you must know the Self,” says Gray. He may best be known for his contribution to marriage and relationships; however, when Gray was highlighted in Rhonda Byrne’s film, The Secret, he expressed his visions and manifestations go far beyond the scope of one single phenomenon, known as the law of attraction. “Put awakening in the process. The Guru is the Self,” he adds.

Despite booming business, there will always be nonbelievers. Better or worse, more people seem destined to give these ideas a try.

If you search Amazon.com for self-help books, you will find 71,389 results. If you ever wondered if our society had too much sex on their mind; in mere awe or surprise only 12,110 results were given under the category of sex. Yet, the audiobook industry continues to grow too. Whether it is in a CD or cassette format, Amazon’s search for self-help contained 11,646 versus the category of health, mind, and body, which resulted in 2476 searches; literature and fiction came up with 2216 searches; parenting and families gave 865 results.

And out of Amazon’s 100 Bestseller’s list, 80%

era in which self-improvement becomes less like therapy and more like physical training: stigmafree, beneficial for anyone.

“It’s a lifestyle now,” said Robbins once again on CNN. “It’s gone from being the thing somebody did when they have a problem to the thing you do if you’re a peak performer.” And there’s no time like the new millennium to pump up your life. So act now. The gurus are standing by.”

Those who believe are regular people; they are searching for practical tips on navigating complicated relationships and work lives. They are all searching for self-fulfillment, and let’s admit it…we are all searching for love. None of what they read becomes gospel; rather, they mix and match mantras the way golfers use golf tips. “It’s all about Divine Love. We are divine designs; merely specs in a testing zone during our mortal experience,” says Dr. John Demartini, creator of the Breakthrough Experience derived from a study of Quantum Physics. “Since 17, I was on a quest for mastery of my own life. I had a vision to travel the world and maximize human potential.

After 35 years, I have given over 400 speeches, 1000 radio, television, and media interviews in

50 countries, and reached over 1 billion people, traveling 300 days per year.”

Fulfillment means accomplishment, achievement, realization or completion. The word implies an ending of sorts, and therefore the implication that one “finds fulfillment” is inaccurate at best. Fulfillment comes from a sense of “being,” not from an ending. Joanie A. Fernandez, M.S.W and fellow contributing writer believes there are three important elements (that can be taken in steps) to live a life of fulfillment: want fearlessly; act courageously; and be willing.

As long as we are more focused on what we don’t want, instead of what we do want, fulfillment will always be one step ahead of us. Once we recognize we are in a place of desire, it’s essential to take the next step and want that desire fearlessly.

By wanting something fearlessly, including money, we begin moving the desire into the positive realm where we will be more receptive to guidance. “The secret is, money comes easily and frequently; you must be responsible and unafraid of success,” proclaims Loral Langemeier, one of the presenters of The Secret. “My program initiated 100 millionaires in one year.” Langemeier believes we should control our own conversations, create positive thoughts, and make daily affirmations like, ‘you’re worth it.’

Dr. Wayne Dyer, best-selling author and speaker on the Power of Intention, says, “When I chased after money, I never had enough. When my life followed purpose, then I was prosperous.” Dyer explains that it’s all about how valuable and meaningful you feel you are inside, the true Self—not due to success or money, “but because you decide to believe it and for no other reason.” This leads to the next questions, why is the self-help industry so successful? Is it due to the gurus’ walk of life or mainly because we are natural creatures who have limited time and lots of pride?

Although meeting with a psychologist is perhaps one of the most beneficial experiences any human being can undergo, our fast-paced lives require a degree on multitasking. If we as individuals can sit in the comfort of our home and read a

motivational book or listen to Dr. Phil while we drive to and from places, we are achieving success for the Self, while dealing with our regular workday. And as for pride, the original sin, name one person who is proud of informing their need for help? Imagine AA group meetings, we have seen them in the movies or live and in person, they start with an introduction of name and Selfstatus…why? Because this is the hardest fact to admit and it’s easier to blend with those who share a common denominator.

We have already spoken about books and audio books, but what about self-help merchandising?

Repetition works and in this industry repetition is a key factor. Carrying a special message throughout the day succeeds. Philosophy is a beauty lifestyle brand that celebrates feeling well and living joyously. Endorsed by doctors and celebrities, Philosophy wants to inspire you to live a better life by being better to yourself. They offer a lifestyle makeover that celebrates the idea that there is only one of you in this world and that you must honor your existence. And if PostIt would design already made self-help messages on their wonderful stickies, a) I wouldn’t have to spend more time throughout my day writing out messages and b) I would want a cut out of the idea. In conclusion, self-help is needed because the Self is worthy of praise, hence continuous assistance from the self-help industry and its gurus, of course.

“On some level I have always been searching for something,” says Kyle Bloomberg, self-help advocate and Palm Beach stockbroker, “only I didn’t know what it was until I was older.”

Bloomberg’s search for meaning ignited when he was in college. Way before The Secret his mother gave him Shakti Gawain’s Creative Visualization, and once he read the book, he learned that what you focus on becomes reality. Since then, he’s read widely from the self-improvement canon. He has attended self-help seminars and feels they are a wonderful introduction to different methods of aligning the Self’s path to self-help. To help colleagues and even family catch that spirit, Bloomberg speaks on the universal word trust and has his own version of

visualization. “Whatever comes after the word trust, depends on the actual person’s beliefs and their language of understanding,” he says. “But, what you put out into the world, is what you will receive. For example, if you put out negativity, if you put out fear, if you put out happiness, that is what you will receive.” He also promotes the price of self-help and believes that sacrificing anything in order to help you on your journey is the wrong attitude. “It’s not about having a lack or losing something. The journey is priceless.

It’s about understanding there is no sacrifice when helping the Self.”

So the million-dollar question is as follows: If there is no sacrifice when helping the Self, why are we, the people still unhappy, and why are we making the self-help industry so successful? Doesn’t that bring up another question?

If the self-help industry is grandly successful, and more money is being spent on creating the newfound help for the Self, is all of this effort truly working?

Two years ago, a Christian author, speaker made practical sense. He said, “If your new iMac breaks, you take it to the Genius Bar…but what happens when human beings break? Doctors may help, yes; however, the Creator who created the humans owns the right to fix, heal, repair, relax, rejuvenate, and reconstruct.”

I don’t know what you believe, but when it comes to credentials and certifications, by far, our Creator holds the highest doctorate degrees, the highest tangible proofs, and real-living witnesses of his grand recovery system. The great hope of all Christian labor and perseverance is that one day every knee will bow before the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the Son of the Creator, king of the universe, and the rightful ruler of the world. Why would we then not turn to the one who created the Self and provided our breath of life for help? Rather then selfhelp, let’s rebel and form a new category in Barnes and Noble and Amazon. We are proud to present, the newly established genre with more than 100,000 years of successful track record: His Help Industry.

“As long as we are more

focused on what we don’t want, instead of what we do want,

fulfillment will always be one step ahead of us.

Once we recognize we are in a place of desire, it’s essential to take the next step and

want that desire fearlessly.”

logossevenmagazine.com | LOGOSSEVEN | 31

32 | LOGOSSEVEN | logossevenmagazine.com

Live Life

Reevaluating your life and combating stress may be the best New Year’s resolution you can envision and achieve.

by Joanie A. Fernandez, MSW DECEMBER 2008 • LOGOSSEVEN 33

T

oday, with longer work hours, larger work loads, financial worries, and overextended calendars, Americans are facing stress on a daily basis. In fact, stress response is putting lives in danger.

According to Simon Astor, D.O.M., of Iluma Center for Health, the average life expectancy in the United States has consistently increased, and unfortunately so has the rate of chronic degenerative diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.

pumping through the bloodstream. This constant high level of stress hormones causes dangerous, even deadly, effects on the body. The physical problems related to chronic stress include the lowering of the immune system response, chronic muscle tension, and increased blood pressure. These problems can eventually lead to illnesses such as heart attacks, kidney disease, and cancer. Other health problems that may be caused by stress are diarrhea, nausea, indigestion, sphincter or Oddi spasms, spastic colon, irritable bowel syndrome, constipation, colds

for Cognitive Therapy in California, with the heavy use and ease of obtaining credit cards, an individual with this addiction believes he or she can go on forever. There is a sense of control when spending credit, not money, on everything that an individual desires. These behaviors may produce beta-endorphins in the brain, which makes the person feel “high.”

Reports suggest that if a person continues to engage in the activity to achieve this feeling of well-being and euphoria, he or she may get into an addictive cycle.

“...New Year’s resolutions are composed as a

response to something wrong, a negative behavior.

The key to establishing a successful resolution is to frame it in a positive light...”

“As American’s live longer lives they are also getting more sick. Physicians and scientists have struggled to unravel the cause of these diseases in an attempt to stop or even reverse their devastating effects,” states Dr. Astor. “The reality, however, is that these chronic diseases are a result of so many different factors, too numerous for any one treatment to be effective. The combination of lifestyle, environment, genetics, and emotional wellbeing have all been lumped together under the term “stress” to try to bring order to this overwhelming problem,” he adds Stress, or more accurately, the body’s response to it, is a necessary act when a person is faced with stressful or dangerous situations. The brain signals the release of stress hormones into the body. These hormones are essential to prepare the body to either fight or escape the danger.

Concentration becomes more focused, reaction times become quicker, and strength and agility increase. Then, when the danger has passed, the hormones dissipate and body functions return to normal. This whole process of the body’s response to a stressful situation is commonly known as the “fight or flight” response. R.C. Eng’s Alcohol and Other Drugs: Self Responsibility states that when brain chemicals are elicited by the “fight or flight” response, they, in turn, cause the following: an acceleration of the heart rate; a dilation of coronary arteries, bronchial tubes, and the pupils; an increase in the force of heart contractions, the rate of metabolism, level of anxiety, gastrointestinal motility, and the rate and depth of respiration; and a decrease in fatigue and salivation.

Stress becomes a problem when a person is in a constant state of stress and the body is forced to function with a high level of stress hormones 34 LOGOSSEVEN • DECEMBER 2008

and sinus infections, vaginal yeast infections, bladder infections, fiber myalgia, arthritis, high blood pressure, heart disease, hyperventilation, asthma, headaches, and migraines.

Individuals are not only affected by prolonged stress in a physical aspect, but may also experience psychological problems. “Although anxiety disorders are the ones most closely linked to stress, stress can be a part of all disorders,” states Janette Beraha, L.M.H.C., of Beraha Counseling Centre.

“When psychologists make a diagnosis they must follow what is known as the 5 Axis’s. Axis I is assigned to clinical disorders, Axis II to personality disorders, Axis III to general medical conditions, and Axis V is the global assessment of functioning scale. Axis IV is assigned to “psychosocial and environmental problems.” In other words, Axis IV is specifically designed to spell out all psychosocial and environmental stressors that might affect or influence the primary diagnosis,” she adds.

Many of these problems occur when the coping response to stressful situations is not successful.

According to Alcohol and Other Drugs: Self Responsibility, many of the psychological problems that individuals encounter during stressful situations include alcoholism; drug use; excessive gambling or spending; smoking, sexual or eating dysfunctions; excessive amounts of work or exercise; compulsive disorders; and suicidal/self-mutilation behaviors.

The reason these behaviors become psychological problems is because they become addictive.

Take a spending addiction, for example. An individual with this addiction pays whatever it takes to get whatever he or she wants. According to Arthur Horvath, Ph.D., of the Center

Furthermore, addictive behavior is a habit that is learned over time through a process of trial and error or personal observation. Through this process, a habit forms only if there is at least a portion of the experience that is pleasurable. It is unlikely that a person will become addicted to a substance or activity that did not provide at least a small amount of pleasure. Dr. Horvath states that addictions either elevate a mood or decrease a negative mood. The pleasure of the addiction can block out unwanted emotions or feelings, such as those felt during stressful moments. When used in this manner, the addiction is more of a coping response to a certain situation or circumstance that may progress into a habit.

How do you know if you’re addicted? A better question for an individual struggling to know if he or she is addicted may be, is my enjoyment of this substance or activity causing me enough problems that I want to consider cutting back or stopping? Is this behavior preventing me from enjoying even better and higher pleasures? Is this behavior causing me even more stress in my life?

According to Dr. Horvath, to properly answer these questions, an individual should gain insight from others such as family, friends, coworkers, and health-care professionals. More often than not, it is difficult for someone experiencing a pleasurable experience to look objectively at a potential addiction.

Taking time to learn about the specific stressors that an individual thinks he or she may be suffering from is important to ensure that there is an understanding of the risks to emotional, physical, and psychological well-being.

As we approach a season when individuals tend to reevaluate their lives and make new commitments to improve their well-being, people

should start taking immediate steps in their daily lives to reduce stress and combat the effects of long-term stress. But is it realistic to make “relieve stress” or “quit stress,” a New Year’s resolution?

Beraha believes that more often than not, New Year’s resolutions do not last. However, this is not only related to those New Year’s resolutions involving stress… most popular New Year’s resolutions are: quitting smoking, weight loss, quitting drinking, etc. Why don’t they usually

According to the American Medical Association, the following are strategies that can be easily incorporated into your daily routine and serve as resolutions: Eliminate unnecessary activities—review your schedule to uncover an activity or two that can be eliminated or cut back.

Make a list—having a physical list of to-dos as opposed to a mental note reduces your stress level. Marking the tasks off as they are completed

Relax—setting aside 20 minutes to 30 minutes a day for relaxation can dramatically reduce the levels of stress hormones in the bloodstream.

Find a quiet place and read a book, take a walk, daydream, or meditate.

It is important to set realistic expectations and to have a good balance of these activities.

The key is to effectively reduce your stress and help promote a healthier future. It simply takes reevaluating your life and allowing yourself to live... and not let your life take control

“As American’s live longer lives they are also getting more sick.. ” work? Because of various reasons. “For starters, as human beings, we have the innate quality to rebel; even from those things that will bring us joy, happiness, or health. If you give yourself a command, the first response will usually be to rebel specially because you are trying to break away from something you enjoy,” says Beraha.

“Second, usually New Year’s resolutions are composed as a response to something wrong, a negative behavior. The key to establishing a successful resolution is to frame it in a positive light, to pick a behavior that has a high chance of success, to be realistic about your goal, and to respect your resolution as something important,” she adds.

gives you a mental boost of accomplishment.

Find a hobby—doing something you enjoy gives the mind and body down-time that it can use to fight the effects of long-term stress.

Exercise—in addition to the well-known health benefits of daily activity, exercise releases feelgood hormones into the bloodstream that can counteract the effects of stress hormones.

Eat right—the extra vitamins a healthy diet provides can go a long way toward helping the body repair the damage it suffers from longterm stress.

of you.“The reality is, there will always be stress,” states Dr. Astor. “We actually need it.

Without stress we couldn’t or wouldn’t exist.

The effects of stress, however, either positive or negative, has a lot to do with how we perceive the stress and the steps we take to manage it. A person who handles stress through over eating, smoking or expressing anger, will experience a toxic, draining and negative reaction. In contrast, a person who handles the same stress through exercise, meditation, yoga, acupuncture, art, and communication, will experience growth and an increase in energy and wellbeing. I know which path I chose. Which will you?”

DECEMBER 2008 • LOGOSSEVEN 35

Rich THE

Responsibility Will the sin of covetousness destroy and kill the plan that Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy once had for America?

By Mia Guerra ccording to Wikipedia, there are various forms of responsibility.

Responsibility assumption; collective responsibility; corporate social responsibility; corporate responsibility; diffusion of responsibility; media; ministerial; moral; professional; single responsibility principle; and social responsibility. There is even a Statue of Responsibility Foundation, which plans to construct the Statue of Responsibility monument by 2010. The $300 million statue is currently being funded by private donations. By whom? Largely the rich, of course. You see, we too have to pay the price for being wealthy, and it’s not necessarily restricted to the luxury tax. But will a statue define the true intent of the rich responsibility?

Our responsibility needs to go to our family, our circle of friends, and beyond. Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, for example, was and still is considered one of our nation’s matriarchs. She was honored by the Women’s International Center for her strength, faith, and sacrifices, and for her dedication to motherhood. By giving so much to her children, she gave to all of us. Well-known for her philanthropic efforts, her life and work 36 LOGOSSEVEN • DECEMBER 2008

with the Special Olympics is documented in the Oscar-nominated short documentary Rose Kennedy: A Life to Remember. In this film, Rose Kennedy’s glory is defined by the true meaning of the word woman. Her support and guidance toward her husband and children helped shape 20th century politics. Interestingly enough, the root to her lesson plans consisted of the rich responsibility, which was her daily intent to living a purposeful life.

And then, there is greed. Greed can take over the soul like a swarm of African killer bees. We seem to complain how voracious and self-centered our neighbors are, but when was the last time you actually realized you are, in fact, classified as a blood-sucking hungry beast trying to win that last straw? Don’t think I am pointing the finger straight at you. I too, am guilty of selfpreservation; it’s our human nature, but why?

Power, position, and possessions are perilous poisons for any person. We are born, become educated, earn or in some cases inherit material possessions—wealth—and then we die.

Some families may place a ring or two on that lifeless finger, but what type of wealth is truly taken past the walls of death? In actuality, I have never seen anyone successfully transport his or

her favorite Porsche 911 Carrera to the afterlife; wherever that may be.

Last year in November, The Ultimate Gift launched in select theaters and is now available on DVD. If Rose Kennedy herself, were still alive today, this film would probably be amongst her Top 10. The film was an adaptation of the best-selling book about a billionaire, played by James Garner, who forces his grandson to learn the value of helping others before he can claim his inheritance. Along the way, the young man learns there’s more to life than money and other truths his gramps wants to be remembered for.

As I learned a few years back, giving doesn’t just feed the organization you’re supporting; it feeds your financial soul.

In MONEY magazine’s 2002 survey on money and happiness, conducted by RoperASW for Jean Chatzky’s book The 10 Commandments of Financial Happiness, they found that people who regularly make charitable contributions are happier, more confident, and more content than those who do not. And a legacy, rather than sporadic donations, is one of the best and most meaningful ways to be generous.

On the contrary to family businesses leaving a

birthright, Nicole Nordeman’s “Legacy” song tells of the satisfaction of being in the limelight,

helped the economy back then, and the impact is still fine and alive today. Carver is responsible

animalistic legacy of his evolutionary past, and progress to a world in which our better angels

Change can be facilitated by the wealthy

that are willing to make a difference. yet how grand to live for a greater cause by ignoring the temporary trappings of this world.

Change can be facilitated by the wealthy that are willing to make a difference. Rose Kennedy believed material possessions may have the owner’s lifespan; however, it’s our responsibility to provide our society a gift and contribution that will outlive a lifetime.

We know of the legacies left behind by Benjamin Franklin and Albert Einstein, but we find little or no credit given to Eadweard Muybridge, known as the Father of the Motion Picture; two African American men, Phil Brooks who patented a disposable syringe, and George Washington Carver, a man who declined an invitation to work for a salary of more than $100,000 a year during the early 1900s (almost a million dollars today), then discovered three hundred uses for peanuts and hundreds more uses for soybeans, pecans, and sweet potatoes.

He opted out of a huge paying salary for “him” in order to leave a lasting impression on societies to come. His recipes and improvements

for creating adhesives, axle grease, bleach, buttermilk, chili sauce, fuel briquettes, ink, instant coffee, linoleum, mayonnaise, meat tenderizer, metal polish, paper, plastic, pavement, shaving cream, shoe polish, synthetic rubber, talcum powder, and wood stain.

Today we have leaders like Bill Gates and Warren Buffett who successfully practice the rich responsibility. Although we have mentioned Buffett many times in the past, his virtues are old-fashioned and have succeeded the right way.

His non-sleazy tactics have made him an icon among the business and political arenas. Buffett once commented, “I want to give my kids just enough so that they would feel that they could do anything, but not so much that they would feel like doing nothing.”

Many agree to disagree with Dennis Miller; however, his stance on greed promotes a wow factor amongst us all. He once said in a speaking engagement, “selfishness is a topic that must be taken seriously if mankind is to cast off the

are freed to share their glowing light with a peaceful world.”

During B.C. and right after the turning point for A.D., the focus on the poor and the rich’s responsibility for the poor was essential for the nation of Israel. The higher power goal was always to alleviate hostility. Despite this, today religious coalitions in America listed President Bush’s tax cuts for the rich its No. 1 legislative priority.

There are more than 5000 references about the responsibility to alleviate poverty. When will all clergy and their congregations focus on issues like protecting our earth, the immorality of discriminating against any child, the moral imperative of truth, caring for the sick ad infinitum? Until these issues become our focus, the rich leading the poor will never follow the will of authentic goodness and peace. The Kennedy’s hopes, similar to Buffett’s desire for our nation’s rich, is to see past the most pampered, consumerist society since the Roman Empire, yet the mother of sin doesn’t just face America, it’s an international affair.

“Greed can take over the soul

like a swarm of African killer bees.

We seem to complain how

voracious and self-centered

our neighbors are, but when was the last time you actually realized you are, in fact, classified as a

blood-sucking hungry beast trying to win that last straw?”

DECEMBER 2008 • LOGOSSEVEN 37

38 LOGOSSEVEN • DECEMBER 2008

In High Spirits versus

Commercialized Happiness Happiness, When do we get there? How do we get there? Is it even attainable?

By Colton A.M. Creber

These questions and thousands of others exactly like them are ones that can haunt us for entire lifetimes. They all have the same common theme, which is the desire to be happy in ones life. So the real question we all chase is: What does it take to become truly happy? Happiness is something that has been commercialized too much to fit a general label. We all go and see movies with beautiful actors pretending they are in the perfect relationship and that happily ever after always works out.

This soon becomes the image of true happiness, the stereotypical version, but is it really?

Happiness should not be considered a label. Each individual person is unique and spectacular and capable of many amazing things. This fact reveals there can be no one thing that makes us all truly happy. It does not exist as a universal truth; instead, it is dependant on the type of person you are and what makes you content in the little time we afforded here on Earth. Although happiness is indefinable, it is indeed attainable.

A personal survey was conducted in preparation for this article. I asked five completely unrelated people to summarize what they believe makes

and another person off the street in Canada, and ask them what makes them happy the answer will not be the same. There is a simple process that can lead to finding your very own road, leading to your very own happily ever after.

First, you need to find yourself and discover your identity. Man or woman, old or young, you are never too old to do this. Once you find yourself and discover who you really are the things you want in life and the things that will make you happy become much easier to see. Now how do you find yourself you may ask? You have to push your comfort levels. Go out and encounter an adventure. Experience new things you have never tried before and learn the things that make you tick. This is something people spend way too much time of their lives not doing; don’t be the person who passes up that opportunity.

Second: Do what you love. This may seem like an obvious one but you would be surprised how often people do not do this. We live in a cosmetic, commercial, monetary world where people loose track of what’s really important. Don’t get a job just because of the money and be miserable along

Lastly, someone to share it with... Whatever your preference may be this step is important. Whether this is a significant other or just a close group of friends, people are always at their best when they know that they are not alone in this world. Everybody needs to be cared for and everybody needs to feel like they are important.

It takes years and years to figure all of these things out; nevertheless, we are given this life and we are given the opportunity to walk down all of these roads. It would be selfish of us to stand at the fork in the road with our arms crossed whining that the right avenue has not been revealed to us. We have to find it ourselves and allow the Lord up above to guide us.

There are some days, where we struggle. Where everything seems to have gone wrong and the only thing we can think about is giving up on life and accepting our seemingly unhappy fate. But we don’t, we never do. And guess what? There is a reason for that. Deep, deep down inside us, everybody knows there is a greater reason and a greater good. We are capable of achieving incredible things as a race and as individuals, plus we

Everybody

needs to be cared for and everybody needs to feel like they are

important.

them happy. The results fit with my definition: … happiness varies dependant on who you are.

The results were as follows: - Having a partner to care for you and love you - Finding purpose in life through actions and things you love - Finding yourself - Having something and somebody to live for - Finding meaning All of these results are based on personality traits.

If you yank somebody off of the street in France

the process; don’t go to that university because your friend is there or you want to be part of the “in” crowd. Life is too short to do anything, but the things that you truly enjoy.

Third: Enjoy side projects. Now that you’re working on your identity and your exterior life you have to find something that you enjoy doing in your personal time. For me this would be writing; however, hobbies number in the hundreds if not the thousands. You’d be surprised how much it helps to cope up in a quite area and work on a personal project, something you can really take pride in.

all have the potential to be great.

No matter what you believe nobody will be able to tell you what it will take to truly be happy.

We at LogosSeven can come knock on your door and point you down the correct road; however, you are the one that has to find the key to your own happiness. Your level of happiness will be based on your actions. If you go to bed every night being proud of what you did the day before, then you will inevitably be happy one day. Stay true to yourself, there is hope for us all, it is in you…

DECEMBER 2008 • LOGOSSEVEN 39

This Thing Called

40 LOGOSSEVEN • DECEMBER 2008

Is a walk of faith a planned circumstance with a promised rainbow or a pivotal point in life when you are left with the act of silence, without logical proof? Has faith become commercialized or does it still boil down to the Creator of all? Stories of faith can be told, but personal accounts account for lasting impressions.

By Sherri Wilson Johnson

Faith

would have only our faith and a small unemployment check until Dan could find work.

increases every time

I reassured him, although quivering on the inside at the forecast for our future, by saying, “God will provide for our needs. I have felt Him shutting that door for quite some time.” It was true I had felt God no longer wanted him to work for his friend, but I had been unable to see a door opening for us.

God answers prayers, but a true

victorious life comes from

believing before seeing.

How do I know this? I have lived through trials during which I could not see past the storm clouds to the Son that beamed ahead.

On a warm September evening in 1999 my husband, Dan, sat at his office desk, nervously punching in the telephone number of our home, as the walnut-sized lump grew in his throat. After a few minutes of greeting, he said sullenly, “I was laid off today. The company filed for bankruptcy. There is no money in the account for our paychecks or severance.”

To add salt to the wound, Dan’s boss had been a trusted friend for many years. Now, because of his imprudent business decisions, our family

In the Bible, a story can be found in Genesis 22 where God tests the faith of a man named Abraham. God asks him to sacrifice his son, Isaac.

Abraham, without question, prepares to do so.

Isaac, unaware that he is to be the sacrifice, asks his father from where the animal for the sacrifice will come. Abraham simply tells him that God will provide the lamb. Because of Abraham’s obedience, God provides a sacrificial ram caught in the thorns of a bush.

In verse five something exciting happens...He said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.” (NIV) Note that before Abraham went to worship, before he began to build the altar, and before the son asked where the sacrifice would come from, Abraham had faith that God would not take Isaac so he told the servants he and the boy would return.

When Dan and I got to church the following Sunday morning, we told very few friends about the job loss. We were fairly new to the church and did not want people to feel obligated to give.

After the service, our pastor called our children and us to the front of the church. He explained our need and assured the congregation that we were trustworthy people and were unfortunate victims. A love offering was collected and within minutes, we had received a gift of over five thousand dollars.

A gasp filled the sanctuary over how gracious the Lord had been. He had provided a way for our family to live for several months without having to sacrifice our home or vehicles.

We had always lived with a low standard of living, not depending on material possessions, therefore the gift, while modest to some, was more than enough to provide for us. Dan’s first paycheck at his new job came three months later, exactly when the first unpaid bill was due.

These two stories parallel one important area.

Faith in God was present before God provided the solution. Imagine building faith like climbing a steep hill. It might be difficult at first, but it builds endurance for when there are mountains to climb.

By practicing faith daily, a little at a time, even an avalanche is bearable.

“Faith in God was present before God provided the solution.

Imagine building faith like

climbing a steep hill.

It might be difficult at first, but it

builds endurance for when there are mountains to climb.

By practicing faith daily,

a little at a time,

DECEMBER 2008 • LOGOSSEVEN 41

Betty Rosado?

Who is

wes charles

In her own words,

“Betty is a

communityminded artist who has made every effort to have her works

impact the community around her.

This impact can be seen in the renovation of a historic home in Wynwood, Florida, and bringing pride to that community, as well as her more traditional artworks that involve

people from

all walks —artists to homeless people—showing the dignity in all.”

42 LOGOSSEVEN • DECEMBER 2008

Convinced that

change comes

collectively, artist Betty Rosado was inspired by Dr. Kent M. Keith’s poem written in the late 1960s nicknamed

“ Anyway”.

michelle bernstein

The words, which sit on the desk of her Miami studio, provide inspiration on a daily basis for her, and now she has brought this message to life in

“ Like Minds”.

DECEMBER 2008 • LOGOSSEVEN 43

dr. eduardo padron

“Like Minds” is a series of photographs capturing the people,

from all walks of life, who make up the urban core.

From the little Puerto Rican lady who has lived in Wynwood for the past 60 years to the urban hipsters who are holding their breath until the scene pops.

Together, they represent a new community,

a fresh beginning

in its first-of-its-kind large-scale public photo installation in Miami,

donna hughes

making this Rosado’s first attempt

to step outside the constraints of

gallery walls.

The art installation can be viewed for months to come on a

seven-story building located at North Miami Avenue and 14th Street in downtown Miami (its visual lifespan is in the hands of weather conditions).

However, there have been some talks for a

traveling installation...

44 LOGOSSEVEN • DECEMBER 2008

dorothy quintana

How long were the words from the poem

“Anyway ”

sitting on your desk before you decided to create

this photo installation?

How did you find this poem?

judy drucker

Six years ago

a friend was tossing a postcard [with “Anyway”] in the trash;

it caught my eye.

It’s been with me ever since.

From time to time I would read it;

it seemed so true.

I wanted to

share it

with others.

DECEMBER 2008 • LOGOSSEVEN 45

lee schrager

How did you decide

whom to photograph

with each quote, or do you feel that

each individual’s personality

actually decided for itself?

46 LOGOSSEVEN • DECEMBER 2008

Now, now…

I would never dream of choosing one line for anyone, ever.

Everyone, and I mean everyone,

was photographed with all 17 lines of the poem.

That made for an editing nightmare at the end, but was the only way I would have done it.

I tend to let things happen the way they should—

naturally.

...If you can imagine, there are around 7200 images that have been edited down to 17 final images.

DECEMBER 2008 • LOGOSSEVEN 47

mireille chancey-gonzalez & tommy gonzalez

How does

change occur when collective?

eugene rodriguez

beth boone

I guess in

a more effective way.

It’s a movement brought by many,

not just being pushed by one.

I tend to think that change occurs when not only one person but many

share the same idea.

Unity can change our worlds.

It’s that simple.

48 LOGOSSEVEN • DECEMBER 2008

What is your definition of

cultural transformation?

Mutual respect and

understanding.

DASH students: lucas ramcharran, 17, architecture; elisabeth skipp, 17, graphic design; angela chang, 17, visual communication; aldo luna, 17, entertainment technology; craig hamilton, 18, industrial design.

susie & walid wahab

Does money buy

cultural understanding?

It doesn’t matter if you’re the

rich or the poor, what matters is

how you live your life, what you do with your life.

That’s what counts the most.

That’s what I see when I read these words.

DECEMBER 2008 • LOGOSSEVEN 49

How does it feel

to step outside the walls of a gallery and have your work viewed in a

public scenario for the first time?

50 LOGOSSEVEN • DECEMBER 2008

mercedes salazar

joe donato

I just felt as though this project in particular

was meant to be viewed by everyone.

It attracts commentary from all walks of life.

I recall on the 41st hour of installation at about 5:00 a.m.,

a homeless person standing around looking and commenting on how true the words were.

It blew everyone away. Anyone can identify with it.

DECEMBER 2008 • LOGOSSEVEN 51

Does

cultural understanding also lead to

change?

kevin m. fitzmaurice, renu mody & medina mody-fitzmaurice

i have a dream foundation kids: larry dixon, shermanique bruce, evelyn mila, arturo mendez, breanna clear & christopher morris

I think to

create a better world

you just have to choose to do it.

Choose to respect

and make an

effort to understand.

52 LOGOSSEVEN • DECEMBER 2008

What are

Betty’s goals

with change?

DECEMBER 2008 • LOGOSSEVEN 53

Betty is

an artist who also

believes

in the power of a movement, as in the words of Margaret Mead,

“Never doubt that a small group

of thoughtful, committed citizens can change

the world: indeed it is the

only thing

that ever has.”

dan marino

Fill in the blanks: “Like Minds” is Betty ’s challenge to our collective community.

54 LOGOSSEVEN • DECEMBER 2008

DECEMBER 2008 • LOGOSSEVEN 55

DEPARTMENT v Section

56 LOGOSSEVEN • DECEMBER 2008

DEPARTMENT v Section

Free of Charge

By Stacee Crippen

Free. What is it really like to really to be free?

To be free from the deep discussion of life?

To be free from boundaries that so seriously want to cage my soul Free from issues keeping me from becoming whole again.

I was letting loose from every grip and inhibition, often being apprehended, due to falsities out of my grasp.

If I can stay on track by staying on the track, my possibilities are endless Those who don’t declare freedom and often walk in such servitude do not even know if they are coming or going.

They don’t know how to declare an action of grace and clemency.

I think about the times I sat and wondered why I was here.

Would my hope of life ever appear?

Should my speculation be so unfounded or should I freeze in my freedom to remain grounded?

I must never let my freedom be altered or metamorphose in any way.

For if we allow the naysayer, backbiters, and scoffers of this world to intervene while grasping at threads, then slowly… we unwind.

DECEMBER 2008 • LOGOSSEVEN 57