Pandora – let your hope out

According to Greek mythology, Pandora was the first woman on earth. Her name means all-gifted and she received many good talents from the gods: beauty, grace, boldness, persuasion and curiosity. It is her curiosity which got her in trouble. She was also given a box (jar) which she was never to open. One day, her curiosity overcame her, and she opened the box. Out flew all the evils such as jealousy, lust, hatred, famine, pestilence and destruction. She became so scared that she quickly closed the box. Even her crying and feeling sorry couldn’t stop the sorrows of men. Then she heard a small voice coming from the box, and she opened the box again. It was a fairy named Hope.

We can all use some hope today. The dictionary defines hope as a belief in a positive outcome related to events and circumstances in life. Hope is the feeling that everything will turn out for the best.

“Once you choose Hope, anything is possible.” ~ Christopher Reeve

Today, everybody can use some hope. It gets us from day to day, despite unemployment, foreclosures, dwindling retirement funds, bankruptcies, physical calamities, divorces, illness, etc. Without hope, without some optimism for a better future what is there?

Religious people always have hope because God will bless us with grace.

Many years ago I felt very hopeless. It had to do with a song we sing in German “Am 30. Mai ist der Weltuntergang…( May 30, is the end of the world), created in the year 1954.”  Naturally, it is a drinking song and is meant as a joke.

Then again, today we have predictions like that again for the year 2012.

The best book on the subject I read was by Gregg Braden, “Fractal Time, the Secret of 2012 …”  The reason I like his book is that Mr. Braden gives me hope. He basically says, listen, we have choices to make. If we look at what Pandora let out of the box, we have nothing to look forward to. With hope, we can see the goodness in people; take in account their willingness for unity and solve the human problems with Divine intervention.

That is what I happened to me in the year 1973. Rather than losing hope by observing what was wrong I was led to the teaching of Sun Myung Moon. For many months I studied his “Divine Principle.”  The Principle discovers many essential aspects of our life. We all have questions like “What is my purpose, who am I, is there an after-life, what is the meaning of the Last Days, etc.?”  The Divine Principle answered all my questions and more and gave me hope again.

There are three parts to the Principle.
The first part goes into ideal of creation, describing man’s purpose, his position in the world and how to grow.
The second part talks about what went wrong, Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and how they lost their blessings from God.
The third part relates to us the process of restoration and how God and man have worked throughout history to come back to the original position.

Recently, Rev. Moon has written an autobiography, which is now translated in English.  His life has been that of an unusual person.  Misunderstood by many, persecuted and imprisoned, he has persevered through untold difficulties.  I don't think we will ever know his whole lifestory, although the biography is a good start.  It is important to keep an open mind and a prayerful heart.
The original iniative to publish a biography came from a Korean publisher who was visited by Buddha in her dream.  He told her to seek out Sun Myung Moon and learn about his life.  The book became very quickly a bestseller in Korea where most people also had no idea what this man had gone through.

You can also watch a YouTube video: http://www.casttv.com/video/i9tefr/autobiography-sun-myung-moon-a-peace-loving-global-citizen-video.

This brings us to the year 2012 when many timelines insect and the New World can start. It is a time of great hope and opportunity. It is also a time of great responsibility and choices. I would love to have a personal discussion with whoever is more interested in the subject. Please contact me by email: jutta.tobkin@gmail.com or you can purchase the biography at Amazon.com --> jutta-t. :

The Many Benefits of Kelp

We are all to eat more vegetables. Did you know that kelp is a sea vegetable? It grows in the ocean without being anchored to the seafloor. It is a type of seaweed which grows below the surface where it absorbs the nutrients and the energy from the sun to make it a source of abundant minerals and vitamins.

The Health Benefits of Kelp

Kelp uses photosynthesis to get its green or brown colors and is one of those little known wonder foods which contain protein, vitamin B9 + B12, choline, niacin, carotene, and more than 70 minerals (potassium, magnesium, calcium, iron) and trace minerals.

It is most commonly suggested to overcome iodine deficiencies. It promotes the body’s production of thyroid hormones, which are necessary to have a healthy metabolism.



Other benefits:
Kelp stimulates your immune system
Kelp helps fights cancer
Kelp helps prevent heart disease
Kelp encourages healthy liver function
Kelp aids in brain development
Kelp helps to prevent osteoporosis
Kelp helps to lower cholesterol levels
Kelp is good for joints which reduces arthritic pain
Kelp kills the Herpes virus which causes cold sores
Kelp is a natural energy booster
Kelp helps with digestion, flatulence and constipation
Kelp is good for fertility in both men and women
Kelp is used for dieting by burning excess fat
Kelp improves mental response
Kelp promotes healthy hair, nails and skin
Kelp supports the pituitary and thyroid glands (needed for brittle nails and hair growth)

All the sea vegetables are very popular in Oriental cooking and have found their way into our kitchens as well. Have you tried Sushi or Sashimi; or the many applications in soups and vegetables dishes? Known as wakami, nori or dulse,  they find their way into seaweed rolls or miso soup.

If you don’t have a taste for Japanese dishes, you can buy kelp powder, or tablets in the health food store.


If you don’t have a taste for Japanese dishes, you can buy kelp powder, or tablets in the health food store.

Liquid Seaweed Fertilizer
I have used liquid seaweed for years to grow my tomato plants organically. Mix a tablespoon with a gallon of water and poor over the leaves of the plant. The nutrients are absorbed and get washed off the next time it rains.

Explore your Mind as the Last Frontier

Some people call space the last frontier. Considering what we know about astronomy and space exploration, we know very little what goes on in the mind of man. The mind of man is invisible. Certain parts of the brain can be measured, but did anybody ever measure the mind? 


The mind being the part of us that thinks, feels, and motivates us to action can be divided into two parts: the conscious mind and the subconscious mind.

“The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes of mind.”
William James ~ US Pragmatist philosopher & psychologist (1842 - 1910)

The conscious mind is responsible for your logic and reasoning. It calculates, plans, analyses, and moves your body in the desired direction.

The subconscious mind controls all the involuntary activities in your body, breathing, heartbeat, pumping blood, digesting, etc. It is also the storage place for all of your feelings, thoughts, beliefs, and memories. Everything you ever heard, seen, smelled, touched, tasted is recorded just like a tape recorder.

We can understand the mind somewhat through computers. The conscious mind is the programmer while the subconscious mind is like the software. The only way we can change something, like a habit, is by erasing a program and substituting a new program.

The mind is never idle, when you don’t fill it with positive stuff, by default it will fill up with whatever. We can understand that through gardening. If you want to have a beautiful garden, full of vegetables, fruits, flower, etc. you have to plant them. By default weeds will grow which have to be removed first when you plant a garden. And you have to be vigilant to keep the weeds out to assure a plentiful harvest.

In the recent years you may have heard about the law of attraction. The LOA is also called the law of sowing and reaping, what you plant you can eventually harvest. In the beginning I talked about the mind consisting of three aspects: Emotion, Intellect and Will. To make the LOA work, takes all three aspects of the mind. You energize your mind with deep feelings, affirm what you want and focus with all your intentions on the goal. And then you persevere and do whatever it takes to reach that goal. Remember, it is the most important duty of your conscious mind to tell your subconscious mind what you want.

Let’s keep an open mind today and explore the inner space. To really understand that inner space, it is crucial to build your relationship with the creator, your Heavenly Parent. Today, it is not just enough to read books and depend on other’s opinions, rather keep on open mind and allow God to move you and show you your inner territory, that’s where He lives.

Biography:
http://www.21stcentury.co.uk/science/consciousness.asp Consciousness

http://scienceandreligion.com/b_myst4.htm  - The Brain is the Final Frontier of Science: by John Horgan (Globe and Mail)

http://www.iloveulove.com/spirituality/buddhist/conscioussubconscious.htm - Conscious vs. Subconscious

Did I Marry the Wrong Person?

Thoughts from Mark Gungor

As the latest divorce statistics demonstrate, it seems that people are giving up on their marriages in record numbers. And unfortunately, the number of Christians divorcing is no lower than that of non-believers. Why is that? Why are so many marriages failing?

Author and speaker Mark Gungor says the problem stems from couples' expectations about what marriage should be like. Gungor is a pastor and a highly sought-after speaker. His "Laugh Your Way to a Better Marriage" seminars are attended by thousands each year. After thirty years of ministering to couples, Gungor says the most common problem he sees in marriages is that couples don't understand how relationships really work.

"People think that if a marriage is meant to be, it will just be," Gungor says.

He compares it to Proverbs 14:4 which says, "Where no oxen are, the manger is clean, but much increase comes by the strength of the ox."

"Like the ox, marriage is a great, productive thing," he says. "But if you are going to have an ox, then you're going to have ox poo. There is no such thing as a poo-free marriage. The problem is, many don't expect to find any poo at all in their marriage, and when they encounter stuff that stinks, they see it as a sign that they married the wrong person."

Contrary to what many believe, the success of a marriage has little to do with marrying the right person, he says.

"The truth is, a successful marriage is not the result of marrying the "right" person, feeling the "right" emotions, thinking the "right" thoughts, or even praying the "right" prayers," Gungor writes in his book. "It's about doing the "right" things -- period."

He doesn't believe in "soul mates", the idea that God created one person "just right for you". This may not be popular with Christians who have been raised to believe that a good marriage is all about finding the spouse that God has created for them.

"Surprising to many, the Bible never tells us to find the one God has chosen. It tells us how to live with the person we have chosen," Gungor says. "Why doesn't God have a special person just for you? Because He knows that His principles of love, acceptance, patience, and forgiveness work, and they work all the time, every time - no matter to whom you are married."

The problem, he says, is that when couples run into difficulties or conflicts in their relationships, they assume they must have made a mistake and that they aren't really meant to be together.

"Then the unwise voices of modern convention scream in their minds: 'If things are bad, you married the wrong person.' 'It's not supposed to be this hard.' 'You've made a mistake.' 'God doesn't want you to feel unloved.' 'God doesn't want you to suffer." If they listen to this, the couples bail on their marriages.

But couples, and especially Christians, should not succumb to these false beliefs.

"Marriage for the Christian is supposed to be on a completely different footing than the "what do I get out of this" mindset," Gungor writes. "We aren't supposed to be tossing difficult relationships away like some kind of disposable diaper."

Through his "Laugh Your Way to a Better Marriage" seminars, and his newly released book by the same name, Gungor seeks to educate couples about the work that it takes to build a successful marriage.
He believes that there are "marriage physics" laws that must be followed for couples to have thriving marriages. "Just as there are laws of physics that affect everyone regardless of who they are or what they believe, there are also laws of marriage physics."

"Sadly, people keep breaking all the laws and then are stunned by the fact that their marriage stinks," Gungor says. "If your marriage stinks, someone is breaking the rules of marriage physics. Unfortunately, most people are not aware that rules exist, much less know what they are."

In his book, Gungor explains these rules including discussions about how men and women think differently, communicate differently, and want different things from relationships.

His frank discussions about sex, money, expectations, and conflict also help readers identify what they may be doing wrong in these areas and how to find solutions.

In addition to living by these laws of marriage physics, Gungor says that another key to turning around a failing marriage is for couples to understand the true nature and purpose of marriage. Rather than viewing marriage as a way to have their own needs met, the author says, couples should consider marriage as a training ground to help them become more Christ-like.

"God wants to kill you," Gungor writes in his book. "Not the physical you, of course, but the selfish you. Jesus taught us that if we don't die to our selfish nature, we will never be able to experience all the blessings that God wants to bestow on us. Well, if there was ever an institution designed to kill the selfish you, it's marriage. In fact, it is virtually impossible to succeed at marriage if you don't learn how to let the selfish part of you die."

His book offers a message of hope as well. Regardless of the problems that spouses are having, with God's guidance and the desire to make the marriage work, building a happy and successful marriage is possible.

My own comment:
Marriage is the only institution where we can learn to become unselfish.  When two totally different people like a man and a woman become one, and are committed to raise a family, they have to be unconditional in their love.  Don't we all want to be christ-like?  God invented the institution of marriage (be fruitful, multiply, and have dominion over all the earth) to teach us how to be global citizens.  I appreciate Mark Gungor for his boldness to suggest to the couples to be more selfless in order to be happy.

Predicament or Problem?

On a recent trip to Germany I was able to read John Maxwell’s “The Difference Maker.” One chapter deals with problems and how to solve them. Dr. Maxwell also observes that there is a difference between problems and predicaments. He explains that problems can be solved while predicaments or dilemmas have to be accepted and worked around.

I had a few examples of how to solve problems and accept a predicament during my trip. I was visiting with my family on the occasion of the 85th birthday of my mother. My first problem was that I can’t walk very well due to hip degeneration. The airline transporting me to Germany was very helpful in providing wheelchair and transportation on a layover. My daughter welcomed me in Frankfurt and accompanied me further on the train ride to my mother’s. She had rented a wheelchair and with the help of some other young people, I even went sightseeing and got to enjoy a day in the German country side.

In Berlin we visited with my brother who also had a wheel chair handy. I toured an old fashioned flee market as well as the new opened exhibition “Topography of Terror.” It depicts a dark part of the history of Germany with a remnant of the Wall as well the location of the headquarters of the former Nazi regime. I believe it to be an important part of the reconciliation which all of the German people have to go through to forgive their past.

On the way home, we had a predicament. The volcano of Iceland which had disrupted the air travel over Europe for more than 6 days in April was acting up again. Without warning we couldn’t take off in Frankfurt at the exact time. For two hours we were seated in the plane, waiting to get an o.k. Finally, we got cleared by the air control and were directed to fly north of the volcano. The usual route is south of Iceland. That gave a fantastic view of the whole scene. Predicaments can’t be changed and have to be dealt with through acceptance.

“A problem is something you can do something about. If you can’t do something about it, then it’s not a problem. It’s a predicament.” - John Maxwell – “The Difference Maker”

It is important to understand the difference between a problem and a predicament. Mr. Maxwell states, that when people treat a predicament as a problem, they can become frustrated, angry, or even depressed. It wastes energy, and we make bad decisions which can lead to victim hood. My return flight was a good example. There was nothing we could do but wait until the airline cleared our take off. We were lucky that we took off at all and even luckier that we arrived safely, despite the delay.

I am grateful to be home again with a rich experience of trusting others by staying calm and faithful myself.