Those who know the teachings of the bible read how Joseph of Arimathea, on the evening of the crucifixion, asked Pontius Pilate for the body of Jesus, in reference to Mosaic Law, which clearly states that a person hung from a tree – or cross – must not be left there overnight, but before sundown has to be buried.

Thus it was that Joseph wrapped the body of Jesus in a linen cloth and was assisted by Nicodemus in the burial process, using a mixture of spices  myrrh and aloe in the burial cloth, and the according to Jewish customs found a tomb in which to lay out the corpse, but exactly where has always been a mystery.

It seems today, according to archaeologists investigating a first century Christian burial chamber, that they have found an ancient coffin lid inscription possibly proving it to be his final resting place. It was the use of a remote-controlled camera, which was connected to a robotic arm in order to get to the area beneath a Jerusalem tower block, stunned to discover hitherto unknown stone Tombs.

Such limestone boxes are commonly referred to as ossuaries, and one of those revealed held  a Greek inscription translating to the words Divine Jehovah, raise up, raise up, while yet another shows an image of a fish with a stick figure in its mouth – referring perhaps to one of the very first biblical stories – Jonah and the Whale .

A 1980s discovery dubbed the Jesus Family Tomb, hugely controversial when unearthed, lies a mere 200ft from this latest find, and was once thought to be the burial site for both Jesus and Mary Magdalene, whom he was thought to have married and raised a family with, though hotly disputed by many.

Orthodox Jews, protesting hotly about disturbing this grave site,  caused the ending of  the excavation, which was promptly sealed up, the tower block built over the site to prevent further investigation. But in 2010, documentary filmmaker Simcha Jacobovici and University of North Carolina scriptural scholar James Tabor got Israeli Government permission for use of the robotic arm, leading to the discovery of a separate chamber – the Patio Tomb – inside which the inscriptions were found.

The pair believe these tombs to be part of the property of Joseph of Arimathea, the inscriptions having something to do with resurrecting of the dead, as referred to in the earliest gospel materials, which state that Jesus mentioned the sign of Jonah as a symbol of his resurrection, though these symbols are the most common motif found on tombs of Christians. 

These Jonah tale , however, is not depicted at all in 1st century Jewish art, and Ossuary iconographic imagery is very rare, Judaism banning the creation  of people or animal depictions.  Since this tomb dates to before 70 CE, when Roman destruction of the city caused the cessation of ossuary use in Jerusalem, so should the discovered markings prove to be Christian, they will be the earliest archaeological record of Christians ever discovered, most likely made by some of Jesus earliest followers, within decades of his death.

Of 2000 ossuaries recovered only 650 have inscriptions of any kind, none comparable to the new finds by the team. Fewer than 12 have epitaphs, inscribed messages usually warnings  about disturbing the bones of the dead. Complete and final translation of the epitaphs is uncertain, first three lines being clear, the last line, three Greek letters with several possible meanings.

Other interesting engravings on these ossuaries might also be connected to resurrection, such as the fish tail of vanishing off the edge of the box, as if diving into water.  Also having small fish images on the front facing,  around its border on the one side, on the other the image of an entrance or cross-like gate which could be interpreted as the notion of entering the bars of death, mentioned in the Bible in the story of Jonah.

Whether or not this really is the actual tomb of the person known to the world as Jesus is of course highly debatable, but the finds are nonetheless very exciting, and could well pave the way for a clearer understanding of the truth behind biblical events.

If there was ever a time to dare,
to make a difference,
to embark on something worth doing,
IT IS NOW.
Not for any grand cause, necessarily. . .
but for something that tugs at your heart,
something that’s your inspiration,
something that’s your dream.

You owe it to yourself
to make your days here count.
HAVE FUN.
DIG DEEP.
STRETCH.

DREAM BIG.

Know, though, that things worth doing
seldom come easy.
There will be good days.
And there will be bad days.
There will be times when you want to turn around,
pack it up,
and call it quits.
Those times tell you
that you are pushing yourself,
that you are not afraid to learn by trying.

PERSIST.

Because with an idea,
determination,
and the right tools,
you can do great things.
Let your instincts,
your intellect,
and your heart,
guide you.

TRUST.

Believe in the incredible power of the human mind.
Of doing something that makes a difference.
Of working hard.
Of laughing and hoping.
Of lazy afternoons.
Of lasting friends.
Of all the things that will cross your path this year.

The start of something new
brings the hope of something great,
ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE. 

This is Life to come, which martyred men have made more glorious for us to strive to follow. May we reach that purest heaven, be to other Souls, the cup of strength in some great agony, ignite generous order, feed pure love, beget the smiles that have no cruelty, be the sweet presence of a good diffused, and in diffusion ever more intense! So we shall join the choir invisible whose music is the gladness of the world.

It is imperative that the urgency of the now be emphasized. We ought to appreciate it as much as investors appreciate the stability of a guaranteed return. We can’t afford to waste any more time in doing what is right.

In affecting the Future, we have to create new forms and concepts that will determine our working and living environment. To achieve this, we need men with unbridled passion and an uncanny intensity and speed, who’ll make use of all information available to us to steer the rest to the future we sought but now see clearly. Men who would lead a drive for creativity over conformity to equip the economy for the 21st century.

We do not know what the next corner will bring, let alone the next day. But that’s the way we love to live. Our motives are pure and our intentions are clear: re-enfranchising the African children; rejuvenate the agricultural and allied industries; engender, implement, and execute wealth creation for Africa. By modifying the structure, we’ll control the properties. Our key words on this path are DISCIPLINE and DILIGENCE.

Imagine the possibility of a doubt free Generation; It begins with YOU.

1) Open an ISA AND a savings account. An ISA is a good way of getting some tax free interest, which is surely good for everyone. Unfortunately, there is a limit (currently £5,100 per year) with how much you can put into it, meaning that if you withdraw any of it, it’s just a waste of interest. This is where the savings account comes in. For any money that you know you’re not going to need, the ISA is perfect, however if you’re unsure whether you might need the sum at some point in the future, you should put it into an instant access savings account. You will still earn interest on it, but will not penalised if you remove it. Personally, I put huge sums of money into my savings account, and then place the interest that I earn from it into my ISA account. It has taken a couple of years for me to get to the stage where I am earning enough interest to do that though, but you will get there in good time.

2) Earn some extra cash. If you go online, you will find a countless amount of websites which offer you money to publish articles, post on a forum or click on advertisements. If you sign up to a lot of these, you can easily earn a little extra every month to add into your savings account. You should also consider doing a little overtime at work. Basically, the more you do now, the earlier you will be able to retire and follow your dreams.

3) Cut back. You don’t have to live as though you are in poverty, but just try to save wherever you can. Make sure you turn the lights off when you leave the room, don’t leave the TV on standby, try buying supermarket’s own brands of foods, and use less water when you have a shower or are brushing your teeth. You probably won’t see any difference very quickly, but you might be able to save a couple of hundred pounds every year, meaning that you are able to earn more money to be able to earn some interest on.

4) Do your calculations. If you have enough money in your savings account, you will be able to live off the interest that you earn on the accounts each month. I have worked out that I will need around £500,000 myself to be able to do this. You would do well to build up some assets as well as just your money, as this will give you a boost if you should need it at some point.

Cover via Amazon

“For what it’s worth, it’s never too late, to be whoever you want to be.

There’s no time limit. Start whenever you want.

You can change or stay the same. There are no rules to this thing.

We can make the best or the worst of it. And I hope you make the best of it.

I hope you see things that startle you.

I hope you feel things you never felt before.

I hope you meet people with a different point of view.

I hope you live a life you’re proud of.

And if you find that you’re not, I hope you find the strength to start all over again.”

- Benjamin Button

From the movie The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

The main theme from this quote is the idea of possibility. Benjamin Button tells us that “it’s never too late to be whoever you want to be”. It does not matter whether you are 20 years old, 40 years old or 60 years old. You can start a new project whenever you want. “There are no rules to this thing”. It does not matter whether you have made mistakes in the past. You can start all over again right now. You can decide to make the best of any situation. This movie is really about hope for the future.

Another important theme from this quote is the idea of travelling around the world and experimenting new things. He is also telling us to be proud of our lives. And if you’re not proud of your life, you have the power to change it. Yes, it requires strength and hard work but you do have the freedom to choose to change.

I hope you enjoyed that quote as much as I did. I really wanted to share my feelings about this beautiful quote with you.

God bless you!

The Action Warrior

Is there such a thing as “PERFECT”? In our society, we live like there is a perfect life that we are striving for. The catch is that we never seem to actually obtain it for long enough to look around and see it. Why is that? and what can we do so we do not miss those moments again.

1. First identify what YOUR perfect is?

How do we know that we have it when we don’t know what IT is. Not everyone thinks a BMV is the vehicle of their dreams, not everyone wants to be married so what is perfection to you? Some areas to look at are family, career, hobbies, friends, travel, retirement, self-esteem, home, vehicle.

2. What are you thinking?

Do a quick check in with yourself and see whether or not your a judging your ideal life? Do you beleive it is possible or dismiss it quickly? Do you think “Well, that’s not possible” or “Yeah, but…”. Those thoughts can limit the experience from happening. So, an idea for combatting negative/limiting thoughts, is to acknowledge those thoughts/identify them. We don’t want to push them away and make them ‘bad thoughts’. Just notice them. Sometimes, just saying “OK. I get that I don’t see it is possible…but I am open to seeing if it IS possible”. That type of thought switching is SO POWERFUL towards allowing the opportunity to become real.

We all have thoughts throughout the day that may not serve us and not every thought has a huge impact on our lives, so feel free to have thoughts. Encourage the positive ones to take center stage.

3. FEEL IT

What is also very helpful is to take 10-30 minutes just to yourself and close your eyes and walk through this imaginary future life and FEEL the experience in your mind. Visualize driving your vehicle and pulling up to your dream home, kissing your dream mate.  Feeling your experience can have a profound effect on your mind, body and spirit. Many metaphysics believe by feeling the experience is the key to manifesting it into reality.

If you can make the experience feel REAL, you are on to something. Sometimes it can even inspire you to get up and take action towards your future life. Work can seem less serious, knowing that working can lead to a vacation. Working out can be more fun when visualizing ones body as we want it to be.

4. Share your vision

It’s often we don’t want to share our hopes and dreams with others. It could be for many reasons. Fear of judgment or them telling you it’s a pipe dream. Get back to reality, that won’t happen. And that feedback can be very dis-heartening. Yet, look at friends and family who are open to new experiences. Having a conversation about “Imagine if we won the lottery?! What would YOU do with 40 million dollars” Not many people push that fun thought away.

Why sharing your vision is important is that it lets others know what is important to you and it is a great way for miracles to show up. For example, we are looking to buy a car, or get financing, or go on a vacation. We share that with people and someone says “My buddy is selling his car. Or go talk to so-and-so, he has a condo in hawaii”. What just happened is a LEAD came your way. It is an opportunity to TAKE ACTION towards your perfect life. As soon as you take action by calling or looking at the vehicle, you are letting the energy of that future life to activate and start manifesting.

And then just remember, with many things in life, it takes time. It would be great if it would all fall in your lap, but often times, it will occur slowly and unpredictably. So, be patient. Look for the opportunities and be open to it happening anytime, any place and anywhere.

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How can I be so certain about this miraculous phenomenon?

I have several inspiration examples of unexpected success to share with you.

First of all many of you know that I have been writing for Triond for a little over 2 years now. When I began, I was making little to nothing. Now, two years later, my earnings and article views are steadily growing every single month. My best article, “B12 Shots: The Newest Energy Booster” has now reached over 107K views.

In the beginning this article was receiving 100 views/day, then it increased to 200 views/day and now it’s at over 300 views/day and growing. I have written about this article several times before and continue to remain attentive to its success because I know that it is exactly my attentiveness that has played a great role as to why this article continues to enjoy popularity. The more I link it to new and past articles, the more I ensure that its popularity will continue to grow, due to sheer logic; the more accessible it is, the more chance it has to be viewed. In addition, the more an article is linked the higher it rises within Google’s search result ranking system. 

Logically, the more positive attention you give anything in life, the more it will naturally grow and flourish. 

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Writing is a solitary passion.

As we writers sit, faithfully typing or writing the beauty in our hearts for the world to see, often we are not certain how our efforts are paying off in the long run.  Oftentimes, we think some of our articles should have earned us more money.  But, there is no need to fret or question your success! Trust that good things always eventually rise to the surface; as they say the “cream of the crop always rises to the top.” I wholeheartedly believe this.

When you produce good work that helps to improve the lives of others, the laws of the universe naturally create enertia ensuring that your work will be recognized without a doubt. It’s a law that is as simple and complex as that. For example, just producing quality work alone, does not ensure success.  Once you produce notably, exceptional work, you must then do the leg work of promoting, attending to comments, linking, editing and any improvements that will keep it your work universally relevant, priceless, and in constant circulation.

So onward, you work as you continue to keep the faith and produce good work.

And then one day, lo and behold you happen to search your name or another blog and entirely unexpectedly you find that someone has been writing about you! As a matter of fact, it is quite possible someone is writing, commenting, printing a copy and recognizing your work right this very moment.  And, with time this humbling recognition will only continue to multiply and grow exponentially.

I share this possibility because this is exactly what happened to me in two instances.  And it will happen to you! 

Just keep believing…

In the first instance I was searching Triond’s blog and surprisingly stumbled across a blog about several successful Triond writers. To read more about this experience, check out: “How to be a Triond Super Star”. And in the second instance, I was perusing BlogCatalog.com’s blog and discovered that one of the most popular blog social networking communities ranked me in their top 10 most popular blogs!

“BlogCatalogs Most Popular Blogs” 

BlogCatalog ranked my blog #6. Upon discovering this, I was completely blown away, stunned; and it made me wonder about all the places where others might be linking or writing about my work without me even knowing. In other words, just because you are not seeing a huge influx of success in your work at the present moment, that does not mean that your efforts are not working in your favor in the long run.

And, if people have noticed my work, they are certain to have noticed yours. In reality, you may never fully know all the people who admire your work, but the more that you create valuable work, network, link and persevere on your dreams the more that success will come cascading through all your doors, windows, and walls. You will eventually become so flooded with success and opportunities it will be you fending off countless offers and wondering how you will be spending your next vacation.

And last, but not least, this final example is actually the source of inspiration for this particular article.

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About a week ago, I checked my yahoo email messages and happened to see a curious email from a lady whose name I did not recognize. The subject line said “Your Health Site”. Because spamming is so rampant, I almost deleted the message without giving it another thought; however, to my fortune, I clicked on it and was completely surprised.

The sender, Olivia Reynolds, who’s website blog can be found at Acne Assasin receives about 5-7,000 views per day. She wrote me to tell me that she noticed that I link to a charity on my blog that is closely related to her site and she was asking my permission to have my blog linked to hers! First of all, anyone who wants to link any of my work to your work, I wholeheartedly give permission to and thank you ahead of time with all my heart (just be sure to add only the link and not the actual text of my work). She went on to say that she thinks that her readers can benefit from my content.

Her message left me in total awe and humility. In addition, on that same day, I received another email from another reader who asked how he can subscribe to my blog. It was an incredibly humbling day for me. To think that somehow what I am producing other people can truly benefit from is a feeling, that is beyond indescribable.

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The point of sharing these success stories is that no matter the rate of your writing progress, you never know when opportunities will come your way; you never know when a door of opportunity will open so wide that all your dreams come true.  This is exactly why persistence and believing in your dreams unwaveringly is essential to your success.

I once read that the difference between successful people and unsuccessful people is that “successful people do, what unsuccessful people do not want to do”.  Even baby steps in the direction of your dreams will still eventually bring you to your destination.  The smallest step is one inch closer to your dreams than opting against that step to begin with.

So, keep working, keep sharing your work with the world and soon you will be receiving amazing requests for your limitless talents everyday! It is no longer a dream, it is your reality and you deserve every gift and blessing this world can offer you!

Joie Schmidt © Copyright 2010 All Rights Reserved.

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For more great reading:

• Live Life to the Fullest
• The Importance of Humility
• Tips to Keep You Motivated
• Mission Statement: Your Life

Do you have a story, poem, artwork or photography you’d like to share and earn residual income? Please check out this site to earn limitless income for life: Triond

Land-ownership also could have caused the hysteria. In The Enduring Vision, the richest Salem residents lived on the eastern side of the village. The poorer residents lived on the western side. The eastern side had richer soil and benefited from Salem Town’s flourish, since the town was closer to that side. The western half had less fertile soil, and was segregated from Salem Town. In the book Salem Possessed: The Social Origins of Witchcraft, written by Paul Boyer and Stephen Nissenbaum, there is a map that shows where the accusers, accused, and accused witches lived. Most of the accusers lived on the west side, and most of the accused and the witches lived on the east side. Some historians believed this is because the accusers wanted the accused hanged so that their lands could be taken, since it was fertile and closer to Salem Town.

Another possibility is that the “afflicted girls”, four teenagers, faked being tortured by a witch. Teenage girls were the lowest level in the social classes of Salem. In the book Salem Witchcraft, written by Charles W. Upham, it says it is possible that because of being looked down upon, they could have wanted to be famous and faked it all. After seeing how successful their plan was, they continued. It was recorded that once or twice they messed up, but were not caught because everyone was confused.

There are many more possibilities as to why the residents of Salem Village became hysterical. Because we have no proof that proves that one specific scenario could have been the reason, we may never know what really caused the Salem Witch Trials.

Recently she wrote a warning to the public about the petrol pills available these days that apparently save people on their fuel bill. Given the cost of fuel this certainly sounds like an avenue worth pursuing. Something that if I was in the market for, I would want to see results and not shooting it down before I had absorbed all the information.

Wendy starts of by telling us that she received an email about this and immediately dismissed it as a scam. On what basis I asked myself. She had not even considered the possibility that this may be possible. She then goes onto say that the clincher was when she realised that these pills were sold via a network of distributors. What does that have to do with the price of eggs? Why can distributors not sell a product? She quotes a variety of people who say it will or does not work.

Further investigation got her to reconsider her initial outright dismissal. Other people had tested it and had gotten significant results especially after the third tank. She ends the article by asking why this has to be distributed via the network instead of usual channels and also requests that people who have tested the product to contact her regarding this, as long as they are not distributors.

Now this report raises a few concerns for me. Firstly how can she write this report without doing due diligence first? Why was the distributor network the clincher for her? Since when have distributors had anything to do with the production of any product?

Here is what concerns me; it appears only bad news sells. Imagine if the product saved 40% of the gas bill she can’t report that as it is not in line with her work, which is being a consumer watch dog. The press doesn’t want to print these results as it means free advertising for the company concerned and loss of income from advertising. It now begs the question for me, is it all a conspiracy? Good news will never sell because it is free mileage for those companies. The more fear that is installed into the public the worse things will become. Wendy set the tone for this product by immediately assuming it was a con, she like everyone else should have been expecting good results if only for her own pockets sake. If she had been the deciding factor whether Thomas Edison continued to investigate the possibility of the light bulb we may all still be in the dark today.

The Sun must have opened his eyes and must have been trying to get up from his pure white velvety bed of clouds by now: I know how tough it is to get up in the early mornings; despite my love for the morning glory, the birds, the breeze, the plants and of the trees…it is very tough to get up in the early mornings!

I had gone through the deep down struggle against the “five more minutes” request from my heart a plenty of time and the will power I needed to gear up against such a fine temptation of falling asleep again! Oh yes, I know!

I had felt bad for the Sun and for his probable struggle against himself in getting up and walking away from the smooth bed sheets and the soft pillows! Somehow he must have gotten up and must have walked away from his bed by now! The dull and the oily orange rays have become a little stronger now, not much, but definitely a little stronger now than before!

I had continued to scroll along my path, while my eyes were still fixed at the rays around the Sun! The Sun is not yet visible of course, but may become visible at any moment now!

I had walked further on, wondering as to what shall be the routine of the Sun’s mornings? Will he be checking on the heat and the cold of the deserts and of the poles? Will he be saying hello to the distant planets of which we may not even have a clue till now?

Will the Sun be smiling at the oceans, while sharing a joke with the clouds? Will he rather be taking a walk on the side streets of the sky?

Who all will he be meeting while on his walk? Will he be meeting the lesser Gods to him? Will he be meeting the Greater Gods than him?

Has he ever noticed my lonely self walking down the winding roads, while my eyes had always been fixed at the sky for his appearance? Does he have any idea as to the extent of my love for the Sunlight and that of the summers?

While I was thinking in those terms, the Sun had emerged out of the clouds, not much, but just a part of his forehead…shinning, smooth and colorful…I had stopped in my track and had looked at him!

My eyes had closed in prayers for a few minutes and I had thanked the Sun, the only visible God for me, for giving me yet another day of life and living!

As usual, I had promised him that I shall choose to be happy, come whatever may, today! The life is so precious that I wouldn’t waste a moment in self-pity, unhappiness, depression and anxieties in handling the people and the circumstances!

I had smiled at the Sun and had smiled to myself. I had walked a bit further on and by the time, the Sun had emerged completely out of his habitat and had started scrolling along the sky, I returned back to my home, my heart getting fully soaked in the nectar of happiness, positivism, possibilities and the brand new opportunities of a brand new day!