self help: Council looks to form self help group

27 July 2006 HAWICK Community Council is looking into forming a self-help group that would outline what local residents should do in the event of flooding. The issue was raised at last month's meeting in response to Newcastleton Community Council funding a similar initiative which produced a leaflet that contains advice in the event of a local flood. Scottish Borders Council's Emergency Planning Officer, Jim Gill, attended the meeting to give his advice on the way forward.He said: "The main purpose of the flood response group is to look after vulnerable people in the community."The meeting heard that the 'Flood Response Group' could advise townsfolk of how to cope with the emergency, whilst also considering elderly neighbours.Mr Gill loaned an emergency planning video to the Community Council which would assist in forming the basis of their plan.He concluded: "The flood group would certainly help achieve community spirit."

self help: Why Sir Bob should try cosmic ordering

Tim Dowling Tuesday July 25, 2006 The Guardian Most people, I imagine, would not necessarily choose to regard Noel Edmonds' comeback as a sign that the cosmos responds directly to our wants and needs. We may not understand the exact mechanism by which the cosmos, DJ-style, takes requests, but we may safely assume that Please Put Noel Edmonds Back On Telly did not scrape in ahead of End All Human Suffering or even Help Me Lose Weight Before Summer in the overall vote. Noel, however, insists it was his devotion to "cosmic ordering" - as laid out by self-helpster Barbel Mohr in her book, The Cosmic Ordering Service, and now in Edmonds' new book, Positively Happy: Cosmic Ways to Change Your Life - that got him Deal Or No Deal. So he says, you just write what you want on a piece of paper, and the cosmos delivers. I'm not saying I believe in all this, but if I'd known what Noel had written, I'd have made a counter-request. Of course, you also have to believe in yourself, stay positive, work hard and "make a positive commitment to actively changing your life", as Edmonds puts it in this week's Daily Mail serialisation. You must stop saying such things as "I never win anything", "I can't do that" and "I've always been that way" (which are, coincidentally, the first three subject headings on my CV). Frankly, if you possess Edmonds' bullet-proof self-belief, I think you can probably leave the stamp off that letter to the cosmos. You can't deny that the system works for Edmonds, although looking at him - a freakishly youthful 57-year-old fronting a dire game show which is nevertheless absurdly popular - you have to wonder whether it's actually the cosmos he's struck his bargain with. But if he can help somebody else, what's the harm? And there is somebody who needs his help badly: Sir Bob Geldof. You will have heard that Sir Bob was forced to cancel two Italian gigs at the weekend because fewer than 400 tickets were sold. In Milan, only 45 people turned up to the 12,000-seat venue, and Geldof refused to go on. He did not, it has to be said, take the whole thing very positively. He was quoted in Italian newspapers as saying, "Your country doesn't like me when I sing." This self-deprecation is not new. In the past, he has referred to himself as a "mediocre rock star". Does that sound like something Noel would say? Though I have always thought of Sir Bob as a man of great determination, it's impossible to ignore the obvious conclusion that, in this case at least, he simply didn't want it badly enough. I can't help noticing that he hasn't wiped out world hunger either. One can only guess what Noel would have achieved if his wishlist had read "End poverty in Africa and make me a modestly successful musician, please", instead of "new game show and helicopter". Apparently, there are two as-yet unfulfilled orders on Edmonds' cosmic account. One is doubtless "congratulatory autobiography thinly disguised as self-help new-age bollocks (w/ v big serialisation deal)". But the other? Who knows?

self help: Including women through self-help groups

Posted online: Thursday, July 20, 2006 at 0000 hours IST When State Bank of India got into Wmicro-financing five years ago,it bet on women-led Self-Help Groups (SHGs).Today it lends to all kinds of SHGs with nearly seven million beneficiaries across the country – a vast majority is still women. Lending has touched nearly 1,800 crore rupees and the repayment record is close to 99%-SBI seems to have picked up the right gender to back. This is leading to financial as well as social empowerment.A case in point,Sabitri SHG in Kuruguda Village in Kalahandi – one of the most backward districts in India,formed by women,who had no means of livelihood,received a loan of 2.3 lakh rupees for fish-farming.The group now earns 25,000 rupees per month. Ads By Google NRIs - Get 6.45% interest ICICI Bank NRI Fixed Deposits Invest today! www.icicinri.net/nrifixeddeposit Rural Livelihoods MA Study rural development and global change in English in The Hague www.iss.nl Children International Make a difference in a child’s life for $18 a month. Sponsor today! children.org NRI's Earn 8% Interest Upto 8% Returns On Deposits. Sign Up Now to Open NRI Service A/C Abnamro.co.in/nri/index.html SBI supported women SHGs are doing well in numerous places,Bichpuri in Uttar Pradesh,Nagpur,Nashik, Andhra Pradesh,Kerala and Gujarat.Income generation SBI: Including women through self-help groups activities include fish farming,vermicompost making,spice-trading, pottery making,dairy- farming,bamboo-craft and wood carving.The loan amount ranges from 14,000 to 3.5 lakh rupees. Many of these women were landless laborers earning no more than 30- 40 rupees a day,while others remained indoors. Today,they have become self- reliant earning as much as 2,500 rupees per month and are also full of confidence.In Bichpuri, an area historically marked with communal issues – all communities have come together as SHGs and are leading a prosperity driven harmonious life.

self help: "Fix It: Comedy about Love, Self-Help and the Recovery from Both"

By WorthSeeing, Citizen Journalist 7-17-06 Megan Griswold brings her funny, self-deprecating and poignant observations about a lifetime of therapy and self-help to The Dairy Center for the Arts (2590 Walnut St., Boulder) on August 3 for a three-night run. Griswold's never-ending attempts to "fix it" include more than 10,000 hours of therapy including traditional talk therapy, meditation, yoga training, fasting, traditional Chinese medicine, rolfing, plant spirit medicine and so much more. Fix It explores the journey of self-discovery and the unwavering belief that a solution to life's problems is just one therapy session or medical miracle away. Tickets are $15 and may be purchased by calling 303-444-SEAT (7328). Performances are Aug. 3, 4 & 5 at 8 p.m. Group discounts are available. So, how does a smart, successful, well-educated woman embark on the path of obsessive self-help? She starts young. When she was just seven-years-old, Megan asked for a mantra for Christmas. When she was 12, she participated in a multi-weekend self-help seminar. When her college peers were saving for Eurail Passes, Megan was embarking on a year-long training course for personal development. When her marriage began to fail, Megan entered therapy with her husband and engaged in countless hours of psychotherapy, spiritual practices and alternative treatments with the belief that if she could just fix herself then everything would work out. At the age of 37 she made the radical decision to freeze her eggs for future fertility. A barrage of news reports and studies told single career women everywhere that their chances of getting pregnant dropped dramatically as they approached the age of 40. Megan, in a struggling relationship at the time, decided to take matters into her own hands by using modern medicine. One of the first women to choose this expensive and medically unproven tactic to increase fertility, Megan was featured on ABC's "Nightline," on NBC Nightly News, on Anderson Cooper's "360," and more. She will be talking about her experiences on an upcoming edition of NPR's "All Things Considered." Though she pokes fun at her own obsessive need to seek professional help for every problem, Megan still believes in the healing powers of self-discovery. Far from being an emotional wreck, Megan is an accomplished and independent woman. She holds a graduate degree in International Relations from Yale and a bachelor's degree from Columbia. She worked for NPR's "Talk of the Nation" and the BBC News program "The World" and as a freelance reporter in Seattle. She is a licensed acupuncturist and runs a thriving practice in Seattle. Fix It makes its world premiere at The Dairy Center. For more information or to schedule an interview, please contact Tiffany Q. Tyson at 303-971-0290 or Megan Griswold at 206-276-2801. #### Megan Griswold, L.Ac. Author, Performer Fix It: A Comedy About Love, Self-Help and the Recovery from Both Megan Griswold runs a thriving acupuncture practice in Seattle. She trained in Boulder, Colorado, with one of the foremost experts in Classical Five Element Acupuncture, Hilary Skellon. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Political Science from Columbia University and a Master's degree in International Relations from Yale. She has worked for NPR's "Talk of the Nation" and the BBC News program "The World" and as a freelance reporter in Seattle. Fix It is the comical story of her lifelong relationship with the self-help industry and her many attempts to "fix" herself.

self help: Self-help guru helps Valley

T. Harv Eker brings personal development camp to town By Reporter Sylvie Paillard spaillard@squamishchief.com For seven years, the extremely popular self-help guru T. Harv Eker has been sharing the beauty of the Squamish Valley with groupies from all over the world. Now those same visitors are helping to keep Squamish pristine. Eker, author of New York Times bestseller The Millionaire Mind, which has been printed in 26 languages, holds numerous self-help camps in the Upper Squamish Valley every summer. “The great thing about Squamish is it’s got natural teachers. The mountain can teach you and the river can teach you much more than I ever could teach you,” said Eker. “I can help interpret the lessons but I can never teach what a mountain can.” The cost of each week-long training camp is approximately $2,000. Participants work up to the camp with an introductory three-day, $1,200 seminar. But many initial participants use the two free tickets included in Eker’s bestsellers to attend seminars, which are held regularly in Vancouver Eker’s latest program, Mind of Steel, Heart of Gold, promotes service as a means of empowering one’s self, so organizers set out to find ways to help the area. “We have manpower of 60-something one week and the next 80 people just waiting to help out all afternoon,” he said. “If there were any trails that needed to be fixed up or any roads needing to be cleaned... anything we could do to help.” John Harvey of the Squamish Trails Society put the volunteers to work on trails in the area, and Edith Tobe of the Squamish River Watershed Society led the group in substantial restoration planting in the estuary off the training dyke at the Windsurf Spit. “They were wonderful,” said Eker of the local leaders. “They even did a little talk about why each of these projects is important and what they do to the river and how the trees grow. It was very effective for our people. Really heart opening.” The visiting group also quickly learned what volunteerism means to locals. “So many of the residents in the area, when they saw what our group was doing, they would come... and we would tell them, and they would start helping!” said Eker. “It was phenomenal.” But not everything about Squamish impresses Eker. While his personal development organization, Peak Potentials Training, holds camps in numerous North American locations, Squamish is the only town that doesn’t offer some a lodge. “I looked for what I perceived was the ultimate spot for these adventure type camps. We love the area. It’s the adventure land of Canada, so we take advantage of it,” he said. “All I can tell you is I wish Squamish had a lodge that we can house 200 people in and feed them properly in kind of a mess hall place, and have staging or at least a conference centre of sorts. There would be a lot of call for it.” But despite the less convenient accommodations of the area, Squamish continues to be Eker’s preferred location, and visitors agree. “First of all the Chief alone is worth its weight in gold. You’re driving up that highway, you see the Chief, what are you supposed to think? Than you’ve got the waterways,” he said. “In this last camp and ones coming up this year I would say you’re talking at least 50 to 60 per cent Americans in those camps. They love Canada, they love Squamish and think it’s real jewel." Peak Potentials is one of the fastest growing and largest personal development seminar companies in the world. Eker said he made the leap between personal and financial development by working through his own struggles. “I wasn’t the excellent father. I wanted to be, that was very, very, very important to me, so I started personal development programs myself... and not let my mind take me out, not get upset so fast, have some patience, a lot more compassion,” he said. “At the same time I noticed my financial situation was doing a lot better, so I started putting those two together... Low and behold I became a millionaire in two-and-a-half years starting from zero.” The organization now boasts approximately 160 employees, and runs over 100 events a year. There are 13 programs in a variety of areas including business, life directions, money and investment, and empowerment type of programming such as Mind of Steel Heart of Gold, Enlightened Warrior and Wizard Training.

self help: You can work at home and love it!

What are you passionate about? What do you believe in? Is there a product or service that you find yourself just raving about with friends and family! Share your talents, experiences, and beliefs through a home business. Cho... by Geoffrey Faivre-Malloy What are you passionate about? What do you believe in? Is there a product or service that you find yourself just raving about with friends and family! Share your talents, experiences, and beliefs through a home business. Choosing a work at home business is rewarding. Earn extra money - meet your savings and debt reduction goals faster! Have Flexible Hours - schedule your work around other duties or your household duties around your work. Either way, you set the schedule. Set your own goals - You decide what is enough. Provide a creative outlet to do something you love to do. You might feel motivated to work at home because you need a little extra money. Perhaps you just need a creative outlet. Maybe you've become so good at your household management skills that you just have too much time on your hands. With the many challenges of family and household management I congratulate you if the latter is the case! Give yourself a pat on the back! You know we learn our most valuable lessons from our failures and successes. Hopefully, Right! I have learned one undeniable truth in my work experience.If you love it and have a passion for it, you WILL be successful. There is nothing easier than doing what you love to do. This is an undisputable fact of human nature. We all know this instinctively, but somehow fall away from the idea. If you can incorporate what you love to do, are passionate about and truly believe in, into your work at home business you will find success! You can choose to live your work or work to live. The decision to live your work can only be successful. It just makes sense! Until you find your niche in life you are just trudging along doing the necessary steps to survive. It's when you find and work your passion in life that you begin to live. Your work naturally becomes your life. No, I'm not talking about being all about work 24/7. I'm talking about bringing something you are passionate about in life into your work at home business. There's a huge difference. That being said, you need to really analyze what it is you like to do. Think about something productive or creative that you love to do in your spare time. WHAT IS YOUR "THING?" You may instantly know what your "thing" is or it could take you several days to figure it out. You may not have been able to do what you love for so long that you have forgotten what it actually is you love to do. Unfortunately, this happens to a lot of us. For example, through all my experiences I found nothing that excites me more than what I am doing right now! Bringing my family back to basics, getting my financial goals back on track and teaching my children to be financially responsible and successful. When I started looking for an extra income I tried so many things that just seemed to be out of character for me. I accepted offers only to discover that the program either required me to sell something (which I determined early in life was definitely not my thing), or required me to do something that I had no clue how to do. Like building a website or internet marketing. I was shot down from the start and couldn't even get motivated to try. I learned that you don't always get what you expect when you accept a work at home offer. You have to be careful to read everything. Make sure you know what you're getting! If you choose an internet business and you're a "newbie", make sure you will be provided with all the educational and technical tools you need. Internet marketing and website building is very technical. If you have no knowledge of ....... writing HTML text Search Engine Optimization - click and pay hits - search engine spiders? Keyword brainstorming affiliates - associate programs Well, you can see it's another college degree it seems. At the very least it would involve a great deal of reading, studying, and trial by error to create a website much less be successful at it. You need a step-by-step program to help you through. Some programs can leave you in a sea of confusion! Where do I start? What's that mean? How do I promote it? Build a website? Advertise with search engines? You will be defeated before you've even begun if not careful. If you've bought into any of these informational offers and still feel lost on how to get started on your work at home venture, you know exactly what I mean. So, if you're not internet savvy, or a webmaster, be sure the program offers the assistance that you need to be successful! Perhaps a work at home internet business is just not your cup of tea. There are lots of other wonderful ideas for generating a home based income. Child Care, crafts, and cleaning services are just to name a few. And, yes, there are people out there that do love to clean! Just remember - Do what you love to do to be successful! Find something that interests you or adapt an idea to suit your interests. You'll be meeting your goals in no time! No matter what it is you love to do, you can find a way to use it to make extra money. The best part is you'll love doing it if you love the work! If you chose to include a work at home business to strengthen you family's foundation, I wish you the best of luck. Remember, if you pursue what you love and are passionate about, YOU WILL BE SUCCESSFUL! About the Author Cheryl Johnson is a mother of four helping herself and others become, and remain, debt free. Simple Debt Free Living is a self-help plan for personal financial independence including home business ideasto earn extra income. Copyright Geoffrey Faivre-Malloy - http://www.goarticles.com/cgi-bin/showa.cgi?C=27851

self help: Self-help groups turn four, celebrate

Staff Reporter Officials said savings of the Kalanjiams now stood at Rs.50 lakh with a common fund of Rs.12 lakh. TAMBARAM: Women's self-help groups belonging to the Dhan Foundation of Kancheepuram district at Maraimalai Nagar celebrated four years of operations with a procession and a mammoth meeting on Wednesday. The celebrations were held to commemorate four years of operation of these groups, known as Kalanjiams. The Dhan Foundation initiated the Kalanjiam programme in 2002 in Kattankulathur and Kunrathur Panchayat Unions of Kancheepuram district and today it covers 53 villages in 32 panchayats with about 3,250 members. Officials of the foundation said the savings of the Kalanjiams now stood at Rs. 50 lakh with a common fund of Rs. 12 lakh. Nationalised banks had loaned the women Rs. 92 lakh. Of the 202 groups, 160 had formed a federation called `Kanchi vattaara kalanjiam' that was formally inaugurated during the function. The formation of the groups had improved the quality of life of people belonging to the marginalised sections. With the savings and loans from financial institutions, the women were able to contribute significantly to the income of their families, speakers said.