Empathy: The Key to Positive Human Interaction

Yesterday, I had a discussion over empathy with somebody close to me who said, "Empathy is most needed in human communication, but empathy without sympathy has no humanistic value. A con man may feel empathy for you, but if he has no morals or feelings of sympathy, he can use that empathy against you."

The Blog Factor [Essay by  Penny Sansevieri]

So what is this "blog factor"? Well, what a few thought was a novel idea some years ago has now morphed into something no one expected. There are currently nine million blogs out there with 40,000 new ones being added everyday. Some are informative and some are just downright a waste of your time. And while we hear a lot about blogging these days, what is blogging *really*?

Lisbon is known as the major artery of Portugal's transportation system. A network of railways and highways converge at Lisbon. Public transportation within the city entails electric trams, trains, buses, and curiously enough, an entire system of elavadors (cable-operated trams). Most notably, the Elavador de Santa Justa made of cast iron that vertically rises up to 148 feet.

Many people take a holiday on the Greek island of Crete and enjoy the fantastic beaches, charming villages and endless sunshine. But Crete offers the visitor much more than this.

As if welcoming people, charming mountain villages, rocky bays, sandy beaches and one of Europe's best climates were not enough reasons to visit Crete, it is also a historian's and an archaeologist's paradise. Its fascinating archaeological ruins and world-class museums are surely a bonus. And in the far northwest, east and south of the island, away from the tourist trail, you can expect to see some really excellent smaller Minoan sites that are hardly visited.

Title: Copenhagen in Denmark - the Tourist Paradise

Author: Stan Smith

Article:
Copenhagen in Denmark is a tourist paradise. It has a multitude of attractions for visitors of all types. It is also an easy city to explore. Copenhagen in Denmark is one of Europe's oldest capitals and home to the nation's parliament, government, and monarchy. It is a city suited for tourists and easy to explore. It is the nation's largest city with a population of over 1 million. It is also the cultural center for the country featuring art, music, theater and design. It is also known as a 24 hour party city for those looking for a swinging time.

The opening ceremony of the 2006 Football World Cup will be held in Munich on Friday 9th June 2006. The first game of the tournament will also be played in Munich, on the 9th of June at the newly built Munich stadium at Fröttmaning.

Through the years, we accumulate a series of experiences. Our tendency is to evaluate and simply reflect on what we have been through and what we have learned. This inward site into what we can no longer see with our eyes allows us to see through them through our soul. The landscape of the soul creates a movement and a synchronistic pattern between our heart and our mind through the inner visions of our soul. When the heart and imagination join forces to look back or look forward, we are deepening our awareness of who we really are. This deepening of who we really are is our soul. It has been said that "our hearts will not rest until we rest in thee." This is our journey in life. It is our journey home. It is the journey into the spacial quality of existence that brought us into this world. It is the journey of what is leading us through this life. And, it is the journey back to where it all began. One could say that the infant and the elderly are more soul than body. As you and I develop our personality and ego, we begin to think we are somebody. Ram Dass calls this "somebody training." We begin to think we are real and act on this appearance of being as we move into adulthood. When we mature, we go back into what Ram Dass has called "nobody training." We spend a great deal of time learning to develop independence from infancy only to lose it again as we die. It is the journey from innocence to grace. The human expression is a journey with many ups and downs. What keeps us on tract and often sane in an insane world is the "landscape of the soul." The landscape of the soul gives us strength to do the impossible and give us hope when there is none. Even though all parts of the self needs to be embraced with scrutiny and unconditional love, there is something inside us perfecting our true nature. Our authentic self knows we are growing through life and simply going through life at the same time. This delicate balance between these two forces of nature enables us to stay on our path. It is the path a knowing who we are through the various experiences and expressions of our life. Insodoing, we learn to trust in our soul and find direction there when direction in life is not present.

Samuel Oliver, author of, "What the Dying Teach Us: Lessons on Living" For more on this author; http://www.soulandspirit.org

About the author:
Sam Oliver worked with the dying for over 15 years. During that time, he wrote 4 books on grief. Website: http://www.soulandspirit.org

I grew up in India where several systems of healing coexisted and still coexist peacefully side by side. My parents would take us to whichever practitioner they thought was right for whatever ailed us. It was like this great river of healing that was always flowing and you could dip into it as and when you needed. I chose to become a Doctor of Allopathic Medicine because that was the established "scientific" paradigm. Throughout my education and my Residency in Internal Medicine, I studied the "scientific method ". Now, after being in practice for 20 years and having actively studied many other "alternative" systems for
the last 15 years, I have come to the realization that many of the alternative systems are equally if not more scientific and sophisticated than the current paradigm.

A year has passed since the death of Terri Schiavo, and we still find ourselves wrestling with the same uncomfortable questions the Schiavo case forced upon us - how should we make our wishes known for the end of life? How can we ensure that those wishes are honored? And who should speak for us when we can no longer speak for ourselves?

Trying On A New Lifestyle [Essay by Paul Babs]

The lure of riches in a foreign land, the potential of awesome new opportunities, dreams of what might be - all these sometimes entice people to immigrate to a different country. Being reunited with a loved one or just longing for adventure are also strong reasons for immigrating. Sometimes, rather than being drawn to a new country, one is pushed: religious persecution, starvation when the crops have failed, escaping unbearable family situations. Certainly wars, revolutions and political unrest have caused thousands to try to find a peaceful existence elsewhere. And decades ago, many were forced against their will to live in a new country as slaves or as prisoners.

Where have all the manners gone? Three things give rise to my query. First, the failure of folks day by day to just say thank you for an act of kindness or generosity. Second, as reported in the New York Times recently, the dilapidated sportsmanship of more than the usual handful of spoiled Olympic athletes who just can't grasp how they could lose or why bible-thick Omaha steaks aren't steaming away on every streetcorner in Turin. For heroes like them. And third, the rancorous mooing between herds that is the picture of current cultural discourse. Did someone say fair mindedness? What purple critter are you? A left-wing pundit (could just as well have been a conservative one) recently extolled the virtue of passion while defending an instance of clearly barbaric personal assault. We have a new it word, I suspect. Passion. A blanket exoneration of every kind of stupid, well, mooing.

Now, Let's face facts: The war in Iraq is all about oil - or energy which as far as the Bush Administration is concerned is still about oil. Oh sure, as with lots of wonderful things the Bush administration will give lip-service to alternative energy (Switch grass, anyone?) but in reality little or no money will actually be allocated to it. Just remember with W that Black is always White. No Child left Behind actually means every child Left behind. And so on... You can find your own examples without my help.