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By Remez Sasson

Willpower is the inner strength and the inner engine that propels towards success and achievement. It is the power that pushes into action in every area of life. Willpower is one of the most important and desirable inner powers, and its lack or presence determines whether you will fail or accomplish your desires and ambitions and attain success.

Willpower is erroneously considered as a quality belonging only to highly successful people, who depend on strength and force to achieve their goals. The truth is that it can be developed by everyone, and it is important, useful and desirable in the small affairs of life, as it is in the achievement of major goals.

If you usually feel too lazy, developing your inner strength will help you to overcome this laziness. If you usually procrastinate, possess low self-esteem, feel weak and vulnerable or lack self-control, strengthening this power will help you too.

Willpower, which is inner strength, manifests as the ability to control unnecessary and harmful impulses. It also manifests as the ability to decide, abide by this decision, and follow it with perseverance until its successful accomplishment. This ability gives you the courage and strength to endure and overcome inner and outer resistance and opposition, difficulties and hardships.

There are many who lack the inner strength to say "no". Others find it difficult to follow and assert their ideas and beliefs. Some are afraid to take action and make changes or they lack resolution and the persistence to go on with their plans to the end. A strong power of the will can change all this.

It is the right and privilege of everyone to develop this ability. Everyone can develop it to a greater or smaller extent, depending on the desire, earnestness, ambition and time devoted to developing and strengthening this inner power.

In many of my other articles, and in the book "Will power and self discipline", I have emphasized the importance of developing this ability, and showed how to do that. You do not require super ordinary powers to develop it. You do not need to sleep on a bed of nails, fast or stand on one foot for days, as fakirs do. The concept that the development of willpower requires you to undergo suffering and physical mutilation is not true.

Developing willpower and inner strength is a gradual process that anyone can undertake. Some will be able to reach higher levels of power, while others will reach different degrees of development, but the way is open to all.

You will have to give up some unnecessary and harmful pleasures and change some unhealthy habits, but this is for a higher good. You give up something harmful or useless, in order to gain strength and power that will help you in every area of your life. In fact, the whole process can be turned into an absorbing, enjoyable and interesting challenge.

Training and exercising your willpower will fill you with strength, courage, and assertiveness. As your power grows, it will be easier for you to get rid of habits and attitudes that stand in your way to a better life. You will gain inner strength that will help you at your job and at home, in your relationships, with carrying on your tasks and with accomplishing your ambitions.

Author Unattributed

In many cultures, people were not named until adulthood. As numerology is used to discover the powers of names, names hold a power all their own. They serve as a psychic and psychological trigger. In many cultures, children were given a "false name" to protect them from bad spirits until one was chosen for them in adulthood. In other societies the mother would be the only person who would know the child's real name. This all comes from the concept that a person's true name has power, and knowing that name can give others and bad spirits power over them. Names also are our prime identification with the world.

Magickal names are quite popular among the Pagan community. So popular, in fact, that many Pagans have two or even three such names: a public Craft name, a secret name, and perhaps even a third name which is used only when addressing the Goddess and the God, and more than one tradition may have different names for each group. For many, taking a new name is an outward symbol of her or his devotion. It's seen as a part of the process of rebirth into the religion.

So how do I go about finding a magickal name?

Not everyone within the Craft takes on an additional name. It's personal preference and generally tied to the Tradition that the individual practices. The name one chooses should not be adopted lightly. Even the Public Name may become something you are associated with years to come,so make sure the name fits when you take it as your own.

Generally speaking, there are several techniques or methods one can use to select a Craft name. It is not uncommon to adopt the name of a patron God or Goddess, or a significant totem animal. The name may also reflect some personal talents, skills or hobbies, or it may be derived from a historical or ancestral relationship. Numerology is used by many practitioners to develop Craft names, reducing the numeric equivalent of the given name to it's simplest form, then selecting a magickal name fitting that character count. Regardless of the method used, it is generally followed by a period of meditation in order to be satisfied the new name is indeed suitable and appropriate.

It is also possible to obtains one's name through a ritual setting such as the one listed below. I would light candles of your favorite color, place your favorite flowers upon the altar as an offering to the Gods, burn your favorite incense, write your given name in cursive upon a piece of parchment - or regular paper if you don't have parchment--have the chalice filled with you very favorite beverage, whatever it may be-- coffee, blackberry herbal tea, mead, water, sprite - whatever you like best. Play your favorite music and wear your favorite jewelry and garments.

Having personal items on an altar will assist in find a magickal name that is *perfectly* suited just for you. All your favorite things are a part of whom you are at this time in your life and help give this naming rite that added connection to your inner self, which is needed if you are going to find your Craft name.

Pray to your patron God and Goddess, tell them of your intent. Ask Them for Their help in discovering your name. Watch your breathing. Take the parchment with your name in cursive and light it from one of the many candles of your favorite color that's sitting on the altar.

Place it on your pentacle dish or a saucer or in a cauldron [somewhere it can burn safely] and watch the smoke rise up to the Gods, carrying with it secrets of your personality. Then close your eyes, and focus on that point just between your eyes, looking for symbols or images to appear, colors, animals whatever reveals itself to you. Also be listening for voices in your head or actual voices you can hear with your ears, whispering your new name.

If you don't receive a response after an hour, thank the Gods and ask Them if They would send you a message or sign in your dreams this night. Don't worry if you don't meet with immediate success, it just takes awhile to get the hang of it. Often times the biggest cause of failure is because the person wouldn't or couldn't *relax*.

Using a craft name may not give you any additional power but it will become your personal link to the Craft and to the deities. Your name will, to a great extent, define you as a witch and as a practitioner of our Craft of the Wise.

Because .info e-mail addresses generally come from spammers and create a tremendous amount of work for the administrators of the site, they will no longer be allowed as a registration option.  If, for some legitimate reason, you do use a .info address in order to read and interact on the site you will need to contact me and verify that you are, in fact, a person interested in membership and not a spammer. All .info accounts are being deleted as they are registered and marked as spam so that users of these accounts are banned. The ONLY way to avoid this is to contact administration and explain who you are and why you are using a .info account.

I've had to ban, because of the number of spam accounts, all members with the hostname "cssgroups.lv".  If any of you are legitimate members of this forum and want your membership reinstated, you will have to contact me to do so.  I will be approving these on a case by case basis only.

[Choose ME Before WE]

by Christine Arylo

Stop Chasing Fairy-tale Princes and Discover Your True Hero: Yourself

Full of sass, soul, and the type of empowering wisdom that no woman should live without, Choosing ME before WE is like a heart-to-heart with your closest girlfriend. And best of all, you’ll discover that your closest girlfriend is your own truest self, inside you, always ready to offer wise, loving advice and counsel about what is best for you.

Designed to challenge and guide women to create the relationships they want instead of the ones they often find themselves stuck in, this book is packed with:

• stimulating questions to uncover what’s true for you, daring you to get downright real about yourself and your relationships

• powerful techniques to change old habits that sabotage your dreams
• real-life experiences shared by the author, her friends, and her clients

Author Christine Arylo, who almost married the wrong guy for all the wrong reasons, speaks to women of all ages, whether they’re seeking a relationship, evaluating a less-than-fulfilling one, rebounding from a bad breakup, or working through issues with a partner. Choosing ME before WE teaches women to stop settling, to get real about the kind of partner they’re looking for, and to start exploring and creating what they truly want in themselves and their relationships.

Choose ME Before WE

How putting your most important partnership first, the one with yourself, can create the relationship of your dreams

If you’re like most people on this planet, whether you’re single, married, or partnered, there’s a good chance that there is something about your relationship that isn’t giving you what you want. There is something more that you think you should be getting from your guy or gal, but no matter how much you talk, fight, complain, cry, wish or bargain, nothing really ever changes.

Maybe it’s the lack of attention from your honey, or perhaps you're the one accused of being “emotionally unavailable.” Maybe it’s the fighting or the feeling of loneliness that’s got you wondering if this is just how relationships are. Or if you’re single, maybe you keep finding yourself longing for that special person to show up and change your life, but you always seem to be “still waiting.”

Whatever the case may be, and there sure are many when it comes to relationships, here’s some good news that has the potential to change everything – and for the better.

Good news #1: You have the power to create the relationship you want, always, anytime, forever.

Good news #2: Your power comes by taking 100% responsibility for yourself and what you’ve created.

Okay, maybe the second part doesn’t seem like such great news, but it is. Most people go through their entire life focused on the wrong pronouns when it comes to their romantic relationships: “If HE would just…, SHE is always…, I wish that WE could be more….” How many times have these phrases uttered from your voicebox? So much attention, complaining, and obsessing over what you have no control over, and in turn, a lot of wasted energy directed at changing things that quite frankly you can’t.

Unless want to become a professional “Fixer of Others” or you’re into sacrificing your life’s dreams just to keep your lover around (which by the way is so not recommended,) then you’ve got to get your pronouns straightened out! When it comes to your relationship, the first and foremost pronoun on your mind should always be M-E, because that is where every relationship starts.

The best lives are lived and created from the inside out. If it’s a dynamic, fulfilling, intimate and authentic partnership you seek, you first must create that kind of relationship with yourself.

ME Before WE, What It Takes

While there are no cliff notes, pills or five easy steps, the following five must-have promises to yourself will give you the fortitude and commitment needed to choose ME before WE:

KNOW ME. Know who you are at your core. Know your dreams, values, gifts and more. Know the life you want to live, regardless of any relationship, societal pressures or family expectations. Know your own emotional holes and heal them. It’s called self-awareness. Build it.

TRUTHFULLY ME. Get downright real about how honest you are with yourself. Whether it’s avoidance, denial or just flat out delusion, both men and women lie to themselves all the time to keep away the truths that feel too scary. What lies have you told yourself about ME, HE or WE just to keep a relationship alive? Make a vow to always be honest with ME, to never hide from the truth, no matter what. Commit to unwavering, uncompromising truth with yourself.

LOVE ME. Love yourself first and make your happiness a priority. Contrary to popular belief, loving yourself is not selfish. The more you love ME the more you can and will love others. Ask yourself often, “Am I happy?” and give an honest reply. If the answer is no more often than not, take responsibility and change your situation. Take a vow to make your happiness a priority and to make decisions that reflect the love you have for you.

TRUST ME. When that inner voice of intuition talks to you, listen! Stop taking the advice of your voices of fear, the “shoulds,” and the over-rationalized “musts.” They never have your best interests at heart. Your intuition is always on your side. Make a promise to trust it and act on it.

HONOR ME. Make the choice to no longer settle for less than you truly want in your relationships. Choose to believe that what you want is possible, and do what it takes to create it.

The truth is, we all have the relationship that we choose. It may not be the one we want, but whether we like it or not, we’ve created it. If you want something different, the only place to start is with ME. It might not be the easiest path, but it will always be the most fulfilling.

Based on the book Choosing ME Before WE: Every Womans Guide to Life and Love © 2009 Christine Arylo. Printed with permission of New World Library, Novato, CA