Life-Style: 01/07/08

Monday, January 7, 2008

Inspiration from Life

Inspiration from Life

Short stories, messages and quotes to inspire
you to start your day in a positive and uplifting manner

Taking the first step

How will you know you can succeed at something if you don't give it a try?

How will you know you can drag yourself out of the depths of your despair if you don't try?

How do you know you won't get that new job if you don't apply? How do you know...

Before becoming a success at anything, you must take that first step.

Giving and Receiving Love

Humans need love. It is in the giving and receiving of love that we choose life. Participating in this fundamental exchange lies in our ability to trust others

Happiness Now!

Happiness is to be found along the way, not at the end of the road, for then the journey is over and it is too late.

Today, this hour, this minute is the day, the hour, the minute for each of us to sense the fact that life is good, with all of its trials and troubles, and perhaps more interesting because of them.

Setting aside special moments

Over the years, I have noticed that it has become more and more difficult to set aside those special moments of the day when we can remove ourselves from the hectic, frenetic pace of everyday life.

Yet finding time to get away, to reflect, to concentrate, or to just let the mind wander freely is important for our overall health.

Studies have shown that reducing stress in daily life significantly reduces the risk of heart attacks or the need for heart surgery.

Reflecting on Anger

Another way of dealing with anger is to reflect on its results.

We know very well that when we are angry, we do not see the truth clearly. As a result, we may commit many unwholesome actions.

Our future life is determined by our intentional actions today, just as our present life is heir to our previous intentional behavior. Intentional actions committed under the influence of anger cannot lead to a happy future.

A Fresh Start Now

The greatest power you possess for succeeding in life is your understanding that life gives you a fresh start any moment you choose to start fresh.

You've only to test the truth of this fact about the newness of life to discover the incredible freedom that waits for you just behind it.

Nothing that stood in your way even a heartbeat before stands there now in the same way. It's all new, even if you can't as yet see it that way.

Finding Spiritual Guidance

Look for spiritual guidance everywhere and at any time... Spiritual guidance is not restricted to one area, or one particular day, or one particular time of the day.

While you may be more open to receiving your guidance in the quiet hours of the early morning, or the late night, your spiritual guidance is always present. It is present in books that you 'happen' to come across, articles you are attracted to reading, things you hear that when looked at from that perspective apply to your situation.

Perhaps if we expected to receive spiritual guidance at each and every moment of our lives instead of simply in church on Sunday, or when we sit quietly in meditation, we would receive many more messages throughout the day.

Emotions Have an Effect!

Every emotion that surges or trickles through you causes a physical reaction somewhere in the body. A minor upset may take a couple of days to register as a headache or backache; a more vehement explosion of anger or hatred directed at someone could result in a terrible case of ulcers or colitis, because that emotion is pounding your body.

But just as negative emotions have a negative effect on the body, so too do positive emotions have a positive effect.

We are all teachers and students

We are all teachers and students. You learn (hopefully) from the people in your life, and they have the opportunity to learn from you as well.

We are all 'in the same boat' and if we start learning from each other and sharing what we have learned with others, perhaps we can get to where we're going faster.

Sometimes we learn from people's mistakes, sometimes from their examples, but always we have the opportunity to look around us and see 'little mirrors' of ourselves.

Technorati : Inspiration, Life

UK research the best in the world, concludes a major assessment exercise

UK research 'world class'

University research in the United Kingdom is improving - and is among the best in the world, concludes a major assessment exercise.
The research assessment exercise (RAE), which is carried out every five years and which decides the allocation of £1bn funding, shows that an increasing number of university departments have achieved the highest grades.

The assessment found that 64% of research submitted was of national or international level of excellence - up from 43% five years ago.

And 55% of all research staff are now working in departments which have been assessed as carrying out research of international excellence.

These results, which were verified by international academics, "confirm the UK's position as one of the world's foremost research nations", said Sir Howard Newby, head of the Higher Education Funding Council for England.

There are more top rated 5* departments than ever before, with Cambridge University achieving the highest number - with 30.

Oxford University has the second highest number of 5* departments, with 25, followed by University College London, with 16.

New universities on top

There were also signs of an overall improvement in the former polytechnics, with Oxford Brookes achieving a 5* in history, compared with 5 for Oxford University.

The 5* rating means that departments are judged to have achieved a standard of international excellence in more than half of the research submitted.

Sir Howard Newby rejected suggestions that the overall improvements were "grade inflation" and said that all the evidence pointed towards a definite increase in quality.

But there were signs that universities were being more "strategic" in the subjects and staff submitted for assessment - with fewer submissions than in 1996.

Unlike school performance tables, these higher education research assessments only consider the departments and staff which a university chooses to put forward for evaluation.

The incentive for submitting departments for assessment is the chance of gaining a slice of the £910m research funding.

Departments rated 3b to 5* are set to receive funding. Those departments scoring 5* can receive four times the funding given to those rated at 3b.

Lowest ratings

Departments which only rated 1 or 2 do not receive funding - and Thames Valley University had the most lowest rated departments.

These four bottom rating departments were assessed to have virtually no research which attained levels of excellence.

Within subject areas, the greatest improvement was in English literature, in which there were 14 top-rated departments, compared with four in 1996.

There were 12 psychology departments which achieved the top grade, followed by biological sciences with 11.

World-class level

The umbrella group Universities UK said the results showed the UK was competing well on an international playing field.

"These results show that our universities are contributing at world-class level and we urge the government to provide the resources to recognise and build on this success," said the group's president, Professor Roderick Floud.

It was also important to reward the best without penalising the weaker institutions, he added.

'Bureaucratic drain'

The Association of University Teachers welcomed the improved results of the RAE, but warned of the strain it put on staff.

Assistant general secretary, Sally Hunt, said: "The RAE remains a divisive and bureaucratic drain on university staff."

"It is time for the RAE in its current form to be put out of its misery."

The AUT also urged the government to invest more in university research.

"The government cannot expect ongoing improvements in quality without providing more resources," said Ms White.

"We are calling on Hefce to join with AUT and other unions in lobbying the government for an end to the research gridlock and a better funding settlement."

The Style & Design : Vionnet Reimagined

Vionnet Reimagined

When Athens-born designer Sophia Kokosalaki was asked to create a collection under the iconic name of Madeleine Vionnet, she jumped at the opportunity, though she knew full well that it would not be easy to re-create the look of a designer so many other great designers had copied. "But I consider my aesthetic quite close to hers," says Kokosalaki, whose first collection for the French label debuts at Barneys New York this spring. "Of course, my pieces are less formal, more experimental." So a kimono dress can be reversed, a suede jacket is cut like a pillowcase, and satin is woven in such a way as to look wet. Kokosalaki used only French suppliers like feathermaker Lemarie and embroiderer Lesage, who just happened to have a few samples of vintage Vionnet embroideries to spare.

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Sophia Kokosalaki: Grecian Chic

DALLAS, Dec 21, 2000/ FW/ --- Born and raise in Greece, Sophia Kokosalaki is a rising star in the London fashion scene. Launching her label is 1999, she debuted at London Fashion Week scheduled show for the Fall 2000 season.

Discovered by Vogue UK magazine, the young designer gets regular editorial from Vogue, Harper Bazaar and W magazines.

For her signature style, Sophia Kokosalaki chose the classic Grecian draping and added to it handcrafted element, making it a hip, young and relaxed look. Her specialty is soft flowing dresses, and she has also shown promise with her work in knitwear and leather.

Hoping to produce clothes that are perennial and unaffected by trends, Sophia Kokosalaki fuses the old and the new and creating her own classic hip style.

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Monday, January 7, 2008

Inspiration from Life

UK research the best in the world, concludes a major assessment exercise

The Style & Design : Vionnet Reimagined