There is an interesting article today in Newstoday.com on the subject of Self-Help books.

It states:

If we walk into any big bookshop or library, we see a large section devoted to self-help books or inspirational books. The self-help book is one of the great success stories of the 20th century. The idea of self-help is nothing new. But only in the 20th century it has become a mass phenomenon. Dale Carnegie published his popular book, How to Win Friends and Influence People in 1936. Norman Vincent Peale published his equally popular book, The Power of Positive Thinking in 1952. Thousands of such books have been published in all parts of the world during the last 50 years.

Self-help books are your best friends and champions. They express a faith in your fundamental goodness and beauty that is sometimes hard to get from another person. On account of their emphasis on following your star and believing that your thoughts can remake your world, a more appropriate name for self-help writing might be the 'literature of infinite possibility'. Whatever that recognises our right to dream and then shows us how to turn the dream into a reality, will always be powerful and invaluable.

I have my own thoughts on this. I think that the reason people look for self-help books is that they can see that something needs to be improved in their lives and they are lacking in the tools to make this possible.

The wonderful thing about Scientology books: Scientology: The Fundamentals of Thought, Self-Analysis and The Problems of Work.

I'd like to share some of what I got out of each of them.

Scientology: The Fundamentals of Thought

This was the first Scientology techniques you can use to help a person understand their work. It includes a very helpful chapter on a Scientology concept that enambles you to establish better communication with anyone. Boy is that a useful thing to know!

Self Analysis is actually a

Earth Organization

Barbara Dakin from the Church of Scientology of Los Angeles posted this one to PR Leap.

I'm fascinated by this Earth Organization. Lawrence Anthony, the founder, is quite an amazing man and I think what they are doing is extremely important.

Here's the press release, from June 10th 2005

Every American head of household needs to know exactly how many trees are needed to provide oxygen for their family and then plant a few more. It’s amazing how few trees per family it actually takes. It is a simple solution, which, multiplied by the number of families in the US alone, could begin to reverse the trend of overloading our atmosphere with greenhouse gases," declares long-time California resident, Barbara Wiseman.

Following her recent appointment as International President of a South African-based organization, The Earth Organization (EO), Wiseman provided the keynote address at EO’s first US Environmental Conference held in Los Angeles last month."As a successful business consultant accustomed to turning around failing operations, I took a look at the current environmental statistics on planet Earth and realized that something had to be done about it - and fast," said Wiseman. "With over 50 dead zones in our oceans (massive areas which will support no life), with tens of thousands of plant and animal species going extinct every year, with billions of tons of toxins spewed annually into the air we breath, with deforestation depleting oxygen sources, with the quality of food we eat becoming less and less nutritious, the population is heading towards an unhealthy state indeed.

There was really no other choice."Wiseman, as a result of years of marketing experience, says she first studied the many surveys conducted by The Earth Organization. They gave adequate evidence that there was in the United States a very strong interest in doing something to turn things around environmentally, but that desire was accompanied by the anxiety of not knowing what they themselves could or should specifically do. "The Gallup Poll alone showed that 50-60% of those surveyed are concerned about the environment "a great deal", and that another 20% think about it "a fair amount".

When you have approximately 70 percent of the population with serious concerns about a current issue, that is huge," says Wiseman.The Earth Organization was founded by internationally acclaimedenvironmentalist, conservationist and explorer, Lawrence Anthony who lives with his wife on his private game reserve in South Africa. On returning from an extraordinary act of courage in rescuing the animals in the Baghdad Zoo early during the Iraqi War, Anthony met with Wiseman in London. Impressed by the success of her management consulting company, which has worked with government leaders in Russia, Mexico and Haiti to improve various conditions, her personal service in a refugee resettlement facility, and capped by seven successful years hosting and/producing a national radio show called "Building a Better World," Anthony invited her to join him in creating a new international environmental organization.Since then they have been building a large membership base and quickly taken on a variety of projects, "primarily with the purpose of raising the public’s awareness of how human survival is braided together with the survival of all of life on earth," says Wiseman.

"Getting educated and getting active are an important part of being an Earth Organization member. So we are currently working on a variety of projects: from saving endangered Black and White Rhinos in South Africa, to creating an historic eco-tourism alliance with 6 Zulu tribes, to creating a global tree-planting campaign, to raising awareness in large groups and organizations in the Los Angeles area on the vital importance of reusing and recycling." The Earth Organization’s first US conference, hosted by EO in a glass-ceilinged conference facility provided by the Human Rights Department of the Los Angeles Church of Scientology, brought together ecology experts and advocates.

The conference addressed both endangered species and the increasingly toxic environment. Dr. Gary Herbertson, former Chief Executive Officer of Earth Day International and an associate of 2004 Nobel Peace Prize awardee, Wangari Mathai, spoke about the United Nations Earth Charter. Licensed wildlife rehabilitator, Michael Chill, spoke on the reclaiming of natural animal habitats for a balanced environment.

Toxins as they affect the individual was the subject of a presentation by Dr. Megan Shields, a board certified family physician and expert on the eradication of toxins in the body. Dr. Carl Smith, Vice President and Senior Editor for the Foundation for Advancement in Science and Education, delved into dangerous disposal tactics of toxic materials, and Dr. Mark Gold, Executive Director of Heal the Bay, an environmental organization focused on increasing water quality of the southern California beaches, discussed the crises occurring in the ecology of the oceans of earth, especially the Santa Monica Bay, and effective strides that have been made over the past several years to handle marine pollution.

The focus of these panels was on what each individual person can do to improve the environmental quality of life around him or her.During her keynote speech, Wiseman referenced some of the writings of humanitarian and conservationist L. Ron Hubbard. Through his research Hubbard identified the dynamic principle of existence: the urge to survive, and broke this urge down into eight separate human thrusts toward survival – through self, as a family, through groups, Mankind, all living things, the physical universe, spirit and an awareness of infinity or a Supreme Being.

Rounding out the day, the first Environmental Crusader award was presented by Emmy Award winning actress and spokesperson for the Earth Organization, Michelle Stafford (Star of "The Young and the Restless") to Deb Baumann, Executive Director and Environmental Justice Specialist of the Tujunga Watershed Council for outstanding advocacy. And at the close of the conference, all attendees were invited to participate in the planting of a young tree, a "child tree"— to symbolize the care and nourishing that the earth is in need of, if it and we are to survive.

The five-foot, Majestic Beauty Indian Hawthorne was provided by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power as part of their program which offers trees at no charge to property owners whowish to lower temperatures in their homes by providing additional shade on their property (visit ladwp.com).

Support for Tom Cruise and his Stand Against Psychiatry.

Good on you, rjgiombetti, you are exactly right in your posting Tom Cruise re-ignited the debate about psychiatry--its false claims & drug hazards_Florida Medicaid restricts. I've always admired Tom Cruise, but my respect for him has gone up even more, watching him refusing to back down despite the salvo the phamra/psych syndicate is throwing at him through their minions in the media. I'm a member of Citizens Commission on Human Rights and I have seen catastrophic violations of human rights of mental patients first hand. I applaud Mr. Tom Cruise and am glad to see the support he is getting from other human rights advocates!

Scientology Volunteer Ministers Helping Others

Its rather long, but a worthwhile article that I found that clearly describes what Scientology Volunteer Ministers are and what they do. With all the news of what the "yellow shirts" have been doing in SE Asia - thought this might be of interest for a little background. Plus some interesting links to give more info. "In the mid-1970s, L. Ron Hubbard concluded that criminal activities were rising in proportion to the decline in religious influence. He further noted that many had no place to turn when they needed solutions to life’s problems. Yet Scientology contains data that anyone can use in any part of their lives, data people can use to help each other. When Scientology is used, conditions do improve. The way to a better society is to make it available as broadly as possible. One of the key ways the Church fosters this idea is through the Volunteer Minister program. "The program makes help broadly available by providing fundamental aspects of Scientology technology to anyone, Scientologist and non-Scientologist alike. To supply this technology The Scientology Handbook, by L. Ron Hubbard, was first published as The Volunteer Minister’s Handbook in 1976. Since then, thousands of individuals have performed a vital role as Volunteer Ministers in their communities. "The Church takes an active role to help them by distributing The Scientology Handbook, offering training and certification on its materials, putting Volunteer Ministers in contact with each other and assisting them to start in their ministry. The Volunteer Minister program is nonsectarian and, in addition to training lay people, also trains ministers of other denominations to render more effective assistance to those around them. "There are no restrictions on who may become a Volunteer Minister or what he may do to assist others. Anything a minister would do, a Volunteer Minister does. And any area of life can benefit from his help. "The Scientology Handbook is the result of hundreds of thousands of hours of research and application. It teaches many of the helpful fundamentals of Scientology in a series of simple and swiftly learned lessons. After studying these lessons, one can immediately begin ministering to the needs of the community in a volunteer capacity. Volunteer Ministers need not belong to any association or congregation. All one requires is knowledge of the handbook and the desire to help. "Those following any faith may become a Volunteer Minister. But he is a minister and he helps his fellow man. He does not shut his eyes to the pain, evil and injustice in the world. Rather, he is trained to handle such misery and help others achieve the relief that comes from the application of Scientology technology to conditions in life. People in all areas can do something for their fellow man through the Volunteer Minister program. "A Volunteer Minister eases the tribulations of people. He saves troubled marriages, helps failing students, resolves conflicts between individuals and groups, rescues drug addicts from the agony of withdrawal convulsions, eases physical discomfort and assists the injured. Such are just some of the miracles Volunteer Ministers accomplish every day. He supplies services which are lacking in the society, and there is a tremendous amount he can do. "Each section of The Scientology Handbook teaches a body of basic Scientology technology on a different subject. With each lesson learned, the Volunteer Minister becomes more able to effectively deal with situations he sees in life: "A person smashes his hand in a car door. The Volunteer Minister is taught assist technology and so can help alleviate the pain and help the injury heal more rapidly. He applies similar techniques to ease illnesses as well. A married couple has constant arguments. The Volunteer Minister knows the mechanisms which underlie marital conflicts and can counsel them, restore harmony and save the marriage. Two shop owners in the neighborhood are in conflict. With what he is taught, the Volunteer Minister can locate the real source of the conflict and resolve it. A friend has fallen on hard times and is using drugs. The Volunteer Minister has studied how to get him off drugs and can help him straighten out his life. A restaurant owner’s business has taken a downturn. The Volunteer Minister can isolate the reason for this and help the owner right his business. These are not unusual circumstances; they happen all the time. Ordinarily, people are helpless in such situations, even if they want to help; a Volunteer Minister, on the other hand, has been trained to render effective assistance. And so he does something about it. "If the person desires to do it, an optional course is offered at his church or mission. Such training at the church, by virtue of assistance from experienced personnel, can better equip a Volunteer Minister to perform his duties. "Volunteer Ministers frequently form groups with each other which enable them to better serve the community. Such groups allow newer ministers to gain experience by working with more practiced ones. Some even have congregations, holding Sunday services or seminars with topics relevant to their communities and individual interests. "Volunteer Ministers also work with and assist ministers of other denominations. All churches are involved in helping their fellow man and can work together to accomplish these goals. Upon invitation, Volunteer Ministers deliver sermons at other churches. "By mutual cooperation and assistance, ministers of all denominations strengthen the force of religion in the world. In so doing they help reverse the cultural decay stemming from the rampant materialism plaguing modern society. "The good works of Volunteer Ministers are noticed by the society at large. A perfect example came from a South African Volunteer Minister, the Reverend William Mesilane. This sixty-nine-year-old minister of the Christ Assembly Church utilized Scientology technology to help people in his community. "He eased someone’s pain using the Touch Assist on the train from Maclear to Sterkstroom,” the newspaper reported. “He saw a woman crying, who jumped with terror if anyone spoke to her. He asked her what was wrong and she did not know. He offered to do a Touch Assist, which took twenty minutes. During that time, the train conductor came and watched him at work, as well as curious passengers. At the end of the Touch Assist the woman was laughing and calm.” "William claims he took on a new lease in life when he began to study the handbook. He eagerly plans to use all he learns to help his people further.” "As more and more people see the value of bringing true help to another, the Volunteer Minister program spreads further throughout the society. By freely offering his assistance to those who need it, the effective contributions of the Volunteer Minister are making the world a better place."