Singing

Shabe Siah by Hamed:

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dq8KSuRO1fg&feature=player_embedded#

Best Approaches To Improve Your English Listening Skills

1. Listen to Radio

At work, home or car wherever you're, listening to radio channels is known as the BEST technique ever to improve your listening skills.

You don't have to always concentrate on what is being said. It will be absorbed into your subconscious automatically.

Radio channels:

• Archers on BBC Radio 4: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/archers/
• http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/
• http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/radio
• http://www.freeview.co.uk/freeview/Channels/Radio
• http://www.heart.co.uk/
• http://www.windowsmedia.com/radioui/home.aspx
• http://www.live365.com/index.live
• http://www.radiostations.co.uk/news/index.html
• http://www.radiostations.co.uk/hiphop/index.html

...

Speaking Circles

What is a Speaking Circle?

A unique public speaking environment where people can speak to an audience with a secure and supportive feeling.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gx2oeQte5_E&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsGA0yD-gMA

History?

The concept was initiated by Lee Glickstein, a public speaking coach in San Francisco, who grew up petrified of being in front of others.

Roles?

There are 2 main roles; speaker and listeners.

Listeners' focus is just to listen with full attention and support the speaker no matter what speaker says.

Speaker's focus is simply to connect with the group. The main purpose is to feel the audience support.

How Many People?

4 to 10 people are typically involved in the meeting.

How does it run?

• Facilitator explains the Speaking Circle if there are any new joiners
• People speak twice; the first round each person speaks for 3 minutes and the second round each person speaks for 6 minutes.
• At the start and end of each speak, the audience clap for the speaker :) - to show their support
• Speaker starts each round with being silent for 30 seconds and only making connection with the audience. Then, he/she would start his speak.
• After the second talk, the person is encouraged to share his or her experience of speaking.
• Audience at the end of the second round and after the speaker has shared his experience, are encouraged to give only positive feedback; no negative, criticism nor even improvement suggestion.
• Each talk can be videotaped if anyone is interested. Video taping has enormous benefits.

How Often?

It's totally up to you. We started it with monthly now we try doing it weekly.

Subject?

Each individual is free to choose any subject. You can prepare or just trust your mind to give you what you need or want to say.

Better than that you don't have to say anything at all; you can just stay there and look at the audience. All up to you :)

The time is totally yours.

What it is and it is not about?

It's not about performance or the contents of talks. It's mainly about making connection with people, building self-confidence and being ourselves.

Benefits?

• Public speaking skills
• To become at ease and confident to stand and talk in front of an audience - presentation
• Expressing ourselves as we are; being ourselves
• To learn making personal contact with the audience
• To learn to trust your mind
• Total acceptance...total freedom...total support... a chance to take a risk... an opportunity to discover the real you... in a space that's totally yours.

Standards of Support:

Confidentiality:

• We do not take content of talks outside of the circle, unless we have specific permission

While a person is presenting, we as audience members, to the best of our ability:

• Maintain soft, positive focus on the face of speaker
• Remain quiet except for laughter if it comes up naturally
• Do not take notes or engage in any other distracting behaviour
• Do not respond out loud, even if asked a question by speaker

When giving feedback, we do:

• Keep it brief and clear
• Frame it absolutely in the positive
• Talk about our own feelings

When giving feedback, we do not:

• Discuss content of the talk
• Talk about the speaker's life
• Evaluate or compare this talk with previous talks they've given
• Analyze, coach or advise
• Turn attention to ourselves

When receiving feedback, we:

• Just receive the feedback into our heart the best we can
• Do not make comments to the people giving feedback, beyond "Thank You"

Talk content:

• The main restriction on talk content is that it no reflect negatively on any present
• We are sensitive about initiating conversations with others based on the content of their talks

Change Suggestions By the Group:

* Prepare the topic

From experience, it is thought to be that it would be better if the speaker prepares in advance what he or she is going to talk about.

* Improvement feedback

After the second round of speaking, the speaker can ask the audience to provide improvement suggestions; this needs to be framed in a polite and positive way.

The 7 Major Energy Center Chakras

Do we really have energy centers in our body?

What are Chakras?

7 major energy centers of every human being.

http://www.wikihow.com/Open-Your-Spiritual-Chakras

http://healing.about.com/od/chakratheseven/a/study7chakras.htm

Chakras Statuses?

These Chakras can be in these statuses:

• Open or Active: the energy is flowing
• Closed or Inactive: the energy is blocked
• Under activate: the chakra is not fully open.

Where are Chakras exactly?

http://www.consencia.co.za/aura.html

Chakras Test:

Test which Chakras of yours are open or closed.

http://www.eclecticenergies.com/chakras/chakradotest.php

How to Open Chakras?

Live With Hope Every Day and Always

What is Hope?

"True hope is a well-founded confident belief that which I have purpose to do I would be able to do within a reasonable amount of time".

"Hope is a belief in a positive outcome related to events and circumstances in one's life. Hope is the feeling and thought that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best".

Hope is not seeing the present but seeing the future and potential in everything.

Hope is positive anticipation of the the happy future.

No matter what degree of hope we currently have in life, we can improve and grow it.

Hope is to expect something better tomorrow.

Life Without Hope?

Life without hope is hell, sad and depressing.

No hope, no motivation.

No hope, no joy.

No hope, no resistance happiness.

Life without hope is life in fear.

Fear:

Fear is a negative hope and that's its opposite indeed. Both are anticipations of future.

Life with Hope?

Hope makes you creative

Hope lets you see the potential in every thing and every one

Hope lets you see the future positively

Hope motivates you with its great force

Without Hope you will be negative and depressed

Hope helps you be joyful in life

Hope lets you be excited

Hope lets you dream freely

Avoid False Hope

False hope is a hope based on no evidence and entirely based on fantasy or an extremely unlikely outcome.

The Highly Importance Of Hope from Bible:

Being "Always Joyful" is God's will for your life according to Bible. Without Hope you can't be truly joyful.

So "Being Hopeful Always" is God's will for your life and if you are not like that, it's now time to change.

http://bible.org/article/hope

http://www.bible-topics.com/Hope.html

How to Change and Develop Hope

Every day make sentences which makes you and others more hopeful.

Hope for your life and life of others: health, work, love, wealth, education, communication, relationship, ability.

Always have something to hope for.

Practice:

Every morning you get up ask yourself, what are my hopes today?

Every week ask yourself, what are my hopes for next week?

Every month ask yourself, what are my hopes for next month?

Every year ask yourself, what are my hopes for next year?

Hope Quotes:

http://www.wisdomquotes.com/cat_hope.html

http://www.farid-hajji.net/quotes/hope.html

http://www.about-personal-growth.com/hope-quotes.html

Improving Your Listening Skills

Importance:

How well you listen has major impacts on:

• Your job effectiveness
• The quality of your relationships with others
• Productivity
• Your ability to influence, persuade, negotiate
• Avoiding conflict and misunderstandings
• Understanding the other person's point of view
• Respecting others

Barriers to Good Listening:

• Distractions caused by your own thoughts or your environment
• Lack of concentration on the topic or the speaker
• Language, vocabulary or grammar
• Accent of speaker
• Interrupting the speaker
• Not looking at the speaker
• Make the speaker feel that he is wasting the listener's time
• Showing interest in something rather than the conversation
• Getting ahead of speaker and finishing her thoughts
• Asking too many questions
• Not controlling your body language and gestures

Active Listening:

Becoming an active listener is not easy and requires practice and determination:

• Pay Attention: pay attention to the other person very carefully - look at the speaker directly - put aside any distracting thoughts and clear your mind - listen to the speaker's body language- Concentrate on what is being said - Don't allow yourself to be distracted by your own thoughts or your environment -Listen at least twice as you speak

• Acknowledgement: nod your head or simply "uh huh" shows that you're listening and you're interested - Use your body language and gestures to convey your attention - have open and inviting posture - encourage the speaker to continue with small comments such as "yes", "right"

• Provide Feedback: Occasional questions or comment show that you are listening and understanding - Reflect what has been said by paraphrasing - Summarize the speaker's comments periodically

• Defer Judgement: Allow the speaker to finish - try not to interrupt - silence is good just think and listen

• Respond Appropriately: do not attack the speaker, don't put him or her down - be honest and open in your response - Assert your opinions respectfully

• Listen with Pen and Paper: specially when you're in a meeting, you should take notes from what you hear but be careful not to loose what is being said

Paraphrasing:

• “What I’m hearing is…”
• “Sounds like you are saying…”
• "I may not be understanding you correct, ..."
• "My understanding from what you said is that..."
• "What I thought you just said is... is that what you meant?

Meetings:

Best is to send minutes after the meetings. Then all members can review and add items missing or forgotten.

Encourage all to do so because it adds value to the team. Educate the importance of this if others underestimate or devalue this.

Even if people listen very well, they might forget or miss something.