Michael Benner & Steve Snyder present this week's ~~~

Personal Empowerment Newsletter

"It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education."
— Albert Einstein

Curiosity may have evolved as a survival response, or indeed, it may describe the fundamental force behind all evolution. In any event, we're wired for it. From vision quest to mere wanderlust, explorers have always traveled the world, while other researchers pushed the boundaries of science and technology farther and faster than most had imagined. Curiosity is given financial value in corporate departments of research and development. Yet beyond money, and much more personally, curiosity can burn like a hunger -- changing us and then the world.

Don't miss next week's premium audio program in our Finding your SELF in Paradise series when we discuss "Our Curious Nature." If you're not yet subscribed to this weekly series of Personal Empowerment Premium Audio Programs, visit FocusedPassion.com for six free sample programs, including our four-part Accelerated Learning mini-series. Simply click on "Send me the free stuff," leave us your email address and name, choose a password, and that's it!

Listen, in any of three ways. Most simply, use the built-in audio player on our website, send the programs to the Podcast folder in the iTunes software on your computer, or use the RSS Reader in your favorite web browser. (iTunes™ for PC & Mac can be downloaded free-of-charge at Apple.com/iTunes).

Sunday's Ageless Wisdom Mystery School

"Meditation is the discovery that the point of life is always arrived at in the immediate moment."
— Alan Watts

In this week's Mystery School, we'll look at emotional healing from a spiritual point-of-view. The focused clarity of meditation often provides an immediate release of hurt and upset feelings. Make it a point to join us live this Sunday to learn the secrets of releasing emotional pain in minutes. Find out what it means to "Forgive your Self" and how to do it.

Click now on the event link below for more details, and to print-out a simple reminder to join us live. And please use the forwarding link at the very bottom of this page to invite your friends.

We'll talk to you Sunday, and Aloha from Maui.

EVENT: The Ageless Wisdom Mystery School
DATE & TIME: Sunday, August 30th at 1:00 PM Pacific, 4:00 PM Eastern (20:00 UTC/GMT)
FORMAT: Simulcast -- Inter-active by phone or webcast -- it's your choice.

TO ATTEND THIS FREE CLASS, CLICK THIS LINK NOW...
http://instantTeleseminar.com/?eventid=8882463


Steve Snyder & Michael Benner
Finding your SELF in Paradise
Free trial at: FocusedPassion.com
818 / 973-3154 (24/7) Contributor-subscriber Support

The Ageless Wisdom Mystery School
Free webinars at: TheAgelessWisdom.com
818 / 569-3017 (24/7) Private training, coaching, Maui retreats.

Follow us: Twitter.com/FocusedPassion
Facebook page: Facebook.com/michael.benner1
Newsletter Archive & Comment blog: TheAgelessWisdom.blogspot.com
Watch our cool 4-minute video: http://www.youtube.com/FocusedPassionVideos

# # #

Michael Benner & Steve Snyder present this week's ~~~

Personal Empowerment Newsletter

"A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is still putting on its shoes."
— Mark Twain

Lying, denying, exaggerating, cherry-picking, slandering and defaming are all related. They are "Lies of All Sizes," our topic in next week's premium audio series Finding your SELF in Paradise. The discussion begins with an understanding of "relative truth" versus "absolute truth." Steve talks about making promises you may not be able to keep, and Michael explores the importance of intention in communication.

We touch on ethics and karma before looking at the impact that accepting lies has on society's search for truth and justice. Truth doesn't mean much to a liar. Their agenda is usually to convince others that something false is true, or something that's wrong is really quite all right. But often as not, lies are intended to confuse and frighten — the difference between propaganda and intimidation.

If you have not yet subscribed to this weekly series of Personal Empowerment Premium Audio Programs, visit FocusedPassion.com for a free trial subscription of six full programs. Simply click on "Send me the free stuff," leave us your email address and name, choose a password, and that's it!

Listen, in any of three ways. Most simply, use the built-in audio player on our website, send the programs to the Podcast folder in the iTunes software on your computer, or use the RSS Reader in your favorite web browser. (iTunes™ for PC & Mac can be downloaded free-of-charge at Apple.com/iTunes).

Sunday's Ageless Wisdom Mystery School

"Everything that lives is made of the same essence and substance, is animated by the same spirit, and consequently, everything in nature is bound in solidarity."
— Helena P. Blavatsky

In this week's Mystery School, we'll look at "Theosophy, Then and Now" — a kind of religion devoted to ancient wisdom. The word "theosophy" leads most people to think only of the Theosophical Society founded in 1875 in New York by Madam H.P. Blavatsky. But we'll also feature the German theosophists sometimes called the Rhineland Mystics from the early 14th Century: Meister Eckhart, Jakob Böhme, Emanuel Swedenborg and others who believed in the pre-existence of the Soul which overshadows the incarnated self. In other words, here are Christian teachers promoting the neo-Platonic and Gnostic belief that everyone's Soul is already in Heaven, perhaps the greatest heresy of all to orthodox Catholics and Protestants.

Click now on the event link below for more details, and to print-out a simple reminder to join us live. Please use the forwarding link at the very bottom of this page to invite your friends.

We'll talk to you Sunday, and Aloha from Maui.

EVENT: The Ageless Wisdom Mystery School
DATE & TIME: Sunday, August 23rd at 1:00 PM Pacific, 4:00 PM Eastern (20:00 UTC/GMT)
FORMAT: Simulcast (Attend via Phone or Webcast -- it's your choice)

TO ATTEND THIS FREE CLASS, CLICK THIS LINK NOW...
http://instantTeleseminar.com/?eventid=8776560


Steve Snyder & Michael Benner
Finding your SELF in Paradise
Free trial at: FocusedPassion.com
818 / 973-3154 (24/7) Contributor-subscriber Support

The Ageless Wisdom Mystery School
Free webinars at: TheAgelessWisdom.com
818 / 569-3017 (24/7) Private training, coaching, Maui retreats.

Follow us: Twitter.com/FocusedPassion
Facebook page: Facebook.com/michael.benner1
Newsletter Archive & Comment blog: TheAgelessWisdom.blogspot.com
Watch our cool 4-minute video: http://www.youtube.com/FocusedPassionVideos

# # #

Michael Benner & Steve Snyder present this week's ~~~

Personal Empowerment Newsletter

"It seems to me what is called for is an exquisite balance between two conflicting needs: the most skeptical scrutiny of all hypotheses that are served up to us and at the same time a great openness to new ideas. If you are only skeptical, then no new ideas make it through to you. On the other hand, if you are open to the point of gullibility and have not an ounce of skeptical sense in you, then you cannot distinguish useful ideas from the worthless ones."
— Carl Sagan

To wonder, to explore, to analyze and understand, we must be open-minded, but always somewhat skeptical. Like so many things, we need to balance the extremes of everything and nothing appropriately if we are to discern and learn about ourselves and the world around us.

The next premium audio program in our Finding your SELF in Paradise series is called Living with Uncertainty. And we'll discuss the anxiety that temps us to cling to prejudice, dogma, and rigid belief systems.

If you have not yet subscribed to this weekly series of Personal Empowerment Premium Audio Programs, visit FocusedPassion.com for a free trial subscription of six full programs. Simply click on "Send me the free stuff," leave us your email address and name, choose a password, and that's it!

There are three ways to listen. Most simply, use the built-in audio player on our website, send the programs to the Podcast folder in the iTunes software on your computer, or use the RSS Reader in your favorite web browser. (iTunes™ for PC & Mac can be downloaded free-of-charge at Apple.com/iTunes).

Sunday's Ageless Wisdom Mystery School

"The wisdom of the wise, and the experience of ages, may be preserved by quotations."
— Isaac D'Israeli

This Sunday we'll review ten of the most profound quotations I've collected from my 30+ years of studying mystical literature from around the world. If you're curious about the nature of Love, your identity, purpose, and relationship to the Universe, make it a point to join us live this Sunday for The Ageless Wisdom Mystery School. No registration or enrollment is needed and all classes are free and interactive by both web and telephone.

Click now on the event link below for more details, and to print-out a simple reminder to join us live. Please use the forwarding link at the very bottom of this page to invite your friends.

We'll talk to you Sunday, and Aloha from Maui.

EVENT: The Ageless Wisdom Mystery School
DATE & TIME: Sunday, August 16th at 1:00 PM Pacific, 4:00 PM Eastern (20:00 UTC/GMT)
FORMAT: Simulcast -- Attend via Phone or Webcast -- it's your choice.

TO ATTEND THIS FREE CLASS, CLICK THIS LINK NOW...
http://instantTeleseminar.com/?eventid=8691636


Steve Snyder & Michael Benner
Finding your SELF in Paradise
Free trial at: FocusedPassion.com
818 / 973-3154 (24/7) Subscriber support

The Ageless Wisdom Mystery School
Free webinars at: TheAgelessWisdom.com
818 / 569-3017 (24/7) Private training, coaching, Maui retreats.

Follow us: Twitter.com/FocusedPassion
Facebook page: Facebook.com/michael.benner1
Newsletter Archive & Comment blog: TheAgelessWisdom.blogspot.com
Watch our cool 4-minute video: http://www.youtube.com/FocusedPassionVideos

# # #

Michael Benner & Steve Snyder present this week's ~~~

Personal Empowerment Newsletter

"Your identity changes as your perception of reality grows."
— Vithu Jevaloganathan

Within the ultimate Unity of All Things, there are two of you --- your ego, which is really a set of characters and roles we play to please and influence other people, and a Higher Self that most people only see in brief glimpses from time to time. Our next premium audio program in the Finding your SELF in Paradise series is called, "Breakthrough to a New You." With compelling conversation and guided meditation, Steve and Michael will teach you to access your Higher Self on demand and explain some of the many benefits of this elevated perspective of Life's circumstances, activities and events.

Listen to the free excerpts and leave your email address at FocusedPassion.com for a free trial subscription of six full programs. Simply click on "Send me the free stuff." Leave us your email address and name, choose a password, and that's it! Listen with our built-in audio player or send the programs to the iTunes software on your computer or the RSS Reader in your favorite web browser. (iTunes™ for PC & Mac can be downloaded free-of-charge at Apple.com/iTunes).

Sunday's Ageless Wisdom Mystery School

"Buddhism has the characteristics of what would be expected in a cosmic religion for the future: it transcends a personal God, avoids dogmas and theology; it covers both the natural and the spiritual, and it is based on a religious sense aspiring from the experience of all things, natural and spiritual, as a meaningful unity."
— Albert Einstein

This Sunday we'll continue our series of Basic Intros in The Ageless Wisdom Mystery School. So far this summer we've covered the Basics of NLP, Hypno-therapy, and Esoterica. Now we'll explore the Basics of Buddhism. Less a religion than a philosophy to help replace suffering with love, kindness, and peace-of-mind, we'll review the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path of Enlightedment plus the Three Characteristics and the Four Boundless States of Existence.

Buddhism is so wise and inclusive, you can easily practice Buddhism in combination with any religion, all religions, or like so many people around the world, as a practice of awakening to no belief-system whatsoever. The Ageless Wisdom Mystery School is free and interactive. You can participate or just listen — either on-line or by telephone. Click on the event link below for more details, and to print-out a simple reminder to join us live. Please use the forwarding link at the very bottom of this page to invite your friends.

We'll talk to you Sunday, and Aloha from Maui.

EVENT: The Ageless Wisdom Mystery School
DATE & TIME: Sunday, August 9th at 1:00 PM Pacific, 4:00 PM Eastern (20:00 UTC/GMT)
FORMAT: Simulcast -- (Attend via Phone or Webcast -- it's your choice)

TO ATTEND THIS FREE CLASS, CLICK THIS LINK NOW...
http://instantTeleseminar.com/?eventid=8605641


Steve Snyder & Michael Benner
Finding your SELF in Paradise
Free trial at: FocusedPassion.com
818 / 973-3154 (24/7) Contributor-subscriber Support

The Ageless Wisdom Mystery School
Free webinars at: TheAgelessWisdom.com
818 / 569-3017 (24/7) Private training, coaching, Maui retreats.

Follow us: Twitter.com/FocusedPassion
Facebook page: Facebook.com/michael.benner1
Newsletter Archive & Comment blog: TheAgelessWisdom.blogspot.com
Watch our cool 4-minute video: http://www.youtube.com/FocusedPassionVideos

# # #

Michael Benner & Steve Snyder present this week's ~~~

Personal Empowerment Newsletter

“Courage is the ladder on which all the other virtues mount.”
— Clare Booth Luce

From Plato and Aristotle to Lao Tse and Confucius, philosophers have described courage as a "pivotall" or "cardinal" virtue upon which all others depend. Some distinguish between physical courage, moral courage, and civil courage as social duty. But overall, there is remarkable agreement across cultures and from all times about the imperative nature of courage as strength or fortitude.

This upcoming episode is number 100 in our weekly "Finding your SELF in Paradise" premium audio series. Visit our archives with the button on your member page that says, "Show un-purchased podcasts." You can add any of these to your collection for only 99¢ each — titles like: Dealing with Difficult People, Happiness, Pain Control, The Language of Emotions, Setting Priorities, Releasing Depression, Managing Anxiety, and Asking for Help. Just log-in with your email address and password at FocusedPassion.com for audio programs to solve your problems and heal your heart.

If you're not yet subscribed to this weekly series of Personal Empowerment Premium Audio Programs, visit FocusedPassion.com for six free sample programs, including our four-part Accelerated Learning mini-series. Just click on "Get Free Sample Programs," leave us your email address and name, choose a password, and that's it!

Sunday's Ageless Wisdom Mystery School

"The universal AUM, put forth by the Supreme, is an infinite Ocean. The individual AUM, chanted by man, is a drop in that Ocean. It cannot be separated from the Ocean, but nevertheless even the tiniest drop can claim the Ocean as its very own.”
— Sri Chimnoy

While there are countless names for God in the religions of the world, few are as inclusive as Om, pronounced AUM. The word is sacred in Hinduism, Buddhism, and most other eastern philosophies. It is thought to be the Supreme Sound used to create all other sounds, indeed to invoke All Things. So spoken as a spiritual mantra, it is generally considered to be an effective prayer for beginning new projects.

The Sacred Om corresponds to the Eastern Trinity: Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva in much the same way that Christians view God as the Trinity they call: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It can be argued that this same "Triune" view of God is found in ancient Egypt as King, Prince, and Queen as well as in the exalted Hebrew Sepheroth: Kether (Magician), Chokmah (High Priestess), and Binah (Empress).

Join us live and interactive this Sunday for the Ageless Wisdom Mystery School as we discuss the Sacred Symbol Om and its magical three-fold nature. You can participate or just listen-in by telephone or on the web. Tuition is free, so click now on the event link below for more details, and to print-out a simple reminder.

Also, please use the forwarding link at the very bottom of this page to invite your friends, and we'll talk with you this Sunday. Aloha from Maui.

EVENT: The Ageless Wisdom Mystery School
DATE & TIME: Sunday, October 4th at 1:00 PM Pacific, 4:00 PM Eastern (20:00 UTC/GMT)
FORMAT: Simulcast! (Attend via Phone or Webcast -- it's your choice)

TO ATTEND THIS EVENT, CLICK THIS LINK NOW...
http://instantTeleseminar.com/?eventid=9362775


Steve Snyder & Michael Benner
Finding your SELF in Paradise
Six free sample programs at: FocusedPassion.com
818 / 973-3154 (24/7) Contributor-subscriber Support

The Ageless Wisdom Mystery School
Free webinars at: TheAgelessWisdom.com
818 / 569-3017 (24/7) Private training, coaching, Maui retreats.

Follow us: Twitter.com/FocusedPassion
Facebook page: Facebook.com/michael.benner1
Newsletter Archive & Comment blog: TheAgelessWisdom.blogspot.com
Watch our cool 4-minute video: http://www.youtube.com/FocusedPassionVideos

# # #

Michael Benner & Steve Snyder present this week's ~~~

Personal Empowerment Newsletter

“What is tolerance? It is the consequence of humanity. We are all formed of frailty and error; let us pardon reciprocally each other's folly -- that is the first law of nature.”
— Voltaire

There was a time, not so very long ago, when Americans were much more tolerant of their differences than today. Surely, we've suffered through racial bigotry and political intolerance since the nation's conception, but in the last decade or two, we've seen a growing contempt, at least in the political arena, for "the other side."

Progressive men and women were left stunned and slack-jawed by the willingness of the Bush Administration to run the nation without regard for anyone who disagreed with them. Now with Democrats controlling the federal government, Conservatives feel so badgered they're bringing assault rifles to town hall meetings about health care and using meaningless terms like "Nazi-Communist" to refer to President Obama.

Where is the middle ... the mainstream? Where are the moderates and pluralists? The love of wisdom and desire to truly understand has been largely supplanted by the need to be right ... at any cost.

Be sure to listen to Steve and Michael's next premium audio program Learning Tolerance — episode # 101 in our weekly "Finding your SELF in Paradise" series. Visit our archives with the button on your account page that says, "Show un-purchased podcasts" — premium personal empowerment audios to solve your problems and heal your heart. Go to FocusedPassion.com for six free sample programs, including our four-part Accelerated Learning mini-series. Just click on "Get Free Sample Programs," leave us your email address and name, choose a password, and that's it!

Sunday's Ageless Wisdom Mystery School

"Perhaps the most important thing we can undertake toward the reduction of fear is to make it easier for people to accept themselves, to like themselves.”
— Bonard W. Overstreet

The mental health field is broad and complex. But there is a thread running through our dysfunctional behaviors that needs attention — the preponderance of anxiety and stress.

The "bible" of psychology professionals is the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, currently in its fourth edition (DSM IV). Its section on Anxiety Disorders may be the most valuable in that it applies to all of us, at some time or another.

Join us live and interactive this Sunday for the Ageless Wisdom Mystery School as we discuss Phobias, Panic attacks, PTSD and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. Anxiety, stress, and fear — where does it come from and what can you do about it? You can participate or just listen-in by telephone or the web. Always free of charge — live, replay stream, and podcast. Click now on the event link below for more details, and to print-out a simple reminder.

Also, please use the forwarding link at the very bottom of this page to invite your friends, and we'll talk with you this Sunday. Aloha from Maui.

EVENT: The Ageless Wisdom Mystery School
DATE & TIME: Sunday, October 11th at 1:00 PM Pacific, 4:00 PM Eastern (20:00 UTC/GMT)
FORMAT: Simulcast! (Attend via Phone or Webcast -- it's your choice)

TO ATTEND THIS EVENT, CLICK THIS LINK NOW...
http://instantTeleseminar.com/?eventid=9465969


Steve Snyder & Michael Benner
Finding your SELF in Paradise
Six free sample programs at: FocusedPassion.com
818 / 973-3154 (24/7) Contributor-subscriber Support

The Ageless Wisdom Mystery School
Free webinars at: TheAgelessWisdom.com
818 / 569-3017 (24/7) Private training, coaching, Maui retreats.

Follow us: Twitter.com/FocusedPassion
Facebook page: Facebook.com/michael.benner1
Newsletter Archive & Comment blog: TheAgelessWisdom.blogspot.com
Watch our cool 4-minute video: http://www.youtube.com/FocusedPassionVideos

# # #

Michael Benner & Steve Snyder present this week's ~~~

Personal Empowerment Newsletter

"If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader."
— John Quincy Adams

As children, we played, "Follow the leader." Funny thing about it — only the very best followers could ever become the leader in a successive round of the game. However, the adult world is divided more rigidly into followers and leaders. And though leaders often become followers, few followers aspire to be leaders.

In our next Finding your SELF in Paradise premium audio program, Steve and Michael explain why some people are just born to be natural leaders, while others acquire leadership ability through dedicated study. But, perhaps most intriguing, is why so many people are content to follow and do only what they've been told to do.

Listen to the free excerpts and complete sample programs at FocusedPassion.com. For a free trial subscription of six full programs, simply click on "Send me the free stuff." Leave us your email address and name, choose a password, and that's it!

Listen with our built-in audio player or send the programs to the iTunes software already on your computer or the RSS Reader in your favorite web browser. (iTunes™ for PC & Mac can be downloaded free-of-charge at Apple.com/iTunes).

Sunday's Ageless Wisdom Mystery School

"The Occultists, however, know that the traditions of Esoteric Philosophy must be the right ones, simply because they are the most logical, and reconcile every difficulty."
— H.P. Blavatsky

Two weeks ago, our Mystery School class explored the Basics of NLP — Neuro-Linguistic Programming. Last week our theme was the Basics of Hypno-therapy. Now, this Sunday we will discuss the Basics of Esotericism.

While many students of philosophy fail to recognize it, there is a Perennial Philosophy or Ageless Wisdom that binds together the separate beads of the necklace while remaining invisible. This is the "Golden Thread" of Esoteric Philosophy.

The Ageless Wisdom Mystery School is free and interactive. You can participate or just listen — either on-line or by telephone. Click on the event link below for more details, and to print-out a simple reminder. And thanks for using the forwarding link at the very bottom of this page to invite your friends.

We'll talk to you Sunday, and Aloha from Maui.

EVENT: The Ageless Wisdom Mystery School
DATE & TIME: Sunday, August 2nd at 1:00 PM Pacific, 4:00 PM Pacific (20:00 UTC/GMT)
FORMAT: Participate by simulcast. (Attend via Phone or Webcast -- it's your choice)

TO ATTEND THIS FREE EVENT, CLICK THIS LINK NOW...
http://instantTeleseminar.com/?eventid=8477751


Steve Snyder & Michael Benner
Finding your SELF in Paradise
Free trial at: FocusedPassion.com
818 / 973-3154 (24/7) Contributor-subscriber Support

The Ageless Wisdom Mystery School
Free webinars at: TheAgelessWisdom.com
818 / 569-3017 (24/7) Private training, coaching, Maui retreats.

Follow us: Twitter.com/FocusedPassion
Facebook page: Facebook.com/michael.benner1
Watch our cool 4-minute video: http://www.youtube.com/FocusedPassionVideos

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