St. Charbel

The miracles that St Charbel has done to those who ask his intercession and to people from all color, religion and community, are spread all over the world. 10% of these healings have been done to the non-baptized. Each healing took place under a particular form either through prayer and intercession, blessed oil or incense, oak leaves took from the hermitage, the soil took from the tomb, the visit and the touching of the tomb’s door or through his image or his statue.Some people were healed by the mean of a surgery done by St Charbel and whom wound is obvious like the miracle that happened to Mrs. Nohad el-Chamy. Other surgeries were without any visible wound such as the case of many patients.The most important healing is that of the soul. Many penitents returned to God due to a direct intervention of St Charbel as soon as they put their foot on the doorstep of St Maron Monastery in Annaya or that of the hermitage of St Peter and Paul.

(CLICK ON THE PICTURE ABOVE FOR MORE MIRACLES.)

The Picture...Our Picture

We are all influenced by others. Some are our heroes, some are our parents, and some are both. We are shown how to act, and how to react. The people in our childhood plant the seeds of our beliefs and values, hoping that they will grow into a healthy and complete self. We are also vulnerable to the detrimental pieces of selves that surround us daily. An abundance of these pieces can lead to the formation of an adequate self. A picture with missing pieces and broken edges. The self is a jigsaw-puzzle, a combination of different selves that form into a bigger picture. Some pieces will be lost, others will be found, but in the end a picture is always produced. The picture of our values. The picture of our beliefs. The picture, so unique one no else can replicate it. The picture of who we are and what we are. The picture of our selves.

To All Ndu Students!

Click on the picture below for Ndu Calender dates!

Interesting Quote!

What a girl needs!

Me in Nadwa Al Awar Fashin Show!

My Video Clip with Medhat Saleh!

Receipe!

Helping overcome shyness!

There are many strategies and ways that can be used to help children overcome this problem. The strategy may work but this depends on the child himself. Some children may benefit while others may need many more strategies to be applied.

1. Tell the children about times when you acted bashful. Once shy children start feeling bad about being shy, they may become less confident and start having a lower self-esteem. Parents can help in this case by revealing the times when they acted shy themselves (Zimbardo, 1981, p.166). since a child sees parents as strong and powerful they may feel better about their own shy behavior. Parents then should talk about how they became more sociable for the child to have a powerful model to follow. No one is telling them to do anything, so this way might be effective. The parents are just describing what they did that worked.

2. Explain to the children how they will benefit from acting outgoing. The most convincing way for parents to tell children the value of acting outgoing is by giving personal examples, if a child sees that this behavior is beneficial he will consider changing. e.g., "To become a teacher I had to overcome my shyness because teaching requires a person to talk to new people almost every day." The parents can then explain the benefits of becoming more outgoing like making new friends, having more fun, and enjoying school.

3. Show empathy when the children feel afraid to interact. One way to help children begin to control their fear is to show understanding and empathy when they feel afraid. Parents should show that they care and know what the child is going through. So, if a child refuses out of shyness to go out on a field for soccer practice, a parent might say, "I get the sense you feel worried about going out there. I feel worried sometimes too - when I'm not sure what to do and other people are watching me." By saying a parent helps the child feel understood while at the same time allowing the child to recognize and discover his or her emotions and start finding a way to control them.

4. Prevent labeling of the children as "shy." Sometimes parents sometimes say in front of others that their child is shy. This of course is a big mistake! Children who are told that they are shy start thinking of themselves as shy and do not make any effort to change. Parents should not say anything negative about their child in front of him. Instead of a parents saying that “oh the child is shy"! Parents instead should explain in a positive way and instead say that the child sometimes takes a while to warm up. Parents instead should prompt the child to speak. If that fails, they should just go on with the conversation.

5. Set goals for more outgoing behavior and measure progress. Goal setting according to research improves performance Locke, 1996). The most useful goals are those that are measurable and challenging yet realistic and sensible, and are set with the involvement of the child, for example, letting the child to say at least one word to one new person every day. Other goals could include speaking in front of a whole class, playing with another child, or asking a teacher a question. This could be done by posting a chart at home that shows a star or a smile for each day the child achieved the goal.

6. Set a model of outgoing behavior. Children learn a lot by observing their parents and other people (Bandura, 1984). Children will want to do what a parent does. Parents who never invite anyone, or phone anyone or speak to strangers may tend to have shy or nonsocial children. Parents who want their children to act more outgoing should in turn act outgoing in front of the children. They must talk with children that are the age of your child and join them in their games. If the child doesn’t accept to play and join in, then it is ok because the parents by joining in is actually setting a model that makes the kids usually respond well. By doing this, parents are showing their children how to interact with others. If the child becomes embarrassed, the parent should show empathy and end the interaction. But by repeating this from time to time, this will gradually increase the lengths of the interactions over a course of days or weeks.

7. Prompt the children to interact with others. Prompt shy children to speak, join, or interact with others whenever there is any chance that the children will do so. Specific suggestions work best e.g., "Tell her your name is Margaret" or "say good-bye." If the child won't say anything to a person, try making the child to wave hello or good-bye. This is a step in the right direction. Another way is for the parent to speak to another child, and afterwards asking the child what he or she thinks about something related to the conversation. For example: Parent to unfamiliar child: "I like your Elmo shoes." Parent to own child: "Do you like them?” however, it must be noted that the parent shouldn’t push too hard and realize that the child will show improvement some days and not others.

8. Reward the children for outgoing behavior. Expected rewards can motivate a shy child (Bandura, 1986, p. 229). Whenever a shy child acts outgoing, congratulate the child, even if it is just a slight improvement. If the child achieves a set daily goal for acting outgoing, praise the child and celebrate with some special food or sticker. The parents should tell the children in advance what the special treat will be for acting sociable.

9. Read books with the children about individuals who overcome shyness or fears

10. Teach the children to identify and to verbally express their emotions. Shy children can control their feelings of shyness when the children talk about the feelings. To do this, a parent should in turn talk about their emotions in front of the children. For instance, say, “I feel scared when you climb up there" or "I feel sad when I think about homeless children." Also parents should congratulate their children when they talk about their emotions. (Malouff & Schutte, 1998).

Parents should contact a guidance counselor at their child’s school or consult a psychologist if these strategies do not work. To find a highly skilled psychologist, parents should seek advice from their pediatrician or call local universities and ask if the university has any psychology professors to provide any counseling for shy children. Psychologists have other procedures that might not mentioned above, such as videotaping the child speaking at school (e.g. with only one parent present) and allowing the child to see the tape everyday for a certain period. Some physicians might prescribe Prozac for severe cases known as social anxiety disorder, but of course medication should be the last option. Whatever the causes of shyness is, this kind of behavior must not ignored by parents. Shyness can be very painful for a child to live with, and it can have negative effects on other aspects of a child's life.

Shy??

Shyness is something that all people experience at one time or another. In most cases it is a regular, short-term behavior. Being shy as a child is normal particularly when they are around 5‑6 months of age, and then again at the age of two. In this case, shyness is considered a normal part of development. However it starts becoming a problem in a child when it gets in the way with relationships with other people, with social situations, school, or other important parts of a child's life. Problems with shyness start showing when a child reaches three years old. Shyness is fear of other people or social situations. This reaction can have different reasons depending on the child and the specific conditions. This negative reaction is so dangerous that it can follow a child into adulthood. For example, it can lead to low self esteem, lack self confidence, and difficulty in making friends. Some shy children are so quiet that they don't get the help they need from teachers and this might lead to poor school performance. A shy child is usually nervous in new situations and is usually scared and fearful when meeting someone or speaking in public. A shy child prefers not to join in but rather observe what is happening. Most children feel shy from time to time but the problem becomes dangerous when this shyness feeling doesn’t disappear. Parents should help children with their shyness. Professional help is needed in severe cases. (Asendorpf, 1993). Shy children may refuse to enter a classroom without being with a parent. Such children may not want to participate in athletic or dance activities, they may always be looking at the ground when surrounded with their friends and they may go to great extremes to avoid being noticed (for example a shy child might say "Don't whistle, dad; people will look at us").

WHY CHILDREN BECOME SHY (CAUSES OF SHYNESS)
Shyness can have many different causes. Sometimes the cause may be specific while in others shyness may occur for a number of different reasons. The reasons are the following:
*Difficulty with frequent exposure to new situations. Children are frequently exposed to new situations since they are not as experienced as adults and because of this some have trouble coping with new situations and tend to withdraw.
*Heredity. Some research has shown that shyness runs in families. It is not yet sure however if in this case shyness is genetic or learned later on.
*Inconsistent parenting. Some shyness may be caused by parenting practices that are not steady. For example, punishing a child and then letting it go or maybe being over involved with a child yet uninvolved at other times. This makes the child feel insecure and leads to shyness.
*Too much threatening, teasing, or criticism. Children, who are frequently threatened, teased or criticized, either by family members or by other people may learn to expect only negative feedback from others. This expectation will lead to the avoidance of social situations and contact with other people.
*Lack of parental involvement. Another reason could be being disinterested in the child’s life. For example, parents might believe that by giving their child independence this way they let their children learn for themselves. Other parents may not have the time to be involved with their children. This reaction can affect a child’s social relationships, and will probably feel very uncomfortable in social situations.
*Lack of experience in social situations. Children may become shy because they have not yet learned how to effectively take part in social situations. Because of this children might feel afraid and want to withdraw.
*Low self‑esteem or negative opinion of oneself. Children who have low opinions of themselves expect others to be the same and this can lead to shy behavior.
*Overprotective parents. Being too overprotected as parents does not give the opportunity for children to be independent socially, therefore children will lack the confidence needed to make decisions for themselves, causing insecurity.
*Modeling or learned behavior. Because children learn from watching their parents, parents who are shy often have children who are shy. These kinds of parents have hardly any friends and this will make their children to have difficulty learning how to make friends and how to behave socially.
*Shy temperament. Some children seem shy almost from birth. Sometimes these shy babies grow into being shy children.

WHAT’S GOOD ABOUT SHYNESS
Shy behavior is linked with a number of positive behaviors and this may take place because shy children care so much about what others think of them (Sanson et al., 1996). These include:
 Doing well at school
 Behaving and not getting in trouble (engage in less social misbehavior than other children)
 Listening attentively to others
 Being easy to look after WHAT’S BAD ABOUT SHYNESS
Shyness professionals and specialists vary in their views about whether childhood
shyness leads to mental health problems later on in life. However, what is clear is the
emotional effect. Shy children gain less practice of social skills and develop fewer
friends. They are likely to avoid activities, such as sports, drama, and debate that would
put them in the public eye. These children are seen as shy, unfriendly and feel lonely and
have low self-esteem (Chung & Evans, 2000). This may result in becoming an anxious
teen. Shy adults may feel less satisfied than others with their social support networks.

A State Of Being

What exactly is happiness and how can we attain it? Though it is defined as the condition of being content; the concept of happiness is still vague beauty. Happiness is commonly thought of as having a lot of money, overflowing love, or power; in short getting everything you want and more. But can these things actually make people happy? Happiness, which is often assumed of as a fairly simple concept, is actually more than what people think of it. Although this natural emotion is desired by many, it is very obscure and therefore, for most, if not for all of us, extremely difficult to obtain. It can be mysterious and elusive, sought after by many, but not gained by all. Everybody desires to be happy. It is essential to our health and well-being. Happiness, though intangible, is one of the most important aspects in an individual’s existence. Happiness can come from many different sources but perhaps the most prevalent ones are friends and family. Happiness emerges from the conviction that we are loved; that we are not alone. "Happiness is generally considered an ultimate goal of life; virtually everybody wants to be happy." We can learn a lot about happiness and the effects it has on our everyday lives. Economic policies can contribute to the happiness factor as well. For many years, people have been concern about happiness. There have been many attempts to the causes and effects. However, there has been little consensus as to the right answer. Some researchers point to economics, that the economy could play a key role when it comes to happiness. Philosophers use the theory of Subjective Well-being to address happiness with two major factors, Affect and Cognition. Affect deals with moods or emotions as Cognition deals with judgment and comparisons. "Affect" is the label attached to moods and emotions. Affect reflects people's instant evaluation of the events that occur in their lives. The cognitive component refers to the rational or intellectual aspects of subjective well being. The next element is Aspiration. An individual aspires to reach a certain level of happiness with hope or some level of expectation. Typically, in the case of happiness, the aspiration is usually a desire to have increase income. However, once your reached your aspired level life will seem so much better!

Together...We are One!

"Religion is believed to be a spiritual reality." I copied this statement from the Encarta Encyclopedia yet, there isn’t really an exact definition of religion because, basically it’s what you believe in. Religion gives you an explanation of life and answers to its unknown reality. Being a religious person helps you in many ways: it gives you faith and hope to wake up the next day knowing you have something to rely on. How did people get over war in the past? Isn’t it because they had something to believe in? Something to hold them tight? It was a key to their worries. They thought that whatever happens has a meaning behind it religion is a good way to understand your worries but you should control religion. Unfortunately with many people it is religion that controls them.

Religion belongs in the religious institutions and in your heart, and should stay there not in politics. Many people choose their political leader according to their religious beliefs, not what’s best for their country. We shouldn’t base our opinions on such minor facts. A good leader comes from the inside not from his religious background. Take Lebanon as an example look at their ex leader Emile Lahoud. He’s a Christian leader who I have one word for “Useless” I’m sure many other Muslim leaders would take care of Lebanon more than he does. Most European countries don’t rely much on religion, many of their leaders seek the benefit of their country as a whole. We should look beneath the surface and check out what really lies beneath.

Religious wars are nonsense. Why can’t we learn to live with our differences? Why can’t we lean that not everyone thinks the same? Respecting each other’s differences would make life so much easier. Instead of making our country a better place and instead of fighting for it against other countries we waste time fighting against each other. Today the subject of religion is a worldwide issue. There seems to be a constant war of opinions and rights between atheists and religious people. In my opinion, religion sometimes harms people, and sometimes helps them.

When discussing religion you come across many ideas, some of which may be for the best, and others may be for the worse. I support religion but only to certain limits. I don’t think religion is a waste of time but, I don’t think it really should take much of our space in our daily life. Religion offers many different benefits for many different people. It reaches out and grabs some and gives them something to live and die for. But we shouldn’t really base our lives on religion. As some philosophers say “Tomorrow might be the end for us so why not make the most our of today.” I totally agree with this statement. In my opinion all religions are essentially the same in their goal of developing a good human heart so that we may become better human beings but that’s it, nothing less and nothing more.

To go back to the bad side of religion, countless assassinations have been linked to religion. The bombings in Ireland that kill innocent women and children, and terrorist killing everyday in the Middle East, are all based on the separation of religions. Imagine what could be accomplished if there was no religion and we are all a united race, all working for the common good. We won’t have to waste our resources trying to blow each other up over stupid differences. Everyone should have golden rules that are basically applied in all religions. Those rules are logical because if there is no punishment, there would be disaster. What we need to do is be more open minded when it comes to studying other belief systems. Take what’s going on in Israel right now for example. Everyone wants peace! But neither side is willing to respect the other’s point of view and make any sort of compromise.

Rousseau agreed with civil religion. This religion taught love of country, obedience to the state and martial values. That is what should be called religion! Rousseau thought that the religion of the man is unorganized which is true because, as he said, it only focuses on the worship of God. Rousseau also thought that he could reach God without going to church which I agree with because God is everywhere, not only in church, but wherever you are if you are praying from your heart. I’m sure it will reach God. One statement Rousseau said that drew my attention was: “Everything that destroys social unity is worthless; and all institutions that set man at odds with himself are worthless.” I agree with this statement since religion divides society and categorizes people. Something else he said was: “Tolerance should be granted to all religions that will grant it to others.” This is the key to a peaceful state: tolerance of one another’s beliefs and views.

I am a religious person and I do believe in God. I have my values, which I respect and follow. I respect every religion and I love to hear about them. We shouldn’t bury ourselves underneath religious explanations since we were born to use our minds. Therefore, we should use them to discover the real truth behind unknown facts. But I do have some questions that I wonder about such as: What do people look for in religion? Do they look for guidance, beliefs, reason, or do they look for help? Why do we seem to like to define ourselves with labels? If we want others to know what we are, why not show them? Show them through action. It is believed that actions speak louder than words. Why do we insist on holding on to such outdated beliefs? These questions will keep on running in my head until I find the answers some day. I hope one day people will wake up and realize that we are all equal. We are all one and we all deserve the best. Until that day, I can’t but keep on hopping that my words would hit the hearts of the people around me!

Web 2.0

Web 2.0 Here we come!

As an internet user I am very much fond of it. All my work is on it. I feel that I can't live without the internet because it has taken so much of me. Whenever i need anything I go to the internet, I forgot what encyclopedias look like! I use the internet for fun and research. But before the launching of web 2.0 I wasn't much interested in how things work. As long as I find what i am looking for i have no problem but when web 2.0 arrived bit by bit I became curious how it's all put together. Why some people's world revolves around the internet. How the internet is a black whole sucking everything and everyone into it. Why? What is the big deal? Actually there is a huge big of deal because Web 2.0 made people so much aware of things. It's all because when things where happening infront of me i couldn't believe my eyes. It was so evolved with technology and so much to learn. Learning is a huge process there's so much to learn and so little time!

Money can't buy happiness; However, it can rent it!

The two subjects which can take us to the highest of highs and the lowest of lows are love and money. Incredible joy, and excreting pain. Yet, why is it we receive so little education regarding these two topics? About how money will affect us, throughout our lives, and the best way to handle it. Money affects our lives daily, whether we like it or not. Everybody likes money. Some even say the world revolves around it.
Based on the financial edition of Britannica it is stated that in our highly specialized modern economy money is as necessary in the exchange of goods and services as language is in the exchange of ideas. It is indispensable as it directly affects our standard of living and well being. But don’t let money get to you and control you, you should always be the one in control.

In this day and age, these two subjects Love and Money are at war with each other. How many families, because of the need of money, have very little time left over to exchange love? How many of us find ourselves time after time, having to choose between what comes first love or money? True money facilitates our lives in offering a better education, security, and support as well as a better future but some just think money buys happiness and respect when in fact it buys a lot less.

Some people don’t know how to spend money. Take Lebanon as an example, according to statistics 68.5% of the people depend on materialistic things. How many people are striving to get on with their life and have the latest Nokia phone?
Or instead of saving up some cash to spend it wisely but unfortunately end up spending it in one night clubbing in Monot? Money might buy you happiness that night but who really cares the next day? Do you think men are satisfied? Instead of planning a future they always want more and more. It is not really your fault if you turn out like that. Elementary school should have had some form of class in how to spend and save money, or stock clubs in order to invest and understand how money works.

People pass through many difficult stages regarding money issues especially when it comes to marriage. Some are obliged by their parents to choose wealthy partners taking in no consideration to the meaning of Love. Others are blindly fooled that wealthy partners are the key to their happiness. Love is the most powerful positive emotion. It is the main ingredient of life. It gives you a reason to carry on. When a relationship is based on money it can end easily coz if the money is gone which there is a 50% chance it will, it’s over.
We must understand that money engulfs the mind and love embraces the heart. We should know when each should rule. Money doesn’t last forever. Something that starts off with unstable situations rarely lasts. On the other hand, whoever doesn’t experience the true meaning of love has missed the best thing life has to offer. You should find out what really lies beneath. The solution isn’t easy; you should be convinced before anything else. Is it love or is it just money? The perfect answer would be both but then again nothing is perfect!