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In the New York Times today, President Obama announced that "he would send an additional 17,000 American troops to Afghanistan this spring and summer, putting his stamp firmly on a war that he has long complained is going in the wrong direction."

This directive will add nearly 50 percent to the 36,000 American troops already there. According to White House officials, a further decision on sending more troops will come after the administration completes a broader review of Afghanistan policy.

In a written statement, President Obama said that "the increase was necessary to stabilize a deteriorating situation in Afghanistan, which has not received the strategic attention, direction and resources it urgently requires.”

On the surface, Mr. Obama’s decision gives American commanders in Afghanistan most but not all of the troops they had asked for. It is most alarming to know that this decision also carries political risk for a president who will be sending more troops to Afghanistan before he has begun to fulfill a promised rapid withdrawal of troops from Iraq.

According to New York Times:

Many experts worry that Afghanistan presents an even more formidable challenge for the United States than Iraq does, particularly with neighboring Pakistan providing sanctuary for insurgents of the Taliban and Al Qaeda.

Under Mr. Obama’s plan, a unit of 8,000 marines from Camp Lejeune, N.C., will be deployed in the next few weeks, aiming to be in Afghanistan by late spring, administration officials said, while an Army brigade from Fort Lewis, Wash., composed of 4,000 soldiers, will be sent in the summer. An additional 5,000 Army support troops will also be deployed in the summer.

It is no surprise that many antiwar groups criticized Mr. Obama’s decision even before the White House announced it.

According to The New York Times:

“The president is committing these troops before he’s determined what the mission is,” said Tom Andrews, director of the coalition organization Win Without War. “We need to avoid the slippery slope of military escalation.”

Mr. Obama said in his statement that “the fact that we are going to responsibly draw down our forces in Iraq allows us the flexibility to increase our presence in Afghanistan.”

American generals in Afghanistan had been pressing for additional forces to be in place by late spring or early summer to help counter growing violence and chaos in the country. Of the 30,000 additional troops that the commanders had initially sought, some 6,000 arrived in January after being sent by President Bush.

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Incidentally, Jill Abramson, the Managing Editor of The New York Times, in collaboration with the reporters and editors of the Times who covered Mr. Obama's campaign have just released a new book called "OBAMA: The Historic Journey."

An excerpt from the book:

OVERVIEW

Barack Hussein Obama was sworn in as the 44th president of the United States on Jan. 20, 2009. The son of a black man from Kenya and a white woman from Kansas, he is the first African-American to ascend to the highest office in the land.

He is also the first new president since terrorists attacked New York and Washington on September 11, 2001, the first to use the Internet to decisive political advantage, the first to insist on handling a personal smartphone while in the White House. So striking was the novelty of his rise that he embraced it himself: as a candidate he called himself “a skinny kid with a funny name” and the theme for his campaign was “change.”

It was a theme with deep resonance for a country enmeshed in what was widely believed to be the worst downturn since the Great Depression. Abroad, many challenges loomed: the war in Iraq, the worsening conflict in Afghanistan, the repercussions from Israel's broad assault on Gaza, the threat of terrorism and the increasing signs that the economic woes that began on Wall Street had spread across the global economy.

Mr. Obama arrived at the White House with a resume that appeared short by presidential standards: eight years in the Illinois State Senate, four years as a senator in Washington. He had managed to wrest the Democratic nomination from a field of far more experienced competitors, most notably Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, whom he outlasted in what became an epic primary battle. And he defeated Senator John McCain, the Republican of Arizona, by an electoral margin of 365 to 173, while outpolling him by more than eight million votes.

During the campaign, Mr. Obama laid out a set of large promises that were solidly within the traditional agenda of the Democratic Party, with plans to offer health insurance to all and reduce carbon emissions at the top of the list. At the same time, he proposed moving toward what was sometimes called a post-partisan landscape, appealing to voters of all stripes to come together. As he took office, voters seemed cautiously optimistic, with high hopes for the Obama presidency mixed with a sense that complicated problems would take years to resolve.

Republicans attributed Mr. Obama's victory primarily to a dismal trifecta: the cratering economy, an incumbent president, George W. Bush, with near-record disapproval ratings and a series of stumbles by Mr. McCain's campaign. But even his opponents acknowledged that Mr. Obama had run a remarkable campaign, highly disciplined in its message, relentlessly focused on building a field organization that was second to none and unprecedentedly successful in fundraising, particularly over the Internet.

In the weeks after the election, the Obama team tried to bring the same level of focus to the transition, moving rapidly to name a large roster of nominees to posts large and small. He dipped deeply into the pool of Clinton-era officials, beginning with his former rival, naming Mrs. Clinton to be his secretary of state. While he resisted calls to involve himself publicly in many of the pressing issues of the moment, declaring repeatedly that "we only have one president at a time," Mr. Obama began negotiations with congressional leaders on a massive economic stimulus package and hit the road for campaign-style events to build support for the $825 billion bill introduced by the House on Jan. 15, 2009.

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by: Author Unknown, More Sower's Seeds

There is a story of identical twins. One was a hope-filled optimist. "Everything is coming up roses!" he would say. The other twin was a sad and hopeless pessimist. He thought that Murphy, as in Murphy's Law, was an optimist. The worried parents of the boys brought them to the local psychologist.

He suggested to the parents a plan to balance the twins" personalities. "On their next birthday, put them in separate rooms to open their gifts. Give the pessimist the best toys you can afford, and give the optimist a box of manure." The parents followed these instructions and carefully observed the results.

When they peeked in on the pessimist, they heard him audibly complaining, "I don't like the color of this computer . . I'll bet this calculator will break . . . I don't like the game . . . I know someone who's got a bigger toy car than this . . ."

Tiptoeing across the corridor, the parents peeked in and saw their little optimist gleefully throwing the manure up in the air. He was giggling. "You can't fool me! Where there's this much manure, there's gotta be a pony!"

by Bradley Falk

More than likely you have a couple of Monsters in your life. The type of Monsters I’m referring to reside within your inner circle (giving you no line of defense) and they are purposefully removing the very essence that makes you human.

Because I was born on Halloween, I’ve been destined to aid souls in escaping the death grip of their Monsters . . . which is a major part of what I’ve done with the last 30+ years of my life as a spiritual healer. With that, let’s begin identifying your Monsters with the kind of clarity and purpose that can lead you to the kind of decisions and actions that will forever change your life. As a warrior priest, I wish to sweep in and rescue you from your Monsters with the Sword of Awareness.

Vampires

Vampires suck your life force. The only true test of a Vampire is this: when you desperately need their help—when you feel like you may be dying—they desert you to suck the life out of someone else. If the Vampire is someone you love, his or her selfish actions are a betrayal. Vampires can infiltrate nearly any form of relationship. A Vampire never leaves you in better condition than when they found you. If they reveal a kindness, it is only to get you in closer for a more comfortable meal.

We feed off of each other. We really do. We are social creatures and we exchange our energies (body, mind and soul). I could even argue that the definition of life can be contained in four words: the exchange of energies. In relationships, there must be some balance in the exchange. Vampires never give. A Vampire remains empty, no matter how much they feed.

Werewolves

A Werewolf, without warning, and with some consistency, rips you apart. They always tear away chunks of your spirit and mind (emotional stability), but they are also often physically violent. A Werewolf attacks your character: a foundational and very tender organ.

Who consistently attacks you and never accepts full responsibility for those attacks? A Werewolf simply states that it’s just the way they are, or they got it from their father, or they simply cannot handle a certain type of life event. A Werewolf's character is formed around excuses and they feed off fear. They may be sorry, but never repentant because they see themselves as the victims. Werewolves spend about 99% of the time being wonderful human beings to compensate for their behaviors, or in other words, to tenderize you for another attack.

Ghosts

There is an obvious violence inherent in Vampires and Werewolves, but Ghosts are violent in a different form: they steal the years of your life. Who is regularly in your physical presence but is never really there? Ghosts use you as an anchor into the material world, to make themselves feel real. If you react to a Ghost, then they feel alive.

Ghosts are usually shy, only have a couple of close relationships, and often could be classified as the classic Couch Potato. You cannot penetrate beyond a Ghost’s physical apparition. You can't see anything but your own reflection in their eyes. Your direct, heartfelt queries leave you with nothing but polite, stay-the-course, you're-imagining-things answers. While you are in the physical presence of a Ghost you are alone.

A year, ten, twenty years can easily pass in the presence of a Ghost. It's all so peaceful. It's all so nice. There's no drama. There's no passion. It's darkness. It's death. If you live under the same roof as a Ghost, you will eventually cease to exist as well.

Frankenstein’s Monsters

The Frankenstein’s Monsters in your life will violently punish you if they interpret that you do not utterly love, understand and accept them exactly as they are. That “ . . . love, understand and accept them exactly as they are,” part sounds almost noble, but that is shredded by their intimidation and violence. A Werewolf may or may not require devotional reverence, but a Frankenstein’s Monster incessantly demands it.

Your Frankenstein’s Monsters are constantly monitoring not only your words and physical movements, but they are also attempting to interpret them. Of course, their fear of losing you taints their ability to perform accurate soothsaying functions. When you screw up with a Frankenstein’s Monster, you’ll probably have no idea what you did. Of course, these Monsters are not only possessive but also obsessive.

Frankenstein’s Monster was composed of various body parts from various corpses. What makes this Monster so repulsive is that they are actually trying to sew you into their own image.

Mummies

A Mummy demands that you share their every action, philosophy and mood. Think of the Mummy’s outstretched arms reaching for you, not so much to kill you in the conventional manner, but to destroy the you in you so you’re one with the Mummy. The Mummy lives in a location they want to lure you to, and then trap you within, for eternity. But, it’s not just you they wish to ensnare in their world, they wish to ensnare everyone. It’s as if they wish to draw us all into their pyramid and then magically command the sands to entomb us together.

Vampires, Werewolves, Ghosts and Frankenstein’s Monsters all need hapless victims (non-Monsters) to survive. Mummies wish to convert all of us to Mummies. Mummies are usually formed around an addiction. Alcoholism is the most obvious example. Doesn’t an alcoholic want everyone to drink with them, exactly when they wish to drink? Doesn’t an alcoholic, when drinking, want everyone drunk? Mummies do not wish to stand out; they wish to be consumed by the cohesive ecstasy of a mob.

What To Do With Your Monsters

All Monsters tear at the fabric of humanity. For a Vampire, you must remove yourself as a liquid main course meal. For a Werewolf, you must move to a place outside the circle of violence and abuse and attempt to discover the location of their full moons. For a Ghost, you must banish them with the warm, throbbing light of living. For a Frankenstein’s Monster, you must separate yourself from their neurotic need at any cost. For a Mummy, you must never enter the cyclone of their addiction.

What do the above observations have in common? They all involve separation from your Monsters. How many Monsters have you converted back to the warmth of humanity in your lifetime? I know your answer to that question: none.

Your Monsters do not actually love you. Ultimately, within every second of your interaction with a Monster it is ALL about them. It’s about their next meal, their next violent release, their next capture of your company, their next purchase of your approval, or their next complete control of your actions. It’s always about them.

You already know that two conversations with a hungry Vampire can keep you in bed for an entire day, distressing your entire world. You already know that a mauling by a Werewolf requires weeks, sometimes months, of recovery and the resulting scars limit your range of motion and eventually numb all of your senses. You already know that living with a Ghost steals away your ability to exist. You already know that you can never deliver what your Frankenstein’s Monster demands and you are thereby damned to eternal punishment. You already know that surrendering to your Mummy’s appetites will entomb both of you.

To all Monsters, you are ultimately a meal. You cannot sustain your life and satisfy a Monster. If you need to chew on that last sentence (truth), chew long and hard before swallowing; that truth can set you free.

If you are in a binding (in any manner) relationship with a bona fide Monster, I do not believe your relationship has much of a chance. You cannot be intimate with any form of Monster, and without intimacy there is no relationship. Intimacy is made of trust, mutual nourishment, and most importantly—honor.

Can a Monster be reformed? Maybe. But, it is rare. Part of the reason is that you tend to lose respect for your Monsters, harboring anger, pain and resentment, and this limits your resolve and vision. Secondly, a Monster must know they are a Monster and desperately want to change. Most Monsters think they are just fine, considering their own self-declared victimization. You see, in their Monster minds, the Universe justly owes them YOU for their consumption.

Am I aware that your Monsters are important if not integral to your life? And, that you love them dearly? My answer is, “Yes.” The 30+ years I’ve spent in the trenches of humanity allow me to proclaim that there is nothing about your feelings, or the locations of your Monsters, that I haven’t seen before.

I don't tolerate Monsters anymore anywhere near the inner circle of my life. I looked very hard at the character of my Monsters and I never respected them. I never liked them. I have brought many new, vibrant, passionate, even radically eccentric people into my inner circle that I truly do respect. Many of these are feasting and party animals, but none are Monsters.

Can one Monster pull characteristics from more than one Monster archetype? Yes, but you’ll discover that every one of your Monsters is primarily composed of a single archetype.
But, why can’t you simply remove yourself from the Monster’s behaviors? I suppose it is possible, but all five versions will eventually punish you for what they deem as your selfish maneuvers.

You are not fast food, you are not a punching bag, you are not a silent lap dog bred to keep your master company, you are not spare parts to be used, you are not a brainless sidekick—you are an appendage of God. Dignity is your birthright.

Of course there are silver bullets, wooden stakes, exorcisms, fire etc., that can destroy Monsters, but I think there is little chance you wish to play God. So . . . on a dark night, approach your Monsters at a safe distance, make your observations, and then make some decisions. The next morning, under the light of day, turn your decisions into sustainable actions. As you wrestle with your decisions, please understand that divine love was never intended to sustain depletion or abuse. You may want to write this down somewhere to make your resolve quite sticky: Divine Love Was Never Intended To Sustain Depletion Or Abuse.

The subtitle of this article is Live Or Die With Them. More than likely you thought that those five words were a comical exaggeration—even after my dramatic first few sentences—and I hope you now realize they are not. Awareness is the first step to capturing a new life, and I hope we’ve already taken that first healing step together. You do not require my guidance for what comes next, you have probably been aware of what you must do for many months.

All of my work and teachings reside upon: What Heals You—Heals The World. For all of us, gather your faith and courage and take that next healing step right now.

Bradley Falk has recently released Guided Passage: Become Who You Are. Removing Monsters from your life is only one element of becoming who you are. To return to your true and powerful self, travel to BradleyFalk.com.

Author's Bio
Bradley Falk considers himself just a Swedish Minnesota farm boy born on Halloween into the Merlin archetype, at once both a common man and a man with a perspective from far beyond. In his words, “I am not ’the’ Merlin but ‘a’ Merlin, born with a servant’s heart, knowing exactly what is required for the healing in my times.” His clients say he has a gift for offering people an immense amount of safety which allows them to take his hand and be guided into their deepest pain, their most pressing uncertainty. “This pain,” according to Falk, “has become universal, a total lack of confidence felt all over the globe. I get people back to who they are. There is hope.”

by Gary Gradley


Life's Challenge: The challenge in life for most of us is that we are not 'on track' to achieve our full potential and our Life Purpose. We have fallen into the habit of living within our comfort zone, have lost sight of what is meaningful to us, and are often overwhelmed with just surviving in this hectic world. Few people have discovered their true Passion and Purpose, and many are feeling very unfulfilled, overwhelmed, and 'stuck'. It is like swimming upstream against the flow, which takes a lot of energy without really going anywhere. We often get tired, discouraged, and quit.

A Profound Solution: The solution to "being alive" is to rediscover our true Passion and Purpose in life.

People who have discovered and are living 'Their Purpose' experience deep meaning, fulfillment, love of life, and a knowingness that their life is on the right track. They are more confident, feeling unstoppable, energized, and inspired by a motivating goal. They experience synchronicity, harmony, ease of achievement, and financial abundance. They perform at their best and make a positive difference in others' lives and in the world.

It is like swimming downstream with the flow, which takes very little energy and much less struggle, perhaps no struggle at all. So we really need to know what our true Life Purpose is.

When we are clear about our Life Purpose, then our life flows almost perfectly. You have also had this life experience when you felt "On Purpose." We just need to rediscover it once again.

Your Life Purpose: The truth is that EVERYONE has a specific Life Purpose! Each and everyone one of us, YOU are here for a reason! Your life matters. The world needs men and women like you, to be "On-Purpose," fulfilling your important destiny, contributing your unique gifts in making a positive impact in this world.

Your Purpose is like a treasure buried in your backyard. You don't create the treasure; you simply need to uncover it. You don't create your Purpose; you simply discover it.

You begin to discover it by recognizing what you love to do the most, what you are most passionate about and are good at doing. Your passions are an excellent signpost to your true Life Purpose.

I define being 'On-Purpose' as: Living your greatest passion; living out those deep emotions of desire, joy, love, and conviction. Being and doing that which you love to do the most. It is living the perfect direction and course for your life that self-actualizes your Destiny. It is doing what you have been specifically designed to do and sharing your talents to serve and contribute to the world.

"Purpose is the most powerful motivator in the world." - Ghandi

"Everyone has their own specific mission in life to carry out, a concrete assignment which demands fulfillment. You cannot be replaced, nor can your life be repeated. The world needs you! Thus, everyone's task is as unique as their specific opportunity to implement it." - Victor Frankel, "Man's Search for Meaning"

The world needs you to live and fulfill your purpose to make a positive difference.

Our years of experience have enabled us to distil down to a proven process of 'How to Rediscover and Act upon your True Life Purpose' which I am excited to share with you here:


The 7 Steps to Rediscover and Act upon your True Life Purpose --

Step 1: Clarify your Passion, Talents, and Values

Take inventory of what you love/passions. What you are designed to do. What you are best at. Assess your gifts/strengths/uniqueness. Clarify your values -- what is most important to you.


Step 2: Crystallize your WHY -- Your Purpose and Vision

Tap into your inner wisdom, your intuition, your Soul through meditation and closed eye visualization to capture your true Life Purpose. Crystallize this insight by writing your Purpose Statements. A good formula is to use a verb, noun, your skills, and expected positive impact. For example mine is "To Inspire 1000s to Rediscover & act upon their True Life Purpose, by using a proven process, so that they are On-Purpose inspiring 100s of others."


Step 3: Explore Possibilities and Alignment of the How

Brainstorm options -- what feels right? What is in alignment with True Life Purpose?


Step 4: Goals, Strategies, and Ownership

Select the option(s) or role that is most aligned with your Purpose. Set goals, strategies, and ownership.


Step 5: Operationalize into Daily Behaviors

Create priorities and a daily routine to 'walk your talk daily'. Make it a habit!


Step 6: Motivation, Risk Taking, and Commitment to Act

Raise your level of emotional commitment to act in the face of fear and ego's resistance.


Step 7: Ongoing Support and Action

Get an Accountability Success Partner to support you in staying on track.


The resistance from ego: In order for us to achieve Step 2, we need to be aware of and work with and around the ego. The ego's job is to protect us, and it will do everything possible to keep us in our comfort zone and not allow the message of truth about our Life Purpose to be revealed form our Soul/subconscious mind. Our Purpose is to be found within our Soul.

So the egoic mind puts up blocks and barriers to prevent us from easily making a change and knowing and acting upon our Life Purpose. Here are the 5 most common blocks:


5 Common Blocks to Clarity & Action:


1) Busyness: We don't spend or invest the time reflecting on our life. We may feel overwhelmed. We NEED to make the time and take more time out to reflect upon and plan our life.


2) What will other people think? Is often a big challenge in that we let other people's strong opinions (wife, kids, friends) influence what we think and what we 'should do'. We NEED to replace 'You Should' with what you value and want in your life.


3) I'm not _____ enough: Feeling not good enough, smart enough, rich enough, etc. We NEED to recognize that this is an erroneous belief. We need to look for and find the evidence in our life that shows that you are enough.


4) Fear: This is usually the biggest one, with ego operating full out on this one. Fear of failure, rejection, success, etc. We NEED to focus on the good of the goal making it stronger to outweigh the fear.


5) Not hearing your intuition: Some of us have a shallow relationship with our inner wisdom. We haven't valued our intuition or don't ask for its input. We NEED to ask it -- listen to it, follow it. When we do, we know that it is always the best decision for us.


About the Author:

Gary Gradley, Life Purpose & Performance Coach -- http://www.onpurposepeopleperform.com