Levar Burton

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How many of us pray for peace, become involved in organizations that promote peace and, through our spiritual practices, advocate peace? Many of us certainly do yet, despite our efforts, we seem to move from one war to another, from one act of terrorism to another. As we become more technologically advanced, so do our methods of war. We appear to be more intelligent as a species than a thousand years ago, so why are we still fighting, why are we still at war?

Yes, we can blame conflicting concepts regarding religion and property as two of the top reasons for war. But truly, as aware and awake people on our spiritual path, it behooves us to take responsibility for the real reason for war in our reality. War only occurs in humans and, although animals may defend their families or feeding grounds, they do not engage in war to defend ideas. Only humans do this.

The reason for war among humans is that we are projecting the personal reality from our minds out into our conjoined reality. We create this reality with the word, as the word is the power we have from the infinite to create in this life. If we have conflict in our minds between the concepts, ideas and beliefs in our heads, that is what we are going to project. Those conflicting beliefs and agreements, which are at war in our minds, are formed using the word because words form the basis of any agreement or belief.

When we cannot make a choice due to our conflicting thoughts, even about something simple in our life, this is war. When we are having an argument in our head with someone we love, this is war. When we are listening to our mind making assumptions about someone or something and we feel ourselves getting upset at our own thoughts, this is war.

This war inside our mind is ongoing. Only by cleaning our minds of everything that is not truth can our minds become calm. When this occurs, and we no longer get upset about anything in life, we are no longer at war. Then we will project our inner peace out into the dream of the planet, which will shift the balance of the dream from war to one of calm.

What I am saying is that as long as humans create war within their minds and are at the mercy of their conflicting concepts and beliefs there will never be peace on earth. No amount of committees or organizations can change the human mind and its fear-based egocentric projections. Only each one of us, by taking responsibility for our thoughts and beliefs, can change this reality. That means each of us must make a choice to stop blaming the ills of the world on others, stop focusing our attention on everyone else's problems, and, instead, work on changing what is inside of us.

I know what I am suggesting is challenging - but what else do we have to do while we are alive except learn to be happy and at peace? Let's start right now and make the commitment to change ourselves and, in turn, the world.

There is an interesting website that discusses the Science of Peace and I highly recommend that you go and check it out. Click the following link below to watch a fascinating video hosted by Levar Burton. Please don't miss this video as it is important and thought provoking.

http://www.scienceofpeace.com

After listening to the video, reading my article above and contemplating the quote by the Dalai Lama below, I challenge you to answer the following questions.

"Why didn't you fight back against the Chinese?"

The Dalai Lama looked down, swung his feet just a bit, then looked back up at us and said with a gentle smile, "Well, war is obsolete, you know."

Then, after a few moments, his face grave, he said, "Of course the mind can rationalize fighting back...but the heart, the heart would never understand. Then you would be divided in yourself, the heart and the mind, and the war would be inside you."

Ask yourself:

1- Why do you believe you are compelled to argue?

2- What is the fear which appears in the mind preventing us from making decisions with ease?

3- Are you living your life from your heart or from your mind? What's the difference?

4- Since the duality of this reality is not truth, how does duality create the war in your mind?

5- How did watching the film augment what I wrote, or not?

6- Do you now have a better understanding of how each one of us is personally responsible for war?

7- What are you going to do about this now that you have this realization?

Dr. Sheri Rosenthal is a master Toltec teacher and author of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Toltec Wisdom. Having trained with don Miguel Ruiz, author of The Four Agreements, she currently takes students on spiritual journeys, works with personal apprentices and enjoys being extremely happy. You can reach her at info@sherirosenthal.com or at http://www.sherirosenthal.com

Scholarships: The Top 10 Strangest Ways to Pay for College

Scholarships are a great way to pay for college education. The problem is that scholarships are typically merit-based, which means they are usually reserved for students with 4.0 GPAs or star athletes. Thankfully, there are scholarships that rely on other kinds of distinction. Some of these scholarships might be called "non-traditional"; others are downright strange. Here's a list of ten of the more unusual ones out there.

1. The Patrick Kerr Skateboarding Scholarship. You remember when your mother told you that skateboarding was a waste of time? Well, not anymore. Any high school senior-skateboarder with a 2.5 GPA and serious plans on attending college can apply for one of four scholarships, ranging from $1,000 to $5,000 dollars each.

2. Carnegie Mellon University Bagpipe Scholarship. This scholarship is truly one-of-a-kind - literally. Carnegie Mellon University awards exactly one applicant every year a $7,000 scholarship to study bagpipe. William Wallace would be proud.

3. Chick & Sophie Major Memorial Duck Calling Scholarship. This scholarship needs no explanation. If you know how to call ducks, get yourself down to Stuttgart, Arkansas, to compete for a $1,500 prize for college.

4. The Klingon Language Institute's Kor Memorial Scholarship. Yes, this is a real scholarship based on the popular alien race from Star Trek. The good news is that you don't have to be a Star Trek devotee to be eligible. In fact, you don't even have to speak Klingon. You just need to be an undergraduate or graduate student enrolled in a language or linguistics program at an accredited university.

Incidentally, there are also several Starfleet Academy Scholarships, also of Star-Trek origins, also $500 each. The Starfleet Scholarships are named for popular actors/characters in the television series and include the Dr. Leonard McCoy Medical Scholarship, the Montgomery Scott Engineering Scholarship, the LeVar Burton Educational Scholarship, and the Patrick Stewart Scholarship for the Performing Arts.

5&6. Billy Barty Foundation Scholarship for Dwarfism and the Tall Clubs International Scholarship. Whether you're big - over 6'2" for men, 5'10" for women - or small - 4'10" to be exact, with a medical form of dwarfism - you could be eligible for a $1,000 scholarship. They even have a scholarship for left-handed students at Juanita College. In fact, there's a scholarship for nearly every physical condition - well, almost. I'm still waiting for a scholarship for people who are "big-boned," if you know what I mean...

7. Duct Tape "Stuck at Prom" Scholarship Contest. This scholarship is open to all students who are attending a high school prom. Applicants enter as a couple and attend high school prom wearing complete attire or accessories made from duct tape. The first place prize consists of a $3,000 scholarship for each member of the winning couple and a $3,000 cash prize to the school that hosted the prom.

8. Michigan Llama Association Scholarship. If you're studying veterinary medicine at Michigan State University College, and if you're interested in learning about and working with llamas, you could be eligible for a $500 scholarship sponsored by The Michigan Lama Association.

9. Excellence in Predicting the Future Award. This is not exactly what it sounds like. Any would-be Nostradamus need not apply. Any would-be Alan Greenspan, on the other hand, should. The "Excellence in Predicting the Future Award" is actually a contest for students interested in economics. Participants "buy and sell" future predictions in the manner of buying stocks. A $400 cash gift is awarded every two months by Troy Studios to encourage students to pursue economics or simply to learn more about the world they live in.

And finally...

10. Society of Vacuum Coaters Foundation Scholarship. Before you make any snarky remarks about "sucking-up" this scholarship, be advised that it awards $5,000 annually to one lucky student pursuing vacuum coating technology at an accredited university. I don't know about you, but suddenly vacuums seem much more interesting than Klingons or llamas.

The moral of the story? Basically, it's that there are innumerable scholarships out there for potential college students. So whether you are a Trekkie, an aspiring Tony Hawk, a bagpiper, or even if you like ducks or duct tape, there's a scholarship for you. In short, if you can't find a little extra money for college, then, frankly, you're just not trying.

About the Author

Benjamin Welch has been a college instructor in writing and composition for nearly six years. When he's not teaching or playing golf, he offers financial aid and scholarships advice.

Honest question about African American males?

By no means is this a racial joke, but an honest question coming from curiosity.
Why do some black men have really long finger nails? The nail is usually all pink and healthy, not the white part that you can cut. Some examples of this; Bernie Mac in Bad Santa and Levar Burton in Star Trek the next generation.
Is this a cultural style? Or is this apart of genetics?

Every race contains genetic differences that are only seen in that specific race. Like all other animals, humans show differences across the species. Even though we're all the same species, different races have genetic differences that set them apart, just like there are differences among breeds in one species of dogs, cats, etc.

So, my guess is that it would be a genetic difference. It would be similar to how people of Nordic descent are taller and fairer skinned, and more likely to have blue eyes, than a Caucasian person of, say, pure Celtic descent, who would have a darker natural colouring in their hair and eyes.

Disneyland news from around the world
In March, Cheung Kong (Holdings) Ltd said it was interested in participating in a proposed project to build a Disney theme park in Hong Kong, but it depended on the outcome of talks between the government and Walt Disney Co. . . In Orlando, Florida, Walt Disney World officials said they expected more people than ever to flock to its sprawling Orlando theme park complex, after a 1998 performance ...

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