Elements of Communication

" ELEMENTS OF COMMUNICATION"

The three philosophical perspectives discussed above have differing conceptualizations of successful communication. Technical theories of communication looked for improvements in the transmission of the intended message and achievement of the intended effect. The focus in such research remained on channels and symbol systems. Psychological perspectives examined the development of cognitive processing abilities in individual communicators and the influence of their respective attitudes, beliefs, values, and knowledge on communication outcomes. The focus has been on the effects or outcomes of media experiences. Social-cultural perspectives saw social influences as the crux of communication. Individuals exist as parts of social networks. These social networks collectively give meaning to all aspects of communication.

From these theoretical perspectives, we can review the concepts that are included in current models of communication. Each of the major elements is discussed here, with a brief list and description of the significant variables developed in each of theoretical perspectives described above.

Sender/receiver relationships have become so interrelated as to be indistinguishable in recent psychological and social-cultural theories of communication. Among the important variables here are the individual communicator's knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, values, goals, and interest. Also relevant are each communicator's group and social role memberships, as well as their perceptions of themselves and their relations with other people, These elements, combined with the communicative abilities of each sender/receiver, are but a short list of the elements behind the people engaging in communication.

Channels of communication, once confined to the technical realms of telephones, film, radio, and television, have been at once even more limited and expanded. Berlo (1960) confined signals to sensory channels, but in doing so opened the concept to intentional and unintentional communication through verbal and nonverbal, interpersonal, and mediated modes of interaction. Likewise, the forms of messages now include examinations of content, symbol systems, and the stylistic use of symbols. Ironically, through such theoretical developments, the clear distinction between channel and message is more ambiguous; that is, the medium is the message (McLuhan, 1964).

Perhaps the most significant theoretical development has been the explication of the communication context, or social situation. Andersen (1972) states that the setting of communicative events may be seen in two levels. The first is the general environment, including macro-level social attitudes and norms governing the form and content of communication, the number of communicators, the availability of given media channels, and the public or private nature of the setting (see also 7.3.5). The second is the communication-binding context, which refers to the very specific dimensions of a single communicative episode. This includes the exact time and place of the encounter, the social roles of the participants, the participants' perceptions of all the situational elements present during the encounter, and any complexities resulting from barriers in the symbol system or channel of communication (e.g., language barriers, technical difficulties in mass media). In short, context now refers to more than a time and place; it is the combination of these elements with the social status and relationships of all those seeking to communicate or share meaning (Heath & Bryant, 1992). Different kinds of contexts may overlap, such as viewing television programs in the small group setting of a family's living room. In such situations, rules of the communication-binding context are necessarily influenced by more than one set of general norms.

In the research orientations related to the three philosophical perspectives reviewed here, a transmission paradigm has clearly dominated communication models, particularly in the study of mass communication systems. The influence of the technical perspective, born of a concern for scientific efficiency and engineering quality, made examinations of human communication a problematic endeavor. Applications of mass media to learning environments have usually shared such concerns but have attempted to apply these theories to situations distinct from the traditional "one-to-many" Situations associated with mass communication. The settings of broadcast media reception and classroom education share some elements. Both contain carefully prepared and distributed messages, both operate in a more public than private sphere, in both cases the message 11 source" (broadcaster or teacher) carries some degree of Power (political or economic) over the "receivers."

Role of Realities in Communication

"THE SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF REALITY "

Coordinated interaction is intimately tied to our ability to create and maintain definitions of self and others ... these definitions are created by society and supported by communication. Most theorists suggest that the relationship between self, communication, and society is a complex, circular one. Social structures originally tell us who to be and how to communicate, but these structures depend on communication for their maintenance. Through communication we can act on and change the very structures that create us.
- Sarah Trentholm
If it is true that the meanings humans make of messages they receive strongly depend on what Berger and Luckmann call "the reality of everyday life" then it should be possible to find examples of situations in which the same message takes on different meanings to people whose "reality of everyday life is different." One way to test this theory might be to investigate the meanings that arise from messages distributed by the mass media.

For example, suppose that a message sent out over a television channel. The signal is received by many thousands of television sets, and it delivers the same data to each; that is, everyone who receives it is presented with exactly the same images and sounds. So, if different people take this text to have different meanings, these differences must arise within the minds of the people.

Suppose, then, that the evening news reports an announcement that a large chemical company has decided to open a plant in a certain town. What different meanings might this message take on?

To an unemployed worker it might mean the hope of finding a job,
To a real estate agent it might mean that the market for housing sales will improve,
To a member of the school board it might mean worrying about the possibility of larger class sizes in the local elementary and secondary schools,
To the town council it might mean a possible increase in corporate tax revenues,
To a environmentalist it might mean worrying about potential pollution problems,
And so on....
The meanings that people will make of this message arise in good part from the realities of their everyday lives. Berger and Luckmann point out that these realities are intersubjective -- which is to say that each person's meanings relate to, and to some extent depend on, the meanings of others. Thus, humans cannot escape the conclusion that their communication environment plays an active and important part in their lives. As another writer puts it:
Many of our apparently unique personal opinions are in fact derived from social conditioning by dominant codes of values transmitted by others, beginning in the cradle and including the media of family, school, and popular entertainment, rather than from personal and informed decisions that we actually made for ourselves.
- Wilden125

However, as Trentholm notes in the quotation that heads this section, it is not just that everyday reality affects our communication -- it is that our communication also affects everyday reality. This is what we mean when we speak of the social construction of reality -- that when we communicate, we participate in the building of the reality that we inhabit.

THE BERGER/LUCKMANN MODELSummary of the Model
Leopards break into the temple and drink to the dregs what is in the sacrificial pitchers; this is repeated over and over again; finally it can be calculated in advance, and it becomes part of the ceremony.
- Franz Kafka 1546
This model proposes a step-by-step process by which the members of a society construct the reality that they inhabit. In brief, Berger and Luckmann argue that some of people's personal habits become public, and that these shared habits eventually become so widely and strongly accepted that they are taken for granted, and passed on from generation to generation as always having been true.

HABITS
Any action that is repeated frequently becomes cast into a pattern, which can then be reproduced with an economy of effort and which...is apprehended by its performer as that pattern.
- Berger and Luckmann
Habits arise naturally during the course of our lives. Consider, for example, our need to wash ourselves. While at home, we could take a bath or shower at any time. Yet, most of us develop a pattern of washing at a particular time -- in the morning after rising, perhaps, or in the evening before going to bed. The same is true of many other activities -- the path we take on the way to work, the manner in which we greet other people, certain words that we use in conversation, and so on. Even though many choices are available in these situations, we habitually tend to limit ourselves to a smaller set.

Rules of the Road

During communication, we notice the habits of others and they notice ours. Because habits repeat in certain situations, they reduce our mutual uncertainty as to each other's behavior, and they assist us in predicting each other's meanings and intended actions.

The most important gain is that each will be able to predict the other's actions.

Concomitantly, the interaction of both becomes predictable. The "There he goes again" becomes a "There we go again." This relieves both individuals of a considerable amount of tension. They save time and effort.... Their life together is now defined by a widening sphere of taken-for-granted routines. Many actions are now possible at a low level of attention.
- Berger and Luckmann 54

In this way habits become mutually useful.

Rules of the Road

Berger and Luckmann point out that as this goes on, we begin to "typify" our acquaintances -- that is, we identify people as being of certain types. For example, Shaq is "cosmopolitan," Sarah is "assertive," Martine is "intellectual," John is "compulsive." These types become part of our knowledge of our friends and acquaintances, and we employ them regularly as we interact.


INSTITUTIONS AND ROLES
Typifications formed during intimate face-to-face communication are based on our personal knowledge of the individuals. However, when we engage in many face-to-face encounters with people who we do not know very well, our typifications are not based on intimacy but on our expectation of the function of the encounter. For example
If the person who delivers our mail knocks on the door, we expect to have a conversation about the delivery of a package or an amount of postage due or the like. Similarly, the postal worker expects us to be attentive and concerned and to accept the package or pay the postage or whatever.

If a police officer stops us while we are driving home from work, we expect to be asked to provide our driver's license and auto registration, to have the reason for the stoppage described to us, and to have a chance to respond. Similarly, the police officer expects us to have license and registration handy, to listen to the complaint, and to provide an explanation.

A clerk in a fast food restaurant expects to take the customer's order, provide the food, collect the money, give back the change, and say "have a nice day." Similarly, the customer expects to give the order, collect the food, give the money and collect the change, and hear the "have a nice day."


Knowledge of these "typical" patterns of behavior are shared among all of the members of the society, and the constant use of these mutually anticipated exchanges is what defines the society's institutions. In other words an institution is a widely repeated pattern of interaction during which the people involved relate to one another as types.

Rules of the Road

Fire fighters, for example, are expected to be courageous and dedicated, politicians to be friendly and open to compromise, bankers to be honest and cautious, and so on. These public, institutional types are called roles. Berger and Luckmann point out that within the context of an institution:

Both self and other can be apprehended as performers of objective, generally known actions, which are recurrent and repeatable by any actor of the appropriate type. ...By definition, these types are interchangeable.
- Berger and Luckmann 68

In other words roles allow us to separate the actions taken by the individual who is performing the role from his or her personality. Because of this, when we interact with someone in a role, we see ourselves as interacting not with a person but with the institution to which the role belongs. We do not, for example, get angry at the policeman who pulls us over for speeding, we get angry at the legal process that puts such restrictions on our speed. In this manner institutions become generally accepted as being real.

This means that the institutions that have now been crystallized are experienced as existing over and beyond the individuals who "happen to" embody them at the moment. In other words, the institutions are now experienced as possessing a reality of their own, a reality that confronts the individual as an external and coercive fact.
Berger and Luckmann 55 1543 1545


LEGITIMATION
But, of course, these institutions are real only in the minds of the people who have constructed them, and they will continue to be real only as long as people learn and properly make use of their roles. For this to occur, knowledge of institutions and their roles must be passed on to future generations. This occurs by means of the process of legitimation.
...there must be "explanations" and justifications of the salient elements of the institutional tradition. Legitimation is this process of "explaining" and justifying.
- Berger and Luckmann 86

This continual "explaining and justifying" of a society's institutions keeps them "normal" and acceptable to all concerned. Legitimation is an ongoing process, and as long as it is successful, the institutions will remain "permanent."

The transmission of the meaning of an institution is based on the social recognition of that institution as a "permanent" solution to a "permanent" problem of the given collectivity. Therefore, potential actors of institutionalized actions must be systematically acquainted with these meanings. This necessitates some form of "educational" process.
- Berger and Luckmann 1966, 65

For example, in American society children are taught how to behave in many venues: in church, at the mall, in other people's homes, in restaurants, and so on. By constantly teaching and reinforcing "proper" behavior, the members of a society perpetuate the society's institutions. 1544


REIFICATION
Remember that the habits that eventually become institutionalized originally begin as the habits of individuals. As more and more people adopt these behavior patterns, institutions form, and as the patterns are passed on to future generations, the institutions become legitimized and "permanent."
The objectivity of the institutional world "thickens" and "hardens," not only for the children, but for the parents as well. The "there we go again" now becomes "This is how these things are done."
Berger and Luckmann 1966, 55

If an institution remains permanent for a long period time, people may forget how it was created in the first place. In these cases people may begin to imagine that the institution has always existed; that it just "came to be" at some point in the past. This condition is known as reification, and such institutions are said to be reified.

Reification is the apprehension of human phenomena as if they were things, that is, in non-human or possibly suprahuman terms. Another way of saying this is that reification is the apprehension of the products of human activity as if they were something else than human products - such as facts of nature, results of cosmic laws, or manifestations of divine will.
- Berger and Luckmann 1966, 82

When institutions become reified, their roles do, too.

Roles may be reified in the same manner as institutions. The sector of self-consciousness that has been objectified in the role is then also apprehended as an inevitable fate, for which the individual may disclaim responsibility. The paradigmatic formula for this kind of reification is the statement "I have no choice in the matter, I have to act this way because of my position."
Berger and Luckmann 1966, 84

Once an institution has become reified, poeple relate to it and to its roles as if they were as real as anything found in nature. In the same sense that people expect on a drive into the desert to find sand and sun and few trees, they expect on a trip to the post office to find stamps and forms to fill out and people in line. Similarly, they expect the people in the post office -- the clerks behind the counter and the other people waiting in line -- to behave according to their roles. Generally, people do not think about this. Things have been this way as long as they can remember, and the see no need to image that they might change.

Rules of the Road


HISTORY AND CONTROL
Reified institutions provide a society with a sense of history. Reified religious institutions are so important in this regard that many societies use them to date their histories. The Christian 'BC' for "Before Christ" and 'AD' for "Anno Domini," for example, are institutional date marks that are used in U.S. society. The institution of the U.S. government is also synonymous with the nation's social history and actions of the government - e.g., The Civil War, World War I, the Apollo moon landings - are marked as a way of keeping track of the past. Institutional documents - birth certificates and college diplomas, for example - also serve in this regard.
Reified institutions also manifest themselves as societal rules which constrain the possible actions that people might take and thus control the processes of everyday life.

Institutions also, by the very fact of their existence, control human conduct by setting up predefined patterns of conduct, which channel it in one direction as against the many other directions that would theoretically be possible.
- Berger and Luckmann 52

Thus, economic institutions constrain the ways a society measures wealth, educational institutions constrain approaches to vocation and career, religious institutions constrain ethics and spiritual beliefs, and so on. The entirety of these institutional constraints is a "social reality" that is taken to be as real as the rocks and trees of the "natural" world.

Rules of the Road

1523

Summary of the Model


SOCIAL REALITY AND COMMUNICATION
In whatever culture we live and whatever our role in it, we must negotiate among a variety of events and objects. These include the normal activities of life and the social contexts in which they occur. ...The traditional way of coming to grips with them...assumes that these events and objects exist objectively and tangibly, that knowledge consists of more or less accurate descriptions of them, and that we "respond" to them or "cause" them to move/change by our actions. In short it treats the events and objects of the world as things that we find.
The alternative view shows the events and objects of the world as the products of human agency. Rather than "found things" existing independently in an objective world, events and objects as we know them are constructed by the continuing dialectic of interpretation and action. ...This view inverts the traditional assumption of the relationship between events/objects and communication. Rather than treating wars, economic depressions, and political systems as objective events within which or about which we might communicate, it takes them as instances of communication.... It is more productive to inquire why patterns of communication so often take the form we call "war" than to treat war as a found thing the probability of which is increased or decreased by specified amounts of communication.

Role of Perception in Communication

"COMMUNICATION"

Communication is a process of transferring information from one entity to another.

Communication is commonly defined as "the imparting or interchange of thoughts, opinions, or information by speech, writing, or signs".

How do people make sense of the words and images they get in messages?

research on perception and information processing can help us answerthis question.
Mass communicators want audiences to pay attention to their messages, learn the contents of the messages, and make appropriate changes in attitudesor beliefs or make desired behavioral responses. Perceptual theory tells us thatthe process of interpreting messages is complex and that these communicator goals may be to achieve. Perception has been defined as the process by which we interpret sensory data. Sensory data come to us through our five senses. Research has two types of influences on our perception: structural and functional. Structural influences on perception come from the physical aspects of the stimuli to which we are being exposed—for instance, the closer together a seriesof dots, the more they are seen as forming a line. Functional influences are thepsychological factors that influence perception, and therefore, introduce somesubjectivity into the process. Selective perception is the term applied to the tendency for people’s perception to be influenced by wants, needs, attitudes, and other psychological factors. Selective perception plays an important role in communication of any sort. Selective perception means that different people can react to the samemessage in very different ways. No communicator can assume that a messagewill have the intended meaning for all receivers or even that it will have thesame meaning for all receivers. This complicates our models of mass commu-nication. Perhaps mass communication is not just a matter of hitting a targetwith an arrow, as some models suggest. The message can reach the receiver (hitperception. The concept is abstract and somewhat philosophical, but essentiallyit means that both the perceiver and the world are active participants in an actof perception (Tech & MacLean, 1962).
The transactional thinkers have developed a number of convincing demon-
strations that perception is based on assumptions. One of the most striking,invented by Ames, Jr., is
the monocular distorted room. This
room is constructed
so
the rear wall is a trapezoid, with the vertical distance
up and down the left edge of the wall longer than the vertical distance up and down the right edge of the wall. The rear wall is positioned at an angle so that the left edge is farther back than the right edge. This angle is carefully selected so that the room will appear to be an ordinary rectangular room to an observer looking through a small hole at the front of the room. If two people walk into the room and stand in the rear corners, something interesting happens. The oneon the right appears to a viewer looking through the hole to be very largebecause he or she is closer to the viewer and fills most of the distance fromthe floor to the ceiling. The one on the left appears to be very small becausehe or she is farther away and fills less of the distance from the floor to theceiling. This illusion occurs because the mind of the viewer is assuming thatthe rear wall is parallel to the front wall of the room. This assumption is basedon prior experience with other rooms that looked similar. The illusion is sostrong that if the two people in the corners switch places, one will appear togrow larger and the other will appear to get smaller, right before the viewer’s eye.
Cultural Expectations and Perception Some of the most striking evidence for the influence of cultural expectations on perception comes from research on binocular rivalry (Bagby,
It is
possible to construct a device that has two eyepieces like a pair of binoculars, but can be used to present a different picture to each eye. When this is done,people seldom see both pictures. They more often see one picture and not theother or one picture and then the other. Sometimes they see a mixture of someelements of each picture, but this usually occurs after seeing one picture alonefirst. Bagby used this instrument to investigate the effect of cultural backgroundon perception.
Subjects were 12 Americans (6 males and 6 females) and 12 Mexicans (6
males and females). Except for one matched pair made up of a person from each country, the subjects had not traveled outside their own country. Bagby prepared ten pairs of photographic slides, each pair containing a picture fromthe American culture and a picture from the Mexican culture. One pair, forinstance, showed a
scene and a bullfight scene. Subjects were exposed
to each for
seconds and asked to describe what they saw. The assignment
of the Mexican or the American picture to the left or right eye was randomizedto eliminate
the effect of eye dominance.

Ways of Knowing

Because the Ways of Knowing are processes or activities so natural to students, their problematic aspects, worthy of reflection, do not come readily to conscious or critical attention. The senses, through perception, seemingly provide a window on the world as it really is, and the emotions have seldom been viewed as an integral aspect of human awareness and intelligence. Additionally, the acquisition of a first language occurs so easily for most people, and communication with others is so effortless, that the influence of language in shaping thought is seldom noticed. Finally, the appeal of a well-constructed argument can be sensed even without any formal training in logic or other forms of reasoning.

1. Perception

He who has been bitten by a snake fears a piece of string. (Persian proverb)

Because perception is the active, selective and interpretative process of recording or becoming conscious of the external world through sense experience, this experience should be examined and critically evaluated in order to become aware of the nature and power of perception, and how it relates to knowledge acquisition and knowledge claims, and its role in our attempts to make sense of the world.

A. Nature of Perception

• In what ways does the biological constitution of a living organism determine, influence or limit its perception?

• If humans are sensitive only to certain ranges of stimuli, what consequences, including limitations, might this have for the acquisition of knowledge?

• How does technology extend and modify the capabilities of the senses?

Determining Realities Outside Perception

"Perception"

-It is the mental proces through which we interpret that which we sense.

- Awareness of the things arounfd us

Kinds of Perception

* Passive Perception

* Past Experiences

- Physiological Factors

- Past Experiences

- Present Feelings and Circumstances

"The Power Of Perception"

How You Perceive ANY Situation Has No BearingOn The Fact That An Outcome Will ManifestAnd Be Experienced As A Result.
The Only Determining Factor Is WHATYou Will Experience As A Result Of That Perception
The Power Of Perception GUARANTEES It!!
The Power Of Perception enables one to perceive and experiencethe joy, beauty and splendor of life and yet another to perceiveand as a result experience something quite different
"If the doors of perception were cleansed, man would see everything as it is.... Infinite." William Blake
Fully Understanding The Power Of PerceptionIs An Essential Step In Becoming A Conscious,Intentional and Purposeful Creator Of Your LifeThe Power Of Perception is extremely important to understand in relationship to how and why you attract and come to experience the day to day life experiences in each area of life if you have a "sincere desire" to begin consciously and consistently creating desired outcomes.
How you perceive a situation, regardless of what that situation may consist of or which area of life it is, has a direct impact on the future results that you will come to experience as a result of that perception, or more specifically the emotions that are experienced as result of the perceptions that you hold.
First, to fully comprehend what a perception is, let's take a look at the precise meaning of perception as defined in the Merriam Webster Dictionary. It defines perception as.....
Perception : act of perceiving, 1 a : a result of perceiving : OBSERVATION b : a mental image : CONCEPT 2 obsolete : CONSCIOUSNESS 3 a : awareness of the elements of environment through physical sensation b : physical sensation interpreted in the light of experience 4 a : quick, acute, and intuitive cognition : APPRECIATION b : a capacity for comprehension.
Based on the above definition we can conclude that a perception, more importantly YOUR perception of something is an observation, interpretation, or a mental image that you hold with regard to some event, condition, or circumstance. In other words it is how you SEE things in the world around you.
How you have come to see things in the physical world has happened as a result of a belief that you have established at some point in the past. Many times those perceptions can be flawed depending on how it is that you arrived at them.
A very common perception among "unconscious creators" is that you perceive things the way you do because that is the way things are. Why would I refer to this as a "perceived truth" and not "Higher Truth?" Because the "Higher Truth" is that things are the the way they are because of how you "perceive" them to be.
The Power Of Perception GUARANTEES It...
In reality a perception is merely a belief. That perception is merely an individualized awareness based on a belief that you have established. If the belief is flawed or self limiting, the perception that you hold with regard to the belief held will be flawed and self limiting as well and the results that you experience will correlate precisely with what you "perceive" to be true.
In reality there exists no such thing as an "untruth." There do exist lower truths and Higher truths and your choice of which of these you choose to utilize does make it YOUR truth which unfolds in your life just as YOU believe it will.
So how is it that a perception that you hold can fall under the category of one of the all important Power Principles ? Because it is due to the perceptions that you hold regarding an event condition, or circumstance that will determine a future experience that you will encounter based on that perception and your willingness to recognize and accept how the Power of Perception can affect your world in whichever way YOU choose will provide you with a sense of power and assurance that FAR exceeds the "mass consciousness" of the planet.
Science has proven and clearly documented this fact. (See Quantum Physics) The greatest and most insightful spiritual teachers since the beginning of man have taught it, as well as documented it in numerous spiritual texts throughout history. ( Reference those here)
For an in depth understanding of the Power Of Perception, the following video explains in detail just what a perception is and how the perceptions that you hold determine your outcomes from a more physiological viewpoint.
The intent of this article, The Power Of Perception, will attempt to show you in the simplest and most easy to understand way possible how important it is to see ALL that you encounter and experience in your life, regardless of how it may APPEAR at the time, ultimately unfolds precisely as you "perceive" that it will and serves as a means of growth which is designed to enable you to fully experience life based on the most precious gift that you could have ever been given...your inalienable right of free will.
Unfortunately, many times those perceptions can lead to unpleasant or uncomfortable physical conditions. But even during these times, there is always a lesson to be learned, something to be discovered and learned from that is designed to bring you back to the path of truth. Real truth.
What is that truth?
That you are a LIMITLESS and Infinite being existing in an Infinite and Limitless Universe with the ability to experience life in the way that YOU choose.
The Power Of Perception allows and enables you to discern which end of the polarity spectrum you will experience without judgment.
By developing this understanding and establishing it as a firm belief, and then fully expressing heartfelt gratitude for the growth that you are experiencing, you will become empowered to begin attracting more of those outcomes that are pleasing rather than more of that which you would rather not experience.
The point that should be noted is that how you perceive your life to be is precisely what you will attract to you and how you will experience life in the physical realm.
An in depth understanding of The Power of Perception will clearly provide you with an extremely enlightening and empowering level of Self Awareness of who and what you "truly" are and that you are the co-creator of your reality and how you "perceive" you will receive.
Discover the power of finding good in ANY situation. Develop the unshakable awareness that ALL things regardless of what they are or how they may APPEAR at the time, YOU are creating and that ALL happen for a greater purpose.
When you have successfully adopted and internalized this way of thinking you will have discovered the key to attracting and experiencing a life far more fulfilling than you have ever previously experienced or "perceived" as possible. You will have made one huge step forward in discovering how to consciously and purposefully begin designing and creating the life that you desire, deserve, and were created to enjoy.
Mastering the Power of Perception will enable you to achieve life/self mastery.
Your perception is merely what you believe to be true concerning any number of situations. Throughout life many of us are taught various things that later in life we many times begin to discover really weren't true at all. These things we'll label "Perceived Truth." These perceived truths although they very well may not be based on "Real Truth" are what we adjust our behaviors to, mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually which determine the "effects" that we'll experience as a result.
To better illustrate let's refer to the following example…..
Think back many years ago when all of the people of the world were taught and believed that the earth was flat and that the sun, stars, moon etc. revolved around the earth. Although we now understand that even though those teachings were not based on real truth, they became the truth of those that believed them. Although not real truth, they were in fact a "perceived truth" of those that lived during that period.
Now consider for a moment the impact that had on the population of that time. It created fear that if one were to venture out to far, that they would fall of the edge of the earth never to be seen again!!
So what does that have to do with the power of perception and why would I mention that in this article? Simply because just as the people of that day had established a perceived truth concerning the shape of the earth which limited their ability to venture out and discover and experience all that was "Truly" available to them, you too currently hold onto beliefs that restrict you from venturing out and experiencing all that is your right to experience. Although MANY things are perceived to be true, they in fact aren't based on truth at all.
So how can you learn to differentiate perceived truth from real truth with regard to your life experience?
Quite simply....
If you are experiencing lack or hardship in the area of finances, you have a perception of truth with regard to finances, either at a conscious or subconscious level that is creating that situation for you.
The Power Of Perception GUARANTEES It...
If you are experiencing poor health conditions, it is due to a perception or belief that you hold at some level regarding your health.
The Power Of Perception GUARANTEES It...
If you are experiencing anything other than healthy and harmonious relationships, it is due to a perceived truth that you hold regarding those relationships which is not in alignment with real truth.
The Power Of Perception GUARANTEES It...
The Real Truth is that ALL there is is Faith and Abundance and Unconditional Love and your life will unfold precisely based on the thoughts and beliefs that you hold which determine the "Faith" of what you'll receive and "Abundance" of.
which determine your individual perceptions. The real truth is that you have been created in the image and likeness of the Source and provided the ability to co-create EVERY event, condition and circumstance whether physically, financially, relationally, emotionally or spiritually and the perceptions that you hold, where YOU choose to focus your attention with regard to each of those life areas will determine with absolute and unwavering certainty how each unfolds.
The Power of Perception with unfailing and unwavering certainty GUARANTEES it.
If you'll look deeply enough you'll begin to discover many perceptions that you currently hold that aren't in alignment with real truth at all. Perceptions that are held based on "traditionally established false beliefs" that were taught to you at various times in life.
Although I completely understand that many of these "perceptions" that you currently hold are the result of beliefs established which were taught to you as children, fully trusting in and believing that what was taught to you was "true", there comes a time when we must analyze and determine for ourselves if these "perceptions" are in alignment with "heartfelt desires" and enabling us to experience the "abundance" that is and always has been available.
At some point it becomes YOUR responsibility to discover these "perceived truths' which are blocking your ability to "receive" and begin to replace them with "Real Truth" if you choose to fulfill "desires" held and live the quality of life intended for you which is limitless in nature.
Your perceptions of truth make them "Your Truth" and as a result your life experiences will unfold perfectly based on those perceptions.
The Power Of Perception will mirror your "inner world" in the physical world and produce results in exact correlation to those perceptions that YOU choose to hold on to.
Here are some common "perceived truths" which are NOT based on "Real Truth."
Money is hard to come by.
You must work hard for the money you earn
Wealth is only for the fortunate few
It takes money to make money
Relationships are difficult and take hard work to keep together, etc. etc. etc.
Here is the Real Truth! You were created in the image and likeness of the Creator whatever you perceive that Creator to be.
You can have "whatsoever ye desire" if only you "believe."
"Faith" is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
As a man "thinketh", so is he.
These are the REAL TRUTHS people!
What are you "believing" in? What do you have "Faith" will happen? What is your predominant train of "thought" focused on?
The Power Of Perception has the power to and WILL mold and shape your entire existence on earth and will determine precisely how that life experience unfolds. If you don't like what has transpired to this point discover the "Real Truth" concerning why it is the way it is and develop the beliefs, faith and way of thinking that will enable you to change what it is that you are experiencing. Eliminate your self restricting and limiting perceptions of truth and discover REAL TRUTH and you will know what it means to experience heaven on earth.
Quite literally, "The Truth Will Set You Free"
Are you experiencing an Abundance of money?
Do you enjoy great physical health?
Are your relationships, fulfilling, satisfying and mutually rewarding?
Regardless of how you may have answered those questions, whatever is happening in the present, whatever events, conditions, or circumstances that you are currently experiencing in your life are based on a perception that you hold or have held at some point in the past. Change your perceptions about what reality is and your reality will change.
The Power of Perception GUARANTEES it.
That my brothers and sisters explains in the best way that I currently know, to properly convey the importance of The Power Of Perception as it relates to you and your life experience.
You have been provided with an incredible and inalienable gift of free will. You have been given the power to choose how you will utilize that gift without outside interference or judgment.
It is our sincere and heartfelt hope for you that you make the choice to utilize it in a way that brings you Joy, Fulfillment, Inner Peace and Limitless Prosperity in each and every area of your life.
What we choose to refer to as Abundance and Happiness.
“We see the world not as it is, but as we are.”— Ken Keyes
Do You Perceive Yourself As A "Victim"Or A "Creator" Of Circumstance?
Whether Or Not You Realize It, You Already ARE Creating Your Current Reality In EVERY Area Of Your Life…The Majority Are Doing So "Unconsciously"

Are You Finally Ready To Change It?
The Secret Of Deliberate Creation Provides EVERYTHING You'll Need To Become A "Conscious And Purposeful Creator" Of The Events, Conditions and Circumstances Which Make Up YOUR Life Experience
Physically - Financially - Relationally - Emotionally - Spiritually
Harmony and Fulfillment In Life Isn't Just For The "Lucky" Few. It's Your Literal Birthright. You Only Need To Become "AWARE" That It's True
The Secret Of Deliberate Creation Provides You With A Level Of "Self Awareness" That Makes EVERYTHING Possible
Are You TRULY Ready To Experience More?
More Wealth - More Joy - More Satisfaction - More Time FreedomMore Of ALL The Good Things That Life Has To Offer

Read me:-)

What is the Kingdom of God?

---

"What is the Kingdom of God?"

The kingdom of God is the rule of an eternal sovereign God over all creatures and things (Psalm 103:19; Daniel 4:3). The kingdom of God is also the designation for the sphere of salvation entered into at the new birth (John 3:5-7), and is synonymous with the “kingdom of heaven.”

The kingdom of God embraces all created intelligence, both in heaven and earth that are willingly subject to the Lord and are in fellowship with Him. The kingdom of God is, therefore, universal in that it includes created angels and men. It is eternal, as God is eternal, and it is spiritual—found within all born-again believers. We enter the kingdom of God when we are born again, and we are then part of that kingdom for eternity. It is a relationship "born of the spirit" (John 3:5), and we have confident assurance that it is so because the Spirit bears witness with our spirits (Romans 8:16).

God is sovereign, omnipotent, omniscient and the ruler over all of His creation. However, the designation "the kingdom of God" compasses that realm which is subject to God and will be for eternity. The rest of creation will be destroyed. Only that which is part of the "kingdom of God" will remain.

Cone of experience - Dale The Cone of Experience is a visual model meant to summarise Dale's classification system for the varied types of mediated learning experiences. The original labels for Dale's ten categories are: Direct, Purposeful Experiences; Contrived Experiences; Dramatic Participation; Demonstrations; Field Trips; Exhibits; Motion Pictures; Radio; Recordings; Still Pictures; Visual Symbols; and Verbal Symbols. When Dale researched learning and teaching methods he found that much of what we found to be true of direct and indirect (and of concrete and abstract) experience could be summarised in a pyramid or 'pictorial device' Dales called 'the Cone of Experience'. In his book 'Audio visual methods in teaching' - 1957, he stated that the cone was not offered as a perfect or mechanically flawless picture to be taken absolutely literally. It was merely designed as a visual aid to help explain the interrelationships of the various types of audio-visual materials, as well as their individual 'positions' in the learning process. Dale points out that it would be a dangerous mistake to regard the bands on the cone as rigid, inflexible divisions. He said "The cone device is a visual metaphor of learning experiences, in which the various types of audio-visual materials are arranged in the order of increasing abstractness as one proceeds from direct experiences" People Remember It is said that people remember: 10% of what they read 20% of what they hear 30% of what they see 50% of what they see and hear 70% of what they write and say 90% of what they say as they do The percentages --> 10% of what they read 20% of what they hear 30% of what they see 50% of what they hear and see 70% of what they say or write 90% of what they say as they do a thing The bogus percentages appear to have been first published by an employee of Mobil Oil Company in 1967, writing in the magazine "Film and Audio-Visual Communications". These percentages have since been discredited. Old Chinese proverb "What I hear, I forget; What I see, I remember; What I do, I understand." Stands true - but only again as a saying, and NOT as statistical fact. Note While Dale's work is valuable as a metaphor (as he had originally designed it) the way a concept or model has been turned into fact is disturbing. How many of us and our learning believe these magic percentages to be fact? Dale's Cone of Experience a fraud? No - not as he originally write it - but yes when 'adapted' by individuals without due consideration or backup research. The Learning Pyramid In a similar vein to Dale's Cone of experience is the 'Learning Pyramid' from "National Training Laboratories in Bethel Maine", where retention rates are shown as percentage rates against delivery techniques. There is a lot of similarity between the two models - the difference is that this appears to be a complete hoax. 90%-75%-50%-30%-10%-5% Quite where these numbers come from is a mystery to many, and indeed it is difficult to understand what 90% retention actually means... 90% of what for how long? As a model it looks and on first thought appears to be credible, however as many of us will know some people have almost 100% retention for a considerable period of time if they read something, others teach others from a structure or procedure which they themselves do not understand! Remember The NUMBERS on Dale's Cone of experience and the learning pyramid are models without any demonstrable research and should not be used as fact.

The Overhead Projector and Transparencies

The Overhead Projector and the Transparencies

The OHP with transparencies is a very handy technical training aid. It is easy to operate and can be projected in any light colored (preferably white) flat surface.
The use of the Overhead Projector is very effective in explaining complex problems. So, instead of taking a long time explaining the topic orally, the OHP will do the trick quicker.
Using the OHP :
When using the OHP, remember the following :
1.Be sure that the OHP has been placed properly in front of the training room and has been focused accurately on the projection screen.
2.Test your transparencies before the start of your topic to avoid being embarrassed with too small or inverted texts.
3.When operating the OHP do not stand in front of it. Position yourself in such a way that you do not block the participants’ view of what is projected on screen. The OHP enables you to Face your audience while pointing out details on the screen.
4.Use a pointer (or any pointed object like a ballpen or a pencil) on the transparencies not on the screen.
5.Switch off the OHP when you are not using it. This is to prolong the life expectancy of the OHP bulb and to avoid distraction while you are talking.
Avoid moving around the OHP while it is "on" or hot. As this might damage the OHP bulb.
1.Before using the OHP make sure it works. Most models are equipped with a spare bulb inside or a "2 position" light.
2.It is a good idea to have an alternative to the OHP in case of power failure or damage to the OHP. Transparencies can be photocopied and used as hand-outs.
Effective Use of Transparencies
The transparencies are versatile pieces of training aid. You only need imagination in order to come up with a very interesting transparency.
There are two types of transparency markers (pens) readily available on the market. They come in various colours.
The first kind of marker is a water soluble one, which means that it can be erased with the use of a wet soft cloth or paper. This is very practical when you only need the text or drawing in the transparency once. However you have to be extremely careful with water soluble inks ; they smudge very easily.
If the text and/or drawing in the transparency will be used for quite a lot of times, it is advisable that you use the permanent acetate marker. ("Permanent markers" can be erased and the transparency reused. Some solvent will do the trick).
If the transparencies are not readily available or there is constraint in the budget, a transparent plastic can substitute for the transparencies.
Other pens can also substitute for the transparency markers. A making pen for example will do.

Writing/Drawing in the Transparencies :
When you write in the transparency, be sure that the texts do not exceed more than eight (8) words per line and the number of lines should not be more than twelve (12).
The letters should not be too small. It is very important that you observe spacing and positioning when writing in the transparency.
Use block letters, not the script type.
Colour should be used purposely as an aid for structuring, which means that colours should be used to differentiate one step/sequence from the other, or to emphasise, not to make the transparency appear beautiful.
When using pictures, illustrations, symbols and graphics in the transparency, be sure that they are clear and can be easily understood.

Using Photocopied Transparencies
There are times that you need to copy either an illustration or texts from printed material. Instead of doing them manually, you can photocopy them in the transparency.
Warning : Make sure your transparency is the head-resistant type otherwise you might damage the copier.
The procedure is very simple. Instead of using a photocopying paper in the machine, you use the transparency and you have the desired illustration or text.
If you want you can colour the photocopied transparency with the markers.

Using Overlays
Sometimes, you have to explain or deal with complicated concepts. You cannot just write all of them in one transparency, otherwise, you will confuse your audience. The situation calls for the use of "overlays".
The use of overlays simplify complicated concepts and allows you to build-up the presentation step by step.
One transparency serves as the base transparency. Then another transparency can be added to the base to show another step or sequence. The added transparency which contain only parts of the step or sequence is what we call the "overlay".
Up to ten (10) transparencies can be added to the base transparency.
Usually, a special type of machine is used to prepare overlays. But you can also make overlays without using this machine.
All you need is a pair of scissors, a cello tape, transparencies, markers, and your creativity.

Here is how you do it :
1.Write or draw the main step or the title of the subject in first transparency (Fig. 01).
2.In the second transparency, write down the remaining steps or sequence but be sure that the texts or drawing in the second transparency do not interlap with the first transparency (Fig. 02).
3.Fasten the two transparencies, with the first transparency serving as the base, with the use of a cello tape (Fig. 03).

All about Internet Research... God Bless:-)

“Internet Research”

What does it all about?

Internet research is the practice of using the Internet, especially the World Wide Web, for research. To the extent that the Internet is widely and readily accessible to hundreds of millions of people in many parts of the world, it can provide practically instant information on most topics, and is having a profound impact on the way in which ideas are formed and knowledge is created.
Research is a broad term. Here, it is used to mean "looking something up (on the Web)". It includes any activity where a topic is identified, and an effort is made to actively gather information for the purpose of furthering understanding. Common applications of Internet research include personal research on a particular subject (something mentioned on the news, a health problem, etc), students doing research for academic projects and papers, and journalists and other writers researching stories. It should be distinguished from scientific research - research following a defined and rigorous process - carried out on the Internet; from straightforward finding of specific info, like locating a name or phone number; and from research about the Internet.
Compared to the Internet, print physically limits access to information. A book has to be identified, then actually obtained. On the Net, the Web can be searched, and typically hundreds or thousands of pages can be found with some relation to the topic, within seconds. In addition, email (including mailing lists), online discussion forums (aka message boards, BBS's), and other personal communication facilities (instant messaging, IRC, newsgroups, etc) can provide direct access to experts and other individuals with relevant interests and knowledge. However, difficulties persist in verifying a writer's credentials, and therefore the accuracy or pertinence of the information obtained—see also the article Criticism of Wikipedia and its section Difficulty of fact-checking.
Further difficulties in internet research center around search tool bias and whether the searcher has sufficient skill to draw meaningful results from the abundance of material typically available[1]. The first resources retrieved may not be the most suitable resources to answer a particular question. For example, popularity is often a factor used in structuring internet search results, but the most popular information is not always the most correct, or representative of the breadth of knowledge and opinion on a topic.

Search tools

The most popular search tools for finding information on the internet include, Web search engines, metasearch engines, Web directories, and specialty search services.[2] A Web search engine uses software known as a Web crawler to follow the hyperlinks connecting the pages on the World Wide Web. The information on these Web pages is indexed and stored by the search engine. To access this information, a user enters keywords in a search form and the search engine queries its indices to find Web pages that contain the keywords and displays them in search engine results page (SERP). The SERP list typically includes hyperlinks and brief descriptions of the content found. Search results are ranked using complex algorithms, which take into consideration the location and frequency of keywords on a Web page, along with the quality and number of external hyperlinks pointing at the Web page.
A Metasearch engine enables users to enter a search query once and have it run against multiple search engines simultaneously, creating a list of aggregated search results. Since no single search engine covers the entire web, a metasearch engine can produce a more comprehensive search of the web. Most metasearch engines automatically eliminate duplicate search results. However, metasearch engines have a significant limitation because the most popular search engines, such as Google, are not included because of legal restrictions.
A Web directory organizes subjects in a hierarchical fashon that lets users investigate the breath of a specific topic and drill down to find relevant links and content. Web directories can be assembled automatically by algorithms or handcrafted. Human-edited Web directories have the distinct advantage of higher quality and reliability, while those produced by alogrithms can offer more comprehensive coverage. The scope of Web directories are generally broad, such as DMOZ, Yahoo! and The WWW Virtual Library, covering a wide range of subjects, while others focus on specific topics.
Specialty search tools enable users to find information that conventional search engines and metasearch engines cannot access because the content is stored in databases. In fact, the vast majority of information on the web is stored in databases that require users to go to a specific site and access it through a search form. Often, the content is generated dynamically. As a consequence, Web crawlers are unable to index this information. In a sense, this content is "hidden" from search engines, leading to the term invisible or deep Web. Specialty search tools have evolved to provide users with the means to quickly and easily find deep Web content. These specialty tools rely on advanced bot and intelligent agent technologies to search the deeb Web and automatically generate specialty Web directories, such as the Virtual Private Library.

Research Internet Effectively! God Bless:-)

Daleon, Junnafe D. Mr. Ivanhoe Oñate
BSED-TLE-IIIA Instructor

“Media Awareness Network”

How to Search the Internet Effectively

Search Engines

Internet search sites can search enormous databases of Web pages, using titles, keywords or text. You can maximize the potential of search engines by learning how they work, and how to use them quickly and effectively.
The challenge is to ask your question the right way, so that you don't end up overwhelmed with too many search results, underwhelmed with too few, or simply unable to locate the material that you need. As with most skills, practice makes perfect!
Getting Started
Before doing a search, it's important to define your topic as completely and succinctly as possible. Write down exactly what information you're looking for, why you're looking for it, and what you're not looking for. This will help you to discover the best keywords for your search.
Keywords
With the exception of search engines such as AskJeeves.com, which will take questions in the form of actual queries, most work best if you provide them with several keywords. So how do you determine which keywords will work best?
Most users submit 1.5 keywords per search, which is not enough for an effective query - the recommended maximum is 6 to 8 carefully chosen words, preferably nouns and objects. (Search engines consider articles and pronouns clutter.) Avoid verbs, and use modifiers only when they help to define your object more precisely - as in "feta cheese" rather than just "cheese."
Now you have your keywords. How do you enter them into the search engine?

Use of Phrases
Your most powerful keyword combination is the phrase. Phrases are combinations of two or more words that must be found in the documents you're searching for in the EXACT order shown. You enter a phrase - such as "feta cheese" - into a search engine, within quotation marks.
Some searches provide specific options for phrases, while others don't allow them at all; but most will allow you to enter a phrase in quotation marks. Check the "Help" files of the search engine you're using to be sure what it accepts.
Punctuation and Capitalization
Most search engines are insensitive to case: you can type your queries in uppercase, lowercase, or a mix of cases. If you use lowercase, most engines will match on both upper and lower case; so for general searches, lowercase is the safest form to use.
Not all search engines handle punctuation the same way. When in doubt, consult the "Help" file.
Boolean Basics
"Boolean" searching (named after George Boole, the 19th-century mathematician who founded the field of symbolic logic) is a powerful technique that can narrow your search to a reasonable number of results, and increase the chance of those results being useful. Boolean searches are simple to learn and tremendously effective. The three most commonly used Boolean commands (or "operators") are AND, OR and AND NOT.
AND means "I want only documents that contain both/all words." For instance, the search "London" AND "Big Ben" AND "Buckingham Palace" AND "Trafalgar Square" would return only documents that contained all four keywords or phrases. AND is the most frequently used Boolean command.
OR means "I want documents that contain either word; I don't care which." The query "London" OR "Big Ben" OR "Buckingham Palace" OR "Trafalgar Square" would return all documents that contained even one of these four keywords or phrases. Use OR to string together synonyms; be careful about mixing it with AND.
AND NOT means "I want documents that contain this word, but not if the document also contains another word." The query "London" AND "Big Ben" AND NOT "Buckingham Palace" would return documents that include London and Big Ben, but not those that also include Buckingham Palace. Remember that AND NOT only applies to the word or phrase that immediately follows it.
Most search engines support the AND NOT command. It is sometimes called BUT NOT or NOT, and is sometimes indicated by placing a minus sign (-) before the term or phrase to be removed. (Check the search tips of the engine you're using to see which form of AND NOT it accepts). Before you apply AND NOT, see what results you get from a simpler search. AND NOT is a great way to weed out results you don't want, such as pornography.
Quick Tips
Use nouns as query keywords. Never use articles ("a," "the"), pronouns ("he," "it"), conjunctions ("and," "or") or prepositions ("to," "from") in your queries
Use 6 to 8 keywords per query
Where possible, combine keywords into phrases by using quotation marks, as in "solar system"
Spell carefully, and consider alternate spellings
Avoid redundant terms
Check the "Help" function of the particular search engine you're using, since they all have their own quirks and preferences
A successful Internet search can take several tries. But remember: it's estimated that there are between 200 and 800 million documents online - with no master system for organizing this information! No wonder effective searches take know-how, patience and ingenuity.
To find out about more about search engines, check out Search Engine Watch. This site has the latest information about the best search engines available, searching tips, and much more.

Source: Search Tutorial: Guide to Effective Searching of the Internet by the WebTools Company. Republished with permission.
The information in this document has been extracted from the complete version of Search Tutorial: Guide to Effective Searching of the Internet, which was researched, written and maintained by The WebTools Company, of VisualMetrics Corporation.


How to Effectively Use the Internet for Research
Before the Internet, conducting research for school, work or out of curiosity involved a set of encyclopedias and a trip to the library. However, we now live in an age where information is readily accessible from your computer.
On the Web, you can find information about any topic you desire. The World Wide Web is a huge database of user–submitted content where you can access an astronomical number of informative sources, online groups and multi–media.
Because all of the content on the Internet is self–submitted, and there are very few regulations as to what a person can and can’t publish (depending on local laws), content found on the Web may be inaccurate and opinion based.

Nevertheless, the Internet should not be disregarded when conducting academic research. It is a major source for scholarly journals, current news, books, credible magazines, general information and other relevant content. Here are a few tips to help you efficiently conduct online research and find the information you want:

Tap into reputable sources
Many reliable statistics, articles and other information can be found on government and educational websites. These websites are easily identified because their domain names end in .edu or .gov. Additionally, you can conduct a search for only scholarly information. See the sources below.


Subscribe to RSS Feeds
Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feeds is new technology that allow subscribers an immediate update when new information is posted. RSS feeds are particularly handy for news sources or other websites that are constantly updated. If you need to collect current events on a particular topic, RSS feeds will practically do your work for you.
Join or Create a Group
A number of websites like Google, Yahoo and MSN offer online groups where members can share information. This is an excellent way to meet people who share your same interests and discover new resources.
Understand and Use Boolean Logic or an advanced search
Boolean Logic is becoming less common as more search engines offer advanced search features. Boolean Logic uses the words “and”, “or” and “not” to create relationships among search terms and allow you to narrow your search.
The advanced search feature on Google, Yahoo, MSN, Ask.com and other popular search engines accomplish the same goal. Use these methods to filter your results and find the information you’re looking for.
Use Synonyms, Alternate Spellings and Related Topics
As you conduct your research, take note of synonyms, alternate spellings and related keywords of your topic. For example, if you’re looking for information on dogs, you may also want to search “puppies”, “canines” and “pets”.
Use Different Search Engines
Different search engines function differently. Google and Ask.com are link–ranking engines, which mean they consider the relevance and importance of the links that link to a website and the sites the website links to. On the other hand, Yahoo and altavista rank by general content. They look at keywords in metatags and in the webpage’s content. Therefore, different search engines provide different results.
Choose a Browser That’s Conducive to Research
There are many free Internet browser downloads—Internet Explorer, Firefox and Opera are just a few. Some browsers allow you to add notes, save groups of websites and have integrated search engines that make web research easier and faster. Any of the three listed above are great for web research.
Listed below are a number of free resources to help you with your Internet research.
Free Internet Research Resources
For Academic journals, articles and other scholarly content:
Google Scholar http://scholar.google.com/
MSN Live Academic http://academic.live.com/
INFOMINE http://infomine.ucr.edu/
Resource Discovery Network http://www.rdn.ac.uk/
SearchEdu.com http://www.searchedu.com/
For Books:
A9 http://a9.com/-/home.jsp?nc=1
Google Books Search http://books.google.com/
For a broad search of the Web:
ixquick http://ixquick.com/
For general information:
msn Encarta http://encarta.msn.com/
To create a works cited page:
Son of Citation Machine http://citationmachine.net/
Student abc http://www.studentabc.com/citation_machine
References
Internet Tutorials (May, 2006). Conducting Research on the Internet. Retrieved August 30, 2006, from Internet Tutorials Web site: http://www.internettutorials.net/research.html

Just want to share:-)

POWER of GOD Ministry exists for one sole purpose; to put God given tools into the hands of "those who are called according to His purpose"* and who take Jesus' great commission as outlined in Matthew 28:18-20 as this purpose!

The Light of the World by Nathan Greene ©2004, All Rights Reserved, Used by permission.

To learn more about the art of Nathan Greene, visit the website, www.hartclassics.com

The Great Commission of Jesus found in Matthew 28:18-20: And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. (19) Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: (20) Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

* Referencing Romans 8:28 "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose."

GO LIGHT YOUR WORLD!

Christ’s method alone will give true success in reaching the people. The Saviour mingled with men as one who desired their good. He showed His sympathy for them, ministered to their needs, and won their confidence. Then He bade them, "Follow Me."--The Ministry of Healing, p. 143. {ChS 119.3} -emphasis added

Let the workers go from house to house, opening the Bible to the people, circulating the publications, telling others of the light that has blessed their own souls.--Testimonies, vol. 9, p. 123. {ChS 114.1}

By personal labor reach those around you. Become acquainted with them. Preaching will not do the work that needs to be done. Angels of God attend you to the dwellings of those you visit. This work cannot be done by proxy. Money lent or given will not accomplish it. Sermons will not do it. By visiting the people, talking, praying, sympathizing with them, you will win hearts. This is the highest missionary work that you can do. To do it, you will need resolute, persevering faith, unwearying patience, and a deep love for souls.--Testimonies, vol. 9, p. 41. {ChS 117.5}

A Reformatory Movement In visions of the night, representations passed before me of a great reformatory movement among God’s people. Many were praising God. The sick were healed, and other miracles were wrought. A spirit of intercession was seen, even as was manifested before the great Day of Pentecost. Hundreds and thousands were seen visiting families and opening before them the word of God. Hearts were convicted by the power of the Holy Spirit, and a spirit of genuine conversion was manifest. On every side doors were thrown open to the proclamation of the truth. The world seemed to be lightened with the heavenly influence. Great blessings were received by the true and humble people of God. --Testimonies, vol. 9, p. 126 Emphasis Supplied

THE ATTRIBUTES OF GOD

"THE POWER OF GOD"

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We cannot have a right conception of God unless we think of Him as all-powerful, as well as all-wise. He who cannot do what he will and perform all his pleasure cannot be God. As God hath a will to resolve what He deems good, so has He power to execute His will.

The power of God is that ability and strength whereby He can bring to pass whatsoever He pleases, whatsoever His infinite wisdom may direct, and whatsoever the infinite purity of His will may resolve. . . . As holiness is the beauty of all God’s attributes, so power is that which gives life and action to all the perfections of the Divine nature. How vain would be the eternal counsels, if power did not step in to execute them. Without power His mercy would be but feeble pity, His promises an empty sound, His threatenings a mere scarecrow. God’s power is like Himself: infinite, eternal, incomprehensible; it can neither be checked, restrained, nor frustrated by the creature. (S. Charnock).

"God hath spoken once; twice have I heard this, that power belongeth unto God" (Ps. 62:11). "God hath spoken once": nothing more is necessary! Heaven and earth shall pass away, but His word abideth forever. God hath spoken once: how befitting His Divine majesty! We poor mortals may speak often and yet fail to be heard. He speaks but once and the thunder of His power is heard on a thousand hills. "The Lord also thundered in the heavens, and the Highest gave His voice; hailstones and coals of fire. Yea, He sent out His arrows, and scattered them; and He shot out lightnings, and discomfited them. Then the channels of waters were seen and the foundations of the world were discovered at Thy rebuke, O Lord, at the blast of the breath of Thy nostrils" (Ps. 18:13-15).

"God hath spoken once": behold His unchanging authority. "For who in the heaven can be compared unto the Lord? who among the sons of the mighty can be likened unto the Lord?" (Ps. 89:6). "And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and He doeth according to His will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay His hand, or say unto Him, What dost Thou?" (Dan. 4:35). This was openly displayed when God became incarnate and tabernacled among men. To the leper He said, "I Will, be thou clean, and immediately his leprosy was cleansed" (Matt. 8:3). To one who had lain in the grave four days He cried, "Lazarus, come forth," and the dead came forth. The stormy wind and the angry wave were hushed at a single word from Him. A legion of demons could not resist His authoritative command.

"Power belongeth unto God," and to Him alone. Not a creature in the entire universe has an atom of power save what God delegates. But God’s power is not acquired, nor does it depend upon any recognition by any other authority. It belongs to Him inherently.

God’s power is like Himself, self-existent, self-sustained. The mightiest of men cannot add so much as a shadow of increased power to the Omnipotent One. He sits on no buttressed throne and leans on no assisting arm. His court is not maintained by His courtiers, nor does it borrow its splendor from His creatures. He is Himself the great central source and Originator of all power (C. H. Spurgeon).

Not only does all creation bear witness to the great power of God, but also to His entire independency of all created things. Listen to His own challenge: "Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding. Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it? Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened or who laid the cornerstone thereof?" (Job 38:4-6). How completely is the pride of man laid in the dust!

Power is also used as a name of God, the Son of man sitting at the right hand of power (Mark 14:62), that is, at the right hand of God. God and power are so inseparable that they are reciprocated. As His essence is immense, not to be confined in place; as it is eternal, not to be measured in time; so it is almighty, not to be limited in regard of action (S. Charnock).

"Lo, these are parts of His ways:" but how little a portion is heard of Him? but the thunder of His power who can understand? (Job 26:14). Who is able to count all the monuments of His power? Even that which is displayed of His might in the visible creation is utterly beyond our powers of comprehension, still less are we able to conceive of omnipotence itself. There is infinitely more power lodged in the nature of God than is expressed in all His works.

"Parts of His ways" we behold in creation, providence, redemption, but only a "little part" of His might is seen in them. Remarkably is this brought out in Habakkuk 3:4: "and there was the hiding of His power." It is scarcely possible to imagine anything more grandiloquent than the imagery of this whole chapter, yet nothing in it surpasses the nobility of this statement. The prophet (in vision) beheld the mighty God scattering the hills and overturning the mountains, which one would think afforded an amazing demonstration of His power Nay, says our verse, that is rather the "hiding" than the displaying of His power. What is meant? This: so inconceivable, so immense, so uncontrollable is the power of Deity, that the fearful convulsions which He works in nature conceal more than they reveal of His infinite might!

It is very beautiful to link together the following passages: "He walketh upon the waves of the sea" (Job 9:8), which expresses God’s uncontrollable power. "He walketh in the circuit of Heaven" (Job 22:14), which tells of the immensity of His presence. "He walketh upon the wings of the wind" (Ps. 104:3), which signifies the amazing swiftness of His operations. This last expression is very remarkable. It is not that "He flieth," or "runneth," but that He "walketh" and that, on the very "wings of the wind"—on the most impetuous of the elements, tossed into utmost rage, and sweeping along with almost inconceivable rapidity, yet they are under His feet, beneath His perfect control!

Let us now consider God’s power in creation. "The heavens are Thine, the earth also is Thine, as for the world and the fulness thereof, Thou hast founded them. The north and the south Thou hast created them" (Ps. 89:11, 12). Before man can work be must have both tools and materials, but God began with nothing, and by His word alone out of nothing made all things. The intellect cannot grasp it. God "spake and it was done, He commanded and it stood fast" (Ps. 33:9). Primeval matter heard His voice. "God said, Let there be. . .and it was so" (Gen. 1). Well may we exclaim, "Thou hast a mighty arm: strong is Thy hand, high is Thy right hand" (Ps. 89:13).

Who, that looks upward to the midnight sky; and, with an eye of reason, beholds its rolling wonders; who can forbear inquiring, Of what were their mighty orbs formed? Amazing to relate, they were produced without materials. They sprung from emptiness itself. The stately fabric of universal nature emerged out of nothing. What instruments were used by the Supreme Architect to fashion the parts with such exquisite niceness, and give so beautiful a polish to the whole? How was it all connected into one finely-proportioned and nobly finished structure? A bare fiat accomplished all. Let them be, said God. He added no more; and at once the marvelous edifice arose, adorned with every beauty, displaying innumerable perfections, and declaring amidst enraptured seraphs its great Creator’s praise. "By the word of the Lord were the heavens made, and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth," Psa. 150:1 (James Hervey, 1789).

Consider God’s power in preservation. No creature has power to preserve itself. "Can the rush grow up without mire? can the flag grow up without water?" (Job 8:11). Both man and beast would perish if there were not herbs for food, and herbs would wither and die if the earth were not refreshed with fruitful showers. Therefore is God called the Preserver of "man and beast" (Ps. 36:6). "He upholdeth all things by the word of His power" (Heb 1:3). What a marvel of Divine power is the prenatal life of every human being! That an infant can live at all, and for so many months, in such cramped and filthy quarters, and that without breathing, is unaccountable without the power of God. Truly He "holdeth our soul in life" (Ps. 66:9).

The preservation of the earth from the violence of the sea is another plain instance of God’s might. How is that raging element kept pent within those limits wherein He first lodged it, continuing its channel, without overflowing the earth and dashing in pieces the lower part of the creation? The natural situation of the water is to be above the earth, because it is lighter, and to be immediately under the air, because it is heavier. Who restrains the natural quality of it? certainly man does not, and cannot. It is the flat of its Creator which alone bridles it: And said, "Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further: and here shall thy proud waves be stayed" (Job 38:11). What a standing monument of the power of God is the preservation of the world!

Consider God’s power in government. Take His restraining the malice of Satan. "The devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour" (1 Pet. 5:8). He is filled with hatred against God, and with fiendish enmity against men, particularly the saints. He that envied Adam in paradise, envies us the pleasure of enjoying any of God’s blessings. Could he have his will, he would treat all the same way he treated Job: he would send fire from heaven on the fruits of the earth, destroying the cattle, cause a wind to overthrow our houses, and cover our bodies with boils. But, little as men may realize it, God bridles him to a large extent, prevents him from carrying out his evil designs, and confines him within His ordinations.

So too God restrains the natural corruption of men. He suffers sufficient outbreakings of sin to show what fearful havoc has been wrought by man’s apostasy from his Maker, but who can conceive the frightful lengths to which men would go were God to remove His curbing hand? "Their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness their feet are swift to shed blood" (Rom. 3). This is the nature of every descendant of Adam. Then what unbridled licentiousness and headstrong folly would triumph in the world, if the power of God did not interpose to lock down the floodgates of it! See Psalm 93:3,4.

Consider God’s power in judgment. When He smites, none can resist Him: see Ezekiel 22:14.How terribly this was exemplified at the Flood! God opened the windows of heaven and broke up the great fountains of the deep, and (excepting those in the ark) the entire human race, helpless before the storm of His wrath, was swept away. A shower of fire and brimstone from heaven, and the cities of the plain were exterminated. Pharaoh and all his hosts were impotent when God blew upon them at the Red Sea. What a terrific word is that in Romans 9:22: "What if God, willing to show wrath, and to make His power known, endured with much long-suffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction." God is going to display His mighty power upon the reprobate not merely by incarcerating them in Gehenna, but by supernaturally preserving their bodies as well as souls amid the eternal burnings of the Lake of Fire.

Well may all tremble before such a God! To treat with impunity One who can crush us more easily than we can a moth, is a suicidal policy. To openly defy Him who is clothed with omnipotence, who can rend us in pieces or cast into Hell any moment He pleases, is the very height of insanity. To put it on its lowest ground, it is but the part of wisdom to heed His command, "Kiss the Son. lest He be angry, and ye perish from the way, when His wrath is kindled but a little" (Ps. 2:12).

Well may the enlightened soul adore such a God! The wondrous and infinite perfections of such a Being call for fervent worship. If men of might and renown claim the admiration of the world, how much more should the power of the Almighty fill us with wonderment and homage. "Who is like unto Thee, O Lord, among the who is like Thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?" (Ex. 15:11).

Well may the saint trust such a God! He is worthy of implicit confidence. Nothing is too hard for Him. If God were stinted in might and had a limit to His strength we might well despair. But seeing that He is clothed with omnipotence, no prayer is too hard for Him to answer, no need too great for Him to supply, no passion too strong for Him to subdue; no temptation too powerful for Him to deliver from, no misery too deep for Him to relieve. "The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?" (Ps. 27:1). "Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen" (Eph. 3:20,21).