Author: blogger

Traveling Out Of Body

I can see the cops coming! They’re a good thousand feet away. I can clearly make out their uniforms and swinging nightsticks. How can I be seeing this?

I didn’t dare mention it to my fellow underage drinking mates lounging with me on the grassy knoll in the park. Am I making this up? Projecting it somehow into my vision? Forcefully, I shook my head back and forth in an effort to free my mind of its strange perception.

But the view of the two police officers remained in my sight, as they sauntered closer and closer to our drinking den. In fact, to my further astonishment, I saw a much wider perspective as I swiveled my gaze within the picture before me. I can see myself!

Frantically blinking my eyes open and shut trying to erase this impossibility, I still found myself staring at my own physical body on the ground next to my beer buddies. The place from which I was viewing was about forty feet in the air! As I shifted my attention to look at the looker, I saw an airborne body in the form of a luminous shimmer, much like a ghost is portrayed in a movie. Then, with the ease of a mere thought, I discovered I could shift my point of view from my physical body on the ground back to my ethereal light body in the air. Using my eyes in my subtle body, I surveyed the scene again from my perch in the air.

Am I making all this up? Do I want to impress my pals so much, I’m concocting an extrasensory perception to allow me to warn them of an oncoming bust? My frenetic self-questioning came to an abrupt halt as I heard one of the officers whisper to his colleague, “Do you hear that noise? There are some kids in the park.”

Whether I was conjuring my supernormal sight and hearing to court favor with my friends or not, I needed to act-and quickly. “Hey, guys, don’t ask me how I know, but there are some cops right up the street and they’re on to us. Let’s split.” My three inebriated friends and I quietly sneaked down the hill and out of the park under the helpful cloak of darkness. By a nanosecond, we successfully evaded detection as we heard the policemen slashing at the bushes with their billyclubs right behind us. A close call!

“Hey, how’d ya know the fuzz was there?” my buddy pressed me as we arrived safely back at our car.

“Uh, I just knew somehow. A guess, I guess,” I muttered, covering for myself as best I could under the circumstances.

“Well, a pretty good one, man. We’d be up the creek if they caught us. Thanks. You’re all right. We should have you around every time we go drinking.”

Ah, music to my ears. And so my young career as a drinking guard began!

My friends, at sixteen, were older than I but still under the legal drinking age of eighteen in New York State. I was fifteen and considered myself really lucky to be included in this older gang at a time of life when acceptance and belonging was paramount. And to have access to liquor through their connections was heaven for me.

I would do almost anything to please these guys and stay tight with them. I mused to myself, My newfound super-vision is coming in real handy. If we got busted for underage drinking, we’d all get grounded by our parents, not to mention getting in trouble with the law. I’ve got to keep this good thing going!

On that fateful night, my need for approval prompted me to keep expanding this burgeoning, new skill that I stumbled across in the line of necessity and opportunity.

As I played with my prowess as a night watchman for the gang, I realized I was doing more than clairvoyance, “clear seeing.” Each time I playfully sent myself out to scan the scene for police, I was having a bona fide out-of-body experience. I didn’t have a name for it then, but I sure knew I was doing it! I was right on the mark every time I called a cop alert. My skill was valued by the friends I valued. Literally, I was flying high!

Since my teenage discovery, I’ve continued to explore out-of-body adventures. And I always laugh in admiration when I look back on how God tricked me into developing my first natural spiritual ability.

(c)2004, Keith Varnum. All rights in all media reserved.

Drawing from the wisdom of native and ancient spiritual traditions, Keith Varnum shares his 30 years of practical success as an author, personal coach, acupuncturist, filmmaker, radio host, restaurateur, vision quest guide and international seminar leader with “The Dream Workshops.” Keith helps people get the love, money and health they want with his free Prosperity Ezine, free Empowerment Tape and free Coaching at www.TheDream.com.

Keep In Touch With Your Travelling Children

The thought of your precious child leaving home, spreading their wings and travelling round the world is enough to bring any parent out in a cold sweat. The fear of the unknown and the uncertainty of your child’s whereabouts can be a scary and intimidating experience for every parent. At this time of year lots of students and gap year students are beginning to plan backpacking world trips or organising working holidays abroad, so, whatever your child is planning it’s the perfect time to look into your options for staying in touch with your precious kids while they are away.

The thought of being out of contact with your children can send anxious parents into turmoil but there are a few easy ways to keep in contact with your loved ones as they head off on their great adventures. The easiest, and probably the most reliable, way to keep in touch is through e-mail and via the internet. This is a cost efficient, fast and reliable way to get messages to your child. Unfortunately this doesn’t guarantee you an immediate response but can be a nice way to share in your child’s experiences. If your loved one is travelling to an area with a bad connection don’t let this throw you into utter panic, arrange a time when you should expect to hear from them and ask for their hotel or youth hostel details in case of an emergency.

If you’re lucky your child may begin to write an online travel blog posting pictures, videos and information about their travels online for families and friends. This can be a positive and reassuring way to keep anxious parents sane and could stop your kids feeling obliged to call home each time their destination changes. Social networking sites are also a quick and easy way to stay in touch and parents can quickly check on Facebook and Bebo updates to make sure their child is still safe.

If you can’t stand the thought of not knowing where you child is you may consider using some of the latest technology to keep tabs on your offspring. GPS tracking devices are all the rage in the travelling world and are a great way to let others know your whereabouts. It’s especially useful if your child is planning a trek or excursion that means they will be out of contact for several days.

One of the most important things to remember when your child is travelling is to give them the freedom to grow and experience the world on their own. If you’re constantly ringing, emailing and writing your child could begin to resent you or may spend all their time reassuring you instead of enjoying themselves. Try to email or phone once a week or arrange a specific time to get in touch with them so you’re not smothering them.

Whether you’re looking for cheap calls to Australia, a sturdy internet connection in Asia or a state of the art global tracking system staying in touch with your child can help to put your mind at ease so you can rejoice in your child’s new found freedom as they experience the world.

Rentals Versus Hotels

It’s a very modern question but an important one nonetheless: why should you choose a vacation sublet over a traditional hotel? Although renting out one’s home or apartment has been a tradition for years, it has only been recently that the vacation rental industry has been booming. While the industry has mainly been dominated by giants like HomeAway and VRBO, there are also up and coming sites like us at MetroFlats.com. However, this article is not about the choice between different vacation home sites; it’s about the choice between vacation homes and traditional homes. Obviously I will be arguing on the side of vacation rentals, but I believe I have many convincing arguments to prove that it is much better for your vacation and your wallet to choose sublets over hotels.

The most obvious reason to choose a vacation home rental over a hotel is the price. Particularly in big cities like New York, hotel prices can be extremely expensive. It is not uncommon to see a large amount of hotel rooms in NYC costing upwards of 300 dollars a night. If you look at the link I provided to Hotels.com, you’ll see that most of the cheaper rooms have very low ratings. With vacation apartments, especially from MetroFlats, rarely do any of our listings crack $300. I’m certainly not going to say there are none that are a bit pricey; there are some. However, the vast majority are around $100. And with the amount of vacation rental amenities included with them, they are worth every penny.

Amenities are my next point. With the most basic hotel room, the most you could hope to get from your room is a wide variety of channels and room service. Perhaps you will be lucky enough to get a Hotel video on demand system, maybe even with video games. Vacation rental apartments, on the other hand, include tons of amenities. Whether it’s a full kitchen to cook your own food or big screen TVs, you will get all the luxury at affordable prices. Check out some of our New York rentals to see more examples of the additions you will get with your rooms.

Finally, vacation rentals give you the chance to live like a local. When you stay in a hotel, you can’t help but feel like a tourist. By staying in your very own apartment, condo, or home, you will get the feeling that you are living with the actual population instead of being isolated in a cramped hotel room. And that, frankly, is something that cannot be replaced.

So there are my arguments against hotels. I hope I’ve convinced some of you that were on the fence. If not, I hope you’ll take the opportunity to at least check out MetroFlats.com further. I certainly haven’t listed all the advantages of vacation homes, and by browsing our site, you will even more of them.

Travel Photography One of the Creative Means to Earn

Every year lot of people goes on holiday and clicks hundreds of pictures. Most of the photos people click, lost in their computer hard drives only. Taking pictures is very creative work, individuals who have this hobby, love to roam here and there in search of their subject. Moving here and there in search of different subjects is called travel photography. Every photo speaks a very different story. So when you are going on travel shoot, think about the picture first. What is this photo is going to tell to the viewer. A perfectly clicked picture and object tell the whole story without word.

These days travel shooting is a very demanding work and considered as a quite distinctive hobby. It includes every style of location shooting that you could think or imagine. Travel shooting requires excellent cinematography skills. Professional travel cinematographers love to wander around the corners of world, in search of many exotic locations. However it is an expensive hobby, many traveling agencies offer photography holiday packages on reasonable rates. Travel shooting includes a wide range of classic photographic themes like travelling, landscapes, architectural pictures, portraits, still life etc. Before, you are going out for a travel shoot keep these valuable points in mind.

Research: Before you book your package for the tour, it recommended making good research about the different packages offered by the travel agencies.

Prepare Agenda: Many travel guides are available almost everywhere. Look into those and then plan your tour you can also make a list of different criteria.

Camera: Never forget to carry your camera. It is also recommended not to carry new camera on the trip without clicking at least couple of days as a test. Even with old camera, ensure first, it is in proper condition.

Money: When going out of country for trip, ensure you have small bills of the currency of that particular country, you are travelling. It will be helpful in paying tip to the taxi drivers and service staff.

Travel photography is one of the hobbies that can yield you good earning. Here are few ways how you can earn good from your hobby.

You can write hotel reviews for the travel agents. There are lot of travel websites that offers photography holiday packages pay good amount for the reviews and the hotel pictures.

You can also earn good by putting ads on your photography blog.

Many websites always look for amazing pictures of tour and travel. By selling your pictures to them, you can earn good. If they like your pictures, you would surely be awarded.

You can also earn good by participating in photographic competitions. If you are skilled and competent, you can win many exciting monetary rewards.

Shopping Advice When Traveling To Rome Testaccio Market

There are many great places to experience when in Rome, but one especially cultural place is located in the Testaccio area, where open air markets are all the rage. The Testaccio Market is preferred by locals, because of the great restaurants and cafes available there. A visit here means an avoidance of tourist traps. If you want to immerse yourself in local shopping and dining, the Testaccio Market is the place to be. Testaccio’s restaurants are famous for some very interesting dishes, such as oxtails and tripe. Though perhaps not to everyone’s tastes, the food is fondly enjoyed by the local residents.

Of course, there is much more to the Testaccio dining experience than oxtail and tripe. Once you start walking down Via Marmorata, your nostrils will be tantalized by a wide and strange array of enticing smells. Italians are very generous with their cuisine. Fresh fruits and vegetables line the street and lead you to the restaurants offering local Italian cuisine. Locals shop this street for the freshest ingredients to put in their daily dishes.

Looking for a palatable, yet affordable meal? Testaccio Market is the place to go. The variety of foods and dishes are not only delicious, they are also inexpensive. Try a salami and cheese combination at one of the open vendors, or enjoy your choice of a wide variety of fresh vegetables, such as broccoli, chicory, artichokes and leafy, green lettuce. The fruits are just as fresh and delicious at Testassio market.

The Mastroianni Brothers offer a fantastic selection of fish. The Mastroianni Brothers enjoy claiming the famous Italian actor Marcello Mastroianni as their kin(and they have the pictures to prove it). The fish offerings include the commonly known fish, shellfish, mollusks, and more exotic species. If you enjoy fish, you just might end up spending hours by their stall, checking out the merchandise.

A few hours of shopping can leave you hungry and the nearby Monte Testaccio is a great place to enjoy a lunch of cooked meats, cheese and produce. This unique and “false” mound is composed of broken amphorae that dates back to the ancient times.