Does just hearing the words “manufactured home” or “mobile home” make you cringe? Are you tired of dealing with the Department of Housing and Community Development? Does your mobile home title work get kicked back even though you followed instructions exactly? Do you enjoy endlessly fighting with previous lenders for titles or lien satisfactions? How many hours of your life have you wasted standing in line at the DMV? Do your sellers really have titles? Are they still in some dead guy’s name from three sales ago?

If you are a Title Company, the manufactured home may have never been transferred into your seller’s name or been detitled. Yikes, it may still be in the name of the third owdener back, or in the deceased mother’s name, or in the name of the bank that foreclosed it six years ago, or in the ex-husband’s name who is now in jail.

If you are a Lender, one of your primary concerns with manufactured homes must be whether the settlement agency will make certain that your lien is perfected and that your security interest in the mobile home title is protected. Sadly in this environment, you need to take the approach: “Close ‘em so you can foreclose ‘em.” Title companies, as a rule, excel at closing land deals and often forget that the manufactured home titling process is another layer of the loan.

OnTheLevel can team with you to avoid the manufactured home madness. Unless there is a recorded 413, 433A or 433C on the property, the home is titled as personal property and the process of detitling must occur in order to meet the ALTA 7 requirements. If it is determined on the front end that no such recorded documents exist, we can immediately run a title search with the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) and determine what will be needed to meet the ALTA 7 requirements. We can then present the options for resolution, whether it is simply administrative paperwork or working with the requisite building jurisdictions to install a permanent foundation to get a 433A. In 433A transactions, we will provide you a copy of the recorded 433A document so you can present your loan documents for signing. Then as a post-funding condition, we will finish the detitling with Sacramento. We can assess the cost for services at the front end so the loan officer can include on the Good Faith Estimate. The costs can range from moderate for an administrative service to pricey if a foundation installation will also be required. All costs can be included on the HUD-1.

Real Estate and Foreclosure Attorneys

Manufactured homes have been transferred incorrectly done for years. In many case the land is owned by one individual and the home in another as escrow companies often forgot about detitling the home and conjoining home and land, therefore making foreclosure impossible. Manufactured homes must be handled differently than regular homes as they are the only form of housing that can be titled as either personal or real property. Since all homes installed since 1980 have a separate Assessor’s Parcel Number, many homeowners, escrow companies, and lenders etc. have inferred if the home has an APN, then it is real property. Wrong! Unless there is a recorded 433A or 433C, the home remains personal property. Even then, these instruments, while they show the intent to convey title, do not actually transfer the title. That can only be done by following proper procedures and transferring the mobile home titles through the DMV (except in the very rare case where a title has been retired).

In recent years, Lasik surgery has become more and more prevalent for people who simply want to see better but also want to avoid the ongoing expense and hassle involved with glasses and/or contact lenses. As a result of this growing demand, more and more options for this service are also becoming available, as are advertisements for ‘low cost’ Lasik. San Diego is a market where demand for this service remains high. This high demand subsequently drives the price of Lasik lower; however, at some point, the lowest price LASIK may not necessarily be the best option for the patients seeking to reduce or eliminate their need for contacts or glasses.

The Need for Precise Equipment

When it comes to LASIK, the expectations of a no less than perfect outcome from this intricate procedure necessitates the use of the most technologically advanced and properly maintained equipments to assure the highest level of accuracy. San Diego Lasik doctors perform these procedures with highly advanced, extremely intricate laser equipments that are the very best technology has to offer. The reasons are obvious – beaming powerful rays of light into someone’s eye does not bring much in terms of margin of error, and even a few micron of error can make all the difference between a successful procedure and an enormous problem for the patient. While almost any corners could be cut in order to offer low-cost Lasik, San Diego residents need to be aware that the ability to provide ‘savings’ must come from somewhere, and if that saving comes from the equipments used during this procedure, the risks quickly begin to outweigh the potential benefits with this procedure.

The Need for Top-Notch Talent

In addition to the need for precise, state-of-the-art and properly maintained equipment, San Diego Lasik doctors who perform these procedures need to be as meticulous and precise as the equipment used for this procedure. This precision comes with training and experience. The best San Diego Lasik doctors are generally those who have specialized in the field of cornea and refractive surgery, have significant experience performing Lasik procedure, and who are not nearly as concerned about the bottom line of the clinic as they are about the quality of the service they provide their patients. No cost is too great to ensure the safety of the patient and his or her ability to see properly.

The consideration of cost containment at the risk of increasing the risk to the patient or reducing the quality of the visual outcome should really not come into play when it comes to Lasik surgery– If you would like to learn more about correcting your eyesight the right way, contact the professionals at Global Laser Vision today to schedule an initial consultation.

When it comes to an overall look, it all starts with the face. People tend to look at someone’s face before anything else, and when a person features smooth, lush and supple skin, it tends to affect how people view the rest of the person’s appearance. While there are a few people who are blessed with naturally beautiful facial skin, most others need a small bit of help from time to time to maintain their youthful appearance. This is where the benefits of facial treatments come into play, and one of the more popular strategies in this regard involves a San Diego Photofacial. This procedure is described below.

What is a Photofacial?

Many people are beginning to hear more about how someone they know has received a San Diego Photofacial treatment, and while those who inquire notice the splendid results, many do not understand what this process involves. A Photofacial treatment is an advanced form of using a strong source of light to treat skin’s imperfections such as dark pigmentations, skin flushing, or uneven skin texture on the face or any other area of the body. With this procedure, instead of using creams and cleansers that were long the hallmark of facial treatments, a Photofacial procedure makes use of technology in the form of light beams that are administered to the skin to treat and even out the skin complexion.

How Does a Photofacial Work?

Specifically, a photofacial is often referred to as an ‘IPL’, which stands for Intense Pulsed Light. In this procedure, a hand-held device that delivers this pulsed light onto the skin with a high degree of intensity is used. This filtered broadband light penetrates through the surface area of the facial skin to be treated. The light works on the dermis, or interior layer of the skin tissue and treats any facial skin problems that include sun damage, pigmentations, skin flushing, large pores, and wrinkles and lines at their foundation. In addition, the photofacial treatment does not do any damage to the outer layer of the facial skin, also known as the epidermis.

How Long Does a San Diego Photofacial Treatment Take?

An advantage to using this strategy is that it can be completed quickly and easily. Generally, and though there can be exceptions, patients can expect a San Diego photofacial treatment to be completed in 15 to 30 minutes. There is also almost no recovery time, as many patients can apply makeup and return to work the same day, and there is little if any pain that results from this process.

If you would like to learn more about how you can achieve that fresh, smooth and youthful look on your face, contact the facial treatments professionals as Global Laser Cosmetics today to schedule an initial consultation.

This is the story of my medical emergency while traveling in China. On a recent business trip, I found myself in an emergency medical situation. I started out with a minor backache early in the day. This later became a full blown kidney stone attack in the middle of the night. I have a history with them so I knew that I needed treatment and that I needed it NOW.

Before leaving on my business trip, I rented a cell phone from Roberts Rent-a-Phone, “Just In Case”. When my kidney stone erupted, I was in bed and could barely move. I groped for the hotel phone but no one spoke English. They didn’t even understand the word help. Now in agonizing pain and on the verge of panic, I remembered the rental cell phone sitting on the night stand. Thank God for roberts-rent-a-phone.com. I was able to call my traveling companion and help was on the way.

With my history with kidney stones, I knew that I was in trouble. Without the cell phone I rented form Roberts help was hours away. That may have been too late. I believe that without that international cell phone, I would not be writing this article. So, “just in Case” you’re traveling abroad, be safe, rent a cell phone from roberts-rent-a-phone.com “just in Case”.

Medical emergencies aside, it is just too convenient to have this simple to use phone with you when traveling abroad. The 800 number that you can give to customers or family back home in the US is a great feature.

C N Haney, Six Sigma Master Black Belt.

How to Find the Best Lasik Surgeons in San Diego

Many questions arise when someone needs Lasik eye surgery.  San Diego is a market with many choices, but that doesn’t mean that someone can simply and randomly pick a name and work with that Lasik eye surgeon.  San Diego’s medical community is diverse and offers something for everyone, but finding the best Lasik surgeons in San Diego for your needs involves a few steps.  Below are some ideas to keep in mind as you begin your search.

Ask Around

The popularity of Lasik eye surgery is growing.  As a result, it’s possible that one or more than one person you know has had this procedure done.  As is the case with anything else, those who have had good experiences with a professional will provide you with the contact information of their trusted Lasik eye surgeon.  San Diego consumers are a savvy group, and you can rest assured that you will not be provided a name of someone who will not perform.

Do Your Own Legwork

If you are unable to obtain a referral for Lasik eye surgery in San Diego, you can always begin your own research on the Internet.  Lasik eye surgery is an industry that fits well with technology, and those Lasik eye surgeons in San Diego who understand this will have a proper Web site online and ready for your review.  This will provide you with basic information regarding the surgeons’ facilities, natures of practice and levels of experience.

Ask Questions

When you’ve decided on one or more Lasik eye surgeons in San Diego to contact, do so and schedule an initial consultation.  When you arrive, be prepared to not only answer questions, but to ask as many of them as you have.  In these situations, it’s your meeting and ultimately your patronage, which means that you should never feel embarrassed or ashamed about any particular questions you ask.

Trust Your Instincts

It was most likely your instincts that led you to decide that Lasik eye surgery in San Diego was the proper choice.  Therefore, you should continue to trust these instincts when it comes to how you perceive the surgeons with whom you meet.  You should pay attention not only to the answers to your questions, but also to the friendliness of the staff, the makeup of the facility and the overall nature of what you encounter.

If you would like to get this process started, all you need to do is contact the professionals at Global Laser Vision in San Diego today to schedule that initial consultation.  You need answers and you need information before taking the next step, so contact the team at Global Laser Vision today to take the next step.

San Diego Cosmetic Clinic Offers Botox and Anti-Aging Remedies

Summer is here, and everyone who lives in the area is getting ready by working on their look.  While some are dieting and/or exercising, there is no such program or discipline to remove those wrinkles and other signs of age that tend to occur with time.  However, there are options for those who want to take years off of their appearance, including wrinkle fillers and Botox.  San Diego residents have many choices in this regard, but below is a look at how one cosmetic clinic can work with anyone to find the solutions they need.

Wrinkle Fillers

Wrinkle fillers, as their name suggests, help those who want these signs of age removed capture the face of their youths.  Wrinkle fillers work by injecting a substance such as collagen or even fat cells from a patient’s own body into the area that’s being treated.  The effects of these wrinkle fillers are nothing short of remarkable for many people, as they give the skin a plumper, smoother appearance almost instantly.

The only potential side effects are very temporary in nature, as some patients will experience slight bruising or redness when the injections are administered.  However, these side effects disappear quickly along with the wrinkles that everyone wants removed.  While more than one treatment with wrinkle fillers is generally required, all you need to do is work with a health care professional to find out how a specific course of treatment will work for you.

Botox – San Diego’s Long-Standing Solution

Although it seems like a recent development, patients have for years now been experiencing and enjoying the benefits of Botox.  San Diego residents from all over the county have learned over time that these injections are relatively safe, work quickly, are relatively painless and provide nearly instant results for those who need them.

Botox treatments help to remove wrinkles from the skin and provide a smoother overall look.  San Diego clinics can help you decide on a course of treatment that works for you, but while this is a safe strategy for anti-aging results, it should only be undertaken with the help of experienced professionals.

A San Diego Clinic That Can Help

Every patient is different in regards to his or her needs and expectations.  In addition, these treatments should be planned out in accordance with the particular skin structure for every patient.  If you’d like to learn more about what Botox and/or wrinkle fillers can do for you, all you need to do is contact the health care professionals at Global Laser Cosmetics, Inc. today to schedule an initial consultation.

The time of greatest expectation and happiness in our lives is when the expectant mother and her spouse look forward to the birth of a child. However, it can also be the saddest times of our lives when we learn that our baby has suffered birth anomalies, sometimes catastrophic birth defects that will have a devastating effect on the future of our newborn. In some cases the birth defect may be “spontaneous,” an anomaly for which science and medicine cannot identify a cause, sometimes referred to by the medical pharmaceutical industries as “GOK,” or “God only knows.” Other times it is possible, by the science of epidemiology, to identify a drug taken during the first trimester of pregnancy as the cause of categories of birth defects. As our Depakote Birth Defect lawyers will discuss below, such is the case with the Depakote class of drugs.

Depakene (valporic acid) was first approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as an antiepileptic drug, and then later for migraine headaches and bipolar disease, under brand names including Depakene (valporate acid) for the treatment of epilepsy, and then subsequently valporic acid, also marketed as Stravzor, and divalprox sodium, marketed as Depakote, Depakote CHP, Depakote ER for the treatment of migraine headaches and bipolar disease. The package labeling did not contain sufficient warnings of the risks of birth defects if taken during pregnancy.

As the drug experience reports and scientific studies mounted it became obvious to the scientific community and drug product liability lawyers following the science that the Depakote class of drugs was significantly teratogenic. The drugs, when taken during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy were found to result in neural tube birth defects, defects of the brain and spinal cord, such as spina bifida, as well as other major birth defects, such as craniofacial defects, malformed face and skull, brachycephaly, cardiovascular defects, including coarctation of the aorta, atrial septal defects,hypoplastic right heart, hydronephrosis, distension and dilation of the renal pelvis, cleft palate, dysplatic ribs, undescended testes, hypospadia, hand malformations, and hepatic failure leading to the death of the infant. For neural tube defects, defects affecting the spine and brain, such as spina bifida, the scientific studies confirmed increased rates of these defects as high as 30 to 80 times higher than if Depakote was not taken during the first trimester of pregnancy.

Lawyers representing those who have suffered birth defects as the result of maternal ingestion of drugs will often find that the most difficult aspect of the drug product liability lawsuit is the plaintiff’s burden to prove “causation,” however, this is not the case with the Depakote litigation. At least in our Depakote lawyers estimation, where there is found by good science a 30 to 80 fold increase in the incidence of a birth defect following first trimester use of the drug, causation will be very difficult for the pharmaceutical company’s lawyers to contest. For more information, consider our Depakote lawyers discussion of the legal implications of the scientific evidence. Depakote birth defect lawyers, just as pharmaceutical lawyers in generally, can frame “causation” for jurors in terms of a finding that a there is “greater than a doubling” in the incidence of the birth defect, consistent with the plaintiff’s preponderance of the evidence standard, “more probable than not” that the drug caused the child to be born with the birth defect. Therefore, Depakote birth defect lawyers are confident that the pharmaceutical manufacturers can and will be held liable for the human tragedy they have caused.

All women of child bearing age who are taking the Depakote class of drugs should consult their physicians with regard to dangers, the use of effective contraception, and discontinuing Depakote drugs when considering pregnancy. Often times those epilepsy require effective antiepileptic medication, and the same also may be true for those suffering from debilitating migraine headaches and bi-polar disease, however, alternate drugs may be available to provide relief that your physician can identify as not dangerous to your baby. Our Depakote birth defect lawyers‘ hope is that those who have suffered birth defects will be compensated, and that responsible warnings by the manufacturers and effective counseling of women suffering epilepsy, migraine headaches and bi-polar disease by physicians properly educated on the dangers of Depakote use during pregnancy will avert future family tragedy.

Settling Your Orange County Divorce through Mediation

No one looks forward to the process involved with a divorce. Even if both parties agree that there is no other choice but to end a marriage, the process required in order to accomplish this through the court system can be extremely stressful, extremely antagonistic and extremely expensive. While many Newport Beach family lawyers will work with clients towards a fast and civil solution to a divorce, that doesn’t guarantee that the situation will play out that way.

In short, getting started with a divorce is a risk for everyone involved. What’s at stake includes the possibility of an amenable dynamic between the parties, assets that both people have spent years accumulating and the ability to move on with life anytime soon. Thankfully, there is another option that can be explored with the help of an experienced Newport Beach family lawyer. It’s known as mediation, and below you’ll find a brief overview of how you can work through the ending of a marriage with the help of an Orange County divorce mediator.

Orange County Divorce Mediators Guide You towards a Settlement

Some divorces are settled between the parties, but properly ending a marriage where just the parties are involved and making sure that all laws are properly followed is a long shot for those who do not have a legal background. While Newport Beach family lawyers can explain the law, not all of them have a background in mediation.

An Orange County divorce mediator has a background in mediation. This allows the mediator to structure the meetings between the parties such that tangible steps are taken and meaningful issues are solved. No two divorces are ever exactly alike, but experienced Orange County divorce mediators understand this and are able to work with everyone in such a way that conclusions are attainable.

Advantages to Working with an Orange County Divorce Mediator

Aside from the ability to avoid the legal costs that can arise if someone hires a Newport Beach family lawyer and litigates the situation, working with an Orange County divorce mediator can bring an end to this process quickly, can help the parties remain civil with each other and can provide for an ongoing working relationship between the spouses. This is critically important if there are children from the marriage, as too many families have been permanently destroyed when a nasty divorce fight breaks out and the process extends for months or years.

Overall, though, you need to find out more about this process for yourself. If you’d rather work with an Orange County divorce mediator as opposed to fighting your way through this process with a Newport Beach family lawyer, contact Zonder Family Law Mediation today to schedule an initial consultation so you can obtain all the answers you need.

Your sales and F&I departments are supposed to be on the same team. Unfortunately, you wouldn’t know it in many dealerships. That’s because there is virtually no communication between managers before, during or after a deal goes to F&I. To take sales and profits from “woe” to “WOW!” in 2010, the F&I department has to upgrade its level of service from 3G to 4G — the next generation of selling F&I products.

This upgrade requires F&I to become more than just a secretarial service for the sales team. It requires F&I managers to get involved early in the sales process and step up, not back, when there is a tough deal or difficult customer. They must view themselves as financial services specialists who genuinely believe in their products. Most of all, next-generation F&I managers must be team-mates with the sales department, not adversaries.

Can You Hear Me Now?

The first generation of F&I began in the ’70s, when the F&I function first became a separate department. Back then, the F&I sales process was based on assumptive selling. Managers in this decade were simply required to include the products in the payment and hope the customer didn’t notice. If they did, they were to assume the sale.

You might hear a F&I manager say something like, “It’s a standard contract feature that’s provided for your benefit.” If the customer objected, the F&I manager would defend the products, overcome the customer’s objection, and again assume the sale. In the ’80s, complaints forced dealers to move to the second generation of F&I: step-selling. With this technique, customers were forced to endure multiple features/advantages/ benefits presentations for F&I products they had expressed no interest in purchasing. Every customer heard the same memorized pitch. Objections were overcome with “logic traps” designed to get the customer to say “Yes,” as saying “No” would clearly indicate he or she was stupid.

The ’90s brought us F&I 3G, also known as menu selling. As penetrations declined and the need for F&I income increased, dealers began to expand their product offerings. Not only did the F&I menu allow for these additional products to be offered, but it also shortened the presentation time. Menu software providers created even more sophisticated programs that allowed managers to create and tailor packages to each customer’s needs. Unfortunately, many companies simply inserted a menu into their existing process and kept right on step-selling.

As we begin the new decade, it’s time to upgrade your department to F&I 4G, or what is called customer centered selling. If you’re not truly trying to help every customer, you’re costing your store sales and F&I income. Preventing those losses is a shared responsibility for the sales manager, the Internet manager and, of course, the F&I manager.

Satisfied Customers Don’t Come Back

Focusing on customer satisfaction does not mean asking customers to check the “Completely Satisfied” box on their survey report, because doing so is like watching the scoreboard instead of the ball. Today, we can’t afford to have any customer walk out of the dealership — or the F&I office — saying to themselves, “Well, that was satisfying.” Remember, customer satisfaction is really the lowest rung on the ladder, as every customer should at least be satisfied with their purchase experience. But merely having satisfied customers doesn’t guarantee they’ll come back, or that they’ll refer your dealership to their friends.

I recently saw “The Blind Side,” a movie based on the true story of Michael Oher, a young man who, with the help of a caring woman and her family, overcame early traumas and homelessness to become an All- American college football player and fi rst-round NFL draft pick. It was the kind of movie I just had to tell others about in the hopes they’d see it, too. The same goes for a dealership’s sales process: When an individual wants to call his or her friends to tell them to go see a movie, you know he or she were WOW!’d by the experience.

If you want to succeed in the competitive months ahead, you better be focused on WOW!ing customers, not on getting them to check the right box on some survey. Today, we need customers walking out of the dealership going, “WOW! That wasn’t what I was expecting! What a great place to buy a car! I have to tell everybody what a great experience I had at this dealership. They need to go buy a vehicle there, too!”

Changing the customer’s perception of the dealership’s sales and financial services process requires changing the experience. We have to WOW every customer in every dealership interaction, and a customer’s purchase experience begins with their initial contact. Whether that happens by phone, online or in person, the customer’s WOW factor is determined by the ease of navigating the dealership’s sales process, their experience in the finance office, vehicle delivery and follow-up efforts.

The ‘Mother’ Test

If you wouldn’t put your own mother through your dealership’s sales process, you need to change it. To WOW customers, you need to be easy to do business with. That means selling to customers the way they want to buy. Stop making customers wait while you load their information into the computer. Stop forcing customers to listen to memorized word-tracks and sales pitches for every product you offer. Stop making customers watch infomercials for products they have expressed no interest in, and stop using old-school manipulative sales techniques and self-serving processes.

Instead, create an atmosphere that ensures every customer has an enjoyable, stress-free experience. In other words, make buying a car at your dealership fun, not an ordeal. Stop wasting customers’ time by making them listen to a product presentation they have no interest in hearing.

The key is to converse with your customer about their options, while the goal is to make them thirsty for your knowledge. When customers have an objection, avoid the confrontation by recognizing their concern and demonstrating empathy before relating a feature or benefit t that applies to their situation. Selling F&I products is not about outsmarting customers, it’s about giving them the information they need to make better decisions.

Leader vs. Hypocrite

Like it or not, co-workers and customers will believe what you do long before (and long after!) they believe what you say. Too often, managers will say one thing but do another. True leaders lead by example. They believe in what they say, live by what they believe, and become successful because their actions clearly demonstrate their values. Remember, the attitude of the team refl ects the leadership of the coach.

Your sales force will know by your words and actions whether you truly believe in your products or if you’re just trying to squeeze a little more money out of their customers. To be a F&I professional, you must possess the qualities of someone worth following. You can always tell you’re in the presence of a F&I professional by the way he or she treats his or her customers and co-workers. A F&I professional’s primary goal in every interaction is to help the other person.

Every F&I product we offer has real value for the customer, and F&I professionals must continuously reinforce that fact. The sales department knows right away whether or not a F&I manager believes in his or her products by the number of products he or she personally owns. If you don’t invest in the products you sell, you’re telling every salesperson in the dealership that you don’t see the value. That means you’re not a leader, you’re a hypocrite.

WOWing the Team

F&I 4G requires that the finance office serve as a valuable resource to customers, salespeople and lenders. That means F&I managers must be an integral part of the credit evaluation process, not secretaries who merely submit the deal or rehash it after it’s already been submitted by the sales manager. The sales and F&I departments have to be part of a delivery team. And everybody on that team has a responsibility to make sure every vehicle sold gets delivered.

A F&I professional has a responsibility to the dealership, the sales department and the customer to obtain an approval for every deal possible. That requires that he or she review the credit application and credit bureau report with the customer prior to submission to a lender. The purpose of the customer interview is to learn about the character and capacity of the customer. That information can shore up any weakness in the customer’s credit history or the deal itself.

The customer interview is also the F&I manager’s opportunity to build a case as to why the paper buyer should approve the loan despite any derogatory items. A paper buyer is much more likely to approve a deal or give you a way to get an approval if they see that you’ve researched and documented the customer’s situation.

The customer interview is also an opportunity to learn if he or she has any additional income and whether or not the credit bureau report is accurate. Remember, complete and accurate information is critical to building a case for lender approval, but only the customer can explain the circumstances surrounding his or her current financial situation and credit history.

The emphasis throughout the interview should be on helping to secure acceptable financing. The customer must verify the information on his or her credit bureau, clarify any discrepancies and provide additional information and insight into any previous credit problems. A customer interview should never be an interrogation; it should be a discussion on his or her past credit history. Telling the customer in advance what areas need to be discussed and why it’s important to a lender helps him or her understand the credit process. It also reinforces the feeling that you are acting in his or her best interest.

Taking a walk on the WOW! side requires that F&I managers be an integral part of the sales process. They also must be focused on helping customers, not on selling stuff. F&I professionals also have to genuinely believe in their products, and WOW their team by helping to ensure every vehicle sold gets delivered. F&I 4G requires taking a walk on the WOW! side through a renewed commitment to helping customers and everyone on the dealership team.

A new website (http://www.ourlightheals.com/), that is dedicated to the meeting of like minds in order to share healing, offers a unique opportunity for people to take a few minutes out of their busy day and send healing, prayer and light to people in need and to help the planet.

Most of us spend our days running, from the time the alarm clock goes off till we put our heads on our pillows. It isn’t until something life-changing happens that we tend to stop and take inventory of what we have and where we have been. Somewhere, sandwiched in between getting the kids to school, work, sports, meals and sometimes our favorite TV shows, is that period of time when we are contemplative.

Call it prayer, meditation, quiet time, connecting with spirit, whatever it is…all of us need to take that time to slow down and take a breath. In those moments of quiet we are all stronger in our own power, stronger in our own connection to ourselves and thus stronger in our connection to others.

Now imagine that a close friend or family member suddenly finds out they have a serious illness. The busyness of everyday life seems small and petty by comparison. Our contemplative time takes on new meaning as we often find ourselves petitioning for healing. Maybe we participate in a regular discipline of healing meditation; perhaps we attend a prayer group weekly. Now we take our petition to the group and ask for ‘group conscience’ to send light and love to our sick friend or family member. We see the power of healing prayer, even if it is on a small scale of a dozen or so of our closest friends.

What if we could take the power of healing meditation and magnify it, augment it, to one hundred people or even one thousand? What if there was a way for you to tap into like-minded people who are willing to take a few minutes out of their busy day and send healing and light toward someone? Imagine the power of healing prayer that can work miracles in our everyday lives.

What about global disasters, like the recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico? So often, and in a good way, many of us are quick to show our love with our pocketbooks. It is easy to text a number on or cell phone and donate $10 to Haitian earthquake relief, but how about donating 5 minutes of healing meditation for the people of Haiti?

Our Light Heals (http://www.ourlightheals.com) is a gathering place for those who want to come together and make a difference that goes far beyond the material. Our Light Heals is a community of individuals who have gathered together online to create a healing community. Members may ask for support for a family member with cancer, a loved one with a harsh illness, or simply for healing in a troubled time. You can answer those requests by offering a few minutes of your time to help send healing to that person’s request.

Others may be more involved on a global scale, looking at the world an all its problems and asking for larger group participation to send love and light to rescue workers or people involved in solving tragedy.

Your opportunity awaits and the possibilities are endless.