Pastor-Genève Advice

By Thomas Hartig

When we are talking to other people, we tend to believe that we understand each other simply because we are using similar sounds to another person. Yet, words are just words, they are not what they stand for, and words tend to mean different things to different people. See, the only way we can understand language, is to take the words that come in and run them through our experiences, and thus our emotional response to words is highly individual.

Think of words like: Love, war, peace, sex, family, etc. To you some of these might have positive, some negative connotations. To a weapons manufacturer, the word war will however mean something different than it does to you, or not?

This becomes important in our everyday lives, when we are talking to other people. In school we have been taught to paraphrase in order to make sure we understand others, but how can that happen when we exchange their very words with ours…we literally UNDERstand someone else. So how can we start OVERstanding them?

Since language does not describe reality, but create it (Watzlawick), another person’s words will show us their reality. Excellent, that is easy enough. But how do you find out which words make a difference, or which words really matter?

Firstly, look at body language. Words that are important will usually be accentuated by changes in body language, skin colour, pupil dilation, and breathing. And these are just the things you will see! When you listen closely, people usually make a short break before saying something important, their tone will change, as well as pitch and tempo.

So the other day I was talking to someone about NLP training, and I asked: “Why do you want to do an NLP course?” To which the woman said: “Well, I feel that I really want to help people…HEAL!” So when in then said: “Excellent, and you know how NLP and hypnosis can really help people…HEAL, don’t you?” Her response was one of feeling completely understood!

Right then, so what you want to get into the habit of doing is listening to these words that matter, words that are like emotional hot buttons for people, and learn how to use them in your language to increase your ability to be understood by others. When someone says, “I want XYZ” when you ask them why they want it, they will give you these emotionally packed words that are highly important in that person’s reality. But why take my word for it, when you can go out and do this to notice the results. Have fun being overstood!

By Russ Sutton

I’m not quite sure why we do it to ourselves but it never ceases to amaze me just how much abuse people are willing to take from their jobs! The stress, the time away from family, the money spent just to be able to work a full day on gas and daycare…and for what? A paycheck that barely allows you to even enjoy it because once you have it in hand, you sign the back, make the deposit than send off every penny to pay the few bills that it actually covers. You pray that the electric company won’t cut you off this week and swear that next week’s check will go straight towards the balance! If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone, pretty much everyone ion in the same boat which is why I’m able to tell it so well. Unfortunately it’s the rule, NOT the exception.

There are some people who will continue on to live like this and hate it every step of the way, then there’s some of you who will heed the call, get the message and finally see how easy it is to get off this roller coaster we call the daily grind! With determination, effort and the faith that something bigger than yourself is easily accessible enough that it flows within you… The Universe.

Sounds like a bunch of hooey right? Hear me out because I’m going to let you in on a little “Secret”.

If you have ever dreamed about branching off on your own and making your own way financially instead of depending on some corporate guy in a white collared shirt who doesn’t even know your name to sign your check, you could very easily make it happen. our world is built on the foundation of regular people who had dreams and believed in themselves enough to see them through, to make them happen! What they may not have known, and yourself as well, they’ve always had the power of the Universe conspiring to assist them to achieve their dreams and this was initiated by a simple act…THOUGHT. They THOUGHT their lives into existence, they THOUGHT their dreams into fruition and I’m here to tell you, they were not the only ones who held such power, we ALL have it!

You may not have known it as it has been tucked deep down inside to the very core of us but it has always been there and has been working behind the scenes since you took your first breath. How is that possible? It’s the law, the Law of Attraction. No one knows of it’s origin but it is very real and has been selfishly kept from the eyes of everyday persons, until now. This law has secretly been in use by the worlds most powerful people but recently has been been brought to light so that EVERYONE can benefit from it. Simply stated, the Law of Attraction is based upon the principal of like attracts like, you get what you give, you reap what you sow. The mind is such a powerful thing and combined with the soul, it is virtually unstoppable when it’s owner truly believes in the things they are thinking, and with those thoughts manifests the life for which we believe we are meant to live, good or bad. In other words, we really do create our own reality. You think about great things and great things you shall have, same with the bad. You DO have to put forth effort to achieve it, this is true with any worthy venture but once it is coupled with a dream, there is no limit!

You can free yourself from this bondage, believe in yourself enough to do it. We know believing in yourself is only a part of it, you also need a plan. With the right system, a network of people who truly believe in the power of positive thinking and believe in your success just as much as you do, well, then you’ve got more than most. The Universe heard you, it brought your wishes to this page, it’s up to you to recognise and follow it…

By: Victor Epand
Some peole are a little confused about coloured diamonds; some think that the more colourless they are, the more valuable they are. On the other hand, some of the coloured diamonds are worth more then the cololess ones. You just need to understand about diamonds and how the colored ones are worth more then the colourless ones.

It is true that fine colorless diamonds are generally more valuable than colored diamonds. However there are exceptions. The pink, blue and canary yellow diamonds, they can be more valuable when they occur naturally in nature and are not artificially colored. As for determining the authenticity of your stone I would suggest that you take it to your nearest trusted jeweler for indentification.

There are some people out there that have a hard time to understand What a Window in a Gemstone looks like. Many of the photos I’ve seen of sapphires, tourmaline, amethethyst cut in a round shape appear to have deep color on the outside rim of the Crown but much paler color looking into the top center of the crown. The term window used in the context of colored stones and even diamonds refers to a flaw in the cut of the stone. All crystals of gem materials have a refractive index which is how the stone bends light for reflection and refraction.

If the stone is cut properly the light should be reflected back out of the top of the stone so all you see is sparkle and light reflected. If you look down the center of the stone and you can see right through it, read through, you can read a paper without distortion then you have a ‘window’ you can see through. Properly cut gems should not have a ‘window’ in the middle.

Diamonds are usually the best cut and most of the time you cannot see through a diamond from the back since all the light is reflected back out through the table. Colored stones rarely are cut as well diamonds and they have much lower refractives indices so have to be cut much differently. Most cutters of colored stones try to get the color in the bottom of the pavilion so it will reflect evenly throughout the stone.

The concntration of color on the girdle is because it is the thickest part of the stone usually. Paler color is usualy due to the color zoning in the crystal and sometimes the cut can help but not always. Anyways the window in colored stones has nothing to do with color but mainly with the cut.

Black diamonds are one of the few stones that alot of people would like to have. But i have heard that black diamonds are going to diminish, I am not really sure about the market for black diamonds. I rarely see any one use them. I have had this question asked many times when it comes to colored stones,” Do the colored stones come out of the ground already colored?”

The answer is yes, they are that color out of the ground. Mostly the white stones are more valuable. However some of the large rare colors if they are very clean can demand high prices. It depends on the size and clarity and how pretty the color is and how rare it is. Usually diamond producing areas are quite vast and a number of different variations of colorless to pale yellow and brown or gray colors of diamonds can be found in a certain mine.

There are exceptions. The diamond mineds in Australia have high concentrations of unusually fancy colored diamonds. You can always go on the internet and see what you can find out some mineds that produc only some kinds of colored stones that you are looking for or you can ask your local jeweler about were he gets his and see what he has to say.

I prefer colored gems because there is an infinite variety, and it really uses my skills as a gemologist/mineralogist to identify the stones. Some of the most fortunate people are the ones from Rio de Janeiro, because they live in one of the richest gem producing areas of the world! Brazil is not only on the forefront of mining and fashioning gems but also the sophisticated ways in which colored stones are treated to improve their color and transparency.

Gems can be treated with heat, radiation, oils and polymers to improve their appearance. It is necessary for a gemologist to be able to identify these treatments and pass that information along to the owners or future buyers of these stones.

Diamonds, on the other hand, are a very controlled market. For the most part, their pricing, production and distribution are controlled by one of the biggest monopolies in the world: DeBeer’s Consolidated Mines. Internet sources like Blue Nile have really changed the market in favor of the consumer. Internet diamond dealers have taken much of the mystery out of diamond pricing and grading, and they have forced many retailers to be more honest and transparent with their diamond transactions. This is excellent and good for the buying public.

After a very strong showing at the Basel show, where attendance was up over 5 % and active demand at the first Christie’s and Sotheby’s Magnificent Jewelry Auctions in Hong Kong and New York, global consumers continue to take notice of the strength of the colored diamond market, particularly in the up market jewelry segments of major cities around the world and the strong demand coming out of emerging markets.

The most recent supply figures coming out of South Africa and Australia continue to indicate further pressure and declines, when coupled with the strong demand in emerging markets and global buyers is the main reason why DeBeers has raised prices of diamond rough 8.5 % so far in 2008.  This situation coupled with the weakening US Dollar has led to dealers continuing to raise prices as dealers, investors and buyers recognize that they will have to pay more for rare diamonds in an environment of rising prices.  This is also evidenced by the increasing activity at the auction level as well as dealer

Author: Jill Renee

If you have been thinking about buying or wishing for a fancy colored diamond read this article first! Colored diamonds are the next big trend in jewelry design. The spectrum of colors is as big as your imagination. Choosing what’s right for you can be overwhelming in today’s diamond market. This article will address a few important factors to consider when buying a fancy colored diamond for yourself or a loved one. Most important is knowing the differences between colored diamonds that are formed naturally and ones that are man-made.

Natural Fancy Colored Diamonds

Diamonds colored naturally are very rare and fetch very high prices. There are three ways in which colored diamonds are formed by nature. The first method is when a foreign element is introduced to the carbon material that a diamond is made from. For example, nitrogen can cause a diamond to have yellow or orange hues while boron can make it blue. The second method is when pressure compresses the carbon and creates a red, pink or purple hue. Lastly, natural radiation deep in the earth generates diamonds with colors of green or blue. Green, red and purple diamonds are considered very rare and command high prices. Indeed, there are only six naturally formed red diamonds currently in the market. One can only imagine the prices these stones will fetch. Natural fancy colored diamonds are so rare that there exist at least 10,000 colorless stones for each colored stone.

Synthetic or Treated Fancy Colored Diamonds

Fancy colored diamonds can also be man-made in labs. There are a variety of methods used to color diamonds. Some of these stones are purely synthetic, meaning they were totally created in a lab to simulate the properties of a real diamond. They are formed from carbon just like the real thing. However, these stones can be formed in a matter of weeks where as it takes thousands of years for natural diamonds to be formed. These type of synthetic diamonds are so similar to the real thing that only high tech equipment can detect subtle differences in the crystal formations within the stone to know they are fake.

Another man-made method to produce fancy colored diamonds involves irradiating a natural diamond that possesses an unattractive color. Irradiation is a process in which a diamond is exposed to a source of radiation that changes the position of atoms within the stone thus causing its color to change.

Treated or synthetic diamonds may look very appealing to the consumer because of the price and uniformity of color; however, these diamonds have no value to the serious buyer and have little resale value. Therefore, if you are purchasing a colored diamond for investment it is vital to obtain certification from the diamond seller. The certificate should come from a reputable laboratory and contain the origin of the stone and the natural origin of the stone’s color.

Diamond Certification and the Four C’s of Diamond Buying

Grading colored diamonds presents another set of unique issues for the buyer. Colorless diamonds are graded on the four C’s: Cut, Carat, Clarity and Color. Colored diamonds are also valued based upon the four C’s but another factor weighs most heavily on the value of a fancy colored diamond. This factor is based upon the hue and rarity of the color. Indeed a rare fancy color will garner a much higher price than a colorless diamond of many more carats. Colored diamonds have three characteristics by which they are graded. These are hue, tone and saturation. Hue refers to the dominant color of the stone, tone refers to the light within the stone and saturation refers to the intensity of the hue. Be sure to look for these factors on the diamond certificate.
Having knowledge about the differences between natural and synthetic colored diamonds will help you to choose the diamond that’s right for you. One thing is certain, in today’s marketplace jewelry designers are using fancy colored diamonds to create beautiful and unique designs that consumers want to own.