His name is Charif Kaiss, and he is the author of the Lebanese best-selling autobiography “I am a Living Legend”. In his book, Charif takes us through his epic adventure with cancer. At a first glance, one might think that this book’s title is rather cocky and maybe even over-the-top; however, as we go through it, we come to believe that it might actually be an underestimation.

In “I am a Living Legend”, we meet Charif as he takes us through his major life events from his early childhood, up to his battle with cancer.  As we go along, we realize how a normal Lebanese boy can, through proper upbringing and an abundant amount of curiosity, develop enough wisdom to overcome cancer and brushing with death on three separate occasions. Throughout the book, Charif not only takes us on his physical battle with cancer, but he also gives us the shotgun seat in his mind so that we can also experience the thoughts that he had been pondering meanwhile.

It is worth mentioning that “I am a Living Legend” is a self-published and distributed book. Moreover, it is very lightly edited in order to preserve the message as Charif wanted it to be. Therefore, it is normal to find some small typos and punctuation errors here and there, but they do not make this book any less worthy. On the contrary, they somehow make this seemingly intimidating story a lot more human and much more approachable. Through them, I believe that Charif is telling us, though unintentionally, that anyone can do it.

Whether you are looking to be inspired or to motivate someone you know who is going through a tough period in their life, “I am a Living Legend” is an amazing read. Moreover, it is worth noting that most of the proceeds of this book go towards funding Charif’s Revive Association, an NGO which aims to support cancer survivors and survivors-to-be. Also, if you want to get in touch with Charif, don’t hesitate to send him a message on his Facebook page.

Originally posted on September 29, 2020 @ 7:45 am

Yep, you get The Magicians by Lev Grossman.

In this trilogy which has been adapted as a TV series recently, we go along the journey of Quentin, a young adult who is obsessed with a fantasy book series discussing the magical land of Fillory, which is quite similar to Narnia in the fact that each time it’s accessed from a different place, time moves there differently, and it needs four kings and queens from earth to rule it. On the other hand, we have a school for magic on earth called Brakebills, which is reminiscent to Hogwarts. In addition to that, we have a group of Hedge witches who were not accepted into Brakebills but on whom the forgetting spell did not take quite well, so they still remember Brakebills and are trying to get back.

Between a variety of worlds and worlds within worlds, gods, magicians and different weird creatures here and there, The Magicians by Lev Grossman is an interesting and engaging read for people who aren’t quite ready to get out of Harry Potter or Narnia. However, because of the elements drawn heavily out of the two aforementioned series, this trilogy seems more like a spin-off than a standalone story. On the other hand, what makes it a bit more interesting is Grossman’s sense of humor spread about here and there.

Originally posted on September 28, 2020 @ 10:23 am

Note: This book review covers The Celestine Prophecy and other related books including The Celestine Vision.

To some it may sound like blasphemy, but The Celestine Prophecy has been a bible for me for the past seven or eight years. This book is magic in itself because it starts working and reshaping your life as soon as you start reading it.

It is a spiritual novel by James Redfield written from the first person’s perspective, and it takes us on a physical and spiritual journey in Peru mainly. Although reviews abound about the poor writing style, the true value of this book is it the translation of spiritual insights into real life experiences. Therefore, one can argue that the writing style is only used thus to simplify matters and make it more accessible to a wider number of readers.

The spiritual message behind The Celestine Prophecy is divided into nine insights which are unlocked and experienced in sequence as the author moves forward in his adventure. In my opinion, the most important of these insights is the first one which is synchronicity, for it governs all the others. In addition to that, as soon as you understand the meaning of synchronicity, you automatically start experiencing it more and more in your own life. Subsequent insights deal more with how to find and deal with more and more synchronicities in order to find your true destiny in life.

The best book to complement and make fuller sense of The Celestine Prophecy is The Celestine Vision. It’s a more in-depth guide of all the insights. It explains each insight in full detail and helps readers see and deal with them in their personal lives.

Disregarding the genius behind The Celestine Prophecy, the most magical thing about it is that it’s a book that doesn’t end on its last page… and I’m not talking about the fact that it has sequels. What I’m talking about is that this book keeps going and going, only you become the main character now as it starts reshaping your life as a fuller and much more meaningful adventure.

In addition to that, we also need to mention that a movie has been made about The Celestine Prophecy. It is a nice effort, but of course not as great as the book. However, for those who find it easier to imagine more after watching a movie, this may help.

For all spiritual seekers out there, The Celestine Prophecy is a book that screams “START HERE”. In its light, things will make a lot more sense and life becomes deeper. Also, if you want to read something similar to The Celestine Prophecy, you can check out my The Destined Journey!

Originally posted on September 27, 2020 @ 10:02 am

Success has different meanings to different people. To a child at home, getting the toy he wants for xmas is success; for a kid at school, getting that grade is success; for a young man in college, getting that certificate is success; for a person at work, getting a promotion is success; for a guy at the pub, catching the attention of that girl by the bar is success…

However, what happens when a person achieves all his dreams?

That’s when success takes another form: success through others. Neale Donald Walsch says that a true leader is not the one with most followers, but the one who creates most leaders. Similarly, a truly successful person enjoys taking others towards their success, especially those whose dreams are very similar to those he already achieved. And in making his “disciples” reach their dreams, he finds enjoyment beyond when such success was his own.

But there is a problem…

Because people like this are rare, they are usually misunderstood. What would you think if someone just popped out of the blue and offered you free help which would’ve usually cost a lot if you were to hire someone to do it for you?

Right… you’d think, “but what’s the catch?”

What would frighten you even more would be when there is no catch.

But that’s the thing; when a person reaches his dreams, nothing else is left, especially when that person is wise enough to know when to be content with what has been achieved and not to start chasing wild dreams. For such a person, this success and this happiness become bitter and stale when not shared. And so, when they find others who are still chasing their dreams, they feel that excitement again and want to help wholeheartedly.

And that’s where the catch is: by helping others reach success, they are reaching something beyond material rewards. Through sharing their energy and their success with others, their happiness and their energy keep growing.

So, the next time a person offers you help without a catch, this might be what they are after. Receive it wholeheartedly with gratitude, for this is the reward that they are after.

Originally posted on September 26, 2020 @ 7:28 am

1- Candy Cane Hunt

This idea is easy and can keep your kids busy the whole day, and it can easily get them to tidy up their rooms. Just get a big bag of candy canes and hide them around the house (in places where you want the kids to go). Then ask your kids to go look for them. The kid who finds most (and has cleaned up his room) wins something. If you are not such a fan of candy canes, you can just hide xmas ornaments around the house and do the same.

2- Charity with the Kids

Xmas is definitely a time of spreading cheer, and it’s the best time for you to teach your kids how to be better givers in life. Many charities organize various activities for you to take your kids to and where they can be part of the cheer. You can check out an interesting list here. On the other hand, you can just contact the closest charity to you and see how you can get your kids to join them for one day and maybe get them small gifts.

3- Watching Xmas Films

There are so many xmas themed movies that you can watch with the whole family and enjoy them over some popcorn or a cup of hot chocolate. Here’s a list for you. Set the ambiance, dim the lights, prepare enough popcorn and hot chocolate, and enjoy the movie!

4- Photos with Santa

This is a tradition for many families, and stores all over the world have made it very easy. Most big stores start advertising it a couple of months before xmas, so plan ahead and take your kids for their photo-shoot with Santa. In most cases, it is either free or by donation.

5- Red and Green Meals

What can make a meal more fun than making it xmas themed. There are so many ways to tackle this activity with the kids. You can start by asking them to make a list of green or red foods, then see how you can use them to make snacks or meals while the kids help you. You could also take the kids to the supermarket where they can actually see the red and green products. Alternately, you can see this link for a list of ideas.

6- Xmas Cookie Decoration with Friends

This idea is very simple and a whole lot of fun. If you are a good cook, make the cookie dough and the icing, and then get your kids and their friends to decorate them as they please. If you’re not, buy blank cookies and icing from the store and then do the same. Of course, after the kids are done, they can enjoy them with a cup of hot chocolate and a xmas movie. If you want to learn how to make xmas cookies, check out this video.

7- Create Xmas Cards for Family and Friends

There are many environment friendly activities that you can do with your kids for xmas. However, the best would be to find whatever books, magazines, cardboard and boxes that you don’t need and cut them to create xmas designs for cards to send to family and friends. Most magazines and store catalogs will come with xmas designs around this time of the year, so you can easily cut out photos to glue on your cards.

8- Xmas Crafts

Continuing with eco-friendly xmas ideas, there is an abundance of projects that you can do with your kids to create xmas designs. Check out the video below for some inspiration.

9- Reading Xmas Stories for Bedtime

Just like there are many xmas-themed movies, you can also find a whole lot of books about it. Take your kids to the library or to the bookstore and choose a few xmas books with each of them. Then, you can read with them for bedtime and enjoy the xmas spirit under the tree. You can find a list of xmas themed books here.

10- Writing Letters (or making videos) for Santa about the Daily Good Deed

This is a great idea if you want to encourage your kids to practice doing good deeds.  Starting early December, you can encourage your kids to do one good deed every day. Later on in the evening, you can ask them to write a letter to Santa telling him about the good deed they did, how it made them feel and, of course, tell him about one gift they would like to get this xmas. If your kids can’t write (or don’t feel like it every evening), you can get them to record a video about it, thereby creating amazing memories.

In the end, I hope this list will make your kids less bored and your xmas more merry.

Bonus Activity: Elf on the Shelf

There are so many ways you can use the Elf on the Shelf tradition in your Christmas activities. Check out this link to see how a family has use their security surveilance cameras to catch the Elf.

Best wishes!

Originally posted on September 25, 2020 @ 9:24 am

Nowadays, all over the globe, we hear of many different diagnoses which go under the umbrella of special needs. They may be physical handicaps such as blindness or paralysis, intellectual handicaps such as cognitive delays and mental retardation, social adaptation disabilities such as autism spectrum disorders, behavioral disabilities such as ADHD along with a myriad of cases which may sometimes fall under two or more of these categories. In most cases, when a diagnosis of any special need is issued, parents find themselves in a social, psychological and personal bind. They don’t know what to do, who to go to, how to deal with the child along with an extensive list of issues ranging from very trivial to very life changing. In this article, we will be dealing with the whole process of detecting, diagnosing, planning and educating a child with special needs, regardless of the case or the disability.

Detecting a Child’s Special Need

Originally posted on September 20, 2020 @ 10:02 am

Being perhaps one of the most “disjointed” series I’ve ever read, Graceling Realm made of three books “Graceling”, “Fire” and “Bitterblue”, is nevertheless a nice read.

I call it disjointed due to the fact that whether you read Graceling or Fire first, the story still makes normal sense because each of these two books is set in a different realm with only one person in common: Leck, the evil influence in the Dells turned evil king in Monsea. 

In summary, the Graceling realm series is set in a world divided by a mountain which was usually unpassable except in rare circumstances. In one part of the kingdom, there are seven kingdoms in which Gracelings live. Gracelings are supernaturally endowed people with differently colored eyes. On the other hand, in the other kingdom we have the Monsters, creatures who are upgraded copies of normal humans or animals but who are vividly and beautifully colored and are mesmerising to humans on whom they prey. Human monsters also possess the ability to invade people’s minds and control them. 

In the Graceling Realm trilogy, we have four main characters and a host of secondary ones. The main characters we meet in Graceling are Katsa, a graceling endowed with killing and surviving skills, and Prince Po, who comes off as endowed with fighting skills but turns out to have a more secret power. In Fire, we meet the monster called Lady Fire whose father was controlling the previous king and ruined the kingdom. However, unlike her father, she does not want to use her power to control people, but to confort them. As for in the last book, we meet Bitterblue, king Leck’s daughter who inherits the kingdom after his demise and discovers all the problems he created and left behind. 

In the first two books, our main characters are dealing with Leck, a graceling who has the power to control people’s thoughts and actions simply by speaking to them. He clouds their minds, makes them think good thoughts about him and then makes them do his bidding, which is always nefarious in nature. In the last book, we are left with Queen Bitterblue, King Leck’s daughter who is left to deal with the aftermath of her father’s deeds.

All in all, Graceling Realm is perhaps not one of my favorite series, but it remains well written and very creative. 

Originally posted on September 21, 2020 @ 10:05 am

Throughout the series, the story focuses on Nita and Kit, along with a host of other characters who are either young wizards new to the art or experienced ones. In addition to that, the story doesn’t only cover planet Earth, but it also takes us to other planets, worlds and realities, each with its own species, problems and wizards. However, one thing is in common between all of them: the lone power. It is one of the main creative forces in the universe, but it has gone off course, and its main goal is to spread death and entropy among the different peoples of the different universes. The role of the wizards is to stop it and not fall prey to its trapped gifts.

Diane Duane’s genius in the Young Wizards series is not only in creativity and storytelling, but it’s also in character development and story morals. While the books are definitely intended for a younger audience, the ideas in them can be enjoyed and can teach a lot to older and more mature audiences as well. The nice thing about the series as well is that it doesn’t fill up spaces with romance and love triangles as is the case with many other fantasy novels. Instead, Young Wizards is packed with action and magic without coming too close to romance except in later parts of the series, and still not too much at that.

All in all, Young Wizards by Diane Duane is a wonderful series that I highly recommend. However, at the end of the series, I was left with one question hanging: what happened to Roshaun? You’ll have to read it to find out what I mean…

Originally posted on September 22, 2020 @ 10:49 am

In light of the recent revolution in Lebanon, many issues have come to light and many others remain undiscussed. With no clear solution in sight, Lebanon remains at the same standpoint it has been at for over thirty years: how can we achieve a true democratic balance in a very small country made up of so much diversity without offending, demonising or diminishing the importance of any one group over others. Before we delve deeper into what I think may be bold enough to work, let’s see what Lebanon is made of that we can use:

1- Lebanon is a very highly educated country with a huge number of people having university degrees, which means that they have the basic skills needed to read, research and understand … when they want to.

2- Even though electricity, mobile and internet in Lebanon are still a bit behind, most people above the age of 18 have access to a mobile phone or to internet.

3- We have 128 members of parliament and around 30 to 40 ministers in addition to a persident… all of whom get paid, rip off the country, yet achieve nothing.

So here’s what we’re going to do:

First, the #kellon_ye3ne_kellon movement can’t be more right. We don’t need them… and we don’t need others either. Instead, let’s just make a simple polling app that truly reflects the people’s choices. Instead of choosing members of parliament who end up representing themselves instead of the choices of the people who elected them in, each person can get his/her voice heard.

The way the app works is simple: any citizen who has a good enough idea backed by research can upload that idea onto the platform. This idea has to be complete and also has to mention who will lead it if it’s voted through, in addition to any other relevant data such as projected deadlines, how many job opportunities it will create, how much it will cost, etc… Once that idea is live on the platform, any verified citizen who is eligible to vote can vote for or against it. Moreover, each idea will be accompanied by a forum where it is discussed, improved and remodled if needed. A person who votes has the right to change his vote until a set deadline; however, if a suggested change is adopted by the creator of the idea before that deadline, the timer is reset to allow people who voted to check the changes and decide whether they want to keep or change their vote. By the end of the voting period, if that idea is voted upon positively by more than a certain percentage of the Lebanese people registered to vote (let’s say half), it gets adopted and the funds needed for it are allocated. After it begins to be applied, people can always log in to check on the latest updates regarding it and to give feedback. If the feedback turns negative, another vote may be initiated to torpedo the idea being currently applied and to stop its execution.

I am sure there are many downsides to this idea, so I have worked out what some of them may be and how we can overcome them.

First, how can we ensure that it is a truly thought out vote and not just a popularity contest? Since most of the Lebanese population is educated enough to read, before voting, each person has to answer a certain number of random multiple-choice questions about the idea. If the voter gets all answers correct, then that means that he/she has understood what they are voting for. Moreover, popular ideas will also get picked up and discussed by media, thereby making people think even more about their choices before voting. The test is to ensure that they are not just voting for the same old people in a more convoluted way.

The second hole that can be poked in this idea is what if the platform was hacked? Solving that is actually easier than solving the mystery of the disappearing election boxes. Technology is evolving, hacking is evolving, but also anti-hacking technologies. We just need to make sure that we keep getting the best; however, I think the benefits of implementing this idea vastly outweighs the risks of keeping the same archaic system we have.

Another problem that might come up by implementing this idea is regarding people who don’t have access to internet or mobiles. I am sure that, if someone is really keen to vote, they will definitely find a way; however, if we want to make it easier for them, we can do what other normal countries do: public libraries with computer and internet access for everyone.

The last problem that I can think of is related to the minority of uneducated people. To be honest, I know it’s not their fault that they weren’t educated; however, there are many free literacy programs that they can make good use of if they really wanted to; otherwise, they shouldn’t be voting anyway. We can’t be trusting the fate of a country to someone who is uneducated and who doesn’t have the will to become educated.

In the end, I am sure that there are many more holes that you can poke into my model for a leaderless democracy; however, I am also sure that every problem has a solution. Not only will adopting such a system make Lebanon a true democracy, but it will also help us save on the salaries of the current buffoons that have been governing the country towards destruction. Think about it: how easy would it be to repay our country’s debts once we have gotten rid of them?

Originally posted on September 24, 2020 @ 9:06 am

You can also listen to this on my podcast:

Where is god?

(I’m not talking about any particular religious entity or religious god. I am talking about the universal creative force in general.)

This is perhaps one of the most asked questions of all time. People have been asking it ever since they discover that they had the power to ask questions. It is probably the reasons questions were invented to begin with. However, the real question that we should be asking is not, “where is god?”.

It should be, “where isn’t god?”

According to almost all definitions of god or the divine, god is an all powerful entity, which means that he is able to do absolutely anything, and also he is able to be absolutely anything.

Unfortunately, in our quest to find god, we fail to see the obvious. God is everything and everywhere. Every spec of dust is made of god, for no matter how many times you split the infinite, it remains infinite. And it’s the same with god: he is everything and is in everything.

To make things easier, we can liken god to energy. Everything in the world is made of it (check my poem about energy here.) The screen you are looking at now is made of molecules. These are made of atoms, which are made of protons, electrons and neutrons. These are made of smaller and smaller particles until, eventually, we reach their most basic level: energy. And yet, when we reach this level, we realize something: it’s all the same energy, and it’s all connected. The whole world is energy connected to energy through energy.

And it’s the same with god, for “that which is above, is from that which is below” (you can check out more about the Emerald Tablets here.)

The whole world is made of god connected to god through god.

Can you see it now?

Originally posted on September 19, 2020 @ 11:05 am