Category Archives: Personal Empowerment

A new partnershipbetween the Saudi ACWA Power Group, the commune of Ghassate, andTIBU Maroc has been laucnhed, with the support of the Ministry of National Education, Professional Training, Higher Education, and Scientific Research.

As the leading organization working for the education and integration of youth through sport in Morocco, with broad national coverage through a presence in more than 17 cities and 11 regions of the kingdom, and in line with its ambition to become the locomotive of sport for development in Africa by 2030,TIBU Maroc is involved in contributing to the achievement of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which represent real opportunity to position sport as a tool to design innovative solutions to the complexity of the challenges of the 21st century.

On 24March 2021, TIBU Maroc and ACWA Power Maroc started theTIBU Ghassate Center for education through sport, which focuses on regular practice of sport, foreign languages learning, and initiation to STEM and leadership, confirmingtheir support for the most vulnerable populations through the development and implementation of sports initiatives for a lasting impact.

"The partnership between TIBU Maroc and ACWA Power in Morocco today confirms ACWA Power's strategy and willingness to make a lasting contribution to the development of youth in Ghassate region. TIBU Ghassate Center by ACWA Power will allow this population to flourish socially through sportand, with basketball being an organized and well-structured sport, these young people will have the opportunity to live positive experiences that only sport and an active lifestyle can bring. Also, this new sporting dynamic and events the new education through sport center will provide is going to help create additional revenues for the commune of Ghassate," saidBadis Derradji, Vice-President - Porfolio Management - Africa.

"In these times of crisis, education, emancipation and empowerment of vulnerable populations are becoming urgent and valuable issues. With the opening of this new center, we will be able to enroll more than 240 youths thanks to the strength of sport, the path of empowerment and educational success. The values we seek to pass on to children during our sports sessions and activities are essential to their futural professional integration," said Mohamed Amine Zariat, Ashoka Fellow and Founding President ofTIBU Maroc.

In terms of development and social action, ACWA Power Ouarzazate (APO) and TIBU Maroc have signed a partnership to develop an education through sportprogram at the Ghassate communal schoolfor 240 children.

Following an initial selection, 240 girls and boys between the age of 6 and 12 were enrolled, for free, to participate in a regular program three times a week. These young people will be supervised by three experienced officials of sports for social change, trained and recruited by TIBU Maroc, thanks to the financial support of ACWA Power Maroc.

This project, which will be funded by ACWA Power Ouarzazate, will contribute to the promotion of children's personal development through sport, specifically basketball,a sport recognized for developing team spirit and collaboration between players.

It should also be noted that this partnership will create full-time jobs for people of Ghassate.

"TIBU Ghassate Center by ACWA Power will allow young people in nearby villages to discover a new sport and new passions. This medium- to long-term partnership will also be a vehicle for the evolution of these young people by offering them openings to the external world. This project will also create short-, medium-, and long-term jobs for executives and trainers in the region," said Mr. Abdellatif Cheikh, Chairman of the Board of ACWA Power Ouarzazate I S.A.

"Social engagement is one of the main vocations of our group. The solidarity sports dimension is a fundamental pillar on which our territorial development strategy is based. This long-term partnership, which led to the creation of TIBU Ghassate Center by ACWA Power, is a part of a strong and comprehensive CSR program, encompassing a multitude of fruitful actions, and aims at responding sustainably and effectively to needs expressed locally," saidInane Bouachik, Corporate Social Responsibility Manager at ACWA Power Maroc.

Families of the beneficiaries are also affected by this program through positive educational workshops.

Continue reading here:

Education through sport in the heart of Ghassate - sportanddev.org

CD Projekt RED says it is working hard to combat crunch in its workplace, but also announced it will start developing two major AAA games at the same time starting in 2022.

VIEW GALLERY - 2 IMAGES

Following reports of overwork during Cyberpunk 2077's development, crunch has been a sensitive topic for CD Projekt RED. The developer has become known for its high pedigree of games at the cost of its employees.

Now CD Projekt President Adam Kicinski promises to reverse this trend. The company says it is working hard to create a caring, sustainable workplace where its employees can thrive. The plan includes multiple parts like mental health workshops and support, and even a new developer-appointed representatives that will act as middle-men to help the dev teams communicate directly with the decision-makers on CD Projekt's board of directors.

"We are putting greater focus on team wellbeing at CD Projekt. You cannot be an agile developer without a sustainable and caring work environment. We are working hard to minimize stress, prevent burnout, and give our employees everything all they need to focus on the work with a fully positive mindset," Kicinski said.

At the same time it made these affirmations, CD Projekt also confirmed it will start working on two major AAA games at the same time. By 2022, the company plans to have two teams working on projects in parallel with one another using its new RED 2.0 games development environment, which includes the huge advancements in engine and motion capture tech used in Cyberpunk 2077.

Below are the three main tenants of this plan, along with quotes from Kicinski:

"We want to make sure every employee feels comfortable. That includes a strong team spirit at the studio and introducing more initiatives to provide support for matters such as mental health.

"Personal well-being is key. We have already put in place a series of workshops dedicated to educating, supporting, and advising employees about mental health and personal care. We have always encouraged an open workplace and value a barrier-free atmosphere. We have open-door policies were team members can talk frankly with board members, directors, or leads. But there is more we can do."

"We are strengthening bilateral communication at every level.

"We are creating a team of representatives elected by the whole studio. This team is chosen from across many disciplines within the company to share new ideas, feedback, and topics of discussion with the board. They will gather information directly from the team and then work directly with the board to ensure all voices are heard and improvements can be made wherever necessary."

"Lastly, our workplace should always be a place of empowerment. The project is ambitious. We work on huge innovative projects and that gives a lot of space for professional development, but we also encourage personal development through regular workshops and training to help team members to find and grow their own strengths.

"Nurturing the team is hugely important for us."

CD Projekt developers are currently working on a myriad of projects, including:

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CD Projekt RED on crunch: 'We're working hard to minimize stress' - TweakTown

March Mindfulness is a Mashable series that explores the intersection of meditation practice and technology. Because even in the time of coronavirus, March doesn't have to be madness.

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Get yourself into a comfortable position. Bring your attention to your breath.

Whose voice did you hear these words in? If you use meditation apps on the regular, youve got a particular person in your mind right now.

Whether your chosen app is helmed by one signature voice or offers up to 10,000, voice is an important element of a meditation app. The voice becomes your link to developing mindfulness, your intimate guide to building tactical tools to help you navigate life's ups and downs, and the key to you actually returning the next day for another session. They start your morning, bring you clarity in your most vulnerable moments, and even lull you to sleep , with the dulcet tones of Harry Styles willing you to the land of nod... wait, Harry Styles? How did he get in here?

There's significant power and strategy behind the voice within your meditation app, as major players in the mindfulness space find their own voices in an industry that relies on having a distinct one.

Undeniably, one of the most recognisable voices in the mindfulness industry today belongs to Headspace's Andy Puddicombe.

A meditation and mindfulness expert, Tibetan Buddhist monk, trained circus performer, and co-founder of Headspace, Puddicombe has recorded the majority of guided sessions for the popular app. Rival app Calm has a similar signature voice in its head of mindfulness, Tamara Levitt.

Puddicombe's voice is so familiar to users that when people meet him IRL it always goes the same way. People assume he knows them, and that they know him, because he's in their ears giving instructions to take a deep breath and enjoy the feeling of having nothing to do for 10 to 20 minutes a day.

"I think Andy's voice was a sort of underrated asset for the brand from the beginning," says Headspace's head of content, William Fowler. "Andy's from Bristol but he has a kind of accentless sort of quality to his voice. In America, a lot of people think he's Australian...they can't really place him. So, he has an oddly neutral voice but still he manages to express a kindness and approachability. That is key for the relationship people develop with him as a teacher."

You can see Puddicombe at work in this guided meditation with The Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon, in which he shifts from casual chat to a two-minute guided meditation with the audience:

In 2019, following requests from users for a female voice, Headspace made the move to broaden the app's vocal pool to include that of Eve Lewis Prieto, the company's director of meditation. "A lot of people prefer Eve now," says Fowler. "We're starting to see more equitable balance in terms of usage. Because Andy's the founder, more of the content exists in his voice. Eve is catching up with him, and in terms of her popularity when users choose a voice, she's hot on his heels."

Over the years, some of you have asked for our content in a female voice. Try as I might, I just can't pull it off. Thankfully, we had the perfect woman close at hand to re-record @Headspace exercises available in-app, with more to come so you now have the choice pic.twitter.com/YvihrzoQtp

Andy Puddicombe (@andypuddicombe) July 31, 2019

Prieto had worked with Headspace since 2013, having joined the company with an interest in meditation as a tool for managing anxiety. After a rigorous recruitment process, Fowler says Prieto tested better than other candidates they'd reached out to, as she understood Headspace's approach to meditation.

A mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) teacher in training, Prieto says that Headspace's meditations try to create conditions as if the host was in the same room as you, as "your trusted friend and guide." She trained as a Headspace guide under Puddicombe and senior dharma teacher David Nichtern, and has spent time practicing at Scotland's Kagyu Samye Ling Monastery.

"My training is based heavily on my practice, without direct experience of what I am teaching it becomes harder for them to feel authentic," she says. "When I am delivering meditations or teaching a class I am very much doing the practice with them. Of course there is a lot of studying involved but without the practice then it is not an experiential experience and that is so important when teaching meditation."

Even in an audio medium, diversity matters for Headspace users. "We had feedback from our members that they didn't feel our representation was what they expected," Fowler says, adding that the company started recruiting people of colour as guided meditation teachers in 2020 (both Puddicombe and Prieto are white).

"We are trying to create a range of representation within the product so people can feel themselves reflected in the voices that they hear," says Fowler.

Headspace reached out to a range of meditation guides, focusing on tone, teaching approach, and authenticity. Headspace wasn't looking for someone robotic, who sounded like they were reading a script. Instead, it wanted someone to bring their own practice and energy to the company. Registered psychiatric nurse Dora Kamau tested extremely well, and was hired as a full-time mindfulness meditation teacher in November 2020. "Her desire to teach meditation stemmed from the lack of diversity in the mindfulness community, and a yearning for more wellness spaces with Black representation," says Prieto.

Also hired was acupuncturist and outpatient psychotherapist Kessonga Giscombe, who is trained in MBSR. However, browsing through Headspace's classes, Puddicombe and Prieto still pop up most often as teachers you can choose from.

Leading the charge for representation in meditation apps is Shine, created by Marah Lidey and Naomi Hirabayashi, a Black woman and a half-Japanese woman, who wanted to centre the mental health of marginalised groups they felt were "otherized" in mainstream wellness. The pair met as coworkers a decade ago, and crafted Shine's brand "voice" through their experience of helping each other cope through stress.

Representation is reflected in both Shine's guides and the packaging of its classes. The app prominently features a "Black mental health" playlist, for example. And most of Shine's audio content is created by Black women or women from marginalised communities.

"We are for everyone and also recognise that by elevating representative and diverse voices that are reflective of the world and our audience, that's how we elevate all of us," says Hirabayashi. "We're reflecting a variety of different experiences, because the intersection of our own experiences with mental health is how we experience different elements of struggle or confidence or trauma."

Beyond representation, Lidey and Hirabayashi also look for experience, how well the guide meshes with Shine's mission, and warmth. Hosts need to be certified, either as a therapist, career coach, or wellness teacher. Listening to them also needs to feel like "spending time with a close friend that makes you feel safe, trusted, and loved versus just a generic voice."

"When we thought about the voice we wanted to create with Shine, it was really about like, your friend with a psych degree," says Lidey. "Somebody who is aspirational, has the background in science and research, but isn't necessarily leading with that in a top-down way, instead is making it accessible, giving you language, and helping you to find an entry point."

Shine started as a self-care app that sent you motivational texts, but after testing delivery with digital assistants Alexa and Google Home, Shine evolved into a more expansive meditation app.

Regular voices include those of poet, author, and creator Mel Chant, self empowerment coach Jamila Reddy, creator and yoga teacher Elisha Mudly, and writer and creator Aisha Beau, among others. And while Shine has a whole team of hosts and writers on board, director of content Haley Goldberg created a community-driven model for the content themes. Every user review and customer service ticket goes directly into Slack where all team members can see it. "There's a lot of transparency on what our users are feeling both about the product but just about their lives," says Lidey, pointing to the COVID-19 pandemic, the fight for racial justice, the U.S. election, and political uprisings across the world as major touchpoints for Shine users.

While some might be happily welcomed into mindfulness by this friend with a psych degree, others might be more tempted by a famous voice. Within the last decade, as the mindfulness industry has boomed, meditation apps have attracted the attention of celebrities, notably actors, whose vocal training and roles as professional storytellers make their voice attractive to listeners and provides a marketing hook for the apps themselves.

Only some celebrities are presenting guided meditation programs a celebrity himself, meditation expert Deepak Chopra's collaboration with the instantly recognisable (and forever soothing) voice of Oprah Winfrey for free meditations on his own mindfulness app, Chopra, was released in November 2020. This is serious mindfulness star power right here:

Kevin Hart is one of Headspace's most significant star partnerships. His content series includes an advice segment, "Energy Shots with Kevin," and the genuinely funny "Mindful Runs," motivating users to run mindfully.

"We saw this opportunity to appeal to people that maybe wouldn't consider mindfulness otherwise," says Headspace's Fowler. "It also speaks to the original goal of Headspace at the very beginning: to demystify meditation." Making mindfulness fun and approachable is the key to Hart's content for the platform, deploying comedy through the different elements of meditation.

"One would be a compassionate approach to doing your practice imperfectly," Fowler explains. "As you fail, you forgive yourself and keep going...So, we give that idea to Kevin, he puts his unique spin on it, and it becomes a really funny monologue about failure."

Hart writes and delivers this content himself, but he isn't running guided meditation sessions (those are still run by Puddicombe, Prieto, and Headspace's new instructors Kamau and Giscombe).

While Hart is carving out a motivational space within the meditation as a lifestyle sector, sleep is where most of the stars are. Calm launched Sleep Stories in 2016, and since then has seen LeBron James, Matthew McConaughey, Idris Elba, Lucy Liu, Nick Offerman, and most recently, Harry Styles (who notably invested in Calm in 2018) reading boring soothing bedtime tales in a low, slow tone for you to drift off to. Calm co-founder and co-CEO Michael Acton Smith said in a press statement that the singer's "mellifluous voice is the perfect tonic to calm a racing mind." And look, he's not wrong:

Sleep stories are less of a risk for a celebrity than a full-on meditation session. While a celeb may get dinged for teaching a listener how to develop mindfulness tools when they aren't an expert in that field, delivering a long-winded tale may be right up their alley. Unsurprisingly, the stories are immensely popular. McConaugheys "Wonder," a 30-minute story about nostalgia, written by Calm editor and writer Chris Advansun, has been listened to "more than 11 million times" since its 2018 release. McConaughey, with his signature, soothing Texan drawl, was simply made for this.

McConaughey is familiar to many, so his bedtime story is worth checking out as a fun thing to do, even if you're not into mindfulness. You might be nervous about trying a meditation app, but seeing a celebrity you like in the lineup might make things less intimidating. There's also an element of pure novelty in hearing that skilled actor or singer attempt a style of performance you're not used to seeing them in. And then there's the allure of connecting with a celebrity on a deeply personal level in a meditation app. You get to share a vulnerable moment with a person you feel like you already know without actually meeting them. Meeting them would ruin it! Celebrity podcasts sit in this same realm; you can have a casual, comfortably one-sided conversation with Laverne Cox, RuPaul, Anna Faris, or Dax Shepard. We're able to feel closer to these celebrities without putting awkward social pressure on either side.

This celebrity push went even further with Calm's TV foray, its 10-episode HBO Max series A World of Calm narrated by Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Kate Winslet, Mahershala Ali, Oscar Isaac, Nicole Kidman and more. Famous voices are something so far not employed in Headspace's own venture into streaming, Netflix's Headspace Guide to Meditation, which saw the first of three planned series narrated by its own celeb, Puddicombe.

Though less invested in using superstar voices outside of the Kevin Hartnership, Headspace's hugely popular sleepcasts (again, slowly told stories told with Abe Simpson-level detail designed to get you to nap) have gained somewhat of a cult following I, for one, am a major fan of them, especially the story "Cat Marina."

Fowler and his team have significant listener data to help them analyse which sleepcasts are going well. Popular subject matter (the internet loves cats) and voice plays a major part in planning future episodes.

"If we see there seems to be heat there, we'll double down on that VO artist," he says, noting the sleepcasts have even developed their own fandoms. "If you look at our Facebook groups, you see that it's hotly debated, people tend to go for one and then they'll come back to that voice and maybe that suite of sleepcasts over and over again." Fandoms over sleep story voices on a meditation app is as niche as it gets.

However, some celebrities are following in Chopra's footsteps and reaching beyond sleep stories and pep talks. Insight Timer launched a series of free guided meditations with practitioner, author, and model Gisele Bndchen, who reached out to the app she'd personally used for years. On this platform, however, she's just one teacher among 10,000.

Star cameos aside, Headspace and Shine stick to a small group of staff voices on the app, whereas competitors like Insight Timer operate with a different model: Thousands of independent teachers upload their own content to the freemium app.

"We thought OK, let's do something in the meditation space as a marketplace not like Calm or Headspace with one or two teachers, let's actually create a marketplace for meditation teachers to go out and find new audiences," says Insight Timer CEO Christopher Plowman, who bought the self-guided meditation timer app in 2014 with his brother, Nicho Plowman, a meditation teacher wanting to find and develop students.

"Diversity of choice in meditation practice, it turns out is really important. People get bored, surprise, surprise."

Insight Timer is a massive free library of guided meditations without ads (a paid subscription gets you unique content). Do people tend to stick with one teacher among thousands? "What we find is they start to meander," Plowman says. "The average number of teachers that someone follows on our app is 11 to 12 teachers...Diversity of choice in meditation practice, it turns out is really important. People get bored, surprise, surprise."

Meditation teachers regularly upload content in 44 languages and across 45 religions including Buddhism, Judaism, and Christianity. "We decided very early on that we weren't going to strip out spirituality and religion, because people are inherently spiritual or religious," says Plowman. "Recently, a lot of apps like Calm and Headspace have stripped all that out because they want to get into corporations and schools, and there's a big separation of church and state."

With 10,000 teachers uploading content, quality control is a challenge and the only thing Insight Timer really sends back is recordings of poor audio quality. There's no brand training for teachers, but there are practical resources. "Obviously we don't provide curriculum training about what's the right meditation or what's the right religious system," says Plowman. "We definitely provide training and guidance on best practices and recording audio tips." Insight Timer's large user community remains the primary monitoring tool, as the app filters content according to ratings and "features" tracks rated 4.6 and above.

With this setup, some meditation sessions on Insight Timer are better than others so it may take a while to find a voice you like. And though the content may vary in quality, the company doesn't often ditch content. "We very very very rarely remove anything from our platform," says Plowman. "I think we've removed three teachers out of 10,000 in seven years because the decisions they made in their personal lives, it was not appropriate that they were on our platform. But we don't like to censor, we don't like to determine what you should listen to."

With so many meditation apps available, there's a lot of voice choice these days. It's important to try a few teachers before you settle on one, as everyone responds to meditation guides differently.

The choices made by the companies putting voices into your mindful ears matter, as they can welcome you into the practice (or discourage you), help you stay focused, and enable you to develop tactical mindfulness tools to navigate turbulent and calm times alike. There's power and responsibility in a few simple words spoken into a microphone, aimed directly at your brain.

You won't hear them the same again.

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Who gets to be the voice inside your meditation app? - Mashable SE Asia

In 2021, there is still no justice for Breonna Taylor. We are fighting just to get people to call a man who targeted Asian spas in the killing of Asian women a racist and a sexist who committed a hate crime. And its women of color, who are represented more than others in frontline jobs, who have been economically struck the hardest by coronavirus.

Racism is a public health crisis, from inequities in access to healthcare to medical bias to disparities of every kind. The psychological effects of living with racism hurt our physical, spiritual, and mental health. Its a domino effect of destruction.

Where there is racism, there is sexism, xenophobia, and all manner of marginalization. COVID-19 simply put our problems in bold, capital letters.

And our children have witnessed it all. Our girls and they who are at the intersection of many of these communities and whose challenges often go overlooked need our protection, support, and love.

Not even Meghan Markle in her royalty could be shielded from the toxic effects of racism. The monarchy, like the world, wasnt designed for it. Well before COVID-19, she was isolated and confused on how to forge forward. She was suicidal.

Over the last year, our kids have also been pulled from their social circles, forced to live remotely, fighting more stress than ever before. Markle, even with riches our children dont have, did not want to live anymore. Its Womens History Month, but what are we doing to ensure our girls, women, and they of color have a future?

In Massachusetts, three mentorship organizations are focusing more on the care and spiritual feeding of girls and them to build a healthy mindset and cultivate self-care practices.

Over the last year, Chica Project, a Massachusetts nonprofit dedicated to closing the opportunity gap for Latinas and women of color, has prioritized mental health.

Since the pandemic began, leadership surveyed their students nearly 43 percent reported a decline in mental health. About half of them are experiencing food instability and have at least one parent out of work due to coronavirus. Many share a room and work jobs to help at home. Some have a hard time accessing WiFi to get what they need.

A lot of our youth feel isolated even more, said Erika Rodriguez, Chica Project executive director. They are talking about wanting to reach out for help, wanting to lead those conversations at home and be ambassadors for mental health, for identity, for vaccines, for access to information at home. Its so important to hone in on mental health and train them on how to have these conversations.

Through mentorship, networking, and skills training, Chica Project has served over 3,000 youth over the last decade. This past year, they have gone remote and expanded beyond Massachusetts, mentoring 300 girls and them, ages 12 to 18, here, as well as in New York, Texas, and the Dominican Republic.

But despite their hardships, the mentees have also shown resilience and a passion for change.

The new generation is so unapologetic and ready to talk about their experience, to resist, said Lina Caon, associate director. They will tell you their pronouns and where they are at. They are talking about their mental health and embracing their culture. They are fearless and speaking their truth. They have become the teachers, too. The mentors are intergenerational.

ASPIRE (Asian Sisters Participating In Reaching Excellence), another Boston-based nonprofit, empowers Asian American girls and women. They, too, have emphasized the importance of mental health. Since the pandemic began, theyve worked with about 26 girls, ages 14 to 17. They recently honored the lives of the women killed in Atlanta.

We are putting together personal wellness plans, said ASPIRE youth program co-director Jewel Pereyra. The news is a trigger. They are worried about elders being targeted. We had a session on mental health and we are talking about how to manage stress by seeking therapy, checking in with your friends, and checking in with yourself.

After the killing of George Floyd, Pereyra said there was a big shift in talking more openly and placing priority on self-care in the context of social justice.

We talk about what solidarity looks like, anti-Blackness in our communities, and we talk about anti-Asian violence. I see a stronger voice in the girls, she said.

In Asian American communities, the family is the unit. You are selfless and indebted to the family. Oftentimes young women manage the family and dont have time to think about our own mental health. I think we neglect ourselves, and we cant afford to do that anymore with the growing rates of suicide and self-harm, Pereyra added.

Centering wellness is essential to building up our youth, said Ivanna Solano, co-founder of Love Your Magic, an organization dedicated to uplifting Black and brown girls and them.

Since the virus shut down our country, the Boston-based grassroots organization has served over 200 students, as young as seven up to 17, across 10 states.

Founded by educators of color, the goal was always to fight the school-to-prison pipeline through advocacy and empowerment. What has shifted due to COVID-19 is a deeper dedication to joy.

We have to make sure we are well mentally, physically, and emotionally, Solano said. Young people, specifically Black and brown girls, are living through double pandemics of racism and the coronavirus. Everything is heavy. We wanted to lean into the joy, to create opportunities to bask in each others magic. We dont do that enough.

Love Your Magic creates intentional spaces of community and conversation through a book club, virtual camp, and workshops. Their Be Well initiative offers a mental health specialist stipend program, free yoga, and meditation. Theres also a focus on learning circles for educators and parents.

It takes a village, Solano said. We have to be intentional in the way we talk to Black and brown girls, the books we read them, the messages we send. When we pour into our Black and brown girls, we pour into the world, and we see it in everything we do.

In our society, girls and them are erased and devalued. And Black and brown girls bear the brunt of the pain while being expected to grow up and become the melanated backbone of our democracy.

Save our girls and we just might save ourselves.

Jene Osterheldt can be reached at jenee.osterheldt@globe.com and on Twitter @sincerelyjenee.

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Lean into the joy: COVID, racism, and how we mentor girls of color - The Boston Globe

Global Sisters Helen Thomson (L) and Mandy Richards want to support local women.

WOMENs issues have been highlighted in recent times so it was fortuitous that Global Sisters introduced themselves to the Coffs Harbour community at the Success Hub in Sawtell last week.

Global Sisters aims to make business possible for women, enabling them to be financially resilient and stand tall.

The organisation began in 2016 and launched nationally in 2019.

It seeks to remove the structural and systemic barriers women commonly face to make self-employment a viable option for women.

This occurs through Regional Hubs and a digital, remote access program for Air Sisters to tap into a national collective.

Coffs Harbour City Councillor Tegan Swan facilitated an information session with founders Mandy Richards and Heather Thomson for local women who represent groups that work with women in the Coffs Harbour community.

Ms Richards and Ms Thomson talked about Global Sisters innovative approach to supporting women from the earliest stage of business ideation, providing long-term, end-to-end support and assisting with the launching and growing of their businesses.

They told the audience there is not a level playing field, and spoke about addressing the multiple systemic and personal barriers women face to successfully establish and grow a business.

Global sisters has three stages of support over a 3+ year roadmap.

Initially, they provide education about generating business ideas and how to launch a business.

There is a second stage of education about the tools, networks, coaching and microfinance to help women gain momentum in their business.

The final stage is to support women through education about business growth.

Ms Richards said, Global sisters is a one stop shop for business support for women.

She told the audience that Global Sisters aims to provide alternatives for women to generate their own income.

They are hoping to establish a hub in Coffs Harbour that starts from the ground up.

The presenters want advocates for womens business empowerment in the local community to tap into the Global Sisters network and use their tools to help women grow sustainable businesses from their ideas.

Ms Thomson said, Community is the glue to hold it all together.

By Andrew VIVIAN

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Global Sisters Want To Set Up Hub To Empower Coffs Coast Women In Business - News Of The Area

Listen in several languages! Click the "red world icon" below. Thank you for being apart of the Meditation Life Skills Community!

Spread the love and make the world a better place!

This affirmation meditation for personal empowerment is essential for success and achieving your goals. If you believe you are and an empowered person it is important to bring empowering thoughts and feelings into your mind, body, and spirit.

Using this personal empowerment affirmation meditation is a practice of recognizing and changing your thoughts on a daily basis. Eventually, positive thoughts can transform your cognitive patterns and negative thoughts may become less prominent. The more you can consciously choose your thoughts, the better your life can be.

Power can be taken, but not given. The process of the taking is empowerment in itself. ~Gloria Steinem

What does it mean to empower yourself? You are responsible to empower yourself to succeed. Use personal empowerment to put yourself in the drivers seat to your own personal success. But what is self-empowerment? Its about learning how to give yourself the power to take control of your own destiny and live your life on your terms, and coming to the realization as to how you want to live your life.

When youre living a life of personal empowerment, your passion will overflow onto those around you. And as passion permeates the very air you breathe, youll feel confident and in control of your life because you can produce all the things you want for yourself and your loved ones.

This guide will help you live an empowered life. If you follow through with these suggestions and obtain the support you require, your personal power will flourish. Start living the life of your dreams!

When you decide to succeed, a life filled with adventure, love, and personal empowerment is yours.

Making a conscious decision to be successful is an effective way of opening up yourself to personal empowerment and the possibilities of achieving your dreams. When you decide that something will happen, youre more likely to take the necessary steps to ensure that it does. Resolving to succeed is a hallmark of personal empowerment.

When Nike says, just do it, thats a message of empowerment.

Why arent the rest of us speaking to young people in a voice of inspiration?

~Naomi Klein

Sometimes in life, difficult things occur that might discourage you from pursuing the path you desire. An important aspect of becoming personally empowered is to believe that bright and beautiful things are coming your way, regardless of the rough waters you may have recently encountered.

When youre sure that positive things will happen to you, your empowerment level rises.

A positive mind breeds positive results. Approaching all aspects of life with positivity is one of the most empowering actions you can take.

At every given moment we are absolutely perfect for what is required for our journey.

~Steve Maraboli, Life, the Truth, and Being Free

Even if you havent thought about it for quite some time, you probably have something youve always wanted to do in life. Do you still have those yearnings for the future? How do you react when youre thinking about your dreams? Do you try to push those thoughts out of your mind?

Never abandon your dreams! Our dreams for the future can keep us moving forward in life, looking, reaching, and achieving. View your dreams as great motivators. Your dreams help empower you to seek out the life you truly want.

Holding on to your dreams throughout your life will provide you with steady reinforcement to perform, excel, and achieve. As your dreams stay alive, so do your possibilities to live an empowered life.

Whether you say you cant or you can, youre right.

~Walt Disney Company

You might find yourself in a particular place in life thats not satisfying to you. When you consider your living situation, you may feel unsure about how or why you ended up this way.

When you find yourself in a position or heading in a direction different from what youd like, remind yourself you have the personal empowerment power to change your path. Upon reaching this point, knowing how to change and quiet your mind and your life is incredibly empowering forces.

Allow yourself the time and space to change the things about your life that are leading you astray. When youre fully following your dreams, youll feel empowered and ignited with the passion to create the life you seek.

Some men have thousands of reasons why they cannot do what they want to

when all they need is one reason why they can.

~Martha Graham

Have you ever felt like you wanted to live life differently than how youre currently living, yet youre unsure where to begin? Your dreams have always been in the back of your mind, tantalizing you to do something. However, you feel uncertain about how your life will go when you do begin the path toward personal empowerment and the good life.

Taking action to achieve your dreams will bring feelings of strength and incredible anticipation. Imagine how it will feel to know that youve taken the bull by the horns and are heading toward the greatest adventure of your life. Living the life you want is the ultimate objective of self-empowerment.

You know, theres a lot of activism that doesnt deal with empowerment, and you have to empower yourself in order to be relevant to any type of struggle.

~Talib Kweli

Weve all encountered the person at work who goes so far above and beyond that they make everyone else look bad in comparison. Some of us may even admit that we wouldnt mind being that co-worker that everyone else is praising and admiring.

When youre willing to work hard, many positive things will happen for you. Your end results will be greater and others will come to see you as a model employee. Empower yourself with the abundance that comes with being a hard worker.

The difference between being mediocre and achieving excellence is you.

~Stephen Richards, Think Your Way to Success: Let Your Dreams Run Free

If youve ever felt bogged down with everyday life, youll appreciate the beauty of starting small. Rather than not starting at all, beginning little-by-little seems like a much better option.

True empowerment begins with your thoughts, effort, and follow-through. Only you can refresh your existence and begin living a more empowered life.

On the other hand, if the future is not the one you chose then you

may have to use your willpower to obtain the future of your liking.

~Stephen Richards, Think yourself to Success: Let Your Dreams Run Free

As you start putting these personal empowerment suggestions into place, youll begin to gain the momentum to continue moving ahead. Momentum begets more momentum.

Youll encounter all kinds of individuals, situations, and stumbling blocks on your journey toward empowerment. At times, you may feel like youve taken two steps forward and three steps back. By continuing to move forward, youll make overall progress that cant be denied.

The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.

~Lao Tzu

Because we live our lives surrounded by others and dealing with complex events, there will be times when youre inclined to give up your power. What does this mean? Some behaviors or attitudes you adopt can reduce your strength and momentum.

As you build your own power, be aware of how you can keep hold of your personal strength. In the end, youll come out on the other side feeling healthier, happier, and more empowered.

No one has the power to shatter your dreams unless you give it to them.

~Maeve Greyson

Although everyday life can be overwhelming, you have the resolve and the tools to live an empowered life.

An understanding of personal empowerment allows you to make progress toward and eventually achieve all your goals and dreams.

Define who you are. As you empower yourself in ways that build your self-confidence, youll discover all the sources of your lifes greatest passions.

You were put on this earth to achieve your greatest self,

to live out your purpose, and to do it fearlessly.

~Steve Maraboli, Life, the Truth, and Being Free

Read the rest here:

9 Principles Of Personal Empowerment & Affirmation Meditation

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As attempts against businesses rise, more consumers say they are being targeted by digital fraud related to COVID-19

CHICAGO, March 23, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- TransUnions (NYSE: TRU) latest quarterly analysis of global online fraud trends found that since the COVID-19 pandemic began, fraudsters are increasing their rate of digital schemes against businesses. In addition, TransUnions recent Global Consumer Pulse Study found that more than one in three global consumers have recently been targeted by digital fraud related to COVID-19.

TransUnion came to its conclusions about fraud against businesses based on intelligence from billions of transactions and more than 40,000 websites and apps contained in its flagship identity proofing, risk-based authentication and fraud analytics solution suite TransUnion TruValidate.

It found the percent of suspected fraudulent digital transaction attempts1 against businesses worldwide increased 46% when comparing the following two periods: Period #1 (March 11, 2019 and March 10, 2020); Period #2 (March 11, 2020 -- when the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic -- and March 10, 2021). In the U.S., this percentage increased 22% in the same timeframe.

Fraudsters are always looking to take advantage of significant world events. The COVID-19 pandemic and its corresponding rapid digital acceleration brought about by stay-at-home orders is a global event unrivaled in the online age, said Shai Cohen, senior vice president of Global Fraud Solutions at TransUnion. By analyzing billions of transactions we screened for fraud indicators over the past year, it has become clear that the war against the virus has also brought about a war against digital fraud.

Globally across industries, TransUnion found the countries with the highest rate of suspected fraudulent digital transactions during the pandemic (from March 11, 2020 to March 10, 2021) were: 1) the Seychelles, 2) Kazakhstan and 3) Turkmenistan. In the U.S. overall during that same time period, TransUnion found the cities with the highest percent of suspected fraudulent transactions were: 1) Tempe, Ariz. 2) Hamtramck, Mich. and 3) Colonial Park, Pa.

Consumers Targeted By COVID-19 Schemes

TransUnions Global Consumer Pulse Study also found that as of March 16, 2021 the 36% of consumers who said they are being targeted by digital fraud related to COVID-19 in the last three months is higher than approximately one year ago. In April 2020, 29% said they had been targeted by digital fraud related to COVID-19. In the U.S., this percentage increased from 26% to 38% in the same timeframe.

Gen Z, those born 1995 to 2002, is currently the most targeted out of any generation at 42%. They are followed by Millennials (37%). Similarities were observed in the U.S. where Gen Z was most targeted at 53% followed by Millennials at 40%.

TransUnion documented a 21% increase in reported phishing attacks among consumers who were globally targeted with COVID-19-related digital fraud just from November 2020 to recently, said Melissa Gaddis, senior director of customer success, Global Fraud Solutions at TransUnion. This revelation shows just how essential acquiring personal credentials are for carrying out any type of digital fraud. Consumers must be vigilant and businesses should assume all consumer information is available on the dark web and have alternatives to traditional password verification in place.

Consumers can learn how to protect themselves from fraud and identity theft with the TransUnion Fraud Victim Bill of Rights.

Examining Fraud Types and Their Impact on Industries

TransUnion analyzed the below industries for a change in the percent of suspected digital fraud attempts against them, comparing the periods of March 11, 2019-March 10, 2020 and March 11, 2020-March 10, 2021.

Suspected Digital Fraud Attempt Rate Post-Pandemic Declaration

Through the TruValidate solution, TransUnion documented a 19% growth in transactions among its global iGaming customers from 2019 to 2020, and recently researched its fraud impact in a special report. It determined that its online gambling customers experienced a 9% increase in the rate of suspected fraud when comparing 2019 to 2020 among the 576 million iGaming transactions TransUnion analyzed for risk indicators last year.

Despite it being one of the hottest growing industries, TransUnion observed a decrease in the iGaming mobile transaction rate for the first time since at least 2016. However, iGaming on mobile devices is still much higher than desktops with the percent of online gambling transactions coming from mobile devices at 69%.

We believe mobile online gambling transactions dipped because so many people used their desktops while working from home during the pandemic. However, we expect the long-term impact of mobile to continue to be paramount for business success, said Gaddis. Mobile devices will be key to providing a seamless way for online gamblers to transact and businesses to assess risk with biometric-driven multifactor authentication.

For more details about the above findings, visit this blog post.

About TransUnion (NYSE: TRU)TransUnion is a global information and insights company that makes trust possible in the modern economy. We do this by providing a comprehensive picture of each person so they can be reliably and safely represented in the marketplace. As a result, businesses and consumers can transact with confidence and achieve great things. We call this Information for Good.

TransUnion Global Fraud Solutions unite both consumer and device identities to detect threats across markets while ensuring friction-right user experiences. The solutions, all part of the TruValidate suite, fuse traditional data science with machine learning to provide businesses unique insights about consumer transactions, safeguarding tens of millions of transactions each day.

A leading presence in more than 30 countries across five continents, TransUnion provides solutions that help create economic opportunity, great experiences and personal empowerment for hundreds of millions of people.http://www.transunion.com/business

1 The percent or rate of suspected fraudulent digital transaction attempts are those that TransUnions customers either denied or reviewed due to fraudulent indicators compared to all transactions it assessed for fraud

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One Year after COVID-19, New TransUnion Research Shows Digital Fraud Attempts Against Businesses Have Increased by 46% - StreetInsider.com

From Cosmopolitan

Spring has officially sprung, and everything is blooming. This year's Spring Equinox occurs on March 20, when the Sun enters Aries and the day and night are equal length. This has been a day of celebration for centuries, offering a chance to start anew. After a long, hard winter, you have an entire 24-hour period to choose yourself and set the stage for the rest of your 2021.

The Sun is with you right now. Make sure to take the time to fully command this energy! Its YOUR seasonlet the world know!

Its time to get clear and clarify. Take all the time you need to bathe in solitude and observe everything around you. A change in routine will replenish your energetic pool.

Youre feeling very social and interested in connecting. Plan an online event for all your social media friends and see where it can take you. This Equinox should find you focusing on expanding your vision.

A new light is shining on your career ambitions! Dont be afraid to bet on yourself and your skills. Youll be amazed where you land with the right intention.

Its time to evaluate your sense of abundance. Commit yourself to one area of focus and watch it expand for you. Youre no stranger to going after what you deserve.

Its time to think about yourself. Set an intention for self-empowerment. Your ability to access new levels of inner healing can bring about far-reaching transformation.

Think about what you need right now, and treat yourself to more personal time. Your best self comes with stronger dedication to self-care.

Physical empowerment is key. Theres change brewing here, and it starts with you feeling a little more into your body. Switch up your daily activities, and youll be amazed by the results.

Youre obsessed with all things astro. Same. Never miss a retrograde with Cosmo Unlocked.

Do you feel the creativity and expression in the air? Identify your passion and let it lead you. This is your time to act. Your will, your way.

Story continues

Its time to look at your inner life. Focus on the energy you want to feel in your home and let that be your guide. New furniture or familial boundaries could be in store.

Release your thoughts! Youre a natural at bringing people together based on your vision, but now its time to have your voice heard. Start the blog, the podcast, the Patreon.

This is a money-motivated period for you, Pisces. Take some time to work on your budget and draw up a financial game plan. Stronger money management skills make way for better opportunities.

You Might Also Like

Originally posted here:

Spring Is Finally Here, and So Is Your Spring Equinox Horoscope - Yahoo Lifestyle

By Magdalena Nowicka Mook, CEO, International Coaching Federation

The Covid-19 pandemic imposed unexpected challenges on organizations large and small. The virus has not only reshaped the way professionals do their individual work, but it has also changed the fundamental characteristics of collaborative teamwork and effective leadership.

The net result is that many leaders continue to struggle with learning what the new normal really means for them, their team, and their ability to lead.

Leadership used to be largely about motivating employees to achieve established targets for productivity and profitability. The need for such measurable outcomes remains unchanged, but the method for realizing those results is now far more complicated.

When professionals are no longer gathered in a single location for in-person meetings and shared efforts, the reliance on digital platforms increases.

The difficulty is that this reliance on digital tools can have a corollary effect of making individuals feel isolated and disconnected from colleagues. Video meetings are perfectly fine as a way to assemble everyone, but sooner or later, the work must get donetoo often by individuals working alone at home in an environment that does not permit walking to a nearby colleagues office to bounce off an idea, explore a solution, or consider together a means for reaching a goal. In short, the ability to collaborate becomes more difficult.

Meanwhile, the goals must still be met, and the leader must remain focused on outcomes.

Coaching for SuccessMost professionals, especially leaders, find there is no single textbook providing clear direction for how to motivate remote teams and foster unified efforts. In their search for guidance, many professionals, especially business and organizational leaders, are enlisting the assistance of executive coaches.

Leadership coaches guide their clients through an individualized process that builds a leaders capability to achieve short- and long-term organizational goals. A key to achieving positive results is fostering an atmosphere of collaboration within teams. Coaching has been shown to help leaders implement not only personal changes but also approaches for successful virtual teamwork.

A coach can help a leader better understand what is going on within the team and consider solutions that facilitate collaborative interactions.

Three Elements of Effective LeadershipColumbia Business School professor Adam Galinsky describes perspective thinking as the ability to look at the world from someone elses vantage point: a key skill for establishing a culture of collaboration. When we fail to consider another persons perspective, we only exercise our power or authority as a leader while missing vital information, Galinsky says.

Through coaching, a leader can better understand this dynamic and adapt in ways that motivate all individuals on the team.

According to Galinsky, there are three crucial elements for effective leadership. Interestingly, each of these is a central skill that coaches help client executives develop:

1. Empowerment: the delegation of power, authority, ability, or permission. Empowering employees typically gives them confidence and greater capacity to advance ideas in a collaborative environment.

2. Diversity: the practice of involving people from a range of social and ethnic backgrounds, genders, sexual orientations, and so on. Diversity is known for producing better results in teams.

3. Transparency: ways that make it easy for others to see what actions are performed, but also to understand the thinking behind those actions. Transparency implies openness, communication, and accountability.

Naturally, some of the consequences of these characteristics cannot be predicted. Nor are they certain to produce positive results every time. Each has a so-called double-edge, or downside risk, that a coach would work with a leader to consider in advance.

Regardless, in creating collaborative cultures, coaches help leaders to always ask themselves about the intended impacts of their ideas and actions, and to anticipate what side effects and unpredictable consequences may occur. With these questions in mind, leaders can set checks and balances and undertake specific actions to minimize any negative outcomes.

Predicting the UnpredictableDouble-edged thinking may not be natural to all leaders as a discipline. In our fast-changing current environment, identifying predictable consequences of decisions is not always easy. After all, who predicted a global pandemic and the consequences we now more fully realize?

Working with a professional coach can help give a leader a greater openness to broader perspectives and the ability to test and examine hypotheses in a safe and confidential setting. The results will be fewer surprises, more harmonious and collaborative work environments, and ultimately, greater team productivity and satisfaction. Professional coaching can help you sharpen your double-edge.

To learn more about professional coaching and its organizational benefits, visit theInternational Coaching Federation.

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Executive Coaching Can Help Managers Build More Collaborative Teams - SPONSOR CONTENT FROM THE INTERNATIONAL COACHING FEDERATION - Harvard Business...

FILE - In this Thursday, May 12, 2016, file photo, Actress Julia Roberts poses for photographers upon arrival for the screening of the film Money Monster at the 69th international film festival, Cannes, southern France. (AP Photo/Joel Ryan, File)

The movie Pretty Woman came out thirty-one years ago yesterday. The films subtitle describes the plot: She walked off the street, into his life, and stole his heart.

People magazine reports some facts you may not have known about the popular film: Burt Reynolds was initially offered the lead role that Richard Gere made famous; the directors son plays a drug-dealing skateboarder in the movie; and the film was originally titled 3000the price of one night with Vivian, the prostitute played by Julia Roberts.

Here are some facts the article leaves out: the homicide rate among active female prostitutes is seventeen times higher than that of the age-matched general female population; the average prostitute is physically attacked once a month; one study found that 89 percent of women in prostitution want to escape but are trapped.

The glorification of prostitutes in popular media is just one example of our broken sexual ethic. Yesterday, we discussed our cultures clear rejection of biblical morality with regard to sex outside of marriage. I stated my intention to look today at the practical consequences of the sexual revolution: broken lives, broken homes, and broken souls.

We will do so with the help of the finest article on the subject I have found, one I encourage you to read today.

Steven R. Tracy, PhD, is professor of theology and ethics at Phoenix Seminary, where he has taught since 1995. He has also served as a church pastor for fifteen years and is the author of seven books and numerous journal articles.

His article on premarital sexual abstinence and the Bible shows clearly that God intends us to abstain from all sexual relations outside of marriage. He counters the argument that the New Testament does not actually condemn non-married adults having consensual sex and the claim that the biblical authors wrote from a pre-modern perspective which need not be accepted wholesale by Christians today.

As he demonstrates, The overwhelming consensus of historical Christian teaching, as well as modern evangelical biblical scholarship, is that sexual relations are only appropriate in marriage.

Dr. Tracys article is especially helpful with regard to the consequences of disobeying the biblical ethic regarding premarital sexual relationships. Consider five examples.

One: In terms of marital satisfaction, one of the most widespread modern myths is that couples need to live together before they get married to see if they are sexually and relationally compatible and thus to enhance future marital health and satisfaction. In reality, research shows that couples that live together before marriage have higher infidelity rates, lower marital satisfaction rates, and higher divorce rates than those who dont live together before marriage.

For instance, a study of 1,425 couples found that those who cohabited before marriage reported poorer marital quality and greater marital instability. A study of over four thousand Swedish women reported that women who cohabit before marriage have an 80 percent higher marital failure rate than those who did not cohabit with their future spouse. Dr. Tracy adds: This dynamic of cohabitation having a negative impact on subsequent marriage has been replicated in so many different studies that some social scientists have labeled it the cohabitation effect.'

Two: Cohabiting couples are much more likely to physically abuse each other than are non-cohabiting dating couples or married couples. A Department of Justice report notes that unmarried women are almost five times more likely to experience violence at the hands of their sexual partner than are married women.

Three: Cohabitors have been found to be almost twice as likely to be unfaithful to their partner as those who were married.

Four: Sexual abstinence before marriage is the only 100 percent effective method of birth control, guaranteeing that women will not have to deal with an unplanned pregnancy. Since many researchers consider out-of-wedlock births to be the single most significant factor influencing long-term poverty in America, this is a very significant issue.

Five: Sexually transmitted diseases in the US are among the highest in the industrialized world. In addition to their health consequences, they create a great economic burden, with direct medical costs in the US of $15.5 billion.

The consequences of breaking Gods word are all around us today, from the public health crisis that is our pornography epidemic, to the threat of rising sexually transmitted infections as the coronavirus pandemic lessens, to the explosion of child pornography on the internet.

Once again, Gods word is right. As I have noted in the past, human nature does not change, which means that we still face the same issues our ancestors faced in biblical times. Divine nature does not change, which means that Gods answers to our issues are the same today as when he first revealed them. Today and every day, his word is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart (Hebrews 4:12).

If you are struggling with sexual temptation or sin, I urge you to act now. Speak with your pastor or another trusted counselor. Develop an accountability relationship with someone who will help you think and live biblically. Take all necessary steps with regard to software and technology protections for you and your family.

If this is not a besetting sin for you, identify those that are. Take them to the cross, claiming Jesus atoning sacrifice as payment for your debt. Ask for his forgiveness and cleansing grace (1 John 1:9). And claim his strength in partnership with others to be holy in all your conduct (1 Peter 1:15).

Randy Alcorn is right: Grace doesnt make people less holyit makes them more holy. Grace doesnt make people despise or neglect truthit makes them love and follow truth. Grace isnt a free pass to sinits a supernatural empowerment not to sin. . . . Grace raises the barbut it also enables us to joyfully jump over that bar.

What bar do you need to joyfully jump over today?

NOTE: What defines someone whom God is using to impact the culture for Jesus? This answer is found when Jesus said, You are the salt of the earth . . . . You are the light of the world (Matt. 5:1314). You can discover how to be this salt and light through my just re-released book, Blessed: Eight Ways Christians Change Culturewhich now includes the new, bonus Blessed Small Group Study Guide. This special resource is my gift to thank you for your donation, so please request it when you giveknowing that your investment will help more Christians discern the news differently.

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Facts you didn't know about "Pretty Woman": Proof that the Bible is right about sexual morality and practical steps into personal purity -...