Do Prayers Get Answered?.... Life - A Learning Process….. The Week's Good and Bad News...

24^th March I returned from five days in Scarborough with no voice and flu like symptoms...

25^th March – I had to cancel a coffee afternoon at Berkley Street, Glasgow. (SNU)

26^th I felt bit better and made the trip to ASK Dunfermline.  This church is still coming to terms with the passing of two of its founder members.  Jock McArthur who was President and Tilda Wilson.

27^th –It is always a pleasure to visit the Cumnock Spiritualist Church.

28^th I was again driving down to South Ayrshire to a new church for me in Girvan.

30^th – The virus was really taking hold and it was only a last minute decision to attend a 1 ½ day seminar in Oban on paranormal research.

31^st – I just returned home in time to get changed and off to the New Dawn Spiritualist Church in Kilmarnock.

But by this time the flu type virus had taken hold and I had to cancel my bookings for over a week.

During this period I was in a car accident and luckily no one was injured.

Mike emails; -

“Do prayers work for you?  They never seem to be answered as far as my “family is concerned”.

I am sure everyone has prayed for help at least one time in their life and many will be certain that their prayers have not been answered.

We have to start looking at the content of our prayers.  What we will find is that most if not all of our prayers are connected with other people in one form or another.   Whether it is family, friends or those we see in the media who are in dire straits through lack of water food, are being persecuted or are in poor health. 

Who do we pray too?  “God” of course.  But the Supreme Being has many names and is different things to different people. 

Just think the dilemma The Supreme Being must have in answering all our prayers, especially if they are connected to others here on the earth plane.    For your prayer to be answered “God” may have to alter the life of another, even though that person may want to go in one direction but you are asking God that he/she goes in another direction.   So their free-will is taken from them.

When a medium stands on the platform of a Spiritualist Church to give a Spiritual Address, they should in theory not have made up an address before hand, but be inspired by spirit on that evening.  Spirit alone will know the needs of the congregation.  Questions they want answered and if the link is pure, all that will come out in the address.

There are some addresses where the link is so spot-on that it will cover the many needs of those in the congregation.  Usually on such a night the medium is enjoying the address as much as the congregation, as it will be the first time he/she will have heard it.    On such nights it can mean as much to myself as I hope it means to the congregation.

One address of the many addresses I have given over the years still is clear in my mind, even though I gave it over a decade ago. 

That evening as I stood up for the address the word “prayer’ came into my mind, and what was said, and the feedback might be the best way to answer Mike’s question.

If your prayers do not seem to be answered then take a look at what you are actually praying for.  The address went on to say, “pray” for the right thing to be done in certain situations, and not for what you to want to be done in these situations. 

It was over a year before I was back at that particular church and yet four people came up and spoke to me about that particular address.    

Two I will mention here; -

One lady said that she was praying almost every hour that her daughter and son-in-law would not get divorced.  After hearing my words she changed her prayers to “Please let the right thing be done in this situation”.  A few months later the pair did get divorced and yet the situation was not as dire as she expected.  The divorced couple did keep friendly even though they quickly had new partners.  Not only that, but the five of them, mother, daughter, ex-son-in-law and their new partners meet up for a coffee or a meal once in a while.

She went on to say “Now when I think about it the marriage would never have worked, as friends they will be great friends but they never could have had a happily married life”.

The other was of a young man who was homeless and said that he could put up with sleeping rough, but not with an empty stomach.  He knew that in six months there would be a job waiting for him if he kept out of trouble.  But when hungry he was sorely tempted to break the law and steal food.  He said that it was only a matter of time before this would happen. 

Well again after that address he changed his mode of prayer and got through those six months because there was a change in what he received when begging on the streets of Glasgow.

Instead of the odd £1 coin and small change he got when begging on the streets, when he really was hungry he started to be given the odd meal voucher or filled rolls and cups of coffee.  .  Before the change in prayer these were not existent when he was begging.  His story does have a happy ending because he did get the job and has not looked back since.

There is more to come as far as these two successes are concerned.  The mother then looked at life from different angles and is now doing voluntary work.  The young man plans to put something back into the community in the near future. 

All that from a spiritual address.  All that from spirit knowing what was suitable for the congregation that evening. 

No miracles but just little seeds planted in the minds of those seeking some guidance.  It is then up to them to decide if that little seed of knowledge will grow and bear fruit.

The feedback from the other two went in a different direction but still in the end a positive path. And I will give an account of them in my next blog.

This shows that churches that stop addresses are diluting spiritualism as a religion and also diluting the power of spirit.

“All a Learning Process”

It is only through experiencing all manner of things, negative and positive that one can leave this life knowing a little more than when they entered it…

The more you learn… … The more equipped you will be for the next part of your existence…

For the next week… Look on everything… and I mean everything… as a learning process…

Think what you have to learn from this… and what you have to learn from that…

It will amaze you by the end of the week… how you will see so much… in a different light…

A whole new world…

A whole new dimension will open up to you…

You will see things like you have never seen them before…

Never give up… Never give in to the negative side of what unfolds in front of you

Alan…

The above comments were given in a trance circle in 2000 and forgotten about till a few weeks ago.

This gave a few of us an idea to ask four people to take heed of these words and see how they get on with being more aware of their surroundings for the next week.

To make it more interesting we decided to select four people from different walks of life; -

A spiritualist...

A lady who attends one of the main-stream churches every Sunday and takes part in a lot of church activities.

 An atheist who is manager in a large go-ahead business.

Someone who is unemployed.

In the next few blogs I will pass on to you their comments.

 

This week’s good news...

 With so much strife on our planet it was good to see the Pakistani President and the Indian Prime Minister standing side by side after talks...

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The head of the UK’s leading cancer charity has said understanding of the disease is advancing “exponentially.

Describing a “golden era” of research, Harpal Kumar, the chief executive of Cancer Research UK, said there has been “an explosion in our understanding of what cancer is why it happens, why it doesn’t happen in some people and why it moves around the body”.

The cure for all types of cancer cannot come soon enough…

Bad news this week…

I will not go into details but the lady was attacked and blinded, she will never see her children growing up.  We should all send a few thoughts in this mother’s direction.



And once again the Grand National takes its toll on the race horse.

It is not just the fatalities during this race, just think of the pain and injury when we fall. So I wonder how many horses who ran in the Grand National today are injured and suffering at this moment?

TWO will never suffer again - as they are dead.

Fell - TEN

Pulled up for various reasons – FOUR.

Brought down – THREE.

Unseated rider – SEVEN.

Refused – ONE.  

One of the dead horses unseated it rider on the way down to the start and then was reluctant to walk to the first fence before the race.  Did the poor creature have a premonition?

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Still gathering information about Jock McArthur and Tilda Wilson.




Here are the other statistics.

Fell - TEN

Pulled up for various reasons - FOUR

Unseated riders - SEVEN

Brought down - THREE

Refused – ONE

One of the dead horses, , unseated his rider on his way down to the start and then was reluctant to walk close to the first fence before the race started. the first fence. Did the poor creature have a preminition?



Unseated riders - SEVEN

Brought down - THREE

Refused – ONE

One of the dead horses, , unseated his rider on his way down to the start and then was reluctant to walk close to the first fence before the race started. the first fence. Did the poor creature have a preminition?

I end up on the wrong side of a debate on Spiritualism... “Hereafter” not my cup of tea.... Topaz... Wise words from Jim Brown...

Sunday 11^th February I attended the AGM at The Glasgow Association.  (SNU)

 12^th it was voluntary work and then on to a discussion group where the topic for the evening “Do only the vulnerable in our society accept Spiritualism?”    More about this in a moment.

 14^th - A trip to Perth Spiritualist Church (SNU) where there is always a great welcome from Ivy & Co

 15^th – taking part with a few selected people in a “Psychometry experiment”.

 17^th - I took the second of my six workshops at Somerset Place. (SNU)

 18^th – I was off to Edinburgh Spiritualist Church (SNU) Albany Street.

 19^th -24^th – we took a small break and headed south east to Scarborough.

 The courtesy call I got to make sure I would fulfil my booking at a Debating Group should have left me a bit puzzled and I should have phoned back.  The secretary of the club chatted away about everything but what the debate was to be about.  My past visits to this club the themes have been loosely on Spiritualism and paranormal research, so maybe being a bit complacent I decided to go with the flow and did no preparation.

The secretary had been a bit devious in not giving me details of the evening, because even although the debate was about Spiritualism I was in the team trying to debunk our religion.  I was a bit uneasy about this but decided not to ask to change sides.  Gerry, the leader of the other team made in clear in the other debates that I attended with this group that he was against all religion.   So I would play it by ear and put as much effort into the debate as he did.  It turned out to be a most interesting evening as Gerry had put a lot of research into it and fought spiritualism’s corner well.   There could have been no better result at the end of the evening, seeing the change of roles, the vote was a tie and the chairman decided not to take the casting vote.

 I think it was a learning curve for the two of us who were ‘on the wrong side’ so to speak.  For the next few days I started looking at how those who cannot accept Spiritualism look at us and Gerry phoned me to say he was thinking in-depth in the opposite direction.

An unsigned email

Tom did you think the Clint Eastwood film “Hereafter” was anything like the real thing?

I seldom watch any TV programme or films that are connected with the spirit world.  Only two such pprogrammes that I watched were; -

 “Medium”, the first two series I felt were passable.  But after that I felt that each storyline had to be more successful that the last to keep good viewing figures. 

“ Ghost Whisperer” I also only watched the first two series but I did not abandon this programme because I felt it was going over the top it was more that I did not have time to watch television..

“The Lovely Bones” was the only film in this genre that I watched and I have no complaints about it.  I will just say say that it was thought provoking.

I find the real thing so much more interesting than fiction.

Maxine sent the following email

“My daughter is now the proud owner of her first pony and they will soon be taking part in pony club activities.  I am a bit concerned for both of them.   I remember reading that there is a semi-precious stone that protects both rider and horse.  Can you help me please”?

Hi Maxine.  Sorry I have taken so long to get back to you on this as it took some time to trace this stone, but I eventually found the stone you were thinking off.  It is Turquoise. 

European Spiritual Myths from as far back as the middle ages have   believed that this stone could protect horses from danger and illnesses as well as the rider from any fall that might occur while riding.

There are many spiritual myths about Turquoise from all around the world and you may wish to research the many properties turquoise is said to possess.

As promised - more wise words from Jim Brown...

We would become more content with our lives, so instead of facing the world with a dissatisfied mind that is continually crying out for more and better material things we will transform our attitude so that whatever situation we are in we can feel happy and contented and our life will be more meaningful.

 In learning about spiritualism and Spiritual Enfoldment we have to be very practical and to the point without getting distracted into useless speculation.

 For instance, take the story of the man who was run down by a car. Before consenting to have any treatment for his injuries he insisted in knowing the name of the car owner, the type of car and the make presumably to make a claim for compensation.

 Perhaps he would die before learning the answers to a lot of unhelpful information. The crucial thing for him at that time was to be treated for his injuries immediately to prevent further complications.

 Likewise, while we are engaged in the development and learning of our inner self, if we allow ourselves to be sidetracked by useless speculation about irrelevant subjects that we can’t possible answer immediately then we are impeding our own advancement. It is much wiser and beneficial to get on with what is important.

 In Buddhism, they have a little story of the three faulty pots which is used to explain how obstructions can obstruct the learning process.

The first pot is sitting upside down therefore; nothing can be poured into it. This is like trying to reading a book while watching the television.

 There are so many distractions from the television that very little of what is being read goes into the mind.

The second pot is sitting upright but has a hole in the bottom. Something can be poured in but it doesn’t stay there for long. The book may be read with little attention but if we are asked sometime later, what it was about, we can’t remember.

 The third pot is also sitting upright but this one is very dirty. If we were to pour clean, fresh milk into it would stay there but it would become undrinkable. This can be compared to filtering what we read, through our own preconceived ideas. We won’t understand the subject referred to because we have polluted it with our own misinterpretations. 

 It can be difficult to set aside our preconceptions because sometimes we aren’t always aware that our ideas are prejudiced.

 When we have understood the spiritual way in its own context then we will be more successful in seeing how it corresponds with philosophy and science and other religions.

We should learn and practice spirituality according to our own abilities so that we improve the quality of our lives. In this way, we will gradually come to understand and appreciate the teachings that may have seemed difficult or unimportant.

 The goal in spiritualism is simplicity and clarity. With simplicity, we leave behind hypocrisy and selfishness, therefore letting impartial love and compassion grow in our minds. With clarity, we abandon the confusion of ignorance replacing it with direct perception of reality.

I will close by saying to those of you, who are new to spiritualism and may wish to develop your own awareness of spirit, be dedicated to your studies and understand our teachings.

I am still waiting on background information on Jock McArther and Tilda Wilson...

Ordination of Minister Bill Thomson... SNU Ministers' Role... Why all Church mediums Should Sit Through an ordination Service... Gandhi's Seven Sins... A poem by Jackie McLaughlin...

February 24^th – 28^th I was at the Glasgow Association   (SNU) over the five days the medium is busy with four services Open Circle and private sittings on four of the five days.

1^st - March I was at the Blantyre Spiritualist Church.  A busy church with a very enthusiastic committee and a lot of talent in their development circle.

2^nd - was a full day of taking time for those who had contacted our churches for help or information.

3th- I was on a journey north to take the service at the Inverness Spiritualist Church (SNU).  This city in the north, in fact all around the north east of Scotland there are many devoted spiritualists.

7^th - my booking was cancelled so it let me put in a few extra hours voluntary work.

 While at the Glasgow Association of Spiritualists on the 25^th I waited on after the morning sittings as we were invited to a very special service.  Minister Bill Thomson’s Ordination Service.  Bill is the Spiritualist National Union’s latest minister.

Many people will be surprised that there is such a thing as Spiritualist Ministers, there are, although not enough.

Since 1939 the SNU has been legally recognized by the Home Office to appoint people who demonstrate the right characteristics to hold the highest office within SNU Spiritualism.

The Ministership of the SNU is granted to those who have been selected as worthy to represent Spiritualism by their educational qualifications, practical ability and good example they give as Ministers of Religion.

Our Ministers have the same rights and privileges as any other Minister of Religion. The Ministry is administrated by the Ministers Administrative Committee under the direct control of the National Executive Committee of the SNU.

There are both Ministers and Officiants (registered as Celebrants in Scotland) who work within the SNU Ministry

Duties of Ministers are:

§  To act as ambassadors for Spiritualism at all times

§  To actively promote Spiritualism

§  To conduct all Spiritualist Official Services on request

§  To advise SNU churches on request regarding all matters

§  To provide advice to individuals as required.

§  To train prospective Ministers and Officiants

§  Visiting prisoners as part of the prison Chaplaincy

§  Visiting hospitals in a Chaplaincy role

§  Providing a Chaplaincy service within the Armed forces

§  Where specifically trained to provide counseling services to individuals

§  To sign and authorize passports and other legal documents as defined by the Home Office.

One of the major roles within the Ministry is prison and hospital visiting and their importance cannot be over stated. The needs Spiritual of prisoners are often complex and demanding. It is their job to act as a spiritual advisor, to help the prisoner cope with life under very difficult circumstances. Also, by teaching them Spiritualist philosophy, it may be helping them not to re-offend when they are eventually released into the community.

Within hospitals the role is just as demanding, as part of the Chaplaincy team our Ministers may be called upon to administer prayer, advice on all aspects of death and what the patient believes follows, but our Ministers role is to try and remove the fears associated with actual physical death by increasing the understanding of the patient. More demanding are the responsibilities to the relatives of patients, our Ministers have to show unending patience and understanding to relatives mindful of never denigrating any other faith or belief system.

Additionally a significant part of the role in hospital can be removing prejudice from patients and hospital staff alike, patience and understanding of all individuals’ beliefs is a major attribute of our Ministers.

Officiant of the SNU (OSNU)

The appointment of Officiant is granted to those who have completed relevant courses of study and who are considered capable of conducting services such as marriages, funerals and naming ceremonies.

Duties of Officiants:

 To act as ambassadors for Spiritualism at all times

To conduct all Spiritualist Official services on request

Where qualified to visit prisoners as part of the Chaplaincy

Where qualified to visit hospitals as part of the Chaplaincy

To assist in the training of future Officiants.

 http://www.snu.org.uk/community/ministers/ministers.htm

 Why are there so few Spiritualist Ministers?

 With the SNU it is not just a few weeks of courses and then one is ordained as a Minister.  It is as one would expect a long journey from applying to be a Minister and actually being ordained.  A lot of time, effort, determination and frustration is what one is signing up for. But the end result is worth it for the person who completes the course successfully, for Spiritualism and for those that the minister will help throughout his Ministry career. 

 Few can spare the time with bringing up a family, work commitments and other situations that befall us in today’s rat race.  So although there will be new minister being ordained I cannot see the numbers increase dramatically in the next few years.

Bill Thomson is a Glasgow lad who became aware of spirit at the age of ten and went to his first spiritualist church, Kilmarnock Spiritualist Church two years later.  Bill left Glasgow at the age of 16 and joined the army where he stayed for 14 years. After the passing of Bill’s parents he returned to Glasgow and took up the reins of developing his abilities as a medium by joining the Glasgow Association of Spiritualists where much of his development was done Bill also served on the committee of the Glasgow Association for 10 years as a member and also as a vice president.

As well as being a Minister of the Spiritualist National Union, which is the highest appointment within the SNU,  he has achieved a great variety of awards with the Spiritualist National Union holding Diplomas in Public Speaking and academic B - Foundation, as well as Certificates of Recognition in Public Speaking and Demonstration.

 Bill’s achievements don’t end there, as he is an approved tutor of the Arthur Findlay College at Stanstead and gives courses at the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Centre in Edinburgh.

 I am sure we all wish Bill well on his new path in this life.

 Bill’s website is at http://www.thomson-medium.co.uk/

 I feel that the SNU’s Ordination Service is one that all church mediums should sit through.  To show that standing on the platform is not just a step in the direction of fame and fortune but that spiritualism the religion is judged by their actions on and off the platform.

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I had planned in this blog to mention a bit about the lives of two great stalwarts of our religion Jock McArhur and Tilda Wilson from Fife who both passed away last month.    But I have decided that a member of ASK Dunfermline would be better commenting on the lives of these two great ambassadors for spirit.  

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It does not bear thinking about, the trauma that the parents of those children who were in the Belgium coach crash in Switzerland are going through at this moment.    The Situation was made much worse by the length of time the parents had to wait before knowing what children had survived or not.  This incident is always a parent’s worst nightmare.

We must not forget the adults killed in the crash as most if not all of them, they will have children who are grieving at the loss of a father our mother.  I am sure we all pray that those who have survived the crash soon recover form their physical injuries. 

I am sure that those who have lost a family member or friend will get all the support they need from those around them and from the spirit world.  Let us hope that the media gives them all the privacy that they need at this time.

Spiritualism A Religion? / What Can Spiritualism Do For Me? / Mrs. Primrose / Respect For The Disable.

The 11^th February saw me taking the first of six workshops at the Glasgow Association.   Everyone attending was most enthusiastic to learn about and enhancing their psychic abilities.

13^th it was a short distance for an evening of clairvoyance at Kilmarnock Spiritualist Church.  That evening the church made a presentation to the McMillan Nurses.   The £371 was collected from a charity tray that churchgoers gave generously too over a period of time.

The 14^th it was again only a few miles up the road, this time to ASK Neilston.   Sheila Caruthers is President and with her committee has put a lot of hard work into making is church a success.

15^th saw me giving a talk on Spiritual Healing

20^th – again mostly short distances to travel this month and this time my destination was to the very busy Saltcoats Spiritualist Church.  This was one of the first churches I took a service and about 17-years ago.

21^st  A little further but not too far to ASK Cumbernauld where there is almost a full house each week.

February saw two great ambassadors for spirit move over to the spirit world.- Jock McArthur and Tilda Wilson both from Fife.  I will write more about them in my next blog.

Doug writes; - “What can Spiritualism do for me?”

 
Doug Spiritualism can

  Remove the fear of death

Comfort the bereaved

Demonstrate the truth of survival and communication

Give healing to the sick and hope to the lonely

Reveal a new meaning and purpose to life

  Over the next few weeks I will take each of these points one at a time and give my views on them

 Sandra comments: -

“I find it very difficult to comprehend the belief of Spiritualism as a religion. If it could be viewed more as a far better way of life it would probably be better understood and accepted”.

Hi Sandra. 

 I can understand where you are coming from.  I am involved with people on a regular basis who want to know more about spiritualism etc and the part they find hard to accept is that spiritualism is a religion.

 Since the passing of "The Fraudulent Mediums Act" in 1951, Spiritualism has been a legally recognized and protected religion in the United Kingdom.  Spiritualism is a way of life. It combines philosophy, science and religion. It covers a very wide field, and, therefore, you cannot expect to understand it without a certain amount of study.   Personally I look on spiritualism as a religion and a way of life.

The surname “Primrose” is not too common a name.  In fact in the US there are just over 1,200 with this surname and its popularity rating is way down at 20,267.  I was surprised to find the surname is of pure Scottish origin and derives from 'the lands of primrose' in Dunfermline.

Yet this surname is well known in Glasgow and the west of Scotland, especially by those who have even showed only the the slightest interest in Spiritualism.  This is down to Mrs. Jean Primrose, affectionately know and “Primmie”.  Jean was an accomplished and respected medium for over sixty years.  Many of those years were when our religion was not as well accepted as it is today.  Many who met Mrs. Primrose believed that the simple foundation for her accomplishment with the spirit world began with her loving and caring personality.

I did not meet Jean but those who have, tell me that at the first impression of her was how unassuming person she was.  No need for stage effects or flashy showmanship, it was her quiet determination and welcoming disposition which shone through.

Mrs. Primrose was referred to in more than one media article as “The Florence Nightingale of the Spirit World”.  She was a leading member of the Greater World Christian Spiritualist Association.

Her church is still going strong under the care of her daughter  May Primrose.

THE JEAN PRIMROSE C.S. CHURCH
The Fred Paton Day Care Centre
19 Carrington Street
Glasgow
G4 9AJ

On the way home on Friday evening I was listening to Stephen Nolan programme on BBC’s Five-Live.

All who  were tuned in must have been near to tears as they listened to a cardiologist described how his life was ruined after being blinded in an attack fourteen years ago.  He told how he was ignored by friends and colleagues after losing his sight.  He spoke to Stephen in response to the death of PC Rathband who struggled to come to terms with his blindness after being shot.

Both the cardiologist and PC Rathband had so much experience in their chosen profession that surely there was some capacity that both could have given a lot back to society.  Surely employers and in fact all of us can do more for those who are in similar positions as these two gentlemen?

There are many who feel uneasy or uncomfortable around disabled people, I was like this in a way at one time.  I think that most of us in this position are afraid to disrespect the person by saying the wrong thing or acting the wrong way, and not because of their disability.   I remember feeling guilty for days after a conversation with a blind gentleman.  During our conversation I could have bit my lip when I said

“I see that the roads are finally getting around to filling the pot holes in”. 

Then when he was talking about a Panorama programme I said

“Did you see the programme two weeks ago?”

After that I never felt comfortable around Archie, not because of his disability but in case I would come out with the wrong choice of words.

A friend who has worked all her life with the disabled has often said one, of the worst things we can while in the company of a disabled person is to avoid speaking to them, perhaps instead speaking to everyone else that is accompanying the person. Instead, speak to the disabled person and make direct eye contact. Avoid discussing the person’s disability; there are lots of other things to talk about! Speak to disabled adults just as you would speak to anyone else.  It is so disrespectful to ignore them.

 Be Patient.  If the disabled person has a speech problem, be patient and listen carefully, giving the person your undivided attention. If you don’t understand what is being said, simply ask!   Do not pretend to know what was said as it could bite you back. Don’t be afraid to ask the person to offer some paper and a pen for them to write down what they are trying to say. When done in a polite manner, there will be no uncomfortable feelings.

 I get very angry when I see people parking in Disabled Parking Bays.
Don’t ever park in a handicapped parking spot, even if you will only be gone for a moment. It only takes a moment for a disabled person to arrive and find no place to park. For that matter, we should always leave handicapped restroom facilities and handicapped seating on transportation vacant so a handicapped person will not have trouble accessing a seat.

 A few months ago I saw a rumpus in a car park.  A disabled lady could not get into a designated disabled parking bay and had to park some distance away.  She fell leaving the car park but luckily did not injure herself.   Those around got angry and approached the driver of a small sports car in the disabled parking bay.    He was not interested and said “For all you know I could be disabled as well and left my blue badge at home”.   That could be correct but in forgetting his badge he had no right to park in those designated bays.    He had been jogging around the car park and on returning to his car was doing press-ups. 

 Never assume anything about a disabled person’s strengths or limitations. Someone in a wheelchair is not always paralyzed. Someone that has speech impairment or a body impediment is not always mentally impaired. If you are in doubt, simply ask the person in a gentle and caring way.

 All common sense.....................