Lagerstromia speciosa

Lagerstroemia speciosa is the botanical name of the plant called by many names, Giant Myrtle, Queen's Myrtle and Pride of India are the most common names. It has masses of purple flowers during the wet season and purple and red leaves in the dry season.

This plant grows 10m in height and 8-10m in width. It is a deciduous tree that requires full sun yet can grow in most soils but has a low salt tolerance.

Gods And Goddesses: Omecihuatl

Omecihuatl is the Aztec goddess of creation and wife of Ometecuhtli. She  lived in the highest heaven Omeyocan with Ometecuhtli. Her name means "Lady of Duality".

Originally there was no light, but Omecihuatl and Ometecuhtli could sometimes see the light of the eyes of the monsters. Omecihuatl one day touched a monster and it turned into a star, from then forth she and Ometecuhtli touched whatever monster they could find. This filled the sky with stars and the heavens with light. After this, the two decided to have children. They had four sons, Quetzalcoatl, Xipetotec, Tezcatlipoca and Huitzilopochtli, whom created the earth with one of the remaining monsters. Omecihuatl and Ometecuhtli were happy with the work of their sons and sent drops of light to earth to be the souls of children.

Totem: Ferret

The ferret is a domesticated animal who are territorial but can live in social groups known as a "business". They hiss when agitated or threatened. Ferrets can be trained.

This totem teaches to be like it, nimble and quick. This is for avoiding danger and any threats over causing harm. The ferret shall teach to use manoeuvring to give advantage.

It is taught not to repeat gossip as it can cause harm. Gossip doesn't benefit as it can easily be a lie or a misunderstanding.

The ferret totem teaches to be prepared for situations that may appear, to be prepared for hardships. That occur and can be devastating when there is no preparedness for it.

Chives

Allium schoenoprasum is the botanical name of the perennial plant commonly called Chives. It is a herb used by many and can be used to cook with. It grows 30cm in height and width and has insect repelling properties, making it even more useful for gardeners.

It requires full sun and it blooms purple flowers. When the flowers go past their prime the plant can be cut back to the ground and it'll reshoot soon after. Chives is a low maintenance plant with tolerance to drought and easy to germinate from seed. Its hardiness allows it to grow in acidic, alkaline or neutral and loam, sand and clay soils.

Gods And Goddesses: Jurojin

A god of longevity, good luck and wisdom, Jurojin is one of Japans's Seven Lucky Gods whom is also referred to as Gama. He is a lover of wine and has a fondness for the company of women. He is depicted as an old man with a long beard and a staff with a scroll tied to it. Jurojin is often accompanied by a deer, stag, crane or tortoise, symbols of longevity. He is sometimes confused with Fukurokuju, another one of the Seven Lucky Gods.

Totem: Octopus

The octopus is a creature of the depths with its eight arms and a flexible body. It is a diverse animal, with many species that contain 300 recognized. This animal can be found in many regions of the ocean depths.

The octopus teaches how to achieve and gain using intellect as efficient as possible. It is intelligence which gives allowance to figure out how to achieve or gain what is wanted, being efficient allows it to be done well and quickly .

It is also taught to use intelligence and stealth in one's own endeavours, to camouflage the endeavours until we have what we gain the wanted results.

Work is certainly important, yet overwork can occur. The octopus reminds not to so deeply immerse into  something that harm comes upon ourselves, rather take cares of ourself.

Rock Rose

Rock Rose is an evergreen plant that grows white flowers with bright yellow stamens in the summer. Botanically they are called Cistus x dansereaui and is a good plant for a small garden, growing 1.5m in height and width.

This plant is hardy and drought resistant, but requires full sun. Rock rose also has a preference to garden beds which are well-drained and dry. Soils that can be used can be either clay, loam or sand and the pH can be either alkaline, neutral or acid.

Gods And Goddesses: Fukurokuju

Fukurokuju is one of the Seven Lucky Gods of Japan and is said to be the Chinese gods Fu, Lu and Shou as one deity, whom Fukurokuju takes the appearance most like Shou with a prolonged bald head, facial hair and staff.

He is the god of wealth, happiness and longevity plus a personification of the Southern Pole Star. Fukurokuju is the only one of the Seven Lucky Gods of Japan who is said to be able to revive the dead and is considered an immortal. He is sometimes confused with Juroujin who is said by some to be his grandson.

Totem: Anteater

The anteater is a mostly solitary and nocturnal animal who can be found in various living conditions. It consumes termites using its tongue covered in sticky saliva.

This animal teaches that working alone on occasion, especially to work on an aspect of the self, can be a positive force in ones life.

To do what is natural is taught by the anteater, promotion of finding out what doesn't cause upset for the self and of others goes along with the teaching of doing what is natural.

The anteater teaches that one should be prepared to look for the best results, to dig around, as it may be difficult to do so and may take some time. The best results may be hidden but it can be found eventually.

White Ginger

Hedychium coronarium is the botanical name of a plant commonly called White Ginger and White Butterfly. It is the national flower of Cuba. It grows up to 2m tall and 1.5m wide, requiring partial sun. It flourishes in shady, well watered areas. Of the Hedychium's, it has the largest flowers and is the most fragrant.

It is a hardy plant with a preference for partial sun but can grow in full sun. It should be kept wet and can be grown purely in water. Old stems should be removed after flowering for the purpose of promoting new growth. Propagation can be done by dividing its rhizomes.

Gods And Goddesses: Tezcatlipoca

Tezcatlipoca is the god the night sky and is a son of Ometeotl. He has multiple epithets including Titlacauan ("We are his slaves"), Ilhuicahua Tlalrixpaque ("Possessor of the Sky and Earth"), Ome Acatl ("Two Reed"), Ipalnemoani ("He by whom we live"), Yohualli Eecatl ("Night Wind"), Tloque Nahuaque ("Lord of the Near and the Nigh") and Necoc Yaotl ("Enemy of Both Sides"). A mirror is also carried a mirror that gave of smoke and was used to kill enemies.

The festival Toxcatl was held in dedication to Tezcatlipoca, this featured a sacrifice of a man who had impersonating Tezcatlipoca for a year. He is the ruler of the day Acatl and rules over days with the number ten.

He is a god of creaion and is known as Ipalnemoani for this. His opposite is he god Quetzalcoatl, who the two created the world. It is due to this that Tezcatlipoca lost a foot using it as bait for a monster.

Totem: Whale

Whales are the mammals of the see whom sing, their method of communication are known for their beauty.

Culture means much to many people, the whale teaches to value it and the subcultures that may be within. It is also through culture that the whale gives teachings to be open minded and to give acceptance and tolerance of other people.

The whale tells to awaken personal creativity, to become a part of a world of imagination formed by creativity. However, it is warned to not get lost in this world of imagination.

Drunken Parrot Tree

Schotia brachypetala is said to cause parrots to get drunk from its fermenting nectar produced by this tree, leading to its common name of Drunken Parrot Tree. It grows up to 16m in height and 15m in width.

It is an easy to grow plant that begins to grow flowers when it is relatively young. If grown in warm weather with sandy soils, with plenty of water and in a frost free area it grows fast. The drunken parrot tree can easily be grown from seed and should in sown from spring to early summer. It is hardy in poor soils and very dry conditions.

Tips on Street Preaching

A lovely little thing that occurs is street preaching and something I have not seen one for a while. A few months ago by now a person preaching gave me a little card saying I have the choice to go to Heaven or Hell. I reminded myself of this card and took a bit of time to think, a lot of the street preachers I have came across seem rather weak in their arguments and preparedness, leaving little to no impressions. For this reason, I'll try to give Christian's some advice as to how to be better at preaching.

If there is one thing that should certainly be done, it is to not threaten with Hell as punishment. This is probably done too often, especially without mentioning the rewards of being a good Christian. Why not tell people what will happen if they convert to Christianity and behave as what a Christian should according to the Bible? Besides this, a lot of people do not believe in Hell, so threatening them with such makes the threat void.

With trying to induce fear, a lot of people won't fall for it. Going up to me and saying I will go to Hell isn't going to make me soil myself in fear of punishment. If anything, straight out going up to a person and saying they'll go to Hell is not a good idea as one street preacher thought it would be. I thought it was rude and just moved on without saying a word to him, other people may not be so forgiving.

I have talked to a few street preachers, but with some they show absolute ignorance of other religions. A preacher once asked if I believed in God and when I told him "No" he immediately asked if I was a Muslim. This man obviously doesn't know what he is doing. Anyone who understands Islam know Muslims believe in God, so this preacher immediately lost credibility. People may not have an experts knowledge on a religion but many will not be stupid enough to miss a lie or mistake told about a religion. So learn about other religions, it will create knowledge and it gives a good impression.

If anything makes people want to punch a person in the face or verbally beat them senseless is insults. All insults will do is create unneeded tensions and confrontations, so avoid insulting anyone or anything (especially religions in general and peoples personal beliefs). It looks petty, and like with telling a lie or making a mistake it can make credibility disappear quickly.

There is always that one person with strong faith in their beliefs, sadly some Christians believe only followers of Christ can hold strong faith. This isn't the case and stating so can be an easy way to begin a fight. There are many non-Christians who hold their beliefs in high faith, so if such a person comes along pushing their buttons won't be a way to convince the person to convert.

Many preachers I have come across seem to have wanted to show an imaginary badge, that they are Christians and this somehow makes them important. It is overall just an arrogant feel and makes them seem the opposite of genuine when it comes to the concern of a persons afterlife. When a preacher is genuine in trying to convert people to Christianity, it should show. If a person cannot be genuine when they preach their religion, either they need to assess what they are doing or find something better to do.

Many people haven't read the Bible, with Christian's in particular having a reputation for this. Others lack of reading and even knowledge of the Bible isn't an excuse to be lazy. If street preaching is to be done, constant studying of the Bible is going to be a must to gain great knowledge of the texts contained within. Knowing a verse or two isn't going to help when asked about such things as punishing children with death (Leviticus 20:9, Exodus 21:15) or how new ethnicities can arise through incest (Genesis 19:30-38).

A personal pet peeve of mine is when street preachers use their young children to preach, this is mainly done not by them talking about the Bible but rather handing out pamphlets. Asking difficult questions is going to happen eventually, and the kid will likely be unable to give a proper answer due to a lack of understanding of the Bible thanks to one factor, young age. Doing such a thing can look very lazy and seem irresponsible as a person can potentially give a very negative response. Preaching should probably be left to the teenagers and adults, as both are a lot more likely be able to properly understand what the Bible states.

Hopefully this will be useful for whatever street preacher that may read this. It is probably strange for a non-Christian to give advice on how to convert people to Christianity, but sharing information, giving tips and helping one another shouldn't be restrained based on differing views.