THURSDAY 8th MAY 2014 07:47 BST

NEW BOOK AVAILABLE NOW!! - ENLIGHTENMENT FOR ORDINARY FOLK

FOR MORE BITE-SIZED WISDOM, CHECK OUT MY TUMBLR PAGE

FOR PERSONAL ISSUES, OR TO FIND OUT WHAT I DO, WHY NOT CHECK OUT MY WEBSITE

1. THIS DAY IN WORLD WAR 2 (8th May 1944)
On the Russian Front...
Soviet 4th Ukrainian Front fights its way into Sevastopol. With Hitler's belated approval, second phase of naval evacuation of Axis troops from the Crimea commences.

Kriegsmarine patrol vessel V-1701 is sunk by Soviet aircraft in the Baltic Sea

In the English Channel...
German vessel Bizon sunk by Free French MTBs off the Channel Islands

In London...
D-Day is fixed for 5th June.

In Washington DC...
Lend-Lease is renewed until June 1945

In Newport News, Virginia...
USN aircraft carrier USS Ticonderoga is commissioned 

In the Pacific...
Japanese vessel Miyazaki Maru is sunk by USN submarine Tautog 

In China...
Operation Ko-Go (Peking-Hankow Operation): 
65th Infantry Division of Japanese 13th Army, having completed diversionary raid, begins withdrawing from Liushihlipu
27th Infantry Division of Japanese 12th Army captures Yencheng
Japanese 12th Army attacks 13th Army and 29th Army of Chinese 31st Army Group around Taying 

In Burma...
Chinese 88th Infantry Regiment unsuccessfully attacks Ritpong 
Chinese 114th Infantry Regiment advancing toward Kamaing 

Today's Air Raids...
Berlin, Brunswick and Brandenberg, Germany by US 8th Air Force. The Luftwaffe loses an unsustainable 51 fighters.
Osnabruk, Germany by RAF Bomber Command
Brussels, Belgium by US 8th Air Force
Belgium on transport infrastructure by US 9th Air Force
La Glacerie and V-Weapons sites in France by US 8th Air Force
Northern France on transport infrastructure and military targets by US 9th Air Force
Northern France military targets by RAF 2nd Tactical Air Force
Haine-St-Pierre, Brest, Morsalines, Bernaval and Cape Griz Nez, France by RAF Bomber Command
North Sea Minelaying by RAF Bomber Command
Ponape Island, Truk Atoll, Jaluit Atoll, and Wotje Atoll  by US 7th Air Force 
Bougainville Island and Buka Island by US 13th Air Force
Rabaul and military targets on New Britain by US 13th Air Force
Biak Island and military targets on New Guinea by US 5th Air Force
Buthidaung, Burma by US 10th Air Force
Imphal, India on Japanese positions by US 10th Air Force

2. TODAY IN MY LIFE
Blogging
Meditation/Me Time
Housework
Quality Missus Time

Twitter Followers = 1,730 (no change)
Nonfollowed eliminated = 0
Unfollowers eliminated = 0
New followers = 0

3. TODAY'S SELF-OBSERVATION
One thing I know only too well regarding mental issues is that there is, with the exception of phobias, no cure. I'd love to be able to deliver cures, to myself and my clients if there were any. However, therapy and disciplines can at least deliver effective management, so that your issues stop ruining your life.

There are things I must do, places I need to be and things and places I need to avoid if I am to keep functional. If things go really well for a while you can fool yourself into believing that you are cured. A Manager From Hell at the Weekend Job and a run of bad luck on yesterday's shopping run has brought me back to Earth with a thud!

Fortunately the techniques and practices I have learned mean that I can recover much quicker than in previous times. In addition, occasionally being tripped up by your issues prompts you to adapt, re-learn and rediscover practices to suit the circumstances.

I have had to accept that put in the wrong circumstances, I will be broken and behave badly, and the circumstances I face are not things I can predict or control. In the end, life is about responding in the best way you can to the circumstances, both external and internal that you are dealt. 

There is always the possibility of catastrophic failure - that can and does happen to people. Whether the best or worst happens, I intend to make the most positive difference that I can, to myself, others and the environment.

4. TODAY'S QUESTION FOR YOU
How well do you know yourself?

5. TODAY'S WEATHER IN BRADFORD
Dry and cloudy start
Light rain arrives in the afternoon and will persist into early evening
Dry thereafter until morning
A moderate westerly or south-westerly will blow throughout
Max Temp = 11 degC
Min Temp = 9 degC
Sunrise at 05:18
Sunset at 20:50

6. TODAY'S ONELINER
Tomorrow I’m going to write a blog post about procrastination. :D

7. NOW THAT'S FUNNY!  
Trevor Noah Live at the Apollo

8. TRIVIA
In 2009, a sixteenth-century female skull with a rock wedged in its mouth was found near the remains of plague victims. It was not unusual during that century to shove a rock or brick in the mouth of a suspected vampire to prevent it from feeding on the bodies of other plague victims or attacking the living. Female vampires were also often blamed for spreading the bubonic plague throughout Europe. 

9. ZEN WISDOM
Everything begins with the resolve to take the first step. From that action, wisdom arises and change begins.