The Best Free Training

Reviews of Some of the Best Free Tutorials, Classes, Self-Study Materials, Videos, Audios, and More.

June 18th, 2009

A Bunch of Boredom Breakers for Kids on Summer Vacation

Kids complaining about nothing to do this summer? Then this collection of posts from The Best Free Training (originally published last December) may be worth a second look:

The First Annual Kid Stuff Collection

Cover: Best Free Training for Kids

This is a PDF file containing 62 reviews and articles (more than 140 pages!) focusing on free training and educational resources for kids of all ages, from pre-school through college. Reviews include “hot links” so you can click & go directly to the resource’s website. Categories in this collection include:

ENJOY!!

June 11th, 2009

WordPress.tv: Free Tutorials & More for WordPress bloggers

Topic: Technical and not-so-technical info & how-to guides to help WordPress bloggers
Format:
Website with many, many videos and blog posts
Reviewer/email: Mike G – greers_pm@yahoo.com

WordPress is an open source (i.e., free) blog publishing application. And it’s also one of the most popular tools used by bloggers everywhere. Both of my blogs, The Best Free Training and Inspired Project Teams, have the powerful engines of WordPress running underneath their hoods. (Each of these blogs has a different “look and feel,” since each uses a different “theme” or layout/design scheme. But both are operational thanks to WordPress.)

WordPress is also a community of hard-working and dedicated folks who create, maintain, and help each other use the many tools and add-on stuff that has grown up around this amazing application. And, as if it’s not enough that these dedicated people keep WordPress running & free, they have now launched a giant collection of free video resources for all us WordPress bloggers.

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June 2nd, 2009

Beginner’s Guide to Meditation: Part 2, Free Tools from Jet City Orange

Topic: Introductory information about meditation and a collection of tools to help newcomers learn to meditate
Format: Web site with overviews, practical advice, and many downloadable audio/MP3 files
Reviewer/email: Mike G – greers_pm@yahoo.com

Jerry Whiting’s Jet City Orange website is a great source of straightforward, practical information about the secular practice of meditation. And it includes an extensive collection of free tools in the form of audio (MP3) files to help you get started with your own meditation practice. No particular religious perspective is reflected in these tools.

To see a more extensive list of the great resources available at this website, click “Read the rest of this entry... below.

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June 2nd, 2009

Beginner’s Guide to Meditation: Part 1, Jon Kabat-Zinn & Mindfulness

Topic: Mindfulness & meditation for beginners
Format: Blog post & 22 minute podcast profiling Jon Kabat-Zinn’s approach to mindfulness (an excellent starting point for learning to meditate) & links to many supporting resources and guided meditation audios
Reviewer/email: Mike G – greers_pm@yahoo.com

According to Jon Kabat-Zinn, with mindfulness meditation:  “You’re not trying to put yourself into some kind of calm stupor, but a vivid and lucid awareness of what’s actually unfolding moment by moment… you’re very alert!” Now I’m fairly new at the practice of meditation. But one thing I know for sure is that Jon Kabat-Zinn is the most sensible, down-to-earth voice that I’ve heard among the many meditation advocates.  In this post (also a 22 minute podcast) on my Inspired Project Teams blog, I provide an overview of mindfulness and the practice of mindful meditation from his perspective. At the end of the post are many links to related resources, including guided meditation audios.

So, if you’ve been wondering about meditation or the practice of mindfulness, or if you’ve been looking for a practical, no-nonsense approach to help you learn how to meditate, this blog post and podcast is for you. (Also available on iTunes.)

Inspired Project Teams post & 22 min. podcast “Practice Mindfulness” — http://www.inspiredprojectteams.com/?p=766

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