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Records indicate that soap making began as far back as 2,800 B.C. Inscriptions discovered on the sides of clay cylinders excavated from the ruins of ancient Babylon describe the boiling of fats with ashes. Unfortunately the inscriptions do not describe the use of the mixture.

Ancient Egyptians are known to have bathed regularly, a medical Papyrus from about 1,500 B.C. describes the mixture of oils with alkaline salts to form a soap-like mixture used both for washing and treating skin conditions.

According to an ancient Roman legend, soap got its name from Mount Sapo, where the practice of animal sacrifice was carried out. It is said that the rain then washed the mixture of animal fat and ashes down through the clay soil into river Tiber, where women found that the mixture made their washing cleaner and did so with much less effort.

Today the chemical reaction resulting from the combination of fats or oils with an alkaline is still called saponification.

By the seventh century soap making had become an established craft in Europe. Trade secrets were closely guarded by soap maker guilds which developed during the period. Vegetable and animal oils were used with ashes of plants, and fragrances were added. Gradually more varieties of soap became available for bathing, laundering, shaving and shampooing.

Gary Everson is the Soap Business Guru. In his new e-book: “Soap Making for Profit” he describes in clear, step by step terms how to turn an enjoyable and creative hobby into a profitable business.

Copyright © 2006 Gary Everson

Poetry is very much an art. That means that writing poetry entails exploration and practice. More than that, though, the exploriation involved in writing poetry can be very enlightening. There are words that come easily to us, then there are those that take finesse, thought, and persistence to find. Those are the words that can oftentimes be burried beneath your skin, deep behind the emotional conext of a larger situation.

There are many shades to each word, just as there are shades of each primary color that a painter uses. Sadness, for examples, is a word that is so large, that it cannot possible mean the same thing for every situation. That is why a poet uses images, figurative language, and other poetic skills to slice away at adjectives and abstract language. The poet digs between the meaning of certain words, and looks to unearth a meaning that does not exist in conventional language.

Exploring ways to define the different shades of words is an experience that, whether you write poetry simply for therapy, or you write poetry in hopes of one day being published, will help you to reach a direct path to heightened awareness. You will become more aware of your own thoughts, how you perceive them, and you will learn to read the meaning of simple objects and situations in your every day life.

Here are some basic exercises to get you thinking honestly about your writing.

Rewrite a classical poem using your own point of view. Play with perspective. Write it from the point of view of someone you know, or write it as a response to the original author.

Write a poem about yourself, but don’t show it to anyone. Here’s a basic template. Feel free to rewrite the lines, and don’t answer the blanks by writing the obvious. You should come up with something that resembles a poem, and perhaps if you are clever enough with the manipulation of it, it could very well be a poem. This exercise isn’t designed to create a masterpiece, rather, it is designed to show you the kind of poet you are.

When you are finished with this piece, not only will you see some details about yourself in general, but you can look at the way you manipulated the exercise to see a certain style. Ask yourself these questions: What kind of metaphors did I use? Did I completely change the direction it seemed this exercise was supposed to take me? How did I restructure the lines? Did I add rhyme?

I Am: an exercise in poetic self actualization

My name is (first name).

When I was (child age) I […].

When I was (older age) I […].

I’ve always wanted to […],

but when I turned (age), I […].

My thoughts are like a […],

they [verb] like […].

My skin is […]

I’m wrapped in a […].

I ripped myself from […],

when I was (age).

Even when I turned (age),

I knew that […],

I know for sure that […].

Now I […].

I am […],

(Last name).

Write a letter to some object. Throughout our daily routines, there are objects that we see that have some kind of effect on us. Of course letters and special momentos have significant meaning for us, but have you ever been caught up in thought about a particular item that doesn’t fit into the momento category? That’s what you will write a letter to.

Again, this exercise isn’t designed to create a masterpiece. It is more of a self-defining process. As with the other exercises, you might end up with something that could be considered a good poem, but the idea is to make you see how you observe the things around you. Keep a notebook handy with you throughout the next day, week, or month. The next time you drive to work, take your kids to the park, or go to a grocery store, keep mindful of the way you percieve ordinary things.

In summary, there really is no such thing as good or bad poetry, only undiscovered poetry. Simply writing down what you think sounds poetic won’t reach the audience, and it won’t do anything for you. You do need to dig around, scratch your skin until it bleeds. Then and only then will a true poem surface.

The process of writing one poem may take you a day, or it may take you a year. Finding the rawness of your poetry is as enlightening as discovering the meaning of life.

Devrie Paradowski is the author of “A Ray Squeezed Through,” http://www.lulu.com/content/139977 a weird combination of dirt smudged poetry, failed attempts at self discovery, and awesome mistakes. Visit her literary website at http://www.literaryescape.com or chance a visit at the poetry exercise website, http://www.poetryexercises.org