Author Archives: marcia

The Dalai Lama on Immigration

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The Dalai Lama Speaks the Uncomfortable Truth about Immigration

Dalai LamaAlex Pietrowski, Staff
Waking Times

When a refugee crisis of such magnitude as the mass exodus from Syria occurs, it tends to draw out both the best and worst qualities of people. The progressive, humanitarian angle on a situation like this is to take the high of road of offering solace and aid to as many suffering people as possible. An understandable expression of human compassion, however, on the other hand, as a means of protecting and preserving their individual customs and culture, nationalistic movements come out swinging for an end to such destructive immigration policies.

Immigration is being used as a political weapon to destabilize the West. Western governments and political leaders are deliberately permitting unlimited unreasonable amounts of legal and illegal immigration as well as accepting hundreds of thousands of refugees from Muslim nations into their own states. Additionally, radical Islam is admittedly using immigration into Western nations as a tactic to achieve the publicly stated and oft-repeated goal of conquering non-Muslim nations from within their own borders by simply outgrowing them.

Typically known for his peaceful spiritual guidance and leadership in our troubled world, the Dalai Lama recently chimed in with his thoughts about the present refugee crisis in Europe. Without going into too much detail, he stated the simple and unavoidable truth of the situation: immigration, both legal and illegal, is not always a good thing.

Speaking from Dharamsala in northern India where the Tibetan government resides in exile, the Dalai Lama began by reminding us of the compassion normal people feel when seeing such terrible suffering as is happening in Syria and around the Middle East.

“When we look into the face of every single refugee, especially the children and women, we can feel their suffering.” – The Dalai Lama

He went a bit further then, commenting on our inherent human duty to help others, but pointing out that a even a policy of compassion has its limits:

“A human being who is a bit more fortunate has the duty to help them. On the other hand, there are too many now.”

Too many? As reported by RT, the refugee crisis is admitting so many people that there is no possible way to effectively integrate their wildly different political, social and religious beliefs into Europe. Regarding the Dalai Lama’s statements, RT notes:

“He said that countries taking in refugees should take a healthy look at the situation and realize that it’s not possible for all of the newcomers to be integrated into European society, stressing that the main goal for Europe’s leaders is to provide them with temporary shelter.” [Source]

In the age of political correctness and forced diversity, few in the corporate press are willing to speak on this unavoidable fact of life, but, people of different cultures have rarely historically been able to peacefully assimilate and combine their cultures, traditions and ways of life. The result is all too often conflict both political and physical, which we are already seeing spreading throughout Europe. In the present scenario, it is clear that many Muslim immigrants are not at all interested in assimilating into their refugee states, which is causing a clash of cultures.

The Dalai Lama touched on this issue, noting that the reality that unfettered immigration into Europe directly threatens to overpower long standing European culture:

“Europe, for example Germany, cannot become an Arab country. Germany is Germany… There are so many that in practice it becomes difficult.” – The Dalai Lama

The issue of immigration is complex and difficult, and even the most compassionate of leaders have little to say about an amicable and functional solution to the problem. While the Dalai Lama did indeed approach this issue with his comments, he offers no wisdom on how to manage the situation going forward, only stating the general sentiment that the immigration threatens Europe and that it should only be temporary.

The West, however is engaged in the mass destruction of the Middle East through the war on terror and the policies of regime change and nation-building. This offers little hope that refugee immigrants will have a livable place to return to any time soon.

We’re already see the first serious signs of the effects of weaponized immigration into Europe, and in some areas, major physical conflicts and dangerous lawlessness are already happening. Take, for example, recent footage from France that shows wild mobs of immigrants disrupting transit and attacking, robbing and vandalizing people.

Events of this nature add to testimony against policies of diversity and political correctness, which aim to conceal the truth and shame people into moulding their personal views and statements around the political agenda of the elite. You are not racist, nor are you xenophobic to speak the truth about the negative effects of uncontrolled immigration.

For someone in a position of spiritual leadership as is the Dalai Lama, it is rather incredible to hear truthful statements that speak to the fact that in order for human compassion to be of value to those who need it, there must be limits to protect those who are in a position to offer aid and solace. 

Peace is just not possible in a lawless environment where people of conflicting cultures are forced to coexist when neither group would have chosen to do so if not coerced to do so by agenda-driven politics.

For a broader perspective on the European immigration crisis and how it is affecting communities around Europe, take a look a this video of compiled footage of the immigration crisis in Europe.

From:    http://www.wakingtimes.com/2016/06/23/dalai-lama-speaks-uncomfortable-truth-immigration/

Fewer Civil Liberties! Why?

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As always, do your research:

Meet the Senators who recently voted to destroy your civil liberties

There were a few handful of Republicans who voted against it, and they should be commended

By Michael Kriegar –

Yesterday, I published a post warning about an amendment to be put up for a vote in the U.S. Senate that would severely harm the civil liberties of American citizens. I was very disappointed to see an unusually low amount of reads on that particular post, which came in well below average despite being such an important issue.

Well it turns out John McCain’s amendment 4787 came up for a vote earlier today, and it was stopped by one vote. Yes, by one vote.

So what’s at stake? Let’s review an excerpt from yesterday’s post, Republican Senators Use Orlando Shooting to Push for Increased Government Spying Powers:

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell set up a vote late on Monday to expand the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s authority to use a secretive surveillance order without a warrant to include email metadata and some browsing history information.

The amendment would broaden the FBI’s authority to use so-called National Security Letters to include electronic communications transaction records such as time stamps of emails and the emails’ senders and recipients.

NSLs do not require a warrant and are almost always accompanied by a gag order preventing the service provider from sharing the request with a targeted user.

Sounds pretty important, but no one seemed to care yesterday. Fortunately, the vote (barely) went the right way, but Mitch McConnell switched his vote to NO at the end just so that he could regroup and push for another vote.

As US News reported:

Privacy-minded senators on Wednesday blocked an amendment that would give the FBI power to take internet records, including browser histories and email metadata, without a court order. But the victory may be fleeting.

Just one vote kept the measure from clearing a 60-vote procedural hurdle, and political arm-twisting may soon result in a second vote. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., switched his vote to “no” to allow reconsideration in the near future. That made the final tally 58-38, with four senators not voting.

As such, it’s very important that everyone understand where their Senators stand on this issue. Notably, Mr. fake “libertarian” Ted Cruz, who always pretends to care about civil liberties, voted in favor of giving the FBI more unconstitutional powers. There were a few handful of Republicans who voted against it, and they should be commended. They are:

Lisa Murkowski (Alaska)
Cory Gardner (Colorado)
Rand Paul (Kentucky)
Steve Daines (Montana)
Dean Heller (Nevada)
Mike Lee (Utah)

To find out how your Senator voted, click here, and let them know how you feel.

In Liberty,
Michael Krieger

from:     https://www.intellihub.com/meet-the-senators-who-recently-voted-to-destroy-your-civil-liberties/

EU Train to World Control

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Meanwhile, the news media and anti-EU politicians concentrated on the topic of immigration, leaving the general public in fear of increasing migrants who will drain the economy and swarm their towns (source).

This same fear mongering happened in Norway when they held a referendum in 1994 (source); yet Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland, as non-EU members within Europe, enjoy some of the highest living standards in the world.

Iceland was also the only country to put bankers in prison instead of bail them out (source) and Norway will ban the sale of all fossil fuel-based cars in the next decade (source).

But inside the EU, a member country has the ability to influence the laws of 507 million people. Surely it makes sense to be part of a group of nations working together for a shared common good?

How The EU Works

Let’s have a look at how the EU works:

First, there is the European Parliament, where MEPs are elected by the general public to represent them; their job is to vote for or against proposed new EU laws.

Next there is the European Council, where the nations’ leaders meet; yet their job is also not to propose new legislation.

That is the role of the European Commission, which consists of 28 commissioners — one for each member country. These people are not elected but chosen by each country’s current leader. It is these unelected commissioners who create the laws, not the leaders or MEPs we vote in.

It is also important to note that the 2007 Treaty of Lisbon replaced all previous treaties as the new EU constitution; in this treaty, it is also almost impossible for any country to petition a law once it has been put in force (source).

The ERT

So where are these Commissioners getting their ideas for the laws? They come from the The European Round Table of Industrialists. The ERT consists of “around 50 Chief Executives and Chairmen of major multinational companies” and the ERT was formed with the express intention of shaping and furthering EU integration (source).

For example, in January 1985, the ERT presented “Europe 1990 – an agenda for action,” an action plan for the single market; 10 days later Jacques Delors, the new President of the Commission, gave his speech about the single market in parliament, and in June 1985, the Single Market White Paper was published, which was a copy and paste from the ERT action plan (source).

Today the ERT have a website, but in the 1990s they were extremely secretive, and in 1991 they quietly published their report called “Reshaping Europe.”

In 1997 they negotiated a trade agreement at the OECD called the Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI), which allowed corporations to sue governments if EU laws increasing environmental protection, improving labor standards, securing equal treatment for women, or taxing capital impeded on their profits (source).

The proposal was leaked and the agreement fell through, so the ERT put the agreement forward again under the name MIA at the WTO, but this time the commissioners resigned due to several counts of fraud and the MIA was also never passed (source).

Trade Agreements

Maybe you have heard about TTIP or CETA? These are new versions of this same trade agreement which now incorporate the USA and Canada, as corporations push harder than ever for their monopoly over governments to be enforced for the greater good.

Greenpeace Netherlands leaked copies of TTIP, stating, “Whether you care about environmental issues, animal welfare, labour rights or internet privacy, you should be concerned about what is in these leaked documents” (source).

Europe, Inc. is another non-profit report showing the dangerous liaisons between industry and EU institutions as well as other international institutions, such as the OECD, WTO, and the United Nations.

But surely none of this really matters because we can trust the EU to ultimately make decisions that are best for the people, right?

In 2002, Marta Andreasen was employed by the European Commission as Chief Accountant, but when she approached the Commission because huge sums of EU monies were unaccounted for, the Commission fired her for “failure to show sufficient loyalty and respect.” When Marta took this to the EU court, she was found guilty of refusing to sign accounts that she believed were unreliable, and she lost her pension (source).

One month after the economy collapsed in 2008, the then President of the Commission, José Manuel Barroso, appointed The Independent High Level Group on Financial Supervision. But this was not a group of independent economic experts; it was a group of eight men linked to Lehman Brothers, Citigroup, and Goldman Sachs — three of the US banks that caused the crisis in the first place.

For Greece, the decision was made to have the general public’s bank accounts frozen (source), withdrawals limited (source), and deposits taxed (source), and when the people of Greece voted on rejecting further loans from the EU in 2015 (source),  the EU threatened to punish Greece further (source).

If corporations and banks are deciding what laws the commissioners should create, if politicians are cooperating with these corporations and banks, and if the decision-making processes by these corporations, banks, and politicians are deliberately being carried out in secret, is it enough for us to just say that this is the world we live in today? Where is the EU heading?

Within the EU itself, it is no secret that the goal is to build a superstate renamed the United States of Europe (1, 2, 3), with its own central government (source) and an EU army (source), as well as EU border and coast guards and a European CIA (source).

The EU’s CIA does now exist, Eurojust is also being given power to start criminal investigations and prosecutions, and Europol is the European Union’s police force.

Meanwhile, the EU is blocking its borders to the humanitarian crisis caused by wars that it is supporting, and it is increasingly being called “Fortress Europe” (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6).

USA Getting Involved

usa army eu The USA is also sending in a wave of military assistance to provide “a visible symbol of U.S. commitment to the region and our European allies” (1, 2, 3, 4).

Have we not learned from history that when the economic situation gets increasingly worse for the general public (1, 2, 3, 4), and people start to act out of fear towards others (1, 2), they turn a blind eye to their own government’s role in the treatment of others around the world (source), they accept the removal of all their civil rights (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6), and they sign up for war (source), which only increases hatred and propagates more violence (source)?

We also know from history that this situation is a potential recipe for fascism, dictatorship, and a police state (1, 2, 3, 4, 5); yet we still cling on to the notion that democracy means letting these people run things on our behalf.

A recent study by Princeton University has statistically proven that the USA is now covertly ruled by a small group of people in government, big business, media, and the intelligence services. Does the evidence presented here not suggest that this is also the case in Europe?

People say there is nothing we can do, but this system only functions because we cooperate. We blame society, but we are society. The question is, when are we going to speak out — at work, in public, on social media — and proudly shout out “no more!”?

WUWE is a project to promote critical thinking and inspire positive systemic change by raising awareness of global issues not covered in mainstream media; please support us on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter, or subscribe for our latest updates here.

 

from:    http://www.collective-evolution.com/2016/06/22/brexit-unitedstatesofeurope/

 

Lucid Dreaming & Consciousness

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Lucid Dreaming as a Gateway to Spiritual Awakening

Lucid Dreaming Gate to Spiritual Awakening

24th June 2016

By Frank M. Wanderer, Ph.D.

Guest writer for Wake Up World

Allow me to draw your attention to an apparently surprising thing. If I told you that now, when you are reading these lines, you are in fact asleep, you would certainly believe that I have gone mad.

You are awake, you are concentrating your attention to reading, and you are aware of your environment as well. You can see the furniture of your room, you can hear the call of the birds from the nearby forest. You are also aware of your thoughts and emotions. How can anyone claim that you are asleep at this very moment?

Naturally, you – just like everyone else – sleeps at night. Yes, sometimes you see dreams while you sleep, but right now it is daytime, you are awake. So how could you see dreams?

You Imagine a Whole World Around Yourself

I believe that you do not only sleep at night, but also during the daytime. I believe that in your present state of consciousness, your greatest illusion is that you think you are awake. I believe that in your present existence, your greatest illusion is when you think that you are alert. What I see is that in your present state of consciousness you are asleep, and at present you are dreaming, and what you see and hear are all parts of your dream.

Your nighttime sleep is only different from your daytime sleep in that in the night your dreams are less active. During the day, you imagine a whole world around you, and you play an active role in that dream. Your personal history takes place in that world, and identifying with that world shapes your personal identity.

At present, you are dreaming that as a part of your personal history you are reading these lines while identifying with the role of the spiritual seeker, and you are outraged by what you are actually reading.

The question may arise, ‘Why do I claim that you are asleep and dreaming now?’. Well, from the state of consciousness I call Alertness, I can see that mostly, you are asleep, you believe yourself to be a separate self, you are a captive of the works of your mind.

You Are Not Present

What is the evidence for me to say that you are now asleep and, as a citizen of a dreamland, you are dreaming that you are awake?

It is because you are not present. To be present means that you are fully alert, attentive, and conscious in the present moment. Whatever you do, you do that fully consciously, you focus your entire attention on that particular activity.

Do you feel free to declare that you are present in every moment of your life?

What does it mean to be awake? It has happened to all of us that we have come under the spell of a moment, at some time during our life. A beautiful landscape, a sunset, a beautiful piece of art, the rhythm of music enchanted us. It may even happen that we are just lost in the silence of a peaceful moment. The identification with the forms and shapes loosens a little bit for a short while, and in that instant, we may experience an entirely different state of Consciousness.

You Live in a Separate World

How deep you sleep may depend on how realistic you find your dreams, how much you identify with your identity embedded in your personal history. The less alert you are, and the deeper you submerge into your dreams, the more isolated, solitary and individualistic you will become.

Liberation Through Lucid Living - Consciousness Within the DreamEvery sleeper –including you– has a separate world, only those who exist in the state of Conscious Alertness (the true Lucid Dreaming) have a common, shared reality. All those different and separate worlds are created by the mind, which generates the state of separateness: the Ego, which appears as the focus of our identification with our thoughts and emotions. Thus everybody has a separate identity, personal history, individual world view and methods of action.

Sometimes suffering alarms you from your sleep, but then you hasten to return to it, and start a new dream, a new objective in life, new ideals, passion, ambition that confirms your connection with your identity, rooted in your personal history.

The Reasons of Your Sleep

The reason of you sleeping is that you are not alert, only awake. Only one dimension of Alertness is present in you. Although you are able to focus your attention on your internal emotions and your environment, in your present state of Consciousness you are still powerfully identified with your mind and its functions.

You are therefore drifting on the stormy ocean of your thoughts and emotions day by day, and the space necessary for the emergence of a contemplating Witness is missing from you. You still identify with your thoughts and emotions. These generate the dreams of the Mind, in which you live as a separate self, and try to find the ways of safely navigating your life on the stormy sea.

Longing for Freedom

In this separate state of Consciousness, the lack of Alertness may appear as a desire for freedom. This desire emerges from your real self, as your mind remembers its origins. This atavistic memory of the ancient past is the quiet attraction that will eventually take you back to Silence.

This deep desire will only cease if you become alert again, that is, you will not be awake but also alert. Then the Consciousness awakens to its own existence in the human form you at present call yourself.

Only giving up the struggle with the thoughts and emotions and the recognition of the futility of insisting on them will bring you the real freedom, The freedom of independence of the functions of the mind.

Alertness, the awakened Consciousness, the world of internal silence are all beyond the functions of the mind. If you wish to reach beyond the identification with your thoughts and emotions, if you recognize the functions of the mind and the intensity of your identification with them loosens, you may become alert again, in the quiet, pure space of Consciousness.

In this way, the third dimension of Alertness, that is, the contemplating Consciousness, appears in your life. This the original state of our existence, the pure Consciousness, the state of the witnessing Presence.

This article was excerpted from the new book by Frank M. Wanderer, Ego – Alertness – Consciousness: The Path to Your Spiritual Home.

from:    http://wakeup-world.com/2016/06/24/lucid-dreaming-as-a-gate-to-spiritual-awakening/

Is Texas Next?

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SPUTNIK NEWS

The UK’s Brexit referendum has inspired an activist group from Texas named Texas Nationalist Movement to organize its own voting in a bid to secede from the United States. That’s according to the Guardian newspaper, citing president of the organization Daniel Miller. Sputnik spoke to Miller in an interview.

“Recent polling in 2014 showed that 54% of Republicans, about half of independent voters and over a third of democrats believe that Texas should become an independent nation,” Miller said.

Map of the world
© Photo: Pixabay

He said that he is confident that if Texans gets the chance to go to the polls and vote on this issue after a free and full debate, “Texans would choose to live under free governance.”Talking about whether he received any feedback from the Washington on this matter, Miller said that the Federal Government, aside from the response that they gave in relation to the White House, has responded with silence and indifference.

“The Federal Government has its own set of problems to deal with at this point. Whether it is the economy or massive unrestricted immigration, war issues, the Federal Government has a lot on its plate and it does not know how to handle it,” Miller told Sputnik.

He further said that as the referendum draws closer, the Federal Government will react in a way similar to how they have reacted to Brexit.

Talking about the issues that Texas could end up facing if it separates from the United States, Miller said that it is important to separate facts from fear.

“They want people to fear governing themselves so that they have the power. What the opposition has to offer the people of Texas has been centered on fear. If Texas was standing as an independent nation right now, could this opposition convince Texas to join a nation that has 90 trillion dollars’ worth of national debt?” the president of the organization said.

Miller further said, “Would it join the nation that has 175,000 pages of federal laws and regulations? I do not believe that anyone can make a case at this moment in time for Texas to join the Union, so therefore, it is easy for us to make the case that we should leave the union.”

He further said that the fact is not whether to choose to stay or to leave, but the fact is that just like in the UK it is important to be able to debate on this.

“We have to be able to show that it is possible for the first world powers, for major economic powers to go and have public debates, to have adult conversation about governance and then to go and have a vote on it and that’s all we are asking for,” Miller concluded.

The latest initiative of Texas Nationalist Movement is not the first attempt to hold a referendum in a bid to secede from the United States. Back in 2012 a similar “Texit” petition gathered more than one hundred twenty five thousand votes, but was shot down by the White House.

Texas was an independent republic from 1836 to 1845, when the United States annexed it. Texas Nationalist Movement emerged in the late 1990s and is reportedly backed by more than two hundred sixty thousand Texans.

Its member’s campaign for the state’s secession, arguing Texas would be politically and economically better off as an independent country.

from:    http://www.amtvmedia.com/why-texas-wants-its-independence/

Gold is on the Move

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ZERO HEDGE

Bonds & Bullion are manically bid overnight as the last 5 days of complacent risk-on exuberance has collapsed into a worst-case-scenario “Brexit” raising doubts about the EU’s sustability and dragging central bank experimental ideas into farce…

This is the biggest spike in gold in 7 years back to 27-month highs…

 

and bonds are screaming to record highs…

 

As 30Y yields near record lows…

from:

Time to Take Back Your Power

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The Reason Bilderberg Does Not Matter

By Elle –

Frank Somma

Derrick Broze released a video this week entitled ‘Stop Paying Attention to Bilderberg, Claim your Power’.

The year was 2005, Luke Rudowski lead a march of nearly 1000 people though Manhattan chanting ‘9/11 was an inside job’ and ‘Who Knocked the Towers Down? Bush Knocked Down the Towers’.  We were sharing the message with the world, we were spreading the truth far and wide, we were educating the masses.Over the next 10 years there have been more false flag attacks, there have been some legitimate terrorist attacks and there has been constant and never ending war.  The mainstream media has started to cover what used to be the domain of Alex Jones and David Icke.  The Guardian writes stories about groups such as Bilderberg now.  The goal of those 1000 people, chanting and marching has been achieved.

The truth movement is mainstream, EVERYONE knows that there is a possibility that 9/11 was an inside job, whether they believe it or not, they know that it is a possibility.  EVERYONE knows that Bilderberg, the Trilateral Commission and Skull and Bones mold the leaders of the future.  Everyone saw ‘Don’t Taze me Bro’.  We all know the worlds elites are corrupt and some of them are absolutely mad.

So what?  What do we do?

When The Bundy Ranch standoff occurred there were many pundits making statements claiming that a rag tag group of constitutionalists cannot stand up to drone strikes and the might of the US Military.  The same is true of the masses vs the elite. We DO NOT stand a chance if we are fighting them on their terms.

The solution is not to point cameras in their face, the solution is not to pay thousands of dollars in traveling fees to follow them around like the Grateful Dead.  The solution is to become unbound by their rules and regulations.

If the elite make the masses eat GMO, grow our own food.  If the elite make the masses watch CNN and BBC, then you watch AMTV and TYT.  If the elite make you take out a loan to go to school, buy a car and own a home, then find an alternative solution.

The answer to your problems is not to point the finger at some mysterious bogeyman, the answer is to take control of your own life.  Make the change you want to see in the world today, share it with your friends and family, become a positive role model.  Forget the mass media, forget the elite control grid, forget general consensus, be your own person and create your own path in this world.

from:    http://www.zengardner.com/bilderberg-not-matter/

Time to Exercise the Imagination

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Visualization: Are You Using Your Imagination Wisely?

By Christina Lavers
Contributing writer for Wake Up World

Imagination is our inner vision. It is the magical bridge between the everyday and the ethereal realm, the gateway between the finite and the infinite. Children naturally have vivid imaginations and use this innate faculty to explore and animate life. With the advent of science and rationality, a clear distinction between the fanciful and the concrete came to define our understanding of reality. The magical enchantment of the world largely receded into the cracks and humans were left to operate within the confines of the ordinary, the quantifiable, and the normal. We came to see imagination as something of little value, to be left behind in childhood.

Today we are rediscovering the importance of imagination. Quantum physics has transformed our understanding of the landscape of reality and our role in it. Quantum theory has forced the scientific community to question the assumption that consciousness cannot affect external reality. Increasingly, evidence demonstrates that due to the intimate way we are energetically entangled with all that exists, our thoughts do have the ability to affect our physical world. As a result more people are opening to the possibility that we can indeed use the power of our minds to influence what unfolds in our external reality.

An important way that we can use imagination to improve our quality of life is through visualization. Visualization is a cognitive tool using our imagination as a vehicle to explore an idea, action, or outcome. As a practice visualization can be used to rehearse, investigate, or induce a particular state of mind. For example we could imagine ourselves engaged in our dream job, picture ourselves in a highly relaxing scenario, or watch ourselves conquering a fear. The more we repeat the process and the richer we make the experience, the more entrenched the positive scenario becomes in our subconscious and thus the more likely it will be to manifest in reality. Of course there are many factors that influence us at unconscious levels. So, while visualization cannot guarantee any particular outcome, it is still seen as effective enough that today many professionals and athletes use this technique to help prepare them for events and challenging circumstances.

One of the reasons that visualization is such a powerful tool is that the subconscious and physical brain are not able to distinguish between what we experience in our external reality and what we see in our mind’s eye. It has been established that mental images (imagining/visualizing) activate the same parts of the brain as actual sensory input – this means that these parts of the brain can’t differentiate between real and imagined input. The brain will respond by releasing the same chemicals into the body regardless of whether the stimulus is real or imagined.

Here is an amazing example of what that can mean for us: Guang Yue, an exercise psychologist from Cleveland Clinic Foundation in Ohio, compared a group of volunteers who performed physical workouts with another group who only imagined doing virtual exercise in their heads. He found that a 30% muscle increase in the group who engaged in physical movement. However, the group of participants who only imagined doing the weight training exercises increased muscle strength by almost half as much (13.5%).

In another similar study, Brian Clark from Ohio University recruited 29 volunteers and wrapped their wrists in surgical casts for an entire month. Throughout this period, fifty percent of the volunteers thought about exercising their immobilized wrists. For 11 minutes a day, 5 days a week, they focused on seeing themselves flexing their muscles. When the casts were removed, the group that imagined doing exercises were found to have wrist muscles that were twice as strong than the group that had done nothing.

Another story that illustrates the power of mental visualization is described by Wenger in his book, “The Einstein Factor”. Wegner describes an American soldier who was a prisoner of war in Vietnam. For more than seven years this man was confined alone in a tiny cell with barely enough room to stretch his limbs. In order to maintain his sanity he played a detailed game of eighteen hole golf in his mind every single day. When he was finally released and allowed to return to the United States he found that without having stepped foot on an actual course for so many years, he managed to cut 20 strokes off his game (which is apparently pretty amazing!) just through using his imagination to visualize himself playing golf.

One of the reasons that visualization is such a powerful tool is that it allows us to engage and interact with our unconscious. While science is able to document some of what we are capable of at the deeper levels, there is still an enormous amount of mystery around what the unconscious actually is. It is not something that can be dissected and examined with a microscope. We may have mapped so much of our physical world, but our internal one is still largely uncharted territory. Many believe that the unconscious is in fact the wellspring of our personal reality and this is why visualization, which uses imagery and feeling to communicate with the unconscious, is so effective

However, when we understand that visualization is a tool that can help us shape our reality, it becomes clear that it is important to use it wisely. Unfortunately, for a majority of adults’ imaginative skills are most often used unconsciously, in conjunction with worry.

While it is important to allow feelings to be expressed, and a little worrying is part of a balanced approach to life because it can act as a trigger to propel us into action, all too often it is given so much energy that it becomes a destructive force in our life. If we see visualization as a tool to magnify our desires and communicate with our unconscious, we can see why it is so important to avoid coupling it with worry. Instead of floating down the stream of our imagination on the boat of trouble and trepidation, we would be better off using it consciously and constructively to reinforce a desirable outcome.

One of the most important conditions for successful visualization is to cultivate a relaxed state of mind. When our brains are operating at the soothing alpha level we are less likely to feel stress or engage in negative thinking. When we combine the relaxed alpha state, which encourages our brains to produce ‘happy’ chemicals (endorphins, serotonin etc), with vivid imagery and feeling, we create a powerful tool for making our dreams become reality.

Tips to Help You Visualize

Focus on the feelings (e.g. how do you feel being successful at a particular venture), as this is where the key communication is taking place. The more we can cultivate real feeling the more powerful the exercise will be.

Include as much sensory information and details as possible. Use smells, textures, colours, emotions to enrich and deepen the experience.

Repetition is helpful as the unconscious responds to the messages it receives consistently. (Which is why habitual negative self-talk can have such damaging consequences on what we create in our reality). However, make sure not to just go through the motions in your mind… remember that rich feeling is key.

Alpha states, which create ideal conditions for visualization can be encouraged through relaxing activities such as listening to soothing music (binaural beats are particularly effective), walking in nature, meditating, and dancing.

from:     http://www.zengardner.com/visualization-using-imagination-wisely/

Considering Acupuncture

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Acupuncture: Why It Works

 By Dr. Mercola

More than 3 million Americans receive acupuncture each year, and its use is increasing.1 While there are a variety of acupuncture techniques, those typically used in the U.S. incorporate traditions from China, Japan and Korea and involve penetrating your skin with a thin needle at certain points on your body.

The needle is then stimulated by hand or electrically.2 Acupuncture has been in use for thousands of years around the globe, and it has withstood the test of time because it works to safely relieve many common health complaints.

How it works has remained largely a mystery, but last year researchers revealed a biochemical reaction that may be responsible for some of acupuncture’s beneficial effects.

Scientists Reveal How Acupuncture Reduces Inflammation and Pain

An animal study looking into the effects of acupuncture on muscle inflammation revealed that manual acupuncture downregulates (or turns off) pro-inflammatory cells known as M1 macrophages. At the same time, it upregulates (or activates) anti-inflammatory M2 macrophages, thereby reducing pain and swelling.3

This is an effective strategy because M2 macrophages are a source of anti-inflammatory interleukin-10 (IL-10), a cytokine involved in immune response. It’s thought that upregulating M2 macrophages leads to an increase in IL-10, which subsequently helps relieve pain and inflammation. The Epoch Times reported:4

“Acupuncture literally flips a switch wherein initial inflammatory responses are reduced and the secondary healing responses are promoted.

M1 macrophage downregulation and M2 macrophage upregulation triggered by acupuncture was positively associated with reductions in muscle pain and inflammation.”

It’s likely that acupuncture works via a variety of mechanisms. In 2010, for instance, it was found that acupuncture activates pain-suppressing receptors and increased the concentration of the neurotransmitter adenosine in local tissues.5

Adenosine slows down your brain’s activity and induces sleepiness. According to a Nature Neuroscience press release:6

“ … [T]he authors propose a model whereby the minor tissue injury caused by rotated needles triggers adenosine release, which, if close enough to pain-transmitting nerves, can lead to the suppression of local pain.”

Acupuncture Influences Your Body on Multiple Levels

With documented use dating back more than 2,500 years, acupuncture is based on the premise that there are more than 2,000 acupuncture points in the human body, which are connected by bioenergetic pathways known as meridians.

According to traditional medicine, it is through these pathways that Qi, or energy, flows, and when the pathway is blocked the disruptions can lead to imbalances and chronic disease.

Acupuncture is proven to impact a number of chronic health conditions, and it may work, in part, by stimulating your central nervous system to release natural chemicals that alter bodily systems, pain and other biological processes. Evidence suggests that acupuncture may also work by:7

  • Stimulating the conduction of electromagnetic signals, which may release immune system cells or pain-killing chemicals
  • Activation of your body’s natural opioid system, which may help reduce pain or induce sleep
  • Stimulation of your hypothalamus and pituitary gland, which impact numerous body systems
  • Change in the secretion of neurotransmitters and neurohormones, which may positively influence brain chemistry

Acupuncture May Relieve Pain From Knee Osteoarthritis

Acupuncture is often used for the treatment of chronic pain, and it may be particularly useful for pain from knee osteoarthritis.

In a study by researchers from the Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, acupuncture received five times a week for four weeks significantly reduced pain and improved stiffness in patients with knee osteoarthritis.8

In this study, the improvements increased even more when acupuncture was combined with Chinese massage called Tui Na. Other research has also shown benefits, including one of the longest and largest studies on the topic to date.

More than 550 patients diagnosed with knee osteoarthritis took part in the 26-week trial. The participants were randomly assigned to receive one of three treatments: acupuncture, sham acupuncture, or self-help strategies recommended by the Arthritis Foundation (the latter served as a control group).

Significant differences in response were seen by week eight and 14, and at the end of the trial, the group receiving real acupuncture had a 40 percent decrease in pain and a nearly 40 percent improvement in function compared to baseline assessments — a 33 percent difference in improvement over the sham group.9

Acupuncture for Relief of High Blood Pressure

There is some evidence that acupuncture may help lower high blood pressure while also relieving associated anxiety, headaches, dizziness, palpitations and tinnitus.

It’s known that high blood pressure leads to elevated concentrations of inflammation-causing tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) and TNF-α-stimulated endothelin (ET), peptides involved in constricting blood vessels and raising blood pressure.10,11

It’s thought that acupuncture may downregulate TNF-α and ET, thereby reducing blood pressure. In another study of patients with high blood pressure, 30 minutes of electroacupuncture (in which the needles are stimulated with electricity) a week led to slight declines in blood pressure.12

Study co-author Dr. John Longhurst, a cardiologist at the University of California, Irvine, told WebMD, “Potentially, blood pressure can be kept low with a monthly follow-up treatment.” He continued:13

“A noticeable drop in blood pressure was observed in 70 percent of the patients treated at the effective points, an average of 6 to 8 mm Hg for systolic blood pressure [the top number] and 4 mm Hg for diastolic blood pressure [the lower number].”

Acupuncture Even Works for Fibromyalgia Pain and Pain in Children

One of the most common uses for acupuncture is in treating chronic pain. One analysis of the most robust studies available concluded that acupuncture has a clear effect in reducing chronic pain, more so than standard pain treatment.14

Study participants receiving acupuncture reported an average 50 percent reduction in pain, compared to a 28 percent pain reduction for standard pain treatment without acupuncture.

Even fibromyalgia pain, which can be difficult to treat and is associated with sleep problems, fatigue and depression, may be improved.

In one study, 10 weeks of acupuncture decreased pain scores in fibromyalgia patients by an average of 41 percent, compared with 27 percent in those who received a sham procedure.15

The pain relief lasted for at least 1 year, leading researchers to conclude, “ … [T]he use of individualized acupuncture in patients with fibromyalgia is recommended.” Acupuncture also appears to be a safe and effective treatment for relieving chronic pain in children.

In a study of 55 children with chronic pain, those who received eight acupuncture sessions (each lasting about 30 minutes) reported significant reductions in pain and improved quality of life.16

Acupuncture for Depression, Cancer Patients and More

Acupuncture’s benefits extend to a myriad of other health conditions as well. Research suggests acupuncture works as well as counseling for treating depression, for instance.17 It may also improve fatigue, anxiety and depression in cancer patients in as little as eight weeks — and much more.18

The World Health Organization (WHO) conducted an extensive review and analysis of clinical trials related to acupuncture and reported the procedure has been proven effective for the following diseases:19

Adverse reactions to radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy Allergic rhinitis (including hay fever) Biliary colic
Depression (including depressive neurosis and depression following stroke)  Acute bacillary dysentery Primary dysmenorrhea
Acute epigastralgia (in peptic ulcer, acute and chronic gastritis, and gastrospasm) Facial pain (including craniomandibular disorders) Headache
Essential hypertension Primary hypotension Induction of labor
Knee pain Leukopenia Low back pain
Correction of malposition of fetus Morning sickness Nausea and vomiting
Neck pain Pain in dentistry (including dental pain and temporomandibular dysfunction) Periarthritis of shoulder
Postoperative pain Renal colic Rheumatoid arthritis
Sciatica Sprain Stroke
Tennis elbow

Additionally, acupuncture has also shown a therapeutic effect for treating the following diseases and conditions, which range from premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and addictions to whooping cough, although further research is needed:

Abdominal pain (in acute gastroenteritis or due to gastrointestinal spasm) Acne vulgaris Alcohol dependence and detoxification Bell’s palsy
Bronchial asthma Cancer pain Cardiac neurosis Chronic cholecystitis, with acute exacerbation
Cholelithiasis Competition stress syndrome Closed craniocerebral injury Non-insulin-dependent  diabetes mellitus
Earache Epidemic hemorrhagic fever Simple epistaxis  (without generalized or local disease) Eye pain due to subconjunctival injection
Female infertility Facial spasm Female urethral syndrome Fibromyalgia and fasciitis
Gastrokinetic disturbance Gouty arthritis Hepatitis B virus carrier status Herpes zoster (human (alpha) herpesvirus 3)
Hyperlipaemia Hypo-ovarianism Insomnia Labor pain
Lactation deficiency Male sexual dysfunction, non-organic Ménière disease Postherpetic neuralgia
Neurodermatitis Obesity Opium, cocaine and heroin dependence Osteoarthritis
Pain due to endoscopic examination Pain in thromboangiitis obliterans Polycystic ovary syndrome (Stein-Leventhal syndrome) Postextubation in children
Postoperative convalescence Premenstrual syndrome Chronic prostatitis Pruritus
Radicular and pseudoradicular pain syndrome Primary Raynaud syndrome Recurrent lower urinary tract infection Reflex sympathetic dystrophy
Traumatic retention of urine Schizophrenia Drug-induced Sialism Sjögren syndrome
Sore throat (including tonsillitis) Acute spine pain Stiff neck Temporomandibular joint dysfunction
Tietze syndrome Tobacco dependence Tourette syndrome Chronic ulcerative colitis
Urolithiasis Vascular dementia Whooping cough (pertussis)

Are Certain Types of Acupuncture Better Than Others?

Similar benefits have been found for different types of acupuncture treatment. For instance, sometimes the stimulation of acupuncture points is done using electricity, lasers or acupressure (the use of pressure to stimulate acupuncture points).

The term acupuncture is often used to describe all of these modalities, as each has shown similar benefits. This means that if you like the idea of trying a natural, ancient technique like acupuncture, but don’t like the idea of having needles inserted into your body, there are needle-free alternatives, such as the Emotional Freedom Techniques, or EFT, you can try that may offer many of the same benefits.

If you decide to try out traditional acupuncture, be aware that the success of your treatment depends on the expertise of your practitioner. While there are acupuncturists that have general specialties, there are also those that specialize in different health conditions, such as pain relief, depression, infertility or neurological disorders. Choose an acupuncturist that is experienced in your area of need who will work with you to develop a plan for healing.

from:    http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2016/06/23/how-does-acupuncture-work.aspx

Movement at the San Andreas Fault

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Scientists discover a large-scale motion around San Andreas Fault

Posted by Seneca on

Scientists discover a large-scale motion around San Andreas Fault

A team of researchers from the University of Hawai’i at Mãnoa, University of Washington and Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO) analyzed the motion of Earth’s crust from the data collected by an array of GPS instruments placed near the San Andreas Fault System in Southern California. Their results revealed almost 201 km (125 miles) wide lobes of uplift and subsidence straddling the fault system. The motion has not been recorded so far, although it was predicted by theoretical models.

The GPS instruments record a vertical and horizontal motion of our planet’s surface. The tectonic motion of the crust, groundwater pumping, local surface geology, and precipitation amount all affect the vertical motion, and it was challenging to distinguish the broad, regional tectonic motion from the local motion.

The scientists have used comprehensive statistical methods to analyze the data recorded by the EarthScope Plate Boundary Observatory’s GPS network, and extract a large-scale pattern of smoothly varying vertical motions of the local crust.

San Andreas Fault in the Coachella Valley; from Keys View, February 12, 2014. Image credit: NPS/Robb Hannawacker/Joshua Tree National Park via Flickr-CC

 

“While the San Andreas GPS data has been publicly available for more than a decade, the vertical component of the measurements had largely been ignored in tectonic investigations because of difficulties in interpreting the noisy data. Using this technique, we were able to break down the noisy signals to isolate a simple vertical motion pattern that curiously straddled the San Andreas fault,” said Samuel Howell, a doctoral candidate at the UH Mānoa School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST) and lead author of the study.

The results responded to those previously predicted by an earthquake cycle model, led by co-authors Bridget Smith-Konter, associate professor at SOEST, and David Sandwell, a professor at SIO.

Uplift (red) and subsidence (blue) based on GPS data (top) confirm predicted motion (bottom). Image credit: University of Hawai’i

“We were surprised and thrilled when this statistical method produced a coherent velocity field similar to the one predicted by our physical earthquake cycle models. The powerful combination of a priori model predictions and a unique analysis of vertical GPS data led us to confirm that the buildup of century-long earthquake cycle forces within the crust are a dominant source of the observed vertical motion signal,” said Smith-Konter.

New research suggests the scientists can use GPS vertical motion measurements to improve the understanding of the structure and behavior of faults, even when no major ruptures occurred for decades or, even, centuries. Results are expected to contribute to constraining the seismic hazard estimates from the San Andreas Fault System, and could enable mapping of the large-scale motion resulting from the next significant rupture of the fault, in more detail.

Reference:

  • “The vertical fingerprint of earthquake cycle loading in southern California” – Samuel Howell, Bridget Smith-Konter, Neil Frazer, Xiaopeng Tong & David Sandwell – Nature Geoscience (2015) – doi:10.1038/ngeo2741

Featured image: San Andreas fault in the Coachella Valley; from Keys View, February 12, 2014. Image credit: NPS/Robb Hannawacker/Joshua Tree National Park via Flickr-CC

from:    http://thewatchers.adorraeli.com/2016/06/21/scientists-discover-a-large-scale-motion-around-san-andreas-fault/