Sound/SHockwave Treatment for Pets

Try Shockwave Therapy When Your Pet Is In Pain or Isn’t Healing

October 11, 2013
By Dr. Becker

Story at-a-glance

  • Shockwave therapy, or ESWT, uses acoustic energy directed to target treatment areas of an animal’s body. The shockwaves trigger the body’s repair mechanisms, enabling healing and long-term improvement of a variety of conditions.
  • In ESWT, high-intensity sound waves interact with the tissues of the body, leading to development of new blood vessels, reversal of chronic inflammation, stimulation of collagen and dissolution of calcium build-up.
  • Conditions in companion animals that can be effectively treated with shockwave therapy include hip and elbow dysplasia, degenerative joint disease, osteoarthritis, tendon and ligament injuries, non- or delayed healing bone fractures, back pain, and chronic or non-healing wounds.
  • Studies of shockwave therapy for dogs have shown positive results in improving bone healing, soft tissue damage, joint inflammation, and both the progression and pain of osteoarthritis.
  • ESWT treatments are loud and can be painful, so animals are sedated during sessions. Treatment frequency and duration depends on the strength of the shockwaves and the number of locations being treated.

Shockwave therapy — officially called extracorporeal shockwave therapy (ESWT) – is generally understood by most of the veterinary community as useful in treating musculoskeletal injuries, osteoarthritis (OA), and wound healing in horses. According to Clinician’s Brief, the use of ESWT to aid healing in companion animals like dogs and cats is not as well recognized.

Many people hear the word “shockwave” and immediately think of an electrical shock. But the shockwaves used in ESWT are high-energy sound waves (acoustic energy) that are directed to a target treatment area on an animal’s body. The shockwaves trigger the body’s own repair mechanisms, which speeds healing and provides long-term improvement.

How ESWT Helps the Healing Process

ESWT has been used in human medicine for over 20 years to provide non-invasive treatment for urologic and orthopedic conditions.

ESWT employs electrohydraulic technology to generate shockwaves. The high-intensity sound waves interact with the tissues of the body, leading to a host of beneficial effects including development of new blood vessels, reversal of chronic inflammation, stimulation of collagen and dissolution of calcium build-up. This activity creates an optimal healing environment, and as the damaged area returns to normal, pain is alleviated and functionality is restored.

When shockwave therapy is applied to areas of non-healing tissue, it may trigger release of acute cytokines that stimulate healing. Accompanying pain relief may be the result of increased serotonin activity in the dorsal horn (located in the spinal cord).

Conditions Successfully Treated with Shockwave Therapy

Shockwave therapy is known to be beneficial in treating the following conditions in companion animals:

Hip and elbow dysplasia Painful scar tissue
Degenerative joint disease (hip, elbow) Chronic back pain
Osteoarthritis Lick granuloma
Spondylosis (degeneration of joints in the spine) Sesamoiditis (chronic inflammation of bones in the foot)
Tendon and ligament injuries Chronic wound care
Legg-Calve-Perthes disease (degeneration of the head of the femur bone in the hind leg) Trigger points
Non-healing (non-union) or delayed healing (delayed union) fractures Acupressure points

Actual Results of ESWT for Dogs

According to Clinician’s Brief:

  • Of 4 dogs treated for non-healing fractures, 3 had significant improvement in bone healing following ESWT treatment.
  • In a study of dogs with distal radial fracture non-unions (a break near the bottom of the front limb, just above the wrist joint), all dogs that received ESWT showed complete bone healing after 12 weeks, while no dogs in the control group achieved complete bony union.
  • In a study of dogs with lameness resulting from soft tissue shoulder conditions, 88 percent showed improvement after shockwave therapy, with no surgical intervention.
  • ESWT was also shown to significantly reduce distal ligament thickening in dogs with inflammation of knee joints following surgery for a CCL rupture.
  • Shockwave therapy has proved beneficial in promoting the development of new blood vessels at the bone-tendon interface of the Achilles tendon in dogs.
  • ESWT has been shown to modulate osteoarthritis in animals by decreasing production of nitric oxide in joints and inhibiting cell death in healthy cartilage. Shockwave therapy can also be beneficial in managing the pain of arthritis.
  • Studies have demonstrated positive results in joint range of motion and peak vertical force in dogs with knee, hip and elbow arthritis.

Currently, there are only unpublished case reports on shockwave therapy for treating chronic wounds in small animals. However, based on its mechanism of action, ESWT may prove valuable in managing skin flaps and difficult and chronic wounds.

to read more, go to:  http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2013/10/11/shockwave-therapy.aspx?e_cid=20131011Z1_PetsNL_art_1&utm_source=petnl&utm_medium=email&utm_content=art1&utm_campaign=20131011Z1

UFO’s & the International Space Station

UFO Fleet Near the International Space Station In ESA Photo, Oct 2013, UFO Sighting News.

Date of sighting: October 2013
Date of photo: Unknown
Location of sighting: Earths Orbit, near ISS
Photo URL: http://www.esa.int/images/s119e010500,5.jpg
A great discovery by Streetcap1 of Youtube. In this photo taken by the ESA (European Space Agency) we can see three disk-like UFOs with humps in their middle. When you add light to the photo, you see there are actually six small disks and they are flying in pairs. A rare catch finding UFOs in an ESA photo. They usually edit each photo really well, often better than NASA does. Before you scream fake, go to the ESA link above and have a look. Then add light to it. Close the photo, then open again and add more light to it. SCW
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuEfcWfidLI

 

from:   http://www.ufosightingsdaily.com/2013/10/ufo-fleet-near-international-space.html

Your Color Vibe for Sunday, 10/13

Sunday, October 13:    Bright Green

This morning might lead you to think that you have everything all figured out, but as the day unfolds, you will find that things are not happening quite as you had planned.  This is a good day for being ready for anything and being open to most everything.  Good things come in small packages and big surprises can appear from small beginnings.  Let it be.  You are part of everything that is happening right now, so the evening is a good time to sit and center and ground and just be aware of how you participated in the creation of some of the events of the day and, if you have the curiosity, you can also catch a glimpse of how you have created many of the events in your past.  Honor the power that is yours.  It is time you were aware of it.

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Lake Natron’s Mummies

Lake That Turns Animals to Stone? Not Quite

By Marc Lallanilla, Assistant Editor   |   October 02, 2013
rick-brandt
 The body of a flamingo on Lake Natron, as captured by photographer Rick Brandt.
Credit: © Nick Brandt 2013 Courtesy of Hasted Kraeutler Gallery, NY

Lake Natron in Tanzania is one of the most serene lakes in Africa, but it’s also the source of some of the most phantasmagorical photographs ever captured — images that look as though living animals had instantly turned to stone.

The alkaline water in Lake Natron has a pH as high as 10.5 and is so caustic it can burn the skin and eyes of animals that aren’t adapted to it. The water’s alkalinity comes from the sodium carbonate and other minerals that flow into the lake from the surrounding hills. And deposits of sodium carbonate — which was once used in Egyptian mummification — also acts as a fantastic type of preservative for those animals unlucky enough to die in the waters of Lake Natron.

Despite some media reports, the animal didn’t simply turn to stone and die after coming into contact with the lake’s water. In fact, Lake Natron’s alkaline waters support a thriving ecosystem of salt marshes, freshwater wetlands, flamingos and other wetland birds, tilapia and the algae on which large flocks of flamingos feed. Now, photographer Nick Brandt has captured haunting images of the lake and its dead in a book titled “Across the Ravaged Land” (Abrams Books, 2013). [Photos: Lake Natron Gives Up Its Dead]

Brandt discovered the remains of flamingos and other animals with chalky sodium carbonate deposits outlining their bodies in sharp relief. “I unexpectedly found the creatures — all manner of birds and bats — washed up along the shoreline of Lake Natron,” Brandt wrote in his book. “No one knows for certain exactly how they die, but … the water has an extremely high soda and salt content, so high that it would strip the ink off my Kodak film boxes within a few seconds.”

“I took these creatures as I found them on the shoreline, and then placed them in ‘living’ positions, bringing them back to ‘life,’ as it were,” Brandt wrote, referring to the way he repositioned the animals. “Reanimated, alive again in death.”

During breeding season, more than 2 million lesser flamingos (Phoenicopterus minor) use the shallow lake as their primary breeding ground in Africa. The flamingos’ nests are built on small islands that form in the lake during the dry season.

Lake Natron is one of two alkaline lakes in that area of East Africa; the other is Lake Bahi. Both are terminal lakes that do not drain out to any river or sea; they are fed by hot springs and small rivers. As shallow lakes in a hot climate, their water temperatures can reach as high as 106 degrees Fahrenheit (41 degrees Celsius).

The serenity of Lake Natron — and its flamingo population — are threatened by a proposed hydroelectric power plant on the Ewaso Ngiro River, the main river feeding the lake. As isolated as the lake is (it wasn’t even discovered by Europeans until 1954), there are no protections in place for the lake or its threatened flamingo population.

from:    http://www.livescience.com/40135-photographer-rick-brandt-lake-natron.html

Comet ISON Update

Potentially Dazzling Comet ISON Should Survive Sun Encounter, Study Suggests

By Mike Wall, Senior Writer   |   October 09, 2013
Comet ISON Enhanced Hubble Image space wallpaper
This stunning space wallpaper is a NASA Hubble Space Telescope image of Comet C/2012 S1 (ISON) when the comet was slightly closer than Jupiter’s orbit at a distance of 386 million miles (621 million km) from the sun.
Credit: NASA/ESA,/J.-Y. Li (Planetary Science Institute), and the Hubble Comet ISON Imaging Science Team

The odds are pretty good that Comet ISON will survive its much-anticipated close solar approach next month, a new study suggests.

As long as ISON is a fairly typical comet — one with “normal” size, density and rotational characteristics — it probably won’t disintegrate during its upcoming flyby, which will bring the icy wanderer within just 730,000 miles (1.2 million kilometers) of the sun’s surface on Nov. 28, researchers report.

That’s good news for skywatchers, for Comet ISON could potentially put on a dazzling show if it manages to weather its solar encounter. And it’s also good news for scientists, who have been planning their most intense observations of the comet for after the flyby (since ISON will be easier to see from Earth after the approach than before). [Comet ISON: 8 Things to Know]

Comet ISON Sky Map
 From now through October, comet ISON tracks through the constellations Gemini, Cancer and Leo as it falls toward the sun. Image released March 29, 2013.
Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Axel Mellinger

In the new study, Matthew Knight of the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Ariz., and Kevin Walsh of the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio conducted simulations of Comet ISON’s upcoming solar approach, then put the results in context by looking at how other “sungrazing” comets have performed during their encounters with our star.

The possible outcomes for Comet ISON are total disintegration; initial survival with a breakup coming later, perhaps days or weeks after the Nov. 28 flyby; and full survival for another orbit around the sun. Which one of these will actually occur depends on ISON’s size and density, as well as the nature of its rotation (how fast it’s spinning, and in which direction), researchers said.

Comets less than about 0.12 miles wide (0.2 kilometers) face destruction by the sun’s heat, which can evaporate off all of their ices. But scientists think ISON is big enough to deal with this issue; most estimates place the comet’s core between 0.12 miles and 1.2 miles across (0.2 to 2 km).

Another threat comes from the immense gravitational pull of the sun, which can tear apart comets that are unusually light and fluffy. But as long as ISON is of roughly average density, it should be able to hold together, researchers said

None of this is set in stone, of course, since most of the key characteristics — including Comet ISON’s exact size, density and spin — remain unknown. And it’s notoriously difficult to predict the behavior of comets, especially “dynamically new” ones like ISON making their first trip to the inner solar system from the distant, frigid Oort Cloud.

“Whether or not disruption occurs, the largest remnant must be big enough to survive subsequent mass loss due to evaporation for Comet ISON to remain a viable comet well after perihelion,” Knight said in a statement.

Meanwhile, another new study suggests that Comet ISON might exhibit a burst of activity a week before its close solar encounter.

Researchers used NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope to measure the rotational pole of ISON’s core and determined that only one side of the comet is being heated thus far as it streaks toward the sun.

But that should change on or around Nov. 21, when Comet ISON ducks inside the orbit of Mercury, the solar system’s innermost planet, team members said.

“Since the surface on the dark side of the comet should still retain a large fraction of very volatile materials, the sudden exposure to the strong sunlight when it gets closer to the sun than Mercury could trigger huge outbursts of material,” study leader Jian-Yang Li, of the Planetary Science Institute in Tucson, Ariz., said in a statement.

Both studies were presented today (Oct. 9) at the American Astronomical Society’s Division for Planetary Sciences 45th annual meeting in Denver.

from:    http://www.space.com/23124-comet-ison-sun-encounter-survival.html

Deer Deaths in Montana

More than 100 deer found dead west of Missoula

September 18, 2013 9:45 am  •  By Rob Chaney


FRENCHTOWN – Something is killing whitetail deer by the dozens along the Clark Fork River. Read more

Wildlife officials are trying to find out why more than 100 whitetail deer have died along the Clark Fork River west of Missoula.

“The deer may show no outward symptoms of disease,” said Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks biologist Vickie Edwards. “People are seeing healthy looking deer fall over dead.”

Fishing guides and landowners along the Clark Fork and fields near and downstream of Harpers Bridge started reporting the dead deer on Sunday. Dead deer have also been found in the Mill Creek area northeast of Frenchtown.

By Tuesday, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks personnel had confirmed 103 dead deer, with more appearing sick or dying. Biologists have collected lung, spleen and blood samples from affected deer to research the cause.

One possible cause is epizootic hemorrhagic disease, which has hammered deer populations in several eastern Montana regions. Biting midges or gnats transmit the disease, usually in late summer or early fall. The bugs typically die off soon after the first hard frost.

“Hemorrhagic disease viruses are not contagious from one animal to another and are not transmissible to humans,” said Jennifer Ramsey, FWP wildlife veterinarian in Bozeman. “Transmission is only known to occur through the bite of the gnat.”

The disease poses no threat to humans. Anyone who sees dead or sick deer in the Missoula area is asked to call FWP at 542-5515 with observations and locations.

from:    http://missoulian.com/news/local/more-than-deer-found-dead-west-of-missoula/article_99b56130-1ff2-11e3-83e3-0019bb2963f4.html

Crete, Greece 6.4 Earthquake

Very Strong slightly damaging earthquake at intermediate depth near Crete, Greece

Last update: October 12, 2013 at 5:34 pm by By Ashish Khanal

Update 15:19 UTC : More reports are coming in from landslides and fallen tiles of roofs, everything we consider slight damage. Due to the fact that insurance companies will have to intervene to pay back some damage for those insured against earthquakes, we are calling this earthquake a CatDat Orange (CATDAT James Daniell)

Some of the experience reports of our readers :

Chania : was in supermarket and all the produce jumped off the shelves onto the floor. They had to close the shop (large Marinopoulos at Mournies)Chania – I was in the smallest room of the apartment, which was a stroke of luck, as it happens. When it did happen I very quickly recognised it as an earthquake, but as it escalated I soon realised this to be by far the strongest I’d ever experienced. Seemed to go on for close to a minute; thankfully the apartment withstood the swaying with far more calm than me, given the empirical evidence from the smallest room in the apartment!
Chania : we could see earth moving and cars shaking. Cars alarms went off. Many were scared. We were also scared, but happy to be on a beach, and not in a building.

Update 15:19 UTC : According to «Flashnews.gr» (with news from Crete) vibration was long and there has been slight damage mainly glass doors smashed in the Old Town of Chania, while testimonials speak for marble that fell from balconies in the center. Kritika through said a citizen was slightly injured in his attempt to jump from the window.

Update 15:06 UTC : Some early reports are mentioning minor damage in houses due to fallen objects, nothing more at the moment.
The Greece Institute of Geodynamics is somewhat different than the other sources. GIG reports a Magnitude of 6.2 but at a depth of 60 km (less dangerous than the other values).

Screen Shot 2013-10-12 at 17.12.28

Update  14:26 UTC : The island of Crete had once again a narrow escape from a damaging earthquake. 30 km more to the east and the damage might have been very huge, even at the current depth  as the sea is weakening the impact considerably.

Update  14:10 UTC : Below the seismogram as recorded at Gavdos (courtesy Geofon). The oscillations after the mainshock are small aftershocks

Update  14:03 UTC : The earthquake was felt completely different in various parts of Crete. As could be expected stronger to the west of the island than in the middle or at the eastern side.

Screen Shot 2013-10-12 at 16.06.46

Update  13:53 UTC : The theoretical damage engine from QAlarm has reports a max. of 20 injured and no fatalities based on more dangerous data than expected by EMSC (M6.6 at a depth of 40 km)

Update 13:47 UTC : The earthquake has also been felt well on the Northern African coast (IE Alexandria in Egypt)

Update 13:45 UTC : EMSC has changed his earthquake data into a Magnitude of 6.4 at a depth of 47 km, normally a lot more dangerous than the initial values, but based on the received intensities we can confirm our earlier expectations.

Update 13:41 UTC : We expect a lot of moderate to weak aftershocks for the coming hours and days.

Update 13:38 UTC : The shaking intensity values we are currently receiving from our readers are showing a moderate to strong shaking, which is normally just below the damage level. In other words based on all available data we have at this moment only slight damage is still a possibility.

Update 13:37 UTC : The depth of 60 km (preliminary data) is also the reason that the earthquake will have been felt in a very wicde area of hundreds of km.

Update 13:35 UTC : We do not expect any serious tsunami treat because of the depth of the earthquake (Focal Mechanism is not known yet at this moment).

Due to the intermediate depth of the earthquake, we expect maximum slight damage on the eastern part of Crete.

Screen Shot 2013-10-12 at 15.32.55

276 km S of Athens, Greece / pop: 729,137 / local time: 16:11:53.0 2013-10-12
171 km W of Irákleion, Greece / pop: 137,154 / local time: 16:11:53.0 2013-10-12
67 km W of Chaniá, Greece / pop: 54,565 / local time: 16:11:53.0 2013-10-12
30 km W of Plátanos, Greece / pop: 1,077 / local time: 16:11:53.0 2013-10-12

Most important Earthquake Data:

Magnitude : 6.4

Local Time (conversion only below land) : 2013-10-12 16:11:54

GMT/UTC Time : 2013-10-12 13:11:54

Depth (Hypocenter)  : 47 km

from:    http://earthquake-report.com/2013/10/12/very-strong-earthquake-crete-greece-on-october-12-2013/

Tropical Cyclones & Typhoons

Very dangerous Tropical Cyclone Phailin has made landfall on the northeast coast of India near the town of Gopalpur (population 7,000) at 16 UTC (noon EDT) Saturday, October 12, 2013. Phailin was weakening substantially at landfall, due to interaction with land, and was rated a Category 4 storm with 140 mph winds by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC), four hours before landfall. The pressure bottomed out at 938 mb in Gopalpur as the eye passed over, and the city reported sustained winds of 56 mph, gusting to 85 mph, in the eyewall. A 938 mb pressure is what one expects to find in a Category 4 storm with 140 mph winds, using the “Dvorak technique” of satellite wind and pressure estimation. Satellite images show that Phailin’s intense thunderstorms have warmed and shrunk in areal coverage, and radar out of Visakhapanam, India also shows a weakening of the storm’s echoes as it pushes inland. Phailin is bringing torrential rains of over an inch per hour, as estimated by microwave satellite instruments.


Figure 1. Radar image of Phailin at landfall. Image credit: IMD.


Figure 2. MODIS satellite image of Tropical Cyclone Phailin, taken at approximately 07:30 UTC on October 12, 2013. At the time, Phailin was a top-end Category 4 storm with winds of 150 mph. Image credit: NASA.

Damage from Phailin
Phailin is the strongest tropical cyclone to affect India in fourteen years, since the great 1999 Odisha Cyclone. That storm hit with maximum sustained winds of 155 mph, and brought a storm surge of 5.9 meters (19 feet) to the coast. Phailin should be able to drive a similar-sized storm surge to the coast, since it is larger in areal extent than the 1999 cyclone (although somewhat weaker, with winds perhaps 20 – 30 mph lower.) Phailin’s storm surge and Category 3 to 4 winds will cause near-catastrophic damage to a 50-mile wide swath of the coast where the eyewall comes ashore, and to the right. Hurricane Katrina was weaker at landfall than Phailin, but Katrina had hurricane-force winds that covered a much larger area, making Katrina’s storm surge much more devastating than Phailin’s will be. I think the main danger from Phailin will be from its winds. I am particularly concerned about Phailin’s wind damage potential in the city of Brahmapur (population 350,000), the 58th largest city in India. Brahmapur lies about ten miles inland, and will likely experience sustained hurricane-force winds for several hours. Phailin’s flooding potential is another huge concern, as rainfall amounts of 6 – 12 inches will fall along a swath over 100 miles inland, triggering life-threatening flash flooding.

How strong was Phailin?
Questions have been raised about the India Meteorological Department (IMD) assessments of Phailin’s strength, which were considerably lower than that of the U.S. Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC). Both centers use satellite estimates rather than direct measurements of the winds, so we don’t know which center is correct. It is true that satellite estimates using the same techniques give different results for the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans–i.e., a storm with the same appearance on satellite imagery will be weaker in the Atlantic than in the Pacific (see this chart of the differences.) It may be that this is the case in the Indian Ocean as well. IMD has looked at some buoy data to try and calibrate their satellite strength estimates, but high-end tropical cyclones are uncommon enough in the Indian Ocean that I doubt we really know whether or not Indian Ocean cyclones have the same winds as a hurricane in the Atlantic with the same satellite signature. Another thing to consider is that the IMD uses 10-minute average winds for their advisories, and JTWC uses 1-minute, so the winds in the IMD advisories will be lower by at least 6%, due to the longer averaging period. This issue could be cleared up if India had its own hurricane hunter aircraft; there have been some high-level discussions about India getting a C-130 aircraft like the U.S. Air Force uses to fly into tropical cyclones and take measurements of the actual winds.


Figure 3. MODIS satellite image of Typhoon Nari, taken at approximately 02:30 UTC on October 12, 2013. At the time, Nari was a Category 1 storm with winds of 90 mph. Image credit: NASA.

Typhoon Nari hits the Philippines
Thirteen people were killed and 2.1 million people lost power on the main Philippine island of Luzon afterTyphoon Nari hit on Friday night near midnight local time. Nari was a Category 3 typhoon with 115 mph winds a few hours before landfall. The core of the storm passed about 80 miles north of the capital of Manila, sparing the capital major flooding, but the storm dumped torrential rains in excess of ten inches to the northeast of Manilla. Passage over Luzon weakened Nari to a Category 1 storm, but it is already beginning to re-organize over the South China Sea between the Philippines and Vietnam. Nari is under moderate wind shear of 15 – 20 knots, which should keep intensification relatively slow, and increasing interaction with land will act to slow intensification on Sunday and Monday. Nari could be near Category 3 strength with 115 mph winds by Monday, and landfall in Vietnam is expected around 21 UTC on Monday.

Typhoon Wipha a threat to Japan
Category 1 Typhoon Wipha is intensifying as it heads northwest towards Japan, and the storm is expected to reach major Category 3 strength by Monday. By Tuesday, Wipha will recurve to the northeast and begin weakening, passing very close to Tokyo, Japan, sometime between 00 – 12 UTC on Wednesday. High winds and heavy rains from Wipha may be a concern for the Fukushima nuclear site, where workers continue to struggle with high radiation levels in the wake of the 2011 tsunami that damaged the reactors.

98L in the Eastern Atlantic weakening
A tropical wave (Invest 98L) located midway between Africa and the Lesser Antilles Islands is headed west to west-northwest at 10 – 15 mph. Satellite loops show that 98L has lost most of its organization and heavy thunderstorms since this morning. The disturbance is under a high 20 – 30 knots of wind shear, and the shear is expected to remain high for the next three days. The UKMET model shows some weak development of 98L by early next week, but the European and GFS models do not. In their 2 pm EDT Saturday Tropical Weather Outlook, NHC gave the disturbance 2-day development odds of 30%, and 5-day odds of 30%. 98L’s projected west-northwest track is expected take it close to the Northern Lesser Antilles Islands by Wednesday, according to the 00Z Saturday run of the European model.

Thanks go to wunderground member thunderfrance for posting the link to the weather station at Gopalpur, India.

from:    http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/show.html

Julia Griffin on Vibration, Karma, Changes, etc.

Cool Tips For A Hot Point In Time and Space

Cool Tips For A Hot Point In Time and Space

Story by: Julia Griffin

In the Deep South, we’ve passed through the coolest, rainiest summer season of my life. The shimmering lakes are full. Beautiful evenings come at dusk when the mountains reflect on the mirror-like surface on the lakes as the sun sets. After a summer of cool temperatures, the heat returns with the approach of fall. Throughout the year, I’ve often thought the weather acted as an indicator of our thoughts and feelings, with rain washing away emotion and cooling the earth.

High emotions normally accompany mid-summer when temperatures reach toward one hundred, and the humidity becomes almost unbearable. Often, I felt the cool weather was a gift, a respite from the usual torpidity of the South. With the approach of fall, the hottest days of summer have come with the flamed tips of bushes, the appearance of Joe Pye weed, and the touch of golden rod at the edges of the road.

Somehow, I’m not surprised—particularly when looking at the astrological weather. The strange mixture of influences from planets grows stronger in October with the approach of Mercury retrograde in Scorpio and a square between Uranus and Pluto a little later in the year. This aspect will bring radical change to our inner world and group consciousness at large, and the dance of the stars will undoubtedly heat up our lives throughout the fall season.

The square between Uranus and Pluto ripens karma by bringing it to the surface. Pluto has two phases. The first demonstrates our personal inner darkness, or hell, and the second phase involves transforming the darkness into a higher form, preferably one higher in vibration and light. Uranus represents sudden spiritual change; it can be “good” or “bad”, and it can also relate to the quantum field, the instant burst of a miracle or the presence of an angel. Essentially, these planets ask us to walk into our darkness and transmute /transform it into a higher substance, hopefully through the use of the quantum field. These are outer planets, meaning their sphere affects everyone in the world (world karma.)

Karma is always involved in Pluto’s transformation work. In Roman times, Pluto was the dark ruler of hell, and karma (misperception) is the substance composing our present darkness or personal hell. In mythology, heroes often walk into “hell”, overcome dragons, monsters, or other shapes and forms of darkness, demonstrating the process of conquering inner demons and transmuting karma for themselves and the world.

Moving through Karma

The Uranus/Pluto square is about moving through inner darkness or karma and transmuting it into a higher form. When we speak of karma, we invoke Saturn. This planet rules time and space, including our bodies, the physical seat of our consciousness, because we all reside in a particular axis in in time and space. (Remote readers contact others by finding their point of existence on the line of time and space.) When we alter our thoughts, emotions or perceptions, the particles around us move into a higher spin or vibration—thus changing the resonance of the space around us.

Saturn also denotes discipline because it’s impossible to transmute and transform karma without devotion and discipline. Old structures also fall under Saturn’s sphere—indicating the form of structures, created in the past, that require resolution, new energy, or new solutions for spiritual transformation. In other words, we have to walk through darkness to find the light.

Let’s look at a few examples of karma:

World Karma:

  1. Sex or race: For a woman, it can involve putting personal relationships before soul desires or not having a relationship because of career.  On a racial level, it can mean discrimination – or the same restrictions for a woman.
  2. Environment: We constantly receive reminders about the state of the planet, including the rain forests, honey bees, chem trails, and nuclear power plants.
  3. Politics: The politics of the world negatively affect everyone on some level.

Important to Know: Everyone has a part of solving world karma. Whatever bothers you most is your assignment. For example: if you worry about the honey bees or blue jays, spend a few minutes each day visualizing them in your personal world. Whatever “it is” should become the target of your visualization. Look at it as your assignment from the universe.

It’s up to you to see something better and happier. (Complaining or blaming doesn’t count as spiritual work.)  If everyone visualized positive images instead of watching videos, television or movies, the world might change very quickly.

Personal Karma:

  1. You meet the man or woman of your dreams. There’s an instant connection. You fall deeply in love. A year or two later, you’re having the same problems experienced with your parents, last boy/girlfriend (husband/wife), and you can’t figure out how it happened.
  2. No matter what you do, you have the same conflict with “someone.” It comes up again and again.
  3. You have a life problem. It won’t go away. It doesn’t matter what you do.
  4. You have the weirdest feelings when happens. Your emotions and thoughts are almost uncontrollable.

NOTE:
Older souls are touching on core karma patterns and working on how they affect mass consciousness and the outer world. The younger soul group moves toward heart awakening, learning the lessons of love, finding expression of soul gifts, and adding their light to the experience of group initiation. We do experience karma on many levels, including world, group and individual karma.

Why Now? Does It Matter?
The point of enlightenment, awakening, or introspection is learning to listen within. Just as an outer conversation exists at all times via cell phones, internet, or news, profound esoteric messages are delivered daily about the state of the stars, the planet or whales. Nature talks constantly, as do animals and plants. By tapping in, we may hear our next door neighbor asking for help with a financial or health problem or suddenly “see” or “hear” a solution for a local or world problem.

The only way to solve karmic problems is from within. (It’s actually impossible to take action with envisioning it first.) If we begin to listen to our inner voice instead of reacting, life starts to change. If we follow our actions without condemning, judging or blaming, life changes more abundantly. Listening within brings about compassion because we “know” how the other person feels, or we know our solution is correct because of the heart-connection. There’s no guessing—we know.

The acceleration and amplification of emotion/thought/intuition in the past five years has been amazing. Most people are “tuning in” more. The Age of Aquarius and the Precession of Ages bring a greater intuitive sense and heightened energy to anyone who truly wants it. (Perhaps, the work involved opening of the heart space is an adequate example of wanting the higher frequency energy.) The energy involves changing the way everything works and flows. It requires adjustment and insight.

Here are a few examples of changes of energy. We pick up on the feeling of everyone at the grocery store and may feel tired or energized by the people present. We meet with others to meditate and may feel uplifted or continue thinking about someone’s problem. We watch our favorite teacher and feel happy or depressed. The height, depth, and breadth of our response to other people’s thoughts, emotions, or personal holograms intensifies every few months, particularly if emphasis is put on the development of our spiritual gifts.

We’re more connected to each other, whether we want it or not. In general, we’re attracted to people and a group of people who represent our lower and higher energies. Without resonance (a similar frequency), the connection is not strong enough to maintain a substantial connection. So, our lower and higher energies are increased accordingly and in accordance with whom we come into contact. It makes life more challenging and interesting because new personal boundaries are needed to move forward when clearing issues.

Part of the challenge of group initiation is learning how our thoughts and emotions affect the flow of consciousness on earth as we heighten our frequency.  Everyone has likely noticed the movement of a descending day as problems mound up, creating one small issue after another. We’ve also witnessed the difference a teacher or meditation can make in reversing the direction of the flow of a given hour or moment. The lesson lies in learning to raise our vibration, no matter what’s happening.

In the past few years, the interest in metaphysics has tripled. The web of internet holds thousands of esoteric books and teachings. Many healers and teachers hold the key to sending sound, color, light and energy to heal karmic problems or physical issues. Technology, science, and skills are responding to our heightened light and love level.

The big solutions come when we tap into the quantum field. There’s no way to clear the planet and move into light without clearing our personal (and related) global issues. When we lift our emotions and thoughts into a higher frequency or joyfully take a nature walk, those feelings are imparted to the world. It’s not about when heaven comes to earth; it’s about when we decide to raise our vibrations and create heaven on earth—and we do this by transmuting our darkness into light.

A few small tips (These are not “the answer” but are helpful. They are meant to raise your vibrations.)

  1. It’s good to keep in mind that everyone experiences these states when moving through a karmic interlude. The feelings and repetition relate to your current and past lives. It’s easy to see what other people should do, but it’s almost impossible to see it for yourself. When you generate enough light, the answer will appear.
  2. Send light to part of you that is experiencing the darkness, emotion, scattered thoughts –the pieces of the puzzle that won’t heal. Only light is capable of healing darkness. The shadow in you cannot stay when you send enough light.
  3. Ask for a higher vibration. When you can hold a higher vibration, the fragmented thoughts and feelings must cease. If you can’t achieve it, try this: how would I feel if this problem was resolved?
  4. Refuse to think about the people, situation, or feelings involved in the problem. Send light to all of these aspects of the problem. (Don’t tell all of your friends. You can discuss with people who have a higher perspective, but avoid the others – you’re only amplifying the situation.)
  5. Know help will come as you work through these exercises. It must.  When you raise your vibration, the universe hears you. The universe always answers us, just not always on our personal time.
  6. Use time envisioning a solution instead of discussing the problem in your mind.
  7. These are meditation exercises, but you can practice them during the day for a few seconds. It will help if you establish a meditation practice. Meditation is a bit like turning on the lights so that all of the beings of light can see you and find your personal light (and help!)
  8. from:     http://spiritofmaat.com/magazine/october-2013-the-ancestors-issue/cool-tips-for-a-hot-point-in-time-and-space/

A Waking Sun

FARSIDE ERUPTION: An active region located just behind the sun’s northeastern limb erupted this morning, producing an X-ray flash that registered M1.5 on the Richter Scale of Solar Flares — despite the fact that it was partially eclipsed by the edge of the sun. The true intensity of the flare was much greater, possibly X-class. The explosion also hurled a spectacular CME into space:

Type II radio emissions from the expanding cloud suggest an expansion velocity of at least 510 km/s (1.1 million mph). That’s a typical speed for CMEs.

Within a few days, the sunspot responsible for this outburst will rotate around to the Earthside of the sun. At that time, Earth-directed solar activity could increase. August and September were quiet months, but in October the sun seems to be waking up

fr/spaceweather.com