Goverment Web Sites
The Web sites of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC -- www.cftc.gov), the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA -- www.usda.gov), and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (www.federalreserve.gov) are useful in their own ways. If you're a data hound, there's no better place to look than the St. Louis Fed's Web site (stlouisfed.org/default.cfm)
The CFTC Web site is a great resource for reviewing trading laws and regulations and finding out what kind of recent advisory rulings have been handed down. When laws and regulations change, your trading can be affected. These changes can affect anything from higher fees to what you can and can't trade under certain circumstances.
The USDA Web site runs the gamut from importan crop and livestock reports to vital weather information. The USDA site can be of great use to you when you trade commodities.
The Federal Reserve Web site offers the Fed Beige Book, a great summary of where the Fed things the economy has been and is headed. The Beige Book is the Fed's road map for interest rates, and it sets the stage for much of the action in the bond and stock markets.
The St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank Web site is full of charts and statistics that I like to use when I'm doing my history homework, such as when I want to see a chart of interest rates for the last several years. This site is also different from the Fed's main Web site in that it has a more news-oriented, less academic feel to it.
General Investment Information Web Sites
The Economy section of the Wall Street Journal.com: This section of Wall Street Journal's Web site is one of my favorites. It's an excellent resource for catching up on the big picture before you trade. The editorial content is first calss, but for a futures trader, the best part is the data library, where you can find charts that chronicle the major economic indicators and enable you to perform a good visual inventory of economic activity.
Investor's Business Daily's "The Big Picture" column: This is a great resource for getting a fix on the overall trend of the stock market. This column can help your timing of stock index futures as it features clear and easy to understand analysis of when the stock market changes its major trend, up or down. This is a subscription service which has an excellent digital web site (www.investors.com), which I highly recommend and use of a daily basis.
Marketwatch.com's "Commodity Summary" (www.marketwatch.com): This summary provides a great overview of the commodities markets, usually with a pretty heavy emphasis on oil. The best part: It's free, but it works better if you register.
Reuters.com (www.reuters.com): Another excellent free news site, I especially like to check out Reuters early in the morning because it offers good summaries of the overnight markets.
Barchart.com (www.barchart.com): The most complete Web-based charting service specializing in the futures markets, Barchart.com offers real-time data to subscribers, but its delayed data and charting are excellent for beginners who are trying to get a grip on the knowledge part of trading befoore they move on to the real thing.
CandlesExplained.com (www.candlesexplained.com): This free site is from Greg Morris, the author of Candlestick Charting Explained (McGraw-Hill). It's a good site for anyone who wants an online review or a quick reference to candelstick charting beyond what's available in this book.
FX-charts.com: You can find free, real-time, foreign exchange charts at www.fx-charts.com/pgs/toolbox_livecharts.php. This is a great place to get a good feel for real-time charts in the currency market. The charts also have indicators that you choose, including the ability to draw your own trend lines.
Joe-Duarte.com (www.joe-duarte.com). Sure, this seems like self-promotion, but it's not. If you like what you read in this book, what a better place to get more of the same as well as clarifying any doubts that you may get from time to time. I offer a good deal of market timing information, especially using ETFs for trading energy, stock indexes, and currencies. it is a paid subscription site, but also offers a good deal of free information.
Commodity Exchanges
The Web sites of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME -- www.cme.com), the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT www.cbot.com), and the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX www.nymex.com) are excellent resources, especially for beginning traders.
All three exchanges provide excellent overviews of the commodities that trade within their jurisdictions, margin requirements, and delayed charting.
Trading Books
Trading Commodities and Financial Futures (Financial Times-Prentice Hall, 2005) is written by George Kleinman, and author with a pure trader's mind-set. It offers an excellent step-by-step guide into the analysis and execution of trading.
Starting Out in Futures Trading, 5th Edition, by Mark J Powers (Probus Publishing, 1993, largely out of print) offers a trader's point of view, moving between an analyst's and an academic's perspective on the futures markets. You can find used copies at very low prices online.
[Duarte also mentions the Murphy Triad, as well as other books]
Newsletter and Magazine Resources
The Hightower Report (www.futures-research.com): As Fred Sanford of Sanford & Son used to say "This is the big one, Elizabeth." The Hightower Report is the m ost widely circulated futures newsletter in the United States, and it covers the entire futures complex.
Consensus National Futures and Financial Weekly (www.consensus-inc.com): This subscriber-supported service, whose major calling-card is its weekly sentiment index, provides a poll of bullish and bearish investors on all commodities and futures, from interest rates to energy and livestock.
Futures Magazine (www.futuresmag.com): The name says it all; it's the monthly bible of the industry covering all aspects of the trade.
Technical Analysis of Stocks and Commodities (www.traders.com): This magazine is written by traders, and it's where I got my start as a writer and analyst. It's a good resource to scan regularly for good trading ideas.
Active Trader: Similar to Technical Analysis of Stocks and Commodities: This publication tends to offer more about short-term trading.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Friday, December 19, 2008
Review of Week of Nov 21-28
Since Nov 21, 2008, I’ve been trying to accomplish a set of about 3 goals. [I wrote this during the last week of November; I had originally planned a two week project into accomplishing these goals, but I feel ill for the entire second week; the following is a summary, though perhaps not complete, of that one week I did spend on these goals. I should probably underline that the following is not a complete summary of the discoveries I made, there are issues that pertain to the constitution of humans, both physical and spiritual, that I have not included, but have kept in a journal in the form of many scribbles and a few diagrams -- the understanding of the physico-spiritual constitution of the human, however, is far from complete.]
1. To fully understand how to manifest things, i.e. to fully understand the process of accomplishing things.
Regarding this goal, I have discovered that, basically the system of 7 chakras provides a nice framework for the different steps necessary to accomplish any goal, namely,
The capacity to think because all manifestation begins as a thought,
The capacity to imagine, because imagination fills out and adds specificity to the thought
The capacity to communicate, both to oneself and to others about what you want to manifest, this capacity helps to root the goal in one’s life, and involves three essential elements, first, the statement of the goal itself, then the addition of a time element (e.g. a deadline) and lastly, the establishment of a measure of success (how do you know when the goal is accomplished?). I’ll speak more about these issues below.
The capacity to cultivate relationships and resources that are necessary to accomplish the goal. This capacity is generally the ability to relate to all things outside of oneself in order to manifest the goal, and that includes both relationships with people (the labor), and with resources (the ability to gather them).
The capacity to exercise the will. Nothing is truly manifested but through the exercise of the will, it is the most important capacity we possess to accomplish any goal!
The capacity to feel – which allows us to get truly involved in the accomplishment of the goal and also to help us to make the right decisions, choices necessary to succeed. The latter assertion would imply that most decisions, including the right ones!, are based on feelings rather than thoughts. This may sound counterintuitive, but the ability to get in touch with our own feelings is truly the essential ingredient in sound decision making.
Lastly, the capacity to have, to enjoy the fruits of our own labor!
Some Further Explanations
The capacity to communicate, both to oneself and to others about what you want to manifest – this includes, I believe adding a time element to your goal – when you want it done by – and adding a “measure of success” element, that is, how do you know when your goal will be accomplished – this is part of communicating to yourself or others about the goal. Other than the goal itself, the time element and the measure of success are the two most important elements of defining the goal, and if they’re not established, then it may be said that no goal has been set!
The time element and the measure of success are, I believe, very key to accomplishing anything. The trickiest of these is the measure of success and it’s a big reason why it’s so difficult to be a self made person in this world, we’re so encouraged to work for somebody else rather than set up our own standards of success. This process of standard setting involves a potentially long process of soul searching to discover one’s ultimate
value, goal, mission, purpose, motivation, and meaning. Truly knowing one’s ultimate goal, for example, is no mean feat! It is a worthy goal in and of itself, and I believe in order for it to be truly accomplished one must be fully initiated into the workings of oneself and all of nature and the universe – this is precisely what initiation offers, and finding one’s ultimate purpose is, I believe, a key part of the discipline of “Transformational Psychology” – that is the application of transcendental philosophy/the fruits of initiation to practical life. What I’m saying is that one must be a Buddha, a Christ, a Pythagoras, in order to truly know one’s ultimate value, goal, mission, i.e., one must have all the facts, all the knowledge, all the information in order to make a truly informed decision about what one’s ultimate purpose is – any attempt at knowing this purpose before gathering all the facts is simply groping in the dark (welcome to my life!).
Nevertheless, today (Nov 26) I spent some time reflecting on what may be my ultimate purpose, and something causes me to reject the simple answer “to be happy”. Besides, I believe happiness is a byproduct of fulfilling your goal, purpose, etc. It’s how we know we’re doing things right! Therefore, I don’t buy the notion that it is worthy of pursuit in and of itself. The “pursuit of happiness” is better left to those who believe that life, and more specifically human life, has no ultimate purpose. Similarly, “success” is the result of obeying the principles of right doing and right living, and not something worthy of pursuit in and of itself. It has been a sad cause of retardation of my own personal development that I believed the opinion of others that happiness and success are more than simply shadows or reflections of finding and living one’s true purpose. Happiness is the pursuit of those who work for a living, not for those who perform, instead, their life’s work!
After some reflection today, I’ve come up with a few tentative answers, as follows.
Basically, there are three elements as to what I believe is my ultimate purpose (I use the other terms, mission, goal, etc. as semi-synonyms). These three are, MASTERY, UNDERSTANDING, and WHOLENESS.
Now, as regards to the ultimate purpose of my life, I believe it is no different than the ultimate purpose of the species to which I belong, i.e. humanity. I borrow from Genesis Chapter 1, where men and women were created on the sixth day to be the shepherds of the earth, to be lords of the earth, everything on it, and everything in it, to tend to this “garden.” That purpose I equate with MASTERY, to lord over, to shepherd, to sustain, to tend, etc. We are like “the keepers” on this physical plane of existence; just like Christ is the keeper of the soul (of Christians) we are supposed to be the keepers of the earth. We’re like physical angels, tending over the physical realm. Of course we’re not doing a very good job at the moment.
Now, though my understanding might be a little muddy here, I believe mastery is the natural result of a combination of UNDERSTANDING and WHOLENESS. Understanding is something involved in the process of growth, and involves a “breaking” of the original WHOLENESS that most of us are born with into its component parts. WHOLENESS is the true meaning of the word HEALING, and implies BALANCE, but not just BALANCE but a full possession on the part of the individual (and on a broader scale the species) of all of his capacities and potentialities. So we’re born whole, full of creative expression, spirituality (children are much more in touch with their spiritual nature than adults), vitality, energy, curiosity, capacity to learn, all of our capacities are obvious in children. But, there is a process of GROWTH that involves a breaking up of that wholeness into its component parts, which if properly performed, involves the UNDERSTANDING of the exact constitution of that original WHOLENESS. At the age of adulthood, 18, or 21, we should, then, re-attain the WHOLENESS we were born with, but this time with full UNDERSTANDING. It is the combination of WHOLENESS and UNDERSTANDING that leads to our true purpose, MASTERY.
The fifth element in the accomplishment of any goals is the exercise of the will. I’ve come to believe that exerting effort and force is antithetical to the true exercise of the will. The will is a capacity, a function that we cannot turn off, it’s the function of our 3rd chakra to will, just like it’s the function of our liver to purify, store energy, etc. and the function of our mind is to think, we cannot turn off our wills, and yet we don’t feel every second of every day that we’re forcing or making an effort. Now, I believe that the will properly defined is “the capacity of the individual to effect consciously controlled change”. And its effective use can come only from the development of the quality known as SELF-ESTEEM. SELF-ESTEEM is a tricky notion not properly defined in mainstream culture or perhaps even mainstream psychology. It is not “self-image” or “one’s regard for oneself”, but rather, one’s capacity to say “I am capable,” “I can”, it is the belief the individual has in his or her capacity to DO and to ACCOMPLISH. It is a belief, i.e., little more than a thought pattern, a discipline or habit of mind.
To properly direct our will towards the accomplishment of any task we desire to accomplish, we must have the following thought pattern sufficiently ingrained in our subconscious thinking: “I have the capacity to [statement of goal, e.g. find a romantic partner, get a better job]” The exercise of the will therefore in the accomplishment of any goal involves the cultivation of a discipline of mind (some people, the high achievers, are already blessed with this discipline of mind), a sufficient possession/control of one’s own mind, or more specifically, one’s thoughts. The cultivation of the skill of thought-control is key therefore to exercising one’s will. The third goal, see below, speaks to the issue of how exactly one can go about controlling one’s own thoughts in order to effect change in one’s life.
Incidentally, SELF ESTEEM is contrasted with the notion of SELF-VALUE or SELF-WORTH. The latter two, I equate with each other, and I believe they signify one’s believe in one’s RIGHT TO HAVE. This relates to self-respect. People with self-value/self-worth believe they deserve a certain basic degree of respect and will not be found abusing themselves (with drugs for example) or tolerating abuse from others. People with high self-value/worth do not tolerate getting their rights trampled on.
It is instructive to compare the personalities of those who are missing, alternately, the traits of self-esteem or self-value. For example, a child that is very spoiled, that gets everything he or she asks for, may grow up with high self-worth – a strong sense of entitlement. Nothing wrong with that, but if everything is done for him or her, he or she may find one day that he or she has no belief in his or her capacity to DO anything, make money, take out the trash, cook dinner. Here we find high self-value (having), low self-esteem (doing).
[N.B. I had originally a paragraph here regarding an example of someone with low self-value and high self-esteem. It appears to be missing! Basically, the ultimate example of low self-value, high self-esteem is a slave -- someone who may be able to perform tasks, various and wonderful, but does not believe in his or her ability to own the fruits of their own labor, i.e. to have.]
2. To develop the ability, skill of actually accomplishing things, of manifesting my desires and my thoughts.
As far as my progress with this goal, I’ve found that the ability to accomplish goals does not stem from writing them down, imagining them accomplished, communicating them, or acquiring relationships or resources – that is to say, the most important step in the accomplishment of any goal is the 5TH step, the exercise of the will. Also, the “exercise” of the will is a bit misleading – remember, I said above that the will wills, every minute of everyday, and no one can stop their will from willing, what is required to develop the ability to accomplish goals is to acquire the capacity to direct the will to the accomplishment of whatever task you have set. Again, to direct one’s will does not entail forcing or making an effort, these things work against the will and are a sign that you have not properly directed your will the goal you have set. So, we’ve established that the most important ability when it comes to developing the skill of accomplishing things is the ability to direct your will to the accomplishment of your goal. The question then is, how is the will directed? I’ve already said that it’s not through force or effort, so, what is it? The will is properly directed towards your goal in proportion to only one variable, namely, your degree of belief in your capacity to carry out that goal. It is your fundamental belief or conviction in your own ability to actually accomplish the goal that determines, ultimately, whether or not you will accomplish it. It follows logically from this that once you have sufficient belief or conviction in your capacity to accomplish the goal, all other stages in the process of goal accomplishment, from imagination, to gathering resources, from emotional involvement to communication of the goal to yourself or others, all these tend to fall into place quite naturally.
3. a) To develop the power and ability to control my thoughts, to control my mind, to control my subconscious thoughts, including my subconscious thoughts.
Thought has no value whatsoever if it is not in line with truth. What value is an erroneous thought? It is the very purpose of thought to mend the error of our ways. Therefore, I believe that the only way to truly control our thinking is to make sure that our thoughts are in line with truth. We must fervently guard against error, especially error in thinking.
Regarding my progress with this goal, I’ve decided that in order to take control and possession of one’s own thoughts, one must make certain, to the degree that one can, that one’s thoughts are in line with TRUTH. It is truth’s function to amend error, and to correct our poor patterns (discipline) of thought and behavior. The foundation of our lives must be truth, and our thoughts must be in line with truth. All suffering, pain, and misery may be a result of the negation of truth, be that believing in lies or trusting in error. Therefore, all happiness, health, wealth, etc., is the result of the affirmation of truth.
One way to make sure our thoughts are in line with truth is to seek out truth, i.e. to never accept authority for truth, but only accept truth as the authority. It is only the greatest of all historical figures that have done so, and many have bravely given up their lives simply because those around them were not ready to mend their own erroneous thinking.
The second, and only other way I know of, to make sure our thoughts are in line with truth, is to AFFIRM TRUTH! The true power of affirmations is granted to those whose affirmations are rooted in truth.
Incidentally, it is transformational psychology that is the only form of psychology that seeks to apply truth to daily living, its goal is an error free life, a life built upon rock and not sand, a life built with a secure foundation, namely truth – the absence of error and belief in falsehood. The ultimate value of science, also incidentally, is truth – this much is obvious from Karl Popper’s famous assertion that no scientific thesis can be deemed worthy of the name unless it is falsifiable! That is, unless its veracity can be checked! Truth is the foundational value of science.
[I realize I have repeated myself quite a bit in this section, and the following is also somewhat of a repetition. I should also state that I found out quite early on in the week-long foray into these goals that there is a link between affirmation of truth and the proper direction of the will towards the accomplishment of any goal -- and it pertains precisely to the subconscious pattern of thinking involved in directing the will mentioned in section 1 above, namely "I have the capacity to [insert goal here].] Science arose from a rebellion against false doctrine. The scientific revolution was precisely that, a revolution of rebels against false doctrine, false belief. It arose from the work of men whose conviction was that truth existed apart from human beliefs, desires, and wishes, and that a life lived in error was truly not a life worth living.
[Digression] The ultimate value of religion is absolute truth (though not mass religion, who’s ultimate value is deception and therefore enslavement of the unthinking). Science may be said to share the same ultimate value, which is why science and religion were never separate entities among the learned of antiquity. The ultimate value of modern science is relative truth – that is to say, assertions whose veracity can be checked (K. Popper) through a) the senses that we have all agreed that we share with each other (those that claim to have senses beyond the 5 ‘consensus senses’ are relegated to research beyond the scientific, called the ‘paranormal’ – even though these people may share the same ultimate value of modern science – relative truth), and b) through the comparison of that assertion with other verified assertions in a manner pleasing to our rational nature. This two-fold aspect of attaining to the ultimate value of modern science – relative truth – is summarized in the two words that encapsulate what is known as “the scientific method”, namely, “inductive logic” – which perhaps could also be called “empirical reason.” Is it not strange that modern science says, therefore, that “as it is on earth, so it is in heaven,” (inductive logic) whereas the theologian says, and has always said “as it is in heaven, so it is on earth.” (the Lord's Prayer). The fact is that if either of these statements is correct, then they both are. And, the fact that they’re both correct is precisely the reason why ancient wisdom never allowed these two complementary currents of thought to be separated in the first place.
3. b) to understand what role thought plays in manifestation.
Regarding this goal I have come to believe that thought plays a secondary role in the process of manifestation when compared to the will. The exercise of the will is the most important of the requirements in the manifestation of any goal. Of course, one cannot have a goal without being able to think, but thought does not make things happen, only the will makes things happen – in that sense the will is almost synonymous with manifestation itself. Such is what I’ve come to believe. Having said that, I’ve come to believe that the will is properly directed and exercised not through conscious effort or forcing oneself to accomplish the goal, but rather the will is unleashed when one has cultivated the thought pattern “I have the capacity to [insert goal here].” Without the thought pattern, the will cannot unleash its power towards the accomplishment of that goal. The key to accomplishing anything is to awaken the will.
1. To fully understand how to manifest things, i.e. to fully understand the process of accomplishing things.
Regarding this goal, I have discovered that, basically the system of 7 chakras provides a nice framework for the different steps necessary to accomplish any goal, namely,
The capacity to think because all manifestation begins as a thought,
The capacity to imagine, because imagination fills out and adds specificity to the thought
The capacity to communicate, both to oneself and to others about what you want to manifest, this capacity helps to root the goal in one’s life, and involves three essential elements, first, the statement of the goal itself, then the addition of a time element (e.g. a deadline) and lastly, the establishment of a measure of success (how do you know when the goal is accomplished?). I’ll speak more about these issues below.
The capacity to cultivate relationships and resources that are necessary to accomplish the goal. This capacity is generally the ability to relate to all things outside of oneself in order to manifest the goal, and that includes both relationships with people (the labor), and with resources (the ability to gather them).
The capacity to exercise the will. Nothing is truly manifested but through the exercise of the will, it is the most important capacity we possess to accomplish any goal!
The capacity to feel – which allows us to get truly involved in the accomplishment of the goal and also to help us to make the right decisions, choices necessary to succeed. The latter assertion would imply that most decisions, including the right ones!, are based on feelings rather than thoughts. This may sound counterintuitive, but the ability to get in touch with our own feelings is truly the essential ingredient in sound decision making.
Lastly, the capacity to have, to enjoy the fruits of our own labor!
Some Further Explanations
The capacity to communicate, both to oneself and to others about what you want to manifest – this includes, I believe adding a time element to your goal – when you want it done by – and adding a “measure of success” element, that is, how do you know when your goal will be accomplished – this is part of communicating to yourself or others about the goal. Other than the goal itself, the time element and the measure of success are the two most important elements of defining the goal, and if they’re not established, then it may be said that no goal has been set!
The time element and the measure of success are, I believe, very key to accomplishing anything. The trickiest of these is the measure of success and it’s a big reason why it’s so difficult to be a self made person in this world, we’re so encouraged to work for somebody else rather than set up our own standards of success. This process of standard setting involves a potentially long process of soul searching to discover one’s ultimate
value, goal, mission, purpose, motivation, and meaning. Truly knowing one’s ultimate goal, for example, is no mean feat! It is a worthy goal in and of itself, and I believe in order for it to be truly accomplished one must be fully initiated into the workings of oneself and all of nature and the universe – this is precisely what initiation offers, and finding one’s ultimate purpose is, I believe, a key part of the discipline of “Transformational Psychology” – that is the application of transcendental philosophy/the fruits of initiation to practical life. What I’m saying is that one must be a Buddha, a Christ, a Pythagoras, in order to truly know one’s ultimate value, goal, mission, i.e., one must have all the facts, all the knowledge, all the information in order to make a truly informed decision about what one’s ultimate purpose is – any attempt at knowing this purpose before gathering all the facts is simply groping in the dark (welcome to my life!).
Nevertheless, today (Nov 26) I spent some time reflecting on what may be my ultimate purpose, and something causes me to reject the simple answer “to be happy”. Besides, I believe happiness is a byproduct of fulfilling your goal, purpose, etc. It’s how we know we’re doing things right! Therefore, I don’t buy the notion that it is worthy of pursuit in and of itself. The “pursuit of happiness” is better left to those who believe that life, and more specifically human life, has no ultimate purpose. Similarly, “success” is the result of obeying the principles of right doing and right living, and not something worthy of pursuit in and of itself. It has been a sad cause of retardation of my own personal development that I believed the opinion of others that happiness and success are more than simply shadows or reflections of finding and living one’s true purpose. Happiness is the pursuit of those who work for a living, not for those who perform, instead, their life’s work!
After some reflection today, I’ve come up with a few tentative answers, as follows.
Basically, there are three elements as to what I believe is my ultimate purpose (I use the other terms, mission, goal, etc. as semi-synonyms). These three are, MASTERY, UNDERSTANDING, and WHOLENESS.
Now, as regards to the ultimate purpose of my life, I believe it is no different than the ultimate purpose of the species to which I belong, i.e. humanity. I borrow from Genesis Chapter 1, where men and women were created on the sixth day to be the shepherds of the earth, to be lords of the earth, everything on it, and everything in it, to tend to this “garden.” That purpose I equate with MASTERY, to lord over, to shepherd, to sustain, to tend, etc. We are like “the keepers” on this physical plane of existence; just like Christ is the keeper of the soul (of Christians) we are supposed to be the keepers of the earth. We’re like physical angels, tending over the physical realm. Of course we’re not doing a very good job at the moment.
Now, though my understanding might be a little muddy here, I believe mastery is the natural result of a combination of UNDERSTANDING and WHOLENESS. Understanding is something involved in the process of growth, and involves a “breaking” of the original WHOLENESS that most of us are born with into its component parts. WHOLENESS is the true meaning of the word HEALING, and implies BALANCE, but not just BALANCE but a full possession on the part of the individual (and on a broader scale the species) of all of his capacities and potentialities. So we’re born whole, full of creative expression, spirituality (children are much more in touch with their spiritual nature than adults), vitality, energy, curiosity, capacity to learn, all of our capacities are obvious in children. But, there is a process of GROWTH that involves a breaking up of that wholeness into its component parts, which if properly performed, involves the UNDERSTANDING of the exact constitution of that original WHOLENESS. At the age of adulthood, 18, or 21, we should, then, re-attain the WHOLENESS we were born with, but this time with full UNDERSTANDING. It is the combination of WHOLENESS and UNDERSTANDING that leads to our true purpose, MASTERY.
The fifth element in the accomplishment of any goals is the exercise of the will. I’ve come to believe that exerting effort and force is antithetical to the true exercise of the will. The will is a capacity, a function that we cannot turn off, it’s the function of our 3rd chakra to will, just like it’s the function of our liver to purify, store energy, etc. and the function of our mind is to think, we cannot turn off our wills, and yet we don’t feel every second of every day that we’re forcing or making an effort. Now, I believe that the will properly defined is “the capacity of the individual to effect consciously controlled change”. And its effective use can come only from the development of the quality known as SELF-ESTEEM. SELF-ESTEEM is a tricky notion not properly defined in mainstream culture or perhaps even mainstream psychology. It is not “self-image” or “one’s regard for oneself”, but rather, one’s capacity to say “I am capable,” “I can”, it is the belief the individual has in his or her capacity to DO and to ACCOMPLISH. It is a belief, i.e., little more than a thought pattern, a discipline or habit of mind.
To properly direct our will towards the accomplishment of any task we desire to accomplish, we must have the following thought pattern sufficiently ingrained in our subconscious thinking: “I have the capacity to [statement of goal, e.g. find a romantic partner, get a better job]” The exercise of the will therefore in the accomplishment of any goal involves the cultivation of a discipline of mind (some people, the high achievers, are already blessed with this discipline of mind), a sufficient possession/control of one’s own mind, or more specifically, one’s thoughts. The cultivation of the skill of thought-control is key therefore to exercising one’s will. The third goal, see below, speaks to the issue of how exactly one can go about controlling one’s own thoughts in order to effect change in one’s life.
Incidentally, SELF ESTEEM is contrasted with the notion of SELF-VALUE or SELF-WORTH. The latter two, I equate with each other, and I believe they signify one’s believe in one’s RIGHT TO HAVE. This relates to self-respect. People with self-value/self-worth believe they deserve a certain basic degree of respect and will not be found abusing themselves (with drugs for example) or tolerating abuse from others. People with high self-value/worth do not tolerate getting their rights trampled on.
It is instructive to compare the personalities of those who are missing, alternately, the traits of self-esteem or self-value. For example, a child that is very spoiled, that gets everything he or she asks for, may grow up with high self-worth – a strong sense of entitlement. Nothing wrong with that, but if everything is done for him or her, he or she may find one day that he or she has no belief in his or her capacity to DO anything, make money, take out the trash, cook dinner. Here we find high self-value (having), low self-esteem (doing).
[N.B. I had originally a paragraph here regarding an example of someone with low self-value and high self-esteem. It appears to be missing! Basically, the ultimate example of low self-value, high self-esteem is a slave -- someone who may be able to perform tasks, various and wonderful, but does not believe in his or her ability to own the fruits of their own labor, i.e. to have.]
2. To develop the ability, skill of actually accomplishing things, of manifesting my desires and my thoughts.
As far as my progress with this goal, I’ve found that the ability to accomplish goals does not stem from writing them down, imagining them accomplished, communicating them, or acquiring relationships or resources – that is to say, the most important step in the accomplishment of any goal is the 5TH step, the exercise of the will. Also, the “exercise” of the will is a bit misleading – remember, I said above that the will wills, every minute of everyday, and no one can stop their will from willing, what is required to develop the ability to accomplish goals is to acquire the capacity to direct the will to the accomplishment of whatever task you have set. Again, to direct one’s will does not entail forcing or making an effort, these things work against the will and are a sign that you have not properly directed your will the goal you have set. So, we’ve established that the most important ability when it comes to developing the skill of accomplishing things is the ability to direct your will to the accomplishment of your goal. The question then is, how is the will directed? I’ve already said that it’s not through force or effort, so, what is it? The will is properly directed towards your goal in proportion to only one variable, namely, your degree of belief in your capacity to carry out that goal. It is your fundamental belief or conviction in your own ability to actually accomplish the goal that determines, ultimately, whether or not you will accomplish it. It follows logically from this that once you have sufficient belief or conviction in your capacity to accomplish the goal, all other stages in the process of goal accomplishment, from imagination, to gathering resources, from emotional involvement to communication of the goal to yourself or others, all these tend to fall into place quite naturally.
3. a) To develop the power and ability to control my thoughts, to control my mind, to control my subconscious thoughts, including my subconscious thoughts.
Thought has no value whatsoever if it is not in line with truth. What value is an erroneous thought? It is the very purpose of thought to mend the error of our ways. Therefore, I believe that the only way to truly control our thinking is to make sure that our thoughts are in line with truth. We must fervently guard against error, especially error in thinking.
Regarding my progress with this goal, I’ve decided that in order to take control and possession of one’s own thoughts, one must make certain, to the degree that one can, that one’s thoughts are in line with TRUTH. It is truth’s function to amend error, and to correct our poor patterns (discipline) of thought and behavior. The foundation of our lives must be truth, and our thoughts must be in line with truth. All suffering, pain, and misery may be a result of the negation of truth, be that believing in lies or trusting in error. Therefore, all happiness, health, wealth, etc., is the result of the affirmation of truth.
One way to make sure our thoughts are in line with truth is to seek out truth, i.e. to never accept authority for truth, but only accept truth as the authority. It is only the greatest of all historical figures that have done so, and many have bravely given up their lives simply because those around them were not ready to mend their own erroneous thinking.
The second, and only other way I know of, to make sure our thoughts are in line with truth, is to AFFIRM TRUTH! The true power of affirmations is granted to those whose affirmations are rooted in truth.
Incidentally, it is transformational psychology that is the only form of psychology that seeks to apply truth to daily living, its goal is an error free life, a life built upon rock and not sand, a life built with a secure foundation, namely truth – the absence of error and belief in falsehood. The ultimate value of science, also incidentally, is truth – this much is obvious from Karl Popper’s famous assertion that no scientific thesis can be deemed worthy of the name unless it is falsifiable! That is, unless its veracity can be checked! Truth is the foundational value of science.
[I realize I have repeated myself quite a bit in this section, and the following is also somewhat of a repetition. I should also state that I found out quite early on in the week-long foray into these goals that there is a link between affirmation of truth and the proper direction of the will towards the accomplishment of any goal -- and it pertains precisely to the subconscious pattern of thinking involved in directing the will mentioned in section 1 above, namely "I have the capacity to [insert goal here].] Science arose from a rebellion against false doctrine. The scientific revolution was precisely that, a revolution of rebels against false doctrine, false belief. It arose from the work of men whose conviction was that truth existed apart from human beliefs, desires, and wishes, and that a life lived in error was truly not a life worth living.
[Digression] The ultimate value of religion is absolute truth (though not mass religion, who’s ultimate value is deception and therefore enslavement of the unthinking). Science may be said to share the same ultimate value, which is why science and religion were never separate entities among the learned of antiquity. The ultimate value of modern science is relative truth – that is to say, assertions whose veracity can be checked (K. Popper) through a) the senses that we have all agreed that we share with each other (those that claim to have senses beyond the 5 ‘consensus senses’ are relegated to research beyond the scientific, called the ‘paranormal’ – even though these people may share the same ultimate value of modern science – relative truth), and b) through the comparison of that assertion with other verified assertions in a manner pleasing to our rational nature. This two-fold aspect of attaining to the ultimate value of modern science – relative truth – is summarized in the two words that encapsulate what is known as “the scientific method”, namely, “inductive logic” – which perhaps could also be called “empirical reason.” Is it not strange that modern science says, therefore, that “as it is on earth, so it is in heaven,” (inductive logic) whereas the theologian says, and has always said “as it is in heaven, so it is on earth.” (the Lord's Prayer). The fact is that if either of these statements is correct, then they both are. And, the fact that they’re both correct is precisely the reason why ancient wisdom never allowed these two complementary currents of thought to be separated in the first place.
3. b) to understand what role thought plays in manifestation.
Regarding this goal I have come to believe that thought plays a secondary role in the process of manifestation when compared to the will. The exercise of the will is the most important of the requirements in the manifestation of any goal. Of course, one cannot have a goal without being able to think, but thought does not make things happen, only the will makes things happen – in that sense the will is almost synonymous with manifestation itself. Such is what I’ve come to believe. Having said that, I’ve come to believe that the will is properly directed and exercised not through conscious effort or forcing oneself to accomplish the goal, but rather the will is unleashed when one has cultivated the thought pattern “I have the capacity to [insert goal here].” Without the thought pattern, the will cannot unleash its power towards the accomplishment of that goal. The key to accomplishing anything is to awaken the will.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Aymen Fares 2
The Purpose of Life
One of the first questions to answer is that of why are you actually here. What is the purpose of being alive? This is different to the question what is the purpose of your life.
Your ultimate goal is to rejoin with the all-encompassing energy force that most people call God. Whether you believe in God or not is irrelevant. There is an intelligent energy source that permeates throughout the universe and binds it together. Call it God or whatever you like. I don't care; neither does God.
Ultimately you are here on a path to rejoin with this energy source. You are already a part of it and your mission is to become one with it again. I say again because originally that's where you started.
You rejoin with the energy source very simply by refining your energy and increasing your vibration. Over time this enables you to move through the different dimensions and ultimately rejoin with the source that is God.
Before you need to attend to this, you first have to master the physical dimension that you are now operating in. You are born onto the earth for a reason. You are given physical circumstances so that you can do something physical in them. This may just be a matter of survival or the task at hand may be your enlightenment. Everyone is different. Enlightenment is the ability to listen to your soul and allow its light to shine through you. There are different degrees of enlightenment, and when you are fully enlightened you don't need your physical body anymore -- you will be able to move to a higher dimension.
Self-improvement is the way through the physical dimension. Yes, it's really that simple. Through self-improvement you refine the energy that is you. This heightens your vibration and it allows you to eventually move through the physical realm. You improve your self by living, experiencing and learning from your experience.
Self-improvement is the purpose of your life. Rejoining with the source is the purpose of life. You will learn more about the meaning of life further on in this text.
For self-improvement to take place there must be change.
One of the first questions to answer is that of why are you actually here. What is the purpose of being alive? This is different to the question what is the purpose of your life.
Your ultimate goal is to rejoin with the all-encompassing energy force that most people call God. Whether you believe in God or not is irrelevant. There is an intelligent energy source that permeates throughout the universe and binds it together. Call it God or whatever you like. I don't care; neither does God.
Ultimately you are here on a path to rejoin with this energy source. You are already a part of it and your mission is to become one with it again. I say again because originally that's where you started.
You rejoin with the energy source very simply by refining your energy and increasing your vibration. Over time this enables you to move through the different dimensions and ultimately rejoin with the source that is God.
Before you need to attend to this, you first have to master the physical dimension that you are now operating in. You are born onto the earth for a reason. You are given physical circumstances so that you can do something physical in them. This may just be a matter of survival or the task at hand may be your enlightenment. Everyone is different. Enlightenment is the ability to listen to your soul and allow its light to shine through you. There are different degrees of enlightenment, and when you are fully enlightened you don't need your physical body anymore -- you will be able to move to a higher dimension.
Self-improvement is the way through the physical dimension. Yes, it's really that simple. Through self-improvement you refine the energy that is you. This heightens your vibration and it allows you to eventually move through the physical realm. You improve your self by living, experiencing and learning from your experience.
Self-improvement is the purpose of your life. Rejoining with the source is the purpose of life. You will learn more about the meaning of life further on in this text.
For self-improvement to take place there must be change.
Steinitz' 4 Rules of Strategy
1. The right to attack belongs to the side that has a positional advantage, and that side not only has the right to attack but also the obligation to do so, or else his advantage may evaporate. The attack should be concentrated on the weakest square in the opponent's position.
2. If in an inferior position the defender should be ready to defend and make compromises, or take other measures such as a desperate counter attack.
3. In an equal position the opponents should maneuver trying to achieve a position in which they have an advantage. If both sides play correctly, an equal position will remain equal.
4. The advantage may be a big indivisible one (for example a rook on the seventh rank) or it may be a whole series of small advantages. The goal of the stronger side is to store up the advantages and to convert temporary advantages to permanent ones.
2. If in an inferior position the defender should be ready to defend and make compromises, or take other measures such as a desperate counter attack.
3. In an equal position the opponents should maneuver trying to achieve a position in which they have an advantage. If both sides play correctly, an equal position will remain equal.
4. The advantage may be a big indivisible one (for example a rook on the seventh rank) or it may be a whole series of small advantages. The goal of the stronger side is to store up the advantages and to convert temporary advantages to permanent ones.
Aymen Fares 1
Let me tell you a Sioux Indian Story that can be found at my website www.Spiritual.com.au
The Creator gathered all of Creation and said,
"I want to hide something from the humans until they are ready for it. It is the realization that they create their own reality."
The eagle said, "Give it to me, I will take it to the moon."
The Creator said, "No. One day they will go there and find it."
The salmon said, "I will bury it on the bottom of the ocean."
"No. They will go there too."
The buffalo said, "I will bury it on the Great Plains."
The Creator said, "They will cut into the skin of the Earth and find it even there."
Grandmother Mole, who lives in the breast of Mother Earth, and who has no physical eyes but sees with spiritual eyes said,
"Put it inside of them."
And the Creator said, "It is done."
The Creator gathered all of Creation and said,
"I want to hide something from the humans until they are ready for it. It is the realization that they create their own reality."
The eagle said, "Give it to me, I will take it to the moon."
The Creator said, "No. One day they will go there and find it."
The salmon said, "I will bury it on the bottom of the ocean."
"No. They will go there too."
The buffalo said, "I will bury it on the Great Plains."
The Creator said, "They will cut into the skin of the Earth and find it even there."
Grandmother Mole, who lives in the breast of Mother Earth, and who has no physical eyes but sees with spiritual eyes said,
"Put it inside of them."
And the Creator said, "It is done."
World markets mixed after Fed’s historic rate cut
December 17, 2008 · By Adam · Filed Under General
World markets mixed after Fed’s historic rate cut
By LOUISE WATT Associated Press Writer
(AP:LONDON) World stock markets were mixed Wednesday after the U.S. Federal Reserve slashed its key interest rate to historic lows and as worries lingered about the world’s largest economy and a weakening dollar.
By afternoon in Europe, Britain’s FTSE 100 was up 0.19 percent to 4,317.41, while Germany’s DAX slipped 0.67 percent to 4,698.31. France’s CAC-40 dropped 0.33 percent to 3,240.95, with shares in BNP Paribas plunging around 16 percent after the bank revealed steep losses in investment banking.
U.S. stocks were expected to be lower after rallying on the Fed rate cut Tuesday. Dow Jones industrial average futures were down 1.28 percent to 8,777.00 and the broader Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures were down 1.44 percent to 899.70.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Six Factors Affect International Currency Rates
The most important influences on currency values are:
- Interest rates: As a rule higher interest rates lead to higher currency prices [and vice versa]
- Inflation rates: Higher inflation tend to lead to a weaker currency. This general rule doesn't apply when the rate of inflation is leading a county's central bank to raise interest rates. in that case, despite higher inflation, the markets are likely to bid up that county's currency as they expect interest rates there to continue to rise.
- Current account status: Countries that tend to export more than they import tend to have stronger currencies than countries that import more than they export. This relationship is soft, however, because some countries, such as Japan, purposely keep their respective currencies weak by selling them in the open market just to keep their exports high. These countries don't export their currencies; instead, their central banks sell them into the open market just to keep their exports high. These countries don't export their currencies; instead, their central banks sell them into the open market by making trades just like any other trading desk. The net effect is to increase the amount of a country's currency that is floating in the markets, thus decreasing its value to indirectly affect the balance of trade.
- Budget status: Countries with budget surplus, again, as a general rule, tend to have stronger currencies than countries with budget deficits. This rule also is soft, because it doesn;t hold up all the time. For example, the United States has a chronic budget and current-account deficits, but the U.S. dollar experiences long rallies in which its strength is quite impressive.
- Political stability: Along with interest rates and economic fundamentals, politics are more than likely the most consistent determinants of the exchange rates that are quoted on a regular basis. Despite a fairly strong economy, an otherwise strong dollar during the Clinton administration suffered during the Monica Lewinsky scandal.
- Foreign policy: The U.S. dollar's status as the world's reserve currency was damaged by the war in Iraq. In fact, the dollar was already weakening before the war started as traders feared Bush administration policies, such as lower taxes and potential for increased government. The 9/11 attacks, with their negative effects on the U.S. economy and the spiraling costs of the war indeed led to a series of U.S. budget deficits, and the dollar continued to weaken into 2008.
Mises' Major Works
- Theory of Money and Credit (1912) [first major]
- “Economic Calculation in the Socialist Commonwealth,” (1920) [important article]
- Socialism(1922) [elaboration of article]
- Liberalism (1927)
- Interventionism (1929)
- Omnipotent Government (1944)
- Human Action (1949) [most important]
- Theory and History (1957) [last major]
Von Mises Philosophy
During this period, in his first great work, The Theory of Money and Credit (1912) Mises performed what had been deemed an impossible task: to integrate the theory of money into the general theory of marginal utility and price (what would now be called integrating “macroeconomics” into “microeconomics.”) Since Bohm-Bawerk and his other Austrian colleagues did not accept Mises’s integration and remained without a monetary theory, he was therefore obliged to strike out on his own and found a “neo-Austrian” school.
In his monetary theory, Mises revived the long forgotten British Currency School principle, prominent until the 1850s, that society does not at all benefit from any increase in the money supply, that increased money and bank credit only causes inflation and business cycles, and that therefore government policy should maintain the equivalent of a 100 percent gold standard.
Mises added to this insight the elements of his business cycle theory: that credit expansion by the banks, in addition to causing inflation, makes depressions inevitable by causing “malinvestment,” i.e. by inducing businessmen to overinvest in “higher orders” of capital goods (machine tools, construction, etc.) and to underinvest in consumer goods.
The problem is that inflationary bank credit, when loaned to business, masquerades as pseudo-savings, and makes businessmen believe that there are more savings available to invest in capital goods production than consumers are genuinely willing to save. Hence, an inflationary boom requires a recession which becomes a painful but necessary process by which the market liquidates unsound investments and reestablishes the investment and production structure that best satisfies consumer preferences and demands.
----------------
The policy prescriptions for business cycles of Mises-Hayek and of Keynes were diametrically opposed. During a boom period, Mises counseled the immediate end of all bank credit and monetary expansion; and, during a recession, he advised strict laissez-faire, allowing the readjustment forces of the recession to work themselves out as rapidly as possible.
mises.org
In his monetary theory, Mises revived the long forgotten British Currency School principle, prominent until the 1850s, that society does not at all benefit from any increase in the money supply, that increased money and bank credit only causes inflation and business cycles, and that therefore government policy should maintain the equivalent of a 100 percent gold standard.
Mises added to this insight the elements of his business cycle theory: that credit expansion by the banks, in addition to causing inflation, makes depressions inevitable by causing “malinvestment,” i.e. by inducing businessmen to overinvest in “higher orders” of capital goods (machine tools, construction, etc.) and to underinvest in consumer goods.
The problem is that inflationary bank credit, when loaned to business, masquerades as pseudo-savings, and makes businessmen believe that there are more savings available to invest in capital goods production than consumers are genuinely willing to save. Hence, an inflationary boom requires a recession which becomes a painful but necessary process by which the market liquidates unsound investments and reestablishes the investment and production structure that best satisfies consumer preferences and demands.
----------------
The policy prescriptions for business cycles of Mises-Hayek and of Keynes were diametrically opposed. During a boom period, Mises counseled the immediate end of all bank credit and monetary expansion; and, during a recession, he advised strict laissez-faire, allowing the readjustment forces of the recession to work themselves out as rapidly as possible.
mises.org
Thursday, December 04, 2008
Sunday, November 30, 2008
David Dreman
"Psychology is probably the most important factor in the market – and one that is least understood."
David Dreman
David Dreman
Saturday, November 29, 2008
One of Several General Cause of Kidney Stones
Defects in the general metabolism
The formation of stones in the kidneys is the result of defects in the general metabolism.They usually occur when the urine becomes highly concentrated due to heavy perspiration or insufficient intake of fluids. They are aggravated by a sedentary life-style.
The formation of stones in the kidneys is the result of defects in the general metabolism.They usually occur when the urine becomes highly concentrated due to heavy perspiration or insufficient intake of fluids. They are aggravated by a sedentary life-style.
Kidney Stone Pain
The pain that kidney stones cause is compared to getting stabbed in the back with a sharp knife, and then twisting it for a few seconds... then repeating it a few times without warning every so often.
The reason they cause so much pain is due to the razor-sharp, jagged edges that most stones have. When the stones try to pass through the kidney's ureter, they cause extreme pain, and can damage the organ.
The reason they cause so much pain is due to the razor-sharp, jagged edges that most stones have. When the stones try to pass through the kidney's ureter, they cause extreme pain, and can damage the organ.
Kideny Stones Related to Calcium Loss in Bone
One of the many serious disorders that can be detected by the CBC/Chemistry Profile is calcium overload. This condition is caused when too much calcium is removed from the bone and deposited into the vascular system. Unless discovered by a blood test, people often don't find out about calcium imbalance until after they suffer a crippling bone fracture, a painful kidney stone (renal calculi), or heart valve failure (due to excess valvular calcification). These diseases often manifest years after the calcium imbalance first begins, yet a low-cost CBC/Chemistry Profile can detect this problem early and enable the person to take relatively simple nutritional steps to correct the calcium imbalance before it causes a disease state.
lef.org
http://search.lef.org/cgi-src-bin/MsmGo.exe?grab_id=0&page_id=516&query=kidney%20stone&hiword=KIDNEYS%20STONED%20STONER%20STONES%20STONEY%20STONY%20kidney%20stone
lef.org
http://search.lef.org/cgi-src-bin/MsmGo.exe?grab_id=0&page_id=516&query=kidney%20stone&hiword=KIDNEYS%20STONED%20STONER%20STONES%20STONEY%20STONY%20kidney%20stone
Our Home-Grown Melamine Problem
News
Our Home-Grown Melamine Problem
By JAMES E. McWILLIAMS
Austin, Tex.
Article from NY Times
CHINA’S food supply appears to be awash in the industrial chemical melamine. Dangerous levels have been detected not only in milk and eggs, but also in chicken feed and wheat gluten, meaning that melamine is almost impossible to avoid in processed foods. Melamine in baby formula has killed at least four infants in China and sickened tens of thousands more.
In response, the United States has blasted lax Chinese regulations, while the Food and Drug Administration, in a rare move, announced last week that Chinese food products containing milk would be detained at the border until they were proved safe.
For all the outrage about Chinese melamine, what American consumers and government agencies have studiously failed to scrutinize is how much melamine has pervaded our own food system. In casting stones, we’ve forgotten that our own house has more than its share of exposed glass.
To be sure, in China some food manufacturers deliberately added melamine to products to increase profits. Makers of baby formula, for example, watered down their product, lowering the amount of protein and nutrients, then added melamine, which is cheap and fools tests measuring protein levels.
But melamine is also integral to the material life of any industrialized society. It’s a common ingredient in cleaning products, waterproof plywood, plastic compounds, cement, ink and fire-retardant paint. Chemical plants throughout the United States produce millions of pounds of melamine a year.
Given the pervasiveness of melamine, it’s always possible that trace elements will end up in food. The F.D.A. thus sets the legal limit for melamine in food at 2.5 parts per million. This amount is indeed minuscule, a couple of sand grains in an expanse of desert that pose no real threat to public health. Moreover, the 2.5 p.p.m. figure is calculated for a person weighing 132 pounds — a cautious benchmark given that the average adult weighs 150 to 180 pounds.
But these figures obscure more than they reveal. First, while adults eat about one-fortieth of their weight every day, toddlers consume closer to one-tenth. Although scientists haven’t measured the differential impact of melamine on infants versus adults, it’s likely that this intensified ratio would at least double (if not quadruple) the impact of legal levels of melamine on toddlers.
This doubled exposure might not land a child in the hospital, but it could certainly contribute to the long-term kidney and liver problems that we know are caused by chronic exposure to melamine.
On a more concrete note, melamine not only has widespread industrial applications, but is also used to buttress the foundation of American agriculture.
Fertilizer companies commonly add melamine to their products because it helps control the rate at which nitrogen seeps into soil, thereby allowing the farmer to get more nutrient bang for the fertilizer buck. But the government doesn’t regulate how much melamine is applied to the soil. This melamine accumulates as salt crystals in the ground, tainting the soil through which American food sucks up American nutrients.
A related area of agricultural concern is animal feed. Chinese eggs seized last month in Hong Kong, for instance, contained elevated levels of melamine because of the melamine-laden wheat gluten used in the feed for the chickens that produced the eggs.
To think American consumers are immune to this unscrupulous behavior is to ignore the Byzantine reality of the global gluten trade. Tracking the flow of wheat gluten around the world, much less evaluating its quality, is like trying to contain a drop of dye in a churning whirlpool.
More ominous, the United States imports most of its wheat gluten. Last year, for instance, the F.D.A. reported that millions of Americans had eaten chicken fattened on feed with melamine-tainted gluten imported from China. Around the same time, Tyson Foods slaughtered and processed hogs that had eaten melamine-contaminated feed. The government decided not to recall the meat.
Only a week earlier, however, the F.D.A. had announced that thousands of cats and dogs had died from melamine-laden pet food. This high-profile pet scandal did not prove to be a spur to reform so much as a red herring. Our attention was diverted to Fido and away from the animals we happen to kill and eat rather than spoil.
Frightening as this all sounds, the concerned consumer is not completely helpless. We can seek out organic foods, which are grown with fertilizer without melamine — unless that fertilizer was composted with manure from animals fed melamine-laden feed (always possible, as the Tyson example suggests).
We could further protect ourselves by choosing meat from grass-fed or truly free-range animals, assuming the grass was not fertilized with a conventional product (something that’s also very hard to know).
But as all the caveats above indicate, these precautions will only go so far. Melamine, after all, points to the much larger relationship between industrial waste and American food production. Regulations might be lax when it comes to animal feed and fertilizer in China, but take a closer look at similar regulations in the United States and it becomes clear that they’re vague enough to allow industries to “recycle” much of their waste into fertilizer and other products that form the basis of our domestic food supply.
As a result, toxic chemicals routinely enter our agricultural system through the back channels of this under-explored but insidious relationship.
So, sure, let’s keep the heat on China. And, yes, let’s take with a big dose of skepticism the Chinese government’s assurances that they’re improving the food supply.
At the same time, though, instead of delivering righteous condemnation, the United States should seize upon the melamine scandal as an opportunity to pass federal fertilizer standards backed by consistent testing for this compound, which could very well be hidden in plain sight.
James E. McWilliams, a history professor at Texas State University at San Marcos, is the author of “American Pests: The Losing War on Insects From Colonial Times to DDT.”
Our Home-Grown Melamine Problem
By JAMES E. McWILLIAMS
Austin, Tex.
Article from NY Times
CHINA’S food supply appears to be awash in the industrial chemical melamine. Dangerous levels have been detected not only in milk and eggs, but also in chicken feed and wheat gluten, meaning that melamine is almost impossible to avoid in processed foods. Melamine in baby formula has killed at least four infants in China and sickened tens of thousands more.
In response, the United States has blasted lax Chinese regulations, while the Food and Drug Administration, in a rare move, announced last week that Chinese food products containing milk would be detained at the border until they were proved safe.
For all the outrage about Chinese melamine, what American consumers and government agencies have studiously failed to scrutinize is how much melamine has pervaded our own food system. In casting stones, we’ve forgotten that our own house has more than its share of exposed glass.
To be sure, in China some food manufacturers deliberately added melamine to products to increase profits. Makers of baby formula, for example, watered down their product, lowering the amount of protein and nutrients, then added melamine, which is cheap and fools tests measuring protein levels.
But melamine is also integral to the material life of any industrialized society. It’s a common ingredient in cleaning products, waterproof plywood, plastic compounds, cement, ink and fire-retardant paint. Chemical plants throughout the United States produce millions of pounds of melamine a year.
Given the pervasiveness of melamine, it’s always possible that trace elements will end up in food. The F.D.A. thus sets the legal limit for melamine in food at 2.5 parts per million. This amount is indeed minuscule, a couple of sand grains in an expanse of desert that pose no real threat to public health. Moreover, the 2.5 p.p.m. figure is calculated for a person weighing 132 pounds — a cautious benchmark given that the average adult weighs 150 to 180 pounds.
But these figures obscure more than they reveal. First, while adults eat about one-fortieth of their weight every day, toddlers consume closer to one-tenth. Although scientists haven’t measured the differential impact of melamine on infants versus adults, it’s likely that this intensified ratio would at least double (if not quadruple) the impact of legal levels of melamine on toddlers.
This doubled exposure might not land a child in the hospital, but it could certainly contribute to the long-term kidney and liver problems that we know are caused by chronic exposure to melamine.
On a more concrete note, melamine not only has widespread industrial applications, but is also used to buttress the foundation of American agriculture.
Fertilizer companies commonly add melamine to their products because it helps control the rate at which nitrogen seeps into soil, thereby allowing the farmer to get more nutrient bang for the fertilizer buck. But the government doesn’t regulate how much melamine is applied to the soil. This melamine accumulates as salt crystals in the ground, tainting the soil through which American food sucks up American nutrients.
A related area of agricultural concern is animal feed. Chinese eggs seized last month in Hong Kong, for instance, contained elevated levels of melamine because of the melamine-laden wheat gluten used in the feed for the chickens that produced the eggs.
To think American consumers are immune to this unscrupulous behavior is to ignore the Byzantine reality of the global gluten trade. Tracking the flow of wheat gluten around the world, much less evaluating its quality, is like trying to contain a drop of dye in a churning whirlpool.
More ominous, the United States imports most of its wheat gluten. Last year, for instance, the F.D.A. reported that millions of Americans had eaten chicken fattened on feed with melamine-tainted gluten imported from China. Around the same time, Tyson Foods slaughtered and processed hogs that had eaten melamine-contaminated feed. The government decided not to recall the meat.
Only a week earlier, however, the F.D.A. had announced that thousands of cats and dogs had died from melamine-laden pet food. This high-profile pet scandal did not prove to be a spur to reform so much as a red herring. Our attention was diverted to Fido and away from the animals we happen to kill and eat rather than spoil.
Frightening as this all sounds, the concerned consumer is not completely helpless. We can seek out organic foods, which are grown with fertilizer without melamine — unless that fertilizer was composted with manure from animals fed melamine-laden feed (always possible, as the Tyson example suggests).
We could further protect ourselves by choosing meat from grass-fed or truly free-range animals, assuming the grass was not fertilized with a conventional product (something that’s also very hard to know).
But as all the caveats above indicate, these precautions will only go so far. Melamine, after all, points to the much larger relationship between industrial waste and American food production. Regulations might be lax when it comes to animal feed and fertilizer in China, but take a closer look at similar regulations in the United States and it becomes clear that they’re vague enough to allow industries to “recycle” much of their waste into fertilizer and other products that form the basis of our domestic food supply.
As a result, toxic chemicals routinely enter our agricultural system through the back channels of this under-explored but insidious relationship.
So, sure, let’s keep the heat on China. And, yes, let’s take with a big dose of skepticism the Chinese government’s assurances that they’re improving the food supply.
At the same time, though, instead of delivering righteous condemnation, the United States should seize upon the melamine scandal as an opportunity to pass federal fertilizer standards backed by consistent testing for this compound, which could very well be hidden in plain sight.
James E. McWilliams, a history professor at Texas State University at San Marcos, is the author of “American Pests: The Losing War on Insects From Colonial Times to DDT.”
Friday, November 28, 2008
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
The Emeral Tablet
The Emerald Tablet furnishes the origin of the allegorical history of King Hiram (rather Chiram). The Chaldeans, Egyptians, and Hebrews in what concerns Chiram have taken their knowledge from one and the same fountain; Homerus, who relates this history in a different manner, followed that original, and Virgil followed Homerus, as Hesiodus took the subject for his Theogony likewise from thence, which Ovidius took afterwards for a pattern for his Metamorphosis. The knowledge of Nature's secret operations constitutes the principal sense of all these ancient writings, but ignorance framed out of it that external or veiled mythology and the lower class of people turned it into idolatry.
M.P.H.
M.P.H.
Jacob Boehme
An Introduction to Jacob Boehme
"THE TEUTONIC THEOSOPHER"
Jacob Boehme, "chosen servant of God," was born in Alt Seidenburg, Germany, in 1575.
John Wesley, in his day, required all of his preachers to study the writings of Jacob Boehme; and the learned theologian, Willam Law, said of him: "Jacob Boehme was not a messenger of anything new in religion, but the mystery of all that was old and true in religion and nature, was opened up to him," — "the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge of God."
Born of poor, but pious, Lutheran parents, from childhood, Jacob Boehme was concerned about "the salvation of his soul." Although daily occupied, first as a shepherd, and afteward as a shoemaker, he was always an earnest student of the Holy Scriptures; but he could not understand "the ways of God," and he became "perplexed, even to melancholy, — pressed out of measure." He said: "I knew the Bible from beginning to end, but could find no consolation in Holy Writ; and my spirit, as if moving in a great storm, arose in God, carrying with it my whole heart, mind and will and wrestled with the love and mercy of God, that his blessing might descend upon me, that my mind might be illumined with his Holy Spirit, that I might understand his will and get rid of my sorrow . . .
"I had always thought much of how I might inherit the kingdom of heaven; but finding in myself a powerful opposition, in the desires that belong to the flesh and blood, I began a battle against my corrupted nature; and with the aid of God, I made up my mind to overcome the inherited evil will, . . . break it, and enter wholly into the love of God in Christ Jesus . . . I sought the heart of Jesus Christ, the center of all truth; and I resolved to regard myself as dead in my inherited form, until the Spirit of God would take form in me, so that in and through him, I might conduct my life.
"I stood in this resolution, fighting a battle with myself, until the light of the Spirit, a light entirely foreign to my unruly nature, began to break through the clouds. Then, after some farther hard fights with the powers of darkness, my spirit broke through the doors of hell, and penetrated even unto the innermost essence of its newly born divinity where it was received with great love, as a bridegroom welcomes his beloved bride.
"No word can express the great joy and triumph I experienced, as of a life out of death, as of a resurrection from the dead! . . . While in this state, as I was walking through a field of flowers, in fifteen minutes, I saw through the mystery of creation, the original of this world and of all creatures. . . . Then for seven days I was in a continual state of ecstasy, surrounded by the light of the Spirit, which immersed me in contemplation and happiness. I learned what God is, and what is his will. . . . I knew not how this happened to me, but my heart admired and praised the Lord for it!"
At the age of twenty-five, Boehme was given another great illumination, in which the Lord let him see farther into "the heart of things, . . . the true nature of God and man, and the relationship existing between them." Ten years later "the divine order of nature" was opened up to him, and he was inspired to write what the Lord had revealed to him.
From 1612 to 1624, he wrote thirty books, "My books are written" Boehme said "only for those who desire to be sanctified and united to God, from whom they came . . . Not through my understanding, but in my resignation in Christ . . from him have I received knowledge of his mysteries. God dwells in that which will resign itself up, with all its reason and skill, unto him . . . I have prayed strongly that I might not write except for the glory of God and the instruction and benefit of my brethren."
Jacob Boehme’s persecutions and suffering began with the publication of his first book, "Aurora," at the age of thirty-five. then not withstanding five years of enforced silence, banishment from his home town, and an ecclesiastical trial for heresy, his "interior wisdom" began to be recognized by the nobility of Germany; but at this time, at the age of forty-nine, Boehme died, "happy," as he said, "in the midst of the heavenly music of the paradise of God," in Silesia in 1624.
Link
"THE TEUTONIC THEOSOPHER"
Jacob Boehme, "chosen servant of God," was born in Alt Seidenburg, Germany, in 1575.
John Wesley, in his day, required all of his preachers to study the writings of Jacob Boehme; and the learned theologian, Willam Law, said of him: "Jacob Boehme was not a messenger of anything new in religion, but the mystery of all that was old and true in religion and nature, was opened up to him," — "the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge of God."
Born of poor, but pious, Lutheran parents, from childhood, Jacob Boehme was concerned about "the salvation of his soul." Although daily occupied, first as a shepherd, and afteward as a shoemaker, he was always an earnest student of the Holy Scriptures; but he could not understand "the ways of God," and he became "perplexed, even to melancholy, — pressed out of measure." He said: "I knew the Bible from beginning to end, but could find no consolation in Holy Writ; and my spirit, as if moving in a great storm, arose in God, carrying with it my whole heart, mind and will and wrestled with the love and mercy of God, that his blessing might descend upon me, that my mind might be illumined with his Holy Spirit, that I might understand his will and get rid of my sorrow . . .
"I had always thought much of how I might inherit the kingdom of heaven; but finding in myself a powerful opposition, in the desires that belong to the flesh and blood, I began a battle against my corrupted nature; and with the aid of God, I made up my mind to overcome the inherited evil will, . . . break it, and enter wholly into the love of God in Christ Jesus . . . I sought the heart of Jesus Christ, the center of all truth; and I resolved to regard myself as dead in my inherited form, until the Spirit of God would take form in me, so that in and through him, I might conduct my life.
"I stood in this resolution, fighting a battle with myself, until the light of the Spirit, a light entirely foreign to my unruly nature, began to break through the clouds. Then, after some farther hard fights with the powers of darkness, my spirit broke through the doors of hell, and penetrated even unto the innermost essence of its newly born divinity where it was received with great love, as a bridegroom welcomes his beloved bride.
"No word can express the great joy and triumph I experienced, as of a life out of death, as of a resurrection from the dead! . . . While in this state, as I was walking through a field of flowers, in fifteen minutes, I saw through the mystery of creation, the original of this world and of all creatures. . . . Then for seven days I was in a continual state of ecstasy, surrounded by the light of the Spirit, which immersed me in contemplation and happiness. I learned what God is, and what is his will. . . . I knew not how this happened to me, but my heart admired and praised the Lord for it!"
At the age of twenty-five, Boehme was given another great illumination, in which the Lord let him see farther into "the heart of things, . . . the true nature of God and man, and the relationship existing between them." Ten years later "the divine order of nature" was opened up to him, and he was inspired to write what the Lord had revealed to him.
From 1612 to 1624, he wrote thirty books, "My books are written" Boehme said "only for those who desire to be sanctified and united to God, from whom they came . . . Not through my understanding, but in my resignation in Christ . . from him have I received knowledge of his mysteries. God dwells in that which will resign itself up, with all its reason and skill, unto him . . . I have prayed strongly that I might not write except for the glory of God and the instruction and benefit of my brethren."
Jacob Boehme’s persecutions and suffering began with the publication of his first book, "Aurora," at the age of thirty-five. then not withstanding five years of enforced silence, banishment from his home town, and an ecclesiastical trial for heresy, his "interior wisdom" began to be recognized by the nobility of Germany; but at this time, at the age of forty-nine, Boehme died, "happy," as he said, "in the midst of the heavenly music of the paradise of God," in Silesia in 1624.
Link
As Above, So Below
These words circulate throughout occult and magical circles, and they come from Hermetic texts. The concept was first laid out in The Emerald Tablet of Hermes Trismegistus, in the words "That which is Below corresponds to that which is Above, and that which is Above, corresponds to that which is Below, to accomplish the miracles of the One Thing"[42].
In accordance with the various levels of reality: physical, mental, and spiritual, this relates that what happens on any level happens on every other. This is however more often used in the sense of the microcosm and the macrocosm. The microcosm is oneself, and the macrocosm is the universe. The macrocosm is as the microcosm, and vice versa; within each lies the other, and through understanding one (usually the microcosm) you can understand the other.
Wikipedia
In accordance with the various levels of reality: physical, mental, and spiritual, this relates that what happens on any level happens on every other. This is however more often used in the sense of the microcosm and the macrocosm. The microcosm is oneself, and the macrocosm is the universe. The macrocosm is as the microcosm, and vice versa; within each lies the other, and through understanding one (usually the microcosm) you can understand the other.
Wikipedia
Monday, November 24, 2008
Jim Rohn, Personal Developer
Things I like that Jim Rohn says:
"Work harder on yourself than you do on your job."
"Success is not something you pursue, but something you attract by the person you become."
"All we're asked to do in life is make measurable progress in reasonable time."
"Work harder on yourself than you do on your job."
"Success is not something you pursue, but something you attract by the person you become."
"All we're asked to do in life is make measurable progress in reasonable time."
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Aristotle
Aristotle
A friend to all is a friend to none.
Aristotle
A great city is not to be confounded with a populous one.
Aristotle
A sense is what has the power of receiving into itself the sensible forms of things without the matter, in the way in which a piece of wax takes on the impress of a signet-ring without the iron or gold.
Aristotle
A tragedy is a representation of an action that is whole and complete and of a certain magnitude. A whole is what has a beginning and middle and end.
Aristotle
A true friend is one soul in two bodies.
Aristotle
A tyrant must put on the appearance of uncommon devotion to religion. Subjects are less apprehensive of illegal treatment from a ruler whom they consider god-fearing and pious. On the other hand, they do less easily move against him, believing that he has the gods on his side.
Aristotle
All human actions have one or more of these seven causes: chance, nature, compulsions, habit, reason, passion, desire.
Aristotle
All men by nature desire knowledge.
Aristotle
All men by nature desire to know.
Aristotle
All paid jobs absorb and degrade the mind.
Aristotle
All virtue is summed up in dealing justly.
Aristotle
Anybody can become angry - that is easy, but to be angry with the right person and to the right degree and at the right time and for the right purpose, and in the right way - that is not within everybody's power and is not easy.
Aristotle
Anyone can become angry - that is easy, but to be angry with the right person at the right time, and for the right purpose and in the right way - that is not within everyone's power and that is not easy.
Aristotle
At his best, man is the noblest of all animals; separated from law and justice he is the worst.
Aristotle
Bad men are full of repentance.
Aristotle
Bashfulness is an ornament to youth, but a reproach to old age.
Aristotle
Both oligarch and tyrant mistrust the people, and therefore deprive them of their arms.
Aristotle
Bring your desires down to your present means. Increase them only when your increased means permit.
Aristotle
Change in all things is sweet.
Aristotle
Character may almost be called the most effective means of persuasion.
Aristotle
Courage is a mean with regard to fear and confidence.
Aristotle
Courage is the first of human qualities because it is the quality which guarantees the others.
Aristotle
Democracy arises out of the notion that those who are equal in any respect are equal in all respects; because men are equally free, they claim to be absolutely equal.
Aristotle
Democracy is when the indigent, and not the men of property, are the rulers.
Aristotle
Different men seek after happiness in different ways and by different means, and so make for themselves different modes of life and forms of government.
Aristotle
Dignity consists not in possessing honors, but in the consciousness that we deserve them.
Aristotle
Dignity does not consist in possessing honors, but in deserving them.
Aristotle
Education is an ornament in prosperity and a refuge in adversity.
Aristotle
Education is the best provision for old age.
Aristotle
Even when laws have been written down, they ought not always to remain unaltered.
Aristotle
Every art and every inquiry, and similarly every action and choice, is thought to aim at some good; and for this reason the good has rightly been declared to be that at which all things aim.
Aristotle
Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but we rather have those because we have acted rightly. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.
Aristotle
Excellence, then, is a state concerned with choice, lying in a mean, relative to us, this being determined by reason and in the way in which the man of practical wisdom would determine it.
Aristotle
Fear is pain arising from the anticipation of evil.
Aristotle
For as the eyes of bats are to the blaze of day, so is the reason in our soul to the things which are by nature most evident of all.
Aristotle
For one swallow does not make a summer, nor does one day; and so too one day, or a short time, does not make a man blessed and happy.
Aristotle
For though we love both the truth and our friends, piety requires us to honor the truth first.
Aristotle
Friendship is a single soul dwelling in two bodies.
Aristotle
Friendship is essentially a partnership.
Aristotle
Good habits formed at youth make all the difference.
Aristotle
Happiness depends upon ourselves.
Aristotle
He who can be, and therefore is, another's, and he who participates in reason enough to apprehend, but not to have, is a slave by nature.
Aristotle
He who hath many friends hath none.
Aristotle
He who is to be a good ruler must have first been ruled.
Aristotle
He who is unable to live in society, or who has no need because he is sufficient for himself, must be either a beast or a god.
Aristotle
Hence poetry is something more philosophic and of graver import than history, since its statements are rather of the nature of universals, whereas those of history are singulars.
Aristotle
Homer has taught all other poets the art of telling lies skillfully.
Aristotle
Hope is a waking dream.
Aristotle
Hope is the dream of a waking man.
Aristotle
I count him braver who overcomes his desires than him who conquers his enemies; for the hardest victory is over self.
Aristotle
I have gained this from philosophy: that I do without being commanded what others do only from fear of the law.
Aristotle
If liberty and equality, as is thought by some, are chiefly to be found in democracy, they will be best attained when all persons alike share in government to the utmost.
Aristotle
If one way be better than another, that you may be sure is nature's way.
Aristotle
In a democracy the poor will have more power than the rich, because there are more of them, and the will of the majority is supreme.
Aristotle
In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous.
Aristotle
In making a speech one must study three points: first, the means of producing persuasion; second, the language; third the proper arrangement of the various parts of the speech.
Aristotle
In nine cases out of ten, a woman had better show more affection than she feels.
Aristotle
In poverty and other misfortunes of life, true friends are a sure refuge. The young they keep out of mischief; to the old they are a comfort and aid in their weakness, and those in the prime of life they incite to noble deeds.
Aristotle
Inferiors revolt in order that they may be equal, and equals that they may be superior. Such is the state of mind which creates revolutions.
Aristotle
It is best to rise from life as from a banquet, neither thirsty nor drunken.
Aristotle
It is clearly better that property should be private, but the use of it common; and the special business of the legislator is to create in men this benevolent disposition.
Aristotle
It is Homer who has chiefly taught other poets the art of telling lies skillfully.
Aristotle
It is just that we should be grateful, not only to those with whose views we may agree, but also to those who have expressed more superficial views; for these also contributed something, by developing before us the powers of thought.
Aristotle
It is not once nor twice but times without number that the same ideas make their appearance in the world.
Aristotle
It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.
Aristotle
It is unbecoming for young men to utter maxims.
Aristotle
Jealousy is both reasonable and belongs to reasonable men, while envy is base and belongs to the base, for the one makes himself get good things by jealousy, while the other does not allow his neighbour to have them through envy.
Aristotle
Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies.
Aristotle
Man is by nature a political animal.
Aristotle
Man is naturally a political animal.
Aristotle
Men acquire a particular quality by constantly acting in a particular way.
Aristotle
Men are swayed more by fear than by reverence.
Aristotle
Men create gods after their own image, not only with regard to their form but with regard to their mode of life.
Aristotle
Misfortune shows those who are not really friends.
Aristotle
Moral excellence comes about as a result of habit. We become just by doing just acts, temperate by doing temperate acts, brave by doing brave acts.
Aristotle
Most people would rather give than get affection.
Aristotle
Mothers are fonder than fathers of their children because they are more certain they are their own.
Aristotle
My best friend is the man who in wishing me well wishes it for my sake.
Aristotle
Nature does nothing in vain.
Aristotle
Nature does nothing uselessly.
Aristotle
No excellent soul is exempt from a mixture of madness.
Aristotle
No great genius has ever existed without some touch of madness.
Aristotle
No notice is taken of a little evil, but when it increases it strikes the eye.
Aristotle
No one loves the man whom he fears.
Aristotle
No one would choose a friendless existence on condition of having all the other things in the world.
Aristotle
Of all the varieties of virtues, liberalism is the most beloved.
Aristotle
Perfect friendship is the friendship of men who are good, and alike in excellence; for these wish well alike to each other qua good, and they are good in themselves.
Aristotle
Personal beauty is a greater recommendation than any letter of reference.
Aristotle
Piety requires us to honor truth above our friends.
Aristotle
Plato is dear to me, but dearer still is truth.
Aristotle
Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work.
Aristotle
Poetry is finer and more philosophical than history; for poetry expresses the universal, and history only the particular.
Aristotle
Politicians also have no leisure, because they are always aiming at something beyond political life itself, power and glory, or happiness.
Aristotle
Probable impossibilities are to be preferred to improbable possibilities.
Aristotle
Quality is not an act, it is a habit.
Aristotle
Republics decline into democracies and democracies degenerate into despotisms.
Aristotle
Suffering becomes beautiful when anyone bears great calamities with cheerfulness, not through insensibility but through greatness of mind.
Aristotle
Temperance is a mean with regard to pleasures.
Aristotle
The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance.
Aristotle
The aim of the wise is not to secure pleasure, but to avoid pain.
Aristotle
The beginning of reform is not so much to equalize property as to train the noble sort of natures not to desire more, and to prevent the lower from getting more.
Aristotle
The best friend is the man who in wishing me well wishes it for my sake.
Aristotle
The educated differ from the uneducated as much as the living from the dead.
Aristotle
The end of labor is to gain leisure.
Aristotle
The energy of the mind is the essence of life.
Aristotle
The generality of men are naturally apt to be swayed by fear rather than reverence, and to refrain from evil rather because of the punishment that it brings than because of its own foulness.
Aristotle
The gods too are fond of a joke.
Aristotle
The greatest virtues are those which are most useful to other persons.
Aristotle
The ideal man bears the accidents of life with dignity and grace, making the best of circumstances.
Aristotle
The law is reason, free from passion.
Aristotle
The least initial deviation from the truth is multiplied later a thousandfold.
Aristotle
The moral virtues, then, are produced in us neither by nature nor against nature. Nature, indeed, prepares in us the ground for their reception, but their complete formation is the product of habit.
Aristotle
The most perfect political community is one in which the middle class is in control, and outnumbers both of the other classes.
Aristotle
The one exclusive sign of thorough knowledge is the power of teaching.
Aristotle
The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet.
Aristotle
The secret to humor is surprise.
Aristotle
The soul never thinks without a picture.
Aristotle
The state is a creation of nature and man is by nature a political animal.
Aristotle
The ultimate value of life depends upon awareness and the power of contemplation rather than upon mere survival.
Aristotle
The virtue of justice consists in moderation, as regulated by wisdom.
Aristotle
The whole is more than the sum of its parts.
Aristotle
The wise man does not expose himself needlessly to danger, since there are few things for which he cares sufficiently; but he is willing, in great crises, to give even his life - knowing that under certain conditions it is not worthwhile to live.
Aristotle
The worst form of inequality is to try to make unequal things equal.
Aristotle
The young are permanently in a state resembling intoxication.
Aristotle
There is no great genius without a mixture of madness.
Aristotle
There was never a genius without a tincture of madness.
Aristotle
Therefore, the good of man must be the end of the science of politics.
Aristotle
This is the reason why mothers are more devoted to their children than fathers: it is that they suffer more in giving them birth and are more certain that they are their own.
Aristotle
Those that know, do. Those that understand, teach.
Aristotle
Those who educate children well are more to be honored than they who produce them; for these only gave them life, those the art of living well.
Aristotle
Those who excel in virtue have the best right of all to rebel, but then they are of all men the least inclined to do so.
Aristotle
Thou wilt find rest from vain fancies if thou doest every act in life as though it were thy last.
Aristotle
To run away from trouble is a form of cowardice and, while it is true that the suicide braves death, he does it not for some noble object but to escape some ill.
Aristotle
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.
Aristotle
We become just by performing just action, temperate by performing temperate actions, brave by performing brave action.
Aristotle
We make war that we may live in peace.
Aristotle
We must no more ask whether the soul and body are one than ask whether the wax and the figure impressed on it are one.
Aristotle
We praise a man who feels angry on the right grounds and against the right persons and also in the right manner at the right moment and for the right length of time.
Aristotle
Well begun is half done.
Aristotle
What is a friend? A single soul dwelling in two bodies.
Aristotle
What it lies in our power to do, it lies in our power not to do.
Aristotle
What the statesman is most anxious to produce is a certain moral character in his fellow citizens, namely a disposition to virtue and the performance of virtuous actions.
Aristotle
Whosoever is delighted in solitude is either a wild beast or a god.
Aristotle
Wishing to be friends is quick work, but friendship is a slow ripening fruit.
Aristotle
Wit is educated insolence.
Aristotle
Without friends no one would choose to live, though he had all other goods.
Aristotle
You will never do anything in this world without courage. It is the greatest quality of the mind next to honor.
Aristotle
Youth is easily deceived because it is quick to hope.
Aristotle
Anodea Judith
Anodea Judith explains the purpose of chakra work (Wheels of Life):
"... to work with the chakras is to heal ourselves of old, constricting patterns lodged in the body or the mind, or habitual behavior." pp. 17
"... to work on our chakras [is] to clean up any outdated, dysfunctional, or negative programming that may be getting in our way." pp. 34
"... to work with the chakras is to heal ourselves of old, constricting patterns lodged in the body or the mind, or habitual behavior." pp. 17
"... to work on our chakras [is] to clean up any outdated, dysfunctional, or negative programming that may be getting in our way." pp. 34
Saturday, November 22, 2008
R.N. Elliot
No truth meets more general acceptance than that the universe is ruled by law. Without law it is self-evident there would be chaos, and where chaos is, nothing is. Navigation, chemistry, aeronautics, architecture, radio transmission, surgery , music -- the gamut, indeed, of art and science -- all work, in dealing with things animate and things inanimate, under law because nature herself works in this way. Since the very character of law is order, or constancy, it follows that all that happens will repeat and can be predicted if we know the law.
R.N. Elliot
R.N. Elliot
Jim Rohn on Affirmations
I do believe in affirmations. They are valuable -- as long as you affirm the truth, because it says in ancient scripture, "The truth will set you free." Free to do what? Amend your errors and pick up your discipline. That's what the truth is for, to help us amend our errors and pick up the disciplines for life change. That's what the truth is for. So, I do believe in affirming the truth. So, if your broke the best thing to say is "I am broke." Put that up on your refrigerator where you can see it everyday. If you need a little additional affirmation you just put up there, "I'm 40 and broke." That's enough to turn your life around. It says "Hey, something is wrong. Somewhere I have messed up." If you'll start with that, it's called the process of life-change -- and it doesn't matter how small the process is to start, one discipline starts it, and one discipline feeds another and another and the next thing you know you've got in this whole cycle in an upward positive motion. It's called life change, income change, health change, relationship with your family change, equities unprecedented that you can have in numbers that would stagger the imagination -- if you do not curse what's available and start amending what's possible to get the results that you want. I don't think I could put it in any better way.
Jim Rohn
Jim Rohn
Friday, November 21, 2008
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Thucydides
“The secret of happiness is freedom. The secret of freedom is courage.”
Thucydides quotes"I do not blame those who yearn for power, but those who are willing to submit to them."
— Thucydides, The Histories, D 61
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Bastiat, The Law
Life, liberty, and property do not exist because men have made laws. On the contrary, it was the fact that life, liberty, and property existed beforehand that caused men to make laws in the first place.
Monday, November 17, 2008
MPH, Secret Teachings of All Ages
The obstacles which confront present-day scientific research are largely the result of prejudicial limitations imposed by those who are unwilling to accept that which transcends the concrete perceptions of the five primary human senses.
MPH, Secret Teachings of All Ages
MPH, Secret Teachings of All Ages
Rosicricianism: University of the Soul
In an early unpublished manuscript, an unknown philosopher declares alchemy, Qabbalism, astrology, and magic to have been divine sciences originally, but that through perversion they had become false doctrines, leading seekers after wisdom even farther from their goal. The same author gives a valuable key to esoteric Rosicrucianism by dividing the path of spiritual attainment into three steps, or schools, which he calls mountains. The first and lowest of these mountains is Mount Sophia; the second, Mount Qabbalah; and the third, Mount Magia. These three mountains are sequential stages of spiritual growth. The unknown author states:
By philosophy is to be understood the knowledge of the workings of Nature, by which knowledge man learns to climb to those higher mountains above the limitations of sense. By Qabbalism is to be understood the language of the angelic or celestial beings, and he who masters it is able to converse with the messengers of God. On the highest of the mountains is the School of Magia (Divine Magic, which is the language of God) wherein man is taught the true nature of all things by God Himself."
MPH, Secret Teachings of All Ages
By philosophy is to be understood the knowledge of the workings of Nature, by which knowledge man learns to climb to those higher mountains above the limitations of sense. By Qabbalism is to be understood the language of the angelic or celestial beings, and he who masters it is able to converse with the messengers of God. On the highest of the mountains is the School of Magia (Divine Magic, which is the language of God) wherein man is taught the true nature of all things by God Himself."
MPH, Secret Teachings of All Ages
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Conquer the Crash
"Conventional economists excuse and praise this system under the erroneous belief that expanding money and credit promotes economic growth, which is terribly false. It appears to do so for a while, but in the long run, the swollen mass of debt collapses of its own weight, which results in deflation, and destroys the economy. Only the Austrian school understands this fact. A devastated economy, moreover, encourages radical politics, which is even worse."
Bob Prechter - page 105 Conquer the Crash
"Choose your location well and remain watchful of world affairs, because wars often break out during or shortly after depressions."
Bob Prechter - page 262 Conquer the Crash
Bob Prechter - page 105 Conquer the Crash
"Choose your location well and remain watchful of world affairs, because wars often break out during or shortly after depressions."
Bob Prechter - page 262 Conquer the Crash
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