NUS grad, 27, is canteen towkay

  NUS grad, 27, is canteen towkay The New Paper | Sun, Jan 01, 2012 By Annabelle Liang SHE is often mistaken for a helper who cleans the tables at Wei Wei Canteen. What the customers don't realise is that 27-year-old Su Weiying is the boss of the canteen located at Bedok North Street 5. Said Miss Su with a laugh: "They often think the uncle who makes coffee is the boss, and I'm a helper he hired to serve coffee." The National University of Singapore's real estate graduate started her venture into the business just five months ago. She hedged a little when asked about the monthly rent for the canteen - which sells drinks, mixed rice and Malay food - but conceded it's between $4,000 and $5,000. As its sole owner, she also paid a five-figure sum to the previous owner to take over the canteen and everything in it, including the fixtures and furniture. She paid everything out of her savings. After she landed the tenancy of the canteen, Miss Su hired the man in his 50s to make coffee and another man in his 30s to take charge of the mixed rice stall. She is currently looking to rent out the two other stalls in the canteen at $500 a month each. She made the news last week when she offered to waive the first month's rent - to encourage entrepreneurship. The stalls are still available. Most customers were baffled when they found out that the university graduate is the canteen's boss. Said Miss Su: "When customers found out that I'm a graduate, they looked at me and asked what I'm doing here. I told them I was serving them coffee. The uncles thought I was silly." When asked if she was known as the new chick on the block, Miss Su laughed and said customers were just surprised. She added: "It doesn't matter whether you are a degree holder or not in this business. And I don't think my degree in real estate helps very much." Even with a degree, there was a need to learn how to make coffee - an art she is still trying to master, she said. Miss Su felt that interacting with the customers - who mostly complain about their bosses or give feedback - is one of the things she really enjoys when working at the canteen. That, and wearing slippers and shorts to work, which was impossible at her previous job in hotel valuations. The canteen opens from 7am to 6pm on weekdays. It closes at 4pm on Saturdays and is closed on Sundays. Miss Su admitted that some people mistook her age and inexperience as vulnerability and tried to exploit it. For example, a couple of her previous stallholders raved about their cooking - convincing her to rent out the stalls to them - but customers complained about the food that was served to them. The stallholders quit after she relayed the customers' feedback to them. When asked why she chose to invest in a canteen, she said that since young, she had always wanted to be her own boss. She added: "I thought about opening a theme cafe, a restaurant, or even an online shopping site. "I can't cook well, so I thought running a canteen was the next best thing. "I'm earning almost nothing for now, but I guess that's what happens when you start a business on your own." Family support But Miss Su is not alone. She has strong support from her family. Her mum, 53-year-old cabby Wendy Goh, dropped by and cleaned the tables while The New Paper interviewed Miss Su. She later dropped off a car for Miss Su to drive home to a flat in Hougang, which is 15 minutes' away from the canteen. For a month after the canteen's opening, her mother dropped by for a few hours daily before heading to work. Her brother, 30-year-old Jerry, who works in the civil service, would help her out at the canteen on weekends. Her parents had reservations about her venture. Miss Su said: "They were very concerned because they felt it was a huge risk to take." But now they seem to be more at ease as Miss Su is doing just fine. In less than a year, she has expanded her venture. She invested more than $5,000 in a fishball noodle stall in Toa Payoh, partnering an elderly couple who will set up and operate the stall that is due to open on Monday. She said: "I will have to run around and manage both the canteen and this new noodle stall. It's going to be difficult, but this was all part of the plan to expand my business." This article was first published in The New Paper.

STOMPer kidsthisday was concerned to find this online picture of a boy playing with a toy gun by poking the barrel into his mouth. The STOMPer wrote: "I found a picture of a kid with a gun online. Kids these days... they have guns!"

Murderer of Swedish minister stabs inmates: media

Murderer of Swedish minister stabs inmate: media AFP | Sat, Dec 31, 2011 STOCKHOLM - The man who stabbed Swedish foreign minister Anna Lindh to death in 2003 brutally attacked another inmate this week at the Kumla prison where he is serving a life sentence, media reported Saturday. "He stabbed him in the same way he stabbed foreign minister Anna Lindh," an unnamed source at the prison told the Aftonbladet daily. According to the paper, Mijailo Mijailovic, 33, attacked a 21-year-old inmate as they were leaving a work therapy session for prisoners with mental illnesses Thursday afternoon. Without warning "Mijailovic suddenly attacked the victim with a screwdriver. The victim keeled over ... and his clothes were all bloody," a witness to the attack told Aftonbladet. The head of the prison in central Sweden, Kenneth Gustafsson, confirmed to AFP that a "serious incident" had occurred, but would not reveal which inmates were involved. "One inmate attacked another with a sharp object," he said adding that the victim was in hospital in stable condition after several of the stab wounds grazed his liver, while the attacker would be held in isolation until a probe into the matter could be completed. According to Aftonbladet's sources, the 21-year-old had no prior disputes with Mijailovic, who appeared to have picked him out at random. "It could have been anybody," a source told the paper. On September 10, 2003, Mijailovic stabbed Lindh repeatedly in the arms, chest and abdomen as she shopped at the upmarket NK department store in Stockholm without a bodyguard. She died of massive internal bleeding some 13 hours later.

New China food scandal widens to oil, peanuts

New China food safety scandal widens to oil, peanuts AFP | Sat, Dec 31, 2011 BEIJING, China - Chinese authorities in a southern boomtown have detected a cancer-causing toxin in peanuts and cooking oil that was only recently discovered in milk, in the nation's latest food safety scandal. The food safety regulator in Shenzhen said it had found excessive levels of aflatoxin in peanuts sold in three stores, and in cooking oil in four restaurants, the official Xinhua news agency said late Friday. Calls to the regulator - the Shenzhen market supervision bureau - went unanswered. The incident comes after leading dairy firm Mengniu revealed at the weekend that authorities found high levels of aflatoxin in a batch of milk before it was sold, caused by cows eating mouldy feed at a farm in southwest China. Authorities in Guangdong province - where Shenzhen is located - then announced they had recalled cooking oil products made by three firms after finding they contained too much aflatoxin. It was unclear whether the companies made the tainted oil found in the restaurants in Shenzhen. Aflatoxins, which affect grains and other agricultural products, can increase the risk of cancer, including liver cancer, according to the World Health Organisation. Chinese state media and netizens have blasted Mengniu as consumers voice anger over yet another food safety scandal to hit the country, despite repeated crackdowns on product safety violations. Milk was at the centre of one of China's biggest food safety scandals in 2008 when the industrial chemical melamine was found to have been illegally added to dairy products to give the appearance of higher protein content. At least six babies died and another 300,000 became ill after drinking milk tainted with the chemical. Mengniu on Monday issued a public apology in an online statement.

Afghan child bride tells of 'torture ' by in-laws

Afghan child bride tells of 'torture' by in-laws AFP | Sat, Dec 31, 2011 KABUL - An Afghan child bride Saturday spoke of how she was tortured by her mother-in-law who locked her in a toilet for six months, beat her, pulled out her fingernails and burned her with cigarettes. Sahar Gul, 15, is recovering in hospital in Kabul, her face bruised and swollen, her skin still bearing the marks of her ordeal, barely able to speak. Her brother had sold her to her husband about seven months ago for US$5,000 (S$6,500). "For several months I was locked up in toilet by my in-laws and particularly my mother-in-law," she managed to tell media in a frail voice during a visit from Afghan health minister Dr Suraya Dalilo. "I was denied food and water. I was tortured and beaten." The minister said it was an example of "increased cases of violence against women in Afghanistan". Women continue to suffer in Afghanistan despite billions of dollars of international aid which has poured into the country during the decade-long war. Dalilo said Gul was suffering from severe blood loss, with multiple burns and injuries. "She is also suffering from trauma and psychological problems," she said. "She is still a child, below the legal age of marriage. She is only 15 and from a remote part of the country. It's a tragic and heartbreaking story for Afghanistan." The teenager was found in the basement of her husband's house in the northeastern Baghlan province late on Monday. Her family, from the neighbouring province of Badakhshan, had reported her disappearance to the police after being denied access to the home. Three women including the girls's mother in-law were arrested over the case but her husband fled. The Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission logged 1,026 cases of violence against women in the second quarter of 2011 compared with 2,700 cases for the whole of 2010. And according to figures in an Oxfam report in October, 87 percent of Afghan women report having experienced physical, sexual or psychological violence or forced marriage. Gul's case comes after a woman known as Gulnaz was pardoned and released earlier in December after spending two years in prison for "moral crimes". She was jailed after she reported to police that her cousin's husband had raped her. Gulnaz gave birth to the rapist's child in prison. In November, the United Nations said that a landmark law aiming to protect women against violence in Afghanistan had been used to prosecute just over 100 cases since being enacted two years ago.

Swedish woman finds wedding ring after 16 years, on a carrot

Swedish woman finds wedding ring after 16 years, on a carrot AFP | Sat, Dec 31, 2011 STOCKHOLM - A Swedish woman who lost her wedding ring 16 years ago was flabbergasted when she found it again, around a carrot growing in her garden, media reported Saturday. Lena Paahlsson had taken off the white gold ring before a Christmas baking session with her daughters in 1995, but it had disappeared from the kitchen counter where she placed it. After looking everywhere, and even pulling up floorboards in the search, Paahlsson and her family, who live on a farm in northern Sweden, had given up on seeing the ring again, she told the Dagens Nyheter daily. That was until October this year, when she was picking the last carrots in her garden and suddenly found one with her ring glimmering around it. The family thinks the ring must have fallen into the sink back in 1995 and been mixed with potato peels that were composted or fed to the sheep, since all the soil in the garden comes from composted vegetables and sheep dung. The ring no longer fits Paahlsson, but she told Dagens Nyheter she plans to have it enlarged. "I had given up hope. Now that I have found the ring again ... I want to be able to use it," she said.

Afghan woman cuts off father-in-law's penis

Afghan woman cuts off father-in-law's penis AFP | Sat, Dec 31, 2011 KABUL - An Afghan woman cut off her father-in-law's penis with a knife after he tried to have sex with her, a doctor in eastern Afghanistan's Ghazni province said Saturday. "One day when the husband was away from home he attempted to have sex with his daughter-in-law and she cut off his penis with a knife," the doctor from a private hospital in Ghazni said on condition of anonymity. The man went for treatment at the private hospital but was sent on to the capital Kabul for specialist treatment, he added. The incident took place two weeks ago but has only just come to light. According to figures in an Oxfam report in October, 87 percent of Afghan women report having experienced physical, sexual or psychological violence or forced marriage.

Bird flu H5N1 virus

According to AFP, a bus driver infected with the H5N1 virus, otherwise known as bird flu, is in critical condition in Shenzhen. He was hospitalized for running a high fever and later on was found to have the deadly strain. According to authorities, the 39-year-old man apparently did not have direct contact with poultry. Hong Kong recently raised its bird flu alert to 'serious' and banned live poultry imports from China after three birds tested positive with the virus. China has the world's largest poultry population and in many rural areas, chickens are kept close to people. According to the World Health Organisation, since the virus reappeared in 2003, 26 people have died from the strain in China.

2 men bleed to death after river fish bite off their gentitals

2 men bleed to death after river fish bite off their genitals   Published on Dec 31, 2011     (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - A piranha-like river fish that has been targeting fishermen's penises was discovered in the waters of Papua New Guinea. Sin Chew Daily reported that two local fishermen had bled to death after having their private organs bitten off by the fish's razor-sharp teeth. An experienced angler from Britain said it was believed the killer fish had started biting humans due to a lack of 'naturally occurring food'. Marine biologist Ian Middleton said the fish had the most human-like teeth on the bottom jaw he had ever seen. He said the fish could have possibly fed on insects and might have detected a chemical change in the water before swimming up the urine trail and biting human genitals.

Why some flats have zero COV

  Why some flats have zero COV The New Paper | Sat, Dec 31, 2011 By Lediati Tan HE HAS neither owed money nor has anyone in his family become a guarantor for a loan. The same goes for his neighbour. But that has not stopped loan sharks from disturbing the peace and quiet of his Jurong neighbourhood after his neighbour lost his identity card two years ago. First, his neighbour's house was splashed with paint several times. When that failed to compel the neighbour to pay up for what he did not owe, the loan shark sent chilling letters threatening to splash paint or set fire to neighbouring units. This made Mr A Chiam, 35, an engineer, worried because his five-room flat is right next door to his neighbour's flat. He then installed CCTVs outside his and his neighbour's flats. But that did not scare them off. On Dec 1, the loan shark sent a letter taunting them: "Don't think your house got camera we don't dare to do." To drive home the point, the letter came with images of different flats being vandalised. Said Mr Chiam: "I'm living in a nice environment with good neighbours, then this type of thing starts happening in my neighbourhood. "It's very disturbing and scary that they are using this kind of tactic to break this kind of harmony that we have." As he lives with his wife and two young children aged three and seven, he's worried for the safety of his family. He contemplated moving out, but decided against it. "Why should I move? I don't think I should move out because of this illegal loan shark when I have such wonderful neighbours," he said. There's also the concern over the value of his property. Added Mr Chiam: "Who would buy this house if they knew there was this kind of thing going around?" His concern is not unfounded. At a time when home owners are demanding cash-over-valuation (COV) in the tens of thousands, there are flats that make no demands for COV. Like the one property agent Cheah Kian Choong recently sold. Mr Cheah, 42, a property director at I-Realty, told The New Paper that a three-room Tampines flat was sold for $310,000 over a week ago with no COV. The seller had insisted that Mr Cheah tell prospective buyers of the flat's history of being a target of loan shark harassment. Target The flat had become a target after the seller's mother became a guarantor for a friend who had borrowed from loan sharks, said Mr Cheah. When the person failed to pay, loan shark runners came to splash paint on the unit's front door and the unit's number was scribbled on walls. Although the last incident of loan shark harassment took place two years ago, Mr Cheah said that the seller, a security guard in his 40s, insisted that he share this information with all prospective buyers. Mr Cheah said his client wanted to sell the flat as he is thinking of moving to Thailand to be with his girlfriend. Added Mr Cheah: "He's in the security line and he didn't feel it was right to not reveal this information. He's a god-fearing guy who believes in karma. "He wanted to make a voluntary disclosure to let people make an informed decision." Mr Cheah and the seller thought the low COV would be a huge draw despite the flat's history, but they were disappointed. Never mind that the 67 sq m flat in Block 223, Tampines Street 24 comes with two bathrooms, is just three bus stops or a 20-minute walk from Tampines MRT station, and is near a library and a polyclinic. Said Mr Cheah: "Out of 50 callers, 10 eventually came to view. About eight of them were very keen. But when I mentioned about the ah long (loan shark) case, all eight didn't want the flat." The initial COV of $18,000 was lowered to $10,000 after two weeks. Still, no one took up the offer and it was further lowered to zero COV after a week. The flat was eventually sold on Dec 18 to a divorced mother with four children who was on a tight budget and in need of a place to live because of her family situation. Said Mr Cheah: "He's trying to be honest, but he's being penalised for it. I think he could have easily gotten $20,000 more for the COV, which is not a small amount for a guy who earns about $1,500 a month." A check on HDB's website showed that a similar-sized flat in a neighbouring block was sold for $325,000 last month. The median COV for resale flats registered in the third quarter of this year for a three-room flat in Tampines was $33,000. Property agents contacted said it is rare for flats to be sold with zero COV in the current property market. In such instances, there is often a catch. A death may have occurred in such a flat. Or the unit might be very old and on a low floor. There are also instances where relatives are selling the flat to each other, hence the low or zero COV. Buying such flats means that you may inherit the problem, warned real estate agents. Said Mr Aaron Lin, a group director at Dennis Wee Group: "Whether it's lower or no COV, it's not worth the money. "Trouble does not have a monetary value. It's going to be a lifelong problem. Do you want people to come and harass you everyday?" It's a case of caveat emptor or "buyer beware", said Mr Eric Cheng, chief executive of ECG Property. "Buyers have to be aware of what they are buying. They should go the extra mile to find out more about the flat before they pay the deposit," he said. For Mr Chiam, who does not intend to sell his place at this moment, he hopes more can be done to address the issue of loan-shark harassment. Although there's been enforcement on the matter and the Moneylenders Act has been toughened to deal with harassment, Mr Chiam felt that it has not got to the core of the problem. He asked if more can be done at the community level to tackle the issue and whether laws need to be tougher on loan shark syndicates. "Trouble does not have a monetary value. It's going to be a lifelong problem. Do you want people to come and harass you everyday?" - Mr Aaron Lin, a group director at Dennis Wee Group This article was first published in The New Paper.

Asian flush red flag for risk of cancer

'Asian flush' red flag for risk of cancer AsiaOne | Fri, Dec 30, 2011 "Asian flush", the bright red blush that some people of Asian descent get after a few drinks, is said to increase their risk of deadly esophageal cancer. Mr Philips Brooks, investigator with the Division of Metabolism and Health Affects at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, told Bodyodd.msnbc.msn.com that the 'Asian flush' occurs predominantly in individuals of Japanese, Chinese or Korea descent. Those who suffer from the blush, which is commonly mistaken for a sunburn, also suffer a headache and feel nauseous when they are drink. They will also experience an increased heart rate. According to Brooks, a genetic inability to metabolize alcohol (or ethanol) fully is the cause behind this 'condition'. Usually the enzymes in the liver metabolizes first into the toxic chemical acetaldehyde - an animal carcinogen that causes DNA damage and other cancer-promoting effects - and then into the harmless substance acetate. People with the flush have a genetic deficiency in the alcohol-metabolizing enzyme ALDH2 - which could possibly lead to an accumulation of the toxic substance acetaldehyde. They hence cannot metabolize alcohol to acetate. The alcohol will thus build up in their body and will cause the vasodilation which in turn causes the flushing response. In some individuals with two copies of the deficient gene, the symptoms are so severe that they cannot tolerate a drop of alcohol. Those with a single copy of the gene often get by with the heart palpitations and flushing - and this is where things get a tad risky. According to studies, a person with a single copy of the deficient gene who drinks just two beers a day is up to 10 times more likely to develop esophageal cancer than a person who's able to metabolize the alcohol properly. Whilst many Asians are familiar with the flush, too few realize that it is more than just an inconvenience to their outlooks, but also a red flag for one of the deadliest cancers worldwide.

http://www.thiaoouba.com/seeau.htm

http://www.thiaoouba.com/seeau.htmThere is nothing “paranormal” in the Universe, except our limited understanding of Nature. What we think we “know” on Earth now is just a tiny drop in the Ocean of Knowledge. In the distant past, people admired things they could not explain and called them “miracles”. Long ago, people were able to see Auras. Advanced spiritual people such as Buddha, Christ and their immediate students were painted with golden haloes around their heads, because some artists could actually see Auras. In Australia remote West Kimberleys you can find prehistoric cave paintings (bottom left), many thousands of years old, depicting people with golden haloes. (photo courtesy G.L.Walsh) Nature gave us ALL we need to see Auras. All is required is the knowledge how to use your senses together with your conscious effort. If you decide not to try, you will NEVER see the Aura. On the other hand, when you SEE something for yourself, no longer will you need to rely on believing someone. You will KNOW. And you can use your knowledge to learn more. Many great people in the past complained that "we have eyes and we do not see". Further in this document you will discover what they meant. ANYONE can see auras to some degree. Rather than create an aura of mystery around my newly acquired skill, my approach is to show everyone what their eyes are capable of. When nearly everyone (including children) sees a similar thing, I consider this a part of our Nature and I say that it deserves our attention. This page summarizes the content of regular lecture-workshops on seeing and Reading Auras held by Dr. Tom J. Chalko. It was written to be BRIEF. For best results you need to refer to it from time to time. If you want to arrange workshop and have a group of people ready, please contact the author. You can also buy Dr Tom J. Chalko workshop notes (an expanded version of this document). What is the Aura ? Everything in the Universe seems to be just a vibration. Every atom, every part of an atom, every electron, every elementary “particle”, even our thoughts and consciousness are just vibrations. Hence, we may define the Aura as a electro-photonic vibration response of an object to some external excitation (such as an ambient light for example). This definition is sufficient for the purpose of reading Auras, providing that we can train ourselves to see the Aura vibration. The most important property of the Aura seems to be the fact that it contains INFORMATION about the object. Aura around living (conscious) objects (people, plants ...) changes with time, sometimes very quickly. Aura around non-living object (stones, crystals, water...) is essentially fixed, but can be changed by our conscious intent. Above facts have been observed by scientists in Russia, who have been using Kirlian effect to study Auras for the last 50 years. The Aura around humans is partly composed from EM (electromagnetic) radiation, spanning from microwave, infrared (IR) to UV light. The low frequency microwave and infrared part of the spectrum (body heat) seems to be related to the low levels of the functioning of our body (DNA structure, metabolism, circulation etc.) whereas high frequency (UV part) is more related to our conscious activity such as thinking, creativity, intentions, sense of humor and emotions. Russian scientists, who seem to be about 3 decades ahead of everyone else in Aura research, make experiments suggesting that our DNA can be altered, by influencing its microwave Aura. The high frequency UV part is very important and most interesting but largely unexplored. And this part can be seen with naked eyes. Why do we need to see auras ? Colors and intensity of the aura, especially around and above the head have VERY special meanings. Watching someone's aura you can actually see the other person's thoughts before you hear them expressed verbally. If they do not agree with what this person is saying, you effectively see a lie every time. No one can lie in front of you undetected. We cannot fake the Aura. It shows our True Nature and intentions for everyone to see. Also, aura is our spiritual signature. When you see a person with a bright, clean aura, you can be SURE that such person is good and spiritually advanced, even if he/she is modest and not aware of it. When you see a person with a gray or dark aura, you may be almost SURE, that such person has unclear intentions, regardless how impressive, eloquent, educated, "good looking" or "well dressed" he/she seems to appear. It is ESPECIALLY important to check the aura of any religious leader, "spiritual teacher", "master" or a "guru". Such a person should have a clearly defined yellow-golden halo around the head. If he/she does not have it, you are MUCH better on your own. Joining a sect or a religion that is led by incompetent people without good Auras is very dangerous for your consciousness. Where is the danger ? When the time comes to really use the information stored in your consciousness from this lifetime, there may be almost nothing useful there, if you focus your life on following rituals and the flock of other people. In such case it is necessary to re-learn everything from the beginning. Most sect, religion and political leaders have only two things in mind: money and power to control people. And you can SEE it in their Aura for yourself. Imagine changes on Earth if many people can see Auras of their leaders and start choosing them on the basis of their Auras. By reading Aura it seems possible to diagnose malfunctions in the body (diseases) long before physical symptoms become evident. By consciously controlling your Aura you can actually heal yourself. However, healing of the physical body is nothing in comparison to what seeing and reading auras can do for our consciousness, spiritual development and our awareness of Nature. Everyone has an Aura. But most people on Earth have VERY WEAK and dull Auras. This seems to be a direct consequence of their life long materialistic attitude negating and suppressing the development of consciousness, cultivating fear, envy, jealousy and other similar emotions. Such attitude suppresses their True Nature, and their Auras seem to become suppressed too. When you learn to see Auras, be prepared for a REALLY HARD question: “Can you tell me what my Aura is ?” and the situation when you don't see any Aura or you see something you don't want to talk about. One of the best answers I found is “why don't you learn to see it for yourself ? “. And this is one of the main reasons why I teach people to see auras. When people realize that their Aura is on display and many people are able to see it, they will watch what they think. And they will try to see and improve their own Aura. In the process they will become better and wiser, being able to recognize intentions of other people. Surely, the entire world will become much better if all people can see and read Auras. Children and the Aura: Very young children (up to 5 years of age) see auras naturally. Infants frequently look ABOVE a person in front of them. When they don't like the color of the aura above the head, or if this color is much different from their parent's aura, they cry, no matter how much smiling the person does. Children have much cleaner and stronger auras than most of adults, who are usually completely enslaved by the materialistic world and suppress their Nature by following superficial examples. When I taught my 12 year old son to see his own Aura, he told me that when he was little he was able to see Auras most of the time. But no one paid any attention, so he thought that it was not important and maybe there was something wrong with his eyesight. This is a typical scenario. In my opinion children should learn to see and read Auras in a primary school, so they never lose this natural ability.Increasing exposure When we want to do a photo of a dark scene, we need to increase the time of exposure of the film. We can accomplish this for our eyes by concentrating exactly on ONE spot for a while (30-60 seconds). When our eyes are moving, or a scene moves in front of our eyes, images are averaged by our eye. (25 TV frames per second seems a fluent motion). When we concentrate on one spot, we increase our sensitivity because we average the incoming light, cumulating its effect. Our photosensitive cells (Red Green and Blue) operate as vibration sensors, much like 3 radio receivers tuned to 3 "colors" RGB. When you need to achieve a large vibration of , say, a swing - you can accomplish it using a very weak excitation force, but persist with it. Concentrating with your eyes on one spot you achieve a very similar effect: with a very small stimulation you can gradually swing your photo sensitive cells into large vibration, and this results in a visual sensation perceived by the brain. Concentration exercise 1 Place the picture in Fig 1 about 1.5 m in front of you. Look exactly at the black spot for 30 seconds or so and observe colored dots with your peripheral vision. Resist temptation to look anywhere else but the black spot. Fig 1. Image for concentration exercise Note that colored areas seem to be surrounded by the “Aura” of a different color. When peripheral sensors are stimulated for some time, we have color sensations, much different than when we use the central vision. The longer you concentrate, the brighter is the “Aura” around colored areas, because your sensitivity increases. Yesterday you could look at this picture for hours and never see anything. Concentration at ONE spot for long enough is the key. Rather than the true Aura, this exercise demonstrates the principle of how to look to see human Auras by making you aware of certain specific capabilities of your eyesight and your perception. Concentration exercise 2 This exercise aims to stimulate the communication between both hemispheres of the brain, thereby increasing the "processing power" needed to see Auras. Place the picture in Fig 2 about 1 meter in front of you. Stretch your hand forward so that one of your fingers is between and underneath circles. Change focus on the tip of your finger and overlook the circles. You should see 4 circles. Then aim to overlap the middle two to see ONE CIRCLE WITH A WHITE CROSS on top of your finger, in the middle between the two. Seeing the cross is the evidence, that the left hemisphere of the brain (connected to the right eye) is communicating with the right hemisphere (connected to the left eye). This exercise turns out to be extremely beneficial: 5 minutes of it seems to double the size of the electro-photonic aura as recorded by bioelectrography. The cross will initially float and seem unstable. Experiment with the distance from your finger to your eyes to achieve a perfect cross. You gain a significant benefit after 3-5 minutes of maintaining a perfectly balanced cross, preferably without blinking, but a magic duration seems to be 45 minutes of concentration at the time, which is said to make a REAL difference to your mental and auric abilities. In my experience it is best to start with a minute or two and gradually increase the time every week. Short and intensive concentration seems to be better than a longer one, interrupted by the lack of skill. Gradually, with practice you should be able to achieve and maintain the cross without the finger. While maintaining the cross try to become aware of the other 2 circles as well as everything around using your peripheral vision. You should see Auric colors around the colored circles above with your peripheral vision. When you can analyze surroundings using your peripheral vision, without loosing the cross (and the concentration), you are ready to see and read auras. Advanced levels of concentration : One diameter in the cross seems usually "in front" of the other. This means, that one of your brain hemispheres seems to dominate the other. Males usually see the horizontal diameter above (left hemisphere dominates) females usually see the vertical diameter above (right hemisphere dominates). Try to get the "hidden" diameter in front as much as possible, by concentrating, on demand. The final level of concentration is to achieve and maintain a perfectly balanced cross with all four arms of similar intensity, thereby achieving a perfect balance both hemispheres. Many people experience amazing effects here. Firstly, concentration gets much deeper. Secondly, after 2-3 minutes you seem like loosing sight, with bright background becoming dark purple or pink. Your sensitivity and awareness greatly increase. Several people reported that wearing the Chakra Shirt significantly enhances such concentration, and my personal experience confirms this. Colors and Auric Pairs In concentration exercises 1 and 2 we noticed that real colors are surrounded with Auras of different colors. These auric colors are not random. Following is a list of Auric Pairs of colors for all clean colors of the rainbow (monochromatic colors). red gives turquoise aura, turquoise gives red aura orange gives blue aura, blue gives orange aura yellow gives violet aura, violet gives yellow aura green gives pink aura, pink gives green aura The above table applies also to intermediate colors, for example yellow-green color gives a pink-violet aura. Note, that above Auric pairs are DIFFERENT than complementary color pairs, "color wheels" and "color spaces" promoted by the science and art on Earth. Every child can confirm that auric pairs listed above are true. A good look around will prove that the Nature is very fond of Auric Pairs. Take any red colored bird and you can be sure, that this bird will have turquoise body parts too. The same applies to blue-orange, yellow-violet and pink-green combinations, not only in birds, but in fish, butterflies, flowers etc.. - anything which is vividly coloured by Nature. Occasionally you will see “the next best” color instead of a perfect auric match. Have you noticed that MOST of flowers on Earth that grow on trees and are surrounded by GREEN leaves are either violet, pink(purple) or red? Auric Pairs in Nature are very stimulating, and frequently induce an overwhelming feeling of beauty and happiness. You need to memorize and know well the above Auric Pairs. Why? Because if you see a pink Aura around someone in a bright green dress, there is a strong possibility that you see the "Aura" of a dress, not of a person. How to see and read auras <- Back     Next -> Watching auras Global Warming: Can Earth EXPLODE? There will be no second chance... See the latest scientific discovery See your aura   Part 1 - What is aura   Part 2 - Eye exercises   Part 3 - Watching auras   Part 4 - Improving auras Kirlian or not? Aura - conscious control Self healing Astral travel Spiritual teachers Guru or not Guru? Lonely? Drug Free Society Japan's best kept secret Meditation Levitation Thiaoouba - Frequently Asked Questions Bookshop Bioelectrography Bioresonance Workshops & Retreats Can Earth EXPLODE? Home Contact us How to see and READ the AURA: Part 3 Seeing the Aura This exercise is designed to see Aura for the first time and/or practice seeing Auras. Choosing good conditions is important: not only you see the Aura better, but also to gain a confidence about what you see. Situate the person in front of a very softly illuminated PLAIN WHITE background. A color background will change Aura colors, so you need additional knowledge about combining colors. Some combinations of background and Aura colors may cause misinterpretation problems. Choose ONE SPOT to look at. The middle of the forehead is VERY GOOD. This is a location of so called Brow Chakra or the Third Eye. In some cultures (India) they put a mark on a forehead. Such a mark in ancient times could mean the invitation to look and see the Aura. Look at this spot for 30 to 60 seconds or longer After 30 seconds analyze surroundings with your peripheral vision, while still looking at the same spot. Continuing the concentration is most important. Resist temptation to look around. You should see that the background nearby the person is brighter and has a DIFFERENT color than the background further away. This is your own perception of the Aura. The longer you concentrate, the better you will see it. Remember, concentration on one spot increases your sensitivity by accumulating the effect of the Aura vibration reaching your eyes. Taking a SNAPSHOT of an Aura. After concentrating long enough to see the aura, close your eyes. For a second or two you will see the Aura ONLY. Be prepared. You have only one second or two until your photosensitive cells will stop vibrating and sending visual sensations to the brain. And if you miss is, you have to start concentrating again. Try to experiment how fast or slow you should close your eyes. Observing auras of other people The best is to look directly at someone's brow chakra (third eye or wisdom eye, which is located @1.5 cm above the nose, between eyes) and aim to achieve the state of mind similar to the concentration technique described above for at least 30-60 seconds. I have tried also looking at throat and heart chakras with similar results. However, if you concentrate on someone's chest it looks so unusual that the person concerned is usually very uneasy about it. When you look into someone's brow chakra you can actually continue conversation. Again, VERY softly illuminated background, with no shadows is best. With practice, any uniformly illuminated background (such as a blue sky for example) will suffice. How to see your own Aura Stand about 1.5 m in front of a good size mirror. In the beginning it is best if the background behind you is plain white and there are no shadows. Illumination should be VERY soft and uniform not bright. Follow instructions above for seeing Auras. PRACTICE for at least 10-15 minutes each day to increase your sensitivity and develop Auric sight. Remember that practice is required to develop Auric sight. Auric sight and after-images One of the most frequently asked questions during my workshops is: "Tom, are my eyes playing tricks on me ?" The answer is no, you have just learnt to pay attention to what your eyes are capable of. Light sensors in our eyes (Red Green and Blue) are vibration sensors which are highly non-linear and they have memory. The consequence of memory is that they can oscillate for up to several seconds after the visual stimulation has been discontinued. This memory of visual stimulation is frequently perceived as afterimage. Afterimages have a precisely the same shape as original images. Afterimage of an object surrounded by its Aura is larger than the original image. The increase in such afterimage is due to the vibration of an Aura and actually represents a "snapshot" of an Aura. It is therefore essential to focus at one spot when watching the Aura and resist temptation to change the point of focus, otherwise an image of the Aura may become confused with the afterimage of an object. Meaning of Aura and its colors The Aura is a reflection of our True Nature at any given moment. At this point it is perhaps necessary to explain what do I mean by "True Nature" and why some effort is necessary to "discover" it. Our society seems to emphasize symbols, stereotypes, habits, manners, superficial behavior, pretending, following others and submitting free will to some "leaders". Our "education" seems to be based on views and expectations of people who try to control the flock. Our True Nature is what is left when we recognize and discard all our habits, stereotypes, manners, and pretending, superficial behavior and become fully conscious, truly natural and spontaneous. Note that some people are so attached to their manners and habits that it is very hard, if not impossible, to discover who they really are. The only way to get an instant insight into their personality seems to be by watching their Aura, because the Aura shows their True Nature, behind any facade of superficial behavior. In general, the more colorful, cleaner and brighter the Aura, the better and more spiritually advanced is the person. Also, the more uniform the energy distribution in the Aura, the healthier and more balanced the person is. Distribution of the energy in the Aura seems to have the potential of a powerful medical diagnostic tool, but usually requires using a complex equipment. The scope of this article is to concentrate on what we can easily see with our eyes. Our Aura surrounds the entire body, but the interpretation of colors below relates to the Aura around the head only. Meaning of colors around the head presented below suggested in the literature has been confirmed by the author. When you learn to see Aura well, you can verify it for yourself, by concentrating on certain thoughts while watching your Aura, or telling people what their thoughts are when you see their Auras. Usually, people have one or two dominating colors (strong points) in their Aura. These colors (or their Auric pairs) will be most likely their favorite colors. In addition to dominant colors, the Aura reflects thoughts, feelings and desires, which appear like "flashes", "clouds" or "flames", usually further away from the head. For example a flash of orange in the Aura indicates a thought or desire to exercise power and control. Orange as a dominant color is a sign of power and general ability to control people. Quickly changing "flashes" indicate quickly changing thoughts. Meaning of Clean Colors of the Aura (colors of the rainbow, bright, shiny, monochromatic colors): Purple: indicates spiritual thoughts. Purple is never a strong point in the Aura. It appears only as temporary "clouds" and "flames", indicating truly spiritual thoughts. Blue: Balanced existence, sustaining life, eased nerve system, transmitting forces and energy. People with blue strong point in their Aura are relaxed, balanced and feel ready to live in a cave and survive. They are born survivors. Blue thought is a thought about relaxing the nerve system to achieve the balance of the mind or a thought about surviving. Electric blue can override any other color in the Aura, when the person is receiving and/or transmitting information in a telepathic communication. For example Michel Desmarquet, author of "Thiaoouba Prophecy", frequently glows with the electric blue during his lectures, especially when he answers questions from the public. Turquoise: indicates dynamic quality of being, highly energized personality, capable of projection, influencing other people. People with turquoise strong point in their Aura can do many things simultaneously and are good organizers. They feel bored when forced to concentrate on one thing. People love bosses with turquoise Auras, because such bosses explain their goals and influence their team rather than demand executing their commands. Turquoise thought is a thought about organizing and influencing others. Green: restful, modifying energy, natural healing ability. All natural healers should have it. People with a green strong point in their Auras are natural healers. The stronger the green Aura, the better the healer. They also love gardening and usually have a "green hand" - anything grows for them. Being in a presence of a person with a strong and green Aura is a very peaceful and restful experience. Green thought indicates a restful state and healing. Yellow: joy, freedom, non-attachment, freeing or releasing vital forces. People who glow yellow are full of inner joy, very generous and not attached to anything. Yellow halo around the head: high spiritual development. A signature of a spiritual teacher. Do not accept spiritual teachings from anyone who does not have such a yellow halo. Buddha and Christ had yellow halos extending to their arms. Today it is rare on Earth to find a person with a halo larger than 1 inch. Yellow halo appears as a result of a highly active brow chakra (which can be seen glowing with violet by many people at my workshops). Highly spiritual people stimulate the brow chakra continuously for many years, because they always have intensive spiritual thoughts in their minds. When this chakra is observed when highly active, a yellow (Auric pair) halo appears around it, surrounding the entire head. Yellow thought indicates a moment of joy and contentment. Orange: uplifting and absorbing. Inspiring. A sign of power. Ability and/or desire to control people. When orange becomes a strong point, it usually contributes to a yellow halo, which then becomes gold, indicating not only a spiritual teacher, but a powerful spiritual teacher, someone capable of demonstrating his/her unique abilities. Orange thought is a thought about exercising power or a desire to control people. Red: materialistic thoughts, thoughts about the physical body. Predominantly red Aura indicates materialistically oriented person. Pink (=purple+red): love (in a spiritual sense). To obtain a clean pink, you need to mix the purple (the highest frequency we perceive) with red (the lowest frequency). Pink Aura indicates that the person achieved a perfect balance between spiritual awareness and the material existence. The most advanced people have not only a yellow halo around the head (a permanent strong point in the Aura) but also a large pink Aura extending further away. The pink color in the Aura is quite rare on Earth and appears only as a temporary thought, never as a strong point in the Aura. Meaning of Dirty colors: (colors appearing darker than background more like a smoke than a glow) Brown: unsettling, distracting, materialistic, negating spirituality. Gray: dark thoughts, depressing thoughts, unclear intentions, presence of a dark side of personality. Sulfur (color of a mustard): pain or lack of ease, anger White: serious disease, artificial stimulation (drugs). Why does the white color in the Aura indicate problems? White color is like a noise, rather than a set of harmonious tones (monochromatic colors). It is impossible to "tune" the noise to an orchestra playing harmonious music, hence the white Aura indicates a lack of harmony in the body and mind. Nature, which we are a part of, is harmonious. This harmony comes in discrete vibration "tones" or harmonics, partially described by the modern quantum physics. Several hours before the death, the Aura becomes white, and greatly increases in intensity. For this reason in most cultures "death" is depicted in WHITE (not black), because in the past, people could actually see a white Aura before death. It seems that our ancestors knew much more than we are prepared to admit. Amplifying your Aura vibration and bio-energy Things which can greatly amplify your aura are: Meditation (purifying your mind from any thoughts) Concentration exercise with the cross Matching your aura with the environment Our eyes <- Back     Next -> Matching your aura with environment Matching your aura with environment When we match vibrational frequencies (spectra) of what we wear with these emitted naturally by our body and mind we seem to create conditions to experience a state of harmony which is quite unique. The effect can be compared to “tuning” of a musical instrument. Without tuning, all you can make with the instrument is noise, rather than a harmonious music. Essentially there are 3 techniques for matching you Aura with surroundings: Matching your strong point. When we learn what are "strong points" (dominant colors) in our own Aura we can attempt to match our surroundings or clothes with our Aura. Re-decorating our home to achieve a better match will result in a positive stimulation of our psyche and will help to promote our well being in many aspects. According to what Nature does to stimulate us, we should use Auric color pairs aiming for such a match. For example if your Aura is predominantly green, you should use green as well as a light pink in your decorations or apparels. Match our surroundings to the frequencies of thoughts. Frequencies of thoughts were described in the Section dealing with meaning of colors in the Aura. For example, if you think about relaxing your mind (a blue thought) blue surroundings will amplify your thought. Note, that when you come out of the house in the morning and the sky is perfectly blue - you feel relaxed before you have the time to think about anything else. This is because any thought in the direction of relaxing the mind is assisted by blue vibration of the sky. When the sky is gray, you have depressing thoughts before you notice it. Note that blue jeans fashion is very popular, because it assists us in achieving a relaxed mind. Trying to promote brown jeans may prove quite useless. Match the frequency distribution along the body. This seems to be the Ultimate Natural stimulation, but requires specially designed clothes such as the Chakra Shirt. Results seem to be quite similar to the action of the acupuncture, but instead of needles a set of 16 key colors is used. Some spectacular improvements in people's bio-energy field (Aura) have been observed within minutes of putting it on. In any case, use of clean, near monochromatic (rainbow) colors seems essential. They can be subtle and delicate, but they should contain a distinctly clean "rainbow" harmonics of vibration. Left: Improvement to human bioenergy field after a few minutes of bioresonant color stimulation. Composite reconstruction of human bioenergy field using the method of Korotkov. Suppressing the Aura Things which seem to reduce, muffle or distort your bio-energy (Aura) are: FEAR, stress, anxiety, hatred, envy, jealousy or any other negative thought or feeling Physical crisis in your body - disease, artificial stimulation (drugs) etc.. These can show a temporary increase in the aura size - this effect is similar to the effect of your body raising the temperature during sickness. You need to learn to READ the Aura to diagnose such a crisis. Most likely such increased Aura will be white. Clothes and the environment clashing with your Aura. Dull colored clothes absorb your bio-energy rather than harmoniously enhancing it. It is interesting to note that males on Earth die much earlier than females, regardless of their cultural and ethnic background, diet etc. In my opinion it is related to the fact that males dress in black or gray colors for the most of their lives and rarely use colors. Females use much more colors in their garments and change them frequently. Interestingly, many male birds in Nature are much brighter colored than females. And THEY live longer. Nature always gives us a hint. All we need to do is observe it and adopt ideas from it. An immediate effect of wearing gray, black or brown clothes seems that that they make you tired quicker. Have you noticed that young people today look MUCH OLDER than they should? Isn't it logical that we should avoid all of the above if possible? “Cultivating” any of the above for prolonged time can have a permanent effect on your psyche and your Aura. Technology, tricks and the truth - click here Astral Body Frequently, the astral body is mistaken for the aura. Astral body is THE most important, eternal part of us, because our consciousness is embedded in it. Vibration of the aura stop when our physical body dies. The astral body is eternal: its life span is about 10e22 years, which approaches the lifetime of the Universe (it is quite a while). The astral body is an electronic mass containing about 4e21 (4,000,000,000,000,000,000,000) electrons. (see The Book). Our physicists are yet to discover, that electrons in our astral body have tremendous memory capacity, and they in fact contain information and intelligence that controls all functions of our mind and body, including all healing processes. This astral body is actually true "us". Using a computer jargon, our physical body is the hardware, equipped with sensors, transmitters, receivers and actuators, and the electronic astral body contains the software, memory, data storage as well as the consciousness and the free will of the operator, deciding what to do. It is possible that our physical bodies are imperfect, or get sick, simply because we have not yet developed our consciousness to build and control them any better. The ultimate goal is to be able to consciously control activity of every cell in our body and in particular to regenerate (rejuvenate) them at will. If we can accomplish this, we will be forever young and it will be up to us when and how we want to change our physical bodies. Also we will have a complete freedom to be either in the physical body (needed as a tool if you want to help others) or join the Source of consciousness, staying in your astral body. Imagine the joy and the fun we can have then. This is not a dream. This is reality. There are only 2 things that can damage the information stored in our astral body and hurt us for many lifetimes to come: drugs and a loud noise . Experiment to see your own astral body : Make both your index fingers nearly touching each other, preferably in font of a dark, matt background. Black background is OK. Look between fingers and around them and note, that the background close to your fingers is brighter. A bluish transparent and slightly shining glow responsible for this is actually a part of your astral electronic body. By joining your hands you close an electronic circuit, making the astral body more visible. The shape of your electronic astral body follows closely your physical body. Some people have their astral body quite strong and shiny, extending 10 mm or more beyond their physical body. Typically, 2-4 mm is considered average for a healthy person on Earth. Was it good reading? Get the extended version of How to see and read the Aura in our bookshop. Suggested reading The latest book by Dr Tom Chalko Doubling the energy of your own aura Chakra Shirt - amplify your aura and FEEL the difference AURA - what we can measure: Kirlian effect: fascinating new perspectives Bio-electrography - discovering the physics of LIFE Learn the Astral Travel The Book. This is one of the most important books in the last 2000 years of our "civilization". Home

Aura (paranormal )

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aura_(paranormal) Aura (paranormal) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia The Human Aura in a healthy woman after a diagram by Walter John Kilner (1847-1920). The picture depicts Kilner's "inner and outer auras." Colours have been added for illustrative purposes and have no other significance. See also: Energy (esotericism) In parapsychology and many forms of spiritual practice, an aura is a field of subtle, luminous radiation surrounding a person or object (like the halo or aureola in religious art). The depiction of such an aura often connotes a person of particular power or holiness. Sometimes, however, it is said that all living things (including humans) and all objects manifest such an aura. Often it is held to be perceptible, whether spontaneously or with practice: such perception is at times linked with the third eye of Indian spirituality.[1][2] Various writers associate various personality traits with the colors of different layers of the aura.[3][4][5] It has also been described as a map of the thoughts and feelings surrounding a person. [6] Skeptics such as Robert Todd Carroll contend that auras may be seen for reasons such as migraines, synesthesia,[7] epilepsy, a disorder within the visual system, a disorder within the brain, or due to the influence of psychedelic drugs such as LSD.[8][9] Eye fatigue can also produce an aura, sometimes referred to as eye burn. Contents  [hide]  1 Spiritual traditions 2 Tests 3 See also 4 Notes 5 External links [edit]Spiritual traditions An old Iranian Shi'a Muslim impression of Jesus and Mary shows an aura after the style of the farr In Iran the aura is known as farr or "glory": it is depicted in association with Zoroastrian kings.[10] A statue of Vishnu, in which light effects are given in backside to symbolize a round shaped Aura, in yellow color, which actually as per Hindu scripts is of golden yellow color. Ideas of the aura are well represented in Indian religions. The Buddhist flag represents the colours seen around the enlightened Buddha.[11] In Jainism the concept of Lesya relates colours to mental and emotional dispositions. To the Indian teacher Meher Baba the aura is of seven colours, associated with the subtle body and its store of mental and emotional impressions. Spiritual practice gradually transforms this aura into a spiritual halo.[12] Hindu and Buddhist sources often link these colours to kundalini energy and the chakras.[13] In the classical western mysticism of neoplatonism and kabala the aura is associated with the lustre of the astral body, a subtle body identified with the planetary heavens, which were in turn associated with various mental faculties in an elaborate system of correspondences with colours, shapes, sounds, perfumes etc.[14] The symbolism of light found in the Bible is at times associated with the idea of the aura or "body of light":[15] similar interpretations are found in Islamic traditions.[16] According to the literature of Theosophy, Anthroposophy, and Archeosophy also, each colour of the aura has a meaning, indicating a precise emotional state. A complete description of the aura and its colours was provided by Charles Leadbeater, a theosophist of the 19th century.[17] The works of Leadbeater were later developed by Palamidessi[18] and others. A stylised aura surrounds the figure of Shakyamuni Buddha in this Buddhist Thangka. The British occultist W.E. Butler connected auras with clairvoyance and etheric, mental and emotional emanations. He classified the aura into two main types: etheric and spiritual. Auras are thought to serve as a visual measure of the state of the health of the physical body.[19] Robert Bruce classifies auras into three types: etheric, main, and spiritual.[20] According to Bruce auras are not actual light but a translation of other unknown sensory readings that is added to our visual processing. They are not seen in complete darkness and cannot be seen unless some portion of the person or object emitting the aura can also be seen.[21] Glenn Morris, grandmaster of the Hoshin Roshi Ryu lineage, included perception of the aura in his training of advanced martial artists. His experience was that it consisted of multiple layers. He described the most easily visible of these as being "light and denser than the air in which the body is immersed", typically half to quarter of an inch thick and correlating with the etheric body of an individual. Around this he described a yard thick egg-shaped layer reflecting hormonal state that he linked to the emotional body, and outside this, other barely perceptible layers corresponding to the mental body and beyond.[22] Recalling the aura of another sōke, he wrote, "The first time I saw Hatsumi, he was running continuous bright, lime, neon green a foot wide and was so easy to see he would flash in bright sunlight".[23] For holistic healers, aura reading is the art of investigating the human energy field, or the energy fields of other sentient beings. It is a basis for using techniques of holistic healing, and includes such practices as bioenergetics, energy medicine, energy spirituality, and energy psychology. [edit]Tests Recognition of auras has occasionally been tested on television. One test involved an aura reader standing on one side of a room with an opaque partition separating her from a number of slots which might contain either actual people or mannequins. The aura reader failed to identify the slots containing people, incorrectly stating that all contained people.[24] In another televised test[25] another aura reader was placed before a partition where five people were standing. He claimed that he could see their auras from behind the partition. As each person moved out, the reader was asked to identify where that person was standing behind the slot. He identified only 2 out of 5 correctly. [edit]See also Afterimage Astral Body Astral plane Aura (symptom) Aureola Chakra Clairvoyance Element (philosophy) Energy (spirituality) Ethereal being Etheric Body Halo (religious iconography) Kirlian photography Mental body Odic force Parapsychology Qi Radiesthesia Subtle body Walter Kilner [edit]Notes ^ Jack, Alex The New Age Dictionary First Edition: Kanthaka Press:1976; Second Edition Japan Publications, Inc. Tokyo and New York:1990 (Page locations taken from Second Edition)--See definition of "Aura" page 14; Definition of "Third Eye" Page 200 ^ http://parapsych.org/glossary_a_d.html Parapsychological Association website, Glossary of Key Words Frequently Used in Parapsychology, Retrieved January 24, 2006 ^ Oslie, Pamala: Life Colors, What the Colors in Your Aura Reveal, New World Library, 2000. ^ Bowers, Barbara, Ph.D: What Color Is Your Aura? Personality Spectrums for Understanding and Growth, Pocket Books, 1989. ^ Swami Panchadasi The Human Aura: Astral Colors and Thought Forms Des Plaines, Illinois, USA:1912--Yogi Publications Society. Available: here (accessed 4 March 2010) ^ http://www.aura-answers.com/aura-definition.html ^ http://www.skepdic.com/auras.html The Skeptic's Dictionary by Robert Todd Carroll, entry on auras, Retrieved Oct 13, 2007 ^ Deprez, L. et al.. "Familial occipitotemporal lobe epilepsy and migraine with visual aura ". Retrieved 16 July 2007. ^ Hill, Donna L. et al.. "Most Cases Labeled as "Retinal Migraine" Are Not Migraine ". Retrieved 16 July 2007. ^ Abolala Soudavar, The Aura of Kings: Legitimacy and Divine Sanction in Iranian Kingship, Mazda Pub. 2003, ISBN-10: 1568591098, ISBN-13: 978-1568591094. http://www.amazon.fr/Aura-Kings-Legitimacy-Sanction-Kingship/dp/1568591098 ^ http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/buddhism/pbs2_unit07a.htm ^ Meher Baba, The Path of Love, pub. Avatar Meher Baba Perpetual Public Charitable Trust, 2000 pp. 71-76. http://www.avatarmeherbaba.org/erics/aurahalo.html ^ C Breaux, Journey Into Consciousness: The Chakras, Tantra and Jungian Psychology, Motilal Banarsidass, 1998 ^ http://www.thefreelibrary.com/The+Correspondence+of+Walter+Benjamin%3A+1910-1940.-a016456254 ^ J Damon, The Mystical Shroud the Images and The Resurrection an Ecumenical Perspective, 2002 http://www.shroud.it/DAMON.PDF ^ Henri Corbin, The man of light in Iranian Sufism, Shambhala Publications, 1978 ^ LeadBeater, Charles: Man: Visible and Invisible, 1902. ^ Palamidessi, Tommaso: The Occult Constitution of Man and Woman, 1968. ^ Butler, W.E.: How to Read the Aura, pp 181-183. Destiny Books, 1978. ^ Bruce, Robert: Auric Mechanics and Theory, "Capturing the Aura," pp 301-303. Blue Dolphin Publishing, 2000. ISBN 0-9652490-6-9. ^ Bruce, Robert: Auric Mechanics and Theory, "Capturing the Aura," pp 293-296. Blue Dolphin Publishing, 2000. ISBN 0-9652490-6-9. ^ Morris, Glenn J. Path Notes of an American Ninja Master (1993) North Atlantic Books, ISBN 1-55643-157-0 p111-2 ^ Morris, Glenn J. Path Notes of an American Ninja Master (1993) North Atlantic Books, ISBN 1-55643-157-0 p118 ^ "auras". The Skeptic's Dictionary. Retrieved 2006-12-15. ^ "James Randi tests an aura reader". Retrieved 2008-01-14. [edit]External links Auras in the "Skeptic's dictionary" Aura" [hide] v d e Indian philosophy Texts Vedas (includes the Mukhya Upanishads)  · Upanishads (Whole list...)  · Puranas: Vishnu Purana, Bhagavata Purana  · Ramayana  · Mahabharata  · Bhagavad-Gita  · Buddhist texts  · Jain Agamas Topics Logic · Idealism · Monotheism · Atheism Āstika Samkhya · Nyaya · Vaisheshika · Yoga · Mimamsa · Vedanta (Advaita · Vishishtadvaita · Dvaita · Acintya bheda abheda) Nāstika Cārvāka · Ājīvika · Jaina (Anekantavada · Syadvada)  · Bauddha (Shunyata · Madhyamaka · Yogacara · Sautrantika · Svatantrika) Philosophical Texts Yoga Sutra | Nyaya Sutra | Vaiseshika Sutra | Samkhya Sutra | Mimamsa Sutra | Brahma Sutra | More... Philosophers Akshapada Gotama | Patanjali | Yajnavalkya | Kanada | Kapila | Jaimini | Vyasa | Nagarjuna | Madhvacharya | Kumarajiva | Padmasambhava | Vasubandhu | Adi Shankara | Ramanuja | More... View page ratings Rate this page What's this? 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Silva Mind Control (Silva Method )

Silva Mind Control (Silva Method)* Christian or New Age Mind Cult? Silva Method (formerly Silva Mind Control [SMC]) was developed by José Silva. Over six million students in 71 countries have taken the Silva International courses (formerly Silva Mind Control International). (One of Silva's goals is to have the Silva Method course taught to all school children, both in grade school and in college.) He claims that any person who will take his 48-hour (four day) course will develop psychic powers. A student is shown how to enter an altered state of consciousness, and in that state is taught how to tap into "higher intelligence in the universe." The student is taught how to function psychically and clairvoyantly, and how to invite counselors, or psychic guides, into his mind to help him with his problems. By the third day of the course, students are supposed to be able to operate psychically enough so that they can project their awareness outside of their bodies; i.e., have out-of-body experiences. Their minds are supposed to be able to tap into any source in the universe for the information, including the minds of other men, alive or dead. Silva Method uses visualization and guided imagery quite heavily; both have long been recognized by sorcerers of all kinds as the most powerful and effective methodology for contacting the spirit world in order to acquire supernatural power, knowledge, and healing. This sort of thing has been going on down through history. It's known as "shamanism," or witchcraft. Yet, Silva claims that God sent Jesus to teach us all of this! Obviously, the Silva Method is little more than a New Age psychological mind control technique, rather than a cultic system of teaching with readily identifiable followers. Nevertheless, it does have spiritual underpinnings (see Silva's book Keys to the Kingdom), and it does, in many ways, consider itself Christian. Below are the highlights of what Silva Mind Control/Silva Method teaches concerning its source of authority, Christ, sin, salvation, the Holy Spirit, and prayer: 1. Source of Authority. Authority for the Silva Method student is José Silva and his official publication THE SILVA METHOD. 2. Jesus Christ. The Silva Method teaches that Jesus did miracles in the same way that the Silva Method teaches its students. The Bible teaches that Jesus was not doing miracles by mind over matter. He did them by the power of His Father. Silva Method fails to differentiate between the miraculous, genuine supernatural power of God and that which man attributes to his own mind, which is nothing more than the usurping of the authority of God and trying to be little gods themselves. Silva Method also teaches that "Rabbi Jesus was assigned by Almighty God of the Universe to Planet Earth to teach humanity, in a step-by-step procedure, how to look for and find what is called the kingdom of God within us all. ... Jesus came to give us a message to correct the problem of human development on this planet because Moses didn't do it and Noah didn't do it, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob didn't ... Zoroaster, Krishna, Buddha, Mohammed didn't do it. So Jesus finally came to straighten out their mess and problem ..." Silva says that Jesus said that we are to go into an alpha state (an altered state of consciousness) with our spirit guides, thus gaining the psychic powers necessary to correct the human situation. (Silva also says, "Jesus is not coming back, so we've got to do it. But He gave us the keys; He gave us the message. Look inside; find this power; you've got the power and you can make earth 'paradise earth.'") 3. Sin. Silva denies original sin and sees only "problems to be solved." Silva teaches that the present is a process of materializing thoughts, while the future is composed of conceived thoughts not yet materialized. He talks about being able to prophesy, a process of projecting into thought patterns to see if we can detect information that can help us solve problems. According to the Silva Method, this information is for no other thing than for solving problems -- "to make this planet a better world to live in. ... if you get information to solve problems, where people are suffering, and you do alleviate that suffering and you correct the problem, who cares where the information comes from? The idea is get it anyway you can to stop a problem and forget everything else." Silva's done away with the blood of Jesus Christ; he's done away with the sacrificial death of Christ for our sins. According to the Silva Method, it's not a sin problem anymore, it's ignorance! 4. Salvation. Since Silva believes that we have been sent to the planet to solve problems (i.e., "to convert this planet into a paradise"), salvation is earned by one's success in problem solving. The emphasis is one of total pragmatism. But just the fact that one is solving problems does not answer the question of whether or not an activity itself is right or pleasing to God. "Positive" results can occur through the occult world or the psychic world. Being "born again" also has a unique meaning for Silva Method practitioners: "When we enter the kingdom of heaven, once there we become centered and have access to the use of the right brain hemisphere ... This would truly be the concept of being born again ... being 'born again' means 'Go back and retrace your steps and pick up the use of the right brain hemisphere like you did when you were born originally.' ... when you get to use both brain hemispheres, that is really being born again." Silva sums up what salvation is not in the Silva Method: "Somebody who died 1,900 years ago or 2,000 years ago, his blood cleansing us from sin and so forth, that doesn't help solve problems today." Salvation for Silva leads the lost away from the sacrifice of Christ for their sins upon the cross. They don't need that anymore. All they need is alpha in the right brain. The message of the Silva Method is one of complete rejection of the redemptive work of Jesus Christ upon the cross, i.e., a claim that we have the power within us. Silva overlooks the major problem of evil in the human heart, the sin nature of man, to which Jesus specifically said, "I come not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance." One hears no repentance from Silva, no acknowledgement of any real guilt. Instead, it's just something that's a state of mind that you can get rid of by going into your alpha level. 5. Holy Spirit. In the Silva Method, the Holy Spirit is a "dimension that we can create -- a state of mind to enter it and make use of it for problem-solving situations. ... We were sent to do a work for God -- help God with creation in thinking of His creatures." Rather than the Holy Spirit as Counselor, on the third day of Silva Method training, students are asked to pick two counselors. The lecturer explains how to invoke them. And in the last session, during meditation, two counselors appear in the laboratory of the mind of the student and they are available from that point on, whenever the student needs them. Silva says that anytime that you find yourself with a problem and you do not know what to do next, you consult your counselors: "They are here to do the work for you; they are here to help you evolve ... become ... as good as they are, whoever they are." This, of course, is spiritism; and the nature of spiritism is ultimately demonic. One can hear the same things from mediums and spiritists who talk to their advisors or their spirit guides or counselors, all of which is prohibited by Scripture (cf. Deut. 18). 6. Prayer. For Silva, praying is psychic -- the use of mind: "... we're praying; we're using psychic systems to pray, to visualize ... imagine what's to happen, and believe that you already have it and you shall receive it." (Sounds like the "name-it-and-claim-it" teaching of the Positive Confession movement.)

China over tainted pork

  China jails six over tainted pork AFP | Wed, Dec 28, 2011 BEIJING - A court in east China has jailed six butchers for selling pork tainted with the carcinogenic chemical clenbuterol, which is fed to pigs to produce leaner meat, state press reported Wednesday. The clenbuterol scandal is just one of numerous food safety issues to surface in recent years in China, ranging from rice contaminated with heavy metals to dyed buns and a tainted milk scandal. A court in Nanjing, the provincial capital of Jiangsu province, convicted the six butchers of harming public safety on December 13 and sentenced them to up to four years in prison, Xinhua news agency said. They were also each fined up to 50,000 yuan ($7,900), the report added. The defendants confessed they sold the meat even though they knew it was tainted with the chemical, it said. The tainted pork scandal surfaced in March after traces of clenbuterol were found in live pigs in numerous slaughter houses in agricultural producing regions. By the end of November, at least 113 people including 77 government employees, had been jailed in connection with the scandal in Henan province alone, Xinhua said. On Sunday, China's food safety watchdog said it found high levels of aflatoxin, a carcinogen, in milk produced by the Mengniu Dairy Group, one of the nation's top dairy producers. Milk was also at the centre of China's biggest food safety scandal in 2008 when the industrial chemical melamine was found to have been illegally added to dairy products to give the appearance of higher protein content. At least six babies died and another 300,000 became ill after drinking milk tainted with melamine. In May, the country's top court ordered that capital punishment be used for food safety crimes that result in fatalities.

JERUSALEM (AP) — A rare clay seal found under Jerusalem's Old City appears to be linked to religious rituals practiced at the Jewish Temple 2,000 years ago, Israeli archaeologists said Sunday. The coin-sized seal found near the Jewish holy site at the Western Wall bears two Aramaic words meaning "pure for God." Archaeologist Ronny Reich of Haifa University said it dates from between the 1st century B.C. to 70 A.D. — the year Roman forces put down a Jewish revolt and destroyed the second of the two biblical temples in Jerusalem. The find marks the first discovery of a written seal from that period of Jerusalem's history, and appeared to be a unique physical artifact from ritual practice in the Temple, said Reich, co-director of the excavation. Very few artifacts linked to the Temples have been discovered so far. The site of the Temple itself — the enclosure known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary — remains off-limits to archaeologists because of its religious and political sensitivity. Archaeologists say the seal was likely used by Temple officials approving an object for ritual use — oil, perhaps, or an animal intended for sacrifice. Materials used by Temple priests had to meet stringent purity guidelines stipulated in detail in the Jewish legal text known as the Mishna, which also mention the use of seals as tokens by pilgrims. The find, Reich said, is "the first time an indication was brought by archaeology about activities in the Temple Mount — the religious activities of buying and offering and giving to the Temple itself." The site where the seal was found is on the route of a main street that ran through ancient Jerusalem just outside the Temple compound. Aren Maeir of Bar-Ilan University, a biblical archaeologist not connected to the dig, said the seal was special because it "was found right next to the Temple and is similar to what we see described in the Mishna." "It's nice when we can connect an activity recorded in ancient sources with archaeological finds," he said. The seal was found in an excavation run by archaeologists from the government's Israel Antiquities Authority. The dig is under the auspices of a broader dig nearby known as the City of David, where archaeologists are investigating the oldest part of Jerusalem. The City of David dig, located inside the nearby Palestinian neighborhood of Silwan and funded by a Jewish group affiliated with the settlement movement, is the Holy Land's highest-profile and most politically controversial excavation. ______ Follow Matti Friedman on Twitter: www.twitter.com/mattifriedman

China female university like being a mistress

  "I like being a mistress" AsiaOne | Sun, Dec 25, 2011 A female university student in China has caused a furore online for saying she likes to be a mistress. Shin Min Daily News reported her saying in an online post: "I am a female university student, I like to be a mistress, so what? "I don't understand, so what if I'm a female university student? I'm human too. Are you saying female university students cannot be lovers? I like being a mistress, nobody forced me to do it. "Is it wrong for me to like mature men? Is it wrong to like men with money and in high-ranking positions? Is it wrong for men to pamper me and spend money on me? All those women looking at me, take care of your own men. "Regardless of whether you approve, mistresses are necessities in society. Why else will there be paradise on earth? We don't consider ourselves cheap, we are very happy. You can't imagine how happy we are being mistresses. "Who do we offend being mistresses? We just want to lead a good and fun life. It's a waste if this good body does nothing. I recommend men having four wives! "Don't look at me with those eyes, I like being a mistress." According to the Chinese daily, netizens had mixed reactions. Most criticised her behaviour while a minority expressed nonchalance or supported her behaviour. Those critical said this was the first time they had seen such behaviour. "I've opened my eyes today. Her parents should never have had you," a netizen commented. Another comment said: "You are rubbish. Even as a man, I look down on you. The man keeping you must be blind." Those who expressed nonchalance or supported her said: "I support you!" Others said: "Do whatever you want to do. This is nothing!" There were also some who thought this was all a scam. "Only an idiot will believe you," a comment read.

Dutch TV hosts dine on fried human buttock, belly

Dutch TV hosts dine on fried human buttock, belly   Published on Dec 22, 2011     Two Dutch TV hosts, Valerio Zeno (left) and Dennis Storm (right) cooked and ate each other's flesh, sampling fried buttock and fried belly, and pushing the boundaries of bad taste on Wednesday night in a programme aired by Dutch broadcaster BNN. --PHOTO: SCREENGRAB FROM YOUTUBE AMSTERDAM (REUTERS) - Two Dutch TV hosts cooked and ate each other's flesh, sampling fried buttock and fried belly, and pushing the boundaries of bad taste on Wednesday night in a programme aired by Dutch broadcaster BNN. A butcher advised presenters Dennis Storm and Valerio Zeno on which were the best cuts of human flesh, and a surgeon removed the strips of muscle from Mr Storm's left buttock cheek and Mr Zeno's abdomen. A chef fried the flesh, and served it to Mr Storm and Mr Zeno with green asparagus on the side. Mr Zeno described the experience as similar to eating a piece of car tyre, and took a while to swallow his food on  

Dogs lovers upset over increased culling

  Dog lovers upset over increased culling AsiaOne | Wed, Dec 21, 2011 Increased efforts to round up stray dogs at Punggol Waterway by authorities have been met with protests by animal lovers. The trapping and culling efforts were put in place after a jogger was scratched and bitten by stray dogs in the park last Wednesday. The Straits Times reported today that at least 25 activists gathered on Tuesday at the place where the attack occurred to meet members of the media and protest against the culling efforts. The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) told the English daily it has been carrying out operations in the area since September. Four out of the 26 dogs it has caught so far will be put down as they have been deemed aggressive. External service providers have also been engaged to help in the trapping and culling as some of the dogs have proved elusive, AVA said. According to The Straits Times, pet lovers have taken to social media to protest against the culling efforts. A Facebook group created to plead for the strays' lives called on Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC Member of Parliament Ms Penny Low and the AVA to stop the culling. It has since garned 961 "likes". There have also been petitions on Ms Penny Low's and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's Facebook page. The AVA posted a note on its Facebook page on Wednesday morning saying that the management of stray animals is an emotive issue with no easy solution. "On one hand, we share the concerns of animal lovers and seek to safeguard the welfare of animals in Singapore. "On the other hand, we also have to ensure the safety of Singaporeans and consider those who may be afraid of dogs," the statement said. Rabies is also one of its concerns. "The primary purpose of controlling the stray dog population is for the control and prevention of rabies, which is fatal to both humans and animals. "Although Singapore has been free from rabies for over 50 years, rabies remains a real threat as the disease exists in many parts of our region. "A large stray dog population can exacerbate the spread of rabies to other animals and humans if they are exposed and bitten by a rabies-infected animal that gained entry into Singapore," the statement continued. Animal lovers reportedly visited the AVA's Centre for Animal Welfare and Control at Pasir Panjang to try to "bail out" the dogs. This requires about $500 in fees. The activists said they were unsuccessful. The jogger who was attacked told Channel NewsAsia last week that the incident happened on a footpath when a pack of nine dogs started clawing at her legs. She screamed when one bit her calf. The dogs ran away after two other joggers who heard her screams approached.

Witch in the 1500s

Ever wondered what it took to be named a witch back in the 1500s? We've been looking at a nice big database of Scottish witch court cases to answer just this. It covers the time period from the early 1500s to the mid 1700s. With over 3,000 witch related cases to explore we found the best way to deal with such a large dataset was to look for patterns in it. To do this we scraped the most relevant parts of the database and put all the data on the names of those accused, date of court case, case characteristics and notes in one spreadsheet. Unfortunately the database is under a restrictive copyright licence from Edinburgh University, but there is no restriction on exploring the data and sharing what we find. The first thing we found was a range of interesting cases, from women accused of trying to sink ships with a monarch aboard, the most famous of these was the North Berwick witch hunt. There many women were tried for the crime of attempting to sink a ship with Queen Anne on board and then "troubling King James after he went to get her in Denmark". It was also quite common for women to be accused of possessing children. We also found men convicted for associating with accused witches. Studying the database we found 387 out of the 3,212 cases involved male suspects. The team made some graphs of the martial status of people involved in the witchcraft court cases. Their graph shows that the majority of people involved in the cases were married. With the help of Chris Blower from Scraperwiki we were able to identify the top categories of accusations for the witch court cases and display the results in this pie chart: You can see that the most common reason for a court case is being implicated by another women convicted as, or suspected to be, a witch. This explains some of the way that witch court cases spread throughout close-knit villages and towns where groups of friends might be considered as a group of plotting witches. Scary stuff. Let us know what you think of the data in the comments below. Thank you to the work of Julian Goodare, Lauren Martin, Joyce Miller and Louise Yeoman for putting together 'The Survey of Scottish Witchcraft'.

Philippines national calamity

Philippines President Benigno Aquino has declared a national calamity after a typhoon killed nearly 1,000 people. Typhoon Washi hit southern Mindanao island and surrounding areas at the weekend. Visiting the area, Mr Aquino reassured survivors the government would be there to help but reportedly acknowledged mistakes might have been made. Some authorities have begun mass burials, but they are opposed by some relatives of the dead. Some villages have been entirely washed away by the flash flooding Disaster agencies are attempting to provide food, water, medicine and body bags, but damaged roads are hampering efforts to reach survivors in remote villages. Mr Aquino was flown over the coastal region to see the scale of the destruction, before meeting survivors and local officials. After widespread criticism that the authorities were caught unprepared, he promised a full review of disaster plans, to ensure such devastation could not happen again. "First priority is to relocate to areas that no longer pose a danger to them," he told a meeting in Cagayan de Oro, where nearly 600 people lost their lives as flash floods hit early on Saturday. A spokesman for the president, Ricky Carandang, said declaring a national calamity would enable the government to direct more funds to the relief effort, Reuters reports. Disease fears The official death toll now stands at 957, and the BBC's Kate McGeown in the region says the authorities now face a massive task as more bodies are discovered. On Tuesday morning, for example, 40 bodies were found in the river close to her hotel - and such bodies are being taken straight to dump sites as there is no room at the mortuaries. The BBC's Kate McGowan says that "bodies are piling up all over the place" Authorities including in the town of Iligan on Mindanao have begun burying people in large concrete tombs, and earlier Teresita Badiang, an engineer at the mayor's office, said the burials would be "dignified". But many relatives of the dead are opposed to large-scale burials without identifying the dead first, our correspondent says. About 40,000 people on Mindanao, many of whom were already desperately poor, are now living in evacuation centres after losing their homes and possessions. John Salva, a spokesman for British aid charity World Vision, said the centres had become severely overcrowded, with signs of disease beginning to appear. "It's really a struggle to manage those evacuation centres, there's a shortage of water and a shortage of food," he said. The flash floods struck in the early hours of Saturday as a passing tropical storm coincided with high tides. Questions emerge As rivers burst their banks, many were trapped in their homes as they slept, while in other areas entire villages are reported to have been swept away. Although the Philippines is struck by several typhoons and tropical storms every year, the south of the country usually escapes the worst damage. Our correspondent says although there are detailed disaster-preparedness plans in other parts of the Philippines, there is a sense that this was lacking in the region where the storms hit. In a speech to a packed evacuation centre in Cagayan de Oro, President Aquino vowed the government would fix damaged roads and water systems, AFP news agency reports. But he acknowledged that many victims should not have been in high-vulnerability zones in the first place. "Because we know the topography, we know where the areas prone to flooding are. So why are people still living in these areas?" Mr Aquino reportedly asked. Reuters news agency quoted the state-run Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) as saying it had warned authorities in the affected areas last year about the need to relocate families living along riverbanks.

Real help for New's Year Resolutions

George Lewis Real Help for New Year's Resolutions "The subconscious mind makes no distinction between constructive and destructive thought impulses. It works with the material we feed it, through our thought impulses. The sub-conscious mind will translate into reality a thought driven by fear, just as readily as it will translate into reality a thought driven by courage or faith." Napoleon Hill When we are blocked, positive thinking works against us. It becomes a powerful form of denial sentencing us to insignificance and disgrace. Tell this to someone who does not have these obstacles and they will hand you more shame, guilt, and fault. They usually do so with innuendos easily denied when confronted. Negative peer pressure multiplies the weight of our troubles. Here is a small example of the existing problem. Creating affirmations with imagination and belief is not enough. It is only the first half of what is necessary. We must enliven our goals with feeling. These feelings live in our heart and subconscious mind. Without the power of these hidden emotions, the affirmation is nothing more than thought debris. Our sub-conscious has become an enormous trash bin jammed with old ideas and beliefs in serious conflict one with the other. Whether we like it or not, we took on an amazing number of these old beliefs when we were children. You have heard it said, ‘Our personality is formed by the time we are six.’ That means a four or five year old is probably running your life. These old beliefs continue to rob us of any real power. The problem is that we often do not know what our heartfelt desires are and never what is going on in our subconscious. The reason for this is that our sub-conscious cannot tell the difference between fear and genuine desire. It interprets these with equal importance. It gets worse. Additionally, the challenge presented by the subconscious is that it is truly unconscious and seemingly unavailable. It does its work twenty-four hours a day seven days a week. This goes on without the need for conscious choices on our part. It is the same for those where everything appears to work so perfectly. They simply do not have the barriers the rest of us have. Therefore, unless we enjoy pain, and this is possible without our awareness, it is time to stop feeling guilty and ashamed. Knowing this does not make extricating ourselves from this mess automatic. Unfortunately, we must expend some effort. We must take action. The best part of this is that we can do something about these blocks to our personal prosperity. We can take some very positive actions, which nullify the negative effects we have been experiencing.

North Korean Leader body

The body of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il lies in state at the Kumsusan Memorial Palace in Pyongyang in this still picture taken from video footage of still images aired by KRT (Korean Central TV of the North) on Dec 20, 2011. --PHOTO: REUTERS PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) - The body of North Korea's long-time ruler Kim Jong Il was laid out in a glass coffin on Tuesday as weeping mourners filled public plazas and state media fed a budding personality cult around his third son, hailing him as 'born of heaven.' North Korea's official television showed still photos of Kim in the coffin surrounded by wreaths, his body covered with a red blanket and his head on a white pillow. A giant red curtain covered a wall behind Kim. Kim Jong Un - Kim's third son and successor - visited the coffin along with top military and Workers' Party officials and held a 'solemn ceremony' as the country mourned, state TV said. One woman apparently wiped tears from her eyes. Kim died of a massive heart attack caused by overwork and stress, according to the North's media. He was 69 - though some experts question the official accounts of his birth date and location. Although there were no signs of unrest or discord in Pyongyang's sombre streets, Kim's death and the possibility of a power struggle in a country seeking nuclear weapons and known for its secrecy and unpredictability have heightened tensions in the region. With the country in an 11-day period of official mourning, flags were flown at half-staff at all military units, factories, businesses, farms and public buildings. The streets of Pyongyang were quiet, but throngs of people gathered at landmarks honouring Kim, footage from Associated Press Television News in Pyongyang showed. Kim's body was in the Kumsusan Memorial Palace, a mausoleum where the embalmed body of his father - national founder Kim Il Sung - has been on display in a glass sarcophagus since his death in 1994. The state funeral is to be held there on Dec 28. 'Our General (Kim Jong Il) is our people's benevolent father,' said Ri Ho Il, a lecturer at the Korean Revolutionary History Museum. 'He defended our people's happiness, carrying on his forced march both night and day.' North Korean officials say they will not invite foreign delegations and will allow no entertainment during the mourning period. North Korean state media have given clear indications that the young Mr Kim will succeed him. Since Kim's death, they have stepped up their lavish praise of the son, indicating an effort to strengthen a cult of personality around him similar to that of his father and - much more strongly - of Kim Il Sung. The Korean Central News Agency on Tuesday described Kim Jong Un as a 'a great person born of heaven,' a propaganda term only his father Kim Jong Il and his grandfather Kim Il Sung had enjoyed. The Rodong Sinmun, the newspaper of the ruling Workers' Party, added in an editorial that Kim Jong Un is 'the spiritual pillar and the lighthouse of hope' for the military and the people. It described the twenty-something Kim as 'born of Mount Paektu,' one of Korea's most cherished sites and Kim Jong Il's official birthplace. On Monday, the North said in a dispatch that the people and the military 'have pledged to uphold the leadership of comrade Kim Jong Un' and called him a 'great successor' of the country's revolutionary philosophy of juche, or self reliance. But concerns remain over whether the transition will be a smooth one. Soon after the death was announced Monday, President Barack Obama agreed by phone with South Korean President Lee Myung Bak to closely monitor developments. Japan's government also said it was being vigilant for any 'unexpected developments.' South Korea's military has been put on high alert, and experts warned that the next few days could be a crucial turning point for the North, which though impoverished by economic mismanagement and repeated famine, has a relatively well-supported, 1.2 million-strong armed forces. Kim's death could set back efforts by the United States (US) and others to get Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear weapons ambitions. Concerns are also high that Kim Jong Un - being young and largely untested - may feel he needs to prove himself by precipitating a crisis or displaying his swagger on the international stage. Kim Jong Il was in power for 17 years after the death of his father, and was groomed for power years before that. Kim Jong Un only emerged as the likely heir over the past year. North Korea conducted at least one short-range missile test on Monday, South Korean officials said. But they saw them as a routine drill. 'The sudden death of Kim Jong Il has plunged the isolated state of North Korea into a period of major uncertainty. There are real concerns that heir-apparent Kim Jong Un has not had sufficient time to form the necessary alliances in the country to consolidate his future as leader of the country,' said Sarah McDowall, a senior analyst with US-based consultants IHS. Some analysts, however, said Kim's death was unlikely to plunge the country into chaos because it already was preparing for a transition. Kim Jong Il indicated a year ago that Kim Jong Un would be his successor, putting him in high-ranking posts. South Korea's president urged his people to remain calm while his Cabinet and the Parliament convened emergency meetings on Tuesday. Unification Minister Yu Woo Ik said his government is refraining from moves that may exasperate North Korea.     NEXT STORY: Neighbours react warily to Kim Jong Il's death 1 - 1 blog comments powered by Disqus

Orang Bunian - our neighbours in the supernatural world

Orang Bunian – our neighbours in the supernatural world By Susan Tam | Yahoo! Malaysia Newsroom – 18 hours ago Email Print A mother-to-be was in labour. Her midwife was urging her to "push" hard,  hoping the newborn would be delivered smoothly. But, there was no baby. Only the mother's placenta appeared. No child was born. What happened? Where did the baby go? "In a case like this, the baby is most probably taken by the Bunian community," Malay animism expert associate professor Datuk Zainal Abidin Borhan explained in an interview with Yahoo! Malaysia. No medical or scientific reason can explain this incident. But, if you believe in the supernatural world, you're might speculate this: The midwife attending to the delivery could have had spiritual powers and might have struck a deal with the Orang Bunian to offer the newborn in return for material gains or fulfilment of other requests. Hospital Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia psychiatry department doctor, Ruzanna Zamzam said she has encountered such a case before. The patient was a 43-year-old woman, named as S.U., who claimed to be four months pregnant. S.U had undergone all the necessary ultrasound scans and successfully recorded images of a female foetus in her womb. Her heavy figure made it difficult to judge her pregnancy, but, a few days before her due date, she claimed to have experienced a spiritual event. She was visited by the lady who was preparing her delivery. Subsequently, a man told her that she had lost her baby. S.U then sought a medical check up, and this time the ultrasound revealed a non-pregnant uterus. Similar social structure, different world altogether The Orang Bunian supposedly resemble human beings The Orang Bunian supposedly resemble human beings and don't live too differently from us. Zainal, who is from University Malaya's Malay Studies Academy, explained that the Orang Bunian community live in another dimension of reality. But, like in this world, they too have families and their own social structure. There are no clear demarcations between our reality and the Orang Bunian's reality and you can't see their world with the naked eye. To enter their world, you must have the special ability to do so. "Mediums or bomohs can "befriend" them. They are not spirits that you can manipulate or instruct like the Toyol or Jinn. "There is a way of speaking to them. You can speak nicely to them by asking them to fulfil your requests, but if that does not work, at times you can also threaten them or make an offering or barter to come to an agreement." Many believers of the Malay and Indonesian folklore say that the Orang Bunian is linked to the Minangkabau culture, originating from West Sumatra in Indonesia. The Orang Bunian is known to live in the forest or at foothills and sometimes near cemeteries and empty buildings. Some equate this community to elves while others believe they are built on a royal social structure, with kings, queens and princesses' in tow. These spirits are known to appear during sunset. The Orang Bunian are often used as a reason to explain cases of missing children or when people go astray in forests. Movie director and actor Afdlin Shauki has admitted he has encountered one Orang Bunian-like incident. While filming Misteri Jalan Lama at the Belum rainforest, he had ordered two busloads of costumes. Only one arrived at the location of the shoot. The other bus went missing, and the costumes were found scattered all over the forest. It didn't deter the crew from completing the shoot. Folklore, fairytale or reality? The rock on Pulau Aur or Aur Island, off Mersing has a story to tell. Known as the Batu Berhala, it Pulau Aur is believed to be a former home to the Orang Bunian was formerly home to the Orang Bunian. Villagers believed that the Orang Bunian had hidden many goods from a shipwrecked Chinese junk in a secret cave within the Batu Berhala. Those who wanted help from the Orang Bunian would have to perform specific rituals and offerings. Once the Orang Bunian was satisfied these rituals, a "door" to the cave would open and you could help yourself with the cargo. But these goods were only on loan. However, many did not honour this obligation and fled with the lucrative items, causing the Orang Bunian to leave Batu Berhala after being disappointed with the human behaviour and disrespect for promises. Crossing to the other side Because there is no clear "border" between our world and theirs, the two often clash. There have been stories or known cases of people claiming to get married to a member of the Bunian community. Sulaimah Abdul Kadir, a writer with Singapore based paranormal research organisation, Supernatural, had interviewed alternative medicine practitioner Madam Shann who claimed to have married a prince from the Orang Bunian community. The incident took place in 2004 after Madam Shann had dreams about meeting a handsome prince from the Orang Bunian community at Gunung Ledang. She claimed she had married a prince by the name of Amiruddin Shah bin Hassan Shah, the only child of King Hassan, residing in Gunung Ledang. Madam Shann had made the trip to Gunung Ledang with a group of friends and according to them, she disappeared for about four hours. She also claimed that she had given birth to seven children through a "human relationship" she had with Amiruddin, who can appear as human only if he chooses to. Some believe that the Orang Bunians live with us or among us, and sometimes in a parallel world. Sceptics may ignore their existence, but no one really can explain these case studies and experiences. The believers would urge then to just be respectful of the Orang Bunian and mind our own business. @yahooSG on Twitter, become a fan on Facebook