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Isaak Judah Ozimov chose his own birthdate. He could have been born as early as October 1919, but there was no way of knowing, given the uncertainty of those times. His name changed to Isaac and — because of his father’s unfamiliarity with the English alphabet — Ozimov became Asimov when the family immigrated to the USA when he was barely three. His mother gave his birthdate as September 7, 1919 so that she could get him into school a year earlier.
When Asimov found out years later, he had it changed to the date he preferred and personally celebrated, January 2, 1920 (belated happy birthday, Dr. Isaac Asimov!).
If he hadn’t, he would’ve escaped — by virtue of being overage and ineligible – being drafted into the US Army during WW II. While his army career was brief (just nine months), he rose swiftly up the ranks to become Corporal because of his prowess in…. typing!
Typing. Asimov loved typing. And his output of hundreds of books and thousands of well-written letters are a testament to that. ‘Prolific’ is an understatement. He once said, “If the doctor told me I had six minutes to live, I’d type a little faster.” But from that typewriter emerged some of the most influential ideas, prophetic words and timeless stories ever told (or typed). His Foundation series is amongst the cornerstones of sci-fi. So is his Robot series. Many of his short stories – starting with the first one published in 1939 – regularly make it to the list of top SF short stories, even to this day. And these stories, more than being just great reads, have inspired countless people to take to the sciences, like Nobel laureate and economist Paul Krugman who took up economics after reading Foundation and AI pioneer Marvin Minsky, who was brought to his subject by Asimov’s Robot stories.
He coined brave new words like ‘robotics’, ‘roboticist’, ‘psychohistory‘ and even the term ‘social science fiction’ to describe most of his stories (the term has since been used to define the sub-genre of SF that concerns itself more with people and the evolution of human society than with spaceships, far-out technology and aliens). And he accomplished all of this with the simplest of prose, to the point of being bare and unembellished, with simple narrative structures.
With the kind of ideas he had, there was no need for flowery descriptions; just plot and functional dialogue. There was no need for spectacular flourishes; the idea itself was the spectacle! Perhaps it was this style of wanting to convey to his readers in unambiguous terms what he was talking (or typing) about that stood him in good stead when he wrote books about his first love, science – for if he liked science fiction, he like writing about science even more.
In Asimov’s opinion, wilful ignorance was a sin, and society needed to know, appreciate and understand science if we were to be truly informed and enlightened. He believed that only scientists can understand the universe. Not because he had confidence in scientists being right, but because he had so much confidence in non-scientists being wrong. “Anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that ‘my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge,’” said Asimov, reflecting that, “The saddest aspect of life is that science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom.”
A tenured professor of biochemistry at Boston University (with a PhD in chemistry), Asimov in fact wrote an equal amount – if not more – of non-fiction popular science books and articles as he did science fiction. “The great explainer of our age,” said his fan and later friend, Carl Sagan, referring to Asimov’s prolific output and efforts in popularising and desmystifying science. Soon after Asimov’s death, Sagan wrote: “…I worry about the rest of us, with no Isaac Asimov around to inspire the young to learning and to science.” As for Asimov himself, he liked to be considered and known more as a science writer than a science fiction writer. And he was acknowledged as such by the other stalwart of his time, Arthur C. Clarke, himself an accomplished science writer and winner of the Kalinga Prize awarded by UNESCO for popularising science. Therein lies a tale.
The Golden Age of Science Fiction, as it is called, lasted a decade or so starting from the late 1930s, when modern sci-fi took shape. Straddling the landscape were the ‘Big Three’ authors – initially Isaac Asimov, Arthur C Clarke and AE Van Vogt (with Robert Heinlein soon replacing Van Vogt). It was inevitable that both Asimov and Clarke would cross paths, and they soon settled into years of amicable rivalry and the trading of witty insults. But who was the best of these two? The Clarke-Asimov Treaty of Park Avenue (or sometimes just the Park Avenue Pact) settled that question once and for all.
Clarke and Asimov once found themselves in the same taxi in New York, sharing a ride to Park Avenue. Over the course of their journey, each chose his ‘specialty’ so to speak, and thus arrived at an amicable agreement, which stipulated that when asked each would insist that the other is the world’s greatest writer in his specialty, while referring to himself as merely the second-best. Under these terms, Asimov would insist that Clarke was the world’s greatest science fiction writer, while Clarke would maintain that Asimov was the world’s best science writer.
In fact, in accordance with the pact, Arthur C. Clarke even dedicated a book of his to Asimov with the words, “In accordance with the terms of the Clarke-Asimov treaty, the second-best science writer dedicates this book to the second-best science-fiction writer.”
So if Asimov liked to write science fiction, and loved to write about science, what did he enjoy writing most? By his own admission, it would have to be the Black Widower series, over 60 short stories that – in my opinion – deserve their rightful place amongst the mystery genre’s most enjoyable and finest tales. The series revolves a club called the Black Widowers (after the spider) whose six members – a lawyer, a mathematician, a novelist, a chemist, a cryptographer and an artist – meet for dinner regularly in a private room. Each member, in turn, brings an interesting guest along. Post-dinner, the guest is asked about himself and as it follows, the guests have troubles and issues – some of them real crimes – that the Black Widowers then try to solve by bringing their eclectic knowledge to the mix, with the key insight and oftentimes answer provided by their waiter Henry Jackson (modelled on Jeeves; Asimov’s way of paying tribute to one of his favourite authors, PG Wodehouse).
Science fiction, science, technology and mystery apart, Asimov also wrote over a dozen books on history, a guide to Shakespeare, annotations to Milton’s Paradise Lost, the Lucky Starr series of scifi adventure stories for children under the pseudonym ‘Paul French’, a three-volume autobiography, an over-1000-pages guide to the Bible, lots and lots of essays, limericks for children and oh yes, bawdy, obscene poetry and lecherous limericks (five volumes of them). Look them up!
Just as calling Asimov ‘prolific’ would be an understatement, it would also be futile to overstate his intellect, his vast range of interests and activities and his abundance of talent. Speaking about himself and his talent, in this case about writing rude verse, but surely applicable to all else, Asimov starts by planting the question himself by saying, “The question I am most frequently asked is, ‘How do you manage to make up your deliciously crafted limericks?’” To which he readily gives the answer: “It’s difficult to find an answer that doesn’t sound immodest since ‘Sheer genius!’ happens to be the truth. It is terrible to have to choose between virtues of honesty and modesty.”
Well, so was Asimov immodest and arrogant? People who knew him say otherwise; after all, Asimov let his Mensa membership lapse because he found that many members of this high-IQ society were arrogant about their supposed intelligence. He was an atheist, and a Humanist, serving as the president of the American Humanist Association until his death in 1992 (his successor as President of the AHA was his friend, the writer Kurt Vonnegut Jr.). And also, Asimov was humble enough to admit once that there were two people whose intellects surpassed his own – Carl Sagan and Marvin Minsky.
And between all of this – writing, giving speeches, and being member of various associations and clubs like Baker Street Irregulars and The Wodehouse Society, he also found time to be the face of Radio Shack, plugging all their many cutting-edge, technologically-advanced products, while rocking those sideburns.
But to get a taste of Asimov is to read his brilliant fiction. In case you are wondering where to begin – or as happens with fans and their much-loved authors, what to re-read? – here below is a handy list of Asimov essentials. My subjective preferences have been balanced off by Asimov’s own favourites, and other such reasons:
Foundation series: The original and core trilogy consisting of Foundation, Foundation and Empire, and Second Foundation. Only winner, thus far, of a Hugo Award for best all-time series. The trilogy that spurred Paul Krugman to take up economics, and one he recommends highly. Ditto for Elon Musk, who counts this among the books that inspired him.
The Complete Robot: A collection of all of his classic Robot short stories, in which Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics first appeared. This has influenced most stories with robots ever since, as well as people working in the field (a case could be made for calling them the Asimov-Campbell Laws, because Asimov explicitly stated that the Three Laws were originated by John W. Campbell, the editor who ‘discovered’ Asimov and as editor of the magazine Astounding Science Fiction, generally considered with shaping sci-fi’s golden age).
The Gods Themselves: Asimov’s favourite novel, which went on to win both the Hugo and Nebula awards. Particularly satisfying for Asimov personally because of a) the middle section, which he thought was the biggest, and most “over-my-head writing” (his words) he ever produced and b) it had non-human aliens and sex, things which Asimov was considered incapable of writing about or, at the very least, accused of running away from.
The Best Science Fiction of Isaac Asimov: A collection of 28 short stories, each introduced by the author himself explaining his reasoning behind the story. It contains two of his favourite sci-fi stories: The Last Question (considered one of the greatest sci-fi stories of all time) and The Ugly Little Boy.
Nightfall: Again, one of the most acclaimed short stories in sci-fi, and later expanded into a novel with Robert Silverberg, himself an accomplished science fiction writer.
The Best Mysteries of Isaac Asimov: A collection that introduces us to the Black Widowers series with 15 stories, 9 tales taken from Asimov’s other series, Union Club Mysteries, and other standalone mystery stories including two featuring his young detective Larry, high school student.
There’s more, lots more, but this short list would give a reader an idea of Asimov’s fiction and why he is rated so highly (to put it mildly). And to make it easier to start off with this list, the #NWWonFD contest is back! Yes, we are going to give away a copy of the Foundation Trilogy. A hardcover edition – cloth bound – from the Everyman’s Library imprint, no less, and which contains all three novels of the core trilogy. Yes, you could call it a collector’s edition if you will. And it does look really great on a bookshelf.
And all you have to do is tell us, ‘What would you tell Isaac Asimov – if you somehow got unstuck in time – and had 15 seconds with him?’ That’s it. Tweet us your answers with the hashtag #NWWonFD, or leave a comment on the FactorDaily Facebook page, or write your answer as a comment to this piece, before Thursday, January 12, 2017 comes to an end (IST; standard, not stretchable).
On that note, I wish you all the best should you decide to participate! And as always, wish you all to Live Long and Prosper! I hope to see you again next Friday, for another edition of New Worlds Weekly, only on FactorDaily.
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tomekkorbak/pile-curse-small
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OpenWebText2
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Q:
TestNG - How to pass variable's value as dataProvider name?
I have a string variable whichSet that can hold either 3 values "prd", "stg" and "int". In the Test I want to pass the value as dataProvider like this:
@Test(enabled = true, dataProvider = whichSet, dataProviderClass = TestDataProvider.class)
But i have the below error:
The value for annotation attribute Test.dataProvider must be a constant expression
I've already had 3 providers defined as:
@DataProvider(name="stg")
@DataProvider(name="prd")
@DataProvider(name="int")
Since i'm reading the data provider from another class (not in the test class), so i'm not able to pass the value to that class based on some test condition. Anyway that I can make the dataProvider = whichSet work? Thank you
A:
Basically you're trying to add profile to DataProvider there should be an external parameter that should drive this. My way of solving this could be by using JVM options.
public class Testng {
@DataProvider(name = "data-provider")
public Object[][] dataProviderMethod() {
switch(System.getProperty("env")) {
case "int":
return new Object[][] { { "int data one" }, { "data two" } };
case "stg":
return new Object[][] { { "stage data one" }, { "data two" } };
case "prod":
return new Object[][] { { "production data one" }, { "data two" } };
default:
return new Object[][] { { "int data one" }, { "data two" } };
}
}
@Test(enabled = true, dataProvider = "data-provider", dataProviderClass = Testng.class)
public void test(String data) {
System.out.println(data);
}
}
And run your test using JVM system properties.
Eclipse:
CLI
java -Denv=prod -cp ".:../lib/*" org.testng.TestNG testng.xml
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tomekkorbak/pile-curse-small
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StackExchange
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Ort unter Schock: Der Senegalese soll eine 19-Jährige gleich vier Mal vergewaltigt haben.
Eine ganze Region steht unter Schock. Im deutschen Mühldorf in Bayern soll ein 25-jähriger Asylwerber aus dem Senegal eine 19-Jährige auf dem Heimweg von einer Disco-Nacht vergewaltigt haben. Der Horror-Fall ereignete sich bereits im September. Der Mann soll demnach, laut Informationen mehrerer Regionalmedien, die Frau in ein Gebüsch gezerrt und gleich vier Mal vergewaltigt haben.
Untersuchungshaft
Jetzt sitzt der Mann in Untersuchungshaft. Ihm wird der Prozess gemacht. Obwohl DNA-Spuren den Mann zweifelsfrei überführen, stritt der Senegalese zunächst alles ab. Erst nach und nach rückte der verheiratete 25-Jährige mit der Wahrheit heraus und gab zumindest zu, mit der Frau Geschlechtsverkehr gehabt zu haben.
Horror-Nacht
Die Staatsanwaltschaft schildert die Horror-Nacht wie folgt. Zunächst versuchte der Verdächtige die Frau mit einem „Stop Wait“ zum Stehenbleiben zu animieren. Die Frau geriet in Panik in Ahnung was auf sie zukommen würde und wollte noch eine Nachricht per Handy an einen Freund abschicken. Doch der Mann kam ihr zuvor und entriss der Frau das Handy. Als er sie aufforderte ihn zu küssen und sie sich weigerte, beschimpfte er sie rassistisch. Daraufhin schleppte er sie in ein Gebüsch wo er sie vier Mal vergewaltigte.
Nicht das erste Mal
Es soll nicht der erste Vorfall gewesen sein. Gleich mehrere Zeugen bestätigten ähnliche Vorfälle. Immer wieder soll der Mann wildfremde Frauen angesprochen und sie um Sex gefragt haben. Einen Türsteher fragte er sogar, wie er denn Frauen am besten rumkriegen könnte.
Asyl-Odyssee durch Europa
Der Senegalese kam über den Umweg Italien nach Deutschland. Bereits dort fiel er auf, weil er einem Mädchen die Handtasche rauben wollte. Das "Wochenblatt" berichtet darüber hinaus, dass er sogar in der Schweiz um Asyl ansuchte, doch dort gefiel es ihm nicht. So landete er schlussendlich im kleinen Mühldorf. Nun sitzt er in Untersuchungshaft und auch jetzt benimmt sich der Senegalese verhaltensauffällig und aggressiv. Zwei Beamten zeigte er nach Informationen des "Wochenblatts" sogar den Mittelfinger.
Es gilt wie immer die Unschuldsvermutung.
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tomekkorbak/pile-curse-small
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OpenWebText2
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PLEASE DIAMOND IF YOU LIKE IT
Please get permission to reuse content from this pack in other packs.
Please get permission to re-distribute this content.
Please give credit and link to this thread to write reviews with screenshots.
Please give credit and link to this thread to make videos using this content.
Be sure to follow my Twitter feed to get updates on all my packs. I bet there is something you like:
Hey Guys,The 1.10 v2 is a significant release. It contains x32 textures for every texture, however, some of the mobs are not the final versions. They are there because I received a persuasive request to, at least, add the holder textures. The placeholder mobs are from Darklands , they fit but are not perfect. Over the coming releases I will be replacing all of them with perfect mobs.Also the metal and gem blocks are new and improved. I love! them. I rarely change original textures but these are just so beautiful.AD Reforged is a reboot of the previous title: Arestian's Dawn . It comes with many changes and remakes of the previous textures. A resource pack inspired by classic and medieval period styles, such as Norse, Celtic, Neo-Roman, and high fantasy themes such as Dwarven and Elven.With the retirement of TheVoid1313, AD-Reforged was sadly languishing into oblivion. I have been graciously granted permission (and verified by our diligent Azie ) to keep the brilliant pack alive. TheVoid1313 has been wonderful in assisting me to learn the concepts and style behind this work of art. I hope the new textures are so seamless that you cannot tell a new artist is extending the pack.AD-Reforged Beo Fada! Long Live AD-Reforged!Screenshot thanks to Kab's Resource Pack Showcase Licence / Permissions (legalistic crap):Please tell me what you like and, especially, what you DO NOT like. For the things that are not right, if you can tell me why they are wrong there is a good chance I will fix it, well at least try.
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tomekkorbak/pile-curse-small
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OpenWebText2
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Dream all you want, you’re never going to live in Barbie’s eco-friendly mansion.
The winning design of the American Institute of Architects’ Barbie Dream House competition (really) is a four-story, eco-friendly Malibu mansion with pink sliding doors. Too bad Barbie and Jen (as in Aniston) are the only gals who can afford to live there.
The green manse features 1,500 square feet of entertaining space, an open chef’s kitchen, separate library and client-meeting room, an “inspiration room” floor, rooftop greenhouse, and a landscaped garden for her assortment of exotic pets. True, the last time we checked the giraffe on her lawn was listed as an endangered species, but not only is Barbie an architect you see, she’s evidently a world-renowned zoologist as well.
Philosophically speaking, 21st century Barbie is like Lara Croft and Richard Branson rolled into one.
Barbie’s eco-manor also features solar panels, bamboo flooring, low-flow fixtures, and locally sourced materials. Recent Harvard grads Ting Li and Maja Paklar created the design, which is in line with the principles set forth by U.S. Green Building Council, while remaining “true to all the needs of a classic California girl,” the pair adds.
The AIA created the competition as a way of promoting Barbie’s latest career move on the glass escalator that is the “I Can Be…” series, which aims to inspire girls to be anything they want to be.
I can get behind that. Who knows? Had I owned the “I Can Be a Lifeguard” doll at age four, I might have passed my treading-water-with-a-brick test at age seventeen instead of sneaking behind the pool house for some ganja.
I Can Be…Pamela Anderson
If only I’d gotten that Leeza Gibbons face-and-body transplant. I could have been an entertainment news host.
I Can Be…On Entertainment Tonight
Applying myself in the biological sciences instead of the biology of my hormones could have led to an exciting career in veterinary medicine. How sexy is that frock?
I Can Be…a naughty nurse (but only if you want me to be)
Oh well, I’ll just have to settle for a job in a call center.
I Can Be…a telemarketer
Like George Constanza, I too have fostered fantasies of becoming an employable architect. Thanks to Barbie that dream is now a reality. I just need some chunky glasses, a construction hat, and a pretty hot-pink place to store my blueprints.
Landing a job might prove difficult, however, particularly if I showed up to a job interview looking like this:
Darn you, Beetlejuice! Back to the drafting table, kids. I wonder if Barbie’s princess charm school offers a PhD program.
Fortunately for California’s coast line, Barbie’s green dream house is not set to actually break ground, or plastic, ever. It was imagined for promotional purposes only. The concept though, is sweet and the house – if you’re a zoologist/movie star/media mogul – is viably sustainable.
Though, philosophically speaking again, Barbie’s got a few more eco pit-stops to go, like trading in her Vacation Glam Jet for a stay-cation.
Images: FastCo; Barbie; The Daily Mail
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tomekkorbak/pile-curse-small
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OpenWebText2
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[Mouth mucosa free-flap grafts in repeat operations of hypospadias].
Buccal mucosal grafts are widely used in the treatment of primary hypospadias and urethral stenosis owing to their elasticity, optimal attachment, possibility of generous harvesting and easy preparation. The aim of this study was to check whether buccal mucosal flaps are also valuable in redo surgery for hypospadias complicated by large breaks in the urethra and with scarce residual genital tissue. Fourteen patients aged between 3 and 11 years old (mean age 6.6) were selected and operated between December 1993 and June 1999. The patients presented extensive fistulous tracts, roughly ellipsoidal in shape and with a maximum diameter of between 7 and 42 mm (mean length 18 mm). The original technique was: Duplay (7 patients); Onlay buccal graft (1 patient); Snodgrass (1 patient); Tubulised preputial flap (2 patients); Onlay preputial graft (2 patients); Tubulised vesical mucosal flap (1 patient). The mucosal flap, taken from the lower lip, was used to cover the gap as an onlay patch and recovered with residual genital skin with the interposition, where possible, of a de-epithelised flap. An optimal cosmetic and functional result was achieved in 10/14 cases with flowmetry > 25 percentile according to Toguri nomograms. Three patients presented fistulas: one punctiform fistula resolved spontaneously. The other two cases resolved after corrective surgery. One patient showed meatal regression with slight stenosis that was resolved with MAGPI. These results appear to be encouraging. Buccal mucosal graft may represent a valid alternative also in the treatment of secondary hypospadia with large breaks in the urethra. No complication was reported in the harvesting area, even if this was carried out at a second stage in the labial area.
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tomekkorbak/pile-curse-small
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PubMed Abstracts
|
The buzzing steadily increases.A long screech, drilling into my head, is all I can hear.I can’t think.What’s going on?What were the directions?
Looking left and right, I find myself alone.It’s just me and the buzzing.I slump to the floor. What were those damn directions about?
The buzzing keeps going, echoing in the empty spaces.There is something else underlining the buzzing, like a door or wall rattling.There’s a loud bang followed by a thud.Is this an earthquake?a tsunami?The sound grows louder.
It’s an erratic thumping.“Warren!Warren you ass!Turn off your damn alarm!”
I look towards the far end of the hall.Did I hear a voice?“Hello?”
“Get up you and turn that fucking thing off!”
I sit-up.My blanket is a mess, tangled about my feet, and my alarm clock is rattling on the floor.The neighboring wall is shaking from a now steady pounding.
“You gonna turn that alarm off any time soon?”
I reach for the alarm, “Uh, sorry.Sorry.”
The pounding stops as soon as the alarm is quiet.I place the clock back next to my bed.It’s already past seven.Last time I remember looking at the clock it was nearly four thirty and I was flipping through my guide book and watching lights flicker across the skyline.Now sunlight filters through my blinds.
With my first real day off since arriving in Japan before me, I start to get ready.I peer through my drawers looking for underwear and only find socks.I search through the pile of clothes in the room’s corner.There are a few pairs there, but none I really even want to touch.I open the room’s one small closet and rummage through my nearly unpacked suitcase.Hidden in a pocket is a clean pair, if only a bit wrinkled.
I turn about no searching for my missing guide book.It’s not on the table by the bed, but there wasn’t anything there now but my alarm clock.I search through notebooks and magazines lying lopsided on the floor.Again, no guide book.Same goes for under the bed.So I look in my bag, my desk, even under my dirty clothes.Nothing.I open and empty every drawer and clear off every shelf looking for the illusive book, but it isn’t anywhere.As I pick up the tossed contents, my phone rings.
“Hey, you ready?”
“Huh, what?Jun.Oh yeah, sure.I just need a minute.”
“Good.I have to get out of here.”
I sit down on the edge of my bed.“Yeah, no, I understand.”
“So I’ll meet you outside.”
“On my way.”A sharp edge sticks into the back of my thigh.I jump, throwing the phone across the room.Pulling apart the twisted mess of my blanket, I unravel a few folds and find the guide book.
I finish pulling on clothes and grab a bag. I’m stuffing last minute items into my bag and fumbling with my jacket as I walk down to the lobby. As I try to stash the last minute items away, Jun comes up behind me: “Took you long enough.”
“Sorry.”
“What didya do now,lose your wallet or something?”
I search my pockets for my wallet.I sigh when I feel come across the bump in my back pocket. “Yeah, or something.”
“Now that you’re all together, can we finally get out of here?”
“Yeah, sure.I’m ready to see Japan.”
Jun leans in and eyes me closely.She smells like a fresh rain.“No, that’s not it at all.”
I pull back, “What do you mean?”
She smiles and begins walking towards the gate, “You came here to pick up Japanese women.We all know that they love tall blonde-haired American boys.”
“No.No way, that’s not it.”
She swirls around on the backs’ of her feet.“No?Than maybe?Ah, I know!You came over an entire ocean just to see that stupid monster.”
“It would be a once in a lifetime experience if I did get to see the gorilla lizard. And besides, it is said to be over 1000 feet tall.”I try to stand-up straight but find myself slumping forward and covering my head with my hand.I grow quiet as Jun stares at me, “It’s unusual, you know.Interesting.”
“Yeah, yeah, whatever you say Mr. Carver. Interesting.”
And so we walk away from our apartment building to the nearest subway station. Jun is quiet as we walk. I’m not sure what to say, so I walk quietly beside her.
A cool breeze comes at us as we turn a corner. My mess of hair is rumpled further by the breeze. Jun pulls her silver jacket tight against her. Suddenly I see a hint of pink glisten at her cheeks.
“You know the lizard is really 1200 feet. It’s just a bit bigger than Tokyo Tower, so I guess it is a bit impressive.”
I nod and smile. We walk a bit farther, away from the apartment and the office building we have been working at. We’ve been in Japan for just about three weeks and never got more than a few miles from where we have been staying. Instead, we’ve been stuck in training classes with no opportunity to leave the grounds.
“Any ideas?”
“Huh?”I look up from my guide book.
“What do you want to do?”
I look back to my guide book.I have it turned to the gorilla lizard emergency instructions.“Well, I thought maybe going to Asakusa.”
“You’re joking, right? Asakusa?You know its pretty far inland with really no chance of getting a view of the gorilla lizard.That is, if it comes onshore.”
I close my guide book and put it back in my bag.“Maybe I want to see a real geisha, or go to Senso-ji.”
“Sure, sure, suddenly you’re on a pilgrimage.”
“I’d like see the traditional side of Japan while I’m here.”
“Okay, so let’s start with typical and work towards traditional.”
“And you are suggesting what?”
“Shibuya.”
“Shibuya?”
“Yeah, Shibuya.”
“I should have known, you just want to shop.”
“There’s nothing wrong with shopping.You can see real life ko-gals in Shibuya.”
My response is cut off by the arriving train.A mass of people sweep us onto the train.Squished between salarymen in their neatly pressed business suits, Jun and I stand next to one another quietly.In the pushing and shoving, she somehow ends up with her head in my armpit.
“Sorry.”
“Just don’t try anything.I know where you live,” she smiles.
Jun pulls me up and out of Shibuya station and onto the bustling streets.Middle aged women flit from store to store, eager to capture a good buy before the high school girls get here in the afternoon.We move away from their set lines of shopping and head towards a sort-of-square nearby.Jun pulls away quickly, almost skipping.She stops before the famed statue of Hachiko.
Again, we feel the wind whip up around us. Jun shivers, but tries to hide it. Instead she pulls up closer to the dog statue. Standing there admiring the statue of a loyal pet, we notice a younger women, about our age, strolling by.Jun elbows me.
“I think she’s checking you out,” she nods toward a short, rather slender girl in a crisp suit.
“Eh, not quite my type.”
“So what is?” says a smooth, raspy voice from behind.
A woman sways out from behind the stone dog, “My guess it’s cute American girls with snotty attitudes.At least, that’s how it looks from here.”
Jun embraces the woman, who is several inches shorter than her, but sports nearly the same figure and most striking, the same eyes.Unlike Jun, her hair bobs about her face, a sea of green.
“I finally see the mysterious Jun-chan.”
“Not my fault.They keep us trapped up there.”
“Sure, whatever you say girlie.”
“You coulda come to visit you know.”
The woman, Yoshiko, brushes Jun off and wanders a bit away.She turns around in a slow, broad sweep, the ends of her long coat swinging in the breeze: “And leave all this behind for Chiba.No way.And besides, you’re only a cousin.”
Jun rolls her eyes, “You’re still full of yourself.I thought you’d outgrow that.”
“You know, I thought so to,” Yoshiko responds with a muffled laugh.
All this time, I just stand there, watching two beautiful women banter as if they only saw each other yesterday and I was no where around.I hadn’t realized how Japanese Jun really looked until Yoshiko showed up.I guess she always sounded like any girl I met, and well, acted like it too, so I never thought of her as being Japanese.She’s just the intense California girl I met on the plane coming to Japan.
“Oh damn, I’m being so rude.Yoshi-chan, this is my friend Warren Carver.”
I wave a bit.
“And this is my cousin, on my Mom’s side, Watanabe Yoshiko.”
Yoshiko smiles.I can see a few creases about her lips, but she’s still gorgeous.She bows rather stiffly and unusually low, “It is an honor to meet you Carver-san.”
I look to Jun; she’s trying not to laugh.I smile and bow back.“It’s very nice to meet you Watanabe-san.”
Yoshiko starts laughing loudly, gripping her belly.Jun chimes in.The two girls hold each other as they laugh, giggling till they are out of breath.
We emerge from the train station with a small but determined group of people. Yosihko grabs my left hand; Jun grabs my right one. I feel a bit of heat in my face as I look to Jun, but it quickly dies when a cool breeze smacks as I twist in Yoshiko’s grasp. Before long a megalith of steel and brick looms into Yoshiko’s path. Worn murals decorate the rather bare walls. I faceplant into the door before I realize that Yoshiko comes up a bit short.
“So what do you think?”
I try to smile, “It’s big.”
I then notice she is looking at Jun, not me. Jun shrugs, “It’s okay, I guess.”
I come between the two, “This must be just the outside. Reinforced and all in case of disaster, right?”
Yoshiko’s smile comes back, “Exactly. It’s a lot nicer inside.”
We are all led us into the mall, a spring back in Yoshiko’s step. As we enter, Jun and I simultaneously crane our heads up to see the story upon story of bright lights and outrageous store fronts. Inside, a new world greets us. A bright blue sky and long clouds stream above us on the ceiling. Off to the near east, a watery, yellow sun shines down. The hard, stiff building we saw outside opens up before us.
Bright signs and unique fronts come in and out of view as Jun pulls me down the main thoroughfare. Her haphazard movements from one side to another make it hard to stay near her, and the crowd occasionally separates us for a moment. I never quite have time to fully read any signs, but I think I notice a mini-theme park, a number of children’s stores, and family friendly restaurants. When we reach the first set of large glass elevators, Yoshiko takes Jun’s and my hands and leads us in.
We get off on the last floor. Yoshiko, still holding on to us, leads us down one route and another as I glimpse one theme after another. After first, there is a set of what I guess are stores with a European feel. Around another corner, there is a Hollywood themed area; I notice a rather dilapidated Planet Hollywood with few visitors. Before long, there is an Edo period section, with screen doors and paper lanterns. I feel lost in the maze before Yoshiko suddenly stops.
She smiles at Jun, “So?’
Jun looks at the front, back to Yoshiko and back again, “Is this it?”
I stand there just staring. Before me is what looks like an old style ramen shop. There is a short curtain above the door. The sides of the door seem to be guarded by narutomaki, the pink spiral a neon light against the raised white background of the slices.
“Of course it is,” Yoshiko beams at both Jun and I.
Jun ducks under the fringed curtain. I have to push it aside to see as I enter. When we step in, a girl in with a long red ponytail and cross-shaped scar on her cheek greets us. This Kenshin starts to give the introduction but stops short when Yoshiko steps in. The young women bows to Jun and moves away.
“Do you work here or something?” I ask Yoshiko.
Jun slaps my shoulder, “She owns it.”
Yoshiko leads us past the front, where young people sit at booths decorated by more recent anime and manga paraphernalia. A female Naruto carrying a tray of drinks nimbly ducks around us. Towards what I think is the back is yet another door. Here, a green haired girl in a “Jun” costume opens the door. I can see her smile beneath her bird helmet and am amazed at the likeness to the Gatchaman doll I have at home.
This second room is lightly peopled with adults. A group of young American men flirt with a scantily clad Faye while the rest of her Cowboy Bebop cast man the rest of a long bar. Strains of the Yoko Kanno soundtrack are nearly drowned out by all the chatting. Yoshiko moves out and on to a patio that overlooks Tokyo Bay. The wind suddenly whips by us, and Jun nearly crashes back into me. Yoshiko plunges forward to a spot near the edge and sits down at the table.
“Great view, huh?” Yoshiko asks me.
Instead of taking a seat, I am at the railing looking out into the bay. The sun catches at the backs of small waves that grow and crash long before they reach the shore. The water seems to be a reflection of the sky; the small breakers are long and run ragged across the water’s surface, just like the clouds racing along the sky.
“It’s great!”
“I still can’t believe you wanted a spot with a patio. Aren’t you worried?”
Yoshiko just shrugs and hands Jun a menu, “Not really. We have had a few instances and the furniture takes a beating, but nothing much else.”
I sit down in a rather cheap plastic chair and pull up to a slightly warped plastic table. “I hope business makes up for it.”
“It does. I get a lot of people who just come out for the thrill of it all. They are always willing to stay and keep ordering, just in case.” Yoshiko stops and smiles wider, “And before long, they have a large bill and I have a nice profit.”
I start to look over the menu just as a guy with a thin braid and Chinese style clothing walks up, “What can I get you?”
The warm aroma of food entices me to the table. I sit there, looking at the varied items placed before me. My chopsticks hover over one, than another; steam rises from most of the plates, wafting in the light, consistent breeze. I don’t know which one to choose. I look up for a moment at the two cousins and wonder which one is more attractive.
Jun picks at the food she has put on her own plate. She grabs one of the fishcakes and dangles it out at arm’s reach. She sticks out her tongue and uses her free hand to close her nose, “This is gross! Why do you serve this stuff?”
“Because this place does better with more iconic Japanese things. You know, like the anime characters, the theme music, and the kaiju.”
I nibble at the okonomiyaki I decided on; the soy sauce warms my mouth. “This isn’t so bad; have some of it,” I push the rest of the food Jun’s direction.
“Yeah, this will work,” Jun says as she stabs at a mushroom. She turns to Yoshiko, “I still think this is a bit much.”
“Jun you are so spoiled,” Yoshiko pauses and winks at me, “and so American. Do you just eat cheeseburgers and pizza at home?”
Jun rolls her eyes, “I get enough of the traditional stuff at home. I just hoped there would be something a bit less Japanese. You know there is interest in other things, like French food.”
I look up, “And French wine, like that manga,” I pause.
“Drops of God,” Yoshiko finishes. “If you want something like that, you should have said so.”
I continue to dig into the food. Japanese food never tastes this good back home, “Honestly, I’m fine with the local stuff.”
Jun stretches back in her chair, pushing away from the table. She looks out at the water and then back at me, “You can’t get enough of the local stuff. Like the monster.”
“It’s all good. Back home most of the Japanese food is sushi or pre-packaged crap. And of course, there are no kaiju, except for the stupid jacked-up trucks being driven by drunk guys.” I look out at the water and notice the ships coming and going, “It is all a part of what Tokyo is.”
A strong wind picks up and sets the food on the table shaking. Jun’s chair sways precariously; I grab the arm just before she and the chair topple over. I right Jun just as the soy sauce rolls of the table and the fresh wasabi tumbles after it. I try to grab the small dish only to have the green paste coat my hand.
Yoshiko grabs a glass of water and washes the wasabi off, “You didn’t need to do that. We can get more. And besides, it has to sting.”
I wince a bit, “It’s fine. It’s just that real, fresh wasabi is hard to find back home.”
As I wipe the watered down paste from my hand, a second gust of wind rears up and barrels along the balcony. We each grab at the food to help it stay on the table. The wind is abrasive, leaving behind a bit of salt on my face. We all look out into the bay. Some of the larger ships rock now, while the smaller ones are bobbing furiously on the now choppy waves.
“So, are most of your cold fronts from the Pacific?” Jun asks. “I always figured they came more from the north or northwest.”
“You never know. These days the Pacific is a mess.” Yoshiko responds as she calls over someone to start clearing our plates and cleaning up, “We probably should go inside.”
I can’t help myself; I move towards the railing and look out, “Is it the Gorilla Lizard?”
“Don’t sound so happy,” Jun remarks as she stands. “It’s probably just the weather.”
Yoshiko smiles at the girl that is clearing our table, “The monster has only come ashore twice since I opened the place and both times it came out further along the bay. I have never seen it from here. You can hope Warren, but I doubt it.”
I lean over the rail a bit farther, squint, and try to see beyond the bay. The wind settles down and the waves soften, “You’re right, probably just the weather.”
I’m downcast as we start to head in. Then the concrete platform beneath me shakes a bit. Yoshiko turns to the bay, and we follow her eyes. A sudden ripple appears, growing wider and wider. The edges turn into swells. Yoshiko looks around the balcony, “I guess we may need to head to a shelter.”
Yoshiko starts to move the other visitors into the bar and starts whispering orders to the staff. Jun looks around, a bit puzzled, “C’mon, why are you so worried?”
I didn’t realize that I had been heading back out and to the rail, “Look! See! It is the Gorilla Lizard!”
Yoshiko grabs Jun’s arm, “You really need to head to a shelter now.”
“Why? Is it really that bad?” Jun asks, looking out at a mat of hair, or fur, slowly lurching from the ripple.
A chime goes off three times followed by a soft, female voice providing clear instructions. I know we are supposed to go the shelters; Jun looks at me, saying something I just don’t hear. I turn back to the water, a bubbling feeling of excitement growing in me that squashes the nagging sense that we should leave.
“Warren let’s go! You can’t just watch,” Jun urges me as she reaches for my arm.
My eyes are fixed on figure rising in the distance. Beneath the fur I can see a scattering of scales about the forehead. The fur sticks out between the scales like weeds between each piece of sidewalk. The Gorilla Lizard seems to slowly breach the water, as if in slow motion.
Jun tugs at my shirt, “We have to go! Everyone is going!”
I haphazardly push away her hand, “A few more minutes; I just want to see it first.”
The ships in the bay are quickly shuffling and heading out into the deeper water. The bay is quickly emptying out so the kaiju can have all the space it needs. Now a pair of kelp green eyes break the surface and stare at the empty shoreline. From off into the city, a whistling sound comes racing out over the bay. There is a thud and large splash in the water just to the right of the monster. An even larger splash, like a geyser, shoots up.
Jun is now pulling at my arm, “This isn’t a movie Warren. That was a missile. We have to go!”
I can only imagine my eyes growing wider and a smile spreading across my face, “Do you see this? This is incredible!”
I can’t hear Jun’s response over the screech that fills the air. The monster opens its mouth up just as it rises above the water. Jagged teeth, some sharp and others more flattened, are clear in the bright sunshine. I think Jun yells again, but all I can hear is a long, wretched howl.
“It’s the kaiju! It’s the Gorilla Lizard!” I turn to see Jun, her hands covering her ears and head as she hurries inside and away from the scene.
The ground begins to shake more as more of the kaiju comes out from the water. I grasp the railing tighter just as an aftershock quakes through the ground beneath me. I push down with all my weight and grip tighter, but the ground just keeps quaking; my fingers slip loose of the rail.
The Gorilla Lizard takes it first full step out of the water, sending a tidal wave of seismic energy through Odaiba. I lose my balance as the rail and part of the wall break before me.
I fall over the broken ledge.
I find myself on the balcony below; about me is a mess of concrete and jagged metal. I try to stand but my left leg hurts. I pull myself up on a broken piece of wall and look to head inside. The door before me is blocked by some of the balcony from above. I begin to head towards the fire escape. It is swaying like a blade of grass in the wind, but I have no other choice. I head down.
As I near the bottom, another pounding wave rattles the area and several of the steps fall out. I try to hold on, but the ground comes racing up to me. As I hit the ground, I can hear a crack in my leg as everything goes red and then black.
A smell of gunpowder, salt, and fish is everywhere; the smell of wet fur causes me to choke. I open my eyes, and it is dark as a shadow seems to block out the sun. I push myself backwards towards the building. A cloud of dust comes rushing down the street and over me; part of the building across the way has crumbled. I notice the wall that I am inching to is shaking furiously.
Two pairs of hands grab at my shoulder and yank me up. I don’t fight, but I can’t turn away. The Gorilla Lizard stands nearly before me. The ungainly arms swing about, and the thick legs are a mess of fur and scales. But what I can’t quit looking at is the genitals; they never show this much on TV. I never knew the Gorilla Lizard was female.
More dust blows up and gets in my eyes. I blink, but there is just too much. Through the haze, I do notice two gangly breasts jostling as the kaiju moves; I never noticed these before. And with that step, the ground beneath me shivers and slaps my backside as I fall again.
“Careful,” I hear Jun say.
I look up at her. She is a mess, covered in a filmy grey, “You just had to see the damn monster!”
Yoshiko pulls me back towards the mall, “We really need to get to a shelter now!”
As we move back into the building and a quietly screaming mob, I see a golden trickle flow down to the ground. The smell of ammonia hits me as the partially broken doors close.
Our mob moves along in a strangely organized way until we start moving down into the shelter. We thud down a flight of stairs and along a hall into a packed room. People fill most of the space, but they make room once they notice I’m hurt. Yoshiko gets two chairs, and Jun works to sit me down and prop up my broken leg.
I can’t find the right words to answer her. As I try, an attractive and well-dressed Japanese woman appears on a TV before us. She says something about Odaiba as the screen turns and shows the monster’s demolition along the streets. The camera pans and sets its sights on the monster, plodding into the city. We get a quick glimpse at the mall, which appears to be a bit dented but none the worse for wear. Yoshiko sighs deeply.
Jun crumples onto me, her head resting on my shoulder and her arms spread out over my chest, “I guess you got to see the Gorilla Lizard.”
PWYW For This Thing We Wrote!
Four-in-Hand Games
Wine and Savages + DriveThruRPG
Steamscapes by Four-in-Hand Games
Buy This Thing I Wrote!
Buy This Thing I Wrote!
Buy This Thing I Wrote
Buy This Thing I Wrote
Featuring "The Super-Power Toybox: Beyond Capes and Tights"
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Featuring "An Abundance of Gods," an examination of Shinto.
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Contains "The Badass," a new character archetype complete with new Edges, Hindrances, and a funky grindhouse adventure; "La Pantera," a Zorro-esque pulp superheroine and her supporting cast; and "Zhàndòu: City of Warriors," a wuxia setting that includes adventure seeds and crappy maps I drew!
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tomekkorbak/pile-curse-small
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Pile-CC
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Background
==========
The association between socio-economic position (SEP) and health is well established and adjusting for the confounding effect of SEP in epidemiological and medical research is common practice. Common measures of SEP include educational attainment, housing (tenure, conditions or amenities), a number of occupational based measures and income \[[@B1],[@B2]\]. Of these measures, income is perhaps the best indicator of an individual's material and wealth circumstances and has been linked to many health outcomes including mental health \[[@B3]-[@B6]\], mortality \[[@B7]-[@B10]\] and self-assessed health \[[@B11],[@B12]\].
Income is a sensitive topic and a potentially complex question to answer for many individuals and this can result in measurement error or missing data in surveys. Non-response rates of around 10-25% are common \[[@B13],[@B14]\]. Furthermore, the format of the question or the subject matter of the survey is also likely to affect accuracy \[[@B15]\]. By varying degrees, all of these factors are, therefore, likely to introduce bias \[[@B16]\] and whilst some of these difficulties can be overcome with the implementation of more sophisticated survey designs \[[@B17]\], in many cases these are expensive and difficult to implement \[[@B18]\]. In some cases, concerns over the impact of asking an income question on overall response rates means that an income question is not asked at all. For example, despite strong pressure from the research community \[[@B18]-[@B20]\] the UK census will continue to omit an income question because of the difficulties respondents faced answering the question, the effect on response rates and potential negative coverage in the national press \[[@B21]\].
Despite this, there has been relatively little use of detailed descriptions of occupation to approximate a measure of material disadvantage, beyond collapsing them into traditional social class measures, despite their ubiquity in many data sources. This is possibly because of the difficulties associated with meaningfully incorporating large numbers of different occupational categories into a statistical analysis. However, aggregating occupation groups into social classes will result in a significant loss of occupation related discrimination in terms of socio-economic position. This paper argues that the utilisation of detailed occupation information, and its conversion onto an estimated continuous monetary scale, offers the potential for improved adjustment for SEP in medical research over traditional proxy measures. The paper sets out an approach based on common and widely available occupation classification schemes such as the UK Standard Occupation Classification (SOC). In addition to being highly discriminating in terms of wages, the SOC and other similar measures such as the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) are relatively common in most social survey datasets and so the approach described here is generalizable to a wide range of datasets from different countries.
Methods
=======
Modelling approach
------------------
We aimed to estimate wage among workers using the UK's Standard Occupational Classification 2000 (SOC 2000) \[[@B22]\] which is a tiered classification of occupations developed by the UK's Office of National Statistics (ONS). Figure [1](#F1){ref-type="fig"} illustrates this structure for a sub-set of unit level occupations that fall under the major group of managers and senior officials. Each descending level provides increasingly detailed descriptions of occupational type, aimed at capturing the kind of work performed and the competence required to complete the tasks and duties associated with that work. Because wages tend to vary with these characteristics, SOC code would appear to be a potentially useful estimator of wage.
{#F1}
We used a multi-level mixed effects approach to model and then synthesise wages for working individuals by SOC units (the finest detailed grouping within the SOC). In order to ensure that the resulting estimates could be replicated in as wide a range of data sources as possible, it was decided to restrict the variables used in the models to age, sex and SOC occupation. The mixed effect models utilise the tiered structure of the SOC and estimate random effect parameters associated with each of the groups (levels) within corresponding tiers of the SOC together with fixed effect parameters for age and sex. Modelling was carried out in STATA version 11 and used maximum likelihood estimation within the xtmixed command. The 'predicted' wage (the synthetic estimate) was calculated in the survey data using the parameters from the original model including the fixed effects coefficients for age and sex (applied to age and sex information in the survey) together with the 'shrunk' multi-level residuals from each SOC group (corresponding to the SOC information in the survey) (see Additional file [1](#S1){ref-type="supplementary-material"}). The hierarchical nature of the SOC classification and the use of Empirical Bayes 'shrunk' multi-level residuals meant that the estimates were statistically efficient even where the sample size in any given SOC unit group was small.
Data
----
### Master data
Information on individual wage, from which the prediction models were estimated, was obtained from the UK Labour Force Survey (LFS). The LFS is a survey of approximately 50,000 households living at private addresses. It is collected every 3 months and is designed to be nationally representative of the UK population including all people resident in private households, all persons resident in National Health Service accommodation and young people living away from the parental home in a student hall of residence or similar institution during term time. We used data collected for the years 2001--2005 and 2007--2010. Data from 2006 was omitted to allow subsequent internal validation of the models. The wage information was derived from self-reported responses to a question asking for 'gross weekly income in main job' and was standardised to 2006 earnings levels using the consumer price index (CPI). The analysis sample was restricted to individuals of working age (16--65 for men and 16--60 for women) as pension type earnings could not be estimated reliably with occupation and to those individuals who were in employment in the week previous to the survey as those out of work were not assigned a SOC code. Outlying values in the wage distribution were determined by examining the skewness and were omitted together with those individuals who were missing information for wage, age, sex and SOC. These adjustments left a remaining sample size 251,537. For the modelling, wage values were log transformed in order to reduce the overall skewness in the distribution.
### Validating data
Data from both the Scottish Health Survey (SHS) 2003 and wave one (2009) of the UK Household Longitudinal Study (UKHLS) were used to test the external validity of the synthetic estimate. The SHS has a total sample size of 11,472 and the UKHLS 22,265 and, similarly to the LFS, both surveys are designed to be representative of the population and cover similar age ranges. The surveys were chosen because they both contain information on self-rated general health as well as a large amount of demographic information including SOC, social class and income. The SHS has a measure of equivalised household income and the UKHLS has individual 'take home' wages. This then allowed a comparison between both of these measures and our synthetic estimate of wage. Samples were restricted to individuals with complete information for the variables in the analysis and to those aged 16 or over.
Validation
----------
### Internal validation
The most effective model configuration was determined by examining the wage predictions generated in the 2006 labour force survey data which were evaluated by calculating the standard deviation of the residuals of the predicted wage subtracted from the actual wage.
### External validation of the wage estimates
A comparison amongst working individuals between our estimate of wage against reported individual salary and household income when predicting health status was carried out using the SHS and UKHLS. This comparison was made using both grouped and continuous versions of the wage and income variables. In each case we examined the strength of the relationship between income or wage and general health. The general health variable in the SHS was assessed with the question "how is your health in general?" with responses very good, good, fair, bad or very bad and in the UKHLS the question was "In general, would you say your health is?" with responses excellent, very good, good, fair and poor. These variables were coded into binary indicators with the SHS comparing those with fair, bad or very bad health with those with good or very good health and the UKHLS data comparing those with fair or poor health with those with good or better health. Because the outcomes in both cases were binary, logistic regression was used to estimate model parameters and a method proposed by Zheng and Agresti \[[@B23]\] using correlations was used to compare model fit (the predicted values for the outcome are correlated with the observed values - the higher the correlation the better the fit of the model).
Results
=======
Estimation of the prediction equations
--------------------------------------
Table [1](#T1){ref-type="table"} shows the results of the mixed models that were fitted to the master data from the LFS. Across all models the fixed effects for age and sex and the grand constant were all significant predictors of wages and the magnitude of the effects was mostly consistent, with wage increasing with age and being male. In model one there was significant variation in the random intercepts of each of the SOC minor groups around the fixed grand constant indicating that wages differed across SOC minor groups. Allowing the slopes of the SOC minor categories to vary with age in model two did not substantially reduce the amount of unexplained variance. In model three the overall fit of the model was improved with the addition of level 2 variance. In the final model, the level 2 & 3 intercepts retained significant variability though the variation in the age slopes of the lines appeared strongest at level 2.
######
Details of different prediction models fitted to the master data predicting log weekly wage fixed and random effect parameters (to two significant figures) are reported together with overall residual variance of the model
**Parameter** **Model 1: 2-level random intercepts (individuals nested in SOC minor groups)** **Model 2: 2-level random intercepts and age slopes (individuals nested in SOC minor groups)** **Model 3: 3-level random intercepts (individuals nested in SOC unit groups nested in SOC minor groups)** **Model 4: 3-level random intercepts and age slopes (individuals nested in SOC unit groups nested in SOC minor groups)**
-------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
**Fixed effects**^**\#**^
Age (increments of one year) 0.0064 0.0052 0.0063 0.005
Sex (female reference) 0.31 0.33 0.26 0.27
Intercept 5.00034 5.04 5.1 5.14
**Random effects**^**\$**^
Level - SOC minor
Intercept 0.16 0.26 0.13 0.14
Slope (age) 0.00003 0.0
Level - SOC unit
Intercept 0.05 0.1
Slope (age) 0.00003
**Residual (variance)** 0.31 0.31 0.29 0.28
**N (for all models)** 251,537
Fixed and random effect parameters (to two significant figures) are reported together with overall residual variance of the model.
^\#^Fixed effect parameters are reported on the log wage scale.
^\$^Random effects parameters are reported on the log wage scale and show the standard deviation of the estimated intercepts and slope coefficients at each level.
Internal validation of the prediction equations
-----------------------------------------------
The mean for the actual weekly wage in the 2006 LFS data was £356. Table [2](#T2){ref-type="table"} displays the deviations of the wage predictions from their actual values reported in the 2006 LFS. Model 4 has the closest fit to the actual wage data. Comparing the intercept only models (Models one and three), adding a random intercept for level three (the SOC minor grouping) improved the accuracy by an average of around £5 (calculated by subtracting the deviation in model 1 from model 3). Improvement with the addition of varying age slopes was less marked. Model 4 improved the accuracy of the predictions by around £65 (deviation from model 4 subtracted from deviation when using simple geometric mean) per person compared to the single valued geometric mean. Model 4 was therefore used to construct the wage estimate.
######
Evaluation (using average deviation of the predicted wage from actual wage and% reduction in total deviation) of both prediction models and simple geometric means (grand mean and mean within SOC unit categories) for the internal validation data (2006 LFS data only)
**Model** **Average deviation from actual wage** **% reduction of deviation**
----------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------- ------------------------------
**Grand Geometric Mean Wage** £209 0%
**Geometric Mean wage in SOC Unit Group** £150 48.78%
**Model 1: 2-level intercept** £151 48.12%
**Model 2: 2-level intercept and age slopes** £150 48.41%
**Model 3: 3-level intercept** £146 51.63%
**Model 4: 3-level intercept and age slopes** £145 52.10%
**N** 27,560
External validation
-------------------
### Comparison of synthetic estimates to other measures of SEP
The synthetic wage estimates were calculated in the SHS using model 4. Table [3](#T3){ref-type="table"} presents results showing the effect of adjusting for SEP for both the synthetic estimates and reported income (equivalised household income). In all four models, both measures significantly reduce the risk of reporting fair, poor or very poor general health. Although the synthetic wage effect attenuates in models two to five with the addition of social class (NSSEC and the registrar generals classification) and small area deprivation (as measured by the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation for 2006), a significant residual effect remains. The synthetic measure of wage was, even in model 4, a stronger predictor of self-reported health than the stated income measure.
######
Comparison of synthetic wage and measured equivalised household income coefficients from models predicting fair, bad or very bad health estimated from Scottish Health Survey, adjusting for other measures of socio-economic position
**N** **Wage (synthetic estimate)** **N** **Reported equivalised income**
---------------------------------------------------------------- ------- ------------------------------- ------------- --------------------------------- ------------- --------------
1\. Wage (scaled in units of £100)-controlling for Age and Sex 7757 0.661\*\*\* 0.623,0.702 7075 0.829\*\*\* 0.810, 0.848
2\. As 1 with additional control for social class 7749 0.790\*\*\* 0.726,0.861 6865 0.866\*\*\* 0.846, 0.888
3\. As 2 with additional control for SIMD 7749 0.819\*\*\* 0.751,0.893 6865 0.894\*\*\* 0.872, 0.916
4\. As 1 with additional control for SIMD 7757 0.735\*\*\* 0.691,0.783 7075 0.870\*\*\* 0.850, 0.891
5\. As 2 with additional control for NSSEC8 and SIMD 7749 0.857\*\* 0.779,0.943 6865 0.898\*\*\* 0.877, 0.920
P-value \*(p \< .10) \*\*(p \< .05) \*\*\* (p \< .01).
SIMD -- Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation: <http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/SIMD>.
NSSEC8 -- 8 fold UK National Statistics Socio-economic Classification: <http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/classifications/current-standard-classifications/soc2010/soc2010-volume-3-ns-sec--rebased-on-soc2010--user-manual/index.html>.
### Comparison of synthetic estimates with household and individual income
Table [4](#T4){ref-type="table"} presents the results of age and sex adjusted logistic regression models predicting fair or poor general health in order to compare the synthetic estimates to both individual and household survey measured income from the SHS and the UKHLS respectively. We also examine these income and wage measures in both continuous and discrete deciled form. Both of the continuous measures have a significant effect on self-reported health, with increases in each associated with a decline in the reporting of poor health. This effect is stronger for the synthetic wage measures. Similarly, for the grouped variables there is a clear gradient between the lowest and highest earning groups, with the highest earners significantly less likely to report poor health than those in the lowest earning group for both the synthetic estimates and the survey measured income. The magnitude of the coefficients differs slightly between models, particularly at lower income levels where they are insignificant for self-reported income but not for the synthetic measure. The correlation values show that, despite a weaker effect, survey measured continuous household income has a slightly better fit when compared to the synthetic model. The corresponding figures for the discrete analysis show similar patterns.
######
**Model coefficients for synthetic wage and survey reported income (continuous and deciled) for age and sex adjusted logistic regression models predicting fair, bad or very bad health in Scottish Health Survey**\[[@B1]\]**reported income is equivalised household income and in UK household Longitudinal Study**\[[@B2]\]**individual wage**
**Scottish Health Survey**\[[@B1]\] **UK Household Longitudinal Study**\[[@B2]\]
------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------- ------------- ------------- ------------- ------------- ------------- -------------
Continuous Income (scaled in units of £100)
Synthetic wage 7757 0.661\*\*\* 0.623,0.702 0.288\*\*\* 12457 0.765\*\*\* 0.721,0.812 0.118\*\*\*
Survey reported income 7075 0.829\*\*\* 0.810,0.848 0.335\*\*\* 9459 0.936\*\*\* 0.910,0.962 0.098\*\*\*
Deciled Income
Synthetic wage (lowest income decile as reference) 7757 0.288\*\*\* 12457 0.123\*\*\*
1st 1 1
2^nd^ 0.678\*\*\* 0.541,0.851 0.869 0.690,1.095
3^rd^ 0.725\*\*\* 0.579,0.907 0.904 0.720,1.135
4^th^ 0.590\*\*\* 0.468,0.743 0.759\* 0.601,0.960
5^th^ 0.572\*\*\* 0.455,0.720 0.742\* 0.585,0.940
6^th^ 0.491\*\*\* 0.386,0.623 0.539\*\*\* 0.419,0.694
7^th^ 0.390\*\*\* 0.305,0.499 0.542\*\*\* 0.422,0.695
8^th^ 0.371\*\*\* 0.290,0.475 0.490\*\*\* 0.379,0.633
9^th^ 0.284\*\*\* 0.220,0.366 0.549\*\*\* 0.427,0.706
Most 0.204\*\*\* 0.155,0.268 0.377\*\*\* 0.285,0.498
Survey reported income (lowest income decile as reference) 7075 0.350\*\*\* 9459 0.134\*\*\*
1st 1 1
2^nd^ 1.204 0.947,1.529 0.844 0.656,1.086
3^rd^ 0.899 0.716,1.128 0.640\*\*\* 0.492,0.833
4^th^ 0.714\*\*\* 0.563,0.905 0.870 0.678,1.118
5^th^ 0.634\*\*\* 0.498,0.807 0.695\*\* 0.536,0.903
6^th^ 0.449\*\*\* 0.347,0.582 0.594\*\*\* 0.456,0.773
7^th^ 0.335\*\*\* 0.260,0.431 0.437\*\*\* 0.330,0.578
8^th^ 0.227\*\*\* 0.171,0.301 0.320\*\*\* 0.235,0.437
9^th^ 0.222\*\*\* 0.167,0.296 0.497\*\*\* 0.377,0.656
Most 0.168\*\*\* 0.124,0.226 0.419\*\*\* 0.315,0.557
Correlation measures the association between the predicted risk of poor health and the actual data comparable measure of model fit.
P-value \*(p \< .10) \*\*(p \< .05) \*\*\* (p \< .01).
When comparing the synthetic estimates with an individual survey income measure the relative patterns between models differ from those examining household income. Firstly, the correlation values suggest much smaller differences in the fit of both the discrete and continuous models between the synthetic wage and real income variables. In the continuous models, the fit is actually marginally better when using the synthetic measure and, similarly, in comparison with the household income, has a stronger effect on general health. In terms of the discrete variable, the gradient pattern was less marked particularly for the real income model which also showed perhaps a slightly shallower gradient when compared to the synthetic model. It is worth noting that the two surveys asked the general health question in different ways and this may explain the difference between surveys in the various proportions of the population stating they experience good or poor health.
Discussion
==========
The collection of income information on a questionnaire or within time limited interview situations is not straightforward. This is reflected in both its absence from some research instruments, its simplified form in others and more generally its relatively high level of missing or improbable responses. In studies where a measure of income is entirely missing, the use of other indicators of socio-economic position such as social class, educational attainment or small area based indicators are frequently used to approximate the material disadvantage that would have been captured by an income measure. This study has proposed and examined an alternative approach, the estimation of a synthetic measure of individual wages among workers based on detailed occupation groups from a standard occupation classification. While occupation forms a key component of many social class based measures, this often involves collapsing detailed occupational categories to such an extent that much 'information' is lost. We utilised this 'information' to estimate a synthetic measure of occupational based wage and then tested its external validity in relation to the prediction of an often used self-reported general health measure. We observed two main findings. Firstly, the estimates provide independent and additional explanatory power within models containing only social class and small area based measures of socio-economic position alone and secondly, that they behaved very similarly to 'real', reported measures of both household and individual income when modelling 'general health'. These findings suggest that occupation may be a useful variable with which to estimate a synthetic measure of wages and may provide a reliable and effective alternative or supplement for the recording of reported income in social and health surveys.
The approach we have taken has a number of advantages both when datasets are missing an income measure entirely as well as for those where it is imprecisely measured. In the former case, our findings appear to support the notion that wage measures a different component of SEP than that captured by social class and small area poverty or deprivation measures. This suggests that social class and small area deprivation on their own may not be sufficient to adjust for all socio-economic differences in general health and certainly not those differences that are related to income.
It could be argued that the synthetic occupation-based wage estimates also provide a more analytically useful measure of 'average income'. Research suggests that of the many aspects of SEP, income is perhaps the component with the greatest degree of short-term variability \[[@B7]\] which means that a traditional cross sectional survey, collecting the data at a single time point, may not capture the underlying information of interest. Because our estimates are closer to an individual's medium term average wage given their occupation, it may capture important economic forces more effectively than reported measures of income for a specific period of time. This may explain why our synthetic measure has better discrimination (in terms of health) at lower levels than reported income (see Table [4](#T4){ref-type="table"} -- odds ratio for deciles). At this point in the income distribution casual employment with more variable rates of wage within any period of time will be more common and therefore a single sample in time may provide a poor estimate of average wage, the more important factor in the determination of health.
The methodology can be applied to a wide range of studies or datasets because the estimation models are reasonably parsimonious and only require a record of age, sex and occupation coded within some form of hierarchical or tiered standard classification. In most datasets these variables are unlikely to contain significant numbers of missing cases leading to mostly ignorable and negligible missing cases in the resulting estimates. It may also be possible to simplify the model further. Provided a sufficiently large dataset is available (ie sufficient number of cases in each occupation group), the mean wage level within an occupational group may provide as good an estimate of wage as the empirical bayes estimate used in this study (see Table [2](#T2){ref-type="table"}).
The findings have a number of important implications for understanding confounding by socio-economic position and the collection of income data in surveys for health research. Firstly, it is clear that other non-income measures or components of SEP do not entirely capture the effect of income on their own and that omitting an income measure risks introducing income-related confounding. This is particularly problematic in datasets in which income is not measured such as the UK census and census based longitudinal studies. Extending this argument further, the findings may have wider implications for the measurement of income in health surveys more generally. Although we have restricted our analysis to an examination of self-reported health, the evidence begins to suggest that the collection of reported income data in health surveys may not be as crucial as the measurement of occupation. This is important as occupation is a far easier characteristic to measure and is much less problematic in terms of missing data, mis-measurement or inaccuracy.
There are limitations with the approach that we have used. Firstly, it relies on occupational information being available for subjects and, if household income needs to be calculated, for all those contributing to the household budget. Secondly, for those of working age, who are not employed or those who have retired, a description of occupation, if available, will not necessarily be an accurate measure of their income. However, it is possible to estimate the likely income for those who are unemployed or retired by using the standard welfare payments or occupational related pension payments. For those who have retired but have a pre-retirement occupation recorded, a similar modelling approach could be used to estimate pension level. Finally, the study was restricted to an examination of a measure of self-reported general health and it does not necessarily follow that our findings can be generalised to other health variables. For example, the shape, magnitude and functional form of the relationship between income and other health indicators such as mortality and physical health measures differs markedly in some cases \[[@B24]-[@B26]\]. It is important for future research to examine the validity of these synthetic estimates in relation to other health variables.
Conclusion
==========
This study suggests that a synthetic measure of wage based on occupation can be used as an effective alternative to self-reported income in health studies. Given the problems associated with questions about income in a survey context, for example its non- or inaccurate completion and its negative effect on overall response rates, this study also suggests that it may more effective to ask about and use occupation as a control for material disadvantage in health studies.
Endnote
=======
^a^Data available from UK Data Service <http://ukdataservice.ac.uk/>.
Competing interests
===================
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
Authors' contributions
======================
CD identified the approach and developed the methodology, TC carried out the analysis and produced a first draft of the paper. TC and CD jointly revised the paper and are equally responsible for the intellectual insights. Both authors read and approve the final manuscript.
Pre-publication history
=======================
The pre-publication history for this paper can be accessed here:
<http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2288/14/59/prepub>
Supplementary Material
======================
###### Additional file 1
Detailed description of modelling approach.
######
Click here for file
Acknowledgements
================
Tom Clemens was supported by a grant from the Wellcome Trust (The Scottish Health Informatics Programme-Ref WT086113).
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PubMed Central
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Heidi M Przybyla
USA TODAY
LAS VEGAS — A contentious debate between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton Wednesday night involving abortion, guns and the Supreme Court turned upside down when Trump said he might not accept the results of the Nov. 8 election.
The third and final debate between Republican Trump and Democrat Clinton began calmly enough, as moderator Chris Wallace asked them about their views on the future of the Supreme Court, which is deadlocked 4-4 between conservative and liberal justices. Then Wallace asked both candidates whether they would back the election results.
"I will tell you at the time," Trump said, reversing his claim in a previous debate to support the outcome. "I will keep you in suspense."
Will Trump accept election results? He'll get back to you
Trump slammed for refusing to say if he'd accept election results
Trump, who has crisscrossed the country saying the election is "rigged," argued that Clinton's use of a private email server as secretary of State should have disqualified her from running. That, he said, was one reason he would not commit to supporting the election results. Clinton pounced and called the comments "horrifying."
"Every time things aren't going in Donald's direction, he claims it is rigged against him," said Clinton. She cited his insistence after he lost the Iowa caucuses and the Wisconsin primary that the Republican nomination process was rigged, that the court system was rigged when his Trump University was sued for fraud and even that he was cheated out of an Emmy for his Celebrity Apprentice show. "It's funny but it is also really troubling," she said.
Trump has crisscrossed the country saying the election is "rigged," raising fears among Republican and Democratic election officials that he will incite his supporters after the election in an attempt to undermine Clinton's ability to govern effectively. His running mate, daughter and various campaign officials have insisted that Trump will respect the outcome of the election amid a series of national polls showing Clinton with a wide lead both at the national level and in critical battleground states including Pennsylvania, Virginia and Colorado.
Vegas showdown: Catch up on what you missed in the final debate
Analysis: After a brutal campaign, a brutal debate
The first several minutes of the debate were civil, compared to their previous matchup in St. Louis. But by the end of the debate, Trump had called Clinton a "nasty woman" after she needled him over whether he would agree to higher payroll taxes to fund Social Security. On Russia, Clinton called on Trump to denounce the nation's suspected hacking of her campaign chairman's emails, and the two accused each other of being "puppets" of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Clinton framed a potential Trump's presidency as a test of the nation's moral character due to his treatment of women, minorities and the disabled, saying it's "up to all of us to demonstrate who we are and who our country is.” Trump landed blows over Clinton's family foundation, saying she should return donations from countries like Saudi Arabia and Qatar guilty of mistreatment of women and gays.
Gloves off and no handshake
Like in the last debate, the two did not shake hands at the beginning, and this time they also did not shake hands at the end. In a surprise move, the moderator asked the two to deliver closing arguments. Clinton took a positive tone, saying her life’s work has been standing up for families against powerful interests and corporations to ensure good jobs and education. Trump said he’s “going to make America great again” before launching into an assault on Clinton, including that electing her would be tantamount to four more years of President Obama.
For the first time, the two tussled over abortion, and Clinton made clear she will defend a woman’s right to choose, while Trump berated her for backing late-term abortions. Clinton noted that she supports late-term abortion in cases to defend the life of the mother. “I do not think the United States government should be stepping in and making those most personal of decisions,” she said.
Trump called it “terrible if you go with what Hillary is saying,” saying it would allow a doctor to “rip the baby out of the womb of the mother” in the ninth month. “It’s not OK with me,” he said. Clinton said Trump was misrepresenting the circumstances of most late-term abortions: “That is not what happens in these cases and using that kind of scare rhetoric is terribly unfortunate,” she said.
How did moderator Chris Wallace fare? Tweets tell all
Supreme Court
More broadly on the courts, Clinton said she would appoint members who will “stand up” for average people and not the “powerful,” and Trump said he will nominate justices with “a conservative bent.” Trump said “the Supreme Court is what it’s all about,” contending that the Second Amendment right to bear arms “is under absolute siege.” If Clinton is elected, he said, “it will be a very very small replica of what it is now.”
Clinton disagreed, saying she respects the Second Amendment, but it's not incompatible with “reasonable regulation” to keep guns away from “people who shouldn’t have guns.”
On immigration, Clinton argued that Trump’s deportation plan is tantamount to a national effort to round up people and ship them out of our country. It “would rip our country apart,” she said.
She called for comprehensive immigration reform that includes border security and criticized Trump’s proposal to build a wall along the Mexico border. Trump stressed that he would focus first on deporting undocumented immigrants guilty of crimes before addressing others in the United States illegally. “We have some bad hombres here and we’re gonna get em out,” he said.
Immigration issue largely ignored; Trump vows to deport 'bad hombres'
Clinton called it a “rank mischaracterization” that she is for totally open borders, saying that claim came from an email hacked by the Russians and turned over to WikiLeaks.
Trump refused to accept U.S. intelligence reports that Russia is behind the cyber attacks that have exposed emails from Clinton campaign manager John Podesta. He denied knowing Putin. "He's not my best friend," Trump said.
On the economy, the two debated tax and trade policy, with Trump vowing to crack down on countries like Japan, Germany and South Korea. “We have horrible deals. Our jobs are being taken out” by the 1993 NAFTA trade deal Clinton’s husband, President Bill Clinton, signed into law. “It is horrible what’s happening to these people,” he said. “Boy, did they suffer,” said Trump.
Accusations by women
The most controversial issue facing Trump in the debate was a series of stories from women spanning 30 years alleging he sexually violated them. Trump said they are all “lies” and he accused Clinton of orchestrating the stories.
“Those stories have been largely debunked,” he said, saying he believes “it was her campaign that did it.” On the women, he said: “I think they either want fame or her campaign did it.”
Trump blames Clinton campaign for sexual misconduct allegations
Clinton said Trump’s treatment of women “goes after their dignity, their self worth, and I don’t think there is a woman anywhere who doesn’t know what that feels like.” She said it is “really up to all of us to demonstrate who we are and who our country is,” she said.
"Nobody has more respect for women than I do," Trump responded. The audience reacted enough that Wallace had to remind them to keep quiet.
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Q:
Has there ever been a strike of peer reviewers?
I know peer reviewing is done freely and voluntarily, at least I think for the most part, so I am not sure strike is the best way of calling it, but it gives the idea. With all the recent discussion about open access and overworked researchers that relate to the publishing cycle, I was wondering if there has been any protest, or strike, or talks for a strike by peer reviewers.
A:
Researchers have refused to review for Elsevier, as part of the Cost of Knowledge boycott, which
Objects to exorbitantly high prices; and
Objects to measures that restrict free information.
The initial success of the boycott was summarised in 2014 by Sir Timothy Gowers (Fields Medal recipient):
A little over two years ago, the Cost of Knowledge boycott of Elsevier
journals began. Initially, it seemed to be highly successful, with the
number of signatories rapidly reaching 10,000 and including some very
high-profile researchers, and Elsevier making a number of concessions,
such as dropping support for the Research Works Act and making papers
over four years old from several mathematics journals freely available
online. It has also contributed to an increased awareness of the
issues related to high journal prices and the locking up of articles
behind paywalls.
A:
Not en masse. If researchers refused to review en masse, the system would break down and no papers would be published (or they'd be published without review) and the impact would be very visible.
On smaller scales there has been a Cost of Knowledge boycott of Elsevier, an individual publishing house. This was initiated by Timothy Gowers in 2012, in protest of Elsevier's perceived high prices and gross margins. The target is Elsevier because it is the "worst offender" - Elsevier's margins are very high, above 20%. The boycott allows the signatories to say if they're not willing to publish with, to do editorial work, or to referee for Elsevier. It's had minimal impact: as of time of writing, there are 16,946 signatories, a tiny fraction of the number of academics in the world (millions). It did, however, lead to Elsevier lowering its prices slightly for mathematics journals as well as making some old papers available for free.
On an even smaller scale, I've seen researchers decline to review papers because they don't review for non-OA journals, or because they don't work for free. This is a very small fraction however: I've invited hundreds of reviewers, and the number who decline for these reasons can be counted on one hand.
A:
Apart from the Cost of Knowledge, which was a while ago now and had a broader scope than just reviewing, more recently there was No Deal No Review by Finnish researchers. They boycotted the task of peer reviewing for traditional publishers in order to put pressure on them while they negotiated with the Finnish universities.
Since the result of those negotiations are widely met with disappointment, it's not clear yet what will happen with the boycott.
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StackExchange
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Ambrosi's cave salamander
Ambrosi's cave salamander, the French cave salamander, or the Spezia cave salamander (Speleomantes ambrosii) is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. Endemic to southeastern France and northwestern Italy, its natural habitats are temperate forests, rocky areas, caves, and subterranean habitats (other than caves). It is threatened by habitat loss.
Description
Ambrosi's cave salamander has short, stout limbs, pointed toes and a short tail and grows to around including the tail. There is a ridge known as a canthus between the snout and the eye. The colour is variable, being brown to black with marbling, mottling or streaking in grey, green, yellow, red, pink or brown. Some individuals are a uniform brown or black colour. The underparts are also dark with paler markings.
Distribution and habitat
Ambrosi's cave salamander is endemic to a small area of southeastern France and northwestern Italy. Despite its name, it is not restricted to caves though it retreats under stones, logs and into caverns in dry periods. At other times it is active on the leaf litter near streams and on wet rocky outcrops in wooded valleys at altitudes of up to . In the southeast of its distribution, where its range overlaps that of the Italian cave salamander (Speleomantes italicus), the two species sometimes hybridise.
Behaviour
Ambrosi's cave salamander is found in moist environments where it is active by night on the ground, sometimes scrambling around in low vegetation. Males become sexually mature at four years and females at five. After an elaborate courtship routine, a clutch of a few eggs about long is laid in a concealed location where they are guarded by the female until they hatch directly into juvenile salamanders. Longevity is estimated to be seventeen years.
Status
The International Union for the Conservation of Nature has assessed the Ambrosi's cave salamander as being "near threatened". This is on the basis that it has a very restricted range, its total extent of occurrence being less than , and suitable habitat may be declining locally. However it occurs in two protected areas, the Parco Nazionale delle Cinque Terre and the Parco naturale regionale delle Alpi Apuane. It is possible that the subspecies Speleomantes ambrosii bianchii may be reassigned to S. italicus, and if that were the case, its extent of occurrence would be reduced and its status would need to be reassessed.
References
Category:Speleomantes
Category:Cave salamanders
Category:Amphibians of Europe
Category:Endemic fauna of Italy
Category:Amphibians described in 1954
Category:Taxonomy articles created by Polbot
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Wikipedia (en)
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The Catalyst Leader By Brad Lomenick
3 Days
As God unfolds the possibilities and opportunities sitting at our fingertips, may we not just lead now, but lead well. In this 3-day reading plan, Brad Lomenick offers key essentials by which you can identify your God-given purpose and act on it with authenticity and courage.
Publisher
We would like to thank Brad Lomenick and Thomas Nelson for providing this plan. For more information, please visit: http://amzn.to/2q7q2XP
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Pile-CC
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We noticed that you're using an unsupported browser. The TripAdvisor website may not display properly.We support the following browsers:Windows: Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome. Mac: Safari.
A Excellent Family Resort located in one of the nicest parts of South Africa offering exceptional value for money family holidays. Breath taking views from your camping sites with neat and tidy ablution facilities. One of the best resorts ever visited by our family.
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Greetings, many thanks for your review and feedback, we are happy that you enjoyed your stay with us. We sincerely look forward to welcoming you back very soon. Have a great day, Team Badplaas
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1877 in literature
This article presents lists of the literary events and publications in 1877.
Events
January 24 – Émile Zola's L'Assommoir (sometimes translated as "The Dram Shop"), seventh in his novel sequence Les Rougon-Macquart, is first published in book format a few weeks after its serialization ends in Le Bien public (Paris). It sells more than 50,000 copies by the end of the year.
February 24 – March 17 – Robert Louis Stevenson's first published work of fiction, the novella "An Old Song", appears anonymously in four episodes in the magazine London.
July – The ending of Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina is published in Russkiy vestnik.
October – Robert Louis Stevenson publishes the short story "A Lodging for the Night" (in Temple Bar magazine), later collected in New Arabian Nights.
October 15 – Edward L. Wheeler's first story featuring Deadwood Dick, set on the American frontier, opens the first number of Beadle's Half-Dime Library, published in New York.
November 14 – Henrik Ibsen's first contemporary realist drama The Pillars of Society is premièred at the Odense Teater (having been first published on October 11 in Copenhagen).
November 24 – Anna Sewell's novel Black Beauty, his grooms and companions: the autobiography of a horse "translated from the equine" is published by Jarrolds of Norwich in England. Her only book, published five months before her death arising from long-standing illness, it rapidly establishes its position as an all-time bestseller, going on to sell fifty million copies and becoming the sixth best seller in the English language.
December 30 – Swedish dramatist August Strindberg marries his mistress, the divorced actress Siri von Essen, a member of the Finnish-Swedish minor nobility.
The Mitchell Library is established in Glasgow.
New books
Fiction
R. M. Ballantyne – The Settler and the Savage
R. D. Blackmore – Erema; or, my father's sin
Ned Buntline – Buffalo Bill Trails the Devil Head
Bankim Chatterjee
Chandrasekhar
Rajani
Ion Creangă – Harap Alb
Fyodor Dostoevsky – "The Dream of a Ridiculous Man" (Сон смешного человека, short story)
Maria Fetherstonhaugh – Kilcorran
Gustave Flaubert – Three Tales
Henry James – The American
Jan Neruda – Povídky malostranské (Tales of the Little Quarter)
Margaret Oliphant – Carità
William Clark Russell – The Wreck of the Grosvenor
Theodor Storm – Aquis Submersus
Anthony Trollope
The American Senator
Is He Popenjoy?
Jacint Verdaguer – L'Atlàntida
Jules Verne
Hector Servadac
Les Indes noires
Émile Zola – L'Assommoir
Children and young people
Louisa May Alcott – Under the Lilacs
Mary Louisa Molesworth (Mrs. Molesworth) – The Cuckoo Clock
Anna Sewell – Black Beauty
Amy Catherine Walton (Mrs. O. F. Walton) – A Peep Behind the Scenes
Drama
James Albery – The Pink Dominos
José Echegaray – Saint or Madman? (O locura o santidad)
W. S. Gilbert – Engaged
Henrik Ibsen – The Pillars of Society (Samfundets støtter)
Adolphe L'Arronge – Hasemann's Daughters
Poetry
Edward Lear – Laughable Lyrics (published December 1876, dated 1877)
Non-fiction
Henry Spencer Ashbee (as Pisanus Fraxi) – Index Librorum Prohibitorum: being Notes Bio- Biblio- Icono- graphical and Critical on Curious and Uncommon Books
Helena Blavatsky – Isis Unveiled
Florence Caddy – Household Organisation
Amelia Edwards – A Thousand Miles up the Nile
Henry Miers Elliot (ed. by John Dowson) – The History of India, as Told by Its Own Historians
Kenneth Mackenzie – Royal Masonic Cyclopedia
Lewis H. Morgan – Ancient Society
Shen Fu (沈復) – Six Records of a Floating Life (autobiography; first printed edition)
Births
January 4 – Sextil Pușcariu, Romanian linguist, philologist and journalist (died 1948)
February 7 – Alfred Williams, English "hammerman poet" (died 1930)
April 29 – Henri Stahl, Romanian historian, short story writer, memoirist and stenographer (died 1942)
June 11 – Renée Vivien, born Pauline Mary Tarn, English-born French-language Symbolist poet (died 1909)
July 2 – Hermann Hesse, German-Swiss poet, novelist and painter (died 1962)
August 27 – Lloyd C. Douglas, American novelist and pastor (died 1951)
September 1 – Rex Beach, American novelist and playwright (died 1949)
September 9 – James Agate, English diarist and critic (died 1947)
November 15 – William Hope Hodgson, English fiction writer (killed in action 1918)
Unknown date – Donald Maxwell, English travel writer and illustrator (died 1936)
Deaths
April – Ernst Moritz Ludwig Ettmüller, German philologist (born 1802)
June 15 – Caroline Norton (née Caroline Sheridan), English poet, pamphleteer and social reformer (born 1808)
June 17 – John Stevens Cabot Abbott, American historian and pastor (born 1805)
September 12 – Emily Pepys, English child diarist (born 1833)
October 10 – Johann Georg Baiter, Swiss philologist and critic (born 1801)
October 16 – Théodore Barrière, French dramatist (born 1823)
October 28 – Julia Kavanagh, Irish novelist (born 1824)
December 12 – José de Alencar, Brazilian novelist (born 1829)
References
Category:Years of the 19th century in literature
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Wikipedia (en)
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Two staff members have been fired and arrested and an Illinois nursing home now faces a lawsuit after video footage allegedly showed them taunting a 91-year-old dementia patient.
The suspects, arrested on misdemeanor charges, were identified as Brayan Cortez and Jamie Montesa, caretakers at the Abington of Glenview nursing home, about 24 miles north of Chicago.
Both employees “were immediately terminated,” the home’s administrators wrote in a statement.
AS US POPULATION AGES, MORE ELDERS ARE SUBJECT TO PHYSICAL, SEXUAL AND FINANCIAL ABUSE
But the patient’s family disputes that, claiming the pair remained on the job for another week because they were initially cleared of wrongdoing.
“They violate her safety, her privacy, and then they do a slow walk to correct the behavior?” the patient’s son, Tom Collins, asked Chicago’s WLS-TV.
According to reports, Snapchat video footage recorded last December – four days before Christmas -- showed Cortez waving a hospital gown at the elderly woman, knowing that the sight of the gowns was a source of fear and anxiety for her. Montesa allegedly held the camera.
"You just can’t believe you’re seeing this," Joan Biebel, Collins' daughter, told Chicago's WGN-TV. "You think your mom is safe and now this is going on. You’re just trying to figure out what the heck is happening here."
"You just can’t believe you’re seeing this. You think your mom is safe and now this is going on. You’re just trying to figure out what the heck is happening here." — Joan Biebel, daughter of dementia patient
Cortez told police the taunting of the patient was considered an “ongoing inside joke,” the station reported.
The video was labeled “Margaret hates gowns,” with two laughing emojis added, Chicago's WBBM-TV reported.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“It’s abuse,” said Margate Battersby Black, an attorney representing the elderly woman. “They knew that she didn’t like this and they persisted in doing it.
“Not only did she not get the care she needed,” the lawyer said, “but she got bullied and taunted instead. They had two staff members who were in her room for the sole purpose of playing a sick game.”
The two nursing assistants are due in court later this month. The elderly woman has been moved to a different facility, WBBM reported.
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Monday, February 8, 2010
(Above, a housing subsidy schedule for the Atlantic Yards mega-monopoly from which a greater total for subsidy figures can be calculated. Click to enlarge.)
Forest City Ratner is looking to glom onto an awful lot of housing subsidy with respect to its proposed Atlantic Yards megadevelopment. If you’re interested in knowing how much, this article attempts to close in on that figure. It’s in the neighborhood of about at least half a billion dollars, probably a fair amount more and the transaction has been set up so Forest City Ratner can blackmail the public for that money.
Thanks to the assiduous Freedom of Information Act work and analysis of Norman Oder, who is posting Atlantic Yards Closing documents on his Atlantic Yards Report, we are getting a much more detailed picture about how beneficial the mega-project deal is intended to be for Forest City Ratner. With each new unveiling of documents and the accompanying analysis we see more evidence confirming that the dominant purpose of the mega-scheme being effected by public officials is to serve the developer’s interest. See AYR’s January 26, 2010 (Tuesday) roundup article with it compilation of links, A round-up of news generated by the master closing documents (also covered by Develop Don’ Destroy Brooklyn: The Master Closing Documents, Revealed, 1.26.10), which links we are duplicating below (all seven articles were posted Monday, January 25, 2010):
The “Combination Housing Subsidies”schedule sets forth a number of possible occupancy “scenarios” for the project but only one of those scenarios, “Scenario #1,” matches (with some discrepancies) the proposed occupancy of the mega-project that people have actually been talking and which was theoretically negotiated to the community’s benefit by ACORN. We say “theoretically” because the occupancy consists essentially of:
• Affordable low-income units that are required by the tax code and would have to be in the project anyway.• An income band (right above the income bands that the federal tax code will require) where families with incomes from $38,407.00 or 50% of AMI to $46,087 or 60% of AMI would specifically be ineligible to get affordable units in the mega-project, and• Units above that specified income band that would be essentially what you could expect the market, unassisted by subsidy, to provide in the area.
(Below the official schedule of income and rents released in July 2006 by Forest City Ratnershowing adjustments for family size and not explicitly showing the missing income band denied affordable housing. It uses earlier, lower, out-of-date income figures and rents. Click to enlarge.)To read more about how ACORN essentially shilled for FCR by negotiating no real public benefit, see: July 24, 2008, Falling Acorn! How Far from the Tree? and Saturday, June 28, 2008, Selling out the Community for Beans (A Giant Wrong).)
How much is this so-called “affordable” occupancy that is so favorable to the developer going to cost public agencies in terms of the housing subsidies Ratner intends to garner by providing it?
Calculating $144 Million
The “Combination Housing Subsidies”schedule sets forth an example that lets us know about how much some of that subsidy from coming from the new York City Housing Development Corporation will be if you just do a little calculating. For a building of 400 units it will be $12,800,000. Since Forest City Ratner is actually supposed to build 4,500 non-condominium units receiving that subsidy the total cost of this particular subsidy would come to $144 million. That’s if Ratner fulfills its theoretical obligation to build these units. The “Combination Housing Subsidies”schedule contains at the top a mathematical example of how the subsidy would be calculated although the example contains an obvious typographical error that needs to be corrected with respect to the math:
For example, if the first tower built on the Arena Block contains 400 residential units under Scenario #1: where 50% of the units (200 units) would have rents set at market rate, 10% (40 units) at 150% AMI, 10% (40 units) at 120% AMI, 10% at 80% AMI (40 units), 17% at 48% AMI (68 units) and 3% at 38% AMI (12 units), and the associated subsidy would be $12,864,000 [sic, actually $12,800,000] in HDC/HPD 2nd mortgage subsidy ($65,000 x 40 at 120% AMI, $85 x 120 units at or below 80% AMI).
Adding the $144 Million to the Total of Previously Calculated Subsidies
That, of course, is neither the total amount of the subsidy proposed to be going to Atlantic Yards nor the entire amount when it comes to just the housing subsidies. We have previously calculated the total subsides for at Atlantic Yards at between $2 to $3 billion, providing a schedule of known subsides in April of 2008 that added up $2,157,260,000 with additional unknown figures being identified but not added in. (See: Your 'Net' Loss: $2B in Taxes to Ratner, By Rich Calder, April 14, 2008.) At the time we had done some calculations of what this HDC second mortgage subsidy (which we expected) would be but we did not add in a figure for it because we were not reasonably sure what it would actually be. (We had conservatively calculated it at $110 million so we were not terribly far off from the $144 million figure it is now turning out to be.)
Arena Subsidy Calculation Needs To Be Updated
The overall schedule for all the subsidies that Atlantic Yards is proposed to be receiving needs to be updated though the $2 to $3 billion overall estimate is still basically correct. In particular, some subsidy costs respecting the arena need to be revised downward because tax exempt bonds have been issued in a lower amount than we used in our last set of calculations, while other arena subsidy amounts need to be revised upwards. The city has slipped more money to the developer, ESDC is advancing monies ahead of schedule, the MTA is getting a less desirable rail yard and it is a rail yard that may cost the MTA more in the long run because it won’t be flexible enough to meet the MTA’s real future needs, an additional $400 million in tax-exempt bonds was secretly authorized which may be used to bail out or to give the developer some extra gifts in the future. The MTA has also essentially given away for free to Ratner the right to name its subway stops in the area of the project.
Housing Subsidies When taken Alone
Let us then tally up just some housing subsidies including this new $144 million figure.
$261.25 million: We can still estimate that the cost of the tax-exempt bonds for the housing will be $261.25 million. That is the combined cost to the city ($11.47), state ($20.96) and federal ($228.82) taxpayers (NYC residents are all three) of the tax exemption of the bonds. (Unlike the calculations with respect to the arena bonds where local real property taxes are diverted to pay the bonds we do not need to include the cost of such a diversion in the total cost of the bonds to the public.)
$18 million: Next we still include an estimated $18 million for Low Income Housing Tax Credit credits, based on conservative estimated basis of $320,000 per low income unit and LIHTC of $20,000 each for 900 units.
$39.37 million: Mortgage Recording Tax Exemption- Mortgage recording tax is 2.8% in NYC- At least the residential rental portion will be exempt from the tax.
$150 million: “Atlantic Yards Carve-Out”—the provision that gave Forest City Ratner a special bonus in the revision of the 421-a tax law.
That then totals $638.67 million. It does not yet include the millions that might need to be included for sales tax exemption on the residential units. It does not include the millions the MTA has given Ratner by selling its rail yards to Ratner for substantially less than their value. It does not include the millions the state and the city are giving Ratner for infrastructure costs. Very importantly it does not include the almost inconceivably huge giveaways to Ratner by virtue of a.) allowing Ratner to acquire much of the land for the project by paying much less than its value through the abuse of eminent domain and then, b.) making Ratner the special beneficiary of a tremendous upzoning at the expense of his neighbors.
The above figure also does not include any calculations with respect to a vague and complexly conditioned “commitment to build 600 . . for-sale units on or offsite is in the final development agreement.” The building of those units is predicated upon the receipt of an unspecified amount of subsidy. The amount of that subsidy would surely exceed another $15 million or perhaps even twice that. (If there were more such for-sale units, “1000" is mentioned as an upper limit, adjust those numbers proportionately.)
Is It Possible the Housing Subsidies Would Be Less?
It is possible (though perhaps not probable) that there could be circumstances where less housing subsidy would be delivered to the mega-project than Ratner is likely envisioning. As Atlantic Yards Report’s Norman Oder points out, these involve alternate scenarios (which can be seen in the “Combination Housing Subsidies” schedule) with the provision of less “affordable” housing than ACORN and other project proponents have been telling the public to expect. Atlantic Yards Report says:
It offers several more scenarios regarding affordable housing in the Atlantic Yards project, promising affordable units with no low-income units far less affordability to the constituents of ACORN, the advocacy organization that supplied the most foot soldiers at public hearings in favor of the project.
It opens up the possibility of subsidized buildings that are "100% affordable," with the majority of units aimed at households earning 165% of Area Median Income, or AMI.
Further, respecting the estimated $18 million in Low Income Housing Tax Credits, there appears to be another typo in the “Combination Housing Subsidies”schedule: It contains two statements apparently at odds with each other respecting whether Low Income Housing tax credits will be available to the project:
Here is what makes subsidies like the $144 million of newly calculable HDC 2nd mortgage subsidy, the $261.25 million in benefit from scarce tax-exempt bonds, and the Low Income Housing Tax credit sums going to Ratner especially important: Clearly Ratner is proposed to get more than a half billion dollars in scarce subsidies that could be going to other developers and better (actually worthwhile) projects. (In terms of scarcity, all or most of the $144 million HDC is providing is coming from a limited source: Monies that come from Battery Park City luxury, market rate units that were permitted to be built in lieu of the moderate rate housing that was originally supposed to be built there.)
The transaction has been set up to enable Forest City Ratner to blackmail the public to send those subsidies to Atlantic Yards at the expense of worthier projects. This is reflective of the way that the Atlantic Yards transaction has always been structured to give the developer an upper hand and the tactics are similar to the kind of negotiating Ratner has engaged in before with respect to its Beekman Tower project.
Beekman Blackmail
Ratner twice threatened to cease construction of its Beekman Tower project. The first time was in the summer of 2008. As reported then, Forest City Ratner threatened“to halt construction of the new school on Beekman St. unless they receive a 20-year tax break from the city.” Ratner was able to blackmail the community board to get its approval because the community was at that point already dependant on plans for the school. Not a nice form of payback since it should probably be considered that placing the school in the project was a benefit to Forest City Ratner in the first place. (See: Monday, September 8, 2008, Endorsements for Paul Newell for 64th Assembly District Seat.)
The second time Ratner made threats respecting a halt construction of the Beekman Tower it was the spring of 2009 and Ratner was threatening to build the building to half its originally planned height. Publicly the halt was to negotiate a better deal from the construction companies putting up the building. Because of a change in the economic climate Ratner was able rewrite the deal more to its benefit. Though it was never acknowledged, it is also possible that Ratner was having problems getting the credit in the credit markets it needed to be able to issue the final tranche of bonds to complete the project.
The tower was being financed by bonds issued by the New York City Housing Development Corporation (the same city-controlled public authority being asked to give Ratner the bonds and $144 million second mortgage subsidy). Although a spokesman for HDC told Norman Oder that it wasn’t a big deal if the building was only half completed, the truth is that HDC would then have gotten far fewer affordable units and far less bang for buck the in return for its financing and state tax exempt volume cap. (See: Friday, March 20, 2009, If FCR's Beekman Tower faces 50% cut, what does that say about Atlantic Yards promises (and designs)?)
Ideally HDC should have been in a position where its documents would have given it the right to object to the downsizing. There might have also been reason for HDC to object to an after-the-fact squeeze of the contractor since that kind of thing can lead to problems. There were, in fact, recent severe problems at the site during a January windstorm. (See: Tuesday, January 26, 2010, Forest City Ratner’s Two Buildings In Brooklyn Heights Need to be Condemned!)
Ratner Allowed to Blackmail For Housing Subsidy By Delaying Provision of Housing
Specifically, Ratner is entitled to eight years of such delay in providing the housing just with respect to Phase I of the project. Here is the language (emphasis supplied):
G) Notwithstanding AYDC's and Interim Developer's obligations to Substantially Complete (or cause to be Substantially Completed) the Phase I Improvements by the Outside Phase I Substantial Completion Date, so long as the Affordable Housing Application Requirements have been satisfied in each case, any Affordable Housing Subsidy Unavailability with respect to a proposed residential building shall result in a one-year extension of the Outside Phase I Substantial Completion Date solely with respect to the gross square feet proposed for Affordable Housing Units in such building in the application for financing such Affordable Housing Units, up to an aggregate of eight (8) one-year extensions of such Outside Phase I Substantial Completion Date; provided, however the aggregate gross square feet eligible for such extension for Affordable Subsidy Unavailability shall in no event exceed 450,000 gross square feet in any year.
Ratner’s Ability to Pay An “Option Renewal Fee” In Order To Not Complete Within Originally Specified Decades
While Forest City Ratner is theoretically entitled to a total of eight years delay in the delivery of housing with respect to the first phase of the project, this is only the delay that Ratner is entitled to without paying for the delay. As observed by Norman Oder in the above Atlantic Yards Report article, Ratner has not only been given a very long time* to complete the mega-project without any penalty, twenty-five years in all, in addition the amounts that Ratner then has to pay for failure to complete within this specified are negligible.
(Here is the AYR summary of the specified schedule:• six years to build the arena • three or four years to start construction of the first tower • five or six years to start construction of the second tower • ten years to start construction of the third tower • 12 years to build Phase 1 (which can be much smaller than officially promised) • 15 years to start construction of the platform over the railyard • 25 years to finish the project (which can be much smaller than officially promised)
ESDC in its documents has styled the amounts that Ratner has to pay for failure to meet the very generous schedule above as “penalties” which serves as window dressing to the notion that ESDC is controlling the developer, forcing Ratner to meet a schedule, but given the very small amounts Ratner has to pay when not hewing to the schedule, the amounts could better be described as payments for an “extension of Ratner’s option on the property” (very small option amounts at that). Perhaps they should merely be thought of as “expression of interest” payments. As Atlantic Yards Report puts it:
The damages Forest City Ratner faces in most cases--less than $10 million for an arena that's up to three years late, $5 million for each of three buildings if they're late--don't represent a lot of money, especially given that the developer just got a cash flow boost of $31 million to buy land.
That’s $5 million for a single building, for example the third tower on the arena block that would paid 18 years from now (the 10 years in the schedule above plus the 8 year housing subsidy extension), a “penalty” that will procure for Ratner an unspecified period of additional years. At most it would come to $80 million for all sixteen towers. Obviously, the present value of the amounts paid will be lower when paid so far in the future. We invite any of our readers to identify any time they know of when a smaller percentage has been charged for such a long-term extension of an option to develop land. Lastly, since Forest City Ratner could still threaten not to build the housing unless the “penalty”/”option renewal fee” was waived (or subsidy increased to pay for it) those amounts may never be paid at all.
Blackmailing Rather Than Bidding For More Than a Half Billion in Housing Subsidy
It is sometimes bemoaned by those who actually want sports arenas built in their cities (we think they are disastrous economic boondoggles) that the owners of sports teams make localities bid against each other for the “privilege” of having such facilities located in their cities. Conversely, normally when housing projects are proposed, their developers have to show that they would be more beneficial than alternative deals by other developers in order to claim subsidy, in essence a form of bid process. That’s the way it should be. (If ownership of Atlantic Yards were broken up it would be still be possible.) Here, however, ESDC has structured a deal where that process will be reversed. Forest City Ratner wants to lay claim to more than a half billion in housing subsidy that could (and actually should) be going to other developers. But Forest City Ratner won’t have to deliver a better project to get that subsidy. They can actually deliver a far worse, much more expensive one. Forest City Ratner won’t have to think in terms of “bidding” to get their project funded with subsidy. Because they have been given a multi-decade mega-monopoly they can blackmail the public for those subsidies. And partly because so much density has been piled on top of this site that will come with a mega-tab for the public to pay.
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Ah! The ephemera of documentable “blight.” It is lucky that Noticing New York was around to provide photographic evidence of “blight” on Montague Street in the form of sidewalk cracks because now, with the passage of hardly a few days, we need to provide you with an update to tell you that some of the "blight" we carefully documented has already disappeared. Damn!: Who would have thought that sidewalks could be repaired so rapidly?
We have been writing a series of posts about the prevalence of sidewalk cracks in the city because sidewalks cracks are supposedly a characteristic of “blight” that can allow the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC) or any other eminent domain abuse-minded agency to seize and hand over entire city blocks to politically-connected developers who want to “redevelop” those blocks.
We previously wrote (supplying documenting photographs) about how, applying this criteria:
• The“blight”-qualifying cracks in the sidewalk are so ubiquitous that they can be found:
• Surrounding Brooklyn’s Borough Hall, • Anywhere in Manhattan that you might glance down, and • In prestigious Brooklyn Heights, running the entire route from the premier homes on the Promenade to Borough Hall, no matter the street you pick to travel, Montague Street, Remsen Street.
We now provide this update to our first post from the series because on January 28, 2010, just 13 days afterwards, one of the "blighted" sidewalks we photographed for that post has been repaired! (See the photo of the repair at the beginning of this post and below is the photo that appeared, January 15, 2010, at the beginning of the post that was the first in our series, and after it a second photo of the repair.) Is it possible that property owners on Montague Street are reading Noticing New York and wanted to address the so-called “blight” we had documented?The point is that, according to the ESDC, this quick and ready fix isn’t supposed to be the way that city residents deal with the “blight” of sidewalks cracks in their neighborhood. What ESDC believes should happen instead is that all the property on the entire block should be seized from the owners, all the buildings torn down and replaced by a politically-connected developer who will be assisted with extravagant public subsidies for which the developer will not have to bid. No matter, ESDC is still ahead in its determined race to find "blight" where and whenever it wants: Although this property owner on Montague Street quickly effected this repair the owner did not coordinate with the neighbors up and down the street (and on rest of block) to fix some of the other cracks we documented. . . .
. . . So according to ESDC, their property can still be wrested from them and torn down despite their vigilant efforts at maintenance.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
When my friends criticize the Pataki administration, as many, being Democrats, are wont to do, I, who worked for the Republican Pataki administration for all its twelve years (a substantial fraction of my overall tenure in government), think of two things about that administration, one good, one bad. I myself am almost certainly much more of a Democrat in temperament than a Republican, though if the Republicans could live up to many of what should be their aspirations I would find myself sympathetic to them. Plus the countless failures of the Democrats to live up to what should be their own aspirations frequently leave me aghast and disappointed.
The bad thing I think about with respect to the Pataki administration is one that I know comes to mind for many people think when they remember the Pataki administration. I don’t know if it is number one on the people’s list of negatives when they think of that administration but it might potentially be. It is the role the administration played in launching the execrable idea of the Atlantic Yards megadevelopment in Brooklyn. The good thing I think about is something little known and largely uncredited to the administration, something that also gives me hope for an outcome with respect to Atlantic Yards that could, unbeknownst to nearly all, be secretly in the works. The good thing I think about is the administration’s decision to send a Republican State Senator to jail.
How do I know about the Pataki administration decisions that resulted in a Republican State Senator going to jail? As the second in command of the legal department of the state finance authorities where I worked I participated in the investigation that resulted in that outcome, including bringing certain facts to light.
Pataki Support of Investigation
I should be careful not to make this sound too simple. The people at the top of the Pataki administration didn’t decide to send a powerful Republican State Senator to jail; they decided in favor of supporting the investigations that sent the Senator to jail and they didn’t decide this out of the blue. To be frank, the administration needed to be pushed a little, which is to say they needed to know the facts they were dealing with, why it was the right choice, and why perhaps there really was no other acceptable choice but to cooperatively assist in the investigation. The Senator who went to jail in the end was Guy Velella from the Bronx.
Those at the top of the Pataki administration made the right choice but the pushing and the framing of the issues that brought about the right result came from below. There is a reason that what happened with respect to the Pataki administration sending Senator Velella to jail gives me hope with respect to what may be happening regarding Atlantic Yards. It relates to the same reason that the Pataki Administration is largely uncredited for its work in sending Senator Velella to jail: That work was a long and laborious process that went on in secret for years before the outcome was revealed. Much of what happened was so secret that, for instance, only when most of this time had passed was it revealed to some top political appointees and decision makers that their own phones had been tapped.
Whistleblowers
I should point out that one thing that was key to the investigation gaining momentum was that there were whistleblowers involved, public employees who came forward with critical information about what needed to be investigated. I point this out not only because it is important to the process but also because in terms of speculating about what might be happening behind the scenes as regards Atlantic Yards it is fascinating to note that the Empire State Development Corporation, the state agency theoretically most responsible for Atlantic Yards, does not have whistleblower protection policy even though it was legally required to have adopted one by the Public Authorities Accountability Act of 2005, the provisions of which were signed into law on January 13, 2006.
The fact that ESDC doesn’t have a whistleblower protection policy doesn’t mean that ESDC doesn’t have whistleblowers and as those whistleblowers would quickly find out if they went to a lawyer it doesn’t mean that they aren’t protected if they blow the whistle on ESDC’s bad practices. Further irrespective of what management has failed to advise them of, ESDC employees should also know that they are likely to be much more protected if they blow the whistle than if they do not. What does ESDC’s failure to follow the law by not having a whistleblower policy in place that it circulates to its employees mean? One thing it means is that in ESDC’s governmental culture a focus on other things takes precedence over these kinds of good governance measures. Does it also reflect a reluctance on the part of ESDC management to curtail internal misconduct including (as required by law) by encouraging that it be reported?
As a practical matter ESDC’s failure to provide and promulgate the required policy makes it more probable that ESDC whistblowers will report ESDC misconduct to outside agencies rather than internally and it also makes it less likely that officials higher up in the ESDC organization will wind up coordinating or cooperating in investigations that ensue or even know about them.
The Investigation That Could Be Going On
What activities of ESDC with respect to Atlantic Yards might be getting investigated right now? An intriguing hint might be seen with respect to the indictment of government officials in Yonkers which very importantly relates to a Forest City Ratner project. (Forest City Ratner is, of course, the developer of Atlantic Yards.) The indictments were with respect to an illegal scheme whereby Forest City Ratner paid public officials in Yonkers for a vote in the Yonkers City Council approving their project. (See: Thursday, January 7, 2010, Got “Bilked?” The New York Times Biased Report on Federal Investigation Involving Forest City Ratner.) Forest City Ratner has not been indicted yet with respect to those events nor have any of its “employees” but as part of the scheme Forest City Ratner did agree to engage as a “consultant” one of the indicted public officials even though it is clear that they certainly knew of the indicted official’s illegal conduct since the furnishing of that consultancy position was itself part of the indicted conduct. For more on how the fact pattern in Yonkers comports with the probabilities of a future indictment of Forest City Ratner see the post we linked to above.
Velella Investigation and Indictment
Senator Velella (and two others, his father and also an official from the housing agencies for whom I worked) eventually went to jail for patterns of illegal conduct that were quite similar to what happened in the Yonkers indictment situation. Guy Velella was indicted in 2002 on 25 counts of bribery and conspiracy for allegedly accepting at least $137,000 in exchange for steering public development contracts to parties from whom he was receiving payments. The charges involved illegal solicitations for far greater sums, “more than $250,000.” See the District Attorney’s May 9. 2002 Press Release and the Times article: State Senator Quits in Deal Over a Bribery Indictment, by James C. Mckinley Jr., May 15, 2004. (Years before in 1993, Velella was accused of fixing local school board elections though no charges were filed.)
The charges ranged from steering subsidized housing projects to developers to fixing the bid process so that contractors would get bridge painting contracts by paying to have their award politically influenced. One such bridge painting contract fix involved a contractor who had submitted a $37.7 million dollar bid to paint the Verrazano Narrows Bridge. That bid was actually supposed to be the low bid for the Verrazano but, at least with respect to another bridge painting contract also being “fixed” (the Dunn Memorial Bridge) there were concerns about whether the contractor was a "responsible" bidder because of past safety violations.
Shades of Velella
When looking at both the Yonkers indictments and the facts that emerged respecting events that sent Senator Velella and his cohorts to jail one has to wonder how distinguishable or different are the fact pattens and conduct of government officials with respect to Atlantic Yards, not to mention some of the overlapping patterns associated with the Columbia University expansion eminent domain case. Atlantic Yards (similarly the Columbia case) involves political manipulations to confer a massive mega-monopoly and an astounding heap of subsidies on a developer without any real, true or credible bid, and without any accompanying cost benefit analysis despite neutral and convincing analysis that the only actions now being taken ESDC and the city will result in net losses to the public.
Things Seen First Hand or Not Seen at All
I learned from the Velella investigation things that, until you have seen them first hand, may seem difficult to appreciate. One is how the smell of something wrong can, with due investigation, can escalate from a few facts and leads to a treasure chest of documenting evidence. (Velella and his cohorts pled guilty rather than stand trial. Velella also surrendered his law license.) Another is how investigations take on a life of their own when investigators know they are on to something. It probably helps when there are multiple investigators (or the possibility of them) following up on a scent because then none of them want to risk being considered lax in their follow-up either for a perceived lack of investigative skill or deference to the investigated. I learned that while people will tell you things that give you a clear general idea of what is going on (thus encouraging the investigators to steadfastly persevere) there may be delay and lull as those same people express reluctance to testify or provide more essential details. I learned that as much as you may think you know, it may still be only the tip of the iceberg. I also learned that late in the game additional information can flood in the most unexpectedly strange ways surprising those who are suddenly its recipients.
One thing of particular importance that I learned is that sometimes when bad things are happening that officials in power actually know about and want to stop, bad things those officials actually have the ability and probably duty under most conditions to stop, that the investigators may not want those bad activities halted. Instead the investigators may want more time to observe and collect evidence as the bad activities continue. Colloquially put, they will encourage that the perpetrators be given enough rope to hang themselves. It is not that investigators can order an agency to allow a continued breaking of the law or bad practices but you may find them strongly suggesting postponement of corrective action. It is uncomfortable but the investigators can provide some assurance that in the end when everything else comes out that they will be able to vouch that you were cooperating.
To whom might investigators be suggesting such things? Unless you are actually yourself amongst the small group of public officials to whom they are directly making such requests you are unlikely to be aware that such requests have been made or are being operatively honored. That may pose some quizzically challenging conundrums for observers trying to figure out why it seems bad actions are being tolerated. Who knows what conclusions observers will reach? I previously reported that when City Councilman Brad Lander was a candidate for the City Council office he recently won, he asserted that he “was the lone voice calling attention to corruption at the Pataki-era NYS Housing Finance Agency” (the Agency where I worked) which he said “had become a corrupt candy store.” There are many reasons a political candidate might resort to making those kinds of charges during a campaign: One of them is that from Mr. Lander's vantage he had no idea how much toil was going on internally at the agencies to foil the bad guys.
Only Those Who Need to Know
The fact is that investigations are conducted on a need to know basis. Even though some of us at the agency were close to the core of the Velella investigation and its very origin and even though we participated in and contributed to the investigation, there was much that the investigators did not tell us and that we did not know. Similarly there were other officials or public employees who also knew of some aspects of the investigation (in some cases less than we knew) but did not know how much they did not know. Some may have specifically known they didn’t know everything but still didn’t know what they didn’t know. A couple of things to note in this regard: It’s not a bad formula to encourage good behavior and secondly, since you yourself don’t know exactly where your puzzle pieces fit in when you provide them to investigators it is good to be vigilant and meticulous about the truth.
When Whistleblowers Don’t Come Forward
The willingness of whistleblowers to come forward is invaluable to maintaining a good public agency environment. While I also have praise for whistleblowers it should be noted that they need not be acting altruistically; it is also in the whistleblower’s own interest to do the right thing. Not coming forward when the opportunity presents itself, especially when one is in the higher echelons of public service, can have a price. I empathize that it can be extraordinarily difficult to come forward. There is almost always the implicit assumption to be made when one sees bad conduct high up in government that such conduct exists because it is tolerated by the `powers that be’ with the belief that it is supported as high up perhaps as a mayor or a governor.
A case in point I can offer is the scandal that occurred at the New York City Housing Development Corporation (HDC), a housing finance agency that is, coincidentally, expected to be asked to provide a vast amount of subsidized financing to the no-bid Atlantic Yards. As was ultimately disclosed and written about extensively, including in a series of scathingly detailed articles* by Tom Robbins that appeared in the Village Voice, the Executive Director of that agency was involved in considerable personal misconduct at the expense of that agency.
No doubt the sense of the agency employees (and potential whistleblowers) was that the conduct was tolerated by the mayor at the time, Rudolph Giuliani. The Executive Director in question, Russell Harding, was a son of Ray Harding, the head of the Liberal Party with whom Giuliani was aligned and someone whose political endorsement was politically important. For one thing, it meant having Guiliani’s name at the head of on an extra column when voters went into the voting booth.
It must have seemed to many within the agency that because of Giuliani assumed endorsement and/or tolerance of the misbehavior that there would have been great professional career risk to coming forward to report impropriety and further that there were forces at work to assure that it all would be kept from coming to light. But come to light it did. And when it came to light, those that were perceived as having tolerated (or perhaps merely failed to detect) the misbehavior suffered professionally from what they did not do instead of from what they did do. Some senior officials left the agency. Others who remained were not promoted. As onlookers we can only assume what the connections were. I know that much of the talk on the outside was that it was unfortunate that good capable public servants were hurt because they did not know what to do when those politically above them were loathsomely perceived as on the side of misconduct.
How widely known were Harding's abuses? "Everybody knows" was the answer. "And everyone is terrified."
and
the goings-on were common knowledge
When Russell Harding pled guilty to fraud and conspiracy charges (in addition to the charges respecting child pornography on his office computer) he admitted to stealing more than $400,000 from the housing agency he once headed and agreed to serve up to 63 months in prison. Much of his stealing from the Agency was done by extravagant and ostentatious use of the agency credit cord and expense account for personal travel and dining. It was documented in excruciating detail right down to The Village Voice publishing an image of a receipt for the morning bagel Harding’s regularly had his agency pay for.
ESDC’s Failure to Adopt Required Whistleblower Policy
This brings us back to the glaring absence of the whistleblower protection policy that ESDC and its sister agencies failed to adopt as required. We must reiterate that the absence of whistleblower policy doesn’t mean that there aren’t whistleblowers at ESDC or that they aren’t entitled to protection, just that ESDC is running an operation where employees are not being informed that it is public policy to bring misconduct at the agencies to light.
Ideally, a public agency should promulgate the whistlblower protection policy it is required to have and make it a focus in a number of ways. The policy should be circulated to the employees on a regular basis. It should be furnished to all new employees so that they are aware of the policy from the very first day of their employment. The policy should be regularly reviewed by the agency’s board so that the board can make sure it is up to date, and be reminded of it importance while demonstrating to others that the policy is regarded as important enough to justify regular consideration. The policy should also be on the agency’s website so that employees can readily and unobtrusively access it (for example from home or a library) without feeling that they are calling uncomfortable attention to themselves.
When we did not find a whistleblower policy on ESDC’s website we began to suspect what turned out to be true: ESDC and its co-located sister agencies never adopted a whistleblower protection policy. This was confirmed when contacting ESDC to obtain a copy of the required policy. We were told that “ESDC does not currently have such a policy.” I was told however that ESDC would be adopting a whistleblower policy because it was recognized that amendments to the Public Authority Accountability Act were enacted last fall which will be “effective this spring” require public authorities to have such a policy. (NOTE: I think this is a relatively significant scoop worth brandishing for other representatives of the press to pick up.)
The Law Has Required a Whistleblower Policy Since 2006
I responded by making clear that while the amendments that take effect this spring revisit the requirement of having a whistleblower policy with more extensive provisions to supervise the authorities, what I had been looking for was a policy adopted in compliance with and pursuant to the original Public Authorities Accountability Act of 2005. On its face the act’s provision applies to ESDC and we were not advised that there is any reason that ESDC believes it doesn’t.
§ 18. Title 2 of article 9 of the public authorities law is amended by adding a new section 2824 to read as follows:
§ 2824. Role and responsibilities of board members. 1. Board members of state and local authorities shall . . .
(e) establish written policies and procedures on personnel including policies protecting employees from retaliation for disclosing information concerning acts of wrongdoing, misconduct, malfeasance, or other inappropriate behavior by an employee or board member of the authority, investments, travel, the acquisition of real property and the disposition of real and personal property and the procurement of goods and services;
The act provided that it would take effect immediately and apply to the public authority fiscal year beginning on or after January 1, 2006. Ergo, ESDC was required to a have a whistleblower policy from 2006 on.
Promulgating the Policy
As for putting the policy on it website, the act doesn’t require that, but it does encourage other information to be on the agency’s website and other agencies have taken the hint to put their policies there.
The act does specify that the authorities' policies for the disposition of their property should be on their websites (and presumes Procurement Guidelines will be there too) and more generally provides:
To the extent practicable, each state authority shall make accessible to the public via its official internet web site documentation pertaining to its mission, current activities, most recent annual financial reports, current year budget and its most recent independent audit report unless such information is covered by subdivision two of section eighty-seven of the public officers law.
What might such a policy look like? I can point you to the policy you can find on the website for the New York State Housing Finance Agency and its sister co-located sister agencies (on a page that makes many other policies available). It is not bad policy if we don’t say so ourselves. It looks like this:
More whistleblower requirements that ESDC is supposed to follow are coming effective March 1, 2010 with the amendments to the Public Authorities Reform Act of 2009. These amendments to the 2005 Public Authorities Accountability Act strengthen the original whistleblower provisions by requiring a Whistleblower Access and Assistance Program in consultation with the Attorney General that (i) establishes toll-free phone lines available to employees, and (ii) offers advice and consultation on state and federal laws and further provides that an authority like ESDC may not fire, discharge, demote, suspend, threaten, harass, or discriminate against any employee for their whistleblower actions.
Don’t Assume What’s Not Happening
As I opened by saying, I think the worst thing the Pataki administration ever did was launch the atrocity known as Atlantic Yards, but the best thing I remember that it did was largely unknown: it supported the kind of investigation that could stop Atlantic Yards dead in its tracks.
I can easily imagine myself in the ESDC environment and I often see familiar faces at ESDC, people with whom I have worked. While I regularly wonder about the unjustified support for Atlantic Yards that I see coming from ESDC and other agencies, including the city agencies accountable to Bloomberg, I don’t want to be quick to judge individuals. You never know what is really going on or what you might discover their roles are if you could delve below the surface.
As you can tell from looking at the indictment of Senator Guy Velella, much can be happening for a long time before the fact that correction and redress is coming becomes apparent. The Velella indictment concerned actions that went as far back as late 1995. Velella was not publicly indicted until May 2002. Treasure troves of information that went into that indictment were found as late as the fall of 1999 but the investigation was underway for a long time before that. Still, justice takes time. The Senator didn’t plead guilty or resign his office until two years after his indictment in May of 2004.
Similarly, when Russell Harding finally pled guilty in March of 2005 (he was indicted in March 2003) it concerned misconduct that reportedly went all the way back to 1998. The Tom Robbins articles disclosing everything in detail started in April 2002.
Never Assume Information Will Stop Coming
Information never stops coming out and you never know from where. We mentioned Russell Harding, who ran the New York City Housing Development Corporation and should have had the whistle blown on him by the officials who worked under his direction. He eventually went to prison for felony (embezzlement, child porn) and came out in 2007. In August of 2008 Mr. Harding started a blog, called Rudyveritas.com. While the blog is perhaps suspect due to some obvious anger on his part, Mr. Harding started telling some convincing-sounding stories about misconduct by those high up in the Giuliani administration with whom he worked. (See: Saturday, September 27, 2008, In tale of Giuliani influence, insight into the flexibility in size of affordable housing units.)
When I see all the faces in the ESDC panoply, one thing I say to myself is that any of those people could already be whistleblowers. Some of them, unbeknownst to most of the rest of us, may even be very involved in assisting investigators to investigate the things that seem so very wrong at ESDC. And even if the individuals in question are not whistleblowers yet, they may soon be whistleblowers when ESDC finally, belatedly issues and circulates to its employees its new whistleblower policy which will apparently be at about the same time that the extra whistleblower protections kick in from the Public Authorities Reform Act of 2009.
Interplay of Whistleblowers and the Race for Attorney General
I would be remiss if I did not observe that the new law that brings the Attorney General’s office directly into the whistleblower picture could cause some synergistic dynamics to come into play. If Andrew Cuomo, the current attorney general, runs for governor as expected, the office will be taken over by a successor. We have already speculated that the race amongst the candidates to replace Mr. Cuomo as attorney general logically could turn into a race to investigate Atlantic Yards as well. That could mean a race between the candidates, and if needs be a race to show up Mr. Cuomo as well if he has not done a good job or appears to have been deterred from an active investigation by campaign contributions (read on).
Among the candidates interested in the Attorney General position is Assemblyman Richard Brodsky (as we wrote before) who made his bones as an expert on misconduct at public authorities, and with his investigations into the financing of Yankee Stadium, exactly the kind of abuse that is being ratcheted up a few levels with the financing of the Atlantic Yards basketball arena. Another interested candidate is former State Superintendent of Insurance, Eric R. Dinallo. Mr. Dinallo is not in a position to feign naivete about abusive favoritism with respect to the handing out of housing subsidies since his wife just stepped down as the head of the housing finance agencies where I used to work.
The Justice That Money Can Buy? How Atlantic Yards Is Already Before the State Attorney General’s Office
The dynamics of all this vying for position will all be complicated by political campaign contributions. Right now that can be seen most visibly with respect to Mr. Cuomo. The Times just ran an article about how “the real estate industry was the top giver to Mr. Cuomo” [the current attorney general now expected to run for governor (and someone I worked with on housing at my old agencies)] and how “over the past three years as he amassed $18 million, leaving him with a five-to-one advantage over Gov. David A. Paterson, a fellow Democrat.” (See: Real Estate Interests Help Cuomo Gain a Big Edge in Cash, by Christine Haughney, January 28, 2010.) The article says that in the last six months 17 percent of Mr. Cuomo’s money came from the real estate industry with it being 20 percent of what he has gotten from individuals.
As the Times puts it:
The money has come as Mr. Cuomo’s office has been flooded with complaints about construction in new developments, especially from buyers who are trying to break their sales contracts, claiming that builders are not living up to their promises.
And the Times also noted that “Bruce C. Ratner, the Atlantic Yards developer” was among the “prominent givers” to Mr. Cuomo, also noting that:
Many of the major developers’ projects, like the World Trade Center and Atlantic Yards, are likely to come before the next governor.
The Times reported that Mr. Cuomo purportedly has procedures to protect against conflicts of interest from those developers considered to have matters before his office:
Aides to Mr. Cuomo said he had set up a rigorous screening process that requires donors to certify that they have had no matter before his office for the past three months. They say he keeps a firewall between his campaign and the operation of his office, and goes further than any other state official in vetting contributors.
In this regard, the Times noted that three donations Mr. Cuomo had accepted from developer Shaya Boymelgreen “totaling $8,000 from Boymelgreen-related companies between Jan. 15, 2008, and May 11, 2009" would “After an inquiry from The Times” be returned by Mr. Cuomo. The Times had been able to document that “residents at the Newswalk building in Brooklyn” who were suing Boymelgreen had contacted Cuomo’s office about construction problems in 2006 and 2007 and that Mr. Cuomo’s office has taken no action.
The Times did not mention that Mr. Boymelgreen, who had given his political contributions to Cuomo “while his empire was unraveling,” was also intricately involved in Atlantic Yards related litigation where he colluded with Forest City Ratner to take property from Henry Weinstein for the project. Making Mr. Boymelgreen’s intricate relationship to the Atlantic Yards even more Byzantine, the very oddly shaped Atlantic Yards mega-project footprint wraps around the Newswalk building in a very suspicious way.
While the Times mentioned that Atlantic Yards is “likely to come before the next governor” the Times did not point out that Mr. Cuomo has already been asked as Attorney General to investigate Forest City Ratner in connection with Atlantic Yards, nor did it report that Mr. Cuomo has returned Mr. Ratner’s contributions to him. The article also passed up the opportunity to mention the Times’ own business relationship to Mr. Ratner.
All of this is to say that the issue of Atlantic Yards is clearly front and center before the Attorney General’s office. If Mr. Cuomo has not already begun an investigation of Atlantic Yards the dynamic could be very interesting when the new whistleblower-related requirement for public authorities take effect in March and are ultimately investigated (or not) by Mr. Cuomo and then by the Attorney General who is the successor to Mr. Cuomo. And who would like to guess how all this will play out? We note, by the way, that while it has been suggested that the provisions of the 2009 reform act taking place in March will not be retroactive, the effect of stronger whistleblower provisions cannot help but have a retroactive effect when bad conduct being reported has taken place in the past.
By the way, if anyone wants to suppose that Mr. Cuomo or his successor as state attorney general either aren’t currently investigating or won’t eventually investigate, I will point out that investigations don’t necessarily have to be conducted only by the state Attorney General’s Office. It was a local district attorney’s office (of which there are many with the power to act) that sent Senator Velella to jail and it was federal investigators who convicted the NYC’s Housing Development Corporation’s Russell Harding (and some others*) sending him to jail. And that’s all the more reason for Cuomo and his successor not to want to be shown up as lax in their responsibilities.
(* Former city housing commissioner Richard Roberts pled guilty to lying about receipt of a $38,000 SUV and Harding aide Luke Cusack also admitted conspiracy and theft.)
Pataki vs. Cuomo
Whether or not Mr. Cuomo ultimately investigates vigorously I remind you that Governor Pataki, who replaced Mr. Cuomo’s father as governor, did, as we noted at the outset, support the kind of investigation we are talking about.
December’s Little Birdie?
One of the last times someone solemnly asked me what I expected to happen next with respect to Atlantic Yards was on a snowy Saturday coming home from the public meeting in Harlem where State Senator Bill Perkins requested Governor David Paterson to declare a moratorium on the state’s abuse of eminent domain (followed up by a quick impromptu press conference with the Governor). ESDC was poised to assist Forest City Ratner in with the ill-advised issuance of arena bonds the developer was nevertheless desperate to see issued. (See: Saturday, December 19, 2009, Hail Mary or silver bullet: Perkins, raising questions of fraud in arena bond sale, asks Paterson to put Atlantic Yards on hold.) We said then that we really didn’t know what would happen because the wild cards were impossible to predict and we speculated that something might turn up in the way of indictments.
About Me
NOTICING NEW YORK & NATIONAL NOTICE are both independent entities managed by Michael D. D. White of Hop-Skip Enterprises. Michael D. D. White is an attorney, urban planner and former government public finance and development official. *** Noticing New York covers New York development and associated politics. National Notice covers national policy and economic issues *** Contact: MichaelDDWhite(at)gmail.com
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This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated.
CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago police say a 14-year-old boy has been arrested in the sexual assault of a 15-year-old girl that was streamed live on Facebook.
Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said in a statement late Saturday that the suspect faces felony charges of aggravated criminal sexual assault, manufacturing of child pornography and dissemination of child pornography. He says more arrests are expected.
Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson has scheduled a news conference Sunday morning to provide additional details.
The alleged incident occurred in mid-March. Guglielmi has said police were not aware of the attack until the girl’s mother approached Johnson as he was leaving a police station on the city’s West Side and showed him the video.
Guglielmi said Johnson was “visibly upset” after he watched.
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Supporters of a proposed 26-acre development on the site of the strawberry fields said they submitted petition signatures in a bid to force the Carlsbad City Council to take action on the plan or place it before voters.
Evans Hotels — which owns and operates the Bahia Resort, Catamaran Resort and The Lodge at Torrey Pines — received calls in February from guests who saw unauthorized charges on their payments cards after they were used at the company's hotels.
The San Diego County District Attorney's Office obtained more than $800,000 in restitution on behalf of 121 victims of foreclosure fraud stemming from a case of 10 defendants prosecuted in 2009, it was announced Tuesday.
The CPUC is changing electricity rates, which won't be good for the solar industry. A lawsuit over concealed weapons permits is in the 9th Circuit. A local high school says students can learn to speak English and master other subjects at the same time.
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Rabbits are popular pets for both children and adults. They are easily litter trained and require minimal maintenance. This chapter stresses diagnosis and management of problems commonly encountered in pet rabbits. Refer to the supplemental readings for more comprehensive information.
BIOLOGIC CHARACTERISTICS {#cesec1}
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Rabbits, hares, and pikas are members of the order Lagomorpha. Lagomorphs have six incisors, in contrast to the closely related rodents, which have four incisors. The additional incisors (peg teeth) are small, rounded teeth located directly behind the upper incisors. Currently, there are over 100 breeds of rabbits, which vary in size, ear and body conformation, and coat type, recognized by the House Rabbit Breeders Society.
•All domestic rabbits are descendants of European wild rabbits, Oryctolagus cuniculus.•The two main genera of rabbits are *Oryctolagus,* the European wild rabbits, and *Sylvilagus,* the cottontail rabbits. These genera differ in chromosome number and cannot interbreed.•Rabbits can range in size weighing from 2.5 lb in the dwarf breeds up to 28 lb in the giant breeds.•Giant breeds, which average more than 5 kg in body weight, include the American Checkered Giant, the Flemish Giant, and the Giant Chinchilla rabbits.•Medium breeds, which average from 3.5 to 5 kg in body weight, include the Californian, the Silver Marten, and the Rex rabbits.•Small breeds, which average less than 3.5 kg in body weight, include the Netherland Dwarf, the Jersey Wooly, and the Polish rabbits.•Ears vary in size and shape between the different breeds, and most rabbits have upright ears. However, there are breeds that have ears in a downward carriage, which are known as "lops."•Coats can be divided into normal, Rex, and Satin breeds. Normal fur coats have an undercoat with projecting guard hairs. Rex breeds have short guard hairs that do not project above the undercoat, thus producing a "velvety" fur coat. Satin breeds have a genetic mutation that results in a "shiny" haircoat.•Specific information concerning breeds can be obtained from the American Rabbit Breeders Association by mail (PO Box 426; Bloomington, IL 61702) or on their Website ([www.arba.net](http://www.arba.net){#interref1}).
Anatomic and Physiologic Characteristics {#cesec2}
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•Females of several breeds of rabbits have a large pendulous dewlap under their chin. This area is a frequent site of moist dermatitis, especially in obese rabbits kept in humid, warm environments that may have difficulty grooming themselves.•The sense organs of rabbits are well developed. Like other prey species, the eyes are laterally set. This provides a completely circular field of vision with the exception of the small area below the mouth. Thus, long sensory hairs around the snout and the sensitivity of the lips help rabbits discriminate food.•Teeth are open rooted and grow continuously. The deciduous teeth are shed right around the time of birth and the permanent teeth complete eruption around 3 to 5 weeks of age. The dental formula is 2/1 incisors, 0/0 canines, 3/2 premolars, and 2-3/3 molars. Rabbits are distinguished from rodents by possessing an extra set of upper incisors, which are also known as "peg teeth."•The gastrointestinal (GI) tract has a simple glandular stomach, a long intestinal tract, and a large cecum.•The stomach serves as a reservoir for ingesta and is rarely empty. It holds approximately 15% of the GI contents. The cardia and pylorus are well developed, and, due to the anatomic arrangement of the cardia to the stomach, rabbits are unable to vomit.•The cecum is the largest organ in the abdominal cavity and holds approximately 40% of the GI contents.•Rabbits exhibit cecotrophy, which means they consume soft cecotrophs, also known as "night feces." Antiperistaltic contractions in the colon retrograde non-fiber particles and fluid back into the cecum for fermentation and the formation of cecotrophs, which are an important source of B-vitamins, electrolytes, and nitrogen.•The skeletal system is light and delicate compared with most mammals. The skeleton makes up 8% of the total body weight in rabbits, as opposed to 13% of the total body weight in cats.
Key PointRed, pink, or orange discoloration of the urine occurs periodically in healthy rabbits. The color may be caused by porphyrin pigments or food-related metabolites excreted in the urine. Cytologic examination of the urine for red blood cells will help distinguish porphyrinuria from hematuria.
•Calcium and phosphorus are excreted primarily through urine in rabbits. Thus, the urine may be thick and creamy due to calcium carbonate precipitate. Calcium is excreted in the bile in most other mammals.•In rabbits, high total leukocyte counts may not be characteristic of acute inflammation from infectious causes. Instead, the distribution of the white blood cells (WBCs) shifts from a normally high lymphocyte/low neutrophil ratio to neutrophilia and lymphopenia.
Reproductive Characteristics {#cesec3}
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•Sexual maturity varies in different breeds. As a general rule, females (does) sexually mature at approximately 4 to 8 months of age and males (bucks) sexually mature around 6 to 10 months of age.•Females have a silent estrus and are induced ovulators.•Breeding seasons are influenced by day length and temperature, though mating can occur year-round when environmental conditions are controlled. Gestation lasts for an average of 30 to 33 days. Pseudocyesis may last 17 days.•Depending on the breed, litters range from 4 to 10 kits. Primaparous does usually have smaller litters. Kits are born blind and hairless and remain in the nest for approximately 3 weeks.•Does have four and five pairs of mammary glands and nipples spread from the axilla down to the inguinal region. Does usually nurse only once daily for 3 to 5 minutes.•Neonatal rabbits are totally dependent on milk up to day 10. Rabbit milk varies with stage of lactation but is approximately 13% protein, 9% fat, and 1% lactose. Small amounts of solid feed and hay can be digested around day 15 and cecotrophy commences on day 20.
Normal Parameters {#cesec4}
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Reference ranges for physiologic values are listed in [Table 176-1](#cetable1){ref-type="table"}. Reference ranges for hematologic values, serum biochemical values, and urinalysis are listed in [Table 176-2](#cetable2){ref-type="table"}, [Table 176-3](#cetable3){ref-type="table"}, [Table 176-4](#cetable4){ref-type="table"} .Table 176-1REFERENCE RANGES FOR PHYSIOLOGIC VALUES IN RABBITSTemperature38--40°CHeart rate130--325 beats/minRespiratory rate32--60/minLife span5--9 yrsBlood volume55--65 ml/kgFood consumption50 g/kg/dayWater consumptionGeneral population50--100 ml/kg/dayBreeding does\<900 ml/kg/dayTable 176-2REFERENCE RANGES FOR HEMATOLOGIC VALUES IN RABBITSErythrocytes5.1--7.9 × 10^6^ m^3^Hematocrit33%--50%Hemoglobin10.0--17.4 g/dlMean corpuscular volume57.8--66.5 μm^3^Mean corpuscular hemoglobin17.1--23.5pgMean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration29%--37%Platelets250--650 × 10^3^/mm^3^Leukocytes5.2--12.5 × 10^3^/mm^3^Neutrophils20%--75%Lymphocytes30%--85%Monocytes1%--4%Eosinophils1%--4%Basophils1%--7%Table 176-3REFERENCE RANGES FOR SERUM BIOCHEMICAL VALUES IN RABBITSAlbumin2.4--4.6 g/dlAlkaline phosphatase4--16 U/LAmylase166.5--314.5 U/LBicarbonate16--38 mEq/LBlood urea nitrogen13--29 mg/dlCalcium5.6--12.5 mg/dlChloride92--112 mEq/LCholesterol10--80 mg/dlCreatinine0.5--2.5 mg/dlGlobulin1.5--2.8 g/dlGlucose75--155 g/dlGlutamic-oxaloacetic transaminase14--113 U/LGlutamic pyruvate transaminase48--80 U/LLactic dehydrogenase34--129 U/LPhosphorus4.0--6.9 mg/dlPotassium3.6--6.9 mEq/LSerum protein5.4--8.3 g/dlSodium131--155 mEq/LTotal bilirubin0.0--0.7 mg/dlTotal lipids243--390 mg/dlTable 176-4REFERENCE RANGES FOR URINALYSIS IN RABBITSUrine volumeLarge breeds20--350 ml/kg/dayAverage breeds130 ml/kg/daySpecific gravity1.003--1.036Average pH8.2Crystals presentAmmonium magnesium phosphate, calcium carbonate monohydrate, anhydrous calcium carbonateCasts, epithelial cells, or bacteria presentAbsent to rareLeukocytes or erythrocytes presentOccasionalAlbumin presentOccasional in young rabbits
PATIENT MANAGEMENT {#cesec5}
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Caging {#cesec6}
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•Cages or hutches can be purchased or constructed. Cages should be large enough to allow free movement. Small breeds, which weigh up to 2 kg, require a minimum of 1.5 ft^2^ of floor space per animal. Large breeds, which weigh 5 kg or more, require at least 5 ft^2^ of floor space per animal. Cages should be at least tall enough to allow the rabbit to stand on its hind limbs and be easy to clean.•Cages with plastic bottoms and wire tops are easy to clean and are well ventilated. Wire mesh flooring may also be used; however, provide a solid area for the rabbit as wire flooring may predispose rabbits to sore hocks. Use 14-gauge wire with the mesh openings no greater than 1 × 2.5 cm to prevent the rabbit from getting its feet caught.•Straw or hay bedding should be provided in one area of the cage. Soiled bedding should be cleaned out daily. Because most rabbits are fastidious and prefer to defecate and urinate in one spot, they often can be trained to use a litterbox.•Rabbits can be housed indoors or outdoors at temperatures ranging from 40°F to 80°F. Rabbits are very susceptible to heat stroke in ambient temperatures above 85°F. If outdoor housing is used, provide ventilation or protection from direct sunlight. In temperatures below 40°F, provide heat or protection from cold.•Rabbits should be allowed time out of the cage regularly for exercise and socialization. However, they should always be supervised, as they may chew on dangerous objects such as electrical cords and poisonous plants.
Diet {#cesec7}
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•Free-choice timothy or coastal hay should be provided to maintain the rabbit\'s dental and GI health. High-fiber diets are required for proper wearing of the continuously growing teeth and have a protective effect against enteritis. Inadequate fiber in the diet results in cecocolic hypomotility and ultimately changes in cecal microflora.•A variety of vegetables and fresh, leafy greens such as dandelion greens, cilantro, parsley, and romaine lettuce should be offered as a salad one to two times daily.•Pelleted diets are balanced and convenient; however most of these are alfalfa based and are low in fiber. Most commercial pellets are nutrient dense (high in protein and digestible carbohydrates) and can predispose rabbits to obesity. High-fiber, timothy-based pellets (Oxbow Pet Products, Murdock, NE; [www.oxbowhay.com](http://www.oxbowhay.com){#interref2}) are preferable over alfalfa-based pellets.•The high level of calcium in alfalfa diets may result in hypercalciuria or urinary calculi.•Rabbits like sweet foods. A limited amount (approximately 2 tablespoons per 2 pounds of body weight) of fruits such as papaya, melon, or berries can be provided as a treat or to entice an anorectic animal to eat.•Foods high in starches or fat such as seeds, nuts, bread, and corn are not advisable as they can predispose rabbits to obesity and GI disease.•Fresh water should always be available. Rabbits have a higher water intake than many other mammals. Their daily average water intake is approximately 50-150 ml/kg of body weight. Rabbits fed a large amount of leafy greens will have lower water intake.
Clinical Techniques {#cesec8}
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Restraint {#cesec9}
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Key PointRestrain rabbits gently but firmly for most procedures. Inadequate restraint can result in a spinal fracture in the rabbit if it is allowed to kick with its hind legs. Support the hindquarters when carrying or lifting a rabbit to prevent spinal injuries.
•Carry the rabbit with its head tucked under one arm while supporting the body with your forearm; stabilize the back and rump with the other hand.•Alternatively, while supporting the back of the rabbit against your body, the forelegs can be grasped between the fingers of one hand while the hind limbs are supported firmly between the fingers of your other hand. This method is effective for examining the ventrum of the patient. ([Fig. 176-1](#f1){ref-type="fig"} )Figure 176-1To examine the ventrum and anal area, cradle the rabbit as shown. Be sure to provide support to the hind limbs.•When examining a patient on a table, keep the rabbit close to your body and always keep a hand on it to prevent it from jumping off the table ([Fig. 176-2](#f2){ref-type="fig"} ).Figure 176-2Proper method for restraining a rabbit.•An especially nervous or aggressive rabbit may need to be wrapped securely in a towel to prevent injury to itself and to the handler. Some rabbits also calm down if their eyes are covered with a hand or towel.
Diagnostic Techniques {#cesec10}
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### Venipuncture {#cesec11}
Blood can be collected from the jugular, lateral saphenous, cephalic, and lateral ear veins. Rabbit veins are thin and fragile, so small-gauge needles (i.e., 25-gauge or smaller) should be used. To prevent hematoma formation, apply direct pressure to the venipuncture site for several minutes. Pluck or wet down the fur from the site for better visibility of the vein.
•Jugular veins lie superficially in the jugular furrow. Hold the rabbit at the edge of a table with the neck held in extension. This technique can be difficult in females with large dewlaps and should not be done for patients in respiratory distress. If anesthetized, the rabbit can be placed in dorsal recumbency with the neck extended down over a table edge for better visibility of the jugular veins.•The lateral saphenous vein is the preferred site for obtaining blood samples for routine blood tests. A fairly large volume of blood can be collected from this vein, especially in medium and large-sized rabbits. Have the handler place the rabbit in either lateral or sternal recumbency with the hind end directed towards the edge of the table. Have the handler hold off the saphenous vein by hooking one or more fingers around the back of the back leg proximal to the stifle; encircling and squeezing the proximal thigh too tightly will cause the vein to collapse. Wet down or pluck the fur from the mid-thigh region to better visualize the vein. Apply direct pressure after venipuncture to prevent hematoma formation.•Cephalic veins can be used to collect small volumes of blood. Place the rabbit in sternal recumbency and encircle the foreleg around the elbow to extend the leg. Use either a tuberculin or insulin syringe to minimize the risk of collapsing the vein with too much negative pressure.•Plucking the hair over the vein is easier than shaving fine fur.•The lateral ear vein can be used for blood collection in some large rabbits. Use extreme caution however, as thrombosis of the vein can result in sloughing of the pinnae.
### Radiography {#cesec12}
•Radiographs of the head can provide important information about the sinuses and the dental roots. Sedation is usually required.•Rabbits have very small thoracic cavities. Thoracic radiographs are useful in differentiating between pneumonia, cardiac disease, and neoplasia.•The stomach and cecum are often full of ingesta and may obscure abdominal organs. However, moderate to severe gas distention of the stomach, cecum, or intestines suggests GI stasis.
### Ultrasonography {#cesec13}
•Ultrasound examination can provide useful information about abdominal organs such as the liver, spleen, kidneys, and reproductive tract.•Urinary calculi and sludge can be seen on ultrasonographic examination of the bladder.•Guided aspirates of thoracic and abdominal masses can provide representative samples for cytologic examination. However, the patient must be sedated for the procedure, which should only be performed by experienced practitioners.
Treatment Techniques {#cesec14}
--------------------
•Subcutaneous administration of fluids is acceptable in non-critical cases and may be the only practical route of fluid administration in small rabbits. Estimate daily maintenance fluid needs at 100 to 150 ml/kg/24 hours.•Use an indwelling catheter in critical cases.•Small-gauge catheters (i.e., 24-gauge) can be placed in the cephalic or lateral saphenous vein in most rabbits.•Jugular catheters can be difficult to insert and may require a cutdown procedure.•Medications can be administered orally into the lateral cheek pouch. Use liquid or paste preparations when possible because rabbits have a long, narrow oropharynx that makes pill administration difficult.•Anorectic animals can be syringe fed specialized hand-feeding formulas for herbivores (Critical Care for Herbivores, Oxbow Pet Products, Murdock, NE; [www.oxbowhay.com](http://www.oxbowhay.com){#interref3}). A gruel made of moistened rabbit pellets can also be used. Vegetable baby foods are low in energy content and fiber and should only be used short term.•Nasogastric tubes can be placed in medium-to-large rabbits that require long-term nutritional support or that have had extensive oral surgery. The technique that follows is similar to that for placing a tube in a cat.•With manual restraint, place two to three drops of a topical anesthetic (Ophthaine, Solvay Animal Health, Inc., Princeton, NJ) in the mucosa of one nostril. Wait 5 minutes, and then repeat application.•Lubricate the tip of a small infant feeding tube (e.g., 5 Fr., Bard-Parker, Becton-Dickenson and Company, Rutherford, NJ) with topical lidocaine (Xylocaine) jelly. Pass the tube medially along the nasal passage to the level of the last rib. The tip of the tube is located in the distal esophagus.•Secure the free end of the tube to the skin above the nose and eye with a butterfly tape and suture. An Elizabethan collar may be necessary to prevent the rabbit from dislodging the tube.•Dietary supplements containing Lactobacillus spp. may aid in the treatment of enteritis by repopulating the GI tract with healthy bacterial flora, decreasing intestinal or cecal pH, and competing with bacterial pathogens for mucosal attachment sites. Commercial products in paste form are available (e.g., Bene-Bac, Pet-Ag, Inc, Hampshire, IL).•Commonly used antibiotics are listed in [Table 176-5](#cetable5){ref-type="table"} .Table 176-5DRUGS COMMONLY USED IN RABBITSDrugDoseComments***Antimicrobials/Antifungals***Benzathine, penicillin G42,000--84,000 IU/kg q7d × 3 treatments SCFor treatment of *Treponema cuniculi*Chloramphenicol30--50 mg/kg q12h POCiprofloxacin10--20 mg/kg q12--24h POHave a suspension made by a compounding pharmacist for easy administrationEnrofloxacin5--15 mg/kg q12h PO, SC, IMLimit subcutaneous and intramuscular administration due to potential tissue necrosis at injection sitesGentamicin4 mg/kg q24h IM, IV, SCUse with caution or avoid useGriseofulvin12.5 mg/kgq12h POPenicillin40,000--60,000 IU/kg q48hr SCUse with cautionTetracycline50 mg/kg q8--12h POTrimethoprim/sulfa30 mg/kg q12h PO, IM, SC***Antiparasitics/Insecticides***Fenbendazole10--20 mg/kg PO, repeat in 14dLime sulfur solution2.5% dip q7d for 4 weeksUsed in young animals for treatment of mites, fleas, fungal dermatitisIvermectin0.2--0.4 mg/kg q10--14d SC for 2--3 treatmentsEffective against ear and fur mitesPiperazine citrate200 mg/kg; repeat in 2 weeksPyrantel pamoate5--10 mg/kg; repeat in 2 weeksPyrethrin productsTopically as directed q7dSelamectin6 mg/kg topicallySulfadimethoxine50 mg/kg PO first dose, then 25 mg/kg q24h PO for 10--20 daysFor treatment of coccidiosis***Tranquilizers/Premedications***Acepromazine0.5--1.0 mg/kg IM/SCAtipamazoleGive same volume SC as medetomidineReversal for medetomidineDiazepam1--3 mg/kg IV, IMUsed in combination with ketamineGlycopyrrolate0.01--0.02 SCKetamine20--50 mg/kg IMKetamine/acepromazine40 mg/kg (K)/0.5--1.0 mg/kg (A) IMKetamine/diazepam10--15 mg/kg (K)/0.3--0.5 mg/kg (D) IM, IVKetamine/medetomidine0.15--0.35 mg/kg (M) IM/5--20 mg/kg (K) IV laterKetamine/midazolam25 mg/kg (K)/≤ 2 mg/kg (M) IMMedetomidine0.25 mg/kg IMMidazolam1--2 mg/kg IM or slow IVPropofol2--15 mg/kg IVXylazine1--5 mg/kg SC, IM***Analgesics***Aspirin10--100 mg/kg q8--24h POBuprenorphine0.01--0.05 mg/kg q6--12h SC, IM, IVButorphanol0.1--1.0 mg/kg q4--6h SC, IM, IVCarprofen1.0--2.2 mg/kg q12h PO, SC, IMFlunixin meglumine1.1 mg/kg q12--24h SC, IMIbuprofen2.0--7.5 mg/kg; PO q12--24hKetoprofen1 mg/kg q12--24h IMMorphine2--5 mg/kg q2--4h SC, IMOxymorphone0.05--0.20 mg/kgq8--12h SC, IM
Tranquilization and Anesthesia {#cesec15}
------------------------------
•Injectable tranquilizers are suitable for short diagnostic or surgical procedures. Ketamine (5-10 mg/kg) and medetomidine (Domitor, Pfizer Animal Health, Exton, PA) (0.15-0.18 mg/kg) in combination given IM or IV provides adequate relaxation and sedation.•Use inhalant anesthesia for long or painful surgical procedures. Clinically, isoflurane and sevoflurane are commonly used. Anesthetic induction and recovery are usually faster with sevoflurane. Gas anesthesia in rabbits can be induced by face mask or in an induction chamber. Premedicate with a combination of ketamine with medetomidine, diazepam, or midazolam as needed, especially if using isoflurane. Buprenorphine and glycopyrrolate can also be given as needed. Gradually increase the concentration of isoflurane over several minutes until a surgical plane of anesthesia is reached. Anesthesia usually is maintained at 0.25% to 2% isoflurane in oxygen. With sevoflurane, use an induction level of 5% to 8%, reducing to 0.5% to 3% for maintenance.
Key PointIntubation can be difficult because of the long, narrow oropharynx, large incisors, and large fleshy tongue that can obstruct the view of the pharyngeal cavity. Intubation is most successful in large rabbits; consider intubating medium-sized rabbits for long surgical procedures. However, repeated attempts to intubate can damage the larynx, causing soft tissue trauma or laryngospasm that can be fatal after the rabbit is extubated. If laryngeal trauma occurs during intubation attempts, abandon the procedure and use a face mask, or postpone the procedure to another day. Corticosteroids may or may not be helpful in decreasing inflammation of the larynx and tracheal mucosa.
•The following technique can be used to intubate medium to large rabbits.•Administer ketamine (5-10 mg/kg IM) and medetomidine (0.15-0.35 mg/kg IM) in combination. Supplemental isoflurane may be necessary to further relax the rabbit for intubation.•Place the rabbit in sternal recumbency. Extend the neck straight up and forward.•Place the tip of the short, flat-blade laryngoscope blade (i.e., Miller blade), at the base of the tongue. Hook the base of the blade against the top front incisors, and use the blade as a lever to see the glottis. Pass a small endotracheal tube along the blade into the opening of the glottis. Depending on their size, most rabbits require a 2.5- to 5.0-mm endotracheal tube. The glottis cannot be seen while trying to pass the tube.•Alternatively, the glottis can be visualized with an otoendoscope or endoscopic telescope in a sedated rabbit. The endotracheal tube is passed along the endoscope and inserted as above.•Use a face mask to maintain anesthesia during short procedures or if intubation attempts are unsuccessful.•Monitor all rabbits closely during any anesthetic episode. A Doppler, EKG monitor, and pulse oximeter can be used to monitor heart rate and oxygen saturation.
DERMATOLOGIC PROBLEMS {#cesec16}
=====================
Dermatitis/Alopecia {#cesec17}
-------------------
### Etiology {#cesec18}
•Mange, fur, and ear mites cause localized or diffuse dermatitis, alopecia, or both. The area involved depends on the type of mite (see "Ear Mites"; "Fur and Mange Mites").•Dermatophytosis is associated with alopecia and a scaly dermatitis, particularly around the head and ears (see "Superficial Mycosis").•Fur-barbering is common in rabbits on diets deficient in roughage. A high incidence of barbering in does is seen during breeding season; this is probably related to hormonal influences.•Ptyalism, alopecia, and dermatitis around the mouth are associated with malocclusion.•Moist dermatitis of the dewlap is common in does during breeding season, especially in warm or humid environments.•Moist dermatitis with erythema and ulceration of the ventral abdomen and perineal area results from urine scald. Urine scald is associated with urinary incontinence, cystitis, excessive calcium in the urine, uterine adenocarcinoma, or poor management and unclean caging.•Treponematosis (rabbit syphilis), caused by Treponema paraluiscuniculi causes a scaly dermatitis in the genital area. The nose, lips, and periorbital area are less commonly involved.
### Clinical Signs {#cesec19}
•Mite infestations produce clinical signs characteristic of the mite involved (see "Ear Mites"; "Fur and Mange Mites"). Pruritis is common with sarcoptic mite infestations.•Dermatophytes cause a partial alopecia with slight scaliness and erythema. Rabbits are usually pruritic.•Fur-barbering is characterized by alopecia of the dewlap, back of the neck, and paws. The underlying skin is normal.•Moist dermatitis of the dewlap or ventral abdomen is typically erythematous with scaling and ulceration. The fur around the alopecic areas is moist. Rabbits sometimes self-mutilate this area; use a collar to prevent further trauma.
### Diagnosis {#cesec20}
Determine the primary cause of the alopecia to make a diagnosis.
•Examine skin scrapings of scaly areas for evidence of adult mites or eggs.•Obtain samples of fur and keratin debris for fungal culture.•Submit a skin biopsy specimen for histologic examination if the causative agent cannot be determined by other diagnostic tests.•Examine the teeth in rabbits with excessive ptyalism and alopecia around the mouth (see "Malocclusion").•Obtain abdominal radiographs of rabbits with urine scald for evidence of cystic calculi. Submit a urine sample for urinalysis and bacterial culture and sensitivity testing.•Submit a blood sample for serum biochemical analysis to check for high concentrations of calcium, blood urea nitrogen, and creatinine.
### Treatment {#cesec21}
Treatment is directed toward the primary cause (see "Ear Mites"; "Fur and Mange Mites"; "Hairballs"; "Malocclusion"; "Treponematosis"; "Cystitis"; "Superficial Mycosis").
•Correct the diet to include adequate roughage if fur-barbering is suspected. Perform ovariohysterectomy in females with a suspected hormonal basis for fur-barbering.•Treat adult rabbits with suspected mite infestations with ivermectin (see [Table 176-5](#cetable5){ref-type="table"}).•Treat treponematosis with penicillin (see "Treponematosis").•Treat dermatophytosis with antifungal agents, administered topically or orally depending on the extent of lesions.
Ear Mites (Psoroptes cuniculi) {#cesec22}
------------------------------
### Etiology {#cesec23}
•Ear mites are common ectoparasites.•Psoroptes cuniculi is a large, non-burrowing mite that spends its 3-week life cycle on the host rabbit.•Mites have biting mouthparts and cause inflammation by biting and chewing the epithelial surface of the skin.
### Clinical Signs {#cesec24}
•Infestation with psoroptic mites usually is confined to the inner epithelial surface of the ear. Lesions begin in the concha and eventually extend to the inner surface of the pinna. Other areas, such as the dewlap and feet, sometimes are involved.•Lesions consist of thick, dry, flaky, gray-to-tan crusts on the inner surface of the ear pinna. The underlying epithelial surface is raw, inflamed, and hemorrhagic.•Psoroptic mites cause intense pruritus. Affected rabbits shake their heads or scratch their ears with the rear feet.
### Diagnosis {#cesec25}
•Psoroptic mites are large and sometimes visible with the unaided eye.•Use an otoscope to detect movement of the mites within the ear canal.•Microscopic examination of crusts and exudate usually reveals mites and eggs.•Check rabbits with mild cases of otitis for the presence of mites.
### Treatment {#cesec26}
•Ivermectin is effective against ear mites (see [Table 176-5](#cetable5){ref-type="table"}). Repeat treatment in 3 weeks. A combination therapy of ivermectin and topical acaricides can be used for severe infestations.•Because the lesions are usually very painful, and the aural crusts resolve after ivermectin treatment, avoid pulling off the crusts to clean the ears. Ears can be cleaned 1 to 2 weeks after pain subsides and lesions heal.•Apply an antibiotic cream topically if a secondary bacterial infection is present. Topical application of anti-inflammatory agents may be beneficial once bacterial infection is under control.
### Prevention {#cesec27}
•Psoroptic mites are transmitted easily between rabbits. Isolate affected rabbits from healthy rabbits.•Keep cages and bedding clean to minimize spread through contaminated fomites. The environment should be treated with flea products safe for cats to prevent re-infection.
Fur and Mange Mites {#cesec28}
-------------------
### Etiology {#cesec29}
•Cheyletiella parasitivorax is the common fur mite of rabbits. Because of its large, white, flake-like appearance, it is often called "walking dandruff." Infestations with other species of Cheyletiella occasionally occur. Listrophorus gibbus is a less common fur mite and is considered nonpathogenic.•Cheyletid mites are non-burrowing, obligate parasites with an approximate 35-day life cycle.•Cheyletid mites may cause a self-limiting, transitory dermatitis in humans.•The cheyletid mite is a known vector of rabbit myxomatosis in Australia.•Mange mites (e.g., Sarcoptes scabiei, Notedres cati) occur infrequently in rabbits.
### Clinical Signs {#cesec30}
•Lesions produced by cheyletid mites consist of a scaly dermatitis with a flaky, grayish-white exudate. Mites primarily inhabit the dorsal trunk and scapular region. The underlying skin may appear erythematous and inflamed. Pruritus is not a major clinical sign.•Other areas of the body can be involved in severe infestations. Rabbits may act as if they are depressed and in pain.•Mange mites produce a crusty dermatitis with alopecia.•Intense pruritus results from mites burrowing in the epidermis.
### Diagnosis {#cesec31}
•Cheyletid mites are easily identified through microscopic examination of cellophane tape preparations of affected skin. Press a strip of cellophane tape to the skin lesions to obtain a sample.•Deep skin scrapings are necessary to find mange mites. Results are sometimes falsely negative. Differential diagnosis then is based on the typical clinical signs of each type of mite.
### Treatment {#cesec32}
•Ivermectin (0.4 mg/kg SC q10-14d for three treatments) is effective against most mites that infest rabbits. The treatment period should extend through the life cycle of the mite.•Topical acaricides, including pyrethrins, carbamates, and lime sulfur solution dips (see [Table 176-5](#cetable5){ref-type="table"}), are also effective against fur and mange mites. However, these products should be used cautiously as they have been associated with toxicity in rabbits.•Cheyletid mites can exist off the host for short periods. Treat the home environment with parasiticides and eliminate potential fomites.•The mite is highly contagious and all rabbits in contact with the affected rabbit should also be examined and treated. Other pets in the household kept in contact with infested rabbits should be examined.
Myiasis {#cesec33}
-------
### Etiology {#cesec34}
•Myiasis (fly larval infestation) occurs in rabbits kept outdoors in warm weather. Rabbits can become infested with cuterbrid larvae or maggots of the flesh fly. Maggot infestation is also known as "fly strike."•Obesity, perineal dermatitis, and urine scald predispose rabbits to maggot infestation.
### Clinical Signs {#cesec35}
•Although some rabbits can be asymptomatic, rabbits may appear to be in pain, reluctant to move, or lame.•Cuterebrid larvae burrow into subcutaneous tissue and cause one or more firm, fistulated, subcutaneous swellings surrounded by necrotic tissue. Areas commonly involved include the ventral cervical, inguinal, hindquarter, dorsum, and axillary regions.•Aberrant migrations to the nasal passages, eyes, sinuses, and ear canals have also been described. An infection of the eye is known as ophthalmomyiasis.•Maggots usually burrow through large, moist necrotic areas at the base of tail and dorsum, as these are difficult areas to groom for overweight rabbits.•Secondary bacterial infections of the lesion are common.
### Diagnosis {#cesec36}
Diagnosis is based on a history of outdoor housing, clinical signs, and presence of larvae in wounds.
### Treatment {#cesec37}
•Sedation and pain medication are usually indicated before clipping soiled fur and removing larvae from the wounds.•Remove cuterebrid larvae intact with hemostats if possible. Avoid rupture of the larvae.•Remove maggots from the necrotic wounds.•Thoroughly debride wounds of necrotic tissue. Perform complete surgical excision of any abscessed skin. Clean the surgical site daily and allow the wound to heal by second intention.•Ivermectin (0.4 mg/kg SC q14d for two treatments) can be administered to kill larvae, but the larvae still need to be removed from the sites.•Observe affected rabbits carefully for several weeks for additional lesions.•Antibiotics with good skin activity such as trimethoprim-sulfa (30 mg/kg PO bid) are recommended for treating secondary bacterial infections.
### Prevention {#cesec38}
•Keep outdoor rabbits in screened hutches, especially during summer and fall.
Superficial Mycosis {#cesec39}
-------------------
### Etiology {#cesec40}
•Trichophyton mentagrophytes is the most common dermatophyte that affects rabbits and is usually self-limiting. Infections with Microsporum spp. and other dermatophytes occur much less frequently.•Infection occurs by direct contact with infected animals, contaminated fomites, or asymptomatic carriers.
### Clinical Signs {#cesec41}
•Lesions usually appear on the head and ears and can extend to the neck, legs, feet, and nail beds.•Lesions consist of areas of alopecia with erythema and scaly dermatitis. Rabbits are usually pruritic. Alopecic areas may be circular with slightly raised edges.
### Diagnosis {#cesec42}
Dermatitis resulting from dermatophytosis must be differentiated from other possible causes, including mites, fur-barbering, and bacterial dermatitis.
•Submit samples of fur from the edge of the lesion for culture on dermatophyte-culture medium.•T. mentagrophytes does not fluoresce with ultraviolet light.•The organisms can be demonstrated with either periodic acid schiff (PAS) or silver stains in histologic sections of skin biopsy specimens.
### Treatment {#cesec43}
Treatment of dermatophytosis is directed toward elimination of the organism while preventing spread of disease. Other animals and humans, especially children, are susceptible to infection.
•Clip affected areas and apply topical antifungal agents daily for 3 to 4 weeks.•For extensive lesions, lime sulfur solution dips (2%--3%) given every 5 to 7 days are often effective for treating fungal dermatosis. Continue treatment for 4 weeks.•Griseofulvin is effective if given daily for 4 weeks or until the infection clears (see [Table 176-5](#cetable5){ref-type="table"}). Give griseofulvin with fats to enhance absorption. Gris-PEG (Allergen, Inc.), an ultramicronized formulation for improved absorption, is given at one-half the normal dose. Griseofulvin should be administered cautiously, because it can cause bone marrow suppression and panleukopenia at high doses. Do not give it to breeding does, as it may be teratogenic.•Instruct owners to wear gloves when handling or treating affected animals because of the zoonotic disease potential.•Check other animals in the household for evidence of dermatophytosis.
### Prevention {#cesec44}
•Prevent contact with infected animals.•Disinfection of the environment is important. Vacuum the contaminated area and wipe down all surfaces with a 1:10 dilution of bleach and water. Foggers containing enilconazole or formaldehyde can be used for carpeted areas.
Ulcerative Pododermatitis (Sore Hocks) {#cesec45}
--------------------------------------
### Etiology {#cesec46}
•Ulcerative pododermatitis (sore hocks) usually develops as a result of management-related problems. Soiled or wet bedding, abrasions from flooring, sedentary behavior caused by obesity, small cages that restrict movement, and abrasions from thumping are predisposing factors.•Ulcerative granulomatous lesions involve the plantar surface of the hocks and may be unilateral or bilateral. Forepaws are less commonly affected.•Secondary bacterial infections, usually S. aureus, are common with severely ulcerated lesions.•Chronic infections can develop into abscesses or may spread to underlying bone, resulting in osteomyelitis.
### Clinical Signs {#cesec47}
•Early or mild lesions are areas of erythema and thinning fur on the plantar surface of the hock.•Lesions may progress to raw, ulcerative sores with scabs. Mucoid, purulent, or thick caseous exudate is present with secondary bacterial infections.•Severe lesions cause lameness and reluctance to move. Rabbits may be anorectic and depressed.
### Diagnosis {#cesec48}
•Diagnosis is based on clinical signs. If wounds appear infected, submit samples for bacterial culture and sensitivity testing.•Radiographs of the hocks may be indicated in severe cases to evaluate underlying bone involvement.
### Treatment {#cesec49}
•Correct the predisposing management and environmental factors.•Thoroughly clean and debride necrotic wounds. An antibiotic cream such as silver sulfadiazine can be applied topically.•Topical astringents such as Domeboro solution (Bayer, Inc., West Haven, CT) are beneficial in treating moist wounds. Apply the solution daily until the wound appears dry.•Protect wounds with sterile, soft, padded bandages.•Healing is often prolonged. Clean the wound with an antibacterial soak, topical antibiotics, and bandaging, daily or every other day.•Systemic antibiotics are necessary if infection is present.
### Prevention {#cesec50}
•Wire flooring should be smooth, nonabrasive, and of sufficient width to prevent abrasions. Place soft, dry bedding, such as hay or several thicknesses of newspaper, in one area of the cage.•Cages should be clean and of sufficient size to allow free movement.•Check the feet and hocks periodically for signs of inflammation.•Overweight rabbits should undergo weight reduction to decrease the risk of developing sore hocks.
RESPIRATORY DISEASE {#cesec51}
===================
Respiratory disease is common in pet rabbits and can result from many interrelated factors. Historically, *Pasteurella multocida* has been implicated as the major cause of respiratory disease, though it is probably now less common than in the past. Other bacteria, viruses, and non-infectious causes such as allergens, thoracic/nasal neoplasia, cardiovascular disease, nasal obstruction due to dental disease, and exposure to respiratory irritants should also be considered when working up a patient with respiratory disease.
•Respiratory irritants such as excessive ammonia in dirty, poorly-ventilated cages, aromatic wood shavings (cedar), and cigarette smoke may predispose some rabbits to respiratory infections.
Upper Respiratory Tract Infection (Snuffles) {#cesec52}
--------------------------------------------
### Etiology {#cesec53}
•Bacterial agents that haven been implicated in sinusitis and rhinitis in rabbits include: Pasteurella multocida (see Pasteurellosis), Bordetella bronchiseptica, and Staphylococcus and Pseudomonas species.•Infections can be transmitted from the doe to offspring or by direct contact with infected rabbits. Infection also may be spread by aerosol (sneezing) or fomites.•Chronic disease may be subclinical and precipitated by stress.
### Clinical Signs {#cesec54}
•Intermittent episodes of sneezing and rhinitis with serous or mucopurulent nasal discharge are common findings.•Exudate can block the nasolacrimal duct resulting in conjunctivitis, serous-to-mucopurulent ocular discharge, and periorbital matting or alopecia. One or both eyes may be affected.•Auscultation of the nares and trachea often reveal rattles and rales.•Many rabbits have no other clinical signs. Rabbits with severe disease may be anorexic and lethargic.
### Diagnosis {#cesec55}
Diagnosis of rhinitis is based on clinical signs and isolation of the causative agent through bacterial culture and sensitivity testing.
•Submit a swab of nasal or conjunctival exudate for bacterial culture and sensitivity testing. Small-tipped culturette swabs are convenient for sample collection (e.g., BBL CultureSwab, Becton, Dickinson & Co., Franklin Lakes, NJ).•Skull radiographs provide useful information about the nasal passage and sinuses. Increased opacity may indicate accumulation of exudate. Decreased opacity may indicate lysis from advanced infections or neoplasia. Elongated roots of cheek teeth obstructing the nasal passage may be visible. Thoracic radiographs help differentiate upper airway disease from pneumonia, cardiovascular disease, and thoracic neoplasia.•If available, computed tomography (CT) of the skull will provide detailed information about the nasal passages and sinuses.
### Treatment {#cesec56}
•Give antibiotics at the first signs of respiratory disease (see [Table 176-5](#cetable5){ref-type="table"}). Chloramphenicol, enrofloxacin (Baytril, Bayer Animal Health, Shawnee Mission, KS), trimethoprim-sulfa, or parental penicillin G can be administered until culture results are known. The antibiotic choice may change based on results of bacterial culture and sensitivity testing.•If conjunctivitis is present, cannulate and flush the nasolacrimal duct of the affected eye or eyes with sterile water or saline. A topical ophthalmic anesthetic is necessary for this procedure. Repeated flushes of the nasolacrimal duct daily for 2 to 3 days or every 3 days for four or five treatments is most effective. Apply an ophthalmic antibiotic solution such as ciprofloxacin (Ciloxan, Alcon Laboratories, Fort Worth, TX) gentocin, or chloramphenicol four to six times daily for 14 to 21 days.•Long-term therapy may be necessary with chronic disease.
### Prevention {#cesec57}
General preventive measures are described in the following section on Pasteurellosis.
Pneumonia {#cesec58}
---------
Pneumonia can be acute or chronic and may occur alone or accompany upper respiratory disease.
### Etiology {#cesec59}
•Pasteurellosis is the most common cause of pneumonia in rabbits, though other bacteria such as *B. bronchiseptica* and *S. aureus* may also be involved. The infection spreads to the lungs from the upper respiratory tract through the trachea or, less frequently, through the bloodstream.•Stress is an important factor in disease. Sudden temperature changes, poor sanitation, or poor ventilation in high-ammonia areas contribute to the development of disease.
### Clinical Signs {#cesec60}
•Chronic pneumonia is characterized by labored breathing, weight loss, cachexia, and anorexia.•Clinical signs are often inapparent until disease is advanced.•Acute death is common in young rabbits.
### Diagnosis {#cesec61}
Diagnosis of pneumonia is based on clinical signs and supportive diagnostic tests.
•Auscultate the thorax for crackles, expiratory wheezes, or decreased lung sounds over areas of consolidation or abscess.•Thoracic radiographs help determine the extent of disease and may reveal lung lobe consolidation, air bronchograms, or well-delineated soft-tissue opacities if pulmonary abscesses are present.•Results of a complete blood count (CBC) may reveal a relative increase in heterophil numbers or a reversal of the lymphocyte/heterophil ratio, indicating an inflammatory response.•Tracheal washes are very difficult in rabbits because of the anatomy of the oropharynx and are not recommended.•Postmortem lesions may include acute fibrinopurulent pneumonia, pleuritis, and septicemia.
### Treatment {#cesec62}
•Parenteral antibiotic therapy is preferred in rabbits with severe pneumonia.•Supportive therapy includes supplemental fluids, vitamins, and force-feeding of anorectic animals.•If an indwelling catheter can be placed, give fluids intravenously. Administer subcutaneous fluids if catheter placement is too stressful.•Force-feed anorectic animals. Hold recumbent animals sternal while feeding and give food slowly to minimize stress and to prevent aspiration.•Place severely dyspneic rabbits in an oxygen cage.•Euthanasia often is elected for severely debilitated rabbits with advanced disease.
Pasteurellosis {#cesec63}
--------------
### Etiology {#cesec64}
•Pasteurellosis is an endemic bacterial disease of rabbits. It is caused by *Pasteurella multocida,* a small, gram-negative, bipolar coccobacillus.•Infection is spread by direct contact with infected rabbits or contaminated fomites, aerosolization, or from does to offspring during birth and nursing.•Bacteria colonize the soft palate and nasal turbinates and may produce a lifelong infection. Infection may be subclinical with intermittent episodes of mucopurulent nasal discharge, which often is precipitated by stress.•Spread from the nasal cavity can occur by several routes:•The eustachian tube to the middle or inner ear, meninges, and brain•The nasolacrimal duct to the conjunctiva•The trachea to the lungs•Hematogenously to the peripheral lymph nodes, reproductive tract, lungs, or other organs.•Pasteurella infections can also result in abscesses in the subcutaneous tissues, retrobulbar space, and internal organs. Culture of the abscess capsule wall is recommended however, since other bacterial organisms have also been implicated.
### Clinical Signs {#cesec65}
Clinical signs of disease depend on the site and chronicity of infection.
•Respiratory signs associated with pasteurellosis include rhinitis, conjunctivitis, and pneumonia.•Neurologic signs, including head tilt, torticollis, nystagmus, and facial nerve deficits, can be seen with infections of the middle or inner ear, meninges, or brain.•Abscesses can occur in the joints, tooth roots, various organs, and in subcutaneous tissue. Exudate is typically white, thick, and caseous.•Abscesses in the retrobulbar space often result in exopthalmus and subsequent ocular infections and corneal ulcers.•Generalized illness, fever, and peracute death may occur from septicemia or pleuropneumonia of more pathogenic strains of *P. multocida*.
### Diagnosis {#cesec66}
•Submit samples from exudate, blood, or tissue for bacterial culture and sensitivity testing.•Isolation of *P. multocida* is sometimes difficult. To maximize culture results, the swab should be inoculated onto a blood agar plate or Cary-Blair transport medium. Additionally, when collecting samples from an abscess, the swab should be directed toward the inner wall of the capsule as the necrotic centers are often sterile.•Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) have been developed to detect antibodies to *P. multocida* and may be helpful in detecting subclinical carriers. The test requires whole blood or serum and is reported as high positive, low positive, or negative. Results must be interpreted with discretion, as low positives can occur with antibodies of closely related, but normal bacteria or from maternally acquired antibodies. False negatives may occur early in an infection or in immunocompromised individuals.•Radiographs of affected areas can help delineate the extent and severity of the disease.
### Treatment {#cesec67}
Key PointSuccessful treatment of pasteurellosis can be difficult, especially in rabbits with advanced disease.
•Antibiotic therapy should be based on culture and sensitivity testing. Enrofloxacin (5-10 mg/kg PO q12h) and chloramphenicol (50 mg/kg PO q12h) administered for several months have been used successfully in the treatment of rabbits with chronic pasteurellosis.•Injections of penicillin G benzathine/penicillin G procaine (40,000 IU/kg SC q24h for 2 weeks, then q48h for 2 or more weeks) have also had reported success in the treatment of pasteurellosis.•Perform complete surgical excision of subcutaneous abscesses; the thick-capsule wall and caseous nature of the exudate preclude simple lancing and draining.•Mandibular or joint abcesses require extensive debridement and wound care (see Mandibular and Joint Abscesses).•Daily management includes thorough cleaning and flushing until healing is well advanced.•Debilitated rabbits require supplemental fluids, force-feeding, and general nursing care.
### Prevention {#cesec68}
•Pasteurellosis is an endemic disease in rabbits, and control is difficult. Colonies are kept Pasteurella-free through serologic testing and strict isolation and sanitation procedures.•Prevention involves isolation of healthy animals from rabbits with clinical signs of disease. Eliminate rabbits with evidence of disease from breeding colonies.•Closely examine pet rabbits for signs of respiratory disease before purchase. New rabbits should be quarantined from other rabbits in the household until their disease status is known.•Minimizing stress, feeding the rabbit a proper diet, and using good husbandry practices are important in preventing the spread of pasteurellosis.
GASTROINTESTINAL DISEASES {#cesec69}
=========================
Rabbits often are anorectic when a primary GI disease is involved. Anorexia is also common with metabolic abnormalities such as kidney disease and lead toxicoses and with any severe systemic infection. A change in food intake can alter the flora of the GI tract, resulting in the excessive production of volatile fatty acids and subsequent change in cecal pH. This can lead to the over-population of pathogenic bacteria resulting in either diarrhea or GI stasis.
Diarrhea/Enteritis/Enterotoxemia {#cesec70}
--------------------------------
### Etiology {#cesec71}
Key PointLack of roughage in the diet, stress, and antibiotic therapy are all factors that contribute to disruptions in cecal microflora and pH, which can result in diarrhea.
•Diets high in digestible carbohydrates contribute to overgrowth of pathogenic bacteria by supplying a ready source of fermentable products. Toxins produced by these bacteria are primary factors in enterotoxemia.
#### Bacterial Pathogens {#cesec72}
•Clostridium spiroforme, a gram-positive, anaerobic, spore-forming rod, is one of the primary pathogens in bacterial enteritis in rabbits. Although this organism can be present as normal GI flora, with a ready supply of fermentation products (digestible carbohydrates) it produces iota toxin, which causes severe enterotoxemia.•Escherichia coli causes diarrhea in young rabbits and has a variable morbidity and mortality rate depending on the pathogenicity of the serotype involved. *E. coli* is not part of the normal gut flora but often is found in large numbers in the cecum of rabbits with diarrhea. The bacteria attach to the mucosal epithelium, causing necrosis and disruption of normal intestinal and cecal function. Enterohemorrhagic *E. coli* have also been isolated from rabbits and may pose a zoonotic risk.•Clostridium piliforme (formerly Bacillus piliformis), which causes Tyzzer\'s disease, is associated with acute diarrhea and death, primarily in young weanling rabbits. *C. piliforme* may be a subclinical inhabitant of the gut. With stress, the bacteria proliferate and cause severe epithelial necrosis of the cecum, colon, and distal ileum.•Lawsonia intracellularis, an intracellular, gramnegative, curved to spiral-shaped bacteria has been associated with proliferative enterocecocolitis in weanling rabbits.
#### Viruses {#cesec73}
•A coronavirus has been described as a cause of diarrhea and subsequent death in 3- to 10-week-old rabbits. The virus denudes the intestinal villi; diagnosis is made by identifying the virus in feces or cecal contents.•Rotavirus may be present as normal flora, but may act as a mild pathogen by destroying cells that produce disaccharidases and by contributing to carbohydrate overload. Severity of the diarrhea is variable and is affected by other contributing microorganisms.
#### Parasites {#cesec74}
•Intestinal coccidiosis is primarily a disease of young rabbits. Twelve species of intestinal Eimeria infect rabbits. Diarrhea secondary to intestinal coccidiosis is usually mild; however, coccidia may predispose rabbits to bacterial enteritis (see "Coccidiosis"). The highly pathogenic Eimeria stieda infects the liver.•Cryptosporidia parvum may cause a transient diarrhea in young rabbits for 3 to 5 days. No known treatments are available.
#### Management Related Factors {#cesec75}
•Antibiotic therapy can cause suppression of normal gut flora and overgrowth of pathogenic bacteria. Diarrhea is associated with antibiotics that are active against gram-positive aerobes and selective gramnegative anaerobes. Antibiotic-induced diarrhea has been associated with the oral administration of lincomycin, clindamycin, erythromycin, ampicillin, amoxicillin, cephalosporins, and penicillin.•Stress is a major factor in diarrhea. Stress-related epinephrine release may have a direct effect on intestinal motility and digestion, allowing overgrowth of pathogenic organisms.
### Clinical Signs {#cesec76}
•Diarrhea may vary from soft, pasty stool to a profuse, malodorous liquid. Mucus and blood may also be present. The perineal region and hindlimbs are often stained with feces.•Rabbits with mild diarrhea may be otherwise normal. Severe diarrhea may be accompanied by lethargy, weight loss, anorexia, and dehydration.•Intestinal gas often is detected on abdominal palpation.•Sudden death may be the only clinical sign in peracute disease. In chronic cases, the rabbit has intermittent bouts of diarrhea and anorexia and may have progressive weight loss.
### Diagnosis {#cesec77}
Diagnosis of the primary cause is based on clinical signs, history, and specific tests.
•Dietary history is very important. Determine the fiber content of the normal feed and the amount of supplemental roughage.•Identify bacterial pathogens by submitting fecal samples for aerobic and anaerobic bacterial culture and sensitivity testing.•Do a direct fecal smear or fecal flotation to check for spore-forming gram-positive bacteria and coccidia.•Results of serum biochemical analysis often reveal electrolyte and metabolic abnormalities in animals with moderate-to-severe diarrhea.
### Treatment {#cesec78}
•Correct the diet in animals on marginal or deficient dietary fiber levels.•Dietary Lactobacillus supplements such as Bene-bac may help repopulate the GI tract with normal flora.•Metronidazole (20 mg/kg PO, IV q12h) has been effective in treating rabbits with enterotoxemia caused by C. spiroforme.•Enrofloxacin (10 mg/kg PO q12h) or trimethoprim/sulfa (30 mg/kg PO q12h) is indicated if E. coli bacterial enteritis is suspected.•Chloramphenicol (30-50 mg/kg PO q12h) can be used to treat proliferative enteritis caused by L. intracellularis.•Oral administration of antibiotics is effective in rabbits with mild-to-moderate diarrhea. Give antibiotics parenterally in rabbits with severe clinical signs. Avoid antibiotics that may induce enteritis.•Intravenous fluid therapy is indicated for rabbits with moderate-to-severe diarrhea. Subcutaneous fluids are usually adequate for cases with mild diarrhea.•Anorectic animals should be force fed replacement diets such as Critical Care for Herbivores (Oxbow Pet Products, Murdock, NE; [www.oxbowhay.com](http://www.oxbowhay.com){#interref4}).•If young rabbits test positive for coccidiosis, administer appropriate therapy (see Coccidiosis).
### Prevention {#cesec79}
•Instruct owners to feed their rabbits proper diets with an adequate content of indigestible fiber, such as timothy hay.•Minimize stress in young or weanling rabbits. Sudden temperature changes, changes in food, overcrowding, or poor sanitation contribute to disease.•Isolate diseased animals from healthy rabbits.•Screen young rabbits for coccidiosis or give prophylactic therapy.
Coccidiosis {#cesec80}
-----------
### Etiology {#cesec81}
•Coccidia are host-specific protozoan parasites.•Twelve different species of intestinal Eimeria infect rabbits, with *E. perforans* being the most common. Pathogenicity varies according to species. *E. magna* is the most pathogenic species affecting the small intestine.•Hepatic coccidiosis results from infection with the highly pathogenic Eimeria stieda.•Infection results from the ingestion of sporulated oocysts.•Coccidiosis is primarily a disease of young and weanling rabbits. Natural immunity develops against each Eimeria species after exposure. No cross protection in immunity exists between different Eimeria species. Adult animals can become ill if exposed to a species against which they have no immunity.•The severity of disease is determined by the age at time of exposure, the species of Eimeria involved, the number of oocysts ingested, and environmental stress factors.
### Clinical Signs {#cesec82}
•Intestinal coccidiosis is often subclinical or causes only intermittent mild-to-moderate diarrhea and associated dehydration. However, coccidia may predispose the rabbit to bacterial enteritis (see "Diarrhea/Enteritis"). Clinical signs are usually most apparent in young rabbits.•Severe diarrhea, intussusception, and death may occur with heavy infections. Blood and mucous may also be associated with the diarrhea.•Hepatic coccidiosis is associated with anorexia, weight loss, abdominal enlargement, diarrhea, icterus, and acute death.
### Diagnosis {#cesec83}
•Presumptive diagnosis is based on identifying Eimeria oocysts in a fecal sample or intestinal scrapings. The presence of organisms on histologic examination is required for definitive diagnosis.
### Treatment and Prevention {#cesec84}
•The age of the host and the severity of clinical signs are factors to consider in treatment. Animals with light parasite burdens usually develop immunity to the organism and recover without therapy.•Therapy with coccidiostats is more prophylactic than therapeutic. Coccidia are susceptible to treatment only during a specific period in the protozoan life cycle. Clinical signs are usually inapparent during this period.•Coccidiostats may slow multiplication until host immunity develops.•Trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (30 mg/kg PO q12h for 10 days) has proved effective for the prevention and treatment of coccidiosis.•Sanitation is of utmost importance for effective therapy and prevention. Routinely disinfect cages, food bowls, and water bottles.•Screen rabbits for shedding of coccidial oocysts. Separate or cull carriers from colonies.•Check all young rabbits for coccidia.
Gastrointestinal Stasis {#cesec85}
-----------------------
### Etiology {#cesec86}
•Dietary factors
Key PointLack of roughage in the diet is a major predisposing factor in GI stasis.
•Stress is a major factor in GI stasis. Stress-related hormonal release may have a direct effect on intestinal motility and digestion, allowing overgrowth of pathogenic organisms.•Hairballs slow GI motility, prolonging retention of fermentable food.
### Clinical Signs {#cesec87}
•No fecal pellet production in over 24 hours. Patients are also often anorectic.•Some rabbits have painful abdomens and may stay in a hunched position. The stomach or cecum may be distended with intestinal gas that may be detected on abdominal palpation.
### Diagnosis {#cesec88}
•Dietary history is very important. Determine the fiber content of the normal feed and the amount of supplemental roughage.•Results of serum biochemical analysis often reveal electrolyte and metabolic abnormalities.
### Treatment {#cesec89}
•Fluid therapy is critical in the treatment of rabbits with GI stasis. Stable patients can be administered fluids subcutaneously once to twice a day. Critical patients require IV catheterization.•Correct the diet in animals on marginal or deficient dietary fiber levels.•Broad-spectrum antibiotics, such as the fluorinated quinolones, trimethoprim/sulfa, or chloramphenicol are indicated if bacterial enteritis is suspected. Oral administration is effective in animals with mild-to-moderate diarrhea. Give antibiotics parenterally in rabbits with severe clinical signs. Avoid antibiotics that may induce enteritis.•Force-feed anorectic animals with Critical Care for Herbivores (Oxbow Pet Products) or softened rabbit pellets mixed with vegetable baby food or canned pumpkin.
### Prevention {#cesec90}
•Instruct owners to feed their rabbits proper diets with an adequate content of indigestible fiber.•Minimize stress in young or weanling rabbits. Sudden temperature changes, changes in food, overcrowding, or poor sanitation contribute to disease.
Malocclusion {#cesec91}
------------
### Etiology {#cesec92}
Key PointMalocclusion is one of the most common causes of anorexia in rabbits.
### Clinical Signs {#cesec93}
•Rabbits with malocclusion often have no other clinical signs. Owners may report that the rabbit shows interest in food, but stops eating after a few bites. Most remain alert and active.•Excessive salivation is common in rabbits with malocclusion.
### Diagnosis {#cesec94}
•Perform a thorough oral examination in all anorectic rabbits. Examine the back molars with an otoscope or nasal/vaginal speculum. Sedation may be necessary in some especially nervous or active rabbits.
### Treatment {#cesec95}
•Incisors can be cut with a diagonal cutter or, preferably, a dental drill. Both pairs of upper incisors should be clipped.
Key PointDo not use Resco-type nail clippers to cut incisors because excessive trauma can result in split incisors and loosened tooth roots.
•Molar malocclusion requires dentistry with sedation. The procedure is usually short and can be done with an injectable tranquilizer. A combination of medetomidine (0.15-0.35 mg/kg SC, IM) and ketamine (5-10 mg/kg SC, IM) works well and can be reversed when the procedure is finished. Gas anesthesia can be used by holding the anesthetic mask over the rabbit\'s nostrils, leaving the oral cavity free for working in the mouth.
#### Technique---Teeth Triming {#cesec96}
1.Place the rabbit in sternal recumbency with an assistant extending the neck and head forward.2.The mouth can be held open by looping strips of gauze around both upper and lower incisors. The assistant holds the gauze around the lower molars in one hand, while the second hand is placed on top of the rabbit\'s head and holds the gauze looped around the top incisors, forcing the head and neck into extension. Make sure the nostrils are not occluded and the neck is extended or the rabbit will have difficulty breathing. Alternatively, a metal speculum made for rabbit dentistry can be used to hold the mouth open; however, this tool can damage the oral mucosa if used inappropriately.3.Use a short vaginal or nasal speculum with an attached light source to examine the oral cavity. Check both lateral and medial edges of upper and lower molars.4.A dental drill rounds and smoothes sharp edges but must be used with care. Use a tongue depressor or the speculum to isolate the arcade and prevent damage to the tongue or buccal mucosa. Burr guards can also be purchased. Long-shank burrs made specifically for use in the long, narrow oral cavity of rabbits are available.5.A small bone rongeur can be used to clip the sharp edges of the cheek teeth. Use a tongue depressor or speculum to push the tongue to one side while clipping the medial edges of the lower cheek teeth. This method is quick and easy but leaves rough edges and may cause fractures of the teeth.•Root elongation of the premolars and molars can develop in rabbits with chronic malocclusion. Elongated roots of the mandibular teeth can be palpated as firm bony nodules on the ventral mandible. Roots of the maxillary teeth can invade the nasal passages, sometimes causing obstruction and resulting in inspiratory stridor. The roots often become infected, resulting in mandibular, maxillary, or retrobulbar abscesses (see "Mandibular and Joint Abscesses").
### Prevention {#cesec97}
•Most rabbits with incisor malocclusion need their incisors clipped every 4 to 8 weeks.•Check rabbits with molar malocclusion every 2 to 3 months. Dentistry may be needed as often as every month or only once yearly.•Rabbits with malocclusion should not be bred.•Instruct owners to feed a high-roughage diet to encourage normal wear of the teeth.
Hairballs (Trichobezoars) {#cesec98}
-------------------------
### Etiology {#cesec99}
Key PointInadequate dietary roughage is associated with gastric hairballs in rabbits.
•Other factors may contribute to formation of hairballs. Long-haired breeds may consume large amounts of hair while grooming during shedding. Hormonal influences in breeding season may contribute to aggression and fur-barbering. Mineral deficiencies may cause pica of hair. Boredom also may be a factor in fur-barbering.•Rabbits are unable to vomit, contributing to accumulation of hair in the stomach.
### Clinical Signs {#cesec100}
•Anorexia is the primary clinical sign associated with trichobezoars. Often rabbits remain alert and active, with no other signs.•Weight loss, depression, and palpable intestinal gas may be present in some rabbits. Fecal pellets may appear small, the amount of pellets passed may be less than normal, and hair may be visible in the pellets, causing them to "string" together.•Diarrhea may develop in some animals because of changes in the cecal microflora from decreased gastric motility (see "Diarrhea/Enteritis").•Acute pyloric obstruction causes severe depression, lethargy, bloating, dehydration, hypothermia, and shock.
### Diagnosis {#cesec101}
Key PointSuspect a trichobezoar in an anorectic but otherwise alert rabbit with a history of inadequate dietary fiber and excessive shedding.
•A soft mass palpable in the stomach area of an anorectic rabbit is evidence of a hairball. The stomach of a healthy rabbit is normally full. However, a rabbit that has been anorectic for several days should have an empty stomach.•Radiographs are used to confirm a diagnosis. An enlarged stomach may be visible on plain radiographs. Contrast radiography of the upper GI tract may outline the hairball. Give barium at a standard small-animal dose of 10 to 14 ml/kg orally into the cheek pouch.•Ultrasound examination can be used to detect a mass in the stomach area.•A CBC and serum biochemical analysis are indicated in dehydrated, severely ill, or debilitated animals.
### Treatment {#cesec102}
Key PointProviding adequate dietary roughage and making sure that the rabbit is hydrated are extremely important for successful treatment of rabbits with trichobezoars.
•Medical management is successful in most rabbits. Although a few clinicians advocate routine surgical removal of hairballs, the risk of surgical or anesthetic complications is high considering the debilitated condition of most of these rabbits.•Give supplemental fluids (approximately 100--150 ml/kg/day) subcutaneously or, preferably, by intravenous catheter in debilitated animals.•Stimulate GI motility by encouraging the animal to move around. Allow the rabbit out of the cage as much as possible to exercise. Administer GI motility stimulants if no intestinal blockage is suspected and gut motility is poor.•Give the rabbit petrolatum-based oral lubricants such as Laxatone at 1 to 2 ml/day for 3 to 5 days to aid in fur passage.•Offer free-choice hay and fresh vegetables at all times. Force-feed anorexic patients with products such as Critical Care for Herbivores (Oxbow Pet Products) several times a day.•Pain medication such as buprenorphine (0.01--0.05 mg/kg SC, IM q6-12h) or flunixin meglumine (1.1 mg/kg SC, IM q12h for no more than 3 days) may be indicated in patients with abdominal pain and distention.•Although rare, rabbits with acute pyloric obstruction must be treated surgically. Even with surgery, the mortality rate in rabbits with pyloric obstruction is high.
### Prevention {#cesec103}
Key PointCorrect the diet to include adequate dietary fiber (see Diet). Provide free-choice timothy hay and fibrous vegetables. Feed rabbit pellets that have a high-fiber content (\>20%).
•Routinely brush long-haired rabbits or heavy shedders.•Some owners administer a petrolatum-based cat laxative to their rabbits every 1 to 2 months.•Encourage rabbits to exercise. Prevent obesity by restricting the amount of pellets fed and not feeding sweet "treats".
UROGENITAL/REPRODUCTIVE DISEASES {#cesec104}
================================
Uterine Adenocarcinoma/Hyperplasia {#cesec105}
----------------------------------
### Etiology {#cesec106}
Key PointUterine adenocarcinoma is the most common tumor in domestic rabbits.
•Adenocarcinoma rarely occurs in does younger than 4 years of age. The incidence in rabbits older than 4 years of age ranges from 50% to 80% in certain breeds such as the Dutch, French Silver, and Havana, suggesting a genetic component to the disease. Occurrence is independent of breeding status.•Endometrial changes such as atrophy of the glandular epithelial cells and increased collagen content are associated with development of uterine neoplasia.•Endometrial changes that may precede neoplastic changes include endometriosis, endometritis, and papillary, cystic, or adenomatous hyperplasia.•Local metastasis can extend through the uterine myometrium and invade adjacent structures in the peritoneum such as lymph nodes. Hematogenous spread to the liver, lungs, and brain occurs late in the clinical course, after 10 to 12 months.
### Clinical Signs {#cesec107}
Uterine adenocarcinoma is a slow-growing tumor that can be multicentric and involve both horns of the uterus.
•Clinical signs are usually inapparent during the early hyperplastic stages.•Hematuria or a serosanguineous vaginal discharge is often the first clinical sign noted.•Decreased reproductive performance such as small litter size, stillbirths, dystocia, litter desertion, and infertility are seen in breeding does.•Cystic mastitis is associated with uterine changes in many does.•Depression, anorexia, dyspnea, and ascites are often noted in late-stage cases, especially if metastasis to the lungs has occurred.
### Diagnosis {#cesec108}
•An enlarged, thickened uterus or multiple rounded caudal abdominal masses may be palpable on physical examination. A mass may be difficult to differentiate from abdominal fat in small does.•An enlarged uterus may be visible on abdominal radiographs. Thoracic radiographs should be taken to screen for pulmonary metastasis.•Abdominal ultrasonography also can be used to identify an enlarged uterus or uterine masses and to detect liver or lymph node metastases.
### Treatment {#cesec109}
•Ovariohysterectomy is successful if done before metastasis has occurred.•Surgical resection of early focal abdominal metastasis is the treatment of choice but carries a guarded prognosis because of metastasis that may not be visible at the time of surgery.•Prognosis is poor after pulmonary metastasis has occurred. Euthanasia is recommended.
### Prevention {#cesec110}
•Routine ovariohysterectomy of does before 2 years of age is recommended.•Educate owners with intact does about the early clinical signs of uterine adenocarcinoma and recommend yearly to semi-annual check-ups once the patient is 3 years of age.•Consider ovariohysterectomy in does older than 3 years of age with evidence of cystic mastitis or increased aggressive behavior.
Mastitis {#cesec111}
--------
### Etiology {#cesec112}
Mastitis in rabbits can be either septic or nonseptic.
•Septic mastitis is most common in lactating does. Trauma from abrasive bedding or caging, heavy lactation, and poor sanitation predispose the mammary gland to infection.•Staphylococcus aureus and Pasteurella and Streptococcus spp. are the most commonly isolated bacteria. E. coli and Pseudomonas, Pasteurella, and Klebsiella spp. also may cause mastitis.•Nonseptic, cystic mastitis is seen in both breeding and non-breeding females older than 4 years of age. It may be associated with high estrogen levels, uterine hyperplasia, and uterine adenocarcinoma. In some cases, malignant cellular changes may occur and develop into mammary adenocarcinoma.
### Clinical Signs {#cesec113}
•With septic mastitis, the affected gland is swollen, firm, erythematous to blue-tinged, and warm to the touch. Infection spreads until all glands are affected.•Abcesses of the mammary gland can develop independent of lactation status.•Systemic signs of septic mastitis include pyrexia, depression, anorexia, death of neonates, or death of the doe.•With cystic mastitis, glands became swollen, firm, and blue-tinged with a clear-to-dark serosanguineous discharge from the teats. Rabbits are not systemically ill.
### Diagnosis {#cesec114}
•Diagnosis of septic mastitis is based on clinical signs, history of lactation or pseudocyesis, and isolation of bacteria on culture of gland tissue or exudate.•Cystic mastitis must be differentiated from septic mastitis and mammary neoplasia. Culture and sensitivity testing of the discharge is negative for bacterial growth. Fine-needle aspiration and cytology is indicated to identify any neoplastic tissue.
### Treatment {#cesec115}
•Administer antibiotics for septic mastitis. Base therapy on results of culture and sensitivity testing.•Pain medication such as buprenorphine is indicated if the rabbit appears to be in pain. Warm compresses 2 to 3 times daily may be helpful. Consider surgical drainage or excision of mammary abscesses.•Suckling kits need to be removed from the doe as they may become infected with the bacteria and die from septicemia.•Cystic mastitis usually resolves within 3 to 4 weeks after ovariohysterectomy. Severely affected glands may require surgical excision.
### Prevention {#cesec116}
•Keep lactating does in a clean environment. Make sure no sharp surfaces or wire edges are present that can traumatize the teats.•Routinely examine lactating does for evidence of inflammation or teat injuries.•Cystic mastitis can be prevented by routine ovariohysterectomy of young, healthy does.
Dysuria/Hematuria {#cesec117}
-----------------
### Etiology {#cesec118}
•Red, pink, or orange discoloration of the urine occurs periodically in healthy rabbits. The color may be the result of porphyrin pigments or food-related metabolites excreted in the urine.•Thick, creamy to sandy, white urine indicates the presence of excess calcium in the urine. Unlike most mammals, intestinal absorption of calcium does not depend on vitamin D. Increases in dietary calcium intake results in large amounts of calcium being excreted in the urine.•Hematuria occurs commonly with cystitis. Frank blood independent of or at the end of urination may indicate uterine adenocarcinoma.•Cystic calculi occur in both male and female rabbits. Calculi usually are composed of calcium carbonate or calcium oxalate and may be associated with high dietary calcium intake.
### Clinical Signs {#cesec119}
•Rabbits with urinary pigment changes or excessive calcium in the urine usually have no other clinical signs.•Dysuria, stranguria, urine scald, lethargy, anorexia, and depression may be seen in rabbits with cystitis or cystic calculi. Rabbits may also exhibit teeth grinding or stay in a hunched position in response to abdominal pain.
### Diagnosis {#cesec120}
•Differentiate hematuria from pigment changes in the urine by simple dipstick analysis for blood. If urine discoloration is intermittent, dispense dipsticks for owners to check the urine at home.•Submit a urine sample for urinalysis in rabbits with clinical signs of cystitis, cystic calculi, or hematuria. Calcium oxalate crystals are commonly present, though ammonium phosphate, calcium carbonate, and monohydrate crystals are also often seen. If bacteria are identified, a urine sample collected by cytocentesis should be submitted for culture and sensitivity testing.•A serum biochemical analysis and a CBC are necessary to assess renal function.•Distinguish between hematuria and hemorrhagic vaginal discharge occurring secondary to uterine adenocarcinoma by physical examination, history, urinalysis, abdominal radiographs, and abdominal ultrasonography. Uterine adenocarcinoma is likely in a doe older than 3 years of age with a thickened uterus or multiple abdominal masses.•Obtain abdominal radiographs if cystic calculi are suspected. Calculi are usually radiopaque and therefore visible in the bladder or urethra. Calculi may also be visible in the ureters or kidneys. Large amounts of calcium sediment may be visible in the bladder in rabbits excreting large amounts of calcium.
### Treatment {#cesec121}
Treatment is not necessary in rabbits with pigment-based changes in urine color.
•Instruct owners to decrease the dietary calcium levels in rabbits with hypercalciuria. Grass hay (e.g., timothy) has a lower calcium content than legume hay (e.g., alfalfa). Feed grass hay, green leafy vegetables, and timothy-based pellets.•Treat rabbits with simple bacterial cystitis with antibiotics. A 3-week course of chloramphenicol or trimethoprim/sulfa is usually effective. Submit a second urine sample for bacterial culture and sensitivity testing after 4 to 6 weeks.•Cystic calculi must be removed surgically. Submit calculi for stone analysis. Decrease dietary calcium after surgery to help prevent recurrence.
### Prevention {#cesec122}
•For prevention, decrease dietary calcium levels, especially in mature or aged rabbits.•Many pelleted diets are derived from alfalfa and exceed dietary calcium requirements. Change to timothy-based pellets and substitute grass or timothy hay for alfalfa hay in the diet. Discontinue any supplemental vitamins.•Overweight rabbits are predisposed to hypercalciuria and urolithiasis. Decrease or eliminate pellets from the diet and encourage rabbits to exercise to prevent obesity.
Treponematosis {#cesec123}
--------------
### Etiology {#cesec124}
•Treponema paraluiscuniculi is the causative agent of rabbit syphilis.•T. paraluiscuniculi is a spiral-shaped bacterium transmitted by direct and venereal contact between breeding rabbits or from doe to offspring. It is not a zoonotic disease.
### Clinical Signs {#cesec125}
•Most lesions develop on the external genitalia and perineum. Infection of the nose, eyelids, lips, and chin may result from autoinfection. Lesions initially consist of erythematous vesicles that progress to papules, ulcerations, scaliness, and dry crusty lesions.•Nasal lesions in pet rabbits are commonly mistaken for dermatophyte lesions.•Rabbits remain alert, responsive, and active.•The incidence of abortions, metritis, and infertility may increase in breeding females.
### Diagnosis {#cesec126}
•Diagnosis is based on history, clinical signs, distribution of lesions, and response to therapy.•Submit fur samples for fungal culture and do skin scrapings to rule out dermatophytes and ectoparasites.•Treponema organisms can be identified by darkfield microscopic examination of skin scrapings. The organisms also can be demonstrated histologically with silver stains of skin biopsy sections.•Serologic tests such as the rapid serum regain (RPR) are available commercially to determine the presence of antibodies against T. cuniculi. A fluorescent antibody test against treponemal antigen also is used, and an ELISA is available to screen for antibodies. These tests are used for screening in rabbit-breeding colonies.
### Treatment {#cesec127}
•T. paraluiscuniculi is susceptible to penicillin. Give injections of benzathine penicillin G (a long-acting penicillin) at 42,000 to 84,000 IU/kg IM at weekly intervals for 2 to 3 weeks. Response is rapid; lesions dramatically regress, usually after one injection.•Tetracyclines and chloramphencol have also been effective against T. cuniculi.
### Prevention {#cesec128}
•Screen rabbits in breeding colonies for treponematosis.•The incidence of disease in pet rabbits is low. Preventive serologic screening is not necessary.
NEUROMUSCULAR/SKELETAL DISEASES {#cesec129}
===============================
Mandibular and Joint Abscesses {#cesec130}
------------------------------
### Etiology {#cesec131}
•Abscesses of the mandible and joints occur frequently in pet rabbits. Bacteria such as Pasteurella multocida, Staphyloccoccus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Fusobacterium nucleatum, Peptostreptococcus micros, Strepcococcus milleri group, Actinomyces israelii, Arcanobacterium haemolyticum, Prevotella spp., Proteus spp., and Bacteroides spp. have been isolated. Bacteria can also spread hematogenously from the initial infection.•Malocclusion and root elongation of the cheek teeth sometimes accompany mandibular abscesses. Infection may spread from the oral cavity along the tooth root.•Soft-tissue abscesses can also occur in the oral cavity or joints secondary to a penetrating wound from a foreign body.
### Clinical Signs {#cesec132}
•Joint abscesses are most frequent in the distal limb joints. The swellings are large, firm, and warm to the touch. Rabbits may be lame, depending on which joints are involved.•Mandibular abscesses occur as firm swellings in the ventral facial area. Abscesses are sometimes quite large before they are apparent to the owner. Excessive ptyalism may be an early symptom.•Affected rabbits may refuse to eat if mandibular abscesses are accompanied by dental disease.•Many rabbits remain active and alert with no other clinical signs.
### Diagnosis {#cesec133}
•Thick, white purulent exudate is present on fine-needle aspirate of the swelling. Cytologic examination of the exudate shows neutrophils and proteinaceous debris; bacteria may or may not be visible.•Obtain radiographs to check for and evaluate the extent of any bone involvement.•Submit tissue samples for bacterial culture and sensitivity testing. Because the necrotic centers are often sterile, collect samples from the inside of the abscess capsule wall.
### Treatment {#cesec134}
Key PointSimple lancing of mandibular and joint abscesses is ineffective because of the thick, caseous nature of the exudate.
•Complete enbloc surgical excision of the abscess is the preferred treatment. However, depending on the extent of involvement, this may not be possible and aggressive surgical debridement is the next best option. Remove any molars or premolars that are loose or that have radiographic evidence of extensive infection of the roots. Flush the soft tissue with copious amounts of sterile saline.•Abscesses often re-occur and multiple surgeries concomitant with antibiotic therapy may be required for resolution.•Antibiotic-impregnated polymethylmethacrylate (AIPMMA) beads can improve the success rate of surgical treatment of mandibular abscesses if abscessed tissue cannot by completely excised.•Amputating the affected limb may be the most effective therapy for abscesses involving the joint and surrounding bone. Rabbits adapt well to amputation of either a fore or rear limb.•Disease may recur in other joints, even if amputation of the affected limb has been performed. Hematogenous spread of the bacterial infection to other joints may occur at any time during the clinical course.•Long-term antibiotic therapy is necessary. Some rabbits respond to oral fluoroquinolone or injectable penicillin therapy in combination with surgical debridement or amputation.•Owners must be able to do extensive nursing care at home. Have the owners flush open wounds with sterile saline once or twice daily.•The prognosis for successful therapy is guarded. With bony involvement, the prognosis is poor.
Torticollis/Head Tilt/Ataxia {#cesec135}
----------------------------
### Etiology {#cesec136}
•Bacterial infection of the inner ear, middle ear, or meninges is the most common cause of torticollis in pet rabbits. Pasteurella multocida is often implicated as a primary cause, though other bacteria may also be involved.•Encephalitozoon cuniculi is another common cause of torticollis and incoordination in rabbits.•Vascular lesions, infection with herpesvirus, cerebral nematodiasis, hypovitaminosis A, and toxicoses (e.g., lead poisoning) are less common causes of head tilt and uncoordination.
### Clinical Signs {#cesec137}
•Onset may be acute or slowly progressive. The head tilt may be mild or accompanied by torticollis, incoordination, and the inability to stand.•Some rabbits have no other clinical signs. Other rabbits become depressed, anorexic, and lethargic.•Rabbits with severe depression, positional nystagmus, and facial nerve deficits may have brain or meningeal lesions.
### Diagnosis {#cesec138}
Diagnosis is based on clinical signs. Establishing the exact cause may be difficult.
•Carefully examine both ear canals for evidence of infection.•Rabbits with severe otitis media may have swellings at the base of the ear. White, creamy, caseous debris can often be massaged out of the ear canal. Cultures and sensitivity testing can be helpful in identifying organisms and in directing antibiotic therapy.•Results of a CBC may reveal an inflammatory response.•Skull radiographs may aid in diagnosis. Anesthesia is usually necessary for proper positioning. Bony changes in the bulla may indicate osteomyelitis.•Serologic tests can be used to detect antibodies against E. cuniculi or P. multocida. A positive result is not diagnostic of the specific agent but is helpful in ruling out some possible causes.•Often, the cause cannot be established, and a tentative diagnosis is based on response to therapy. Rabbits with pasteurellosis often improve with long-term antibiotic therapy and supportive care. Rabbits with parasitic migration may remain unchanged or improve gradually. Rabbits with clinical signs secondary to encephalitozoonosis are usually unresponsive to treatment or they deteriorate clinically.•The cause sometimes is determined only on postmortem examination.
### Treatment {#cesec139}
•Give antibiotics long-term, usually a minimum of 4 to 6 weeks. Choose an antibiotic that penetrates the blood-brain barrier and is effective against pasteurellosis (e.g., chloramphenicol and enrofloxacin).•If exudate is visible in the ear canal, clean and flush the ear thoroughly. Tranquilization or anesthesia may be necessary. Administer a topical antibiotic in the ear canal 3 to 4 times daily. Administer systemic antibiotics based on culture and sensitivity testing.•Administer an oral Lactobacillus supplement during long-term antibiotic therapy.•Supportive care is necessary in rabbits that are laterally recumbent or that have severe torticollis. Recumbent rabbits should be turned every 6 to 8 hours or propped up sternally to prevent hypostatic congestion of the lungs. Apply eye lubricants several times daily if the blink reflex is diminished. Hand-feeding may be required. Keep rabbits on clean, dry bedding to prevent urine scalding and contact dermatitis.•Inform owners about the amount of supportive care needed in recumbent rabbits. Many owners elect euthanasia when faced with the difficulties and the time required for long-term nursing care.•Euthanasia often is selected in debilitated rabbits if no clinical improvement is seen after several days of therapy.
Encephalitozoonosis *(Encephalitozoan cunuculi)* {#cesec140}
------------------------------------------------
### Etiology {#cesec141}
•*E. cuniculi* is an obligate, intracellular, microsporidian parasite prevalent in domestic and wild rabbits. The organism infects mice, rats, hamsters, and guinea pigs less commonly.•The major route of transmission is by ingestion of spore-contaminated urine. Inhalation and vertical transmission can also occur. *E. cuniculi* spores are environmentally resistant and can survive for 4 weeks in mild environmental conditions.•The organism can infect lungs, kidneys, liver, heart, brain, and eye. Many infected rabbits are asymptomatic, or may develop clinical signs after a stressful event or other immunosuppressive conditions.
### Clinical Signs {#cesec142}
•Depending on the site of infection, clinical signs can vary and include: torticollis, ataxia, nystagmus, rolling, seizures, paresis, and death. Clinical signs of encephalitozoonosis are similar to those of the neurologic form of pasteurellosis.
### Diagnosis {#cesec143}
•Presumptive diagnosis is based on clinical signs and results of diagnostic testing of rabbits exhibiting neurologic signs.•Serologic tests are available to detect the presence of antibodies against *E. cuniculi*. These include ELISAs and indirect fluorescent antibody assays.•Definitive diagnosis requires histopathologic examination of affected tissues. Spores can be seen in the tissue and lesions in the brain usually consist of multifocal areas of necrosis and granulomas with perivascular lymphoplasmacytic cuffing.
### Treatment {#cesec144}
•Several treatment protocols have been reported; however, results have been variable. Administer fenbendazole (20 mg/kg q24h for 28 days), oxibendazole (30 mg/kg PO q24h for 7-14 days, then reduced to 15 mg/kg q24h for 30-60 days), or albendazole (30 mg/kg PO q24h for 30 days, then 15 mg/kg PO q24h for 30 days or 10-15 mg/kg PO q24h for 3 months).•Clinical signs may recur in some rabbits when drugs are stopped. These rabbits may require medications indefinitely to control clinical signs.•For rabbits with suspected concurrent bacterial infection, antibiotic therapy with chloramphenicol (30--50 mg/kg PO q12h for 7 days) can be administered while awaiting the results of serologic testing.•Patients with severe neurologic signs are often anorectic and will require supportive care such as fluids and force feeding until clinical signs abate.
### Prevention {#cesec145}
•Identify carriers in rabbit colonies and breeding facilities through serologic testing. Cull animals that test positive.•Eliminate urine contamination between cages through proper sanitation procedures. Most disinfectants, such as quaternary ammonium compounds, iodophors, phenolic derivatives, alcohols, and hydrogen peroxide, are effective in inactivating spores.•Prevent possible contact between pet rabbits housed outdoors and wild rabbits or rodents by elevating cages off the ground or housing pets in a rodent-proof enclosure.
Vertebral Fractures/Luxation {#cesec146}
----------------------------
### Etiology {#cesec147}
•The rear leg muscles of rabbits are well developed for strong kicking and thumping.
Key PointIf rabbits are restrained poorly with inadequate control of the rear legs, animals may kick suddenly, resulting in fracture of their spinal vertebrae.
•The lumbosacral region (L7) is the most common site for fracture or luxation.
### Clinical Signs {#cesec148}
•Clinical signs of a fractured back depend on the degree of spinal cord damage and can include partial or complete paralysis of the rear legs and loss of normal bladder and bowel function.•Signs are acute in onset and directly related to a traumatic incident.•Other disease problems may cause clinical signs similar to a vertebral fracture. Multifocal infection of the spinal cord secondary to pasteurellosis, parasite migration, or vascular thrombosis within the cord can cause neurologic deficits. The clinical onset is usually more chronic and slowly progressive than that of a fracture.
### Diagnosis {#cesec149}
•Diagnosis is based on history and clinical signs.•Obtain radiographs of the vertebral column to confirm a fracture or luxation.
### Treatment {#cesec150}
•If a diagnosis is made within 6 to 12 hours of the time of the fracture, administer methylprednisolone sodium succinate, prednisolone sodium succinate, or dexamethasone at shock dosages.•Conservative medical management such as cage rest and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents can be used to manage mild cases. Anti-inflammatory and pain medication such as Carprofen (Rimadyl, Pfizer Animal Health, Exton, PA) or Meloxican (Metacam, Boehringer, Ingelheim Vetmedica, St. Joseph, MO) are often effective in making the patient more comfortable. Attempts to stabilize the fracture surgically are usually not practical because of the poor prognosis and degree of nursing care necessary.•Some owners try long-term supportive care to see whether neurologic function returns. They must be instructed on manual expression of the bladder and general nursing care. The rabbit\'s bedding should be changed multiple times a day to prevent urine scald. The patient will also need to be placed on alternating sides frequently prevent formation of pressure sores.•Prognosis for recovery is guarded to poor. Euthanasia usually is recommended in rabbits with complete transaction of the cord resulting in complete rear limb paralysis and urinary and fecal incontinence.
### Prevention {#cesec151}
•See [Figure 176-1](#f1){ref-type="fig"}, [Figure 176-2](#f2){ref-type="fig"} for proper restraint of rabbits.
Bone Fractures/Joint Luxations {#cesec152}
------------------------------
### Etiology {#cesec153}
•The skeleton of the rabbit is light and fragile. The tibia, radius, and ulna fracture easily with traumatic events such as getting a limb caught in wire caging or accidentally being dropped or stepped on.•Traumatic joint luxations of the elbow or stifle joint occasionally occur.
### Clinical Signs {#cesec154}
•Rabbits with bone fractures or luxations are acutely lame.•Rabbits have minimal soft tissue to protect the long bones below the elbow and stifle from penetrating the skin, thus open fractures are common at these sites.•Fractures are usually palpable on physical examination. Joint luxations are palpable as firm swellings.
### Diagnosis {#cesec155}
•Diagnosis is based on history, clinical signs, and physical examination.•Obtain radiographs to evaluate fractures for surgical repair or to confirm joint luxations.
### Treatment {#cesec156}
•*Splints* used in combination with padded bandages are usually adequate to stabilize metatarsal, meta-carpal, and phalangeal fractures. Bandage the foot in a functional position. Contour a moldable splint or casting material such as Orthoplast (Johnson & Johnson, New Brunswick, NJ) or Vet-lite (Runlite SA, Micheroux, Belgium; see [www.runlite.com](http://www.runlite.com){#interref5} for distributors) along the plantar surface.•External coaptation can also be effective for closed, simple, long-bone fractures. Maintain the limb in a normal position and incorporate both the joints above and below the fracture into the splint. Ideally, there should be at least 50% cortical contact between the fragment ends.•*Intramedullary pins* can be used for better axial alignment of long bone fractures and to minimize bending and rotational forces. The pins should occupy at least 60% to 70% of the medullary cavity. Cross-pins can be used for supracondylar humeral or femoral fractures. Bone plates are not usually recommended other than in large rabbits because the thin cortices of rabbit bones makes screw placement difficult.•*External skeletal fixation* provides rigid stability with minimal soft tissue disruption. Because fixator pin diameter should not exceed 20% of the bone diameter, Kirschner wires are often used in smaller patients. Most metal bars and clamps are too large or heavy for rabbits; therefore, bone cement or acrylics injected into appropriately sized rubber tubing are effective as fixator bars. (see Chapter 111 for examples of external skeletal fixators)•Severely comminuted or open fractures may be best managed with limb amputation. Rabbits usually adapt well to amputation and can ambulate easily on three limbs. Forelimb amputation is best performed by removing the scapula. Mid-femoral amputation of the hind limb is preferred over coxofemoral disarticulation.•With a joint luxation, anesthesia is needed to manipulate the joint into normal position. With the joint reduced and the limb in extension, apply a splint to allow the surrounding soft tissue to develop fibrosis and keep the luxation reduced. Some luxations may additionally require a transarticular pin to stabilize the joint.See Section 8 for treatment of orthopedic disorders in dogs and cats.
### Postoperative Care {#cesec157}
•Obtain a radiograph of the leg after repair to assess bone alignment and placement of pins (if used).•Postoperative management vital for successful healing includes strict cage rest, a clean environment, a good diet, and frequent monitoring any bandages or fixators.•Antibiotics are indicated in all open and contaminated fractures to prevent subsequent osteomyelitis and abscess formation.
|
tomekkorbak/pile-curse-small
|
PubMed Central
|
Introduction {#s1}
============
Worldwide viral infection outbreaks with, e.g. Influenza A(H1N1), SARS and H5N1 avian influenza, have been of serious impact in the past [@pone.0102505-Viboud1]. If a new outbreak would occur, the global spread is likely to be very rapid due to increased travel and urbanization [@pone.0102505-NguyenVanTam1]. Extrapolation of the 1918--1920 avian influenza pandemic mortality rates indicates that 62 million people would be killed if a similar pandemic would happen these days [@pone.0102505-Murray1]. Preventive measures, such as social distancing measures or vaccination programs, are very important in limiting the spread of new viruses [@pone.0102505-Ferguson1], [@pone.0102505-Longini1]. However, the lack of willingness to act according to such measures in crisis situations has proven to be a major issue in the European Union [@pone.0102505-Stern1]. Consequently, it is important to have insights into what motivates individual people to decide for or against vaccination. If motivations are known, these can be addressed in pandemic preparedness plans and vaccination strategies to increase vaccination rates and thus reduce the spread of viral outbreaks. Furthermore, insight in motivations can lead to an accurate prediction of the uptake of vaccinations, which is helpful when implementing vaccination programs.
Various studies have been conducted to explore reasons why individual members of the general public accepted or declined pandemic vaccinations, especially focusing on the Influenza A(H1N1) pandemic of 2009 [@pone.0102505-Stern1]--[@pone.0102505-Nguyen1]. These studies showed that participation in vaccination programs is based on weighing the burden of the vaccination (e.g. risk of side effects), against its potential benefits (e.g. reduce the risk of infection), in a given context (e.g. severity of first cases of the disease). Several European countries reported that public perception factors, such as poor confidence in the need for the vaccine and concerns about the relatively new vaccine, may have contributed to the low vaccination coverage rates during the Influenza A (H1N1) pandemic of 2009 [@pone.0102505-Mereckiene1]. Despite the presence of studies investigating reasons of members of the general public to get vaccinated or not, quantitative studies that assess the relative importance of these reasons are lacking. It is precisely this information that is needed to make highly effective health care policy plans regarding pandemic outbreaks and vaccinations.
The aim of this study is to investigate the preferences of the general population for pandemic vaccinations quantitatively. Additionally, we aim to calculate the expected uptake of base case vaccination programs for certain hypothetical outbreaks. The current study is conducted within the scope of the project Effective Communication in Outbreak Management: development of an evidence-based tool for Europe (<E-com@eu>, <http://www.ecomeu.info/>). This project aims to develop an evidence-based behavioral and communication strategy for health professionals and agencies throughout Europe in case of major outbreaks, by integration of social, behavioral, communication, and media sciences.
Methods {#s2}
=======
Ethics Statement {#s2a}
----------------
A declaration of no objection was received from the Medical Ethics Committee of the Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam (MEC-2012-263) after they reviewed the study protocol. The methodology of this study, a survey amongst healthy volunteers of an internet panel, does not fall within the scope of the Medical Research Involving Human Subjects Act (in Dutch: WMO). Although the aim of the study is of medical nature, participants are not being subjected to any treatment or behavioral adjustments.
Discrete choice experiments {#s2b}
---------------------------
DCE methodology is a survey-based stated preference technique to quantitatively investigate individual preferences. DCEs have been widely used in health care to examine stakeholder preferences [@pone.0102505-deBekkerGrob1], [@pone.0102505-Ryan1] and have been previously used to examine preferences for non-emergency vaccination programs, such as Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccinations and seasonal influenza vaccinations [@pone.0102505-deBekkerGrob2], [@pone.0102505-Flood1]. In DCEs, it is assumed that a medical intervention, such as a vaccination program, can be described by its characteristics (attributes; e.g. effectiveness of a vaccine, safety of the vaccine, and costs of the vaccine). Those characteristics are further specified by variants of that characteristic (attribute levels; e.g. for effectiveness of a vaccine: 30%, 50%, 70% and 90% effective). A second assumption is that the individual's preference for a medical intervention is determined by the levels of those attributes [@pone.0102505-Ryan2]. The relative importance of attributes can be assessed by presenting respondents a series of questions in which they are asked to choose a preferred alternative from a set of two or more hypothetical intervention alternatives with varying combinations of attribute levels [@pone.0102505-Hensher1]. DCEs are based on Lancaster's consumer theory [@pone.0102505-Lancaster1] and random utility theory (RUT) [@pone.0102505-McFadden1] which assume that an individual acts rationally and always chooses the alternative with the highest level of utility. We followed recent guidelines for good DCE practice [@pone.0102505-Bridges1], [@pone.0102505-Lancsar1].
Selection of attributes and attribute levels {#s2c}
--------------------------------------------
Only a limited number of attributes and attribute levels can be used in a DCE, since otherwise the precision and reliability of the results will decrease. On the other hand, one also needs to include all relevant attributes and attribute levels to avoid that respondents make significant inferences on omitted attributes or levels [@pone.0102505-Lancsar1], [@pone.0102505-Coast1].
To obtain insights into possible attributes and their levels to be included in this DCE, we conducted a strategic literature search in three databases (searching for literature related to DCEs and/or vaccination preferences in PubMed, Embase and PsychINFO), semi-structured expert interviews and a focus group study. For the expert interviews, we have spoken to nine experts of different relevant fields, e.g. infectious diseases, vaccinations, preventive behavior and implementation of preventive measures. For the focus group study, we conducted seven focus group discussions with the general population from the Netherlands; targeting urban populations (two groups); populations of more rural areas (two groups); and ethnic minorities in the Netherlands (three groups). Eligible participants were recruited by a research company and via the network of a researcher of the department of Public Health of the Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, using purposive sampling to ensure a diverse sample. Participants were informed that they would receive a financial incentive (40 euros) for their contribution and to cover travel costs and they were informed that the data would be analyzed anonymously. All participants gave written informed consent prior to the discussions. All focus groups were audio taped, transcribed verbatim and anonymously. The transcripts were analyzed using thematic analysis using NVivo Software (version 10, <http://www.qsrinternational.com>). The focus group study approach was included in the study protocol for which a declaration of no objection was received from the Medical Ethics Committee of the Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam. We used a topic list based on the literature search and on two theoretic models, i.e. the Health Belief Model [@pone.0102505-Janz1] and to a lesser extent the Protection Motivation Theory [@pone.0102505-Rogers1], to structure the focus group discussions on outbreaks of new diseases and preventive measures. These models assume that people react to a perceived threat, by performing some action. The level of threat depends on the perceived susceptibility to a disease and the perceived severity of a disease. People weigh this threat to perceived benefits (such as effectiveness) and barriers (such as costs) of actions. The model assumes that also other factors influence someone's intention to take some action, such as cues to action (e.g. media attention) and variables (age, sex, peer pressure etc.). We used these models as a base for the topic list because of their largely empirically tested ability to explain and predict intention of and complying with preventive medical care recommendations, including vaccinations [@pone.0102505-Bish1], [@pone.0102505-Coe1], [@pone.0102505-TeitlerRegev1]. Additionally, during the focus group discussions, participants were asked to write down and rank the most important reasons for them to get vaccinated during future pandemic outbreaks.
Using these results and through extensive discussion with <E-com@eu> project members, we selected two disease specific scenario variables and five vaccination program attributes and their corresponding levels ([Table 1](#pone-0102505-t001){ref-type="table"}). For each scenario (which is a combination of the susceptibility to the disease and severity of the disease), three alternatives were presented, namely (i) No vaccination, (ii) Vaccination A, and (iii) Vaccination B, where the latter two are represented by combinations of effectiveness, safety, advice, media and out-of-pocket costs. We aimed at selecting a sufficient wide range of attribute levels that are realistic now and will remain so in the near future and levels that were relevant to policy as well as plausible and understandable for the respondents. Furthermore, for each continuous attribute we selected at least three levels to be able to test for non-linear relationships.
10.1371/journal.pone.0102505.t001
###### Scenario variables, vaccination program attributes and their levels included in the DCE survey.
{#pone-0102505-t001-1}
Scenario variables Levels
------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------
Susceptibility to the disease^1^ 5%
10%
20%
Severity of the disease^2^ 5%
25%
50%
75%
**Vaccination program attributes** **Levels**
Effectiveness of vaccine 30%
50%
70%
90%
Safety of the vaccine^3,4^ Unknown, expected to be safe (reference level)
Unknown, no experience with similar vaccines yet
Advice regarding the vaccine^3^ Family and/or friends recommend vaccination (reference level)
Family and/or friends discourage vaccination
Your doctor recommends vaccination
Your doctor discourages vaccination
Dutch government & RIVM recommend vaccination
International organizations recommend vaccination
Media coverage about the vaccine^3^ Traditional media^5^ positive (reference level)
Traditional media^5^ negative
Social/interactive media^6^ positive
Social/interactive media^6^ negative
Out-of-pocket costs €0
€50
€100
Notes: Levels of the no vaccination option were defined as: not applicable (n.a.), no side effects, n.a., n.a., €0 respectively. The scenario variables were the same across all alternatives in one choice set. Abbreviation used: RIVM = Dutch abbreviation of National Institute for Public Health and the Environment. (1) Defined as the proportion of population infected with the new disease, i.e. having symptoms. (2) Defined as the proportion of infected population that suffered severe symptoms (death, life-threatening events, hospitalization and severe or permanent handicap). (3) The attributes 'safety of the vaccine', 'advice about the vaccine' and 'media coverage about the vaccine' entered the analysis as categorical variables. (4) Long term severe side effects (death, life-threatening events, hospitalization, severe or permanent handicap, or side effects leading to birth defects to an unborn fetus). Before the start of the choice tasks, respondents were informed that on the short term, vaccinations resulted in mild side effects only. (5) Traditional media were defined as: radio, newspapers and television. (6) Social/interactive media were defined as: blogs, Twitter and social network websites.
Study design and questionnaire {#s2d}
------------------------------
If all combinations of attribute levels were to be presented in choice sets, this would have led to 576 (2^1^ \* 3^1^ \* 4^2^ \* 6^1^) hypothetical vaccination alternatives for 12 (3^1^ \* 4^1^) different disease outbreaks (scenarios). As it is not feasible to present a single individual with all these scenarios and alternatives (i.e. full factorial design), a subset of scenarios and alternatives (i.e. fractional factorial design) was generated [@pone.0102505-ReedJohnson1]. Zero priors for all categorical variables and best-guess priors for all linear variables were used to generate an efficient design by maximizing D-efficiency (using Ngene software, version 1.1.1, <http://www.choice-metrics.com/>). With this design we were able to estimate all main effects and a number of two-way and higher order interactions between attributes. Presenting a single individual with a large amount of choice sets is expected to result in a lower response rate and/or lower response reliability [@pone.0102505-Hall1]. To reduce the burden on respondents, a blocked design was used [@pone.0102505-Hensher1], which resulted in dividing the 48 choice sets of the efficient design into 3 questionnaire versions containing 16 choice sets each in which we ensured sufficient variation in attribute levels by finding blocks with near attribute level balance.
Each questionnaire started with the introduction of a hypothetical scenario ([Figure S1](#pone.0102505.s001){ref-type="supplementary-material"}). To facilitate comprehension of the DCE task, respondents were provided with detailed information about the attributes and attribute levels as well as with a clearly explained example of a choice task prior to preference elicitation. The main part of each questionnaire comprised 16 choice sets. In each choice set, respondents first received some additional information about the disease (i.e., the two scenario variables). Choice sets consisted of two unlabeled vaccination alternatives (vaccination A and vaccination B) and one opt-out alterative (see [Figure S2](#pone.0102505.s002){ref-type="supplementary-material"} for a screenshot of a choice set). This opt-out was necessary since, as in real life, respondents are not obliged to take a vaccination. Respondents were asked to consider all three alternatives in a choice set as realistic alternatives and to choose the option that appealed most to them in the given situation.
Attributes needed to be described as clearly as possible in the choice sets since previous research has shown that respondents may have difficulties with interpreting probabilities [@pone.0102505-Peters1] and that framing effects can influence DCE results [@pone.0102505-Howard1]--[@pone.0102505-Kjaer1]. Therefore, we included graphs to demonstrate percentages and rates, used realistic presentation of attributes (e.g. integers when discussing rates that included humans), and used cost as the last attribute. Furthermore, experts in the field of risk communication advised us on how to present the choice sets in this DCE. For example, we were advised to use the same type of graphs to present risks across both scenario variables and attributes. The last section of each questionnaire included questions on socio-demographic data and questions on previous experiences with vaccination. It also contained questions assessing experienced difficulty of the questionnaire (five-point scale). The questionnaire was presented to respondents in Dutch.
In order to test the survey, we conducted a formal pen and paper pilot with 29 respondents in the Netherlands. Additionally, we conducted five think-a-loud interviews [@pone.0102505-Hak1] to qualitatively test for any problems in interpretation, for the understanding of the questions and to indicate whether respondents were providing a meaningful response. This resulted in minor changes to the layout and phrasing of the questionnaire. There was no need to adapt the selected combinations of scenarios or attribute levels of the DCE design. Since there were some adaptations to the questionnaire, data of these pre-tests were not included in the final analysis. The questionnaire is available from the authors on request.
To check the convergent validity of the DCE, we asked respondents to rank the five vaccination program attributes from most important to least important. External validation was not possible since we were using a hypothetical disease outbreak.
Data collection {#s2e}
---------------
A market research company (Flycatcher) was hired to administer the online questionnaire to a representative sample of the general adult population of the Netherlands. Their online panel comprises 16,000 members and is ISO certified (ISO-26363). Recruitment of potential new members is done by digital media, paper invitations, face-to-face meetings and via intermediates. Assuming a participation rate of 50%, a random sub sample of 1,083 adult panel members (see sample size calculation below) was emailed a link to the questionnaire to participate in the current study. Quota sampling was used to ensure even distributions with respect to age, gender, education and region. A further quota was applied to each 'questionnaire version' to ensure comparable numbers of respondents in each of the three blocks of the design. Progress bars and error messages were incorporated to encourage completion. After completing the questionnaire, respondents were given the opportunity to comment on the questionnaire or topic at hand by filling out the free text question. The questionnaire was online for twelve days in June 2013, when the target number of 500 respondents was reached. All panel members gave informed consent prior to participating in the study and received a small incentive (€2.20, in the form of credits) for completion of the questionnaire.
Sample size calculation {#s2f}
-----------------------
The mean sample size for DCE studies in health care published between 2005 and 2008 was 259, with nearly 40% of the sample sizes in the range of 100 to 300 respondents [@pone.0102505-Marshall1]. No adequate statistical methods exist to determine sample sizes for DCEs. Therefore, the rules of thumb as suggested by Orme [@pone.0102505-Orme1] are frequently used. These rules recommend sample sizes for DCEs to be at least 300 respondents and suggest that also the number of tasks and alternatives should be taken into account when determining sample sizes. Based on this information, we aimed to have at least 500 respondents completing the questionnaire.
Statistical analysis {#s2g}
--------------------
To assess preference heterogeneity, we used a latent class model to analyze the DCE data. A latent class model [@pone.0102505-deBekkerGrob3], [@pone.0102505-Swait1] can be used to identify the existence and the number of segments or classes in the population (i.e. identifying different utility (preference) functions across unobserved subgroups). Class membership is latent (i.e., unobserved) because each respondent belongs to each class up to a modeled probability and not deterministically assigned by the analyst a priori. The model is flexible in that the probability that sampled respondents belong to a particular class can be linked to covariates (e.g. age, gender), hence allowing for some understanding as to the make-up of the various class segments [@pone.0102505-deBekkerGrob3].
To account for the panel nature of the data, with each respondent completing 16 choice tasks, we used a panel version of the latent class model. In order to determine the number of classes, we selected the model with the best fit. We tested a number of different specifications for the utility function (e.g., categorical or numerical attribute levels, linearity, two-way interactions between all attributes and several attribute transformations, see [Figure S3](#pone.0102505.s003){ref-type="supplementary-material"} for specifications of the functions) and selected the model with the lowest Akaike Information Criterion (AIC).
The latent class model estimates parameters in a class assignment model (which includes socio-demographic variables and thereby expresses the likelihood of a certain individual belonging to a certain class) and class-specific coefficients for each attribute (or interaction of attributes and scenario variables) in the utility function. For the class-specific coefficients and interactions, the statistical significance of a coefficient (P-value≤0.05) indicated that, conditional on belonging to that class, respondents considered the attribute important when making stated choices. In terms of the class assignment parameters, statistically significant parameter estimates indicate that the covariate can be used to distinguish between the different classes. For example, if the covariate male gender is negatively and significantly associated with a particular class in the assignment model, then this is indicative that men are less likely to belong to that particular class than women.
The sign of the coefficient reflects whether the attribute had a positive or negative effect on utility. The value of each coefficient represents the importance respondents assign to an attribute (level). However, different attributes utilize different units of measurement. For example the coefficient 'effectiveness of the vaccine' represented the importance per 10% protection rate. When looking at a vaccine that generates a 90% protection rate, the coefficient needs to be multiplied 9 times (9 times coefficient of 'effectiveness of the vaccine' of 10% = coefficient of 'effectiveness of the vaccine' of 90%).
We calculated class specific importance scores (IS) to visualize the relative importance of a given attribute in that class by dividing the difference in utility between highest and lowest level for a single attribute by the sum of the differences of all attributes for that class, taking interaction effects into account [@pone.0102505-Louviere1]. An attribute with an IS of 1 represents the most important attribute, while an attribute with an IS of 5 represents the least important attribute. Furthermore, we also calculated overall importance scores, by taking class probability into account.
Expected uptake of the vaccine {#s2h}
------------------------------
Choice probabilities (mean uptakes) were calculated to provide a way to convey DCE results to policy makers that are more easily understandable. We calculated the choice probability (i.e. the mean uptake) for a base case vaccination for three given outbreaks by taking the exponent of the total utility for vaccination divided by the exponent of utility of both vaccination and no vaccination taking the class probabilities into account. The base-case vaccination program was chosen to resemble real life situations, and included the following attribute levels: vaccine effectiveness 70%, supposed to be a safe vaccine, advised by friends and positive traditional media attention, and no out-of-pocket costs. Outbreaks were defined as mild, moderate and severe (respectively a susceptibility and severity of 5% and 5%; 10% and 25%; and 20% 75%).
Trade-offs {#s2i}
----------
We calculated willingness-to-pay (WTP) values for the effectiveness of the vaccine attribute for mild, moderate and severe outbreaks (respectively a susceptibility and severity of 5% and 5%; 10% and 25%; and 20% and 75%). A WTP value represents how much one is willing to pay for a one unit change in the attribute of interest, and is calculated by taking the ratio of the derivative of the effectiveness attribute and the derivative of out-of-pocket costs. Since effectiveness was included as both a main effect and as part of an interaction effect with susceptibility to the disease and severity of the disease, it is necessary to calculate the derivatives with respect to all parts of the utility function where the attribute appears [@pone.0102505-deBekkerGrob4]. Because a latent class model was used, overall WTP measures can be calculated by weighing the conditional WTP values by the probability that respondents belong to a given class. We computed the confidence intervals using the Krinsky and Robb procedure [@pone.0102505-Krinsky1] ([Figure S3](#pone.0102505.s003){ref-type="supplementary-material"}).
We used NLogit 4.0 software ([www.limdep.com](http://www.limdep.com)) to estimate the latent class models and SPSS 21.0 software (<http://www-01.ibm.com/software/analytics/spss/>) for all other analysis.
Results {#s3}
=======
Respondents {#s3a}
-----------
The participation rate was 677/1083 (63%, [Figure 1](#pone-0102505-g001){ref-type="fig"}), which reflected the expected response rate for this online panel. Of the 677 respondents, 548 completed the questionnaire. Respondents who completed the questionnaire did not differ regarding sex (p = 0.11) or educational level (p = 0.11) compared to respondents who did not complete the questionnaire. However, respondents who completed the questionnaire were younger (median age 50 vs. 53, p\<0.01). Twelve respondents were excluded from the analysis, because they completed the questionnaire too quick; they completed the whole questionnaire in less than five minutes. Data of 536 (49%) respondents were included in the analysis.
{#pone-0102505-g001}
Respondents had a median age of 50 years (interquartile range (IQR): 35--64), with a minimum of 18 and a maximum age of 89 years old ([Table 2](#pone-0102505-t002){ref-type="table"}). 30% had a high educational level and 22% of the respondents indicated that they had a positive attitude regarding vaccination, i.e. that they would always get vaccinated. The sample was representative for the Dutch population regarding age, gender, educational level and region.
10.1371/journal.pone.0102505.t002
###### Characteristics of respondents who completed the DCE survey (N = 536).
{#pone-0102505-t002-2}
Characteristics Subcategory Sample statistics CBS statistics
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------- ---------------- -----
Age in years 50 35--64
*n* *%* *%*
Age groups 18--24 years 49 9.2 11
25--34 years 78 15 16
35--44 years 84 16 19
45--54 years 107 20 19
55--64 years 92 17 16
\>65 years 126 24 19
Gender Male 289 54 49
Country of birth Netherlands 517 96 \-
Educational level Low 184 34 34
Average 192 36 40
High 160 30 26
Civil status Married 296 55 \-
Registered partnership 48 9.0 \-
Unmarried 133 25 \-
Divorced 38 7.1 \-
Widow/widower 21 3.9 \-
Children Yes 345 64 \-
Income in euros per year Minimal (\<11.000) 37 6.9 \-
Less than modal (11.000--23.000) 69 13 \-
Modal (23.000--34.000) 127 24 \-
1--2 times modal (34.000--56.000) 103 19 \-
2 times modal or more (\>56.000) 78 15 \-
Do not know/do not want to say 122 23 \-
Religion Yes 244 46 \-
Perception of health Lower health than average 41 7.6 \-
Medium health 195 36 \-
Better health than average 300 56 \-
Attitude regarding vaccination Always get vaccinated 120 22 \-
Only if benefits \> harms 259 48 \-
Only if benefits \> harms, but I do not thinkthis is the case in the real world 116 22 \-
Never get vaccinated, even ifbenefits \> harms 41 7.6 \-
Belongs to target group for seasonal flu vaccine Yes 239 45 \-
No 270 45 \-
No, but receives flu vaccination via work 27 5.0 \-
Belongs to the target group and received seasonal fluvaccination last year Yes 160 60 \-
Note: Abbreviations used: CBS = Statistics Netherlands, IQR = Interquartile range.
The median completion time of the whole questionnaire was 13 minutes (median, IQR: 9.6--19). It took respondents a median of 6.3 minutes (IQR: 4.2--9.6) to complete 16 choice tasks. The time respondents needed to fill in one choice task decreased from a median of 39 seconds (IQR: 20--62) for choice task 1 to 15 seconds (IQR: 10--24) for choice task 16. 67% of the respondents marked the number of choice tasks as 'exactly the good number' and 76% marked the questions as clear or very clear. A minority (13%) of the respondents found the questions hard or very hard to answer. Most of the respondents found the topic interesting or very interesting (87%). Responses to the free text question indicated that respondents felt that they were adequately informed to answer the questions in the questionnaire.
Direct ranking showed that respondents considered effectiveness the most important vaccine specific attribute, followed by safety of the vaccine and advice regarding the vaccine ([Figure 2a--2c](#pone-0102505-g002){ref-type="fig"}). Respondents marked their doctors' advice as most important, followed by the advice of international organizations and the advice of the Dutch government & National Institute of Public Health and the Environment (Dutch abbreviation: RIVM). Traditional media influenced the decision regarding vaccination more than social media.
{#pone-0102505-g002}
Discrete choice experiment results {#s3b}
----------------------------------
The 'no vaccination' option was chosen in 37% of the choice sets. 61 respondents (11.0%) always chose the 'no vaccination' option. 113 respondents (21%) never chose the 'no vaccination' option.
Using a latent class model, two classes were identified ([Table 3](#pone-0102505-t003){ref-type="table"}). The average class probabilities within the sample were 0.63 for class 1 and 0.37 for class 2. The probability to belong to a specific class was dependent on two socio-demographic variables: the sex of the respondent and the attitude of the respondent regarding vaccination. Males and individuals who stated that they (possibly) wanted to get vaccinated had the highest chance to belong to latent class 1, while females and individuals who stated that they would never get vaccinated had the highest chance to belong to latent class 2. Other socio-demographic variables were not significantly explaining class assignment probabilities.
10.1371/journal.pone.0102505.t003
###### Preferences of respondents for vaccinations in pandemic situations based on a panel latent class logit model (N = 536).
{#pone-0102505-t003-3}
Attributes Latent class 1 Latent class 2 Overall
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------- --------- ----------- ----------- -------- ---- ----
Constant (no vaccination) 0.22\*\* 0.05 2.46\*\* 0.15
Effectiveness of vaccine (per 10%) 0.07\*\* 0.01 1 0.01 0.03 1 1
Side effects unknown, but expected to be safe (reference)^1^ 0.21 \- 4 0.27 \- 5 5
Side effects unknown, no experience yet −0.21\*\* 0.01 −0.27\*\* 0.05
Family and/or friends recommend (reference)^1^ −0.33 \- 2 −0.04 \- 3 2
Family and/or friends discourage −0.50\*\* 0.03 −0.39\*\* 0.11
Your doctor recommends 0.42\*\* 0.03 0.51\*\* 0.10
Your doctor discourages −0.67\*\* 0.03 −1.02\*\* 0.15
Dutch government & RIVM recommend 0.58\*\* 0.03 0.48\*\* 0.10
International organizations recommend 0.49\*\* 0.03 0.45\*\* 0.09
Traditional media is positive (reference)^1^ 0.15 \- 5 0.39 \- 4 4
Traditional media is negative −0.20\*\* 0.03 −0.28\*\* 0.09
Social/interactive media is positive 0.16\*\* 0.02 0.18\* 0.08
Social/interactive media is negative −0.11\*\* 0.03 −0.29\*\* 0.09
Out-of-pocket costs of the vaccination (per 10 euro) −0.06\*\* 0.00 3 −0.17\*\* 0.01 2 3
Interaction: effectiveness of vaccine (per 10%)×susceptibility to the disease (per 10%) 0.12\*\* 0.00 \- 0.11\*\* 0.00 \- \-
Interaction: effectiveness of vaccine (per 10%)×severity of the disease (per 10%) 0.02\*\* 0.00 \- 0.01\*\* 0.00 \- \-
**Class probability model** **Subcategory**
Constant \- \- \- 1.63\*\* 0.47 \- \-
Sex Male \- \- \- −0.80\*\* 0.22 \- \-
Attitude regarding vaccination I will never get vaccinated (reference level) \- \- \- \<0.01 \<0.01 \- \-
I will always get vaccinated \- \- \- −4.09\*\* 0.73 \- \-
I will only get vaccinated if advantages\>disadvantages \- \- \- −1.88\*\* 0.50 \- \-
I will only get vaccinated if advantages\>disadvantages, however I do not thinkthat is the case in the real world \- \- \- −0.78 0.48 \- \-
**Class probability**
Average 0.63 \- \- 0.37 \- \- \-
**Model fit**
AIC 1.64 \- \- \- \- \- \-
Log likelihood −6989 \- \- \- \- \- \-
R^2^ 0.26 \- \- \- \- \- \-
Notes: Effects coded variables used for safety of the vaccine, advice about the vaccine, media coverage about the vaccine. Number of observations: 25728 (16\*3\*536). Abbreviations used: S.E. = standard error. IS = importance score. RIVM = Dutch abbreviation for National Institute for Public Health and the Environment.
\(1\) The values of the vaccination program attributes reference levels equals the negative sum of the coefficients of the included attribute. (2) \*\*, \* denotes significance at the 1% and 5% respectively. (3) The IS were calculated for a severe outbreak with a susceptibility to the disease of 20% and a severity of the disease of 75%.
The sign of the coefficient indicates whether the attribute had a positive or negative effect on utility ([Table 3](#pone-0102505-t003){ref-type="table"}). For example, the positive sign for effectiveness and for side effects unknown, but expected to be safe indicated that an effective and safe vaccination was preferred over a vaccination which was less effective and with which there was no experience yet. The negative sign for out-of-pocket costs of vaccination indicated that respondents preferred vaccinations with lower out-of-pocket costs. The positive sign of the constant indicates that, everything else being equal, respondents preferred no vaccination over vaccination.
Nearly all of the vaccine specific characteristics were statistically significant ([Table 3](#pone-0102505-t003){ref-type="table"}), proving to influence respondents' preference for vaccination. The interactions between the disease specific characteristics and effectiveness were significant and positive. This indicates that the preference for the level of effectiveness of a vaccination is dependent upon the levels of severity and susceptibility. If the susceptibility to or severity of a disease are higher, while the effectiveness of a vaccination is the same, preference for vaccination increases relative to no vaccination. In other words, if the susceptibility to the disease or the severity of a disease is higher, lower vaccination effectiveness will result in the same utility level. Note that the two disease characteristics cannot be included as a main effect but only as interaction effects, since they are scenario variables that are constant across all vaccine alternatives. All other 2-way interactions were not statistically significant.
When comparing the overall importance scores ([Table 3](#pone-0102505-t003){ref-type="table"}) with the direct ranking question ([Figure 2a](#pone-0102505-g002){ref-type="fig"}), effectiveness of the vaccine was considered the most important attribute in both preference elicitation methods, especially when an outbreak was more serious, and media coverage of the vaccine as the least important attribute. These results support the convergent validity of the results.
Preference heterogeneity was substantial; respondents belonging to latent class 1 seemed to place more weight on the effectiveness of the vaccine than respondents of latent class 2 (IS of 2 for class 1 compared to an IS of 5 for class 2, in case of a mild outbreak). However, in case of a severe outbreak, effectiveness was the most important attribute for both latent classes. Respondents belonging to class 2 were more influenced by the media and more sensitive to costs than respondents belonging to latent class 1 (respectively an IS of 3 and 1 for class 2, and an IS of 5 and 3 for class 1, in case of a mild outbreak of the disease). For respondents of both classes, the advice regarding vaccination of others was important. Respondents in class 1 were most influenced by the advice of the government & RIVM and international organizations, while respondents in latent class 2 were most influenced by the recommendation or discouraging of their physician.
Trade-offs {#s3c}
----------
Based on the expressed preferences, respondents were willing to pay €6.0 (95% Confidence Interval: €3.7--€8.3) to receive a 10% more effective vaccine in case of a mild pandemic outbreak ([Table 4](#pone-0102505-t004){ref-type="table"}). If a pandemic outbreak was more severe the willingness to pay for a vaccine which was 10% more effective increased up to €20 (€18--€22) in case of a moderate outbreak and €39 (€36--€44) in case of a severe outbreak.
10.1371/journal.pone.0102505.t004
###### Willingness to pay.
{#pone-0102505-t004-4}
Attribute To receive a vaccination WTP (€, CI)
-------------------------- ----------------------------- ---------------- ------------- -------------
Effectiveness of vaccine With 10% more effectiveness 6.0 (3.7--8.3) 20 (18--22) 39 (36--44)
Notes: Abbreviations: WTP = willingness to pay; € = euro; CI = 95% confidence interval based on the Krinsky and Robb method adjusted for class probabilities and taking into account interaction effects (see [Figure S3](#pone.0102505.s003){ref-type="supplementary-material"} for more information). (1) Mild pandemic is defined as a disease with a susceptibility of 5% and a severity of 5%. (2) Moderate pandemic is defined as a disease with a susceptibility of 10% and a severity of 25%. (3) Severe pandemic is defined as a disease with a susceptibility of 20% and a severity of 75%.
Expected uptake of the vaccine {#s3d}
------------------------------
The mean predicted uptake of the base-case vaccination program increased from 50% in a mild pandemic up to 88% for a severe pandemic ([Figure 3a--3c](#pone-0102505-g003){ref-type="fig"}). The more serious an outbreak was, the more the predicted uptake depended on effectiveness of a vaccine, e.g. a vaccine that was 40% less effective compared to the base case vaccination decreased the vaccination uptake 11, 20 and 28 percent points, for a mild, moderate or severe outbreak respectively. Irrespective of the disease scenario; higher out-of-pocket costs had a relatively large impact on the vaccination uptake, compared to the base case vaccination which was free. Furthermore, recommendation of the vaccine by physicians, the government & RIVM or international organizations resulted in a substantial increase of the predicted uptake of the base case program (e.g. an increase of 16, 18 and 17 percent points respectively in case of a mild outbreak). Assuming that all bodies advised positively regarding the vaccine (including friends and family) the predicted uptake increased with 32 percent points in case of a mild outbreak.
{#pone-0102505-g003}
Discussion {#s4}
==========
This DCE showed that effectiveness, safety and out-of-pocket costs of the vaccine, as well as advice regarding and media coverage about the vaccine all influenced the general populations' preference for pandemic vaccinations. Preference heterogeneity was substantial; two latent classes with different preferences were identified by a latent class model. Female respondents and individuals who stated that they would never get vaccinated were more influenced by the media and more sensitive to costs than male respondents and individuals who stated that they were (possibly) willing to get vaccinated. As expected, respondents preferred and were willing to pay more for more effective vaccines, especially if the outbreak was more serious. Changes in effectiveness, out-of-pocket costs of the vaccine and in the body that advises the vaccine substantially influenced the predicted uptake.
This is the first DCE investigating how characteristics of pandemic vaccinations influence preferences for vaccination programs in different pandemic outbreaks. Two systematic reviews assessed which factors were associated with uptake of the Influenza A (H1N1) pandemic vaccine. These also showed the need for targeted messaging to reach vaccination goals [@pone.0102505-Bish1], [@pone.0102505-Nguyen1]. Especially the conclusion of one of these reviews [@pone.0102505-Bish1] that social pressure and confidence in sources of information had an effect on the intention to vaccinate, is in line with our results. To gain insight in factors explaining willingness to vaccinate against Influenza A(H1N1) in The Netherlands, a questionnaire study was conducted among the general Dutch population during the 2009--2010 pandemic [@pone.0102505-Bults1]. Similar results as we found were reported: people who were afraid of the disease, who perceived it as a severe disease, who believed in the efficacy of the vaccine and who trusted the information the government provided had higher odds for vaccination. Furthermore, the majority of respondents trusted the information provided by their general practitioner and more than half of the respondents trusted the information provided by the Dutch government and RIVM. Another questionnaire study regarding the Influenza A(H1N1) pandemic in the Netherlands showed results that are in line with our results as well; most respondents wanted to receive information about infection prevention from municipal health services, health care providers, and the media. Higher levels of intention to receive vaccination were associated with increased government trust, fear or worry about the disease, and perceived vulnerability to the disease [@pone.0102505-vanderWeerd1]. Several DCEs on non-pandemic vaccines [@pone.0102505-deBekkerGrob2], [@pone.0102505-Flood1], [@pone.0102505-Cameron1] showed the influence of similar characteristics on vaccination preferences as we found in our study. In a DCE on preferences for HPV vaccination [@pone.0102505-deBekkerGrob2], it was found that the degree of protection positively influenced the preference of girls for vaccination, while the risk of side effects had a negative effect. A DCE among parents preferences for influenza vaccination for their children [@pone.0102505-Flood1], showed that the efficacy of a vaccination and the recommendation of physicians positively influenced parents' preferences, while the risk of temporary side effects had a negative effect. A DCE on marginal WTP for HIV vaccines [@pone.0102505-Cameron1] found that biomedical characteristics of a hypothetical HIV vaccine, such as efficacy, vaccine induced seropositivity and side effects, were the most important attributes for vaccination programs.
Our results suggest that side effects of the vaccine are less important than the other included attributes when deciding on vaccinations, while in other studies (including DCEs) safety of vaccinations was dominant [@pone.0102505-Bish1], [@pone.0102505-deBekkerGrob2], [@pone.0102505-Flood1], [@pone.0102505-Cameron1], [@pone.0102505-Sadique1]. This difference can probably be assigned to the choice of attribute levels since respondents in the current DCE were informed that the chance of side effects was expected to be low and either comparable to vaccines that are already on the market or expected to be low, but with no experience with a similar vaccination yet, i.e. a totally new vaccination. Our study showed that preference heterogeneity was substantial. Findings on heterogeneity are supported by a focus group study on acceptance of hypothetical pandemic vaccinations in Canada, where parents with non-mainstream beliefs showed different concerns regarding vaccinations [@pone.0102505-Henrich1].
This study had several limitations. First, we measured preferences for hypothetical vaccines in hypothetical pandemic outbreaks. Although we were not able to measure the external validity of our results, the results may be very helpful in helping to prepare for pandemic outbreaks. Additionally, the signs of the coefficients were generally consistent with our a priori hypothesis (a higher susceptibility to the disease, a higher severity of the disease and a higher effectiveness would have a positive effect on vaccination) and therefore, theoretically valid. Second, the participation rate of 49% was not optimal and selection bias cannot be excluded. However, this participation rate is equal or even higher than most other DCEs in health care. Furthermore, the participation rate was comparable to the average rate of the internet panel we used. We expect our results to be generalizable since age, gender, level of education and region of our sample are comparable to that of the general population of the Netherlands. Third, due to both the number and the type of attributes and levels that respondents needed to take into account when completing the choice tasks, it can be expected that respondents might have experienced difficulties, which might have influenced the results. However, piloting and think-a-loud interviews in the preparation phase, as well as questions that assessed the experienced difficulty of the questionnaire showed that the majority of respondents had no problems with completing the tasks. Fourth, we included safety of the vaccine as a categorical attribute, instead of a numerical attribute, which would have helped respondents to compare risks of vaccinations with risks of the disease. However, when designing the DCE, expert interviews showed that safety of the vaccine is more or less a fixed attribute (either being sure that the vaccine will be safe, or that there is no experience with the vaccine yet and there is thus a chance of long-term side effects). Therefore, we included the safety of the vaccine as an attribute with categorical levels.
Insights in the factors influencing the intention to accept or decline a pandemic vaccine may have implications for both national and international policy and for further research. When communicating public health messages regarding vaccination, one should be aware of preference heterogeneity and therefore use different sources and channels to distribute the messages [@pone.0102505-Freimuth1]. The current study provides guidance on how to target public health messages, by the identification of two classes with different preferences for pandemic vaccinations. To immediately reduce the number of susceptible people, a possible strategy could be to target the message for the first phase of a vaccination program to the more vaccination minded persons, here latent class 1. This can be done by using the government and RIVM as bodies to advice the vaccine to males and focus more on the expected effectiveness of the vaccine. Next, physicians can advise females to take the vaccine. Additionally, out-of-pocket costs need to be as low as possible, as our study showed the negative relation between out-of-pocket costs and vaccination decisions. For public health messages during vaccination programs, it is also important to monitor side effects. Updates of the side effects of the vaccine need to be given on a regularly basis to make sure that an informed choice can be made and to reduce fear of the side effects of the vaccine. Furthermore, policy makers can use the expected uptake probability of hypothetical vaccinations when predicting the number of vaccinations that is needed. Although these numbers are rough estimates and it is not known if they are externally valid, the expected uptake can still be useful when other information is lacking. Additionally, these numbers can guide communication on the expected vaccination uptake. Since this is the first quantitative study in motivations for pandemic vaccinations, we do not know to what extent differences exist between countries regarding preferences for vaccinations. There is some evidence, including a questionnaire study in four countries investigating reasons why high risk people reject influenza vaccination in four countries of Europe suggests differences between respondents of the different countries [@pone.0102505-Kroneman1]. Therefore, further international research is recommended.
We conclude that various disease and vaccination program attributes influence respondents' preferences for pandemic vaccination programs. Agencies responsible for preventive measures during pandemics can use the findings of this study that out-of-pocket costs and the way advice is given affect vaccination uptake to change the way vaccination is marketed during future pandemic outbreaks. The preference heterogeneity shows that information regarding vaccination needs to be targeted differently depending on gender and willingness to get vaccinated.
Supporting Information {#s5}
======================
######
**Hypothetical scenario.**
(DOCX)
######
Click here for additional data file.
######
**Example of a choice set.**
(DOCX)
######
Click here for additional data file.
######
**Utility functions.**
(DOCX)
######
Click here for additional data file.
The authors would like to thank all project members of the <E-com@eu> project for their input on the first phase of this DCE.
[^1]: **Competing Interests:**The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
[^2]: Conceived and designed the experiments: DD IJK MSL MB JHR EWS EWBG. Performed the experiments: DD. Analyzed the data: DD EWBG. Wrote the paper: DD. Revised the article critically: IJK MSL MB JHR EWS EWBG.
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tomekkorbak/pile-curse-small
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PubMed Central
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Description: Our third busty brunette (check here for the others) for the day lets us watch as she strips and enjoys a hot bubble bath.
Views: 286862 Date: 12/04/09 Favorited: 28
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tomekkorbak/pile-curse-small
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OpenWebText2
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vBoys and girls are equal in number at conception, but more female fetuses die during pregnancy, leading to a slightly higher number of males being born, researchers said Monday.
The study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences is based on the largest dataset ever analyzed in the search to explain what is known as the human sex ratio, which has been poorly understood until now.
Documentation came from the United States, and included "the sex ratios of fetuses at different gestational ages, including three-to-six-day-old embryos produced by assisted reproductive technologies, induced abortions, chorionic villus sampling, amniocentesis, and United States census records of fetal deaths and live births," said the PNAS report, authored by researchers at Harvard University and Oxford University.
Scientists found that the human sex ratio is equal at conception, but that during gestation, there were certain times when male embryos were more likely to die than females, particularly in the first week after conception when there tended to be more abnormal male embryos than female embryos.
During the next 10 to 15 weeks, females faced a higher risk of mortality in the womb.
Later in pregnancy, male miscarriages were higher in number than female miscarriages, particularly in weeks 28 to 35, the study found.
But overall, more female died in the womb than males, the study showed.
"These are fundamental insights into early human development," the authors wrote.
Their findings contradict previous research that suggested more males are conceived than females, and that more males die during pregnancy than females.
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tomekkorbak/pile-curse-small
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Pile-CC
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Validity of the Supramaximal Test to Verify Maximal Oxygen Uptake in Children and Adolescents.
Purpose: This study had 2 objectives: (1) to examine whether the validity of the supramaximal verification test for maximal oxygen uptake ( V˙O2max ) differs in children and adolescents when stratified for sex, body mass, and cardiorespiratory fitness and (2) to assess sensitivity and specificity of primary and secondary objective criteria from the incremental test to verify V˙O2max . Methods: In total, 128 children and adolescents (76 male and 52 females; age: 9.3-17.4 y) performed a ramp-incremental test to exhaustion on a cycle ergometer followed by a supramaximal test to verify V˙O2max . Results: Supramaximal tests verified V˙O2max in 88% of participants. Group incremental test peak V˙O2 was greater than the supramaximal test (2.27 [0.65] L·min-1 and 2.17 [0.63] L·min-1; P < .001), although both were correlated (r = .94; P < .001). No differences were found in V˙O2 plateau attainment or supramaximal test verification between sex, body mass, or cardiorespiratory fitness groups (all Ps > .18). Supramaximal test time to exhaustion predicted supramaximal test V˙O2max verification (P = .04). Primary and secondary objective criteria had insufficient sensitivity (7.1%-24.1%) and specificity (50%-100%) to verify V˙O2max . Conclusion: The utility of supramaximal testing to verify V˙O2max is not affected by sex, body mass, or cardiorespiratory fitness status. Supramaximal testing should replace secondary objective criteria to verify V˙O2max .
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tomekkorbak/pile-curse-small
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PubMed Abstracts
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Clinical dental application of Er:YAG laser for Class V cavity preparation.
Following the development of the ruby laser by Maiman in 1960, the Nd:YAG laser, the CO2 laser, the semiconductor laser, the He-Ne laser, excimer lasers, the argon laser, and finally the Er:YAG laser capable of cutting hard tissue easily were developed and have come to be applied clinically. In the present study, the Er:YAG laser emitting at a wavelength of 2.94 microns developed by Luxar was used for the clinical preparation of class V cavities. Parameters of 8 Hz and approx. 250 mJ/pulse maximum output were used for irradiation. Sixty teeth of 40 patients were used in this clinical study. The Er:YAG laser used in this study was found to be a system suitable for clinical application. No adverse reaction was observed in any of the cases. Class V cavity preparation was performed without inducing any pain in 48/60 cases (80%). All of the 12 cases that complained of mild or severe intraoperative pain had previously complained of cervical dentin hypersensibility during the preoperative examination. Cavity preparation was completed with this laser system in 58/60 cases (91.7%). No treatment-related clinical problems were observed during the follow-up period of approx. 30 days after cavity preparation and resin filling. Cavity preparation took between approx. 10 sec and 3 min and was related more or less to cavity size and depth. Overall clinical evaluation showed no safety problem with very good rating in 49 cases (81.7%).
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tomekkorbak/pile-curse-small
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PubMed Abstracts
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In Which I Don’t Address Kaberle Beyond A Sentence…. Um, And A Title
If you haven’t been following my obnoxious ravings on twitter, I did end up getting that Droid 2 I was inquiring about. Basically, I “wasn’t eligible for an upgrade” before cause I ran into that one crappy employee at every phone store everywhere. But now…. Shazam! I have the phone. Also, the Shazam app.
I won’t bore you with too many of the details, but my god…. this thing is a GPS (getting a car mount for it), a Sky Caddie, an iPod (w/ Pandora), a social networking dream, a sports highlight machine, a disorganized persons organizer, and…. a cell phone.
I Can Has Cheezburger is now constantly at my fingertips. Productivity – ruined. Social awkwardness evading capabilites – enhanced. Sooo, just me and you on this elevator for 15 floors HEY OMG LOOK something is neat on my phone. Can’t show you what, but I’ll be looking down for the next minute because of it…
*****
The newest Burke-hater.
Kaberle didn’t get traded – no, instead, he stayed a Maple Leaf in Toronto. Je ne care pas. This is my first summer as an official hockey writer guy, and my first thoughts on it are “this part sucks”. MAD props (yep, I gave em) to writers that muster up such great work during this generally dull time of the sports year - Guys like Wyshynski, Mirtle and Elliotte Friedman, who stay crazy-readable over the course of the NASCAR-packed summer.
While we’re discussing media, I’m seeking reviews on a couple people (who kinda seem like polar opposites). I haven’t really read or watched much from either, but both seem to be popular and relevant (and since I seem to have similar tastes to my readers, lets hear what you think). Larry Brooks of the NY Post (I only know about the Torterella battle, and that it seems like some of his tweets were typed with a flamethrower) and Steve Dangle of…. Steve Dangle… up in T-Dot.
Do we likes? Dislikes? Does anybody wanna go for a beer at Christopher’s in Huntington this week? What about the Off-Broadway Pub in Greenlawn? I love that place.
*****
OMG it’s almost hockey pool time!
First and foremost, a confession – I still owe on a lost bet from last years finals, which if I haven’t mentioned lately, I was in. Out of 20 teams. You’re all idiots, I’m a genius, etc.
AHEM. Anyway…. I owe a bottle of Crown Royal to my man Pat. I still remember buddy.
"I volunteer for retina stealing duty."
This year it’s going to be a pay league, since last year’s league filled up in 4.8 miliseconds and had too many teams (and because I love gambling). It’ll probably be similar to the same format with a few less squads, simply because I thought last year worked beautifully. And, I might do two leagues to accomodate more people, blah blah blah I’ll let you know. Likely in the $50 - $100 range with top 3 getting a little cash. I won’t skim any either, unless I find a really awesome way to do it. Like shutting down the blog and moving to Mexico with my $600 CASH, baby.
Also, if you play in my league and ignore your team for a seriously-extended period of time (like a week-long head-to-head matchup and beyond), your money goes towards buying and training something evil that flies (a Mr. Burns monkey?) to come hunt you down and steal your retinas. I HATE that. I don’t remember who it was from last year, but if anyone does, single out that guy who’s neglect cost other people success, on my behalf. Thanks.
*****
Didn’t have time to FJM (or whatever you wanna call it) Ryan Lambert’s “What We Learned” this week (also, I plain forgot), but if you haven’t seen it yet, it can be read here. I’ve grown to seriously enjoy his contributions. Looking forward to calling him a colleague during the upcoming season.
Camera? Fine. Cell phones? IMPOSSIBLE.
*****
Quick question: Is it one of the world’s biggest scams that all phones aren’t waterproof yet? I mean, they’ve had that technology since back when Mickey Rourke was handsome. And how about the all-telling, warranty-voiding “red dot” feature that gets turned red by water, steam, fog, breath, heavy air or saying the word “wet”. Mine is still fine 48 hours later, but I’ve never made it the full duration of a phone’s life without it changing at some point. Nice hustle goin’ there.
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When I return from New York on the 23rd, I plan to kick the hockey season off by doing some 2010-11 previews, starting with a couple video blogs like I did last year (in those, I claimed Montreal and St. Louis would make playoffs as eight-seeds – I was close).
In the meantime, follow me on Twitter, dude. Get with the times! By the way, shouldn’t we have an acronym for Monday? Friday gets TGI (to the F), can’t we rock a FMI (to the M?). That’s a “Fuck me, it’s….”
Hey as a owner of the First droid here are a couple of websites to go to once in a while. They will keep you up to date on all the good things an android phone will give you. They do a great job of reviewing and recomending new apps and new features/news/phones that come our way via Google or anybody else regarding Android powered phones.
Note check out the NFL app from Verizon it was free last year. (games live to your phone…..) I dont know if it will be this year. Also THN has a great app and the NYTimes has a great app both free. The My Verizon app is great because unlimited data is not unlimited so once in a while you should check out how much data usage you are using. And hell yeah it would be awesome to get a Bourne’s blog app. Lots of techie blogs have them (endgaget for one)
If you have any other questions (Ive become sort of a Droid geek) send me an email.
WillC77 – Thanks dude, it’s amazing. Yeah, I went with the 2 for two reasons: Battery life (the biggie) and because it has a keypad, and Im sketchy to go all touch screen. I write a lot of lengthy business emails from my BB, and wasn’t sure if i’d enjoy going all touch.
Biggest disappointment? It’s 1:47 and I’m already re-charging my phone from when I unplugged it this morning, despite getting the phone with better battery life. Any advice on that? I have a TaskKiller, but there has to be more I can do. When I look at what’s eating up my battery life, I assume all the com.motorola.providers.com and com.motorola.home things are essential? They’re KILLING me.
So Bourne’s league was my fave last year because it was so damn simple without the LW/C/RW distinction and no PIM, but I vowed to cut back this year because I couldn’t give any of my leagues the attention they deserved, plus I’m super cheap and don’t like to gamble more than pennies at a time, so there’s a spot for somebody.
I like Dangle. If I were a Leafs fan, I’d LOVE Dangle, but I don’t watch all his stuff because I don’t much care about the Leafs. However, when he gets those figurines out and does his little skits and shit? OMG, I love that. No opinion on Brooks.
I’ll second ms.conduct’s thoughts, steve dangle is the shit and I don’t know much about Brooks (other than his reputation for being a bit of a wind-bag, but I haven’t read enough of his stuff to confirm/deny).
Good call on adding some cash to the fantasy league, last year’s 2-3 no-shows were a bummer and the winners deserved something for winning. No PIMs was nice, and hopefully you can add some restrictions/limitations on goalies so d-bags can’t bench their goalies after one good start.
What’s the difference between an Android and an iphone? Are the apps different? How many beaver pelts do they cost?
Neil – Thanks for the Dangle thoughts. I love his videos, meh on his twitter account. I’ll start following him more closely!
The Droid is Verizon’s version of the iPhone, which is AT&T’s, and it’s amazing man. I dunno if the apps are different, but they’re easy, free and all customed to what you want. I traded bison and wildebeest hide for mine, so not sure. Exchange rates fluctuate between our villages.
I’d like to add an immediate amendment to my above comment – I actually looked into Steve Dangle stuff. Yup, it’s a whole bunch of awesome. Immediately going to try to contact him to do something. Maybe some publicity stunt/war or something. That’d be fun.
Well, I solved my battery life problem by buying a second charger to keep here at work lol Like you said, I got my phone at 3pm Day 1, fully charged it, took it off the charger before bed, and it was dead by 1pm on Day 2. And that was before I really had any apps on it. Since you have Android 2.2 OS (Froyo), task killers aren’t the big deal they were in older models… Froyo will kill apps itself after a period of non-use, but the Task Killer can do it right away. You should be using either Advanced Task Killer or Advanced Task Manager.
Some general things would be to download a Battery Life widget, so you can see the exact % of life you have left. Also, have the GPS and WiFi widgets on one of your homescreens, and have them switched to off when you’re not in a place you want to use WiFi or using an app that needs GPS. Having them constantly on is death on battery. You can also adjust the screen brightness, that eats up a lot of memory.
WillC77 – I got Pandora and ESPN Scorecenter already, fak are they amazing. Couldn’t be happier with them. Have Advanced Task Killer too. I’ve taken to using Swype, but it seems that takes battery power too?
Here’s my main question though: when would I ever use WiFi, since it’s on a 3G network and always online? Are you on Twitter or something or want something plugged in exchange for all this help? (A website or anything?)
Thanks for the offer, but I’m happy just to help out. I’ll be on Twitter sometime this week, its blocked at work so I never signed up but now with my Incredible I figure its time to dive in. Been researching the best Twitter app since theres a bazillion to choose from.
As for the other stuff; I’m lucky to have ridiculous muscle memory, and I can actually type faster without using Swype, so I’m not sure of its actual effects, but it definitely will use more then just standard texting.
Well, WiFi is faster, but at least for my home WiFi its barely noticeable vs. 3G. Its more for people who don’t have an unlimited data plan. Personally, I’d rather not bother toggling it on/off and always be on rather then get the slight increase in speed. Being on LI and working in NYC, I don’t have spotty 3G coverage. Don’t know how it is in AZ.
Btw, other apps suggestions would be Evernote, as it could be helpful in your “mind dump” blogs, and Astrid is one of the best apps for making a to-do list in general.
Spanks – I’m currently using “remind me” for my all-important “oh shit, time to make that call i said I’d make” things, and just NotePad for my To Blog About File. I’ll have to check out Evernote, notepad kinda sucks. 3G here has been flawless so far (I’m right in Phoenix), and I’m headed to LI this weekend! Coverage for everyone!
Also, for any of those who live in Kelowna and looking to be apart of a new keeper pool, my roomie who’s a writer for the courier is starting one. Email me at [email protected] if interested (justin- hope posting this here is cool)
I have a tip for the “red dot.” A few years ago I got my phone wet and the dot turned red. I knew I wouldn’t be able to get another one, so I figured what the hell I might as well try to remove the dot. After a quick attack of the tweezers the dot was off and I went to the store. The guy took the back off my phone and said, “You didn’t get this wet did you?” I said of course not and he said there’s usually a dot, but mine seemed to be missing. I walked out with a new phone in hand.
JB — great blog. Keep it coming. As for reviews on Brooks — I’m a Buffalo expat now living in NYC and I read a lot of hockey material. My faves are Mirtle, Duhatschek and Wyshinski, and I also like Friedman, Ovadia and Spector (and that new guy Bourne is a comer). I don’t like Brooks at all (or Kelley, but that’s a different story). I find Brooks to be a complete blowhard. He claims that he doesn’t want to inject himself into the story, but it usually ends up being mostly about him and how he can’t understand why the Rangers don’t do what he says. He also doesn’t know much about the rest of the NHL outside of the Rangers.
He’s also completely on the side of the NHLPA whenever labor issues come up, which is fine, but he totally ignores ownership’s side of the issue and pretends that the owners are greedy SOBs who have a bottomless pit of money that they won’t share with the players.
I migrated to your blog from PuckDaddy – not to pad your ego, but far and away the best hockey perspective of the lot. The others write more as fans – you experience playing gives perspective. Loved your article on how the too many men on the ice penalty is almost always the fault of a forward.
Anyway, never posted before, but the offer of a hockey pool was too much to resist. Wouldn’t want to bump a loyalist, but if you end up with room, I’d be interested.
Brooks is fine, but a total homer for the Rangers. As a Rangers fan (a long suffering one, as if there’s any other kind). He’s been at it long enough that his sources seem pretty good.
On the Wi-Fi issue, if you leave it on that will drain the battery as it searches for networks.
I had to proofread this post for superfluous apostrophes. Found one. Your readers are a gramatically correct bunch, aren’t they?
Great to see James Mirtle getting recognition somewhere other than in bars that I drink at. For a math/hockey nerd, he’s the best thing going next to CapGeek. His columns in the Globe and Mail are almost always thoughtful.
And he roasted Don Cherry beautifully regarding the number of non-Canadian goaltenders in the NHL . . . not that Cherry cares, or even bothered to read it, as he proved on-air. But it’s nice to see journalists who write fact-based articles and look for context.
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About Justin Bourne
I'm a hockey player turned writer. After playing for Alaska Anchorage in the WCHA (NCAA), I carried on with an NHL tryout (New York Islanders in 2007) before spending a couple seasons in the AHL/ECHL (last year was 2008-09). My father, Bob Bourne, won four Stanley Cups with the Islanders in the '80's, as did my fiancee's dad, Clark Gillies. I'm now the web editor for theScore's hockey blog "Backhand Shelf."
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Appreciate what I do? I'm recently married, starting life in a new city and trying to make it as a writer. Help justify the time put into Bourne's Blog by keeping it afloat with the occasional pittance. Thanks for reading.
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If you have a great suggestion, question, idea, or just some awesome pictures that would suit the flavour of Bourne's Blog, send them to me at [email protected] and I'll happily try to work 'em in. In general, I prefer all other remarks to be left in the comments section so we can participate in the conversation together.
Sports
My Oscar Speech
To my Mom, Dad, Glenn, brother Jeff and my fiance Brianna... thank you, I love you guys. Also, Uncle Ken, you've been an immeasurable help in this and I'm infinitely grateful. All my love to Aunt Kathy and Grandma, two of my favourite people in the world. Also to the extended family in Saskatchewan, I miss you guys. Thanks to friends like Neil Corbett and Dave Cunning for your support in an obscure endevour like this, and to friends like Charlie Kronschnabel and Nick Lowe for being guys who'll like me and not care (or possibly ask) why or what weird project I'm scheming on now. And thanks to all you long-lost-but-still-important friends I didn't mention. You know who you are.
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The conspiracy theorist Alex Jones blamed various claims he has made, including that the 2012 Sandy Hook elementary school shooting was a hoax, on “psychosis”, according to a deposition given by the Infowars host as part of a Texas lawsuit.
Jones described his conspiracy thinking as a kind of mental disorder in the deposition, which was taken earlier this month for the lawsuit filed against him by the family of a six-year-old who was among 20 children and six adults killed in Newtown, Connecticut, in 2012, the Austin American-Statesman reported.
Jones said he “almost had like a form of psychosis back in the past where I basically thought everything was staged, even though I’m now learning a lot of times things aren’t staged”.
Jones blamed his mental state on “the trauma of the media and the corporations lying so much, then everything begins – you don’t trust anything anymore, kind of like a child whose parents lie to them over and over again, well, pretty soon they don’t know what reality is”.
The defamation suit was filed in Travis county, Texas, where Jones’ media company is based. In August, the judge presiding denied Jones’ request to dismiss the case.
Jones’ attorneys have defended his speech in court as “rhetorical hyperbole”, but denied it was defamation. In the deposition, Jones continued to voice conspiratorial suspicions about the Sandy Hook shooting.
“I still think that there was a man in the woods in camo … and just a lot of experts I’ve talked to, including retired FBI agents and other people and people high up in the Central Intelligence Agency, have told me that there is a cover-up in Sandy Hook,” Jones said.
A similar lawsuit has been filed in Connecticut. Several families in that suit say Jones’ comments have tormented them and subjected them to harassment and death threats by his followers, some of whom have accused them of being actors.
On Friday, a federal judge in West Virginia allowed another defamation case against Jones to proceed. The suit was filed on behalf of Brennan Gilmore, who captured footage of a fatal car attack on counterprotesters during a far-right rally in Charlottesville in August 2017.
In a statement, Andrew Mendrala, supervising attorney with the Civil Rights Clinic at Georgetown Law, said: “Victims of vile conspiracy theories should take comfort … today’s decision shows that the law will protect victims of baseless lies by holding people like Alex Jones accountable for the harm they cause.”
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My brother is in Chino CDC facility in Norco, CA. There are cell phones, tobbaco, heroin, and other items that should not be in the inmate cells being used! He is being coerced into buying some of these items in an exorbitant amount. If visitors are searched before they are to visit the inmates, how are these items being accessed by the inmates incarcerated? My only guess is that they are being brought in by the Officers and Staff that work at this prison. There sould be an investigation into these practices done by Officers and Staff members. If it doesn't get resoved soon, it may be necessary to start some kind of campaign with government/federal authorities to investigate these occurances.
Exactly! The Co's bring it in. My boyfriend told me about the cell phones and their prices too. He just died of an overdose in USP Terre Haute., last week... Looks like the prison is trying to keep it hush hush....Also, the warden there sent my X husband copies of my and J's personal letters back and forth,..just becaues he found out about us and asked for them... which got me an ass beating and a weekend in jail back in Nov.....I think it's awful that there aren't more investigations into these facilities...They're behaving worse than the inmates. Something definitely needs to be done. and it's little ol us VS. them....makes me SICK!!!!!
This is a huge issue in Georgia also. It really makes me mad. That inmates (including my boyfriend) have access to these things because it only causes more conflict within the prison. They sentence them to all these hard years to "keep them off the streets" and yet they bring the drama of the streets into the prisons.
It is a combination. Sure some staff bring it in just like some visitors. It comes through the mail. It gets thrown over fences. You can't just blame the staff or the visitors......fact is if you want it you can get it and if you don't want it you look the other way and keep on going......
__________________
My therapist set half a glass of water in front of me. He asked me if I was an optimist or a pessimist. So I drank the water and told him I was a problem solver.
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I'm confused. How can he be coerced into buying contraband? I thought contraband is only purchased by those who want it and can afford it. Someone explain that part to me???
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Mt. 25:34-36... "...'Come, you who are blessed by my Father...For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in...I was in prison and you came to visit me.'"
I'm confused. How can he be coerced into buying contraband? I thought contraband is only purchased by those who want it and can afford it. Someone explain that part to me???
The reason contraband makes it way into prison is because there is a high demand for it. I highly doubt anyone is being pressured to buy contraband. The is way more demand than contraband. If you loved one really wasn’t interested, they would just move on to the next inmate.
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I'm confused. How can he be coerced into buying contraband? I thought contraband is only purchased by those who want it and can afford it. Someone explain that part to me???
Thank you lbee. I was thinking the same thing. How is he being coerced into buying things. I think he's telling u a white lie there. U either want it or u don't. And by the sound of it he wants it'd it. Soo when he uses the word coerced I think that's a way for. Or a word he uses for u guys to pay for it vs saying I want it so you need to pay. It sounds like he is lyibg to u. By the way chino isn't in norco they night be in riverside but 2 different cities.
Instgead of blaming this or that just th ink of it as if u want it that bad they will fibd a way to get it. U make ur brother out to be a saint n a prison as a resort. Reality check its prison
Masive typos but I'm using this keypadon my phone and took off correct spell chexck
Where there is a demand, there will always be those who find a way to supply the demand. There are plenty of people who went to prison for bad choices and have no interest/desire to change their behavior, and those are the people who are resourceful enough to get contraband into the prisons.
There is no one single reason or method either. As others have said, it's a combination of COs who break rules, visitors who manage to smuggle things in, letters and packages in the mail that slip by the monitors, throwing things over fences, etc. But at the end of the day, anyone who is caught buying or selling contraband is as culpable as the source that initially got the contraband into the prison. So to simply say "Blame those dirty COs!" is a completely inaccurate, narrow way of looking at the situation.
Even if a CO does break the law and come in and sell contraband (whatever that might be) to inmates...there are still inmates who buy it in the first place. A CO wouldn't do it if there wasn't a demand/market for it. Everyone's culpable. Trust me, if there wasn't a single CO in the world who brought in contraband the inmates who wanted to break the rules would still find other ways to get it. That's just the way it works. Supply and demand. So long as there's a profit to be made, there will be those willing to take the risk.
And, as others have said, those who want to keep their noses clean...keep their noses clean. End of story. No one can be forced to break the rules. Peer pressure is something we learn about in elementary school; you either learn to say 'no' to it, or you don't. That's true whether in prison or not.
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"It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll.
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul."
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it not hard to get stuff in or out.. it all depends on the cos working on shift that day or night. cellphones are most common easy way to make alot of money with inmates using it to call thier family.. make a good profit.. as for drugs anything that can make money somebody always find a way..
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if you can't do the time then do not do the crime...is it really worth going to prison for for pennys..... a year
This thread has gotten seriously off topic. The posters original question was:
If visitors are searched before they are to visit the inmates, how are these items being accessed by the inmates incarcerated?
Now, with that being said, as other posters have stated, there are numerous ways to get contraband into prisons. It's been going on for years before now, and in spite of nnumerous investigations, it will likely continue.
As for the other speculations of coercion, that is another ball altogether. Other posters have stated things you may not wish to hear. The truth can hurt. That is not a reason to take jabs at other posters.
Someone could be coerced into buying something for someone else......People threaten others in there all the time for money and power. I can see them threatening someone if they wanted something illegal and didn't have the money to get it.
__________________
My therapist set half a glass of water in front of me. He asked me if I was an optimist or a pessimist. So I drank the water and told him I was a problem solver.
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Wednesday, February 29, 2012
'Betty Nuttyahoo' and AIPAC, STFU!
Around here, the last couple of weeks, the price of gasoline has jumped about 40 cents a gallon, usually after Israeli CRIME MINISTER 'Betty Nuttyahoo' makes another war mongering threat towards Iran.
I have no doubt that before these threats are bellowed out, Israel's friends on Wall Street get advance notice and place bets on the oil futures commodities markets, making ungodly sums of filthy lucre.
In a couple of weeks, the annual parade of ass-kissing Senators and Representatives will make their pilgrimage to the AIPAC 'Love Fest' and try to outdo one another in speech's given to the convention saying they just LUV Israel, that they'd do ANYTHING to protect that nation run by blood-thirsty lunatics--they won't say that, I did--and repeat that tired-ass line about "all options being on the table."
Plus, the Republican presidential candidates, Romney, Santorum, Gingrich, now confirmed to speak to Policy conference, March 6 will be reading from a teleprompter with the lies and lines written by some Zionist war monger.
And the 'first Jewish president,' Barry Sotero, will also be braying at the AIPAC conference like the jack-ass he is, old 'Mr. Hope and Change' will be kowtowing to his Zionist Masters.
I tried to capture the pic that is at this AIPAC link, showing the traitorous Americans that will be groveling towards Zionist Israel, but I could not capture the whole page, just bits and pieces.
Guess they didn't want inquiring assholes like me posting that pic on a blog dedicated to finding 9/11 Truth; being Pro-Palestinian and anti-Occupation and against these 'Wars for Wall Street and Israel.'
They will be wearing hula skirts and dance the night away shamelessly like virgins ready to be sacrificed to some pagan lord. All of 'em going to do their best ass licking & bending backwards tricks to please the real boss of America; yes, that will be nuttyyahoo. That's all you have to do to win presidency and escape yhvh's wrath.
Who will nutty pick? Only yhvh knows. Although it doesn't matter, nutty will butt rape all of 'em before picking the next American Idiot on israhell's behalf.
Did you see arrogance of sanitorium lately? Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum says the notion of religion not playing role in politics “makes me want to throw up." .......The former Pennsylvania senator was referring to John F. Kennedy’s famous 1960 speech that argued religion should be separate from politics. "I don't believe in an America where the separation between church and state is absolute," he said.http://www.politico.com/blogs/politico-live/2012/02/santorum-jfk-speech-makes-him-115569.html
He doesn't even qualify to be JFK's shit if he try! sanitorium makes all of us sick and unfortunately he is like an obnoxious remnant shit stuck on the toilet, doesn't even wanna flush out!
IMO, OBOMBA will win the 2012 election farce, since he's keeping Wall Street, the Fed and by extension, Israel very happy with his non-interference in their criminal activities, both past and present.And when that Turkish-American on the Gaza Aid Convoy got brutally murdered after Israel broke numerous interanational laws and treaties by hijacking the ship, what did OBOMBA do?
Not a damn thing. "From the Halls of Montezuma, to the shores of Tel Aviv, we WON'T fight battles against our murderous Masters, the Israelis."
If there's one thing Apartheid Israel loves the most, other than torturing Gazans, destroying West Bank Palestinian homes and war mongering, it's all that wealth they're stealing from Americans.
Kenny, I didn't hang around the AIPAC site too long to see the complete list of American traitors, since I don't trust that site and anytime I visit, I then run my AV software and one other thing to get all the damned bugs and tracking cookies picked up from that den of iniquity.
And since AIPAC has never followed the law and registered as a lobbying group, it might be difficult to get a complete list of whose stabbing us in the back.
Musique, Santorum claims to be a Catholic, but he's actually a Zionist/Evangelical hybrid who was so unpopular in his home state, he couldn't win re-election, but all of that can be smoothed over with money, lots and lots of money...and threats..... and bribes.
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Hands to Myself
"Hands to Myself" is a song recorded by American singer Selena Gomez for her second studio album, Revival (2015). It was released on January 26, 2016 as the record's third single by Interscope Records. The track was written by Gomez, Justin Tranter, Julia Michaels, and its producers Mattman & Robin and Max Martin. It is meant to add a fresh female perspective to the album and was influenced by the music of American singer Prince. Musically, it is a dance-pop and synth-pop song backed by lightly clicking percussion, hand claps, a guitar riff and "tribal pop" synths. During the track, Gomez uses both her higher vocal register for belting, as well as her lower range breathy vocals in an octave just above a whisper. She clips her enunciation of the lyrics, which detail sexual desire.
Music critics were complimentary about Gomez's versatile vocal performance and the track's uncharacteristic production and lyrics. An accompanying music video directed by Alek Keshishian was premiered as an Apple Music exclusive on December 21, 2015. The video depicts a film of Gomez dressed in lingerie playing a stalker of a Hollywood actor. Critics commended the video's cinematography and Gomez's appearance, hailing it as her sexiest and most revealing visual yet. The singer promoted "Hands to Myself" with televised performances on the 2015 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show and Saturday Night Live. It has also been lip-synched to by the Victoria's Secret Angels in a promotional video, and used in Beats Electronics' commercial for their Beats Pill portable speaker and was also featured in a television commercial for Pantene. Commercially, "Hands to Myself" reached number seven on the US Billboard Hot 100, becoming Gomez' fourth consecutive top ten hit in the United States and third from Revival. It further peaked within the top 10 in Canada, New Zealand and Slovakia, and the top 20 in Australia and the United Kingdom.
Writing and production
"Hands to Myself" was written by Justin Tranter, Julia Michaels, Robin Fredriksson, Mattias Larsson, Max Martin and Selena Gomez.
The second-to-last song recorded for Selena Gomez's second studio album, Revival (2015), "Hands to Myself" was described by Gomez as "a beautiful accident" and "probably the best song on the album". Following the success of the album's lead single "Good for You" which Julia Michaels and Justin Tranter co-wrote, Gomez decided to collaborate for an additional four days with Michaels and Tranter despite her label's instructions for the album to be mixed at the time. Before the sessions began, Gomez felt that she had already addressed her desired themes for Revival, but wanted additional material that would be fresh from a female perspective.
The idea of development for "Hands to Myself" started with the hook, "Can't keep my hands to myself", which Michaels had voiced in a note on her cellphone after singing it in her car. She first approached Tranter, and Robin Fredriksson of Mattman & Robin with the hook, asking, "Is this stupid? This could be really cool, I think". Later, Michaels suggested to Gomez that the track should sound like Prince's music; Gomez enthusiastically agreed. Michaels was also banging a cup on a desk at the session, inspiring a similar sound included in the recording. Another lyric, "You're metaphorical gin-and-juice", was a line Tranter had initially tried using in "a hundred" other songs. A demo of the song was recorded within a day with production from Mattman & Robin who told Gomez that it should be sent to producer Max Martin for further vocal production. At first unsure, Gomez acceded to the duo's suggestion. Martin immediately responded through FaceTime, describing it as the best thing he had heard all year. He included ad libitum and additional vocal hooks at the song's final chorus while also adjusting its pre-chorus. Recording took place at Wolf Cousins and Maratone Studios in Stockholm, Sweden, and at Interscope Studios in Santa Monica, California.
Composition and lyrical interpretation
"Hands to Myself" is a dance-pop and synth-pop song. It begins stripped-down with a minimal backdrop and a sparse, thumping beat. This comprises drums, bass, lightly clicking percussion and hand claps. The beat then snaps and percolates as a dark guitar riff, reminiscent of the Pixies' "Where Is My Mind?" (1988), plays beneath it. Using her lower vocal register and breathy vocals, Gomez coos in an octave just above a whisper. She clips her enunciation with a string of consecutive syllables, "Can't-keep-my-hands-to-my-self".
At the pre-chorus, the song pertains to a "tribal pop" sound with synths and piano becoming prominent. Gomez extends her vocal range belting, "All of the downs and the uppers / Keep making love to each other / And I'm trying, trying, I'm trying, trying". In the chorus, she is then accompanied by gasping background vocals sung by Michaels. Before the final chorus, the music cuts out; Gomez then sings the line "I mean I could but why would I want to?" unaccompanied in one melodic burst. The song ends in a booming crescendo with Gomez's vocal breaking into gasps and sighs.
Lyrically, "Hands to Myself" express sexual desire and wish to find love through good and bad situations. Sam Wolfson of Vice magazine opines that at first the lyrics suggest a typical song about sexual desire, but a "darker undercurrent" then becomes apparent; "there's two narratives at play – a surface and a more hostile truth", he explained. According to Wolfson, the "all of the downs and the uppers" lyric implies a relationship affected by drugs and mental health, further manifested in the line, "The doctors say you're no good". Spencer Kornhaber of The Atlantic writes that the lyric "you're metaphorical gin-and-juice" "rebukes the idea that Millennials like the 23-year-old Gomez don't get the meaning of 'literal'; is a redundant description given that it's unlikely she'd be singing to an actual cocktail; and is further proof of Long Beach gangsta rap's grand influence". "Hands to Myself" is written in the key of E major with a tempo of 111 beats per minute. The song follows a chord progression of EGmCmB, and Gomez' vocals span from B3 to C#5.
Critical reception
Dave Hanratty from Drowned in Sound deemed it a "laser-focused sugar rush". Brittany Spanos of Rolling Stone praised the song's fun and flirty sound, writing, "Her brand of sexiness has a coy, subtle quality that never tries too hard". Sal Cinquemani, writer for Slant Magazine, said Gomez's vocal performance made the track interesting, describing it as smartly indebted to that of Robyn; "success is a pretty girl who knows how to play her cards," he concluded. Jamieson Cox of The Verge commented: "She's a piece of the puzzle rather than a figure at the forefront, and her bigger moments are made to look more impressive by the gulf between them and her hushed, clipped verses. The result is something that sounds like an upper-case version of the xx, and it's a great look for Selena. Smart writing always wins." USA Today critic Elysa Gardner commended Gomez's "sense of poise and reserve" on the song which she highlighted as "lithe".
Ed Masley from The Arizona Republic regarded Gomez's phrasing as brilliant and deemed "Hands to Myself" the sexiest track the singer had done. Masley also complimented the production which he felt was uncharacteristic for Martin, likening it to 1990s productions by The Neptunes. Similarly, Los Angeles Times critic Mikael Wood commended Gomez's vocal performance as "a study in restraint" and Martin's production as "uncharacteristically delicate". Spencer Kornhaber from The Atlantic called it "instantly catchy", highlighting the "wonderfully bizarre" lyrics. Jia Tolentino of Spin magazine regarded "Hands to Myself" as "weightless meditation on seduction" and lauded its "dance tent's worth of pent-up energy" and "perfect interlude". Brennan Carley, also writing for Spin, complimented Gomez's "impeccable" phrasing and the track's "crisp" production, further noting that the song manifested Gomez's growth as a singer; he wrote she "breathes life" into the song and excels at "stretching the boundaries of what her aerated tones can achieve".
Myles Tanzer from The Fader wrote: "Swedish [production] perfection aside, Gomez makes the song. Her vocal performance is equal parts power and fun." Another The Fader writer said Gomez sounded "borderline unrecognizable", adding, "and I'm 100% here for the glo up". Sal Maicki of Complex magazine called it "a certified banger", adding, "It's intimate and mature, whilst ridiculously catchy". Lauren Nostro of the same publication deemed the track "absolutely irresistible", and opined that it marked a peak for Gomez's coy attitude and breathy vocals. Nostro concluded: "It's an effortlessly catchy pop smash, but more importantly, it finds Selena at her most playful—she's making grown and sexy music now, and she's not afraid to show it." Some critics viewed the song's "I mean I could but why would I want to?" line as one of the best moments in pop music in 2015. Billboard ranked "Hands to Myself" at number 91 on their "Billboard's 100 Best Pop Songs of 2016: Critics' Picks" list, writing “Breathy, sexy fun, and Selena Gomez's quivering delivery of the coy lyrics makes you really believe she literally cannot let her hands stay idle. It also contains quite possibly the best throwaway line of the year.”
Year-end lists
Chart performance
Despite Interscope's promotion, and strong airplay of Revivals second single "Same Old Love" at the time, "Hands to Myself" managed to initially find commercial success with minimal promotion ahead of an announced release date after an accompanying music video that shows a lip-synced version of "Hands to Myself" by Victoria's Secret Angels. "Hands to Myself" debuted at number 77 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart dated December 26, 2015. Following the release of its accompanying music video, the song rose from number 62 to number 39—prompted by a 95% sales increase (47,000 copies) and a 43% increase in streams (five million) that week—and also climbed from number 46 to number 18 on the US Digital Songs chart and debuted at number 37 on the US Streaming Songs chart. For the week ending February 13, 2016, the song rocketed from number 21 to seven on the Hot 100, giving Gomez her fifth top ten hit overall and third from Revival. As of July 7, 2016 Hands to Myself has sold 958,754 copies in the US, according to Nielsen Soundscan.
"Hands to Myself" debuted at number 74 on the Canadian Hot 100 chart for the week ending December 26, 2015. In its eighth charting week, the song leaped 18 places from number 23 to five, marking it as Gomez's highest charting single on the chart and first top-five hit. In Australia, it entered the ARIA Singles Chart at number 87 on the chart dated December 26, 2015, and peaked at number 13. The song debuted at number 33 on the New Zealand Singles Chart for the week ending January 4, 2016, and has since peaked at number five, giving Gomez her first top five single in New Zealand. "Hands to Myself" debuted at number 75 on the UK Singles Chart issued for February 4, 2016, reaching number 14 on April 8, 2016, becoming the album's first top-twenty single and her highest charting single since "Come & Get It" (2013).
Music video
Background and release
The accompanying music video for "Hands to Myself" was directed by Alek Keshishian and filmed in Hollywood Hills, California. Christopher Mason of Wilhelmina Models plays Gomez's love interest in the music video. Gomez and Keshishian had met a number of times socially before, though "Hands to Myself" marked their first time working together. Gomez recruited Keshishian inspired by his work on Madonna's 1991 documentary Madonna: Truth or Dare. Keshishian explained: "I always like to find a different way of seeing a celebrity. [And] Selena's head was in the same place." He felt it was important to incorporate attention to detail for visuals such as Gomez wearing an engagement ring to depict her as a stalker thinking she is married to Mason, and Mason's extravagant closet to portray him as rich and successful. Gomez wore lingerie from the Emporio Armani underwear collection. Regarding the filming, Keshishian mentioned: "We would be lighting with a stand-in and then [Gomez] would come in and it would be a completely live shot with her. She's so good at it." The singer wanted to convey the feeling people get when they have lust and obsess towards someone else, portraying it in the video's plot and plot twist. She explained the concept in detail:
I wanted the idea to feel like it was two different versions of being in this fantasy. I think everybody can have those moments where they're dreaming about what their life could be, especially girls with love. Being obsessed with the idea, and you can't control yourself because that's what you want, no matter what's happening. (...) You get to see these images of what people think love is. It's theatrical, it's movie-like. And all that you end up seeing ends up being this false reality on both ends. That's what I wanted it to feel like.
Gomez partnered with Beats Electronics for the "Hands to Myself" music video, promoting their Beats Pill portable speaker. She shared a 30-second preview clip of the music video on Facebook on December 7, 2015. The clip which heavily features the Beats Pill tied in as Beats Electronics' commercial for the product. On December 17, 2015, Gomez posted two image teasers on Instagram and then a second preview clip the following day. The music video premiered as an Apple Music exclusive on December 21, 2015, like its predecessor "Same Old Love". It remained on the service for almost a month, until being released on Vevo on January 20, 2016.
Synopsis
In the music video, Mason plays the role of an actor while Gomez plays his stalker. The video begins with a handcuffed Gomez writhing around on a bed, donning an engagement ring, a wig and black silk robe. Shots of marked maps and an image collage of Mason on a wall are then shown. Gomez later breaks into Mason's modern penthouse apartment with the intention of fulfilling a sexual fantasy of him. On arrival, Gomez takes off her robe and wears only spiked stilettos and black lingerie consisting of a bra and high-waisted underwear. She searches through his color-coordinated closet and tries on one of his dress shirts. Dancing in the shirt, Gomez proceeds to smelling his cologne bottle.
Gomez is then depicted writhing around on his bed caressing herself as she imagines a love scene with Mason. In another segment, she is shown taking a hot bath, imagining him in a shower. Gomez also watches a marathon of movies in which Mason stars. Tired, she proceeds back upstairs wrapped in a bed sheet where one of Mason's film posters titled The Obsession is shown at the staircase wall. Gomez then passes out on his bed. Mason later arrives home and realizes that something is wrong and calls the police who arrest Gomez. In a plot twist, the video ends zooming out from the preceding events, showing Gomez and Mason happily cuddling on a couch watching a film called Hands to Myself in which they starred.
Reception
The music video's release aided a 46% gain of 180,000 Twitter mentions for Gomez in the week ending December 27, 2015, according to Next Big Sound. It was well received by critics. Billboard magazine's Colin Stutz said: "It's not your standard love story, by far, and it's probably the sexiest we've seen Gomez get yet." Both Lauren Alexis Fisher of Harper's Bazaar and Kelly McClure from Maxim magazine hailed it as Gomez's sexiest video yet, with the former likening it to the 2015 film Fifty Shades of Grey. Nick Maslow from People magazine regarded the video as "undoubtedly Gomez's most revealing offering to date". Nylon magazine's Daniel Barna remarked that Gomez "looks sexier and more secure than ever". Digital Spy's Lewis Corner opined that the video was "appropriately seductive" and described it as Gomez's "raunchiest visual yet". Madeline Roth of MTV News wrote that "being a felon never looked so good" and found the visual's plot twist clever.
Chris Mench from Complex hailed it as "quite a spectacle". Sean Fitz-Gerald of New York magazine deemed it "very cinematic, twisty", likening it to the 2015 film The Gift. Meghan Overdeep from InStyle commented: "Gomez takes on a persona that couldn't be farther from her Barney & Friends days, and wow ... she's looking good!" Brennan Carley of Spin magazine called it "a sexy psycho-thriller" and viewed its Apple Music exclusive release as "a smart pop play"; he opined that its exclusivity was well-timed considering the success of "Same Old Love" at the time and felt that the video's exclusivity would help build "widespread buzz" for "Hands to Myself". Conversely, Tessa Berenson from Time magazine found the music video "a little creepy". In May 2018, in a music video countdown, Garry Sutton of Buzzfeed voted the video as Selena's' best music visual work.
Live performances and cover versions
Gomez gave her first televised rendition of "Hands to Myself" on Victoria's Secret Fashion Show which aired on December 8, 2015, performing it in a medley with Revival album track "Me & My Girls" while flanked by 14 female backup dancers. The performance was choreographed by Jermaine Browne. Gomez included "Hands to Myself" as part of her setlist for iHeartRadio's Jingle Ball Tour throughout December 2015.
As the music guest on Saturday Night Live on January 23, 2016, Gomez performed a bed choreography for the song. She started out singing on top a satin bed while a male dancer touched and danced around her. Then a second dancer appeared (a female) and joined them. On December 1, 2015, the Victoria's Secret Angels released a promotional video in which they lip-synced to "Hands to Myself". American band DNCE and Kings of Leon performed a cover of the song for the BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge. Australian pop-duo The Veronicas performed a cover of the song at The Edge in 2016. "Hands to Myself" was included on the setlist for Gomez's 2016 Revival Tour.
Track listings
Digital download
Hands to Myself - 3:20
Digital download (Remixes)
Hands to Myself (Betablock3r Remix) - 5:16
Hands to Myself (Fareoh Remix) - 3:01
Hands to Myself (KANDY Remix) - 3:18
Credits and personnel
Credits adapted from Revival album liner notes.
Recording
Recorded at Wolf Cousins Studios and Maratone Studios (Stockholm, Sweden), and Interscope Studios (Santa Monica, California)
Mixed at MixStar Studios (Virginia Beach, Virginia)
Mastered at Sterling Sound (New York City, New York)
Management
Published by Justin's School for Girls (BMI) and Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp. (BMI)
All rights administered by Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp. (BMI) and Thanks for the Songs Richard (BMI)
All rights on behalf of itself and Thanks for the Songs Richard (BMI) — administered by Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp. —, Ma-Jay Publishing/Wolf Cousins/Warner Chappell Music Scandinavia (STIM) and MXM — administered by Kobalt (ASCAP)
Personnel
Selena Gomez – lead vocals, writer
Justin Tranter – writer
Julia Michaels – writer, background vocals
Mattman & Robin – writers, producers, vocal producers, programming, guitar, drums, percussion, piano, synths, bass, recording
Max Martin – writer, vocal producer, programming, synths, percussion
Juan Carlos Torrado – recording assistant
Serban Ghenea – mixing
John Hanes – mixing engineer
Chris Gehringer – mastering
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
Release history
See also
List of Billboard Hot 100 top-ten singles in 2016
Notes
References
External links
Category:2015 songs
Category:2016 singles
Category:Billboard Mainstream Top 40 (Pop Songs) number-one singles
Category:Interscope Records singles
Category:Music videos directed by Alek Keshishian
Category:Selena Gomez songs
Category:Song recordings produced by Mattman & Robin
Category:Song recordings produced by Max Martin
Category:Songs about sexuality
Category:Songs written by Julia Michaels
Category:Songs written by Justin Tranter
Category:Songs written by Mattias Larsson
Category:Songs written by Max Martin
Category:Songs written by Robin Fredriksson
Category:Songs written by Selena Gomez
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tomekkorbak/pile-curse-small
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Wikipedia (en)
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Wednesday, July 31, 2013
Part 10 - Signs of Horus Worship - DC and HORUS Whores in the Capital
A few days ago I posted a link to a news article (to the Notable Stuff section of this blog's side bar) about the US House of Representatives and the accepted level of corruption that goes without general acknowledgement. The members of the House are as harlots, selling themselves in the marketplace, so I retitled the link more appropriately to, House of Representatives = wHORes
I have further noted how the acronym HORUS appears in their title, only very minimally scrambled. Their anal eye of Horus and Capital Dome brand imagery is the perfect complement. House of Representatives, United States = HORUS.
I've written on occasion about how the Capital Dome as the womb of Isis is mating very literally, by ceremonial magick, with the Washington Monument, the obelisk and phallus of Osiris. This ritual sex magick is for the manifestation of Horus in the earth, and it's in that very location where the HORUS is found, the House of Representatives, United States! This is operative and symbolic at the same time.
The representation of Capital Hill as the owl seen in any overhead view identifies that owl as another image of Horus. Call it the Amarucan Eagle and you'll have the equation.
These features are evidence of the worship of Horus and represent the modern expression of the ancient Egyptian magick.
So, sometimes the name of the sun god is concealed as an acronym, sometimes it's in word symbols like “studio,” spelled out openly in iPhone operating systems (iOS), and sometimes it's just reversed. SUROH = HORUS.
The designation of where the HoR, US is located, the District of Columbia, is another sign of Horus worship, with the shorthand DC expressing it very simply. With DC representing the 4th and 3rd letters of the alphabet, the reference to the esoteric Pythagorean triple 3.4.5 should by now be quickly recognized. DC signals the union of Isis and Osiris that produces Horus.
Washington DC is the more complete expression that identifies Washington as the Horus identity, and the underside of the Capital Dome provides a witness to that in Brumidi's scene of the Apotheosis of Washington. It's not George Washington or Hiram Abiff whose apotheosis is really in view. It's about the raising of Horus as the Beast in the concrete expression of the union of Osiris and Isis. More confirmation of the Washington identity appears in the Washington Monument. This is the phallus of Osiris, so Washington represents the resurrecting Osiris manifesting as Horus. The dimensions of the Monument are telling. The 555 is the Horus number 5 repeating the number of resurrection, 3 times. The 666 identifies it with the beast and his mark. The pyramid capstone expresses the esoteric 3.4.5 solution to the 47th Problem of Euclid. Most folks will dismiss this collection of observed facts as following from mythical and figurative artistic expressions, but watch and see what comes of it.
DC is leveraged by DC Comics, responsible for Superman and the TV series Arrow.
One of their fictional goddess heroines is branded with the winged disk, which I've written about numerous times. See Wonder Woman as Isis with a golden Code 33 symbol.
DC Shoes is a pretty major DC brand. The seven pointed star is what I believe refers to Apollo as Alcyone of the Pleiades in Taurus. The Isis feminine appears in the vesica piscis-like intersection. Code 33 is signaled in the outline of the framing top and bottom. I believe the opened D imparts magickal balancing. The registered trademark signals Harmerty as matching to the oval Eye of Horus produced in the union of Osiris-3-C and Isis-4-D.
Call of Duty is a CD, equivalent to the DC. It's got the union Osiris and Isis production of Horus with evident Duty-as-doody metaphor, as exploited in Disney's Wreck-It Ralph. The MW is Code 33, with both characters being of the rotated numeral 3 kind.
The DC is more subtly leveraged in this ad for Bethel College. Spirited Connections. You get what the spirited connection really is here, right? D union C. Bethel - the house of God. That's Horus, folks. That's their brand identity. Read it for yourself.
2 comments:
Thanks Jena. Your suggestion of a possible connection between the body's energy centers and the color/shapes of the candy on candy crush seems pretty reasonable. I can't say I have any particular insight into what was intended or accomplished there. http://s3.amazonaws.com/rapgenius/chakra_img.png
every man from nimrod to George Washington had an eagle like Hitler . every one of these men were gay = harlot riding the beast. Hitler patterned his army after Alexander the great a gay man !!!!!! the harlot has been reviled the time is very short.
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* Policy for Comments
With regard to 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 and in the interest of honoring our Lord with propriety in this online assembly of saints, only comments that are submitted by those who identify themselves clearly as males will be considered for publication.
If you would like to communicate personally we can be reached at our gmail addresses. Bob (theopenscroll@)Aaron (theultimateplan@)
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tomekkorbak/pile-curse-small
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Pile-CC
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68684b4a0e6a11e3a9ce22000a9e02ef_7.jpg
Alabama will honor former coach, player and athletic director Mal Moore with this decal on the back of its helmets throughout the 2013 season. (Photo courtesy of UA athletics)
--
, Alabama has unveiled the decal it will place on the back of its helmets throughout the 2013 season to honor former player, coach and athletic director
Mal Moore
.
The university released a photo of the sticker on its
.
With a white sticker as the background, the decal simply says "Mal" with Alabama's script A placed in the middle.
Moore passed away in late March at the age of 73.
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tomekkorbak/pile-curse-small
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OpenWebText2
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Q:
How do I add a reference in fsharpi that has a version and public key in Mono
The following #r command will execute fine on Windows
#r "System, Version=4.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b77a5c561934e089"
On Osx with Mono 3.0.6 it cant find the file even though the file is in the search path.
Im guessing that this might be to do with delay signing in Mono, can anyone confirm this or know what the best work arounds are?
A:
Currently The #r reference with a fully qualified name is not supported in Mono.
There are areas in the F# code that check for the presence of Mono and revert to file only loading of references. This was due to limitations in xbuild support at the time of writing.
Now that xbuild is more mature hopefully this can be addressed.
Thanks to Don Syme for pointing me to this area
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tomekkorbak/pile-curse-small
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StackExchange
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Q:
Copy and paste commands with WPF buttons
I have created a toolbar that has buttons.
Of the buttons 3 of them are cut copy and paste. I set the command of each of those buttons to cut copy and paste on the properties but when I go run the program none of the buttons are even clickable. Are they disabled I'm guessing? I'm trying to copy and paste from textbox to textbox in a tabcontrol. Any help is appreciated.
<Style TargetType="{x:Type Button}" x:Key="textBoxCommands">
<Setter Property="Content"
Value="{Binding RelativeSource={RelativeSource Self},
Path=Command.Text}" />
<Setter Property="CommandTarget"
Value="{Binding ElementName=textBox}" />
</Style>
<Button x:Name="btnCut"
Click="btnCut_Click">
<Image Source="Icons/Cut.png" ToolTip="Cut" />
</Button>
<Button x:Name="btnCopy"
Click="btnCopy_Click"
Command="ApplicationCommands.Copy"
Style="{StaticResource textBoxCommands}">
<Image Source="Icons/Copy.png" ToolTip="Copy" />
</Button>
<Button x:Name="btnPaste"
Click="btnPaste_Click"
Command="ApplicationCommands.Paste"
Style="{StaticResource textBoxCommands}" >
<Image Source="Icons/Paste.png" ToolTip="Paste" />
</Button>
A:
You can’t use command this way! The Command (in the way you use it) should be inside a Menu or Toolbar.
By the way, you don’t need those click event handler since you are going to use Commands!
I recommend you to try add DelegateCommand to the ViewModel and let that delegate call ApplicationCommads.
I highly recommend you to read this http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/dd419663.aspx
But as a quick solution for you try the following (important: remember that you need to have some text selected in your TextBox then Copy and Cut will be enabled):
<StackPanel HorizontalAlignment="Left" VerticalAlignment="Top">
<ToolBar>
<Button Content="Cut" Command="ApplicationCommands.Cut" Height="23" Width="75"/>
<Button Content="Copy" Command="ApplicationCommands.Copy" Height="23" Width="75"/>
<Button Content="Paste" Command="ApplicationCommands.Paste" Height="23" Width="75"/>
</ToolBar>
<TextBox Height="23" Name="textBox1" Width="120"/>
</StackPanel>
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tomekkorbak/pile-curse-small
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StackExchange
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a phase shift mask capable of enhancing the resolution of a transfer pattern by utilizing the interference action of a light by a phase shifter and a phase shift mask blank to be a material thereof, and more particularly to a halftone type phase shift mask and mask blank.
2. Description of the Related Art
As one of the examples of a super-resolution technique of photolithography in recent years, there raised a phase shift mask. In particular, since a halftone type phase shift mask can be subjected to a pattern processing comparatively easily during the fabrication of the mask, it has widely been used mainly for the formation of a contact hole. Furthermore, there has recently been progressed an application to a cyclic pattern and an isolated pattern such as a line and space (L & S) in a DRAM.
As shown in FIG. 27, the halftone type phase shift mask comprises, on a transparent substrate 2, at least a light transmitting section 7 and a halftone phase shifter section 5 having a light semi-transmitting property and a phase shift function and can be roughly divided into a monolayer type and a multilayer type in respect of the structure of the halftone phase shifter section 5. The monolayer type is currently a mainstream because of the easiness of a workability and the halftone phase shifter section is constituted by a monolayer film comprising MoSiN or MoSiON in most cases. On the other hand, in the multilayer type, the halftone phase shifter section is constituted by a combination of a layer for mainly controlling a transmittance and a layer for mainly controlling a phase shift amount, and it is possible to independently control a spectral characteristic represented by the transmittance and the phase shift amount (phase angle).
On the other hand, it can be expected that the wavelength of an exposure light source (the wavelength of an exposed light) will be reduced from an existing KrF excimer laser (248 nm) to an ArF excimer laser (193 nm), and furthermore, to an F2 excimer laser (157 nm) with the microfabrication of an LSI pattern in the future. With such a reduction in the wavelength of the exposure light source, the range of choice of the material of the halftone phase shifter section to satisfy a predetermined transmittance and phase shift amount tends to be reduced. With the reduction in the wavelength of the exposure light source, moreover, a material having a high light transmitting property is required at a conventional wavelength. As a result, there is a problem in that an etching selectivity with a quartz substrate is reduced in patterning. A multilayer type (two-layer film) halftone phase shifter has advantages that a phase difference and a transmittance can be controlled by a combination of the two-layer films and a material can easily be selected and that such a material as to play a part in the etching stopper of an upper layer can be selected as a lower layer (JP-A-2001-174973). Therefore, the multilayer type (two-layer type) halftone phase shifter has been developed.
At the step of inspecting the pattern appearance of a mask which is fabricated, generally, an optical inspection is carried out. In general, the wavelength of an inspecting light is different from that of an exposed light and a light having a longer wavelength than the wavelength of the exposed light is usually selected as the wavelength of the inspecting light. More specifically, a light in the vicinity of a wavelength which is longer than the wavelength of the exposed light by one generation or more (a light in the vicinity of the conventional wavelength of the exposed light) is often used as the wavelength of the inspecting light. The reason is that the guarantee of precision in the inspection of the pattern appearance is stricter than the guarantee of precision in the transmittance of the exposed light. For a pattern appearance inspecting apparatus, a transmission type defect inspecting apparatus is used (for example, KLA300 series).
In order to obtain sufficient precision in a pattern appearance inspection in the phase shift mask, it is necessary to take a transmission contrast of the patterned halftone phase shifter section and the light transmitting section. For this reason, it is necessary to reduce the transmittance of the inspecting light in the halftone phase shifter section. More specifically, the film of the halftone phase shifter section is designed such that the light transmittance of an i ray having a wavelength of 364 nm to be the inspecting light is approximately 40% or less in the pattern appearance inspection utilizing the transmitted light of a KrF (a wavelength of 248 nm) compatible halftone type phase shift mask.
A technique for reducing a transmittance for the wavelength of an inspecting light has been described in JP-A-7-168343 gazette. This gazette has disclosed that a phase shifter section has a two-layer structure including a monolayer film (a phase adjusting layer) such as MoSiO or MoSiON which is known as a monolayer type halftone phase shifter and a transmitting film (a transmittance adjusting layer) having the small wavelength dependency of a transmittance in a combination with the monolayer film and a desirable transmittance can be thus obtained for both an exposed light (KrF excimer laser) and an inspecting light (488 nm).
With the progress of a reduction in the wavelength of the exposed light source described above, however, a halftone phase shifter having a higher light transmitting property than that at a conventional wavelength is required. Therefore, there is a problem in that a light transmittance for the wavelength of the inspecting light is increased. In such a material having a high light transmitting property, particularly, the rate of an increase in a transmittance for a change in a wavelength toward the long wavelength side tends to be increased. Consequently, it is much harder to reduce the light transmittance for the wavelength of the inspecting light down to a predetermined range.
More specifically, for example, it is necessary to further increase the transmittance of a phase difference adjusting layer at a conventional wavelength to cope with a reduction in the wavelength of the exposed light source down to an ArF excimer laser (193 nm), and furthermore, an F2 excimer laser (157 nm) in a mask having a two-layer type half tone phase shifter section comprising the phase difference adjusting layer and the transmittance adjusting layer. In the case in which the transmittance of the phase difference adjusting layer is thus increased, the transmittance for the inspecting light cannot be sufficiently reduced by the transmittance adjusting layer if priority is given to the maintenance (control) of the transmittance for the exposed light. If the thickness of the transmittance adjusting layer is increased to reduce the transmittance for the inspecting light, the transmittance for the exposed light cannot be ensured. In other words, there is a problem in that it is hard to adjust both the maintenance of the transmittance for the exposed light and the reduction in the transmittance for the inspecting light with the thickness of the transmittance adjusting layer.
On the other hand, for the mainstream of an existing halftone type phase shift mask, a film is designed in such a manner that the transmittance of the exposed light in the halftone phase shifter section approximates to 6%. A high transmittance has been required for a further increase in a resolution, and it is said that a transmittance of 15% or more will be required in the future. Also in that case, there is a problem in that the light transmittance of the halftone phase shifter section for the inspecting light is more than 40% and sufficient precision in an inspection cannot be obtained in the inspection of the appearance of a pattern utilizing a transmitted light in the same manner as in the above-mentioned case.
Furthermore, as for a photomask, a reflecting optical system has conventionally been used in a defect inspection. In addition, recently, the reflecting optical system as well as a conventional transmitting optical system have been utilized in the inspection of the pattern appearance of the mask. For this reason, a reflecting contrast of a light semi-transmitting section and a substrate at the wavelength of the light source of an apparatus has been required for obtaining a sufficient inspection sensitivity.
Furthermore, in the case in which a halftone type phase shift mask of a so-called tritone type having a light transmitting section, a light semi-transmitting section and a shielding section provided on the light semi-transmitting section is to be inspected, a reflecting contrast is required for each of the light transmitting section/the light semi-transmitting section, the light semi-transmitting section/the shielding section, and the light transmitting section/the shielding section. More specifically, R1<R2<R3 is required, wherein light reflectances at the wavelengths of light sources in the light transmitting section, the light semi-transmitting section and the shielding section are represented by R1, R2 and R3, respectively.
In order to detect a small defect having a size of 0.1 μm or less and a finer pattern, a wavelength has been reduced from an i-ray (365 nm) to the vicinity of 200 to 300 nm to be a DUV (deep ultraviolet) region in the light source of an inspecting apparatus. The present time is in a transition period. Therefore, it is desirable that a mask and a mask blank should have an optical characteristic corresponding to both inspecting apparatuses of an i-ray light source and a DUV light source. For the DUV light source, 266 nm and 257 nm are being investigated.
In a two-layer halftone type phase shift mask comprising a transmittance adjusting layer and a phase adjusting layer, a light reflectance fluctuates greatly within a range including the wavelength described above. For this reason, there is a problem in that a sufficient reflecting characteristic cannot be obtained at an inspection wavelength (a DUV wavelength) even if it can be obtained at another inspection wavelength (for example, an i-ray wavelength). Consequently, the design of a halftone film is to be changed corresponding to the wavelength of the light source of the inspecting apparatus, which imposes a great burden on development.
Moreover, it is a matter of course that a transmittance and a phase shift amount are adjusted to have desirable values for an exposed light having a short wavelength such as an ArF excimer laser (193 nm) or an F2 excimer laser (157 nm), and it is preferable that a reflectance at the wavelength of the exposed light should also be somewhat low.
For an item required for a photomask in the next generation, the wavelength of an exposed light is to be reduced in respect of an optical characteristic, and furthermore, quality is to be enhanced, that is, defects and foreign substances are to be lessened. For this purpose, it is essential that a system for inspecting a photomask and a photomask blank should be maintained.
In the defect and foreign substance inspection for the photomask and the photomask blank, an optical type inspecting apparatus is mainly used. In general, the light source of the inspecting apparatus uses a light having a longer wavelength than that of the wavelength of an exposed light. Examples of a defect inspecting apparatus for the photomask blank include a mask blank defect inspecting apparatus M-1320 manufactured by Laser Tech Co., Ltd., and the light source of an inspecting apparatus represented by the same apparatus mainly has a wavelength of 488 nm. In order to maintain precision in the defect and foreign substance inspection for the photomask and the photomask blank, accordingly, it is necessary to set a transmittance and a reflectance for an inspecting light within a certain range.
In a two-layer type halftone phase shift mask blank comprising a transmittance adjusting layer and a phase adjusting layer according to the conventional art, however, there is a problem in that the wavelength dependency of a reflectance is very great and a transmittance and a reflectance for an inspecting light do not satisfy the range by only the control of a transmittance and a reflectance for an exposure wavelength in some cases. For example, the minimum value of a fluctuation in the reflectance for a change in a wavelength reaches an inspection wavelength to be used for the defect inspection of the mask blank. As a result, the reflectance for the inspection wavelength is too low to recognize the reflection intensity of a clean mask blank surface (on which a foreign substance is not present) so that the defect inspection cannot be carried out.
In addition, a light source having the same wavelength is not always used in an apparatus for inspecting the photomask and an apparatus for inspecting the photomask blank. In the inspection for the photomask, furthermore, different light sources are used in an inspection for the defect of the shape of a pattern and an inspection for a foreign substance and a defect in some cases. Under present situations, there are inspecting apparatuses using light sources having wavelengths 364 nm, 266 nm and 257 nm in the inspection for the shape of the pattern of the photomask. On the other hand, light sources having wavelengths of 364 nm and 488 nm are mainstream in an inspection for the foreign substance of the photomask, and the light source having the wavelength of 488 nm is used in most of the defect and foreign substance inspections for the photomask blank. Such a difference is made by a variation in the developing speed of each inspecting apparatus and a period for introducing an apparatus user or a difference in the type and range of a defect and a foreign substance to be objects between the photomask and the photomask blank. Therefore, a transmittance and a reflectance for the inspecting lights of the photomask and the photomask blank are to be adjusted corresponding to various wavelengths. It is hard to fabricate the photomask blank and the photomask in the conventional art. There is caused a situation in which an optical characteristic for the inspecting light having the wavelength of 488 nm is not satisfied if the adjustment is carried out to have an optical characteristic to satisfy the inspecting light having the wavelength of 364 nm, for example.
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An in vitro wound healing model for evaluation of dermal substitutes.
Reepithelialization of skin wounds is essential to restore barrier function and prevent infection. This process requires coordination of keratinocyte proliferation, migration, and differentiation, which may be impeded by various extrinsic and host-dependent factors. Deep, full-thickness wounds, e.g., burns, are often grafted with dermal matrices before transplantation of split-skin grafts. These dermal matrices need to be integrated in the host skin and serve as a substrate for neoepidermis formation. Systematic preclinical analysis of keratinocyte migration on established and experimental matrices has been hampered by the lack of suitable in vitro model systems. Here, we developed an in vitro full-thickness wound healing model in tissue-engineered human skin that allowed analysis of the reepithelialization process across different grafted dermal substitutes. We observed strong differences between porous and nonporous matrices, the latter being superior for reepithelialization. This finding was corroborated in rodent wound healing models. The model was optimized using lentivirus-transduced keratinocytes expressing enhanced green fluorescent protein and by the addition of human blood, which accelerated keratinocyte migration underneath the clot. Our model shows great potential for preclinical evaluation of tissue-engineered dermal substitutes in a medium-throughput format, thereby obviating the use of large numbers of experimental animals.
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Category Archives: Thoughts
The thing is, I’m finally back to reading again which is a great thing. And I often want to discuss what I read with people – especially aspects in what I am reading such as racism, ableism, classism, homophobia, transphobia, misogyny, and etc. I want to have these conversations as part of my desire to see an improved publishing world. But I also have gotten out of the habit of writing about books, and am feeling like I don’t have the language / education / background necessary to write these posts and have these discussions.
I’ve started posting some thoughts on what I’m reading, and hopefully some day I will be able to discuss in the way that I would really like to.
After my post the other day, and completing Alberto Manguel’s The Traveler, The Tower, and the Worm: The Reader as Metaphor (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2013), I wanted to talk ramble a bit more about the quote I highlighted:
But if we are gregarious animals who must follow the dictates of society, we are nevertheless individuals who learn about the world by reimagining it, by putting words to it, by reenacting through those words our experience.
As I commented last post: what does it mean that we ignore the experiences of so many? What do we learn, or not learn, by not putting those experiences to words?
Previously I was talking specifically about rape in literature, but there are implications much more broadly. There is no such thing as true representation in literature. It isn’t just sexual assault that gets stereotyped and misrepresented in literature, when it is discussed at all. We also see a lack of true diversity around race, sexuality, gender, nationality, religion, and more in our popular literature.
Along the same vein, another book I read recently asks us to consider more carefully what does get published. In Do Muslim Women Need Saving? (Harvard University Press, 2013), Lila Abu-Lughod talks about the international human rights regime and the ways in which it interacts with Muslim women. Among other themes and discussions, she spends one chapter picking apart the popular literature that exists around Muslim women. This literature, she contends, falls mainly into two categories:
The human rights approach that gives us examples and numbers and statistics about the violence that women live with.
All of these books, Abu-Lughod contends, allow the reader – who is necessarily assumed to be ‘Western’ and non-Muslim – to feel good about their own situation and countries and imagine that they are superior and enlightened. By donating time or money, these books tell us, we can fix these “other” cultures which are so backwards and bring them to modernity. We don’t have to think critically about the same issues of violence and murder that happen in our own Western countries because they are individual cases, not cases stemming from cultural reasons. And we don’t have to think critically about factors causing the violence in these Muslim countries, because we can be assured they stem solely from the ‘backwards’ culture and religion.
(Note: This is not to say, the author makes clear, that these instances of abuse and violence aren’t true or that we shouldn’t care about them and work to end them. What she is saying is that we need to think critically about all of the causes of the injustice and violence instead of simply placing the blame with religion or culture.)
The language of women’s rights and Muslim-women-needing-saving-from-Islam simplify and exaggerate. The language also ignores all the other factors that lead to situations of violence and lack of autonomy. Politics, economics, religion, histories of colonialism, class inequality, developmental agency and government policies, violence and oppression especially state or war related, and more all work together to cause women’s oppression. Some of these issues were caused or are still caused in part by our own consumption habits and foreign policies.
As she says:
[…] honest self-reflection about how the privileges of elites or middle-class people might be connected to the persistence of devastating inequalities – whether on distant shores or in our backyards – is essential to any ethical stance toward women’s human rights. (page 225)
What she points out in the section on the literature, which I thought was especially interesting, was that we need to think critically about why certain types of books are published and become popular. The Muslim pulp novels about women who escaped from brutal situations became especially prevalent and popular around the same time as the justifications were being made for the war on terror. These books and ideas often go hand in hand with the religious Right, Christianity, and justifications for going to war. They all let us think that the only place left to improve the rights of women is in other countries, and that war and occupation is the way towards that.
(Random side note: due to the fact that I recently alphabetized my non-fiction shelf, Abu-Lughod’s book now has to sit shelved unhappily next to Ayan Hirsi Ali…)
Stereotypes and prejudices exist in literature, sometimes purposely and sometimes not. What gets published is determined in large part by a handful of large companies. What gets media attention is determined by the same groups as control the regular news media in most cases. When the argument in a book is too easy and is simply telling us to export our culture and ideals onto other peoples, we should stop and question whether we are truly getting the full picture.
Basically these two rambling rant-posts are my reminders to keep thinking critically about what I read, what is and is not included in each book or article that I read, and what I’m not able to read because it’s not been considered worth publishing.
I’m putting together a collage of sorts, and am looking for more excellently bookish quotes, or favorite quotes from books. I tend to forget to write down most of the quotes that I love while reading, so I don’t have all that many. I’d love to know what yours are to possibly add to my list.
Here are a number of mine:
I saw my life branching out before me like the green fig tree in the story. From the tip of every branch, like a fat purple fig, a wonderful future beckoned and winked. One fig was a husband and a happy home and children, and another fig was a famous poet and another fig was a brilliant professor, and another fig was Ee Gee, the amazing editor, and another fig was Europe and Africa and South America, and another fig was Constantin and Socrates and Attila and a pack of other lovers with queer names and offbeat professions, and another fig was an Olympic lady crew champion, and beyond and above these figs were many more figs I couldn’t quite make out. I saw myself sitting in the crotch of this fig tree, starving to death, just because I couldn’t make up my mind which of the figs I would choose. I wanted each and every one of them, but choosing one meant losing all the rest, and, as I sat there, unable to decide, the figs began to wrinkle and go black, and, one by one, they plopped to the ground at my feet.
—Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar
People who claim that they’re evil are usually no worse than the rest of us… It’s people who claim that they’re good, or any way better than the rest of us, that you have to be wary of.
—Gregory Maguire, Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West
For what good is freedom of expression if you lack the means to express yourself?
—Roy Peter Clark, The Glamour of Grammar: A Guide to the Magic and Mystery of Practical English
The relationship between book and reader is intimate, at best a kind of love affair, and first loves are famously tenacious. […] First love is a momentous step in our emotional education, and in many ways, it shapes us forever.
—Laura Miller, The Magician’s Book: A Sceptic’s Adventures in Narnia
“Choice” is sometimes not a choice at all. It is an outcome determined by the economic, physical, sociological, and political factors that surround women and move them toward the only action that allows them to survive at that point in their lives. Survival can sometimes be a woman’s act of staying alive, but it can also be her act of refusing to put what will become an impossible burden on her shoulders.
—Merle Hoffman, Intimate Wars: The Life and Times of the Woman Who Brought Abortion from the Back Alley to the Boardroom
I learned that this is what “at least” means: Move on. Get over it. Let’s not talk about it. It could be worse, so it must be better.
—Jennifer Gilbert, I Never Promised You a Goodie Bag: A Memoir of Life Through Events – the Ones You Plan and the Ones You Don’t
I wonder at how many of us, feeling unsafe and unprotected, either end up running far away from everything we know and love, or staying and simply going mad. I have decided today that neither option is more or less noble than the other. They are merely different ways of coping, and we each must cope as best we can.
— Shani Mootoo, Cereus Blooms at Night
It was in books that he first learnt of his invisibility. He searched for himself and his people in all the history books he read and discovered to his youthful astonishment that he didn’t exist.
—Ben Okri, Astonishing the Gods
There is a group of people with no positive illusions, who get closer to the truth about themselves, who have a more realistic perspective of their abilities, of how the future will pan out and of the amount of control they have over things. Philip Larkin described them as ‘the less deceived’. Psychiatrists call them clinically depressed.
—Ian Leslie, Born Liars: Why We Can’t Live Without Deceit
Stories are the wildest things of all, the monster rumbled. Stories chase and bite and hunt.
—Patrick Ness, A Monster Calls
i loved you on purpose
i was open on purpose
i still crave vulnerability & close talk
& i’m not even sorry bout you bein sorry
you can carry all the guilt & grime ya wanna
just dont give it to me
i cant use another sorry
next time
you should admit
you’re mean/ low-down/ trifflin/ & no count straight out
steada bein sorry all the time
enjoy bein yrself
— Ntozake Shange, For colored girls who have considered suicide / When the rainbow is enuf
If you want to love
Do so
To the ends of the earth
With no shortcuts
Do so
As the crow flies
— Veronique Tadjo, As the Crow Flies
Truth is relative, and there is always something missing in truth that prevents it from being perfect.
— Nawal El Saadawi, The Novel
Words could be magic, but not in the abracadabra way that Deshawn believed. The magic that came from lips could be as cruel as children and as erratic as a rubber ball ricocheting off concrete.
— Tayari Jones, Leaving Atlanta
I realized then that advice is easily given. How can one really know what another woman has to suffer, or the problems she has to deal with, if one hasn’t been through the same trauma oneself.
—Bharati Ray, Daughters: A Story of Five Generations
What about you – do you have particular favorites of your own? What are they? Please do share in the comments!
I use Grammarly for proofreading because rants aren’t always very well written, grammatically speaking, so a “second set of eyes” is always helpful.*
While I read a fair amount, I don’t consider myself truly well-read. There are too many books out there, and too many new books coming out on a regular basis, and I can read but a small number of them; and rarely do I choose the ‘cannon’ books or the best-sellers. That being said, in what reading I’ve done, I’ve become more and more aware of certain trends around rape in literature. In this regard, it seems that books featuring rape follow one of three different paths.
Stranger Rape, Done Well: This category of books contains such non-fiction as Lucky by Alice Sebold, Rape New York by Jana Leo, Jane Doe No More by M. William Phelps and Donna M. Palomba. It consists of such fiction as Rape: A Love Story by Joyce Carol Oates, Tender Morsels by Margo Lanagan. These books take rape seriously; they delve into the ramifications on the life of the survivor and those around her. They tackle head on a difficult subject. The act also generally takes place in a dark alley, by someone or some group not intimately known by the protagonist.
Stranger Rape, Done Poorly: In this category, we find authors in need of a dark twist, or an explanation for the heroine’s anger and hate, or perhaps just a dark and dangerous atmosphere. Rape here is an easy stand-in for ‘something that causes fear and a sense of danger’. Good job author, on taking the easy route instead of using any number of plot points and twists that happen to male protagonists in similar stories. As with the category I consider to be done well, this also generally occurs somewhere dark and scary where, come on, the protagonist shouldn’t really have been at that hour by herself etc.
Non-Stranger Rape: Are we sure this is an actual thing? According to most authors who feature this type of event, it’s not. Rape or sexual violence by a boyfriend, a husband, a potential love interest, is generally a way to further the romance. It is supposed to be read, I get the impression, as actually sexy and lovely. The protagonist, obviously, comes to the realization that she did want it, and that she actually loves this person.
Now, I know this is rather generalized based on the small sampling of books that I’ve read in my lifetime (a notable exception that springs to mind is Daughters Who Walk This Path by Yejide Kilanko). But it is still quite common for books to fall into categories 2 and 3. And even category 1, in many ways, can be problematic. You may not want to know why, but I will share anyway.
The most prevalent type of rape in literature is stranger rape, especially in non-fiction. This type of rape occurs the least frequently in real life. According to RAINN, 73% of sexual assaults are committed by someone known to the victim. 38% are friends or acquaintances. 28% are someone intimate. 11% involve a weapon of some kind. 84% involve physical force. Why is it that this type of rape is not addressed in non-fiction? Why can we still not acknowledge that it happens? Why are we so fixated on the idea that rape is rape only when it is a stranger in an alley? Why do we insist on silencing the other, much larger, group of survivors?
Related to this, why do we keep seeing authors use sexual assault as a point to further a relationship? If we’re going to discuss silencing survivors, here is a great way to do it. And lastly, it’s a slap in the face to be reading along and come across something so violent and painful and raw be used as a plot point: especially an unnecessary plot point.
I understand, really, I do. It is terrifying to think that all the things we’re told we can do – behaving properly, not walking alone after dark, avoiding that alley, not drinking too much, etc. – that none of these things will actually help. That in many cases, it’s the friend or partner or acquaintance whom you trusted, who was your ‘protection’ from walking alone at night. It’s terrifying to have to acknowledge that this narrative is a lie. It’s easier to go with it, to keep using the stranger danger as a plot point for fear and character growth, and pretend that is the world that we live in, that is the fear that we must try to avoid.
I just started reading Alberto Manguel’s The Traveler, The Tower, and the Worm: The Reader as Metaphor and in the introduction is a line that really struck me. On page 4 he says:
But if we are gregarious animals who must follow the dictates of society, we are nevertheless individuals who learn about the world by reimagining it, by putting words to it, by reenacting through those words our experience.
It makes me wonder: what does it mean that we ignore the experiences of so many? What do we learn, or not learn, by not putting those experiences to words?
*Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Grammarly, after having the opportunity to try their service out for myself, but all opinions and ideas within are clearly my own.
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Exempt development
A number of home improvements and minor developments may be carried out without approval and are known as 'Exempt Development'. Those that are permissible in relation to Heritage Items or within a Heritage Conservation Area are generally in the rear yard of the property and can include water tanks, access ramps, pergolas, and shade structures.
Exempt development can be undertaken if it satisfies the requirements under State Environment Planning Policy (Exempt and Complying Development Codes) 2008 (known as the 'Codes SEPP')
The various types of exempt development, plus the setbacks, size limitations and other criteria that apply can be found at NSW Planning website.
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Have a peek
5 Tips for Choosing the Perfect Lingerie Your Partner Will Love
Are you looking for something to spice things up in the bedroom. when it comes to lingerie the rule of thumb is less is more but we don’t mean that literally. If you are looking for something that will really knock his socks off then follow our simple guide to buying the perfect lingerie for him.
Simple Colours
When in doubt go for black or white. These shade will accentuate your figure shape and set the tone. Bright colours and skin tones are to be avoided. Try to avoid prints that can be distracting. In short you want to show off your figure so choose something sleek and simple when it comes to colours.
Fit
It can feel like you need to go for the littlest outfit you can get your hands on and try and cram everything inside it but you should avoid this train of thought. You might find you will spend the night readjusting yourself which is not what it is all about. Remember this golden rule: If it feels uncomfortable then it will look uncomfortable!
Keep it Simple
Try to avoid things that are difficult to take of because eventually you will want to take it off. you don’t want to kill the mood by having to break out the instruction manual so you are you partner can decipher how to unhook your bra.
Accessorise
Take your dressing up a notch. Remember a little bit of jewellery and some high heels will drive him wild. Its amazing how much of a difference a necklace will make. Plus when you wear that same necklace the next day He will be automatically thinking about what you have got on underneath.
Shape
Work with the shape of your body. Don’t try and be something that you are not. If you have an hourglass figure…great! Show it off. if you have a smaller Bust. Great! Find something which shows of those fantastic legs you have. If you feel comfortable and sexy in what you are wearing then trust us your partner will feel the exact sam way.
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How Conducting a Domain Reputation Check Can Improve Incident Response
Posted on December 9, 2019 by admin
Indicators of compromise (IoCs) are crucial elements of the incident response process. From identification and containment up to eradication and recovery, security teams need to be on the lookout for IoCs to detect the presence of a threat in real time. When so, responses to cybersecurity incidents are quicker, more effective, and less costly.
One key source of IoCs is domain reputation data, which is aggregated by using a wide range of factors. Domain Reputation API, for instance, allows performing a domain reputation check from which it derives a score from the following:
Using an algorithm that takes into account all of the abovementioned factors and hundreds of other parameters, Domain Reputation API returns a score for a domain, along with more information on the vulnerabilities detected. The scores range from 0 (highest risk) to 100 (lowest risk).
How Domain Reputation Data Improves Incident Response
Identify and Block Malicious Domains
Around 200,000 newly registered domains (NRDs) are recorded every day, many of which have ties to malvertising, spamming, and other cyber-attack avenues. Malvertising, for one, is used to lead unsuspecting users to pages that host exploit kits that pave the way for ransomware, spyware, and other malware into systems.
With millions of active domains — a good portion of which is malicious — security teams can find it beneficial to include domain reputation checks for websites their staff frequently visits.
Considering an example, imagine a scenario where an employee of an advertising agency searches for free video-editing software online and comes across this domain: youtube-self[.com] (warning: do not visit!).
When fed into Domain Reputation API, the domain is tagged malicious (at the time of writing) due to its low score and red flags including recent registration, its recently obtained SSL certificate, and the fact the domain name itself does not match the certificate.
Part of the incident response process is determining whether or not a domain flagged as malicious is a false positive. If the domain indeed represents a threat, the employee’s connection should be denied or conditionally resolved. It is also best to block the domain from being accessed by anyone else in the future to avoid compromise.
Determine the Specific Violations of a Domain
Security teams can check the violations or warnings associated with a domain to understand if it is a potential attack vector. With this knowledge, they can improve the rules set in their automated incident response systems, thereby strengthening their cybersecurity posture.
Identifying the specific violations or warnings detected on a domain is easy with Domain Reputation API. The 75 warnings that it returns include the following:
Domain status: The API warns if the domain’s status is unknown. It can thus be malicious, and so needs further scrutiny.
Registration date: Security teams can check if a domain has been recently registered or if its registration is about to expire or has expired. Note that cyber attackers often use NRDs to evade detection.
Place of registration: The tool can detect if the domain was registered in a free zone or an unexpected country. Some countries have very lax or even non-existent cybercrime laws, making them safe havens for criminals.
A and AAAA records: Domain Reputation API also checks the A (IPv4) and AAAA (IPv6) records of the domain. It can detect if nameservers have no A and AAAA records and are, therefore, not reachable via IPv4 and IPv6 protocols. If that’s the case, they may not be safe to access.
Redirects and links: The tool tells security teams if a domain contains redirects, links to .exe or .apk files, and scripts that open in new windows. The API also detects iframes. The presence of these can be indicative of malware hosting.
These are just a few of the domain reputation data that the API checks, giving security teams rich information that can better shape their incident response strategies. This data can help security operations centers (SOCs) determine if they are detecting ongoing targeted attacks.
Filter Email Senders Based on Domain Reputation Score
A domain reputation check performed by Domain Reputation API also includes checking data on MX servers and their status. With the help of other data feeds, the tool can check if an associated MX server is blacklisted by any reputable sites. The API also detects (through a reverse DNS search) if the MX server resolves to an IP address that differs from that indicated in its original A record.
SOCs can then filter out and reject emails sent from MX servers with high-risk scores, saving employees from the temptation of opening a malicious email. They can also use the MX server data to improve their incident response process by implementing additional rules that enhance existing ones.
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Moyoco Anno was one of the special guests at New York Comic Con, and MTV Geek was fortunate to get a few minutes to sit down and talk to her about her characters, her readers, and her sources of inspiration.
Only a handful of Anno's works have been published in English, but each one is a standout: The romantic comedy "Happy Mania"; "Flowers and Bees," the story of a man who goes to ridiculous lengths in his pursuit of beauty; "Sugar Sugar Rune," a children's manga about two young witches in search of magic jewels; and "Sakuran," a stunning story of life in an Edo-era brothel (and the source for the movie of the same name). Her Hataraki Man, the story of a workaholic woman, has also made waves in Japan because of its biting commentary on Japanese work life.
MTV Geek: Which of your works do you wish your fans were more familiar with?
Moyoco Anno: There are several. There is a child's manga called "Tundra Blue Ice," it's a story of two children who are living together, and it's almost like a children's book. It's told in pictures. And there's another one called "Ochibi-san."
MTV Geek: That one is going on now [in Japan]?
Moyoco Anno: Yes.
MTV Geek: When I was reading "Sugar Sugar Rune," I felt like it read almost like folk tales. That made me wonder what sort of stories you grew up reading—folk stories, manga, something else?
MTV Geek: The English editions of those Green and Blue Fairy Tale books had beautiful pictures. Did your books have those pictures?
Moyoco Anno: No, not mine. In the Japanese ones, the pictures were pretty sad and when I saw the original versions as an adult, I thought, "Oh, the pictures were so beautiful!" I love children's books with Arthur Rackham's drawings like "Alice in Wonderland." I actually sought them out.
MTV Geek: In your adult manga, you have very strong characters, especially very strong women. Which of your characters reflects your own personality or your own experiences?
Moyoco Anno: I guess they all in a way maybe reflect my personality and experience, but the closest to me is Komatsu-kun from "Flowers and Bees."
MTV Geek: You write about fashion, and you are often critical of fashion in your manga. How do you manage to live in both worlds?
Moyoco Anno: Actually, for fashion, even when I write the fashion articles, I believe and I express that to be too trapped by fashion is not fashionable. In comics I don't actually focus so much on fashion for fashion's sake but what I am trying to do is to express character accurately. I look at something like the length of a blouse, the length of a pair of pants, and I think, what would this character wear? But I do look at fashion because I draw a range of characters ranging from the very fashionable to the not fashionable at all, and to draw the characters that are fashionable I do have to understand fashion, things like brand names.
MTV Geek: Have you ever heard from a reader that a story of yours touched her (or him) in a particular way?
Moyoco Anno: I received a surprising number of letters and emails from people about "Hataraki Man." There are people, men and women, who said "I am working in a similar situation, I face this kind of situation all the time, and reading your comic really gave me energy, it really encouraged me." And I have also gotten letters from people who were working desperately hard, and trying, and actually letters from people who said, "I am writing to you from the hospital because I worked and worked and worked and it just did me in."
And that letter, the one that said "I am writing from the hospital," that became part of one of the stories in "Hataraki Man."
When I wrote "Happy Mania,"> I was writing the character as a cautionary tale, as an example of someone you should not be like, and I got lots of letters saying "Yay, she's just like me!" or "I'm exactly like Kayoko Shigeta." My message did not get through, and I was quite disappointed.
MTV Geek: Why did you decide to write "Sugar Sugar Rune"? Why did you think it would be interesting to write a manga for children?
Moyoco Anno: I wrote "Sugar Sugar Rune" for "Nakayoshi," which is a comics magazine for girls from six to about 12. I noticed that comics for this age group now are almost all romantic. When I was that age, I read a lot of manga, there were different types of manga, and I was very inspired. It led me to want to become a manga artist. It really made me think of so many things, it was so aspirational, in ways. I didn't really see comics that were like that any more, and I thought, "I would really like to write something that gives people that same feeling I had as a child." All the other series I am writing were series that magazines approached me and asked me to write for them, but this one, I went up to them and said "I really want to write a children's comic."
Also, with "Nakayoshi" they are all stories for children, but I noticed that at the time all the artists were kind of childish people writing for children. I think there wasn't a lot of thought behind some of the work and so they would draw or write sexual things in a way that I didn't think was really appropriate for the story or that audience. I have sex in my works for adult people, that is fine but I wanted to write as an adult for children without having any of that at all.
It had been a while since I read "Nakayoshi," and I picked up an issue and I was stunned.
MTV Geek: And now I want to ask the same question about a very different book, "Sakuran." Again, why were you interested in a historical manga?
Moyoco Anno: To a certain extent I was writing series and I was tailoring them to that magazine, so for "Morning" [Magazine], OK, [I will write about] working people. But I came to a point where I thought OK, I am going to write something I really want to write. I am interested in kimono, I don't necessarily know a ton, but I like the Edo period, and I knew it would involve research. And also I felt that the lives of women had as prostitutes during the Edo period and my life as a manga artist had certain parallels.
MTV Geek: How so?
Moyoco Anno: Magazines that do comics serials, there is fierce competition [among artists] to get in them, but the flip side is that the sales of these magazines really depends on the big stars, and that is a parallel to the teahouse system in the Edo period.
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tomekkorbak/pile-curse-small
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Pile-CC
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Stany Delayre
Stany Delayre (born 26 October 1987 in Bergerac) is a French rower. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, he competed with Jérémie Azou in the men's lightweight double sculls, finishing in 4th place. On home water, he and Azou won the 2015 World Championship in that event. Their team also won the silver medal at the 2014 World Championships, and won the 2013, 2014 and 2015 European Championships. In 2009, Delayre was part of the French men's lightweight quadruple sculls time at the World Championships. He was also part of the French under-23s men's lightweight quadruple sculls at the 2006 and 2007 Junior World Rowing Championships.
Delayre was not picked for the French team at the 2016 Olympics, after he was beaten by the younger rower Pierre Houin in the individual sculls at the French national trials.
References
External links
Category:1987 births
Category:Living people
Category:French male rowers
Category:People from Bergerac, Dordogne
Category:Rowers at the 2012 Summer Olympics
Category:Olympic rowers of France
Category:World Rowing Championships medalists for France
Category:Sportspeople from Dordogne
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tomekkorbak/pile-curse-small
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Wikipedia (en)
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---
abstract: 'The aim of this paper is to provide and prove the most general Cauchy integral formula for slice regular functions and for $C^1$ functions on a real alternative \*-algebra. Slice regular functions represent a generalization of the classical concept of holomorphic [function]{} of a complex variable in the noncommutative and nonassociative settings. As an application, we obtain two kinds of local series expansion for slice regular functions.'
address:
- |
Dipartimento di Matematica\
Università di Trento\
Via Sommarive 14\
38123 Trento\
Italy
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Dipartimento di Matematica\
Università di Trento\
Via Sommarive 14\
38123 Trento\
Italy
- |
Dipartimento di Scienze Matematiche\
Politecnico di Torino\
Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24\
10129 Torino\
Italy
author:
- Riccardo Ghiloni
- Alessandro Perotti
- Vincenzo Recupero
title: Noncommutative Cauchy integral formula
---
[^1]
Introduction
============
One of the main tasks in noncommutative complex analysis is the determination of the class of functions admitting a local power series expansion at every point of their domain of definition.
Let ${\mathbb{A}}$ denote the noncommutative structure we are working with: it may be, for instance, the skew field [${\mathbb{H}}$]{} of quaternions, the nonassociative [division algebra]{} ${\mathbb{O}}$ of octonions, the Clifford algebras ${\mathbb{R}}_{p,q}$, or any real alternative \*-algebra. The noncommutative setting requires a distinction between polynomials with left and right coefficients in ${\mathbb{A}}$. If we consider, for instance, coefficients on the right of the indeterminate $x$ (the left case yields an analogous theory), then it is well known that the proper way to perform the multiplication consists in imposing commutativity of $x$ with the coefficients (cf. [@Lam91]). Thus if $p(x) = \sum_n x^n c_n$ and $q(x) = \sum_n x^n d_n$, then their product is defined by $$\label{intro:p*q}
(p*q)(x) := \sum_{n}x^n\bigg(\sum_{k+h=n} c_k d_h\bigg).$$ Note that this product is different from the pointwise product of $p$ and $q$, even if one of the two polynomials is constant: indeed if $p(x) = c_0$ the pointwise product is $p(x)q(x) = \sum_n c_0(x^n d_n)$, while $(p*q)(x) = \sum_n x^n(c_0d_n)$. If instead $q(x) = d_0$ and $p(x) = \sum_n x^n c_n$, then $p(x)q(x) = \sum_n (x^nc_n)d_0$ and $(p*q)(x) = \sum_n x^n(c_n d_0)$.
The problem of the power series representation was solved in the quaternionic case in [@GenSto12]: the class of functions admitting a power series expansion is given by the *slice regular* functions. The theory of slice regularity on the quaternionic space was introduced in [@GenStr06; @GenStr07] (see also [@GenStoStr13]), and then it was [extended]{} to Clifford algebras [and octonions in]{} [@ColSabStr09; @GeStRocky], and to [any real alternative]{} \*-algebras in [@GhiPer11pr; @GhiPer11].
The notion of slice regular function generalizes the classical concept of holomorphic function of a complex variable. Let us briefly describe this notion in the simpler case [in which]{} ${\mathbb{A}}$ is ${\mathbb{H}}$ or ${\mathbb{O}}$. Let ${\mathbb{S}}$ be the subset of square roots of $-1$ and, for each $J \in {\mathbb{S}}$, let ${\mathbb{C}}_J$ be the plane generated by $1$ and $J$. Observe that each ${\mathbb{C}}_J$ is a copy of the complex plane. The quaternions and the octonions have a “slice complex” nature, described by the following two properties: ${\mathbb{A}}=\bigcup_{J \in {\mathbb{S}}}{\mathbb{C}}_J$ and ${\mathbb{C}}_J\cap {\mathbb{C}}_K={\mathbb{R}}$ for every $J,K \in {\mathbb{S}}$ with $J \neq \pm K$. Let $D$ be an open subset of ${\mathbb{C}}$ invariant under complex conjugation and let ${\Omega}_D=\bigcup_{J \in {\mathbb{S}}}D_J$, where $D_J:=\{\rho+\sigma J \in {\mathbb{C}}_J \, : \, \rho,\sigma \in {\mathbb{R}}, \rho+\sigma i \in D\}$. A function $f:{\Omega}_D {\longrightarrow}{\mathbb{A}}$ of class $C^1$ is called *slice regular* if, for every $J \in {\mathbb{S}}$, its restriction $f_J$ to $D_J$ is holomorphic with respect to the complex structures on $D_J$ and [on]{} ${\mathbb{A}}$ defined by the left multiplication by $J$, i.e. if $\partial f_J/\partial \rho+J \, \partial f_J/\partial \sigma=0$ on $D_J$. The precise definition of slice regular functions in the most general setting of [real alternative]{} \*-algebras is recalled in Section \[S:Preliminaries\] below.
One of the main achievements of the theory of slice regular functions is a Cauchy-type integral formula (see [@GenStr07; @ColGenSab10; @GhiPer11; @ColSabStr11Mich; @ColSab11JMAA]), which has many consequences also in noncommutative functional analysis (cf. [@ColSabStr08; @ColSabStr11; @ColSab11; @GhiMorPer13; @GhiRec14]). It generalizes two classical formulas, the Cauchy integral formula for holomorphic functions and its extension to $C^1$ functions, sometimes called Cauchy–Pompeiu formula. Let us show it again in the case ${\mathbb{A}}= {\mathbb{H}}$ or ${\mathbb{A}}= {\mathbb{O}}$. If $D$ is bounded, its boundary is piecewise of class $C^1$, and $f$ is of class $C^1$ on the closure of ${\Omega}_D$ in ${\mathbb{A}}$, then for every $J \in {\mathbb{S}}$ it holds: $$\label{intro:cauchy formula}
f(x) =
\frac{1}{2\pi} \int_{\partial D_J} C_y(x) \, J^{-1} \operatorname{d \! \hspace{0.2ex}}y \ f(y) -
\frac{1}{2\pi} \int_{D_J} C_y(x) \, J^{-1} \operatorname{d \! \hspace{0.2ex}}\overline y \wedge \operatorname{d \! \hspace{0.2ex}}y\ \frac{\partial f}{\partial \overline{y}}(y)
\quad \forall x \in D_J,$$ where the function $C_y$ denotes the *(noncommutative) Cauchy kernel* defined by $$C_y(x) := (x^2 - 2\operatorname{Re}(y) x + |y|^2)^{-1}(\overline{y}-x).$$ For ${\mathbb{A}}={\mathbb{H}}$, the associativity allows to prove that formula holds for all $x\in\Omega_D$. The two integrals in are defined in a natural way: $$\int_{\partial D_J} C_y(x) \, J^{-1} \operatorname{d \! \hspace{0.2ex}}y \ f(y) :=
\int_0^1 C_{\alpha(t)}(x) \, J^{-1} \alpha'(t) \ f(\alpha(t)) \operatorname{d \! \hspace{0.2ex}}t$$ and $$\int_{D_J} C_y(x) \, J^{-1} \operatorname{d \! \hspace{0.2ex}}\overline{y} \wedge \operatorname{d \! \hspace{0.2ex}}y\ \frac{\partial f}{\partial \overline{y}}(y) :=
2\int_{D_J} C_{\rho + \sigma J}(x) \, \frac{\partial f}{\partial \overline{y}}(\rho + \sigma J) \operatorname{d \! \hspace{0.2ex}}\rho \operatorname{d \! \hspace{0.2ex}}\sigma,$$ $\alpha : [0,1] {\rightarrow}{\mathbb{C}}_J$ being a Jordan curve parametrizing $\partial D_J$, and $(\rho,\sigma)$ being the real coordinates in ${\mathbb{C}}_J$. As usual $\partial f/\partial \overline{y} := \frac{1}{2}(\partial f_J/\partial \rho + J\partial f_J/\partial \sigma)$ and the fact that the differential $\operatorname{d \! \hspace{0.2ex}}y$ appears on the left of $f(y)$ depends on the noncommutativity of ${\mathbb{A}}$. Notice that, if $x$ and $y$ belong to the same ${\mathbb{C}}_J$, and [hence]{} commute, then it turns out that $C_y(x)=(y-x)^{-1}$ and we find again the form of the classical Cauchy [formula]{} for holomorphic functions.
A drawback of formula is that it is not a representation formula: indeed in the nonassociative case it holds for $x \in D_J \subseteq {\mathbb{C}}_J$ and not [on]{} the whole domain $\Omega_D$. An elementary example is the one in which $A={\mathbb{O}}$, $D$ is the open disk of ${\mathbb{C}}$ centered at the origin with radius $2$, $f(x):=xi$ and $J:=(i+j)/\sqrt{2}$, where $\{1,i,j,ij,k,ik,jk,k(ij)\}$ is the canonical basis of ${\mathbb{O}}$. In fact, in this case, $k \in {\Omega}_D$ and $f(k)=ki$, but the right hand side of formula gives a different value in $x=k$, namely $(ki+kj)/2$.
The aim of the present paper is to find a Cauchy integral formula, proved in Theorem \[T:Cauchy formula\] for general real alternative $^*$-algebras ${\mathbb{A}}$, allowing to represent the values $f(x)$ when $x$ belongs to the whole domain $\Omega_D$ of $f$. In order to do this, we exploit the notion of *slice product* between two slice regular functions $f$ and $g$, which is recalled in Definition \[D:slice product\] below and will be denoted simply by $f \cdot g$. This product is the natural generalization to functions of the product of polynomials and allows us to provide the following Cauchy integral representation formula: $$\begin{aligned}
\label{intro:general cauchy formula}
f(x)
& = \frac{1}{2\pi} \int_{\partial D_J} \left[ C_y \cdot \left( J^{-1} \operatorname{d \! \hspace{0.2ex}}y \ f(y) \right) \right](x) -
\frac{1}{2\pi} \int_{D_J}
\Big[ C_y \cdot \Big( J^{-1} \operatorname{d \! \hspace{0.2ex}}\overline y \wedge \operatorname{d \! \hspace{0.2ex}}y\ \frac{\partial f}{\partial \overline{y}}(y) \Big) \Big](x) \end{aligned}$$ holding [for every $J \in {\mathbb{S}}$ and]{} *for every $x \in \Omega_D$*, where the parentheses are omitted in the term $J^{-1} \operatorname{d \! \hspace{0.2ex}}y \, f(y)$, because this product is proved to be associative (cf. Remark \[remark31\](iii)). Observe that with respect to $x$ the slice product in the integrand function of is computed in the variable $x$ between the function $C_y$ and the constant functions $J^{-1} \operatorname{d \! \hspace{0.2ex}}y \, f(y)$ and $ J^{-1} \operatorname{d \! \hspace{0.2ex}}\overline y \wedge \operatorname{d \! \hspace{0.2ex}}y\ \frac{\partial f}{\partial \overline{y}}(y)$, $y$ being the integration variable. Therefore, denoting by $\cdot_x$ the slice product performed with respect to the variable $x$, we [can rewrite formula in the following more explicit way:]{} $$\begin{gathered}
f(x)
= \frac{1}{2\pi} \int_{\partial D_J} C_y(x) \cdot_x \, \left( J^{-1} \operatorname{d \! \hspace{0.2ex}}y \ f(y) \right) -
\frac{1}{2\pi} \int_{D_J} C_y(x) \cdot_x \, \Big( J^{-1} \operatorname{d \! \hspace{0.2ex}}\overline y \wedge \operatorname{d \! \hspace{0.2ex}}y\ \frac{\partial f}{\partial \overline{y}}(y) \Big)
\notag \\
:= \frac{1}{2\pi} \int_0^1 \left[ C_{\alpha(t)} \cdot \, \left( J^{-1} \alpha'(t) \ f(\alpha(t)) \right) \right](x) \operatorname{d \! \hspace{0.2ex}}t \\
\hfill-\frac{1}{\pi} \int_{D_J} \Big[ C_{\rho + \sigma J} \cdot \, \frac{\partial f}{\partial \overline{y}}{(\rho + \sigma J)} \Big](x) \, {\operatorname{d \! \hspace{0.2ex}}\rho \operatorname{d \! \hspace{0.2ex}}\sigma}\notag\end{gathered}$$ for each $x \in \Omega_D$. The noncommutative Cauchy kernel $C_y(x)$ is the inverse of the slice regular function $y-x$ with respect to the slice product: $C_y(x) \cdot_x (y-x)=(y-x) \cdot_x C_y(x)=1$.
The keypoint here is that we are considering the set of slice functions as an algebra by using the slice product instead of the pointwise product: whence formulas and have extremely different natures. We refer the reader to [@GhPeSt] for more details concerning the algebra of slice functions.
The new Cauchy integral formula allows us to obtain the series expansion at $x_0$ of a slice regular function $f$ with respect to slice powers $(x-x_0)^{\cdot n}$ or to spherical polynomials $\mathscr{S}_{x_0,n}(x)$ by using the classical method for complex holomorphic functions (cf. Propositions \[prop4\_1\] and \[prop4\_2\] for details). In the associative framework this result was achieved by a different method in [@GhiPer14], where a proof is also sketched for the nonassociative case.
The proof of the Cauchy formula given in Section \[Cauchy\] is new, also in the associative case.
Preliminaries {#S:Preliminaries}
=============
Real alternative \*-algebras
----------------------------
Let us assume that $$\label{A real alternative}
\text{${\mathbb{A}}$ is a finite dimensional real \emph{alternative algebra} with unit},$$ i.e. ${\mathbb{A}}$ is a finite dimensional real algebra with unit $1_{\mathbb{A}}$ such that the mapping $$\label{A alternative}
(x,y,z) \longmapsto (xy)z - x(yz) \quad \text{is alternating}.\notag$$ Note that we are not assuming that ${\mathbb{A}}$ is associative, but the following theorem holds (cf. [@Sch66]):
\[artin\] The subalgebra generated by any two elements of an alternative algebra is associative.
Here we assume that the real dimension of ${\mathbb{A}}$ is strictly greater than $1$, so that ${\mathbb{A}}\neq \{0\}$, i.e. $1_{\mathbb{A}}\neq 0$. A consequence of the bilinearity of the product in ${\mathbb{A}}$ is the equality $$\label{r(ab) = (ra)b = a(rb)}
r(xy) = (rx)y = x(ry) \qquad \forall r \in {\mathbb{R}}, \quad \forall x, y \in {\mathbb{A}}.$$ Therefore if we identify ${\mathbb{R}}$ with the subalgebra generated by $1_{\mathbb{A}}$, then the notation $rx$ is not ambiguous if $r \in {\mathbb{R}}$ and $x \in {\mathbb{A}}$. Notice that $$\label{ra = ar}
rx = xr \qquad \forall r \in {\mathbb{R}}, \quad \forall x \in {\mathbb{A}}.$$ We also assume that ${\mathbb{A}}$ is a *\*-algebra*, that is $$\label{A *-algebra}
\text{${\mathbb{A}}$ is endowed with a \emph{*-involution} ${\mathbb{A}}{\rightarrow}{\mathbb{A}}: x \longmapsto x^c$},$$ i.e. a real linear mapping such that $$\begin{aligned}
(x^c)^c &= x \qquad\ \forall x \in {\mathbb{A}}, \\ \notag
(xy)^c &= y^c x^c \quad \forall x, y \in {\mathbb{A}}, \\ \notag
r^c &= r \qquad\ \forall r \in {\mathbb{R}}. \notag\end{aligned}$$ Summarizing the previous assumptions and , we say that $$\label{A alternative *-algebra}
\text{${\mathbb{A}}$ is a \emph{finite dimensional real alternative *-algebra with unity}}.$$ We will assume in the remainder of the paper and we will endow ${\mathbb{A}}$ with the topology induced by any norm on it as a real vector space.
The *trace* $t(x)$ and the *squared norm* $n(x)$ of any $x \in {\mathbb{A}}$ are defined as follows $$\label{trace and squared norm}
t(x) := x + x^c, \quad n(x) := x x^c, \qquad x \in {\mathbb{A}}. \notag$$ Moreover, we define $Q_{\mathbb{A}}$, the *quadratic cone of ${\mathbb{A}}$*, and the set ${\mathbb{S}}_{\mathbb{A}}$ of *square roots of $-1$* by: $$Q_{\mathbb{A}}:= {\mathbb{R}}\cup \{x \in {\mathbb{A}}\ :\ t(x) \in {\mathbb{R}},\ n(x) \in {\mathbb{R}},\ t(x)^2 - 4n(x) < 0\}, \notag$$ $${\mathbb{S}}_{\mathbb{A}}:= \{J \in Q_{\mathbb{A}}\, : \, J^2 = -1\}. \notag$$ For each $J \in {\mathbb{S}}_{\mathbb{A}}$, we denote by ${\mathbb{C}}_J :=\langle 1, J \rangle$ the subalgebra of ${\mathbb{A}}$ generated by $J$. Finally, the *real part $\operatorname{Re}(x)$* and the *imaginary part $\operatorname{Im}(x)$* of an element $x$ of $Q_{\mathbb{A}}$ are given by $$\operatorname{Re}(x) := (x+x^c)/2, \quad \operatorname{Im}(x) := (x-x^c)/2, \qquad x \in Q_{\mathbb{A}}. \notag$$
When $x\in Q_{\mathbb{A}}\smallsetminus{\mathbb{R}}$, then $\operatorname{Im}(x)=sJ$, with $s=\sqrt{n(\operatorname{Im}(x))}\in{\mathbb{R}}^+$, $J\in{\mathbb{S}}_{\mathbb{A}}$. Note that $\operatorname{Im}(x)$ includes also the imaginary unit $J$ of $x$.
Since ${\mathbb{A}}$ is assumed to be alternative, one can prove (cf. [@GhiPer11 Proposition 3]) that the quadratic cone $Q_{\mathbb{A}}$ has the following two properties, which describe its “slice complex” nature: $$\begin{aligned}
& Q_{\mathbb{A}}= \bigcup_{J \in {\mathbb{S}}_{\mathbb{A}}} {\mathbb{C}}_J, \label{cone = union of planes} \\
& {\mathbb{C}}_J \cap {\mathbb{C}}_K = {\mathbb{R}}\qquad \forall J, K \in \mathbb{S}_{\mathbb{A}}, \ J \neq \pm K. \label{eq:intersection}\end{aligned}$$ Two simple consequences of are the following: $$\begin{aligned}
& \exists x^{-1}=n(x)^{-1} x^c \qquad \forall x \in Q_{\mathbb{A}}\smallsetminus \{0\}, \label{inverse of x} \\
& x^n \in Q_{\mathbb{A}}\qquad \forall x \in Q_{\mathbb{A}}, \quad \forall n \in {\mathbb{N}}. \notag\end{aligned}$$ Observe that if $x = r+sJ \in {\mathbb{C}}_J$, with $r, s \in {\mathbb{R}}$, $J \in {\mathbb{S}}_{\mathbb{A}}$, then $x^c = r - s J$.
Slice functions and their slice product
---------------------------------------
Let us recall that the complexification of ${\mathbb{A}}$ is the real vector space given by the [tensor]{} product $${\mathbb{A}}_{\mathbb{C}}:= {\mathbb{A}}\otimes _{\mathbb{R}}{\mathbb{C}}\simeq {\mathbb{A}}^2, \notag$$ that can be described by setting ${{\mathrm}{1}}:= (1, 0) \in {\mathbb{A}}^2$ and ${\mathbf{i}}:= (0,1) \in {\mathbb{A}}^2$, so that every $v = (x,y) \in {\mathbb{A}}^2$ can be uniquely written in the form $v = x1 + y{\mathbf{i}}= x + y {\mathbf{i}}$, and ${\mathbf{i}}$ is an *imaginary unit*. Thus the sum in ${\mathbb{A}}_{\mathbb{C}}$ reads $(x+y{\mathbf{i}}) + (x'+y'{\mathbf{i}}) = (x+x') + (y+y'){\mathbf{i}}$ and the product defined by $$\label{product in A_C}
(x+y{\mathbf{i}})(x'+y'{\mathbf{i}}) := (xx'-yy') + (xy'+yx'){\mathbf{i}}, \notag$$ makes ${\mathbb{A}}_{\mathbb{C}}$ a complex alternative algebra as well, therefore ${\mathbb{A}}_{\mathbb{C}}= {\mathbb{A}}+ {\mathbb{A}}{\mathbf{i}}= \{x+y{\mathbf{i}}\ :\ x, y \in {\mathbb{A}}\}$ and ${\mathbf{i}}^2= -1$. The *complex conjugation* of $v = x+y{\mathbf{i}}\in {\mathbb{A}}_{\mathbb{C}}$ is defined by ${\bar{v}}:= x-y{\mathbf{i}}$.
We are now in position to recall the notion of slice functions. Let $D$ be a subset of ${\mathbb{C}}$, invariant under the complex conjugation $z=r+si \longmapsto \overline{z}=r-si$, $r, s \in {\mathbb{R}}$. Define $$\label{Omega D}
{\Omega}_D:=\{r + s J \in Q_{\mathbb{A}}\, : \, r, s \in {\mathbb{R}}, J \in {\mathbb{S}}_{\mathbb{A}}, r+s i \in D\}. \notag$$ A subset of $Q_{\mathbb{A}}$ is said to be *circular* if it is equal to ${\Omega}_D$ for some set $D$ as above.
Suppose now that $D$ is open in ${\mathbb{C}}$, not necessarily connected. Thanks to and , ${\Omega}_D$ is a relatively open subset of $Q_{\mathbb{A}}$.
A function $F=F_1+F_2{\mathbf{i}}:D {\longrightarrow}{\mathbb{A}}_{\mathbb{C}}$ is called *stem function* if $F({\bar{z}}) = \overline{F(z)}$ for every $z \in D$. The stem function $F=F_1+F_2{\mathbf{i}}$ on $D$ induces a *left slice function* ${{\mathcal}{I}}(F):{\Omega}_D {\longrightarrow}{\mathbb{A}}$ on ${\Omega}_D$ as follows. Let $x \in {\Omega}_D$. By , there exist $r, s \in {\mathbb{R}}$ and $J \in {\mathbb{S}}_{\mathbb{A}}$ such that $x = r+sJ$. Then we set: $$\label{I(F)=}
{{\mathcal}{I}}(F)(x):=F_1(z)+J \, F_2(z), \quad \text{where $z=r+s i \in D$}.$$
The reader observes that the definition of ${{\mathcal}{I}}(F)$ is well-posed. In fact, if $x \in {\Omega}_D \cap {\mathbb{R}}$, then $r = x$, $s = 0$ and $J$ can be arbitrarily chosen in ${\mathbb{S}}_{\mathbb{A}}$. However, $F_2(z)=0$ and hence ${{\mathcal}{I}}(F)(x)=F_1(x)$, independently from the choice of $J$. If $x \in {\Omega}_{\mathbb{A}}\smallsetminus {\mathbb{R}}$, then $x$ has the following two expressions: $x = r+sJ = r+(-s)(-J)$, where $r=\operatorname{Re}(x)$, $s=\sqrt {n(\operatorname{Im}(x))}$ and $J=s^{-1}\operatorname{Im}(x)$. Anyway, if $z := r+s i$, we have: ${{\mathcal}{I}}(F)(r+(-s)(-J))=F_1(\overline{z})+(-J)F_2(\overline{z})=F_1(z)+(-J)(-F_2(z))=F_1(z)+J \, F_2(z)={{\mathcal}{I}}(F)(r+sJ).$
It is important to observe that every left slice function $f:{\Omega}_D {\longrightarrow}{\mathbb{A}}$ is induced by a unique stem function $F=F_1+F_2{\mathbf{i}}$. In fact, it is easy to verify that, if $x_J = r+s J \in {\Omega}_D$ and $z=r+s i \in D$, then $F_1(z)=(f(x_J)+f(x_J^c))/2$ and $F_2(z)=-J \, (f(x_J)-f(x_J^c))/2$. Therefore one obtains the following representation formula (see [@GhiPer11 Proposition 5]): $$\label{repr}
f(x)=\frac12(f(x_J)+f(x_J^c))-\frac I2(J \, (f(x_J)-f(x_J^c)))\quad \forall x=r+sI\in\Omega_D,$$ which implies the next proposition.
\[P:representation\] Every left slice function is uniquely determined by its values on a plane ${\mathbb{C}}_J$.
Let us introduce a relevant subclass of left slice functions.
\[eq:real-slice\] Let $F = F_1 + F_2{\mathbf{i}}: D {\longrightarrow}{\mathbb{A}}_{\mathbb{C}}$ be a stem function on $D$. The left slice function $f={{\mathcal}{I}}(F)$ induced by $F$ is said to be *slice preserving* if $F_1$ and $F_2$ are real-valued.
One can prove the following (cf. [@GhiPer11 Proposition 10]).
\[condition for f real\] Let $Q_{\mathbb{A}}\ne{\mathbb{C}}$. A left slice function $f$ is slice preserving if and only if $f({\Omega}_D \cap {\mathbb{C}}_J) \subseteq {\mathbb{C}}_J$ for every $J \in {\mathbb{S}}_{\mathbb{A}}$.
In general, the pointwise product of slice functions is not a slice function. However, if $F=F_1+F_2{\mathbf{i}}$ and $G=G_1+G_2{\mathbf{i}}$ are stem functions, then it is immediate to see that their pointwise product $$\label{pointwise product of stems}
FG=(F_1G_1-F_2G_2)+(F_1G_2+F_2G_1){\mathbf{i}}\notag$$ is again a stem function. In this way, we give the following definition.
\[D:slice product\] Let $f={{\mathcal}{I}}(F)$ and $g={{\mathcal}{I}}(G)$ be two left slice functions on ${\Omega}_D$. We define the *slice product $f \cdot g$* as the left slice function ${{\mathcal}{I}}(FG)$ on ${\Omega}_D$.
In the remainder of the paper, a constant function will be denoted by its value: if $f(x) = a \in {\mathbb{A}}$ for every $x \in \Omega_D$, we will write $f = a$. Observe that it holds $a\cdot b=ab$ for every pair of constants $a,b\in{\mathbb{A}}$.
Slice regular functions
-----------------------
Our next aim is to recall the concept of left slice regular function, which generalizes the notion of holomorphic function from ${\mathbb{C}}$ to any real alternative \*-algebra like ${\mathbb{A}}$.
Let $F : D {\rightarrow}{\mathbb{A}}_{\mathbb{C}}$ be a stem function with components $F_1, F_2 : D {\rightarrow}{\mathbb{A}}$. Since we endow ${\mathbb{A}}$ with the topology induced by any norm on it as a finite dimensional real vector space, if $z = r+ s i$, $r, s \in {\mathbb{R}}$, denotes the complex variable in ${\mathbb{C}}$, it makes sense to consider the partial derivatives $\partial F/\partial r$, $\partial F/\partial s\,{\mathbf{i}}$, which are also stem functions.
\[def:slice-regular\] Let $F = F_1 + F_2{\mathbf{i}}: D {\rightarrow}{\mathbb{A}}_{\mathbb{C}}$ be a stem function belonging to $C^1(D;{\mathbb{A}}_{\mathbb{C}})$ (i.e. $F_1, F_2 \in C^1(D;{\mathbb{A}})$). Let us denote by $z =r + s i$, $r, s \in {\mathbb{R}}$, the complex variable in ${\mathbb{C}}$. We define the continuous stem functions $\partial F/\partial z : D {\rightarrow}{\mathbb{A}}_{\mathbb{C}}$ and $\partial F/\partial \overline{z} : D {\rightarrow}{\mathbb{A}}_{\mathbb{C}}$ by $$\frac{\partial F}{\partial z} := \frac{1}{2}\left(\frac{\partial F}{\partial r} - \frac{\partial F}{\partial s}{\mathbf{i}}\right), \qquad
\frac{\partial F}{\partial \overline{z}} := \frac{1}{2}\left(\frac{\partial F}{\partial r} + \frac{\partial F}{\partial s}{\mathbf{i}}\right). \notag$$ If $f = {{\mathcal}{I}}(F) : {\Omega}_D {\rightarrow}{\mathbb{A}}$ is the left slice function induced by $F$, we define the continuous slice functions $$\frac{\partial f}{\partial x} := {{\mathcal}{I}}\left(\frac{\partial F}{\partial z}\right), \qquad
\frac{\partial f}{\partial x^c} := {{\mathcal}{I}}\left(\frac{\partial F}{\partial \overline{z}}\right). \notag$$ We say that $f={{\mathcal}{I}}(F)$ is *left slice regular* if $\partial f/\partial x^c = 0$.
Significant examples of slice regular functions are the *polynomials with right coefficients in ${\mathbb{A}}$*, i.e. functions $p : Q_{\mathbb{A}}{\rightarrow}{\mathbb{A}}$ of the form $p(x) = \sum_{k=0}^n x^k c_k$ with $c_k \in {\mathbb{A}}$, $n \in {\mathbb{N}}$. If we identify, for simplicity, the imaginary unit $\mathbf{i}$ of $\mathbb{A}_{\mathbb{C}}=\mathbb{A} \otimes_{\mathbb{R}}
\mathbb{C}$ with the imaginary unit $i$ of $\mathbb{C}=\mathbb{R} \otimes_{\mathbb{R}} \mathbb{C}$, we have that $p = {{\mathcal}{I}}(P)$ where $P : {\mathbb{C}}{\rightarrow}{\mathbb{A}}_{\mathbb{C}}$ is defined by $P(z) = \sum_{k=0}^n z^k c_k$. Given two polynomials $p(x) := \sum_{k = 0}^{n} x^k c_k$ and $q(x) := \sum_{k = 0}^{m} x^k d_k$, their *star product* $p * q : Q_{\mathbb{A}}{\rightarrow}{\mathbb{A}}$ is defined by setting $$(p*q)(x) := \sum_{j=0}^{n+m} x^j\bigg(\sum_{k+h=j} c_k d_h\bigg), \notag$$ i.e. we impose the commutativity for the product of the variable $x$ with the coefficients. Note that $p*q \neq pq$, the pointwise product. In fact the following [result]{} holds ([@GhiPer11 Proposition 12]).
\[slice prod. polinomi\] If $p$ and $q$ are polynomials with right coefficients in ${\mathbb{A}}$, then $ p*q = p \cdot q$, i.e. the star product is equal to the slice product.
For any $y \in Q_{\mathbb{A}}$, the *characteristic polynomial of $y$* is the slice preserving slice regular function $\Delta_y : Q_{\mathbb{A}}{\rightarrow}Q_{\mathbb{A}}$ induced by the stem function ${\mathbb{C}}{\rightarrow}{\mathbb{A}}_{\mathbb{C}}: z \mapsto (y-z)(y^c-z)=z^2-zt(y)+n(y)$, $$\label{delta}
\Delta_y(x) :=(y-x) \cdot_x (y^c-x)=x^2-xt(y) + n(y), \qquad x \in Q_{\mathbb{A}}. \notag$$ Observe that $y \in {\mathbb{C}}_J$ for some $J \in {\mathbb{S}}_{\mathbb{A}}$, therefore the set of zeroes of $\Delta_y$ is $${\mathbb{S}}_y:=\{\xi+\eta K \in Q_{\mathbb{A}}\, : \, \xi,\eta\in{\mathbb{R}}, K \in {\mathbb{S}}_{\mathbb{A}}, y= \xi + \eta J\}. \notag$$ Hence we can define the left slice regular function $C_y : Q_{\mathbb{A}}\smallsetminus {\mathbb{S}}_y {\rightarrow}{\mathbb{A}}$ by setting $$\label{cauchy kernel}
C_y(x) := {{\mathcal}{I}}((z^2-zt(y)+n(y))^{-1}(y^c-z)) =\Delta_y(x)^{-1}(y^c-x).$$ We say that $C_y$ is the *Cauchy kernel for left slice regular functions on ${\mathbb{A}}$*.
By definition , $C_y$ turns out to be the inverse of the slice regular function $y-x$ with respect to the slice product; that is, $C_y(x) \cdot_x (y-x)=(y-x) \cdot_x C_y(x)=1$. If $x \in {\mathbb{C}}_J$, then $x$ commutes with $y$ and $y^c$, thus $\Delta_y(x)=(y^c-x)(y-x)$ and, if $x \not\in \{y,y^c\}$, $\Delta_y(x)^{-1}=(y-x)^{-1}(y^c-x)^{-1}$. This ensures that $$\label{cauchy kernel in the Jplane}
C_y(x) = (y-x)^{-1} \qquad \forall x,y \in \mathbb{C}_J,\ x \neq y, \ x \neq y^c. \notag$$
Cauchy integral formula {#Cauchy}
=======================
We start with a lemma where we introduce a useful complex structure on ${\mathbb{A}}$.
\[L:phiJ C-isomorphism\] If $J \in {\mathbb{S}}_{\mathbb{A}}$, then the mapping $\phi_J : {\mathbb{C}}{\rightarrow}{\mathbb{C}}_J$ defined by $$\label{phiJ}
\phi_J(r+si) := r+sJ, \qquad r,s \in {\mathbb{R}},$$ is a complex algebra isomorphism. Moreover, the product ${\mathbb{C}}\times {\mathbb{A}}{\rightarrow}{\mathbb{A}}: (z,x) \mapsto zx$ defined by $$\label{product in V_J}
z x := \phi_J(z) x, \qquad z \in {\mathbb{C}}, \ x \in {\mathbb{A}},$$ makes ${\mathbb{A}}$ a complex vector space.
The fact that $\phi_J$ is an isomorphism is an easy consequence of and . In order to prove that makes ${\mathbb{A}}$ a complex vector space, we need to invoke Artin’s Theorem \[artin\]: indeed if $x \in {\mathbb{A}}$, then $J(Jx) = (JJ)x = -x$, and this implies, together with a straightforward calculation, that $z_1(z_2x) = (z_1z_2)x$ for every $z_1, z_2 \in {\mathbb{C}}$. The remaining axioms are trivially satisfied.
From Lemma \[L:phiJ C-isomorphism\] it follows that $\phi_J(z^{-1}) = (\phi_J(z))^{-1}$ for any $z \neq 0$, and the product of ${\mathbb{A}}$ is commutative and associative in ${\mathbb{C}}_J$. It will be useful to consider ${\mathbb{A}}_{\mathbb{C}}$ as a complex vector space as well, indeed one can easily infer the following [lemma]{}.
The product ${\mathbb{C}}\times {\mathbb{A}}_{\mathbb{C}}{\rightarrow}{\mathbb{A}}_{\mathbb{C}}: (z,v) \mapsto zv$: $$\label{product by a complex scalar in A_C}
(r+si)(x+y{\mathbf{i}}) := (rx - sy) + (ry + sx){\mathbf{i}}$$ for $z = r + si$, $v = x+y{\mathbf{i}}$, $r, s \in {\mathbb{R}}$, $x, y \in {\mathbb{A}}$, makes ${\mathbb{A}}_{\mathbb{C}}$ a complex vector space.
Therefore we have the following
\[L:Phi continuous homo\] If $J \in {\mathbb{S}}_{\mathbb{A}}$, then the mapping $\Psi_J : {\mathbb{A}}_{\mathbb{C}}{\rightarrow}{\mathbb{A}}$ defined by $$\label{PsiJ}
\Psi_J(a+b{\mathbf{i}}) := a + Jb, \qquad a,b \in {\mathbb{A}},$$ is a continuous complex vector space [linear map]{} when ${\mathbb{A}}_{\mathbb{C}}$ and ${\mathbb{A}}$ are endowed with the complex structures defined by and .
Let $z = r + si \in {\mathbb{C}}$, $r, s \in {\mathbb{R}}$, and $v = x + y{\mathbf{i}}\in {\mathbb{A}}_{\mathbb{C}}$, $x, y \in {\mathbb{A}}$. Recalling definitions and , and using , , and Artin’s Theorem \[artin\], we get $$\begin{aligned}
z \Psi_J(v)
& = \phi_J(z)(x + Jy) \notag \\
& = (r+sJ)(x + Jy) \notag \\
& = rx+ r(Jy) + (sJ)x + (sJ)(Jy) \notag \\
& = rx+ J(ry+sx) + s((JJ)y) \notag \\
& = (rx-sy) + J(ry+sx) \notag \\
& = \Psi_J((rx-sy) + (ry+sx){\mathbf{i}}) \notag \\
& = \Psi_J((r+si)(x+y{\mathbf{i}})) = \Psi_J(zv). \notag\end{aligned}$$ Thus $\Psi_J$ is homogeneous. The additivity and the continuity are clear.
Bearing in mind Artin’s Theorem 2.1, it is easy to prove the following [lemma.]{}
\[cond for f.g=fg\] Let $J\in {\mathbb{S}}_{\mathbb{A}}$. Let $f = {{\mathcal}{I}}(F)$, $g = {{\mathcal}{I}}(G)$, and $h = {{\mathcal}{I}}(H)$ be slice functions on $\Omega_D$. If $F$ takes values in ${\mathbb{C}}_J\otimes_{\mathbb{R}}{\mathbb{C}}$, then $f \cdot g = f g$ on $\Omega_D\cap{\mathbb{C}}_J$. If $F,G,H$ take values in ${\mathbb{C}}_J\otimes_{\mathbb{R}}{\mathbb{C}}$, then $(f\cdot g)\cdot h = f \cdot (g\cdot h)$ and $f\cdot g=g\cdot f$.
In the situation of previous Lemma \[cond for f.g=fg\], we will omit the parentheses.
We are now in position to prove the general Cauchy integral representation formula for slice functions, the natural noncommutative and nonassociative generalization of the classical complex Cauchy integral formula: $$\label{classical cauchy formula}
F(z) = \frac{1}{2\pi i} \int_{\partial D} \frac{F(\zeta)}{\zeta - z} \operatorname{d \! \hspace{0.2ex}}\zeta -
\frac{1}{2\pi i}\int_D \frac{(\partial F/\partial \overline{\zeta})(\zeta)}{\zeta - z} \operatorname{d \! \hspace{0.2ex}}{\bar{\zeta}}\wedge \operatorname{d \! \hspace{0.2ex}}\zeta$$ holding for $F \in C^1(\overline{D};{\mathbb{C}})$, where $D \subseteq {\mathbb{C}}$ is a bounded domain with piecewise $C^1$ boundary. Here $\frac{1}{2i}\operatorname{d \! \hspace{0.2ex}}{\bar{\zeta}}\wedge \operatorname{d \! \hspace{0.2ex}}\zeta$ is the 2-dimensional Lebesgue measure on ${\mathbb{C}}$.
\[T:Cauchy formula\] Let $D \subseteq {\mathbb{C}}$ be a bounded domain, $J \in {\mathbb{S}}_{\mathbb{A}}$ and $D_J := \Omega_D \cap {\mathbb{C}}_J$. Let $\partial D_J$ denote the boundary of $D_J$ in ${\mathbb{C}}_J$ and assume that it is piecewise $C^1$. If $f = {{\mathcal}{I}}(F) : \Omega_D {\rightarrow}{\mathbb{A}}$ is a left slice function and $F \in C^1(\overline{D};{\mathbb{A}}_{\mathbb{C}})$, then $$\label{Cauchy formula}
f(x) = \frac{1}{2\pi} \int_{\partial D_J} \left[C_y \cdot \left(J^{-1}\operatorname{d \! \hspace{0.2ex}}y\ f(y)\right)\right](x) -
\frac{1}{2\pi} \int_{D_J} \Big[ C_y \cdot \Big( J^{-1} \operatorname{d \! \hspace{0.2ex}}y^c \wedge \operatorname{d \! \hspace{0.2ex}}y\ \frac{\partial f}{\partial y^c}(y) \Big) \Big](x) \notag$$ for every $x \in \Omega_D$.
Before showing the proof, some remarks should be made.
\[remark31\]
- As we mentioned in the [i]{}ntroduction, the position of the “differentials” inside integrals of ${\mathbb{A}}$-valued functions is important, so a rigorous definition is in order. We limit ourselves to the integrals involved in the Cauchy formula. If $a, b \in {\mathbb{R}}$, $a < b$, and $\alpha : {\hspace{0.045ex}[a,b]} {\rightarrow}{\mathbb{C}}_J$ is a piecewise $C^1$ parametrization of the (counterclockwise oriented) Jordan curve $\partial D_J$ in the plane ${\mathbb{C}}_J$, then $$\int_{\partial D_J} \left[ C_y \cdot \left( J^{-1}\operatorname{d \! \hspace{0.2ex}}y\ f(y) \right) \right](x) :=
\int_a^b \left[ C_{\alpha(t)} \cdot \left( J^{-1} \alpha'(t) \ f(\alpha(t)) \right) \right](x) \operatorname{d \! \hspace{0.2ex}}t,$$ $\alpha'$ being the derivative of $\alpha$. The second integral is simply $$\int_{D_J} \Big[ C_y \cdot \Big( J^{-1} \operatorname{d \! \hspace{0.2ex}}y^c \wedge \operatorname{d \! \hspace{0.2ex}}y\ \frac{\partial f}{\partial y^c}(y) \Big) \Big](x) :=
2 \int_{D_J} \Big[ C_{\rho+\sigma J} \cdot \frac{\partial f}{\partial y^c}(\rho+\sigma J) \Big](x) \operatorname{d \! \hspace{0.2ex}}\rho \operatorname{d \! \hspace{0.2ex}}\sigma,$$ $(\rho,\sigma)$ being the coordinates of $y$ in ${\mathbb{C}}_J = \{y = \rho+\sigma J\ :\ \rho, \sigma \in {\mathbb{R}}\}$. Hence $\frac{J^{-1}}{2}dy^c \wedge dy$ may be considered as the 2-dimensional Lebesgue measure on ${\mathbb{C}}_J \simeq {\mathbb{R}}^2$.
- In the two integrand functions, the slice product $\cdot$ is computed with respect to the variable $x$: $J^{-1}\operatorname{d \! \hspace{0.2ex}}y\ f(y)$ and $J^{-1} \operatorname{d \! \hspace{0.2ex}}y^c \wedge \operatorname{d \! \hspace{0.2ex}}y\ (\partial f/\partial y^c)(y)$ are here constant functions (w.r.t. $x$), $y$ being the (fixed) integration variable. Using the notation $\cdot_x$ for the slice product w.r.t. $x$, the Cauchy formula can be written in the following way: $$\label{Cauchy formula-2 form}
f(x)
= \frac{1}{2\pi} \int_{\partial D_J} C_y(x) \cdot_x \left(J^{-1}\operatorname{d \! \hspace{0.2ex}}y\ f(y)\right) -
\frac{1}{2\pi} \int_{D_J} C_y(x) \cdot_x \Big( J^{-1} \operatorname{d \! \hspace{0.2ex}}y^c \wedge \operatorname{d \! \hspace{0.2ex}}y\ \frac{\partial f}{\partial y^c}(y) \Big). \notag$$
- There are no parentheses in the term $J^{-1}\operatorname{d \! \hspace{0.2ex}}y\ f(y) = J^{-1} \alpha'(t) \ f(\alpha(t)) dt$, because it belongs to the subalgebra generated by $J$ and $f(y)$, thus, by Artin’s Theorem \[artin\], this product is associative.
- The formula of Theorem \[T:Cauchy formula\] reduces in the associative case to what stated in [@GhiPer11 Theorem 27].
Let us first prove the theorem under the assumption $$\label{phiJ(z)=x}
x \in D_J.$$ Let $z := \phi_J^{-1}(x)\in{\mathbb{C}}$ (see ). Observe that, from and , we get $$\label{f(phiJ)=Phi_J(F)}
f(\phi_J(w)) = \Psi_J(F(w)) \qquad \forall w \in \overline{D},$$ $$\label{f(partial phiJ)=Phi_J(partial F)}
\frac{\partial f}{\partial y^c}(\phi_J(w)) = \Psi_J\Big(\frac{\partial F}{\partial \overline{w}}(w)\Big)
\qquad \forall w \in D.$$ Let $\gamma : [0,1] {\rightarrow}{\mathbb{C}}$ be a Jordan curve whose trace is $\partial D$ (counterclockwise oriented) and let $(\rho,\sigma)$ denote the real coordinates of $\zeta = \rho + \sigma i \in {\mathbb{C}}$. Since $F \in C^1(\overline{D};{\mathbb{A}}_{\mathbb{C}})$, we can apply the classical vector complex Cauchy formula, which can be easily deduced from by means of the Hahn-Banach theorem, or simply using coordinates. We get $$\begin{aligned}
F(z)
& = \frac{1}{2\pi i} \int_{\partial D} \frac{F(\zeta)}{(\zeta - z)} \operatorname{d \! \hspace{0.2ex}}\zeta -
\frac{1}{2\pi i} \int_D \frac{(\partial F/\partial \overline{\zeta})(\zeta)}{(\zeta-z)} \operatorname{d \! \hspace{0.2ex}}{\bar{\zeta}}\wedge \operatorname{d \! \hspace{0.2ex}}\zeta \notag \\
& = \frac{1}{2\pi i} \int_0^1 \gamma'(t)\frac{F(\gamma(t))}{\gamma(t)-z} \operatorname{d \! \hspace{0.2ex}}t -
\frac{1}{\pi} \int_D \frac{(\partial F/\partial \overline{\zeta})(\zeta)}{(\zeta-z)} \operatorname{d \! \hspace{0.2ex}}\rho \operatorname{d \! \hspace{0.2ex}}\sigma, \notag\end{aligned}$$ where the product by a complex scalar in the integrand functions is defined by . Thus, recalling from Lemma \[L:Phi continuous homo\] that $\Psi_J : {\mathbb{A}}_{\mathbb{C}}{\rightarrow}{\mathbb{A}}$ is ${\mathbb{C}}$-linear and continuous when ${\mathbb{A}}_{\mathbb{C}}$ and ${\mathbb{A}}$ are endowed with the complex vector structures defined by and , we get $$\begin{aligned}
\Psi_J(F(z))
& = \frac{1}{2\pi} \int_0^1 \Psi_J\left( \frac{\gamma'(t)}{(\gamma(t)-z)i} F(\gamma(t)) \right) \operatorname{d \! \hspace{0.2ex}}t -
\frac{1}{\pi} \int_D \Psi_J\left( \frac{(\partial F/\partial \overline{\zeta})(\zeta)}{(\zeta-z)} \right) \operatorname{d \! \hspace{0.2ex}}\rho \operatorname{d \! \hspace{0.2ex}}\sigma \notag \\
& = \frac{1}{2\pi} \int_0^1 \frac{\gamma'(t)}{(\gamma(t)-z)i} \Psi_J(F(\gamma(t))) \operatorname{d \! \hspace{0.2ex}}t -
\frac{1}{\pi} \int_D \frac{1}{\zeta-z} \Psi_J \Big( \frac{\partial F}{\partial \overline{\zeta}}(\zeta)\Big) \operatorname{d \! \hspace{0.2ex}}\rho \operatorname{d \! \hspace{0.2ex}}\sigma \notag \\
& = \frac{1}{2\pi} \int_0^1 \phi_J\left( \frac{\gamma'(t)}{(\gamma(t)-z)i} \right) \Psi_J(F(\gamma(t))) \operatorname{d \! \hspace{0.2ex}}t \\&-
\frac{1}{\pi} \int_D \phi_J\left( \frac{1}{\zeta-z} \right) \Psi_J\Big( \frac{\partial F}{\partial \overline{\zeta}}(\zeta)\Big)
\operatorname{d \! \hspace{0.2ex}}\rho \operatorname{d \! \hspace{0.2ex}}\sigma. \notag
$$ Now observe that $\gamma_J := \phi_J \circ \gamma : [0,1] {\rightarrow}{\mathbb{C}}_J$ is a [(counterclockwise oriented)]{} parametrization of $\partial D_J$ and that $\gamma_J' = \phi_J \circ \gamma'$. Hence, using –, Lemma \[L:phiJ C-isomorphism\], , and Artin’s Theorem \[artin\], we deduce that $$\begin{aligned}
f(x) & = \Psi_J(F(z)) \notag \\
& = \frac{1}{2\pi} \int_0^1 \left((\gamma_J(t)-x)^{-1} J^{-1} \gamma_J'(t)\right) f(\gamma_J(t)) \operatorname{d \! \hspace{0.2ex}}t -
\frac{1}{\pi} \int_{D_J} (y-x)^{-1} \frac{\partial f}{\partial y^c}(y) \operatorname{d \! \hspace{0.2ex}}\rho \operatorname{d \! \hspace{0.2ex}}\sigma \notag \\
& = \frac{1}{2\pi} \int_0^1 \left(C_{\gamma_J(t)}(x) J^{-1} \gamma_J'(t)\right) f(\gamma_J(t)) \operatorname{d \! \hspace{0.2ex}}t -
\frac{1}{\pi} \int_{D_J} C_y(x) \frac{\partial f}{\partial y^c}(y) \operatorname{d \! \hspace{0.2ex}}\rho \operatorname{d \! \hspace{0.2ex}}\sigma \notag \\
& = \frac{1}{2\pi} \int_0^1 C_{\gamma_J(t)}(x) \left(J^{-1} \gamma_J'(t) f(\gamma_J(t))\right) \operatorname{d \! \hspace{0.2ex}}t -
\frac{1}{\pi} \int_{D_J} C_y(x) \frac{\partial f}{\partial y^c}(y) \operatorname{d \! \hspace{0.2ex}}\rho \operatorname{d \! \hspace{0.2ex}}\sigma. \label{PhiJ(F(z))=....-2}\end{aligned}$$ Now let us observe that if $a \in {\mathbb{A}}$ and $y \in D_J$, then, thanks to Lemma \[cond for f.g=fg\], it follows that $$(C_y \cdot a)(x) = C_{y}(x) a \qquad \forall x \in {\mathbb{C}}_J,$$ where $a$ denotes the constant function taking the value $a$. Therefore from we get $$\begin{aligned}
f(x) & = \frac{1}{2\pi} \int_0^1 \left[ C_{\gamma_J(t)} \cdot \left(J^{-1} \gamma_J'(t)\ f(\gamma_J(t)) \right) \right](x) \operatorname{d \! \hspace{0.2ex}}t -
\frac{1}{\pi} \int_{D_J} \Big( C_y \cdot \frac{\partial f}{\partial y^c}(y) \Big)(x) \operatorname{d \! \hspace{0.2ex}}\rho \operatorname{d \! \hspace{0.2ex}}\sigma \notag \\
& = \frac{1}{2\pi} \int_{\partial D_J} \left[C_y \cdot \left(J^{-1} \operatorname{d \! \hspace{0.2ex}}y\ f(y) \right) \right](x) -
\frac{1}{2 \pi} \int_{D_J} \Big[ C_y \cdot \Big( J^{-1} \operatorname{d \! \hspace{0.2ex}}y^c \wedge \operatorname{d \! \hspace{0.2ex}}y\ \frac{\partial f}{\partial y^c}(y) \Big) \Big](x), \notag\end{aligned}$$ which proves the theorem in the case $x \in D_J$. In order to conclude, it is enough to invoke Proposition \[P:representation\], since $f$ and the function on the right hand side of the previous formula are slice functions on $\Omega_D$.
\[Cauchy formula regular\] Under the same assumptions of Theorem \[T:Cauchy formula\], if $f$ is left slice regular on $\Omega_D$, then $$\label{Cauchy formula regular-eq}
f(x)
= \frac{1}{2\pi} \int_{\partial D_J} \left[ C_y \cdot \left(J^{-1}\operatorname{d \! \hspace{0.2ex}}y\ f(y)\right) \right](x)
= \frac{1}{2\pi} \int_{\partial D_J} C_y(x) \cdot_x \left(J^{-1}\operatorname{d \! \hspace{0.2ex}}y\ f(y)\right)$$ for each $x\in\Omega_D$.
Applications: series expansions
===============================
The new Cauchy formula permits to prove series expansions of slice regular functions following the lines of the classical method used in the case of holomorphic functions of a complex variable: the expansion of the Cauchy kernel.
We assume that ${\mathbb{A}}$ is equipped with a norm $\| \cdot \|_{\mathbb{A}}$ satisfying the property: $\|x\|_{\mathbb{A}}=\sqrt{n(x)}$ for each $x \in Q_{\mathbb{A}}$ (e.g. the Euclidean norm on ${\mathbb{H}}$, ${\mathbb{O}}$ and ${\mathbb{R}}_{0,q}$). As shown in [@GhiPer14 §3.1], there exists $C_1>0$ such that $\|xy\|_{\mathbb{A}}\leq C_1\, \|x\|_{\mathbb{A}}\|y\|_{\mathbb{A}}$ if $x,y\in {\mathbb{A}}.$ We recall the definition of the metric $\sigma_{\mathbb{A}}$ on $Q_{\mathbb{A}}$ (cf. [@GenSto12] and [@GhiPer14]). For $x_0\in{\mathbb{C}}_J$ and $x\in Q_{\mathbb{A}}$, $$\sigma_{\mathbb{A}}(x,x_0):=
\begin{cases}
\|x-x_0\|_{\mathbb{A}}&\text{\ if }x\in {\mathbb{C}}_J\\
\sqrt{{|\operatorname{Re}(x)-\operatorname{Re}(x_0)|}^2+{\left(\|\operatorname{Im}(x)\|_{\mathbb{A}}+\|\operatorname{Im}(x_0)\|_{\mathbb{A}}\right)}^2} &\text{\ if }x\notin {\mathbb{C}}_J.
\end{cases}$$ Given $r \in {\mathbb{R}}^+$, let $\Sigma_{\mathbb{A}}(x_0,r)=\{x\in Q_{\mathbb{A}}:\sigma_{\mathbb{A}}(x,x_0)<r\}$ be the $\sigma_{\mathbb{A}}$–ball of $Q_{\mathbb{A}}$ centered at $x_0$ of radius $r$.
Let $D$ be as in Theorem \[T:Cauchy formula\] and $x_0$ a fixed point in $D_J$. For $x\in D_J$, $y\in\partial D_J$ and $n\in{\mathbb{N}}$, the Cauchy kernel expands as: $$C_y(x)=(y-x)^{-1}=\sum_{k=0}^n (x-x_0)^k(y-x_0)^{-k-1}+(x-x_0)^{n+1}(y-x)^{-1}(y-x_0)^{-n-1}.$$ Let $(x-x_0)^{\cdot n}$ denote the $n$-th power of the slice function $x-x_0$ w.r.t. the slice product. Thanks to Proposition \[P:representation\] and Lemma \[cond for f.g=fg\], we get that $$C_y(x)=\sum_{k=0}^n (x-x_0)^{\cdot k}\cdot_x(y-x_0)^{-k-1}+(x-x_0)^{\cdot n+1}\cdot_x C_y(x)\cdot_x(y-x_0)^{-n-1}$$ for each $x\in\Omega_D$, $y\in\partial D_J$ and $n\in{\mathbb{N}}$. Applying the Cauchy formula (Corollary \[Cauchy formula regular\]) to a slice regular function $f$, we obtain, for every $x\in\Omega_D$, $$f(x) = \sum_{k=0}^n (x-x_0)^{\cdot k}\cdot_x \frac{1}{2\pi} \int_{\partial D_J}(y-x_0)^{-k-1} \left(J^{-1}\operatorname{d \! \hspace{0.2ex}}y\ f(y)\right) + R_n(x)
\notag$$ with $$R_n(x)=(x-x_0)^{\cdot n+1}\cdot_x\frac{1}{2\pi} \int_{\partial D_J} C_y(x) \cdot_x (y-x_0)^{-n-1} \left(J^{-1}\operatorname{d \! \hspace{0.2ex}}y\ f(y)\right).$$ Now choose $r'>r>0$ such that $\Sigma_{\mathbb{A}}(x_0,r')\subseteq\Omega_D$. As shown in [@GhiPer14], $\Sigma_{\mathbb{A}}(x_0,r')\cap{\mathbb{C}}_J$ is an open disk $B_J(x_0,r')$ in ${\mathbb{C}}_J$ and $\Sigma_{\mathbb{A}}(x_0,r)=B_J(x_0,r)\cup \Omega(x_0,r)$, with $\Omega(x_0,r)$ a circular set. From the representation formula for slice functions applied on $\Omega(x_0,r)$, one obtains that there exists a constant $C_2>0$ such that $$\|R_n(x)\|_{\mathbb{A}}\le C_2 \sup_{x'\in B_J(x_0,r)}\|R_n(x')\|_{\mathbb{A}}\quad\forall x\in\Sigma_{\mathbb{A}}(x_0,r), \forall n\in{\mathbb{N}}.$$ Using Lemma \[cond for f.g=fg\], we get that for every $x'\in B_J(x_0,r)$, $$R_n(x')=(x'-x_0)^{n+1}\frac{1}{2\pi} \int_{\partial D_J} C_y(x') (y-x_0)^{-n-1} \left(J^{-1}\operatorname{d \! \hspace{0.2ex}}y\ f(y)\right).$$ Since $\|x'-x_0\|_{\mathbb{A}}<r$ and $\|y-x_0\|_{\mathbb{A}}\ge r'$ for each $x'\in B_J(x_0,r)$ and $y\in\partial D_J$, there exists $C_3>0$ such that$$\|R_n(x)\|_{\mathbb{A}}\le C_3 \left(\frac r{r'}\right)^{n+1}\quad\forall x\in\Sigma_{\mathbb{A}}(x_0,r),\ \forall n\in{\mathbb{N}}.$$ We have proved the following result:
\[prop4\_1\] Let $D \subseteq {\mathbb{C}}$ be a bounded domain, with $\partial D$ piecewise $C^1$. Let $r\in{\mathbb{R}}^+$ with $\overline{\Sigma_{\mathbb{A}}(x_0,r)}\subseteq\Omega_D$. If $f$ is left slice regular on $\Omega_D$ and of class $C^1$ on $\overline{\Omega}_D$, then there exists a unique sequence $(a_k)_{k\in{\mathbb{N}}}$ in ${\mathbb{A}}$, defined, for each $J\in{\mathbb{S}}_{\mathbb{A}}$, by the formula $$a_k=\frac{1}{2\pi} \int_{\partial D_J}(y-x_0)^{-k-1} \left(J^{-1}\operatorname{d \! \hspace{0.2ex}}y\ f(y)\right),$$ such that $$f(x) = \sum_{k=0}^{+\infty}(x-x_0)^{\cdot k}\cdot_x a_k \notag$$ with uniform convergence on $\Sigma_{\mathbb{A}}(x_0,r)$.
A drawback of using $\sigma_{\mathbb{A}}$ is that this metric is finer than the Euclidean one. This problem was solved in [@StoppatoAdvMath2012] introducing a new pseudo–metric and a different series expansion. For $x,x_0\in Q_{\mathbb{A}}$, let us define $${{\mathrm}{u}}_{\mathbb{A}}(x,x_0):=\sqrt{\|\Delta_{x_0}(x)\|_{\mathbb{A}}}.$$ The function ${{\mathrm}{u}}_A$ is a pseudo–metric on $Q_{\mathbb{A}}$ (cf. [@StoppatoAdvMath2012] and [@GhiPer14]), called *Cassini pseudo–metric*, whose induced topology is strictly coarser than the Euclidean one. Given $r\in{\mathbb{R}}^+$, the ${{\mathrm}{u}}_{\mathbb{A}}$–ball ${{\mathrm}{U}}_{\mathbb{A}}(x_0,r)=\{x\in Q_{\mathbb{A}}:{{\mathrm}{u}}_{\mathbb{A}}(x,x_0)<r\}$ centered at $x_0$ of radius $r$ is a circular set. For each $m\in{\mathbb{N}}$ consider the slice regular functions, called *spherical polynomials*, $${{\mathscr}{S}}_{x_0,2m}(x):=\Delta_{x_0}(x)^m,
\quad
{{\mathscr}{S}}_{x_0,2m+1}(x):=\Delta_{x_0}(x)^m(x-x_0).$$ Let $D$ be as above and let $x_0$ be a fixed point in $D_J$. Using alternatively the two equalities $$\begin{aligned}
C_y(x)&=(y-x)^{-1}=(y-x_0)^{-1}+(x-x_0)(y-x)^{-1}(y-x_0)^{-1},\\C_y(x)&=(y-x)^{-1}=(y-x_0^c)^{-1}+(x-x_0^c)(y-x)^{-1}(y-x_0^c)^{-1}\end{aligned}$$ for $x\in D_J$ and $y\in\partial D_J$, and then applying Proposition \[P:representation\] and Lemma \[cond for f.g=fg\], we obtain, for each $x\in\Omega_D$ and $n\in{\mathbb{N}}$: $$\label{eq:cauchy-kernel}
C_y(x)=\sum_{k=0}^n {{\mathscr}{S}}_{x_0,k}(x)\cdot_x{{\mathscr}{S}}_{x_0,k+1}(y)^{-1}+{{\mathscr}{S}}_{x_0,n+1}(x)\cdot_x C_y(x)\cdot_x{{\mathscr}{S}}_{x_0,n+1}(y)^{-1}.$$ We now proceed as above. From Corollary \[Cauchy formula regular\] we get, for every $x\in\Omega_D$, $$f(x) = \sum_{k=0}^n {{\mathscr}{S}}_{x_0,k}(x)\cdot_x \frac{1}{2\pi} \int_{\partial D_J}{{\mathscr}{S}}_{x_0,k+1}(y)^{-1} \left(J^{-1}\operatorname{d \! \hspace{0.2ex}}y\ f(y)\right) + R'_n(x)
\notag$$ with $$R'_n(x)= {{\mathscr}{S}}_{x_0,n+1}(x)\cdot_x\frac{1}{2\pi} \int_{\partial D_J}C_y(x)\cdot_x{{\mathscr}{S}}_{x_0,n+1}(y)^{-1}\left(J^{-1}\operatorname{d \! \hspace{0.2ex}}y\ f(y)\right).$$ Let $r'>r>0$ such that ${{\mathrm}{U}}_{\mathbb{A}}(x_0,r')\subseteq\Omega_D$. The set ${{\mathrm}{U}}_J(x_0,r):={{\mathrm}{U}}_{\mathbb{A}}(x_0,r)\cap{\mathbb{C}}_J$ is an open subset of ${\mathbb{C}}_J$ bounded by a Cassini oval. From the representation formula we get that there exists $C_3>0$ such that $$\|R'_n(x)\|_{\mathbb{A}}\le C_3 \sup_{x'\in {{\mathrm}{U}}_J(x_0,r)}\|R'_n(x')\|_{\mathbb{A}}\quad\forall x\in{{\mathrm}{U}}_{\mathbb{A}}(x_0,r), \forall n\in{\mathbb{N}}.$$ Using Lemma \[cond for f.g=fg\], we get that for every $x'\in {{\mathrm}{U}}_J(x_0,r)$, $$R'_n(x')= {{\mathscr}{S}}_{x_0,n+1}(x')\frac{1}{2\pi} \int_{\partial D_J}C_y(x'){{\mathscr}{S}}_{x_0,n+1}(y)^{-1}\left(J^{-1}\operatorname{d \! \hspace{0.2ex}}y\ f(y)\right).$$ Let $x'\in {{\mathrm}{U}}_J(x_0,r)$ and $y\in\partial D_J$. Since ${{\mathrm}{u}}_{\mathbb{A}}(x',x_0)<r$ and ${{\mathrm}{u}}_{\mathbb{A}}(y,x_0)>r'$, from [@GhiPer14 Lemma 5.2] we get $$\begin{aligned}
\|&{{\mathscr}{S}}_{x_0,n+1}(x')\|\le r^n(r+2\|\operatorname{Im}(x_0)\|),\\
\|&{{\mathscr}{S}}_{x_0,n+1}(y)\|\ge (r')^{n+2}(r'+2\|\operatorname{Im}(x_0)\|)^{-1}.\end{aligned}$$ Therefore there exists $C_4>0$ such that $$\|R'_n(x)\|_{\mathbb{A}}\le C_4 \left(\frac r{r'}\right)^{n}\quad\forall x\in{{\mathrm}{U}}_{\mathbb{A}}(x_0,r),\ \forall n\in{\mathbb{N}},$$ from which we get the so-called *spherical expansion* of $f$:
\[prop4\_2\] Let $D \subseteq {\mathbb{C}}$ be a bounded domain, with $\partial D$ piecewise $C^1$. Let $r\in{\mathbb{R}}^+$ with $\overline{{{\mathrm}{U}}_{\mathbb{A}}(x_0,r)}\subseteq\Omega_D$. If $f$ is left slice regular on $\Omega_D$ and of class $C^1$ on $\overline{\Omega}_D$, then there exists a unique sequence $(s_k)_{k\in{\mathbb{N}}}$ in ${\mathbb{A}}$, defined, for each $J\in{\mathbb{S}}_{\mathbb{A}}$, by the formula $$s_k=\frac{1}{2\pi} \int_{\partial D_J}{{\mathscr}{S}}_{x_0,k+1}(y)^{-1} \left(J^{-1}\operatorname{d \! \hspace{0.2ex}}y\ f(y)\right),$$ such that $$f(x) = \sum_{k=0}^{+\infty}{{\mathscr}{S}}_{x_0,k}(x)\cdot_x s_k \notag$$ with uniform convergence on ${{\mathrm}{U}}_{\mathbb{A}}(x_0,r)$.
Let $A={\mathbb{H}}$ and let $J\in{\mathbb{S}}_{\mathbb{H}}$ be fixed. Consider the slice regular function $f$ on ${\mathbb{H}}\smallsetminus{\mathbb{R}}$ defined, for each $x=r+s I$, with $s>0$, by $$f(x)=1-IJ.$$ We compute the power and spherical expansions of $f$ at $y=J$. The maximal $\sigma_{\mathbb{H}}$–ball centered at $J$ on which the power expansion converges to $f$ is the domain $\Sigma_{{\mathbb{H}}}(J,1)=\{q\in{\mathbb{C}}_J\;|\;|q-J|<1\}$, which has empty interior w.r.t. the euclidean topology of ${\mathbb{H}}$. On the other hand, the spherical expansion converges to $f$ on a non-empty open domain of ${\mathbb{H}}$. We can compute the coefficients $a_k$ and $s_k$ by means of Propositions \[prop4\_1\] and \[prop4\_2\]. Using the fact that $f$ assumes constant value 2 on ${\mathbb{C}}_J^+=\{r+sJ\in{\mathbb{C}}_J:s>0\}$ and vanishes on ${\mathbb{C}}_J^-=\{r+sJ\in{\mathbb{C}}_J:s<0\}$, we get $$a_k=(\pi J)^{-1} \int_{\partial\Delta}(y-J)^{-k-1} \operatorname{d \! \hspace{0.2ex}}y
=\begin{cases}2\text{\quad if $k=0$}\\0 \text{\quad if $k>0$}\end{cases},$$ $$s_k=
\begin{cases}
(\pi J)^{-1} \int_{\partial\Delta}(y^2+1)^{-n-1}\operatorname{d \! \hspace{0.2ex}}y &\text{\ if $k=2n+1$ is odd}\\
(\pi J)^{-1}\int_{\partial\Delta}(y^2+1)^{-n}(y-J)^{-1} \operatorname{d \! \hspace{0.2ex}}y &\text{\ if $k=2n$ is even}\end{cases}$$ where $\Delta$ is a disk in ${\mathbb{C}}_J$ centered at $J$ with radius smaller than 1. Therefore $$s_0=2,\quad s_k=\begin{cases}
4^{-n}\binom{2n}n(-J)&\text{\quad if $k=2n+1$ is odd,}\\
4^{-n}\binom{2n}n&\text{\quad if $k=2n>0$ is even}\end{cases}$$ and the spherical expansion of $f$ at $J$ takes the form $$\begin{aligned}
f(x)&=1-\sum_{n=0}^{+\infty} \frac1{4^n}\binom{2n}n (1+x^2)^nxJ.\end{aligned}$$
[10]{}
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[^1]: R. Ghiloni and A. Perotti are partially supported by FIRB 2012 “Differential Geometry and Geometric Function Theory", MIUR Project “Proprietà geometriche delle varietà reali e complesse" and GNSAGA of INdAM. V. Recupero is a member of GNAMPA of INdAM
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tomekkorbak/pile-curse-small
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ArXiv
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How to Reject Engineering Candidates - tacon
http://code.dblock.org/2013/05/26/how-to-reject-engineering-candidates.html
======
morgante
Please don't do this. I actually find these example emails much _more_
insulting than the generic "we're going in a different direction" emails.
The reason I prefer the generic emails is that in many ways they're a
testament to the fact that interviewing has a high degree of randomness. In
many/most cases, rejecting a candidate comes down to an amorphous feeling that
they won't fit in. Or just a brain block on a particular problem which doesn't
speak to overall technical ability. Bottom line: the process is often quite
random, so attempting to ascribe random decisions to inherent personal
attributes is insulting.
The one kind of feedback I appreciate is when it's specific and actionable.
For example: "we only hire people with an active open source presence" or
"we've decided to curtail all remote hiring." This is something with a clear
reason that isn't inherently personal. And no, "improve your culture fit" is
not actionable.
~~~
lemevi
I've seen interviewers that were worse than the candidate, knew less, made
mistakes in asking questions and evaluating the answer and then rejected the
candidate anyway. To get an email like from the OP after something like this
would be pretty terrible.
Recruiting personnel in human resources are not in a position to evaluate the
merits of the interview and it might help if this person wrote the feedback
from the perspective of the interviewer and not as a collective "we".
------
vezzy-fnord
_These aren’t perfect and they stay pretty general, but they aren’t canned
bullshit responses either._
Hm, I find that debatable. Your example rejection strikes me as overly verbose
with little substance, is almost comically apologetic, and again boils down to
the exact same one-liner of "You're not a good fit at this time."
It's really a long-winded way to convey the exact same (lack of) message, but
with tidbits of one's resume and lots of apology sprinkled in to seemingly
convey depth and empathy.
------
FlannelPancake
Oh god, please don't do this. This is worse than "We decided to go a different
direction," because at least that takes less time to read.
If you're not going to provide substantive feedback ("we felt like your
performance on the nearest-neighbor problem was pretty rough and were looking
for a more optimized solution") then just give the one liner and be done with
it.
We get it: you're hamstrung because of legal liabilities. That's fine. Don't
make it worse by making us read a paragraph that isn't going to be helpful for
the future.
~~~
BurningFrog
> We get it: you're hamstrung because of legal liabilities.
At one place that rejected me the recruiter offered to tell me the reasons
_over the phone_.
I think that sidesteps any liability problem. The phone calls leaves no paper
trail, and recording it without his consent is illegal.
~~~
vonmoltke
> recording it without his consent is illegal.
Depending on your (and his) jurisdiction. In many US states, it _is_ legal.
~~~
BurningFrog
I'm in California, where it is illegal.
------
canistr
_We appreciate your huge desire to learn and your creative instinct. You’re
obviously excited to code and solve hard problems. But tech-wise we don’t
think you meet the bar that we’re aiming for a candidate for this position._
Stopped reading right there.
You don't need to provide a wall of text why I'm not the right candidate. I
don't intend to read your summary of my resume. There's really no point. I'm
already in a mad/frustrated/disappointed/etc. state and giving me a great wall
of text is adding insult to injury.
Engineering candidates are really looking for feedback on how the
interview/technical component went. The "cultural fit" answer is a blackbox
and stating it doesn't really answer what you're looking for.
You're better off just telling me I'm not the right fit and for legal reasons,
you can't go into details. That's really it. Don't tell me about what you
think of my previous experience. Don't tell me about the other candidates
(frankly, I don't care unless they become my co-workers).
~~~
Bartweiss
This does have useful info in it - the line starting with "But tech-wise".
I think you're right that technical feedback is the biggest thing, and even a
binary answer is useful. "Cultural fit", "we found someone better", and "the
boss' nephew got the job" are all somewhat interchangeable from the
candidate's perspective, but "we didn't think you could do the work" isn't.
For a company willing to provide information (and yes, most seem to be scared
of the legal issue), that's the most value-dense thing to provide.
------
rckclmbr
I got rejected from Netflix, and they gave me the best feedback I've ever
gotten after an interview. They said "Based on the interviews, we don't think
you could get done what we need to get done fast enough".
I disagreed with them, but that didn't matter. I looked back on the interview
and could see exactly why they thought that. That feedback helped me improve
for the future.
~~~
reagency
Was the interview about stuff they need to get done, or doofy puzzlers?
~~~
rckclmbr
Stuff they get done. It was a really good interview. Without going into too
much detail (NDA), I had a take-home project about a real world problem, then
there were a lot of questions about the project. Of course there are always
doofy puzzles too, but those weren't a focus.
The only thing I didn't like about the interview was that they compared
themselves with qualifying for the Olympics. That I should "consider it an
honor" because I made it to the interview, which is like making it to the
Olympic Trials. While I understand what they meant, I think it was a very
pompous statement.
~~~
Bartweiss
I've heard similar statements to that one, and never been pleased. I met
someone with Dropbox who spent much of our conversation telling me how they
only take the best (with extensive namedropping) and most applicants never
even get a return phonecall.
I think it was meant to draw me in by promising a selective team (he took my
resume), but it didn't work at all. It simply felt like he was bragging about
his own greatness (because he _did_ have a job there) while telling me they
would probably waste my time.
Even if the sentiment is good, any variant of "we're so great that failing is
still an honor" feels tacky and self-aggrandizing.
------
itsdrewmiller
Providing feedback is pretty hit or miss - if you give anything specific
enough to be constructive you also end up with people often wanting to argue
the particulars. The feedback examples here are pretty bad. "You don't have
enough experience" \- so you are going to hire him or her in two years once
they have gained experience? "You aren't a culture fit" \- why not? Is it
because he or she isn't a 20-something white male who likes video games and
beer?
The feedback I have tended to give is along the lines of "Our process has a
high chance of providing false negatives, so just because we are not offering
you a position doesn't mean we are convinced you are not qualified. On
[Programming Problem X] we felt that your code involved too much deep nesting
and the variable naming was poor; in an environment with many programmers that
is one of the most important things to do well. You also missed [Requirement
Y] which, while not critical for the functioning of the program, did show a
lack of attention to detail of the problem statement." And then they still
argue. :-)
If they are really horrible they get rejected in real time, and if it's late
in the process we have a conversation internally about how they managed to
make it so far.
~~~
klenwell
I think your first line is a great generic response and sufficient in itself:
_Our process has a high chance of providing false negatives, so just because
we are not offering you a position doesn 't mean we are convinced you are not
qualified._
I don't really care for the reason why I'm rejected. I'm deluded enough in my
own abilities to rationalize the reasons why you're making a huge mistake. :)
The main thing I want is a timely response. What drives me crazy is not
getting any response at all.
~~~
itsdrewmiller
That is something I didn't realize before but seems to be a common theme in
the comments here - So I learned at least one thing to do better from this
thread, even if it wasn't from the article. :-)
------
peter422
As somebody who has been rejected a few times (and been on the other side), I
completely disagree.
All I care about is speed. A boilerplate rejection in 1 day (or even that
night) is 10x better than a more specific email. Also the reasons given in the
example emails are so vague I think I would be more annoyed. Rejection sucks,
there is little an employer can do to lessen the blow other than do it
quickly, so as to avoid days of agony while the candidate waits.
------
eagsalazar2
I do tons of hiring and there is no way I would ever write rejections like
that. First of all if you are running a business and doing lots of hiring,
there is no way you have time to write that many long thoughtful emails that
refer to research you've done on their background, etc. Second, I highly doubt
any adult developer gives a crap.
The only thing people want (and appreciate in my experience) is hard, cold
facts about _exactly_ where they messed up so they can do better on subsequent
interviews. There is nothing that feels worse than failing and not feeling
empowered to succeed in the future. As lovey dovey as those examples are, they
don't do anything to help the person succeed in the immediate future which is
what really sucks about overly terse rejection emails.
~~~
barefoot
I completely agree. I would never write anything like the examples in the
article and would be very discouraged if I received any of those responses to
an interview I attended.
------
rpedela
Even though it is from a movie, I think this is better advice: "Do you want a
bullet to the head or five bullets to the chest and bleed to death?" [1]
If you want to add something about what to improve, I think that is fine too
but do it succinctly (not terse).
1\.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXEtOPMW2hM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXEtOPMW2hM)
~~~
overgard
Yeah I think that's much better advice. The problem with giving out reasons is
that there's a good chance your perception of them disagrees with their own
self perception, and so you run the risk of insulting them.
I remember years ago, one company I interviewed with ultimately didn't hire me
because "my experience was very strong in graphics and game development but
they needed more of a generalist". This was, I think, because my unix command
line skills were mediocre (At least that's where I flubbed the interview a
bit); but at the time they rejected me I was working in web development... so
it's not like I'm not adaptable. Anyway, the only reason that I even remember
that is because their rejection was _memorable_ , and it was memorable because
I thought they were _wrong_. Of course I didn't argue with them because their
minds were made up, but with this sort of decision you don't even want to
invite the possibility of debate IMO, you just want to give a yes or a no.
------
tslug
Thanks for your article suggesting a better way to reject peeps. It made a
good point, and I'm confident your hiring and rejecting career will be a
colourful one, but we're going to stick with being human and not over-
analyzing others' perceived shortcomings because we decided not to pull the
trigger on doing the money-in-exchange-for-services thing. Cheers!
------
brandonb
Yes! I wish more companies would do this. I wrote a little blog post on this
topic a couple years ago: [http://brandonb.cc/startups-stop-using-generic-
form-letters-...](http://brandonb.cc/startups-stop-using-generic-form-letters-
when-you-tell-a-candidate-no)
It's incredibly time-consuming to do well, so I cannot claim to hit the target
100% of the time, but I think it's worthwhile.
------
pithon
Writing, in general, is an activity that engineers usually put at the bottom
of the priority list but it's when you write that you actually organize your
thoughts and think things through. The process of writing the rejection email,
even if you don't actually send it, is likely to make you think about why
you're rejecting them, and formalize/ reinforce concepts and ideas to keep in
mind at the next interview.
------
patio11
I would not find it easy to operationalize the feedback regarding cultural
fit, either as a hypothetical jobseeker or as someone who theoretically knows
what "cultural fit" is supposed to mean, which I would not model the modal
jobseeker as understanding.
------
autotune
While this was interesting, what I'd love to hear about are the candidates
that were accepted who very obviously turned out to be a bad match within a
few months time, and how they adapted the interview process and questions as a
result.
------
kachnuv_ocasek
I'd hit delete on those messages after I'd have read the first sentence, which
is one sentence sooner that on the generic one. If you're a hiring manager,
please, don't post emails like this.
------
sosuke
I always thought they said nothing as a matter of liability.
~~~
lostcolony
Yeah, that's the explanation I've heard. "We don't feel you're a good fit at
this time" says nothing beyond 'no', and so there is nothing for a
particularly litigious candidate to use against the company. A more verbose
explanation, which would be appreciated by a majority of candidates, might
accidentally give them fodder for a lawsuit.
I'm actually curious how useful it would be though. I can only think of a
couple of times I've interviewed, and been genuinely curious why the company
decided not to continue with me. Most times it's been "-Wow-, that was a poor
fit", either culturally, or what they expected me to know, or how the position
was sold to me, or whatever (my favorite being an interview with Microsoft,
where the HR rep scheduling it said coding in Java would be fine, but then the
interviewer was predominantly a C guy, and so was telling me that my for(int
i=0; i<stringObj.length; i++) meant I was running in O(n^2) time, and my
having to correct him...yeah), and only one or two times left me curious what
their impressions were.
~~~
reagency
A litigous candidate would litigate based on the interview experience, not the
rejection letter, and then access to internal notes (where the illegal
discrimination happens) during legal discovery. The rejection letter is
irrelevant. I cases that win, do you think the HR rep said "sorry blackie, we
don't want your kind here"?
------
dominotw
I literally walked out of an interview at AirBnb in tears after the
humiliation. I've been so traumatized after that I've stopped looking for jobs
for over 3 years.
Only point of the idiotic BigO/whiteboard kind of interviews is to make the
interviewer feel good about himself/herself.
------
Bartweiss
Some of the emails you present are straightforward and useful - the second one
in particular I'd be happy to receive. If you feel like someone would be a
good fit after improving their skills in some specific area, that's a good
thing for the candidate to hear.
Others, though, feel downright insulting - especially the first email.
Praising someone's programming background, past projects, and eagerness to
_solve hard problems_ isn't an appropriate lead-in to telling them they failed
a technical interview. It's either vacuous (they weren't talented, but you
needed something to compliment) or back-handed (if their technical skills
weren't good, how can you actually respect their past projects?) That's just a
way to leave a candidate feeling worse about themselves and you.
Don't abandon this idea. I hugely value specific rejections, even blunt ones
like "You don't have the skills we need" or "You failed the second technical
interview". Just don't mix that with praising traits you're about to reject
someone for.
------
geofft
Do you have evidence that rejected candidates prefer this? That they find it
less insulting, instead of more? Do candidates take you up on your offer to
help with placement elsewhere?
All I see in defense of this approach in the article is "As a hiring manager,
I...". This isn't about you.
------
davesque
I tend to agree with others saying this is a bad idea. What I find the most
irritating and insulting is when someone primes me to have a discussion about
something (such as mentioning exactly what went wrong with the interview) and
then acts as though there's no room for debate. If I got a rejection email
like that, the first thing I'd want to do is write a reply detailing all the
different reasons the interviewers were either wrong or overly concerned with
the significance of my particular responses.
A lot of people are determined enough to start a debate about an interview.
Comparatively few companies are willing to engage in such a debate and they
shouldn't pretend otherwise.
------
nvader
All the examples in that article come across as instances of a "praise
sandwich" (also known by a less savoury name). The formula is, "We thought you
were good at X, BUT, we need someone also good at Y".
Perhaps it's the impact of reading them all back-to-back, but the insincerity
of that interstitial BUT begins to stand out. The impact of reading this
feedback is to discount the praise, and emphasize the gaps.
Given that, the feedback doesn't seem specific and actionable enough in most
cases. The last example in particular, I parse as [we appreciate your
interest, but your skills aren't good enough], which I'm struggling to read as
better than the standard template.
~~~
reagency
A feedback sandwich is:
1\. Congratulate for successes.
2\. Point out weaknesses to improve.
3\. Give encouragememt to keep working at it in future.
Plenty of people do it wrong and give BS feedback, but those people can put BS
in any form.
------
joe_the_user
The standard rejection, even more "thank you for your interest, while you have
excellent qualifications, we have chosen a different candidate" is fine.
The main thing is making the selection process _visibly_ fair and undemanding.
The rejections that are most annoying are those in which the employer has
candidates jump through numerous "hoops" and then rejects them, especially if
the rejection is "oh you passed the test but we don't think you fit the
culture" or something similar.
------
shaynbaron
Great topic! I try to put myself in the engineers shoes. I'd want to know why
they didn't pick me and how I could improve.
------
dyeje
Writing these emails does not seem productive. You say you spend at least a
half hour writing a draft, and you have someone else look over. That's alot of
valuable time spent on a response that is almost as vague as the canned one
liner.
Also, the cultural fit responses were worrisome.
------
BhavdeepSethi
I like the intent behind it. I don't like the verboseness of it. Would you
send this out to your own team? A simple "What worked, What didn't" with
bullet points would definitely be way more useful.
------
dblock
Author here. Old article, looking forward to reading your feedback!
~~~
jon-wood
Has your approach changed since posting that article? What's the feedback been
like from candidates that have received emails like that?
~~~
dblock
I still send detailed rejections and so does my entire team. We get a lot of
genuine thanks for doing so and some smaller amount of nothings meaning this
was either useless or the candidate got upset.
I try to minimize unnecessary praise and focus on actionable items. And I
always use written feedback as source.
------
brobdingnagian
There is no good rationalization for not hiring someone, because you cannot
empirically connect your hiring process to more objective measures of success.
|
tomekkorbak/pile-curse-small
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HackerNews
|
I hadn’t been a personal driver long—it was a way to make extra cash, working the South Bay and Long Beach. She was my first job in Redondo Beach, and she had kept me waiting for 15 minutes outside her apartment. When she appeared, she was in a black cocktail dress and flip flops. She carried a pair of blue high heels in one hand, and her clutch purse in the other. She was friendly and complimented me on my tie. “I’m so sorry. I’ve been running behind all day,” she said. “It’s OK,” I replied. The traffic on the 405 North was moderate. I figured I could get her to Hollywood in a half hour or so, but clouds had lingered for most of the day, and it had started to rain. I had already seen two accidents on the way to pick her up, so I was being extra cautious. We engaged in the usual chit-chat. She asked how long I had been driving. I told her a few weeks. She told me about her job in broadcasting and how she loathed having to go out on weekends—especially to Hollywood. I agreed that Hollywood had changed, or maybe I had just gotten older and it had lost its appeal. “Roads are slick,” I said, “People drive too fast in the rain here.” I merged into the slow lane. She reached into her purse and produced a small compact—she was finishing her makeup. “I look all right?” she asked. “Yes. You look nice.” She laughed. “Does that make you uncomfortable? Are clients not supposed to ask those types of questions?” I told her it was fine. Conversation always put the clients at ease, especially women traveling alone. She seemed to relax the more we talked. “Damn,” she said, “I forgot to call my sister and tell her I’ve left. She likes to make sure I’m safe.” She spoke to her sister and reassured her she was fine and that she’d call her after the event. I took the off-ramp to La Cienega and got bogged down in traffic around Pann’s. “This is why I never leave the South Bay,” she said, “Traffic all the way to Hollywood.” She was looking at a travel app on her phone when she got a text. She said it was her sister reminding her to text once she got to Hollywood. “If I don’t text my sister throughout the night, she has a fit. I wish she’d get out more.” She explained that her sister was a very attractive girl and had gotten into fitness modeling. After dating a string of the wrong kinds of men, she opted to focus more on her career. She stayed in most weekends. I had grown quiet, fearing where our conversation was leading. Then it came, the dreaded: “So, do you date much? Are you married?” I rarely talk about my personal life, especially with strangers. However, she had a kind of openness that I appreciated, and I found myself opening up too. I told her I had been in a relationship that had ended. We had recently entered that awkward phase of trying to find a way to be friends—a phase that required some form of make-believe, pretending that our emotions and any lingering romantic urgings were gone. She was sympathetic. “You’ll find someone awesome. It just takes time.” I had heard that continuously in the past few months and, frankly, it never seemed to make me feel any better. That’s the curse of a breakup– no matter what people say, it’s a dark valley you have to navigate on your own. We were a few miles south of Sunset when she decided to call her sister, again. During their conversation, she mentioned me. “Yes, I already told you, the driver is not crazy. Actually, I think you would like him.” I stayed silent. There was no protocol for this. She was trying to set me up. “Yes, he works out,” she said followed by a chuckle. She soon ended the call. I drove north on Ivar and found a meter. “So, my sister wants you to call her.” She handed me a small piece of paper with a phone number. “She’s never met me.” “You’re a good guy. She trusts me.” I told her I’d think about it. I wasn’t sure I needed to be dating at the time. The wound was still fresh and I was emotionally fatigued. “You can call her while you wait.” I was hesitant to say anything. I smiled, appeasing her. She headed toward the club’s entrance. I fed the meter, walked a bit, and then got back in the car. I placed the number on the passenger’s seat and tuned the radio to jazz. After listening to a few songs, I got up the courage and took the phone from my suit pocket.
I came across the term sapiosexual on social media. After some quick research, I learned that it referred to a person who is sexually stimulated by intelligence, or as one blogger put it: “nerd love”. Naturally, as a self-professed nerd, it got me thinking. If tasked with having to pinpoint the most attractive quality of the women I’ve dated, I’d say their ability to partake in thoughtful discussion was key. Sure, visual attractiveness is a plus, but it’s not what makes me totally swoon. In fact, it only enhances a woman’s beauty rather than her looks being the nucleus of it.
It’s rare intelligence is celebrated in our culture. People don’t usually grace the covers of popular magazines because they’ve made strives in curing cancer. Those covers are reserved for whichever celebrity is the flavor of the month: the ‘Sexiest Man Alive’, the pregnant reality star, a cheating politician, and so on. But in this sapiosexual subculture, being intelligent is a turn on and it’s at the forefront.
For the latter part of my high school years, I was the guy with the fast car and devil-may-care attitude, but who also read books in the library during lunch. I remember a friend happening upon me as I was headed to my favorite section of the library–History and Politics–he looked at me with disdain and said, “Shit man, you’re a geek now?” I ignored him and kept on with what I was doing but I realized with each visit to the library, the cabin pressure of my sex appeal was decreasing. If I wanted the pretty girl on the dance team to go out with me, I was going to have to stay out of the library. So I hid my book addiction as best I could. I returned to the cafeteria and munched on waffle fries and chicken fingers with the rest. I laughed and joked and flirted with the girls at my table. I was back, so to speak, and no one spoke of my little vacation into Nerdville. Once I got to college, it was like a weight had been lifted. At the arts conservatory, my affinity for books and jazz went unnoticed. It was like the promised land–I had finally found my people.
I’ve always been a sucker for a smart girl. In fifth grade I fell hard for a girl who loved comics as much as I did, and could wax poetic on how the X-Men’s Storm was a better leader than Cyclops. She spoke with such passion, supporting her claim with story after story of how Storm exhibited superior leadership over Scott Summers. If it weren’t for the bell ringing and having to go back to class, I could have sat on that bench talking all day. Not much has changed for me when it comes to women. I’m still attracted to passion and intelligence; to a woman who believes deeply in something and is well-versed enough to battle tooth and nail. It showcases strength and substance. On a recent date with a pretty Portlander, we talked for hours about music and travel. It was a great date. A few days later she sent me a text that read: “Your brain turns me on.” It was sexting for sapiosexuals. Though I’m not sure I can fully embrace the term yet as a way to categorize someone, I do think it’s nice that intelligence is being showcased as vital to what people look for in a partner. Whether it’s called “nerd love” or a “sapiosexual coupling”, when people of like minds come together, it’s a beautiful thing that should be celebrated.
So if you fancy yourself a sapiosexual, please keep spreading the good word–give us a movement. Because, really, a bunch of intelligent people procreating might just result in the brain child that cures cancer.
Lately I feel my words have been failing so it’s with great apprehension that I commit these words to paper. I’ve come under a kind of bout, a stupor that I can’t seem to shake. This could be a great catastrophe, but I’m prepared for the fall out. Shameless thoughts bullied their way into my head and they’ve taken up residence in my consciousness: I deserve to know you, to communicate with you and this entire happening. I’ve never met a woman like you before and in many ways I’m at a loss. I can’t really form words, build on ideas that can describe the complete gravity of my feelings, but I will try.
I don’t believe in the concept of merit, or karma without the sutra, or any other mystic jazz, but I do believe in fate. As clichéd as that may sound, and believe me it almost pains me enough to erase it, but it is a very real thing…at least to me. It is no mistake that I met you and in our few encounters I’ve developed a profound respect for you. I do seek the profound. Contrary to the advice of those around me who claim wisdom, I’ll take the credit and let the cash go. I prefer to incur interest or debt with the hope one day I’ll be able to pay such a thing off. I could write letters, poems, bleed on the page if need be and get nothing in return. I could do this everyday if it pleased you. I am not afraid of ultimate failure and I do not believe that a beautiful relationship has to always end in carnage. It’s a lie when they say all good things must come to an end. It is true that I’m a realist. Many say too real for my own good. But I do dream and not arbitrarily. I intend to make all things I dream sublime realities. But I’m not without folly or fault. I suppose you caught me in a transition. I have been accused of being things that are not complimentary. I’ve been called aloof, a playboy and an eccentric. So I consider the stakes are high. But with all honesty I must say you’ve cast a spell and in the words of Solomon Burke, “I feel your mark upon me now as surely as the hand that leaves the bruise”.
We know each other little, but with the capacity for much. I know words can be lethal, and can bring about frightening realities. They can resurrect, create and destroy. So I must reiterate that this was not an easy task. But it is an awesome thing and I hope you have the ego for a compliment, but you deserve these words and much, much more. I know as an artist that inspiration can overpower us. It can cascade down on our heads and threaten to beat us into the ground, into the dust. But I’ve never feared such unknowns in my work, so why in my life? I suppose in my work I have more control, but in life one must account for what is not written: real emotions, real souls, and real-life. I am learning. Any man would be lying if he said he would rather hold a woman than for her to stay out of her own free will. Just as any man would be lying if he denied wearing a mask in an effort to impress or con a woman. I say con, because I believe that a man who operates in a sham is a con artist. I bare my soul proudly. I Am what I Am. Now that I’ve begun to write, I’ve put it all on the table, emphatically. I’ve lowered the boom, so to speak. I know what I’ve done but I do not regret it, not one word. I suppose this is all a gamble, a game of hearts and craps. But by meeting you, you’ve tossed me a lifeline. I’ve already won. There is no pressure. In fact, if you never responded to the words I’ve written I’d be fine with that. I just want you to know the impact you’ve had. I admire your tenacity, drive and determination. Your passion astounds me and during our conversations I’ve found myself in owe of you. Aside from your immense beauty is your intellect and wit. I could talk with you for hours and not think of anything else except the words being spoken…what can I say, you put a smile on my face every time I see you and now just for now, nothing is more real than this.
Los Angeles is a busy place—most of us work 9 to 5 jobs and then spend forty-five minutes to an hour navigating traffic to get home. Once home, we tend to our pets, chores, make dinner, call friends and family, etc. It’s why taking the time, after all those domestic duties, to pick up the phone and chat with someone matters.
There’s something magical about talking into the wee hours of the night—both of you battling to keep your eyes open because you don’t want the conversation to end. One person says that they really need to sleep and then thirty minutes later the conversation is still going. It reminds me of conversations with my best friend growing up, Tammy. She’d call every Saturday morning after cartoons were over and we’d talk for hours. My mom would marvel at it—saying we stayed on the phone like grown folks. I don’t remember what we talked about, kid stuff I suppose, but I do remember laughing and not wanting to hang up. I looked forward to talking with her, to sharing that time with someone I cared about.
In the end, relationships are about just that, giving someone your time and being there for them when they need you. Even though I was a kid, if Tammy ever said she needed me, I’d be on my Huffy racing over to her house on the other side of town—I’d find a way. And that’s the point; some relationships lose sight of that. Those late-night conversations stop after the first few months of dating. People settle in and sometimes start taking the other person for granted. The relationship becomes less about communication and connection, and more about the roles each person now assumes. Even as an eight-year-old, I’d do anything for Tammy because she was my friend—it was honest and pure. Which is why when I encounter that same feeling in my adult life, I savor it. Being able to get to know someone, to invest time into that person is a gift. It’s what we were put on this earth for. We’re not designed to live as islands—isolated and withdrawn. We’re designed to interact, to communicate, to fellowship, and to love.
Los Angeles is packed with people but it still offers isolation. And though Warren Zevon sung about isolation being splendid, it can also turn depressing. My advice to dreamlanders who feel like they are losing connections to those who matter, pick up the phone, don’t text. Instead, have a real conversation because just hearing the voice of someone you care about, might be just the medicine you need.
My generation doesn’t know how to date, at least most of us don’t. There’s a prevailing thought that relationships are based on ‘hookups’. Gone are the days of courting, as my parents called it. The new precursor is a few dates and then a tipsy and often awkward ‘hookup’. That’s followed by a few text messages in which both parties try to play catch up and learn about each other so that it doesn’t feel so cheap. Emotionally, we’re a lost generation and only a few of us grow out of it, perhaps secretly desiring the types of stable relationships our parents had. But for far too many of us, the reality is serial dating.
Serial Dating is exactly what it sounds like, a string of relationships. Some may last a few months to a year, and others may sustain a few weeks. These types of relationships are usually never defined, which means they never reach a critical point where each party is forced to make the grownup decision of being ‘labeled’ as boyfriend and girlfriend. In most cases, at least one person in the party will say something to the effect of, “I just don’t do well with labels,” or “Why does it have to be a ‘thing’?” This is a red flag and a pretty asinine idea. When faced with these statements, a person should reevaluate the relationship they are in. If they are looking for something stable, they won’t find it in the serial dater.
The inherent tragedy of the serial dater is that they waste their time and the other party’s too. Sure, in your 20s, you may find yourself dating here and there in college. You’re young and still learning about what you desire. However, once you hit 30, if you are unable to sustain a meaningful and stable relationship, then there’s something amiss. It’s even more dangerous if you’re a woman because you’re devouring your child bearing years with people you could never envision procreating with. The question is why do we do this? Is it that we simply are afraid of commitment? Or are we wounded from past relationships where we really gave it our all and were cheated on? Or are we just selfish?
Sometimes we serial date on purpose—we usually choose people that we could never see marrying. It’s a way to not get attached. This usually blows up in our faces, as we forge an emotional bond whether we like it or not. I’m not saying everyone should settle into a relationship and get married. There are some people who really would be terrible spouses and terrible parents. But for those who are just too afraid to commit to something meaningful because they don’t want to get hurt, I say stop living in fear. Every relationship comes with risk. It’s a dream to believe that there aren’t going to be risks involved—none of us are living in a romantic comedy. In the real-world people get hurt, but we learn from it because we must. Sometimes we get over that hurt and sometimes we carry it for a while. However, it doesn’t break us, we just learn what to look for in a partner—things that signal longevity. It’s hard, yes, but anything worth the salt is going to be.
The only solution to this, is not to compromise. If you know what you want, what you’re worth, then go out and get it. Don’t allow the need for companionship to cloud your judgement. Sometimes a night of loneliness is far better than a morning of awkwardness. Have faith that in time, you will find what you’re looking for. But if you give into the serial dating cycle, that person you really should be with might just pass you by while you’re wasting daylight.
We’ve all seen it, mostly in romantic comedies. The guy loses the girl, usually by his own ineptitude and sinks deep into boozing, poor hygiene and an affinity for wandering his apartment in a bath robe. You guessed it; it’s the aftermath of a breakup and it has become cliché—like some kind of 12 step program, and at the end they either move on or fight to get the girl back. The truth is there’s no easy way to recover after a breakup. For a long while, it’s going to be dark; it’s going to be the abyss.
However, breakups are healthy no matter how grim things may seem at the time. There are always going to be situations that aren’t healthy for us and we have to have the fortitude to get out of them. We have to learn to recognize those situations and move on because there’s a reason—there may be something better waiting. Recently I was talking to a co-worker, an ex NFL player who saw much success in his life. He owned companies, traveled the world and owned some amazing homes. And one day he lost it all—bankruptcy. His wife left him and he found himself back at square one. Then one day he gets a phone call from a woman he had met five years ago. Apparently she was cleaning out a closet and her phone book fell to the floor. It was open to a page with my co-worker’s phone number jotted down. She picked up the phone and called him that instant. They were married a few years later.
I hear stories like that and can’t help but wonder if we’re all preordained to be with someone; if all the dating and breakups are just part of the process. Though they hurt like hell at the time, they really are necessary. The trick is to not stay in the abyss; it’s to keep it moving. We owe ourselves happiness—we all deserve it. And out there is the right person who shares in your world view, your faith, and sees the same beauties of life that you do. They won’t try and change you but instead celebrate you. Love is supposed to exalt us; it’s supposed to dignify us and if it doesn’t do that, then it isn’t love.
In this Dreamland, it’s easy to get seduced by the newness of something—a new car, a new job, a new relationship. We all love the feeling, the rush of new. Yet sooner or later that novelty goes away and we’re forced to see the relationship for what it is. And deep down we know if it’s preordained and if it’s supposed to exist. The trick is to know when it’s forced and in that moment, you have to walk away. If there are doubts, there’s a reason. It’s best to cut your losses early. But for those dreamlanders like me, who are hopeful romantics and refuse to quit, it’s hard to say goodbye. So we learn the hard way and maybe, even if we lose it all, the one we’re supposed to be with will pick up the phone and say: “You’re not going to believe this but I really just needed to call you.”
It’s well-known that Los Angeles touts itself as a cultural melting pot—a liberal Mecca with a thriving culture of art, music and film. It’s a place of sophistication and forward thinking, and where the only societal pressure is to be the hippest version of you. People are free to date whomever they like, and most onlookers won’t give a second glance. Having lived in the South where interracial dating is still taboo, LA is in direct opposite. I have had the pleasure of dating women of various ethnicities. What I look for in a woman has always been substance and depth. I’ve always been attracted to a woman who has something to say and isn’t afraid to say it. And in my life, these women have come in various tones and shades.
However, like with anything, there is a less appealing side to what talk show host and radio personality, Wendy Williams, calls “the swirl”. On three occasions, I’ve dated women of European descent—most recently, German. She was a sweet, attractive and pleasant woman. Though we had our disagreements and ultimately a failure to sustain what we had, we ended things on honest terms. Yet, there was always an elephant in the room. She always seemed apprehensive to introduce me to her friends with the exception of her roommate. Once, as we sat in a Mexican restaurant near her hometown, a young white woman she recognized approached us. They greeted each other quickly and without introduction, the woman left and my date seemed relieved she didn’t stick around. I didn’t bother asking who it was, since it wasn’t my business, but it was strange.
She would later explain she had no black friends, and limited friends of color. Out of curiosity, I once asked her, why that was? She didn’t really know, but she assumed she just spent time with people who were mostly like her. I found it odd. Living in a metropolis like Los Angeles, I had grown up with friends from all ethnic backgrounds, and I realized how much of a gift it was. I learned so much about other ethnicities and cultures. I learned to see the beauty of humanity; tolerance was imprinted into my upbringing. My parents had a diverse group of friends as well, and I remember as a child thinking that’s how friendship should be—a melting pot.
In a later conversation, she explained she had dated black men before, but nothing serious had materialized. Her friends thought she simply had “the fever”, and that it was more of a phase she was going through since she could never stick it out with a man of color. She assured me that wasn’t the case; instead, she felt she could only see herself marrying a black man. Every now and then we’d have conversations concerning race and identity. She didn’t know much about black history, and rarely shared any tidbits about growing up German. We never attended cultural events in the city, or ventured into neighborhoods that predominately had an ethnic make-up other than white. She lived in the valley, and much of our time was spent there. Looking back, I realize there were times she was clearly uncomfortable. It made me wonder, was I that edgy accessory? Was I the equivalent of getting a tattoo or a piercing in an unexpected place? Was it a case of fetishization and rebellion?
I remember in high school how certain girls from prominent white families would take a black boy to the prom. It was seldom that they would date them for longer than a month, but for the prom they were showcased in photos with the star black athlete—the award-winning wide receiver, the basketball playing MVP, the captain of the wrestling team. Sure, one could say girls just like athletes, but it was peculiar.
I’m an eternal optimist and a racial deconstructionist. I believe racism will only be eliminated when great distinctions in color no longer exist—similar to what was broached in the National Geographic article, “Changing Faces: What Americans Will Look Like in 2050”. But I’m also a realist and understand the nature of people—some like to experiment, and LA is a great place to do it without facing judgment. However, there is something inherently racist in doing so. I faced moments where I felt less like a person and more like “the non-threatening black guy she was dating.” She once said, “From your voice on the phone, I’d never guess you were a black person.” This wasn’t so alarming since I’ve heard it all my life, and I’ve actually mastered sounding ambiguous on the phone—it’s helped me land job interview after job interview. Yet, it still bothered me. What is talking ‘black’? It’s a concept I’ve never gotten. I’m college educated with a master’s degree, so sue me. I read books, sometimes a book a week. Am I an anomaly? I don’t know, but I sure feel like one sometimes. It all boils down to cultural understanding and experience. I don’t think the girl I dated was a closet racist. On the contrary, I think she saw race in America as something that could be shelved and perhaps not really dealt with. After all, people can connect over music, films, food, books, etc. But there will always be that elephant in the room, and ignoring it doesn’t make it go away.
I believe people should date others not because of their racial identities, but because they find them interesting. But if you are going to participate in “the swirl”, just be sure you’re dating someone who has a true interest in your culture. Since it’s a component to identity, someone who has no understanding or interest in learning about where you come from, may have an even less interest in really getting to know you on a deeper level.
I’d like to think these issues are going away soon, but I think they are here to stay for a while. Misunderstandings and stereotypes are traps, and if they burrow their way into a relationship it will prove to be disastrous. More education is needed and an even greater willingness to expose our ignorance to each other, especially if love is at stake. For those participating in the black and white “swirl”, for your next date, skip the romantic comedy and check out “Dear White People”. It might be just the thing that lets that elephant out of the room.
I recently saw David Fincher’s “Gone Girl” which resonated on a few levels. It’s a slick film based on the novel by Gillian Flynn, with an underlying metaphor about the futility of marriage. The female protagonist is Amy, a scorned woman who is also a psychopath. She constructs a revenge scenario of biblical proportions and sets out to make her husband suffer in unimaginable ways.
The film treats marriage as some type of shared psychosis. It’s emotional but also very mental. What exactly happens to a person’s brain when they get married, or better yet, fall deeply in love? Things change upstairs–chemicals and neurons, an altered psychosis.
Amy’s mission is to make her husband feel as bad as she did–worse. She recognizes that at some point, early on, she did love her husband but that love turns to hate upon discovering his infidelity. I understand that Amy is a murderous psychopath, but how she sees marriage may not be that far-fetched. Her philosophy is that when we meet someone and begin to build a relationship, we enter into a social contract. Who you say you are or pretend to be, is who we accept as the truth. It’s like both parties are agreeing to this lie or revision of who they both are–sure, things will come out later but they shouldn’t be earth-shaking shockers.
Where the overall theme becomes apparent, is within the last 15 minutes that leads to the climax and resolution. Amy attempts to restore the contract she had with her husband and in the process she kills. She reclaims her marriage and renegotiates the terms of their agreement. This time with a trump card–pregnancy. The fear of Amy having a child and raising it is what propels her husband to stay. And their marriage becomes an even bigger production. Most marriages are just that–a production. There’s the public version, the private version, and then the version that exists in silence. It’s what isn’t said in the moments at the dinner table. There are people who have been married for years and quietly resent each other, but they don’t divorce. It’s that shared psychosis–a mental illness. Yes, Amy is insane but marriage isn’t for the sane. And they aren’t always about happiness for some. There are those who take comfort in knowing the devil they sleep with. Once you understand the nature of a thing, you know what it’s capable of. It can be much more frightening starting something new and having to get to know the ends and outs of that person. What if they’re worse than the person you left? What if they hurt you again and you can’t recover? These are frightening thoughts for most.
In marriages people hurt each other–some hurt big, some small. Some go out of their way to hurt, and some just make horrible mistakes. Meeting someone sets unknown events into motion. It’s the unknown that we crave and that’s healthy. However, when venturing into the unknown, always be sure you can see a light at the end of the tunnel or at least a good exit route.
Looking back on a past relationship is never pretty. It requires having to filter through moments you thought mattered but didn’t. Those moments that resonated on an emotional level, but for the other person were simply a series of seconds that made up the minutes of some mundane event. It’s harsh but real. When entering a relationship, you must face the possibility that the person you are with isn’t with you because they love you. They can be with you because they fear being alone. Or you may be that experiment–that person they think will save them.
The following are rules when rewinding through the past:
1. It’s going to hurt–it’s going to hurt bad. Even if you weren’t in love with the person, humans have an insatiable need to never give up. There’s always going to be that feeling of–“What if I tried harder?” or “Communicated more?”. The fact is, there is nothing you could have done. In the words of James Caan, “Sometimes we just don’t mix.”
2. Was it really romantic? Romance is a major part of sustaining a relationship. For some, they believe sex over romance will keep something going, but that always fails. Sex changes things. What begins as one thing, is something completely different in the end. You don’t include love, respect, romance, faithfulness–it’s doomed. It’s imperative that you ask yourself, was it ever romantic. Did you get those butterflies in your stomach when that person came around. I’ve felt it a few times in my life and it’s unmistakable. The most recent was with a girl, almost a year ago. She’s gone to Louisiana now, but I’ve been chasing that feeling ever since. I remember standing at her door and waiting for her to open it. I always had a lump in my throat and my stomach was doing flips.
3. Were you inspired? This is major because I’m a firm believer that the person you’re with should inspire you in some way. You should wake up and want to be better for that person because you care what they think of you. If you don’t feel inspired by the moments shared, then they weren’t anything special.
4. Now this is difficult but were they always present in the moment? Was there a time you caught the person drifting off or looking at someone else in front of you? Were they always intently focused on you, like you were the only one in the room? It’s painful to confront but it must be done. If you ever felt like they weren’t fully engaged–eye contact, body language, listening, etc. Then you experienced that so-called “connection” alone. They were simply occupying the chair next you.
5. This may be the hardest, but were they honest with you? Honesty is key, always. Was there ever a time when you just knew they were holding back information (omission), maybe even flat-out lying? I’m one for the truth, no matter how terrible it is. However, there are those who con and through deceit, gain your trust and access to your heart. But with any lie, it falls apart sooner or later. That little lie was a sign of things to come. It meant that you didn’t truly matter, not enough for the person to be straight with you. And it can easily snowball into cheating or more terrible forms of deceit.
In the end, we do the best we can. Dating and relationships of any kind come with risk, but with great risk is the potential for great reward. In the city of dreams, it’s easy to get lost. But Drake put it best, “Know yourself, know your worth.” Don’t ever compromise. Good luck out there Dreamlanders!
“You can hook up with someone for a long time or know their middle name or what records they like, but that’s not a connection…Anyone can have that. Really knowing someone is something else, a completly different thing. And when that happens, you won’t be able to miss it. You will be aware and you won’t hurt or be afraid.” – Adam, HBO’s Girls
It can be a frightening reality, that the people we love are strangers. We don’t always know they’re strangers but one day, maybe a month after meeting, six months, a year, ten years, you realized you didn’t really know the person you shared your life with. We humans, we dreamers, have a way of building people up–making them into something they’re not. People do it everyday, we revise people so they’re what we desire.
Yet, it comes a time when you have to accept people for who and what they are. Sure, we want people to be their best because on some level we all aspire to be more. But we all get there at a different pace. Pushing someone to be something they’re not never works. It causes resentment and mental anguish. The real work should be spent knowing the person–who they really are. We should learn to listen more and talk less. Enjoy the moment and after all that, if the person still seems to be an enigma, there’s a reason. Some mysteries just aren’t meant to be solved.
|
tomekkorbak/pile-curse-small
|
Pile-CC
|
Q:
Have the kernel load a user-defined function by default
I wrote a very simple function that I would like to act as if it were one of the default functions that came with Mathematica, so that you don't have to load or import any package before you make use of it. The reason is, the function is so simple, that its almost just as easy to just re-write the function as it is to import a file every time. It would be nice though if I just didn't have to do anything.
Is there any way to achieve this behavior?
A:
You could add it to the initialization file.
See more in the documentation:
http://reference.wolfram.com/mathematica/ref/file/init.m.html
|
tomekkorbak/pile-curse-small
|
StackExchange
|
Q:
Search Property for Sites
I know there is a way to search so that the results are only sites.
Eg. Type: Site
^ Doesn't work
Does anyone know what the property is?
A:
The following query should work:
{sitename} contentclass:STS_Web
where {sitename} is the text based on which you want to search the sites.
|
tomekkorbak/pile-curse-small
|
StackExchange
|
Q:
Search select when `input` as single letter
I am doing a search and highlight functionality. when the user types in first time, it all works. but next keyup (adding other letter in text box) the function not working.
I strongly beleave that, when i am doing the 'replaceWith' - which is adding the "" double quotes on the text. so the regexp fails...
how to handle this issue?
UPDATE
I updated my code. it's somewhat works. but the problem is it's only selects one letter in case there is a word match.
var input = $('#keyWord');
var origional = $('.container');
var content = $('.container *');
var highlight = function (str, className) {
var regex = new RegExp(str, "gi");
if(origional.find('.searchHighlight').length) {
origional.find('.searchHighlight').replaceWith(function() {
return $(this).contents();
});
}
content.each(function () {
$(this).contents().filter(function() {
return this.nodeType == 3 && regex.test(this.nodeValue);
}).replaceWith(function() {
return (this.nodeValue || "").replace(regex, function(match) {
return "<span class=\"" + className + "\">" + match + "</span>";
});
});
});
};
input.on('input', function(event) {
event.preventDefault();
var searchWrod = event.target.value;
if(!searchWrod) {
origional.find('.searchHighlight').replaceWith(function() {
return $(this).contents();
});
return;
}
highlight(searchWrod, 'searchHighlight');
});
.searchHighlight{
border:1px solid red;
}
<script src="https://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/2.1.1/jquery.min.js"></script>
<div class="container">
<div>Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit. Dolor error sint eaque ratione quasi a, ullam tenetur sed voluptas est nulla adipisci reiciendis libero nesciunt obcaecati! Repellat labore voluptatum numquam.</div>
<div>Voluptates ipsum a at reiciendis iure nemo, inventore eligendi ut, ex necessitatibus similique dolore quae qui voluptatem, amet iste dolorum reprehenderit cum modi quibusdam unde asperiores. Magni laboriosam porro, repellat.</div>
<div>Ducimus esse alias odit, ipsa iusto similique unde. Accusantium laudantium temporibus est nobis quaerat impedit facere aut eum quas, cupiditate, dignissimos reprehenderit quia deserunt similique illum unde dolor dolorem harum.</div>
<div>Culpa rerum optio labore vero reprehenderit nulla laborum ducimus ipsum, animi fugiat, at, ipsa maiores. Consectetur doloremque, quia praesentium excepturi tempore, quisquam delectus dolorum aliquid reprehenderit cumque earum. Distinctio, voluptatibus?</div>
<div>Quis quos, iste placeat rerum facere dolorum deleniti natus architecto dolores possimus recusandae, alias esse sapiente sequi. Recusandae animi itaque iste, quas, nisi at, deserunt expedita, praesentium veniam numquam adipisci.</div>
<div>Ducimus itaque corporis perspiciatis consequatur ut saepe unde non voluptates, debitis, eum similique nobis fugiat sunt illum ipsa accusamus asperiores animi? Amet quas animi odit nam accusantium excepturi cum, error.</div>
<div>Nam mollitia esse eligendi saepe, ipsa soluta, repellat ullam perspiciatis nisi nemo quos quas alias molestiae nulla, obcaecati deleniti asperiores cumque illo dolore! Minus dolorem, voluptate reiciendis, distinctio consequuntur esse?</div>
<div>Iure blanditiis quis cumque quo rem expedita fugit soluta ullam? Possimus quia ratione alias amet vitae, a voluptatem, repellendus dolor neque? Eos vitae laborum, architecto mollitia temporibus eius maiores nobis?</div>
<div>Assumenda quod soluta odio harum unde blanditiis ab odit sapiente ducimus quidem recusandae molestias porro placeat corrupti, obcaecati nostrum quasi ex repudiandae earum omnis ipsum architecto neque quas rerum. Maxime.</div>
<div>Amet expedita magnam at alias praesentium, doloremque tenetur facilis dolor itaque necessitatibus eum ducimus repudiandae, nobis corrupti sequi eveniet voluptatum. Enim, id nostrum iste animi cupiditate totam. Voluptas, aliquid, dolorem.</div>
<div class="row">
<input type="text" name="keyword" id="keyWord">
</div>
</div>
How to come up with this issue?
A:
I wrote the answer with your original code, but changed CSS border to outline so the text doesn't jump around upon typing.
Your problem is that when you do the replacement for the highlighting of the first letter, the textNode gets "cut up" into pieces. Even deleting the <span> you put around it, doesn't concatenate the textNodes back into 1 big textNode.
So searching for P means the content PageMaker gets cut up into <span>P</span> and ageMaker. Then when you search for Pa, you delete the <span> but the code is still searching in 2 separate nodes P and ageMaker. Neither of them contain Pa, so nothing gets highlighted.
Simply doing $("#test").html($("#test").html()); solves this issue.
Besides that I changed the order in the keyup so the highlight gets deleted when there's an empty search-query. As well I added a replace to the input-string to escape any characters that are interpreted as special characters in a regex. In your original code, search for y. would be interpreted as a regex meaning "Search for a y followed by any character except line-break." because that's the meaning of a . in regexes. Escaping these characters fixes this.
var highLighter = function (str) {
var regex = new RegExp(str.replace(/[-\/\\^$*+?.()|[\]{}]/g, '\\$&'), "gi");
$('#test *').each(function () {
$(this).contents().filter(function() {
return this.nodeType == 3;
}).replaceWith(function() {
return (this.nodeValue || "").replace(regex, function(match) {
return "<span class='highlight'>" + match + "</span>";
});
});
});
}
$('#keyWord').on('input', function (e) {
var text = e.target.value;
$(".highlight").replaceWith(function() { return $(this).text(); });
$("#test").html($("#test").html()); // concatinates adjacent text-nodes back to a single text-node
if(!text) return;
highLighter(text);
});
.highlight{
outline:1px solid red;
}
<script src="https://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/2.1.1/jquery.min.js"></script>
<div id="parent">
<div id="test">
<p>Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry's standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book. It has survived not only five centuries, but also the leap into electronic typesetting, remaining essentially unchanged. It was popularised in the 1960s with the release of Letraset sheets containing Lorem Ipsum passages, and more recently with desktop publishing software like Aldus PageMaker including versions of Lorem Ipsum.</p>
<p>Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry's standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book. It has survived not only five centuries, but also the leap into electronic typesetting, remaining essentially unchanged. It was popularised in the 1960s with the release of Letraset sheets containing Lorem Ipsum passages, and more recently with desktop publishing software like Aldus PageMaker including versions of Lorem Ipsum.</p>
</div>
</div>
<input type="text" id="keyWord" />
|
tomekkorbak/pile-curse-small
|
StackExchange
|
Q:
AngularJS html5Mode refresh fails
So this is my router:
var app = angular.module('tradePlace', ['ngRoute', 'tradeCntrls']);
app.config(['$routeProvider', '$locationProvider', function($route, $location) {
$route.
when('/', {
redirectTo: '/index'
}).
when('/index', {
templateUrl: './includes/templates/index.php',
controller: 'indexCntrl'
}).
when('/register', {
templateUrl: './includes/templates/register.php',
controller: 'indexCntrl'
}).
otherwise({
redirectTo: '/index'
});
$location.html5Mode(true);
}])
I have html5 mode true, so now the URL have not a # in it.
If I go to mysite.com/ it redirect`s me to /index but when I reload the page (f5) or go to mysite.com/index I get a 404 error.
Is there a way to fix this? Or just don`t use html5 mode?
A:
For Apache use in your .htaccess:
RewriteEngine On
RewriteBase /
RewriteRule ^index.php - [L]
#your static data in the folder app
RewriteRule ^app - [L]
#everything else
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ index.php?para=$1 [QSA,L]
EDIT:
The whole requested url is passed as para to the php file. You can further process this in the php skript with $_GET['para'] if needed.
Apache rewrites your request and delivers the file which match the rules.
i.e. request:
http://somehost.com/blabla -> index.php?para=blabla
http://somehost.com/app/mainapp.js -> app/mainapp.js
|
tomekkorbak/pile-curse-small
|
StackExchange
|
Responding to a grand jury report that found "substantial evidence" of sexual abuse of children, the Philadelphia Catholic Archdiocese has placed 21 priests on administrative leave.
Although 37 priests were identified last month for allegedly behaving inappropriately with children, the grand jury said it had seen the files of only about 20 priests, The Philadelphia Inquirer says.
In a statement, the archdiocese said five others would have been put on leave but two are serving in other archdioceses, while three others "have not been in active ministry." (One was on leave, and two others are incapacitated.) For the two serving elsewhere, the archdiocese said it would notify their superiors.
The remaining priests won't be put on leave, the archdiocese said, because the grand jury "found no further investigation is warranted."
In a separate statement, the Philadelphia archbishop, Cardinal Justin Rigali, said, "These have been difficult weeks since the release of the grand jury report: difficult most of all for victims of sexual abuse, but also for all Catholics and for everyone in our community."
"As we strive to move forward today, I wish to express again my sorrow for the sexual abuse of minors committed by any members of the church, especially clergy," Rigali said. "I am truly sorry for the harm done to the victims of sexual abuse, as well as to the members of our community who suffer as a result of this great evil and crime."
Since the Feb. 10 grand jury report, two lawsuits have been filed against the archdiocese over allegations that clergy covered up sexual assaults by priests in the 1990s. The latest was filed Monday.
|
tomekkorbak/pile-curse-small
|
OpenWebText2
|
Q:
getting invalid syntax while creating new app in django
I've installed Django and i try to create a new app but i get this message and i don't understand why...
here is what my terminal displays
#>python manage.py startapp backoffice
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "manage.py", line 10, in <module>
execute_from_command_line(sys.argv)
File "/usr/local/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/django/core/management /__init__.py", line 385, in execute_from_command_line
utility.execute()
File "/usr/local/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/django/core/management/__init__.py", line 345, in execute
settings.INSTALLED_APPS
File "/usr/local/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/django/conf/__init__.py", line 46, in __getattr__
self._setup(name)
File "/usr/local/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/django/conf/__init__.py", line 42, in _setup
self._wrapped = Settings(settings_module)
File "/usr/local/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/django/conf/__init__.py", line 94, in __init__
mod = importlib.import_module(self.SETTINGS_MODULE)
File "/usr/lib/python2.7/importlib/__init__.py", line 37, in import_module
__import__(name)
File "/home/antares/fensalir/fensalir/settings.py", line 64
LANGUAGE_CODE = 'fr-fr'
^
SyntaxError: invalid syntax
and here is my settings.py
DEBUG = True
TEMPLATE_DEBUG = True
ALLOWED_HOSTS = []
# Application definition
INSTALLED_APPS = (
'django.contrib.admin',
'django.contrib.auth',
'django.contrib.contenttypes',
'django.contrib.sessions',
'django.contrib.messages',
'django.contrib.staticfiles',
)
MIDDLEWARE_CLASSES = (
'django.contrib.sessions.middleware.SessionMiddleware',
'django.middleware.common.CommonMiddleware',
'django.middleware.csrf.CsrfViewMiddleware',
'django.contrib.auth.middleware.AuthenticationMiddleware',
'django.contrib.auth.middleware.SessionAuthenticationMiddleware',
'django.contrib.messages.middleware.MessageMiddleware',
'django.middleware.clickjacking.XFrameOptionsMiddleware',
)
ROOT_URLCONF = 'fensalir.urls'
WSGI_APPLICATION = 'fensalir.wsgi.application'
# Database
# https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/1.7/ref/settings/#databases
DATABASES = {
'default': {
'ENGINE': 'django.db.backends.mysql', # Internationalization
# 'OPTIONS' : { "init_command": "SET foreign_key_checks = 0;" },# https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/1.7/topics/i18n/
'NAME': 'xxxxx',
LANGUAGE_CODE = 'fr-fr'
'USER': 'xxx',
TIME_ZONE = 'Europe/Paris'
'PASSWORD': 'xxx',
USE_I18N = True
'HOST': 'mysql.xxxxxx',
USE_L10N = True
'PORT': '',
USE_TZ = True
}
# Static files (CSS, JavaScript, Images) https://docs.djangoproject.com /en/1.7/howto/static-files/
}
STATIC_URL = '/static/'
STATIC_ROOT = os.path.join(BASE_DIR, "static")
STATICFILES_DIRS = (
os.path.join(BASE_DIR, "backoffice/static"),
)
Can somebody help me ?
A:
You haven't closed the DATABASES dictionary before defining next settings. Should be:
DATABASES = {
'default': {
'ENGINE': 'django.db.backends.mysql',
'NAME': 'xxxxx',
'USER': 'xxx',
'PASSWORD': 'xxx',
'HOST': 'mysql.xxxxxx',
'PORT': '',
}
}
LANGUAGE_CODE = 'fr-fr'
TIME_ZONE = 'Europe/Paris'
USE_I18N = True
USE_L10N = True
USE_TZ = True
|
tomekkorbak/pile-curse-small
|
StackExchange
|
SEATTLE — American Christian cartoonist Joe King’s calendar, “I’m Not Gay, I’m Just a Sissy,” drew a firestorm of criticism from the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) and LGBT bloggers, who this week denounced the calendar and its sale through internet retail giants Amazon and Barnes & Noble, both of whom have since removed the calendar from their sales offerings.
The controversy began earlier this week when New York-based gay blogger Andy Towle detailed the contents of King’s calendar, which includes jokes about AIDS and gay lifestyles, and negative stereotyping of gay men.
“This calendar has no business being sold and supported by reputable retailers,” said Herndon Graddick, Senior Director of Programs and Communications for GLAAD, in an e-mail statement. “King has a right to his opinions, however anti-gay or anti-transgender they may be, but retailers also have the right to decide that they don’t want to support hateful and dehumanizing content like this.”
Barnes & Noble has since yanked the calendar for sale on its website, and a spokesperson for the company told GLAAD that it has never been made available in its retail stores. Amazon has also removed the item.
The calendar — which is dedicated to the memory of the U.S. revolutionary hero Paul Revere, and to gay rights opponent Anita Bryant — promises “12 months of sexual confusion” and has drawn staunch criticism for what many some deemed homophobic humor and imagery, including one illustration which appears to poke fun at the HIV/AIDS crisis.
Another cartoon is a parody of Revere, showing him on horseback shouting, “The sodomites are coming! The sodomites are coming!”
Few in the LGBT community are laughing about the calendar and as the fury built, its author hit back at critics.
King, a member of the Christian Comic Art Society, took to his Facebook page writing in defense of his work.
“I feel like David vs. the gay Goliath,” King writes in one post. In another, he adds, “All the hysteria is coming from those nice folks who haven’t bothered to actually purchase and read my collection. Stranger still — these are REPRINTS of nationally distributed work several years old. No outcry then.”
Critics were quick to point out this post in which King writes:
The “truth” is that AIDS is an “elective” disease. It STOPS the day guys quit sticking it to each other. And for the tragedy of women and children infected… THAT stops the day their gay husbands and fathers stop cheating on them. Anyone need MORE education, science or funding to understand THAT?
King, responding angrily to complaints, and commented: “Hoo-we! Hell hath no fury like a he/she scorned… The telephone tree of tantrums is lit up like a Las Vegas marquee for ‘Boy-Lesque’ today with hate mail, threats of boycott and even the risk of Jesus spitting on me for my ‘Sissy’ calendar.”
“Aint the first time I’ve been banned – won’t be the last,” King wrote to his Facebook followers on Tursday. “I was born with a loud mouth and an itchy shirt, bury me next to the Baptist. [sic]”
|
tomekkorbak/pile-curse-small
|
OpenWebText2
|
Summary Points {#s1a}
==============
- The number and complexity of medical devices have increased over the past several decades. A series of recent safety issues have raised public awareness about shortcomings in the Food and Drug Administration\'s (FDA) regulation of medical devices.
- We provide a background on medical device premarket review and identify eight addressable weaknesses in the process.
- These include a lower approval standard than their drug counterparts, excessive reliance upon a fast-track process, and failure to conduct Congressionally mandated device classifcations.
- Paradigmatic cases drawn from recent Food and Drug Administration regulatory proceedings illustrate each weakness.
Introduction {#s2}
============
Medical devices encompass nearly every medical product that does not achieve its intended purpose through chemical action, from the simple (tongue blades) to the complex (MRI machines), and from the safe (stethoscopes) to the risky (artificial hearts) [@pmed.1000280-1],[@pmed.1000280-Ramsey1]. Certain drug--device combinations, such as drug-eluting coronary stents, are also regulated as devices.
The number and complexity of medical devices have increased dramatically over the past several decades, often to the betterment of patients\' health. Between 1997 and 2006, the value of device sales roughly doubled to US\$123 billion, representing a fairly consistent 6% of the nation\'s health care expenditures [@pmed.1000280-Roland1].
The Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH) at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is charged with ensuring the safety and effectiveness of medical devices. While a number of serious safety problems with devices have emerged---the Dalkon Shield [@pmed.1000280-Centers1], the Bjork-Shiley heart valve [@pmed.1000280-US1], and the Sprint Fidelis defibrillator lead [@pmed.1000280-Schultz1], to name a few---problems with effectiveness are not as readily apparent once a device is on the market, in part because postmarket efficacy trials of approved devices are rare. Thus, the burden of ensuring device effectiveness is heavily weighted toward premarket evaluation.
In this article, we first review the history of premarket device regulation at CDRH and then identify eight addressable weaknesses at the FDA level and above that impede the agency\'s ability to review devices for efficacy, each accompanied by paradigmatic cases from recent regulatory proceedings. [Table 1](#pmed-1000280-t001){ref-type="table"} summarizes these weaknesses according to the type of remedial action required. The cases are intended only to be illustrative and do not represent a random subset of FDA device approvals. Because of FDA policies prohibiting the release of data on unapproved products, we are unable to estimate the prevalence of these problems. Moreover, we do not evaluate each of the approximately 3,000 applications approved or cleared by CDRH each year. Other aspects of medical device regulation, such as postmarketing surveillance, modifications to already-approved devices, and manufacturing facility inspection, are beyond the scope of this article.
10.1371/journal.pmed.1000280.t001
###### Summary of statutory and regulatory issues, case exemplars, and necessary corrective actions.
{#pmed-1000280-t001-1}
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Case Exemplar Definitive Action Needed Immediate Shifts in Agency Discretionary Practices
*Problems requiring statutory actions* [a](#nt101){ref-type="table-fn"}
Issue 1 Lower approval standard for devices than for drugs Vagus nerve stimulator Amend 21 USC § 360c to require treatment devices to meet the same standard as drugs Insist on higher standards
Issue 3 Disparate technological characteristics Transcranial magnetic stimulation Repeal 21 USC § 360c(i)(1)(A)(ii) to prohibit such comparisons Conservative application in limited number of cases
Issue 4 *De novo* process Transcranial magnetic stimulation Repeal 21 USC § 360c(f)(2) Limited use for only devices which are low risk
Issue 8 Unique appeal mechanism for device manufacturers Intergel adhesion barrier Repeal 21 USC § 360e(g)(2) Use other established dispute resolution routes that already exist for pharmaceuticals and biologics
*Problems requiring regulatory actions* [a](#nt101){ref-type="table-fn"}
Issue 2 Permissive interpretation of "same intended use" Collagen scaffold Regulation defining criteria for determining "same intended use" Tighten agency interpretation of "same intended use"
Issue 5 Predicate creep Pathwork tissue of origin test See actions for issues 2 and 3 See shifts in agency practice for issues 2 and 3
*Problems requiring changes in discretionary practices*
Issue 6 Failure to complete review of class III 510(k) devices Intraaortic balloon pump Complete classification of such devices, requiring PMA applications for those retained in class III Same as definitive action
Issue 7 Some devices have never been classified Heart valve allograft Complete classification of all unclassified preamendments devices Same as definitive action
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Although these weaknesses are susceptible to shifts in agency discretionary practices, such changes are not sufficient; for consistent and meaningful improvement, these laws and regulations must be revisited and strengthened.
History and Background of Premarket Device Review {#s3}
=================================================
For much of the twentieth century, medical devices were largely unregulated and the vast majority were not subject to any premarket review. To address this vacuum, in 1976 Congress passed the landmark Medical Device Amendments (MDA) to the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA). Its primary purpose was to prevent the distribution of dangerous and ineffective devices by creating a comprehensive premarket review mechanism. This was accomplished by steering new devices through one of two premarket review procedures --- "premarket approval" (PMA) and "premarket notification," the latter often referred to as "510(k)" after the relevant section of the FDCA --- determined by a three-tiered scheme that stratifies devices into "classes" corresponding to their potential risks ([Figure 1](#pmed-1000280-g001){ref-type="fig"}) [@pmed.1000280-Maisel1],[@pmed.1000280-Center1].
{#pmed-1000280-g001}
A PMA application is analogous to a New Drug Application (NDA). Sponsors must submit valid scientific evidence, generally based on clinical trials, that directly establishes safety and efficacy. By contrast, in a 510(k) submission, a sponsor establishes that a device is safe and effective by demonstrating only that the new device is "substantially equivalent" to an existing ("predicate") 510(k) device [@pmed.1000280-Center2]. Substantial equivalence is evaluated according to the *intended use* of the product and its *technological characteristics* [@pmed.1000280-2]. Once a device is cleared as a 510(k), it may serve as a predicate device for subsequent 510(k) submissions.
Class III devices are high-risk, or novel, devices and most require direct demonstration of safety and effectiveness through the PMA pathway. Class II devices present moderate risks to patients; in most cases, manufacturers must submit 510(k)s before marketing. Class I devices are low-risk and most are currently exempted from any premarket review [@pmed.1000280-Government1]; they are subject only to rudimentary controls such as product listing and labeling. From fiscal years 2003--2007, roughly 50,000 devices entered the market, of which 2%, 26%, and 71% were class III, II, and I, respectively (these figures include applications for postmarket modifications, an issue not covered in this article). During this period, 79% of class III devices went through PMA, with the remaining proceeding through 510(k) (*see Issue 6 below*). Fourteen and 96% of class II and I devices were 510(k)-exempt, respectively [@pmed.1000280-Government1].
Lower Approval Standard for Medical Devices Than for Drugs (Issue 1) {#s4}
====================================================================
Regardless of whether the product is reviewed under PMA or 510(k), by statute the approval standard for medical devices is lower than for drugs. Before a new drug can be marketed, the sponsor must show "substantial evidence \[of effectiveness\]," [@pmed.1000280-3] whereas the sponsor of a new device need only demonstrate a "reasonable assurance of ... safety and effectiveness" [@pmed.1000280-4]. In practice, NDAs typically contain two or more well-controlled clinical studies [@pmed.1000280-Center3], whereas for PMA applications, a single study is the norm [@pmed.1000280-5] and most 510(k)s contain no clinical data [@pmed.1000280-Government2]. While for drugs, "uncontrolled studies or partially controlled studies are not acceptable as the sole basis for the approval of claims of effectiveness," [@pmed.1000280-6] for devices, the regulations permit "reliance upon other valid scientific evidence ... even in the absence of well-controlled investigations" [@pmed.1000280-7]. Thus, data that would never be sufficient to support the approval of a drug can result in the approval of a device used to treat the same condition, potentially diverting patients from effective drugs to less-effective devices.
This concern is not merely theoretical. Consider the vagus nerve stimulator (VNS), a surgically implanted device for treatment-resistant depression. In the only randomized controlled trial (RCT), the device did not demonstrate a statistically significant benefit on the primary measure of depression at ten weeks (p = 0.25) [@pmed.1000280-Rush1]. However, in its PMA application, the company relied on follow-up data at one year in which treated patients were claimed to have improved more than a non-randomized, unblinded, non-concurrent control group (p\<0.001); both groups were also permitted co-interventions. A psychopharmacology expert in the FDA\'s drug center advised CDRH that, with similar data for an antidepressant drug, the center would not have permitted the filing of an NDA, adding, "it is artificial to us to consider one study for a device (that is negative on face) as sufficient to provide evidence for regulatory efficacy when we require positive studies for a drug" [@pmed.1000280-United1]. While CDRH initially issued a non-approvable letter, the director of CDRH reversed this decision and approved the device, overruling more than 20 FDA scientists and officials [@pmed.1000280-United1].
Subsequently, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services determined that VNS was not "reasonable and necessary," the standard for reimbursement under Medicare. Moreover, it did "not believe there is a treatment benefit directly attributable to VNS" [@pmed.1000280-Coverage1]. Other third-party payers have also denied coverage for this expensive device [@pmed.1000280-Lurie1].
Reliance upon Less-Rigorous Review Mechanisms {#s5}
=============================================
Compared to the PMA process, the 510(k) review is "generally less stringent ... less expensive ... \[and\] faster" [@pmed.1000280-Government1]. The average total review time for review of 510(k) submissions in fiscal year 2006 was 54 days, whereas for PMA applications it was 283 days [@pmed.1000280-Food1]. Unlike PMA applications, direct evidence of safety and effectiveness is usually not required for 510(k) submissions [@pmed.1000280-Center2]; only 10--15% of 510(k) submissions contain any clinical data [@pmed.1000280-Government2]. Instead, 510(k) submissions primarily contain performance characteristics comparing a new device to a predicate. In considering a PMA application, the FDA may consult with an advisory committee comprised of non-government experts; this option is rarely pursued for 510(k) submissions. As the FDA acknowledges, it "does not attempt to address all of the issues \[that\] would be answered in a PMA in its review of 510(k)s" [@pmed.1000280-Center2]. Finally, whereas the FDA has explicit authority to recall or temporarily suspend marketing of PMA-approved devices [@pmed.1000280-8], corresponding statutory language does not exist for 510(k)-cleared devices.
Permissive Interpretation of "Same Intended Use" (Issue 2) {#s5a}
----------------------------------------------------------
According to FDA practices subsequently codified in the Safe Medical Devices Act of 1990 (SMDA), a device must have the same intended use as its predicate for clearance under the 510(k) process. However, the intended use of a product and its labeled indication are not synonymous [@pmed.1000280-CDRH1]. In the absence of a statutory definition of "same intended use," agency practice permits a lenient interpretation of this term; the agency asserts that its "scientific expertise enables it to exercise considerable discretion in construing intended uses" [@pmed.1000280-Center2]. In practice, the FDA has permitted even novel implantable devices to be reviewed under the 510(k) process.
For example, ReGen\'s Menaflex Collagen Scaffold (MCS) is a device implanted during arthroscopic surgery to replace a damaged medial meniscus. After consulting with the FDA, which determined that the MCS belonged in class III [@pmed.1000280-Medicare1], ReGen began a trial to support a PMA application [@pmed.1000280-Food2]---a two-year RCT comparing partial meniscectomy to partial meniscectomy with MCS implantation---with the final patient evaluated in May 2005 [@pmed.1000280-ReGen1]. The trial failed to show any benefit for the MCS on all three primary clinical endpoints [@pmed.1000280-Center4],[@pmed.1000280-Hines1]. In December 2005, the FDA allowed the company to shift courses and submit a 510(k) claiming that the MCS was a surgical mesh. This, and another 510(k) submitted in December 2006, were both rejected by the agency.
In a third attempt submitted in July 2008, ReGen again claimed the MCS was substantially equivalent to surgical meshes (e.g., rotator cuff mesh, anal fistula plug, hernia repair graft, pelvic floor reconstruction mesh). However, as an FDA reviewer pointed out [@pmed.1000280-Hines1], none of these meshes are implanted in a weight-bearing joint or intended to facilitate the regrowth of articular cartilage.
The company downplayed the results of the RCT and argued that it was entitled to the less-rigorous review given to the MCS\'s predicate devices. It claimed that bench testing data (e.g., suture retention strength and tensile strength) should provide the primary basis for establishing substantial equivalence [@pmed.1000280-No1]. Articulating this point before an FDA advisory committee, the company asserted that the committee\'s decision should be based upon "the function of this device as a surgical mesh ... and not the ultimate clinical outcome" [@pmed.1000280-Center5]. After a favorable advisory committee review, the FDA cleared the MCS for commercial distribution in December 2008.
In September 2009, the FDA released a preliminary report criticizing its own handling of the MCS\'s premarket review [@pmed.1000280-Food2]. The report described a contentious review process, with the FDA ultimately acceding to intense pressure from ReGen and its Congressional advocates by altering its typical review procedures. Irregularities included unusual involvement of senior FDA leadership---including the then-FDA commissioner---in decisions usually made at lower levels, a shortened review time, and replacement of several standing advisory committee members with clinicians in specialties thought more likely to favor the device. In addition, the report described the replacement of the FDA review team by an FDA official (thought by the company to be more likely to be favorably disposed toward the device) to present the agency\'s findings before the advisory committee. Lastly, the report described over reliance on the advisory committee\'s recommendation in clearing the MCS and highlighted disagreement within the agency over the interpretation of "same intended use" employed in this case. The FDA is currently reevaluating its clearance of the MCS. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has proposed denying reimbursement for the MCS on the grounds that "the evidence is adequate to conclude that the collagen meniscus implant does not improve health outcomes" [@pmed.1000280-Coverage2].
Disparate Technological Characteristics (Issue 3) {#s5b}
-------------------------------------------------
The other criterion for substantial equivalence, also codified in the SMDA, relates to the technological characteristics of a new device and its predicate. Differences in such characteristics do not preclude a finding of substantial equivalence, as long as the differences do not raise new issues of safety or effectiveness [@pmed.1000280-9]. Indeed, 14% of cleared 510(k) submissions have different technological characteristics than their predicates [@pmed.1000280-Government1]. This provision has led to devices acting as predicates for markedly dissimilar devices.
For instance, the transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) device is intended to treat depression by applying a magnetic field to a specific region of the brain. The agency permitted TMS to be reviewed under the 510(k) process with electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) as the predicate device, even though ECT involves the administration of electrical currents to induce a generalized seizure. Despite this claim of equivalence, the manufacturer, Neuronetics, provided no information suggesting it conducted any studies directly comparing the two devices [@pmed.1000280-Center6]; instead, it conducted a nine-week RCT comparing TMS to a placebo. The difference between patients treated with active and sham TMS was clinically minor (1.7 points on a 60-point scale) and statistically non-significant (*p* = 0.057); only the post hoc exclusion of six patients who had met a priori inclusion criteria yielded statistical significance (*p* = 0.038) [@pmed.1000280-OReardon1],[@pmed.1000280-Lurie2]. An advisory committee concluded that "the clinical effect was perhaps marginal, borderline, questionable, and perhaps a reasonable person could ask whether there was an effect at all" [@pmed.1000280-Center7]. The FDA subsequently determined that TMS was not substantially equivalent to ECT.
De Novo Process (Issue 4) {#s5c}
-------------------------
However, Neuronetics persisted and TMS ultimately reached the market via a relatively obscure premarket review procedure called the de novo process. Created in the FDA Modernization Act of 1997 (FDAMA) as a means to permit low-risk, novel devices onto the market without a PMA, it is reserved only for devices previously denied clearance in the 510(k) pathway. Under this pathway, the sponsor of a rejected product may request clearance without identifying a predicate device, thus circumventing another 510(k) or even a PMA [@pmed.1000280-10]. Here, the company requested clearance for a modified indication identified by a questionable post hoc analysis [@pmed.1000280-Lisanby1],[@pmed.1000280-Hines2] of the negative RCT. Importantly, Neuronetics could not have used the de novo process without the initial 510(k) designation, which itself was made possible only by permitting technologically dissimilar devices to use the 510(k) pathway. Since the de novo process was created, 52 devices have been cleared through this pathway [@pmed.1000280-Center8].
Predicate Creep (Issue 5) {#s5d}
-------------------------
The 510(k) process allows sponsors to identify a predicate device that was itself substantially equivalent to another device that was substantially equivalent to another, and so on. This iterative process permits a scenario in which, over multiple cycles, a new device can be quite dissimilar to the original predicate device---so-called "predicate creep" [@pmed.1000280-Government1],[@pmed.1000280-Food2].
For example, the Pathwork Tissue of Origin Test, cleared in 2008, is a microarray kit that compares the RNA expression pattern from a tumor with an unknown primary to the expression patterns of 15 common tumors [@pmed.1000280-Center9]. This device\'s predicate device was the BioPlex 2200 Medical Decision Support Software, a software algorithm cleared in 2005 that assists in diagnosing autoimmune disorders by matching enzyme-linked immunoassay results to a database of sera from patients with autoimmune disorders [@pmed.1000280-Center10]. This device, in turn, had been declared substantially equivalent to the Remedi HS Drug Profiling System, an algorithm-based diagnostic kit cleared in 1995 that tests for illicit drugs. Thus, a screening test for illicit drugs ultimately allowed for the clearance of a malignancy diagnostic test, simply because both use computer programs to compare samples to an existing database.
Failure to Implement Statutory Requirements {#s6}
===========================================
When the MDA was enacted, more than 1,700 types of devices were already in commercial distribution [@pmed.1000280-Government3], the so-called "preamendments" devices. Although their continued marketing was permitted, the FDA was required to assemble expert panels to assign them to one of the three medical device classes, which the FDA then finalized. The FDA finalized the last panel recommendations in 1988 [@pmed.1000280-11].
As a result, any class I or II preamendments device could remain on the market without submitting a 510(k) [@pmed.1000280-12]. Class III preamendments devices (approximately 8% of preamendments device types [@pmed.1000280-Government3]) were permitted to remain on the market until the FDA finalized a rule calling for a PMA application for that type of device; until then, these devices could serve as predicates in subsequent 510(k) submissions for class III devices [@pmed.1000280-Center1].
Failure to Complete Review of Class III 510(k) Devices (Issue 6) {#s6a}
----------------------------------------------------------------
With scarce resources and new devices continually entering the market, the FDA was slow to call for PMA applications for these devices. In the 1990 SMDA, Congress expanded the definition of class II to include some devices previously considered class III. Thus, Congress required the agency to revisit the class III preamendments device types still regulated under 510(k) to either reclassify them or issue a rule requiring a PMA application by December 1, 1996 [@pmed.1000280-CDRH2],[@pmed.1000280-13].
We tracked the 135 class III preamendments device types identified by the FDA in 1994 to establish their current regulatory status ([Figure 2](#pmed-1000280-g002){ref-type="fig"}) [@pmed.1000280-CDRH2]. The FDA had issued regulations for only 5% (seven types) of these devices at the time of the 1990 SMDA. By the 1996 deadline, it had complied with the statutory mandate for only 38% of class III preamendments devices. At present, the FDA still has not completed regulatory proceedings for 22 of the original 135 class III preamendments device types (16%), allowing them to continue to serve as predicate devices under the 510(k) process. According to a recent United States Government Accountability Office report [@pmed.1000280-Government1], two-thirds of all class III preamendments devices cleared from FY2003--2007 were implanted, life-sustaining, or posed a significant risk. Responding to this report, the FDA recently initiated the process of determining whether a PMA would be required for most of the remaining devices [@pmed.1000280-14].
{#pmed-1000280-g002}
ECT, certain pacemakers and pacemaker leads, hemodialysis shunts, and certain cardiopulmonary bypass pumps are all class III devices still cleared through the 510(k) pathway. This enabled Neuronetics to file a 510(k) submission, rather than a PMA, for TMS. Intra-aortic balloon pumps are also class III preamendments devices currently cleared through the 510(k) pathway, most without the provision of clinical data [@pmed.1000280-Center11]. The devices have been associated with rare but serious complications, including severe bleeding, limb ischemia, and death [@pmed.1000280-Cohen1].
Some Devices Have Never Been Classified (Issue 7) {#s6b}
-------------------------------------------------
More than 200 types of preamendments devices have never been placed into class I, II, or III [@pmed.1000280-Center12]. Overlooked by the FDA in the original classification process, these devices proceed through the 510(k) pathway using other unclassified devices as predicates. Examples include silicone pectoralis muscle implants, malar implants, and certain vertebral body internal fixation devices.
Manufacturer Appeal Mechanisms Unique to Center for Devices and Radiologic Health (Issue 8) {#s6c}
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In 1997, the FDAMA created a Medical Devices Dispute Resolution Panel (MDDRP), an external panel intended to help resolve scientific disputes between sponsors and the FDA [@pmed.1000280-CDRH3]. This panel, unique to CDRH, provides a sponsor with another opportunity to secure a favorable outcome, even after the FDA has formally rejected its device. It has been used three times. The first product to come before the MDDRP was Lifecore\'s Intergel, a solution instilled into the peritoneal space after gynecologic surgery to reduce postoperative adhesions. Citing a higher infection rate and questionable clinical benefit in a placebo-controlled trial, an advisory committee voted against approving Intergel in 2000 [@pmed.1000280-Center13]. The FDA shortly followed with a non-approvable decision, prompting Lifecore to request a MDDRP meeting. In 2001, when presented with a modified indication and additional data from an animal safety study, the panel voted in favor of approval, which the FDA subsequently granted (it is not obligated to follow MDDRP recommendations). Less than two years later, Lifecore removed Intergel from the market after reports of repeat operations for pain, foreign body reactions, and tissue adherence [@pmed.1000280-Center14].
Discussion {#s7}
==========
Advances in medical device technologies have translated into significant improvements in the health of patients. Yet cracks in the device review system may threaten to undermine this progress. Our analysis has identified eight specific potential weaknesses in the premarket review process ([Table 1](#pmed-1000280-t001){ref-type="table"}). Although each is considered separately, these weaknesses often interact with one another. Moreover, three overarching issues provide the context in which these weaknesses take place.
First, the 1997 amendments direct the agency to consider the "least burdensome" means of showing effectiveness for devices [@pmed.1000280-15],[@pmed.1000280-16], giving the industry recourse to challenge many requests it regards as onerous. For example, ReGen invoked this language when the FDA considered the unfavorable findings of its RCT, asserting that because the agency was "required to consider the least burdensome information necessary to demonstrate substantial equivalence," an analysis relying upon the RCT was "at odds with the Act" [@pmed.1000280-Dichiara1]. However, even this assertion was incorrect, as the relevant language for 510(k)s is only applicable to situations involving different technological characteristics (see Issue 3), which did not apply to ReGen.
Second, user fees paid by the industry for device review bind the FDA to specific review time goals [@pmed.1000280-Food3]. These fees---valued at roughly \$49 million in FY2008 or approximately one-sixth of the device review budget [@pmed.1000280-Food3]---shift the agency from being merely a regulator to being financially dependent upon the very industry it is charged with regulating.
Third, the FDA appears to have permitted scientific approaches that fall short of rigorous. Approaches drawn from the exemplars put forth in this article include post hoc subgroup analyses [@pmed.1000280-Lisanby1], historical [@pmed.1000280-Center6] and non-concurrent controls [@pmed.1000280-Lurie1], and unnecessary unblinding [@pmed.1000280-Lurie1],[@pmed.1000280-Center6]. In addition, the FDA report on the review of the MCS shows inappropriate involvement in the scientific review process from Congresspeople and the then-FDA commissioner [@pmed.1000280-Food2].
Addressing the eight issues will require, in our opinion, remedial actions in three dimensions---legislative, regulatory, and agency practice---and certain problems will be susceptible to more than one approach.
On the legislative front, US Congress should raise the standard for approval of devices intended to treat diseases to equal that required for drugs: "substantial evidence" rather than "reasonable assurance" of effectiveness. Such devices should be subject to the same regulatory scrutiny as drugs, such as more than one well-controlled trial. While it is rarely used, the de novo process is a legislative loophole that requires tightening. The safety and effectiveness of devices cleared through this pathway have been demonstrated in neither clinical studies nor by reference to a predicate device. Finally, devices with different technological characteristics are, by definition, dissimilar and evaluating such devices using the 510(k) route is therefore inappropriate. Congress should also repeal this statutory provision, steering such devices toward the PMA route.
With respect to regulation, we believe the agency should define criteria for "same intended use" in a more limited manner. Doing so could prevent certain novel devices from proceeding through the 510(k) pathway. Furthermore, the agency should adhere to existing laws and regulations. For example, it should expeditiously complete classification of class III preamendments devices, as well as all unclassified devices missed in the initial classification effort. Shortly thereafter, the FDA should call for PMA applications for any device retained in class III.
The existing legislative and regulatory framework for premarket review inevitably leaves many crucial decisions open to FDA interpretation. As the issues reviewed in this article demonstrate, this discretion has been applied in an expansive manner favorable to Industry. CDRH could address these weaknesses through shifts in its discretionary practices, such as insisting on higher scientific standards, tightening the interpretation of "same intended use," and insisting on more-rigorous review procedures in those cases where the optimal review pathway is a matter of judgment rather than law.
Opponents of such changes might argue that equal treatment of drugs and devices intended to treat diseases would place an undue burden upon typically smaller device companies, potentially keeping important products from entering the market. However, as is true for drugs, larger companies often acquire startups that produce promising devices. Moreover, the FDA\'s mission is to protect the public health, and allowing questionably effective products onto the market seems inconsistent with that mission.
Some might also argue that whereas drugs are static entities once approved (indeed, any change in the chemical nature of the product requires a new application), devices tend to advance incrementally. But an existing abbreviated mechanism -- PMA supplements -- permits design changes to be made without unduly burdening device manufacturers each time a modification is made.
Methodological issues unique to device studies---primarily unblinding and sample size---are often raised as defenses of the current regulatory regime. The broad acceptance of this argument creates a milieu in which unnecessarily lax scientific standards continue to be accepted [@pmed.1000280-Dhruva1],[@pmed.1000280-Kramer1]. Rather than treating these as justifications for reduced rigor, they should be regarded as factors to be considered in interpreting study results.
A series of problems with the FDA\'s premarket regulation of devices at times appears to permit potentially unsafe or ineffective devices to reach the market. Each must be remedied with a mix of legislative, regulatory, and discretionary approaches unique to that problem. Most importantly, CDRH should place its decisions on a secure evidence base.
We would like to thank Allison Zieve, director of the Litigation Group at Public Citizen, and Brian Wolfman, visiting professor at Georgetown Law School, for providing legal advice on the statutes governing medical devices and for critical review of the manuscript. Neither was compensated for their contributions.
PL is now with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, where he is Senior Advisor in the Office of the Commissioner. He began at the FDA in December 2009; the manuscript was submitted before he began employment at the FDA. The opinions expressed here are his and do not represent the official position of the U.S. FDA or the U.S. government.
All authors are employees of Public Citizen. Funding was provided by the Irene Diamond Fund and the Common Benefit Litigation Expense Trust. The funder played no role in the decision to submit the article or in its preparation.
**Provenance:** Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.
CDRH
: Center for Devices and Radiologic Health
ECT
: electroconvulsive therapy
FDA
: Food and Drug Administration
FDAMA
: Food and Drug Administration Modernization Act
FDCA
: Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act
MCS
: Menaflex Collagen Scaffold
MDA
: Medical Device Amendments
MDDRP
: Medical Device Dispute Resolution Panel
NDA
: new drug application
PMA
: premarket approval
RCT
: randomized controlled trial
SMDA
: Safe Medical Devices Act
TMS
: transcranial magnetic stimulation
VNS
: vagus nerve stimulator
[^1]: [ICMJE](http://www.icmje.org/) criteria for authorship read and met: JZH PL EY SW. Agree with the manuscript\'s results and conclusions: JZH PL EY SW. Designed the experiments/the study: JZH PL. Analyzed the data: JZH EY. Wrote the first draft of the paper: JZH. Contributed to the writing of the paper: JZH PL EY SW.
[^2]: The Policy Forum allows health policy makers around the world to discuss challenges and opportunities for improving health care in their societies.
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Contents
_Preface_
**PART I: THE ESSENTIALS OF INTENTION**
_Chapter 1:_ Viewing Intention from a New Perspective
_Chapter 2:_ The Seven Faces of Intention
_Chapter 3:_ Connecting to Intention
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_Chapter 6:_ Intention and Infinity
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_Chapter 8: It Is My Intention to:_ Live My Life on Purpose
_Chapter 9: It Is My Intention to:_ Be Authentic and Peaceful with All of My Relatives
_Chapter 10: It Is My Intention to:_ Feel Successful and Attract Abundance into My Life
_Chapter 11: It Is My Intention to:_ Live a Stress-Free, Tranquil Life
_Chapter 12: It Is My Intention to:_ Attract Ideal People and Divine Relationships
_Chapter 13: It Is My Intention to:_ Optimize My Capacity to Heal and Be Healed
_Chapter 14: It Is My Intention to:_ Appreciate and Express the Genius That I Am
**PART III: THE CONNECTION**
_Chapter 15:_ A Portrait of a Person Connected to the Field of Intention
_Acknowledgments_
_About the Author_
Preface
The book that you're now holding in your hands, and all of the information it contains, was once a formless idea residing in the invisible domain of the field of intention. This book, _The Power of Intention,_ was intended into the material world by applying all of the principles written about here. I managed to make my own vibrational energy match up to the all-creating Source, and allowed these words and ideas to flow through me directly to you. You're holding in your hands evidence that anything we can conceive of in our minds—while staying in harmony with the universal all-creating Source—can and must come to pass.
If you'd like to know how this book might impact you and how you might think, feel, and co-create after reading and applying its messages, I encourage you to read the final chapter, _A Portrait of a Person Connected_ _to the Field of Intention,_ before beginning this journey. You and everyone else, as well as all of life, emanated from the universal all-creating field of intention. Live from that perspective, and you will come to know and apply the power of intention. You have an endless stream of green lights before you!
— Dr. Wayne W. Dyer
Maui, Hawaii
CHAPTER
[Viewing Intention
from a New Perspective](Dyer_ISBN9781401925963_epub_c8_r1.html#d7e6828)
_"In the universe there is an immeasurable, indescribable force which
shamans call intent, and absolutely everything that exists in the entire
cosmos is attached to intent by a connecting link."_
— Carlos Castaneda
During the past several years, I've been so strongly attracted to studying _intention_ that I've read hundreds of books by psychological, sociological, and spiritual writers; ancient and modern scholars; and academic researchers. My research reveals a fairly common definition of _intention_ as a strong purpose or aim, accompanied by a determination to produce a desired result. People driven by intention are described as having a strong will that won't permit anything to interfere with achieving their inner desire. I imagine a sort of pit-bull kind of resolve or determination. If you're one of those people with a never-giveup attitude combined with an internal picture that propels you toward fulfilling your dreams, you fit this description of someone with intention.
You are, most likely, a super-achiever and probably proud of your ability to recognize and take advantage of opportunities that arise. For many years I've held a similar belief about intention. In fact, I've written and spoken often about the power of intention being just what I've described above. Over the past quarter of a century, however, I've felt a shift in my thinking from a purely psychological or personal-growth emphasis, toward a spiritual orientation where healing, creating miracles, manifesting, and making a connection to divine intelligence are genuine possibilities.
This hasn't been a deliberate attempt to disengage from my academic and professional background, but rather a natural evolution that's been unfolding as I began to make more conscious contact with Spirit. My writing now emphasizes a belief that we can find spiritual solutions to problems by living at higher levels and calling upon faster energies. In my mind, intention is now something much greater than a determined ego or individual will. It's something almost totally opposite. Perhaps this comes from shedding many levels of ego in my own life, but I also feel the strong influence of two sentences I read in a book by Carlos Castaneda. In my writing life, I've often come across something in a book that starts a thought germinating in me that ultimately compels me to write a new book. At any rate, I read these two sentences in Castaneda's final book, _The Active Side of Infinity,_ while I was waiting to have a cardiac procedure to open one clogged artery leading into my heart that had caused a mild heart attack.
Castaneda's words were: "Intent is a force that exists in the universe. When sorcerers (those who live of the Source) beckon intent, it comes to them and sets up the path for attainment, which means that sorcerers always accomplish what they set out to do."
When I read those two sentences, I was stunned by the insight and clarity it gave me about the power of intention. Imagine that intention is not something _you do,_ but rather a force that exists in the universe as an invisible field of energy! I had never considered intention in this way before reading Castaneda's words.
I wrote those two sentences down, and then I had them printed on a card and laminated. I carried the laminated card with me into the catheter lab for my minor surgical procedure, and as soon as I could, I began talking about the power of intention to everyone who would listen. I made intention a part of every speech I gave. I immersed myself in this idea to use it, not only for my own healing, but to help others use the power of intention to carry them where they're fully equipped to go. I had experienced _satori,_ or instant awakening, and was intent on offering this insight to others. It had become clear to me that accessing the power of intention relieved so much of the seemingly impossible work of striving to fulfill desires by sheer force of will.
Since that defining moment, I've thought of the power of intention in virtually all of my waking hours—and books, articles, conversations, telephone calls, items arriving in my mailbox, and arbitrary works I might be looking at in a bookstore all seemed to conspire to keep me on this path. So here it is: _The Power of Intention._ I hope this book will help you view intention in a new way and make use of it in a manner that leads you to define yourself as Patanjali suggested more than 20 centuries ago: "Dormant forces, faculties, and talents come alive, and you discover yourself to be a greater person by far than you ever dreamed yourself to be."
Patanjali's two words, "dormant forces," kick-started me in the direction of writing about intention. Patanjali was referring to forces that _appear to be_ either nonexistent or dead, _and_ he was referring to the powerful energy a person feels when inspired. If you've ever felt inspired by a purpose or calling, you know the feeling of Spirit working through you. _Inspired_ is our word for _in-spirited._ I've thought long and hard about the idea of being able to access seemingly dormant forces to assist me at key times in my life to achieve an inner burning desire. What are these forces? Where are they located? Who gets to use them? Who is denied access? And why? Questions like these have propelled me to research and write this book and subsequently arrive at a totally new perspective of intention.
At this point, as I'm writing about my excitement of realizing a long-obscured truth, I _know_ that intention is a force that we all have within us. Intention is a field of energy that flows invisibly beyond the reach of our normal, everyday habitual patterns. It's there even before our actual conception. We have the means to attract this energy to us and experience life in an exciting new way.
**_Where Is This Field Called Intention?_**
Some prominent researchers believe that our intelligence, creativity, and imagination interact with the energy field of intention rather than being thoughts or elements in our brain. The brilliant scientist David Bohm, writing in _Wholeness and the Implicate Order,_ suggested that all ordering influence and information is present in an invisible domain or higher reality and can be called upon in times of need. I found thousands of examples of these kinds of conclusions in the research and reading I did. If scientific evidence appeals to you, I suggest that you read _The Field: The Quest for the Secret Force of the Universe_ by Lynne McTaggart. Her book is filled with studies supporting the existence of a higher, faster energy dimension or field of intention that can be tapped in to and used by everyone.
The answer to _Where is this field?_ is: _There's no place that it's not,_ because everything in the universe has intention built into it. This is true for all life forms, whether it be a wildebeest, a rosebush, or a mountain. A mosquito has intent built into its creation and life experience. A tiny acorn with no apparent power to think or make plans for its future contains intention from the invisible field. If you cut the acorn open, you won't see a giant oak tree, but you know it's there. An apple blossom in the springtime appears to be a pretty little flower, yet it has intent built into it and will manifest in the summer as an apple. Intention doesn't err. The acorn never turns into a pumpkin, or the apple blossom into an orange. Every aspect of nature, without exception, has intention built into it, and as far as we can tell, nothing in nature questions its path of intent. Nature simply progresses in harmony from the field of intention. We, too, are _intended_ from the energy of this field.
There is what some call a _future-pull_ in the DNA that's present at conception in each of us. In the moment of our conception, when an infinitely tiny drop of human protoplasm combines with an egg, life in physical form begins, and intention directs the growth process. Our body structure, the shape of our physical features, our development, including our aging, are intended in that one moment of conception. The sagging skin, the wrinkles, and even our death are all there. But wait, what exactly happens at the moment of conception? Where did this life, born of intention, begin?
As we examine that seed/egg dance attempting to discover its origin, moving backwards toward Creation, we first find molecules, then atoms, then electrons, then subatomic particles, and then sub-subatomic particles. Ultimately, were we to put these tiny quantum subatomic particles into a particle accelerator and collide them, trying to put our finger on the source of life, we'd discover what Einstein and his scientific compatriots discovered: There's no particle at the source; particles do not create more particles. The Source, which is intention, is pure, unbounded energy vibrating so fast that it defies measurement and observation. It's invisible, without form or boundaries. So, at our Source, we are formless energy, and in that formless vibrating spiritual field of energy, intention resides. On a lighter note, _I know_ it's there, since somehow it managed to get into a drop of sperm and an ovarian egg and determine that my hair will no longer grow on my head after 25 years . . . and in 50 years, it will grow in my nose and ears, and all I (the observer) can do is watch it and snip it away!
This field of intent can't be described with words, for the words emanate from the field, just as do the questions. That placeless place is intention, and it handles everything for us. It grows my fingernails, it beats my heart, it digests my food, it writes my books, and it does this for everyone and everything in the universe. This reminds me of an ancient Chinese story I love, told by Chuang Tzu:
_There once was a one-legged dragon called Hui. "How on earth do you manage those legs?" he asked a centipede. "I can hardly manage one!"_
_"Matter of fact," said the centipede, "I do not manage my legs."_
There's a field, invisible and formless, that manages it all. The intention of this universe is manifested in zillions of ways in the physical world, and every part of you, including your soul, your thoughts, your emotions, and of course the physical body that you occupy, are a part of this intent. So, if intention determines everything in the universe and is omnipresent, meaning there's no place that it's not, then why do so many of us feel disconnected from it so frequently? And even more important, if intention determines everything, then why do so many of us lack so much of what we'd like to have?
**_The Meaning of Omnipresent Intention_**
Try imagining a force that's everywhere. There's no place that you can go where it isn't. It can't be divided and is present in everything you see or touch. Now extend your awareness of this infinite field of energy beyond the world of form and boundaries. This infinite invisible force is everywhere, so it's in both the physical and the nonphysical. Your physical body is one part of your totality emanating from this energy. At the instant of conception, _intention_ sets in motion how your physical form will appear and how your growing and aging process will unfold. It also sets in motion your nonphysical aspects, including your emotions, thoughts, and disposition. In this instance, _intention is infinite potential activating your physical and nonphysical appearance on Earth._ You've formed out of the omnipresent to become present in time and space. Because it's omnipresent, this energy field of intent is accessible to you after your physical arrival here on Earth! The only way you deactivate this _dormant force_ is by believing that you're separate from it.
Activating intention means rejoining your Source and becoming a modern-day sorcerer. Being a sorcerer means attaining the level of awareness where previously inconceivable things are available. As Carlos Castaneda explained, "The task of sorcerers was to face infinity" _(intention),_ "and they plunged into it daily, as a fisherman plunges into the sea." Intention is a power that's present everywhere as a field of energy; it isn't limited to physical development. It's the source of nonphysical development, too. This field of intention is here, now, and available to you. When you activate it, you'll begin to feel purpose in your life, and you'll be guided by your infinite self. Here's how a poet and a spiritual teacher describes what I'm calling intention:
_O Lord, thou art on the sandbanks
As well as in the midst of the current;
I bow to thee.
Thou art in the little pebbles
As well as in the calm expanse of the sea;
I bow to thee.
O all-pervading Lord,
Thou art in the barren soil
And in the crowded places;
I bow to thee._
— from _Veda XVI_ by Sukla Yajur
As _you_ make your metaphorical bow to this power, recognize that you're bowing to yourself. The all-pervading energy of intention pulses through you toward your potential for a purposeful life.
**_How You Came to Experience Yourself as_** ** _Disconnected from Intention_**
If there's an omnipresent power of intention that's not only within me, but in everything and everyone, then we're connected by this all-pervading Source to everything and everyone, and to what we'd like to be, what we'd like to have, what we want to achieve, and to everything in the universe that will assist us. All that's required is realigning ourselves and activating intention. But how did we get disconnected in the first place? How did we lose our natural ability to connect? Lions, fish, and birds don't get disconnected. The animal, vegetable, and mineral worlds are always connected to their Source. They don't question their intention. We humans, however, with our capability for presumably higher brain functions, have something we refer to as _ego,_ which is an idea that we construct about who and what we are.
Ego is made of six primary ingredients that account for how we experience ourselves as disconnected. By allowing ego to determine your life path, you deactivate the power of intention. Briefly, here are the six ego beliefs. I've written more extensively about them in several of my previous books, most notably _Your Sacred Self._
1. _I am what I have._ My possessions define me.
2. _I am what I do._ My achievements define me.
3. _I am what others think of me._ My reputation defines me.
4. _I am separate from everyone. My body defines me as alone._
5. _I am separate from all that is missing in my life._ My life space is disconnected from my desires.
6. _I am separate from God._ My life depends on God's assessment of my worthiness.
No matter how hard you try, intention can't be accessed through ego, so take some time to recognize and readjust any or all of these six beliefs. When the supremacy of ego is weakened in your life, you can seek intention and maximize your potential.
**_Holding on to the Trolley Strap_**
This is a practice I find exceedingly helpful when I want to activate intention. You may find that it works for you, too. (See Chapter 3 for an entire chapter describing ways to access intention.)
One of my earliest memories is my mother taking her three boys on the streetcar on the east side of Detroit to Waterworks Park. I was two or three years old, and I recall looking up from the seat and seeing the hand straps hanging down. The grown-ups were able to hold on to the straps, but all I could do was imagine what it would be like to be so tall as to grab those straps way above my head. I actually pretended that I was light enough to float up to the hanging handles. I then imagined feeling safe and the trolley taking me where it was destined to go, at whatever speed it chose, picking up other passengers to go along on this glorious adventure of streetcar riding.
In my adult life, I use the image of the trolley strap to remind myself to get back to intention. I imagine a strap hanging down about three to four feet above my head, higher than I'm capable of reaching or jumping up to grab. The strap is attached to the trolley, only now the trolley symbolizes a flowing power of intention. I've either let go of it or it's just out of my reach temporarily. In moments of stress, anxiety, worry, or even physical discomfort, I close my eyes and imagine my arm reaching up, and then I see myself float up to the trolley strap. As I grab the strap, I have an enormous feeling of relief and comfort. What I've done is eliminate ego thoughts and allow myself to reach intention, and I trust this power to take me to my destination, stopping when necessary, and picking up companions along the way.
In some of my earlier works, I've called this process the _pathway to mastery._ The four pathways may be helpful to you here as steps toward activating intention.
**_Four Steps to Intention_**
Activating your power of intention is a process of connecting with your natural self and letting go of total ego identification. The process takes place in four stages:
**1. Discipline** is the first stage. Learning a new task requires training your body to perform as your thoughts desire. So, eliminating ego identification doesn't mean disconnecting from your relationship with your body, but rather, training your body to activate those desires. You do that with practice, exercise, nontoxic habits, healthy foods, and so on.
**2. Wisdom** is the second stage. Wisdom combined with discipline fosters your ability to focus and be patient as you harmonize your thoughts, your intellect, and your feelings with the work of your body. We send children off to school telling them: _Be disciplined_ and _Use your head,_ and call this education, but it falls short of mastery.
**3. Love** is the third stage. After disciplining the body with wisdom, and intellectually studying a task, this process of mastery involves loving what you do and doing what you love. In the world of sales, I call it falling in love with what you're offering, and then selling your love or enthusiasm to potential customers. When learning to play tennis, it involves practicing all of the strokes while studying strategies for playing the game. It also involves enjoying the feeling of hitting the ball and of being on the tennis court—and everything else about the game.
**4. Surrender** is the fourth stage. This is the place of intention. This is where your body and your mind aren't running the show and you move into intent. "In the universe there is an immeasurable, indescribable force which shamans call intent, and absolutely everything that exists in the entire cosmos is attached to intent by a connecting link," is the way Carlos Castaneda describes it. You relax, grab the trolley strap, and allow yourself to be carried by the same power that turns acorns into trees, blossoms into apples, and microscopic dots into humans. So grab that trolley strap and create your own unique connecting link. _Absolutely everything in the entire cosmos_ includes you and your disciplined, wise, loving self, and all of your thoughts and feelings. When you surrender, you lighten up and can consult with your infinite soul. Then the power of intention becomes available to take you wherever you feel destined to go.
All of this talk of intention and surrender may cause you to question where your free will fits in. You might be inclined to conclude that free will is nonexistent or that you become whatever your program dictates. So, let's take a look at your will and how it fits into this new view of intention. As you read the next two sections, please keep an open mind, even if what you read conflicts with what you've believed all your life!
**_Intention and Your Free Will Are Paradoxical_**
A paradox is a seemingly absurd or contradictory statement, even if well founded. _Intention_ and _free will_ certainly qualify as being paradoxical. They conflict with many a preconceived notion of what's reasonable or possible. How can you possess free will and also have intention shaping your body and your potential? You can fuse this dichotomy by choosing to believe in the infinity of intention _and_ in your capacity to exercise free will. You know how to think rationally about the rules of cause and effect, so try your intellect on this.
Obviously, it's impossible to have two infinites, for then neither would be infinite; each would be limited by the other. You can't divide _infinite_ into parts. Essentially, infinite is unity, continuity, or oneness, like the air in your home. Where does the air in your kitchen stop and the air in your living room begin? Where does the air inside your home stop and the air outside start? How about the air you breathe in and out? Air may be the closest we can come to understanding the infinite, universal, omnipresent Spirit. Somehow, you must travel in thought beyond the idea of your individual existence to the idea of a unity of universal being, and then beyond this to the idea of a universal energy. When you think of part of a whole being in one place and part in another, you've lost the idea of unity. And (keeping an open mind as I beseeched you earlier), get this! At any moment in time, all Spirit is concentrated at the point where you focus your attention. Therefore, _you_ can consolidate all creative energy at a given moment in time. _This is your free will at work._
Your mind and your thoughts are also thoughts of the divine mind. Universal Spirit is in your thoughts _and_ in your free will. When you shift your thoughts from Spirit to ego, you seem to lose contact with the power of intention. Your free will can either move _with_ Universal Spirit and its unfolding, or _away_ from it toward ego dominance. As it moves away from Spirit, life appears to be a struggle. Slower energies flow through you, and you may feel hopeless, helpless, and lost. You can use your free will to rejoin higher, faster energies. The truth is that _we_ do not create anything alone; we are all creatures with God. Our free will combines and redistributes what's already created. _You choose!_ Free will means that you have the choice to connect to Spirit or not!
So, the answer to the questions, _Do I have a free will?_ and _Is intention working with me as an all-pervasive universal force?_ is _Yes_. Can you live with this paradox? If you think about it, you live with paradox in every moment of your existence. At the exact same instant that you're a body with beginnings and ends, with boundaries, and a definition in time and space, you're also an invisible, formless, unlimited, thinking and feeling being. A ghost in the machine, if you will. Which are you? Matter or essence? Physical or metaphysical? Form or spirit? The answer is _both,_ even though they appear to be opposites. Do you have a free will, and are you a part of the destiny of intention? _Yes._ Fuse the dichotomy. Blend the opposites, and live with both of these beliefs. Begin the process of allowing Spirit to work with you, and link up to the field of intention.
**_At Intention, Spirit Will Work for You!_**
With your free will consciously deciding to reconnect to the power of intention, you're altering its direction. You'll begin to feel pleasant recognition and reverence for the unity of Spirit and yourself as an individual concentration of it. I silently repeat the word _intent_ or _intention_ to help me get my ego and my self-absorption out of the picture. I think often of this quote from Castaneda's _Power of Silence:_ "Having lost hope of ever returning to the source of everything, the average man seeks solace in his selfishness." For me, personally, I attempt to return to the source of everything on a daily basis, and I refuse to be the "average man" that Castaneda describes.
Many years ago I decided to give up drinking alcohol. I wanted to experience continuous sobriety to improve my ability to do the work that I felt was burning inside of me. I felt called upon to teach self-reliance through my writing and speaking. Several teachers had told me that complete sobriety was a prerequisite for the work I was called to do. In the early stages of this dramatic life change, a power seemed to help me when I was tempted to return to my old habits of having a few beers each evening. On one occasion, in my state of wavering, I actually went out to purchase a six-pack but forgot to bring money with me. I _never_ forget to take cash with me!
In the few minutes it took me to return home and retrieve the cash, I reevaluated the free will that would allow me to buy beer, and chose to stay with my intention. I found, as the first weeks passed, that these kinds of events started occurring with regularity. I'd be guided by circumstances that led me away from situations where drinking was a temptation. A telephone call might distract me from a tempting situation; a family minicrisis would erupt and deter me from a potential slip. Today, a couple of decades later, it's clear to me that a firm handle on that trolley strap I described earlier allows me to be whisked along my path to destinations invoked eons ago by intention. And I also see that my free will is a paradoxical partner of the power of intention.
My awareness of intention as a power for me to reconnect to, rather than something my ego must accomplish, has made a huge difference in my life's work. The simple awareness that my writing and speaking are manifested from the field of intention has been of immeasurable benefit to me. I'm awed by the creative energy when I get my self-importance and ego identification out of the way. Before taking the microphone, I send ego to the lobby or tell it to have a seat in the audience. I repeat the word _intent_ to myself and feel myself floating up to this energy field of intention. I surrender and allow, and I find myself completely at ease, remembering tiny details in the midst of my speech, never losing my way, and experiencing the unique connection that's occurring with the audience. Fatigue dissolves, hunger disappears—even the need to pee vanishes! Everything that's necessary for delivering the message seems almost effortlessly available.
**_Combining Free Will with Intention_**
In mathematics, two angles that are said to _coincide_ fit together perfectly. The word _coincidence_ does not describe luck or mistakes. It describes that which _fits together perfectly._ By combining free will with intention, you harmonize with the universal mind. Rather than operating in your own mind outside of this force called intention, your goal may very well be, as you read this book, to work at being in harmony at all times with intention. When life appears to be working against you, when your luck is down, when the supposedly wrong people show up, or when you slip up and return to old, self-defeating habits, recognize the signs that you're out of harmony with intention. You can and will reconnect in a way that will bring you into alignment with your own purpose.
For example, when I write, I open myself to the possibilities of universal Spirit and my own individual thoughts collaborating with fate to produce a helpful, insightful book. But as I reconsidered my account of leaving alcohol behind me, I wanted _another_ example to put in this chapter of how intention collaborates with life circumstances to produce what we need.
Recently my 19-year-old daughter, Sommer, told me that she'd quit her temporary job as a restaurant hostess and wasn't sure what she wanted to do before resuming her college studies. I asked her what made her feel most purposeful and happy, and she said it was teaching horseback riding to young children, but she refused to return to the old barn where she'd worked a year before because she felt unappreciated, overworked, and underpaid.
I was in Maui writing this first chapter on a new perspective on intention when we had this telephone conversation. I launched into my intention-as-a-force-in-the-universe spiel and told my daughter that she needed to realign her thoughts, and so on. "Open up to receiving the assistance you desire," I told her. "Trust in intention. It exists for you. Stay alert, and be willing to accept any guidance that comes your way. Stay in vibrational harmony with the all-providing Source."
The next day, at the very moment I was searching for that additional example of intention to put into this chapter, the telephone rang, and it was Sommer, bubbling with enthusiasm. "You're not going to believe this, Dad. On second thought, I'm sure you'll believe it. Remember yesterday how you told me to be open to intention? I was skeptical, even thinking, _That's my weird dad,_ but I decided to try it. Then I saw a sign on a telephone pole that said _Horseback-Riding Lessons_ and there was a telephone number. I wrote the number down and just called it. The woman who answered told me that she needed to hire someone she could trust to do trail rides with young kids. She pays exactly double what I was making at the restaurant. I'm going out to see her tomorrow. Isn't that cool?!"
Cool? Hell yes, it's cool! Here I am writing a book, looking for a good example, and it arrives in the form of help I was attempting to offer the day before to my daughter. Two for the price of one!
**_Merging Your Individual Thoughts_** ** _with the Universal Mind_**
Our individual thoughts create a prototype in the universal mind of intention. You and your power of intention are not separate. So, when you form a thought within you that's commensurate with Spirit, you form a spiritual prototype that connects you to intention and sets into motion the manifestation of your desires. Whatever you wish to accomplish is an existing fact, already present in Spirit. Eliminate from your mind thoughts of conditions, limitations, or the possibility of it not manifesting. If left undisturbed in your mind and in the mind of intention simultaneously, it will germinate into reality in the physical world.
In simpler words, "All things whatsoever ye pray and ask for, believe that ye have received them, and ye shall receive them" [Mark 11:24].
In this scriptural quotation, you are told to believe that your desire has already been fulfilled, and then it will be accomplished. Know that your thought or prayer is already here. Remove all doubt so that you create a harmonious thought with universal mind or intention. When you know this beyond doubt, it will be realized in the future. This is the power of intention at work.
I'll close this section with words from Aldous Huxley, one of my favorite authors: "The spiritual journey does not consist in arriving at a new destination where a person gains what he did not have, or becomes what he is not. It consists in the dissipation of one's own ignorance concerning one's self and life, and the gradual growth of that understanding which begins the spiritual awakening. The finding of God is a coming to one's self."
In this first chapter, I've asked you to stop doubting the existence of a universal, omnipresent force I've called intention, and told you that you can link to and be carried to your destination on the energy of intention. Here are my suggestions for putting this to work in your life.
**Five Suggestions for Implementing
the Ideas in This Chapter **
1. _Whenever you feel out of sorts, lost, or even in a sour mood, visualize the trolley strap hanging down from the field of intention three or four feet above your head._ Imagine floating up and allowing the trolley to carry you to your built-in intention. This is a tool for implementing surrender in your life.
2. _Say the word intent or intention repeatedly when you're in a state of anxiety or when everything around you seems to have conspired to keep you from your mission._ This is a reminder to be peaceful and calm. Intention is spirit, and spirit is silently blissful.
3. _Tell yourself that you have a life mission and a silent partner who's accessible at any moment you choose._ When ego defines you by what you have or do, or compares you to others, use your power of free will to terminate those thoughts. Say to yourself, "I'm here on purpose, I can accomplish anything I desire, and I do it by being in purpose, harmony with the all-pervading creative force in the universe." This will become an automatic way of responding to life. Synchronistic results will begin to happen.
4. _Act as if anything you desire is already here._ Believe that all that you seek you've already received, that it exists in spirit, and know you shall have your desires filled. One of my ten secrets for success and inner peace is to _treat yourself as if you already are what you'd like to become._
5. _Copy this ancient Hasidic saying and carry it with you for a year._ It's a reminder of the power of intention and how it can work for you every day in every way.
_When you walk across the fields with your mind pure and holy, then from all the stones, and all growing things, and all animals, the sparks of their soul come out and cling to you, and then they are purified and become a holy fire in you._
In the next chapter, I describe how this field of intention might look were you able to see it, and what the _faces of intention_ look like. I'll close this chapter with another quotation from Carlos Castaneda's teacher, don Juan Matus: " . . . the spirit reveals itself to everyone with the same intensity and consistency, but only warriors are consistently attuned to such revelations."
Readers and warriors alike, proceed in the spirit of free will to access the power of intention.
CHAPTER
[The Seven Faces
of Intention](Dyer_ISBN9781401925963_epub_c8_r1.html#d7e6898)
_"Four thousand volumes of metaphysics
will not teach us what the soul is."_
— Voltaire
**_Moving from Thinking about_**
** _Intention to Knowing Intention_**
Yesterday, while writing this book here on Maui, I experienced a _knowing_ that I'll attempt to explain to you. A woman from Japan was pulled from the surf, her body bloated from an excessive intake of seawater. I knelt over her, with others, attempting to get her heartbeat going with CPR, while many of her friends from Japan cried out in anguish as the futile attempts at resuscitation proceeded. Suddenly I felt a quiet awareness of this woman's spirit hovering above our lifesaving attempts. As I watched the rescue scene on the beach, I felt the presence of blissfully peaceful energy, and in some unfathomable way I knew that she wasn't going to be revived and that she was no longer connected to the body that so many well-meaning people, including myself, were trying to bring back to life.
This quiet knowing led me to stand up, put my hands together, and say a silent prayer for her. We were from different parts of this world and didn't even share a common language, yet I felt connected to her. I felt peaceful, with a knowing that her spirit and mine were somehow connected in the mystery of the transient/ephemeral nature of our physical lives.
As I walked away, the pain of death wasn't dominating my thoughts. Instead, I knew and felt that the departure of this woman's spirit from what was now a lifeless, bloated body was inexplicably all a part of perfect divine order. I couldn't prove it. I had no scientific evidence. I didn't think it—I _knew_ it. This is an example of what I mean by _silent knowledge._ I still feel her presence as I write this, 24 hours later. In _Power of Silence,_ Carlos Castaneda describes silent knowledge as "something that all of us have. Something that has complete mastery, complete knowledge of everything. But it cannot think, therefore it cannot speak of what it knows. . . . Man has given up silent knowledge for the world of reason. The more he clings to the world of reason, the more ephemeral intent becomes."
Since intention is being presented in this book as an invisible energy field that is inherent in all physical form, intention, then, is a part of the inexplicable, nonmaterial world of Spirit. Spirit eludes our attempts to explain and define it because it's a dimension beyond beginnings and ends, beyond boundaries, beyond symbols, and beyond form itself.
Consequently, written and spoken words, our symbols for communicating our experiences in this world, can't really explain Spirit the way they do the physical world.
I agree with Voltaire's statement at the beginning of this chapter and readily admit that I can't definitively teach anyone what Spirit is or use words that give a precise picture of what it looks like. What I _can_ do is describe a way that I conceptualize intention—if it were somehow possible to remove the veil that keeps the field of intention from our sensory perception and reasoning mind. I'll give you my concept of what I refer to as the _seven faces of intention._ These points represent my imagined picture of what the power of intention looks like.
Intention is something that I believe we can feel, connect with, know, and trust. It's an inner awareness that we explicitly feel, and yet at the same time cannot truly describe with words. I use this concept to help guide me toward the power of intention that's the source of creation, and activate it in my daily life. It's my hope that you too will begin to recognize what you personally need to do to begin activating intention in your life.
The descriptions that follow are distilled from my experience with master teachers, my professional work with others over the past 30 years, the veritable library of metaphysical books I've read and studied, and my personal evolution. I'm attempting to convey my personal knowing of the extraordinary benefits of linking to intention. Hopefully _you_ will feel inspired by the _silent knowing_ of the power of intention and go on to create an increasingly enchanted experience for yourself and everyone else in your life.
Silent knowledge starts when you invite the power of intention to play an active part in your life. This is a private and very personal choice that needn't be explained or defended. When you make this inner choice, silent knowledge will gradually become a part of your normal, everyday awareness. Opening to the power of intention, you begin _knowing_ that conception, birth, and death are all natural aspects of the energy field of creation. Clinging to attempts to think or reason your way to intention is futile. By banishing doubt and trusting your intuitive feelings, you clear a space for the power of intention to flow through. This may sound like hocus-pocus, but I prefer to think of it as emptying my mind and entering the heart of mystery. Here, I set aside rational thoughts and open to the magic and excitement of an illuminating new awareness.
A great teacher in my life named J. Krishnamurti once observed: "To be empty, completely empty, is not a fearsome thing; it is absolutely essential for the mind to be unoccupied; to be empty, unenforced, for then only can it move into unknown depths."
Take a moment right now to put this book down and allow yourself to trust and gently experience an awareness of your nonphysical self. First, close your eyes and empty your mind of rational thoughts and the multitudinous ever-changing chatter that goes on. Next, hit the delete button every time doubt appears. Finally, open to the emptiness. Then you can begin to discover how to silently know the power of intention. (In the following chapter, I'll discuss in more depth other ways to access and reconnect to intention.)
But now, I'll describe what I think our view might be if we could be outside of ourselves, floating above our body, like the spirit of the Japanese lady on the beach yesterday. From this perspective, I imagine myself looking at the faces of intention through eyes that are capable of seeing higher vibrations.
**_The Seven Faces of Intention_**
**1. The face of creativity.** The first of the seven faces of intention is the creative expression of the power of intention that designed us, got us here, and created an environment that's compatible with our needs. The power of intention has to be creative or nothing would come into existence. It seems to me that this is an irrefutable truth about intention/spirit, because its purpose is to bring life into existence in a suitable environment. Why do I conclude that the life-giving power of intention _intends_ us to have life, and have it in increasing abundance? Because, if the opposite were true, life as we know it couldn't come into form.
The very fact that we can breathe and experience life is proof to me that the nature of the life-giving Spirit is creative at its core. This may seem obvious to you, or in fact it may appear confusing, or even irrelevant. But what _is_ clear is: You are here in your physical body; there was a time when you were an embryo, before that a seed, and before that formless energy. That formless energy contained intention, which brought you from _no where_ to _now here._ At the very highest levels of awareness, intention started you on a path toward your destiny. The face of creativity intends you toward continued creativity to create and co-create anything that you direct your power of intention toward. Creative energy is a part of you; it originates in the life-giving Spirit that _intends_ you.
**2. The face of kindness.** Any power that has, as its inherent nature, the need to create and convert energy into physical form must also be a kindly power. Again, I'm deducing this from the opposite. If the all-giving power of intention had at its core the desire to be unkind, malevolent, or hurtful, then creation itself would be impossible. The moment unkind energy became form, the life-giving Spirit would be destroyed. Instead, the power of intention has a face of kindness. It is kind energy intending what it's creating to flourish and grow, and to be happy and fulfilled. Our existence is proof to me of the kindness of intention. Choosing to be kind is a choice to have the power of intention active in your life.
The positive effect of kindness on the immune system and on the increased production of serotonin in the brain has been proven in research studies. Serotonin is a naturally occurring substance in the body that makes us feel more comfortable, peaceful, and even blissful. In fact, the role of most antidepressants is to stimulate the production of serotonin chemically, helping to ease depression. Research has shown that a simple act of kindness directed toward another improves the functioning of the immune system and stimulates the production of serotonin in both the recipient of the kindness and the person extending the kindness. Even more amazing is that persons observing the act of kindness have similar beneficial results. Imagine this! Kindness extended, received, or observed beneficially impacts the physical health and feelings of everyone involved! Both the face of kindness and the face of creativity are smiling here.
When you're unkind, you're blocking the face of kindness. You're moving away from the power of intention. No matter whether you call it God, Spirit, Source, or intention, be aware that unkind thoughts weaken, and kind thoughts strengthen, your connection. Creativity and kindness are two of the seven faces of intention.
**3. The face of love.** The third of the seven faces of intention is the face of love. That there's a life-giving nature inherent in the power of intention is an irrefutable conclusion. What would we name this quality that encourages, enhances, and supports all of life, if not love? It's the prime moving power of the Universal Spirit of intent. As Ralph Waldo Emerson put it: "Love is our highest word and the synonym for God."
The energy field of intention is pure love resulting in a nurturing and totally cooperative environment. Judgment, anger, hate, fear, or prejudice won't thrive here. So, were we able to actually see this field, we'd see creativity and kindness in an endless field of love. We entered the physical world of boundaries and beginnings through the universal force field of pure love. This face of intention that is an expression of love wishes only for us to flourish and grow, and become all that we're capable of becoming. When we're not in harmony with the energy of love, we've moved away from intention and weakened our ability to activate intention through the expression of love. For example, if you aren't doing what you love and loving what you do, your power of intention is weakened. You attract into your life more of the dissatisfaction that isn't the face of love. Consequently, more of what you don't love will appear in your life.
Thoughts and emotions are pure energy; some higher and faster than others. When higher energies occupy the same field as lower energies, the lower energies convert to higher energies. A simple example of this is a darkened room that has lower energy than a room bathed in light. Since light moves faster than non-light, when a candle is brought into a dark room, the darkness not only dissolves and disappears, but it seems magically converted into light. The same is true of love, which is a higher/ faster energy than the energy of hate.
St. Francis, in his famous prayer, beseeches God: "Where there is hatred, let me sow love." What he is seeking is the power to dissolve and ultimately convert hate to the energy of love. Hate converts to love when the energy of love is in its presence. This is true for you, too. Hate, directed toward yourself or others, can be converted to the life-giving, love-granting life force of intention. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin put it this way: "The conclusion is always the same: Love is the most powerful and still the most unknown energy of the world."
**4. The face of beauty.** The fourth of my seven faces of intention is the face of beauty. What else could a creative, kind, and loving expression be, other than beautiful? Why would the organizing intelligence of intention ever elect to manifest into form anything that's repugnant to itself? Obviously, it wouldn't. So we can conclude that the nature of intention has an eternal interaction of love and beauty, and add the expression of beauty to the face of a creative, kind, loving power of intention.
John Keats, the brilliant young romantic poet, concludes his _Ode on a Grecian Urn_ with: "'Beauty is truth, truth beauty,' that is all/ Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know." Obviously truth exists in the creation of everything. It's true that it shows up here in form. It's now here in a form that's an expression of the invisible creative power. So, I agree with Keats that we need to _silently know_ that truth and beauty are one and the same. Out of the truth of the originating spirit in an expression of the power of intention comes truth as beauty. This _knowing_ leads to valuable insights in relation to exercising your individual will, imagination, and intuition.
In order to grasp the significance of beauty as one of the faces of intention, remember this: _Beautiful thoughts build a beautiful soul._ As you become receptive to seeing and feeling beauty around you, you're becoming attuned to the creative power of intention within everything in the natural world, including yourself. By choosing to see beauty in everything, even a person who was born into poverty and ignorance will be able to experience the power of intention. Seeking beauty in the worst of circumstances with individual intent connects one to the power of intention. It works. It has to work. The face of beauty is always present, even where others see non-beauty.
I was deeply honored to be on a panel with Viktor Frankl in 1978 in Vienna, Austria. I strongly recollect that he shared with me and the audience his assertion that it's the ability to see beauty in all of life's circumstances that gives our lives meaning. In his book _Man's Search for Meaning,_ he describes a bowl of filthy water with a fish head floating in it, given to him by his Nazi captors in a concentration camp during WWII. He trained himself to see beauty in this meal, rather than focus on the horror of it. He attributed his ability to see beauty anywhere as a vital factor in surviving those horrific camps. He reminds us that if we focus on what's ugly, we attract more ugliness into our thoughts, and then into our emotions, and ultimately into our lives. By choosing to hang on to one's corner of freedom even in the worst situations, we can process our world with the energy of appreciation and beauty, and create an opportunity to transcend our circumstances.
I love the way Mother Teresa described this quality when she was asked, "What do you do every day in the streets of Calcutta at your mission?" She responded, "Every day I see Jesus Christ in all of his distressing disguises."
**5. The face of expansion.** The elemental nature of life is to increase and seek more and more expression. If we could sharply focus on the faces of intention, we'd be startled. I imagine that one of the faces we'd see is a continuously expanding expression of the power of intention. The nature of this creative spirit is always operating so as to expand. Spirit is a forming power. It has the principle of increase, meaning that life continues to expand toward more life. Life as we know it originates from formless intention. Therefore, one of the faces of intention looks like something that's eternally evolving. It might look like a tiny speck in a continuous state of duplicating itself, and then enlarging itself, and then moving forward, all the while continuing its expansion and expression.
This is precisely what's happening in our physical world. This fifth face of intention takes the form of what is expressing it. It can be no other way, for if this ever-expanding force disliked itself or felt unconnected, it could only destroy itself. But it doesn't work that way. The power of intention manifests as an expression of expanding creativity, kindness, love, and beauty. By establishing your personal relation to this face of intention, you expand your life through the power of intention, which was, is, and always will be, a component of this originating intention. The power of intention is the power to expand and increase all aspects of your life. No exceptions! It's the nature of intention to be in a state of increased expression, so it's true for you, too.
The only proviso to this forward movement of intention is to cooperate with it everywhere and allow this spirit of increase to express itself through you and for you, and for everyone you encounter. Then you will have no worry or anxiety. Trust the face of expansion and do what you do because you're loving what you do and doing what you love. Know that expansive, beneficial results are the only possibilities.
**6. The face of unlimited abundance.** This sixth face of intention is an expression of something that has no boundaries, is everywhere at once, and is endlessly abundant. It's not just huge, it never stops. This marvelous gift of abundance is what you were created from. Thus you too share this in the expression of your life. You're actually fulfilling the law of abundance. These gifts are given freely and fully to you just as the air, the sun, the water, and the atmosphere are provided in unlimited abundance for you.
From the time of your earliest memories, you probably were taught to think in terms of limitations. _My property starts here. Yours over there._ So we build fences to mark our boundaries. But ancient explorers gave us an awareness of the world as potentially endless. Even more ancient astronomers pushed back our beliefs about an immense dome-shaped ceiling covering the earth. We've learned about galaxies that are measured in the distance light travels in a year. Science books that are only two years old are outdated. Athletic records that supposedly demonstrated the limits of our physical prowess are shattered with amazing regularity.
What all this means is that there are no limits to our potential as people, as collective entities, and as individuals. This is largely true because we emanate from the unlimited abundance of intention. If the face of the power of intention is unlimited abundance, then we can know that our potential for manifestation and attracting anything into our lives is the same. The face of abundance has absolutely no limits. Imagine the vastness of the resources from which all objects are created. Then consider the one resource that stands above all others. This would be your mind and the collective mind of humankind. Where does your mind begin and end? What are its boundaries? Where is it located? More important, where is it not located? Is it born with you, or is it present before your conception? Does it die with you? What color is it? What shape? The answers are in the phrase _unlimited abundance._ You were created from this very same unlimited abundance. The power of intention is everywhere. It is what allows everything to manifest, to increase, and to supply infinitely.
Know that you're connected to this life force and that you share it with everyone and all that you perceive to be missing. Open to the expression of the face of unlimited abundance, and you'll be co-creating your life as you'd like it to be. As is so often true, the poets can express in a few short words what seems so difficult for us to grasp. Here is Walt Whitman speaking to us in _Song of Myself._ As you read these lines, substitute _the face of endless abundance_ for _God_ to gain a flavor of what the power of intention is.
_I hear and behold God in every object, yet understand
God not in the least . . ._
_I see something of God each hour of the twenty-four,
and each moment then,_
_In the faces of men and women I see God, and
in my own face in the glass; _
_I find letters from God dropt in the street,
and every one is signed by God's name,_
_And I leave them where they are, for I know
that whereso'er I go_
_Others will punctually come forever and ever._
You don't have to have an intellectual understanding. It's enough to _silently know_ and proceed to live with your awareness of this face of endless abundance.
**7. The face of receptivity.** This is how I imagine the seventh face, the receptive face of intention. It's simply receptive to all. No one and no thing is rejected by the receptive face of intention. It welcomes everyone and every living thing, without judgment—never granting the power of intention to some and withholding it from others. The receptive face of intention means to me that all of nature is waiting to be called into action. We only need to be willing to recognize and receive. Intention can't respond to you if you fail to recognize it. If you see chance and coincidence governing your life and the world, then the universal mind of intention will appear to you as nothing but an amalgamation of forces devoid of any order or power.
Simply put, to be unreceptive is to deny yourself access to the power of intention. In order to utilize the all-inclusive receptivity of intention, you must produce within yourself an intelligence equal in affinity to the universal mind itself. You must not only become receptive to having guidance available to you to manifest your human intentions, but you must be receptive to giving this energy back to the world. As I've said many times in speeches and earlier writings, your job is not to say _how,_ it's to say _yes! Yes, I'm willing. Yes, I know that the power of intention is universal. It's denied to no one._
The face of receptivity smiles on me, as what I need flows to me from the Source, and the Source is receptive to my tapping in to it to co-create books, speeches, videos, audios, and anything else that I've been fortunate enough to have on my résumé. By being receptive, I'm in harmony with the power of intention of the universal creative force. This works in so many different ways. You'll see the right people magically appearing in your life; your body healing; and if it's something that you want, you'll even discover yourself becoming a better dancer, card player, or athlete! The field of intention allows everything to emanate into form, and its unlimited potential is built into all that has manifested even before its initial birth pangs were being expressed.
In this chapter, you've read about my concept of the seven faces of intention. They're creative, kind, loving, beautiful, ever-expanding, endlessly abundant, and receptive to all, and you can connect to this alluring field of intention. Here are five suggestions you can implement now to put into practice the essential messages in this chapter.
**Five Suggestions for Implementing the Ideas**
**in this Chapter**
1. _Visualize the power of intention._ Invite _your_ visualization of the field of energy, which is the power of intention, to appear in your mind. Be receptive to what appears as you visualize your concept of this field of energy. Even though you know it's invisible, close your eyes and see what images you receive. Recite the seven words that represent the seven faces of intention: c _reative, kind, loving, beautiful, expanding, abundant,_ and _receptive._ Memorize these seven words and use them to bring you to harmony with the power of intention as you visualize it. Remind yourself that when you feel or behave inconsistently with these seven faces of intention, you've disconnected from the power of intention. Allow the seven words to decorate your visualization of the power of intention, and notice the shift in your perspective as you regain your connection to it.
2. _Be reflective._ A mirror reflects without distortion or judgment. Consider being like a mirror, and reflect what comes into your life without judgment or opinions. Be unattached to all who come into your life by not demanding that they stay, go, or appear, at your whim. Discontinue judging yourself or others for being too fat, too tall, too ugly—too anything! Just as the power of intention accepts and reflects you without judgment or attachment, try to be the same with what appears in your life. Be like a mirror!
3. _Expect beauty._ This suggestion includes expecting kindness and love along with beauty to be in your life by deeply loving yourself, your surroundings, and by showing reverence for all of life. There's always something beautiful to be experienced wherever you are. Right now, look around you and select beauty as your focus. This is so different from habitually being alert for ways to feel hurt, angry, or offended. Expecting beauty helps you perceive the power of intention in your life.
4. _Meditate on appreciation._ Cherish the energy that you share with all living beings now and in the future, and even those that have lived before you. Feel the surge of that life force that allows you to think, sleep, move about, digest, and even meditate. The power of intention responds to your appreciation of it. The life force that's in your body is key to what you desire. As you appreciate your life force as representative of the power of intention, a wave of determination and knowing surges through you. The wisdom of your soul as it responds to your meditation on appreciation assumes command and knows every step that must be taken.
5. _Banish doubt._ When doubt is banished, abundance flourishes and anything is possible. We all tend to use our thoughts to create the world we choose. If you doubt your ability to create the life you intend, then you're refusing the power of intention. Even when nothing seems to indicate that you're accomplishing what you desire in your life, refuse to entertain doubt. Remember, the trolley strap of intention is waiting for you to float up and be carried along.
Shakespeare declared, "Our doubts are traitors, and make us lose the good we oft might win by fearing to attempt." And Ramana Maharshi observed, "Doubts arise because of an absence of surrender."
You may well choose to doubt what others say to you or what you experience with your senses, but banish doubt when it comes to knowing that a universal force of intention designed you and got you here! Don't doubt your creation from a field of energy that's always available to you.
In the following chapter, I offer what may seem to you to be unusual methods for polishing the connecting link between you and this enthralling energy field we're calling intention.
CHAPTER
[Connecting
to Intention](Dyer_ISBN9781401925963_epub_c8_r1.html#d7e6998)
_"The law of floatation was not discovered by contemplating
the sinking of things, but by contemplating
the floating of things which floated naturally, and then
intelligently asking why they did so."_
— Thomas Troward
Examine this observation by the great mental-science practitioner of the early 20th century, Thomas Troward. In the early days of shipbuilding, ships were made of wood, and the reasoning was that wood floats in water and iron sinks. Yet today, ships all over the world are built of iron. As people began studying the law of flotation, it was discovered that _anything_ could float if it's lighter than the mass of liquid it displaces. So today, we're able to make iron float by the very same law that makes it sink. Keep this example in mind as you read and apply the contents of this chapter on connecting to all that you're intended to become.
The key word here is _contemplating,_ or what you're placing your thoughts on, as you begin utilizing the enormous potential and power of intention. You must be able to connect to intention, and you can't access and work with intention if you're contemplating the impossibility of being able to intend and manifest. You can't discover the law of co-creation if you're contemplating what's missing. You can't discover the power of awakening if you're contemplating things that are still asleep. The secret to manifesting anything that you desire is your willingness and ability to realign yourself so that your inner world is in harmony with the power of intention. Every single modern advance that you see and take for granted was created (and creating is what we're doing here in this book) by someone contemplating what they intended to manifest.
_The way to establish a relationship with Spirit and access the power of this creating principle is to continuously contemplate yourself as being surrounded by the conditions you wish to produce._ I encourage you to emphasize this idea by underlining the previous sentence both in this book and in your mind. Dwell on the idea of a supreme infinite power producing the results that you desire. This power is the creative power of the universe. It's responsible for everything coming into focus. By trusting it to provide the form and the conditions for its manifestation, you establish a relationship to intention that allows you to be connected for as long as you practice this kind of personal intent.
The Wright brothers didn't contemplate the _staying on the ground of things._ Alexander Graham Bell didn't contemplate the _noncommunication of things,_ Thomas Edison didn't contemplate the _darkness of things._ In order to float an idea into your reality, _y_ ou must be willing to do a somersault into the inconceivable and land on your feet, contemplating what you want instead of what you don't have _._ You'll then start floating your desires instead of sinking them. The law of manifestation is like the law of flotation, and you must contemplate it working _for you_ instead of contemplating it not working. This is accomplished by establishing a strong connecting link between you and the invisible, formless field of energy—the power of intention.
**_Entering into the Spirit of Intention_**
Whatever you intend to create in your life involves generating the same life-giving quality that brings everything into existence. The spirit of anything, the quality that allows it to come into the world of form, is true as a general principle, so why not activate it within you? The power of intention simply awaits your ability to make the connection.
We've already established that intention isn't a material substance with measurable physical qualities. As an example of this, think of artists. Their creations aren't merely a function of the quality of the paint, brush, canvas, or any other combination of materials they use. To understand and grasp the creation of a masterpiece, we have to take into account the thoughts and feelings of the artist. We must know and enter into the movement of the creative mind of the artist in order to understand the creation process. The artist creates something out of nothing! Without the thoughts and feelings of the artist, there would be no art. It's their particular creative mind in contemplation that links to intention to give birth to what we call an artistic creation. This is how the power of intention worked in creating you, someone new, entirely unique, someone out of nothing. Reproducing this in yourself means encountering the creative impulse and knowing that the power of intention is reaching for the realization of all that it _feels,_ and that it is expressing itself as you.
What you're feeling is a function of how you're thinking, what you're contemplating, and how your inner speech is being formulated. If you could tap in to the _feeling_ of the power of intention, you'd sense that it is ever-increasing, and confident in itself because it's a formative power so infallible that it never misses its mark. It's always increasing and creating. The forward movement of spirit is a given. The power of intention yearns toward fuller expressions of life, just as the artist's feelings pour out in a fuller expression of his or her ideas and thoughts. Feelings are clues about your destiny and potential, and they're seeking the full expression of life through you.
How do you enter into the spirit of intention, which is all about feelings expressing life? You can nurture it by your continual ongoing expectation of the infallible spiritual law of increase being a part of your life. We saw it through our imaginary capacity to see higher vibrations, and we heard it in the voice given to it by spiritual masters throughout the ages. It's everywhere. It wants to express life. It's pure love in action. It's confident. And guess what? You are it, but you've forgotten. You need to simply trust your ability to cheerfully rely upon Spirit to express itself through and for you. Your task is to contemplate the energies of life, love, beauty, and kindness. Every action that's in harmony with this originating principle of intention gives expression to your own power of intention.
**_Your Will and Your Imagination_**
There's no disputing the existence of your free will. You're a being with a mind capable of making choices. Indeed, you're in a continuous state of deliberate choice-making during your life. This isn't about free will versus predetermined destiny, but look carefully at how you've chosen to rely on your ability to will yourself toward whatever you desire. Intention, in this book, isn't about having a strong desire and backing it up with a pit-bull kind of determination. Having a strong will and being filled with resolve to accomplish inner goals is asking ego to be the guiding force in your life. _I will do this thing, I will never be stupid, I will never give up._ These are admirable traits, but they won't reconnect you to intention. Your willpower is so much less effective than your imagination, which is your link to the power of intention. Imagination is the movement of the universal mind within you. Your imagination creates the inner picture that allows you to _participate_ in the act of creation. It's the invisible connecting link to manifesting your own destiny.
Try to imagine willing yourself to do something that your imagination doesn't want you to do. Your will is the ego part of you that believes you're separate from others, separate from what you'd like to accomplish or have, and separate from God. It also believes that you are your acquisitions, achievements, and accolades. This _ego will_ wants you to constantly acquire evidence of your importance. It pushes you toward proving your superiority and acquiring things you're willing to chase after with hyperdedication and resolve. On the other hand, your imagination is the concept of Spirit within you. It's the God within you. Read William Blake's description of imagination. Blake believed that with imagination, we have the power to be anything we desire to be.
_I rest not from my great task!_
_To open the Eternal Worlds,
to open the immortal Eyes of Man_
Inwards into the Worlds of Thought;
Into eternity, ever expanding
_In the Bosom of God, The Human Imagination_
— from _Jerusalem_ by William Blake
Now go back to the idea of willing yourself to do something when your imagination says no. An example of a fire walk comes to my mind. You can stare at those hot coals and will yourself to walk across them, and if you rely exclusively on your willpower, you'll end up with severe burns and blisters. But if you imagine yourself divinely protected—in Blake's words, _in the Bosom of God,_ and can see yourself in your imagination able to be something beyond your body, you can accomplish the fire walk unscathed. As you imagine yourself impervious to the heat of the red-hot coals, you begin to feel yourself as something beyond your body. You visualize yourself as stronger than the fire. Your inner picture of purity and protection lets you will yourself to walk across the coals. It's your imagination that allows you to be safe. Without it, you'd be scorched!
I recall imagining myself being able to complete my first marathon run of 26-plus miles. It wasn't my will that got me through those three and a half hours of continuous running. It was my inner imagination. I tuned in to it and then allowed my body to be pushed to its limit through my will. Without that image, no amount of will would have been sufficient for me to complete that endeavor.
And so it is with everything. Willing yourself to be happy, successful, wealthy, number one, famous, the top salesperson, or the richest person in your community are ideas born of the ego and its obsessive self-absorption. In the name of this willpower, people run roughshod over anyone who gets in their way; cheating, stealing, and deceiving to accomplish their personal intention. Yet these kinds of practices will ultimately lead to disaster. You may achieve the physical goal of your individual intention. However, your imagination, that inner place where you do all of your living, won't allow you to feel peaceful.
I've used this power of imagination over my will in the production of all of my life's work. For instance, I see myself as having already completed this book. This _thinking from the end_ causes me to behave as if all that I'd like to create is already here. My credo is: _Imagine myself to be and I shall be,_ and it's an image that I keep with me at all times. I don't complete a book because I have a strong will to do so. That would mean I believe that it's me, the body named Wayne Dyer, that's doing all of this, whereas my imagination has no physical boundaries and no name called Wayne Dyer. My imagination is my very own "chip off of the old block" of intention. It provides what I need, it allows me to sit here and write, it guides my pen in my hand, and fills in all the blanks. I, Wayne Dyer, am not willing this book into reality. My picture of it is so clear and precise that it manifests itself. In ancient times, a divine being named Hermes wrote:
_That which_ IS _is manifested;_
_That which has been or shall be, is unmanifested,
but not dead;_
_For soul, the eternal activity of God, animates all things._
These are significant words to ponder as you think about reconnecting to intention and gaining the power to create anything that's in your imagination. You, your body, and your ego do not intend, do not create, do not animate anything into life. Set your ego aside. By all means, have an aim in life and be full of determination, but rid yourself of the illusion that you're the one who's going to manifest your heart's desire through your will. It's your _imagination_ that I want you to focus on throughout the reading of this book, and view all of your determined goals and activities as functions of your imagination working, guiding, encouraging, and even pushing you in the direction that intention had for you while you were still in an _unmanifested_ state. You're looking for a vibrational match-up of your imagination and the Source of all Creation.
Your imagination allows you the fabulous luxury of _thinking from the end._ There's no stopping anyone who can think from the end. You create the means and surmount limitations in connection with your desires. In imagination, dwell on the end, fully confident that it's there in the material world and that you can use the ingredients of the all-creative Source to make it tangible. Since the Source of everything proceeds with grace, and its alluring seven faces, then you too shall use this method and only this method, to co-create all that you were intended to be. Become indifferent to doubt and to the call of your will. Remain confident that through continued reliance on your imagination, your assumptions are materializing into reality. Reconnecting to intention involves expressing the same seven faces that the all-creating Source uses to bring the unmanifest into the manifest. If imagination works for God, then surely it works for you, too. Through imagination, God imagines everything into reality. This is your new strategy as well.
**_Applying the Seven Faces for Connecting to Intention_**
Having been in the business of human development for most of my life, the question I most frequently hear is: "How do I go about getting what I want?" At this juncture of my life, as I sit here writing this book, my response is: "If you become what you think about, and what you think about is getting what you want, then you'll stay in a state of wanting. So, the answer to how to get what you want is to reframe the question to: _How do I go about getting what I intend to create?"_ My answer to that question is in the remaining pages of this chapter, but my short answer is this: "You get what you intend to create by being in harmony with the power of intention, which is responsible for all of creation." Become just like intention and you'll co-create all that you contemplate. When you become one with intention, you're transcending the ego-mind and becoming the universal all-creative mind. John Randolph Price writes in _A Spiritual Philosophy for the New World:_ "Until you transcend the ego, you can do nothing but add to the insanity of the world. That statement should delight you rather than create despair, for it removes the burden from your shoulders."
Begin to remove that ego burden from your shoulders and reconnect to intention. When you lay your ego aside and return to that from which you originally emanated, you'll begin to immediately see the power of intention working with, for, and through you in a multitude of ways. Here are those seven faces revisited to help you to begin to make them a part of your life.
**1. Be creative.** Being creative means trusting your own purpose and having an attitude of unbending intent in your daily thoughts and activities. Staying creative means giving form to your personal intentions. A way to start giving them form is to literally put them in writing. For instance, in my writing space here on Maui, I've written out my intentions, and here are a few of them that stare at me each day as I write:
_• My intention is for all of my activities to be directed by Spirit._
_• My intention is to love and radiate my love to my writing and any who might read these words._
_• My intention is to trust in what comes through me and to be a vehicle of Spirit, judging none of it._
_• My intention is to recognize the Spirit as my Source and to detach from my ego._
_• My intention is to do all that I can to elevate the collective consciousness to be more closely in rapport with the Spirit of the originating supreme power of intention._
To express your creativity and put your own intentions into the world of the manifest, I recommend that you practice _Japa,_ a technique first offered by the ancient Vedas. Japa meditation is the repetition of the sound of the names of God while simultaneously focusing on what you intend to manifest. Repeating the sound within the name of God while asking for what you want generates creative energy to manifest your desires. And your desires are the movement of the universal mind within you. Now, you may be skeptical about the feasibility of such an undertaking. Well, I ask you to open yourself to this idea of Japa as an expression of your creative link to intention. I won't describe the method in depth here because I've written about it in a small book with an accompanying CD by Hay House called _Getting in the Gap: Making Conscious Contact with God Through Meditation._ For now, just know that I consider meditating and practicing Japa essential in the quest to realign yourself with the power of intention. That power is Creation, and you need to be in your own unique state of creativity to collaborate with the power of intention. Meditation and Japa are surefire ways to do so.
**2. Be kind.** A fundamental attribute of the supreme originating power is kindness. All that's manifested is brought here to thrive. It takes a kindly power to want what it creates to thrive and multiply. Were this not the case, then all that's created would be destroyed by the same power that created it. In order to reconnect to intention, you must be on the same kindness wavelength as intention itself. Make an effort to live in cheerful kindness. It's a much higher energy than sadness or malevolence, and it makes the manifestation of your desires possible. _It's through giving that we receive;_ it's through acts of kindness directed toward others that our immune systems are strengthened and even our serotonin levels increased!
Low energy thoughts that weaken us fall in the realm of shame, anger, hatred, judgment, and fear. Each of these inner thoughts weakens us and inhibits us from attracting into our lives what we desire. If we become what we think about, and what we think about is what's wrong with the world and how angry and ashamed and fearful we are, it stands to reason that we'll act on those unkind thoughts and become what we're thinking about. When you think, feel, and act kindly, you give yourself the opportunity to be like the power of intention. When you're thinking and acting otherwise, you've left the field of intention, and you've assured yourself of feeling cheated by the all-creative Spirit of intent.
_— Kindness toward yourself._ Think of yourself like this: There's a universal intelligence subsisting throughout nature inherent in every one of its manifestations. You are one of those manifestations. You are a piece of this universal intelligence—a slice of God, if you will. Be good to God, since all that God created was good. Be good to yourself. You are God manifested, and that's reason enough to treat yourself kindly. Remind yourself that you want to be kind to yourself in all the choices that you make about your daily life. Treat yourself with kindness when you eat, exercise, play, work, love, and everything else. Treating yourself kindly will hasten your ability to connect to intention.
_— Kindness toward others._ A basic tenet of getting along and being happy, as well as enlisting the assistance of others toward achieving all that you want to attract, is that people want to help you and do things for you. When you're kind to others, you receive kindness in return. A boss who's unkind gets very little cooperation from his employees. Being unkind with children makes them want to get even rather than help you out. Kindness given is kindness returned. If you wish to connect to intention and become someone who achieves all of your objectives in life, you're going to need the assistance of a multitude of folks. By practicing extending kindness everywhere, you'll find support showing up in ways that you could never have predicted.
This idea of extending kindness is particularly relevant in how you deal with people who are helpless, elderly, mentally challenged, poor, disabled, and so on. These people are all part of God's perfection. They, too, have a divine purpose, and since all of us are connected to each other through Spirit, their purpose and intent is also connected to you. Here's a brief story that will touch you at the heart level. It suggests that those whom we meet who are less than able to care for themselves may have come here to teach us something about the perfection of intention. Read it and know that this kind of thinking, feeling, and behavior empowers you to connect to intention through matching its kindness with your own.
_In Brooklyn, New York, Chush is a school that caters to learning-disabled children. Some children remain in Chush for their entire school career, while others can be mainstreamed into conventional schools. At a Chush fundraiser dinner, the father of a Chush child delivered a speech that would never be forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated staff, he cried out, "Where is the perfection in my son, Shaya? Everything God does is done with perfection. But my child cannot understand things as other children do. My child cannot remember facts and figures as other children do. Where is God's perfection?" The audience was shocked by the question, pained by the father's anguish, and stilled by the piercing query._
_"I believe," the father answered, "that when God brings a child like this into the world, the perfection that he seeks is in the way people react to this child." He then told the following story about his son, Shaya._
_One afternoon Shaya and his father walked past a park where some boys Shaya knew were playing baseball. Shaya asked, "Do you think they'll let me play?" Shaya's father knew that his son was not at all athletic and that most boys would not want him on their team. But Shaya's father understood that if his son was chosen to play, it would give him a sense of belonging. Shaya's father approached one of the boys on the field and asked if Shaya could play. The boy looked around for guidance from his teammates. Getting none, he took matters into his own hands and said, "We're losing by six runs, and the game is in the eighth inning. I guess he can be on our team, and we'll try to put him up to bat in the ninth inning."_
_Shaya's father was ecstatic as Shaya smiled broadly. Shaya was told to put on a glove and go out to play in center field. In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shaya's team scored a few runs but was still behind by three. In the bottom of the ninth inning, Shaya's team scored again, and now had two outs and the bases loaded, with the potential winning run on base, Shaya was scheduled to be up. Would the team actually let Shaya bat at this juncture and give away their chance to win the game?_
_Surprisingly, Shaya was given the bat. Everyone knew that it was all but impossible because Shaya didn't even know how to hold the bat properly, let alone hit with it. However, as Shaya stepped up to the plate, the pitcher moved a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shaya could at least be able to make contact. The first pitch came in, and Shaya swung clumsily and missed. One of Shaya's teammates came up to Shaya, and together they held the bat and faced the pitcher waiting for the next pitch. The pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly toward Shaya. As the pitch came in, Shaya and his teammate swung the bat, and together they hit a slow ground ball to the pitcher. The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and could easily have thrown the ball to the first baseman. Shaya would have been out and that would have ended the game. Instead, the pitcher took the ball and threw it on a high arc to right field far beyond the reach of the first baseman._
_Everyone started yelling, "Shaya, run to first. Run to first." Never in his life had Shaya run to first. He scampered down the baseline wide-eyed and startled. By the time he reached first base, the right-fielder had the ball. He could have thrown the ball to the second baseman who would tag out Shaya, who was still running._
_But the right-fielder understood what the pitcher's intentions were, so he threw the ball high and far over the third baseman's head. Everyone yelled, "Run to second, run to second." Shaya ran toward second base as the runners ahead of him deliriously circled the bases toward home. As Shaya reached second base, the opposing shortstop ran to him, turned him in the direction of third base, and shouted, "Run to third." As Shaya rounded third, the boys from both teams ran behind him screaming, "Shaya, run home." Shaya ran home, stepped on home plate, and all 18 boys lifted him on their shoulders and made him the hero, as he had just hit a "grand slam" and won the game for his team._
_"That day," said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face, "those 18 boys reached their level of God's perfection."_
If you don't feel a tug in your heart and a tear in your eye after reading this story, then it's unlikely that you'll ever know the magic of connecting back to the kindness of the supreme all-originating Source.
_— Kindness toward all of life._ In the ancient teachings of Patanjali, we're reminded that all living creatures are impacted dramatically by those who remain steadfast in the absence of thoughts of harm directed outward. Practice kindness toward all animals, tiny and huge, the entire kingdom of life on Earth such as the forests, the deserts, the beaches, and all that has the essence of life pulsating within it. You can't reconnect to your Source and know the power of intention in your life without the assistance of the environment. You're connected to this environment. Without gravity, you can't walk. Without the water, you can't live a day. Without the forests, the sky, the atmosphere, the vegetation, the minerals —all of it—your desire to manifest and reach intention is meaningless.
Extend thoughts of kindness everywhere. Practice kindness toward Earth by picking up a piece of litter that's on your path, or saying a silent prayer of gratitude for the existence of rain, the color of flowers, or even the paper you hold in your hand that was donated by a tree. The universe responds in kind to what you elect to radiate outward. If you say with kindness in your voice and in your heart, "How may I serve you?" the universe's response will be, "How may I serve you as well?" It's attractor energy. It's this spirit of cooperation with all of life that emerges from the essence of intention. And this spirit of kindness is one that you must learn to match if connecting back to intention is your desire. My daughter Sommer has written from her experience about how small acts of kindness go a long way:
_I was getting off the turnpike one rainy afternoon and pulled up to the tollbooth while fumbling through my purse. The woman smiled at me and said, "The car before you has paid your toll." I told her I was traveling alone and extended my money. She replied, "Yes, the man instructed me to tell the next person who came to my booth to have a brighter day." That small act of kindness did give me a brighter day. I felt so moved by someone I would never know. I began to wonder how I could brighten someone else's day. I called my best friend and told her about my paid toll. She said she'd never thought of doing that, but it was a great idea. She goes to the University of Kentucky and decided to pay for the person behind her every day on her way to school as she exits the toll road. I laughed at her sincerity. "You think I'm kidding," she said, "but like you said, it's only 50 cents." As we hung up, I wondered if the man who paid my toll even fathomed that his thoughtfulness would travel to Kentucky._
_I had an opportunity to extend kindness at the supermarket one day when I had my cart filled to the top with food that my roommate and I would share over the next two weeks. The woman behind me had an antsy toddler and not nearly as much in her cart as I had. I said to her, "Why don't you go first? You don't have as much as I do." The woman looked at me as if I'd just sprouted extra limbs or something. She replied, "Thank you so much. I haven't seen many people around here be thoughtful of another person. We've moved here from Virginia and are considering moving back because we're questioning whether this is the right place to raise our three children." Then she told me that she was about ready to give up and move back home, even though it would create a huge financial strain on her family. She said, "I'd promised myself if I didn't see a sign by the end of today, I was going to demand that we move back to Virginia. You are my sign."_
_She thanked me again, smiling as she left the store. I was flabbergasted, realizing that such a small gesture had impacted a whole family. The clerk said as she was checking me out, "You know what, girl? You just made my day." I walked out smiling, wondering how many people my act of kindness would affect._
_The other day I was getting a breakfast sandwich and coffee and thought my co-workers might like some doughnuts. The four guys I work with at the stables live in the little apartments at the front of the barns. None of them has a car, but they share a bike. I explained to them that the doughnuts were for them. The look of gratitude on each of their faces was rewarding in an immeasurable way. I haven't worked there all that long, and I think that those 12 small doughnuts helped break the ice a little bit. My small act of kindness turned into something huge as the week went on. We started looking out for one another more carefully and working as a team._
**3. Be love.** Ponder these words thoughtfully: _God is love,_ "and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in me, and I in him." That is God talking, so to speak. Keeping in mind the central theme of this chapter, and in fact, this entire book, that you must learn to be like the energy that allowed you to be in the first place, then being in a state of love is absolutely necessary for you to reconnect to intention. You were intended out of love, you must be love in order to intend. Volumes have been written about love, and still we have as many definitions for this word as we have people to offer them. For the purposes of this chapter, I'd like you to think about love in the following two ways.
_— Love is cooperation rather than competition._ What I'd like you to be able to experience right here in physical form on planet Earth is the essence of the spiritual plane. If this were possible, it would mean that your very life is a manifestation of love. Were this to be true for you, you'd see all of life living together in harmony and cooperating with each other. You'd sense that the power of intention that originates all life cooperates with all other life forms to ensure growth and survival. You'd note that we all share the same life force, and the same invisible intelligence that beats my heart and your heart, beats the heart of everyone on the planet.
_— Love is the force behind the will of God._ I'm not suggesting the kind of love that we define as affection or sentiment. Nor is this kind of love a feeling that seeks to please and press favors on others. Imagine a kind of love that is the power of intention, the very energy that is the cause behind all of creation. It's the spiritual vibration that carries divine intentions from formless to concrete expression. It creates new form, changes matter, vivifies all things, and holds the cosmos together beyond time and space. It's in every one of us. It is what God is.
I recommend that you pour your love into your immediate environment and hold to this practice on an hourly basis if possible. Remove all unloving thoughts from your mind, and practice kindness in all of your thoughts, words, and actions. Cultivate this love in your immediate circle of acquaintances and family, and ultimately it will expand to your community and globally as well. Extend this love deliberately to those you feel have harmed you in any way or caused you to experience suffering. The more you can extend this love, the closer you come to being love, and it's in the beingness of love that intention is reached and manifestation flourishes.
**4. Be beauty.** Emily Dickinson wrote: "Beauty is not caused. It is . . . " As you awaken to your divine nature, you'll begin to appreciate beauty in everything you see, touch, and experience. Beauty and truth are synonymous as you read earlier in John Keats's famous observation in _Ode on a Grecian Urn:_ "Beauty is truth, truth beauty." This means, of course, that the creative Spirit brings things into the world of boundaries to thrive and flourish and expand. And it wouldn't do so were it not infatuated with the beauty of every manifested creature, including you. Thus, to come back into conscious contact with your Source so as to regain the power of your Source is to look for and experience beauty in all of your undertakings. Life, truth, beauty. These are all symbols for the same thing, an aspect of the God-force.
When you lose this awareness, you lose the possibility of connecting to intention. You were brought into this world from that which perceived you as an expression of beauty. It couldn't have done so if it thought you to be otherwise, for if it has the power to create; it also possesses the power not to do so. The choice to do so is predicated on the supposition that you're an expression of loving beauty. This is true for everything and everyone that emanates from the power of intention.
Here's a favorite story of mine that illustrates appreciating beauty where once you didn't. It was told by Swami Chidvilasananda, better known as Gurumayi, in her beautiful book, _Kindle My Heart._
_"There was a man who did not like his in-laws because he felt they took up more space in the house than they should. He went to a teacher who lived nearby, as he had heard a lot about him, and he said, 'Please do something! I cannot bear my in-laws anymore. I love my wife, but my in-laws—never! They take up so much space in the house; somehow I feel they are always in my way.'_
_The teacher asked him, 'Do you have some chickens?'_
_'Yes, I do,' he said._
_'Then put all your chickens inside the house.'_
_He did what the teacher said and then went back to him._
_The teacher asked, 'Problem solved?'_
_He said, 'No! It's worse.'_
_'Do you have any sheep?'_
_'Yes.'_
_'Bring all the sheep inside.' He did so and returned to the teacher. 'Problem solved?'_
_'No! It's getting worse.'_
_'Do you have a dog?'_
_'Yes, I have several.'_
_'Take all those dogs into the house.'_
_Finally, the man ran back to the teacher and said, 'I came to you for help, but you are making my life worse than ever!'_
_The teacher said to him, 'Now send all the chickens, sheep, and dogs back outside.'_
_The man went home and emptied the house of all the animals. There was so much space! He went back to the teacher. 'Thank you! Thank you!' he said. 'You have solved all my problems.'"_
**5. Be ever-expansive.** The next time you see a garden full of flowers, observe the flowers that are alive, and compare them to the flowers that you believe are dead. What's the difference? The dried-up, _dead_ flowers are no longer growing, while the alive flowers are indeed still growing. The all-emerging universal force that intended you into beingness and commences all life is always growing, and perpetually expanding. As with all seven of these faces of intention, by reason of its universality, it must have a common nature with yours. By being in an ever-expanding state and growing intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually, you're identifying with the universal mind.
By staying in a state of readiness in which you're not attached to what you used to think or be, and by thinking from the end and staying open to receiving divine guidance, you abide by the law of growth and are receptive to the power of intention.
**6. Be abundant.** Intention is endlessly abundant. There's no scarcity in the universal invisible world of Spirit. The cosmos itself is without end. How could there be an end to the universe? What would be at the end? A wall? So how thick is the wall? And what's on the other side of it? As you contemplate connecting to intention, know in your heart that any attitude you have that reflects a scarcity consciousness will hold you back. A reminder here is in order. You must match intention's attributes with your own in order to capitalize on those powers in your life.
Abundance is what God's kingdom is about. Imagine God thinking, _I can't produce any more oxygen today, I'm just too tired; this universe is big enough already, I think I'll erect that wall and bring this expansion thing to a halt._ Impossible! You emerged from a consciousness that was and is unlimited. So what's to prevent you from rejoining that limitless awareness in your mind and holding on to these pictures regardless of what goes before you? What prevents you is the conditioning you've been exposed to during your life, which you can change today—in the next few minutes if you so desire.
When you shift to an abundance mind-set, you repeat to yourself over and over again that you're unlimited because you emanated from the inexhaustible supply of intention. As this picture solidifies, you begin to act on this attitude of unbending intent. There's no other possibility. We become what we think about, and as Emerson reminded us: "The ancestor to every action is a thought." As these thoughts of plentitude and excessive sufficiency become your way of thinking, the all-creating force to which you're always connected will begin to work with you, in harmony with your thoughts, just as it worked with you in harmony with your thoughts of scarcity. If you think you can't manifest abundance into your life, you'll see intention agreeing with you, and _assisting_ you in the fulfillment of meager expectations!
I seem to have arrived into this world fully connected to the abundance attributes of the spiritual world from which I emanated. As a child growing up in foster homes, with poverty consciousness all around me, I was the "richest" kid in the orphanage, so to speak. I always thought I could have money jingling in my pocket. I pictured it there, and I consequently acted on that picture. I'd collect soda-pop bottles, shovel snow, bag groceries, cut lawns, carry out people's ashes from their coal furnaces, clean up yards, paint fences, babysit, deliver newspapers, and on and on. And always, the universal force of abundance worked _with_ me in providing opportunities. A snowstorm was a giant blessing for me. So too were discarded bottles by the side of the road, and little old ladies who needed help carrying their groceries to their automobiles.
Today, over a half century later, I still have that abundance mentality. I've never been without several jobs at one time throughout many economic slumps over my lifetime. I made large amounts of money as a schoolteacher by starting a driver-education business after school hours. I began a lecture series in Port Washington, New York, on Monday evenings for 30 or so local residents to supplement my income as a professor at St. John's University, and that Monday-night series became an audience of over a thousand people in the high school auditorium. Each lecture was tape-recorded by a staff member, and those tapes led to the outline for my first book to the public, which was called _Your Erroneous Zones._
One of the attendees was the wife of a literary agent in New York City who encouraged him to contact me about writing a book. That man, Arthur Pine, became like a father to me and helped me meet key publishing people in New York. And the same story of unlimited thinking goes on and on. I saw the book _from the end_ becoming a tool for everyone in the country, and proceeded to go to every large city in America to tell people about it.
The universal Spirit has always worked with me in bringing my thoughts of unlimited abundance into my life. The right people would magically appear. The right break would come along. The help I needed would seemingly manifest out of nowhere. And in a sense, I'm still collecting pop bottles, shoveling snow, and carrying out groceries for little old ladies today. My vision hasn't changed, although the playing field is enlarged. It's all about having an inner picture of abundance, thinking in unlimited ways, being open to the guidance that intention provides when you're in a state of rapport with it—and then being in a state of ecstatic gratitude and awe for how this whole thing works. Every time I see a coin on the street, I stop, pick it up, put it into my pocket, and say out loud, "Thank you, God, for this symbol of abundance that keeps flowing into my life." Never once have I asked, "Why only a penny, God? You know I need a lot more than that."
Today, I arise at 4 A.M. with a knowing that my writing will complete what I've already envisioned in the contemplations of my imagination. The writing flows, and letters arrive from intention's manifest abundance urging me to read a particular book, or to talk to a unique individual, and I know that it's all working in perfect, abundant unity. The phone rings, and just what I need to hear is resonating in my ear. I get up to get a glass of water, and my eyes fall on a book that's been on my shelf for 20 years, but this time I'm compelled to pick it up. I open it, and I'm once again being directed by spirit's willingness to assist and guide me as long as I stay in harmony with it. It goes on and on, and I'm reminded of Jelaluddin Rumi's poetic words from 800 years ago: "Sell your clever-ness, and purchase bewilderment."
**_7_** **. Be receptive.** The universal mind is ready to respond to anyone who recognizes their true relationship to it. It will reproduce whatever conception of itself you impress upon it. In other words, it's receptive to all who remain in harmony with it and stay in a relationship of reverence for it. The issue becomes a question of your receptivity to the power of intention. Stay connected and know you'll receive all that this power is capable of offering. Take it on by yourself as separate from the universal mind (an impossibility, but nevertheless, a strong belief of the ego), and you remain eternally disconnected.
The nature of the universal mind is peaceful. It isn't receptive to force or violence. It works in its own time and rhythm, allowing everything to emanate by and by. It's in no hurry because it's outside of time. It's always in the eternal now. Try getting down on your hands and knees and hurrying along a tiny tomato plant sprout. Universal Spirit is at work peacefully, and your attempts to rush it or tug new life into full creative flower will destroy the entire process. Being receptive means allowing your "senior partner" to handle your life for you. _I accept the guidance and assistance of the same force that created me, I let go of my ego,_ and I trust in this wisdom to move at its own peaceful pace. I make no demands on it. This is how the all-creating field of intention creates. This is how you must think in order to reconnect to your Source. You practice meditation because it allows you to receive the inner knowing of making conscious contact with God. By being peaceful, quiet, and receptive, you pattern yourself in the image of God, and you regain the power of your Source.
That is what this chapter, and indeed this entire book, is all about. That is, tapping in to the essence of originating Spirit, emulating the attributes of the creative force of intention, and manifesting into your life anything that you desire that's consistent with the universal mind— which is creativity, kindness, love, beauty, expansion, abundance, and peaceful receptivity.
A beautiful woman born in India in 1923 named Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi arrived here on Earth in a fully realized state and lived in the ashram of Mahatma Gandhi, who often consulted her on spiritual questions. She's spent her life working for peace, and discovered a simple method through which all people can receive their self-realization. She teaches Sahaja Yoga, and has never charged for this instruction. She emphasizes the following points, which are a perfect summary on this chapter on connecting to intention:
_• You cannot know the meaning of your life until you are connected to the power that created you._
_• You are not this body, you are not this mind, you are the Spirit . . . this is the greatest truth._
_• You have to know your Spirit . . . for without knowing your Spirit, you cannot know the truth._
_• Meditation is the only way you can grow. There is no other way out. Because when you meditate, you are in silence. You are in thoughtless awareness. Then the growth of awareness takes place._
Connect to the power that created you, know that you are that power, commune with that power intimately, and meditate to allow that _growth of awareness_ to take place. A great summary indeed, from a fully realized being, no less.
**Five Suggestions for Implementing the Ideas**
**of this Chapter**
1. _To realize your desires, match them with your inner speech._ Keep all inner talk focused on good reports and good results. Your inner speech mirrors your imagination, and your imagination is your connecting link to Spirit. If your inner speech is in conflict with your desires, your inner voice will win. So, if you match desires with inner speech, those desires will ultimately be realized.
2. _Think from the end._ That is, assume within yourself the feeling of the wish being fulfilled, and keep this vision regardless of the obstacles that emerge. Eventually you'll act on this _end thinking,_ and the Spirit of Creation will collaborate with you.
3. _To reach a state of impeccability, you need to practice unbending intent._ This will match you up with the unbending intent of the all-creative universal mind. For example, if I set out to write a book, I keep a solid picture of the completed book in my mind, and I refuse to let that intention disappear. There's nothing that can keep me from that intention being fulfilled. Some say that I have great discipline, but I know otherwise. My unbending intent won't allow for anything but its completion to be expressed. I'm pushed, prodded, and propelled, and finally almost mystically attracted to my writing space. All waking and sleeping thoughts are focused on this picture, and I never lack for being in a state of awe at how it all comes together.
4. _Copy the seven faces of intention on three-by-five cards._ Have them laminated and place them in crucial locations that you must look at each day. They'll serve as reminders for you to stay in fellowship with the originating Spirit. You want a relationship of camaraderie to exist with intention. The seven reminders strategically placed around your living and working environment will do just that for you.
5. _Always keep the thought of God's abundance in mind. If any other thought comes, replace it with that of God's abundance._ Remind yourself every day that the universe can't be miserly; it can't be wanting. It holds nothing but abundance, or as St. Paul stated so perfectly, "God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance." Repeat these ideas on abundance until they radiate as your inner truth.
This concludes the steps for connecting to intention. But before you make this somersault into the inconceivable, I urge you to examine any and all self-imposed obstacles that need to be challenged and eradicated as you work anew at living and breathing this power of intention that was placed in your heart before a heart was even formed. As William Penn put it: "Those people who are not governed by God will be ruled by tyrants." Remember as you read on, that those tyrants are often the self-imposed roadblocks of your lower self at work.
CHAPTER
[Obstacles to Connecting
to Intention](Dyer_ISBN9781401925963_epub_c8_r1.html#d7e7068)
_"... does a firm persuasion that a thing is so, make it so?_
_He replied, 'All poets believe that it does. And in ages of
imagination, this firm persuasion removed mountains; But
many are not capable of a firm persuasion of anything.'"_
— from _The Marriage of Heaven and Hell_ by William Blake
William Blake's passage from _The Marriage of Heaven and Hell_ is the basis of this chapter about overcoming obstacles to the unlimited power of intention. Blake is telling us that poets have an inexhaustible imagination and consequently an unlimited ability to make something so. He also reminds us that many aren't capable of such a firm persuasion.
In the previous chapter, I gave you suggestions for making positive connections to intention. I deliberately arranged the chapters this way so that you'd read about what you're capable of before examining barriers you've erected that keep you from the bliss of your intention. In the past, as a practicing counselor and therapist, I've encouraged clients to first consider what they want to manifest in their lives and hold that thought firmly in their imagination. Only after this was solidified would I have them examine and consider the obstacles. Often my clients were unaware of the obstructions even when they were self-imposed. Learning to identify ways in which you're creating your own obstacles is tremendously enlightening if you're willing to explore this area of your life. You may discover the obstacles that keep you from _a firm persuasion of anything._
I'm devoting this chapter to three areas that may be unrecognized obstacles to your connection to the power of intention. You'll be examining _your inner speech, your level of energy,_ and _your self-importance._ These three categories can create almost insurmountable blocks to connecting to intention when they're mismatched. Taken one at a time, you'll have the opportunity to become aware of these blockages and explore ways of overcoming them.
There's a game show that has aired on television for several decades now (in syndication). It's called _The Match Game._ The object of this game is to match up your thoughts and potential responses with that of someone on your team, usually a partner or family member. A question or statement is given to one partner, and several possible responses are offered. The more matches made, in competition with two other couples, the more points received. The winner is the one with the most matches.
I'd like to play the match game with you. In my version, I'm asking you to match up with the universal Spirit of intention. As we go through the three categories of obstacles that hinder your connection to intention, I'll describe the areas that don't match, and offer suggestions for creating a match. Remember that your ability to activate the power of intention in _your_ life depends on your matching up with the creative Source of _all_ life. Match up with that Source, and you win the prize of being like the Source—and the power of intention. Fail to match up . . . and the power of intention eludes you.
**_Your Inner Speech—Match or No Match?_**
We can go all the way back to the Old Testament to find a reminder about our inner dialogue. For instance, _as a man thinketh, so is he._ Generally, we apply this idea of becoming what we think to our positive thoughts—that is, think positively and you'll produce positive results. But thinking also creates stumbling blocks that produce negative results. Below are four ways of thinking that can prevent you from reaching for and connecting to the universal, creative Spirit of intention.
**1. Thinking about what's missing in your life.** To match up with intention, you first have to catch yourself in that moment you're thinking about _what's missing._ Then shift to intention. Not _what I find missing in my life,_ but to _what I absolutely intend to manifest and attract into my life—_ with no doubts, no waffling, and no explaining! Here are some suggestions to help you break the habit of focusing your thoughts on what's missing. Play a version of the match game, and match up with the _all-creating force:_
**No match:** I don't have enough money _._
**Match:** I intend to attract unlimited abundance into my life.
**No match:** My partner is grouchy and boring.
**Match:** I intend to focus my thoughts on what I love about my partner.
**No match:** I'm not as attractive as I'd like to be.
**Match:** I'm perfect in the eyes of God, a divine manifestation of the process of creation.
**No match:** I don't have enough vitality and energy.
**Match:** I'm a part of the ebb and flow of the limitless Source of all life.
This isn't a game of empty affirmations. It's a way of _matching_ yourself to the power of intention and recognizing that what you think about, expands. If you spend your time thinking about what's missing, then that's what expands in your life. Monitor your inner dialogue, and match your thoughts to what you want and intend to create.
**2. Thinking about the circumstances of your life.** If you don't like some of the circumstances of your life, by all means don't think about them. This may sound like a paradox to you, in this match game, you want to match up with the Spirit of creation. You must train your imagination (which is the universal mind running through you) to shift from what you don't want to what you do want. All of that mental energy you spend complaining about _what is—_ to anyone who will listen—is a magnet for attracting _more of what is_ into your life. You, and only you, can overcome this impediment because you've put it on your path to intention. Simply change your inner speech to what you intend the new circumstances of your life to be. Practice _thinking from the end_ by playing the match game, and by realigning yourself with the field of intention.
Here are some examples of a **no match** versus a **match** for the inner dialogue relating to the circumstances of your life:
**No match:** I hate this place we're living in; it gives me the creeps.
**Match:** I can see our new home in my mind, and I intend to be living in it within six months.
**No match:** When I see myself in the mirror, I despise the fact that I'm nearsighted and out of shape.
**Match:** I'm placing this drawing of how I intend to look right here on my mirror.
**No match:** I dislike the work I'm doing and the fact that I'm not appreciated.
**Match:** I'll act upon my inner intuitive impulses to create the work or job of my dreams.
**No match:** I hate the fact that I'm sick so often and always seem to be getting colds.
**Match:** I am divine health. I intend to act in healthy ways and attract the power to strengthen my immune system in every way I can.
You must learn to assume responsibility for the circumstances of your life without any accompanying guilt. The circumstances of your life aren't the way they are because of karmic debt or because you're being punished. The circumstances of your life, including your health, are yours. Somehow they showed up in your life, so just assume that you participated in all of it. Your inner speech is uniquely your own creation, and it's responsible for attracting more of the circumstances that you don't want. Link up with intention, use your inner speech to stay focused on what you intend to create, and you'll find yourself regaining the power of your Source.
**3. Thinking about what has always been.** When your inner speech focuses on the way things have always been, you act upon your thoughts of what has always been, and the universal all-creating force continues to deliver what has always been. Why? Because your imagination is a part of that which imagined you into existence. It's the force of creation, and you're using it to work against you with your inner speech.
Imagine the absolute Spirit thinking like this: _I can't create life anymore because things haven't worked for me in the past. There have been so many mistakes in the past, and I can't stop thinking about them!_ How much creating do you think would occur if Spirit imagined in this way? How can you possibly connect to the power of intention if your thoughts, which are responsible for your intending, focus on all that's gone before, which you abhor? The answer is obvious, and so is the solution. Make a shift and catch yourself when you're focusing on _what always has been,_ and move your inner speech to _what you intend to manifest._ You'll get points in this match game by being on the same team as the absolute Spirit.
**No match:** I've always been poor; I was raised on shortages and scarcity.
**Match:** I intend to attract wealth and prosperity in unlimited abundance.
**No match:** We've always fought in this relationship.
**Match:** I'll work at being peaceful and not allowing anyone to bring me down.
**No match:** My children have never shown me any respect.
**Match:** I intend to teach my children to respect all of life, and I'll treat them in the same way.
**No match:** I can't help feeling this way; it's my nature. I've always been this way.
**Match:** I'm a divine creation, capable of thinking like my Creator. I intend to substitute love and kindness for feelings of inadequacy. It's my choice.
The **match** items reflect a rapport with the originating Spirit. The **no** **match** statements represent interference that you've constructed to keep you from matching up with intention. Any thought that takes you backward is an impediment to manifesting desires. The highest functioning people understand that if you don't have a story, you don't have to live up to it. Get rid of any parts of your story that keep you focused on _what has always been._
**4. Thinking about what "they" want for you.** There's probably a long list of people, most of them relatives, who have strong ideas about what you should be doing, how you should be thinking and worshiping, where you should be living, how you should be scheduling your life, and how much of your time you should be spending with them—especially on special occasions and holidays! Our definition of friendship thankfully excludes the manipulation and guilt that we so often put up with in our families.
Inner dialogue that commiserates about the manipulative expectations of others ensures that this kind of conduct continues to flow into your life. If your thoughts are on what others expect of you—even though you despise their expectations—you'll continue to act on and attract more of what they want and expect for you. Removing the obstacle means that you decide to shift your inner speech to what you intend to create and attract into your life. You must do this with unswerving intent, and a commitment to not giving mental energy to what others feel about how you live your life. This can be a tough assignment at first, but you'll welcome the shift when you do it.
Practice catching yourself when you have a thought of what others want for you, and ask yourself, _Does this expectation match up with my own?_ If not, simply laugh at the absurdity of being upset or frustrated over the expectations of others about how you should be running your life. This is a way to match up and become impervious to the criticisms of others, and simultaneously put a stop to the insidious practice of continuing to attract into your life something you don't want. But the big payoff is that these critics realize that their judgments and critiques are pointless, so they simply desist. A three-for-one bonus, achieved by shifting your attention _away_ from what others want or expect for you _to_ how you want to live your life.
Here are a few examples of how to win at the match game:
**No match:** I'm so annoyed with my family. They just don't understand me and they never have.
**Match:** I love my family; they don't see things my way, but I don't expect them to. I'm totally focused on my own intentions, and I send them love.
**No match:** I make myself sick trying to please everyone else.
**Match:** I'm on purpose and doing what I signed up to do in this lifetime.
**No match:** I feel so unappreciated by those I serve that it sometimes makes me cry.
**Match:** I do what I do because it's my purpose and my destiny to do so.
**No match:** No matter what I do or say, it seems as if I can't win.
**Match:** I do what my heart tells me to do with love, kindness, and beauty.
**_Your Level of Energy—Match or No Match?_**
A scientist will tell you that energy is measured by speed and the size of the wave being created. The size of the wave is measured from low to high, and slow to fast. Anything else that we attribute to the conditions we see in our world is a judgment imposed upon those pulsating frequencies. That being said, I'd like to introduce a judgment of my own here: _Higher energy is better than lower energy._ Why? Because this is a book written by a man who stands for healing, love, kindness, health, abundance, beauty, compassion, and similar expressions; and these expressions are associated with higher and faster energies.
The impact of higher and faster frequencies on lower and slower frequencies can be measured, and it's in this regard that you can make a huge impact on eradicating the energy factors in your life that are obstructing your connection to intention. The purpose of moving up the frequency ladder is to change your vibratory level of energy so that you're at the higher and faster frequencies where your energy level matches up with the highest frequencies of all: the energy of the all-creating Spirit of intention itself. It was Albert Einstein who observed, "Nothing happens until something moves."
Everything in this universe is a movement of energy. Higher/faster energy dissolves and converts lower/slower energy. With this in mind, I'd like you to consider yourself and all of your thoughts in the context of being an _energy_ system. That's right—you're an _energy_ system, not just a system of bones, fluids, and cells, but actually a multitude of energy systems encapsulating an inner energy system of thoughts, feelings, and emotions. This energy system that you are can be measured and calibrated. Every thought you have can be energetically calibrated, along with its impact on your body and your environment. The higher your energy, the more capable you are of nullifying and converting lower energies, which weaken you, and impacting in a positive way everyone in your immediate and even distant surroundings.
The objective in this section is to become aware of your own energy level and the actual frequencies of thought that you regularly employ in daily life. You can become proficient at raising your energy level and permanently obliterate energetic expressions that weaken or inhibit your connection to intention. Ultimately, your goal is to have a perfect match with the highest frequency of all. Here's a simple explanation of the five levels of energy that you work with, moving from the lowest and slowest frequencies to the highest and fastest.
**1. The material world.** Solid form is energy slowed down so that it's approximately commensurate with your sense perception of the world of boundaries. Everything that you see and touch is energy slowed down so that it appears to be coalesced mass. Your eyes and your fingers agree, and there you have the physical world.
**2. The sound world.** You seldom perceive sound waves with your eyes, but they can actually be felt. These invisible waves are also high/low and fast/slow. This _sound_ level of energy is where you connect to the highest frequencies of Spirit through the practice of Japa meditation, or the repetition of the sound of God, as I've written about extensively in _Getting in the Gap._
**3. The light world.** Light moves faster than the material world and faster than sound, yet there are no actual particles to form a substance called light. What you see as red is what your eye perceives a certain pulsating frequency to be, and what you perceive as violet is an even faster and higher frequency. When light is brought to darkness, darkness becomes light. The implications for this are startling. Low energy when faced with high energy experiences an automatic conversion.
**4. The thought world.** Your thoughts are an extremely high frequency of pulsation that moves beyond the speed of sound and even light. The frequency of thoughts can be measured, and the impact that they have on your body and your environment can be calculated. Once again, the same rules apply. Higher frequencies nullify lower; faster energies convert slower. A colleague I admire enormously, David Hawkins, M.D., has written a work, which I've referenced often, called _Power vs. Force._ In this remarkable book, Dr. Hawkins elaborates on the lower frequencies of thought and their accompanying emotions, and how they can be impacted and converted by exposure to higher and faster frequencies. I urge you to read his book, and I'll present some of those findings in the section on raising your energy levels. Every thought you have can be calculated to determine if it's strengthening or weakening your ability to reconnect to the highest and fastest energy in the universe.
**5. The Spirit world.** Here is the ultimate in energy. These frequencies are so supersonically rapid that the presence of disorder, disharmony, and even disease is impossible. These measurable energies consist of the seven faces of intention, written about throughout the pages of this book. They are the energies of creation. When you reproduce them in yourself, you reproduce the same creative quality of life that called you into existence. They are the qualities of creativity, kindness, love, beauty, expansion, peaceful abundance, and receptivity. These are the highest energies of the universal Spirit itself. You came into existence from this energy, and you can match up with it energetically as you remove the low-energy pulsations from your thoughts and feelings.
Consider these words of the Nobel Prize—winning physicist Max Planck as he accepted his award for his study of the atom: "As a man who has devoted his whole life to the most clear-headed science, to the study of matter, I can tell you as the result of my research about atoms this much: There is no matter as such! All matter originates and exists only by virtue of a force which brings the particles of an atom to vibration and holds this most minute solar system of the atom together. . . . We must assume behind this force the existence of a conscious and intelligent mind. This mind is the matrix of all matter." It is to this mind that I urge you to match up.
**_Raising Your Energy Level_**
Every thought you have has an energy that will either strengthen or weaken you. It's obviously a good idea to eliminate the thoughts that weaken you, since these thoughts are obstacles to creating a winning _match_ with the universal, supreme Source of intention. Take a moment to ponder the meaning behind Anthony de Mello's observation in _One Minute Wisdom:_
_Why is everyone here so happy except me?_
"Because they have learned to see goodness
and beauty everywhere," said the Master.
_Why don't I see goodness and beauty everywhere?_
"Because you cannot see outside of you what
you fail to see inside."
What you may fail to see inside is a result of how you choose to process everything and everyone in your world. You project onto the world what you see inside, and you fail to project into the world what you fail to see inside. If you knew that you were an expression of the universal Spirit of intention, that's what you'd see. You'd raise your energy level beyond any possibility of encumbrances to your connection to the power of intention. _It is only discord acting within your own feelings that will ever deprive you of every good thing that life holds for you!_ If you understand this simple observation, you'll curb interferences to intention.
There's a vibratory action to your thoughts, your feelings, and your body. I'm asking you to increase those frequencies so they're high enough to allow you to connect to the power of intention. This may sound like an oversimplification, but I hope you'll try raising your energy level as a way to remove the obstacles that prevent you from experiencing the perfection you're a part of. _You cannot remedy anything by condemning it._ You only add to the destructive energy that's already permeating the atmosphere of your life. When you react to the lower energies you encounter with your own low energies, you're actually setting up a situation that attracts more of that lower energy. For example, if someone behaves in a hateful manner toward you and you respond by _hating them for hating you,_ you're participating in a lower energy field, and impacting all who enter that field. If you're angry at those around you for being angry people, you're attempting to remedy the situation through condemnation.
Don't use weakening energies employed by those around you. Other people can't bring you down if you're operating at the higher energies. Why? Because higher and faster energies nullify and convert lower/slower energies, not the reverse. If you feel that the lower energies of those around you are bringing you down, it's because you're joining them at their energy levels. Your unbending intention may be to be slim and healthy. You know that the universal all-creative Spirit brought you into existence in that microscopic dot of human cellular tissue not to be sickly, overweight, or unattractive . . . but to create love, be kind, and express beauty. This is what the power of intention intended for you to become. Now get this: _You cannot attract attractiveness into your life by hating anything about what you've allowed yourself to become._ Why? Because hatred creates a counter-force of hatred that disempowers your efforts. Here is how Dr. Hawkins describes it in _Power vs. Force:_
Simple kindness to one's self and all that lives is the most powerful transformational force of all. It produces no backlash, has no downside, and never leads to loss or despair. It increases one's own true power without exacting any toll. But to reach maximum power such kindness can permit no exceptions, nor can it be practiced with the expectation of some selfish reward. And its effect is as far reaching as it is subtle." [Note that _kindness_ is one of the seven faces of intention.]
He adds further:
That which is injurious loses its capacity to harm when it is brought into the light, and we attract to us that which we emanate.
The lesson is clear in terms of removing lower energy obstacles. We must raise ourselves to the levels of energy where we _are_ the light we seek, where we _are_ the happiness we desire, where we _are_ the love we feel is missing, where we _are_ the unlimited abundance we crave. By being it, we attract it to us. By condemning its absence, we ensure that condemnation and discord will continue to flow into our lives.
If you're experiencing scarcity, anguish, depression, an absence of love, or any inability to attract what you desire, seriously look at how you've been attracting these circumstances into your life. Low energy is an attractor pattern. It shows up because you've sent for it, even if on a subconscious level. It's still yours and you own it. However, if you practice deliberately raising your energy level by being cognizant of your immediate environment, you'll move rather rapidly toward intention and remove all of those self-imposed roadblocks. The obstacles are in the low-energy spectrum.
**_A Mini-Program for Raising_**
** _Your Energy Vibrations_**
Here's a short list of suggestions for moving your energy field to a higher faster vibration. This will help you accomplish the twofold objective of removing the barriers and allowing the power of intention to work with and through you.
**Become conscious of your thoughts.** Every thought you have impacts you. By shifting in the middle of a weakening thought to one that strengthens, you raise your energy vibration and strengthen yourself and the immediate energy field. For example, in the midst of saying something to one of my teenage children that was intended to make her feel ashamed of her conduct, I stopped and reminded myself that there's no remedy in condemnation. I proceeded to extend love and understanding by asking her how she felt about her self-defeating behavior and what she'd like to do to correct it. The shift raised the energy level and led to a productive conversation.
Raising the energy level to a place where my daughter and I connected to the power of intention took place in a split second of my becoming aware of my low-energy thinking and making a decision to raise it. We all have the ability to call this presence and power of intention into action when we become conscious of our thoughts.
**Make meditation a regular practice in your life.** Even if it's only for a few moments each day while sitting at a stoplight, this practice is vital. Take some time to be silent, and repeat the sound of God as an inner mantra. Meditation allows you to make conscious contact with your Source and regain the power of intention by assisting you in cultivating a receptivity that matches up with the force of creation.
**Become conscious of the foods you eat.** There are foods that calibrate low, and there are high-energy foods as well. Foods with toxic chemicals sprayed on them will make you weak even if you have no idea that the toxins are present. Artificial foods such as sweeteners are low-energy products. In general, foods high in alkalinity such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, soy, non-yeast breads, and virgin olive oil calibrate at the high end and will strengthen you on muscle testing, while highly acidic foods such as flour-based cereals, meats, dairy, and sugars calibrate at the lower energies, which will weaken you. This is not an absolute for everyone; however, you can detect how you feel after consuming certain foods, and if you feel weak, lethargic, and fatigued, you can be pretty sure you've allowed yourself to become a low-energy system, which will attract more of the same low energy into your life.
**Retreat from low-energy substances.** I discussed in Chapter 1 how I learned that total sobriety was absolutely essential for me to achieve the level of consciousness I craved and was destined to achieve. Alcohol, and virtually all artificial drugs, legal and otherwise, lower your body's energy level and weaken you. Furthermore, they put you in a position to continue to attract more disempowering energy into your life. Simply by consuming low-energy substances, you'll find people with similar low energy showing up regularly in your life. They'll want to buy those substances for you, party with you as you get high, and urge you to do it again after your body recovers from the devastation of these low-energy substances.
**Become conscious of the energy level of the music you listen to.** Harsh, pounding, musical vibrations with repetitive, loud sounds lower your energy level and weaken you and your ability to make conscious contact with intention. Similarly, the lyrics of hate, pain, anguish, fear, and violence are low energies sending weakening messages to your subconscious and infiltrating your life with similar attractor energies. If you want to attract violence, then listen to the lyrics of violence and make violent music a part of your life. If you want to attract peace and love, then listen to the higher musical vibrations and lyrics that reflect your desires.
**Become aware of the energy levels of your** **home environment.** Prayers, paintings, crystals, statues, spiritual passages, books, magazines, the colors on your walls, and even the arrangement of your furniture all create energy into which you're catapulted for at least half of your waking life. While this may seem silly or absurd, I urge you to transcend your conditioned thinking and have a mind that's open to everything. The ancient Chinese art of _feng shui_ has been with us for thousands of years and is a gift from our ancestors. It describes ways to increase the energy field of our home and workplace. Become aware of how being in high-energy surroundings impacts us in ways that strengthen our lives and remove barriers to our connection to intention.
**Reduce your exposure to the very low energy of commercial and** **cable television.** Children in America see 12,000 simulated murders in their living room before their 14th birthday! Television news programming puts a heavy emphasis on bringing the bad and the ugly into your home, and in large part, leaving out the good. It's a constant stream of negativity that invades your living space and attracts more of the same into your life. Violence is the main ingredient of television entertainment, interspersed with commercial breaks sponsored by the huge drug cartels telling us that happiness is found in their pills! The viewing public is told that it needs all sorts of low-energy medicines to overcome every mental and physical malady known to humankind.
My conclusion is that the majority of television shows provide a steady stream of low energy most of the time. This is one of the reasons I've elected to devote a significant portion of my time and efforts in support of noncommercial public television and help replace messages of negativity, hopelessness, violence, profanity, and disrespect with the higher principles that match up with the principle of intention.
**Enhance your energy field with photographs.** You may find it difficult to believe that photography is a form of energy reproduction and that every photograph contains energy. See for yourself by strategically placing photographs taken in moments of happiness, love, and receptivity to spiritual help around your living quarters, in your workplace, in your automobile, and even on your clothing or in a pocket or wallet. Arrange photographs of nature, animals, and expressions of joy and love in your environment, and let their energy radiate into your heart and provide you with their higher frequency.
**Become conscious of the energy levels of your acquaintances,** **friends, and extended family.** You can raise your own energy levels by being in the energy field of others who resonate closely to spiritual consciousness. Choose to be in close proximity to people who are empowering, who appeal to your sense of connection to intention, who see the greatness in you, who feel connected to God, and who live a life that gives evidence that Spirit has found celebration through them. Recall that higher energy nullifies and converts lower energy, so be conscious of being in the presence of, and interacting with, higher-energy people who are connected to Spirit and living the life they were intended to. Stay in the energy field of higher-energy people and your anger, hate, fear, and depression will melt—magically converting to the higher expressions of intention.
**Monitor your activities and where they** **take place.** Avoid low-energy fields where there's excessive alcohol, drug consumption, or violent behavior, and gatherings where religious or ethnic exclusion and vitriolic prejudice or judgment are the focus. All of these kinds of venues discourage you from raising your energy and encourage you to match up with lower, debilitating energy. Immerse yourself in nature, appreciating its beauty, spending time camping, hiking, swimming, taking nature walks, and reveling in the natural world. Attend lectures on spirituality, take a yoga class, give or receive a massage, visit monasteries or meditation centers, and commit to helping others in need with visits to the elderly in geriatric centers or sick children in hospitals. Every activity has an energy field. Choose to be in places where the energy fields reflect the seven faces of intention.
**Extend acts of kindness, asking for nothing** **in return.** Anonymously extend financial aid to those less fortunate, and do it from the kindness of your heart, expecting not even a thank you. Activate your _magnificent obsession_ by learning to be kind while keeping your ego—which expects to be told how wonderful you are—out of the picture completely. This is an essential activity for connecting to intention because the universal all-creating Spirit returns acts of kindness with the response: _How may I be kind to you?_
Pick up some litter and place it in a proper receptacle and tell no one about your actions. In fact, spend several hours doing nothing but cleaning and clearing out messes that you didn't create. Any act of kindness extended toward yourself, others, or your environment matches you up with the kindness inherent in the universal power of intention. It's an energizer for you, and causes this kind of energy to flow back into your life.
This poignant story "The Valentine," by Ruth McDonald, illustrates the kind of giving I'm suggesting here. The little boy symbolizes the magnificent obsession I just referred to.
_He was a shy little boy, not very popular with the other children in Grade One. As Valentine's Day approached, his mother was delighted when he asked her one evening to sit down and write the names of all the children in his class so that he could make a Valentine for each. Slowly he remembered each name aloud, and his mother recorded them on a piece of paper. He worried endlessly for fear he would forget someone._
_Armed with a book of Valentines to cut out, with scissors and crayons and paste, he plodded his conscientious way down the list. When each one was finished, his mother printed the name on a piece of paper and watched him laboriously copy it. As the pile of finished Valentines grew, so did his satisfaction._
_About this time, his mother began to worry whether the other children would make Valentines for him. He hurried home so fast each afternoon to get on with his task, that it seemed likely the other children playing along the street would forget his existence altogether. How absolutely horrible if he went off to the party armed with 37 tokens of love—and no one had remembered him! She wondered if there were some way she could sneak a few Valentines among those he was making so that he would be sure of receiving at least a few. But he watched his hoard so jealously, and counted them over so lovingly, that there was no chance to slip in an extra. She assumed a mother's most normal role, that of patient waiting._
_The day of the Valentine box finally arrived, and she watched him trudge off down the snowy street, a box of heart-shaped cookies in one hand, a shopping-bag clutched in the other with 37 neat tokens of his labor. She watched him with a burning heart. "Please, God," she prayed, "let him get at least a few!"_
_All afternoon her hands were busy here and there, but her heart was at the school. At half-past three she took her knitting and sat with studied coincidence in a chair that gave a full view of the street._
_Finally, he appeared, alone. Her heart sank. Up the street he came, turning every once in a while to back up a few steps into the wind. She strained her eyes to see his face. At that distance it was just_ _a rosy blur._
_It was not until he turned in at the walk that she saw it—the one lone Valentine clutched in his little red mitt. Only one. After all his work. And from the teacher probably. The knitting blurred before her eyes. If only you could stand between your child and life! She laid down her work and walked to meet him at the door._
_"What rosy cheeks!" she said. "Here, let me untie your scarf. Were the cookies good?"_
_He turned toward her a face shining with happiness and complete fulfillment. "Do you know what?" he said. "I didn't forget a one. Not a single one!"_
**Be specific when you affirm your intentions to raise your energy** **level and create your desires.** Place your affirmations in strategic places where you'll notice and read them throughout the day. For example: _I intend to attract the job I desire into my life. I intend to be able to afford the specific automobile I envision myself driving by the 30th of next month. I intend to donate two hours of my time this week to the underprivileged. I intend to heal myself of this persistent fatigue._
Written affirmations have an energy of their own and will guide you in raising your energy level. I practice this myself. A woman named Lynn Hall who lives in Toronto sent me a beautiful plaque that I look at each day. In her letter she stated: "Here is a gift for you, written solely for you in an effort to convey heartfelt gratitude for the blessing of your presence in my life. That said, I am sure that the sentiment is a universal one speaking for every other soul on the planet who has experienced the same good fortune. May the light and love that you emit forever reflect back to you in joyful abundance, Dr. Dyer." The beautiful etched-in-soul plaque reads like this:
_Spirit
Has found
Great voice
In you._
_In vibrant truths,
And joyful splendor._
_Spirit
Has found
Revelation
Through you,
In resonant
And reflective ways._
_Spirit
Has found
Celebration
Through you,
In infinite expanses
And endless reach._
_To
All those
Awakened
To the
Grace of
Your gifts—_
_Spirit
Has found
Both
Wings
And
Light._
I read these words daily to remind me of my connection to Spirit, and allow the words to flow from my heart to yours, fulfilling my intentions and hopefully helping you do the same.
**As frequently as possible, hold thoughts of forgiveness** **in your mind.** In muscle testing, when you hold a thought of revenge, you'll go weak, while a thought of forgiveness keeps you strong. Revenge, anger, and hatred are exceedingly low energies that keep you from matching up with the attributes of the universal force. A simple thought of forgiveness toward anyone who may have angered you in the past—without any action taken on your part—will raise you to the level of Spirit and aid you in your individual intentions.
You can either serve Spirit with your mind or use that same mind to divorce yourself from Spirit. Married to the seven faces of spiritual intention, you connect to that power. Divorced, your self-importance, your ego, takes over.
Here's the final obstacle to making your connection to intention.
**_Your Self-Importance_**
In _The Fire from Within,_ Carlos Castaneda hears these words from his sorcerer teacher: "Self-importance is man's greatest enemy. What weakens him is feeling offended by the deeds and misdeeds of his fellow man. Self-importance requires that one spend most of one's life offended by something or someone." This is a major impediment to connecting to intention; you can all too easily create a _no match_ here.
Basically, your feelings of self-importance are what make you feel special, so let's deal with this concept of being special. It's essential that you have a strong self-concept and that you feel unique. The problem is when you misidentify who you truly are by identifying yourself as your body, your achievements, and your possessions. Then you identify people who have accomplished less as inferior, and your self-important superiority causes you to be constantly offended in one way or another.
This misidentification is the source of most of your problems, as well as most of the problems of humankind. Feeling _special_ leads us to our self-importance. Castaneda writes later in his life, many years after his initial emergence into the world of sorcery, about the futility of self-importance. "The more I thought about it, and the more I talked to and observed myself and my fellow men, the more intense the conviction that something was rendering us incapable of any activity or any interaction or any thought that didn't have the self as its focal point."
With the self as a focal point, you sustain the illusion that you are your body, which is a completely separate entity from all others. This sense of separateness leads you to compete rather than cooperate with everyone else. Ultimately, it's a no match with Spirit, and becomes a huge obstacle to your connection to the power of intention. In order to relinquish your self-importance, you'll have to become aware of how entrenched it is in your life. Ego is simply an _idea of who you are_ that you carry around with you. As such, it can't be surgically removed by having an egoectomy! This _idea_ of who you think you are will persistently erode any possibility you have of connecting to intention.
**_Seven Steps for Overcoming Ego's Hold on You_**
Here are seven suggestions to help you transcend ingrained ideas of self-importance. All of these are designed to help prevent you from falsely identifying with the self-important ego.
**1. Stop being offended.** The behavior of others isn't a reason to be immobilized. That which offends you only weakens you. If you're looking for occasions to be offended, you'll find them at every turn. This is your ego at work convincing you that the world shouldn't be the way it is. But you can become an appreciator of life and match up with the universal Spirit of Creation. You can't reach the power of intention by being offended. By all means, act to eradicate the horrors of the world, which emanate from massive ego identification, but stay in peace. As _A Course in Miracles_ reminds us: _Peace is of God, you who are part of God are not at home except in his peace._ Being offended creates the same destructive energy that offended you in the first place and leads to attack, counterattack, and war.
**2. Let go of your need to win.** Ego loves to divide us up into winners and losers. The pursuit of winning is a surefire means to avoid conscious contact with intention. Why? Because ultimately, winning is impossible all of the time. Someone out there will be faster, luckier, younger, stronger, and smarter—and back you'll go to feeling worthless and insignificant.
You're not your winnings or your victories. You may enjoy competing, and have fun in a world where winning is everything, but you don't have to be there in your thoughts. There are no losers in a world where we all share the same energy source. All you can say on a given day is that you performed at a certain level in comparison to the levels of others on that day. But today is another day, with other competitors and new circumstances to consider. You're still the infinite presence in a body that's another day (or decade) older. Let go of _needing_ to win by not agreeing that the opposite of winning is losing. That's ego's fear. If your body isn't performing in a _winning_ fashion on this day, it simply doesn't matter when you aren't identifying exclusively with your ego. Be the observer, noticing and enjoying it all without needing to win a trophy. Be at peace, and match up with the energy of intention. And ironically, although you'll hardly notice it, more of those victories will show up in your life as you pursue them less.
**3. Let go of your need to be right.** Ego is the source of a lot of conflict and dissension because it pushes you in the direction of making other people wrong. When you're hostile, you've disconnected from the power of intention. The creative Spirit is kind, loving, and receptive; and free of anger, resentment, or bitterness. Letting go of your need to be right in your discussions and relationships is like saying to ego, _I'm not a slave to you. I want to embrace kindness, and I reject your need to be right. In fact, I'm going to offer this person a chance to feel better by saying that she's right, and thank her for pointing me in the direction of truth._
When you let go of the need to be right, you're able to strengthen your connection to the power of intention. But keep in mind that ego is a determined combatant. I've seen people willing to die rather than let go of being right. I've seen people end otherwise beautiful relationships by sticking to their need to be right. I urge you to let go of this ego-driven need to be right by stopping yourself in the middle of an argument and asking yourself, _Do I want to be right or be happy?_ When you choose the happy, loving, spiritual mode, your connection to intention is strengthened. These moments ultimately expand your new connection to the power of intention. The universal Source will begin to collaborate with you in creating the life you were intended to live.
**4. Let go of your need to be superior.** True nobility isn't about being better than someone else. It's about being better than you used to be. Stay focused on your growth, with a constant awareness that no one on this planet is any better than anyone else. We all emanate from the same creative life force. We all have a mission to realize our intended essence; all that we need to fulfill our destiny is available to us. None of this is possible when you see yourself as superior to others. It's an old saw, but nonetheless true: _We are all equal in the eyes of God._ Let go of your need to feel superior by seeing the unfolding of God in everyone. Don't assess others on the basis of their appearance, achievements, possessions, and other indices of ego. When you project feelings of superiority, that's what you get back, leading to resentments and ultimately hostile feelings. These feelings become the vehicle that takes you farther away from intention. _A Course in Miracles_ addresses this need to be special and superior: _Specialness always makes comparisons. It is established by a lack seen in another, and maintained by searching for, and keeping clear in sight, all lacks it can perceive._
**5. Let go of your need to have more.** The mantra of the ego is _more._ It's never satisfied. No matter how much you achieve or acquire, your ego will insist that it isn't enough. You'll find yourself in a perpetual state of striving, and eliminate the possibility of ever arriving. Yet in reality, you've already arrived, and how you choose to use this present moment of your life is your choice. Ironically, when you stop needing more, more of what you desire seems to arrive in your life. Since you're detached from the need for it, you find it easier to pass it along to others, because you realize how little you need in order to be satisfied and at peace.
The universal Source is content with itself, constantly expanding and creating new life, never trying to hold on to its creations for its own selfish means. It creates and lets go. As you let go of ego's need to have more, you unify with that Source. You create, attract to yourself, and let it go, never demanding that more come your way. As an appreciator of all that shows up, you learn the powerful lesson St. Francis of Assisi taught: " . . . it is in giving that we receive." By allowing abundance to flow to and through you, you match up with your Source and guarantee that this energy will continue to flow.
**6. Let go of identifying yourself on the basis of your achievements.** This may be a difficult concept if you think you _are_ your achievements. _God writes all the music, God sings all the songs, God builds all the buildings, God is the source of all your achievements._ I can hear your ego loudly protesting. Nevertheless, stay tuned to this idea. All emanates from Source! You and that Source are one! You're not this body and its accomplishments. You are the observer. Notice it all; and be grateful for the abilities you've been given, the motivation to achieve, and the stuff you've accumulated. But give all the credit to the power of intention, which brought you into existence and which you're a materialized part of. The less you need to take credit for your achievements and the more connected you stay to the seven faces of intention, the more you're free to achieve, and the more will show up for you. It's when you attach yourself to those achievements and believe that you alone are doing all of those things that you leave the peace and the gratitude of your Source.
**7. Let go of your reputation.** Your reputation is not located in you. It resides in the minds of others. Therefore, you have no control over it at all. If you speak to 30 people, you will have 30 reputations. Connecting to intention means listening to your heart and conducting yourself based on what your inner voice tells you is your purpose here. If you're overly concerned with how you're going to be perceived by everyone, then you've disconnected yourself from intention and allowed the opinions of others to guide you. This is your ego at work. It's an illusion that stands between you and the power of intention. There's nothing you can't do, unless you disconnect from the power source and become convinced that your purpose is to prove to others how masterful and superior you are and spend your energy attempting to win a giant reputation among other egos. Do what you do because your inner voice—always connected to and grateful to your Source—so directs you. Stay on purpose, detach from outcome, and take responsibility for what _does_ reside in you: your character. Leave your reputation for others to debate; it has nothing to do with you. Or as a book title says: _What You Think of Me Is None of My Business!_
This concludes the three major obstacles to your connecting to intention: _your thoughts, your energy,_ and _your self-importance._ Here are five suggestions for overcoming the obstacles and staying permanently connected to the power of intention.
**Five Suggestions for Implementing the Ideas**
**in This Chapter**
1. _Monitor your inner dialogue._ Notice how much of your inner speech focuses on what's missing, the negative circumstances, the past, and the opinions of others. The more cognizant you become of your inner speech, the sooner you'll be able to shift right in the midst of those habitual inner proceedings, from a thought of _I resent what's missing,_ to _I intend to attract what I want and stop thinking about what I dislike._ That new inner dialogue becomes the link connecting you to intention.
2. _Lighten moments of doubt and depression._ Notice the moments that aren't a part of your higher nature. Reject thoughts that support an inability on your part to match up with intention. _Remain faithful to the light_ is good advice. Recently, a friend and teacher learned of a struggle I was personally going through, and wrote to me: "Remember, Wayne, the sun is shining behind the clouds." Be faithful to the light that's always there.
3. _Be aware of low energy._ Recall that everything, which includes your thoughts, has an energy frequency that can be calibrated to determine whether it will strengthen or weaken you. When you find yourself either thinking in low-energy ways, or immersed in low, weakening energy, resolve to bring a higher vibration to the presence of that debilitating situation.
4. _Talk to your ego and let it know that it has no control over you today._ In my children's bedroom here on Maui, I've framed the following observation, which they see each morning. While they joke and laugh about it, they get the essential message and share it out loud when anyone (including me) gets upset during the day.
_Good morning,_
_This is God._
_I will be handling_
_All of your_
_Problems today._
_I will not need_
_Your help, so have_
_A miraculous day._
5. _View obstacles as opportunities to circulate the power of your unbending intent._ Unbending means just what it says. _I intend to stay connected to my Source and thereby gain the power of my Source._ This means being at peace, detaching yourself from the circumstances, and seeing yourself as the observer rather than the victim . . . then turning it all over to your Source and knowing that you'll receive the guidance and assistance you require.
You've just completed a thorough examination of the three major obstacles to connecting to the power of intention, along with suggestions for eliminating them. In the next chapter, I'll explain how you impact those around you when you raise your energy level to the highest spiritual frequencies and live your days connected to intention. When you're connected to the power of intention, everywhere you go, and everyone you meet, is affected by you and the energy you radiate. As you become the power of intention, you'll see your dreams being fulfilled almost magically, and you'll see yourself creating huge ripples in the energy fields of others by your presence and nothing more.
CHAPTER
[Your Impact on Others
When Connected
to Intention](Dyer_ISBN9781401925963_epub_c8_r1.html#d7e7158)
_"It is one of the most beautiful compensations of this
life that no man can sincerely try to help another without
helping himself. . . . Serve and thou shall be served."_
— Ralph Waldo Emerson
As you find yourself being more in harmony with the faces of intention, you're going to discover that you'll be impacting others in new ways. The nature of this impact is profoundly important in your quest to utilize the power of intention. You'll begin seeing in others what you're feeling within yourself. This new way of seeing will enable people in your presence to feel comforted and peaceful, and to indirectly be loving accomplices to your connection to intention.
As you'll read on the next page, the poet Hafiz states that he wants nothing, even if the person is a "drooling mess" and a potential victim. All he perceives is their divine worth, which is what you'll see in others as you connect to the power of intention.
**The Jeweler**
_If a naïve and desperate man_
_Brings a precious stone_
_To the only jeweler in town,_
_Wanting to sell it,_
_The jeweler's eyes_
_Will begin to play a game,_
_Like most eyes in the world when they look at you._
_The jeweler's face will stay calm._
_He will not want to reveal the stone's true value,_
_But to hold the man captive to fear and greed_
_While he calculates_
_The value of the transaction._
_But one moment with me, my dear,_
_Will show you that there is nothing, nothing Hafiz_
_wants from you._
_When you sit before a Master like me,_
_Even if you are a drooling mess,_
_My eyes sing with Excitement_
_They see your Divine Worth._
— Hafiz
**_You Receive What You Desire for Others_**
As you review the attributes of universal intention and simultaneously vow to be those attributes, you begin to see the significance of what you desire for all others. If you desire peace for others, you'll receive it. If you want others to feel loved, you'll be the recipient of love. If you see only beauty and worthiness in others, you'll have the same returned to you. You'll only give away what you have in your heart, and attract what you're giving away. This is a matter of great concern to you. Your impact on others—whether it be strangers, family members, co-workers, or neighbors—is evidence of the strength of your connection to the power of intention. Think of your relationships in terms of holy or unholy.
Holy relationships facilitate the power of intention at a high energy level for everyone involved. Unholy relationships keep the energy at the lower, slower levels for all concerned. You'll know your own potential for greatness when you start seeing the perfection in all relationships. When you recognize others' holiness, you'll treat them as divine expressions of the power of intention, wanting nothing from them. The irony is that they become co-creators manifesting all your desires. Want nothing from them, demand nothing from them, have no expectations for them, and they'll return this kindness. Demand from them, insist that they please you, judge them as inferior, and see them as servants, and you'll receive the same. It behooves you to be acutely aware of what you truly want for others, and to know whether you're in a holy or an unholy relationship with every person you're involved with.
**The holy relationship.** One truth that I've recognized during the years of my own growth is that it's impossible to know my perfection if I'm unable to see and honor that same perfection in others. The ability to see yourself as a temporary expression of intention and to see yourself in all of humanity is a characteristic of the holy relationship. It's the ability to celebrate and honor in all others, the place where we're all one.
In an unholy relationship, you see yourself as separate from others. It's the feeling that others are primarily useful to satisfy ego's urges, and that people are there to help you get what's missing in your life. In any kind of a relationship, this attitude of separation and potential manipulation creates a barrier between you and the power of intention. The signs of unholy relationships are quite clear: People become defensive, fearful, hostile, standoffish, and don't wish to be in your company.
As you change your thought patterns to raise your energy vibrations, and reduce the demands of your ego, you'll begin developing a reverent or holy relationship with others. Then everyone is perceived as complete. When you can celebrate differences in others as interesting or enjoyable, you're loosening your identity with ego. The holy relationship is a way of matching up with the universal Source of Creation and being peacefully joyful. Any relationship—or even an encounter—from the holy perspective, is a coming together with a beloved self-aspect and discovering a stimulating connection with the power of intention.
Recently, in a supermarket, I asked a frenzied clerk behind the seafood counter if he knew where I could find the smoked salmon. I saw myself as connected to him in spite of the frustration showing through his behavior. A man standing next to me heard my request and saw the clerk's harried demeanor. The stranger smiled at me and went to another area of the store, returning with a package of nova lox, which he handed me. He delivered to me what I was seeking! A coincidence? I think not. When I feel myself connected to others and radiate the energy of holy relationship, people react with kindness and go out of their way to assist me with my intentions.
In another example of this, I was transferred from one airline to another because of a mechanical problem that resulted in a cancellation. At my original airline, which is in my hometown, the employees know me and go out of their way to assist me. I've practiced holy relationships with everyone at the counter, at baggage check-in, on the plane, and so on. On this particular day, I was sent to the other end of the airport with seven boxes of books and tapes that had to be checked as baggage. As my assistant, Maya, and I trudged up to the counter of the other airline, pushing a cart with luggage and seven heavy boxes, the passenger agent announced that her airline did not permit more than two pieces of luggage to be checked in, and that I would have to leave three of the boxes behind. I could check in two for me and two for Maya. _Those are the rules._
Here's where a holy relationship with a stranger has more potential for assisting you with your intentions than an unholy relationship. Rather than countering the agent with an intention that she was a clerk whose job it was to serve my needs, I chose to join her where we both are one. I let her know that I wasn't even mildly upset over this rule, and I imagined how she must feel, having to process a large number of people who weren't scheduled on this flight. I felt connected, and expressed my own feelings of frustration at having this challenge of what to do with these three extra boxes, which my originally scheduled airline had agreed to transport. I invited her to attend a lecture I was giving in town the next month, as my guest. Our entire conversation and the entire interaction was guided by my private intent that this remain a holy relationship.
The energy of this interaction shifted from weak to strong. We bonded, recognized our _self_ in the other, and she checked in all of my boxes with a cheerful smile. I've never forgotten what she said to me as she handed me our boarding passes. "When you wheeled up that cart with all those boxes, I was determined that you weren't going to get them on that plane, and after a few moments of being with you, I would've carried them out and put them on the plane myself if I had to. It's a pleasure to know you. Thank you for your business, and I hope you'll consider our airline in the future."
These are two simple examples of what happens when you consciously shift from ego-dominated unholy relationships, to experiencing your connectedness through the power of intention. I urge you to establish a holy relationship with your Source, the world community, your neighbors, acquaintances, family, the animal kingdom, our planet, and yourself. Just as in my examples of the man in the store delivering me the smoked salmon I was looking for, and the airline agent assisting me in realizing my intent, you'll enjoy the power of intention through holy relationships. _It's all about relationship._
**_Alone We Can Do Nothing_**
When you meet anyone, treat the event as a holy encounter. It's through others that we either find or love our _self._ For you see, nothing is accomplished without others. _A Course in Miracles_ says this so well:
_Alone we can do nothing,_
_But together our minds fuse into something_
_Whose power is far beyond_
_The power of its separate parts._
_The kingdom cannot be found alone,_
_And you who are the kingdom_
_Cannot find yourself alone._
When you eliminate the concept of separation from your thoughts and your behavior, you begin to feel your connection to everything and everyone. You'll begin having a sense of belonging, which enables you to scoff at any thought of being separate. This feeling of connectedness originates with and helps you process all of your interactions from the point of view of equality. By recognizing others as co-creators, you match up with your Source and move into a state of grace. If you're seeing yourself as either inferior or superior, you've disconnected from the power of intention. Your desires will be frustrated unless you connect with and support other people.
How you interact with your universal support team is significant. How you view others is a projection of how you view yourself. Consistently seeing others as worthless means that you're erecting a roadblock for your potential allies. See others as weak, and you're simultaneously attracting weak energies. Persistently viewing others as dishonest, lazy, sinful, and so on may mean that you need to feel superior. Constantly seeing others critically can be a way of compensating for something you fear. But you don't even need to understand this psychological mechanism. All you have to do is recognize how you view others. If there's a pattern of seeing others as failures, you only need to notice the pattern as evidence of what you're attracting into your life.
It's so important to see interactions as holy encounters, because this sets in motion an attractor energy pattern. In a holy relationship, you attract the collaboration of higher energies. In an unholy relationship, the attractor pattern exists, too, attracting low energies and more unholy relationships. By bringing higher spiritual energy to everyone you encounter, you dissolve lower energies. When the energies of kindness, love, receptivity, and abundance are present in your relationships, you have brought the elixir of spiritual Creation or the love of the Creator right into the mix. Now those forces begin to work on everyone in your environment. The right people magically appear. The right materials show up. The phone rings and someone gives you the information you've been wanting for months. Strangers offer suggestions that make sense to you. As I mentioned earlier, these types of coincidences are like mathematical angles that _coincide,_ or fit together perfectly. Treat others as co-creators and have divine expectations for them. Don't view anyone as ordinary, unless of course you wish to have more of the ordinary manifest into your world.
**_From Ordinary to Extraordinary_**
Leo Tolstoy's famous story _The Death of Ivan Ilyich,_ is one of my favorite pieces of literature. Tolstoy describes Ivan Ilyich as a man who's motivated almost exclusively by the expectations of others, and isn't able to live out his own dreams. The opening line of Chapter 2 in this compelling story goes like this: "The story of Ivan Ilyich's life was of the simplest, most ordinary and therefore most terrible." Tolstoy actually defines living an _ordinary_ life as terrible. I couldn't agree more!
If your expectations for yourself center on being normal, just getting along, fitting in, and being an ordinary person, you'll resonate to ordinary frequencies, and you'll attract more of normal and ordinary into your life. Furthermore, your impact on others as potential allies in co-creating your intentions will also revolve around ordinary. The _power_ of intention occurs when you're synchronized with the all-creating universal force, which is anything but ordinary. This is the power that's responsible for all of creation. It's ever-expansive, and thinks and creates in terms of endless abundance. When you shift to this higher energy and resonate more in harmony with intention, you become a magnet for attracting more of this energy into your world. You also have this kind of impact on everyone and everything you're in contact with. One of the most effective means for transcending _ordinary_ and moving into the realm of _extraordinary_ is saying _yes_ more frequently and eliminating _no_ almost completely. I call it _saying yes to life._ Say yes to yourself, to your family, your children, your co-workers, and your business. Ordinary says, _No, I don't think I can do it. No, that won_ ' _t work out. No, I_ ' _ve tried that and it's never worked before. No, that intention is impossible for me._ With the idea of _no,_ you attract _more of no,_ and your impact on others whom you could help and on whom you could rely for help is also _no._ Once again, I urge you to adopt the attitude of the poet Hafiz.
_I rarely let the word No escape_
_From my mouth_
_Because it is so plain to my soul_
_That God has shouted, Yes! Yes! Yes!_
_To every luminous movement in Existence_
Shout _yes_ to everyone as often as you can. When someone seeks your permission to try something, before saying _no,_ ask yourself if you want that person to stay at ordinary levels of living. When my son Sands wished to try out a new surfing area last week, my first inclination was to say, _Too dangerous, you've never been there before, you could get hurt,_ and so on. But I reconsidered, and accompanied him on a new adventure. My _yes_ impacted his life and mine in a positive manner.
Making _yes_ your inner mantra allows you to extend _yes_ outside of yourself and attract more of _yes_ into your own personal intending. _Yes_ is the breath of Creation. Think of a drop of rain merging with a river at the moment it becomes the river. Think of the river merging with the ocean at the moment it becomes the ocean. You can almost hear the sound of _yes_ being whispered in those moments. As you merge with the universal force of Creation extending _yes_ wherever feasible, you become that force of Creation itself. This will be your impact on others. No more ordinary _nos_ in your life. On to the extraordinary. Ordinary implies being stuck in a rut much like Ivan Ilyich. While in the rut, you'll attract other rut-dwellers, and your mutual impact will be to stay in your ordinary ruts—complaining, finding fault, wishing, and hoping for better days. The universal force of intention never complains; it creates and offers its options for greatness. It judges no one, and isn't stuck wishing and hoping that things will improve. It's too busy creating beauty to be so foolishly engaged. As you move your own energy level up out of a rut mentality, you'll have an uplifting effect on all of the rutdwellers in your life. Moreover, you'll help many of them have a similar impact, and create new allies in fulfilling your own intentions. Become aware of your identification with normal or ordinary, and begin to vibrate to higher and higher energetic frequencies, which constitute a shift upward into the extraordinary dimensions of pure intent.
**_How Your Energies Impact Others_**
When you feel connected and in harmony with intention, you sense a major difference in how other people react to you. Be cognizant of these reactions, because they'll bear directly on your abilities to fulfill your individual intentions. The more closely you automatically resonate to the frequencies of the universal all-creating Source, the more that others will be impacted and their lower energies nullified. They'll gravitate toward you, bringing peace, joy, love, beauty, and abundance into your life. What follows is my opinion on how you'll impact others when you're resonating with intention, and how different your impact is when you're dominated by your ego's separatist attitude.
Here are some of the most significant ways in which you'll impact others:
**Your presence instills calmness.** When you coincide with intention, your impact on others has a calming influence. People tend to feel more at peace, less threatened, and more at ease. The power of intention is the power of love and receptivity. It asks nothing of anyone, it judges no one, and it encourages others to be free to be themselves. As people feel calmer in your presence, they're inclined to feel safe, by virtue of the energy frequencies that you radiate. Their feelings are encouraged by your energy of love and receptivity, causing them to want to reach out and be with you. As Walt Whitman put it: "We convince by our presence."
If, instead, you bring the lower calibrations of judgment, hostility, anger, hatred, or depression to your interactions, you attract that level of energy if it's lurking in the people you're interacting with. This acts like a counterforce to those same energies if they're present in others. The impact intensifies the lower frequencies at that level and creates a field in which demands are placed as a result of feelings of inferiority or opposition.
Intention doesn't interact _against_ anything. It's like gravity, which doesn't move against anything, nor does gravity itself move. Think of impacting others like gravity, with no need to move against or attack anyone. People who feel _empowered_ by your presence become kindred spirits. That can only happen if they feel safe rather than attacked, secure rather than judged, calm rather than harassed.
**Your presence leaves others feeling energized.** I recall leaving a two-hour session with a spiritual master and feeling as if I could conquer the world emotionally and spiritually. The saint was Mother Meera, who'd held my head in her hands and gazed into my eyes with her egoless divinity. I felt so energized that I didn't sleep that entire night. I wanted more of what this joyous being had shown me through her presence alone.
When you bring the frequencies of intention into the presence of others, they'll feel energized just by being in your immediate circle. You don't have to say a word. You don't have to act in any prescribed fashion. Your energy of intention alone will make others in your field feel as if they've mysteriously been empowered. As you begin consciously expressing the seven faces of intention, you'll discover that others begin to comment on the impact you're making on them. They'll want to assist you in fulfilling your own dreams. They'll be energized and volunteer to help you. They'll even begin to offer to finance your dreams with their energized, new ideas. As I've grown in my consciousness of the power of intention, I've been told I've had an impact without my doing anything other than spending an evening having a meal in a restaurant. People tell me they've been energized with greater confidence and determination and inspiration after our time together. I've done nothing. They've felt impacted by the field of high energy we shared.
**Your presence allows others to feel better about themselves.** Have you ever noticed when you're in the presence of certain people that you feel better about yourself? Their compassionate energy has the noticeably pleasant impact of simply making you feel really good about yourself. You'll impact others with this energy of compassion as you develop your connection to intention. People will sense that you care about them, understand them, and are interested in them as unique individuals. With this kind of connection to intention, you're less likely to focus conversation on yourself and use others to massage your ego.
On the contrary, being in the company of someone who's disdainful or indifferent impacts you quite differently. If this is the low energy you transmit to others, they're quite likely to depart the encounter feeling less than wonderful about themselves, unless they're so strongly connected to intention that they can override the impact of this low energy.
These extremely low-energy thoughts and behaviors are evident if you use every topic that's brought up as an excuse to talk about yourself. Any behavior similar to this displays ego-dominated energy that impacts others unpleasantly. Moreover, it leaves others feeling as if they're insignificant or unimportant, and obviously feeling worse about themselves when it's a repeated pattern in a significant relationship.
**Your presence allows others to feel unified.** The effect of being in the presence of people expressing high frequencies is to feel unified and connected to all of nature, all of humankind, and to intention. As you raise your frequencies, your impact on others invites them to be on the same team. You are unified and want to assist each other in the fulfillment of a common objective.
The opposite of this feeling of unity is feeling polarized and cut off. Low energy is demanding and always moves against others. Therefore, it will inevitably produce a win/lose condition. The energies of antagonism, judgment, hatred, and the like set up a counterforce in which somebody has to lose. When you have an enemy, you need to establish a defense system, and having to defend yourself becomes the nature of your relationship. One person's need to move against and polarize sets in motion the conditions for war. War is always expensive. This is all avoidable by staying connected to intention and bringing that higher energy to your relationships, allowing those you encounter to feel the oneness with you, with everyone else, with nature, and with God.
**Your presence instills a sense of purpose.** When you're in the higher spiritual energies, you bring something to others that's almost inexplicable. Your presence and behavior from a space of love, acceptance, nonjudgment, and kindness becomes a catalyst for others feeling _on purpose_ in their lives.
By staying at the higher energies of optimism, forgiveness, understanding, reverence for Spirit, creativity, serenity, and bliss, you radiate this energy and convert lower energies to your higher vibrations. These people whom you so nondeliberately impact begin to feel your quiet reverence and serenity. Your own purpose, which revolves around serving others and therefore serving God, becomes fulfilled, and as a bonus, you create allies.
I've had thousands of people tell me that just by attending a lecture or a talk at a church where the primary message is hope, love, and kindness is sufficient motivation for them to make a commitment to pursuing their purpose. When I'm the speaker at such events, I always enter from the rear of the room to take some time to drink in the energy of hope, optimism, and love. I can literally feel their collective energy. It's like a peaceful wave of pleasure, as if there were a warm shower running inside of me. This is energy. It's the stuff of intention, and it's powerfully motivating in helping everyone feel purposeful and hopeful.
**Your presence allows others to trust in authentic personal connections.** By bringing the traits of intention to others, you allow trust to be present. You'll notice both an inclination and a willingness on the part of others to open up and confide in you. This is related to the quality of trust. In the atmosphere of higher energy, people trust and want to share their personal stories with you. By being so connected to intention, you are more God-like, and who would you trust more than God to share your secrets with?
Recently during an early-morning whale-watching expedition, a woman who had no idea of my identity disclosed to me her history of failed relationships and how unfulfilled she felt. In conversation with me, in an energy field that allows and encourages trust, she let herself take the risk of opening up to a stranger. (This has occurred frequently since I've been living the principles of the seven faces of intention.) As St. Francis of Assisi put it, "It is no use walking anywhere to preach unless our walking is our preaching." You'll ultimately discover that by carrying this energy of intention with you, even strangers will do what they can to serve you and help you accomplish your own intentions.
The opposite results are apparent when you emit the lower-energy frequencies. If your distrustful energy exhibits itself in anxious, judgmental, dictatorial, superior, or demanding ways, others are disinclined to help you get what you want. The truth is that your low-energy emissions often leave others with the desire to interfere with your own intentions. Why? Because your low energies help to create a counterforce, conflict erupts, winners and losers are necessary, and enemies are created—all because of your unwillingness to stay connected to the faces of intention.
**Your presence inspires others to greatness.** When you're connected to Spirit and quietly reflect this consciousness, you become a source of inspiration to others. In a sense, this is one of the most powerful effects that connecting to intention transmits to others. The word _inspiration_ means "in-spirit." The fact that you're primarily in-spirit means that you inspire rather than inform with your presence. You won't inspire others by loudly insisting or demanding that others listen to your point of view.
In all the years that I've been teaching, writing, lecturing, and producing tapes and videos, I've noticed a twofold process at work. I feel on purpose, inspired, and connected to universal Spirit in all of my work, and many thousands or even millions of people become inspired as a result of my own inspiration. The second factor is the vast number of people who have helped me with my work. They've sent me materials, written me inspiring stories that I've used, and literally been my co-creators. When you inspire others by your presence, you're utilizing the originating power of intention for the benefit of all those you touch, including yourself. I wholeheartedly endorse this way of being, and I know without a doubt that you too can be a presence that's inspiring to others.
**Your presence aligns others with beauty.** When you're connected to intention, you see beauty everywhere and in everything because you're radiating the quality of beauty. Your perceptual world changes dramatically. At the higher energy of intent, you see beauty in everyone, young or old, rich or poor, dark or light, with no distinctions. Everything is perceived from a perspective of appreciation rather than judgment. As you bring this feeling of beauty appreciation to the presence of others, people are inclined to see themselves as you see them. They feel attractive and better about themselves as they circulate that high energy of beauty. When people feel beautiful, they act in beautiful ways. Your awareness of beauty impacts others to see the world around them in the same way. The benefit, once again, is twofold. First, you'll be helping others become appreciators of life and be happier by virtue of their immersion into a world of beauty. Second, your own intentions receive the assistance of those people who have acquired newly enhanced self-esteem. Beauty proliferates in others just by virtue of your presence when you're connected to intention.
**Your presence instills health rather than sickness.** Your connection to your Source keeps you focused on what you intend to manifest into your life, with no energy given to what you don't want. This internal focus doesn't permit you to complain about what ails you or to think about disease, pain, or any physical difficulties. Your energy is always on creating love, and expanding the perfection from which you originated. This includes your body and all of your beliefs about your physical self. You know in your heart that your body is a system of miracles. You have great reverence for its amazing capacity to heal itself and to function on its own without your interference. You know that your physical self is inspired by a divine force that beats its heart, digests its food, and grows its fingernails, and that this same force is receptive to endlessly abundant health.
When you bring to the presence of others a healthy appreciation for the miracle that your body represents, you defuse their efforts to dwell on disease, ill health, and deterioration. In fact, the higher your energy field resonates, the more you're able to impact others with your own healing energy. (See Chapter 13 for a more thorough treatment of healing and intention.) Become aware of your own amazing capacity to affect the healing and health of those around you simply by the silent presence of your high-energy connection to intention. This is a literal energy that emanates from you.
In the hopes that you will recognize the importance of raising your energy level, I'm going to conclude this chapter with a look at how our entire civilization is impacted when energy levels are synchronized with the Source of our Creation. This will require an open mind and a bit of stretching on your part; however, it's something that I know is true, and I'd be remiss if I left it out. It may appear peculiar or even outlandish to some who fail to see the ways in which all of us on this planet are connected and therefore impact each other from distances not discernible by our senses.
**_Your Impact on the Consciousness of All of Humanity_**
Many years ago I was with one of my daughters as she completed a lengthy program in the wilderness to help her deal more effectively with some of her teenage dilemmas. The last thing the counselor at the wilderness camp said to her was, "Remember at all times that what you think and what you do affects other people." This is true even beyond the impact we have on our friends, family, neighbors, and co-workers. I believe that we impact _all_ of humanity. Thus, as you read this section, keep in mind that _what you think and do affects all other people._
In _Power vs. Force,_ Dr. David Hawkins writes: "In this interconnected universe, every improvement we make in our private world improves the world at large for everyone. We all float on the collective level of consciousness of mankind, so that any increment we add comes back to us. We all add to our common buoyancy by our efforts to benefit life. It is a scientific fact that what is good for you is good for me." Dr. Hawkins has backed up his remarks and conclusions with 29 years of hard research, which I invite you to examine if you're so inclined. I'll briefly summarize some of these conclusions and how they relate to the impact you have on others when you're connected to intention.
In essence, every single person as well as large groups of people can be calibrated for their energy levels. Generally speaking, low-energy people cannot distinguish truth from falsehood. They can be told how to think, whom to hate, whom to kill; and they can be herded into a group-think mentality based on such trivial details as what side of the river they were born on, what their parents and their grandparents believed, the shape of their eyes, and hundreds of other factors having to do with appearance and total identification with their material world. Hawkins tells us that approximately 87 percent of humanity calibrates at a collective energy level that weakens them. The higher up the ladder of frequency vibration, the fewer people there are in those high levels. The highest levels are represented by the truly great persons who originated spiritual patterns that multitudes have followed throughout the ages. They're associated with divinity, and they set in motion attractor energy fields that influence all of humankind.
Just below the energy level of pure enlightenment are the energy levels associated with the experience designated as transcendence, selfrealization, or God consciousness. Here's where those who are called saintly reside. Just below this level is the place of pure joy, and the hallmark of this state is compassion. Those who attain this level have more of a desire to use their consciousness for the benefit of life itself rather than for particular individuals.
Below these supremely high levels, which few ever attain in a permanent way, are the levels of unconditional love, kindness, acceptance of everyone, beauty appreciation, and on a more limited but nonetheless profound level, all of the seven faces of intention described in the opening chapters of this book. Below the levels of energy that strengthen us are the low energy levels of anger, fear, grief, apathy, guilt, hatred, judgment, and shame—all of which weaken and impact us in such a way as to inhibit our connection to the universal energy level of intention.
What I'd like you to do here is take a leap of faith with me, while I present a few of the conclusions that Dr. Hawkins came to in his second book, called _The Eye of the I._ Through his precise kinesiological testing for truth versus falsehood, he's calibrated the approximate number of people whose energy is at or below the level that weakens. I'd like you to consider his findings and conclusions relative to your impact on civilization. Dr. Hawkins suggests that it's crucial for each of us to be aware of the significance of raising our frequency of vibration to the level where we begin to match up with the energy of the universal Source, or in other words, make our connection to the power of intention.
One of the most fascinating aspects of this line of research is the idea of counterbalancing. High-energy people counterbalance the negative effect of low-energy people. But it doesn't happen on a one-to-one basis because of that 87 percent of humanity that's in the lower weakening frequencies. One person connected to intention, as I've described it here in this book, can have an enormous impact on many people in the lower energy patterns. The higher up the scale you move toward actually being the light of enlightenment and knowing God consciousness, the more negatively vibrating energies you can counterbalance. Here are some fascinating figures from Dr. Hawkins's research for you to contemplate as you review the impact you can have on humanity simply by being on the higher rungs of the ladder to intention:
_• One individual who lives and vibrates to the energy of optimism and a willingness to be nonjudgmental of others will counterbalance the negativity of 90,000 individuals who calibrate at the lower weakening levels._
_• One individual who lives and vibrates to the energy of pure love and reverence for all of life will counterbalance the negativity of 750,000 individuals who calibrate at the lower weakening levels._
_• One individual who lives and vibrates to the energy of illumination, bliss, and infinite peace will counterbalance the negativity of 10 million people who calibrate at the lower weakening levels (approximately 22 such sages are alive today)._
_• One individual who lives and vibrates to the energy of grace, pure spirit beyond the body, in a world of nonduality or complete oneness, will counterbalance the negativity of 70 million people who calibrate at the lower weakening levels (approximately 10 such sages are alive today)._
Here are two compelling statistics offered by Dr. Hawkins in his 29-year study on the hidden determinants of human behavior:
1. One single avatar living at the highest level of consciousness in this period of history to whom the title _Lord_ is appropriate, such as Lord Krishna, Lord Buddha, and Lord Jesus Christ, would counterbalance the collective negativity of _all of mankind_ in today's world.
2. The negativity of the entire human population would selfdestruct were it not for the counteracting effects of these higher energy fields.
The implications of these figures are immense for discovering ways of improving human consciousness and raising ourselves to the place where we match up with the same energy of intention from which we were intended. By raising your own frequency of vibration only slightly to a place where you regularly practice kindness, love, and receptivity, and where you see beauty and the endless potential of good in others as well as yourself, you counter- balance 90,000 people somewhere on this planet who are living in the low-energy levels of shame, anger, hatred, guilt, despair, depression, and so on.
I can't help thinking of John F. Kennedy's handling of the Cuban missile crisis in the 1960s. He was surrounded by advisors urging the use of nuclear bombs if necessary. Yet his own energy and that of a few trusted colleagues who were steeped in the potential for a peaceful resolution served to counterbalance the vast majority of those who pushed for attack and bellicosity. One person with very high spiritual energy can put the possibility of war into a last-resort category. This is true in your own life. Bring the energy of intention to the presence of conflict even in family matters, and you can nullify and convert the lower antagonistic energy with your presence.
I've done this in a hostile setting where young people influenced by alcohol and drugs were squaring off to fight while a crowd urged them on. On one occasion, I simply walked between two potential combatants humming the song, "Surely the Presence of God Is in This Place," and that energy alone softened the atmosphere, raising the level of energy to peace.
In another instance, I approached a woman who was immersed in having an angry fit with her toddler in a grocery store and screaming hateful epithets at the two-year-old. I quietly moved into the energy field, said nothing, but radiated my desire for a higher energy of love, and it nullified the low energy of hatred. Consider the importance of becoming aware of the impact you have on others, and remind yourself that by raising your own energy level to a place where you're in harmony with intention, you become an instrument, or a channel, of peace. This works everywhere, so be a part of the counterbalance to the human negativity you encounter in your life.
**Five Suggestions for Implementing**
**the Ideas in This Chapter**
1. _Become aware of the importance of making all of your relationships divine._ The holy relationship isn't based on any religion. The holy relationship emphasizes the unfolding of Spirit in everyone. Your children are spiritual beings who come _through_ you, not _for_ you. Your love relationship can focus on wanting for your partner what you want for yourself. If you want freedom, want it for everyone you love. If you want abundance, want it first for others. If you want happiness, want it more for others, and let them know it. The more you have holiness as the centerpiece of your relationships, the more you'll merge with intention.
2. _When a question of morality arises concerning how you should act toward others, simply ask yourself, What would the Messiah do?_ This inner inquiry returns you to the tranquility of intention. The Messiah represents the seven faces of intention all manifested in a spiritual being having a human experience. In this way, you're honoring the Christ in you that is also in everyone else. Practice wanting for others what you want for yourself by being Christ-like rather than a Christian, Mohammed-like rather than a Muslim, and Buddha-like rather than a Buddhist.
3. _Keep track of the judgments you direct toward yourself and others._ Make a conscious effort to shift to compassionate thoughts and feelings. Offer a silent blessing to beggars rather than judging them as lazy or a drain on the economy. Your thoughts of compassion raise your level of energy and facilitate your staying connected to intention. Be compassionate toward everyone you meet, all of humanity, the entire kingdom of animal life, and our planet and cosmos as well. In return, the universal Source of all life will bestow compassion upon you, helping you manifest your own individual intention. It's the law of attraction. Send out compassion, attract it back; send out hostility and judgment, attract it back. Watch your thoughts, and when they're anything other than compassionate, change them!
4. _Whatever others want, want it for them so strongly that you disperse this energy outward and act from this level of spiritual consciousness._ Attempt to feel what would make others most happy and fulfilled. Then send the high energy of intention to that feeling and concentrate on beaming this energy outward, particularly while in their presence. This will help to create a doubly high field for such intentions to manifest.
5. _Be continually alert to the fact that simply by thinking and feeling in harmony with the seven faces of intention, you'll be counterbalancing the collective negativity of a minimum of 90,000 people, and perhaps millions._ Nothing to do. No one to convert. No goals to accomplish. Nothing more than raising your own energy level to the creative, kind, loving, beautiful, ever-expanding, endlessly abundant, and receptive-to-all-without-judgment frequencies. These inner attitudes will raise you to the level where your presence will impact humanity in a positive way. In _Autobiography of a Yogi,_ Swami Sri Yukteswar tells Paramahansa Yogananda: "The deeper the self-realization of a man, the more he influences the whole universe by his subtle spiritual vibrations, and the less he himself is affected by the phenomenal flux."
You have a responsibility to the entire human family to stay connected to intention. Otherwise you could be depressing someone in Bulgaria right at this moment!
With these words, Mahatma Gandhi sums up this chapter on how we can impact the world by staying connected to that which intended us here in the first place: "We must be the change we wish to see in the world." By being it, we connect to the eternal part of us that originates in infinity. This whole idea of infinity and coming to grips with how it affects our ability to know and employ the power of intention is vastly mysterious. It's the subject matter for the final chapter in Part I of this book. We'll explore infinity from a body and a mind that begins and ends in time, yet somehow knows that the _I_ that is in here has always been and always will be.
CHAPTER
[Intention
and Infinity](Dyer_ISBN9781401925963_epub_c8_r1.html#d7e7228)
_"Eternity is not the hereafter . . . this is it._
_If you don't get it here, you won't get it anywhere."_
— Joseph Campbell
Please indulge me in a little exercise right here, right now. Put this book down, and say out loud: _I'm not from here._ Let the meaning of the words be clear to you. The meaning is that you are _in_ this world, but not _of_ this world. You've been taught that who you are is a body with your name, made up of molecules, bones, tissue, oxygen, hydrogen, and nitrogen. You know yourself as the person with your particular name, and you identify yourself as the person with the possessions and achievements that you've accumulated. This _self_ also possesses some terrifying information. It knows that _if it's lucky,_ it's destined to grow old, get sick, and lose everything that it's grown to love. Then it will die. This is a shortened version of what the world has offered you, which probably leaves you mystified and flabbergasted at the absurdity of this thing we call life. Into this bleak picture, which inspires fear and even terror, I'd like to introduce a concept that will eliminate the terror. I want you to know that you needn't subscribe to the idea that you are only this collection of bones and tissues, destined to be annihilated in an aging process.
You've emerged from a universal field of Creation that I've been calling _intention._ In a sense, this universal mind is totally impersonal. It is pure love, fondness, beauty, and creativity, always expanding and endlessly abundant. You emanated from this universal mind. And as I keep telling you, _universal means everywhere and at all times._ In other words, _infinite._ As long as your wishes are aligned with the forward movement of this everlasting principle, there's nothing in nature to restrict you from attaining the fulfillment of those wishes. It's only when you choose to allow ego to oppose the expanding, receptive forward movement of the infinite mind of intention that the realization of your wishes doesn't feel fulfilling. Life itself is eternal, and you spring from this infinite _no thing_ called life. Your ability to connect to the eternal and live in the here-and-now will determine your staying connected to intention.
**_Life Is Eternal_**
We all live on a stage where many infinities gather. Just take a look outside tonight and contemplate the infinity of space. There are stars so distant from you that they're measured in the distance that light travels in an Earthly year. Beyond those stars that you can see are endless galaxies that stretch out into something we call eternity. Indeed, the space that you occupy is infinite. Its vastness is too huge for us to see. We're in an infinite, never-ending, never-beginning universe.
Now pay close attention to this next sentence. _If life is infinite, then this is not life._ Read that again and consider that life truly is infinite. We can see this in everything that we scrupulously observe. Therefore, we must conclude that life, in terms of our body and all of its achievements and possessions, which without exception begins and ends in dust, isn't life itself. Grasping life's true essence could radically change _your_ life for the better. This is an enormous inner shift that eliminates fear of death (how can you fear something that can't exist?) and connects you permanently to the infinite Source of Creation that _intends_ everything from the world of infinite Spirit, into a finite world. Learn to be comfortable with the concept of infinity, and see yourself as an infinite being.
While we're in this finite world of beginnings and endings, the power of intention maintains its infinite nature because it's eternal. Anything you experience as other than eternal is simply not life. It's an illusion created by your ego, which strives to maintain a separate address and identity from its infinite Source. This shift toward seeing yourself as an infinite spiritual being having a human experience, rather than the reverse— that is, a human being having an occasional spiritual experience— is loaded with fear for most people. I urge you to look at those fears and face them directly right now; the result will be a permanent connection to the abundance and receptivity of the universal Source that intends all of Creation into temporary form.
**_Your Fear of the Infinite_**
We are all in bodies that are going to die, and we know this, yet we can't imagine it for _ourselves,_ so we behave as if it weren't so. It's almost as if we're saying to ourselves, _Everybody dies but me._ This is attributable to what Freud observed. Our death is unimaginable, so we simply deny it and live our lives as if we weren't going to die . . . because of the terror that our own death instills. As I sat down to write this chapter, I said to a friend that my goal was to leave the reader with a complete absence of the fear of death. Let me know if it touches you in that way, even on a minor scale.
When I was a seven-year-old, I lived with my older brother, David, in a foster home at 231 Townhall Road, in Mt. Clemens, Michigan. The people who took us in while my mother worked to reunite her family were named Mr. and Mrs. Scarf. I remember this as if it occurred yesterday. David and I were sitting on the back porch of our home, and Mrs. Scarf came outside with two bananas in her hand and tears flowing down her face. She gave us each a banana, saying, "Mr. Scarf died this morning." It was the first time I'd experienced the concept of death connected to a human being. In my seven-year-old naïveté, I asked her, attempting to soothe her obvious pain, "When will he be back?" Mrs. Scarf responded with one word that I've never forgotten. She simply said, "Never."
I went upstairs to my bunk, peeled my banana, and lay there attempting to comprehend the concept of _never._ What did being dead forever really mean? I could have handled a thousand years, or even a billion light years, but the idea of _never_ was so overwhelming, with its no ending, and more no ending, that I was almost sick to my stomach. What did I do to handle this incomprehensible idea of never? Simple, I forgot about it and went on about the business of being seven years old in a foster home. This is what Castaneda meant when he said that we're all in bodies on their way to dying, but we behave as if they're not, and this is our greatest downfall.
**Your own death.** Essentially, there are two points of view regarding this dilemma of your own death. The first says that we're physical bodies that are born and we go on to live for a while; and then ultimately we deteriorate, our flesh wears out, and then we die and are dead forever. This first perspective, if you embrace it either consciously or otherwise, is terrifying from our alive viewpoint. Unless you embrace the second point of view, it's completely understandable that you fear death. Or you may welcome it if you hate or fear life. The second point of view says very simply that you're eternal, an infinite soul in a temporary expression of flesh. This second point of view says that only your physical body dies, that you were whole and perfect as you were created, and that your physicalness emanated from the universal mind of intention. That universal mind was and is formless—it's the pure energy of love, beauty, kindness, and creativity, and it can't die, since there's no form involved—no form, no death, no boundaries, no deterioration, no flesh, no possibility of it wasting away.
Now which of these two points of view gives you the most comfort? Which is associated with peace and love? Which invokes fear and anxiety? Obviously the idea of your infinite self keeps you on friendly terms with infinity. Knowing you're first and foremost an infinite being consciously connecting with your Source, which is eternal and omnipresent, is surely the more comforting prospect. Because of its infinite nature, it's everywhere, and it then follows that the whole of Spirit must be present at every point in space at the same moment.
Thus, Spirit is present in its entirety everywhere, which includes you. You can never, ever be separate from it. You'll learn to laugh at the absurd idea that you could ever be separate from the universal mind. It's your Source. You are it. God is the mind through which you think and exist. It's always connected to you, even if you don't believe in it. Even an atheist doesn't have to believe in God to experience God. The question then becomes, not whether your body is going to die, but rather, on what side of infinity you wish to live. You have two choices, either you live on the _inactive_ or the _active side of infinity._ In either case, you have an appointment with infinity, and there's no way to avoid it.
**Your appointment with infinity.** Reread the Joseph Campbell quote at the beginning of this chapter. Eternity is now! Right now, right here, you're an infinite being. Once you get past the fear of death as an end, you merge with the infinite and feel the comfort and relief that this realization brings. We identify everything in this material world through a space-time continuum. Yet infinity has no preference for time and space. You aren't the elements that make up your body; you merely make use of the elements. You go beyond space and time and are merged with the infinite universal mind. If you haven't recognized it, it's because of your fear. You can keep your appointment with infinity while you're in your temporary body, with its slavish adherence to time and space. My objective in this chapter is to help you realize and do this. If you make this merger, I assure you of a life without fear of death.
Let's take a look at both of the elements in the space/time prison in which we find our material bodies and all of its treasures. The factor of space means that we're experiencing separation from everyone and everything. This is _my space_ as defined by my boundaries; those are _your_ spaces. Even your most cherished soul mate lives in a world apart from yours. No matter how close in space you get, the boundaries are separate. In space, we're always separate. Trying to imagine an infinite world without space and separation is extremely difficult, until we make our appointment with infinity.
Time is also a factor of separation. We're separated from all of the events and memories of our past. Everything that has happened is separate from what's happening right now. The future is also separate from the here-and-now where we're living. We can't know the future, and the past is lost to us. Therefore, we're separated from everything that ever was or ever will be by this mysterious illusion we call time.
When your infinite soul leaves the body, it's no longer subject to the constraints of time and space. Separation can no longer interfere with you. So my question to you isn't about whether you believe you have an appointment with infinity. It's about when you're going to keep that inevitable appointment. You can either do it now while you're still alive in your body in the illusion of time and space, or you can do it at death. If you decide to make your appointment with infinity while you still live and breathe, it's like learning to die while you're alive. Once you make this transition to the active side of infinity, your fear of death dissolves and you laugh at the folly of death.
Understand your true essence, look death squarely in the face, and break the shackles of slavery to that fear. _You_ do not die. Announce it. Meditate on it. Look at it from this angle: _If you're not an infinite being, what would be the purpose of your life?_ Surely not going through the motions of being born, working, accumulating, losing it all, getting sick, and dying. By waking up to your infinite essence and staying connected to the seven faces of intention, you begin to free yourself of the limitations your ego has placed on you. You set in motion the guidance and assistance of the infinite universal mind to work with you. And most of all, you feel the peace that overtakes you when you expel your fear of death and mortality. I'm touched by the stories of great spiritual teachers leaving this Earthly plane feeling blissful and fearless. They banished all doubt, extricated all fear, and met infinity head-on with grace. Here are the final words of a few of the people I've long admired:
_The hour I have long wished for is now_
_come._
— Teresa of Avila
_Let us be kinder to one another._
— Aldous Huxley
_If this is death, it is easier than life._
— Robert Louis Stevenson
_This is the last of earth! I am content._
— John Quincy Adams
_I shall hear in heaven._
— Ludwig van Beethoven
_Light, light, the world needs more light._
— Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
_I am going to that country which I have all_
_my life wished to see._
— William Blake
_It is very beautiful over there._
— Thomas Edison
_Ram, Ram, Ram_ [God, God, God].
— Mahatma Gandhi
Why not write your own final words now and make your transition to being an infinite being while you still occupy your body? As you consider your appointment with infinity, look at how most of us live our lives. We know we're in a _body_ that's going to die, but we behave as if it's not going to happen to us. This viewpoint is from the inactive side of infinity where we don't see our connection to intention and our ability to stay in harmony with our creative Spirit. Let's examine the essential difference between keeping your appointment with infinity now, or at your death. In one case, you'll be on the active side of infinity, and in the other, you'll avoid it by being on the inactive side.
**_The Active vs. the Inactive Sides of Infinity_**
On the active side of infinity, you're fully cognizant that you're in a body that's going to die. Furthermore, your inner knowing is that you aren't that body, its mind, or any of its achievements and possessions. On this active side of infinity, you have a good grip on that trolley strap I described earlier, which is connected to intent, and you're an observer of all your sensory experiences. This may not sound like a big deal to you; however, I assure you that once you move your inner awareness to the active side of infinity, you'll begin to notice miraculous happenings in your daily life. On this active side of infinity, you are first and foremost an infinite spiritual being having a temporary human experience, and you do all of your living in all of your relationships from this perspective. On the inactive side of infinity, your experience of life is quite the opposite. Here, you're first and foremost a human being having an occasional spiritual experience. Your life is guided by a fear of death, a separation from others, a competitive style, and a need to dominate and be a winner. The inactive side of infinity separates you from the power of intention.
Here are some of the distinctions that I see between those who live in the active side of infinity and those who deny their eternal nature and opt for the inactive side of infinity:
**A sense of destiny.** In the active side of infinity, your connection to intention will no longer be thought of as an option, but as a calling that you must heed. The inactive side of infinity leads you to see life as chaotic, purposeless, and meaningless, while your position on the active side of infinity leads you to fulfill a destiny that you feel deep within you.
When I look back at my life, I realize that my sense of destiny was directing me at an early age. I've known since I was a child that I could manifest abundance into my life. While sitting in high school and college classrooms where I was bored to death by teachers who conveyed their lack of passion in their dreary presentations, I dreamed of talking to large audiences. I vowed in those youthful days that I'd live my passion, and somehow knew that I was here for a reason. I couldn't allow anyone or anything to deter me from my path. I've always sensed that I'm really an infinite soul, disguised at various times as a husband, father, author, lecturer, and balding six-foot-plus American male. Because I live on the active side of infinity, I have a sense of destiny that won't allow me to die with my music still in me.
You can make the same kinds of choices. Just let go of the idea that you're a body that's destined to die, and instead seek an awareness of your immortal self. On the active side of infinity, you'll find your greater self, of which a small part has materialized as your body. I guarantee you that simply recognizing yourself as an infinite and therefore indestructible being, your connection to intention and the ability to manifest all that you desire within the confines of your universal Source will become your reality. There's no other way.
Your sense of destiny lets you know that you're playing this game of life on the active side of infinity. Prior to accessing your sense of destiny, your motivation was what you wanted out of life and what you'd like to do. On the active side of infinity, you realize that it's time to do what your destiny intended you to do. Wallowing around hoping things will work out, waiting for your luck to change, and hoping others will come through for you no longer feels right. Your sense of destiny allows you to realize, _I am eternal, and that means that I showed up here from the infinitude of spiritual intention to fulfill a destiny that I must act on._ You begin stating your objectives in the language of intention, knowing they'll materialize. You enlist the power of intention to keep you on track. It can't fail because there's no failure in the infinite.
This 13th-century poem may inspire you to know you have _your_ destiny:
_You were born with potential._
_You were born with goodness and trust._
_You were born with ideals and dreams._
_You were born with greatness._
_You were born with wings._
_You are not meant for crawling, so don't._
_You have wings._
_Learn to use them and fly._
_—_ Rumi
If Rumi composed his poem from the inactive side of infinity, his words might be more like the following.
_You are an accident of nature._
_You are subject to the laws of luck and chance._
_You can be pushed around easily._
_Your dreams are meaningless._
_You were meant to live an ordinary life._
_You have no wings._
_So forget about flying and stay grounded._
**A sense of the possible.** Creation acts upon the everlasting _possibility_ that anything that is thought of, can be. Consider some of the numerous great inventions, which we take for granted today: airplanes, electric lights, telephones, television, fax machines, computers. They're all the result of creative ideas by individuals who ignored the ridicule they encountered while they stayed focused on _possible_ rather than impossible. In other words, a sense of the possible grows in the fertile terrain of the active side of infinity.
I have here in my writing space a wonderful account of four children who refused to allow the word _impossible_ into their hearts:
Eddie was born without hands or feet. At age five, he went to South Africa and saw a mountain he wanted to climb; he climbed it in three hours. And at age 13, he decided to play a trombone. He sees no reason why he shouldn't achieve whatever he sets out to do. He lives on the active side of infinity, consulting that world of infinite possibilities.
Abby was desperately ill and needed a heart transplant. When she saw her mother crying, she told her, "Mommy don't cry, I'm going to get better." At the 11th hour, a heart miraculously became available, and Abby _is_ better. Abby's intention came from that world of infinite possibilities. It's the active side of infinity where intentions manifest.
Stephanie was five years old when she came down with meningitis and had to have both of her legs amputated. Today at age 12, she rides her own bicycle and has dreams that go way beyond those of most teenagers who possess all of their limbs. Her personal slogan is: _Push to the limit._
After two major heart operations while just a toddler, the doctors told little Frankie's parents that they could do no more. Frankie lived only because she was on a life-support machine. When her parents were advised to have the machine turned off because Frankie couldn't survive and would only suffer, they finally agreed. But Frankie survived. She was somehow on the active side of the world of infinite possibilities. The caption beneath her photo says it all: _You didn't think you could get rid of me that easily, did you?_
The power of intention involves staying on the active side of infinite possibilities. George Bernard Shaw, who was still creating into his 90s, has been quoted as saying, "You see things as they are and you say, 'Why?' But I dream things that never were, and I say 'Why not?'" Think of Shaw's words as you practice staying on the active side of infinity and seeing the infinite possibilities that are available to all of us.
**A sense of awe.** You have to admit that just the concept of infinity is awesome. No beginning. No ending. Everywhere at once. No time. And all of it here and now. The fact that you're a part of this infinite universe and that you emerged into the finite is mindboggling. It defies description. The active side of infinity inspires a sense of awe. When you're in a state of awe, you're in a persistent state of gratitude. Perhaps the surest way to happiness and fulfillment in life is to thank and praise your Source for _everything_ that happens to you. Then, even when a calamity arises, you can be assured that you'll turn it into a blessing.
In the inactive side of infinity, you assume that you're only here temporarily, and therefore you have no obligation to the universe, the planet, or its inhabitants. By denying your infinite nature, you move through life taking everyday miracles for granted. As you become acquainted with your eternal nature, you have a very different point of view. You're in a persistent state of gratitude for all that shows up. This state is the secret to fulfilling your own individual human intentions, and without it, all of your most sincere efforts will amount to naught.
Being in a state of gratitude actually creates magnetism, and of course, a magnet draws things to itself. By giving authentic thanks for all the good you now have, as well as the challenges, through this magnetism you'll start the flow of more good into your life. Every successful person I know is grateful for _everything_ he or she has. This process of giving thanks opens the door for more to come. It's how being in active infinity works. Your sense of awe at all of the miracles you see around you allows you to think, see, and live more of these miraculous occurrences. In contrast, a state of ingratitude stops the infinite flow of abundance and health. It's a door closer.
**A sense of humility.** The active side of infinity fosters a sense of humility. When humility enters your soul, you know that you're not alone in this world, because you sense the heart of the power of intention, which is in each and everyone of us. To quote the Talmud, "Even if you be otherwise perfect, you fail without humility." When you embrace the active side of infinity, you're looking at something so enormous that your little ego is dwarfed in the process. You're looking out at _forever,_ and your little life is but a tiny parenthesis in eternity.
One of the reasons for so much contemporary depression and ennui is the inability to see ourselves connected to something greater and more important than our own puny egos. Young people whose primary focus is on their possessions, their appearance, their reputations with their peers—in short, their own egos—have very little sense of humility. When the only thing you have to think about is yourself and how you appear to others, you've distanced yourself from the power of intention. If you want to feel connected to your own purpose, know this for certain: _Your purpose will only be found in service to others, and in being connected to something far greater than your body/mind/ego._
I always told my young clients in counseling who were desperate for approval from their peers that the more they chase after approval, the more they'll be disapproved of because no one wants to be around those who beg for approval. People who receive the most approval are unconcerned about it. So, if you really want approval, stop thinking about yourself, and focus on reaching out and helping others. The active side of infinity keeps you humble. The inactive side of infinity keeps you focused on me, me, me, and ultimately is a roadblock to your connection to intention.
Wilhelm Stekel made a remarkable comment on the importance of humility (which was quoted by J. D. Salinger in _Catcher in the Rye)_. Stekel wrote: "The mark of the immature man is that he wants to die nobly for a cause, while the mark of the mature man is that he wants to live humbly for one."
**A sense of generosity.** If asked, _Why do you give us light and warmth?_ I believe that the sun would answer, _It's my nature to do so._ We must be like the sun, and locate and dispense our giving nature. When you're on the active side of infinity, giving is your nature.
The more you give of yourself, no matter how little, the more you open the door for life to pour in. This not only compensates you for your gift, it also increases the desire to give, and consequently the ability to receive as well. When you're on the inactive side of infinity, you view life in terms of shortages, and hoarding becomes a way of living. Generosity, as well as the inclination to reach your intentions, is lost when you think in these terms. If you can't see an infinite universe, with infinite supply, and infinite time and an infinite Source, you'll be inclined to hoard and be stingy. The power of intention is paradoxically experienced through what you're willing to give to others. Intention is a field of energy, which is emanating in infinite supply. What can you give if you don't have money to give? I love Swami Sivananda's advice, and I encourage you to consider it here. Everything that he suggests, you own in infinite amounts.
_The best thing to give_
_your enemy is forgiveness;_
_to an opponent, tolerance;_
_to a friend, your heart;_
_to your child, a good example;_
_to your father, deference;_
_to your mother, conduct that will make her_
_proud of you;_
_to your self, respect;_
_to all men, charity._
Make giving a way of life. It is, after all, what Source and nature do eternally. I've heard it said about nature that trees bend low with ripened fruit; clouds hang down with gentle rain; noble men bow graciously. This is the way of generous things.
**A sense of knowing.** Your infinite Source of intention has no doubt. It knows, and consequently it acts upon that knowing. This is what will happen for you when you live on the active side of infinity. All doubt flies out of your heart forever. As an infinite being in a temporary human form, you'll identify yourself primarily on the basis of your spiritual nature.
This sense of knowing that comes from the active side of infinity means that you no longer think in terms of limits. _You_ are the Source. The Source is unlimited. It knows no boundaries; it's endlessly expansive, and endlessly abundant. This is what you are, too. Discarding doubt is a decision to reconnect to your original self. This is the mark of people who live self-actualized lives. They think in no-limit, infinite ways. One of the no-limit qualities is the ability to think and act as if what they'd like to have is already present. This is another one of my ten secrets for success and inner peace in the book of the same title. The power of intention is so doubt-deficient that when you're connected to it, your sense of knowing sees what you'd like to have as already present. There are no contrary opinions whatsoever.
Here's my advice for accessing the power of intention: Stay on the active side of the infinite, where all of the energy for creation exists in everlasting supply. Night and day, dream of what you intend to do and what you intend to be, and those dreams will interpret your intentions. Let no doubt into your dreams and intentions. The dreamers are the saviors of the world. Just as the visible world is sustained by the invisible, so too do the manifestations of man find nourishment in the visions of our solitary dreamers. Be one of those dreamers.
**A sense of passion.** The Greeks have given us one of the most beautiful words of our language: _enthusiasm._ The word _enthusiasm_ translates to "a God within." Within you is an infinite passionate soul that wishes to express itself. It's the God within you, urging you to fulfill a deep sense of what you were meant to be. All of our acts are measured by the inspiration from which they originate. When your acts display the faces of intention, they spring from a God residing within you. This is enthusiasm. When you emulate the power of intention, this is where you'll feel the passion you were intended to feel and live.
The beauty of feeling passionate and enthusiastic is the glorious feeling of joy and cheerfulness that comes along with it. Nothing provides me with more joy than sitting here and writing to you from my heart. I enthusiastically allow these teachings to come through me from the Source of all intention, the universal mind of all creativity. Put quite simply, I feel good, I'm in a cheerful mood, and my inspiration provides me with joy. If you want to feel great, look into the mirror, say to your image, _I am eternal; this image will fade, but I am infinite. I am here temporarily for a reason. I will be passionate about all that I do._ Then just notice how you feel as you stare at your reflection. Being cheerful is a wondrous side benefit of enthusiasm. It comes from being in the active side of infinity where there's absolutely nothing to feel bad about.
**A sense of belonging.** In a world that lasts forever, you certainly must belong! The active side of infinity inspires not only a strong sense of belonging, but a strong feeling of connectedness to everyone and everything in the cosmos. It's impossible for you not to belong, because your presence here is evidence that a divine universal Source intended you here. Yet when you live on the inactive side of infinity, you feel a sense of alienation from others. Your idea that this is all temporary and that you aren't a piece of God's infinite perfection leads you to self-doubt, anxiety, self-rejection, depression, and so many more of the low energies I've written about throughout this book. All it takes is a shift to infinite awareness to leave that feeling of misery. As Sivananda taught his devotees:
_All life is one. The world is one home._
_All are members of one human family._
_All creation is an organic whole. No
Man is independent of this whole. Man
Makes himself miserable by separating
Himself from others. Separation is death._
_Unity is eternal life._
This concludes my ideas on the active and inactive side of infinity. I urge you to remind yourself every day, as frequently as possible, of your infinite nature. It may sound like merely an intellectual shift of minor consequence, but I assure you that staying on the active side of infinity and reminding yourself of it regularly will put you in a position to manifest your desires. Of all the quotes on this subject I've read, this observation made by William Blake stands out: "If the doors of perception were cleansed, everything would appear to man as it is: infinite." Remember, we're attempting to clean up the connecting link between ourselves and the field of intention.
**Five Suggestions for Implementing** **the Ideas in This Chapter**
1. _Since you already know that you have an appointment with infinity and that you're ultimately required to leave this corporeal world behind, make the decision to do so sooner, rather than later._ In fact today, right now, is a great time to keep that appointment, and get it over with once and for all. Simply announce to yourself: _I'm no longer identified by this body/mind, and I reject this label from this moment on. I'm infinite. I'm one with all of humanity. I'm one with my Source, and this is how I choose to view myself from this day forward._
2. _Repeat this mantra to yourself each day as you remind yourself that God wouldn't and couldn't create something that doesn't last: I will exist for all eternity. Just as love is eternal, so is this my true nature. I'll never be afraid again, because I am forever._ This kind of inner affirmation aligns you on the active side of infinity and erases doubts about your authentic higher identity.
3. _In a meditative stance, consider the two choices of belief on this concept of infinity._ You are in the truest sense, as I've said previously, either a human being having an occasional spiritual experience, or an infinite spiritual being having a temporary human experience. Which of those gives you a feeling of love? And which inspires fear? Now, since love is our true nature and the Source of all, anything that creates fear can't be real. As you see, the feeling of love is associated with yourself as an infinite being. Then you must rely on this feeling to tell you the truth. Your place in the active side of infinity assures you of a feeling of security, love, and permanent connection to intention.
4. _In any moment in which you find yourself thinking low-energy thoughts of fear, despair, worry, sadness, anxiety, guilt, and so on, just for a moment stop and consider whether this makes any sense from the perspective of the active side of infinity._ Knowing that you're here forever, and always connected to your Source, will give you an entirely new outlook. In the context of infinity, living any moment of your life in anything other than appreciation and love is a waste of your life energy. You can quickly dissipate those lower energies and simultaneously connect to the power of intention by cleansing those lenses of perception and seeing everything as it is— _infinite,_ as William Blake suggested.
5. _Take a few moments to reflect on the people you were close to and loved who have crossed over._ Being aware of your infinite nature, and staying in infinity's active side, allows you to feel the presence of these souls, who can't die and did not die. In John O'Donohue's book of Celtic wisdom called _Anam Cara,_ he offers these words with which I not only concur, but I know to be true from my own personal experience:
I believe that our friends among the dead really mind us and look out for us . . . we might be able to link up in a very creative way with our friends in the invisible world. We do not need to grieve for the dead. Why should we grieve for them? They are now in a place where there is no more shadow, darkness, loneliness, isolation or pain. They are home. They are with God from whom they came.
You can not only communicate with and feel the presence of those who've crossed over, you yourself can die while you're alive and rid yourself now of these shadows and darkness, by living in the active side of infinity.
This concludes Part I of _The Power of Intention._ Part II will be a series of chapters describing how to put this new connection to intention to work in a variety of ways in your life. As with the first part, read on with a mind that is not only open to the possibility of your achieving all that you can imagine, but to knowing that on the active side of infinity all things are possible.
Now, you tell me what that leaves out!
CHAPTER
[It Is My Intention to:
Respect Myself
at All Times](Dyer_ISBN9781401925963_epub_c8_r1.html#d7e7478)
_"A man cannot be comfortable without his own approval."_
— Mark Twain
Here's a simple truth to begin this chapter: You did not originate from a material particle as you've been led to believe. Your conception at the moment of your parents' blissful commingling was not your beginning. You had no beginning. That particle emanated from the universal energy field of intention, as do all particles. You're a piece of that universal mind of Creation, and you must see God inside of you and view yourself as a divine creation in order to access the power of intention in your life.
Give this idea a healthy dose of your attention—right now in this moment—as you read these words. Contemplate the enormity of what you're reading. You are a piece of God. You are a living, breathing creation that emanated from the universal mind of the all-creating Source. You and God are the same thing. Very simply put, when you love and trust yourself, you're loving and trusting the wisdom that created you; and when you fail to love and trust yourself, you're denying that infinite wisdom in favor of your own ego. It's important here to remember that at every single moment of your life, you have the choice to either be a host to God or a hostage to your ego.
**_Host or Hostage?_**
Your ego is the set of beliefs that I've written about earlier in this book, which define you as what you accomplish and accumulate in a material sense. Your ego is solely responsible for the feelings of self-doubt and self-repudiation that you may carry around. When you attempt to live by the low-level standards of your ego, you're a hostage to that very same ego. Your worth as a person is measured by your acquisitions and accomplishments. If you have less stuff, you're less valuable, and therefore unworthy of respect from others. If others don't respect you, and your value depends on how others see you, then it's unimaginable for you to have self-respect. You become a hostage to this low-level ego energy, which has you constantly striving for self-respect through others.
Your ego's belief that you're separate from everyone, separate from what's missing in your life, and most egregiously, separate from God, further hampers your ability to live up to the intention of respecting yourself. Ego's idea of separation fosters your feelings of being in competition with everyone, and evaluating your worth based on how frequently you emerge as a winner. As a hostage to your ego, self-respect is unavailable because you feel judged for your failures. It's out of this bleak picture, produced by the negative ego, that self-rejection emerges. It captures you and makes a hostage of you, never allowing you to play host to that from which you originated.
Being a host to God means always seeing your authentic connection to your Source. It's knowing that it's impossible for you to ever be disconnected from the Source from which you came. Personally, I thoroughly enjoy being a host to God. As I write here each morning, I feel that I'm receiving words and ideas from the power of intention, which allows me to bring these words to this page. I trust in this Source to provide me with the words; therefore, I'm trusting in the Source that brought me into this physical world. I'm eternally connected to this Source.
This awareness simply doesn't include a lack of respect for intending this book into form. The conclusion I've come to is that I'm worthy of my intention to write this book and have it published and in your hands today. In other words, I respect the piece of God that I am. I tap in to the power of intention, and my feeling of respect for it enhances my respect for myself.
So, by loving and respecting yourself, you're hosting God _and_ inviting the energy of Creation to your consciousness, to your daily life, as you connect to the power of intention.
**The energy of intention and your self-respect.** If you don't believe that you're worthy of fulfilling your intentions for health, wealth, or loving relationships, then you're creating an obstacle that will inhibit the flow of creative energy into your daily life. Recall that everything in the universe is energy, which moves at various frequencies. The higher the frequency, the closer you are to spiritual energy. In the lower frequencies, you find shortages and problems. Intention itself is a unified energy field that intends everything into existence. This field is home to the laws of nature, and is the inner domain of every human being. This is the _field of all possibilities,_ and it's yours by virtue of your existence.
Having a belief system that denies your connection to intention is the only way you're unable to access the power of intention from the infinite field. If you're convinced that you're unworthy of enjoying the field of all possibilities, then you'll radiate this kind of low energy. This will, in fact, become your attracted energy pattern, and you'll send messages to the universe that you're unworthy of receiving the unlimited abundance of the originating Spirit. Soon you'll act on this inner conviction of self-disrespect. You'll regard yourself as separate from the possibility of receiving the loving support of the originating field of intention, and you'll stop the flow of that energy into your life. Why? All because you see yourself as unworthy. This disrespect alone is sufficient to impede the arrival of your intentions into your life.
The law of attraction attracts disrespect when you're affirming that you're unworthy of being respected. Send out the message to the provider of all that you're unworthy, and you literally say to the universal Source of all, _Stop the flow of anything I desire, which is coming in my direction, because I don't believe I'm worthy of receiving it._ The universal Source will respond by halting this flow, causing you to reaffirm your inner conviction of unworthiness and attract even more disrespect in a multitude of ways. You'll disrespect your body by overfeeding it and poisoning it with toxic substances. You'll display your lack of self-respect in how you carry yourself, how you dress, how you fail to exercise, how you treat others... on and on goes the list.
The antidote to this dreary picture is to make an internal commitment to respect yourself and to feel worthy of all that the universe has to offer. If _anyone_ is entitled to success and happiness, _everyone_ is, because everyone is always connected to intention. Simply put, disrespecting yourself is not only disrespecting one of God's greatest creations, it's disrespecting God. When you disrespect your Source, you say no to it, and you turn away from the power of intention. This stops the flow of energy that allows you to put your individual unbending intent into practice. All of the positive thinking in the world will do you absolutely no good if those thoughts don't emanate from respect for your connection to intention. The _source_ of your thoughts must be celebrated and loved, and this means having the self-respect that's in harmony with the omniscient Source of intelligence. What's the source of your thoughts? Your _beingness._ Your beingness is the place from which your thoughts and actions come. When you disrespect your being, you set into motion a chain reaction culminating in unfulfilled intentions.
Self-respect should be a natural state for you, just as it is for all of the animal kingdom. There's no raccoon out there who believes himself unworthy of what he intends to have. Were that so, the raccoon would simply die by acting on the basis of his inner conviction that he was unworthy of food or shelter, and whatever else raccoons desire. He knows he's respectable, never finds any reason for self-repudiation, and lives out his raccoon-ness in perfect order. The universe provides, and he attracts those provisions into his world.
**_What You Think of Yourself Is_**
** _What You Think of the World_**
How do you see the world you live in? What do you think people in general are really like? Do you believe that evil is triumphing over good? Is the world filled with egocentric, selfish people? Can the little guy ever get ahead? Are government entities and all their representatives corrupt and untrustworthy? Is life unfair? Is it impossible to get ahead if you don't have connections?
All of these attitudes emerge from your own assessment of your personal interaction with life. If your thoughts reflect a pessimistic view of the world, then that's actually how you feel about yourself. If your thoughts reflect an optimistic view of the world, then _that's_ how you feel about your life. Whatever attitude you have about the world in general is a good indicator of the respect you have for your abilities to intend into this world what you desire. Pessimism strongly suggests that you don't subscribe to the idea that you can access the power of intention to help you create your own blissful reality.
I recall hearing the following conversation after the events of 9/11 in New York City. A grandfather was talking to his grandson, telling him, "I have two wolves barking inside of me. The first wolf is filled with anger, hatred, bitterness, and mostly revenge. The second wolf inside of me is filled with love, kindness, compassion, and mostly forgiveness."
"Which wolf do you think will win?" the young boy inquired.
The grandfather responded, "Whichever one I feed."
There are always two ways to look at the conditions of our world. We can see the hate, prejudice, mistreatment, starvation, poverty, and crime and conclude that this is a horrible world. We can feed this barking wolf and see more and more of what we despise. But this will only fill us with the same things that we find so malignant. Or we can look at the world from a position of self-love and self-respect, and see the improvements that have been made in race relations in our lifetime; the fall of so many dictatorships, lower crime rates, the dismantling of the atrocious apartheid systems, the elevated consciousness of the environmental movement, and the desire on the part of so many to rid our world of nuclear weapons and instruments of mass destruction. We can remind ourselves that for every act of evil in the world, there are a million acts of kindness, and we can then feed the second wolf that barks from a position of hope for humanity. If you see yourself as a divine creation, you'll look for this in your worldview, and the gloom-and-doom naysayers will have no impact on you and your self-respect.
When you have a gloomy picture of what the world looks like, you're unreceptive to the potential assistance that's there to help you with your own individual intentions. Why would others want to come to your aid when you view them as contemptible? Why would the universal force be attracted to that which repels it? How could a world that's so corrupt ever be of assistance to someone who has noble intentions? The answers to these questions are obvious. You attract into your life what you feel inside. If you feel that you're not worthy of being respected, you attract disrespect. This weak self-respect is the result of an exceptionally rusty link to the field of intention. This link must be cleansed and purified, and that takes place within your own mind.
I've specifically chosen _self-respect_ as the first chapter in Part II on applying intention, because without high esteem for yourself, you shut down the entire process of intention. Without unflagging self-respect, the process of intention is operating at the lowest levels. The universal field of intention is love, kindness, and beauty, which it has for all that it brings into the material world. Those who wish to replicate the works of the universal all-creating mind must be in harmony with the attributes of love, kindness, and beauty. If you disrespect anyone or anything that God creates, you disrespect that creative force. You are one of those creations. If you view yourself disrespectfully, you've forsaken, cast aside, or at the very least, sullied your connection to the power of intention.
It's important that you recognize that your entire worldview is based on how much respect you have for yourself. Believe in infinite possibilities and you cast a vote for your own possibilities. Stand firm on the potential for humans to live in peace and be receptive to all, and you're someone who's at peace and receptive to life's possibilities. Know that the universe is filled with abundance and prosperity and is available to everyone, and you come down on the side of having that abundance show up for you as well. Your level of self-regard must come from your knowing within yourself that you have a sacred connection. Let nothing shake that divine foundation. In this way, your link to intention is cleansed, and you always know that self-respect is your personal choice. It has nothing to do with what others may think of you. Your self-respect comes from the self and the self alone.
**The** ** _self_** **in self-respect.** Perhaps the greatest mistake we make, which causes a loss of self-respect, is making the opinions of others more important than our own opinion of ourselves. Self-respect means just what it says—it originates from the self. This _self_ originated in a universal field of intention that intended you here—from the infinite formless state to a being of molecules and physical substance. If you fail to respect yourself, you're showing contempt for the process of Creation.
You'll find no shortage of opinions directed at you. If you allow them to undermine your self-respect, you're seeking the respect of others over your own, and you're abdicating yourself. Then you're attempting to reconnect to the field of intention with low-energy attitudes of judgment, hostility, and anxiety. You'll cycle into low-energy vibrations that will simply force you to attract more and more of these lower energies into your life. Remember, it's high energy that nullifies and converts lower energy. Light eradicates darkness; love dissolves hate. If you've allowed any of those lower negative thoughts and opinions directed your way to become the basis of your self-portrait, you're asking the universal mind do the same. Why? Because at the high frequencies, the universal Source of intention is pure creativeness, love, kindness, beauty, and abundance. _Self-respect attracts the higher energy._ Lack of self-respect attracts the lower. It knows no other way.
The negative viewpoints of others represent _their low-energy ego_ working on you. Very simply, if you're judging anyone, you aren't loving them at that moment. The judgments coming your way, likewise, are unloving but have nothing to do with your self-respect. Their judgments (and yours as well) distance you from your Source, and therefore away from the _power_ of intention. As my friend and colleague Gerald Jampolsky observed, "When I am able to resist the temptation to judge others, I can see them as teachers of forgiveness in my life, reminding me that I can only have peace of mind when I forgive rather than judge."
This is how you return to the _self_ in self-respect. Rather than judging those who judge you, thereby lowering your self-respect, you send them a silent blessing of forgiveness and imagine them doing the same toward you. You're connecting to intention and guaranteeing that you'll always respect the divinity that you are. You've cleared the path to be able to enjoy the great power that is yours in the field of intention.
**_Making Your Intention Your Reality_**
In this concluding section, you'll find ten ways to practice nurturing your intention to respect yourself at all times.
**Step 1: Look into a mirror, make eye connection with yourself,** **and say** ** _"I love me"_** **as many times as possible during your day.** _I love me:_ These three magic words help you maintain your self-respect. Now, be aware that saying these words may be difficult at first because of the conditions you've been exposed to over a lifetime, and because the words may bring to the surface remnants of disrespect that your ego wants you to hold on to.
Your immediate impulse might be to see this as an expression of your ego's desire to be superior to everyone else. But this is not an ego statement at all—it's an affirmation of self-respect. Transcend that ego mind and affirm your love for yourself and your connection to the Spirit of God. This doesn't make you superior to anyone; it makes you equal to all and celebrates that you're a piece of God. Affirm it for your own self-respect. Affirm it in order to be respectful of that which intended you here. Affirm it because it's the way you'll stay connected to your Source and regain the power of intention. _I love me._ Say it without embarrassment. Say it proudly, and be that image of love and self-respect.
**Step 2: Write the following affirmation and repeat it over and** **over again to yourself:** ** _I am whole and perfect as I was created!_** Carry this thought with you wherever you go. Have it laminated, and place it in your pocket, on your dashboard, on your refrigerator, or next to your bed—allow the words to become a source of high energy and self-respect. By simply carrying these words with you and being in the same space with them, their energy will flow directly to you.
Self-respect emerges from the fact that you respect the Source from which you came and you've made a decision to reconnect to that Source, regardless of what anyone else might think. It's very important to keep reminding yourself at the beginning that you're worthy of infinite respect from the one Source you can always count on, the piece of God energy that defines you. This reminder will do wonders for your self-respect, and consequently your ability to use the power of intention in your life. Over and over, remind yourself: _I'm not my body. I'm not my accumulations. I'm not my achievements. I'm not my reputation. I am whole and perfect as I was created!_
**Step 3: Extend more respect to others and to all of life.** Perhaps the greatest secret of self-esteem is to appreciate other people more. The easiest way to do this is to see the unfolding of God in them. Look past the judgments of others' appearance, failures, and successes, their status in society, their wealth or lack of it . . . and extend appreciation and love to the Source from which they came. Everyone is a child of God—everyone! Try to see this even in those who behave in what appears to be a godless fashion. Know that by extending love and respect, you can turn that energy around so that it's heading back to its Source rather than away from it. In short, send out respect because that is what you have to give away. Send out judgment and low energy and that is what you'll attract back. Remember, when you judge others, you do not define them, you define yourself as someone who needs to judge. The same applies to judgments directed at you.
**Step 4: Affirm to yourself and all others that you meet,** ** _I belong!_** A sense of belonging is one of the highest attributes on Abraham Maslow's pyramid of self-actualization (which I discuss at the beginning of the next chapter). Feeling that you don't belong or you're in the wrong place can be due to a lack of self-respect. Respect yourself and your divinity by knowing that everyone belongs. This should never come into question. Your presence here in the universe is proof alone that you belong here. No person decides if you belong here. No government determines if some belong and some don't. This is an intelligent system that you're a part of. The wisdom of Creation intended you to be here, in this place, in this family with these siblings and parents, occupying this precious space. Say it to yourself and affirm it whenever necessary: _I belong!_ And so does everyone else. No one is here by accident!
**Step 5: Remind yourself that you're never alone.** My self-respect stays intact as long as I know that it's impossible for me to be alone. I have a _"senior partner"_ who's never abandoned me and who's stuck with me even in moments when I had seemingly deserted my Source. I feel that if the universal mind has enough respect to allow me to come here and to work through me—and to protect me in times when I strayed onto dangerous nonspiritual turf—then this partnership deserves my reciprocal respect. I recall my friend Pat McMahon, a talk-show host on KTAR radio in Phoenix, Arizona, telling me about his encounter with Mother Teresa in his studio before interviewing her for his program. He pleaded with her to allow him to do something for her. "Anything at all," he begged. "I'd just like to help you in some way." She looked at him and said, "Tomorrow morning get up at 4:00 A.M. and go out onto the streets of Phoenix. Find someone who lives there and believes that he's alone, and convince him that he's not." Great advice, because everyone who wallows in self-doubt or appears to be lost . . . has lost their self-respect because they've forgotten that they're not alone.
**Step 6: Respect your body!** You've been provided with a perfect body to house your inner invisible being for a few brief moments in eternity. Regardless of its size, shape, color, or any imagined infirmities, it's a perfect creation for the purpose that you were intended here for. You don't need to work at getting healthy; health is something you already have if you don't disturb it. You may have disturbed your healthy body by overfeeding it, underexercising it, and overstimulating it with toxins or drugs that make it sick, fatigued, jumpy, anxious, depressed, bloated, ornery, or an endless list of maladies. You can begin the fulfillment of this intention to live a life of self-respect by honoring the temple that houses you. You know what to do. You don't need another diet, workout manual, or personal trainer. Go within, listen to your body, and treat it with all of the dignity and love that your self-respect demands.
**Step 7: Meditate to stay in conscious contact with your** **Source, which always respects you.** I can't say this enough: Meditation is a way to experience what the five senses can't detect. When you're connected to the field of intention, you're connected to the wisdom that's within you. That divine wisdom has great respect for you, and it cherishes you while you're here. Meditation is a way to ensure that you stay in a state of selfrespect. Regardless of all that goes on around you, when you enter into that sacred space of meditation, all doubts about your value as an esteemed creation dissolve. You'll emerge from the solemnity of meditation feeling connected to your Source and enjoying respect for all beings, particularly yourself.
**Step 8: Make amends with adversaries.** The act of making amends sends out a signal of respect for your adversaries. By radiating this forgiving energy outward, you'll find this same kind of respectful positive energy flowing back toward you. By being big enough to make amends and replace the energy of anger, bitterness, and tension with kindness—even if you still insist that you're right— you'll respect yourself much more than prior to your act of forgiveness. If you're filled with rage toward anyone, there's a huge part of you that resents the presence of this debilitating energy. Take a moment right here and now to simply face that person who stands out in your mind as someone you hurt, or directed hurt to you, and tell him or her that you'd like to make amends. You'll notice how much better you feel. That good feeling of having cleared the air is self-respect. It takes much more courage, strength of character, and inner conviction to make amends than it does to hang on to the low-energy feelings.
**Step 9: Always remember the** ** _self_** **in self-respect.** In order to do this, you must recognize that the opinions of others toward you aren't facts, they're opinions. When I speak to an audience of 500 people, there are 500 opinions of me in the room at the end of the evening. I'm none of those opinions. I can't be responsible for how they view me. The only thing I can be responsible for is my own character, and this is true for every one of us. If I respect myself, then I'm relying on the _self_ in self-respect. If I doubt myself, or punish myself, I've not only lost my self-respect, I'll continue to attract more and more doubt and lower-energy opinions with which to further punish myself. You can't stay linked to the universal mind, which intends all of us here, if you fail to rely on your self for your self-respect.
**Step 10: Be in a state of gratitude.** You'll discover that gratitude is the final step in each succeeding chapter. Be an appreciator rather than a depreciator of everything that shows up in your life. When you're saying _Thank you, God, for everything,_ and when you're expressing gratitude for your life and all that you see and experience, you're respecting Creation. This respect is within you, and you can only give away what you have inside. Being in a state of gratitude is the exact same thing as being in a state of respect—respect for yourself, which you give away freely, and which will return to you tenfold.
I close this chapter with the words of Jesus of Nazareth, speaking through his apostle Saint Matthew (Matthew 5:48): "Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect." Reconnect to the perfection from which you originated.
You can't have any more self-respect than that!
CHAPTER
[It Is My Intention to:
Live My Life
on Purpose](Dyer_ISBN9781401925963_epub_c8_r1.html#d7e7568)
_"Those who have failed to work toward the truth
have missed the purpose of living."_
— Buddha
_"Your sole business in life is to attain God-realization._
_All else is useless and worthless."_
— Sivananda
A sense of purpose is at the very top of the pyramid of self-actualization created by Abraham Maslow more than 50 years ago. Through his research, Dr. Maslow discovered that those who feel purposeful are living the highest qualities that humanity has to offer. During the many years I've been in the fields of human development, motivation, and spiritual awareness, this is the topic that more people inquire about than anything else. I'm repeatedly asked questions such as: _How do I find my purpose? Does such a thing really exist? Why don't I know my purpose in life?_ Being on purpose is what the most self-actualized people accomplish on their life journeys. But many individuals feel little sense of purpose, and may even _doubt_ that they have a purpose in life.
**_Purpose and Intention_**
The theme of this book is that intention is a force in the universe, and that everything and everyone is connected to this invisible force. Since this is an intelligent system we're all a part of, and everything that arrives here came from that intelligence, it follows that if it wasn't supposed to be here, then it wouldn't be here. And if it's here, then it's supposed to be, and that's enough for me. The very fact of your existence indicates that you have a purpose. As I mentioned, the key question for most of us is: "What is my purpose?" And I hear that question in as many forms as there are people wondering about it: _What am I supposed to be doing? Should I be an architect, a florist, or a veterinarian? Should I help people or fix automobiles? Am I supposed to have a family or be in the jungle saving the chimpanzees?_ We're befuddled by the endless number of options available to us, and wonder whether we're doing the right thing.
In this chapter, I urge you to forget these questions. Move instead to a place of faith and trust in the universal mind of intention, remembering that you emanated from this mind and that you're a piece of it at all times.
Intention and purpose are as beautifully and naturally intertwined as the double helix of your DNA. There are no accidents. You're here for the purpose that you signed up for before you entered the world of particles and form. Many of the things that you refer to as problems result from the fact that you're disconnected from intention and therefore unaware of your true spiritual identity. The process of polishing that connecting link and reconnecting is basic to your intention to live your life on purpose. As you cleanse this link, you'll make two very important discoveries. First, you'll discover that your purpose is not as much about what you do as it is about how you feel. Your second discovery will be that feeling purposeful activates your power of intention to create anything that's consistent with the seven faces of intention.
**Feeling purposeful.** In response to the question _What should I do with my life?,_ I suggest that there's only one thing you _can_ do with it, since you came into this life with nothing and you'll leave with nothing: _You can give it away._ You'll feel most on purpose when you're giving your life away by serving others. When you're giving to others, to your planet, and to your Source, you're being purposeful. Whatever it is that you choose to do, if you're motivated to be of service to others while being authentically detached from the outcome, you'll feel on purpose, regardless of how much abundance flows back to you.
So, your intention is to live your life on purpose. But what is the spiritual Source like in this regard? It's perpetually in the process of giving its life force away to create something from nothing. When you do the same, regardless of what you're giving or creating, you're in harmony with intention. You're then on purpose, just as the universal mind is always acting purposefully.
Take this one step further. Does the universal Source of all life have to think about what it's doing with its powers? Is it concerned with bringing in gazelles or centipedes? Does it concern itself with where it lives or what it ultimately creates? No. Your Source is simply in the business of expressing itself through the seven faces of intention. The details are taken care of automatically. Likewise, your feelings of being on purpose in your life flow through expression of the seven faces of intention.
Allow yourself to be in the feeling place within you that's unconcerned with such things as vocational choices or doing the things you were destined to do. When you're in the service of others, or extend kindness beyond your own boundaries, you'll feel connected to your Source. You'll feel happy and content, knowing that you're doing the right thing.
I get that feeling of inner completion and contentment that lets me know that I'm on purpose by reading my mail or hearing the comments I so frequently hear when I'm walking through airports or eating at restaurants: _You changed my life, Wayne Dyer. You were there for me when I felt lost._ This is different from receiving a royalty payment or a great review, which I also enjoy. The personal expressions of gratitude are what sustain me in knowing that I'm on purpose.
Outside of my chosen occupation, I feel purposeful in a myriad of ways virtually every single day. When I extend assistance to someone in need, when I take a moment to cheer up a disgruntled employee in a restaurant or a store, when I make a child laugh who sits otherwise ignored in a stroller, or even when I pick up a piece of litter and place it in a trash can, I feel that I'm giving myself away and, as such, feel purposeful.
Essentially what I'm saying is: Stay on purpose by expressing the seven faces of intention, and the details will find you. You'll never have to ask what your purpose is or how to find it.
**Your purpose will find you.** In a previous chapter, I reviewed the obstacles to connecting to intention and pointed out that our thoughts are one of the major roadblocks. I stressed that we become what we think about all day long. What thoughts do _you_ have that inhibit you from feeling as if you're on purpose in your life? For instance, if you think that you're separate from your purpose and that you're drifting without direction through your life, then that's precisely what you'll attract.
Suppose, instead, that you know this is a purposeful universe where your thoughts, emotions, and actions are a part of your free will and are also connected to the power of intention. Suppose that your thoughts of being purposeless and aimless are really a _part_ of your purpose. Just as the thought of losing someone you love makes you love them even more, or an illness makes you treasure your health, suppose that it takes the thought of your unimportance to make you realize your value.
When you're awake enough to question your purpose and ask how to connect to it, you're being prodded by the power of intention. The very act of questioning why you're here is an indication that your thoughts are nudging you to reconnect to the field of intention. What's the source of your thoughts about your purpose? Why do you want to feel purposeful? Why is a sense of purpose considered the highest attribute of a fully functioning person? The source of thought is an infinite reservoir of energy and intelligence. In a sense, _thoughts about your purpose are really your purpose trying to reconnect to you._ This infinite reservoir of loving, kind, creative, abundant energy grew out of the originating intelligence, and is stimulating you to express this universal mind in your own unique way.
Reread the two display quotes at the beginning of this chapter. Buddha refers to _the truth,_ and Sivananda suggests that _God realization_ is our true purpose. This entire book is dedicated to connecting to the power of intention and letting go of ego, which tries to make us believe that we're separate from our divine originating Source and tries to separate us from realizing ultimate truth. This ultimate truth is the source of your thoughts.
That inner beingness knows why you're here, but your ego prods you to chase after money, prestige, popularity, and sensory pleasures and _miss the purpose of living._ You may feel sated and gain a reputation, but inside there's that gnawing feeling typified by the old Peggy Lee song "Is That All There Is?" Focusing on the demands of the ego leaves you feeling unfulfilled. Deep within you, at the level of your being, is what you were intended to become, to accomplish, and to be. In that inner placeless place, you're connected to the power of intention. It will find you. Make a conscious effort to contact it and listen. Practice being what you are at the source of your soul. Go to your soul level, where intention and purpose fit together so perfectly that you achieve the epiphany of simply _knowing this is it._
**Your silent inner knowing.** Esteemed psychologist and philosopher William James once wrote: "In the dim background of our mind we know meanwhile what we ought to be doing. . . . But somehow we cannot start. . . . Every moment we expect the spell to break . . . but it does continue, pulse after pulse, and we float with it. . . ."
In my experience as a therapist, and as a speaker talking with thousands of people about their lives, I've come to the same conclusion. Somewhere, buried deep within each of us, is a call to purpose. It's not always rational, not always clearly delineated, and sometimes even seemingly absurd, but the knowing is there. There's a silent something within that _intends_ you to express yourself. That something is your soul telling you to listen and connect through love, kindness, and receptivity to the power of intention. That silent inner knowing will never leave you alone. You may try to ignore it and pretend it doesn't exist, but in honest, alone moments of contemplative communion with yourself, you sense the emptiness waiting for you to fill it with your music. It wants you to take the risks involved, and to ignore your ego and the egos of others who tell you that an easier, safer, or more secure path is best for you.
Ironically, it's not necessarily about performing a specific task or being in a certain occupation or living in a specific location. It's about sharing yourself in a creative, loving way using the skills and interests that are inherently part of you. It can involve any activity: dancing, writing, healing, gardening, cooking, parenting, teaching, composing, singing, surfing—whatever. There's no limit to this list. But everything on the list can be done to _pump up your ego_ or _to serve others._ Satisfying your ego ultimately means being unfulfilled and questioning your purpose. This is because your Source is egoless, and you're attempting to connect to your Source, where your purpose originates. If the activities on the list are in service to others, you feel the bliss of purposeful living, while paradoxically attracting more of what you'd like to have in your life.
My daughter Skye is an example of what I'm presenting here. Skye has known since she could first speak that she wanted to sing. It was almost as if she showed up here in the world with a destiny to sing for others. Over the years, she's sung at my public appearances, first as a 4-year-old, and then at every age up until now, her 21st year. She has also sung on my public television specials, and the reaction to her singing has always been gratifying.
As a student immersed in a music program at a major university, Skye studied from academic and theoretical perspectives. One day in her junior year, we had a discussion that centered on her purpose and the silent inner knowing she's always had. "Would you be upset," she inquired, "if I left college? I just don't feel like I can do what I know I have to do by sitting in a classroom and studying music theory any longer. I just want to write my own music and sing. It's the only thing I think about, but I don't want to disappoint you and Mom."
How could I, who tells his readers not to die with their music still in them, tell my 21-year-old daughter to stay in college because that's the right way, and it's what I did? I encouraged her to listen to the silent knowing that I've seen evidence of since she was a toddler, and to follow her heart. As Gandhi once said: "To give one's heart is to give all." This is where God exists in Skye . . . and in you.
I did ask Skye to make a supreme effort to live her purpose by serving those who will listen to her music rather than focusing her attention on being famous or making money. "Let the universe handle those details," I reminded her. "You write and sing because you have to express what is in that beautiful heart of yours." I then asked her to think from the end, and act as if all that she wanted to create for herself was already here, waiting for her to connect to it.
Recently she voiced dismay at not having her own CD out in the world, and she was acting with thoughts of _not having a CD out in the world._ Consequently, no CD and lots of frustration. I strongly encouraged her to start thinking from the end by seeing the studio being available, the musicians ready to collaborate with her, the CD as a finished product, and her intention as a reality. I gave her a deadline to have a CD completed that I could make available at my lectures. I told her that she could sing to these audiences, as she has done sporadically in her life as well as on my publictelevision pledge shows.
Her thinking from the end materialized everything she needed, and the universal Spirit began to work with her unbending intent. She found the studio, the musicians she needed magically appeared, and she was able to have the CD produced.
Skye worked tirelessly day after day singing her own favorites, as well as several that I wanted her to sing at my appearances, including "Amazing Grace," "The Prayer of St. Francis," and her own composition, "Lavender Fields," which she sings from deep pride and passion. And lo and behold, today her CD, _This Skye Has No Limits,_ is now out and is being offered to the public whenever she sings at my lectures.
Skye's presence on the stage with me brings so much joy and love to the presentation because she's as closely aligned with those seven faces of intention as any human being I've ever known. So it's no secret why this book is also dedicated to her—one of my angels of spiritual intention.
**_Inspiration and Purpose_**
When you're inspired by a great purpose, everything will begin to work for you. Inspiration comes from moving back in-spirit and connecting to the seven faces of intention. When you feel inspired, what appeared to be risky becomes a path you feel compelled to follow. The risks are gone because you're following your bliss, which is the truth within you. This is really love working in harmony with your intention. Essentially, if you don't feel love, you don't feel the truth, and your truth is all wrapped up in your connection to Spirit. This is why inspiration is such an important part of the fulfillment of your intention to live a life on purpose.
When I left the work that no longer inspired me, every single detail that I'd worried about was almost magically taken care of for me. I'd spent several months working for a large corporation where I was offered a salary three times higher than I'd been paid as a teacher, but I wasn't in-spirit. That prodding inner knowing said, _Do what you're here to do,_ and teaching/counseling became my manifested daily purpose.
When I left a professorship at a major university for writing and public speaking, it wasn't a risk; it was something I had to do because I knew that I couldn't feel happy with myself if I didn't follow my heart. The universe handled the details, because I was feeling love for what I was doing, and consequently, I was living my truth. By teaching love, that very same love guided me to my purpose, and the financial remuneration flowed to me with that same energy of love. I couldn't see how it would work out, but I followed an inner knowing and never regretted it!
You may think it's too risky to give up a salary, a pension, job security, or familiar surroundings because of a dim night-light in your mind that draws you to see why it's turned on. I suggest that there are no risks at all if you pay attention to that light, which is your knowing. Combine your strong knowing with the faith that Spirit will provide, and you acknowledge the power of intention at work. Your trust in this inner knowing is all you need. I call it _faith—_ not faith in an external god to provide you with a purpose, but faith in the call you're hearing from the center of your being. You are a divine, infinite creation making the choice to be on purpose and to be connected to the power of intention. It all revolves around your being harmoniously connected to your Source. Faith eliminates the risk when you choose to trust that inner knowing about your purpose and become a channel for the power of intention.
**_Making Intention Your Reality_**
Below are ten ways to practice fulfilling your intention to live your life on purpose from this day forward:
**Step 1: Affirm that in an intelligent system, no one shows up by** **accident, including you.** The universal mind of intention is responsible for all of creation. It knows what it's doing. You came from that mind, and you're infinitely connected to it. There's meaning in your existence, and you have the capacity to live from a perspective of purpose. The first step is to know that you're here on purpose. This is not the same as knowing what you're supposed to do. Throughout your life, what you do will change and shift. In fact, the changes can occur from hour to hour in each day of your life. Your purpose is not about what you do, it's about your beingness, that place within you from which your thoughts emerge. This is why you're called a _human being_ rather than a _human doing!_ Affirm in your own words, both in writing and in your thoughts, that you are here on purpose, and intend to live from this awareness at all times.
**Step 2: Seize every opportunity, no matter how small, to give your** **life away in service.** Get your ego out of your intention to live a life of purpose. Whatever it is that you want to do in life, make the primary motivation for your effort something or somebody other than your desire for gratification or reward.
The irony here is that your personal rewards will multiply when you're focused on giving rather than receiving. Fall in love with what you're doing, and let that love come from the deep, inner-dwelling place of Spirit. Then sell the feeling of love, enthusiasm, and joy generated by your efforts. If your purpose is felt by being Supermom, then put your energy and inner drive into those children. If it's felt writing poetry or straightening teeth, then get your ego out of the way and do what you love doing. Do it from the perspective of making a difference for someone or for some cause, and let the universe handle the details of your personal rewards. Live your purpose doing what you do with pure love—then you'll co-create with the power of the universal mind of intention, which is ultimately responsible for all of creation.
**Step 3: Align your** **purpose with the field of** **intention.** This is the most important thing you can do to fulfill your intentions. Being aligned with the universal field means having faith that your Creator knows why you're here, even if you don't. It means surrendering the little mind to the big mind, and remembering that your purpose will be revealed in the same way that _you_ were revealed. Purpose, too, is birthed from creativeness, kindness, love, and receptivity to an endlessly abundant world. Keep this connection pure, and you'll be guided in all of your actions.
It's not fatalism to say that _if it's meant to be, then it can't be stopped._ This is having faith in the power of intention, which originated with you and is within you. When you're aligned with your originating Source, then this same Source will aid you in creating the life of your choice. Then, what happens feels exactly as if it was meant to be. And that's because it is! You always have a choice in how to align yourself. If you stay focused on making demands on the universe, you'll feel as if demands are being placed on you in your life. Stay focused on lovingly asking, _How may I use my innate talents and desire to serve?_ and the universe will respond with the identical energy by asking you, _How may I serve you?_
**Step 4: Ignore what anyone else tells you about your purpose.** Regardless of what anyone might say to you, the truth about your feeling purposeful is that only _you_ can know it, and if you don't feel it in that inner place where a burning desire resides, it isn't your purpose. Your relatives and friends may attempt to convince you that what _they_ feel is _your_ destiny. They may see talents that they think will help you make a great living, or they may want you to follow in their footsteps because they think you'll be happy doing what they've done for a lifetime. Your skill at mathematics or decorating or fixing electronic equipment might indicate a high aptitude for a given pursuit—but in the end, if you don't feel it, nothing can make it resonate with you.
Your purpose is between you and your Source, and the closer you get to what that field of intention looks and acts like, the more you'll know that you're being purposefully guided. You might have zero measurable aptitudes and skills in a given area, yet feel inwardly drawn to doing it. Forget the aptitude-test results, forget the absence of skills or know-how, and most important, ignore the opinions of others and _listen to your heart._
**Step 5: Remember that the all-creating field of intention will** **work on your behalf.** Albert Einstein is credited with saying that the most important decision we ever make is whether we believe we live in a friendly universe or a hostile universe. It's imperative that you know that the all-creating field of intention is friendly and will work with you as long as you see it that way. The universe supports life; it flows freely to all and is endlessly abundant. Why choose to look at it in any other way? All of the problems we face are created by our belief that we're separate from God and each other, leading us to be in a state of conflict. This state of conflict creates a counterforce causing millions of humans to be confused about their purpose. Know that the universe is always willing to work with you on your behalf, and that you're always in a friendly, rather than hostile, world.
**Step 6: Study and replicate the lives of people who've known their** **purpose.** Whom do you admire the most? I urge you to read biographies of these people and explore how they lived and what motivated them to stay on purpose when obstacles surfaced. I've always been fascinated by Saul of Tarsus (later called St. Paul), whose letters and teachings became the source of a major portion of the New Testament. Taylor Caldwell wrote a definitive fictional account of St. Paul's life called _Great Lion of God,_ which inspired me enormously. I was also deeply touched by the purposeful manner in which St. Francis of Assisi lived his life as exemplified in the novel _St. Francis,_ by Nikos Kazantzakis. I make it a point to use my free time to read about people who are models for purposeful living, and I encourage you to do the same.
**Step 7: Act as if you're living the life you were intended to live,** **even if you feel confused about this thing called purpose.** Invite into your life every day whatever it might be that makes you feel closer to God and brings you a sense of joy. View the events you consider obstacles as perfect opportunities to test your resolve and find your purpose. Treat everything from a broken fingernail to an illness to the loss of a job to a geographical move as an opportunity to get away from your familiar routine and move to purpose. By acting as if you're on purpose and treating the hurdles as friendly reminders to trust in what you feel deeply within you, you'll be fulfilling your own intention to be a purposeful person.
**Step 8: Meditate to stay on purpose.** Use the technique of Japa, which I mentioned earlier, and focus your inner attention on asking your Source to guide you in fulfilling your destiny. This letter from Matthew McQuaid describes the exciting results of meditating to stay on purpose:
_Dear Dr. Dyer,_
_My wife, Michelle, is pregnant by a miracle—a miracle manifest from Spirit using all of your suggestions. For five years, Michelle and I were challenged by infertility. You name it, we tried it. None of the expensive and sophisticated treatments worked. The doctors had given up. Our own faith was tested over and over with each failed treatment cycle. Our doctor managed to freeze embryos from earlier cycles of treatment. Throughout the years, over 50 embryos had been transferred to Michelle's uterus. The odds of a frozen embryo successfully initiating pregnancy in our case were close to zero. As you know, zero is a word not found in the spiritual vocabulary. One precious frozen embryo, surviving minus 250 degrees for six months, has taken up a new home in Michelle's womb. She is now in her second trimester._
_Okay, "So what," you might say. "I get letters like this every day." However, this letter contains proof of God. A tiny drop of protoplasm, as you have so eloquently written on many occasions, a physical mass of cells alive with the future pull of a human being, turned on in a laboratory, then turned off in a freezer. All molecular motion and biochemical processes halted, suspended. Yet, the essence of being was there prior to freezing. Where did the spiritual essence go while frozen? The cells were turned on, then turned off, but the spiritual essence had to prevail despite the physical state of the cells. The frequency of vibration of the frozen cells was low, but the vibrational frequency of its spirit must be beyond measure. The essence of the being had to reside outside of the physical plane or mass of cells. It couldn't go anywhere except to the realm of spirit, where it waited. It waited to thaw and manifest into a being it always has been. I hope you find this story as compelling as I do, as nothing less than a miracle. An example of spirit in body, rather then a body with a spirit._
_And now for the million-dollar question. Could this one embryo survive such hostile frozen conditions and still manifest because I practiced the Japa mediation? Just because I opened my mouth and said, "Aaaahhh"? I had a knowing, no question about it. Japa meditation and surrendering to infinite patience are daily practices. During my quiet moments, I can smell this baby. Michelle will thank me for my conviction and faith during the dark times. I praise your work for guiding me. Thank you. Now, nothing is impossible for me. When I compare what I have manifested now in Michelle's womb to anything else I might desire, the process is without effort. After you truly surrender, everything you could ever want just seems to show up, right on schedule. The next amazing manifestation will be to help other infertile couples realize their dreams. Somehow, I will help those who feel there is no hope._
_Sincerely,_
_Matthew McQuaid_
Many people have written to me about their success with staying on purpose through the practice of Japa meditation. I'm deeply touched by the power of intention when I read about people who use Japa to help achieve a pregnancy, which they felt was their divine mission. I particularly like Matthew's decision to use this experience to help other infertile couples.
**Step 9: Keep your thoughts and feelings in harmony with your** **actions.** The surest way to realize your purpose is to eliminate any conflict or dissonance that exists between what you're thinking and feeling and how you're living your days. If you're in disharmony, you activate ego-dominated attitudes of fear of failure, or disappointing others, which distance you from your purpose. Your actions need to be in harmony with your thoughts. Trust in those thoughts that harmonize, and be willing to act upon them. Refuse to see yourself as inauthentic or cowardly, because those thoughts will keep you from acting on what you know you were meant to be. Take daily steps to bring your thoughts and feeling of your grand heroic mission into harmony with both your daily activities and of course, with that ever-present field of intention. Being in harmony with God's will is the highest state of purpose you can attain.
**Step 10: Stay in a state of gratitude.** Be thankful for even being able to contemplate your purpose. Be thankful for the wonderful gift of being able to serve humanity, your planet, and your God. Be thankful for the seeming roadblocks to your purpose. Remember, as Gandhi reminded us: "Divine guidance often comes when the horizon is the blackest." Look at the entire kaleidoscope of your life, including all of the people who have crossed your path. See all of the jobs, successes, apparent failures, possessions, losses, wins—everything—from a perspective of gratitude. You're here for a reason; this is the key to feeling purposeful. Be grateful for the opportunity to live your life purposefully in tune with the will of the Source of all. That's a lot to be grateful for.
It seems to me that searching for our purpose is like searching for happiness. There's no way to happiness; happiness _is_ the way. And so it is with living your life on purpose. It's not something you find; it's how you live your life serving others, and bringing purpose to everything you do. That's precisely how you fulfill the intention that is the title of this chapter. When you're living your life from purpose, you're dwelling in love. When you're not dwelling in love, you're off purpose. This is true for individuals, institutions, business, and our governments as well. When a government gouges its citizens with excessive fees for any service, they're off purpose. When a government pursues violence as a means for resolving disputes, it's off purpose regardless of how it justifies its actions. When businesses overcharge, cheat, or manipulate in the name of profit-making, they're off purpose. When religions permit prejudice and hatred or mistreat their parishioners, they're off purpose. And it's true for you as well.
Your goal in accessing the power of intention is to return to your Source and live from that awareness, replicating the very actions of intention itself. That Source is love. Therefore, the quickest method for understanding and living your purpose is to ask yourself if you're thinking in loving ways. Do your thoughts flow from a Source of love within you? Are you acting on those loving thoughts? If the answers are yes and yes, then you're on purpose. I can say no more!
CHAPTER
[It Is My Intention to:
Be Authentic and
Peaceful with All
of My Relatives](Dyer_ISBN9781401925963_epub_c8_r1.html#d7e7658)
_"Your friends are God's way of apologizing for your relatives!"_
— Dr. Wayne W. Dyer
Somehow we allow the expectations and demands of our family members to be the source of so much unhappiness and stress, when what we want is to be authentically ourselves and at peace with our relatives. The conflict seems too often to be a choice between being authentic, which means no peace with certain relatives, or having peace at the price of being inauthentic. Making the connection to the power of intention in regard to being around your relatives may sound like an oxymoron to you, but it isn't. Being peaceful and authentic can define your relationship with your relatives. First, though, you may have to assess your relationship with the closest relative of all—you. How others treat you, you'll discover, has a lot to do with how you treat yourself and thereby teach others to treat you.
**_You Get Treated the Way You Teach_**
** _Others to Treat You_**
In an earlier chapter, I urged you to notice your inner dialogue. One of the greatest obstacles to connecting to intention are your thoughts of what others want or expect from you. The more you focus on how upsetting it is that your family doesn't understand or appreciate you, the more you'll attract their misunderstanding or lack of appreciation. Why? Because what you think about expands, even when you think about what you find unnerving, and even when you think about what you don't want in your life.
If you're attracted to this intention, then you most likely already know which family members push your buttons. If you feel as though you're unduly influenced by their expectations, or you're a victim of their way of being, you'll need to begin by shifting from thoughts of what _they're doing_ to what _you're thinking._ Say to yourself, _I've taught all these people how to treat me as a result of my willingness to make their opinions of me more important than my own._ You might want to follow this up by emphatically stating, _And it's my intention to teach them how I desire to be treated from now on!_ Taking responsibility for how your family members treat you helps you create the kind of relationship with all of your relatives that matches up with the universal mind of intention.
You may be asking yourself how you can possibly be responsible for teaching people how to treat you. The answer is, in large part, your willingness to not only put up with listening to those familial pressures—some of which are long-term traditions running back countless generations—but also with allowing yourself to disconnect from your divine Source and indulge in low-energy emotions as humiliation, blame, despair, regret, anxiety, and even hatred. You and only you taught your kin how to treat you through your willingness to accept critical comments from that well-meaning, but often interfering and bothersome, tribe.
**Your family relationships are in** **your mind.** When you close your eyes, your family disappears. Where did they go? Nowhere, but doing this exercise helps you recognize that your relatives exist as thoughts in your mind. And recall that God is the mind with which you're thinking. Are you using your mind to process your relatives in harmony with intention? Or have you abandoned or separated yourself in your mind by viewing your family in ways contrary to the universal Source of intention? These people who are related to you are all ideas in your mind. Whatever power they have, you've given to them. What you feel is wrong or missing in these relationships is an indication that something is amiss within you, because broadly speaking, anything you see in anyone else is a reflection of some aspect of you—otherwise you wouldn't be bothered by it, because you wouldn't notice it in the first place.
In order to change the nature of family relationships, you'll have to change your mind about them and do a somersault into the inconceivable. And what is the inconceivable? It's the idea that _you are the source of the anguish_ in your relationships, rather than the individual whom you've pegged as the most outrageous, the most despicable, or the most infuriating. Over the years, all of these individuals have been treating you exactly as you've allowed them to with your reactions and behaviors. All of them exist as ideas in your mind that have separated you from your source of intention. This can miraculously change when you choose to be at peace with everyone in your life—most particularly, your relatives.
If the focus of your inner dialogue about your family members is on what they're doing that's wrong, then that's precisely how your relationship with them will be experienced. If your inner speech centers on what's annoying about them, that's what you'll notice. As much as you're inclined to blame them for your annoyance, it's yours, and it's coming from your thoughts. If you make a decision to put your inner attention, your life energy, on something quite different, your relationship will change. In your thoughts, where your family relationships exist, you'll no longer be annoyed, angry, hurt, or depressed. If in your mind you're thinking, _My intention is to be authentic and peaceful with this relative,_ then that's what you'll experience—even if that relative continues to be exactly the way he or she has always been.
**Changing your mind is changing your relationships.** Being authentic and peaceful with your relatives is only a thought away. You can learn to change your thoughts by intending to create authentic and peaceful feelings within yourself. No one is capable of making you upset without your consent, and you've given your consent too frequently in the past. When you begin practicing the intention to be authentic and peaceful, you withdraw your consent to be in the lower energy. You connect to peace itself, and decide to bring peace to your relatives, thereby immediately gaining the power to change the energy of family gatherings.
Think of the relatives whom you've blamed for your feelings of anxiety, annoyance, or depression. You've focused on what you disliked about them or how they treated you, and your relationship has always had an uncomfortable edge to it. Now imagine yourself doing this from a new point of view: Rather than reacting to their low energy of hostility or bragging with a hostile or bragging reaction of your own—lowering the energy field for everyone involved—you instead bring your intention of peace to the interaction. Remember, it's the higher energy of love that can dissolve all the lower energies. When you react to low energy with more of the same, you're not being peacefully authentic or connected to the power of intention. In the low energy, you say or think sentences like, _I disrespect you for being so disrespectful. I'm angry at you for being so angry at the world. I dislike you because you're such a braggart._
By putting your attention on what you intend to manifest rather than on the same low energy that you encounter, you make a decision to connect to intention and bring the attributes of your universal Source to the presence of that low energy. Try to imagine Jesus of Nazareth saying to his followers, "I despise those people who despise me, and I want nothing to do with them." Or, "It makes me so angry when people judge me. How can I have peace when there are so many hostile people around me?" This is absurd, because Jesus represents the highest loving energy in the universe. That's precisely what he brought to the presence of doubting, hostile people, and his presence alone would raise the energy of those around him. Now I know you're not the Christ, but you do have some great spiritual lessons to learn from our greatest teachers. If you have the intention to bring peace to a situation and you're living at the level of intention, you'll leave that situation feeling peaceful. I learned this lesson years ago with my in-laws.
Prior to my waking up to the power of intention, family visits were events that caused me consternation because of the attitudes and behavior of some of my wife's relatives. I'd prepare for a Sunday-afternoon family visit by getting anxious and upset over what I anticipated to be a fretful, lousy experience. And I seldom disappointed myself! I'd focus my thoughts on what I didn't like, and I defined my relationship with my in-laws in this manner.
Gradually, as I began to understand the power of intention and left my ego behind, I substituted kindness, receptivity, love, and even beauty for my former annoyed and angry assessments.
Before family get-togethers, I'd remind myself that I am what I choose to be in any and all circumstances, and I chose to be authentically peaceful and have a good time. In response to something that used to annoy me, I'd now say to my mother-in-law in a loving way, "I never thought of it that way; tell me more." In response to what I previously considered to be an ignorant comment, I'd respond, "That's an interesting point of view; when did you first learn about this?" In other words, I was bringing my own intention to be in a state of peace to this encounter, and was refusing to judge them.
The most amazing thing began to happen: I started looking forward to having these family members at our home. I began to see them as much more enlightened than I'd previously thought. I actually enjoyed our times together, and every time something came up that I'd found annoying in the past, I'd overlook it and respond with love and kindness instead. At an earlier stage of my life, expressions of racial or religious prejudice were a stimulus for my anger and resentment. Now I'd quietly respond with a kind and gentle reminder of my own opinions, and simply let the matter drop.
Over the years, I found that not only did the racial and religious slurs diminish to zero, but I noticed that my in-laws were expressing tolerance—and even love—toward minorities, as well as those who practiced religions different from their own.
Although my primary intention was to stay in a state of peace, I discovered that by not joining in the low energies of my in-laws, not only was the entire family more peaceful, but many enjoyable and even enlightening conversations developed. I had as much to learn from my in-laws as I had to teach. Even when I disagreed vehemently with a judgment directed at me, if I remembered my intention to have a peaceful relationship with them, I was able to do just that. No longer did I think about what I disliked, what was missing, or what always had been. I stayed focused on making these gatherings fun, loving, and most important to me, peaceful.
Let's take a look at the steps you need to take in order to make the stated intention of this chapter and all succeeding ones a reality.
**Step 1: Identify your intention verbally and in writing, and** **develop a deep yearning for it.** When you create a great longing for the experience of a peaceful family, everything will begin to happen to fulfill this yearning spontaneously and naturally. Rather than praying to a saint or God for a miracle, pray for the miracle of the inner awakening, which will never leave you. The awakening of this inner light, once experienced, will become your constant companion, regardless of who you are with or where you are. The dynamic force is within you. This force is felt as great joy running through your body. Ultimately, your thinking will become sublime, and your inner and outer world will become one. Yearn for this awakening to the inner light, and long for your intention to manifest.
**Step 2: Intend for all of your relatives what you intend for yourself.** When anyone criticizes, judges, acts angry, expresses hatred, or finds fault with you, they're not at peace with themselves. Want this peace for them even more than you desire it for yourself. By having this kind of intention for them, you take the focus off of you. This doesn't require words or actions on your part. Simply picture the people in your family with whom you're not at peace, and feel the peace you crave for them. Your inner speech will change, and you'll begin to experience the peaceful authenticity of both your beings.
**Step 3: Be the peace you're seeking from others.** If peace is missing in your relationships with your family, it means that you have a place within you that's occupied by non-peace. It may be filled with anxiety, fear, anger, depression, guilt, or any low-energy emotions. Rather than attempting to rid yourself of these feelings all at once, treat them the same as you do your relatives. Say a friendly _Hello_ to the nonpeace, and let it be. You're sending a peaceful feeling to the non-peace feeling. The lower energies you're experiencing will be strengthened by your peaceful _Hi_ or _Hello,_ and eventually vanish as the divine grows within you. The way to this peace is through any form of quiet and meditation that works for you. Even if it's only a two-minute respite during which time you're silent, concentrate on the name of the divine, or repeat that sound of "Aaahh" as an inner mantra.
**Step 4: Match up with the seven faces of intention.** If you've forgotten what the universal mind of intention looks like, it's creative, kind, loving, beautiful, always expanding, endlessly abundant, and receptive to all of life. Play the match game that I introduced earlier in this book, and very quietly and with unbending intent bring the face of the universal Source of all to the presence of everyone whom you feel brings you down or interferes with your peace. This kind of spiritual energy will be transformative—not only for you, but also for your relatives. Your intention to be in peaceful relationships is now taking form—first in your mind, then in your heart—and ultimately, it will materialize.
**Step 5: Review all the obstacles that have been erected on your** **path to familial peace.** Listen to any inner dialogue that focuses on your resentment of others' expectations for you. Remind yourself that when you think about what you resent, you act upon what you think about, while simultaneously attracting more of it to you. Examine your energy level for your tendency to react to lower energies with more of the same, and give your ego a reminder that you'll no longer opt to be offended, or need to be right in these relationships.
**Step 6: Act** ** _as if._** Begin the process of acting _as if what you intend to manifest is already true._ See everyone in your family in the love and light that is their true identity. When someone asked Baba Muktananda, a great saint in India, "Baba, what do you see when you look at me?" Baba said, "I see the light in you." The person replied, "How can that be, Baba? I am an angry person. I am terrible. You must see all that." Baba said, "No, I see light." (This story is told by Swami Chidvilasananda Gurumayi in _Kindle My Heart.)_
So, see the light in those _others,_ and treat them _as if_ that is all you see.
**Step 7: Detach from the outcome.** Don't let your authentic and peaceful attitude depend on your relatives' behavior. As long as you remain connected to intention and radiate outward the high energy, you've achieved your peace. It's not your place or your purpose to make everyone else in your family think, feel, and believe as you do. The likelihood is great that you'll see dramatic changes in your relatives as you teach them with your own persona how you intend to be treated. But if they don't change, and if they continue their nonpeaceful ways, let go of your need to see them transformed. It all works in divine order, and the saying _Letting go and letting God_ is a helpful reminder for you. By letting go, you guarantee your own peace, and you dramatically increase the odds of helping others to do the same.
**Step 8: Affirm:** ** _I attract only peace into my life._** I remind myself of this affirmation many times on a given day, particularly with my children and other more distant relatives. I also practice this in grocery stores, when greeting flight attendants, when visiting the post office, and while driving my automobile. I say this silently to myself as an absolute truth with unbending intent on my part, and it works for me all the time. People respond to me with smiles, acknowledgments, friendly gestures, and kind greetings all day long. I also remind myself of the cogent observation from _A Course in Miracles_ when I feel other than peaceful in any given moment with my family: _I can choose peace, rather than this._
**Step 9: Hold no grudges, and practice forgiveness.** The key to having peace in all your family relationships is forgiveness. Your relatives are simply doing what they've been taught to do over a lifetime, and the lifetimes of many of their ancestors. Shower them with understanding and forgiveness from your heart.
This passage from _A Course in Miracles_ offers so much in the fulfillment of this intention:
_Do you want peace? Forgiveness offers it._
_Do you want happiness, a quiet mind,
a certainty of purpose,
and a sense of worth and beauty
that transcends the world?_
_Do you want a quietness that cannot be disturbed,_
_a gentleness that can never be hurt,
a deep abiding comfort,
and a rest so perfect it can never be upset?_
_All this forgiveness offers you._
**Step 10: Be in a state of gratitude.** Rather than being in a state of non-peace concerning any family members, say a prayer of gratitude for their presence in your life and all that they have come to teach you.
These are the ten steps that you can practice each day. As you work toward the absolute knowing that this intention will manifest for you, remind yourself on a daily basis that you can never remedy a bad relationship by condemning it.
CHAPTER
[_It Is My Intention to:_
Feel Successful and
Attract Abundance
into My Life](Dyer_ISBN9781401925963_epub_c8_r1.html#d7e7778)
_"God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance."_
— St. Paul
_"When you realize there is nothing lacking,
the whole world belongs to you."_
— Lao Tzu
One of my secrets for feeling successful and attracting bountiful abundance into my life has been an internal axiom that I use virtually every day of my life. It goes like this: _Change the way you look at things, and the things you look at change._ This has always worked for me.
The truth of this little maxim is actually found in the field of quantum physics, which, according to some, is a subject that's not only stranger than you think it is, it's stranger than you can _think._ It turns out that at the tiniest subatomic level, the actual act of observing a particle changes the particle. The way we observe these infinitely small building blocks of life is a determining factor in what they ultimately become. If we extend this metaphor to larger and larger particles and begin to see ourselves as particles in a larger body called humanity or even larger— life itself—then it's not such a huge stretch to imagine that the _way_ we observe the world we live in affects that world. It's been said repeatedly in a number of different ways: _As is the microcosm, so is the macrocosm._ As you read this chapter, remember this little journey into quantum physics as a metaphor for your life.
This being the case, your intention to feel successful and experience prosperity and abundance depends on what view you have of yourself, the universe, and most important, the field of intention from which success and abundance will come. My little maxim about changing the way you look at things is an extremely powerful tool that will allow you to bring the intention of this chapter into your life. First examine how _you_ look at things, and then how the spirit of intention does the same.
**_How Do You Look at Life?_**
The way you look at life is essentially a barometer of your expectations, based on what you've been taught you're worthy of and capable of achieving. These expectations are largely imposed by external influences such as family, community, and institutions, but they're also influenced by that ever-present inner companion: your ego. These sources of your expectations are largely based on the beliefs of limitation, scarcity, and pessimism about what's possible for you. If these beliefs are the basis for how you look at life, then this perception of the world is what you expect for yourself. Attracting abundance, prosperity, and success from these limiting viewpoints is an impossibility.
In my heart, I know that attracting abundance and feeling successful is possible, because, as I touched on earlier, _I_ had an early life of enormous scarcity. I lived in foster homes, away from my mother and my absentee, alcoholic, often-imprisoned father. I know that these truths can work for you, because if they've worked for any one of us, they can work for _all_ of us, since we all share the same abundant divine force and emanated from the same field of intention.
Take an inventory of how you look at the world, asking yourself how much of your life energy is focused on explaining away potentially optimistic viewpoints by preferring to see the inequities and inconsistencies in the abundance-for-all philosophy. Can you change the way you look at things? Can you see potential for prosperity where you've always seen scarcity? Can you change _what is_ by simply changing the way you see it? I say a resounding _yes_ to these questions. And the way to work at changing the way you see things is to take a hard look at something you may not have previously considered.
**_How Does the Universal All-Creating_**
** _Field of Intention Look at Life?_**
The field of intention, which is responsible for all creation, is constantly giving—in fact, it knows no bounds to its giving. It just keeps on converting pure formless spirit into a myriad of material forms. Furthermore, this field of intention _gives_ in unlimited supplies. There is no such concept as shortage or scarcity when it comes to the originating Source. So we're looking at two major conceptualizations when we think of the universal mind's natural abundance. The first is that it's perpetually giving, and the second is that it offers an infinite supply.
The power of intention is perpetually giving and infinite, so it seems obvious that you'll need to adopt these same two attributes if you're to fulfill your own personal intention to live successfully and attract abundance into your life. What should your message back to the universe be if you want to _be_ abundance and success rather than strive for it? Your Source is abundant and you are your Source; therefore, you must communicate this back. Since your Source is always serving and giving, and you are your Source, then you must be always in a state of serving and giving. _This Source can only work with you when you are in harmony with it!_
A message to the field of intention that says _Please send me more money_ is interpreted as your seeing yourself in a state of scarcity, but this Source has no concept of scarcity. It doesn't even know what not having enough money means. Thus, its response back to you will be: _Here's a state of needing more money because that's how you think, and I'm the mind with which you think, so here's more of what you don't want and don't have._ Your ego-dominated response will be: _My desires are being denied!_ But the real truth is, the universal Source knows only abundance and giving, and will respond with money flowing to you if your intention is: _I have enough money, and I allow what I already have enough of to flow to me._
Now this may appear to be mumbo jumbo and nothing more than twisting words around, but I assure you that it's exactly how the universal mind of intention operates. The more you get back into gear with that which intended you here, the more you'll see that unlimited abundance showing up. Get rid of the concept of shortages, because God hasn't got a clue about such things. The creative Source reacts to your belief in shortages with a fulfillment of your belief.
Now, think back to my opening observation in this chapter: _Change the way you look at things, and the things you look at change._ I can guarantee you that the universal mind only flows in harmony with its own nature, which is providing endless abundance. Stay in harmony with this nature, and all of your desires _have_ to manifest for you—the universe knows no other way to be. If you tell the universal mind what you want, it will respond by leaving you in a state of wanting, never arriving and always needing more. If, however, you feel that what you intend to manifest has already manifested, you're unified with your intention. Never allowing a moment of doubt or listening to naysayers, you'll be in the presence of that all-creating field of intention.
You can't come from shortage, you can't come from scarcity, and you can't come from wanting. You must come from the same attributes as that which allows everything. This is a key word, _allowing._ Let's take a look at how _allowing_ is so often ignored in attempts to manifest feeling successful and attracting abundance.
**_The Art of Allowing_**
The universal mind of Creation is in a constant state of supplying. It never shuts down, it takes no vacations, there are no days off, and it's perpetually giving forth. Everything and everyone, without exception, emanates from this universal mind we're calling intention. So if everything comes from this infinite field of invisible energy, why is it that some are able to partake of it, while others seem so separated from it? If it's always giving forth in an endless stream of abundance, somehow there must be resistance to allowing it to come into your life if you're experiencing shortages or scarcity in any way.
Allowing this all-giving Source into your life means becoming aware of the resistance that you may be placing in the way of the abundance that's always being supplied. If the universe is based on energy and attraction, this means that everything is vibrating to particular frequencies. When the frequency with which you're vibrating is in contradiction with the frequency of the universal supply, you create a resistance, thereby inhibiting that flow of abundance into your life space. Your individual vibrations are the key to understanding the art of allowing. The nonharmonious vibrations are largely in the form of your thoughts and feelings. Thoughts that emphasize what you don't believe you deserve set up a contradiction in energy. That contradiction puts a stop to a hooking up of identical energies, and you've created a field of disallowing. Remember, it's always about being in harmony with your Source. Your thoughts can either emerge from a beingness that's in rapport with intention or in contradiction with it.
Keep in mind that you're a part of the universal mind, so if you see yourself in a harmonious way with the seven faces of intention, the universal mind can only work harmoniously with you. For example, suppose that you want a better job with a higher salary. Imagine yourself as already having it, knowing in your thoughts that you're entitled to it, with no doubts about the job showing up because you can see it within. The universal mind now has no choice in the matter, since you're a part of that all-creating mind and there's no vibrational contradiction. So what can go wrong here? The art of allowing gets hampered by your habit of disallowing.
There's a long history of countless thoughts that have formed a field of resistance to allowing the free flow of abundance. This habit of disallowing grew from the belief system that you've cultivated over the years and that you rely on. Furthermore, you've allowed the resistance of others to enter this picture, and you surround yourself with the need for their approval in these matters. You solicit their resistant opinions, read newspaper accounts of all those who've failed to manifest the jobs of their choice, examine government reports about the poor job prospects and the declining economy, watch the television reports belaboring the sorry state of affairs in the world, and your resistance becomes even more convincingly entrenched. You've aligned yourself with the proponents of disallowing.
What you need to do is look at this belief system and all of the factors that continue to support it and say, _It's too big of a job to change the entire thing. Instead, I'm going to start changing the thoughts that activate disallowing right here, right now._ It doesn't matter what you thought before, or for how long, or how many pressures you're under to maintain your resistance. Instead, stop activating disallowing thoughts today, one thought at a time. You can do so by stating, _I feel successful, I intend to feel the abundance that is here, now._ Repeat these words, or create your arrangement of words, which continually inundate your thoughts during your waking hours, with a new belief of being successful and abundant. When you've activated these thoughts enough times, they'll become your habitual way of thinking, and you will have taken the steps to eliminating your resistance to allowing.
Those thoughts will then become what you say in silent, prayerlike messages to yourself: _I am success; I am abundance._ When you're success itself, when you're abundance itself, you're in harmony with the all-creating Source, and it will do the only thing it knows how to do. It will be endlessly giving and forthcoming with that which has no resistance to it—namely, you. You're no longer vibrating to scarcity; your every individual vibrational utterance is in concert with what you summon from your Source. You and your Source are one in your thoughts. You've chosen to identify thoughts of resistance and have simultaneously decided to stay out of your own way.
As you practice allowing and living the faith of least resistance, success is no longer something you choose; it's something that you are. Abundance no longer eludes you. You are it, and it is you. It flows unimpeded beyond your resistance. Herein lies another clue to the free flow of abundance: _You must avoid becoming attached to and hoarding what shows up in your life._
**_Abundance, Detachment, and Your Feelings_**
While it's crucial for you to have a firm vibrational match-up with the all-creating abundance of intention, it's just as crucial for you to know that you can't hang on to and own any of the abundance that will be coming your way. This is because the you that would like to hang on to and become attached to your success and your wealth is not really you, it's that troublesome ego of yours. You're not what you have and what you do; you're an infinite, divine being disguised as a successful person who has accumulated a certain amount of stuff. _The stuff is not you._ This is why you must avoid being attached to it in any way.
Detachment comes from knowing that your true essence is a piece of the infinitely divine field of intention. It's then that you become aware of the importance of your feelings. Feeling good becomes much more valuable than polishing your jewelry. Feeling abundant surpasses the money in your bank account and transcends what others may think of you. Genuinely feeling abundant and successful is possible when you detach yourself from the things you desire and allow them to flow to you, and just as important, _through_ you. Anything that inhibits the flow of energy stops the creating process of intention right where the obstacle is erected.
Attachment is one such roadblock. When you hang on to that which arrives, rather than allowing it to move through you, you stop the flow. You hoard it or decide to own it, and the flow is disrupted. You must keep it circulating, always knowing that nothing can stop it from coming into your life except any resistance you place in its way. Your feelings and emotions are sensational barometers for detecting resistance and evaluating your ability to experience success and abundance.
**Paying attention to your feelings.** Your emotions are the inner experiences that tell you how much of the divine energy you're summoning for the manifestation of your desires. Feelings can be measuring tools that gauge how you're doing in the manifestation process. An exceptionally positive emotional response indicates that you're summoning the divine energy of intention and allowing that energy to flow to you in a nonresistant manner. Feelings of passion, pure bliss, reverence, unmitigated optimism, unquestioned trust, and even illumination indicate that your desire to manifest success and abundance, for example, have an extremely strong pulling power from the universal Source to you. You must learn to pay close attention to the presence of these feelings. These emotions aren't just facets of your life that are empty of energy—they're agents that are in charge of how you clean and purify the connecting link to intention. These emotions tell you precisely how much of the life force you're summoning, and how much _pulling power_ you have going for you at that moment.
Abundance is the natural state of the nature of intention. Your desire for abundance must flow free of resistance. Any discrepancy between your individual intention or desire, and your belief concerning the possibility of summoning it into your life, creates resistance. If you want it but believe it's impossible or that you're unworthy, or that you don't have the skills or perseverance, then you've created resistance and you're disallowing. Your feelings indicate how well you're attracting the energy necessary for the fulfillment of your desire. Strong feelings of despair, anxiety, blame, hate, fear, shame, and anger are sending you the message that you want success and abundance but you don't believe it's possible for you. These negative feelings are your clues to get busy and balance your desires with those of the universal mind of intention, which is the only source of that which you desire. Negative emotions tell you that your pulling power from intention is weak or even nonexistent. Positive emotions tell you that you're connecting to and accessing the power of intention.
Concerning abundance, one of the most effective ways to increase that pulling power from intention to you is to take the focus off of dollars and place it on creating abundant friendship, security, happiness, health, and high energy. It's here that you'll begin to feel those higher emotions, which let you know that you're back in the match game with the all-creating Source. As you focus on having abundant happiness, health, security, and friendship, the means for acquiring all of this will be flowing toward you. Money is only one of those means, and the faster your vibrational energy around abundance radiates, the more money will show up in significant amounts. These positive feelings as indicators of your pulling power for success and abundance will put you into an active mode for co-creating your intentions.
I'm not suggesting that you just wait for everything to fall into place. I'm suggesting that by declaring, _I intend to feel successful and attract prosperity_ , your emotional energy will shift and you'll act as if what you desire were already true. Your actions will be in harmony with the faces of intention, and you'll be provided with what you _are,_ rather than attempting to be provided with what's missing.
At this point in my life, I refuse to participate in any desire unless I have total, nonresistant knowing that it can and will manifest into my life from the all-creating Source of intention. My desires for personal indicators of abundance have all manifested by practicing what I write here, and in the ten-step program that follows. I've been able to _allow_ by removing resistance and connecting to my originating, all-creating Source. I trust in it completely. Over the years, I've learned that when I've desired something seemingly impossible, I felt poorly as a result. I then figured that I should desire less, but all that did was make me even further removed from the unlimited power of intention. I was still in vibratory _disharmony_ with the abundance of the universe.
I began to understand that my being in harmony with abundance didn't cause others to be poor or hungry. On the contrary, the abundance I created gave me the chance to help eradicate poverty and hunger. But the significant awareness was realizing that I had less of a chance to help others when I was in the lower frequencies. I learned that I had to get myself into vibratory harmony with my Source. One of my reasons for writing this chapter in this fashion is to convince you that you don't have to ask for less, or feel guilty about wanting abundance—it's there for you and everyone in an unlimited supply.
I live and breathe what I'm writing here about success and abundance. I know beyond any doubt (resistance) that you can attract abundance and feel successful by absorbing the messages of this chapter, which, like the abundance you seek, have flowed from that universal Source through me and onto these pages. There's no discrepancy between my desire to write it all out here and my willingness to allow it to flow unimpeded to you. How do I know this? My emotion in this moment is ineffable bliss, serenity, and reverence. I trust this emotional state, which indicates to me that I've been utilizing a very strong pulling power to create these messages from the all-creating Spirit of intention. I'm in vibratory harmony and abundance, and feelings of success are my intentions herewith manifested. Try it on anything you'd like to see flowing abundantly into your life.
**_Making Your Intention Your Reality_**
Below is a ten-step program for implementing the intention of this chapter—that is, to feel successful and attract abundance into your life:
**Step 1: See the world as an abundant, providing, friendly place.** Again, when you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change. When you see the world as abundant and friendly, your intentions are genuine possibilities. They will, in fact, become a certainty, because your world will be experienced from the higher frequencies. In this first step, you're receptive to a world that provides rather than restricts. You'll see a world that wants you to be successful and abundant, rather than one that conspires against you.
**Step 2: Affirm:** ** _I attract success and abundance into my life because_** ** _that is who I am._** This puts you into vibratory harmony with your Source. You goal is to eliminate any distance between what you desire and that from which you pull it into your life. Abundance and success aren't out there waiting to show up for you. You are already it, and the Source can only provide you with what it is, and, consequently, what you are already.
**Step 3: Stay in an attitude of allowing.** _Resistance_ is disharmony between your desire for abundance and your beliefs about your ability or unworthiness. _Allowing_ means a perfect alignment. An attitude of allowing means that you ignore efforts by others to dissuade you. It also means that you don't rely on your previous ego-oriented beliefs about abundance being a part of or not a part of your life. In an attitude of _allowing,_ all resistance in the form of thoughts of negativity or doubt are replaced with simply knowing that you and your Source are one and the same. Picture the abundance you desire freely flowing directly to you. Refuse to do anything or have any thought that compromises your alignment with Source.
**Step 4: Use your present moments to activate** **thoughts that are in harmony with** **the seven faces of intention.** The key phrase here is _present moments._ Notice right now, in this moment, if you're thinking that it's hopeless at this stage of your life to change the thoughts that comprise your belief system. Do you defeat yourself with thoughts of having had such a long life practicing affirmations of scarcity and creating resistance to your success and abundance that you don't have enough time left to counterbalance the thoughts that comprise your past belief system?
Make the choice to let go of that lifetime of beliefs, and begin activating thoughts right now that allow you to feel good. Say _I want to feel good_ whenever anyone tries to convince you that your desires are futile. Say _I want to feel good_ when you're tempted to return to low-energy thoughts of disharmony with intention. Eventually your present moments will activate thoughts that make you feel good, and this is an indicator that you're reconnecting to intention. Wanting to feel good is synonymous with wanting to feel _God._ Remember, "God is good, and all that God created was good."
**Step 5: Initiate actions that support your feelings of abundance** **and success.** Here, the key word is _actions._ I've been calling this _acting as if_ or _thinking from the end_ and acting that way. Put your body into a gear that pushes you toward abundance and feeling successful. Act on those passionate emotions as if the abundance and success you seek is already here. Speak to strangers with passion in your voice. Answer the telephone in an inspired way. Do a job interview from the place of confidence and joy. Read the books that mysteriously show up, and pay close attention to conversations that seem to indicate you're being called to something new.
**Step 6: Remember that your prosperity and success will benefit** **others, and that no one lacks abundance because you've opted for** **it.** Once again, the supply is unlimited. The more you partake of the universal generosity, the more you'll have to share with others. In writing this book, wonderful abundance has flowed into my life in many ways. But even more significantly, book editors and graphic designers, the truck drivers who deliver the book, the auto workers who build the trucks, the farmers who feed the auto workers, the bookstore clerks . . . all receive abundance because I've followed my bliss and have written this book.
**Step 7: Monitor your emotions as a** **guidance system for your connection to** **the universal mind of intention.** Strong emotions such as passion and bliss are indications that you're connected to Spirit, or _inspired,_ if you will. When you're inspired, you activate dormant forces, and the abundance you seek in any form comes streaming into your life. When you're experiencing low-energy emotions of rage, anger, hatred, anxiety, despair, and the like, that's a clue that while your desires may be strong, they're completely out of sync with the field of intention. Remind yourself in these moments that you want to feel good, and see if you can activate a thought that _supports_ your feeling good.
**Step 8: Become as generous to the world with your** **abundance as the field of intention is to you.** Don't stop the flow of abundant energy by hoarding or owning what you receive. Keep it moving. Use your prosperity in the service of others, and for causes greater than your ego. The more you practice detachment, the more you'll stay in vibratory harmony with the all-giving Source of everything.
**Step 9: Devote the necessary time to meditate on** **the Spirit within as the source of your success and** **abundance.** There's no substitute for the practice of meditation. This is particularly relevant with abundance. You must have an understanding that your _consciousness of the presence_ is your supply. By repeating the sound that is in the name of God as a mantra, you're using a technique for manifesting as ancient as recorded history. I am particularly drawn to the form of meditation I've mentioned previously, called Japa. I know it works.
**Step 10: Develop an attitude of gratitude for all that manifests** **into your life.** Be thankful and filled with awe and appreciation, even if what you desire hasn't arrived yet. Even the darkest days of your life are to be looked on with gratitude. Everything coming from Source is on purpose. Be thankful while empowering your reconnection to that from which you and everything else originated.
The energy that creates worlds and universes is within you. It works through attraction and energy. Everything vibrates; everything has a vibratory frequency. As St. Paul said, "God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance." Tune in to God's frequency, and you will know it beyond any and all doubt!
CHAPTER
[_It Is My Intention to:_
Live a Stress-Free,
Tranquil Life](Dyer_ISBN9781401925963_epub_c8_r1.html#d7e7898)
_"Anxiety is the mark of spiritual insecurity."_
— Thomas Merton
_"So long as we believe in our heart of hearts that our capacity is limited
and we grow anxious and unhappy, we are lacking in faith. One
who truly trusts in God has no right to be anxious about anything."_
— Paramahansa Yogananda
Fulfilling this intention to live a stress-free and tranquil life is a way of manifesting your grandest destiny. It seems to me that what our Source had in mind when we were intended here is for us to have happy and joyous experiences of life on Earth. When you're in a state of joy and happiness, you've returned to the pure, creative, blissful, nonjudgmental joy that intention truly is. Your natural state—the state from which you were created—is that feeling of wellbeing. This chapter is concerned with having you return to, and access, this natural state.
You were created from a Source that is peaceful and joyful. When you're in that state of exuberant joy, you're at peace with everything. This is what intended you here and what you're determined to match up with in your thoughts, feelings, and actions. In a state of joy, you feel fulfilled and inspired in all facets of your life. In short, gaining freedom from anxiety and stress is a pathway to rejoicing with the field of intention. The moments of your life, which you spend being happy and joyful and allowing yourself to be fully alive and on purpose, are the times when you're aligned with the all-creating universal mind of intention.
There's nothing natural about living a life filled with stress and anxiety, having feelings of despair and depression, and needing pills to tranquilize yourself. Agitated thoughts that produce high blood pressure, a nervous stomach, persistent feelings of discomfort, an inability to relax or sleep, and frequent displays of displeasure and outrage are violating your natural state. Believe it or not, you have the power to create the naturally stress-free and tranquil life you desire. You can utilize this power to attract frustration or joy, anxiety or peace. When you're in harmony with the seven faces of intention, you can access and pull from the Source of all in order to fulfill your intention of being stress free and tranquil.
So if it's natural to have feelings of well-being, why is it that we seem to experience so much "unwellness" and tension? The answer to this question provides you with the key that leads to the peaceful life you desire.
**_Stress Is a Desire of the Ego_**
That pesky ego is at work when you're experiencing stress or anxiety. Perhaps your ego-self feels more effective dealing and coping with stress because you feel you're actually doing something in the world. Perhaps it's habit, custom, or believing that this is the right way to be. Only you can analyze the _why._ But the fact is that stress is familiar, and tranquility is unfamiliar, so ego desires stress.
But there's no actual stress or anxiety in the world; it's your thoughts that create these false beliefs. You can't package stress, touch it, or see it. There are only people engaged in stressful thinking. When we think stressfully, we create reactions in the body, valuable messages or signals requesting our attention. These messages might reveal themselves as nausea, elevated blood pressure, stomach tension, indigestion, ulcers, headaches, increased heart rate, difficulty breathing, and a zillion other feelings—from minor discomfort to serious, life-threatening illness.
We speak of stress as if it were present in the world as something that attacks us. We say things like _I'm having an anxiety attack_ as if anxiety is a combatant. But the stress in your body is rarely the result of external forces or entities attacking you; it's the result of the weakened connecting link to intention caused by your belief that ego is who you are. You are peace and joy, but you've allowed your ego to dominate your life. Here's a short list of stress-inducing thoughts that originate in your ego self:
_• It's more important to be right than to be happy._
_• Winning is the only thing. When you lose, you should be stressed._
_• Your reputation is more important than your relationship with your Source._
_• Being superior to others is more important than being kind to others._
The following lighthearted way to stop taking yourself so seriously is from a book by Rosamund and Benjamin Zander (he's the conductor of the Boston Philharmonic) titled _The Art of Possibility._ It illustrates in a delightful way how we allow ego to create many of the problems we encounter that we label stress and anxiety.
Two prime ministers are sitting in a room discussing affairs of state. Suddenly a man bursts in, apoplectic with fury, shouting and stamping and banging his fist on the desk. The resident prime minister admonishes him: "Peter," he says, "kindly remember Rule Number 6," whereupon Peter is instantly restored to complete calm, apologizes, and withdraws. The politicians return to their conversation, only to be interrupted yet again twenty minutes later by an hysterical woman gesticulating wildly, her hair flying. Again the intruder is greeted with the words: "Marie, please remember Rule Number 6." Complete calm descends once more, and she too withdraws with a bow and an apology. When the scene is repeated for a third time, the visiting prime minister addresses his colleague: "My dear friend, I've seen many things in my life, but never anything as remarkable as this. Would you be willing to share with me the secret of Rule Number 6?" "Very simple," replies the resident prime minister. "Rule Number 6 is 'Don't take yourself so goddamn seriously.'" "Ah," says his visitor, "that is a fine rule." After a moment of pondering, he inquires, "And what, may I ask, are the other rules?"
"There aren't any."
As you encounter stress, pressure, or anxiety in your life, remember "Rule Number 6" at the moment you realize you're thinking stressful thoughts. By noticing and discontinuing the inner dialogue that's causing stress, you may be able to prevent its physical symptoms. What are the inner thoughts that produce stress? _I'm more important than those around me. My expectations aren't being met. I shouldn't have to wait, I'm too important. I'm the customer here, and I demand attention. No one else has these pressures._ All of the above, along with a potentially endless inventory of "Rule Number 6" thoughts are from the ego's bag of tricks.
You aren't your work, your accomplishments, your possessions, your home, your family . . . your anything. You're an aspect of the power of intention, dressed in a physical human body intended to experience and enjoy life on Earth. This is the intention that you want to bring to the presence of stress.
**Bringing intention to the presence of** **stress.** In any given day, you have hundreds of opportunities to implement "Rule Number 6" by bringing the power of intention into the moment and eliminating the potential for stress. Here are a few examples of how I've employed this strategy. In each of these examples, I activated an inner thought that was in vibrational harmony with the universal field of intention, and I fulfilled my personal intention to be tranquil. These examples occurred in a three-hour period of a normal day. I offer them to you to remind you that stress and anxiety are choices that we make to process events, rather than entities that are out there waiting to invade our lives.
— I'm dropping off a prescription at the drugstore and the person ahead of me is talking to the pharmacist, asking a series of seemingly inane questions—all of which, my stress-producing ego tells me, are intended to deliberately delay and annoy me. My inner dialogue might go like this: _I'm being victimized! There's always someone just ahead of me in line who fumbles with money, can't find what's needed to prove participation in some kind of an insurance plan, and has to ask silly questions designed to keep me from dropping off a prescription._
I use those thoughts as a signal to change my inner dialogue to: _Wayne, stop taking yourself so goddamn seriously!_ I immediately make the shift from pissed to blissed. I take the focus off of myself, and at the same time, I remove resistance to my intention to live a stress-free and tranquil life. I now see this person as an angel who's ahead of me in line to assist me in reconnecting to intention. I stop judging, and actually see beauty in the slow, deliberate gestures. I'm kind in my mind toward this _angel._ I've moved from hostility to love in my thoughts, and my emotions have shifted from discomfort to ease. Stress is absolutely impossible in the moment.
— My 17-year-old daughter tells me about her disagreement with a school official who's taken action against some of her friends, an act she considers totally unfair. It's Saturday morning and nothing can be done until Monday. The choice? Spend two days in misery replaying the details of her story, and have a weekend of inner stress, or remind her how to activate thoughts that will make her feel good. I ask her to describe her feelings. She responds that she's "angry, upset, and hurt." I ask her to think about "Rule Number 6" and see if there's any other thought she could activate.
She laughs at me, telling me how crazy I am. "But," she admits, "it really doesn't make any sense to be upset for the entire weekend, and I'm going to stop thinking thoughts that make me feel bad."
"On Monday we'll do what we can to rectify the situation," I tell her. "But for now—and now is all you have—put 'Rule Number 6' into play and rejoin the field of intention where stress, anxiety, and pressure don't exist."
To fulfill the intention of this chapter, _to live a stress-free and tranquil life,_ you must become conscious of the need to activate thought responses that match your intention. These new responses will become habitual, and replace your old habit of responding in stress-producing ways. When you examine segments of stress-producing incidents, you always have a choice: _Do I stay with thoughts that produce stress within me, or do I work to activate thoughts that make stress impossible?_ Here's another easy tool that will help you replace the habit of choosing anxiety and stress.
**Five magic words: I want to feel good!** In an earlier chapter, I described how your emotions are a guidance system informing you of whether or not you're creating resistance to your intentions. Feeling bad lets you know that you're not connected to the power of intention. Your intention here is to be tranquil and stress free. When you feel good, you're connected to your intentions, regardless of what goes on around you or what others expect you to feel. If there's a war going on, you still have the option to feel good. If the economy goes further into the toilet, you have the option to feel good. In the event of any catastrophe, you can still feel good. Feeling good isn't an indication that you're callous, indifferent, or cruel—it's a choice you make. Say it out loud: _I want to feel good!_ Then convert it to: _I intend to feel good._ Feel the stress, and then send it the love and respect of the seven faces of intention. The seven faces smile and say hello to what you label as feeling bad. It's that feeling that wants to feel good. You must be to your feelings as your Source is to you, in order to counteract the desires of your ego.
Many events will transpire in which your conditioned response is to feel bad. Be aware of these outer incidents, and say the five magic words: _I want to feel good._ In that precise moment, ask yourself if feeling bad is going to make the situation any better. You'll discover that the only thing that feeling bad accomplishes in response to outer situations is to plummet you into anxiety, despair, depression, and of course, stress. Instead, ask yourself in that moment what thought you can have that will make you feel good. When you discover that it's responding with kindness and love to the bad feeling (which is quite different from wallowing in it), you'll begin experiencing a shift in your emotional state. Now you're in vibrational harmony with your Source, since the power of intention knows only peace, kindness, and love.
This newly activated thought, which allows you to feel good, may only last a few moments, and you might go back to your previous way of processing unpleasant events. Also treat that old way of processing with respect, love, and understanding, but remember that it's your ego-self trying to protect you from its perception of danger. Any stress signal is a way of alerting you to say the five magic words _I want to feel good._ Stress wants your attention! By saying the five magic words and extending love to your bad feelings, you'll have begun the process of fulfilling your stated intention of being tranquil and stress free. Now you can practice activating these thoughts in the toughest of moments, and before long, you'll be living the message offered to all of us in the book of Job: "You will decide on a matter and it will be established for you, and light will shine on your ways" [Job 22:28]. The word _light_ in this biblical reference means that you'll have the assistance of the divine mind of intention once you decide on a matter that is consistent with that light.
I assure you that your decision to feel good is a way of connecting to Spirit. It isn't an indifferent response to events. By feeling good, you become an instrument of peace, and it's through this channel that you eradicate problems. By feeling bad, you stay in the energy field that creates resistance to positive change; and experience a stressful, anxious state as a by-product. The things you call problems will perpetually present themselves to you. They'll never go away. Resolve one . . . and another will surface!
**You'll never get it done.** In Chapter 6, I reminded you of your infinite nature. Since you're an infinite spiritual being disguised as a temporary human being, it's essential to understand that in infinity there's no beginning and no ending. Therefore, your desires, goals, hopes, and dreams will never be finished—ever! As soon as you manifest one of your dreams, another will most assuredly pop up. The nature of the universal force of intention from which you emigrated into a temporary material being is always creating and giving forth. Furthermore, it's in a continuous state of expansion. Your desires to manifest into your life are a part of this infinite nature. Even if you desire to have no desires, that's a desire!
I urge you to simply accept the fact that you'll never get it all done, and begin to live more fully in the only moment that you have—now! The secret to removing the harmful effects of feeling stressed and under pressure is to be in the now. Announce out loud to yourself and all who are willing to listen to you: _I'm an incomplete being. I'll always be incomplete because I can never get it done. Therefore, I choose to feel good while I'm in the moment, attracting into my life the manifestations of my desires. I am complete in my incompleteness!_ I can assure you that a follow-up on this statement will eradicate all anxiety and stress, which is precisely the intention of this chapter. All resistance melts away when you can feel complete in your incompleteness.
**_The Path of Least Resistance_**
You live in a universe that has limitless potential for joy built into the creation process. Your Source, which we call the universal mind of intention, adores you beyond anything you can possibly imagine. When you adore yourself in the same proportion, you're matched up with the field of intention, and you've opted for the path of no resistance. As long as you have even a pinch of an ego, you'll retain some resistance, so I urge you to take the path in which resistance is minimized.
The shape and quantity of your thoughts determine the amount of resistance. Thoughts that generate bad feelings are resistant thoughts. Any thought that puts a barrier between what you would like to have and your ability to attract it into your life is resistance. Your intention is to live a tranquil life, free of stress and anxiety. You know that stress doesn't exist in the world, and that there are only people thinking stressful thoughts. Stressful thoughts all by themselves are a form of resistance. You don't want stressful, resistant thoughts to be your habitual way of reacting to your world. By practicing thoughts of minimal resistance, you'll train yourself to make this your natural way of reacting, and eventually you'll become the tranquil person you desire to be, a stress-free person free of the "dis-ease" that stress brings to the body. Stressful thoughts _all by themselves_ are the resistance that you construct that impedes your connection to the power of intention.
We're in a world that advertises and promotes reasons to be anxious. You've been taught that feeling good in a world where so much suffering exists is an immoral stance to take. You've been convinced that choosing to feel good in bad economic times, in times of war, in times of uncertainty or death, or in the face of any catastrophe anywhere in the world is crass and inappropriate. Since these conditions will always be in the world someplace, you believe you can't have joy and still be a good person. But it may not have occurred to you that in a universe based on energy and attraction, thoughts that evoke feeling bad originate in the same energy Source that attracts more of the same into your life. These are resistant thoughts.
Here are some examples of sentences on the **path of resistance,** which are then changed to sentences on the _path of least resistance._
**I feel uneasy about the state of the economy;**
**I've already lost so much money.**
_I live in an abundant universe; I choose to think about what I have
and I will be fine. The universe will provide._
**I have so many things to do that I can never get caught up.**
_I'm at peace in this moment. I'll only think about the one thing I'm
doing. I will have peaceful thoughts._
**I can never get ahead in this job.**
_I choose to appreciate what I'm doing right now, and I'll attract an
even greater opportunity._
**My health is a huge concern. I worry about getting**
**old and becoming dependent and sick.**
_I'm healthy, and I think healthy. I live in a universe_
_that attracts healing, and I refuse to anticipate
sickness._
**My family members are causing me to feel** **anxious and fearful.**
_I choose thoughts that make me feel good, and this will help me uplift those family members in need._
**I don't deserve to feel good when so** **many people are suffering.**
_I didn't come into a world where everyone is going to have the same identical experiences. I'll feel good, and by being uplifted, I'll help eradicate some of the suffering._
**I can't be happy when the person I** **really care about loves another and** **has abandoned me.**
_Feeling bad won't change this scenario. I trust that love will return to my life if I'm in_
_harmony with the loving Source. I choose to feel good right now and focus on what I have, rather than what's missing._
All stressful thoughts represent a form of resistance you wish to eradicate. Change those thoughts by monitoring your feelings and opting for joy rather than anxiety, and you'll access the power of intention.
**_Making Your Intention Your Reality_**
Below is my ten-step program for creating a stress-free, tranquil life:
**Step 1: Remember that your natural state is joy.** You are a product of joy and love; it's natural for you to experience these feelings. You've come to believe that feeling bad, anxious, or even depressed is natural, particularly when people and events around you are in low-energy modes. Remind yourself as frequently as necessary: _I come from peace and joy. I must stay in harmony with that from which I came in order to fulfill my dreams and desires. I choose to stay in my natural state. Anytime I'm anxious, stressed out, depressed, or fearful, I've abandoned my natural state._
**Step 2: Your thoughts, not the world,** **cause your stress.** Your thoughts activate stressful reactions in your body. Stressful thoughts create resistance to the joy, happiness, and abundance that you desire to create in your life. These thoughts include: _I can't, I'm too overworked, I worry, I'm afraid, I'm unworthy, It will never happen, I'm not smart enough, I'm too old (young),_ and so on. These thoughts are like a program to resist being tranquil and stress free, and they keep you from manifesting your desires.
**Step 3: You can change your thoughts of stress in** **any given moment, and eliminate the anxiety for the next few** **moments, or even hours and days.** By making a conscious decision to distract yourself from worry, you've inaugurated the process of stress reduction, while simultaneously reconnecting to the field of all-creating intention. It's from this place of peace and tranquility that you become a co-creator with God. You can't be connected to your Source and be stressed at the same time—this is mutually exclusive. Your Source doesn't create from a position of anxiety, nor does it need to swallow antidepressants. You've left behind your capacity to manifest your desires when you don't choose in the moment to eliminate a stressful thought.
**Step 4: Monitor your stressful thoughts by checking on your** **emotional state right in the moment.** Ask yourself the key question: _Do I feel good right now?_ If the answer is no, then repeat those five magic words: _I want to feel good,_ then shift to: _I intend to feel good._ Monitor your emotions, and detect how much stress- and anxiety-producing thinking you're engaging in. This monitoring process keeps you apprised of whether you're on the path of least resistance or going in the other direction.
**Step 5: Make a conscious choice to select a thought that will activate** **good feelings.** I urge you to choose your thought based exclusively on how it makes you feel, rather than on how popular it is or how well advertised. Ask yourself: _Does this new thought make me feel good? No? Well, how about this thought? Not really? Here's another._ Ultimately you'll come up with one that you agree makes you feel good, if only temporarily. Your choice might be the thought of a beautiful sunset, the expression on the face of someone you love, or a thrilling experience. It's only important that it resonate within you emotionally and physically as a good feeling.
In the moment of experiencing an anxious or stressful thought, change to the thought you chose, which makes you feel good. Plug it in. Think it and feel it in your body if you can. This new thought that makes you feel good will be of appreciation rather than depreciation. It will be of love, beauty, receptivity to happiness, or in other words, it will align perfectly with those seven faces of intention I've been harping about since the opening pages of this book.
**Step 6: Spend some time observing babies, and vow to emulate** **their joy.** You didn't come forth into this world to suffer, to be anxious, fearful, stressful, or depressed. You came from the God-consciousness of joy. Just watch little babies. They've done nothing to be so happy about. They don't work; they poop in their pants; and they have no goals other than to expand, grow, and explore this amazing world. They love everyone, they're completely entertained by a plastic bottle or goofy faces, and they're in a constant state of love—yet they have no teeth, no hair, and they're pudgy and flatulent. How could they possibly be so joyful and easily pleased? Because they're still in harmony with the Source that intended them here; they have no resistance to being joyful. Be like that baby you once were in terms of being joyful. You don't need a reason to be happy . . . your desire to be so is sufficient.
**Step 7: Keep "Rule Number 6" in mind.** This means to suspend the demands of your ego, which keep you separated from intention. When you have a choice to be right or to be kind, pick kind, and push the ego's demand out of the way. Kindness is what you emanated from, and by practicing it, rather than being right, you eliminate the possibility of stress in your moment of kindness. When you find yourself being impatient with anyone, simply say to yourself: "Rule Number 6," and you'll immediately laugh at the piddly little ego that wants you to be first, faster, number one, and to be treated better than the other guy.
**Step 8: Accept the guidance of your Source of intention.** You will only come to know the Father by being as He is. You'll only be able to access the guidance of this field of intention by being as _it_ is. Stress, anxiety, and depression will be lifted from you with the assistance of that same force that created you. If it can create worlds out of nothing, and you out of nothing, surely the removal of some stress isn't such a big task. I believe that God's desire for you is that you not only know joy, but that you become it.
**Step 9: Practice being in silence and meditation.** Nothing relieves stress, depression, anxiety, and all forms of low-energy emotions like silence and meditation. Here, you make conscious contact with your Source and cleanse your connecting link to intention. Take time every day for moments of quiet contemplation, and make meditation a part of your stress-reducing ritual.
**Step 10: Stay in a state of gratitude and awe.** Go on a rampage of appreciation for all that you have, all that you are, and all that you observe. Gratitude is the tenth step in every ten-step program for manifesting your intentions, because it's the surest way to stop the incessant inner dialogue that leads you away from the joy and perfection of the Source. You can't feel stressed and appreciative at the same time.
I conclude this chapter on your intention to lead a tranquil life with a poem by the famous Bengali poet of Calcutta, Rabindranath Tagore, one of my favorite spiritual teachers:
_I slept and dreamt that life was joy
I awoke and saw that life was service
I acted and behold service was joy _
It can all be joy in your inner world. Sleep and dream of joy, and remember above all else: _You feel good not because the world is right, but your world is right because you feel good._
CHAPTER
[It Is My Intention to:
Attract Ideal People
and Divine Relationships](Dyer_ISBN9781401925963_epub_c8_r1.html#d7e7988)
_"The moment one definitely commits oneself, then
Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help
one that would never otherwise have occurred . . . unforeseen
incidents, meetings, and material assistance, which no
man could have dreamed would have come his way."_
— Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
If you saw the 1989 movie _Field of Dreams,_ you probably came away remembering the concept that if you pursue a dream, you will succeed (or, "If you build it, they will come"). I thought of this as I began writing this chapter because I'm suggesting that if you commit yourself to matching up with the field of intention, everyone you desire or need to fulfill your personal intention will appear. How can that be? In the quote above, Goethe, one of the most brilliantly gifted scholars and achievers in the history of humanity, gives you the answer. The moment you definitely commit yourself to being a part of the power of intention, "then Providence moves too," and unforseen assistance comes your way.
The right people will arrive to assist you in every aspect of your life: The people who will support you in your career are there; the people who will help you create your perfect home show up; the people who will arrange the finances for whatever you desire are available; the driver you need to get you to the airport is waiting for you; the designer you've admired wants to work with you; the dentist you need in an emergency when you're on vacation just happens to be there; and your spiritual soul mate finds you.
The list is endless, because we're all in relationship to each other, we all emanate from the same Source, and we all share the same divine energy of intention. There's no place that this universal mind is not; therefore, you share it with everyone you attract into your life.
You'll have to let go of any resistance to your ability to attract the right people, or you won't recognize them when they show up in your everyday life. Resistance may be difficult to recognize at first, because it's such a familiar form of your thoughts, your emotions, and your energy levels. If you believe that you're powerless to attract the right people, then you've attracted powerlessness to your experience. If you're attached to the idea of being stuck with the wrong people or no people at all, then your energy isn't aligned with the power of intention, and resistance reigns. The field of intention has no choice but to send you more of what you're desiring. Once again, make a somersault into the inconceivable, where you have faith and trust in the universal mind of intention, and allow the right people to arrive in your life space right on schedule.
**_Removing Resistance by Allowing_**
Your intention is absolutely clear here. You want to attract the people who are intended to be part of your life, and you want to have a happy, fulfilling, spiritual relationship. The universal all-creating field is already cooperating with your intention. These very people are obviously already here, otherwise you'd want something that hasn't been created. Not only are the right people here, but you also share the same divine Source of all life with them, since everyone emanates from that Source. In some invisible way, you're already connected spiritually to those _perfect-for-you_ people. So why can't you see them, touch them, or hold them, and why aren't they there when you need them?
What you need in the way of the _right people_ showing up will appear for you only when you're ready and willing to receive them. They've always been there. They're there right now. They'll always be there. The questions you need to ask yourself are: _Am I ready? Am I willing?_ and _How much am I willing to have it?_ If your responses to these questions are a readiness and willingness to experience your desires, then you'll begin seeing people not only as a body with a soul, but as a spiritual being clothed in a unique body. You'll see the infinite souls that we all are: _infinite,_ meaning always and everywhere; and _everywhere,_ meaning with you right now if that's your spiritual desire.
**Giving forth what you want to attract.** Once you've formed a picture in your mind of the person or people that you intend to show up in your immediate life space, and you know how you want them to treat you and what they'll be like, you must be what it is that you're seeking. This is a universe of attraction and energy. You can't have a desire to attract a mate who's confident, generous, nonjudgmental, and gentle, and expect that desire to be manifested if you're thinking and acting in nonconfident, selfish, judgmental, or arrogant ways—which is why most people don't attract the right people at the right time.
Almost 30 years ago, I wanted to attract a publisher into my life for my book, _Your Erroneous Zones._ This publisher would have to be understanding, since I was an unknown writer at the time, and would have to be a risk taker, willing to let go of any doubts about me.
My literary agent arranged a meeting with an executive editor, whom I'll refer to as George, at a large New York publishing house. As I sat down to talk with him, it was obvious to me that he was personally distraught. I asked him what was troubling him, and we proceeded to spend the next three to four hours talking about a devastating personal matter that had just transpired the night before. George's wife had told him that she was going to seek a divorce, and he felt as though he'd been blindsided by this news. I let go of my own desires to talk about getting my book published and became what it was that I was seeking: an understanding, confident, risk-taking person. By being that very thing and detaching from my ego-dominated desires, I was able to help George out that afternoon, which I've never forgotten.
I left George's office that day without even discussing my book proposal. When I told my literary agent this story, he was convinced that I'd blown my one opportunity with a major publishing house by not making a strong pitch for my book. The following day, George called my agent, telling him, "I really don't even know what Dyer's book proposal entails, but I want that man as one of our authors."
At the time, I didn't realize what was happening. Now, with a quarter century of living in this world of spiritual inquiry, I see it quite clearly. The right people will show up precisely when you need them and when you're able to match up. You must be that which you desire. When you _are_ what you desire, you attract it by radiating it outward. You have this ability to match up with the power of intention and fulfill your intention to attract ideal people and divine relationships.
**_Attracting Spiritual Partnerships_**
There's no point whatsoever in an unloving man or woman bemoaning their inability to find a partner. They're doomed to endless frustration because they don't recognize the perfect match when it appears. That loving person could be right there, right now, and their resistance doesn't allow them to see it. The unloving person continues to blame bad luck or a series of external factors for their not having a loving relationship.
Love can only be attracted by and returned by love. The best advice I can give for attracting and maintaining spiritual partnerships, as I've been emphasizing in this chapter, is to _be what it is that you're seeking._ Most relationships that fail to sustain themselves are based on one or both of the partners feeling as if their freedom has been compromised in some way. Spiritual partnerships, on the other hand, are never about making another person feel inferior or ignored in any way. The term _spiritual partnership_ simply means that the energy that holds the two of you together is in close harmony with the Source energy of intention.
This means that an _allowing_ philosophy flows through the partnership, and you need never fear that your freedom to fulfill your own inner knowing about your purpose is questioned. It's as if each person has whispered silently to the other, _You are Source energy in a physical body, and the better you feel, the more of this loving, kind, beautiful, receptive, abundant, expanding, and creative energy is flowing through you. I respect this Source energy, and I share it with you as well. When either of us feels downhearted, there's less of this energy of intention flowing. We must always remember that nothing is disallowed by the universal mind. Whatever is not allowing us to be happy is being disallowed by us. I'm committed to staying in this energy field of intention and watching myself whenever I slip. It's that very Source that brought us together, and I'll work to stay in harmony with it._ This kind of inner commitment is what Goethe was speaking about in that opening quotation. It allows providence to move and helps things to occur, "which no man could have dreamed would come his way."
**You're already connected to those you want in your life—so** **act like it.** Mystically speaking, there's no difference between you and another person. A weird concept, perhaps, but nevertheless valid. This explains why you can't hurt another person without hurting yourself, nor can you help another person without helping yourself. You share the same Source energy with everyone, and consequently, you must begin to think and act in a way that reflects your awareness of this principle. When you feel the need to have the right person show up, begin to change your inner dialogue to reflect this awareness. Rather than saying, _I wish this person would show up because I need to get out of this rut,_ activate a thought that reflects your connection, such as: _I know the right person will be arriving in divine order at precisely the perfect time._
Now you'll act on this inner thought. You'll be _thinking from the end,_ and anticipating this arrival. Your anticipation will make you alert. You've revised your energy level to the same receptivity as the power of intention that intends everything and everyone here. When you reach these higher energy levels, you access higher information. Your intuition clicks in, and you can feel the presence of the person or people you want in your life. Now you act on that intuition with a deep sense of knowing that you're on track. You're acting in accordance with this new awareness. You become a co-creator. New insight becomes activated within you as well. You're looking at the face of the Creator, and you see yourself co-creating. You know whom to call, where to look, when to trust, and what to do. You're being guided to connect to that which you're bringing forth.
If a friendship or partnership requires the submission of your higher original nature and dignity, it's simply wrong. When you truly know what it is to love, as you're loved by your Source, you won't experience the kind of pain you did in the past when your love was unnoticed or rejected. It will, instead, be similar to how a friend described her experience of choosing to leave a relationship: "My heart was broken, but it felt like it was stuck in the open position. I felt love flowing toward this person who couldn't love me the way I wanted to be loved, even as I left that relationship to seek the love I felt inside of me. It was strange to feel the pain of my broken heart, and at the same time feel its openness. I kept thinking, _My heart's broken, but it's broken open._ I shifted to an entirely new level of loving and being loved. The relationship I'd dreamed of having manifested 18 months later!"
You are love. You emanated from pure love. You're connected to this Source of love at all times. Think this way, feel this way, and you'll soon act this way. And all that you think, feel, and do will be reciprocated in exactly the same fashion. Believe it or not, this principle of the right person showing up has been in place forever. It's only your ego that's kept you from seeing it clearly.
**It's all unfolding in divine order.** By now you should be affirming that everyone you need for this journey of yours will show up, and that they'll be perfect in every way for whatever needs you have at this time. Furthermore, they'll arrive at precisely the right moment. In this intelligent system that you're a part of, everything arrives from the field of intention where the infinite, invisible life force flows through everyone and everything. This includes you, and everyone else as well. Trust in this invisible life force and the all-creating mind that intends everything into existence.
I suggest that you do a quick review, and note all of the people who've shown up as characters in this play called your life. It has all been perfect. Your ex-spouse showed up at just the right time—when you needed to create those children you love so much. The father who walked out on you so that you could learn self-reliance left right on time. The lover who abandoned you was a part of this perfection. The lover who stayed with you was also taking his or her cues from Source. The good times, the struggles, the tears, the abuse—all of it involved people coming into your life and then leaving. And all of your tears will not and cannot wash out one word of it.
This is your past, and whatever your energy level at the time, whatever your needs, whatever your station in life, you attracted the right people and events to you. You may feel that they didn't show up when you needed them, that in fact, you were alone and no one showed up at all, but I urge you to see it from the perspective of all of life being in divine order. If no one showed up, it was because you needed to handle something on your own and therefore attracted no one to fulfill your energy level at that time. Viewing the past as a play in which all characters and all entrances and exits were scripted by your Source and was what you attracted at the time, frees you from the very low energies of guilt, regret, and even revenge.
As a result, you'll go from being an actor who's influenced by others playing the roles of producer and director, to being the writer, producer, director, and star of your glorious life. You'll also be the casting director who possesses the ability to audition anyone you choose. Base your choices on taking the path of no resistance and staying harmonized with the ultimate producer of this entire drama: the universal all-creating mind of intention.
**A few words about patience.** There's a wonderfully paradoxical line in _A Course in Miracles:_ "Infinite patience produces immediate results." To be infinitely patient means to have an absolute knowing within you that you're in vibrational harmony with the all-creating force that intended you here. You are, in fact, a co-creator of your life. You know that the right people will show up on divinely ordained schedule. Attempting to rush the schedule based on your own timetable is akin to getting down on your knees and tugging at an emerging tulip shoot, insisting that you need the flower now. Creation reveals its secrets by and by, not according to your agenda. The immediate result that you'll receive from your infinite patience is a deep sense of peace. You'll feel the love of the creation process, you'll stop making incessant demands, and you'll start being on the lookout for exactly the right person.
I write this with the idea of infinite patience producing immediate results. I know that I'm not alone as I sit here writing. I know that the right people will magically appear to provide me with whatever incentive or material I might need. I have total faith in this process, and I stay harmoniously in tune with my Source. The phone will ring, and someone has a tape they think I'll like. Two weeks ago, it wouldn't have clicked with me, but on this day, I listen to that tape while exercising, and it provides me with exactly what I need. I pass someone on a walk, and they stop to talk. They tell me about a book they're sure I'd love. I jot down the title, look it up, and sure enough, I have what I need.
This goes on every day in some way or another as I surrender my ego-mind to the universal mind of intention, and allow precisely the right people to help me with my individual intention. The immediate result of infinite patience is the inner peace that comes from knowing that I have a "senior partner" who will either send me someone, or leave me alone to work it out myself. This is called practical faith, and I urge you to trust in it, be infinitely patient with it, and have an attitude of radical appreciation and awe each time the right person mysteriously appears in your immediate life space.
**_Making Your Intention Your Reality_**
Below is my ten-step program for implementing the intention of this chapter:
**Step 1: Move away from hoping, wishing, praying, and begging** **for the right person or people to show up in your life.** Know that this is a universe that works on energy and attraction. Remind yourself that you have the power to attract the right people to assist you with any desire as long as you're able to shift from ego-driven energy to match up with the all-providing Source of intention. This first step is crucial, because if you can't banish all doubt about your ability to attract helpful, creative, loving people, then the remaining nine steps will be of little use to you. Intending ideal people and divine partners begins with knowing in your heart that it's not only a possibility, but a certainty.
**Step 2: Conceptualize your invisible connection to the people you'd** **like to attract to your life.** Let go of your exclusive identification with the appearance of your body and its possessions. Identify with the invisible energy within you that sustains your life by directing the functions of your body. Now recognize that same energy Source flowing through the people you perceive to be missing from your life, and then realign yourself in thought with that person or persons. Know within you that this power of intention connects the two of you. Your thoughts of creating this merger also emanate from that same field of universal intention.
**Step 3: Form a picture in your mind of meeting** **the person(s) you'd like to have assist you or be in** **partnership with you.** Manifesting is a function of spiritual intention matching up in vibrational harmony with your desires. Be as specific as you'd like, but don't share this visualizing technique with anyone because you'll be asked to explain yourself, defend yourself, and have to deal with the low energy of doubt that will inevitably occur. This is a private exercise between you and God. Never, _never_ allow your picture to be blurred or corroded by negativity or doubt. Regardless of any obstacles that may surface, hang on to this picture, and stay in loving, kind, creative, peaceful harmony with your always-expanding and endlessly receptive Source of intention.
**Step 4: Act upon the inner picture.** Begin to act as if everyone you meet is a part of your intention to attract ideal people into your life. Share with others your needs and desires without going into detail about your spiritual methodology. Make calls to experts who might be of assistance, and state your desires. They'll want to help you. Don't expect anyone else to do the work of attracting the right people for whatever you seek—be it a job, admission to a college, a financial boost, or a person to repair your automobile. Be proactive, and stay alert for signs of synchronicity, never ignoring them. If a truck drives by with a phone number advertising what you need, jot the number down and call. See all so-called bizarre coincidences surrounding your desires as messages from Source, and act upon them immediately. I assure you that they'll occur repeatedly.
**Step 5: Take the path of least resistance.** I use the word _resistance_ here, as I have several times in Part II of this book. Thoughts such as the following are actually a form of resistance to having your intentions manifest: _This stuff isn't practical. I can't just materialize my ideal person by my thoughts. Why should I be treated any better than all of those others who are still waiting for Mr. Right? I tried this before, and a real idiot came into my life._ These are thoughts of resistance that you're placing right in the way of Source sending you someone. Resistance is lowered energy. Source is high, creative, expansive energy. When your thoughts are low-energy vibrations, you simply can't attract the high-energy people you need or desire. Even if they came rushing up to you announcing: _Here I am, how can I serve you, I'm willing and able,_ and carrying a sign saying _I'M YOURS,_ you wouldn't recognize or believe them while you're so busy trying to attract more of what you _can't have and don't deserve._
**Step 6: Practice being the kind of person you wish to** **attract.** As I've touched on before, if you want to be loved unconditionally, _practice_ loving unconditionally. If you want assistance from others, _extend_ assistance whenever and wherever you have the opportunity. If you'd like to be the recipient of generosity, then _be_ as generous as you can, as frequently as you can. This is one of the simplest and most effective ways of attracting the power of intention. Match up with the _forthcomingness_ of the universal mind from which everyone and everything originates while extending it outward, and you'll attract back to yourself all that you intend to manifest.
**Step 7: Detach from the outcome, and practice** **infinite patience.** This is the crucial step of faith. Don't make the mistake of evaluating your intentions as successes or failures on the basis of your little ego and its time schedule. Put out your intention, and practice everything that's written in this chapter and in this book . . . and then let go. Create a knowing within, and let the universal mind of intention handle the details.
**Step 8: Practice meditation, particularly the** **Japa meditation, to attract ideal people and** **divine relationships.** Practice the repetition of the sound that is in the name of God as a mantra, literally seeing in your mind's eye the energy you're radiating, bringing the people you desire into your life. You will be astounded at the results. I've provided examples throughout this book of how the practice of Japa meditation has helped people manifest their dreams, almost like magic.
**Step 9: Look upon everyone who has ever played any** **role in your life as having been sent to you for your benefit.** In a universe peopled by a creative, divine, organizing intelligence, which I'm calling _the power of intention,_ there are simply no accidents. The wake of your life is like the wake of a boat. It's nothing more than the trail that's left behind. The wake doesn't drive the boat. The wake is not driving your life. Everything and everyone in your personal history had to be there when they were. And what's the evidence for this? _They were there!_ That's all you need to know. Don't use what transpired in the wake, or the wrong people who showed up in your wake, as a reason why you can't attract the right people today. It's your past . . . nothing more than a trail you've left behind.
**Step 10: As always, remain in a state of eternal gratitude.** Even be grateful for those whose presence may have caused you pain and suffering. Be thankful to your Source for sending them, and to yourself for attracting them to you. They all had something to teach you. Now be grateful for everyone God sends to your path, and know as a co-creator that it's up to you to either resonate with the high, loving energy of intention and keep those like-energized people in your life, or to give them a silent blessing and a pleasant _no thank you._ And the emphasis is on the _thank you,_ for that is true gratitude in action.
In Lynne McTaggart's fabulous book _The Field: The Quest for the Secret Force of the Universe,_ she offers us this scientific perspective on what I've written in this chapter: "Our natural state of being is a relationship, a tango, a constant state of one influencing the other. Just as the subatomic particles that compose us cannot be separated from the space and particles surrounding them, so living beings cannot be isolated from each other. . . . By the act of observation and _intention,_ we have the ability to extend a kind of super-radiance to the world." [Emphasis mine]
Through relationships with others and by using the power of intention, we can radiate outward all of the energy necessary to attract what we desire. I urge you to move into this awareness now and know in your heart, just as the farmer in _Field of Dreams_ knew, that _if you build this inner dream, surely, it will come!_
CHAPTER
[It Is My Intention to:
Optimize My Capacity
to Heal and Be Healed](Dyer_ISBN9781401925963_epub_c8_r1.html#d7e8118)
" _No one can ask another to be healed. But he can let
himself be healed, and thus offer the other what he has
received. Who can bestow upon another what he does not
have? And who can share what he denies himself?"_
— _A Course in Miracles_
Every single person on the planet has within them the potential to be a healer. In order to make conscious contact with your inherent healing powers, you must first make the decision to be healed yourself. As _A Course in Miracles_ reminds us: "Those who are healed become the instruments of healing," and "The only way to heal is to be healed." Thus, there's a twofold advantage in this intention to be healed. Once you've accepted your power to heal yourself and optimize your health, you become someone who's capable of healing others as well.
One of the many fascinating observations that David Hawkins made in his book _Power vs. Force_ is the relationship between a person's calibrated level of energy and their capacity to heal. People who calibrated above 600 on his map of consciousness scale (which is an exceptionally high-energy score indicating illumination and supreme enlightenment) radiated healing energy. Disease, as we know it, can't exist in the presence of such high spiritual energy. This explains the miraculous healing powers of Jesus of Nazareth, St. Francis of Assisi, and Ramana Maharshi. Their exceptionally high energy is sufficient to counterbalance disease.
As you read this, keep in mind that you too emanated from the highest spiritual loving energy field of intention, and you have within you this capacity. In order to fulfill the intention of this chapter, you must, as Gandhi states in the quotation above, "be the change that you wish to see in others." You must focus on healing yourself so you'll have this healing ability to offer others. If you reach a level of blissful illumination where you're reconnected to Source and are harmonized vibrationally, you'll begin to radiate the energy that converts disease to health.
In St. Francis's powerful prayer, he asks of his Source, "Where there is injury, let me sow pardon," meaning, _allow me to be a person who gives others healing energy._ This principle has been repeated throughout the pages of this book: Bring higher/spiritual energy to the presence of lower/ diseased energy, and it not only nullifies the lower energy, but converts it to healthy spiritual energy. In the field of energy medicine where these principles are being applied, tumors are bombarded with exceptionally high-laser energy that dissolves and converts them to healthy tissue. Energy medicine is the discipline of the future, and relies on the ancient spiritual practice of _being the change,_ or healing others by first healing ourselves.
**_Becoming the Healing_**
_Reconnect to the disease-free loving perfection from which you came_ is a succinct statement of what the self-healing process requires. The universal mind of intention knows precisely what you need in order to optimize your health. What _you_ must do is notice your thoughts and behaviors, which are creating _resistance,_ and interfering with healing, which is the flow of intentional energy. Recognizing your resistance is something that's entirely up to you. You must dedicate yourself to this awareness so that you can make a shift to pure healing intention.
While I was on the treadmill at the gym yesterday, I talked to a gentleman for five minutes, and in that brief span of time, he regaled me with a laundry list of ailments, surgeries, heart procedures, diseases, and projected joint replacements—all in five minutes! This was his calling card. Those thoughts and recapitulations of bodily afflictions are resistance to the healing energy that's available.
As I talked to the complaining man on the treadmill, I attempted to get him to shift even momentarily away from his resistance to receiving healing energy. But he was absolutely determined to wallow in his disabilities, wearing them as a badge of honor, arguing vehemently for his limitations. He seemed to cherish and cling to his self-loathing for his deteriorating body. I attempted to surround him with light and sent him a silent blessing, congratulating him for doing a treadmill exercise as I moved on to my own workout. But I was struck by how much of this man's inner focus was on dis-order, dis-harmony, and dis-ease as he related to his own body.
Reading about the role of thoughts in reports of spontaneous recovery from irreversible and incurable disease is fascinating. Dr. Hawkins, writing in _Power vs. Force,_ offers us this wisdom: "In every studied case of recovery from hopeless and untreatable disease, there has been a major shift in consciousness, so that the attractor patterns that resulted in the pathologic process no longer dominated." Every case! Imagine that. And look at that term _attractor patterns:_ We attract into our lives through our level of consciousness, and we can change what we attract. This is a very powerful idea and the basis for accessing the power of intention not only in healing, but in every area where we have desires, aspirations, and individual intentions. Hawkins goes on to say that "in spontaneous recovery, there is frequently a marked increase in the capacity to love and the awareness of the importance of love as a healing factor."
Your intention in this chapter is facilitated by looking at the larger objective of returning to your Source, and vibrating more in harmony with the energy of the power of intention. That Source is never focused on what's wrong, what's missing, or what's sickly. True healing takes you back to the Source. Anything short of this connection is a temporary fix. When you clean up the connecting link to your Source, _attractor patterns_ of energy are drawn to you. If you don't believe that this is possible, then you've created resistance to your intention to heal and be healed. If you believe that it _is_ possible, but not for you, then you have more resistance. If you believe you're being punished by the absence of health, that's also resistance. These inner thoughts about your ability to be healed play a dominant role in your physical experience.
Becoming a healer by healing oneself involves another one of those imaginary somersaults into the inconceivable, wherein you land upright and balanced in your thoughts, face-to-face with your Source. You realize, perhaps for the first time, that you and your Source are one when you let go of the ego-mind, which has convinced you that you're separate from the power of intention.
**Healing others by healing yourself.** In Lynne McTaggart's book _The Field,_ which I've mentioned previously, the author has taken the time and trouble to report the hard scientific research conducted around the world in the past 20 years regarding this field I'm calling intention. In a chapter that is relevant here, called "The Healing Field," McTaggart describes a number of research studies. Here are just five of the intriguing conclusions that researchers have come to concerning intention and healing. I present these to you to stimulate an awareness of your potential for healing the physical body you've opted for in this lifetime, as well as the corollary capacity to offer healing to others. (I haven't reiterated the obvious need for a healthy diet and a sensible exercise routine, which I'm assuming you're aware of and practicing. Bookstores now have entire sections on healthy alternatives for this purpose.)
**Five Conclusions about Healing from the**
**World of Hard Research**
**1. Healing through intention is available to ordinary people, and** **healers may be more experienced or naturally talented in tapping** **in to the field.** There's physical evidence that those who are capable of healing through intention have a greater coherence and a greater ability to marshal quantum energy and transfer it to those in need of healing. I interpret this scientific evidence to mean that deciding to focus life energy on being in coherence with the power of intention gives you the capacity to heal yourself and others. This means essentially abandoning the fear that permeates your consciousness. And it also means recognizing the fear-based energy promoted by much of the health-care industry. The field of intention has no fear in it. Any disease process is evidence that something is amiss. Any fear associated with the disease process is further evidence that something is amiss in the working of the mind. Health and peace are the natural state when that which prevents them is removed. Research shows that healing through intention, which is actually healing through connecting to the field of intention, is possible for everyone.
**2. Most authentic healers claim to** **have put out their intention and** **then stepped back and surrendered** **to some other kind of healing** **force, as though they were opening** **a door and allowing something** **greater in.** The most effective healers ask for assistance from the universal Source, knowing that their job is to be uplifting and allow the Source of healing to flow. Healers know that the body is the hero, and the life force itself is what does the healing. By removing ego and allowing that force to flow freely, healing is facilitated. Medically trained professionals often do the opposite of allowing and uplifting. They frequently convey the message that the medicine does the healing, and communicate disbelief in anything other than their prescribed procedures. Patients often feel anything but uplifted and hopeful, and diagnosis and prognosis are usually fear based and excessively pessimistic to avoid legal proceedings. _Tell them the worst and hope for the best_ is often the medical operating philosophy.
The ability to heal yourself seems to be available to those who have an intuitive knowing about the power of the Spirit. The healing inner speech has to do with relaxing, removing thoughts of resistance, and allowing the spirit of light and love to flow. A powerful healer from the island of Fiji once told me about the efficacy of the native healers. He said, "When a knowing confronts a belief in a disease process, the knowing will always triumph." _A knowing is faith in the power of intention._ A knowing also involves an awareness of always being connected to this Source. And finally, a knowing means getting one's ego out of the way and surrendering to the omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient Source, the power of intention, which is the source of all, including all healing.
**3. It didn't seem to matter what method was used, so long as** **the healer held an intention for a patient to heal.** Healers relied upon profoundly different techniques, including a Christian image, a kabbalist energy pattern, a Native American spirit, a totem, a statue of a saint, and incantations and chants to a healing spirit. As long as the healer held firm to an intention and had a knowing beyond any and all doubts that he could touch the patient with the spirit of intention, the healing was effective as measured by scientific validation.
It's crucial for you to hold an absolute intention for yourself to heal, regardless of what goes on around you, or what others might offer you in the way of discouragement or "getting real." Your intention is strong because it isn't ego's intention, but a match-up with the universal Source. It's God-realization at work in your approach to healing and being healed.
As an _infinite being,_ you know that your own death, and the death of everyone else, is programmed in the energy field from which you emanated. Just as all of your physical characteristics were determined by that future pull, so, too, is your death. So let go of fear of your death, and decide to hold the same intention that intended you here from the world of formlessness. You came from a natural state of well-being, and you intend to be there in your mind, regardless of what transpires in and around your body. Hold that intention for yourself until you leave this body, and hold that same invisible intention for others. This is the one quality that all healers shared. I encourage you to emphasize it, too, right here, right now, and don't let anyone or any prognosis deter you from it.
**4. Research suggests that intention on its own heals, but that** **healing is a collective memory of a healing spirit, which can** **be gathered as a medicinal force.** Healing itself may in fact be a force that's available to all of humankind. It's the universal mind of intention. Further, research suggests that individuals and groups of individuals can gather this collective memory and apply it to themselves and to those who suffer with epidemic diseases as well. Since we're all connected to intention, we all share the same life force, and we all emanated from the same universal mind of God, it's not so far-fetched to assume that by tapping in to this energy field, we can gather healing energy and spread it to all who enter our enlightened spheres. This would explain the enormous collective healing power of saints, and make the case for each of us holding the intention to eradicate such things as AIDS, smallpox, worldwide influenzas, and even the cancer epidemic we live with today.
When illness is viewed in isolation, it's disconnected from the collective health of the universal field. Several studies report that the AIDS virus seems to feed on fear, the kind of fear that's experienced when a person is shunned or isolated from the community. Studies on heart patients reveal that those who felt isolated from their family, their community, and especially their spirituality, were more susceptible to disease. Studies on longevity show that those who live longer have a strong spiritual belief and a sense of belonging to a community. The capacity to heal collectively is one of the powerful benefits that's available when you raise your energy level and connect to the faces of intention.
**5. The most important treatment any healer can offer is hope** **for the health and well-being of those who suffer disease or** **trauma.** Healers do a self-analysis of what's present in their consciousness before they focus on someone in need of healing. The key word here is _hope._ The presence of hope conveyed boils down to faith. I would also call it _knowing,_ a knowing that connection to one's Source is a connection to the source of all healing. When we live this way, we always see hope. We know that miracles are always a possibility. Staying in that mind-set, fear and doubt are banished from the landscape. If you give up hope, you change the energy level of your life to vibrate at fear and doubt levels. Yet we know that the all-creating Source of intention knows no fear or doubt.
My favorite quote from Michelangelo is on the value of hope: "The greater danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it." Just imagine—the intention of healers and the hopes they have for themselves and others may be even more important than the medicine being offered. The simple thought of dislike toward another impedes the potential for healing. Lack of faith in the power of Spirit to heal plays a deleterious role in the healing process. Any low-energy thoughts you have undermine your ability to heal yourself. All five of these research-backed conclusions lead us to an awareness of the importance of shifting our focus and connecting to the all-healing field of intention and harmonizing with it.
**_From Thoughts of Sickness to Intentions of Wellness_**
You're probably familiar with the phrase "And God intended, 'Let there be light!' and there was light," from the Old Testament _._ If you look in an English-Hebrew dictionary, you'll find that the English translation of the Hebrew can be read as: "And god _intended . . ._ " The decision to _create_ is the decision to _intend._ To create healing, you can't have thoughts of illness and anticipate your body falling victim to disease. Become aware of the thoughts you have that support the idea of sickness as something to be expected. Begin noticing the frequency of those thoughts. The more they occupy your mental landscape, the more resistance you're creating to realizing your intention.
You know what those thoughts of resistance sound like: _I can't do anything about this arthritis. It's the flu season. I feel okay now, but by the weekend, it will be in my chest and I'll have a fever. We live in a carcinogenic world. Everything is either fattening or filled with chemicals. I feel so tired all the time._ On and on they go. They're like huge barricades blocking the realization of your intention. Notice the thoughts that represent a decision on your part to buy into the illness mentality of the huge profit-making drug companies and a health-care industry that thrives on your fears.
But you're the divine, remember? You're a piece of the universal mind of intention, and you don't have to think in these ways. You can opt to think that you have the ability to raise your energy level, even if all of the advertising around you points to a different conclusion. You can go within and hold an intention that says: _I want to feel good, I intend to feel good, I intend to return to my Source, and I refuse to allow any other thoughts of dis-order or dis-ease in._ This is the beginning. You'll feel empowered by this unique experience. Then in any given moment of not feeling well, choose thoughts of healing and feeling good. In that instant, feeling good takes over, if only for a few seconds.
When you refuse to live in low energy, and you work moment by moment to introduce thoughts that support your intention, you've effectively decided that wellness is your choice and that being a healer is a part of that decision. At this time, wheels of creation are set in motion, and what you've imagined and created in your mind begins to take form in your everyday life.
Give it a shot the next time you're low-energy thinking of any kind. Just note how quickly you can change how you feel by refusing to think thoughts that are out of harmony with your Source of intention. It works for me, and I encourage you to do so as well. I simply will not think any longer that I must be a victim of illness or disability, and I will not spend the precious moments of my life discussing illness. I am a healer. I heal myself by co-creating health with God, and I give this gift to others as well. This is my intention.
**_Illness Is Not a Punishment_**
Illness became a component of the human condition when we separated ourselves from the perfect health from which we were intended. Rather than attempting to intellectualize reasons why people get sick and come up with a rationale for understanding illness, I encourage you to think of yourself as having the potential to become a master healer. Try visualizing all of human illness from the perspective of something that the human race has collectively brought upon itself by identifying with the ego rather than staying with the divinity from which we emanated. Out of this collective ego identification, we brought about all that goes with the ego problems—fear, hate, despair, anxiety, depression—all of it. The ego feeds on these emotions because it's insistent on its own identity as a separate entity apart from this God-force that intended us here. In one way or another, virtually every single member of the human race bought into this idea of separation and ego identification. Consequently, illness, disease, sickness, and the need for healing simply come with the territory of being human.
However, you needn't feel stuck there. The power of intention is about returning to the Source of perfection. It's about knowing that the power to heal is all wrapped up in making that divine connection, and that the Source of all life does not punish, offering karmic paybacks through suffering and hardship. You don't have a need for healing because you were bad or ignorant, or as retribution for past-life offenses. You've taken on whatever you're experiencing for whatever lessons you need to learn on this journey, which is being orchestrated by the all-providing intelligence that we're calling intention.
In an eternal universe, you must view yourself and all others in infinite terms. Infinite terms mean that you have an infinite number of opportunities to show up in a material body to co-create anything. As you view the sickness of the mind and body that permeates your own life as well as the rest of humanity, try viewing it as part of the infinite nature of our world. If starvation, pestilence, or disease are a part of the perfection of the universe, then so is your intention to end these things a part of that same perfection. Now decide to stay with that intention—first in your own life, then in the lives of others. Your intention will match up with the intention of the universe, which knows nothing of egos and separation, and all thoughts of illness as punishment and karmic paybacks will cease to exist.
**_Making Your Intention Your Reality_**
Below is my ten-step plan for implementing the intention of this chapter to optimize your capacity to heal and be healed:
**Step l: You can't heal** **anyone until you allow** **yourself to be healed.** Work in a collaborative effort with your Source to create a sense of your own healing. Put all of your focused energy on knowing that you can be healed of physical or emotional disruptions to your perfect health. Connect to a loving, kind, receptive-to-healing energy, which is the field that intended you here. Be willing to accept the fact that you're a part of the healing energy of all of life. The same force that heals a cut on your hand and grows the new skin to repair it permanently is both in your hand and in the universe as well. You are it, it is you; there's no separation. Be conscious of staying in contact with this healing energy, because it's impossible to separate from it except in your ego-diminished thoughts.
**Step 2: The healing energy that you're connected to at all times is** **what you have to give away to others** ** _._** Offer this energy freely, and keep your ego entirely out of the healing process. Remember how St. Francis responded when asked why he didn't heal himself of his diseases, which would cause his death at the age of 45: "I want everyone to know that it is God who does this healing." St. Francis was healed of ego domination, and he deliberately held on to his infirmities to teach others that it was God's energy working through him that provided the energy for all of his miraculous healings.
**Step 3: By raising your energy to a vibrational match with the** **field of intention, you're strengthening your immune system and** **increasing the production of well-being enzymes in the brain.** A change in personality from being spiteful, pessimistic, angry, sullen, and disagreeable to one of passion, optimism, kindness, joy, and understanding is often the key when witnessing miraculous acts of spontaneous recovery from fatalistic prognostications.
**Step 4: Practice surrender!** _Let go and let God_ is a great theme in the recovery movement. It's also a wonderful reminder in the world of healing. By surrendering, you're able to have reverence for, and commune with, the Source of all healing. Remember that the field of intention doesn't know anything about healing _per se,_ because it's spiritual perfection already, and it creates from that perspective. It's ego consciousness that creates the dis-order, dis-harmony, and dis-eases of our world, and it is in returning to that spiritual perfection that harmony of body, mind, and spirit are realized. When this balance or symmetry is restored, we call it healing, but the Source knows nothing of healing because it creates only perfect health. It's to this perfect health that you must surrender.
**Step 5: Don't ask to be healed, ask to be restored to that perfection** **from which you emanated.** Here's where you want to hold an intention for yourself and for others in an unbending, nonnegotiable way. Let nothing interfere with the intention you have to heal and be healed. Discard all negativity that you encounter. Refuse to let in any energy that will weaken your body or your resolve. Convey this to others as well. Remember, you're not asking your Source to heal you, because this assumes health is missing from your life. It assumes scarcity, but the Source can only recognize and respond to what it is already, and you too are a component of that Source. Come to the Source as whole and complete, banish all thoughts of illness, and know that by connecting back to this Source—filling yourself with it and offering it to others—you become healing itself.
**Step 6: Know that you are adored.** Look for reasons to praise and feel good. In the moment in which you're experiencing thoughts that make you feel sick or bad, do your best to change them to thoughts that support your feeling good, and if that seems impossible, then do your very best to say nothing at all. Refuse to talk about disease, and work to activate thoughts that predict recovery, feeling good, and perfect health. Picture yourself as healthy and free of disability. Be on the lookout for the opportunity to literally say to yourself, _I feel good. I intend to attract more of this good feeling, and I intend to give it away to any and all in need of it._
**Step 7: Seek out and cherish the silence.** Many people who have suffered with long-term illnesses have been able to return to their Source through the channel of nature and contemplative silence. Spend time in quiet meditation visualizing yourself coupled with the perfectly healthy field of intention. Commune with this Source of all that is good, all that is well, and practice accessing this high spiritual energy, bathing your entire being in this light.
Meditation is always healing for me. When I'm fatigued, a few moments in silence accessing higher, loving, kind vibrations energizes me. When I feel out of sorts, a few moments in quietude making conscious contact with God provides me with all that I need to not only feel good, but to help others do the same. I always remember Herman Melville's timely words: "Silence is the only Voice of our God."
Here's an excerpt from a letter written to me by Darby Hebert, who now lives in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. For more than two decades, she struggled with feeling used as well as watching her own physical condition deteriorate. She opted for nature, silence, and meditation. I repeat her words (with her permission) below:
_For a year I lived out of boxes in an empty house. Then, to remove myself from this negative energy field and the scorn of people who were sitting in judgment, I moved 2,000 miles away to Jackson Hole. The magnificence, grandeur, and peace of this sacred, enchanted place began to work its magic immediately. I have lived in silence for almost two years. Meditation and appreciation have become my way of life. Leaving low energy, and moving into high energy, with your help, has worked miracles. I have moved from hemorrhaging eyes, internal lesions, aseptic meningitis, and severe muscle pain to a health that includes all-day mountain hiking and cross-country skiing. I am slowly getting off of the dangerous drugs used to control the diseases, and I_ _know_ _I can do it. You have shown me the way to being well, and I will forever be grateful. God bless you a thousandfold, Wayne, for following your bliss and helping others to find theirs. I hope there will come a time when I can express my gratitude in person. Until then, I'll see you in the Gap._
**Step 8: To** ** _be_** **health, you must totally identify with the wholeness** **that you are.** You can stop seeing yourself as a physical body and immerse yourself in the idea of absolute well-being. This can become your new identification card. Here, you breathe only wellness, you think only perfect health, and you detach from appearances of illness in the world. Soon you recognize only perfection in others. You stand firm in your truth, reflecting only thoughts of well-being, and speaking only words of the infinite possibility for healing any and all disease processes. This is your rightful identity of wholeness, and you live it as if you and the Source that creates all are one and the same. This is your ultimate truth, and you can allow this dynamic aura of wholeness to saturate and animate your every thought until it is all that you have to give away. This is how you heal, from that inner knowing and trust of your wholeness.
**Step 9: Allow health to stream into your life.** Become conscious of resistance, which interferes with the natural flow of healthy energy to you. This resistance is in the form of your thoughts. Any thought that's out of sync with the seven faces of intention is a resistant thought. Any thought that says that _it's impossible to heal_ is a resistant thought. Any thought of doubt or fear is a resistant thought. When you observe these thoughts, note them carefully, and then deliberately activate thoughts that are in energetic, vibrational balance with the all-providing Source of intention.
**Step 10: Stay immersed in a state of gratitude.** Be grateful for every breath you take . . . for all of your internal organs that work together in harmony . . . for the wholeness that is your body . . . for the blood streaming through your veins . . . for your brain that allows you to process these words and the eyes that allow you to read them. Look in the mirror at least once every day and give thanks for that heart that continues to beat and the invisible force on which those heartbeats depend. Stay in gratitude. This is the surest way to keep the connecting link to perfect health clean and pure.
One of the messages of Jesus of Nazareth is apropos of all that I've presented in this chapter on having a healing intention:
_If you bring forth what is inside you,
what you bring forth will save you._
_If you don't bring forth what is inside you,
what you don't bring forth will destroy you._
What is inside you is the power of intention. No microscope will reveal it. You can find the command center with x-ray technology, but the _commander_ in the command center remains impervious to our sophisticated probing instruments. _You are that commander._ You must allow yourself to be in vibrational harmony with the greatest commander of all and bring it forth to serve you, rather than allowing yourself to be in a state of disrepair.
CHAPTER
[It Is My Intention to:
Appreciate and Express
the Genius That I Am](Dyer_ISBN9781401925963_epub_c8_r1.html#d7e8238)
_"Everyone is born a genius, but the
process of living de-geniuses them."_
— Buckminster Fuller
Consider that all human beings have within themselves the same essence of consciousness, and that the process of creativity and genius are attributes of human consciousness. Therefore, genius is a potential that lives within you and every other human being. You have many moments of genius in your lifetime. These are the times when you have a uniquely brilliant idea and implement it even if only you are aware of how fantastic it is. Perhaps you created something absolutely astonishing and you even amazed yourself. Then there are the moments when you make exactly the right shot in a round of golf or a tennis match and you realize with immense pleasure what you've just accomplished. You are a genius.
You may never have thought of yourself as a person who has genius residing within. You may have thought that _genius_ is a word reserved for the Mozarts, Michelangelos, Einsteins, Madame Curies, Virginia Woolfs, Stephen Hawkings, and others whose lives and accomplishments have been publicized. But keep in mind that they share the same essence of consciousness that you do. They emanated from the same power of intention as you did. They have all shared the same life force animating them as you do. Your genius is in your very existence, awaiting the right circumstances to express itself.
There is no such thing as _luck_ or _accidents_ in this purposeful universe. Not only is everything connected to everything else, but no one is excluded from the universal Source called intention. And genius, since it's a characteristic of the universal Source, must be universal, which means that it's in no way restricted. It's available to every single human being. It certainly can and does show up differently in every single one of us. The qualities of creativity and genius are within you, awaiting your decision to match up with the power of intention.
**_Changing Your Energy Level to Access the_**
** _Genius Within You_**
In his illuminating book, _Power vs. Force,_ David Hawkins wrote: "Genius is by definition a style of consciousness characterized by the ability to access high energy attractor patterns. It is not a personality characteristic. It is not something that a person _has,_ nor even something that someone _is._ Those in whom we recognize genius commonly disclaim it. A universal charac- teristic of genius is humility. The genius has always attributed his insights to some higher influence." Genius is a characteristic of the creative force (the first of the seven faces of intention) that allows all of material creation to come into form. It is an expression of the divine.
No one who's considered a genius—be it Sir Laurence Olivier onstage as Hamlet; Michael Jordan gracefully gliding toward a dunk on the basketball court; Clarence Darrow speaking to a jury; Joan of Arc inspiring a nation; or Mrs. Fuehrer, my eighth-grade teacher making a story come alive in the classroom—can explain where the energy to perform at those levels came from. Sir Laurence Olivier is said to have been distraught after giving one of the greatest stage performances of _Hamlet_ ever seen in London. When asked why he was so upset after the thundering ovation from the audience, he replied (I paraphrase), "I know it was my best performance, but I don't know how I did it, where it came from, and if I can ever do it again." Ego and genius are mutually exclusive. Genius is a function of surrendering to the Source or reconnecting to it so dramatically that one's ego is substantially minimized. This is what Dr. Hawkins means by _accessing higher energy patterns._
Higher energy is the energy of light, which is a way of describing spiritual energy. The seven faces of intention are the ingredients of this spiritual energy. When you shift your thoughts, emotions, and life activities into these realms and deactivate the lower energies of the ego, the God force within you begins to take over. It's so automatic that it travels faster than your thoughts. This is why your thoughts about how you did something are so bewildering. The higher energy level actually transcends thought, moving into vibrational harmony with the Source energy of intention. As you release ego-dominated thoughts (which convince you that you're doing these amazing things and are responsible for these unbelievable accomplishments), you tap in to the power of intention. This is where the genius that you truly are resides.
Many people never get acquainted with this inner world of their personal genius, and think that genius is only measured in intellectual or artistic endeavors. Genius remains in the shadows of their thoughts, unnoticed during their occasional forays inward, and may even be padlocked and chained! If you've been taught to avoid thinking too highly of yourself, and that genius is reserved for a handful of select individuals, you probably resist this idea. You won't recognize your genius aspect if you've been conditioned to believe that you should accept your lot in life, think small, try to fit in with _normal_ groups of people, and not aim too high in order to avoid disappointment.
I'd like you to consider what may seem like a radical idea: _Genius can show up in as many ways as there are human beings._ Anything in any field that anyone has ever accomplished is shared by you. You're connected to every being that has ever lived or ever will live, and you share the exact same energy of intention that flowed through Archimedes, Leonardo da Vinci, the Virgin Mother, and Jonas Salk. You can access this energy. At the deepest level, all things and all people are composed of vibrations organized into fields that permeate the entire structure of the universe. You share these vibrations, and you are in this field.
The starting point is knowing and understanding that this level of creativity and functioning called _genius_ resides within you. Then begin to deconstruct doubts about your role here. Make a commitment to raise your energy levels to vibrate harmoniously with the field of intention despite attempts by your ego and others' egos to dissuade you.
Dr. Valerie Hunt in _Infinite Mind: Science of Human Vibrations of Consciousness,_ reminds us: "Lower vibrations exist with material reality, higher ones with mystical reality, and a full vibrational spectrum with expanded reality." To fulfill this intention of appreciating and expressing the genius that you are, you're going to have to strive for that _full vibrational spectrum._ This is the idea of expansion, which is crucial to knowing your true potential. It's what you signed up for when you left the formless world of spiritual intention. You co-created a body and a life to express that inner genius, which you may have locked away in an almost inaccessible chamber.
**_Expanding Your Reality_**
The universal force that created you is always expanding, and your objective is to achieve harmony with that Source and thereby regain the power of intention. So what is it that keeps you from expanding to the mystical reality and full vibrational spectrum that Dr. Hunt refers to? I like this answer from William James, who is often referred to as the father of modern psychology: "Genius means little more than the faculty of perceiving in an unhabitual way." To expand your reality to match the expansiveness of the all-creating field of intention, you have to peel away your old habits of thought. These habits have pigeonholed you to a point where you allow labels to be attached to you. These labels define you in many ways.
Most of the labels are from other people who need to describe what you are not, because they feel safer predicting what can't be than what can be: _She's never been very artistic. He's a tad clumsy, so he won't be an athlete. Mathematics was never her strong suit. He's a bit shy, so he won't be good dealing with the public._ You've heard these pronouncements for so long that you believe them. They've become a habitual way of thinking about your abilities and potentialities. As William James suggested, _genius means making a shift in your thinking_ so that you let go of those habits and open yourself to possibilities of greatness.
I've heard the stereotype about writers and speakers since I was a young man. If you're a writer, you're introverted, and writers don't make dynamic speakers. I chose to shift from that programmed and stereotypical way of thinking and decided that I could excel at anything I affirmed and intended for myself. I chose to believe that when I came into this world of boundaries and form, there were no restrictions on me. I was intended here from an expansive energy field that knows nothing of limits or labels. I decided that I'd be both an introverted writer _and_ a dynamic extroverted speaker. Similarly, I've broken through many socially imposed habitual ways of labeling people. I can be a genius in any area if, according to the father of modern psychology, I learn to _perceive in unhabitual ways._ I can sing tender songs, write sentimental poetry, create exquisite paintings, and at the same time in the same body, excel as an athlete in any sport, build a fine piece of furniture, repair my automobile, wrestle with my children, and surf in the ocean.
**Trusting your insights.** The process of appreciating your genius involves trusting those inner flashes of creative insight that are worthy of expression. The song you're composing in your head. The weird storyline that you keep dreaming about that would make a fabulous movie. The crazy idea about combining peas and carrots in a seed and growing _parrot_ vegetables. The new car design you've always contemplated. The fashion idea that would become the next fad. The toy that every child will yearn to have. The musical extravaganza you've seen in your mind. These ideas and thousands like them are the creative genius within you at work. These ideas in your imagination are _distributions of God_ taking place. They're not from your ego, which squashes them with fear and doubt. Your insights are divinely inspired. Your creative mind is how your higher self vibrates harmoniously with the field of intention, which is always creating.
Banishing doubt regarding those brilliant flashes of insight will allow you to express these ideas and begin the process of acting on them. Having the thoughts and squelching them because you think they aren't good enough or they don't merit any action is denying the connection that you have to the power of intention. You have a connecting link to intention, but you're allowing it to be weakened by living at ordinary levels of ego consciousness. Remember that you're a piece of God, and the inner spark of genius in your imagination—that intuitive inner voice—is really God reminding you of your uniqueness. You're having these inner insights because this is precisely how you stay connected to the all-creating genius that intended you here. As I've said earlier, trusting in yourself is trusting in the wisdom that created you.
Never, ever regard any creative thought that you're having as anything other than a worthy potential expression of your inner genius. The only caveat here is that these thoughts must be in vibrational harmony with the seven faces of intention. Inner thoughts of hatred, anger, fear, despair, and destruction simply don't foster creative insights. The low-energy, ego-dominated thoughts must be replaced and converted to the power of intention. Your creative impulses are real, they're vital, they're worthy, and they crave expression. The fact that you can conceive of them is proof of this. Your thoughts are real. They're pure energy, and they're telling you to pay attention and get that connecting link to the power of intention polished through living at different levels than you've accepted as normal or ordinary. At these levels, everyone is a genius.
**Appreciating the genius in others.** Every person you interact with should feel the inner glow that comes from being appreciated, particularly for the ways in which they express their creativity. A core theme, which strengthens the flow of the power of intention, is wanting for others as much as you intend for yourself. Appreciating the genius in others attracts high levels of competent energy to you. By seeing and celebrating the creative genius, you open a channel within yourself for receiving the creative energy from the field of intention.
My 15-year-old son, Sands, has a unique way of riding a surfboard unlike everyone around him in the ocean. I encourage him to do what comes naturally and express it with pride. He also created a unique language of communication, similar to my brother David, which others in the family and close personal acquaintances emulate. Creating a language that others use is the work of a genius! I tell Sands this, and my brother, too, whose unique language I've spoken for over half a century. My daughter Skye has a distinctive one-of-a-kind singing voice that I love. I tell her so, and point out that it's an expression of her genius.
All of my children, and yours as well (including the child within you) have unparalleled characteristics in many of the ways they express themselves. From the way that they dress, to the little tattoo, to their signature, to their mannerisms, to their unmatched personality quirks, you can appreciate their genius. Notice and appreciate _your_ genius, too. When you're just like everybody else, you've nothing to offer other than your conformity.
Take the road of _seeing the face of God in everyone_ you encounter. Look for something to appreciate in others, and be willing to communicate it to them and anyone who's willing to listen. When you see this quality in others, you'll soon begin to realize that this potential is available to all of humanity. This obviously includes you. Recognizing genius in yourself is an integral part of the dynamic. As Dr. Hawkins tells us in _Power vs. Force:_ "Until one acknowledges the genius within oneself, one will have great difficulty recognizing it in others."
**Genius and simplicity.** Begin to realize the intention of this chapter by uncomplicating your life as much as possible. Genius thrives in a contemplative environment, where every minute isn't filled with obligations or hoards of people offering advice and insisting on your constant participation in ordinary, mundane endeavors. The genius in you isn't seeking confirmation from others, but quiet space for its ideas to blossom. Genius isn't as much about achieving a high IQ on a standardized test, as it is the exceptionally high level of plain old savvy in any given field of human endeavor. Genius-at-work may be the person who finds tinkering with an electronic gadget for hours on end exhilarating, and also can be entranced by puttering in the garden or observing the communication patterns between bats on a starry night. An uncomplicated life with fewer intrusions tolerated, in a simple setting, allows your creative genius to surface and express itself. The simplicity establishes a link to the power of intention, and your genius will flourish.
**_Making Your Intention Your Reality_**
Below is my ten-step program for putting this intention to appreciate and express the _genius_ within you to work.
**Step 1: Declare yourself to be a genius!** This shouldn't be a public pronouncement, but a statement of intention between you and your Creator. Remind yourself that you're one of the masterpieces that emanated from the universal field of intention. You don't have to prove that you're a genius, nor do you need to compare any of your accomplishments to those of others. You have a unique gift to offer this world, and you are unique in the entire history of creation.
**Step 2: Make a decision to listen more carefully** **to your inner insights, no matter how small or insignificant** **you may have previously judged them to be.** These thoughts, which you may have viewed as silly or unworthy of attention, are your private connection to the field of intention. Thoughts that seem to persist, particularly if they relate to new activities and adventures, aren't in your mind accidentally. Those tenacious thoughts that don't go away should be viewed by you as intention talking to you, saying, _You signed up to express your unique brilliance, so why do you keep ignoring the genius in favor of settling for less?_
**Step 3: Take constructive action toward implementing** **your inner intuitive inclinations.** Any step in the direction of expressing your creative impulses is a step in the direction of actualizing the genius that resides within you—for example, writing and submitting a book outline, regardless of how you may have doubted yourself up until now; recording a CD of yourself reading poetry or singing the songs you've written; purchasing an easel and art paraphernalia and spending an afternoon painting; or visiting an expert in the field that interests you.
During a recent photo shoot, a photographer told me that years earlier he'd arranged a meeting with a world-renowned photographer, and that visit sent him on the road to doing the work that he loved. To me, this man was a genius. Photography had always intrigued him. The early prodding in his life that he acted on allowed him to _appreciate the genius_ within him, then one meeting with one man taught him to trust in that _intrigue_ and to use it as a means for communicating his genius to the entire world.
**Step 4: Know that any and all thoughts that** **you have regarding your own skills, interests,** **and inclinations are valid.** To reinforce the validity of your thoughts, _keep them private._ Tell yourself that they're between you and God. If you keep them in the spiritual domain, you don't have to introduce them to your ego or expose them to the egos of those around you. This means that you'll never have to compromise them by explaining and defending them to others.
**Step 5: Remind yourself that aligning with spiritual energy is** **how you will find and convey the genius within you.** In _Power vs. Force,_ David Hawkins concluded: "From our studies it appears that the alignment of one's goals and values with high energy attractors is more closely associated with genius than anything else." This is completely in line with understanding and implementing the power of intention. Shift your energy to harmonize vibrationally with the energy of Source. Be an appreciator of life, and refuse to have thoughts of hatred, anxiety, anger, and judgment. Trust yourself as a piece of God and your genius will flourish.
**Step 6: Practice radical humility.** Take no credit for your talents, intellectual abilities, aptitudes, or proficiencies. Be in a state of awe and bewilderment. Even as I sit here with my pen in my hand, observing how words appear before me, I'm in a state of bewilderment. Where do these words come from? How does my hand know how to translate my invisible thoughts into decipherable words, sentences, and paragraphs? Where do the thoughts come from that precede the words? Is this really Wayne Dyer writing, or am I watching Wayne Dyer put these words on the paper? Is God writing this book through me? Was I intended to be this messenger before I showed up here as a baby on the 10th of May, 1940? Will these words live beyond my lifetime? I'm bewildered by it all. I'm humble in my inability to know where any of my accomplishments come from. Practice radical humility, and give credit everywhere except to your ego.
**Step 7: Remove resistance to actualizing your genius.** Resistance always shows up in the form of your thoughts. Watch for thoughts that convey your inability to think of yourself in genius terms . . . thoughts of doubt about your abilities . . . or thoughts that reinforce what you've been taught about a lack of talent or lack of aptitude. All of these kinds of thoughts are a misalignment and don't allow you to be in vibrational harmony with the universal all-creating field of intention. Your Source knows that you're a genius. Any thought you have that challenges this notion is resistance, which will inhibit you from realizing your intention.
**Step 8: Look for the genius in others.** Pay attention to the greatness you observe in as many people as possible, and if you don't see it at first, then spend some mental energy looking for it. The more you're inclined to think in genius terms, the more natural it becomes for you to apply the same standards to yourself. Tell others about their genius. Be as complimentary and authentic as you can. In doing so, you'll radiate loving, kind, abundant, creative energy. In a universe that operates on energy and attraction, you'll find these same qualities returning to you.
**Step 9: Simplify your life.** Take the complications, rules, _shoulds, musts, have tos_ , and so on out of your life. By uncomplicating your life and removing the trivial pursuits that occupy so much of it, you open a channel for the genius within you to emerge. One of the most effective techniques for simplifying life is to take time each day to spend 20 or so minutes in silence and meditation. The more conscious contact you make with your Source, the more you come to appreciate your own highest self. And it's from this highest self that your own genius will be manifested.
**Step 10: Remain humble while staying in** **a state of gratitude.** This genius that you are has nothing at all to do with your ego-mind. Be ever so grateful to the Source of intention for providing you with the life force to express the genius that resides within you. Those who attribute their inspiration and success to their ego soon lose this capacity, or they allow the approval and attention of others to destroy them. Remain humble and grateful, and more of your genius will surface as you remain in a constant state of expansion. Gratitude is a sacred space where you _allow_ and _know_ that a force greater than your ego is always at work and always available.
The man who inspires me every day, Ralph Waldo Emerson, whose photograph looks back at me as I write, put it this way: "To believe your own thoughts, to believe that what is true for you in your private heart is true for all men—that is genius."
Take this awareness and apply it in your life. Another genius tells us just how to do this. Thomas Edison said, "Genius is one percent inspiration, and ninety-nine percent perspiration." Are you sweating yet?
** **
CHAPTER
[A Portrait of a Person
Connected to the Field
of Intention](Dyer_ISBN9781401925963_epub_c8_r1.html#d7e8408)
_"Self-actualizing people must be what they can be."_
— Abraham Maslow
A person who lives in a state of unity with the Source of all life doesn't look any different from ordinary folks. These people don't wear a halo or dress in special garments that announce their godlike qualities. But when you notice that they go through life as the _lucky ones_ who seem to get all the breaks, and when you begin to talk to them, you realize how distinctive they are compared to people living at ordinary levels of awareness. Spend a few moments in conversation with these people who are connected to the power of intention and you see how unique they are.
These people, whom I call _connectors_ to signify their harmonious connection with the field of intention, are individuals who have made themselves available for success. It's impossible to get them to be pessimistic about achieving what they desire in their lives. Rather than using language that indicates that their desires may not materialize, they speak from an inner conviction that communicates their profound and simple knowing that the universal Source supplies everything.
They don't say, _With my luck things won't work out._ Instead, you're much more likely to hear something like, _I intend to create this and I know it will work out._ No matter how you might attempt to dissuade them by pointing out all the reasons why their optimism ought to be curtailed, they seem blissfully blind to reality-check repercussions. It's almost as if they're in a different world, a world in which they can't hear the reasons why things won't work out.
If you engage them in conversation about this idea, they simply say something like, _I refuse to think about what can't happen, because I'll attract exactly what I think about, so I only think about what I know will happen._ It doesn't matter to them what's happened before. They don't relate to the concepts of _failure_ or _it's impossible._ They simply, without fanfare, are unaffected by reasons for being pessimistic. They've made themselves available for success, and they know and trust in an invisible force that's all-providing. They're so well connected to the all-providing Source that it's as if they have a natural aura preventing anything from getting through that might weaken their connection to the creative energy of the power of intention.
Connectors don't place their thoughts on what they don't want, because, as they'll tell you: _The Source of all can only respond with what it is, and what it is, is infinite supply. It can't relate to scarcity, or things not working out, because it's none of these things. If I say to the Source of all things, "It probably won't work out," I'll receive back from it precisely what I sent to it, so I know better than to think anything other than_ _what my Source is._
To the average person who has fears about the future, this all sounds like mumbo jumbo. They'll tell their connector friend to do a reality check and look realistically at the world they live in. But connectors aren't distracted from their inner knowing. They'll tell you, if you choose to listen, that this is a universe of energy and attraction, and that the reason so many people live lives of fear and scarcity is because they rely on their ego to fulfill their desires. _It's simple,_ they'll tell you. _Just reconnect to your Source, and be like your Source, and your intentions will match up perfectly with the all-providing Source._
To connectors, it all seems so simple. Keep your thoughts on what you intend to create. Stay consistently matched up with the field of intention, and then watch for the clues that what you're summoning from the all-creative Source is arriving in your life. To a connector, there are simply no accidents. They perceive seemingly insignificant events as being orchestrated in perfect harmony. They believe in synchronicity and aren't surprised when the perfect person for a situation appears, or when someone they've been thinking about calls out of the blue, or when a book arrives unexpectedly in the mail giving them the information they needed, or when the money to finance a project they've been intending mysteriously shows up.
Connectors won't attempt to win you over to their point of view with debates. They know better than to place a lot of energy on arguing or being frustrated, because that attracts argumentation and frustration into their lives. They know what they know, and they aren't seduced into constructing a counterforce of resistance to people who live otherwise. They accept the idea that there are no accidents in a universe that has an invisible force of energy as its Source that continuously creates and provides an infinite supply to all who wish to partake of it. They'll tell you plain and simple if you inquire: _All you have to do to tap in to the power of intention is to be in a perfect match with the Source of everything, and I'm choosing to be as closely aligned to that Source as I can._
To connectors, everything that shows up in their life is there because the power of intention intended it there. So they're always in a state of gratitude. They feel thankful for everything, even things that might seem to be obstacles. They have the ability and desire to see a temporary illness as a blessing, and they know in their heart that somewhere an opportunity exists in the setback, and that is what they look for in everything that shows up in their life. Through their thanks, they honor all possibilities, rather than asking their Source for something, because that seems to give power to what's missing. They commune with the Source in a state of reverent gratitude for all that's present in their lives, _knowing_ that this empowers their intention to manifest precisely what they need.
Connectors describe themselves as living in a state of appreciation and bewilderment. You're unlikely to hear them complain about anything. They aren't faultfinders. If it rains, they enjoy it, knowing that they won't get where they want to go if they only travel on sunny days. This is how they react to all of nature, with appreciative harmony. The snow, the wind, the sun, and the sounds of nature are all reminders to connectors that they're a part of the natural world. The air—regardless of its temperature or wind velocity—is the revered air that is the breath of life.
Connectors appreciate the world and everything in it. The same connection that they experience with nature they feel toward all beings, including those who lived before and those who have yet to arrive. They have a consciousness of the oneness, and therefore they make no distinctions such as _them_ or _those other people._ To a connector, it is all _we._ If you could observe their inner world, you'd discover that they're hurt by pain inflicted on others. They don't have the concept of enemies, since they know that all of us emanate from the same divine Source. They enjoy the differences in the appearance and customs of others rather than disliking, criticizing, or feeling threatened by them. Their connection to others is of a spiritual nature, but they don't separate themselves spiritually from anyone regardless of where they might live or how different their appearances or customs may be from their own. In their heart, connectors feel an affinity to all of life, as well as to the Source of all of life.
It's because of this connecting link that connectors are so adept at attracting into their lives the cooperation and assistance of others in fulfilling their own intentions. The very fact of feeling connected means that in the connectors' minds, there's no one on this planet who they're not joined up with in a spiritual sense. Consequently, living in the field of intention, the entire system of life in the universe is available to access anything their attention is on, because they're already connected to this life-giving energy system and all of its creations. They appreciate this spiritual connection, and expend no energy on depreciating or criticizing it. They never feel separated from the assistance that this entire life-giving system offers.
Therefore, connectors aren't surprised when synchronicity or coincidence brings them the fruits of their intentions. They know in their hearts that those seemingly miraculous happenings were brought into their immediate life space because they were already connected to them. Ask connectors about it and they'll tell you, _Of course, it's the law of attraction at work. Stay tuned vibrationally to the Source of all life that intended you, and everyone else here and all of the powers of that field of intention will cooperate with you to bring into your life what you desire._ They know that this is how the universe works. Others may insist that connectors are just plain lucky, but the people who enjoy the power of intention know otherwise. They know that they can negotiate the presence of anything they place their attention on as long as they stay consistent with the seven faces of intention.
Connectors don't brag about their good fortune, but are in a perpetual state of gratitude and radical humility. They understand how the universe works, and they stay blissfully in tune with it, rather than challenging or finding fault with it. Ask them about this and they'll tell you that we're part of a dynamic energy system. _Energy that moves faster,_ they explain, _dissolves and nullifies slower-moving energy._ These people choose to be in harmony with the invisible spiritual energy. They've trained their thoughts to move at the levels of the higher vibrations, and consequently they're able to deflect lower/slower vibrations.
Connectors have an uplifting effect when they come into contact with people who are living in lower energy levels. Their peacefulness causes others to feel calm and assured, and they radiate an energy of serenity and peace. They're not interested in winning arguments or accumulating allies. Rather than trying to persuade you to think like they do, they're convincing through the energy they exude. People feel loved by connectors, because they're merged with the Source of all life, which is love.
Connectors tell you without hesitation that they choose to feel good regardless of what's going on around them or how others might judge them. They know that feeling bad is a choice, and that it isn't useful for correcting unpleasant situations in the world. So they use their emotions as a guidance system to determine how attuned they are to the power of intention. If they feel bad in any way, they use this as an indicator that it's time to change their energy level so that it matches up with the peaceful, loving energy of the Source. They'll repeat to themselves: _I want to feel good,_ and they'll bring their thoughts into harmony with this desire.
If the world is at war, they still opt to feel good. If the economy takes a nosedive, they still want to feel good. If crime rates go up or hurricanes rage somewhere on the planet, they still choose to feel good. If you ask them why they don't feel bad when so many bad things are happening in the world, they'll smile and remind you that _the world of spirit from which all is intended works in peace, love, harmony, kindness, and abundance, and that is where I choose to reside within myself. My feeling bad will only ensure that I attract more of feeling bad into my life._
Connectors simply don't allow their well-being to be contingent on anything external to themselves—not the weather, not the wars someplace on the globe, not the political landscape, not the economy, and certainly not anyone else's decision to be low energy. They work with the field of intention, emulating what they know is the creative Source of all.
Connectors are always in touch with their infinite nature. Death is not something that they fear, and they'll tell you, if you ask, that they were never truly born nor will they ever die. They see death as taking off a garment or moving from one room into another—merely a transition. They point to the invisible energy that intends everything into existence and see this as their true self. Because connectors always feel aligned to everyone and everything in the universe, they don't experience the feeling of being separate from anyone else or from what they'd like to attract into their lives. Their connection is invisible and nonmaterial, but it's never doubted. Consequently, they rely on this inner, invisible spiritual energy that permeates all things. They live in harmony with Spirit, never seeing themselves as separate. This awareness is key to their seeing the power of intention at work on a daily basis.
You simply can't convince connectors that what they're intending won't materialize, because they trust in their connection to Source energy so strongly. They'll invite you to choose which possibility you're going to identify with, and then encourage you to live as if it had already occurred. If you can't do it, and are stuck in worry, doubt, and fear, they'll wish you well, but they'll continue what they call _thinking from the end._ They can see what it is they intend to manifest into their lives as if it already had materialized, and for them, because it's so real in their thoughts, it's their reality. They'll tell you forthrightly: _My thoughts, when harmonized with the field of intention, are God's thoughts, and this is how I choose to think._ You'll see if you follow them closely enough that they're exceptional at realizing the fruits of their intentions.
Connector people are exceptionally generous. It's as if what they want for themselves is dwarfed only by wanting it even more for other people. They take great pleasure in giving. Others may wonder how they ever accumulate anything for themselves, yet their lives are filled with abundance, and they seem to lack nothing that they desire. _The secret to the power of intention,_ they'll tell you, _is in thinking and acting the same as the all-providing Source from which all originates. It's always providing, and I choose to be a provider, too. The more I give of myself and_ _all that flows to me, the_ _more I see flowing back to me._
Connectors are highly inspired people. They live more in spirit than in form. Consequently, they're inspired and inspiring, as opposed to informed and filled with information. These are people who have a strong sense of their own destiny. They know why they're here, and they know that they're more than an encapsulated collection of bones, blood, and organs in a skin- and hair-covered body. They're all about living this purpose and choosing to avoid being distracted by the demands of the ego. They have great reverence for the world of Spirit, and by communing with this Source, they stay inspired.
Their level of energy is exceptionally high. It's an energy that defines them as connectors. It's the energy of the Source, a fast vibrational frequency that brings love to the presence of hatred and converts that hatred to love. They bring a peaceful countenance to the presence of chaos and disharmony, and convert the lower energies to the higher energy of peace. When you're around those who dwell in the field of intention, you'll feel energized, cleansed, healthier, and inspired. They have a noticeable absence of judgment toward others, and they aren't immobilized by the thoughts or actions of others. They often get labeled as aloof and distant because they don't gravitate toward small talk and gossip. They'll tell you that it is the Spirit that gives life, and that everyone on this planet has this Spirit within them as an all-powerful force for good. They believe it, they live it, and they inspire others.
They'll even go so far as to tell you that imbalances in the earth such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and extreme weather patterns are the result of a collective imbalance in human consciousness. They'll remind you that our bodies are made up of the same materials as the earth, that the fluid that comprises 98 percent of our blood was once ocean water, and that the minerals in our bones were components of the finite supply of minerals in the earth. They view themselves as one with the planet, and feel a responsibility to stay in balanced harmony with the field of intention to help to stabilize and harmonize the forces of the universe that can get out of balance when we live from excessive ego. They'll tell you that all thoughts, feelings, and emotions are vibrations, and that the frequency of these vibrations can create disturbances—not only in ourselves, but in everything that's made of the same materials.
Connectors will encourage you to stay in vibrational harmony with Source out of a sense of responsibility to the entire planet, and they regard this as a vital function to emulate. This isn't something they think about and discuss from a purely intellectual perspective; it's what they feel deeply within themselves and live passionately every day.
As you observe these connectors, you'll note that they don't dwell on illness and disease. They move through their life as if their body is in perfect health. They actually think and feel that any current disease pattern has never been present, and they believe that they're already healed. They believe that they attract the new outcome, because they know that there are many possible outcomes for any given condition, even for a condition that may seem to others to be impossible to overcome. They'll tell you that the possibilities for healing outcomes are here and now, and the course that an illness will take is a matter of their own perspective. Just as they believe that external turbulent systems become peaceful in the presence of our peace, they see this as a possibility for internal turbulence. Ask them about their healing capabilities and they'll say, _I'm already healed, and I think and feel from only this perspective._
You'll often see your illnesses and physical complaints disappear when you're in the presence of exceptionally high-energy connectors. Why? Because their high spiritual energy nullifies and eradicates the lower energies of illness. Just as being in the presence of connectors makes you feel better because they exude and radiate joyful appreciative energy, so too will your body heal by being in this kind of energy field.
Connectors are aware of the need to avoid low energy. They'll quietly retreat from loud, bellicose, opinionated people, sending them a silent blessing and unobtrusively moving along. They don't spend time watching violent TV shows or reading accounts of atrocities and war statistics. They might appear docile or uninteresting to people who wallow in the horrors being discussed and broadcast. Since connectors have no need to win, to be right, or to dominate others, their power is the fact that they uplift others with their presence. They communicate their views by being in harmony with the creative energy of the Source. They're never offended, because their ego isn't involved in their opinions.
Connectors live their lives matched up vibrationally to the field of intention. To them, everything is energy. They know that being hostile, hateful, or even angry toward people who believe in and support low-energy activities, which involve violence in any form, will only contribute to that kind of debilitating activity in the world.
The connectors live through higher/faster energy that allows them to access their intuitive powers readily. They have an inner knowing about what's coming. If you ask them about it, they'll tell you, _I can't explain it, but I just know it because I feel it inside._ Consequently, they're seldom confounded when the events they anticipate and intend to create . . . manifest. Rather than being surprised, they actually expect things to work out. By staying so connected to Source energy, they're able to activate their intuition and have insight into what is possible and how to go about achieving it. Their inner knowing allows them to be infinitely patient, and they're never dissatisfied with the speed or the manner in which their intentions are manifesting.
Connectors frequently mirror the seven faces of intention written about throughout the pages of this book. You'll see people who are extraordinarily creative, who have no need to fit in or to do things the way others expect them to. They apply their unique individuality to tasks, and they'll tell you that they can create anything that they place their attention and imagination on.
Connectors are exceptionally kind and loving people. They know that harmonizing with Source energy is replicating the kindness from which they originated. Yet it's not an effort for connectors to be kind. They're always grateful for what comes to them, and they know that kindness toward all of life and our planet is how to display gratitude. By being kind, others want to return the favor and become allies in helping them achieve their intentions. They associate with an unlimited number of people, all of whom are full of love, kindness, and generosity—assisting each other in fulfilling their desires.
You'll also notice how connectors see the beauty in our world. They always find something to appreciate. They can get lost in the beauty of a starry night or a frog on a lily pad. They see beauty in children, and they find a natural radiance and splendor in the aged. They have no desire to judge anyone in low-energy negative terms, and they know that the all-creating Source brings only beauty into material form and so it is always available.
Connectors never know enough! They're inquisitive about life, and they're attracted to every manner of activity. They find something to enjoy in all fields of human and creative endeavors, and are always expanding their own horizons. This openness to everything and all possibilities, and this quality of always expanding, characterizes their proficiency at manifesting their desires. They never say _no_ to the universe. Whatever life sends them, they say, _Thank you. What can I learn, and how can I grow from what I'm receiving?_ They refuse to judge anyone or anything that the Source offers them, and this always-expanding attitude is what ultimately matches them up with Source energy and opens up their life to receiving all that the Source is willing to provide. They're an open door that's never closed to possibilities. This makes them totally receptive to the abundance that's always ceaselessly flowing.
These attitudes that you see in connector people are precisely the reason that these folks seem so lucky in life. When you're around them, you feel energized, purposeful, inspired, and unified. You're seeing people whom you want to hang around with because they energize you, and this brings you a feeling of empowerment. When you feel empowered and energized, you step into the flow of abundant Source energy yourself, and you inadvertently invite others to do the same. The connection isn't just to Source energy, it's to everyone else and everything in the universe. Connectors are aligned with the entire cosmos and every particle within the cosmos. This connection makes the infinite power of intention possible and available.
These highly realized people think _from the end,_ experiencing what they wish to intend before it shows up in material form. They use their feelings as a gauge to determine if they're synchronized with the power of intention. If they feel good, they know that they're in vibrational harmony with Source. If they feel bad, they use this indicator to adjust to higher energy levels. And finally, they act on these thoughts of intention and good feelings as if all that they desired were already here. If you ask them what you can do to make your desires come true, they'll unhesitatingly advise you to c _hange the way you look at things, and the things you look at will change._
I urge you to replicate their inner world, and rejoice in the infinitely magnificent power of intention.
It works—I guarantee it!
Acknowledgments
I would like to acknowledge Joanna Pyle, who has been my personal editor for two decades. You, Joanna, make my ideas and my disjointed stream-of-consciousness writing into a cogent format called a book. I couldn't do it without you, and I'm deeply grateful for your loving presence in my life.
To my personal manager, Maya Labos, for almost a quarter of a century you've been there for me, and you've never once said, "That's not my job." Other writers and speakers have 25 assistants every year; I've had only _one_ for 25 years. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
For my publisher and my close personal friend, Reid Tracy, at Hay House, you've believed in this project from the very beginning, and you were willing to do what it took to make it all happen. Thanks, friend. I love and respect you and your courage.
I'd also like to recognize the teachings of Abraham, as brought to us through Esther and Jerry Hicks.
And finally, to Ellen Beth Goldhar, your loving inspiration guided me throughout the writing of this book. Thank you for your spirited suggestions and critical analysis of these ideas on intention as a synonym for the loving Source from which we all emanate and to which we all aspire to reconnect.
About the Author
D **r. Wayne W. Dyer** is an internationally renowned author and speaker in the field of self-development. He's the author of more than 30 books, has created many audio programs and videos, and has appeared on thousands of television and radio shows **.** His books _Manifest Your Destiny_ , _Wisdom of the Ages_ , _There's a Spiritual Solution to_ _Every Problem_ , and _The New York Times_ bestsellers _10 Secrets for Success_ _and Inner Peace_ , _The Power of Intention, Inspiration_ , _Change Your Thoughts—_ _Change Your Life_ , and _Excuses Begone!_ have all been featured as National Public Television specials.
Wayne holds a doctorate in educational counseling from Wayne State University and was an associate professor at St. John's University in New York.
Website: **www.DrWayneDyer.com **
Hay House Titles of Related Interest
**_YOU CAN HEAL YOUR LIFE, the movie,_** starring Louise L. Hay & Friends
(available as a 1-DVD program and an expanded 2-DVD set)
Watch the trailer at: **www.LouiseHayMovie.com**
**_THE SHIFT, the movie,_**
starring Dr. Wayne W. Dyer
(available as a 1-DVD program and an expanded 2-DVD set)
Watch the trailer at: **www.DyerMovie.com**
**_BE HAPPY!: Release the Power of Happiness in YOU_** **,**
by Robert Holden, Ph.D.
**_THE BIOLOGY OF BELIEF: Unleashing the Power of Consciousness,_**
** _Matter & Miracles_** **,** by Bruce H. Lipton
**_IT'S THE THOUGHT THAT COUNTS: Why Mind Over Matter Really_**
** _Works,_** by David R. Hamilton, Ph.D.
**_THE QUEST TO "HAVE IT ALL": Finding the Path to Purpose and Peace_** ,
by Colette Baron-Reid
**_RELATIONSHIPS, AND THE LAW OF ATTRACTION: Learning to_**
** _Attract Joyous Co-creations,_** by Esther and Jerry Hicks
(The Teachings of Abraham®)
**_THE WON THING: The "One" Secret to a Totally Fulfilling Life,_**
by Peggy McColl
All of the above are available at your local bookstore,
or may be ordered by contacting Hay House (see last page).
Notes
We hope you enjoyed this Hay House Lifestyles book. If you'd like
to receive our online catalog featuring additional information on
Hay House books and products, or if you'd like to find out more
about the Hay Foundation, please contact:
Hay House, Inc.
P.O. Box 5100
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www.hayhouse.com® • www.hayfoundation.org
**_Published and distributed in Australia by:
_** Hay House Australia Pty. Ltd., 18/36 Ralph St., Alexandria NSW 2015
_Phone:_ 612-9669-4299 • _Fax:_ 612-9669-4144 • www.hayhouse.com.au
**_Published and distributed in the United Kingdom by:_**
Hay House UK, Ltd., 292B Kensal Rd., London W10 5BE
_Phone:_ 44-20-8962-1230 • _Fax:_ 44-20-8962-1239 • www.hayhouse.co.uk
**_Published and distributed in the Republic of South Africa by:_**
Hay House SA (Pty), Ltd., P.O. Box 990, Witkoppen 2068 • _Phone/Fax:_
27-11-467-8904 • [email protected] • www.hayhouse.co.za
**_Published in India by:_**
Hay House Publishers India, Muskaan Complex, Plot No. 3, B-2,
Vasant Kunj, New Delhi 110 070 • _Phone:_ 91-11-4176-1620
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**Take Your Soul on a Vacation**
Visit **www.HealYourLife.com** ® to regroup, recharge, and reconnect with your
own magnificence. Featuring blogs, mind-body-spirit news,
and life-changing wisdom from Louise Hay and friends.
Visit **www.HealYourLife.com** today!
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Tupac Sex Tape Surfaces
The tape, shot in 1991, begins with a bunch of groupies in a living room during a house party. Tupac walks into the room with his pants down to his ankles, his shirt off … sporting several chains.
Tupac — whose head is shaved — pulls one of the women toward him, and she begins performing oral sex. As she does her thing, an unreleased song of Tupac’s is playing in the background, as Tupac is singing along and dancing, wiggling his hips.
And it gets even better. As the woman services Tupac, who is holding a cocktail in one hand and a blunt in another, Money B from Digital Underground walks over to him. Tupac puts his cocktail arm around Money B, continues singing and dancing … and the woman never stops.
As the tape ends it appears he’s ready to begin sexual intercourse. It’s unclear if there’s another tape.
We’ve learned the person in possession of the tape is making plans to release it.
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Module 3: Curse of Icewind Dale brings us Combat TR interesting new toys to play with. Incidentally, these are not best-in-slot for the current PermaStealth META. So what does this mean? This means we dont have to hide anymore. I want to give you a build that can 1) contest nodes, 2) stand a chance against a permanently invisible rogue, 3) outlive the hunter, and 4) not get tossed around like a pancake by the GWF.
Ok. Less chit-chat, let’s get our hands dirty;
O.O *speechless* … …… ……… Get out!
Brandon: I’m serious.groupie: How on earth?
The answer was actually simpler than you might think. I found HP wherever I was able. From gear and enchantments to artifacts and companions. This is an Open World PvP build as much as it is a Domination build, and I’m not above pumping my augment companion with steroids *cough cough* hit points.
The silly thing that’s easily neglected is how the new BiS Purified Black Ice gear came with a tremendous pool of Maximum Hit Points. This gear alone racks a crazy 5000 HP when fully empowered with Black Ice. And don’t forget those shiny new Domination tenacity blues with 900 HP on a belt piece.
[Dominator’s Cloak] comes from accomplishing 5/10 PvP Campaign achievements, and it’s the first epic neck piece to show up in the game with Maximum Hit Points and Tenacity. Where rings are concerned, defense slots are a bliss.
The [Sigil of the Great Weapon] artifact is worth ranking up as it gives 1,600 Maximum Hit Points as a final stat. Similarly, [Vanguard’s Banner] has 1,200 HP that gets maxed out at epic rank. These artifacts are solid for this build. Click the attachments below for more details about them.
This is my “Maximum” HP in OPvP if I am to spec in a certain way: (46,249). You might have already guessed, this isn’t a do-all be-all copy-paste build. It’s very customisable as to how you best see your rogue performing most efficiently. In Domination PvP I lose my augment companion, and my HP falls down to 40,250. I am not complaining.
And just for kicks and giggles, if I were to have Rank 10 Radiant Enchantments, my HP would look like this:
Weaknesses?
I can’t think of any outside of relatively low damage output. However, by comparison to PermaStealth, the possibility of equipping Vorpal and Plaguefire enchantments can in fact compensate for this issue. The build initially suffers from lack of critical chance but this was overcome by stacked Dexterity, Executioner feats and a Master Infiltrator class feature.
Strong Points
This build puts great emphasis to defense and deflect. Disagree that a TR can be extremely durable as iron? When a GWF has unstoppable we have Stealth, and it takes about one encounter slot to be able to restealth nearly as often as a GWF builds Determination. But you can’t underappreciate Stealth.
Stealth is our most distinct feature. It defines the class. Even if you were not to remain hidden forever, you can never neglect the importance of our class mechanic. In its own way, Stealth provides you 100% immunity to damage by allowing you to disengage from combat. Easily remove yourself from the foe’s effective range. Stealth allows you time to wait for cooldowns and, more importantly, it buffs your encounter powers and gives combat advantage that is equal to 15% more damage.
Endless Assault: Wasn’t this a defensive build with defensive encounters? Then what use would 6% more damage on encounters do? That is a good and valid question. I have a human character and has 3 extra points. I just so happen to like my Lashing Blade crits with Perfect Vorpal, and this Heroic Feat buffs it. You may freely switch this with Cunning Ambusher for 6% more damage after leaving stealth, but only if you were Human and have spare Heroic points.
Cruelty’s Reward: Dude, why! No reason. It was an eeny-meeny-miny-moe. This build has no use for Shocking Execution so Devastating Shroud was off the table. Thrill of the Kill was meh… Cruelty’s Reward won the day because it was the most useless of the three. You have to progress to the Executioner tree anyway and sadly, you have to pick one of three feats that are of no value to you.PS: You might be better off choosing Thrill of the Kill because Cruelty’s Reward has the same icon as Overrun Critical, and it makes things confusing when you’re trying to do an auto crit.
Speed Swindle: them slower, you faster. It’s absolutely your choice to swap this for Nimble Blade, which is about 4.2% of your damage output. You will have zero benefit from Cunning Stalker or Underhanded Tactics.
Berserk Vitality: epic must have. Since you have 40,000 HP, this feat will grant you 1,000 Temp HP every 20 seconds. Healing depression? Not too worried about it. Every twenty seconds you would have Shadow Strike off cooldown. At certain times you will be able to proc this by combat advantage from stealth. 1,500-3,000 Temp HP per minute is not a bad deal!
Self Healing, Temp HP & Regeneration
Now that we have gone through the basics, let’s find out what makes it incredibly tanky. You sure can’t live off of 40K HP, damage resistance and deflection alone. The key factor is outhealing the damage you take through set bonuses, temporary HP and regeneration.
Self Healing
You have many sources of self-healing. You will have them all. Two of these are set bonuses, Purified Absorption and Purified Siphon, both proc from Black Ice gear. The third one is lifesteal.Purified Absorption: The way that this buff works is somewhat similar to barkshield. Only, unlike Barkshield, taking damage does not deplete the charge until it has shielded you for a total of 800 damage every 3 seconds. If a charge is not fully depleted in 3 seconds, you will be healed per charge for 600 HP (300 after HD). Interestingly this shield behaves against DoT much the same way Barkshield does. Let’s say you receive 500 damage much lower than the shield value, you will see a damage floater of 0, and the subsequent DoT will all tick for 0 damage. Often enough, Purified Absorption will activate on Bilethorn poison so that it ticks for 0 damage and does not harm your stealth meter! Purified Absorption has an uptime of 15 seconds every 60 seconds. It has a lowered proc chance when in cooldown and has 100% chance to activate when not in cooldown.
Purified Siphon: This buff does exactly what the tooltip says. It has an activation chance and cooldown similar to Purified Absorption. Its heals, while affected by healing depression, is multiplied by the number of nearby enemies. This heals between 1500-3000 HP if it activates on a single target, 2400-4800 on two targets, and 3300-6600 on three targets. Realistically you would be lucky to proc it on two targets. The latter becomes a possibility when you are being focused.
Lifesteal with Endless Consumption: When you steal health from your Life Steal stat, it has a chance to steal 3 times as much. Does not seem to have an internal cooldown and procs quite often.
Healing with Impossible to Catch: Yes! ITC can heal! HOW? It’s a loopy heal that involves ITC’s deflection, Fey Thistle and Lifesteal. By now you already know that ITC when activated out of stealth grants you 100% chance to deflect all damage. I’ve emphasized in a past thread how you should use ITC against fast-hitting low-damage DoT powers. This is just all the more reason why. ITC procs Fey Thistle and Fey Thistle in turn procs Lifesteal. Since reflect from Fey Thistle can be mitigated, you can count on 300-350 damage, 31-37 HP healed by lifesteal (see my lifesteal % above), and 100 HP healed when Endless Consumption activates. If you take 10 hits in ITC, you would be healed for 310-370 HP. Considering that you take 75% less damage in ITC, mitigate 20% damage after average Armor Penetration, 370 HP can go a long way. Did you catch on that you were also reflecting 3,000 damage? Gold star!
Healing by Deflect: This works the same as explained above. Makes stacking deflect on a TR all the more delicious doesn’t it? When you deflect a DoT you would reflect as many times as it ticks, healing you with lifesteal in the process. Now, bilethorn… Oh, I got your attention eh? GG.
Waters of Elah’zad: More important than just staying alive, this artifact will irritate your enemies out of their wits. With all this wall of text about self-healing and lifesteal, it would take 3 people around 2 minutes to even bring you to half health. My artifact keybind is F1.
Battle Potion of Major Healing: You should not be above using battle potions, because, what else would you do with that glory? Hit this lovely thing when you find yourself taking more damage than you can heal but not in a position to pop an artifact.
Soulforged Armor: Just to be overly annoying, if your enemies somehow manage to bring you down, rise from the dead, spam stealth and disengage from combat. Either grab a field potion or sit someplace to catch your breath. Troll the node again when it is convenient for you.
Temp HP
Greater Purified Tempered Enchantment: Affected by healing depression and comes with a one minute cooldown, but even then, this overload enchantment grants you 2750 Temp HP and 800 deflect. Your choices of overload enchantment vary between defense, deflect and lifesteal and they all come with temporary hit points. Equipping two of these in your overload slots will grant you two activations per minute. Overload slots appear to have separate cooldowns no matter what you put in them.
Berserk Vitality: just to reiterate, epic must have. Because you have 40,000 HP, this feat will grant you 1,000 Temp HP every 20 seconds. Healing depression? Not too worried about it. Every twenty seconds you would have Shadow Strike off cooldown. At times you will be able to proc this from stealth.
Regeneration
Regeneration is still a valuable stat despite healing depression. Do remember that two factors affect Regeneration: Maximum Hit Points and your Regeneration stat. At 40,000 HP, 1,400 Regeneration heals you for 1,983 HP once every 3 seconds. Halved by HD, this is still a reliable source of healing in battle. You can easily stack regeneration as a TR by equipping [Rings of Preservation] from the Pegasus Seal Traders. If you are not stacking Regeneration, alternate these rings with [Ancient Priest’s Ring of Burning Light] for 1200 more HP, 300 defense and 300 deflect.
Lurker’s Assault: Did they think HR was the only class that can self heal with a daily power? Lurker’s Assault has no heal mechanic to it whatsoever, but if you are spec’d for regen, remember that being out of combat for 10 seconds will remove healing depression. Cast Shadow Strike, enter Lurker mode and finish with another Shadow Strike to prolong stealth. If you are able to sit someplace nearby where the enemy will not hurt you (even better while contesting a node), HD will wear off and you will have 20-30 seconds to regenerate. During the first 10 seconds you will regenerate 3,000 HP, and up to 10,000 before stealth ends, considering the diminishing behavior of Regeneration as you get closer to full health. This is more than Forest Meditation heals an HR under Healing Depression.
Evasion
Dodge: You have 3 dodge rolls. Purified Black Ice gear gives 150 Stamina Gain as a two-parts set bonus. With a boon from the Icewind Campaign, you can reach 400 Stamina Gain. Additionally, you have 10% faster Stamina regeneration from Swift Footwork. Why take damage? Avoid getting hurt in the first place.
Smoke Bomb: In the core build’s rotation this encounter plays an integral role along with ITC and Shadow Strike. This is the third encounter that fills your power tray in the default setup. You may change this out to adapt a different setup, but it is the ideal encounter to use when contesting nodes against many people. Even with low recovery you can easily rotate these three powers seamlessly with little marginal error.
Open World PvP & Companions
Things are getting more and more interesting in Caer-Konig. Open World PvP is all about having the right companions and using your environment to your advantage. As a Reflect TR, OPvP is my element! I gain two additional sources of reflect, as well as control effects when taking damage. I recommend these companions:
I have them all besides the Snow Leopard which hasn’t come out yet. Such a shame I can only pick five of my favorites. I love Minion Bear. It’s adorable and gives HP. Evoker is worth ranking up to Epic.
The Reflect TR is originally aimed towards an immortality build. When I was first unboxing this sweet new toy, the package came with an HP charger, batteries–lots of batteries, Purified Black Ice and all sorts of protective gear. The warranty sticker said “No warranties, this item is unbreakable.”
Power Loudout
[Impossible to Catch] For all the goodies we already know about it, and then some.
[Shadow Strike] Stealth being a class mechanic offers immunity in its own way, if timed properly.
[Smoke Bomb] One of the best, if not THE best, CC in the game.
[Clouds of Steel] Knives. Knives!
[Sly Flourish] More reliable source of damage.
[Duelist Flurry] More damage.
[Skillfull Infiltrator] A must have for 15% movement speed, 3% deflect and 3% critical chance.
[Tenacious Concealment] Protects your stealth meter.
[Whirlwind of Blades] Your strongest spike AoE damage. Use wisely.
[Lurker’s Assault] A Combat TR’s insurance policy.
Domination Role
Contest nodes against multiple enemies.
Clear home node where the enemy PermaStealth lurks.
Control enemies targeting your allies.
Facetank damage while ranged allies eliminate targets off node.
Spike AoE damage in order to kill off straglers.
Spike Damage Dealer
Though your overall damage output may be low, dealing huge damage spikes is not a farfetched idea. You are a TR after all. You’ll need two items, a ring and a new primary artifact:
[Competing Ring of Heartiness]: Believe it or not you get these for 900 glory in the first ToB merchant from the left. It has HP, deflection and tenacity as a stat, and offense slots. For offense slots, go for Azure enchantments. You will need higher critical chance for this setup.
[Sigil of the Devoted]: Is a free daily once every two minutes. You will be using Whirlwind of Blades, hence the need for critical chance.
[Tactics] Use this instead of Tenacious Concealment for faster 15% Action Point gain.
[Lashing Blade] Replace Smoke Bomb with this power. Auto crit it every time from stealth.
Tips
Whirlwind of Blades crits individually. Different from common AoE powers, which either crit or not on all targets, WoB rolls a separate random number for each target hit. It means the more target you hit, the better odds you will deal critical damage. Your critical chance is, of course, taken into calculation. This is a trivia in RNG.
Versus Fighter Setup
in writing
Versus PermaStealth Setup
The Reflect TR can be tweaked solely for the purpose of defeating PermaStealth. You will need a few things from the current META:
Path of the Blades: The most effective encounter power against Stealth. Replace Shadow Strike with this power when fighting PermaStealth TR.
So Why not use Shadow Strike? You benefit the least out of this power against a Bilethorn-stacking TR. Against another class maybe you can blink in and out of Stealth, but not if they were stacking Bilethorn on you. The setup is mainly ITC+PoB and a third power of your choice.
[Plague Fire Enchantment]: PermaStealth has low to average defense but it’s up to you if debuff adds a good flavor. The DoT on PF comes second only to Bilethorn. Alternately, Flaming Enchantment may as well serve this purpose.
[Bilethorn Enchantment]: This has been and always will be the best way to unstealth a TR. There is an important logic explained below why unstealthing the TR is your primary concern.
Realize that weapon enchantment choices do not jeopardize the build because you perform a defensive role. Amongst all TR META, I believe this one offers you the most freedom of choice when it comes down to weapon enchantments.
Countering
As you are a combat-type that has shorter Stealth you would lose when you try to fight fire with fire. Fight fire with water. Douse the fire first and go from there. By this logic, you might as well slot out[Tenacious Concealment] for another passive. Personally I wouldn’t, but to each their own. Suffice to say, you would not be entering Stealth often but that is the point I am getting at.
In almost everything between defenses and offensive, combat-type TR outperforms a PermaStealth TR if they were to play out of stealth. Your primary concern is draining his stealth meter so he doesnt get Combat Advantage, has lower damage, lower critical severity, decreased movement speed, unable to land Duelist Flurry, reduced Action Point gain. The list goes on. A PermaStealth TR out of Stealth is a fish out of the water. Just add salt.
But it can be fatal to underestimate your opponents. Whisperknife TR can also be built as PermaStealth and surprise you with burst damage. Skill will always be a determining factor*.
Tips
Reflect builds are inherently good in countering PermaStealth in the way that stealth works. With increased deflection chances and ITC, you will have a reliable source of reflect damage to take an enemy out of stealth.
Let the TR unstealth himself. When a TR drops PoB and immediately enters Stealth, this attack benefits from Combat Advantage. However, this also gives you the chance to step into ITC, reflecting 5 seconds/PoB ticks as well as Clouds of Steel. With proper timing you can use his weapon against him.
Purified Absorption will nullify damage over time effects. When it activates, you have a chance every 3 seconds over 15 seconds to absorb all Bilethorn DoT for 0 damage. There is an odd behavior to it where you still sometimes deflect 0 damage, thus reflecting Bilethorn with Fey Thistle and healing you over Lifesteal for as many times as the BT ticked.
Videos & Updates
I’m such a slob when recording matches and my machine isn’t up to par either, but I make do. This is the first video I ever made in my life so go easy on the comments!
That said, the Reflect TR is just as much an immortality build as any. In this video I demonstrate all of the above theories and whatnot. I was fortunate enough to have fought single matches, 2v1, 3v1, and even 4v1 all in the same game! And it was no ordinary mismatched PuGstomp. The enemy was in fact great–perhaps too great that their perma made two GWF in my team quit. However, this video was not about PuG teams but rather performing the intended role of a Reflect TR in domination: contesting. I would leave soulforged, halfdead enemies that are easy-pickings to my teammates, moving from node to node capturing bases, controlling the battlefield and occasionally scoring a kill. It was incredibly fun to play. Enjoy!
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Image copyright AP Image caption Authorities responded to reports of a fire at Standley Lake High School outside Denver
A 16-year-old student in the US state of Colorado has suffered severe burns after setting himself on fire in his high school cafeteria.
Authorities believe the incident, which occurred at 07:15 local time (14:15 GMT), was an suicide attempt and have not identified the student.
An adult suffered minor injuries putting out the blaze.
Standley Lake High School outside Denver was evacuated as officials investigated the incident.
The student was taken to a local hospital and is reported to be in critical condition.
An adult school cafeteria worker suffered a minor abrasion after breaking glass to get access to a fire extinguisher.
Several others students were nearby at the time, but none were injured.
The teenager did not make any threats before starting the fire, Westminster Police Department spokeswoman Cheri Spottke said.
Officials believe it was a suicide attempt.
"We don't have any indication that there's any threat against the high school," Ms Spottke said.
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Transcript
A police submission to an inquiry into the scandal says the Church helps cover-up criminal allegations and fails to bring sex offenders to justice.
It claims that even though the Church uncovered 600 cases of abuse, not one of them was reported to police.
Guy Stayner reports.
GUY STAYNER, REPORTER: Decades after his school days, the 1970s are never far from the mind of 49-year-old Peter Murphy.
PETER MURPHY: I went from being a nice, relaxed, easy-going kid till I turn all of a sudden into - into fits of rage.
GUY STAYNER: Now the Victorian Government's inquiry into sexual abuse within religious organisations is bringing the memories to the surface. He was one of at least eight boys abused by a Catholic priest in Melbourne's north-east.
PETER MURPHY: He climbed on the bed and it was making that much noise I thought that the boy in the room would wake up. And I was just frozen basically. He made himself comfortable and then, yeah, not knowing what's going on, all of a sudden he's got his hand in my sleeping bag and basically abusing me that way, playing with me. And then grabbed my hand and made me touch him as well.
GUY STAYNER: In 1987, 11 years after the abuse, Peter Murphy found the courage to complain to the Church. But instead of having the complaint dealt with, it was ignored for six years. As the complaints multiplied, the perpetrator, Father Peter Chalk, moved to Japan.
What do you think of the Church's response to the allegations that were raised back in 1987?
PETER MURPHY: Um, their response? They basically didn't have much of a response to me. It was basically disgraceful. For them not to even come and see me or ask me things for those - for that many years, um, basically, yeah, you could just say it's disgraceful.
GUY STAYNER: Father Peter Chalk committed suicide in Japan before he could be brought to justice. In a damning submission to Victoria's parliamentary inquiry into sexual abuse in religious institutions, Victoria police cited the practice of moving Church predators like Peter Chalk as a way for the Church to avoid justice.
(male voiceover): "The Catholic Church has on a number of occasions moved alleged offenders. This has included moving alleged offenders to other positions which were perceived as presenting a lower risk to the community or to other locations to impede police investigation."
SHANE MACKINLAY, CATHOLIC CHURCH SPOKESMAN: That was clearly misguided. It was under the - often under professional advice. It reflected the lack of understanding of paedophilia in the community generally, which bishops and religious leaders really wanted to believe because they found it so difficult to accept that priests and religious could do these horrendous things.
GUY STAYNER: While Victoria Police wouldn't comment on its submission today, it was foreshadowed in April by a frustrated Deputy Commissioner, Graham Ashton.
GRAHAM ASHTON, VIC. POLICE DEPUTY COMMISSIONER (April): We believe there's also an onus on the Church when they see matters to let us know about them rather than wait for victims to come directly to us.
GUY STAYNER: The police submission clearly states that the Catholic Church's internal inquiry, called the Melbourne Response, often impedes criminal investigations and the administration of justice. In fact, not one allegation of sexual abuse has been referred to police by the Church.
(male voiceover): "Victoria Police has serious concerns regarding the terms of this inquiry process and its appearance as a de facto substitute for criminal justice. As noted on its website, the Melbourne Response has made a number of ex gratia payments to victims. In spite of this, is has not referred a single complaint to Victoria Police."
GUY STAYNER: Are you surprised that police have made a submission that says that the Church have been covering up abuse for years?
PETER MURPHY: No. No, not at all, because they did it for sure. They covered up my one.
GUY STAYNER: The Catholic Church denies its internal inquiry is a cover up.
SHANE MACKINLAY: Of course deliberately impeding a police investigation for one's own benefit or for the benefit of an organisation presumably is a criminal offence, and we are very opposed to anything like that. We're not aware of any situation which could be described in those terms.
GUY STAYNER: At least 40 victims of sex abuse in one Catholic school have since committed suicide. Judy Courtin first uncovered the evidence, linking the suicide cluster to sexual abuse and the Catholic Church.
JUDY COURTIN, MONASH UNIVERSITY: One of the very serious concerns we have around the suicides is sadly they haven't ended. We have figures now of up to 50. My research is revealing more clusters of suicides in other parishes around the state. That's not a past event, sadly.
GUY STAYNER: About 600 abuse victims have come forward in Victoria, but police believe less than 10 per cent of victims complain, meaning the true number could be closer to 10,000.
Peter Murphy says he knows victims who have never complained.
PETER MURPHY: I'd say there'd be a lot more people out there that he's abused.
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John Johnson
Newser staff
(NEWSER) – Nine newly sworn-in officers with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey managed to make it just hours into their careers before dooming said careers. All got fired yesterday for a taking part in a too-rowdy graduation party in a Hoboken bar, reports the Star-Ledger.
When bouncers tried to calm things down, the officers — some clad in their uniforms — reportedly pulled their badges and said they could do what they like now that they were sworn officers. They kept it up even when Hoboken cops arrived, followed by Port Authority officials.
Video shows the men "pouring themselves beers behind the bar, making lewd remarks to female patrons and grabbing at least one woman's butt," reports DNAInfo. A lieutenant present might have calmed things down had he not been passed out. He and three sergeants also present face disciplinary action but will keep their jobs.
The graduation party took place in late August, meaning the nine were still on probation when their pink slips arrived.
This article originally appeared on Newser: 9 Rookie Cops Fired After Wild Graduation Party
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These have been 18 covers of the 1967 Spider-Man TV show, spread across 18 glorious days. This is Day 18, and I do believe we’ve left the best for last.
And now, from Nerdstalking’s own Chad Gendron, a version of the 60’s Spidey theme done in his own, inimitable style. I think you’ll agree that Chad really lays bare the true ramifications of having radioactive blood. See you tomorrow for the bonus round, to commemorate the premiere day of Spider-Man: Homecoming.
18 days, 18 goddamn glorious 1967 Spider-Man TV show theme song covers! Because a spider has 8 legs, and if you take the 1 away from 18 you get 8! Here’s Day 13:
The focus in these posts has been on the 60’s Spider-Man theme song, and the band featured in this one certainly did a cover of that. But I think today I’ll post something a little different from them: it’s a cover of the interstitial music heard on the show, which anyone who watched it regularly would instantly recognize. It kind of makes me think of A Charlie Brown Christmas. That holiday perennial is eternally remembered, but mostly for the music featured within. I feel the 1967 Spider-Man enjoys the same phenomena.
So, the band is a Winnipeg outfit called Volume, their 2002 album is called The Amazing Spider-Band, and this particular piece is titled Tribute to Spider-Man:
18 days, 18 goddamn glorious 1967 Spider-Man TV show theme song covers! Because a spider has 8 legs, and if you take the 1 away from 18 you get 8! Here’s Day 12:
If Spidey takes one wrong step off a ledge, he’s heading for the ground in a big hurry. And that, my fine-feathered friends, is my segue into this Dubstep version of the 1967 Spider-Man TV show theme song, from AmazingGamer.
18 days, 18 goddamn glorious 1967 Spider-Man TV show theme song covers! Because a spider has 8 legs, and if you take the 1 away from 18 you get 8! Here’s Day 8. That’s right! Same as the number of a spider’s legs!
This is a delightful acapella version of the theme, by the good folks at The Warp Zone. Along with sounding good, the video also has the benefit of the singers being dressed as a range of characters associated with Spider-Man. Enjoy:
18 days, 18 goddamn glorious 1967 Spider-Man TV show theme song covers! Because a spider has 8 legs, and if you take the 1 away from 18 you get 8! Here’s Day 6:
Spider-Man needs a lot of raw power to swing through the high-rise buildings of New York City, so here’s a powerfully raw punk version of the 60’s theme song by Stikky, out of Berkeley, California. It was originally featured on their 1988 album Cuddle, and then again on the 1997 Spamthology: Volume One compilation album:
18 days, 18 goddamn glorious 1967 Spider-Man TV show theme song covers! Because a spider has eight legs, and if you take the 1 away from 18 you get 8! Here’s Day 5:
While Oscar winner Paul Francis Webster did the lyrics to the 60’s Spider-Man theme, Bob Harris was responsible for its music. Harris is also known as the composer of Love Theme for Lolita, found in Stanley Kubrick’s 1962 Lolita, a film about a middle-aged professor who falls for the charms of a spicy teenager. Speaking of hotness, from Monclova, Mexico comes Fuego Indio with their Spanish version of Harris’ theme.
18 days, 18 goddamn glorious 1967 Spider-Man TV show theme song covers! Because a spider has 8 legs, and if you take the 1 away from 18 you get 8! Here’s Day 4:
Walloping Websnappers! I’m not sure why so many Canadians are showing up on a list of Spidey theme covers, but maybe there just wasn’t that much to watch on Canadian television so everyone remembers the cool-weird TV show in re-runs in the 70’s and 80’s. At any rate, here are the Canadian clown princes of acapella doing their rendition, with that patented Früvous silliness thrown in. It really packs a punch.
18 days, 18 goddamn glorious 1967 Spider-Man TV show theme song covers! Because a spider has 8 legs, and if you take the 1 away from 18 you get 8! Here’s Day 2:
Now 50 years old, the animation in the 60’s Spider-Man TV show was pretty rough, done in a shoe-string limited animation style to save money. So a jangly Ramones cover of the theme song seems just perfectly apropos. The song showed up as a hidden track on their 1995 farewell studio album ¡Adios Amigos!, as well as the 1996 live album We’re Outta Here!Here is the awesome video for the song as it aired on MTV. Yes kids, MTV once played music videos:
18 days, 18 goddamn glorious 1967 Spider-Man TV show theme song covers! Because a spider has 8 legs, and if you take the 1 away from 18 you get 8! Here’s Day 1:
Cartoon theme songs are, of course, designed to get into the heads of children quickly and have them singing it endlessly between shows, but I think you’d be pretty hard-pressed to find another one that has earwormed pop-culture so thoroughly than that of the late 1960’s Spider-Man TV show […]
Where Chad flashes his “#1 Elvis Fan” badge, Ross waxes on – waxes off, Jacquie shouts from her Wookie treehouse, Bill plays the Fall Guy and Ross and Chad leave their cake out in the rain. Click and enjoy!
Still obsessed with hard-partyin’ Irish actor Richard Harris, who’s dulcet singing voice gets a mention in the next Nerdstalking episode, due for imminent release. Here he is in the trailer for The Cassandra Crossing, by all accounts a terrible disaster film but still one of my biggest guilty pleasures. Ridiculous, sure, but also star-studded and full …
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Images courtesy of The Museum of English Rural Life; the National Motor Museum; Colchester and Ipswich Museum Service; London School of Ecomonics; the National Trust; The Geffrye Museum of the Home; The Wallace Collection; the Olive Matthews Collection, Chertsey Museum; Annie Cottington; Reading Museum Service; Textile Conservation Foundation; Commanding Officer, HMS Victory; March & District Museum; The Fleet Air Arm Museum; Aviva Group Archive; Northampton Museum and Art Gallery; University College, London; Museums Luton; Victoria and Albert Museum; English Heritage.
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Introduction {#Sec1}
============
In studies on unique properties of nanocrystals, the real crystal structure of an individual nano-grain is very important since a complete picture of the physical properties of nanocrystals requires information about their atomic structure. Such information was not really available until recently due to a lack of reliable information about the actual atomic arrangements at the surface and inside the nanocrystal grain. Our ultimate goal is to learn about the "whole" atomic structure of nanocrystals, i.e., about the atomic architecture of the surfaces terminating a single nanocrystalline grain and on the internal lattice underneath the surface, using CdSe as the model material.
Since the best available experimental techniques either lack the required resolution (HRTEM), or can only visualize atoms at the very surface (STM, AFM), modeling and computer simulation is practically the only way to obtain information on the atomic structure of nanocrystals with resolution required to examine the symmetry and short- and long-range atomic arrangements in the crystals.
The rearrangement of atoms at the surface occurs due to the environment of the atoms located at the crystal terminating planes, which is always different than that in the crystal volume. Recently, we presented the results of molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of models of CdSe crystal platelets about 6 nm thick with basal planes being the atomic planes with low Miller indices of (100), (110), or (111). We showed that the changes in the symmetry and the lengths of interatomic bonds at the surface layer have a pronounced effect on the positions of atoms underneath the surface. The corresponding changes in interatomic lattice distances are observed up to 3 nm below the surface, beyond which the parent (bulk) crystal lattice remains unaffected. This borderline depth can be called the relaxation length of the surface strain (RL). In crystals with sizes comparable to surface relaxation length the strains appearing at the end surfaces (their magnitude depending on the atomic planes terminating the crystal) will obviously interact with each other, i.e., the changes of positions of atoms underneath the terminating surfaces will overlap (Stelmakh et al. [@CR21]). This effect can appear in nanocrystals with only a few nanometers in size. In such crystals, the atomic lattice throughout the entire grain volume is determined by the type of surfaces terminating the crystal volume and their spacing. There are multiple experimental reports on the size dependence of lattice parameters of semiconductor nanocrystals, including CdSe (Tolbert and Alivisatos [@CR24]; Zhang et al. [@CR27]; Masadeh et al. [@CR14]). The proposed explanations usually recall surface tension (Zhang et al. [@CR27]) and the resulting internal pressure as being responsible for the effect. In the present work, we show that the actual situation is by far more complex. The internal structure of the nanocrystals is neither uniform nor isotropic and the observed changes of the apparent average lattice parameters are caused by the crystal lattice rearrangement that originates at the surface and extends into the bulk of nanocrystals.
Computations {#Sec2}
============
MD simulations {#Sec3}
--------------
The molecular dynamics (MD) technique is a widely used methodology of computer simulation of the structure and properties of materials on the atomic scale (Rapaport [@CR19]; Griebel et al. [@CR8]). The method requires far less computer power than the ab initio quantum mechanical methods and therefore allows for modeling the actual bulk structures (Car and Parrinello [@CR4]). While ab initio approach is used for calculations of electronic band structure, vibrational properties of nanocrystals are routinely being modeled with molecular dynamics methods using the classical Newtonian equations of motion.
Several potentials that reproduce well bulk lattice parameter, bulk modulus, specific heat, and phonon spectra of CdSe have been proposed (Benkabou et al. [@CR1]; Rabani [@CR18]; Han and Bester [@CR11]). Their applicability to nanoparticles has recently been analyzed (Kelley [@CR13]) and the long-known Tersoff formula (Tersoff [@CR22]) parametrized by Benkabou et al.(Benkabou et al. [@CR1]) was found to reproduce the experimental data on Raman scattering, infrared spectra, and phonon dispersion for both small (approximately 400 atoms) and large (approximately 2600 atoms) nanocrystals in the best way. The Tersoff potential (TP) is designated for short ranged, covalent bonds. It is a function of 11 empirical parameters. It takes into account the local environment of atoms, i.e., the angle between bonds and the distances between atoms, and their population. The TP decreases with an increase in the number of interacting neighbors, which allows to distinguish between bulk and surface atoms if their interatomic distances are similar.
In the present study, the simulations were run with the POLY-classic software using high-end PC-class computer (Todorov et al. [@CR23]). Parameters of the Tersoff potential were taken from Benkabou where it is shown that the bulk lattice parameter is reproduced to within 0.08% (Benkabou et al. [@CR1]). Although TP works very well in the crystal's bulk, its capability of accurate reproduction of the surface structure is limited. It is short-range and accounts only for the interaction of the nearest-neighbor atoms. It can reproduce 2 × 1 surface reconstruction but no reconstruction with longer periodicity can be obtained. For the same reason, surface diffusion cannot be reliably modeled. Yet, it produces reasonable figures for the surface energy. Our simulations of small CdSe nanoparticles (not the subject of the present report) yielded the following values of surface energy for low-index atomic surfaces: 2.18 eV/atom for (100), 2.11 eV/atom for (110), 1.78 eV/atom for (111)A, and 2.40ev/atom for (111)B surfaces. This is in general agreement with the experimental values reported in the literature (Xu et al. [@CR26]). The differences between various surfaces naturally reflect the density of the broken atomic bonds at the surface.
The input models were generated by NanoPDF64 software code (Skrobas [@CR20]). The same simulation protocol was applied to all models; during the first 10,000 steps (10 ps), the system was warmed up to relax the initial configuration. Then the system was simulated in the Hoover-Nose thermostat/barostat for 20,000 steps (20 ps). During simulation, the temperature was kept at *T* = 300 K and the pressure at *P* = 1 atm. We examined models build with up to 20,000 Cd and Se atoms arranged in the zinc-blende crystal lattice.
Being aware of the limitations of TP in the present work, we do not discuss the surface features but analyze the crystal structure deeper in the bulk.
From the simulation data, we calculated the vibrational density of states function VDOS as a Fourier transform of velocity autocorrelation function VAF (Goncalves and Bonadeo [@CR9]). In our models, the highest frequency vibrational modes appear at about 6--7 THz; therefore, the characteristic period of thermal vibrations is about 0.15 ps. To evaluate the averaged (equilibrium) results of the simulations, the atomic coordinates of atoms in the examined models were taken as averages in the final 10 ps of each simulation run.
MD-simulated models {#Sec4}
-------------------
MD simulations were performed for cylindrical models of 12 nm in diameter. The cylinders were approximately 2.5 nm thick so that the distance between the terminating planes is comparable to the relaxation length of the surface strains previously determined for thick CdSe cylinders (Stelmakh et al. [@CR21]). In this work, models terminated by the same low-index atomic terminal planes, (100), (110), (111)A, and (111)B, are examined. Note that we discern between two types of (111) surfaces; in the case of the (111)A terminal plane, the surface layer is spaced from the underlying layer of the other sub-lattice by ¼ *c* ~0~, while at the surface of type (111)B, the top atomic layer is three times further away, i.e., it is distant by ¾ *c* ~0~, c.f. section "[Symmetry and disordering of the surface layers](#Sec6){ref-type="sec"}".
The effect of interaction between terminating planes is examined through analysis of changes of a few shortest interatomic distances characterizing the near-neighbor coordination: *r* ~2~ which is the shortest distance within sub-lattices (Cd-Cd, Se-Se) and *r* ~1~ and *r* ~3~ which describe relative positions of Cd and Se sub-lattices (Cd-Se). The lattice distortion was measured both in the planes and between the neighboring atomic planes parallel to the surface. Since the relaxation at the edges and the lateral surfaces of the simulated cylindrical particle may interfere with the examined changes occurring at and beneath the basal planes, only the atoms located in the central, 6 nm in diameter, section of the model were taken into account.
The average lengths of *r* ~1~, *r* ~2~, and *r* ~3~ were determined from the reduced pair distribution function *G*(*r*) calculated for a fraction of atoms selected from the MD models (Egami and Billinge [@CR6]). Those atoms were either from a given atomic plane, from a string of atoms, or from pairs or triples of subsequent atomic planes.
The effect of interaction of two opposite parallel surfaces was evaluated by comparison to the effects determined previously for 6-nm thick models (Stelmakh et al. [@CR21]).
Results and discussion {#Sec5}
======================
Symmetry and disordering of the surface layers {#Sec6}
----------------------------------------------
In our recent study performed for CdSe cylinders built from 20 to 26 CdSe layers, the average values of interatomic distances were measured inside individual atomic planes parallel to the surface and also between adjacent atomic planes (Stelmakh et al. [@CR21]). Possible anisotropy of the lattice deformation was not accounted for and therefore changes of the symmetry were not analyzed. We found that, among four different surface types under examination, the end layers of (100) and (111)B surfaces lose the long range ordering and the surface adopts a disordered structure. At the (110) and (111)A surfaces, long-range order and the symmetry are preserved (Stelmakh et al. [@CR21]). In the present work, we examine anisotropy of changes of the interatomic distances which occurs at the surface and which may affect the symmetry of the internal crystal lattice.
### Symmetry of (100) surface {#Sec7}
A model of CdSe with (100) surface is built from monoatomic layers, alternately Cd and Se; the end layer is either Cd or Se, the layer underneath Se or Cd, respectively. Cd and Se lattices are displaced relative to each other by ¼ of the diagonal of the unit square, in the \[110\] or \[1--10\] direction (Fig. [1](#Fig1){ref-type="fig"}a). Since the atoms of the sub-lattice underneath the end layer are aligned in the \[110\] direction, the end surface atoms have a possibility to move in the \[1--10\] direction with a choice of two equivalent alternate positions. They have no such choice in the \[110\] direction since each end atom is strongly bonded to two atoms of the next layer. As a result the end atoms form randomly distributed pairs and the original fourfold symmetry at the terminating (100) atomic planes is lost.Fig. 1**a** The first two atomic layers at the (100) CdSe surface before and after MD simulation, **b** interatomic distance function *G*(*r*) calculated in the \[110\] and, **c** in the \[1--10\] directions
Calculations of *G*(*r*) functions were made for sets of atoms "cut out" from three atomic surface layers (excluding the end layer due to disordering). The sets were 1 nm wide and 10 nm long in two equivalent perpendicular directions, \[110\] and \[1--10\]. A comparison to the perfect lattice shows that in-plane distances are shortened by 0.15% in the \[110\] direction (Fig. [1](#Fig1){ref-type="fig"}b) and are elongated by 0.55% in the \[1--10\] direction (Fig. [1](#Fig1){ref-type="fig"}c); the square arrangement of atoms in the layers underneath the disordered surface is transformed into orthorhombic one.
In-plane surface deformation is accompanied by a relative shift of Cd and Se sub-lattices by about 1% in the \[001\] direction (Fig. [2](#Fig2){ref-type="fig"}b). This shift decreases with an increase in the distance from the surface, c.f. section "[Interaction of (100) surfaces](#Sec12){ref-type="sec"}". In previously examined 6-nm thick models, the cubic lattice is fully recovered at the depth of about 2 nm, but in the models built of only nine layers, the cubic symmetry is lost in the whole volume (Stelmakh et al. [@CR21]). The effect of the surface deformation is demonstrated in Fig. [2](#Fig2){ref-type="fig"}(c, d) which show that, as a result of the surface deformation, the lines of atoms perpendicular to the surface (in the \[001\] direction) bend, and they bend differently in the (110) than in the (1-10) atomic planes.Fig. 2Deformation of CdSe cubic lattice at the (100) surface
### Symmetry of (110) surface {#Sec8}
The surface (110) is bi-atomic Cd and Se sub-lattices being shifted in the plane relative to each other by ¼ of the diagonal of the cubic unit cell (\[111\] direction) (Fig. [3](#Fig3){ref-type="fig"}):Fig. 3**a** A model of the atomic structure of CdSe terminated by the (110) surface. b and **c** The lattice deformation in MD simulated models and interatomic distance functions *G*(*r*) calculated for the \[100\] and \[110\] directions, respectively
The calculations of the *G*(*r*) functions showed that, at the surface layer, the interatomic distances are elongated by 0.5% in the \[100\] and by 1% in the \[110\] direction (Fig. [3](#Fig3){ref-type="fig"}) and the fourfold symmetry of the surface is lost. Lattice deformation at the very surface is the same in thick and thin models. In the thick model, the deformation disappears at the depth of about 2 nm, while in the thin model extends thru the entire volume.
### Symmetry of (111)A surface {#Sec9}
For (111) planes, the environment of each individual atom at the end monoatomic layers for both (111)A and (111)B surfaces is identical; therefore, no deformation of individual hexagonal layers is expected. At the (111)A plane, the long range order is preserved; each individual atom at this surface (Cd or Se) is strongly bonded to three atoms (Se or Cd) of the next hexagonal layer (being at the distance *r* ~1~), which stabilizes the hexagonal surface layer (Fig. [4](#Fig4){ref-type="fig"}). The surface strain is demonstrated only by a changed length of interatomic bonds, both in the plane and between individual planes, c.f. section "[Interaction of (111)A surfaces](#Sec14){ref-type="sec"}".Fig. 4A sequence of hexagonal Cd and Se layers underneath the (111)A surface and a projection of the end Cd layer after MD simulation
### Symmetry of (111)B surface {#Sec10}
At the (111)B surface, the threefold symmetry is lost and replaced by a strong disorder, resembling an amorphous-like pattern with only short-range order being well-defined (Stelmakh et al. [@CR21]). At that, surface each atom of the end layer (Cd or Se) is bonded strongly to only one atom of the layer underneath it (Se or Cd) by the Cd-Se bond of length *r* ~1~ (Fig. [5](#Fig5){ref-type="fig"}). The next nearest neighbor bonds of the end surface atoms are much weaker and have the length of *r* ~3~ in the equivalent directions corresponding to the original threefold symmetry of the initial model, c.f. section "[Interaction of (111)B surfaces](#Sec15){ref-type="sec"}".Fig. 5The sequence of hexagonal Cd and Se layers underneath the (111)A surface and a projection of the end Cd layer after MD simulation
During relaxation of the end surface layer, the individual atoms rearrange and form chains of the same atoms, where each pair of the atoms, Cd-Cd or Se-Se, is equally distant. The long axis of each chain is oriented in one of three possible directions which follow the original threefold lattice symmetry, but their lengths and relative orientation are not correlated (Fig. [5](#Fig5){ref-type="fig"}).
Due to a lack of long-range ordering at the end atomic layer, a disorder appears also in the crystal lattice underneath. Figure [6](#Fig6){ref-type="fig"}a presents partial *G*(*r*) functions calculated for subsequent Cd and Se layers at and under the surface. *G*(*r*) of the Cd end surface (layer 1) has one strong peak at about 2.5 Å, which corresponds to the bonds between Cd-Cd atoms arranged in the chains; the length of the bonds is about the same as *r* ~1~ of the Cd-Se bonds in the CdSe crystal lattice. In the Se layer underneath it (layer 2), a split of *r* ~2~ distances is observed, and in the subsequent Cd and Se layers, the width of *r* ~2~ peaks systematically decreases with an increase in the distance from the surface. However, even the width of the *r* ~2~, peak of the seventh layer is larger than that in the reference CdSe lattice. That means that positional disordering extends to the depth larger than 2 nm.Fig. 6**a** Interatomic distance functions *G*(*r*) of individual Cd and Se layers underneath the (111)B end surface. **b** *G*(*r*) lines of Cd-Cd and Se-Se *r* ~2~ distances calculated for subsequent layers increasingly distant from the surface
Detailed comparison of *r* ~2~ peaks (Fig. [6](#Fig6){ref-type="fig"}b) shows that the width of the peak calculated for a Cd layer is always larger than that for the subsequent Se layer. Since broadening of peaks in *G*(*r*) is a measure of a dispersion of positions of atoms about their average values, the present result indicates that the disordering that appears at the Cd end layer extends to the other layers unevenly: Cd layers inside the grain volume show stronger positional disorder than the Se layers.
The positional disorder observed within individual sub-lattices is also reflected in the dispersion of intra-lattice distances measured between subsequent layers. Figure [7](#Fig7){ref-type="fig"} presents partial *G*(*r*) functions with intra-lattice distances *r* ~1~, *r* ~3~, *r* ~5~, and *r* ~7~ calculated for subsequent Cd-Se layer pairs. The first Cd-Se double layer (1--2) is formed from disordered (amorphous-like) Cd layer and the next strongly disordered Se layer. In the corresponding *G*(*r*) curve (Fig. [7](#Fig7){ref-type="fig"}a), only one very well-defined sharp peak corresponding to *r* ~1~ distance between Cd and Se, and a variety of *r* values with very different lengths, is observed. The *r* ~1~ distances measured for the first and also for any pair of Cd and Se atoms in the sample have nearly the same magnitude, which is very similar to that of the perfect CdSe lattice. The influence of surface disordering in the end layer on the internal CdSe lattice is reflected in distances being longer than *r* ~1~. Figure [7](#Fig7){ref-type="fig"}b shows *r* ~3~ peaks in *G*(*r*) calculated for subsequent pairs of layers Cd-Se and Se-Cd. It shows a presence of a positional disordering up to the depth of about 1.5 nm; the peaks are broad near the surface and narrow down starting with the layer pair 4--5.Fig. 7**a** Interatomic distance functions *G*(*r*) for pairs of Cd-Se layers underneath the (111)B end surface. **b** *G*(*r*) lines of Cd-Se *r* ~3~ spacing calculated for subsequent pairs of layers for different distances from the surface
Interaction of parallel surfaces {#Sec11}
--------------------------------
Previously examined 6-nm MD models were thick enough for the surface-related lattice strain to fully relax in the bulk. The relaxation length RL is different for different surfaces and also different for intra- (*r* ~2~) and interatomic (*r* ~1~ and *r* ~3~) distances (Stelmakh et al. [@CR21]). In some cases, it is also different for in-plane and inter-planar distances. The models presently reported are thinner than the relaxation length and the effects originating on the opposite terminating surfaces interfere with each other.
Interaction between opposite surfaces for thin models is illustrated in Figs. [8](#Fig8){ref-type="fig"}, [9](#Fig9){ref-type="fig"}, [10](#Fig10){ref-type="fig"}, [11](#Fig11){ref-type="fig"}, [12](#Fig12){ref-type="fig"}, [13](#Fig13){ref-type="fig"}, [14](#Fig14){ref-type="fig"}, and [15](#Fig15){ref-type="fig"}. (Throughout this paper the "*r* ~*i*~" values are given as relative to the corresponding value in the perfect lattice.) In addition to the points corresponding to the values of interatomic distances calculated for those models, the results of previous calculations of the surface strain relaxation (6-nm thick models) are shown as solid lines. The broken lines present (hypothetical) changes of the distances that would originate at the opposite (parallel) end layers if the surface effects would not interfere with each other.Fig. 8Interatomic distances *r* ~2~ calculated for MD model terminated by the (100) surfaces Fig. 9Interatomic distances *r* ~1~ and *r* ~3~ calculated for MD model terminated by the (100) surfaces. Note: since the end layer is disordered, no distances between the first and second atomic layers are showed in the figure Fig. 10In-plane and inter-planar distances *r* ~2~ calculated for MD models terminated by (110) surfaces Fig. 11In-plane and inter-planar distances *r* ~1~ and *r* ~3~ calculated for MD models terminated by (110) surfaces Fig. 12In-plane and inter-planar intra-lattice distances calculated for MD model terminated by (111)A surfaces Fig. 13Inter-lattice distances calculated for the MD model terminated by (111)A surfaces Fig. 14In-plane and inter-planar intra-lattice distances *r* ~2~ calculated for the MD models terminated by the (111)B planes Fig. 15Inter-lattice distances *r* ~1~ and *r* ~3~ calculated for the MD model terminated by (111)B surface
### Interaction of (100) surfaces {#Sec12}
The model comprises of nine Cd-Se double layers and is 2.4 nm thick. Relaxation lengths at the (100) surface are as follows: in-plane RL(*r* ~2~) ≅ 1 nm, inter-planar RL(*r* ~2~) ≅ 0.5 nm, RL(*r* ~1~) ≅ 1 nm, and RL(*r* ~3~) \> 2.5 nm (Stelmakh et al. [@CR21]).
As seen in Fig. [8](#Fig8){ref-type="fig"}, *r* ~2~ distances, both in-plane and inter-planar, follow the behavior previously observed in thick models. Changes in *r* ~2~ length are observed only in the 1--2 surface layers. There is no interaction of the effects originating on the opposite (100) surfaces neither in the Cd nor in the Se sub-lattice. In agreement with the small relaxation length RL(*r* ~2~), individual sub-lattices remain undistorted in the bulk.
#### Effect of interaction between (100) surfaces on *r*~1~ {#FPar1}
Large differences of *r* ~1~ calculated for Cd-Se and Se-Cd layer pairs are observed in the first three surface layers, and modest differences are seen in the rest of the model volume (Fig. [9](#Fig9){ref-type="fig"}). For thick models, the differences at the surface is also large, but in the inner volume of the model, they are negligible. Different behavior of a thin model is clearly the result of interaction of the effects originating at the opposite surfaces. This interaction leads to a relative shift of Cd and Se sub-lattices in the \[001\] direction in the bulk part of the model; Se sub lattice gets closer to the Cd-terminated surface.
#### Effect of interaction between (100) surfaces on *r*~3~ {#FPar2}
A pronounced difference between *r* ~3~ distances in Cd-Se and Se-Cd layer pairs is observed in the whole sample volume; *r* ~3~ in the Cd-Se pairs increases by approximately 0.4%, while in the Se-Cd pairs, it decreases by approximately 0.2% (Fig. [9](#Fig9){ref-type="fig"}). This difference is larger at the surface, which is obviously the result of deformation of the (100) surface in the \[110\] and \[1--10\] directions (by − 0.15 and + 0.55%, respectively), c.f. Fig. [2](#Fig2){ref-type="fig"}. Also, simultaneous relative shift of Cd and Se sub-lattices (by about 1%) in the \[001\] direction is observed. While for the thick model, the difference between Cd-Se and Se-Cd *r* ~3~ distances diminishes with an increasing distance from the end surfaces; it remains considerable and nearly constant within the whole volume of the nine-layer model. This is a clear indication of the interaction of the effects originating at the opposite sides of the model.
A difference between the interatomic distances *r* ~1~ and *r* ~3~ calculated for Cd-Se and Se-Cd layer pairs occurs because the fourfold symmetry of (001) planes is lost and also because Cd and Se lattices get shifted with respect to each other in the direction perpendicular to the planes. The length change is comparatively small for *r* ~1~ distances, but it is strong for *r* ~3~ distances.
The above results explain how the interaction between (100) surfaces leads to deformation of the whole sample volume, which is originally cubic, into orthorhombic type crystal lattice.
### Interaction of (110) surfaces {#Sec13}
The model is 2.6 nm thick and comprises of 13 mixed Cd-Se layers. Relaxation lengths at the (110) surface are as folows: in-plane RL(*r* ~1~, *r* ~2~, *r* ~3~) ≅ 2.5 nm and inter-planar RL(*r* ~1~, *r* ~2~, *r* ~3~) ≅ 2.5 nm (Stelmakh et al. [@CR21]).
Elongation of the in-plane *r* ~2~ distances is about 0.8% at the end surfaces and about 0.5% in the middle of the structure (Fig. [10](#Fig10){ref-type="fig"}). The value of the 0.8% at the surface is in agreement with the linear expansion of the layer in the \[100\] and \[110\] directions, 0.5 and 1%, respectively (c.f. section "[Symmetry of (110) surface](#Sec7){ref-type="sec"}"). In the thick model, the parent cubic lattice is recovered at the depth of about 2.5 mm. In the thin model, the effects from the opposite surfaces interfere and the elongation of *r* ~2~ in the bulk is only slightly smaller than at the surface.
The inter-planar *r* ~2~ distances are compressed by about 0.5% just underneath the surface, but they are elongated in the rest of the volume (Fig. [10](#Fig10){ref-type="fig"}). In the thick model, we observed a density wave that started with compression at the surface, then expanded the lattice up to the third layer, and then phased out at the depth of about 2.5 nm (Stelmakh et al. [@CR21]). In the thin sample, the interference of two waves originating at the opposite surfaces forms a density wave passing through the whole volume where, in the middle of the structure, the interlayer distance *r* ~2~ is still larger by about 0.2% than that in the reference cubic CdSe lattice.
One needs to notice that changes (elongation) of in-plane distances at a given distance from the surface are always about two times larger than elongation of inter-planar distances at the same depth. This obviously follows from the fact that distances between the atoms within layers are longer than between those in adjacent layers, and therefore, the interactions within layers are weaker. Since the strain exerted onto the lattice through surface relaxation tends to be evenly distributed, the local stresses have to be balanced through lattice expansion, which is more pronounced in the directions of weaker bonds.
The changes in inter-lattice distances *r* ~1~ and *r* ~3~ (Fig. [11](#Fig11){ref-type="fig"}) are similar to changes of intra-lattice distances *r* ~2~ (Fig. [10](#Fig10){ref-type="fig"}). This means that if the model is terminated at both sides by identical 110 surfaces, both sub-lattices, Cd and Se, deform in a correlated manner.
Similarly to changes in intra-lattice distances *r* ~2~ presented in Fig. [10](#Fig10){ref-type="fig"}, and for the same reasons, the in-plane changes in intra-lattice distances *r* ~1~ and *r* ~3~, are about two times larger than those calculated for inter-planar distances for the same Cd-Se layer (Fig. [11](#Fig11){ref-type="fig"}). During deformation of the (110) surface, both Cd and Se sub-lattices have to deform exactly in the same way. A relative shift of Cd and Se sub-lattices is demonstrated by changes in both *r* ~1~ and *r* ~3~ distances, where the stronger bonds (*r* ~1~) elongate about two times less than the much weaker *r* ~3~ bonds. Due to a strong interaction of (110) surfaces, one may expect that in the CdSe crystals with the size of about 5--6 nm will be deformed in the whole grain volume.
### Interaction of (111)A surfaces {#Sec14}
The model comprises eight double Cd-Se layers and is 2.5 nm thick. Relaxation length at the (111)A surface are as follows: in-plane RL(*r* ~2~) \> 2.5 nm and inter-planar RL(*r* ~1~, *r* ~2~, *r* ~*3*~) \> 2.5 nm (Stelmakh et al. [@CR21]).
Figure [12](#Fig12){ref-type="fig"} shows that the effects which originate at both surfaces are nearly perfectly additive; elongation of *r* ~2~ distances both in-plane and between the neighboring atomic layers are the sums of the elongations caused by two parallel surfaces (note that inter-planar distance *r* ~2~ between the first two layers, 1 and 2, is an exception). The in-plane expansion is nearly two times larger than that between the layers. This is related to weaker bonds between the same atoms within the planes and relatively stronger bonds between neighboring layers belonging to two different sub-lattices, alternatively Cd and Se.
#### Deviation from the perfect *hcp* structure, the *c*~0~/*a* ratio {#FPar3}
The difference between *r* ~2~ distances (Cd-Cd or Se-Se) measured within individual layers and between two adjacent layers of a given sub-lattice (odd and even: 1 and 3, 2 and 4, etc. in Fig. [12](#Fig12){ref-type="fig"}) provides information on the *c* ~0~/*a* ratio. For a perfect hexagonal close-packed (*hcp*) structure in-plane and inter-planar *r* ~2~ values are equal and the corresponding *c* ~0~/*a* equals 0.8167. For our 2.5-nm model, the in-plane *r* ~2~ is about 1.007 times larger, and the inter-planar *r* ~2~ is about 1.004 times larger than the reference *r* ~2~ of the perfect CdSe cubic lattice. The corresponding *c* ~0~/*a* ratio is 0.814. That means that the lattice is compressed in the direction normal to the surface relative to the perfect CdSe lattice.
The changes in inter-lattice distances *r* ~1~ and *r* ~3~ obtained for the 2.5-nm model (Fig. [13](#Fig13){ref-type="fig"}) are not a simple sum of changes that originate at both end surfaces. In the thick model, where surfaces are 6.5 nm apart, the values *r* ~1~ and *r* ~3~ obtained for Cd-Se and Se-Cd pairs of layers are the same (in Fig. [13](#Fig13){ref-type="fig"}, they are both represented by the same line) (Stelmakh et al. [@CR21]). In the 2.5-nm model, a distinct difference between *r* ~1~ and *r* ~3~ distances measured for Cd-Se (1--2, 3--4, etc.) and Se-Cd (2--3, 4--5, etc., c.f. Fig. [12](#Fig12){ref-type="fig"}) pairs of layers is found. This behavior results from a relative shift of Cd and Se sub-lattices in the direction normal to the surface.
#### Relative shift of Cd and Se sub-lattices, the *u* parameter {#FPar4}
Relative positions of two sub-lattices forming the *hcp* structure are defined by the *u* parameter which describes the relative position of the central atom (e.g., Se) in a tetrahedron (e.g., SeCd~4~) (Fig. [12](#Fig12){ref-type="fig"}). In the perfect *hcp* structure, *r* ~1~ and *r* ~3~ distances are strictly coupled with each other and *u* measured for neighboring layer pairs, i.e., between Cd and Se layers (1 and 2, 3 and 4, etc.) and Se and Cd layers (2 and 3, 4 and 5, etc.) is the same, *u* = 0.75*c* ~0~.
The changes in *r* ~1~ and *r* ~3~ values with a change in distance from the end surfaces for thick models are only slightly different, which means that in this case the *u* parameter is about 0.75*c* ~0~; the hexagonal layers which form the structure are strictly close packed. In our thin model, where (111)A surfaces interfere with each other, the relative changes in *r* ~1~ and *r* ~3~ values, measured for Cd-Se and Se-Cd pairs of layers, do not follow the same line (the open and full squares in Fig. [13](#Fig13){ref-type="fig"} do not overlap). Their divergence demonstrates that the *u* parameter deviates from the 0.75*c* ~0~ value. In the bulk part of the model, the difference between *r* ~1~ values for the Cd-Se and Se-Cd layer pairs is about 0.2% (1.004--1.002), which corresponds to *u* = 0.7485.
It can be shown that for perfectly periodic *hcp* structure with the *c* ~0~/*a* ratio smaller than 0.8167 (as in our model, *c* ~0~/*a* = 0.814--0.815, Fig. [12](#Fig12){ref-type="fig"}) and *u* ≠ 0.*75c* ~0~, the divergence of *r* ~1~ values is about 3--4 times smaller than that of the corresponding *r* ~3~ values, exactly as observed in Fig. [13](#Fig13){ref-type="fig"}.
If the relative shift of Cd and Se sub-lattices was strictly along the threefold axis, the relative changes of the *r* ~1~ and *r* ~3~ values would be exactly the same. Fig. [13](#Fig13){ref-type="fig"} shows that elongation of the *r* ~3~ distances is about two times larger than that of *r* ~1~, which means that, together with the relative shift of Cd and Se sub-lattices in the direction normal to the surface, a small in-plane shift in these sub-lattices takes place. Cd and Se sub-lattices get shifted relative to each other in both, perpendicular to the surface and parallel to the surface, directions.
Since relaxation length of the surface strains originating at the (111)A surface, for both intra- and inter-lattice distances, is about 3 nm, the effect of interaction of the (111)A surfaces should be visible in the grains with sizes of about 6 nm and smaller.
### Interaction of (111)B surfaces {#Sec15}
The model comprises six double Cd-Se layers and is 2.1 nm thick. Relaxation length at the (111)A surface are as follows: in-plane RL(*r* ~2~) ≅ 2.5 nm and inter-planar RL(*r* ~1~, *r* ~2~, *r* ~*3*~) ≅ 2.5 nm (Stelmakh et al. [@CR21]).
Due to a strong positional disorder at the first two atomic layers, c.f. section "[Symmetry of (111)A surface](#Sec9){ref-type="sec"}", both intra- and interatomic distances measured within and between these layers are very much dispersed and the distances calculated for the first three layers are not reliable, c.f. section "[Symmetry of (111)B surface](#Sec10){ref-type="sec"}" (in Fig. [14](#Fig14){ref-type="fig"}, these measurements are shown in circles). The distances *r* ~2~ measured in the interior of the six Cd-Se-layer model are quite similar to those measured for the thick, 18-layer model. That indicates a weak interference between (111)B surfaces terminating the model.
#### Deviation from the perfect hcp structure, the *c*~0~/*a* ratio {#FPar5}
From the in-plane and interplanar *r* ~2~ values (the averages are 0.998 and 0.999, respectively), one can calculate the corresponding *c* ~0~/*a* ratio of 0.8175 (= 0.8167 × 0.999/0.998). It is only slightly different from that for the perfect *hcp* lattice. The distortion is in contrast with relatively stronger effect found for the (111)A model, where the *c* ~0~/*a* ratio is smaller (0.814--815) than that in the perfect *hcp* lattice, c.f. section "[Interaction of (111)A surfaces](#Sec14){ref-type="sec"}".
Figure [15](#Fig15){ref-type="fig"} shows that there is an interaction between the terminal (111)B surfaces, but it is weak and leads to only a small difference between *r* ~1~ and *r* ~3~ values for both thick and thin MD models. Similarly to the (111)A model, a difference between changes in *r* ~1~ and *r* ~3~ distances is observed in the whole volume of the model. This difference is only about 0.1% and it corresponds to the *u* parameter which is only slightly larger (about 0.75 × 1.001 = 0.751) than that in the perfect *hcp* lattice. Relaxation of strains at the (111)B surface is related to a strong disorder disturbing the long-range order at the first two atomic layers, while in the bulk part of the model only a small deformation of the *hcp* lattice is observed.
Summary and conclusions {#Sec16}
=======================
Properties of a nanocrystal are determined by the atomic structure of both its interior and the surface. At the first approximation some properties of the material are referred to the crystal surface (e.g., adsorption), some to their volumetric part (e.g., optical), and others are a combination of both types of contribution (e.g., compressibility, thermal expansion). It is common to attempt to describe specific physical properties of nanocrystals as being scaled with their dimensions. This approach is correct only if one assumes that the structures of both the surface and of the bulk part of the nanocrystal are invariant with nanocrystal dimensions.
There were numerous approaches to learn about the atomic structure of nanocrystal surfaces using experimental techniques that directly probe interatomic distances like XANES (Hamad et al. [@CR10]), EXAFS (Wu et al. [@CR25]), and NMR (Berrettini et al. [@CR2]). Other such efforts were undertaken through measurements of the elastic properties (Huxter et al. [@CR12]) or studies on the effect of various ligands used for colloidal growth of CdSe nanocrystals on their shape (Nair et al. [@CR15]). Some possible atomic arrangements existing at the surface were suggested to explain experimental observations.
Modeling, both ab initio and MD, has been frequently utilized to investigate CdSe clusters and small crystallites. Most attention have been paid to electronic and phonon structures and far less to the atomic architecture. Atomic positions analysis was limited to the atoms at the very surface and the information on the crystallographic orientation of the analyzed surface was ignored in most cases. Pokrant and Whaley (Pokrant and Whaley [@CR16]) found that the surface Se atoms relax outwards while Cd atoms remain near their original positions. Puzder et al. (Puzder et al. [@CR17]) as well as Botti and Marquez (Botti and Marques [@CR3]) found that surface Cd atoms relax towards the bulk by approximately 0.7 Å, while Se atoms remain in place. Zhu et al. (Zhu et al. [@CR28]) modeled (001) and (111) terminated flat CdSe slabs and found outwards relaxation of Se and inwards relaxation of Cd at (100) surface, while at the (111) surface, some Cd atoms moved in and others moved out. They also reported several specific dimer and tetramer atomic arrangements that appear to be stable on the analyzed surfaces. Only Cherian and Mahadevan (Cherian and Mahadevan [@CR5]) reported gradual increase of the bond length between the center and the surface in small CdSe clusters. In general, available information on the lattice deformation in CdSe nanocrystals is scarce, inconclusive, and often contradictory. Change of the bond lengths and lattice rearrangement is always found at the top layer, but its influence on the underlying crystal lattice is hardly discussed.
Knowledge on structural processes that may occur at the grain surface is desired to verify the proposed models and correlate them with specific physical properties of nanocrystalline materials. This work shows a need for verification of "general considerations" of thermodynamic properties like the melting point temperature (Cherian and Mahadevan [@CR5]) or the "internal pressure" (Fu et al. [@CR7]) which are routinely considered as size-dependent properties of nanocrystal. Without taking into account a specific surface structure of individual nanocrystals, many properties of real nanomaterials cannot be satisfactorily explained.
As a result of crystal truncation (surface formation), some of the bonds of the surface atoms get broken and the remaining ones change the length of their bonds in order to accommodate the new environment that leads to a formation of strain. Relaxation of the surface strains is necessary to establish a new equilibrium state corresponding to the minimum free energy of the whole ensemble of atoms constituting the crystal. It is realized through (i) changes of the nearest neighbor coordination (i.e., formation of new bonds), (ii) an appearance of disordering, and (iii) changes in the lengths of the existing bonds.
In a thick CdSe platelet, a surface terminating the volume changes the parent crystal lattice underneath down to the depth of 2--3 nm (Stelmakh et al. [@CR21]). The bond length changes at the surface planes and between atomic planes underneath it are typically between 0.2 and 0.5%, but in some cases, they reach even 1%. The strongest strains occur at the surface and they gradually diminish with an increase in the distance from the surface until the parent (perfect) lattice is fully recovered.
In the models examined in the present work, only one dimension was in the nano-range, which allowed to determine what kind of deformation different truncating surfaces introduce into the crystal lattice. In real 3-D nanocrystals, the strains originating at different surfaces interfere with each other. In this work, we examined and quantified the effect of interference of strains originating at two opposite parallel surfaces of the same type terminating a platelet-like crystal. We showed that the observed structural changes concern not only the lengths of interatomic bonds, but they may also lead to a loss of the long-range order at the end atomic layer. It may also result in a reduction of the symmetry of the crystal lattice. The opposite surfaces interfere with each other when the sum of their surface strain relaxation lengths is larger than the distance between them. In a nanocrystal, the whole volume is affected by surface strains, regardless of which of the four types of surface examined in this work confines the crystal volume.
In the models examined in the present work only one dimension was in the nano-range, which allowed to determine what kind of deformation different truncating surfaces introduce into the crystal lattice. In real 3-D nanocrystals, the strains originating at different surfaces interfere with each other. In this work, we examined and quantified the effect of interference of strains originating at two opposite parallel surfaces of the same type terminating a platelet-like crystal. We showed that the observed structural changes concern not only the lengths of interatomic bonds, but they may also lead to a loss of the long-range order at the end atomic layer. It may also result in reduction of the symmetry of the crystal lattice. The opposite surfaces interfere with each other when the sum of their surface strain relaxation lengths is larger than the distance between them. In a nanocrystal, the whole volume is affected by surface strains, regardless of which of the four types of surface examined in this work confines the crystal volume.
The strain relaxation processes occur differently in structures with different surfaces and they have different influences on the inner part of the crystal lattice:Symmetry:At the (100) surface layer, the long-range order is lost. The fourfold arrangement of atoms in the subsequent layers turns into orthorhombic-type arrangement and, thus, the whole lattice becomes rhombohedral.At the (110) layer, the symmetry of the original atomic arrangement is preserved, but in-plane dimensions are changed. As a result, the lattice underneath the surface is also deformed, and the cubic symmetry of the whole volumetric part of the grain is reduced to orthorhombic-like lattice.At the (111)A surface, the original threefold symmetry of the end atomic layer is preserved. The threefold symmetry is preserved also in the whole crystal volume, although the *c*/*a* ratio and the relative shift of Cd and Se sub-lattices, *u*, are changed relative to the original *hcp* lattice.At the (111)B terminal, atomic layer the long-range order is lost and so is the trigonal symmetry. The next two atomic layers underneath the disordered surface are strongly deformed. In the subsequent layers, the threefold symmetry is recovered, although both the *c*/*a* ratio and the *u* parameters are changed relative to the perfect *hcp* reference lattice.Disordering:
A positional disordering (deviation of equilibrium atomic positions from perfectly periodic arrangement) is present in all models under examination. It is always the largest at the surface layer and decreases with an increase in the distance from the surface.
An appearance of the strongest disordering is accompanied by a loss of long-range order that occurs at (100) and (111)B surfaces. These surfaces show the atomic order which is intermediate between crystalline and amorphous-like structures. The disordering that is present at the (100) surface has only a small effect on the disorder appearing in next layers, but disordering at the (111)B surface has a strong effect on individual hexagonal layers in the entire grain volume.Change of bond lengths---internal strains:
A local change of interatomic intra-lattice distances (e.g., an expansion) always leads to a reciprocal "response" of the crystal lattice (a compression) that compensates the strains associated with the primary changes. Our present results show that an appearance of disordering is an alternate mechanism of strain relaxation.
Note that strains are related to intra-lattice bonds *r* ~2,~ which decide on the lattice expansion or compression, while any changes in bonds between sub-lattices have no direct effect on the lattice density.
The largest changes in intra-lattice bond lengths are observed in the models where the smallest disordering is observed. In models with (110) and (111)A surfaces, the long-range order is well preserved and the changes in the lengths of interatomic bonds are the largest, up to 1% at the surface (Figs. [10](#Fig10){ref-type="fig"}, [11](#Fig11){ref-type="fig"}, [12](#Fig12){ref-type="fig"}, [13](#Fig13){ref-type="fig"}). The strongest disordering occurs in the model with the (111)B surfaces where local changes in bond lengths are only about 0.2--0.3% (Figs. [14](#Fig14){ref-type="fig"} and [15](#Fig15){ref-type="fig"}). Similarly, in models with the (100) surfaces where the long-range order is lost at the terminal atomic layer, only small changes in the lengths of the interatomic bonds within Cd and Se sub-lattices are observed (Figs. [8](#Fig8){ref-type="fig"} and [9](#Fig9){ref-type="fig"}).
MD calculations reported here were performed with the assumption that the CdSe nanocrystals are not passivated, i.e., they placed in a vacuum. Other types of environment, gases, liquids, organic ligands, or a solid coating may have a strong effect on the surface and consequently on the bulk structure. That might have a pronounced effect on the internal structure of materials and, consequently, affect their physical properties. Calculations of the effects of the CdSe environment (adsorbates, shells) on the nanocrystal structure are currently under investigation.
This study was funded by the National Science Centre (grant number DEC-2011/01/B/ST3/02292).
Conflict of interest {#FPar6}
====================
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
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tomekkorbak/pile-curse-small
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PubMed Central
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Q:
Is it normal to post a list of the 15 most unproductive employees on the wall?
I work as a software developer. My company determines productivity by "dev points," which is earned by completing projects, and these points are used to determine raises, promotions, etc. (This is already widely acknowledged amongst the employees to be a terrible metric, but that's outside the scope of this question.)
They post on the wall the "Top 15" and "Bottom 15" dev points earners for each month (this is out of close to 150 developers).
Is it normal to post the bottom 15 employees publicly? It seems pretty cruel to me to try to shame employees like that.
I found myself on that list because my team lead wouldn't assign me any projects for well over a month. She knew I had nothing to do but wouldn't give me any projects, so I used the time to learn about new technologies that we were planning to use in the future.
Update: This is in the US.
A:
I would say this is not normal outside of a sales organization. Sales companies (for the most part)will post everyone's sales top to bottom, and yes, it is embarrassing and sucks to be on the bottom if you have a bad month.
It sounds like the management prefers the transparency into what everyone is doing and how well they are doing it (even if it is inaccurate and unfair). You can either try to abolish the system by coming together with your devs and saying this is a bad way to measure performance, you can play by the rules and do what needs to be done to earn points and get a promotion, or you can look elsewhere for a better culture fit.
A:
To answer your question: It's not normal. It's embarrassing. It shows that your management is made of petty, childish, clueless embarrassments. I'd advise you to find a new position and then leave, no matter where you are in that ranking yourself. Management has demonstrated their foul attitude towards you and your colleagues, and at some point it will bite you. Badly.
You used your spare time to learn new things, which is very commendable. If your manager finally gives you a project, don't let that stop you from learning new things, which will be very helpful for getting a new job. Your management clearly demonstrates where your priorities should be.
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tomekkorbak/pile-curse-small
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StackExchange
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For half a century referred to in the family as the long-lost love letters, they were only recently discovered in the most predictable location—the farmhouse attic, snugged under several abandoned picture frames that formed a false bottom in an old metal camp trunk. Remarkably, thanks to their insulated incarceration, they survived in fragile but still-legible condition—575 letters exchanged between Cabot Hall, Cambridge, Massachusetts, where I was a junior at Radcliffe College, and P.O. Box 180, Santa Fe, New Mexico, where Victor, a Harvard graduate, was a sergeant in the U.S. Army. The Santa Fe address was a fiction, one that the top brass worked hard to preserve; Victor was actually stationed “on The Hill,” as it was locally known, at the Los Alamos Laboratory, where he was one of the soldier-scientists working to develop the atomic bomb.
We met on Patriots’ Day, April 19, 1945, on a blind date. During the five remaining days of Victor’s furlough, there was no war. We did not speak of FDR, one week dead. We did not know that V-E Day lay two and a half weeks ahead. We walked for miles along the Charles River. We went to the zoo. We went to the ballet. Evenings we repaired to a booth in the dark fastness of the Hotel Lafayette bar, nursing drinks until my curfew loomed: 10 o’clock on weekdays, midnight on weekends. Was this called falling in love in less than one week? Or was this Marvell’s “vegetable love” that would “grow vaster than empires, and more slow?” We had months and months to find out.
In his first letter, Victor described his heroic route back to New Mexico—one train from Boston to St. Louis, another to Kansas City, a third to Pueblo, Colorado, followed by a bus to Santa Fe: “The Road Back” was not nearly as unpleasant as I had expected but for a four hour stretch of standing on my head (it was the only way I could fit into the car). … The bus trip from Pueblo to Santa Fe … was nothing less than overpowering. As we rode easily down from Las Vegas to Santa Fe the metamorphosis from day to night took place painlessly as the brilliant sunset faded. And then the mountains, particularly “Starvation Peak,” standing erect in all their war-like glory. There was so much beauty that only a poet or a painter could capture it—the pueblo huts, the farms, and most of all the native Mexican Indians, people living life on their doorsteps and in their huts lit by kerosene lamps.
He is careful not to mention the last leg of the journey, a 36-mile climb up to Los Alamos, set more than 7,000 feet above sea level on a high desert plateau. Once it had been a boys’ boarding school, a site laboratory director J. Robert Oppenheimer had chosen for its seclusion. Now it housed the labs, machine shops, barracks, and dining facilities that had transformed the mesa into a bustling town.
On May 8, the war in Europe ended. I wrote the following to Victor: At 12:30 today a sea of white-capped officers and WAVES and army boys stood at attention in the Yard facing the steps of Mem[orial] chapel and the student body and good citizens of Cambridge stood on the steps of Widener. [Dean Willard] Sperry [of Harvard Divinity School] was at his simple best and altho it always strikes me that there is something incongruous in hearing the words of an unknown Deity echo hollowly thru a scientific apparatus known as a loudspeaker, it was a fine thing to hear these hundreds and hundreds of people sing their national anthem, while the choir on the chapel steps with their crimson and black robes flapping in the breeze made themselves heard over all the rest. Long sentences always seem to get the better of me, don’t they? Especially today, I think, because I was really so impressed. There was a color guard of Old Glory and the Harvard crest and sailors with guns—and high over University Hall three magnificent huge flags are flying—the stars and stripes, the unionjack, and … the hammer and sickle. Yup, the red flag high in Harvard Yard. There was a bright spring sun and the lawns had been freshly cut, the Yard a huge mass of people full of a warm relief, if not elation, the chapel bells and the organ music … we were rather carried away with it all. People seemed to be less jubilant than thoughtful, tho, knowing we are only halfway thru the job.
His rather doleful reply presents a sharp contrast: Thanks for the wee bit of godliness. V-E day was celebrated here in the same spirit, but a different manner. Free beer and sandwiches; a little guzzling, a movie, to bed. And so I honored the end of the European war.
Our early letters cautiously skirted mention of the intimacy that had begun to develop between us. We set about exploring half a dozen schemes to see each other again as soon as possible. A trip to Little Rock, where my oldest brother was stationed after serving in the North African and Italian campaigns, seemed feasible. I would keep his wife company and help with the new baby (I knew nothing about babies). I concocted a trip to Amarillo, Texas, where my newly divorced uncle was a captain in the army and his daughter, Bobby, my girlhood chum, was a dental technician. The price exacted for the train ticket to Amarillo, bought by my reluctant parents, was for me to spend two weeks in Little Rock on baby duty afterward.
On June 11: I asked Bobby to wire me about reservations in Amarillo; if the fates are kind, I’ll arrive there on Wednesday the 27th and leave there for Little Rock the following Monday. If I don’t sound too excited about it, the fault is all Oscar’s [my typewriter] because he’s all tuckered out from typing a 30-page paper on imagery in Henry James and so you mustn’t expect too many !!!s from him. The enthusiasm is all ours, Vic, but I must admit that mine is very tempered with a weight of responsibility … which amounts in my befuddled brain to being “mature and sensible.” … I’ll be on pins and needles until I hear from you definitely. I guess I just can’t believe that our plans are working out, and that may account for my sobriety. It seems too good to be true that we’ll see each other again in just about two more weeks.
Victor is almost as somber: This will probably be the last letter you’ll receive before I leave, if all goes well. Since I cannot fly without priority and priority is limited to officers, it means a twelve-hour bus trip which should get me to Amarillo 7:00 a.m. Thurs- day, June 28. The inevitable return must begin at noon Sunday. … And so, pursuing my normal routine of reveille, inspection, retreat I try to speed the burning of the days left before I see you. The bad feature of this, of course, is that the process of combustion will accelerate beginning June 27th and almost before it has begun, my 3-day pass will be over.
Only a few hours after I settled into Bobby’s apartment, a Western Union telegram was delivered, dated 7:02 p.m. June 27: “PASS SCHEDULE SCRAMBLED ARRIVE MIDNIGHT TONIGHT WILL TRY TO REACH YOU STAY AWAKE VIC”
Neither of us remembers the moment of our reunion, although I am certain either Bobby or my uncle shepherded me to the bus terminal. I know that we spent the rest of the night in separate quarters. I was assigned the pullout couch in my cousin’s living room, and Victor was shunted elsewhere.
It was 105 degrees in Amarillo the next day. My uncle lent us his car, and we spent several hours in an air-conditioned cinema, making out in the back row. When we exited, Victor had forgotten where he had parked the car. I remembered only that it was green. It took us half an hour to find it.
The day before Victor was to return, my uncle, on his own initiative, used his connections to reserve a prepaid hotel room for us in Albuquerque. Perhaps the fact that he was cohabitating with an army WAC elicited his sympathy for the lovelorn pair. We were surprised and grateful; the distance Victor had to travel back to Santa Fe would be narrowed, thus extending his leave. We took a late-night bus, which broke down in the desert. While the driver spent an hour with his head under the vehicle’s hood, the passengers all disembarked to enjoy the cool air. There was a gibbous moon. The cactus roses were in bloom. Twenty-four hours of privacy in Albuquerque ensued.
We both wrote to each other on July 2. Victor had seen me off an hour before his bus was scheduled to leave. My letter begins, Although I only left you some hours ago, it seems much longer and Alby and the weekend far away. … [T]his is not the way to start a letter to you, sweet, telling you that I miss you and I love you—but just wait. I’ll think of something else to say yet.
His letter is just as lovesick: To have seen you cry was the greatest thrill of my life … one of the things I shall never forget. … And now the everlasting struggle, the gnawing wait. … I’d like to be completely senseless for eight months. But since that’s impossible, I’ll conjure you up wherever I go. The pleasure of seeing you in every tree, in every cloud and every mountainside—that will have to keep me sane.
I was home in Philadelphia with my parents, struggling to get through the several weeks before I could return to Cabot Hall, when the news broke. August 7: Well, the most exciting news of the war—and of all time—broke today: the atomic bomb. We’ve been glued to the radio since 5 o/c when we first got news of it. Somehow the idea of harnessing the atom is almost too big to get around in a single thought—and it carries a lot of sobering thoughts with it. Obviously the nation that was first to discover the secret is the conqueror; and along with the confident thought that the war with Japan is now just about a fait accompli comes the tremendous realization that man has finally discovered how to destroy civilization. I don’t know if the comprehension of this will be the necessary restraining influence on a world armed to the teeth—on a world that suddenly awakens to a vast new knowledge that will revolutionize warfare. … I have that “Milton, thou shouldst be living at this hour” feeling. … What a horrible world this is when mass extermination comes to be spoken of so calmly and with such calculation.
A powerful moment of dramatic irony here—I obviously had no idea that Victor’s “doing something technical” in Santa Fe involved him in the development and detonation of the atomic bomb.
Victor, the same day: One ear is still glued to the radio speaker. Over and over I’ve heard it. … This is it, and my emotions vacillate between ecstasy and real nausea. … [M]y uncle’s three words, war is obscene, apply more than ever. And this, though it is the crowning achievement not only of the past year’s trials but also of much of the time I spent at Woods Hole, makes me sick. Here I am, wallowing in the success of the most daring experiment ever attempted and the most important development in the history of civilized man. What it all means politically, economically, morally is earthshaking. … The successful mastering of the technique for releasing atomic energy (fission) can make life on earth vastly better—or it can destroy it. … I am naively proud to have contributed to it. July 16 was the first test—made here on the New Mexico desert at Alamogordo—and we stayed up all night to await the flash which was supposed to be visible in a radius of one hundred miles. News of its success made us want to write to everyone too soon but we were still bound to secrecy. We knew it would be only weeks before the launching over Japan.
But there was more. One day later: Dr. Oppenheimer thanked the men of the Special Engineering Detachment [to which Victor belonged], making it clear to everyone that detonating the bomb could not have been accomplished without their assistance. … For half an hour he spoke on the moral aspect of the discovery—of his intense hope these past months that the Japanese would surrender before the bomb could be dropped … that America is now using this awful weapon was decided by the highest men in government … that the necessity for using it makes the cruelty of it no less sickening, that the thought of killing perhaps a quarter of a million people in one blow rests heavily on his soul. He also stressed that possession of the fundamentals belonged to no one group of men. Such talk renews my faith in humanity. … You’re now free to tell anyone where I am and what I’ve been working on and also to discuss anything that is revealed publicly.
This was the first time I had heard of Woods Hole, or the circuitous path that led from Victor’s graduation in 1943 to Los Alamos in September 1944. Initially he planned to volunteer for the Naval Air Corps before he could be drafted into the army, but E. Bright Wilson Jr., the professor of physical chemistry who had been his adviser at Harvard, discouraged him. Wilson asked, would you rather be a dead hero or make a significant contribution to the war effort? He offered Victor a chance to join his group at the Oceanographic Institution on Cape Cod, where he was the director of the Woods Hole Underwater Explosives Research Lab.
Victor rented a room in a retired fisherman’s house. He and the other bachelors on the staff ate in an old Dutchland Farms ice cream shop, where their meals were prepared. At some point, three of his colleagues disappeared overnight, their living quarters mysteriously vacated. A steady stream of visitors from the Navy and elsewhere came to follow the program’s evolution. George Kistiakowsky, a Harvard physical chemistry professor, dropped in several times to consult with Wilson. They discussed the progress of Victor’s underwater detonation experiments.
And then in June 1944, the hammer fell. Even though Wilson and other Woods Hole higher-ups tried to get him deferred, Victor’s draft board was determined to meet its quota. He was summarily drafted into the army and sent on June 6, the day of the cross-channel invasion by the Allies, to Fort Devens, Massachusetts. From there he was shipped to Alabama for basic training in the infantry. After 16 weeks of up to 25-mile marches with a 20-pound pack, he was called back from final field maneuvers, given a train ticket to Santa Fe, ordered not to talk about his destination to anyone en route, and on arrival to call a local telephone number from a specific public telephone booth.
Victor never knew who ordered him plucked from the infantry and reassigned to Los Alamos, but when he met them on The Hill the morning after he arrived, he felt certain it was his two Harvard professors, Wilson and Kistiakowsky. A few days later, he encountered the colleagues who had gone missing from Woods Hole.
I don’t know when I found out these details, certainly not until the war was over. Whatever Victor was doing in Santa Fe, he couldn’t talk about it. He couldn’t talk about the male civilian, a putative German spy, who visited the Woods Hole facility and went from room to room chatting with lab personnel. Or that a chain-link fence went up overnight and a guard was posted at the only entrance to the institute the next day. He couldn’t talk about the person who sidled up to him at the Harvey House restaurant stopovers en route to Santa Fe, each time asking, “Hey, soldier. Where ya going?” He never knew whether he was being tested by the brass or spied on by a Nazi.
On August 9, Victor continued his dramatic commentary: The second atomic bomb has been dropped. Nagasaki is shrouded in a death-pall of smoke. We wishfully expect the surrender to be announced momentarily but honestly we expect it will take from 30 days to six months.
Unfortunately, I failed to date most of my letters beyond assigning them the days of the week. Here is part of my response to the news: I am so glad that you’re not a secret anymore, or at least only technical details are secrets. I almost turned into an india rubber ball on Monday when the news story broke and Santa Fe and Los Alamos made the front page, and somehow, probably irrationally, I am as proud of your part in this greatest discovery in history as if it had been your brain child alone. Your philosophical discussion of its implications is so superior to anything I might attempt to say now that I will avoid redundancy. … The Potsdam agreements are I think rational and sensible. Of course tampering with national boundaries cannot help but create irredentism, but we are faced with an impossible alternative. As for Truman: Certainly not a dynamic speech, certainly not an orator, but there is a quiet sort of confidence in his voice and his way of stumbling over polysyllabic words has I think a greater appeal to his “common man” than FDR’s magnetism. FDR is sorely missed.
The terms of the Japanese armistice were announced on August 15. The next day, Victor’s letter began, This is the second of a two-day drunk for most of the outfit. Monday night was a terror what with smashing up the recreation hall, leaving all the water faucets on, stripteasing in no less secluded a place than the middle of the street. … The radio says that Oppy is in Washington, and rumor hath it that he will buck for our discharges. No real news about that yet.
Mine of the same day: We’d been glued to the radio the entire day. … That the second world war is over is still not easy to believe, but our immediate reaction was pretty close to tears. The personal element means so much to this family [my three brothers had all served overseas] … it’s hard for me to grasp what the cease fire order means on a dozen battlefronts. I think today of what heartbreak there must be in those homes where peace will not bring back the dead and victory bells ring hollowly. … I’m skeptical that we haven’t won a permanent peace … reconversion will be painful and chaotic and so many of our boys will come home to unemployment and inflation and bitterness. … I’m wondering what will happen to Los Alamos now that the war is over. The duration obviously won’t durate for several months. … Releasing members of the armed forces is going to be slow, but if they’d just station you on this coast. … I know, dream on.
Daily exchanges about possible dates of discharge, even of actual furlough in November, followed. This disconsolate excerpt from Victor is dated August 22: Prospects of discharge within the next year look very remote. Nothing is definite and won’t be for 3 months, but we have every reason to expect a royal raw deal leading perhaps to basic training all over again and God knows what else. … Meanwhile there is November to think about and that’s soft solace to my soul.
My reply by return mail is an effort to reduce the gloom: Nine weeks is just nothing; it’s weeks, it’s not even months, and weeks shrink so much more perceptibly than months. It only takes a few days to make a dent in a week, whereas it takes weeks to make a dent in a month. Nine little weeks, then it will be November and it will be you. … Darling, I’m not incoherent, am I?
There were substantive issues as well. On the same day, this exchange, first from Victor: World events seem to be leading to a precipice, but not as fast as national ones. Truman is probably bucking for Term II but he’s gonna have a big problem on his hands come the mad scramble for raw materials, franchises, jobs, and discharges. The Wagner- Murray Bill [the Wagner-Murray-Dingell bill was never enacted] cannot in itself create full employment. … A plan for orderly reconversion is the necessary prelude. … Only a strong economic planning commission with authority to decide and power to enforce remedial measures could handle the enormous problems caused by Truman’s political maneuvers.
And this from me: The abrupt shutting off of Lend-Lease is a very discordant note. I could cheerfully throttle every big-businessman who sings the “why should we be Santa Claus” tune, and willingly orate from a soapbox to every misguided man in shirtsleeves who listens unwittingly to Wall Street wail. God, if we do the same stupid things after this war that we did after the other—reparation in gold, high tariffs, wildcat financing—well, turn from that and take a look at the state of unpreparedness we’re in for reconversion.
Our letters continually crossed in the mail. On September 17, Victor wrote enthusiastically about Henry Wallace, FDR’s two-term secretary of Agriculture, then his third-term vice president: Wallace’s “Sixty Million Jobs,” particularly his remarks on the budget and the “fuller life for all” have removed all doubt in my mind of his ability to become a great president. … I could quote for days the things that have endeared him to me—on the function of the federal government in stimulating private investment, on the necessity of planning the elimination of the business cycle without jeopardizing the freedom of initiative … on education as the basis of maintaining (or creating) political and economic democracy, the “fundamental decency of man.” … This is a man who has successfully embedded a practical course of action in a living philosophy.
My letter on the same day: Every day that things look a little grimmer I doubt … that capitalism can do the job. I am afraid of state socialism but I think that it is like being afraid of the dark, in that they are both inevitable. And I am infinitely more afraid of depression, unemployment, despondency and class war than I am of national socialistic economic planning.
A day later: Days are always nice when there’s a letter from you because no matter how brief or commonplace you apologize for their being (god wot grammar) they are always different and every day I learn something new, something that makes me think I either know you a little better or else that, my god, he is a complete stranger to me. I wonder if you ever get that feeling. Here we are struggling gamely to hang onto our ties to one another and to build on them and I think it is a tribute … to our high school English teachers that we have managed so well this far. You know, people generally do not do this— they write to each other, yes, and they are in love too, but they don’t pick up subjects and interests and dissect them and discuss them and tease them out day after day.
The contrast between our daily lives sharpened when I returned to Cabot Hall. I was immersed in an atmosphere of warm collegiality. Victor was grinding out day after day in a barracks shared with 59 other disgruntled soldiers as impatient as he. September 18: Final word: we are to stay here until we acquire the necessary number of points or years of service under the dis- charge plan as applied to the army as a whole. We’ll get no special consideration—and no more than one point a month … and so we go on sweating out endless days of morbid monotony and bitter boredom.
Victor’s two-week furlough—minus two days’ travel in each direction—was hec- tic and rewarding. We traveled from Boston to Philadelphia to announce our engage- ment. Victor, pro forma, asked my father for my hand. A brief dialogue ensued: “What would you do if I said no?” “I guess I’d just marry her anyway.” “In that case, I say yes.” A bottle of champagne was brought out, previously chilled. Victor borrowed money from his brother-in-law for a ring.
Back in Los Alamos on November 28, Victor wrote, As this day wore on, I realized I am chained again and all the mountains have enclosed me in a sea of apathy, bitterness and longing. … I am once again a soldier. I will do this and I will do that—all because we have a new post commander who bulges with West Point protocol.
Two days later, censorship was lifted. All my letters to Victor until then had arrived resealed with a tape that read “OPENED BY U S ARMY EXAMINER.” The face of the envelope bore a stamp that read “PASSED.” We had written freely back and forth discussing Marxist theory, the Soviet Union, the labor union movement. I was a fierce advocate for the CIO, having leafletted for its adoption at the Fore River Shipyard in Hingham, Massachusetts, during my freshman year. This had earned me surveillance by the FBI. My father was informed that I was “consorting with Communists” and ordered me to stop volunteering.
Nevertheless, nothing in our Cabot Hall–Santa Fe letters was redacted by the individual who scanned them. We were not on a watch list at that time. After he left Los Alamos, Victor told me this true spy story: each morning, walking through the tech area to pick up supplies for the day’s field operation, his group would see David Greenglass (brother-in-law of the ill-fated spy Julius Rosenberg) working on a lathe fabricating molds for casting the explosive lenses. When assembled, these components would form a hollow sphere, which would contain plutonium, the heart of the fission bomb. One of Victor’s colleagues always taunted him as they passed, calling, “Hey, Greenglass! Whaddya know?” Greenglass, who knew quite a lot, never acknowledged their presence.
(After Victor’s discharge, the FBI tracked us none too subtly for about three years, calling on our neighbors and paying me direct visits while Victor was at work. Soon thereafter, in 1950, Greenglass was arrested and accused of spying for the Soviet Union. We never learned whether the surveillance was carried out on all G.I.s in the Special Engineering Detachment of which Greenglass had been a member or whether we had been specially selected.)
On December 6, I wrote, Reading the morning Times these days is painful and worrisome—our policy in China, corruption in Korea, a lot of stupid people up in arms and ready to fight Russia tomorrow, Asiatic nationalism busting out all over, anti-labor legislation on Truman’s desk, an uninformed public ready to sanction a race in atomic armament. … Right on down to the inside page where the AMA is blasting the proposed national health insurance program. … I wonder if, when you crawl into bed at night, your mind turns eastward as mine does westward. You are with me always in a hundred different ways.
We began subversively planning 10 days in Santa Fe, where I would stay in “anything better than a Y” and work on my thesis. I even made tentative plane reservations; Victor’s brother-in-law had offered to lend me fare. It would be reading period, which meant I would have to miss only two classes. Victor could come down The Hill for two weekends.
On December 13, my bad news: I met with Prof. [Elliott] Perkins this morning and discovered to my surprise that the thesis is UPON ME. … Due at typist Feb. 28th. Tutor wants to see first draft Jan. 3. Preposterous. Got it moved ahead to the 10th. Still preposterous. … I have made a start and will be at it hammer and tong every minute from now till then. I am going home from the 20th to the 26th and then must come back, bury myself in isolation at St. John’s [dormitory of the Harvard Divinity School] and will try hard. If it is physically possible he’ll get his damn draft. … But Santa Fe, my darling, I can’t come. … Somehow I will get thru until May without you and I feel much worse for the disappointment it will be to you than I do for myself. I at least have Cambridge and the good life to keep me going, and you don’t even have that.
A hiatus in letters occurred between December 18 and January 10. The Los Alamos facility’s water lines, which had been laid aboveground, froze during an unexpectedly protracted cold snap. A deep well was dug in the valley 7,000 feet below the lab, and milk trucks were contracted to bring enough water up to The Hill to maintain essential services. Since the truck engines were burning out at a prohibitive rate along the steep incline, the decision was taken to drastically reduce the number of personnel until water flow could be restored. Victor was one of the lucky soldiers selected to receive an extra furlough.
It was Christmas week. The war was over. Service mem- bers were being discharged, and whole families were on the move. Congestion on the railroads was overwhelming. Passengers packed the aisles; some climbed into the overhead baggage racks. Soldiers raided the dining car on boarding; there was no food available en route. Victor managed to buy sandwiches and Cokes through the coach window when they stopped at stations along the way. He traveled east for three days, standing for much of that time, finally arriving at my parents’ house at 4 a.m. on December 22, unwashed, unshaven, and very hungry. He must have telegraphed at some point along the way, because I knew he was coming, but not when.
We returned to Cambridge the day after Christmas, I took up residence in the dorm at the divinity school, and Victor laid out the following schedule. I was to work on my thesis every day from nine to five. He would arrive punctually at five, and we would go out for dinner and be together until midnight. The bar at the Lafayette Hotel continued to serve as our hangout. This rigorous arrangement worked well. By the time Victor departed on January 9, I had a draft of the pretentiously titled “Amorality and the Protagonist in the Novels of Stendhal and Dostoyevsky” and went on under the guidance of my tutor, Harry Levin, to complete it.
The hazards of rail travel continued. On January 10 Victor wrote from the railroad station in St Louis: Arrived here four hours late … encountered a wreck in Ohio, got rerouted thru Alabama,[!] missed the streamliner to Colorado … waiting now for the 11:50 to Kansas City … should hit Santa Fe 11 a.m. Saturday. Just means signing in 12 hours late, risking k.p.
The next day he continued his saga: Hopped the cattle car in Kansas City—sat with a pilot over a leaking steam line—nabbed a porter who got us a little deal up front in a chair car … we shared eats and seats and sweated out the tortuous ride together. … The barracks, as expected, is still bursting with inane invective. Work conditions are apparently the same. … There is a plan in operation whereby men can be discharged to take jobs here under contract till June 30th.
Although it sounded tempting, Victor rejected this option. He was determined not to participate in stockpiling atomic weaponry. Initially, his group went out on the mesa each day to a site where it had worked on lens explosions and played touch football instead. A new group leader, a former naval officer, threatened to have him court-martialed for this. Nothing came of the threat. Ultimately Victor was reassigned to the procurement department and given routine clerking duties.
The remaining months inched past on The Hill. Sometimes Victor was able to procure a typewriter, one that desperately needed a new ribbon, but the news was unchanging—discharge not likely before he had completed his 24 months of service.
In Cambridge, I underwent orals, examined by professors Michael Karpovich, Crane Brinton, and Harry Levin.
No words, darling, could recreate for you the diabolical horror. … It was a very refined torture. The victim was allowed to cross her legs and smoke cigarettes and even blow her nose should she feel so inclined. … Every time I said yes I should have said no and conversely. … When Levin asked me what Turgenev and Tolstoy quarreled about, I smiled sweetly and asked, did they quarrel? Thereupon my magna flew out the window. Historical fact: Tolstoy challenged Turgenev to a duel over the latter’s illegitimate daughter but later apologized.
Just before departing, Victor wrote, This is the last letter I will write to Cabot Hall … unless some twenty years hence we have a daughter of our own going through what you have just finished … and you are visiting her.
On June 5, I graduated cum laude from Radcliffe College. The next day, my 21st birthday, Victor was discharged. We were married in Philadelphia on June 29.
Two weeks later, we moved into a barely furnished apartment in Woods Hole in the old U.S. Bureau of Fisheries building. At night, seals barked outside our bedroom window. Every other morning the iceman came with a fresh block for our wooden icebox. Meat was still rationed, but we dined on flounder we caught off the wharf. Mussels and clams were abundantly available. Victor came home for lunch every day from the Oceanographic Institution, 50 yards away. We never wrote to each other again.
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Gerardo Ruiz Esparza
Gerardo Ruiz Esparza (, born April 22, 1949) is a Mexican attorney and politician who served as the Secretary of Communications and Transportation in the cabinet of Enrique Peña Nieto.
Early life
Born in Mexico City, Ruiz Esparza has a Bachelor of Laws degree from La Salle University, but he also attended Autonomous University of Mexico. After earning his law degree, he studied in the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor and received a master's degree in Comparative Law and Public Administration.
Political career
Ruiz Esparza entered politics in 1981, first serving as State of Mexico's deputy secretary of state and secretary of governor. Prior to his deputy secretary role, he was chief legal advisor of State of Mexico's Finance Secretaritat. From 1999 to 2005, Ruiz Esparza served as Director of Administration of the Federal Electricity Commission. When Enrique Peña Nieto was elected governor of State of Mexico, he chose Ruiz Esparza as Secretary of Communications in the State Government. When Nieto was elected president in 2012 election, Ruiz Esparza was named the same position in the federal government.
Personal life
Secretary Ruiz Esparza is married to Rocío Noriega Dosal, a teacher. The couple has two kids, Karla and Gerardo.
References
Category:1949 births
Category:Living people
Category:Politicians from Mexico City
Category:Institutional Revolutionary Party politicians
Category:Mexican Secretaries of Communications and Transportation
Category:University of Michigan alumni
Category:National Autonomous University of Mexico alumni
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Wikipedia (en)
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INTRODUCTION
============
Cervical cancer is a malignancy originating in the transformation zone of the cervix that involves abnormal cellular changes. In Korea, cervical cancer is the sixth most common cancer in women, after excluding thyroid cancer, which tends to have a high incidence as it is overdiagnosed. Despite an average annual decrease of 3.7% in cervical cancer incidence from 1999 to 2015, a total of 3,582 women were newly diagnosed with cervical cancer in 2015. This resulted in an age-standardized incidence rate of 9.1 per 100,000, calculated using the Segi\'s world standard population \[[@B1]\]. It is well known that human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is a necessary as well as the most common cause of cervical cancer, which can progress from precursor lesions (if left untreated) even after several years \[[@B2]\]. This precancerous stage, irrespective of severity, is very challenging to detect owing to the absence of symptoms in the infected individual.
More than 100 different HPV genotypes have been characterized so far, and approximately 40 of these are known to infect basal epithelial cells, causing benign and malignant lesions in the genital regions \[[@B3]\]. Many epidemiological studies led to the classification of oncogenic types that confer a high risk for progression of cervical intraepithelial lesions to cervical cancer. In many countries, HPV-16 and HPV-18 are considered the most common high-risk HPV types that cause most of cervical cancers that develop from precancerous cervical lesions \[[@B4]\]. Based on the risk associated with the HPV types, 3 kinds of vaccines are currently available for use: a bivalent vaccine targeting HPV-16 and HPV-18; a quadrivalent vaccine targeting the 2 most carcinogenic types (HPV-16/18) and 2 low-risk types (HPV-6/11); and a nonavalent vaccine targeting 5 more carcinogenic types (HPV-31/33/45/52/58) in addition to the 4 types (HPV-16/18/6/11) \[[@B5]\].
The geographical variations observed among the common HPV types is still unclear. Therefore, recognizing the prevalent types among specific populations is necessary for designing prophylactic HPV vaccines for effectively preventing cervical cancer \[[@B6][@B7]\]. The risk of cervical carcinogenesis may depend on the type of HPV and the diversity of infection patterns \[[@B8]\]. Determining the contribution of HPV genotypes to cervical carcinogenesis will help estimate the potential impact of vaccines and cancer screening programs.
Hence, in this study comprising HPV-positive women from a Korean HPV cohort study, we aimed to evaluate the risk of cervical dysplasia based on infection patterns and types of HPV.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
=====================
This cohort study was conducted at 7 different university obstetrics and gynecology clinics nationwide, since 2010 \[[@B9]\]. We enrolled women aged 20 to 60 years who were HPV-positive, with either atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASCUS) or low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (LSIL) of the cervix at the time of enrollment. Women who had undergone hysterectomy previously, were treated for cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) within the last 6 months of enrollment, were diagnosed with any cancer type or coexisting malignancies, had been affected by psychological disease and were currently undergoing treatment, or were pregnant at the time of enrollment were excluded from the study. In this study, participants who did not develop the severe precancerous stage during the follow-up period (maximum 5 years) were categorized as having non-progressive disease. The study was approved by the Institutional Review Boards (Cheil General Hospital and Women\'s Healthcare Center of the Dankook University: CGH-IRB-2010-13, Busan Paik Hospital of the Inje University: 11-117, Seoul St. Mary\'s Hospital of the Catholic University: KC10ONME0075, Dongsan Medical Center of the Keimyung University: 2011-11-099, Guro Hospital of the Korea University: KUGH16066-001, and Chonnam University Hospital: CNUHH-2015-026) and informed consent was obtained from each study participant.
To evaluate the presence of CIN, colposcopy-directed biopsies were performed at initial presentation and during follow-up. At the time of enrollment, patients having a diagnosis with chronic inflammation or CIN 1 were included in this study, and those having a lesion as greater than CIN 2 were not included although their cytologic results were either ASCUS or LSIL. During follow-up, patients having cytologic results indicative of conditions worse than high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion were confirmed the presence of CIN by biopsy. If patients diagnosed with a lesion worse than CIN 2, those were terminated from this study while the patients diagnosed having CIN 1 remained as follow-up participants. For HPV genotyping at the initial visit, two different DNA microarray techniques were used based on the participating hospital. Cheil General Hospital used the Cheil HPV DNA Chip Kit (Cheil General Hospital, Seoul, Korea) and all of other participating hospitals used the method named Anyplex™ II HPV 28 detection (Seegene Inc., Seoul, Korea). During the follow-up examinations, Cheil General Hospital served as a central laboratory and performed HPV genotyping uniformly with the collected samples from the participating hospitals using a Cheil HPV DNA Chip Kit.
Among the 1,409 subjects recruited, from April 2010 to September 2017, 382 subjects were excluded owing to the following: the lack of information about HPV genotype at enrollment (n=188), HPV DNA test results obtained only once at the time of enrollment (n=186), and lack of response to surveys (n=8). A total of 1,027 subjects were selected in the final analysis: 578 (56.3%) with ASCUS and 449 (43.7%) with LSIL. The follow-ups, with results of cytology and HPV DNA testing, were included in the final analysis. We analyzed the cytological and histological data obtained from each follow-up, which took place at 6-month intervals. Demographic and behavioral information was obtained via self-administered questionnaires and interview surveys every year. Enrolled participants who were diagnosed with a lesion classified as more severe than cervical intraepithelial neoplasia 2 (CIN 2+) by colposcopically directed biopsy were not followed up further in the course of this study. Based on oncogenicity in humans, the genotypes of HPV were classified as high-risk (19 HPV types: HPV-16, HPV-18, HPV-26, HPV-31, HPV-33, HPV-35, HPV-39, HPV-45, HPV-51, HPV-52, HPV-53, HPV-56, HPV-58, HPV-59, HPV-66, HPV-68, HPV-69, HPV-73, and HPV-82) or low-risk (9 HPV types: HPV-6, HPV-11, HPV-40, HPV-42, HPV-43, HPV-44, HPV-54, HPV-61, and HPV-70) \[[@B4]\]. Based on the results of HPV DNA testing at each visit, the HPV infection patterns were classified into 3 types: persistent infection, incidental infection, and clearance ([Fig. 1](#F1){ref-type="fig"}). Cases in which infection at least 1 HPV genotype persisted during the follow-up period were classified as persistent infections. Cases where patients had undergone HPV DNA test only twice could not be categorized as persistent infections. Cases with changes in, disappearance of, or reoccurrence of HPV types during the follow-up period were categorized as incidental infections. This infection pattern also included participants who had been persistently infected with certain HPV genotype(s) until their second visit, but had not yet visited a third time. Lastly, clearance of infection was defined as a reversion to the uninfected state, without detection of any HPV type at the latest visit \[[@B9]\].
{#F1}
The descriptive statistics were summarized using the t-test or analysis of variance for continuous data, and the χ^2^ test for categorical data. The incidences were calculated for each HPV infection pattern (persistent infection, incidental infection, and clearance). To estimate the risk of cervical dysplasia, hazard ratios were calculated using Cox proportional hazard models, with adjustment for covariates, including age, marital status, drinking, menopause, oral contraceptive use, and the cumulative number of sex partners. The data were analyzed using SAS version 9.4 (SAS Institute, Cary, NC, USA), and a p-value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant.
RESULTS
=======
The general characteristics of the study population (n=1,027) are described in [Table 1](#T1){ref-type="table"}. The average follow-up period was 3.1 years, and the average age at the time of enrollment was 40.6 years. Majority of the subjects were married and lived with their spouses (63.4%), were current drinkers (70.0%), had not reached menopause (82.9%), and used oral contraceptives (83.8%).
###### Epidemiologic characteristics of study subjects based on HPV infection patterns, the Korea HPV cohort 2010--2017
Variables All (n=1,027) Persistent infection (n=144) Incidental infection (n=474) Clearance (n=409) p-value^\*^
---------------------------------- --------------------- ------------------------------ ------------------------------ ------------------- ------------- ------------- -------------
Follow-up (yr) 3.06±1.54 3.01±1.37 2.63±1.56 3.58±1.41 **\<0.001**
Age (yr) 40.57±9.64 42.93±9.90 40.58±9.96 39.73±9.04 **0.003**
Age group **0.001**
20--29 167 (16.26) 18 (12.50) 86 (18.14) 63 (15.40)
30--39 297 (28.92) 33 (22.92) 122 (25.74) 142 (34.72)
40--49 350 (34.08) 51 (35.42) 159 (33.54) 140 (34.23)
≥50^†^ 213 (20.74) 42 (29.17) 107 (22.57) 64 (15.65)
BMI 21.77±2.81 21.97±2.82 21.75±2.76 21.72±2.85 0.637
Marital status **0.024**
Co-habitation 650 (63.35) 102 (71.33) 277 (58.44) 271 (66.26)
Separation 123 (11.99) 14 (9.79) 68 (14.35) 41 (10.02)
Single 253 (24.66) 27 (18.88) 129 (27.22) 97 (23.72)
Education 0.184
≤highschool level 408 (39.73) 66 (45.83) 190 (40.08) 152 (37.16)
≥college level 619 (60.27) 78 (54.17) 284 (59.92) 257 (62.84)
Job 0.356
Manager/head 250 (24.34) 32 (22.22) 118 (24.89) 100 (24.45)
Professionals 186 (18.11) 28 (19.44) 78 (16.46) 80 (19.56)
Business/service 211 (20.55) 24 (16.67) 108 (22.78) 79 (19.32)
Housekeeping 331 (32.23) 53 (36.81) 142 (29.96) 136 (33.25)
Unemployed/student 49 (4.77) 7 (4.86) 28 (5.91) 14 (3.42)
Monthly income (\$) 0.219
\<2,000 133 (12.95) 20 (13.89) 64 (13.50) 49 (11.98)
2,000--5,000 448 (43.62) 66 (45.83) 208 (43.88) 174 (42.54)
≥5,000 382 (37.20) 50 (34.72) 164 (34.60) 168 (41.08)
Don\'t know 64 (6.23) 8 (5.56) 38 (8.02) 18 (4.40)
Smoking^‡^ 0.310
No 881 (85.78) 128 (88.89) 399 (84.18) 354 (86.55)
Yes 146 (14.22) 16 (11.11) 75 (15.82) 55 (13.45)
Drinking **0.041**
No 244 (23.73) 41 (28.47) 103 (21.73) 100 (24.51)
Not currently (yes) 64 (6.24) 5 (3.47) 24 (5.06) 35 (8.58)
Currently (yes) 718 (69.98) 98 (68.06) 347 (73.21) 273 (66.91)
Regular exercise
No 583 (56.77) 75 (52.08) 262 (55.27) 246 (60.15)
Yes 444 (43.23) 69 (47.92) 212 (44.73) 163 (39.85)
Pregnancy 0.437
No 224 (21.81) 27 (18.75) 111 (23.42) 86 (21.03)
Yes 803 (78.19) 117 (81.25) 363 (76.58) 323 (78.97)
No. of offspring(s) 0.094
None 93 (11.58) 15 (12.82) 43 (11.85) 35 (10.84)
1 188 (23.41) 18 (15.38) 77 (21.21) 93 (28.79)
2 429 (53.42) 68 (58.12) 198 (54.55) 163 (50.46)
3+ 93 (11.58) 16 (13.68) 45 (12.40) 32 (9.91)
Menopause **0.001**
No 851 (82.94) 106 (73.61) 390 (82.28) 355 (87.01)
Yes 175 (17.06) 38 (26.39) 84 (17.72) 53 (12.99)
Contraceptive use 0.908
No 633 (61.64) 91 (63.19) 292 (61.60) 250 (61.12)
Yes 394 (38.36) 53 (36.81) 182 (38.40) 159 (38.88)
Oral contraceptive use **0.011**
No 861 (83.84) 127 (88.19) 380 (80.17) 354 (86.55)
Yes 166 (16.16) 17 (11.81) 94 (19.83) 55 (13.45)
Cumulative No. of sex partner(s) **0.049**
1 407 (39.71) 68 (47.22) 173 (36.58) 166 (40.69)
2--3 368 (35.90) 44 (30.56) 164 (34.67) 160 (39.22)
4--5 157 (15.32) 22 (15.28) 80 (16.91) 55 (13.48)
6+ 61 (5.95) 7 (4.86) 38 (8.03) 16 (3.92)
No response 32 (3.12) 3 (2.08) 18 (3.81) 11 (2.70)
HPV vaccination 0.651
No 752 (73.22) 110 (76.39) 345 (72.78) 297 (72.62)
Yes 275 (26.78) 34 (23.61) 129 (27.22) 112 (27.38)
No. of HPV vaccination 0.568
1 53 (5.16) 8 (5.56) 20 (4.22) 25 (6.11)
2 40 (3.89) 7 (4.86) 20 (4.22) 13 (3.18)
3 182 (17.72) 19 (13.19) 89 (18.78) 74 (18.09)
Data are presented as the mean±standard deviation for continuous variables and number (percentage) for categorical variables.
BMI, body mass index; HPV, human papillomavirus.
^\*^p-values were obtained by using the analysis of variance test for continuous variables and the χ^2^ test for categorical variables; p\<0.05 at significance in bold letters; ^†^Age group of ≥50 included 3 subjects aged 60 years; ^‡^Smoking status (yes) refers to a person who has smoked 100 cigarettes in her lifetime.
The distribution of HPV genotypes in the study subjects is summarized in [Fig. 2](#F2){ref-type="fig"}. The percentage values for prevalence of each HPV type included cases of single infection as well as cases of multiple infections in which the particular HPV type was one of the infective agents. The most prevalent genotype was HPV-16 (9.8%), followed by HPV-58 (8.7%), HPV-56 (7.8%), HPV-53 (7.7%), and HPV-52 (6.5%). At the time of enrollment, the majority of identified genotypes were classified as high-risk HPV (76%), and the remaining genotypes were classified as low-risk HPV (16%) or other HPV types (8%). High-risk HPV-50s (HPV-51/52/53/56/58/59) were found to be most common among the high-risk genotypes, followed by other high-risk types (HPV-26/31/33/35/39/45/66/68/69/73/82), and HPV-16/18.
{#F2}
The cases of a total of 1,027 study subjects were classified into 3 infection patterns, according to the maintenance or change in HPV genotypes during the follow-up period. There were 144 subjects with persistent infection (14.0%), 474 subjects with incidental infection (46.2%), and 409 subjects who showed clearance (39.8%). Comparison of the 3 groups showed that women with persistent infections were the oldest, with an average age of 42.9 years. This group had a relatively large proportion of women aged 50--60 years (29.2%), as well as women living with their spouses (71.3%), and who had reached menopause (26.4%). With respect to drinking status, more women with incidental infections were current drinkers (73.2%) ([Table 1](#T1){ref-type="table"}).
A total of 71 of the 1,027 subjects developed precancerous cervical dysplasia CIN 2+. Based on HPV infection patterns during the follow-up period, the incidence rates (cumulative incidence, incidence density) of progression to CIN 2+ were as follows: persistent infection, 27.2% (76.2 per 1,000 person-years); incidental infection, 10.4% (31.2 per 1,000 person-years); and clearance, 0.5% (1.4 per 1,000 person-years) ([Fig. 3](#F3){ref-type="fig"} and [Table 2](#T2){ref-type="table"}). Individuals persistently infected with the same HPV type(s) during the follow-up period had the highest risk of severe cervical dysplasia. Out of 144 subjects having persistent infection, the lesions more severe than CIN2 developed in 30 subjects. The mean of survival time was 1.95 years until developing CIN 2+ in the 30 subjects whereas that of 114 persistently infected subjects without developing CIN 2+ was 3.29 years.
{#F3}
###### Incidence rate of cervical dysplasia per 1,000 person-years (n=71), the Korea HPV cohort 2010--2017
Covariates^\*^ HPV infection patterns (No. per 1,000 person-years)
------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------- ------- ------- -----
Incidence of cervical dysplasia 76.2 31.2 1.4
Age group (yr)
20--29 75.4 21.9 4.8
30--39 46.3 29.9 2.0
40--49 76.6 50.9 0
≥50 62.2 13.1 0
Marital status
Co-habitation 65.9 38.1 0
Separation 93.3 24.6 0
Single 61.9 20.8 6.1
Drinking experience
Currently (yes) 78.1 25.8 0
Not currently (yes) 0 111.5 0
No 56.5 35.2 5.7
Menopause
Yes 56.4 17.0 0
No 74.4 34.6 1.6
Oral contraceptive use
Yes 141.1 11.3 0
No 61.4 34.2 1.6
Cumulative number of sex partner(s)
1 59.0 43.5 0
2--3 81.4 25.2 1.8
4--5 74.2 18.9 5.4
6+ 0 21.3 0
^\*^List of variables that were significantly different between infection patterns ([Table 1](#T1){ref-type="table"}, p\>0.05) and were used for adjustment in the Cox proportional hazard models ([Table 3](#T3){ref-type="table"}).
On comparison of the incidence rate for each risk factor, we found that the order of risk remained the highest for patients with persistent infections, followed by that for patients with incidental infection and clearance ([Table 2](#T2){ref-type="table"}). Compared to clearance, the risk of developing CIN 2+ was approximately 50 times higher in patients with persistent infection (hazard ratio \[HR\]=51.6) and approximately 25 times higher in patients with incidental infection in which the HPV types were not found to persist during the follow-up (HR=24.1). Specifically, for the persistent infection pattern, the risk was the highest for infections with HPV-16/18 (HR=83.0), whereas it was relatively low for infections with high-risk HPV-50s (HR=42.3). In both the persistent and incidental patterns, subjects infected with more than 2 HPV types showed higher risk than those infected with a single HPV type ([Table 3](#T3){ref-type="table"}).
###### HRs for the development of cervical dysplasia among HPV-positive women, the Korea HPV cohort 2010--2017
HPV infection patterns^\*^ Subjects CIN 2+ Crude Adjusted^‡^
---------------------------- -------------------------------------------------- -------------------- ---------------- -------------------- ------------- ------------- ------------- ------------- ------------- -------------
Clearance 409 2 1.0
Incidental infection^†^ 474 39 21.5 5.1--88.9 24.1 5.7--100.2
Low-risk HPV detected at last visit 100 3 1.7 0.1--18.6 1.7 0.1--19.3
High-risk HPV detected at last visit 238 35 40.9 9.8--169.8 47.2 11.2--197.6
Single infection 196 27 38.1 9.1--160.3 44.6 10.5--188.5
Multiple infection 42 8 54.1 11.4--254.7 61.1 12.6--294.8
High/low-risk HPV detected at last visit (mixed) 136 1 8.2 1.3--49.1 1.8 0.2--19.3
Persistent infection 144 30 47.0 11.2--196.8 51.6 12.2--217.5
Persistent with high-risk HPV 126 29 51.8 12.3--217.1 57.1 13.5--240.8
Single infection 77 17 49.1 11.3--212.6 52.9 12.0--232.1
Multiple infection 49 12 56.2 12.5--251.0 63.5 14.1--285.3
HPV type 16/18 31 10 74.2 16.2--338.8 83.0 17.6--390.1
Single infection 17 6 80.9 16.3--400.8 77.2 14.6--405.8
Multiple infection 14 4 66.1 12.1--360.9 95.1 16.8--536.9
HPV type 50s 60 10 38.4 8.4--175.2 42.3 9.1--195.0
Single infection 40 7 40.7 8.4--195.7 44.8 9.1--218.5
Multiple infection 20 3 34.0 5.6--203.4 36.7 6.0--223.3
Other types 35 9 54.8 11.8--253.7 61.6 13.2--287.1
Single infection 20 4 40.2 7.3--219.6 49.2 8.8--274.0
Multiple infection 15 5 77.3 14.9--398.5 77.2 14.8--401.9
Persistent with low-risk HPV 18 1 12.5 1.1--137.5 13.0 1.1--144.9
CI, confidence interval; CIN, cervical intraepithelial neoplasia; CIN 2+, more severe than cervical intraepithelial neoplasia 2; HPV, human papillomavirus; HR, hazard ratio.
^\*^The definition of HPV infection patterns can be found in [Fig. 1](#F1){ref-type="fig"}; ^†^Low-risk HPV including 9 HPV types including HPV-6, HPV-11, HPV-40, HPV-42, HPV-43, HPV-44, HPV-54, HPV-61, and HPV-70 and high-risk HPV including 19 HPV types including HPV-16, HPV-18, HPV-26, HPV-31, HPV-33, HPV-35, HPV-39, HPV-45, HPV-51, HPV-52, HPV-53, HPV-56, HPV-58, HPV-59, HPV-66, HPV-68, HPV-69, HPV-73, and HPV-82; ^‡^Adjustment for covariates including age, marital status, drinking, menopause, oral contraceptive, and cumulative number of sex partners.
DISCUSSION
==========
In the present study, both the incidence and risk of progression to CIN 2+ were the highest in subjects persistently infected with at least one type of high-risk HPV throughout the follow-up period, followed by the incidence and risk in cases of incidental infection and clearance. The risk of developing CIN 2+ was the highest in subjects persistently infected with HPV-16/18, and it increased if the subjects were infected with more than two types of high-risk HPVs at the same time.
Our findings were consistent with those of previous studies with respect to the following: persistent infection with high-risk HPV is necessary for the development of precancerous lesions \[[@B10]\], and infections with HPV-16 and/or HPV-18 are associated with the highest risk of CIN \[[@B11]\].Furthermore, the strength of risk for cervical dysplasia also depends on whether the subject is infected with single or multiple HPV types. For both persistent and incidental infection patterns, subjects infected with multiple high-risk HPVs had a higher risk than those infected with a single high-risk HPV. Many reports have indicated that multiple HPV infections are associated with higher grades of cervical abnormalities, and the cervical cancer risk is higher in patients infected with multiple HPV types than in those infected with a single HPV type. Prospective studies have shown that infection with multiple high-risk HPV types acts synergistically in cervical carcinogenesis \[[@B12]\]. Moreover, cancers in patients infected with multiple HPV types could be more resistant to therapy than in those infected with a single HPV type. A related study reported that the treatment failure rate of cervical cancer patients infected with multiple HPV types was 5 times higher than that of patients infected with a single HPV type \[[@B13]\]. However, some studies have reported that infection with multiple HPV types does not affect either the incidence or severity of cervical cancer \[[@B14][@B15]\].
Some strengths of the present study are as follows: the study participants were recruited from 4 metropolitan cities in Korea rather than from only 1 area. To our knowledge, this is the first Korean HPV cohort study including a relatively large-scale assessment of the distribution of HPV types among HPV-positive women. Furthermore, the risk of developing severe cervical dysplasia was compared based on the prevalent genotypes and infection patterns. There have been various studies demonstrating the differences in HPV distribution between the Western and Eastern population \[[@B16]\]. HPV-58, while commonly found in East Asia, is a rare HPV type worldwide that accounts for only 3.3% of cervical cancer cases globally \[[@B17][@B18]\]. In Asia, a larger proportion of cervical cancers are associated with HPV-58 and HPV-52 among rarer types excluding HPV-16 and HPV-18 \[[@B19]\]. In this study population, the genotypes of HPV-50s (HPV-58/56/53/52/51/59) were most commonly found. However, the high frequency of these genotypes was not associated with an increased risk for cervical precancerous lesions. With respect to the natural course leading to severe cervical dysplasia, the risk was relatively higher in subjects persistently infected with HPV-16/18 than in those infected with the HPV-50s.
Previous studies have demonstrated that immunological deficiency was a factor that induces development of malignant lesions, allowing higher rates of HPV persistence, suggesting that the presence of chronic inflammation with weakened cellular immunity may play a decisive role in accelerating the rate of progression, leading to cancer \[[@B20]\]. Therefore, variations in the immunity level of the patients may affect the acquisition or clearance of infection \[[@B21]\]. However, this study did not consider immunologic factors. Any measurements indicating the immunity level of the participants were not used in the present study.
Further study is required to determine the risk factors associated with progression of HPV infection to cervical cancer, specifically, among subjects with persistent infection. A detailed evaluation of subjects with persistent infections during the follow-up period may be a further step in the investigation of potential risk factors for HPV persistence, such as alcohol consumption, female-specific conditions including parity or long-time use of oral contraceptives, and sexual habits. For instance, a previous study, conducted in Korea, suggested that the synergistic effect of high-risk HPV and alcohol consumption increased the risk of viral persistence \[[@B22]\].
In conclusion, the current study demonstrates that women persistently infected with multiple HPV genotypes during their follow-up periods had the highest risk of showing progression to the severe stage of cervical dysplasia. Among the high-risk genotypes, HPV-16 and HPV-18 were the most likely to cause CIN 2+, despite the HPV-50s being the most common in HPV-positive women in this Korean cohort study. Our results suggest that it is necessary to monitor infection patterns in addition to the HPV type, in order to prevent severe cervical precancerous lesions.
**Presentation:** This study was presented at the 70th Annual Meeting of the Korean Society for Preventive Medicine in Busan, Korea during October 18-20, 2017.
**Funding:** This study was supported by a grant for the Chronic Infectious Disease Cohort Study (Korea HPV Cohort Study) from the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2016-E51002-02) and a research grant from the National Cancer Center of Korea (NCC-1710141).
**Conflict of Interest:** No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.
**Author Contributions:** **Funding acquisition:** K.M.K., S.J., K.M.**Investigation:** K.T.J., H.C.S., C.C.H., J.D.H., S.S.J., L.J.K., H.S.**Methodology:** P.Y., K.M.**Resources:** K.M.K., S.J., K.M.**Supervision:** K.M.**Writing - original draft:** P.Y.
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tomekkorbak/pile-curse-small
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PubMed Central
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Elizabeth Wurtzel: The Pope Is Right—Kids Are the Point of Life
As a Jew, I am not much concerned with the Pope. It seems to me that he has a difficult job as the head of a corrupt organization run by men who do not have sex and claim to know God personally. But Pope Francis has charm galore. It is quite something. He wants everybody, including people he does not like, to like him, and he has kind words for gay people and murderers—not that they are comparable.
So it is surprising when the Pope comes out with statements suggesting that Catholics ought to, for Christ’s sake, be Catholic: reprimands are so unlike the Francis we have come to know. They’re somehow too Pope-ish. Just the other day Pope Francis said that people who think having a cat or two and a dog is as good as having kids are missing out. All the benefits of child-free life—the vacations and villas, the barefoot dancing, the sex on the kitchen floor—all that will come to naught. “Have you seen it?” Pope Francis asked. “Then, in the end this marriage comes to old age in solitude, with the bitterness of loneliness.”
As it happens, I’m with Francis.
When I see married people who don’t have kids, I wonder what’s wrong. Really. Because something is. Of course it is. I mean, if you aren’t going to have children, why bother with the rest? Why bother with the $30,000 bash and the white crinoline dress? And you can say that about everything. What do you think we are doing here, biding our time on this planet with our misspent years, justifying our days with our ridiculous schemes of leisure? Is anyone’s life so meaningful? Really? Really, really, really? Is yours?
The existential nightmare of the everyday is way more than even those of us with enormous egos who love what we do can possibly cope with. We are on this earth to keep on keeping on. We are here to reproduce. We are here to leave something behind that is more meaningful than a tech startup or a masterpiece of literature. Everybody knows this. The biggest idiot in the world who thinks he knows better—even he deep down knows this.
And I say this not as religious person but as someone who believes in science. I took human behavioral biology with the amazing Irv Devore my freshman year of college, and early on he taught us that human beings serve our genes—we are here only as temporary vessels to pass along their permanence. This made immediate sense to me because it explains everything: the desire to reproduce is so extreme, so innate, that even people who cannot (and some who really should not) have children at all cannot be stopped from doing so. Look at the abracadabra we do to create fertility when it fails. It seems crazy only if you don’t accept that it is a biological imperative in the absolute. Or as University of Washington psychologist and zoologist David P. Barash writes in the journal BioScience, “Living things are survival vehicles for their potentially immortal genes. Biologically speaking, this is what they are, and it is all they are.” He adds, “For most biologists, the promulgation of genes is neither good nor bad. It just is.”
I am 46 and I don’t have children, which is a bit of a problem, because I believe everything I am saying. I also was not married, but I recently got engaged, so I will be soon—and I hope to have a child. If I don’t, I will figure that out. I am very good at figuring things out. And science is even better at it. (Maybe the Pope should reconsider the Catholic Church’s stance on IVF, though.)
And I am not saying I want to have a kid because of something I learned in a college course when I was 18 years old. I am saying that we are all stuck with our humanity, and it is lovely. I don’t feel some awesome urge to have children and I don’t look at babies longingly at all, but I know if I missed out on that part of life, I would be missing a huge part of what makes us alive. It is just silly to argue otherwise, and I have lived it—happily—so I don’t need to hear it.
This is one of the many instances when science and religion dovetail in a conclusion about human behavior for different reasons. Surely the two reinforce each other so often because the urge to be spiritual and to love is also part of our cells and our chemistry. And when both agree, I don’t argue.
Elizabeth Wurtzel is the author of Prozac Nation, Bitch and More, Now, Again. She is a lawyer who works for David Boies in New York City. She lives with her dog, her cat and her fiancé.
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tomekkorbak/pile-curse-small
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Pile-CC
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Q:
Python - Go through list without last element
I have a list of tuples and want to create a new list.
The elements of the new list are calculated with the last element of the new list (first element is 0) and the the second element of the next tuple of the old list.
To understand better:
list_of_tuples = [(3, 4), (5, 2), (9, 1)] # old list
new_list = [0]
for i, (a, b) in enumerate(list_of_tuples):
new_list.append(new_list[i] + b)
So this is the solution, but the last element of the new list does not have to be calculated. So the last element is not wanted.
Is there a pretty way of creating the new list?
My solution so far is with range, but does not look that nice:
for i in range(len(list_of_tuples)-1):
new_list.append(new_list[i] + list_of_tuples[i][1])
I'm new to python, so any help is appreciated.
A:
You can simply use slice notation to skip the last element:
for i, (a, b) in enumerate(list_of_tuples[:-1]):
Below is a demonstration:
>>> lst = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
>>> lst[:-1]
[1, 2, 3, 4]
>>> for i in lst[:-1]:
... i
...
1
2
3
4
>>>
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tomekkorbak/pile-curse-small
|
StackExchange
|
On Brooklyn’s Side
New York City does not normally figure in the regionalist imagination, either conservative or liberal. It is self- and other-described as the original melting pot, the place where people move when they are getting away from somewhere else, to land in a no-man’s land of concrete and steel. Conservative regionalists prefer in particular the virtues of the rooted agrarian South or the Yankee North, as against anything so unlovable as New York. Even Russell Kirk, who had nice things to say about Detroit, of all places, had few good things to say about Gotham. Real liberals, on the other hand, the ones not under the spell of the Upper West Side or the legacy of Partisan Review, similarly flee the city.
But this rhetoric, for many urban-born conservatives such as myself, fails ultimately to resonate. Perhaps this is because too often the conversations condemning New York are with earnest folks living far from their own homes, ensconced in some academic library writing defenses of traditionalist living, and about as distant from the traditional life of their ancestors and relatives as one can get. I can’t be too hard on them: You try to live as best you can with what you have. But as a prominent conservative publisher once told me, many agrarian or regionalist (the two are often unfortunately conflated) polemics often neglect the notion of vocation, or rather they universalize the notion of vocation to mean only a back-to-the-land kind of reaction. Yet it is a cornerstone of the Christian heritage of the West that a vocation is an individual calling. If someone has a vocation—a divine calling, in other words—to become, say, an urban doctor, or some other profession that requires living in a city, it is not another’s place to deny it in favor of some hierarchy of ways of living (though I grant you the number of people who seem to have a vocation for hedge-fund manager or urban “artist” is suspicious).
New York, as some strongly localist writers such as Joseph Mitchell knew, can inspire loyalty and rootedness just as much as any other place people call home. An example: Recently the New York Times profiled the scion of a local hardware store family whose business lasted in New York’s West Side for over a century. The son of the patriarch turned down an offer to join the CIA after military service in World War II, preferring to join the family business. During his years as the hardware lord of the West Side, he became a collector of rare books on paint and color. While your average neoconservative sprout might have left the business to serve big government without much of a second thought (assuming it isn’t the family business to serve the state in the first place), that one decision is just as much New York as the anomie and trust-fund agitprop.
It is these vagaries of geography and history that make the vision Bill Kauffman is espousing so appealing, in this issue and in his books, which are a must-read for anyone serious about understanding the appeal of regionalism. His “let a thousand flowers” bloom approach allows for a truly rooted devotion to locality to develop, across a range of circumstances. Of course everyone loves, or should love, where he lives, and we would do well to remember that no place is exempt from sin or human failings. Plenty of bad things can be said of New York, and have been, but that is not the whole story. While he does not hide his own preferences, Kauffman avoids the unfortunate essentialism of much conservative regionalist writing. Even he acknowledges that New York is the city of Dorothy Day, Norman Mailer, and Staten Island secessionists, as well as Vogue editors and hedge-fund managers.
Brooklyn fits even less the New Yorkstereotype. My family, for example, has lived here for four generations, mostly in the same neighborhood. My wife’s family has been across the river in Manhattan just as long, though perhaps I should add that part of her family hails from the South and bore the CSA standard for the state of Georgia. I need not shop at a superstore, preferring instead the many family-run businesses in my neighborhood. We buy produce directly from farmers, do not need to drive a car for weeks at a stretch, and we live within five miles of where my grandparents were married and my ancestors are buried. This is not some “crunchy con” fantasy. Oppressive congestion, dirty subways, and rude pedestrians aside, this is Brooklyn, too.
Some years ago, there was a book published with the improbable title Canarsie: The Jews and Italians of Brooklyn Against Liberalism (1985), focusing on the middle-class neighborhood of Canarsie. That is pretty much the Brooklyn where I grew up, though as a good citizen of the adjacent neighborhood of Mill Basin I always thought the Canarsans a little suspect. This is the Brooklyn where “the city” was a long subway ride away, a trip to be taken only in extremis, where mothers called their children home over the hot asphalt on a summer night, where backyard radios murmured baseball scores in the evenings—no one could afford air conditioning, so we were all outside—and where the liturgical rhythms of church and synagogue dominated the chronological calendar.
And that is the Brooklyn celebrated in an otherwise perhaps overly sentimental book titled To Brooklyn With Love, by Gerald Green, who was a prominent writer, co-creator of the Today Show—an institution that has done its share to flatten America into an accent-less blur of malls and fast food chains—and the author of a number of novels. To Brooklyn With Love, published in 1967, is a kind of payback for all the Hollywood fluff; I like to imagine Green, living in the plain-vanilla bedroom community of New Canaan, Connecticut, pouring his heart into this story of his background. The book concerns a Jewish man reflecting on his youth as a doctor’s son, going back into the Brooklyn tenement neighborhood of his youth, where he relives in his memory those days of ethnic solidarity, ball field heroics, and simple survival in his presuburban days. Green’s book is perhaps not the high point of Brooklyn literature, but he captures the earthy neighborhood-ness of it as much as anyone.
Brooklyn, especially the parts closest to Manhattan, are considered literary haunts now, but few aside from Green discuss the Brooklyn of my youth so vividly, though he and I are two generations apart. Like Russell Kirk’s Mecosta or Kauffman’s Batavia, to find the magic of a place, even a place like Brooklyn, takes some persistence and a little imagination. I first read Green’s book as a childin Niagara Falls, home of my mother’s family and another place whose dying neighborhoods and historic communities deserve their own poets and songwriters. Nevertheless, the book has stayed with me for three decades now, fused with my own memories.
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tomekkorbak/pile-curse-small
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Pile-CC
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Prank Call Mafia founder, Shane Coyles, uses his social media presence to expose numerous child predators
Shane Coyles has the ability to use multiple voices to meet up in public with predators across the nation
Shane Coyles is also known to make prank phone calls while on Facebook Live
Shane Coyles has been using his multiple voices since 2017 to make a difference in the world by exposing predators and bringing laughter to many.
What Happened
In what originally started in the United Kingdom, groups of people would create accounts on social media and apps posing as children to try and have sexual predators reach out to them and eventually meet.
With such huge success, Coyle decided to see if he could start a movement in the United States using a voice that sounded like a child.
Coyles has had many meetups with predators to publicly expose them. Wednesdays meetup went different for the first time. Typically, throughout his videos, you can see Coyles meet and shame the predators and once in a while law enforcement gets involved, but you never see one turn themselves in.
Till now.
The Meetup With Shane Coyles
In this video, like all the other videos, Coyles meets the target in a public space and advises them that they are not being held against their will.
The predator, who is a military veteran, attempts to lie about the conversation they had, with who they thought was a minor. Coyles quickly shuts him down and tells him that he has all the evidence and that it was really him he was talking to.
Coyles continues to talk to the predator to try and figure out their mindset and to get him to admit what his intentions were.
Over the course of the conversation, the predator admits to not only having a problem with wanting to meet up with a minor but also a sex problem. The man goes on to tell Coyles that his wife was aware of his issues and told him one day it will land him in jail.
The conversation continues to the point the predator admitted that he knows needs help and wants help. An ultimatum was then given. Coyles gave him the choice of having law enforcement called or to go to a mental hospital to get evaluated.
The predator chose to get help.
Coyles then steps outside to update everyone that was following.
Making A Difference
After leaving the mental hospital, Coyles heads down to the police station to talk to investigators and to turn in the evidence. When it comes to this form of activism, you have to be willing to be willing to work with law enforcement, no matter how ugly your past may be. Naming and shaming them is great to get them exposed but it does nothing until they are held accountable.
Through his prank calls and exposures, Coyles has gathered a fan base and group of over 62,000 followers. Though that is a pretty decent following, Coyles is very adamant that it has nothing to do with likes and personal attention. He does what he does for his children and everyone else’s children and his authenticity shows.
If you have any children, monitor their devices for their safety. Below are a list of apps that both predators and children use.
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Hardware
General discussion
Port Issue
We have a Firewall (Nexland) that allows you a service called "Virtual Server" You can redirect a external Ip and port to an internal ip and port. We have an application that run on a Windows 2003 server and it listens on port 8080. I have opened up port 8080 and redirected any request to this external ip and port to this Internal computer and port.
I can telnet to the computer just fine internal, but have had no luck from the outside.
All Comments
I am not an expert, just a college student with some certifications and a little experience. I was experimenting a few weeks ago with telnet and If I remember correctly I had to create an incoming user account on the computer to which I was telneting into. Hope this sheds a little light.
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Pioglitazone inhibits growth of human retinoblastoma cells via regulation of NF-κB inflammation signals.
We aimed to study the antitumor effects of the PPARγ agonist pioglitazone on human retinoblastoma. The effects of pioglitazone on cell proliferation and apoptosis of the human retinoblastoma Y79 cells were investigated by MTT assay and Hoechst 33258 staining assay. The apoptosis related protein levels were detected by western blot. Inflammationary factors analysis was evaluated by western blot and ELISA. The effect of pioglitazone on nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB)-dependent reporter gene transcription induced by LPS was analyzed by NF-κB-luciferase assay. Then human retinoblastoma Y79 cells were subcutaneously transplanted in BALB/c nude mice and the animals were treated with pioglitazone to verify its antitumor effect in vivo. Our data revealed that pioglitazone suppressed the viability of Y79 cells dose- and time-dependently and induced apoptosis in Y79 cells in vitro. Molecular biology analysis found that pioglitazone could affect the apoptosis and inflammation related signal via modulating the activity of NF-κB signal. Also we found that pioglitazone could markedly reduce the growth of Y79 cells transplanted into the mice without causing significant side effects. Our results suggested that pioglitazone demonstrated antitumor activity against the human retinoblastoma Y79 cells by inhibiting cell growth, inducing apoptosis and modulating NF-κB pathway, and thus delayed tumor growth in vivo.
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PubMed Abstracts
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Design Thinking Doesn’t Happen in a Temple
Design Thinking is not reserved for a select few in a designated “creative space.” It can happen anywhere, with any members of your team, as long as they have the knowledge and confidence to engage in it.
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Finding Common Ground: 5 Times Harry Potter And Voldemort Agreed That For The Sorting Hat, Being Put On A Kid’s Head Probably Felt Like Using A Bidet
The Boy Who Lived and He Who Shall Not Be Named were certainly at odds in most respects, but that doesn’t mean they disagreed on everything. Here are five times Harry Potter and Voldemort agreed that for the Sorting Hat, being put on a kid’s head probably felt like using a bidet.
1. The time Harry traveled back in time and saw a young Tom Riddle arguing with Dumbledore about how they should let the Sorting Hat sit on someone’s head every day of the year because it must feel refreshing for it, all while an invisible Harry nodded in agreement
While experimenting with a spell meant to show people their greatest fears in a charms class during his third year at Hogwarts, Harry was transported back in time to see a young Voldemort furiously arguing with Dumbledore, but rather than making him afraid, the vision had basically the opposite effect:
“Harry was suddenly transported to a room he recognized as Dumbledore’s office, but he knew right away that things were not as he’d known them. Everything seemed newer, fresher, more vibrant, and it didn’t take him long to understand why. Harry was in the past, watching a much younger Dumbledore write at his desk as a student he instantly recognized as Tom Riddle stood over him, absolutely berating the headmaster and growing more incensed by the moment.
‘Jesus Christ, you old fucking twat, what don’t you see?’ Tom roared. ‘The Sorting Hat is not meant to sit in your office on a stool all the time. The Sorting Hat should be put on kids’ heads every single day because when it’s on top of someone’s head, it probably feels super refreshing, like it’s on a bidet. The hair probably feels like water splashing right up into its anus, not only giving its asshole a deep clean, but also reaching any and all itchy spots that it can’t get to because it doesn’t have fingers. Any argument to the contrary is foolish.’
‘Your logic is flawed, Mr. Riddle, and you sound like a little bitch to boot,’ Dumbledore calmly replied without looking up from his writing, throwing Tom into an even greater rage. ‘I don’t think children’s heads feel like a bidet for the Sorting Hat. The Sorting Hat does not have legs. The Sorting Hat does not take shits. Therefore, the Sorting Hat’s big hole cannot feel like an anus to it—and if you have no anus, there’s nothing refreshing about using a bidet.’
Harry watched on from a few feet away, invisible to the ghosts of the past arguing before him.
‘Voldemort’s right,’ Harry whispered, nodding his head in agreement. ‘The Hat’s hole is on the bottom of it, which makes that hole its asshole. Being on a kid’s head must feel like a bidet for it. It’s pretty cut and dry.’
Harry was still muttering about the Sorting Hat when his vision ended and he was transported back to class, where no one asked about what he saw, because if everyone had to talk about their visions, the class would take forever.”
2. The time Harry and Voldemort were dueling and Harry said a spell that sounded kind of like “bidet,” which prompted Voldemort to pause and explain that he can’t think about bidets without thinking about the Sorting Hat
During the second of their many one-on-one duels, Harry unleashed a powerful spell at Voldemort that reminded him of his Sorting Hat theory, prompting him to put a pause on the duel and explain it to Harry:
“Harry ran toward his wand after Voldemort managed to blast it out of his hands, covering the 20 yards or so in just seconds as He Who Shall Not Be Named cackled behind him. In one fluid motion, Harry slid, scooped up his weapon, turned toward the dark lord, and unleashed the most lethal spell he could muster.
‘Avada bidaya!’ he bellowed, sending a beam of green lightning soaring past Voldemort’s left temple, coming within inches of eviscerating the evil sorcerer.
‘Wait, wait, hold up,’ Voldemort hollered, making the ‘timeout’ gesture with his hands. ‘The word bidaya in your spell sounded a lot like bidet, and I can’t think about bidets without thinking about the Sorting Hat. I don’t think I ever told you, but I believe that for the Sorting Hat, being on a kid’s head feels like how a human feels when they get their assholes washed out by a bidet.’
‘Couldn’t agree more,’ Harry replied as he stood up and brushed off the front of his pants. ‘The hole is on the bottom of the hat, so the hole must feel the same as an anus. The kid’s hair is the water.’
‘Right, exactly,’ Voldemort smiled. ‘That’s a good way to put it. Very succinct.’
‘I’ve been saying that we should encourage the incoming students to, like, dig their heads into the hat a little more than usual so it feels more satisfying for the hat,’ Harry continued as he put his wand back into his waistband. ‘I’m just thinking that if the hair goes even further into the hole, it’d probably feel like a deeper clean. Maybe gets at some of the gunk that kids’ heads can’t normally reach when the hat is put on their heads lightly.’
‘There’s honestly no reason to not do that. You should see that through. Ask one of the teachers for help with it. I’m sure if Harry Potter asked, they’d definitely do it.’
The two enemies talked about the Sorting Hat for another 10 minutes, in agreement every step of the way, until Hermione and Ron finally arrived ready to back up their friend and scared off Voldemort, who decided he would battle his foe another day.”
3. The time Voldemort and Harry both happened to show up to the same Sorting Ceremony just to proudly watch their mutual friend, the Sorting Hat, have its annual cleansing experience
Harry was in his fourth year at Hogwarts when he decided to head down to the Great Hall to witness the incoming class’s Sorting Ceremony, just to stand in the back and proudly watch how much the Sorting Hat was enjoying the refreshing feeling of being put on kids’ heads. When he ran into Voldemort, who was there for the very same reason, the two once again put their differences aside for a brief exchange about their mutual friend:
“‘Look at it up there. That hat is in heaven right now.’
Harry looked around, unsure of where the voice was coming from. He had come to the Great Hall alone to watch the Sorting Ceremony, and no one was near him except for Professor Crumbly, who was standing still and expressionless.
‘It’s me, Voldemort. My face is attached to the front of Professor Crumbly’s thigh. I’m back to being attached to people for now.’
Harry looked down at Crumbly’s leg and saw the unmistakable outline of a human face bulging from the Professor’s slacks and understood at once. Voldemort had come to watch the Sorting Hat enjoy his bidet-like experience just as Harry had. There, at the Sorting Ceremony, was a truce between them.
‘I was talking to Ron about how I think the Sorting Hat must feel like it’s on a bidet when it’s on a kid’s head, getting its anus and genitalia area cleaned by the hair, and he disagreed,’ Harry whispered to Voldemort. ‘Ron said that it’s a fallacy to assume that the hat’s only hole is the hat’s asshole. He said that the hole could just as easily feel like an ear hole to the hat, and that the kids’ heads could feel like a Q-tip.’
‘Ron’s a bloody idiot,’ hissed the face on the thigh. ‘The hole is on the bottom of the Sorting Hat, which is where the asshole goes. Also, the hole is right in the middle of its body. The asshole is always in the exact, direct center point of your body. Dead center.’
‘I said the same thing,’ Harry replied. ‘Maybe he’d listen if you told him.’
The conversation ended there, and the two enemies returned to standing in silence. That was the last they would speak on the matter for quite some time.”
4. The time Voldemort tempted Harry to join his side by saying that if they both believed that the Sorting Hat felt like it was getting its asshole cleaned when it was placed on a kid’s head, then perhaps they weren’t so different after all
Voldemort and Harry were in the midst of a duel during Harry’s sixth year when, after realizing how much more powerful Harry had become, the dark lord tried to reason with him:
“‘It doesn’t have to be this way, Potter!’ Voldemort bellowed over the roar of the lightning blasting from their wands and colliding as they battled to overpower one another. ‘We can rule together! We could be unstoppable! We already agree that when the Sorting Hat is on a kid’s head, it feels like it’s getting its stale anus blasted and scrubbed in a nice, revitalizing way. We’re destined to join forces!’
‘Never talk to me about the Sorting Hat satisfying its itchy asshole while we’re dueling,’ Harry screamed, his hair blowing straight back in the howling wind. ‘No matter how much we agree on the Sorting Hat bidet-anus situation, that has nothing to do with this!’
‘Don’t tell me what to say or when to say it, you miserable little bitch,’ Voldemort boomed before disappearing from sight, leaving Harry suddenly alone and deserted on the battleground. Looking around suspiciously in anticipation of a surprise attack, Harry thought the Sorting Hat conversation was over for now, but he had a hunch that the duel was not.”
5. The time Harry Potter wrote in Tom Riddle’s journal that he’s positive that the Sorting Hat’s opening is its ass and that having a kid’s head in there must feel like a bidet, to which Voldemort responded that he thinks about that all the time
Harry didn’t know it at the time, but the magic journal he found and began using as his own diary during his second year once belonged to Tom Riddle, and Voldemort could see everything that he wrote inside of it before it disappeared from the page. Voldemort blew his cover, however, when he replied to Harry’s theory about the Sorting Hat:
“The book Harry had found earlier that day fascinated him. He was enthralled by the way the words disappeared from the page right after he wrote them, and now that it was lights-out in his Gryffindor dorm, he decided that it was a good time to pull out the journal and get some thoughts off his chest.
‘My name is Harry Potter, and I think the Sorting Hat feels like it’s on a bidet when a kid is wearing it,’ Harry wrote. ‘I bet it feels great for the hat. I bet the hat wishes every day was the Sorting Ceremony because then it could get its musty anus cleaned out all the time. Who wouldn’t want that?’
Harry excitedly watched as the words disappeared from the page, and then gasped with astonishment as new words began to appear.
‘Hey, I shouldn’t do this but I’m doing it. This is Voldemort. This is my old journal from when I was a kid. Can read everything you write in here. I just wanted to say that I couldn’t agree more about the Sorting Hat—I’m with you 100%. I remember saying that all the time as a kid and people just rolled their eyes. So it’s cool that you also think the big hole is the hat’s asshole and that the kids’ heads are basically the water of the bidet.’
‘Yes, very cool,’ Harry wrote back. ‘I’m not going to write in here anymore, obviously. But pretty neat that we both agree about the Sorting Hat.’
Harry tossed the book into the fireplace next to him and almost instantly fell asleep as the book hissed and screamed and yelped in pain from the flames, sending echoes of anguish through the chimney and into the starry sky above Hogwarts.”
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CYNTHIA NIXON CELEBRATED Pride month with a very special announcement on Instagram.
The former Sex And The City star, who is currently running for governor of New York, announced this week that her eldest child – now going by Samuel, or Seph – is transgender.
Cynthia – who has Seph and 15-year-old Charles with ex-husband Danny Mozes, and seven-year-old Max with wife Christine Marinoni – shared a photo of herself with Seph at his University of Chicago commencement a few weeks ago.
She captioned the photo:
I’m so proud of my son Samuel Joseph Mozes (called Seph) who graduated college this month. I salute him and everyone else marking today’s #TransDayofAction #TDOA .”
In a later post, she sent a message of support to the trans community and called out Donald Trump’s controversial immigration policies.
Happy #Pride weekend! LGBTQ* people have greater visibility and acceptance than ever before, but members of the trans community are at a much higher risk of experiencing violence and discrimination. Today, and every day, we stand with trans New Yorkers! #TransDayofAction #Dreamers (sic).”
DailyEdge is on Instagram!
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Rare Marilyn Monroe Playboy Gets Big Bids l Top Selling eBay Auction
WhatSellsBest.com, a website tracking rare items selling on eBay, is reporting bidding has passed $10k, on day two of a seven day auction for a rare Playboy magazine featuring Marilyn Monroe.
The magazine, a first issue of Playboy published in December, 1953, was produced by Hugh Hefner in his Hyde Park kitchen (Chicago). Ironically the issue is undated, because Hefner was uncertain if there would be a second issue at the time.
According to James Massey, Publisher of WhatSellsBest.com; “I’ve seen (Playboy) first issues, in very good to excellent condition, sell between $2,000 to $4,000 on eBay, and have read reports of mint condition copies exceeding $5,000 in other auctions. But, I haven’t seen any at this price (exceeding $10k) on eBay before.”
Originally, the first issue of Playboy had a cover price of 50˘ and sold-out in weeks. The reported circulation at that time was 53,991.
To see the current Marilyn Monroe Playboy auction (ends April 13th, 2011), and other rare items selling on eBay visit: WhatSellsBest.com, or use the links below.
Recognized media outlets interested in discussing this press release in detail are encouraged to contact James Massey by email at; [email protected] or, by telephone at 1-206-497-2263.
WhatSellsBest.com is a free website which has integrated with eBay to allow visitors to actively view and track the top selling items, worldwide on eBay, in nearly 200 unique categories. The website also reports on trends and sales of rare (high-value) items.
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Two days after Arctic sea ice hit a new record low extent for May, a new study hints at how this accelerating trend could make melting in Greenland even worse, with serious consequences for global climate and sea level rise.
Satellite observations published by the U.S. National Snow and Ice Data Center on Tuesday reveal that Arctic sea ice covered an area of just 4.63 million square miles (12 million square kilometers). That’s about 5 percent lower than the previous record low, set in May 2004, and more than 10 percent lower than the average sea ice extent from 1981 to 2010.
“It’s pretty worrisome,” says climate scientist Jennifer Francis of Rutgers University. “We’re in uncharted territory, in terms of the human experience.”
May 2016, the fourth month this year to set a monthly record low, also saw ice melting far faster than historical averages. This past month, the Arctic lost some 23,600 square miles (61,000 square kilometers) of ice per day, about 30 percent faster than the long-term average of 18,000 square miles (46,600 square kilometers) per day.
The melting of Arctic sea ice poses dangerous long-term threats to climate because sea ice plays a huge role in reflecting solar radiation away from Earth. As climate change warms the oceans and melts the sea ice, the Arctic becomes darker on average, increasing its ability to absorb more heat and causing further warming of the oceans—a runaway feedback loop called Arctic amplification.
And as the new study—published on Thursday in Nature Communications—shows, Arctic amplification may play a role in Greenland’s melting ice, as well, potentially contributing to future sea level rise.
The study, authored by a team led by Marco Tedesco of Columbia University’s Earth Institute, analyzed weather data to show that Greenland’s record melting in the summer of 2015 was caused by unusual wobbles in the jet stream, the undulating, riverlike current of air that circles the Northern Hemisphere.
It’s thought that by lessening the temperature difference between polar latitudes and more temperate regions, climate change can slow down the jet stream, and this slowdown could give the jet stream enough wiggle room to let it bend far more northward than it usually does. In fact, the study reveals the northernmost record of the jet stream ever observed.
The jet stream’s wacky northern upswing formed a blocking event—a stable, clockwise-circulating weather pattern—that hovered over Greenland, drawing in warm, moist air from lower latitudes, which led to last summer’s warm temperatures and shockingly high melting.
In and of itself, the study doesn’t link back to Arctic amplification directly, but a recent flurry of climate science papers connects the rest of the dots. A study published on May 2, for instance, shows that blocking events have become significantly more common over Greenland since the 1850s because of climate change. Another—also published in May—definitively connects these weather patterns back to Arctic sea ice loss, via Arctic amplification.
“[Medesco’s] paper adds a piece to the puzzle,” says Francis, who co-authored the paper connecting blocking events to sea ice loss. “It’s a complicated puzzle—but it’s really starting to come together.”
And if Greenland’s ice continues to melt, not only would it contribute to sea level rise, but also to changes in global ocean currents: As cool meltwater accumulates directly south of Greenland, it dilutes the cold, salty seawater of the north Atlantic, making it sink less rapidly—slowing down the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC), a global circulation system that’s key to transferring heat through the world’s oceans.
In fact, a March 2015 study in Nature Climate Change illustrated that climate change already slowed down the AMOC throughout the 20th century—setting the stage for future climatic woes, if exceptional sea ice melting like May’s continues in the future.
Follow Michael Greshko on Twitter.
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Pastors' Perceptions of the Black Church's Role in Teen Pregnancy Prevention.
To identify pastors' perceptions of the Black Church's role in promoting adolescent sexual health and preventing teen pregnancy. The Black Church and pastor are important partners in addressing health disparities in the Black community, especially those addressing sensitive issues as teen pregnancy. Semistructured interviews ( n = 31) were conducted with Black Church pastors in two southwestern U.S. cities from September 2014 to July 2015. The question path was developed based on interviews with local leaders, literature searches, and key informant pastor interviews. Questions included knowledge/beliefs about sexuality education, church's role in preventing teen pregnancy, and implementation obstacles. Interviews were transcribed and thematically analyzed. (1) All pastors believed that the Black Church should address teen pregnancy with parents and congregants. (2) Two major obstacles emerged: (a) all pastors perceived social consequences, including resistant parents and (b) discomfort discussing contraceptives/condoms. (3) All pastors were willing to partner with organizations, but most had reservations based on conflicting missions/values. Black Church pastors support teen pregnancy prevention programs in the church; however, public health partners must be willing to address the church's unique needs and mission.
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The African group of ambassadors to the United Nations has demanded an apology from Donald Trump, after the US president reportedly aimed a racist remark at some Caribbean nations and Africa.
Trump criticised immigration to his country from El Salvador, Haiti and the African continent, by calling the group "shithole countries" at a meeting with Congress members at the White House on Thursday, according to US media.
"The African Union mission to the UN is extremely appalled at, and strongly condemns the outrageous, racist and xenophobic remarks attributed to the US president as widely reported by the media," Martha Ama Akyaa Pobee, Ghana's ambassador to the UN, said on Friday.
The group has demanded a retraction and apology from Trump.
According to US media reports, citing people with knowledge of the conversation, Trump asked during a conversation about immigration: "Why are we having all these people from shithole countries come here?"
Trump suggested the US should instead focus its immigrant entry policy on countries such as Norway.
Following an emergency session of the African diplomats, Pobee added that the group "is concerned at the continuing and growing trend from the US administration towards Africa and people of African descent to denigrate the continent and people of colour".
The ambassadors' reaction comes after the 55-nation African Union said it was "frankly alarmed".
"Given the historical reality of how many Africans arrived in the United States as slaves, this statement flies in the face of all accepted behaviour and practice," AU spokeswoman Ebba Kalondo said on Friday.
Global outrage
Trump's latest comments have sparked global outrage and have been widely condemned as racist and extremely offensive.
Al Jazeera's Kimberly Halkett, reporting from Washington, DC, said: "The calls for the president to apologise for his remarks are intensifying inside and outside the US, but for now, that apology does not appear likely."
Rupert Colville, a spokesman with the UN human rights office, earlier slammed Trump's "vulgar language".
"You cannot dismiss entire countries and continents as shitholes ... I'm sorry, but there's no other word one can use but racist," Colville said.
Trump denied the racist remarks, tweeting on Friday that the language he used "was tough, but this was not the language used", as he called for a "merit-based system of immigration and people who take our country to the next level".
Never said anything derogatory about Haitians other than Haiti is, obviously, a very poor and troubled country. Never said “take them out.” Made up by Dems. I have a wonderful relationship with Haitians. Probably should record future meetings - unfortunately, no trust! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 12, 2018
He later tweeted that he has "never said anything derogatory about Haitians other than Haiti is, obviously a very poor and troubled country".
The Republican president has also privately defended his remarks, saying he was only expressing what many people think but will not say about immigrants from economically depressed countries, the Associated Press reported.
Democrats have dismissed Trump's denial of the offensive comments, with Senator Dick Durbin, who attended the meeting, disputing Trump's account.
"He said these hate-filled things and he said them repeatedly," Durbin told reporters on Friday.
Members of his own Republican party have also distanced themselves from Trump's comments.
"It is incomprehensible that these words came out of the mouth of the president of the United States of America, a country that was founded on being free from discrimination," said Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a Republican congresswoman.
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Walnut Creek (Henry County)
Walnut Creek is a tributary of the South River in the U.S. state of Georgia. It originates in the city of Hampton in Henry County and flows into South River, which is a branch of the Ocmulgee River.
Modifications
Walnut Creek is dammed to provide a water source for the city of McDonough in Henry County. The name of the resulting body of water is called Fargason Reservoir.
Crossings
The crossings over Walnut Creek are listed in descending order from the creek's source to its mouth at the South River. All crossings are located in Henry County.
See also
List of rivers of Georgia
Category:Rivers of Georgia (U.S. state)
References
USGS Hydrologic Unit Map - State of Georgia (1974)
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Wikipedia (en)
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Beliefs and ideology of Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden took ideological guidance from individuals named Ibn Taymiyya, Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah, and Sayyid Qutb. Bin Laden also belonged to the Wahhabi sect and was hence a follower of Ibn Abdul Wahhab Najdi. He subscribed to the Athari (literalist) school of Islamic theology.
To effectuate his beliefs, Osama bin Laden founded al-Qaeda, a Sunni Islamist militant organization. In conjunction with several other Islamic leaders, he issued two fatwas—in 1996 and then again in 1998—that Muslims should fight those that either support Israel or support Western military forces in Islamic countries, stating that those in that mindset are the enemy, including citizens from the United States and allied countries. His goal was for Western military forces to withdraw from the Middle East and for foreign aid to Israel to cease as it reflected negatively on Palestinians.
Sharia
Following an extreme form of Islamism, Bin Laden believed that the restoration of God's law will set things right in the Muslim world. He stated, "When we used to follow Muhammad's revelation we were in great happiness and in great dignity, to Allah belongs the credit and praise." He believed "the only Islamic country" in the Muslim world was Afghanistan under the rule of Mullah Omar's Taliban before that regime was overthrown in late 2001.
Differences with Wahhabi Ideology
Bin Laden's connection with contemporary Wahhabi Islam is disputed. Some believe his ideology is different in crucial ways. While modern Wahhabi doctrine states that only political leaders can call for jihad, bin Laden believed he could declare jihad. Modern Wahhabism forbids disobedience to a ruler unless the rule has commanded his/her subjects to violate religious commandments. Furthermore, the basic goals of bin Laden are different to contemporary Wahhabists. Bin Laden was most interested in "resisting western domination and combating regimes that fail to rule according to Islamic law," while Wahhabism focuses on correct methods of worshiping God, removing idols, and ensuring adherence to Islamic law.
On the other hand, some believe bin Laden "adopted Wahhabi terminology" when they called America "the Hubal of the age", since Hubal was a stone idol and idolatry (shirk) was the primary Wahhabi sin.
Jihad
Jihad, a common Arabic word meaning to “strife or struggle,” is referred to in the Qur'an to indicate that Muslims must be willing to exert effort in the cause of God, using their wealth and themselves. It refers to the internal struggle to be a better Muslim, the struggle between good and evil. In a January 2004 message Bin Laden called for the establishment of provisional underground ruling councils in Muslim countries to be made up of "ulema, leaders who are obeyed among their people, dignitaries, nobles, and merchants." The councils would be sure "the people" had "easy access to arms, particularly light weapons; anti-armored rockets, such as RPGs; and anti-tank mines" to fight "raids" by "the Romans," i.e. United States.
His interviews, video messages and other communications always mentioned and almost always dwelt on need for jihad to right what he believed were injustices against Muslims by the United States and sometimes other non-Muslim states, the need to eliminate the state of Israel, and to force the withdrawal of the U.S. from the Middle East. Occasionally other issues arose; he called for Americans to "reject the immoral acts of fornication, homosexuality, intoxicants, gambling, and usury," in an October 2002 letter.
Grievances against countries
East Timor
In his November 2001 statement, Osama bin Laden criticized the UN and Australian "Crusader" forces for ensuring the independence of the mostly Catholic East Timor from the mostly Muslim state of Indonesia.
India
Bin Laden considered India to be a part of the 'Crusader-Zionist-Hindu' conspiracy against the Islamic world.
Saudi Arabia
Bin Laden was born in Saudi Arabia and had a close relationship with the Saudi royal family, but his opposition to the Saudi government stemmed from his radical ideology. The Saudi decision to allow the U.S. military into the country in 1990 to defend against a possible attack by Saddam Hussein upset bin Laden, although he was not necessarily opposed to the royal family at this time or going to war with Iraq and even offered to send his mujahedeen from Afghanistan to defend Saudi Arabia should Iraq attack, an offer which was rebuked by King Fahd. From his point of view, "for the Muslim Saudi monarchy to invite non-Muslim American troops to fight against Muslim Iraqi soldiers was a serious violation of Islamic law".
Bin Laden, in his 1996 declaration entitled "Declaration of War against the Americans Occupying the Land of the Two Holy Places", identified several grievances that he had about Saudi Arabia, the birthplace and holy land of Islam. Bin Laden said these grievances about Saudi Arabia:
Bin Laden wanted to overthrow the Saudi monarchy (and the governments of Middle Eastern states) and establish an "Islamic Republic" according to Shari'a law (Islamic Holy Law), to "unite all Muslims and to establish a government which follows the rule of the Caliphs."
Soviet Union
In 1979, bin Laden opposed the Soviet Union invading Afghanistan and would soon heed the call to arms by Afghan freedom fighters. Bin Laden would use his own independent wealth and resources to get Arab fighters from Egypt, Lebanon, Kuwait and Turkey to join the Afghans in their battle against the Soviets. While bin Laden praised the U.S. intervention early on, being happy that the Afghans were getting aid from all over the world to battle the Soviets, his view of the U.S. soon grew sour, stating "Personally neither I nor my brothers saw evidence of American help. When my mujahedin were victorious and the Russians were driven out, differences started..."
After two years into the Soviet war, bin Laden headed to Sudan to continue his work as a construction engineer and an agriculturalist, building bridges alongside some of the people he had fought alongside during the war.
United Kingdom
Bin Laden believed that Israeli Jews controlled the British government, directing it to kill as many Muslims as it could. He cited British participation in 1998's Operation Desert Fox as proof of this allegation.
United States of America
Bin Laden's stated motivations of the September 11 attacks include the support of Israel by the United States, the presence of the U.S. military in the Saudi Arabian borders, which he considered to be sacred Islamic territory, and the U.S. enforcement of sanctions against Iraq. He first called for jihad against the United States in 1996. This call solely focused on U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia; bin Laden loathed their presence and wanted them removed in a "rain of bullets".
Bin Laden's hatred and disdain for the U.S. were also manifested while he lived in Sudan. There he told Al-Qaeda fighters-in-training:
In order to fight the US, apart the military option, he also called for asceticism as well as economic boycott, as during this August 1996 speech in the Hindu Kush mountains:
Grievances against the United States
In his 1998 fatwa entitled, "Jihad Against Jews and Crusaders" bin Laden identified three grievances against the U.S.:
Bin Laden criticized the United States in a "letter to the American people" published in late 2002, and further outlined his grievances with the United States in a 2004 speech directed towards the American people.
Favorable opinion of two American authors
In 2011, in a review of a new book from former CIA officer Michael Scheuer, professor and writer Fouad Ajami wrote that "[i]n 2007, [bin Laden] singled out two western authors whose knowledge he had high regard for: Noam Chomsky and Michael Scheuer.
John F. Kennedy conspiracy theory
Bin Laden supported the conspiracy theory that John F. Kennedy was killed by the "owners of the major corporations who were benefiting from its (Vietnam War) continuation":
In the Vietnam War, the leaders of the White House claimed at the time that it was a necessary and crucial war, and during it, Donald Rumsfeld and his aides murdered two million villagers. And when Kennedy took over the presidency and deviated from the general line of policy drawn up for the White House and wanted to stop this unjust war, that angered the owners of the major corporations who were benefiting from its continuation.
And so Kennedy was killed, and al-Qaida wasn't present at that time, but rather, those corporations were the primary beneficiary from his killing. And the war continued after that for approximately one decade. But after it became clear to you that it was an unjust and unnecessary war, you made one of your greatest mistakes, in that you neither brought to account nor punished those who waged this war, not even the most violent of its murderers, Rumsfeld.
Killing of non-Islamic believers
According to bin Laden's ideology, non-Islamic believers may be deliberately killed in support of jihadism. This position evolved from an earlier, less violent one. In a 1998 interview, he alleged that in fighting jihad, "we differentiate between men and women, and between children and old people," unlike hypocritical "infidels" who "preach one thing and do another." But two years later he told another interviewer that those who say "killing a child is not valid" in Islam "speak without any knowledge of Islamic law", because killing non-Islamic believers may be done in vengeance. In other words, bin Laden's interpretation of Islamic doctrine allows retaliation against U.S. citizens because of perceived indiscriminate U.S. aggression against Muslims. To another question by a Muslim interviewer about Muslims killed in the September 11 attacks, bin Laden replied that "Islamic law says that Muslim should not stay long in the land of infidels," although he suggested Muslim casualties in the attack were collateral damage.
Other ideologies
In his messages, bin Laden has opposed "pan-Arabism, socialism, communism, democracy and other doctrines," with the exception of Islam. Democracy and "legislative council[s] of representatives," are denounced, calling the first "the religion of ignorance," and the second "councils of polytheism." In what one critic has called a contradiction, he has also praised the principle of governmental "accountability," citing the Western democracy of Spain: "Spain is an infidel country, but its economy is stronger than ours because the ruler there is accountable."
Opposition to music
Bin Laden opposed music on religious grounds. Despite his love of horse racing and ownership of racing horses, the presence of a band and music at the Khartoum race track annoyed him so much that he stopped attending races in Sudan. "Music is the flute of the devil," he told his Sudanese stable-mate Issam Turabi.
Support for environmentalism
Osama bin Laden and his aides have, on more than one occasion, denounced the United States for damaging the environment.
You have destroyed nature with your industrial waste and gases more than any other nation in history. Despite this, you refuse to sign the Kyoto agreement so that you can secure the profit of your greedy companies and industries.
Ayman al-Zawahiri, Osama bin Laden's aide, said global warming reflected how brutal and greedy the Western Crusader world is, with America at its top
Bin Laden has also called for a boycott of American goods and the destruction of the American economy as a way of fighting global warming.
Technology
On the subject of technology, bin Laden is said to have ambivalent feelings –being interested in "earth-moving machinery and genetic engineering of plants, on the one hand," but rejecting "chilled water on the other." In Afghanistan, his sons' education reportedly eschewed the arts and technology and amounted to "little other than memoriz[ing] the Quran all day".
Masturbation
Osama bin Laden believed that masturbation was justifiable in "extreme" cases.
Jews, Christians, and Shia Muslims
Bin Laden was profoundly anti-Semitic, and delivered many warnings against alleged Jewish conspiracies: "These Jews are masters of usury and leaders in treachery. They will leave you nothing, either in this world or the next."
At the same time, bin Laden's organization worked with Shia militants: "Every Muslim, from the moment they realize the distinction in their hearts, hates Americans, hates Jews, and hates Israelis. This is a part of our belief and our religion."<ref>Messages" (2005), p.87. Al Jazeera interview December 1998, following Kenya and Tanzania embassy attacks</ref> It was apparently inspired by the successes of Shia radicalism—such as the 1979 Iranian Revolution, the implementation of Sharia by Ayatollah Khomeini, and the human wave attacks committed by radical Shia teenagers during the 1980s Iran–Iraq War. While in Sudan, "senior managers in al Qaeda maintained contacts with" Shia Iran and Hezbollah, its closely allied Shia "worldwide terrorist organization. ... Al Qaeda members received advice and training from Hezbollah." where they are thought to have borrowed the techniques of suicide and simultaneous bombing. Because of the Shia-Wahhabi enmity, this collaboration could only go so far. According to the US 9/11 Commission Report, Iran was rebuffed when it tried to strengthen relations with al Qaeda after the October 2000 attack on , "because Bin Laden did not want to alienate his supporters in Saudi Arabia."
References
External links
In The Words of Osama Bin Laden - slideshow by Life magazine''
Beliefs and ideology
Laden
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244 P.3d 793 (2010)
2010 OK CIV APP 138
In the Matter of J.C., a Deprived Child,
The State of Oklahoma, Petitioner/Appellee,
v.
Regina Campbell, Respondent/Appellant.
No. 108,252. Released for Publication by Order of the Court of Civil Appeals of Oklahoma, Division No. 3.
Court of Civil Appeals of Oklahoma, Division No. 3.
October 29, 2010.
*794 Joe Dewey, Assistant District Attorney, Oklahoma City, OK, for Petitioner/Appellee.
Jeff Wise, Wise Law Firm, Oklahoma City, OK, for Respondent/Appellant.
BAY MITCHELL, Judge.
¶ 1 Appellant Regina Campbell (Mother) appeals a post-judgment denial of her Motion to Vacate the earlier termination of her parental rights to J.C., the youngest of her three children. The underlying termination order, which is not appealed from, is referred to by the parties as a default judgment because Mother failed to appear for the scheduled trial.[1]
¶ 2 Mother's parental rights were terminated upon findings that, based on clear and convincing evidence, she failed to correct the conditions leading to J.C.'s deprived adjudication pursuant to 10A O.S. Supp.2009 § 1-4-904(B)(5)[2], and that termination was in the child's best interests. The Judgment identifies the conditions she failed to correct as lack of proper parental care and guardianship, and failure to protect the child from sexual abuse.[3]
¶ 3 In her Motion to Vacate, Mother contended that although she was aware of the trial date, she was unable to arrange transportation; she tried unsuccessfully to contact DHS in order to request their assistance; she has a meritorious defense; and that default judgments are not favored. Mother argues on appeal that denying her Motion to Vacate is a violation of due process depriving her of the constitutionally protected liberty interest she has in her parent/child bond. She also alleges violations of statutory rights, that default judgments are not favored, and termination was not shown to be in the best interests of the child.
¶ 4 The record demonstrates Mother had actual notice of the termination proceedings. *795 The Order terminating Mother's parental rights was entered subsequent to Mother's failure to appear for the jury trial set on October 26, 2009 and on her failure to appear at the non-jury hearing the following day. Mother filed a Motion to Vacate[4] with Supporting Brief, wherein she explained the cause of her failure to appear at trial. She claimed she had no means of transportation and that despite attempts to contact her DHS case worker for assistance, she was unable to contact her and/or otherwise arrange transportation to court on the day of trial.
¶ 5 A hearing on Mother's motion was subsequently held, where Mother and the DHS case worker testified. Mother testified that she was disabled, could not walk to the courthouse, and that she had made repeated calls to her DHS case worker to request transportation assistance. Mother argues the repossession of her motorcycle, which she claims was her only means of transportation, constitutes an unavoidable casualty or misfortune, which prevented her from attending the termination trial. She also insists DHS has an affirmative duty to provide transportation to Mother, although she cites no supportive authority. Although Mother appears to have been represented by counsel at all times pertinent, Mother did not contact him regarding her transportation problem because she claims she could not find his number.[5]
¶ 6 Mother's testimony directly conflicts with that of the case worker. The case worker testified she visited Mother at Mother's home twelve days prior to the date of trial on October 14, 2009, at which time Mother, who was working on a truck, told her that her motorcycle had been repossessed. The case worker further testified that she offered Mother transportation assistance, but Mother assured her that the truck would be "up and running." Additionally, the case worker testified she received no call from Mother between the time of her in-home visit on October 14, 2009 and the scheduled trial date of October 26, 2009. Given the conflicting testimony from the parties, it is the province of the trier of fact (here, the trial court) to determine the credibility of witnesses and the effect and weight to give their testimony, and are not questions of law for an appellate Court on appeal. Hagen v. Independent School Dist. No. I-004, 2007 OK 19, ¶ 8, 157 P.3d 738, 740.
¶ 7 We review an order granting a motion to vacate for abuse of discretion. Patel v. OMH Medical Center, Inc., 1999 OK 33, ¶ 20, 987 P.2d 1185, 1194. The test for measuring the legal correctness of such an order is whether the trial court exercised sound discretion upon sufficient cause shown. Schepp v. Hess, 1989 OK 28, ¶ 11, 770 P.2d 34, 39. Abuse occurs if the trial court exercises its discretion to an end or purpose not justified by, and clearly against, reason and evidence, or if it errs with respect to a pure, unmixed question of law. See Patel, ¶ 20, 987 P.2d at 1194; Christian v. Gray, 2003 OK 10, ¶ 43, 65 P.3d 591, 608; Jones, Givens, Gotcher & Bogan, P.C. v. Berger, 2002 OK 31, ¶ 5, 46 P.3d 698, 701.
¶ 8 "Procedural due process mandates that reasonable steps be taken to give a parent prior notice of the proceeding and an opportunity to be heard." Tammie v. Rodriguez, 1977 OK 182, 570 P.2d 332, 334. Additionally, due process requires sufficient notice to the parent of the specific conditions which the law requires to be changed. In re B.M.O., 1992 OK CIV APP 89, 838 P.2d 38. In this case, Mother concedes she had actual and proper notice of the termination proceedings. She was afforded proper notice of the specific conditions which led to the deprived adjudication and the conditions which she was required to correct, which were set out *796 in the court-approved treatment plan.[6] At the termination hearing, the DHS case worker testified that although Mother completed her treatment plan, she failed to demonstrate an ability to protect the child. We discern no procedural due process violation.
¶ 9 We believe Mother's substantive due process argument to be that an order terminating parental rights entered on default is so fundamentally unfair that it amounts to a violation of due process. However, as noted above, this was not a default judgment. Additionally, it should be pointed out Oklahoma law now expressly provides "[t]he failure of a parent who has been served with notice under this section to personally appear at the hearing shall constitute consent to the termination of parental rights by the parent given notice." 10A O.S. Supp. 2009 § 1-4-905(A)(5) (emphasis added). The statute further specifically sets forth such parent's burden of proof on a motion to vacate which is:
... to show that he or she had no actual notice of the hearing, or due to unavoidable casualty or misfortune the parent was prevented from either contacting his or her attorney, if any, or from attending the hearing or trial.
10A O.S. § 1-4-905(B)(3) (emphasis added).
¶ 10 The trial court apparently believed Mother failed to meet her burden of proof that she was prevented from either contacting her attorney or from attending the trial due to unavoidable casualty or misfortune. We agree. A transportation problem, which Mother had knowledge of twelve days in advance of a scheduled court appearance, does not constitute an unavoidable casualty or misfortune within the meaning of the statute. In fact, this mishap was clearly avoidable. Mother had sufficient time and opportunity to make transportation arrangements, which she failed to do. The trial court's denial of the Motion to Vacate was not an abuse of discretion.
¶ 11 Mother finally argues that termination of her parental rights is not in the best interests of the child. It is difficult for this Court to imagine a more appropriate case for the termination of a parent's parental rights than one such as this, where the Mother failed to protect her older two children from sexual abuse from numerous male family members and failed to protect the child involved here from the sexual abuse perpetrated by the child's older sibling (who, for reasons unclear and unimaginable, has been returned to Mother's custody).
¶ 12 Upon our careful review of the record, clear and convincing evidence supports the trial court's determination that Mother failed to correct the conditions which led to the deprived adjudication and that termination of Mother's parental rights was in the best interests of the child. No abuse of discretion is found in the denial of Mother's Motion to Vacate. Accordingly, the Journal Entry Denying the Mother's Motion to Vacate is AFFIRMED. Mother's request for oral argument is denied.
JOPLIN, P.J., and BELL, V.C.J., concur.
NOTES
[1] Trial was scheduled on October 26, 2009. Mother did not appear and the trial judge continued the case to the next day. Mother again failed to appear. An evidentiary hearing was held and Mother's parental rights were ordered terminated. Although the parties refer to the termination order as a default judgment, it was, in fact, a determination on the merits. The transcript of that hearing bears this out. A Journal Entry of Judgment was filed on October 29, 2009 with findings and conclusions. The Journal Entry of Judgment does not refer to itself as a "default judgment." It refers to Mother's status only that she "appears not." It was a not a "default judgment" in the sense of a judgment being entered due to Mother's non-appearance. Rather, judgment was entered following an evidentiary hearing, based on the evidence presented, a review of the court file and arguments of counsel. Mother's non-appearance was noted, but was not the basis for the judgment terminating her parental rights.
[2] Mother contends Title 10, the legislative predecessor to Title 10A, applies to her case because she stipulated to the allegations in the deprivation petition prior to May 21, 2009, which is the effective date of Title 10A. We disagree. Title 10A applies here. The Second Amended Petition to terminate Mother's parental rights to J.C. was filed on June 10, 2009, which is subsequent to the effective date of Title 10A. 10A O.S. Supp. 2009 § 1-4-904(B)(5) provides as follows:
B. The court may terminate the rights of a parent to a child based upon the following legal grounds:
....
5. A finding that:
a. the parent has failed to correct the condition which led to the deprived adjudication of the child, and
b. the parent has been given at least three (3) months to correct the condition.
[3] The June 10, 2009 Second Amended Petition set forth the following conditions which led to the adjudication of the child's deprived status:
That the children do not have the proper parental care and supervision necessary for their physical emotional and mental well-being;
That T.C. has been sexually abused by her father, Timothy Stone; her uncle, Benjamin Schmitt; her aunt's boyfriend, John Salazar; and her step-father, Miguel Reyes;
That K.C. and T.C. have sexually acted out in the past;
That K.C. was abused by his father, Timothy Stone; and his step-father, Miguel Reyes;
That J.C. was sexually abused by K.C.;
That the Mother should have known of T.C.'s sexual abuse and the sexual abuse between the children and failed to protect, despite working services in other states and agreeing to protect her children from possible perpetrators;
Mother's treatment plan was adopted on January 5, 2009. Termination was also sought on the basis of "heinous or shocking" sexual abuse codified at 10A O.S. Supp.2009 § 1-4-904(B)(9).
[4] The Motion to Vacate was filed on December 1, 2009, thirty-three days after the filing of the Journal Entry of Judgment terminating Mother's parental rights. Title 12 O.S.2001 § 1031 and § 1031.1, the statutory authority for the motion to vacate, require the motion be filed within thirty days of the filing of the underlying judgment. This was apparently not raised below.
[5] The record does not disclose why Mother's counsel did not appear in Court on the day of trial or at the default hearing the following day. However, he did appear (along with his client) at the hearing on Mother's Motion to Vacate.
[6] The treatment plan was not included in the appellate record.
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FreeLaw
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Coming off my post on Monday about the lack of outrage by women over the Harvey Weinstein revelations, I was struck by the argument that he had no power so why march or demonstrate.
It’s a lost opportunity to further the conversation. I applaud the online hashtag — me too — as a show of solidarity and just how prevalent sexual harassment is in our society. The women who have come out and announced the worst experience of their lives get my admiration and respect.
But to leave it there only shows a small segment of society just how widespread this horrible act is and why further action needs to taken.
Let’s face it, Hollywood knew Weinstein was a pervert for a long, long time. For people like uber producer Jeff Katzenberg to tell the Wall Street Journal that Weinstein “masked that behavior” so Katzenberg never saw that side of him is disingenuous at best.
Only after three minutes of speaking about Weinstein on this WSJ.com clip did Katzenberg say “Harvey was a monster”. This follows others on the left who have come out — initially — not only to support but to try to explain the behavior.
Woody Allen, Donna Karan and Oliver Stone all tried to come up with hack-knee excuses in defense of the movie mogul only to be shouted down rightly.
However, this dialog is only occurring because we have a Hollywood producer being charged by actresses with this crime. America would not be so enthralled if there were not bold-faced names in the story.
When I asked on Monday, where are the “pussy hats” marching in the streets on this issue, I said the organizers last January were protesting politics, not harassment. All these left-leaning women’s organizations should be using the Weinstein news to further the cause and get the news out that this is a problem affecting all women not just Hollywood actresses.
But these organizations can’t organize protests, so they issue a statement released to the press saying more change is needed. Because their funding and allegiance is to the Democratic Party and Harvey Weinstein was a big contributor.
The National Organization for Women needs to do more than applaud the actions of others as this statement, which read in part, from its President Toni Van Pelt on Weinstein being thrown out of the movie guild.
“The Motion Picture Academy made a good start today. But the hard work of changing the culture and holding abusers accountable for their crimes is just beginning.”
That’s why I want to see this become much, much bigger than Harvey Weinstein. To further the broader opinion that sexual harassment and rape happen everyday, everywhere and that it is not acceptable and it needs more than a hash tag.
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Lee Rogers
Daily Slave
November 13, 2014
I am pleased to report that the Stormer Troll Army has achieved numerous victories against the Jewish enemy. After the disgusting Jewess Luciana Berger a British MP used her political power to get a young British nationalist named Garron Helm jailed because he called her a Jewess on the Internet, the Stormer Troll Army took decisive action. With military precision, the Stormer Troll Army under the command of Daily Stormer publisher Andrew Anglin launched Operation: Filthy Jew Bitch against the Jewess. They bombarded the Jewish bitch with thousands of messages explaining in no uncertain terms that her subversive and alien behavior would no longer be tolerated.
Berger along with some of her Jewish and Zionist allies in the British parliament cried many tears about Operation: Filthy Jew Bitch, even prompting a discussion about it on the floor of the British parliament. A British MP by the name of John Mann pathetically responded by calling for speech restrictions and the banning of alleged online trolls from the Internet. He would also demand that MPs be given a special communication system so they could quickly report mean things said about them on the Internet. The absurdity of his suggestions were not lost on the general public.
The situation has received so much publicity in the British press, that Twitter intervened on Berger’s behalf. Twitter went so far as to setup a special filtering system as part of a futile effort to shield the criminal Jewess from receiving more messages sent to her by the Stormer Troll Army. Despite Twitter’s attempts to thwart the assault , the Stormer Troll Army has adapted utilizing innovative techniques to continue their operation against the Jewish enemy.
Twitter’s intervention in censoring communications has caused an even bigger blow up within the mainstream technology community. The story has now reached the front page of “The Verge” which is one of the most visited technology sites on the Internet. “The Verge” asks fair but tough questions about Twitter’s intervention. It specifically questions why Berger is being given special treatment by Twitter since their action is unprecedented in the history of the site. Twitter has historically prided themselves on being an open communication platform and this is a clear contradiction to that.
Just a few years ago during the Arab Spring, the Jewish mass media praised sites like Facebook and Twitter as tools that empowered revolutions against allegedly corrupt governments. However, now that these tools are being used to expose the hypocrisy of a criminal and alien Jewess, we see Twitter go out of their way to stifle freedom of expression. The technology community has taken note of this with the Electronic Frontier Foundation issuing statements in “The Verge” article supporting the Stormer Troll Army’s right to free speech and accusing Twitter of unethical behavior.
It is true that Twitter as a private company has the right to censor speech but in doing so they have exposed themselves as hypocrites. If they are truly running an open communication system, why is it that they don’t want open communication about Jewish power? Why are they attempting to make this Jewess immune from criticism and ridicule? It begs the question, what is it about Jews that are so special? The fact that these questions are being asked in the mainstream represents a major victory for us.
There is no question that the Stormer Troll Army has achieved not just one victory but several key victories against the Jewish enemy. First with Operation: Jew Wife against kosher conspiracy traitor Alex Jones and now with Operation: Filthy Jew Bitch against Luciana Berger and Britain’s Jewish establishment. The Jews and their supporters simply don’t know how to handle a strong unapologetic anti-Jew, pro-White message. They’ve become so used to people groveling about how they are not “racists” and “anti-Semites” that it should be obvious that they have no clue how to handle this situation. They are in panic mode as they are making themselves look increasingly stupid in their attempts to respond.
Intellectuals need to take note of what has happened here. The time for pontificating about how we should reach people is over. This is the approach we need to take. I don’t see how any individual can deny the effectiveness of these tactics. Operation: Filthy Jew Bitch is now causing legitimate debate in the mainstream technology community about Twitter’s credibility. This is a remarkable achievement.
A similar approach the Stormer Troll Army is taking online can be taken in the real world with signs, banners and fliers. I think Robert Ransdell’s Senate campaign proved this. Even the “With Jews We Lose” signs I posted in New Hampshire caused the Southern Poverty Law Center to make fools out of themselves with a ridiculously inaccurate blog posting on the campaign.
Most importantly, we need to make sure that these campaigns both online and in the real world are as fun as possible. It is true that this is a serious political battle but there is no reason why this can’t be fun at the same time. In fact the more fun we have with these campaigns, the more effective they will be. Operation: Filthy Jew Bitch is proof of this.
It looks as if this is just the start of something that’s going to grow into a much larger political movement so be creative, have fun and contribute in any way you can. I can guarantee that you will enjoy watching the enemy cry six million tears from an operation that you personally launched or joined. This is what it is going to take for us to succeed, and if we are persistent, we will one day achieve total victory over the Jewish enemy.
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Michael B. Thornton
Michael B. Thornton (born February 9, 1954) is the former Chief Judge of the United States Tax Court.
Education
Thornton graduated [[Latin honors|summa cum laude]] from the University of Southern Mississippi with a B.S. in Accounting in 1976. In 1977, he graduated from the same school with a M.S. in Accounting. In 1979, he graduated with a M.A. in English literature from the University of Tennessee. In 1982, he graduated with distinction with a J.D. degree from Duke University School of Law, where he served on the Duke Law Journal, and was inducted into the Order of the Coif. He served as law clerk to Charles Clark, Chief Judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit from 1983-1984.
Thornton was appointed by President Bill Clinton as Judge, United States Tax Court, on March 8, 1998 for a fifteen-year term ending March 7, 2013. He has served as Chief Judge since 2012 (save for the period from March 8 through August 6, 2013). He was subsequently renominated by President Barack Obama on May 9, 2013 for an additional fifteen-year term, which was confirmed by the Senate on August 1, 2013.
Accomplishments and employment
Practiced law as an Associate attorney, Sutherland Asbill & Brennan, Washington, D.C., summer 1981, and 1982–1983
Miller & Chevalier, Washington, D.C., 1985–1988
Served as Tax Counsel, United States House Committee on Ways and Means, 1988–1993
Chief Minority Tax Counsel, United States House Committee on Ways and Means, January 1995
Attorney-Adviser, United States Department of the Treasury, February–April 1995
Deputy Tax Legislative Counsel in the Office of Tax Policy, United States Department of the Treasury, April 1995-February 1998
Recipient of Treasury Secretary's Annual Award, United States Department of the Treasury, 1997
Meritorious Service Award, United States Department of the Treasury, 1998
References
Material on this page was copied from the website of the United States Tax Court, which is published by a United States government agency, and is therefore in the public domain.''
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Category:1954 births
Category:Living people
Category:Judges of the United States Tax Court
Category:United States Article I federal judges appointed by Bill Clinton
Category:University of Southern Mississippi alumni
Category:University of Tennessee alumni
Category:20th-century American judges
Category:21st-century American judges
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Central Hematocrit Levels in Fetal Malnourished Term Infants.
Fetal malnutrition is especially important for common chronic diseases in adult life. They could potentially be prevented by achieving optimal fetal nutrition. The aim of this study was to investigate hematocrit levels of malnourished, term, appropriate for gestational age (AGA) neonates. A total of 80 AGA neonates (between 10% and 90% percentiles interval according to birth week), born with spontaneous vaginal delivery between 37 and 42 weeks of gestation, detected by both last menstrual period and ultrasonography measurements, were included in the study. Neonates with fetal malnutrition constituted the study group and the control group consisted of well-nourished neonates. We analyzed central venous hematocrit levels obtained 4 hours after birth and maternal risk factors for both groups. Although there were no differences in gestational age, head circumference, maternal factors (gravidity, parity, abortions and curettage counts, maternal tobacco use, preeclampsia, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, gestational diabetes mellitus, and history of urinary tract infections), first minute APGAR scores, and sex, Clinical Assessment of Nutritional Status score was lower (29.91±2.87 vs. 21.25±1.65) and hematocrit levels were higher (51.33±2.740 vs. 59.53±5.094) in the fetal malnutrition group (P<0.0001). Central hematocrit levels in malnourished term AGA neonates were found significantly higher than well-nourished term AGA newborns.
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Great for everyday wear! Wrapped with a lovely range of liberty fabrics, these 15mm surgical steel studs not only look great, but they are perfect for sensitive ears too. About the Maker Busy mum of four, Sally Harth makes her...
"Iris" Fabric Stud
Great for everyday wear! Wrapped with a lovely range of liberty fabrics, these 15mm surgical steel studs not only look great, but they are perfect for sensitive ears too. About the Maker Busy mum of four, Sally Harth makes her...
"Ivy" Fabric Stud
Great for everyday wear! Wrapped with a lovely range of liberty fabrics, these 15mm surgical steel studs not only look great, but they are perfect for sensitive ears too. About the Maker Busy mum of four, Sally Harth makes her...
"Jill" Fabric Stud
Great for everyday wear! Wrapped with a lovely range of liberty fabrics, these 15mm surgical steel studs not only look great, but they are perfect for sensitive ears too. ***Please note: fabric placement might be different to that photographed due to...
"Kate" Fabric Stud
Great for everyday wear! Wrapped with a lovely range of liberty fabrics, these 15mm surgical steel studs not only look great, but they are perfect for sensitive ears too. ***Please note: fabric placement might be different to that photographed due...
"Lucy" Fabric Stud
Great for everyday wear! Wrapped with a lovely range of liberty fabrics, these 15mm surgical steel studs not only look great, but they are perfect for sensitive ears too. About the Maker Busy mum of four, Sally Harth makes her...
"May" Fabric Stud
Great for everyday wear! Wrapped with a lovely range of liberty fabrics, these 15mm surgical steel studs not only look great, but they are perfect for sensitive ears too. About the Maker Busy mum of four, Sally Harth makes her...
"Nellie" Fabric Stud
Great for everyday wear! Wrapped with a lovely range of liberty fabrics, these 15mm surgical steel studs not only look great, but they are perfect for sensitive ears too. About the Maker Busy mum of four, Sally Harth makes her...
"Petunia" Fabric Stud
Great for everyday wear! Wrapped with a lovely range of liberty fabrics, these 15mm surgical steel studs not only look great, but they are perfect for sensitive ears too. ***Please note: fabric placement might be different to that photographed due to...
"Ruby" Fabric Stud
Great for everyday wear! Wrapped with a lovely range of liberty fabrics, these 15mm surgical steel studs not only look great, but they are perfect for sensitive ears too. About the Maker Busy mum of four, Sally Harth makes her...
"Zoe" Fabric Stud
Great for everyday wear! Wrapped with a lovely range of liberty fabrics, these 15mm surgical steel studs not only look great, but they are perfect for sensitive ears too. About the Maker Busy mum of four, Sally Harth makes her...
'Bedrock' Black Necklace
Make a stylish statement and enjoy the versatility of this beautiful piece. Wear the necklace on its own or accessorise with a pendant of your choice to add a burst of colour to any outfit. Made from smooth gloss resin and...
'Bedrock' Blue Necklace
Make a stylish statement and enjoy the versatility of this beautiful piece. Wear the necklace on its own or accessorise with a pendant of your choice to add a burst of colour to any outfit. Made from smooth gloss resin and...
'Bedrock' Green Necklace
Make a stylish statement and enjoy the versatility of this beautiful piece. Wear the necklace on its own or accessorise with a pendant of your choice to add a burst of colour to any outfit. Made from smooth gloss resin and...
'Bedrock' Navy Necklace
Make a stylish statement and enjoy the versatility of this beautiful piece. Wear the necklace on its own or accessorise with a pendant of your choice to add a burst of colour to any outfit. Made from smooth gloss resin and...
'Bedrock' Orange Necklace
Make a stylish statement and enjoy the versatility of this beautiful piece. Wear the necklace on its own or accessorise with a pendant of your choice to add a burst of colour to any outfit. Made from smooth gloss resin and...
'Bedrock' Pink Necklace
Make a stylish statement and enjoy the versatility of this beautiful piece. Wear the necklace on its own or accessorise with a pendant of your choice to add a burst of colour to any outfit. Made from smooth gloss resin and...
'Bedrock' Red Necklace
Make a stylish statement and enjoy the versatility of this beautiful piece. Wear the necklace on its own or accessorise with a pendant of your choice to add a burst of colour to any outfit. Made from smooth gloss resin and...
'Bedrock' Sky Necklace
Make a stylish statement and enjoy the versatility of this beautiful piece. Wear the necklace on its own or accessorise with a pendant of your choice to add a burst of colour to any outfit. Made from smooth gloss resin and...
'Bedrock' White Necklace
Make a stylish statement and enjoy the versatility of this beautiful piece. Wear the necklace on its own or accessorise with a pendant of your choice to add a burst of colour to any outfit. Made from smooth gloss resin and...
'Pebbles' Blue Necklace
Make a stylish statement and enjoy the versatility of this beautiful piece. Wear the necklace on its own or accessorise with a pendant of your choice to add a burst of colour to any outfit. Made from smooth matte resin and...
'Pebbles' Double Strand Blush Necklace
Make a stylish statement and enjoy the versatility of this beautiful piece. Wear the necklace on its own or accessorise with a pendant of your choice to add a burst of colour to any outfit. Made from smooth matte resin, the...
'Pebbles' Double Strand Navy Necklace
Make a stylish statement and enjoy the versatility of this beautiful piece. Wear the necklace on its own or accessorise with a pendant of your choice to add a burst of colour to any outfit. Made from smooth matte resin, the...
'Pebbles' Marble Necklace
Make a stylish statement and enjoy the versatility of this beautiful piece. Wear the necklace on its own or accessorise with a pendant of your choice to add a burst of colour to any outfit. Made from smooth matte resin and...
'Pebbles' Navy Necklace
Make a stylish statement and enjoy the versatility of this beautiful piece. Wear the necklace on its own or accessorise with a pendant of your choice to add a burst of colour to any outfit. Made from smooth matte resin and...
'Pebbles' Orange Necklace
Make a stylish statement and enjoy the versatility of this beautiful piece. Wear the necklace on its own or accessorise with a pendant of your choice to add a burst of colour to any outfit. Made from smooth matte resin and...
'Pebbles' White Necklace
Make a stylish statement and enjoy the versatility of this beautiful piece. Wear the necklace on its own or accessorise with a pendant of your choice to add a burst of colour to any outfit. Made from smooth matte resin and...
'Pebbles' Yellow Necklace
Make a stylish statement and enjoy the versatility of this beautiful piece. Wear the necklace on its own or accessorise with a pendant of your choice to add a burst of colour to any outfit. Made from smooth matte resin and...
Abstract Splotch Pendant
Make a stylish impact and enjoy the versatility of this beautiful piece. Wear the pendant on any existing bolt clasp necklace or pair with our colourful "Bedrock" or "Essential" beaded necklaces for the ultimate statement and pop of colour. Each fabric...
Alphabet Blue Bunting
As pretty as a picture, this lovingly handmade bunting is as versatile as it is fun! Inject some colour into your little one's bedroom or play space with this bright and beautiful bunting. Help personalise your boarder's dorm room and...
Animal Farm Bandana Bib
Seriously soft and super stylish! The Bandana Bib is made from 100% cotton and flannel backed with snap fasteners used for closure. A durable bib offering good coverage. Select from a wide range of bold colours and striking prints to put...
Apricot Floral Bow
Hairband bows are the perfect way to jazz up an outfit for little and big girls alike. Featuring a cotton fabric bow on a hair elastic these will add the finishing touch to your pony tail, pigtails or palm tree...
Apricot Luxe Maxi
Scrunchies are back and the perfect way to jazz up an outfit for little and big girls alike. The luxe style features plush velvet fabric in stunning shades to add the finishing touch to your favourite hair style. Inexpensive and pretty, you can't go wrong....
Aqua Chevron Sock Savers
Keep dirt, grass seeds and other muck out of your socks, boots and home with these sock savers! Made to last from durable cotton drill fabric, in a range of vibrant colours and prints, they are perfect for the young...
Baby Blue Bow Bloomer - Size OO
Lovingly handcrafted using 100% cotton fabric, these stylish bloomers are the perfect wardrobe staple. Available in a wide range of striking prints or softer colours, the bloomers can be worn year round just pair with long socks or wear over tights...
Berry Tropicana Mini
Scrunchies are back and the perfect way to jazz up an outfit for little and big girls alike. The mini style is perfect for the thinnest of hair and won't weigh your little one down. Featuring cotton fabric in fun prints,...
Bird of Paradise Bow
Hairband bows are the perfect way to jazz up an outfit for little and big girls alike. Featuring a cotton fabric bow on a hair elastic these will add the finishing touch to your pony tail, pigtails or palm tree...
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tomekkorbak/pile-curse-small
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Pile-CC
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In case you didn't know it, March is women's history month. In honor of that, we're looking at comic books featuring strong female leads.
Of course, now, comic books with female lead characters are mainstream. With titles like Wonder Woman, Thor, Harley Quinn and Batgirl, good female leads in comics are readily available, which is, obviously great news for comics' growing number of female fans.
However, some titles with great female leads aren't readily known, so we're going to shine the light outside of the mainstream on some books you might not even know about. And the good news is that these titles are readily available at your local comic book store, as well as online.
Image Comics)
Saga is one of those comic books that comes along once in a generation. It will make you laugh and cry and suck you in until you just can't put it down. But it also features some great female characters.
Saga is a space opera/fantasy: think of it as a more adult and gritty version of Star Wars. It's narrated by a female character named Hazel, who, at least in the first few issues, hasn't actually been born yet and only appears in the story as an embryo, the child of two star-crossed lovers from warring planets, Alana and Marko.
Alana, though, is tough as nails, a female character we can get behind and root for. When officials from both planets go looking for Alana and Marko, she must do everything it takes to survive, both for herself and her husband, as well as for Hazel.
Saga is one of those comics often recommended for those just getting into comic books, and the Brian K. Vaughan's story is why, but equally as important is Fiona Staples' artwork.
Long after the end of the Buffy, The Vampire Slayer television series, fans still crave for the adventures of this strong woman, The Chosen One, she who must fight demons and vampires and keep the world safe from them.
That's why Buffy's story continues in the comic books with some of the earlier books taking place between seasons of the TV series, but the newer issues picking up where the series left off.
Most importantly, the Buffy TV series' creator Joss Whedon, along with other writers from the series, occasionally writes some of the stories seen in the comic books.
Josie Schuller is the perfect model of the 1950s housewife and Avon lady. Perfectly pressed and proper, she would make Donna Reed bow down before her. However, she has a dark secret: in her spare time, she's an assassin for the government. That's right, Miss Perfect kills people for a living.
In the comic, Josie balances her two lives as perfectly as her table setting. The comic serves to provide a reminder of gender roles during the time, but also shows us a woman who defies those roles, especially in her life as an assassin.
We can't mention female characters in comics without mentioning writer Gail Simone, who created controversy when she was fired from Batgirl and then re-hired after fans expressed their outrage. Her latest title is Red Sonja, who is, basically, the female version of Conan the Barbarian.
Although Red Sonja runs around in a chainmail bikini, which is still a little gratuitous, she also kicks major butt. In the first issue, she takes on an entire army, and ultimately, leads them to their death.
However, there's more to the barbaric woman than her weapons.
"I have always said that the thing that makes Red Sonja MOST dangerous is not her skill with a sword, or her speed," says Simone. "It's her cunning. Red Sonja is cunning. And she gets what she wants."
Cat is normal, and therein lies her problem, because she lives in Gloria City, where everyone else is a superhero. She's rarely taken serious, but she is also probably the smartest person in the city. Eventually, Cat gets tired of being treated as subpar, so she takes up a costume, using her brain to save the world from itself.
Cat is the result of several writers and artists tired of the old cliches of women in comic books. She's never drawn in the ridiculous poses we often see in female characters and her number one asset is that she's smart and knows it.
"My So-Called Secret Identity features a superhero we all can rally around, an antidote to the brawny chauvinists and busty sex symbols of mainstream comics," writes Ms. Magazine. "Cat certainly has a bright future ahead of her."
[Photo Credit: Image Comics]
Be sure to follow T-Lounge on Twitter and visit our Facebook page.
ⓒ 2018 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
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OpenWebText2
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Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD): Causes, Symptoms And Treatments
One form of OCD was Monica’s obsession for keeping things clean and being organized and the other one was Sheldon’s fear of germs. But to your surprise, this condition is much more than that. OCD or obsessive compulsive disorder is a mental disorder where the sufferer has obsessive thoughts and shows repetitive behaviors. The victim can have unreasonable thoughts and fears, all of which interfere with daily life activities. In some cases the patient is aware of this condition and tries to suppress such repetitive behaviors. But that backfires in a different way and causes a great deal of distress. And ultimately, you are driven to perform the required actions to feel relaxed. This is what makes OCD a ritualistic and vicious circle.
Sometimes, in order to fulfill the obsession, a person ends up harming oneself. For example, if a person has fear of germs, he or she is driven to wash hands every now and then till they become sore and chapped. Other instances include continuous negative thoughts about a family member being harmed or keeping every item in a set place.
And even if it moves one spot ahead, it causes distress and irritation. OCDs can make a person feel embarrassed and ill-at-ease because this condition, in a way, robs the sufferer of self-control. Even if you wish to control this obsession or stop such strange behaviors, you fail to do so because you feel powerless.
What are the causes of OCD?
Despite the wealth of knowledge and research, experts are not very well aware of the causes of OCD. They say that the brains of people with OCD do not look normal but they still need to dig out some relevant reasons for it. Women are more prone to this condition than men. Its symptoms show in teenage or in young adults and stress makes things worse. The following can make you more prone to OCDs.
Family history, a parent or sibling with OCD
Depression and anxiety
Trauma
A history or sexual abuse as a child
Changes in the body’s natural functions and brain chemistry
Genes could also be responsible for this condition
Environmental factors such as infections could also be responsible for OCDs.
What are the symptoms of OCD?
People affected with OCD are prone to repetitive behaviors. However, they are well aware of the fact that their actions do not make any sense. Despite this, they fail to control their obsessions; not because they don’t want to, but because they just can’t control. And even if they succeed at controlling themselves, they feel ill-at-ease, which forces them to repeat their obsessions.
These obsessions could be anything; being a cleanliness freak, having continuous thoughts about sex, violence and religion or some body parts. These thoughts could also include the following:
Fear of being dirty or acquiring germs
Worrying about being hurt or others being hurt
Obsessive need for having things in order
Thinking that some numbers or colors are good and the rest are bad
Being aware of bodily sensations like breathing and blinking
Being suspicious about a partner’s faithfulness
Besides these, the sufferer can also have some compulsive habits like:
Washing hands again and again
Following only a specific order for all tasks and doing it religiously and a ‘good’ number of times
Checking locked doors and lights repetitively
A need to count things like steps
Keeping things in a specific manner, like keeping the cans facing the front
Being scared of touching door knobs and shaking hands
What are the treatment options for OCD?
OCD is a condition, which, if left untreated can become chronic and is likely to accompany you for a very long time. If a person does not receive the appropriate treatment for OCD in time, the likelihood of getting better goes down.
The treatment for it, however, will depend on the extent to which the obsessions and compulsions affect a person’s quality of life. Though there is no sure-shot cure for OCDs; talk therapies and psychotherapies can help you control the symptoms, especially when they start interfering with your quality of life.
4 Simple Tips To Achieve Your Weight Loss Goals And A Healthy Living
Health is wealth! But in the today’s world where everyone is so occupied with work do we actually pay attention to our lifestyle. Well! Not really. After all, what does it actually take to lead a healthy lifestyle? A healthy lifestyle is extremely important as it helps to improve your health and well-being. There are a lot many different things that you can do to live a healthy lifestyle. These include eating healthy and nutritious foods, being physically active, maintaining a healthy weight, adequate sleep and managing your stress. A healthy lifestyle is not just about eating wholesome meals and regular physical exercise. There is much more to that. It is also about your physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well-being. Health expert Luke Coutinho in his recent Instagram post talks about keeping life simple and healthy.
Movement is a key to a healthy life. Some sort of physical activity is very necessary. Not just few times a week but everyday. Exercising daily can boost your overall health in many ways. It can help increase your life span, lower the risk of diseases like diabetes and high blood pressure, help you develop strong bones, and manage your weight. For this, you can simply especially for close distances, choose walking or cycling over driving or taking transportation. You can climb the stairs instead of taking the elevator. You can pick up simple exercises that are easy to do at home or outside that you enjoy. For instance, Zumba, aerobics, running, swimming or may be playing your favourite sport.
3. Adequate sleep
You might ignore this one but sleep is very important. It helps your body to heal and rest, so you must not ignore on your sleep. Lack of sleep may lead to poor health outcomes like obesity, diabetes, and even certain heart diseases. Continued lack of sleep can lead to a weak immune system and make you more prone to cold and the flu.
You can do some simple things to ensure that you sleep better at night. You can avoid caffeine and nicotine close to bedtime. Also, avoid eating heavy meals before bedtime. Physical exercise can also help you sleep better at night. But avoid strenuous workouts close to bedtime.
4. Stress
Though it is difficult to avoid stress in today’s world. But simple measures can always be taken to reduce stress. As stress again could lead to high blood sugar levels, hypertension and can even affect your heart. So practice some deep breathing exercises, meditation and yoga to manage stress. Also, try reaching out to friends, family and relatives quite often. This will help you remain positive and happy all the time.
Facing Digestion Issues? This Quick After-Meal Mix Can Help You!
Has it been long since digestive issues have been interfering with your health? Poor digestion is undoubtedly a sign of poor health and there is something that you must do about it . We have previously spoken about different kinds of foods that can help improve digestion. In this article, we will talk about an after-meal digestive mix suggested by lifestyle coach Luke Coutinho. This digestive mix consists of simple ingredients which can be easily found in Indian households. This after-meal digestive needs 5 ingredients, namely fennel seeds, sesame seeds, chopped almonds, flax, and ajwain. All these foods are popular for their benefits on digestive health.
Here are some benefits of Luke Coutinho’s after-meal digestive mix:
1. Fennel seeds: Fennel seeds are commonly consumed after meals. Many restaurants provide fennel seeds after food. Fennel seeds are highly popular for their digestive benefits. They can also help in getting relief from flatulence, painful periods, boosting metabolism, regulating blood sugar and improving hydration.
2. Sesame seeds: Dietary fibre in sesame seeds help in improving digestion. They provide your body with the required fibre which is needed for improving digestion. Fibre helps in improving gut bacteria. 100 gm of sesame seeds contain around 12 g of fibre. This amount, when combined with other fibre-rich foods, can restore digestive system in the body.
3. Almonds: Almonds too are rich in fibre. When consumed in the appropriate quantities, almonds can help in improving digestive health. Almonds can provide beneficial gut bacteria. Vitamin -E rich almonds are great for heart health and eye health.
5. Ajwain: Chewing ajwain or carom seeds can help in easing gas and flatulence. Carom seeds are full of thymol which helps in secreting gastric juices that aid digestion. For years, ajwain has been used a home remedy for curing indigestion. You can consume it in small quantities as it tastes slightly spicy.
For preparing Luke Coutinho’s after-meal digestive mix, you simply need to mix all of the above ingredients in a glass jar. A teaspoon of this mix after your meals every day can bring significant improvement to your digestion.
Know how to counter ill effects of long-time sitting
These are the findings of a recent study which appear in the American Journal of Epidemiology. The results highlight the importance of movement — regardless of its intensity or amount of time spent moving — for better health.
“Our findings underscore an important public health message that physical activity of any intensity provides health benefits,” said lead author Keith Diaz of Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons.
About one in four adults spends more than eight hours a day sitting, according to a recent study.
In a previous paper, Diaz and his team discovered that adults who sat for long stretches at a time — an hour or more without interruption — had a greater risk of early death than those who were sedentary for the same total amount of time but got up and moved around more often.
They also found that people who sat for less than 30 minutes at a time had the lowest risk of early death, suggesting that taking movement breaks every half-hour could lower your risk of death.
But just how intense, and for how long, does the physical activity need to be to counter the ill effects of sitting?
The study found that replacing just 30 minutes of sitting with low-intensity physical activity would lower the risk of early death by 17 per cent, a statistically significant decrease. Swapping the same amount of sitting for moderate to vigorous activity would be twice as effective, cutting the risk of early death by 35 per cent. The researchers also found that short bursts of activity — of just a minute or two — provided a health benefit.
“If you have a job or lifestyle that involves a lot of sitting, you can lower your risk of early death by moving more often, for as long as you want and as your ability allows — whether that means taking an hour-long high-intensity spin class or choosing lower-intensity activities, like walking,” Diaz said.
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Pile-CC
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Q:
Ruleset not in Decision Services list of Rule Execution Server console for Business Rules service on Bluemix
I deployed a ruleset to the Business Rules service on Bluemix. I confirmed that it was deployed in the Decision Services tab.
However, when I navigate to the Rule Execution Server console > Explorer > Transparent Decision Service Information, I do not see my ruleset listed.
A:
Once I executed the ruleset, the corresponding decision service was listed under Explorer > Transparent Decision Service information.
This is because the ruleset does not exist as a decision service until it has been executed.
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tomekkorbak/pile-curse-small
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StackExchange
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Selective inhibition of the anchorage-independent growth of myc-transfected fibroblasts by retinoic acid.
Fischer rat 3T3 (FR3T3) fibroblasts transfected with a cellular myc gene can be induced to grow and form colonies in soft agar by treatment either with epidermal growth factor (EGF) alone or with the combination of platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) and type-beta transforming growth factor (TGF-beta). We now show that induction of anchorage-independent growth by each of these sets of growth factors involves different cellular pathways which can be distinguished by their sensitivity to retinoic acid. Colony formation induced by the combined action of PDGF and TGF-beta is 100-fold more sensitive to inhibition by retinoic acid than is colony formation induced by treatment of the myc-transfected cells with EGF. Moreover, retinoic acid (10(-8) M) is inhibitory for colony growth whenever TGF-beta is present, regardless of whether the effects of TGF-beta are stimulatory, as occurs in the presence of PDGF, or inhibitory, as found in the presence of EGF.
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PubMed Abstracts
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Sharp transients, in electrical recordings, represent a measure of neural activity corresponding to an action potential at a single neuron. Such spike activity reflects the output of a given brain area, yet many regions receive input in the form of excitatory or inhibitory synaptic potentials without generating spikes. This input activity is an important form of computational integration, detected in extracellular recordings as perturbations of the local field potential (LFP). Quantitative analysis of the LFP is performed in the frequency domain, providing a measure of synchronous activity across neurons. Logothetis et al. (2001) showed that BOLD may reflect an area's input in the form of synaptic potentials, rather than its output in the form of spikes. Synaptic inputs can be excitatory or inhibitory, and both forms involve metabolic demands that may alter BOLD and complicate models interpreting BOLD as a proxy for cognitive engagement. The time- courses of oscillations in various frequency bands, and excitatory and inhibitory synaptic potentials, and the relationship between these forms of activity and cognition as reflected by BOLD, is poorly understood. Thus, it is essential to examine the correspondence between certain forms of neural activity, BOLD, and the engagement of cognitive processes. Negative BOLD signals in some cases, for example, demand a nuanced interpretation. The subtractive nature of fMRI initially suggests that negative BOLD simply reflects increased activation during the baseline. However, a number of findings have suggested that negative BOLD represents a distinct phenomenon. This proposal is focused on examining the evidence that negative BOLD reflects decreases in neural activity, associated with cognition. Calibrated MR measures of BOLD and CBF will be performed using tasks previously shown to produce reliable deactivations. These MR measures of flow and oxygenation will be used to determine relative CMRO2 and the oxygen extraction to fully assess the physiologic underpinnings of BOLD. Simultaneous EEC will be recorded and EEC power in multiple frequency bands compared with the MR measures. Much work has been performed characterizing EEC changes in the tasks to be used, but little work has attempted to relate EEC to MR signals. This work will provide insight into the relationship between MR signal changes in cognitive tasks, and EEC changes as measured with surface, and in a limited number of patients, subdural electrodes. [unreadable] [unreadable] [unreadable]
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NIH ExPorter
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Q:
Sequence puzzling - what is the next number?
As stated, what's the next number?
71,82,94,94,53,43,62,?
1) hints are already given somewhere in this question!
2) operators
aren't necessary involved
A:
The next number is
41
Len has already found out that the numbers correspond to
the letters in the word "puzzling".
But they are encoded:
Each letter is encoded as the number key on a phone that it is on plus the index of that letter among the three or four letters on that key. For example, P is the first letter on the 7 key and is encoded as 71. The whole sequence is:
P 7 Pqrs 71
U 8 tUv 82
Z 9 wxyZ 94
Z 9 wxyZ 94
L 5 jkL 53
I 4 ghI 43
N 6 mNo 62
G 4 Ghi 41
Thanks to Len, who provided the key insight in his answer.
A:
Partial answer. Using Hint 1 and the title, the next number is:
approximately 39 because the sequence represents the word PUZZLING.
OP sequence = 71 82 94 94 53 43 62 ?Letters = P U Z Z L I N GASCII code = 80 85 90 90 76 73 78 71
However, this transformation from the OP sequence to ASCII is not quite right as shown here:
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tomekkorbak/pile-curse-small
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StackExchange
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This invention relates in general to call distribution systems and, in particular, to a system for distributing task requests to a group of task performers in relative frequencies selected by the task performers.
Currently, a caller unfamiliar with the businesses offering a particular desired service must initiate a dialog with a directory-assistance operator. The operator must then use a business-category form of database search to supply a candidate set of listings. The operator must then select one or more listings from this candidate set to quote to the caller under restrictive practice rules that insure fairness in call distribution among the businesses competing in the same category as requested by the caller. This process is labor-intensive and time-consuming, and depends completely on the operator""s implementation of the practice for fairness and efficiency. There is no just provision for a business to increase or decrease its expected share of the listing quotations.
The invention eliminates operator involvement in designated high-volume categories of this type of call, and has the following advantages over current systems:
1. The invention offers to its subscription providers, the telecommunications companies, the opportunity for revenue from such automated calls, and the opportunity for revenue from ongoing subscriptions to the service by competing businesses.
2. The invention offers to its subscription providers, the telecommunications companies, the opportunity for reduction of the number of directory-assistance calls requesting listings for the most-frequently-called business services. This reduction translates directly to a reduction in cost of furnishing directory-assistance service.
3. By supplying to the callers the opportunity to select, with minimum effort, a business service from those participating in the subscription service, the subscription provider""s use of the invention places competitive pressure on all business services in a subscribable category to subscribe.
4. The invention offers to subscribing businesses a process for altering, within predefined limits and under predefined constraints, their expected proportion of the total number of calls received within a given business category, at a cost settable by the subscription provider.
5. The invention also offers to the subscribing businesses the ability to set dynamically the terms under which they will accept calls.
6. The invention offers to the callers the advantages of enhanced services incorporated in such calls: instant selection of a subscribing business service supplier, selection of a geographically-proximate supplier, potential for added selection criteria to restrict choices further, and extended dialog concerning a selected supplier""s detailed services.
The terms xe2x80x98competitorxe2x80x99 and xe2x80x98subscriberxe2x80x99 are used here to mean one of several businesses subscribing to the service defined by this invention, and falling within the range of competition as defined by business category, geographic area, caller location, and other distinguishing criteria as specified herein.
The term xe2x80x98subscription providerxe2x80x99 (SP) is used here to mean the telecommunications or other company providing the subscription service to businesses requesting participation in ACBCD for one or more categories of business.
The terms xe2x80x98categoryxe2x80x99 and xe2x80x98business categoryxe2x80x99 are used in the same sense here to mean a class of business as defined in commonly-accepted business classification schemes in use by telephone companies and other service providers.
The term xe2x80x98domainxe2x80x99 (more formally, xe2x80x98global category domainxe2x80x99) is used here to mean a subclass of business defined by geographic or other qualifications which restricts the set of matching listings to a subset of the set matching a given general business category. The caller""s identifying information, the time of day, the day of week, and other data elements may be included in these qualifications. The number and status of previous attempts to connect to the subscriber on the same call must be included in these qualifications, to allow elimination of a previously-quoted listing from repeated attempts to connect.
The term xe2x80x98callxe2x80x99 is used here to mean a request for service from a specific domain.
The term xe2x80x98callerxe2x80x99 is used here to mean an individual requesting service from a subscriber in a particular domain.
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USPTO Backgrounds
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254 F.2d 836
UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee,v.FIDELITY AND DEPOSIT COMPANY OF MARYLAND, United States Fidelity and Guaranty Company, and Century Indemnity Company, Defendants-Appellants.
No. 187.
Docket 24841.
United States Court of Appeals Second Circuit.
Argued April 15, 1958.
Decided April 30, 1958.
Stewart Maurice, of Maurice, McNamee & White, New York City (A. Pearley Feen, Burlington, Vt., on the brief), for defendant-appellant Fidelity and Deposit Co. of Md.
James T. Haugh, Rutland, Vt. (Ryan, Smith & Carbine, John D. Carbine, Rutland, Vt., on the brief), for defendant-appellant U. S. Fidelity and Guaranty Co.
Hilton A. Wick, of Edmunds, Austin & Wick, Burlington, Vt., for defendant-appellant Century Indemnity Co.
Lionel Kestenbaum, Atty., Dept. of Justice, Washington, D. C. (George Cochran Doub, Asst. Atty. Gen., and Samuel D. Slade, Atty., Dept. of Justice, Washington, D. C., and Louis G. Whitcomb, U. S. Atty., Dist. of Vt., Springfield, Vt., on the brief), for U. S. A., plaintiff-appellee.
Before CLARK, Chief Judge, and LUMBARD and WATERMAN, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM.
1
As did Judge Gibson below, D.C.Vt., 153 F.Supp. 848, we accept the decision in United States v. American Surety Co. of N. Y., 2 Cir., 172 F.2d 135, 7 A.L.R.2d 940, certiorari denied American Surety Co. of N. Y. v. United States, 337 U.S. 930, 69 S.Ct. 1494, 93 L.Ed. 1737, as authority for cumulative, rather than single-year, liability upon the fidelity bonds given as sureties by the defendant companies against loss from a post-office clerk in Burlington, Vermont, who later proved to be an embezzler. Hence as to the major recovery allowed below we are content to accept the opinion and decision of the district court. But we feel constrained to modify the recovery allowed in one comparatively small aspect. This concerns the loss of $5,000 in 1938, when each of the defendants was surety for half a year. Since Judge Gibson could not determine just when the loss occurred, he divided it equally between the two defendants Fidelity and Deposit Company of Maryland and United States Fidelity and Guaranty Company. Even though this is an equitable result, it does not accord with the federal and majority rule which recognizes a presumption that the loss occurred in the last term and places a burden upon the last surety to show that the loss occurred in previous terms. Bruce v. United States, 17 How. 437, 442, 443, 58 U.S. 437, 442, 443, 15 L.Ed. 129; United States v. Honsman, 9 Cir., 70 F. 581; Thurston County v. Chmelka, 138 Neb. 696, 294 N.W. 857, 132 A.L.R. 1077, with annotation citing cases at 1084, 1093-1095. Moreover, the defalcation was not discovered until 1953, the year in which the post-office clerk died, and Fidelity and Deposit Company of Maryland continuously had been surety from July 1, 1938, until 1953. Accordingly we direct that the judgment below be modified to provide that the 1938 loss of $5,000 be placed upon Fidelity and Deposit Company of Maryland, the last surety, with appropriate adjustment of interest.
2
As so modified the judgment is affirmed.
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tomekkorbak/pile-curse-small
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FreeLaw
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Girlfriend asks if it's already in Is trying anal
135 shares
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tomekkorbak/pile-curse-small
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OpenWebText2
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Remember the euphoria generated by Mr. Duterte’s campaign theme “change is coming?” There was no literal dancing on the streets but an equivalent surge of hope and optimism was palpable after Mr. Duterte’s overwhelming win in the May 2016 presidential elections. The nation, tired and weary of Mr. Aquino’s cluelessness and obsession with “GDP” was electrified with the promise of “change” and the unorthodoxy of Mr. Duterte’s approach to leadership.
“Change is coming,” said Mr. Duterte. And Filipinos, even the Duterte doubters, believed.
As if to stress his difference with the clueless Mr. Aquino, whose exclusive display of toughness was his firm veto of token legislative measures for the suffering, Mr. Duterte started with all the right pronouncements. A peace pact with the revolutionary left, a scorch-earth policy against official corruption, the resurgence of manufacturing, a radical overhaul of foreign relations, untangling the metropolitan gridlocks through science and planning and an infrastructure build-up like no other.
Of course, his war on drugs was the priority. Filipinos, however, had the sense that the war would target the real culprits, stop the smuggling of shabu from overseas suppliers and manage the whole processing of purging the drug menace with the least collateral damage.
“Hear, hear,” Mr. Duterte told Filipinos at this point last year. “We are going to remake the country and for the better.” With a mock gesture of a clenched fist thrust forward, Filipinos cheered every word of Mr. Duterte.
What is happening in October 2017, today, rends the heart, to say the least. Heartbroken Filipinos are now the Irish from the earlier times. They have the feeling that they cannot really rejoice as the world will always come down crashing on them and snuff out any feeling of euphoria and celebration.
Right after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, Daniel Patrick Moynihan, also of Irish descent like Kennedy, was quoted by the newspapers as saying: To be Irish is to know that in the end the world will always break your heart.
That is us now, as the general euphoria from “change is coming” gets its reality check. As usual, we are wallowing in the usual woes of a Banana Republic.
The major newspapers may be bleeding on all fronts – loss of readership, loss of revenue, loss of the influence they had in the pre-FB age, the general signs they are going down the path of irrelevance – but what they publish still sums up the preoccupation of the national leaders and the general state of the nation.
The preoccupation of the country’s most powerful leader, the president, is vividly captured by the newspaper headlines. So, what are today’s headlines?
The headlines start off with Mr. Duterte’s determination to impeach the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Maria Lourdes Sereno, and the Ombudsman, Conchita Carpio Morales. Mr. Duterte claims the two are part of a conspiracy to remove him from office.
In the other headlines related to the presidency, Mr. Duterte slams his arch-enemy, Sen. Antonio Trillanes 4th. He said that Mr. Trillanes, who has been presenting bank records that allegedly showed a P2 billion movement in the bank transactions of Mr. Duterte from 2006 to 2015, got his documents from the Anti-Money Laundering Council executive director Julia Bacay-Abad. Mr. Duterte has alleged that Ms. Bacay – Abad is a “mistress “ of Senator Trillanes.
He called Mr. Trillanes names.
The Senate President, Aquilino Pimentel 3rd, asked the PNP a pointed but timely question. Where is the promised peace? Killings via riding-in-tandem have been a national spectacle along with the EJKs.
From the euphoria and celebration of October 2016, we are now in an October of “conspiracy” and “plots” to remove the duly-constituted government. The presidency, instead of being preoccupied with change and hope, is now preoccupied with the ghastly stuff, the sorry stuff that give the general impression of a nation not on the go but on its path to self-destruction, the usual woes of a Banana Republic.
In just a year, the dreams and hopes of a better country under Mr. Duterte have been shattered by the obsession with conspiracies and plots, extra-constitutional seizure of power, politics of the most vitriolic kind, all egged on by presidential aides who can conjure scenarios of sieges at the drop of a hat and without any prodding and context at all.
To the political conspirators and zealots who seemed to have found their springtime under Mr. Duterte, the Philippines’ version of an unthinking Game of Thrones is their coming out party from the cocoons of venomous anonymity. Abetted and aided by bloggers of the same viciousness and stupidity.
To the ordinary Filipinos, the Everyman who dreamt big in the early months of the Duterte presidency, it is an opportunity squandered – at their expense and at the expense of a country that could have had bold and radical reforms under Mr. Duterte.
Change did not come. We are back to the same situation, this time with more venom and vile.
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tomekkorbak/pile-curse-small
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OpenWebText2
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Infierno en el Ring
Infierno en el Ring is the name of an annual professional wrestling super show or pay-per-view (PPV) event held by the Mexican professional wrestling promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) since 2008. The term Infierno en el Ring is also the "brand name" used by CMLL for a multi-man steel cage match where the last man in the cage is either forced to unmask or have his hair shaved off. Before 2008 the Infierno en el Ring match was the main event of other shows such as the Entre Torre Infernal show in 2000 and the CMLL 74th Anniversary Show in 2007. 19 matches have taken place so far with the most recent being the 2016 Infierno en el Ring, which took place on December 25, 2016.
Match type
The Infierno en el Ring match is a steel cage match where all the competitors are locked in the cage during the match. After a certain time interval, between three and eight minutes traditionally, the wrestlers are allowed to escape the cage by climbing over the top and to the floor. The last two wrestlers remaining in the cage then wrestled against each other under Lucha de Apuestas (bet match) rules inside the steel cage. Whoever loses the match is forced to either unmask or have their hair shaved off per Lucha Libre traditions.
History
The very first Infierno en el Ring was actually promoted as Torre Infernal, Spanish for "Infernal Tower" and was the main event of CMLL's Entre Torre Infernal ("In the Infernal Tower") pay-per-view (PPV) and featured four wrestlers who all put their hair on the line in the match. Máscara Año 2000 lost when Perro Aguayo pinned him. Subsequently, CMLL began promoting all multi-man Steel cage matches that had Lucha de Apuesta (bet match) rules as Infierno en el Ring. CMLL would use the Infierno en el Ring concept the following year as the main event of the CMLL 69th Anniversary Show where 7 wrestlers risked either their hair or their mask on the outcome of the match. In addition the winning side would earn the rights to the name Los Infernales as well. So far the match at the 69th Anniversary Show is the only match to feature a mixture of hair or masks being bet as well as an additional stipulation. In the end El Satánico pinned Máscara Mágica, forcing him to unmask as well as earning his team the rights to be known as Los Infernales.
The next Infierno en el Ring match took place three years after the Anniversary event, on July 18, 2004 and featured six unmasked, main event level wrestlers risking their hair. The finals came down to Perro Aguayo Jr. and his mentor Negro Casas and saw Aguayo Jr. betray Casas, leaving his mentor to have his hair shaved off after the match. This turn was the catalyst to Perro Aguayo Jr. forming the Perros del Mal stable. CMLL repeated the event the following year on June 17 as the main event of a CMLL Super Viernes show. The match featured 9 men in total as the storyline between Los Perros del Mal and other CMLL rudos (bad guys) heated up, with CMLL's top fan favorite Místico added to the match. In the end Damián 666 escaped the cage, leaving Máscara Magica to lose his second Infierno en el Ring match and had his hair shaved off.
The 2006 Infierno en el Ring match was the first to carry the stipulation that the last two wrestlers would have to wrestle in a regular match instead of escaping the cage. The match took place on July 14, 2006 and featured only masked wrestlers, mainly mid-card level wrestlers all risking their masks in the match. In the end the young Misterioso II defeated the experienced Pantera to unmask him.
The Infierno en el Ring concept was used instead of the traditional big singles match CMLL usually books for their Anniversary shows as they booked an eight-man Infierno en el Ring match as the main event of the CMLL 74th Anniversary Show in 2007. The main event saw all eight men put their masks on the line in the cage, ending with Blue Panther pinning Lizmark Jr. to win the match. The following year CMLL introduced an event called Infierno en el Ring, dedicating an entire event to the cage match. That year's cage match saw 10 wrestlers risk their hair in the match. The finals saw El Texano Jr. defeat Heavy Metal, costing him all his hair.
CMLL used the Infierno en el Ring five times during 2009, the most of any year. They started the year off with a special Mini-Estrella match, featuring 13 masked Mini-Estrellas facing off. The finals came down to Pierrothito and Shockercito with Pierrothito taking the victory. CMLL held another Mini-Estrellas only cage match on March 3, 2009 in Puebla, Puebla where Mascarita Dorada defeated Sombrita in the final two That was followed by a match that saw Mini-Estrellas and regular sized competitors mixed together for an Infierno en el Ring on August 18, 2009 where Mini-Estrella Pierrothito pinned regular sized competitor Rafaga to become the only man to win two Infierno en el Ring matches. CMLL also held their annual Infierno en el Ring event in 2009, this time a 15-man cage match with everyone putting their hair on the line. The match served as the start of the "Mexico vs. Japan" storyline that ran for the rest of 2009 as New Japan Pro Wrestling visitor Naito pinned Toscano to take Toscano's hair. The fifth and last Infierno en el Ring match in 2009 took place on October 18, 2009 and featured a mixture of young wrestlers trying to make a name for themselves and experienced mid-card wrestlers with the prime of their careers behind them. The final saw the young rudo (bad guy) Pólvora pin the experienced tecnico (good guy) Tigre Blanco to unmask him.
CMLL held the only Infierno en el Ring in 2010, the Infierno en el Ring supercard on June 18, 2010. The match featured 12 wrestlers who put their mask on the line in the match. Like the October, 2009 match this cage match featured a mixture of young wrestlers looking to climb up the ranks of CMLL and experienced mid-card wrestlers. The match was the first time two tecnicos ended up as the finalists and saw Ángel de Oro pin Fabián el Gitano to unmask him
So far nine of the 19 matches have featured wrestlers putting their mask on the line and seven risking their hair with a couple of the events featuring mixed bets. Two of the 19 matches have featured CMLL's Mini-Estrella division, one has been mixed, two featured all female competitors and the rest have featured CMLL's regular male division. The first match had the fewest participants with just four, while two of the Infierno en el Ring matches featured 15, the most of any event so far. Only two men, Pierrothito and Máscara Magica, have been part of the final two for multiple matches with Pierrothito being the only wrestler to win two Infierno en el Ring Apuesta matches and Máscara Magica being the only wrestler to lose two.
Dates, venues and results
Also known as
CMLL is not the only Mexican wrestling promotion to promote multi-man steel cage matches under Lucha de Apuesta rules. In Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (AAA) such a match is referred to as Domo de la Muete ("Dome of Death") and in International Wrestling Revolution Group (IWRG) they promote an annual Castillo del Terror ("Castle of Terror") with similar rules.
References
Category:CMLL Infierno en el Ring
Category:Events in Mexico
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tomekkorbak/pile-curse-small
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Wikipedia (en)
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Q:
Simple self-made encrypter
The following code:
import random
def keygen():
l = list('abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz123456789!@#$%^&*()_-+={}[]|\:;?/~`"" ')
random.shuffle(l)
return l
def encrypt(x):
key = keygen() #or a static key for consistency
y = list('abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz123456789!@#$%^&*()_-+={}[]|\:;?/~`"" ')
z = dict(zip(y, key))
l = []
for match in list(x):
l.append(match.replace(match, z[match]))
print('key: '+ ''.join(key))
print('content: '+ ''.join(l))
def decrypt(key, x):
key = list(key)
y = list('abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz123456789!@#$%^&*()_-+={}[]|\:;?/~`"" ')
z = dict(zip(key, y))
l = []
for match in list(x):
l.append(match.replace(match, z[match]))
print(''.join(l))
is just a simple self made encrypter that I made for fun, and works like so:
>>> encrypt('hello world how are you')
key: ^lps1|dv)({t&hk#w;=@!6bjrx$4 \[m~"q*i+:-a73?u/5zf%gc9}yn"8_oe]`2
content: v1ttk2bk;ts2vkb2^;12rk!
>>> decrypt('^lps1|dv)({t&hk#w;=@!6bjrx$4 \[m~"q*i+:-a73?u/5zf%gc9}yn"8_oe]`2', 'v1ttk2bk;ts2vkb2^;12rk!')
hello world how are you
>>>
This works pretty well, but I did see one time where there was a single letter that was misplaced. This could have just been due to me not copy/pasting the key in right for decoding, but I am not so sure. Basically does this code look sound? And are there any other methods of doing something like this in a more elegant way?
A:
You should get out of the habit of printing results instead of returning them; if you return the function is reusable. Remember that you can return multiple values with:
return ''.join(key), ''.join(l)
I would personally suggest returning a string directly from keygen.
You don't need to convert y to a list, and probably should name it better (eg. ascii). It would be better as a global constant.
encrypt and decrypt can be unified by making key optional and reversing the arguments when decrypting relative to encrypting; it's symmetric after all.
import random
ASCII = 'abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz123456789!@#$%^&*()_-+={}[]|\:;?/~`"" '
def keygen():
l = list(ASCII)
random.shuffle(l)
return ''.join(l)
def cipher(x, key=None, backwards=False):
if key is None:
key = keygen()
z = dict(zip(key, ASCII) if backwards else zip(ASCII, key))
l = []
for match in list(x):
l.append(match.replace(match, z[match]))
return key, ''.join(l)
Since keygen is so easy to call as
encrypt(x, keygen())
I wouldn't make key have a default. This gives the simpler:
import random
ASCII = 'abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz123456789!@#$%^&*()_-+={}[]|\:;?/~`"" '
def keygen():
l = list(ASCII)
random.shuffle(l)
return ''.join(l)
def cipher(x, key, backwards=False):
z = dict(zip(key, ASCII) if backwards else zip(ASCII, key))
l = []
for match in list(x):
l.append(match.replace(match, z[match]))
return key, ''.join(l)
Looking at
l = []
for match in list(x):
l.append(match.replace(match, z[match]))
we have a lot of inefficiencies. You should just do
for match in x:
and then
l.append(z[match])
since the replace is a no-op.
This can be a list comprehension:
l = [z[match] for match in x]
This is now just
import random
ASCII = 'abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz123456789!@#$%^&*()_-+={}[]|\:;?/~`"" '
def keygen():
l = list(ASCII)
random.shuffle(l)
return ''.join(l)
def cipher(x, key, backwards=False):
z = dict(zip(key, ASCII) if backwards else zip(ASCII, key))
l = [z[match] for match in x]
return ''.join(l)
You can then replace some of the challenge with str.translate and str.maketrans:
import random
ASCII = 'abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz123456789!@#$%^&*()_-+={}[]|\:;?/~`"" '
def keygen():
l = list(ASCII)
random.shuffle(l)
return ''.join(l)
def cipher(x, key, backwards=False, base_chars=ASCII):
if backwards:
base_chars, key = key, base_chars
return x.translate(str.maketrans(base_chars, key))
The bug
There is a duplicate character in ASCII. This can, and does, break things
↓↓
ASCII = 'abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz123456789!@#$%^&*()_-+={}[]|\:;?/~`"" '
↑↑
Personally, your best best is just to use string.ascii_lowercase + string.digits + string.punctuation, despite it being slightly different to the above. This gives
import random
import string
ASCII = string.ascii_lowercase + string.digits + string.punctuation
def keygen():
l = list(ASCII)
random.shuffle(l)
return ''.join(l)
def cipher(x, key, backwards=False, base_chars=ASCII):
if backwards:
base_chars, key = key, base_chars
return x.translate(str.maketrans(base_chars, key))
Of course, don't roll your own crypto.
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tomekkorbak/pile-curse-small
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StackExchange
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The target audiences for movies are completely different from those of TV-series. What’s most impressive is that the most overused genre, the family movie, is actually consistently very good and that there are very few people taking advantage of it with cheap and bad story-lines, like what’s currently happening with the fanservice in TV-series. They’re all attempting to be well executed.
Having said that though, there are a lot of movies that just look like each other. I’m of course talking about the My Neighbour Totoro-inspired series: you take a village, you take a kid, and you take some sort of supernatural being, and you try to create a heart-warming story around it. The stories indeed are heart-warming, but they don’t really try to do something new with the genre and tropes. Miyazaki himself did this with Ponyo, a few years ago, but apart from that I can’t really think of many other movies. A Letter to Momo however, gives a really good attempt to stand out, though.
It’s just all so real. These movies stand out with their realism, but this one reallygoes the extra edge: Momo really feels like a typical young girl, and this movie adds so many quirks for her that other movies look over. It’s all in the details, though, but those details are amazing. The animation also really shows this, with a lot of Madhouse’s top people working on it. The faces in this movie are all 2-dimensional, but they have depth. The way they’re animated, the way they move: you feel like they’re more than just a few drawn lines, something quite rare in today’s animation. It only adds even more to the realism and believability.
Where this really sets itself apart though, is in the supernatural creatures that visit Momo. They are nearly always innocent: cute, adorable, mysterious. In this movie, they’re the complete opposites: while they have good intentions, these beings are flawed, annoying, they continuously cause trouble, they keep stealing from everyone, they keep harassing Momo, and they have just generally un-likable personalities. And yet it’s been a while since I laughed as much at a movie as here. They are the kind of characters that were supposed to be annoying, yet only ended up really charming because of it.
The overall plot of this movie is something you should not expect much of: you’ve seen it before in other movies. However, the way in which it does this is remarkable and defnitely deserves a watch as one of the best attempts on how to do it since Totoro. For the Jin Roh fans who were looking forward to this movie though (the director of Jin Ron has also directed this movie, working on it for seven years): expect nothing like it. This movie has no political messages whatsoever, and is the complete opposite of Jin Roh was. It’s a bit of a shame considering how original Jin Roh was and all, but that does not make A Letter to Momo any less impressive.
Storytelling:
8/10 – The plot is nothing special, but how it was told stands out as the best since Totoro of its trope.
Characters:
9/10 – Absolutely lovable, yet different. Excellent acting as well, although the way they developed has been done before.
Production-Values:
9.5/10 – Very realistic. Characters have depth, lots of details and the characters really are brought to life here.
Was a little disappointed actually. The realism is there but there is some room for improvement.
*Spoiler alert*
Characters development too simple. They seem to have this robotic look (other than occasionally giving off weird smiles exactly like those you see in Omohide Poro Poro), i believe it is intended, which is okay for all the side characters but not for Momo.
Why so? The main character is supposed to be a city folk, and is supposed to be homesick (to what extent it doesnt matter) but she doesnt seem to display any of these characteristics in the film. The film would have made better sense for me, if Momo appeared more as a spoilt girl in the beginning or something. Well you can say the non-human characters may have helped her alleviate some of these stress throughout but it is the same even when they were not present. Yes she seemed hard time adapting to hew new life in a fishing town but, given that the initial parts of the film has pictured her in an obvious way that she was not interested at all in getting to know her new surrounding, it seemed to me she adapted to the new lifestyle with relative ease and way too fast.
I think the director had forgotten to take into account the significance that a young girl (not an adult who may have less of a hard time adapting) is not temporarily staying or vacationing in a place outside Tokyo, but was in a way being forced to be a permanent resident in a new life. I am not even accounting for the fact that she is still grieving from her loved one’s passing, which could have made the fault more dire.
In fact I was more attracted to the non-human characters because being purely fictional characters, I was spared from having to bother if they are realistic or not. Although I would think it could have been better if they possess more intelligence than what was perceived in the film, I mean they had lived through so many eras (assuming they are much older than mortals) so one should expect them to be able to think or take better responsibility in how to resolve the unexpected problems right?
Probably everyone else will disagree with my opinion (as I have given my review in IMDB and I am the only one with a rating less than 8/10 lol.) but really, I have seen better anime movies talking about the same subject matter.
spolit… like spoiled right? well, I’m quite sure that not all cityfolk are supposed to be spoiled, and truthfully it would probably be a bit weird for a girl to continue her spoiled nature after being guilted by the death of her father. As for character development, the girl finally plays with the other children only at the end of the film, and throughout the film she makes attempts to play with the other kids, so is it really that fast? Then again the demons also go about and help her adapt as well.
also, can you list the better anime movies as well? im running out of movies to watch.
I am refering to the reluctance to cope with the new environment, or maybe she doesn’t need to be reluctant, but if anyone of us is in that situation we will have to cope with unfamiliar grounds right? Whether she is actually a spoilt brat or not, from the perspective residents in that town it is likely they will view her as a spoilt brat.
That indirectly takes a lot away from character development as well because she seems to be less affected by all these things than what I had expected. But you are right the development is there, just not at a large enough quantum in my opinion, because there was no ‘low base’.
I cant think of a good movie recently, but this movie reminds me a lot about Omohide Poro Poro because the people in these 2 movies had the same robotic look and the weird smile that you see occasionally, unlike in other anime. But for Omohide’s case, that structure made more sense to me
Agree with above commentors re the somewhat “fixed” look to characters, but I actually enjoyed that spared, natural approach. It’s a different take on ‘realism’ compared to say Miyazaki or even Satoshi Kon’s work.
Personally I felt the most outstanding feature of this film was actually timing – both in shots, action and also humour and dialogue. My immediate thought went straight to Spirited Away and Toki Kakeru Shoujo (have not yet seen Ookami no Kodomo). But I think Momo really distinguished itself in the quality of animation.
Overall a really likeable film, would love to see more like this from Japan’s animation production houses in future.
I, too, wasn’t especially thrilled with this work. I mean, it gets quite a few points in certain places (such as the production values and the setting); but when you get right down to it, the actual meat just wasn’t there for me. I thoroughly enjoyed both Momo and her mother, finding them to be very well-crafted characters, but everyone else felt much more wooden by comparison.
The worst part, however, was the fact that the movie takes two-hours to go all of a foot. All the major development is crammed into the very beginning and the very ending, with the middle feeling more like needless padding than meaningful events. The creatures especially have dreadfully little purpose here, and slow the 2nd act down to a painful grind.
I was amazed when I saw that this one take the prize at APSA, especially over the likes of Ookami Kodomo no Ame to Yuki and From Up on Poppy Hill. Now, I haven’t seen the former yet, but the latter is one of my favorite post-2000 Ghibli-produced films (second only to Spirited Away).
Its fantastic. The animation is amazing. The expression, the movements, its so… lively.
The story is great too, the pacing is just right. And the characters are very likeable. The youkai antics are pure fun!
AidanAK47
@Anon530022, I am not going to deny being arrogant. That's just my nature. But you are going to have to explain how wanting a show to have a genuine gay romance is homophobic? Kinda missing the logical steps on that jump. Anyway you being gay is irrelevant as I have a bisexual friend who says the romance isn't realistic in the slightest.
Anonymous530636
I love basically any sports/romance anime so Yuri should be straight up my alley, but instead it just fails at both, mainly the sports part since it does try to focus on fanservice of the relationship between Victor and Yuri. I don't feel like the relationship between the two of them is real whether it's romantic or not. They keep having characters voice their thoughts about each other but no
Anonymous530636
Hi random long-time psgels reader, personally I think Yuri on Ice has kind of lost on trying to be a real romance and a real sports anime. It's characters are pretty weak and combing from someone that actually reads BL manga, I agree that their overt level of fanservice like focusing on the two of their lips and the rings, etc doesn't match their level of outright talking about shit.
Lenlo
Age gap isnt that big, and its not homophobic or arrogant to say a show isnt selling an aspect of itself well in his opinion. Lastly, romance for every person is different, so dont expect him to share your experiences/views on it.
Anonymous529997
Also, how Viktor's choice to become Yuuri's coach might have been initiated by not just Yuuri's skating, but Yuuri himself.
Anonymous529997
@Mario: I agree on the strip dance. Like, holy crap. But overall, I really like how episode 10 reframed the series from Viktor's perspective. Like, at first the whole commemorative photo thing made him seem like a jerk, but now we get to see that he had actually had a great time with Yuuri and was probably being genuine about it...
Anonymous530022
You just want them to identify themselves. You feel as if it's your right to know that they are gay. Well it isn't. It is their life, their story. You are being homophobic. You are being close minded. You are being arrogant. You are, indeed, very arrogant.
Anonymous530022
It is a mixture of admiration and lust and because it is hard to distinguish between the two it is difficult to express your feelings directly or even admit it to yourself.
Anonymous530022
As a gay man I attest that this is how romance works, ESPECIALLY when there is an age and experience gap.
Anonymous530022
This shows romance is actually reaistic, but you are still rejecting it. Yuri literally said he had found love. He said neither way who it's directed towards yet you are SO INSISTENT that it is towards skating. in the episode Victor even expressed admiration to Yuri's own dispositions beyond skating. He clearly was 'watching' him.
AidanAK47
If they planned to take such a hands off approach to romance then it would be better if they just focused on the skating. But well then the fujoshi's wouldn't be buying the Blu-rays now would they?
Lenlo
I can understand that, thats a problem I have with alot of modern romance's. Im just not seeing the backing off that happens in those romances. They just seem to raise it more and more in Yuri, without ever crossing the line, rather than toeing it then backing off.
AidanAK47
@Lenlo, To me I find it aggravating. They go so far to portray them as gay yet when it comes to the final say they keep backing off. Hey I want to be more that friends...just kidding! Hey I love you...just kidding! Hey lets get married...just kidding! It like how harems constantly tease the main getting together with each girl when by shows end you know he's not going to get with anyone.
SuperMario
@lenl: agree. I'm still enjoying the hell of the show. A bit out of the blues thou when it comes to the strip dance (they shoulve planted that before), but it's a joy to watch every week
Lenlo
Eh. As I said, I think its above bait below romance. Either way im enjoying it and thats the important part.
SuperMario
For me they're just too much at the moments but unless they confirm it, nothing changes.
Kaiser Eoghan
Y'know I kind of wish Rorico would just come out and directly say he feels too old for most anime, its not really surprising a man in his 60s would be so cranky when it comes to this stuff.
SuperMario
@lenlo: I think it's more about statements. Yes, we understand the context of rings and engagements but unless they confirm it, nothing set in stones. And "hinting" is what they love to do, you can see just by the 2 shows I've coverage myself: Sound Eupho (Reina & Kumiko), Flip Flappers (Papika & Cocona) and people saying those same underlining context things.
Lenlo
I think its beyond baiting, below full blown romance at this point myself.
Lenlo
Does a show have to confirm and say "They kissed" to make it true? Seems along the same lines as "Fade to black" for sex. Then theres the ED which also made the start of the show much more interesting, as with this ED not its Victor that was jilted at the airport, when Yuri ran away.
Lenlo
See, I dont understand why they have to come out and say "We are gay" for you to accept its an actual romance. I dont see how this is baiting anymore either, as the rings and the "Engagement" seem pretty clear to me. Also, without knowing the current climate on the matter in Japan, this could be the clearest they are allowed to make it, while still fully intending for it to be a real romance.
AidanAK47
@Anon1, Agreed. I said before that I would like to be proven wrong on this but this series doesn't seem to have done that yet. I really will admit I am wrong to Anon2 if it does provide proof but it would need to be far more substantial than this.@Anon2, Girl, boy, whatever.
Anonymous529660
@Aidan: I think the only thing from that scene that hints at actual romance would be where Viktor says something along the lines of a lot of other people got their L words from Yuuri, which he had earlier stated are "Love" and "Life." Honestly, even this is pushing it though, but the fact that he said it like that suggests that both he and Yuri got "those words" from Yuuri.
AidanAK47
Way I saw that scene was the guy saying "Fuck you, you think Yuri is so great. Well I am gonna be better than Yuri. Just you wait and see" and then Victor remarking on how Yuri awoke his competitive spirit. Aka his love for Skating.
SuperMario
@Kaiser: Although I like both, I always prefer impressionism better. Expressionism for me tend to be a bit overwhelming and a bit subjectively. But mind you Flip Flappers still has moments of Expressionist as well (Episode 6: Irochan's parents)
AidanAK47
@Anon, I got the context you saw fine. About him getting mad over the "Good luck charm". You are being baited girl, hook, line and sinker.
Anonymous529618
You are missing context. You don't know anything. You don't even know why Yuri was mad do you? Why the fuck would he be mad about loving skating.
Kaiser Eoghan
@Mario: I bring up the impressionism vs expressionism thing because I feel that the impressionistic aspects of say a Tarkovsky film, Malick film and flippflappers feel superior to me over expressionistic style because its more emotionally satisfying while ALSO being athmospheric, Whereas expressinistic visuals are ONLY atmospheric.
Kaiser Eoghan
@Mario: Flippflappers has now reached a level where I feel the impressionism has gone beyond simply visual immersive in a way that makes us part of its world and has become more emotional.
Kaiser Eoghan
@Mario: You mention impressionism in your review of flipflappers, in general do you feel on a visual level you respond more strongly to expressionism or impressionism?
SuperMario
I watched the whole thing so I know that in this episode, except the time they're giving rings to each other (in the name of "good luck charm") and Victor somewhat pump Yuri up for the Gold medal by Not Denying it; they still haven't admitted anything.
AidanAK47
Oh I think I see it now. Yeah this is nothing mate. The conversation was about skating from begining to end and Victor mentioned that he wasn't the only one to get his "L words" from Yuri. Pretty clear he means how Yuri helped Yurio awaken a love for Skating. Romantic love doesn't really make sense within the context. But yeah, they admitted nothing.
AidanAK47
Quite frankly if they don't have the balls to admit they are gay by this point they are just not going to.
AidanAK47
Time stamp means the point in the episode he actually said it. Like 18 minutes 20 seconds in or something. You should be able to get one. But maybe you can't find it either. Only thing I found Was about yuri teaching victor through his life and love but that's ambiguous enough to refer to his love for skating.
Masky
So wait, is that same anon repeating himself or two different anons where second one copy pasted part of first one's post
Anonymous528870
They literally admitted a love triangle between the three main characters. You're in denial.
Anonymous528815
Are you kidding? This episode they outright admitted a love triangle between the three main characters. You're in denial.
AidanAK47
I actually was going to admit that I was wrong when I heard about the "Kiss" and gladly do so. But when I watched the scene in question it's clear what I said is still correct. They will dance around it, sure. But never outright confirm it.
AidanAK47
@Anon, discussed this before when the "Kiss" happened. Despite the series hinting it, and hinting it hard, it still hasn't outright confirmed it. While I am sure it is head canon to the watchers, the series itself is just queer baiting.
SuperMario
Okay... Just watched this week's Yuri on Ice. Haha things got weird again... and they so nailed Barcelona here, I recognized most of the places.
SuperMario
@anon527634: actually about that, I am a bit let down that after that "supposed kiss" in episode 7, no one in the series mentioned it again. Just like that "kiss" never happened.
Anonymous527534
So when is Aidan going to publicly admit he was wrong about the Yuri romance?
SuperMario
I'm also planning to catch BBK/BRK before the year end soon. I'm also find that series entertaining despite its obvious flaws
Kaiser Eoghan
But come to think of it, I do know what its like to enjoy something admittedly flawed, the first season of utawerumono was like that for me, I have nothing but criticism of it in all aspects but yet ended up being one of those things I somehow enjoyed watching.
AidanAK47
I wonder if anyone here is still watching Bubuki Buranki? It's weird but despite how deeply flawed it is I find it fairly enjoyable. Though that fantastic soundtrack certainly helps.
AidanAK47
@Anon, Oh they announced a Sonic movie too. Apparently it's a mix of live action and animation.
Anonymous525559
I am suprised SEGA didn't announce an Sonic movie and went with games like Altered Beast and Crazy Taxi, they probably could have just ripped off one story from the Archie Sonic comics and make an movie based on that, preferably the story where Sonic travels in the multiverse to fight an super powerful Sigma alongside Classic Megaman and Megaman X,Steet Fighter cast,Breath of Fire 3 cast and more
AidanAK47
@Anon, A parody Grindhouse film actually could work. I consider Overkill the best of House of the dead. Thing is there actually is already a house of the dead movie so this would be their second attempt. The first attempt...lets just say it didn't work out.
Anonymous523336
And House Of The Dead: Overkill is probably the best game in the franchise to adapt, i mean, it has Isaac Washington in it and dude's awesome.
Anonymous523336
None of those games have much of a story, but at least House Of The Dead could make for an entertaining silly movie, i mean House Of The Dead: Overkill is freaking awesome and has silly cutscenes at the start and end of every level.
Kaiser Eoghan
Archer I simply lost track of and it ended up getting to long to catch up on it.
Kaiser Eoghan
Relatively old news, although I've been joking with friends about what if scenarios for a streets of rage film. I know there is a cg/live action hybrid sonic film in the works. I kind of want to think a shinobi or streets of rage film could work if they went full on 70s style action film.
AidanAK47
None of these games are played for the story. You would be better off just making a new game for them instead of a movie.
AidanAK47
I haven't even seen Archer. On another note SEGA is planning a bunch of live action movies of their franchises and boy do they all sound like a horrible idea. Shinobi, Golden Axe, Virtua Fighter, The House of the Dead, Crazy Taxi, Streets of rage and Altered Beast.
SuperMario
@Anon522497: hmm, I found Moonbeam City underwhelmed and for Archer up until their last season I actually got a bit tired of the cast (couldn't finish that season 7)
Anonymous522497
If i wanted Archer i would just watch Archer or Moonbeam City like everyone else.
Kaiser Eoghan
@Mario: That'd be the compiliation film. I watched that based on hearing that the film version trimmed back on the shows weaker moments.
SuperMario
@Kaiser: was it the compilation film or the series itself? That scene is the highlight of that first season. I'm always a fan of KyoAni so it's very natural that I enjoy this series a whole lot.
Kaiser Eoghan
I watched the first season of sound euphonium, not much to say for it other than I liked the teacher guy and the scene where the black haired girl tells the main character that she thinks shes hiding behind a mask. Animation was as expected of kyoani good. All of those emotion shots though and some of the melodrama...
Lenlo
Looks like an Epee. The large bell guard, the fact that they are focusing on thrusting attacks instead of slashing (mostly). Fencing is alot of fun. Be prepared for some bruises though, as some people put their full body weight behind their thrusts.
SuperMario
@Lenlo: the more you described the more I found fencing interesting. I might take a look around my town to see if we have Fencing here (the curse of living in a small town).
Lenlo
Blades are slightly different, yes, but mostly just in their guard and how much they bend. Sabers bend easily, Epee's not so much. Surprisingly Epee is the slowest, because people tend to be more careful. Saber is actually the most aggressive of the blades, atleast at my skill level
AidanAK47
That's all they had to do. Just stay inside and let it pass. But for some weird reason they just keep panicking over nothing.As far as time/alternate world stuff goes this was ridiculously underwhelming. Just finished another movie called triangle and now that's how you do Time travel mindfuckery.
AidanAK47
@Mario, I am not fond of movies where people make stupid decisions for no good reason. For example:"We should just stay inside""No, staying inside isn't realistic"WHY IN THE HOLY HELL ISN'T IT REALISTIC.
SuperMario
Showed that movie to a bunch of friends last year and I remembered one of the girl just shut off the movie after 15'
SuperMario
@Aidan: too bad. I found Cohenrent really funny and entertaining. Some of their twists are stupid but I was actually invested in much of their characters. Maybe because I always love movies about a bunch of characters in an isolated setting
SuperMario
@Lenlo: sounds like Epee is the most "all-out-attack" and aggressive one. Their blades are different as well I assume?
AidanAK47
Just watched a movie called coherence and man, what a bunch a pseudo-intellectual garbage that was.
Lenlo
For Right of Way, its basically Person A attacks, Person B parries, Person A hits, Person B hits, Person B gets the point because they took right of way with the parry. Saber and Foil both have that, but Epee does not. Epee is simply "Whoever hits the opponent first, doesnt matter where, whole body is target area"
Lenlo
Theres Saber, Foil and Epee. The main difference is this thing called right of way, but there are other smaller ones like how Saber can hit with the edge and Epee is allowed to hit the entire body, instead of just the chest like Foil
SuperMario
For news, Blood Blockade Battlefront getting second season next year. As it was one of my favorite last year I'm really lokking forward to this second season
SuperMario
@Lenlo: that sounds great. From what I know from fencing there are 3 different types of blade right? So what are the differences between them? (Fencing 101 here)
Kaiser Eoghan
Although a fantasy sports thing could also generate interest, such as combining sports together to create something totally new.
Lenlo
@SuperMario, Fencing was great. Favorite sport ever and it helped me stay in shape in College. I find Epee to be the best blade, mostly cause I fenced it, but its a very intense 3 minutes. Unlike sports like Soccer and such which is alot of sustained running, Fencing is 3 minutes of Dont-Stop-Moving then wait till next match. Gets really fun once you figure out your own style.
SuperMario
haha, I wouldn't mind either if each episode focus on a single sport/ character/ country. Or even the positive aspects like role models, sports inspirations and stuffs
Kaiser Eoghan
And it would be a good excuse to have characters of multiple backgrounds included too.
Kaiser Eoghan
Could be an 13 episode ova series with 48 minute episodes, and if its to be an ensemble character drama you could have 10 minutes to a each character (the ones being focused on in that episode) in each episode.
Kaiser Eoghan
Ah yes, aswell as cheating it could also get into "stage parenting", "abuse", "Disabilities" and also the general politics of sports, the backroom stuff.
SuperMario
I'll be the first in line if that olympic anime ever come out. Could be interesting to see the interactions between athletes in different sports, and then fans/athletes/coaches relationship, then the gold rush, doping... So much to talk around to
Kaiser Eoghan
I don't think theres ever been a manga about hurling either. Hey heres an idea, someone do an ensemble drama anime that deals with the olympics, fit in multiple sports that way.
SuperMario
Personally I find Australian football much more exciting than rugby. Or crickets.
SuperMario
@Kaiser: ha! Interesting that you mentioned Gaelic football, because in Aus we have AFL (Australian Football League), that really similars to Gealic Football to the point sometimes we have the 2 national teams compete each other with modified rules
SuperMario
Hey, fencing is actually really cool. How did you like it Lenlo?
SuperMario
You have your point there Topgavin, as I clearly remember many instances where players' legs, backs or even necks got snapped during rugby's tackles. But in regards to Rugby I never really care about it. That and car racing
Lenlo
Its mostly the type of injuries you get that differ I think. Football you get concussions and broken bones and such, while in Rugby you probably get alot of bruises and cuts. Granted I have played neither, I was a Soccer man in highschool and fencing in College
Lenlo
American football has alot of rules, and really is just a bunch of millionaires running around chasing a ball. Rugby however, as Topgavin said, has no pads so when you get hit you get hit HARD
AidanAK47
I never ceases to surprise me just how high and mighty visual novel fans can be over Mosaics present in localized games. I mean they are literally complaining about not seeing genitalia yet the way they phrase it, it's like they are fighting against great injustice. If these VNs were Nukige they might have a point but in most cases the sex scenes in question are pointless and shoehorned in.
Topgavin
@Mario Rugby is more extreme *because* it has no protective gear. No hiding behind helmets and cushioned shoulder pads when ya get bowled over.
SuperMario
@Lenlo: I'm no expert but isn't American football a variation of Rugby? And I believe american football is more extreme, considering they have to wear helmets, protection gears and all that
Lenlo
I dont think theres alot of manga about it because its simply not that popular outside the US. As far as it being a battlefield, eeeeh? Not really? You want a battlefield watch Rugby.
SuperMario
I can think of other cool sports that could be interesting to see in anime: Kick Volleyball (Sepak takraw), Bossaball (combined soccer, volleyball in a trampoline), or in the same vein of skate figures this season, why not pole dancing competition???
Anonymous504493
What other sport is cool and popular that remains original to write about by now? There isn't a lot of manga about it compared to anything else.
Anonymous504493
American football looks like a battlefield with a visible battleline and everything. Id like it if there wasnt so many darn commercials.
Lenlo
I mean, its a sport. Far cry from best, but its definitely a sport.
SuperMario
@Vonter: or maybe because american football IS the best sports ever?
Kaiser Eoghan
@Vonter: Most likely due to the middle section of the original anime being the most popular bit.
Kaiser Eoghan
@Mario: Its not safe enough a film for me to properly recommend. Even to exploitation fans, they might find it too slow others would be too sensitive to it. Really una vita violenca, mamma roma, accatone, hawks and sparrows are what Pasolini is really about.
SuperMario
Now that you watched Salo, would you recommend the film to other people? I personally think it's a masterpiece but it's one of the title that I think people would break up with me if I show them this movie
SuperMario
@Kaiser: even him as a director, both Braveheart and Apocalypto don't do much to me, will see if Hacksaw Ridge going to change my mind (but I'm not to fond with war movies in general). La Notte is in my sooon-to-watch list for years, haha
Kaiser Eoghan
@Mario: Thats why I prefer the neo-realist/quasi-neo-realism stuff as it deals with the worse off in society. But Antonioni was the master of being able to do films about angsty well-off people, L'aventura, the passenger and La notte for example
Kaiser Eoghan
@Mario: Its not so much that I dislike post 50s fellini moreso I feel that his throw everything at the screen and hope what sticks method can be hit or miss.
SuperMario
While I don't really mind his later stuffs because he was masterclass, I have a pretty hard time for Paolo Sorrentino's later works. The thing is I don't care much about the high class society so everything is just ridiculously over the top and glamour and I'm tired of it.
SuperMario
I haven't watched nights of cabiria but I did watch La Strada and boy, I was sad for few days after watching it. Fellini mentioned that he was inspired to make this movie when seeing a woman pushing a cart from behind. The film really carry that sense throughout its running
SuperMario
Michael Haneke put Salo in his top 10 films. Quite understandable when you think about it. Still for me one of the movie that affected me deeply.
SuperMario
I really admire Elle for its ability to maintain its sharpness because under other inexperienced directors it could easily becomes a mess. Mel Gibson, really? He's one of the few actors that I absolutely dislike
SuperMario
@Kaiser: The Red Turtle remains one of the the most refreshing time I had this year in cinema, but then again I haven't watched much films lately. Agree with you on Sonia's performance, and I still think they could cut out the first 20' of the film because it feels out of place compare to the rest of the film
Kaiser Eoghan
Debating whether to bother catching up on I am a hero or watching the film adaptation. I haven't read it since they got rid of that one female character.
Kaiser Eoghan
@Mario: I've a feeling you'll like nights of cabiria, Fellini was cranking out some solidly effective social-realist dramas in the 50s before he fell into self-indulgence.
Kaiser Eoghan
Now I have that sound euphonium compilation film downloaded, I should get to that sometime.
Kaiser Eoghan
@Mario: I also finally watched Salo, I ended up meeting it pretty much halfway. Some parts still retain the ability to effect a modern viewer, having seen his other works though its crazy just how different Salo is to them.
Kaiser Eoghan
@Mario: Seeing I, daniel Blake tomorrow and rogue one in a few weeks.
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tomekkorbak/pile-curse-small
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Pile-CC
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[Sarcomas of the vulva. Report of 2 cases].
We report two cases of vulvar sarcomas that are our Institutional experience in 29 years. The first case was a teenager of 14 years-old with a low grade leiomyosarcoma surgically treated. Along a 22 years follow-up the disease has had four local recurrences of more than 5 cm each one: two after surgery and two after surgery plus chemotherapy and surgery plus radiotherapy respectively. She is alive disease evidence after two years from the last combined treatment. The second one, was a 26 years-old patient with a malignant schwannoma of 12 cm in diameter treated with combined radical surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy. She is alive and without disease evidence 52 months after surgery. We emphasized that these tumors are very rare and the fact that the first patient is the youngest and with more years of follow up according the bibliography consulted. Treatment of vulvar sarcomas is radical local excision followed mainly by radiotherapy with infiltrating margins. The value of postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy is uncertain. According to the natural history and behavior of vulvar sarcomas, we conclude that the elective treatment of these tumors should be carry out in institutions of high level.
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tomekkorbak/pile-curse-small
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PubMed Abstracts
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