#disclaimer: all advice filtered through my lived experience

[foldingfittedsheets]

Hi! I'm sorry if this is weird, I thought you might be able to give me a piece of advice because of all the things you have gone through that you've written about.

I have a hard time knowing what the right facial expressions and tones of voice are appropriate most times, also it's hard for me to know how much to share or what to answer to certain questions with most people, I kind of manage but I have to face a perilous trial during this coming Christmas time, my partner's parents will be staying with us for the holidays and they kind of hate me already. One time his mother stopped talking to him for months (unless he agreed to break up with me) because she felt my smile and tone of voice were offensive towards her, since then I tried to be as plain as possible in their presence, I keep a straight face unless strictly required to smile, I answer short phrases to their questions, pretend I don't have opinions about anything nor interests they can critique. This has worked fine, they prefer it when it seems like I'm not even there, the problem is they'll be in my home, with all my trinkets and stuff that shows what I like and what I spend my time on, they also love to touch other's stuff without permission snd it bothers me greatly.

I wonder how you would approach this situation, and any advice if you have some, sorry for the long rant 😞

Well first off, not sure how I’d find myself in this scenario. Your partner is putting you in a shitty position by bringing people into your bubble who are actively hostile to you. I’d have pushed for them to stay in a hotel, because I’m incredibly territorial. I hate people in my space that I’m not on good terms with.

Try to move your favorite things off display if you think it’s going to distress you if they get handled. My move in this scenario is chilliness. I have no interest in fully modifying my behavior because someone chose to interpret me in bad faith. I’d simply shut down and offer no niceties.

If your partner is agreeing that you should modify your behavior to pacify his mom he’s being a shitty partner.

If he’s not saying that and you’re taking it upon yourself, knock it off. She won’t respect you more for it, and it’s gonna erode your self worth.

There are some people who aren’t going to like you but catering to a demand like “smile less” and “change your vibe” is well beyond a social nicety that anyone should expect.

As someone with a mom who is A Lot and who hated my ex I absolutely never would have expected my ex to handle that. I set down ground rules with my mom about her behavior and basically insisted that if my mom were rude we would nope out of the situation.

[greyeyedmonster-18]

Hey Dr. Grey. Do you have any tips for coping with anxiety in fandom spaces please? I would really value your advice.

oh, hello, anon.

i am...going to respond to this but i am first going to say its felt like the past few days my asks have gotten a bit nosy in regards to my...personal boundaries with fandom/who i talk to in fandom/why i do, why i don't etc etc etc etc. and that is fine, but will respond in a way that maybe is perceived to be more on the rude side. i am likely to be way more personable in DM's and asks i can respond privately to. this admittedly feels like its fishing for information and i'm not sure why? but, we shall respond.

--i don't know what...part of the fandom is bringing you anxiety, sweet anon, and i am sorry it is. fandom should be fun. i repeat, fandom should be fun. but sometimes it just straight up isn't, and im sorry. i'm...going to address this generically? because i honestly need more information about...the anxiety source to provide any sort of tips.

i am also going to be disclaimer this as: i'm generally not a person who gives to fucks what other people think of me. like if someone wants to talk? okay, have a nice day, so glad i gave you something to talk about. and i care....very little what a group of internet strangers, who are just here to read about gay wizards, think about me based on what i post. but here are...some tips that i use for having a better...online experience?

uhm...first tip is curate your experience. if there are people here causing you stress and anxiety (it might be people you follow, people who don't follow but see on your dash, certain ships, certain groups? idk) filtering and blocking. im very liberal with the block button, and i have no qualms about it. if someone is stressing you out/making you anxious and you're not sure why-- block them. if someone cares that i have blocked them, i have never gotten feedback about it so uh...i think people can move on, ya know?

*the rest is below the cut to avoid dash spam

second, "people aren't thinking about you the way that you're thinking about you"-- so here's the deal. im not going to sit here and be like "yah fandoms don't talk shit about other people in the fandom!" because that would be a lie.

we absolutely do. in our own separate little discord servers, but the thing is its usually about fandoms that don't...interact. example: i talk shit about the Pro-Snape fandom all the time! I don't get them! Ship and Let Ship but also what the fuck was hot snape summer. (and im not going into their asks and their pages, and being like WHAT THE FUCK), i am just ???? in my own little crew. and they're probably over in their crew being like "have you seen Grey's page, they don't even write snape ever." and its HORRIFYNG to them, but like....whatever? I don't care what they think.

but, people aren't thinking about you and your works and your blog the way that you're thinking about it. another wolfstar writer or page is someone we cheer on. we're all too wrapped up in our own unfinished WIP'S and silly little headcanons and lives to be concerned with what someone else is doing. if someone is shitting on my wolfstar or moonchaser or whatever in their own private little servers, good for them. again, so glad i gave them something to bond over! i'm building community through hate and i love that! but i love my wolfstar. and my 11 friends do too (or if they hate it, they're not telling me to my face, which is alright by me). that's all i can care about.

third, i love a good boundary. i really and truly do. and i know there is a pressure on tumblr and in the fandom communities to be like WARM AND INVITING AND CHATTING WITH EVERYBODY AND GETTING TO KNOW EVERYBODY all the time, but like...that's fake. you don't have to do it, if you don't want to! have two friends, have 8000 friends, whatever you want. if the people and the pressure and the NOISE is whats bringing you anxiety....tone it down.

you don't have to talk to everyone. you don't have to update every week. you don't have to respond to all your comments. you don't have to write a novel in the authors notes. you literally don't have to do anything you don't want to do. it is your space. you make your home however you want to make it. fandom is supposed to be fun.

make it fun again anon.

(also, i will reiterate that if you DM me, I will not bite. and can respond to this more appropriately.)

[my-rufus69-blog]

Shrewd Tips For Finding a Lawyer

On a very basic level all that we do is influenced by laws. There are such incredible scale of laws that it would take a person with an ordinary taking a gander at penchant over a thousand years just to research the law book. Likewise as we don't have whatever else to do with our lives regardless read laws. So what do we do when a real condition makes? Do we handle it ourselves or do we consider an authentic consultant who's been set up in the genuine field? For express people, calling a genuine guide may be upsetting. Every so often they likely won't know whether they need an authentic knowledge or how to attempt to pick one, so they may abandon appearing at a legitimate teacher regardless, when it is to their most basic bit of space to do considering. In any case, outright your work under the careful look of you enroll an authentic marketing expert for yourself or possibly your business. Precisely when you are constrained with affirmed real or clinical issues, you dismissing everything need to make a not all that awful, prepared decision about who will address you. In like way, it shouldn't be as hard or as costly as you may might set out to find a regular legitimate guide. Given underneath are some smart tips that can expel the weight from finding a lawful instructor Douglas Hand .

Would I have the decision to address myself?

You hold the great circumstance to address yourself. In any case, the law is staggeringly dazzling and changes as a rule as could be basic considering the current circumstance. In any case, on the off chance that you submit 100% of your time into setting yourself up with the aggregate of the laws and genuine strategy appropriate to your case, you stand a not too horrible possibility of losing. You may maybe dismiss a genuine point of view affecting your case that may a touch of the time bring unanticipated legitimate outcomes that can be perilous and rich to fix. In this manner, you need to evaluate the risks and central explanations behind looking out for yourself as opposed to utilizing an authentic instructor to address your case.

When do I contact a genuine counsel?

Absolutely when gone looking with an issue that you think it needs genuine thought, you may wish to visit with a lawful supporter about your valid rights and commitments as enthusiastic as time licenses. Various states have cutoff times for recording claims especially for single injuries. These predefined "lawful time limit" laws are proposed to ask people to quickly approach and present their case. Regardless, this doesn't assume that you have to starting late pick the central real instructor you find since you're in a flood, as you will get from these tips.

In what limit may I pick the "right" genuine supporter for me?

From an individual perspective, picking an authentic supporter is incessantly an individual issue. Notwithstanding, what's more with any force sorts out, the authentic educator is on an essential level giving his/her help of his/her client. Thusly, the legitimate guide client relationship needs be made on trust and direct correspondence so the genuine supporter could give the best of his/her association. It requires a typical obligation from both the client and the asserted control. If the client isn't taking an interest absolutely, the genuine authority couldn't give the best of his/her association. At the same time, if the authentic guide isn't sufficiently open and brief in responding to your calls, messages, and requests, you will get just dissatisfaction. Thusly, while picking the "right" credible instructor for your case you need to feel 100% sensational while bantering with that certified professional and have a sentiment of security with their abilities. If there's even a lone powerlessness, you need to keep looking. Your case is too major to even consider evening consider evening consider evening consider evening consider evening consider entrusting to someone who doesn't blend your statement.

From a power perspective, people a fundamental piece of the time see that on a basic level any lawful expert could manage any case. This defective conviction a wonderful bit of the time attempts to the client's attack. No certified expert is prepared in each region of the law. In this manner, to find the "right" legitimate instructor for your case you need not to be obliged about asking your unavoidable certifiable supporter requests until you increment full trust in their ability. At exactly that point would you select that veritable reprimand. Considering, while simultaneously keeping an eye on the referencing, you'll have the choice to watch the genuine expert's responsiveness and status to support you. Obviously the most principal gives you need to position to your filtered through genuine counsel while encountering the verification system are:

- What level of experience do you have around there of the law (the area of your legitimate need)?

- Will you or one of your partners handle my case? - if an associate handles your case, that is the individual you need to meet.

- what number cases like mine have you managed? - demand focal obsessions for the whole of the cases.

- Could you give me references from a couple or the total of the cases? - guarantee you call the aggregate of the clients to discover a few blueprints concerning their experience.

A solid and a cautious legitimate teacher would have no issues setting you up responses. In case the certifiable guide is giving you shirkings for the aggregate of the referencing and not offering you unequivocal responses, you need to keep looking. Likewise, reliably check with your State Bar Association if that lawful advisor has been the subject of an ethical capability or referencing.

Where do I find a certifiable guidance?

Regardless of where you look for a genuine advisor, consistently survey the above tip for picking the favorable position real instructor for you. By some happenstance, here are a few spots to look for a certified bearing:

- Yellow Pages and Advertisements - When you open your close to business list doesn't it seem like the specialists and the genuine advice spread the half of the book with kinds of progress? It about looks just as they're the key ones having the money for full scale improvement pages. Talking about turns of events, adjacent to on the off chance that you have an appearing/bargains data and experience, you would never recognize how notice work. The types of progress are made to intellectually trigger your blasting resources and cause you to respond to the call of improvement of the headway. It's its own stand-isolated report. Considering, you as a standard purchaser would don't understand which business is telling the truth and which has reality made a monstrous game-plan about. In any case, this is a bewildering spot to at any rate get two or three names and phone numbers from neighborhood genuine instructors and start your solicitation system.

- Your Society Circle - Your family, frill, people you work with, people you trade with, people you consider ... start making a couple referencing. This is one of your most strong sources. You will get a chance to get the vivacious appreciation. Someone who has been in a family member or an out of a general sense undefined condition could illuminate you concerning their experience (supported or premonition) with their real guide. If their experience has been beginning late adequate, you have a dash of your work done. Additionally, whether or not no one in your general masses circle could propose you to an ensured manage, they may consider someone else from their general people circle who may have been in a vague condition. Direct as can be the most strong referrals start from people you trust - unequivocal business visionaries, friends and family - who have used genuine partners starting late. Obliging trade from a satisfied customer everything considered is extremely reliable.

- Bar Associations - This is another strong source. Your close to real guide bar affiliation may keep up a legal supporter referral coalition, which is a brilliant diagram of their family by perceiving quality who will visit with you constantly or at a striking rate set by the bar relationship for the key party. The Bar Association could in addition uncover to you whether a genuine instructor has been a subject of an ethical test or courses of action from past clients.

- The Internet - Indeed the Internet. Regardless, this is your least strong source since everything could be put on the 'net. In any case, much proportionate to with sees, you could use the Internet to in any occasion get you a savvy study of close to genuine promoters practicing in your pestering space so you could start the decision method. On the Internet, search for genuine educator records, for instance, Martindale.com; real supporter referral relationship, for instance, LegalMatch.com; people/business finding relationship, for instance, Anywho.com; and essentially your kept up web crawler.

Disclaimer: The essayist and distributer of this article have contributed a valiant centrality to give you beast, illuminating and mindful information. This article doesn't address nor annul the genuine heading you need to get from a valid guide, or other ace if the substance of the article concretes an issue you are confronting. Laws move from state-to-state and change at times. Persistently talk with a confirmed fit before picking any decisions about the issues plot in this article. Much gratefulness to you.

[casadekeith]

I've had these thoughts going for a while, and I finally decided to put them to paper. Or, digital paper. You know. Typing. Voltron shipping is difficult to discuss for a lot of reasons (fear of harassment, doxxing, death threats, you name it). But I'm going to talk about something that's been on my mind a lot.

Something that gets my skin crawling is when people supplement ATLA names for things in VLD, aka "space Sokka" or "alien Ty Lee". It's something that legitimately bothers me as a creator, that folks will only forever see this staff for creating one successful IP. I don't do it often with TV, where it's more prevalent in children's shows (Butch Hartman, anyone?), and I try to do it less often with film (though directors do tend to have their own aesthetic and narrative style that carry from film to film). 

One thing I will say that is the same though? The ship wars. The ship wars from ATLA and Korra are not actually all that different from the ship wars in Voltron, and I'll discuss my experiences with both.

Oh, you. You thought this would be like a fake essay meme? Nah.

To start with, let's get some actual facts out of the way.

Joaquim dos Santos was a storyboardist for ATLA's season 2, and director on season 3. Lauren Montgomery also came on as a storyboardist during season 3. For the Legend of Korra, its sequel series, Joaquim returned as a director and Lauren returned as storyboardist and supervising producer.

Legend of Korra was animated as a collaborative part between Nickelodeon animation; Studio Mir, a studio in Korea; and Studio Pierrot, a studio in Japan (fun note: Korra is Studio Pierrot's only outsourced animation credit! Otherwise they seem to function strictly for Japanese animation and have done some of my favorite works).

Joaquim, Lauren, and Studio Mir (and some staff, Ki Hyun Ryu for example) stepped up and wanted to do an updated Voltron adaptation/remake. They've been successfully partnered with DreamWorks and Netflix starting production in 2014 to its successful 6th season to date (summer 2018, for potential future readers).

"What does all this have to do with ship wars?"

Well... Kind of everything, to be perfectly honest.

My experience with ATLA came a little late. When it started airing in 2005, I was already in my second semester of college. I was just-turned-17, a theatre major (for my scholarship), having to take at least 32 credits to keep my grant, and working part time while also being an art student. (Advice: Don't do that to yourself. Make better, healthier choices than I did.) So I didn't get much free time to sit and watch tv. I think of that first season, I saw maybe 5 episodes. I did manage to catch the first episode when it aired, and enjoyed it! I didn't catch much of season 2 at all ("Secret Tunnel" was the only episode that I can remember of that season I caught). By the time season 3 was airing, I'd already left college and had made the first of many cross-country moves by myself. And while I didn't have cable TV where I was, I had the internet. And I had a lot of friends who lived and breathed ATLA, and subsequently its shipping culture.

I wasn't new to shipping then (come talk to me about how riled I get with the Magic Knight Rayearth anime or Sailor Moon sometime), but the level of passion in the ATLA shipping culture threw me back a bit. LiveJournal and AIM chatrooms were the place to be at that time, and I saw so much hate thrown back and forth between two specific ships: Aang/Katara and Zuko/Katara. I saw arguments, I saw some mild hate campaigns, I saw harrassment, I saw pedophilia accusations toward Aang/Katara shippers, I saw accusations that fans were "baited" for Zuko/Katara by the production staff.

This type of thing kept me from ever watching ATLA until several years later on my own when a lot of it died down. And looking at it from an older, more critical eye? It was clear to me from episode one that Aang/Katara was going to be the ship if romance were to happen. I honestly to this day don't give much care for any ships in ALTA (except Sokka/Suki those sweet summer kids), but by film language alone, I could tell. "How, Jack? How could you tell from episode one?" Because it's a very common thing in both film and television (and now video games as it progresses more into a serious storytelling medium) to have a soft lingering shot of a character's face from another's POV.

Namely, these two specific shots:

Katara being the first person Aang sees when he's rescued from the ice and wakes up. That shot alone pretty much told me "oh if there's romance, it'll be these two". I'm begging you, go back and watch some of your favorite long-series romance and pick out when this happens to any canon couple. It's very common! Film studies, it's fun, and I highly encourage folks to get into it.

So what does this have to do with VLD?

Besides some of the same staff, a lot of people have gone into VLD expecting it to be another ATLA or Korra. They came in with expectations, some that are just not being met anymore. Not much has actually changed since ATLA ship wars: I still see harassment, death threats, accusations of pedophilia. The only thing that has changed is our means of communication and how shippers put it to use, and the climate of the internet itself.

While folks on the internet have always rallied for social change, in recent years it's become more and more prevalent. The only way to safely consume a media is to make sure it has no problematic elements whatsoever, otherwise you're a hypocrite. The only safe way to be a fan of a celebrity is to make sure they've never said anything that can be construed as problematic, or you're a hypocrite who stands for the very things they believe is an issue. Nowadays, with the rise of internet being weighed down with the struggles of real life people all over the world, actions certain governments are taking that make everything seem bleak, a lot of younger folks feel the need to couch their fandom experience in purity politics. If they aren't consuming the purest media, then they're as bad as oppressors (nevermind which oppressors, or what their own personal life experience is or isn't).

What I'm saying is: the reactions, harassment, threats, the salt channels, and overall arguments of shipping for VLD are the same as they were for ATLA. The difference is how it's presented. With ATLA, it was fan entitlement through and through, interpreting some scenes to mean something, then upset when it doesn't pan out the way they had predicted. With VLD, it's still the same fan entitlement and unhappy shouting when the show doesn't follow expectations, but now with the pretense of morality.

One other factor that's changed over the years is the public connection between studio staff and fans. Before, it was maybe possible to see or speak with staff at a convention or press meeting, but you would otherwise send fanmail to the studio. Nowadays, everyone's plugged right into most social media networks together with no one to filter harassment before it gets to the staff's eyes. With that ability, the rise of attendance in large conventions, and the animation industry having more information available about its process and upcoming seasons, fan entitlement has only grown and a lot of the more vocal fans feel the series is theirs rather than a story someone is sharing with them in a visual medium.  

The reasons behind ship wars 10 years ago are the same as they are now, just dressed up in a new outfit in an attempt to be more legitimate than "I don't like that ship".

What I'm getting at ultimately is this: your ship hate isn't new, dressing it up as morality isn't profound, and literally nothing excuses harassment or death threats sent to other fans or production staff. Thanks for coming to my ted talk from an older fandom person's perspective.

*Disclaimer: In no way am I saying someone is or isn’t allowed to ship a thing. Ship it! Ship what you want! Just don’t be an asshole about it to other people, y’know? 

[bluehairmisfit]

Okay so I've looked at this. Talked this out. Looked up what a parasocial relationship is. And I have some thoughts.

Disclaimer: I don't watch DSMP streams, I know a little bit of it (including wtf heat waves even means) thanks to the people in my circles but I don't give two shits about it. I also don't exactly give two shits about RPF. I'm pretty neutral on all of what these people are talking about.

With that in mind, I have some thoughts.

If taking people's lived experiences away from them and fictionalizing them to any degree is dehumanization, we, as the human race, have an issue, because we do it all the time. One major thing covered in college philosophy and communications, both (introduction level) is that our knowledge of the world, ourselves, and those around us are all based in perception. We take in cues and filter them, through some weird process, and figure out what everything is. We never know someone's lived experience, and if my friend is, say, a closeted bisexual, and they're not out to me, and I say, "oh, [friend] is straight", am I taking away their lived experience as a bisexual person? Does it only matter if I know? What if I lie to keep them closeted?

Anxious people, people with trauma, etc., come up with fictionalized events all the time. A mere month ago a friend of mine ranted about someone in their life not replying well to their rants. I had just done the same a few days ago and assumed they were talking about me, only to find out they weren't. Is that still dehumanization?

What about the common writing advice, to watch how people act in malls and stores, and use those behaviors, "characters", etc., to write stories? You are taking real people you barely know, have never met, and have only seen through your filter and their masks, and then you're writing fictionalized versions of their lives.

People need to stay healthy about it and make sure they're not becoming obsessive or playing God (oh, and by the way, your social relationships with higher powers are also defined as parasocial). I agree people need to be healthy about it. But seeing as any well-written, realistic fiction is based on actual humans, whether as individuals or amalgamations, technically all fiction, and a lot of nonfiction is some form of real-person fiction.

When people write about historical figures in biographies, they learn about them in detail and often use some combination of their knowledge and experience to fill in the blanks. One good example, while I do not trust it as an accurate account of the person covered, is Charles Cross's biography of Kurt Cobain; much of it was based off of secondhand knowledge of Kurt and Kurt's life events, and I've read and watched interviews in which people who weren't contacted by Cross, but were friends of Kurt's say the events weren't true or wouldn't have fit with what they knew of their friend.

Long story short, I definitely agree that it can be unhealthy, but I reblogged this initially so I could read it later with more focus and a critical mind and now I'd like to know, where are the lines? Is it only not okay to fictionalize real people if you really like or dislike the person, or?

Genuinely, I'm asking, where are the lines.

hey

[han5o]

The trip that changed my life

I’ve been getting so many messages from people asking me how I went about my travels to Los Angeles/ NYC, how I could afford it, how I went to the events I did and most importantly how I made such extraordinary friends. 

Firstly, going to NYC has been a dream since I was about 12, it’s all I would go on about in school and it was always my number one dream location. With a bunch of research, and as I grew older, I realised Los Angeles might be more of a match for me and for my field of work. So I decided in January 2017 that I was going to to to LA for one month in the summer. (I worked full time at Timberland as a supervisor, so this is how I saved up money to go).My job was okay but standing in the most quiet store in town barely serving any customers for 8 hours was the most draining thing ever. But totally worth it. My two best friends actually came a long with me on this trip for a little holiday and because they wanted to support me. (best friends in the world, thank you Pryia and Serena). I spent the first week being a tourist, I knew absolutely no one there. Even prior to this I would message girls on Instagram to hang out, but I’d either get ignored, or plans would fall through. So I came to LA literally knowing no one. Funnily enough, when you’re in a place like Los Angeles and you’re foreign - it’s so easy to make friends. People can kind of sense you’re not from here so conversation comes easy. 

I started out renting air b&bs. When I was finally on my own, I had an air b&b in Culver City... stupidest place for me to get an air b&b but I had no idea what Culver City was. One of my closest friends from London was in LA and we went for dinner a night before he left. Through this, I met one of my closest friends from Los Angeles who was a model (Sarah) - so OBVIOUSLY I asked if I could shoot her and we exchanged numbers. Rule number one, don't be afraid to socialise and talk to people and actually listen. I’ve met so many people who really force networking and go straight in with ‘what do you do’ and all this crap. I find that so unbelievably demeaning seen as we’re all human beings and work isn't the only thing that makes us important. Really get to know someone and ask them how they’re doing, before asking them what they do for a living and how they did it.   

After meeting Sarah and agreeing to shooting, I started messaging girls on Instagram and telling them that I’m in Los Angeles and I’m ready to shoot. My messages were really laid back and polite, I don't like to make models feel like they're being forced to work with me. I always state ‘ if they’re free’ or ‘if they're up for it’ that I’d like to ‘hang out’ and make some ‘art’! Lmao. Shooting for me is really time for me to get to know someone and to just hang out and have some fun. I hate making it seem like a meeting or a time slot of 2 hours etc. So my beautiful beautiful Tiarra was probably the only girl to message me back and  shoot with me that week. She was the first girl I shot in Los Angeles and it was truly the best. If any photographers are reading this, the sunlight you get from Los Angeles is the most magical thing. I’d never ever had sun like this in London when I started shooting so it was literally like a movie when I’d shoot outside. 

So to cut the story short, I started shooting more girls after that. After you post a set of photos from Los Angeles and they're GOOD. People start to notice you more. Logically, Tiarra posted the photos, so more girls would follow me and message me and enquire shooting. So it all went up from there, I guess. Los Angeles is a massive city, but everyone in the industry knows of eachorther. So once you shoot with one or two girls, you can just go up from there. 

I went to shoot Sarah from the first meal, and through this I met two photographers on that day and we all went for dinner as a group. I was still living in my Culver City air b&b but I had already decided that I wanted to extend my stay... The sun in Los Angeles is so captivating and you truly feel like you’re living a dream every single day you’re there. I didn't want to come home at all. Me and Sarah started hanging out every single day and through this I ended up going to Hollywood Hills parties, I met some people that she knew who became one of my close friends during that trip, and we went to the nicest food places. So yeah, I guess I got really really lucky in finding someone who I now call my best friend and basically taught me a lot about Los Angeles, who to look out for and the best places to go. 

At this point I had made a bunch of friends and I managed to stay with one of them for an extra month, beyond my stay. *disclaimer* this trip would not have been possible without my best friend Alice who works for British Airways. I was on her staff travel so this meant I could extend my trip for free - as long as it was up to 3 months as this is the maximum amount of time you can stay on an ESTA visa. 

I began shooting with so many more girls as they found me on Sarah’s page and Tiarra’s page. Eventually, I realised that I was actually really good at what I do. So I became way more confident in messaging girls that had way more of a following or social ‘status’ in Los Angeles. Cause truly, I’m a brit, so I don't care how many followers you have or the fact you live in Hollywood. I knew my work was good and as soon as I realised it - I started making the best work. Like I said, being foreign really allows you to make friends in a heart beat. Especially being British, haha. Americans love love hearing us talk. It even got to a point where I was at a party and I had a circle around me just listening to me talk. They’re really fascinated by that shit its hilarious. 

I woke up at early hours of the morning, made use of the sun around me, made use of the people around me. The main reason I got all the opportunities I did, was truly because I was REAL. I could spot fake people in Los Angeles so so quickly. Like, I truly got one of those girls that come up to you with the most annoying American accent, talking about themselves and their Instagram and their success, again and again. Like, those people actually exist. You just have to filter them out. Most people you meet in Los Angeles aren't actually form Los Angeles, most of them are really out doing what I’m doing. But just living there permanently because they can.

You sort of need to go into a room of people you don't know, and be remembered. To the point where, when someone says they’ll message you, they actually will. A lot of people just lie to your face and tell you they'll reach out, but they don’t. So don't be upset by it, because every single thing happens for a reason. 

Downtown Los Angeles was where I would stay for the rest of my trip. And at this point I’d met my best friends of the trip. Downtown Los Angeles is basically like a community of friends and family. Everyone knows each other. Everyone's so polite, and everyone has your back. It’s by far one of my favourite areas in Los Angeles and the place that I can now call my home. My closest friends are form there and without them I wouldn't have met all the incredibly people I know now. 

It’s sort of like Dominoes, you meet one or two people, and then you meet a whole bunch of people from different backgrounds and areas. And all you have to do, is be you. No ones afraid to share friends, the people I met wanted me to feel at home and wanted to make sure they introduced me to the right people. As I would witness this, I came up with an idea to then introduce everyone I had met through my trip to each other. All the girls I met up with on Instagram, all the guys, everyone I’d meet at parties or events. I decided to set up a shoot that brought everyone together to hang out and network. Artists met photographers, models met writers, designers met videographers... and so on. This was the least I could give to the people that offered me a home, irreplaceable memories and growth. So again, you have to take matters into your own hands. Be a good person. Give back. And this shoot was so much fun, I had seen all of the people I had met come together and meet each other! Such a beautiful thing to do and I do recommend photographers to do the same thing. 

If I had to talk about every single experience I had, then this would probably be a book. But the best advice I can give to young people in my shoes, is to fucking go out there and get out of your comfort zone. I literally shat myself before I was coming out here. I had so many doubts, I thought I’d be sitting there wanting to come back home because no one would talk to me. I knew of people who went travelling and absolutely hated it, so that was constantly in my head too. But little did I know, I was out there to improve my skills and really confirm my one passion for film and photography. There was no way this trip was going to be a fail with my mindset and my passion for film. The uber drivers in LA bloody become your friend!!! They too have stories and passions, so networking literally comes from every single angle in Los Angeles. 

If you’re holding a camera, someone will ask you where you got it from. If someone likes your top, they'll tell you they love your top. If you look unsure about something, someone will ask you if you're okay. Underneath all the craziness of Hollywood and LA, it truly is the nicest place I’ve been to. 

It was through being my complete self and being aware of other beings that I managed to go to NYC for the weekend and stay with the nicest group of people I had met in LA. NYC was a complete dream and thats definitely for another post. But the principle is the same, you let people know you're going there, and you make time to meet up with new people.

Be polite. Always listen to others - be a pleasure to hang out with. Because thats honestly how I went to the parties I did, why I know the people I do, and why I managed to travel to the places I did. You learn so much more about yourself, especially when you travel alone. This is the one thing I recommend every single person to do. Go somewhere new, on your own. Make new friends. It’s so nerve wrecking at first but then it becomes almost like a hobby. I love love meeting someone new and hearing how someone is feeling other than myself. 

I had planned to go to LA for one month, and I stayed for 3 months. I literally left on the last day I was able to stay hahaha. I ran out of money after one month but luckily I had savings to pull me through. I travelled with mostly uber or my friends car but I then realised how easy it is to use the metro... to literally go anywhere for $1.75!!! So for anyone going to LA soon, just use the metro!!! So so cheap, instead of paying $20-30 to travel to places for twice the time. 

But yeah, to sum up, be yourself and go out of your comfort zone. Don't be afraid to introduce yourself to people and be polite. That’s literally what made my trip for me. Most of it was probably fate, I’d literally meet people and I’d go to a cool ass event that night and see someone famous or someone I’ve been following for a long ass time. Then I’d think to myself, wow, the world works in beautiful ways. At the end of the day, this was a dream I’ve had since before I was a teenager - I’d dreamt about it for years and years. I’ve written about it for years and years. And the fact that I was living it was extraordinary. Like people were obsessed with my work.. my work went from okay to really fucking good. I found my style eventually and most importantly I found myself. I found out who I want to be and the kind of artist I want to be. 

And lastly, I found out that Los Angeles is where I need to be for my early 20′s. It’s definitely not where I want to stay for my whole life, but it’s where I feel my complete self and its where I am the most motivated and productive. 

I won't stop travelling the world and I won't stop making a community at every single city I go to. I’ll always try to make friends and I’ll always listen to others and learn about everyones culture. I want my art to be present in all of my favourite cities, and I know that after each city I go to, I would have found out a fraction more about myself. 

Just book your ticket. Don't even think about it. A change of scenery does wonders for the soul. And even if you don't have that much money, you can definitely blag it. I even did a car boot sale before I left to raise money. Sell shit on eBay, clean some cars, work extra shifts, or get another job. Anything is possible if you put your mind to it.

So here’s to being young, here’s to being in love with my craft and here’s to more travelling in 2018. 

Lots of love,  from your dreamer, Hana

[bryanllamado]

22 Things I Learned by 22

I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling 22! Yes, you read it right. I just celebrated my 22nd birthday so… Happy birthday, self! I’m officially in my early 20s. While there’s so much to look forward to, I know that there is a certain level of pressure that comes with getting older. I know I’m still considerably young, but at this age, society expects young adults to have their lives *figured out* already. So yeah, this is me succumbing to the pressure and pretending to know what to do, where to be, how to act, and when to take risks. *note sarcasm*

I must say it’s really awkward to start this entry with that greeting but there isn’t much that I can do about it. It’s the very reason I’m writing this one. *sighs* A month ago, I was thinking of a fun way to celebrate my birthday. We’re still stuck in quarantine, and even if some establishments are already open, I’d rather be safe than sorry. So, I thought of posting something on this site to sort of celebrate my birthday and share something to the people who might be interested. With that being said, let give you the 22 Things I Learned by 22!

Disclaimer: I am, in no way, an expert to giving tips and pieces of advice, but traversing through adulthood taught me a couple of lessons which I think are worth sharing. I only finished school last year, but my sudden immersion to the “professional world” a.k.a. work life allowed me to go through paradigm shifts I didn’t ever think I would experience. I’d like to say that I also saw the harsh realities of life 2 years into this path I’m currently taking. So my advice to you is to take everything you’re about to read with a grain of salt. *winks*

1.     Health is wealth.

Now that we’re experiencing a global pandemic, I realized how important health is. I used to eat whatever I want (hence, the weight loss and weight gain cycle) and deprive myself of sleep. Now, more than ever, is the time for us to take good care of our bodies. #panggap lol

2.     Work is hard, that’s why it’s called “work”.

My internship is Thailand gave me a glimpse of the life of a teacher (which I thought was fun) and I thought that it’s more or less how it feels in the real world. Not that it isn’t fun, it’s only now that I realized how heavy the responsibility is– that it even extends outside of the classroom.

3.     Small talk is boring.

I’ve always been one to enjoy lengthy, deep, and mind-boggling conversations. It bores me when I meet people and we just engage in small talks. Like come on, let’s talk about music, politics, religion, mental health, adulting, etc. I think it’s the reason why people get tired of the “Kumain ka na ba?” narrative. *face palm*

4.     Social media is not real life.

I used to scroll through social media endlessly to know what everyone is doing, but after a while, I realized how it’s only a reflection of someone’s highlights. A person can look good and perfect on Instagram, but behind the filters and curated feeds are people who deal with problems and struggles on a daily basis.

5.     Happiness is a by-product of purposeful living.

To achieve happiness, you must live purposefully. It’s a matter of motion before emotion, so before you feel happy, you have to do something that’s good for your soul. Stop making excuses. Pursue your passion. Serve others. Find your purpose. Design a life that’s worth living and happiness will come to you.

6.     Change is inevitable.

I know this a cliché, but going through changes and shifts over the past two years taught me to acknowledge change. As much as the people, things, and feelings change, I also do. It makes me sad sometimes how I’m no longer the version of myself that I used to be, but I’d rather change than stay the same.

7.     Rejection is redirection.

People see rejection as a bitter pill, but I realized that it saves you from something (or someone lol) that isn’t meant for you. It sucks to be rejected but if anything, it leaves an open space in your life which you to acquire something. So pick yourself up and move forward.

8.     Jumping into conclusion is a bad habit.

I know it’s easier to just analyze things in your head but if you can, communicate. Scratch that, you MUST communicate. Don’t let your thoughts cloud your judgment on a person or a situation just because there isn’t an explanation for it yet. Clarify, then comprehend.

9.     Being busy is different from productivity.

Productivity means achieving the things that you have to do and being able to rest deliberately. If you’re just working all the time and have a lot of things on your plate, then you probably are just busy. Use your time well and work smart. Avoid spreading yourself too thinly and maintain your focus.

10.     Overthinking is a waste of time.

Oh, I can’t stress this enough. I am NOT an overthinker, but I’ve met some people who are. Thus, I’ve also seen how it takes up much of their time. Sometimes, your biggest enemy is your own mind. Stop overthinking, let it go, and give yourself peace. Pray about it and trust the process.

11.     People change and so do relationships.

It saddens me how I’m no longer friends with some people I once considered my “best friends.” People grow, and sometimes, we grow in opposite directions. I know I have my fair share of faults, but I choose not to blame anyone anymore. Perhaps, things are better off this way– distant, but at peace.

12.     Waiting seasons are not wasted seasons.

Finishing college, getting a job, earning my license– these are just some of the things I achieved last year. Trust me, I spent countless days and nights just waiting for these things to happen, and while I was waiting, I focused on the things I can do. The longer the wait, the sweeter the victory will be.

13.     Supporting others will not invalidate your success.

Support other people on their winning seasons because you don’t have an idea what they lost during their losing season. It’s all a matter of timing. If other people seem to be winning, clap for them. You’ll have your time soon, and when it happens, your success will be magnified.

14.     The biggest pains can come from our pleasures.

“If it feels too good, question it.” This is a quote I got form one of my favorite podcasts. Sometimes, we find delight in things without seeing through them. Watch out for the things that seem to be perfect. I’m not telling you to be suspicious. What I’m trying to say is that you should guard your heart. *winks*

15.     Baby steps are still progress.

Taking small steps towards the right direction is better than running fast heading to the wrong direction. Need I say more? Value your small efforts. Take it one day at a time. The rate that other people are operating at should not dictate your pace as long as you have your eye on the road.

16.     What others think of you is none of your business.

Whether you do good or bad, “some people” will always have something to say. I guess it’s just engraved in their identity to criticize and find faults. We may feel the need for validation to come from others, but if there is someone who knows you more than anyone, it’s you. Keep doing you!

17.     Save money wisely.

Adulting is not complete without money matters. In your 20s is the best time for you to save money wisely and by wisely, I mean: a) cut down unnecessary expenses; b) invest on the things that you can use repeatedly; and c) don’t put all your eggs in one basket– have various savings for different purposes.

18.     Don’t operate on high emotions.

Growing old teaches me not to be a slave to my emotions. I’m more of a rational person than an emotional one, but there are STILL times when my emotions take a hold on me, and when I do, I tend to say things that hurt people. Let your emotions die down before you say/do anything.

19.     There is a time to give up.

At some point, you will realize that some things aren’t mean for you and it’s totally fine. By holding on to ~those things~, you might be wasting more time. It’s about accepting the things that you can’t control, the things that aren’t for you, and the things that you can pursue. *fist bump*

20.     Growth can be painful.

When it’s scary is the best time to jump. Taking risks is just a constant part of adulthood. Going out of my comfort zone is one of the best decisions I have made. You’ll grow even more when you are in unfamiliar places and new environment. Have it in you the courage to take that leap of faith!

21.     It’s not your job to fix people.

Even if you give them all the love in the world, people will still remain the same if they refuse to be helped. They will keep doing the same things and acting the same way despite your best efforts. Hence, you can only be there for them and teach them how to heal themselves.

22.     Put yourself first.

Last but definitely not the least, prioritize yourself. This is one lesson I learned the hard way as I constantly put other people before me. While I still struggle with this, I now take self-love more seriously and value my mental health above anything. You have to save yourself because everyone is busy saving themselves. #harshtruth

And that wraps up the 22 Things I Learned by 22! Again, I’m not an expert and I’m just a mere young adult wading my way through this crazy world. I just hope these things made sense to you as much as it did to me. There are still a lot of things that I want to include but I only wrote the ones that resonated well with me– think I can reserve them for another blog entry. What else do you want to see here on my blog? Let me know by sending me a message and I’ll try my best to post more entries.

Don’t forget to check out my social media pages!

Till the next entry!

Bry. x 102420

[weekinethereum]

November 8, 2017

Ethereum News and Links

Top

~150m USD value of Ether frozen in Parity multi-sig bug. Most of it from Parity, a decent chunk also from Iconomi.

DevCon3: scalability looks closer than expected, which is important because some early projects (Maker, Augur, etc) are near to going live.

Jeff Coleman and Liam Horne are working on a generalized state channels project called Counterfactual. This is an important layer of infrastructure and arguably as vital as anything announced during DevCon talks. Funded by Vitalik and L4, it was announced by Liam on Twitter a few hours before Devcon.

Parity multi-sig frozen

Parity's multi-sig had another bug that has led to 150m of frozen funds.  A bug made it possible to kill the contract which the multisig looked to through delegatecall.

"I accidentally killed it."  Looking through the attacker's history, I'm skeptical of the noob cover story. There were definite attempts at theft.

Victim list.  60% Polkadot, 23% Iconomi. Deep impact but relatively few affected.  Polkadot has already said that they don't need the Ether to deliver on time.

Lots of discussion threads on forking. Pro-fork. Anti-fork. Vitalik talking about forks in a Q&A a few months ago since he is refraining from commenting at the moment. My feeling is the same as last year: I'm not an Immutability Maximalist but any fork should include a haircut to protect against moral hazard.

But all courses of action are relatively reasonable, so no need to get emotional. Let's continue to assume good intentions by everyone involved.

The Parity hack happened while Victor Maia was writing a diatribe on formal verification.  Great comment thread.

YCombinator: Crypto evolution.  Forks are "A/B testing on steroids."

Blockchains: Coercion-free consensus systems from Nick Johnson.  If you don't like the consensus, fork it!

Devcon3

DevCon3 videos from the main hall. You might want to look at the agenda, because we don't yet have individual videos, nor do we have videos of the breakout room talks.

I'd recommend watching the afternoon of day 1 if you can only watch a few videos, because the focus was on the most pressing long-term issue: scalability.  Casper, zk-snarks, TrueBit, sharding.  The Raiden demo of a robot controlled by payment channel was very cool too.

For daily recaps, I recommend David Burela: day 1, day 2, day 3, day 4 or Brandon O'Brien: day 1, day 2, day 3, day 4.  Or if you prefer audio: The Bitcoin Podcast did two recaps. Days 1 and 2.  Days 3 and 4.

I couldn't agree more with Livepeer's Eric Tang: "Done with the hangout portion of devcon. Time to start watching talks! #8daysofdevcon."

The day before Devcon3 at the convention center, Etherisc put on the D1Conf on decentralized insurance. They underpromised and overdelivered a great conference.  It was also by far the best food I've ever had at a conference, though Devcon3 might've been the worst food.

Notes on Nick Johnson's ENS talk.  Integration to legacy domain names is exciting.

DevCon3 security roundup

Protocol

Vlad Zamfir's Casper draft spec v0.1. Prototype codebase and paper.

Better address checksums is coming.

Vitalik: "Plasma is optimal for systems with larger sets of users and where having limited trust in some second-layer consensus mechanism is okay; state channels are best for repeated interaction between limited sets of parties."

Stuff for developers

Truffle v4.0 release - debugging, in-memory blockchain, etc

Dapp Tools from Dapphubb. The tools they use for Maker.

Livepeer on getting a protocol to the mainnet - planning for upgrades, forkability, parameter tuning, etc

OpenBounty -- $1m in bounties for development.

Azrael -- Ethereum events to Java backend from FundRequest using web3j

Free 90 min video course on dapp dev for beginners

Transmute framework - a centralized platform for dapp development

EthAlarm -- notifications of events triggered by Ethereum code

ZoKrates -- zk-SNARK toolbox from Jacob Eberhardt

Ecosystem

Eth Gas Station metropolis release -- view transaction pool filtered by account/nonce, plus better predictions. plus more transparency about how predictions are made.   When this gets released by API, it should help bring gas prices down even further.  By the way, it now costs $0.00006 to send a transaction if you're willing to wait a minute.  Lower your gas price!

A brief comparison of Name Bazaar vs. ENSListing

Ready for the next conference? Blockchain for Social Impact is November 17th in NYC. Use NEWSLETTER for 20% off.

Also, the second edition of Token Summit is December 5th in San Francisco.   Use discount code WENTS17 for 18% off.

I'm still shilling for votes in CoinDesk's Most Influential People in Blockchain. Vote for your favorite Ethereum people...and me?

Project Updates

Status announces NFC Hardwallet and new COO

AdToken roadmap

Why Decentraland uses A-Frame

SingularDTV launches Tokit

Project Announcements and Whitepapers

Nexus Mutual insurance. Impressive presentation at D1Conf.

Perun Network -- system of state channels

Interviews, Videos and Talks

Playlist of EtherealSF talks

Joseph Poon on Plasma and the relationship between public and private chains

Vinay Gupta video interview with Bloomberg BNA

Bitcoin Podcast talks to IDEX's Alex Wearn

Rhys Lindmark talks to Raine Revere

Omar Bham's series of video interviews. I asked him to put the ocean behind me if you're curious what the view looked like from the Cancun convention center

Fabian Vogelsteller talk on his Identity EIP at Ethereum London

Token Sales

Dutch auctions seem to be working pretty well, eg Raiden and Polkadot.

RocketPool is doing a proportional refund cap.

Experiments are good: Cofound.it is doing a "Playoffs" event on November 30 for their Seed program projects.

The SEC warns celebs on social media shilling.

Token Sale Projects

Grid+ rollout plan

Breaking Up the “Central Banks” of Online Poker using Ethereum on Virtue Poker

YouNow to become public benefit corporation to align with token holders

OmegaOne on why it needs a large balance sheet

General

Coinbase is getting 100k new accounts daily.

GDAX Digital Asset Framework for evaluating adding things.  Seems some tokens are coming soon.

r/Ethtrader went over 100k subscribers.

Segwit2x blinked and suspended their fork for now.

CME is doing Bitcoin futures. I'd say that means Ethereum futures are coming.

Joe Lubin on BigTech adoption of blockchains.

We warned them this would happen: Tezos hit with class action lawsuit.

The Tapscotts got caught listing advisors in their marketing docs who they hadn't even spoken to, so the fund has gotten called off.

Matthew De Silva sits down with Vitalik Buterin at Devcon and gets some personal details out of him.

Dates of note

From Token Sale Calendar:

[Truncated list this week as I don't have the post-Devcon energy to wade through all the junk.]  

Upcoming token sale start dates:

November 9 – Stayawhile

November 10 – WhenHub (pre-sale ongoing)

November 10 – Gizer

November 13 – Trippki

November 14 – Bloom

November 14 – Auctus

November 14 – SimpleToken (pre-sale underway)

November 14 – LevelNet

November 15 – Kudos Project

November 15 –  Hirematch

November 15 – Aigang

November 15 – Realisto

November 15 – Guts (pre-sale underway)

November 16– TokenBox

November 17 -- Blockchain for Social Impact conference in NYC.  20% discount using NEWSLETTER

November 20 – PROPS by YouNow

November 20 – FundRequest

November 21 – Dopameme

November 25 – Rocketpool

November 25 – Relest

November 27 – Jibrel Network

November 28 – Gazecoin

November 30 – Debitum

November 30 – Nous Platform

December 1 – Bounty0x

December 5 -- Token Summit conference in SF. Use discount code WENTS17 for 18% off

Ongoing token sales:

Grid+

Mercury Protocol

Snov

SpankChain

ScriptDrop

RockChain

PayFair

SeedsTokens

Sense Token

Leverj

Gatcoin

Privatix

Duber

Crypto.Tickets

Customization Basic Income

Matryx

WARNING: list may include or even likely includes scams and quasi-scams.  Do your own research and due diligence before putting value at risk.  Read disclaimer below.

Want to be included?  If you are building your project on Ethereum, email weekinethereum @ gmail [period] com with 1) your URL, 2) sale date and 3) a brief but convincing description of how you are using Ethereum, preferably with a link to your Github repo.  Listings are free.  But please make sure to follow those instructions.  If you don’t follow the instructions, you likely won’t get a response.

[I aim for a relatively comprehensive list of Ethereum sales, but make no warranty as to even whether they are legit; as such, I thus likewise warrant nothing about whether any will produce a satisfactory return. I have passed the CFA exams, but this is not investment advice. If you're interested in what I do, you can find my somewhat out-of-date investing thesis and token sale appreciation strategies in previous newsletters.]

If you appreciate this newsletter, thank ConsenSys

I'm thankful that ConsenSys has brought me on as an employee and given me time to do this newsletter.

My charge from Joe Lubin is pretty similar to what Status has told me: keep telling the truth and covering the space as objectively as I can.  

Editorial control is 100% me.  Blame me first and last.

No way you made it down this far?  Thanks for reading.

I'd love it if you shared this newsletter.  Link: http://www.weekinethereum.com/post/167279242888/november-8-2017 Follow me on Twitter? @evan_van_ness

This newsletter is supported by Status.im and ConsenSys (surely you have seen that we're hiring?).  Many thanks to both.

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[grumpyangeladvice]

Hello Mal! Recently I've faced a dilemma about trying to understand my past lives and my reincarnations. How would I go about learning and opening myself up to these experiences?

This is a surprisingly complex question for how simply it can be worded. There are a lot of ways to dive into past incarnations, and it’s tough to say which ones will work best for any given person.

The first method to come to mind is guided meditation. It’s nothing something I have much experience with (meditation is incredibly difficult for me, to be honest), but from what I know, it’s a good way to get in touch with the parts of you not rooted in “here and now”. There are plenty of sources out there about how to get into the right mindset, but the basic gist is that you need a calm environment without any distractions. Silence your phone, keep the lights low, and make sure no one’s going to suddenly interrupt. Depending on your situation, it might be difficult to arrange, but it’s worth it if you can. Once you’re prepped, it’s a matter of centering, turning your thoughts inward, and focusing. It might take a few attempts for it to properly work, but if you can get it going, it can be a straightforward method of figuring things out.

Another method that requires less inward focus, but a similar lack of distractions, is free writing. In brief, you sit down with your writing method of choice (pen and paper is traditional, but I’ve successfully used digital methods, since I type faster than I write), get yourself dwelling on your past lives, and start writing whatever comes to mind. The goal is to get words flowing freely and fairly continuously. Don’t worry about fixing mistakes, don’t go back over what you just wrote. Just keep things moving forward. Once things stop flowing, you can go back over what you wrote and see if there’s anything useful in there. In my experience, most of what gets written will be utter garbage, but there’s the occasional gem that provides a sudden burst of understanding. Once you have something workable, though, you can work on building off of that towards an even better understanding. (One other perk of this method is that listening to music while writing tends to work out better than it does with meditation.)

If there’s too much risk of distraction for either of those to work, then the next best thing is using divination. As a general rule, I don’t advise getting a reading from someone else when you’re trying to work out past life stuff. Every reading gets filtered through an individual’s perception of things, even if only subtly, and those perceptions can skew things and cause incorrect answers. It’s always better to do your own work when the goal is learning about yourself. The exact method you use is up to you, but I prefer slightly more complex methods (like Tarot) over simple methods (like pendulum readings). The added complexity allows for a more granular answer, which can help point you in the right direction. A simple “no” answer from a pendulum gives you nothing to work with, while a vague answer from a Tarot deck can at least hint at something useful. The biggest piece of advice I can give for interpreting things, though, is to be willing to approach things from odd angles. Be open to unexpected outcomes, and don’t always go with the obvious answer. If the obvious answer is the only one you can think of, ask for clarification. Most decks I’ve worked with tend to be more straightforward when you’re seeking clarification about a specific element of a reading.

If you don’t have any experience with divination, one simple method that’s available to most people these days is shufflemancy. It takes some time, but it’s easy to use and tends to be personalized by design. Grab your music player of choice, throw your entire collection of music in, set it to shuffle and jump a few songs in. (I usually skip forward until I hit a track that feels significant, but that might not work for everyone.) Take note of that first track you hit, and listen closely. Pay attention to the feelings you get from it, the lyrics (if any), and anything else that feels like it applies. Once you hit the next track, take note of that, and repeat until you’re interrupted or it seems like the resulting playlist has drifted from what it was trying to say. Then you can go over the list of tracks, and see if there’s any significant message tucked in there. In my experience, it can be a hit-or-miss method, but it’s easy to use, and it’s available anywhere you have your music. (As a slight variant, you can listen to the radio instead of using your personal collection. Depending on the station, though, it might not be as effective. Use your judgement.)

If you don’t feel like those methods could work, there’s always the option of diving into things that are associated with your past lives. Depending on the details of your past lives, this could be just about anything. Smells, textures, music, ambient sounds, and visuals all have potential. The important thing is to seek things out that have some kind of connection, no matter how indirect, to the past life (or lives) that you’re trying to learn about. The idea is that by engaging those associations, you have a chance of finding something that reminds you of something from back then, kind of like how certain sights or sounds can remind you of things from this life. (Fun fact: The sense most strongly connected to memory is actually smell. As a result, finding the right scent can be the most direct way of digging up memories, whether from this life or a previous one.) It’s a technique that can take some time to start working, depending on how easily you find things that relate to your past lives, but it can easily be picked up and put down as needed. If you get interrupted in the middle of looking up stuff, it’s easy enough to set it aside until you can get back to searching.

The last method I’ll throw out is one that might seem obvious in hindsight, though it does come with a few disclaimers: Talk to people. There’s a good chance that there are people out there who have had similar experiences in past lives, and talking with them can help dredge up memories of those experiences. Even if you don’t have those similar experiences, though, you can always bounce thoughts off each other and talk through the parts that puzzle you. “Two heads are better than one,” and all that. However, there are things to watch out for. The biggest one is people pulling things out of their posterior. Especially when it comes to past lives, it’s easy to fabricate “memories” and pass them off as truth. The old advice about questioning everything applies here in full. The next disclaimer is that you need to be sure that other people aren’t skewing your memories. There’s always a risk that hearing other peoples’ memories of past lives will cause your understanding of your own memories to shift, which can result in those memories getting a bit garbled. Always focus on the parts that line up with your memories, and don’t be afraid to discard stuff that doesn’t sync up. Finally, there’s the possibility that someone might tell you that you’re mistaken about your memories, and that their truth is the only one that’s actually real. If this happens, your best bet is to just cut things off there. While there is always the chance that you’re misremembering things, or that your perception of things is being skewed, no one outside of you can tell if that’s the case. (A small note: The way they present things can affect if you should cut things off. If they point out an inconsistency in your memories, then they’re giving you something to work with. If they’re telling you that you’re wrong because their memories don’t match yours, walk away. Again, use your judgement.)

I’m sure there are plenty of other methods available that can help you remember things, and the more information you have to work with, the clearer picture of things you can form, and the better you can understand your past lives. Don’t be afraid to try out multiple methods, possibly alongside each other. You can’t know what works for you until you try, and sometimes approaching a specific memory or thought from multiple angles can clarify things. Experiment, toy around with things, and hopefully things will start making more sense.

One final thought before I wrap this up: One thing I’ve learned to keep in mind when diving into anything metaphysical (including past lives) is that very little can be taken as objective truth. Reality is a lot more mutable than it seems at first, and between that and everyone having different points of view (both literally and metaphorically), it’s difficult to represent something in a way everyone can agree with. In the end, the best you can hope for is to find your truth, the one that makes sense to you and which meshes with your perception and understanding of things. As long as it makes sense to you, it doesn’t matter what other people think.

Good luck with things. If you want clarification on any of this, or if I missed something important, let me know. I’ll do my best to fill things in.

[notconsolation]

those tips are so interesting to read!! would you care to make a similar list about what to eat/how to manage food resources while being on a trip? or advice about camping alone in general? thanks!

HAPPILY this is one of those subjects that makes me really happy because I am 100% a nature witch

this is a great way for to procrastinate thank you thank you. (warning: it’s long)

disclaimer: I don’t really know what I’m doing any more than the next person, so I can’t really recommend doing things, I can just tell you about my experiences. Here’s what i got (SHOW ME WHAT YOU GOOOT)

Food:

er how can I say this….. I don’t have the healthiest relationship with food so I cannot emphasize enough how uncomfortable I would be if anyone were to take my eating patterns as guidelines for anything. Having said that, I am most at peace with food and my eating habits when I travel. But suffice it to say that it’s probably not quite enough calorically and I personally think that’s fine because it’s not my constant state of living but…… anyway.

-I’ll go about a week between stops in towns sometimes. When I say that I just mean sort of passing through one on my route and checking if they have a market/supermarket. Sometimes it’s less than that but generally if I’m in a town I’ll get a bunch of beef jerky (might have to alter this this summer when I’m in bear country but I’ll still look into that) - say five packets for a week. I might also get some energy/protein bars but these are not my faves tbh and also the wrappers take up space in pockets. Other than that I might get a bag of carrots or some sunflower seeds. Sunflower seeds are good for magnesium, which helps prevent cramps, so that’s a plus when you’re walking all day and don’t want foot cramps that hurt like a bitch. I like carrots. Honestly, though, I prefer finding food in the forest to taking it with me. 

-It depends when and where you’re travelling obviously, but if you familiarize yourself with edible wild plants before you go somewhere that’s a useful bit of knowledge to have. I personally don’t eat something unless I’m sure it is what I think it is. That means that I end up having a lot of blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, mirabelles, plums, apples, wild garlic, dandelion, clover, wild sorrel, chickweed, purslane, gooseberries and beechnuts because they’re hard to mistake for other things. There are also things that are technically edible but I wouldn’t really recommend like birch bark and rosehip berries. I just dont like them much. 

-Oh, also: corn. So I realise this is not technically a morally great thing because it’s sort of like stealing? but if I’m walking past a field of corn I’ll usually take a cob and shave off the kernels into a container and then munch on them as I go. Fibrous and gets your digestion going and honestly raw corn is really tasty. Wash it first, if you can, and always check for bugs in your food. 

-I also prefer to stock up on water when I’m near civilization or at a spring, just cause ya can get some nasty ass infections from nasty water and that can suck when you’re alone in the middle of nowhere. I got a very mild stomach bug last year and that wasn’t nice. I do carry water purification tablets, though, and some charcoal in case I really really really need to make a makeshift water filter. But I try to have at least 4 litres on me whenever I leave a town. Forest springs are great, and quite often well signposted if they’re reasonably near civilzation because people jog up there and stuff. My grandpa used to do that.

- Pine tea. I like it. Boil pine needles in water. Tea. Piney. I like it. You may not.

Advice on isolation without loneliness:

The main thing people ask if I’m talking about this stuff is whether I get lonely without talking to someone for 2 weeks at a time. Honestly I think the answer to that depends party on who you are. I am a solitary person in the first place so my answer might be different to yours. My answer is just straight up no. I don’t get lonely. I sing to myself on the road. I talk to myself sometimes, but just sort of in a thinking aloud way. I find the whole process incredibly therapeutic and it allows me to work through so much shit because when you’re on your own there’s no one around to hold you to their standards, so you have to learn to be okay with yourself. Literally looking for food, water and shelter every day is a good way for me to indirectly express my will to fight to stay alive. Or actually. I mean it’s pretty direct. You have to actively Survive rather than just passively Exist. I find that to be the best environment for working through shit and confronting yourself with issues because who are you gonna distract yourself with or hide behind if you don’t want to talk about it? I do have a couple of tips though:

- take books. Ones you know and ones you don’t. Ones you know give you comfort, ones you don’t engage you. Pick up books at flea markets and from old bookshops when you pass through towns and cities. I actually also set aside a certain amount of battery on my phone every day for reading stories I’ve downloaded and I think that actually also helps tether me to society a bit and not get lonely, because it’s this implicit inclusion in a community (ao3) of like-minded creative people. I didn’t have tumblr then but I can say for sure I’m gonna miss the hell out of you guys in July

- MY MOST IMPORTANT ADVICE: write. I filled a tiny journal with tiny writing last summer and it was the best part of everything. Not so much because i can look back at what I did but because it gave my thoughts and days and actions coherence and I could sit down and think something out on paper with myself and make discoveries about my thoughts and feeling and just……. you learn a lot about yourself when you start writing your thoughts down.

- Sing. Sing out loud all the goddamn time if you’re like me.

General advice:

This is just some info that’s good to have? I think?

-periods: sonofabitch. Fucking. Periods suck, and when you’re travelling solo for over a month you’re gonna have them (maybe. this is for those who have them) and you’re gonna have to be prepared for them. Tampons are the way forward in my opinion but *tmi* my periods are so heavy that they bleed through a maxi tampon and a maxi pad during the night sometimes so I have no choice. But also if you get mauled or something I guess pads are good for blood absorption so they’re a good thing to have anyway. Tampons are also good for blood absorption (WHO’DA THUNK IT) and also make good kindling. I’m gonna talk more about kindling later, though. The good news: periods can be less heavy when you’re active all day.

- pine resin/sap: useful stuff. You can theoretically eat it if you’re really desperate for something cause it’s v high-energy but absolutely disgusting and in general it’s best for a couple things: if it’s liquid and fresh you can use it to hold together cuts and wounds (natural antibacterial properties and all that plus it’s sticky and literally holds skin together). if it’s hardened you can still melt it down or dissolve it in warm water - at which point you can use it as a gargle that’s good for upset stomachs and throat problems (and colds i think?). If it’s dry it also catches a spark really easily. It also apparently repels mosquitos, but I’m skeptical about that one.

-kindling/fire: so there’s a long list of materials that can be used as kindling which might be really useful to you, but I’m gonna level with you and say that I don’t really make fires when I camp out for a couple of reasons: 1. A lot of the time I’m in national parks where that’s not allowed and also where I am not sure I’m technically allowed to camp, so best not to draw attention to myself by making a fire and 2. I’m just not that great at it. Like, I’m just not very good.

-brushing teeth: I use biodegradable toothpaste concentrate and just spit it out. not that great, yep. I have yet to figure out a better system.

-washing: imma level with you - I don’t stay terribly clean. A lot of campsites have showers you can use if you pay for them, but there aren’t always campsites around. Wash in lakes and learn to live with the fact that you’re not gonna smell great. If i walk past some lavender I take it and I stuff it in my sports bra and in my bag. Same with mint or thyme or rosemary - anything with a strong, pleasant smell. Wash your face in the bathroom sink at the train stations. Look up at your reflection and be taken aback cause you haven’t actually seen yourself for a while and you realise that you’re a little more tanned and that makeup is totally unnecessary a lot of the time.

[sylars-duckling]

Practical COVID-19 Coping Skills

BIG DISCLAIMER: I am not a medical professional in any capacity whatsoever. I make no claims whatsoever about COVID-19, coronavirus, etc. These recommendations are wholly my own personal opinion/belief and have no medical standing whatsoever. Please please please do your research and get in contact with groups like the CDC, WHO, local government, and other reputable sources for medical and community information about COVID-19 (links at the end of post)

Okay, with that out of the way - I’m writing this because I haven’t seen any practical/mental health/coping skills going around and I think it’s important to have coping skills readily available to help get through hard times.  The biggest thing I want to stress is even though it’s frightening, it’s going to be okay. It’s frightening and it’s going to be okay, the two ideas do not negate each other. It’s important to take care of yourself, and doing your best to have hope is an essential part of taking care of yourself and being okay.  Without further rambling, here are some coping skills (in no particular order) that help me, and might help you, during this time. 

-Communicate, but take breaks when you need to: We live in a time of information overload. Both good and bad information about COVID-19 is exploding all over the internet, social media, news, and local communication. Take this time to look up/set up/install blacklisting features for sites you use so you can filter out COVID-19 content when you want. Information overload is real, and being caught in your own online feedback loop about COVID-19 can make anxiety and fear worse. On the flip-side, having the space to express yourself and talk about COVID-19 if that’s what you need to do is important as well. Find spaces to talk about COVID-19 that are separate from other parts of your digital life. One of the best ways I’ve seen so far is on discord, where many servers are making a covid-19 specific channel, and keeping all discussion of covid-19 exclusively in that space. This system allows you to talk about it when you need to, but take breaks too. There’s absolutely no shame in needing to take a break from the news cycle and information cycle about COVID-19.  -Keep to your routine as best you can, and adjust as needed: Many schools and workplaces are taking extended breaks, or switching to online schooling/telecommuting. This can be a big change in routine, and that can cause anxiety and fear. I did a semester of college online and it was a much different experience than I expected. Even though it was different, it can be done, and you can succeed in a telecommute/online school environment. Try to stick to your normal routine as much as possible, just at home; wake up at the same time, eat at the same time, get dressed in your normal work/school clothes rather than staying in your pajamas. organize your day with to-do lists, give yourself time outside with 10-15 minute breaks to go in your yard, on a balcony, or a short walk around your neighborhood. When I was doing online school I found that I’d get antsy at my desk more than when I had to walk from class to class on campus, so take breaks to move your body and try to mimic the conditions of a normal day. Try to separate fun/hobby/social online time from work/school work online. -Maintain or pick up healthy hobbies: Hobbies can be a healthy outlet and distraction from fear, and can help remind us of life outside of COVID-19. I think hobbies fall into 2 camps: expressive and distraction. Expressive hobbies like journaling and making art can help us deal with our thoughts, feelings, and emotions surrounding COVID-19 in a healthy way. Distractive hobbies like playing an instrument, gaming, reading, cooking, and physical sports/activities (like dance, yoga, and singing) can help keep us in touch with life outside of COVID-19 and help widen our view so it doesn’t feel like the world is ending. Reach for hobbies you currently enjoy, hobbies you used to enjoy but maybe fell out of habit, and new hobbies that intrigue you.  -Shop Smart: I in no way am in any capacity to give advice about what shopping smart, prep shopping, or shopping in general should look like to anyone. Every situation is unique, and every solution is unique. Take time to reflect and connect with your loved ones to make the best shopping/food/grocery plan for you and your family.  -Be gentle with yourself: COVID-19 is a stressful event and idea in the public eye right now. Give yourself permission to take things at your own pace, when you’re ready, and be extra aware and kind to yourself. Use techniques like breathing exercises and meditation, and others (if those work for you) to relax and take care of your physical and mental health.  -Be kind to others: People react to stress in different ways. Be kind to others while maintaining personal boundaries. Approach situations looking for solutions and peace, rather than looking to be “right”. That mindset helped me improve my relationship with others and my relationship with myself.

-Customize this list to your individual needs: Everyone is unique, and it’d be impossible for me to write a guide for everyone. Take time to reflect and brainstorm practical ways to maintain and improve your mental, physical, and emotional health, and implement them as best you can. 

Stay safe, hold on, and remember, COVID-19 is frightening, and it’s going to be okay. Links to groups like the CDC are below for current medical and community information about COVID-19. 

Best wishes,  -sylars-duckling

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html

https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/events-as-they-happen

https://www.npr.org/series/812054919/the-coronavirus-crisis

[graciedroweuk]

New Online Tool Helps Filter Diabetes News

Having lived with type 1 for near four years today, Gina Gaudefroy has seen her share of news stories and articles about the most recent research and technology regarding diabetes.

She had been diagnosed at age 12 when residing in Ireland, back at a time that a lot of us refer to “the dark ages of diabetes” Her sister has diabetes, along with her 21-year-old son Sean-Michael was diagnosed about four years ago.

So with all that personal and D-Mom experience under her belt, then you might see her as a “certified diabetes web surfer” of types. Yet a person who still found herself feeling helpless, buried in all sorts of information that was very repetitive and not appropriate to that which she had been specifically interested in studying.

That’s the reason Gina, who currently lives in Santa Barbara, CA, was excited to discover a personalized web service known as Medivizor to help her weed through all the news and posts.

Medivizor started in late 2012, with founders describing the ceremony as resolving the “needle in the haystack” challenge, sifting through heaps of information to choose out what you want specifically. That may be anything from advice on cutting-edge study, clinical trials, clinical trials, new therapies, medical institutions, specialists, or actually anything else that somebody’s preferences may dictate.

Frankly, we’re always somewhat skeptical of new “services” that promise to personalize health information, especially when they’re supposed to take some diabetes control or alternative health benefit. But hearing how it’s helped a minumum of one fellow PWD makes this fresh one more credible, in our opinion.

Medivizor is the inception of a 2011-founded Israeli startup which has offices in Nevada and now has about 15 employees around the world, mainly doctors and applications programmers. Among those execs is a title we have mentioned previously: Oren Fuerst, co-founder and chairman, who also serves as CEO of the young Delaware-based startup LabStyle Innovations that’s created the Dario meter.

Here Medivizor functions:

When you set up a free account online, you’re prompted to reply 10 to 15 concerns concerning the disorder you have to be able to isolate data applicable to you. That produces a profile and takes you to a “personal space” page which looks like an Inbox, composed of different filters and views for you to utilize in sorting through the data that appears. It’s possible to open up articles to read, star them, take notes, and then easily share your finds throughout interpersonal media.

The information that the service supplies is accumulated from specialist journals, among other sources. You can set your preferences to automatically send email notifications when new articles or information about research or treatments in your selected illness are printed.

Chief Operating Officer Ronen Keinan tells us that Medivizor differs from several other “personalized information” sources since it utilizes patent-pending technologies to sort through everything to get the most credible, relevant information and then ensure it is reader-friendly.

Basically, the company’s technology utilizes an algorithm to locate very specific information and then the Medivizor medical team, split up by condition, “struggles” that information through their own review and approves the outcomes. Keinan states the procedure ensures quality and also will help improve the algorithm, so far they are hearing back from consumers that 85 percent of the items are being clarified as “relevant” to people. Users may also provide written comments on the items they receive, which Keinan says goes right back into the medical team and helps improve the system.

At this early phase, the core support of personalized updates is free. However, Medivizor could introduce other services which have a cost, Keinan says. Future possibilities include advertisements to help encourage the free services, and the corporation may look at third party ventures (“bundling” along with additional subscription services) to collect earnings. No decisions on the company version have been produced however, it appears.

At this time, Medivizor supports a couple of medical conditions such as colorectal cancers care and diabetes, and breast, prostate, skin. However, it intends to expand gradually to add more conditions. While Keinan would not tell us how many users or how many asking diabetes data are using Medivizor, he says that PWD users appear to be more “quite active” and the most vocal of the individual conditions now (!)

As Gina informs, Medivizor supplied her with “some very clear refresher information about diabetes I actually wanted to be reminded about. I get caught up in the hype for a cure, so I am ever taking a look at the newest clinical trials along with that kind of information.”

A number of the best resources Gina’s received contains information on the varying genetics of type 1 diabetes, and nocturnal hypoglycemia being typical in children, immune therapy, and also a post about the significant role of glucagon in diabetes.

Gina might appear as a spokesperson for both Medivizor, however that’s not the case — she is only a PWD consumer such as the rest of us, who’s also active in advocacy. In her professional life, Gina acts as an advisor grant writer for non-profit associations. She is also included with the Sanofi-sponsored A1C Champions application as a motivational speaker, and she helped create the “Central Coast Council,” a JDRF-affiliated band for PWDs residing at the Central Coast of California.

“I’ve lived with diabetes for so long that I needed it for granted that I understood or remembered all of this crucial information,” she tells us. “It’s refreshing to receive clear, precise and easy to read data which pertains to my diabetes”

Truly, the support sounds like peer-to-peer advocated information and that’s a valuable type of source to get. Besides Gina, breast cancer survivor/blogger AnneMarie Ciccarella has also given Medivizor a glowing review, gushing:

“THEY staged throughout the 220 million strikes and THEY locate the items that are recent and pertinent to MY life.     It’s a personal connection. Medivizor along with me. An email notification that you will find articles that I could discover pertinent directs me to my page where I will read the report. No headlines.     Just facts.     Medical facts.     From medical journals.     I can highlight sections that I find to be of specific attention, make notes on what resembles a post-it and let them know if the post was helpful, or perhaps…. And this is simply the start.”

Here’s Medivizor’s promotional video explaining the value they provide:

Can Medivizor be the upcoming major thing for finding information concerning medical conditions — substituting “Dr. Google” that’s so often the very first spot brand new patients turn to when finding out about a new health problem? Maybe. Maybe not…

However, from those ancient endorsements, notably that of a respected fellow D-peep, we’re at least supported that this support may be of assistance.

Disclaimer: Content created by this Diabetes Mine team. For additional information click here.

Disclaimer

This material is created for Diabetes Mine, a user health site concentrated on the diabetes community. The content isn’t medically examined and doesn’t adhere to Healthline’s editorial instructions. To find out more about Healthline’s partnership with Diabetes Mine, please click here.

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from network 4 http://www.hurstpierpoint-online.co.uk/new-online-tool-helps-filter-diabetes-news/

[hurstpierpoint]

New Online Tool Helps Filter Diabetes News

Having lived with type 1 for near four years today, Gina Gaudefroy has seen her share of news stories and articles about the most recent research and technology regarding diabetes.

She had been diagnosed at age 12 when residing in Ireland, back at a time that a lot of us refer to “the dark ages of diabetes” Her sister has diabetes, along with her 21-year-old son Sean-Michael was diagnosed about four years ago.

So with all that personal and D-Mom experience under her belt, then you might see her as a “certified diabetes web surfer” of types. Yet a person who still found herself feeling helpless, buried in all sorts of information that was very repetitive and not appropriate to that which she had been specifically interested in studying.

That’s the reason Gina, who currently lives in Santa Barbara, CA, was excited to discover a personalized web service known as Medivizor to help her weed through all the news and posts.

Medivizor started in late 2012, with founders describing the ceremony as resolving the “needle in the haystack” challenge, sifting through heaps of information to choose out what you want specifically. That may be anything from advice on cutting-edge study, clinical trials, clinical trials, new therapies, medical institutions, specialists, or actually anything else that somebody’s preferences may dictate.

Frankly, we’re always somewhat skeptical of new “services” that promise to personalize health information, especially when they’re supposed to take some diabetes control or alternative health benefit. But hearing how it’s helped a minumum of one fellow PWD makes this fresh one more credible, in our opinion.

Medivizor is the inception of a 2011-founded Israeli startup which has offices in Nevada and now has about 15 employees around the world, mainly doctors and applications programmers. Among those execs is a title we have mentioned previously: Oren Fuerst, co-founder and chairman, who also serves as CEO of the young Delaware-based startup LabStyle Innovations that’s created the Dario meter.

Here Medivizor functions:

When you set up a free account online, you’re prompted to reply 10 to 15 concerns concerning the disorder you have to be able to isolate data applicable to you. That produces a profile and takes you to a “personal space” page which looks like an Inbox, composed of different filters and views for you to utilize in sorting through the data that appears. It’s possible to open up articles to read, star them, take notes, and then easily share your finds throughout interpersonal media.

The information that the service supplies is accumulated from specialist journals, among other sources. You can set your preferences to automatically send email notifications when new articles or information about research or treatments in your selected illness are printed.

Chief Operating Officer Ronen Keinan tells us that Medivizor differs from several other “personalized information” sources since it utilizes patent-pending technologies to sort through everything to get the most credible, relevant information and then ensure it is reader-friendly.

Basically, the company’s technology utilizes an algorithm to locate very specific information and then the Medivizor medical team, split up by condition, “struggles” that information through their own review and approves the outcomes. Keinan states the procedure ensures quality and also will help improve the algorithm, so far they are hearing back from consumers that 85 percent of the items are being clarified as “relevant” to people. Users may also provide written comments on the items they receive, which Keinan says goes right back into the medical team and helps improve the system.

At this early phase, the core support of personalized updates is free. However, Medivizor could introduce other services which have a cost, Keinan says. Future possibilities include advertisements to help encourage the free services, and the corporation may look at third party ventures (“bundling” along with additional subscription services) to collect earnings. No decisions on the company version have been produced however, it appears.

At this time, Medivizor supports a couple of medical conditions such as colorectal cancers care and diabetes, and breast, prostate, skin. However, it intends to expand gradually to add more conditions. While Keinan would not tell us how many users or how many asking diabetes data are using Medivizor, he says that PWD users appear to be more “quite active” and the most vocal of the individual conditions now (!)

As Gina informs, Medivizor supplied her with “some very clear refresher information about diabetes I actually wanted to be reminded about. I get caught up in the hype for a cure, so I am ever taking a look at the newest clinical trials along with that kind of information.”

A number of the best resources Gina’s received contains information on the varying genetics of type 1 diabetes, and nocturnal hypoglycemia being typical in children, immune therapy, and also a post about the significant role of glucagon in diabetes.

Gina might appear as a spokesperson for both Medivizor, however that’s not the case — she is only a PWD consumer such as the rest of us, who’s also active in advocacy. In her professional life, Gina acts as an advisor grant writer for non-profit associations. She is also included with the Sanofi-sponsored A1C Champions application as a motivational speaker, and she helped create the “Central Coast Council,” a JDRF-affiliated band for PWDs residing at the Central Coast of California.

“I’ve lived with diabetes for so long that I needed it for granted that I understood or remembered all of this crucial information,” she tells us. “It’s refreshing to receive clear, precise and easy to read data which pertains to my diabetes”

Truly, the support sounds like peer-to-peer advocated information and that’s a valuable type of source to get. Besides Gina, breast cancer survivor/blogger AnneMarie Ciccarella has also given Medivizor a glowing review, gushing:

“THEY staged throughout the 220 million strikes and THEY locate the items that are recent and pertinent to MY life.     It’s a personal connection. Medivizor along with me. An email notification that you will find articles that I could discover pertinent directs me to my page where I will read the report. No headlines.     Just facts.     Medical facts.     From medical journals.     I can highlight sections that I find to be of specific attention, make notes on what resembles a post-it and let them know if the post was helpful, or perhaps…. And this is simply the start.”

Here’s Medivizor’s promotional video explaining the value they provide:

Can Medivizor be the upcoming major thing for finding information concerning medical conditions — substituting “Dr. Google” that’s so often the very first spot brand new patients turn to when finding out about a new health problem? Maybe. Maybe not…

However, from those ancient endorsements, notably that of a respected fellow D-peep, we’re at least supported that this support may be of assistance.

Disclaimer: Content created by this Diabetes Mine team. For additional information click here.

Disclaimer

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[discoverdope]

9 Steps to Effectively Align your Goals with Your Purpose

Sup Squad,

At the beginning of every year, when the air is ripe with reflection, many of us make pacts with ourselves.

Pacts that have come to be known as New Years Resolutions—a tradition we humans have had for over 4,000 years. 

Though the tradition of reflecting on the past and using the lessons you've learned to make changes in the present and future is as human as walking upright, a growing number of people insist on scoffing at the idea.. rolling their hating ass eyes at the people who opt to declare “new year, new me” or make the grave mistake of voicing their resolutions aloud. These people..

Ol “Hmph, new year, same you. You should be making changes every day.. throughout the entire year. Just cause it’s a new year, don’t mean it’s a new you. You still the same ass nothing ass you, you always been. You must be a magician a’something. Think you bout to change overnight. Change once the clock strike 12. Who you? Cinderella.” neck ass people..

can kick all the rocks.

Every single one of them.

With bare feet. 

They're just mad cause they've been the same person since HS and couldn’t change if they had a genie lamp, a rabbit's foot, a leprechaun, a four leaf clover, saw a shooting star, found a coin heads up, dropped into a well, and had three gah damn wishes. 

They’re irrelevant. 

However, they’re hating ass tirades are, in fact, laced with Truth. No, you can’t make a change overnight, because that’s not how humans work. Habits are stubborn. Motivation is fleeting. Consistency is tough. And life is hard. Nonetheless, change—genuine, life-altering change—is always around the corner if we take actionable steps and set feasible goals.. and sprinkle a lil magic on top. 

That’s what this, here, article is ‘spose to help you with. 

Disclaimer: I identify as a sorcerer.. meaning I dwell between the physical and spiritual realm (we all do, whether we choose to acknowledge it or not because that’s the fundamental nature of human/ earth). Therefore, I'm in the business of playing with magic—of creating ritual—casting spells, which is all a goal, or intention, is.

In order to achieve our goals, no matter how much action we’re putting forth in the physical realm, it will always be more difficult and take longer to manifest if we’re ignoring the spiritual side of life.

We have to do work on both sides. 

Below, I’ve listed 9 steps on how to effectively align your goals with your purpose. And how to then bring those goals to fruition by operating within both the physical and spiritual realms. 

9 Steps to Effectively Align your Goals with Your Purpose

Step One: Free Write

The first step to creating goals that align with your spirit and purpose is to free write, or channel, everything you want and need in your life. 

This step is about flushing everything out and spilling it onto the page without giving it too much thought. 

Set a timer and don’t stop writing until your time is up. 

Step Two: Take Risks

Now look over the list you just made. 

Are you playing it safe? Did you dream as big as you could have? If not, take some time to either lengthen the list you’ve come up with by adding larger more elaborate goals or expand upon the riskier goals you’ve already made. 

Over time, life derails us. We go through system after system that encourages us to shrink our belief of what's possible, to think smaller, and be practical—logical.

Throw that voice away. Now isn’t the time. 

The point of this step is to really tap into our inner child—into past versions of ourselves and remember what they’re dreams and aspirations may have been.

Dig into the depths of yourself, sift those ideas to the surface, and write them down. 

Step Three: Get to the Root of What’s Driving You

At this point, you should have a decently long list in front of you. 

With goals ranging from h’okayyy, I got this, piece of fuggin’ carrot cake. No problemmmo! to oh shit..that’s a bigg’un. I’m not sure I can actually achieve this hoe..heb me. heb me please!

Look them over carefully. 

Do you see any themes? This list should tell your story. Speaking to things you’re insecure about, perhaps—previous battles you’ve waged and lost—things that give your life meaning—unexplored interests—unattained skills—maybe, something that’s missing in your life?

Look them over carefully, because it’s time to cut the fat. 

You’re going to narrow this list down in order to ensure your goals are genuinely aligned with what’s important to you—with what gives your life meaning and is actually going to add value to your life.

It’s easy to think that superficial achievements like awards, money, material, a partner, or changes within our appearance will add value to our lives, but that’s seldom the case. Often what’s missing is buried beneath those wants. 

That said, don’t hesitate to set goals that revolve around “the superficial”. My personal list of goals is 'vout 90% "superficial" if I’m being honest. But dats me. *hair flip* 

Step Four: Send Them Through the S.M.A.R.T. Goals Filter

Now that you’ve narrowed your list of goals, we’re going to send them through our S.M.A.R.T filter. 

S.M.A.R.T. stands for: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time Sensitive. 

This step is all about making your goals feasible because nothing dampens the spirit faster than aiming for some shit that was hardly possible to begin with. 

However, I tend to push back on the idea of setting “S.M.A.R.T.” goals because as I said, I dwell in the realm of magic, where anything is possible, and S.M.A.R.T. goals tend to be far too logic based for my disposition. 

That said, they’re still a decent and necessary recipe to follow, so: 

Are Your Goals Specific

If you want something, it’s necessary you know exactly what it is. It’s one thing to say I want to be rich, and another thing altogether to say I want to have 11 million dollars in my checking account. It’s one thing to say I want to have 11 million dollars in my checking account, and another thing altogether to say I want to be a best-selling author who amasses 11 million dollars through book sales, merchandise sales, and endorsements. 

Be Specific.

Are Your Goals Measurable

I’m not particularly a fan of this advice, because, again, I dwell in the realm of magic and not all goals are measurable. However, it’s still sound advice depending on what you’re aiming for. i.e.

Learning new and/or improving skills

Making gains physically or spiritually

Earning money

Having experiences 

et. al. 

Are all things that are easily measured.

But I don’t recommend limiting your goals to that extent. For ex. one of my goals is to hire a trainer for my mother and to take her on the vacation of her dreams.

This goal isn’t exactly measurable, but it’s one of my goals, nonetheless. 

Are Your Goals Attainable

Making your goals attainable, or practical is uber necessary. We can’t go around making it our goal to be 6’2 when we’re 5’6 and 35 years old. That’s goofy. So it’s necessary we be reasonable. But in the same breath, it’s also necessary we stretch ourselves and aim beyond our limits. 

That’s where genuine growth lies. 

Are Your Goals Realistic

I’m also not the biggest fan of this advice, because what’s "realistic" is subjective, and I’m not one for limiting the scope of our dreams. 

We’re more powerful than we could ever imagine, so injecting limiting beliefs into our goal setting/ spellcasting is counterproductive and sends the wrong message to the universe. 

That said, it is important to ensure we’re not just pulling shit out of our asses. Don’t make a goal to swim from Texas to the Yucatan, no. Don’t make a goal to marry Kim Kardashian, no. That's ye’s squeeze. 

Make sense. But don’t hesitate to dream big. 

I mean, me and Rihanna are going to be besties one day, sooo..

Make Your Goals Time Sensitive

If our goals don’t have an end date on them, it’s easy to make excuses for ourselves. To push things back,  put'em off until tomorrow, or the next day, or the next week, until ten years have passed and your ass sitting there talmbout “new year, new me” with the same goal you had before artificial intelligence enslaved humanity. 

When the resolution haters decide to run their rabbit ass mouths, this is the part they’re typically talking about.

ol “bitch, you said that last year.” ol “ bitch, you been trying to lose weight since 6th grade.” ol “you been tryna get your bachelors since the sidekick was hot” head neck asses. 

Let’s not give them hating ass haters any fuel. 

Make a time window for each of your goals. No matter how big or small. It’s necessary we give ourselves something to aim for. 

Okay, so did your goals make the grade? 

Do any of them need to be nixed or tweaked? 

If so, do that now. 

Step Five: Narrow Your List Further

Finally, it’s time to choose which goals you’ll be running with for the long haul. Our goals have to be manageable, or else we overwhelm ourselves and get nothing accomplished. 

The number goals a one can manage varies from person to person, but if you’re new to goal setting, I recommend no less than 3, and no more than 5 with the level of difficulty tipped towards feasibility. 

But be sure to incorporate a couple goals that require a decent amount of risk-taking, because, after all, that’s what we came to this realm to do..

Take risks and expand ourselves.  

Step Six: Breaking Them Down

Now that you have your goals pinned down, it’s time to make another list.

We’re going to break the goals you’ve come up with down into smaller more attainable goals. 

For instance, I’m working on my first Manga. My goal is to be able to drop a couple pages a week on my website. In order to do so, I first have to decide what my story's going to be about. i.e

What kind of world/ universe does it take place in? What does this world/ universe look like? Who are the characters? What do these characters look like? How are these characters related to one another? etc etc.

Then I have to make deadlines for myself i.e. the time window I spoke of earlier. 

Then I have to write the story. 

Then I have to storyboard the story. 

Then I have to sketch the panels. 

Then I have to Ink the panels.

etc etc. 

It’s a whole ass process. 

So this step is really about making mini-assignments for yourself and then holding yourself accountable. 

If you break your big goals down into mini steps, and you achieve the mini steps, before you know it, your ultimate goal is actualized. 

Step Seven: Set Reminders

We live highly active-busy-A.D.D. inducing-overwhelmingly stimulating-multitasking-ass lives. 

So, if we’re to effectively achieve our goals—if we’re to actually complete the assignments we've made for ourselves, we have to set reminders. 

Fill up the calendar on the phone attached to your hand, that’s probably synced with your computer and tablet, with the assignments and deadlines you’ve made for yourself. 

Turn on your notifications. 

And look at that calendar regularly. 

Some goal setting -- here’s 200 tips to streamline your life -- ass productivity gurus recommend we have accountability partners to ensure we achieve our goals, but that’s not necessary, and low key does more harm than good. 

Be accountable for yourself.

This is about will. 

This is about having control over our mind, body, and spirit. 

This is about motivating ourselves. 

This is about cultivating Power. 

And if we can’t do that, we really don’t deserve to achieve our goals. 

Step 8: Create a Mantra

If we don’t write our goals down (on paper and w/ ink) and speak them often, they don’t exist. 

As I mentioned before, to manifest what we want and need into our physical reality, it’s paramount we do the spiritual and energetic work in tandem with the actions required to bring our goals to fruition. 

To set a goal, at it’s core, is to cast a spell—is to conjure—so when we write them down and speak them.. when our goals become mantra.. when we begin to believe in them.. and have faith in our ability to bring them to light—we send a message to the universe, energetically, to conspire with us and bend to our will. 

If you’re into meditation or prayer, I highly recommend incorporating your goals—your dreams—into your practice. It’s the perfect time and setting for energizing your intention. 

This is perhaps the most important step in the goal-setting process.

Step 9: Keep Track of and Celebrate Your Progress

Finally, it’s time to choose which goals you’ll be running with for the long haul. Our goals have to be manageable, or else we overwhelm ourselves and nothing gets accomplished. 

It’s as simple as that. We need to keep track of our small wins in order to keep us motivated and charged up, so we can continue to power forward and complete our big goals. 

Our gains are fuel. 

Additional Tips:

1. If you don't meditate i.e. make time for silence and stillness, or don't meditate regularly, now is the time to start. 

2. If you set your goals, but still have a voice in your head that speaks ill on your pursuits, you will have trouble bringing your goals to fruition. 

3. If you set your goals, but still have people in your life who speak ill on your pursuits, you will have trouble bringing your goals to fruition. 

4. In addition to making time for silence and stillness, be sure to make time for joy and self-- for doing things that make YOU happy. That energizes you. That makes you laugh or smile. That fills you up.

This energy -- the energy of joy-- of flow -- is fodder for the fire, and will aid tremendously in your pursuit. 

And that’s it kids!  Good luck and happy spellcasting! 

If you have any questions, feedback, or would like to share your progress with me or each other, feel free to comment on this post or drop me a line at mycdazzle@gmail.com. 

#Power

[consulting-celiac-in-the-tardis]

5 Easy Energy Boosting (Coffee Free!) Tricks for the New Year

New blog post! After a week or so of relaxing with family, enjoying time unplugged and away from work or school, it can be challenging to suddenly jump into the swing of a new year. Especially if you're like me and don't like coffee or caffeinated tea! So what's a grad student to do besides research how to increase energy naturally - and add a few new foods that increase energy to my usual gluten free diet? Today, I'm rounding up the five research-backed tips I'm using to boost my energy levels as I start another semester of grad school and teaching. Whether you're looking for a quick energy boost, are curious about which foods increase energy or just want to feel your best in 2018, these tips are exactly what you need to take the first week of January by storm.

So let's dive on in...

1. Walk it (AKA, mental and physical fatigue) off.

One of my favorite ways to naturally boost my energy levels during long days of work is taking a walk. When I'm spending most of the day blogging, grading papers or working on my computer, a mid-afternoon walk keeps my muscles from tensing up and lets me get a hit of fresh air. If you work in an office, try taking a stroll during your lunch hour or have a phone meeting while enjoying some rays outside. If you're a student like me, take longer routes from one class to the other, or catch up with friends by taking a walk together between classes. Research has found that taking even a 10-minute walk can boost people's energy levels for two hours after the walk ends. If you turn a short walk into a habit for at least three weeks, researchers also reported that people's overall energy levels and mood got a boost. Now I know why short (or long) walks are some of my favorite activities!

2. Make sure your cup (of water) is full!

As I've shared before, hydration and I are very good friends. Because of certain medications I take for my fibromyalgia, I have dry mouth and rarely go anywhere without a water bottle in hand. My digestion is also a lot happier when I start my day out with a lot of water (including a mug of warm water with squeezed lemon and a little apple cider vinegar). While you've probably heard of the importance of staying hydrated before, though, you may be like me and have not realized that water is a natural energy booster. In fact, feeling extra tired is one symptom of dehydration. Personally, using a water filter (like this one) and eating water-rich meals like homemade soup or hydrating foods like watermelon, lettuce and berries helps me make sure I'm getting plenty of liquids. So, if you feel like you're dragging this January and need a quick energy boost, maybe keeping a full water bottle nearby is an easy answer.

3. Unplug from all of your gadgets for at least a few hours (or even a whole day).

As a blogger, it often feels nearly impossible to not have some gadget within reach almost 24 hours a day. If I'm not writing blog posts, I'm researching for them, promoting them or managing related social media channels. (Any fellow Instagram addicts out there?). As I discovered last year, though, taking some time - even a whole weekend - to unplug from social media can make a big difference in your mental and physical energy levels. Why? Well, I'm no researcher, but as someone who uses social media a lot, I can attest to the fact that constantly keeping up with others online can be mentally draining. It's also no secret that technology can mess with people's sleep schedules...which means a bigger need for energy boosters the next day. Even ebooks can be problematic, with one study finding that people who read an ebook versus a traditional paper book before bed took longer to fall asleep and felt more tired in the morning.

If you're still shopping for a 2018 New Year's Resolution, perhaps cutting down on your social media use or going technology free one day a week can give you the exact energy boost you're craving...

Like this post? Tweet me some love by clicking here: "Want to kick 2018's booty? I'm sharing 5 research-backed ways I'm boosting my energy for the New Year, from #healthyliving tips to #glutenfree and #vegan energy boosters like @BTCbars. http://bit.ly/2Cfv6jl"

4. Give yourself a mental vacation - even if it's only five minutes long.

If I had to sum up all of the (awesome) advice I got in 2016 using only one word, it would be "mindfulness." My physical therapist encouraged me to be more mindful when exercising in order to avoid injury. My dad encouraged me to be mindful during my first semester of grad school, and remember to enjoy as much of the experience as I could. And you can hardly log onto Instagram or Facebook without seeing some colorful meme encouraging more "mindful eating," "mindful living" or just plain "mindfulness." Although "mindfulness" might be one of 2017's buzzwords, that doesn't mean mindfulness isn't part of a healthy life. In fact, mindfulness - at least in terms of giving your brain a break - might be an easy way to boost energy. Why? Well, various studies have linked high levels of stress with low levels of energy. Since mindful meditation has been shown to help those feeling stressed or anxious, maybe a five-minute "brain break" featuring deep breathing, yoga or soft music would be a better option for an energy boost than a cup of coffee or an energy drink.

5. Upgrade your nutrition plan.

You've probably heard the old saying, "You are what you eat." Well, if you're trying to learn how to increase energy naturally, foods (especially these edible energy boosters!) can play an important role. Chia seeds have recently been thrust into the spotlight as energy boosting superfoods, thanks to their high amount of fiber and omega-3 fatty acids. I can't say that chia seeds have turned me into an energizer bunny...but they sure are delicious in recipes like chia seed pudding, chocolate superfood smoothie bowls and pumpkin spice quinoa flakes porridge. Even more recently, I've added another kind of food to boost energy to my gluten free diet: Better Than Coffee Bars. When BTC reached out and asked if I'd like to try their energy-boosting gluten free snack bars (in return for possibly talking about BTC on my blog/social channels <-- yay, full disclosure!), I thought about my crazy second semester of grad school and replied a big Y-E-S. Better Than Coffee Bars are gluten free, vegan, soy free, kosher, nut free (except for coconut), low sodium and GMO free. Plus, they get their energy boost powers from South American plants, maca and guarana.

Since I don't consume caffeine regularly and each BTC bar contains 100mg of caffeine, I've enjoyed chowing down on small pieces of a BTC bar along with my mid-morning snack. Better Than Coffee Bars come in four flavors, and, so far, the Dark Chocolate-Coconut is my favorite. The dark chocolate and guarana give the bar a slightly bitter flavor, which is offset well by the shredded coconut. I also like that the bars are full of pieces of seeds, making for a crunchy bite. Do these bars really boost energy levels? I can't say for sure. If I ate a full bar (or the half of a bar that BTC recommends people start with), I'm sure the caffeine would have me jumping, for better or worse.  For now, though, I'm enjoying Better Than Coffee Bars as a tasty gluten free snack to fuel me through the rest of my day...and that's enough of an energy boost for me!

Like this post? Tweet me some love by clicking here: "Want to kick 2018's booty? I'm sharing 5 research-backed ways I'm boosting my energy for the New Year, from #healthyliving tips to #glutenfree and #vegan energy boosters like @BTCbars. http://bit.ly/2Cfv6jl"

How to Increase Energy Naturally: The Bottom Line

The more I've researched and the more energy boosters I've tried, the more I've decided that the quest for increased energy levels is a lot like the quest for any other aspects of healthy living: it requires discipline and finding the schedule and diet that works for you. Maybe that means you enjoy a cup (or several) of coffee or tea every day. Or maybe that means you experiment with other activities or foods to increase energy, from going for afternoon walks to snacking on chia seeds or Better Than Coffee Bars.

If you take anything away from this post, I hope it's that energy boosters differ for everyone and what works for me may not work for you. However, you may never know what can increase your energy until you try unplugging from your electronics for a day or drinking extra water - and there's no better time to experiment with new healthy habits than the start of 2018. And if you learn any other energy booster secrets along the way...well, let's just say that your favorite gluten free college celiac is always open to more ideas! *I received samples of Better Than Coffee Bars for no charge in exchange for editorial consideration. However, all opinions and photos are my own, I was not paid for this post, and I only share gluten free products that I sincerely enjoy. If you do decide to try Better Than Coffee Bars, visit their website and read their full disclaimer about the effects of these bars on different individuals, etc. Thank you for supporting what supports Casey the College Celiac!* What's your favorite way to boost your energy levels? Are you a coffee or tea fan? Tell me in the comments! via Blogger http://ift.tt/2E3xs1a

[insert-witty-comment]

Moving into Part 2, Moon takes over the writing. As usual, he immediately sticks in a disclaimer.“The purpose of the previous section was not only to inform but to put to rest once and for all some of the major doubt and nagging uncertainties that people have on the subject of UFOs and aliens. Any person with an open and logical mind should now have a heightened awareness and better grasp of these subjects. Those who still remain cynical at least have to admit that Preston has an orderly and exotic imagination that will not quit. Of course, Preston has not insisted that his adventures are definitive truth. He is open to the idea that some of his visitations or other paranormal experiences might be influenced by his subconscious or be the product of his inner imagination.”No, I don’t think this is the type of guy who can be reasoned with.Chapter 24 talks a little bit about the theories of Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung, and somehow uses the ideas of these guys to claim that UFOs exist.Chapters 25-28 describes Moon’s bizarre childhood. His family was the only one in the entire neighborhood that wasn’t Catholic. Instead of asking his parents the reason for this like a normal kid, he instead asked his psychic friend who told him that it was because his father was molested by a priest as an altar boy. Well okay then. He also learned from his mother that she believed in guardian angels.“Upon asking her why, she told me that I had been saved by a guardian angel when I was a small baby. It occurred on a hot day in Newhall, California when she had put me in a stroller and let it rest under the shade of a large tree. She sat on the porch not too far away. According to her story, a large branch of the tree began to give way. It was not a gradual break and was obviously going to crush me in just a matter of seconds. My mother was too far away to reach me in time and for a split second felt the horror of possibly losing her baby. There was no way I could survive the fall of that branch. As the branch began to fall, a very strong gust of wind appeared and blew my stroller out of harm’s way. The day had been very hot with no sign of wind before or after that occurrence. That it was strong enough to push the stroller was most remarkable to her. Despite growing up Catholic, she had abandoned her faith and was not really a religious woman at all, but this experience led her to believe in guardian angels. I would later learn that a Greek goddess named Alcyone was one of the seven Pleiades and that she controlled the fate of storms and winds.”So either it was a guardian angel or an ancient Greek goddess. Logic.“As I have no personal recollection of the incident in the stroller, I cannot say if the aboveoccurrence was celestial intervention by a higher power or just dumb luck. It would seem that some force in the universe wanted to me to stay around for a while.”If I had to venture a guess, I suppose God is a Stranger Things fan as well and needed Moon to live in order to inspire the Duffer brothers with his batshit lunacy. That’s the only reason I can think of that isn’t completely ludicrous, and really what reason could be more worthy of divine intervention?When Moon was twelve, he played in a baseball game. He had a horrible headache and every time he would swing or run the pain got worse. Upon getting home, he immediately vomited and went to bed. While asleep he felt an even more intense pain as it felt like a computer was rifling through his mind. After that he couldn’t keep down his food and was constantly vomiting. The doctor had no idea what to do, and by the tenth day Moon could barely walk from weakness. However, after his best friend’s father took him back to his old neighborhood, he got better. Three years after that he moved to another town where he became interested in the work of Robert S. de Ropp and his ideas of achieving enlightenment.“Two important truths I learned during this time period have served me incredibly well. First, all proper path work or initiation work begins from the heart. In other words, you should not engage in any activities that you don’t really believe in. For me, this eliminated just about any possible career.”Of course it did.“Another point taught by de Ropp is that each one needs to generate his own magnetic center in order to find like minds and compatible groups through which one can learn. Although I lived in a hippie laden community at this point, most of these people were too drug oriented to seriously consider real consciousness exploration”.Fair enough. Moon then wrote to de Ropp asking for advice, and was told to finish school and join “The League”, which was a mystical group tied to UFOs. Naturally, Moon took this advice to heart and joined Scientology. No, that is not a joke. I absolutely refuse to even repeat his shilling for those people, so I’m just going to post a link to Operation Clambake here instead.In Chapter 29, Moon moved to New York with his wife in 1983 and soon discovered a book slamming both Hubbard and Crowley. However, this somehow inspired him to start looking for “Excalibur”, a mystical lost text penned by Hubbard, and he eventually claimed to the conclusion that Hubbard was a powerful psychic and the reincarnation of King Arthur. This somehow connected it to pyramids, ancient gods and geometric magic.Chapter 30 starts off with Moon revealing that he owns… an isolation tank;“Not only had I found a tank on Long Island, but its owner was the manufacturer of the most modern and desirable flotation tank available. There was also an interesting and tragic tale he had to tell but first I will talk about floating. The tank was very user friendly and had a contour like a whale. There was plenty of room inside with two waterproof switches for lights and music. The water is hygienically filtered and loaded with Epsom salt so that your body is completely suspended in water and completely relaxed. It is impossible to physically relax all your muscles to the extent you can while floating. Subluxations even disappeared through total relaxation. As the tank is totally dark, your mind begins to process information until it finally relaxes and penetrates the deeper layers of consciousness. I not only found it to be extremely fun but it also opened up psychic channels of the mind. At the very least, it relaxes one’s body. I soon realized that if people floated every day, there would be a lot less strife in the world and a great deal more productivity. This is where the tragic tale comes into play.”Yeah, fun and no more strife in the world, sure…So apparently the government see’s these things as a threat and ended up using a controlled lightning bolt (seriously) to set the Babylon factory making these things on fire. Yes, these things were literally being churned out of a factory for anyone to buy. Not to worry, you too can still buy your own isolation tank from Peter Shepherd if you really want to (as of 1995). Just make sure you don’t use after getting abducted by aliens. Apparently these tanks are such a threat that the government uses specially outfitted black helicopters to monitor these things and waste my tax dollars. Also;“I have also found it rather remarkable that if you try to get someone to float, it is like pulling teeth. The most prevalent excuse is claustrophobia. The tanks Peter has are not claustrophobic at all and can be opened by the floater in a moment. Inner space is certainly more boundless than the wide open spaces of Earth. Consciousness is still very much a taboo in our current society.”Why do I have the feeling that Moon will end up calling Eleven a pussy when/if he ever gets around to watching Stranger Things.“Actually, there is one possibly valid excuse for not floating which is that it could open you up to psychotronic attack. I have experienced such, but there are also means of protecting yourself. Besides, if you never throw a punch, you will never win the fight.”….And then he’ll start calling her a spineless wimp for not punching out the Demogorgon.One month after using the tank, he saw a UFO on Halloween and was told by a psychic that the aliens wanted him to see them. One week later in early November, he met Nichols and Cameron. After that, he was astrally abducted by aliens in his sleep and was taken to a UFO. There, he met up with Nichols and was taken to a room where an “oriental woman” broadcast the information to understand Japanese into his mind. After that, he woke up in his bed. Nichols later denied involvement and Moon came to the conclusion that he was being tested, and if he allowed the aliens to continue messing with his mind, he could have become a great psychic but at the cost of his humanity or some crap. So he essentially told the aliens to piss off. A bit later he had another dream in which two angels changed his DNA and RNA around. This somehow inspired him to start writing about the Montauk Project.Chapters 31-32 describes his hunt for the Illuminati. It kicks off with a retread with the whole Babalon Working ritual, the Cameron/Wilson connections, Crowley, Parson (who is an Illuminati leader now, I guess), and of course lots and lots of sex magick. It also claims that women tend to have a greater potential for magick due to being the “providers of life” and he claims that it’s no coincidence that most UFOs look like an overlapping three-dimensional vagina.Chapter 33 explains something called “Project KOALA”, which exists in 8885 A. D. and was (will be?) established by the “Inner Light Network”, a group of people “who are working for divine order in government and other arenas, many of whom receive direct guidance from ultraterrestrials.” KOALA (not the most intimidating name in the world) was designed maintain human health and ecology, and to contain the Montauk Project by finding a way to manipulate time. This information was helpfully provided by Tahuti via a psychic.Chapters 34-37 describe the impact the Pleiadians had on our world. It explains the ancient Greek creation myth and the legend of the Pleiade Sisters. It also explains that Troy was a Pleiadian outpost, and that the infamous Trojan Horse somehow used time manipulation aided by divine intervention. The Pleiadian descendants went on to found Rome after Troy fell, and the Roman gods kicked the Greek gods’ asses. It then explains how Romulus and Remus founded Rome.“Perhaps more importantly, the most important aspect of this myth is the death of Remus. Romulus went on to rule for a long time even though he had done wrong and knew he was guilty. Their quarrel was all over property boundaries which is a patriarchal way of looking at things. Remus saw the futility of boundaries and was thus representing the feminine side. Romulus slaying his brother was an act of vanquishing the feminine. That he ruled for a long time has its own implications. The writings about Remus surviving were buried as was his personage and namesake. It finally emerged in America with the legends of Uncle Remus, a kindly old Negro who was completely nonthreatening. He and his namesake were only suitable for bedtime stories. Of course, this was a contemptuous positioning of the black race with the feminine energy. The ruling powers didn’t respect either one which gave rise to a satirical stereotype which subtly expressed their contempt.”You know, I didn’t really think that this guy could top Song of the South but it looks like he almost did. Almost.Chapter 38 explains how this connected to Montauk; basically it has something do with bulls and gods and names and I don’t fucking know, I just want to wrap this up.Chapter 39 can be summed up by saying that seven is the most important number in the universe, as it somehow connects all life together.Chapter 40, last one, states that the Pleiadians have all of Earth’s “blueprints” but not even they know who drew them up.Finally we arrive at the Epilogue.“All of the books I have written with Preston Nichols are criticized by some for being disjointed, and this one will be no exception. Although I make everyeffort possible to communicate clearly, there is a reason why the pieces of the puzzle are never in perfect focus. We are writing about phenomena thattranscends the third dimension. The phenomena is not part of this realm and the information does not come as easy as finding the maintenance manual for a motorcycle. Obviously, critics and everyone else (including myself) would like everything handed to them on a silver platter as far as transcending the third dimension.”Shit, did one of his psychic friends preemptively rat me out? Eh, who cares?“My interest in saying all this is not to silence critics but to bring home a very important point. Spiritual evolution is hard work. It is not arrived at merely by reading books. Although books can be a boost, one has to put ideas in to practice in order to change conditions. Each person’s path is a separate and individual journey. For those who are seeking their own path, clues have been included in this book as to how you might go about it. All you really have to do is consult your own intuition and follow the horizon of your own consciousness. If those words don’t ring a bell then it isn’t meant to be rung. In keeping with the above, I would like to end this work with the last words the Buddha was said to have spoken.“Decay is inherent in all component things. Work out your salvation with diligence.”And on that mildly depressing note we are done. So, what does all of this have to do with Stranger Things? Well… we learned that you can buy your own isolation tank for only a couple thousand dollars. Other than that, not much.Join me next week on Hawkins Book Club and we’ll take a look at The Black Sun: Montauk’s Nazi-Tibetan Connection.……God, it hurts already.Thanks for reading, and Stay Strange.The Montauk Project: Experiments in Time OverviewMontauk Revisited: Adventures in Synchronicity OverviewPyramids of Montauk: Explorations in Consciousness Overview via /r/StrangerThings