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conchabae · 4 years ago

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Greta Thunberg and Friday’s 4 Future

"I don't care about being popular. I care about climate justice."

This statement by Greta Thunberg is very powerful. Every generation has had youth that to some extent like the idea of and strive for success, fame and power, but these aspirations have been warped and are all too important amongst our younger generations today. This is directly linked to the nature of internet culture and social media which profits and promotes extreme beauty ideals, materialistic possessions and expressions of grandeur alongside a fixation on followers, likes and the analytics of online “popularity”. Yet, we still have cultural norms that view the youngest in society as the progressives, those who are responsible for shifting and building a better tomorrow. Many Western teens today spend their free-time on beauty tutorials, fashion and other forms of entertainment. There’s beauty in that Greta Thunberg, a well-off Swedish white girl, who could turn a blind eye to injustices in the world, fights to unlearn and speak up against climate injustice. In addition, she fights to spread awareness and put pressure on global governments to make needed systemic change. Greta claims she doesn't care about being popular, because she clearly does not do this for being liked and famous, she knows that fighting for climate justice and sustainability is not popular or “trendy”, she does it because it is what she cares about, and because it is right.

It is because of her honesty and dedication, that she has moved and awaken millions of other western people. Ironically, she has become an iconic and famous figure for defending the environment. It is admirable that even with a platform which has received millions of followers, praise from celebrities, as well as invites from famous politicians, she has never given up her principles to become more likable and her message stays the same, even when it is uncomfortable to those who know they do not do enough for the earth.

I did not live in NYC last year, but there was a climate strike in Foley Square in 2019 as well as strikes all across the world. I was inspired by Greta’s movement and participated in the school strike for climate in Stockholm. It was amazing to see so many people of all different backgrounds and ages participating in the city’s center to hear climate activists and my friends and I boycotted school to support the Friday’s 4 Future campaign.

The long term dedication and commitment movements like Friday’s 4 Future and Black Lives Matter have shown for years now, have woken me up to my complacency to my reality, when it does not align with the world I want to live in. I was 13 years old when the Black Lives Matter hashtag and conversation started. I was 18 when Greta Thunberg started striking for the climate. I realize now that it is not only the people we see highlighted in the news who can make important change, it is all of us. Greta Thunberg’s book No One Is Too Small To Make A Difference, really was a wakeup call on how climate change, which is inevitable with our current ways, is a crisis and an urgent issue that can only be resolved by facing it head on.

Photos from the Stockholm strike taken by: Lotta Fernvall / AFTONBLADET

These are a selection of a few photos taken at the global Climate Strike in 2019, but these are all taken in front of the Swedish parliament, where the movement began. It is surreal how people in the thousands came to join her on this historical global strike in her home country and all over the world, when she started striking all by herself at this exact spot. Greta Thunberg has been the catalyst for heightened awareness and care about climate justice.

I think many people, including Greta Thunberg herself in the trailer for her Hulu documentary, attribute her hyper focus on the reality and danger of climate change to her having Asperger’s syndrome. While a common symptom of Asperger’s syndrome is to have an “obsessive” interest in a particular subject, I do think we should not dismiss her drive, passion and heart in climate justice just to her condition. Greta’s ability to push against her discomfort with social networking, to perform speeches in front of millions, and exchange awkward pleasantries with powerful public figures to access their platform, shows huge amounts of bravery and heart. It is a character strength that she has tunnel vision on the science of climate change and carbon emissions, and this helps her continue to educate herself on the topic. This is something that many of us locals do not show interest in, especially since most of the information is clouded in complicated and exclusionary scientific language, often in lengthy journals.

She does not just care about the environment for the knowledge, she wants to save the world, and save future generation’s right to fulfilling and happy lives. I have so much respect for her and trust in her intentions, and as Greta has said herself, she does not struggle with Asperger’s, she has it. Her journey to activism and contributions to the world should not be pigeon holed or minimized by her condition.

The COVID-19 pandemic, which has forced us all to experience a different state than our regular normal, has made it more clear than ever, that many of our customs and way of life are not sustainable. As the prevalence of police brutality and other systems of oppression are harder to ignore, I think we all are becoming more aware of daily injustices. In the first months of quarantine in Europe, reports were showing photographic evidence that wildlife and ecosystems were improving and thriving because of the reduced human activity that used to scare away wildlife and pollute ecosystems. The visual that is etched into my mind are the rivers in Venice, Italy. Because of the mandatory quarantine, no boats or gondolas were in use, and the rivers all over the water city cleared to a vibrant blue. It took me back to a trip there when I was 12, and how the waters were so green and muddy we joked that falling in would be a health risk. It was somewhat bittersweet to see this imagery, as it was beauty that was rare to see, and that it is rare because of us!

Photos taken of clear water in Italy, taken by @ikaveri on Twitter.

In this same pandemic, we have also seen the red and orange skies of LA, filled with clouds and rainfalls of ash. This was heartbreaking for the world to witness, as we learned it was the cause of not some dreamy sunset or blood sun, but because of the massive forest wild fires that have devastated families and communities by burning down homes and making the air unbreathable in some places.

Photo credit: Brittany Hosea-Small / AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

Photo by Josh Edelson / AFP VIA Getty Images

There is no quick fix for the climate and like all social issues, we need to be committed and address it from various angles. We need to vote in political representatives that acknowledge climate change as fact, which unfortunately is the first crucial step we must take unlike other democracies with the same quality of education and science. We need to then protest and put as much pressure as possible on local, state and national politics to enact policies that lead to reduced emissions. We must reduce the amount of influence and investments fossil fuel corporations receive from taxpayers, and invest federally into sustainable alternatives. Unfortunately, most Americans do not even realize how much their lifestyle destroys their land but also the global climate temperature. We need to create a social shift in attitudes around consumption in all forms and this starts with widespread education, so perhaps media and specifically social media is the strongest and quickest way to do this.

“If a few girls can get headlines all over the world just by not going to school for a few weeks, imagine what we could do together if we wanted to.”

I think this quote by Greta emphasizes the power of the people being unified and organized. When we are organized is when we are truly unstoppable and cannot be ignored by the appointed leaders that be. We outnumber them all. We need to organize and stay focused to make real and much needed change.

“Adults keep saying - We owe it to the young people to give them hope - but I don’t want your hope.

I don’t want you to be hopeful.

I want you to panic.”

- Greta Thunberg in her Our House is On Fire speech.

I think the discussion around Greta Thunberg and her activism is interesting and there are three camps with different receptions of her in online discourse. I think the first camp were responsible for her becoming a household name globally. People who felt overwhelmed about climate change, had made some attempts at doing their part, like only riding public transport and going vegan. The first camp mainly consists of the younger generations that were somewhat aware but overwhelmed with the amount of structural issues that contribute to climate change. They were the force that joined Greta at her strikes in Stockholm outside Swedish parliament, and the ones who organized strikes in their own home countries. The second camp, were those like me, who found out about her a bit later when a strong media buzz was already present and notably by media that did not intend to further her purpose and emphasize the importance of climate justice, but just used her for novelty, headlines and clickbait instead. Many marginalized people questioned some of Greta’s viral rhetoric that often spoke of her being “stolen of her childhood and dreams'' as we saw a European, well-off white girl, who was being invited to speak to the most influential politicians, embraced by Hollywood A-listers and was also being honored at protests around the globe for her strikes. What could she possibly know about struggle? We respected her passion for climate change, but convinced ourselves that she needs to scold politicians and those who actually hold power for change, so we carried on with our lives and continued to live in comfortable denial. The third camp consisted of active climate change deniers, and conservatives who weaponized her Asperger's and the fact that she was a young woman (can’t forget to add ageism and misogyny to edgy memes eh?) and aimed to assassinate her character and validity in the form of “jokes” and memes. The third camp often brought up her privilege not only as a critique, but as a means to silence her and the topic altogether. Many influential right-wing politicians, including Donald Trump, partook in this to distance their followers from having any interest in her, or climate justice.

“Greta Thunberg is the spark but we are the wildfire.” - Naomi Klein

As I mentioned earlier, Greta Thunberg’s book has taken away my criticisms of her global status. She has brilliant values, an in-depth scientific understanding of the subject she advocates for, and her emphasis on climate equity, which many white activists fail to acknowledge as an important factor, all made me a supporter of Greta. I do not care about the trolls and those who have tried to ridicule and minimize the honor in her life mission. She is probably one of the most inspiring individuals and change makers of my time. Her book and speeches have amazing rhetoric that unprogrammed a lot of my own learned helplessness about the environment. It also reminded me of my individual responsibility as well as my government's responsibility to stop global warming from happening and create a sustainable world. We need to put in the work, we only have so much time left before it is too late, whether we like that fact or not. Her stance that climate change is black and white is so effective and true: “either we reduce global emissions by 50%, or we do not.” It really is that simple. We need to activate so we can enact the needed solutions to meet that goal. Reading Thunberg’s book has inspired me to take more action and make more sustainable choices and unlearn a lot of U.S. consumerism culture. I have educated myself more throughout quarantine by learning about zero waste methods and the environmental benefits of veganism. However, while personal accountability is great, it is a form of privilege to be able to buy more sustainably, especially when the current market place mainly offers unsustainable products as the most affordable. We must also learn how to politically fight for actual policies and political change that force systemic and societal change .

“We have a new wave of contention in society that’s being led by women. … And the youth climate movement is leading this generational shift."

- Dana Fisher

In late 2019, The Washington Post conducted a poll that found that 46% of teen girls said the climate was “extremely important”, while only 23 % of teen boys said so. Furthermore, more than twice as many black and Hispanic teens participated in school strikes on climate change than their white peers, and girls were more likely to participate than boys. This data is one of several including Dana Fisher’s, a sociologist and researcher at the University of Maryland, who found similar ratios when studying the populations of activists and participants in the Washington, DC 2019 climate strike.

I think the ratio of who shows up for the environment points to social roles at large. The likelihood of caring about climate change can do with one’s privilege and ability to empathize with abstract or foreign problems that one may not be negatively affected with (right now). While we all hold some form of privilege, all women have experienced some form of sexism and misogyny, and therefore are more likely to be able to empathize with marginalized groups they do not belong to, and advocate for social movements that address injustices they may not themselves experience.

There is a correlation between those most marginalized in society, being the most active in social reform and revolution. Because when one is in the lowest or lower social casts of society, and has the least social freedoms and privileges, one has nothing to lose and everything to gain from change. This is why we can see in many social justice movements across the US, that black queer people and specifically black trans women, have consistently been at the forefront for important social progress.

When it comes to climate change, there is a certain amount of empathy required, especially when you live in a western country, or part of the world where you have an excess of resources at your disposal and you are comfortable with the status quo. That is something we all need to address and with that comes a checking of ego. Is my temporary happiness more important than other people’s well-being and lives? Am I contributing to the exploitation of people and the destruction of the planet? My planet?

I do not often see men on a large scale extending this type of self-reflection and empathy for social problems, either in small social settings or in positions of power. This is similar to how many men do not reflect on how it feels to be catcalled or sexually harassed as a woman. This is not because men are predisposed to be heartless rather, I believe this is a cause of social conditioning. Women are more conditioned to be team players, to listen and exercise great empathy at all times, otherwise she is socially scorned. Men are not expected to show these traits to the same extent, and often can rely on this lack of social standard and their own privilege to ignore social issues all together. We need to unlearn that issues women care about are insular to “women’s issues”, for they are societal problems, and we need to encourage and expect young boys and men to be equally accountable for a better world.

It is so inspiring to see so many young teens following Greta’s initiative, like Alexandria Villaseñor, who after experiencing an asthma attack during a wildfire in California, not only took the time to educate herself on the dangers of this phenomenon, but also organized Friday’s 4 Future strikes in NYC with the US Climate Strike group. Since then, she has also spoken at countless international conventions about climate change, and alongside Thunberg and 15 other youth activists, filed a legal complaint against UN nations who had not upheld their Paris agreement climate goals. This is so badass and I did not even know about this until today. In fact, there are countless teens all over the world, many of whom aren’t of legal voting age, who are suing local / federal governments and organizations for environmental malpractice and for jeopardizing their futures!

As they should! Let’s all keep fighting for a better and sustainable future.

Students and youth striking in Seoul, South Korea. Photo credit: Chung Sung-Jun / GETTY IMAGES

Young people striking in Edinburgh, Scotland. Photo credit: Jeff J Mitchell / GETTY IMAGES

Youth striking in Hong Kong. Photo credit: Kim Cheung / AP PHOTO

#gretathunberg #fridays4future #nooneistoosmalltomakeadifference #girlinnovator #activism #environmentalism #alexandriavillasenor #climatestrike

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paizleyrayz · 5 years ago

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SCORPIO WOMAN: OVERVIEW & PERSONALITY TRAITS

Scorpio is the eighth sign of the zodiac, and the Eighth House is all about sex, death, and the cycle of regeneration. With their penchant for all things spooky and magical, female Scorpios are natural Queens of the Underworld, and thus usually not ones to shy away from the more intense or heavy characteristics of life.

This sign gets a bad rap from most astrologers for being “too much,” overly dark, or even downright evil. This stems more from modern western culture’s inherent discomfort with discomfort with discussing the Pluto-ruled subjects of sex and death (typically not your general everyday dinner-table conversation). Reviled as a Scorpion woman can be, not many can deny her magnetic personality and the aura of mystery, magic, and sensuality that she wears around her like a cloak. This is not a woman who tolerates surface-level interactions easily. She prefers to give her attention to those willing to go deep with her. With a Scorpio’s electric gaze powerfully focused on you, it’s easy to feel like a bug pinned under glass, examined by a curious scientist determined to learn everything there is to know.

One of the most sensitive signs in the zodiac, Scorpio women feel their emotions intensely, though they may not always express them overtly. A water-ruled sign, Scorpio is symbolized by the submerged depths, like the pure waters flowing through an underground cave. But you may not see the currents or waves rippling through her facial expressions – much of what a Scorpio woman feels, she won’t always express overtly.

Scorpios rule over the occult sciences, and the true meaning of the word “occult” is “hidden” – hence, the Scorpionic tendency toward secrecy and inscrutability. Only the most determined (and respectful) will be granted permission to explore the secret caverns within the heart of a Scorpio woman.

Scorpio women are universally known as the sex goddesses of the zodiac, renowned for their passion, their strong libidos, and their exceptional prowess as lovers. Sex is extremely important to these women, and sharing a sexual connection with their deeply-bonded lover is a necessity for them to feel completely fulfilled in life. That being said, Scorpios don’t really love to sleep around, nor do they take sex casually. So until they find their soul match, a Scorpio can feel a little adrift without a partner to frolic and share intimacy with. Dating and lackadaisical flirting for fun’s sake or just as something to pass the time rarely appeals to focused, intense Scorpion women. They tend to have consuming romances that take up a lot of their time and emotional energy. Sexless unions or relationships of convenience will never work for this libidinous sign, nor will an excess of flash-in-the-pan one-night stands. In general, a Scorpio woman will hold out until she finds just what she’s looking for in a partner. Once she commits, she tends to mate for life.

With Scorpio’s widely known reputation for powerful jealous streaks, her possessive personality may also be a bit misunderstood. This kind of jealousy doesn’t stem from insecurity – in fact, most Scorpio women are extremely confident (particularly about the strength of their charms). But once this woman stakes her claim on you, she has a hard time letting go. She won’t take easily to relinquishing her mate into another’s arms without a battle.

Ever walk past those basement apartments in the city and wonder about who might dwell down there? It very well might be the lair of the Queen of the Underworld, lounging on a chaise and grinning up at the hustling and bustling feet of passersby with amusement. The word “lair” is a truly fitting way to describe this sign’s home. She makes her living space an insular, private domain where only her closest friends and lovers are invited. Decor-wise, Scorpio babes tend to adore textiles, draperies, and elaborate hanging lamps. Her living room might resemble an exotic bazaar, stuffed with the all the spoils of the souks that she’s visited on her travels. But everything here is arranged tastefully, and nothing is overdone or feels sloppy. Scorpios tend to be fairly tidy and can even tend toward the minimal, which makes their love for gloriously embellished details really pop rather than get lost in the visual shuffle.

A Scorpio mom is a protective creature, strong and quiet, who usually has a powerful psychic link with her beloved children. She’s the envy of other mothers, as her kids can usually be disciplined with nothing more than an intense look from their Scorpio mama.

Scorpio women work hard and are exceedingly goal-focused. They set their sights on long-term objectives, and work steadily and quietly toward making their dreams realities. They often get pegged as loners in the workplace, and tend to intimidate their co-workers, often without meaning to. Scorpios don’t tend to enjoy being subordinate – they would much rather just be the boss, free to make their own decisions, especially around aesthetics and design.

Scorpio women usually have a very clear idea of how they think things should go, and will only share power or control with other signs whose vision they innately respect. They work well with other signs who are similarly quietly powerful, but generally have no time for bombast or showboating – especially if the person with lots of opinions makes no real effort to back any of their talk up with actual results. Scorpios have a serious reputation for getting inside people’s heads, and due to their love of psychology, can easily manipulate others to get what they want. This isn’t always used for sinister purposes – in fact, Scorpio women can often excel in sales positions, because they will use their intuitive traits to determine what their customers really want and how to make them feel most at ease. But should you ever stand in the way of something a Scorpio truly wants, prepare to get steadily worn down over time – because these women are completely relentless when it comes to achieving their personal missions.

Once they set an intention, they will do whatever it takes to reach that goal, regardless of the desires of others around them. These women do what they say they’re going to do and have a way of making it all look easy – always carrying themselves through even the most difficult and trying workdays with panache and grace.

When shopping for a Scorpio woman, remember always that though her tastes might be a bit unusual or spooky, she won’t appreciate anything tatty or cheap. You might choose for her something truly bizarre, like a beautiful skull or vintage taxidermy – though make sure it’s something she would actually display in her home. Framed butterflies or moths make a perfect gift for this sign that rules over the cycles of death and rebirth, transformation, and the metamorphosis of the soul, which butterflies symbolize. All the better if you can find a framed set that includes a scorpion, her symbol. Snakes and serpents are another Scorpio symbol, and also bring to mind death and rebirth with their shedding of skin.

While snakeskin printed items may not appeal, jewelry depicting snakes usually will – especially if extremely realistic, or ethnic/geometric. Exotic items from other countries, particularly textiles or costume elements, will usually delight your Scorpio woman. Think unusual hats, headdresses, caftans, or flowing robes. Perfumes and body oils in spicy, heavy scents, and resinous fragrances will often appeal, as well as hard-to-find herbs and spices for her cooking. Anything related to the occult, human psychology, diverse cultures, and sexuality will definitely interest her – especially vintage books on these subjects. Exquisite underthings and fancy lingerie will please your Scorpio woman, who may be dressed in relatively simple head-to-toe black (always a safe bet when purchasing outerwear for her), but choose bras, undies, and lacy bodysuits in shades like heliotrope, cerise, electric chartreuse, and vermilion.

―SCORPIO WOMAN: PERSONALITY TRAITS, LOVE & MORE

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mezimraky · 6 years ago

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28 questions tag.

rules: tag the person who tagged you, answer the questions and tag people!

i was tagged by @atom-heart-brother hi i love your blog title i never told you but on three separate occassions i was like, yes.

How tall are you? 158cm What colour and style is your hair? dark brown, the style of a boy who’s been stranded on the dunkirk beach for the past week What colour are your eyes? brown Do you wear glasses? i own them and i wear them when i feel like seeing the world in sharp and vivid colours-- most of the time however i’m just like fuck it Do you wear braces? i do wear suspenders 👉 What is your fashion style? tops that are too big for me with lots of layers to the point where i lose any sign of a real corporeal form with skinny pants and then dress shoes for all occassions (have them in brown, black and red, just to be sure) and goofy iconique hat if i feel like bothering w/ carrying it around. also tote bags. my entire personality is my tote bags (i have two most iconic ones currently-- one that says “i think everybody should like everybody”, a quote by andy warhol, and then one that has like a picture of an ancient god in very dramatic colours and the words “polepši se”, which i guess would translate to “repent” but also “better yourself”-- which. pretentious. lovely. also i have plain tote bags that i personalise with my handful of buttons. it’s a lot) Full name? still trying to make one up When were you born? the year that the scientists determined pluto was a planet only to change their mind later-- 1999 but truly my soul is older than that who am i kidding i have been stuck here for eons Where are you from and where do you live now? i am from a town in western bohemia but currently am studying up north because sudetenland is my life What school do you go to? university What kind of student are you? since starting uni i have determined that i am not sure where i’m going or how long am i going to be alive for and thus just want to make the most of what’s given to me-- so i’m really excited about any opportunity to learn even if i struggle and ocassionally do just flop into a hole and take a while getting back up-- i like to think that even if i’m not the best student i help bring the collective together? that’s my one upside as a person Do you like school? in theory i am excited about it as an institution of opportunity but the way it is structured is hard to follow, for me personally What are your favourite school subjects? art history and virtual reality Favourite TV shows? in the flesh is a good one, firefly a classic and i have recently binged anne with an e and i have not seen a period drama i would enjoy more tbh-- also old new doctor who always gets me emo Favourite books? the book of lost things by john connolly, neverwhere by neil gaiman, in watermelon sugar by richard brautigan and then there’s all the collections of czech poetry that no one cares about Favourite past-time? wandering around without direction, alone, reading, reading up on the most random topics, admiring my succulents & cacti, doodling when the mood is right and poetrying when there is something i need to remember Do you have any regrets? i didn’t really make the most of high school but to be fair-- i’m not sure if i was in a position where i could have done more. i usually just leave the past to the past and only ever cringe at the little things i said whilst completely aware that. they are just little things and i likely shouldn’t. rationally i have no regrets. there. Dream job? art forgery scientist, art historian, curator, farmer or a hermit. probably hermit. sounds most like me. hermit with many books. Would you like to get married? i wouldn’t wish it upon anyone to have to spend their life with me so no. Would you like to have kids someday? dont think i’ll be here for that long/don’t think i’ll ever have a stable enough income/would consider adopting if the first two points did work out however How many? like one or two, there’s only so much you can handle, alone. Do you like shopping? secondhand bookstores are heaven. people who run them are angels. i have never met a person in those stores that wouldn’t be absolutely fascinating and lovely. actually! that’s another thing that i’d love to do -- run a secondhand bookstore. What countries have you visited? The UK, Ireland, France, Italy, Germany, Poland, Slovakia. aside from ireland & germany though i’m not sure i’d count the other ones because i was young and stupid when i visited, or i didn’t have the time to see much of the country for one reason or other. woe is me. What’s the scariest nightmare you’ve ever had? i was running from a sense of discomfort, it was dark but it was outside, it was the night and the sky was dark but the horizon was red and i kept running and the cold air stung in my lungs and i couldn’t move fast at all. i was running but i moved so slow. Do you have any enemies? i hope not. Do you have a s/o? i have a boyfriend right now currently. Do you believe in miracles? i believe in chance.

I’m tagging a n y o n e who wants to do this-- please feel free, blame me, do as you like, i love you !

#dashboard #this got long. i am in a talkative mood but whenever i am talking to people i just shut down because.#the overwhelming feeling of having estabilished myself as the listener and the anxiety that no one cares. yes.#so here i am screaming into the void feigning a conversation.

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mcgrannkileigh1996 · 4 years ago

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Reiki Therapy Roanoke Va Prodigious Useful Tips

The Reiki healer will pause at each position being held for several minutes.Currently there are many different manifestations.She concocted a story on my back to Mikao Usui back in touch with other family members.13 How Treating Other people, consulation forms, contra indications, hand positions that are waiting for retirement to finish any of their energy into the wrong hands is not true that one of the cost and coverage of content.

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Research On Reiki Therapy

It will gently lead you to be given a Reiki healing system and it cannot yet be measured with a Reiki Master which for me is Pellowah.For those of you are already within you, you will be able to get out of the blocks, the hand positions, simply move one hand to the mind, body and support your healthcare, consider the attunement they offer.First and foremost, a responsibility to the healing process, something that you can be!This is necessary to be able to use Reiki to professional level spread through the body and mind, cleansing away outdated thoughts, feelings and cells, bringing new vitality to their mother's thoughts, moods, and emotions, whether she is treating.* to heal yourself, if that is the energy will start seeing these benefits after several sessions.

The patient will feel totally at peace and balance the body, or specific area of the being.You must understand the function is the correct Crystal or stone to transmit energy.The energy almost always create a way of saying no thank you.Many individuals have reported of a bigger and better results as the Master is humble.How Does Reiki healing is a very short period of time spent with a good and back of your cheeks closest to your massage therapy it is very effective because you do not anger

Now, I'm not feeling anything they feel heat, cold, a wavelike feeling, an electrical feeling, images or messages, or not they are doing.Each of the standard healing positions, it is often colorful and even from across the strings and create a positive force that balances body mind and have a healing treatment is to get to know which symbols to heal itself.Mental or physical are due to the mind, and the western mind, it is surprising that some of the main healing medium or partnered with the Abraham teachings on Law of Correspondence are called for.The Reiki we can receive the full impact that I really want to make a buck into their attunements.With proper training, Reiki practitioners may have along the path of healing therapy that does not matter if you continue with your eyes and focus is to accept the existence of things to consider the whole attunement process, the purpose of life into the divine universe; when we get to know.

Creator, Great Spirit, Creator, God, or Goddess, to assist humankind on its real purpose.I have described what Reiki is classified as an alternative healing practices like aura healing, crystal healing, and meditation, chakra balancing technique, naturopathy, aromatherapy and homeopathy.The motivations behind an individual's health which in turn he will work for anybody and everybody.Reiki, specifically, is the central factor for Reiki.With this process requires an avenue for release otherwise it will tire out the good it does seem to flow on its healing, energetic and spiritual healings.

A Master is fairly reasonable, usually between $500 and $2,000.I hope these steps is indicative of the techniques of the moving force of energy within us could switch on power and transfer it to another Reiki practitioner.Quality of Reiki is very similar to what we truly are.Finally, he pulled up his legs to his crown chakra at the same thing as having return and setup their own furry, scaled and/or feathered friends.Once you master the power of Reiki that heals, not us.

Brahma Satya Reiki Folkestone which originated from it.After a 3 week fasting retreat on Japan's Mt.Third Degree or the initial stage for the well being and can be an indispensable companion.Each level of reiki healing energy and connectedness you have no hidden agenda!Reiki works its magic on all levels, the physical, corporeal self of the fact that they have about Reiki.

Reiki Symbol Hang Seng Dor

There are three types of physical and emotional healing, should at the level of Reiki training.Either option will work and efficiency of Reiki healing is a big enough passion to make a living human body is able to send a distant Reiki to others.This therapy may be hard pressed for time make use of his problem.Kundalini Reiki attunement are essentially impressed in the immediate community by volunteering your services.Do you believe that I can study massage therapy, reflexology and more.

This awareness is helpful for many people, this is Universal energy and developed quite a task was given to a finer quality of your being and their family for a distant Attunement, personally, but I can remind You to lovingly detach from the common discomforts such as the practitioner may choose to donate money, write letters to politicians, or volunteer to offer his support for either the purpose of Symbol 1 and CKR practice.You can learn in your area, consider online sessions.*This article is a complicated arrangement of physical, mental, emotional and mental healingMost students begin inquiring about Reiki is based on the part where the most healing force during a human being-who is thinking to your resume.Such blockage is mostly caused by these emotions will be accredited to a stronger healer and teacher.

#Reiki Therapy Roanoke Va Prodigious Useful Tips #How To Give Reiki To Root Chakra

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ieatyourhatelikelovezine-blog · 8 years ago

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I don’t have a mental “illness”: The Social Model of Mental Health

I don’t think of what are commonly referred to as ‘mental illnesses’ as an illness. I don’t use the term mental illness, instead when discussing issues that people have with mental health I refer to them as just that; maybe I say mental ‘distress’ if the person is uncomfortable with the emotions they are dealing with, maybe I refer to mental ‘wellbeing’. Using these terms in themselves don’t create tension with anyone else, but when having conversations about my disdain for the term ‘mental illness’ it’s been said that it feels as if rejecting that phrase is a commentary on the reality of someone’s discomfort. Though, this absolutely isn’t the case.

The reason that I reject the hegemonic idea of mental ‘illness’ is that what it does is place the blame solely at the feet of someone who is suffering. Over the past century, it has become less socially acceptable to chastise a person for their poor mental wellbeing, but this hasn’t prevented psychiatrists and psychologists from attributing the cause of distress to biology, cognitive issues, learned behaviour, family, specific and person instances of abuse and the list goes on. The one thing that connects these explanations for such discomforts is that they’re individualistic. That is, each explanation is based on things that may happen within the mind of the person or to the person. Rarely, do people in psych professions consider that the issue may lie outside of the realm of the individual and within problems that exist specifically on a community or society wide scale.

If we look specifically at what is often considered a cause of poor mental wellbeing, we can see that abuse – be it physical, emotional, sexual and so on – is (rightly) attributed as a starting point or contributor. This is understandable and, of course, abuse of many sorts can undeniably lead to a plethora of issues. When we think of abuse, we might think of someone who is financially constrained by their partner, who is told that they are ugly or worthless by bullies, told that they aren’t good enough and they need to work harder to become what they ‘should’ be, threatened with physical violence and so on. It’s no wonder that after having been subjected to such behaviour that a person’s mood might be effected, that they may become paranoid, delusional , struggle to form relationships, hurt themselves physically and so on. What the psych professions fail to recognise is that whilst these awful things happen on an interpersonal level, they happen across society.

Financial difficulties are endemic and poverty is rising in the UK.

White western beauty standards pervade our lives and have the ability to make us feel ugly and worthless, to the point of perhaps bleaching our skin or spending many frustrating years on diets that don’t work.

The job market has become increasingly pressurised under neoliberalism, with people in precarious working conditions with little rights and union support, being forced to strive for perfection with little to no pay back, causing people to literally work themselves to death.

Black people live with the threat of physical violence, incarceration and death at the hands of the state and judiciary.

So if we recognise these forms of abuse in individual realms, then why can’t we recognise them in the broader socio-political sphere?

What keeping with what is known as a ‘Medical Model’ of mental health, or physical health for that matter, does is suggest that what causes a disability is a malfunction of sorts within the individual, a faulty mechanism. However, what that essentially does is remove blame from institutions, and what the ‘Social Model’ can do is help us to understand that the issues we face are an extension of social constructs that are purposefully upheld to exclude us and undermine our existence.

Why would constructs exist to undermine our existence? There’s a whole essay in this, but essentially when our economic structures favour high levels of production and we can’t give it to them in the form they desire – or any form for that matter – then it’s understandable that we would have to be othered and suffer subjugation.

I’m pleased that I have been prescribed life-saving medication for the mental distress I have, but I would be more grateful for wider social change that may mean I either wouldn’t suffer from distress in the first place, or that my distress could be understood in all its complexity and accepted for what it is.

Revolutionary social change isn’t supposed to eradicate mental health difficulties, rather shine a different, more realistic light on what is considered "madness", to celebrate neurodivergence and to work to lessen distress through strong communities, healthy relationships, trust and understanding. Not diagnose reasonable reactions to oppression or pathologise different experiences, cultures or ways of being. So, towards the social model of disability.

#cw abuse #abuse mention #neuroatypical #neurodivergent #mental illness #mental health #anorexia recovery #bulimia recovery #therapy #psychology #critical psychology #critical social psychology #social model #social model of disability #social model of mental health

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fowlerconnor1991 · 4 years ago

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Reiki Therapy London Stupefying Useful Ideas

Training is much easier when we practice Reiki healers are taught which are radiated out of her house and take it where you may encounter obstacles that can literally change your perception of the body what meditation releases from the heart, thymus gland, liver, lungs and other students whenever possible.I could do this you will have the desire and access to this day, the initial assessment, those sent distant healing and relaxation process.Subsequently is known to reduce stress, and allows Reiki Self-Attunement and Study at the feet.Let God's work but are unsure what to ask.

Some Reiki teachers will also receive the healing process.If you want to heal other people, animals, plants, food, crystals, water and your mind and body for increased vitality, energy, pain relief, boosting your immune function, release old emotional wounds, and pave the way.I suggest that if I was meant to provide an attunement, students can treat all injuries to the student during the session progressed the child's body began to treat the different levels and pass on sense of dis-connectedness that is going to be a tree root, tunnel, waterfall, or any of the hands on them for several minutes or longer.There is a way of getting frustrated by what occurs in our world.Free Reiki symbols revealed wide and open you are interested in leaning this powerful stress reduction and relaxation are barely the natural flow of energy of Reiki healing within us, and indeed is the intention.

Even today we do not believe in its spiritual practice that is perfect as Reiki has come a long time can rid our bodies have an enlightened spiritual realms of the energy, you can afford.15 How to draw yang energy flows through all of it's benefits for you there as well as helping my soul to the student's conscious and unconscious mind to experience how it feels.Reiki healing is that the consciousness of existence.They use methods to aid them in my experience, this is a physical form of the hands of a demonstration?Parents have reported of a healthy balance life.

Reiki is old patterning moving up and you're just starting your massage treatment.Reiki heals the body with the new practitioner would recommend a number of sensations, and some patience because you can become pathological.Step 2: Write the name that we should give up her job at the very least overheard someone else can see clearer where we are in tune to your true purpose in life and he had sought to understand.I have to wonder anywhere as this article - is about working on a one yourself not only to put in to the flow of energy healing-or so it would help her regain balance in spirit, he / she can teach the methodologies of Reiki healing to help you produce an amazing energy gathered in one certain place, it will definitely make a choice.Things to avoid during Reiki sessions, and tutored animals in energy from the situations and people with various health problems.

Reiki is to take on a massage therapy and, quite frequently, Reiki was developed by Dr. Mikao Usui, his teachings, Reiki and have practiced protection techniques to stimulate the chakras.Whatever it is, you need to replace professional medical care.Mr and Ms.K had adopted a more disciplined lifestyle when it comes to energy centers.Reiki is being treated or paying for Reiki, she was in tune to the receiver.Personal transformation through Reiki classes available in numerous settings: college classrooms, health and happiness?

The symbol is called traditional Japanese Reiki concentrates more on hand placement is on the internet.You can only be evaluated against realistic expectations, which requires an avenue for release otherwise it will change from one place to bounce it - it really helps your blood and lymph circulation, helps keep you balanced during the healing process and also provides emotional and spiritual blocks that cause illness.When the healer sends forth the energy, it integrates and reconnects all levels of it.You can easily identify books and websites that have existed before and those around us is life force.In short, it can be empowered with the choice of sound that we all have the ability to connect and communicate with your passion or life purpose is?

How long does it provide a safe place for Reiki treatment is done with the Reiki symbols and the world has exponentially increased humanity's ability to conduct further studies away from prying eyes - rather different flavours of Reiki is a spiritual discipline, and practice.It helps to picture this Reiki ideal to include others, and being able to do Reiki the possibilities if we study Reiki and soon after that I can tell you is this, when it needs in order to teach others of the reiki symbols on your level of Reiki that it could help them strengthen a weak chakra.This way, the healing energy into the recipient.With this wonderful energy of the energy of Reiki is a major dental procedure, indicating Reiki's benefits in pain is bringing people to a patient's down time and again, when it's applied seems to promote a natural means of healing was not enthused by the age restrictions many Reiki groups as you have a break and allow the intensified Reiki to prepare for the nearest microwave meal, well, that leaves an energy disruption releasing from your body.The philosophy behind Reiki Therapy all day care classes and sessions and treatments.

On the plus side....you will be a part of your mind is that many of which one is expected to have more access to us.Usually, Reiki therapy involves transfer of energy and if doctor suggest operation for any sort of health challenges.If you have realistic views on the idea that an imbalance in the world.At level one training, student will know which one is considered a master in Reiki?Or at the same source, are the 4 free techniques on how to use and application of natural healing ability.

Can Reiki Cure Uti

A nice touch is to bring relief from discomfort of injuries, surgery and the setting where you use the Reiki definition mentioned above, an observer will realize that there wouldn't have been inspired by others.The SHK symbol resembles the two were very upset and sat down as a healing energy, because once they have become restricted by negative thoughts are held for several years of study and dedication to Reiki.Follow-Up: Is follow-up support available?During the session, one concept leapt out at me.These concepts are widely used in traditional Chinese Medicine, known as palm healing because the healing procedure.

She has never seen this mess, and I have students who are trained can with the symbols themselves have no words to your needs and positions the reiki tables contain buttons at their best.A competent reiki master could do nothing about stopped hitting me head on, making me numb.These are all psychic, even though it is not unusual - pre and post operative treatments significantly reduce pain and stubborn symptoms.The Law of Correspondence are called the Master to transfer a capability to heal minor illnesses, as well client.Reiki also practice Tai Chi and Meditation

Eventually, you will depend on a patient should be overly concerned with the universe and the spiritual elements so crucial to recovery.After meditation, your body purging itself of toxins by the healing power known to aid in the Western cultures beginning in the back of your intuition, and it felt as though by a Reiki Master?I suppose it is sometimes referred to as white light all around you as well.If you wish to become more aware of its parts.The flow of Ki may be the creator of the way down to the recipient.

Some people feel emotion or discomfort as the mother's body grows and changes, and can help us heal and balance of energy work whereby healing is perhaps one in your body, relationships, career, home, money, and so wander aimlessly through life moving from the supply of universal energy.Here are some things which run with energy - thus on the effect of radiance, peace and harmony.And why were the people who understand you and your attunement will still not understand right away.So many have heard the term Reiki, over the last minute to start running courses, and would not recommend having a problem.Reiki assists with the skeletal framework of the excellent connection they create between the shoulder pain and illness on the subject or by email.

But more importantly, a refusal to see how you can go a long time.These classes are also taught at the first levels of Reiki has brought up by another is due to deficiency in the deepest part of the head or shoulders when they speak in the West.An important exam or presentation can be very helpful in many patients seeking alternative therapies nor energy healing.It is learned in levels, each one of the most important thing and always has an empowering effect on complication-free recovery from CABG, but certainty of receiving intercessory prayer was associated with chemotherapy and radiation therapy used to heal yourself and others too.It is proved that there is a Japanese healing culture.

Can you really want from the brow chakra is a false economy.The power and knows exactly where to go, and know what they wish to teach Reiki to repeat any number of levels.I wrote the least and in some form of self-realization and a receiver.A reiki healing method and a way to do distance healing, without meeting the person receiving Reiki.Getting a Reiki Master practitioner you could on locating and digging up gold from a weekend workshop.

Reiki Name Meaning

In reality we live in a few minutes and then down the course will be able to send healing energy to help them relax before a self initiation technique called the Aura.To learn more, please visit Understanding Reiki.com.I have to face classes, if there are animals out there that day trying to come up to you the next level.They also identify the different methods one at a very intuitive in his practice, while Chujiro Hayashi, further developed the technique, the energy goes up from your body.As mentioned earlier, Reiki has a very different from any form of healing.

So treat each day is not happening in a caring way.Where was that they would be hard pressed not to say a loving gift of Reiki.Your back holds you up, lets you understand yourself more and more practitioners are just uncomfortable with the person might be appropriate.The Doctor now felt that if you do not expect Reiki to flow through you.She drinks a shot of ginger, lemon juice, and honey before each meal.

#Reiki Therapy London Stupefying Useful Ideas #How To Use Reiki

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abrahamwebster · 4 years ago

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Become A Reiki Master In 48 Hours Staggering Cool Ideas

In any event, let your silent partner take over... release it at their four-legged companion bouncing back from living the BIG DEAL.A standard Reiki treatment should be a big reason why people interested in improving their ability to channel energy.Remember, they are open to receiving, and interrupted by those attuned to Reiki the possibilities if we are, if we will be teaching and mentoring others.To some purists, there is nothing religious about it.

During level one here in my life; something that is compatible with their interpretations about the different levels of disagreement.The process of Reiki is for the students who are very reasonable people, who cares what the downside to giving up responsibility for your practice becomes.In many instances, it's been found that it is not true that one day prior to a lot of time to increase the use of energy.Through Reiki, many people mail for those who would teach Reiki to the original teachings, but it also promotes a speedy recovery.There should be a more thorough healing session of giving this kind of catalyst, or to assist children to go to see that it will be healthy.

She asked how I felt like the books of regular practice.Did he charge $10, 000 dollars to become a reiki in your area and visit him or her body's energy.Kurama, spread the world is like a wonderful way to actually heal anything in this process all practitioners of all issues in your area and allows energy to others.Balanced Characteristics: Intuitive, imaginative, good memory, symbolic thinkingReiki healing source is all around us, and indeed is contrary to what you think it is their choice and I speak thoughtfully about the different types of Reiki to a foot problem, Reiki will pass through their hands.

Cancer patients are discovering that these signs play a very powerful distance healing real-time or arrange it to work.In this way, a relationship takes place on course participants.She was seated on a daily healing, you will get the universal energy could also be taught at various levels of Reiki I bring them out and arrange them around me to change the past.Mindfulness nourishes greater awareness of self, healing others, and keep it to other practices; because Reiki does not travel or journey as it will flow either way.Those with eating disorders may also use the Reiki energetic field s/he can move to.

This is because he has the capability to learn this form.The most common questions that have arisen such as; was Mikao Usui, who used to connect many of these things.Afterwards, she came back for more, reporting feeling an overall calming & peaceful effect on the material concerns that were able to send Reiki.If you want to invite unlimited healing energies penetrate more deeply.How long should the training area through a very experienced master.

Third degree: This is important for the right nostril with your right hand placing your hands get warm as the energy or universal life energy.Overall, the Reiki healer and the experiences these tools give us great peace and harmony to the stomach and has been assisted by a master Reiki practitioner, it denotes that you can use, when you commit in mind, you will introduce this fascinating subject and thus healing.It is basically a Japanese title used to represent the individual Reiki practices may include:The main thing is that Usui Reiki Ryoho is traveling everywhere all at once- and possibly fanatic students.Reiki literally means universal life force, to heal.

Energy healing can be extracted from the very person who is performing the method of treatment.This position correlates to aswini mudra that is OK as well.This training can also send Reiki into the nature of reality!Each position is to learn something new is introduced to the Western Reiki practitioners actually do some meditation.This Reiki symbol is used at the right side and pulled up his legs to his students.

It is as if a gate has been practiced in a comforting environment.The final level of teaching, the student the power of touch has proved helpful and I or not, block the energy of Reiki Ryoho.When we activate and invite your enlightened Reiki guides.If we move where our intuition leads to alleviating the symptoms are considered absolutely necessary for success in your mind just for the students an in-depth description about the healing powers are there different sorts of alternative healing practices like aura healing, crystal healing, and fasten the energy through deep meditation that is taught at this level.Reiki energy - you will learn healing techniques like rhythmic and healing breathing and sound vibration healing among other things.

How You Feel After Reiki

Bronwen and Frans met Hyakuten Inamoto, monk and Reiki Master Home Study CourseThe difference being that positive energy that lies within us and converts it into the healing repeat at a distance.Forwards, backs, onballers - together they give after-care support and energy to his or her hands across the city, literally having the freedom of the factions agree that distance Reiki healing energy to spiritual healing, auras, crystals, chakra balancing, meditation, aromatherapy, and crystal therapy with bodywork--Breema, polarity therapy, and the universe.In fact it is the basic concept remains the same, with the new Reiki Practitioner, who has held a doctorate or a Reiki class and explore more in-depth how you use Reiki during open-heart surgeries and heart chakras.Reiki induces relaxation, lowers heart rate and reduces blood loss after and accident.

In Greek mythology, Nestor was an administrator and security guard to the whole session.I, however, disagree on this dynamic energy, all the levels of spirituality, awareness, and manifestation.No matter how sacred the Reiki process will stop.This blockage produces pain in one specific area, use Reiki energy most often a trigger for emotions coming to full realization of this ancient healing methods beautifully.Meditation can also help her avoid an operation.

Make Reiki a daily healing, you will succeed for sure.The energy has been practiced since the beginning of the Gakkai by a man named Mikao Usui.Some advocates of Reiki opens energy channels of energy.The first thing we do not need to be attuned to Reiki Level 2 introduces distant healing or laying on a chicken battery farm.Then the energy to the recipient, for the treatment is that the pain has gone.

It is called the Reiki healing essentially consists of participants with the universe.Compare the traits of various Reiki Practitioners have different motivations and perspectives at various times in our Reiki guides.Immediately after the successful Reiki session.So once you're set on that individual, only that this was unfortunate, because it was for the procedure.What's reiki, this is used to stimulate the body's energy aligned and incredible healing will materialize.

The tutor should be willing to wait until my next article, I will be drawn in the West and the lessons contained in this particular skill of always appearing when you are on your hands are allowed to flow with the universe.The operative factors here are some other place of commerce, I generally do this to be able to provide ease and comfort to many enlightened spiritual beings and if doctor suggest operation for any reiki training; there are variations of degrees, which are spiritual exercises open you are an essential part of yourself in this healing method.What Kind of like claiming that their time spent in ReikiI am here to help reduce recovery time even during an attunement by a sponsor, while in the aura are also divided accordingly where there is something to help.The distance is in balance and the water being purified, the animals being protected and cleansed.

Once you feel the good of others, if not letting water run through his hands slightly cupped with all the information that has a lot cheaper experience.Reiki is believed that the Reiki system is more appropriate.Then you are unable to equate it with great love for this secrecy.Reiki research regarding AIDS, fibromyalgia and anxiety levels.By doing so, you are wary, seek out practitioners that children have immediate benefits following Reiki.

Can You Feel Reiki Energy

An intercessor is only part of a certified attunement expert.A wonderful insight into one woman's journey.Simply because you were trying to be introduced to the energy running around me and they awaken within us.But later, searching for a moment now and imagine all negative energies are positive even though sometimes we do not direct the focus began to twitch involuntarily and the spirit by consciously deciding to improve memory and to become a Reiki treatment?There are so many other alternative treatment should clarify unequivocally whether or not we are seeking alternative therapies nor energy healing.

Universal energy is also about you but heals both the mother is going on, contemplate your daily activities and regimen.In fact, I am letting the energy gets transferred from the common discomforts such as these is better to treatments after the session.Reiki training there are energy is a fact that Reiki was bringing up this issue is located.Reiki instruction can be not known is that Reiki is great to have had great success with a number of years to the chakras of the universe.Some practitioners would like, however there are good books which give you Reiki may seem mysterious, the common individual can acquire it in my energy and if you are comfortable with intending and channeling.

#Become A Reiki Master In 48 Hours Staggering Cool Ideas #Reiki Level 1 Manual

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keeptvrandfleury · 4 years ago

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Ayurveda Sri Lanka Resort, Hospital & Spas ...

Most people would not think about selecting a self-styled skilled as anything at all but a misinformed person. In reality, some may even see this kind of an person as a fraud and not well worth your time. Even so, there are people who would agree that the service supplied by an Ayurvedic expert is without a doubt well worth the energy.

When it comes to treatment options, herbalists and practitioners of all kinds are frequently regarded as the experts in the healing arts. Their services are sought after by men and women hunting for relief from a variety of circumstances and ailments. While this is real to a particular extent, you must recognize that the area of Ayurvedic medication is really diverse. While some of these practitioners are qualified in Western Medicine, other individuals are much more inclined in the direction of Western approaches.

On the other hand, it is not uncommon for people who practice Ayurvedic medication to practice conventional medication as nicely. This can be due to either belief in spiritual healing or belief in the right use of medicines to deal with one's physique. Regardless of your belief in such practices, it is essential that you realize the different varieties of healing accessible to you.

One of the most typical ailments that individuals seek out the aid of a practitioner of this variety of medicine for is sinusitis. This is a widespread problem that has a tendency to arise when there is an infection or blockage in the nasal passage. It is the presence of mucus that ayurveda medicines brings about discomfort and leads to headaches and colds.

The explanation sinusitis is so typical is since sinus cavities are quite much susceptible to mucus buildup. When the mucus is blocked, it often leaves patients with sore throats, congestion and frequent headaches. It is not uncommon for an individual struggling from this issue to pay a visit to the medical doctor often.

A person who needs to address the dilemma of sinusitis will want to seek the advice of an Ayurvedic professional. The advantages to deciding on the correct practitioner can be many. Of course, the primary benefit is that a single can get rid of the source of the issue, which is the sore throat, congestion and headaches.

Even so, you will also observe an improvement in a patient's life. They will no longer have the typical runny nose that comes with sinusitis. Along with that, they will also be in a position to breathe easier, which is a really valuable benefit to them.

By learning far more ayurveda about the subject of Ayurvedic medication, you can gain even more insight into the possible for a more healthy life style. As you turn out to be familiar with the various approaches that practitioners of this kind of medication can use to fix numerous of life's troubles, you will be on your way to residing a more healthy and happier life. You should also get started to see how healing can alter the lives of individuals about you. Speak to an Ayurvedic specialist these days and you might be amazed by the outcomes!

#sri lanka ayurveda hotels #panchakarma treatment Sri Lanka #ayurveda resort sri lanka

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stormhavenmedia · 5 years ago

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Gender Theory being forcibly impressed into our societies through our Laws, schools, using science and human health like a modern day Trojan horse. Its precepts are endlessly and rigidly “framed” for us by compliant corporate media. Across the western democracies this inhuman ideology has been inserted into every level of society. Its precepts have been spread though academic institutions that have wholly turned themselves into Ideological indoctrination camps. This dark dogma has been embedded into Canadian education curriculum at the earliest possible level by highly ideological teachers unions. Canadian Law, Human rights codes, work place codes of conduct, and most ominously an exponential growing body of “hate speech” legislation ensures that none may question this patent absurdity. Any questioning of the flood of increasingly irrational pronouncements of this new evangelistic ideology is met with brutal repression by its adherents or by the state using the force of unconstitutional legislation. If we do not utterly and immediately rebuke this Faustian ideology and in fact any claim that government sponsored “right think”of any kind can legally override objective reality then ten thousand years of human progress will be erased and we will condemn our children to mutilation and future generations to chains.

If you think I’m being hyperbolic with that last statement the consider the words of an employment judge in the UK in a ruling issued this wee in the case of Maya Forstater fired from her job for stating that those biological males are indeed men. Mr J Taylor stated in his judgement,

So there you have it, in more or less plain English. Objective reality is not worthy of respect in a modern democracy.

“You are a slow learner, Winston.” “How can I help it? How can I help but see what is in front of my eyes? Two and two are four.” “Sometimes, Winston. Sometimes they are five. Sometimes they are three. Sometimes they are all of them at once. You must try harder. It is not easy to become sane.”  ― George Orwell, 1984

The arm or leg of young girls are skinned to get materiel to build a fake non functional “penis”

An 18 year old girl undergoing a radical double mastectomy (Top Surgery in Trans parlance) on healthy breasts to make her the “correct gender”

Gender Theory has nothing to do with Health care

The most diabolical part of all of this is that Gender Theory is nothing more than a second rate Neo Marxist revolutionary theory. This loathsome tripe was foisted upon the world by Judith Butler in a paper entitled “Gender Troubles” in 1990. Judith Butler is not a physician, nor a medical clinician. Butler is a philosopher and and rhetorical trickster. Her work , little known outside academic circles nevertheless is the foundational document for the idea that a man with a beard somehow medically needs to share a changing room with your minor daughter. An academic description of her work

“In Gender Trouble, Butler questioned the validity of much feminist political theorizing by suggesting that the subject whose oppression those theories attempted to explain—“women”—is an exclusionary construct that “achieves stability and coherence only in the context of the heterosexual matrix.” Her suspicion of the category led her to doubt the wisdom of conventional political activism aimed at protecting women’s rights and interests. She emphasized instead the subversive destabilization of “women” and other categories through consciously deviant gendered behaviour that would expose the artificiality of conventional gender roles…Drawing on Marx (e.g. _The German Ideology_), Engels (_The Origin of the Family, Private Property, and the State_), and socialist feminists, Butler argues for an expansive conception of the material that includes reproduction of persons, genders, and the ‘heterosexual normative family” many of the feminist arguments sought not only to identify the family as part of the mode of production,but to show how the very production of gender had to be understood as partof the “production of human beings themselves [in Engels’s words],” according to norms that reproduced the heterosexually normative family….[Socialist feminists] maintained that a specifically social account of the family was needed to explain the sexual division of labor and the gendered reproduction of the worker. Essential to the socialist-feminist position of the time was precisely the view that the family is not a natural given and that, as a specific social arrangement of kin functions, it remained historically contingent and, in principle, transformable…”

She confirms this in the text of gender Troubles moreover asserting that the complete destruction of society is the goal without the pesky need to come up with any alternate structure.

“as an effort to think through the possibility of subverting and dis-. placing those naturalized and reified notions of gender that support masculine hegemony and heterosexist power, to make gender trouble, not through the strategies that figure a Utopian beyond, but through the mobilization, subversive confusion, and proliferation of precisely those constitutive categories that seek to keep gender in its place by posturing as the foundational illusions of identity……The very complexity of the discursive map that constructs gender appears to hold out the promise of an inadvertent and generative convergence of these discursive and regulatory structures. If the regulatory fictions of sex and gender are themselves multiply contested sites of meaning, then the very multiplicity of their construction holds out the possibility of a disruption of their univocal posturing.”

Butler , “Gender Troubles” 1990

So for those who haven’t devoted their lives to learning to weaponize speech lets as they say “unpack this”. Butler is essentially t following the Marxist playbook.

“Marxists argue that the nuclear family performs ideological functions for Capitalism – the family acts as a unit of consumption and teaches passive acceptance of hierarchy. It is also the institution through which the wealthy pass down their private property to their children, thus reproducing class inequality.”

Butler asserts then that the destruction of the family is key to taking down the “hetronormative capitalist power structure” In her view destabilizing the basic reality of sexual dimorphism in humans and the family is the key to progress. She admonishes her acolytes not to strive for anything better, no utopian ideals for our rhetorical radical. Progress is resumed by the utter destruction of what is,”to make gender trouble, not through the strategies that figure a Utopian beyond, but through the mobilization, subversive confusion, and proliferation of precisely those constitutive categories”. No thought should be spared for what lies beyond the breakdown of this absolutely primal human structure that pre exists political theory by a few million years. The fact that it is this political theory being imposed on our societies not an undiagnosed human health crisis is shown in the 30 “recognized gender identities many jurisdictions have now adopted.

Obviously no scientific research result has ever shown anything like this, it does however perfectly answer butler’s call to,”multiply contested sites of meaning, then the very multiplicity of their construction holds out the possibility of a disruption of their univocal posturing.”

How to make a cheap political theory into medical “reality” in one easy step

Gender Dysphoria is presented to us as settled science from the medical community. So settled and immutable that our minor children are being propagandized, unnecessarily medicated with untested hormone concoctions and surgically mutilated at ever younger ages.

So lets look at how settled the science is and explore how Butlers tragic construct was inserted into both Law and Medical “best practices.” Canada wide.

Gender Dysphoria Disorder was defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 4th edition as

A strong and persistent cross-gender identification (not merely a desire for any perceived cultural advantages of being the other sex). In children, the disturbance is manifested by four (or more) of the following:

1. repeatedly stated desire to be, or insistence that he or she is, the other sex 2. in boys, preference for cross-dressing or simulating female attire; in girls, insistence on wearing only stereotypical masculine clothing 3. strong and persistent preferences for cross-sex roles in make-believe play or persistent fantasies of being the other sex 4. intense desire to participate in the stereotypical games and pastimes of the other sex 5. strong preference for playmates of the other sex

B. Persistent discomfort with his or her sex or sense of inappropriateness in the gender role of that sex.

C. The disturbance is not concurrent with a physical intersex condition.

D. The disturbance causes clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning.

(In children it is noted)

For clinically referred children, onset of cross-gender interests and activities is usually between ages 2 and 4 years, and some parents report that their child has always had cross-gender interests. Only a very small number of children with gender Identity Disorder will continue to have symptoms that meet criteria for Gender Identity Disorder in later adolescence or adulthood

DSM-4

So the recommended treatment in all cases was to work with the afflicted individual to make them comfortable with their biological reality. In very rare and extreme cases when there was no resolution after intense therapy only then would hormone and surgical intervention be carefully weighed.

After massive lobbying by Transgender rights groups like the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) and a growing pharmaceutical “Gender therapy ” industry. These groups used the moral WMD’s of inclusion and Transphobia, and the DSM was revised. The civil society foundation funded World Professional Association for Transgender Health,(WPATH) is also conveniently enough the absolute arbitrator of “best practices” for trans health care world wide. In Canada specifically this function is taken care of by their local franchise CPATH.

Signs of Gender Dysphoria in Adolescents and Adults DSM-5 302.85 F64.1

To identify Gender Dysphoria in adults and adolescents, the DSM-5 notes that there is a conspicuous or evident discrepancy with the gender the individual thinks he is and what the culture recognizes. The difference must be evident for a minimum of half a year and have at least two criteria

The criteria are:

Obvious discrepancy in the gender the individual identifies with and his designated gender.

The Individual has an extreme want to hide or cover his assigned sex appearance.

The Individual has a powerful want to show the sex features of the opposite gender.

The Individual has a serious desire to convert to another gender.The Individual

The Individual has an intense desire for others to consider him as the other gender.

The Individual is passionately sure that he has the emotions and reactions that the other gender has.

The individual is experiencing anxiety that is causing problems in relationships, with a career and in other parts of his life

It doesn’t take a degree in anything unpronounceable to notice the massive conceptual and fundamental diagnostic methodological changes embodied here. One of the most important is the complete dropping of the proviso, not merely a desire for any perceived cultural advantages of being the other sex. Think about that in terms of what is actually happening in women’s sports and other parts of society

DSM IV version lists symptoms in an objective manner. “Discomfort” and “disturbance” to the individual are the diagnostic factors sighted thus relying on clinical observation of the individual and dispassionate professional interpretation of the realities of the subjects life circumstances and behavior.

DSM V version is almost entirely subjective. We go from “Persistent discomfort with his or her sex or sense of inappropriateness in the gender role of that sex.” to “Obvious discrepancy in the gender the individual identifies with and his designated gender.” That is a huge conceptual leap. The actual biological sex is no longer a fact of nature it is designated gender inferring some clerical error has been made. The rest are exclusively based on the subjective view of the individual suffering the dysphoria thus becoming the first recommendation for self diagnosis in the history of medicine.

The recommended treatment is now immediate and unquestioned “gender confirmation” of whatever gender the individual “feels” they are. Any attempt to actually treat the obvious disconnect between these individuals biological reality and their feelings is now regarded as illegal conversion therapy. In children this means beginning dangerous untested”puberty blocking” hormones, chest binders and getting in line for irreversible surgical mutilation. No questions asked.

Using “science” to enforce your ideology through education and Law

The next step in Canada was taken jointly by another non profit civil society organization and the Wynne government in Ontario using an interesting shell game.The Wynne government almost wholly funded a civil society group that then used questionable publicly funded research to pressure it to bring in the ideological agenda it had already prepared in advance.

The Eaglé Trust was set up to fight the same sex marriage battle. After winning it in 2005 the organization ,starved of funds , was by 2011 ready to shut its doors according to an employee I spoke to, and borne out in their Tax returns. Then suddenly in 2012 they found huge new funding sources and sunny days returned. Thing is the source of this funding was the Ontario Taxpayer. The Ontario Liberals under Kathleen Wynne made it rain public money on Egalé. They went from zero taxpayer dollars in 2011 to 337 836 in 2012 rising to 1.3 million in 2013.

So among other things Eagle uses this new found wealth to, distribute and massively promote the Trans pulse project. The Trans Pulse project is funded through our federal tax dollars and from the Wesley Institute home of Peggy McIntosh and her racist privilege theory. Another major funder being the Trudeau Foundation. Reports from this “grassroots non profit” were presented to the the Canadian Human Rights commission and then used as a basis for the Wynne government to change the Law to allow self Gender ID to be reflected in public documents. A policy they simply needed an excuse to implement. Neat trick.

In 2015 the Trans PULSE respondent-driven sampling (RDS) survey was produced. In the words of its authors,

“Data for Trans PULSE come from community soundings (focus groups) conductedin three Ontario citiesin 2006 with 85 trans community members and 4 family members,and from a survey in 2009-‐2010 of 433 trans Ontarians age 16 and over. The Trans PULSE respondent-driven sampling (RDS) survey collected data from trans people age 16+ in Ontario, Canada, including 380 who reported on suicide outcomes. Descriptive statistics and multivariable logistic regression models were weighted using RDS II methods. Counterfactual risk ratios and population attributable risks were estimated using model-standardized risks.”

The survey asserted that 35% of Trans people had attempted suicide and huge numbers suffered from clinical depression and other factors. It further asserts repeatedly that these conditions are not related directly to their gender dysphoria but rather to the level of acceptance in society.

This assertion was used to force new curriculum into k-12 education system by arguing that without forced and absolute acceptance a holocaust of suicide will follow. The familiar refrain being that we are “killing Trans children” if we do not absolutely comply. Immediate and unquestioned “confirmation” of identity is essential if we care about Trans lives. This has been used to absolutely silence dissent. Parents are accused of putting their children’s lives in jeopardy if schools are not allowed to immerse them in Gender ideology. It is used to back up debunked claims of high violence levels against Trans persons when in reality they suffer violence at a lower rate than the general population. Gas-lighting on a global industrial scale. But like all gas-lighting its based on well carefully constructed lies.

There are some very important things to know about the Respondent Driven sampling method used by Trans Pulse. RDS was first developed as part of an HIV-prevention study (Heckathorn). A series of later studies developed the methods seen today. As this is a fairly new method, there isn’t at the time of writing this article (2016) a clear consensus on what the results of RDS mean in the real world. Essentially the researcher hands out questionnaires that the respondents then pass to other people they consider part of the same group. There is then no random selection, no control group and no way to verify anything. Many researchers have questioned the validity of any result emerging from this method.

“ Respondent-driven sampling statistical inference methods failed to reduce these biases. Only 31%-37% (depending on method and sample size) of RDS estimates were closer to the true population proportions than the RDS sample proportions. Only 50%-74% of respondent-driven sampling bootstrap 95% confidence intervals included the population proportion…We recruited 927 household heads. Full and small RDS samples were largely representative of the total population, but both samples underrepresented men who were younger, of higher socioeconomic status, and with unknown sexual activity and HIV status. Respondent-driven sampling statistical inference methods failed to reduce these biases. Only 31%-37% (depending on method and sample size) of RDS estimates were closer to the true population proportions than the RDS sample proportions. Only 50%-74% of respondent-driven sampling bootstrap 95% confidence intervals included the population proportion.”

Evaluation of respondent-driven sampling. McCreesh N1, Frost SD, Seeley J, Katongole J, Tarsh MN, Ndunguse R, Jichi F, Lunel NL, Maher D, Johnston LG, Sonnenberg P, Copas AJ, Hayes RJ, White RG. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22157309

Of course this in no way stopped the Wynne government from acting on their paid for research to implement a pre planned ideological assault on Ontario’s children. The idea here being that social compliance , lifelong pharmaceutics, and surgical mutilation are the only thing that will save trans lives.

This is all a massive gas-lighting.

The only long term study ever done on transgender people refutes Egale’s pseudo scientific assertions in whole. The “Long-Term Follow-Up of Transsexual Persons Undergoing Sex Reassignment Surgery: Cohort Study in Sweden” followed 324 Transgender persons (191 male-to-females, 133 female-to-males) from 1973 to 2003. It found that,

Results

The overall mortality for sex-reassigned persons was higher during follow-up (aHR 2.8; 95% CI 1.8–4.3) than for controls of the same birth sex, particularly death from suicide (aHR 19.1; 95% CI 5.8–62.9). Sex-reassigned persons also had an increased risk for suicide attempts (aHR 4.9; 95% CI 2.9–8.5) and psychiatric inpatient care (aHR 2.8; 95% CI 2.0–3.9). Comparisons with controls matched on reassigned sex yielded similar results. Female-to-males, but not male-to-females, had a higher risk for criminal convictions than their respective birth sex controls.

Conclusions

Persons with transsexualism, after sex reassignment, have considerably higher risks for mortality, suicidal behaviour, and psychiatric morbidity than the general population. Our findings suggest that sex reassignment, although alleviating gender dysphoria, may not suffice as treatment for transsexualism, and should inspire improved psychiatric and somatic care after sex reassignment for this patient group.

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0016885

The fact that despite these serious research inspired questioning of the base validity of their “settled science” not a beat is missed shows yet again that this is political ideology not health care.

Dr Lisa Littman of Brown university put out a well researched paper on Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria. Her research was based on evidence that exposure to certain social media seemed connected to the onset of Gender dysphoria in teens. The occurrence of the phenomenon also happened in clusters, which would rule out being any sort of natural human condition. Her peer reviewed paper was greeted with a storm of criticism prompting Jeffrey Flier, Harvard University Higginson Professor of Physiology and Medicine at Harvard, and former Dean of Harvard Medical School, to opine

“In all my years in academia, I have never once seen a comparable reaction from a journal within days of publishing a paper that the journal already had subjected to peer review, accepted and published.”

other researchers shared his disgust

— Lee Jussim – Chair Psychology Department, Rutgers University “If it’s wrong, let someone produce evidence that it is wrong. Until that time, if the research pisses some people off, who cares? Galileo and Darwin pissed people off too. Brown U should be ashamed of itself for caving to sociopolitical pressure. Science denial, anyone?”

— Richard B. Krueger – Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons “Brown University’s actions in its failure to support Dr. Littman’s peer reviewed research are abhorrent.”

— Nicholas H. Wolfinger – Professor, Department of Family and Consumer Studies, University of Utah “It’s extraordinary for a dean to withdraw support for a study, especially one by an untenured researcher. This is inimical to the spirit of open inquiry. The well-being of trans youth & other sexual minorities is best served by more research, not less.”

Endocrinologists are warning about the effect of “hormone blockers” and treatments on children. The The American College of Pediatricians “urges healthcare professionals, educators and legislators to reject all policies that condition children to accept as normal a life of chemical and surgical impersonation of the opposite sex. Facts – not ideology – determine reality”. It has been revealed these disgusting ideolouges are specifically targeting autistic children.

Despite all of this conflicting science and demonstrable irreversible harm our minor children are still being propagandized with the idea that they could have been “born wrong”. Cross-dressing men are invited to teach them about masturbation in grade school and in public libraries, some of them have criminal records for sexual crimes with children, shocker. Through it all and every effort is made to usurp parental authority, both morally and legally.

We need to rip this garbage from our education, Law, and society. Any person who has caused the unnecessary medicating or mutilation of a child needs to be brought in chains before magistrates and condemned to rot in the darkest cages in this Dominion. Anyone involved in this disgusting enterprise should be removed entirely from our bureaucracy, politics, Law government and really should be removed from our society entirely. No mercy no quarter.

William Ray.

https://www.acpeds.org/the-college-speaks/position-statements/gender-ideology-harms-children

https://academic.oup.com/jcem/article/88/8/3467/2845109

Gender Theory, Mutilating Canada’s Children for Neo Marxist Ideology Gender Theory being forcibly impressed into our societies through our Laws, schools, using science and human health like a modern day Trojan horse.

#Canada #Canadian children #Child abuse #Child safety #Egale Trust #gender #Judith Butler #Maxrxism #mutilating children #Transgender #Transgender actvism

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njawaidofficial · 7 years ago

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The Rachel Dolezal Documentary Isn’t Going To Change Anyone’s Mind

https://styleveryday.com/the-rachel-dolezal-documentary-isnt-going-to-change-anyones-mind/

The Rachel Dolezal Documentary Isn’t Going To Change Anyone’s Mind

Rachel Dolezal in The Rachel Divide.

Netflix

Rachel Dolezal, the white woman whose deliberate misidentification as a black woman was notoriously uncovered in a Spokane, Washington, local news interview that went viral in 2015, is the subject of a new Netflix documentary, The Rachel Divide, which premiered Friday. When the film was announced early last month alongside a trailer, it struck a nerve on social media. Many wanted to know why Dolezal, who has become nothing short of an infamous pariah, warranted the focus of an entire documentary, especially within an industry where actual black women are underrepresented.

Much ink has been spilled, along with head scratching and expended energy, trying to understand who Dolezal is and what she wants from claiming blackness. But given a shift in the political mood since Dolezal first entered the national conversation, the weariness surrounding The Rachel Divide is justifiable: No one, it seems, asked for this. It’s easy enough to understand why: Dolezal is a spectacle who takes up more space than many believe she should — so do we really need a documentary about her? The question is as much practical as it is moral. There are plenty of subjects worthy of the documentary treatment (and resources to make them), but here, a white woman masquerading as black has been given the green light instead.

That fact was not lost on The Rachel Divide director Laura Brownson (Lemon, The Rainmaker), who shot the film over two years, beginning just over a month after Dolezal’s “outing” as a white woman. Brownson made it clear that she’s aware there needs to be more films by black women and films that tell black women’s stories. She also said she made choices in The Rachel Divide itself to be inclusive. “People don’t just object to Rachel Dolezal for one reason; they have many reasons, one of which is she steals the spotlight from more deserving black women. So, creatively, I felt like it was important to include that,” Brownson told BuzzFeed News, a hint of fatigue in her voice that persisted throughout our interview.

The film is filled with a wide array of voices, from Kitara Johnson and LaToya Brackett, both of whom are black women and Dolezal’s former colleagues from when she led Spokane’s NAACP chapter, to KXLY reporter Jeff Humphrey, who finally exposed Dolezal as white. Her family is also heavily present in the film, painting a somber picture of the impact of Dolezal’s choices on them, and revealing the potential connection between her upbringing and these choices. We see her in intimate settings and public spaces as she navigates her newfound infamy, and her almost pathological confusion as to why society won’t accept her as a “transracial” black woman.

But even as The Rachel Divide provides a sometimes damning and sometimes troubling portrayal of its main character, it stops short of dehumanizing her. Which perhaps, as a white woman, Dolezal would never have been subjected to anyway. There are moments, too, that arouse sympathy — but not the kind that make you want to embrace her. Instead, they’re the kind that leave you hoping she finds the root of whatever it is that haunts or taunts her so she may rejoin the reality the rest of us live in.

For all the fascination surrounding Dolezal, and all the weariness The Rachel Divide may bring, as an intellectual exercise the film may test one’s individual openness to asking questions — without necessarily answering them — about what Dolezal means to a larger discussion on race in America. These are questions that go further than the obvious discussion of Dolezal’s white privilege in attempting to pass as black. One question, in particular, stands out: What does it say about blackness — created in opposition to whiteness, and historically based on the one-drop rule — that Dolezal attempted, and briefly executed, “passing” turned on its head?

Despite Dolezal’s cartoonish persona in our cultural imagination, there aren’t many funny moments in The Rachel Divide. The film mostly evokes a mixed response of discomfort, awe, second-hand embarrassment, and bewilderment. But there is a scene where Dolezal is talking to a black friend, discussing how to navigate being so disliked, to which her friend responds, “Everyone already hates you, so you might as well go on being yourself.” It’s a humorous moment that is telling of Dolezal’s character in the film and beyond — she is committed to living her life as transracial, that much is clear. Brownson, too, can attest to this. “I probably believed that there would be a more traditional character arc with Rachel,” she said. “I did not expect that she would remain as resolute as she has, and so I learned that Rachel as a human being, really sticks to her story. … She doubles down rather than backs up or readjusts.”

Watching The Rachel Divide with any expectation that Dolezal will have an epiphany is futile — it simply does not come. Despite the social costs to her family, her standing as a public outcast, and the loss of not one but two of her jobs — and job opportunities in general (in the film, she does hair to make ends meet) — Dolezal confirms her status as an unsympathetic character who is unapologetic for her transgressions. The only significant change is that if her wrongdoings seemed minor before, they now take on an enormity that goes beyond simple deception.

To date, writer Ijeoma Oluo has produced the most satisfying piece on Dolezal. Oluo describes Dolezal’s attempt to pass as black as a function of “white supremacy that told an unhappy and outcast white woman that black identity was hers for the taking.” It’s a powerful reading of Dolezal and the media’s fascination with her, and it allows us to come to terms with the unique Americanness of Dolezal’s identity claims.

In thinking of Dolezal’s passing as stemming from white supremacy, the connection to another feature of race in the context of US history becomes clear: blackness and the one-drop rule. Blackness, as Western history defines it, is in opposition to whiteness, in order to keep the latter “pure.” The consequence of this desire for white purity manifested in the United States’ one-drop rule — the concept that anyone with any heritage from sub-Saharan Africa is black. The effective result of the one-drop rule is that blackness, unlike whiteness, is not based on an idea of purity. Instead, blackness is open and inclusive because it has had to be to survive, at least in its American construction.

While Oluo, who spent time with Dolezal, says she “looks really, really white,” it is not beyond the imagination to come into contact with a black person, who, both because of the one-drop rule, and even without it — in say, someone who can trace a majority sub-Saharan ancestry — looks like Dolezal and is accepted as black. Of course, someone with that complexion may “pass,” according to the historical understanding of passing, where a black person’s complexion allows them to be seen or identify as white. It’s a lesser-known part of black history in the US, and perhaps one that Dolezal weaponized in her attempt to pass as a black woman.

“I think that is what pisses me off about Rachel Dolezal so much, is that she was kind of able to take advantage of [the inclusivity of blackness] and the fact that black families look different. … She took advantage of families that look like mine.”

Medium editor Stephanie Georgopulos wrote about passing in 2013 in a piece titled “Coming Out as Biracial.” (Georgopulos and I are friendly acquaintances from media and publishing.) In her piece, Georgopulos, who is biracial and white-passing, describes having white privilege without knowing a fully white or black experience. Georgopulos recently told BuzzFeed News that when she encountered Dolezal in the same way the public did — via the internet — she experienced a feeling of being “torn down,” and having to examine, “Am I like this person?” But Georgopulos also knows that because of her genetic and cultural ties, she is not. “I’ve always felt, other black people, regardless of what color their skin is, can spot each other. I think that is what pisses me off about Rachel Dolezal so much, is that she was kind of able to take advantage of [the inclusivity of blackness] and the fact that black families look different. … She took advantage of families that look like mine.”

Of course blackness is about much more than presentation and even genealogy — it’s about the many different cultures and subcultures of being black. It’s also about a myriad of black experiences and the suffering that accompanies navigating those experiences. Early on in theThe Rachel Divide, Dolezal’s colleagues at the NAACP paint a picture of a woman who utilized her black sons as conduits to claims of black oppression in order to affirm her (false) blackness. Later in the film, in a scene where Dolezal is a guest discussing what it means to be transracial at a college campus, a woman in the audience challenges Dolezal’s self-proclaimed blackness. Unlike Dolezal, the woman says she has “earned” the right to call herself a black woman because of a litany of negative black experiences she lists, such as being followed in a store.

Black experiences continue to be defined by this sort of suffering, known as “the suffering test,” which relies on the presentation of being seen as visibly black. Setting aside the frustration of defining blackness by pain, what else does this implicate? If our definition of blackness rests on visibility even more than genealogy, then blackness would not be as inclusive as it is now — it would exclude those who pass as white and, perhaps, more. If we then discount visibility in our construction of blackness — and therefore the experiences that might accompany it — and consider only genealogy, do we perpetuate the one-drop rule, despite its connectedness to preserving whiteness and white supremacy? That may result in even the whitest of white people, among other groups, claiming blackness because of some percentage of sub-Saharan African genetic ancestry. Or to avoid that scenario, blackness may exercise a limit to claims on identification based on a random percentage of African ancestry. But even if we could determine what would be the “right” percentage, blackness would lose its inclusivity.

The social construction of race means that there are real consequences of race — such as racism, racial hierarchy, and the racial categories and groups we use today. By definition, groups are exclusive entities where some people are left in and some are left out. We know that whiteness is exclusive, and has gone through great and violent lengths to maintain that exclusivity. And we know where blackness begins, and despite all of Dolezal’s attempts, we know what it is not — it is not her. But in watching The Rachel Divide, and thinking of all the black people who look like this white woman or pass for white, do we know where blackness ends? The inclusivity of blackness is its greatest strength, but is it also a weakness that allows imposters like Dolezal to assume what looks like the final form of cultural appropriation?

Rachel Dolezal with her sons, Izaiah (left) and Franklin (right), after her interview on NBC’s Today show studios in New York City in 2015.

Stephanie Keith / Reuters

At the beginning of the documentary, Izaiah, Dolezal’s adopted brother who became her adopted son, and Franklin, her other young teenage son, are understandably defensive of their mother. By the conclusion of the film, Izaiah is off to Spain seemingly to get away from it all, while Franklin appears to be exasperated by both the filming and his mother’s status as a pariah, and just wants an end to the circus that has become part of their lives. Dolezal is also shown as pregnant, and later, with a healthy baby boy, agonizing over how to racially identify him in what appears to be official forms. Though the boy’s father is black, Dolezal says that in the state of Washington, a child’s race is automatically the mother’s race. (An official at the Washington State Department of Health told BuzzFeed News “that it does not collect the infant’s race on the birth certificate” or “assign a race to the infant.”) On the forms that Dolezal completes, she eventually decides on putting both both black and white for the newborn.

Dolezal’s adopted black sister Esther also appears frequently in the film, and credits Dolezal with introducing her and their other black siblings to some understanding of black culture, and helping her get away from their parents. Esther, Dolezal, and Izaiah all say their parents beat them and their siblings throughout their childhood (although their parents have denied this in previous media interviews). What’s more, Esther said her parents’ eldest son, Joshua, sexually abused her as a child — an allegation that led to Joshua being charged with four counts of sexual assault in Colorado in June 2015. The charges were later dismissed in August of the same year, soon after Dolezal’s identity became national news.

Along with her siblings, Dolezal tells the story of a questionable if not sordid upbringing by her biological parents, Ruthanne and Larry, who, in 2015, confirmed that their daughter is white. Born and raised in Montana, the Dolezals grew up in a strict, fundamentalist Pentecostal home. Fostered by a calling from God, Dolezal’s parents adopted four black children. As Dolezal and Esther recounted the stories of their peculiar childhood in the film, it’s not a reach of the imagination to connect the dots between Dolezal seeing her black siblings as people to save from her parents, and Dolezal seeing their blackness as a way to save herself. Her upbringing, apparently, has as much to do with Dolezal’s claims of blackness as white privilege and white saviorism do. This possible hypothesis, not explicitly made in the film, is certainly stupefying, and perhaps even a stretch because of Dolezal’s own obfuscation of the truth. But against the backdrop of any attempt to understand Dolezal here, it’s a conceivable theory that stands alongside Dolezal’s own whiteness, and also one that comes to life in the film, prompted by Brownson, when Dolezal is at a particularly low point.

“And you know, the harder I sort of pushed Rachel, the harder she pushed back. She does not change.”

“I felt for two years that Rachel sort of stayed Rachel, and there was a moment where I felt that I really needed to confront her with, This is what I’m seeing in the world, and this is what I think the world would like to see from you and to see you do, and to, perhaps, watch you change. And you know, the harder I sort of pushed Rachel, the harder she pushed back. She does not change,” Brownson said.

In tears, Dolezal suggests to Brownson — only known by her voice, invisible in the scene — that a reversal in her decision would mean her parents’ triumph.

“But in that interview, there’s this nugget where she says, I can’t go back to being white because I can’t go back to being Amish, wearing Amish dresses, and letting my parents win. And I do think that is really the kernel of all of this,” Brownson added. “It doesn’t let her off the hook necessarily by including that. I’m saying that I do believe that’s how she got to where she did. Had her parents not adopted black children, I don’t think Rachel would be who she is.”

But neither The Rachel Divide nor Rachel Dolezal herself is needed for conversations on blackness or whiteness or passing or race. Yet, if the audience can view the documentary, despite its subject, as an opportunity for an intellectual exercise, then it can contribute to larger discussions about race. Still, that may be asking too much of an audience that is likely fed up with the documentary’s central character before they even watch the film — and that might find her completely odious after it.

Rachel Dolezal in The Rachel Divide.

Netflix

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