In order to become more whole and healed on all levels of our being we need to improve ourselves on all of these levels. Complete healing is not possible by working on just one level. As an example, assume that you are badly overweight. Mustering a lot of willpower you start a diet and are quite successful in losing a sizeable amount of weight. The problem is that after some months it slowly creeps back up again and after a year your weight is again where it started.
Eventually you come across some emotional release workshops and find that these, together with a sensible diet, are more effective to lose weight and keep it off. Nevertheless, you may find it difficult to keep your emotions under control because you still continue to react in undesirable ways. Now you discover that you are influenced by various negative beliefs that make life difficult for you.
You realize that you need an appropriate belief system in order to manage your emotions in an appropriate way. You start looking for a philosophy of life that helps you to become and remain healthy, happy and fit. This is where the spiritual dimension comes in. You will find that the more you adopt spiritual principles in your life, the more life will become an adventure or a pleasure rather than a struggle.
More than any other level, our emotions determine how we feel about ourselves and life in general. Our emotions are not only a result of our social interactions, but also of so-called higher and lower levels of energy and consciousness. On the lower level we have the influences of nutrition, exercise and other lifestyle factors, while from the higher level there is a strong effect from our belief system.
To give an example we may look at the perception of death. If someone believes that after death he is likely to end up in something like hell as described in some religions, he may inwardly panic at the thought of impending death. Even for an atheist the thought of total annihilation may be frightening. On the other hand someone who believes that life after death is more pleasant than that on earth may look forward to the time of death with eager anticipation. The fact of death remains the same for all but our emotional response to it is conditioned by our belief.
Most of us have developed our belief systems haphazardly from our parents, school and social contacts as well as books and mass media. These beliefs are often irrational and detrimental for us.
In order to heal our emotions, as well as all other levels of our being it is essential to adopt a suitable philosophy of life to guide us in this quest. I call this a spiritual philosophy. The various religions appear to have different spiritual philosophies. These differences are most pronounced at the mental level of dogmas and doctrines, while they tend to disappear at the level of the highest ideals of each religion.
In all major religions some followers have aimed for these highest ideals. They are the mystics who left us in their writings a spiritual philosophy that transcends and unites all religions.
The concept of spirituality obviously means different things to different people. In this book it means deliberately manifesting or aspiring to manifest a higher and purer consciousness. We do this by consciously developing the attributes of true spirituality such as compassion, discernment, faith, high ideals, harmony, joy, inner knowledge, intuition, kindness, openness, patience, self-responsibility, serenity, tolerance, wisdom and a gentle love for All That Is.
Being spiritual is not the same as being religious, which involves following the creed of a proclaimed religion. Someone may be spiritual without being religious and vice versa. Those who are religious become spiritual by following the highest ideals of their religion, while those without a religion follow their own highest ideals and their higher guidance. On the higher levels of consciousness true religion and spirituality merge.
In Christian terms, for instance, we are advised to 'seek first the kingdom of heaven' and all else will be given onto us. In spiritual terms this means to seek first and follow our higher guidance to manifest the signs of true spirituality. Then we can expect health and happiness to result as a natural by-product.
Spiritual development should not be confused with psychic development. Psychic abilities are no measure of spirituality. However, psychic abilities will develop on their own and in a natural way during spiritual awakening according to the need for their use. While neither good nor bad in themselves, psychic abilities without spirituality are like nuclear power without morality; both can lead to disaster.
Neither is spiritual development a quest for altered states of consciousness, though these may occur as natural by-products of deep relaxation and meditation. They can be useful and may provide us with insights as well as beautiful and uplifting inner experiences. However, our main task is at the level of our normal consciousness, and such inner experiences at elevated levels need to be transformed into improved daily living habits.
We become more spiritual by living according to our highest ideals, and by consciously improving our attitudes and feelings. Every moment in our day-to-day interactions provides an opportunity to become more spiritual. We are aided in this endeavor by asking for help from the highest guiding part of our consciousness, which we may call the Higher Self or in Christian terms the Holy Spirit.
In the following I like to show an outline of the theoretical basis of our spirituality as I see it. Starting at the most fundamental level, I regard consciousness as the basic ingredient of everything in existence. We may compare consciousness to air, which may be compressed to varying degrees of density in containers of different shapes and sizes. In a similar way, consciousness becomes compressed and may then aggregate to form more complex structures.
Different densities accumulate at separate levels to form an additional dimension based on density of consciousness. I call this the dimension of 'space-density'. A certain density produces atomic and subatomic particles, while lesser and lesser degrees of density manifest as etheric energy, bio-energy or prana, as feelings and emotional energy, as mental energy and thought forms and finally as spiritual awareness. All of these represent different space-densities that may interpenetrate each other to occupy the same three-dimensional space.
Therefore, there is no fundamental difference between the consciousness of an atom and that of a human it is only a difference in complexity and range of densities. With this, the universe is basically a structure of consciousness acting on itself. Less dense fields of consciousness build, change, discard and rebuild forms from denser fields of consciousness in order to experience and express themselves. The main activity of consciousness is creativity; its highest manifestation on our planet is unconditional love.
We may assume two streams of consciousness. The 'stream of creation' leads towards greater density and less complexity to form atomic particles and the physical universe, while the 'stream of evolution' flows from dense towards less dense structures with greater complexity towards the spiritual universe.
As part of the stream of evolution, consciousness uses the various life forms like water is using a riverbed to flow to the ocean. A life form, be it a species or an individual form is useful only as long as it allows the consciousness to flow through freely and expand. If rigidity develops and consciousness becomes stagnant, then the form has reached old age and will soon disintegrate.
Physics cannot adequately and logically answer the question how all the energy and mass of our universe could have been concentrated in a single point at the start of the 'Big Bang' and what was before. A spiritual theory of creation would say that originally there was no energy at the physical level, that it emerged instead from the etheric level, not so much as an explosion but rather like the crystallization of a super-saturated liquid starting from a seed point. Likewise, it answers also the question of the origin of consciousness that biology cannot answer.
According to this model, our physical universe is a condensation of a less dense etheric universe. Atomic particles are the centers of etheric vortexes, comparable to atmospheric high and low pressure areas. For a more detailed explanation see: The Science of Spirituality.
I see the evolution of consciousness on our planet as a multi-dimensional cooperative venture. Consciousness in the form of the growth force is most active in the plant kingdom and works to transform the mineral kingdom.
In the animal kingdom consciousness becomes dominant at the level of feelings and emotions, it is at this level where most of the experimentation and creativity is present. The emotional level channels the growth force into more individualized forms than those in the plant kingdom. A price for this individualization is a more solidified growth force with less regenerative capacity.
Insects are close to plants with only rudimentary feelings, while primates and possibly dolphins are closest to the humans with highly evolved complex feelings. Similar to the evolution in the plant kingdom, which leads to the beginning of feelings in the highest plant species, so the higher animal species acquire a rudimentary capacity for thinking.
By having their emotional energies guided with the help of the emerging mental level, the animal kingdom culminates with the primates channeling their life-force into a nearly perfect form for our planetary conditions. With this, the planetary evolution of the growth force has been further completed and humanity works now on the perfection of the emotional level with the help of the mental level. We use beliefs to experiment with our emotions.
The animal kingdom required a rudimentary mental level in order for the growth force to be channeled into a perfect form by the emotional level. In a similar way, we humans need a level of consciousness beyond the mental level to perfect our emotions. We call this next higher level 'spiritual consciousness'. It evolves through the programming of our higher mentality by the incarnated soul. We may regard our different and evolving group belief systems as the human equivalent of different animal species.
The concept of God can be defined in two ways. We may equate God with consciousness and say God is everything. The consciousness manifested in the various universes, the physical, etheric and so forth up to the spiritual universe are the energy bodies of God, while the non-manifested part might be called the mind of God.
Alternatively, we may only regard the non-manifested universal consciousness as God and this may or may not be focused into what we may regard as a personified being at certain levels of consciousness. For the evolution of our own consciousness the details of what we believe is God do not matter very much at this stage. As part of a spiritual philosophy we may simply assume that the more consciousness becomes condensed, the less it is aware, especially of being a part of God or All That Is.
I see the Oversoul as the creator of our soul and as our personal God or God Self, our individualized representative of the universal aspect of God. Any communication from this more or less divine level can reach our normal human consciousness only by penetrating our mental and emotional levels. These, however, act as filters that will distort and interpret any messages according to our beliefs and emotions.
Therefore, a devout Catholic will receive messages clothed in Catholic symbols, while a Hindu will experience divine revelations according to his religious beliefs. The less strong and structured our beliefs are the less will any higher communication be distorted. The more we expand our consciousness, the closer we are to this higher guidance and the easier it will be to communicate. Disbelief, on the other hand, will block any communication.
A spiritual philosophy is our basic belief system about the nature of our existence, about its purpose and goal. From this we try to understand our role in society as well as our relationship with any higher or guiding forces, and it gives us the inner strength to follow the spiritual path. Everyone has a philosophy of life, even if they are not consciously aware of it. For some this is just the notion to get as much pleasure as possible out of life while trying to avoid suffering. Others, like various Christian saints and yogi, have deliberately self-inflicted suffering and denied themselves pleasures as part of their philosophy and as a path to their God.
To have a spiritual philosophy means to see ourselves as part of a higher purpose, of a universal blueprint, and we consciously try to cooperate with its unfolding and manifestation. A good spiritual philosophy needs to give us guidance and support on the spiritual path and in our daily interactions and relationships.
In the same way that we can deliberately choose to believe in and follow a certain religion or political party, we can also deliberately adopt a spiritual philosophy that exactly suits our purpose. Normally, this adopted philosophy can be in harmony with our present religion or political views. Just look for the highest ideals and replace any negative aspects with positive beliefs.
The center point of any philosophy of life is the question of meaning or purpose. If we see no specific purpose in life and especially in our own life, then it is quite natural to live for the sake of sense and ego gratification, but we also may easily become depressed by the apparent lack of deeper meaning of it all. In a spiritual philosophy we believe in a higher purpose. We may not know the exact nature of this purpose and it may not even matter. We may say we just want to manifest our own blueprint, or fulfill the purpose for which we incarnated, or just trying to do God's will, or becoming one with God. It may all be the same anyway.
By now you may be rather apprehensive. Basically all you want is to be healthy, have a good life, some fun and generally feel fulfilled and satisfied. You do not want to become a mystic or a saint to achieve this. Luckily, you do not need to. I just painted the big picture to show in which direction we generally have to move. How fast you want to move is entirely up to you.
The important part is to move in the right direction, however slowly. Suffering comes from moving in the wrong direction, no matter how far advanced we are spiritually. The saint will suffer if he moves in the wrong direction, and the sinner will feel good if he moves in the right direction. That is what it is all about, the right direction.
Indeed, this is a middle path between pleasure-seeking and intentional or unintentional self-inflicted suffering. In this it is like the path of the Buddha. For a long time, the Buddha tried to reach enlightenment through extreme asceticism. He fasted until where he had been sitting he left a mark like the footprint of a camel. Finally, he realized that he was on the wrong path, that he needed his body as a partner and, therefore, had to fulfill its legitimate biological needs, he had to be firm but kind to it. He called this the middle path, and many seekers after him found it to be the right path for them.
In the same way, our spiritual philosophy should help us to feel good in body as well as in mind and spirit. Suffering is only for the ego. If instead we identify more and more with the spirit or our higher self, then life will be correspondingly easier and more fun - at least that is what we start out believing and wonder whether it will turn out to be true.
Our basic premise is that we attract or become what we believe in. Assuming that the universe contains all possibilities, all shades of good and bad, right and wrong, desirable and undesirable, it is so much more attractive to believe in a benevolent universe than in a vindictive one, in a God of love rather than a God to fear. This spiritual philosophy of the middle path says that we can choose and have what we want, we just must firmly believe in what we want and act accordingly.
However, there is a catch. We must be careful what we choose and from which level of our consciousness we choose. If we let our ego choose, we generally choose wrong. This means we choose something selfish for which we have to pay later. If the ego chooses pleasure now, we will suffer later to pay for it.
If, on the other hand, we let ourselves be guided by our highest ideals and the inner voice of our higher guidance, then we will choose a path that leads us to gradually increasing and lasting happiness, without having to pay for it with later suffering.
The simplest and safest choice is that we want to fulfill the purpose for which we incarnated and just want to do the will of God. Of course, we do not really know our purpose or the will of God; at least not consciously with our mind. The good thing is that we do not need to know, we just can let ourselves be guided step by step, one step at a time, by listening to our spiritual guidance or by following our highest ideals. This is called 'living by faith' or 'going with the flow'.
Gradually, this living by faith will allow an inner seed of the divine to awaken and grow within us. Like a hologram, this seed is a miniature reflection of God and the universe. Fully developed, this seed will become the risen Christ. We will then live in the Christ and the Christ within us. This is the promise of those who know.
Expressed somewhat differently, we may say that we, as a living soul, now have become the perfect vehicle for our High Self or Christ Self. The Christ Self can then begin to manifest the will of the God Self, the 'Father'. Like Jesus, who became the Christ, we can then say: "I and the Father are one."
We may actually see the life of Jesus as a symbolic enactment of the inner journey that we are all sooner or later called to perform. The crucifixion symbolizes the death of our ego, and the resurrection, the birth and ascendancy of the inner Christ. By becoming the Christ we have finally redeemed our original sin - our separation from God.
I also have a different interpretation to religious doctrines that regard the human aspect of Jesus as the Son of God. Instead I regard the Christ who arose in Jesus as 'the only Son of God'. I understand that Jesus generally referred to himself as 'the Son of Man' rather than 'the Son of God'.
We awaken and nourish the Christ within by building a spiritual body composed of a higher emotional body and a higher mental body. This we do in a similar way to building a biological body from the food we eat, by building an emotional body from our feelings and emotions or a mental body by constructing belief systems with thoughts and ideas.
The nutrients we need for our spiritual body are spiritual feelings and spiritual thinking. With spiritual feelings, such as devotion, unselfish love, compassion, inner peace and divine bliss we build a higher emotional body. This combines with a higher mental body that we build through spiritual thinking with high ideals, pure motives, a spiritual philosophy, discernment and spiritual knowledge. This spiritual body or light body allows our High Self or Christ Self to fuse more and more with the soul so that the soul eventually becomes an expression of the Christ. This is the same principle that previously caused the personality to become an expression of the soul.
Stated in a different way, we may also regard the Christ Self as the Inner Master. With this fusion of soul and Christ Self, the personality of the soul can now be expressed as a spiritual master. However, this expression is still limited by being channeled through a biological brain. After discarding the biological body, the Christ consciousness is then able to express itself much more freely as an Ascended Master.
If we look much further into the future, then we may assume that the Christ Self will eventually merge with the God Self. With this, the 'I AM' that originally started out building itself a personality to become a living soul and eventually an Ascended Master, will now have returned to its source and become a God.
In this process we see the two opposing forces that keep the Wheel of Life turning. One is the individualizing tendency of the I AM, its ego, which prompts it to build a body and acquire its separate identity, while the other is the unifying tendency or the Christ principle, which compels it to return to its source.
You may sometimes wonder how all the different spiritual and religious beliefs, often contradicting each other, can possibly lead to the same goal. Surely, only one can be true. But then consider the following parable.
Imagine that different points of the compass represent different beliefs. There is a high mountain with a brightly shining light on top, marking the goal for countless climbers on all sides of the mountain. Those who are on opposite sides of the mountain actually walk and climb in opposite directions of the compass needle and yet they all progress towards the same light.
Below the climbers there are an even greater number of seekers who do not see the light itself, but believe in its existence because of what some of the temporarily returned climbers have told them. Groups of seekers follow some of the more experienced climbers back up the mountain. These are those who seriously follow a particular religion or spiritual leader.
Finally, the great majority of people live in the jungle surrounding the mountain without even seeing the mountain itself. Those living close to it know of it but generally do not move much closer to it. These are the uncommitted followers of various religious beliefs. Those far away from the mountain do not even know of it or believe in its existence.
The active climbers who actually see the light are those well advanced on the spiritual path. They all start from different positions. They may be on different levels and proceed in different directions but they all move closer to the light.
Expressed in Christian terms we may say God, as the Father or Parent aspect of Divinity, created powerful spiritual beings, the 'Children of God', as co-creators on the denser levels of consciousness. In Christian terminology they are the 'Son' aspect of Divinity. Collectively they created our own world. Some of these Children of God, also called Monads or Oversouls, projected parts of their consciousness into denser forms, to create Soul Families. Because of the great difference in the levels of consciousness between an Oversoul and its Souls, the High Self or Christ Self was created as a mediator between both. The Souls eventually created even denser forms at the etheric level, which gradually became the human races. They did this in order to experience more closely the interactions of the various forms of life on earth.
However, Souls gradually became entangled in the lower consciousness of their dense forms. In mystical understanding this is the 'original sin', the 'fallen angel', the 'lost paradise'. In order to free itself from this entanglement of part of its consciousness, the Soul, guided by the High Self and the Oversoul, sends out successive projections with improved programming in a chain of 'reincarnations'.
With each projection a new and different personality is programmed, taking the experiences of the preceding personalities into account. Therefore, from the point of view of a personality, we cannot really say that we are reincarnations with former lives. This would be as if a picture, painted by an artist, assumes that it has previously been another picture, painted by the same artist. Instead, each picture is a unique new creation.
With this, reincarnation as a general principle applies to the Soul but not to the personality. There are, however, exceptions. The American psychiatrist Ian Stevenson investigated and published a series of cases that show conclusively a reincarnation of the same personality with memories, birthmarks and injury marks directly from a preceding life.
However, these cases involved violent death at the prime of life before the programmed life task was accomplished and immediate rebirth in a baby born at the time of death. According to Tibetan tradition the Dalai Lama and some other important lamas reincarnate in the same exceptional way.
After the separation from the physical body that we call death, the personality remains individualized for a further period, clothed in its astral or mental and emotional bodies. Finally it is reabsorbed or reintegrated into the consciousness of its Soul as part of our overall life-stream, and the Soul forms another projection.
Hypnotic regressions seem to indicate that the incarnating Soul projection becomes only gradually attached to the fetus. While it may be close to the mother already before conception and guide the earliest development of the fetus, commonly it starts entering it only during the second half of pregnancy. Even after birth it still continues to fuse more closely with the baby.
The entanglement that keeps this process going and from which the Soul tries to free itself, is called 'karma'. This means a personality or its followers reap the consequences of its actions, and even of thoughts and feelings. We reap what we as well as those before us have sown. The deliberate attempt of a personality to free its Soul from karma or entanglement of consciousness is called 'the spiritual path'.
The ideal of vegetarianism especially in its relationship to spirituality originated in India. Presently, this idea appeals to many sensitive individuals in Western society, who do not want to contribute to cruelty against animals. Others become vegetarians because of the advice of their spiritual teachers or because of what is written in books on this subject.
However, our metabolism and food requirements have evolved according to our genetic background. Those who originate from cold climates or have blood group O, or have inherited or acquired a weak sugar metabolism, have non-vegetarian requirements for optimal health. Often this involves quiet, sensitive individuals with low blood pressure and a lack of energy. These may experience a conflict between their body needs and their ideals. With the following explanations I want to show that this conflict is not necessary.
Indians have predominantly vegetarian body requirements. They must pacify mind and emotions with plant food and may have great difficulties progressing spiritually on a non-vegetarian diet. Most Christian mystics and saints, on the other hand, were not vegetarians and neither was Jesus according to the Bible. As stated in some scriptures, even the Buddha did not insist on a meatless diet, only to abstain from the meat of carnivorous animals. Due to their cold climate, Tibetan Buddhist monks were often non-vegetarians. All of this may indicate that vegetarianism is not a prerequisite for spirituality.
However, there is a relationship between vegetarianism and spirituality. Meat makes body and feelings less sensitive, and meat-eaters with a slow metabolism become more insensitive to higher energies and spiritual influences. Fruit, on the other hand, has a beneficial cleansing and sensitizing influence on these people. Nevertheless, those who are already too sensitive may become ungrounded and open to unfavorable psychic influences on a fruitarian diet and even lose touch with physical reality. Some flesh food will help these individuals to 'come back down to earth'.
For those who aim mainly at dwelling in altered states of consciousness, preferably under competent guidance, a fruit-rich vegetarian diet will be of great assistance in loosening the ties between the physical body and its higher vehicles. It may also make it easier to receive messages from the higher self in the form of visions or voices.
However, on the spiritual path greater psychic sensitivity is desirable only in the context of a balanced development on all levels. Our main aim is to become more spiritual in our daily interactions and in our normal state of consciousness. The exploration of altered states of consciousness is only secondary.
A vegetarian diet is pacifying and, therefore, conducive to meditation and contemplation, but it may leave some of us unable to work efficiently in this world. Therefore, we must strike a balance in our diet selection between our goals and our body condition. Generally speaking, the diet best suited for our spiritual development is one that leads us towards optimal health.
We do not become more spiritual, that means more loving, understanding and wiser simply by being vegetarians, although compassion with the plight of farm animals is a step in the right direction. However, our body requirements will gradually change on the spiritual path as the body is transformed and we learn to utilize higher forms of energy.
In this way, even those of the non-vegetarian body type will eventually be able to maintain good health on a more or less vegetarian diet. The proper path in this direction, however, is a diet that is in harmony with present body requirements.
Gopi KRISHNA in his book 'Kundalini' gave a vivid account of his long-time suffering, because his body was not strong enough for the tremendous energy streams raging through his system. He finally realized that he could only save his body and become well again by starting temporarily to eat some meat.
Rolling Thunder, a Red-Indian spiritual leader is a meat-eater and so was Edgar CAYCE who said in essence: "Spiritualize these influences rather than abstain from meat (for this particular body of the questioner). Not what goes into the mouth but what comes out of it may defile the spiritual body."
While cruelty to animals is often cited as a reason in favor of vegetarianism, those who consume milk or eggs contribute to cruelty if they use eggs from battery hens or milk from cows or goats that have been prematurely separated from their offspring.
Now I want to consider the animals' side of the problem. That the animal eventually will be killed obviously does not trouble it during its lifetime. If it were not for human consumption, most farm animals would not have a chance to live in the first place. If these animals had a free choice, most of them would probably prefer to live and eventually being killed rather than not to live at all. Actually, I am sure even many humans would prefer a quick death like that of a humanely slaughtered farm animal as compared to the slow disintegration that may await them with some of our degenerative diseases.
However, what is decidedly wrong with our present system is that animals are commonly raised under unnatural and degrading conditions and may meet their death in fear and even terror. This is not necessary and only due to commercial interests and the general indifference to the plight of farm animals. But this often applies also to the production of milk and eggs that many vegetarians use.
Therefore, if animals are reared with loving care and in a natural way as it befits their species, and then killed in a humane way, there does not need to be any suffering for the animal. As Rolling Thunder explained it in essence: "When I am going to shoot a deer, I know beforehand where I will find it and also the animal knows that I am coming. But it is not afraid, it is waiting for me and it does not suffer when I shoot it."
With this, the animal actually sacrifices itself for a 'higher need'. We may regard the killing of animals for human consumption as a sacrifice by the animal world, as also we humans may sacrifice ourselves for some higher purpose, or as the vegetable kingdom sacrifices part of itself for consumption by animals and humans. Each kingdom evolves through this close contact with the next higher one and by nourishing it.
Furthermore, killing does not only pertain to animals. Also plants are living beings, responding to love and hate. Therefore, the difference between killing a cabbage, a fish or fowl, is only one of degree in the evolutionary chain.
Of course, most people would be happier to kill a cabbage than an animal (with the exception of insects and rodents). But I suggest that those who cannot function very well as vegetarians should accept this sacrifice gracefully and without guilt and in return work for a better deal for our animals. Nevertheless, it may be in the best interest of spiritually minded individuals to minimize the use of meat, especially from mammals, in preference to seafood. As our race becomes more spiritual in the future and bodies change, vegetarianism will become universal.
Living spiritually is our day-to-day, minute-to minute effort to live according to our spiritual beliefs. Our body with all of its problems is an important partner in this quest. It shows us where to start and what to do, helping us to become ever more conscious of all aspects of ourselves.
Healing our body, mind and emotions is in itself part of our spiritual evolution. Even if you do not otherwise intend to live spiritually, you do so anyway by healing yourself on these levels. There are many different definitions of what it means to live spiritually or following the spiritual path, as you may have already noticed. One of them sees it as our effort to develop our full potential of health and happiness, starting with the body and the problems that we have right now.
I am convinced that by living in total harmony with the biological, emotional, mental and spiritual laws that govern us, we would be close to perfect; we would personify the risen Christ. Therefore, all imperfections, usually manifesting as problems, show us what to do to become more spiritual and, with this, more happy and fulfilled.
Starting at the biological level, we may have a health problem, possibly a specific disease. This disease has one or more causes, usually on several levels. Just trying to ease symptoms with palliative care is not a spiritual solution, although we can use the disease to practice cheerfulness in adversity.
With our spiritual quest we try to discover and overcome the causes for the disease. We experiment with nutrition, cleansing and other natural healing methods, we improve energy flows by softening armored muscle structures, release suppressed negative emotions, and we may use regression and reprogramming, guided imagery and meditation. Chances are that the disease will more or less disappear and at the same time we have substantially progressed on the spiritual path.
The same is true for any of our other imperfections and problems, be it a rigid and aging body, lack of meaning in our life, unsatisfactory relationships, worry and resentments. Just keep part of your mind in observer mode and be aware of whatever you are doing. If you catch yourself worrying about something, that is your problem to work on, worry is a negative attitude and you need to change your approach. Do what you can to get the problem fixed and then leave it to faith, use prayer and meditation to strengthen your faith.
If you catch yourself having an unkind thought about someone, immediately make an effort to send a kind thought to that person. If you believe someone has harmed you, realize that this person is just a weak human and needs your help. Be angry if you feel that way but let it out in a suitable manner, and when you have calmed down, perform a deliberate mental exercise to forgive and send love. That is the spiritual way; you can do it all the time.
Learn to laugh about yourself when you make a silly mistake or break something. You would laugh if it happened to someone else, try it for yourself, it makes life much easier. Taking ourselves too seriously shows that we are dominated by our ego.
It is said that no one is an island; we all are in it together. We interact all the time, and helping our brothers and sisters is the most important part of interacting. We cannot help by preaching or trying to convince somebody. The most effective way is to be a living example of your spiritual beliefs. Try to live as an example. Be forgiving, be kind, try to do the right thing at the right time but if you mess up, do not worry, you are not expected to be perfect, try again.
As your consciousness expands, you may realize that your job or your partner is no longer in harmony with your beliefs. Visualize and pray for a suitable solution and keep your eyes open. You do not need to go out of your way to look for opportunities to help others. Just be aware and do your best whenever you come across something, your guidance will arrange the opportunities for you to learn and help. Do not blame yourself or anyone else if something goes wrong, making mistakes is the best way to learn. We need to make mistakes, learn from them, that is the spiritual path.
Specific ways of life have been devised through the ages to facilitate the growth of a spiritual body. Foremost in this are prayer and meditation, especially as part of monastic life. In a related form we have the yoga of devotion or bakthi yoga and the yoga of action or karma yoga in which we dedicate our life to unselfish social work or healing. Also rituals, such as performed by the Orthodox or Catholic Church and by secret societies and New Age groups, can provide spiritual food. When we deliberately set out to awaken and build a body for the inner Christ, we are said to be on the spiritual path.
If you have different ideas about spirituality, the meaning and purpose of life and the nature of God, just follow your own beliefs. In order to heal yourself with the methods on this website it is not necessary to accept my particular philosophy. I only offer it as a possibility for those who are still searching.
Disclaimer: The aim of this web site is to provide information on using natural healing methods to aid in the treatment of illness and health improvement.
or if you are unsure about a particular course of action, seek the help of a competent health professional.


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By Ben Blanchard and Michael Martina
| BEIJING
BEIJING China defended its right on Thursday to put "necessary military installations" on artificial islands in the South China Sea, after a U.S. think-tank said Beijing appeared to have deployed weapons such as anti-aircraft and anti-missile systems.The Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI) at the Center for Strategic and International Studies said its findings, made available first to Reuters on Wednesday, were based on analysis of satellite images of islands in the strategic trade route, where territory is claimed by several countries.The United States has previously criticized what it called China's militarization of its maritime outposts, and stressed the need for freedom of navigation by conducting periodic air and naval patrols near them that have angered Beijing.China's Defence Ministry said in a statement on its website on Thursday that the construction it had carried out on islands and reefs in the disputed Spratlys chain was "mainly for civilian use"."As for necessary military installations, they are mainly for defence and self-protection and are legitimate and lawful," it said. "If someone makes a show of force at your front door, would you not ready your slingshot?"The United States has conducted four freedom of navigation patrols, seen as a challenge to China's extensive territorial claims in the South China Sea, in the past year or so, most recently in October."PREPPING FOR CONFLICT"
AMTI said satellite images of islands China has built in the Spratlys showed what appeared to be anti-aircraft guns and what were likely to be close-in weapons systems (CIWS) to protect against cruise missile strikes.Other images showed towers that likely contained targeting radar, it said.
Beijing regards the islands as its sovereign territory, and has often said it is entitled to limited and necessary defensive installations.AMTI director Greg Poling said the think-tank had spent months trying to figure out the purposes of the structures shown in the images."This is the first time that we're confident in saying they are anti-aircraft and CIWS emplacements. We did not know that they had systems this big and this advanced there," he told Reuters. "This is militarization. The Chinese can argue that it's only for defensive purposes, but if you are building giant anti-aircraft gun and CIWS emplacements, it means that you are prepping for a future conflict."Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told a regular news briefing in Beijing that he "did not understand" the situation referred to in the AMTI report.
"The Nansha islands are China's inherent territory. China's building of facilities and necessary territorial defensive facilities on its own territory is completely normal," he said, using China's name for the Spratlys."If China's building of normal facilities and deploying necessary territorial defensive facilities on its own islands is considered militarization, then what is the sailing of fleets into the South China Sea?"REGIONAL CONCERN
The Philippines, one of several countries with competing territorial claims in the South China Sea, said it was still verifying the report.
"But if true it is a big concern for us and the international community who use the South China Sea lanes for trade," said Defence Minister Delfin Lorenzana. "It would mean that the Chinese are militarising the area which is not good."Lorenzana's comments were made during a visit to Singapore with President Rodrigo Duterte, where he also said the United States had agreed to sell the Philippine Navy two advanced radar systems to boost its surveillance capability in the South China Sea.Australia too voiced concerns about China's actions in the disputed waterway."The building of artificial islands and the possible militarisation is creating an environment of tension and mistrust between claimants and other regional states," said Foreign Minister Julie Bishop in a statement."We urge claimants to refrain from coercive behaviour and unilateral actions designed to change the status quo in disputed areas."U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office on Jan. 20, has criticized Chinese behaviour in the South China Sea, while signalling he may adopt a tougher approach to China's assertive behaviour in the region than President Barack Obama.The State Department said it would not comment on intelligence matters, but spokesman John Kirby added: "We consistently call on China as well as other claimants to commit to peacefully managing and resolving disputes, to refrain from further land reclamation and construction of new facilities and the militarization of disputed features." (Additional reporting by David Brunnstrom and Yeganeh Torbati in Washington, Karen Lima and Manuel Mogato in Manila, Greg Torode in Hong Kong and My Pham in Hanoi; Writing by Alex Richardson; Editing by Mike Collett-White)
Updated Date: Dec 15, 2016 22:19:59 IST
Tags : Argentina, Australia, Images, Markets, United Kingdom, United States
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Karnataka Assembly trust vote LIVE Updates: Siddaramaiah seeks delay in floor test citing 'confusion' over SC order
1China defends its right to 'ready slingshot' in South China Sea | Reuters

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The June issue of Canadian packaging Magazine reports a story of how Unilever added their Hellman's dressing product line to their Rexdale, Ontario manufacturing plant without expanding the building.
This was a challenging project for Unilever because they had functioning packaging lines for the existing Becel Margarine products which had to be compressed in order to make room for three new Hellman's production lines.
Ryson Spirals were part of the solution because of their space-saving and high throughput benefits. Two Ryson Vertical Case Spiral Conveyors with 16″ wide slats handle cases from the production at floor level up 10′ to the palletizers above at a rate 90 FPM. For more information about Ryson Spiral Conveyors, visit www.ryson.com. Read the full story in Canadian Packaging.
Freezer Application: Ryson Spirals are often used to convey frozen product from the top of a spiral freezer to the floor level.
On this project the customer needed to lower frozen single–serve dinners from a freezer out feed elevation of 18 feet down to the packaging level at floor level.
Because of space limitations, the product needed to enter the spiral perpendicular to the freezer out feed conveyor. This was accomplished by extending the in feed at the top and providing special designed stainless steel slides to facilitate transfers on and off the spiral conveyor.
This spiral unit is an all stainless steel/washdown model with 20" wide slats and is installed at a Midwest co-packer. Our Integrator partner, Selectpack was responsible for this project and was able to save the customer valuable floor space and provide them with additional operating flexibility.
For more information about the wide range of applications Ryson Spiral Conveyors can be used for in the food and beverage industry, watch the Ryson Application Video, or visit www.ryson.com.
Ryson Spiral Conveyors offer practical layout flexibility.
Configuration options of Ryson Spiral's in and out-feed tangents can provide great layout flexibility.
The Ryson Vertical Spiral Conveyor modular design allows the position and length of the in-feed tangent on up spirals and the out-feed tangent on down spirals to meet custom layout requirements. This provides great layout felxibility in tight spaces and accomodate conveyor line centerline offsets.
Extending the tangents can also eliminate short conveyor sections between the spiral and other system components. The extended tangent is powered by the spiral drive, and saves in the cost of integration and controls. Ryson's proprietary design allows the extension to operate in any direction from the spiral.
This week Ryson is shipping a down spiral to a major beverage company with a curved extended out-feed which efficiently accommodates a centerline offset in a reconfigured packaging line. The integrator on this project is Foth Production Solutions.
The position and length of the in-feed tangent on up spirals and out-feed tangent on down spirals can be customized to meet specific layout requirements.
You can download a Ryson Size and Model Chart on www.ryson.com and you can specify any unique tangent requirements.
New Ryson Spiral Newsletter "Up and Up" is Out!
The latest edition of the Ryson Newsletter "Up and Up" is in circulation. The Ryson newsletter keeps you up to date on the latest spiral conveyor technology and exciting new installations we've been working on. If you are not on our mailing list you can view the current edition of the newsletter here. We also keep an archive of older newsletters which you can easily browse.
Don't forget you can catch up with the latest vertical spiral conveyor videos on Ryson's own YouTube Channel and you can also follow us on Twitter and Facebook.
If you are interested, please be sure to sign up on our mailing list, so you can receive our newsletter and occasional news blasts.
This year, PackEx the largest packaging show in Canada and ExpoPack, catering to Latin America will be running concurrently. Ryson will be attending BOTH.
ExpoPack 2011 Mexico – EXPO PACK México offers direct access to the packaging and processing industries in Latin America attracting buyers from throughout the region. Ryson will be exhibiting a stainless steel mass flow spiral conveyor – Ryson will be in the PMMI section of the show. C&A, one of our integrators will also be running a Ryson Vertical Spiral Conveyor in their booth, 2914. This spiral is used as a case elevator.
June 21 – 24, 2011 – Centro Banamex, Mexico City, Mexico.
PackEX 2011 Toronto — a World-Class Educational and Networking Forum for the Packaging Industry. Ryson will be exhibiting a case spiral conveyor with a very small footprint at this show, in booth 1047. Contact us for a personal presentation.
June 21 – 23, 2011 – Toronto Congress Centre.
The bucket elevators combine vertical and horizontal transportation of bulk material in one integral unit.
In addition to Vertical Spiral Conveyors, Ryson International, Inc. Manufactures Bucket Elevators and Bucket Conveyors.
Bucket Elevators handle bulk materials in an enclosed bucket-chain conveyor system. The Bucket elevator efficiently combines vertical and horizontal transportation and can have multiple inlets and outlets. They are designed for gentle handling and quiet operation to facilitate transportation of measured quantities. The individual buckets overlap at the infeed and remain in an upward position until emptied to prevent spills.
Their modular design and rugged construction make them suitable for a wide variety of applications and industries including food, agriculture, pharmaceutical, cosmetic, chemical, ceramic, glass, recycling, building and metallurgical. The modular design also makes them simple to install and modify.
For more information on the Ryson Bucket Elevators you can read more stories in our blog, or visit the Ryson website at http://www.ryson.com/Bucket.htm. You can also download the bucket elevator brochure. If you have a specific application in mind, you can download our RFQ/Information form, or fill in your information online.
One of Coca-Cola's new bottling plants was featured on National Geographic Channel's Ultimate Factories Series. A Ryson Spiral Conveyor was shown in the packaging process of both the bottle and can lines.
Machines in this modern Coca-Cola bottling plant pump out almost 800 bottles per minute and cans are filled at an astonishing rate of up to 1,700 cans per minute in a process more complex than meets the eye. Maintenance and down time is costly to the company when it interrupts production. That is why top quality equipment like Ryson Spiral Conveyors are finding their way to the most modern and efficient plants in the world.
Fridge packs are a perfect application for the Ryson Case Spiral, as shown in this brand new Coca-Cola bottling plant.
You can view all segments of National Geographic – Ultimate Factories Coca Cola here. The Ryson Case Elevator on the bottling line is featured in Part 2 (4 minutes in). The spiral conveyor moving fridge packs are featured in part 3 (at 2 minutes). There are 8 Ryson Spirals installed in this modern bottling plant, moving cases, trays and fridge packs from packaging to palletizing areas. This plant is near Baton Rouge, LA and the systems integrator on the project is Sentry Equipment.
This is an impressive new plant and Ryson International is proud to have vertical conveying solutions there and in many of the top branded packaging companies in the world. For more information about Ryson Spiral Conveyors, please visit Ryson's Bottle Conveyor page or call Ryson direct at 757-898-1530.


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CATENANUOVA.COM - Community Forum Catenanuova - Le vostre idee in movimento. › International English Forum › World News and english articles
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› 12 years boy is Certified Programmer for Java
12 years boy is Certified Programmer for Java
Twelve years old, JSS 3 Nigerian boy, Nyemahame Allwell Worgu has equalled a record set by another 12 years old Pakistani girl in mastering the Sun's Java program.
In 2001, the Pakistani girl, Afsah Shafqat ventured into writing Sun's Certified Programmer for Java 2 Platform 1.4 certification exam, a version of Java basically designed for programmers experienced in using the basic syntax and structure of the Java programming language.
Afsah did not only pass the exam, but also created a world record as the youngest individual in the whole world to scale through the test. Her younger sister, Afrah Shafqua also toed the same line, earning the same certificate almost the same age with Afsah.
Sun's certification program in Java technology is an industry recognised world-wide program that focuses on critical job roles in software application development and enterprise architecture. The philosophy behind the exam is that certification is central to the learning process as it provides validation of skill sets for specific job roles and also offers a natural progression to support chosen career goals. Afterwards, holders of this certificate have the opportunity of pursuing advanced training and certifications that help enable career growth into more specific job roles valuable to an organisation.
While his mates were still battling with passing their junior WAEC exams, Allwell Worgu, a student of the Nigerian Turkish International College, is worried about the world record kept by the Pakistani 12 years old girl. First, he felt that for a girl of 12 to venture taking the exam, then it becomes a big challenge to the male folk. Secondly, Allwell Worgu strongly believes that "blacks are more intelligent than the white", mentioning Philip Emeagwali, the Anambra State born computer guru as a backup for his view. With these in his mind, the River State native resolved to give the Pakistani girl a fight by enrolling for the same exam earlier this month at the age of 12.
Allwell, who started using computer right from his primary school days, revealed his plans of enrolling for the Java exam to his parents, then his school principal, stating his reasons for the mission.
"When I first heard about Java from my teacher in school, I went home to my father for better understanding, which he explained to me. I informed them (his parents) that I would like to take the exam. When I proved to them that I'm ready for it, they first met with my principal, stating my readiness to enrol. When my school saw that I really knew what I was doing, they told me that its not an easy thing for somebody of my age to do, but since they know I can do it, they said I should continue," he narrates.
You need to see Allwell's reaction when he was asked if he ever thought about the possibility of him failing the Java exam?
"Failure was never an option for me," he replied, explaining that, "there is no big deal in writing the exam. When adults write exams, they have many things in their mind; that's why they always fail. May be those that fail were not ready, especially adults, who will be thinking about their business, their market, money in the bank, their stocks and so on, so they find it difficult to concentrate. As a child, I think its better to write it at this period when I don't have much distractions", Allwell reasoned.
As part of his preparation for the exam, Allwell registered with a private computer school in Lagos as an additional training towards achieving his goal. He was never worried about his status as the youngest in the computer training school- rather he utilised it as an advantage to learn more.
"Since I was with adults, it was very easy because they take me as a unique person, small and smart. They are adults, they don't really need to be taught again, but in life, learning still goes on. Sometimes, they can just give them two books and tell them what to do, whenever they need assistance in the school, they will meet our teacher. Our teacher focuses on me because I'm still a child, the other have grown, so they know how to take care of themselves, it was very easy," he said.
Well, if taking Java tutorials class with adults was easy for Allwell, was writing the proper exam easy too and was there any sign of tension during the process?
"There was no tension, but I prayed before I started. Those that wrote the exam before me told me that their hands were shaking when they were writing the exam, they were just telling me all those stuffs. So, when I got there, I saw the questions, they were very easy, so I just continued writing."
"They were like- this is the youngest person that ever came to this centre to write any exam. I'm sure some of them never thought I was there to write the exam, they thought, may be I came to see somebody. I wrote Java, I don't know what others wrote, because I concentrated on my papers, but I left the hall before a lot of them. I didn't see it as very difficult, I wonder why grown-ups fail the exam," he queried.
At last, the result of the exam, which he took online, on the 10th of this month, at Bi- Trax Axxent, Lekki, Lagos, was finally announced, with Allwell scoring 72 per cent. Out of the total 61 questions, he got 44 answers right, putting himself to the same rank with the 12 years old Pakistani, and also becoming the youngest to hold Sun's Certified Java Programmer (SCJP) in the African continent.
What was his feeling when the result was announced and how did his parents and school management react when they got the news?
"I felt normal, I didn't feel that happy, because the exam was very simple and I was ready for it. My parents were happy with the result, my schoolmates and my principal congratulated me, urging me to keep it up," he informed.
Allwell, who is also part of the six Nigerians to represent the country at the upcoming Computer Olympiad holding in Romania, also bared his mind on issues affecting Nigeria as a nation, urging youths to always take a chance.
"I want to help and encourage people about thing like this, because if they know about them Nigeria will develop. Look at America, look at Britain, what is helping them today, is it not computers? Look at Singapore, this was a poor country, but just because of computers, they are now growing very popular in the world. Nigeria can get to such level if we try; there is no big deal about that."
He smiles, looks at his father and his uncle who was so surprised with some of Allwell's responses during the chat and then continues: "I encourage the young ones to take the exam. Like I was surfing the net recently and I saw a Nigerian who wanted to write the exam and people were discouraging him. They told him that the exam is too difficult, that they have written it more than three times without success. They should try their best and take the exam first. The young ones are the future of tomorrow, so they have more chances of doing those kinds of things," he urged.
Also a small group programming instructor in his school, Allwell recalls that, "Sometimes in my class, they call me over sabi, but I have no problem with that. We have a programming class in school- I'm their teacher, not Java, but other programming. Some of them (students) say that its hard while of them will say that it's easy. Some even have headache after the lessons- I think its not only grown-up that don't really understand the course, but they should put more effort."
However, despite his interest in teaching his classmates, Allwell will never be a teacher in future.
"When I'm teaching my classmates, its like talking to them normally when we are in the class. I hear teachers are poor, especially in Nigeria. Majority of them are very poor. Even when they try to air their opinions on some public issues, government will shun them, just like Soyinka now. I think he (Soyinka) is the only teacher that has been making contributions in Nigeria. Other people that try to talk, they either arrest them or do something to them," he frowned.
Mentioning schools such as Harvard University, Oxford University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Cambridge University as his possible choices for university education was not the surprise, but he educated his uncle, who objected with his explanation of the current ranking of these schools in science and technology.
"I check the rating overtime on the Internet. MIT use to be the first in science and technology, but now, Cambridge University is currently leading the chart. I think MIT should be the 2nd or 3rd in the ranking. I'm planning to do more programming languages such as developer test, Java, oracle, Microsoft and the rest," he concludes.
Source: ngrguardiannews.com


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CCBP
CC Newsmakers
By FWBP Staff
Rob Bowlby is the president of BB&T's North Texas Region. He replaces Brant Standridge, who has been named to BB&T's executive management team. Bowlby has 23 years of commercial banking experience with BB&T, having worked in several locations throughout the bank's footprint. He started his career in 1992 as a corporate banker in Morgantown, W.Va., and in 2003, he was promoted to regional loan administrator in Winston-Salem, N.C. In 2009, Bowlby was promoted to market president in Miami where he was responsible for the area's commercial loan portfolio, budget and community involvement.
Standridge has more than 17 years of banking experience, which began when he joined BB&T's Leadership Development Program. Prior to being named president of the North Texas Region in 2014, Standridge had market president, regional president and state president roles for the community bank in Annapolis and Baltimore, Md., and Atlanta, Ga.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas appointed Mary Jo A. Polidore as vice president of the communications and outreach department. Polidore will oversee the bank's corporate communications and public outreach functions, which support economic growth and increased understanding of the economy and role of the Federal Reserve.
Polidore's experience in communications and marketing spans several business sectors, including aerospace and defense, industrial manufacturing and finance, and small business.
Previously, she was vice president of corporate communications for Dallas Fort Worth International Airport. She also served for more than 15 years in a variety of senior management positions in communications and public affairs with four of Lockheed Martin Corp.'s major businesses, including its Fort Worth and Grand Prairie operations. In addition, she managed communications for Cooper Industries Crouse-Hinds division. She has led her teams in award-winning programs earning International Business Awards, American Business Awards and various public relations awards.
Boards & Organizations
New officers for the National Association of Corporate Directors North Texas for 2016-2017 are: President Rhys Best, chairman of MRC Global and Austin Industries and board member for Cabot Oil and Gas, Commercial Metals Co. and Trinity Industries; Vice President/Vice Chairman Maribess Miller, board member for Zix Corp., Midmark Corp. and Triumph Bancorp; Treasurer Max Carrier, managing partner of KPMG's Southwest Area audit practice; and Secretary Todd Murray, a partner at Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP. New board members include Lou Grabowsky, Juniper Capital Management; Craig Jimenez, Eco Centri LLC; Yon Jorden, Maxwell Technologies and Methodist Health Systems Dallas; Pat Priest, Dallas Regional Chamber; and Jim Skinner, Neiman Marcus.
Suzanne Sears is now leading Texas Woman's University's libraries in Denton, Dallas and Houston. Sears, who was a key player in developing strategic plans for the University of North Texas library system, will expand the libraries' community outreach and guide the strategic planning to meet the research and teaching needs of the university's libraries system at all three TWU campuses. Sears brings more than 30 years of experience leading innovative projects in large library settings. She comes to TWU following nine years at the University of North Texas, where she most recently served as associate dean for public services. She also was a member of the Dean's Council for the UNT Libraries. She is a member of the American Library Association and the Association of College and Research Libraries.
Natalie A. Wilkins joined Cook Children's Health Care System in the newly created position of chief of staff. Wilkins comes to Cook Children's from North Texas Specialty Physicians where she most recently served as administrative director of clinical programs. She joined the group in 2011 as director of accountable care operations before leading the funding, testing, operating and sustaining of health innovations focused on advanced illness strategies. She also previously served as director of system leadership and hospital operations at Baylor Scott & White in Dallas from 2009-2011.
Dennis Mayhall, owner of 46 Domino's stores in Fort Worth and surrounding areas, and co-owner of 213 Domino's stores located throughout the U.S., was awarded the International Franchise Association Gold Franny Award for operational excellence. This is Mayhall's fourth Gold Franny Award.
Kevin Miles, CEO of Zoe's Kitchen Inc., was honored with the EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2016 Retail Award for the Southwest Region. The award is in recognition of his commitment to excellence and extraordinary success in such areas as innovation, financial performance and personal commitment to the company and communities. Under his leadership, the brand has accelerated its development, growing from 20 restaurants in 2009 to more than 180 locations across 19 states.
Several Baylor Scott & White Health hospitals earned a "Mother-Friendly Worksite" designation from the Texas Department of State Health Services, meaning employees are provided the time, space and support to maintain breastfeeding after returning to work. Facilities with the designation include: Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas; Baylor Scott & White All Saints Medical Center-Fort Worth; Baylor Jack and Jane Hamilton Heart Vascular Hospital; Baylor Scott & White Medical Center-Plano; Baylor Scott & White Medical Center-Waxahachie; Baylor Scott & White Medical Center-Carrollton; Baylor Scott & White Medical Center-Grapevine; Baylor Scott & White Medical Center-Irving; Baylor Scott & White Medical Center-McKinney; Baylor Scott & White Medical Center-Frisco; Baylor Scott & White Medical Center-Garland; Baylor Scott & White Medical Center-College Station; and Baylor Scott & White Medical Center-White Rock.
Trial attorney Jennifer Edgeworth joined Macdonald Devin PC as a shareholder. Her practice focuses on construction defect, employment law, environmental law, general business law, contract drafting and negotiation, premises liability, product liability, professional liability, and toxic torts. She has served as the lead Texas chairperson for Claims and Litigation Management Alliance, is a past president of the Dallas Association of Young Lawyers, was a barrister for the Patrick E. Higginbotham Inn of Court, and currently serves on the board for the Collin County Women Lawyers Association.
Edgeworth is a 2016 graduate of Leadership Plano, Class 33, and serves on the board for the Women's Auxiliary to Children's Medical Center Plano. She is a sustainer of Junior League of Collin County, was a longtime member of Junior League of Dallas, served on the board for Our Friends Place, and served on the alumni board for Texas Christian University's Neeley School of Business. Edgeworth is certified in environmental risk management by Texas State University.
McKinney Police Assistant Chief Joe Ellenburg was one of the 213 law enforcement officers who recently graduated from the FBI National Academy Program at Quantico, Va.
Big Brothers Big Sisters Lone Star appointed Bill Chinn as its new Dallas president. Chinn spent 20 years at GameStop Corp., ascending to the position of senior vice president, retail, where he was responsible for more than 5,000 store locations. He also was instrumental in GameStop's growth from 400 to more than 5,000 stores, and its progress from a private to a public company. Chinn became a successful entrepreneur as managing partner of Ricardian Capital and Atlanta Neighborhood Redevelopment Group. He has served as vice president for DFW Retail Executives Association and a member of its board, and as executive chairman of the Boy Scouts Board of Directors-Southlake. In 2015 Chinn was honored as Volunteer of the Year by Big Brothers Big Sisters.
Send newsmakers to Betty Dillard at bdillard@bizpress.net
Huawei appoints David He as president of Enterprise US
Longtime Huawei Enterprise US executive David He has been named the new president of the company's United States headquarters in Plano.
In his new role, He will oversee the Enterprise Business Group's American operations, including sales, partners, marketing and service activities, and will coordinate sales and marketing campaigns with Huawei headquarters in China.
Since joining Huawei in 1998, He has served in a variety of executive roles at the company. Prior to this appointment, He served as president of marketing and solution sales for Huawei's Enterprise Business Group, where he was responsible for the global marketing strategy and pre-sales activities. Before that, He was the president of Huawei Enterprise's Global Solutions Sales, director of technical sales in China and Asia Pacific, and supervised the company's global IT network solution sales.
Founded in 1987, Huawei is a private global information and communications technology company fully owned by its 170,000 employees worldwide.


What's The Difference Between Cat Sitting And Cat Boarding?
To all my cat pet parents, this one's for you! So, you're about to go on vacation (woohoo!), but there's one small problem. Who's going to take care of your cat while you're away? And what TYPE of care will you need? Visits 3 times a day + a sleepover? Or maybe just one visit a day? Will your cat stay at your home or be boarded in a facility? Today we're going to break down cat sitting vs. cat boarding to help you quickly and easily figure out what type of cat care is best for you and your fur baby.
Cat Sitting, by definition, is "the act of caring for a cat in its own home while the owner is away." So, whenever we talk about cat SITTING, this will always imply that the cat will be happy and tucked away in their own home versus in a facility. This is one of the largest distinctions between cat sitting and cat boarding.
Studies have shown that cats are happier and calmer when staying at-home in a familiar environment. Additionally, their daily routines can go uninterrupted, the risk of illness exposure is minimized, and there's no travel trauma for your kitty.
What does a cat sitter actually do?
A cat sitter is going to be in and out of your home while you're gone, so it's important that you have a good understanding of their duties. A typical cat sitter will complete tasks such as feeding, watering, cleaning litter boxes, administering medications (if needed), and most importantly – providing lots of love and care!
So now that you know what a cat sitter does, you just have to decide how many times a day you would like them to visit your cat. Does your cat eat once, twice, or even three times a day? Is your cat more solitary or very attention-loving? Asking yourself these types of questions can help you decide how often a cat sitter should be coming over to give your cat love and care.
Cat boarding is when you take your cat to a facility to stay while you're away on a vacation. Think of it like a "cat hotel." There will be other cats there, but your cat will get their own special room with all of their amenities like food, water, toys, etc.
What are the benefits of cat boarding?
Your cat will have round the clock, 24/7 care which they may not have with cat sitting. They'll get lots of playtime and care with a multitude of caregivers while you're away. Your cat will have their own private area to stay and relax as well.
What does a cat boarder do?
While your cat is boarded, they might have a number of different caregivers. These people will frequently check-in on your cat to ensure they are getting their meals, fresh water, and are in a happy mood. Some facilities might have a special play room where the cats can come out, walk around, and play with toys.
So now that you know what cat boarding is, you have to decide if 24/7 round-the-clock care is right for you and your cat. Ask yourself if your cat will be able to handle being in a new environment. Think about whether or not you're comfortable with your cat having multiple caregivers, or prefer only one.
Comparing and contrasting the pros and cons of both cat sitting vs. cat boarding will ultimately help you make the best decision for your cat. You, as a cat owner, know your cat and their personality better than anyone. Only you will be able to make the best choice for your cat. But no matter which care option you choose, your cat will be so excited for you to return – as they prefer your love and care the most!


I've been to Ozer a few times, but never for an actual meal; I have eaten at Sofra though, so kinda knew what to expect tonight. It's all the same standard Turkish food you get elsewhere; since our birthday party was quite big our host decided to go the set menu; a good thing considering the logistics involved in allowing everyone a free choice.
That the set menu wasn't bad helped though - we had the standard selection of mezze followed up by various meats that you get at any decent Turkish joint and all was of a good enough standard. The cost was £15 per head which is a bit on the steep side but end up being good value compared with going a la carte (although I guess that does depend on how much you eat!).
But where Ozer really shines is in vibe and group facilitation. In two words: round tables. It's amazing how much of an effect a round table has on making a group dinner seem more than just about the two people seated either side of you and for this reason alone Ozer gets top marks as a place worth taking a group of friends to.
I like Ozer. I've been there a few times, and I agree with the round table comment.


text:
APP_NAME = 'Example app'

# Description, shown in the <meta> tag
APP_DESCRIPTION = 'An example app based on the JobMonitor.'

# List of emails to send ERROR messages to
ADMINS = ['admin@example.com']

# Mappings of parent paths to their default children
# The key represents the visited path, the value is the page that's served
# For the dict below, a visited path of `examples` will show the
# `examples/table` page, as an example
DEFAULT_CHILDREN = {
    '': 'home',
    'examples': 'examples/table',
    'examples/tabs': 'examples/tabs/tab1'
}


You may be able to partially imitate someone's handwriting for a word or two, like with an attempted forged signature, but it's a lot more difficult than it seems.
You must first suspend your own unique handwriting patterns, which are the result of your subconscious mind, with its distinctive set of psychological fears and defenses, manifesting through your handwriting. As you learned to write, you first learned how to form letters, then words, then sentences, at which point you could write without thinking about how to write (known as graphic maturity). Attempting to suddenly break free of the way you naturally write can really upset your unconscious mind and cause excessive stress and anxiety, as outlined in this article.
To imitate another person's script, it involves much more than just how it may appear to someone new to graphology. Precisely duplicating more than 300 indicators such as rhythm, spacing, pressure, slant, compression and expansion, zonal balance, speed, and others, all at the same time, just isn't achievable. You would have a much easier time emulating how another person talks.
Select individuals, such as artists, may appear to be able to significantly alter their script, like they possess two or more different forms of handwriting. However, though two different forms of handwriting by the same person may appear different on the surface, it's very likely the two forms have a lot in common, including those factors I list above (rhythm, pressure, etc.) and more.
A job applicant, for example, couldn't attempt to significantly alter his or her script without the risk of raising problematic personality red flags; affectation and bluff are straightforwardly identified through handwriting analysis.
Handwriting analysis is one of the most objective and non-discriminatory forms of personality analysis and the results can't be manipulated, helping you to limit your risk considerably.
Understanding true personality strengths and weaknesses is vital for your career, business, and personal life success. It can save you an enormous amount of time and money if you get it right, yet misinterpreting personality can ruin you.
Although I believe psychological self-tests such as Myers-Briggs can help determine social inclination, or even be a somewhat useful part of a pre-employment evaluation program, for example, everybody knows you're on your best behavior while taking self-tests.
It's impossible to acquire an adequately defined view of abilities and potential personality problem areas exclusively from self-tests, even if they are "psychologist approved." The self-tests can be gamed.
The Enneagram (or Ennegram) personality typing system is another popular method, relying on only nine categories, including "The Reformer," "The Helper," "The Achiever," "The Individualist," "The Investigator," "the Loyalist," "The Enthusiast," "The Challenger," and "The Peacemaker.
Essentially, in using such a method, you're observing a person's behavior for a period of time, sometimes a very brief period of time, and selecting one of the nine categories, or perhaps more than one.
Let's see, this person appears (never mind that it could very well be her business persona, and not her real personality) to be rational, people-pleasing, driven and success-oriented, responsible and engaging, versatile and spontaneous, and willful and self-confident.
Well, why not just place her and everyone else in all nine categories?
Are you starting to see a problem with this sort of assessment?
Unfortunately, it's entirely possible someone might possess none of those negative personality traits, or alternatively, even several from multiple categories.
Regrettably, you're only going to be scratching the surface of authentic personality if you lack an objective system of analysis. In other words, without set standards of interpretation that disallow partiality, guessing at someone's "type" won't give you accurate results, and you certainly can't rely entirely on fill-in-the blank and multiple choice self-tests to delineate true personality.
Instead of oversimplified assessment methods that can't identify distinct individual strengths and challenges, you need a more comprehensive (and objective) method such as handwriting analysis that can accurately delineate specific personality red flags and talents.
Making the erroneous assumption that the complex human personality can be crammed into only one or a few personality types. Expecting consistently accurate character and compatibility analyses with subjective personality typing systems is like expecting to become an overnight millionaire through Internet marketing (less than 5% of all Internet marketers succeed, and far fewer have become millionaires).
Attempting to identify your "blind spots" or strengths through subjective analysis such as with a personality typing system—you need someone outside yourself and a more objective system.
Making the false assumption you can simply look for "cues," "particular language," or "specific behaviors" in other people to type them and assess their character accurately (unless you have them under a microscope for hours, including high-stress situations, and you're a trained psychologist, it's impossible for the average person to do this, even with "Internet guru advice").
Erroneously (and astonishingly mindlessly) believing you can predict another person's future behavior while under pressure exclusively with subjective and self-test personality typing systems.
Mistakenly thinking you can discern subconscious motivations and compatibility from mere subjective and self-test personality typing systems.
I strongly recommend the use of a range of evaluations, including handwriting analysis, in conjunction with other psychological testing methods to determine authentic personality and, or if a person's abilities match the demands of the job.
Handwriting analysis, in conjunction with comprehensive astrology and numerology, is invaluable to reduce your risk because it can't be manipulated and absolutely assesses actual personality–subconscious character—well beyond the persona when an individual is at their best, such as when they know they are being scrutinized.
It's important to note that the generally accepted cost of a bad hire is over two times the annual salary. The costs of a bad hire estimates in the above survey were likely underestimated due to the bulk of the hidden costs being overlooked.
A sure way to reduce your risk of a bad hire is to use a full range of personality assessments, including handwriting analysis, to determine a person's fit for the demands of the job.
Handwriting analysis is an effective tool to investigate well beyond the surface persona to reveal the subconscious personality, the real personality.
Under pressure on the job, after the interview and while superiors aren't watching, a person's authentic abilities and challenges emerge.
There are many personality traits and red flag concerns that aren't easy to measure by only talking to an applicant, reviewing their resume, and through standard personality evaluations.
Remember, multiple-choice, self-test personality assessments can be manipulated. Handwriting analysis, executed by a well-trained professional, can't be manipulated.
Having an accurate read of character, you'll greatly reduce your risk and save enormous amounts of time and money in hiring situations.
Before you make any hiring decision, it's important that you scrutinize fairly, cautiously, and thoroughly using multiple forms of appraisal. Several interviewers, background checks and security investigations, and various forms of personality assessment are advised.
Just be aware of the fact that any pre-hire character assessment that is applicant-executed (e.g., on-line evaluation systems, multiple choice psychological testing, et al.) runs the risk of being manipulated, even if the facilitator claims otherwise, and even if the applicant is not directly self-analyzing themselves in the assessment.
Among the numerous forms of appraisal you employ, handwriting analysis is recommended in order to assure exceptionally accurate and objective character assessment. It's one of the most non-discriminatory forms of personality evaluation.
Unlike other methods, handwriting analysis assesses the real personality, the one behind the interview persona, allowing you to spot potential red flags before it's too late.
31% answered no and only 43% answered somewhat.
If your employees aren't able to adapt to changing market conditions, it could seriously threaten your company's existence.
Hiring an employee who appears to have the flexibility to adjust to workplace and industry changes and then later finding out that they don't can cost you a bundle.
But how do you find out if someone is truly adaptable in a way that can fortify your company's competitiveness?
In addition to a change readiness assessment, it's wise to assess your employees, and more importantly, your potential hires with a more objective form of personality analysis.
Handwriting analysis is one of the most accurate, objective, and non-discriminatory forms of character assessment. Adaptability is a personality trait that can be thoroughly and accurately outlined through handwriting analysis. Additionally, comprehensive astrology and numerology offers further checks and balances to allow you know just how adaptable that potential hire is before you make a job offer.
Remember, under pressure people's true personality emerges. The true personality, the subconscious self, is effectively examined through handwriting analysis.
Scrutiny of U.S. job applicants has been increasing over the past couple decades because of the extreme expense associated with bad hires.
In other words, if the candidate manages to maintain his or her composure during psychological simulations, and figures out how to game the psychological self-tests, they avoid exposing their character flaws, therefore keeping the administrators and hiring managers in the dark about their real personality.
I believe extensive workplace psychological simulation is a valuable hiring tool, yet I strongly recommend the use of a range of evaluations, including handwriting analysis, in conjunction with other psychological testing methods to determine a person's fit for the demands of any job.
Handwriting analysis (especially in conjunction with comprehensive astrology and numerology) is so valuable because it assesses subconscious character, the actual personality, aside from the one presented and, or witnessed when an individual is at their best (e.g., when they know they are being watched/studied). It goes beyond evaluating an applicant just for the related job skills, can't be manipulated, and exposes genuine character.


text:
La transmigración de Timothy Archer (The Transmigration of Timothy Archer en inglés) es el título de un relato fantástico escrito en 1981 por Philip K. Dick. Narra la historia del obispo Timothy Archer contada por Angel Archer, su nuera. Fue titulada originalmente Bishop Timothy Archer.

El protagonista está basado en el obispo episcopaliano James Pike, muerto en 1969 en el desierto cercano al mar Muerto.

Fue publicada en 1982, poco después de la muerte del autor, por Timescape. Nominada al Premio Nébula en 1983, fue traducida al castellano en 1984 por Edhasa. En España obtuvo el premio Gigamesh de 1985. La novela se puede considerar temáticamente cercana a la trilogía VALIS.

Argumento
Archer es un abogado alcohólico convertido en clérigo que indaga la verdad del cristianismo en una nueva traducción de los manuscritos del Mar Muerto. El suicidio de su hijo por amor le lleva a practicar el espiritismo. Así sabrá que él y su amante Kristen, morirán. Tras suicidarse su amante, enferma de cáncer, buscará en el desierto de Oriente Medio el hongo que podría probar la verdad histórica de esa fe.

Bibliografía

Enlaces externos
Ficha y crítica del libro

Novelas de Philip K. Dick

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Tucked away on a side street off Sukhumvit Soi 23, Glow is truly a clubbers club - neon lights, big speakers, and strictly underground house music. This club is legendary among locals and house music crazies for attracting the hottest DJ's and keeping the party going all night long...and then some.
One of the newest additions to Bangkok's lively rooftop bar scene, Cloud 47 boasts a jaw dropping 270° view of the city. And unlike a lot of rooftop joints in the city, you won't be squeezed into a standup bar, courtesy of Cloud 47's beautiful open terrace. It's the best place to sit and enjoy the amazing skyline view with your Thai Intro mates without paying ridiculous drink prices.
Located right at the heart of Khao San Road, Brick Bar is big, bustling, and a guaranteed epic night every time you go. The venue puts on some of the best events in Thailand, and has bands playing from 8:00pm-1:30am every night. You'll surely work up a bit of a sweat after lively night on the legendary Brick Bar dance floor.
A Thai Intro favorite, The Club is like Ibiza in Bangkok. It's big, it's loud, and it's right in the center of Khao San Road. The venue attracts all the best DJs, and with them comes a high energy crowd of backpackers from all over the world. Best of all, the drinks are surprisingly cheap and there's no cover!
If you're ready to get partying in Bangkok, check out our tours for the best way to travel thailand!


This home is under construction and will be completed in late summer of 2019. This 4 Bedroom 2 Bathroom home has 9' ceilings with a split floor plan. The kitchen has a large island with granite counter-tops and coffee maple cabinets. All bedrooms have ceiling fan pre-wires for summer comfort. Lots of space to store your belongings in your 3 car tandem garage. This home comes with an industry leading home warranty plan. Buyers wont have to worry about any hidden repair bills.Buyer still able to select counter tops and flooring. The virtual tour included is an example of the 4413 plan. It is not of the subject property.


Earrings with original painting by Anthea. Painting is on small square canvas and the front protected by glass.
A silvertone ear hook with hinged closure ...these are stunning exclusive Anthea Louise Wearable Art.
These little drops have been a popular inexpensive gift or wardrobe addition.


Dhaka, 6 October, Abnews: President Abdul Hamid on Saturday urged the students to play a strong role in nation-building activities as the struggle to build the country is yet to be completed.
"The struggle for freedom has ended but the struggle to build the country has not…the country has not been completely freed from exploitation, deprivation, hunger and illiteracy. The pledge to build a society based on justice and equity is yet to be achieved. So, the young generation, especially the fresh graduates, have to lead the nation-building works from the front," he said.
The President said this in his speech at the 51st convocation programme of Dhaka University held at its central playground.
Referring to a statement of the Father of the Nation on the 30th January of 1972 at a ceremony, the President said Bangabandhu mentioned that the struggle to build the country is more difficult than the struggle for liberating the country.
"Wherever you live in the world for life and livelihood, don't forget the beloved motherland, don't forget the people who had scarified their lives for liberating the country," Hamid said.
"University authorities, I think, will rethink about it in the interest of regular students. It should be kept in mind that it's people who pay for the public universities. Therefore, you'll have to give priority to their interests," he added.
"The contribution of this university (DU) in the movement for the development of Bengali nationalism, language movement, struggle for independence, Liberation War and democracy along with higher education and knowledge is unparalleled and unique. After the country's independence, the responsibility of building the country was largely bestowed upon this university. Therefore, the university always plays the role of leader in fulfilling the aspirations of the nation," he said.
Mentioning that fruitful participation in creating world-class skilled human resources, innovative thoughts, research and innovation as the key challenges for universities now, the President said Dhaka University is very successful in tackling those challenges despite various adversities.
Praisingthe graduates of the university, the President said the graduates of this university are playing leading roles in different fields of the country and have been contributing to the international arena, too.
National Professor Anisuzzaman delivered his speech as the Convocation Speaker in the 51st convocation.


Whether you have just tied the knot, celebrating a special anniversary or perhaps seeking a quiet, romantic getaway for two, Villa 3421 is one of Bali very special treasures. Tucked away amongthe rice paddy fields and swaying palm trees of Umulas, Villa 3421 offers a unique experience for newly weds and couples alike. An experience we are sure you will savor for a lifetime.
Located within the Luxury Estate, this one bedroom property can be rented alone. Or together with any or all of the other three villas if you have larger groups and families traveling together.
Villa 3421 is certainly the jewel in the crown of this villa estate. The antique, colonial, timber entrance will provide a taste of what's in store. And once you take your first steps down onto the ornate wooden foot bridge an open, spacious indoor-outdoor living area reveals a whole new world of luxury and comfort - a beautiful home away from home. The property is also ashort drive to the beach. And 10 minute's drive to Seminyak, Bali's lively tourist spot, filled with boutiques, restaurants and chill-out lounges. Not forgetting Bali's world-famous Ku De Ta lounge bar.
Villa 3421 is a single storey dwelling, high lighting the aesthetics of local design and culture whilst maintaining home comforts and conveniences. The property is characterized by an open-plan living space, using furnishings from renowned, local designers and suppliers. And the building features modern fittings and facilities fully expected from a property of this standard.
Villa 3421 has been created especially to accommodate couples. An open living room area provides a gentle breeze through the property. In the bathrooms, two separate His and Hers wash basins are provided. Whilst an indulging in-door bathtub offers something a little more intimate. The bathroom is also equipped with an outdoor shower. And a massage table is also available. The bedroom features a King-size bed with a mosquito net. A Chinese bamboo chair and lazy-puff sofa are situated on a timber floor. The property is also equipped with satellite TV and stereo system. As well as an Ipod docking point.
To Love Her. And Comfort Her.
The focal point of the property's 775m2 area is a swimming pool, surrounded by a lush garden and timber decking. Both provide ample outdoor relaxation options. The gazebo offers a shady spot to read, escape the afternoon heat or do whatever tickles your fancy. And your friendly, discreet villa staff will be more than happy to prepare a romantic table for two by the pool at sundown or late evening.
You will have your very own discreet House Manager with the full support of a Housekeeper, Gardener and Pool Attendant and a Security team to safeguard the property 24 hours per day. An experienced Cook will also be available for preparation of local and international cuisine should you require. A choice of menus is provided and this service is inclusive of all grocery shopping. All food is prepared in a separate wet kitchen and meals can be served in several spots throughout the property, as you wish.


The SIRTFI group is looking at processes for expressing security incident handling requirements as an assurance profile for federations and other requirements needed to effectively deploy and enhance incident response processes for FIM. This wiki page details information relating to that work.
Develop the SIRTFI Trust Framework specification, which defines basic security incident response capabilities to which member organizations can self-assert compliance.
This initial draft is intended to be a simplified framework that lays the groundwork for how such an approach should be defined. Significant effort will be needed to understand how this might be deployed in the existing R&E FIM environment.
Draft SIRTFI document for consultation.
Consultation to support development of public v1.0.
Decide whether IdP notification of compromised account belongs in v1.0 or will be slated for v2.0 in alignment with Phase 3 work.
Propose / finalise entity metadata schema for security contacts.
Propose / finalise entity attribute profile to signify adherence with Sirtfi public v1.0.
Sirtfi v1.0 approved by the REFEDS steering committee and published.
Establish the means by which member organisations in all R&E federations can indicate their compliance with the SIRTFI Trust Framework, how they can be contacted to participate in a coordinated response to a federated security incident.
Define the roles and responsibilities of the various parties in managing federated security incidents, information sharing guidelines, tools, procedures, and templates.
Produce educational and communication materials for REFEDS to promulgate to member R&E federations.
Promulgate educational and communication materials to help R&E federations to promote and support Sirtfi public v1.0 adoption.
Test incident response process and use of security contact metadata in simulated activity.
Implement processes by which to maintain and broadcast security contact information and Sirtfi trust framework adherence, outside standard federation metadata publication mechanisms.
Establish communication channels for security information exchange and incident report sharing.
Define incident response procedures for federations, including communication templates, and support the community in their adoption.
Implement metadata extension for security contact information.
Implement metadata profile to signify Sirtfi public v1.0 adherence.
Will follow phase 1. Some work incorporated into AARC2 work plan.
GN4-2 will support tools for maintaining security contacts and monitoring adherence.
"Incident Response for R&E Federations"
Establish the means for proactive notification of an account compromise when it can be expected to produce a substantial impact to an at-risk SP organisation.
Analyse suitability of existing identity event notification solutions to R&E federations, and potentially define and set up means for IdP organizations to issue events related to account compromises to SPs registered as at-risk .
Develop tools to help IdPs identify accounts that have been used to access specified SPs.
Mailing list archive: https://www.terena.org/mail-archives/sirtfi/threads.html. has been migrated to https://lists.refeds.org/sympa/info/sirtfi. Join the SIRTFI list at: https://lists.refeds.org/sympa/info/sirtfi.
http://goo.gl/2xnf2G is the old working document for the framework on Google Docs.
8th June 2014 in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Morning of 31st October 2014 in Indianapolis, Indiana.
1st October 2014 at 16.30 CEST via Skype.
29th January 2015 via Skype.