text:
Charles W. Leadbeater
The Ancient Mysteries
From: The Inner Life
Section One, pp. 51 -63.
by Charles W. Leadbeater
What I can tell you with regard to the ancient mysteries is not derived from any special study of old manuscripts, or of the history of this subject. It happened to me in another life to be born in ancient Greece, and to become initiated there into some of the mysteries. Now a man who was initiated in this way in Greece gave a pledge not to reveal what he had seen, and this pledge is binding, even though it was given in a former incarnation; but Those who stood behind those mysteries have since thought fit to give out to the world much of what was then taught only under the vow of secrecy, and so They have relieved us from our promise as far as those teachings go. Therefore I break no pledge when I tell you something about the instructions which were given in those ancient mysteries. Other subjects were taught, however, which I am not at liberty to name, because they have not yet been made public by the Great Ones.
In the first place, I should like to ask you to notice that all peoples and all religions have had their mysteries, including the Christian religion. I have often heard people say that in the Christian religion, at least, nothing was hidden: that everything was open for the study of the poor and the unlearned. Any one who says that does not know the history of the Christian Church. Now, indeed, everything the Church knows is given out, but that is only because it has forgotten the mysteries which it used to keep hidden. If you study the earliest history of the Church, you will find that old writers speak very distinctly of the mysteries, which were taught only to those who were full members of the Church.
There were many points on which nothing was said to those who were only "katechoumenoi," who had just entered the Church, but were still candidates for full membership.
Traces of this we can find still earlier, for you will remember that it is said in the Gospels that the Christ made known to His disciples many things which He gave to the multitude only in parables.
But one of the reasons of the failure of the Christian Church to control her more intellectual sons, as she should have done, is the fact that she has forgotten and lost the supernatural and philosophical mysteries which were the basis of her dogma. To see something of this hidden side of her teachings you have only to read the works of the great Gnostic writers. Then you will find that when we take this side as the inner doctrine for the scholars, and the present form of the Christian religion as the outer doctrine for the illiterate, we get in the two combined a perfect expression of the ancient Wisdom. But to take either of these teachings by itself, and to condemn the other as heresy, gives us only a one-sided view. So every religion has instruction for those who do not get beyond its outer form, but has always also higher instruction for those who penetrate to the inner.
However, when we speak of the ancient mysteries, we generally mean those which were connected with the great religion of ancient Greece. Only a few books exist on this subject. There is a book of Iamblichus, who was himself initiated into the mysteries, and there is a book written by a countryman of mine, Thomas Taylor, a Platonist, and also one by a Frenchman, Monsieur P. Foucart. Although they are very interesting, you will find that they give but little real information. Much that we think we know about the mysteries (I mean from an external point of view) comes to us through the writings of their exponents.
The Christian Church has had the habit — probably justifiable from her point of view — of destroying all books which stood for teachings other than her own, and we must not forget that almost all of our knowledge with regard to early Christian times comes to us through the hands of the monks of the middle ages. They were practically the only educated people of that time, and it was they who copied all the manuscripts. They had very pronounced opinions about what was useful and what was not; so very naturally only that part survived which agreed with their views, this being reported with emphasis, while anything of opposite character was discarded. Above all, the greater part of the knowledge which is accessible to the general world about the mysteries is found in the works of the Church Fathers, who were opposed to them. Without wishing to accuse the Fathers of having purposely misrepresented, we may certainly conclude that they tried to put forward their own view in the best and strongest light. Even at the present day if you wished to know the whole truth concerning the doctrine of some Protestant sect, you would not go to Catholic priests for information; nor, if you wanted good and just explanations concerning Catholicism, would you go to the Salvation Army to get them.
In regard to the mysteries we are in a similar situation, only much worse, because of the many and bitter disputes between the followers of the old religion and its mysteries and the Fathers of the Christian Church. Therefore we may accept only with considerable reserve and with great prudence what the Fathers say in regard to this subject. For example, you will find that they often maintain that the ancient mysteries contain much that is indecent and immoral.
Because I have carefully searched clairvoyantly through the mysteries of Greece, and in a former incarnation was myself an initiate of them, I can say with perfect certainty that there is not even a shadow of truth in those statements. There did exist certain mysteries with which were festivities and a form of Bacchus-worship, which degenerated later on into something very objectionable; but this was only in later times, and those mysteries belonged to quite another branch. They were not in the least related to the mysteries of Eleusis, but were only an imitation of them on a small scale, entirely exoteric.
I have, this evening, to treat a very extensive subject in a short time. I must try to give you a rough sketch of what those Greek mysteries were and what was taught to the initiates.
The fact will be known to you that two divisions are always mentioned: the lesser and the greater mysteries. Everybody knew that those existed, and the number of persons who were initiated was indeed quite a large proportion of the whole population. I think you may read in exoteric books of thirty thousand initiates gathering at one time, and this also shows that the fact that a man was initiated need not be kept secret, but that the outer world knew him as belonging to this numerous class. I mean that, although certain teachings given in the mysteries were always kept secret, the whole Greek and Roman world knew that the greater and lesser mysteries existed, and more or less who belonged to each of them.
But behind those two degrees, the existence of which was generally known, there were all the time the real secret mysteries; and the existence of the third degree, as one might call it, was unknown to the public. If one thinks of the conditions of that time one can readily understand the reason for this. Most of the Roman Emperors, for example, knew of the existence of the lesser and greater mysteries, and insisted upon being initiated. Now we know very well from history that many of the Roman Emperors were hardly of the character to be allowed to play a leading role in a religious body. But, all the same, it would have been very difficult for the leaders of the mysteries to refuse entrance to an Emperor of Rome. As was once said, one cannot argue with the master of thirty legions. The emperors would certainly have killed anyone who stood in the way of anything they wished. Thus it was desirable that the existence of the third degree should not be known, and nobody knew that there was such a degree before he was deemed, by those who could judge, worthy to be admitted to it.
The teachings of this third degree were never given to the public and never will be. But in the common mysteries, lesser and greater, are many things which can be told. In the first place, then, we were taught certain pithy sayings, or apophthegms, and if I quote you some of those you will understand the nature of the teaching. One of the best known was "Death is life, and life is death." This shows us that the higher life on the other side of death was well known. Another saying was "He who seeks realities in this life shall also seek realities after death; and he who seeks unrealities in this life shall also seek unrealities after death." A great principle of their teaching was that the soul had descended from the higher spheres to the material. The principles of reincarnation were also contained in their instruction. You will remember that this did not appear in the external doctrine of the religions either of Greece or of Rome-- that is to say, it was not taught publicly and in so many words-- but you will find that this idea of the descent of the soul into matter is imparted in classic mythology. You will remember the myth of Proserpina, who was carried to the under-world while picking the flower of the narcissus.
Return of Persephone. (Proserpina) by Leighton
Echo and Narcissus by Waterhouse
Let us recall the myth of Narcissus. He was a youth of great beauty who fell in love with his own image reflected in the water, and was therefore changed into a flower and bound to earth. You need not have studied much Theosophy to see what that means. We learn in The Secret Doctrine how the Ego looks down upon the waters of the astral plane and the lower world, how it reflects itself in the personality, how it identifies itself with the personality and, falling in love with its image, is bound to earth. So Proserpina, while picking the narcissus, is dragged away to the under-world, and afterwards passes half her life under the earth and half on the earth; that is, as you will see, half in a material body and half out of it.
In the same way, there are numbers of other myths of which it is very interesting to hear the Theosophical explanation. For example, in this old mystery-teaching the minotaur was held to signify the lower nature in man — the personality which is half man and half animal. This was eventually slain by Theseus, who typifies the higher self or the individuality, which has been gradually growing and gathering strength until at last it can wield the sword of its Divine Father, the Spirit. Guided through the labyrinth of illusion which constitutes these lower planes by the thread of occult knowledge given him by Ariadne (who represents intuition) the higher self is enabled to slay the lower, and to escape safely from the web of illusion; yet there still remains for him the danger that, developing intellectual pride, he may neglect intuition, even as Theseus neglected Ariadne, and so fail for this time to realize his highest possibilities.
Theseus, about to enter the Labyrinth to kill the Minotaur, holds Ariadne's thread in his hand. Source
In ancient Greece the lesser mysteries were especially celebrated in a little place called Agrae, and the initiates were called "mystae." Perhaps you know that their official dress, the token of their dignity, was the skin of a fawn, which in the old symbology represented the astral body.
Its spotted appearance was thought to be emblematic of the many colors in an ordinary astral body. The reason why this was considered a fitting dress for those initiated into the lesser mysteries was because the principal teachings given in them concerned the astral plane. Those who were admitted learned what the astral life of man would be after death.
Much time was spent in making clear by example as well as by teaching what would be the effect in the astral world of a certain mode of life on earth. In the first place they taught by illustrations, on an extensive scale by representations in the temples, by a kind of play or drama in which was shown what, in the astral world, would be the condition of a man who had been, let us say, avaricious or full of sensual desires. In the old days of the mysteries, when the leaders were adepts or pupils of adepts, these representations were something like materializations. That is to say, the teacher, whoever he was, produced them by his own power out of astral or etheric matter, and created a real image for his pupils. But as time advanced, and later teachers were unable to bring about this phenomenon, they tried to represent these teachings in other ways — in some cases by what we should call acting. Members of the priesthood took the roles of different persons, while in other cases puppets were moved by machinery.
In addition to the teaching concerning the astral plane, instructions were also given in the same way as to the system of world-evolution. Among other things, pupils were taught how our solar system and its different parts came into existence. You can easily see how that could be represented, first by materialized nebulae and globes, and how, when this materialization was no longer possible, the arrangement of different globes could be made clear by the use of what we now call an orrery — that is, a model of the solar system.
One of the most important things connected with the mysteries was that they explained the outer religion of the people in quite another way than that given to the general public. If you know anything about the religion of ancient Greece, you will understand that there were many things which badly needed some inner explanation, for certainly their religion does not appear to be very elevated or very reasonable when looked at from the ordinary standpoint. It seems to have been the object that all the stories which made up the outer teaching, many of which seem very extraordinary, should be learned by the people and retained in their minds — just a few simple, clear conceptions, and nothing more. But all earnest minded people joined the mysteries, and learned there the real meaning of the stories, which gave the whole thing quite another aspect.
Let me give you an idea of what I mean, by two or three very simple and short examples. I told you that, for the most part, the aim of those lesser mysteries was to inform the pupils about the effects on the astral plane of a certain mode of life here on earth. You probably know the myth of Tantalus. He was a man condemned to suffer in hell eternal thirst, while water surrounded him on all sides, but receded from his lips as soon as he tried to drink. The meaning of this is not difficult to see, when once we know what the astral life is. Every one who leaves this world of ours full of sensual desires of any kind — as, for example, a drunkard, or some one who has given himself up to sensual living in the ordinary meaning of the word — such a man finds himself on the astral plane in the position of Tantalus.
He has built up for himself this terrible desire which governs his whole being. You know how powerful the desire can be in the case of a drunkard; it conquers his feelings of honor, his love of his family, and all the better inclinations of his character. He will take money from his wife and children, will even take their clothes to sell them and obtain money to drink.
Remember that when a man dies he does not change at all. His desire is still as powerful as ever. But it is impossible to gratify it, because his physical body, through which only he could drink, is gone. There you have your Tantalus, as you see, full of that terrible desire, always finding that the gratification recedes as soon as he thinks he has it.
Recall also the story of Tityus, the man who was tied to a rock, his liver being gnawed by vultures, and growing again as fast as it was eaten. There you have an illustration of the effect of yielding to desire: an image of the man who is always tortured by remorse for sins committed on earth.
As perhaps a higher example of the same we can take the story of Sisyphus. You know how he was condemned always to roll a stone up a hill, and how, when he reached the top, the stone would always roll down again. That is the condition of an ambitious man after death, a man who has spent his life in making plans for selfish ends, for attaining glory or honor. In his case also death brings no change. He goes on making plans just as he did during life. He works out his plans, he executes them, as he thinks, till the point of culmination, and then he suddenly perceives that he has no longer a physical body, and that all was but a dream. Then be begins again and again, till he has learned at last that these desires are useless and that ambition must be killed.
Sisyphus Pushing His Stone up a Mountain, 1731 by Bernard Picart
So Sisyphus goes on uselessly rolling the stone up the hill, till at last he learns not to roll it any more. To have learned that is to have conquered that desire, and he will come back in his next life without it; without the desire, but of course not without the weakness of character which made that desire possible.
So you see that conditions that seem terrible are but the effects in the other world of a wrong life here on earth. That is nature's method of turning wrong into good. Man does suffer, but what he suffers is only the effect of his own action and nothing else; it is not punishment inflicted upon him from outside, but entirely of his own making. And that is not all. The suffering he has to bear is the only means by which his qualities can be directed in the right way for his evolution and progress in another life. This was a point much emphasized in the teaching of the mysteries.
Now in regard to the greater mysteries. Those were celebrated principally in the great temple of Eleusis, not far from Athens. The initiates were named "epoptai," that is, "they whose eyes are opened." Their emblem was the golden fleece of Jason which is the symbol of the mind-body; for the yellow color in the human aura indicates the intelligence, as every clairvoyant knows.
Eleusis
"Jason and the Golden Fleece." A painting by Flemish painter Erasmus Quellin (1607-1608, Antwerp, after a sketch by Rubens)
In this degree of initiation the teachings of the former degree were continued. In the first, as you remember, were taught the effects in the astral world of various ways of living. In the greater mysteries the pupil was shown what would be the effect in the heaven-world of a certain line of life, study and aspiration on earth. The whole history of the evolution of the world and of man, in its deeper aspect, was expounded in the greater mysteries. The same method or representation as in the other case was used here; although it was much more difficult to represent on the physical plane what belonged to the mental.
In each of these divisions of the mysteries, the lesser and the greater, there was an inner school which taught practical development to those who were seen to be ready for it. In the lesser mysteries theoretical knowledge about the astral plane was given, but the teachers carefully watched their pupils, and when they noticed one of whose character they felt sure, who showed that he was capable of psychic development, they invited him into the inner circle in which instruction was given as to the method of using the astral body and consciously functioning in it. When such a man passed on to the greater mysteries he received not only the ordinary teaching about the conditions of the mental plane, but also private instruction as to the development of the mental body as a vehicle.
Those who were thus received, not only into the recognized stages of the mysteries but into their inner schools, were also taught at the end of their course that all of this was in truth but exoteric — that all which they had learned, incalculable as had been its value, was really only a preparation for the true mysteries of initiation which would lead them to the feet of the Masters of Wisdom, and admit them to the Great Brotherhood which rules the world.
I may explain still further the meaning of some of those symbols which were used in connection with the mysteries. First, we will take what was called the thyrsus — that is, a staff with a pine-cone on its top. In India the same symbol is found, but instead of the staff a stick of bamboo with seven knots is used. In some modifications of the mysteries, a hollow iron rod, said to contain fire, was used instead of the thyrsus. Here again it is not difficult for the student of occultism to see the meaning. The staff or the stick with seven knots represents the spinal cord, with its seven centers, of which we read in the Hindu books.
Thyrsus
Krishna w/ bamboo danda
The hidden fire is the serpent-fire, kundalini, of which you may read in The Secret Doctrine. But the thyrsus was not only a symbol; it was also an object of practical use. It was a very strong magnetic instrument, used by initiates to free the astral body from the physical when they passed in full consciousness to this higher life. The priest who had magnetized it laid it against the spinal cord of the candidate and gave him in that way some of his own magnetism, to help him in that difficult life and in the efforts which lay before him. In connection with these mysteries, a certain set of objects called the toys of Bacchus are spoken of. When you go over those lists of the toys of Bacchus you will find them very remarkable.
Whilst the child Bacchus (the Logos) plays with his toys he is seized by the Titans and torn to pieces. Later these pieces are put together and built into a whole. You will understand that this, however clumsy it may seem to us, is without doubt an allegory, which represents the descending of the One to become the many, and the re-union of the many in the One, through suffering and sacrifice. What, then, are the toys of the child Bacchus when he falls into matter and becomes the many? In the first place we find him playing with dice. Those dice are not common dice, but the five platonic solids; a set of five regular figures, the only regular polygons possible in geometry. They are given in a fixed series, and this series agrees with the different planes of the solar system. Each of them indicates, not the form of the atoms of the different planes, but the lines along which the power works which surrounds those atoms. These polygons are the tetrahedron, the cube, the octohedron, the dodecahedron, and the icosahedron. If we put the point at one end and the sphere at the other we get a set of seven figures, corresponding to the number of planes of our solar system.
You know that in some of the older schools of philosophy it was said: "No one can enter who does not know mathematics." What do you think is meant by that? Not what we now call mathematics, but the mathematics which embraced the knowledge of the higher planes, of their mutual relations and the way in which the whole is built by the will of God. Plato said, "God geometrizes," and it is perfectly true. Those forms are not conceptions of the human brain; they are truths of the higher planes. We have formed the habit of studying the books of Euclid, but we study them now for themselves, and not as a guide to something higher. The old philosophers pondered upon them because they led to the understanding of the true science of life. We have lost sight of the true teaching, and grasp in many cases only the lifeless form.
Another toy with which Bacchus played was a top, the symbol of the whirling atom of which you will find a picture in Occult Chemistry.
"The atom has—as observed so far—three proper motions, i.e., motions of its own, independent of any imposed upon it from outside. It turns incessantly upon its own axis, spinning like a top; it describes a small circle with its axis, as though the axis of the spinning top moved in a small circle ... " from Occult Chemistry
He also plays with a ball which represents the earth, that particular part of the planetary chain to which the thought of the Logos is specially directed at the moment. Also he plays with a mirror. The mirror has always been a symbol of astral light, in which the archetypal ideas are reflected and then materialized*. So you see that each of those toys indicates an essential part in the evolution of a solar system.
A few words may be said about the way in which people were prepared for the study of those mysteries by the different schools; for instance, the Pythagorean school, to which I belonged. In the Pythagorean schools, the pupils were divided into three classes. The first was called that of the akoustikoi or hearers. This means that they were learners, but it is also true that one of the rules was that they were to keep absolutely silent for two years.
I think this rule would be regarded as a serious drawback by many who join our Society at the present time, but in those olden times a great many people, not only men but women too, submitted to this stipulation. The rule had also another meaning, but it is a fact that during two years the members of the first class were compelled to keep silence. The other meaning was that during all the time, however long, that a man stayed in this class of the akoustikoi, he might not give out any teaching, but continued to learn. I have wished that we had some such arrangement in the Theosophical Society, for it sometimes happens that members who do not yet know much themselves want to teach others, and the teaching is not always recognizable as Theosophy.
The second class of Pythagoreans was called that of the mathematikoi. They passed their time in studying geometry, numbers and music. They brought these different subjects into relation to one another and worked out the relations between color and sound, which are very remarkable.
Let us take an example, which shows how our world is a coherent whole and how we can take from different parts which do not seem to have any connection whatever, and bring them into relation with each other. I just spoke about the five platonic polygons. Every one who knows anything about music knows that there is a fixed proportion between the length of the strings which produce certain tones. You know that you can tune a piano according to a certain system of fifths, and you can express the relation of the different tones to one another by the number of vibrations of each tone; so you can express an harmonious chord in mathematical numbers. This was first discovered simply by experiment; later the mathematicians found out what the proportions should be, and again by experiment they were found to be exact. But the peculiarity is that the set of numbers which produces an harmonious chord have the same relation to one another as that which exists between certain parts of these platonic solids. I believe that this point was worked out some time ago in an article in the Theosophical Review by one of the English cathedral organists.
It is very remarkable that our scale, so different from the old Greek scale, which consisted of five tones, can still be deduced from the proportion of those five platonic figures, which were studied some thousands of years ago in Greece. One is apt to think that there cannot be much relation between mathematics and music, but you see that they are both parts of one great whole.
The third class of the Pythagorean school was formed of the physikoi — those who studied physics, the inner connection between phenomena, world-building and metaphysics. They learned the truth about man and nature and, as far as they could learn it, about Him who made both.
There is still one point in the mysteries which we should not forget to consider — the life of the disciples. A life of perfect purity was strictly required. It is a remarkable coincidence that the life in the Pythagorean school is divided into five periods, almost similar to the five steps of the preparatory path of the Hindus, as described by me in Invisible Helpers, and by Mrs. Besant in The Path of Discipleship. Almost all the forms and symbols of the present Christian religion are derived from the Egyptian mysteries. All the symbolism, for example, that is related to the Latin cross, and to the descent and sacrifice of the Logos, is taken from the Egyptian mysteries. I have written about this in The Christian Creed. Though the mysteries of Greece and Rome, of Egypt and Chaldaea, are long ago defunct, the world has never been left without avenues of approach to the inner shrine. Even in the gross darkness of the middle ages the Rosicrucians and some other secret societies were ready to teach the truth to those who were ready to learn; and now in these modern days of hurry and materialism the Theosophical Society still upholds the banner of true knowledge, and acts as a gateway by means of which those who are really in earnest may reach the feet of the Masters of the Wisdom. We have our grades in the Esoteric Section, just as the mysteries had; and behind us, as behind them, stand always the officials of the Great White Brotherhood, who keep in their hands the key to the true initiations.
You must also remember that many things given in those old days only under the seal of secrecy are now made public, and through our Society are given to the world. Many of the greatest and noblest characters of history have passed years in study and work to try to find what is now given us so easily and simply in a few books. Of us is perfectly true what is said in the Bible: "Many prophets and kings have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them." (Luke, x. 24.) Because this honor is reserved for us and this opportunity is given us, it seems to me that a great responsibility rests upon us, and that we should try to be worthy of the gift. It is good karma which allows this possibility to open before us. If we let it pass, we shall not deserve to have another offered us for thousands of years. If you knew, as I know, with what difficulties we had to contend in former days to learn all those things which are laid before us now, perhaps you would appreciate more the opportunity offered you. Let us try to make use of it to the utmost of our power, and show ourselves worthy of the privilege given us by Theosophy.
* Archetypal ideas are patterns on the highest mental plane that serve as blueprints for the formation of the manifested world. Editor.
End of The Ancient Mysteries section.
C.W. Leadbeater's Account of the Development of His Clairvoyance
Excerpted from How Theosophy Came to Me
...When Colonel Olcott left us [in 1885] on his tour Adyar [headquarters of the Theosophical Society near Madras, India] remained empty; and unfortunately its treasury was in the same condition, so that the very few of us who remained had instructions to observe the strictest economy. Mr. Cooper-Oakley and I were for a long time the only Europeans; and as he lived up on the roof in one of the further rooms (later occupied by Dr. English) and I was in the Eastern octagon room, I saw almost nothing of him, except for a short morning visit of greeting each day. . . .
It should be understood that in those days I possessed no clairvoyant faculty, nor had I ever regarded myself as at all sensitive. I remember that I had a conviction that a man must be born with some psychic powers and with a sensitive body before he could do anything in the way of that kind of development, so that I had never thought of progress of that sort as possible for me in this incarnation, but had some hope that if I worked as well as I knew how in this life I might be born next time with vehicles more suitable to that particular line of advancement.
One day, however, when the Master Kuthumi honoured me with a visit, He asked me whether I had ever attempted a certain kind of meditation connected with the development of the mysterious power called kundalini. I had of course heard of that power, but knew very little about it, and at any rate supposed it to be absolutely out of reach for Western people. However, He recommended me to make a few efforts along certain lines, which He pledged me not to divulge to anyone else except with His direct authorization, and told me that He would Himself watch over those efforts to see that no danger should ensue.
Naturally I took the hint, and worked away steadily, and I think I may say intensely, at that particular kind of meditation day after day. I must admit that it was very hard work and sometimes distinctly painful, but of course I persevered, and in due course began to achieve the results that I had been led to expect. Certain channels had to be opened and certain partitions broken down; I was told that forty days was a fair estimate of the average time required if the effort was really energetic and persevering. I worked at it for forty-two days, and seemed to myself to be on the brink of the final victory, when the Master Himself intervened and performed the final act of breaking through which completed the process, and enabled me thereafter to use astral sight while still retaining full consciousness in the physical body—which is equivalent to saying that the astral consciousness and memory became continuous whether the physical body was awake or asleep. I was given to understand that my own effort would have enabled me to break through in twenty-four hours longer, but that the Master interfered because He wished to employ me at once in a certain piece of work.
It must not for a moment be supposed, however, that the attainment of this particular power was the end of the occult training. On the contrary, it proved to be only the beginning of a year of the hardest work that I have ever known. It will be understood that I lived there in the octagonal room by the river-side alone for many long hours every day, and practically secure from any interruption except at the meal-times which I have mentioned. Several Masters were so gracious as to visit me during that period and to offer me various hints; but it was the Master Djwal Kul who gave most of the necessary instruction. It may be that He was moved to this act of kindness because of my close association with Him in my last life, when I studied under Him in the Pythagorean school which He established in Athens, and even had the honour of managing it after His death. I know not how to thank Him for the enormous amount of care and trouble which He took in my psychic education; patiently and over and over again He would make a vivid thought-form, and say to me: "What do you see?" And when I described it to the best of my ability, would come again and again the comment: "No, no, you are not seeing true; you are not seeing all; dig deeper into yourself, use your mental vision as well as your astral; press just a little further, a little higher."
This process often had to be many times repeated before my mentor was satisfied. The pupil has to be tested in all sorts of ways and under all conceivable conditions; indeed, towards the end of the tuition sportive nature-spirits are specially called in and ordered in every way possible to endeavour to confuse or mislead the seer. Unquestionably it is hard work, and the strain which it imposes is, I suppose, about as great as a human being can safely endure; but the result achieved is assuredly far more than worth while, for it leads directly up to the union of the lower and the higher self and produces an utter certainty of knowledge based upon experience which no future happenings can ever shake.
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Ancient Landmarks: The Greek Mysteries, from the Theosophy Archives 1939
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Issues of disputed identity during the 1990s helped to slow Croatia's accession to the European Union, according to Croatia's Ambassador to Italy

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Today, we're delighted to announce the software update to our Piwik PRO Analytics Suite 5.5.0. The update was rolled out to existing users on February 14, 2018. We're constantly making these updates for you, so let us know what you think and if there are features you want to see.
In this post we'll walk you through all the details of the latest release so you won't miss any of the important changes. Let's get to it!
What's new with the Piwik PRO Analytics Suite?
We should start by introducing a significant change to the Piwik PRO platform itself. The platform can now be integrated with external SAML 2.0 identity providers and a single logout mechanism. That's both a very convenient and highly secure enterprise solution.
In addition, changes and advancements to our products have been made. Regarding the analytics features, with the new intranet mode you can now implement web analytics even without access to the Internet. We've also fixed issues with insights widgets so you can easily add them to your dashboards and compare data from different periods.
Moving along, we've added improvements to the Personalization module. First of all, we've enhanced the product's UX with multiple design changes giving it a better look and feel. What's more, the pop-ups creation process has been significantly upgraded. Now you can personalize and tailor pop-ups using custom HTML. This gives you more flexibility in creating user experiences.
Last but not least, there are some serious enhancements to our Audience Manager (Customer Data Platform). Brand-new functionalities have been added along with major advancements.
As for development of existing features, we have improved the interface of the Attributes tab, Audience view, and Profile view for a better user experience.
Analytics custom events can be used as parameters for creating an audience. Because of the incredible flexibility of custom events, user now have more power to create specific, targeted audiences.
Finally yet importantly, CSV import has been improved with the capacity to match imported data with Audience Manager profiles using user_id or device_id.
In addition to all these enhancements we've added further updates across our range of products. Check out the change log for more details.
Piwik PRO Teams Up With Looker!


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These would've been Essential's next phones if Andy Rubin didn't screw things up
Both phones, obviously, never made it to store shelves, but they were pretty far along in the design phase.
C. Scott Brown
Andy Rubin's company Essential closed its doors for good recently after having released only one smartphone: the Essential Phone. We've only been able to speculate what the Essential Phone 2 would have looked like were it to be released, but now we have a pretty good idea, thanks to former company designer Kevin Hoffman.
In a post on his website (which is password locked for now, probably due to a spike in traffic), Hoffman shows off not only prototypes for the Essential Phone 2 but also some designs for what we're going to call the Essential Phone 3. Luckily, 9to5Google got a glimpse at the post before it was locked away.
In a series of photos, we can see that the Essential Phone 2 would have looked very similar to the first Essential Phone, albeit with some extra curves, some extra rear sensors, and what appears to be a slightly smaller chin. Check out the images for yourself below:
Since there appears to be plenty of physical prototypes and the design is fairly consistent across the board, it appears the Essential Phone 2 was well on its way to being complete. In fact, Hoffman says in the post that the device was killed off — by Andy Rubin, no less — late in the development process in favor of focusing on smart home products.
Rubin didn't want to give up entirely on smartphones, though, as the company still got to work on what we will call the Essential Phone 3. Unlike the Essential Phone 2, the PH-3 would have been more of a budget-minded device, retaining some of the premium features of the PH-1 but cutting some corners to keep costs down, a la the Google Pixel 3a.
Check out the prototype images as well as a bonus GIF below:
I actually quite like the idea of incorporating the Essential black-and-white logo into the iPhone-esque camera module. At least that would have made the camera module design mean something other than just looking chunky and weird.
While what really happened at Essential is still a mystery, it's clear that Andy Rubin's inability to focus on one product — not to mention his checkered past at Google and Essential — were at least part of the downfall.
What do you think? Would you have purchased one of these devices? Do you like where Essential was going with the Essential Phone 2 and 3? Let us know in the comments!


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From Georgian to Edwardian
Life in England
Famous Victorians
Roles of Women
Home » Famous Female Writers of Victorian Era. Their Names, Works, Information » Ann Radcliffe
Ann Radcliffe
Born to trader William Ward and Ann Oates on July 9, 1764, in England, Ann Radcliffe was a genius in the field of Gothic novels, well known for composing vivid stories by imbuing morbid and rousing elements with the sensibility of the romantic air.
An only child of her parents, she was seven years old when she left them to live with her uncle, Thomas Bentley, in Chelsea. Considered by many as the "Queen of the Supernatural", in actuality Ann never visited the many horrid places of her imagination.
The Mysteries of Udolpho
Influential figure
The Italian
On the Supernatural in Poetry
Ann was twenty-three years old when she married Oxford graduate William Radcliffe in 1787. As an editor of the English Chronicle himself, William encouraged her on her literary career throughout their marriage.
Often returning home late, William would sit down with Ann to read through the writings of the day which she would complete in the absence of her other half. Ann had a mellifluous life as she did not work due to her husband's hefty income.
She would read and write all day. Although a childless marriage, Ann described William to be "her nearest relative and friend".
An apex author of the 18th century, Ann led a very quiet and retired life mostly reading and writing away her time. Celebrated amongst the upper class and middle class her, pervasive fans were mainly the young women.
Her published works include The Mysteries of Udolpho (1794), The Castles of Athlin and Dunbayne in 1789, A Sicilian Romance (1790), The Romance of the Forest (1791) and The Italian (1796). She also published a travelogue in 1795 of her only trip abroad, A Journey through Holland and the Western Frontier of Germany.
Ann's most prized work of fiction The Mysteries of Udolpho, published in 1794, was released in four volumes. Although the triumphal achievement of The Romance of the Forest established Ann as the frontrunner in Gothic fiction, it was The Mysteries of Udolpho that made her an epitome of the field.
Set in late 16th century France and Italy, the story chronicles Emily and her quest to independence from the cruel shackles of Montoni, her uncle, who has been portrayed as being an ideal Gothic villain. The majority of Ann's novels include young prodigious women who stumble upon dark places with treacherous owners.
Known for mixing Goth and romance, Ann was an idol for many female writers of her generation and the ones to come, inspiring greats like Jane Austen, Catherine Cuthbertson, and Harriet Lee. Ann played a key role in bringing a transformation in the mechanics of the late 18th century and early 19th-century romance fiction.
Austen's parody Northanger Abbey (1817) was a satirical take on Ann's The Mysteries of Udolpho and The Romance of the Forest. Ann also influenced Lord Byron, Christina Rossetti, and Sir Walter Scott amongst many others who incorporated her literary innuendos into their works of literature.
Ann's last Gothic novel published before her death, The Italian, was published in the year 1797. The novel was published in three volumes. The story is about the plot to prevent the marriage of Vincentio to Ellena. It was notable for its gruesome depiction of the villain, the sinister Schedoni.
Remarkable work from her bibliography, The Italian was distinct from the other books in that it did not have supernatural elements but a lot of suspense, drama, and romance was involved with the plot. Ann was called an anti-Catholic for her depiction of a malicious monk.
Ann turned to poetry during her later years. She tried experimenting with the supernatural in poetry form and although she did not redeem any success from it, her poetry only extended her love for the paranormal.
The Poems of Mrs Ann Radcliffe, a collected edition of Ann's poems was released in 1816. Some of the poems that she wrote include Superstition – An Ode, Night, Song, When First the Vernal Morn of Life, and To the Visions of Fancy.
In 1826, On the Supernatural in Poetry, an essay posthumously came out in the New Monthly Magazine. The essay drew a parallel between 'horror' and 'terror' and championed Shakespeare as the major proponent of 'the Sublime'.
She went on to elucidate in her quotes – 'terror and horror are so far opposite' and 'that the first expands the soul, and awakens the faculties to a high degree of life; the other contracts, freezes, and nearly annihilates them'.
Later years and death
During the last 25 years of her life, she spent most of her time travelling throughout the English countryside with her husband, with the money that she had gained from her publications.
After her father died on July 24, 1798, and her mother on March 14, 1800, Ann stopped writing for publication. She suffered from asthma during her penultimate years and after suffering a chest infection Ann Radcliffe was announced dead on February 7, 1823, and was laid to rest in the Saint George's Church, Hanover Square, London.
Gaston de Blondeville, her last novel, was published after her death in 1826.
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From The Ethics Alarms "Be Afraid…Be Very Afraid" Files: Fake Maps From Google
August 29, 2018 August 29, 2018 / Jack Marshall
Nah, Google doesn't abuse its power 0r manipulate information for a political agenda! Why would anyone suggest such a thing?
Chuck Schumer suggested that the Senate Office Building, currently named after the late Senator Richard Russell, 1897-1971, a Georgia Democrat who served in the Senate for almost 40 years, be re-named in honor of the late John McCain.
It's a good suggestion. Russell was an adamant white supremacist, and opposed, unapologetically, civil rights measures his whole career. I've been rather surprised that the building's name wasn't changed long before, when Democrats controlled the Senate. Why didn't the Democrats try to get Russell replaced by Edward Kennedy's name, for example?
Go ahead, guess why.
But it's not Google's role to lobby for the change, or worse, to make it unilaterally, as it did today on Google Maps. This was especially bad—but helpful!– timing for the giant tech company, as it is under fire for political bias by the President, who tweeted that the search engine was "rigged," and Congress, and Google's CEO just refused to be questioned on the Hill. These companies, like Facebook, Amazon and Twitter, are arrogant beyond all measure, drunk with their growing power, and ethically inert. You can regard this episode as just a funny glitch if you like.
I think it's an inadvertent warning.
Business & Commercial, Ethics Alarms Award Nominee, Government & Politics, Science & Technology, The Internet
big tech companies, Democrats, Google, Google Maps, Richard Russell
← Afternoon Ethics Warm-Up, 8/29/2018: Amazingly, There Are More Important Ethics Developments Than How Long The White House Flag Was At Half-Mast…
Morning Ethics Warm-Up, 8/30/18: Double Standards, Signature Significance, Facebook Tricks, And Pettiness From Beyond The Grave! →
24 thoughts on "From The Ethics Alarms "Be Afraid…Be Very Afraid" Files: Fake Maps From Google"
Tim LeVier
I mean, it was a user suggested change, and those usually fly through without much intervention. That's how these maps get so detailed – thousands of users edit them. Google's removed the change and it *should* be reverted by now.
Sounds like lame excuse to me. So I can "suggest" that the Capitol be called "Das Kapital and the White House Be renamed The Fright House" and it will just fly right through? I doubt that.
Michael West
I mean, it's all hilarious watching the Progressives suddenly idolize McCain, given their general attitude towards him from about halfway through Bush's presidency until right up until his feud with Trump manifested.
Don't worry Progressives, we see through you.
It is an excuse, yes. I don't think that makes it wrong
Something like that is an innocuous change that the average googler may know nothing about. They maybe even saw a news blurb about some Mccain building and thought this was confirmation of it.
Das frighthouse well i doubt itd sneak by as easily . I would approve it but it's probably a good thing that i don't work on the gmaps team.
With great power comes great responsibility. The people who own and operate the big tech companies are not responsible enough, diligent enough, smart enough or ethical enough to control the power they have. This shows that we are foolish to trust them to the degree we do.
slickwilly
Don't forget that they LIKE what the radicals do… so are likely to look the other way
Rusty Rebar
"Something like that is an innocuous change that the average googler may know nothing about. "
It may seem that way at first glance, but look at it this way. Lets say that I hear an argument that it is not named "McCain Office Building", then I go onto Google maps to look, and sure enough that is the name there. Now I think the source that told me that was not the name is fake news, when in fact, my source of truth is lying to me. In the big picture it really makes no real world difference, but this is the kind of thing that will end up making google lose its distinction as a trusted source of information.
Until last year, none of the buildings in my office park had names in Google Maps and all of the streets were named "Access Road." Maps would lead customers to the front gate and strand them there. I went online and named my building, "Greg's Business Building." That helped, but people would still get lost as Maps commanded them to, "Turn left on Access Road, then turn right on Access Road." So I went on again, gave names to all of the streets and named my parking lot the "Greg's Business Parking Lot." Now Google Maps brings customers to my front door. The changes did indeed "fly through" and they're still showing on the map. As long as no other user objects, they'll remain. This crowd-sourcing feature makes Google Maps much better, as long as people use it in good faith.
I wouldn't be surprised to learn that Google has hard-coded some famous landmarks to prevent pranks, but I'm not shocked to learn that the Russell Senate Office Building wasn't one of them.
Now that this incident has gotten publicity, I will not be surprised if Antifa starts going on Google Maps and renaming every Stonewall Jackson, Robert E. Lee, etc. landmark. A crowd-sourced attack, with a large number of Antifa vandals making the same changes, would probably baffle the algorithm and make Google Maps less useful.
No, but if enough people do it — and Google's staff doesn't notice — it very well could. That one would probably be caught, but buildings get renamed all the time and some random staffer probably wouldn't notice it was illegitimate.
Basically, Google Maps works a lot like Wikipedia does.
adimagejim
And if you searched a Google map for the Russell Senate Office building, would you find it? Or would you have to be in tune with what Google wants to call it?
How about a map name change for the building where the DNC is housed?
Perhaps take a poll here to decide what that should be newly called by Google maps.
LoSonnambulo
Name it after Russell.
Matthew B.
I wonder if I could rename Sen. Boxer's Oakland office to "M'am Boxer's Senate Office"?
Chris Marschner_
If it is to be renamed it should be one fitting of that which takes place there.
I just erased my cynical names. That would have been unbecoming.
Renaming any building requires more than just a knee jerk response because of the passing of any person. If they are going to change the name focus on finding someone that exemplified the ideals of thoughtful and deliberate decision making. Preferably one not associated with government.
"Preferably one not associated with government."
Greece already got all the good names…
mariedowd
I take these maps with a grain of salt the size of a boulder. A tourist location had maybe a quarter acre sink-hole in the mall parking lot. The mall has, or maybe had, a dozen stores. Google maps shows a pretty grassy lawn with a business or two icon, The 2011 image also showed a pass through building where there is a drive now.
Extradimensional Cephalopod
I find it much better than navigating with index cards, as I used to do, but once or twice I've accidentally typed in the right house number with the wrong street name, and instead of telling me the location didn't exist or wasn't recorded, Google Maps tried to take me to where it thought the place ought to be. It extrapolated from the existing house numbers.
As impressive as the concept is when it works, if that's not incompetent design I don't know what is.
Also, it would pronounce "Dr" as "doctor", which is funny when a human does it, because I know they're doing on purpose. When a navigation software, which is wholly immersed with the context of location names, doesn't know to say "drive", then I start to get nervous.
*"immersed in the context…"
Map navigation systems have gotten people killed. Granted, the folks were mind numb idiots who followed the robot's directions into the desert, but still…
You have to pay attention. This is why I have a compass in every car: it pays to have a general idea of what direction you are going, and where your destination is.
In Texas, there is a lot of countryside to get lost in!
Google has been fooled: this building will not be renamed.
Apparently someone jumped the gun: the GOP hates the idea, which Schumer announced without talking to A SINGLE REPUBLICAN.
https://legalinsurrection.com/2018/08/schumers-proposal-to-rename-building-after-mccain-unifies-gop-against-the-idea/
The article is quite entertaining.
"Susan Collins, R-Maine, said Schumer didn't discuss the idea with other senators before making the announcement.
"It's my understanding that Sen. Schumer announced it without even talking to a single Republican," Collins said. "I think a better approach, especially since we're honoring the legacy of someone who believes in bipartisanship, is for the two leaders to get together and decide if this is the best way to honor him or is there another way that might be more appropriate."
Democrats are using McCain's death to whitewash (I think that is the appropriate term) their history:
""The man whose name he would replace, Sen. Richard Russell, a towering figure in the Senate of his day, was an avowed opponent of civil rights and the architect of the Southern filibuster, which long delayed its passage," Schumer said Monday. "It's time that we recognize that as times change, so do our heroes."
Just like taking down statues and changing the names of schools. Control the historical narrative, control the population.
Orin T.
Just like putting up statues and naming schools controls the historical narrative and therefore the population' to put a different slant on your post.
A fair point, Orin. I think the difference is the ethics: it is ethically fine to name building and erect statues. It is how a society honors those who have made a significant contribution (or paid for the building, in some cases)
Tearing them down is being done unethically, and therein lies the difference. That is my take, and it is open to discussion.
Change my mind, in other words: I am not set on this answer.
Doesn't Hallon's razor apply here? I think that the problem has an easy solution. Just freeze the names of public bulidings! It shouldn't be that hard and google can change them after checking with the proper authorities to see if a name change as really taken place.
That would be rational and impartial. Google is neither.
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James is a savvy marketing and operations executive who is truly passionate about all things "brand." James excels through transformational leadership by "humanizing the intangibles;" developing programs that are meaningful and ultimately "stick". For the past ten years, James served in executive leadership roles (often as head of marketing and operations) for some of the most well-established and fastest growing concepts in the Fast Casual, QSR, and retail environment: Which Wich, 7-Eleven and Charley's.
Larry is a veteran in the food and beverage industry with over 20 years of restaurant and franchise experience. Larry began his career in the mid 1990's when he founded the raw juice and smoothie concept, Juice it Up. Sidoti developed an amazing company culture and grew the concept to over 180 units. Since departing Juice it Up in 2008, Larry has served in key operational and development leadership roles with several highly-recognized and respected concepts including: Famous Brands (Mrs. Fields & TCBY), Yogurtland, Ruby's Diner and most recently he served as chief development officer for the bakery cafe brand, Paris Baguette.
Mike is an entrepreneurial and fiscally spirited leader with extensive experience in achieving and exceeding organizational goals, by accurately analyzing financial reports and implementing action plans to develop organizational success. Prior to coming to Garbanzo, Mike was the Director of Finance and Information Technology/ Vice President of Operations at Fleet Financial.
Devin is an 18-year branding veteran with experience at top ad agencies and leading internal corporate marketing teams. Handler uses transaction-level data and consumer insight to create omni-channel marketing strategies that ensure the brand is hitting all the right levers along the consumer journey. Ultimately Devin is busy building sustainable sales, brand affinity and cultivating raving brand advocates. Before being committed to making fresh Mediterranean cuisine a mainstream favorite across the U.S. Devin was the Director of Franchise and Regional Marketing for QDOBA Mexican Eats. Devin opened the first international franchise locations in Canada and helped grow the QDOBA brand from 200 units to over 700.
With over 25 years of experience, Ron is a visionary leader who works closely with our CEO leading the initiative to operate great restaurants. Formerly the Chief Operations Officer for Five Guys in Denver, CO where he led franchise business development, he has extensive experience in operational management, organiza-tional development and is proficient in team building.
Founder and President of The Staenberg Group, Michael is a leader, visionary and philanthropist. He has achieved unprecedented success in the commercial real estate sector and has helped to create quality communities nationwide. Michael has held the chairman position since 2014 and has made an incredible impact to our brand.


I specializing in making complicated and/or educational content digestible and engaging to the masses.
Building a new home means that you get to start from scratch. You determine how your home comes together, from the big decisions to the smallest details. The result is that you finally get to live in a place that looks and feels exactly how you want it to look and feel.
When you're building a new home, don't limit yourself. To do so would cheapen the entire experience. You have the ability to ensure that every room in your new house brings you joy and fits your lifestyle, even the bathroom.
Newly built homes save enough energy to power a TV for 11 years, power a washer for four years and power a coffee maker for 32 years.
That's a lot of energy saved thanks to energy-efficient toilets, windows and lightbulbs.
You've built your new home (yay!), but now you need to furnish it.
Maybe you have your heart set on a specific look or maybe you aren't sure where to begin. Either way, taking inspiration from classic furniture design could be a good starting point.
Enter Mid-century modern furniture. Mid-century Modern (MCM) describes an innovative era for design — furniture, graphic design and architecture — that is estimated to take place from the 1930s to the 1960s (the exact time period is debatable).
The app is one of the most mainstream uses of A.R. yet (Snapchat's filters are another popular use of A.R.), and its success could pave the way for even more innovative uses of the technology, especially for health and wellness. Here are our thoughts on how this technology can be leveraged to make us all a little bit healthier.
I ghostwrote this article for Wagepoint CEO Shrad Rao.
Not only do Black people have to deal with the emotional aftermath of a tragedy like the recent murders of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, but then we're still expected to function. There's no "calling in Black." And, honestly, if Black people did get days off to mourn, we would never show up for work.
I grew up watching my dad pour his soul into his company, working himself into a very unhealthy state, only to see it fail.
Work is no longer a place.
Thanks to innovations in technology, and the help of forward thinking companies, geography no longer limits your job opportunities.


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Legal & General unveils plans for a new £150m BTR scheme in Sheffield
Financial services company and leading provider of Build to Rent (BTR) homes Legal & General has announced that it is investing £150 million into Sheffield's West Bar Square development.
This will help to deliver the first phase of the substantial mixed-use project, in partnership with developer Urbo and Sheffield City Council, as the firm continues to invest for the long-term in an effort to support the UK's post-crisis economic growth prospects, jobs and housing needs.
The development will be made up of 200,000 sq ft of Grade A office space, 350 BTR homes, a multi-storey car park and high-quality landscaped public spaces. The first phase is set to deliver large footprint, modern office space, something which is currently lacking within Sheffield's property market, and is expected to house up to 1,800 workers.
Legal & General has partnered with Sheffield City Council and Urbo (West Bar) Ltd – a joint venture between Urbo Regeneration and Peveril Securities (the development arm of the Bowmer and Kirkland Group) – to bring forward the scheme.
The company, which has one of the biggest stakes in the fast-growing BTR sector, has previously invested billions of pounds into urban regeneration projects across the UK, including partnerships with local authorities in Cardiff, Salford, Newcastle and Sunderland.
Legal & General also says it has worked with central government bodies such as Homes England and world-leading universities to improve and 'reshape the urban landscape', using its varied capital streams - from start-up funding to long-term UK pension money – to provide the significant investment needed to help cities adapt, change and innovate.
Legal & General insists it is committed to investing in Sheffield, recognising the high potential the city has to offer, and helping to support its post-crisis growth ambitions, as well as meeting its need for regeneration, housing and job creation.
"There has never been a more important time to invest in our regional cities. Legal & General is in a unique position to support the UK economic recovery by recycling hard-earned savings and pensions into real assets which promote job creation - through construction to office occupation - and create landmark master plans which incorporate grade A office space, a variety of housing and high-quality public space," Nigel Wilson, chief executive of Legal & General, said.
"Our investment partnerships in cities such as Cardiff and Newcastle are already delivering at pace," he added. "Likewise, our vision for West Bar Square is to deliver a much-needed new quarter for the centre of Sheffield. During these unprecedented times, it is absolutely imperative that institutions continue to push forward with deals, so we can position the UK for an accelerated recovery and lay the groundwork to support those most in need in society."
Peter Swallow, the managing director of Urbo Regeneration, said the investment is 'massively significant' for Sheffield, as well as being a vote of confidence in the future of the city as a whole, particularly during the current climate.
"The funding partnership we have agreed with Legal & General will guarantee delivery of large-scale regeneration in this important part of the city, linking the rapidly expanding Kelham Island district to the city centre," he said.
Councillor Mazher Iqbal, Sheffield City Council cabinet member for business and investment, also commented: "Although I recognise it may not be at the forefront of everyone's minds in these difficult and challenging times, it is really important that we don't forget to invest in the future of our city and continue to support developments for when Sheffield emerges from the Covid-19 pandemic."
He said the Legal & General injection is 'fantastic news for the city going forward' and 'yet another example of how the city is attracting major new investment partners'.
"This development will create modern floorspace for thousands of jobs; hundreds of high-quality new homes and improve neighbourhoods right in the heart of Sheffield," Iqbal added. "It will also provide attractive public spaces with sustainable urban drainage and better connectivity between the city centre and Kelham. It's a huge project and Sheffield can't wait for it to get started."
Urbo has been collaborating with Sheffield City Council for a number of years to bring forward the West Bar Square scheme, which enjoys a prominent position on the Inner Ring Road between the 'booming' Kelham Island district and Sheffield's Cathedral Quarter.
West Bar Square was granted outline planning consent in 2017 and, last year, there was the confirmation of a Compulsory Purchase Order to complete assembly of the site. Detailed designs by architect 5plus will support the reserved matters planning applications for the first phases of development, set to be submitted in the summer.
The creation of West Bar Square is set to accompany the neighbouring Riverside Business District, which already boasts key office occupiers including the Home Office, top 50 law firm Irwin Mitchell and the Crown and Family Courts.
For further details on the West Bar Square development, please head here: www.westbarsquare.com.
Elsewhere, Legal & General's later living business, Inspired Villages, recently announced that it has acquired a 12-acre site in Caddington, Bedfordshire, with outline planning permission to develop 200 specialist age-appropriate homes. It's expected to have a gross development value of £120 million on completion.
This new scheme is set to see £90 million invested into the local economy, creating more than 70 construction jobs every year over its six-year build period, and 32 permanent jobs once complete.
The Caddington site acquisition brings Inspired Villages' development pipeline to 2,500 homes across the UK in the next six years, with these schemes together creating around 1,000 construction jobs per annum, and up to 640 permanent jobs once the retirement communities are complete and operational.
West Bar Square
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By reading this article, I am assuming that you don't currently have the arms you want and your most certainly looking for bigger biceps. Read on to torch your guns and stretch your t-shirts this summer by building stronger, bigger and leaner biceps.
Not necessarily one you can do at home unless you own resistance bands or your garage has a top-notch pulley set-up worthy of an Instagram page itself. So hit the gym for this one as you need a cable pulley system at your mercy.
Compound movements like rows and pull-ups do engage your bicep. However, right now we are looking to isolate those beautiful biceps by concentrating on contraction. The main muscle we are targeting with this workout is the Biceps brachii, so connect a straight bar or cambered bar attachment of your choice to the end of the pulley and let's get to it.
Stand with your back to the pulley system and the bar plus cable coming through your legs which are shoulder-width apart. Keeping a straight back and bending at the knees lift the bar up with an underhand grip, so you're now upright with your elbows extended.
Looking straight ahead, with your chest high and your abs nice and tight, slowly curl the bar up while bending your elbows keeping them close to your body. Keeping your elbows tight to your sides throughout the movement is important as you hold the weight at the top, squeezing out your contraction. Slowly lower the weight back down, so your arms are extended.
Here is the juicy bit, on the way down don't let the weight hit back down on the stack behind you, pause just before your arms are fully extended and repeat the rep. Aim for around 12 reps with 120 seconds of rest between sets. 3-5 sets per workout will get the pump you have been waiting to see!
The great thing about this exercise is that the cable provides constant tension. Your elbows have a strong fixed point to work from, as long as you're keeping them by your side. If the weight is forcing your elbows to come up and away from your body, then it may be too heavy at this stage. Leave your ego at the door; drop the weight and perform the perfect rep every time. If you can achieve 12 perfect reps without breaking a sweat, only then move the weight up.
We are using free weights for this one as we also want to engage the core and strengthen those abs. This gym favourite can be performed from a standing position as well as a seated one. However, on this occasion try the seated position to take away the added advantage of momentum. By being seated, you are expected to perform each rep from a resting point, making every single rep worth the aches and pains tomorrow.
Sit on a bench nice and tall, chest up and abs tight while holding a dumbbell in each hand. Keep your elbows close to your body as you curl one dumbbell up at a time. Squeeze the bicep at the top of the movement as it reaches your shoulder, before slowly lowering back down to starting position.
Stay composed, stable and engage those abs as you repeat that movement with the alternate arm. Aim for 6 to 8 reps on each side completing 3 to 5 sets with 120 seconds rest between sets.
This workout is great to find those imbalances of a stronger or weaker arm, as well as improving posture and core stability. Doing them seated stops you rocking the body and swinging those bad boys up; let's sit down, take your time and ensure every rep bursts some stitches on our already overly tight training top.
Am I allowed favourites?! Well too late I've said it; this is a favourite of mine. Head down the gym to gain an audience with this workout, or use a home pull up bar in the garage to allow you to play some ridiculously loud 'Rocky' music.
Ok, I know before you start 'dm-ing' me this exercise does hit the back first, however, bear with me on this one. The reason why it's a 'fave' is this exercise bursts those bicep muscle fibres as well as creating an opportunity for your back, shoulders and core to grow. The Brachialis will have nothing better to do but to grow while you sleep following this workout.
If we are talking t-shirt tearing biceps, then your big back will also help out to make your medium sized t-shirts look silly.
Take hold of a fixed overhead bar with a close underhand grip. Let your grip take your body weight as you hang freely from the bar. Cross your ankles as you squeeze your back and biceps raising your chin up and beyond the bar. Through this movement keep your core tight, and yes you guessed it, your chest high. Once your chin passes the bar, pause before slowly lowering yourself back down to a dead hang. Repeat to get big.
Now listen here fellow gym goers, this is easier said than done.
Contracting your biceps and pulling your body weight up to the bar and down carefully takes some serious concentration, strength and endeavour. But boy, will it be worth it. If one rep is all you can manage at this time, then just do the one, do lots of ones! Once you start to build lean muscle and strength attempt two reps, this progressive overload and development will quickly determine which summer outfit your packing.
By following this workout, you will be walking around with newly found confidence, not just with bigger biceps but with a stronger core and stability muscles.
It will be this foundation of body strength that allows you to progress on to bigger and better workouts as well as bigger and better t-shirts.


New England quarterback Tom Brady led the Patriots to a fourth Super Bowl title on Sunday, earning his third Super bowl MVP award and setting records for most completions in the Super Bowl and most career Super Bowl touchdowns along the way.
Speaking in a post game press conference, Brady discounted the idea that this season's championship would mark the end of his career.
Brady passed 50 times, setting a Super Bowl record with his 37 completions. He threw for 328 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions, helping the team to its 28-24 victory over the Seattle Seahawks.
His third Super Bowl MVP award and his fourth Super Bowl championship set him even with Joe Montana. His totals of 13 touchdowns, 1,605 yards and 164 completions are all records for the Super Bowl, as well.
Brady also demurred when asked about his legacy, declining to say where he ranked among quarterbacks in league history.
"I never put myself in those discussions. That's not how I think," said Brady. "There's so many great players that have been on so many great teams and we've had some great teams that haven't won it."
Brady was selected with the 199th pick in the 2000 draft, and has spent all of his fifteen years in the league in New England.
The 37-year-old has won two league MVP awards and been named to the Pro Bowl 10 times. He has a career 63.5 completion percentage, throwing for 53,258 yards and 392 touchdowns during the regular season.


text:
Q: How to speed up my webscraping python code? I've been working on Python code to pull data from stock-trading simulation software (I get the tickers for the securities I'm trading, e.g. VTI, AAPL, GOOG, etc.), then search Morningstar for the ticker and pull pricing info and whatever else I want from that site.  I save the data I want from lists into a .csv file for use in Excel.  I'm using Selenium to run a webdriver (I use either Chrome to see the process visually or PhantomJS to run the program headless without browser GUI), and beautifulsoup to access the websites and work with the HTML.
I have the program working decently, but it takes upwards of 120 seconds to run through a portfolio of only 11 securities, and I am hoping to expand this program to do more elaborate actions.
Is there anything in my coding style that could be changed to speed up the webscraping process?  Are there any general methods of writing Python code to allow for fast execution?
Here's the code:
from selenium import webdriver
from bs4 import BeautifulSoup
import csv

#browser = webdriver.Chrome() #replace with .Firefox(), or with the browser of your choice
browser = webdriver.PhantomJS()

security_links_list = list()
equitysim_ticker_list = list()

url = ['https://www.equitysim.com/Home'
]

for item in url:

 browser.get(item) #navigate to page behind login
 username = browser.find_element_by_id('placeholderContent_txtUserName')
 username.send_keys('EDITED_FOR_SECURITY')
 password = browser.find_element_by_id('placeholderContent_txtPassword')
 password.send_keys('EDITED_FOR_SECURITY')
 form = browser.find_element_by_id("placeholderContent_LoginButton")
 form.click()

 innerHTML = browser.execute_script("return document.body.innerHTML") #returns the inner HTML as a string
 innerHTML = browser.page_source
 html = browser.page_source
 soup = BeautifulSoup(html, 'html.parser')
 table_a = soup.find('table', 'ba-tbl admintable')
 for a in table_a.find_all('a', href=True):
    security_links_list.append(a['href'])
links_set = set(security_links_list)
links_set.remove('#')
print(links_set)

mystring = "https://www.equitysim.com"

links_set_revised = [mystring + link_text for link_text in links_set]
print(links_set_revised)

for item in links_set_revised:

 browser.get(item)
 innerHTML = browser.execute_script("return document.body.innerHTML") #returns the inner HTML as a string
 innerHTML = browser.page_source
 html = browser.page_source
 soup = BeautifulSoup(html, 'html.parser')

 title_element = soup.find("title")
 title = title_element.text
 ticker = title.split(':', 1)[0]

 ticker = ticker.replace('\n','')
 ticker = ticker.replace('\t','')

 equitysim_ticker_list.append(ticker)

print(equitysim_ticker_list)

morningstar_ticker_search = "http://quote.morningstar.com/TickerLookup.html"
uri_links = list()

for ticker in equitysim_ticker_list:
 browser.get(morningstar_ticker_search)
 enter_ticker = browser.find_element_by_xpath("//input[@value='Ticker']")
 enter_ticker.click()
 search_ticker = browser.find_element_by_class_name('F3')
 search_ticker.send_keys(ticker)
 go_box = browser.find_element_by_xpath("//input[@src='http://im.morningstar.com/im/go.gif']")
 go_box.click()

 html = browser.page_source
 soup = BeautifulSoup(html, 'html.parser')
 outer_div = soup.find('div', attrs={'id': 'quote_quicktake'})
 iframe = outer_div.find('iframe').get('src')
 full_url = 'https:' + iframe
 uri_links.append(full_url)

print(uri_links)

price_list = list()
ticker_list = list()
nav_list = list()

for item in uri_links:

 browser.get(item) #navigate to page behind login
 innerHTML = browser.execute_script("return document.body.innerHTML") #returns the inner HTML as a string
 innerHTML = browser.page_source
 html = browser.page_source
 soup = BeautifulSoup(html, 'html.parser')

 price_element = soup.find("div", attrs={"id": "lastPrice"})
 price = price_element.text # strip() is used to remove starting and trailing

 nav_element = soup.find("span", attrs={"id": "NAV"} or {"vkey": "NAV"})
 nav = nav_element.text
 nav_split1 = nav.split('\n                                   \t\t', 1)[1]
 nav_split2 = nav_split1.split(' ', 1)[0]

 title_element = soup.find("title")
 title = title_element.text
 ticker = title.split(' ', 1)[0]

 price_list.append(price)
 nav_list.append(nav_split2)
 ticker_list.append(ticker)

 print(ticker)
 print(price)
 print(nav_split2)
 #ticker =

print(ticker_list)
print(price_list)
print(nav_list)

csvfile = "C:\\Users\\USERNAME\\AppData\\Local\\Programs\\Python\\Python36\\personal\\exampleCsv.csv"

#Assuming res is a flat list
with open(csvfile, "w") as output:
    writer = csv.writer(output,lineterminator='')
    writer.writerow(ticker_list)
    writer.writerow('\n')
    writer.writerow(price_list)
    writer.writerow('\n')
    writer.writerow(nav_list)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Since 1994, Marina De Bourbon has been the fragrance for the man who is effortlessly suave and polished. With revitalizing hints of citrus and spice, this men's cologne is a smart choice for casual use and suitable for both daytime and evening wear. Marina De Bourbon helps you exude a more confident image, as it features both masculine, woodsy notes and a refreshing hint of lavender. This cologne is one you are likely to reach for whenever you want to feel debonair.


text:
Category Archives: St Augustine's Orphanage in Geelong
County Court: Former Christian Brother William Stuart Houston jailed over St Augustine's abuse
Megan NeilGeelong Advertiser
From the Link: http://www.geelongadvertiser.com.au/news/crime-court/county-court-former-christian-brother-william-stuart-houston–jailed-over-st-augustines-abuse/news-story/b6a8243af395e8594d8140799aedba77
William Stuart Houston
A FORMER Christian Brother who sexually abused six vulnerable boys at a Geelong orphanage has been jailed for more than 12 years.
William Stuart Houston, 77, abused the boys, aged 10 to 14, when he was their supervisor at Geelong's St Augustine's Orphanage in the 1960s.
Victorian County Court Chief Judge Peter Kidd says the boys were powerless to stop Houston's offending and each was especially vulnerable.
"They were wards of the state. They were young and they were under your control," the judge told Houston on Tuesday.
"You were fully cognisant of this vulnerability." Houston told one victim: "Don't tell anyone … Oh, that's right, you can't tell anyone because you've got no one." Judge Kidd said Houston was meant to protect and nurture the boys, but didn't.
"Instead you arrogantly abused your authority over each of them for your own perverse sexual gratification."
"What occurred here amounted to a disgraceful breach of trust." Three of the victims who tried to complain to staff at the Christian Brothers-run orphanage at the time were punished, the judge said.
"Tragically the complaints or partial complaints of three of your victims were variously met with denials and physical punishment by other staff members at the orphanage," he said. "The reaction of staff simply serves to demonstrate how it was virtually impossible for a child in those circumstances to come forward and meaningfully pursue a complaint.
"It also explains how you were able to continue to offend in this disturbing atmosphere of impunity." Judge Kidd on Tuesday jailed Houston for 12 years and nine months with a minimum of eight years.
As Houston was led away, one man who was in court to support victims yelled out: "I hope you die in jail"
The Christian Brothers Oceania Province said Houston's crimes were "shocking".
"That any young person placed in our care has been abused as these children were by this man is a matter of great regret and remorse for all Christian Brothers," they said in a statement. "To those who suffered as a result of his actions, you have our unreserved apology.
"The Christian Brothers Oceania views these actions as a deplorable betrayal of the trust of innocent children and their families." AAP al/mau
Posted in Brother William Stuart Houston, Child Sex Abuse, Christian Brothers, Christian Brothers Oceania Province, Clergy Abuse, Clergy Sex Abuse, Priest Child Sex Abuse, Religion, Roman Catholic Church, Roman Catholic Church Sex Abuse, St Augustine's Orphanage in Geelong
Tags: Brother William Stuart Houston, child abuse, child molestation, child rape, child sex abuse, Christian Brothers, Christian Brothers Oceania Province, clergy abuse, crimes against children, pedophile priests, priest abuse, priest pedophilles, priest rape, priest sex abuse, religion, roman catholic church, Roman Catholic Church Child Rape Scandal, Roman Catholic Church Child Sex Abuse, Roman Catholic Church Child Sex Abuse Scandal, Roman Catholic Church Pedophile Cover up Scandal, Roman Catholic Church Pedophile Coverup Scandal, Roman Catholic Church Sex Abuse Coverups, roman catholic church sex scandal, roman catholic clergy, roman catholics, St Augustine's Orphanage in Geelong


Femaprin is the most used supplement for balancing a woman's monthly cycle and for the avoidance of periodic discomforts. Trusted for over 40 years by European health practitioners, Femaprin's unique formula combines clinically proven standardized Vitex (Chaste Tree) extract with Vitamin B-6 to help alleviate the bloating, breast tenderness and mood changes associated with premenstrual syndrome (PMS).
Femaprin contains the world's most extensively researched and best selling vitex (chaste tree) extract. Standardized to 6% agnusides, Femaprin is a pharmaceutical-grade natural medicine recommended by healthcare professionals.
Produced by Madaus AG of Germany, the Femaprin extract has been the subject of numerous scientific and clinical studies focusing on women's health concerns such as menstruation and fertility. It is the highest quality vitex extract on the market today in terms of effectiveness, potency and consistency.
Take one capsule daily with water. Best results are obtained with continuous use.


text:
Q: How to write search query for the below MongoDB query scenario in C# Considering below 5 parameters:

*

*Mutual friends

*Home Town

*Current City

*School

*company

I need to write a search query that search should start with matching with all parameters which will get accurate results.

*

*consider at-least 4 parameters

*If not then consider at-least 3 parameters

*If not then consider at-least 2 parameters

*If not then consider at-least 1 parameter

*If not then shows all.

How to write search query for the above scenario in C#?
I used the following code
public class UserDetails
    {
        [BsonId]
        [BsonRepresentation(BsonType.ObjectId)]
        public string _id { get; set; }
        public string UserId { get; set; }
        public Registration RegistrationDetails { get; set; }
     }
public class Registration
    {
        public string FirstName { get; set; }
        public string LastName { get; set; }
    }
var collection = database.GetCollection<UserDetails>("UserInfo");
                var agg = collection.Aggregate().Project(p => new
                {
                    p.Id,
                    matchValue =
                    (p.RegistrationDetails.FirstName == search ? 1 : 0) +
                    (p.RegistrationDetails.LastName == search ? 1 : 0)
                })
                .Group(new BsonDocument(new Dictionary<string, BsonValue>
                {
                    {"_id", BsonValue.Create("$matchValue")},
                    {"ids", new BsonDocument("$push", new
                     BsonDocument("item","$Id"))}
                }))
                .Sort(new BsonDocument("_id", BsonValue.Create(-1)))
                .Limit(1)
                .Unwind("ids")
                .Project(new BsonDocument("_id", "$ids.item"));

A: A way to achieve it by using Aggregate is:
var sr = new MongoClient("mongodb://127.0.0.1");
var db = sr.GetDatabase("Test");
var col = db.GetCollection<User>("MyUser");

var agg = col.Aggregate()
    .Project(p => new
    {
        p.Id,
        matchValue =
            (p.HomeTown == "Town 1" ? 1 : 0) +       // HomeTown condition
            (p.CurrentCity == "City 1" ? 1 : 0) +    // CurrentCity condition
            (p.School == "School 1" ? 1 : 0) +       // School condition
            (p.Company == "Company 1" ? 1 : 0)       // Company condition
        // matchValue will contains count of equal fields
    })
    .Group(new BsonDocument(new Dictionary<string, BsonValue>
    {
        {"_id", BsonValue.Create("$matchValue")},
        {"ids", new BsonDocument("$push", new BsonDocument("item","$Id")) }
        // Now I aggregate ids based on `matchValue`
    }))
    .Sort(new BsonDocument("_id", BsonValue.Create(-1)))
    .Limit(1)
    // Now I have maximum `matchValue`
    .Unwind("ids")
    .Project(new BsonDocument("_id", "$ids.item"));
    // Now ids are available

// To gathering results I used below code:
var result = agg.ToList().Select(c=> c["_id"].AsObjectId).ToList();


text:
Eumida bahusiensis är en ringmaskart som beskrevs av Bergström 1914. Eumida bahusiensis ingår i släktet Eumida och familjen Phyllodocidae. Arten är reproducerande i Sverige. Inga underarter finns listade i Catalogue of Life.

Källor

Havsborstmaskar
bahusiensis

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Hi, I'm Jerome and thanks for considering investment in my The Butters Hygienics Co.
Affordable, vegan, handmade cosmetics and hygienics for all. Most known for my lubes and body butters, I've also got your face, hair, bath, fragrance, etc. covered without additives and bullsh*t. All for just $1-$8.
I started The Butters from the kitchen of my Ypsilanti, MI 1 bedroom apt in 2016. I took The Butters from an idea to a single product side hustle in the first year. In the second, sales increased about 1600%, The Butters became my only job and the family was forced to move for more space. I'm proud to say, 2018 has not slowed down and we've had to get even more space, equipment, & help.
To keep up with demand and do so smoothly, I need to be prepared. Everything from ingredients to labels, jars to website fees need to be paid and stocked regularly. Then there's my own necessities of food, heat, electricity, internet, etc. Right now, sales are great but, the only regular income I'm counting on is my partner's bi-weekly paycheck. So, you can see how things can (and do) get precarious quickly. Despite the challenges, this is a really great place to be in!
Most small business owners never make it past the first year. I'm in year 3 with a proven record of doing a lot more with a lot less. Until now, sales and external hourly wages have made it all work, but that's not sustainable. Normally, this where I'd start to look for investors, loans, and other outside funding sources to shore up my financial foundation and really plan for the future. That's why I'm here on Patreon. Instead of pilling on debt, searching for investors who just want to make a buck, or hustling myself into the ground, I'm coming to the people who already love what I make.
I'm confident in The Butters I make, the business I've built, and my ability to grow it into a successful reliable company that will always be there for you. I'm also confident that there's enough Butters lovers out there who agree and are willing to devote a few dollars a month to make it happen. By signing on to be my patron, you're stabilizing The Butters as a company/me personally, keeping yourself dipped in butters, and you'll get access to some sickening rewards! From karma points, to discounts at GetTheButters.com, your investment in me and The Butters will go far!
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Throw a little change my way and receive endless good vibes! Your name will be included on my supporters page.
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Get any single product of your choice.
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Please bring: a written or oral family/cultural story, and a piece of your writing you need to 'untangle' (up to 2 pages). Weaving materials will be provided, but you can bring beads, feathers, or mementos, etc, for decoration.
Presented through Writers SA writers in regional residency program. Funded by Australia Council for the Arts.


text:
J.K. Rowling Rallies Twitter Support for Refugees
J.K. Rowling in London on Nov. 9, 2013.
David M. Benett—Getty Images
By Naina Bajekal
September 4, 2015 8:58 AM EDT
J.K. Rowling has recently been devoting her Twitter feed to the refugee crisis, lending her support to the #refugeeswelcome hashtag that was trending on Thursday. After British newspapers published photographs of Aylan Kurdi, a Syrian toddler who drowned as his family tried to reach Greece, on Thursday, Rowling joined a number of prominent figures urging the British government to change its policy.
More than 2,700 people have died attempting to cross the Mediterranean since January, most fleeing conflict and persecution back home in Syria, Eritrea and Afghanistan. Rowling retweeted a number of posts focusing on the plight of these migrants, including tweets calling the "unwillingness" of British Prime Minister David Cameron to help refugees "truly shameful."
In one tweet, the Harry Potter author wrote:
Her post was retweeted more than 16,000 times, rallying support among her followers. Rowling also retweeted a post calling for people to sign a petition calling on the U.K. Parliament to accept more refugees – a petition that has received three times the required number of signatures (100,000) for it to be considered in Parliament.
In a reversal of earlier policy, Cameron announced Friday that Britain would fulfil its moral responsibility and take thousands more Syrian refugees.
Read next: A Fractured Europe Scrambles to Respond to Spiraling Migrant Crisis
Write to Naina Bajekal at naina.bajekal@time.com.
Europe's 'Moment of Truth'


Vicky is a solicitor in the corporate team in London.
Tim is a Senior Associate in the Corporate team in the Thames Valley. He has experience of advising on a wide range of corporate transactions.
Dan is a Solicitor in the Commercial Services team based in Southampton.
Yasmin is a Trainee Solicitor currently seated in the Corporate Team, based in Southampton.
Michelle is a Legal Director in our Commercial team in London. Michelle takes a solutions orientated approach to advising clients in buying and selling businesses, and in respect of their other corporate and company law requirements.