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July 2006
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by Constantine
In a desperate attempt to rescue their devestated public image, Wal-Mart has decided to jump on the 
environmentalist bandwagon.
Wal-Mart (Charts) says it will invest $500 million in sustainability projects, and the company has done a lot more than draw up targets. It has quickly become, for instance, the biggest seller of organic milk and the biggest buyer of organic cotton in the world. It is working with suppliers to figure out ways to cut down on packaging and energy costs. It has opened two "green" supercenters.
I'd love to applaud their new eco-friendly image, and sustainability movement, but I feel like a scorned woman. I'm still scandalized by how unfair their wages are, betrayed by how little they spend on employee health benefits, and how they built their Washington store right on top of a wetland. (they had to build a fakey man-made wetland to replace the one they destroyed, but you and I both know that it's not the same)
Now Wal-Mart's back. From outerspace. With that sad look upon it's face.
Will the public be able forgive and forget, when we know that Wal-Mart's change of heart is nothing more than a defensive PR strategy?
I don't know, Wal-Mart. You hurt me bad. Real bad.
Check out the full article here
by Constantine
Recently, Naomi Campbell was in the news for a domestic disturbance at her boyfriend's house. The supermodel might want to have a look at this meditation for diffusing temper tantrums and managing anger.
Susan Kramer, a meditation expert and writer for Bellaonline suggests that temper tantrums such as the one that Ms. Campbell indulges in are more 'performances' than anything else. Kramer explains that, temper tantrums diffuse in the presence of silence, or solitude.
When a child loses control, the adult needs to remain steady and silent, even walk away. No audience - short-term performance.
When adults lose their temper, the same two-part technique of being silent and walking away can be effective.
Peace does not return by feeding the fire of a temper tantrum or anger.
So next time Naomi Campbell shows up on your front lawn at 2 in the morning, screaming, "I want my CD's back, you lying &#@%$!" Take ten deep breaths, very quietly close your window and walk away-- then, call 9-1-1.
For the meditation article, click here
by Constantine
The phrase, "would you really want to know?" came to mind while reading this article today about a Lebanese psychic, who foresaw the current events between Israel and Lebanon and is now on the receiving end of scrutiny and floods of panicky phone calls from the Lebanese public.
The phrase, which is attached to a quote from a movie I saw recently: "If our own government was responsible for the deaths of almost a hundred thousand people, would you really want to know?" Finch, V for Vendetta, also seems, in it's entirety, to oddly reflect my own feelings about what is going on in the middle east today. But the irony of that coincidence is besides the point.
The real question is, if you could see into the future and found chaos and destruction, the death of thousands of people, and your city laid to waste-- would you really want to know? If waiting for you at the end of your searching was the worst answer imaginable, would you still want to know? What if you were wrong? What if it meant that you were harrassed and persecuted, would you really be brave enough to tell people what you saw?
The April-May 2005 issue of Al-Hadath Al-Arabi Wal Duwali reported that Hayek predicted a massive Israeli offensive and incursion would occur in Lebanon, and that Beirut's airport would be touched by an incident.
The Feb. 7, 2005 issue of Al-Shiraa magazine listed two of Hayek's other predictions:
- We will see piles of garbage in Lebanon.
- Accidents will be reported in Israel's air force.
Garbage is indeed filling Lebanon's streets because the offensive has prevented garbage collectors from doing their jobs. On Monday, an Israeli Apache helicopter crashed near the Lebanese border while last week two Apache attack helicopters collided in northern Israel.
Since that set of predictions, Hayek has kept a low profile, saying he does not want to be the bearer of bad news. Plus, he was getting threatening calls and faced accusations he has privileged access to information because he works for the secret service, a charge he denies.
Check out the full scoop here: Lebanese Psychic...
by heathervescent
It's not just the yoga craze that's contagious; you could catch something more mundane in the studio. The New York Times covers the concern that communal yoga mats could house infectious germs due to their inability to be well cleaned.
Gyms have long been hothouses for unwanted viruses, fungi and bacteria, a result of shared equipment, excessive sweat and moisture in locker rooms. Many facilities provide disinfectant so clients can wipe down machinery, but they are often less diligent when it comes to exercise mats.
Daily Mantra editor, Heather Schlegel, shared her experiences with cleaning yoga mats and is included in the article. You can read the full story here.
by heathervescent
Now this catches my eye! It's hot, sexy, sleek, beautiful AND it doesn't run on gas! Too bad I don't have an extra $100k just sitting around. Although if I did, I'd buy this in a heartbeat.
Another cool thing is the company that makes these amazing cars is named after Nikola Tesla. He's the guy who invented/discovered the radio and created much of our modern infrastructure.
UNESCO has declared 2006 the Year of Nikola Tesla, in celebration of the 150th anniversary of his birth. We are delighted that the world unveiling of the Tesla Roadster falls on July 19, 2006 — just days after his birthday.
Now that's a celebration worth celebrating. Get Inspired!
by heathervescent
We've entered the time of personal religion. No more is there the idea of one size fits all religion. The San Francisco Chronicle has been running an interesting series interviewing people on finding their own religion. The latest interview with Wendi Moore-Buysee caught my eye because she's pulled from many different traditional religions to custom create her own.
Do you believe everyone is intuitive? Why don't more people use this ability?
Everyone has intuition, yes. Religion has blocked that for a lot of people. I just read an article on the Internet by a man -- a very conservative Christian -- who said: "Don't do yoga, because that makes you meditate and that makes you take responsibility for your own life. It makes you start thinking for yourself." That's what intuition does, and that's why very conservative Christians are afraid of it.
Read the full article here. Check out the archives here, which include interviews with a Voodoo Priestess and Poker playing pastor.
by Constantine
According to an article on azcentral.com: Paris's Sexless Year, apparently the heiress is going celibate for an entire year to rediscover herself.
I'm biting my tongue so hard right now, it's bleeding. I don't want to spoil the ending on this one for you guys-- but I have a feeling that there is a big fat "I told you so" waiting for her when she falls off the wagon. And if I'm wrong...I'll create a clay statue of Paris Hilton, dress it in a blue robe, set it on an altar of marble, adorn it with a thousand pristine white roses and bow to it while reciting Hail Mary backwards and forwards. I'll perform this sacred ceremony on the eve of a full moon while wearing a pig's mask and sheets of seaweed pasted to my breasts...
Oh. Sorry, I got carried away there. Wrong ceremony.
All joking aside. Not a new idea at all, celibacy has been practiced by religious devotees and athletes for centuries as a way to purify and strengthen their energy or in other words-- 'rediscover themselves'. Among the list of famous historical celibates are Leonardo Davinci, Lewis Carroll, Joan of Arc, The Goddess Artemis, the Vestal Virgins, Florence Nightingale and The 'Virgin' Queen Elizabeth I. There are plenty of web-societies dedicated to the abstinent lifestyle, such as True Love Waits, and The Ambrosian Movement. Celibacy seems to have made a fashionable comeback for spiritual seekers and regular people who are perhaps tired of the emotional tug of war that often accompanies sex.
If you have a leaning towards the celibate life or you're just curious, check out The History of Celibacy by Elizabeth Abboott. It's an excellent read-- not dry at all. (pun definitely intended)
by Constantine
The L.A. Times ran an article today advertising a Discovery Channel sponsored reality television show called Sensing Murder, airing in fall, that pairs psychics with the police in an attempt to revive and solve murder cases that are more than a decade old. The show reconstructs the murder with forensic evidence and eye witness interviews. The psychics are then allowed to visit the scene of the murder and draw up some theories using new clues they've come up with.
"These psychics were pretty right on as to what happened," Handfield said. "They have theories that we're going back to look at."
The part that I'm skeptical about isn't the psychics-- it's the show!
What I'd like to know is, which is less credible: an eye witness in a murder case, or an eye witness in a murder case being interviewed by psychics thirty years after the event has taken place? Sounds like Sensing Murder is trying to flog a dead horse while the police simultaneously play Pick Up Sticks with their buttcheeks.
Even if the psychics are able to solve the murder, last I checked "My psychic told me so..." still doesn't hold up in a court of law. And more importantly, does anyone care??
Check out the article here:
Stumped Police Turn to TV Psychics...
by heathervescent
 The case of the cursed launch pad:
An Air Force launch site called SLC-6 (pronounced "Slick-6") at Vandenberg Air Force Base has become legendary in aerospace circles for an eerie history of failed programs and botched launches.
According to space historian Robert Ash, construction workers building the pad unearthed human remains from an ancient Chumash Indian burial ground. Members of the tribe asked the Air Force to study the area and move the remains to another location, but the military brass ignored the request and continued construction.
Naturally this angered the Chumash tribe, and, according to local legends, a tribe leader put a curse on the site.
Read more on this intriguing story and to find out if and how the curse was broken.
by heathervescent
How do you express your divine self when your spiritually inclined but not religious (SBNR)?
The most inclusive of sects, SBNR appears to shelter nouveau Buddhists, 12-step adherents, lapsed Catholics, nonobservant Jews, people who burn incense and others who just don’t, you know, like how negative “atheism” sounds.
Naturally, SBNR involves no overt dogma. But tacitly it encourages a few things: self-expression, whole grains, a working familiarity with yoga. And for men, it involves jewelry. - NYTimes
What pray tell is this men's fashion jewelry? Well, you'll have to pop over the this New York Times article to take a look!
by Constantine
This 36 minute DVD features a voice narration while bite-sized key points come up against a blue background for you to read, very similar to a powerpoint presentation. Don't expect any frills or distracting images, this DVD is a strictly bare bones tutorial on how to induce Out of Body Experiences and Lucid Dreams using one of the best methods I have ever come across: Rhythmic Napping.
How to Lucid Dream presents Rhythmic Napping as a method that doesn't involve complicated techniques or any unnecessary equipment, which makes it incredibly easy to learn and test out for yourself. Check out an excerpt from the Lucid Dreaming chapter of the DVD here.
The creator, Matt Jones, breaks his method down in a scientific manner, explaining the role that body chemistry has on dreams, the stages between sleep and awake, how to trouble shoot your current methods and many, many other key points and tips that are crucial for successful out of body adventures. The methodology has had wildly successful and positive consumer reviews so far; I can say with confidence that everyone from beginners to advanced practitioners of the dreaming arts will find something extremely helpful in the information presented in this DVD.
How to Lucid Dream is available for purchase on the Saltcube Website. I also suggest you dowload the Saltcube Rhythmic Napping timer and have a look at some of the other cool features such as the discussion forum, a monthly Remote Viewing Contest, a free online Lucid Dream Journal and lots more fun stuff for astral projectionists.
by heathervescent
Jory questions why spirituality is not explored in the workplace at Blogher's site.
I told the executive shaman about my vision, then I asked him about his totem animal. He told me, then he said, "Many people keep their totem animals private." This indicated to me his knowledge of the ways of the Shaman, and a more practical sensitivity to the corporate world's hesitation to embrace "extracurricular" personal development. In essence he was telling me not to broadcast how I got this critical information about myself, lest my clients think I was a little--you know--loony.
It occurred to me how sad this is. There are a significant number of people who consult coaches, spiritual healers, shamans, how-to books, even the Bible to help them put their work in perspective, but like this executive/Shaman, these people keep the source of their knowledge a secret.
How do you keep your spiritual integrity and yet succeed in business? It's the tricky balance in being open to the fruits of the universe, while keeping your feet firmly planted on the ground. A trick balance indeed.
by Constantine
Several months ago, I met a woman while shopping at the mall. We began discussing perfumes and fragrances (a private obsession of mine) and she immediately held her wrist under my nose, inviting me to take a whiff of a fabulous scent from an oil company that she had recently discovered. "you have to go check this place out," she crooned.
Whatever she was wearing smelled wonderful, but not only that, the name of the company itself piqued my curiosity: Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab
The site contains a plethora of potions and unusual oil blends drawing inspiration from mythology, witchcraft, voodoo, tarot, and ancient spell recipes. With excellent, enticing descriptions, it is actually quite easy to get an idea of what you are purchasing before it arrives. But if all else fails, choose your fragrances by name alone, you really can't wrong!
I ordered Vice, and Jezebel, both of which smell incredible and fetch me plenty of compliments from mysterious strangers. (Ok, so it was only a co-worker...but a compliment is a compliment)
The oils are reasonably priced, and arrive at your doorstep in 5ml or 10ml apothecary style bottles, with a postcard featuring Hieronymous Bosch's artwork and plenty of free samples to seduce you into becoming a repeat customer.
by heathervescent
via Slashdot
Participants enter the virtual environment by donning a head-mounted 3D display and an electronic glove which they use to navigate their way through the computer generated world.
Once inside participants view a random selection of computer-generated objects. These include a telephone, a football and an umbrella. The person in the first room sees one object at a time, which they are asked to concentrate on and interact with.
The person in the other room is simultaneously presented with the same object plus three decoy objects. They are then asked to select the object they believe the other participant is trying to transmit to them.
Read the whole article here.
by heathervescent
 You might think you have to be Uri Geller or the like to move things in this world with your mind, but there's another way you can do this - and it involves science! An implanted sensor in his brain makes it possible for 26 year old Matthew Nagle to make basic movements with a robotic arm, using his thought.
"We have the patient imagine that he's tracking a cursor on a screen," he explained. "The patient is able to just think about moving and the cursor will move pretty much in the motion that the hand would take, if you were to imagine, say, moving left or right."
No need to study mentalism when you can visit the neurosurgeon! Read the article here.
by Carmen de Jesus
It's the second Mercury retrograde of the year, and a well documented one, at that. When you search Google for Mercury Retrograde. there are more than 200,000 results. All sorts of retrograde advice abound - warning us of problems with transportation, electronics, travel plans, delays, miscommunications. Aren't these issues pretty much prevalent throughout the year? Do we only notice more because its been called out to us - that all these problems have been bundled into this astrological prophecy?
 Astroprofile.com suggests that during the retrograde:
- Communications go awry - phone calls, letters, emails, faxes, conversations are delayed, misinterpreted, blocked.
- Recheck everything like appointment times, spelling, wording, the words you say.
- Anticipate detours - memory lapses, confusion, failing to listen, failing to confirm, negotiation failures, changing of plans.
- Avoid signing documents, contracts if possible. You can wait 3 weeks, hopefully.
- Expect travel delays, car trouble, delayed plane schedules, reservations that suddenly becoming "missing", transportation difficulties of all kinds.
- Expect problems with messages, books, letters, magazines, documents, neighbors and the near environment.
- BACK up your computer files! This is the time the screen goes blank and there is nothing there!
- Expect the phone lines, cable lines, power lines to have problems.
Those of us who are open to such ethereal explanations for the happenings in the material world may absorb this information (retrograde symbol is the same as a prescription - see Astroprofile link above for reference), and load up our Reticular Activation System with these suggestions. For example, when you make a decision to shop for a pair of red shoes, you begin to notice every pair of red shoes, because you have made a decision to pay attention to red shoes.
We can't pay attention to every piece of information we are exposed to, so we program ourselves to notice what is important to us by "loading up" the Reticular Activation System, i.e., we notice what we choose to notice. The group of cells at the base of our brainstem - the RAS - acts as our filter, our concierge, if you will, which selects the bits of the world we wish to notice, and deletes the rest.
Since I was first made aware of the Mercury Rx and its effect earlier this year, I did notice, and even expect, many of the Mercury Rx things to occur. During the last Rx, someone hit my car, I lost my phone, emails were lost, and my laptop started acting up. SInce July 4th, the start of this new Rx, I got a flat tire, my laptop is giving me problems again, my travel plans (which are being made by a company sponsoring my travel) have been indecisive and decisions delayed. Would this happen at any other time of the year? Probably. Do I notice it more because there is an overarching belief, held by many, to explain it? Definitely.
by heathervescent
Isn't it interesting that since hooking up with Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt has expanded his view beyond Hollywood. Here's proof:
Actor Brad Pitt and high-profile architects on Friday urged New Orleans to think green, selecting a series of environmentally friendly housing projects they hope to build in the hurricane-hit city.
Read the entire story here.
by Constantine
 I found Rob Brezsny, author of America's favorite Freewill Astrology column, at the Oregon Country Fair today. (For those of you who are not familiar with this famous event, the name, which conjurs up mental images of butter sculptures and rodeo queens perhaps-- is drastically misleading.)
Rob is scheduled to perform at the main stage at 3 pm, it's 2:59 and I'm lost. Dodging and weaving my way through a tight, moving crowd of stilt-walking hippies, fairy winged freaks, and young girls with their ta-tas all aglitter with sparkly body paint, I finally come to a clearing of some sort. The smell of falafel and pizza mingle in the atmosphere over a well mannered crowd sitting indian style in front of the main stage. The animated man presiding over them is the one I've been looking for-- Rob Brezsny.
click to read the rest of the post...
by heathervescent
 Before I started writing for Daily Mantra I had only heard rumors of the ill-fated "Mercury retrograde." Some friends spoke of it as wreaking havoc in their lives and couldn't wait for it to end. I was never aware of Mercury retrogrades and so never noticed it my life went more awry or not.
My awareness changed once I started writing this blog. I started researching retrogrades earlier this year, when I posted this on the first Mercury retrograde of the year.
I became aware of this year's retrograde dates and started paying attention. Back in March, chaos ran amuck in my life, with major house problems plagued by miscommunications that spiraled out of control well beyond the retrograde end date. I heard constant stories of vehicle problems from more than one friend and I myself was the victim of a hit and run accident. I felt cursed, everything was falling apart and I was doing everything I could, to maintain some resemblance of forward movement.
click to read the rest of the post...
by heathervescent
A judge in Virginia must decide who has the freedom to choose. A cancer-fighting teenager called Abraham, doesn't want to go through the horror of chemo-therapy again. Instead he wants to apply alternative medicine to heal his body. When someone turned in the family for not following the doctor's order, a judge found them neglectful and now the family is fighting to follow Abraham's desires.
Abraham explained, "This is my body that I'm supposed to take care of. I should have the right to tell someone what I want to do with this body. I studied. I did research. I came to this conclusion that the chemotherapy was not the route I wanted to take."
Barry Taylor, the family's attorney, said the case had major ramifications not only in Virginia, but also across the nation when it comes to parents' rights to determine what is best for their children.
If you want to read more about the tyranny of modern medicine, check out this article.
by Constantine
Pronoia Is the Antidote for Paranoia, written by Freewill Astrology's Rob Brezsny, is a nearly three hundred page, positively charged whirlwind of words. Pronoia manages to successfully blend autobiographical account with apocalyptic guidebook, news casts with the New Age, spritual workbook and coloring book, not doings with doings-- in short, Mr. Brezsny gave us a book that we can gleefully break out a box of Crayolas for and yet still come out wiser and more powerful one page at a time.
click to read the rest of the post...
by heathervescent
Well, not really. Our world may seem full of big problems with no solution in sight to us, but to our ancestors that live 100 years ago we live in a hyper-modern world where we live in luxury. In this article Deepak Chopra writes about apocaptic thinking and how it stagnates our abilities to actively solve real world problems..
Without being religious, many liberals and progressives act as if their world has come to an end. That is, they see no solutions to a world sunk into chaos, reactionary religious backlash, and overwhelming difficulties.
There is an alternative to this sort of gloom and doom. We need to reshape our expectations by holding them higher, not lower.
He goes on give some tips to help you get out of your dark mindset and realign yourself.
by heathervescent
Does it say more than what comes out of your mouth? More than you might even be aware of?
Mark Ainley teaches workshops on how to divine someone's character, intelligence and values by his or her visage: People with higher eyebrows are reserved. Low eyebrows signal someone outgoing. Upturned noses suggest gullibility; downward pointing noses imply a critical temperament.
“The face is the map of your brain,” Mr. Ainley claims. “It's not about judging people — it's about discernment. When we accept that everyone sees things differently because of the way they're structured, then we can let go of judgment.”
But then there is the alternate view:
“That's the belief that like begets like. So if you have a piggish face, you are a slovenly, brutish person,” Prof. Beyerstein says. “If you have forward-slanting writing, you're a forward-thinking person. It's all based on superstition, and it simply doesn't work.”
Prof. Beyerstein allows that peddlers of “New Age balderdash” genuinely have faith in their magic. “In my experience, these charlatans are sincere — they're true believers.”
Read more and decide for yourself. Is it superstition, sham or something else?
by heathervescent
If Superman went to church, which one would he attend? Read this article to find out!
by heathervescent
 The human body never ceases to amaze me. And here’s more proof!
Doctors have their first proof that a man who was barely conscious for nearly 20 years regained speech and movement because his brain spontaneously rewired itself by growing tiny new nerve connections to replace the ones sheared apart in a car crash.
Wallis has complete amnesia about the two decades he spent barely conscious, but remembers his life before the injury.
New brain imaging technology has been able to track the direction of water molecules and brain activity has shown extremely slow nerve re-growth.
Nerve cells that have not died can form new connections; for example, nerves in the arms and legs can grow about an inch a month after they are severed or damaged.
It makes me wonder what kind of nerve growth possible with healthy undamaged nerves. The possibilities may be endless. Read the entire story here.
by heathervescent
When exploring the topic of enlightenment, discussion often centers around how to reach it or pithy Taoist quotes and Zen koans. Rarely does discussion talk about the hassles of living with the light.
Enlightenment is not all angels, buddhas and dancing Hindu Gods. Once you see the light, you're not whisked away to a magical land of lotus ponds and little fluffy clouds with snacks of manna and wine. Oh no. You still have to drive to the grocery store. You still have to go to work. You still have to buy a car. You still go to the bathroom.
Worse than that, in your daily living, you are reminded how dumb your fellow human beings can be. You see the mistakes people make. You see how they could improve their lives. You see their character flaws in an instant. But that's not all. You see your own flaws. Your own mistakes.
On the flip side, you see beautiful moments. Things just make sense. Metaphoric manna happens to drop from heaven when you least expect it (and most need it). And seeing your mistakes and flaws only leads to the possibility of changing them.
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