Monday 31 October 2011

Xena--"Head Like A Hole"-- Death Of the Gods --Part 2

song by Nine Inch Nails

Saturday 29 October 2011

God's Wife Edited Out Of The Bible?

Ana Kasparian and Cenk Uygur discuss the claim by some theologists that a fertility goddess named Asherah could have been God's wife and that references of her appear in early versions of The Bible. Subscribe: bit.ly TYT Mobile: bit.ly On Facebook: www.facebook.com On Twitter: twitter.com www.theyoungturks.com DISCOUNTS: www.theyoungturks.com FREE Movies(!): www.netflix.com Note: The above two links are for TYT sponsors. Read Ana's blog and subscribe at: www.examiner.com Read Cenk's Blog: www.huffingtonpost.com Other TYT Network channels: www.youtube.com www.youtube.com www.youtube.com www.youtube.com www.youtube.com

Thursday 27 October 2011

Five Great Greek Goddess Fancy Dress Tips

The Greek goddess look is an awesome one for fancy dress parties, whether it's for Halloween or any other occasion. You can become the sexy, powerful queen of the party with a good Greek goddess fancy dress costume. And they're relatively easy to make, and even easier to find. Here are a few tips of what one should include:

1. Greek-Style Toga / Chiffon
Of course the number one thing in any Greek goddess's costume is the elegant toga-style dress that adorns her. With sweeping, white cloth that falls to her feet. And an elegant belt holding it in place.

2. The Belt
The ideal belt is a silver or gold weave one for the full effect. This should match all the other accessories in style and color.

3. Gold Leaf Tiara
There is only one thing a Greek goddess will wear on her head, and that is a gold leaf tiara.

4. Sandals
Some sandals with gold-colored leg buckles and heels will finish the bottom part of the costume perfectly.

5. Accessories
The greatest Greek goddess accessories include some gold coin earrings, a golden armband or leg band. And perhaps some gold coin bracelets. Gold is essential in all decorations.

Some variations you might want to figure into your costume are pinks or sky blue colours if pure white and gold is too simple for your tastes. When you choose your sandals you can find some very sexy ones that have high heels and leg buckles and materials that can neatly tie all the way up above the knees.

The hair is all important as well, so if you don't have long, golden hair then a wig will do the trick nicely. Although a big, dramatic explosion of black curls can also carry the goddess look very nicely.

It's great fun dressing up as a Greek goddess for the night, and ideal if you are going to a toga party - as you can wear a toga with a little more class. Even though you are wearing a simple chiffon, they can be surprisingly stylish.

Of course you even have choice of which Greek goddess you would like to become for the night. There is of course Hera - wife of Zeus and queen of the gods. Very tempting if you are after power. But then Aphrodite - goddess of love and beauty is more popular, who could resist Aphrodite after all? And finally if you are in a little more of a feisty mood perhaps you could become Athena - goddess of war!




Check out some really gorgeous Greek goddess fancy dress costume pictures and ideas here: Greek Goddess Fancy Dress. If you're also looking for something a bit more 60's, check out these hippie costume pictures and ideas: Hippie Fancy Dress

Wednesday 26 October 2011

God of War 3 - Kratos vs Zeus Final Battle pt 3 / 3 HD

www.econsolemedia.info The God of War III game finds Kratos raining carnage and destruction upon the Gods who have betrayed him and the entire Ancient Greek world. Armed with his deadly double-chained blades, Kratos will take on mythologys darkest creatures while solving intricate puzzles on his merciless quest to destroy Olympus and the mighty Zeus himself. Carve through the massive army of Olympus while its Centaur Generals command waves of merciless undead soldiers. Ascend Mount Olympus to reach revenge while navigating on the back of a creature who could crush the Statue of Liberty in the palm of its hand. Use the creatures of Greek legend to cross chasms, reveal secrets, and destroy anything in your way. Uncover new deadly weapons and brutal instruments of war that allow ruthless new techniques such as grappling with enemies and launching explosive wall to ground attacks. God of War III Kratos vs Zeus final battle fight between fighting against gameplay gow3 ps3 game play end ending last sequence hades zues helios poseidon hermes chronos kills killing tips tricks secrets walkthrough versus Boss HD

Tuesday 25 October 2011

Zeitgeist REFUTED & DEBUNKED! (Religious Portion)

Elliott Nesch has taken the time to go through the claims of the Zeitgeist movie and reveal their lies, in the religious portion, one by one. Do you really believe that the Jesus of the Bible has His roots in mythology? Then you are sorely mistaken. If you are open to the TRUTH, then watch this whole video. Elliot's youtube channel is: www.youtube.com

Monday 24 October 2011

Guia/Walkthroughs God Of War 2-Titan Mode 001

Lista de Reproduccion en HD del God of War Collection www.youtube.com Desafio de Titanes/Challenge of the Titans www.youtube.com Esta guia es para quienes juegan por primera vez este gran titulo y sirve como referencia cuando esten bloqueados en un lugar. Inicio de la gran aventura y la venganza, primera y segunda pelea contra el Coloso de Rhodas.Disfruten de la Matanza GG. Las Urnas se encuentran en los videos Urna de Gaia: 2 Urna de Gorgonas:19 Urna del Olimpo:27 Urna de Prometeo:29 Urna de Poseidon y Fate o Destino: pasando los 7 desafios de titanes con rango dios o superior, preferentemente titan. Videos de localizacion de Urnas especiales: Orbes Rojos: 23 Vitalidad: 36 Magia:37 Girar o Esquivar mas rapido: Girar y cubrirce o dar un golpe y girar nuevamente, entre mas rapido se haga mas rapido lo hara

Sunday 23 October 2011

Rome Guide - Sights and Interesting Places to Visit in Rome, Italy

Rome, viewed as a silhouette from Janiculum Hill, represents an array of broken marble columns and temple ruins, giant clusters of exceptional architecture, with St Peter's dome and the Roman Forum, capping a shimmering city of urban noises. Cars, taxis, and motor scooters stuff the streets and blow horns, with sidewalks densely packed with pedestrians, and crowdy cafes offering the empblematic cappuccino of the day. The tourists batlle crowds and traffic, carving their way to Renaissance spots and Baroque edifices only to plunge deeper, into famous ruins of antiquity. Rome is also a reputed site for giant political scandals, corruption, flaws, and is known as Tangentopoli, the bribe city, annually sending numbers of government bureaucrats to jail. Nevertheless, this is the site containing the Colosseum and the Pantheon, St. Peter's Basilica and the Trevi Fountain, sites merely described as 'compelling.'

The Vatican Museums, a gigantic repository of treasures encompassing antiquity to the Renaissance, is housed in a labyrinthine series of elaborate palaces, apartments, and galleries leading to the Sistine Chapel. The site occupies part of the papal palaces constructed from the 13th century onward. After climbing a spiral ramp, one is led into the Borgia Apartments, lavishly frescoed with biblical scenes by Pinturicchio of Umbria. The rooms were designed for Pope Alexander VI. The end of the Raphael Rooms culminates in the Chapel of Nicholas V, a chamber frescoed by Dominican monk Fra Angelico. Then comes the Chiaramonti Museum, an establishment founded by Pope Pius VII. The museum includes the Corridoio, or Corridor, the Galleria Lapidaria, plus the Braccio Nuovo, with the Corridor hosting an exposition of more than 800 Greek-Roman artifacts, including statues, reliefs, and sarcophagi. Galleria Lapidaria contains about 5,000 Christian and pagan inscriptions, plus an array of Roman sculpture and copies of Greek originals. The Braccio Nuovo, erected as an extension of the Chiaramonti, features The Nile, a reproduction of a long-lost Hellenistic original, a paradigmatic example of antique sculpture. The Collection of Modern Religious Art, a museum opened in 1973, represents American artists' invasion of the Vatican. The site comprises 55 rooms, with 12 of them being devoted to American artists, such as De Chirico and Manzù. The site also holds Georges Rouault, Picasso, Gauguin, Chagall, Henry Moore and Kandinsky art. The Egyptian-Gregorian Museum represents a careful showcase of sarcophagi, mummies, vases, statues of goddesses, jewelry, sculptured pink-granite statues, and heaps of hieroglyphics.

The Etruscan-Gregorian Museum, founded by Gregory XIV in 1837, and continuously supplemented to ever since, provides a complete collection of Etruscan art. The site includes sarcophagi, bronzes, urns, jewelry, a chariot and terra-cotta vases. The Regolini-Galassi tomb, an acclaimed exhibit unearthed in the 19th century at Cerveteri, is displayed along the Mars of Todi, a bronze sculpture dating from the 5th century B.C. The Ethnological Museum provides an ensemble of artworks and objects from all over the world, the principal route being a 5km stroll through 25 geographical sections, showing objects that cover 3,000 years of world history. The Historical Museum outlines the story of the Vatican, exhibits arms, uniforms, armory, typically from the early Renaissance period and displays the carriages used by popes and cardinals in religious processions.

Rome's Pinacoteca or Picture Gallery houses paintings and tapestries from the 11th to the 19th centuries. The site holds oldest picture at the Vatican, this being s keyhole-like wood panel depicting the Last Judgment, a 11th century work. Another landmark object is the Stefaneschi Triptych, the six panels crafted by Giotto and his assistants. Here is Bernardo Daddi's example of early Italian Renaissance art par excellence, the "Madonna del Magnificat". The site holds works by minituarist Fra Angelico, a15th-century Dominican monk, with his important "Virgin with Child". The Raphael salon includes three paintings by the Renaissance master, namely "Coronation of the Virgin", "The Virgin of Foligno", and the "Transfiguration", a work completed shortly before his death. The rooms keep eight tapestries crafted by Flemish weavers from Raphael sketches. The place holds Leonardo da Vinci's uncompleted "St. Jerome with the Lion" plus Giovanni Bellini's "Pietà" and Titian's major piece "The Virgin of Frari", along with Caravaggio's Baroque piece "Deposition from the Cross".

Pio Clementino Museum includes a collection of immediately recognisable Greek and Roman sculptures, including the Belvedere Torso, a semi-preserved Greek statue from 1st century B.C., and a paragon for Renaissance artists. The rotunda contains a large gilded bronze of Hercules from 2nd century B.C. The remaining sculptures are set under porticoes opening onto the Belvedere courtyard. "Laocoön and His Two Sons", the 1st century sculpture which immensely inspired Michelangelo, plus the Apollo Belvedere, the late Roman reproduction of a 4th century BC Greek work, are also displayed here. There sculptures have grown into symbols of classic male beauty, outrivaling Michelangelo's David.

The Raphael Rooms, comprising a series of rooms in the apartments of Pope Julius II, which the artist was commissioned to fresco, trace his work from 1508 to 1524. The rooms, representing the typical Renaissance blend of classic beauty and realism, include the the Stanza dell'Incendio, a showcase of Raphael's pupils' work, and one master piece, the fresco across from the window. Here one can distinguish the figure of partially draped Aeneas rescuing his father. The next and major salon, the Stanza della Segnatura, includes predominantly pieces by Raphael, including the School of Athens, one of his landmark works, depicting Aristotle, Plato, and Socrates. The majority of the figures in actuality are portraits of major Renaissance artists, including Bramante (as Euclid in the right), Leonardo da Vinci (as Plato, pointing heavenward), and Raphael himself (looking out from a corner). Raphael, after having viewed the progress of Michelangelo's work on the Sistine Chapel, added a sulking Michelangelo to the School of Athens. The Sala di Constantino, completed by his students after Raphael's death, includes a loggia designed after Raphael's sketches, and frescoed with more than 50 Biblical scenes crafter by his students.

The Sistine Chapel, frescoed by Michelangelo in his 30s, was a project commanded by Julius II. The Florentine master, regarding himself a sculptor, not a painter, was immensely contemptuous of this particular artform, ceiling frescoes, and was further irritated that he had to stop work on the pope's tomb. After having labored for four years (1508-12), and permanently damaged his eyesight, Michelangelo completed nine panels, dealing with the Genesis subject matter, and surrounded them with prophets and sibyls. Here are the panels detailing Adam and Eve's expulsion from the Garden of Eden, as well as those depicting the creation of man. In his sixties, Michelangelo began the "Last Judgment" on the altar wall. Working against his wishes, Michelangelo depicted a more jaundiced view of people, with God sitting in judgment and sinners being plunged into hell'd mouth. The side walls include frescoes by other Renaissance masters, such as Perugino, Signorelli, Botticelli, Pinturicchio, Roselli, and Ghirlandaio. The clusters of male nudes decorating the corners of the ceiling were grandly controversial when initially displayed.




Emil Netzov - Rome sights and places to visit. Rome tourism.

Friday 21 October 2011

Dionysus Leopard Print Eyes Wearable Wednesday

Sorry it's a day late!! I was out all day yesterday & when I went to upload last night Youtube was doing maintenance :( but it's here now! lol :) www.xsparkage.com Twitter www.twitter.com Facebook: www.facebook.com Personal Channel: www.youtube.com Request photos: requests@xsparkage.com Wearable Wednesday Photos: wearablewednesdays@xsparkage.com BUSINESS INQUIRIES ONLY promos@xsparkage.com

Thursday 20 October 2011

Greek God Poseidon / Roman God Neptune W/ My COD4 Gun Sounds!

Everything you need to know about the Greek god Poseidon (aka the Roman god Neptune) is summed up in this carefully edited video made by 3434343434utubeguy. There is also a splendid array of music which includes bits and pieces of three of my best COD4 Gun Sound mixes all put together, for your convenience, as one song. Rate, Comment, and Enjoy!

Wednesday 19 October 2011

Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley - The Original Horror Story

FRANKENSTIEN

Introduction - Frankenstein is still to this date considered as the marvel that came out of the pen of Mary Shelly, the daughter of philosopher William Wollstonecraft and feminist Mary Godwin. Early reception of the novel was conditioned by the presence of Gothic traits, a darkly blooding protagonist haunted by his past; violation of taboos; violent extremes in nature and in the human psyche. Thought the cruder paraphernalia of horror is missing. The novel has come to acquire the status of a "classic" a cautionary tale relevant for as long as humans attempt to create something new, from engineering social utopia to genetic engineering, a remarkably subtle and complex narrative that's seems to address important political and ethical concerns of the late twentieth century. The critical acceptance accorded to science fiction as a Genre that's asked serious questions about science and society, and often uses gothic tropes to do so also help the status of Frankenstein.

Plot Summary - The novel begins with explorer Robert Walton looking for a new passage from Russia to the Pacific Ocean via the Arctic Ocean. After weeks as sea, the crew of Walton's ship finds an emaciated man, Victor Frankenstein, floating on an ice flow near death. In Walton's series of letters to his sister in England, he retells Victor's tragic story. Growing up in Geneva, Switzerland, Victor is a precocious child, quick to learn all new subjects. He is raised with Elizabeth, an orphan adopted by his family. Victor delights in the sciences and vows to someday study science. Victor prepares to leave for his studies at the University of Ingolstadt, when his mother and Elizabeth become ill with scarlet fever. Caroline dies from the disease, and Elizabeth is nursed back to health. Victor Frankenstein is thrilled to be at university. He throws himself into his studies and discovers what no one else has. It is possible to create life, specifically in the form of a human. Victor now doubles his efforts and manages to create his own human. However, Victor is disgusted by the creature's grotesque appearance and guttural speech. He abandons the creature and endeavors to forget that it ever existed.

The murder of his young brother brings Victor back home. While there, he again encounters his creation. The creature confronts Victor with a horrible request: to make another creature to be his companion. If Victor agrees, the creature will leave him and all mankind alone. If he doesn't, the creature will not rest until he has destroyed Victor and his family." Characters The story of Frankenstein mainly revolves around three primary characters: Robert Walton -- the narrator; Victor Frankenstein -- the creator of the monster; and the monster -- the destroyer. However, other secondary characters play important roles in the novel as well. The following are the main characters:
• Henry Clerval- Victor's closest friend and companion, who balance his emotional and rational pursuits, Clerval nurses Victor back to health, playing the role of protector and comforter after Victor runs from the creature when the creature comes to life.
• Alphonse Frankenstein- Victor's father is described by his son as "respected by all who knew him for his integrity and indefatigable attention to public business." Victor's father, very sympathetic toward his son. Alphonse consoles Victor in moments of pain and encourages him to remember the importance of family.
• Elizabeth Lavenza- Wife of victor adopted by Frankenstein's, Elizabeth and Victor share more than the typical sibling affections for each other; they love each other. She in many ways alter ego of Victor Frankenstein. She gets killed by the monster on her wedding night.
• Felix de lacey- A hard-working son who cares for his family and his beloved fiancee' Safie. His unasked-for kindness to Safie's father, a foreign convict, stands in contrast to his cruel dismissal and beating of the creature.
• Mr de-lacey- The blind father of Felix and Agatha, Mr. De Lacey serves as a surrogate father to the creature. The creature notes his benevolence towards his family, and notes that "he would talk in a cheerful accent, with an expression of goodness that bestowed pleasure even upon me. Mr. De Lacey is the only one in the book who does not judge or fear the creature. He is the only friend the creature has.

Frankenstein- an overview
• The novel takes place in the late 1700's in various parts of Europe especially Switzerland and Germany, and in the Arctic. The novel was published in 1818 in England at the height of Romantic Movement.This time however also witnessed French and American Revolution. The post revolutionary period was also marked by economic suffering and social disorder, as the new industrialism transformed English Society. Shelley's readers lived in hopeful, but also disturbingly turbulent times, and that is what we witness and most evident in the novel.

• The story is foretold through the medium of letters which Captain Robert Walter writes to his cousin Seville living in England. It is through the letters that we know the locations and the intentions of the captain. Later the letters also reveal the story of Victor Frankenstein and that of growing friendship /Fondness between Captain Robert Walter and Victor and eventually his death.
• Mary Shelley's use of language in chapters shifts the novel from a hypothesis without consequences to that of a reality without full control or understanding with very real consequences. Shelley's words become intensely descriptive, in order to provoke contemplation on the part of the reader. She creates a setting that both captivates and horrifies the reader by revealing that Frankenstein seems to have lost all sense of reason, driven only by his compulsion regardless of the consequences. Shelley firsts describes the monster in detail for the reader so that when she reveals Victor's description, his words are so confusing...'beautiful yet repulsive' they force the reader to question his true intentions. Quotes
• "...partially unveiled the face of Nature, but her immortal lineaments were still a wonder and a mystery." (pg. 25) In this passage, Shelley gives nature a gender and physical attributes to something not human. This is an example of personification, a tool used to by authors to make something inanimate more lifelike and expressive. Calling nature a "her" and then using the word lineaments (a word meaning 'one of the outlines, exterior features, or distinctive marks of a body or figure, particularly of the face') makes the idea of nature come alive and give Frankenstein more ability to be intimate with the idea of nature. • Victor implores Walton not to follow his example, warning, "Learn from me... how dangerous is the acquirement of knowledge, and how much happier that man is who believes his native town to be the world, than he who aspires to become greater than his nature will allow." Here, Shelley seems to argue that ignorance is bliss.
• Frankenstein reveals, "I was seized by remorse and the sense of guilt, which hurried me away to a hell of intense tortures, such as no language can describe." This theme of self-loathing remains throughout the rest of the book.
• Victor laments, "William, Justine, and Henry-they all died by my hands." Frankenstein is very earnest in his belief that he is the cause of their deaths, and he is even more horrified by the thought that they won't be the last victims of his poor judgment. Personifications and Symbols • Light Light symbolizes enlightenment in Frankenstein. Walton expects to find the secrets of the universe unveiled in the North Pole, which he describes as "a country of eternal light." Light also accompanies nearly all of Victor's epiphanies. When he first discovers natural philosophy, he says, "A new light seemed to dawn upon my mind." When he discovers the secret to creating life, he describes his feelings as if "a sudden light broke in upon me." He envisions pouring a "torrent of light into our dark world" through the creation of a new species. Yet light that's too bright is also blinding, and both Victor and Walton fail to see or consider the dangerous consequences of their quests for enlightenment.

• Fire The complete title of Shelley's novel is Frankenstein, Or the Modern Prometheus. Prometheus was the titan who, in Greek mythology, gave the knowledge of fire to humanity and then suffered severe punishment at the hands of the Gods for his generous actions. In Frankenstein, VICTOR attempts to give the gift of the secret of life to humanity, but ends up suffering grave punishment as a result: the MONSTER he creates destroys his family and his life. Fire appears throughout the novel as a dangerous force used for sustenance (as when the monster discovers fire) and punishment (as when the monster describes demons suffering in the lake of fire in hell).
• The Primary tension in the novel is between Frankenstein and his monster, a 'doubling' of the creature and his creator, which suggests that monstrosity and 'normalcy' may not be the binary opposites that they appear to be. Put differently, the story can be said to be about the 'making' of a monster, both literally, in Frankenstein's laboratory, and metaphorically, through social process. • Themes of the novel Search for love: This theme reflects a strong theme in Shelley's own life. The monster knows he is horrid and will never be loved, although he attempts to find love several times. He is constantly rejected and disappointed. Frankenstein, he, searches for happiness through love, but he meets with tragic loss of several loves. Tragic, weak women: Frankenstein actually begins to make a second female monster, to provide companionship for his own first creation, but he then destoys it and dumps the remains in a lake. Frankenstein's wife dies tragically, as does the accused Justine.

Summary Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus is the most famous novel by Mary Shelley, wife of the poet Percy Shelley. It has been done considerable damage thanks to its innovation and its author's audacity in confronting issues of such a controversial nature as artificially creating life in the early nineteenth century. The novel was immediately enormously successful, spawning a stage production that made Frankenstein's creation - the so-called 'monster' - mute for the first but not only time. The novel was published initially in 1818 although later versions exist in which the author succumbed to pressures to tone down certain elements. This is the more polished 1831 edition, which is the most common edition of the text. The original is a masterpiece of Gothic literature however. It is narrated by an explorer, Walton, who writes the story in letters home. However, the bulk of the story is told by Victor Frankenstein who narrates his own creation of a man from bones he has stolen and with the power of electricity. In the centre of the concentric circles of narrative is the creature himself, by far the most sympathetic of the narrators, who is forced by an unsympathetic world to acts of violence and cruelty and finally the murder of Frankenstein's wife when the 'father' refuses to create a companion for the creature. The novel's settings of Swiss mountains and Arctic desolation are perfect for Mary Shelley's tale that was originally conceived abroad in the wet summer of 1816 with Byron and her husband in a night telling ghost stories. None of the narrators are wholly to be trusted or liked, but each learns from the others and their mental torment is mimicked in the 'sublime' or rugged and vast landscapes Shelley describes so vividly.




Shruti Chhabra, is a English Literature major and psot graduate in journalism. I am a freelancer and can be reached on shrutiash@gmail.com.

Monday 17 October 2011

Ulysses in Exile

Leopold Bloom the mythical, religious, historical, and local exilic figure of Ulysses raises quite a lot of sympathy and compassion in his readers. He could be regarded as a modern "Odysseus", walking through Dublin streets, questing for various things; a quest for his hybrid identity, a quest for knowledge of himself, a quest for a deeper discovery of what has been left behind and what is he confronting now, particularly of his family affairs. In this article, the purpose is to study Bloom's life to find out in what ways he is considered an exile in Dublin. To what extent his physical and/or spiritual exile is the result of his intellectual representations. Joyce created his fictional "Everyman", or as some critics may call him an "extraordinary ordinary man", Leopold Bloom in parallel to its classical equal, Homer's Odysseus. Based on Sherry Bloom's wandering and roving "not only resemble the adventures of Odysseus (Ulysses), but also recalls the destination and promise of that homeward voyage; the Greek hero's desired reunion with son and wife" (2). The central parallel to Homer is the fact the Molly Bloom is also being courted by a lover, energetic and lively Blazes Boylan a fellow singer of Molly. The only and of course major difference is that Penelope of classic Ulysses retained her loyalty toward Homer's Odysseus, while Molly did not, apparently. This fact in Blade's words takes Bloom "on an Odyssey around Dublin while at the same time he is prevented from returning home in case he intrudes on Molly and Blazes Boylan" (114).

Exile of the Wandering Jew

And I belong to a race too, says Bloom that is hated and persecuted. Also now. This very moment. This very instant. (U 31).

Leopold Bloom as an ad-canvasser Irish Jew whose main activity is to walk around Dublin, - even the nature of his job requires this walking, - could be considered an historical Jew traitor in the intensely catholic environment of Dublin. He is an outsider, a foreigner quintessentially, in his home, in his city and among his friends. Notice a short conversation that takes place in Bloom's absence: "is he a Jew or a gentile or a holy Roman or a swaddle or what the hell is he? Says Ned" (335-6). And the answer is like this: "he's a perverted Jew, says Martin, from a place in Hungary and it was he drew up all the plans according to the Hungarian system" (U 335-6). Ulysses, according to Cawelti, examines many aspects of exile. One of its protagonists Stephen Dedalus has flied to Paris to break away from the repressive forces of his motherland to enliven his artistic soul. The other protagonist Leopold Bloom, an Irish Jew is in many ways an exile in his own country. In the modern Ireland of Joyce's time, Bloom bears in himself some features of both Irish and Hebrew races. He could be considered a "product of Diaspora who has metaphorically wandered far from his Palestinian homeland" (Cawelti 43). In the surrealistic chapter of "night town", Bloom in a king's costume promises his folks to build a new Jerusalem, a new homeland, a kind of utopian- like country in which according to Bloom's intellectual part men and women are equal and free from injustice. Besides, like old father Abraham, he has been called upon to sacrifice his only son, Rudy. In this case, of course, the sacrifice was unwilling and the child was not spared; no angle appeared with good tidings of saving. Bloom, sonless and sorrowful, wanders the earth without any hope of return to home. He has forgotten the key to his own house.

Actual Exiled Bloom

What composite asymmetrical image in the mirror then attracted his attention? The image of a solitary (ipsorelative) mutable (aliorelative) man. Why solitary (ipsorelative)? Brothers and sisters had he none. Yet That man's father was his grandfather'sson. Why mutable (aliorelative)? From infancy to maturity he had resembled his maternal procreatix. From maturity to senility he would increasingly resemble his paternal creator. (U 628-9)

Leopold Bloom, an island in himself, is definitely aware of the fact that he is an outcast at his home. This is obvious in his stream of thoughts and emotions. Bloom as a modern Odysseus is far from his home and from his family members. His father has committed suicide; his only eleven-day son has died years ago; his fifteen year old daughter, Milly, seems to be on a business affair out of Dublin, sending letters home, while she is going to have a date with Alec Bannon. Above all, his wife Molly is going to meet her lover at 4 P.M. June 16, 1904. All of these force Bloom to become farther from home, both physically and mentally. After his only baby son, Rudy, died Bloom remains in his desperate loneliness. He thinks with himself "if little Rudy had lived. See him grow up. Hear his voice in the house. Walking beside Molly in an Eton suit. My son. Me in his eyes. Strange feeling it would be. From me. Just a chance" (U 90). His hope of having a son has been short and abrupt, just like the stream of sentences of the previous passage. Bloom not only is conscious of his lonely state, but it seems that he does not try to change his condition and come out of this state. This is evident in the fact that he and Molly could not have a sexual relationship after the son's death, apparently due to Bloom's discontentment. Nevertheless, when he becomes aware of Molly's tryst with Boylan, he retreats more into himself in depression. He decides not to go back home, because he thinks that there is not a home any more and "all is lost now" (U 271). A faithless wife first brought strangers to our shore . . . . A woman too brought Parnell low" (U 40), he thinks sorrowfully. Alternatively, in another passage he reveals his sense of loneliness more, as this: " . . . went Bloom, soft Bloom, I feel so lonely Bloom" (U 285). He repeatedly emphasizes his solitary condition caused perhaps by a faithless wife, a dead son, a heedless daughter. "I feel so lonely . . . too dear, too near to home, sweet home" (U 289). Therefore, Leopold Bloom the melancholy outcast figure of Ulysses according to Henderson "begins thus by exile; the exile of his body offers a striking example of the exile of his heart" (117).His imagination is obsessed with the thought of building a new home; what he has been far from for a long time. He intensely wishes a true domestic life. He tries to think of a name for that imaginary home, "What might be the name of this eligible or elected residence? Bloom Cottage. Saint Leopold's flower villa" (U 635). He is lonely in building and choosing a name for his imaginary house. Edward Said in Reflections on Exile and Other Essays also asserts on the sadness associated with the loss of love and home simultaneously. He believes "what is true of all exile is not that home and love of home are lost, but that loss is inherent in the very existence of both!" (185). Bloom's love and home have been lost together.

Up to this point Mr. Bloom's actual and physical exile from his home and family was studied. However and yet, he is actually exiled in another possible way as well. He is an Irish Jew, with a Hungarian origin. Nationally speaking, both Bloom and his father are considered foreigners in Ireland. Furthermore, Leopold Bloom does not have any brothers or sisters or any relatives in Dublin. His family name is also a barrowed one. Bloom's original family name has been Virag, meaning flower in Hungarian language. He changed Virag to Bloom after his father's derogatory suicide. Accordingly, even the Dubliner dentist's namesake is an accident. This is what Bloom's friends discovered long ago. All of them seem to be aware of Bloom's dislocation and loneliness. "And after all, says John Wyse, why can't a Jew love his country like the next fellow? Why not? Says J.J., when he's quite sure which country it is" (U 335). As evident from this short dialogue and many other similar examples in Ulysses, the other and seemingly very important factor in alienating Bloom is that he is a Jew; a Jew in the fervent Catholic environment of Dublin. Although, Bloom has converted to Catholicism in order to marry Molly and then he has experienced some time of being protestant, he is still known and treated as a Jew. Bloom also still considers himself a Jewish Dubliner. For example, this could be perceived in his expectation for a male heir to become the redeemer of Jewish race, or in his surrealistic desire to build a new "Bloomusalem" (459). Bloom's double multi-layer strangeness as a Jew and a Hungarian in Ireland is intensified by the fact that Dublin itself is an occupied city, a colony whose identity is indeterminate. Therefore, based on the colonial theory all the citizens' identity is under question; nothing is stable. Enda Duffy, in Semicolonial Joyce, extends this sense of alienation to all of the Dublin citizens. Duffy believes:

Dublin in Ulysses is a place without any center of viable political power and hence ( as no real alternative sites of contestation are suggested in the novel) without any real possibility that the city could exist as the site of viable community. In this light Bloom's self cultivated marginality is a normalizing, rather than an othering strategy: his ostracized solitariness is the condition of every citizen in the city. (Duffy 49)

Consequently, considering Duffy's opinion one could attribute this exilic state in Dublin to all of the Dubliners living in their hometown, but under a foreigner's power and domination. Bloom ,who could be considered an "Everyman" representing all the exilic features in Joyce's mind, is treated coldly and is ignored repeatedly wherever he goes. For instance, in chapter 7, entering in the newspaper office he is ignored, mocked and rebuffed. Again, Based on Duffy who asserts on the public exile and marginality of all Dubliners:

Just as Bloom is on the margins of the newspaper office and of every group he encounters from the funeral mourners to the men carousing in the brothel, so too are the members of those groups themselves on the margins of any presumed centers of power-hangers-... (Duffy 49)

Thus, Joyce projects his sense of alienation, and all the Dubliners' sense of estrangement in Bloom's dislocation and loneliness in his hometown. To close this part notice Blades view about Bloom's alienation that in fact "the central chapters of the novel emphasizes this impression of his alienation amidst the teeming life of the city" (140).

Metaphoric Exiled BloomIs he a Jew or a Gentile or a Holy Roman or a swaddler or what the hell is he? Says Ned. (U 335)

Leopold Bloom is almost by definition an exile, both physically and spiritually. The reason, which intensifies his alienation both physically and, of course symbolically, as mentioned before is his Jewish origin. This origin does not offer any kind of support, but imposes him to a whirlwind of cruel insults. According to Jewish beliefs, Jewish people are promised to receive justice and they should be waiting for a savior, a redeemer who comes and establishes justice everywhere. Evidently, Bloom cannot observe any real justice, equality, love, and brotherhood around him in whatever religion he once believed. When he confronts a young blind man, he thinks with himself: "poor fellow. Quite a boy. Terrible. Really terrible. What dreams would he have, not seeing? Life a dream for him. Where is the justice being born that way?" (U 182). Bloom seems to blame the whole system of justice and creation. He cannot find any peace of soul in God's promise of justice and unlimited love. This he might have noticed when his baby son died very soon. As a Jew, he is waiting for a redeemer. Nevertheless, even his very hope of having a son, whom he expects so compassionately, vanishes very soon within eleven days. In addition to these, his fatherlands, both Hungary and Israel are far fetched and a foreigner force occupies his motherland. Therefore, his symbolic and spiritual exile and alienation is intensified in the shadow of his homelessness. Bloom is someone with the touch of the artist and intellectuality who according to Levine is obviously an "odd man out in Dublin" (123). Levine summarizes some reasons why Bloom is an outcast in Dublin as this:

Bloom is odd man out in Dublin: he does not drink; he does not buy drinks for others; he does not bet (though he is suspected of doing so); he is a Jew (and doubly alien from his Jewishness, for he has chosen to become both catholic and protestant). (Levine 123)

Bloom's loneliness and sorrowful life at his home is what Edward Said considers as one of the "saddest fates" (47). Said believes that in "premodern" times exile was particularly a "dreadful punishment", because the exiles should be far away from family and familiar places. However, Said in Representations Of The Intellectual declares exile also means to be a sort of "outcast, someone who never felt at home, and was always at odds with the environment, inconsolable about the past, bitter about the present and the future" (47). This passage explains Bloom's state of exile clearly.

Intellectual Exile of Bloom

I stand for the reform of municipal morals and the plain Ten Commandments. New worlds for old union of Jew, Moslem and Gentile. Three acres and a cow for all children of nature. Saloon motor hearses. Compulsory manual labor for all. All parks open to the public day and night. Electric dishcrubbers, tuberculosis, lunacy, war and mendicancy must now cease. General amnesty and weekly carnival with masked license, bonuses for all, Esperanto the universal brotherhood. No more patriotism of bar spongers and dropsically imposters. Free money, free love, and free lay church in a free lay state (U 462).

The previous passage taken from the surrealistic chapter of night town might reveal the fact that Bloom is a real difference in Dublin and among his friends. Here, in a dream, Bloom in a king's costume is promising his subjects of an ideal and perfect life, of something he himself desires to have, but does not have now. He is a sensitive and careful person among the other Dublin people who perceives injustice, poverty, racism, violence and cruelty. In his dreaming, he seems to be in search of building a utopia. Such utopian desires belong to those who are aware of the incongruities of the society they live in. As Sherry states, this passage "in the context of Bloom's character and the concern he professes here for men and women, that mannerism is also an intellectual marker" (53). The fact that he considers men and also women is noticeable in words of a seemingly ordinary man of Dublin, someone of such a simple family, education, and occupation record.. Based on Gramsci quoted in Said "all men are intellectuals . . ., but not all men have in society the function of intellectual" (3). According to the first part of Gramsci's quotation Leopold Bloom could be an intellectual even if he does not have the function of what we have in mind of intellectuals' role. However, regarding this definition by Gramsci and of course Bloom's lonely state and alienation, both physical and symbolic, in Dublin Said's own point of view about who could be called intellectuals is also applicable to Bloom. Said in his book Representations of the Intellectual states that primarily, intellectuals are among those who could be called "nay-Sayers", the nonconformists, especially to the social norms and to what is imposed on people by power institutions. They are, according to Said, those who "raise embarrassing questions" in public and confront "orthodoxy and dogma" (11). Furthermore, in the introduction to the same book he declares that intellectuals try to "break down stereotypes and reductive categories", because they believe that such stereotypes tend to be very "limiting to human thought and communication." Actually, they should be among those who question "patriotic nationalism, corporate thinking and a sense of class, racial or gender privilege." This is what could be noticed in Leopold Bloom's manners clearly and would be discussed more in the following paragraphs. Therefore, regarding these features an intellectual's voice and position in the society he lives tends to be a lonely one. He might be treated as an outsider, as someone who questions authoritarian states and dares to speak "truth to power." Thus, an intellectual could be an exile at home, at his native culture and among his citizens. This is what Said explains as follows, "exile is the condition that characterizes the intellectual as someone who stands as a marginal figure outside the comforts of privilege of power and being-at-homeness . . ." (11). Finally, the other significant feature about the intellectuals in exile is that they have the ability to see both aspects of things. They do not take events as granted and ordinary. They have the ability to stand away from events and analyze them, then to infer what caused things to be that way. Considering all of these features, Bloom's character might represent some intellectual signs. For instance, to take into consideration the opening passage of this part, he is in favor of equality, justice, and prosperity for all the people, whether men or women from any race, culture, or language. The fact that Bloom represents some intellectual signs is obvious in reference to some of his actions; initially in his family life and in his relationship with Molly. After having her tryst with Boylan, Molly reviews the events of that evening and compares Boylan's behaviors with Bloom's. She confesses that Bloom is a more considerate and polite man. In her soliloquy, Molly reveals why she has been attracted to Bloom and why she is still attracted to him. According to Blades Molly "could see that he 'understood' or 'felt' what a woman is. And this confirms an idea that has been current through the whole novel: Mr. Bloom's knack of seeing the other person's point of view" (120). The fact mentioned above, that is considering the other person's idea and will, seems to be a very democratic sign. Thus far, Bloom in contrast to the Citizen or Stephen's principal at school, is the person who understands each person has the right to speak for him or herself. In his view, no one has any privileges over others, as he stands for the "union of all, Jews, Moslem, and gentile" (462). He professes for love, mutual love and understanding that is what should really construct human societies other than hatred and pious racism. He is the person who "helps the blind man kindly" (U 182). Some of his friends also declare that Bloom is the "decent quiet man" (U 177) and "he's a safe man" (U 178). For Bloom, the major theme of life is love. Love is the deriving force for him. He shows love and affection toward every living creature. For instance, the kind-hearted Bloom buys apples and throws it for "poor birds" (U 152). He is aware of the miserable life of the Dedalus. Their mother, the center of love and loving is gone. He feels sorry for the Dedalus' daughters and is concerned about Stephen, too. He thinks with himself that "home always breaks up when the mother goes" (U 152). As clear, he does not limit love and affections to his own family; the love and concern toward his dead son, the teenage daughter and the aging beloved, whom he still regards with respect, in spite of her unfaithfulness, extends to other creatures around him. In his argument with the racist Citizen he declares, "force, hatred, history, all that. That's not life for men and women, insult and hatred. And everybody knows that it's the very opposite of that that is really life" (U 331). By the opposite of hatred, he means love. He believes everybody should know that to love is to live. Consequently, he believes putting force against force does not work, either. The important factor in Bloom's consideration of love is that based on Sherry "no less important that the message is the form of utterance; negating the contrary, Bloom shows his own habitus, his ingrained tendency to see the two sides of an issue" (53). Regarding this concern of Bloom, to love everybody, from any religious, nationality, and political background which logically should result in peace and safety, Blades states "however, in terms of Mr. Bloom's character, 'love' is an extension of the many positive values which he embodies in the novel: tolerance, equanimity, compassion, charity, and sensitivity among them"(117). The other feature distinguished in Bloom as mentioned in Blades too is Bloom's tolerance. In the function of an intellectual who stands against repressing power, Bloom also stands for union of people of any race. He does not believe that any religion, nation, or race has superiority over any other particular kind. These are his own words to express his belief that violence reaches nowhere. Hatred and enmity for him are just a kind of absurdity. He says to Citizen:

It's all very fine to boast of mutual superiority but what about mutual equality? I resent violence and intolerance in any shape or form. It never reaches anything or stops anything. A revolution must come on the due installments plan. It's patent absurdity on the face of it to hate people because they live round the corner and speak another vernacular, so tospeak. (U 564)

Here, Bloom defends himself, and the people like him, from the guilt of being born a Jew or in fact the guilt of being the other. He definitely believes that being a Jew, a Moslem, or a gentile should not be considered a fault or privilege of any kind. Therefore, as clear in Bloom's definition of nation, the possibility of removing all the boundaries between the nations is what he is looking for, regardless of his feeling of dislocation and diasporic racial fate. Bloom believes "a nation is the same people living in the same place . . . Or also living in different places" (329). As it may be inferred here, Bloom dares to question the traditional definition of what a nation is. Although, the Irish citizens are reluctant to accept him as an Irish man, because of his Hungarian as well as his Jewish background, Bloom considers himself an Irish citizen because "I was born here. Ireland" (329). Cullingford in an article included in Semicolonial Joyce also indicates Bloom's skeptical view about the "politics of natural boundaries." In Cullingford's view, Bloom's definition of nation is an "elastic approach to geography dictated by his diasporic Judaism" (224). Leopold Bloom, Joyce's mild-hearted, considerate protagonist, not only stands for a united nation, other than the nations made through boundaries, he severely is against racism of any kind. Considering the one-eyed racist, Cyclops/Citizen, and the other Catholic Irishmen who assume more power and authority for themselves than for Bloom (and the people similar to him), Leopold Bloom seems to confront these unchosen authoritarian representatives. He is not frightened to express his open-minded ideas about nation, the notion of nationalism, and resentment of violence toward men and women. He tries to "speak truth to power" from his weak position among Dubliners. Blades in his book How to Study James Joyce believes that:

A more cautious fellow might have kept his head down. He is a handy target for their anger, a scapegoat, particularly as he insists on affirming his Jewish origin in the same breath that he asserts his Irishness, a combination which seems to be an anathema to his listeners. (Blades 116)

In spite of his poor family and educational background, Bloom seems to maintain his individuality. He does not confirm to socially accepted rules easily. This is one of the intellectuals' representations according to Edward Said. On the other hand, Bloom seeks to gain knowledge of many things. As obvious from his wife and his friends' behavior, they refer to him as a site of knowledge and information at times. Molly refers to him when, for example, she has trouble finding out some words' meaning. McCoy a Dublin acquaintance of Bloom tells, once when he was with Bloom, Bloom "bought a book from an old one in Liffey Street for two bob. There were fine plates in it worth double the money. The stars, and the moon and comets with long tails. Astronomy it was about" (U 233). Therefore, Bloom, even, from his seemingly poor situation is in search of knowledge and is not frightened to share his bright ideas with his society members. He could be a representative of the intellectual among his lower than average circle of friends. That is what imposes him to violent attacks and insults from his friends, or better to call them his Dublin citizens. Some critics, such as, Joseph Valente in an article included in Semicolonial Joyce believe that the group's attack on Bloom, insulting and belittling him, is actually a reflection of what has happened to them as the occupied, Irish colonized people. Valente believes that this attack on Bloom "clearly acts to displace the trauma of their own undecidable social inscription in the interstice of colony and metrople" (122). Here, Dublin functions as "no place" and at once the "capital of Ireland, the center of English pale and the seat of colonial government" (122). Therefore, Dubliners might be considered as no man, embodied particularly in Bloom. To take what has been mentioned up to now into consideration, some intellectual features could be attributed to Bloom's character and behaviors; including the fact that he resents any kind of gender, race, or national privileges. This is in addition to the fact that he questions some traditional and socially accepted boundaries and tries to stand against authorial sites, in spite of his somehow fragile position. Besides, Bloom retains his individuality in a colonial-stricken society of heated mass opinions, struggling to "speak truth to power" on his side. To consider Gramsci's definition of intellectuals, mentioned in Said that all men could be intellectual, but some of them have the role of an intellectual (4), Bloom also could be considered an intellectual, in spite of his vulnerable position. He is an intellectual generally speaking and therefore, an exile at his home, exiled from his own tradition and culture. This exilic state leads to his lonely and dislocated domestic exile of the intellectual. Alienating himself more from his spousal and social life might sooth the pain of seeing both aspects of things. He chooses exile to escape and stand away from the situation he does not like and cannot change seemingly. In an encounter and a kind of eye flirtation that Bloom has with a young girl on a Dublin coast, Joyce reads the girl's mind, who is observing Bloom with great care. She observes Bloom closely:

His eyes burned into her as though they would search her through and through, read her very soul. Wonderful eyes they were, superbly expressive, but could you trust them? People were so queer. She could see at once by his dark eyes and his pale intellectual face that he was a foreigner. He was in deep mourning, she could see that, and the story of a haunting sorrow was written on his face. (U 355)

Bloom's visual image is also indicative of his lonely soul, his Jewish wandering, and his sorrowful thoughts. Bloom the intellectual exile at home, according to Said in Representations of the Intellectual, is "skeptical about the present and future, and bitter about past" (47). Leopold Bloom incarnates the individual figure, dislocated and alienated in his own country and culture, a kind of hybrid creature of colonial modern world who is skeptical of all the established religions, political, and national boundaries struggling to speak to power institutions from his vulnerable position. All of these different features collected in one person have been possible through Joyce's rich allegorical, symbolic, and of course realistic observation of man.

Leopold Bloom the wandering Jew roaming in Dublin streets proves to be an essentially exilic figure. His exile is both physical and spiritual. He is an actual exile in that he is isolated from his home and his family and he feels he has no home to return. At a deeper level, he is an exile from Hungary, where his father comes from originally, and symbolically speaking from Jerusalem, where the Jews always dream of. Meanwhile, some critics believe that it is his spiritual exile that leads him to leave the actual idea of home. He is a spiritual exile, because he is alienated and isolated among his native culture at his hometown. Besides, he retains some intellectual features, such as, his clever definition of nation, or his fervent belief in equality of all people from all races and religions. This is in addition to his struggle to resist against authoritative sites of power and oppression like church. His several conversions might represent his spiritual perplexity and his rejection of different religious authorities. Dubliners attack on this marginal figure might express the entire Dubliners marginalized situation in the colonial Dublin, under the colonizer's gaze.




Works Cited

Attridge, Derek, ed. Cambridge Companion to James Joyce .Cambridge:

---Cambridge University Press, 1990. -. Semicolonial Joyce. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000. Cullingford, Elizabeth Butler. "Phoenician Genealogies and Oriental Geographies:

---"Joyce, Language, and race." Semicolonial Joyce. Ed, Derek Attridge. Cambridge:

Cambridge University Press, 2000. 219-239.

Duffy, Edna. "Disappearing Dublin: Ulysses, Postcoloniality, and the Politics Of

Space." Semicolonial Joyce. Ed. Derek Attridge .Cambridge: Cambridge

University Press, 2000. 37-57.

James, Joyce. Ulysses with a Short History by Richard Ellman .London: Penguin Books,1969 .

Said, Edward. Representations of the Intellectual. New York: Pantheon Books, 1994.

Sherry, Vincent. James Joyce: Ulysses .Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004.

Sunday 16 October 2011

Tap The Supernatural World

Blast Your Way To The Top and Tap the Supernatural.

That's right, it's time to Get It On!

And, "get it on" you will, with Super Power. In fact when people find out how you are doing it, you will probably get arrested. No, just kidding.

I mean getting things done for you, or achieved for you, that are way beyond your "holy smoke little old comfort zone". What I am telling you is certainly not new. Not by a long shot. Buddha and Jesus were telling people about belief power many many years ago. Just tap the supernatural.

Marcus Borg, in his book-Jesus and Buddha, The Parallel Sayings, points out the power of Belief. Jesus said, "Truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, "Move and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you." Matthew 17.20.

"A monk who is skilled in concentration can cut the Himalayas in two." Buddha-Anguttara Nikaya 6.24

Take your pick of the two examples above. Both Belief systems get the same identical results.

Does dealing in the Supernatural like this scare the pants off you?

It does to a lot of people. My answer to that is simple, "How bad do you want it?" Are you in conflict with your comfort zone and your self-image? Too bad for you if you don't know what to do about it.

Not strong

Evidently your "desire" for your goal isn't strong enough. Your so called desire or goal is really just a "wish". In another words, you desire for something is not important enough, or Strong enough to make things happen! In the pragmatic world, the rule of thumb is, "If it works, use it". Just tap the supernatural.

If it scares the pants off you to use a Belief System that borders on the Supernatural, give this some thought.

Man's wisdom and knowledge has grown quite a bit since several thousand years ago. And, so has man's comprehension of his human potential. The Mystics, Yogas, and the Prophets of the World Religions have a lot to say about mastering your world and yourself. The problem most of us in the 21st Century is language and semantics.

It's very difficult to "understand" exactly what these Giants of Spirituality were talking about. On the other hand, as time progresses, and science uncovers more secrets of our Universe, everything slowly becomes a little more clear or insightful.

For example, lets take the two words like belief and prayer. Typically, people think of some one on their knees praying. This is ok, but it's not the only way. Praying really is a state of mind or belief, or perspective. So tap the Supernatural.

Praying can be running, washing the dishes, and how about making love? It can be all of these things. What you are doing is making contact with a power or energy source.

This shift of perspective is what makes miracles happen.

It's what will make miracles happen in your life! Instead of getting all uptight and worried when you face, difficulties, relax and know you will find a way to "handle it or overcome and be victorious".

Leave the chewed off fingernails and stomach ulcers for the Fear Mongers. You really have too much going for you. The problem is, you probably don't realize it or how to tap the supernatural.

Speaking of Power Source, have you heard of Dark Energy and Dark Matter? Dark Energy
Most of the Universe consists of Dark Energy and Dark Matter, like 95%. Most important ly, the science community doesn't have a clue what it is.

The point being, as times progresses, and mankind gets a handle on all of this mysterious stuff, there will be Big Changes coming for everybody. Once we understand these mysteries, then, we can exploit them. Yeah, use them for the betterment of mankind. Flying saucer anyone? How about "time" machines. Maybe, out of body travel? Who Knows? Refer to your science fiction comic books for a realistic view of your future.

BACK TO THIS MOMENT

In summary, you can access yourself to very powerful "make it happen" techniques such as using the Power of Prayer; regardless of the form you use or belief system. Just tap the supernatural.

Additionally, you can emulate our Super Star Olympian athletes, who utilize the Visualization process for startling results. Why not? You want to jump, run, box or just plain kick butt? Use Visualization like the big time boys and girls do in the world of super competitive athletics.

How do you think Jack Dempsey and Joe Louis knocked so many opponents during their illustrious Prize Fighting careers? They both were ardent users of visualization. I kid you not. They ran movies in their minds with all of the excitement and conviction that Reality can bring.

I personally used the "movie in the mind" technique when I was a real estate salesman in Chicago, Illinois.

I was working for one of the premium national homebuilders. Yes, and I sold homes like they were going out of style.

I was their top selling salesman for five years. The other salespeople thought I was doing a dance with the "Quick and the Dead". I kid you not. I never had so much fun in my life.

The technique is fun and simple.

You just visualize yourself doing whatever you want to achieve. BUT, BE SURE AND DO IT WITH LOTS OF EMOTION AND EXCITEMENT. YOU HAVE TO FEEL IT HAPPENING RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOUR EYES. If you don't do this, you're wasting your time trying to tap the supernatural.

I hope you get the gist of this article. It's time to quite sitting in the bleachers of life and jump into the Arena were things are going hot and heavy. Can't you smell and taste it...the Excitement of kicking butt and making things happen? Don't let some mere "words or definitions" about what makes things work big time, hold you back.

I mean, you can call it prayer, concentration, or visualization or whatever, but do your self a favor, big time, start "working it" and start "calling on it". Then, just look around, a see the differences shaping up in your life. Just tap the supernatural.

You owe it to yourself

Besides, don't you really owe it to yourself? Get a little "action" that all of the movers and shakers are having! It's time for you to be the star magician of your own magic show. It's time to put some real magic into your own life.




Jack Marinchek is the publisher of the site, [http://standgreat.blogspot.com/], which features- inspirational information on life improvement, getting jobs and income, travel, and real estate relocation.

Saturday 15 October 2011

Dioses de los griegos (03/03)

Dioses de los griegos (documental - documentary) Ir a la primera parte: es.youtube.com

Friday 14 October 2011

Clash of the Gods Medusa 1



Thursday 13 October 2011

Rome: Total War - Greek Camapign - Chapter 2 - Part 9

Rome: Total War - Greek Camapign - Chapter 2 - Part 9 Chapter: Strike First Year: 260 BC Antigonos of Sparta prepares for a testing battle. Remarkably, the enemy seem content on death, as they line up against the walls as the Greek warriors emerge. The enemy soon pounces upon the vulnerable troops at the gate in a cunning charge. However, with all the enemy in one place, there is the chance that a mass rout can occur if the units mopve at the right time. The first Greek unit disintegrates amongst the Macedonian horde, but they managed to kill a respectable amount of foes. The next unit forms and draws up paralell to the adjacent phlanx unit. Another unit pulls up behind the Greek Hoplites as flank protection. The Macedon menace draws weaker against the walls due to the missile fire from the wall turrets. At the gates, an overlapped flank attack occurs. Macedons flank the first Greek unit, and another Greek unit flanks them. Whoever wins the battle is any Gods guess. Constant flanking charges prove to waver the Hoplites of Greece, and the notoriously vulnerable Macedon Lancers rout easily. Antigonos orders a reformation of the Greek lines, as more Mecdons approach, and it proves do or die as at the same time the already engaging Macedons move around aswell. Halfway into the conflict things look to be going badly for Antigonos. Outnumbered but not outgunned. The Macedons had already suffered heavy missle losses, and they were beginning to waver. The Grecian lines held firm ...

Wednesday 12 October 2011

Sport Psychology Excerpts

Every smart coach I've known, if he has to choose between an athlete who lacks a great mindset and an athlete of lesser physical gifts but whose mind is ready to maximize his potential, will pick the confident player.

A player who can win the inner battle knows how to win. He knows his game will hold up under pressure--the most crucial element of a clutch performer, of someone who will carry his team to championships. Players who spend all their time on the physical game only know how to block, run, lift, shoot, or swing. There are a lot of athletes who know how to do those things. Only a few really know how to win.

Quantity versus quality is like trying to dig a hole with a thimble. Yes, you're working hard, but you're going to get beat by someone with a shovel. Give athletes great coaches and someone to teach them about maximizing performance and you're giving them a shovel.

In this age of videotape, media coverage, and slow motion instant replay, our attention is drawn to the visible aspects of performance. Sports analysts go on ad nauseam about the skills a dominating athlete displays rather than commenting on the preparation they put in behind the scenes to make those skills soar. Why? Because mental preparation is not glamorous or easy to videotape. But it's what got them on top in the first place.

Study after study shows that physical size and IQ are not nearly as helpful in predicting success as are accurate measures of confidence and attitude. People who have a great mindset tend to succeed. People who haven't yet learned a great mindset tend to fail. Yet most teams don't train their players in confidence, or don't devote nearly as much time and effort to it as they do to teaching something like passing skills. That's because passing skills are tangible and measurable. Confidence happens to be neither. It also happens to be more important.

There are no guarantees. If there were--if every time you thought great, you succeeded--everyone would be thinking like a world champion. What people fail to realize is that the converse is almost always true. Every time your thinking falters, you will likely come up short of your potential. Athletes with the edge understand this, and want to work hard to ensure their mind is always where it needs to be. It doesn't guarantee success, but it does set the table with the best possible chance. And that's what they're after. That's what separates them from the pack.

Peak performance is often a matter of small graduations--a few millimeters here or there, a few seconds on the clock, just a touch more rhythm or timing. Such is the case with the mental game. Athletes who win, and similarly teams that become dynasties, may think only slightly different from those who don't. They marshal the right thoughts and attitudes on nearly EVERY play, EVERY day. Others admit distractions several times a game. Over a long season, subtle differences become magnified. They add up to have an enormous impact on results.

At the professional level, athletes from team to team are all fairly equal in talent. They all put in the same amount of practice. They all hit the weight room. They all have good coaches to learn from. What generally separates the teams on top is a commitment to excellence. Great thinking is usually the difference between finishing .500 and winning Championships.

Great example: John Daly wins long drive contests everywhere. 375 yards! But he can't seem to win golf tournaments. All that talent adds up to zero with a sub-par mental game. Thank goodness he's not team sport athlete or his team's owner would be getting zippo on a hefty, multi-million dollar investment.

Success in athletics is not a matter of how much you know about the mental game. Lots of people, coaches included, know the principles. It's a question of who applies those principles consistently and who applies them at the right moments. Physicians, for instance, have the best and most expensive education that's available on human wellness. They understand better than anyone how to stay healthy. Yet polls clearly show that their diet, sleep, and exercise efforts are among the poorest of any single occupation in the country. Knowledge isn't much good unless you use it.

The optimal state of mind can be fleeting, maddeningly elusive. It emerges from a confluence of factors, some very subtle. And the factors can vary from athlete to athlete. The optimal state of mind, therefore, is something an athlete must have help with and work on patiently, every day.

An athlete whose attitude enables him to tap a higher percentage of his store of God-given talent can and will beat the one who doesn't know how to maximize what he has. It's man against man--let's find out who can tap everything he's got. That's what sport has always been about, to the time of the legendary Greeks and before. That's what it will always be about.

Being the best in the world means freeing it up and going for it. Obstacles are part of the equation. No one has even become great by sitting on his laurels, or sticking to what worked in the past. Every year in sport, the slate is wiped clean, and the team that keeps moving forward is the team that winds out on top.




JOHN F. ELIOT, PH.D., is an award winning professor of management, psychology, and human performance. He holds faculty appointments at Rice University and the SMU Cox School of Business Leadership Center. He is a co-founder of the Milestone Group, a consulting firm providing training to business executives, professional athletes, physicians, and corporations. Dr. Eliot’s clients have included: SAP, XEROX, Disney, Adidas, the United States Olympic Committee, the National Champion Rice Owl's baseball team, and the Mayo Clinic. Dr. Eliot’s cutting edge work has been featured on ABC, MSNBC, CBS, ESPN, Fox Sports, NPR, and highlighted in the Harvard Business Review, Wall Street Journal, New York Daily News, Entrepreneur, LA Times, the Washington Post, USA Today, and the New York Times. Dr. Eliot serves on numerous advisory boards including the National Center for Human Performance and the Center for Performing Arts Medicine. His latest book is Overachievement: The New Model for Exceptional Performance. For more information, visit Dr. Eliot’s site at http://www.overachievement.com.

Monday 10 October 2011

A Short History of Athens

The history of Athens is virtually the history of Greece, for this immortal city was for centuries the heart of the Hellenic world and the acknowledged leader of its civilization. Though in common with all Greek cities, its origins are too remote to be anything more than a matter for conjecture. The Cyclopean wall that runs round the rock of the Acropolis, the neolithic remains, traces of Bronze Age habitation and a number of pre-Hellenic place-names prove that Athens was occupied by man from the very earliest times.

Athens was perhaps the largest of the independent Attic communities with its king residing on the Acropolis, probably in the palace named after Erechtheus, whose memory is perpetuated in the magnificent temple of the Erechtheion. A tribe of their Ionian kinsmen from Marathon, from whom later generations of Athenians were proud to claim descent, invaded the city and rapidly became predominant. Under the rule of Cecrops, the first known king of Athens, and that of his successors, Pandion, Erechtheus, Aegeus and Theseus, Athens increased in size and importance, slowly absorbing the smaller communities of Attica, until in the reign of Theseus (c. 1300 BC) they were all united under his leadership.

About 1100 BC, the Dorians invaded the Peloponnese and swept all before them; it seemed that no army could withstand them, and Athens was in mortal danger. Its citizens sprang to arms, though with a presentiment of certain defeat in their hearts. It had been prophesied that the Athenians could only ensure victory by the death of their king. King Codrus then decided to sacrifice himself to save his people. Making his way disguised into the Dorian camp he provoked a quarrel in which he was killed. When the invaders discovered that it was Codrus they had slain they despaired of success and retreated; Athens was saved.

Since no one was thought worthy to succeed this heroic king, the monarchy yielded to government by the nobles, who appropriated all power. They chose three archons, or executive officials, from among their ranks to represent the king and share the royal power. This change was affected by the devolution of the military powers of the king to the polemarch, who then became the supreme military commander; the first archon, who later became the chief state official, was the civil governor, while the archon basileus, who was a descendant of Codrus, retained the title of king and had control of the religious rites of the state. Although first hereditary and limited to the royal clan, the tenure of the archonship was later reduced to a period of ten years and all noblemen were eligible for office.

This reform, however, did not satisfy the masses that resented the concentration of all state authority in the hands of the aristocracy and clamored for a written constitution. In 594 BC the nobles bestowed full power to remodel the new state on one of their number, the celebrated Solon, trusted by noblemen and peasant alike. For the first time in the history of the world the people were given a measure of participation in government, the grant of political rights and a constitution. Later the office of archon was made annual and elective and to the existing three offices, military, civil and religious, were added the six thesmothetae whose sole duty was to record judicial decisions. In spite of these concessions discontent was rife, and a number of popular revolts exposed the state to constant danger.

In 546 BC, Peisistratus, a distinguished and daring statesman seized power and made himself dictator. Under his autocratic rule Athens enjoyed great prosperity. He stimulated commerce and industry, and by fostering agriculture laid the basis for the development of Athens' chief export, the olive. Through his vigorous foreign policy, for the first time, Athens emerged as an Aegean Power. Posterity is indebted to this devoted lover of the arts since he ordered the preparation of the first authorized version of Homer's sublime epics, the Iliad and the Odyssey. He also embellished the city with monuments whose splendor was later surpassed only by those of the Golden Age of Pericles.

Peisistratus died in 527 BC. Though a dictator, he had been an enlightened and benevolent ruler. He had cared for the interests of the common man and curbed the power of the nobles; but his sons, especially the elder, Hippias, were brutal tyrants who exercised their power solely in their own interests. They excited the hatred of the Athenians to such a degree that in 514 BC a conspiracy was organized and the leaders, two patricians, Harmodios and Aristogeiton, killed the younger brother, Hipparchus. Hippias was driven into exile and the civic liberties of the state were restored.

The resounding victories over the Persians at Marathon, in 490 BC, and particularly the glorious Battle of Salamis, in 480 BC, in which Themistocles proved himself a naval commander of genius, laid the foundations of Athenian supremacy over the Hellenic city-states. A statesman of uncommon foresight, Themistocles added diplomatic triumphs to his victories. By protracting the parleys with Sparta he gained the time necessary to complete the rebuilding of the city's fortifications, which had been destroyed by the Persians during their second invasion.

Themistocles' policies were continued by his successor, Cimon. Athenian domination over the states of Asia Minor was consolidated and no enemy ship now dared appear in the waters of the Mediterranean. Besides being a brilliant strategist Cimon was also a great lover of art. He embellished the city, and commissioned his intimate friend, the eminent painter Polygnotus of Thasos, to execute vast frescoes recording the glorious deeds of the Athenians.

The year 460 BC saw the eclipse of Cimon and the rise of his political rival, Pericles, who controlled the affairs of the state, including the earlier period of the Peloponnesian war, until his death in 429 BC. An aristocrat but at the same time leader of the democratic party, he was a fervent advocate and champion of people's rights. During the years of his administration Athens reached the summit of her grandeur, and the most brilliant century of Greek history is known as the Age of Pericles. Athens was now mistress of a superb fleet of three hundred sail and an army of thirty thousand perfectly armed and disciplined soldiers, with fortifications extending to the port of Peiraeus; she was impregnable to attack from land or sea, while her commercial prosperity and the tribute of the Delian League amassed in the treasury made her the richest city in all Hellas.

If the material prosperity of Athens was great during this period, her attainments in every field of culture were incomparable. A galaxy of architects, sculptors and painters and their gifted assistants adorned the city with a dazzling array of temples, public buildings and other works of art. Nor were Athenian achievements in literature less noteworthy. In this period the Attic drama produced many immortal masterpieces. It is also to Periclean Athens that the scientific thought of Europe in logic, ethics, rhetoric and history owes its origin. Supreme in the arts of war and peace, Athens was the most illustrious city of antiquity and seemed destined to endure for ever, but the inconstant gods were envious of happiness that matched their own.

The outbreak of the Peloponnesian War in 431 was the first of a series of misfortunes to fall upon the city. Two years after the beginning of this internecine and intermittent struggle between Athens and Sparta for the hegemony of Greece, Athens suffered irreparable loss in the untimely death of Pericles during the dreadful plague that ravaged the city. Twelve years later the treachery of Pericles' nephew, Alcibiades, was the cause of an even greater calamity.

Idol of the masses, Alcibiades was a gifted but completely unscrupulous demagogue who served his native city only when it suited him. Against the opposition of more experienced generals he succeeded in persuading his fellow citizens to embark upon the Sicilian Expedition (415) and was appointed one of the commanders. Shortly after the fleet had set sail he was recalled to stand trial on a charge of sacrilege, but fled to the Spartans, to whom he betrayed Athenian plans for the invasion of Sicily.

The crushing defeat of her fleet before Syracuse with the loss of forty thousand men and two hundred and forty ships, struck a crippling blow at the naval prestige of Athens and in 404 after twenty-seven years of war, utter exhaustion and starvation forced her to capitulate to her rival, Sparta.

Though her defeat deprived Athens of the leadership of Hellas, she retained her cultural eminence. The plays of Euripides and Aristophanes, the sculpture of Praxiteles and Scopas, the paintings of Zeuxis and the philosophical works of Plato mark this period as one of particular brilliance in the history of arts.

During the Corinthian War (395 BC) there was a revival of the Athenian naval power under Conon, whose squadron utterly routed the Spartan ships at the historic battle of Cnidus (394 BC). Following his triumphant return Conon ordered the rebuilding of the Long Walls (393 BC), which Athens had been compelled to demolish by the victorious Spartans at the end of the Peloponnesian War.

These walls completed the city's chain of giant defenses. A roadway 8 kms in length and 170 m. wide, protected on either side by walls 18 m. high and 3 m. thick, secured communication between the city and the port of Peiraeus with its adjoining harbors. To the south was a had already been removed for the adornment of the new city on the Bosporus, and she was the object of further depredation in AD 523 when the great church of St. Sophia was erected. Under Byzantium the Parthenon and other glorious temples were converted into Christian churches, and in AD 529 Constantinople ordered the closing of the celebrated philosophical schools and the confiscation of their libraries; Athens was but a name.

After the Latin conquest of Constantinople in 1204 the Burgundian Count Otto de la Roche was granted the lordship of Athens, later raised to a duchy by Louis IX, and established his court on the Acropolis. On the death of Guy II, last duke of the House of de la Roche, the duchy passed to his cousin, Gautier de Brienne, the last French duke of Athens. Three years later (1311) he perished at the battle of Copais where a fearsome army of Catalan adventurers, known as the Grand Company, slaughtered the flower of Frankish chivalry. The Catalans terrorized the country for seventy years until they were overcome by another horde of Spanish mercenaries, the Navarrese Company.

In 1388 the Florentine Nerio Acciajuoli, Castellan of Corinth and Lord of Thebes, whom the Navarrese had elected as their leader, seized Athens and installed himself in the ducal court of the Acropolis. The house of the Acciajuoli lasted until 1456 when the last duke, Franco, was forced to yield to the Turks.

In 1684 when Venice declared war against the Turks, Doge Francesco Morosini was appointed to command the expedition. Ably seconded by a Swedish general, Count Otto Koenigsmark, he drove the enemy out of the Peloponnese and then marched against their garrison in Athens. In Morosini's bombardment of the Acropolis, then held in force by the enemy, severe damage was done to the monuments there.

In 1821 the great revolution against Turkish occupation, which had lasted for almost four centuries, spread third wall, the Phaleric, which extended to the coastal town of Phaleron and protected the bay connecting it with Peiraeus. These massive walls rendered Athens an impregnable fortress, making it impossible for an invader to cut her off from her trade and food supplies.

From 338 BC the orator Lycurgus was archon. During his tenure of office he further embellished the city and restored those ancient monuments that had suffered either at the hands of man or from the ravages of time. In this same period, from the tribune of the hallowed rock of the Pnyx, resounded the voice of the great orator, Demosthenes, whose name will forever be linked with the last splendors of the immortal city.

Alexander the Great treated Athens with marked favor and granted her a considerable measure of autonomy. Though she had lost her supremacy in science and scholarship to Alexandria, Athens was still considered the natural home of philosophy, while in the theatre Menander's New Comedy made Athenian life known throughout the civilized world.

After being sacked by Sulla in 86 BC for her part in supporting Mithridates the Great against Rome, she became part of the new Roman province of Achaea in 27 BC. Her only importance now lay in her philosophical schools which were frequented by such young Romans as Cicero, Herodes Atticus and Horace.

Athens was later restored to favor as a free and sovereign city and regarded as the cultural center of the Roman world; Hadrian and later Antonines lavishly endowed her with many new buildings. During the reign of the Emperor Hadrian a whole new city, Novae Athenae, to which the Arch of Hadrian was the gateway, rose around the Olympieion.

With the foundation of Constantinople Athens sank into the obscurity of a provincial Byzantine town and is rarely mentioned in the chronicles of the period. Pheidias' statue of Athena Promachos and other works of art throughout Greece. A year later, in 1822, the intrepid Odysseus Androutsos, one of the principal figures of the War of Independence (1821-1833) succeeded by a surprise attack in capturing the Acropolis. In 1826 the Turks under Reschid Pasha again besieged it. An attempt by the French philhellene Colonel Baron Fabvier to relieve the heroic defense force was defeated, and the garrison commander Gouras killed. Further attempts to relieve the Acropolis proved no more successful than the first, instructions were therefore sent to the garrison to surrender.

On 24th May 1827, the Turks having accorded them the honors of war, the remnants of the gallant defenders marched out with flying colors.

The Acropolis remained in the hands of the enemy until 12th April 1833 when, in the name of Greece, Colonel Baligand took formal possession from the Turkish commander. On 13th December of the same year King Othon, the first King of Greece, entered the city. One year later, on 18th September 1834, Athens was officially proclaimed the Capital city of the Kingdom.




Learn more about Ancient Athens History and take a look at the two incredible Athens Guide and Greece guide to learn more about the Greek islands and so many more things.

Sunday 9 October 2011

Percy Jackson The Lightning Thief Review

Greek Mythology has given Hollywood filmmakers some great ideas to build exciting films. Jason and the Argonauts, Clash of the Titans, (the 1981 and soon to be the 2010 remake) The Odyssey. The list of course goes on and on. So a film based on the novel, Percy Jackson and The Lightning Thief takes an idea of Greek Mythology and attempts to capture a younger audience. The film is directed by Chris Columbus and the screenplay is by Craig Titley. The cast includes Logan Lerman, Brandon T. Jackson, Alexandra Daddario, Sean Bean, Jake Abel, Pierce Brosnan, and Uma Thurman.

The plot of the film involves king of the Greek gods, Zeus (Bean) accusing the son of Poseidon (Kevin McKidd) of stealing is most powerful weapon, his lightning bolt. Now Poseidon son has 14 days to return the bolt before the summer solstice or there will be a war between the gods that would spill onto the earth. Cut to teenager Percy Jackson, (Lerman) who is living a typical life of high school and putting up with a deadbeat step father, Gabe (Joe Pantoliano) He hangs out with his best friend, Grover (Jackson). One day while on a field trip, he discover that he can be able to read the Greek letters on an exhibit. His discovery is cut short when he is attacked by a monster from ancient mythology, accusing him of stealing the lightning bolt.

Grover and his teacher pulls him out of the museum and leads him to a secret camp for demigods, half human, half gods where they trained to hone in their powers; but this is not without Percy's mother being capture by one of the hades minions and is held prisoner in hell. Now it is a race against time as Percy hurries to find the lightning bolt of Zeus, clear his name, and rescue his mother before the summer solstice or the earth is be destroyed by war.

While the idea of a Greek mythology film for kids sounds like a great concept, after viewing this movie, I have to say that this one failed in execution. One thing that I did dislike was the fact that within the first half hour, you will know who actually stole the lightning bolt (not spoiling the ending, but for avid movie goers, the plot is very easy to see through). Plus, throughout the film, Jackson faces many monsters of the film who are searching for the bolt, including Medusa (Thurman) a hydra, and various minions of Hades. Each time, there encounter him, there sound off the same thing, "Where is the lightning bolt?" I may be digressing on this one, but on what grounds do they have that Percy really did steal the thing? I mean for all we may know, Hades could have taken it, but know one is saying that he did it. Even Zeus in the beginning of the film is labeling Percy Jackson as guilty, but know one seems to be challenging the king of the gods on what grounds that Percy really did do it.

The acting throughout the film is mediocre at best. This one was intended as a family film, so it succeeds by having a balance amount of action and suspense, with more than enough one liner's inserted throughout the film, and an occasional fact of Greek mythology inserted to keep the film educational. I wouldn't be surprise seeing this one on ABC family one is theatrical and DVD releases are over. Bottom line, if you haven't seen it yet and are curious on what it may be like, you may be better off waiting to see it on DVD as a rental or even at a dollar theater if it's already on it's second run.

Final Verdict: 2 out of 5 stars.




If you like this review, check out my blog, http://www.moviegamelounge.co/ for other film and DVD reviews

Saturday 8 October 2011

God of War Collection God of War 2 Titan Mode 018

Hacia la Urna de las Gorgonas Quinta Pluma de Fenix Obteniendo la Urna de las Gorgonas Sexto Ojo de Gorgona Abriendo las Puertas del Templo de Euryale Pelea contra Soldades Euryale le dice a Kratos que pagara por lo que le hizo a su hermana Medusa Pelea contra Minotauros de Hades Sexta Pluma de Fenix Towards the Urn of Gorgons Fifth Phoenix Feather Getting the Urn of the Gorgons Sixth Gorgon's Eye Opening the Doors of the Temple of Euryale Soldiers Fight Euryale tells Kratos to pay for what he did to her sister Medusa Fight Hades Minotaurs Sixth Phoenix Feather

Friday 7 October 2011

Death, Grief and the Magic Carpet Ride

When my late husband, John Harris, passed away, I shattered like a body of glass from the impact. In a crushing reversal, the remaining shards of my life morphed themselves back into a formless flatland of drifting sands. With no fire left to recreate myself, I blew shapelessly for a very long time.

Among other things, the multi-faceted John Harris was an archetypal Hephaestus, the wounded Greek God of the Forge, cast from Mt. Olympus by Zeus. The ultimate creative genius, the lame Hephaestus labored endlessly, creating stunning palaces, chariots and thrones for all to admire and use. He even created Pandora, the first human woman, in a daring push of the envelope. With the outrageous antics of John's no-boundaries approach to life while he was alive, it was all I could do to follow behind him, juggling as many art projects in the air as possible for our mere survival. Though a successful, working artist his entire life, the thrill of living on the edge fueled his life force and satisfied his rebel outlaw. As his student, playmate, lover, shadow-boxer, business partner and wife, I did it all gladly, knowing I was receiving the gift of a lifetime as he helped free and birth me into who I always wanted to be. Thanks to the firestorm ways of the self-named "Mr. Harris", the real Kate finally stood up. It might not have been stable, but life with Mr. Harris was always exciting and truly alive.

If John was unmanageable throughout his life, at the end, infused with the scent of death, he became a veritable machine, ordering his laborers around and pouring every bit of life force and all of our resources into his work. Rigidly intractable in his tunnel vision, I could only get out of his way or be crushed as he siphoned energy from the soul of God for his final creations. Need I mention that his interest in practical affairs was less than minimal, which included bank accounts and insurance policies? When he died I had a massive stash of fabulous art and a more massive debt with no cash. Heartbroken by the loss and flattened by the bleak reality of my life circumstances, I succumbed to an intoxicated, existential void as family and friends watched nervously.

Not long after Mr. Harris' death, I stood in the dwindling light of dusk beneath the twenty-foot ceilings of my loft. I witnessed time blink open to reveal, for a moment, the unseen reality of things infinite. A presence circled in a gyro of energy. I felt wings, fluttering wings and a Voice: "Let go. Trust. Step on the magic carpet. Get on the magic carpet and ride." A spontaneous, knowing vibration shifted from deep within my core and step on, I did.

I tell you truly, as soon as I heeded that call, my entire reality took an extraordinary turn. I learned to release my controlling, white-knuckled grip on life. Simply too spent, I stopped trying to do anything. Instead, I began to allow things to happen. "Surrender" became my mantra and a way of life, as it is to this day. I surrendered to everything - on a broader stroke, to the tears, to the loss, to the pain, to the beauty of love. On a more mundane level, to the 4am barking dogs, the burnt dinner, the exquisite sunset. Having been programmed by doubt and fear all my life, as most humans are, getting accustomed to living in total trust took some mindful maneuvering and a whole lot of practice but the more I trusted, the better the outcome. At the moments of mastering, it was and still is, a revelation of the true nature of life's miraculous flow.

Early on, in my darkest hours, friends and family converged selflessly to assist - another lesson in the power and the glory of love. One dear friend planned a huge party at my loft, grabbed a clipboard, quadrupled the prices of John's art and sold voluminous heaps at top dollar. Then, out of the blue, a major, high-end retailer, mysteriously found me, asking to see some images of John's tree stump tables. Out of the twenty or so images I sent, they purchased all of them. Shortly thereafter, they purchased twenty more for display and props in their stores. I was now debt-free and solvent. A year later, this retailer invited me in as a vendor and began to sell the tables in their stores internationally, which continues to be an ongoing stream of orders. Many additional opportunities have been presented as well for John's work to live on, for which I am grateful every single day.

I did next to nothing to make all of this happen for the first year. At year two, I was told by the Voice to "step back into the driver's seat", which I reluctantly did. Once in place, I began to lose my resistance and go the distance, pro-actively parlaying my initial stroke of luck into greater achievements. Nonetheless, nothing short of the assistance of angels and the Hand of God can account for all that has happened. But then, the magic carpet mindset knows no bounds and by staying on, I became co-creator with these great Forces. I recognized that whatever we ask for will be ours in a matter of time, no exceptions, created by our conscious intention and our deeper, unconscious soul desires or fears.

All of the support and good fortune I received at the beginning afforded me the opportunity to fully grieve. For it was not only the loss of my husband that occurred, but the loss of both parents as well, all within one calendar year to the exact day: Mother/John/Father - March 1/July 18/March 1. This was a bitter sandwich indeed. I have heard it said that death is a gift and ironically, it was because of the grieving process that I was able to release so much long-held darkness and fear, completely unrelated to the loss of my loved ones, which lead to a deep personal transformation over time. Death gave me a new vision, for within the breakdown of all known structures, a profound spiritual awareness and connection was forged. A powerful, new inner strength and fortitude was initiated. Many truths became clearly apparent: I understood that I was not alone, that Spirit is everywhere and is within everything. I received messages and insights to reveal that separation is an illusion. I am you. You are me. What I do to you, I am doing to me. I experienced that everything is part of everything in one infinite, pulsing field of consciousness. Moreover, there's no such thing as death, only shape shifting. The body dies. The spirit stays. Angels are everywhere, yearning to help us. We need only tune into their frequency, acknowledge them and ask. They always deliver. In fact, they're the ones who help us maneuver the magic carpet. I cannot envision traveling through life without an entourage of accompanying angels wherever I go for comfort, guidance and protection.

Thanks to these and many other unexpected gifts which death has bestowed, the years since have been the greatest exponential growth spurt of my life, continuously unfolding. Imbuing myself with magic carpet consciousness, which is, in essence, an abiding connection to the universal Force of Spirit and the Divine, I have understood the greatest truth of all: the only thing that really matters in this world is love, love of self first and love of others, as a reflection of the One Love. I believe now the only real failures in life are not loving fully and not developing our gifts and talents.

Our imaginings fill the canvas of our lives with beautiful creations or sad abominations. What I imagined as an eight-year-old little girl was a magic carpet that is now mine and will forever fill me with wonder. What are we really but bodies of energy directing ourselves with imagination and the intention of will towards our next step, our next new co-creation. When I am no longer sailing in the open sky of infinite possibility but instead, mucking about in a muddy little puddle by the side of the road, the magic carpet is still purring, humming, flowing, beckoning me to hop back on. Recently, a dear friend e-mailed me, bemoaning the current mis-shape of his life. I shared the best solution I could think of: the magic carpet ride. "Hmmm...." he mused, his mind circling through a silent moment of contemplation. "Hmmm...yes...what makes me think I'm driving anyway?"




Kate Cunningham has worked as a visual artist, singer, songwriter (ASCAP), record producer, businesswoman and teacher of yoga (CYT) and meditation for many years. A published poet and author of many articles, she is currently writing a book on meditation and intuitive development. In addition to her yoga/meditation business, she owns and operates Kate Cunningham Company, http://www.katecunninghamcompany.com, which manufactures one-of-a-kind, art furniture for the high-end trade. Clients include architectural and design firms, corporations, collectors and high-end retailers worldwide.

Visit her website: http://www.katecunninghamcompany.com

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