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snvffix · 19 days ago

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(Pasting from under the readmore for archival purposes.)

Some intersex individuals acknowledge their journey may resemble a transgender journey 'on paper', but instead view their medical procedures as a unique form of 'correction’, rejecting the medicalized notion of 'correction' imposed by doctors to shoehorn individuals into a box to match society, instead, aligning the body to the mind.

Overall, it is for intersex individuals with whom their identity has stayed consistent and unwavering amidst societal pressures to conform. Existing independently of external categorizations or societal expectations.

It is for those who defiantly reject forced procedures, asserting their autonomy over their bodies, echoing the principles embodied by Carpenter's flag, which emphasizes genital integrity and choice. They refuse to alter themselves to fit into society's narrow definitions, steadfast in their authenticity and self-acceptance, encompassing both the challenges and the beauty of living authentically within a society that often struggles to understand and accept differences.

This may be particularly true for ('on paper') trans intersex individuals, who perceive their journey not as a transition, since they feel nothing changed, but as a process of embracing themselves into the light.

It is for those who feel there is nothing inherently wrong with their variation, recognizing the challenges it may entail but affirming that they are not disordered just for being different. Change and medicalization are understood as arising from an internal, personal desire for comfort and authenticity, rather than an expectation to conform to a binary paradigm that distorts their identity or views them as mutated, defective, anomaly, or otherwise needing to be fixed/corrected.

A monadic intersex individual's variation is indivisible and inseparable from their being, just as they cannot be neatly divisible into categories of male or female, but rather exist as a cohesive whole. It is especially for those who prefer not to be sexed at all.

A monadic intersex individual contains within themselves a living testament to the abundant beauty of our world, the infinite complexity and development that can occur, embracing the diversity of nature and its boundless creativity. They know they are a fundamental unit of reality, embracing their unique identity as an essential part of the human tapestry. Monadic individuals would be advocates for greater visibility and recognition of intersex rights and experiences.

Flag interpretations:

The sun monad flag (left) represents the foundational essence, the base and building block of the other forms. It symbolizes the intrinsic unity and wholeness of one's being, embracing the purity of existence without the constraints of classifications. Like the sun at the center of the solar system, it represents the core essence from which all other aspects of identity emanate. Intersex, inseparable from oneself, much like variance is inseparable from life, and life inseparable from the sun. It may resonate more with those who solely use intersex, are neutral, neutrois, null or other similar genders.

The hieroglyphic monad flag (right) embodies the concept of harmoniously encompassing all forms within itself, all different facets being viewable within one entity. This symbolism may resonate most with androgynous, multigender, or others with "contradictory" identities with whom resides in themselves the cosmos

(if you want the interpretations, I consider the sun the broader one; sun being "I am intersex, I am me" hieroglyphic as "l am me, I am everything". Both are monad flags)

Intersex (Sun) Monad / Intersex (Hieroglyphica) Monad flags

An intersex monadic individual acknowledges a divine aspect within oneself, who may embrace being whole and/or unaltered. There may be holiness felt in "l want to be how nature made me", resonating with the belief that one's existence aligns with the natural order, or a higher power's design, such as "God created mankind in his image", though this perspective is not confined to specific religious beliefs, but rather, encompassing a profound recognition that they were meant to be as they are.

The notion of being 'whole and/or unaltered' carries multifaceted meanings, and is inclusive of various experiences within the intersex community. It can include those who have survived Intersex Genital Mutilation and desire bodily integrity, as well as individuals undergoing medical treatments, surgeries, or are transitioning. For some, this includes changes that embrace their condition rather than 'correct' or 'fix'.

However, this concept applies specifically to somatic intersex variations; individuals who are transID, those who feel they "should have been born intersex", believe they can or want to "transition to intersex", or believe in “brain intersex" are excluded and should not interact.

Flag interpretations:

(if you want the interpretations, I consider the sun the broader one; sun being "I am intersex, I am me" hieroglyphic as "l am me, I am everything". Both are monad flags)

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little-p-eng-engineering · 1 year ago

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Little P.Eng.'s Comprehensive Seismic Structural Services Aligned with ASCE 7-22 and NBCC Standards

In an era where architectural ambition pushes the limits of engineering, safeguarding structural integrity against natural calamities, particularly seismic activities, becomes paramount. This detailed exposé delves into the sophisticated seismic structural engineering services provided by Little P.Eng., a firm renowned for its compliance with the latest American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) 7-22 standards and the Canadian National Building Code (NBCC). Their work spans across Canada and the United States, encompassing a diverse range of buildings and non-structural elements, reflecting the pinnacle of safety, reliability, and innovation in modern construction.

1. Introduction

The unpredictable nature of seismic activities has long posed a significant challenge to the realms of construction and civil engineering. Within this volatile environment, Little P.Eng. has emerged as a beacon of reliability, offering cutting-edge seismic structural engineering services across Canada and the United States. Their adherence to the ASCE 7-22 and NBCC codes ensures not only the structural integrity of vast construction undertakings but also the safety and longevity of non-structural elements, affirming their position at the forefront of seismic resilience in contemporary infrastructure.

2. Understanding Seismic Structural Engineering

2.1. The Science of Earthquake Engineering

Before delving into Little P.Eng.'s specialized services, one must understand the core principles of seismic structural engineering. This discipline focuses on making buildings and non-structural components resistant to earthquake shocks through specialized planning, design, detailing, and, subsequently, construction. It encompasses geological science, material engineering, and structural analysis to develop structures capable of withstanding seismic disturbances.

2.2. Evolution of Seismic Codes: From ASCE 7-10 to ASCE 7-22

Seismic building codes are dynamic, evolving in response to the continuous advancements in engineering research and catastrophic lessons learned from each seismic event. The transition from ASCE 7-10 to ASCE 7-22 is a reflection of this evolution, marking significant strides in risk reduction and structural robustness, emphasizing not just human safety but also post-earthquake functionality and rapid recovery for communities.

3. Little P.Eng.’s Integration of ASCE 7-22 in Seismic Structural Engineering

3.1. Innovations in Seismic Design Philosophies

Little P.Eng. employs a forward-thinking approach to integrate the innovations outlined in ASCE 7-22. These include state-of-the-art seismic design philosophies involving base isolation, energy dissipation devices, and performance-based seismic design (PBSD), allowing for structures that are more flexible, absorb and dissipate seismic energy, and maintain structural integrity during earthquakes.

3.2. Site-Specific Hazard Analysis and Geotechnical Considerations

One of the critical aspects of ASCE 7-22 is the emphasis on site-specific hazard analyses. Little P.Eng.'s engineers led by Meena Rezkallah carry out comprehensive geotechnical evaluations, considering soil-structure interaction, liquefaction potential, and site-specific seismic hazard assessments. By understanding the geological variances across different regions in North America, they ensure that each design is intrinsically aligned with its environmental context.

4. Adherence to NBCC Standards: Expanding Safety Parameters Across Canada

4.1. Bridging Policies between Countries

While their services in the United States predominantly adhere to ASCE standards, Little P.Eng. seamlessly bridges engineering policies between the U.S. and Canada by aligning their practices with the NBCC. This code compliance not only underscores their versatility in handling cross-border projects but also reflects their commitment to upholding the highest safety and professional standards in every geographical locale.

4.2. Understanding NBCC’s Seismic Provisions

The NBCC has distinct seismic provisions, necessitating specialized knowledge and an adaptive engineering approach. Little P.Eng.'s expertise in Canadian seismic codes ensures that structural and non-structural components comply with regional regulations, catering to Canada's unique seismic challenges, especially in high-risk provinces.

5. Comprehensive Services for Buildings and Non-Structural Elements

5.1. Diverse Building Typologies

Little P.Eng.'s portfolio encompasses a variety of buildings, from residential high-rises and expansive commercial complexes to critical facilities like hospitals and emergency response centers. Each building type presents unique challenges, and the firm’s nuanced, context-oriented approach to seismic retrofitting and sustainable design practices sets industry standards.

5.2. Protecting Non-Structural Components

Beyond the buildings themselves, Little P.Eng. extends its engineering prowess to safeguard non-structural elements. These components, often overlooked, can pose significant hazards during seismic events. From architectural elements to mechanical and electrical systems, the firm implements exhaustive strategies to enhance the safety of these components, thereby protecting human life and minimizing economic loss.

6. Future Directions and Continuous Advancements

6.1. Embracing Technological Innovations

As the field of seismic structural engineering advances, Little P.Eng. remains committed to incorporating new technologies, including artificial intelligence and machine learning, for predictive analysis, design optimization, and risk management. Their continual investment in technology positions them as a leader in future-proofing structures against earthquakes.

6.2. Contribution to Global Seismic Safety Standards

Harnessing Advanced Engineering: Little P.Eng.'s Comprehensive Seismic Structural Services Aligned with ASCE 7-22 and CNBCC Standards in North America

7. Conclusion

Little P.Eng.’s comprehensive seismic structural engineering services, grounded in the latest ASCE and NBCC standards, represent a confluence of scientific mastery, innovative engineering, and a deep commitment to safeguarding human lives and investments. Their work across diverse building typologies and non-structural components in Canada and the United States cements their stance as a pivotal player in shaping resilient, sustainable, and safe urban landscapes. As seismic activity remains an unpredictable threat, the foresight and innovation of firms like Little P.Eng. are society's best bet for a safer tomorrow.

References

[1] American Society of Civil Engineers. (2022). Minimum Design Loads and Associated Criteria for Buildings and Other Structures (ASCE/SEI 7-22). ASCE.

[2] National Research Council Canada. (2020). National Building Code of Canada.

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Located in Calgary, Alberta; Vancouver, BC; Toronto, Ontario; Edmonton, Alberta; Houston Texas; Torrance, California; El Segundo, CA; Manhattan Beach, CA; Concord, CA; We offer our engineering consultancy services across Canada and United States. Meena Rezkallah.

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chaos-coming · 2 years ago

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Yall dont understand how much i missed the forest. And i mean a real forest, not the sterilized, neutered monoculture devoid of life and energy that they call forest in central europe.

Since we as humans are part of a larger community of living beings, we can sense the life around us on an intrinsic level. And we can sense its absence. And if you start to notice the life and energy around you, those sterilized environments feel like sensory deprivation, like wearing figurative earplugs.

It really hit home for me just now, how absolutely destroyed central europe is on an ecological level. Every new day, every new place i get to witness, just refirms this understanding. There is a desperate need for rewilding in this region, to allow natural communities to heal and restore diversity and variance and the chaos that is life on this planet.

But first and foremost there is a need to shift cultural values in the region, before any kind of rewilding can happen. A while back there was this viral post about a french couple demanding the culling of wolves after witnessing a wolf hunting in their backyard. What should be a rare and incredible experience, a privilege and a pleasure to see (and an indicator that the natural communities of the alps have the potential to revive) - to them was a nuciance and a threat to their orderly idyllic cottagecore fsntasy world. It's like their whole culture never moved past the middle ages mentality of achieving safety by "taming" the wild places.

And i've genuinely had (frustrating) conversations with forestry and conservation students from central europe who are literally Afraid of natural forests. Theyre "too wild" and chaotic, lacking the order and control theyre accustomed to in all other parts of their country's society, and require intensive management to bring it to submission and be a "propper" forest. In their eyes, the forest is a resource only growing timber and looking like a city park for them to walk through. Anything that makes obtaining wood more difficult or less profitable is a Problem and needs to be fixed. They dont have any pespective on what an actual natural forest looks and feels like, and look at you like youre an alien if you say what they have arent real forests.

It shows that cultural values in this part of the world stand in direct opposition to the principles of rewilding and re-estsblishing harmony with our place the larger biological community.

So before any large scale restoration can be considered, before actual nature can be brought back to central europe, as desperately as it is needed - not just for its own intrinsic value and right to exist, but also for resillience in the face of the climate crisis - there needs to be a cultural shift that will tolerate coexistence with things that live for their own sake rather than direct human benefit, and which cannot and will not be fundamentally changed to their liking.

And therein lies the crux of this ideology: the rejection of anything that is different from them and will not be subjugated. The need to homogenize everything in their own image. And this mindset is the nucleus at the heart of imperialism. Which is why you cannot separate nature conservation from the ongoing legacy of colonialism, even in the imperial core, and why decolonization needs to be the foundation for any kind of restoration effort.

Tldr: There can be no rewilding of central europe until there is decolonization of european mindsets.

#ecology #rewilding #forest restoration #not to sound too much like a hippy #but even on a purely logical scientific level #you can look at the forest and see the lack of diversity and life. the lack of spatial heterogeny and consequential lack of habitat niches #its structural and visual and audio indicators #on top of the fact that you can indeed feel the difference. if youre used to looking for it #central europe is so fucked #and every passing day cements this realization for me #as an ecologist i approve this post #my own post lol #and down the rabbit hole we go #but its all connected and i hsve no idea how to begin this shift in perspective #when most europeans i meet on the field. even students. refuse to even consider that their worldview isnt inherently superior #that perhaps they are not doing the best at literally everything. including nature management #only time will wear away this european exceptionalism #but europe does not have Time for them to realize this before europe becomes very difficult to sustain livelihoods in

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snugglyporos · 5 years ago

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It's interesting how people can understand Poro even though they don't speak english or any other language other than Poro.

Is silly! Poros speak poro! Is very simple language!

In fact, one could learn to speak poro, or at least, learn what poros are saying, since poros can understand most languages but most people cannot make chitter sounds like poros. Of course, poros also speak a lot through movements, because are simple sheep puffs.

I’ve actually written about poros and language before as a headcanon, but I’ll try to be brief. Basically, poros don’t have proper nouns. This might seem confusing to others, but it’s because for a long time poros did not have any reason to have such things. Everything was either a poro, a snuggly not poro, or a not-snuggly not poro. Pretty much all things can be divided into these three categories.

Of course, as poros began to interact with the outside world, or more accurately, the outside world came to interact with poros, poros began adding words to their language to describe things. For example, poros have a basic understanding of what a ‘human’ is. It’s a two legged non-fluffy creature, but it can be snuggly. This is why poros often describe various beings as ‘x human.’ Thus, xayah and rakan are bird humans, neeko is lizard human, and nidalee is cat human. If there is nothing else that could describe them, poros might use something they have, like say, ashe is arrow human, or sona is sound human.

The exception to this rule is when poros find a friend, or develop a specific relationship with a creature. Thus, Braum is Braum, friend of poros. ‘Friend of poros’ is the actual canon title he has, apparently bestowed upon him by poros. So extrapolating from that, poros tend to only add things to their language when it is encountered, and their society adapts thusly.

For example! Poros have a king! Is Poro King. But what is a ‘king’ to a poro? Poros observe that a king, based on their understanding, happens to be the most thing of something. Thus, a human king must logically be the most human human! They may have gotten this idea from looking at Tryndamere. In any case, the Poro King is most poro-y poro! Is most snuggly and most soft and biggest! Is logical to poros.

Some poros do have names! Though not all poros. Usually, a name comes about because humans like naming things, and poros tend to adopt the names that humans give them, or at least, usually they do. Not always. But poros don’t think of themselves as being named, but they use a name because it helps other creatures understand.

Poros thus communicate through chittering, usually based on tone, and of course, movements, usually snuggling. Poros love snuggling. They snuggle for hello, goodbye, to decide things... everything.

In fact, I’ve joked before that poros are a bit like Ents in Lord of the Rings; if you asked them to decide something the poros would come together and form a snuggle pile, and after four days you might discover that the poros have decided that they need to come together to discuss something. Poros, after all, are easily distracted.

Now, humans could probably learn to interpret poro chitters, or at least, the sounds poros make, to refer to things, because again, most things are not named in poro. Most things are poros, not poros but snuggly, or not snuggly not poros. Things that are important are thus named, and they are few and far between. Poro snax, for example, are named. But then, poros often refer to food in general as poro snax, and so humans might interpret poros making the sound to mean ‘food.’

So most of the time, poros do not communicate complicated things. Poros are simple sheep puffs, made of kindness, valor, and innocence. Do not exactly have too many complicated ideas or thoughts to express most of the time. So one could probably learn to understand poros, even though they can’t speak it.

It also helps that poros do not understand reading or writing, and thus their language has no permutations that come with trying to spell anything. Poros find human fascination with the squiggles in the paper rectangles to be silly rather than useful.

Another thing that helps is that poros are sentient, in that they are capable of thinking and quantifying things, though this is obviously quite basic. The difference between sentience and non-sentience can be boiled down to ‘is this creature capable of quantifying things?’ Example, a dog might understand that it likes this food more than that food. But it isn’t going to grasp that this food is entire different than this other food. They’re just both food. Whereas we might divide chicken and beef into entirely separate food groups within them being food, a dog just knows that it is food, and it might like one over the other. There’s no mental grasping that there might be something inherently different about it. Another example might be that a sheep likes the grass on one side of a hill more than the other. But that’s as far as it’s mind will go. It won’t understand why the grass over there is better, or all the factors that go into it being better. It just knows that it likes it there more.

This is why we can hear music, and understand things like beauty, subjective things, that animals and non-sentient creatures can’t understand.

Poros, therefore, are rather simple, somewhat crude in their understanding, but sentient. They can understand subjective concepts to some degree, like whether or not creature are or are not snuggly. But that only goes so far; they can’t grasp things like music yet, or writing; to poros, writing is just squiggles and they don’t seem to have much meaning.

All of this feeds back into language. Humans might, with time, understand poros, because poros are simpler than humans. Understand how poros think, understand poros. Poros however, cannot really grasp humans, but they do understand human languages intrinsically, due to an entirely unrelated part of poros, which I’ve discussed at length before about the concept of ‘collective belief.’ Think the World of Darkness ‘reality paradigm’ or Warhammer 40k’s Orks making things true because they believe them. Poros operate much the same way. Poros believe that they understand humans, so they can, even if they do not understand all the words or what they mean. It’s this ability that keeps the great old one that turned the Freljord into a frozen wasteland under the ice, because poros believe that it is under the ice, and thus it will always be so. This is also why Braum is immortal, because Braum is friend of poros. Thus, he is always friend of poros, in the present tense. Poros do not really distinguish tenses well.

Essentially, poros being simple allow this all to work. If poros were more complex, the large variance of thought would change the reality paradigm and thus they would no longer exert that sort of collective belief over themselves and reality, as they were created to do by the gods to keep the great old one and the void away.

And all of that is understood in the poro’s language, which is simple and straightforward, much like poros themselves. And now you have my simple anthropology essay on poros and how they speak.

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algrano · 7 years ago

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How about a coffee grammar? Between Candid Standards and Candied Starfruit: Part 3

In the past two parts of this blog series on coffee evaluation, we focused mainly on the scoring of coffee in numbers. The score of a coffee has huge importance in our industry. It is the benchmark for pricing and reflects the quality of a coffee for most of us. But how much can we really take away from a final score?

It doesn’t tell us much about the character of a coffee and whether you ’re looking for a blend component or just an amazing coffee for your special line: A coffee evaluation has to deliver more than just a number. Most scoresheets leave room for descriptors and demand the cupper to take notes on the scored attributes, but these seem rather secondary in the system of a cupping sheet.

It is fascinating to see that a group of people tasting coffee on a regular base can be as close as 0.25 points in the individual scores, which means they are very calibrated. Linguistic description, however, is much harder to calibrate on as we don’t really have a concise system to articulate flavor. Do you also find yourself using completely different words to describe a coffee than someone else despite being generally quite calibrated to each other? For all those who aren’t sure what I mean, I recommend trying the following experiment. All you need is some ambitious spoon swinging friends and a table of coffees you cup together:

Put three different coffees on the table of which at least two are unfamiliar to you. (if everyone brings one coffee the others don’t know, it should do the job.)

Instead of scoring the coffees with numbers, try to write a protocol of your natural procedure of analyzing the coffee. Write full sentences and be as precise as possible.

Then read out your description to each other and compare the individual attributes but also the structure and order of the evaluation.

Most likely you will find that some descriptors of aromatics are matching. When you taste a fruity Kenyan SL-34 all of you will identify some “berry” notes. (Blackberry, Gooseberry, etc.)

What you will realize though is the inconsistent order and the large variance in words when it comes to anything else than flavor notes. In our case, some of us didn’t take notes about the intensity of core attributes. Others had no remarks on the balance while someone else wrote almost solely about the acidity.

We also noticed that the style of wording was strongly influenced by our professional background. Roasters would refer much more to sweetness with a different set of words than former baristas or green coffee buyers respectively. What we paid attention to when cupping was quite different even though the coffees we tasted were the same. To put it in a different context. If we put the three coffees on a larger cupping table and handed the notes to someone asking this person to match it with the corresponding coffees… well. The result would have shown a strong unalignment. However, it was also enlightening. We came to two realizations.

Number One: Everyone has their own way of analyzing a coffee. Even though it can result in a numerical rating and the association with learned words, which corresponds to the assessment of your fellow cuppers, the patterns which we use to arrive at this result are highly individual.

Number Two: Using a similar vocabulary is insufficient if you don’t put it in the right order, because it produces blindspots. Any language is made of words and grammar. If words were the bricks, grammar is the mortar. Without the mortar, the wall falls apart.

The journey of tasting a coffee

How do you cup coffee? What goes on in your mind when you do? Isn’t it a fascinating mental process?

Even though this is such an essential matter in our industry there is yet very little content about the actual procedure of tasting. The most common literature deals either with the color and shape of mugs or with the biochemical aspect of taste perception. It goes a bit along the lines of this:

Different volatile chemicals rise up to your nasal cavity to stimulate the olfactory perceptors which then send electric signals to the gustatory cortex were the information is processed.

Some good buzzwords here and there and you seem to have a sound explanation of how humans perceive taste and aroma.

Indeed it is, but it is the answer to the wrong question.

It explains how the how the information gets to our brain, but not how we process it once we obtained it. This is where taste psychology and the tricky aspects of conditioning and framing come into play.

Early fundamentals of taste psychology have already emerged in ancient Greece when philosophers like Plato put their mind to how we process the impression from what we put in our mouths. He first lexicalized the basic tastes like sweet, sour, bitter and salt, which have become totally intrinsic to our understanding of taste.

Yet what I would like to raise the awareness for in this blog post is how a concept of taste, may it be as simple as the one introduced by Plato, influences the way we perceive coffee and express its perception.

How would you describe the character of a coffee if no one ever showed you how to do that? It is a big challenge for newcomers in coffee to “find the right words” to describe a cup of coffee. In the beginning, we all listened carefully what those who seemed proficient would say. We learned words like juicy or bright and so when someone asked you the next time what you thought, you probably fired out the few words you learned last time. Every coffee you liked was juicy. Every cup you didn’t like was astringent. What a nice word: Astringent. I liked this one a lot when I started in coffee. It sounded sophisticated. Bitter, Roasty, Musty, Dry, Tart = Astringent.

The journey of tasting a coffee is influenced strongly by the concepts and ideas out there. The most significant one is surely the SCA cupping protocol and the ideas that led to it. Many of us refer to it more or less consciously when making the effort to taste coffee in an organized manner.

What the little experiment explained above shows, is that we all use a different chronology of attributes as we cup. What do you best start with? Aromatics, because they appear first on many scoresheets and we have internalized this procedure to a great extent? Acidity, because it is the anchor of quality for most cuppers? Overall impression regarding cleanliness and balance, because getting a general impression in the first round of tasting seems to be a logistical step? Not easy...

The context in which we cup will also dictate how we approach a coffee. Roasters, for example, think a lot about ratios. They are aware of the given potential in a green coffee and try to define the right amount of development to create a taste experience to their liking. Therefore balance would be much more a point of focus here with a different meaning than in green coffee evaluation.

When cupping for green analyzes, the scope must be generally a lot wider. Green coffee cuppers look for taints in a coffee more than anything and on top of this try to estimate the potential of the coffee for a later purpose. When tasting green coffee one has to look through aspects like brewing and roasting despite their huge effect on the cup experience in order to get to the relevant field of work. First and foremost this will be related to the happenings at the farm level like the choice of variety, the cherry ripeness, fermentation, drying and so on. The core attributes are cleanliness, acidity, and aromatics.

Another field in which coffee is tasted frequently is in the preparation of coffee as a final beverage. Here the point of reference is the cup as a whole rather than single aspects. The job of a barista is to look at the cup as it really is and to imagine the experience of the customer, hence the overall impression is more significant. When going into detail, they put the focus on bitterness and dryness (aftertaste and mouthfeel) as they determine the limitation of extraction and also on the level of acidity as it is the sensorial ceiling of the brewing strength.

Coffee Cuppers Syntax

These few examples show already how impalpable the character of coffee is and why we are inconsistent in the expression of taste.

Despite (or maybe because of?) this circumstance I believe that an effort to structure our words better will lead to a more constructive conversation around the cupping table.

Therefore I would like to suggest some guidelines that can help anyone at any level of tasting to have a more structured approach. In fact, these quite intuitive rules have proven to work well in competitions and other beverage industries.

Just have a look at wine! The degree of systematization is simpl impressive. If you are curious what it is like to describe a wine like a pro, check out this video!

youtube

(Obviously, wine is a much more stable product with a uniform way of presentation and the variation from one bottle to another of the same wine is marginal.)

From General to Specific

As mentioned before: There is always a certain purpose of the cupping and usually, it involves the decision whether or not a coffee qualifies for the intended use. For example, the SCA specialty coffee form is a tool to identify specialty coffees. The general criteria for this are:

Presence of sweetness

Uniformity

Cleanliness

In this case, one should start by saying whether or not the coffee qualifies as specialty grade.

The coffee is sweet, clean and uniform.

What follows will go more and more into depth, describing the coffee more specifically.

This rule should be followed also in the individual attributes. Mention first the overall, broad category and then become more specific if possible. For the aromatics, it would go like this:

Fruity. Stonefruit-like. Yellow stonefruit. Apricot. Dried apricot. Dried apricot skin.

This doesn't mean one should always have such a detailed list of descriptors. Most coffees don’t show very specific flavor attributes such as dried apricot which is why one should rather use the more general descriptor if the cup as such isn’t replicable. This reflects also in the coffee flavor wheel were the attributes become more specific from inside to outside.

From High to Low

The high-to-low-rule relates mostly to the intensity. When describing a single attribute like flavor one should start with the notes of highest intensity followed by the lower ranking notes.

Flavor notes in a coffee can be broadly separated into three categories which were presented first by the head of sensory analyses at Cafe Imports, Ian Fretheim, who developed a new cupping form.

These are Fruity, Floral, and Caramel. Always go with the most intense category first and then work from the attribute of the highest to the lowest intensity.

The coffee is medium-high in fruit aromatics.

Stonefruit (highest)

Citrus (medium)

Berries (lowest)

From Absolute to Relative

Attributes can have an absolute or relative character. Absolute means that the attribute is quantifiable, hence it could be measured. Relative attributes are more metaphorical (“it is like…”) and are more context-based than factual.

The acidity attribute can make this very clear. We first start with an assessment of the intensity.

The acidity is medium high.

This assessment is done on a scale rating from the lowest possible amount of acidity (0) to the highest know intensity (10). Through calibration, one could make this assessment with very high reliability.

A similar degree of certainty is provided by the type of acid.

The acidity is citric.

There is a quantifiable amount of citric acid in a cup of coffee which can validate this description. The same will go for all other physically present acids in the coffee.

When the absolute character of an attribute is fully assessed one can proceed with relative descriptions which involve some degree of creativity and are more individual as they are linked to memories.

The acidity reminds me of rhubarb.

What kind of rhubarb? Ripe or Unripe? With sugar or without? Such expression can be valuable when the context is clear but one should be aware of how ambiguous such a description is . Generally, you should be rather reserved when the assessment has to be repeatable in a different time and place and across different cultural backgrounds.

Describing coffee is fun but also difficult. I hope that the ideas of this blog series are helpful and nurture some new conversations at your cupping table. At the algrano cuppings, we constantly challenge our concepts and try to become better at tasting coffee. If you want to cup with us, swing by at our office or check out our social media channels for public cuppings across Europe!

Author: Constantin Hoppenz

Constantin is an expert on quality control and coffee roasting and joined Algranoto manage the specialty coffee offers on the platform. Some of his posts will be very technical, some others more emotional or political. In any case, you are warmly welcome to comment and discuss! Thanks for reading!

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graywyvern · 3 years ago

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( @archillect )

How do we reconcile our moral intuition that all humans have an intrinsic value, with our intuition that some people are better than others? (via )

“Cosmopolitanism was a brief, unstable construct at the best of times. One can hope it is not yet completely over. In fact, the vast majority of each tribe of believers does not yearn for global victory so much as for local peace. Nor are most of the people who insist on having a non-secular vocabulary, inherently intolerant. I imagine we would not have arrived at the present revival of internecine warfare without the simultaneous conditions of overpopulation, resource depletion, & general weather contrariness. (America's latter-day imperialist blunders being only the match to that tinderbox.) It does not bode well either for sustained rational discourse or disciplined problem-solving, for the great strength of religious tribal formations has always been their relative indifference to the survival of individual members.

Cosmopolitanism must offer something more than the mere absence of persecution; in order to prevail, it needs to hold on to the humane vision of a world in which everyone, equally, matters. And equality (NU PREDUNLI) is something they should all have been able to agree on, if they but read their book.” --Monkeypicked Aspie

The first “intuition” is a consequence of the group-ethic of Cosmopolitanism e.g. “live and let live”—but given absolute value by the combined influence of Stoicism/Christianity (“God loves every soul”) & what might be termed Lockean Scientism, or the useful presupposition in theory that reasoning about one human being can be applied to all other human beings (something that is taken for granted by Neurotypicals, & felt as a contradiction-in-itself by Neurodivergents). Just as Medicine has uncovered much variance in biological construction without invalidating the basic principles of life-functioning, it is assumed that there can be a science of Psychology which would have such principles & such particular-understandings. (I don’t myself believe we are anywhere near that point.)

The second “intuition” will arrive as a result of one’s life-experience with other humans, & will vary according to perceptiveness. This one also tends to be given an absolute quality, though there is no logical reason why it should (since every person you meet will have hidden aspects). Perhaps it is simply more economical of thought-time to assume that your predominant impression of a person is as good as a final one, in the absence of intimacy.

Cosmopolitanism shadows the U.S. Constitution though not exactly in practice. Equality-before-the-Law is not a philosophical proposition, but a precept. It is more fair than class-based justice but not as fair as the judgment of a good friend.

The real question is why we would want to weigh the value of one life against another in the first place. It is a reflex that comes dangerously easy to us now. Perhaps it would be wise for us to try to imagine what it would be like if we never found ourselves asking that question.

4/23/22

#philosophy

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lupine-publishers-lojpcr · 4 years ago

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Lupine Publishers | Thyroid Function Variability in a Cohort of Healthy Pregnant Women: Effect of BMI, Smoking and Iodized Salt Consumption

Lupine Publishers | LOJ Pharmacology & Clinical Research

Abstract

Introduction: It remains unclear to what extent intrinsic maternal characteristics, lifestyle or diet and dietary supplements contribute to explain the variability of maternal thyroid function. The aim of this study was to analyse the effect of age, parity, pregestational body mass index (BMI), beta human chorionic gonadotropin (β-hCG), thyroid autoantibodies, smoking habit and use of vitamins/supplements on maternal thyroid function variability throughout pregnancy.

Methods: A prospective, observational study was carried out including 339 healthy pregnant women from their first to their third trimester. Clinical and biological variables were registered at each stage. Univariate correlation and multiple linear regression analysis for thyroid parameters were performed in the three trimesters.

Results: Thyrotropin (TSH) in the first trimester (1T) was dependent on free thyroxine (FT4), maternal age, β-hCG and smoking habit. FT4 levels in the 1T were significantly lower in obese women (0.937±0.078ng/dl), compared with overweighed (0.981±0.14ng/dl) and normal weight women (0.989± 0.98ng/dl) (p=0.012). Multiple linear regression showed that FT4 in all trimesters is significantly dependent on pregestational BMI. Additionally, TSH and FT4 in the 1T were significantly related to TSH and FT4 levels in second and third trimesters, respectively. All studied factors influenced TSH with different degree all-over the pregnancy. Dietary supplements did not modify maternal thyroid function.

Conclusion: FT4 availability during the first half of the gestation can be hindered by maternal overweight/obesity. Beside age, obesity and smoking, TSH and FT4 in the 1T are very important regarding thyroid function variability in further stages of the pregnancy.

Introduction

Thyroid hormones are involved in many processes during intrauterine life such as somatic growth, metabolic regulation, and neurodevelopment [1]. Maternal thyroid function has also been related to obstetric outcomes in different studies [2,3]. The developing foetus is completely dependent on maternal supply of these hormones during the first half of the pregnancy [4]; therefore, an adequate maternal thyroid function becomes crucial to achieve a successful intrauterine development [5]. In order to identify maternal thyroid dysfunction at early stages of gestation, it is important to fully understand the physiological changes that happen to the thyroid gland in pregnant women as well as the potential factors that may modulate the concentration of thyroid hormones in maternal serum [6]. Once fecundation occurs, β-hCG increases rapidly in order to guarantee implantation and supporting embryonic growth [7]. The interpretation of thyroid parameters in pregnant women should take into account β-hCG action and thus gestational age and reference ranges need to be trimester-specific [8]. Beta-hCG and thyrotropin (TSH) relationship usually show an inverse correlation in a linear way [9]. However, more recently it has been demonstrated that the thyrotrophic effect of β-hCG can be modulated by individual factors such as maternal age [10], parity, body mass index (BMI) [11], thyroid autoimmunity [12] or even by the sex of the fetus [13]. Additionally, women with subclinical hypothyroidism show an abnormal response to thyroidal stimulation by β-hCG [14]. It is not well known what the relative importance of maternal personal conditions is such as weight, iodine-enriched multivitamin complexes intake [15,16], smoking habit and lifestyle [17] in thyroid function throughout the pregnancy. The aim of our research is to study the potential contribution of different factors in maternal thyroid function variability in pregnant women without maternal or fetal risk factors, as well as to identify profiles of low availability of maternal thyroxine (T4).

Material and Methods

Study subjects

The study included 339 healthy pregnant women assisted at a maternal primary health care clinic, the ASSIR La Riera (Badalona, Spain), recruited at first trimester (1T) of pregnancy (before 10 weeks of amenorrhea) and followed up to the third trimester (3T). Exclusion criteria were based on the presence of pregestational maternal and/or foetal disorders that might represent an obstetric or perinatal risk, as well as pregnant women with a previously known history of thyroid dysfunction, those who were taking thyroid hormone or antithyroid drugs before pregnancy or those recently exposed to iodinated antiseptics or radiologic contrasts. Pregestational body mass index was considered as quantitative variable (kg/m2) and also as qualitative variable (BMI category) with i) Normal weight (BMI<25kg/m2) ii) Overweight (BMI 25.0-29.9kg/m2) and iii) Obesity (BMI ≥30.0kg/m2). Smoking habit was recorded as smokers, non-smokers, and stopped smokers (women who had quitted it when they became pregnant or less than a year before). All women provided blood samples at the three trimesters of gestation. All the samples were stored at -80 ºC until the analysis. Beta-HCG was performed in 1T blood analysis, as routine clinical practice. The study design and research aims were approved by the Ethics Committee of the Germans Trias i Pujol University Hospital (HUGTiP) and written consent was obtained from all the participants.

Laboratory procedures

Serum measurements TSH were performed on the automated Abbott Architect TSH Ref. 7K62 (Abbott Diagnostic Division, Longford, Ireland). Free T4 (FT4) was measured by the Abbott Architect FT4 Ref. 7K65 (Abbott Diagnostic Division, Longford, Ireland). Total β-hCG was measured by the automated Abbott Architecht Re. 7K78 (Abbott Diagnostic Division, Longford, Ireland). Serum anti-thyroid peroxidase antibodies (anti-TPOAbs) measurements were performed on the automated Abbott Architect Ref. 2K47 (Abbott Diagnostic Division, Longford, Ireland). Serum anti-thyroglobulin antibodies (anti-TgAbs) measurements were performed on the automated Abbott Architect Ref. 2K46 (Abbott Diagnostic Division, Longford, Ireland).

Statistical analysis

Normal distribution of quantitative variables was assessed by the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. Variables were expressed as mean and standard deviation (SD) or as median and interquartile range (P25-75) as appropriate. Quantitative variables were shown as the mean ± SD and qualitative variables as percentages. The contrast hypothesis for two samples was evaluated with the Student’s t-test, and for more than two samples, with an analysis of variance (ANOVA) test. The chi-square test was applied in case of categorical variables. The correlation between variables was determined using the Spearman test, designing multiple linear regression models in those cases where it was desired to predict the variance adjusted for other variables, besides the main variable. In all cases, the rejection level for a null hypothesis was alpha below 0.05. All data were analysed using SPSS 20.0 (IBM SPSS Statistics).

Results

Clinical and demographic variables

All participants were classified as healthy pregnant women after a general medical examination. Table 1 shows the clinical variables of the participants. There were significant differences in maternal age according to parity (30.2±5.0 years for parity 0; 32.4±5.3 years for parity 1; 33.6±4.7 years for parity 2 and 33.0±5.0 years for parity above 2; p<0.001) and level of education (30.9±5.9 years in low level; 31.8±5.1 in middle level and 33.3±3.9 years in high level of education; p=0.016). There were significant differences in smoking habit during pregnancy according to the level of education, (36.2% of smokers in women with low level of education, 20.8% in middle level group and 6.5% in women with high level of education; p<0.001).

Maternal thyroid function

The maternal values of TSH and FT4 in the three trimesters of pregnancy are summarized in Tables 2 & 3 respectively. TSH range values were 1.54±1.06 mUI/L for 1T, 1.71±0.87 mUI/L for second trimester (2T) and 2.03±0.96 mUI/L for 3T and FT4 range values were 0.98±0.11ng/dL for 1T, 0.80±0.07ng/dL for 2T and 0.79±0.08ng/dL for 3T. When univariate analyses were performed, TSH concentrations in 1T and 2T were significantly higher in women up to 30 years of age, compared with those older than 30. Additionally, women with low parity showed significantly higher TSH concentrations in the three trimesters in comparison with women with two or more previous pregnancies. Regarding FT4, women of 30 years of age and below showed significantly higher FT4 levels in 2T and 3T (Table 3). Additionally, FT4 was statistically lower in overweighed and obese pregnant women in comparison with women of normal weight, but the concentrations did not vary in relation with parity. The concentrations of FT4 in 1T and 2T were significantly higher in those who consumed iodised salt compared with those who did not.

Thyroid autoimmunity

The frequency of pregnant women positive for anti-TPOAbs was 10.6%, 7.8% and 7% in the 1T, 2T and 3T respectively. The prevalence of anti-TgAbs was 12.2%, 10% and 6.2% at 1T, 2T and 3T respectively. The Spearman’s correlation coefficient between anti- TPOAbs and anti-TgAbs was 0.47; 0.45 and 0.42 in the 1T, 2T and 3T respectively (p<0.001 in all the cases). The TSH concentration at each trimester was significantly higher in those pregnant women who were anti-TPOAbs positive, but these differences were not significant in case of anti-TgAbs positive (Table 4). The FT4 levels in the 1T were lower in women with positive anti-TPOAbs. (Table 4). TSH and FT4 concentrations in the three trimesters of gestation according to thyroid immune status.

β-hCG in the first trimester

Beta-hCG levels were significantly lower in overweighed and obese pregnant women (152337.47±78237.95mIU/mL in normal weighed women; 139169.68±121041.64mIU/mL in overweighed and 102129.23±46361.49mIU/mL in obese women, respectively; p=0.005). No correlation was found between maternal age and β-hCG, but a negative correlation between pregestational BMI and β-hCG was found (r=-0.205; p=0.001). When the sample was split out according to BMI categories, there was a strong negative correlation between maternal age and β-hCG in overweighed women (r=-0.438; p<0.001). Pregnant women who had smoked before gestation showed lower β-hCG levels compared with those who did not smoke (122112.47±110104.65mIU/mL vs. 150427.48±74808.07mIU/ mL respectively; p=0.014) and was greater in case of smoking during the pregnancy (100365.15±53551.61mIU/mL vs. 153156.03±93571.64mIU/mL respectively, p<0.001).

Maternal age

Correlations between thyroid function and maternal age, according to different clinical conditions are shown in Table 5. TSH concentrations in 1T and 2T were significantly higher in women up to 30 years than in those above 30 (1.80±1.30mIU/ dl vs, 1.37±0.82mIU/dl in 1T; p=0.001 and 1.86±0.97mIU/dl vs. 1.61±0.79mIU/dl in 2T; p=0.036). Maternal age showed a negative correlation with TSH concentrations in 1T and 2T. FT4 concentrations were significantly higher in young women (up to 30) when compared to those older than 30 years old in 2T and 3T (0.99±0.10ng/dl vs. 0.97±0.11ng/dl for 1T, p=0.159; 0.82±0.07ng/ dl vs. 0.79±0.72ng/dl in 2T, p=0.002; and 0.80±0.08ng/dl vs. 0.78±0.08ng/dl in 3T, p=0.012).

Table 5:Correlation TSH and FT4 concentrations and Maternal Age, according to different clinical conditions.

Pregestational body mass index (BMI)

BMI showed a negative correlation with FT4 in the three trimesters of gestation (Table 5). This negative correlation was significant in women above 30 years old and in women who did not smoke neither during nor before pregnancy. FT4 concentrations were significantly higher in young women (up to 30) when compared to those older than 30 years old, and this difference increased particularly in the first trimester in the case of obese women (BMI≥30kg/m2) (0.97±0.07ng/dl vs 0.90±0.07ng/dl for the first trimester, p=0.003; 0.80±0.05 ng/dl vs 0.75±0.06ng/dl in the second trimester, p=0.011; and 0.79±0.07ng/dl vs 0.73± 0.07ng/dl in the third trimester, p=0.035). Besides, the negative correlation between maternal age and FT4 became stronger in obese women (Table 4).

Multiple linear regression of thyroid function parameters

We searched for maternal variables that may explain the variability of TSH and FT4 within normal reference ranges in each trimester of pregnancy, designing multiple linear regression models for each parameter (TSH, FT4) in the three trimesters. The best model for TSH at 1T included FT4 at 1T (p<0.001), parity (p<0.001), anti-TPOAbs (p<0.001), gestational age (p=0.008), β-hCG (p=0.014), and current smoking habit (p=0.020), with R2=0.240; p<0.001. For TSH in 2T, the predictive variables were TSH at 1T (p<0.001), β-hCG (p<0.001), gestational age (p=0.001), and parity (p= 0.06), with R2=0.621; p< 0.001. And for TSH in 3T, the predictive variables were TSH at 2T (p<0.001) and TSH at 1T (p=0.003) and parity (p=0.049), with R2=0.685; p<0.001. For FT4, the best model at 1T included TSH at 1T (p<0.001), β-hCG (p=0.005), pregestational BMI (p=0.005) and maternal age (p=0.027) with R2=0.151; p<0.001. For FT4 in 2T, the predictive variables were FT4 in 1T (p<0.001), TSH in 2T (p=0.005), pregestational BMI (p=0.007) and maternal age (p=0.024), with R2=0.356; p<0.001. And for FT4 in 3T, the predictive variables were FT4 at 2T (p<0.001) and FT4 at 1T trimester (p=0.001) and pregestational BMI (p=0.021) with R2=0.550; p<0.001.

Discussion

Our study shows the complex interplay between maternal age, pregestational BMI, parity and smoking habit as modulators of thyroid function variability in healthy pregnant women. In our cohort, univariate analyses identified differences in 1T FT4 levels according to BMI, smoking habit and β-hCG. We also found that maternal age negatively correlated with TSH concentrations and this relationship was influenced by thyroid autoimmunity, smoking habit and the intake of iodised salt. The variations of TSH concentrations in 1T, and to a lesser extent in the 2T and 3T, were also related to β-hCG. In addition, women older than 30 showed lower concentrations of TSH in 1T and 2T compared to those under 30, thus accounting for a negative correlation between TSH and maternal age. Moreover, FT4 was significantly lower in women of 30 and above, with a statistically significant negative correlation. Pregnant women older than 30 show lower TSH concentrations for a given FT4 value, which may indicate a less effective direct stimulatory action of β-hCG, as if some decreased sensitivity of maternal thyroid gland to β-hCG was ongoing with age. However, TSH concentrations were also significantly lower in women with high parity in our sample and the negative correlation between TSH and maternal age did not persist when the sample was stratified according to parity, rendering maternal age as a likely confounder. Parity >2, but not maternal age, has been associated with lower thyroidal response to β-hCG in other studies [11,14]. Some studies have thoroughly analysed those variables with substantial effect on serum β-hCG levels during pregnancy, such as gestational age at assessment, maternal age, weight and cigarette smoking [18] and their relation to thyroid function tests. We found a strong negative effect of BMI and smoking habit on β-hCG concentration in 1T, in consonance with other authors [11]. Since obesity has been associated with a lower thyroidal response to β-hCG stimulation [11], the low levels of FT4 that we found in women with high BMI or who had smoked before the pregnancy might be interpreted as a poor β-hCG-mediated stimulation [19].

TSH seems to be positively related to the degree of obesity [20], meanwhile fat accumulation has been associated with lower FT4[21]. In our study, the negative effect of BMI on FT4 levels is steadily present in the three trimesters. It has been suggested that women with abdominal obesity show a high conversion of T4 to T3 due to increased deiodinase activity, as a compensatory mechanism to improve energy expenditure [22]. Additionally, the presence of anti-TPOAbs was associated with higher levels of TSH in the three trimesters of gestation and a lower level of FT4 in the 1T, while anti-TgAbs did not affect TSH nor FT4 concentrations. These results reinforce the importance of anti-TPOAbs-positive as a marker of impaired thyroid response to β-hCG stimulation [11,6].

There is solid evidence that current smokers have significantly lower serum TSH levels than non-smokers, probably in relation with leptin levels [23]. This effect is dose-dependent, disappears slowly after smoking cessation and is not associated with iodine intake [24]. Our results show a difference in mean TSH levels in 2T greater in current smokers than in stopped smokers. However, this difference did not reach statistical significance for TSH in 1T nor in 3T, which might be due to the interaction with potential confounders such as BMI or parity [25]. Finally, pregnant women who consumed iodised salt showed higher levels of FT4 in 1T and 2T and did not show the negative effect of BMI or maternal age on FT4, particularly in the 1T of pregnancy. Long-term iodized salt consumption before pregnancy significantly improves maternal thyroid economy and reduces the risk of maternal thyroid insufficiency during gestation, probably because of optimized intrathyroidal iodine stores [26]. A prior study of our group found that iodised salt (consumed at least one year before becoming pregnant) may be as effective as other forms of iodoprophylaxis in terms of infant neurocognitive development [27-29]. Our study was focused on healthy pregnant women, and even the obese or smoker participants had no other comorbidities to be considered at risk to develop any obstetric or perinatal complication. Maternal thyroid function in the first trimester can be useful for predicting thyroid function throughout the pregnancy [30], together with BMI and smoking habit as modulating factors. Therefore, preconceptional identification and modification of preventable maternal conditions that could potentially undermine thyroid function -such as those latter BMI, smoking-, especially at early stages of pregnancy is important.

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jacktowerscoms2001 · 5 years ago

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The academic study of consumption has helped highlight, reaffirm and contextualise my positioning amongst social and cultural spheres. It has shown how deeply I take an interest in consuming things that are designed and built with attention and thought with self-justification based on my identity. This illustrates my passive awareness of the values I hold when it comes to the choices I make as a consumer. Furthermore, this is to an extent directed by my global positioning, being afforded the privilege to have been raised in a first world nation. A number of scholars suggest that the “primary characteristic” of a “post-industrial society” shows that it’s a “consumer society” (Featherstone 1991; Lury 1996; Slater 1997; Baudrillard 1998) (as cited in Isabelle, 2013, pp110). Consumer societies illustrate how “our selves” and “Identities” are “formed by “consuming things” as opposed to “producing things” within “post-industrial society”. This however is argued by Baudrillard as a notion where “shaping self” is “forced upon us by the capitalist system” (as cited in Isabelle, 2013, pp110). The capitalist system drives social and cultural status pressures through advertising and marketing that pushes such positioning of self-making. “Shopping is consuming our lives” however it doesn’t guarantee “satisfaction” as with each purchase we are promised happiness, yet we’re still “dreaming of the virtuous ideal” (Miles, 2010, pp. 78). We’re nor happy or content in the pursuit of progress and continue to want the next thing that we don’t have. As Isabelle (2013) states

“This stance is embodied in the theory of consumption as materialistic, which suggests that people in post-industrial societies are bound up in the excessive accumulation of material goods either for their own sake or for purposes of distinction—and that these goods, while never satisfying consumers, are more important to them than their relationships with people” (pp. 108).

Materiality is quite often viewed as “intrinsically bad” and “superfluous,” as “pure individuals” become “sullied” by “commodity culture” and what is needed is an “ascetic repudiation” and “liberation” of individuals from things (Isabelle, 2013, pp. 108). However, this begs the question of what would a society that is not consumption-based to look like? Would there be progress and economic growth? Consumption reflects the individual based on economic or ideological contexts surrounding what one would consider wants and needs. These varied understandings of consumption are based on differing social, cultural and ideological factors. This is understandable based on the ambiguity of the lived human experience where wants and needs can be defined in variance based on the individual.

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handweavers · 7 years ago

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i wasn't necessarily referencing gender roles specifically but rather addressing the evidence that trans and gender non conforming people (modern western terms, yes, but i use them here as a matter of accessibility) have always existed in various forms throughout history, relative to the cultures and contexts they were born in, of course. prehistoric remains of people have been found buried in ways contradicting how other members of the same clan or group of the same assigned sex (again, a modern term and concept but used for ease of understanding) were typically buried, ie. bones indicating what modern scientists consider a "female" buried in a manner used solely for men of that culture, and vice versa, which among other things indicates those individuals were viewed to be just as male or just as female as anyone else. (key words being 'relative to our understandings of those cultures' not our understanding of our own culture we project upon them, although that does happen.)

i also find it interesting you consider gender variance to be the 'odd one out' and not sexual variance, implying that i can't include gender diversity as something intrinsic to the human experience (suspicious) but sexual diversity is, as though they aren't deeply interconnected.

sat through a lecture on paleolithic and neolithic culture and society and all i can think abt is how from as early as there have been anatomically modern humans (and even before in some cases) there is archaelogical evidence of gender and sexual variance, caring for the elderly and disabled, a drive to make art and music, a powerful affection for animals and each other, and a desire to learn as much as possible about the world as we can and yet people will still insist these things are not human nature and therefore unnatural, that the things we consider to be essentially human in nature are very recent in the span of our history or felt by only a rare few and not something integral to our humanity and success as a collective whole.

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n-ashley · 5 years ago

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Ual awarding body

Nicole ashley

799648

Fine art

Nature reclaiming itself and animal habitats

Unit 13- fmp Project Proposal

Section 1- rationale

The pathway which I adopted in my final project is fine art. The key reason is that I enjoy expressive textural pieces and utilizing three dimensional materials, for example, paper mache, wax and acrylic paints. The subject of textural nature and natural disasters is the significant message that I aspire to communicate effectively.

Following an analysis of Year one’s project, it concluded my strengths and style are with three dimensional textures. I had explored using architecture and illustration as variances, however, I found creating nature pieces through texture flowed, giving me natural inspiration. This resulted in producing an enhanced message and overall standard of work. As part of my secondary research I viewed the work of Anselm Kiefer. His large scale textures intrigued me to experiment on a deeper level.

During the project, I enjoyed experimental work as this gave me an intrinsic motivation. I focused on wax textures which resulted in a greater understanding of my expressive abilities and visual communication.

Year 1 project on deforestation and global environmental issues has been a significant influence. Working and researching natural environments gave me purpose to improve developmental areas and identify latent needs.

Two key influencing artists are Anselm KIefer and Valerie Heggarty. Transformation of textures, building and communicating messages I found empowering.

Section 2 - project concept

I aspire to learn about sensory techniques. This could give a stronger connection and stimulation to an audience. Engaging with the human senses could transform my piece as a walking exhibition. This could give an instant exploration and inspire others to learn through art.

During my project, I will use encaustic waxing, crackling effect, latexing, clay modelling, scraping, layering and embroidery. Idea generation for research I have planned to visit beaches, parks, National Trust gardens,local gardens. This is to observe, take photographs, collect objects, and practise mindfulness to connect to my natural cortex and senses.

The key themes include forest fires, ocean pollution and overgrown nature. To raise awareness of these global issues through my project, I feel are significant for both my message, the environment and will highlight the strength of my chosen pathway. THe textural aspect I feel matches with the visual communication and gives the piece a defined purpose.

Section 3 - evaluation

By communicating and experimenting through various mediums, this will stretch my capabilities and also develop my objectives. I plan to adopt both a fixed and growth mindset as this will capture each moment and open to discovery of evolving visual skills. I will present using tangible materials to include wax, shellac, tar, moss, dried plants, melted plants, rope, threads, egg shells, bleach, thick acrylic, latex, duct tape, rubbing alcohol, silica sand, encaustic wax, cloth, plastic bags, lace, clay, glue, soda, vinegar, foil and inks.

I will complete both primary and secondary research. The primary research will originate from a holiday to Cornwall, which will consist of landline beach material and offshore sea evidence. Tangible items such as photographs, sketchbooks, tourism and holiday brochures.

A key element of my project is continuous review. I will complete this by performing a gap analysis in the form of a gantt chart. From previous projects and art work, I will complete a review weekly to compare and provide a benchmark. The benchmark will be judged on both my aspirations, previous grades achieved, and core artistic abilities.

I have devised my own grading system as this will provide a framework ro measure my objectives. These will be specific to my chosen pathway, materials chosen, research, learning objectives and adopted visual techniques.

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outletggdbshoes-blog · 6 years ago

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Golden Goose Sneakers Internet marketing Campaigns Malaysia

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amutheology · 7 years ago

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Master’s Theses

[Back, left to right: Daniel Waldow, Marcus Peter, Michal Dujakovich, Michael De Salvo, Anthony Dittus, Martin Saxe, Michael Crotteau; Front, left to right: Elizabeth Welsh, Patricia Baguinon, Chloé Bowman]

We’ve had an exciting year here in Ave Maria University’s Graduate Theology Program with many brilliant young men and women. We’ll be sad to see our graduating students go.

As a short sampling of their work, we’ll look at our graduating MA students’ theses. Only short abstracts are available here, but soon the complete theses will be available here. Feel free to also look at some of the theses and dissertations we have from the last few years, also available online.

Patricia Baguinon

Title: “Fully Conscious and Active Participation”: The Means to Respond to Christ’s Friendship and the Source Of The Christian Spirit

Abstract: This study is an examination of the theological ideas of the Council’s call for “fully conscious, and active participation” among the lay people in the Liturgy: that fully conscious, and active participation (1) is demanded by the very nature of the liturgy, (2) is the Christian people’s right and duty by reason of their baptism, and (3) is the primary and indispensable source from which the faithful are to derive the true Christian Spirit. To illustrate how these theological ideas for this part of liturgical reform is part of Christ’s work of salvation made present in the liturgy through His Paschal Mystery, this study examines the parallelism between the disciple’s response to Christ’s friendship and the lay people’s response to Christ’s friendship as made present in the Eucharist—both being the true Christian spirit as St. Paul appeals to the Romans and as Dietrich von Hildebrand describes in his book Liturgy and Personality as a true personality.

Chloé Bowman

Title: Mary: The Helpmate of Jesus and the Model for All Women

Abstract: Never in history has there been a woman who has helped Jesus more than Mary. As his mother, queen, and Mediatrix, Mary has served her son in his mission to bring salvation to mankind. She is her son’s perfect “helpmate” who never ceases to have faith in his kingship, even though the cross seems to contradict it. To describe her various roles, Mary is given many titles in Scripture, Tradition, and Catholic scholarship. In this essay I will examine six of the titles of Mary: the New Eve, Coredemptrix, Mother of the Church, Queen Mother, and Mediatrix; and show how they are all united under her role as helpmate to Christ and his Church, and how the titles are derived from each other. I will then offer some ways in which Mary’s example as helpmate to Christ and his Church can serve to guide Catholic women in helping their own mates, whether spousal or ecclesial.

Michael Crotteau

Title: Christ: the Perfection of Man, Typology as the Defender of the Christian Faith

Abstract: The focus of this thesis will be to present Christianity as a Trinitarian and Christocentric religion in opposition to the variances in which it has been presented over the past century, leading into today, by both theologians and philosophers. I will begin with a thorough look into just how God has prepared man, and all of creation, to receive the perfection for which he was made: Christ, the image of God. In doing so, I will show how this presentation of Christianity is nothing new and how the process of reading the Scriptures as coming to fulfilment in Christ, known as typology, originated in Judaism. I will place this presentation of Christianity in opposition to some recent proposals held in high esteem within their own fields, Bultmann and Campbell. Lastly, I will respond to objections, specifically that of the Church and the problem of the damned. Then, I will conclude with how typology can be carried into today’s world.

Michael De Salvo

Title: The Old Law, an Enduring Pedagogue: the Relationship between the Old and New Law as Explicated by St. Thomas

Abstract: The subject of this thesis is the relationship between the old and new law as explicated by St. Thomas Aquinas. In particular, I argue: the difference between the old and the new law is a difference in state, not in end, as explicated by Thomas in his Summa Theologiae and as manifest in his commentary on the Letter to the Hebrews, especially as examined via the lens of why Paul begins by comparing Christ to the angels. First, I examine why one might think—contra Thomas—that the new law supersedes the old law as well as why one might think the new law does not transcend the old law. Second, I examine Thomas’ understanding of the relationship between the old and new law in the Summa Theologiae. Third, I examine how the Letter to the Hebrews manifests the validity of Aquinas’ understanding. Last, I briefly respond to the alternative views first set out.

Anthony Dittus

Title: The Legitimacy of the Death Penalty in Accordance with the Tradition

Abstract: In recent years, especially since Evangelium Vitae, the legitimacy of the death penalty has been particularly called into question and, more importantly, almost in a manner that either ignores or is ignorant of its prior vast, rich tradition to the contrary. The purposes of this essay are twofold: To lay out this prior tradition and its significance, focusing especially on Scripture and an argument for there being an infallible consensus of the Church Fathers on the matter; and to show that the apparent “new directions” taken by John Paul II and Pope Francis most likely were not intended to be presented as developments of doctrine and could not be so regardless of intention. Consequently, while leaving open the question of its prudential application, the legitimacy of the death penalty in principle will be shown to most likely not to be susceptible to abrogation.

Michal Dujakovich

Title: Extra Ecclesiam Nulla Salus: An Essay on Aquinas, Baptism, and Qualified Hope

Abstract: This paper is an examination into the doctrine of “No Salvation Outside the Church.” This doctrine is found consistently throughout the Roman Catholic Church’s tradition. Instead of ignoring this doctrine, it is possible to incorporate it into our teachings today. The crux of the argument lies in how one defines the Church. The proper definition would be all baptized people make up the Church of Christ, of course there is a distinction between the visible and the invisible Church. This does not mean that everybody outside of the Roman Catholic Church, the visible Church, is damned to Hell. Instead, there are different forms of baptism other than baptism by water; there is also baptism by desire and by blood. Therefore, salvation is offered to the whole world.

Marcus Peter

Title: BEHOLD YOUR BRIDE: The Nuptial Character as Intrinsic to the Biblical Covenants and Pivotal to the New and Eternal Covenant and Ecclesial Life

Abstract: Far from being a mere relationship of legality, covenants bring God and man into flesh and blood kinship bonds that are simultaneously adoptive, familial and nuptial in nature. The central premise of this thesis is that the relational dimension of the New and Eternal Covenant possesses an intrinsic nuptial character through which God desires to espouse creation to himself via covenant bond. To demonstrate this, it explores the theology of covenants under the supposition that there exists a nuptial character that is essential to all of them. From there, it applies this focus upon the New and Eternal Covenant with this paradigm of its nuptial character, discussing this mysterionin depth and, subsequently, drawing from the analysis the natural ecclesial and eschatological implications this nuptial framework entails. Its inquiry engages all of Sacred Scripture and, from there, the works of theologians who have also extrapolated upon this nuptial character of the biblical covenants within this same framework.

Martin Saxe

Title: An Exegesis of Ecclesiastes, Particularly as it Relates to Various Theological Themes in the Book

Abstract: This thesis will explore some of the major theological themes in the Book of Ecclesiastes, and then proceed to use those themes in a complete exegesis of the book from a Catholic perspective. In particular the themes of Divine Providence and Divine Immutability will be emphasized as the key to interpreting the book. It is the contention of this thesis that Christian tradition has been much more open to the themes of the book then is commonly appreciated, and the supposed unorthodoxy of the book is merely supposed, and comes not only from a poor exegesis of the text, but from a merely superficial engagement with Christian tradition.

Daniel Waldow

Title: From Whom Was Man Saved? A Retrieval and Defense of Origen's Ransom Soteriology

Abstract: This thesis explores the soteriology of Origen’s Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans. Specifically, it examines Origen’s teaching that Christ’s death was a ransom paid to the devil. This work is divided into three parts: Part I precisely identifies the errors attributed to patristic theories of the devil’s ransom by briefly tracing the reception history of this idea. Part II shows that Origen did not teach such errors, and explicates his actual teaching on ransom by interpreting it within his broader soteriological system. Part III argues that Origen’s ransom imagery is grounded in scripture and reflective of essential and enduring soteriological truths. Ultimately, this work shows that reflection upon Origen’s ransom imagery can help fallen humanity to more deeply appreciate the absolutely gratuitous, saving love of God.

Elizabeth Welsh

Title: Christian Fasting: The Church’s Understanding of Self-Denial

Abstract: Fasting and abstinence have held a primary position in the Tradition of the Church even from the times of the desert fathers and St. Basil. During the current era, fasting and other physical forms of penance seem to have been lost in a world of over-indulgence. Paul VI reaffirmed the Church’s teaching in 1966: “By divine law all the faithful are required to do penance.” In the same Apostolic Constitution, Paenitemini, Catholic bishops were required to analyze their various regions’ economic situation and determine the most fitting form of penance to mark Fridays. The USCCB subsequently declared that individuals were free to practice another weekly act of penance instead of abstaining from meat. By studying the dietary principles of the early Christians and comparing them to current trends, the Church is in an ideal position to consider how effectively Catholics have implemented Paul VI’s wishes. Is a sense of the necessity of physical penances still alive in today’s Church?

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apsbicepstraining · 8 years ago

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Intelligent Design Without A Creator? Why Evolution May Be Smarter Than We Reputed

Charles Darwins theory of evolution offers written explanations of the reasons why biological organisms seem so well designed to live on our planet. This process is commonly described as unintelligent based on random fluctuations with no direction. But despite its success, some oppose this theory because they dont believe living things can progress in increments. Something as complex as the eye of an animal, they reason, must be the product of an smart creator.

I dont think invoking a supernatural builder going to be able to be a scientifically helpful justification. But what about intellect that isnt supernatural? Our new decisions, based on computer modelling, relate evolutionary treats to the principles of learning and intelligent problem solving without concerning any higher powers. This suggests that, although growth may have started off dazzle, with a couple of billion years of knowledge it has get smarter.

What Is Intelligence ?

Intelligence can be many things, but sometimes its good-for-nothing more than looking at a problem from the right angle. Encountering an smart mixture is also possible just about recognizing that something you assumed to be a constant might be variable( like the direction of the working paper in the portrait below ). It can also be about approaching a problem with the right building blocks.

With good building block( for example triangles) its easy to find a combination of steps( creases) that solves the problem by incremental progress( each fold plows more picture ). But with bad building blocks( creases that create long thin rectangles) a terminated solution is impossible.

Looking at a number of problems from the right angle establishes it easy. columnist

In humans, the ability to approach a number of problems with an adequate determined of building block comes from experience since we are discover . But until now we have believed that evolution by natural selection cant read; it simply plods on, banging away relentlessly with the same random-variation hammer, incrementally compiling changes when they happen to be beneficial.

The Evolution Of Evolvability

In computer science we use algorithms, such as those simulating neural networks in the mentality, to understand how learning cultivates. Discovering isnt intrinsically mysterious; we can get machines to do it with step by step algorithm. Such machine learning algorithms are a well-understood part of neural networks. In a neural net, learning involves settling the link between neurons( stronger or weaker) in the direction that maximises wages. With simple-minded methods like this it is possible to get neural networks to not just solve problems, but to get better at solving problems over period.

But what about evolution, is possible to get better at evolving over meter? The sentiment is known as the evolution of evolvability. Evolvability, plainly the ability to evolve, depends on appropriate variance, collection and inheritance Darwins cornerstones. Interestingly, all of these components can be altered by past progression, making past evolution can change the way that future progression operates.

For example, random genetic change can make a extremity of an animal longer or shorter, but it can also change whether forelimbs and hindlimbs change independently or in a correlated way. Such changes reform the building blocks available to future evolution. If past pick has influenced these building blocks well, it can shape solving new problems look easy easy enough to solve with incremental better. For example, if limb segments have advanced to change independently, evolving increased height is in need of multiple changes( altering each extremity) and intermediate stages may be worse off. But if changes are correlated, individual changes might be beneficial.

The idea of the evolution of evolvability has been around for some time, but the detailed be applied in memorizing theory is beginning to give this area a very much theoretical foundation.

Gene networks derive like neural networks learn. scribe

Our work would point out that the evolution of regulatory the linkages between genes, which decide how genes are expressed in our cells, got the same hearing capabilities as neural networks. In other texts, gene networks derive like neural networks learn. While joinings in neural network change in the direction that maximises honors, natural selection changes genetic communications in the direction that growths fitness. The ability to learn is not itself something that needs to be designed it is an inevitable commodity of random variant and assortment when playing on connections.

The stimulating deduction of this is that growth can progress to get better at advancing in exactly the same lane that a neural net can hear to be a better difficulty solver with ordeal. The intelligent bit is not explicit recalling onward( or anything else un-Darwinian ); it is the evolution of connections that allow it to solve new questions without looking ahead.

So, when an evolutionary enterprise we predicted is very hard( such as making the eye) turns out to be possible with incremental better, instead of inferring that dumb progression was adequate after all, we might acknowledge that evolution was very smart to have found building blocks that establish their own problems looking so easy.

Interestingly, Alfred Russel Wallace( who indicated a theory of natural selection at the same time as Darwin) subsequently applied the period intelligent evolution to is in favour of divine intervention in the trajectory of evolutionary treats. If the formal link between learning and evolution continues to expand, the same word could become used to show the opposite.

Richard A. Watson, Associate Professor of the Institute for Life Discipline/ Electronics and Computer science, University of Southampton

The post Intelligent Design Without A Creator? Why Evolution May Be Smarter Than We Reputed appeared first on apsbicepstraining.com.

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freewhispersmaker · 8 years ago

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Quantitative Methods and Analysis

Examine data, analyze the results, and share the results with groups of other researchers. Job satisfaction is important to companies large and small, and understanding it provides managers with insights into human behavior that can be used to strengthen the company's bottom line. which contains the following nine sections of data that will be used throughout our course:

Gender Age Department Position Tenure Overall Job Satisfaction Intrinsic Job Satisfaction—Satisfaction with the actual performance of the job Extrinsic Job Satisfaction—external to the job, for example, office location, your work colleagues, your own office (cubicle/hard walled office, etc), Benefits—Health insurance, pension plan, vacation, sick days, etc. In the first assignment you are to complete the following:

You will need to examine two of the nine sections of data: one section of qualitative data (choose either Gender or Position) one section of quantitative data (choose either Intrinsic or Extrinsic) Each section should include all data points listed in the column for the variable. The requirements include: Identify the data you selected. Explain why the data was selected. Explain what was learned by examining these sets of data. Your analysis should include using Microsoft Excel to obtain information about the data through the use of three measures of central tendency (mean, median, mode). Your analysis should also include the use of two measures of variability (standard deviation and variance). Some measures are appropriate for qualitative data, and some are appropriate for quantitative data. If a measure is not applicable, then explain why. You will have to also provide one chart/graph for each of the results of the two processed sections of data (2 total), such as a pie or bar chart or a histogram. (A table is not a chart/graph.) Ensure that you label the chart/graph clearly. You will then need to discuss what you additionally learned from the results of this process. Explain why charts/graphs are important in conveying information in a visual format and why standard deviation and variation are important.

combine all of the items above into one comprehensive report. This

The post Quantitative Methods and Analysis appeared first on Academic Writers BAy.

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trishgibsontx · 8 years ago

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psychic attacks / how energy works THROUGH people / and the fact that the ONLY power is LIGHT.

photo by Weimin Wang

I will begin by stating the obvious: dark is the absence of light, and nothing else. if that is not obvious to you, then let it be. it will change the way you interpret people and situations in life. essentially, there is no such thing as darkness.

that said, there is a consciousness of energy alone. this consciousness, in 5d form, can take 3d form. when this happens, there is a container: typically a human (on occasion however, we hear crazy things like possession of dolls and inanimate objects — I won’t go there in this post as it will digress greatly). as the absence of light/love exists in the ego realms, humans are natural containers for a range of energy — ranging from light to “dark”. in order to survive, one must either 1) break their ego and access light from within or 2) refuse to break their ego and access light from others. there are variances and nuances and grey areas throughout the human race in terms of what we carry at different times and why. however the fundamental and basic bottom line remains: there is no such thing as dark.

so, how is it that dark manifests as “powerful” darkness in the form of evil acts like psychic attacks and worse? there are too many examples for me to type, especially given my work experience (in which I see how it all works — when I look at a person, I see every person connected to them, and those connected to them, and what the potentials are for the absence of light to affect them psychologically and physically — I see exactly where that light or lack thereof lives, and WHY). I will later in this blog post start with hypothetical examples. the examples are, however, largely based on very specific first-hand witness to very real examples. I want to be clear by saying that I am not citing specific people or their specific situations as they relate to my work. I honor each experience, protect it, and contain it without mention or discussion — even on an anonymous basis. other examples that I will also share later in this post will be from my own life, in which I will be far less hypothetical.

let me first start by saying that my first-hand experience and black and white understanding, time and time again without fail, and proven through my work and personal life, is the fact that each person on our planet is born at a “set point” or intrinsic potential for a particular amount of light. much more about this can be found in my eBooklet “we are not attacked because we are flawed…”. anyhow, each of us with our intrinsic and RELATIVE set point, no matter how low or high (again, irrelevant to each of our personal potentials for inner growth and happiness – it is only by comparing and contrasting this from different perspectives that we perceive “better” or “worse”), is paired with free will. free will is an entirely different animal. free will aka conscious or conveniently unconscious decision-making, the barometer upon which we will either thrive or suffer. when we look outside of ourselves to better our life, we suffer. when we look within ourselves to better our life, we grow. no matter our set point (please read power versus force by Hawkins to better understand individual human calibrations — it is an intro to much of what I am writing about here), it is when we pair it with free will that things change. for example, the Universe will “judge” us based on our individual and relative capabilities and what we DECIDE based on ego/free will.

so let’s say “I” have a naturally high, higher than median average calibration, an incredible gift of perception, and a natural ability to create a powerhouse of good in the world — this would mean that I come from a natural frequency of love, and that was just what happened when I landed at birth in term of my natural calibration or electromagnetic field frequency (again, just like an electronic, we each have one!). but, let’s say that I got lazy because of my human ego. I took my gifts for granted, and I took my natural frequency of love for granted. perhaps the initiations that were presented to me at birth (to transcend my ego and even raise my frequency) became excuses instead of triumphs. this is known as WASTED POTENTIAL. and so I hang out with my head barely above water, never accessing the natural gifts that the Universe has set up for me. I operate at about 5% of my set point frequency and never do any work to move beyond that. this is the ultimate sin by the way, wasting gifts that the Universe has bestowed upon us. then let’s say there is another person who came in with a more median calibration. not as high as mine. they did not come in from a natural frequency of love or joy (and again this is relative, like the mosaic of our planet, so “high” or “low” does not matter and is not judged but rather simply discerned) but they used free will in terms of transcending their ego. they didn’t just keep their head above water, or make excuses, rather they passed some of their “tests” that their soul set up for them prior to or at birth. the ultimately decided to and were able to access nearly 100% of their natural calibration. though their set point never changed, they transcended karma and, relative to their purpose in this life, they lived it. the difference between “I” above and this other person, is that they chose to look within and create from a positive free will aim. their “reward” would be multi-fold. I won’t go into specifics for fear of examples being taken out of context. but you can believe that we pay the price when we take for granted, do not do the work, and feed externally versus internally; and we are rewarded when we do the work, feed ourselves internally, and transcend ego. the latter example combines positive free will with our overall human container (which contains a calibration set point) and whether we are naturally at a 200 or an 800, we are living at our relative 100%. someone living 100% at a 200 intrinsic set point is more powerful and more at peace than someone living 5% at a 800 intrinsic set point. the only common denominator / affector here is again: FREE WILL (relative to innate calibration/frequency).

free will can be discerned based on intention. often times I work with such wonderful people, and they blame themselves for things that have absolutely nothing to do with them (always, always early life training! and I have to remind them: if you are going to judge yourself, judge your INTENTION. it is in our intention that our free will rears it ugly or beautiful head, and so much can be seen as a result of that. if it is our intention to see another person suffer simply because we believe that they are lucky or have more than us, and that by them suffering perhaps we have a shot at more light (major lack mentality), we create more and more of an absence of light. if it is our intention to see another person thrive simply because we understand the law of relativity as it relates to each of us, and that there is no such thing as lack even if we perceive someone else to have “more” in some way, we create more and more of a container of light within us. and we are capable of expanding more and more toward our 100% light body. intention is everything. which leads me, in part, into the subject of this blog post: psychic attacks / how energy works THROUGH people / and the fact that the ONLY power is LIGHT.

we can only be successfully psychically attacked when our conscious or unconscious mind AGREES to the vibration of the attack. and, even then, the attack is a blessing as it will ultimately reveal where we need to purge what is not in alignment with ourselves. we can not feel bad unless there is something within us that needs to purge/leave. feeling bad is a psychological (conscious or unconscious) condition. nothing more. and it doesn’t mean it is our fault, either. we must investigate to discover how xyz belief (again — conscious or UNconscious — very important to note what unconscious looks like!) got there. once we can do this, and fish-hook out said belief, we can relieve ourselves of the attack. that said, we can and do often suffer the short-term effects of a psychic attack (due to the reasons I mention above). what is a psychic attack? a psychic attack, simply, is another person’s perception of their own LACK projected onto another person. PERIOD. when the ego has become so damaged by whatever training, programming or poor free will associated with keeping it damaged, it looks to feed from the outside. unconscious manifestations of lack become conscious, and that energy becomes the focus of the attacker. the attacker will seek out LIGHT. both consciously AND unconsciously. this is where it can get tricky for people to spot/pick up on. there are many people like me, who can not even begin to think bad thoughts for another person, and therefore zipper their higher self right over their human self — confusing the two. I’ve done it a million times over. I’ve looked at a person, seen their dark spots, but before I could even fully acknowledge them, zippered their higher self (which they have not actualized at ALL — either out of free will or another reason) right over their human self. all of a sudden, I have set myself up, because this person sees something that they lack — and they want it! when someone is completely cut off from their higher self, it is too late to even attempt to assist them or fill in their blank spaces. they will find anyone they can to project their unwanted qualities onto, and it will always be someone who carries light. however, there is a specific gateway/loophole/access point to keep in mind: conscious or unconscious beliefs that do not line up with the person’s core of which they intend to draw from/attack. if we are carrying these out of alignment thoughts or beliefs, somewhere, anywhere, we can (temporarily) become a feeding frenzy for a psychic vampire. even if we HAVE cleaned up most of our unaligned beliefs about self, a person of such extreme lack will gravitate toward us. if they can not get to us specifically, they will feed/host off of anyone associated with us.

I shared a story in my “hostile envy” blog post about experiences I had with women early on in life. it is worth reading to get a feel for what I am explaining here. that experience taught me so much, and helped to give me a heads up about what real energetic lack looks like for the rest of my life, as I observe others who appear to want to be in my life for whatever reason. the basis of that post, and the basis of my point here, is that someone in lack is not always the most obvious case (well, not to us, and often they ARE obvious to those around us!). this can make it difficult once we let them into our life even the tiniest bit. they may appear, on the outside, to be sensitive, creative, fun and have it all together. the basic human eye or brain can not always detect lack, because those in extreme lack are often masters of disguise at hiding it. the one way that they hide it is by wearing the energy of others. yes, wearing the energy of others.

I once had an intuitive reading with someone and she said to me about a particular energy I was curious about in my life “if she could bathe in you, she would”. this is what it feels like energetically. it may make zero intellectual sense. but once the energy begins to manifest, which I will get into below, it is undeniable. those who hide their lack use others, essentially bathe in them, and in this way mask their darkness aka absence of light.

a person of extreme lack has no other option, after they have bypassed free will to fill their own container of light, than to wear others unless they be discovered for what they actually are. these people are leeches, grifters of sorts. you will find them at spiritual events (one of their favorite spots!!), churches, socialite events and the like. like drug addicts, they need a constant supply of energy. and they will get it through any means. what we MUST keep in mind, is that our energy exists beyond the human 3d level. so when we feel something “funny” in our gut, we MUST honor it. because our intellect can not begin to rationalize the behavior of a psychic vampire. internet and social media is a great metaphor to explain how each of us is made. we each have transmitters and receivers that run rampant all over the grid of our planet. there are millions of aspects to each of us, and we can’t possibly understand all of them. we do not know, all of the time, how our battery is being charged or used by others, or what aspects of our frequencies are supporting energy we either want everything to do with or nothing to do with. we must keep in mind that like a computer, each of us has a firewall and a server and a bandwidth. those of us with high frequencies and positive free will are targets for those who, as I explain above, are simply lazy. often inconspicuous, psychic attackers absorb us in many ways. one example is by intention alone. if we are not aware of our own cognitive beliefs, conscious and unconscious, an energy vampire will unconsciously spot that and use it. intention carries a signal and, like a computer or phone message, will attach to our own psychological unfinished business. they will also try to befriend us, constantly want to give us things or exchange not only time but material items. for example, they will try to get us to pay for things. or they will ask for very innocuous things from us. I once had a person who became so obsessed with me asking me for the most RIDICULOUS things: basically ANY item at all from me. energy vampires will also want you to eat their food, wear their clothes or material items, and get their hands on any of your 3d “stuff’ possible. if they can not get what they want in that way, they will shift tactics. they will gossip or worm-tongue you. it will start off light, until they can rope in a person or two just a little bit, and they will use that energy to fill their dark pit. this gives them just enough fuel to keep going. when this is not enough, which it will never be, they will seek to emotionally charge you. either through the above, or directly confronting you to poke you emotionally so that you bleed in some way. you will be left confused, wondering what happened. and how it happened. and what you did. if this does not work, and even if it does, they will still seek fuel…

once upon a time, I had met a serious case energy vampire. I had an initial aversion to this particular person. they seemed “ok”, especially on the surface, but something in my gut said “no”. in retrospect, they had “crazy eyes”. I couldn’t tell if they were in love with me, or if they wanted to kill me. those kind of eyes. I continued to cross paths with them and never felt the pull to connect. then, they friended me on social media. social media, by the way, is a massive portal of negativity. I will not even elaborate on the harmful portals associated with it, and that will be another post at some point. but here’s the bottom line: imagine something that allows for trillions of signals and awarenesses from billions of people at once to focus at random (or not). we are constantly averting that which we do not want and trying to move toward what we do want while navigating this very intense ball of energy (our phone! our computer!). social media and the internet is a psychic vampire’s greatest love. it is here that they can make themselves known, present, either to us or to anyone who knows us. back to the story — they friended me on social media. I thought nothing of it. after all, there was no glaring “proof” as to the core of this person and I had a knack for zippering higher selves right over human selves. they hoovered me for about a year or so, probably with every aim in mind to meet me again in person, working through mutual acquaintances any way they could. this was of course not obvious to me at the time. after some later evident wear and tear on my field, through the gateways/portals of the internet, we crossed paths in person for the first time. this time was intentional on my part, and I had overlooked any possible motive or intention of their energy. HOWEVER — and there is always a however in retrospect — I did notice a very creepy energy associated with family members of this person. because of what I do for work, there are certain “facts” that I just can not ignore or get away from. I remember seeing a family member of this person online (thanks online “suggestions”) and knowing that this person (the obsessive energy vampire / psychic attacker, focused on me) was severely abused and had pushed that memory into their unconscious. but it was clear as day to me, who did it, and what. just to digress for a moment, this is the hardest thing for me about being intuitive. the first time it happened I was in a restaurant working as a hostess, and this doctor came in with his little girl. I knew immediately he was molesting her. I felt helpless. I had no proof. but I KNEW. it is impossible to explain. anyhow, I had a similar “knowing” about the context of this person who was focused on me. but, sometimes I have to write the knowings off because I get SO much information about people – information I am not asking for and do not want. but in retrospect, it showed me the gateway as to the evil, dark, and light-absent nature of the energy associated with and through person who would become so focused upon me…

in short, they became obsessed. I felt it. and 3d signs began to show for me! my sign is cockroaches. when someone has done something to me in the form of a psychic attack, a cockroach will appear right in front of me. it happens like clockwork. it is my totem animal of guidance. and, I have an aversion to roaches. major. like most people. one day, there were 3 cockroaches that crossed my path in the most unlikely of places. the obsessed person was on my mind, as they had put their efforts into overdrive to be in contact with me. and stalk a person I had dated. and try to see me. and try to get their acquaintances to see me (super witchy shit). and there were these roaches, letting me know, “shut it down”. at that moment, I began the clearing (more on that later — how to clean the energy of a psychic attack) process. and that is when this obsessive person turned it up a notch. they began a 24/7 campaign of obsessive contact with everyone they thought I ever might know, have known or be in contact with on any level. all hours of the night (I am serious), they began connecting with anyone who had ever been associated with any of my social media accounts. following, liking, commenting like a crazy person. it was so outrageous, that I began getting calls and texts from friends about this person. this had been the case all along, their overt actions toward me online, but just in a much more mild tone before I cut off personal communication with this energy vampire. once I did that, they went into a full-blown addiction. it is akin to what I see energetically when I work with people who have dated narcotics addicts. I could not believe that in just 48 hours, the person who was so focused on feeding off of me, had contacted dozens of people from my high school (without knowing where I was from, though I now realize it’s not that hard to find out) including family members whom I was not even connected to online. as the screenshots of this person’s behavior rolled in, I was stunned. this was, by far, the craziest addiction to drawing light from a person that I had personally experienced. friends and acquaintances of mine were generally concerned, and on edge for their own personal security. I spoke with a few of them about it after they reached out to me, and I was told by more than one person that they were surprised I would ever associate with such a person — that their darkness aka absence of light was so palpable to them. these people, of course, had a high energy, perception, and were extremely intuitive. because the person was not focused on them directly, it was also easier for them to see than it was for me. it’s always clearer that way.

the oddest (or not) thing was, as the light hit the reality of the above scenario, I encountered another 3 cockroaches. this time, however, they were in very poor shape. one walked by me with only one wing, and it was falling off of the body. another one was half dead near the garbage, barely moving, and the 3d, most disgusting one, was on my ceiling where the ceiling meets the wall: have you ever seen a cockroach poop!? me neither. until that night. it was as if I had been under siege, and these roaches were letting me know I had exorcised this energy from my life. as this massive, poopy roach looked at me from the corner of the ceiling, it slid down the wall slowly and in a falling fashion — yet still hooked to the wall. each time it feel, mouse-sized turds released from its body. I was stunned. I have never seen anything like that before. and the symbolism was so. clear. it was over. I had processed this “thing” out of my body and out of my mind.

around this time, and maybe prior to the final 3 roaches making their appearance, I got a few intuitive readings on this. I also spoke with my clinical therapist about it. she let me know that she had seen this behavior many times, and that it was a classic dissociative and obsessive behavior seen when one person can not accept parts of themselves and in effect tries to “become” another person to escape their unconscious pain. I knew this for others I had worked with, but hearing it regarding my own situation felt different. this made me feel so badly for this person who was doing this to me. but, I could not ignore the level of overt, shameless bully in them, or the level of unscrupulous and dark focus they had. I would not enable this behavior with empathy, I had to protect myself. and I was instructed to do anything I could to stay away, protect myself, and alert those close to me as to the behavior. the psychics, whilst knowing nothing about why I had asked for an intuitive reading in advance, picked up on this person IMMEDIATELY. I felt like, why is this so obvious to everyone but me!? well, that is my soft spot — the area I need to learn and grow in more — the area that says “we are all equal” when in fact, I know we are NOT all equal energetically. I was being forced to build greater firewalls, be less trusting, more discerning, and also to pick up on more nuanced and subtle hallmarks of mental illness. each psychic I spoke with said that this person was trying to become me. literally. they saw the entire situation, head to toe. it was baffling. and, the energetic consequences of the situation were still rampant. I had a responsibility to myself, and to others whom I would assist in the future who would be in the position that I was then in, to see this entire thing through and understand it top to bottom.

I made sure that the camera in my front window was working. I made sure that this person could not get to me physically. I decided only to alert a few people about the situation whom I felt needed to know. I put light around it and, fortunately, I had a couple of amazing people around me who saw it all along so clearly. there were some who did not. and probably can not ever, because they have something in common with the lack energy that was pursuing me. c’est la vie. their free will was still an option. months later, I saw the consequences of this person’s actions and intentions toward me. without too many details so as to not escape any unneeded energy their way, they had grifted nearly a dozen people I knew into their communication. it was in this way that they felt they still had access to the source (me). some of these people fell prey, and learned their own lessons associated with this energy. and I let them go. one of the benefits of experiencing a psychic attack is that it is like sunshine after a snowstorm. it melts away all that is like, all that might stick to it. and we are left with a super clean slate. it is just emotionally painful sometimes as the slate cleans. and, needless, as there are neutral casualties of this kind of war. but those casualties are not without their own free will, so how much of a casualty are they really?

my lessons: I didn’t cause this. I used to have a lot of beliefs around everything being my fault. from the day I was born. one of the reasons that this happened was the Universe’s intention for allowing me to master knowing that this had nothing to do with me. there is a line I will never forget, that my therapist has said to me repeatedly, and it was the first line she ever spoke on our very first session on my very first day with her: “a person’s obsession with you has NOTHING TO DO WITH YOU”. I remember sitting in that chair, I had told her nothing about my life, I was already afraid that she didn’t like me, and I had no idea why she had said that. that central theme, however, has unfolded retroactively with many different shades and truths since the moment she said it. and so I learned that lesson. and, as we learn a lesson during a psychic attack, it loses its power. I also learned my power through the experience. no one pursues and attacks something unless it is something that they want and/or need and either can not or will not get it from themselves. I had already known that the only power in existence is light, but it reinforced how true this is due to the gravity of this attack (again, some details have been left out here).

most interesting about the above attack is how the energy was able to move through and pervade others — however, the only “others” it was able to pervade, were those whom in some way MATCHED the psychic vampire at the helm of it. just like I, too, had a role. I had to match it in some way. and there was some belief in myself, unconsciously, deep down, that still needed to be released. and it was. but still, seeing how insidious and rampant energy is and how it can travel has been mind-blowing. I explain this to my patients in the contexts of their own lives, but explaining it here is more difficult because I am having a one-way conversation. a huge point of this post is to let you know that whatever we have unresolved within us will seek to be resolved — often by unwanted forces. so picking up on that is key. also key, is knowing that once the lesson has been transcended, there is no food/light left for which to fuel said attack. we must protect our light by knowing ourselves on the deepest levels possible. energy is working through all of us, all of the time. it can be as strong as an entity possession, or as light as a dirty look.

here is a hypothetical example of the way that darkness will live in a light body. I already explained how it got there — conscious or unconscious beliefs. actual possession/voodoo stuff as I said earlier is an entirely different post. when someone is raped or severely physically attacked, the mind and spirit will often have to leave the room so that the body can survive. when this happens, the darkness of the attacker is able to then bypass into that person’s actual 3d body by averting their conscious awareness. they have to be unconscious at that point, in order to psychically survive the incident. let’s say I see someone who is pure natural light, their preset is love and joy, yet they are carrying something so contrary. something happened in order for that to occur. and, depending upon their free will combined WITH their natural preset, that will determine where that energy goes and if it is able to be transcended/transmuted outside of their physical body. because the spirit and conscious awareness of that person had to leave their body during their abuse or attack, it is my job to make it safe for those forgotten/rejected aspects of self to come back. I can ONLY work with those who have a high degree of positive free will/malleable ego, who seek to draw from within and not repeat the pattern of the attack which draws from the outside inward. the first thing that happens is my natural preset, much like an internet server, will match closely the natural preset of the person I am working with (I make sure this is the case before I even see them). once this resonance is in place, the energy that does not match has less of a nest within that person. as I begin my process of making it safe for forgotten aspects of that person to return to their body (transcending time and space, a very specific CBT that I do), they are able to raise their frequency as a result of their combined natural preset and free will. depending on the situation, this may be an immediate return to self or it may take months. it doesn’t matter, as the end game is the same. there is a return to self, and the darkness that feeds is forced to transcend or return to sender (that part is up to the Universe). during conversation, the entity or wraith that has found its home inside of a human body will squirm, and the person I am hypothetically dealing with will FEEL IT. when they make conscious and unconscious connections during our discussion, the energy has less and less of a chance of surviving on a minute to minute basis. when I go into straight energy work mode, they may fall unconscious and I may see an entire being — like a shadow in the shape of a person — leave their body. once we bridge the psychological with the energetic, there is no space for unaligned energy to live.

when I referenced the cockroaches example on a personal level, that is the “proof” of purged unaligned energy leaving my electromagnetic field/life. it is also very bittersweet when I see a roach. because it is my “evidence” of where time and space collapse and the entity both appears and leaves simultaneously. something has, indeed, been both taken from me and returned to me at the same time. it is a point of awareness for me to learn from all in one moment. as you digest all of this, you might find your own totems that are similar. it is in these moments that we also understand that there is only light.

if we can all do what it is our job to do, learn and grow from within while pulling from within and expanding from within with no exterior attempts to bathe in light (this is different from gathering and collaborating with like-minded energies, both on a psychological and intrinsic set point frequency level), we will notice that the only absence of light that can be experienced is a ploy from the Universe. it does, of course, show up, and much of it in tangible form. but, there is a job to do. and that job has everything to do with human evolution. anything derived from outside of us is short-term, unsustainable and un-lasting. anything derived from outside of us is force. and force has its expiration, according to the cockroaches in my life. true power is sustainable. the only power is LIGHT.

The post psychic attacks / how energy works THROUGH people / and the fact that the ONLY power is LIGHT. appeared first on The Medical Intuitive Blog: Energy Medicine & Reiki Therapy By Elaine™.

from Trisha Gibson http://www.themedicalintuitiveblog.com/2017/08/12/psychic-attacks-energy-works-people-fact-power-light/

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