text:
- Super soft and comfortable tri-blend tee.
- Loose throughout for a casual fit.
- Rounded bottom hem that provides a flowy structure
Additional Info
- Cotton/Polyester/Rayon
- Machine wash cold inside out with like colors and tumble dry low.
Shipping info
Return Policy: We will gladly accept returns for any reason within 30 days of receipt of delivery.
Availability: Ships anywhere in the United States
Processing Time: Allow 3-4 business days processing time for your order to ship.
Odd Mom Out
This season, while the UES one-percenters find themselves in financial "distress," Candace seeks refuge by moving in with Jill and Andy, turning their lives upside down. Jill struggles to deal with how fast her daughter is growing up and launching her photography career, but she reaches a breaking point, making a surprising decision that has repercussions for Candace. Andy gets involved in school committees for the kids and takes on more than he can chew. Just when Candace is starting to get comfortable in Jill's home, she is sequestered for a murder case, and in true Candace fashion, she turns jury duty into her playpen. Brooke becomes the breadwinner of her family, but as she attempts to expand her empire, a former employee goes rogue, threatening everything she has accomplished. Meanwhile, the ripple effects of the Ponzi scheme cause Lex to consider a new career that is out of this world. And Vanessa tries to be a constant support for Jill while challenged with getting out of her comfort zone to try to keep the flames alive with Graham.
More gifts from Odd Mom Out
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Obamacare is heading back to the U.S. Supreme Court. Not the entire law this time, however. The nation's highest court is examining the requirement to provide birth control as part of a company's health care benefits.
While churches, religious organizations and religious educational institutions do not have to comply with this provision of the Affordable Care Act, all other entities must. Some 40 different for-profit companies are challenging the mandate, claiming it interferes with their religious freedom.
Thus far, lower courts have delivered conflicting rulings on the birth control mandate.
In one case, the majority opinion said the mandate "trammels the right of free exercise -- a right that lies at the core of our constitutional liberties -- as protected by the Religious Freedom Restoration Act."
In another case, the appellate court ruled that "for-profit, secular corporations cannot engage in religious exercise."
The Supreme Court justices likely will hear arguments in March and issue a decision in June.
The decision will be interesting on any number of fronts, not least of which is whether the court rules if the beliefs of a company's owner can trump those of his employees. More specifically, are the company's religious rights more important than those of a worker?
Take Hobby Lobby, which has been at the forefront of this debate and is one of the lead parties in the Supreme Court case.
The Oklahoma City-based arts and crafts chain refers to itself as a "biblically founded business." With more than 13,000 employees, Hobby Lobby stores can be found in 41 states.
The chain obviously is subject to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination "in employment based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin." Which means that Hobby Lobby is free to require its employees to pass background checks and drug tests, but simply cannot make hiring decisions based on a person's religion or lack thereof. The company is not free to treat employees or applicants differently because of their beliefs, practices -- or lack thereof -- "in any aspect of employment, including recruitment, hiring, assignments, discipline, promotion, and benefits." Nor can they deny a requested reasonable accommodation of an employee's religious beliefs or, again, lack thereof.
We do not believe all 13,000 employees coincidentally all share the same religious beliefs as the owners. Even if there were one individual in Hobby Lobby's work force who chose to use a perfectly legal contraceptive device to assist in family planning -- and had no religious qualms about it, how is the company allowed to deny coverage of such a basic health care component?
We realize this case is not being brought forward by an individual being denied a legitimate benefit of employment, but the question is being raised because the company is arguing for its own religious freedom.
"Religious liberty means the right to make decisions for yourself, not other people," said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United, after another lower court ruling that supported Freshway Foods and Freshway Logistics in their challenge of the ACA provision. "Freedom of religion should never be a blank check to meddle in the personal medical decisions of others."
We shall see if the U.S. Supreme Court believes a company with "personhood" status deserves more constitutional protection than an actual person.
Editorial by Patrick Lowry

subset: commoncrawl


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Happy Andrada : Philippine Fashion Week Holiday 2010
"My collection is inspired by Amelia Earhart and her 'can do' attitude. The pieces are feminine yet edgy and are made from a variety of materials such as lace, brocade, zialle chiffon, gazzar, shantung, and tulle." - Happy Andrada
More photos from the collection after the jump.
Photos by Martin Mauhay
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text: I'm looking to build a small pack rod for hiking several miles into fishing areas. I'd like it to be inexspensive being that I won't be using it more than a few times a year. I'm looking for a 3 or 4 wt. for panfish or maybe the occasional smallmouth. Ideas are appreciated because I've never shopped for one.


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In May of 2004, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) released a report commissioned by Congress. After evaluating current publicly funded programs for people with HIV/AIDS, they recommended that the federal government step in with a nationally coordinated program to ensure the 950,000 people living with HIV in the United States receive the medical care they need. The committee chair, Lauren LeRoy, said, "Current programs are characterized by limited state budgets, limited services and a confusing array of eligibility requirements -- all of which undermine the nation's goals for preventing and treating HIV/AIDS." The committee recommended an entitlement program funded by the federal government to assure that all HIV-positive low-income Americans would have consistent access to necessary care. This program would establish uniform requirements and a standard set of services across all states. As the report envisions it, the new program would relieve financial strains on state Medicaid programs, allow the federal government to negotiate discounted drug prices as the Veterans Health Administration does and redirect some Ryan White Care ACT funds.
Until there is a coordinated approach to funding medical care for low-income people with HIV/AIDS, such as what was recommended by the IOM, HIV-positive medical consumers need to be familiar with the elements of funding that now exist. Medicare, Medicaid and Ryan White CARE Act monies are the primary public funding sources that allow people with HIV infection to receive care. Benefits and eligibility requirements of these programs vary from state to state and year to year. While it is beyond the scope of this article to explain all the details of these programs, some critical information about them follows.
Medicare is a publicly funded health insurance program covering elderly and several million disabled people, including people with AIDS. These people receive Social Security retirement or Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI). Medicare is the "primary payer," which means that a provider bills Medicare before looking to any other source of coverage. Not all physicians or clinics accept Medicare as payment.
There are two basic types of Medicare benefits. Part A covers inpatient hospital care, skilled nursing facilities, hospice care and certain types of home health care. Part A does not usually require payment of a premium (monthly charge). People do, however, pay a monthly premium to receive Medicare Part B, which covers doctors' visits, particular laboratory tests and some other limited services. That premium is usually deducted from their monthly check. The premium is currently $66.60 per month. That cost is "updated" annually. Medicare recipients who do not elect to pay for Medicare Part B when they first become eligible for it may pay an increased rate if they enroll later.
In some areas, Medicare recipients are also eligible to elect other types of plans associated with Medicare. These are called Medicare + Choice Plans. If you currently have Medicare and want to explore these options, please refer to the contacts given below. You can also talk with someone in your State Health Insurance Assistance program if you need help weighing options. The toll-free number for Georgia's program is (800) 669-8387. Phone numbers for other State Health Insurance Assistance programs can be obtained at (800) 633-4227.
The absence of Medicare coverage for most prescription drugs has been a great difficulty for medical consumers. Political pressure to ease the burden of skyrocketing pharmaceutical costs has resulted in some recent changes in Medicare benefits for medication coverage. The degree of relief from prescription costs that the program modifications will create is debatable.
Medicare-approved assistance for prescription drugs will be phased in from now until 2006. In the spring of 2004, the Medicare program introduced Medicare-approved drug discount cards that allow people who don't have outpatient prescription drug coverage through Medicaid (see Medicaid section below) to sign up once during a calendar year for a discount drug card. These cards, which are available through a number of private companies, can carry an annual fee of up to $30. The cards allow participants to purchase drugs at discounts determined by each sponsoring company. Interestingly, although recipients are required to remain with their choice of cards for the calendar year (with a limited number of exceptions), the private companies who issue the cards are not required to maintain the discounted prices they originally quote. The value of committing to a particular Medicare-approved discount card can also be compromised if new drugs are prescribed during the calendar year that don't have a discount within that particular card company.
There are many components to consider when weighing the decision to select a new Medicare-approved discount card. Some of these are related to Medicare regulations and some to the business decisions of the private companies that issue the cards. Help in evaluating which -- if any -- Medicare-approved discount card is best for you is available at the Medicare contacts listed below and at www.medicare.gov on the Web (select "Prescription Drug and Other Assistance Programs"). Some consumer publications have found that these discounts don't match the cost-saving of other private discount cards or of ordering drugs by mail from U.S. or Canadian companies.
Medicare recipients who select a Medicare-approved drug discount card may also qualify for up to a $600 credit in the calendar years 2004 and 2005 toward prescription payments. Of course, this is minimally helpful to someone whose costs for combination antiretroviral therapy can run from $10,000 to $12,000 a year.
Questions about Medicare in general, Medicare health plans, Medicare booklets, Medigap policies and assistance programs? Call (800) 633-4227 (800-MEDICARE) or go to www.medicare.gov on the Web.
Medicaid funds come from a combination of federal and state governments. Nationally, Medicaid pays for the largest portion of treatment for low-income people with HIV/AIDS who do not have private health insurance. Financial eligibility requirements, scopes of service and drug formularies (a list of drugs available within a specific program) are established by each state. Medicaid benefits cover hospitalizations, doctor and clinic visits, most prescriptions, very limited dental services and some home health and hospice benefits. As with Medicare, not all physicians or clinics accept Medicaid.
Most people with HIV/AIDS who have Medicaid coverage are eligible for it because they receive Supplemental Security Insurance (SSI), a form of monthly payments based on disability and financial need. Once SSI is awarded, Medicaid follows.
Some people who don't receive SSI also qualify for limited types of Medicaid assistance that pays for Medicare premiums or prescription benefits. Eligibility requirements for these forms of Medicaid may consider income, household size and medical bills. Recipients may need to be reauthorized for eligibility on certain time schedules. In Georgia, application for these and other forms of Medicaid can be made through the local Department of Family and Children Services.
Ryan White CARE Act
Ryan White programs are considered "the payer of last resort." HIV-positive individuals who do not have Medicare, Medicaid or private insurance and meet particular income requirements may qualify for various medical and social services through Ryan White funding. Ryan White funds come from the federal government to support state and local HIV/AIDS programs. As with the other public programs already described, Ryan White funds are allocated by elected state and federal politicians.
The Ryan White CARE Act funds a multitude of programs. Among these are the AIDS Drug Assistance Programs (ADAPs), for which states are required to provide matching funds, and the Health Insurance Premium Payment (HIPP). The HIPP pays the monthly insurance premium for consumers who meet their state's financial eligibility standards. This assists low-income workers who cannot afford the insurance offered through their employers or who lose their jobs and can't pay for the COBRA benefits to which they are entitled.
The discrepancy in available services that was addressed in the IOM report is well-illustrated in ADAPs. ADAPs pay for prescription medications for people with HIV/AIDS who have no other funding source. Nearly 30% of people living with HIV/AIDS in the U.S. are served by ADAPs. The steadily increasing number of HIV-positive people, in addition to new and increasingly expensive HIV medications, strains states' ADAP funds. In May 2004, the Kaiser Family Foundation reported on states' responses to these financial pressures. They found that thirteen state ADAPs had instituted cost-containment measures, including eleven states that closed enrollment to new clients. Nine states reported waiting lists, two states have reduced the number of drugs they offer and three states have some type of per capita expenditure limits.
Each state determines which drugs will be on their formulary and what their eligibility requirements will be to qualify for HIV-related medications through the ADAP program. As of May 2004, the number of drugs on state ADAP formularies throughout the U.S. ranges from 18 to 474. Sixteen state ADAPs did not even cover all the FDA-approved antiretroviral medications. Financial eligibility for ADAPs ran from 125% of the Federal Poverty Level to 500% or higher.
Since access to ADAP and HIPP vary so much across the U.S. and its territories, case managers at Ryan White-funded clinics and social service agencies can be contacted for details on how to access programs in a particular geographical area.
AIDS activists fight frequent battles with their state and federal legislators to keep programs adequately funded to meet the needs of the growing number of people diagnosed with HIV/AIDS. You can let your legislators know what their decisions mean to you through letters, e-mails, phone calls and your vote!


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Features and benefits
Standard SBD plummer block housings and THD take-up housings share some of the following features:
Stiff housing
Non-split housings provide a high degree of stiffness and can accommodate heavy radial loads in all directions.
Narrow width
SBD plummer block housings and THD take-up housings are narrow and can be used where space is limited (fig. 1).
Machined base ends
SBD housings have machined base ends to make alignment easier and provide good contact with stops when stops are used to accommodate loads parallel to the support surface (fig. 2).
Eye bolts
With the exception of the smallest housing (SBD 2213) all SBD plummer block housings have an eye bolt for safe and easy handling.


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Tube & Pipe
Pines Heavy Duty Hydraulic
Rotary NC Benders
No. 0.75 (40 mm Capacity)
No. 1 (40 mm Capacity)
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No. 8 (250 mm Capacity)
No. 10 (300 mm Capacity)
Pines Induction Benders
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16"-42" / 20"-62"
Pipe Bender Rebuilds
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Pipe & Bar
Chamfering Machines
|Pines specializes in custom tube and pipe bending and processing machinery. Together with their custom bend tool Brand, H&H Tooling, Pines provides bending solutions across a wide variety of industries. Having over 30,000 machines in the field today, Pines has become the global standard in pipe bending solutions since 1943.
"We have machines in the field, built in 1950 … they still run today, and we still service those machines today!"
Pines and H&H Tooling have been together for a long time. Together, we provide complete bending solutions for our customers. H&H Tooling specializes in the production of bending tools, specially designed to optimize the Pines NC or CNC pipe bender. H&H customers enjoy top quality bend tooling designs. Each tooling set is manufactured as an integral part of our combined, high tolerance bending solutions. Tooling is available from H&H Tooling for ALL rotary and press bending machines.
Pines and H&H Tooling enjoy a solid international reputation in the global tube bending industry. Each Pines bending solution is guaranteed for optimal tooling and equipment performance, and together, set the manufacturing industry standard of excellence.
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text:
EARL TWP. - Two passengers were killed and the driver critically injured following a one-vehicle crash Saturday afternoon in the township.
Signe Lise Wergeland, 71, of Boyertown, and Sharon L. Richards, 51, of Reading, died at the scene, police said.
The Chevrolet Trailblazer driven by Harry G. Meyer, 73, of Boyertown, was traveling west on Sunset Hill Road at 3:31 p.m. when Meyer failed to negotiate a right turn as he drove down a hill, according to state police at Reading.
Meyer lost control of the vehicle, overcompensated and drove across the eastbound lane of Sunset Hill Road and struck a tree, police said.
Upon impact, the vehicle bounced off the tree and struck another tree, finally coming to rest on its left side, police said.
Richards, who was sitting in the right rear of the Trailblazer, was not wearing a seat belt, according to Trooper Keith Verbilla, the investigating officer. Wergeland, who was a passenger in the front seat, was wearing a seat belt, Verbilla said.
Meyer, who was wearing a seat belt, was flown by medical helicopter to Lehigh Valley Hospital Center near Allentown. He was listed in critical condition Saturday evening.
Sunset Hill Road was closed for three hours after the accident, police said.
Assisting at the scene were Oley, Earl and Friendship (Boyertown) fire companies. Also responding were Gilbertsville EMS and the Berks County Coroner's Office.


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Your Plants Will Love Our All-Natural, Organic Compost Products!
Green Farms Soil Products are made from 100% buffalo compost produced and composted on a ranch in the Laramie River Valley of northern Colorado. Our carefully monitored composting process yields an All-Natural, 100% Organic Compost with a rich, deep color and the earthy, native aroma of the wild American West.


text:
As it says above this the official commemoration of this important battle
Details to follow
The Battle of the Standard 18th /19th August
To announce events, ask for event information and general event management.
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The Battle of the Standard 18th /19th August
There's a country in Europe where they treat their ex soldiers with pride no waits for medical treatment after injuries received during service, no amensia from the government. Cant for the life of me recall where it is but I know exactly where it is not.
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PREP Capstone Presentations on May 2
by Wendy Williams, BSN, M.Ed, Associate Director PREP Program, Tufts University School of Medicine
The PREP Community here at Tufts is pleased to announce our most recent capstone presentations. Come to the Tufts Health Sciences Campus, 136 Harrison Ave, Boston, M&V conference room 1, on Monday, May 2 at 3:30pm to both hear from two of our nurse graduates and to enjoy a reception following.
Carol Krieger, RN, BSN, LicAc, MAOM: Development of a research proposal for the effectiveness of acupuncture as a treatment of central and neuropathic pain syndromes from polytrauma – spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury, and phantom limb pain
Pamela Katz Ressler, RN, BSN, HN-BC: Communicating the Experience of Chronic Illness through Blogging
Please join us as we all learn on how the study of pain in this graduate program of ours is improving the world of pain… one student at a time!
PREP Capstones_May 2011 Presentations
Add comment April 25th, 2011


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StephanK necesitaba un nuevo diseño de página web y lanzó un concurso de diseño en 99designs.
Un ganador ha sido elegido entre 41 diseños de 18 diseñadores freelance.
I own and operate several websites, including http://www.grapplearts.com and http://www.beginningbjj.com. I am looking to launch an online eCourse, where each week the people get sent to a specific page with streaming video, plus a few extra links for downloading other resources.
I need something that looks clean and modern and professional - I'm not into the whole pile-of-skulls-being-chewed-on-by-a-pitbull Affliction T-shirt crap
30 to 50 year old professional men who work at a full time job but also train in grappling, and/or Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and/or Mixed martial arts 2 to 4 times a week. They're desperate to improve their grappling skills quickly, and have probably bought several instructional products in the past (including my other DVDs)
The name of the course is "Grappling Concepts"
My dragon design, or part of it, needs to make an appearance somewhere
At a minimum there needs to
1 - a box for streaming video to display (HD dimensions)
2 - a download link for the same video in iPod format
3 - a download link for the same information in pdf format
4 - an area for an additional link to display
5 - a relatively prominent place to display the user's IP address, along with some sort of Membership Fraudcheck logo right beside it
6 - about us and contact us links
7 - links to my 2 main sites: grapplearts.com and beginningbjj.com
8 - an area to display links to previous lessons (this would be blank on lesson 1, and eventually display up to 25 additional links)
I've put some of the resource materials plus a couple of preliminary designs up onto my site at
Please note that what the preliminary designs do NOT have is links for the downloadable iPod video and the downloadable PDF document for each lesson.


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NEW YORK — This Labor Day finds workers in worse shape than they've been in years, according to a scorecard released Monday by Rutgers University.
In its first national labor scorecard, the Rutgers School of Management and Labor Relations said more than 10 percent of Americans are unemployed, discouraged from seeking work or underemployed. That is a nearly 25-percent increase from one year earlier.
Professor Douglas Kruse, a labor economist who created the scorecard, said a sharp decline in the number of Americans able to find full-time jobs, along with growing consumer debt and health care costs, were causes for concern.
"But there are some bright spots long term," Kruse said, including improvements in workplace safety, a small but growing percentage of employers offering support for childcare and employee wellness programs, and more Americans who are completely satisfied with their jobs.
Meanwhile, the Labor Department last week said the number of people signing up for jobless benefits declined for the third straight period, but remained above 400,000 — an indicator of a slowing economy.
The Rutgers labor scorecard offered other sobering findings:
- About 530,000 were subject to mass layoffs in the last year, growth of nearly 5 percent, but a lower rate than five and 10 years ago.
- The median weekly earnings for American workers have not grown in real terms over the last eight years.
- At $6.55, the federal minimum wage is worth 40 cents less per hour, in inflation-adjusted dollars, than it was a decade ago.
- While employer-assisted childcare and employee wellness programs have grown quickly over the last decade, they still cover less than one quarter of American workers.
- Roughly 4 percent of the workforce wants to work full-time, but is working part-time because they can't find full-time work.
The scorecard, which doesn't assign grades but charts whether indicators are improving or getting worse, is based primarily on data from the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.
© 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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What Does It Take to Scale Up Rural Sanitation? 2012. Water and Sanitation Program.
A new WSP working paper, What Does It Take to Scale Up Rural Sanitation? shares lessons and best practices that were identified to:
• generate demand for sanitation at the household and community level;
• increase the supply of affordable, aspirational sanitation products and services; and
• strengthen local and national governments to lead large-scale sanitation programs.
Over the last 30 years, most rural sanitation projects have had pockets of success, but were small in scale and could not be scaled up. Learning how to expand on the successes of small-scale projects to increase access at large scale has been an enduring challenge. Project outcomes often fail the sustainability test once external funding ceases, and the benefits, even if sustained, remain limited to project areas.
Despite growing political will to do more about rural sanitation, the lack of evidence and examples of effective and sustainable large-scale rural sanitation programs has constrained governments and development partners. In an attempt to help address these issues, starting in 2007, the World Bank's Water and Sanitation Program (WSP) provided technical assistance to help governments design, plan, implement, and monitor national rural sanitation programs that start at scale and are sustainable. This initiative was carried out in three countries, India, Indonesia, and Tanzania. In each country, at scale service delivery was led by governments, communities, and the local private sector.
Key components are introduced and illustrated with examples from the field, including an overview to programmatic approaches that have been combined and tested to create demand, change behaviors, and improve supply chains: Community-Led Total Sanitation, Behavior Change Communication, and Sanitation Marketing. The Working Paper introduces the basic methodology for these approaches, and the roles of national and local government and the local private sector, and discusses strategies to strengthen the enabling environment and build capacity to achieve and sustain improvements in rural sanitation.


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Avast Mobile Security for iOS is an app designed to protect your privacy online, securely store your photos, scan Wi-Fi networks for vulnerabilities, and alert you if any of your passwords linked to your email address have been leaked online.
Refer to the sections in this article to learn how to set up and use Avast Mobile Security for iOS.
Navigate the Avast Mobile Security interface
Tap the Avast Mobile Security icon on the home screen of your device to open the app.
The Protection screen (selected by default) comprises three panels:
- Identity Protection: checks if any of your passwords linked to your email address have been leaked online.
- Wi-Fi Security: scans the Wi-Fi network you are connected to and informs you of any detected security risks.
- Secure Browsing: uses a VPN to protect your privacy while you are browsing online. The Secure Browsing feature is available as part of an Avast Mobile Security Premium subscription.
Located on the bottom menu panel:
- Photo Vault: enables you to protect your photos by locking them in an encrypted vault.
- Settings: allows you to adjust some of the app feature settings and view additional information about the app.
Purchase and activate Avast Mobile Security Premium
Avast Mobile Security is available as both a free and paid version. Upgrading to Avast Mobile Security Premium gives you access to:
- Secure Browsing: Protect your privacy by using a VPN to make sure no one can spy on your online activity.
- Unlimited Identity Protection: Immediately receive a notification if any of your passwords are found leaked online. With Premium, you can protect multiple email accounts.
- Unlimited Photo Vault: Lock an unlimited number of photos in an encrypted vault so that only you have access to them.
To upgrade to Avast Mobile Security Premium:
- Tap the Avast Mobile Security icon on the home screen of your device to open the app.
- Tap Start 14 day trial during the tutorial. If you skipped the tutorial, tap Upgrade in the top-right corner of the app interface.
- Select Monthly or Yearly, depending on your preferred subscription plan.
- Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the transaction.
Once the transaction is complete, Avast Mobile Security Premium activates automatically on your device.
For more information about activating Avast Mobile Security Premium, refer to the following article:
Activate Identity Protection
Identity Protection protects all of your online accounts by making sure none of the passwords linked to your email address have been leaked online.
- Tap the Identity Protection panel on the Protection screen.
- Tap Activate Identity Protection.
- Enter the email address you would like to check, then tap Add Email.
- Identity Protection immediately performs a search for leaked passwords connected to your email address and notifies you if any leaks are found.
- If any password leaks are detected, tap your email address to view details of the leak(s).
- Tap Change password to open the website that has leaked your password. We recommend changing your account password immediately.
- Tap Dismiss to remove the leak notification.
- Once all leak notifications have been dismissed, Identity Protection remains active and notifies you again if it detects any more leaked passwords connected to your email address.
If you have a paid version of Avast Mobile Security, you can use Identity Protection with multiple email addresses. To add another email address, tap the Identity Protection panel on the main Protection screen, then tap Add new email.
Scan your Wi-Fi network for security threats
Avast Mobile Security enables you to scan a Wi-Fi network for problems with the router, encryption, Wi-Fi, and connection. After installation, Wi-Fi Security runs automatically in the background and notifies you if anything is wrong. To disable this automatic notification, go to Settings and tap the slider next to Notify me about Wi-Fi threats so that it changes from green to white.
To manually rescan a Wi-Fi network:
- Tap the Wi-Fi Security panel on the Protection screen.
- Tap Rescan.
- When the scan is complete, Wi-Fi Security reports any issues found and prompts you to resolve them. If no issues are found, the status message No issues found is displayed in green.
Activate Secure Browsing
Secure Browsing uses Avast's VPN (Virtual Private Network) infrastructure to create a secured VPN connection. This protects the data you upload and download from the internet, secures data sent from your device, and keeps your internet activity completely private. Secure Browsing is only available in the paid version of Avast Mobile Security for iOS.
The first time you activate Secure Browsing, the app will prompt you to install a VPN profile:
- Tap the white slider on the Secure Browsing panel.
- Tap Activate Secure Browsing.
- Read the Logging Policy And Use, then tap Accept.
- Tap Install profile.
- Tap Allow.
- Your VPN profile is installed and Secure Browsing is automatically activated, connecting you to the closest server we have in your location. VPN is displayed at the top of your screen indicating that you are currently connected to a secure VPN.
To deactivate Secure Browsing, tap the slider on the Secure Browsing panel so that it changes from green (Connection is encrypted) to white (Not active).
Passcode protect your photos
Photo Vault allows you to protect access to your photos with a passcode. After moving photos to the vault, they are encrypted and hidden.
- Tap Photo Vault on the bottom menu panel.
- Tap Set Passcode.
- Read the warning message, then click OK.
- Enter a 4-digit passcode, then enter your passcode again to confirm it.
Your passcode is set. Next time you want to access Photo Vault, you will be prompted to enter your passcode to gain access to the vault. If your device has Touch or Face ID capability, you will have the option to enable this functionality after you have set up a passcode. If you choose to enable Touch or Face ID, this will replace your passcode for accessing Photo Vault.
Add photos or images to Photo Vault
You can add existing photos or images to your Photo Vault from the Photo Library on your device, or you can use the camera on your device to take a photo and import it directly into your Photo Vault.
To add photos or images to Photo Vault:
- Tap Photo Vault on the bottom menu panel.
- Enter your passcode, Touch, or Face ID, then tap
+(plus) in the top-left corner.
- Select either Photo Library or Camera:
Block unwanted calls
With Call Blocker, you can filter voice calls through our advanced call-screening technology that automatically identifies telemarketing, spam, and other unwanted calls. You can also manually add numbers to your personal blocklist. Each time you receive a phone call, the number is checked against a database of known spam callers. If the number appears on either the Avast database or your personal blocklist, Call Blocker alerts you or automatically redirects the call to voicemail according to your settings.
To automatically reject calls from spam or blocked callers:
- Tap Settings on the bottom menu panel.
- Tap the slider next to Warn me against SPAM calls so that it changes from green to white.
- Tap the slider next to Warn me against numbers blocked by me so that it changes from green to white.
Calls that are blocked by Call Blocker are redirected to voicemail, and are visible under Call Blocker ▸ View Blocked Numbers.
Add a number to your personal blocklist
Call Blocker enables you to create your own personal blocklist to filter voice calls from numbers that you specify.
- Tap Call Blocker on the bottom menu panel.
- Tap Add new number.
- Type in the number you want to add to the blocklist then tap Block.
The number is now added to your blocklist. To check the numbers on your personal blocklist go to Call Blocker ▸ View Blocked Numbers.
Manage Settings
From the Settings menu you can perform the following actions:
- Reinstall VPN Profile
- Change Photo Vault passcode
- Change Photo Vault lock settings
- Add a number to the Whitelist (only for users who have the Call Blocker feature)
Reinstall VPN Profile
- Go to Settings ▸ Reinstall VPN Profile ▸ Activate Secure Browsing.
- Tap Install Profile, then select Allow.
Your VPN profile has been reinstalled.
Change Photo Vault passcode
- Go to Settings ▸ Change Passcode.
- Enter your current passcode.
- Enter a new 4-digit passcode, then enter your new passcode again to confirm it.
Your passcode for Photo Vault has been changed.
Change Photo Vault lock settings
Specify how often Photo Vault locks and requires the Passcode to access it.
- Go to Settings ▸ Lock automatically.
- Select your preferred frequency, then use the back arrow to return to the Settings screen.
Your lock frequency setting has been changed.
Add a number to the Whitelist
If Call Blocker identifies a number as a spam call, but the number is known to you and you want to stop Call Blocker from displaying the warning notification, you can add the number to the Whitelist.
- Go to Settings ▸ Whitelist.
- Tap the
+button in the top-right corner.
- Type in the number you want to add to the Whitelist, then tap Add to Whitelist.
The number is added to the Whitelist. Use the back arrow to return to the Settings screen.
- Avast Mobile Security Premium 1.x for iOS
- Avast Mobile Security 1.x for iOS
- Apple iOS 10.0 or higher
- Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch


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Take on a variety of quests and conquer larger than life beasts either alone or with the aid of others via Ad Hoc Mode.
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Three seminar rooms (Hans Castorp, Settembrini and Salon Chauchat - named after three characters from the novel "The Magic Mountain") with the corresponding group rooms and all equipped with modern technology and free WiFi make up the exclusive world of Waldhotel seminars. The conference rooms can be divided differently depending on the occasion, group size and seating for meetings, seminars, presentations and lectures. The rooms are designed to communicate a bright and friendly atmosphere: maple parquet floors, reddish orange chairs, light and airy curtains.
The room height amounts to the Seminar areas 2.60 metres, in the salon 2.45 metres.
Rest assured, your e-mail address will only be used to receive the newsletter and will not be forwarded to any third party. You may cancel your newsletter subscription at any time.


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FACILITATOR CHECKLIST for NEW EMPLOYEE ORIENTATION FORMS
USDA-AMS-HRD Virtural Town Hall
USDA-APHIS-HRD Virtual Town Hall
USDA-GIPSA-HRD Virtual Town Hall
If you are the Administrative facilitator or Supervisor who is guiding the new employee through the New Employee Orientation, please use this checklist.
To Do - Checklist First day of Employment
Employee completes all forms as required: Go to First Day Forms
HINT: It may be helpful for you to print this document, so that you have the same instructions the employee used.
When you collect the forms from the employee on the first day, review all of them for completeness. The following forms require YOU to complete a portion:
SF-61, Appointment Affidavit. After you administer the Oath of Office, ask the employee to sign this form, and you complete the rest as the Officer.
I -9, Employment Eligibility Verification. Verify the identity documents and complete the Employer information.
Instructions for AD-1197
AD-1197, Request for USDA ID Badge. Verify the identity documents, complete the identity and sponsor information, and make a copy of the identity documents (one MUST be a photo ID). If a provisional badge is required, make an additional copy of this document and the identity documents, and give the copy to your Agency's designated official.
Fingerprint the employee, or give the employee 2 SF-87 Fingerprint cards with instructions on where to go to be fingerprinted, and to return the cards to you this week.
HRO 1197, Complete this form. The HRO 1197 and accompanying forms must be mailed to HRO Minneapolis no later than the third day of employment. Timely receipt of these forms is required for employment suitability and background investigation checks.
HRO 444c, Complete this form. The HRO 444c and all accompanying forms must be mailed to HRO Minneapolis no later than the third day of employment. Click here for your Servicing Processing Associate.
Employee Benefits Checklist
If the employee is eligible for benefits, the employee should continue the orientation on the Benefits page.
HINT: It may be helpful for you to print this document so that you have the same instructions the employee used. Please be aware of the deadlines for enrollment.
Use the HRO 444d to send benefits forms to Minneapolis HRO: If a form is not listed on this transmittal, do not send it to HRO. If the employee chooses to submit Designation of Beneficiary forms, mail the forms to the receiving offices as each form indicates. Do NOT automatically send all designations to Minneapolis HRO.
Contact the servicing Benefits Specialist if there are any questions on employee benefits.
First month of Employment
Employee should be given the opportunity to review the First Month information.
Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) Supervisors only:
In addition to the above, Agricultural Marketing Service supervisors must follow AMS Directive 4410.1 – New Employee Orientation and complete the AMS Orientation Checklist.


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Are you ready to have your own website?You can create your own site - quickly, easily and well. Share pictures with friends and family. Share your thoughts with the world and start your own blog. Or showcase your favorite hobby. No matter what you choose to do, the Netfirms Plus Plan has the tools to help you create a space that is uniquely yours.
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*The promotional price is for the first term only and renews at the regular rate.


text: Refresher Class A review of important childbirth knowledge for parents who want to refresh their skills. One two and one half-hour class. Includes breathing, relaxation techniques, stages of labor and delivery. Audience Mom & coach strongly encouraged Day Scheduled on an individual basis Duration 2 ½ hrs. Location 5520 Park Avenue, Trumbull or The Birthplace at Bridgeport Hospital Registration for all classes is required. For more information, please call 1-888-357-2396.


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Consumers have the right to shop around when buying contact lenses – and prescribers and sellers have specific legal obligations. Are you complying with the Contact Lens Rule?
The Fairness to Contact Lens Consumers Act increases consumers' ability to shop around when buying contact lenses. The Act gives consumers certain rights, imposes duties on contact lens prescribers and sellers, and requires the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to develop and enforce implementing rules. The FTC issued the Contact Lens Rule in July 2004 to spell out the Act's requirements.
The Contact Lens Rule requires prescribers to give patients a copy of their contact lens prescriptions at the end of a contact lens fitting, even if the patient doesn't ask for it. A patient who wants to buy contact lenses from another seller then may give the prescription to that seller. If a consumer doesn't give his prescription to that seller, the seller must verify the prescription before selling the lenses.
The verification process works like this: the consumer provides prescription information to the seller, who then submits it to the prescriber in a verification request. The prescriber has eight-business-hours to respond. If the prescriber does not respond within the required time, the prescription is verified automatically, and the seller may provide contact lenses to the consumer.
According to the Rule, "prescriber" refers to anyone permitted under state law to issue prescriptions for contact lenses — including ophthalmologists, optometrists, and licensed opticians who also are permitted under state law to fit contact lenses (sometimes called "dispensing opticians").
Prescribers must:
- give a copy of the contact lens prescription to the patient at the end of the contact lens fitting – even if the patient doesn't ask for it.
- provide or verify the contact lens prescription to anyone who is designated to act on behalf of the patient, including contact lens sellers.
In any response to a verification request, prescribers must correct any inaccuracy in the prescription, inform the seller if it's expired and specify the reason if it's invalid.
Prescribers cannot require patients to:
- buy contact lenses
- pay additional fees or
- sign a waiver or release in exchange for a copy of the contact lens prescription.
Prescribers may require a patient to pay for the eye exam, fitting and evaluation before giving the patient a copy of the contact lens prescription, but only if the prescriber also requires immediate payment from patients whose eye exams reveal no need for glasses, contact lenses, or other corrective eye care products. Proof of valid insurance coverage counts as payment for purposes of this requirement.
Prescribers cannot disclaim liability or responsibility for the accuracy of an eye examination.
Prescription expiration
The Rule allows prescribers to set prescription expiration dates – one year or more from the date the prescription is issued to a patient. If applicable state law requires a specific expiration period that is longer than one year, however, the prescriber must follow that law.
A prescriber may set an expiration date of earlier than one year only if that date is based on the prescriber's medical judgment about the patient's eye health. In these cases, the prescriber must document the medical reason for the shorter expiration date with enough detail to allow for review by a qualified medical professional, and maintain the records for at least three years.
Sellers may provide contact lenses only in accordance with a valid prescription that is directly presented to the seller or verified with the prescriber. That means sellers may provide contact lenses when the consumer presents his prescription in person, by fax, or by email if the prescription has been scanned and attached to the email. The consumer also can authorize the seller to verify his prescription via "direct communication" with the prescriber. (See next page, "What is direct communication?".)
When verifying a contact lens prescription, sellers must provide the following information to the prescriber using direct communication:
- patient's full name and address
- contact lens power, manufacturer, base curve or appropriate designation, and diameter when appropriate
- quantity of lenses ordered
- date of patient order
- date and time of verification request
- a contact person for the seller, including name, fax and phone numbers and
- a clear statement of the prescriber's regular Saturday business hours if the seller is counting those hours as "business hours" under the Rule.
Under the Rule, a prescription is verified if the prescriber:
- confirms its accuracy to the seller via direct communication
- informs the seller that the prescription is inaccurate and provides accurate information to the seller via direct communication or
- fails to communicate with the seller within "eight-business-hours" of receiving a complete verification request. During the "eight-business-hour" period, the seller must give the prescriber a reasonable opportunity to get in touch with the seller about the verification request.
Sellers must maintain prescriptions presented to them, prescription verification requests, and prescriber responses to the verification requests. The Rule also requires sellers who count a prescriber's Saturday business hours to maintain a record of what those hours are and how the seller learned of them. Sellers must maintain these records for at least three years.
The Fine Print
What practices are not allowed?
Sellers must not:
- fill a contact lens prescription unless the seller has either received a copy of the prescription or verified the prescription as required by the Rule
- fill a contact lens prescription if the prescriber tells them by direct communication within "eight-business-hours" after receiving the complete verification request that the prescription is inaccurate, expired, or otherwise invalid
- alter contact lens prescriptions. If the prescription specifies private label contact lenses, however, sellers may substitute "identical" contact lenses made by the same manufacturer and sold under a different name
- represent that consumers can get contact lenses without a prescription.
What's a business hour?
Prescriptions are verified automatically if the prescriber doesn't respond to the seller's verification request within "eight-business-hours." A business hour is defined as one hour between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding federal holidays, in the prescriber's time zone. If a seller determines that a particular prescriber has regular Saturday business hours, the seller also may count those Saturday hours as business hours under the Rule.
How is the "eight-business-hour" verification period calculated?
When calculating "eight-business-hours," begin the verification period the first business hour after the prescriber receives a complete verification request and end it eight-business-hours later. For example, if the prescriber receives a request at 10 a.m. Monday, the prescriber must respond by 10 a.m. Tuesday. If there's no response, the seller can provide the contact lenses at
10:01 a.m. Tuesday. If the verification request is received at 10 p.m. Monday, the response would be due by 5 p.m. Tuesday. If there's no response, the seller can provide the lenses at 5:01 p.m Tuesday.
What is direct communication?
"Direct communication" is a completed communication by telephone, facsimile or electronic mail.
Direct communication by telephone requires reaching and speaking to the intended recipient, or leaving a voice message on the telephone answering machine of the intended recipient.
Direct communication by facsimile or electronic mail requires that the intended recipient actually receive the facsimile or electronic mail message.
For more details about compliance, see "Q&A: The Contact Lens Rule and the Eyeglass Rule" at business.ftc.gov.
For More Information
The FTC works for the consumer to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices in the marketplace and to provide information to help consumers spot, stop, and avoid them. To file a complaint or to get free information on consumer issues, visit ftc.gov or call toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357); TTY: 1-866-653-4261. The FTC enters consumer complaints into the Consumer Sentinel Network, a secure online database and investigative tool used by hundreds of civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad.
Your Opportunity to Comment
The National Small Business Ombudsman and 10 Regional Fairness Boards collect comments from small businesses about federal compliance and enforcement activities. Each year, the Ombudsman evaluates the conduct of these activities and rates each agency's responsiveness to small businesses. Small businesses can comment to the Ombudsman without fear of reprisal. To comment, call toll-free 1-888-REGFAIR (1-888-734-3247) or go to www.sba.gov/ombudsman.


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In this article we'll consider the problem of spiritual teachers who misuse devotees for sexual ends. Nearly every major religion teaches that we would be wise to treat each other as we would like to be treated…because eventually what we do comes back to us. So why do spiritual teachers so often exploit others sexually? After all, many possess genuine insight and a gift for inspiring others. It is also evident that they certainly would not want to be used sexually as they sometimes use those in their flocks. Why don't they treat their sexual partners as cherished equals and revered mates? Why do they sometimes rationalize casual sex, or sexual addiction, as an improvement over the unconditional love of a relationship devoted to mutual enlightenment? In many cases, it is because they are convinced that they are already enlightened, or at least holier than others, and therefore have risen above the karmic scorecard. This may be a flawed assumption. As Taoist master Lao Tzu once taught,1
Don't think that you can attain total awareness and whole enlightenment without proper discipline and practice. This is egomania. Appropriate rituals channel your emotions and life energy toward the light. Without the discipline to practice them, you will tumble constantly backward into darkness. Here is the great secret: Just as high awareness of the subtle truth is gained through virtuous conduct and sustaining disciplines, so also is it maintained through these things. Highly evolved beings know and respect the truth of this.
Channel Edgar Cayce explained that if you raise the kundalini energy before you have disciplined your sexual desire completely it simply inflames your sexual desire - creating a pitfall on your spiritual path.2 The kundalini is latent life force energy, which when raised through the channel of the spine, creates altered states, and may confer extraordinary powers, such as psychic insight, the power to heal, and enhanced ability to persuade others. Many spiritual techniques directly, or indirectly, raise the kundalini. In addition, some spiritual teachers can trigger kundalini experiences in their disciples with a touch - and may even do so simply to impress followers. Moreover, some people have spontaneous kundalini awakenings, without even realizing exactly what has happened. 3
I felt a glowing orange fire ball filling my abdomen and heat shooting up my spine into my crown. I "ceased to exist" and felt like a black hole or anti-matter mold around the space where my physical body had been. As if I had been the white half of a yin-yang and now switched over into the black half. There was only dark starless cosmic space, and at the same time I felt each particle like a tingling yin-yang. I lost any sense of time, and when my friend looked at me, he was stunned: my back was scattered with red dots, and he said "You are looking so holy now, like an angel! Come back to your normal state." After that experience I was able to let my energy flow whichever way I wanted, circulate and transmit it, and I became psychic, telepathic, could see the energy auras of electric wires, light bulbs exploded as soon as I switched the light on, etc. And I felt that it was my deliberate choice to remain in this body, and as soon as I changed my mind I could leave it and it would dissolve. When we had body contact, I could control the energy flow, and he got really scared. I was afraid to lose him, so I dimmed my abilities down.
Could the ease with which this energy moves in some of us be a carryover from experience gained in a past life devoted to spiritual discipline? Whatever the impetus, the point is that the kundalini may start to rise even if the individual has not been educated about the critical need to balance and neutralize sexual desire first. Without safeguards or reliable instruction, such people are at the mercy of their opened sexual centers. If they then use sex to pursue orgasm, the experience is highly addictive, and triggers an equally-enhanced sensation of depletion/neediness during the weeks afterward. This often throws them into an addictive cycle - or makes them easy, emotionally-fragile prey for others. (See Sex and Addiction.) This weak point in our design is why the discipline of controlled intercourse is so vital as spiritual centers open. Once in the addictive cycle, these charismatic people may be sorely tempted to rationalize manipulating others to meet their sexual addiction. One particularly ugly rationalization is that they are using a devotee sexually (but usually secretly) "for the student's own spiritual advancement." Imagine the karmic debt for this type of self-deception. If the person is clear that it is wrong to use another selfishly, he/she may struggle secretly with sexual addiction in some form, or be especially vulnerable to abuse by others because the urge to merge with another for a higher end is stronger than before the kundalini opening. The problem of sexual predation by spiritual teachers is not confined to men:
For some time I was with a male spiritual teacher who initiated a sexual relationship with me soon after we met. He "needed" daily ejaculation and was upset if there was no occasion for a "ritual," but apart from that he could not integrate me into his life. One reason was his traditional background; the other was that he had many (mainly female students) and our relationship had to be kept completely secret. Later I found a female teacher. My deep devotion and service to her day and night was mistaken as an invitation for more. She started making sexual jokes, remarks and allusions, and after some time she claimed she wanted to heal my "wrong views about sex." I was shocked by her rather mundane approach. It spoiled a spiritual relationship, it felt as if I were plunging down from the highest levels of idealism right back to very normal ground and hangover, into the abyss of feeling used and hooked. At the same time I felt addicted from the first time on and simply horrible. I was lost and hopeless, as I loved her from my deepest heart. She had family and many students, and of course no one should know about us. Gradually she began to make fun of me in front of others, joking and criticizing me, until I left the group. This meant that in the end, I lost everything....
To understand how such destructive experiences can proliferate within environments supposedly dedicated to sacred sexuality, let's take a larger look at two sacred sex traditions that have suffered parallel deterioration over the centuries.
Unsafe Pilots
"The man is the pilot, the woman is the boat."
Wise Taoists recognized that before a woman can relax into her yin receptivity she must feel safe to open. Only then can she absorb the man's fiery yang energy, benefit from it, and return it to him through her heart as the soothing yin energy that will also make him feel whole and fulfilled. In this way both partners are nourished. To achieve this result, the man must be a "safe pilot." That is, he does not pursue his mate, demanding that she ease his sexual urges. That would simply result in orgasm(s), which would ultimately leave him feeling depleted — and, over the following days, hungrier than when he reached for her. Instead, he gently creates a safe space in which she can open completely and fall into a deeply relaxed state. In this way both partners are positioned to experience a profound merging known to the Taoists as a "valley orgasm." Alas, this simple dynamic is in direct opposition to the programming of a primitive part of our brains known as "the reward circuit." Its function is to urge us to grab impulsively for sexual gratification — so that we pass on more genes.4 It cares not a whit for the experiences of energetic nourishment, profound wholeness, or spiritual advancement. So powerful is this biological mechanism, that even the Taoists couldn't consistently follow their own advice. Taoist lovemaking practice predictably degenerated over the centuries. Lao Tzu once described "angelic dual cultivation" (controlled intercourse) as:5
an opportunity for a man and woman to mutually transform and uplift each other into the realm of bliss and wholeness.
Yet his successors imagined that a man could steal the yin energy of a woman by encouraging her to orgasm — while he controlled himself. They recognized that orgasm depletes a woman, but convinced themselves that her lost energy must go into her male partner (perhaps because a woman's orgasm is exciting to her mate, too). Then they got it really wrong, persuading themselves that they could steal the most yin energy from young girls who had not yet had a period.6 In their quest for longevity, these would-be sexual vampires effectively dismantled the concept of mutual enlightenment between the equal forces of yin and yang.
The Devolution of Tantra
The same degeneration apparently took place in Tibet. In the eight century, a female Buddha, Lady Yeshe Tsogyel, achieved enlightenment through mutual tantric practice.7 The legend of her experience makes it clear that a strong female partner is essential:
Woman is a sacred ingredient of the Tantra, A qualified Awareness Dakini is necessary; She must be of good family, faithful and honour bound, Beautiful, skillful in means, with perfect insight, Full of kindness and generosity, Without her the factors of maturity and release are incomplete, And the goal of tantric practice is lost from sight.8
Yet over the intervening centuries, the role of women among the holy men of Tibetan Buddhism has radically deteriorated. Contemporary insiders report that lamas, both married and celibate, have secret consorts. These women are used by the men in the men's quest for divine union — but not as equals. A former consort-turned-professor9 explains that, although sexual relations may be presented in the sacred texts as purely symbolic,
in the functioning of the system, to have an actual sexual consort is considered the most important ingredient in the path of tantra. That's where so much of the confusion and ambivalence and misogyny come into play, because you have both: the emphasis on male monastic society and, at the same time the need for women, but without the acknowledgment of the role women play. The centrality of the hidden sexual relationship is terribly important…. [In Tibetan lore] there are many expressions of ambivalence about women: how women are polluting, how they are an obstacle to practice, that at best women can serve others and at worst they are a nuisance. At the same time, women are transcendentalized into goddesses, dakinis, female aspects of being that men must associate with in order to reach enlightenment…. The tulku system [by which a lama symbolically gives birth to himself through reincarnation as another male] was what put the tin lid on any potential for women to gain equality in the religious sphere, or for their voices to be heard. It ensured the power of the divine male [and worked a hardship on young boys, who were raised away from loving women, in an all-male environment].
It is ironic that in the ancient sacred text The Secret Life and Songs of the Lady Yeshe Tsogyel, the Guru makes this prediction:10
At this moment the Tantra has the vital potency of youth. In the future its promise will not be fulfilled. Its practice will be confused and perverted.
Sure enough, as scholar June Campbell observed,
I've got no doubts now that when a male teacher demands a relationship that involves secret sex, an imbalance of power, threats, and deception, the woman is exploited. You have to ask, "Where does the impulse to hide sexual behavior come from?" Especially if it happens in a system that supposedly values the sexual relationship. 11
Tibetan master Djwhal Khul states that,
sex magic and the inner tantric teachings have gone woefully astray and been centralised upon individual development and the attainment of some experience which is presumed to promote spiritual attainment.
In fact, he explains, the purpose of sex is the union of male and female polarity, and there can be no creation of the 'body of light' or union between the personality and the soul without "the physiological processes of sex."12 An ongoing relationship is encouraged.13
Initiates and Masters, in many cases marry, and normally perform their duties as husbands, wives, and householders, but all is controlled and regulated by purpose and intention, and none is carried away by passion or desire. In the perfect man upon the physical plane, all the centres are under complete control, and their energy is legitimately used; the spiritual will of the divine inner God is the main factor, and there will be a unity of effort shown on all the planes through all the centres for the greatest good of the greatest number.
Complete union is vital to overcoming dualistic thinking.14 The division between races and between religions can be traced back to the misuse of sex between male and female.
The mystery of sex itself is bound up with the re-establishment of the sense of unity and of balance, of oneness or of wholeness.
Master Djwhal Khul warns that as a person first begins to understand the significance of his sexual desire and how to use it for a higher end, he/she is often swung off balance for a time, "into a maelstrom of...sex magic....He is glamoured by the beauty of his motive, and deceived by the acquired potency of his personality."15
What to do?
This glimpse into the deteriorating trend of two venerable sacred sex traditions shows that even spiritual masters can easily create bad karma for themselves with sexual desire - despite years, or even lifetimes, of lofty intention and discipline. Such distortions can become institutionalized in combination with quite valid spiritual insights, making it hard to sort the wheat from the chaff. So what can we rely on? We can be careful that we treat others as we would like to be treated, and we can trust our inner compasses, rather than external authorities, on this point. If your lover is misusing your sexual connection - with or without tantric lingo and rituals - recognize that you cannot help him or her by continuing to tolerate selfish behavior. After all, it is impossible to make genuine spiritual progress by using another. Indeed, selfish behavior ultimately slows spiritual advancement. Do your lover a favor: insist on a mutually-nurturing, disciplined sexual connection and healthy, respectful companionship. If you sense that you have a spiritual contribution to make to this planet, and yet also suspect that you are addicted to orgasm, it may be time to stop rationalizing further departures from the principles of disciplined celibate practice or controlled intercourse and the careful nurturing of a partner. It is likely that when you balance your sexual energy, you will truly become the force of Light you long to be. The ultimate goal of left-hand tantra is for both partners to remain "<a data-cke-saved-href="http://www.aypsite.org/T50.html" href="http://www.aypsite.org/T50.html" title="Link to " advanced="" yoga="" practices"="" class="offsite" target="_blank">pre-orgasmic." Keep in mind tantra teacher Barry Long's warning, which is supported by recent research about the neurochemistry of sex:
"You can't be in a state of love if you are going for an orgasm."
If you're not sure if your sexual energy is out of balance (that is, whether it has pushed you into an addictive cycle), here's some guidance from a Yogi Times interview:
YT: What are the signs that would alert a man that his sexual energy is out of alignment? SB: If they become frustrated or angry with their partner when they're not in the mood, that would be a sign that their energy is driving a sexual response rather than a true emotional state. They feel compelled to have an orgasm, and if they don't, they don't know how to handle that. The energy is too overwhelming for them.
It's also wise to recognize the need for consistency in sexual discipline, even if the kundalini should rise. Controlled intercourse offers an on-going, balanced foundation for spiritual advancement. It does not simply use the intensity of a brief sexual encounter to raise the kundalini. It does not rely upon professions of seeing each other's inner Buddhas in the heat of a ritual - followed by emotional distance or abuse. Ideally, controlled intercourse employs mutuality - that is, the relationship - rather than transient sexual intensity, as a key spiritual vehicle. In effect, the relationship transforms into a spring of energetic nourishment that continues to circulate between mates, balancing them, nourishing them, and helping them to tap their inner wisdom. This means that both partners channel their energy upward instead of striving for orgasm. Where the man controls himself and the woman is urged to climax to move his sexual energy, mutuality and a stable energy balance are not possible. The experience of the Taoists and Tibetan Buddhist tantrics are proof that such a practice ultimately leads to inequality, exploitation, and no doubt, karmic debt. By making love carefully and with the emphasis on selfless service to each other for a sacred end, lovers ensure that they consistently see one another as safe to love. First, they don't project the neurochemical lows that follow orgasm onto each other during the days and weeks afterward. Second, mutual selfless adoration gives partners a "glow" of spiritual radiance - much as an adoring disciple sees his guru. By recognizing this divine light in each other, lovers can more readily accept that holiness is theirs - and not just their spiritual teacher's. Who needs a guru when we have each other...and a way to balance our sexual energy safely?
- 1. Hua Hu Ching: Unknown Teachings of Lao Tzu, trans. Brian Walker, Harper SanFrancisco (1995), section 29.
- 2. Cayce reading 2475-1, see discussion of kundalini
- 3. One person described a kundalini awakening experience this way:
- 4. See 'The Coolidge Effect.'
- 5. Hua Hu Ching: Unknown Teachings of Lao Tzu, trans. Brian Walker, Harper SanFrancisco (1995), section 69
- 6. The Art of the Bedchamber, by Douglas Wile, State University of New York Press (1992)
- 7. The Secret Life and Songs of the Lady Yeshe Tsogyel, p. 234
- 8. The Secret Life and Songs of the Lady Yeshe Tsogyel, p. 24
- 9. See interview with author June Campbell
- 10. The Secret Life and Songs of the Lady Yeshe Tsogyel, p. 60
- 11. From interview published in 'Tricycle' magazine.
- 12. Excerpts from A Compilation on Sex, by Alice A. Bailey, Lucis Publishing Company (1980), p. 57
- 13. Excerpts from A Compilation on Sex, p. 85
- 14. Excerpts from A Compilation on Sex, p. 147
- 15. Excerpts from A Compilation on Sex, p. 118
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Do unto others ...
I always feel funny when I read the supposed quote of Jesus like "We can be careful that we treat others as we would like to be treated".
My mother used that quote frequently and never got what she wanted because what she wanted was inherently different from what my father wanted ... she gave him what she wanted for herself and it didn't fall in fertile soil.
If someone "wants to be spanked" should he spank others ?
How about another principal for mutuality: Two yes is a yes, two no is a no and one yes and one no is a no -- in other words those who do not want to participate should never have to. It requires sometime practical negotiation that comes to a working compromise (as opposed to "compromise" where you give up what you want). I think the reason why we won't see much of this principle of mutuality in society is that it punctures the designs by hierarchy and authority to govern others (which they of course think is of the utmost importance). So could it be that gurus inherently are not interested in mutuality ?
Did not mean to be critical
Marnia, I read my post above and want to apologize as it sounds as if this is the totality of my response to your article -- it certainly is not meant to be -- I agree with what you write and my comment is only about this one little issue. It reminds me of the guy who gives his wife a set of golf clubs for her birthday and receives a mink coat for his. There are women interested golf and men in fur coats but when it isn't so, the "do unto others" can go persistently wrong as it did with my parents...
No problem. I think your
No problem. I think your comment is a good one, and I just got distracted before I replied when I first read it.
I guess my thought is that we could all at least begin by thinking about NOT doing what we know we personally wouldn't like! Certainly tantra teachers abusing their students could start there.
I have a friend who went to
I have a friend who went to India to study yoga and ended up having sex with the teacher because he said she needed to "open up her heart chakra" and could only do so through direct penetration. He gave her a venereal disease. I'm sorry she went through this. If she had clearly developed her yang side, and had been able to be discerning in who she wanted to be receptive to, this wouldn't have happened. But she learned a lot from it.
So, your points are well taken. However, I think that it is necessary to be very cautious when painting a picture of an entire spiritual tradition - such as Tibetan Buddhism - as being conducive to such abuses. It seems to me that the dynamics you are describing are the tendency of human beings to be greedy for power and to use any tools at their disposal to reach their ends, even if that means distorting the truth of the teachings. Lets just please recognize here in this discussion that such abuses are not representative of true Tibetan Buddhism - they are distortions; just as the historically male tendencies towards control, violence, and abuse are distortions of true masculinity.
I think that the spiritual emptiness of consumerist american society has led many westerners to rightfully look for deeper and more meaningful approaches to sexuality and spirituality. This openness to new ways of seeing things, coupled with the human desire for power on the part of SO-CALLED gurus or teachers, can be a very unhealthy combination. But it's clearly a stage in growth and development that we have had to go through culturally, and hopefully we have learned a few things from it without outright having to reject what are otherwise very valuable and insightful traditions.
Since I have been studying and practicing Tibetan Buddhism for the past few years, the last year with a teacher (and no - we do not have sex), I just ask that you be careful in the picture that you paint of a tradition that you are not a part of. It could be needlessly discouraging. What is at fault here is not the tradition, but - again, as always - human beings and their greedy need for power. If we were to discard anything that at one point has been harmful to us, we would never grow or learn. Men have systematically abused their power over the centuries. Does this mean that I should distrust all men because so many have been poor representatives of their sex? Well, yes and no. As you point out, caution in such situations with a history of abuse is sane and intelligent, to a certain and limited and always individually-determined degree.
The sacred sex traditions are so varied and so specific, that it is hard to have a general discussion about them. For example, much of the literature and teaching that has come to the US on "kundalini" focuses on raising the serpent fire energy up the spine through the seven chakras. From the perspective of Taoist sexual alchemy and Tibetan Inner Fire meditation, this would be a very incomplete way to raise the kundalini - up the spinal yang channel only. Both of these traditions emphasize that each human being contains a complete circuit of energy - a polarity of positive and negative charges - that go up the spine (yang, fire) and then back down the front (yin, cooling energy). The actual kundalini itself in these traditions is seen as the "kundalini drops" - that is, the yin cooling energy, which is evoked by the buildup of the yang fire. So - what it looks like to me is that unfortunately the kundalini traditions that have come to the US or been found most attractive to Westerners are those that emphasize the fire, yang circuit, and completely ignore the yin channel, which quenches and cools the fire. My guess - based partially on experience - is that the cases of insanity and "burnt fuses" that are alluded to as being dangerous side-effects of kundalini meditation are actually the side-effects of an incomplete meditation that does not recognize or utilize the cooling yin energy.
Thanks, Hotspring
For your more balanced perspective. I wrote this article after a woman shared some horror stories about her experiences. I know I am speaking of only a portion of spiritual teachers here, but I do think it's good for people to keep their eyes open.
There's a big difference between ego and egoless, and it's not always easy to discern through the charismatic glow that surrounds some teachers.
Hot Spring
You are so awesome. I've got a crush on you. I hear strong women singing and think of you.
Thanks Aphrodites. I have a
Thanks Aphrodites. I have a strong voice in the written word but haven't sung much in my life, until recently. Just last week went to a singing circle, it was so much fun! Always new things to discover . . . Since I haven't been getting down much (sheesh, it has been a DRY year), singing is the next-best way to release that juicy energy held deep inside. Do you sing much? Might be a nice release.
Great article
Thanks for the great articles. Truely enlightened persons has very little ego... they are like 'nobody'.
I don`t get it. Why there
I don`t get it. Why there are so many religions but every body know that there is only one God? Different name, different style`s but they all believe in the same thing, why can`t they do something and make it just one? It would be more simple and in this case it will put a stop to some region "crimes".
Spirituality v. Religion
I have always seen spirituality and religion as two different entities. The former is a spirit's quest for wholeness, seeking light and wisdom for freedom's sake; the latter is a man-made philosophy/doctrine requiring acceptance and following.
To err is human, to seek forgiveness is divine.
I don't know if you've heard
I don't know if you've heard about the Guru in Yoga in Romania called Bivolaru. He is the perfect example of this kind of "teachers" who end up abusing his students.
This is a great post--thanks so much. I have been disheartened a couple of times upon learning someone spiritual I looked up to was engaging in affairs with students. It is such an abuse of power, and a betrayal of trust, not just to the one being sexualized, but also to anyone following the teacher. I often hear students of Chogyam Trungpa defending his behavior (a terrible womanizer, who flaunted it at times--and also an alcoholic), by saying there are spiritual ways of detachment that we just don't understand--or that it was his way of shaking students up so they didn't become too attached to him (!).
When I learned of my own yoga teacher behaving in this way, I remember it sent me into a spiritual crisis for some time. Maybe it was a good lesson for me--learning to rely on my own integrity rather than that of someone else...still, the experience leaves a bad taste in my mouth, and I find it much harder to trust teachers of any sort. And, doesn't life provide us with enough opportunities for "negative" growth experiences without our teachers also being a source? This post is very helpful for me in understanding how it happened to them, and perhaps it will help me in my process of also forgiving them.
Sorry for the betrayal
"So near, and yet so far," eh?
Let me know if you want to start blogging, and I'll activate your account.
Do unto yourself
I agree that that moralising Jesus stuff didn't always make sense to me. hmmmmmm. Then someone told me that what He said was quite simple: You will treat others the way you treat yourself. Bingo!
I have no judgement
regarding teachers who have sexual relations with their students. Teacher-student relations are a formal title. In the world at large every relationship is in a state of imbalance where situationally one is the teacher and one is the student, even in collaborative efforts. Hence every romantic realtionship also has roles of teacher and student, most often a mutual flux trading roles. We are not so judgemental then when we view the dynamic as such. I have had teachers who expressed a sexual interest in me. I was flattered. I did not engage just as I would never engage any one of my formal students in sexual relations. Besides that I am married and my wife is often my student. Teachers are human and I do not fault them for the foibles that other humans are allowed. As long as there are gems to be obtained the teacher is entertained by the student. When the teacher runs out of gems it is time to move on. I do not burn the Old Testament because of its sins, there are enough gems within to uphold it as a worthy source of discussion. Students who fall "victim" to "unscrupulous" teachers are, at an eternal level, asking for this experience. At the level of our soul, our material minds can never be sure what experiences are necessary for our education and completion. The goal is to learn and become wise and move on when lessons no longer serve us. How do you know when a lesson no longer serves? It is when you no longer hang a descriptor akin to evil[and there are dozens] upon any of the parties.
Thanks, Luke
Good to hear from you.
Yes, just as people attract teacher dramas into their lives, perhaps they also attract articles like mine when it's time.
Two sides
My teacher was an alcoholic. I never thought less of him. He had gems and I benefited from that. His weaknesses just showed me a human side, almost like a balancing of his gifts. Perhaps we could even learn wisdom from the most wicked person on earth.
Unethical Sexual Relationships in New Age Circles
Because there is no governing board for the type of Psycho/Spiritual work that my husband's therapist does there is no recourse for me but to give the public my experience with her.
She had an affair with my husband while we were living together while they were engaged in therapy. He called her his "Spiritual Teacher" and she continually asked him to do therapeutic sessions with her and engaged in therapeutic sessions with him while they were romantically involved.
This is an unethical practice by any measure and with her training and education she should have known better. There are good reasons to avoid combining romance with Spiritual Teaching/ Therapy and there are good reasons to avoid relations with married men with children. Combining all these can cause real harm and truly did in this situation.
We had been together 18 years and have two children together. It was extremely damaging and painful to me and did not help him psychologically. In fact he deteriorated so much he began to be physically violent with his family. She helped contribute to the deterioration of our family which has resulted in the suffering of our children as well.
for what you went through. This is a tough planet where relationships are concerned, and sadly, the therapist, wasn't the only challenge. For example, have you read this: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/cupids-poisoned-arrow/200907/what-if...