text:
Learning How To Be Free: An Invitation, from a painter
Nov 11 2008, 02:48 PM
Post #41
Group: Respected Member
Posts: 5,870
Joined: 25-August 06
From: SFO
Member No.: 16
I've freed myself of many things. I don't think mine is the path, method, means or ??? for most however.
I have no doubt both sentences are true for you. And you are right, one man's dessert may be another man's poison. Still, if we know anything, especially something learned directly, not from a book (however interesting or informative it may be), we have something few men have. A very valuable asset. Nothing of this kind can be given to anyone. It must be earned for one's self and, indeed, every man's path is different.
But there are relevant questions. What can feed my hunger to know directly, feed the wish to be free inwardly, regardless of my external conditions? If I begin to see, as all here have to some degree, that the outer world is a prison, a market place for slaves (many of whom mistaking themselves for masters), then there arises the wish to free oneself from these external conditions -- and rightly so. But what is the inner counterpart to that dynamic? What do I need to see in myself and, perhaps even more importantly, how can I even begin to see it?
Nov 11 2008, 02:52 PM
Post #42
Group: Respected Member
Posts: 568
Joined: 23-January 07
From: where the lorax sleeps
Member No.: 487
To answer the question, "tell me who you are"...
I am a product of my desires. I define myself by what interests me most. I am a vegetarian/vegan because i am most concerned with the welfare of animals. I am an alternative history buff because I understanding of the world changed with the understanding of one event; 9/11. I am quiet and shy because I enjoy time to myself...what the people around me have to offer are usually unimportant or detrimental to my philosophy (that stems from my desire), and therefore alone-ness to me is most liberating.
My environment also determines who i am. The people around me do not think as I do. They are most concerned about sports, jobs and money. I don't want to abandon my friends, so i maintain a persona, my old 'me' that was sarcastic, playful, and still into the general entertainment that most people enjoy.
Nov 11 2008, 03:16 PM
Post #43
Group: Respected Member
Posts: 5,870
Joined: 25-August 06
From: SFO
Member No.: 16
To answer the question, "tell me who you are"...
I am a product of my desires. I define myself by what interests me most. I am a vegetarian/vegan because i am most concerned with the welfare of animals. I am an alternative history buff because I understanding of the world changed with the understanding of one event; 9/11. I am quiet and shy because I enjoy time to myself...what the people around me have to offer are usually unimportant or detrimental to my philosophy (that stems from my desire), and therefore alone-ness to me is most liberating.
My environment also determines who i am. The people around me do not think as I do. They are most concerned about sports, jobs and money. I don't want to abandon my friends, so i maintain a persona, my old 'me' that was sarcastic, playful, and still into the general entertainment that most people enjoy.
Thank you, Wingmaster.
Do you have a question? -- I don't mean a superficial question such as you might ask a friend or some 'authority' to answer for you. I'm not even asking you to tell me what your question is if you have one. I'm asking, do you have a question that is your own? Perhaps it doesn't even form itself in words in your mind but, nevertheless, it is an inner influence or impulse that motivates you to search for something 'more' in your life. You don't have to tell me, you don't have to answer my question to you. But I'm asking you to ask yourself, to look within yourself, to see what is there -- not for 'me' or for 'us' but for yourself.
Nov 11 2008, 08:38 PM
Post #44
Group: Administrator
Posts: 4,983
Joined: 1-April 07
Member No.: 875
The answers are everywhere.
It's formulating the right question,
I have problems with.
It's a thinking/knowing thing.
...I think
Nov 12 2008, 11:57 AM
Post #45
Group: Contributor
Posts: 289
Joined: 18-February 08
From: USA: N.C.
Member No.: 2,762
I am the same person I was as a small child
I still feel the same way, and view the world around me in the same way....
I have a job, family, and the day-to-day trappings involved in such,
but I still feel the same way I did way back when
I feel I am here, at this time, because something extraordinary is going to happen...I was born into this time for this reason
I feel that there is an additional dimension(s) surrounding us, and that there is some form of barrier that prevents us from experiencing it
I have had enough "synchronistic" episodes in my everyday life that I know the above sentence to be true
I know that I enjoy the hell out of lucid dreaming in trying to get some sort of handle/understanding of the conscious/sub-conscious mind
I have had practice (due to dealing with anxiety) in quietly taking in (sensory) all of what is going on around me, and being at one with it....
sorry for the rambling answer to a difficult question
Nov 12 2008, 02:01 PM
Post #46
Group: Respected Member
Posts: 5,870
Joined: 25-August 06
From: SFO
Member No.: 16
The answers are everywhere.
It's formulating the right question,
I have problems with.
It's a thinking/knowing thing.
...I think
There is an impulse to respond to your words. Something in me wants to respond.
At first, words begin to form in me associatively, automatically, mechanically, reactively. I read your words and words begin to form in a certain part of my brain immediately -- some witty or serious or 'intelligent' thing to say. But in this instance I let that go and admit to myself that I don't really know what needs to be said. Yet I know that I don't know and that is something. That is real for me. True for me.
So, I take my time. I'm in no hurry. I'm watching or at least attempting to watch the movement of attention within myself. I allow the attention to open to include my body a little more completely, to feel the energy that is here in me now -- so far as I'm able. When I'm ready, that is, when I can simultaneously sustain some awareness of sensation, I begin to allow the typed words come -- allow the 'word formation' part of my brain and the well practiced fingers to do what they mechanically know to do so well. But there is a bit of an inner struggle going on because the word formation process has a tendency to absorb all my attention. Its like water drawn by gravity or iron filings drawn to a magnet; this is where and how my attention is in the habit of being. When this happens I 'forget' about the intention of remaining more aware of myself and loose the direct connection with this intention to spread my attention more evenly through my body. As I try to observe all this I see that my effort isn't even or constant. I see that if I'm not careful or diligent, my attention will become absorbed by a 'thought' or even drawn completely away from the present into a 'day dream' or 'fantasy'. I struggle, a little bit, against this habit. I work at sustaining some awareness of the whole of myself. Work at remembering this other intention so that even when I 'forget', soon it comes back again and I re-member myself a little more fully.
It takes time. It takes interest. It takes practice. It takes a certain quantity and quality of energy. I have to want to do this or at least try. But what am I? And how can I even begin to know except by making some inner effort to be aware, to take this question seriously and to be honest with myself when I see that mostly this question is lost, almost completely lost. Forgotten. Irrelevant in contrast to all the other interests and concerns that absorb my attention. From somewhere there has to arise a wish to know, a wish to be, that becomes a new 'center of gravity', a new 'magnet', that calls my attention back into more of myself and into the moment.
This cycle is repeated over and over and over again. But something is forming. A new 'crystallization' has begun to appear. Something more is now possible.
Nov 12 2008, 02:30 PM
Post #47
Group: Respected Member
Posts: 5,870
Joined: 25-August 06
From: SFO
Member No.: 16
I am the same person I was as a small child
I still feel the same way, and view the world around me in the same way....
I have a job, family, and the day-to-day trappings involved in such,
but I still feel the same way I did way back when
I feel I am here, at this time, because something extraordinary is going to happen...I was born into this time for this reason
I feel that there is an additional dimension(s) surrounding us, and that there is some form of barrier that prevents us from experiencing it
I have had enough "synchronistic" episodes in my everyday life that I know the above sentence to be true
I know that I enjoy the hell out of lucid dreaming in trying to get some sort of handle/understanding of the conscious/sub-conscious mind
I have had practice (due to dealing with anxiety) in quietly taking in (sensory) all of what is going on around me, and being at one with it....
sorry for the rambling answer to a difficult question
Yes, it requires practice and patience and a kind of wish or wordless impulse or desire. It is very subtle. It doesn't have much weight or gravity or importance in relation to what I call "my life." It can seem almost inconsequential. No one has ever told us otherwise. Our attention is drawn to other things: Trapped, imprisoned, even "consumed" may not be too strong a word. But I have to see this for myself. Being told or even 'believing' that such is so isn't enough.
As for being the child, yes, something is there from the beginning. Something essential, an essence that remains although it may be completely buried beneath the formation of the social mask, the persona, that we are taught to identify with as "myself". This essence is our hope but because it was seldom if ever fed or nourished with its proper food, it has not grown along with the body and all our other faculties. It remains 'latent' -- but, still, a genuine hope. Finding it and feeding it in the midst of life can become a new aim.
Nov 14 2008, 12:13 PM
Post #48
Group: Respected Member
Posts: 5,870
Joined: 25-August 06
From: SFO
Member No.: 16
I've written several posts on other threads, most in reply to other members, that are relevant to this thread so I'm going to copy and paste them here:
Source: http://pilotsfor911truth.org/forum//index....&p=10758715
Please allow me to pick up the pieces of my blown mind [cleanup]
This post is the most recent "event" that I "feel" I have been "waiting for".....it made sense so much that it didn't make any sense, I feel I understand, but what I understand, is that I don't yet understand....
I have the tools...
and so do you....
..so, I guess, the rest is up to me?
EDIT: A couple of things "spoke" to me more clearly.....and now I am finding myself reading George Harrison's lyrics VERY CAREFULLY....
As The Insider said, the truth is "within you, without you"
Yes, but I advise discretion. That is to say, although there are some very big pearls in there, the fact is they are wrapped in a container of BS. Discretion, the ability to "read" (see my "freedom" thread pinned in this forum), to see what is Pearl and what is BS is essential.
The biggest reason why I know "Insider" isn't telling us the truth -- don't misunderstand, he says many true things, but he isn't telling us the truth about himself -- is that he has completely left out the most important thing. For example in this "answer":
Temperance: conscious form of restraint based on selfknowing to achieve inner order of the Soul (which is the unseen you as a whole, the Soul is not a part of you, you are one). Restraining the emotions/desires/passions/energies does not mean cutting it off (that will harm you, beware), but channeling them to work for higher causes after taming them gently. This all does lead to a sober life, yet simpler, filled with gifts because you fully become your own master, instead of your emotions/desires/passions dictating you how to be. Simultaneously with this process you will be cleansing yourself and will be ready to be enlightened by the Universal Mind. Be like that which you want to connect with as much as possible.
He has left out the KEY -- how it is that any "temperance" or "gentle taming" of the emotions/desires/passions/energies is possible. I can't emphasize enough how very important this is. Without the KEY, nothing is possible other than making matters worse than they already are. This is the fundamental point that has to be understood whenever one approaches genuine esoteric knowledge. (Genuine as opposed the fake 'esotericism' that Insider also, and accurately, warns us about).
The KEY is this: The awareness that we can "do" nothing, "learn" nothing, "understand" nothing, and "tame" nothing -- in fact "be" nothing --without a simultaneous inner effort to extend the range of our attention beyond its normal, habitual circuit. This is why genuine esotericism is esoteric. It isn't that anything is hidden, that is a truth he states, but that it is invisible to us because we do not hold, exercise or value the KEY, which is the energy of attention itself. Ordinarily our attention is focused either outwardly toward a figure in the world or, conversely, in some attempt to focus "inwardly" toward sensations or thoughts and feelings. What isn't made evident is that attention can intentionally be divided to operate in more than one direction simultaneously. (I'm not talking about mere 'multi-tasking' but it is related.) This is the "key" and without it nothing can be achieved. For anything to be achieved, conscious attention needs to be sustained simultaneously both toward the "object" and toward the "self". This establishes a new current of energy that initiates a relationship with a higher, reconciling force.
This "key," by the way, is the fundamental meaning of the pyramid symbol we are so familiar with (and many so suspicious of). This simplified diagram, below, represents the actualization of a particular cosmic law:
This is the "affirming" or ascending path, the path of evolution, which is superimposed with the equally lawful (cosmic law) "denying" or descending path or the path of involution seen in the "Star of David." The interweaving of these two fundamental cosmic forces represent the "third" balancing or "reconciling" cosmic force:
Finally, Insider puts forth "the Soul" as "the unseen you as a whole." While this is not a false statement, as stated it re-establishes the inaccurate presentment that "the Soul" is something actual, and not potential; that it exists already, fully formed and independent of any conscious choice or action. This is false, or at least problematic. "The Soul" is "the unseen you as a whole" only when the full meaning of the symbol above is actualized as a fully intentional and conscious energetic exchange with what Insider calls "the One". EDIT TO ADD: From the perspective of a higher dimension, "the Soul" may already exist, fully formed -- but this is outside temporal boundaries. Within temporal boundaries it exists only in potential.
Nov 14 2008, 12:15 PM
Post #49
Group: Respected Member
Posts: 5,870
Joined: 25-August 06
From: SFO
Member No.: 16
Source: http://pilotsfor911truth.org/forum//index....&p=10758596
If civilizations were known to rise and fall, by a dominant minority,
who wanted to preserve the harvested knowledge of each civilization,
the moon would make a wonderful archive.
Did anyone notice, everyone is suddenly going to the moon again.
...I wonder, what's up...
Ancient knowledge is everywhere, all around us and in us. But it is the nature of esotericism that this knowledge can not be received or understood if it is not accompanied by an intentional, inner effort to be qualitatively and quantitatively more aware or more conscious. It isn't a matter of a passive acquisition of "more information" recorded like data on a disc. Knowledge is more than information. Transformation is the possibility, attention is the key:
During one conversation with G. [G. I. Gurdjieff] in our group, which was beginning to become permanent, I asked: Why, if ancient knowledge has been preserved and if, speaking in general, there exists a knowledge distinct from our science and philosophy or even surpassing it, is it so carefully concealed, why is it not made common property? Why are the men who possess this knowledge unwilling to let it pass into the general circulation of life for the sake of a better and more successful struggle against deceit, evil, and ignorance?
This is, I think, a question which usually arises in everyones mind on first acquaintance with the ideas of esotericism.
There are two answers to that, said G. In the first place, this knowledge is not concealed; and in the second place, it cannot, from its very nature, become common property. We will consider the second of these statements first. I will prove to you afterwards that knowledge (he emphasized the word) is far more accessible to those capable of assimilating it than is usually supposed; and that the whole trouble is that people either do not want it or cannot receive it.
But first of all another thing must be understood, namely, that knowledge cannot belong to all, cannot even belong to many. Such is the law. You do not understand this because you do not understand that knowledge, like everything else in the world, is material. It is material, and this means that it possesses all the characteristics of materiality. One of the first characteristics of materiality is that matter is always limited, that is to say, the quantity of matter in a given place and under given conditions is limited. Even the sand of the desert and the water of the sea is a definite and unchangeable quantity. So that, if knowledge is material, then it means that there is a definite quantity of it in a given place at a given time. It may be said that, in the course of a certain period of time, say a century, humanity has a definite amount of knowledge at its disposal. But we know, even from an ordinary observation of life, that the matter of knowledge possesses entirely different qualities according to whether it is taken in small or large quantities. Taken in a large quantity in a given place, that is by one man, let us say, or by a small group of men, it produces very good results; taken in a small quantity (that is, by every one of a very large number of people), it gives no results at all; or it may give even negative results, contrary to those expected. Thus if a certain definite quantity of knowledge is distributed among millions of people, each individual will receive very little, and this small amount of knowledge will change nothing either in his life or in his understanding of things. And however large the number of people who receive this small amount of knowledge, it will change nothing in their lives, except, perhaps, to make them still more difficult.
But if, on the contrary, large quantities of knowledge are concentrated in a small number of people, then this knowledge will give very great results. From this point of view it is far more advantageous that knowledge should be preserved among a small number of people and not dispersed among the masses.
If we take a certain quantity of gold and decide to gild a number of objects with it, we must know, or calculate, exactly what number of objects can be gilded with this quantity of gold. If we try to gild a greater number, they will be covered with gold unevenly, in patches, and will look much worse than if they had no gold at all; in fact we shall lose our gold.
The distribution of knowledge is based upon exactly the same principle. If knowledge is given to all, nobody will get any. If it is preserved among a few, each will receive not only enough to keep, but to increase, what he receives.
At the first glance this theory seems very unjust, since the position of those who are, so to speak, denied knowledge in order that others may receive a greater share may seem very sad and undeservedly harder than it ought to be. Actually, however, this is not so at all; and in the distribution of knowledge there is not the slightest injustice.
The fact is that the enormous majority of people do not want any knowledge whatever; they refuse their share of it and do not even take the ration allotted to them, in the general distribution, for the purposes of life. This is particularly evident in times of mass madness such as wars, revolutions, and so on, when men suddenly seem to lose even the small amount of common sense they had and turn into complete automatons, giving themselves over to wholesale destruction in vast numbers, in other words, even losing the instinct of self-preservation. Owing to this, enormous quantities of knowledge remain, so to speak, unclaimed and can be distributed among those who realize its value.
There is nothing unjust in this, because those who receive knowledge take nothing that belongs to others, deprive others of nothing; they take only what others have rejected as useless and what would in any case be lost if they did not take it.
The collecting of knowledge by some depends on the rejection of knowledge by others.
There are periods in the life of humanity, which generally coincide with the beginning of the fall of cultures and civilizations, when the masses irretrievably lose their reason and begin to destroy everything that has been created by centuries and millenniums of culture. Such periods of mass madness, often coinciding with geological cataclysms, climatic changes, and similar phenomena of a planetary character, release a very great quantity of the matter of knowledge. This, in its turn, necessitates the work of collecting this matter of knowledge which would otherwise be lost. Thus the work of collecting scattered matter of knowledge frequently coincides with the beginning of the destruction and fall of cultures and civilizations.
This aspect of the question is clear. The crowd neither wants nor seeks knowledge, and the leaders of the crowd, in their own interests, try to strengthen its fear and dislike of everything new and unknown. The slavery in which mankind lives is based upon this fear. It is even difficult to imagine all the horror of this slavery. We do not understand what people are losing. But in order to understand the cause of this slavery it is enough to see how people live, what constitutes the aim of their existence, the object of their desires, passions, and aspirations, of what they think, of what they talk, what they serve and what they worship.
Consider what the cultured humanity of our time spends money on; even leaving the war out, what commands the highest price; where the biggest crowds are. If we think for a moment about these questions it becomes clear that humanity, as it is now, with the interests it lives by, cannot expect to have anything different from what it has. But, as I have already said, it cannot be otherwise. Imagine that for the whole of mankind half a pound of knowledge is allotted a year. If this knowledge is distributed among everyone, each will receive so little that he will remain the fool he was. But, thanks to the fact that very few want to have this knowledge, those who take it are able to get, let us say, a grain each, and acquire the possibility of becoming more intelligent. All cannot become intelligent even if they wish. And if they did become intelligent it would not help matters. There exists a general equilibrium which cannot be upset.
That is one aspect. The other, as I have already said, consists in the fact that no one is concealing anything; there is no mystery whatever. But the acquisition or transmission of true knowledge demands great labor and great effort both of him who receives and of him who gives. And those who possess this knowledge are doing everything they can to transmit and communicate it to the greatest possible number of people, to facilitate peoples approach to it and enable them to prepare themselves to receive the truth. But knowledge cannot be given by force to anyone and, as I have already said, an unprejudiced survey of the average mans life, of what fills his day and of the things he is interested in, will at once show whether it is possible to accuse men who possess knowledge of concealing it, of not wishing to give it to people, or of not wishing to teach people what they know themselves.
He who wants knowledge must himself make the initial efforts to find the source of knowledge and to approach it, taking advantage of the help and indications which are given to all, but which people, as a rule, do not want to see or recognize. Knowledge cannot come to people without effort on their own part. They understand this very well in connection with ordinary knowledge, but in the case of great knowledge, when they admit the possibility of its existence, they find it possible to expect something different. Everyone knows very well that if, for instance, a man wants to learn Chinese, it will take several years of intense work; everyone knows that five years are needed to grasp the principles of medicine, and perhaps twice as many years for the study of painting or music. And yet there are theories which affirm that knowledge can come to people without any effort on their part, that they can acquire it even in sleep. The very existence of such theories constitutes an additional explanation of why knowledge cannot come to people. At the same time it is essential to understand that mans independent efforts to attain anything in this direction can also give no results. A man can only attain knowledge with the help of those who possess it. This must be understood from the very beginning. One must learn from him who knows.
From P. D. Ouspensky's, In Search of the Miraculous, quoting G. I. Gurdjieff, pp 35, 36.
Nov 14 2008, 12:16 PM
Post #50
Group: Respected Member
Posts: 5,870
Joined: 25-August 06
From: SFO
Member No.: 16
Source: http://pilotsfor911truth.org/forum//index....&p=10758718
A man can only attain knowledge with the help of those who possess it.
No, but it could shorten the learning experience.
1: You're still taking "knowledge" as representing information. That is not what is being spoken of. 2: The "learning experience" for what is being spoken about, great knowledge, can not be shortened. It takes as long as it takes. If one does not find "those who possess it," it will not happen at all. Think of it as an exchange of a particular quality of energy. It demands something from both he who gives and he who receives.
I think this guy is getting gold and knowledge mixed up.
The former is a symbol for the latter.
There are a lot of ambiguities in these statements.
How so?
How does knowledge get preserved if it's always getting wiped out?
Knolwedge never gets wiped out.
Where is it stored outside of time?
Everything is, always.
Inventions from civilizations in the past,
all destroyed?
I think not.
Perhaps so, but they may not be available to us.
It only take one simple idea and life could be so much easier.
...take the wheel.
imo, lunk
Life can not be made "easier," it can only be made more comfortable such that we sleep all the more soundly.
I'm reminded of how Plato, in the Phadreus IIRC, relates a story he puts in the mouth of Socrates, saying he was told by a Sybil that an Egyptian Pharoh protested to the god Thoth: "The discovery of the alphabet will create forgetfulness in the learner's soul because they will not use their memories, they will trust to the external written characters and not remember of themselves. You give your disciples not truth, but only the semblance of truth. They will be heroes of many things and will have learned nothing. They will appear to be omniscient and will generally know nothing."
Turns out he was right.
Nov 14 2008, 12:17 PM
Post #51
Group: Respected Member
Posts: 5,870
Joined: 25-August 06
From: SFO
Member No.: 16
Source: http://pilotsfor911truth.org/forum//index....&p=10758741
I'm still trying to grasp if it is a particle or a wave.
I would say that gold is like knowledge, and can be expressed
just as well as an idea.
Instead of saying that knowledge is solid like gold.
In reality a nugget of gold is not much different than any other rock on the beach.
While knowledge is worth more than either.
What has weight, but is unmeasurable?
So, I have to side with the wave, at the moment.
The premise of knowledge being material, like gold, is backwards.
What is knowledge?
How does it differ from information?
I know, dumb questions,
but I must ask.
imo, lunk
There is never a "dumb" question if you must ask it.
First of all, esoteric knowledge is generally presented to the novice, and is commonly available to most everyone, through myth, symbol and metaphor. There are many reasons why this is necessary but like so many things having to do with this subject, the reasons aren't always obvious. In fact they seldom are obvious to us. But perhaps it will help if we begin with at least a partial awareness that the function of esoteric knowledge is the transformation of the human being from one state (our 'ordinary' state) to another state. One common metaphor that is used to express this idea is sleep vs awakening. So it can be said, the purpose of esoteric knowledge is to "awaken" the human being from his his ordinary state of "sleep". "Sleep" is a metaphor not to be taken too literally but, at the same time, it is a far more 'apt' metaphor than we can commonly admit. Those of us who have gone through the 9/11 looking glass see "sleeping" people everywhere all around us, people who are "hypnotized" by government, media, and so on -- and we know we were once one of them (and may suspect that to some degree we still are).
From the point of view of esotericism, the human being is "asleep" to his higher potential. That is, "asleep" to -- or unaware of -- his potential to be far more conscious than he ordinarily is. However, there is a fundamental problem. The man does not know that he is "asleep," does not experience himself as "asleep". Usually if you tell a man he is "asleep" he will get quite irritated and find various means of proving you are wrong. He is an adult with adult responsibilities, perhaps he is quite well educated, maybe even a man of some importance with a lot of money -- or not. In any case, he is quite certain that if he were "asleep" he would know it -- just as many who haven't gone through the 9/11 looking glass assume that it is too big a lie to be kept secret (or whatever excuse you wish). Or, worse, the man told that he is "asleep" may "believe" you just enough that he then takes this idea and turns it into some fantastical "dream" about what it would mean to "awaken". He begins to fantasize about himself and about the history and future of humanity and read all sorts of books, attending lectures and workshops led by authoritative crack-pot sycophants eager to fleece him to his grave.
sh*t happens.
As regards your questions, I think I've said this elsewhere on this forum in some context or other but we can construct a hierarchy that looks something like this:
data > information > knowledge > understanding > wisdom > awakening > transcendence
(Your word choice may vary.)
This hierarchy is not only quantitative but qualitative -- becoming increasingly qualitative as it progresses. Regardless of your data set or range of samples, no amount of data can become "information" until it is perceived and organized, sorted and stored in some way. Similarly, a large quantity of information will not produce "knowledge" until it is somehow put to use.
I hesitate to say anything beyond the mid-point of this schematic, "knowledge," because to go further up this 'ladder' requires qualities that are very difficult to define. Still, I think you can 'get it' at least that even a very knowledgeable man may not be a very "understanding" man. He may be very powerful but he may not "understand" the world, the other people around him, or even himself -- and never quite manages to no matter how many books he reads or authorities he consults. Something qualitative is missing.
But, so far, all that I've been describing with this little flow chart is ordinary knowledge such as you and I possess as we are. We're not yet talking about the kind of great knowledge that Gurdjieff says is "material" and for which he uses "gold" to represent symbolically. To even begin to understand this requires that 'something qualitative' that is missing from mere knowledge in the ordinary sense.
At another place in the book quoted above, Gurdjieff says a man's understanding is equal to his level of being. This word "being" is a bit hairy but suffice it to say that although a rock, a flower, a dog and a man may all "exist", they do not have the same "being". What is being proposed, here, is that men, too, can have different levels of "being" (which, in esoteric terms, can range almost as much as the examples I've used). According to this idea, a man can not understand anything beyond his level of being. Perhaps we could just as well say that a man's understanding is his level of being. If you want to know what a man is as opposed to what he believes himself to be or pretends to be, look at his level of understanding -- of himself, the world, others, etc. You and I and almost any man or woman we come in contact with are on the same level of being (more or less). Therefore, to understand something greater than we do -- and humanity in general does -- requires not only an increase in knowledge but also an increase in being.
The question you are asking (if I've understood you) is, in what sense of the word is this knowledge, esoteric knowledge, "material" in nature. Chances are this is a "new" idea, not one you've ever come across before and, indeed, it seems counter-intuitive -- which is to say, contradicted by everything you know or think you know already. Most everyone would agree with you, I'm sure. In what sense can "knowledge" be "matter"?
Perhaps it will help if we both agree that matter is energy of a certain density, having certain properties that can be analyzed and comprehended. You've seen before where I've said that living beings are transformers of energy. We take in the matter of food and air into our bodies and they, in turn, through various autonomic processes extract the elements and nutrients that are then transformed into all the functional properties of our organism. However, what is not commonly understood is that air and physical food (including water) are not the only materials that enter our bodies. Right now as I sit here typing this and as you sit there reading, our senses are being bombarded with a flood of energetic stimuli. We are being "fed" constantly through our nervous system, "stimulated" we call it, far more so than we commonly realize. And we can prove this to ourselves through intentionally shifting our attention. If I suggest, for example, that while reading these words you shift a part of your attention to sensing your left foot, you may find that, although it isn't easy, it can be done. Wiggle your toes if you need to and sense what that feels like. Perhaps now you can also sense your socks (if you're wearing any) or the pressure of your shoes at specific points on your foot. All that energy of sensation was already there stimulating your brain but it did not rise to the level of your 'conscious attention' because you were not paying attention to it. You should be able to verify this directly for yourself. But I'll go a bit further because if your experience of this is at all like mine as you continue to read these words within a relatively short time you will once again forget to pay attention to your foot and this stimulation, though still there, will no longer be available to your awareness. This is a fundamental model of the entirety of the human condition: We are but we do not continuously and directly know that we are. This is our "level of being." We have learned and been conditioned to focus our attention in specific ways in order to accomplish given tasks. For example, all of us here know how to "read" in the conventional, 'reading comprehension' sense and it isn't necessary to have a sensation of one's left foot (or, indeed, much of any sensation of the body what ever) to do so. Whether it is reading or writing or talking or walking or screwing or driving a car or taking a sh*t or performing brain surgery or plotting the overthrow of the American Republic and the institution of a New World Order -- it is all the same. All these things are done by men and women who are operating out of a certain very restricted level of being, completely unaware that something more might be possible for us if we could only learn to pay attention in a new way.
Gurdjieff speaks of the "matter of knowledge" because he's speaking of the possibility of receiving more directly, consciously and intentionally, the "energy of impressions," -- the "food" necessary for our transformation -- trough a simultaneous growth of both knowledge and being. The whole esoteric proposal is actually quite simple: We will change as the center of gravity of our attention changes. But to read these words is one thing, to engage in the activity is quite another and not without certain risks. Mostly these 'risks' are of no particular consequence. For one thing, most people, even when they come across this idea, and even if they find it momentarily a little bit interesting, soon forget all about it and, like having taken the blue pill instead of the red one, they wake up the next morning believing whatever they want to believe, brush themselves off, and go about their lives as though nothing had happened. It is, indeed, extremely rare that someone becomes sufficiently interested in this proposal to begin to make efforts and experiments coupled with researching the necessary texts that may, in time, lead them to encounter "one who knows". Well, at least someone who honestly knows they don't know enough but may have a clue. Perhaps even someone who has begun to learn how to digest and transform the energies of impressions such that they have begun to develop within themselves a new being.
IMO: painter
Nov 14 2008, 12:18 PM
Post #52
Group: Respected Member
Posts: 5,870
Joined: 25-August 06
From: SFO
Member No.: 16
Source: http://pilotsfor911truth.org/forum//index....&p=10758781
Now I feel like I'm swimming underneath the thick primordial muck
with only and inkling of a memory that there is
a less viscous atmosphere above.
how does one maintain, awareness of the moment, constantly,
without drifting off into distraction?
still wiggling left toe,
cheers, lunk
Your sense of humor will be a help when it doesn't work against you, as well as the quality of "memory" you speak of.
The answer to your question has to be found for yourself. That is part of the beauty of it. But, in brief, how do we learn to do anything we want to learn? In most respects this is no different. We have to want to enough to overcome the inner and outer obstacles that inevitably come up, we have want to do the necessary preliminary work and research and then we have to want to enough to take the step beyond "theorizing" or "dreaming about" it to actually make the effort to try something, to practice and observe and learn directly from these observations. This is where the "matter of knowledge" comes into play because when we actually learn something, a certain amount of material has been digested and incorporated into our being. Something gets "deposited" and is not so easily lost or taken away. If this progresses, the center of gravity of our attention becomes more even, more stable, more consistent and possibly deepens.
However, there are also "differences". For one thing, it may be helpful to understand that this "drifting into distraction" is lawful (cosmic law). This is the human condition as we are at our current level of being. I'm always a little reluctant to say things like that because it creates in the mind of the reader that I "understand" what these laws are and how they work but the truth is my "understanding" and "knowledge" of these things is limited. What one must be cautious of here is "believing" anything that has not been confirmed by one's own experiential observation. I certainly have confirmed for myself that achieving the aim of maintaining an more or less continuous awareness of the moment is almost impossible. It seems like it should be the simplest, easiest thing imaginable but the fact is it isn't. The question, then, becomes something like "why?" and "what can I do about it?" Esoteric writings indicate that the "reason" is "lawful" (as everything that happens is lawful, however much we may not understand this). "Laws" are "forces" at work. In this instance we are speaking of forces in exactly the same way that certain physical principals of the universe are "lawful". As an analogy, if I toss a rock into the air it will come back down according to the "law of gravity" and when and where it will come down can be predicted provided I understand the principals of "law" that are at work. Moreover, if I can toss the rock at the correct trajectory and with sufficient velocity, the rock can break free of Earth's gravity. But all this, too, is "lawful". It isn't that the "law" has been broken but that it has been understood and compensated for. The rock is not free from "the law of gravity" or any other physical constraint but has moved beyond the influence of the Earth's gravity. Perhaps it will become an orbiting satellite or perhaps it will continue onward out into space. All this, too, is "lawfully" determined.
So, I have to study this phenomena in myself. It may be helpful to also study what has been written by others about this but it will be of no use to study what others have written or said if I do not simultaneously make the effort to try. There are practices and experiments which may also be a help. I might discover that certain conditions are also helpful. The closest I can come to giving you any specific suggestions at this point is to say that I find it helpful to consider that it is somewhat like breathing. I can not only breath in or only breath out, there is a natural rhythm to my breathing that changes with changing conditions. I can observe this for myself. Perhaps in certain quiet conditions when my attention isn't demanded by external influences, I can study this 'rhythm' and movement of attention.
Finally I'll only say that nothing is possible outside the laws which govern our existence. This simple thing that interests us would be impossible were it not for the fact that it is lawfully possible for us to pay attention to our attention itself -- at least now and then, at least a little bit, at least under certain conditions or at least when we remember to try. You began your post above with an analogy and a moment of self-awareness. You are not literally "swimming underneath the thick primordial muck." But there is a truth there, an awareness of something. You've presented it to yourself and to us with an analogy coupled with an "inkling of a memory that there is a less viscous atmosphere above". Just as a stone can be catapulted into orbit or further out and free from the influence of Earth's gravity, intuitively you sense that there is a possibility to be differently than you are. This intuition is a signpost to the path. We only need to be careful not to become too fixated on how our minds articulate these impressions of what may be possible such that they become further distractions. (This is why religions, lawfully, always fail, by the way; and this is the source of the admonitions against "idolatry", which themselves, in turn, have become 'idols' of a sort.) The ordinary mind that has been conditioned by life may not understand any of this very well and yet something within us that the ordinary mind blinds us to (the way the sun blinds us to the constant shining of the stars) is capable of knowing -- and capable of growing. But it is very subtle and easily lost or distorted. Even saying anything in words about it is two-edged for, on the one hand, it may need to be said because it resonates with what is lawfully and truly possible but, on the other hand, if it simply is recorded by the ordinary mind or some portion of it and becomes a matter for "belief" or "disbelief," its transformative potential is lost. This, too, is lawful.
Read again what I wrote in the OP of my "Learning How to Read/Be Free" thread and we'll take it from there.
Nov 14 2008, 01:59 PM
Post #53
Group: Extreme Forum Pilot
Posts: 1,748
Joined: 13-December 06
From: maryland
Member No.: 315
has any body read 'disappearance of the universe' or 'a course in miracles'?
that whole gurdjieff/ouspensky thing grabbed me for a bit some years back. it doesn't really resonate w/ me anymore.
did like the bhagavad gita, seem to grok it better today.
your soul/spirit (pick a word) is the real you....
my two cents
Nov 14 2008, 11:07 PM
Post #54
Group: Student Forum Pilot
Posts: 60
Joined: 12-October 07
From: Connecticut, USA
Member No.: 2,360
Painter, great series of posts - offers me an opportunity to temporarily break out of my normal patterns of thought. Thank you.
There are a couple things I would like to comment on and ask about.
The first is intuition. In a post above you respond to Lunk: "intuitively you sense that there is a possibility to be differently than you are. This intuition is a signpost to the path."
This reminds me of the struggle I have with this and in fact any online forum: it engages my rational faculty, usually at the expense of my intuitive faculty. (Because of a phenomenon analogous to physical exercise: the muscle I exercise grows and strengthens, while the one I ignore atrophies.)
I find that my intuition is a source of "knowing" (I put that in quotes to highlight the fact that I am not qualified to speak on the term) that may otherwise be unavailable to me. My sense of Western Culture is that it tends to raise up the Holy Rational Mind as the be-all, end-all of existence. I refer to it mockingly as my "brilliant, calculating mind" à la the Coyote in the Coyote and Roadrunner cartoons familiar to Americans. In other words, I find my mind can fool me. I relate to the bumper sticker that reads: "Don't believe everything you think." I felt this way before I came into contact with traditional Native American cultures, but my experiences among traditional people have reinforced this perspective within me. I really feel we in Western Culture are out of balance between the more active Rational faculty and the receptive Intuitive faculty.
For me, what I call "intuition" can take various forms. Perhaps they are not all the same phenomenon. At a simple level, when the phone rings, I may "know" who is calling. (Okay, now in the age of caller ID we all know who's calling. But- do we really?) Another manifestation may be guidance on the intentions of another person. Occasionally after making a choice I may have a "bad feeling" about it. I have been paying attention to my intuition for a number of years and one thing I've learned is that when I have a bad feeling about something, I had better take another look at that choice. A few times, I acted to my benefit based solely on an intuition in the complete absence of objective facts. I am no expert, though. Often I have trouble discerning whether I've just experienced genuine intuition, or some stray fart of imagination.
I don't believe nor mean to suggest that the rational mind is not useful, but I regard it as a tool, rather than something worthy of near-worship. (And I'm not at all suggesting your counsel regarding applying our attention is not needed: in fact my intuition tells me that what you are trying to teach us is important.) Neither do I believe that I could survive on intuition alone, but rather that I should develop it to the appropriate degree to work in harmony and in balance with my other faculties, including the ones I may not yet know about.
Okay, so this is my first question: does your own experience or the work you are involved with have anything to say about intuition, and if so, how does it relate to what you are trying to impart in this topic?
The second inquiry has to do with what you said about being.
Source: http://pilotsfor911truth.org/forum//index....&p=10758741
At another place in the book quoted above, Gurdjieff says a man's understanding is equal to his level of being. This word "being" is a bit hairy but suffice it to say that although a rock, a flower, a dog and a man may all "exist", they do not have the same "being". What is being proposed, here, is that men, too, can have different levels of "being" (which, in esoteric terms, can range almost as much as the examples I've used). According to this idea, a man can not understand anything beyond his level of being. Perhaps we could just as well say that a man's understanding is his level of being. If you want to know what a man is as opposed to what he believes himself to be or pretends to be, look at his level of understanding -- of himself, the world, others, etc. You and I and almost any man or woman we come in contact with are on the same level of being (more or less). Therefore, to understand something greater than we do -- and humanity in general does -- requires not only an increase in knowledge but also an increase in being.
I relate to this idea of being. I very quickly learned there is something available in a properly-conducted traditional ceremony that can not be gained through discussion or reading. It is a quality of energy, that somehow affects me. Somehow it raises my "understanding" (again with the quotes, and for the same reason). I notice this energy seems to develop as a result of actively participating in the ceremony. In discussing this once with an elder, she referred to the story of Jesus turning water into wine and suggested that it was through the <i>pouring</i> of the water that it became wine. Her comment stuck with me.
So I'm on board with the importance of increasing my "being", but I am unclear how this may be accomplished through the medium of an online forum. You state in your original post that:
...I am inviting you to engage with me and one another in some discussion here about this topic. However, I am very aware that discussion of this topic is by necessity limited so long as it remains nothing more than discussion. To go further requires something more of us: Specifically a willingness to engage in exercises and experiments which can begin to move us beyond mere discussion into the realm of actual experience and knowledge based upon that experience.
Do you really believe there is some possibility to achieve this "online"?
Nov 15 2008, 02:28 AM
Post #55
Group: Respected Member
Posts: 5,870
Joined: 25-August 06
From: SFO
Member No.: 16
I'm on board with the importance of increasing my "being", but I am unclear how this may be accomplished through the medium of an online forum. ... Do you really believe there is some possibility to achieve this "online"?
That depends on all of us. In general I agree with what you are saying and appreciate your concern. As you've asked the question the obvious answer is "no"-- "being" can not be achieved "online" any more than it can be achieved from reading a book or looking at a work of art. And yet, historically, symbols, architecture, books, works of art and so on have been used for millennia to communicate ideas about being to people who were not present in either time or space with those who created them. Online communication has a lot of similarities with reading a book (and your concern regarding engaging the "rational faculty" is an important one) but is also different. It is a bit more participatory, for one thing. One gets to ask questions or state one's point of view. We're all authors and audience. Obviously (like most everything) it is both a blessing and a curse.
Something to ponder: One far wiser than myself once said, "Words do not spoil the silence for those who have ears to hear what is being left unsaid."
From the point of view of esotericism, a ceremony is a condition that is created for the purpose of increasing the possibility of something new appearing within the awareness of the participants. So, perhaps rather than thinking of this as "achieving" anything, it might help to think of this as an opportunity to engage in creating conditions for one's self and others. Obviously there are limitations to this medium and perhaps more could be achieved if we were all in the same place at the same time. As your experiences has shown you, we are energy transformers and when we gather in the same place at the same time with a common aim a certain 'charge' can build up. That said, if the participants in a ceremony bring nothing of themselves to it then nothing much is likely to occur. Doesn't matter how steeped in tradition the ceremony is, how grand the edifice in which it occurs or how sacred the symbols and rituals employed. All these things are (or were at one time) meant to be a help toward a growth of being, which is why they came into existence, but if the participants bring nothing, try nothing, observe nothing, nothing can appear and nothing will be achieved. The same is true for reading books, online forums and everything else.
Often I have trouble discerning whether I've just experienced genuine intuition, or some stray fart of imagination. ... does your own experience or the work you are involved with have anything to say about intuition, and if so, how does it relate to what you are trying to impart in this topic?
Your observation is accurate and it is a good question. When dealing with subtle 'intuitions' or 'feelings' how can I know whether they are, or to what extent they are, real vs imaginary? But before we can begin to ask that question we're going to have to answer the same question in relation to most everything we assume is real for us already. Our "thoughts," for example, are not subtle but are they any more "real" than "some stray fart of imagination"? The point is, we have to observe, study, and try and see more clearly for ourselves what is going on inside us.
The work I'm involved with seldom uses the word "intuition" but does speak of "feeling" -- not to be confused with emotion. Intuition, to me, is a quality of feeling that "knows" something. From where might this felt knowledge come?
Nov 16 2008, 06:40 AM
Post #56
Group: Administrator
Posts: 4,983
Joined: 1-April 07
Member No.: 875
Intuition, vs, subliminally planted predictive programming.
How does one tell the difference?
I think, that intuition that is based on personal life experiences,
is real.
Where as, answers, drawn from others or media,
are the results of the predictive programming through a controlling media.
I think, for instance, that if shows on TV like the Lone Gunman, were not shown to
the public, well before 9/11, we would all have, intuitively realized, that it was false flag.
The predictive programming seeds of doubt were sown
and the result was, that we ignored our natural intuition.
imo, lunk
This post has been edited by lunk: Nov 16 2008, 06:43 AM
Feb 8 2009, 12:56 PM
Post #57
Group: Student Forum Pilot
Posts: 86
Joined: 7-February 09
Member No.: 4,112
Finding this very interesting, having been asking myself the same question for several years now. Who, or what, am I?
I feel that I'm not my name… that's just a label others use to refer to me.
I feel that I'm not my job, or my interests… they're just things that whatever I am is doing.
I feel that I'm not my thoughts (though I am aware that Descartes would not agree!)… because I am having them.
The closest I've come so far in answering this question is that whatever I am, I am the observer of all these other things.
Maybe it's enough simply to say, I am?
(reminds me of that ol' line: 'I'm a human being, not a human doing')
I've been trying similar things to some mentioned here… such as simply observing what is going on around me without judgement (not easy); observing my thoughts without following them or allowing myself (whatever that is!) to get drawn into them, and gradually learning to sometimes suspend thought altogether in an attempt to be aware of what remains.
Can't say I've particularly found any answers… but I have found I seem to be much less reactive to problems and issues… a lot calmer… a more peaceful what-ever-I-am.
I've also found 'myself' feeling as if I am beginning to understand things more deeply… but in ways that cannot really be put into words…
Perhaps this relates to Painter's idea of 'learning to read / be free'?
Or maybe not!
If it's any consolation, Painter, the question of 'Who am I?' is one explored in depth in at least one classroom every year… with some very interesting things experienced and hypotheses suggested.
A popular response is "I am life"... but my next question is... and what does that mean?!
This post has been edited by Willow: Feb 8 2009, 03:56 PM
Feb 9 2009, 03:12 AM
Post #58
Group: Respected Member
Posts: 5,870
Joined: 25-August 06
From: SFO
Member No.: 16
Feb 10 2009, 03:54 PM
Post #59
Group: Student Forum Pilot
Posts: 86
Joined: 7-February 09
Member No.: 4,112
Why, thank you
Would be more than happy to engage in the sort of discussions / experiments you suggest.
After all, where there's hope, there's life!
Feb 15 2009, 02:10 PM
Post #60
Group: Student Forum Pilot
Posts: 86
Joined: 7-February 09
Member No.: 4,112
Been thinking about your go find your question statement on the 'Zeitgeist' thread, Painter. Really got me puzzled. I realise you may not have meant it in this way, but your use of the singular prompted me to try and think of a most important, 'ultimate question' as it were.
What is the ultimate question? Is there an ultimate question? Can there be an ultimate question in an infinite universe? But perhaps there can be within the finite moment of me, here and now.
According to my often perplexed and humorously frustrated students, my favourite question is Why?
After some reflection, my current question is thus wise:
After everything external is stripped away and I mean everything all influences and conditioning, every external stimulus, every physical sensation, every thought, every emotion what is left?
|Lo-Fi Version
|Time is now: 18th October 2019 - 08:49 PM


text:
|Image from here
Recently she moved house and her children have changed schools. She is currently on her 'best behaviour', trying to fit in with the new school crowd. You know how it is.
Anyway, she received a group email from another Grade 1 school Mum which went something along the lines of:
I don't want to name names or anything but there is a child in class who is telling all the other kids that Santa is not real. I really want this to stop because it is distressing my child.
WTF!?! Can you believe this meddling Mum?
Kids have been finding out about Santa and pretending not to know for ever haven't they? And parents have been pretending not to know that their kids are pretending so that everyone can continue to enjoy the Christmas gift giving experience.
I've said it before but I will say it again. Gen X are turning out to be crappy parents. Kids need disappointment, failure and other negative experiences so they can grow and develop resilience. Why do we feel the need to wrap our children in cotton wool?
My friend was worried that it was her child who was doing the myth busting. She asked me how I would respond to the email.
'Honestly', I said. 'I'd delete it. Let Princess Control Freak deal with her own issues'.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Welcome to the Asia Stocks live blog, a running account of what the region's share markets are doing, along with other news. After a four-day weekend, Japan reopens and promptly takes a dive in the face of a stronger yen and a weak U.S. lead. Other Asian markets do only a little better.
4:02 am | Markets check -- 4:02 p.m. in Hong Kong
Tokyo (Nikkei Average) down 2.9% (closed)
Hong Kong (Hang Seng Index) down 1.1% (closed)
Shanghai (Shanghai Composite Index) down 0.9% (closed)
Sydney (S&P/ASX 200) down 0.8% (closed)
Seoul (Kospi) down 1% (closed)
Taipei (Taiex) down 0.2% (closed)
1:29 am | ... And in other news
Here are some more news items making headlines in Asia today:
Australian March retail sales miss consensus
New Zealand may intervene in forex market
ASX profit rises 10% as listings increase
HSBC Hong Kong PMI slips, weighed by mainland
Malaysia's March exports rise on electronics, oil
1:22 am | Markets check -- 2:22 p.m. in Tokyo
Tokyo (Nikkei Average) down 2.5%
Hong Kong (Hang Seng Index) down 1.1%
Shanghai (Shanghai Composite Index) down 0.4%
Sydney (S&P/ASX 200) down 0.8%
Seoul (Kospi) down 0.8%
Mumbai (Sensex) down 0.2%
Taipei (Taiex) down 0.2%
1:10 am | China's service sector slowing too | by Mike Kitchen
The downward revision to HSBC's China manufacturing PMI dragged down Hong Kong stocks earlier this week, and now it turns out that HSBC's services PMI is also on the decline.
The April report, released earlier today, showed the headline number falling to 51.4 from March's 51.9, though remaining above the 50 level separating expansion from contraction.
The details weren't great either, with the employment subindex hitting a seven-month low to stand just above the 50 mark.
HSBC chief China economist Hongbin Qu took a bit of comfort from the fact that, unlike with the manufacturing gauge, the services PMI still indicates a growth in activity.
"Today's release showed that the service sector is still a relatively resilient part of the economy, but it is not expanding at a fast enough pace to offset the manufacturing slowdown," Qu wrote in comments accompanying the data.
Nonetheless, HSBC is holding to its view that China's economy will remain "on a modest path of expansion over the next few months," Qu wrote.
12:57 am | Decision time in Thailand | by Mike Kitchen
Thailand's Constitutional Court is slated to issue a ruling later today that will decide whether Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra may stay in office.
Yingluck's supporters reportedly believe the court will find her guilty of abusing her power in the 2011 demotion of her national security chief at the time and plan to protest the decision. Likewise, the Associated Press describes the Constitutional Court as "historically unsympathetic to her government."
If found guilty, Yingluck would be forced to resign immediately without any avenue for appeal, and such a move would likely plunge the nation into further political turmoil.
(Pictured: Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra)
12:09 am | Markets check -- 1:09 p.m. in Tokyo
Tokyo (Nikkei Average) down 2.3%
Hong Kong (Hang Seng Index) down 1.1% (at break)
Shanghai (Shanghai Composite Index) down 0.4% (at break)
Sydney (S&P/ASX 200) down 1%
Seoul (Kospi) down 1%
Mumbai (Sensex) down 0.1%
Taipei (Taiex) down 0.3%
10:39 pm | Australian miner shares dig hole for market | by Mike Kitchen
Australia's March retail-sales data have disappointed to the downside, but it's the resource shares that are the heaviest weight on the market so far, helping pull the the S&P/ASX 200 down 0.9%.
Among the majors, BHP Billiton is down 1.1%, Rio Tinto is down 1.4%, and Fortescue is down 2% — this, as Reuters reports Shanghai steel-rebar futures saw their Tuesday gains evaporate on demand concerns. And for that matter, Bluescope Steel is down 2.7%.
Also on the weak side, Macquarie is down 1.4%, though off its lows of the day, following news it will buy credit-card assets from HSBC's local unit.
Shares of News Corp. (the owner of MarketWatch, publisher of this report) are down 2.3%. J.P. Morgan reiterated its hold rating on the shares, citing current valuations and the transition after the firm split from 21st Century Fox.
But getting back to those weaker-than-forecast retail sales numbers (they rose 0.1% from a year earlier, vs. expectations for a 0.5% gain), the sector is broadly lower, though it's a matter of degrees: Myer is down 1.6% and Woolworths is down 1.3%, but David Jones is down a more modest 0.4%, and Harvey Norman is off 0.3%.
10:01 pm | Markets check -- 10:01 a.m. in Hong Kong
Tokyo (Nikkei Average) down 2.2%
Hong Kong (Hang Seng Index) down 0.7%
Shanghai (Shanghai Composite Index) down 0.5%
Sydney (S&P/ASX 200) down 1%
Seoul (Kospi) down 0.4%
Taipei (Taiex) down 0.3%
9:58 pm | Hong Kong bears chase the market lower | by Mike Kitchen
Hong Kong markets are returning from yesterday's holiday, and just as is the case for Tokyo, the rest doesn't seem to have helped the bulls any.
Currently, we have the Hang Seng Index down 0.8%, while the H-share index tracking mainland Chinese firms is down 0.7%. Over in Shanghai, which was open yesterday and finished flat, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index is down 0.6%.
Tech shares are mostly weaker, with investors apparently cuing off the Nasdaq's overnight sell-off rather than any positive sentiment surrounding Alibaba's filing for an IPO.
Shares of Tencent are 3.7% lower, as the market renders an initial verdict on the Internet major's planned purchase of online mapping firm NavInfo for just under $190 million.
Shares of Lenovo are retreating by 3.8%, as the PC-maker unveils its first mainstream Chromebooks, the N20 and N20p.
On the upside, however, FIH Mobile (the stock formerly known as Foxconn) is up 1.5%.
Over among the retailers, shares of Giordano are tumbling 15% after the fashion purveyor warned of a drop in first-half net profit.
The telecoms are mixed, with China Unicom up 0.2%, while China Mobile drops 0.6%, and China Telecom trades down 0.3%. All but China Telecom are constituents in the Hang Seng Index, and all three are outperforming the benchmark as Bloomberg reports that the trio plans to team up and join the lucrative mobile-games market, jointly publishing as many as 100 titles by the end of next year.
Meanwhile, top Hang Seng Index component HSBC is up 0.9%, helping support the market. The Anglo-Chinese lender said Tuesday its Australian unit had struck a deal to sell Woolworths's credit-card portfolio to Macquarie (Macquarie shares are 2.2% lower in Sydney.)
8:39 pm | Markets check -- 9:39 a.m. in Tokyo
Tokyo (Nikkei Average) down 1.9%
Sydney (S&P/ASX 200) down 0.6%
Seoul (Kospi) down 0.2%
8:33 pm | Tokyo stocks tumble out of holiday | by Mike Kitchen
Japanese shares opened lower and haven't looked back since: The Nikkei Average is currently off 1.7%, with a 1.8% drop for the broader Topix, as the market returns from four days of holiday.
As mentioned, much of this is about the dollar's weakness against the yen (currently buying ¥101.70 vs. around ¥102.20 when Tokyo last traded), while a 1.4% dive for the Nasdaq isn't helping either.
As you would expect, the techs are sharply lower on the yen and Nasdaq action: Panasonic is down 2.4%, Renesas is down 4.4%, Nintendo is down 2.6%, Olympus is down 3%, and so on.
Nor do the auto shares like the situation (Honda down 2.5%, Nissan down 2.7%), nor do the brokers (Nomura down 3.2%, Daiwa down 3.4%), nor do the shippers (Mitsui OSK down 3.4%, Nippon Yusen down 2.1%).
And as for Softbank's gains after Alibaba, of which it owns more than 30%, filed for a U.S. IPO — they were short-lived.
Shares of Softbank are currently down "just" 0.6%, even as the Nikkei newspaper tips a forecast-beating profit result when the Japanese owner of Sprint reports earnings later today.
But a few names are trading higher, among them Asahi. Its shares are up 2.3% after the beverage maker reported its first-quarter operating profit more than doubled.
Meanwhile, Fast Retailing announced that April sales in Japan for its Uniqlo chain rose 3.3%. Its stock, however, fell 1.5%
7:54 pm | Alibaba and the Softbank bounce? | by Mike Kitchen
Japanese stock futures are pointed lower as the market returns from holiday — not surprising, given that tech shares sold off overnight in the U.S. and given that techs hold a crucial weighting in the Nikkei Stock Average.
But if there's any blue chip that can manage solid gains today, it may well be Softbank.
First of all, the Japanese telecom was the subject of a Nikkei news report over the holiday saying its fiscal-year profit — due to be announced later today — will come in above analysts' estimates and result in Softbank overtaking NTT Docomo as Japan's top wireless carrier.
And then there's Alibaba. Softbank has said it plans to hold on to it more than 30% stake in Alibaba after the Chinese ecommerce firm goes public in New York.
Tuesday on Wall Street, shares of Yahoo — another major stakeholder in Alibaba — jumped as Alibaba formally filed for the IPO.
Then again, while Scheherazade's Ali Baba faced the 40 thieves, Yahoo's Alibaba faces the 40% — that is, it must sell 40% of its Alibaba holdings after the IPO, while Softbank holds tight. This difference could mean Softbank gets less of a bump from Alibaba, especially just hours ahead of its earnings.


text:
An unapologetic, perverse, yet spiritual first novel that follows one man's mistakes and triumphs when he learns that he can live forever.
David's novel follows Israel "Izzy" Stern, a recent Boston University graduate living alone in Providence, R.I. All the family Izzy has is his grandfather's friend, Uncle Jack, who meets with him at a Starbucks the summer after college to play chess, ogle the busts of coeds from Rhode Island School of Design and Brown, and for Uncle Jack to tell Izzy his secret—he's immortal. Jack's wisdom, money and immortality—a gift Izzy learns he shares with Uncle Jack—catapults Izzy from his life of womanizing and grappling with his insecurities to one of wandering, helping and learning. But Izzy's transformation comes not without him first hitting rock bottom: "He had become a riches-to-rags cliché. Izzy too, like Aqualung had stared at young girls with bad intent. And Izzy, like Mrs. Robinson in the Simon and Garfunkel song, now prayed for a place in heaven with God. His agnosticism was now completely suspended due to his new low standing in the world." David's writing is punchy and incorporates lyrics to classic songs as well as pop culture and perversity. Although the occasional authorial interruption is distracting, David makes up for it with his honest prose that questions societies' beliefs about God and discusses the growing problem of militant and persecutory views that jeopardize human lives. In the style of Salman Rushdie—though David is not quite as ambitious—magical realism is used to explore religion, spirituality and the state of our world today. This work should secure David a place within the genre as a writer who will tickle the reader, make her think and then take a hard look at the world around her.
David's compelling debut successfully incorporates pop culture, profanity and religion into a resonant exploration of existence.


text:
Say What? Group Claims Government Will Force Vaccination & Martial Law Upon Us Coming This Fall Because Of The Outbreak Of Swine Flu (If Person Declines We Will Get Sent To Concentration Camp)
is this really true or another conspiracy theory? Illias reports "RFID = Radio frequency defice, satelite detectible. Mass Quarantine = H1n1 Vaccine is mandotory This video talks about the force vaccination, and martial law in United State this fall because of the outbreak of swine flu. The government will use the military to force vaccination to the citizen, the military will setup roads check points all over united states, and when you come to that road block, you have to prove that you toke the shot, and if you did they will put a tracking bracelet devices stating you are vaccinated. If you haven't taking the swine flu, the military at the checkpoint will offered you to get vaccinated, if you refuse to take the vaccine (which 87% of doctors and nurses in the states refuse to take it), they will put you in concentration camps build by FEMA.Once you've been taking there, good luck with that. Its martial law brother, that means the real court has no saying when martial is declare, the military takes over the justice."
Please click the "Report" button below if the video on this page is not working properly.


text:
Remember a long time ago when the so-called "paperless office" was just around the corner. Well, we've all turned a lot of corners over the years waiting for the nirvana that still seems to be "just around the corner."
Of course, strides have been made for a way to communicate design engineering information in a paperless manner, but one of the most promising developments has been model-based definition (MBD) and model-based engineering/enterprise (MBE).
We spoke with Aaron Kelly, SOLIDWORKS' Vice President, User Experience & Product Portfolio Management about many things regarding the SOLIDWORKS 2015 portfolio launch, including a brand new offering called SOLIDWORKS MBD. It is designed to help improve communication between design and manufacturing teams by enabling them to communicate product and manufacturing information (PMI) in 3D. The intent here is to use Model Based Definition and to no longer use 2D drawings to define products.


text:
Jodie2 necesitaba un nuevo diseño de otro y lanzó un concurso de diseño en 99designs.
Un ganador ha sido elegido entre 50 diseños de 4 diseñadores freelance.
Summit Research Associates
Brief Description of SRA:
Summit Research Associates (SRA) is an international public health consulting firm specializing in program development and evaluation, social marketing and social science research.
Using theory-driven research approaches, SRA works collaboratively with organizations to gather information, answer key questions, and make decisions necessary to solve health challenges facing populations worldwide. We work with a broad base of clients in both the public and private sectors, including international organizations, government agencies, non-profits, foundations and businesses. With offices in New York City and Asheville, North Carolina, and a dynamic team of consulting experts located throughout the United States, we have the capacity to meet a wide range of client needs.
Okay, are you bored yet??! If you made it through this section, we thank you for considering how you might breathe some life into what appears to be on the face of it a less than inspired business. Keep in mind, WE DO SOME REALLY COOL ANTHROPOLOGICAL RESEARCH regarding human behavior. For instance, one of our most recent projects was probing into the not-so-well understood domain of "female sexual dysfunction" . . . that's right, stay tuned . . . female Viagra may be right around the corner!
This PowerPoint template is being designed for prospective clients of Summit Research Associates (SRA), an international public health consulting firm specializing in program development and evaluation, social marketing and social science research. Clients will include international organizations, government agencies, non-profits, foundations and businesses.
So What's the "Voice" You Should Use?
Keep in mind, we are:
Professional: Our clients are prestigious organizations such as the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control.
Hip: We want to stand out somewhat from our competitors. We are HIP! We're two young women, and not only keep up to date on current research methodologies, but are forward-thinking. We are fun to work with!
But not *too* hip: Remember, we still need to look credible to organizations that run with the "suit and tie" research crowd. And, yeah, we need to face facts too─ a good part of our day is spent doing statistical analysis . . . so I guess we're not *that* hip.
Got it? ;)
PowerPoint Look & Feel
Please take a look at our website. http://www.summitresearchers.com
This will give you an idea of our "look".
What you must deliver:
Layout for 6 PowerPoint slides:
We essentially need 6 template pages:
1. Title page
2. A secondary page that will make up the bulk of the powerPoint presentation
3. A graphs page that we can manipulate to reflect any graphs we may want to present
4. A chart page, ditto above
5. A summary "sign-off" page
6. A quotes page, where we can pull out a research finding of interest and highlight it all on it's own page
Note that you should stipulate the font type and size for each header, bullet and sub-bullet.
Design Constraints & Formatting Requirements
We have a logo, so we'd of course like to include that in some form in the PowerPoint (again, see our website). We should also stick with the same color scheme as what exists on the website (blue, sage green and gray).
We also have a folder with a few design elements (including our logo) in our DropBox account that we can share with you on if you send us your e-mail address.
Thanks again, y'all,and good luck!


text:
Grand Award Judges
Pre-Register to be a Grand Award Judge at ISEF 2020
In May 2020, more than 1,700 students representing 75 countries, regions, and territories will be in Anaheim to compete for more than $5 million in awards, scholarships, internships and prizes. These high school students are the top winners of regional, state and national science fairs from around the United States and the world.
Student finalists overwhelmingly say that the most significant interactions that they have at the fair are with the judges. Likewise, judges find their discussions with these outstanding students to be a positive and uplifting experience. The objective evaluation of projects by Grand Awards Judges is the most important aspect of the fair and determines the distribution of millions of dollars in prizes, awards, and scholarships.
By volunteering for only two days, you can play an important role in encouraging these students to become the future science and engineering leaders of tomorrow. Judging will take place at the Anaheim Convention Center starting on the afternoon of Tuesday, May 12 through the evening of Wednesday, May 13, 2020. Due to the large number of Grand Award Judges that are anticipated, the Society is not able to support travel expenses or visa invitations.
A Grand Award Judge must have one of the following qualifications:
- Have a minimum of six years related professional experience beyond receiving their B.A., B.S., or Master's degree, OR
- Have a Ph.D., M.D., or equivalent (D.O., Ed.D., D.D.S., D.V.M., etc.), OR
- Is a current graduate student with more than four years of doctoral-level research experience or who is within one year of doctoral dissertation defense.
Judges may include university faculty and scientists, industrial engineers and scientists, representatives of private and federal research centers and agencies, medical researchers, post-doctoral fellows, and senior graduate students. Affiliated science fair directors and elementary or secondary school teachers are generally NOT eligible to serve as ISEF judges.
We would appreciate your help recruiting other judges or volunteers to ISEF by contacting your colleagues and friends. You may direct individuals interested in judging to this page and to review the 22 scientific disciplines in which finalists will compete. Please direct those interested in general volunteering to our Volunteers page for more information.
Please note that as part of the application process, all volunteers and judges are will have a background screening completed through Verified Volunteers, a third-party vendor. More information is available on our Background Check page.
All Grand Award Judge should also note that you will be asked to agree to an Ethics Agreement. The terms of this Ethics statement can be found below for your review.
Ethics Statement
I hereby acknowledge that by submitting this application, I agree to serve as a judge for the 2020 International Science and Engineering Fair. I agree to act in a positive and ethical manner in which each student encountered is treated fairly and respectfully. Privileged information or ideas that are obtained through my volunteer service will be kept confidential by me and I will not use such information or ideas nor disclose such information or ideas to third parties. I agree to disclose all conflicts of interest resulting from direct competitive, collaborative or other relationships with any of the students and to recuse myself from judging in such circumstances. I acknowledge that I have read and agree to abide by the Society for Science & the Public's harassment policy protecting all ISEF participants from harassment and sexual harassment by another ISEF participant or other person for any reason including, but not limited to: age, national origin, race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, ancestry and/or veteran status and understand the Society's responsibility to investigate such claims. In conclusion, I agree to notify the Chair of Judging immediately if I become aware of any circumstance that would potentially compromise my ability to attend the event or evaluate finalists' projects.
For more information about Judging at ISEF email firstname.lastname@example.com


text:
Name: Fishpond Plantation, South Norfolk
Place type: Woodland Or Forest
Location: Grid Ref: TG 0982 0221 • X/Y co-ords: 609827, 302217 • Lat/Long: 52.57730103,1.09529855
District: South Norfolk
County/Unitary Authority: Norfolk
Region: Eastern
Country: England
Height: 32.6m
OS Explorer map: 237: Norwich
Use OS Maps to see more detail including footpaths, bridleways, cycle tracks and rights of way.
The Annexe, in TIVETSHALL ST. MARY
Sleeps: 4, Bedrooms: 2
Lovely detached bungalow in quiet Norfolk village of Tivetshall St Mary. Two bedrooms. Private garden. Diss 6 miles.
Oak Tree Barn, in WYMONDHAM
Sleeps: 3, Bedrooms: 2
Delightful detached barn conversion in village of Silfield. Open plan living area, woodburning stove, two bedrooms. Close to many places of interest. Norwich 9 miles.
Ducksfoot Barn, in PULHAM MARKET
Sleeps: 5, Bedrooms: 2
Detached barn conversion with character features close to Norfolk village of Pulham Market. En-suite bedrooms, two courtyard areas. Ideal for families. Diss 8 miles. Norwich 17 miles.


text:
Ravens Stadium got the Unitas touch yesterday, from the 13-foot statue of John Unitas to a ring of honor induction for Baltimore Colts Hall of Famers toan eloquent halftime address by the late quarterback's wife.
"He was very much looking forward to today and still was in awe of it,"Sandy Unitas said after an elaborate ceremony honored her husband and seven ofhis former teammates. "He really didn't think he deserved it. That was justJohn. But he would have been very, very proud and thankful for the fans."
The statue of Unitas in a throwing pose was two years in the making. Asellout crowd of 69,173 watched on the SmartVision boards as Unitas'grandchildren unveiled the statue on the north side of the stadium. There weremore cheers when the cover was pulled away from two new plaques on the team'sring of honor.
The plaques read, "Johnny Unitas & the Baltimore Colts," with the numbersof eight Baltimore Colt Hall of Famers. Five of the eight were in attendance,including tight end John Mackey, whose impromptu 50-yard "touchdown" run witha ceremonial ball brought a roar from the crowd.
Other former Colts on hand were running back/flanker Lenny Moore, widereceiver Raymond Berry, offensive tackle Jim Parker and defensive tackle Art Donovan.
Unitas' No. 19 Colts jersey was draped over an empty chair by his wife. Hedied of a heart attack on Sept. 11.
"I wish he was here," Sandy Unitas said after the ceremony, her voicecracking with emotion. "I so wanted this day for him, and for him to see it. Ithink he's looking down on us. I just wish he could've been here. He certainlyworked hard enough for it."
The former Colts said they were appreciative of the unique honor of havingtheir numbers posted in a stadium where they never played, by a team theynever played for.
"John, yes, he deserves everything they can possibly give him," Moore said."He certainly deserves the statue and all the accolades that go along with it.The beautiful thing is they included us in it, because they didn't have to dothat. We had our days. We had our ring of honor in the old stadium. For themto do this is quite a grand gesture, and I think we appreciate that."
Moments after Mackey made an unexpected dash to the end zone upon receivinga ball from Ravens president David Modell, Moore took his and gave severaljukes in the open field. Neither celebration, Moore said, was planned.
"We're not like the guys now; we don't plan activity or whatever," Mooresaid. "I just went on to see if I could do a couple moves without pulling ahamstring."
Berry marveled at the crowd's reaction to the old Colts.
"I think it's quite unexpected," he said. "Certainly, looking back to theyears when we played here, frankly [they thought] nobody would give a flip 45years later. That they do tells you that people have a lot of great memoriesand they never want to lose them."
It was left to Sandy Unitas to inject some of Unitas' dry wit into theproceedings. She said he was involved in the tribute before his death.
"He had very much input the last two years," she said. "He was veryimpressed that it was going to be a couple feet taller than the one inLouisville, because the birds would have more room. He thought that wasgreat."
The Unitas statue at Ravens Stadium is the second done by local sculptorFred Kail. The first went to Louisville, Unitas' college.
Unitas, his wife said, had a lot to say about the various elements thatwent into the statue.
"It meant a lot to him to have it just right," she said.
The day meant a lot to the Unitas family, too.
"The last month and a half has not been easy," Sandy Unitas said. "But Igot my strength from him, because he always said if you have a job to do, youdo it ... [and you don't complain]. I just kept hoping and praying to God thatwe could get through it in a way that would honor him the way it should."
The Ravens also have named the stadium plaza after Unitas.


text:
FOXBORO — The Patriots drafted Aaron Dobson in the second round in April. A month later, the highly touted rookie receiver joined the veterans on the field for offseason training activities.
And he was absolutely blown away by the speed at which the offense operated in those non-contact practices.
"I can remember how fast everything was going," Dobson recalled last week, smiling and shaking his head in amazement. "How fast the learning process was, how fast they were putting plays in. It was a little rough transitioning into a new place, new teammates, new offense, new quarterbacks.
"It was difficult, but I think I transitioned well. To where I'm at from where I came, it's a long way."
There have been passes dropped and routes run incorrectly along the way, but the game has slowed down enough for the Marshall alum to make an overall positive and productive first impression.
Dobson enters Sunday's season finale against the Buffalo Bills needing four receptions to join Deion Branch (see chart) as the only receivers to catch at least 40 passes as a rookie during Bill Belichick's 14 seasons as New England's coach. He already has, in two fewer games, surpassed Branch in receiving yards and touchdowns.
(Let it be duly noted Julian Edelman had 37 receptions in 11 games in 2009, so he figured to top 40 had he been healthy.)
Not only that, Kenbrell Thompkins, who went undrafted out of Cincinnati before making the Patriots, has an outside shot to achieve that rare rookie receiver milestone assuming he doesn't miss a fourth straight game with a hip injury. He has 32 catches.
Add in fourth-round pick Josh Boyce of TCU, who has only nine catches in nine games but has consistently impressed the coaching staff with his intelligence and versatility in practice, and the Patriots appear to have hit the trifecta.
Hard to say anyone saw that coming.
The Patriots have excelled at many things under Belichick, not the least of which is winning.
But they've consistently been trounced when it comes to signing and developing receivers who make an impact as rookies.
Much of that can be attributed to poor drafting. Chad Jackson, Bethel Johnson, Brandon Tate and Taylor Price — all second- or third-round picks — not only struggled as rookies, but failed to really catch on elsewhere after being cut by the Patriots.
Some of that can be traced to a complex offense presided over by Tom Brady.
It's great having a future Hall of Fame quarterback doing the throwing. However, you're not going to see many passes if he doesn't trust that you'll correctly read the defensive coverage and make the proper in-route adjustment within a second after the snap.
What you will get is a face mask full of Brady. Not every rookie is mature enough to handle those verbal lashings, leading to a plunge in confidence from which some never recover.
And then there's the fact the Patriots aren't alone as few receivers across the league make tangible contributions as rookies.
You can build a good case it's the most difficult position after quarterback for a collegian to adjust to instantly as a pro.
No more relying on athleticism to mask sloppy route-running. No more dealing with a route tree that has only two limbs on it. Way more press coverage. It all makes for a long climb few are able to complete in a short time.
Seven rookie receivers currently have 40 receptions, with the Bills' Robert Woods (39) and Dobson (36) well positioned to join them. Nine would be a high-water mark in the past 12 seasons, during which an average of four rookie receivers annually reached 40.
Having someone or two to lean on has helped as Dobson, Thompson and Boyce have benefited from being in this together.
"As a rookie coming in here, it's rough, but I think I handled it really well," Dobson said. "I had two other guys to go through it with me in KT and Josh. I felt like we just stayed on each other and stayed in each other's ear just to keep each other sharp."
While Dobson, Thompkins and (forget the stats) Boyce have shined as freshmen, there's no guarantee they won't slump as sophomores. But if they continue to carry themselves in the coming years like they have in the past few months, there's no reason to think they won't take on larger roles down the road.
"All the rookie receivers, I don't know their past, but from day one when they got here, they've always been —they're obviously great athletes, you see it every day in practice — but they have a pretty good head on their shoulders, and they've done everything they've been told to," fourth-year tight end Michael Hoomanawanui said.
"It isn't easy being a rookie, getting pulled in a hundred different directions day in and day out. You're doing extra meetings, doing all the extra stuff to be a professional football player. It isn't easy by any means and nowhere in the contract does it say it's easy, but I think they've done a great job of handling everything, be it practice, games or life off the field."
After a slow start, Dobson and his fellow rookie receivers are looking for a fast finish. Best of all, it looks as if they're not even close to having reached full speed.
Contact Rich Garven at email@example.com.


text:
shravan necesitaba un nuevo diseño de página web y lanzó un concurso de diseño en 99designs.
Un ganador ha sido elegido entre 59 diseños de 12 diseñadores freelance.
Hair Extensions Import Company needs LOGO + TOP HEADER of WEBSITE (i.e. the part repeated on each web page). We set $350 as the Guaranteed Price but will add an extra bonus depending on result... Also, if we are very happy with the winner's skills, we may like to offer user more work with our web developers on other design requirements...
SalonLabs.com will be our domain but I have attached a temporary page: http://sirusmed.com/salonlabs/ with design notes. The hair extensions import business is crowded with lots of poorly designed websites. We really want to stand out - our marketing/branding emphasizes our superior QUALITY from the SCIENTIFIC PERSPECTIVE = this is what we are all about - we do not want to be perceived as just another hair importer - everyone says they have quality hair - but we want to portray the image that we have the SCIENTIFIC FOUNDATION and care to back it up - that is what must be conveyed. Additionally, the entire website will be clean, simple and user-friendly - not cluttered like the other 'sites out there - so MINIMALISM in design is important as well.
Please see http://sirusmed.com/salonlabs/ the design notes that we have pasted - but please take freedom to deviate if you have a great idea - remember, if something is better, it will be obvious.
1) Logo Font must be "scientific" since that is the unique image we are trying to brand (SalonLabs in lower case may be more modern/sophisticated in appeal)
2) Please include the SLOGANS along with slogan (as written on the weblink)
3) Want to see the design on both dark and light background - probably white/light background will have more appeal (though the template I am attaching was a black background - but that was a pre-designed template for something else)
4) Please Google "Remy Hair Extensions" to quickly see other sites - we want to STAND OUT from the competition with the unique SCIENTIFIC yet FRIENDLY (non sterile) feel to the design
5) The upper right hand corner of the web page has a copyrighted photo of a woman swinging her head - we need to either find a stock photo we can use (purchase) like that (and that does not show the face) - or create a sylized graphic (non-photo) adapted version (somehow digitized and manipulated).
See notes - use freedom... If something works and looks good - then that is all that matters...