Nandcc's Word List

Comment on No intention to change the exchange rate of the Iraqi dinar by Iraqi Dinar

Iraqi Dinar is very real, but the pitch many Dinar dealers try to send your way is far from reality and designed to get you buy from them. Some of these dealers even go as far as to explain that they are trusted by the government and supply you with a document to reinforce this illusion. First, the US government requires a business (or anyone for that matter) to register with them when selling any kind of currency. Once you register, the US Government will send you a letter confirming your registration. IT DOES NOT mean that they trust or vouch for the company, only that they complied with the law. Read More:http://www.dinariraqi.net

Comment on Everyday focus, everyday samadhi by m

BB – Okay – a little rambling about meditation. Mediation is not necessarily a way to calm oneself or to gain enlightenment or even to find joy and happiness or inner peace. You may, over time, enable those things, even if temporarily, but they are not the ‘goal’ of meditation. Indeed, meditation is actually a goal-less activity and THAT is why it is important. Our brains are filled with chatter, white noise – a background symphony of which we are often hardly aware, that assesses, filters, reminisces, ruminates, calculates, remembers, projects, switches from one process to another, moderates, etc etc. Much of this ‘noise’ is associated, in some fashion, with emotional content – since emotional content is a key factor in how we perceive, what we remember, our self image etc. Even those folks who are ‘rational’ and uber-logical are driven by some form of emotional content. That is the way of human beings. This chatter can get quite complex and can sometimes be misleading. The hardest person to know in the world is ourselves because we are brilliant in the art of self-deception. We have to be; our brain likes to insure that our actions are aligned with our thoughts and feelings and beliefs –so we make up the story of our lives. Meditation asks us to focus on a single thing, to put our efforts and energies on one single thought – and a thought that is relatively neutral – breath. This is not the only way to meditate – indeed some folks can do so with physical activities that are very demanding (thinking about finding your strength or balance is similar to breath), pronouncing a single word (om) or phrase, counting – and perhaps in others ways. Ritual and prayer can also be meditative though there is a stronger emotional content there which can create a kind of chatter (plea bargaining with God for example). Most beginner mediators feels that they are doing something wrong because it seems so easy – just breathe and think of breathing and the yet they struggle endlessly. They peek open one eye and everyone around them looks so calm and focused and they are twitching in their seat - so they must be failing at mediation!! (oh no). Their thoughts are a ramble of nonsense; the grocery list, an argument with a spouse, your best friend in high school, a moment from vacation 10 years ago, the love for your pet, the pride in graduating college, the things you need to do at work next week – on and on it goes, a whole carnival of thoughts, seemingly unrelated and obscure. Many of the thoughts shout at you and demand attention and before you know it you are thinking about them and have forgotten all about breathing. After experiencing this several times folks feel – I am not really getting anything from this, or I am not good at meditation, or this is a waste of time or something like that and so they quit. What they don’t realize is that they ARE meditating and this response is EXACTLY what one should expect. But you have to realize you don’t bench press 100 lbs the first time you walk into a gym. You are un-excercising your brain and it takes time. My mediation thoughts are often a series of images; some of which I don’t recognize. At times it feels like a bad Fellini movie. It is very distracting at times. What you learn to do then is to say, gently and kindly to yourself, thank you thought for coming to me but not right now. I will put you over to the side there and when I am done we can talk. And then you kindly and gently go back to square one with breath. It will take a million attempts (no kidding) to get past square one. This chatter (which is referred to as monkey mind by many mediation teachers) is all that ‘stuff’ that goes on. The wonderful thing is that you are training yourself to not get distracted by the stuff – to learn how to focus back on what YOU want and need to focus on. Initially you are starting with a ‘thing’ – breath – which can allow you to build some focus muscle. This is valuable because it gives your thoughts, your brain, a break – a breather so to speak. It turns down the noise (a very skilled practitioner can turn off the noise) and lets your brain rest a bit. This is not sleep (though often we associate it with sleep and may fall asleep since we are trained to sleep when we aren’t thinking actively about something). This is centering, settling. This is pausing to pay attention by not paying attention. In time you can expand this technique to your daily activities because you are learning the art of focus. You can learn how to say to chatter that distracts you from the task at hand ‘Thank you for appearing but not now, we will talk when I am done’. You build muscle. In time the intrusions will be more telling (at least I have found so – initially the random thoughts were so random that I couldn’t make connections but after a while I found the random thoughts were significant). These thoughts can sometimes reflect the emotional baggage that we carry and that influence our thinking. They can show us how we alter our perceptions and use our perceptions to re-inforce our belief systems – for good and bad (eg. I am brain injured and therefore ‘less than’ others). One does not engage these thoughts during meditation - as that would be thinking and one is trying to not think – but they can be useful in helping us recognize the direction of our thinking and how we color it. Some folks experience profound emotion during meditative practice – joy, sadness etc. We also experience physical discomfort when meditating – sometimes it is just an itch, sometimes it is pain, or a muscle cramp. This too can be a chance to explore ourselves; to examine what exactly we experience in these circumstances – not to dismiss the pain, or even ‘overcome’ it, but to see what exactly we feel when we feel pain. We often become numb to the exact feelings that we have and how we react to them. I for one experience tension in my jaw and neck. There are body scan meditations which help us become more attuned to our bodies and their responses to their environment. There are also walking meditations where in one strives for mindfulness of the environment. I have sometimes gone down to a river and lay on a rock and listened to the sound of water flowing. I am surprised sometimes at how as time passes I hear more and more about the water; subtle differences in sound and flow. However I still find (perhaps because I am such a beginner) that the breath mediation is the most helpful for me. I believe that mediation works on the connection between the amygdala and the frontal lobes. I am a big advocate of meditation for all folks that experience TBI (and of course even those who do not). There are however limited studies of mediation and brain injury – perhaps because there is not much big money to be found in teaching people how to not think and focus on their breath. I think it can be helpful in getting the brain to heal, in learning how to focus again, in helping folks recognize and address the subtle stories they tell themselves about themselves. I think it can be a non-narcotic way to deal with pain and sleep problems, and even depression. It is not a panacea and it is hard to persist – even after you have made some progress it requires a regular commitment and it can be hard to sustain that in a world where time is so demanding (work, physical exercise, caring for home and life stuff, family, relationships – who has time to ‘do nothing’ for 40 minutes? – or even 20). In the beginning one feels antsy and restless and there is no immediate benefit. Indeed even when there is a benefit one may not realize it since it is subtle – it doesn’t change your life overtly. Once again our need for major change NOW is so prevalent in our society that we cannot easily accept a low impact and long term process such as meditation. So for now recognize that experiencing those random thoughts is good – you are becoming aware of how much chatter you have and you are slowly learning how to turn away from chatter and focus. You are practicing self-kindness (accepting that chatter and kindly putting those thoughts aside) and in time you may discover patterns or themes in the chatter that reflect how your alter your self-perceptions. Do not be in a rush to be a skilled guru – accept the journey of the meditation process. If you can find a ½ day silent retreat to go on – there are many places that offer these. I also recommend, especially if you have a hard time with the commitment to mediation, to take an 8 week course in mindful mediation (based on Kabat-Zinn model). Sometime you can volunteer to be an assistant which can reduce the price considerably. I should add that even as I tell you this I have struggled for a long time now with my own practice. Knowing how helpful it is is an intellectual exercise; commitment is another thing altogether. Yet as I start this new job I feel great stress; I am a fish out of my usual waters and it is very very difficult – and I think that meditation would allow me to have greater focus, clearer thoughts and be less driven by emotional needs (wanting to prove I can do it) and more by simply taking up the task at hand. As I return to the ‘traditional workforce’ I am struck by the intensity of it; of the self-importance people develop in order to do their jobs, the always on subscription to technology, the relentless need to be active at something and the constant shifts in focus that are consider standard operating procedure for most – as well as my own feelings of inadequacy or simply my desire to ‘just be’ much of the time versus this selling of oneself. I hope that a return to mediation can ease the way a bit.

BEAUTIFUL Society? By: BEAUTIFUL Brooke

Hellllllllllllo BEAUTIFUL! Happy Saturday kiddo’s! I’m gonna take a step off the soap box today and introduce you to a BEAUTIFUL and BRAVE girl I know named Brooke. Brooke is what I like to call an “undercover Queen.” She is poised, classy, mellow and has an inner strength that she doesn’t flash around to intimidate [...]

Comment on I know a disease that these doctors can’t treat by controlthingswithlight

This is basically the post I wanted to write today. With a few exceptions, but I think I can kind of understand what you're feeling at the moment. *hug* It's so frustrating when you know that your thoughts and may not be rational, but they are so STRONG. And dominate everything. But you are not alone. It may not help a lot to reinforce this idea, but there are so many people who love you so very, very much. And they always will. If you feel that you need to lose weight, I hope you can in a healthy way that suits you. And you're neither a whinger nor a complainer. Srsly. :) I believe in you. So much <3 for you. x

What Startups Can Learn from Apple's Antennagate

Flaws in software and hardware design are only natural in the tech industry. But what is not commonplace is knowing how to effectively deal with the fallout when engineering flaws become known. Apple's "Antennagate" offers startups a how-to in triumphing in the face of failure.

Comment on e-gold and e-dinar by Iraqi Dinar

Iraqi Dinar is very real, but the pitch many Dinar dealers try to send your way is far from reality and designed to get you buy from them. Some of these dealers even go as far as to explain that they are trusted by the government and supply you with a document to reinforce this illusion. First, the US government requires a business (or anyone for that matter) to register with them when selling any kind of currency. Once you register, the US Government will send you a letter confirming your registration. IT DOES NOT mean that they trust or vouch for the company, only that they complied with the law. Read More:http://www.dinariraqi.net

Comment on by Iraqi Dinar

Iraqi Dinar is very real, but the pitch many Dinar dealers try to send your way is far from reality and designed to get you buy from them. Some of these dealers even go as far as to explain that they are trusted by the government and supply you with a document to reinforce this illusion. First, the US government requires a business (or anyone for that matter) to register with them when selling any kind of currency. Once you register, the US Government will send you a letter confirming your registration. IT DOES NOT mean that they trust or vouch for the company, only that they complied with the law. Read More:http://www.dinariraqi.net

Comment on Iraqi Dinar as a Foreign Currency is Growing in Value by Iraqi Dinar

Iraqi Dinar is very real, but the pitch many Dinar dealers try to send your way is far from reality and designed to get you buy from them. Some of these dealers even go as far as to explain that they are trusted by the government and supply you with a document to reinforce this illusion. First, the US government requires a business (or anyone for that matter) to register with them when selling any kind of currency. Once you register, the US Government will send you a letter confirming your registration. IT DOES NOT mean that they trust or vouch for the company, only that they complied with the law. Read More:http://www.dinariraqi.net

Violence as Mindset

Behavior toward children, family and others is basically dictated by cultural background and passed on for hundreds of years. It takes recognition, disgust and a powerful act of will to change it.

Komen bagi Senjata untuk Iraq – AS mahu jual peralatan tentera RM1.7 bilion oleh Iraqi Dinar

Iraqi Dinar is very real, but the pitch many Dinar dealers try to send your way is far from reality and designed to get you buy from them. Some of these dealers even go as far as to explain that they are trusted by the government and supply you with a document to reinforce this illusion. First, the US government requires a business (or anyone for that matter) to register with them when selling any kind of currency. Once you register, the US Government will send you a letter confirming your registration. IT DOES NOT mean that they trust or vouch for the company, only that they complied with the law. Read More:http://www.dinariraqi.net

Comment on Harga Dinar Iraq Sedang Naik by Iraqi Dinar

Iraqi Dinar is very real, but the pitch many Dinar dealers try to send your way is far from reality and designed to get you buy from them. Some of these dealers even go as far as to explain that they are trusted by the government and supply you with a document to reinforce this illusion. First, the US government requires a business (or anyone for that matter) to register with them when selling any kind of currency. Once you register, the US Government will send you a letter confirming your registration. IT DOES NOT mean that they trust or vouch for the company, only that they complied with the law. Read More:http://www.dinariraqi.net

Comment on The Trade Market: Looking to Sell/Trade by scarlet

Hello, doing a closet cleanout to make room for new Anthro beauties :) New without tags - Very Anthropologie-esque full cotton bird skirt, size 2. The reviews said the skirt ran small, so I thought it would fit me, but I'd say it's best for a true size 2 or small size 4 (measures 27 inches at the waist). Just asking what I paid for it - $48 shipped OBO: http://www.llbean.com/llbeansignature/llb/shop/65... New with tag - Anthropologie Longest Night Dress, size XS. This dress is so beautiful! I got it on super sale ($40 down from $168) and even got an additional damage discount because it's missing 2 buttons at the back of the neck and some of the metal discs/beading need to be restitched. Has been sitting in my closet too long, so it's time to let it go. This will need a trip to the seamstress or tailor to reinforce the beading, as it's very, very delicate! $35 shipped. <img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_580e8gfCdyw/SwXbDfz0JKI/AAAAAAAAEVo/75f54g8w8Vg/s1600/2009-11-19_1854_001.png"> New with tag - Anthropologie Force Field Corset, size 2. Was a gift and just doesn't look right on me - $35 shipped OBO: <img src="http://www.glamour.com/fashion/blogs/slaves-to-fashion/0512-under-50_fa.jpg"> Email me at scleung (at)) ufl (dot)) edu, thanks!

Comment on Important Facts by Iraqi Dinar

Iraqi Dinar is very real, but the pitch many Dinar dealers try to send your way is far from reality and designed to get you buy from them. Some of these dealers even go as far as to explain that they are trusted by the government and supply you with a document to reinforce this illusion. First, the US government requires a business (or anyone for that matter) to register with them when selling any kind of currency. Once you register, the US Government will send you a letter confirming your registration. IT DOES NOT mean that they trust or vouch for the company, only that they complied with the law. Read More:http://www.dinariraqi.net

Praise music like you've never heard before.

What’s the first thing that comes to mind when I say “I think I’m going to throw up?” If you said “kids praise music,” then you must have listened to the Crazy Praize Volume 3 CD. The back of this kids praise CD boasts: I think I’m gonna throw up. (I know what you’re thinking [...]

The Question for the Green Party is simple. Leadership contests, or Leader for Life?

The Status quo in the Green Party of Canada is unacceptable. The rhetoric has been ratcheted up, and all of this was based on a failed assumption bythe Party that there would be General Election in the spring of 2010. Well that did not happen, and the Party is teetering at the edge of an Abbyss. What to do? Read on..

EMBELLISHMENT TECHNIQUES

There are countless different construction techniques and hardware materials that can be used to embellish your DIY handbags, enhancing their texture, colour, and overall design. Hand and machine stitching, gluing, fusing, and more can be used to add zipper closures, connecting D-rings and O-rings, and even creating bag handle strapping. Here are a few ideas [...]

The Outlook for Branding a Commodity Food Product

The Outlook for Branding a Commodity Food Product The economic climate is (has) definitely changing the landscape and rules of marketing and branding.  As consumers seek out the best bargains their buying priorities have changed and shifted to value and return.  What price am I going to get for the product and what am I going to get [...]

The BBC on Chernobyl Effects: How Words Fail Us

Today the BBC website reported the thrust of a scientific paper published in the journal “Ecological Indicators”. It was an excellent example of how the BBC monoculture filters and distorts science and, without partisan intent, manages to reinforce biases. The … Continue reading →

Classes That Didn't Make It Onto My Transcript

As one of my friends once said, “all of us college students will have to drop a course at one point or another.” This statement applied to me as well! This past school year I had to drop two of my courses. One of them I had to drop because after the accident I knew [...]

Comment on Another Day, Another Dinar by Iraqi Dinar

Iraqi Dinar is very real, but the pitch many Dinar dealers try to send your way is far from reality and designed to get you buy from them. Some of these dealers even go as far as to explain that they are trusted by the government and supply you with a document to reinforce this illusion. First, the US government requires a business (or anyone for that matter) to register with them when selling any kind of currency. Once you register, the US Government will send you a letter confirming your registration. IT DOES NOT mean that they trust or vouch for the company, only that they complied with the law. Read More:http://www.dinariraqi.net