Eternal Order of the Magi

The Magi first appeared sometime during the 7^th century B.C. within the Median Empire which was established by the original Iranian population that settled in the north of present-day Iran. The huge empire eventually spanned across northern, northwestern, and western Iran, parts of Iraq, and southeastern Asia Minor which is the peninsula of land that constitutes the Asian portion of modern day Turkey.

By the first Century A. D., the Magi were an ancient, yet tiny 3 to 8 member priestly caste dwelling within the Parthian Empire, which world history describes as the most enduring of the empires of the ancient Near East.  The Parthian Kingdom was located east of the of the Roman Empire’s eastern frontier. 

   

Unfortunately, facts in regard to these clerics are clouded a good bit in mystery.  But, few biblical stories are better known, yet so cloaked in myth and tradition, than the story of the three Magi, or “3 wise men” that’s set forth in the Holy Bible’s Book of Matthew in the first twelve verses of chapter two.  

One particular “misunderstanding” in the traditional story, as told by the author of Matthew, is that the 3 wise men did not visit the newborn baby Jesus while He was laying in a manger; this is clearly evidenced by Verse 11 of Chapter 2 wherein Matthew's Gospel clearly states that the Magi entered a house—even in those early days a manger was more likely found in a barn: “On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh” . . . Naturally, this is challenged in Chapter 2 of the Book of Luke; Verse 16: “And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger”. 

The plot thickens with Luke’s version in that “3 Shepherds” (according to Luke) located in the same country, which in theory could have been nearby, as opposed to “Magi from the east” (as stated in Matthew) . . . So then, because we know the Magi resided in a completely different country, common sense dictates they were probably more than a 100 mile away and in those days, the mode of transportation was by camel — consequently making a visit to the scene of a newborn “babe” lying in a manger, or anywhere for that matter, somewhat impractical.  

  

In-any-event, the Magi were skilled in astronomy and astrology (which, were closely related, in that era), but among their many talents they were also involved in several occult practices, including sorcery, and were best-known for their ability to interpret dreams. It’s therefore not surprising, that from their name, the modern terms “magic” and “magician” originated. 

On the other end of the spectrum of their accomplishments, they were considered “king-makers” as this small priestly-political class of the Parthians, formed the Upper House of the Megistanes Council, whose duties included the election of the king of the Parthian Empire, and they even, to a large degree, controlled judicial appointments.  In hushed or whispered tones it was not uncommon for the “man-on-the-street” to describe the Magi as that priestly-political class of Parthians-who lived to the east of Palestine.   

During the period of European history from the collapse of the Roman civilization in the 5^th century AD, to the period of the Renaissance, known as the Middle Ages, legend developed that they were kings, that they were three in number, and they were thought to be the three sons of Noah; that’s why one of the three is often pictured as a black man—as you may recall, legend has it, that each of Noah’s sons were of a different race—not impossible, but then, no easy feat for anyone in the one Gods “favor”, shall we say.

It’s not so strange that the Magi often were referred to as “wise men” considering that they had a combined knowledge of science, agriculture, mathematics, history, and the occult; as a result, their religious and political influence continued to grow until they became the most prominent and powerful group of advisors of the era. Case-in-point— historians tell us that no Persian was ever able to become king without first mastering the scientific and religious disciplines of the Magi!

Sources:

http://www.beliefnet.com/faiths/christianity/2004/12/who-were-the-magi.aspx

https://www.britannica.com/place/Anatolia

http://www.mapsofworld.com/world-ancient-history/median-empire-map.html

http://www.gty.org/resources/bible-qna/BQ122011/who-were-the-magi

http://www.northernway.org/school/eom.html

http://www.iranpoliticsclub.net/maps/maps04/index.htm

http://www.clipartof.com/portfolio/prawny-vintage/illustration/retro-vintage-black-and-white-wise-men-on-camels-under-the-north-star-1115778.html

Planet X, Nibiru, or Wormwood

It’s no longer a “Maybe” but a “Something”, a something, amateur astronomers with a good camera phone can see when looking up into a clear sky. That’s right, with a half decent camera, simply point at the sun, take a few pictures then open them with “Photoshop”, then key in ‘Alt & I’ in unison which results in the “negative” of the something.  Call it whatever you want, 9^th Planet, Wormwood, Nibiru, Planet X, or simply deny it, it really makes no difference, nonetheless it’s coming . . . 

A catastrophe ominously looms on the horizon. Planet X, a huge planetary body, or star, is headed this way. Often termed as a great “Red Star,” its path is on a near-collision course with planet Earth.

If you haven't heard of the mysterious and deadly Planet X — you will, and sooner than you might think. A few doomsayers are calculating the planet's elliptical orbit will bring it nearest to the earth in October of 2018, while a majority predicts a distant 2078. Still, others insist it will be thousands or even millions of years before the 9^th planet orbits near Earth again.

 A significant number of professional astronomers at the world's top observatories share the view that there is a “9^th planet” out-there someplace. More troubling, reports conclude that the gravitational pull of this planet X or Planet Nibiru as the ancient Sumerians called it, is already disturbing the heavens and causing what the astronomers call the “perturbation” effect which includes triggering adverse weather and both volcanic & seismic activity—and yep, if you’re an anti-global warming advocate, you just might love this consequence of Planet X’s path!

In simplistic terms, Planet X consists of a relatively small solar system (compared to our commonly recognized solar system) all its own . . . that’s within the confines of our universe and its entirety is in an elliptical orbit of Earth’s sun; much like the image depicted in the drawing on the left.  Within its orbit are several small “planets” — one or more of which may be populated with highly advanced beings that have visited earth in times past when their “system” came in close proximity to Earth. Unfortunately, the system of planet X also contains multitudes of huge asteroids, several of which are very likely to be captured by earth’s magnetic pull during the upcoming “fly by”, that have the potential of becoming massive missiles of destruction. Most recent estimates place a complete orbit around the sun as low as 3,500 years to as much as 14,000 years.

Some astronomers have come to believe the Egyptians knew this star as Dogon or the “Dog Star” and worshiped it under the guise of Anubis, the jackal-headed god. A similar notion may explain the passages in Genesis 6, of the Holy Bible, that describes an early time when “star gods” mated with the daughters of men, producing offspring the Bible called Nephilim or “giants”. And lest we forget, the ancient Sumerians believed the Anunnaki; a race of beings they described as originating on Nibiru (planet X), created mankind by using Genetic Engineering thousands of years ago.  The Sumerian’s, you may recall is believed to be the first known culture of mankind which flourished around 6,000 BC.

This claim may be the strongest yet for the centuries-old search for a “Planet X”, beyond Neptune. The quest has been plagued by fanciful claims and outright quackery. But this recent evidence comes from a pair of respected planetary scientists, Konstantin Batygin and Mike Brown of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in Pasadena, California.

Absolute fiction! Right? Well, maybe . . .

Okay, a majority of scientists and astronomers have historically believed Planet X to be only a hypothetical 9^th planet in our solar system, specifically a planet outside the orbit of Neptune. Once thought to be responsible for apparent inconsistencies, such as movement away from its predicted path, in the orbit of Neptune, the term now refers to any theoretical planet beyond the orbit of Neptune.

The discovery of Pluto in 1930 seemed to validate the “hypothesis of inconsistencies” as Pluto was officially named the 9^th planet.   But in 1978, Pluto was conclusively determined to be too small for its gravity to affect the giant planet, resulting in the search for a “10^th” planet. The search was essentially dropped in the early 1990s, when a study of measurements completed by the Voyager 2 spacecraft found that the irregularities observed were most likely due to a slight over-estimation of Neptune’s actual size. In 1992 and thereafter, the discovery of several small icy objects with similar or even “wider” orbits than Pluto led to a debate over whether Pluto qualified for planet status, or whether Pluto and its neighbors should be given their own separate classification. Finally, in 2006 the International Astronomical Union reclassified Pluto as a “dwarf planet”; so technically, Neptune (the 8^th planet) is the farthest known “planet” in our Solar System.

The astronomical community generally believes that Planet X, as originally imagined, does not actually exist, but the concept of Planet X has been revived by a number of astronomers to explain other anomalies observed in our Solar System.

In Pop Culture, and even among some astronomers, Planet X has become an adoptive term for any “undiscovered” planet in the outer Solar System. Now we have respected planetary scientists like Batygin and Brown who have given unprecedented credibility to the notion of a Planet X—chances are we’d be better-served as a civilization if the passage of time proves them wrong!

Sources:

https://shaunynews.com/2016/05/08/nasa-100-confirmation-planet-x-9th-planet-wormwood-nibiru-its-coming/

http://planetxnews.com/2015/07/02/what-is-planet-x-nibiru-nemesis-hercolubus-wormwood/

http://www.texemarrs.com/022003/planet_x.htm

http://www.nibiruupdate.com/

http://pics-about-space.com/planet-x-orbit-nasa?p=1

http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/01/feature-astronomers-say-neptune-sized-planet-lurks-unseen-solar-system

http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/cosmic_tree/planetX.htm

http://tgsfree4allinfo.blogspot.com/2011/10/sumerians-and-ancient-aliens.html

http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/hercolobus/esp_hercolobus_42.htm

Can King Coal Regain its Crown?

Unless you’ve been hiding beneath the proverbial rock — or buried by huge utility stockpiles of coal — you’ve probably heard the US thermal coal / steam coal industry is in economic shambles. Demand is depressed; production has plunged, and prices are low.

Some of the largest coal producers, in the nation, have filed for bankruptcy, including Patriot Coal, Peabody Energy, and Arch Coal; among many others who are doing whatever they can to just survive — a difficult task in a market faced with more challenges than ever.

In spite of the dark cloud hanging over the industry, deep down there’s a seam of optimism filled with hope, recovery and a sunny future. A better coal market is coming, people in the industry say, simply because it can’t get any worse.  However, King Coal’s return to the throne is most likely nonexistent.

But the reality of coal’s future may never sink in because to be a coal production entrepreneur, you must first be an “ultimate optimist”, even with coal’s evil stepmothers’ (natural gas) prices remaining low.

Trends at utility companies show why a recovery is unlikely. Duke Energy once the largest steam coal buyer in the country has retired 17 coal-fired plants in the last five years and has three more on the retirement schedule. American Electric Power, in the last five years, has shut down 11 coal-fired power plants.

These are just two companies that have historically depended upon coal for the production of electric power, but they’re transitioning toward wind and solar power (renewables) production rather than utilizing plentiful coal. The simple reason is that renewables are a promising way to make money and coal is a sure way to lose money.

Coal is a dying source of energy, and the simple fact is that the future of energy production belongs to natural gas and renewables. That's the reality, and the few remaining coal operators might as well get used to.  Even utilities that have coal assets will soon have little choice but to retire them and build cost efficient methods for electricity production.

As a former participant in the coal production industry, it’s somewhat appealing to project a recovery for coal — at least eventually.   After all, it's only been a few years since coal was king and seemed to be “the” source for energy in the U.S. and around the world. But cheap natural gas and the development of renewables makes the climb back almost impossible. 

US steam coal consumption for the electric coal-fired power sector surpassed 930 million tons just five years ago (2010).  Consumption dropped to 740 million last year (2015) and could fall to as little as 650 million tons by this year's (2016) end.  Forecasters generally believe 2016’s steam coal usage will very likely remain unchanged for years to come.

Plenty of questions remain though . . . Most important: Will natural gas prices go up? Yes, renewable energy gets a lot of credit for coal’s decline; but if you want to know the real reason coal companies are struggling, you need not look further than the plentiful natural gas supply and to dampen the outlook for coals future even more, US natural gas production remains at record highs (therefore low prices are guaranteed) and there is no reason for price escalations.

Coal’s “Prince Charming”, alas, is nowhere in sight — unless, unless, Prince Charming turns out to be none other than Donald the Trump.  But can the industry be helped without laying further waste to the global warming dilemma we now face?

For the past quarter century steam coal production has seemingly favored the large corporate producers like Peabody Energy and Arch Coal or large independent producers. Small operators that produce less than say, 50,000 tons per month have long complained that unnecessary rules and regulation have had a greater monetary impact on their operations than those of their counterparts—the large operators . . . you see, in theory, large monthly production requires lower profit margins, so as to facilitate the costs associated with such “unnecessary” or out-right silly regulations.

For example, most coal operators (even the large ones) recognize that the current Permitting Process which often requires years to complete or be approved; desperately needs to be streamlined!  In the very early days of industrialized mining, less than a week was required to obtain a mining permit from the appropriate government agency.  Yes, sensible and necessary environmental guidelines, rules, and regulations make that time frame well short of being reasonable today, but six months is surely a reasonable timeframe, especially when considering that the government requires licensed engineers to submit permit applications —whose fees are often legendary.   This alone is a major handicap for the typical small coal operator.

Because small operators invariably produce coal at a much lower cost per ton than large operators, who are notorious for waste in regard to mining costs, the future could be bright for budget minded small coal producers.   As is noted above the demand for US steam coal consumption is apt to level off at around 650 million tons by this year's (2016) end and in all likelihood the demand will not increase in the years ahead; if anything, steam coal demand is more likely to decline slightly.  

Common sense dictates that multiple small coal producers could better serve the requirements of the utility companies by supplying their steam coal needs at a lower price and by extension supplement the demands of their consumers as lower electric utility costs are passed forward to users.

Regardless, with all the uncertainty, everybody can agree on one thing: The US coal industry won’t ever be the same!

Sources:

http://blogs.platts.com/2016/05/12/recovery-us-coal-industry-fairytale/

http://www.fool.com/investing/2016/07/28/death-of-coal-even-banks-are-giving-up-on-a-coal-r.aspx

https://thinkprogress.org/the-u-s-s-biggest-coal-company-can-t-pay-to-clean-up-its-own-mines-9dfb321e46c5#.5v1a6nyrs

https://www.simutechgroup.com/fea-cfd-power-generation

Remember When: Amazon was only a Bookstore?

Incorporated in early July 1994 as “Cadabra” Jeff Bezos, its founder changed

the name to Amazon a year later after a lawyer misheard its original name as “cadaver”. In September of 1994, Bezos purchased the Domaine Name “Relentless.com” and briefly considered naming his new online store Relentless, but several friends told him the name sounded a bit too sinister. The domain name Relentless.com is still owned by Bezos and still redirects to the Amazon.com retail site — try it: www.relentless.com to be sure. 

Regardless the company went online as Amazon.com in 1995 as an online Book Store and today (2016) is the largest Internet-based retailer in the world!

Amazon has separate retail websites for the United States, the United Kingdom, and Ireland; plus Australia, Brazil, China, Canada, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, and Spain.   Most recently, in 2016, Dutch and Polish language versions of the German Amazon (amazon.de) website were launched.

Amazon lets practically anyone sell almost anything using its platform. Not surprisingly Amazon has an affiliate program that lets nearly anybody (even this blog site) display Amazon links on their site and earn a tiny commission on “click-through” sales.  In addition, there is now a program which allows those same affiliates to build entire websites based on the Amazon platform.    Sooo, if you’re gonna buy from Amazon anyway, we’d be especially pleased if you’d make it a habit to use one of our links to get there!

Then there’s “Amazon Prime” . . . nearly half of U.S. households have it!  To be more specific, nearly 46% of U.S. households have at least one member.   So what is Amazon Prime?  It’s known for two big things: free two-day shipping and Netflix-style video streaming; decidedly worthwhile perks, especially when considering the $99.00 annual subscription charge, but a Prime membership offers more than just free shipping and streaming.

First you need to know the Prime’s free shipping applies to most of Amazon's physical goods and they will be shipped to your door within two days, provided you live in the contiguous US. What's especially noteworthy about this is that there's no minimum order requirement, so even if you buy a $5 HDMI cable, it'll arrive within 48 hours; some residents with ZIP codes that are close to distribution centers can enjoy same-day delivery at no extra charge, so as long as the order totals at least $35.00.

Second, Prime Video, as noted above, is akin to Netflix, offering movies, TV shows, and original content. It's accessible on practically all mobile devices and most streaming sticks and boxes (the exception being Apple TV). However, Prime has one huge advantage beyond similar programs: many TV shows, and some movies can be downloaded to your PC, phone, or tablet for “offline” viewing.

Other noteworthy Amazon Prime benefits include but are not limited too: Ad-free access to a music library stocked with over 2,000,000 tracks, unlimited cloud storage for photos, access to “Amazon Elements” which offers an assortment of baby products, the “Kindle First” program — wherein each month, Amazon editors select six new, yet-to-be-released Kindle book editions and give Prime subscribers the opportunity to pick one of them at no cost . . . and that’s for keeps, too; you're not just borrowing the book . . . and the list of Amazon Prime benefits continues on and on.

On December 1 of 2013, CEO Jeff Bezos revealed plans for “Amazon PrimeAir” in an interview on the popular TV news show, 60 Minutes.  PrimeAir has plans to fly individual packages via Miniature Unmanned Air Vehicles (UAV’s) to a customer’s doorstep within 30 minutes of ordering.  Most experts today (2016) agree the biggest hurdle facing the proposed delivery technique is that commercial use of UAV’s, (otherwise known as drones) is not yet legal in the United States.

Most likely, for competitive reasons, Amazon does not release gross sales figures to the public and of course, Amazon has yet to report fourth-quarter earnings for 2016, but top analysts forecast that its revenue for the full year (2016) will reach $107 Billion; that’s up 21% from 2014.

Shopping for most anything is undoubtedly going online, a place that is currently dominated by Amazon, which (2016) accounts for about 25% of all online sales . . . suddenly it seems to make a whole lot of sense to avoid the never-ending traffic congestion and the crowds associated with a trip to the mall.

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon.com

http://money.cnn.com/2016/01/26/technology/amazon-prime-memberships/http://fortune.com/2016/05/11/retailers-stocks/

http://www.consumerreports.org/shopping/pros-cons-amazon-prime/

https://www.cnet.com/how-to/heres-everything-thats-included-with-amazon-prim

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwbtzSTGNXc

Apocalypse Earth or the Age of Tomorrow

This is not an attempt to “trash” president-elect Donald Trump who said very little about climate change during his campaign effort.  Nonetheless, it is an effort to relay simple facts!

Okay, so last week (Saturday—Oct. 29^th 2016) Candidate Trump did finally say something real about climate change: He promised to cut all federal spending on the issue in order to save 100 Billion Dollars over an 8 year period; he pledged further by saying: I will “cancel all wasteful climate change spending.”

He reinforced that pledge at a Michigan rally a few days ago (Nov. 7^th 2016): “We’re going to put America first  . . .  and instead use that money to provide for American infrastructure including clean water, clean air, and safety.”

In-any-event, climate change over the next 20 years or less is predicted to result in a global catastrophe costing millions of lives in natural disasters and yes, more wars driven by the devastation.

According to the world’s oldest newspaper, The Observer  (first published in 1791), a 2004 Pentagon Report warned then President Bush that major European cities will be sunk beneath rising seas as Great Britain is plunged into a “Siberian” type climate by 2020.   

 As early as 2005 widespread flooding, by a rise in sea levels, was predicted and forecast to create major upheaval for millions in the continental US.  Lest we forget, in 2005, Hurricanes Katrina and Rita caused more than 1,800 deaths and eroded more than 200 square miles of coastal land in Louisiana.  That’s right, in 2005 alone; hurricane Katrina resulted in nearly 134 Billion Dollars in damages.

Average losses caused by more recent hurricane winds, land subsidence, and rising sea levels are estimated to be in the neighborhood of 14 Billion Dollars per year and yes these costs are expected to continue to rise in the future.

Consequently, according to the above referenced Pentagon Report, mega-droughts, famine and widespread rioting will erupt across the world, and get this: Nuclear war!

The document reportedly predicts that rapid climate change is likely to bring the planet to the edge of anarchy as more countries develop nuclear arsenals initially intended to “defend” and secure dwindling food, water, and energy supplies.  Experts in the know to the contents of the report are now convinced this threat to global stability eclipses that of terrorism.

Exerts from the Pentagon report: “Disruption and conflict will be endemic features of life,” “Once again, warfare would define human life.”

The findings are expected to prove humiliating for those politicians who continue to deny that climate change is anything other than a hoax formulated by the Chinese or has repeatedly denied that climate change even exists.   Several military and political “experts” have recently concluded that it’s unsettling that so many Americans still insisted that national defense remains priority one for America’s future well-being.

Then again, there may yet be hope . . . In September (2016) Candidate Trump said that there’s “still much that needs to be investigated in the field of “climate change”. He added: “perhaps we should be focused on developing energy sources and power production that alleviates the need for dependence on fossil fuels.”

Let’s hope that in the absent of the pressures from multitudes of angry voters, a President Trump will “man-up” and accept reality!

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Observer

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2004/feb/22/usnews.theobserver

https://www.epa.gov/climate-impacts/climate-impacts-southeast

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/donald-trump-climate-change-policy_us_581f57bde4b0e80b02caa351

https://www.google.com/search?q=aftermath+of+katrina&hl=en&biw=1366&bih=557&site=webhp&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&sqi=2&ved=0ahUKEwjhpObAn53QAhXLPCYKHXB_CGoQ_AUIBygC&dpr=1

http://www.sickchirpse.com/video-all-2000-nuclear-explosions-ever/

The Healing Touch

By the way, before you get started, the information provided herein has nothing to do with religion; so please try to keep an open mind.  An attempt to address “Faith Healing”, which takes place within a traditional religious context, is not the objective here . . .

To the contrary, an attempt to explain a branch of alternative medicine often called “Energy Medicine”, “Energy Therapy”, “Energy Healing”, or “Spiritual Healing” is the objective. And nope, practitioners do not believe traditional religious faith as a prerequisite for achieving favorable results.  

There is a natural healing force within the body. It is the most powerful weapon against diseases. Quite simply, the body is a miracle of nature and believe-it-or-not has an astonishing talent to heal itself.

Your body is equipped with a natural force some call a “Positive Energy Field”—often termed as an “Aura”. Where positive energy exists, likewise, the law of science dictates that a “Negative Energy Field” also lurks; from time to time, generally due to trauma, we experience “Negative Energy”, resulting in obstructions which block your natural healing ability cold!  Surprise, surprise, Negative Energy is present in 99% of people living in contemporary society.  You see, we live in a world of duality. In-other-words there is good and bad just like there is right and wrong.

But is Self-Healing a viable option and is there a quick, easy way to self-heal yourself?  In a word: Yes!  You see, Self-healing used to be considered a gift of a limited few but amazingly, in truth, we all have this gift.

The fact is, Self-healing is not all that complicated, however, it does require a genuine “can-do” mind set.  This comes as little surprise to ancient and Eastern medical models which have been based on positive and negative “energy” for thousands of years. A simplistic example: We witness our body’s ability to heal its-self when small cuts occur now and then with full expectation of self-healing — on such occasions we have no doubt  . . . “this will heal”.

When you become sick or you might say develop negative energy “blocks”; a Doctor or Doctor’s examine your body, then following multiple tests, diagnose a problem or problems and give you medications they believe will benefit the healing process. The trouble is they don’t always take into account your emotional state-of-being because it can’t easily be observed; nonetheless, your emotional state plays a huge role in the healing process.     

Self-healing always starts by removing negative energy blocks. So here are five easy steps for achieving that goal, roughly, within 5 or 10 minutes:

1)     Sit in a relaxed position and become aware of             your breathing cycle.

No need to modify it – just concentrate on the flow – in and out, in and out. No judging it, no changing it – just pay attention to it . . . and nothing else. The idea here is to gain “control” so as to block some of those never-ending thoughts from interfering for the next little while.

2)  Place each hand’s palm together within your field of vision and rub them together briskly for 30 to 60 seconds.

Allow them to become warm from the friction and take note of the heat. It helps to summon a slight smile as you’re rubbing your hands together during this simple activity. You see, smiling alone is a healing process and can switch our mood within a few short seconds.

3)   Maintaining a clear view, hold your hands six or eight inches apart, facing each other and feel the energy sensation flowing through them.

Guess what, this energy is always there — you notice it now only because of the deliberate awakening of your awareness to its presence.   As you feel this energy, experience it, or, as some might say “tune it in”. Recognizing this energy is part of you, makes the smile you’re maintaining  worthwhile too.  

4)  With your eyes closed — first concentrate on moving the energy up your arms, then throughout your body.

There’s simply not a “wrong way” to do this. You are awakening your energy body with measured intent and you are bent on feeling and healing.

Now concentrate on moving that energy to whatever part of your body that has some stress or is diseased.   Once there, keep it there knowing you are sending it much needed positive “healing energy”. If you think you are losing touch with “feeling the energy” — rub your hands together for a second time. Again, there simply is no way to do this wrong. You can picture / imagine the energy in whatever way it feels right for you. You may just want to feel it, or perhaps you want to picture it as a white light—just whatever way is the easiest for you.  Allow yourself to “play” or “experience” this step while maintaining that “healing” smile.

5)   Finally, continue to work with and experiment             with this "energy flow".

With the energy flowing to different parts of your body; pay special attention to the energy that’s relaxing the parts of the body it flows into.  You might say your body is being “awakened” to this awareness and or healing process. Recognize that this energy can help those areas that frequently bring you pain and feel free to “pat yourself on the back” for finally recognizing this natural ability in yourself.

Experiencing this energy flow for as little as five minutes can bring a state of joy and peace that you felt was impossible just minutes earlier.

So, how’d that feel? When you first felt the energy you should’ve been pretty amazed that it has always been present in your body—you only needed to tune-in-to-it . . . didn’t try it?  What have you got to lose?—yep, 10 whole minutes or less.  Okay, so you’re a little embarrassed— well this amazing “exercise” can best be achieved when you are all alone . . . don’t just give up after the first try tough — most of us did not get-it-right on the initial attempt!

Keep in mind that when you’re healthy, positive energy flows effortlessly throughout your body. However, when your energy flow is blocked by negative energy, you may become ill. Self-healing simply removes blockages along all those energy paths. When these blockages are dislocated, your energy starts to circulate freely and you will feel renewed.

Sources:

https://www.thetreeofawakening.com/spiritual-healing-touch-how-to-heal-yourself-natural-energy-health-healer/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_medicine

http://www.finerminds.com/mind-power/self-healing-five-steps/

Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is the largest regional trade accord in history. Encompassing one-third of the worlds trade, the TPP agreement, which requires the approval of Congress, has become a flashpoint in the U S presidential campaign; opposed by both 2016 major party candidates (Trump & Clinton) as a symbol of failed globalism and the loss of U S jobs abroad.  

If you’re like most Americans though, you keep hearing about the TPP, but in truth, only have a vague idea of what it really is— well, there’s good reason.  The negotiations were actually a closely guarded secret, and those partaking in the negotiations didn’t want us to know what it entailed until it was too late to change it.  So you might say the scariest part of TPP is that no one really knows what’s in it.

The countries involved include: Australia, Peru, Malaysia, Vietnam, New Zealand, Chile, Singapore, Canada, Mexico, the US, Japan, and the nation of Brunei— pronounced: “broo-nye” . . . the Southeast Asian nation Forbes ranked as the fifth-richest in the world, based upon the country’s petroleum and natural gas fields.

In a nut-shell, the TPP is a free trading arrangement that will eliminate over 18,000 taxes the various participating countries put on “Made-in-America” products. It’s actually a huge trading agreement, which will, if approved by Congress, eliminate tariffs on goods and services and harmonize various regulations between the partner countries. If the TPP agreement goes through, it will affect more than 40% of the imports and exports of the United States. It should be noted that the United States already has Free Trade Agreements in force with six (6) of the TPP participants: Australia, Peru, Chile, Singapore, Canada, and Mexico.

As recently as 2014, the US broke the record in exports for the fifth (5^th) year in a row, by selling $2.34 Trillion in goods and services overseas. And here’s why that’s important: The more we sell abroad, the more jobs we support here at home, and too, those jobs tend to pay American workers better; actually, companies that export pay as much as 18% more than companies that don’t.

The TPP seeks to closely bind Pacific nations and others through lowering tariffs while also serving to reduce China’s growing regional influence.   In fact, the provisions deliberately exclude China, so when everyone officially signs the agreement, Chinese goods could go from the cheapest to the most expensive and because most financial experts believe their entire economy is based on exports; yep, in theory at least, the entire Chinese economy may be at risk.

An 800+ page study released in June of 2016 by the United States International Trade Commission forecasts the TPP’s Likely Impact on the U.S. Economy:

“The overall impact of the TPP Agreement would be small as a percentage of the overall size of the U.S. economy; it would be stronger with respect to countries with which the United States does not already have a free trade agreement (FTA) in force: Brunei, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, and Vietnam.”  . . . pg. 22 . . .                          [Note: The United States already has Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) in force with Australia, Canada, Chile, Mexico, Peru, and Singapore — all of which are TPP participants]

“The Commission estimates that by 2032, U.S. real GDP would be $42.7 billion (or 0.15 percent) higher than a baseline scenario that reflects expected global economic conditions without TPP.  Real income, a measure of economic welfare that measures consumers’ purchasing power, would be $57.3 billion higher (or 0.23 percent) over the same time period.  Employment would be 0.07 percent higher, or close to 128,000 full-time equivalents. These gains would be slightly higher after 30 years (that is, 2047), when all provisions of the agreement would be in force.  By 2047, real GDP (Gross domestic product) would rise by $67 billion (0.18 percent); real income, by $82.5 billion (0.28 percent); and employment, by 0.09 percent, or nearly 174,000 full-time equivalents, compared to the baseline.”     . . . Pgs. 22 & 23 . . .

Within the text of the two above paragraphs, the extensive study by the U S International Trade Commission clearly demonstrates that the Commission took the potential impact of the TPP with a “long term” view and the overall impact of the TPP Agreement will truly be trivial in the long run.

Then, why are so many people against the TPP?    

One of the most fundamental objections is that the public has a right to know fully what it involves, just as our elected legislators have the right and responsibility to provide oversight.     

The Trade Commission offered no defense on this charge, but it’s difficult at best to argue otherwise.

It is often maintained that TPP will reduce environmental safeguards.  Its environmental guidelines are all voluntary and proposed mechanisms for resolving ecological disputes are non-binding.     On the other hand, the TPP Trade Commission report states on page 484 that the Agreement actually goes further than any other major trade agreement in addressing environmental concerns.

Most economists agree that NAFTA was responsible for considerable domestic job losses; the TPP is expected to continue that trend, just as the government is touting a rejuvenated manufacturing sector.     The Trade Commission report suggests otherwise in regard to continuing the trend, as is referenced 3 paragraphs above in orange colored text, the terms “overall impact would be small” and “employment would be higher” can be confirmed on pages 22 & 23 of the Report.

Some folks contend that the internet would change dramatically in that TPP could turn Internet Service Providers (ISP’s) into “watchdogs”; thus threatening our ability to communicate unconstrained on blogs, websites, and social media platforms.   A frightening charge indeed but the Commission’s Report on this issue begins on page 345 of the Report in the Digital Trade and Computer Services section  and on page 346 the Report states that “the e-commerce provisions will therefore likely have a positive economic impact on a wide array of U.S. businesses, from large multinational corporations to SMEs (Small and medium-sized enterprises), and across a broad range of U.S. economic sectors”. So you could ask “who do you believe”, the extensive study by the Commission, or overreaching assumptions founded upon vague suppositions.

Further, as noted above the provisions deliberately exclude China.  Several “Political Statesman” among others insist this will invite retaliation from China, an economic world power in their own right.   Bottom line: Practically any participant in the Agreement will agree that China will in time join the TPP, especially if it becomes beneficial.

There are more than a few reasons to support the TPP despite globalization concerns, the following are but a few:

First, the TPP — “which seeks to govern exchange of not only traditional goods and services, but also intellectual property and foreign investment” — would encourage trade in “knowledge-intensive” services and yep, U.S. companies exert a strong comparative edge in this particular field.

Second, killing the TPP would do little to bring factory work back the US, regardless of what “the Donald” and Hillary says—“what’s gone is gone”.

Third, and perhaps most important, although China is not currently part of the TPP, enacting the agreement is sure to increase regulatory rules and criteria for several of China’s key trading partners.   Thus, China will be pressured to meet some of those higher standards too.

Escalating global trade has reshaped manufacturing—admittedly forcing business, workers, and entire counties to endure painful adjustments. However, as much as we might like to return to the 1970's when manufacturing encompassed a quarter of U.S. nonfarm employment . . . that is now practicality an impossible task, absent massive protectionist barriers that would isolate the U.S. economy and lower U.S. living standards dramatically.   

Blocking the TPP because of what may seem to be justified unhappiness over manufacturing’s lost “glory days” would amount to refighting another trade war.   At the end of the day, a responsible trade agenda like TPP will instead allow American companies to excel in the areas where they are strongest.

Sources:

http://www.thedailysheeple.com/the-tpp-for-dummies_122013

https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2015/03/12/why-obamas-key-trade-deal-with-asia-would-actually-be-good-for-american-workers/?utm_term=.99bed25c35a5

https://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/economy/trade

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/business/tpp-explained-what-is-trans-pacific-partnership.html?_r=0

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brunei

http://www.worldometers.info/geography/how-many-countries-are-there-in-the-world/

http://www.forbes.com/pictures/egim45egde/5-brunei/#49204bd67dba

https://www.commerce.gov/news/blog/2015/02/us-exports-hit-record-high-fifth-straight-year

https://www.usitc.gov/publications/332/pub4607.pdf

http://www.seattleglobalist.com/2014/01/29/5-reasons-to-protest-the-trans-pacific-partnership-this-week/19818