Saturday, June 30, 2012

Thirst for power: How coal, nuclear and gas waste ... - Peak Oil News

?Capitalism,? wrote the environmental economist K. William Kapp, ?must be regarded as an economy of unpaid costs, ?unpaid? in so far as a substantial portion of the actual costs of production remain unaccounted for in entrepreneurial outlays; instead they are shifted to, and ultimately borne by, third persons or by the community as a whole.?

Documentation in a new report from the U.S. conservation group River Network provides yet another confirmation of this truth. The authors show that coal, nuclear and natural gas power plants use more fresh water than any other economic sector, including agriculture. There are low-water alternatives, but the utilities aren?t using them.

In the authors? words, ?Electricity?as we generate it today?depends heavily on access to free water.? What they call ?free? is what Kapp called ?unpaid costs.? Power company profits depend on making society and nature pay those costs.

The following is the Introduction to Burning Our Rivers: The Water Footprint of Electricity. The full report can be downloaded here: (PDF, 2 Mb)

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By Wendy Wilson, Travis Leipzig
& Bevan Griffiths-Sattenspiel

It takes water to produce electricity.

As many Americans retreat to air-conditioned environments to get out of the heat, the flame increases under our limited freshwater resources. The electrical energy used to create our comfort zones requires massive withdrawals of water from our rivers, lakes and aquifers to cool down nuclear, coal and natural gas power plants.

Some of this water is evaporated while the majority of this water is warmed up?causing thermal pollution?killing aquatic life, increasing toxic algae blooms and decreasing the sustainability of our water supplies.

Thermoelectric energy (including coal, nuclear and natural gas) is the fastest growing use of freshwater resources in the country. The U.S. Geological Survey reports that 53% of all of the fresh, surface water withdrawn from the environment for human use in 2005 went to operating our thirsty electrical grid. Water behind dams is not included in USGS numbers.

So, while all other sectors of society are reducing per capita water use and overall water diversion rates, the electrical industry is just getting started.

This report is a snapshot of the current water impacts of electrical production and an introduction to the choices we face as a nation trying to sustain water and energy in a warming world. Many watersheds in the United States are already running out of water to burn?especially in the Southeast, the Great Lakes and in many parts of the West.

Over the last several years, Georgia has experienced water stress because Georgia Power?s two nuclear plants require more water than all of the water consumed by residents of downtown Atlanta, Augusta and Savannah combined.

In 2011, the Union of Concerned Scientists reported that, in at least 120 vulnerable watersheds across the U.S., power plants are a factor contributing to water stress.

As a nation, we have ?water-friendly? energy options. Energy efficiency and water conservation programs are crucial strategies that can help protect our waterways from the impacts of electricity production. Expanding the deployment of wind energy and photovoltaic solar power could vastly reduce wateruse conflicts in some regions.

And we must change the technologies we use in existing power plants. Energy companies could conserve more water by modernizing ?once-through? cooling systems than could be saved by all of our nation?s residential water conservation programs combined.

But instead of moving towards greater water efficiency and use of renewables, we are trending towards an electrical grid that uses more water and is less reliable. Without stronger federal water use standards, thermoelectric plants may continue using water-intensive cooling technologies.

At the same time, water uncertainty is causing cities to explore new water sources such as desalinization, deeper wells and longer pipelines?all of which would increase electrical use. Across the country ?non-conventional? drilling for natural gas has raised concerns about water quality. In Colorado, natural gas ?fracking? operations have actually begun to compete with farmers for water.

The water footprint of coal-fired power plants will only increase with new carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) technologies.

Based on the available published water-use information, we calculate that in 2009 the water footprint WF of U.S. electricity was approximately 42 gallons per kilowatt hour (kWh) produced. An average U.S. household?s monthly energy use (weighted by cooling technology and fuel mix) requires 39,829 gallons of water, or five times more than the direct residential water use of that same household. This estimate does not include major portions of the lifecycle of electrical production for which we could not find documentation.

As the world?s largest electrical consumer, the U.S. needs to consider the sustainability of this course before investing in more water-intensive electrical infrastructure.

Today, our thirsty electric grid carries pollutants into our rivers and causes algae-blooms and fish kills. But, there are other paths.

According to our calculations, eliminating ?once-through? cooling?by itself? could reduce the water footprint of thermoelectricity by more than two-thirds.

Increasing wind and PV solar energy to 40% of the grid would have a similar effect and reduce consumptive water use by 11%.

Taken together, these two actions could reduce the water footprint of thermoelectricity by 82% and consumptive water use by 27%.

While there are site-specific limitations and trade-offs to consider, our society stands to benefit from a wider discussion of how water saved in the energy sector might be used to meet future needs, grow food or restore fisheries and water quality.

Source: http://peakoil.com/enviroment/thirst-for-power-how-coal-nuclear-and-gas-waste-our-water/

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Tuesday, June 26, 2012

DROID Incredible 4G LTE may launch July 5th

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Sunday, June 24, 2012

Metals - Brazil - China, Brazil agree on currency swap deal to boost crisis war chest, trade

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Saturday, June 23, 2012

'Twilight' teaser shows a new, butt-kicking Bella

By Gael Fashingbauer Cooper

The full "Breaking Dawn Part 2" teaser reveals a whole new Bella Swan. She's not the wimpy, clumsy, protect-me-Edward girl she was in the first four "Twilight" films. Now she's a vampire, a mom, a wife, and one heck of a fighter.

"Eighteen years of being utterly ordinary, I finally found where I could shine," Bella (Kristen Stewart) says. "I was born to be a vampire."

And the role does seem to agree with her. We only see?Bella briefly, but she has a determination and a fierceness that hasn't been seen in her character before.

When she tells daughter Renesmee, "I'll never let anybody hurt you," you believe her, and when she lines up with the other Cullens to take on the Volturi in what looks like a fang-filled version of "Red Rover, Red Rover," she looks like a woman on a mission.

Don't mess with Mama Vampire, Volturi.

What do you think of the new butt-kicking Bella? Tell us on Facebook.

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Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Belief in hell, according to international data, is associated with reduced crime

ScienceDaily (June 19, 2012) ? Religions are thought to serve as bulwarks against unethical behaviors. However, when it comes to predicting criminal behavior, the specific religious beliefs one holds is the determining factor, says a University of Oregon psychologist.

The study, appearing in the Public Library of Science journal PLoS ONE, found that criminal activity is higher in societies where people's religious beliefs contain a strong punitive component than in places where religious beliefs are more benevolent. A country where many more people believe in heaven than in hell, for example, is likely to have a much higher crime rate than one where these beliefs are about equal. The finding surfaced from a comprehensive analysis of 26 years of data involving 143,197 people in 67 countries.

"The key finding is that, controlling for each other, a nation's rate of belief in hell predicts lower crime rates, but the nation's rate of belief in heaven predicts higher crime rates, and these are strong effects," said Azim F. Shariff, professor of psychology and director of the Culture and Morality Lab at the UO. "I think it's an important clue about the differential effects of supernatural punishment and supernatural benevolence. The finding is consistent with controlled research we've done in the lab, but here shows a powerful 'real world' effect on something that really affects people -- crime."

Last year, in the International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, Shariff reported that undergraduate students were more likely to cheat when they believe in a forgiving God than a punishing God.

Religious belief generally has been viewed as "a monolithic construct," Shariff said. "Once you split religion into different constructs, you begin to see different relationships. In this study, we found two differences that go in opposite directions. If you look at overall religious belief, these separate directions are washed out and you don't see anything. There's no hint of a relationship."

The new findings, he added, fit into a growing body of evidence that supernatural punishment had emerged as a very effective cultural innovation to get people to act more ethically with each other. In 2003, he said, Harvard University researchers Robert J. Barro and Rachel M. McCleary had found that gross domestic product was higher in developed countries when people believed in hell more than they did in heaven.

"Supernatural punishment across nations seems to predict lower crime rates," Shariff said. "At this stage, we can only speculate about mechanisms, but it's possible that people who don't believe in the possibility of punishment in the afterlife feel like they can get away with unethical behavior. There is less of a divine deterrent."

He added, however, that these are correlational data, and so caution should be taken with the conclusions. Though Shariff and study co-author Mijke Rhemtulla of the Center for Research Methods and Data Analysis at the University of Kansas tried to account for obvious alternative explanations, more research is needed to explore other interpretations for the findings.

"This research provides new insights into the potential influences of cultural and religious beliefs on key outcomes at a societal level," said Kimberly Andrews Espy, vice president for research and innovation. "Although these findings may be controversial, dissecting the associations between specific belief systems and epidemiologic behaviors is an important first step for social scientists to disentangle the complex web of factors that motivate human behavior."

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Oregon.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.


Journal Reference:

  1. Azim F. Shariff, Mijke Rhemtulla. Divergent Effects of Beliefs in Heaven and Hell on National Crime Rates. PLoS ONE, 2012; 7 (6): e39048 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0039048

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

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Monday, June 18, 2012

Obama Should Blame Himself for Economy, His Party

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Sunday, June 17, 2012

California lawmakers pass budget on $15.7B deficit

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) ? Democratic lawmakers on Friday approved a plan to balance California's $15.7 billion deficit without Gov. Jerry Brown's endorsement so they can keep collecting their paychecks.

The Senate passed the main budget bill, which has fewer welfare cuts than the governor proposed, on a 23-16 vote. The Assembly later passed the measure on a 50-25 vote.

In introducing the Democratic spending plan, Senate Budget Committee Chairman Mark Leno of San Francisco called it "a budget which is painful yet hopeful, sobering yet with vision."

Assembly Budget Chairman Bob Blumenfield said lawmakers tried to soften the most severe cuts to social services and proposed "more compassionate alternatives to some of the governor's proposals."

Republicans called the plan incomplete and urged Brown to veto the budget bill.

"This budget is full of borrowing and gimmicks," said Sen. Bill Emmerson, the ranking Republican on the budget committee. He objected that the budget documents were kept secret until just hours before the vote.

"This budget assumes passage of an unpopular tax initiative that is likely to be voted down. You know it and I know it," he said.

Brown did not indicate Friday whether he would sign or veto the bill. Gil Duran, a spokesman for the governor, said negotiations were continuing.

In passing the bill, lawmakers met a midnight deadline to pass a balanced budget and won't lose their pay. California lawmakers do not receive pensions but are the highest paid in the nation with a base annual salary of $95,290. Nearly all receive additional tax-free per diem payments of about $30,000 a year.

Last year the governor vetoed the budget passed by Democrats, calling it unbalanced. The state controller withheld 12 days' pay but a judge has since found that the controller has no authority to block paychecks because it violated the separation of powers clause of the California Constitution.

Republican lawmakers had asked the state controller and treasurer to evaluate whether the Democrats' latest budget is balanced.

Treasurer Bill Lockyer responded Friday, saying the plan is "financeable" and would allow the state to borrow about $10 billion for cash flow needs for the fiscal year.

The budget assumes voters will approve Brown's initiative on the November ballot to raise the sales tax by a quarter cent and increase income taxes for people who make more than $250,000 a year. Democrats propose filling the remaining shortfall with a combination of cuts and shuffling funds.

Brown's tax measure is projected to raise $8.5 billion through mid-2013. If voters reject the tax hike, schools and other public entities would be subject to severe automatic cuts, which include shortening the school year by several weeks.

A Field Poll released last week showed that a slim majority of likely California voters, 52 percent, support the initiative, and 35 percent were opposed, with the rest undecided. The poll, conducted in late May, had a sampling error margin of plus or minus 3.8 percentage points.

Democrats worked on two tracks to pass a budget and continue negotiations with Brown on several sticking points, particularly welfare cuts. Democrats lack Republican support for a two-thirds override if Brown vetoes the plan.

"We have worked closely with the governor all year, and there are small but important differences to resolve in the coming days," Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg said in a video released Friday on YouTube. He told reporters later that he had not met with Brown Friday and there was no resolution of their remaining disagreements.

After Friday's vote, Steinberg said he expected the governor may not act until all the bills are before him. The Legislature passed only a few of the companion bills needed to enact the entire budget.

Democrats agree with the governor on many aspects of his $91.4 billion spending plan but their plan doesn't save as much as the governor proposed. They sought to minimize the amount of cuts they have to make by slashing his proposed reserve fund from $1 billion to about $500 million.

They are urging the governor to back off from plans to cut programs that assist the poor, but Brown maintains the reductions are needed to help bring the state back to fiscal balance.

Democrats are resisting deeper cuts to the state's welfare-to-work program known as CalWORKS, child care assistance for low-income families, in-home supportive services, and eliminating Cal Grants for students who attend private colleges.

The two sides disagree on how to distribute money to local governments that once went to community redevelopment agencies. Brown also has proposed a 5 percent reduction in state worker pay that still must be negotiated with unions.

On Friday, dozens of demonstrators lined the Capitol Rotunda, carrying signs and arranging strings of light bulbs into heart-shaped displays. Most were there to protest cuts to funding for in-home health care service providers. Many were in wheelchairs or used walkers to navigate the Capitol.

More than two dozen demonstrators have been arrested for disrupting the Capitol in recent days, though they stood or sat peacefully Friday as they waited for lawmakers to act.

____

Associated Press writers Don Thompson and Hannah Dreier contributed to this report.

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Saturday, June 16, 2012

Bartering takes hold in austerity-wracked Greece

NBC News

Artemis Zafiriou at market in Volos, Greece. "I want to use euro but it's very expensive and I believe trade is better," she says.

?

By Yuka Tachibana, NBC News

VOLOS, Greece -- Residents of this town in northeastern Greece are resorting to an age-old solution to deal with a desperate new problem ?- using barter instead of cash for essentials.

"I want to use euro but it's very expensive and I believe trade is better," said 30-year-old Artemis Zafiriou, who works at an agency helping immigrant workers but hasn?t been paid in months.

The port town of Volos is like countless other communities in Greece, where millions are strapped for cash amid crushing European Union-imposed austerity measures. A steady flow of people come and go at the unemployment office, but most find no work.


So Zafiriou and her partner Kostas Christou, 40, have joined a small but growing network of people who trade goods and services without cash. ??

In Greece, a senior judge is to be put in charge of a caretaker government to run the country until a new General Election on June 17. Questions are growing over whether the country's finances will last that long. Hundreds of millions of euros have been withdrawn from Greek banks in recent days over fears of a departure from the euro - and return to a devalued drachma. Jonathan Rugman, Channel Four Europe reports.

They sell chicken eggs, homemade marmalade and soap at an open-air market in town. Looking like a mix between a flea market and a farmers' market,?it is packed with colorful stalls displaying fresh produce, home-baked bread, second-hand clothes and jewelry.?

Members can also go online and buy or sell services like yoga classes and piano lessons. An alternative currency, known as TEMs in Greek, is used. When members sell their goods or services, either online?or at the market, these accrue in their online account and can be used to buy from other members.?

Portraits of Greek survival in an economic meltdown

The Volos barter network -- people can join for free online -- started two years ago with only 15 members.? As the Greek economy continued its rapid decline the network mushroomed to 600 active members. About 400 more are registered with the network.

NBC News

TEM - an alternative currency in Greece.

"People need some way out, some other way to do things.? I guess also people need to get to know each other," said founding member Christos Papaioannu.

The market is not simply about trading goods -- it is a way for people to reconnect with their community and foment solidarity during difficult times.

The world braces for messy impact from Greece

"There is no middleman, everyone exchanges directly -- it makes people happy," Papaioannu said.

Irene Blomy, a school teacher who was at the market to sell her five-year-old son George's puzzles, said bartering gave comfort from daily economic woes.

"Things are getting worse and worse in Greece. There is no future for the next few years there," says Christos Christoglou, a Greek inspection engineer, who moved to Germany to find work.

"It's very nice, I think I don't have stress," she said. "When you have to buy something in euros you're always in stress. But now I'm OK."

The market is not meant to completely replace the euro, Papaioannou said.

"It's a parallel way, but a way where people decide together how to arrange and deal with things. Everything is transparent, and open. Everything is small scale.??

Customers flock to Greek farmers selling cheap spuds

Zafiriou, whose first sale was one of her marmalades, said she hopes to accrue enough TEMs to buy feed for the chickens back on the farm.

That may not be enough for her and her partner, Kostas Christou, 40, a contract electrical technician who works for the Greek Army who took a 50 percent cut in his salary 12 months ago.?

Until a few weeks ago very few people had heard of him, but Alexis Tsipras could soon be the next Prime Minister of Greece. His anti-austerity stance won his party second place in the recent election, and the forecasts for next month's run-off suggest they could do even better.

The couple live on the outskirts of town in a small farm started with money borrowed from the local bank. Their chickens, ducks and six goats have so far helped augment their drastically reduced income.

Greece abandons quest to form new government

But now they are struggling to pay the monthly mortgage as well as buy basic supplies, including feed for their goats and chickens.?

"I have debt in the bank, and if I don't manage to pay the bank, the bank will come here and take the field and my home,? Zafiriou said.

"I don't know what to do," she added.?

More world news from msnbc.com and NBC News:

Follow us on Twitter: @msnbc_world

?

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Friday, June 15, 2012

Video: Elizabeth Warren: Election is about heart, not numbers

Why 'Grease' is the ultimate summer film

You can make a case for "Jaws," "A Summer Place," or any number of surfing or camp movies, but this lively musical, which hit theaters 34 years ago this week, can make a solid case for being named the best summer movie ever.

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Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Finally a Left-Handed Person Can Feel Normal on the Internet [Internet]

Left-handed people have it tough. Scissors aren't meant for them, the average mouse isn't shaped for them and gloves aren't meant for them. Everyday life has been all backwards. But it's okay! You can be normal on the Internet now with this left hand pointer icon. More »


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THE ONLINE BOOK Regarding RA GAME

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Book of ra is a game which is mostly popular among the European countries .the game is usually in the Egyptian genre and is mostly within Egyptian symbols like the sarcophagus pharaoh and sculptures .it had been mostly in the casinos and since technology has today evolved it has been provided in the internet and can be played online.
There are numerous advantages in the online flash games compared to the casino as it is often easy to play online without any pay and therefore making it cheap and also readily available since it may be played anywhere and also anytime at helps someone to discover the fortunes.
Playing the book regarding ra online there are additional bonuses that are made for each and every specific money down payment that is made in get for one to play the online game and thus whenever financial resources are deposited one will get bonus that can perhaps increase the Game cash that can give you an opportunity to play by increasing the sport money. It is also advisable for one to acquire software that can assist them within playing the game on the web and one can be able to view it in full screen.

The online book of ra spielen will come in a 5 fishing reel and a 9 fishing reel line slot machine and also has variety of features just like wild ,scatter and gamble features that is conveniently obtainable in large designs that makes it easy to perform . The game is based in getting the right symbols after having a spin has been made such as if one gets three book of ra icons in a row then you will acquire ten free re-writes for more chances of successful and ten it can also unlock a random symbol that can put in more chances of winning far more free spins than the other time. In addition, it offers a very good award that occurs after each win that is made. A win is made following three bonuses e-book of ra appear in the actual reel game.
It of ra online game is playing to try to get the ancient pharaoh fortunes in addition to the symbols A M K and Queen and also number 15 one is left to locate the other symbols in the sarcophagus of pharaoh, scarabs, Egyptian sculptures and also the mysterious Silk book of ra. And when one discovers one of several modern symbols the idea gets them to win the jackpot
The ebook of ra symbol helps to set off the free of charge game and as an unique feature that increase s for the online game it also substitutes any missing symbol like a wild card ,as a scatter it behaves as a lead to the ancient Egypt?s invisible treasure and the success.
When someone visits three or more publication of ra they have the free games reward feature but before the particular spin starts the books selects one of many symbols and causes it to be unique to use inside expanding during the free of charge games. The chance machine also help every time a win is made it doubles the particular winning money that was deposited.
Someone could win a large amount of income depending on the wage as well as the lines in play whether it?s played for the maximum or the bare minimum number of lines the idea always gives someone a chance to win.

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Monday, June 11, 2012

FAQs about Car Loans for People with Bad Credit | BARTHELEMY ...

Surely, you are just one of the millions of people who?re dreaming of owning their car. You might likely dream of getting to work by driving any Lamborghini or Ferrari. While there are some people who are fortunate enough to own one of these high-priced cars, there are some individuals who are unable to get them for several reasons. This is especially true in case you have bad credit. Basically, bad credit auto loans are some of the possible solutions for many who are having bad credit.

Although most of the sources of car loans for people with bad credit do not mind even if you currently have bad credit, it is important a lot when you take some time repairing your damaged credit score. You can get your genuine credit rating by connecting with the concerned organizations and institutions. Within a matter of one week, that can be done some things that can uplift to your credit rating. The nice thing about this is until this will increase your chances of qualifying for a regular car finance that you may apply for down the road. You can talk to your credit history adviser to determine other sorts of means to recover from bad credit ratings.

The nice thing about auto loans for bad credit is this fact will not require you to risk-free so many documents and other complex requirements. All you want do is to influence the source of the financial products that you are worthy obtain the financial assistance. You can do this by submitting your own monthly payroll along with other documents that will be requested from you. Along with the job interview, the judgment will be based on the documents that you?ve got submitted. That is why compliance with the required papers is a must to increase the possibilities of qualifying in such sort of loan.

Unlike the other loans especially those which will check your credit rating, the actual approval process of your application for bad credit auto loans is easier along with faster. There is no need that you wait for a long time prior to application is approved. In reality, it will just take days for you to know the results. This is also one of the reasons exactly why people who are in need to get money in purchasing their car are desperate to look for companies giving this kind of loan.

No doubt that those who want to search for financial help resources needed in financing their car or truck can count on car loans for people with bad credit. Whilst these loans can be highly processed quickly, it is important than a single should take their time to ensure that the approach will be smooth as well as according to standards. In the event the right considerations and steps in applying for car loans for people with bad credit may be followed, you can expect that everything will come out positive.

Would you like to have your dream car? Exactly why don?t you look for the bad credit auto loans that may fit your needs now?

Read more ? A lot of Car and truck loans

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Saturday, June 2, 2012

Vaishali: Mindful in the Modern Age of Technology

In today's technology-saturated world, our attention is bombarded with stimuli and distractions on an incredibly wide scale. Computers and laptops, cell phones, smartphones, not-so-smart phones, the Internet, bluetooth, Blu-ray, texting, Tweeting, videogames, iPads. Even our cars and appliances have become tainted with a technological look and feel. But does all this mental movement make us a more mindful nation, community, individual?

Does anyone today even know what mindful means? Outside of the occasional practicing Buddhist or Eastern philosophical student, does anyone even consider or value mindfulness? For the sake of clarity, let's define mindfulness as a state of complete engagement with "what is" in the present moment. In our modern world, that is an experience as common as a winning lottery ticket. Instead, today what passes for experiential normal is walking into traffic while texting because you were oblivious to anything other than your keyboard, running a red light or missing a turn because you were sucked into a cell phone conversation, missing a birthday or other important social event because you were addicted to a videogame or could not break away from updating your status on a social media site.

Mindfulness, on the other hand, is being aware of what is going on inwardly: feeling your body make contact with the chair or your feet touching the ground, sensing the air temperature against your skin. It also encompasses attention directed outwardly: listening to the sounds and noises around you. Maybe it is the wind-chimes just outside your window, or the sound of a dog barking down the street, or the sound the air-conditioning makes. It is being aware of the light around you, be it an early morning ray of sunshine coming through the window or the slight flicker of the fluorescent lights overhead in your office. Being mindful is integrating all that sensory organ information into one embodied, gentle focus that actually allows you to take in more: to be completely aware of the present moment and not just reactive to a particular portion of it.

In other words, being mindful is a relationship with the information gathered by the sensory organs in a manner that heightens your experience of "what is" as opposed to the sensory organ information fragmenting, distracting and constricting your awareness into one myopic, reductionist point of focus. Like Alice in Wonderland's pills, one form of awareness makes you big and the other makes you small.

Mindfulness allows the mind to reorganize and empty itself, much in the same way that fasting can support the body in cleansing and releasing toxins. Mindfulness is the point of meditation and deep relaxation therapies. I have been diagnosed terminal twice and have lived with extreme levels of pain and agony for many years. Practicing mindfulness allowed me to be with the pain, to live through the pain without being shattered and broken by it. When I practiced mindfulness, I was able to reduce the pain to a moment-to-moment reality. I was no longer trying to figure out how I was going to live with all of this mind-bending suffering for the rest of my life. I was not attempting to solve all future-moment problems in a single second. I was just being here, now. I only had to live with the pain one moment at a time. And that in and of itself freed me to manage the anguish each moment brought to bear.

I found it to be the same with loneliness, worry and depression. When focusing awareness on being present with "what is" there was space to process, digest and release the emotional stress. The practice of mindfulness offers the liberation of witnessing the movement of challenging forces without identifying with them as personal and contracting helplessly around them.

There is another interesting aspect of attention, and that is its fleeting potential; it is rarely here now. Even though life gives us one day at a time, one minute, one second, one moment at a time, most of us experience our attention as all over the time continuum. One instant we are thinking about a future possible moment, then within the blink of an eye we are reliving and reviewing some past event. Then, faster than the speed of thought, we are back to imagining something else ahead in the future that may or may not ever happen. Attention is so easily projected and retracted, like the breeze it can shift direction and where it will go nobody knows. Mindfulness is the practice of reseating the focus to being here now with increased consistency and ease. Mindfulness at its best rests in the present moment without an agenda. It is pure awareness minus the tyranny of the intellect.

Want to work on being a better listener? To make yourself available to really hearing those around you instead of always being preoccupied by what you want to say next? Try mindfulness. Try allowing your attention to ground you in the moment when someone else is speaking. When the attention shifts from inner dialogue mode to being aware of where your body is and the sounds around you, the receptivity to authentic listening finds a place within you to open and flourish. Sound only happens in the present moment. It does not live in the past or the future, just in the now. Mindfulness is a time-honored way of tapping into that present moment, "be here now" gateway.

Mindfulness is a practice and it requires a willing heart and spirit. There are no shortcuts in the practice of mindfulness and no matter how advanced we get, in spite of all the great technological achievements humankind will ever make, one thing is for sure. When it comes to achieving mindfulness you will never hear someone say, "They have an app for that."

For more by Vaishali, click here.

For more on mindful living, click here.

Vaishali is the author of Wisdom Rising and You Are What You Love. She is an international health & wellness speaker who has appeared on The Dr. Oz Radio Show and Oprah.com. Vaishali learned to transform her life from the threat of two terminal disease diagnoses, domestic abuse and financial devastation. Join Vaishali in Los Angeles July 21st & 22nd for a one or two day 'Create Your Health Holistically Though Chi Nei Tsang & Ayurveda" and/or "Spirituality 505" To: learn more visit here.

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Friday, June 1, 2012

Cookoo: Move Over, Pebble, There?s A New E-Watch In Town

Icon_Descriptions_2Although I seriously doubt these things will take off into the stratosphere like the Pebble, the Cookoo watch on Kickstarter has already hit $120,000 on a $150,000 target, placing it up with the big boys in the crowdsourcing race. The Cookoo is essentially an e-ink watch with a few wireless tricks up its sleeve - namely Bluetooth connectivity that will notify you when you have messages, etc.

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