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"I can see a better time, when all our dreams come true"
Filed under: Fellowship
Last night, as I was woken up by a drunk housemate coming back from her Christmas party in the wee small hours, I was struck by the oddity of the pre-Christmas indulgence culture.
There are two parts to this issue I found myself considering at 3am this morning. The first is our acceptance of excessive alcohol consumption: something that my colleagues in the West Kent Recovery Team explore. The second is the plausibility of one individual to make a difference to society without sacrificing their enjoyment of the season.
It's tricky to know how to navigate the plethora of opportunities to do good effectively. So in an attempt to summarise my (somewhat sleep-deprived) thoughts, I've categorised opportunities into: Give generously; don't change your lifestyle, change your supplier; and everything changes.
Cloudy with a Chance of Mindfulness
Filed under: Social Brain
So, at the beginning of your mindfulness practice… Oh, and by 'beginning,'
I mean the first 15 years…
- Joseph Goldstein speaking at a 3-month silent mindfulness retreat
At the heart of today's mindfulness debate lies the uncomfortable question of expertise. What does it take to become a mindfulness expert? Although it may not be an ideal measure of expertise, the figure of 10,000 hours of deliberate practice has been considered to be a rough indicator of it [1]. How then, if we apply this figure, do modern mindfulness instructors measure up? It certainly varies from person to person, but recently, a mindfulness coach intimated his belief that 20 minutes of mindfulness meditation per day, for 40 days, was a sufficient foundation for teaching others – a regimen amounting to a total of 13 hours and 20 minutes of actual practice. And by actual practice I mean meditation.
So, at that rate, how long would it take to become an "expert"? Read more
You alright? You ok? Why we could all pay a little more attention to our conversation this month
Filed under: Recovery
Doug and Trevor had worked in the same building for years. Their morning conversation went like this:
'Morning Trevor, you alright?'
'I'm alright Doug, you alright?'
'Yea, I'm alright'.
Some mornings, of course, they were alright. But how often does your conversation go like this?
You ok? Yes, I'm ok. (No, I am not ok. My Nan has died, my goldfish is depressed, and actually, things aren't going well in general).
Mindfulness: What is most personal is most universal
Filed under: Social Brain
"What is most personal is most universal." – Carl Rogers
I'm just back from the launch of the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Mindfulness in the Houses of Parliament. This totemic 'we have arrived' moment is a small but significant step forward for the diverse and growing movement of people who broadly adhere to a radically sane idea, namely that some experiential awareness of the functioning of our own minds, and greater skill in directing our attention, might be important.
Mindfulness: more than a fad, less than a revolution.
Filed under: Social Brain
Meditation is simply about being yourself, and knowing something about who that is. - Jon Kabat-Zinn.
(The following post is a selection of ideas and links to add some texture and critical apparatus to help people better engage with the growing mindfulness phenomenon. It is by no means an exhaustive account, and was written mostly to make sense of how mindfulness connects with RSA's work, past and present, which I refer to at the end. While one can and should distinguish between mindfulness meditation and meditation in general, Kabat Zinn's statement captures why RSA's Social Brain centre is interested – mindfulness is a form of practice that helps to cultivate self-knowledge.) Read more
Are you coming to bed?
Filed under: Recovery
March has been National Bed Month.
For me, this is an event that I can really get into, so to speak. I have always taken a professional and personal interest in sleep quality, even more so since having a child, when life and sleep can become so disrupted that you hardly know which way is up, let alone have the energy to venture there to find your bed.
There's a wealth of research into how quality of sleep affects us, and many an argument as to how much of it we need. But the general consensus is that poor sleep equals poor health, reduced performance and less effective coping.
In the recovery field, there is a commonly used acronym – HALT. It stands for Hungry, Angry, Lonely, Tired, and it's what you are supposed to stop and assess yourself for if you are struggling with cravings. I don't know where it originated from but I've found it to be of immense value, not only working in the recovery field, but relevant to my action around my own wellbeing.
Although not necessarily easy, I find the first three to be the most immediately solvable issues. Hunger, of course, can be remedied by paying attention to diet and eating regularly. Anger, can be resolved by dealing with the situation, either directly or by finding ways of letting it go – counselling, meditation or physical activity for example. Loneliness can be a huge challenge for people – but Apps like Social Mirror can be of benefit, and most communities offer social groups if you are willing and able to get out there and engage. Tiredness, I think, can be the most challenging of these issues to control.
There are of course, many natural ways to improve the quality of your sleep. In recovery, the use of 'sleep tea', a combination of herbs such as chamomile and lavender is commonly used. Sour cherry juice has also been proffered as a proven natural way to improve sleep. Yoga and meditation is used for relaxation and to reduce anxiety. But how many of us, in recovery or elsewhere, make getting quality sleep a daily focus? If you are anything like me, sleeping is not the period of the day that I attend to the most, but it is probably what I should prioritise. Anxiety about specific events can keep me awake at night, and that is the time that a person needs sleep the most.
We see sleep problems a lot in this sector, especially in the period after people have detoxed from substances. Waiting for your body to reach a state of equilibrium again can be an arduous process, and people describe waking in a sweat following dreams where they have drunk alcohol or used drugs, when that is the exact thing they are working so hard to avoid. Often GPs will prescribe sleeping tablets, but these of course are not meant to be a long term solution, and do not serve to provide any sort of 'sleep training' or encourage us to think further about our own role in getting good sleep.
The New Economics Foundation created a list of five everyday actions that people can take to improve wellbeing. So much of our own work within Whole Person Recovery is anecdotal, but based on that, and my own experience, I would add a sixth 'way to wellbeing' – work to improve your sleep.
Perhaps, if we all spared thirty minutes a day to take action around our sleep – taking a warm bath before bed, meditating, writing down our thought summary of the day, or doing some active relaxation, our wakeful periods may be enhanced, and we could really focus on the other five ways.
Hopefully, you have managed to stay awake whilst reading this blog……………
Smartphones make us dumb
Filed under: Design and Society, Social Brain, Social Economy
Did you see the one about Apple Maps mistakenly directing people to drive across the runway at an Alaskan Airport? The coverage provides an indication of how much we've outsourced our intelligence to our smartphones, and how we are likely to erode our own intelligence as a result.
An excerpt from the BBC coverage:
"They must have been persistent," the airport's assistant manager Angie Spear told the BBC.
"They had to enter the airport property via a motion-activated gate, and afterwards there are many signs, lights and painted markings, first warning that aircraft may share the road and then that drivers should not be there at all.
"They needed to drive over a mile with all this before reaching the runway. But the drivers disregarded all that because they were following the directions given on their iPhones."
So here we are in 2013. We can carry in our pocket a device which can instantaneously direct us, aided by a network of satellites we've launched into space above our planet, between any two points on earth. When there are glitches in this remarkable system, we appear to be losing our ability to engage our auxiliary senses of navigation. We increasingly trust our smartphones, simultaneously giving our innate sensual systems less trust in connecting to our cognitive comprehension. When people put themselves in danger, we vent anger at the technological miscues they may have received. How did people drive to airports before SatNav? We expect technology to be perfect: an upgrade to our own human fallibility.
There is a broader danger associated with the ubiquity of smartphone use. We withdraw from engaging with the places we are in and the people with whom we share them. Mobile technology enables local disconnectedness through providing a ubiquitous connection to everyone we know (and many we don't), regardless of where we are (or where they are) in the world. As a result, our other communication skills become degraded. Smartphone users are constantly interrupted and distracted, less present in the place and the moment something that a recent Apple ad celebrates. We are unable to switch off – indeed the more technology enables us to work flexibly the more anxious we are to demonstrate to our work colleagues that we are not slacking, as the latest RSA Animate explores.
Comedian Lewis CK recently noted that constant connectivity spares us from the emptiness and sadness (and subsequent tranquillity and happiness) that we find when faced with overcoming periods of being alone. Taking notice of the world around us is one of the five "ways to well-being".
Just walked into my neighbours house by accident while texting. I only noticed when someone called out and I looked up and saw it wasn't my flat. Christ. - From Facebook, 26/9/13
With a phone in hand, we are less likely practice mindfulness (recognising our thoughts and feelings). And inter-personal communication skills are at risk of deteriorating as we avoid talking with neighbours or chitchatting with shopkeepers.
As Richard Sennett argues, learning to cooperate with different people, outside of your regular networks, is a key rite of passage to adulthood and civility and is contagious in a population. If that sounds too pretentious, then even on a basic level we've got to connect the dots: listening to others talk is the most important aspect of learning in early years. My fear is that the rising rates of social isolation, autism and technology penetration are inter-related. On the tube these days it's becoming rude not to look at your smartphone: we can't tolerate the gaze of fellow passengers.
I'm not saying we should give up this powerful technology. Many technological applications support local connectedness (such as Streetbank), while other applications support our offline social well-being (such as the RSA's social mirror). SatNav gives people the confidence to navigate and explore, and mobile phone cameras empower citizen journalists across the world, but we need to know its OK to switch off and unplug. Smartphone adoption may be the most rapid technology adoption of all time – 45% of under-11s in the UK regularly use a smartphone or tablet. We need to understand the implications for public and inter-personal engagement, fast.
Consider those moments where you pause and think to yourself "this is what life is all about". Its likely you'll be mentally present. Think of your favourite streets, parks, squares, or bus routes. We can be entertained us for hours watching what Jane Jacobs calls the "sidewalk ballet": an urban, social, public experience. At the height of our powers of human perception we can learn silently, discretely admiring the athleticism of streetballers and joggers, the daring of skateboarders, and the technique of a street performer. We develop visual literacy to comprehend the age of our buildings, the fashions of different generations, and the processes which clean our streets. Taking a walk, sitting on a bench or at a cafe, we guess the age of a passing infant, the profession of their parent, or simply where someone got those shoes. And we can mindread, discerning the causes of the argument between two lovers and enjoy from the deduction of awkward body language between two people that this must be a first date.
This role (sometimes termed the "flaneur" – the strolling observer) is a somewhat romantic and privileged notion, but we need to protect the time and space for activity which develops our social skills: reading other people's faces, body language, tone of voice and emotional signals. Indeed our most skilled public servants – social workers, police officers, nurses, school teachers – recognise that inter-personal intelligence is essential in co-producing desirable outcomes, especially with vulnerable people with barriers to verbal or written communication.
The time each of us has to engage with our surroundings is precious, and the design of the spaces which surround us are often disengaging. Several initiatives have shown that often space the looks like public space is not: subject to surveillance, regulation and restrictions on use and participation. A true public space might include a shared institutional setting where we experience a base feeling of equality because we're all accessing the same thing.
No doubt we will develop better maps, location-based apps and global 3G coverage, but we need to engage in real places to support the development of our capabilities as social creatures.
Jonathan Schifferes is a Senior Researcher in the Public Service 2020 and Connected Communities team (and does use his smartphone for Twitter).
Narrative feeds the self
Filed under: Social Brain
"As words and thought are eased out of the mind, so the self weakens. There is no narrative to feed it…Like ghosts, angels, gods, 'self', it turns out, is an idea we invented, a story we tell ourselves. It needs language to survive. The words create meaning, the meaning purpose, the purpose narrative. But here, for a little while, there is no story, no rhetoric, no deceit. Here is silence and acceptance; the pleasure of a space that need not be imbued with meaning. Intensely aware, of the flesh, the breath, the blood, consciousness allows the 'I' to slip away."
- Tim Parks, Teach us to Sit Still, p 330-331.
For those who want to know more, I recommend an essay by Tim Parks in today's Aeon magazine.
Why climate change is like a headache in the pelvis.
Filed under: Social Brain
"The main curriculum of your life. No sooner had I read that phrase than I kept repeating it, mulling it over. I saw at once that, far more than the time itself, the hour count, what was at stake here was a major principle. Instead of taking my work with me to hospital waiting rooms, dealing with my troubles as if I was getting the car fixed, my eye on my watch and my hand on my wallet, I would have to accept a radical shift of priorities. The pain must be allowed to come on board and take equal status beside my writing, beside my family, as part of the core curriculum." - Tim Parks, Teach us to Sit Still, p160
Climate change is about much more than words, but words matter. In this respect, leaving aside the important victory to keep climate change on the national curriculum, there is a much deeper sense in which climate change needs to become part of 'the main curriculum' of everybody's lives.
This declaration is ultimately just a form of words, but these particular words may help to reframe the necessary gestalt shift, so that we start to go way beyond 'raising awareness' or 'engagement' on the issue, which hasn't really helped sufficiently to shift inertia. Here is where this idea of 'main curriculum' comes from, and why it might matter:
"'We strongly advise sufferers,' wise went on, 'to accept these pains as part of the main curriculum of their lives.' The main curriculum!"
Almost three years ago I read Tim Parks's wonderful non-fiction book: Teach us to Sit Still, in preparation for him speaking at an RSA event on mindfulness. The book is a darkly humorous and profound examination of a particularly embarrassing medical condition, and an improbable journey back to health, eventually through meditation. The turning point in his recovery is when he stops trying to wish the problem away as an extraneous irritant ('an inconvenient truth') and really faces up to it as an enduring challenge that needed his steadfast time and attention. What was striking for me is that a particular form of words helped to make this shift.
In the following section Parks is at one of the many clinics he attended, looking for something to take the persistent pain away, and he recounts listening to a Dr Wise, author of A Headache in the Pelvis as follows:
Tim Parks, Teach us to Sit Still, p 159:
"'Many of our patients are simply too busy to dedicate themselves to our treatment', Wise and Anderson observed. 'These people, men and women, were not yet suffering enough. They still saw their pains as an irritating waste of time, a distraction to put behind them as quickly as possible. Hence they were drawn to accounts of their illness that saw a rapid solutions in drugs, or in surgical operation. No personal energies need be expended. It could be paid for. Hopefully by the State.'
This described my thinking, at least until very recently, with ominous accuracy.
"We strongly advise sufferers," wise went on, "to accept these pains as part of the main curriculum of their lives."
The main curriculum!
Would I have to stop referring to my pains as stupid?
Wise's position, a little pious-sounding to my ear, was that this chronic and worsening condition was trying to tell me something about myself, about the way I had been living, and I was supposed to listen. I would have to give my pains the time of day."
This perspective is powerful because one of the main aspects of the climate change challenge is how to bring more attention to the urgency of the issue, and what prevents that is precisely the kind of "hoping it will go away" attitude that many take to irritating health issues that are not yet causing enough suffering to be heeded.
The climate challenge calls for unprecedented political, social, economic and technological innovation and we probably need to consume less, but the speed and effectiveness of such solutions ultimately depend upon what the population thinks and cares about on a regular basis. That point is not self-evidently true, but one tangible way to think about it is that investment decisions and political will on climate change are currently shaped by vested interests that civil society needs to be mobilised to challenge.
A big part of this challenge is to find ways to make climate change 'run through' people's lives. (The literal meaning of curriculum is to run the course, as in curriculum vitae- the course of my life). We need to link concerns about climate change more closely to the experiences and values that 'run through' people's lives, including their work, their families, their health and their homes. How do we do that? It's not easy, but The Social Brain Centre has precise figures on the nature of the challenge and plans to pilot solutions that we'll share in a forthcoming report).
Given the scale and urgency of the climate change challenge we need new forms of language as much as we need new technologies and new policies. With this in mind, I humbly submit that we need to start thinking of how we can make climate change part of 'the main curriculum' of our lives.
Dr Jonathan Rowson can be followed on Twitter at @jonathan_rowson
Paying attention with poetry
Filed under: Social Brain
It's World Poetry Day.
As an English Literature undergraduate, I spent many a happy hour absorbed in the modernist poetry of William Carlos Williams. More or less a celebrity in his native USA, he's relatively unknown here.
His poems often convey a certain haecceitas – the quality of 'thisness' – capturing something very particular. In the Social Brain Centre, we're interested in the importance of attention, and one of the possibilities offered by Carlos Williams' poetry is to focus attention very acutely. In a way, I think his poems illustrate mindfulness in action. It's especially clear in these two of his most famous poems:
The Red Wheel Barrow
so much depends
a red wheel
glazed with rain
beside the white
This is Just to Say
I have eaten
the plums
that were in
the icebox
and which
you were probably
for breakfast
Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold


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Welcome to Quicksilver '01 Green!
Our U13 team currently has a roster of 11 players who will be competing in NorCal Premier's GOLD Division in the spring of 2015.
Quicksilver '01 was proudly a 2014 State Cup semi-finalist in the top-seeded Platinum 1 bracket, White division.
Quicksilver 01 Green plays year-round, practices 3 times per week and will compete in several tournaments throughout the year in addition to league-scheduled games. These girls train hard, compete hard and have an absolute blast in the process!
All players are encouraged to come and check us out! If you're interested in scheduling a tryout, please contact coach Steve Redondo at the email below.
Team Contacts

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Mix it up this Holiday season with the Viking Mixer.
If you love to bake during the Holidays, we have just the thing for you. With our journey through the 12 Days of Housewares coming towards the end, Whitney and Robert decided to take the 11th day to show us some of the great functions of the Viking mixer . From heavy bread dough to delicate meringues, the Viking® 'Professional 7 Qt Stand Mixer' handles it all!
Today Whitney and Robert gave us a great frosting recipe for all those Holiday cookies.
1 package powdered sugar (16 ounces)
1/2 cup butter, softened (1 stick)
3 tablespoons milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
Beat sugar, butter, milk and vanilla with electric mixer at low speed until well blended and smooth. If frosting becomes too thick, beat in additional milk by teaspoonfuls until the frosting is of spreading consistency.
Makes about 2 1/2 cups frosting.


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We first saw Windows Mobile back in April 2000, with the launch of the Pocket PC mobile device. At the time the device ran a modified version of Windows CE 3.0, which included pocket versions of Office, Internet Explorer and Media Player.
I starting using Windows Mobile back in 2002 with the launch of the HTC Canary. Even though the user experience was far from good and the device would repeatedly crash when attempting to multi-task, it was still the most powerful and versatile smart phone on the market. As a result I invested over five years into Windows Mobile, periodically upgrading through the HTC range (HTC Tanager, HTC Typhoon, HTC Hurricane and finally HTC Vox). Although each new handset brought with it a faster processor and more memory, the Windows Mobile OS experience remained the same. It would occasionally get a refresh in design and the odd new feature, however overall there was a distinct lack of innovation and polish, especially when compared against Windows on the desktop.
In 2007 everything changed. Apple unveiled the iPhone and Windows Mobile suddenly looked like an embarrassment. Essentially Microsoft had thrown away a seven year advantage overnight and were made to look quite stupid.
Thankfully over the past two years, while the iPhone's market share and Apple's profits have soared, Microsoft have been secretly working away at Windows Mobile 7. Like the desktop equivalent, Windows Mobile 7 is being looked at as a fresh start, allowing Microsoft to shrug off the embarrassment of the past few years. Although very little information about the new product has leaked, insiders believe this will be a significant step forward for the platform and put Microsoft firmly back in the race for the best mobile Operating System.
On Monday 15th February 14:00 UK time all will be revealed. Steve Balmer is set to take the stage at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona to show us what Microsoft has been working on. This event is certainly very important for anyone interested in the mobile technology and I can guarantee there will be significant interest from both Apple and Google.
Personally I don't expect Microsoft to revolutionise the mobile space. Instead I expect they will release a product that will sit somewhere between Android and the iPhone, allowing them to build upon the success of the Windows 7 desktop launch. In terms of features I would predict a new "Zune like" finger friendly multi-touch user interface, a new finger friendly browser, an AppStore, and finally tight integration with their Exchange, Xbox and Zune services.
Whatever the final result on Monday, one thing is for sure, you can never count out Microsoft. For a live feed of the event I suggest you head over to Engadget or Gizmodo. I will also do my best to provide post event coverage.


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Margarethe von Trotta thoroughly eschews filmic biographic conventions in her presentation of important intellectual figures, both in her 1986 "Rosa Luxemburg" and in "Hannah Arendt," which opened theatrically last week.Read More »
"Thinking is a lonely business," utters Martin Heidegger to his student and lover Hannah Arendt, and Margarethe von Trotta's biopic of Ms. Arendt certainly hammers the point home. Barbara Sukowa, who portrays the titular thinker/philosopher/theorist, is possessed with an ability to make her frequent...Read More »
With so many new movies flooding the theaters every week, it's understandable that a few noteworthy releases might have slipped under your radar within the past year. Thanks to the magic of online streaming, getting caught up on some of the best films of 2012 is just a click away. Below we have comp...Read More »
Mismatched duos have been a staple of comic strips and animation since Bud Fisher's "Mutt and Jeff" debuted in 1907; It's a story device that seems infinitely recyclable, and the latest unlikely duo to prove it are crime-fighters Kotetsu "Wild Tiger" Kaburagi and Barnaby "Bunny" Brooks, Jr., in Tig...Read More »
A healthy dose of disrespect keeps Joss Whedon's "Much Ado About Nothing" from toppling into the swamp of sensibilities that so often swallows up Shakespeare updates – those well-intentioned "reimaginings" that put a cast in new clothes and new attitudes, and thus render the dialogue even dustier th...Read More »
No spoilers of any kind in this small contribution on the single most significant "Game of Thrones" episode to date. Recap write-ups from the East Coast were posted hours ago, and HBO has been sending out screener discs not in advance but days or even weeks after episodes are shown, which makes it t...Read More »
While Shyamalan's thinking things through, he may want to use the lull between projects to check out Joss Whedon's "Much Ado About Nothing," which hits theaters this Friday.Read More »
So is everyone as horribly traumatized by episode 9, "The Rains of Castamere" as I am? We can work through this together. Recap therapy. We can do it. Yes, once again "Game of Thrones" lived up to its Penultimate Episode Promise of being bananas batshit crazy insane! We now must always fear episode ...Read More »
Learning the inner workings of a magic trick is almost always a bit of a disappointment. The magician's flourish is what makes the show fun--see the nuts and bolts of his or her work, and the sense of wonder shatters. It's fitting then, that surprise hit "Now You See Me" reflects the profession upo...Read More »
Isn't it just so ironically hilarious that Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson come off as such unwanted guests in "The Internship," Shawn Levy's divided-generations and generation-dividing comedy? Not really. In the film, which for some reason co-stars Rose Byrne, the "Wedding Crashers" duo play unemploye...Read More »


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OpenCL Procedural Noise Example
|Last Revision:
Version 1.4, 2009-10-09
Adapted to API changes.
(Full Revision History)
|Build Requirements:
Mac OS X v10.6, Xcode 3.2
|Runtime Requirements:
Mac OS X v10.6
This example shows how OpenCL can be used for procedural texture synthesis and intermix with existing OpenGL textures for display. Several compute kernels are provided which generate a variety of procedural functions, including gradient noise (aka Perlin Noise), turbulence and other fractals.
Copyright © 2009 Apple Inc. All Rights Reserved. Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Updated: 2009-10-09


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The mission of the Church of the Most Holy Redeemer is to preserve, protect, and present the work of Ivan Mestrovic. This site in particular is unique in that the structure of the church was designed by the artist and was meant to serve a dual function as an operating church and the Mestrovic family vault.
memorial, sakralna


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The Voice 2.45: November 04, 2012
- By Ethan Longhenry
- 2012-11-04
- 1 Comment
The Spiritual Forces of Darkness
For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world-rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places (Ephesians 6:12).
Even though we live in an "enlightened," scientific age, there remains great interest in all sorts of forms of spiritual power. Popular movies and television shows feature witchcraft, zombies, and demon possession. Many times these forces work for evil; occasionally, some are represented as working for good. Yet most of these are just movies; not many people take these forces of darkness very seriously. Most imagine that such things are like vampires, werewolves, and other myths from a pre-scientific, superstitious age. People dress up as witches, zombies, and the like for Halloween; few imagine there is any actual reality behind it. It all just seems like harmless fun.
Yet the Bible takes a more serious view toward spiritual forces of darkness. According to the Scriptures, there is a spiritual realm and dimension of reality: we may not be able to see it, but it is still there (cf. 2 Kings 6:15-17, Acts 17:26-29). The Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, and the angels of God all represent spiritual forces for good, seeking the best interest of the creation and humanity (cf. Romans 8:18-39). Yet, as we can see in Ephesians 6:12, the Scriptures also speak of the "spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places": there are spiritual forces of evil as well!
We do not know much about the origin of these evil forces. It is generally assumed that they are angels or other spiritual beings who make the freewill decision to rebel against God and His good purposes. The most well-known such spiritual entity is Satan, the adversary, tempter, and accuser of mankind. He successively tempted Eve to rebel against God in the Garden and unsuccessfully tempted Jesus in the desert (Genesis 3:1-5, Matthew 4:1-10, Revelation 12:9). He brought accusations against the character of Job (Job 1:6-12, 2:1-6). He is described as the father of lies, a murderer from the beginning, having nothing to do with truth (John 8:44). Satan is generally considered as the "prince of the power of the air," tempting and empowering those who do evil, both in terms of individuals and in terms of political and even religious entities (Ephesians 2:2, Revelation 13:3, 12).
The Bible also speaks of demons as spiritual beings who are under the authority of Satan (Matthew 12:24-28). In the first century these demons were said to have possessed individuals, and Jesus cast them out (e.g. Matthew 12:22-23). We do not know for certain whether demons can still possess people or not, but we do know they exist, shuddering at the acknowledgement of God's unity and inspiring false teachings that seduce many (1 Timothy 4:1, James 2:19).
Throughout both the Old and New Testament God warns against participating in the black arts associated with these spiritual forces: magic, divination, mediums, and necromancy, all subsumed under the idea of sorcery (Leviticus 20:27, Deuteronomy 18:10-12, Galatians 5:19-21). This warning is not provided because they are all delusion and deception: the Bible tells us that idols really have no existence (cf. 1 Corinthians 8:4-6), but makes no such declaration about spiritual forces empowering the dark arts. To the contrary: the Egyptian magicians performed acts using divination (Exodus 7:11, 22, 8:7), and the medium of En-dor conjured up the spirit of Samuel (1 Samuel 28:5-20). There is spiritual power in these forces; that is precisely why God warns against them and even commands death for those who practice them!
There are spiritual forces of evil around as assuredly as there are spiritual forces for good. Just because something is "spiritual" or seems "spiritually directed" does not make it right: Satan can deceive and appear as an angel of light (cf. 2 Corinthians 11:14). There are spiritual forces of darkness arrayed against believers, and we must resist them, firm in our faith in Jesus (Ephesians 6:10-18). Let us take these dangers seriously and remain on guard!
Ethan R. Longhenry
1 Comment
My grandmother taught me that in Hungary there are a lot of tales of what we know as elves, witches, and the like. She said that the magician believes he is in control of the magic. What is really happening is that Satan is in control of it, allows the human to believe he is in control, and thus allows the human to become controlled by the magic. That is why God warns against any and all of its uses.


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Rebecca Orchant from Honest Cooking tends the bar today, and decides to mix up a great summer cocktail for both lazy days in the sun and special occasions.
Allow me to introduce you to the Pucker Up, a ginger-bourbon lime rickey that my devoted Sidekick and I created for our wedding last year. That was a really special occasion. I think of the beginning of summer the same way. This cocktail is laid-back enough to go with burgers and deliciously sophisticated enough to be served at a garden cocktail party.
Whatever you do, be prepared for your friends to drink more than one. Cheers!


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May 26, 2016
A spot check of probate judges Tuesday found most reporting light turnout, which is expected in primary runoffs.
The biggest statewide race on the ballot is the Republican runoff for governor between Bradley Byrne and Robert Bentley, which is expected to make the GOP turnout larger than the Democratic vote.
Democrats are deciding runoffs for attorney general and the 7th Congressional District seat.
It's unclear if there is much crossover voting in the GOP race for governor.
Byrne accused state teacher lobbyist Paul Hubbert of trying to defeat him by urging those who voted Democratic on June 1 to cross over and cast ballots for Bentley.
In Choctaw County, Sheriff James Lovette is opposed by former chief deputy, Lee Henry McGrew in the Democratic runoff.
In Sumter County, Thomas Lewis and Tyrone Clark are in a Democratic runoff for sheriff.
There is also a runoff for Sumter County Commission, District 5, between Robert Smith and Ottice Russelle.
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Key things you need to know aboutNatasha Jones:
Natasha Jones' Experience
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Natasha Jones' Specialties
- Psychoanalysis
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- 1201 S Proctor St Ste 3
- Tacoma, WA 98405
- (253) 396-5800
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Results 1 to 2 of 2
- 11-11-2009, 10:20 AM Thread Author #1iMore Newbie
- Posts
- 20 Posts
Is there any answer to this?
I just picked up a new Macbook Pro and since I didn't have Snow Leopard before I was pretty stoked to be able to access my work Exchange account right from Mail. However, I noticed it doesn't work with Exchange 2003 so I am still S-O-L. Why does it work on my iPhone, but not Mail? Any work around besides opening up IMAP? My company will not allow it. Am I stuck using Entourage or OWA forever?
- 12-28-2009, 10:39 PM #2iPhone Newbie
- Posts
- 12 Posts
- Global Posts
- 14 Global Posts
Snow Leopard should be very cool.I also want to buy one. Why is there so much problem with it?


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Centered in Moroni, the Hotel les Arcades offers the opportunity of being in town and near the beach (Itsandra beach).
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November 9, 2003
Lewis Lowe, <i>Hullabaloo</i> staff writer
The Tulane men's and women's tennis teams both competed in tournaments last weekend with each bringing home titles. The men competed at the Ragin' Cajuns Men's Tennis Classic at UL-Lafayette while the women hosted the Green Wave Women's Tennis Classic on campus at the Goldring Tennis Complex.
In Lafayette, senior Maxime Lacroix won the A Division Consolation Championship by defeating senior teammate Hannu Piiroinen. The match was hard fought, with Piiroinen winning the first set 6-2 and Lacroix the second 6-3. Lacroix edged Piiroinen in the super-tie-breaker, 10-5. In the B Division Doubles, Piiroinen and sophomore Patrizio Maucci reached the finals before losing to UNO's Julien de la Miettrie and Damon Houard.
Maucci also reached the quarterfinals of the B Division singles before losing to Southern Miss's Marc Lux, 2-6, 2-6. Ninetieth-ranked junior Dmitriy Koch will be in competition at the ITA Indoor Championship this weekend. For the women, the doubles team of freshman Darya Ivanov and junior Nancy Kockott won the main draw doubles for Tulane. They defeated UNO's Lucie Mazinova and Patricia Osedumme 8-3 in the championship match.
Tulane also competed in a round robin event against UNO. The Wave won nine of the 10 matches played in the event. Sophomore Erica Valdes and Kockott each had Sunday victories for Tulane. The final match completed was a three and half marathon between UNO's Inge Veerman and Darya Ivanov. Veerman won 7-5, 4-6, 6-4.
"This weekend showed that our team is very healthy and competitive," Tulane Women's Head Coach David Schumacher said. "And we also proved that the level of tennis in the city of New Orleans is outstanding." Teams from around the state, including Xavier, Southern, Nicholls St., McNeese St. and Dillard competed in the event.
Tulane University, New Orleans, LA 70118 504-865-5000 firstname.lastname@example.com


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March 22, 2012
"the mobile industry is redefining itself. no longer limited only to communications, mobile is now a force transforming our world in an unprecedented way. mobile connects, entertains, informs and inspires us, ultimately changing how we live and who we are"
(source: mwc 2012).
the focus of the mobile world congress 2012 held in barcelona from feb 27 to mar 1, was focused on "redefining mobile".
by debating innovations and developments, the mwc show-cased the state-of-the-art and future perspectives of the mobile industry.
the enpc mba paris is highly interested in this industry and wants to share with its stakeholders (students, alumni, faculty, corporate relations, etc.) its views on technology-based innovations and the new business applications and ventures which they enable.
our dean, tawfik jelassi, and assistant dean, alon rozen, both took part in the mobile world congress event, along with 65,000 others attendees. alon, among others, participated in the innovation session and shares in the following article some take-aways from this thought-provoking session.
read the full article overview of the innovation session at the mobile world congress by alon rozen.