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Although the pandemic has come to an end, the shoppers have now developed the habit of getting the products and services delivered to users doors. Also, there is still a fear among the people going to crowded places and leaving their homes. The congested areas remain the potential hotspots for the infection.
The users of on-demand grocery app increase at a vast rate. In the US, around 25% of people order groceries online. The future of on-demand grocery apps is on the rise and is another most revenue-generating business.
As there is a shift in the paradigm of the shopping trend, developing a grocery delivery mobile app paves opportunities for businesses and startups to invest in the apps. Are you an entrepreneur and planning to invest in a grocery delivery mobile app? The article covers all the crucial aspects of creating a perfect grocery delivery mobile app.
Why invest in Grocery Delivery Mobile Apps?
The pandemic caused fear among the users to visit the grocery stores, and therefore the app download increased tremendously.
- As per the PwC report, the on-demand grocery app market will rise to $335 billion by 2025.
- As Statista reports, online food delivery and alcohol sales will grow by $ 35 billion within four years and reach $55 billion by 2021.
- As per CNBC, by 2025, online grocery sales will rise by 20% of the market.
- The above stats depicts, it is the best time to consider and develop an on-demand grocery delivery mobile app.
- The graph shows the online grocery delivery sales in the US from 2012 to 2021.
What are the benefits of developing a Grocery App?
1. Offers easy availability to customers
The on-demand delivery app offers ease to the users and allows them to get the products delivered at their doorsteps. It reduces their efforts while ensuring they do not have to move out of their house.
2. Saves customers time
Time is one of the most crucial factors for people to download the application. Within a few clicks on their mobile phones, they can get the goods delivered. There is no effect on household chores, and there is no need to stand in long queues for the billing.
3. Upscale your business
Developing an application boosts your online as well as your brick-and-mortar store presence. Hiring a robust team of mobile app developers helps you expand your customer base.
4. Offers Alternative products instantly
If one product is not available on the application, the customers can instantly look for the alternative and buy the product.
5. Appealing Discounts and Offers
As the competition increases, the app offers discounts so that there is higher customer retention. It opens more opportunities for the app to grow and boost its sales.
Business models for a Grocery Delivery Mobile App
1. Aggregator Model
It is a business model that allows you to collaborate with the local grocery stores. The app lists the other stores or the chains and can tie-up with them. The users can check the entire list of the grocery stores where they can buy the products. In brief, the app acts as a mediator between the customer and the store owner. It is the store owner's responsibility to get the goods delivered.
2. Multi-store Chains
A platform like Walmart depicts the best example of the business model. They offer a separate app for the customers and handle delivery themselves.
3. Marketplace Apps
Bigbasket is one of the examples that explain this business model better. These apps have their menu and delivery agents who deliver the products at the customer's doorsteps.
4. Single Stores
These are the applications handled by a single store owner. Say you have a brick mortar store, and you can develop an application. The store owner handles the order and its delivery.
How does On-demand Grocery Delivery Apps Make Money?
1. Paid Membership
Business can partner their app with different retailers and apply a commission-based revenue model. The commission varies based on the features.
2. Delivery and Service Fees
The apps can put a delivery fee for every order based on the delivery distance, emergencies. Some applications even offer weekly or monthly delivery plans with fixed charges. One of the examples of such an app is Instacart.
3. In-app Advertising
The apps can enlist other brands' products or services on their platform. It is quite a popular business model and improves the user experience. For every click or purchase, the app owner can earn a commission.
How does the App Help to fight the crisis?
- As the payment and delivery are contactless, it prevents the transmission of the virus, and users enjoy a safe shopping experience.
- The people get to ensure that there is enough stock, and the stores ensure to cover their all demands.
- People get the ease of ordering and getting the products delivered at their door.
- There is a boost in work productivity that ensures people can spend time restoring life energy.
- It helps the grocery stores to realize their inventory and keeps it updated.
- Rise in the job economy.
Key Features Of Grocery App Development
Listed below are some points that show the crucial features of the Grocery Delivery App Development.
Grocery App - User Panel
1. Profile
It is the first step after the user installs the app. They can register via their e-mail id or contact number. Also, users can use their social media credentials too for a quick sign-in.
2. Filters for Browsing
The user can use the advanced filters and search for the categories or the products they are looking for. It saves their time as the user does not have to go through the entire product list.
3. Schedule Delivery
The user can schedule the delivery as per their convenience to receive the orders in their presence.
4. Order Tracking
The customer stays updated with the real-time order tracking feature and knows about its status
5. Order Management
The shoppers can manage their orders instantly. They can view their order history and can place the same orders when required.
6. Multiple Payment Options
IN-built payment option allows the users to make the payment securely and conveniently.
7. Offer and Discounts
The section displays all the discounts and offers on the products and allows them to enjoy great deals on their favorite products.
8. Feedback
The customers can provide relevant feedback and ratings as per their shopping experience.
Grocery App - Delivery Panel
1. Delivery Request Notification
All requests for deliveries that are to be made along with the order number and other delivery details are notified to the delivery guy.
2. Accept/Reject Request
The delivery guy can reject or accept the request, in case the location of the user is far away or based on other factors.
3. Track Customer Location
The drivers can check the consumer location to identify the best-optimized path for making the deliveries within the stipulated period.
4. In-app Chat/In-app Calling
It enables the drivers to establish secure communication within an app for fixing the time of delivery. And to find out the correct route and destination.
5. Get Delivery Confirmation
The driver gets the confirmation of the delivery from the stores and the users.
Grocery App - Admin Panel
1. Dashboard
The dashboard acts as a one-stop solution for the admin, where they can manage & track all activities.
2. Assign Managers:
Admin is responsible for adding the managers in the workplace for delivering excelled consumer experience.
3. Assign Order
It allows the admin to assign new orders to the grocery stores and ensures their seamless execution.
4. Manage Customers
The admin can manage all the customers and coordinate with them whenever required.
5. Manage Payments
Admin manages all payments transparently while setting a new milestone for the grocery businesses.
Some of the Advanced Features
1. Real-time Analytics
It refers to the data analysis as it is available to the admin. It allows them to monitor the user activity, detect fraud, helps to save cost, and boost conversion rates.
2. Push Notification
Even when the user is not using the app, the push notification sends alerts to their mobile phones. It keeps the user updated about the latest offers, discounts, products added, & all other updates.
3. Communication Channels
The in-app calling and chatting feature allow the delivery agent to communicate with the customer and store owner.
4. CRM Integration
CRM integration offers benefits to the business and centralizes, optimizes, and streamlines your communication with customers. You can now know customers, increase segmentation and customer retention.
5. GPS Tracking
It offers a personalized experience to the user. You can track the geographical location while ensuring the products are delivered to the users on time. The user and delivery agent can both track each other location. Therefore it is one of the most crucial factors.
Cost to develop a Grocery Delivery App
Telling the cost of the grocery delivery app is not an easy task and is not fixed. Talking about the cost of app development, there are several factors involved. It depends on the features, the complexity, and there are other factors involved too.
1. Development Partner Reputation
A highly experienced and reputed mobile app development company will charge more compared to the companies with relatively lower experience.
2. Geolocation of development team
It is another crucial factor affecting the development cost. For example, North-America developers will charge more as compared to the developers in Asia.
3. MVP or Fully Fledged App
An MVP model contains limited features, whereas the fully-fledged app has all the crucial and advanced features. Therefore developing an MVP model is comparatively cost-efficient.
4. Timeline & Team Size
An app with a short deadline will tell a higher charge than the long deadlines. Team size is another factor that matters.
The cost to develop a grocery delivery app would be around $15,000 to $35,000 for both iOS and Android platforms with core features. However, the price may vary depending on the features you integrate.
It is the right time to enter the market of a grocery delivery mobile app. However, developing a feature-rich and flawless grocery delivery mobile app needs an experienced team of developers. And OZVID has got you covered. Contact us and get the best solutions delivered!


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Last week, we delved into the double bill of Les Petits Mouchoirs & Nous finirons ensemble / Little White Lies & Little White Lies 2. If you missed it, check out that post here. If you also love French TV series, then check out this week's post on the French hit series Call My Agent! / Dix pour cent, available on Netflix, which continues the movie theme.
Back to this week's Cinéma Saturday choice! Today we are revelling in one of the greatest achievements in cinema. Regarded as one of the, if not THE, greatest French film of all time, we're not hanging around with half-hearted recommendations today.
This week's film is Les Enfants du Paradis / Children of Paradise. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Why this film?
Having spent the end of this week ecstatic with news of Dix pour cent returning and my post on that, I have been thinking cinema a lot! I nearly chose another more recent film, but, honestly, with the news of actor Helen McCrory's death at 52, I felt a deep desire to show something of France today that encompasses theatre and film-making; the beauty and craft of a near-perfect film. In fact I had to choose a masterpiece.
Helen McCrory was a theatre, film and TV actor whom I admired greatly, with a spirit and energy that I can only imagine was undiminished by the cancer she had been fighting. She and husband Damian Lewis were two great contemporary actors from the UK and the world is a poorer place without her. Reading her piece on playing Anna Karenina and 19th century Russian society is fascinating and powerful. It also bears some resemblance to our 19th century heroine, Garance, who seeks freedom rather than being possessed by her suitors. A fitting tribute to McCrory has been written by journalist Mark Lawson, which you can find here.
So with that sadness in my heart, it seemed more fitting somehow to explore a classic of French cinema that is an epic; dazzling in its range and proportions.
About the film
With 1800 extras, plus credited cast, this epic film is set amidst the glittering theatre world of early 19th century Paris with the hustle and bustle of city life in all its forms. With direction by cinema great, Marcel Carné, a script by French poet and writer Jacques Prévert, this is like the melding of poetry and cinema in one masterpiece, made all the more extraordinary by the fact that it was filmed in Occupied France in 1945. With a cast that at times had to record in secret (Resistance agents using the film as cover were also able to observe Nazi sympathisers), or had to hide footage from the Nazi authorities who wanted to promote the film, which led to interruptions aplenty. It had funding problems, weather problems and not least of all, it was being made in a World War! In short, this film brings to life the 19th century demimonde of Paris but is inexplicably linked to the time in which it was created. Come with me to explore this cinema classic and one of the greatest films ever made, anywhere.
Believe me, this is worth your time! It's even available in a restoration which went around US cinemas in 2012. If you don't believe me - watch this trailer showing the amazing sets and scale of the cast - remarkable ! 😊 Links to where to watch are, as ever, at the foot of this post.
Cast & Crew
Director: Marcel Carné
Cast: Arletty, Jean-Louis Barrault, Pierre Brasseur, Pierre Renoir, Marcel Herrand, María Casares, Louis Salou.
Screenplay: Jacques Prévert
Cinematographer: Roger Hubert
Year: 1945
Genre: Drama
Awards & Accolades: Oscar-nominated for Best Original Screenplay (1946) for Jacques Prévert. Awarded International Critics Award - Special Mention at the Venice Film Festival. (1946)
In this poetic realist drama, the lovely and enigmatic Parisian actress Garance (Arletty) draws the attention of various men in her orbit, including the thoughtful mime Baptiste (Jean-Louis Barrault) and the ambitious actor Frédérick (Pierre Brasseur). As well as an aristocrat and a criminal. Garance and Baptiste have an undeniable connection but their fortunes shift considerably, pushing them apart as well as bringing them back together, even as they pursue other relationships and lead separate lives. What will Garance do?
What I liked about this film
One of the greatest films ever made. Hmm, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways... The smell of greasepaint and the rich mélange of social classes in the theatre of 1820s and 1830s Paris comes across in this Classical, unashamedly poetic realist and romantic film depicting characters we want more of. Frustrated by the Nazi edict that no films over 90 minutes could be made, Carné went ahead and made two films in the hope that soon Paris would be liberated and the two films could be put together and shown that way. In fact, after it premiered in spring 1945, VE Day came shortly afterwards and the film has been said to be shown in Paris cinemas ever since. Somewhere in the city you could go to see this, just like Truffaut did - nine times!
So this epic 182 minutes of romantic beauty and melodrama, invites you into the Paris of Delacroix and Hugo. Hence there is upper class experience alongside the rich seam of the underworld life and the demimonde in a great mix of society on every street and in every theatre. It has Parisian street and theatre life and popular culture of the 1830s all brought to life with dazzling and dizzying proportions.
It has the feeling of theatre of the time. In fact its name derives from the "Paradis" being the second balcony where ordinary people would sit and watch the play, giving their forthright opinions on the action. Like sitting "in the gods" in English. But is actually reminds me of the groundlings of Shakespeare's time. Real people, real emotions, real opinions and a totally different atmosphere to the silence we're so used to today.
Playing with this theatrical theme, the film brings theatrical artifice, reality and appearances into question. The demimonde life of Arletty gives the film a free spirited but perhaps problematic storyline (in 21st century eyes). The story is engaging, epic in its proportion if not in its emotions. With your head, this film is magnificent and fascinating. With your heart, you are drawn in but you want to know more about the characters and to see what is next for them. The backstories alone would make another film!
It stars some of France's greatest theatre actors and so every Prévert phrase is clear and beautiful. The incredible mime artist is played by true mime artist, Jean-Louis Barrault. The power of words and performances makes this story captivating and it draws us into the melodrama unfolding as Garance is the centre of attention for four competing men who all want to possess her: a mime artist, an actor, an aristocrat and a criminal. Will she succeed in finding love within the confines of a society which gives her no expectations of finding love?
Passion, deception and murder. Truly, this film is of 1945 - the themes are romantic, melodramatic but to our eyes also underscored by the betrayals, deceptions and murder going on around everyone involved in this film. Several of the crew who worked on this film so closely with Carné were Jewish and had to be effectively concealed form the authorities, including the film music composer and the production/set designer. Both of whom worked through intermediaries whilst in hiding. (I am glad to report, they made it through the rest of the War.) The set designs, as you can see from the trailer video above, were magnificent. Recreating an entire half-mile boulevard in Paris is no mean feat! The sets were enormous and had to be moved between Nice and Paris. Just think about that for a moment. The sets and crew had to move through Vichy Occupied France in a journey of around 580 miles / 930 kilometres. No wonder this was one of the most expensive French films ever made up to 1945. That it was made at all seems fantastical. I truly believe that Roger Ebert was spot on when he said, in his film review,
That the production, with all of its costumes, carriages, theaters, mansions, crowded streets and rude rooming houses, could have been mounted at that time seems logistically impossible [...]. Carne [sic] was the leading French director of the decade 1935-1945, but to make this ambitious costume film during wartime required more than clout; it required reckless courage.
Reckless courage. Two films to turn into one after your country is liberated from Nazism. Truly, this film is of its time and its generation, creating a classical world of the 1820/30s in Paris but forever bound up with the context of WWII in 1945. For the sheer spectacle this film is worth your time. If you love French film this is a must-see and I'd recommend it to any film lover.
It is a cinematic masterpiece with an engaging storyline, an unbelievable context, and a meticulous restoration which brings its beauty, audacity and dazzling brilliance to the fore. Unmissable!
Paris, 1945
Where to Find It
Available in many regions on Apple TV/iTunes, Amazon Prime Video and the Criterion Collection channel.
US & UK (clicking will show the product in your Amazon region*)
BluRay 4K restoration
On DVD
If you're still not sure, here are three reasons why this film is great, and three good reasons to watch it, by the Criterion Collection. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
*Product links might include Affiliate links which mean that you can support the blog and podcast by making a purchase at zero cost to you. Thank you for your support - it's so appreciated.
Have you seen this film? Did you like it? Let me know what you thought by email: hello at francewhereyouare dot com or over on social media.
I love to talk cinema!
And when they're closed, I love to talk home cinema. 😉

subset: commoncrawl


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International organizations shall enjoy the status, immunities, exemptions, and privileges set forth in this section, as follows:
(a) International organizations shall, to the extent consistent with the instrument creating them, possess the capacity—
International organizations, their property and their assets, wherever located, and by whomsoever held, shall enjoy the same immunity from suit and every form of judicial process as is enjoyed by foreign governments, except to the extent that such organizations may expressly waive their immunity for the purpose of any proceedings or by the terms of any contract.
Property and assets of international organizations, wherever located and by whomsoever held, shall be immune from search, unless such immunity be expressly waived, and from confiscation. The archives of international organizations shall be inviolable.
Insofar as concerns customs duties and internal-revenue taxes imposed upon or by reason of importation, and the procedures in connection therewith; the registration of foreign agents; and the treatment of official communications, the privileges, exemptions, and immunities to which international organizations shall be entitled shall be those accorded under similar circumstances to foreign governments.
(Dec. 29, 1945, ch. 652, title I, § 2, 59 Stat. 669.)


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© Copyright 2024 Watson Institute. The Watson Institute (Watson) encourages you to access and print material from our website at www.thewatsoninstitute.org for personal use only. Any other copying, linking to another website, blog post or social media, distribution, modification, transmission, or dissemination of the website content is strictly prohibited without the prior written permission of Watson. View full terms of use.
Behavior Story: Restaurant
My child has a very difficult time going to family-style restaurants. In particular, he has difficulty sitting and waiting quietly, eating neatly, and interacting with the waiter or waitress. How can I help my child learn to be more appropriate in this setting?
Create a behavior story for your child that is: Written from his perspective, contains descriptive statements (so he can identify the situation when it does occur), provides directions in regard to appropriate social action and expectations, and provides real strategies for coping with the situation. A behavior story can be read in preparation for visiting a restaurant. It can be made specific to the particular restaurant and the expectations associated with the particular event.
A behavior story is a simple description of an everyday social situation, written from a child's perspective. The situation is described in detail and focuses on the important social cues, events, expectations and ways for the child to react in the situation. Behavior stories are intended to be used with a child prior to an event. It is rehearsed with an adult so that when the event actually occurs, the child can use the story as a guide for behavior.
Quick Facts
- Child's Age: 3-5, 6-10, 11-13, 14-17, 18+
- Planning Effort: Moderate
- Difficulty Level: Easy
Defined set of expectations for the particular situation
Determine the desired behaviors to be addressed at the restaurant.
Write the story using guidelines above.
Review with your child several times prior to going to the restaurant.
Role play with your child the interactions addressed in your story.
Documents and Related Resources
autismspeaks.org (website article: eating in a restaurant)
If you have questions or concerns about the Watson Institute's use of this information, please contact us.


text: Are you a Type 2 Diabetic looking for something other than medicine to completely reverse your condition? Do you wish there were some way to make Type 2 Diabetes vanish from your life?When it comes to your health, there's no magic pill that you can take to reset your body. There's no easy cure that fixes everything – but there is a vast wealth of proven knowledge that's worked for millions of people already. You see, Type 2 Diabetes is a product of an advanced age where we are exposed to too much processed food, and forced to work jobs that we drive to, that promotes a sedentary lifestyle.In other words, Type 2 Diabetes is not your fault, it's a result of a broken system of genuine health care, where we are aware of what we eat and how we move. But the good news is that you can break out of this cycle with a little awareness of what's going on in your body, and some tools to help shape your future – and your body.In Keto Diet for Type 2 Diabetes, we will show you how it happened, what's going on, and how to fix it. While the science is simple, there are also some quick hacks you can make to change your diet, which will change your body into burning your fat, which will also increase your lean muscle.Inside, you're going to find:- Type 2 Diabetes and Keto Diet Explained Simply (the Science Behind It)- Delicious Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner and Snack Recipes such as:- Turkey Meatloaf Muffins, Gingerbread Crème Brulee, Oven Baked Brie- Loads Of Delicious, Healthy, Simple Foods Waiting to Heal You!- True Support For Beginner to Advanced Ketogenic Diet EatersWhile we don't claim it's super easy or that it will work overnight, we can say that this is the most legitimate way to permanently manage and kick T2D, all while getting slimmer, stronger, and having a broader range of motion. If you're serious about getting better, you have to scroll back up and click Buy Now.


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Viscom AG will present a selection of its latest microfocus X-ray tubes at Control in Stuttgart, Germany. Thanks to their impressive flexibility, a previously unattained spectrum of tasks can now be covered with one and the same X-ray source – from the inspection of small, filigree objects and time-optimized series inspections to the radiography of large and massive components.
Microfocus X-ray tubes are used in industry, research and development for many demanding measurement tasks – wherever non-destructive and non-contact inspection of optically inaccessible areas is required. In daily use, the transmission, reflection and rod anode tubes from Viscom are particularly impressive with their high stability, compact design, as well as low maintenance need and operating costs. In addition, Viscom offers efficient training, competent hotline support and fast global spare parts supply. International approvals are available for worldwide operation.
Control, the international trade fair for quality assurance, opens its doors from May 3 to 6, 2022. Viscom will be one of the exhibitors at the special show "Non-Contact Measuring Technology" (Booth 6401 in Hall 6), which is organized by the Fraunhofer Vision business unit and has established itself at the trade fair over the years as an innovative and versatile communication platform. The high-performance microfocus X-ray tubes on display – which Viscom has been developing and manufacturing at its campus in Hanover, Germany, for more than 20 years – are distinguished by their wide range of applications in X-ray laboratories or as a component of premium inspection systems. Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) can typically equip their computer tomographs and X-ray-based coordinate measuring systems with tubes from Viscom.
The small focal spot diameters of the tubes allow the highest resolutions, as and when required. Impressively high acceleration voltages (up to 320 kV) enable optimum penetration of solid objects whose material density or thickness is consequently no obstacle to optimum results. Constant tube operating parameters over a very long time are achieved by automatically adapting the filament heating to the operating conditions and readjusting the electron beam; in addition, the location of the focal spot on the target can be adjusted.
In 3D reconstructions using computed tomography, the high target performance of the microfocus X-ray tubes ensures the rapid provision of inspection results that are accurate in every detail. The number of individual images required corresponds to the ever-increasing computing power of the inspection solutions in which the tubes are used in conjunction with state-of-the-art processors and software algorithms, so that, for example, exact layer images are available for corresponding analyses without unnecessary delays.
Viscom develops and manufactures transmission, reflection and rod anode tubes for many different requirements and applications
About Viscom
Founded in 1984, Viscom AG is one of the leading suppliers worldwide in the field of assembly inspection within electronics production. With its headquarters and production site in Hanover, Germany, the company develops, produces and sells high-quality inspection systems from the areas of AOI, SPI, AXI, MXI, wire bond inspection as well as conformal coating inspection. The systems developed and manufactured in Hanover set high standards in terms of accuracy and speed. The product range covers the complete spectrum of optical inspection and X-ray inspection for small and medium-sized companies as well as for large series production. Viscom systems are used for 100% automatic inspection of electronic assemblies such as those used in the production of automotive electronics, aerospace technology or in the manufacture of telecommunications electronics.
Product development also focuses on customer-specific system developments and networking with other production processes for smart factory applications. In order to achieve this, Viscom AG increasingly invests in its own software and hardware development which is constantly defining new standards in inspection technology.
International sales are handled by a broad network of its own subsidiaries, application centers, service centers and representatives. A service team of in-house technicians and application specialists commission Viscom systems worldwide, offering maintenance, conversion and modernization from a single source. In addition, system-specific training courses are offered for customers' operators, programmers and maintenance personnel. Experienced engineers and technicians from the application and service departments share their expert knowledge with participants.
Viscom AG has been listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange since 2006 (ISIN: DE0007846867).


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I will be following the Ministry of Health Orange mandates:
These are measures I will be taking to ensure everyone is safe:
- Your vaccine pass will be scanned upon arrival.
- Please use our QR code for contract tracing.
- Important : Please don't turn up if you are unwell, or have had contact with someone who is sick – let me know asap (no cancellation fee).
- Thorough and regular hand washing.
- Change my clothing and all clinic linen between clients.
- Tissues and hand paper-towels will be available.


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By Danielle J. Brown, Florida Phoenix
In a long political battle over mask mandates in public schools, 11 school districts will soon have to answer to state education officials who argue that districts with strict mask mandates are breaking Florida law and emergency rules.
At stake is a State Board of Education meeting this Thursday, in the form of a conference call, that could serve as an interrogation of sorts and potential punishments for certain districts.
The agenda is described as "Consideration of Probable Cause for Noncompliance with Department of Health Emergency Rule." That translates to 11 districts in hot water with state officials over mask policies, even though the districts believe they have acted lawfully in keeping children safe.
Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran and other state officials believe it's up to parents to decide — not local school boards — if their students should wear masks at school during the COVID-19 pandemic. That decision arises from a new law called the Parents' Bill of Rights and an emergency rule set by the Florida Department of Health.
But the Florida Constitution authorizes school boards to make decisions on how schools operate, leading to a legal question over who is in control — local school boards or the executive branch.
The state has already docked local school board pay in two districts, Alachua, based in Gainesville, and Broward, in South Florida.
In both cases, the Biden administration provided grants to replace these funds.
What's more, Board of Education Chairman Tom Grady previously floated the idea of "removing officers" as a consequence of districts not complying with the state board on masks.
Will more school board members face financial sanctions? Will the state education officials consider removing board members entirely?
Russell Bruhn, communications staffer with the Brevard School District located on the Atlantic Coast, said that it's "not 100 percent clear" what will go down at the Thursday meeting.
"The overarching topic of the meeting is in regard to the districts that have mask mandates with no parental opt-out and what the state wants to do going forward," Bruhn said. "Other than that…that's about all I can say."
The Phoenix has confirmed that several school district superintendents will be in attendance at the conference call, including Alberto Carvalho of Miami-Dade County, Rocky Hanna of Leon County, and Carlee Simon of Alachua County.
The school districts slated for consideration of probable cause for non-compliance Thursday are: Alachua, Brevard, Broward, Duval, Hillsborough, Indian River, Leon, Miami-Dade, Orange, Palm Beach and Sarasota. Most of these districts currently require masks and only allow students to opt-out for medical reasons, but not all.
The emergency rule in question was signed by Florida's new Surgeon General, Joseph Ladapo, who established new COVID protocols for schools last month. The rule states, in part, that:
"Schools may adopt requirements for students to wear masks or facial coverings as a mitigation measure; however, the school must allow for a parent or legal guardian of the student to opt the student out of wearing a face covering or mask at the parent or legal guardian's sole discretion," the new emergency rule says.
In addition, the Parents' Bill of Rights law says that Florida state agencies, including school districts, may not infringe on a parent's right to direct the upbringing, education, and health care of their child, "without demonstrating that such action is reasonable and necessary to achieve a compelling state interest."
A communications staffer with the Indian River School District, located on the Atlantic Coast, told the Phoenix that its policy is completely in compliance with the state education board, because a recent change to its rule now allows for parents to opt-out of the mask requirement.
As of Sept. 23, Indian River students can now opt-out of mask requirements with parent permission, which would be in compliance with state education officials.
Yet, the agenda for the Thursday meeting still has the Indian River District listed as potentially non-compliant with state laws and rules. It's not clear why the district is still on the agenda if the school board adopted a mask policy with a parental opt-out.
Another unique situation comes from Sarasota County, which is currently allowing masks to be optional despite a mask policy being in place.
That's because the district's policy allows for masks to be optional when community transmission is low, but will reactivate if transmission surpasses a certain threshold. On Sept. 26, the school district notified parents that because community transmission was low, masks were optional for the time being.
Sarasota is also slated for consideration Thursday as to whether its mask policy is in compliance with the state Department of Health rules and Florida law.
Some strict mask policies are set to expire in the upcoming weeks unless local school boards decide to extend them.
The Brevard County School District will meet Tuesday morning to discuss Ladapo's new emergency rule and its affect on the district, Russell Bruhn told the Phoenix. While the policy is slated to expire at the end of October, Bruhn said that the board members will have the opportunity to cut the mask policy shorter than planned, extend it further, or keep the timeline as is.
"If they decide to make changes, that could impact how they're viewed on Thursday," Bruhn said.
The Orange County School District mask policy is set to expire October 30th.
Alachua County's policy is set to expire October 19, and the district's masking policy is up for consideration at the next board meeting Tuesday evening, according to Alachua communications staffer Jackie Johnson.
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Choosing an LMS to conduct training in your company or educational institution is not an easy task. One of the best choices is to run open-source LMS first to have a wide view of its capacities. Among the things and factors of your business that should be taken into account are budget, the Return on investment, a platform cost-effective, the number of employees, the training and learning goals, etc. Let's take a look at some of the top open-source LMS out there.
Many learning management systems are designed for large corporations, others can adapt to the size of the company, or there are even those who think of providing services in the cloud for free to allow smaller companies to experience the benefits of the eLearning, like open source systems
Open-source Learning Management Systems have become extremely popular in recent years, but what does open source mean? Open Source technology is a technology where the source code is "open", that is, the code is available to the public and free to be modified. Improvements can be made by developers and it can be spread or sold to the wider community. So, why should an organization choose an open-source Learning Management System as opposed to a homegrown or proprietary LMS?
First of all, if a company uses a proprietary LMS, they must rely on the provider to maintain and service the LMS, as well as provide support when problems occur. As the code is widely available in open source LMS, many developers read and examine the code, resulting in bugs being identified and fixed much faster than proprietary programs.
Open Source technology is very beneficial to schools, universities and other educational institutions as well as corporations. Open Source LMSs are fully flexible and customizable, so they can be designed in line with your school/organization brand image. There are no license or hardware costs associated with open source technology so it is free to start using it and carries minimal risk.
Open Source LMSs can also be converted to social learning platforms. You can create an online community through your LMS. As an example, your learners can chat, blog, connect to social network sites (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn etc.) and have polls on your open source LMS.


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For years and years I've wanted to share these fantastic Italian Pressed Sandwiches with you all but never took the time to snap pictures.
Layers of Italian meats, roasted red peppers, tomatoes, spinach and fresh mozzarella all pressed between tender slices of Italian bread. Oh baby, these sandwiches are so yum!
You see, picnics are kind of my thing. I adore them. I always have. Growing up we would make a delicious bowl of potato salad, pick up KFC (I KNOW, but don't judge, KFC and picnics was a thing and I bet you did the same thing!) and head to some park or up into the mountains. Especially in July when our church would hold a huge Stake picnic, an entire day of games, water slides, family activities etc. It was incredible!
Sometimes when we would ditch KFC, we would haul sandwiches and sides and that was truly my favorite kind of picnicking. There's something so free and wonderful about unplugging and finding respite in the hills. So, in case you've forgotten that joy-especially the one you were reminded of during quarantine (come on, did we so quickly forget the lessons we learned?!) then let me remind you, a stacked sandwich, a bunch of fresh fruit, salty chips and maybe a dessert like our lemon drop cookies will bring all kinds of happy to you and your favorite people.
You can try all sorts of flavors for pressed sandwiches such as mayo and turkey blt style, turkey, cheese and avocado, heirloom tomatoes, mozzarella, peppers and eggplant, etc. The sky's the limit!
What Ingredients Do You Need for Pressed Italian Sandwiches?
If you're headed to the store to buy all the items for your next picnic, here is your shopping list for these sandwiches:
- Italian Bread (ciabatta, focaccia, or your favorite)
- Prosciutto
- Italian Meats (genoa salami, varzi, calabrese)
- Tomato
- Roasted Red Bell Peppers
- Balsamic Glaze
- Fresh Mozzarella
- Baby Spinach (or Basil)
- Pesto
I recommend a bag of crisp grapes and some kettle cooked potato chips! The measurements for each ingredient in the sandwiches can be found in the recipe card at the end of the post.
How to Make Pressed Italian Sandwiches
There's not much to making a sandwich which is why they are so awesome! Here are the basic steps:
- Slice open the bread and spread loads of pesto on one side.
- Drizzle the other side with a little olive oil.
- Lay the tomatoes and roasted red peppers (see section below) flat on the side with olive oil. Drizzle with balsamic glaze.
- Layer the meats, cheese, and spinach (or basil).
- Place the top of the bread on and wrap in plastic wrap. Store in the refrigerator and put a heavy skillet (or anything flat and heavy) on top to press it down.
- Serve with your favorite picnic sides!
How Do I Press a Sandwich?
I've seen all sorts of methods, but the easiest for me is to just place the wrapped sandwich on a cookie sheet and then set my heaviest cast iron skillet on top. I've also seen people put another cookie sheet on top and then pile dumbbells on top. You can do whatever works best for you. You just want the sandwich to be pressed between two flat surfaces.
How to Roast Red Peppers
What to Serve at a Picnic?
I love these sandwiches with some crunchy chips and a simple side salad or fruit. For a picnic, here are few other great side options:
Take a picture of your picnic and tags us on social media! We would love to see it!
More Tasty Sandwich Recipes:
- Chicken Salad Sandwich
- French Dip Sandwich
- Caprese Sandwich
- Sun Dried Tomato Bacon Pesto Grilled Cheese
- Honey Avocado Turkey Bacon Sandwich
- Sun Dried Tomato Pesto Panini
- Triple Decker Club Sandwich
Italian Pressed Sandwiches
- 1 Loaf Italian Bread, 12oz, ciabatta or garlic
- 3 oz Prosciutto
- 6 oz Italian Meats Mix, (genoa salami, varzi, calabrese)
- 4-6 Slices Tomato
- 2 Red Bell Peppers, roasted and seeded, sliced open (*see note)
- Balsamic Glaze
- Fresh Mozzarella
- 1 Cup Baby Spinach, or basil
- 1/4 Cup Pesto
- Slice open the bread and spread one side liberally with pesto. On the other half drizzle a very small amount of olive oil.
- Lay the tomatoes or roasted red pepper flat. Drizzle with a little balsamic glaze.
- Layer the meats, cheese and spinach (basil if desired).
- Close the sandwich and wrap in plastic wrap. Place in the fridge with a heavy skillet or anything very heavy on top for 6 hours or up to overnight.
- Serve with chips and salad!
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BL's followup to The Wretched Takes serial is on Kindle Unlimited. I recommend you read the books first before reading Hirah so you'd know all the other characters. They are on Amazon for $0.99 a piece! 18 stories in all, bound into 3 volumes.
Here are the blurbs to each book!
If you want somethin' real bad, you gotta work harder than everyone else.
My grandma was right about that. I did want to be the best damn guitarist. Not the best female guitarist or the best black female guitarist. The best fucking guitarist on the planet. Although Sarge and Diabolical Plan had given me the initial opportunity to show off my chops, I couldn't be what I wanted to be with my ex-boyfriend steering the ship. I had to be the captain of my destiny. I had to be the one taking the lead.
Five months into it and I'm still pinching myself over this. Me, the little black goth girl from Milwaukee, along with Corey, Bryan Taylor, Nicolai Zander and the new guy on bass named Chad Stephenson.
Have I mentioned that Chad is hot as hell?
More about that later.
This is a spinoff of The Wretched Tales with new guitarist Hirah Blaze. She's kicking ass and taking names, looking to become the metal world's newest guitar goddess, but will she get sidetracked by The Wretched's gorgeous new bass player?
* * * *
Book 2
This man had me.
Oh God, he had me in a freaking tizzy.
I want Chad.
I want Chad Stephenson.
I want him in my bed.
I want him now before we go on this stage.
Oh shit.
I am such a goner.
I am off the deep end now.
This wasn't supposed to happen.
I'm supposed to be all about fucking world domination with my guitar, not obsessing over my hotter-than-hell bass player.
It's show time for The Wretched. We're about to go on tour and I'm stoked to be onstage in front of thousands. However, I can't get a certain someone off my mind. Hot bassist, Chad Stephenson has become my crack and I'm happily addicted.
This is a spinoff of The Wretched Tales with new guitarist Hirah Blaze. She's kicking ass and taking names, looking to become the metal world's newest guitar goddess!


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Julian de la Hunt is the owner of Impossible 2 Inevitable – Africa (i2i-Afrca) and a Senior partner in the international business based in Manchester, UK named i2i. Julian has more than 15 years' experience in business and coaching locally and internationally. He is a qualified Human Resources professional (Industrial psychology), entrepreneur, speaker, performance expert and has coached at Board, Executive, senior and middle-management levels across a variety of industries. As part of the unique behavioural and high performance coaching methodology, Julian and i2i has worked with international sporting teams, Olympic athletes, golfers, tennis players, cricket franchises, among others.
Julian specialises in facilitating Leadership development, Performance management, EQ, Team coaching initiatives, Change Management programmes in both the private and public sectors with teams and individuals. He is also a Professional Member of Coaches and Mentors of South Africa (COMENSA), registered with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) and a certified Activity Vector Analysis behavioural assessment Analyst.
Contact Julian at email@example.com Tel: +27828722221


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Going Deeper
Lucidity Part 7
Intro: Lucidity is more than Dreaming – knowing the difference
In 1968, Dr. Charles Tart, author and faculty member of the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology, attached an EEG machine to a young woman who had experienced lucid dreams since childhood. While lucid in sleep she claimed to be able to move about a room and witness what was happening despite her body being immobile in sleep. Tart hid a five digit number where the subject could not see it. It took her several attempts, but she successfully reported the number, a 100,000 to one chance of success. The EEG showed an unusual brain situation while the woman's awareness was not focussed on her body. It seemed she was both in deep sleep and awake at the same time.
It is wonderful to have that glimpse into the brain during lucidity. But lucidity is not something that only happens in sleep. Perhaps the most inclusive description of lucidity is that it is expanded awareness. To understand it you have to move beyond a view of the world based on the limitations of your physical senses. For instance the cells in your body are unbroken subdivisions of cells going back to the beginning of life on this planet. In that sense your body is millions of years old and carries that experience. What would it be like for your awareness to expand to include that time span? What would it be like to remember not just your dreams, but your infancy, your life in the womb, or your life in eternity? Lucidity is not simply playing within dream images. It can also be remembering who you are in your entirety, and what part you play in the scheme of things. Your present personality, even with great schooling, is just a young thing developed during the life of this body. But it is riding an ancient wonderful life form, and can find unity with that.
Tracy, a woman who had long explored lucidity, describes her experience of this as follows:
Suddenly, toward the end of exploring my dream, I leaped beyond anything I had ever experienced before. I knew just as clearly as in ordinary life I know my name, that instead of being someone separated from everybody else living a certain day in time, My real self was a river that flowed through all time. I had always existed and was involved in all history. With an amazing heightened awareness I could see the influence from this timeless self flowing through all my present life, subtly shaping it. The things I had chosen to do or work at were all connected as a working out of ancient influences, or an attempt to change them. [My own experience renamed]
For the next few days take time to imaginatively trace your body backwards. Remember that the cells of your being can never generate from something dead. So move backwards through all the conceptions, all that collected history in the genes, all that change and time. See if you can get a feeling of that vastness. Ask yourself what is it in your being that has survived through it all, and are you in touch with it? (522 words)
Incubating lucid dreams
During the period of writing this book, while walking home along a main country road, one I had walked many times, I suddenly felt fear of the cars passing me. It was strong enough to make me walk as far away from the road as the sidewalk allowed. As I walked on, still away from the road, wondering why I felt such fear, a van pulled up beside me on the road to make a turning away from me. As it stood there waiting for traffic to clear and I was passing it, I heard the scream of tires as a car went into a skid on the wet road. Then the skidding car shot up onto the sidewalk between me and the van. It was an extraordinary experience. But I have had many such things happen to me since I have tried to listen to that wider awareness in which our little self lives.
What happened to me walking along the road was one form of lucidity, and the more you become lucid in your dreams, the more this wider awareness will become a feature in your life.
If you have made a habit of the reality checking technique you have probably experienced lucid dreams by now. But there are ways in which your lucidity can be made even more frequent. Don't forget though that remembering your dreams is the most powerful method of increasing lucidity. Meanwhile here are some ways to bring about more lucid dreams.
Exercise Eight – Create a Helper
You can create an external helper by making a tape recording that plays while you are asleep. Having already practised the Reality Check, the tape is aimed to work with that. You need a long playing tape, or if you know how to put the recording onto a CD use that instead. If you use the tape get a 120 minute cassette. You can put quiet background music on most of the tape if you wish. This in itself keeps you nearer the surface of sleep, enabling more frequent lucidity. But the important point of the tape is to have the words, "You will now do a reality check" spoken about an hour into the tape. This should then be repeated just before the tape ends. Put the same recording on the other side so when the tape ends you can simply turn it over and let it play again.
This is like having an external friend sitting with you through the night gently reminding you to do a reality check as you sleep and dream. By turning the tape over, or the CD to replay, you can have the prompt reminding you through the night. Obviously the volume needs to be fairly low so as not to wake you completely. As you go to sleep, say to yourself over and over, "When the tape reminds me to do a reality check I will become lucid in my dream."
This method is extremely powerful. The tape method, allied with your continued reality checking, needs to be continued until you become lucid frequently enough to start exploring and discovering the possible wonders of the lucid experience. As that happens, take time to use some of the suggestions as to what you can do while lucid. This is like learning any other skill and needs practice, so do not be impatient.
Also, as the taped message begins to work and stabilise, you can introduce many other messages played in the same way. If you seek an answer to a problem you could put the words on the tape – "You will now do a reality check while dreaming, and while lucid seek an answer to …" and then put in what it is you seek. In this way you could use the external helper to explore any of the areas of lucidity described, such as finding your innate life direction, or satisfying love, and so on.
Lastly, a waking exercise you can do when you have time and inclination. This is something that helps to develop the keyboard condition that is so important when trying to access some of the lucid possibilities.
Create a space about a single blanket in size in which you can move without banging into things. Wear loose clothing, and perhaps play some music that does not grab your body with its beat. You need to be in a place where you are not distracted or disturbed for up to 30 minutes.
Now stand with eyes closed and feet slightly apart. Raise your hands above your head toward the ceiling – or sky if you are outdoors. Hold in mind the idea or image of a dried seed. You do not need to concentrate. Let your body take on the keyboard feeling and watch to see if your posture expresses what shape you feel a dried seed would be. Follow that feeling until you find a position that you sense is right. Once you feel reasonably satisfied with your position, imagine what a dried seed might feel like inside. Is it waiting, sleeping, unconscious? Whatever you imagine it to be, allow your own inner condition to be as nearly like it as you can.
Then let your seed be planted in warm moist soil. Just as you followed the feeling sense to find the 'seed' position, now follow that in the same way to see how your body and feelings will express as the growing seed. But don't worry if you have no urge to move, and only wish to stay in the warm. Many people find the meditation has its own dynamic, and they can only grow to a certain stage, or the unfolding story throws up unplanned details. These details of how your own growth in the meditation occurs are relevant to your own life situation. Just follow what arises and note in your journal what you experience, and try it again within about five days. (991 words)
Powerful Prompts to wake you in your dreams
The methods you have used so far to help you become lucid are powerful enough, but if you need an extra boost to take you into lucidity, the following techniques will do it for you.
Exercise Nine: The Waking Dream
- You need to remember a dream that is clear and vivid. As soon as you wake, with the dream still in mind, use your relaxation technique to drop tensions. Then imagine yourself entering into the dream, just as if it is a real environment. Feel the atmosphere, look around you feeling and sensing what you did in the dream. Take your time with this, and as you look around notice what is dreamlike or different to waking awareness. Learn to recognise what these signs of dreaming are. It might be that things change rapidly, or you are intimate with people you don't know. Go over the recognition of these signs of dreaming until they are easily remembered. Use this with each dream you recall. And as you do so say to yourself mentally that in future dreams you will recognise these signs and become lucid. In fact imagine what it would have been like to become lucid in this dream through recognition of the dream signs. Allow yourself to change the dream or experience it in any way you choose.
- Repeat the process over again, telling yourself that in future dreams you will become lucid. Explore your dream, noticing what is dreamlike about it. Tell yourself that in future dreams, when you meet these dream signs you will wake in your dream and begin to access its treasure. Visualise waking up in your dream and experiencing the things you want to gain from lucidity. Keep repeating the process for at least ten minutes before you finish.
- If you miss out on this as you wake, you can do it during the day.
- While you dream, your brain produces all the signals to your body that if you were awake, would promote physical movement, speech and emotions. However, a small area of the brain blocks these signals so you do not move around too much while you sleep. Even so, the movements and sounds you make in the dream are important and are part of your memory of the dream. Therefore if you have time and space to do so, imagine yourself walking into the dream and actually make some of the movements, sounds and postures in your dream. This acts as a restimulant of the deep levels of memory. When you have done this act out what you would do and feel in becoming lucid in your dream.
After you have used the previous method for some time, try this next one. What you will find is that one or the other approach suits your particular temperament. In fact, as you enter more fully into lucidity you will find very personal tuition arising from your dream experiences. Until then, however, use these given methods. The next approach is based on a method suggested by Bradley Thompson in his excellent Lucid Dreaming Kit. It is perhaps the most powerful of methods, and if used after you have done the previous exercises, will certainly take you into lucidity.
Exercise Ten: The External Reminder Prompt
- Take time to purchase a digital wrist watch that gives an audible beep on the hour. Set the watch to sound its beep every hour. Wear the watch during the day, and every time you hear the beep look at the watch and do a reality check. You must do this until it really does become a habit. It is the habitual response of this that is the important factor. Building the habit takes the action and reality check right into your unconscious where it will act with hardly any awareness – as in sleep.
- Do this for three days. Then place the watch near you as you sleep, so that you can easily hear the hourly signal. As you go to sleep, repeat over and over for a minute or two, "When I hear the hourly signal I will do a reality check in my dream and become lucid."
- Use this method for as long as you wish. The more you use it the more effective it becomes
- As with the other methods, when you attain lucidity, start giving yourself goals to achieve. To start with it is good just to play in the lucid experience to discover the unbelievable freedom you have and the completely safe environment you are in. You can swim underwater without breathing; you can fly, either as yourself or as a bird; you can become any of the characters in your dreams, or any character in history or the present. These are play things, and you can later move onto things that really interest you.
Lastly here is a script that you can put onto a tape and play to yourself as you practise your relaxation or your slow breath. Please think of the words used only as a suggestion, not as an attempt to state any absolute truth. They are a means to enable you to open to your own wonderful potential. Read it slowly so it plays in that way.
Exercise Eleven: The Lucidity Script
Imagine standing by an immense and beautiful ocean. Create a feeling or an image of this ocean. This is not an ocean of water, but an ocean of life and consciousness. This ocean pervades all space, enters into all things, and is the source of your own awareness. You emerged from it at birth and began the journey of this life with a sense of separateness. But now you are ready and strong enough to accept your part in that ocean and open more fully to what it can offer you. Ask help from it on your journey of further growth — of widening awareness. As you ask this you are allowing the protective layers of yourself to melt sufficiently for you to become more aware of this ocean of life from which you emerged. (1017 words)
Are there dangers in spreading your wings?
There are dangers in virtually everything we do in our everyday life. People die from normal activities such as driving a car, eating out and the electricity in their home. We take it for granted that knowing and avoiding such dangers is a regular part of life. So it is good to look at the possible dangers of crossing the frontier into wider awareness and transformation.
Years ago a young man talked to me about developing his intuition. He was going to use a crystal ball to do this. I discovered he was convinced pictures and scenes actually appeared in the ball, rather than it being a focus for his mental imagery. That lack of understanding could put him in a dangerous relationship with his own imagination and imagery. He would not arrive at a balanced evaluation of what he was experiencing.
The danger of this lack of understanding applies to lucidity also. You are dealing with powerful mental, emotional and spiritual processes. It is important to understand what the dream process is capable of and what it does. Remember, a dream is a full surround virtual reality activating all your senses and abilities. When you are in it, it is just as real to you as the physical world. But there is a huge difference. The environment, people, animals and objects are all projections. In the film Matrix, the hero is at one point put into a lucid virtual reality called 'the construct'. He cannot understand what is happening to him, and his guide says, "What you see now is what we call residual self image. It is a mental projection…." Your dream is exactly that, an amazing moving and living projection in which you act and interact with YOURSELF. There is, in the widest or cosmic sense, nothing else. The dream process transforms your emotions, your beliefs and hopes, your fears and traumas, your intuitions and creative visions, into people, environments, animals and events. Understanding that is vital.
The second danger is avoidance. Because everything you meet is an aspect of yourself – either your small or cosmic self – any avoidance of a frightening dream figure, a difficult environment is an avoidance of yourself. The figures and environments are created out of your own mental, emotional and sexual energy. Avoiding them means losing portions of your potential and your physical and emotional energy. I know this as a vital personal truth. At one time I suffered what is now called ME. I was so tired I barely wanted to stand up. As I reclaimed my dream figures the tiredness disappeared.
Your dream characters and animals are intelligent and purposeful. They have a semi independent life within you until you integrate them. You create them unconsciously using your energy, positive feelings and motivations. Avoiding them leads to the loss of your full potential and health. I am not suggesting you immediately meet and integrate all your many aspects. That takes time, courage and a form of strength that only grows as you mature in this new environment. What is important is to remember your goals – integration and wholeness – growth into a new level of ability and maturity, a new connection with others and yourself. You do this by claiming and loving all that you are.
The third danger is the lack of understanding about your own growing abilities. In crossing the frontier into your fuller life, you have opened a gate wider than you have in the past. Usually only a few dreams and feelings have been allowed through into waking life, and for some people not even dreams have emerged. So it is important to remember that the world of lucidity can sometimes emerge into waking life if it is important enough. Sometimes there is an urge from within that needs to be known. This breaks through in the form of a waking dream. That sounds easy, but remember that a dream creates a full surround virtual reality. When the breakthrough occurs you see people, perhaps hear a voice talking to you, or see an animal that is not physically present. If you do not understand the process you may develop crazy anxious ideas and feelings about it. So take this in and make it something you understand. A vision, a hallucination, is the dream process occurring while you are awake. It is not a sign of madness, but an indication that you are now able to access your intuition and unconscious senses more capably.
The fourth danger is in not knowing your territory. This is not a big danger, but it can be disturbing if you are suddenly in an environment you have no understanding or concept of. So recognise that there are five major levels of consciousness, each producing very different ways of experiencing yourself.
- The first is waking consciousness. The attributes of this are focussed awareness through the physical senses. Limited perception of and ability to change your surroundings. Ability to reason deductively and inductively. Critical observation.
- Dreaming. This, without lucidity, loses the ability to reason and critically evaluate situations. In it you are immersed in a world of your own creation that is infinitely variable and easily open to change. You unconsciously create an apparent reality expressed as dream images and drama.
- An environment beyond the images of dreams in which you directly observe the forces of mind and body that create the dream imagery. Usually to enter this you need to be lucid, otherwise it expresses as dream imagery. Here you can directly work with the bodymind processes.
- Dreamless sleep – usually experienced as unconsciousness. If entered lucidly it becomes an infinite ocean of awareness in which you are an integral part of the cosmos and all that exists in it. Here there is the possibility of gaining insight into how your present personality was formed out of this ocean of possibilities and collective experience.
- Totality. In some cultures called enlightenment or liberation. In this phase you are both the ocean of consciousness and also the individual waking awareness at the same moment.
What near death and out of body experiences tell us about the world of lucidity
When I was eighteen and living in German, I was woken from sleep one summer evening by a sensation of rushing upward in darkness and a release from pressure. When I could see, I was looking down on my sleeping body and experienced terror because something was happening to me I had no explanation for. Then suddenly I realised I had read that some people experience leaving their sleeping body. That is what was happening to me. I had left my body behind and was still conscious and independent of it. The terror disappeared and I found myself curled up with my arms around my knees, flying over the countryside, still light because of the summer evening. But suddenly I was in my home in London, standing behind our couch. I felt more awake than I had ever been before in my life, was amazed at what was happening. I seemed as solid as ever, despite having no physical body. My mother was sitting knitting, alone except for our Alsatian dog asleep in front of the gas fire. I was so excited I called to my mother, "Look what's happening mum." She paused for a moment but carried on knitting. This puzzled me as I seemed completely solid and real to myself and couldn't understand why she couldn't see me. So I shouted to attract her attention. She carried on knitting, but as I shouted the dog heard me, awoke and came bounding to me, barking and howling to see me. I later found out my mother had been alone that evening, and the dog had suddenly rushed to the back of the settee barking and howling.
Dr Melvyn Morse specialises in the care of young children. Katie, a young girl, had been found floating face down in a YMCA swimming pool was brought to Dr Morse apparently dead. A CAT scan revealed that her brain was abnormally swollen. If not dead, she was certainly in a deep coma, and was placed o a machine that breathed for her.
In his book Closer to the Light, Dr. Morse describes how Katie made a full recovery, and because he had to find out how Katie came to be face down in a swimming pool, Dr Morse had to interview her. To his amazement Katie described the operating theatre in which she had been placed while in coma. She also described the other people who were working on her and what they did. While this was happening she told Dr Morse that she knew what was going on in her family home and could described in detail what her brothers and sisters were doing. In fact it seemed as if she existed in a different state of time and space.
Dr. Morse went on to investigate hundreds of such experiences. He did this as a long term study, and also followed up on the children he had investigated and recorded their experience of out of body awareness during their apparent death. Of course, many authorities try to explain such experiences away if they have not experienced it themselves. But Dr. Morse examined the possibilities of drugs influencing the brain, and other possibilities and found these did not apply. Again and again, people could witness and report actual happenings around them while they were apparently unconscious or without a heartbeat.
His long term finding discovered that all of the children who had an NDE show an absence of any drug use. They have little rebellion against authority, and showed a keenness to learn and be active in the world. Their maturity and wisdom was marked, and they each claimed that during their NDE they had learned profound lessons about how to live and the meaning of their life.
Because we often believe that what we see in the physical world is an ultimate truth, we hold the concept that distance takes time to cover, and that our body is the very foundation of who and what we are. Many people do not believe that there is anything to learn from within them. The hold the view that there is only one reality and that is the physical world and all it offers. They believe this despite the fact that consciousness is an extraordinary miracle, and imagination a profound argument against all being in the exterior world. Such ideas have given rise to mistaken views of the world that we enter in lucidity. As can be seen from my own and Katie's experience, when released from the domination of her five physical senses she had a completely different relationship with time, space and her environment.
This points to an astounding possibility – beyond the limitations of the world we know through our five senses, our mind or core consciousness can move around and live in a world not limited by time and space, or the needs of the body. In this world of experience within us lie enormous resources of information that are deeply relevant to who you are. From it you can gather insights that clarify the most important lessons you face in this life, and your greatest talents and best direction.
Some aspects of modern physics suggest that at a fundamental level the separate parts and units of the universe are totally and immediately connected beyond distance or time. If we add awareness to this, it is saying that consciousness fills the entire universe beyond the limitations of space and time. It also suggests to us there are possibilities open to us beyond our imagination – if we reach out for them! Near death experiences, out of body experiences, and lucidity, give us entrance into that world of timeless and spaceless existence.
I am not asking you to take that in and believe it all at once. Just hold it lightly like a beautiful flower, and perhaps discover it for yourself as you explore lucidity. (985 words)
Will you be a prisoner of your limitations, or a traveller of wider possibilities?
Memory is a good example of how the unconscious and conscious work together, how the known and unknown meet and pass backwards and forwards. It also helps us understand how an enormous breakthrough can occur. For instance a huge mass of your experience and potential lie in you unknown. To illustrate this I am going to ask you a question the answer to which is at present still unconscious. When I ask the question notice if you can how the answer becomes conscious.
The question is – What is your present home address?
As you see, something that was not on your mind suddenly appears. Quite magical!
You could be asked questions for hours, days, and still discover more information. You might discover parts of yourself that had never before been known to you. However, what we are moving toward in lucidity is something beyond that. Supposing you are trying to remember somebody's name and you are searching your memory under the 'Bs'; while in fact the name is Jane, and you should have held in mind the letter 'J' to trigger the memory. Holding the 'B' in mind could act as a block. Certain things in you need the right trigger. This is basic in nature where plant growth and animal mating is activated by duration of light, temperature, or other triggers. While most of our personality unfolded through infancy, childhood, youth, adolescence and maturity, and this occurred spontaneously, there is another level of growth open to us as humans that has to be triggered.
As with adolescence, it isn't a case of developing it through personal effort. It is more like riding the wave as the development takes place – except that it will not usually take place until the trigger calls it into action. Also like adolescence, it is the birth of a completely different way of experiencing the world. Something new and splendid is born in us. Examples of the birth of this new level of growth are seen throughout history in outstanding men and women. But we live in special times. Many more of us are ripe for this new and wider life. As a species we have gone through enormous and almost inexplicable changes. From a mammal that had no self awareness or complex language we made the huge jump to self awareness, with its explosion of cultural and eventually technological development. But as a species we are ready for the next big change – linking the personal with the whole.
Natural processes, largely unaided by you, like a current have carried you through enormous physical and psychological changes to your present situation. Not only did you develop personal awareness, something unique in the natural world, but you also developed personal will to some extent. What the next step involves is a linking of your personal will and awareness with the natural forces that brought you this far. In fact that is the trigger – the opening of your personal will and awareness to the core life processes that cause your existence. (504 words)
Opening the Gates of Mind and Looking beyond
In 1969 I was lucky enough to spend time with the psychiatrist R. D. Laing exploring the unconscious. At the time I had an unforgettable experience of lucidity that after all these years remains a fount of inspiration and guidance. I had relaxed deeply and entered a state of lucidity in which I felt like I was falling down a very deep hole. This wasn't frightening, but reminded me of Alice in the rabbit hole. As I fell I passed through memories of things that had hurt me during my life, like the time I broke my nose. Then I hit the bottom, experiencing a womb-like feeling of great peace. I realised as I observed, that it wasn't the womb, but the very basic level of my personal awareness. But there was still a current carrying me back further, and I resisted, fearing I would lose my identity.
Then I suddenly realised there was nothing to fear. I did this every time I went to sleep – trusted myself to the bosom of the deep. So I slipped into what I have called the ocean of consciousness, and it caught me and started growing me as if from a tiny seed. I knew as this happened that it was this power that had grown me in the first place, and that there was so much more of me to discover than I presently knew. Then the immense Life spoke to me. "Come to me each day like this (in surrender) and I will grow you."
Western science has in the past painted a picture for us that suggested nature and the universe is one vast impersonal and almost mechanical process. When you travel beyond the frontier of your own personality and contact the life that gives you existence, a completely different viewpoint emerges. What you find is the mysterious love that leads a crocodile mother to carry her babies in her mouth unharmed. You discover the wonder that drives birds to fly hundreds or thousands of miles to an exact location to mate again with their dedicated partner. You meet the indescribable beauty that lies behind a flower's miracle of colour and intricacy. You meet the creative impulse of the universe that has woven your being throughout eternity.
Within the meeting between yourself and Life lie all the other possibilities – the healing of your ills; the finding of a meaningful place in society and the world; the solving of problems; the discovery of creativity; peace. If any of that seems abstract, take a few moments to look at yourself. If you feel you are not totally connected with the processes of nature and this planet, consider this:
- You are a river. Water flows through you all the time. Without water you would not exist.
- You are the wind. Air flows through you all the time. Without air you would not and could not exist.
- You are the earth. The body of the earth flows through you in the form of food. Without substance you could not exist.
You are totally and inextricable a part of the wind and the rivers and the earth. Lucidity is a growing awareness of that. Lucidity is a greater awareness of the part you play in the scheme of things, and the personal attitudes, pains and conflicts that stand in the way.
All the previous exercises and techniques have been ways of gradually looking beyond the limitations of your physical senses and exploring the frontiers of a new level of awareness. There is no reason you should not continue in that way and be an explorer. At this point though, if you wish you can choose to take the first steps in becoming a new being. You can choose to open to the process of life at your core and become a co-worker with Life.
If you wish to open to that new influx of growth, take the following steps:
Exercise Eleven – Opening to Your Core
- Take time to clarify what you feel is at the core of your existence. You are not being asked if you believe in God. No such belief is necessary. If there is a God you will find it at your core without any belief, just as you know the wind on your face without having to believe in it. What you are being asked is if you brought about your own existence, and if you completely know who and what you are. If you do know, then you need read no further. If you are uncertain and believe that you are probably a mass of chemical, biological or energetic responses, ask yourself again if you know deep down that you have the final answer. If you admit that you do not know for certain, you can take the next step.
- The state of not knowing is important. It frees you of preconceived or rigid ideas and opinions that might stand in the way – so this step requires no belief. What it does require is a sense that there is something you do not understand that brings you into being. Take time to develop this condition of not knowing.
- When you feel the open condition active in you, state in some way that is an expression of this pivotal moment in your life, that you want the unknown mystery at your core to emerge more fully into your experience. A suggested statement is: "I come with all my being held open to the action of the mystery that is my core self."
Considering that in the environment of dreams, and therefore of lucidity, you experience a world you create out of your own beliefs, ideas and attitudes, it is fundamental that until you learn to become empty, all you will experience is what you already hold to be true and believe or are frightened of. Learning the condition of openness or 'unknowing' allows the birth of a new level of your own growth. Use it each day. (1002 words)


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In addition to researching on their individual projects and receiving training related to research, the MUSIQ Early Stage Researchers (ERSs) are trained on transferable skills that are of fundamental importance for their careers. During the 5th MUSIQ week hosted by GSK in Stevenage, UK in May 2022, our partner organisation, Science Made Simple organised a two day training on communicating science to the wider public.
The objective of this training was to equip the ESRs with the required skills to develop and deliver suitable content for a public event. The course focused on training the ESRs on understanding your audience, developing engaging content and presenting on camera.
Using the skills Science Made Simple taught them, the ESRs each recorded a Science Slam, a 2-3 minute pitch video on their research topic as an educational and outreach resource for a variety of end-users. The videos are available on the MUSIQ YouTube channel and on the MUSIQ website. We would like to thank the ESRs for creating these informative videos and Science Made Simple for their training.


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A new tool and dashboard to more effectively manage route-delivery drivers has been released by supply-chain consulting and labor management firm TZA. The ProTrack Drivers Labor Management system and the ProTrack Dashboard interactive console were announced at the 2010 Distribution Solutions Conference in Tampa, FL. The solutions are designed to support operations serving the food and beverage, grocery, automotive parts and retail industries.
ProTrack Drivers integrates with any route optimization platform, TZA said. It calculates delivery times for each customer location along the route based on multiple work variables and parameters encountered by drivers at stops along the way. Delivery times calculated by the system are returned to the user's routing system from more effective route optimization, resulting in a 10-15% reduction in average miles per stop, the company said.
Drivers makes comparisons of actual times required for deliveries at each stop and travel times, against a calculated expected time. The application also interfaces with any time and attendance system to account for all paid hours within an operation.
"Given today's driver shortages, high fuel prices and increasing customer demands, the delivery performance of individual route drivers at each stop is a critical factor for companies seeking to reduce costs," said Paul Schweet, senior vp of sales and marketing for TZA.
The ProTrack Dashboard, first introduced in June, will work with the Drivers system to provide key performance indicators and data points relevant to driver performance. For managers, the Dashboard provides a feature-rich and intuitive labor management tool to give interactive, drill-down capability, 3-D visualization, data filtering and animations, said TZA.
"For too long, transportation departments have relied on data-intensive paper summaries gleaned from multiple sources," Schweet said. "These firms lacked a valuable tool – an easy means to collect and analyze daily, weekly and monthly KPIs of route drivers."
For employees, he added, ProTrack Dashboard offers a tool enabling managers to sit down with route drivers and use illustrations to graphically show the employee their path to any needed workplace improvements or a means to earn performance-based incentives.


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49ers Announce Roster Moves
The San Francisco 49ers today announced they have tendered one-year contracts to restricted free agents WR Kendrick Bourne and RB Matt Breida.
In 2019, Bourne (6-1, 190) appeared in all 16 regular season games and registered 30 receptions for 358 yards and a career-high five touchdown receptions. He also saw action in the team's three postseason contests where he added six receptions for 88 yards and one touchdown. Breida (5-11, 195) appeared in 13 games (five starts) in 2019 and registered 123 carries for 623 yards and one touchdown while adding 20 receptions for 120 yards and one touchdown. He also appeared in three postseason contests (one start) and registered nine carries for 19 yards.


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Christmas Flowers in Brookings
At Flowers On Main, we have a wide selection of festive Christmas flower arrangements that are sure to be loved by anyone on your list. Browse our selection and order Christmas flower bouquets and centerpieces for same-day delivery in Brookings, SD this holiday season.
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Different needs of people have created a market for different storage systems. The options can sometimes be overwhelming and confusing as well, especially if you are new to it.
If you are looking for specific options to store your belongings, this article has most of your concerns covered. At trustworthy sites, you can learn more about how top services cater to their customer's storage needs. Whether you are looking for self-storage, warehousing or any other kind of stowing facilities, consider selecting only top services for a good experience.
Identify your needs
The first step to finding the best stowing facility for your needs is to first make a checklist of everything you want to pack away. This will enable you to figure out a suitable stowing facility.
Both containers as well as self-stowing services are great options, but one may suit your needs better than the other. We've highlighted both the facilities and sketched out some differences between the systems to enable our readers to make a comprehensive decision on which one to choose.
The container storage
Having derived its identity from the shipping containers that one could rent and store goods in, the box packaging facility hasn't changed much. Usually, a great system for outdoor stowing, you can rent containers of any shapes and sizes. These are mostly placed in remote locations such as gated compounds and warehouses.
With negligible or no overheads to be taken into consideration, the cost of renting the container storage facility is cheap. Also, accessibility to the chosen site is likely to be less restricted as compared to a self-storage unit. In the case of the latter facility, especially those equipped with additional features such as climate control and on-site staff may have heightened security.
What to expect from box stowage providers?
If you've opted for organized box stowing services, here are the amenities to look for.
- Boxes from the provider
- Provisions for bubble wrap too for secure packing and storage
- You can expect the provider to collect the boxes and transport them to the location
- Some companies may also make arrangements to return any item you want the following day. Yes, you may have to contact the provider and request them for delivery.
How much does it cost?
Typically, most container stowing providers tend to fix a rate per box. You can check with your provider if they include both for picking and returning a cost or for individual services. If you are planning to retrieve your containers more often, it may cost you more. On the other hand, storing for a longer duration may cost you just the storing charges and no extras.
Benefits of container loading
Among some of the top advantages of hiring a box storage service will be the convenience of transporting your belongings. Neither will you have to carry any box nor organize their return as the hired agency will be collect and well as make provisions for return as requested.
The second benefit is that of price. With the cost of storage calculated per container, you can choose a small or big box as required to stack your belongings. However, that said, there are a few factors to be aware of when opting for the box storage services.
- The items that you seal and sent for stowing won't be visible to you.
- Although the company may enable CCTV monitoring you may not have the advantage of an additional security staff guarding the area where the boxes are stacked.
- It may get difficult to access or call back your belongings as it will cost you to recall the stored items.
Self-storage and its pros
Distinct from box stowing, self-storage allows users to locate a specific stowing location, like the various self storage units St George has to offer.
You can select a size that fits your belongings and carry these to the unit. Your belongings can be packed and stored in the chosen unit for as long as you rent the place. Such units are easily accessible.
So, you can personally walk up to the facility unit, add or remove anything you wish to. Unlike the box stowing amenity, here you will be paying for the unit which is likely to be calculated per square foot.
You can expect most self-stacking units to have a basic security protocol to monitor the stored goods. CCTV is common. Also, the entrance to such units is equipped with padlocked doors. You will spot an on-site security staff outside the unit. Popular providers can cater to customized needs. Hence, you can hire a space that befits your requirements.
From a locker unit to big garage space, you can check-in your belongings to units that are fully regulated. You can opt for the climate-controlled facility that ensures better stowing conditions for your possessions.
Pros of self-storage
Self-storage enables more flexibility. Yes, with open access to your belongings, you can freely add or take anything from your stored possessions as and when you like. Of course, you can choose a unit size that you need but even better is that you can stack away your things into a bigger facility if you feel the need.
Moreover, you can hire self-storage units for less than a week to as long as you want, thus allowing for convenience depending on your requirements. For instance, if you are moving an office or house, you can simply hire one of these services to house your things in a self-stowing unit and access the unit to either take out or dump more as needed. Check out ideas on how to store your goods at https://www.wikihow.com/Use-Self-Storage-Facilities
A drawback of this facility is that you will have to arrange for transportation of your possessions to the hired unit on your own. There are many such services available such as a van hire service, but then it will your onus to stack or collect from the unit.
Regardless of the unit that you choose to stack away your possessions, don't forget to ensure security and the locking mechanisms. With a safe that's well secured, you can be sure that your items won't be misplaced or stolen. A good market survey can help you locate a reliable service provider for your storage needs.
Image Credits: Jonas Junk