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One Down, Three to Go
In response to the recent explosion of new projects that has occured in my craft room, I have signed on with the semi-annual Character Building Exercise (CBE) with the Knit & Chat crew. I committed to finishing the four projects noted in my sidebar before buying more yarn, needles, or patterns (unless the supplies are needed to finish the stated projects). I also solemnly swear not to start any new projects until all four old projects are off the needles.
This promise is already proving difficult. On my drive to work this morning, I found myself wondering if some Cherry Tree Hill yarn I have would work for Clapotis. This is, of course, a direct result of attending a gathering of knitters where two separate samples of the design were in work. The good news is that I have now finished one of the four projects! The Kid Poncho is finished! I have to say, what was I thinking? Boucle and Fun Fur, oh, my! The end result is actually pretty cute. It did take more Fun Fur than the pattern stated (I used 1 1/2 balls). It probably could have stood a thinner fringe, but you really can't have too much fluff on a little girl's poncho, can you?
Just before embarking on the CBE, I cast on for Tivoli. At 25 rounds, this is still fun. I'm just about ready to shape the armholes, so I may not be so happy by tomorrow. I had fun knitting around and around while chatting with the gang last night. It was fun to see no fewer than four socks in work. Last week, my sock was so lonely that it didn't want to come again! Maybe mine will have a mate by next week. All of my knitting was sad to say goodbye to CBear. Her parting gift to me was the source code for the progress bars. I am so happy with the bars, but will miss her wit at Starbucks. I wish her all the best on her move to Iowa. Don't be a stranger, okay?
Thursday, July 21, 2005
1 comment:
- Lauren Dane said...
I'm trying to think of a way to get you to believe it is imperative to make me something beautiful. I'm devious, I'm sure I'll work it out soon.
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About Ironwood Construction Company
Dan has been active in the construction industry for over 40 years. Prior to moving to Northern Michigan in 2001 he owned and operated a design/build general contracting company in the Detroit area - constructing primarily commercial and industrial projects. He has been a licensed residential builder for over 35 years.
Serenity has worked with Ironwood Construction since its founding in 2002. She is a part-owner of Ironwood Construction Company, a graduate of Lake Superior State University and has worked in the accounting field since 1999. Serenity is the office manager and handles marketing and accounting needs along with job costing and contract preparation. Serenity is also a licensed real estate salesperson.

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Tami Simon's in-depth audio podcast interviews with leading spiritual teachers and luminaries.
Listen in as they explore their latest challenges and breakthroughs—the leading edge of their work.
The Spiritual Dimension of Reality, Part 1
As a nuclear physicist and former university professor, Claude Poncelet may seem an unlikely choice to be one of the world's foremost authorities on shamanic practice. Yet, Claude has taught shamanic spirituality worldwide for more than 25 years, and has recently written the book The Shaman Within: A Physicist's Guide to the Deeper Dimensions of Your Life, the Universe, and Everything. In this episode, Tami and Claude discuss the innate sentience of all matter, the points where science and shamanism converge, and the practical benefits of a leading a shamanic life in the modern world. They also speak on the shamanic art of shape-shifting, both as a spiritual practice and a path to physical healing. (73 minutes)
The Spiritual Dimension of Reality, Part 1
Tuesday, July 15, 2014
Tami Simon: You're listening to Insights at the Edge. Today, my guest is Claude Poncelet. Claude is a physicist specializing in nuclear physics, astrophysics, and cosmology, who taught at the university level. Claude Poncelet is involved in many environmental initiatives and served as chief staff liaison on President Clinton's Council on Sustainable Development. He has taught shamanism in Europe and North America for more than 25 years along with his wife, Noelle.
With Sounds True, Claude has written a new book called The Shaman Within: A Physicist's Guide to the Deeper Dimensions of Your Life, the Universe, and Everything. In The Shaman Within, Claude invites the reader to discover the 21st-century evolution of shamanic practice—one that will delight, empower, and open eyes to new dimensions of our strange and marvelous universe.
In this episode of Insights at the Edge, Claude and I spoke about [what "sentience" means] and how the matter of sentient beings is also sentient. We talked about the interconnectedness of life as seen through the eyes of a physicist—and also seen through shamanic vision. We also talked about Claude's practice of shape-shifting—a practice that he's been doing for more than 20 years—and how now, at age 77, Claude is working with shape-shifting as he faces and deals with a life-threatening diagnosis [of metastasized lung cancer] that he recently received.
Here's a quite provocative and moving conversation with Claude Poncelet: Claude, in your new book, The Shaman Within, you make a really strong statement. To begin with, I'd love to talk with you about that. Here's the statement: "Everything that has form in this world has a spiritual dimension."
So, I'd love to start by talking about that. Meaning, in the book you talk about how there's such a thing as "the spirit of a house" or "the spirit of a car" or "the spirit of my computer." So, help me understand that.
Claude Poncelet: In my experience, if I may—my lifelong experience of living in the world, experiencing the world, and through my shamanic practice—I have come to understand that Reality—and I would use a capital "R"—is larger than just the physical world that we see around us. That it does include what I call a "spiritual dimension."
So, in addition to what in science we would call "the physical dimensions" of space, time, energy, [and] matter, there is a spiritual dimension. This is the dimension of the world that all spiritual traditions try to access.
Shamanic practitioners or shamans—over time—have put a lot of emphasis on the spiritual aspects [and] spiritual dimensions of nature. The trees, the rocks, the animals, the elements of water, air, fire, the earth. They have spiritual dimension—what in our terminology we would call the spirits of these nature entities.
Everything else that we as a human species have constructed through our technologies—whether it's a house or whether it's a computer or car or phone [or] a pair of shoes—is made of earth materials. It's made of made of earth-stuff. It has a spiritual dimension itself. It has taken a new form physically, which nature does all the time. We, as part of nature, have given a new form to something—made it into a car, for example.
So, there is a spiritual dimension to a car. To the extent that we can recognize that spiritual dimension of everyday items that we use, this [totally] changes the way we use these technologies, the way we approach them, [and] the way we live in this world.
TS: You know, for whatever reason, I easily accept the idea that there's a spiritual dimension to a sentient form like a tree—like you said, rocks, et cetera. But when it comes to thinking that there's a spiritual dimension to my iPhone, what I notice is I think, "What is that? How do I contact that? What does that mean?" I'm in disbelief.
CP: That disbelief, Tami, is to me something that's welcome, because it's a natural first reaction to all of this. I've had that experience myself. There is nothing, really, that I can say mentally or intellectually that can change that disbelief directly. One really needs to experience that sacred aspect—that spiritual aspect—of even, let's say, a cell phone.
The shamanic journey—particularly that one where we learn how to change our states of consciousness to enter that spiritual dimension—to make contact with that spiritual dimension—allows us to make contact with the spiritual dimension of our phone in the same way as we would make contact with the spiritual dimension of a tree. It is that experience, I think, [that] then tells us, "Yes, this is the way the world is. This is the way Reality is."
Again, when we say "sentient beings," for me trees are sentient and—as you mention—rocks are also sentient. For me, the matter from which these are made is sentient. The particles. The atoms. Science is actually going in that direction, showing that elementary particles actually compute—that elementary particles process information. So, science is getting to also realizing that sentience or intelligence goes much farther than what I would say has been our more limited view.
When we bring together matter that comes from rocks, that comes from trees, that comes from water, that comes from other parts of the earth [coming] together to create a new entity or new form (a cell phone), there is sentience. There is a spiritual dimension there.
You need to experience it. It's a fairly simple process to do. I think all of us have that capability. This is why I call my book The Shaman Within. We all have within us—that's part of the human condition—this capability of not only becoming aware of that spiritual dimension in every form in the world, but also of actually contacting, connecting [with], [and] having a relationship with that spiritual dimension.
TS: So, Claude, I want to take this a little further—because I notice as you're talking, it's asking me to change the way I perceive the world. Meaning, I historically have perceived the world as, you know, this rug is kind of not sentient and the engineer in the other room is. By you talking about the elementary particles being somehow alive and sentient, I'm realizing that maybe I need to think about the rug differently.
CP: I think we do. It's important also to realize that this—call it intelligence or sentience of different forms on this planet Earth, whether it be human beings, a tree, a tiger, a cup of water, or a rug—is of a different nature. In other words, the sentience of a rug is essentially different from that of a tree. And yet, it is there. There is—and I like to put the emphasis here more on the sacred than just on any form of intelligence or ability to communicate in this ordinary world, which is usually what people think about having [sentience].
The spiritual aspect of every form, including a rug, makes it that it is sacred. It is part of the divine whole. [This] is, after all, what most spiritual traditions tell us—that everything is connected. It's interesting that in certain spiritual traditions, certain rugs [that] have been given some special ritual are considered sacred. I think that we can do the same with the everyday items that we live with.
TS: Now, you mentioned that it might not be that difficult for someone who's interested to use this form of the shamanic journey and contact the spiritual dimension of—it sounds like—anything, really. Absolutely anything. So, I'm wondering if you could talk to us a little bit about how to do that.
CP: Let me say that kind of the key to make that connection with the [sacredness] of other forms with the spiritual dimension—let's call it "with the spirit"—of an object, an animal, or of an element is through intention. It is with the intention—which is not the same as will. Intention is really being very clear in our essence, in our mind, in our body. Our intention is to connect with the spirit of—let us say—my cell phone.
One can enter into a silent, meditative state and be open. There is no effort [demanded] here. Very often, we try to make an effort to communicate with the spiritual dimension. The effort is actually an obstruction or a barrier. It is better to put out the intention—to trust in our ability to do that and to feel the connection, to feel the presence of that spiritual dimension.
What happens there is that it is our own spiritual dimension—we, as a member of the human species. People may call it "the soul" or "divine essence" or "true nature." I call it "the authentic being." It is that true essence [that] is connecting with the true essence of the spirit of that object—of that cell phone.
Again, when we are in that state of pure intention and meditation (we can call it an altered state of consciousness or the shamanic state of consciousness), we find ourselves in the awareness of interconnectedness—that everything is interconnected. This is a basic principle of shamanism and of many spiritual traditions, as you know. As we are moving into that state of interconnectedness, naturally we are connecting from our own spiritual dimension to the spiritual dimension of the object. We recognize it. We feel it. We may see it. It may show up through our mental mind as an image. Or we can hear a message from it through the auditory [system]; or could be as a kinesthetic feeling. People have different ways—all of the above.
It's a knowing and a contact. A communication can be established.
TS: I'd be curious to know if you could give us an example of how you made contact in your practice with the spirit of an object of some kind, and what that was like.
CP: I do that on a regular basis. I think every day I probably do that dozens of times. Whenever I get into my car, I connect with the spirit of the car—its spiritual dimension. I thank it for driving around. I ask it to keep me safe.
I do that with my computer. Whenever I open my computer, I establish a relationship with the spirit of my computer so that I when I connect with it, it shows itself. In my mind, I'm very visual and auditory. And so, I actually see it with my eyes closed in a certain form. That form can change. The form in which I see it is a method by itself of communication.
I do get guidance. You always have to ask. I ask my computer to provide me guidance as I am working on a certain topic. I do get guidance. Suddenly my computer will remind me, "You need to Skype your sister in Belgium. She's waiting for you to communicate with her." I hear these messages.
To give you another example, I have been communicating with the spirit of my book, ever since I started working on the book—knowing that it was slowly taking a form. I could see the image of the spirit of the book evolving over time. It's been a constant companion for me. I have learned a great deal. That's why—for me—I don't feel [like] the sole author of this book. I feel that this has been a collaboration.
I suspect that many authors—and I know this is the case for many scientists—have that kind of relationship with the work they're doing, which goes much further than the ordinary, physical reality relationship. They may not be fully conscious or aware of it, but they have inklings about it. A lot of people who have written about their work talk about those kinds of relationships with the objects they're working with.
TS: Yes. When I hear you talking about having a sense of connection to your car, thanking your car, and asking your car to protect you as you drive around, I'm both impressed by living in such a sacred way—and what that would be like to be so grateful and connected to everything in my life.
But I also imagine the listener thinking to themselves, "I don't know. I think this guy might be a little cracked," or something like that. I know it's a little harsh to put it that way. "He's a scientist? How can someone who's a scientist be saying this?
"I mean, I understand Sounds True authors who—you know, people, whatever—[are] in love with their imagination or who knows what. They're artists. They've taken a lot of hallucinogens. But this guy is a nuclear physicist! How can he be saying these things?"
CP: And that's a question I've heard before. From—
TS: I imagine!
CP: —people and students of mine. And friends and relatives. It's a very good question. The first thing I want to say is that my training and practice as a physicist has really been a major help in my probing, discovering, and ultimately adapting the shamanic practice—or generally, a spiritual practice—and understanding more about the world.
Let me explain this a bit. The scientific training I received—which is what all scientists receive, some of them with better teachers than others. I am thankful to the good teachers I received. It instilled in me an excitement about exploring and understanding the world we live in. This instilled for me—even in my age—this is something that excites me about science. Discovering how this beautiful world of ours works.
This exploration, to me, led me also to take notice of the various unusual experiences I've had over my life—which I think every one of us do. Things that we might call just pure coincidences, or déjà vu, or things that we don't understand. They're like special connections with our world—different spiritual happenings [for] us. For me, I wanted to explore those too. This was part of my scientific training and excitement, if you wish.
Many of these experiences—call them shamanic or non-ordinary experiences, including that of connecting with spiritual dimensions of matter—were things I could not explain with the science I had been taught. The science I had been taught cannot explain those. I understood that there was another dimension to reality—as I've mentioned—which science has no access to, but which spiritual traditions explore and have access to.
The shamanic tradition and other spiritual traditions, [as well as] science, are both exploring the same world, the same reality. They both are looking through different windows into this bigger reality. So, science cannot explain the spiritual experience, and spirituality or shamanism cannot explain what the world is like from a physical point of view. But because both shamanism and science—or spirituality and science—are looking at the same overall reality, there has to be consistency—what I call "consistencies and synchronicities" between science and shamanic knowledge.
And indeed, there [are]. For me, that has been an exciting exploration. Particularly in the field of physics and quantum physics and cosmology and, even now, in neurosciences. The theory of complexities and chaos theory—we are finding that science is explaining the world using concepts that are more and more similar to what the shamanic and other spiritual traditions have been talking about, sometimes for thousands of years. So, there is a coming-together, which I think is to be expected.
Now, my scientific skepticism has also been very helpful to me. I think skepticism is something that I value a great deal and I wish—to be very honest—that sometimes some of my shamanic students would have a little bit more of [it].
In other words, skepticism is where you really go inside and you really ask yourself, "Is this for real or am I making this up? Is this my ego or my narcissism that wants to experience certain things and the things that [are] experienced?" It is a question that [is] important for us to ask. They're the same kind of questions we ask in science when we're skeptical about experiments that are taking place—where we want to have other people verify those. It's the same kind of skepticism that we need to use in our shamanic or spiritual tradition.
TS: Now, you talked, Claude, about there being "consistencies and synchronicities" between the viewpoints of science and shamanism. Have you seen any inconsistencies? Things that [are] just like, "No way, these things just don't go together." They contradict each other.
CP: I have not. There are, certainly, a number of scientists who are very skeptical or unbelieving of the existence of another dimension—of a spiritual dimension. [They] would try to come up with theories that would explain those. And sometimes, you might see some contradiction there. But this is more on the theoretical level.
I really have not seen inconsistencies. What there are—there are certain, as I say, physical phenomena. Most physical phenomena cannot be explained by a spiritual tradition, and vice versa. They are two different aspects of this same reality.
By "consistency," I mean that—let me first put it this way: There would be an inconsistency, for example, if science were to show that everything in this physical world of ours is separate. None of it is connected to one another. There is total disconnection; there is total separation. If this was the case, it would be inconsistent with what spiritual traditions and the shamanic tradition tell us—that everything is interconnected in to a greater whole.
Several centuries ago, there was a great deal of philosophical, scientific thinking [and] also experiments that would show that, indeed, the world was more of a [mechanistic] world that was working through separate parts that were not connected to one another. Modern science—again, particularly the physical sciences, but now even of course in ecology, in cosmology, and (as I said) in neurosciences—is showing now that everything is interconnected. Quantum physics has really shown that every single particle in this immense universe is connected with every other particle in the universe.
Now, that is a powerful statement of interconnectedness—and one that I think, at least to me, has almost more impact than learning that from a spiritual sage—that everything is interconnected.
To me, it's normal that there would be this consistency. So no, I have not and I don't expect to find inconsistencies. Of course, if there were, then I would just have to admit that I have more to learn.
TS: It's interesting that you're talking about the interconnectedness of all life, because one of the really interesting sections of the new book, The Shaman Within, was a chapter on shape-shifting. [In it], you talked about how shape-shifting has been central to your practice of shamanism and how, in understanding shape-shifting, this appreciation of interconnectedness is one of the ways we can have some insight into how it might be possible.
So, I wonder if you could explain to us a little bit about what shape-shifting is and how you got into it.
CP: Yes. And I like the question, because it's always been—even for myself—kind of an amazement that, along with my passion to adopt the ancient shamanic tradition to our modern, technological world—which I think is a very important step we need to take. I was led by my spirit guides—by what I've heard from the spiritual dimension I connect with, was that I needed to go back and inform myself and start practicing in depth what is very, very ancient, traditional, and one could even say esoteric shamanic practice—which is that of shape-shifting. That is, transforming my own form—and this starting from the energetic form to the psychic form [and] ultimately to the physical form—into another being, another form of this Earth.
This is something that has been a—
TS: This sounds pretty sci-fi to me!
CP: It is! And it has, to me. It is true. It has [now] been a good 20, 25 years that I have practiced the shape-shifting. I really understood why I was led to—even as a scientist—to study that. As I learned the practices of shape-shifting—and I've been teaching this to many people. And actually undergoing some aspects of shape-shifting into other beings. Animals, trees, or rocks. Water and whatnot.
My scientific mind, of course, always led me with skepticism in two ways. They said, "How could this be possible?" They say, "This really looks like total science fiction."
And yet, my experience in practicing shape-shifting was such that I could not deny it. I could not deny the experiences I had of starting to shape-shift, say, to a tree. To deny that experience would have been unscientific for me, because this was an experience of the world for me. I could not explain it. And yet, it happened. I could not reject it without—for me—being unscientific, even though I could not explain it.
My understanding of it, of course, was as I became more aware through my shamanic practice—my spiritual practice of this interconnectedness of everything— that I understood also scientifically about the interconnectedness of all matter and all of energy in this world. It is because of this interconnectedness that the practice of shape-shifting is feasible.
And so, I understood, then, that the practice of shape-shifting was a very powerful manifestation on the physical, emotional, mental, energetic field of this concept of interconnectedness. Too often—and sometimes I still get there—[regarding] interconnectedness, I'll say, "Oh yes. Everything is interconnected." But what does that mean, really?
In the shape-shifting practice, I've really gained an understanding of that interconnectedness, which became totally physical, became energetic, [became] emotional. Even my mind was able to grasp better what all that meant.
Now, I say in that sense the shape-shifting practice—I understood this as something that we need to perhaps reintroduce into this modern world. Which is why I included a chapter of it in my book—because of this importance, I feel, that for us humans on this planet to avoid destroying the ecology of our planet and destroying each other. We need to reawaken our awareness of this interconnectedness, which is based on the sacredness of everything.
And the shape-shifting practice is a deep way. Not everybody's path, but it's certainly a deep way to get greater insight into this interconnectedness—[which] then we can take into our everyday life.
TS: Can you explain to our listeners who are unfamiliar with shape-shifting how the practice works—maybe giving an example from your own experience?
CP: Let me take an example of shape-shifting into an animal, for example—which is maybe the easier practice to do for us, because we are an animal ourselves, as a member of the human species.
The practice takes place through an altered state of consciousness—a shamanic state of consciousness. Or a "journey state," if you wish, where you enter into contact with the spirit of that animal, [which] you will see or feel in front of you. There is a practice, which I describe in my book, where [we're using our own energy fields]—and I use the chakra models for that. We align our energy field with that of the other being—in this case, an animal.
And it's through intention that we can align the chakras. There's a way of doing this starting with the Will Chakra, which is where the intention is focused.
It's through this pure state of intention, with no effort that, in my experience and that of the many students I have taught, a first shift, transformation, or metamorphosis occurs in our own energy field. We start taking on the consciousness and the energetic awareness of the animal.
It's a very profound experience, where my vision changes. My hearing changes. I start seeing the world in a different way. I go deeper into it. Other aspects of my being—including, ultimately, bodily feelings—start changing. I can start feeling changes in my bodily structure that start mirroring what the animal's bodily structure is.
It's a very profound experience—particularly if you do this kind of shape-shifting and then go out in nature, for example. Which is something I love to do. My experience even as a partially shape-shifted form—even if I only take the energetic form of an animal or part of its awareness—my interaction with the world is totally different. My perception of it is different. I've had interactions with other animals—real animals, in this case—in a shape-shifted form, which I could never have had as a pure human species.
And I know all this sounds very strange. But yet, if we're all interconnected, of course it's possible. This can be done. The only way to know that it's possible is to experience it. I cannot convince you, Tami—or anybody else—that this is something that can be done. I have done it. And as a scientist, these are experiences [that] I have repeated probably thousands of times over those 25 years. I cannot reject those. And the same for what I've seen with students I have taught.
TS: Now, I'm with you in terms of being able to follow this sense of being able to shape-shift into an energetic experience. I think where my skepticism—and we're friends, Claude, because you said you like the healthy skeptic. But I think where my skepticism comes in is the physical aspects.
So, if someone was shape-shifting into a tiger, would they actually start—and I'm just going to say it—growing claws? That's hard for me to imagine. I can see that they would feel inside like they were. But actually physically manifesting that? I find that hard to believe.
CP: And it is hard to believe. This is a practice that is also one that is so profound—it's a deep spiritual practice—that it is not a practice that one does to show off to other people.
TS: Sure.
CP: You know? In my own case—and I know people who practice it—this is something I do privately. The total transformation of the body into the body of a tiger is something that I would hope that the spirits will let me achieve sometime during my life because I believe it's possible.
The literature—of course, both anthropological literature as well as that of explorers and others—have documented many cases of shamans in many different cultures that have had fairly total physical shape-shifting experiences. This is a tradition that we find in all cultures. I've had interactions with shamans in the Andes of Peru, in the Amazon of Ecuador, and northern Amazon—where I know they are shape-shifting. They talk about it.
So, this is—again—something that is hard to ignore. It's quite possible, even if it's a not a full bodily change. You can start, for example—and I've seen this in myself and in others—roaring like a tiger, which people would be unable to do if they were in their own human form.
What's also interesting—and I wrote on this in my book—is how other animals are very sensitive to even more subtle changes or metamorphoses of our form—particularly the energetic one. I recalled a case, for example, where [I was] backpacking in the Sierras and [saw] people on horseback coming. I was learning there about shape-shifting. [For hours,] I had been shape-shifting and trying to walk as a tiger. I didn't pay attention. And when these people on horseback came, the horses reared and almost threw their people on the ground. They had to go take a big circle around me. They could not understand what had happened.
Neither could I at first, until I realized that the horses clearly noticed the tiger essence in me. [This] has taught me how to modulate when I shape-shift—to make sure that I don't interfere with my form with other animals, or even other people who may be very sensitive to that.
TS: As a physicist, how do you understand that it's possible for physical matter to shift like that through human intention? For the physical body to shift like that? How does that make sense?
CP: That's a question that I have not resolved. I have given a lot of thought to that.
It's known that [at] both the particle level as well as the molecule levels, there can be quite a bit of transformation. Some of it can be spontaneous. Some of it—in a human body, for example—can be the result of connection with our neurons in the brain.
Now, we know—and I know in healing with a disease that I have now—that I'm working on this. Where I can actually, through my intention, help bring about some biochemical changes in my body. I think mind-body effects like this have been studied for a long time. Even though there's still a lot of doubts about it among the more mainstream medical fields, if you look at the scientific literature there's more and more understanding that we can—through our thought process, through our intention—make major modifications to the biochemistry of our brain as well as the biochemistry of other parts of our body. It certainly comes in when we use meditation, for example, to remove stress or anxiety in us. It goes through biomedical changes that occur through intention.
Now, it is possible to bring about those changes. And so, I see no reason why—in a more advanced or extreme case—we could not actually change more of the biochemistry of our entire body into something else.
TS: Now, you mentioned that you've been working with a healing challenge recently. I know, in talking with you—you called me a couple months ago, right before this new book, The Shaman Within, was scheduled to be published—and mentioned that you were actually dealing with quite a life-threatening health situation. An advanced form of lung cancer—
CP: That's why I—fairly soon after I sent you back the galley proofs of the book, I was diagnosed with Stage 4, advanced lung cancer, which was metastasized to the brain and through parts of my spinal column—through a couple of vertebrae.
[This] was a shock to me, because I don't have a family history of cancer and I don't smoke. I have what I thought was a fairly normal diet, exercise regimen, and my spiritual life.
This experience, for me—this happening—well, it has changed my life totally. I live now with this fatal illness in me. There's also been a deep spiritual experience. My shamanic practice has helped me a great deal—as well as my scientific understanding in this case—to deal as well as I could with this cancer.
One of the understandings I had immediately—partially because of my shape-shifting and my understanding of the bodily makeup of my body—was that these cancer cells in my lungs and in my brain were my own cells, and they were ill. This was not something that was coming from the outside. I was not attacked by a cancer. I was not a victim of a cancer. This was something within me.
From the start, my approach to my cancer has been one where I've really been in daily contact with my cancer cells. I express love for them. I express gratitude for what they've brought to me, for my lungs. These are cells that have helped me breathe for many, many years. I expressed gratitude. Because I've learned a great deal through this illness and having to deal with it, I thank them for all the learning that they've brought to me.
And so, I'm not fighting my cancer. I really have respect and love for my cancer cells.
What I do next, then—and I do this every day—I ask my cancer cells (after loving them and expressing gratitude) whether they would, [use] the biochemical energy of the chemo I take and the spirit of the chemo I take; and of all the different kinds of nontraditional healings and herbal supplements and other things I take; and all of the love and wonderful healing energy people are sending me. I ask them if they would transform themselves—metamorphose themselves—into something that is beautiful, then leave my body and go into the spiritual world.
So, I do that when I take my chemo. And I'm very fortunate to have a special mutation in my cancer cells that allows me to have a very advanced chemo, which is a pill I take every morning and which does not affect my immune system. So, my quality of life has remained fairly good.
And as I take that chemo pill, I do a ritual every morning with it. I have contacted the spirit of that special chemo pill, because it is made of earth-stuff itself. I work with the spirit of my chemo pill, and I do a ritual every morning. It's been very important to me—these are messages I've gotten from my lung cells, cancer cells, as well as from the spirit of the chemo—to ask that my healing also provide healing for our planet Earth, which is in much need of healing. [Also,] for other people who are suffering from cancer—particularly those in countries where they have no access to the kind of medical care I have.
So, I do this every day. It's a whole spiritual practice for me, linked to my medical treatment. To me, that is totally normal.
And my shape-shifting practice has helped me. As I practice my shape-shifting, I ask my cancer cells to shape-shift themselves again into something beautiful—something other so that they can leave my body.
So far, my tumors have shown they have disappeared from my brain. So, I will live with this the rest of my life. I know that. My intention from the start has been if there is any—if this is the time for me to go; if the spirits tell me, "Well, let it be,"—then I need to go. However, if there is the slightest opening for me to work and survive, I want to live another 20 years—which is my intention here, because I love this world.
And so, all my practices of working with the spirits—the sacred aspect, the spiritual dimension of everything around the world—has been very helpful and important for me in working with the traditional medical and nontraditional medical treatments in my own cancer.
TS: I notice I feel very moved hearing you talk about your approach. I mean, I've heard so many people talk about wanting to eliminate their cancer cells—like, playing some kind of Pac-Man game or something like that. Get them out of here! Get them gobbled up and gone. Your approach seems so different to me.
CP: You know, I've had even very close family members and relatives who at first would tell me, "Oh Claude, I know you'll win this war against this cancer. I know you can fight it to death, and you're going to win." And I always had to go back and say, "This is not a fight. I don't want to fight. I don't want a war. There's enough fighting and enough war on this world. I want to love, to respect—to work in cooperation."
To me, it makes a lot of sense. I don't want to take any special credit for this. From the start, it made a lot of sense to do it that way. They are myself, [after all], and I love myself. I love my body. I love this world. I'm very thankful to my body for having permitted me to live so long and benefitted from this great world. So, to fight them just makes no sense to me.
TS: I'm curious: when you received your diagnosis, did you immediately do some type of journey to try to understand, "Why is this happening? What's the message? Why is this happening to me?"
CP: Yes, I did. Let me answer this in two ways. The first journey I did—my wife, Noelle, was there with me and she was journeying at the same time. I just asked spirit generally—all my spirit helpers; my power animals and spirit guides—to explain to me what was happening to me. I wanted more understanding. It was a very powerful journey, because I was immediately taken in this journey out in space to a point where I could look down—along with the spirits that were with me—to the Earth. It looked even smaller. It looked like maybe a soccer ball. It was even further out than what the moon astronauts saw it like.
And I [immediately] heard the spirits say, "The planet Earth is hurting. It's ill. And your body is hurting and is ill." I immediately understood that what was happening to me was just a microcosm of what was happening to so many other species on this Earth—to so much of the waters and the mountains and the rocks. As we know, the ecological destruction that is happening on our planet Earth—almost all of it the result of we humans.
When I got that message, I understood that I was just part of something bigger here. Whatever healing I would attempt to do and receive as I moved forward needed to be connected to the feeling of the Earth—that this was one and the same thing. Again, there was this connection. So, this was very helpful to me.
I also understood—and this is the other part of the answer to your question—that (and I talk about this in my book in different ways) I am, as a human being, no more important than any other being on this planet Earth. I am no more important than a small insect or a blade of grass or a stream going down a mountain. All these are part of nature. I am part of nature. We are different—different forms of complexities that have come out in the evolution of life and of our planet and of this universe.
But I have no more value than any of these other forms. We are just equal parts of life—of existence in this universe.
And so, very quickly—to me, the question of, "Why is this happening to me?" became irrelevant. Now, I could see just in front of my house—I can see it now as I look through the window—a beautiful, gorgeous oak tree, which I loved [and] which suffered from sudden oak death, which is a disease oak trees have in California. And yet, the scrubby little oak next to it is in full health. But that tree I loved died from it. Why that tree and not the little scrubby tree that I never paid attention to—to whom I'm paying attention now?
Again, these are not questions that I have answers to—that even should be asked. We're all part of this wonderful experiment that is existence in this universe. Some of us have diseases. So, this was very helpful to me.
It became a matter then—how do I, in a sacred way, approach this disease? And I'm very thankful for the medical treatments that have been available to me. I know they're not available to probably 90 percent of the human species. So, I'm very, very grateful for that.
I want to approach this in a very sacred way. You know, using all my shamanic practice—recognizing the sacred in those treatments. This has really helped me in dealing with this disease on a day-to-day basis.
TS: I want to pick up on one thing that you said, because once again, if I lived with that view, I would have to live really differently. So, it got my attention. [This] was when you said, "I'm no important than anything else in this world, including an insect." I definitely think I live with the presumption that I'm more important than the mosquitoes that I kill, for example. I think most people do. So, what you're saying is actually very radical.
CP: I think most people do and I think most people in Western culture do. When I've spent time with indigenous people—which I have the opportunity to do, for example, with the Achuar tribe, which is an indigenous tribe in [the] northern Amazon. [They are] pretty much untouched by modern civilization. For them, it is clear that they are no more important than an insect. This is the way they live.
So, I think I see that more as a cultural phenomenon. It's a very anthropocentric phenomenon. Anthropocentrism—which means that, somehow, we humans are the center of everything. We're more important than everything. We are the peak of the evolutionary pyramid. This is something that is very unique to our kind of culture—which, of course, has now spread around the planet very much. It's something that is fairly recent in terms of the human species.
Now, as we know, a lot of the former hunter-gatherers—when we look at current hunter-gatherers, [they] do not have that kind of anthropocentric feeling. What's important to realize is that if I have the same value—which I'm convinced I do—as a mosquito, I am different from that mosquito. And I have a different role in maintaining harmony within nature—within this world. Which I think is fundamental to why we're here on this planet.
The mosquito has its own role. These are different, for the roles are different. The nature is different. But the value is not. The mosquito has a spiritual dimension. It is sacred. And it's this sacredness—and it's interconnected. It's part of the whole, just as I am part of the whole.
And if I were to think I am more important—I have a higher value—for me, is to bring in separation. I'm separate from the mosquito because I'm more important. I have more value. This is [contrary] to my understanding of connectedness and of being part of the whole.
Does that kind of answer your question? This has been my experience, because I did not always feel that way. But through my practice, I've really understood that I have no higher value than any other being on this planet—or, for that matter, in this universe.
It actually brought in a huge amount of relief and almost a certain amount of joy because now I was part of it. I was not separate from it. I was different, and I could value my difference to the extent that I can use that difference for the good of everything else—which, unfortunately, we humans still have a lot to learn about.
But it made life for me much more pleasant—much more joyous. It made much more sense. And again, as a scientist, to me this made a lot of sense. Why put a certain value on ourselves?
I made a journey once to a spirit to find out more about this evolutionary pyramid, because we've always thought humans were at the top—the most evolved species. There's still a great deal of thinking about that, which I think is a dangerous type of thinking.
So, I wanted to get some more insights. I journeyed to spirits of different animals, different trees, different other beings from this Earth—just to find out what their thoughts about that [were]. And the responses I got were all fairly humorous in the sense that says, "Well, who says there's an evolutionary pyramid? You humans have said that." Now, if there is a pyramid, then somebody's got to be on the top, of course. And of course, if you decide that there was a pyramid, who are you going to put on top but yourself? [Laughs.]
Again, this made a lot sense to me. The understanding—and by the way, evolutionary biologists are starting to get there, to the understanding that we're not talking about an evolutionary pyramid anymore. Science is getting closer. We're talking about a much more complex evolutionary structure than one going to something that's more and more and more evolved.
The complexity theory—and I, again, am talking as a scientist—is a theory that says that starting with some very simple interactions—this is what computers are based on. You know—the ones and zeroes that interact with one another in the computer in very simple ways. You can, through complexity theory, naturally [and] spontaneously arrive at very complicated, complex structures. This is what evolution has done. It's led to a very, very complex structure.
Starting from the Big Bang, with some simple interactions among particles [and] leading to more and more complex structure. Ultimately, [to] structures of life. Our human brain is a very complex structure. I see a bird flying in front of my window. The way a bird is structured to fly in such an elegant, superb way is an extremely complex structure.
There are many different complex structures all over the world. This is what makes Earth such a beautiful place, and so is the cosmos.
But to place a higher value on the complexity of the brain and the complexity of the makeup of a flying bird is again, I think, a very arbitrary decision. And not surprising that we would do that. That's where the anthropocentric feelings come in.
But once—in my experience and of those who I have discussed this with—[we] see that no, I am no more complex or advanced or valued than this beautiful bird that just flew in with such elegance, I feel connected with that bird. I want to protect it. I know that that bird will do whatever it is to protect me. We are part of the same life force on this Earth.
So, I encourage everyone to think that way. Try it. It's a different world.
TS: Claude, we're going to have to have a second part to our conversation someday, because I'm really enjoying speaking with you and feel that you're helping me see through more sacred eyes. I really appreciate that. So, we'll have to have a second part of our conversation, because there's a lot more that I want to talk with you about.
CP: I would love to do that. This is not a simple matter to talk about. I often say when we talk about the spiritual dimension of reality, we are using a language that has been created to produce—to describe—the ordinary part of reality. And so, it is not fully adequate language. Sometimes, it is difficult to get across some of these experiences. I would love to talk to you again, Tami.
TS: I've been speaking with Claude Poncelet. He's the author of a new book, The Shaman Within: A Physicist's Guide to the Deeper Dimensions of Your Life, the Universe, and Everything. Claude—great to be with you, and we'll talk more.
CP: Thank you very much, Tami.
TS: SoundsTrue.com. Many voices, one journey. Thanks for listening.
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Moderator: eskandar
kalemiye wrote:TRT news websites in Azeri
Azeri written in Latin script: http://www.trtazerbaycan.com
Azeri written in Perso-Arabic script: http://www.trtturki.com
Rémy LeBeau wrote:Came across this book in the library today. Thought it would be of interest to eskandar and others trying to learn the Iranian dialect(s) of Azerbaijani.
A Grammar of Iranian Azari : including comparisons with Persian
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Front Shoulder Workouts | Gym Front Shoulder Workout | Front Shoulder Workouts for Men | Gym Workout
https://www.makemethatguy.com Make Me That Guy | Men's Fashion, Dating, Fitness and Nutrition London.
How to train your shoulders at the gym. In the last video I talked about how to train your upper chest. To help grow my upper chest it's important to train my front shoulders properly as they connect directly to the pectoral muscles. Training my front shoulders properly indirectly helps me to grow my upper chest.
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most attractive - forearm tattoos, lip piercings (not surprisingly where i got both of mine); least attractive breast cleavage tattoos and bull ring nose piercings and nipple piercings
In your opinion, what is the most attractive place to get a piercing or tattoo? How about least?
posted by Morgan Bell , on , No Comments


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Novant Health Presbyterian Medical Center Foundation receives $75,000 grant from Colon Cancer Coalition
Novant Health Presbyterian Medical Center Foundation has been awarded a $75,000 grant from Colon Cancer Coalition with funds raised through the 2017 Get Your Rear in Gear® event held in Charlotte during March, which is colon cancer awareness month. The funding will be used for colonoscopy screenings, patient living expenses, and colon cancer rehabilitation and wellness services for Novant Health uninsured or underinsured colorectal cancer patients.
Since 2011, Presbyterian Medical Center Foundation has been a primary beneficiary of funds raised during Charlotte's annual Get Your Rear in Gear 5K event, as directed by the local volunteer Get Your Rear in Gear planning board. Over the past five years, Colon Cancer Coalition funding, supported by Charlotte-area fundraising efforts, provided vital services for more than 2,400 colorectal cancer patients in Mecklenburg County.
"Colon Cancer Coalition funding has made a significant difference in the lives of our patients," says Marcia Lampert, manager of cancer support services at Novant Health Buddy Kemp Cancer Support Center. "Many patients are affected by the financial stress that cancer brings, and alleviating this stress by paying for a cancer screening or a utility bill enables them to focus on recovery. We are fortunate to offer this type of assistance to our patients through this grant."
For more information on obtaining grant-funded services, contact the Novant Health Buddy Kemp Cancer Support Center at 704-384-5223 or Novant Health cancer prevention, education and early detection at 704-384-5376.
Registration is open for the 2018 Get Your Rear in Gear – Charlotte event on Saturday, March 3, 2018. For more information or to register visit ColonCancerCoalition.org/Charlotte.
Give to the Presbyterian Medical Center Foundation today!
About Novant Health Presbyterian Medical Center Foundation
The philanthropic efforts of Novant Health's foundations inspire giving that supports programs and initiatives having direct patient impact. Novant Health's network consists of more than 1,500 physicians and over 26,000 team members who provide care at over 470 locations, including 14 medical centers and hundreds of outpatient facilities and physician clinics. Headquartered in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, the health system cares for more than 4.4 million patients annually in North Carolina, Virginia, South Carolina and Georgia.
Our regional foundations focus on critical needs in five areas: infants and children, cancer, heart and vascular, stroke and neurosciences and research and education.
Through the generous support of individuals, families, companies and grant-making institutions, Novant Health Presbyterian Medical Center Foundation supports Novant Health in its mission to improve the health of our communities, one person at a time.
About the Colon Cancer Coalition
The Colon Cancer Coalition is a nonprofit organization based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, dedicated to encouraging screening and raising awareness of colorectal cancer. The organization's signature Get Your Rear in Gear® and Tour de Tush® events are volunteer-driven in communities throughout the United States. Since 2004, over $5 million has been granted by the Colon Cancer Coalition to build and sustain programs that promote early prevention, screening, and patient support services for this disease. By making the words colon, colorectal and colonoscopy a part of the everyday language, Colon Cancer Coalition members believe they can overcome the fear and decrease deaths from this largely preventable cancer. For more information visit ColonCancerCoalition.org.


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If you're building a home in the Bryan/College Station area, or anywhere in the United States for that matter, there are most likely an innumerable number of concerns providing stress for the said production. And though you might have thought up every last possible gimmick and fluke that could hinder the progress of your future home's production, there's at least one recent development which you have likely overlooked: copper theft.
That is correct. You might have thought that metal hasn't been valuable enough to hijacking since the middle ages, when vagrants took to robbing steel from ancient monuments like the Coliseum. But in today's world, with the rising costs of copper for its many uses, metal is back on the black market. Copper has become a major article for theft in recent years, and along with vacant buildings, sub-stations, and cell towers, construction sites are also a frequently targeted subject for the thievery of copper. And that includes your potential future home.
Copper's rising popularity, apart from its artistic properties, is due mostly to its excellent performance as a conductor of electricity. With the consistent use of electricity in buildings throughout the nation, copper has become essentially ubiquitous. And with the widespread use of copper comes the increased value. And with increased value, copper has become a major target for theft. A recent estimation from the Electrical Safety Foundation International claims upwards of 50,000 copper thefts occur every year. And despite new laws making copper theft a felony in any state, the statistics are rising.
Considering all the fuss about copper theft, the value of copper theft is not surprisingly high. The average scrap metal dealer will buy about 40 pounds of copper for anywhere from $50-100. While that might seem hardly worth the hassle, 40 pounds is the average amount of copper wiring that can be removed from a commercial air-conditioning unit (the most popular target for copper theft). And as easy as it is to hack away to obtain $100 worth of copper, the cost for repairs can be in the tens of thousands of dollars. In fact, the theft of copper (which only recently was a minor nuisance for home builders and businesses) is quickly becoming a major issue, costing over a billion dollars of a year.
Major businesses throughout Texas are being continually plagued by copper thieves, who break into abandoned complexes or construction sites, ripping copper tubing out of commercial air-conditioning units. Multiple businesses are actually being targeted multiple times. And according to the US Department of Energy, the cost of repairing and replacing the theft of copper wires, pipes, cables, and gutters that are being torn from walls and buildings every year is steadily increasing.
Other popular marks for copper thieves are substations: units that provide expensive high-voltage transmission lines to homes all over the US. These are particularly attractive targets for copper thieves because of the high value equipment and the mass quantities of copper used to conduct electricity underground. Yet, the risk for thieves is actually life threatening. Should they sever the wrong cords or touch the wrong conductors, the amount of voltage they expose themselves to is assuredly fatal. And the costs of the mess resulting afterwards can cost over three times the cost of the actual equipment and copper stolen.
So, with copper thievery solidifying itself as an immediate and serious threat to home and business owners (as well as the government as a whole), it is important to know how to prevent these attacks: perhaps the most simple of which is to increase awareness of copper theft. If residents are aware of the threat of copper theft in neighborhoods where construction is active, they would be more prone to report any suspicious activity and catch the perpetrators in the act. Diligence in this area could save home builders and owners from thousands of dollars of repair costs.
Another important measure that co-ops have initiated is the growing use of copper-clad steel in replacing the vulnerable copper wiring. This type of wiring is perfectly capable of the same electricity efficiency as copper, but has a much lower scrap value. It is also just as malleable, but can't be cut with normal tools (even hydraulic bolt cutters!). This new measure is providing a major deterrent for copper thefts.
While copper theft is a growing felony that is affecting homeowners across the globe, it will not endure for long so long as the appropriate measures are taken. If the cheaper, less susceptible wiring of copper-clad steel is used in greater abundance, and residents across the nation are made at least partially aware of the threat of copper theft, the appeal for such a dangerous, low-reward act of thievery would drop drastically. So if you are building a home in the College Station/Bryan area, or anywhere across the nation, it is important to take the appropriate measures in preventing the devastating effects of copper theft on your home.
PS – Susan Hilton is Bryan College Station, Texas' real estate specialist in foreclosure sales and real estate agent career building so if you need help – CALL! 979-219-3970
Insurance Tips for College Station Homeowners


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More of the Same?
August 31, 2009
Jay-Z: "Hate (feat. Kanye West)"
Hmm..Now I'm a little confused. What we've heard since "D.O.A." has been sub-par to completely forgettable. Above are the two latest leaks from BP3 (out September 11th), which leave me scratching my head a little more. "Thank You" is a cut above everything thus far (minus "D.O.A." of course), while "Hate" is a little bit more of the same.
Like I said before, I'll reserve judgement until hearing the album in its entirety, but things aren't looking so hot for the jigga man right now.
Key to a classic = More No ID + less Kanye West. Did I miss anything?
Props Nah.
House of Flying Daggers
August 28, 2009
Anticipation levels are getting a little out of hand here…Early reviews are freaking out over OB4CL2, and I for one am going a little nuts waiting on this project. The above track is the first official single off the classic follow-up, complete with a Dilla beat that manages to capture that vintage Wu.
Don't forget to buy the album on September 9th at your local Wu Wear clothing store or neighborhood Wallabee carrier.
August 24, 2009
Raekwon (feat. Lyfe Jennings): "Catalina (prod. Dr. Dre)"
It was only a matter of time before we got the chance to hear Rae over Dr. Dre from the earlier Aftermath sessions. The above track is classic Dre mixed with classic Chef, and the combination couldn't be any more perfect.
Raekwon continues to make me a believer in his upcoming follow-up, forcing OB4CL2 onto the Bass Rocks #1 most anticipated spot (followed by Fashawn & Exile for the close second).
Oh, and the intro brings me back to the original Only Built…
Make Room
August 21, 2009
Off Tha Liks classic LP 21 & Over, "Make Room" still knocks just as hard as it did back in the day. The drums are pretty infectious, and J-Ro & Tash keep it gully as ever on the lyric tip…Plus this is perfect boombox music for late August in California.
Never had a girlfriend the color of cooking flour..
Black Milk On One
August 21, 2009
Detroit's-own beatsmith Black Milk has been releasing fire lately, and I felt it shouldn't go unnoticed on Bass Rocks. Nah Right has been all over these, so without further ado, here you go:
Heat! Oh, and feel free to drop Tronic 2 anytime soon. I'm just sayin..
PREVIOUSLY: Tronic Review
Internet Killed The Classic
August 20, 2009
Going through my extensive collection of late 90's hip-hip CD's, I stopped to reminisce on albums like The Artifacts' That's Them, Soundbombing II, and High & Mighty's Home Field Advantage. During my high school years, these albums were instant classics, and for me still remain timeless to this day. Keep in mind, this was the beginning stages of Napster, where CD sales still dominated, and Puff Daddy was going 4 x platinum like it was nothing special. This was a great time not only for music, but hip-hop especially. Album release dates were treated like the opening day for The Dark Knight, with people waiting in line outside Tower Records for the latest Jay-Z album. I was usually first in line, with walkman in hand, most likely looking forward to getting a fresh copy to blast in my boombox when I got home.
I've recently come to the realization that I will never get this type of feeling again from new music. Not that the music itself isn't good, it's just a whole separate world that I have yet to get comfortable with. Today, albums come and go from our consciousness like eating a turkey sandwich from the corner store deli. Typically, the album drops, the music consumer buys or burns the album, gives it one to three listens in the following two weeks, then moves onto the next.
I blame the internet for this phenomenon.
Continue on below..
45 (All the Way) Live
August 20, 2009
Stones Throw continues to find ways to impress me, especially in today's music atmosphere. Sometimes it even feels like they make releases exclusively with me in mind. Maybe I'm bugging, or maybe Peanut Butter Wolf just cares that much..Regardless, this is what you call a good look.
Anyways, Stones Throw will be releasing a slew of classic hip-hop on 45″, in a packaged bundle they are calling 45 Live. Most (if not all) were never released on 45″ back in the day, so this is a dope situation for vinyl-heads around the globe. Also, this mix will be released digitally as well as on CD next month.
Peep the details HERE.
Rare Eminem Tracks Released
August 19, 2009
This morning 4 rare Eminem tracks hit the web, from his studio sessions with Chaos Kid as the duo Soul Intent (1988 – 1992). I've never had a chance to listen to these joints before, but I remember hearing about his 90's crew Bassmint Productions, but never actually hearing any material from this era. Here they are:
Soul Intent: "Unrealistically Graphic"
Soul Intent: "Artificial Flavour"
Eminem feat. Proof "Hammer vs. Vanilla"
Pretty crazy to hear the evolution of Marshall from his Bassmint days, to Dr. Dre, to dissing Mariah Carey out of desperation. Not a good look!
Shouts to NR.
Celebrating 20 Years of Greatness
August 19, 2009
If you haven't copped the latest (and greatest) issue of Frank 151, I suggest you stop tripping and find your local carrier. The most recent issue celebrates De La Soul's 20th anniversary of 3 Feet High & Rising, giving the trio full creative control of the content and layout.
One of the articles focuses on their A & R representative Dante Ross, as he explains his first encounters with De La, and the impact it left with him and hip-hop in general. Here's an excerpt:
OK, De La killed their first show, which is funny, because during their early tours post the success of 3 Feet High and Rising, they actually were kind of suspect live, something they admit freely and something they worked hard to overcome. It's ironic because they have one of the best live shows in all of hip-hop these days and tour and perform constantly.
You can read the full article HERE, or through grabbing the latest copy of Frank 151 (which I highly suggest).
Fashawn & Exile
August 19, 2009
Hip-Hop Official has named Fashawn & Exile their "Artists of the Week," and above is a video of the duo explaining their sound and talking about the highly anticipated Boy Meets World.
I don't know about any of you, but this album gets me fired up…If Below the Heavens is any indication of what Exile is bringing to the table, we're all in for something special.
No pressure guys. If BP3 fails, all you have to do is save hip-hop. Cool?


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Treaty of Greenville
The Treaty of Greenville may refer to one or two treaties at Fort Greenville, now Greenville, Ohio. The first was signed on August 3, 1795, following the Native American loss at the Battle of Fallen Timbers a year earlier. It ended the Northwest Indian War in the Ohio Country, limited Indian Country to strategic parcels of land to the north and west, and began the practice of annual payments following land concessions. The parties to the first treaty were a coalition of Native American tribes known as the Western Confederacy, and United States government represented by General Anthony Wayne and local frontiersmen. Some consider this first treaty "the beginning of modern Ohio history."[1] After the War of 1812, a second treaty was signed at the Fort, which made further land concessions (See Treaty of Greenville (1814)) and would, following another two decades and the Black Hawk War, lead to termination of Indian Country east of the Mississippi River in the Treaty of Chicago.
General "Mad Anthony" Wayne, who led the victory at Fallen Timbers, led the American delegation in the 1795 negotiations. Other members included William Wells, William Henry Harrison (who would become Indiana's governor and the key negotiator during the second treaty, and still later the 9th President of the United States), William Clark, Caleb Swan, and Meriwether Lewis.[2]
Native American leaders who signed the first treaty included leaders of these bands and tribes: Wyandot chiefs Tarhe, Leatherlips, and Roundhead (Wyandot), Delaware (Lenape; several bands). Shawnee (Chief Blue Jacket), Ottawa (several bands), Chippewa, Potawatomi (23 signatories, including Gomo, Siggenauk, Black Partridge, Topinabee and Five Medals), Miami (several bands, including Chief Little Turtle of the Miami-Illinois band), Wea, Kickapoo, and Kaskaskia.[3]
After the negotiations, Little Turtle and William Wells twice traveled Philadelphia (then the U.S. capital) and later to Washington, D.C. (including with other chiefs) to secure American support for the treaty from Presidents George Washington, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson.[4] Wells became deputy Indian agent in the Northwest Territory and would eventually make Fort Wayne his base (and die in 1812 escorting troops and civilians from Fort Dearborn in what became known as the Fort Dearborn massacre shortly after the start of the War of 1812). Years later, Clark again met one of the Delaware chiefs from the conference, as he noted in his journal for December 23, 1803: "a raney [sic] day… several Deleaway pass, a chief whome I saw at Greenville Treaty, I gave him a bottle of whiskey."[5] Harrison would become Governor of the Indiana Territory after creation of the state of Ohio (and later Governor of Indiana and a General himself), and demand further concessions between 1803 and 1809. However, those would lead to a generational divide within the tribes, as younger leaders including Main Poc, Siggenauk and Chebanse were excluded from the negotiations and instead developed links with Tecumseh, as well as raided or attached growing U.S. settlements including Vincennes, Kaskaskia, Fort Dearborn and Fort Wayne by 1812.[6]
Land for annuity[edit]
The first treaty established what became known as the Greenville Treaty Line delineated below. For several years it distinguished Native American territory from lands open to European-American settlers, although settlers continued to encroach, hence the hostilities which led to the second treaty.[citation needed] In exchange for goods to the value of $20,000 (such as blankets, utensils, and domestic animals), the Native American tribes ceded to the United States large parts of modern-day Ohio. The treaty also permitted U.S. Army posts within the Indian Country established to the north and west of the ceded lands, the most important of which was the future site of Fort Dearborn (later, downtown Chicago) on Lake Michigan,[nb 1][8] Other American lands within Indian Country included Fort Detroit, Fort Vincennes, Ouiatenon, Fort Wayne,[9] Fort Miami,[10] and Fort Stephenson.[11]
The first Greenville treaty also established the "annuity" system of payment in return for Native American cessions of land east of the treaty line: yearly grants of federal money and supplies of calico cloth to Native American tribes. This institutionalized continuing government influence in tribal affairs and gave outsiders considerable control over Native American life.[12]
Nearly twenty years later, on July 22, 1814 now General William Henry Harrison and Governor Lewis Cass held a second treaty signing at Fort Greenville, this time with leaders of the Wyandot, Delaware, Shawnee, Seneca, Miami and Potawatomi tribes.[13] That treaty helped ended hostilities with these tribes and solidified US loyalties during the War of 1812 with Great Britain.
Treaty line route[edit]
This section does not cite any sources. (July 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)
The treaty line began at the mouth of the Cuyahoga River in present-day Cleveland and ran south along the river to the portage between the Cuyahoga and Tuscarawas rivers, in what is now known as the Portage Lakes area between Akron and Canton. The line continued down the Tuscarawas to Fort Laurens near present-day Bolivar.
From there, the line ran west-southwest to near present-day Fort Loramie on a branch of the Great Miami River. From there, the line ran west-northwest to Fort Recovery, on the Wabash River near the present-day boundary between Ohio and Indiana. From Fort Recovery, the line ran south-southwest to the Ohio River at a point opposite the mouth of the Kentucky River in present-day Carrollton, Kentucky.
A painting commemorating the treaty hangs in the Ohio Statehouse. It was completed by Ohio artist Howard Chandler Christy. At 23 feet wide, it is the largest painting in the Ohio Statehouse.[14]
- ^ "Capitol Ohio : 113 - Treaty of Greenville". The Ohio Statehouse. Retrieved 2015-09-13.
- ^ "Capitol Ohio : 113 - Treaty of Greenville". The Ohio Statehouse. Retrieved 2015-09-13.
- ^ "Capitol Ohio : 113 - Treaty of Greenville". The Ohio Statehouse. Retrieved 2015-09-13.
- ^ Keating pp. 40, 52
- ^ G. Moulton, ed. The Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Vol. 2, p. 140.
- ^ Keating pp. 86, 192
- ^ Charles J. Kappler (1904). "TREATY WITH THE WYANDOT, ETC., 1795". U.S. Government treaties with American Indian tribes. Oklahoma State University Library. Retrieved 1 August 2009.
- ^ "Fort Dearborn" in online Encyclopedia of Chicago accessed 2009-08-01
- ^ Ann Durkin Keating, Rising Up from Indian Country: the battle of Fort Dearborn and the Birth of Chicago (University of Chicago Press 2012) p. 40 ISBN 9780226428963
- ^ see Article 3 #8
- ^ see Article 3 #11
- ^ Eric Foner, Give Me Liberty (no page cite to a general U.S. History book??)
- ^ [1]
- ^ "Capitol Ohio : 113 - Treaty of Greenville". The Ohio Statehouse. Retrieved 2015-09-13.
External links[edit]
|Wikisource has original text related to this article:
|Wikimedia Commons has media related to Treaty of Greenville.


text:
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Your choice of printer will largely depend on the volume of labels you require. Generally, both printers have quick production time, but thermal printers with heat transfer ribbons will be more durable. However if you're looking for a short term labelling on perishable items in retail for example, your most cost-effective option is ribbon-free direct thermal printing.
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text:
I looked around and there was nowhere left to go," explains a female Sherpa after summiting Mount Everest.
But as The Best of the Banff Mountain Film Festival demonstrates, there are plenty of places left to go and plenty of intrepid explorers, all celebrated in nine films coming to town on March 7.
Sponsored by the nonprofit Rocky Mountain Institute the Best of Banff is "not a money maker but more of a fun event to get people excited about being in the outdoors," according to organizer Matt Chmielarczyk.
The tales of adventure are exciting and often astonishing. The gut wrenching Balance of Risk, for example, follows Englishman Jamie Andrew who returns to climbing after having both hands and feet amputated. Andrew ascends a rock face using his ungloved leg and arm stumps.
Not quite so excruciating but just as amazing is Ouray Ice which follows the travails of competitors in the 2004 mixed rock and ice climbing competition on the other side of the Rockies.
In the adrenaline-pumping category, Sinners and Collective pays homage to powder skiers and mountain bikers who fearlessly careen through forests and over heart-stopping jumps. In Psicobloc, climbers take fear of crash landings to a new level, scaling limestone cliffs on the Mediterranean island of Mallorca, and using the sea to cushion their falls.
Reveling in the wonder of human endurance, Daughters of Everest follows the first Sherpa women to summit Mount Everest. It is an inspiring story of succeeding against the elements and beyond gender limits.
To round out the collection, Trans Andes documents a team paragliding across the Andes, much to the bemused amazement of doubting locals.
-- Wayne Young
The Best of the Banff Mountain Film Festival
March 7 at 7 p.m.
Palmer High School Auditorium, 301 N. Nevada Ave.
Tickets $10 from Mountain Chalet, 226 N. Tejon St.
Call 633-0732 or go to www.banffcentre.ca for more info.


text:
Microsoft is attempting to stop reviews of Kinect from surfacing before the controller is released – which many are taking as a sign Microsoft is trying to cover up a sub-standard product.
The gaming press complains about not being sent review copies:
Kinect is Microsoft's biggest push for the Xbox gaming division to date. The Xbox division could sink or swim depending on the success of the device. However, in an unusual move the company has been hesitant to send out the device for review.
Many journalists in the gaming industry have complained about Microsoft's hesitation to send the Kinect and any of its software offerings for review. This is actually something that has been actively talked about on game press forums.
In addition the publisher has also placed an embargo on posting any sort of review for the device prior to launch. Microsoft's internal anti piracy investigation group has also issued a take-down notice to Destructoid, who incidentally made fun of the Kinect's new commercials.
The fact that Microsoft is being so sensitive about any sort of criticism towards the device is a major concern. Just like how film studios won't hold a pre-screening for movies that is expected to tank, the video game industry operates exactly the same way.
Typically its a very bad sign when publishers do this as it means that there is something wrong and the company wants to rely on ignorance and marketing rather than letting the public find out early. I am not saying this is the case for the Kinect, but it is very concerning nevertheless.
Square Enix was recently caught trying the same thing with Final Fantasy XIV, and seeing how that turned out it is easy to see why some identify this as a worrying sign.


text:
This was me at the beginning when I first discovered kpop. The first MV I ever watched and the first group I got hooked on was EXO's overdose and that was all it took. There was also one certain member who had caught my eye when I watched the video the first time and I just had to find out who he was, he was none other than EXO-K's leader himself Suho. Although my bias has changed since then but I'll insert a picture of Suho at the moment he caught my attention below.
And that my friends that look right there⬆was all it took. How did you get into to kpop? Was there a certain member that caught you attention as well? Let me know would love to here everyone's stories. Plus I need some kpop friends. My friends don't really understand my love for the music.


text:
Artist's description:
This painting represents a simple rural paysage of the region of 'Minas Gerais' at Brazil.
Oil painting on linen canvas adhered to plywood.
The support has a thickness of about 5 mm. This allows the painting to fit any frame.
Temporary final varnish Turner Sennelier.
Materials used:
oil on linen canvas
Rural Hut
Oil painting by Liséte DUMOULIN
- Oil painting on Canvas
- One of a kind artwork
- Size: 15.75 x 11.81 x 0.16 in (unframed) / 15.75 x 11.81 in (actual image size)
- Signed certificate of authenticity
- Style: Impressionistic
- Subject: Landscapes, sea and sky
This artwork is sold by Liséte DUMOULIN from France


text:
Tuesday, January 6, 2015
Travel Team Games Starting
We have three teams in the New Haven Parks & Recreation basketball league this season. Our first games of the year are this week! To see details on the dates, times, and locations of our games, use the links in the right-hand sidebar.
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Great post!!! Thanks For Sharing..ReplyDelete
Are you fed up from playing with same old type of non-customized Basketballs? Are you looking for customized Basketballs? It's all available at just a click: Basketballs
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Heidi had just turned 18 on March 2, 2013 and had a great birthday full of snowboarding with her family, favorite dinner with friends, and cake and ice cream while acting silly with her teenage buddies. We wish we could have known that everything was about to change tragically just 3 short weeks later.
I told her how just that day while having a picnic lunch in the gazebo with Rachel I was reading Reader's Digest while Rachel prepared the meal in the kitchen and it said that one side of your body could actually weigh as much as 6 pounds more than the other side. Everyone has lopsided body parts, such as, one eye, foot, hand, ear, breast, etc bigger than the other.
I couldn't see a difference in her thigh so I said never mind I am sure your just being overly aware. We were all laughing and having fun about it. Then all the kids kissed and said there good-nights with us as we said our family prayer and everyone headed to bed. That was my last contact with her alert. What I wouldn't do to go back in time to talk longer, to hold her longer, to take her to the hospital had I known what was happening in her body.
The kids get up at 5:00 AM to get ready for school and be to church by 6:20 for Seminary. The next morning I heard Heidi's voice talking to her dad while I lingered mostly asleep in bed. He left for work and I got up at 5:50 and headed down stairs. Erin was down in the kitchen and I asked where Heidi was and she said that Heidi had thrown up around 1:00 in the morning and gone back to bed but had talked to dad and he told her to sleep in and not go to school since she had thrown up. Heidi was willing to get ready and go because that was just the way she was. Always pushing through and doing what she was supposed to do.
The last thing that Heidi did on this earth was to wake up at 5:00 and get her sister up, arrange a ride for her to seminary, complete with a happy thank you to Steven and then go back to bed. Heidi was always looking out for others and especially Erin. She took a lot of gruffness waking the beast, Erin, every morning. Erin hates waking up and has a hard time getting out of bed and most days Heidi took charge of it and wasn't always happy with the way Erin responded. However, she kept looking out for her.
Since Erin said Heidi was asleep and Erin was leaving soon to seminary with Steven I helped get Erin out the door and then quickly changed and headed to the gym to work out. It was a rainy overcast day and so that pushed me into the gym instead of outside. I stayed extra long at the gym.
My response: "Conference room 4 hiding out… come see me."
Wednesday night is a blurr to me. Linda told me I wouldn't remember much of what was said and done and I don't . I know I took a valium. I know I got a little sleep. I know that through the night my children, son-in-laws and friends took turns being with Heidi around the clock. Tolson and Jason E. were incredible. They played music for her, sang with her, rubbed and massaged her legs and arms and kept her company. I love them. I couldn't ask for better son-in-laws. They loved and supported their grieving wives with such strength and compassion. They were forever attentive to Erin, Jason G, and Rachel too as they struggled.
Heidi's room transformed. Little children that loved her drew her pictures and cards and we hung them. We wanted senior pictures that Katie Hughes took and we love hung in the room to remind us and show the hospital staff of her outer beauty and how vibrant and full of life she was normally. Friends made a poster expressing their love to her. My friend Heidi VanWoerkom, whom Heidi was named after, hung pictures of Heidi as a baby and the two of them together when Heidi VW had come to visit us in Germany to meet our baby Heidi. They were special pictures to have in the room.
The spirit that was felt in Heidi's room was incredible. We decided other close friends of Heidi's needed to be allowed in to see her and hug her and tell her how much they loved her. We felt it would be good for Heidi and good for her friends too. Ask any of those that were allowed in her room and they will tell you it was holy ground. Angels were in attendance. Heidi's spirit was in that room. It was a feeling I will never forget and can't really put into words. I love all of her friends that wanted to see her and rub her and tell her what she meant to them. I know Heidi saw them and heard them.
Lisa decided that Heidi's hair was not acceptable. I must tell you that Heidi loved hair if you didn't know that about her. When she was a baby, she would reach up while I was nursing her and she would rub my hair. It soothed her. I would carry her around in a backpack while I got things done because she just wanted to be held and she would mess my hair up terribly. As a teen, she loved her hair. She took great care for her hair. It was like a horses tail when in a pony tail. It was thick and beautiful so of course we felt Heidi couldn't be seeing all these people with bad hair. Heidi's hair was caked with blood and other fluids that had dried. It was a mess. Lisa brushed and combed it as best as she could. Lisa put a darling braid in Heidi's front of her hair like she liked to wear. Lisa had to reach around hospital machines and stand on a step stool to be able to do it. It helped Heidi to look more beautiful and presentable. What a great sister Lisa was to do that for Heidi. Lisa is such a loving and thoughtful older sister.


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Gaming and Plot: is a well written story important to you?
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2010-02-02, 10:31
Adeptus Animus
Join Date: Jan 2007
Age: 31
Originally Posted by
Before we go on, let's clear something. The term "role play" has been greatly mistaken to be farming/griding/buying and selling. That is not role play; it's statistics growth. Role play is about playing a character. And a character cannot be any random set of polygons that no matter what haircolour or height you give him/her during creation, he/she will act the same in any case in the game. Role play is about limitations and specializations in behaviour. NOT ups n' downs in statistics.
Many games for example have the alliance aspect, where a good willing character can't steal and a evil willing character can't enter holy places. This way no matter how well you play a character, he/she will never unlock everything in the game.
Role play is also about being able to affect the outcome of cetain events. And sadly very few RPG games so far allow you to change the ending. I don't know if paths in date sims count as well but games with multiple endings are a way of showing true interaction in the story.
That was true in the days where the term was first used, however these days roleplay has another meaning, and that is the one used in most video games. In this meaning, you assume the role of a certain character and experience their story. 'Play their role' as it were.
True influence is impossible in video games anyway, only the pen and paper RPG's can deliver true influence.
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Smart Materials Research
Volume 2011, Article ID 452901, 6 pages
Review Article
Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3–PbTiO3 (PMN-PT) Material for Actuator Applications
1Electronic Ceramics Department, Jožef Stefan Institute, Jamova 39, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
2HIPOT-RR, Šentpeter 18, 8222 Otočec, Slovenia
Received 1 December 2010; Accepted 24 January 2011
Academic Editor: C. R. Bowen
Copyright © 2011 Hana Uršič et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
How to Cite this Article
Hana Uršič, Marina Santo Zarnik, and Marija Kosec, "Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3–PbTiO3 (PMN-PT) Material for Actuator Applications," Smart Materials Research, vol. 2011, Article ID 452901, 6 pages, 2011. https://doi.org/10.1155/2011/452901.


text:
NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- In a recession, one group can usually be counted on to keep spending: teens. Their parents often pick up the tab for necessities, leaving them free to spend the income they earn from part-time jobs and birthday money from grandma on themselves. But in this downturn, a rather surprising phenomenon is emerging: tight-fisted teens.
|Where teens are spending and how many of them have jobs
A study from Euro RSCG Discovery found that 92% of females ages 13 to 21 said they are at least somewhat worried about the economy, while 87% of males are. Teens are now asking themselves, "Do I need that?" and "Can I wait to have that?" Those are questions that historically have been of little concern to an age group that spent money as fast as they made it.
A grim unemployment picture for those ages 16 to 19 years old is also hampering spending. Unemployment rates in that age group have been rising, hitting nearly 22% in March, the highest rate seen in more than a decade. The national average was 8.5% last month. "Teens, like their parents, are coming up against a tough job market. The standbys of restaurant and retail are trimming their ranks, not hiring," said Candace Corlett, president of WSL Strategic Retail, a consulting group. "It's going to be a tough summer for teens."
So what are they scrimping on? According to Piper Jaffray, they are cutting back on apparel, beauty and food, and excursions to movies, concerts and sporting events. Of course, there are limits: Teens are not willing to live without things such as music, DVDs, video games and video-game systems, and spending in those areas has been less affected.
Apple, Xbox and Electronic Arts can rest easy -- as can Nike and Starbucks.
Beauty takes hit
Though apparel has seen one of the most dramatic declines in spending, slumping 22% year over year, teen spending on accessories is flat, and outlays on shoes have increased 4%, according to Piper Jaffray. The beauty category has seen a 12% decrease year over year.
Ellen Davis, VP at the National Retail Federation, said the recession has coincided with a sea change in teens' spending habits. The latest gadgets have replaced trendy jeans and designer duds as must-haves. "Today's teens are so focused on communication that iPhones are becoming the new jean," she said.
Teens have also been trimming expenditures on eating out, spending some 20% less compared with fall 2007. Nicole Miller Regan, senior research analyst at Piper Jaffray, said one of the most interesting findings of the survey is the increasing importance of value to the group. Chipotle and McDonald's are gaining market share, though Starbucks remains the teen favorite.
"Key influencers have always been taste and convenience, but now value is trumping that," she said. "They're eating more at [quick-service restaurants] than they are at casual dining. It's all about value, value menus, dollar menus and a lower average ticket."
There are a few bright spots, however. As a percentage of teen spending, video games have increased to 8% from 7% last spring. The Piper Jaffray study also found that teen gamers are far from price-sensitive, with 54% of all purchases ringing in at $50 or more. Music and DVDs also saw an increase to 11% of teens' budgets from 8% last spring, despite the rise of music and media downloading.
Keeping up appearances
"Peer pressure is still peer pressure. When they're with their friends, they're not willing to cut back on things that give them a badge," said Zain Raj, CEO-Euro RSCG Discovery. "And spending on things that allow them to connect with their peer set are not as affected."
|Survey of 600 students, with an average age of 16.3 years. Source: Piper Jaffray Investment Research
That's in keeping with data WSL has cultivated showing teens are being more empathetic than apathetic. "It's startling. At the risk of stereotyping, we did see teens as sort of self-absorbed," said Ms. Corlett. "But teens are sensitive to what their parents are going through."
Today's teens are also more plugged in than their predecessors, a key differentiation from the recessions of the early 1980s, 1990s and, even, 2001. The rise of social networking has enabled teens to have hundreds of "friends" through services such as Facebook and Bebo. And that has made this recession much more personal for them.
"Teens have hundreds of friends on Facebook, so they're hearing about someone's dad losing his job or someone who has to move because their parent's company is downsizing," said Ms. Davis. "They're seeing the impact of the recession first-hand, even if it's someone they barely know."


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