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The Cynic's Sanctuary

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The Power of Now The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment is a book by Eckhart Tolle. The book is intended to be a self-help guide for day-to-day living and stresses the importance of living in the present moment and avoiding thoughts of the past or future. Published in the late 1990s,[1] the book was recommended by Oprah Winfrey[2] and has been translated into 33 languages.[3] As of 2009, it was estimated that three million copies had been sold in North America.[4] Overview[edit] The book draws from a variety of "spiritual traditions",[5] and has been described by one reviewer as "Buddhism mixed with mysticism and a few references to Jesus Christ, a sort of New Age re-working of Zen Selected chapters[edit] Introduction[edit] In the book's introduction the author relates his past experiences of "continuous anxiety" with periods of "suicidal depression". Chapter two: "Consciousness: The Way Out of Pain"[edit] Chapter three: "Moving Deeply Into the Now"[edit] Reception[edit] In popular culture[edit]

Summer School for Geeks: 11 New Sci-Fi and Fantasy Books | Underwire If you're planning on hanging out with any cool geeks this summer, you definitely won't want to admit that all you've read lately is Fifty Shades of Grey. And now that Game of Thrones is an HBO show, no one's going to be impressed that you've heard of A Song of Ice and Fire. So here's a list of some of this summer's most buzz-worthy geek science fiction and fantasy books. Drop a few of these into casual conversation, and it'll establish beyond any doubt that you're a true geek who's up on the latest trends. Above:Redshirts By John Scalzi Megapopular writer John Scalzi's Whatever blog is often described as one of the few websites with a readable comments section, thanks to his strict policy of culling offensive posts — a process he refers to as "wielding the Mallet of Loving Correction."

Lessons Drawspace Pro Lessons are designed for artists of all levels and educators, and are logically organized into resources and activities. Eventually, all lessons and E-books authored by Brenda Hoddinott will be available here: four to eight brand new lessons and newly-revised older lessons are being added every month! Upgrade Now: Download all 310 lessons and 4 e-books! Try for Free: Download lessons marked as "Free"! 1.1.R1 Glossary Of Art Terms Definitions of art-related terms used in the resources and activities of Drawspace Curriculum (updated February 2013) $3.99or Upgradeto access all files 1.1.R2 Travelling Back in Time with Graphite A few fun tidbits of information about the history of graphite $0.99or Upgradeto access all files 1.1.R3 Examining Graphite and Grades Understanding the differences between H and B grades of graphite $0.99or Upgradeto access all files 1.1.R4 Seeing Grades in Drawings Graphite drawings demonstrate the visual qualities of H and B grades of pencils Download Download

7 Lessons From 7 Great Minds Have you ever wished you could go back in time and have a conversation with one of the greatest minds in history? Well, you can’t sorry, they’re dead. Unless of course you’re clairaudient, be my guest. But for the rest of us, we can still refer to the words they left behind. Even though these great teachers have passed on, their words still live, and in them their wisdom. 1. “If you don’t know where you are going, you’ll end up someplace else.” - Lawrence J. In order for us to achieve our dreams, we must have a vision of our goals. Action: Visualize a life of your wildest dreams. 2. “It was a high counsel that I once heard given to a young person, “Always do what you are afraid to do.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson The best way to learn something is to dive right in to it. Action: You must define your fears in order to conquer them. 3. “All that we are is the result of what we have thought. Our thoughts determine our reality. Action: Create a list of your intentions and desires. 4. 5. 6. 7.

Awesome Books to Replace Your Favorite Cancelled TV Shows ZOMG YES on Resnick! How did I not think to suggest those myself?! There's also a sequel to Santiago called, "Return of Santiago". And the Soothsayer trilogy (Soothsayer, Oracle, Prophet). Couldn't recommend a book, but if you fancy a TV show in the mould of B7, you can't get better than Farscape... Slight tangent, but why in this era of utterly pointless remakes, can we not have a B7 remake? Stop remaking great films that just happened to be subtitled, stop remaking excellent movies with perfectly adequate effects from 20 years back. I have a show for you, it was edgy, a bit grim but still hugely popular but it's budget of..say, 50 quid an episode was a real problem.. Agreed on Farscape, it's the closest thing available. The problem with it specifically, is that as far as genre programming on the BBC, if it's not Saturday teatime fare like Dr Who or Being Human, or relatively cheap to make adult urban supernatural shows like Being Human or The Fades, nobody seems to be interested.

A SOCIOLOGICAL SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY: SOCIAL FACTORSSHAPING PERCEPTION AND DECISION-MAKING Elsewhere we examined several great tensions shaping the human condition: the role of nature versus nurture in shaping humans' social fates and the tensions between the needs of individuals' and the needs of their social systems. The relative importance of these tensions--and relative potency of one force versus the other--has produced great divides in social psychological theories. Another issue generating a major schism involves the workings of the human psyche, whether individuals' decision-makings are more-or-less rational (or, perhaps are determined by some universally uniform neural brain design) or whether they are shaped by uncontrollable sociocultural (external) or emotional (internal) forces. Here, the intent is to stress the socio-cultural component of consciousness and thought. The idea that "true" reality is never truly graspable by humans' sensory and cognitive equipment goes back at least to the works of Plato. Consider the social construction of sensory distinctions.

SARCASM IN RELATIONSHIPS Sarcasm – a mocking or ironic remark (American Heritage Dictionary) Irony – the use of words to convey the opposite of their literal meaning (American Heritage Dictionary) Sarcasm is a large component of social interaction and conversation. Sarcasm is an indirect form of speech intentionally used to produce a particular dramatic effect on the listener (McDonald, 1999, p. 486). Many people relate sarcasm to irony, but there is a big difference between the two. The subject of sarcasm is complex because many factors are involved. Negative sarcasm, where positively worded utterances convey negative attitudes, is used frequently in everyday language. Sarcastic remarks, like this, are usually accompanied by exaggeration, and intensifiers may be used on the words that state the opposite of how one truly feels. Sarcasm has been found to be “morphologically simpler and more flexible to use than direct forms” (McDonald, 1999, 487). People have different views of sarcasm in relation to humor.

30 Very Funny Books--Seriously By Gina Barreca, Ph.D. It's a dreary day, so I thought I'd indulge myself and come up with a list of my favorite comedies. A caveat, however: this is not a fancy English-professor-y list of the finest, most exquisitely crafted, most erudite or intellectually sophisticated works on paper in the language. This is a list of the books that make me laugh until my mascara starts to run. These are books to read over your first cup of coffee or just before you go to sleep . Remember: a day you've laughed is day you haven't wasted--even if you didn't get out of bed. Some days you need a jump-start to get to the funny parts of life. You've probably heard of most of these titles, and maybe you've already read several of them. You ready? 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. And of course this is just the beginning.

Top 40 Useful Sites To Learn New Skills The web is a powerful resource that can easily help you learn new skills. You just have to know where to look. Sure, you can use Google, Yahoo, or Bing to search for sites where you can learn new skills , but I figured I’d save you some time. Here are the top 40 sites I have personally used over the last few years when I want to learn something new. Hack a Day - Hack a Day serves up fresh hacks (short tutorials) every day from around the web and one in-depth ‘How-To hack’ guide each week.eHow - eHow is an online community dedicated to providing visitors the ability to research, share, and discuss solutions and tips for completing day-to-day tasks and projects.Wired How-To Wiki - Collaborate with Wired editors and help them build their extensive library of projects, hacks, tricks and tips.

TypeLogic Home Page Free Science Fiction Classics on the Web: Huxley, Orwell, Asimov, Gaiman & Beyond Today we're bringing you a roundup of some of the great Science Fiction, Fantasy and Dystopian classics available on the web. And what better way to get started than with Aldous Huxley reading a dramatized recording of his 1932 novel, Brave New World. The reading aired on the CBS Radio Workshop in 1956. You can listen to Part 1 here and Part 2 here. (FYI: You can download Huxley's original work -- as opposed to the dramatized version -- in audio by signing up for a Free Trial with Audible.com, and that applies to other books mentioned here as well.) Little known fact. In 1910, J. Stephen King and Joyce Carol Oates -- they both pay homage to H.P. Philip K. eTexts (find download instructions here) Audio “Beyond Lies the Wub” – Free MP3“Beyond the Door” – Free MP3“Second Variety” – Free MP3 Zip File – Stream Online“The Defenders” - Free MP3“The Hanging Stranger” – Free MP3“The Variable Man” – Free MP3 Zip File – Stream Online“Tony and the Beetles” – MP3 Part 1 – MP3 Part II Audio & Video

Online Creative Writing Courses Offered Free by Top Universities and Educational Websites Getting Educated for Free 1. Introductory Courses Introduction to Creative Writing - University of Utah Course Creative Writing 101 - Eight Lesson Suite101 Course Intro to Creative Writing - Eight Week Course from the Crafty Writer Creative Writing Workshop - Four Lesson Suite 101 Course Writing What You Know - Introductory Course from the UK's Open University 2. Introduction to Fiction - Undergraduate Course from MIT Start Writing Fiction - Introductory Course from the UK's Open University Introduction to Screenwriting - Steve Barnes' Nine Week UCLA Writing Course Approaching Prose Fiction - Intermediate Course from the UK's Open University Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy - Quick Launch or In-Depth Courses for Writers of All Ages 3. 4. 5. 6. Utilizing Your Creative Writing Knowledge Writers do not necessarily need a degree to be successful. You can be published online, in magazines, newspapers, trade publications and in books. Salary Potential Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

50 Life Secrets and Tips Memorize something everyday.Not only will this leave your brain sharp and your memory functioning, you will also have a huge library of quotes to bust out at any moment. Poetry, sayings and philosophies are your best options.Constantly try to reduce your attachment to possessions.Those who are heavy-set with material desires will have a lot of trouble when their things are taken away from them or lost. Possessions do end up owning you, not the other way around. Read “Zen and the Art of Happiness” by Chris Prentiss.This book will give you the knowledge and instruction to be happy at all times regardless of the circumstances.

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