During
the past few years, there have been drastic improvements in medication
and disease treatment, either on a genetic, neurosurgery or psychiatric
level. These improvements have resulted in curing numerous illnesses and
improving the lives of people in moral, social, economic and
environmental ways. (Continued below.....)
(....Continued....)It is said that every one out of four people in our world suffer from
some kind of mental problem today. Professionals are trying desperately
to cure these disorders using psychological or medical treatment.
Although, since all diseases are different, it can sometimes be
difficult to predict how, when or to what extent is the person going to
recover. Some treatment takes years and years of therapy and hand work.
One of these kinds of disorders is Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID),
previously known as Multiple Personality Disorder. (MPD)
DID is one of the rarest, most complicated diseases. Statistics show
that only as little as 1% of the world’s whole population is diagnosed
with DID. It is described as a "condition in which two or more distinct
identities or personality states, also known as alters are present
in-and alternately take control of an individual." It is a coping
mechanism for extreme, continuous traumatic events that happened at the
ages of 6-9. Dissociation or detachment from reality can be a way of
protecting the person from painful experiences. In this way, different
personalities experience the trauma, leaving the host with no memory of
the event.
To be diagnosed with DID, the person must meet all of the symptoms
and criteria common for this decease. The symptoms include a sense of
"losing time" while the other alter has control of the body, confusion,
feelings of dissociation, memory gaps and amnesia between the switches
to different alters and out of character behavior, which is caused by
distinctive personalities of alters. It is also important to take into
account that all people with DID also experience flashbacks and
persistent nightmares and therefore are sure to have post-traumatic
stress disorder.
The first person to discover DID was a French physician Jean-Martin
Charrot, in 18080s. At first, there wasn’t much known about this
disease, so it was thought to combine traits of hysteria and epilepsy
and so they called it Hystereo-Ehilepsy. Later on, the assumption was
proved wrong and the name was changed into Multiple Personality
Disorder, up until 1994. By this time, the condition was described as
proliferation of new, separate personalities, although this idea was was
also proved wrong by further investigations and better understanding
of the disease in the later years. It’s name finally changed to
Dissociative Identity Disorder, as it’s characterized by fragmentation
of a personality, rather than a growth of a new one.
One of the essential parts of treating DID is through long-term
psychotherapy, with a goal of integrating different personalities into
one. However, DID can also be treated in numerous other ways, including
psychiatry, some medication, desensitization and reprocessing method,
clinical hypnosis, creative therapies, dialectic-behavior therapy, eye
movement and cognitive-behavior therapy.
During the psychotherapy sessions, the therapist’s main goal is to to
"relieve the symptoms, ensure the safety of an individual and those
around him or her and "reconnect" the different personalities into one
integrated, well-functioning identity." It is important the the person
learns to safely express and process the traumatic memories, develop new
coping skills and improve relationships.
If during the treatment, some cognitive-behavioral therapy is
included, then the focus will also be in changing dysfunctional thinking
patterns and behaviors.
Another technique that’s called eye movement desensitization
reprocessing (EMDR), is meant to treat people who experience flashbacks,
nightmares and other symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.
Creative therapies, for example art therapy or music therapy allow
people to express their thoughts, feelings and experiences in a safe and
creative environment.
Meditation and relaxation techniques focus on helping people to
better tolerate, understand and communicate with their alters. They
include digraphic breathing, 2-minute relaxation, body scanning and much
more.
Clinical hypnosis-another way of treating DID can be similar to
meditation and relaxation techniques. This method uses intense
relaxation and concentration to "achieve an altered state of
consciousness" and allows people to explore their hidden thoughts,
feelings and memories that might have been lost from their conscious
minds.
Last but not least, medication too, can help on the way of treating
DID. Although there is no specific medication to cure the dissociative
disorders directly, people still highly benefit from taking some
antidepressants or anti-anxiety medications.
All this effort put into the treatment of different mental diseases
clearly have a very outstanding result. Different kinds of treatment
may effect different parts of person’s lifestyle. Proper treatment can
improve person’s moral values and social life. For example, researches
have shown that most people who receive psychotherapy show a huge
benefit from it. In most cases, they experience symptom relief. With
less mental problems to worry about, people focus on their goals and
become much more productive. Without any more worries and weights on
their shoulders from all the pain caused by the illnesses, they become
more high spirited, positive and start working on a more sustainable and
healthy lifestyle with improved states of mind. This improves their
moral values and a way of living. People also start to have better and
healthier relationships with people around them, which effects their
social life. (Continued below....)
(.....Continued.....)As a proof of this, we can discuss a small experiment, conducted in
Henry Phipps Psychiatric Clinic, where twelve patients were given four
tests before and after psychotherapy. Two of these tests were given to
the patients’ therapists. "People who improved tended to revise certain
of their moral values in the direction of their therapists’, while the
moral values of patients who were unimproved tended to become less like
their therapists’."
But of course, like everything else, treatment comes with it’s own
disadvantages. As mentioned before, while treating DID antidepressants
can be used in benefit of the patient, but antidepressants, along with
other medications can have side effects. They are mainly aimed to
correct chemical imbalances of neurotransmitters in the brain and
increase their numbers, but because antidepressants don’t only effect
one of our brain parts, in some cases they might cause jitteriness, dry
mouth and blurry eyes, which typically go away after a week or two. But
other symptoms caused by them may last much longer. Such is: nausea,
increased appetite and wight gain, loss of sexual desire, fatigue and
drowsiness, agitation, irritability and so on. This can be explained by
the fact that antidepressants work on every parts of our brain, like
frontal lobes, temporal lobes, hippocampus, amygdala, brain stem and so
on.
Along with incorrect use of antidepressants, psychotherapy may have
negative effects as well. Firstly, therapy is very expensive, so getting
a proper treatment may not be affordable to everyone and put huge debts
on person, which will highly effect their financial status and economic
well-being. But many other things can go wrong during psychotherapy
sessions. The person might not be a professional and instead of curing
the patient, unproved treatment and false diagnosis will result in far
worse results. This might cause the person’s condition to worsen and
destroy their social and moral status. In this case, therapist might
face malpractice because of legal responsibility towards the patient.
Many therapists today don’t really understand what the patient needs
and therefore, their interventions are ineffective. This is caused by
unprofessionalism and limited range of knowledge in some specific
diseases. An evidence of this can be a website on internet called "very
bad therapy" which uses podcasts to give voices to the stories of
people’s terrible experiences with their therapists. Just the fact that
there are so many people active on this website is a proof alone that
many therapists can’t be trusted.
Treatment surely comes with a lots of advantages, along with
disadvantages. Although, since the number of mentally ill people
nowadays is still relatively high, avoiding any kind of treatment
because of their disadvantages will be unreasonable. Antidepressants may
have their side effects and some therapists might not know how to
properly do their job, but most of the people who have gone through
psychotherapy have changed their therapists numerous times, until they
found the one they were comfortable with. So it’s only a matter of
finding the right psychotherapist and some financial support for
sessions and medications. Therefore, mental health treatment should be
available to everyone and must be achieved by those who need it, because
untreated people are most likely to contribute to higher medical
expenses, poorer performance at school and work, fewer employment
opportunities and increased risk of suicide.
In the end, we can state with confidence that treatment is an
important part of healthy life for mentally ill people and studying
these diseases is even more important. Without a proper understanding of
the illness, people can not find the cure and treat them. Just like
dissociative identity disorder, which was previously misunderstood and
mistaken for a completely different mental condition. The very first
patients with this disorder used to be treated in ways unimaginable for
modern society. The "treatment" included electric shock therapy, which
meant electric currents were passed through the person’s brain, which
would cause a seizure. This was thought to adjust self-view of the
patients, which would cause the symptoms to go away, but of course,
since they had no understanding of the disease itself, their treatment
methods were not effective and therefore worsened the conditions of the
patients. This is exactly why, in today’s society, it is very important
to have educated people working as psychotherapists, psychiatrists and
other professionals who are dedicated to improving the lives of ill
people.
Daily life gives us plenty of issues to struggle with that can get the best of us. Whether or not they defeat us depends on how we think. We may have learned negative ways of thinking that don’t do us any good, and wonder why we can’t succeed in life. To make any progress, we first need to change our attitudes and mental outlook to agree with God’s Word.
God loves us just as we are and He welcomes us with all our emotional baggage, but He wants to transform us for the better. He does this through the help of the Holy Spirit, who teaches us how to rightly divide the Word of truth. Real change begins on the inside and works its way out. We’re transformed by renewing our minds; this opens us up to discover the good and perfect will of God concerning us.
We don’t ever have to wonder what God’s will is for our lives; it’s overwhelmingly good. The thoughts He thinks toward us are thoughts of peace, not evil, to give us hope and a future. Agreeing with God lets Him start cleaning out all the unproductive thought processes we’ve learned from the world and replacing them with more successful ways of thinking.
We learn right-believing according to His Word by studying and meditating on it, and asking the Holy Spirit to help us properly apply it to whatever situation we’re facing. This is far better than trying to figure everything out ourselves. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of grace, and the helper Jesus promised to send us. He teaches us to trust in the Lord with all our hearts and not to lean on our own understanding; acknowledging Him in all our ways allows Him to direct our paths in the process of our transformation.
There’s no need to struggle alone. We can’t possibly stay the same when we trust God to change us. Relying on Him always gives us amazing results.
Prayer:
Father God, You gave us the Holy Spirit as a guide to help us change for the better. Positive transformation is only possible with His assistance. We’re grateful for this. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Scriptures:
2 Timothy 2:15
Romans 12:2
Jeremiah 29:11, NKJV
John 15:26, NKJV
John 16:7, NKJV
Proverbs 3:5, 6
For more on how God changes us, click on the link to find the minibook, Grace for Transformation, in our eStore.
In John
10:10 Jesus is quoted as saying, "... I am come that they might have
life and that they might [live] it more abundantly." Many ministers and
lay members of the church are afraid to acknowledge this scripture
because they feel that it casts a less than favorable light upon
themselves and members of their church if they are not all living as
abundantly a Jesus professed they ought to live. (Continued below..........)
Pastor Mark Driscoll Discusses Covid, Fear and Faith | Ash Wednesday
What are your religious beliefs? And how do those views influence your take on politics or dealing with things like the COVID pandemic?
(.........Continued.........)The first approach to denigrating the belief in abundance is to
suggest that God was not referring to financial well-being, a fine
education, quality trade skills, good health, fine relationships and all
other things that normal humans would associate with an abundant,
quality life. But, in Matthew 7:9-11, God counters that line of thinking
with, "... what man is there of you, whom if his son asks [for] bread,
will he give him a stone? Or if he asks [for] a fish, will he give him a
serpent? If [Man], being evil, knows how to give good gifts unto your
children, how much more shall your Father in heaven give good things to
them [who] ask Him?" This reminds us that even a lowly good man (or
woman), given the means, would do as well as s/he is able for loved
family, and God is infinitely more loving, able and willing. God was
already identified in Ephesian 3:20 as He who "is able to do exceeding
abundantly above all that we can ask or think, according to the power
that works in us". That power (dynamis, G1411, Strong's concordance)
referred to here is ability of the Redeemed to apply God's power (of His
Faith via His Word) to do mighty works, exhibit astonishing feats of
strength, perform miracles, display uncommon virtue, behave with uncanny
morality and demonstrate incomparable mental skill and emotional
sensitivity. We are also empowered to gain uncommon social influence,
power, wealth, and resources with or without armies.
To be even more emphatic about the fullness of the abundance of life
that the Redeemed should live, preceding post-resurrection ascension to
Heaven, Jesus spoke to a couple disciples as recorded in John 12: 12-14,
saying "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the
works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he
do; because I go unto my Father. And, whatsoever ye shall ask in My
Name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye
shall ask any thing in My Name, I will do it."
The above-described messages are very clear to me. If any Believer
attempts to tell you otherwise, let them consider acquiring a much
stronger dose of belief. Christians are to live abundantly, in fact,
more abundantly.
We have both formal training and many years of experience engaging in writing on topics of Christian content.
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Head Boys' Lacrosse Coach at Lawrenceville School, N.J
Allen Fitzpatrick is the longtime head boys' lacrosse coach at the Lawrenceville School in Lawrenceville, N.J., where in 2008 his team won its seventh consecutive state Prep ‘A’ championship. Fitzpatrick holds the single season assist record at Middlebury College (50) and was second in Division II scoring his senior year (1978) with 84 points.
Just a quick note praying for you and yours a great thanksgiving, surrounded by family, friends, food, and most of all love. Happy Thanksgiving from US Sports Network!
-Coach Nate
Army Physical Fitness Standards
Author
Bryant Towell
Athletics
aren't the only component of being a great soldier, but you'll never
become one at all if you don't meet the Army physical fitness standards.
The United States Army takes physical fitness extremely seriously, and
soldiers have to be in tip-top shape to make it through training. High
physical fitness scores are also essential for soldiers who want to gain
promotions and move up the ranks. Here are the three main components of
the Army physical fitness standards.
Self-Taught calisthenics master Austin Dunham shows you the best exercises to progress toward handstand pushups!
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Pushups
Pushups comprise the upper body component of the Army's physical
fitness standards. To perform a proper Army pushup, begin at the top
position with a flat back and fully extended arms. Lower your torso
until your chest touches the floor. Your hands should be placed so that
they are in line with your chest at this bottom position. Once your
reach bottom, push yourself back up and repeat.
To get a perfect 100 score on pushups, you must perform 77
repetitions without stopping. 19 pushups will earn you the minimum 60
points, though such a low score will not bode well for your chances of
advancement with the Army ranks.
Running
Soldiers do a great deal of running at various distances and speeds
throughout their careers. However, the Army's physical fitness test
always involves a two-mile run for time. To get a perfect 100 points on
the run test, you must finish the course in 13:18 or less. The longest
you can take and still pass is 17:00.
The running portion of the test is also the hardest for most
recruits. Army Physical Fitness Standards demand that soldiers have a
great deal of endurance so they can walk, run, hike, and carry equipment
long distances for hours or even days at a time. If you are going to be
taking the APFT, you need to practice running as often as possible.
Sit-ups
The Army also tests abdominal strength and endurance with sit-ups. To
perform a correct sit-up, have a training partner or fellow recruit
hold your ankles in place. Begin with your back flat on the ground and
your hands held clasped behind your head. Keeping your heels on the
ground, sit up until your neck is further forward than the base of your
spine. Lower your torso, and repeat. 82 sit-ups will get you a perfect
score, and you need 29 sit-ups to earn the minimum 60 points.
The sit-ups tend to be the easiest portion of the physical fitness
test for most people, but don't get lazy in your training. You can
quickly build up your abdominal endurance, but you can also quickly lose
it.
A Word on Age and Scoring
The Army Physical Fitness Standards actually include eight different
age-specific scoring guidelines for men. The standards discussed in this
article are the highest - ages 27-31. However, younger recruits still
need to perform nearly as well, and minimum scores are rarely sufficient
for advancement. Those who choose to make the Army a long-term career
will eventually be judged by the 27-31 standards, as well.
The
faltering state of creativity is suggestive of the current condition of
societal interaction that lacks a profound sense of originality,
imagination and vision. That is only the starting point of the
perspective that points in the direction of society’s failure to ascend
to higher levels of intellectual awakening. Creativeness transcends all
that has gone before and provokes a different way of looking at the
reality of human actions. The quest is to transform and rise above
through a myriad pathways to a loftier level of thought and subsequent
achievement. (Continued below...........)
Join Charlene as she interviews Ryan Hartwig about his "insider" knowledge of blatant censorship that is going on at Facebook. Learn more.....
(.........Continued......) Visionary resourcefulness is the formulation and implementation, from
ideation to discovery, the fighting spirit to journey into forgotten
realms of self-evolution. For the quest to unfold the mysteries of
discovery in the adventure of the personal journey, it should not take a
psychologist, or anyone else from the assorted fields of pseudoscience
to tell us what is or is not creativity. That is the essential task of
human individuality to embrace the journey. Yet, by cowardly resistance,
many forsake the sacred nature of the hunt, for the safe consensus of
ease and comfort.
Faltering, failing and fading into the abysmal eventuality of
extinction by boredom, as well as other devolving degradations, the
human species presently suffers a degrading lack of creativity. From
academia to the political arena, including commerce and news reporting,
the bland and uninspiring communal nexus daily demonstrates a slant
toward implosive stupidity. While nothing new under the sun stirs a
probability of dissent as to an ideological lamentation, to suggest
creativity as an absolute would not be the claim in this writing.
Instead, the perspective is multifaceted. To be resourcefulness
infers activity which is intricate and includes physical and mental
actions engaged in a synchronized process of purposeful instigation.
Such inclination, matched by personal proclivity and a bunch of other
complex dimensions, exudes and expresses a mindset determined to bring
about an intended reality. To what has gone before and do something from
a different perspective, using the same foundational basis, strikes at
the central nature of creativity. Yet, with that comes a sense of
humility.
While all human actions reflect choices, to demonstrate by humble
essence artful endeavors, self-evolution speaks toward the maturity of
the innovator. Controlling the egoistic and prideful arrogance as the
artist or inventor, shows an aspect of character that gives special
meaning to that which has been presented. Creativity ought to reflect a
higher state of vision.
To break the habitual way of doing things, bravely questioning the
world and continuing inquiry in spite the answers given, the inquisitive
"mind" ceaselessly torments itself with different ways of thinking.
Problem solving engages the hidden and the known to circumvent the
boring diversions of daily distractions. Urgency to explore the real and
unreal possesses the scary notion of finality at some distant moment.
The primacy of thinking is such that it never ceases in the present
points of reference. So a different perspective outside the normal is
important.
Maybe not different in the sense that historical references have
already suggested similarities, but inspirationally fine tuning the
personal perspective. In order to let play passionate thinking, that
otherwise unleash the imaginative forces within, courageous acts of
presence dares one to be set free. Yet, overall, maturity raises the
criticality of unselfish motivations. Liberation challenges all the
sensory mechanisms to get on the fringes of divergence. Bias precludes
the pure efficacy of absolute objectivity, yet influences just long
enough to provoke maturity.
But for the bias of subjective validation, the player brings his or
her shortcomings to the arena, to claim some diminutive right of
acclaimed validation. To every entry upon a social interaction, everyone
bring preconceptions to the self-interests of the venture. Bias unduly
influences the conclusion, as the observer makes person the observation
as well as the intent of purposeful design. Whether an act of
construction, investigative query, or marking strategy, the observer
hastens the onset of a biased observation. As such, care ought to be
exercised closely, with healthy skeptical inclination toward the
experienced inclination of cynical maturation.
Over a decade ago, a major collegiate business magazine, presumably a
prestigious Ivy League publication, lamented the eroding state of
American creativity. Once powerfully the "land of opportunity", the sad
reality mourns the loss of a competitive edge. While some would argue
the threat is of an external nature, others counter such claims by
suggesting the danger comes from within American society. In a measure
called the "Creative Class Index", the U.S. struggles to maintain 11th
place among 25 others countries. Innovation slowly devolves over time.
Not only is "stupid thinking", or alternatively, "anti-thinking", in
vogue, the perpetual regurgitation of consistent redundancy takes
mainstream center stage. Mundane, lackluster, and dull might be negative
descriptors that could be applied to the "infotainment", or
entertainment realm. While this segment of society represents one part
of the many faceted aspects of creativity, the potential influence is
significant. This includes artists of every kind, writers of various
genres, movie and television production, and 24-7 news reporting and
social commentary.
From the classroom to the boardroom, to commerce and industry, to the
crime lab and the sci-fi wizardry of computer technicians, the
potential for innovation begins with clever, cunning and calculated
ideation. Human ingenuity goes beyond whining and complaining about hurt
feelings or the foolish intolerance to tolerate the differences of
others. Yet, the majority suffer the subjectivity of self-imposed
victimization in their intentional immaturity. Claiming authority, for
instance, where no experience and deeply researched factual analysis
exists foments the illicit redundancy of repetition in foolhardy ways.
As such, in any claim of fame to assert some nebulous notion of
authority on anything ought to be greeted by healthy skepticism.
A claim of special insight, unique exceptional knowledge or boast of a
"new study", is matter of intentional arrogance by the claimant, unless
validation is invited by the necessity of proof. In short, a matter at
hand demonstrates an element of creativity when open-minded debate and
analysis is encouraged. For the betterment of individuality, wiser
enhancements are afforded through mutually accepted skepticism and
rigorous investigation. Uncertainty warrants deeper thinking,
suspiciousness figures the probability of error or deception, and
cynicism encourages alternatives. With that, the consideration of
inventiveness likely comes from the purposeful ideation formulated
through the introspection of serious meditative analysis.
Lazy thinking permeates the mainstream replete with countless
examples of intellectually barbarous acts of stupidity. A societal shift
beyond the efficacy of commentary based on the factuality of data,
toward a demeaning and condescending erosion of interactivity debases
the prospects of creative individualism. The shallow nature of
conjecture is destructive. Nebulous conjecture pretends to be ascended
efficacy of intellectual pretentions. With advances in technology comes
foolhardy efforts to prefer playing with apps versus investigating
critical social issues. In a bland, unimaginative and mundane atmosphere
in which creativity is neither inspiring nor motivational, a debasing
prospect suggests regressive inclination toward collapse.
In an overly pampered, gluttonous, and shallow thinking culture, one
in which alleged "social warriors" pontificate egregious fallacies of
bogus conjecture, the warning signs are evident of an "empire’s" eminent
collapse. By easy and willful seduction, many allow their senses to be
dulled to the extent necessary to their self-validation that overrides
the necessity to be artistic. At a rudimentary level of ideation,
originality is likely no more than taking the known aspects of reality
and reconstructing the elemental materiality in more resourceful ways.
Of such proclivities, the primacy of thinking, or provoking imaginative
prospects, is essential. According to some who philosophize on these
matters, the creative person is a risk taker in a process of maturation.
By neither rule nor restraint, creativity is the boundless process of
rising above the mainstream.
Likewise, moving oneself to become a mature adult, who seeks wisdom
at more enlightened and liberated levels, relates to the vitality of
inspirational creativity. Self-evolving to become a more differentiated
personality requires hard work to become a better version of the
original self. Therein resides the spooky and creepy aversion to
inventiveness. Relentless self-reliance in rigorous energetic actions to
ensure intellectual, experiential and skillful productive development
demands arduous labors. With that heavy mindful lifting, diligent
dedication is exhausting. For the immediacy of the moment, a potent
inner sense of urgency pursues a fanciful notion that demonstrates
imaginative workings of willful effort.
The thinker dreams in farsighted ways to chase an adventure through
the multidimensional intricacy of inventive ideations. Even though
fearful, threatening and debasing the animosities might be, the images
of dreaming insights beyond the normal realm necessitate ignoring the
detractors. Determination in personal differentiation for the wholeness
of individuality within, invites the strength of healthy skepticism,
tinctured by a modicum of cynical insightfulness. That’s of the utmost
necessity to avoid submission to the constraints of normalcy.
On that, who decides the delineation between normal and abnormal? For
the sake of status quo, the easy way is opposite the well-worn paths of
"playing the game" and avoiding risks. It’s all too simple to follow
the rest of the group and avoid controversy. Such does not require a lot
of thought, habits, patterns and redundancy are simplistic. Routine
emotional reactivity is not as demanding and doesn’t require deeply
researched data or thoroughly substantiated evidence. If abnormal, for
instance, is viewed outside the safe space of conformity to "social
rules", then who makes the distinction? Noted here are the duly
constituted ordinances and statutes, as matters of codified law, that
officially define "normality" in terms of civil and criminal behavior.
As to the realm of social interaction, public discourse, goings and
comings in various relationships, at play, in school or at work, an
unimaginative sense of complacency disturbs the thrills of adventure.
Added to that, is the regressive reactivity of economic and political
activities that devolve to the level of infantile narcissism in
spiraling negativity. In all probability, the lethargy of stagnant,
dull, and unoriginal inventiveness kills any semblance of productive
abnormality. In the view of some passionately creative people, being
abnormal is an act defiance against the mundane, the superficial and
fraudulent. Atypical artistry is shunned. Acting outside the cubical of
standard societal templates is alarming to those inside cubic
limiations.
Templates for which the conjecture is that one size fits all remain
persistent against the artisans of desirable transforming processes.
Yet, normalcy decries the abnormality of being different from the rest.
Other than legally defined statutory prohibitions, who or what decides
what is normal? Self-differentiation in a self-evolving quest of
personal growth and maturity, is all about being different than everyone
else. By contrast, mass marketing, global consumerism, educational and
political status quo processes, collude to promote sameness. From school
yard to workplace, a submissive haze of consensus is better described
as acceptance of "manufactured consent".
Others will readily proclaim that everyone is different, unique and
special, yet at some point, below the horizon of creative enterprises,
acquiescence gives way to status quo symbiosis. The suggestion here is,
the inclination to suggest a healthy sense about interdependence, is
misleading and dangerous. Perhaps a better term is parasitic, to
describe a lackluster state of affairs in which dull and boring is view
as exciting. Unoriginal, unimaginative and unmotivated, additionally
describe a social drama that cuts across socio-economic and political
boundaries. To paraphrase a famous scientist of the last century, more
important than knowledge is imagination.
It doesn’t take an academic to come up with a "startling revelation"
that the U.S. suffers a loss of creativity across the wide spectrum of
social endeavors. While some would accuse one generation over another,
the loss of inventiveness crosses generational boundaries. As societies
devolve, the fearful and ignorant hesitation to free oneself from all
the gluttonous proclivities of crowd consensus, from assumption to
consumption, from reason to emotion, breeds the bleeding discontent of
defeatism. For all human history’s lessons, the species ignores and
forgets the essentiality of the prologues to subsequent generational
consequences. The descriptions of some describes others as stupid,
inept, and incompetent. Serious self-reflection, profound
self-transformation and calmness are often vacant upon the isles of
wisdom’s serenity.
To be alone in persistent and profound introspection is to be a
rebel. A few brave ones can do that. The desire to be left alone, to
escape and evade the herded busy intersections of social media and
communal groupings, is a proclamation of independence. It is a mature
and wise insistence of choice and requires action that adversely goes
against the toleration of unquestioned consensus. Being a "social
warrior" does not require either crowd or faction, and neither following
nor fans. Instead, such is a state of exceptional creativity that
ceaselessly wanders beyond the normal range of imagination. Fantasies
come out of the shadows to share in the self-reliance.
It is a perpetual dream state, beyond being awake and asleep. Realms
of creativity are those mental places that transcend an awakened
consciousness and pursues a persistent quest of discovery. For that, the
valiant knight, the crusader, or the warrior perseveres in cautious
proximity to the admonitions and desecrations of mainstream society. As
there are many critics, there are fewer artists, as there are multitudes
of detractors but a handful of innovators. In the sensual touch of
creative instigation, to the culmination of "out of the box"
inclination, some would argue the decline of human innovation. Such is a
generalization with many aspects.
Nonetheless, some researchers would contend that creativity in the
U.S. has regressed since the 1990’s. The proactive introduction of that
which is a variation on something, and can be described as being
creative or imaginative for a moment in time, seems increasingly rare.
One study suggests that in the marketplace of competitive commerce,
competency relies more and more on being creatively engaged within the
organization. To that end, as one business review magazine laments,
openness to alternative viewpoints appears constrained by easy
acceptance of the status quo. Personal ingenuity is out in front of
doing things that might be considered edgy.
Creativity lurches in many directions to enhance and expand the
reaches of the imagination toward a more ascended transformation.
Inventiveness suffers the decline of its relevance in a mechanistic
consumption oriented society. Thoughtful innovations in arts and
entertainment struggle for the passionate zealousness to fuse feeling
and meaning. A recent assessment from a major business institute
challenges the current educational model in America’s K-12 and
collegiate school systems. The accusation is made that contemporary
education stifles a student’s creativity in condescending and
counterproductive ways. By the promotion of a "one size fits all"
template, or persistent admonitions to avoid risk taking, problem
solving, inventiveness and being different. The condescending regression
becomes more oppressive with the adherence to outdated and worn out
instructional rubrics. Inventiveness has for the most part greatly
diminished.
Self-imposed stifling of individuality in sacrifice to the deities of
mass consumption is a part of personal and group consensus to ensure
the perpetuity of material gain. For the majority, status quo reliance
on simplistic consistency does not require imaginative processes of
serious introspection. To be a good worker, to fit into a slot and to
allow pacification into the so called American Dream is the path of
least resistance most desire to follow. Production of sameness,
replicant and robotic imitation reduces the risks of taking leaps out of
the box.
As society regresses to the devolution of contrived extinction, the
arrogance of shallow perspectives spins comforting tales of pabulum
enriched trouble-free mediocrity. From academia to social media, the
reaches of magical thinking for the sustenance of banal conformity
traverses every aspect of human activity. Insipid dumbed down
regurgitations of cinematic remakes comforts the ever burgeoning blather
of juvenile multimedia genre. In movies for instance, not much strain
of "acting" is demanded for American audience to be enthralled by CGI.
Neither academic nor political enterprises strive for ascended
radical departures from "standard operating procedures". Intellectualism
is shunned in favor of feelings. Emotional reactivity attempts to use
force or abuse in the anti-logic of stifling an alternative viewpoint.
By the illogic of immature self-promotion in the neediness of cognitive
bias, many will viciously attack another who dares disagree with the
former claimant perspective. The social imbalance of negativity
permeates daily life from academia to news reporting.
As such, innovative mature thinking processes are thwarted in favor
of the pleasures to be found in various forms of infantile narcissism.
Persistent redundancy in anecdotal sufficiency lazily perpetrates the
speciousness of alleged "scientific" revelation. Swift and certain
actions to quicken the imaginative prospects of change, individuation,
and visionary discovery were long since killed by public educational
templates. Taxonomies, rubrics, and domain competencies pretentiously
masquerade as learning initiatives. Unfortunately data does not support a
positive outlook.
In the superficial realms of movie making, for example, persistent
remakes wallow in the sloppy reliance on technology to entertain, rather
than inspire and educate. Acting remains uncomplicated in the classic
sense for a matters of seconds and then lots of CGI. At the same time,
not expressing much knowledge about much of anything, younger
generations prefer the simplistic to the complex. In trouble-fee
thinking, the scope and depth of deep thinking remains fixated on the
cell phone or the next "fun" thing to do. So, mediocre attempts at
various contemporary art forms, like movies, television, writing, etc.
maintain a "middle school" level mentality.
Unfortunately, in the diverse realms of "arts and entertainment", not
to forget the vast reaches of academia and other societal institutions,
the devolution of creative enterprises hastens social regression. Even
the supposed intellectual bastions of ivory towers, educationally
insulated and protected in sacred fiefdoms, alleged academic research
perpetrates the redundancy of status quo consensus. In the "social
studies" area, as in criminology, sociology and psychology, conventional
textbook blathering often demonstrate the persistence of nothing new
and different. Unproductive replication ensures the unimaginative
consistency in unexciting simplicity.
Any challenges to the time worn theories of the past generally incur
the backlash of those desiring to safeguard the status quo. As one
researcher points out, the American culture is filled with people who
easily accept the ordinariness of unenthusiastic efforts to become
innovative. Little changes over time and place where people are
concerned. While American education is fixated on the same old rubrics,
so called competencies, purported matrices and taxonomies, the
competitive edge continues to slip away. Innovation erodes to boring
complacency.
Pointedly, the lack of serious talent in creativity reverberates
through the many mainstream venues of infotainment. Of recent concern, a
large west coast metropolitan newspaper reported the results of a
ten-year study of American literacy. By comparison, researchers asserted
that reading levels for American adults are significantly lower than
for adults in other countries. Literacy levels were cited as below
average with the U.S. falling behind Scandinavian countries, Japan,
Australia and Korea. Others have offered the critical perspective that
Americans have been mostly "educated" to become reliable workers as
oppose to imaginative and inventive thinkers.
In a faltering state of creativity, with the shallow divisive
atmosphere of murky conjecture, magical thinking and bitter
condescension, the downward trend of negativity actuates the human
species driver toward extinction. Some scientist, the real ones, not the
fake ones, already concluded time is running out for the human race.
For a few, the brave artistic souls, to be creative means freedom. To be
free, is to unleash personal liberation for the hallowed sanctity of
personal enlightenment. Such is a journey to transform oneself into a
better version than original.
With a sense of profound of self-evolving maturity, the ascension to
higher levels of insight comes through a personal quest to become a
well-differentiated individual. Nonetheless, the detractors, the haters,
the inept and incompetent, will harass and plague the existence of each
moment. Some researchers and analysts of natural biological
progressions have suggested humans in general are no longer evolving. In
a physical sense, they are instead devolving.
35 year veteran of the law enforcement community; college professor, author;
You can catch Rick and Bubba on some 70+ stations across the nation.
Some stations carry it live in the mornings, some play the replay back
in the afternoons, some play both! Some even play the replay on Saturdays and Sundays! New stations are being added all the time, so check out Rick and Bubba and take these big boyz with you wherever you go. They'll always have the most up to date information.
We have
all encountered some kind of discrimination, whether it be religious,
gender, age, sexual orientation, and so forth. What most people do not
realize, however, that racial discrimination is actually the most common
and we as a nation need to be aware of this. I had a recent incident,
not necessarily directed towards me but someone had said to me that they
would not use public restrooms because they “don’t like using the same
restroom as a negro”. This person was stuck on the idea of segregation
because they had this stereotype of people with a different race. I have
seen a lot more of this happening lately, like the riots, hate crimes,
white supremacy movements, and more. We have gotten out of hand and
people talk about it but no one really does anything to make it stop.
Discrimination has been around for hundreds of years and it has changed a
lot. We went from white supremacy and “blackface” all the way to
killing people and creating products that use racial advertisement.
Although discrimination has been around for so long, not many people
even know about it. (Continued below.....)
The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office released body camera of
an officer Involved in a fatal Shooting that occurred during
a traffic stop on November 17, 2020 at about 10:40 p.m.
near the intersection of San Juan and Cassat avenues. From VLP
(.....Continued.....) Brent Staples from The New York Times stated that “In the 19th
century, minstrel entertainers spawned a racist caricature that endures
to this day when they darkened their faces to portray black people as
grinning, dancing, simpletons”. I have spoken to many people about this
and I have come to realize many younger people have no clue about who or
what “blackface” is. “Blackface” is a racist depiction of a white
person with black makeup covering their face, simply used to undervalue
black people. The caricature of “blackface” has not yet gone away
though, because over several months Gucci, Prada, and Katy Perry were
forced to withdraw several items from the market because they were
revealing designs that showed how the caricature of “blackface”
manifests itself through people who are blind to what it connotes. When
it was still a huge part of the white community it embodied blackness as
“grotesque” in itself because it could never achieve the mythical ideal
of whiteness.
Commercial advertisements were a huge thing back then and most of it
belittled blackness to sell everything. The “best-known” Jet-black
commercial icons were the Gold Dust Twins who appeared naked except for
their trademark tutus and black makeup - they represented a popular
brand of washing powder whose motto was “let the twins do your work.”
Since the twins are “black” it makes it seem like slavery is a positive
thing in the normal, everyday American household. In 1899 a children's
book titled “The Story of Little Black Sambo” helped solidify the
“derogatory caricature of dark-skinned children.” “Sambo” was a term
used to describe black people during slavery, which soon became an
insulting name for black communities. White actors in blackface were
featured in D.W. Griffith’s rabidly racist silent film “The Birth of a
Nation” - Hollywood's first blockbuster, released in 1915. The movie
“valorized the Klan” and depicted African-Americans as “buffoons” and
“incipient rapists”.
These events still carry on through the idea of white supremacy,
though not very many people pay attention to it. On October 25, 2018,
multiple members of a far-right group were arrested for violently
attacking counter-protesters. A mother, Shirley Hardrix from Fort Wayne,
spoke to police about how her son Samuel was stabbed to death by a
white supremacist in 2016. Aaryn Snyder admitted to killing her son
because he was black and said he received a patch from a “white
organization” for doing so. In 2018 two white men beat a black man to
death in a state prison dormitory in Putnamville, IN. Because of white
supremacy, a black American is likely to get a 20% longer sentence for
the same offense as a white American. These are horrific hate crimes
that have happened because of white supremacy and because some people
see it as justified to hate someone just because of their skin color.
Indiana officialized the hate crime bill on April 3, 2019. The
Indiana hate crime bill is said to have covered bias-motivated crimes
based on things like race, religion, sex, gender identity, and
disability. Even though we passed the hate crime bill it has been said
to be watered down and not very specific on what we are trying to
accomplish. Despite having the hate crime bill going into place the
rates for hate crimes are on the rise. According to the FBI report
released in 2017, hate crimes increased by about 17% compared to 2016.
In 2018, the FBI report revealed more than 7,000 hate crimes were
reported in our country. Race and ethnicity made up about 59.6%,
religion was 20.6%, and sexual orientation was around 15.8%. Of these,
50.7% of the offenders were white and 21.4% were African-American.
These incidents have been going on for hundreds of years, and the
ideas and actions of segregation, hate crimes, and white supremacy have
just continued to get worse. Still, nothing we have done to stop it or
slow it down has worked. We have tried so hard and made many attempts to
stop it but nothing seems to work. The way people are raising their
children and the things they are saying to them and teaching them has
affected the outcome of everything us as a nation has tried so very hard
to stop. People read things and see things and then they get this idea
in their head about how to think about a certain thing or person. Now,
this obviously is not the case with every person; some people respect
differences no matter the race, gender, religion, or anything else. The
violent crimes and hatred among people of different races is all because
hundreds of years ago these people put this idea - this stereotype - of
how to treat or think of people with different skin colors. Is this
really the world one should want to be living in?
That said, not all people think like this; there are really more
people that think positively and see the good in everyone. But it is
that small amount of people that refuse to see things that way that is
making a huge impact on our communities. If we could learn to respect
people, not for their skin color or their religion or themselves, our
community would be much stronger than it is now. Right now, our nation
is on the verge of breaking and we need to come together and fight for
what is right. Not all people will agree with this but we need to be
aware of what is going on in the world right now. It is also not always
white supremacy taunting our societies, black supremacy is another thing
happening and we need to fight against it all. We cannot just sit in
our house and try to hide the truth about what the world has really
become. No matter what it is - white supremacy, black supremacy, hate
crimes - we need to know that it is not right; after all, we are all
human.
My name is Talula. I am 16 years old and a junior in high
school. I write a lot, at least an article every two months. Most of
them are over social issues and just problems that are going on. All of
my writings are non-fiction and most are written in a day.
Then the LORD said to Moses, 2 "Tell the Israelites to turn back and
encamp near Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea. They are to encamp
by the sea, directly opposite Baal Zephon. 3 Pharaoh will think, ‘The
Israelites are wandering around the land in confusion, hemmed in by the
desert.’ 4 And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them.
Exodus 14:15
This was Gods idea
When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and
his officials changed their minds about them and said, "What have we
done? We have let the Israelites go and have lost their services!" 6 So
he had his chariot made ready and took his army with him. 7 He took six
hundred of the best chariots, along with all the other chariots of
Egypt, with officers over all of them. The LORD hardened the heart of
Pharaoh king of Egypt so that he pursued after the Israelites, who were
marching out boldly. As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up,
and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified
and cried out to the LORD.
Moses' silent prayers of faith prevailed more with God than Israel's
loud cries of fear. The pillar of cloud and fire came behind them, when
they needed a guard, God provided a wall of fire between them and their
enemies. This dividing barrier made it possible for Gods people to go
forward and conquer the new territory.
Let’s go forward claiming new opportunities, conquering doubts,
resisting temptation, defeating Satan, taking back what the enemy has
stolen from us, go forward giving God the praise, go forward and don’t
look back like, remember lots wife? She looked back and became a pillar
of salt. The angels warned them, Escape for your life! Do not look back,
and do not stay anywhere in the valley, escape to the mountains that
are higher than you or you will be swept away by the wrath of God.
Genesis 19:17.
Lot ran down the valley and up towards the mountain, his two
daughters ran close behind him, but his wife from behind look back and
she became a pillar of salt, she lagged, when she should have gone
forward much faster, she was weight down with the burden of the world,
caught in two minds, whether to stay or to go, she lost ground and could
not resist looking around. But if we keep our focus on Jesus, the
things of this world will become insignificant. The disobedience of
lots wife was a willful, and deliberate sin which led to her death, she
chooses to value in her heart the things of the world more than the
things of God.
Remember Lot’s wife. Luke 17:32
We today have received the similar warning to that which the angels
gave to the lot and his family, let us go forward, putting away the old
self-conscious feeling, and putting on the new life which is renewed in
the likeness of God. If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not
leading to death, he shall ask, and God will give him life to those who
commit sins that do not lead to death. The image of Lots wife standing
watch over the dead Sea where no life exists is the graphic reminder to
us not to yearn for the things of the world. But to follow where Christ
lead without hesitation.
God calls us to a journey in faith
The word and providence of God have a black and dark side toward sin
and towards the sinners, but a bright and pleasant side toward the
people of the Lord. He, who divided between light and darkness, Gen 1:4,
allotted darkness to the Egyptians, and light to the Israelite's. There
was such a great difference there will be between the inheritance of
the saints in light and that utter darkness which will be the portion of
hypocrites forever. The time is now, God wants his people to have an
awareness of the need to move forward with the ministry, not retreat,
not looking back with hesitancy.
The king James authorise version. Pentecostal church messages
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