Saturday 22 June 2013


What Would Happen if the Earth Stopped Spinning?






As you probably know, the Earth is rotating on its axis. This gives us day and night. Of course it’s impossible, but what would happen if the Earth stopped spinning? Remember, this isn't possible, it can’t happen, so don’t worry.

Everything would be launched in a ballistic trajectory sideways
The first thing to think about is the momentum of everything on the surface of the Earth. You’re held down by gravity and you’re whizzing through space at a rotational velocity of 1,674.4 km/h (at the equator). You can’t feel it because of momentum. Just like how you can’t feel that you’re moving in a car going down the highway. But you feel the effects when you stop, or get into an accident. And so, if the Earth suddenly stopped spinning, everything on the surface of the Earth at the equator would suddenly be be moving at more than 1,600 km/hour sideways. The escape velocity of Earth is about 40,000 km/hour, so that isn’t enough to fly off into space; but it would cause some horrible damage as everything flew in a ballistic trajectory sideways. Imagine the oceans sloshing sideways at 1,600 km/hour.

The rotational velocity of the Earth decreases as you head away from the equator, towards the poles. So as you got further away from the equator, your speed would decrease. If you were standing right on the north or south pole, you’d barely even feel it.

A day would last 365 days
The next problem is that day and night wouldn’t work the same any more. Right now the Earth is rotating on its axis, returning the Sun to the same position every 24 hours. But if the Earth stopped spinning, it would then take 365 days for the Sun to move through the sky and return to the same position. Half of the Earth would be baked for half a year, while the other hemisphere was in darkness. It would get very hot on the sunny side, and very cold in the shadowed side.


The Earth would become a perfect sphere
This might seem minor compared to the other catastrophes, but the Earth would become an almost perfect sphere. The Earth is currently rotating on its axis, completing one turn approximately every 24 hours. This rotational velocity causes the Earth to bulge out around its equator, turning our planet into an oblate spheroid (a flattened ball). Without this spin, gravity would be able to pull the Earth into a nice perfect sphere.

The Earth would no longer be tilted
The Earth’s tilt is defined by how the planet is rotating compared to the Sun. This axis of rotation defines the Earth’s seasons. But without any rotation, the concept doesn’t make sense any more. There’s still a north pole of the planet, where the radiation from the Sun is at its lowest angle, and an equator, where the light hits most directly. But there would no longer be seasons.


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Posted by Unknown On 6/22/2013 06:35:00 pm No comments READ FULL POST

Tuesday 18 June 2013

Super Human Abilities Confirmed By NASA


Ever wanted to be in more than one place at a time?  That’s right, I’m talking about the super-human abilities that can be gained by those who follow the protocol for what’s known as sun-gazing, a valid practice recently confirmed by NASA.  Many proponents of this ancient technique, used by many cultures such as Mayan, Egyptian, Aztec, Tibetian and Indian yoga, report not only healing benefits to common illnesses, but obtaining super-human abilities such as advanced telepathy and going completely without the need for food.


What is Sun Gazing?
Sun gazing (also known as sun-eating) is a strict practice of gradually introducing sunlight into your eyes at the lowest ultraviolet-index times of day – sunrise and sunset.  Those who teach the practice say there are several rules to the practice.  First, it must be done within the hour after sunrise or before sunset to avoid damaging the eyes.  Second, you must be barefoot, in contact with the actual earth – sand, dirt or mud; and finally, you must begin with only 10 seconds the first day, increasing by 10 second intervals each day you practice.  Following these rules make the practice safe, says sources.
Nikolai Dolgoruky of the Ukraine calls himself a ‘sun-eater’.  He has been practicing sun gazing for the past 12 years and has largely subsisted off solar energy since he began.  Others have reported losing the need for food after only 9 months of sun gazing (by which time the practitioner has worked up to a maximum of 44 minutes).  After 9 months of practice, you need only walk barefoot on the earth for 45 minutes per day, 6 days in a row to further the process of what has been initiated by sun gazing.
Sun-gazing is a practice also called the HRM phenomenom, coined as such after Hira Ratan Manek, the man who submitted himself to NASA for scientific testing to confirm that he does indeed possess the almost ‘super-human’ ability of not eating, gained through his dedication to this interesting marvel.  Funded by NASA, a team of medical doctors at the University of Pennsylvania observed Hira 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for 100 days.   NASA confirmed that he was indeed able to survive largely on light with occasionally a small amount of buttermilk or water during this time.
What happens to the body during Sun Gazing?
During your first 3 months of practice, the suns energy is moving through the eyes and charging the hypothalamus tract, says those who have studied this technique and used it.  The hypothalamus tract is the pathway to the rear of the retina which leads to the brain.  The brain then, over time, becomes activated by the energy supply being received by the sun.  You will first experience a relief of mental tension and worry, since most worry is fueled by the energy received by the foods we eat.  Since food gets it’s energy from the sun, it is said to be readily available to sun-eaters without the trouble of digestion.  Though hunger is said to eventually cease, it is fine to continue eating regularly during initial stages, until appetite disappears naturally.
Another benefit early on is said to be an increase in confidence and an ability to easily solve your problems, as you are without tension.  Everyone has at least a bit of psychosis, but during the first few months of sun gazing practice, it is reported that these attitudes go away and a positive nature gracefully replaces the old persona full of fears.  By the end of 3 months, the gazing time will have increased to 15 minutes per day.
Reports on sun gazing say that the bad qualities normally associated with any person will gradually disappear and good qualities will remain, explaining that ‘bad qualities’ only develop in the absence of sunlight.  Bad qualities like anger, fear, jealousy, lust – are said to disappear – and be replaced by a certain confidence and ‘spiritual knowing’ that senses more purely the heart of an issue.
At 3-6 months of gazing, the studies show that physical diseases start to disappear.  They say that by the time one is gazing 30 minutes per day (building up 10 seconds per day) all the colors of the sun will have reached the brain.  Color therapists attribute their healing of certain diseases to flooding the body and brain with the particular color that is lacking – depending on the ailment.  For example, in liver disease, the color green is deficient.  The kidneys need red, and the heart, yellow.  All of the organs and all of the systems are said to respond to different colors of the rainbow, which is why it is also recommended to eat a diet rich in a variety of colors.  It is recommended during the 3-4 month period that you use autosuggestion to see your body already healed of any perceived weakness or disease.  This action will facilitate the process of returning to wholeness.
As you continue the process, it is reported that after 6 months, the energy stored from the technique is no longer being used for repairing the body or the mind and can move now into supporting you in gaining more super-human abilities.
What’s Beyond Healing?
By seven and a half months of gazing, now at 35 minutes, need and desire for food is dwindling.  According to sun gazing experts, food is not actually needed to maintain the body, only energy – and ‘sun-eating’ provides that energy.  By 9 months, all taste for food, including aroma, all hunger pains and cravings disappear.  Those who make it this far say that they report a noticeable ’change’ in the way their brain feels – like it’s “charged up.”  After 9 months of sun-gazing – reaching a maximum of 44 minutes – it is advised that you give up sun-gazing and redirect your attention now to the Earth.
For 6 days straight, one is to walk barefoot on the earth, 45 minutes per day.  During this barefoot walking, the pineal gland is said to become activated.  Professional sun gazers and those researching the science say that each toe is connected to a specific gland, and by walking barefoot on the Earth, you activate these glands.  The big toe is thought to be aligned with the pineal gland, the second toe with the pituitary, then the hypothalamus, thalamus and finally the pinky toe correlates to the amygdala.  Walking barefoot, with the sun now falling on the top of your head, practitioners claim to create a sort of magnetic field in and around your body that recharges you and your brain.
Apparently this walking barefoot part is the most important aspect of the practice.   As you continue walking on the Earth, this is when the magic really begins.  The pineal gland is activated more and more by this walking  procedure.  Intellect is said to increase, along with memory. The pineal gland has navigational and psychic capabilities, meaning telepathy, the possibility of flight… now we are getting somewhere!  Have you ever thought you would like to have your body in more than one place at a time?  Well, sun-gazing is said to be the magical key to such abilities.
If you can barefoot walk 45 minutes every day for a year – you are golden.  At that point, only a maintenance of 3-4 days a week is necessary to maintain the capabilities you have acquired.
Are there any dangers?
Doctors and  eye care professionals caution against looking directly at the sun, saying that it will damage the retina.  However, if done correctly, sun-gazing at the correct times of day, studies show there is no risk of damaging the eyes.  Those who have been sun gazing for many years have had their eyes checked to show no damage, though it is advised that you have your eyes checked in the first few weeks of your practice, so you can know for yourself.
To sum it all up…
Remember, it’s 10 seconds the first day, at sunrise or sunset, adding 10 seconds per day each day there after.  After 90 days of accumulative gazing equaling 44 minutes, you cease the gazing and start the barefoot walking 45 minutes per day for 6 days.  At this point, I could imagine, hey – if you made it this far, what’s a year of barefoot walking an hour per day to keep it all?  You will have to try it out and see for yourself.
If you are really interested in gaining super-human abilities, confirmed by reputable organizations like NASA, as the ones mentioned above, sun gazing sounds like a fairly straightforward path to enlightenment.  To find out more about sun-gazing and how others have done it, visit the website on Sun-Gazing. For part one of the amazing Sun-Gazing documentary, check out the video below.

Posted by Unknown On 6/18/2013 09:37:00 pm No comments READ FULL POST

Sunday 9 June 2013

An Eye for an Eye: 
The Incredible Story of Ameneh Bahrami



Ameneh Bahrami (Persian: آمنه بهرامی; born 1978 in Tehran, Iran) is an Iranian woman blinded in an acid attack. She became the focus of international controversy after demanding that her attacker, Majid Movahedi, be punished by being similarly blinded. The punishment is permitted under the Qisas principle of sharia law.

Attack:
After Bahrami rejected the romantic advances of Movahedi, a fellow student at the University of Tehran, he threw a bucket of acid in her face in October 2004. She subsequently underwent 17 surgeries, some in Spain, but remains badly disfigured and blind in both eyes.
The Iranian government has paid £22,500 towards her treatment.

Trial and response:
Bahrami testified against Movahedi at his trial. She informed the court that she desired "to inflict the same life on him that he inflicted on me". She requested that twenty drops of acid be dropped in his eyes.

Tehran's deputy public prosecutor, Mahmoud Salarkia, defended the punishment. "If this sentence is properly publicized in the media, it will stop the repetition of such incidents," he said. "Awareness of the punishment has a huge deterrent effect in stopping social crimes."However, human rights advocates strongly criticized the punishment.

The punishment was due to be carried out on April 15, 2009, Movahedi's appeal was rejected by the court, although the blinding did not take place that year. A new punishment date of May 14, 2011 was revealed, but again the punishment was not carried out, and was postponed indefinitely. On July 31, 2011, Ameneh forgave and pardoned her attacker, stating that she did so for her country.

----------------
References:

Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ameneh_Bahrami

Ameneh Bahrami before the attack: 
http://yogamodern.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/98357-ameneh-bahrami.jpg

Photo of the attacker 'Majid Movahedi':
http://righttruth.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83451c49a69e20154324dc8cd970c-320wi

The Full Story:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-13578731

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jul/31/iran-acid-woman-pardons-attacker

Source of Image:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-13578731
Posted by Unknown On 6/09/2013 06:11:00 pm No comments READ FULL POST

Saturday 8 June 2013


Like our Facebook Page ►► DEEP WITHIN
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Wednesday 5 June 2013

20 AMAZING FACTS ABOUT THE HUMAN BODY


1 APPENDIX TO LIFE

body appendix
The appendix gets a bad press. It is usually treated as a body part that lost its function millions of years ago. All it seems to do is occasionally get infected and cause appendicitis. Yet recently it has been discovered that the appendix is very useful to the bacteria that help your digestive system function. They use it to get respite from the strain of the frenzied activity of the gut, somewhere to breed and help keep the gut's bacterial inhabitants topped up. So treat your appendix with respect.

SUPER SIZED MOLECULES

Practically everything we experience is made up of molecules. These vary in size from simple pairs of atoms, like an oxygen molecule, to complex organic structures. But the biggest molecule in nature resides in your body. It is chromosome 1. A normal human cell has 23 pairs of chromosomes in its nucleus, each a single, very long, molecule of DNA. Chromosome 1 is the biggest, containing around 10bn atoms, to pack in the amount of information that is encoded in the molecule.

3 ATOM COUNT

It is hard to grasp just how small the atoms that make up your body are until you take a look at the sheer number of them. An adult is made up of around 7,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 (7 octillion) atoms.

4 FUR LOSS

body chimp
It might seem hard to believe, but we have about the same number of hairs on our bodies as a chimpanzee, it's just that our hairs are useless, so fine they are almost invisible. We aren't sure quite why we lost our protective fur. It has been suggested that it may have been to help early humans sweat more easily, or to make life harder for parasites such as lice and ticks, or even because our ancestors were partly aquatic.
But perhaps the most attractive idea is that early humans needed to co-operate more when they moved out of the trees into the savanna. When animals are bred for co-operation, as we once did with wolves to produce dogs, they become more like their infants. In a fascinating 40-year experiment starting in the 1950s, Russian foxes were bred for docility. Over the period, adult foxes become more and more like large cubs, spending more time playing, and developing drooping ears, floppy tails and patterned coats. Humans similarly have some characteristics of infantile apes – large heads, small mouths and, significantly here, finer body hair.


5 GOOSE BUMP EVOLUTION

body goosebumps
Goosepimples are a remnant of our evolutionary predecessors. They occur when tiny muscles around the base of each hair tense, pulling the hair more erect. With a decent covering of fur, this would fluff up the coat, getting more air into it, making it a better insulator. But with a human's thin body hair, it just makes our skin look strange.
Similarly we get the bristling feeling of our hair standing on end when we are scared or experience an emotive memory. Many mammals fluff up their fur when threatened, to look bigger and so more dangerous. Humans used to have a similar defensive fluffing up of their body hairs, but once again, the effect is now ruined. We still feel the sensation of hairs standing on end, but gain no visual bulk.

SPACE TRAUMA

body astronaut
If sci-fi movies were to be believed, terrible things would happen if your body were pushed from a spaceship without a suit. But it's mostly fiction. There would be some discomfort as the air inside the body expanded, but nothing like the exploding body parts Hollywood loves. Although liquids do boil in a vacuum, your blood is kept under pressure by your circulatory system and would be just fine. And although space is very cold, you would not lose heat particularly quickly. As Thermos flasks demonstrate, a vacuum is a great insulator.
In practice, the thing that will kill you in space is simply the lack of air. In 1965 a test subject's suit sprang a leak in a Nasa vacuum chamber. The victim, who survived, remained conscious for around 14 seconds. The exact survival limit isn't known, but would probably be one to two minutes.

ATOMIC COLLAPSE

The atoms that make up your body are mostly empty space, so despite there being so many of them, without that space you would compress into a tiny volume. The nucleus that makes up the vast bulk of the matter in an atom is so much smaller than the whole structure that it is comparable to the size of a fly in a cathedral. If you lost all your empty atomic space, your body would fit into a cube less than 1/500th of a centimetre on each side. Neutron stars are made up of matter that has undergone exactly this kind of compression. In a single cubic centimetre of neutron star material there are around 100m tons of matter. An entire neutron star, heavier than our sun, occupies a sphere that is roughly the size across of the Isle of Wight.

ELECTROMAGNETIC REPULSION

The atoms that make up matter never touch each other. The closer they get, the more repulsion there is between the electrical charges on their component parts. It's like trying to bring two intensely powerful magnets together, north pole to north pole. This even applies when objects appear to be in contact. When you sit on a chair, you don't touch it. You float a tiny distance above, suspended by the repulsion between atoms. This electromagnetic force is vastly stronger than the force of gravity – around a billion billion billion billion times stronger. You can demonstrate the relative strength by holding a fridge magnet near a fridge and letting go. The electromagnetic force from the tiny magnet overwhelms the gravitational attraction of the whole Earth.

STARDUST TO STARDUST

body atoms
Every atom in your body is billions of years old. Hydrogen, the most common element in the universe and a major feature of your body, was produced in the big bang 13.7bn years ago. Heavier atoms such as carbon and oxygen were forged in stars between 7bn and 12bn years ago, and blasted across space when the stars exploded. Some of these explosions were so powerful that they also produced the elements heavier than iron, which stars can't construct. This means that the components of your body are truly ancient: you are stardust.

10 THE QUANTUM BODY

One of the mysteries of science is how something as apparently solid and straightforward as your body can be made of strangely behaving quantum particles such as atoms and their constituents. If you ask most people to draw a picture of one of the atoms in their bodies, they will produce something like a miniature solar system, with a nucleus as the sun and electrons whizzing round like planets. This was, indeed, an early model of the atom, but it was realised that such atoms would collapse in an instant. This is because electrons have an electrical charge and accelerating a charged particle, which is necessary to keep it in orbit, would make it give off energy in the form of light, leaving the electron spiralling into the nucleus.
In reality, electrons are confined to specific orbits, as if they ran on rails. They can't exist anywhere between these orbits but have to make a "quantum leap" from one to another. What's more, as quantum particles, electrons exist as a collection of probabilities rather than at specific locations, so a better picture is to show the electrons as a set of fuzzy shells around the nucleus.

11 RED BLOODED

body blood cells
When you see blood oozing from a cut in your finger, you might assume that it is red because of the iron in it, rather as rust has a reddish hue. But the presence of the iron is a coincidence. The red colour arises because the iron is bound in a ring of atoms in haemoglobin called porphyrin and it's the shape of this structure that produces the colour. Just how red your haemoglobin is depends on whether there is oxygen bound to it. When there is oxygen present, it changes the shape of the porphyrin, giving the red blood cells a more vivid shade.

12 GOING VIRAL

body dna
Surprisingly, not all the useful DNA in your chromosomes comes from your evolutionary ancestors – some of it was borrowed from elsewhere. Your DNA includes the genes from at least eight retroviruses. These are a kind of virus that makes use of the cell's mechanisms for coding DNA to take over a cell. At some point in human history, these genes became incorporated into human DNA. These viral genes in DNA now perform important functions in human reproduction, yet they are entirely alien to our genetic ancestry.

13 OTHER LIFE

On sheer count of cells, there is more bacterial life inside you than human. There are around 10tn of your own cells, but 10 times more bacteria. Many of the bacteria that call you home are friendly in the sense that they don't do any harm. Some are beneficial.
In the 1920s, an American engineer investigated whether animals could live without bacteria, hoping that a bacteria-free world would be a healthier one. James "Art" Reyniers made it his life's work to produce environments where animals could be raised bacteria-free. The result was clear. It was possible. But many of Reyniers's animals died and those that survived had to be fed on special food. This is because bacteria in the gut help with digestion. You could exist with no bacteria, but without the help of the enzymes in your gut that bacteria produce, you would need to eat food that is more loaded with nutrients than a typical diet.

14 EYELASH INVADERS

body mite
Depending on how old you are, it's pretty likely that you have eyelash mites. These tiny creatures live on old skin cells and the natural oil (sebum) produced by human hair follicles. They are usually harmless, though they can cause an allergic reaction in a minority of people. Eyelash mites typically grow to a third of a millimetre and are near-transparent, so you are unlikely to see them with the naked eye. Put an eyelash hair or eyebrow hair under the microscope, though, and you may find them, as they spend most of their time right at the base of the hair where it meets the skin. Around half the population have them, a proportion that rises as we get older.

15 PHOTON DETECTORS

body eye
Your eyes are very sensitive, able to detect just a few photons of light. If you take a look on a very clear night at the constellation of Andromeda, a little fuzzy patch of light is just visible with the naked eye. If you can make out that tiny blob, you are seeing as far as is humanly possible without technology. Andromeda is the nearest large galaxy to our own Milky Way. But "near" is a relative term in intergalactic space – the Andromeda galaxy is 2.5m light years away. When the photons of light that hit your eye began their journey, there were no human beings. We were yet to evolve. You are seeing an almost inconceivable distance and looking back in time through 2.5m years.

16 SENSORY TALLY

Despite what you've probably been told, you have more than five senses. Here's a simple example. Put your hand a few centimetres away from a hot iron. None of your five senses can tell you the iron will burn you. Yet you can feel that the iron is hot from a distance and won't touch it. This is thanks to an extra sense – the heat sensors in your skin. Similarly we can detect pain or tell if we are upside down.
Another quick test. Close your eyes and touch your nose. You aren't using the big five to find it, but instead proprioception. This is the sense that detects where the parts of your body are with respect to each other. It's a meta-sense, combining your brain's knowledge of what your muscles are doing with a feel for the size and shape of your body. Without using your basic five senses, you can still guide a hand unerringly to touch your nose.

17 REAL AGE

body ovum
Just like a chicken, your life started off with an egg. Not a chunky thing in a shell, but an egg nonetheless. However, there is a significant difference between a human egg and a chicken egg that has a surprising effect on your age. Human eggs are tiny. They are, after all, just a single cell and are typically around 0.2mm across – about the size of a printed full stop. Your egg was formed in your mother – but the surprising thing is that it was formed when she was an embryo. The formation of your egg, and the half of your DNA that came from your mother, could be considered as the very first moment of your existence. And it happened before your mother was born. Say your mother was 30 when she had you, then on your 18th birthday you were arguably over 48 years old.

18 EPIGENETIC INFLUENCE

We are used to thinking of genes as being the controlling factor that determines what each of us is like physically, but genes are only a tiny part of our DNA. The other 97% was thought to be junk until recently, but we now realise that epigenetics – the processes that go on outside the genes – also have a major influence on our development. Some parts act to control "switches" that turn genes on and off, or program the production of other key compounds. For a long time it was a puzzle how around 20,000 genes (far fewer than some breeds of rice) were enough to specify exactly what we were like. The realisation now is that the other 97% of our DNA is equally important.

19 CONSCIOUS ACTION

body mri
If you are like most people, you will locate your conscious mind roughly behind your eyes, as if there were a little person sitting there, steering the much larger automaton that is your body. You know there isn't really a tiny figure in there, pulling the levers, but your consciousness seems to have an independent existence, telling the rest of your body what to do.
In reality, much of the control comes from your unconscious. Some tasks become automatic with practice, so that we no longer need to think about the basic actions. When this happens the process is handled by one of the most primitive parts of the brain, close to the brain stem. However even a clearly conscious action such as picking up an object seems to have some unconscious precursors, with the brain firing up before you make the decision to act. There is considerable argument over when the conscious mind plays its part, but there is no doubt that we owe a lot more to our unconscious than we often allow.

20 OPTICAL DELUSION

The picture of the world we "see" is artificial. Our brains don't produce an image the way a video camera works. Instead, the brain constructs a model of the world from the information provided by modules that measure light and shade, edges, curvature and so on. This makes it simple for the brain to paint out the blind spot, the area of your retina where the optic nerve joins, which has no sensors. It also compensates for the rapid jerky movements of our eyes called saccades, giving a false picture of steady vision.
But the downside of this process is that it makes our eyes easy to fool. TV, films and optical illusions work by misleading the brain about what the eye is seeing. This is also why the moon appears much larger than it is and seems to vary in size: the true optical size of the moon is similar to a hole created by a hole punch held at arm's length.
Posted by Unknown On 6/05/2013 08:53:00 pm No comments READ FULL POST


MUST READ

An old man in Miami calls up his son in New York and says, "Listen, your mother and I are getting divorced. Forty-five years of misery is enough."

"Dad, what are you talking about?" the son screams.

“We can't stand the sight of each other any longer,” he says. "I'm sick of her face, and I'm  sick of talking about this, so call your sister in Chicago and tell her," and he hangs up.

Now, the son is worried. So he calls up his sister.

She says, "Like hell they’re getting divorced!" and calls her father immediately. "You’re not getting divorced! Don't do another thing, the two of us are flying home tomorrow to talk about this. Until then, don't call a lawyer, don't file a paper, DO YOU HEAR ME?” and she hangs up.

The old man turns to his wife and says "Okay, they’re coming for Christmas and paying their own airfares."

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Posted by Unknown On 6/05/2013 08:44:00 pm No comments READ FULL POST

Monday 3 June 2013




In Japanese schools, the students don't get ANY exams until they reach grade four (the age of 10)! Why?




Because the goal for the first 3 years of schools is NOT to judge the child's knowledge or learning,but to establish good manners and to develop their character!

Yes, that's what our scholars taught us: Manners BEFORE knowledge!

Should this method be implemented all over the world?

Facebook Page == >>> Deep Within
Posted by Unknown On 6/03/2013 08:23:00 pm No comments READ FULL POST

Sunday 2 June 2013

SMOKE SIGNALS — THE NEED-TO-KNOW

Sometimes being number one isn’t such a good thing. Smoking is currently the leading cause of preventable deaths in the U.S. Every year over 392,000 people die from tobacco-related diseases and 8.6 million Americans suffer from at least one serious illness or condition caused by smoking. The good news is that smoking prevalence is actually decreasing: In 2010, there were 45.3 million smokers in the U.S. (about nineteen percent of adults) — a 50 percent decrease from the 1960s.
Going cold turkey is notoriously tough because nicotine, the main chemical in tobacco, is an incredibly addictive substance. Nicotine alters the mood and acts as a stimulant, leading to feelings of well-being, stimulated memory and alertness, increased heart rate, decreased appetite, and elevated blood sugar.
Nicotine can make a person feel great while it’s in the body, but not so much when that person decides to quit. The absence of nicotine produces acute, uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms which can take between a few hours and a few days to set in. Withdrawal symptoms include cravings, anxiety, restlessness, difficulty concentrating, nightmares or trouble sleeping, headaches, increased appetite, irritability, and depression, which can then fuel a person to want a cigarette even more.


CLEARING THE SMOKE — YOUR ACTION PLAN

Once the decision is made to quit, it’s time to do some homework. Knowing as much as possible about the process beforehand makes it easier to prevent slip-ups and quit successfully.
Decide to Quit
What are the pros and cons of quitting? Write down specific reasons for quitting and keep the list in view. Motivating factors can range from personal health (the tar and carbon monoxide in cigarettes increase the likelihood of heart disease, lung cancer, strokes, and emphysema; specific risks for  women include blood clots, brittle bones, and infertility) to more “aesthetic” reasons (a long-term smoking habit can contribute to cataracts, gum disease, tooth decay, wrinkled skin, and yellow teeth and nails. Sexy, right?).
Personal relationships can also motivate someone to quit. Every year, 50,000 people die from exposure to secondhand smoke — meaning the decision to quit has a direct effect on the people around us. Smoking even affects unborn fetuses: Smoking while pregnant is linked to early births, low birth weight, and birth defects like heart issues or cleft palates.
Once you’ve clarified your reasons for quitting, it’s time to commit to a plan of action.
Pick a Quit Day and Make Preparations
  • Tell family and friends, circle the day on a calendar, and schedule alerts into the cell phone and computer. Make it impossible to forget or back out at the last minute.
  • Sign up for a group program and schedule a first meeting or pick out a self-help plan.
  • Talk to a doctor about whether to consider nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) to curb cravings. NRT releases small amounts of nicotine — but none of the other chemicals found in cigarettes — via a patch, gum, lozenge, spray, or inhaler.
  • Also discuss using prescription drugs to make the transition easier. Medications function by reducing nicotine cravings or blocking nicotine receptors (making smoking less pleasurable and withdrawal symptoms less painful).
  • Get rid of smoking paraphernalia and stock up on oral substitutes like gum, hard candy, and carrot sticks.
  • Tried to quit before? Think about what went wrong and learn from past mistakes. For example, if cold turkey didn’t work, try using NRT or medications the second time around.
  • Pack your schedule around Quit Day and the week afterwards. Plan to spend as much time as possible in public spaces where smoking isn’t allowed (libraries, museums, restaurants, etc.) and commit to healthier activities that make you feel good.
Plan to Cope with Withdrawal
  • Don’t smoke. Not even once.
  • Stay active, drink lots of water, and ditch alcohol, which lowers resolve and is often associated with smoking.
  • Try to avoid triggering activities like hanging out in bars, drinking coffee, or watching TV.
  • If you decide to take NRT or prescription drugs, use them correctly and consistently.
  • Attend group meetings, make use of telephone counseling, and read self-help books.
  • Mix up your daily routine by trying out different activities and hobbies, foods, or routes around town.
  • Avoid situations where people are smoking or people who are known smokers. Instead, rely on a support system of friends and family who will encourage you to stay on track.
  • Sometimes you can’t avoid the people or places that may trigger you to want a cigarette. In these cases, try to prepare in advance for refraining from smoking even in difficult situations.
  • Keep physical substitutes for cigarettes on hand at all times. Gum, candy, and straws or toothpicks work for the oral component. Fill an empty hand with a pencil, stress ball, or marble.
  • Don’t rationalize! Write down any rationalizing thoughts (ex: “I just need one to get me through this tough spot”). Once you’ve recognized the urge, find a distraction and move on.
  • Use the acronym HALT to recognize a cigarette craving. Many people feel the urge to smoke when they are Hungry, Angry, Lonely, or Tired. Be aware of these triggers and deal with them by eating, calling a supportive friend, visiting a loved one, or going to bed.
  • Practice mindfulness meditation. Take deep breaths and spend a moment or two recognizing a craving when it strikes. Be aware of the desire for a cigarette, accept it, and move on. This can be extremely helpful for developing awareness of triggers and helping you to "surf your urges."
  • Celebrate smoke-free milestones with small treats like a nice dinner out, a trip to a museum, a yoga class, or a new book.
Address Slip-Ups and Relapses
  • A slip-up is a one-time cigarette; a relapse is returning to a smoking habit. Inboth situations, try not to be too hard on yourself. Instead, resolve to get back on track — right away.
  • Most importantly, learn from mistakes. Did something trigger a craving? Did a withdrawal management technique fail? Use the slip-up to improve your commitment to staying smoke-free.
Disclaimer: Although we encourage a healthy lifestyle here at Greatist, we are not doctors. The information in this article should not substitute for advice from a medical professional. We hope this article provides some basic information for those looking into quitting smoking and helpful tips for those on the path to being smoke-free.

BUT WHAT ABOUT…

Weight gain?
Some people delay quitting smoking because they worry about gaining weight. Many smokers do get heavier when quitting (since appetite rises again once nicotine leaves the body), but most gain fewer than 10 pounds. Focus on maintaining a healthy overall lifestyle by eating well, exercising, and avoiding junk food. Take quitting one day at a time and worry about losing weight (if necessary) later.
Stress?
Along with learning to manage withdrawal symptoms and cravings, ex-smokers must find a way to deal with stress without lighting up. The good news? A new studyfound that people who successfully quit smoking were less anxious than smokers. Regardless of the science, some ex-smokers find they need a new way to cope with nerves. Physical activity is a great de-stressor, as are breathing techniques and meditation. Consider signing up for a stress-management class to help blow off some steam.
Long-term health?
Even when a smoking habit is a thing of the past, it’s important to stay aware of health risks associated with cigarettes. Keep the doctor informed about any health issues, especially lung or heart problems like a troublesome cough or chest pain.
Psychological support? 
A smoking addiction is both mental and physical. Medications and NRT can help with the physical withdrawal symptoms, but successfully quitting requiresemotional support, too. Talk to family and friends before beginning the process and set up a network of people to call or visit when cravings strike. Consider joining a quitting program like QuitNet, Freedom from Smoking, Nicotine Anonymous, or a local program through a hospital, workplace, or house of worship. It can often be helpful to surround yourself with people who have also quit smoking and can provide psychological support. If getting to a meeting is difficult, consider calling or texting an expert for advice.

NO (CIGARETTE) BUTTS ABOUT IT — THE TAKEAWAY

Quitting isn’t a walk in the park, but the long-term health advantages far outweigh the struggle of fighting a nicotine addiction. The best way to successfully stop smoking is to prepare and plan for every situation so the temptation to light up never catches flame. Talk to doctors, friends, family, and addiction specialists to figure out the best way to kick the habit and take control of your health. Regardless of whether a smoking habit is brand new or 50 years strong, it’s never too late to stop smoking and reap big health benefits. 
Have you ever tried to quit smoking? What was the hardest part for you? Share your story in the comments below
Posted by Unknown On 6/02/2013 02:09:00 pm No comments READ FULL POST

Saturday 1 June 2013

 An extraordinary picture that has gone around the world of a knife plunged into the back of a woman mugging victim is genuine, it was revealed by doctors in Moscow tonight.
Julia Popova, 22, was stabbed by a mugger as she walked home from work one day last autumn - but she was so traumatised by the attack that she walked home without realising the knife was embedded in her, just a fraction of an inch from her spinal cord.
In the image, blood is shown gushing from the wound as surgeons stare in awe, apparently preparing to operate to remove the six-inch blade.




 

Something's not right here: Surgeons stare in awe at Julia Popova, 22, who has a six-inch kitchen knife protruding from her back that she did not know was there
  
'This is our photo, she was here,' a senior doctor at the hospital in the north of the Russian capital told the MailOnline last night. 
Other medics also confirmed the case. They declined to be named as they were not directly involved in the patient's treatment.
The low quality of the image, which was published in British newspapers today, led to speculation it was faked - especially since it first appeared in a brash Moscow tabloid newspaper and on a website widely believed by locals to run stories of doubtful authenticity.
The senior surgeon at the hospital would not confirm Julia's name to protect her privacy. 
But he said: 'The case was last autumn. She spent about 40 minutes walking home after she was attacked.'


Despite the length of the blade, he said, it missed her spinal cord and major arteries in her neck.
'The knife was stuck in her bone,' he said. 'It's an absolutely unique and extraordinary case. She was so lucky. The only thing damaged was the bone.'
Julia only realised something was wrong when she arrived home and her parents saw what had happened. An ambulance was at the house within 15 minutes - meaning the woman spent over an hour with the blade in her back before she was seen by doctors.
It was on her arrival at the hospital that the image was taken. 
The surgeon confirmed the picture had been taken by medics - but he could not say how it fell into the hands of the Russian newspaper Tvoi Den.
The doctors, he said, operated immediately to remove the knife. 
It is believed that Julia spent ten days in the hospital after the operation. 'She had a straightforward recovery,' the surgeon said - suffering no long-term effects from the horrific attack.



 HOW COULD SHE NOT KNOW THE KNIFE WAS THERE?

Shock is the body's great protector - and there are documented examples of people undergoing massive trauma to their bodies without realising it.
It is a condition which reduces the blood flow to the cells, causing a decrease in pain sensitivity and often leading to the victim becoming lethargic and sleepy.
There have been examples of car crash victims unaware that they have lost limbs and shark attack victims who do not know that they have been bitten.
Earlier this week, teenager Lydia Ward was attacked by a shark as she waded in waters off a beach in New Zealand.
Recounting her tale, she said: ‘I didn’t realise it had me in its jaws – I didn’t feel anything, then I saw some blood in the water.'



Posted by Unknown On 6/01/2013 09:20:00 am No comments READ FULL POST

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