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titleWhere is Benzene Found?/titlepBenzene, used to manufacture various products used in everyday lives, is a substance that is harmful to human life – although it is present in nature. High levels of exposure to the substance can result in major health problems like cancer, anemia and depression./ppBenzene can be found in volcanoes, and is also a derivative of forest fires. As a fundamental ingredient of oil and coal, Benzene is the substance that is left behind after the fuel needed has been used. Benzene is used to process other products which are present in everyday lives, like household cleaners, paint, art supplies, glues and adhesives./ppBenzene evaporates into the air and into the environment. It then travels to the water table and soil. This will happen when Benzene in the air collides with the rain, which will then carry the substance back to the earth. Animals and plants that have been exposed to the substance will have it on their body systems, although it does not build up so the possibility of harmful exposure is small. Most people have low-levels of exposure to Benzene due presence of products it is involved with. Some examples of low-level Benzene exposures are inhalation of car exhaust fumes from burning gasoline, and smoke from a forest fire./ppBenzene can be found in its highest levels industrial and manufacturing plants that deal with petroleum and other everyday products that have been mentioned. However, even if a person does not work inside a factory, he can still be exposed to Benzene and may suffer serious health issues. In the five year period between 1987 and 1992, it is reported that over 2 million pounds of Benzene has been released into the environment. Therefore, conscious steps should be undertaken to limit the exposure to the substance./ppMinor and short-term symptoms of Benzene exposure headaches, dizziness and sleepiness; these normally occur when a person is exposed to the substance in a shut-in environment. The simple act of taking the affected person away from the substance and exposing him to fresh air will relieve the symptoms./ppMore life-threatening health issues can result from long-term exposure to Benzene, which can even lead to death over a period of several months or years. Long-term medical problems that are linked to Benzene exposure include leukemia, specifically acute myelogenous leukemia (AML)./ppDavid Austin is an Attorney focused on complex injury cases. You can learn more about a target=_new href=http://www.burke-eisner.com/practice-areas/benzene-leukemia.htmlBenzene and Leukemia/a at his website. a target=_new href=http://www.burke-eisner.comhttp://www.burke-eisner.com/a/pbrbr

titleChange the Way You Look at Things – Be the Bowling Ball Not The Pin – Inner Understanding For You/titlepIf you feel like things arent going right, take a look around you. What is the cause of that feeling? Is it a feeling that you can actually identify and label, or just a vague this doesnt feel good feeling? Are the physical things around you causing that feeling, like clutter or the wrong color paint, or is it more an internal unease?/ppThe first thing to do is identify whether it is an external feeling or an internal feeling. You can change your external surroundings; move out of the room you are in at the moment, move out of the house you live in, move out of the city you live in, or the state, and on and on. That will certainly change your external surroundings./ppIf it is an internal feeling, do a little more exploring. What is going on inside that isnt feeling right? Are you growing? Are you recalibrating? Are you cleaning out inside, which usually means you take a step back and take a long, interesting look at what is going on inside, how you are reacting to things, how things are reacting to you. When you take a deep breath and go inside, what do you see? What do you feel? Are you moving forward? Are you feeling in your heart that you are close to making some new agreements with yourself about who you want to be, where you want to be and how you want to get there? If you are, isnt that a good feeling, sort of? If you can say yes that is a good feeling, then you can say that things are going right but just not the way you expected. Lets not do right and wrong, lets just do different; things are turning out differently than you expected. All we are doing here is tweaking the way you look at things./ppI have a sign at home that says When God closes one door he always opens another …. but its hell in the hallway. If you feel like youre in the hallway, try looking at the new door that may open. Dont have any expectations of what the doorway should look like, just be open to receive whatever is behind door number 3. It may be something totally unexpected but ultimately it will fit right into your plan. An example of that is the delay at the airport so you missed the meeting but instead you met wonderful people you never would have met otherwise. If you can allow yourself to entertain the idea that everything happens for a reason, it is easier to deal with the unexpected turn of fate. Even though it may be hard to see it at the moment of occurrence, there just may be a gift in that airport delay. Learning how to be flexible is a wonderful thing (and I hope I learn it very soon!)./ppI have a friend who has this saying on her refrigerator: If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change. Wasnt it Albert Einstein that said the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result? We, who are going through this current energy shift, are ready for a different result, right? And there are lots of us going through change at the moment. Not a surprise to you, right? People are changing jobs, changing partners, moving to a different city or state, and many cant tell you why other than they just feel like they need to do this. But they are willing to Trust, with a capital T, and believe they are ultimately doing the right thing. Moving isnt necessarily a bad thing, it is just a different thing. And isnt moving changing your external surroundings? So already you have stopped doing the same thing over and over, you have changed that, and now you have a different result, a different house, a different job, perhaps a different focus. And now that you have established change, can you more fully embrace the idea that change isnt bad but only different?/ppI think the Universe is purposely throwing us an occasional curve ball, which is just a way of keeping us on our toes. Have you ever wondered if Spirit is looking at us and doing things just to watch our reaction? I just had a moment of seeing us as pins at the bowling alley and Universe sending the ball down the alley, just to watch! I bet they think it is pretty fun to see our reaction to that kind of disruption in our lives! Perhaps they are going out of their way just to help us look at things differently./ppMy sense is that with so much change going on around us, if we can be a little more open, a little more trusting that even if we are in the hallway the other door will open, we will make it through the next several months a little more gracefully. Embracing unpredictability, looking for the wonderful surprise in change, knowing it will be an opportunity in one form or another, is certainly an attitude that I strive to accept. After all, I would so much rather be in the hallway looking for the other door than being the bowling pin watching that ball come at me! Wouldnt you? Ride the wings of change and be ready for a wonderful new you to emerge./ppKathie Brodie is a Hypnotherapist in the Seattle, Washington area who treats clients using exciting and effective modalities, including tuning forks, singing bowls to find the root of a fear or phobia and rewrite the current script of your life. She has private sessions for weight management, conquering burnout, smoking cessation, as well as help with depression, pain, grief, anger, jealousy, poor self image, study skills, memory, and past life regressions. She also has corporate sessions in the workplace. Kathie has hypnosis CDs for sale and also sells singing bowls./ppKathie Brodie practices Reconnective Healing and peforms The Reconnection using Eric Pearls acclaimed methods. This modality reconnects you and balances you with your Source energy. Using only her hands, she can help you realign your energy system and release blockages that are keeping you from enjoying a full and complete life./ppShe has a private practice and can be reached for appointments or more information at a href=mailto:kathie@TheBaggageHandler.comkathie@TheBaggageHandler.com/a – Read more about her at a target=_new href=http://www.HarvestoftheHeart.comhttp://www.HarvestoftheHeart.com/a/pbrbr

titleJets Offensive Scheme Lacks Creativity/titlepJets offensive coordinator Brian Shottenheimer took a lot of criticism for his conservative play calling last week against the New England Patriots. Many fans blame Shottenheimer for granting journeyman quarterback Matt Cassell his first win as a starting quarterback since high school. Cassell promptly followed the improbable win with an embarrassing loss this past Sunday to the Miami Dolphins and the new NFL SoothSayer…LB Joey Porter./ppLast week, the Jets found themselves on the three yard line with a chance to put Cassell and the Patriots on their heels with an early score; but instead of letting Favre take a shot at the endzone, the Jets chose to hand the ball off to Thomas Jones on three straight carries which gained a total of 1 yard. When criticized by local media, Shottenheimer defended his playcalling saying, …we felt very good about those plays. We were running the ball well, and Thomas was having a good game… – newsday.com/ppIm not an NFL coach, but with Thomas running the ball well…wouldnt you think the defense would make the adjustment to defend the run on the 3 yard line. And even more so…with the defense keying on Jones…wouldnt a play action pass catch the defense by surprise?/ppI tell you what….if the Jets idea of opening up the offense means allowing Brett Favre to pass on every down, then Favre will be spending most of the game on his back. The Chargers defense will be able to pin their ears back and pass rush Favre on every down if the Jets offense becomes predictable. And if the Chargers get an early lead and the Jets are forced to play catch-up…Im not sure if the Jets offensive playbook lends itself to another come-from-behind effort from Brett Favre./ppIm sorry…but Im going to have to see more from the Jets before I put my money on them./ppFor more articles from Kevin Luckerson and Free Sports Picks go to a target=_new href=http://www.pointshavers.comhttp://www.pointshavers.com/a/pbrbr

Did you know that the number one killer of dogs today is cancer. Some may have thought it was accidents, heart disease or parvovirus. It is poor dog nutrition and it is getting worse not better. Why you may ask? Well we got a warning call during the recent pet food recall. It is startling to know that many pets succumbed to the hands of the pet food manufacturers either knowingly or unknowingly.

It seems as though the more fancy dog foods that come out, the more sickness and cancers veterinarians see every day. Anne Martin’s book “Food Pets Die For: Shocking Facts About Pet Food.” is shocking, well researched, and very disturbing and tells an interesting story about pet food safety and nutrition.

Her two dogs became very sick after eating a dry dog food. The food was analyzed by two independent labs, as well as a Ministry of Agriculture lab. The long and the short of it is that pet foods today are made up of waste that is leftover from processing human food – blood, bone, ligaments, tails, etc. Even worse than , it’s been proven that euthanized animals are making their way into pet food… dogs and cats from shelters, and other livestock that had to be put down. Not what I would want to see.

We all know of the big Pet Food Recall in 2007, in which tens of thousands of cans of food were recalled and pulled from the shelves. Don’t you think it’s fair to say that there would not have been a recall if efforts were made to ensure the food was safe for consumption in the first place or if the public was immediately advised of the testing to discover the toxic chemicals ? You may have also heard of the controversy around the pet food preservative called “Ethoxyquin”…The FDA tested this preservative and found that it was unhealthy for canine consumption… so they of course banned companies from using it, right? Wrong. The pet food manufacturers argued that it was too important to do away with, and instead of banning the substance outright, the FDA cut the amount that pet foods were allowed to contain in half. So my dog can get only half sick!

Well I will have to ask myself who is protecting my pet and the quality of the food that is available. Some time a few decades ago when I was a youngster our pet food came from the butcher or farm under our supervision. Today I have to think twice and take steps to protect my pets from poor nutrition. I have to ensure my pet is getting the best food and supplements available.

Fortunately there is some decent food out there for dogs that does meet the “recommended” daily allowances of vitamins and minerals… but remember… these “recommendations” were created by the same industry that creates the food itself, they just aren’t enough to keep your dog from becoming sick. Think about it: You know that as a human it’s important to regularly eat the right amounts from all 5 food groups and take vitamins and supplements to keep your body in the best possible condition. Would you agree that people who do that are probably far healthier than those who eat recklessly? Well my dog should get the same consideration.

I have been following a young holistic vet in Nelson, British Columbia, Dr. Andrew Jone and trust his recommendations to improve the quality of life and longevity through nutrition. He is the author of several publications : Veterinary Secrets Revealed, the Pet Food Recall Report and Dog Health Remedies. He decided that if he was going to truly make it easy for loving dog owners to guarantee that their dogs received the proper nutrition they needed every single day, he was going to have to develop his own dog multi-supplement. And of course… spare no expense when it came to the amount or type of ingredients it needed to keep a dog healthy. And that is just what he did.

I invite you to find more information on what Dr Andrew Jones did about dog nutrition. Find out for yourself a by visiting me at Your New Pets. Subscribe to get my content delivered directly to you at Send me YourNewPets. Learn how to care and protect your dogs ,cats and other pets .

Based in the Buffalo, New York metropolitan area — the Bills are a professional football team which was established back in 1959. The officially started playing a 1960 when they joined the American football league, this venture lasted for about nine years (1969), in 1970 they became part of the national football league under the American football conference East division, they have been part of the AFC East until today. Their home-fields are the Orchard Park in New York, War Memorial Stadium, the Ralph Wilson Stadium and the Rogers Center.

Championships and Important Moments:

The Buffalo Bills are a highly recognized football team, this is because they have earned their glory and fame through the many games they have been able to win, they have been the AFL league champions twice in two consecutive years (1964 and 1965). When it comes to the American football conference they have been able to leave a noticeable mark as they were the league champions for four consecutive years (1990 until 1993). To add to their amazing track record they have also added 10 division championships under their belts, they were the AFL champions for three consecutive years (1964 to 1966) and have been the AFC East division champions for seven years (1980, 1988 – 1993 and 1995).

Quarterbacks in the current Roster:

– JP Losman
– Trent Edwards
– Gibran Hamdan
– Matt Baker

Buffalo Bills Recent News:

When it comes to the Bill’s, internal team competition has always been strong but apparently it has been much steeper lately, one of the positions where you can expect a strong competition is the one for quarterback but apparently the competition on the corner might be the strongest than in any other position in the team, as far as the Bills defensive staff is concerned that’s just fine. According to the Bill’s defensive backs coach — George Catavolos — competition makes everyone stronger by putting a lot more pressure on the players and forcing them to improve and come to the highest level of physical performance, one way for the coaches to force the players to become even better is to bring in a little bit of competition which is always an effective strategy.

With so much internal competition the Bill’s 2008 season is expected to be a great one as most of the players want to outperform their competitors within their team as well as the teams which go up against them.

Ticketamerica provides exclusive Buffalo Bills tickets for the 2008 season, to learn more about the Buffalo Bills and the rest of the NFL teams visit our website today!

Is it in a bed topped with down comforters? Is it spinning enchanting moods? Is it pouring out uncertainties, sipping margaritas on a crowded boulevard? Is it speaking in the language of goose bumps, touching one’s fantasies or is it hunting for one’s truth?

Do we come to terms with our reflection through our magnificence? Does a woman truly see who she is through the relationships she is in? Does she truly catch her reflection while slipping away in the darkness, while gasping for composure or when she is in a radiant haze? Perhaps her clearest reflection is when she hauls the thinker away in her and runs free in emotional wakefulness. But sinking into an arm chair of rapture is not easy for a woman. The female spirit has really only recently kicked off its fuzzy slippers and begun poking around life.

But how does a woman see her true reflection? How does she find it and, feel it? Is a woman’s deep reflection seen when she cuddles back in candle thrown shadows? Is it revealed when she craves for mystery or does she come upon it through wisdom and imagination or is it simply found in fascination? Perhaps a woman’s reflection is traced in moments of sudden kisses?

As a reflective life writer, I specialize in the art of discovery. Moving beyond the realistic rendering of image I go deep inside the feelings we travel through and explore a place inside of us few hardly know is there: our awareness. Guiding observation, I move one beyond the reflection caught in the mirror and introduce new ways of seeing things, including the recognition of one’s self. As a reflective life writer I don’t help one to see their reflection, I help one discover their reflection by introducing new ways of exploring and understanding life.

Focusing on the positive glows of the connections that are discovered, I concentrate on interaction and go beyond the surface of reflection to a deeper meaning. I look at pictures and portraits and catch gesture and expression, examining one eye or hand or a strand of hair being teased by the wind. I go where the self is creatively transformed such as in dialogue where I hear experiences and listen intently to inflection of tone of voice as well as concentrate on autobiographical accounts and the construction of identity. Everywhere you go is the magical looking glass. It depends on your interaction, your connectedness to yourself and to life if the magical looking glass will catch you in its reflection..

7 ways to catch your true reflection:

1) First you must have the capacity to relate to your feelings. True reflection comes about when you can connect with your feelings and accept notions that are currently not present in your life. Connecting to your feelings gives you the ability to accept something new about yourself.

2) When looking into your reflection you must not see obstacles. See flaws, but not obstacles. Remember imperfection is itself a glittering reflection.

3) An examination of boundaries is essential to the art of discovery. Are your self-imposed boundaries bringing you closer to your authentic self or taking you further away from who you really are? People put up walls to protect their personal space but these walls create distance between your relationships with others and the relationship you have with your own life. Respect your need for solitude, but remember you cannot travel through your boundaries and either can your true reflection.

4) You look at yourself in the mirror. You hair is uncombed; your skin is wrinkled in places that it never was before. “Is this what I have become?” you ask. Look closer. Feel your presence. It is you who is confining your image. You are looking at a reflection of thought. Splash some water on your face. Expand your realm of self-acceptance. Those self-imposed limitations are slapping you on the back again and saying good job! Swat them away. Your smile releases the latch of inhibition, and your reflection becomes an enchanting oasis with a rose-colored view.

5) Browse your life. Do you find yourself interesting? Because if you are in a place in your life where even your dreams march away to infinity then your reflection is sure to be dull in your presence.

6) Nothing grows at random and that includes our emotions. It is our nature that cultivates our feelings. Sometimes it seems that our feelings reside in the deserts of backwardness. They are doomed to view and worse to feel. But our feelings are at our own command. A wink, a nudge, a smile can all appear magical if we allow them to be. Free thinking is good for the mind and does a world of good for one’s reflection.

7) You are a handful of definitions, but you cannot always be defined in a sensible way. You are valuable for your own self and you have the ability to create many things. Your individual perspective matters. Look at it closely. It is your truest reflection.

A woman will forever love her reflection if she sees it through the twinkle in her eye.

Dorfman’s real-time interactive writing transcends the existence of paper and ink. The adrenaline rush of her words articulates moments so effectively the reader becomes an “experiencer.” We don’t read her pages, we leave our footprints in them. “Felt experience” enhances lives by learning to feel contentment in present moments. For more, visit: http://www.danadorfman.com

Everyday women receive male body language flirting signals. There are hundreds of different types of flirting techniques men are using, but at the end of the day all of them come back to the basics… The basic flirting techniques they use to attract women they like. The problem is that women fail to recognize mens flirting signals, because they don’t know what to look for. In this article you will learn about observing other couples and why this is so important for you and you will learn how to recognize and respond to male flirting signals so you could get the outcomes you want.

If you seriously want to learn to recognize male body language flirting signals, you need to become an observer and you have to literally push your observation skills to the limit. It doesn’t matter whether you are at work, college or shopping mall – you have to look and observe the conversations that are happening between other men and women. You need to do so because you will only learn from others. If you will try to observe your own conversations, your brain will not be fully focused on the person you are talking to, which means that you won’t be able to recognize the signals that are sent to you. You will still think about how do you look, whether your hair is looks fine and so on… So in the beginning you should only focus on other peoples conversations and look for male flirting signals. Focus on the mans eyes, mouth, hands and other body parts. Try to notice whether they move in a different way. Does he raises his eyebrows? Does he touches his watch? Does he makes eye contact that lasts for longer than usual?

To make it even easier for you, I would like to share the most common flirting signals that are used by men. If you are not serious about this, you should still to go out in a public place and look for these flirting signals:

• He lighty touches her arms or shoulders
• He raises his eyebrows
• He touches his hair
• He plays with his accessories
• He makes eye contact that lasts for longer than usual
• He’s leaning in
• He observes her lips and other body parts
• He laughs a lot

Here is the list of most commonly used, mens favorite flirting techniques. Once you will learn to recognize them in other peoples conversations move on and try to look for these male body language flirting signals in your conversations. It takes some time, but once you can recognize the signals that are sent to you, you can control the situation and get the outcomes you want, because it is you who receives the signal, it is who can choose to respond to it or not. It is you who has the control.

Want to go even further and take flirting to the next level? Then Check out Male Body Language Flirting website and learn how you could manipulate men and make them do exactly what you want. In a good way of course… http://www.squidoo.com/male-body-language-flirting

I was talking with a Major college football recruiter and I asked him what they look for in a High School Quarterback. He stated 4 things! The first thing they look for in a quarterback is mental and physical toughness. The second thing they look for is the QB footwork. The third thing they look for is Vision. And lastly is the arm strength to make all of the quarterback throws. If a quarterback has those four of these abilities then you might just get a football scholarship!

A lot of mental toughness comes with football classroom work. One of the most underrated phases of quarterback training is in the football film room and the chalkboard. Most teams give the quarterback scouting reports that the coaches will review with them. Many teams after reviewing scouting reports have the quarterbacks write down the different passing plans. Such as the goal line package, the 2 minute offense package, the 3rd down package. the no huddle package if you have one, the first down passing package. From this list you will usually have 2-4 plays picked and reviewed.

So as you can see a Quarterback must spend some time learning how to read defenses! I see that there are now quarterback training websites that sell Quarterback How To Read Defenses DVDs. I strongly suggest any serious QB get them!

Quarterback footwork can be developed in many ways. Jumping rope, Jumping Benches and Boxes. Playing soccer, playing tennis, playing basketball, ladder drills, hurdle drills. Again there are some great low cost football training dvds out there you can buy on the internet. Just search quarterback training dvds or football training dvds.

Nest is vision, this is skill all great quarterbacks must have. You must be able to read defenses, find the open reciever and make the throw! The first part of reading defenses is identifying the pass coverage. Is it cover 2, cover 3, Man to man, Zone, or a combination type pass defense, or is a blitz coming? Again all qbs must put some time in the classroom study film and learning to read defenses!

Lastly, all quarterbacks at the higher levels have a strong enough arm to make all of the passing throws in a passing tree. The typical routes include a quick out, quick slant or quick hitch.

The passing tree includes 3 step drops, The typical routes include a quick out, quick slant or quick hitch. 5 step drops, with typical routes are curl, out, in. And 7 step drop or shotgun, with typical routes being the deep in, deep out, comeback, post and go route.

This passing tree and the throws used are the bread and butter used by all college and NFL coaches or scouts. If you want to play quarterback you must learn these throws. You can attend a quarterback camp or again there are some great low cost quarterback passing drills dvd that you can buy on the internet to see more detailed quarterback drills.

Todd Krueger is a former 8th round draft pick in 1980 with the Buffalo Bills and also played with the Houston Oilers and Minnesota Vikings and the Arizona Wranglers in the USFL. He runs a football coaching website at http://www.footballtools.com and offers football coaching products such as NFL Football Playbooks, Youth Football Practice DVDs, Quarterback Training DVDs, Football Scouting Software, Football Playbook Software, Free Quarterback Drills, Football Special Teams DVDs, Football Workout DVDs, Football Practice DVDs, and a free football newsletter at http://www.footballtools.com and http://www.playqb.com

If you are delivering a speech to a crowd, it is very important that you make use of body language in communication to drive your point home.

In truth, this extra gesture can generate a lot of emotions, as well as ideas on how you want your audience to understand your meaning.

Body language in communication depends mostly on the topic you wish to convey to each individual. In fact, it can vary depending on the emotions involved when you relay it to them.

For example, a priest is mostly seen waving his hands in the air as he relays the message of God, or a communicator pointing and waving to the crowd every time they say something that concerns the audience.

Eye Contact

Maintaining eye contact with your audience is one of the most important body language in communication. By doing this, you can determine the emotions and state of mind of a person while you are delivering your speech. You can practically tell if they are bored or tired, so you can change topic to wake them up.

Eye contact can relay your truthfulness in regards to your topic. If you maintain eye contact while explaining something to your parents or friends, then it simply means that you are telling them a lot of things in a non-verbal way.

Hand Gestures

Doing hand gestures is another useful body language in communication. It can accentuate your message to an individual into something that they can picture in their minds.

Sometimes, people get bored listening when the speaker is just rambling on and on. Gestures can practically remove the boredom from your audience, replacing it with stark interest with every word you make. Also, the emotions you want your crowd to feel as you deliver your speech is one of the essential uses of hand gestures.

Fidgeting

How would you react if you see a speaker fidget and tremble while they are delivering their speech to the public?

It would be safe to say that you will be practically unconvinced about their message. You might be thinking that they are not sure of what they are conveying to the crowd or they’re hiding something due to their nervousness.

An effective conversationalist or speaker utilizes body language in communication. In fact, you can practically tell if the person is a professional, expert, or plain fraud in how they communicate with an individual or an audience — in gestures, posture, poise, or even through the emotions they relay as they give their message to the crowd.

Discover how you can easily become a superior communicator by reading body language signals and by using conversational hypnosis techniques. Grab your FREE course that reveals groundbreaking persuasion secrets at http://www.20daypersuasion.com/secrets.htm

Some say “its better to dig one deep hole in the ground and discover the gold than to dig ten holes in the ground and discover nothing.”

A few months ago I thought deeply about this. It was at a time where all of a sudden I had an unbelievable desire to understand all things. This was quite the contrary to my school and university years where I just got by without really paying attention to the ‘essence’ of the knowledge – simply getting by for the sake of getting by.

But then – and the irony is almost choking – after university ended this desire showed up out of the blue. Not only did I want to understand the entire field of computer sciences, I wanted to understand matters beyond that; I wanted to deeply understand philosophy, politics, cars, self-mastery, psychology, physics. I wanted to compose music, learn how to draw well, become a painter, be good at reading poetry and literature. In essence I had an almost abnormal enthusiasm concerning all things for all people. Truly, there was nothing egoistic about it – I wasn’t on a quest to boost my ego for the sake of recognition. It was just a sincere wanting to understand.

But as cool (or uncool) as that sounds, I gained naught. Nothing. Zero. If anything, that kind of mental attitude was counter-productive. When I told my friend about it, he warned me it was dangerous.

Then I tried to search about this issue and I found an article that had to do with ‘polymaths’ (meaning a person who is well studied in many fields of knowledge). Leonardo Da Vinci is the archetype of a polymath (also called ‘renaissance man’) – he seemed to understand everything. He seemed to be capable of anything. In fact I think all the associations in his brain allowed him to understand more than that which is understood – but that’s for another time.

The article also mentioned that it’s harder to be a polymath nowadays. This is due to the fact that the amount of knowledge available to mankind now makes it impossible for a single individual to have fluent mastery in almost everything. In the old days you could have some knowledge about art, history, linguistics, literature, etiquette, table manners, and that would be enough for you to be considered a polymath. Nowadays, even the field of computer sciences is too large for the lone individual.

So now you might be guessing that I’ll start to write about ‘delegation’ and ‘working together’ and ‘expertise’, or even the division of labor. Well yes, that is ideal for todays world. The unit of production can no longer be attained by one individual alone.

However I’d still like to maintain the subjective opinion that there is a certain elegance in one who is AT LEAST moderately versed in many issues. I have (very cheesily so) called this thought ‘the philosophy of the sword’. It simply means that one must have both horizontal and vertical growth. The vertical growth would be the sword body – your expertise, whatever it may be. This sword body would be used to thrust your way through life, your engine of sustenance and if possible, your source of passion. The horizontal section of the sword, the cross-guard, would represent an ongoing aspiration to know at least the basics of as many things as one desires to know, say, the basics of politics (May I suggest that spirituality and your chosen belief be represented by the sword’s sheath/scabbard?).

To end, it’s interesting to note that if you were to buy as many books as possible and read ONLY the first chapters of those books, you would therefore have quite an extensive amount of basic knowledge on numerous subjects. I haven’t done this yet, but I reckon it would be great to have such a balance in such a specialized world.

Just a thought.

To read more articles related to mind, consciousness and awareness, please visit my site at

http://www.consciouswritings.com