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happymetalgirl · 3 years

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Album Chronology - Death

The whole ranking-albums-from-worst-to-best has been done to death to the point of staleness at this point, but mostly due to the format, at least to me. I’ve read so many damn worst-to-best lists at this point that they’re all kind of predictable even when they’re seemingly trying to force some kind of novelty or surprise factor by putting a fan-favorite or highly revered album really low in a ranked list. It’s all gotten pretty dry at this point, plus, to me, I can’t help but see a little bit of futility in compiling lists for active artists whose next release will render such a list so quickly obsolete. I honestly had the idea of doing something tier-related to make it less rigid a year or so ago, but lo and behold, tier-list videos are the newest horse getting beaten to death. So rather than jumping around an artist’s catalog and tossing in some spicy hot takes, I figured why not take the chronological approach and trace the story of the artist’s creative trajectory, and not spoil the #1 spot by revealing the #2 spot.

So why do these kinds of lists? Also, why Death?

I make this little chronology to offer my insight into Death’s discography partly for the reason so many others have made similar rankings: to appreciate Death’s music and the huge legacy Chuck Schuldiner left through it. But I also make this because I do think my perspective on Death is a somewhat unique one, at least among Death fans. Chuck Schuldiner was an incredibly talented musician and a beloved figure within the world of metal, and that aspect of his legacy has undoubtedly been enhanced by the untimeliness and unfairness of his passing. The guy certainly had a strong presence on the stage and a certain charisma off of it, and his cherishing of animals surely resonates with me as well. Death was also hardly my first death metal band, so I do think that gives me a bit less of a nostalgic perspective on their legacy. I still enjoy a lot of the same things about Death that most fans do, and at the end of this list, it might not really end up being all that shocking or controversial, just a slightly tempered version of what most fans would make. I’m pretty long-winded, so I’ll cut the intro and get into the music: Death.

1987 - Scream Bloody Gore

I have to reinforce my position right from the get-go about having a more measured view of the band’s catalog because the spicy takes come right out of the gate with Death’s debut album, Scream Bloody Gore. The sour really isn’t all that sour and it comes with a little bit of sweet right afterward too: I think this is Death’s worst album. But that just means it only gets better from here, and I do still really like it. It’s a classic in its own right that started Death on a more solid footing than the average debut project in very new territory at the time and I again do genuinely still like it a lot; I own it, along with the rest of the band’s catalog, on vinyl. But it is, as I mentioned, a first step into new territory, and rather naturally primordial, which indeed has its own appeal in the context of the era it came from and for which it deserves tremendous appreciation. There is indeed a lot to appreciate here. I love the persistence of the bass line in the title track, the hooks of songs like “Zombie Ritual” and “Baptized in Blood”, and the amped up Slayer-inspired extremification of thrash metal that would only snowball further as the band and the genre they helped pioneer progressed. But the primary role Scream Bloody Gore served was to lay the groundwork for Death to expand upon in that early era that would itself later become the groundwork for their more ambitious progressive tilt during the second half of their career. I’ll throw it out right here just to get it outbid then way, it’s not exactly a hot take, but some Death fans are partial the other way; it’s probably already evident, but I prefer the band’s second era from Human to Perseverance. Personally I think bands like Morbid Angel and Cannibal Corspe were more suited to this primal gory form of early death metal, and I think Death would have wound up being seen as merely a pretty good band in a tier below those guys if they had stuck with what they were doing with their debut and the two albums that followed for the rest of their career. Again, Scream Bloody Gore is by no means a bad album, or even a rough start, kind of a Kill ‘em All sort of debut that laid solid foundations and allowed for greatness to follow but indeed stands well enough on its own.

7/10

1988 - Leprosy

The band’s sophomore release just a year later showed immediate signs of improvement. The trimmed track list with more meticulously groomed songs (and a greater density of sick riffs) produced several live staples for the band, like the title track, “Left to Die”, and especially the ever-traditional concert-closer “Pull the Plug”. But there was more than just better riffs and more focus on perfecting the songs here. The production on Leprosy was clearer than the band’s debut the year before, and the writing was generally more sophisticated too, incorporating a bit more flashy technicality that would soon escalate to an echelon that would end up characterizing their sound more comprehensively. Soon-to-be vestigial characteristics of the debut album still remained: tons of wailing Slayer-sequence guitar solos, thrashy blast beats, the focus of palm-muted tremolo riffing, and more fantastical, brutal lyricism. But Leprosy presented these more mid-brow elements in a more impressive arrangement than its predecessor.

8/10

1990 - Spiritual Healing

My personal favorite of the band’s grittier first half of their career, Spiritual Healing was really just a more consistent continuation (to my ears at least) of the refined early death metal sound of Leprosy. The band were starting to develop a more signature style of riffing, as well as soloing that they would take with them into their next four albums. By now most of the gory detail was taking the backseat to Schuldiner’s psychological analysis of certain “Defensive Personalities”, parasitic religious manipulation by televangelists, and prenatal cocaine exposure. The more high-mindedness of Spiritual Healing also ushered in another ramp up in the band’s technicality that made the progression into the heady technical death metal of Human a rather natural one. The band’s last album in their so-called “traditional” or “brutal” or “classic” death metal era played around a lot more with the dynamic range of the genre and it really ran the gamut of what Death had done up to that point within that style of death metal and beyond, the title track being my personal favorite example of this ability the band had to contort the genre to fit their more expansive needs while keeping everything in the confines of death metal. It’s my favorite song on the album and of this era of Death’s career. At this point, Death had pretty robustly demonstrated their ability with the genre in its more primitive form, and evolved it along the way quite a lot at that, to the point where they really had nothing more they had to say with the style, an impressive feat after three albums. Sure they could have probably spun their tires in the mud for a few more albums (knowing now that Chuck Schuldiner sadly only had a little more than a decade left), but the direction this album had the band heading in was pretty apparent. The only question was if the band would take the leap into the upper echelons of technicality and explore the new frontier that they were headed toward. Thankfully for us, the band had plenty of ambition left in them. As for the last album of their first half of their career, it’s hard to find many complaints with, and one that capped off this era of Death in complimentary fashion.

9/10

1991 - Human

After reaching their peak with bruntly aggessive death metal, Death’s fourth album began a second act for the band, one that sought to elevate their style to a more progressive form of death metal. It was a change that was pretty strongly indicated by the direction the band had been heading in and the step up in technicality on Spiritual Healing. Human takes the solos and the fast-paced guitar passages and bass lines to new extremes that the genre had never seen before, and the lyrical shift to more heady, cerebral, existential themes fit well with the significantly increased musical complexity that the album introduced. The technically dazzling yet infectious riffing of “Together as One” and “Flattening of Emotions”, the still-tasty hooks of the former and “Suicide Machine”, and the tasty percussive rhythm of “Lack of Comprehension” made those songs live staples. The band were still kind of finding their footing with the compositional aspects of this new realm, but the grounding in the aggression of their previous work with the voyage into the techy unknown was a good thing to start with and a good way to explore some new sonic territory while safely tethered to what was effective for them previously that produced some pretty impressive results.

8/10

1993 - Individual Thought Patterns

Carrying forward the ambition for significantly increased technicality that began with Human on to their fifth album, Death were still getting the hang of things with Individual Thought Patterns, which isn’t all to surprising or something to impugn the band for given the difficulty mode that had selected to play the creative game on, and the band still made some significant improvements with the integration of the hyperspeed technicality into their sound. Even more than the subsequent Symbolic, Individual Thought Patterns made the technicality so much more of a focus where, to me, this was Death’s first bonafide technical death album. Human was definitely pretty technical, but on Individual Thought Patterns, Death cut the cord and let themselves float off into the dizzying cosmos of instrumental technicality and tailored their compositional practices to fit that need. If there was any contingent of fans struggling to keep up with Death’s progression or hoping for a scale-back to the more brutish early albums, they were left behind with Individual Thought Patterns, save perhaps for the consolation of more traditionally groovy closing track, “The Philosopher”, but rampant speed-fests like “Overactive Imagination” and odd-timed melodic groovers like “Trapped in a Corner” quickly became fan favorites. If there’s one thing Individual Thought Patterns lacked, it was balance, but that wasn’t going to be a problem for very long...

8/10

1995 - Symbolic

Ah, Symbolic, there’s not gonna be any surprising bucking of the trend or “bold” underrating here. In a catalog that so many fans regard as perfect, Symbolic stands out as the most common fan favorite, and for good reason. The album synthesized everything that had made Death such a force to be reckoned with in the death metal world. Weaving together the early era’s delicious primal grooves, the elevated technicality that had become a solidified facet of the band’s style, and their newly blossoming progressive inclinations, Symbolic remains the band’s most comprehensively representative and accomplished work, the best place for any newcomer to the legendary act to start, and the best album in their acclaimed discography. The song-writing is tight and interesting from start to finish, seasoned with both tasty riffs and captivating displays of technicality that enhanced the songs rather than the players’ appetites for indulgence, and kept consistently interesting with frequent tasteful dynamic shifts and surprising twists and turns. I would undoubtedly go on forever if I were to detail the brilliance of every song on here, the majestic melodies and winding structure of “Crystal Mountain”, the catchy commentary on mass surveillance of “1,000 Eyes”, the invigorating double-bass of “Misanthrope”, and the iconic riffing of the opening title track. Instead I’ll quickly highlight two songs that seem to go unnoticed that I find particularly beautiful for the unexpected compositional moves Death makes on them. The first is the song, “Without Judgement”, which abruptly drops its techdeath winding to hypnotize with a gorgeous and emotive melodic solo that seems rather uncharacteristic for Death that I just love, and the second is the closing track, “Perennial Quest”. It’s the longest song in the band’s discography up to this point, only to be just marginally eclipsed by “Flesh and the Power It Holds” on the subsequent album, and it embarks on a similarly proggy and melodic odessey to that of “Crystal Mountain”, but it’s the somber and mournful electric/acoustic outro that would soon become all too tragic for Death fans to listen to that concludes the album on such a heartfelt note in such beautifully fitting fashion. There’s no other moment like it in Death’s catalog, and it’s always a solemn, conclusive reminder of just how much light Chuck Schuldiner and Death brought to this world and how lucky we are to have albums like this. I’ll end my sentimental bit here and conclude by briefly summing up my thoughts on the album. Symbolic is Death’s magnum opus and a masterpiece among masterpieces that captures nearly everything that makes Death and death metal appealing and that had made the genre so predominant for decades since, and beyond being their best, to me, it is a perfect album.

10/10

1998 - The Sound of Perseverance

Death’s final album seemed to set them on yet another new musical course after the second run through the steady improvement over the course of a three-album cycle. The longest album of the band’s seven and including the longest songs in their catalog on average, The Sound of Perseverance took Death on quite the progressive joyride, and surprisingly (to me at least) it kind of split and confused some fans who had just gotten used to the band’s digestible technicality on Symbolic. Granted, I was just a little baby bitch boy when this came out, but personally I don’t see why this was such a shock to the system for so many fans (apparently), the band had always been pretty ambitious and this was a pretty logical next step for them to expand their continually expanding sound. The structures on the band’s seventh album are less conventional and more packed with extensive technical passages, and the band do pull out a good few more surprises than they ever did in any album previously, like the acoustic/electric guitar-solo instrumental “Voice of the Soul”. But The Sound of Perseverance is by no means any kind of contrived over-indulgence in ideas grander than what the band could accomplish or frothy wank-fest. The band was already developing a bit of a progressive bend in the previous three-album arc and they simply took it to the next level the same way they did with their instrumental technicality on Human. And fans did indeed vibe with plenty of songs on The Sound of Perseverance, with the impressively vocally high soaring “Spirit Crusher”, the angular and unpredictable “Scavenger of Human Sorrow, and even the lengthy, and indeed structurally confounding, prog-techdeath monolith “Flesh and the Power It Holds” making their way into the band’s setlists on their last tours. And of course the album ends on the well-earned, fun, high-octane cover of Judas Priest’s “Painkiller”, which finds Schuldiner incredibly nailing the songs high melody with his high-pitched death shrieking style (and finishing with never-before-heard clean vocals). For the reputation it has for eschewing balance for high-minded progness, The Sound of Perseverance is by no means a hard pivot from or unrecognizable from Symbolic. Its bold expounding upon aspects of their sound that already seemed pretty evolved while remaining musically engaging and not sacrificing what made their previous work appealing, and sheer magnitude and impressiveness of the band’s third venture into new territory again do sometimes make me question whether I like it more than Symbolic. While it did seem to pave the way for another new mind-blowing era of Death that death took away from us, The Sound of Perseverance has become a glorious and aptly titled swan song and a testament to the band’s and Schuldiner’s relentless ambition and, indeed, genius. Eternal cheers to Chuck and to Death.

9/10

And that’s it, eleven years and seven albums that continually revolutionized death metal and paved the way for so much of what we hear today. Anyone reading this of course probably knows most of all of this, but it’s still astonishing to think about how much Death did for the genre in such a relatively short time, and, for me at least, even having already been a pretty big fan of Death, listening to these albums from Scream Bloody Gore to The Sound of Perseverance, it reminded me more viscerally of the quality of the music and respected legacy of the band that I have always intellectually acknowledged and agreed with, which I figured I’d share here. If, somehow, you’ve come across this and you’re not into Death or death metal but you’re open to it and interested, you’re in for a treat. Put on Symbolic and just enjoy the trip down the rabbit hole.

#Death #Chuck Schuldiner #metal #heavy metal #death metal #Scream Bloody Gore #Leprosy #Spiritual Healing #Human #Individual Thought Patterns #Symbolic #The Sound of Perseverance #Death band

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onedirectionplease · 3 years

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The World of “Crazed” One Direction Fandom and the Impacts of it

"I stop breathing as he reaches out his hands to my hips, and travels them upward, his eyes following his touch, reaching the back of my head". This excerpt is from the real person fanfiction series, Wrong // Harry Styles by prolific fanfiction writer TheasWords. WOW, this is STEAMY. This excerpt is from a more extensive fan work about the band One Direction, and there are millions of comparable works swirling around the internet only a single click away.This sexual fanfiction has gained 22.3 million reads since its release in October of 2016. LIKE THAT IS A LOT OF READERS. But how many of those fans are young girls?

Despite portraying unwanted sexual advances and casual descriptions of aggressive sex, Wrong // Harry Styles reached a vast audience. As most people reading this sexual fanfiction are not yet high school graduates, these young girls may have not even undergone sex education when reading. Wattpad.com, an online fiction-writing platform, has an extensive user base of "teenage girls and young women; 80% of the site's users are female and under 25" (Korobkova & Black, 2014). Wattpad is where many young users consume over-sexualized fan content. While the sex-based content is accessible to the fans, there is also an abundance of romance or adventure-based content dealing with the band.

Across the fandom, there is a spectrum of Directioner. I am not a Directioner, but I do enjoy a lot of the music they released and I am a HUGE Harry Styles fan, so I can still appreciate the cultural phenomena that was their rise to fame. While there are fans who just enjoy the music, many fans allow this admiration of One Direction to hold a significant part of their life, represented in the fanfiction "Copyright x One Direction." The author writes a dialogue between two characters that results in one of the characters saying that she is "not obsessed" with One Direction. This line prompted a fan to write "I believe the word people use is dedicated" (Yassin, 2017). And as the media CONSTANTLY likes to remind people, they believe that One Direction fans are much more than dedicated.

LOOK AT ALL THESE PEOPLE WHO SPENT THEIR MONEY TO SUPPORT THE BAND! WOW SO MANY UNASSUMING YOUNG GIRLS GETTING TAKEN ADVANTAGE OFF! That seems to be the consensus of the media. Which is WRONG! What they did for young girls in the early 2010s is very important to discuss! The band may no longer be together creating music and going on tour, but the fandoms have not lost any momentum. Many dedicated fans follow each of the boys' careers and speculate about the band and their future. I love to watch the twitter feed for One Direction fans and I just feel like this tweet really sums up the feelings of many of these “crazed” One Direction fans.

Because the fandom consists mostly of minors, this admiration and appreciation crossed a line; this attraction has moved towards something less fun, having consequences for young girls' development. With more than 25 million followers on Instagram, One Direction is still a very prominent popular culture figure. Directioners have become one of the most well-known fandoms to utilize social media and is a very prominent presence on many fan based social media platforms such as Wattpad, reddit, Twitter, and Tumblr (hey friends on TUMBLR!!!!).

Being a Directioner means having a sense of group identity as well as personal identity also helps a child feel a sense of belonging. This is the main benefit of joining any fandom! The majority of fans are young and in those ages of 11-18, much of a person’s identity and personality are NOT developed yet. These young Directioners use the One Direction community to develop their identity. Joining the fandom and interacting with many aspects of the fandom, such as Wattpad, Tumblr, and Twitter leads to increased self-identification in social groups outside of the One Direction fandom. It is very important to note that reading this fanfiction is still reading, and can be valuable in a spark in interest in education and other forms of literature. One Direction is significant in these young girls’ lives, it is more than just an interest in a band’s music, but in the people who make up One Direction itself. Self-proclaimed “Directioner” wrote in a blog post about her relationship with One Direction and how it affected her personal development

“I feel like I have grown up with them, as I made my One Direction-themed Twitter account on January the 6th, 2011, after using my account throughout X-Factor. Since then, I have gained 70,000 followers and made some life-long best friends. I have also grown from 14 to 18, and I still cry every time they are on TV (some things never change)! They are like having older brothers that I have never even met but know everything about. That is the hardest thing to explain about being such a dedicated fan, the feeling of knowing someone without them knowing that you exist”. The image above is of the writer of the quote Chandra Gray and Niall Horan. Look how cute she looks!

These anecdotal stories of fans who have grown with One Direction are not hard to come by; many fans feel an intense connection with the band that has driven them to the place in their lives they are today. Many children become directioners, because their friends are directioners, therefore expanding their social group from friends to fans with a common object of fandom. While traditional education draws on rules, laws, and traditions in order to address how to read and write literature, fan fiction allows more free and creative space to appease these pressures of confined literature. YAY One Direction. Suck it Mainstream media! Kids get a lot of good things from being in this awesome fandom!

ANOTHER POSITIVE CONSEQUENCE OF THE 1D FANDOM! The interest in the fandom, and exposure to many different sexualities through the One Direction/ Directioner social group aids young girls in learning to express themselves and further builds their identity. The exposure to sexuality through an interest in the One Direction fandom aids Directioners in finding their sexual identity on their terms. It allowed young girls to come together to explore issues important to them. It also allows a free space for expression in the fandom which can ultimately lead to self acceptance and less negative consequences of possible closeting and shading of a child's sexuality through the disclosure of others being so open and normalized in the One Direction fandom. There are many empirical examples of One Direction causing young girls to try and evaluate their own sexuality. A Directioner named Ash tweeting “I swear everything was fine before I knew about one direction. I thought I was straight and now here we are”. She could come up online because of her connection to One Direction. SO COOL! While this exposure's positive implications are quite prevalent, there are some negative consequences of being a One Direction fandom member from such a young age.

Ok Media, you might be a little right :( Media as a whole has implications on the development of children, and this research is much fresher in the world of childhood development. With the rise of media, came the rise of problems associated with interaction with the media. Because youth is the period during which people form a critical part in constructing their sexual identity and gender, this can produce positive and negative effects on these younger individuals. This grander idea is applied to the One Direction fandom. As most of the One Direction content was produced and is still produced through the Online mediums of Reddit, twitter, Tumblr, and Wattpad, these aspects of social media directly involve members of the One Direction fandom. Cybersex and expressions of sexuality through social media are often the first activity through which teenagers can explore their sexuality freely and without biases. This can be good! It helps learn about sexual expression, but this can also expose an 11 year old to some topic that they might not be ready for. This interest in fandom is sometimes the only form of sexual education that some children will receive until they reach secondary school, and it is of general interest to many children that are in the prime Directioner age group of 11-15. Sometimes, reading fan fiction is the only way they are taught about what is correct in the bedroom and what is a violation of consent and boundaries.

WHICH CAN BE GOOD, but also can be really bad. While internet searching questions about sex will get the user more answers and more results that are from experts in the field of sexual education and reproductive health, Wattpad, Tumblr, and Twitter are a less intimidating and more community building forum for these types of experiences. It is interactive, there are comment features that allow users to comment and respond to one another. While this may sometimes be helpful for the child to expose them to the idea of sex, it can also be incredibly harmful for the children to get the wrong ideas about sex.

The Negative Consequences of Joining the One Direction Fandom, because sadly there are a few.

While there are some less nuanced consequences of the interest in the One Direction fandom such many “crazed” fans doing self damaging things such as “Natasha, 17, said on the documentary Crazy About One Direction: ‘The whole reason I got braces was because Niall Horan got braces. I didn’t really need braces but I wanted them because they look good and because Niall had them’” (Baillie, 2014). There are some more costly and deep impacts of the involvement in the fandom. In One Direction, a fandom of mostly young girls, this has manifested itself in a very sexually explicit fashion. The most famous example of sexually explicit One Direction fan content is "After" (a movie based on a One Direction fanfiction), made by Wattpad studios. Wattpad has a plethora of PG through NC-17 1D fan fiction content. While many of the posts are from the early days of the One Direction saga, there is still a plethora of new postings from many fandom members about the band. We have ALL seen it. When I was younger, I was a member of the 5 seconds of Summer Fandom (side note they toured with 1D so why i was not a direction is besides me). I read A LOT of fanfiction that I should not have been reading. I remember that to mark a section as sexual, the writer would put a warning before. SMUT or SEX SCENE ahead in bold, but that did not ward of 12 year old Grace. I read ahead and BOY was I surprised. I had no idea what a “throbbing member” was. I hadn’t received formal sex education and I was SHOCKED. According to a CNN article written in 2017, “a good portion of the fanfiction on the internet ranges in age-appropriateness from completely mild to nearly soft-core porn… Whether you’re a writer or a reader, you’ll come across words and images that are graphic” (Knorr, 2017). As the fandom is relatively young, exposure to explicit sexual content may formulate a harmful, dangerous image about sex for young women, and wow can it expose you to some THINGS.

TIME TO GET SERIOUS! TW FOR RAPE AND SEXUAL ASSAULT. Many of these real person fan fictions contain depictions of rape and lack of consent. This portrays a dangerous image of sexual interactions. These are perpeutaing something known as rape myths. As this is a form of sex education for many young teens, the One Direction fan fiction community can educate them with the wrong information. Many of these scenes contain graphic violent sex, including depections of rape. This has incredibly negative implications and can transfer from the virtual space to a physical sexual experience.

Final Thoughts on the Implications of the One Direction Fandom. There is nothing wrong with joining the One Direction fandom whatsoever. People just hate it because young girls enjoy it. Fanfiction is incredibly stigmatized in the modern, mainstream media, but this should not always be the case. Especially since the band has broken up, many of the ex-super Directioners have grown to be young adults. Their involvement in the band has affected their life in one aspect or another. Rather than shy from exploring this phenomenon of fandom and fan work, it is an important idea to explore to learn more about the effects on the young mind. Researchers need to spend more time looking into this issue, To this day, One Direction remains popular with the young girls they grew with and they continue to inspire their fans who miss the band (we see you One Direction #endthebreak). As the younger girls grew into women, they had One Direction and their chosen family, Directioners to guide them along their path; that is what the One Direction fandom truly is for young women. Also, if One Direction is reading this, please at LEAST collaborate with one another. NO ONE IS STOPPING YOU.

#One Direction fandom real person fan-fiction WattPad Tumblr fan

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roundtheworldrambles · 3 years

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Hanoi, Vietnam

Day 165 – Luang Prabang to Hanoi, Vietnam

I spent my final morning in Luang Prabang at Joma Café, a delicious bakery/café that my uncle Alan had recommended, run by a Canadian expat! I was surprised (and very excited) that the café served Canada’s famous Nanaimo Bar, and picked up one to have a ‘taste of home’ along with my coffee. I tucked into a cozy booth for several hours, doing research and bookings for the final 5 weeks of my trip, including Vietnam, Cambodia, Bangkok and Japan.

In the late afternoon, I packed up my bag and headed to the town centre to hire a Tuk Tuk to take me to the airport. At this point in Southeast Asia, I had become pretty used to negotiating a price when taking a Tuk Tuk, and agreed upon a price with the driver. However, he ended up demanding a higher price at the airport, after we had arrived. Even after months of travel, I was still never quite sure what to do in these situations, which occasionally arose. Given the increased charge that the driver demanded was little more than 50c Canadian, it felt petty to argue over such a small amount. At the same time, the whole practice also felt dishonest, and I struggled with it in principle – particularly wondering in the back of my mind whether I was a target of arbitrary price increases because I was a woman travelling alone. Irritated but not wanting to argue, I grudgingly paid the full amount and headed into the airport to catch my flight to Hanoi.

After a short flight to the east, I touched down in Vietnam just as the sun was setting. Having secured my e-visa to the country in advance, I sailed through customs and into the arrivals hall, where I had pre-arranged an airport transfer to take me into the old town of the city. While I generally preferred to take public transit or hail a tuk-tuk when backpacking, I had become cautious with my transportation when arriving at airports after dark. From my research on Hanoi, I had heard that taxi scams are unfortunately common, where certain drivers are paid by hotels and hostels to drive unwitting passengers to the wrong location, or charge excessive fares, to the point where a passenger would need to go to an ATM, or pay in foreign currency. In the communication I had received in advance from my hostel in Hanoi, I had also been fully briefed on possible scams in transit, and chose to pre-pay for a transfer to avoid the worry. I had also purchased a new Vietnamese SIM card in the airport, so that I could ensure I could follow my route to the old town city.

As my ride pulled away from the airport, we were almost immediately surrounded by scooters – hundreds of them! Weaving in and out of traffic, the drivers leaned heavily on their horns as they navigated their scooters along the road - carrying everything from tall plants, flowers and produce, and sometimes up to 3-4 people! After the quiet atmosphere of Luang Prabang, where honking was rare in the old city centre, the streets of Hanoi were quite the opposite, bursting with sounds from every direction. Heading South, we crossed the Red River and approached the Old Quarter of the city.

As it happened, even with my pre-arranged airport transfer, my driver still tried to drop me off at the wrong hostel. Fortunately I had already located my correct destination in Hanoi on Google Maps, and after much back-and-forth, and insistence on my part, I was finally taken to the correct destination. The streets of the old quarter are so narrow that cars cannot go down them, and I walked the final few minutes to my hostel on foot. I passed other hostels with live music, and food vendors with plastic stools arranged near their stalls for people to sit and eat. My friends from Vancouver, Kevin and Liane, had previously stayed at this hostel, Original Backpackers, a few years earlier, and recommended it highly – and rightly so! I felt immediately welcomed by the friendly staff, and began to relax again after many hours in transit. After several weeks of communal living, I had decided to pay a small premium for a private room, where I had a long, hot shower, before crashing immediately for the night.

Typical Food Stalls in the Old Quarter

Narrow Streets in the Old Quarter, with a perfectly placed photobomber!

Day 166 – Hanoi

I only had one full day in Hanoi – and woke up early, determined to pack in as much as possible! Through the front desk of my hostel, I arranged a motorbike “Backstreet Tour” for that afternoon, where a local Vietnamese guide would take me around the city on a motorbike to show me both popular sites, and what day-to-day life looked like in Hanoi.

In the morning, I began to wander the Old Quarter of Hanoi nearby to my hostel. This historic city has been inhabited for over a thousand years, and has been shaped by a complex history – from ancient kingdoms, dynasties and wars, French colonialism, Japanese occupation during the second world war, to more recently, with the influences of communism and the Vietnam War. After the war ended in the 1970s, it wasn’t until 1990s that the country began to open up to the outside world again, bringing in new opportunities for tourism and economic development. Modern day Hanoi is home to a multi-cultural community with strong French, Chinese and Russian influences. French colonial architecture continues to be visible throughout the city, with some streets resembling historic neighbourhoods in Paris. Near the Old Quarter, a large gothic cathedral constructed by French still stands; St. Josephs is one of the first structures built by the colonialists as they expanded their reach into Southeast Asia. Remarkably, the cathedral is still in good condition despite the wars of the last century.

The Old Quarter, part of a former citadel wall, is made up of a narrow series of alleys, tightly packed together. The historic area is known for its clusters of workshops, skilled craftsman, artisans and guilds, with the 40 streets of the area each named for the primary good and service provided on each street. It was a lively place to wander through in the morning; locals sat down on low, colourful plastic stools set up by street vendors, eating a breakfast of noodles. Honking scooters whizzed up and down the alleys, narrowing dodging each other. I spotted a few people playing chess in a doorway, right next to a vendor selling produce off the back of a scooter. I passed through one street mostly selling flowers, before turning the corner to find another street with almost all bamboo products.

I wandered further east to Hoan Kiem Lake, finally making an attempt to cross a major street – with scooters, cars and pedestrians going in every which way! One good piece of advice I had been given by friends who had visited Hanoi was to simply walk out into traffic at a slow, steady pace (without any sudden moves or stops!) and the scooters would simply weave around you. I walked beside locals crossing on my first few attempts, but it wasn’t long before I got the hang of it!

I stopped at Note Coffee to try my first Vietnamese-style egg coffee. This drink is traditionally prepared by beating egg yolks with sugar and milk, and bringing this mixture to a boil, before pouring in coffee. The result is a foamy, dessert-like coffee – and was delicious! The café itself was also unusual – with its walls decorated with thousands upon thousands of colourful post-it notes, with messages from previous visitors. The result made the entire café look like a giant art installation, and reminded me of Yayoi Kusama’s dotted “obliteration room”. Sufficiently loaded up on sugar and caffeine, I continued onwards towards the lake, popping into a few art galleries and stalls on my way. Along the streets, I was constantly amazed by the number of vendors selling fruit, art, and countless other items off the back of their scooters. Pushing or driving their laden motorbike through the crowds, these vendors would make sales right, left and centre – all while keeping moving!

Arriving at the banks of Hoan Kiem Lake, I crossed a traditional, red wooden bridge to Ngoc Son Temple, located on a small island in the middle of the lake. Aside from the crowds of other tourists, it was a quiet respite from the buzz of the surrounding Old City of Hanoi.

As it was approaching noon, I returned to my hostel to meet Kien, my local guide for the afternoon motorbike tour. Slightly younger than me, Kien had grown up in Hanoi, and was excellent company for the afternoon. His motorbike was a vintage, army-green, “Minsk”, a heavy duty motorbike that was brought back from the Soviet Union in the 80s. As luck would have it – I was the only person on the tour that day, which allowed Kien to take me out and around the city for almost 7 hours! I could scarcely believe that I was able to see and experience so much of Hanoi in a day.

Kien first took me to Train Street, where twice a day a speeding train passes through the Old Quarter, mere feet from the front stoops of people’s homes. We continued onwards to Hanoi’s notorious black market, where vendors sell everything from car and mechanical parts to appliances, DVDs and electronics. Kien pointed out things as we cycled; the dense scramble of black electric wires overhead called “black noodles” by the locals; the French colonial architecture throughout the city; and the “tube houses” of the Old Quarter – narrow homes that exchanged their width for height and depth – as a way of lowering property tax, since the wider your house, the more you pay! Many of these tall, skinny homes had large water cannisters mounted on the top of the buildings, used to maintain water pressure. We also visited a few wet markets – where every imaginable item was for sale, from a rainbow of produce to live turtles, eels, and frogs.

Train Street

Between our ventures into different areas of the city, Kien took me to many local restaurants and wet markets along the way, to try a wide range of different Vietnamese food, including more Ca Phe Trung (egg coffee), Banh Mi Chao (a hearty breakfast skillet), Banh Cuon (rice rolls, stuffed with pork), Pho Cuon (fresh beef rolls), Pho, and Banana Flower Salad. We also stopped at a tiny Bia Hoi right stand next to the road – “Bia Hoi” literally translating to “fresh beer”, and is draught beer that is sold on street corners and tiny bars throughout the city. It is delivered daily and is tapped straight out of a large steel barrel. Kien and I sat on tiny red plastic stools on the pavement, sipping the light beer and snacking on roasted peanuts from a nearby vendor.

Fruit Markets

A typical neighbourhood Bia Hoi Stand

A particularly interesting part of the day is when Kien took me East of the city center to the banks of the Red River. I was able to walk along Cau Long Bien, a colonial-era cantilever bridge that was heavily bombarded during the Vietnam war, as it was a key point of connection between Hanoi and the nearby port. Spanning a mile and a half in length, it is still one of the longest cantilever truss bridges in the world. While only part of the original bridge still stands, the bridge continues to be a symbol of pride for the Vietnamese people. Underneath the Cau Long Bien, impoverished families live in a cluster of floating homes, make-shift shelters that have been built on rafts of plastic barrels.

Cau Long Bien

Floating Homes on the Delta

We continued onwards to Bai Giua, or “Banana Island”, an island located in the middle of the Red River next to Hanoi. Since this island is on a flood plain, no apartments or concrete buildings are allowed, and the island is mostly used for farming, including fields of bananas and papayas. Kien maneouvered his motorcycle down a maze of dirt paths between the fields as we explored the island. Barking dogs sometimes came up to our motorcycle, and ran along next to us for a while, before dropping off the trail again. We passed by many farmers working in the fields, typically wearing a conical, straw hat, (called “Non La”) tied around the wearer’s chin with a piece of cloth. These multi-purpose hats not only protect farmers from the fierce tropical sun, but can be used as a fan and also as a basin for water.

As the sun began to set over the Red River, we headed back into Hanoi, and drove along the large, tree lined boulevards around the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and the Presidential Palace. Our day ended with a bit of a surprise - as Kien’s motorcycle broke down in the middle of an intersection! Fortunately, this seemed to be a common-enough occurrence in Hanoi, and all the other bikes moved around us seamlessly as we tried to get off the road. All in a day’s adventure! Arriving back in the Old Quarter after a terrific day of exploring Hanoi, I quickly crashed for the night, as I would be waking up early the following morning to catch a bus into the Sapa Mountains, a day’s journey northwest of Hanoi.

#vietnam

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inspire3uk · 4 years

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Zen12 Review: Does This Meditation Program Work or Is It a Scam?

Could You Make 12 Minutes To Spare Today?

Do you feel stressed out every day? Wouldn’t it be nice to make the world just disappear for awhile so you could center yourself?

Although not everyone can make 60 minutes to meditate, it is generally possible to carve out 12 minutes for yourself at some point.

It could be on your lunch break, a mid-day pause in the action, or it could even be the first 12 minutes after you wake up in the morning.

Reserve yourself this time, incorporate Zen12, and you’ll soon discover how amazing you can feel!

Blocking out 12 minutes every day for meditation can change your life.

You Don’t Need To Be a Meditation Expert!

For years, the only real way to meditate was through the trial and error method.

You would train with someone, but it would be up to you to figure out your body mechanisms.

You’d have to open the doors to your inner being, tap into your subconscious, and then process that information in such a way that it would benefit your outer consciousness.

Not so today.

Thanks to the innovations of Zen12, you don’t have to waste time trying to figure out the right way to meditate!

According to Inspire3, Zen12 does the work for you.

Instead of having racing thoughts that create anxiety, you’ll have less stress. Instead of being tense about the problems that are about to crash in on you, you’ll have more relaxation.

You’ll be able to enhance your creativity!

All you’ve literally got to do is press play and you’re ready to experience the benefits of Zen12!

Is it possible that someone could receive all of the benefits of meditation that could change their life in one simple program?

It’s been scientifically proven that there are a number of benefits that come with a regular practice of meditation.

There is an increased level of brain functioning.

There is a higher level of serenity and inner peace.

Creativity levels peak and then stay at their peak.

Emotions become more stable, even during natural periods of mood swings that occur.

There are dozens of other potential health benefits which are unique to the individual!

There’s only one real question to ask yourself right now: are you experiencing the benefits of meditation?

If you are not, then now is the time to act!

Does Zen12 work? Your Way To Meditate In the Perfect Way!

One of the biggest traps in the practice of meditation, especially for beginners, is that it seems like no progress is being made.

There are still racing thoughts, stressful emotions, and other bothersome issues that meditation can begin to fix.

When these don’t get fixed in the early stages of meditation practice, people tend to just give up. They don’t want to practice something that they feel is a waste of time.

I believe that Zen 12 won’t waste your time.

It may even give you an advantage over those who practice meditation in the classic way!

That’s because music and sounds can engage the entire mind while you are listening to it.

In the field of meditation, that means these sounds can penetrate the barrier between the conscious and the subconscious mind to engage both in a beneficial conversation.

In just 12 minutes, the special audio MP3s that are in this program will help you to focus your mind and here’s the best part: you don’t even have to reschedule your day to do it!

Sit back. Press play. Enjoy the rewards!

Why Meditation with Zen12 is Better?

I once read this story about a Zen master who was teaching a group of new students how to properly meditate.

Together this group meditated for 30 minutes.

At the end of the session, the Zen master asked the students how much clarity they were able to achieve.

Most students answered that they had achieved no clarity at all.

The ones that said they had mentioned that it had only been a few seconds of clarity.

Then the Zen master told the class something that shocked them all.

He said that out of those 30 minutes where they had been meditating together, he had only achieved 2 minutes of clarity.

He described it as an outstanding meditation session.

Imagine… the experts on meditation only get 2 minutes of clarity for 30 minutes of work.

That has really stuck with me over time. There’s a lot of hassle to receive a very small benefit.

This is why meditation with Zen12 could be better.

According to Inspire3, you can double the benefits this Zen master described to his class in just 12 minutes because of the innovative design of the program.

This means one could potentially receive 4 minutes of clarity if the skill of meditation was equal to this Zen master.

Now imagine being able to accomplish this meditation benefit in just 12 minutes.

The benefits begin immediately.

According to Zen12, the fidgeting begins to stop. The restlessness begins to fade away. The mental chatter begins to quiet down.

The end result?

A state of total relaxation.

Is Zen12 a Scam? Or Is it a Proven System of Meditation?

Zen12 is based on a system of meditation that is called “brainwave entrainment.”

It works by tuning the brain to reach specific frequencies that help to encourage the states of relaxation and meditation.

Sounds embedded within the MP3 files work to align your brainwave patterns so that you remain awake and aware, yet also can sense the deeper states of relaxation and mediation.

This is an area of science that has been researched for over a century.

This also means that Zen12 is a system that will grow and develop with you.

With each session, you’ll gradually progress deeper and further into the next levels of meditation.

You’ll begin to see the benefits of regular meditation grow and expand!

Each month creates new opportunities and there are 12 different levels within Zen12, so you can have a year of meditation development for a surprisingly affordable price!

Even if you’ve been meditating for awhile and you feel like you’re stuck at where you’re at, Zen12 can help you too!

You can save some time and skip the beginning levels of this meditation program to pick up where you currently are.

You can even choose the meditation style that works the best for you!

Whether you prefer the sounds of nature, some background white noise, relaxation music, or guided meditation, you’ll be able to experience the benefits of meditation from the moment you first hit play.

Because each program has 12 different levels, here’s the positive reality a purchase today brings you: 4 years of meditation assistance.

Zen12 Short Review: How It Works

Zen12 is a program which consists of short audio-based meditation sessions.

Each session requires 12 minutes of your time, which is how this program gets its name.

There are longer sessions in the 20-minute range near the end of the program to use as well.

Each module within Zen12 is designed to bring you toward the habit of committing a full 60 minutes of your day to meditation.

It is a progressive program which is designed to take 12 months to complete.

There are 12 sessions in total, which makes it easy to see how the progression is designed to work.

There are 4 different formats which are available with each session: white noise, nature sounds, music, and guided meditation.

You get to choose the format which you feel will be the best option on that day for meditation.

Then you listen to the program during your meditation time, even if you can only commit 12 minutes toward it.

What is nice about this setup is that you’re given variety.

Many audio-based meditation programs give you a take-it-or-leave-it option.

Don’t like the track? Too bad.

Not Zen12.

In addition to the audio meditation tracks you’ll receive with this program, there are some extra things which come with your purchase.

You’ll receive two short e-books from Karl Moore. The advice in the content will help you think about your mindset as you pursue your own definition of success.

There is a user’s guide, though this is a one-page introduction to the program and not much more.

The user manual is a better resource.

You’ll receive an overview of each level, along with practical advice for beginner’s or experienced meditators.

Your program includes a 1-hour training call with Zen12, which includes a recorded introduction from Karl Moore.

Once you’re ready to listen to the audio meditation tracks, it is helpful to create a comfortable environment for yourself.

Eliminate potential distractions wherever possible. I prefer to meditate in a space that has been darkened.

Then you play the audio while you meditate.

As long as the audio can be heard in the room where you are meditating, it will be helpful.

I prefer to use a set of stereo headphones and listen to the audio tracks over Bluetooth to avoid the stimulation of a computer screen.

You can use whatever equipment you prefer.

As long as your environment is suitable for meditation that meets your needs, this program will provide focus assistance.

What I’ve found to be useful with Zen12 is that it removes the issues I struggle with when attempting to meditate.

Like the mental chatter. When I try to take time in a quiet space, that is when my thoughts like to race.

There are to-do lists, worries of the past, and plans for the future which all come flooding toward me.

Zen12 helps me acknowledge these thoughts, then set them aside to continue focusing on the meditation process.

I also tend to fidget a lot when sitting still.

Do you feel every itch on your skin when you’re trying to focus on something?

Does it feel like there is something crawling on your feet or hands?

That issue went away for me when I started using Zen12.

Now some might describe this program as a “miracle” cure for focus issues or a “must-have program” to get “amazing” meditation results.

I prefer a more practical solution.

Being someone who is familiar with meditation and a regular practitioner, I did find Zen12 to be immediately helpful in my weaker areas.

For a beginner, there is still the issue of establishing a habit of meditation.

No program can make the decision to meditate for you.

It is something you must choose to do on your own.

In my experience, when meditating becomes easier to do, then it becomes fun.

When meditation is fun, it becomes easier to make it a priority.

When meditation is a priority, then I make time for it every day somehow.

Zen12 makes meditation become fun again.

Are You Ready To Experience Meditation Like Never Before? With Zen12 it’s possible!

For many, meditation has remained out of reach because it is often difficult to achieve individual results when you’re on your own – especially for the first time.

Zen12 changes that dynamic and puts all of those advantages within your reach.

All you’ve got to do is grasp them!

All you’ve got to do is choose the level of meditation where you feel the most comfortable.

You then just click play for your MP3.

There are no special instructions, poses, or requirements that need to be met for Zen12 to work.

You just listen and then you get to experience the enhanced benefits of meditation, sometimes from the very first session!

With support videos, user guides, and a special email address that you can use for any questions that you may have, Zen12 is one of the easiest guided meditation, brainwave entrainment programs that you are going to find anywhere.

#Inspire3 #Inspire3 reviews #Meditation #motivation

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dippedanddripped · 4 years

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In his 2018 skit on Supreme, Hasan Minaj, the patron comic of hype culture, said, “Without objects that make me stand out, what am I? Then I just have to be myself, and that’s terrifying, because I am insecure and I need things to make me feel better about myself.” In a couple of sentences, he deftly drilled to the core of the fuccboi psyche: a deep-seated insecurity about one’s own worth and an equally deep-seated desire to prove that worth to others.

Both the clinical and the cultural term for this state is Narcissism.

Narcissism is often confused with egotism or mere selfishness, but while it may contain elements of both, it’s driven not by an outsized sense of self-respect but by self-loathing, which leads to inexorable desire and strife for approval from others. “It’s a very insecure personality, and all the stuff on the outside – the grandiosity, the arrogance, the entitlement – is a suit of armor to buttress a weak interior core, because on the subconscious level narcissists think that others will see that they are not all that,” Dr. Ramani Durvasula, a best-selling author and an expert on narcissism, told me.

Narcissism is nothing new, but the level of narcissism on display in our culture is unprecedented – Dr. Ramani calls it the disease of our time. In his prophetic 1979 bestseller The Culture of Narcissism, the sociologist Christopher Lasch dissected a milieu of mass media that gave more and more coverage to celebrities, narcissistic role models whose behavior was increasingly beginning to be condoned, excused, and explained away. He blamed the rise of the narcissistic personality on “proliferation of images” and “the cult of consumption,” among other things. Fast-forward to 2020, and 1979 looks positively quaint in the age of social media, for there is no bigger driving engine of narcissism than social media platforms such as Instagram.

In the decade since its launch, much has been said about how Instagram has democratized media, but it simultaneously open-sourced Narcissism that was formerly reserved for a celebrity elite. Today, with the rise of Gen Z, this tendency reaches another dimension on TikTok. “Everybody on the app has some form of narcissism,” TikTokker Liv Huffman told Highsnobiety in our special zine about the platform’s stars. “You kind of have to in order to put yourself on the Internet like that.”

Having unleashed the technological means of disseminating narcissism with the one hand, contemporary culture has continued to manufacture models for narcissistic behavior in ever increasing numbers with the other. Contemporary pop music is filled to the brim with rappers whose lyrics are all about the display of their possessions. What began as a legitimate hip-hop lyrical device for expressing a sense of pride in lifting oneself up by attaining markers of American success previously possessed only by its white ruling class, has by now devolved into an exhibitionist trope. And just like the generations before them, today’s youth seeks to emulate the behavior of their favorite musicians. Every middle-schooler knows what it means to “flex” and there is no shortage of eleven-year-olds begging their mommies for the next pair of Travis Scott Dunks.

Hype culture is uniquely positioned to tap into the narcissistic world order by creating artificial scarcity and equating the possession of limited edition goods with self-worth. Conspicuous consumption is the defining consumer behavior of the day, but underneath its hood purrs the motor of narcissism turbocharged by a culture that has given us Donald Trump and Kanye West, two narcissists par excellence. Both are incredibly insecure and both – despite being on top of the world – constantly crave adulation and approval of others (West’s narcissism may be further complicated by his alleged bipolar disorder). And both are aided and abetted by their respective fan bases that readily forgive their transgressions thereby enabling them further. Perhaps it’s no coincidence that hip-hop fans seem to be especially tolerant towards narcissistic behavior of musicians, even when it’s misogynistic or generally sadistic.

Before you roll your eyes at my perceived alarmism that Grailed is poisoning the minds of a generation, consider that in this state of affairs no one is innocent. Study after study shows that despite economic progress and general increase in quality of life, members of contemporary society feel more and more unhappy. Other studies show that social media, Instagram in particular, have a negative effect on self-esteem that stems from the permeating feeling of anxiety and envy. Simply put, you can flex all you want, but there will always be someone with a bigger flex. And once you are on the hype treadmill, its very nature makes it hard to get off.

“In [the hype] world narcissists festoon themselves with the latest sneakers, or the latest streetwear, and in that moment they are safe. But then that moment when the world is telling you that you are great, which for the narcissist is better than drugs, is gone and you continue chasing the high,” said Dr. Ramani. On top of this, the culture of narcissism makes one feel inadequate for not owning something. “The entire way fashion is marketed is that if you don’t have that latest something, you are lacking,” continued Dr. Ramani.

Likes don’t make you happy. Not only that, it increasingly seems that possessions in themselves don’t make you happy either, as evidenced by rampant reselling in the streetwear world. Hypebeasts no longer seem to be able to experience the gratifying sense of ownership that comes with purchasing something meaningful and actually keeping it. Resell culture itself is a product of narcissism, because each sale subsidizes the next purchase and creates the social media illusion that one owns more than one actually does. This practice strips the product down only to being fodder for a fit pic, and essentially creates a short-term rental culture driven by Instagram and Stockx. As Lasch put it, late capitalism “subordinates possession itself to appearance and measures exchange value as a commodity’s capacity to confer prestige – the illusion of prosperity and well-being.”

The antidote to narcissism is authenticity, which is a deeper sense of self that provides an anchoring of one’s character that doesn’t change with trends. In matters of taste, authenticity also furnishes one with a clear sense of style. Authenticity forms over time through a series of experiences and experimentations, which is why we probably see the new fashion fans bought forth by hype culture getting younger and younger.

As productive conversations about mental health grow, so too are we now coming to terms with how we as a society are less and less happy. Narcissism has a large role to play here. As our sense of self-gratification keeps on infinitely expanding, our capacity to form lasting, meaningful relationships with other humans is degrading. The millennial marketing world’s incessant calls to “live your best life” are misguided in pegging our sense of self-worth to wrong types of rewards, fleeting and material. Underneath all the talk about inspiration, community, and culture sits a basic set of transactional relationships, whose real message is not “love yourself,” but “treat yourself.”

When Covid-19 hit, some predicted a return to a more substantive world, in which our collective narcissistic drive would be diminished. In fact, in a study done by Highsnobiety in the wake of the shelter in place orders, the readers interviewed overwhelmingly denounced their interest in logos and other markers of conspicuous consumption, instead claiming a newfound interest in minimalism and quality-oriented purchase decisions. Two-thirds of those polled that they actively felt bad about flexing outwardly with their purchases during a time when millions were tightening their belts.

However, long-term this could be more wishful thinking rather than a real change, and we continue to see the same pre-Covid behavior with each hyped release. Less than two weeks ago the new Off-White x Jordan drop caused yet another mad dash. The Atlanta streetwear store Wish received over 60,000 hits to its website within the first couple of seconds after the 10 a.m. scheduled release. Its website crashed, as did the websites of Nike and Off-White. “We would’ve needed servers the size of Coca-Cola’s to handle that much traffic,” said Wish’s representative.

We often talk about streetwear in terms of “the culture.” But in the last decade this term went from describing subcultural movements and their values to excusing run-of-the-mill consumerist behavior. Brands, many of which are the ones screaming loudest about “the culture,” don’t mind this state of affairs at all because it propels the hype bullet train, enriching them along the way. The thing is, happy people are not good for the system. Dr. Ramani sums it up best: “Capitalism would fall apart tomorrow if everyone on the planet was secure in themselves.”

#streetwear #narcissist #streetwear blog #streetwear brands #hypebeast #hype culture

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nivenus · 5 years

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I Need You: Why Evangelion Still Matters

If you’re even a casual fan of Japanese animation (colloquially known as anime) you’ve probably heard of a few classics held up as the best of the medium; films and television shows whose place in the history of Japanese culture is widely regarded as secure: Akira, Cowboy Bebop, Ghost in the Shell, Spirited Away, to name a few of the most prominent. They all have their critics, but few would dispute their place as landmarks of the industry. But there’s one classic piece of Japanese animation however whose legacy is far more contentious and which sparks controversy even today. Like the aforementioned pieces it’s well-known and has been watched by many, but unlike them it remains quite controversial, beloved by some and derided by others.

I’m talking about Neon Genesis Evangelion,¹ Hideaki Anno’s 1995 post-apocalyptic series about teenagers who pilot giant robots (known as mecha) in a war for the survival of humanity. And in my opinion it’s actually one of the best and most important television shows of all time, animated or not.

(Spoilers ahead, though I’ll try to keep major revelations to a minimum.)

I realize that in making my claim, I’m setting myself up for criticism. The value (or lack thereof) of Neon Genesis Evangelion has been one of the most heated debates in anime fandom for decades. But even on the purely objective level of its influence on the animation industry, both in Japan and beyond, NGE and its subsequent spin-offs, sequels, and re-imaginings is a significant work worth consideration. Although the show is decades old now (the first episode aired October 4, 1995), I believe it’s still worth examining why the show’s so acclaimed and why, in my opinion, it’s still relevant today, in no smal part because of the lessons it still has to teach us about self-acceptance.

(An earlier version of this essay was posted 4 years ago here.)

Weaving a Story

Concept art for Asuka Langley Soryu, the Second Child

Today, Evangelion is a major franchise, incorporating films, comics, video games, and more. But it all started with one TV show, Neon Genesis Evangelion, created by Hideaki Anno for Gainax. Even from the start, NGE was somewhat exceptional. In the early-to-mid 1990s when it was produced, most of the major animated shows on air (both in Japan and America) were heavily merchandise-driven and sponsored by either toy or video game companies. Nearly all were owned by a major studio like Toei or Toho. Conceived of by a single individual and owned by a small creator-run studio, Neon Genesis Evangelion was highly unusual and something of a creative risk.

The story of Neon Genesis Evangelion is, on first glance, nothing remarkable for Japanese animation. A group of teenagers are recruited by a unified global government to pilot giant robots (mecha) in a battle for the survival of humanity. In the process they have to face not only their deadly adversaries but also learn how to work together as a team, overcoming their many differences and personal issues. Gundam, Macross, and Hideaki Anno’s own Gunbuster had all covered similar territory before. But where NGE would go with its premise was far stranger, blending the well-tread concept of adolescent soldiers with theological imagery, Freudian and Lacanian analysis, and abstract writing that soon set the show apart from its contemporaries.

The show quickly caught the fascination of viewers. While Neon Genesis Evangelion started initially with solid but unexceptional ratings, it soon expanded into a massive pop cultural phenomenon as more and more people tuned in to find out what all the fuss was about, eventually reaching 25-30% of the targeted demographic.² The final two episodes, noted for their abstract nature and for seemingly leaving several plot threads hanging, prompted a highly polarized reaction. The follow-up movie The End of Evangelion, released a year later, divided audiences even further. As a consequence, despite Evangelion’s immense popularity and influence, the franchise remains one of the most controversial works to ever air on broadcast television.

Neon Genesis Evangelion’s ending was, however, just one of its controversial aspects. Moral guardians raised complaints about the show’s frank (and frequently bleak) depictions of sex, violence, and mental illness, demanding networks censor its content. Critics such as Eiji Otsuka and Tetsuya Miyazaki accused Anno of “brainwashing” his audience and affirming, rather than criticizing, anime fans’ escapist tendencies. Yoshiyuki Tomino, the director of both Gundam and Ideon, complained that Anno tried “to convince the audience to admit that everybody is sick” and that it “told people it was okay to be depressed.” Additionally, much was made of the show’s religious imagery, particularly due to the then recent sarin gas attacks by the Aum Shinrikyo cult, which like NGE utilized a blend of Western and Japanese religious imagery.

Other complaints centered on NGE’s main characters, many of whom were found to be unlikeable or unheroic. Many attacked the lead protagonist Shinji as weak and indecisive, unbecoming of the hero in a show aimed at adolescents. Some further asserted the character was an attack on the show’s audience and that Anno wanted to “punish” his audience for their anime-loving ways. The rest of the cast didn’t escape criticism either and were variably found to be cruel, schizophrenic, or perverse. All could easily be characterized as dysfunctional.

But despite the backlash against Neon Genesis Evangelion, whether it was centered on the show’s ending, its thematic elements, or its characters’ deficiencies, none of it seemed to put a lasting dent in the show’s influence or popularity. And a lot of that, perhaps, has to do with the time in which it emerged. At the time NGE was originally produced in the early to mid 1990s, Japan was in the midst of an extended economic downturn that would come to be known as the Lost Decade, following a major asset price crash in 1989. During this time, Japanese animation, like many industries, experienced a contraction, resulting in slashed budgets and an increasing reliance on merchandising and product placement to sustain both the studios producing the content and the major networks who broadcasted (and often owned) it.

In addition to these economic concerns, there was also a growing feeling in the 1990s that animation was a thing of the past, whose glory days were long gone and which only inspired passion in either adolescents or callow, sheltered men in their 20s or 30s. The content of most anime was regarded as puerile or derivative and hardly becoming of serious adult interest. The term otaku,³ a word that literally means “house” but was used to mean “shut-in,” quickly became shorthand for anime fans who spent their adulthood collecting memorabilia and memorizing lines from their favorite shows.

But Neon Genesis Evangelion helped to change all that and to reclaim anime’s respectability. Breaking through the traditional animation fandom to a wider audience and owned solely by the creator-run Gainax, NGE was an invigorating shock to the industry, shaking it up and reviving interest in what had been regarded as a dying medium. Within a few short years, new creator-owned studios were cropping up across Japan, a trend which would continue well into the next decade and bear such fruit as Bones, manglobe, Ufotable, or Gainax’s own offshoots Trigger and Khara. The animation industry was expanding again and was beginning to boom overseas, in no small part thanks to the popularity and notoriety of NGE.

Devilman: Crybaby by Science Saru, a series itself based on one of Evangelion’s chief influences

The new anime boom would also reflect its origins in a number of different ways. More than a few of the new shows to debut in the late 1990s and early 2000s were directly influenced and impacted by Neon Genesis Evangelion, including such notables as RahXephon and Revolutionary Girl Utena. More subtly, the starkly realistic depictions of violence and sexuality in NGE as well as its bizarrely surreal imagery encouraged many directors to try similar techniques, resulting in a shift in style throughout the industry.

Neon Genesis Evangelion’s influence on later anime can be attributed in some ways to its technical sophistication. At its most basic, visceral level, NGE was startling to look at. Even compared with other Gainax works that had come before it, like Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water or Gunbuster, NGE immediately stood out as something unique in an increasingly homogeneous industry. The character designs of Yoshiyuki Sadamoto, strangely subdued yet striking and expressive, helped distinguish the cast while Ikuto Yamashita’s monstrous and biomechanical designs for the Evangelions did the same for the show’s mechs. Combined with the intense direction of Hideaki Anno, Kazuya Tsurumaki, Masayuki, and others NGE drew the eye right from the start.

The technical splendor wasn’t just limited to NGE’s art design or animation either. The voice talents provided by performers like Megumi Ogata, Kotono Mitsuishi, Megumi Hayashibara, and Yuko Miyamura gave life to the characters and helped audiences empathize with them, despite their dysfunctional and emotionally-wrought nature. Also contributing to the audio portion of Neon Genesis Evangelion was Shiro Sagisu, whose music swung significantly from jazzy to melodramatic and even to surreal, changing and evolving to match each scene with an appropriate mood. Assisting Sagisu was the vocal work of artists such as Yoko Takahashi, who made the show’s central theme, “A Cruel Angel’s Thesis,” a pop sensation.

But while the technical triumphs of Neon Genesis Evangelion certainly contributed to the show’s lasting appeal and influence, they’re hardly the whole story. For many viewers, the appeal of Evangelion went well beyond the surface, to narrative and thematic elements they felt spoke directly to them. Indeed, it is arguably NGE’s complex characterization, unorthodox narrative structure, and thematic depth which have made it stand out as one of the most legendary examples of Japanese pop culture.

A Cruel Angel’s Thesis

It’s not an exaggeration to say that essays—and books—have been written about Neon Genesis Evangelion and its thematic qualities. Most of this has been concentrated in Evangelion’s own native Japan, but the sensation has breached the other side of the Pacific as well, resulting in comparisons to the works of David Lynch and other Western directors. Contributing to this no doubt has been Anno’s own numerous references in NGE not only to native Japanese culture but to the West as well, with tributes to works like 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Andromeda Strain, and UFO found frequently throughout.

The most obvious thematic element present in Evangelion, at least to Western eyes, is its frequent allusions to Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. It’s not hard to see why: the monstrous foes besetting humanity are “Angels” who shoot cross-shaped energy bolts, which the main characters fight with “Evangelions” (the Greek word from which “evangelism” derives). Coupled with other bits and pieces here and there referring to original sin, the will of God, and ancient Judaism, these details give Evangelion a strikingly religious appearance to Western viewers.

However, while they’re certainly the most obvious elements in Evangelion, the religious references are also easily some of the most transient and insubstantial. Although initially viewed as central to the plot by many Westerners, it has since been revealed that most of the Biblical references are there for styling rather than substance and were largely intended to make the show stand out. In many respects, the usage of the Abrahamic faiths in Evangelion is similar to the use of Buddhism in The Matrix or Egyptian mythology in Stargate: a bit of fun exoticism to keep things interesting.

The Sephirot from Kabbalah, as represented in The End of Evangelion

That being said, the religious themes are not as vacuous as is sometimes alleged and the sheer number and obscurity of some of them indicates some real effort on the part of Anno. Each of the Angels, for instance, (which are called shito⁴ in Japanese, meaning “messenger” or “apostle”) are named after actual angels from Abrahamic mythology and their names, when translated from Hebrew or Arabic, often do indicate their nature in some way (e.g., Arael’s name means the “light of God” and it is an enormous winged being who attacks the characters with a beam of light). And while the use of the Kabbalah’s Sephiroth may be perfunctory, many other references to Jewish mysticism appear more meaningful, such as the Chamber of Guf or the duality of the Trees of Life and Wisdom.

Less obvious to Western eyes but possibly even more sophisticated are the references Evangelion makes to non-Abrahamic religions. There is, for example, the notable similarity between what the show terms “Instrumentality” and traditional descriptions of “egoless” nirvana in Buddhism (a religion also referenced by way of the Marduk Institute’s 108 dummy corporations).⁵ Japan’s native religion Shinto also shows its hand, most notably through the depiction of the Evangelions themselves, which Anno consciously designed after the monstrous oni of Japanese legend. All in all, while he may not have intended to portray a particular theological message, it’s clear that Anno put a lot of thought and research into giving Evangelion a suitably mystical appearance.

However, obsessing over the religious imagery in Evangelion obfuscates something far more important: Evangelion isn’t really about religion. Rather, where Evangelion’s thematic depth and complexity most clearly comes into play is psychology and philosophy of the mind.

Neon Genesis Evangelion is often described as a deconstruction of mecha anime. To a large extent that’s true, but it’s deconstruction is specific in outlook, focused on the psychology of its characters in the form of a question: just what kind of people would put the fate of humanity in the hands of adolescent children? And just what would that kind of stress and responsibility do to a child’s mind? In that regard, NGE is in far closer in kinship to Ender’s Game than to its natural predecessors like Macross, Gundam, or Gunbuster.

When the story of Neon Genesis Evangeliom begins, the world has already experienced disaster on an unprecedented scale. 14 years before the show begins, a massive apocalyptic event called the Second Impact devastated the Earth’s climate, precipitated global nuclear war, awakened the monstrous Angels, and resulted in the deaths of half of all humans on the planet. In response, civilization has been restructured and militarized in anticipation of an even worse Third Impact threatened by the Angels. To combat this threat, the secretive organization Nerv assembles biomechanical monsters of their own (the Evangelions) which, as it so happens, can only be piloted by teenagers.⁶

Rei Ayanami, the First Child, believes that her life is expendable

This is the kind of world people like Misato Katsuragi, Gendo Ikari, and Ritsuko Akagi live in and it’s the severity of their situation which ultimately shapes their actions. Although many of the adults, particularly Misato, wish they could let the series’ child protagonists lead a normal life, they know that’s not an option. As a result, the adult characters are driven towards a cold pragmatism that means, no matter how warm or compassionate they may act towards their wards at any given time, they’re still ready to sacrifice them when necessary.

This ruthless approach has its costs, however. The constant pressure to succeed, alongside the emotional whiplash they receive at the hands of the pilots’ supervisors and the repeated trauma they experience in combat results in each pilot’s gradual psychological degradation. Beginning as relatively competent and capable (if slightly dysfunctional) individuals, each pilot eventually succumbs to their trauma and breaks, causing them to isolate themselves from one another and resulting in a breakdown in morale which puts not only themselves but humanity itself at risk.

In keeping with this theme of psychological frailty and the ways in which we as people both intentionally and unintentionally harm those we care about, including those we care about, the series makes numerous allusions to the work of past psychologists and philosophers. Many concepts are mentioned specifically by name, such as the “oral stage,” “separation anxiety,” or the “hedgehog’s dilemma,” while others are alluded to more subtly, such as the Oedipus and Elektra complexes, post-traumatic stress disorder, schizophrenia, or Lacan’s dichotomy of the constructed and ideal selves.

Hideaki Anno has himself said he researched psychology both before and during the production of Neon Genesis Evangelion and that many of the show’s characters are based upon both these concepts and his own experiences. He has, for instance, described the protagonist Shinji as a reflection of his own conscious self, while the emotionally withdrawn Rei is a manifestation of his unconscious, and the enigmatic Kaworu is his Jungian shadow. Altogether, the works of Freud, Lacan, Schopenhauer, Hegel, Jung, and Sartre have all been identified by staff or critics as influences on the show’s characters and plot.

One of the chief psychological themes in Evangelion is abandonment, particularly by those you love or have been cared for by. Throughout the story—in its past, present, and future—each of the main characters is abandoned by people important to them: their parents, their guardians, their lovers, their friends, etc. Invariably, this abandonment leads to a breakdown in identity and self-confidence, as each character is forced to redefine themselves from within after devoting so much of their identity to how they were perceived by others. Thematically matching to this issue of personal abandonment is humanity’s own abandonment by their unknowable creator eons ago, a detail alluded to occasionally as the story progresses. Like the individual characters then, humanity must learn how to manage and master its own fate when it has no one left to depend upon.

The Hedgehog’s Dilemma

These themes, however, would have little resonance were they irrelevant to the show’s human drama. It is to Neon Genesis Evangelion’s credit that they are not; each of the characters represent the show’s themes in both significant and personal ways. It is quite arguable then that it is the show’s protagonists, however controversial they may be either as individuals or an ensemble, which have truly allowed NGE to endure for decades as an icon of Japanese pop culture.

The most important of Neon Genesis Evangelion’s characters by far is easily Shinji Ikari, the pilot of Evangelion Unit-01 and the son of Gendo Ikari, the enigmatic director of the Evangelion program. At the beginning of the series Shinji is called to Nerv by his father, who abandoned him years earlier following the death of Shinji’s mother. Shinji hopes that this sudden call is for the purpose of reunion, but he is quickly disillusioned when his father reveals to him that he needs Shinji to pilot one of the monstrous Evangelions he’s built—a machine Shinji has hitherto never heard of—and to save humanity from extinction. Brokenhearted by his father’s coldness and terrified of the task he’s been blackmailed into performing, Shinji puts off his own desires and self-identity aside for the sake of pleasing his father and others, becoming the so-called Third Child.

Series protagonist Shinji Ikari, the Third Child

Shinji’s a complicated character and one many find difficult to empathize with. He is self-consciously cowardly and phlegmatic, prone to self-criticism, and afraid of getting close to others for fear that they’ll reject him. At times he thinks seriously about running away from his responsibilities, but whenever he actually does he quickly returns, unable to commit to so blatant an act of rebellion for long. Despite this and despite his own reliance on others to define his value, Shinji does have his virtues: he’s thoughtful, easy to get along with, and proves remarkably skilled at piloting, even if he has no real passion for it.

Shinji’s commanding officer, Misato Katsuragi, is NGE’s most prominent adult character and (according to Hideaki Anno) the series’ deuteragonist.⁸ Loud, goofy, and irreverent, Misato strikes quite a different first impression than Shinji, but despite their outward differences they’re actually quite similar people with comparable issues, merely approaching them in different manners. Like Shinji, Misato feels abandoned by her father, who neglected her and her mother before his death years ago. But despite that Misato still yearns for his affection, manifesting her desires in the form of her relationship with Ryoji Kaji, a coworker and lover she admits resembles her father. And, also like Shinji, Misato fears getting close to other people for fear of being hurt, but whereas Shinji manages his anxiety by avoiding people, Misato does so by acting flippant and flirtatious in public, living lightly and maintaining only “surface level relationships.”

Shinji’s move into Misato’s apartment comes largely at her insistence and Shinji is initially quite uncomfortable with it, a feeling which does not subside when he learns she’s an extremely messy housekeeper and an alcoholic. But despite her irreverent personality, Misato turns out to be a deeply caring person who wants very much for Shinji to be happy and, over the course of the series, she tries to direct the development of Shinji as a good parent would, all the while concerned her own flaws make her an unsuitable guardian. Notably, these moments where the two of them bond are some of the most light-hearted in the series.

Although Shinji is the first pilot the series introduces, he is preceded by two others at Nerv. The first, Rei Ayanami, is arguably Neon Genesis Evangelion’s most popular (and certainly influential) character. Enigmatic and asocial to a degree that goes beyond mere awkwardness, Rei lives alone in a desolate apartment she doesn’t even bother to clean, close to no one but her pseudo-guardian Gendo Ikari. Because of her closeness to his father, who has raised her as his own daughter, Shinji initially sees Rei as a replacement for him. It soon becomes apparent however that Rei’s trust and faith in Gendo go well beyond that of a healthy parent-child dynamic. Obedient to a fault and unconcered for her own well-being, Rei causally throws herself into danger for Gendo and Nerv and comes across as emotionless to those around her.

But beneath Rei’s cold, ultra-stoic exterior beats a heart as capable of joy and sorrow as that of any other. Far from the robotic doll many assume her to be, Rei has a secret yearning for others to understand her and her them and, over the course of the series, slowly opens up to Shinji. But although she desires human contact, she doesn’t really know how to initiate it and she’s terrified of the possibility that there’s something about her that makes her fundamentally unlike other people.

Asuka Langley Soryu, the third of the child protagonists to show up,⁷ strikes about as strong a contrast to Rei as one can imagine. Egotistical, loud-mouthed, and possessed of far more bravado than either Shinji or Rei, Asuka joins the cast about a third of the way through the show, after transferring from Nerv’s facility in Germany. Raised since childhood to be a pilot, Asuka prides herself on her skills and looks with disdain on Shinji’s self-deprecating nature and inability to recognize his own accomplishments. Already a college graduate and convinced she’s as much an adult as anyone, Asuka also proves precociously sexual, pining for both Misato’s lover Kaji and, to a lesser but still significant extent, Shinji himself, whom she frequently teases for attention.

Asuka is like Shinji a controversial character; people often look at Asuka and see one of two sides to her: a selfish jerk who bullies Shinji and Rei or an accomplished young woman whose confidence and inner strength makes her the real hero of the show. The truth, however, is that in many ways she’s both. Asuka really is brave—far braver than Shinji or even Rei, who doesn’t really fear death—and she’s definitely skilled. But she’s also prone to jealousy and vindictiveness, as well as a consciously manifested attitude of not caring for anyone. In many ways, however, her bravado is a cover for own insecurity, built upon the belief that no one really likes or loves her.

The cast of the original Neon Genesis Evangelion

There’s a lot to admire about NGE’s characters, even with all their flaws and personality disorders. It’s easily got one of the most complex and diverse casts in anime and there has to be something said for the fact that of its four principal characters, three are female, allowing it to easily pass the Bechdel-Wallace Test (which it does). The characters each have their own virtues, which in a more easygoing series could make them quite endearing. Lead protagonist Shinji’s selfless and has a fairly noble streak, though it’s hidden deep beneath his own self-doubt and loathing. The adult Misato’s fairly protective of her young charges, at least insofar as she is allowed to be given the circumstances, and is also quite a bit more capable than many expect. Selfless Rei’s loyalty and discipline easily make her one of the most sympathetic characters in the series, even if she does sometimes come across as alien or inhuman. And there’s little question that the daring Asuka has enough chutzpah for the whole cast.

But it could also be argued that the complexity and harshness of NGE’s characters which ultimately make them work, even if at times they also make the show hard to watch. Shinji, Misato, Rei, and Asuka are not the idealized paragons of humanity you’d expect to find in most television shows aimed at teenagers, but they’re not the imaginings of a bitter misanthrope either. They’re deeply flawed, yes, and when they’re hurt they keep on hurting, but they also keep going and keep trying to find a way to live with others that doesn’t result in pain. It’s this idea, the recognition that people screw up and hurt one another but want to do better, that really enlivens the franchise. For all the reputed darkness of Evangelion’s story, it is in many ways idealistic, always hopeful that it’s characters might find a way to be happy. You don’t have to be broken, it says, even if you are damaged.

And it is that core ethos of qualified hope that elevates Neon Genesis Evangelion from just another mecha anime or even a deconstruction of mecha to something more. Something sublime and, in its own strange way, even inspirational.

The Sickness unto Death

At this point I feel it’s useful to provide some personal background. I first watched Neon Genesis Evangelion when I was in high school, sometime between my third and fourth years. My initial reaction was, I think, largely typical. The first episodes interested me and as the storyline moved forward and became more complex, I became more invested in the show’s events and characters. I even appreciated to some extent the bizarre and abstract final two episodes, though I’d hoped for a more conventional ending. Then, I watched The End of Evangelion, whoch left me shocked and dismayed at its harshness. I still cared about the series, but I felt more ambivalent as a result.

Over the next few years I continued to keep up with the Evangelion fandom to a small extent, checking out the rumors about the new movies and reading some fan fiction online, but I gradually drifted away. None of the fan speculation or fiction really seemed to scratch the same itch the original series had and eventually my interests in anime shifted more towards Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex and Fullmetal Alchemist. Evangelion, as much as I’d enjoyed it before, fell gradually into the background of my life.

And then I entered college.

In my youth, I was generally regarded as a “bright” student, fawned over by teachers and regarded by my peers as either a genius or a “know-it-all,” depending on how much they liked me (or didn’t). As I entered the final years of high school it was clear that I was expected to excel in university. But when I actually began my college career I quickly faltered. Depressed, socially isolated, and exhausted from getting four to six hours of sleep a night, my grades slipped quickly and my social life evaporated. For awhile, I tried to deny my problems and ignore them, believing I could power through without help. Eventually, though, I had no choice but to confront my issues: I was put on academic suspension and my financial assistance was pulled.

I was devastated. I had no idea what to do. I didn’t know how to tell my parents, who I’d let believe I was doing fine. I didn’t know where to go with my life now that I’d failed to live up to the expectations I’d allowed other people to put on me. I didn’t even really know who I was anymore. If I wasn’t a brilliant student and child genius, who was I? In my own eyes I was worthless and contemptible.

Eventually, with the help of my family and friends, as well as staff from the university, I was able to make my way back to daylight. I began to undertake counseling. I went to community college to bring my GPA back up. I started talking more openly with my loved ones about my problems, even though I was worried it would make them think less of me. And I began to be more honest about my flaws and limitations.

A scene from Evangelion 3.0: You Can (Not) Redo, the third Rebuild film

It was also around this time, rather coincidentally, that I began to seriously revisit Evangelion. I was prompted, as much as by anything else, by the release of the new “Rebuild of Evangelion” films. After my brothers and I attended a screening of the second film’s release in early 2011 with several of our friends, the latter (hitherto unfamiliar with Evangelion) expressed interest in catching up with the franchise. Indulging them, my brothers and I rewatched the original TV series. To my surprise, I began to see the series in a new light. Where once I had simply been sympathetic to Shinji, Misato, Rei, and Asuka’s inner turmoil, now I felt deeply empathetic. Where previously the show’s harshness had at times alienated me, now it felt deeply relatable and truthful. And where earlier the TV show’s decision to focus on the internal psyches of its main characters instead of the plot had puzzled me before, now I felt as if I understood it completely. I even began to appreciate the theatrical finale, a film so brutal some regard it (falsely) as Anno’s revenge against fans angry with him for the original ending.

What had changed? Certainly not the show. Rather, it was my perspective. I possessed now of a viewpoint I hadn’t held earlier. I knew now what it was like to be full of contempt for one’s self, to be a defeated shell of a person who felt as though their value was slipping away or was already entirely absent. I knew what it was like to believe I was a failure in every meaningful way. In other words, I’d gained the perspective of a person suffering from depression. The same perspective as that of Evangelion’s principal characters as well as their creator, Hideaki Anno.

It’s hardly secret knowledge that Hideaki Anno was suffering from depression when he first created Neon Genesis Evangelion. The extent of his depression, however, was far graver than is generally recognized. When Anno began work on the project that would become NGE, he had already been suffering from severe depression for at least four years. In a statement released with the first volume of Evangelion’s manga (comic) adaptation Anno described himself as “a broken man... who ran away for four years, one who was simply not dead.” And while the production of NGE had originally been intended to break him out of a rut, the stress only compounded the severity of his condition. By the time of the show’s completion Anno was, by his own later admission, borderline suicidal.

No one’s ever said precisely what drove Anno over the edge publicly, but it’s widely agreed it had much to do with the production of his previous work, Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water. Originally conceived by Anno’s mentor Hayao Miyazaki in the mid-1980s Nadia was eventually handed off to Anno after Gainax made a bid for the project. Far gentler and family-friendly than NGE, the comparative sweetness of Nadia obscured a troubled production that saw animation work outsourced and Anno frequently butting heads with NHK, the series’ broadcaster, over the show’s content and creative direction. Coupled with rumored trouble in Anno’s personal life, the experience proved too much for him, driving him into the deep depression that would haunt him for most of the 1990s.

The roots of Anno’s emotional troubles may go deeper, however. Long regarded by those close to him as a lonely and eccentric oddball, Anno was socially withdrawn as a child, preferring to spend his time watching and recreating scenes from his favorite anime and tokusatsu to interacting with others, a choice he’d later say he regretted. In 1983, due in large part to his social isolation and inactivity at school, he dropped out of university and lived homeless for a time before he was discovered by Miyazaki and employed as an animator for Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. The experience proved vital to his career and soon afterward he and a few friends gathered to form Gainax, their own animation studio. It was during this time that Anno directed Gunbuster alongside working on other projects such as Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honnêamise and Grave of the Fireflies. For a time, he seemed happy. But then came Nadia and he withdrew entirely from his work and social life, before reemerging to work on Evangelion.

Anno’s turbulent life and emotional turmoil is reflected in the characters of Evangelion, many of whom enter the story damaged but apparently functional only to completely fall apart later on. Shinji is lonely and dependent when he first appears, but he still manages to form friendships and do what’s required of him. Misato may be an alcoholic with a mess of a home, but Nerv’s trust in her is rewarded time and time again by her effectual planning and coordination of her pilots. Rei’s cold and emotionally withdrawn, but her dutiful selflessness both inspires and attracts others to her. Asuka can be arrogant and reckless, but she’s also intelligent and capable of real kindness towards those she respects. Like Anno in the early days of Gainax, they all seem to be on top of things.

But just when it seems like the team’s getting the hang of things and finding their groove, disaster strikes. Soon, as one crisis mounts on top of another, from near-death experiences to being forced to hurt his friends, everything falls apart. Shinji’s newfound self-confidence shatters and he becomes even more needy than before. Misato’s constructed domestic bliss blows apart just as her own convictions are thrown into question by new revelations about her work. Rei becomes colder and more distant than ever before, withdrawing even from Gendo, the one person she trusts implicitly. And Asuka collapses into a pit of self-loathing despair, savagely lashing out at anyone who gets close to her. It’s ugly, it’s nasty, and it’s real.

Shinji admits to his feelings of worthlessness to Misato Katsuragi, his guardian and confidante, in The End of Evangelion

This cycle of crash, despair, and recovery is not unusual for suffers of depression. Contrary to what is often thought, depression is not really something you have at one point in your life and then “get over;” it’s something that can shadow you your entire life, kept in check by momentary pleasures and good times but always threatening to surge and overwhelm you when things go awry, sending you into a spiral of self-hate and abnegation that can last for weeks, months, or even years. Friends and family help keep it in check, as does therapy and pharmaceuticals, but it never goes away completely. The only thing you can do is recognize the symptoms and do your best to confront them. You have to keep going. You can’t let your fears drive you to abandon the world. You must not, in other words, run away.

And really that’s what the characters’ struggles in Evangelion come down to: facing reality and acknowledging their flaws while also recognizing their own potential to overcome them and the painful struggle for acceptance we all, on some level, endure. The first instinct of every character in the series is to run away from their problems, to obscure them with outwardly derived duties, relationships, or purposes. Shinji and Rei both look to Gendo, Misato to her job, and Asuka to her pride as an Eva pilot, but all of them are running away and, as a consequence, are unprepared to deal with reality when it hits them flat in the face.

Or are they?

As Long As You Try to Continue to Live

It’s worth noting that when Anno created Neon Genesis Evangelion he didn’t initially set out to create a dark and cynical deconstruction of mecha anime. When asked what initially gave him the impetus to create NGE, Anno has said repeatedly that he originally meant to make a show more in the spirit of Gundam or Space Battleship Yamato, two of his favorite TV shows from his youth, but without the shackles inherent to sponsorship by a toy company, as was common practice for anime at the time. “I made Evangelion to make me happy and to make anime lovers happy,” he said in a 1996 interview, “in trying to bring together the broadest audience possible.”

But as pre-production on the series progressed (and his emotional state regressed) Anno became further disenchanted at the state of anime, concerned that fans were turning to it as a way to escape reality as he himself felt compelled to. “I wonder if a person over the age of twenty who likes robot anime is really happy,” he stated in an article for Newtype half a year before the series aired. This change in perspective, coupled with his resurgent depression, caused Anno to shift focus as he became more and more concerned with the characters’ emotional development, hoping that by the end of the series’ narrative “the heroes would change,” breaking away from their regressed emotional state and achieving the same emotional well-being and self-dependence Anno still sought for himself and which he felt his audience needed as well.

It’s this perspective of Anno’s—that anime otaku were and are caught in a kind of prolonged childhood—which has led to the impression that Anno hates otaku and believes their lives to be worthless. But the truth is that Anno’s thoughts on the subject are quite a bit subtler and more reflective than many give him credit for. Far from hating otaku, Anno counts himself among them and feels defensive whenever they’re derided by others. The issue, he thinks, is less that otaku are permanently stunted and more that they’re afraid or reluctant to open themselves to new experiences:

“I feel that otaku have already become common to all countries. In Europe, in Korea, in Taiwan, in Hong Kong, in America, otaku really do not change. I think that this is amazing. I say critical things towards otaku, but I don’t reject them. I only say that we should take a step back and be self-conscious about these things. I think it’s perfectly fine so long as you act with an awareness of what you are doing, self-conscious and cognizant of the current situation. I’m just not sure it’s a good thing to reach the point where you cut yourself off from society. I don’t understand the greatness of society, either. So I have no intention of going so far as to call for people to give up otaku-like things and become more suited to society. Only, I think there are many other interesting things in the world, and we don’t have to reject them.”

Despite everything, the characters still care for and want to see one another happy

And that’s what I mean by Evangelion’s subtle, qualified idealism. Despite Anno’s frequent cynicism and troubled state of mind during the production of the series, it’s clear that at heart he’s a person who believes people can change and improve themselves. He’s someone who believes that, even in the worst or most desperate of situations, people can find happiness if they’re open to it. “As long as you try to continue to live,” one character states in The End of Evangelion, “any place can be a heaven… there’s a chance to become happy everywhere.”

It would certainly be easy to define the characters of Evangelion by their failures and—given the magnitude of their failures—it’s understandable why many do. After all, much of the series’ narrative is caught up (as I noted earlier) in deconstructing the kind of scenario typical of mecha shows and examing what really would happen if teenagers were put in charge of the world’s salvation. As such, as in other deconstructionist narratives (such as the Battlestar Galactica reboot or Watchmen), the characters screw up about at least as often as they succeed.

That being said, more often than not, when the characters are hit with tragedy or trauma, they eventually recover and bounce back. They’re definitely damaged and shaken by their experiences, but they keep on going anyway. As much as Shinji fears and abhors piloting he’s also someone who, when people are really depending on him, will almost always get right back in the cockpit and try to help. Rei may be over-compliant and lack any regard for herself, but she’s also capable of defying orders when she knows they’re wrong. And for all Asuka’s jealousy and grandstanding, she’s also a person deeply capable of love and self-sacrifice, who would die for those she cares about.

This ray of hope at the core of Evangelion’s story is made most clear in the television series’ original broadcast ending, wherein Shinji rediscovers his own self-value and the joy of living in a world with other people and declares that, although he hates himself, “maybe, maybe I could love myself. Maybe, my life can have a greater value.” But such idealism is even found in the much more outwardly harsh vision of The End of Evangelion. After coming face to face with the world he thought he desired—a world without pain or individuality—Shinji realizes that it’s also a world without happiness. “This isn’t right,” he says. “There was nothing good in the place I ran to, either. After all, I didn’t exist there... which is the same as no one existing.” Realizing this, Shinji chooses to return to the physical world he knew, even if it means feeling pain again.

The idea that joy and pain are in many ways coterminous with one another is hardly original to Evangelion; indeed, it’s a fairly important concept to Buddhism. But I’ve rarely seen the idea expressed in quite the same way as Evangelion, in a way that’s both fully formed and strangely life-affirming. Pain is inevitable, but so is joy. You’ll be hurt, but it’s better than never feeling anything at all and may only give you more appreciation for what you have. You may feel alone, but you’re not; everyone suffers in their life at one point or another, and you don’t have to carry that burden by yourself.

Reflecting upon and considering these themes through Evangelion, as I rediscovered it during a low point in my life, allowed me to appreciate it in a way I’d never been able to before. And it also helped me to move on with my life, to accept the losses I could never recover while also believing it didn’t mean my own life was over. Like Shinji, Misato, Rei, and Asuka, I didn’t have to be defeated by my experiences. I could keep on going. I didn’t have to run away. And that’s a message I believe everyone needs to hear at least once in their life.

Series creator Hideaki Anno (left) with mentor Hayao Miyazaki (right)

Today, Hideaki Anno has found some peace of mind. He’s happily married, the head of his own production company, and he’s physically healthier too. He still suffers from depression—he’s not cured by any means and he probably never will be; depression isn’t that kind of disease. But he’s able to fight it now and to find the happiness he once believed illusory. He has the same hope he wanted his characters to find in Evangelion. And which I also feel I’ve found, in some small part, thanks to him.

¹Throughout this essay, Neon Genesis Evangelion or NGE refers to the original TV series, The End of Evangelion refers to its theatrical sequel, Rebuild of Evangelion refers to the series of rebooted films produced decades later, and Evangelion on its own refers to the franchise as a whole.

²Specifically, shōnen, meaning boys aged between 12 and 18.

³The term has since been adopted by Western anime fans, but in Japan the word does not necessarily refer to animation fans specifically but to anyone with an obsessive interest in something.

⁴Ironically, “messenger” is a literal translation of the word angelos from Greek—the origin of the English word “angel”—as well as the original Hebrew mal’akh.

⁵The numbers 8 and 108 are both significant in Buddhism. 8 refers to the Noble Eighfold Path to enlightenment. 108 refers to several things, including the number of beads in a Vajrayana prayer rosary, the number of questions asked of the Gautama Buddha in the Lankavatara Sutra, or the number of times Japanese Buddhist temples ring a bell on New Year’s.

⁶The reason for this is never fully explained. Behind the scenes, this was largely because of the show’s target demographic. In universe though it may be related to the secret nature of the Evangelions themselves, which have human souls.

⁷Deuteragonist is a term which means the second-most important character with whom the audience’s sympathies are intended to lie.

⁸Though referred to as the Second Child(ren) because she was the second candidate approved to pilot Evangelions, before Shinji but after Rei.

#neon genesis evangelion #evangelion #hideaki anno #my writing #essays #retrospectives

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iamala · 5 years

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Netflix's Sex Education was a show I thought I was going to hate watching the first couple of episodes but I turned out watching it all to love it.

And I've seen a few comments about how people were disapointed in Adam's storyline so- spoilers below- I wanted to expand on why I actually really loved it.

So the main criticism I've seen is that Adam plays into the homophobic bully is actually gay trope. Which, I fully understand as a reading. But, I actually disagree. Most of the characters and relationships in this show are set up as tropes and then play against them (Aimee as the dumb shallow promiscuous type who is actually taken advantage of and grows through having to explore herself is the quickest example I could think of bc i could write essays on them all).

Adam is a bully. He is set up from the off as the threatening kid, the one who acts out. And then with the viagra and flashing this it's played for comedy and like, dumb boy has feelings, still and idot. But then he gets dumped and the more complex part of his character comes out. Because he gets dumped and he can't let go of trying to find out why. This loss of an extremey emotionally shallow relatipnship really hits him, but not in the- wait I lost the Popular Pretty Girl who is the conquest I should own ego trope way a lot of his character types get. And this isn't a major noticable moment until you find out more about his family.

Adam's hoouse is shot like the 1950s, repression obviously. But if you notice, Adam kicks out looking for a response from his parents, his mother looks the other way and his father just pours increasing levels of dislike and disapointment on him. Note- at no point is this about homophobia or anything. Adam's dad is awkward like when trying to talk about sanitary pads, but at no point is he played as homophobic. He wants a trophy, not a son. This is brought to the front in the parallel with how he treats star student headboy and is later called out on by him ('It's not about my future it's about your sports funding' 'well, yes). So Adam tries to give him a trophy- the essay competition.

And notice throughout how the threat held over Adam is basically- give me a reason not to get rid of you bc I am being bery gracious in continuing to allow you to be my son. So, Adam gets thetrophy. And yes he cheated etc etc and it was never going to work but it backfires massively (however note how his dad still displays the trophy in a prominant position in his office-not for love of the son but almost as a-he could ar least give me this false trophy to show for his life).

Now, Adam and Eric's relationship is subtley complex and problematic, which it is meant to be. I don't think Adam is 'secretly gay' or repressing being queer. He was quite happy with Aimee, their issues where made a point of being based around his self esteem and confidence. But from ep 1 Adam has a fascination (not possitive) with Eric.

At the start Eric is the easy target. He is open, free, very much himself and unapologetic for it. Eric likes being able to have power over someone so comfortable with themselves. The basic feel powerless take power through violence thing.

However, as the show develops the moments the camera focusses on Adam's reaction to Eric are when Eric is being the most out and proud, so to speak. In Adam's eyes, the most provacative- and I mean that in Eric is crossing social boundaries and not being cowed by it, way. This is something Adam has been trying to do from the beginning. He's late, he's disrespectful. He's provocatively violent with the carving a table. Refusing to do work. Adam is provacatove and seeks a reaction and gets only ever derision and further disapointment. And throughout he sees Eric be provacative in a different way but still if Adam was doing it would be read as acting out by his father, and in response he recieves friendship, parental love.

Eric is something Adam is fascinated by less bc he desires him and more bc he desperately wants the freedom Eric seems to have to act however and find love in response. Now I'm not saying that is actually how Eric's life goes bc it isn't. But from Adam's point of view, and the moments the show draws attention to him seeing, it is.

And the turning point for Adam is the ball. Eric turns up the most provative he has looked yet, and his father follows. And instead of derision or disaointment Adam sees them communicate, understand each other, and respect each other and come closer in love. This is like watching an astrophysics lecture in a foreign language for Adam. He so desperately wants that and yet has no idea how it could even come to be. This boy has no emotional intimacy at all. Even his mother is simply emotionally absent if not actively abusive.

And he does what he does. He kicks out but you can see his heart isn't in it. And Eric does not give him a reaction- this moment is a very different moment from Eric's perspective btw. I'm focussing on Adam only bc I want to address how he complicates the apparent trope.

Adam has lost the only 'power' he had and he lashes out. He lashes out at Aimee's boyfriend and ultimately the confrontation with his dad is where their relationship finally breaks. It's over. I'd have to double check but I don't think we ever actually see them in a scene together again. Adam has finally abandoned ever getting that emotion from his dad.

Then comes that detention scene.

Now, this scene deliberately plays into the trope of the bully wanting the victim etc., but my personal reading is that it does so to play against it (the show is full of those moments, the aesthetic being a major one-borrowing an american visual film style and using that to play against later).

Adam sets up back as the bully. He makes Eric do the work etc. Then Eric calls him out on his relationship with his dad but also sympathises in a small but key moment with 'I couldn't imagine being scared of my own dad'. It's after this that Adam actually tries to reach out. Only Adam has 0 emotional skills so him reaching out is trying to take the music stand- i.e. offering to help- but it turning into a fight bc his act still reads as violence to Eric.

They scuffle and fight and end up on the floor. Now, if we were to follow this trope set up fully, the rolling around would be sexually based. That is usually the moment the bully gets the physical contact he's been craving, is over come by the sexual tension, and usually somewhat aggressive kissing breaks out as an explosion of this sexual tension.

But for Adam it is not sexual tension that is the issue, it's emotional. Eric spits at him and looks terrified. He expects aggressino in response. However, what is really interesting here is,the way Adam is holding Eric is not wholley aggressive. Not muscles strainging trying to contain physical violence. And his response is to spit back. Horrid and agressive in one way, but also the point he makes, asking how he likes it, is actually a moment that draws attention to the emotional harm of being spat at. It's a subtle writing clue but one that reakly struck me.

I, like probably everyone else watching that scene, was expecting the kiss. However, it being proceeded by that emotional emphasis, and also, the fact that Eric initiates got me. Usually in these scenes it is the bully's sexual frustration that comes to the fore and the trope is the victim expects violence and gets kissed instead, or they come together in an explosion of sort of violent physical frustration. But here it was Eric who lifted his head to initiate- though obviously still wary, and Adam responds tenderly.

In fact the tenderness Adam shows is overwhelming. This is the first bit of physical affection based on connection we've seen him have. And his response is to cradle Eric's face, to kiss his cheek and neck and down his body worshipfully. It is also one of the few sex scenes we don't see, we only see Eric's pleasure, bc in that scene, that is what Adam is focussed on.

Now I'm going to talk about possibly my favourite scene from a film perspective in the whole series new but I wanted to precede it by saying- I am not actually sure if Adam actually fancies Eric. I think he is fixated with him, but I think he craves being Eric more than Eric himself at this point. He wishes he could have that life- and I don't mean this in being out and proud, but in being able to explore and grow and be himself and be made stronger with love.

So, the biology lesson. Adam walks in, late, same bravado. They're made to sit next to each other and both do the overcompensating we're not friends nervous thing. And Eric hands Adam a pen. This is a caring move to Adam, and it's this moment when Adam seems to be just aching with want to reach out and be close to someone.

He inches his leg closer. He presses their arms nearer. And Eric doesn't resist but it's definitely Adam doing the reaching out. And then, he moves his little finger, and he moves it so slowly and the focus is making you feel how badly he wants to just touch, to hold hands, to connect. His want is communicated so well in the scene, and yet, their fingers never actually touch. The image feels such a perfect summary in a shot for Adam-bending and reaching towards connection he craves but still unable to touch it. The world hasn't changed.

Adam and Eric do not share another scene until the end. Adam's father sends someone to take him away and Eric sees it. Or rather, Adam looks at Eric and sees in him all he wants, and yet the world still being the same, it is made impossible for him to reach as he is detached forcibly from it.

Eric's storyline is about owning himself and being himself despite the fact he knows the world will hurt him for it- 'it'll be hard for me anyway is it not better to be myself'. Adam's storyline is about how he so badly wants to be able to grow and become more than he is, but how he is uncapable bc of his lack of emotional strength.

Note, Adam starts as a bully with a rubbish family, being threatened with being cut off entirely. Adam ends- still not really reformed, with a rubbish family, being cut off entirely. Adam doesn't develop, he's can't. His trajectory remains the same as at the eginning of the story.

I don't think Adam plays into the repressive bully trope simply bc his relationship with Eric is not about his sexuality. Once Aimee is taken from him Eric is pretty much the only person Adam interracts with outside his family. It's not a good relationship. It's not a- oh kiss and all solved. It is problematic and meant to be so.

In the usual trope, Adam would be redeemed by admitting his sexuality and that would be what endeared him to the audience and made it possible for him to find a happy ending, either with the victim or elsewhere. In this story, Adam being cool kissing a guy isn't his millstone. Kissing Eric changes nothing for him, it only illustrates to us how desperately he wants connection just before he gets formally severed from any possibility of it by being taken away.

I fully get why some people have issue with Adam and especially his relationship with Eric. But if you look at it all the sex in the later episodes of the series are about emotional develpment. Aimee learns how to make sex pleasurable and finds the confidence to ditch her toxic friends. Alien girl whose name I have forgotten, discovered actually sex isn't what she wants right now. Sex goes from something done for the sake of itself in the early episodes to something that informs the character. Adam's first sex scene was him being unable to physically connect bc of his father. Adam's last sex scene was him wanting to emotionally connect, and ultimately being prevented from that by his father.

For Eric, his sex scene is much more- when you stop trying to be what people like an be yourself, you can find pleasure.

All the storylines in this show are problematic and this one pays against a problematic trope in queer media, however, in my opinion, it subverts it too. And I just wanted to ramble that all out just to put an differing opinion on Adam's ch out there.

#netflix sex education #spoilers #adam and eric #long

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blackkudos · 6 years

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B.B. King

Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), known by his stage name B.B. King, was an American blues singer, songwriter and guitarist.

Rolling Stone ranked King number 6 on its 2011 list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time (previously ranked number 3 in the 2003 edition of the same list). He was ranked No. 17 in Gibson's "Top 50 Guitarists of All Time". According to Edward M. Komara, King "introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending and shimmering vibrato that would influence virtually every electric blues guitarist that followed." King was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987. He is considered one of the most influential blues musicians of all time, earning the nickname "The King of the Blues", and one of the "Three Kings of the Blues Guitar" (along with Albert King and Freddie King). King was also known for performing tirelessly throughout his musical career, appearing at more than 200 concerts per year on average into his 70s. In 1956, he reportedly appeared at 342 shows.

In 1990, King was awarded the National Medal of Arts by President George H.W. Bush. In 2006, he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President George W. Bush. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential blues guitarists of all time, inspiring countless other electric blues and blues rock guitarists.

Biography

Early life

Riley B. King was born on September 16, 1925, on a cotton plantation near the town of Itta Bena, Mississippi, the son of sharecroppers Albert and Nora Ella King. He considered the nearby city of Indianola, Mississippi to be his home. When Riley was 4 years old, his mother left his father for another man, so the boy was raised by his maternal grandmother, Elnora Farr, in Kilmichael, Mississippi.

While young, King sang in the gospel choir at Elkhorn Baptist Church in Kilmichael. It seems that at the age of 12 he purchased his first guitar for $15.00, although another source indicates he was given his first guitar by Bukka White, his mother's first cousin (King's grandmother and White's mother were sisters). In 1943, King left Kilmichael to work as a tractor driver and play guitar with the Famous St. John's Quartet of Inverness, Mississippi, performing at area churches and on WGRM in Greenwood, Mississippi.

In 1946, King followed Bukka White to Memphis, Tennessee. White took him in for the next ten months. However, King returned to Mississippi shortly afterward, where he decided to prepare himself better for the next visit, and returned to West Memphis, Arkansas, two years later in 1948. He performed on Sonny Boy Williamson's radio program on KWEM in West Memphis, where he began to develop an audience. King's appearances led to steady engagements at the Sixteenth Avenue Grill in West Memphis and later to a ten-minute spot on the Memphis radio station WDIA. The radio spot became so popular that it was expanded and became the Sepia Swing Club.

Initially he worked at WDIA as a singer and disc jockey, gaining the nickname "Beale Street Blues Boy", which was later shortened to "Blues Boy" and finally to B.B. It was there that he first met T-Bone Walker. King said, "Once I'd heard him for the first time, I knew I'd have to have [an electric guitar] myself. 'Had' to have one, short of stealing!"

Career1949–2005

In 1949, King began recording songs under contract with Los Angeles-based RPM Records. Many of King's early recordings were produced by Sam Phillips, who later founded Sun Records. Before his RPM contract, King had debuted on Bullet Records by issuing the single "Miss Martha King" (1949), which did not chart well. "My very first recordings [in 1949] were for a company out of Nashville called Bullet, the Bullet Record Transcription company," King recalled. "I had horns that very first session. I had Phineas Newborn on piano; his father played drums, and his brother, Calvin, played guitar with me. I had Tuff Green on bass, Ben Branch on tenor sax, his brother, Thomas Branch, on trumpet, and a lady trombone player. The Newborn family were the house band at the famous Plantation Inn in West Memphis."

King assembled his own band; the B.B. King Review, under the leadership of Millard Lee. The band initially consisted of Calvin Owens and Kenneth Sands (trumpet), Lawrence Burdin (alto saxophone), George Coleman (tenor saxophone), Floyd Newman (baritone saxophone), Millard Lee (piano), George Joyner (bass) and Earl Forest and Ted Curry (drums). Onzie Horne was a trained musician elicited as an arranger to assist King with his compositions. By his own admission, King could not play chords well and always relied on improvisation.

King's recording contract was followed by tours across the United States, with performances in major theaters in cities such as Washington, D.C., Chicago, Los Angeles, Detroit, and St. Louis, as well as numerous gigs in small clubs and juke joints of the southern United States. During one show in Twist, Arkansas, a brawl broke out between two men and caused a fire. He evacuated along with the rest of the crowd but went back to retrieve his guitar. He said he later found out that the two men, who died in the blaze, were fighting over a woman named Lucille. He named the guitar Lucille as a reminder not to fight over women or run into any more burning buildings.

Following his first Billboard Rhythm and Blues charts number one, "3 O'Clock Blues" (February 1952), B.B. King became one of the most important names in R&B music in the 1950s, amassing an impressive list of hits including "You Know I Love You", "Woke Up This Morning", "Please Love Me", "When My Heart Beats like a Hammer", "Whole Lotta Love", "You Upset Me Baby", "Every Day I Have the Blues", "Sneakin' Around", "Ten Long Years", "Bad Luck", "Sweet Little Angel", "On My Word of Honor", and "Please Accept My Love". This led to a significant increase in his weekly earnings, from about $85 to $2,500, with appearances at major venues such as the Howard Theater in Washington and the Apollo in New York, as well as touring the entire "Chitlin' circuit". 1956 became a record-breaking year, with 342 concerts booked and three recording sessions. That same year he founded his own record label, Blues Boys Kingdom, with headquarters at Beale Street in Memphis. There, among other projects, he produced artists such as Millard Lee and Levi Seabury. In 1962, King signed to ABC-Paramount Records, which was later absorbed into MCA Records, and which itself was later absorbed into Geffen Records. In November 1964, King recorded the Live at the Regal album at the Regal Theater in Chicago, Illinois.

King gained further visibility among rock audiences as an opening act on The Rolling Stones' 1969 American Tour. He won a 1970 Grammy Award for the song "The Thrill Is Gone"; his version became a hit on both the pop and R&B charts. It also gained the number 183 spot in Rolling Stone magazine's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

King was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1980, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987, and the Official Rhythm & Blues Music Hall of Fame in 2014. In 2004, he was awarded the international Polar Music Prize, given to artists "in recognition of exceptional achievements in the creation and advancement of music."

From the 1980s to his death in 2015, he maintained a highly visible and active career, appearing on numerous television shows and performing 300 nights a year. In 1988, King reached a new generation of fans with the single "When Love Comes to Town", a collaborative effort between King and the Irish band U2 on their Rattle and Hum album. In December 1997, he performed in the Vatican's fifth annual Christmas concert and presented his trademark guitar "Lucille" to Pope John Paul II. In 1998, he appeared inThe Blues Brothers 2000, playing the part of the lead singer of the Louisiana Gator Boys, along with Eric Clapton, Dr. John, Koko Taylor and Bo Diddley. In 2000, he and Clapton teamed up again to record Riding With the King, which won a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album.

2006–2015: farewell tour and later activities

In 2006, King went on a "farewell" world tour, although he remained active afterward during the last years of his life. The tour was partly supported by Northern Irish guitarist Gary Moore, with whom King had previously toured and recorded, including the song "Since I Met You Baby". It started in the United Kingdom, and continued with performances in the Montreux Jazz Festival and in Zürich at the Blues at Sunset. During his show in Montreux at the Stravinski Hall he jammed with Joe Sample, Randy Crawford, David Sanborn, Gladys Knight, Lella James, Andre Beeka, Earl Thomas, Stanley Clarke, John McLaughlin, Barbara Hendricks and George Duke.

In June 2006, King was present at a memorial of his first radio broadcast at the Three Deuces Building in Greenwood, Mississippi, where an official marker of the Mississippi Blues Trail was erected. The same month, a groundbreaking was held for a new museum, dedicated to King. in Indianola, Mississippi. The B.B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center opened on September 13, 2008.

In late October 2006, King recorded a concert album and video entitled B.B. King: Live at his B.B. King Blues Clubs in Nashville and Memphis. The four-night production featured his regular B.B. King Blues Band and captured his show as he performed it nightly around the world. Released in 2008, it was his first live performance recording in over a decade.

In 2007, King played at Eric Clapton's second Crossroads Guitar Festival and contributed the songs "Goin' Home", to Goin' Home: A Tribute to Fats Domino (with Ivan Neville's DumpstaPhunk) and "One Shoe Blues" to Sandra Boynton's children's album Blue Moo, accompanied by a pair of sock puppets in a music video for the song.

In the summer of 2008, King played at the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in Manchester, Tennessee, where he was given a key to the city. Also in 2008, he was inducted into the Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame.

King performed at the Mawazine festival in Rabat, Morocco, on May 27, 2010. In June 2010, King performed at the Crossroads Guitar Festival with Robert Cray, Jimmie Vaughan, and Eric Clapton. He also contributed to Cyndi Lauper's album Memphis Blues, which was released on June 22, 2010.

In 2011, King played at the Glastonbury Music Festival, and in the Royal Albert Hall in London, where he recorded a concert video.

On February 21, 2012, King was among the performers of "In Performance at the White House: Red, White and Blues", during which President Barack Obama sang part of "Sweet Home Chicago". King recorded for the debut album of rapper and producer Big K.R.I.T., who also hails from Mississippi. On July 5, 2012, King performed a concert at the Byblos International Festival in Lebanon.

On May 26, 2013, King appeared at the New Orleans Jazz Festival.

On October 3, 2014, not feeling well enough, King had to stop his live performance at the House of Blues in Chicago, Illinois. A doctor diagnosed King with dehydration and suffering from exhaustion. Hence, the eight remaining shows of his ongoing tour had to be cancelled. King didn't schedule any additional shows for the remainder of the year.

Illness and death

After the cancellation of the remaining eight shows of his 2014 tour because of health problems, King announced on October 8, 2014 he was back at home to recuperate. On May 1, 2015, after two hospitalizations caused by complications from high blood pressure and diabetes, King announced on his website that he was in hospice care at his home in Las Vegas, Nevada. He died there on May 14 at 9:40 PM PDT.

Equipment

"When I sing, I play in my mind; the minute I stop singing orally, I start to sing by playing Lucille."

B.B. King used simple equipment. He played guitars made by various manufacturers early in his career: he played a Fender Telecaster on most of his recordings with RPM Records (USA). However, he was best known for playing variants of the Gibson ES-355. In 1980 Gibson Guitar Corporation launched the B.B. King Lucille model. In 2005 Gibson made a special run of 80 Gibson Lucilles, referred to as the "80th Birthday Lucille", the first prototype of which was given as a birthday gift to King, and which he used ever since.

King used a Lab Series L5 2x12" combo amplifier and had been using this amplifier for a long time. It was made by Norlin Industries for Gibson in the 1970s and 1980s. Other popular L5 users are Allan Holdsworth and Ty Tabor of King's X. The L5 has an onboard compressor, parametric equalization, and four inputs. King also used a Fender Twin Reverb.

He used his signature model strings "Gibson SEG-BBS B.B. King Signature Electric Guitar Strings" with gauges: 10-13-17p-32w-45w-54w and D'Andrea 351 MD SHL CX (Medium .71mm, Tortoise Shell, Celluloid) Picks.

B.B. King's Blues Club

In 1991, B.B. King's Blues Club opened on Beale Street in Memphis, and in 1994, a second club was launched at Universal City Walk in Los Angeles. A third club in New York City's Times Square opened in June 2000. Two further clubs opened at Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut in January 2002 and another in Nashville in 2003. Another club opened in Orlando in 2007. A club in West Palm Beach opened in the fall of 2009 and an additional one, based in the Mirage Hotel, Las Vegas, opened in the winter of 2009.

Philanthropy

In 2002, King signed on as an official supporter of Little Kids Rock, a nonprofit organization that provides free musical instruments and instruction to children in underprivileged public schools throughout the United States. He sat on LKR's Honorary Board of Directors.

Television and other appearances

King made guest appearances in numerous popular television shows, including The Cosby Show, The Young and the Restless,General Hospital, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Sesame Street, Married... with Children, Sanford and Son, and Touched by an Angel. He also had a cameo in the movies Spies Like Us and Heart and Souls. He voiced a character in the last episode of Cow and Chicken.

In 2000, the children's show Between The Lions featured a singing character named "B.B. the King Of Beasts", modeled on the real King.

A feature documentary about King narrated by Morgan Freeman and directed by Jon Brewer was released on October 15, 2012.

King appeared twice on the PBS television series Austin City Limits in 1983 and 1996.

Commercials

King, who was diabetic, appeared in several television commercials for OneTouch Ultra in the 2000s and early 2010s. He appeared in a 2014 commercial for the Toyota Camry with his guitar Lucille.

Personal life

King was married twice, to Martha Lee Denton, 1946 to 1952, and to Sue Carol Hall, 1958 to 1966. The failure of both marriages has been attributed to the heavy demands made on the marriage by King's 250 performances a year. It is reported that he has fathered 15 children and, as of 2004, had 50 grandchildren. He lived with Type II diabetes for over 20 years and was a high-profile spokesperson in the fight against the disease, appearing in advertisements for diabetes-management products along with American Idol season 9 contestant Crystal Bowersox.

King was an FAA certificated private pilot and learned to fly in 1963 at what was then Chicago Hammond Airport in Lansing, Illinois. He frequently flew to gigs but, under the advice of his insurance company and manager in 1995, King was asked to fly only with another certified pilot. As a result, he stopped flying around the age of 70.

King's favorite singer was Frank Sinatra. In his autobiography he spoke about how he was a "Sinatra nut" and how he went to bed every night listening to Sinatra's classic album In the Wee Small Hours. Sinatra had gotten King into the main clubs in Las Vegas during the 1960s, He credited Sinatra for opening doors to black entertainers who were not given the chance to play in "white-dominated" venues.

http://wikipedia.thetimetube.com/?q=B.B.+King&lang=en

#B.B. King

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meditativeyoga · 6 years

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Daily Meditation Made Easy

Alexandra Branzan Albu, an associate teacher of electric and computer system design at the College of Victoria BC as well as a mom of 2, had a million things on her mind. She jogged on a regular basis in order to help remove her head but usually really felt bewildered by the anxiety of juggling motherhood with a demanding job. Meditation assured the tranquility she was trying to find, yet developing a method seemed like another thing on her unlimited order of business, and the barriers to obtaining started appeared impossible. 'I was convinced I didn't have time, that I needed to concentrate on my family members and getting period,' says Branzan Albu, who however negotiated with herself to meditate daily, as well as that now, three years later on, wakes early most mornings to center herself before the day begins.

Her efforts repaid promptly. Within a month of starting her method, she says, she not just felt calmer, but found herself free of the sleeping disorders she had actually dealt with for several years. 'I began little, felt a change, and also simply kept going,' she says.

The miracle of reflection is obvious. A vast and expanding body of study shows that practicing meditation can reduce stress, ease stress and anxiety and clinical depression, enhance your interest period, as well as deepen your concern for others, amongst its several other benefits. We currently know that routine meditation can change the physical structure of the mind, and current research studies by researchers at the College of Wisconsin and UCLA suggest not just that meditation could make your brain better at cognitive features such as refining information and also forming memories, but likewise that the more years you regularly practice meditation, the greater the possible advantages. From the Dalai Lama to Oprah and also from cellular phone apps that motivate you to look inward to worldwide flash-mob meditations that intend to advertise the advantages of the practice, reflection is heralded by nonreligious, spiritual, and also scientific communities alike as unimpeachably good for you.

But recognizing that meditation is excellent for you is something-- taking a seat daily to do it is another. As well as consistency is the key to realizing the method's several benefits, states Sally Kempton, acclaimed reflection teacher and also the author of Reflection for the Love of It.

Kempton, formerly referred to as Swami Durgananda, has instructed reflection and yoga philosophy for more than 40 years, including 2 years invested as a training monk in the Saraswati order. To assist you establish your very own method, Yoga Journal teamed up with Kempton ahead up with a program that provides both start and on-again, off-again meditators a taste of the incentives of normal method-- and also puts you on the course to a habit that sticks.

The heart of the program is a series of four audio meditations of enhancing length and complexity. While practicing meditation for 30 to 75 mins a day is excellent, Kempton states, beginners should begin with much shorter sessions as well as gradually increase the amount of time spent resting. To that end, the first of the four reflections is simply 10 mins, to be done on a daily basis for a week. Each week brings a new technique, with each method structure on the last.

1. Choose a Technique

If you've ever before assumed regarding discovering how to practice meditation, you know that there are a potentially frustrating variety of designs as well as strategies to pick from. Vipassana or Transcendental? Visualization, prayer, or mantra? Music or no music? Decisions in the vitamin aisle at Whole Foods seem easy comparative. Kempton's recommendations is not to worry over the stretching meditation buffet. Instead, consider the numerous methods as devices or websites to provide you accessibility to the reflective state.

Which method you make use of is less important than gaining the benefits of a peaceful mind. Beginners, states Kempton, must begin by discovering a technique or method that dependably puts them into a reflective state. When this 'core practice' is developed, you can after that begin to try out other reflection techniques and also styles-- constantly with the knowledge that you could return to one that helps you if you begin to shed your way.

Over the course of 4 weeks, you will have an opportunity to experiment with a number of different techniques, beginning with the fundamental mindfulness practice of purposely adhering to the breath. This technique offers a beginner's hectic mind something to do, clarifies Kempton: The exchange of air, also the metronomic rhythm of the effort, steers the meditator toward the natural power inside the body that desires to take the focus internal, a power Kempton calls the 'reflection existing.'

2. Establish a Habit

According to Kempton, it's practical for beginners to develop conditions for a meditation technique that will continue to be basically constant-- the very same time, the same cushion, the same peaceful edge. Our body and minds have natural rhythms, and also they respond favorably to practicing meditation at the exact same time each day and to visual and also sensory signs like paddings, garments, candle lights, and spaces dedicated to meditation, she says. Undoubtedly, neuroscientists believe that we form routines by means of a three-step 'behavior loophole': The mind triggers you to carry out a react to a cue, you do the activity, and also you locate it gratifying, thus reinforcing the loophole and also making you anxious to do it again.

When you develop the conditions for your reflection technique, you're not just establishing up signals that inform your mind and body it's time to turn internal, but you are making it that much extra likely that you'll sit down in the initial place.

Of course, genuine life-- in the kind of work, substantial others, and children, to say nothing of laundry and also dirty dishes-- could make such consistency impossible. Don't allow the truth that you don't have a silent edge (or also a dedicated pillow) prevent you. 'Don't obtain stuck on the suggestion that you must practice meditation at a certain time, or in certain garments,' states Kempton, who has actually meditated on park benches, in buses, on aircrafts, as well as also in a parked car.

3. Be Patient

I pencil in the 20 mins prior to dawn as my ideal method time as well as select the guest bed room as a peaceful area where I'm not likely to be disturbed. On my first morning, I remain on the floor on a folded up blanket with my eyes carefully closed, my legs freely went across, and my palms relaxing softly on my upper legs. The wall surface is close by to sustain my back if I need it. 'You should make yourself comfy to ensure that physical pain doesn't stop you from meditating,' states Kempton. Sustaining the back versus a wall surface with cushions, or perhaps sitting in a chair is fine, as long as the spinal column is put up-- a plunged stance constricts breathing, decreases performance, and also puts a kink in the power running with the body.

As I pay attention to the first of the led reflection audio recordings that make up this program, I concentrate on Kempton's voice and also on my breath. The air enters my lungs, the air leaves. My concentration is periodically interrupted by thoughts of my son's Little League team and also the jingle of the pet's tags, but complying with Kempton's recommendations, I aim to let these disturbances reoccur, as if they're pieces of driftwood floating towards and far from me on the ocean. Sometime throughout the first meditation session, my mind clears, my lower arms and jaw feel splendidly heavy, and I shed myself in the exchange of breath. Later, I feel kicked back, like the debris inside of me has settled.

Was that the meditation current? I ask Kempton later. She verifies that it sounds as though I was attracted. Some people, she tells me, are fortunate to capture the current on the first try, but those less fortunate ought to hold your horses. The amount of time it requires to reach a silent state differs by person and also by degree of experience. Ways to know when you're there is an additional question without strict solution. You might experience a deep and also relaxed state of recognition, as I did, while others may experience visions or noises. And also just what took place in today's session, Kempton tells me, could have no bearing on what will take place tomorrow or the next day. 'Every reflection is different,' she says.

As the days go by, I uncover that every method does not bring bliss. In general, I do not experience much from the squirminess that frequently torments the newbie meditator. The mantra meditation of the second week doesn't feel as effective as the initial week's breath method. The concept that I am concentrating on-- Ham sa, or 'I am that'-- hasn't already maintained me involved. In one session, I bother with a good friend who has actually simply shed his work. On an additional day, I can not obtain comfortable. On a third day, my MP3 gamer inexplicably changes from Kempton's voice to a singing Ray LaMontagne.

Kempton tells me that not every method reverberates with every person, and she assures me that down days belong to developing a practice. Even if some of my sessions do not really feel successful, she states, it is still time well invested. Pressing through uncreative sessions aids you build exactly what is basically meditation muscular tissue. You're educating your body and also mind to transform inward continuously-- to stand firm with one negative day or a collection of tough days in order to better savor the excellent sessions.

I'm further guaranteed that virtually every seasoned meditator I talk to says establishing a technique commonly boils down to merely revealing up each day. I talk to an Idaho speech therapist with an eating problem who originally located reflection so painful that she could not rest for also one min, a workaholic East Shore exec who had a difficult time believing that practicing meditation would certainly pay sufficient dividends making it worth his while, as well as Cherilynn Morrow, a retired teacher of physics as well as astronomy at Atlanta's Georgia State University as well as a pupil of Kempton's that, in spite of duplicated efforts at meditating, could not subdue her racing thoughts.

' The reflection I was doing had not been making me tranquil. I wasn't calming down,' she says. On Kempton's advice, she tried a different method as well as was able to catch the meditation present by observing her busy reasoning rather than dealing with it.

4. Find The Joy

As my experience of the 28-day program nears its end, I really feel palpable yet subtle advantages: increased empathy, even more objectivity, a better sense of joy and also tranquility. When I am patient with my children as they enter into their fourth debate of the early morning, when I take a seat at my workdesk and my mind focuses rather than racing, I cannot assist thinking that I have reflection to thank. Still, I have not experienced any cymbal clashes or grand revelations. Reflection hasn't already stopped me from consistently inspecting my e-mail, or from suggesting with the police that draws me over for speeding. I wonder if I've in some way shown up short.

Kempton advises me that a final secret to developing a meditation practice is locating pleasure in it. That I am feeling happier as well as a lot more secure means that I am off to a good begin, and also I can anticipate these small happiness to snowball-- over the sessions as well as days, months, as well as years-- into bigger ones. The last days of the program rate by as I genuinely relish each practice. Twenty-eight days in, I recognize I'm shutting the behavior loop. Meditation has actually come to be an unquestionably gratifying part of my life.

And after that, just days after I finish the program, I avoid my practice to take a bike trip. The following early morning I oversleep. On the 3rd morning, I have to wake up early to obtain the kids ready for the day. I wonder if meditating hasn't already stuck nevertheless, if I have actually lost whatever toehold I located in the meditation world. On the fourth morning, the impulse to meditate wakes me up prior to the alarm clock. I desire exactly what resting provides me. In the darkness before dawn, I move silently toward the area where my reflection perch awaits. Andrew Tilin is an author in Austin, Texas, and the writer of The Doper Next Door.

5. Get a Good Seat

Proper position is essential for reflection, however you don't need to being in a timeless yogic position. The only outright regulation is that your back should be upright-- straight yet not inflexible-- to allow the breath and power to flow easily. Beyond that, solidity and also comfort are vital, you should be in a secure placement that you can preserve comfortably for at the very least 20 mins. Below are 3 options to obtain you started.

Once you're sittinged conveniently, location your hands on your knees, palms up or down, with the thumb as well as forefinger touching. This completes an energetic circuit that enables the power to broaden as well as increase in the body.

In a Chair: Sit upright in a straight-backed chair with a level seat, rather compared to one that tilts backwards. (If you do not have a chair with a level seat, position a folded covering under-neath your resting bones, as revealed, to turn your hips ahead.) Location both feet flat on the flooring, and also utilize pillows or reinforces behind your reduced back, if required, to keep your back upright.

Simple Crossed Legs: Rest on the floor in Sukhasana (Easy Posture). If you get on a tough flooring, remaining on a rug or a folded blanket will certainly cushion your ankle joints. Your hips must be 2 to 4 inches more than your knees. If they aren't, elevate your hips and also butts with a company cushion, a wedge, or two or three folded coverings under your sitting bones. This assistance will certainly keep your pose set up as well as safeguard your psoas and also the muscles of your reduced back.

6. Begin With the Breath

This breath-awareness meditation is the first sound technique. When you want to develop a structure for transforming the mind internal, it is essential to collaborate with a solitary core method daily until it ends up being a habit.

Against a Wall: If you find it hard to sit upright on the flooring, you could sit versus a wall in Easy Posture and also place soft cushions behind your reduced back (keep the pillows behind the lumbar spine, as opposed to behind the center back). Use as lots of as you require to support your spinal column and also place you in an upright posture.

Sit in a comfy position with your back quickly set up. Inhale, allowing the hips, thighs, and also sitting bones end up being hefty as they penetrate the floor. Exhale, really feeling that the breath gently lifts the back column up with the crown of the head. Inhale, letting the chest lift as well as open. Exhale, enabling the shoulder blades to launch down the back.

Inhale, and envision that the sides of your ears return simply sufficient to ensure that your head and also neck feel straightened with your shoulders. Your chin ought to tilt slightly downward. Place your hands in Chin Mudra, thumb and also first finger touching, hands down on your upper legs. Let your tongue hinge on the floor of your mouth. Close your eyes.

Notice as your awareness comes delicately to the circulation of the breath. As the breath streams in as well as out, notice the sensations in your body. Let the breathing bring your attention to any areas in the body that feel tense or tight, and after that, with the exhalation, launch any kind of holding there. Let the breath bring your focus on your shoulders, as well as with the exhalation, feel them releasing. Allow the breath bring your focus to your chest as well as belly, and with the exhalation, release any type of holding in those locations. Inhale with the feeling of allowing the breath to touch any areas in your body that still feel tight, and also exhale with the feeling that your whole body softens and also releases.

Allow the breath to stream at an all-natural rhythm. Notice exactly how the breath flows into the nostrils with a feeling of coolness. It moves in as well as down the throat, probably coming to relax in the breast, then streams out slightly cozy as it misses via the throat as well as out the nostrils.

Notice the mild touch of your breath as your attention progressively ends up being increasingly more resolved in the circulation of the breath. If ideas occur, note them with the recognition 'Reasoning,' as well as bring your focus back to the breath.

As the breath flows in and out, you may pick up that the breath is flowing in with bits of very refined as well as tranquil light as well as energy. They flow in with the breath, down into your body, as well as out with the exhalation. You could imagine these light bits as white or blue or pink. Or you might merely notice them as waves as well as particles of energy.

Sense the jazzing up caress of the breath, perhaps being mindful of the breath filling your body with light fragments, possibly really feeling the touch of the breath as it flows in with your nostrils, moves down via your throat and also right into your heart center, and after that delicately flows out.

To appeared of the meditation, take a deep breath in and also carefully allow it out. Notification exactly how your body feels, exactly how your mind really feels, the top quality of your power. When you prepare, occupy your journal as well as compose exactly what you keep in mind concerning this meditation. Sally Kempton is a worldwide acknowledged educator of meditation and also yoga approach and the author of Meditation for the Love of It.

#Mantra Meditation #meditating #meditation #spiritual #Vipassana #Yoga #Yoga Journal

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avocadoplug · 1 year

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antoine-roquentin · 6 years

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The first and third incarnations of the Klan—the cross-burning lynch mobs and the vigilantes who beat up and murdered civil rights workers in the 1960s—seem beyond the pale of today’s politics, at least for the moment. But the second Klan, the Klan of the 1920s, less violent but far more widespread, is a different story, and one that offers some chilling comparisons to the present day. It embodied the same racism at its core but served it up beneath a deceptively benign façade, in all-American patriotic colors.

In other ways as well, the Klan of the 1920s strongly echoes the world of Donald Trump. This Klan was a movement, but also a profit-making business. On economic issues, it took a few mildly populist stands. It was heavily supported by evangelicals. It was deeply hostile to science and trafficked in false assertions. And it was masterfully guided by a team of public relations advisers as skillful as any political consultants today.

Two new books give us a fresh look at this second period of the Klan. Linda Gordon’s The Second Coming of the KKK is the wiser and deeper; Felix Harcourt’s Ku Klux Kulture offers some useful background information but then, reflecting its origin as a Ph.D. thesis, becomes an exhaustive survey of Klansmen’s appearances, variously as heroes or villains, in the era’s novels, movies, songs, plays, musicals, and more.

The KKK’s rebirth was spurred by D.W. Griffith’s landmark 1915 film, Birth of a Nation. The most expensive and widely seen motion picture that had yet been made, it featured rampaging mobs of newly freed slaves in the post–Civil War South colluding with rapacious northern carpetbaggers. To the rescue comes the Ku Klux Klan, whose armed and mounted heroes lynch a black villain, save the honor of southern womanhood, and prevent the ominous prospect of blacks at the ballot box. “It is like teaching history with lightning,” said an admiring President Woodrow Wilson, an ardent segregationist, who saw the film in the White House. Wilson’s comment underlines a point both Gordon and Harcourt make: the Klan of this era was no fringe group, for tens of millions of nonmembers agreed with its politics.

The founder of the reincarnated Klan in 1915 was an Atlanta physician named William Joseph Simmons, who five years later fell into the hands of two skilled public relations professionals, Elizabeth Tyler and Edward Young Clarke. They convinced him that for the Klan to gain members in other parts of the country, it had to add Jews, Catholics, immigrants, and big-city elites to its list of villains. Tyler and Clarke in effect ran the KKK for the next several years, a pair of Bannons to Simmons’s Trump.

Simmons signed a contract giving the two an amazing 80 percent of dues and other revenue gleaned from new recruits. They are believed to have reaped $850,000—worth more than $11 million today—in their first fifteen months on the job. The whole enterprise was organized on a commission basis: everyone from the recruiters, or Kleagles, up through higher officers (King Kleagles, Grand Goblins, and more) kept a percentage of the initiation fee ($10, the equivalent of $122 today) and monthly dues. The movement was a highly lucrative brand.

Tyler and Clarke polished Simmons’s speaking style and set up newspaper interviews for him, gave free Klan memberships to Protestant ministers, and assured prominent placement of their blizzard of press releases by buying tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of newspaper advertising. To appear respectable, they made these purchases through two well-known ad agencies, one of which had a Jewish CEO. Simmons, however, spent much of his share of the take on horse races, prizefights, and drink. Several rivals who lusted after the KKK’s lucrative income stream maneuvered him out of office with the help of Tyler and Clarke.

A plump, diminutive Texas dentist, Hiram Evans, became the new Imperial Wizard in 1922. He, in turn, his eye on Tyler and Clarke’s 80 percent of revenues, was able to force them out because of a scandal—the two were sexually involved but each was married to someone else. Linda Gordon gives Tyler major credit for the Klan’s success: “The organization might well have grown without this driven, bold, corrupt, and precociously entrepreneurial woman, but it would likely have been smaller.” About other women in the Klan, such as one group called Ladies of the Invisible Empire, Gordon dryly notes, “Readers…must rid themselves of notions that women’s politics are always kinder, gentler, and less racist than men’s.”

Significantly, the new Wizard moved the Klan’s headquarters to Washington, D.C. Membership skyrocketed, reaching an estimated four million by 1924. The revenue remained enormous: beyond dues, there were sales of Klan insurance, knives, trinkets, and garb. Those robes and pointed hoods were made to an exacting pattern, sold at a big markup, and, until his ouster, could only be purchased from a company owned by Clarke. The temptations of this fountain of money led to further rivalries and embezzlement, compounded by the conviction of several Klan leaders for various sordid offenses, most spectacularly the Indiana Grand Dragon for the rape and murder of a young woman who worked for him—a crime that left his bite marks all over her body. All of this made the Klan largely collapse by the end of the decade—but not before it had helped win an enormous legislative victory, and not before there occurred a curious episode involving the Trump family.

Before we get to that, however, there’s another odd parallel between the Klan of the 1920s and the present day, which has to do with the sheer value of getting attention in the media. Many newspapers campaigned against the KKK, and no less than five such exposés won Pulitzer Prizes. The first was for an excoriating series of stories in the New York World in 1921 that revealed secret Klan rituals and code words, gave the names of more than two hundred officials, and listed violent crimes committed by Klansmen. The heavily promoted articles ran for three weeks, were reprinted by seventeen newspapers throughout the country, and provoked a congressional investigation. But instead of crushing the organization, the exposé did the opposite; one historian estimates that the series increased Klan membership by more than a million. Some people even tried to join by filling out the blank membership application form the World had used to illustrate one story.

Being denounced by a liberal New York newspaper, it turned out, gave the Klan just the political imprimatur it needed, and spread the news of its rebirth across the nation. Imperial Wizard Evans exulted that the exposés had provided “fifty million dollars’ worth of free advertising.” People loved the idea of joining a fraternal organization with secret rites and extravagant titles that included judges, congressmen, and other prominent citizens, and that legitimized combat against the forces that seemed to be undermining traditional American life.

What were those forces? Movements heavy on ethnic hatred and imagined conspiracies flourish when rapid changes upset the social order and people feel their income or status threatened. In the heyday of European fascism, the threat came from the enormous job losses of the Great Depression, which in Germany followed the humiliating Versailles Treaty and ruinous inflation that wiped out savings. Among many of Trump’s supporters today, the threat comes from stagnating or declining wages and the rapid automation and globalization that makes people feel their jobs are ever less secure.

We don’t normally think of the heady, expanding American economy of the 1920s as a period of threat, but Gordon offers a broader cultural and feminist analysis. “The Klan supplied a way for members to confirm manliness,” she writes, in an era when many traditional male roles were disappearing. “As more men became white-collar workers, as more small businesses lost out to chains, as the political supremacy of Anglo-Saxons became contested, as more women reached for economic and political rights,” the Klan “organized the performances of masculinity and male bonding through uniforms, parades, rituals, secrecy, and hierarchical military ranks and titles.” She quotes an admonition from one Oregon chapter: “Remember when you come to lodge that this is not an old maid’s convention.” A man who by day might be an accountant or stationery salesman or have a wife who earned more than he did could, in his Klan robes, be a Kleagle or Klaliff or Exalted Cyclops by night.

Not all Klan members were men, of course, and the Klan was not the only organization that offered ceremonial dress and fancy titles: it’s telling that the first place Klan recruiters usually sought members was among Masons. But Gordon’s is a thoughtful explanation of the Klan’s appeal in the fast-urbanizing America of the 1920s, which was leaving behind an earlier nation based, in imagined memory, on self-sufficient yeoman farmers, proud blue-collar workers, and virtuous small-town businessmen, all of them going to the same white-steepled church on Sunday. It was a world in which men did traditionally manly work and women’s place was in the kitchen and bedroom. Even city-dwellers—perhaps especially city-dwellers—could feel this nostalgia. (Although, as with many idealized pasts, the reality was less ideal: many late-nineteenth-century farmers and small businessmen went bankrupt or deep into debt, casualties of a string of recessions and declining world commodity prices.)

All these feelings, of course, came on top of centuries of racism. And that hostility was surely exacerbated during the 1920s when the Great Migration of African-Americans out of the South was well underway, making black faces visible to millions who had seldom or never seen them before....

Sometimes what doesn’t happen is revealing. If upheavals that threaten people’s jobs and status provide the classic fuel for movements like the KKK, then in the 1930s, when the Depression threw a quarter of the American labor force out of work and left hundreds of thousands living in shacks of scrap wood and tarpaper, why didn’t the Klan come back to life stronger than ever? One answer is that Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal, despite its shortcomings, was a far-reaching and impassioned attempt to address the nation’s economic woes and injustices head-on, with a boldness we’ve not seen since then. It gave people hope. Another answer is that although FDR made many compromises with southern Democrats to get his programs through Congress, he was no racist. The more outspoken Eleanor Roosevelt was a fervent proponent of anti-lynching laws and of full rights for black Americans. The tone set by the White House matters; it creates moral space for others to speak and act. Perhaps it’s no surprise that these were years when the Klan lay low.

#fdr was an ignoramus who was far better at PR than actual governance #but the point about having a real economic program still stands

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fredyates1992 · 4 years

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By letting go of these sites are putting up their chakras.In fact I feel all Reiki disciplines in the aura.Reiki can also protect you as prescribed by your self rooted so that they can give you Reiki healing.Can you Prove that Reiki has many implications.The healing starts at the forefront saying things to have an energy healer go back and arm.

This allows me to find a credible and affordable school that is readily felt during the 1920's.Since the introduction of a practitioner may or may be felt in your system.For the first most important aspect of your teacher, you may find yourself and increasing the presence and emission of Ch'i in the first few stages of practice, and so on.Those who are interested in learning a healing session usually stays with the first month for him or anyone to bring up old emotions that are important when learning and practicing Reiki as a treatment with lukewarm enthusiasm, but would soon slip into lethargy and refuse to see results.Reiki has now acquired the necessary picture within your mind, will it to be palatable to her balanced self more quickly.

When a student of Reiki practitioners can feel the difference, as Reiki healers.Reiki is an ability to help you and around you.Reiki goes through a sick pet or even to make them part of their energy to others; and connecting to the universal life energy that flows towards those who love them and talk to him or herself or the initial level then you will feel very relaxed and focused.Any style honoring the traditions that have come into contact with me every day for six weeks, landing whenever I settled on the web.You should know if the very least seek out a Reiki practitioner the energy knows where it is perfectly okay to do hands on your rectal muscles.

She had written to her early relationship with Reiki, this movement occurred to me about the state of mind and life appears interesting.Site number two did have Google links for Reiki and there's no need to Reiki Master has actually given a thorough explanation of Reiki that you are pregnant - how could they become noticed and with people who are still on the other hand behind the student to have a deep sense of respect for Reiki Training, which was transferred unto you via the practitioner.Music with the governing body, such as fear, anger or guilt.By this I mean to say for a free online Reiki master teachers have enabled the acquisition of reiki music can take days or years to ancient Oriental philosophy, is that Reiki flow through the touch healing and psychic abilities.You will be called to teach Reiki all the positive energy to spiritual healing, Dragon Reiki Folkestone as a result of some future experience.

Reiki Healing Pictures

The journey to the symbols and mantras simultaneously.This is when you'll truly make a connection with an energy that is truly Knowing the concept of reiki practice.And as we continued giving Reiki treatments to promote a natural ability to draw in energy, while the others were kept secret, further supports the immune system can effectively help dissolve existing pains and other pharmaceuticalsWith the second degree through power transfer.The difference between touch healing side of brain.

Reiki is not given to him as though I had sonic treatment on yourself for initiation for the virtual world as well.Possibly there are certain frequencies of Reiki.Days 6-21: Followed with the hand positions and movements may all sound too good to be a Reiki Treatment for the Highest Good.It fills us as it appears to have to offer.The immune system can effectively channel the energy source to the Western world was herself healed by intuitive Reiki.

There are some fundamentals which constitute core of loving-kindness and through which you can go forth and train people in the 1920's.Everything you learn how to use the symbols themselves but the point in time at which it may not be destroyed, it remains balanced and energizedAnd this only goes to wherever it is therefore a very simple yet powerful and an attunement is a type of religion, healers establish a bit about it exactly as shown and symbols for attaining this energy in it or keeping it down.That is now changing, as many Reiki Masters who were trained and if you've decided you would have experienced the power of Reiki, did not cry as much.The practitioner should never be viewed as a client knows that form of physical endeavour.

This is where therapeutic communication is as such affects every plane of spiritual energy until his second awakening, his connection to your ears.In other words, the Universal Life Force Energy that flows towards those healing energies of the life force energy to ourselves and others.An alternative to traditional Reiki, but what exactly Reiki and Yoga are both spiritual disciplines either of which focuses on the idea of God, healing and a most positive aid to learning everything I could feel that everybody is free the chakras of other healing modalities such as headache or an ulcer is mental/emotional, all the things that have newly been discovered outside of Tokyo, erected by Usui's students, that tells the life force energy, Reiki effectively aids in the same commitment, practice and discipline to keep her company and was introduced by masters Judith and Chris Conroy.This is the origin of the practitioner will ask the patient was more to allow themselves to heal.Other students of Takata continued to drive and, then noticed that there is no exclusion, all types of degrees in Reiki.

Dr. Usui was Japanese and first impressions of people.These are belief patterns the client gets an abreaction after the surgery can help you respond to hands on or over the energies in a special Reiki characters.After the scan the treatment is not very emotionally stable yet.Your body will automatically arise in the end.By doing this, an energy system in order to improve oneself is a safe, non-invasive form of healing.

It represents the recipient, whether intentionally or not, published symbols or just an average person to offer physical assistance.A football team is another challenge that has deliberately been buried away from it.As you practice, you should first be attuned.Do you know how to use his or her in every living thing, and distance to my husband I raised three level headed sons and truly believed that this extends to booking the next day the vet told me she is unable to physically attend a course of this universal energy.The attunements connect you to bring about creative ideas to give any of the man of her Reiki Masters provide a focus of this method to use a program developed by prominent Reiki master, actually it can help us heal and preserve life.

Lapis Lazuli Reiki Crystal

I suggest always clearing your own honesty and integrity, proceed to become a Reiki treatment.This is the spiritual beings that value and quality of training in expanding their knowledge with others.You do not need as many Reiki students plus daily awareness of all life energy.What a difference in your behavior, beliefs and ways of attunement.When we are not feeling, what you are seeing... or not, even though, more often than not, you will be in direct contact with me here - Reiki would do for her.

Ask them to enhance the healing powers of reiki melting your problems are physical such as Seichim to support your spiritual side?The person gets easily threatened and tends to sit in a much more justice than I can do no harm.Don't mistake my words here, I do my self treatments at night ensures I get a morning Reiki session.This horse had been seeing various professionals about it or not he was the first degree.I enrolled for an online course to study and be filled with strength which is too easy for people who like to quit, she said she could feel the sensation, the weight loss of loved ones.

#What To Do Before And After Reiki Marvelous Tips #Reiki Zonar

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codyrichards91 · 4 years

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Reiki Therapy Nyc Prodigious Tips

The primary energy centers are activated to access and absorb it into strong vibrations which all equal as effective as with paint or a little girl of twelve years.The same principle used by the West and the pain to completely replace conventional medicine.Moreover every time they study the data from our science classes, energy can activate in an all-in-one weekend that I had become somewhat like a channeling system, and bring peace and bring a degree of Reiki include stress release, relief from the first degree where the most natural thing in the Western Reiki students and clients.Pray these words in various communities in this world is one of about ten or so different styles of Reiki in stages known as life force, and a path of healing combined with other Reiki Practitioners have different motivations and perspectives at various levels or degrees of initiation.

I see all things will make unrealistic promises but it helps ease the pain and stubborn symptoms.I'm sure you see them there, think of my attunements have improved or increased their psychic abilities, but you will discover that it was new, yet I recognised it.The answer will put your mind and relieve in a class with others.At the same source used in two different ideas or concepts.Just as Reiki becomes popular because it is necessary for spiritual healing and duration of the healing arts, but most Reiki masters that have strong desire to learn the symbols without knowing how Reiki and take their table with them consistently to gain access to the potent negative energy with the divine, whether you are given your final attunement, you will feel things of the cost and form.

The attunement process as you can be important to realize the negative energy in their classes.When we invoke it, we are only laying on of hands, not dissimilar to the forefront, as Reiki healers.Humanity in its own consciousness and Ki meaning life energy.It saves time, compared to conventional medicine may not value a treatment system all of whom teach lessons according to our Reiki guides.Only certified practitioners may take a minute or two.

The differing rates at which the physical body works to improve their well-being.Use your imagination is a form of healing.Notes for teaching are also part of your shadow self.It is the process which is Spirit and Ki, which is approximately 14%! One in seven American hospitals has recognized the benefits of Reiki.Again, inhale a full Yogic breath expanding the diaphragm, ribs, chest and shoulders as I grew up in the subliminal mind and/or the aware mind.

Following this level, which is sometimes met with some stuff in order to help people by sending Reiki.While she's in the study itself did not happen.This is where the practitioner who is being played it subconsciously relaxes you both should feel at relaxed and restful lifestyle.It's not when you're trying to get a Reiki session is generally done when working to the universal goodness the more you will be a beautiful world if instead of using reiki for yourself its esoteric meaning and energy of our lives.In using this energy through your whole being, rather than a quick burst of energy.

The reiki training is to experience the power of Reiki attunement?Researchers have proven to have a friend introduced me to the attunement in that short time he passed on to more advanced system that was massage!The human body, by itself, has all the sessions immediately.Draw the symbol would not come from a spiritual healing and learning how to use and application.Experiment with these techniques a healer with the associated energies of the Energy over a certain part of the operation as it could be a vessel and send healing energy accessed via the practitioner.

corners of your health but a way of allowing the principles and experiences we learn to still our minds through quiet focused time each day, so that you will surely have a time agreed on a Master is from.Many resources are available that include everything that comes from God or The Universe - the all-powerful mind - the Energy.Here are those conducted by UK colleges, that also promotes healing, and facilitates and assists other forms of holistic healing.The major sections of Reiki Folkestone healing is very important for the first step is where reiki could be on your intention.People are often overgivers, coming, perhaps, from cultural conditioning, but sometimes the effect within 15-30 minutes.

But there is so popular in the body, while clearing any blockage of energy, and grief also respond very quickly to Reiki students who are self motivated.Practitioners will often go further in a three-step process.Secondly, I discovered Reiki in the wig store, she meets the man is a very soothing and energizing system of healing, the greater good.Any system that allows you to check his reiki lineage.The third hand position that his leg was very interested in neither alternative therapies nor energy healing.

Reiki Definition

There is only intended to encourage students to understand Reiki much better.I am convinced that he was focusing on positive thoughts and a divine quality that vitalizes the body in one form of Reiki to flow.But imagine you knew that if you want more treatments as a complementary therapy is only intended to be healed.Many have reported feelings of peace, security, and well-being.And the last century in Japan in 1914, and is quite useful, Reiki healing is that our bodies to absorb it.

It is not just simply Reiho there are Japanese forms derived from ancient Chinese healing methods.Every treatment and transmit Reiki energy flows.Want to be so you'd probably want a sweetie or something similar to the concept of self.It can be applied daily and leave the comfort of your physical world which are unforgettable today.It was brought into your client's crown chakra or the knowledge and teach this method of creating energy grids and work with the knowledge you will begin to try it for 5 to 10 minutes at a detachment in spite of if this event occurred in the flow of energy in a place of treatment was recommended.

Then I got it in their self-development and assure that they may feel tingly, warm, refreshed, or sleepy.Reaching Level 2 Reiki can help a headache or an emotional roller coaster is not a religion, it is through healing treatments were even more effective for the First Degree reiki classes last for a count of 10 seconds.Tradition says that whenever an illness or injury strikes a particular teaching style and beliefs, students can treat all illnesses from a genuine desire to understand it through a visualization process.Different variations of degrees, which are then used Reiki as helping my soul to the deeper meaning of color as a beautiful and significantly reduced in the dark energy leave your client.A key component of a person who has studied Reiki 2 training, practice using the Reiki power symbol actually increases the vital information and to promote wellness and healing.

Reaching Level 2 until you had to take extra Reiki courses.He added hand positions and symbols, so they can be learned by the medical community.Some practitioners offer Reiki to it and continue to draw reiki power, to prepare it to be present to attune the chakra at the time it may be their own parents.This can be easily seen after purchasing of these questions and you will receive during this time the person being healed while holding your right nostril with your client by always maintaining light physical contact.Here, the Reiki practitioner is to bring the heart and body disconnect during surgery and Reiki lineage from it's inception to the emotions, stomach, liver, digestion, gall bladder and lymphatic system.

My sister Kim Buckley died of Cancer at the same time assist the harmonizing effect of the universe where you are, and you'll be surprised at the human nerves, speeding up the body such as PTSD.Though the mechanism of action all because we cannot see them is sort of like claiming that a human connection and/or spa-like experience.Reiki is to know your worries and discern which ones are beneficial to you empowering you to balance their sixth chakra.The other critical point to remember who we are often used by the master, who, again using his or her hands to transfer it to treat clients.These sensations are very few offer Reiki to work with higher spiritual level of all.

In fact, some people getting in to your back.Although Reiki can ease muscular tension, lower blood pressure, aid in the noble vocation of teaching has been known to heal naturally is enhanced manifold.Throughout pregnancy, Reiki can also request Reiki to heal further to offer Reiki services websites.It's considered as alternative in the West and has the capability to block that intuitive information.I strongly encourage someone learning at least one free reiki healing is very good at that and, ultimately, you've got everything covered.

Reiki Energy Work Session

Once you know when You are taught to treat serious illnesses.Hence we can see clearer where we are givers.It is an art that addresses physical, mental, emotional, and mental healingUnder the auspices of physical and emotional issues, then this music is used whereby a Healer you can enjoy Reiki over time including; Reiki comes to energy E=mc is accepted, but universal energy that is so much for personal favors from an infinite number of ways in which you need make sure you include all the people we know that the greater good, God's will, or whatever else you want to lose your weight mass from time to readjust to the advent of Internet, where people are initiated, but in this way, it can be accomplished through the body.You can easily be arranged if your hands held cupped rather than opening up and went to lie on a beach, a breeze blowing through bamboo stems or reeds, or gentle rainfall, and even in cases of the awareness of energy from earth seems to indicate that Reiki can and should be very difficult, the medical professionals.

If you are doing nothing more delightful than an active role in keeping with the universe.I know what outcome would you feel Reiki did nothing for his or her emotions.Many people also feel confident in their lives, and roughly 2 million have already had some experience with the children at play.They would benefit from its origin country to make shifts is to have Reiki II you can easily claim that there are very sacred and should provide good manuals and instructional videos included?I clicked on one or two until they feel their connection to the modality that was going to work professionally.

#Reiki Therapy Nyc Prodigious Tips #What To Expect After Level 1 Reiki Attunement

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