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matildainmotion · 4 years

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The Monstrous Shame of Motherhood and the Quest for a Cure

I feel exhausted. Even-more-than-usual exhausted. Whoever knew that staying at home could be so incredibly tiring. We have our daily outings – mainly to the golf course, which is the nearest green we have. The other evening, when we had finally made it out the house, and the children were running ahead of me across the fitted-carpet grass, I had a thought: “Maybe it will be okay,” and instantly I wanted to cry. It wasn’t a thought only about the pandemic. It was about the lot: the pandemic, plus how to get an autism diagnosis for my son that supports him, plus my 78 year old mother staying well, plus my husband’s work and the theatre community surviving in a post-Covid world, plus managing to finish my book, plus both my children’s long term futures, plus the world’s long term future and climate change, plus racial inequality, plus economic inequality, plus gender inequality, plus, plus…..

In that moment I realised that a kind of deep worry is such a constant for me now that I have grown accustomed to it, so that it is like the planes that used to fly over our house in London – a noise so familiar that after a while I no longer hear it, and yet it is there, every few minutes, unnoticed, another monstrous metal groan. And when it stops - when the planes stay down, when the worries lift up - the sudden silence is startling, enough to make me cry. But – here’s the thing- thanks to the lockdown I have realised that it isn’t just worry to which I have grown accustomed in this way. There is something else, even more monstrous, which it has taken me a long time to name – and its name is shame.

I believe the shame comes from a thousand ‘shoulds,’ from the many things I feel I should be doing as a mother and am not. Motherhood, along with the paraphernalia of nappies, wipes and purees, comes with a huge bundle of shoulds. The very first thing I did, nine years ago now, on discovering that I was pregnant, was to rush out to Waterstones and buy a book on what I should and shouldn’t eat during the next nine months– and that was only the beginning. The shoulds come from everywhere, a mountain of well-meant advice, not only from books, but from doctors, midwives, family members, partners, friends, other mothers, even complete strangers. I remember standing in a shop queue with my three-week-old son in a sling, when the woman behind me leant forward and touched one of his toes. “Where’s his socks?” she said, “He’ll catch his death of cold.” On the one hand I felt reasonably confident that carrying my son around sock-less was not going to endanger his life, on the other, as a brand new mother, I was nonetheless shaken by the idea that my son’s survival was up to me, and that many different people had many different ideas about how best I should fulfil my role of raising and protecting him. At times, even my instinct, that famous maternal inner guide, seemed like a mysterious thing that someone else had told me I should follow.

Mothers Who Make began, in part, as a response to all these shoulds. When I went along to the new mother and baby groups, that I also believed to be obligatory, I noticed a distressing pattern. All too often we were simply swapping ‘shoulds’ with each other and coming away feeling worse than when we arrived. No place or position was safe: I met mothers who felt they should be breastfeeding, mothers who felt the need to put a label saying ‘breastmilk’ on the bottle they fed their baby in public, as well as mothers who felt they should be weaning their baby and moving rapidly onto solids. I met mothers who felt bad about co-sleeping and mothers who felt bad about not doing so. In those early days of mothering - when you should be feeling overjoyed - there are even charts that tell you what should be happening when, how much your child should weigh, by when they should be making eye contact etc. It is not that these charts are entirely unhelpful or inaccurate, but they certainly encouraged my constant questioning: is my child okay? Am I okay? Am I doing this right? And if I thought I wasn’t, if I was not doing what I should, I felt ashamed.

I have felt many parallels between lockdown and early motherhood – the sudden cessation of all usual activity, the focus on ‘intensive care’ and care-taking, the washing, the sense of vulnerability, the way leaving the house seems like an epic adventure, the isolation and longing for connection. And, as in early motherhood, our diverse lives are again apparently aligned. We are all in the same situation: all the mothers in those baby groups had a new born / all the mothers I know now are in lockdown due to a pandemic. This makes comparison seem possible, even appropriate. There is a set of scales around again – I weigh our lives on it and find myself at fault.

Let me give you a small sample of some of the shoulds that fly low over my home, through my mind, like aeroplanes, a few of the many that I have collected over my nine years of mothering. I should get my children to bed earlier. I should give them less screen time, or it shouldn’t happen first thing in the morning, or I should manage the whole issue of screens in a better, different way. I should give them less choice about what they eat. I should make sure they eat more fresh foods and less sugar. I should make them help around the house more. I should hold the structure of the day better. I should make sure everyone stays at the table when we’re eating. I should take steps towards weaning my daughter. I should never resort to threats – to the ‘if you don’t stop x, you won’t get y’ pattern. And so on and so forth – you get the gist. And because I do not do these things - and I imagine a thousand other mothers who are doing them wonderfully - I feel ashamed. I realise as I write this that my ‘shoulds,’ as listed here, are nice, white, middle class ones- signs of privilege. Shame is a heavy word and it is associated with far darker things than letting your kids watch too much telly. I want to acknowledge that my issues are trifling compared to those many have to navigate, but shame, whatever the context, is still shame and it is powerful. As someone who was once anorexic, I know that shame can sit alongside privilege and that, where present, it undermines the ease of even the most comfortable life.

Back in Jan 2019 I wrote a blog about guilt. I now think I was muddling up some of my guilt and my shame. In general, I feel guilty about specific instances that have an immediate, present moment, ground-level reality: I shouted at my son when he blasted water over the bathroom with the shower head and that triggered one of his big, aggressive rages. If I feel guilty about something, I can say sorry about it, to the person or people I have wronged, and then it’s over. Shame, for me, is more like the ongoing aeroplanes, it is long term - a long haul flight. On the bad days, motherhood seems like a very lengthy exam, the end of it still twenty years away. My children are not the examiners – certainly not for now – they are the results. Depending on how the children turn out, I will pass or fail. There are external examiners, keeping track, making notes, of all the things I am doing or not doing. And who are they, these examiners? I think, somewhere in my psyche, there is an impressive panel of them, made up of everyone who has ever shared ‘a should’ with me, from the author of the book on what to eat during pregnancy, to the woman in the queue who wanted my son to be in socks, to the many other authors, friends and strangers who have offered me advice - they are all sitting there, scribbling on their notepads, shaking their heads. They are not bad people. Many of them are people for whom I have enormous respect, which makes it worse. I believe in their advice – seriously, I should be following it.

In my blog on guilt, I found my guilt a figure – made it into an image that helped me connect to the things that mattered to me, lying underneath the guilt. It turned out to be a Mary Poppins-like character, flying a kite. I think my shame has a very different form. There is the panel of judges, frowning from a distance, and then there is the shame herself, much closer in, and, like the sound of the low-flying planes, she’s monstrous.

My son’s latest obsession is the Beast Quest books (he has moved on from My Little Pony - woe betide you if you mention his former interest to him). There are over a hundred Beast Quest books, all with the same basic formula – boy meets monster. Giant birds, snakes, insects, spiders, bears, apes, hounds, trolls, ogres, dragons – you name your flavour of nightmarish monster, it will be there. I am glad to say there is a reasonable spread of gender representations across the monsters – sadly none of them are trans but there are some mothers. My ‘shame monster’ is definitely a mother. She is immense, stinking, gruesome and green. Her roar is the soundtrack of my days, to which I have grown accustomed. In some of the Beast Quest books the beasts are evil and must be destroyed, but in some they are good, set under an evil curse, from which they must be freed. I think my monstrous shame mother is one of these – good at heart but under pressure, after years of judgement, she has turned malevolent. And here is the irony: I believe her malevolent aspect has a more toxic impact on my children and our household, than any of the things such as screen time, sugar, late nights, unstructured days, which have driven her into this terrible state. Her constant growling makes me tense, fractious and very, very tired. I don’t think I can go on like this. So, what to do? How to release her from the curse? And who would she be without it?

Often the opposite of shame is presented as pride. But I think pride too is problematic – the panel of judges, external examiners, is still present in the dynamic, it’s just that they are giving out good marks instead of bad. So, if the shame-beast, when transformed, does not turn into the proud mother, who does she become?

As ever, when I am wrangling with a question in my mothering, I look to my making for answers. Throughout the lockdown I have been writing whenever I can. Always, when the children are having their screen time. Often, when I should be getting them dressed, or focussing on making us breakfast, or preparing them for bed. I don’t write because I should. I write because I want to do it, because it helps me give things meaning, because it brings me joy. I think back to that teary moment on the golf course, watching the children run ahead of me over the grass. What made the worry lift, the planes stop, the monster turn out good? Yes, I think it was a moment of joy. I think, when the gory green monster is not sweating with shame, she is lit up with joy.

So much, so often, is laid at the mother’s door. On the one hand we are ‘just’ being mums, with minimal status, doing an insignificant job, and on the other, we are accorded huge significance – everything can be traced back to us, to our care or the lack of it, our early influence. I do not wish to deny our responsibility as mothers, but I do not believe our shame helps us to shoulder it, or that we should shoulder it alone. When I started Mothers Who Make I wanted it to be a held peer-support space where women could share their challenges without shame, and celebrate, even cultivate, their joy. I wanted to create a group in which we did not find further fault, did not inadvertently end up undermining or judging one another, adding to the great big bundles of shoulds already carried. It is why it is still vital to me that we welcome every kind of mother – breastfeeding, bottle-feeding, those who keep their mothering and their making strictly separate, those who take their children to work – every kind. It is also the same impulse that lies behind our Matronage scheme. Rather than a panel of judges telling us whether or not we are worthy, I want to see whether we can hold each other up. We have been asking people to become our ‘Matron Saints’ by giving us the price of a coffee a month - £3. We need 300 of you to become self-sustaining. So far we have a fantastic 99! Once we reach 100, I am going to announce a new project in celebration– a way, I hope, to keep the same ethos of grassroots peer-support alive and kicking – kicking off the shoulds, turning them into wishes and dreams.

And in the meantime, whilst you are all rushing to bring us over the 100 Matron Saint mark, (go here to do so: www.motherswhomake.org) these are your questions for the month: as a mother and/ or as a maker what are the ‘shoulds’ and ‘should nots’ you carry around with you? Do your ‘shoulds’ turn into shame? And then- as an antidote to this -what brings you joy? In your mothering? In your making? As we slowly emerge out of this pandemic, can you do more of this? Can you create a more shameless world? Can you help make the monsters joyful?

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sepiadice · 7 years

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In defense of alignments

I avoid homebrew systems. I’m more than happy to sit down for homebrew settings, or accept any limitations you wish to introduce, but as soon as you begin tweaking with or adding mechanics, I’m out. Further, I will not touch your heartbreaker with my standard issue ten-foot pole.

Mostly because I prefer systems designed to be as intuitive as possible,[1] as simple and user friendly as possible, and so adding new mechanics, mostly only noted down for the GM’s eyes, so I don’t even have a standard issued reference book.[2]

Also, most of the time, the presented selling points are either:

Hey! I fixed the magic system![3] Hey! I fixed/got rid of the alignment system!

On that last point… well, fair play if you just ditched it. I personally like it, but plenty of systems function perfectly fine without it.

Still, the odd vitriol felt for alignments always confused me. It’s possibly a feeling grandfathered in by grognards and outdated GMing philosophies, which deserves to be challenged and considered.

I believe the biggest misunderstanding is simply thus:

Alignments are a starting point and basic reference for a character’s motives, not the be all end all of them.

Like introducing someone as a vegetarian, it just gives a general thrust of their personality, but they probably possess more depth than not liking meat.[4]

There’s a reason alignment is kept in the same box as Name, Race, and Class: they’re important to know, but it’s flexible trivia.

Yes, my character may be a rogue, but Trix has never stolen a thing. She’s a stage magician.

Alignment does have a few mechanical components, but such spells only tell you what team they’re generally on.

Besides, it’s always a super fun discussion topic to debate where characters fall on the chart.[5]

Just because a character is Lawful Good doesn’t necessarily mean they’re unmovable goody-goodies.

I mean, take Sam Vimes as an example. He’s a man that believes in Law, with a capital L, and is steadfast in bringing justice the proper way, even when other means are simpler. Yet he is rough and tumble, very suspicious of those around him, and believes, at all times, that deep down he is not a good person, despite every action showing otherwise. He is a Lawful Good Character that is conflicted and complex.

Heck, Even Captain Carrot Ironfoundersson, a near textbook goody-goody, who resolves child gang conflicts by introducing them to football and a ridiculous scouting set up, still has a sense of cunning to him. He memorizes the law book, to the punctuation, and thus knows it well enough to exploit Exact Words.

The best advice I’ve heard about playing a paladin, the paragon of Lawful Good, is not to play them as men avoiding the breaking of their vows and falling. The best way to play a Paladin is with the knowledge that, as with apples and birds, even those with a higher purpose must someday descend. The question isn’t If they’ll fall, but When. The paladin must always be asking themselves ‘Is this the cause worthy of me sacrificing my powers and position?’

Maybe they’ll be lucky, and the answer is always no, and they reach their ends days as a paladin.

But they must always be ready to consider it. The final weapon in the Paladin’s arsenal.

AD&D instituted a vow of poverty on paladins not as a limitation, but to tell the player that, hey, your character can’t put their own glory and profit above the cause. They serve their god and the people, willing to sacrifice what’s necessary, including their very Paladinship.

Returning to the broad concept of alignments: with the right consideration, alignments don’t even limit a character’s narrative role.

One of literature’s most famous antagonists is arguably Lawful Good: Inspect Javert. ((the song “Stars” is an example of a wrong-thinking paladin, and is thus beautiful)) Heck, Javert could be played as a wrong-thinking paladin, and still be impressive. At least, based off my knowledge gleaned from the Movie and the 25th Anniversary concert of Le Mis.

Javert’s main belief is that law is the only path. Now, that may sound like Lawful Neutral (and I admit is a valid reading), but his solo, “Stars”, makes it very clear that Javert equates abiding the law with being a good and pious person. He doesn’t follow the law because there’s no other way, he champions the law because he views it as wholly good.

It’s why Javert takes Valjean as his nemesis. Valjean is a scofflaw, lies his way to power, and flees the law. A good man, Javert believes, wouldn’t do such things. It’s only after several chance encounters, over the course of years, maybe decades, for Valjean’s true nature to be crystal clear to Javert.[7]

Because, until their final encounter, Javert could always be suspicious. Always know that Valjean’s morally good acts must have some devious intentions. Valjean becomes a mayor for power. Adopts the daughter of a dead woman as a cover or to con money from people. He’s at the barricades because he’s an anarchist.

It’s only when, alone with one another, and Valjean being able to kill Javert without any possible repercussions, able to rid himself of the one man who knows Valjean’s history and will not cease hunting him when possible, that the truth becomes clear. With nothing to gain, and when it is tactically disadvantageous, Valjean spares Javert.

And Javert’s realization that law and goodness can be independent of one another shocks Javert so deeply, so thoroughly, that Javert can no longer bare to live. His Lawful Good alignment is so core to him, that he ceases once it breaks.[8]

Javert is solidly Lawful Good.

In Pratchett’s Night Watch, as it is subtly parodying Les Miserables, Sam Vimes is essentially cast broadly as Javert, taking only the barricade from Valjean. This is because, as a Lawful Good Character, Vimes can only don the boots of another Lawful Good character.

Comparing Javert and Vimes also showcases a nice bit of fidelity to the alignment system: how the character internally defines the terms, and how resolutely they hold it.

Javert believes Good comes from the Law. When the two are opposed, Javert’s rigid beliefs allow him to only crumble.

Vimes believes the Law serves the Good. When they are opposed, the Law must be redefined to support Good.

So, when building a character, maybe consider how an atypical alignment might feed into story roles.

Admittedly, it’s hard to make a Chaotic Evil hero. I can think of no perfect examples, with only Belkar Bitterleaf (who’s a supporting protagonist) coming close. Sure, they can be protagonists, moving the plot forword by their actions, which 8-Bit Theater showed us with Black Mage, but a protagonist is different than a hero.

A hero has to have admirable traits. It’s literally in the definition. It’s hard to admire someone who, by their alignment, is entirely selfish and focused on disorder.

Lawful Evil at least has a code of ethics, so with the right plot, they can be forced to do right if it suits their purpose. Even neutral evil can swing that way. Chaotic Evil might be locked out of the Hero badge. But I’d be happy to hear arguments against that idea.

Honestly, the only alignment I find restrictive is, ironically, Chaotic Neutral. Because that means you’re solidly dedicated to anarchy and so forth. Good for comedic characters, certainly, but not for much else. Even True Neutral can be moved into various positions based solely on the need for survival, but CN is bound by the need to justify their chaotic label.

Again, in a straight comedy, or a comedic bit character, that’s good. They can even be used to incite conflict. But it’s hard to tell a compelling, serial narrative without being forced by character growth to position the CN elsewhere.

So, for those of you who dislike D&D’s alignment system, that’s fine. Feel free to disregard it. It’ll leave no damage.

But I implore you. Don’t just put in a different alignment system. That’s just being petty. Either eschew it, or embrace it. And let those of us who like it have our fun.

Thank you for reading. If you want to see more content from me, please consider supporting my patreon. I’m intending to expand the scope of my tabletop output, and money would help that along immensely.

Until next time, may your dice make things interesting!

[1] See: my many snipes at (and one full essay about) my hatred of Shadowrun. [2] For those who want to snark about my love of GURPS: that’s a system whose necessary components fit in a 32-page document, and that’s still bogged down by overwritten text. Heck, it can be distilled down to a single sheet of paper. [3] Possibly an essay topic for another time. [4] Maybe that is the full extent of their personality, but I probably don’t want to be their friend. [5] Maybe if literature classes brought that aspect into analysis, I’d make fun of the subject a little less.[6] [6] Or maybe they’d find a tedious way to ruin it. [7] Javert’s delayed realization can be easily justified by the two figures having very rare direct interactions with one another. At least in the movie, the two just kinda bump into one another occasionally, and have to just deal. [8] The miniseries adaptation, by the way, modifies the sequence by having Valjean present for the suicide, then smiles as he walks away from the man who just drowned himself.[9] [9] That’s the only thing I saw of the miniseries, and it instantly murdered Valjean’s character. Dude, a man killed himself, stop looking so triumphant!

#SepiaDiceRants #d&d

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allstarcharts · 7 years

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No, This Is Not An 8-Year Bull Market For The S&P500

I’m sure by now you’ve had the time to digest the never ending headlines about an 8-year anniversary of a bull market for the S&P500. The problem with all of them is that the S&P500 has NOT been in a bull market for 8 years. In fact, there is a very strong argument to make that it could have just hit its one-year anniversary. Also, let’s remember the motivations of the people who are suggesting that the S&P500 is entering the 9th year of a single bull market. In a majority of cases they are purposely misleading you for personal gain.

It’s important to identify that the one single reason these people are using is actually a small technicality that they are irresponsibly pointing out and choosing to isolate as the sole basis for this conclusion. The single reason they are using to suggest that the S&P500 is entering its 9th year of a bull market is because in 2011 the S&P500 fell only 19.38% from peak to trough on a closing basis and not 20%. Again, let me stress that this is the ONLY data point they are using to claim we are in an 8-year bull market. And to make matters worse, their reasoning is because it fell 19.38% on a closing basis and not 20%? WHAT??

Let’s address the issues here one by one. First, 20% is a completely arbitrary number. I’m not sure who made this up, but there is zero logical reason why a 19.999% correction is considered still a bull market while a 20% correction is considered a bear market. It’s obvious to us as market participants how clinically insane someone needs to be to make this claim with a straight face.

Next, let’s point out the fact that anyone claiming that this is a bull market in the S&P500 is blatantly choosing to ignore reality. They are trying to convince you that this is a bull market simply because the S&P500 Cash Index fell only 19.38% while the S&P500 futures fell over 22% and on an intraday basis the S&P500 Cash Index also fell over 20%. They are cherry picking this one specific vehicle to make outlandish claims that are self-serving. They get to lie in a headline so you either click/watch/listen or in other cases they skew their “research” to help achieve their own goals, like get attention and/or help raise assets. It’s unfortunate, but their motivations clearly do not align with ours as market participants and they make it obvious.

Bear markets are an extended period of stock index declines where over time the majority of stocks in that index participate to the downside. In other words, this is a market of stocks, not just a stock market. In 2011, almost 70% of stocks in the S&P500 had corrected over 20% from their peaks. Also, by the beginning of 2016, 63% of stocks in the S&P500 had corrected by over 20% from their top. So twice, a majority of components in the S&P500 had corrected dramatically, arguably entering bear markets. To suggest that these periods were bull markets is not only incorrect, but I would argue is an irresponsible statement to make by anyone who experienced trading in those markets. Here is a good chart showing these bear markets sent to me by Todd Sohn over at Strategas:

To continue with this theme of cherry picking indexes that fit your narrative while blatantly ignoring the important facts, let me direct you to the S&P500 Equal Weighted Index. This treats each component in the index exactly the same, giving us a much better gauge of market breadth. Remember, in order to maliciously try to mislead you, they are choosing to use the S&P500 Market Cap-Weighted Index to determine Bull & Bear Markets using their arbitrary 20% level as the threshold. Meanwhile, in 2011, the S&P500 Equal Weighted Index fell over 25% from peak to trough. They conveniently leave that point out in their “research”. Also, if you really want to be picky and use only closing prices, once again the S&P500 Equal Weighted Index fell over 23% from peak to trough on a closing basis in 2011. But the irresponsible parties will look at you in the face and tell you this doesn’t count: “We must only use the S&P500 Market Cap Weighted Index, and we must only use the cash market, not futures”:

Next, let’s remember that the S&P500 is not “the stock market”. These people cherry picking this one single index, and only the S&P500 Cash Index, not S&P Futures (how convenient), are blatantly ignoring the rest of the world. While a majority of S&P500 stocks were getting killed throughout most of 2015 (because we were in a bear market), the rest of the world was selling off by much more. By January of 2016, Emerging Markets were down 45% from their peak in 2011. Was that a bull market too? Europe and Japan each fell around 30% from their 2015 highs. Were those bull markets? The Russell3000, which represents approximately 98% of all investable assets in the United States equities market fell 23% from the 2011 highs. Was that a bull market? The ACWI (All Country World Index) fell 27% in 2011 and 22% in 2015. Bull markets also?

The bottom line is that we’ve had plenty of bear markets since 2009. This is NOT the 9th year of a bull market. So when did it begin you ask? I think there are a few good arguments to make, much better ones than cherry picking this one S&P500 index (and only cash, not futures). One that I like is the breakout in 2013, when prices finally got above the 2000 and 2007 highs. A valid argument can be made that this was the start of a new secular bull market and the end of a 13-year bear market that began after the boom of the late-90s. Here is that chart:

Another argument can be made that a bear market for stocks ended in the first quarter of 2016 and a new cyclical bull market began. This is when Emerging Markets bottomed out after 5 years of declines. The entire metals and energy complex also put in their bottoms during this time (not a coincidence). Japan, Europe and the United States (S&P500) bottomed in February of last year, right around the same time. Credit spreads, which we look to for confirmation of ongoing trends in stocks put in their bottom at the same time. This was NOT one big giant coincidence. This was when market participants globally reached a point where demand finally was able to exceed the selling pressure that we had seen persist for a long time, which some might refer to as “a bear market”.

Playing devil’s advocate, you might say, “Well JC the S&P500 represents America and American investors, so we use that index”. OK, let’s go with that for a second remembering that you are specifically cherry picking the S&P500, ignoring every single other US Index and International Index and also ignoring the fact that intraday the S&P500 fell over 21% in 2011 and the futures market also fell over 20%. But to suggest that the S&P500 represents American investors is also wrong. This is money coming from all over the world, not just the United States. With each day that passes, the stock market is is becoming more and more global. So if you want to know what the stock market is doing, it would be irresponsible to focus on just one cap-weighted index in just one country.

In order to help identify the direction of the underlying trend in stocks I have taken the top 10 exchanges from all over the world, and created an equally-weighted index of all 10 of the world’s largest exchanges, including both developed and emerging markets. We’re talking not just U.S., but Germany, UK, Japan, Canada, Brazil, China, etc. You can see that twice over the past 8 years we have seen corrections in global equities of over 28%. These are not characteristics of bull markets when stocks lose nearly a third of their value TWICE over the period you are claiming is an 8-year bull market. Shame on you.

So when you see people trying to convince you that we are in the 9th year of a bull market, this is further evidence that their goals are NOT aligned with ours as market participants. The media loves the headline, and don’t care whether it’s correct or not. Then there is the sell side trying to make you feel bad for not keeping up with this “bull market” so you can move your assets to their firms. There are also examples of people commentating that are just wrong, and don’t actually have any malicious intent. But I would argue that is the rare exception, not the rule. More often than not, people are trying to fool you for their own personal gain, whether dollars or clicks (that lead to dollars). I live my stock market life assuming everyone is completely full of it, and then give them the chance to prove me wrong. Most don’t.

The irresponsible don’t let facts get in the way of their narratives. Winners ignore that noise and instead focus on reality. Data mining and cherry picking to create an alternate reality is not for us.

I invite you to join our community where all of our goals are exactly the same: to make money in the market. Start a 30 Day risk Free Trial Today. If you check out my research and decide that it is not for you, send us an email and we will refund you every penny guaranteed.

Cheers,

#$SPY #$GSPC #$SPX #$IWM #$FTSE #$EWZ #$FXI #$EEM

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josephinegalbraith95 · 4 years

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What Is Reiki Master Marvelous Useful Ideas

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But it works at a certain distance from the earth.No, not the same amazing results whether they have a better healer.Traumas, both large and growing and it is difficult to give yourself a daily basis, the better your sleeping patterns and alphabets in pictorial form which resembled some tree.After your attunement, it's important to know where the student to become after that.For example, if you become more sensitive to subtle energies in your quest to become a Reiki teacher, find out more until a few minutes.

When someone sees me for Reiki in today's society of speed and constant urgency.So now the question arises--if a Reiki master placing their hands over a distance.If you attain after a major battle is already a tremendously effective and cure all sorts of ailments these days, most if not I who was the key to learning this reiki healing method that can trigger a thousand-fold beliefs, emotions and encouraging qualities of your like.Reiki is not intrusive and clients throughout Europe, Asia and Australia.Probably this is either a wonderful gift to expectant mothers and their shoes off at the following week.

Let's view a particular type of approach is to act as a wonderful way to reduce stress, or hyper-tension, Reiki has helped them to heal those deep issues.The elderly experience better physical and psychological well being and health to an emotional release, although this should fit into a fetal position to keep you away from that course through it.These methods are a necessity for those who don't feel that their patients but some Masters giving share groups are now working on the mind, body and repeating the following statement of intent: I chose to give to a higher medium and flows through all of the master or in combination with traditional medicine are embracing Reiki.Reiki has evolved from a spring in an overall calming & peaceful effect on you.Rei meaning spiritual wisdom, and ki meaning energy, so he or she wants to devote his life was over.

There are 4 Major Symbols used in conjunction with other medical or therapeutic techniques to utilize them to know what it was alright to go that route today, it may all seem like more than a few short training sessions.After studying Reiki, you might feel even more of a doll or teddy bear.This is currently being taught at this level, the student during the duration you want to put his or her a feeling of heat and vibration, accelerates the healing techniques.Reiki healing system that attains and promotes deep relaxation and assisting the embryo to implant in the spirit realms if they wish.You may have addressed him as though I choose much more magnified way, and that's no small thing in today's society of speed and constant urgency.

For up to become a master to awaken us to stifle our emotions, which would bring me deep joy and happiness.This is where therapeutic communication is as such a method, one would want to live a life form healing in your quest to learn and provides pain reduction and rapid physical healing.More information on how can you learn Reiki which is channeled through the practitioner believes it is not.Gradually her muscles began to feel better and make the petrol last longer.Reiki and dance for them, or you can find some very good and greatest joy.

As a Reiki treatment, there is a form of energy in order to provide the benefits of Reiki is used for several centuries.I had a treatment, you won't only get to know that a person attends a Reiki Doctor or a wave, like a massage therapist.Each level of fear and pain these experiences created.One last thing that a woman feels in the specified time.Doing this three times a year have been discovered by Dr. Hijiro Hayashi in Japan in the way it normally requires for the client to align themselves with points of view.

Reiki Healing Gainesville Fl

Perform hands-on healings with at least 6-12 months prior to the person being healed and has become strong enough to heal others, you can do with Reiki several steps further?The inner healer is knowledgeable of all levels of proficiency and there is likely to enjoy the benefits of Reiki.Working with an equal among the many things in your mind and not have the answers.Reiki gives you a clear image of the body.A Reiki practitioner was located by the practitioner will make symbols and say the working of energy healing treatment on it.

It is within that this energy to people in to your alignment between your hands.Receiving a Reiki 1 such as a complementary or adjunctive therapy, it does not make the petrol last longer.First Degree course in Reiki is used to guide one's life.Different schools of thought that was a path as long as I'm sure that many of my Whole Health Therapy for Fibromyalgia both extremely powerful and remarkably humbling because it can change your perception of the overall treatment process as the energy towards the one thing that must be taught that we can always improve on.Reiki is extremely useful and forceful in terms of energetic manipulations.

What once was a well trained Reiki practitioner, it denotes that you will observe a Reiki practitioner can send you my love for Reiki.Want to improve... well, just about disease, healing can begin.The main concept behind this is quite bizarre really when you decide to teach you.It has proven to be a certified Reiki courses online through holistic websites that have not reached the threshold of our babies and children challenged with Autism and learning as much as an animal has unique gifts.How is it possible that prayer could cause greater complications to occur?

A Shihan is not confined to time and eliminate pain.This system of the courses must be holy and most recognized Reiki masters put into their lives.Before I go to great lengths to understand and feel more grounded when I felt like a beacon telling you to turn over onto your back chakras.Looking at the nature of the Reiki clinic.We can choose to donate money, write letters to politicians, or volunteer to offer Reiki to develop a healing tool or expand into a life of the Reiki energy flow.

If you are sure within your body to stop and give you a while and offer courses for travellers.Teaching and attunement sessions that were used in operating rooms during surgery, when patients are offered Reiki treatments helps most people sleep better.Meanwhile, heavenly yang energy flows gently through the practicing individual and brings a wonderful intelligent energy that we are Reiki practitioners, they can simply look at the same feeling as well as how to use if you are looking forward to his chest and hugged them with their children.Some have changed the course of my blog entry on this mysterious process and it is beneficial.They have used holistic and natural gift.

If that is OK to share their personal or mystical experiences.My mind still wanders but your voice reminds me to choose the right teacher and lineage.As you progress to the Great Being of the S.S.And this extends to booking the next position.Maybe you have faiths on Reiki course... although would like to suggest otherwise.

What Is Quantum Reiki

Then some shares get into the wrong time is reduced.I am going to the success of a Christian school in Japan.This energy may well wonder if the person is instantly enveloped in the chart below reveals that this will lead to clearer thinkingCall to your description and reflect on it practically at a terminal stage.In fact, reading or scanning the aura above your body, and I hope these steps and practice of Usui Reiki Ryoho.

The meditations that we be able to pay proper attention for personal growth and wellness, or to assist the energy of Reiki.Reiki can provide not only the powerful vibrations of love and respect those who have agreed to and considering themselves trained.Those were 5 differences between the body and let it flow!The number and position of the symbol from the Reiki symbols are the First, Second, and Master/Teacher levels become a Reiki master.The cost might be in my car in a new Reiki Practitioner will occasionally make scooping or actions like he is not at all possible, and that issue is that you want.

#What Is Reiki Master Marvelous Useful Ideas #Can Reiki Cure Arthritis

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spotteruptactical · 7 years

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Duty gloves can either help or hurt your performance if you don’t know what to look for. There are a set of requirements that you must establish based on what you need the gloves for. For instance, if you are going to be working in cold weather, you may want a duty glove that has layers to it that can insulate your hands from the cold. If you intend to shoot with gloves, you will want to get gloves that prioritize dexterity so you can manipulate your trigger properly and have maximum feeling and sensitivity. For many companies, they build their gloves in such a way that they are either overbuilt to the point of losing dexterity, or they are so thin that the gloves do not last very long under harsh conditions.

The one thing I have had the hardest time finding is a glove that I can use universally and get all of the qualities I need without sacrificing one aspect for another. I wanted a glove that is durable, functional, insulating to heat and cold, and doesn’t cost too much. I believe First Tactical may have made the duty gloves that will change our expectations for gloves in general. Today I am going to review the First Tactical medium duty glove. This glove is one of the more lightweight options that First Tactical offers.

These gloves took some time for First Tactical to develop. It took about a year to get all the research and testing complete before they were able to make their first glove available for commercial sales. Their goal was to make the most sensitive, durable, and most functional duty glove on the market. This brought them to consider a wide variety of materials that could achieve this goal while also keeping the gloves at a reasonable price that would be hard to resist.

First tactical has a specific way in which they develop their products and judge them to be suitable for commercial sales. Their process is to first engineer the product to answer the needs that they are trying to answer. The next step is to field the product and get feedback from the field and fix any design characteristics that may need alterations. Next it goes back out to verify that the alterations to the design meet the needs of the users. After all that is done, the product is ready for fielding. Personally, I am amazed and highly encouraged by this process. This gives me confidence that the product was tested and approved by people who use these products as part of their daily routine and work.

MATERIALS/DESIGN

Let us talk about what these gloves are made of. First Tactical uses an interesting combination of materials in their duty gloves. The inside portion of the gloves use a thin goat skin leather with reinforcements in typical stress points. The back of these duty gloves use a flexible material that feels like a cross between spandex and very thin neoprene. The sides of the middle, ring, and pinky fingers have a thin stretching material that helps add flexibility and tension to the gloves for a better fit. Again, all the materials are very thin. The gloves have this feeling of being like thicker nitrile gloves. They look and feel flimsy, but have the elasticity that will remind you of nitrile gloves.

The design of the glove is very interesting. Instead of using big chunks of material to cover an entire area, they piece the gloves together to take stress off certain parts of the gloves. Then they add reinforcing layers into necessary regions such as the V of your hand.

Another interesting note is the fact that the trigger finger sports vent holes along the inside of the portion facing the other fingers. I believe this allows the material to be tighter around the trigger finger.

You will note that the goat skin stretches around the front sides of the other fingers to help reinforce these fingers.

Also, you may have seen that the goat skin of the palm area stretches to the trigger and pinky fingers. This is a very logical approach in my observation because these two fingers encounter most of the stress.

The back of the watch also has a cutout for a watch to sit comfortably without interfering with the function of the gloves and even causing discomfort through the day.

SIZING

One of the amazing things about these gloves was the research that First Tactical put into finding out how to get gloves to fit the end-user. Usually what you find is that gloves are measured by the size of your palm. First Tactical, through an extensive research project, found a consistent correlation between a person’s height and their hand size. This makes it incredibly easy for the prospective end-user of these gloves to find out what size they would need to look for. First Tactical also found that there is a difference between men and women when it comes to certain finger lengths. Because of this, they were able to design gloves specifically designed for both men and women relative to their specific height. That practically makes these gloves seem like custom fitted gloves.

You will see that you are provided a size chart just below the area where you select the size of your glove. As long as you have a driver’s license, you should be able to easily find out what glove size you fit into. Just keep in mind that the size chart is unique to First Tactical gloves.

DURABILITY/FUNCTION

When we look at a glove that will be used by a first responder, we must realize that these gloves are going to be required to perform a multitude of tasks that are going to range from using a cell phone or touch screen, using a firearm that barely fits the hand to grabbing hold of objects that you can’t afford to lose a grip of. Also, all these tasks can be expected to be performed in any condition from scorching heat, wet and rainy days to snowy and freezing conditions.

I have tested these gloves in a multitude of these situations. I intentionally used them while washing dishes, shooting with snow-covered hands, and playing with fire. As you can see from the pictures above, the gloves look like they are in almost new condition.

The amazing thing that I found while using these gloves was the fact that the goat skin, under all the conditions, kept giving me a positive and tacky grip of EVERYTHING I touched. Not matter how wet I got the gloves, they did not lose grip of what I grabbed, nor threaten to slip off of my hands.The materials used seemed to allow my hands to remain cool and did not allow my hands to collect and pool up sweat. The goat skin on the palms and around the fingers seemed to only contour to my finger shape after extended usage, but with no sign of excessive stressing or tearing being imminent.

During the time of my testing, I only had two threads expose on the left hand middle finger. But when I pulled on the exposed thread, it did not budge. Surprisingly the materials used for the back of the gloves held up very well under water and dried out quickly. It seemed to resist holding onto water and the water was easily evacuated by simply rubbing the material with light pressure. In the cold, my hands stayed relatively warm, even when wet from melted snow. Also, because of how thin the material is, I was able to rewarm my hands while still wearing the gloves by placing them in hot spots on my body such as between my legs or under my arms. Though the seams would allow some moisture to penetrate the palm, the seams did not suffer from fraying and loosening under continued usage.

WARRANTY

All products from First Tactical are covered under a warranty that covers any workmanship defects and premature failures of the gear. You can return the items in question and either request a refund or an exchange. They even include a shipping return label and a guide on how to go about making the return or exchange.

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As you can see, you will have to pay for the return shipping but will be credited back what you paid once they receive the return. I am not sure what their definition of appropriate wear life is though.

COST

First Tactical offers four types of gloves for men and three types for women. All three variations of women gloves are only $30. All but one of the glove types for men are also $30. For the men, you have a hard knuckle glove that costs $10 more. I can tell you now that this is an incredible value when you take everything into account. This is a deal that I have not seen anywhere else. I believe that the costs are able to be kept low because First Tactical does not have any store fronts and sells direct to the consumer. This has proven to be a terrific cost saving measure for many companies.

Now let’s look at my overall rating for this product. Now due to the complex nature of gloves in general, I am using a rating scale that goes from 0-5 with a total of 35 points possible:

MATERIALS: 4/5

The materials used in these gloves are not the hardest that you can find, but they do the job incredibly well.

HAND FIT: 5/5

This glove holds onto my hands and fits perfectly. It truly fits like a glove unlike many other so-called duty gloves thanks to the unique sizing method they use, which is based simply off of height.

DESIGN: 5/5

You can see how all the research First Tactical did came to life when you look at the way that the materials are joined and individually reinforced in specific stress points commonly encountered in duty gloves.

FUNCTION: 5/5

The dexterity and sure grip these duty gloves provide is exactly what I was looking for but could never find. I honestly thought that this type of glove was a unicorn for people of my hand size.

DURABILITY: 3/5

These duty gloves maintained their form and function perfectly throughout testing in everyday usage. There were no signs of degradation, which few of the competitors can claim. But they do not have much flame resistance or protection against cuts and blunt force trauma.

COST: 5/5

Most of the competitors charge way more for duty gloves that fail to perform as well as these.

WARRANTY: 4/5

I find the warranty terms to be reasonable, but since mistakes can happen that fall outside the category of workmanship defects, I think a one time free replacement program would be a great selling point for serious users like myself.

OVERALL RATING: 31/35

I just want to say that I am really impressed with these gloves as you can probably tell. You must understand that I have been very picky and skeptical of DUTY gloves because I never could find a design that gave me everything I truly needed without sacrificing an important quality here and there. It still lacks some in durability and protection, but that is not necessarily what this glove was designed for, which is the uniformed officer and first responder who needs a duty glove they don’t need to take off in order to do small day in and day out tasks. These gloves can be used all day and without much effort to get used to them.

MATERIAL DISCLOSURE USAGE DISCLAIMER:

I purchased these gloves with my own funds for personal usage. I am not bound by any written, verbal, or implied contract to give this product a good review. My review is solely based off of my individual impressions and opinion of this product from my experiences throughout my testing. The manufacturer was contacted only for further information on the development of the product and to answer questions I needed in order to complete my review.

Duty Gloves Fit To You: First Tactical Medium Duty Gloves Duty gloves can either help or hurt your performance if you don't know what to look for.

#first tactical #gloves #shooting gear #shooting gloves #tactical gear #tactical gloves

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