How to Reiki?

Posted on November 22, 2011 by jloauva

What is Reiki?

The Wonder of Reiki

Reiki is a Japanese word for describing Universal life force energy. Reiki is also known as Chi and Prana. This is the same energy which makes the plants grow, the tides flow, and the wind blow. In fact it is everywhere and in everything in the Universe.

Many stories abound about its re-discovery have been handed down orally through the ages, and as with any good story various changes creep in depending on the ear that hears it! The common accepted facts are that it was rediscovered by Dr Mikao Usui towards the end of the 19th century, during a deep state of meditation. During this meditation he was able to see various symbols and instinctively understood ways to harness this universal energy to heal ones own body. After his life-transforming experience and discovery of universal healing energy he put his new found skills to good use during the violent earthquake in Japan (1923) and reportedly helped many people back to health.

Initially Dr Usui simply healed people in individual sessions through the amazing power of reiki but eventually it was taught to students. This has resulted in Reiki being widely available in every part of the world today. However, it is imperative that you pick a qualified and adept teacher if you wish to learn or receive Reiki.

Reiki works on 4 levels to support holistic healing in the individual:

Physical – It alleviates pain, detoxifies the body, improves symptoms and accelerates the body’s natural healing power. After learning Reiki many students start to move into a more harmonious and balanced lifestyle. The body’s natural communication mechanism starts to work again and one is more able to simply “know” what is good and what to avoid. On a personal note I stopped drinking coffee immediately after learning Reiki and have not drunk coffee since.

Mental – Reiki affects our deepest thoughts and conditioned ways of thinking, and leads to an open mind. Negative traits and patterns are reduced and a feeling of inner calm results.

Emotional – Reiki flows deep into the subconscious mind and allows one to see the thought patterns that hold us back. Jealousy, anger, fear and other negative emotions start to be replaced by an unconditional love and understanding of life and its differences.

Spiritual – After Reiki many students become much more loving, compassionate, non judgmental and begin to understand that they are not separate in this universe, but part of a larger whole.

When we are in harmony with our thoughts and emotions, the body is also in harmony and we are at ease. All Dis-Ease is simply a moving away from this state of ease.

When this lack-of-ease happens the life force energy is disrupted and does not flow smoothly, thus leading to physical symptoms in the body.

How to learn Reiki – Reiki is easy to use and you do not need any special equipment, just a pair of hands on your body! You can do it for yourself or others and it allows you to rebalance yourself on all 4 levels and to come back into a state of harmony.

Reiki is given by gently laying your hands on the clothed body of a person. Within seconds, the energy can be felt. The effects vary depending on the individual but may include a feeling of intense heat, tingling, swirling, coldness and even emotional outbursts.

Certain hand positions are taught corresponding to the physical organs and emotional states. For example the liver area associates with anger (its interesting that we use the word livid to describe anger), the lungs with sadness, and the kidneys with fear or prejudice.

The chakras (energy centers of the body) are also balanced, as is the front and back torso, arms, legs and the head area.

When you are giving or receiving Reiki, the brain moves into alpha state, a state of deep relaxation. Both the giver and receiver connect with the energy and both benefit from the session. Reiki shows you the messages from your body and you start to see a new framework for language and ingrained behavior patterns.

Reiki truly is an amazing healing therapy and you sense the healing touch as soon as the Reiki hands are placed on the body.

Many believe that Reiki has its own intelligence and actually goes to the site of the problem in the body, regardless of where the hands are placed. I have seen numerous examples of this, one such example was when my hands were placed on the stomach area, and one of the legs of the client, where the problem exists, started to twitch.

Dr Usui realized through his experience that receiving the healing energy alone is not enough to make a person whole and complete. The physical symptom is merely the fruit of the tree and so to bring about lasting change one needs to look at the roots of the problem. These are usually deep conditioned, subconscious, emotional issues.

He adopted the Meiji Emperor’s principles for living life and incorporated them into Reiki therapy. There are 5 principles in total and all start with the words – ‘Just for Today’.

This was done because Dr Usui realized if you can do something for just one day and then repeat it each day, you are more likely to succeed than if he said you had to change at once for your whole life.

Reiki in effect has 2 legs – the physical side of Reiki, with the laying on of hands, and the 5 principles which are about how you live life.

The next article will go into detail about the principles of living life, and offer hints and tips on how you can incorporate this wisdom into daily living.

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Diabetes Risk Factors Include Obesity

Posted on November 22, 2011 by jloauva

We’ve known for a long time that being obese is one of the diabetes risk factors, now a new bit of research finds that the volume of extra weight, and the length of time it’s carried, can raise that risk even more. That’s of special concern to medical professionals given the growing numbers of obese kids and teens in America. These kids are packing on the pounds earlier and will therefore spend more years carrying more weight than is good for them than any other generation.

Evidence from research and personal experience will tell you that your weight creeps up as you get older. If you’re already starting out heavy, that isn’t a good sign – obese kids are far more likely to become obese adults.

Beyond diabetes, being obese is a well-recognized contributor to heart disease, disability and early death.

According to researchers the relationship between what you weigh and diabetes risk is the same as that between smoking and lung cancer risk. In fact, BMI is a better predictor of diabetes risk than using body weight on its own.

The finding suggests an increase in the number of diabetes diagnoses in the U.S.

The team looked at data on almost 8,000 teens, calculating how much over a healthy body mass index, BMI they were, and the length of time they were overweight or obese. Those who had a BMI of over 25.0 for a significant period had an increased risk of diabetes.

So for example, if you had a BMI of over 35 for a decade, you were thought to have the equal of a century of excess BMI. That’s a pretty big “dose” of extra weight.

Black and Hispanic subjects had an even greater risk of diabetes than whites that were carrying the same levels of extra weight for the same time. For people with a BMI over 35.0, Hispanics were two times as likely to be diagnosed with diabetes than whites, and blacks had a 1.5 times as likely to get diabetes than whites.

Because children are becoming overweight much earlier and are carrying the weight for much longer over their lifetimes, there is a good chance we’ll see diabetes rates on the rise like never before.

The BMI numbers are certainly higher than just 20 years ago – in the 1970s and 1980s, just 5% of children were considered obese – in 2000 over 13% were obese, and 2009 stats have obesity at 18% of the population of children in this country. Obesity prevention programs need to focus efforts on both teens and young people, particularly those in minority groups.

So if you’re a parent what can you do?

To lose the extra fat, kids need to eat a healthier diet and get at least 30 minutes a day of rigorous exercise. The secret to weight loss, at any age, is simply taking in fewer calories than you burn off by your daily activities. Going forward, medical professionals will likely start paying attention to not just patients BMI but the length of time (or “dose”) spent at that weight when assessing diabetes risk factors.

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Hottest Adjustable Dumbbell Set For Christmas 2011

Posted on November 22, 2011 by jloauva

Christmas shopping season will be here so fast it will make your eyeballs turn around in your head (okay maybe not that fast).

What this means to you is that there is no better time than Christmas to pick up an adjustable dumbbell set for yourself, your boyfriend, your girlfriend, your wife, or your husband. After all new years resolution season is right around the corner, and you can use “Christmas” to justify the expense. And what the heck, the fat lost and the muscle built as a result of the purchase, is all bonus. It’s a win-win!

So what’s the hottest dumbbell set for Christmas in 2011?

When it comes adding muscle to your frame, losing belly fat, and trimming your triceps, it’s the BowFlex SelectTech 552 Adjustable Dumbbell Set.

Getting results with this set:

For starters, this dumbbell set will work for you whether you’re buying it for someone new to weight training, or if you’re buying for an experienced lifter, as it’s weight range is from 5 pounds to 52 pounds. So you’re covered when it comes to having enough weight to get started.

This set also works well for a wide variety of workout programs whether it’s fat burning, or building muscle, or simply toning up.

If you want to lose the most fat, fastest with the BowFlex 552 adjustable dumbbell set, focus on working the large muscles of the body like your legs, your chest, and your back.

By doing this you’ll maximize the amount of calories you burn, and the amount of muscle you build. Very simply, larger muscles burn more calories. In addition, since muscle is a metabolically active tissue, the more muscle you build, the more calories your body will burn. In conjunction to modifications to your diet, you can turn your body into a raging calorie burning furnace.

Exercises

You can do a ton of exercises with the BowFlex 552 dumbbells. Here’s a look at just a few: of the exercises you can do with this set:

Chest Presses – Chest

Dumbbell Rows – Back

Lateral Raises – Shoulders

Tricep Extensions – Triceps

Tricep Kickbacks – Triceps

Bicep Curls – Biceps

Lunges – Walking, Stationary, or Reverse

Sumo Squats – Holding dumbbell between legs

Calf Raises – Standing on step holding dumbbell

Finally, the money you’d spend on individual dumbbells versus buying an adjustable dumbbell set is ridiculous.

Individual dumbbells are priced per pound, so it stands to reason that one doesn’t need a degree in rocket science, to see that if you bought individual dumbbell sets from 5 pounds to 52 pounds it would far exceed what you’d spend on one set of Bowflex SelectTech adjustable dumbbells. Not to mention the spaced saved versus buying all those individual dumbbells.

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Low Carb Alcoholic Drinks And Weight Loss

Posted on November 22, 2011 by jloauva

Let’s face it, we all like to have a drink once in a while but if you’re trying to lose weight then your best bet is to find any type of low carb alcoholic drink. Many people don’t understand when first starting out that they need tend to take in too many calories from liquids which are just killing their chances of success, especially in the form of alcohol. Alcohol can be a killer to your waistline if you are not careful. But in this article what I’m going to talk about is the different types of low carb alcoholic drinks that you can have if you decide to drink that will have a minimal impact on your waist line no matter what.

However, one thing that I need to point with regards to drinking is that most of the time, the problem is not the alcohol per se, but it’s all the garbage that people eat after they drink or during their drinking tirades. And of course the food is never good or healthy. It’s usually high in fat, carbs, and white flour. You can probably add in some protein since the majority of the food that we tend to eat when drunk is diner food.

Now let’s first talk about which alcoholic drinks to try and completely avoid when you’re trying to lose belly fat. The first drink on our list is beer. I’ll be honest; I love beer, especially good beer from independent small breweries throughout the United States.

I also really enjoy dark beers from overseas like Spaten and Stella Artois. Sadly though, usually these types of beers have the most amounts of calories per serving. It sucks because the best tasting foods and the best tasting drinks are always the worst for you. Imagine if it was the other way around? That would be awesome and we’d all be walking around with bodies like the Greek Gods.

Anyways the other bad thing about beer and especially dark beers is the amount of carbohydrates in them. The combination of carbs and alcohol is just not a good thing when it comes to losing weight. When you drink alcohol, your body sees it as an invader, a poison that it must get rid of. Because of this, all digestion stops and your body’s primary focus is to break down the alcohol and get rid of it.

This is one of the reasons why you beer is really bad because of the high calorie content and carb content. Regular alcohol by itself is around 7 calories a gram. But it also has a 20% thermic effect meaning that it’s really hard for your body to break it down therefore it must burn a good amount of calories to do so. Also it’s not that easily converted into actual fat because of the metabolic pathway that it must travel as compared to let’s say carbohydrates which is very easy for your body to turn into body fat.

You also should dry and stay away from any sweet wines. These of course contain a lot more sugar than dry wines so again that adds to the calorie content of these beverages, another knock against your waistline.

But if you are going to drink, the best types to stick to are any clear sprits such as vodka and gin. They contain the least amount of calories per serving and barely any carbohydrates. Again the problem with people when they have these drinks is the stuff they mix with them, which is usually some sugary type of juice or mixture, which just adds to the total calories and cause an insulin spike inside of your body.

The best mixture to use is anything that is low carb or no sugar. For example, tonic some people might think is okay, but look on the back of the label and it’s 20+ grams of carbs per serving. Try and find low carb tonic for your gin. You can also use any type of club soda for your vodka mixture and it can be the flavored variety like mandarin or berry. Those types of club soda contain no carbs whatsoever. My personal favorites though are vodka with sugar free red bulls or vodka with sugar free or cranberry light. Cranberry light only has a few calories per serving, the same as sugar free red bull. So you can have your favorite drinks still without the added calories.

As you can see, you do have to be careful with which types of alcoholic drinks you consume if you’re trying to lose weight or even just maintain weight. The best types of low carb alcoholic drinks in the end is anything that is on the rocks or made with low carb or non sugar mixtures such as sugar free red bulls, club soda, or light juices.

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Tips For Looking For A Bass Practice Amp

Posted on November 22, 2011 by jloauva

Are you a bass player and thinking about getting a practice amp? And is it important to have a separate practice amp? I believe it is and I’ll explain why. But first let me explain my definition of “practice” for this article. I am referring to your personal practice time not your band’s rehearsal time. Your time alone in your bedroom, living room, or personal studio, when you are working the kinks out of your chops, learning the bands material for the next rehearsal, or you are just plain learning how to play bass. That is what I mean by practice, and the reason I want to make the distinction is, we do not need a lot of power from our practice amp.

Here are 3 reasons what I think are important to have a separate practice amp.

Convenience – This is important for the simple reason that for many of us time is an issue. Now your reasons may vary slightly from mine, but for me I like the fact that I have an amp designated for my personal practice. So when I have a few minutes I can grab my bass and plug in and work on what I need to. It also, allows me to leave my stack at the bands rehearsal space, so I am not having to haul my gear back and forth saving my back, and set up and tear down time. More time can be spent rehearsing.

Portability – I know I just mentioned that it is convenient to be able to leave your practice amp at home. What about that week end get away, a family vacation, or on the road with the band. I always bring a bass with me and the practice amp I use fits in the palm of my hand. I just throw it, my Ipod, and a pair of headphones in my case and I am good to go.

Respect for neighbors- This is important for obvious reasons especially if you live in an apartment. You don’t need to make enemies with those living around you, how much practice can you get done with your neighbors pounding on the walls and ceiling or the police knocking on your door and who needs an eviction. If you own a home and have your own personal studio, it may not be a concern but for those of us musicians’ just trying to get by, it is something we need to think about.

You need to find out the features that would serve you best, but my recommendations would be:

Keep it small 15 watts max, ideally between 5 and 10 watts. Remember this is your practice amp you aren’t looking for your stage or studio sound. Just a nice clean sound and tone, nothing muddy so you can practice and hear the precision in which you play.

Features I would look for is a headphone jack, line in and line out, nothing real fancy.

And if you live some place where it is easy to disturb your neighbors, I highly recommended a portable headphone amp.

With these in mind think about what your practice needs are and take into consideration your living environment, make a list and start searching. There are a lot of amps and manufacturers so you should find something that will meet your needs. Good luck.

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Лов fishes For the Trout – 3 Simple Helps Which Will help you Experience of More Success Catching the Trout

Posted on November 22, 2011 by jloauva

Any who spends time, catching a trout, knows, how the activity call “trout лова fishes” can be from time to time, and in this article I will depict in general 3 simple helps which will help actually to any to test more success next time when they form a head of cabbage in search of a trout. These helps will help the person who likes to search for 3 front view of a fresh-water trout; a rainbow, a stream, and a lake trout. I searched for all these versions of more than twenty years and have studied many trout, fishing helps and dodges at that time, are mine “the best 3″ more low.

It is important to specify (for that of you who is badly familiar with trout ловом fishes) that trout are in two types of water; a current (such as the river or a stream) and standing (such as lake or the tank). Helps concern directly to лову fishes for a trout in the river or a stream more low. Why not and tanks you ask lakes? It is good, because I prefer to catch a trout in smooth water which is provided with the river or a stream, and it – where the action of a lion of my direct experience arrives from. Therefore following simple councils are directly connected with ловом fishes for a trout in this type of water.

Use the Easy Mechanism – The easier the mechanism which you use, trying to catch a trout, the it is more than success which you will test. Actually I prefer to use an extralight rod and swaying which any time when I catch a trout is spooled with the analysis for four pounds. And just in case you think that the big trout cannot be caught on the easy mechanism, consider the fact that I regularly hire also catching of a trout which exceed двадцатидюймовую mark, using the mechanism, it – precisely size depicted in general above.

Avoid Crowds – As a rule a fresh-water trout of all kinds (except for trout who have been supplied”),” similar to a ghost “a sheaf and when trout become”frightened”because of presence of people, they tend to be difficult to impossible to catch. For this reason when you catch a trout, you always want to try to fish in area which receive the least fishing pressure. Be not afraid to go mile or two from a place where you park the vehicle or to find areas which are difficult to access by other fishers. This way the trout whom you search, will test much less than fishing pressure which is precisely that we search.

Use Hooks Sharp – Whether you fish with a trout bait or a live bait, on большему to quantity of trout “miss” because of sad hooks than any other unique factor. It means that you want to replace and-or sharpen your hooks much more often, than you, probably, have imagined. You can check up clearness of the fishing hooks, operating them through one of your nails. If the hook adheres, it sharply. If the hook slides, it not sharply.

The following time when you form a head of cabbage, catching a trout, carries out any of these simple helps, and you will test more success. Also remember, there is nothing that increases benefit indicators as time carrying out on the water practising your craft, thus, than more time that you can spend trout лов fishes, especially successful you become.

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Recycled Bottles Used For SUV Carpeting

Posted on November 22, 2011 by jloauva

Recycled materials and the Ford Escape.

The Ford Motor Company has taken recycling to a whole new level. In this case, its recycling efforts may be right underneath your foot. Literally.

What Ford has done is to use recycled bottles, 25 of them, in the carpeting of its next generation Ford Escape SUV. That vehicle is set to debut at the 2011 Los Angeles Auto Show later this month, a vehicle that will be lighter and more efficient than the current Escape and help keep 4 million bottles out of landfills nationwide. The 2013 Ford Escape goes on sale early next year.

Polyester Fibers

Ford is using 25 20-ounce plastic bottles as one of the “ingredients” in its carpeting, polyester fibers that were created from used soda pop bottles. The crunched up bottles are mixed in with other components to make for a carpet that Ford says is more durable and therefore should last longer.

All materials used in Ford vehicles, including carpeting, must pass extensive durability tests. A team of engineers looks for “chalking” during these tests – a sign where fibers degrade and mash together, forming a white residue as they break apart. Chalking, which is also known as dusting, is a telltale sign that a hole is forming in the carpet.

Taber 5150

Ford engineers use a device called a Taber 5150, which resembles a record player. Engineers take a carpet sample that is about the size of a DVD and place it in the middle of the machine. The Taber 5150 rotates while a pair of weights rub the sample to simulate accelerated wear. Within 10 to 15 minutes, the engineers can simulate five years of normal use.

Cast foam will also help to limit carpet wear, backing that is useful for reducing road noise and useful for filling in ridges and crevices for a smoother look. The recycled bottle carpeting is supplied by Autoneum and is produced at its plant in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania.

Other Initiatives

The Ford Escape isn’t the first vehicle the automaker has produced that makes use of recycled materials. The seats in the Ford Fusion Hybrid sedan use soy-based foam seat cushions that are covered in recycled fabric. Ford made the switch from polyurethane foam, an oil-based product, to soybean-based foam, a move that has enabled the automaker to reduce fuel consumption and cut carbon emissions. These materials are used in seats found in various Ford and Lincoln products including the Ford F-150 and the Lincoln Navigator.

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The Simpsons – Not Just A Comedy Show!

Posted on November 22, 2011 by jloauva

Everyone, including those not very interested in cartoons, heard about “The Simpsons”. It is a long-running series created by Matt Groening, with 21 seasons and the 22nd currently running. As my personal favorite, I have noticed a lot of hidden messages in different episodes, beyond a sarcastic comedy show.

Never give up…

The episode “The last exit to Springfield-Season 4″ is about a strike at the nuclear power plant where Homer works, because Mr. Burns – the boss – wants to take away the dental plan from the workers. It was Homer who started the strike (despite his usually lazy character) because his daughter, Lisa, happens to need braces on the very same day. The way Homer negotiates with the evil Mr. Burns till he gets his rights, without accepting dishonest bribe, is remarkable and depicts how rights can be taken, fair and square, with consistency and the never-give- up attitude.

Don’t believe everything…

“Treehouse of horror” are a series of episodes that include horror fantasies, one in every season, and are usually associated with Halloween. In the episode “Treehouse of Horror VI -Season 7″, Homer, who adores doughnuts, manages to steal a doughnut held by Lard Lad, the mascot for a doughnut store. Eventually, all mascots from all stores start attacking people!!! And guess what saves him along with everyone in town..Ignoring them!! It is noteworthy that the writer indirectly warned people about advertising fallacies, since advertisements now evaded our TVs, newspapers, streets, buses, everywhere…

It’s our good memories that keep us bonded…

In the episode “Lisa on ice- Season 6″, Lisa fails gym and is selected by coincidence to join a hockey team, which is her only chance to add gym to her straight As.She and her brother Bart start being so competitive since Bart is already good at sports and plays hockey too, until one day both teams challenge each other, a game that both Bart and Lisa took too seriously…The final shot in the game is a penalty shot by Bart against Lisa, but then…they looked to each other and remembered all the good gestures they did to each other when they were younger (like Lisa helping Bart when his knee was injured, and Bart giving one of his ice-cream scoops because hers which fell on the floor). Lisa smiled and Bart smiled back….They dropped the hockey equipment and gave each other a nice brotherly hug. This highlights the fact that no matter what happens, you will always find a lot to remember for the people you love, your family and friends or even co-workers, so there’s no point at all in letting life shake the special bonds you share with your loved ones…

Show appreciation…

In another episode “Homer Alone- Season 3″, Marge gets too worked out from the housework and from the extra stress because no one in the family is helping. They all just expect her to do every little thing and listen to each and every complain or question they have. So she decides to go on a vacation by herself, leaving Bart and Lisa to their not-so-loved twin aunts, Patty and Selma, and leaves baby Maggie with Homer. When she leaves to Rancho Relaxo to get a calming vacation, Homer realizes he can do nothing without her, and the kids aren’t that happy either at their aunts’. Upon Marge’s return, she finds what a mess her family has been without her, and that’s when they start realizing what she really is…

Clearly, it applies to many of our own homes, when someone is doing all the hard work – a mother, a father or even grandparents- without even getting a “Thank you” in return. It simply urges us to appreciate every little favor done to us, even outside the house, from friends or colleagues and makes us think of those special people in our lives, who do too much and ask too little.

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The Story of Colin Powell: How a Young Harlem Boy Became One of the World’s Most Powerful Men

Posted on November 22, 2011 by jloauva

Born on April 5, 1937 in Harlem, New York, Colin Luther Powell was the son of Jamaican immigrants that had moved to the US to find a better life for themselves and their children. Although his parents pronounced his name as it was spelled, he has pronounced it the way that we know it today and those in the media and all around him have been happy to oblige. He did very well in school, learning as much as he could about every subject. When he was in high school, he worked for a local furniture store where he picked up Yiddish from the shopkeeper and some of the customers. After he graduated high school, he went on to the City College of New York and gained a Bachelor of Science in geology, and then earned a Master of Business Administration from George Washington University after he did a second tour in Vietnam.

Powell is best known for his role as the first African American Secretary of State, serving under President George W. Bush from 2001-2005 as well as being the National Security Advisor from 1987-1989, the Commander of the U.S. Army Forces Command in 1989, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 1989-1993. To date, he has been the only African American to serve on the Joint Chiefs of Staff. But, what many people may not know is his military career that got him to that point.

He joined the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps during college and describes it as being one of the happiest moments in his life. He found that here, he found something he loved and that he had “found himself”. He then joined the Pershing Rifles, the ROTC fraternal organization and drill team that had been started by General John Pershing. Powell won a pen set for a drill team competition that he kept on his desk even after he had become a general himself. During the Vietnam War, he served as a Captain and as a South Vietnamese Army advisor from 1962-1963. He was wounded while on patrol in a Viet Cong area when he stepped on a punji stake. He returned to Vietnam as a Major in 1968 and served in the 23rd Infantry Division. He also served as assistant Chief of Staff of operations for the American Division and was charged with investigating a detailed letter by Tom Glen about allegations of the My Lai Massacre. Although he took criticism of his findings of the massacre, the questions would remain undisclosed to the public.

After his tours in Vietnam, he served a White House fellowship under President Richard Nixon from 1972-1973 and then wrote an autobiography, where he named several officers that he served under that inspired and mentored him. He was decorated for bravery during his second tour as he single-handedly rescued several men from a burning helicopter, one being the commander of the American Division, Major General Charles Gettys. In the Korean War, he served as a Lieutenant Colonel and was very close to General Henry “Gunfighter” Emerson. He said that Emerson was one of the most caring officers that he ever met. In the 1980′s, Powell served at Fort Carson, CO and left there to become the senior military assistant to Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger, who he assisted during the 1983 invasion of Grenada and the 1986 airstrike on Lybia. In 1986, he took over the command of the V Corps in Frankfurt, Germany and after the Iran Contra scandal; he became President Ronald Reagan’s National Security Advisor. In 1989, he was promoted to General and served as the Commander in Chief, Forces Command until he was selected as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. At only 52, he became the youngest officer, the only Afro-Caribbean America to serve in this position. And, in 1989, when he was promoted to General, he became one of only three people to ever reach that position without being a divisional commander alongside Dwight D. Eisenhower and Alexander Haig.

During his time as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, he oversaw 28 different crises, such as the invasion of Panama, Operation Desert Storm, and the Persian Gulf War. He earned the nickname “the reluctant warrior” because he always tried diplomacy and containment first before jumping to military intervention. From here, his role in helping to create peace throughout the world took on a larger meaning. Colin Powell’s quotes and citations on leadership have inspired military leaders across the world

Since his time serving in the White House, Powell has put his political power to work for several candidates that he believed in, including Senator John McCain and George W. Bush. He also was charged with creating a peaceful way to rebuild a post-war Iraq after Saddam Hussein had been deposed. Although he resigned as Secretary of State on November 15, 2004, many in the political and military communities still rely on his knowledge, his moderate beliefs, and more to help them promote peace throughout the world and to help them find peaceful ways to end crisis situations.

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Are Colored Contacts Safe?

Posted on November 22, 2011 by jloauva

Let’s start this article by stating that colored contacts are as safe as regular ones, provided they are bought with a prescription and from a regulated brand. So the question are colored contacts safe has only one answer: They are safe provided you consider them the same as prescription contact lenses, and they are unsafe if you buy them without a prescription and without knowing where or how they were produced. Colored contacts are not an accessory, they are a medical product and need to be treated as such.

The Truth Behind Safe Contacts

There are very few differences between the lenses used to correct vision defects and those used to for cosmetic reasons, but generally speaking fashion contact lenses are seen as less safe than their corrective counterparts. This belief often stems from the fact that while corrective contacts are only sold with a prescription, colored ones are often available to the general public online without any sort of medical supervision.

Corrective contact lenses are thus “safe” because there’s medical supervision and very few people would buy them from a cheap, offshore provider as they see them as a medical product. Colored contacts, on the other hand, are often seen as just a fashion statement.

Why You Need a Prescription

Getting a prescription before buying colored contact lenses is not just a formality. Your optician will be able to assess if you can use contact lenses, as some people eye’s would react badly to them and contact lenses can worsen existing eye conditions such as dry eye syndrome.

He will also be able to take measurements of your eye that ensure the best possible fit, and last but not least you will get trained on how to put them on your eye, remove them safely and all the maintenance procedures.

Most opticians will also let you test contacts for a few hours over a few days, to make sure no side effects happen with prolonged use. This procedure is key for using contact lenses safely, but many people skip it when buying non corrective colored contacts and that makes them appear less safe.

What Can Make Colored Contacts Really Unsafe

Colored contact lenses are not just a fashion accessory, but a medical product that can cause serious eye problems if not used properly. This means producing colored contacts is a relatively expensive process that needs to be approved by the health authorities of each country, more similar to manufacturing a health supplement or a cosmetic cream than a fashion accessory.

As a consequence, if you are buying cheap contact lenses without a prescription and without knowing where they were made and to which standards, you risk putting in your eyes harmful substances or bacteria. If the type of plastic used is not of a high enough quality, the lenses will soon become dry and uncomfortable, and can cause enough irritation as to create small wounds in the cornea.

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