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Topics - haloedorchid

#1
If anyone has any experiences with astral projection, I would be interested in reading them.

Like everyone, I've had dreams about flying, but I'm not sure what the difference is between those and astral projecting.

Thoughts?
#2
Archive of Old Threads / Annoying internet memes
April 06, 2011, 12:17:55 AM
The memes I find most annoying tend to be words or phrases, but all hashtags are also up there. This isn't meant to call anyone out on this board -- I can't think of anyone here abusing memes, and I've also used some myself that others may find bothersome.

Here's the worst, for me:
FTW (for the win), That's what she said, +1, stabby, does not compute

Ones I don't mind, or are wobblers:
Epic, fail, epic fail, winning!

Ones that haven't jumped the shark, but may do so very soon:
I don't think _______ means what you think it means

Any more you can think of?
#3
Tue, Mar 22, 2011

A new study of deathbed experiences has found a surprising number of similarities, writes FIONOLA MEREDITH


GIVEN THAT many of us shy away from talking about death and dying, it is not surprising that we know so little about what happens in the last hours of a person’s life. But an unusual new study, funded by the Irish Hospice Foundation, aims to break through the taboo of the deathbed.


The study â€" Capturing the invisible: exploring Deathbed Experiences in Irish Palliative Care, by researchers Una MacConville and Regina McQuillan â€" examines the strange visions that often accompany the dying process, asking members of the Irish Association of Palliative Care to report their experiences. The results are startling.


In one frequently reported scenario, the dying person spoke of seeing deceased relatives or religious figures, or of experiencing a radiant white light in the room. Perhaps because they defy explanation, these deathbed phenomena are rarely discussed by healthcare professionals, despite being a familiar occurrence.


Yet rather than avoiding the topic, MacConville says education about such experiences could raise awareness of the phenomena and help palliative care professionals to normalise them for patients and families as a common and even comforting part of dying.


After all, as MacConville points out, there is nothing new in these visions: accounts of deathbed experiences (DBE) are common throughout history and across cultures. William Shakespeare makes reference to them, and the earliest medical encyclopaedias recognise such phenomena as indications that death is close. In most cases, they have a positive effect, bringing peace, comfort, calmness and joy to the patient.


One nurse who responded to the study said, “I have often heard patients refer to seeing someone in their room or at the end of their bed, often relatives, and also it is not a distressing event for them. Family are usually shocked by hearing it and want to know the significance of it.”


Another odd but quite frequently reported occurrence â€" 31 per cent of respondents mentioned it in this study â€" is when a dying person unexpectedly emerges from a coma, suddenly becoming sufficiently alert to communicate with family and friends.


A respondent reported that, “In one incident the patient, who had been in a coma, opened his eyes and smiled at his three daughters and wife. Profound calmness and peace filled the room. It was special to be part of that experience. In another incident the patient said he saw a light, a bright light; he died shortly afterwards.”


Less dramatically, the dying person may also experience vivid dreams that have particular significance for them, sometimes helping them resolve unfinished business in their lives. Others report a sudden and unexplained smell of roses, or claim to see angels appearing in their room.


However you explain them, most of these experiences sound benign, even reassuring. But MacConville says that deathbed phenomena sometimes can be frightening encounters for the dying person and their relatives: “Family members may become distressed because they realise that death is imminent, and the dying person may be disturbed by the visions because they don’t understand them.”


One respondent told MacConville and McQuillan that relatives often become “upset and emotional if patient talks to them as they realise time is very short”.


Neither is a deathbed experience any kind of guarantor of a peaceful death. In the study, only 24 per cent of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that patients experiencing DBE have a peaceful death as a result. Some 59 per cent were neutral and 17 per cent disagreed.


MacConville says deathbed experiences are rarely talked about precisely because it’s not clear what these visions are. One common sense explanation may be that the visions are drug- or fever-induced hallucinations. But 68 per cent of respondents agreed, or strongly agreed, that DBE have different qualities from such hallucinations.


MacConville says there appears to be a difference in the quality of the visions: they appear with greater clarity, and they are experienced as meaningful, with significant associations, rather than random, as they would be in drug-induced cases.


An earlier study also indicated that patients experiencing deathbed phenomena are usually calm and composed. In contrast, drug- or fever-induced hallucinations can be disturbing and frightening, with other symptoms of drug-induced toxicity and high temperature present as well.


Reflecting on the deathbed phenomena, one anonymous palliative care nurse admitted that such visions “do not often have a rational explanation”. Nonetheless, “I don’t believe people’s experiences can be discounted or disputed. It is individual, intense and real for many patients and families.”


Being able to put a name to these experiences, and to talk about them openly, is one important step towards overcoming the fear and confusion that surrounds the last hours before death.


Una MacConville is interested in hearing from healthcare professionals and members of the public about such experiences as this research is continuing. E-mail her at U.macconville@bath.ac.uk or call 086-8175530.


© 2011 The Irish Times


http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/health/2011/0322/1224292769193_pf.html



#4
Radio and Podcasts / Dr. Dean Edell
March 18, 2011, 06:52:22 PM
Good show hosted by an actual MD. He frequently quack-watched alternative medicines, vaccine opposition, and food supplements. Apparently he retired, but I haven't heard his replacement host. It was fun while it lasted!
#5
Radio and Podcasts / Rachel Maddow
March 18, 2011, 06:23:52 PM
I'm not sure if she still has her radio show, but I liked it the couple of times I listened. On the local station here, her show always played at odd times so it was easy to miss. I liked her style, though, and she has a fantastic speaking voice.
#6
Radio and Podcasts / Bill Maher
March 18, 2011, 11:46:27 AM
Not radio, but his HBO show is available as a podcast.

He calls out both sides equally on their bs, and is very entertaining in doing so. I agree with a lot of what he has to say. Also, speaks about women's rights more frequently than many other talk show hosts.
#7
Radio and Podcasts / Lars Larson
March 18, 2011, 10:32:26 AM
He is out of Portland, but I believe he has a national show, at least on Fridays. Or I should say, First Amendment Fridays.

He is extreme right-wing and I disagree with a lot of what he has to say, but when someone calls in with an opposing viewpoint, he shoots them down pretty quickly when they can't articulate a disagreement.

I thought his calling Michelle Obama fat and a hypocrite for her healthy eating in schools agenda was very immature. 
#8
Radio and Podcasts / Bill Handel
March 17, 2011, 10:54:39 PM
I like Bill Handel on both his local morning talkshow and his national legal show (where he tells you you have absolutely no case).

He is very smart and humorous, but his degrading talk of minorities gets a little tiresome. I think he takes his hatred for all people Latino a little too far. He qualifies it by saying he rags on every religion/race equally, but there is a difference between saying Jews are cheap and over-educated and calling the entire country of Mexico a toilet.

Overall, though, I think the good outweighs the bad. He is definitely entertaining.
#9
Radio and Podcasts / Dan -- The Other Savage
March 17, 2011, 10:45:30 PM
His podcast is definitely more extreme than any other hosts listed thus far. He can be abrasive but his overall message is positive and he is hilarious and articulate.
#10
 
by Associated Press KING5.com Posted on December 14, 2010 at 6:42 PM

  TACOMA, Wash. (AP) -- Police in Tacoma, Wash., are trying to gather more information about a human foot that washed ashore in the city's Tideflats area.
Police spokesman Mark Fulghum said Tuesday that the right foot was still inside a boy's size 6 "OzArk Trail" hiking boot and likely belonged to a juvenile or small adult. He says the boots were sold in Walmart stores from 2004 to 2005.
The foot found recently is believed to have floated in from either the Puyallup River or Puget Sound.
In late August, a right foot washed up on a beach on Whidbey Island, about 70 miles north of Tacoma. Island County sheriff's officers said that foot likely belonged to a woman or a child.
Island County sheriff's Detective Ed Wallace said then that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police were sharing information about seven feet that have washed up in the past four years on British Columbia shores.
Fulghum says Tacoma police don't know yet whether there might be any connection to the other cases.

http://www.king5.com/home/Childs-foot-washes-ashore-in-Tacoma-111894624.html

I didn't see any posts already created for this topic. Does anyone have any thoughts about where the feet washing ashore British Columbia Canada and Washington state are coming from? I've heard it could be refugee ships sinking and feet disarticulating from the bodies. It's been 4 years and authorities still have no clue.
#11
Paranormal - Conspiracy - UFOs - Etc. / Forest Ghoul
December 11, 2010, 12:14:43 AM


Has anyone heard of this thing? A man Louisiana supposedly snapped this picture whilst hunting for deer. People think it's a hoax (which it probaby is) but it still looks very freaky nonetheless!

Here's a link to the Daily Mail article about it:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1337542/The-dead-night-forest-ghoul-caught-camera.html
#12
Has anyone ever noticed how there are a few people who call in repeatedly to the show?

The main guy who stands out for me is named Bob, or Bill, or some other exceedingly common name that escapes me.  I've heard him several times both when Ian and George host the show.  He always starts off on a tirade about how he and his wife had to take in his daughter's "two little girls" because the parents decided to abandon them.  He throws that in no matter what the issue he's calling about.. like he feels he deserves props on an internationally broadcasted show for doing a stand-up thing. 

Then I noticed that Craig the truck driver from Colorado called back on a recent program.  The first time he was on is when he started off the phone call by berating George Noory and telling him how much he sucks compared to Ian Punnett.  He may have had a few points there but his method of delivery of the criticism was too childish to take seriously.  But I love George's lame response after he dumped him:  "You, my friend, should learn some manners."

There was also another guy who recently called about allegedly having information about the 9/11 attacks because he worked for Osama bin Laden as some kind of a contractor.  He said bin Laden divulged information to him, but never explained WHY or why he (the caller) didn't go to the authorities before or right after the attack.  I don't think this guy called Coast to Coast numerous times, but I listen to a lot of talk radio and he has definitely been making the rounds on some other circuits. 

It's common knowledge that a lot of people who call in the show suffer some sort of a mental or personality disorder, but the people who keep calling and rehashing the same psychobabble are in a completely delusional league of their own....
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