10 Simple Ways to Raise Your Level of Conscious Awareness

What does it mean to become more conscious?  It is the progressive realization of conscious mastery over your mind.

The challenge is that it takes consciousness to grow consciousness.  But you needn’t worry about this because you already have the seed.  Think of it like fire.  You have a flame, and you want to turn that flame into a huge blaze.  How do you do it?  You add fuel.  The following list includes examples of how you can add fuel to your flame of consciousness to become a raging inferno of consciousness.
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Energy Vampires

Energy Vampires are individuals that intentionally or unintentionally drain positive energy from your life. They are able to achieve this in a variety of different ways. If you stop for a second and think about all of the people you deal with on a daily basis, you might realize how certain individuals drain you out during the day. Just being around these individuals flat out sucks. These are people that intrude your life, make big deals out of nothing, complain constantly, criticize you for every little thing, and even blame you, and everyone else for the problems they created for themselves.

In short, energy vampires suck the life out of you.

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It Doesn’t Take Common Sense to Know That…Mitt Romney Won the First Debate

So I went into the debate with an open mind. Not knowing really what to expect, but after watching the debate, I must say that it was a decisive victory for Mitt Romney. The mainstream news and media will undoubtedly take sides but coming from a person in the middle I can say that Romney clearly won. Read more of this post

Top 10 Signs of a Spiritual Awakening

top 10 signs of a spiritual awakening

Break free of perceived boundaries.

1.More flows of energy interspersed with a few days of pure fatigue and the need to recuperate.

2.More distractions in sleeping patterns in the beginning of the this phase.

3.Stimulated sensations like a feeling of cold/hot, minor but sudden feelings of shaking, and a sensation of a burst of energy running throughout the body.

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Marijuana Arrests Down After Decriminalization

source: NORML.com

Connecticut’s decriminalization of marijuana, which allows police departments to issue fines rather than arrests, has been in effect since July 1. The courts are already dealing with less of a case load due to the new law.

According to the Connecticut Post, there were 4,774 marijuana arrests from July 1-Dec. 1, 2010 for possession of marijuana less than four ounces. With the new law, there have been 1,127 arrests in that same period in 2011. There were nearly 2,000 tickets issued

Under the old law, possession of less than four ounces or drug paraphernalia containing marijuana residue was a misdemeanor punishable by a year in jail and a $1,000 fine. Possession of more than four ounces is a felony with more serious penalties.

According to the article, it’s possible officers are letting people off with a warning rather than issuing a ticket.

The decriminalization law, Public Act 11-71, reduced the penalty for possession of one-half ounce or less to a $150 fine, to a $200 to $500 fine for the second offense, and the higher fine plus referral to a drug awareness program for the third offense.

Anyone under age 21 also faces a 60-day driver’s license suspension. Penalties for possession of more than one-half ounce remain the same as before.

 

ABSCAM

Twenty-five years ago the world learned of our high-level investigation into public corruption and organized crime, infamously code-named ABSCAM.

The unfolding details were riveting: …Everything from mobsters hocking stolen paintings and fake securities in the Big Apple to politicians peddling influence in the nation’s capitol; …High-ranking government officials caught on tape stuffing wads of bribe money in their pockets and saying things like, “I’ve got larceny in my blood”; …And FBI agents posing as representatives of a fictitious Middle Eastern sheik, gathering evidence of these big league crimes.

It all started in July 1978, when we set out to catch New York City underworld figures dealing in stolen art. We set up a bogus company in Long Island—Abdul Enterprises, thus the name “AB(dul)SCAM”—said to be owned by a wealthy Arab sheik who wished to invest oil money in valuable artworks. Then, we recruited an informer who connected us with crooks willing to sell us stolen treasures. It worked. Within months, we’d recovered two paintings worth a combined $1 million.

Through that operation, we were introduced to criminals who were dealing in fake stocks and bonds. Again, success. Our undercover work ended up halting the sale of nearly $600 million worth of fraudulent securities.

From there, our investigation led to southern New Jersey … and on to Washington, D.C. Our criminal contacts led us to politicians in Camden who were willing to offer bribes to get our “business” a gambling license in Atlantic City. Then, when we expressed interest in their suggestion to get the sheik asylum in the U.S., these corrupt politicians arranged for us to meet some U.S. Congressmen who could make it happen with private legislation. For a price, of course: $50,000 up front and an extra $50,000 later.

When the dust settled, one senator, six congressman, and more than a dozen other criminals and corrupt officials were arrested and found guilty.

Like many high-profile, sensitive investigations, ABSCAM generated its share of controversy. In particular, questions were raised about whether our undercover efforts led to entrapment. The courts ruled otherwise, upholding all convictions. In the end, the case reaffirmed the importance of undercover operations and led to stronger rules and safeguards on these kinds of investigations within the FBI.

Twenty-five years later, the bottom line lessons of ABSCAM remain the same: No one is above the law. To uphold order and justice, abuse of the public trust cannot and will not be tolerated. Which is exactly why the FBI continues to rank public corruption as a top investigative priority.

Woolly Mammoth Spotted In Siberia?

A large creature is seen crossing a river in the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug region of Siberia. The Sun reports that a Russian government worker shot the video and claims it shows a creature that looks a lot like a Wooly Mammoth.

Than again, it could just be a bear.

Woolly Mammoth

Woolly Mammoth

But if you watch the video closely, you will see that what is supposed to be the creature’s trunk, or possibly its tusks, appears to be quite flaccid. Some viewers speculate that the furry creature in the video is nothing more than a bear carrying a large fish in its mouth. Others have surmised that it is an elephant, the mammoth’s genetic cousin, lost in the woods.

There is some historical evidence to tantalize cryptozoologists. It turns out that some mammoths actually did survive beyond the extinction of their brethren, living on Wrangel Island off the coast of Siberia until about 3,500 years ago.

I’m not saying that I believe that this is an actual Woolly Mammoth, but the video is quite intriguing.

Bizarre: Giant Whale Shark Washes Ashore In Pakistan

A giant whale shark washed ashore near Karachi, Pakistan, fisheries harbor on Tuesday and was sold for 1.7 million PKR ($18,758), local media reported.

I could only imagine what the people who bought the shark are going to do with it…

Residents gather as a whale shark is pulled from the water by cranes after it was found dead at Karachi's fish harbor

How Our View of the Future has Drastically Changed

The website buzzfeed.com brings up an interesting, funny and simple point of how our view of the Future has changed in the last couple of years.

In the 90′s, people had positive visions of futuristic cities with flying cars and tall skyscrapers. Sadly, today everyone views the future as one massive case of destruction or…the end of the world.

Views of a city of the future

Images from : buzzfeed.com

Surpreme Court Overturns Conviction Due To Illegal Tracking

It’s almost impossible for a person to “disappear” in today’s world and it’s becoming harder and harder to do so.

Privacy is almost abolished.

Washington DC police thought they had a good idea when they attached a global-positioning-system (GPS) device on the car of a suspected drug dealer in order to more effectively tail him and find his “safe house” stash.

The police did, in fact, nail DC nightclub owner Antoine Jones. But the Supreme Court this week sided with the Appeals court that over-turned Jones’s conviction on the grounds that police need to first obtain a search warrant before attaching such a device.

The decision by the high court was unanimous, a relative rarity for this court that is usually politically divided. But the decision also opens up questions, legal scholars and some of the justices believe, about whether law enforcement will be allowed to track suspects by homing in on their cellphone with or without a warrant.

Judge Samuel Alito addressed the cell-phone issue in his opinion asserting that the most basic cellphone can be located by coordinating signals received by different towers. That would cover more than 322 million cellphones, he noted. Advanced smart-phones often contain GPS devices that can be more accurately tapped for a user’s location – Apple, for example, allows a user of its new iCloud system to precisely locate a phone that might have been lost or stolen.
“It may be necessary to reconsider” whether simply carrying a cellphone means a citizen “has no reasonable expectation of privacy,” at least when it comes to disclosing one’s location, added the court’s newest member, Sonia Sotomayor.

The decision should also open new questions about whether police can tap into GPS systems installed on cars, such as General Motors’ OnStar system.

source: autos.aol.com

Strange Place: Villa Escudero Waterfall Restaurant

Villa Escudero Resort

Villa Escudero Resort

Villa Escudero  is a resort  located in Quezon Province, Philippines.

It is a beautiful atmosphere offering customers an amazingly luxurious and comfortable room, and one of the most famous museums in the Philippines to visit. You must be thinking “Why the hell is this a strange place ?”

Well, it made the strange place collection because of its amazing Waterfalls Restaurant. Read more of this post

11 Most Extreme Things To Do While You Still Can

Does standing on top of a wing of a flying plane sound fun? Or how about flying your own Jet Fighter plane?

Here is a list of some of the most extreme things that you can do around the world that will get your adrenaline pumping!

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Bill Nye, Neil DeGrasse Tyson, And Others On The Future of Space

TSA Agent Allegedly Lets Rapper Keep His Weed

Rapper Freddie Gibbs claims he allegedly found a “Notice of Baggage Inspection” from the Transportation Security Administration in his suitcase, which held his fully intact bag of weed,  that read “C’mon Son”

Freddie Gibbs, who recently formed the hip hop group P.O.C. (Pulled Over by the Cops) with a couple guys from The Cool Kids, tweeted the picture. “The TSA found my weed and let me keep it. They just left me a note. ‘C’mon Son’. Lol.”

Freddie’s claim does raise a few eyebrows, so what do you think of Gibbs’ tweet? Real or fake?

www.zazenlife.com, freddie gibbs, weed, airport, tsa

 

A Personal Kidnapping Story: Bahamas 2007

Before I begin my story, I would like to make it clear that the Bahamas is still one of my favorite places that I have ever been to. This incident only happened because of teenage immaturity.

We just had graduated High School and were all very excited about what the future would bring to us, but there was only one thing on all of our minds.

The 5 of us were going to the Bahamas with no supervision!

As the trip got closer and closer I became more and more excited, but at the same time I had a feeling of nervousness. Whether it was because of my anxiety of flying, or just an overall fear of leaving the country by myself, nothing was going to stop me from missing this trip.

So the morning finally arrives, and all of us meet at my house at around 5 am. Our flight was scheduled to depart at 730 am, so we figured that we would need about 2 hours to travel and get everything settled.

vacation in the bahamas senior frogs

From left to right: Joe, Andy, Pete, Chiro, Me. Senior Frogs, Bahamas.

This was when our first setback took place.

One of our good friends, you may know him as Peteydeez, was still sleeping. His cell phone was off and no one could get in touch with him.

We tried waiting as long as we could, but eventually we had to leave or else we would all miss the flight.

We got to the airport and laughed about how funny it would be if he had missed the flight. Once we started boarding the plane, it became less funny, but I still had a feeling that he would make it. This feeling was gone once we took off.

Pete missed the flight, putting a complete damper on the trip. The flight was filled with a weird combination of emotions. We were upset about Pete missing the flight, but we were also excited about the vacation as a whole.

Once we landed, there was this strong feeling of happiness. Before getting our bags, we passed a bar in the airport that offered free drinks with mandatory tips. We all left a dollar each and got our first drinks. Although it was just the first drink, for some reason I felt tipsy. I think it was just a natural high that I was feeling from the overall excitement.

Fast-fowarding passed all of the checking in and getting settled in our rooms at Breezes Bahamas, we ended up jet skiing in the ocean. This really set the vacation off to a great start. As our time expired I started coming back towards the beach to realize someone who looked like Pete by the pool.

breezes bahamas resort

Breezes Bahamas Resort is one of the most enjoyable all-inclusive resorts ever

I raced over to the pool to see that Pete had made it. We were all overwhelmed with happiness and were uncontrollable.

Now we all thought that nothing else can ruin this vacation, BUT WE WERE WRONG.

On the first night, we all decided that we would go to a certain club. We drank back at our resort since it was an all-inclusive, and then made our way to the club. It was filled with other students that had just graduated High School as well. It was a typical club scene; dark, foggy, crowded, loud music and very hot.

We were drunk and having a good time, until one of our friends, Andy, got sick. Not all of us were aware of this because we were to busy having a great time. One of our other friends (I will call him Steve) thought that it would be smart to place Andy in a cab by himself and have him sent back to the resort.

If we all would have known about this, we would have traveled back with him, but we were young, immature, and not paying attention to our surroundings.

Hours passed by and we decided to leave, but we couldn’t find Andy. This is when Steve decided to tell us that he had sent him back to the resort by himself.

Without panicking, we all got in a cab headed back to the resort. Our cab ride was pretty funny considering that our driver was a drug dealer that was offering us drugs and/or sexual pleasure from the prostitute in the front seat with him.

We got to the resort and checked all over for Andy, but couldn’t find him. We checked the club on the resort, all of the bars, and even the rooms, but he was nowhere to be found. About 2 hours passed from the time we arrived back at the resort and we started to get nervous. We went to the beach and asked a group of people if they seen him. After giving them a description, they said that they did see him. They directed us towards the main desk, and he was there!

This is when we found out that he was almost KIDNAPPED!

In Andy’s words to the police officer it went like this:

” I was placed in a cab by myself. I sat up in the passenger seat next to the driver and he didn’t say a word. I looked to the right and realized that we had passed our resort. I was drunk, but I was able to read the big Breezes sign. I told him that he missed the stop, and he told me not to worry about it. After he had said that, I heard the doors lock. He automatically locked all of the doors in the car. Once again I told him that he passed the resort. He told me not to worry because we were going somewhere else. At this point I decided to react. I unlocked my door and jumped out of the car. I rolled a couple of feet, ripping my shirt and cutting my back up. I ran faster than ever back to the resort.”

A day after, it was like nothing happened. Someone was potentially kidnapped and it was all forgotten about. If that happened in the United States, there would be a search for the kidnapper. The only conclusion that I can come to is that they probably make most of their money from vacationers, and they do anything to prevent damage to their reputation.

Crime scene tape in the bahamas

A vacation can be ruined in seconds. Always stick together and watch your surroundings

It is scary to think about what could have happened to Andy. Were his organs going to be sold? Was he going to be abused by psycho paths? Was he going to be raped?

We didn’t let this ruin our vacation. The rest of the week actually turned out to be the best week of our lives.

To this day, I still believe that calmness and our positive energy helped the situation. We did not once panic or think anything negative. Say we did panic, other stuff could have happened. Fights could have broken out, other people could have went missing or we could have even gotten kicked out of the resort.

One important lesson that I learned from this is that when you’re in a bad situation, stay calm and positive. It can only help the situation.