May 2012 Workshop

'A Basic Introduction to Raw' Workshop Thursday 24 May

We will be hosting 'A Basic Introduction to Raw' on Thursday 24 May @ 18h00.  
This class will cover the basics of making your own delicious nutmilks, dehydrating kale chips and creating nori handrolls.  

Cost of the class is R250 and you will receive notes and samples of the tasty treats we make in class.
The workshop will take place at In the Raw, 44 Stanley Avenue, Milpark and will run from 18h00-20h30.

Space is limited so book by Wed 23 May 12h00 at info@rawfoodandjuice.com or call Shelley on 074 1794 670.

There will be more classes in the future – keep an eye on our website http://www.rawfoodandjuice.com and our Facebook page for further details.

 To become a part of our In the Raw community visit our Facebook page and like us to receive updates.

The most eagerly anticipated IPO in recent geek history is being claimed as a bit of a flop. Baron’s reported that the social media’s initial public offering turned out to be a disappointment that may bode poorly for investors in the company’s richly priced shares.

Many people are calling this a social media bubble, and expect to see some crazy things happening. I’m a geek, not a investor type personality, but it will be interesting to see how these developments pan out over the next few months.

Check what my best forex affiliate site thinks about the Facebook IPO

We would like to encourage members to support the following initiative to bring about an awareness of the oppression & suffering of human-kind with special emphasis on the situation in Tibet…… perhaps by wearing white and encouraging others to do so will in turn bring about a greater awareness…. please forward to others, and share this message on all the platforms that you can!

Wear White on FREEDOM DAY, 27th April

Let’s bring out that white summer dress before the summer season deserts us- or how about that wedding dress or white suit that was only worn once? If white is not your colour then a white BANDAGE around an arm or leg will do the trick.

Why?….. the 27th April is FREEDOM DAY in South Africa…when we count our lucky stars that we live in harmony with each other. Freedom Day commemorates the day we could all vote as equals- regardless of skin colour or culture. We are free to live in a beautiful country where we can uphold our values of freedom of speech and self-determination.

But what is our freedom worth when so many millions in our world are under the power of extreme oppression and restrictions of basic human rights?

Let us make a difference in coming together and WEAR WHITE for those who are OPPRESSED and SUFFERING.

TIBET FOCUS:

33 Tibetans have set themselves alight in the last 6 months, including an 18 year old nun, a reincarnate Buddhist monk and a mother of four. What extreme suffering lead to this?

Can you imagine the unbearable pain of your body burning? This is in protest to having basic rights denied, namely being allowed to honour their culture and beliefs and live like dignified human beings.

Extreme crackdowns and military presence in Tibet have meant that thousands live in fear, have their activities severely restricted and are denied basic rights, not to mention those who are captured, tortured and imprisoned on a daily basis.

Can we convince the people in prominent positions to please listen- even when there is no ECONOMIC gain?

Let us wear white too for other people in the world who suffer the same fate. We are all brothers and sisters of the same human family.

Why White? White represents peace, water to extinguish the flames and in parts of Asia, white is for death and mourning- we can quietly honour those who have died under oppressive regimes. For those so inclined, please observe a minute’s silence at 1pm on 27th to silently honour those who have suffered or died.

This is not a political or religious issue, this is a HUMAN issue.

For further details please contact Karen on: 084 760 4630

Tibet Society of South Africa http://www.tibet.org.za P O Box 2674 Pinetown | Pinetown, 3600 Phone: 0312668182 | tibdbnsa@iafrica.com

I got this email worth sharing!

I am writing because I need your help. I have decided to do something very scary and I need all the help I can get.

I have committed the next decade of my life to help address the education crisis facing our country. I know… It is a huge decision and I keep wondering whether I have what it takes to do this… It must be one of the most anxiety-provoking things that I have done in my entire life.

I can assure you that I have not made this decision lightly. I challenge myself on a daily basis about the wisdom of this decision. I try to convince myself that I am being courageous, only to be reminded that there is a fine line between courage and stupidityJ.

I’ve decided to share my thinking behind this enormous decision by video:[youtube L5INfzEl2-g]. I sincerely hope that you will get an opportunity to watch this. It is only 4 minutes long. Please feel free to share the link with others in your network. I have also captured the main points at the bottom of this email.

If you’ve watched this and are inspired to support our work (either by sharing your knowledge and skills with a school principal or by making a financial contribution), please let me know?

My future and your future is inextricably linked to the future of the 14 million learners in our education system. The time to act is NOW. Please help us do the work we have been called to do?

I look forward to hearing your feedback on the video or on this message.

If you just want to cut to the chase and make a financial contribution J, please support my campaign on GivenGain:https://www.givengain.com/cgi-bin/giga.cgi?cmd=donor&profile_id=75381

I am writing this note to a group of business leaders who care about the future of South Africa.

The World Economic Forum published the 2011/2012 Global Competitiveness Reportearlier this year: South Africa is now placed as number 50 on a list of 142 countries in terms of our global competitiveness. This places us in the top 36% of all countries in the world! .

This report is worth reading as it gives insight into the challenges and opportunities facing South Africa. For example:

1)      We are Number 1 (ie the best in the World!) with regard to  “Strength of auditing and reporting standards”;

2)      We are Number 2 (in the top 2% of countries) with regard to “Soundness of Banks” and  “Efficacy of Corporate Boards”;

3)      Another impressive indicator is that we are rated 4^th in the world for our ability to develop Financial Markets.

There are many other indicators that we have a strong and solid financial system and that, in general, business leaders inSouth Africa understand governance and know how to run successful businesses.

How do we then make sense of the fact that we are number 131 in the world for Basic Education and Health? This rating places us at the bottom  9% of the list of142 countries.

Surely we can do better than this?

I am writing this note to smart business leaders who understand the links between quality education and economic success. We have no option. We simply can’t wait any longer to deal with the education crisis in our country.

I have just returned from attending the Skoll World Forum for Social Entrepreneursin Oxford. Jeff Skoll (co-founder of e-Bay) brings 1,000 social entrepreneurs from around the world together once a year to inspire and support them in their efforts to achieve positive change in their countries and communities. There were many people there who care about the fact that so many billions of children are not getting the quality education that they deserve. Gordon Brown (former UK Prime Minister) delivered a passionate message that we need to establish a global organisation to work with war-ravaged countries where children are not getting the education they deserve.

It was a great privilege to be in the room with all these amazing social entrepreneurs but I must admit that I struggled to contain my anger and frustration about the fact that many of the social entrepreneurs who care about education has South Africa on the list of countries where they feel they need to intervene – where things are so bad that they feel the need to parachute in some aid to the poor South Africans who are seemingly unable to help themselves.

I agree that we need to deal with the education crisis in our country. But surely we can do this ourselves?

What might be possible if we could tap into the collective brilliance of all the smart brains who have helped to get us to be at the top 3% for financial markets and systems?

What if the business leaders who helped us to build world-leading financial and governance systems can help to turn the situation around in education?

I don’t want to be ashamed of the state of our education system! And I am simply not willing to sit back and wait for government or international aid organisations to do something about it. It is our future and our country. My future and your future is inextricably linked to the future of the 14 million children currently in our education system.

We know how to lead large-scale change. We have been doing it in corporate South Africa for years! We have all the knowledge, skills and resources we need to transform the education system in South Africa! And we can do it within a decade! We just need to make a decision that we care enough about the our future to make ourselves available to help turn the situation around.

Feel free to forward this note to people in your networks or to write to me (louise@symphonia.net) if you have any thoughts about this.

The Wisdom of the Sand

Astrological geomancy is an ancient method of divination, becoming one of the most popular forms of divination in Africa and Europe up to the 17^th century, when most occult traditions were forced out of, or simply dwindled in, popularity. The word geomancy, which is Greek, means earth divination and relates to the use of sand or earth to generate the geomantic figures, which are the basis of prediction in geomancy. This also accounts for its Arabic name, ilm al-raml, literally the science or wisdom of the sand.

Is it Feng Shui? 

These days, there is some confusion between the ancient art of divinatory geomancy and the now more mainstream, Chinese feng shui. Feng shui is not actually a method of divination, but a science of spatial arrangement, whether that be on a large scale, such as in architecture and landscaping, or on a smaller scale, such as the layout of a desk or room. Aspects of geomancy have also been absorbed by the relatively modern New Age study of ley lines and earth “energies”. Although these studies deal with the earth, they are not divinatory techniques either.

To avoid confusion between feng shui and the New Age–style geomancy described above, today’s practitioners tend to refer to their art as divinatory or astrological geomancy. Astrological geomancy is a particularly appropriate term as much of the divinatory methodology used in geomancy comes from traditional astrology. In fact there are so many connections between the study of the skies and the earth in this manner, that geomancy has been called “the Daughter of Astrology” and known as terrestrial astrology.

The Sixteeen Figures 

The basis of geomancy is the 16 geomantic figures, made up of four rows of either one or two points. In this way, geomancy is similar to the Chinese divinatory system of the I Ching with its 64 hexagrams; both of these are binary systems based on the powers of 2.

In geomancy, as with Tarot cards for example, each figure has its own name,distinct meaning and “personality”. Furthermore, each figure is ruled over by the celestial bodies: Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Sun, Moon, Mercury and Venus. The combinations and interactions of the geomantic figures for a specific question allows the geomancer to see the underlying pattern of the situation being asked about, and thus to see clearly the past and present as well as predict the future.

Phrasing the Question

The first step is to formulate the question that you wish to answer by geomancy. Avoid an open-ended question, such as “What should I do with my life?” A vague and abstract the question will receive an equally vague and abstract response. The most appropriate type of question is one that can be answered yes or no; these questions will result in a more precise answer. Interestingly, the question also needs to be one that you or the person asking the question, (the querent), is personally involved with. Geomancy is for big questions, as the more serious the question, the more accurate the answer will be. Hence, asking frivolous or trivial questions will result in inaccurate predictions. No use for gossip columnists, then and no good asking: “Know any awesome poker strategies?”

Software solution

Having formulated the question, the next part of the process is to generate the initial geomantic figures, known as the Mothers. Traditionally, this was done manually with reference to charts, but modern technology has moved into this arena too; it is possible to purchase a copy of Geomanticon, the astrological geomancy software, so that the process may be done for you. However, this does rather seem to fly in the face of the intuitive aspect of divination.

The House Chart

The next stage is to place the geomantic figures (“Mothers”) generated in the process above, in the geomantic shield and in the 12 astrological houses. The figures are placed in the houses by putting the 1st Mother in the 1st house, 2nd Mother in the 2nd house and so on. The houses’ basic meanings are shown below.

1^st house:  Querent

2^nd: Money, moveable property

3^rd: Siblings, neighbours, short trips

4^th: Father, home, real estate

5^th: Children, pleasure, gambling

6^th: Illness, servants, small animals

7^th: Marriage, romance, partners, open enemies

8^th: Death, inheritance

9^th: Higher education, long journeys, spirituality

10^th: Career, government, reputation

11^th: Friends

12^th: Curses, hidden enemies, imprisonment

Delineation

Having placed the figures for our question in the geomantic shield and houses we are ready to begin the process of delineation. A typical approach is to look at the meaning of the figures in the house that signifies the querent (which is always the first house) and then look at the meaning of the figure in the house that signifies the quesited (the thing or person asked about).

 At this point, in order to master the delineation of geomantic charts it is necessary to consult our traditional sources: Cornelius Agrippa’s On Geomancy and/ or  John Heydon’s Theomagia, for example. The Geomancer’s Handbook by John Michael Greer is highly recommended as a beginner’s guide to the entire subject. Accurate divination will always require patience and wisdom, a willingness to learn, and a respect for the knowledge of the past, and geomancy, which – after all – is as old as the hills, is a demanding and complex but extremely fulfilling art.

Would you like an opportunity to thoroughly (re) assess your career or even your life?
Imagine being able to consciously decide on the next phase and steps, and add more joy and meaning to what you do…
Well, with us you can. Join us for a Career Alignment course offered in 3 variants.
 
Employer, the benefits for you can be the following, depending on your circumstances:

The ritual of counting our blessings is an extremely simple one, and is a good example of the accessibility and power of StarFields’ step by step approach in Magic, Spells & Potions (Dragon Rising Publications). It can be adapted in a number of ways – some people keep a daily Gratitude Book, for example, or hang hand-written blessings on a Thank you Tree – but StarFields’ is an excellent one if you are needing inspiration. Counting our blessings does not mean we have to be all humble and meek, and think of ourselves as undeserving. It is vital to focus on the positive and give that your precious energy, not concentrate on the negative.

Starfields’ Counting Your Blessings ritual:

What you need:

A hundred small stones or objects, perhaps you could use beads, shells, petals or pennies? Place them on the left hand side of your table.

On the right hand side of the table, draw with your fingertip a circle, and “write” your name inside it.

With each small object you pick up, think of a blessing you have been given. For example “I am blessed with a tuneful singing voice”, “I am blessed with a warm home”. This can be whatever comes to mind, and in no order of importance. Then place the small object into the circle representing you.

Once all hundred blessings have been transferred to you, hold your hands over all the objects and draw their energy into yourself “to create that true magic event that really makes you tingle through and through.”

At the end, says Starfields, “thank the objects inside the circle, the powers that be and yourself, and enjoy!” Her enthusiasm and determination for individual spirituality are apparent throughout this book, and there is a strong focus on what fits your own needs at this time, rather than sticking to a strictly traditional approach that may not feel right or make sense to all readers.

Spiritual Tools 

Readers may be intrigued to learn of Starfields’ idea that the “magic wand has many descendants”, including “pencils, paint brushes and [...] even computer keyboards” on one “developmental level”. This supports the idea that creativity, writing and so on, can work magick, and any tools can be relevant. From this we get a sense of the immense power that can be shared and raised in even simple day-to-day tasks using tools, like cooking, sewing and growing food. We are also encouraged to note the spiritual in the every-day, so that sunshine is not simply the sun, and rivers not simply water, but life-giving resources to be grateful for. Mindfulness and connectedness are what is needed here, and this can be a challenge in our busy lives, yet there is nothing more profound. All activities can become magickal or spiritual acts, if we wish them to be; it is our state of mind and our intent that makes the difference.

In times of struggle 

While this is empowering for spiritual seekers, wisdom, knowledge and experience may need to go hand-in-hand with some kind of spiritual basis or structure, however informal and unwritten. Having said that, it is extremely encouraging in times of real struggle, such as cancer, to be reminded that there is something else far more powerful that you can do in addition to gathering details about liver facts and functions and worrying about impending blood test results, and that such spiritual actions can take place at any time, regardless of the phase of the Moon, and in any location.  Furthermore, we are reminded of the power of focusing on the positive and not upon whether we are facing East or have the right colour candles. This is spirituality without hierarchy and such rituals can be performed by an individual or by a group; the intent is what is key.

Starfields’ 21st century version of traditional paganism is a bright and fresh approach, but with the inclusion of a “safe revenge spell”, and an “updated” Tarot system, it pushes the boundaries. There is a lot of power in Magic, Spells & Potions as well as common sense, and readers are likely to need the support of fellow practitioners and detail of other books about the Craft – such as Kate West’s – to gain a clearer picture of real modern alternative spirituality.

One of the cool things about being connected to the FutureFit program is that you get great opportunities from the network of other entrepreneurs.

Check this out:

The Black Business Supplier Development Programme (BBSDP) was introduced in 2002 to address the constraints that many black-owned small enterprises faced in participating in the mainstream economy. The usual constraints were that these enterprises had limited access to competitive markets, that most of their products could not meet the required quality standards, and that most lacked the management skills to operate growing enterprises.

The programme started as a pilot project under the auspices of the World Bank and was taken over by the Department of Trade and lndustiy (the dti) after its inception. the dti is re-launching the programme with the aim of reaching more entrepreneurs, broadening the activities eligible for assistance, and increasing the level of funding support in order to achieve higher impact on targeted enterprises.

The BBSDP provides a matching grant to enterprises to assist them in improving their competitiveness, through for instance upgrading managerial capabilities, market development and quality improvement projects. There are already a variety of support measures available through the dti and its agencies that would complement the roll-out of BBSDP. I encourage entrepreneurs to make use of this facility and to grow their businesses to their full potential.

BBSDP APPLICATION FORM.pdf BBSDP GUIDELINES.pdf DIRECTORY OF SERVICES.docx SCHEDULE OF APPLICABLE TERMS.pdf