Move Things With Your Mind

Move things with your mind? Sounds weird, doesn't it? You may think that a person who moves object with the mind does not belong to our planet. However, believe it or not, this task is certainly within the reach of humans. It is the power of the mind that can make the object move. It is the thought power that influences things, thereby forcing it to move. You need to take efforts in the right direction to accomplish this task. Moving things with your mind is not black magic, and it requires years of regular practice to get the desired result.

How to Move Things with your Mind?

Moving objects with your mind requires a great deal of concentration. Your mental health needs to be in the topmost condition. A flickering or wavering mind is not capable to move objects. One has to fully concentrate on the object to be moved. The mind has to be free from all other thoughts. Practice and patience will help you to achieve that state of mind. Focus your mind on the object and make sure that you think of nothing else other than the object. Practicing this everyday as many times as you can will bring you to a stage when you start thinking the object as being a part of yourself. If you are focusing on the thing in the right manner, it is likely to move. A mind that is completely focused on the object without any distraction has the capability to show this magical phenomenon.

This rare ability of moving things by using the power of the mind is often termed as psychokinesis (telekinesis) (PK). A handful of people have shown the ability to move things with the mind. These people have demonstrated their PK abilities by moving objects like matches, crystal bowels, match boxes and even clock pendulums. One of them was even able to bend spoons and keys publicly. As only a few people have been able to demonstrate psychic abilities, it can be concluded that it is not easy to develop psychokinetic powers. There is no doubt that the power to mentally move an object is a remarkable feat.

Scientists are unable to explain the phenomenon of psychokinesis. They too are perplexed and have failed to understand how an object can be moved without physically touching it. Scientists are astonished and find it hard to believe that the mind is capable of directing objects the way it wants to. One theory says, when the mind is focused on some object, the thought power may be responsible for activating physical energy, thereby causing the object to move.

Activating Psychokinetic Powers

You can move things with your mind, if you are successful in triggering your telekinetic energy. Thoughts focused on a particular object can bring the desired outcome. Certain mind control techniques can be beneficial to improve your concentration. Your mind should be relaxed and not under stress when trying this technique. Instead of attempting to influence movement of objects like a matchbox or a table, initially determine whether you are able to move things on a microscopic level. It is known as micro-PK. You can test your micro-PK powers with devices like random number generators. Or else, you can start training your mind for this task by concentrating on smaller objects like safety pins and needles. Remember, practicing this daily can help in achieving your goal.

It is said that daily meditation for at least half an hour can help to develop psychokinetic powers. Strengthening PK abilities is a long process that takes considerable amount of time and practice. You too have psychokinetic power. All you need to do is to activate it to a level that can help you to move things with your mind.

The Raven

"The Raven" is a narrative poem by American writer Edgar Allan Poe, first published in January 1845. It is often noted for its musicality, stylized language, and supernatural atmosphere. It tells of a talking raven's mysterious visit to a distraught lover, tracing the man's slow descent into madness. The lover, often identified as being a student, is lamenting the loss of his love, Lenore. Sitting on a bust of Pallas, the raven seems to further instigate his distress with its constant repetition of the word "Nevermore". The poem makes use of a number of folk and classical references.

Poe claimed to have written the poem very logically and methodically, intending to create a poem that would appeal to both critical and popular tastes, as he explained in his 1846 follow-up essay "The Philosophy of Composition". The poem was inspired in part by a talking raven in the novel Barnaby Rudge: A Tale of the Riots of 'Eighty by Charles Dickens. Poe borrows the complex rhythm and meter of Elizabeth Barrett's poem "Lady Geraldine's Courtship", and makes use of internal rhyme as well as alliteration throughout.

"The Raven" was first attributed to Poe in print in the New York Evening Mirror on January 29, 1845. Its publication made Poe widely popular in his lifetime, though it did not bring him much financial success. Soon reprinted, parodied, and illustrated, critical opinion is divided as to the poem's status, though it remains one of the most famous poems ever written.

THE RAVEN

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary,

Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore,

While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,

As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.

`'Tis some visitor,' I muttered, `tapping at my chamber door -

Only this, and nothing more.'

Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December,

And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor.

Eagerly I wished the morrow; - vainly I had sought to borrow

From my books surcease of sorrow - sorrow for the lost Lenore -

For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels named Lenore -

Nameless here for evermore.

And the silken sad uncertain rustling of each purple curtain

Thrilled me - filled me with fantastic terrors never felt before;

So that now, to still the beating of my heart, I stood repeating

`'Tis some visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door -

Some late visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door; -

This it is, and nothing more,'

Presently my soul grew stronger; hesitating then no longer,

`Sir,' said I, `or Madam, truly your forgiveness I implore;

But the fact is I was napping, and so gently you came rapping,

And so faintly you came tapping, tapping at my chamber door,

That I scarce was sure I heard you' - here I opened wide the door; -

Darkness there, and nothing more.

Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing,

Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before;

But the silence was unbroken, and the darkness gave no token,

And the only word there spoken was the whispered word, `Lenore!'

This I whispered, and an echo murmured back the word, `Lenore!'

Merely this and nothing more.

Back into the chamber turning, all my soul within me burning,

Soon again I heard a tapping somewhat louder than before.

`Surely,' said I, `surely that is something at my window lattice;

Let me see then, what thereat is, and this mystery explore -

Let my heart be still a moment and this mystery explore; -

'Tis the wind and nothing more!'

Open here I flung the shutter, when, with many a flirt and flutter,

In there stepped a stately raven of the saintly days of yore.

Not the least obeisance made he; not a minute stopped or stayed he;

But, with mien of lord or lady, perched above my chamber door -

Perched upon a bust of Pallas just above my chamber door -

Perched, and sat, and nothing more.

Then this ebony bird beguiling my sad fancy into smiling,

By the grave and stern decorum of the countenance it wore,

`Though thy crest be shorn and shaven, thou,' I said, `art sure no craven.

Ghastly grim and ancient raven wandering from the nightly shore -

Tell me what thy lordly name is on the Night's Plutonian shore!'

Quoth the raven, `Nevermore.'

Much I marvelled this ungainly fowl to hear discourse so plainly,

Though its answer little meaning - little relevancy bore;

For we cannot help agreeing that no living human being

Ever yet was blessed with seeing bird above his chamber door -

Bird or beast above the sculptured bust above his chamber door,

With such name as `Nevermore.'

But the raven, sitting lonely on the placid bust, spoke only,

That one word, as if his soul in that one word he did outpour.

Nothing further then he uttered - not a feather then he fluttered -

Till I scarcely more than muttered `Other friends have flown before -

On the morrow he will leave me, as my hopes have flown before.'

Then the bird said, `Nevermore.'

Startled at the stillness broken by reply so aptly spoken,

`Doubtless,' said I, `what it utters is its only stock and store,

Caught from some unhappy master whom unmerciful disaster

Followed fast and followed faster till his songs one burden bore -

Till the dirges of his hope that melancholy burden bore

Of "Never-nevermore."'

But the raven still beguiling all my sad soul into smiling,

Straight I wheeled a cushioned seat in front of bird and bust and door;

Then, upon the velvet sinking, I betook myself to linking

Fancy unto fancy, thinking what this ominous bird of yore -

What this grim, ungainly, ghastly, gaunt, and ominous bird of yore

Meant in croaking `Nevermore.'

This I sat engaged in guessing, but no syllable expressing

To the fowl whose fiery eyes now burned into my bosom's core;

This and more I sat divining, with my head at ease reclining

On the cushion's velvet lining that the lamp-light gloated o'er,

But whose velvet violet lining with the lamp-light gloating o'er,

She shall press, ah, nevermore!

Then, methought, the air grew denser, perfumed from an unseen censer

Swung by Seraphim whose foot-falls tinkled on the tufted floor.

`Wretch,' I cried, `thy God hath lent thee - by these angels he has sent thee

Respite - respite and nepenthe from thy memories of Lenore!

Quaff, oh quaff this kind nepenthe, and forget this lost Lenore!'

Quoth the raven, `Nevermore.'

`Prophet!' said I, `thing of evil! - prophet still, if bird or devil! -

Whether tempter sent, or whether tempest tossed thee here ashore,

Desolate yet all undaunted, on this desert land enchanted -

On this home by horror haunted - tell me truly, I implore -

Is there - is there balm in Gilead? - tell me - tell me, I implore!'

Quoth the raven, `Nevermore.'

`Prophet!' said I, `thing of evil! - prophet still, if bird or devil!

By that Heaven that bends above us - by that God we both adore -

Tell this soul with sorrow laden if, within the distant Aidenn,

It shall clasp a sainted maiden whom the angels named Lenore -

Clasp a rare and radiant maiden, whom the angels named Lenore?'

Quoth the raven, `Nevermore.'

`Be that word our sign of parting, bird or fiend!' I shrieked upstarting -

`Get thee back into the tempest and the Night's Plutonian shore!

Leave no black plume as a token of that lie thy soul hath spoken!

Leave my loneliness unbroken! - quit the bust above my door!

Take thy beak from out my heart, and take thy form from off my door!'

Quoth the raven, `Nevermore.'

And the raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting

On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door;

And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon's that is dreaming,

And the lamp-light o'er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor;

And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor

Shall be lifted - nevermore!

The Simpsons

• All the Simpson family names come from creator Matt Groening's family except Bart, which is an anagram of Brat.
• Groening was originally going to pitch his Life in Hell comic strip as a show but he realised as he was sitting in the waiting room that if the show failed Fox would still have the rights, so he quickly scribbled the Simpson family characters onto a notepad, which explains the lack of creativity with the names.
• Abraham Simpson's name was decided by the writers without Groening, but coincidentally Abraham is Groening's grandfather's name.
• Many other names come from street names around Groening's hometown of Portland.
• Homer weighs about 230 pounds.
• Maggie's first and only word was guest voiced by Elizabeth Taylor.
• Marge and Homer have been married for 11 years.
• Marge's hair is modeled after how Groening saw his mother's hair when he was young.
• Bart's spiky hair cut is from a similar hair cut Groening had as a boy.
• Maggie's pacifier sucking noises were originally made by Groening.
• It takes 9 months to fully complete an episode.
• Twice a year all the writers go to a hotel and come up with ideas for the show.
• The episodes are drawn by about 100 animators in L.A. and about 100 in South Korea.
• The animation is drawn to fit the voices, rather than the more common tailoring the voices for the animation.
• 21 Simpsons staff members (past and present) graduated from Harvard.
• It takes 1 million dollars to produce an episode (not including the 350 thousand dollar pay check for six of the voice actors).
• 70% of episodes have religious content and 11% of the shows have a religous storyline.
• There have been so many guest stars on The Simpsons there are more guest stars than episodes.
• The Simpsons has provoked anger in Brazil, Australia, New Orleans, and even Bush Sr. and his wife (and that's before they ran an episode about the Bushes).
• Micheal Jackson voiced an insane character who thought he was Jacko in The Simpsons, but did not do the singing for the character.
• The Simpsons began life as a series of 30-second cartoons on The Tracey Ullman Show in 1987.
• It is America's longest running prime time show and is also seen in another 60 countries, including most of Europe, Latin America and Asia.
• President George Bush blamed them for society's ills, famously claiming that American families should be less like The Simpsons and more like The Waltons, while First Lady Barbara Bush described the show as the "dumbest thing" she ever saw.
• Homer's middle name is Jay.
• Bart's middle name is Jo-Jo and his head was inspired by a paper bag. Bart is voiced by woman, Nancy Cartwright. The show was really going to be based 100% on Bart at first. Matt Groening picked the name Bart by rearranging the letters in the word brat. Bart is an anagram for "brat."
• Bumblebee guy's real name is Pedro.
• There are 121 Springfields in the US. Matt Groening picked the name for the city because it was so common and well-known. They are a blue collar family living in the average town of Springfield.
• The president of 20th Century Fox's licensing and merchandising arm, Al Ovadia, has said he believes most people in the US own a Bart Simpson T-shirt. In 1991, Bart topped the British charts with Do the Bartman which was written by Michael Jackson.
• On the opening of every episode Maggie is listed to cost $847.63 at the cash register. It's the same amount that raising a baby costs in a year in US.
• One episode takes about 9 months to do it. They are working 7-8 episodes different episodes at same time. One episode costs about 1.5 million dollars.
• In Los Angeles about 100 animators work on the show. Animator of The Simpsons uses soft pen to sketch the scenes. There are also about 120 animators who work for the show in South Korea.
• The "couch gag" sequence is frequently used to help show staff make the show longer or shorter, depending on the length of the episode itself. Most couch gags last only about five seconds, but the longest one on record lasted 46 seconds.
• An Adelaide brewery got into big trouble when it started manufacturing Duff beer, Homer's brew of choice. Fox, owners of The Simpsons, took the brewery to court in 1996 and forced them to stop making it.
• Around 2,000 people took part in the survey which decided that rather than having an incompetent in charge of the USA, they would like Homer Simpson to take the role.
• The Simpsons currently holds the Guinness Book of World Records titles for "Longest-running Primetime Animated Series" and "Most Celebrities Featured in an Animation Series."

The Simpsons do not age. Instead they are trapped in a hellish existence where they are perpetually the same age for all eternity. Bart will never graduate from the fourth grade, Lisa will never escape the confines of Springfield, and Maggie will forever remain mute. They will never die, but they will never truly live either.

Useless Facts You Really Didn’t Need To Know!

• The average person makes about 1,140 telephone calls each year
• The most common name in the world is Mohammed.
• The earth weighs around 6,588,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000, tons.
• The average person has over 1,460 dreams a year (does this count wet ones?).
• Experts at Intel say that microprocessor speeds will double every 18 months for at least 10 years.
• There are only four words in the English language that end in "-dous": tremendous, horrendous, stupendous, and hazardous.
• The world record for rocking non-stop in a rocking chair is 440 hours.
• Only one person in 2 billion will live to be 116 or older.
• 1/4 of the bones in your body are in your feet.
• Fingernails grow nearly 4 times faster than toenails.
• A sneeze travels out of your mouth at over 100 miles an hour.
• The average person laughs 15 times a day.
• The average person spends about 2 years on the phone in a lifetime.
• When glass breaks, the cracks move at speeds up to 3,000 miles (4827 km) per hour.
• The average talker sprays about 300 microscopic saliva droplets per minute, about 2.5 droplets per word.
• The Earth experiences about 50,000 earthquakes every year.
• The number of cars on the planet is increasing 3 times faster than the population growth.
• About 17% of humans are left-handed. The same is true of chimpanzees and gorillas (interesting).
• Airbags explode at 200 miles (322 km) per hour.
• There are more than 1,000 chemicals in a cup of coffee.
• Banging your head against a wall uses 150 calories an hour
• The average woman consumes 6 pounds of lipstick in her lifetime.
• Your brain weighs around 3 pounds. All but ten ounces is water.
• More than 2,500 left handed people are killed every year from using right handed products.
• More people are killed by donkeys annually than are killed in plane crashes.
• The cruise liner, Queen Elizabeth II, moves only 6 inches (15 cm) for each gallon of diesel that it burns.
• You share your birthday with at least 9 million other people in the world.
• There are 1 million ants for every person in the world.
• In chess, there are 169,518,829,100,544,000,000,000,000,000 ways to play the first ten moves.
• Your body burns more calories eating celery than what's in the celery itself.
• Right handed people live, on average, nine years longer than left handed people.
• One thing that humans do more than anything in their entire life is sleep.
• Honey is the only food that doesn't spoil. 
• Human tapeworms can grow up to 22.9m. 
• It's been estimated that one out of every two hundred women is born with an extra nipple. 
• It takes 17 muscles to smile and 43 to frown. 
• It takes a lobster approximately seven years to grow to be one pound. 
• Hamsters blink one eye at a time. 
• If a person has two thirds of their liver removed through trauma or surgery, it will grow back to the original size in four weeks’ time. 
• Human thigh bones are stronger than concrete. 
• It takes about 48 hours for your body to completely digest the food from one meal. 
• When small amounts of liquor were placed on a scorpion, it would instantly go mad and sting itself to death.

The Mysteries of the Mind: Dreams and Reality

You do not see the reality every time. Your mind, dreams and reality are much inter-connected. Deja-Vu, Lucid dreams and Synchronicity are the set of experiences of mind over reality.

You feel like you had been at place earlier. You got images much clearer during your visits of the place. You may lead to past life experiences. Even past life may change your today’s behavior. You find strange and difficult to meet the persons of both lives together.

You sometime find yourself going ahead then time. You find yourself knowing something that has not yet occurred. You can imagine or see the future in shadows while sleeping.

Science explains that such things happens when two halves of the brain are not acting in harmony and thus image is received slightly in advance of the reality. 

Deja-Vu

The phenomenon where double images are produced by inappropriate excitation is called ‘Deja-Vu’. That means something is already seen. As much as 70 percent of the population reports having experienced some form of déjà vu. A higher number of incidents occurs in people 15 to 25 years old than in any other age group.

Paramnesia

The mind however controls our real life - the actual life. Left mind considers numbers and right controls your imagination power. We can go in a detail how that works at some other time. But this article is to flash unknown events and mysteries of mind.

Any disorder of memory is called Paramnesia.

1. Condition in which the proper meaning of words cannot be remembered;

2. The illusion of remembering scenes and events when experienced for the first time called also déjà vu. That is already discussed.

Jamais vu is another disorder of memory characterized by the illusion that the familiar is being encountered for the first time.

Lucid Dreams

Another state of mind is where we recognize our ability to alter perception and change an undesirable ending into a better one in our dreams. We realize our ability. Your dream generates confidence to tackle real life’s problems. Later it needs only a step to appreciating that we are also capable of bringing that change in our real life. Such dreams are known as ‘Lucid Dreams’.

Lucid dreaming is consciously perceiving and recognizing that one is in a dream while one is sleeping, and having control over the "dreamscape", or the faux-reality dream world within a dream. A person in a lucid dream with full control may morph the dreamscape into any virtual reality that person pleases, all with properties that feel identical to that of wakeful consciousness. Doing literally anything within a lucid dream is not outside one's ability.

Many a times we find it happening in our lives. The manager structured most of his meeting and presentation points in dreams. It is similar to capability of our thinking. I would rather put in other words. "You sleep but your mind doesn’t."

Further exploring states of mind; let’s map reality with mind’s thinking process.

My mind to me a Kingdom is;
Such present joys therein I find,
That it excels all other bliss
That earth affords or grows by kind:
Though much I want which most would have,
Yet still my mind forbids to crave.
- Edward Dyer (My mind to me a Kingdom is)

You will do what you think. It is something like you control mind. Mind never controls you. The perception and attitude are decision makers of all thinking processes in your personal life.

I was always told to be optimistic and thinking positive. If you think positive, you will result into positive. Negative thoughts bring negative results.

Synchronicity

Jung identified a type of coincidence that was not just results of unplanned events. Tossing coins give either of two results. You stand in front of mirror; you will find your reflection. This is physical reality. We are able to grasp situation that ‘transcends space, time and causality’. The mind may interact with the rest of the universe and affect events. You can influence any event or happenings by attitude. This is called ‘Synchronicity’ - ‘Together Time’.

Have you ever faced an extraordinary disparity between the cause of the emotion and the emotion itself? Sigmund Freud explains, "Affect is the mental consequence of some outside stimulus. Psychosis is when the affect is excessive, but the person experiencing it thinks that this is perfectly reasonable and everyone else is wrong. These voices are completely real, as real as any other thing you can hear, but you can't find the speakers, and you can't shut them out. The speakers are inside your head."

State of Mind, Dreams and Reality are inter connected to some extend. Any evil dream that you saw dilutes your day. It pressures your mind and heart for whole day if not forgotten. Sorrow or troubles again bring such impacts on mind to rewind dreaming process.

Canst thou minister to a mind diseased,
Pluck from the memory a rooted sorrow,
Raze out the written troubles of the brain,
And with some sweet oblivious antidote,
Cleanse the stuffed bosom of that perilous matter
Which weighs upon the heart?
- Shakespeare ‘Macbeth’.

Remedies for any negative dreams or thoughts are to direct them to positivism. Laughing or being with friends or family enables you to control your state of mind directing to positive signs.

Veni, vidi, vici

"Veni, Vidi, Vici" (Classical Latin: [ˈweːniː ˈwiːdiː ˈwiːkiː]; Ecclesiastical Latin: [ˈvɛni ˈvidi ˈvitʃi]; I came, I saw, I conquered.) is a famous Latin sentence reportedly written by Julius Caesar in 47 BC as a comment on his short war with Pharnaces II of Pontus in the city of Zela (currently known as Zile, in Turkey).[1]

Its form (a three-part sentence or motto) is classed as a tricolon and a hendiatris. The sentence appears in Plutarch and Suetonius (Plut. Caes. 50, Suet. Iul.37.). Plutarch reports that he "gave Amantius, a friend of his at Rome, an account of this action", whereas Suetonius says "In his Pontic triumph he displayed among the show-pieces of the procession an inscription of but three words, "I came, I saw, I conquered".

"Veni", "vidi", and "vici" are first person perfect forms of the three Latin verbs "venire", "videre", and "vincere".

CULTURAL REFERENCES

Variations of the sentence "Veni, vidi, vici" are often quoted in music, art, literature, and entertainment.

At times, it has been misconceived as a sort of "magic word". The three words in the sentence are similar, suggesting a sort of chant or spell. The television show Doug from Nickelodeon applied the term as such.

The sentence lends itself to use in music, and has been used in many works over the years; ranging from the opening of Handel's opera Giulio Cesare in Egitto, in "Curio, Cesare venne, e vide e vinse (Curio, Caesar came, saw and conquered)", in the 1940s song "These Foolish Things (Remind Me of You)", in the line "You came, you saw, you conquered" in the title song of the musical Mame, in the lines "I came, I saw, I conquered – From record sales, to sold out concerts" in "Encore" by Jay-Z.

Apart from numerous references in literature, for example as the name of a chapter in Ender's Game, the sentence is also often used in more general contexts, for example in the species name of the Conquered Lorikeet (Vini vidivici). It is often used as a motto or a tagline, due to its forceful connotation, for example in the previous logo of Philip Morris International, or a misspelled version (Vini, Vidi, Vici) as the motto of the US Army Sniper School.

The Philip Morris logo, from a pack of Marlboro cigarettes

NOTES

1. ^ Quoted in Plutarch, Life of Caesar, and Suetonius, Lives of the Twelve Caesars: Julius

Everything You Need to Know About . . . Caffeine

Whether waking up to the aroma of freshly brewed coffee, enjoying lunch with a refreshingly cold soft drink or relaxing in the evening with a cup of tea, these daily pleasures often have a common ingredient - caffeine.

People have enjoyed foods and beverages containing caffeine for thousands of years. It is one of the most well-studied ingredients in the food supply. Even so, controversy and misperceptions about this food component continue.

HISTORICAL NOTES

As long ago as 2737 B.C., Chinese Emperor Shen Nung was boiling drinking water when the leaves of a nearby bush fell into the pot, creating a wonderful smelling drink and the first pot of tea.

Coffee originated in Africa around 575 A.D., where beans were used as money and consumed as food.

Eleventh century Arabians were known to have coffee beverages.

While exploring the New World, Spanish conquistadors were treated to a chocolate drink by Aztec Emperor Montezuma in 1519.

The world's first caffeinated soft drinks were created in the 1880's.

CAFFEINE AND HEALTH

During the past two decades, extensive research has been conducted on the health aspects of caffeine consumption.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) classified caffeine as Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) in 1958. A more recent review "found no evidence to show that the use of caffeine in carbonated beverages would render these products injurious to health."

The American Medical Association (AMA) has a similar position on caffeine's safety, stating that "Moderate tea or coffee drinkers probably need have no concern for their health relative to their caffeine consumption provided other lifestyle habits (diet, alcohol consumption) are moderate, as well."

Most experts agree that moderation and common sense are the keys for consuming caffeine-containing foods and beverages. Moderate caffeine consumption is considered to be about 300 mg. which is equal to 3 cups of coffee, but this depends on the individual and can vary from one to several beverages. Consumers with certain health problems may wish to consult with their physician or health care provider about caffeine consumption.

"Moderate tea or coffee drinkers probably need have no concern for their health relative to their caffeine consumption provided other lifestyle habits (diet, alcohol consumption) are moderate, as well." 

The American Medical Association

SENSITIVITY

People differ greatly in their sensitivity to caffeine; some individuals can drink several cups of coffee, tea or soft drinks within an hour and notice no effects, whereas others may feel stimulating effects after one serving. Caffeine does not accumulate in the bloodstream or body and is normally excreted within several hours following consumption.

Caffeine may increase alertness in tired individuals and enhance performance of certain tasks. Many people find caffeinated beverages can help them stay alert when they work or study. Individual sensitivity and frequency of consumption determine the effect of caffeine on sleep.

National Institutes of Health (NIH) research indicates there is no difference in the way children and adults handle caffeine. These studies have shown that caffeine-containing foods and beverages do not have an effect on hyperactivity or the attention span of children.

Parents should use common sense in deciding how much caffeine-containing foods or beverages they give their children, as with many foods.

PREGNANCY

The FDA has stated that caffeine does not adversely affect reproduction in humans, although the agency continues to advise pregnant women to consume caffeine in moderation.

Three major studies involving more than 15,000 women found no birth defects associated with caffeine consumption even among the heaviest coffee drinkers. Similarly, other human studies continue to support the conclusion that moderate consumption of caffeine does not predispose expectant mothers to spontaneous abortion or preterm delivery, nor the fetus to low birth weight.

Some studies suggest that high levels of caffeine intake may delay time to conception, but these findings are inconclusive and often inconsistent when other lifestyle variables are considered. Research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Harvard Medical School and the University of California at Berkeley show that moderate caffeine consumption does not reduce a woman's chance of becoming pregnant.

CAFFEINE METER

CANCER

A 1986 study of 16,600 individuals published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute found no relationship between coffee consumption and cancer risk. The most recent review by the International Agency for Research on Cancer also concluded that data do not support a link between caffeine consumption and cancer in humans.

According to the American Cancer Society, "Available information does not suggest a recommendation against the moderate use of coffee. There is no indication that caffeine, a natural component of both coffee and tea, is a risk factor in human cancer."

ADDICTION / DEPENDENCE

The word "addiction" is an old word meaning simply to be devoted or habituated to a practice. People who say they are "addicted" to caffeine tend to use the term loosely, like saying they are "addicted" to chocolate, running, working or television.

According to the World Health Organization, "There is no evidence whatsoever that caffeine use has even remotely comparable physical and social consequences which are associated with serious drugs of abuse." Some sensitive individuals may experience mild, temporary effects, including headache, restlessness and irritability when their daily intake is quickly and substantially altered. Medical experts have long agreed that any discomfort caused by abruptly stopping consumption of caffeine can be avoided by progressively decreasing intake over a few days.

BREAST DISEASE

A worldwide investigation of 100,000 deaths due to breast cancer found no relationship between caffeine intake and the development of this disease. Research has also shown that caffeine intake is not related to the development of fibrocystic breast disease (FBD), a condition with benign fibrous lumps in the breast, although caffeine is sometimes thought to aggravate this condition. Both the American Medical Association's Council on Scientific Affairs and the National Cancer Institute published reports stating there is not an association between caffeine intake and the incidence of FBD.

OSTEOPOROSIS

Research has shown that caffeine intake is not a significant risk factor for osteoporosis, particularly in women who consume adequate calcium. A 1994 NIH advisory panel concluded that caffeine has not been found to affect calcium absorption or excretion significantly. Several studies conducted to date show no link between moderate caffeine consumption and bone density and mineral content in women who consume some calcium in their diet.

CAFFEINE QUICK FACTS:

Caffeine is a naturally occurring substance found in the leaves, seeds or fruits of more than 60 plants.

Coffee and cocoa beans, kola nuts and tea leaves are used to make beverages such as coffee, tea, cola drinks, and chocolate.

Caffeine is used as a flavor in a variety of beverages.

Caffeine will not help "sober up" someone who has consumed too much alcohol.

CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE

A report from the National Research Council on Diet and Health stated, "evidence linking coffee consumption to the risk of coronary heart disease...is weak and inconsistent."

A 1989 report from the well-respected Framingham Heart Study examined all potential links between caffeine intake and cardiovascular disease, and found no harmful effects from drinking coffee. A later Harvard University study confirmed this report, concluding that caffeine intake does not "appreciably increase the risk of coronary heart disease or stroke."

Caffeine does not cause chronic hypertension or any persistent increase in blood pressure. Some individuals sensitive to caffeine may experience a short-lived rise in blood pressure, usually not lasting more than several hours. Studies show any rise in blood pressure is modest and less than that normally experienced when climbing stairs.

However, individuals with high blood pressure should consult their physician about caffeine intake.

Why I Blog...

Why I blog? I don’t know. Not entirely. Maybe I’ve given into the narcissism of this age. Maybe writing accords me the privilege of holidaying from my life. Maybe it is the camaraderie of being in this exclusive and rather curious occupation of writing. The stopping at time to throw yourself in this imaginary world which at times is the only real thing. The love for the people you create. It makes you prod those who are really real. Makes you cold and cynical at times. There is a piece of ice in every writer’s heart, say Nabokov. And it rings true. But man is just man in the end…no better no worse.

Perhaps anonymity gives me courage. I can be honest with the world and myself…behind a mask. Shedding inhibitions and all that poetic mush. A cat would be, while serving the purpose, unresponsive which while charming in its own way, gets old fast. A man would be a catastrophic defeating of the purpose.

Maybe writing is the only way I know to extend myself to the world…I don’t know any other way. I write therefore I am? Perhaps it is all these things and something above and beyond them. I write because I can. Because I must tell it all. Because all of this will fade. It is also purely selfish, merely that it pleases me. 

Life’s most unspeakable cruelty is that it urges us on. It demands to be lived. Like a slave master who feeds slaves on a slave ship. We need a break from this paradox. That isn’t to say that a paradox isn’t a good thing.

I need to be horrified not for the man, but for the moment. And I need you to be horrified with me. I need company in my misery and blindness.

I must also tell you silly things. Like there’s nothing like the smell of rain on dry earth.  And that I will never be twenty again walking the streets at night on a Good Friday, my waist clasped in huge firm hands.

So here we all are in this moment capsule of living and I must tell you that nothing has been surrendered. Nothing taken. And I’m not sure to what extent that is a victory. If I have failed at being human it is because that failure is a prerequisite for this condition. The Human condition. If I have lied, cheated, stolen or bled…it is because these were necessary. Simply it is that I write, not to be alone!