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This year in Latvia, the switch back from summer time to winter time will take place on 30 October 2011 at 03:00 (on the night from Saturday to Sunday), when the clock hands will need to be turned back one hour. When such a time shift happens, one cannot help but wonder who and when first had the idea of all this fuss?
Whatever your memory capacity and however much time you invest in memorising "everything" in as short a time as possible, it is not within everyone's power. And this is where a word half-spoken in advance, a glance at a notebook, or better yet a sample with a similar task would come in very handy. Cheating is one form of laziness which, turn it as you will, is also a driver of progress.
The idea of elevating the number 33 had been stirring for a year already, but one shouldn't tempt fate. After all, the notion of the age of Christ and a certain turning point in a person's life has taken root in the consciousness of the entire Christian world. I have looked a little further into why this number seems so significant to so many people, from the perspective of various sciences, pseudo-sciences and history.
Yesterday we logged in via internet banking to provide information about the persons in our household. One question on the form is so convoluted that you cannot help but read it a second time. It is pleasing that the concept of the "Latgalian language" appears in the census. I also took a brief look at the history of censuses.
Well, ladies, let us glue cardboard tanks and line up tin soldiers - today is Men's Day. It became established in Latvia since... Soviet times. I looked into the world's experience of celebrating Men's Day. It turned out that men actually have 3 Men's Days, unlike us women, who have been allocated only March 8th.
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I continue the topic of what we eat and what would not be advisable to eat, thereby continuing to examine the list of 37 particularly harmful substances. The heavily advertised Actimel, touted as the pinnacle of health and immunity boosting, contains no fewer than 2 E numbers from the particularly hazardous list. How do you like the advertising slogan "We recommend one or two bottles a day" after reading this?!
I have compiled information with the aim not of memorising E codes and substance names, but of keeping in mind images of well-known products in which some of the 37 particularly hazardous substances are found. Moreover, it is clear to everyone that colourful sweets, fizzy drinks and jellies are full of harmful E numbers - but there are also everyday familiar and popular products, including those produced in Latvia, about which you would not immediately say anything bad.
I arrive at the office, I light a candle on the desk; I come home - I light a candle. When it is dark outside, a person intuitively longs and reaches for light. Not electric light, but the live flame of fire, which has warmed people since time immemorial - and the light of a candle specifically since the 3rd millennium BC. Below, briefly, on both well-known and forgotten types of candle, as well as a little from the worlds of healing and astrology, where candle colour is not only attributed a corresponding healing power but is also seen as corresponding to each zodiac sign and even to each day of the week.
Say what you will, but the nights of the solstice carry a certain veil of mysticism, a sense of primordial antiquity and a special light or darkness. It is no wonder, then, that these threshold periods are associated with various beliefs, predictions of the future, divination and even enchantments. These traditions, rituals and mysticism were certainly part of our ancestors' worldview. Can we find application of the ancient beliefs for predicting the future today?
In the September issue of the magazine "LILIT" I read an interesting article by Jeva Karabeško titled "The Circle That Fulfils Wishes", which tells of a thing known to many - especially those interested in esoteric matters - the symbol and drawing called the mandala. I would not wish to agree with the invitation expressed in the article for everyone to create their own mandala in order to change their life. If you also want to create something and put it on the wall for the realisation of your wishes and dreams, then put up a proportional spiral formed in the golden ratio. Why? More on that below...