Altered-States-of-Consciouness (ASC) The Causes and the...

Religion is fraught with stories and myths of otherworldly journeys. There are a variety of reasons; however, the two main ones one may notice are humans’ innate pattern recognition, and our necessity to define and understand the world in which we live. These otherworldly excursions, out-of-body-experiences OBEs, near-death-experiences NDEs, and altered-states-of-consciousness ASCs are side effects of trauma rather than real experiences. In this paper ASC will be the basic reference unless otherwise noted. Therefore, it is prudent to explore those examples of forced ASCs, the causes, and the impacts on the society. An ASC experience within a religion may serve an important purpose in the belief system, yet it is a personal experience of†¦show more content†¦The Myth of Er was a brief religious and philosophical closing in Plato’s The Republic and is described by Socrates. A hero named Er is found dead on the battle field but after twelve days his body is unspo iled. Yet while his body appeared dead he was having an otherworldly journey. Wherein there appeared two destinations after death up into the sky for the good, and down into the earth for the wicked. On his funeral pyre Er awakens and recounts this tale, which had a lasting impact on Greek and future religions. At its core, the Vision of Er is a myth, a tale so old its source could not be remembered or verified. However, what was described was not an otherworldly journey, it was an NDE. Forget that it was a myth in told by Socrates; it was in whatever light, a personal experience with no more legitimacy other than one person’s word. Yet, the Myth of Er had a lasting impact on the Platonic philosophy and much of the Greek religion. Though, as is the case even today, when knowledge outstrips the old religion, and eschatology can no longer substitute, changes must be made! Plutarch made those changes near the end of the 1st c CE. He wrote in a series of texts of various visions, and attempted to redefine stuff in a way that people could accept. Plutarch’s style is reminiscent of satire and seems critical of authority and religion in general; however, he likely would

Essay on The !Kung Bushmen of the Kalahari Desert - 715 Words

The !Kung Bushmen of the Kalahari Desert The !Kung Bushmen of Botswana inhabit the semi-arid northwest region of the Kalahari Desert. Their average annual rainfall is poor, only six to nine inches a year. Field work for this article written by Richard B. Lee, was done in the Dobe area, which is a line of eight permanent waterholes. The Dobe area has a population of 466 Bushmen. This includes 379 permanent residents living in independent camps or associated with Bantu cattle posts, as well as 87 seasonal visitors. The Bushmen living in independent camps lack firearms, livestock, and agriculture. The !Kung are entirely dependent upon hunting and gathering for subsistence. Although Dobe-area !Kung have had some contact with†¦show more content†¦Also, a diet based on mongongo nut is more beneficial health-wise as cereal crops such as maize or rice. In addition to the mongongo, the Bushmen have available eighty-four other species of fruits, berries, and melons, and another thirty species of roots and bulbs. Th ere are 54 species of animals classified as edible by the Bushmen, but only 17 species were hunted on a regular basis. All of the !Kungs food supply can be obtained in a six-mile radius of camp, and usually takes a full day to travel the twelve mile round-trip. The !Kung Bushmen of the Dobe area live a long productive, and seemingly satisfying lives. Longevity compares favorably to any industrialized society. The old people are fed and cared for by their children and grandchildren. The old people are also actively involved indecision making and ritual curing. Young people are not expected to provide food regularly until they are married. Girls usually marry between the ages of fifteen and twenty, and boys about five years later. It is not unusual to find healthy, active teenagers visiting from camp to camp while their older relatives provide food for them. The people in the age group of twenty to sixty support the nonproductive and old. These productive members work about tw o and a half days a week, about twelve to nineteen hours a week to get food. A woman gathers enough food in one day to feed her family for three days, and spends the rest of the timeShow MoreRelatedThe Hunters; Scarce Resources in the Kalahari Essay1689 Words   |  7 PagesThe !Kung bushmen of the Kalahari Desert in Southern Africa are one of the few bands of hunter-gatherers left in the world. They survive by foraging for their meals while traveling, never settling in one specific area. Hunting and gathering was the primary mode of survival until about ten thousand years ago. Anthropologists have made assumptions about the hunting and gathering lifestyle of current populations because it seems like a precarious method of living. Moreover, the Kalahari area whereRead MoreThe Field Of Anthropology As A Field2218 Words   |  9 Pagesimportance of the writings of those who have successfully done so. Marjorie Shostak’s â€Å"Nisa: The Life and Words of a !Kung Womanâ₠¬  and Leslie Marmon Silko’s â€Å"Ceremony† are two examples of ethnographic works whose authors chose different techniques for examining other cultures. Shostak’s book is a true work of ethnography, as it is based on her experience living with the !Kung Bushmen, while Silko’s novel is a fictional exploration of the Laguna tribe. These two methods for understanding cultural differenceRead MoreThe Effects Of Music On African Music Essay2137 Words   |  9 PagesAfrica. An Intro to Traditional African Music) Finally, South Africa. Home of the Bushmen of the Kalahari Desert, whose ability and language are unique among the people of Africa. They establish communication with specific clicks, sounds, and gurgles from the mouth and have influenced other groups around them and their music. Their music contains very little words and short syllables. The Kung tribe of Bushmen makes music for most of the day. The sanza is a popular instrument in the region. ItRead More Alcohol Drug Abuse: A Psychobiological Trait In Human Societies2550 Words   |  11 Pageshunted and collected animals and plants. Ancient foraging, nevertheless, involved people depending on nature for food and other necessities. Today, few people live this way. One main African foraging area is the Kalahari Desert, the home of the San (Bushmen), who include the !Kung, or Ju/hoansi as they call themselves. Before the Ju/hoansi were contacted and studied by scientists in the 1950s for the first time in history, the group did not use habitSHY;forming drugs or alcohol. However

Burt’s bee †an American company Free Essays

Burt’s bee is an American company that deals into personal care products. It has differentiated its self on the basis of ‘Earth Friendly, Natural Personal Care Company’. Their products are being made from beeswax, natural oils, herbs and minerals (Smith, Dulcinea Norton, 2008, March). We will write a custom essay sample on Burt’s bee – an American company or any similar topic only for you Order Now This company begun its operations in the year 1984 when Roxanne Quimby and Burt Shavitz an ex-couple living in Maine started making candles. They were made from they by-product of beeswax obtained from Burt’s honey business. This invention made sale up to $20,000 by the end of first year. Soon they product earned recognition and got orders form a boutique in New York. They added many organic beauty products to expend this line. In the year 1991 they added their best seller product lip balm. Soon they discontinued their famous candle production and concentrated on personal care items. Currently their product line includes face, body, men’s grooming, baby care, hair, lip care and outdoor remedies product. Their products are being sold in different countries of the world including United States, United Kingdoms, Canada, Ireland, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Retail Experiment Burt’s bee distinguished itself on the basis of organic and eco friendly products. It created a niche for it’s product by targeting people who are more inclined towards purchasing and using less chemical oriented products. Retail business can be explained as sale of goods or merchandises directly to customers through a fixed point. Availability of logistics and expansion plans play a vital role in deciding either a company should move into retail business or not. When a profit bearing company like Burt’s Bee plans to expand its operation they have to make an appearance in shelves of different departmental stores, malls, grocery stores even drug stores to be more visible over other competitor products. Making such strong appearance is not possible by limiting it’s self to being a manufacturer and a direct seller. Looking at online shopping websites (which is also a part of retail business) it brings products at a click of one button. It also saves human resource and middle man profit. It gives endless shelf-space to a manufacturer to display its products. Burt’s bee was already selling their product through QVC and making handsome amount of profit on it. It was time to get into physical retail business to increase their profitability. Retail business has many different advantages. If one person is out to buy grocery for home might also want to purchase any product that he sees on shelves. We all try to experiment with new products. This experimental nature is at peek when we go out of the house to do a week’s shopping. Instead of going at one particular shop to buy a specific product we all prefer one place stop that has all the products. It’s an era of expediency and we enjoy taking advantage of it. Retail business aids in saving time for a lot of customers. People are so busy in their personal and professional lives they prefer buying all what they need from one places rather than visiting different shops for specific products. Retail business also gives an edge over all those strong products available only at their dedicated shops. Their presences can be easily overlapped with a product that is available at every nook and corner. People usually go out with friends to malls for shopping. Strong word of mouth can also play a heavy role in increasing sales. Burt’s bee has a reputable name in the market and a loyal set of customers. Changing brand habit should not be a difficult task for them once the presence of their product becomes prominent. Appearance of Roxxane Quimby at different retail shops once in a while will add to customer satisfaction. When she started the business by selling beeswax candle she realized that most of her customers looked at the bottom of it to check its finishing. Costumers are very particular about quality maintenance. Heavy marketing can attract more customers to meet the proud owner of the product they are using. The fear of being discontinued from the end users can also be minimized through this strategy. This can also be done through comment cards. People can fill them and send it to her to give her. Retail business enables a customer to compare products at the location. This comparison can be made on the basis of ingredients, prices and packaging. Burt’s bee has the competitive advantage of being organic and less chemically treated product over others. It has gain popularity for being made from natural oils unlike other products available in the market. Conclusion Thus opting for a retail business will help them achieve desired target in a given time period. It becomes difficult to be a direct seller and expend to different countries. Though sales and revenues increase can not be separated from good marketing campaign. Promotion incentives like free samples can also be used to help purchase of new products and attract more customers. Heavy ATL (Above The Line) and BTL (Below The Line) marketing can also increase product awareness and spread the brand name amongst non users. Product availability will have a proportionate effect on increase sales. With higher demand price can also be increased. People are ready to pay a high amount but do not believe in compromising in quality. They will always choose convenience of purchasing ten things from one shop then roaming around 10 shops to buy one thing. How to cite Burt’s bee – an American company, Papers