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Intelligence analysts have to ask themselves why the people and institutions that they are observing are acting as they appear to be, and what their motives and objectives are. That’s as true for you in everyday life as it is for intelligence analysts. The task is bound to be all the harder if the analysis is being done at a distance by those brought up in a very different culture from that of the intelligence target. Motives are also easily misread if there is projective identification of some of your own traits in your adversary. This can become dangerous in international affairs when a leader accuses another of behaviour of which they themselves are guilty. That may be a cynical ploy. But it may also be a worrying form of self-deception. The leader may be unconsciously splitting off his own worst traits in order to identify them in the other, allowing the leader then to live in a state of denial believing that they do not actually possess those traits themselves.

- How Spies Think, David Omand

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"When you are in doubt, be still, and wait; when doubt no longer exists for you, then go forward with courage.

So long as mists envelop you, be still; be still until the sunlight pours through and dispels the mists

-- as it surely will. Then act with courage."

- Chief White Eagle, Ponca

Generated by Ai

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"Prayer is the song of the heart. It reaches the ear of God even if it is mingled with the cry and tumult of a thousand men."

- Kahlil Gibran

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Quang Phu Cau Village has a long and rich history. It is believed that the village was founded during the reign of King Le Thanh Tong in the 15th century.

At that time, the villagers mainly made their living by farming and fishing. However, over time, they developed a unique skill in making incense sticks, which became their primary source of income.

The village's reputation for producing high-quality and beautifully crafted incense sticks quickly spread throughout the country, and it became a popular destination for traders and tourists.

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Buddhists teach that there are three poisons that cripple the mind: anger, attachment and ignorance.

We have to be conscious of how emotions such as anger can distort our perception of what is true and what is false. Attachment to old ideas with which we feel comfortable and that reassure us that the world is predictable can blind us to threatening developments. This is what causes us to be badly taken by surprise. But it is ignorance that is the most damaging mental poison. The purpose of intelligence analysis is to reduce such ignorance, thereby improving our capacity to make sensible decisions and better choices in our everyday lives.

source: How Spies Think, Sir David Omand

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Excessive flattery

In the world of birds, the drongo, a small African bird, is known for its manipulative behavior. It has a habit of flattering larger birds and animals to earn their trust. Once they let their guard down, the drongo steals their food.

Similarly, people who are friendly on the surface but manipulative underneath often use excessive flattery as their method of choice. They shower you with compliments, making you feel special and appreciated. But like the drongo, their real motive is far from noble.

This flattery might be used to lower your defenses or distract you from their real intentions. It’s a classic manipulation tactic – sweet talk someone into compliance.

When someone consistently flatters you more than seems natural or necessary, keep an eye out. They might just be buttering you up for their own gain!

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Even if it don't last forever, I wanna let you know

We really had something special, it's hard tryna let it go

I'm just being honest, I'm still in the moment...

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Water  puppetry arose in the Red River delta and other rice-growing regions of northern Việt Nam a thousand years ago, during the Lý dynasty. Villagers staged water puppet performances to celebrate the end of the rice harvest, at religious festivals, and simply for entertainment. Today, watching a performance of this unique folk art has come to be mandatory for tourists to Việt Nam, where water puppet shows are often held at sophisticated theaters in major cities, such as Hanoi. Troupes have also been brought to the US for Asian cultural festivals. Few visitors travel to the rural Vietnamese countryside to see the water puppet shows in the settings for which they were intended, the rice paddy deltas.

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I'm Currently Wearing...

Chloe Eau de Parfum by Chloé is a Floral fragrance for women. Chloe Eau de Parfum was launched in 2008. Chloe Eau de Parfum was created by Amandine Clerc-Marie and Michel Almairac. Top notes are Peony, Litchi and Freesia; middle notes are Rose, Lily-of-the-Valley and Magnolia; base notes are Virginia Cedar and Amber.

The new eponymous eau de parfum by Chloe is quite a departure from the once-popular tuberose composition of the same name. A light and fresh yet seductively strong and self-possessed scent, the new Chloe fragrance is in no way its predecessor's timid younger sister.

Just like all Chloe's bold, arty and free-spirited designs, the fragrance is feminine in a rather non-traditional, not all-out-girly way. Its accords expertly play against each other and they seduce the audience by being both elegant and daring at the same time.

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The Core NDE Experience

Although no two experiences are alike, and some outlying details should be skeptically questioned, there are amazingly common elements to the core near-death experience described by young and old, across cultures, in different languages. Researchers and individuals do not all agree on the interpretation of the experience (who, for instance, is this Being of Light?), but they agree on the core experience. Dr. Long reports on the percentage of each core element described in his study of 1,300 NDEs from around the world.

Out-of-body experience: separation of consciousness from the physical body (75.4%)

Heightened senses (74.4% said “more conscious and alert than normal”)

Intense and generally positive emotions or feelings (76.2% “incredible peace”)

Passing into or through a tunnel (33.8%)

Encountering a mystical or brilliant light (64.6%)

Encountering other beings, either mystical beings or deceased relatives or friends (57.3%)

A sense of alteration of time or space (60.5%)

Life review (22.2%)

Encountering unworldly (“heavenly”) realms (52.2%)

Encountering or learning special knowledge (56%)

Encountering a boundary or barrier (31%)

A return to the body (58.5% were aware of a decision to return)

After thirty years of research, as a practising oncologist sceptically looking at all alternative explanations, Long concludes: “With a flat EEG [no recorded brain activity] . . . there is no chance that electrical activity in [the] lower parts of the brain could account for such a highly lucid and ordered experience as described by NDErs. Lucidity coupled with the predictable order of [core] elements establishes that NDEs are not dreams or hallucinations, nor are they due to any other causes of impaired brain functioning.”

At first, I was sceptical of adults telling these stories, especially when they had something to gain by selling books. Dr. Long’s collection of what’s grown to over 3,000 testimonies on his website is important for two reasons. First, none were paid—they were not benefiting by selling a book—and it took close to thirty minutes to complete his extensive questionnaire. There’s not much to gain personally and it actually costs time. Second, the reports come from all over the globe—verifying the similarities of the core experience.

-Source: Imagine Heaven, John Burke

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Romantic love is driven by three chemicals in our brain norepinephrine, dopamine and serotonin. It's like a powerful rush of energy and excitement. Scientists even compare this stage to addiction because it activates the brain's reward centre almost the same as when people have cocaine.

That is how impactful this is and how it has a strong impact on your emotions and behaviour.

At this stage, better not to make major decisions as your brain can't think clearly since the three chemicals flooded your brain. It is best to wait till this chemical is subsidised,

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This old man joyously flaunt his Thuoc Lao.

Thuoc Lao is strong pipe tobacco smoked after a meal on a full stomach to “aid in digestion” and one of the old customs in Vietnam. Nowadays, smoking Thuoc Lao is retained popularly in the Northern villages mainly by the old male farmers as well as in some ethnic minority groups. This high-nicotine tobacco was used to invite a guest as same as a quid of betel or a cup of green tea.

After planting and harvesting, the pipe tobacco is hand-made by washing its leaves, slicing and chopping up into very small parts then drying to finish. The unique difference of smoking thuoc lao is in the method of consumption with a water pipe. There are three kinds of pipe: dieu cay (a bamboo pipe), dieu bat (a ceramic hookah), and dieu ong.

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A man is dying and, as he reaches the point of greatest physical distress, he hears himself pronounced dead by his doctor. . . . He suddenly finds himself outside of his own physical body, but still in the immediate physical environment, and he sees his own body from a distance, as though he is a spectator. He watches the resuscitation attempt from his unusual vantage point and is in a state of an emotional upheaval. After a while, he collects himself and becomes more accustomed to his odd condition. He notices that he still has a “body,” but one of a very different nature and with very different powers from the physical body he has left behind. Soon other things begin to happen. Others come to meet and to help him. He glimpses the spirits of relatives and friends who have already died, and a loving, warm spirit of a kind he has never encountered before—a being of light—appears before him. This being asks him a question, nonverbally, to make him evaluate his life and helps him along by showing him a panoramic, instantaneous playback of the major events of his life. At some point he finds himself approaching some sort of barrier or border, apparently representing the limit between earthly life and the next life. Yet, he finds that he must go back to the earth, that the time for his death has not yet come. At this point he resists . . . and does not want to return. He’s overwhelmed by intense feelings of joy, love, and peace. Despite his attitude, though, he somehow reunites with his physical body and lives.

- From book: Imagine Heaven, John Burke

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Hmong girl at Hau Thao village, playing traditional bamboo flute.

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We may not choose who we love, but we absolutely can and do choose our actions, and it’s actions that count. We can fall head over heels in love with someone and still say “You know what? This person isn’t a good match for me. I’m not going to get in a relationship with them.” And we will, at some point, fall in love with someone else.

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Mursi Tribe

Sketch with smudged pastel, pen and oil paint