Ramadan is a month-long Islamic holiday that involves fasting, and abstaining from other indulgent activities.
The month it is celebrated changes every year based on the lunar calendar, but it falls in the Northern Hemisphere's summer.
Read MoreWhat's The Difference Between An Agnostic and An Atheist?
Ever wonder what the difference is between someone who is agnostic and someone who calls themselves an atheist?
I don't know about you, but because I don't personally identify with either of these terms, the meaning of each of them can get a bit confusing.
Read MoreReads For The Road: Beyond Belief—My Secret Life Inside Scientology by Jenna Miscavige Hill
If you read one book this year, make it this one.
Published in 2013, Beyond Belief: My Secret Life Inside Scientology and My Harrowing Escape is an absolutely fascinating first-hand account of what life inside the little-known world of Scientology is really like.
Read More6 Normal Things That Are Banned in the Bible
This list is only a few of the many banned acts that can be found in the book of Leviticus in the Christian Bible.
They are all fairly normal, mundane or common things that occur regularly, but in the Bible, most of the following acts are punishable by death.
1. Mixing fabrics in clothing (19:19)
Damn you cotton-lycra underpants!
2. Eating fruit from a tree within four years of planting it (19:23)
So... what if you move somewhere new and you don't know how long ago your apple tree was planted?
3. Trimming your beard (19:27)
All you men with professional jobs are screwed!
4. Getting tattoos (19:28)
5. Mistreating foreigners – “the foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born” (19:33-34)
I think we have all (sadly) violated this one at one time or another...
6. Using dishonest weights and scales (19:35-36)
If we are talking about scales that I might use to weigh myself, then I'm in BIG trouble...
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6 Things To Know About The Amish
1. There are about 8 subgroups of Amish who are themselves a subgroup of the Mennonite Christian faith.
2. The most traditional descendants speak Pennsylvania German (also known as Pennsylvania Dutch).
3. They live by a strict set of rules that include limiting the use of electricity and telephones, not driving automobiles, wearing plain (homemade) clothing, and never accepting help from government programs like Social Security.
4. Children only attend school until grade eight.
5. Rumspringa, or “running around” (recently made into an overdramatized TLC series called Breaking Amish) begins around the ages of 14-16, and is a time when young adults can break all of the rules and see what life outside their communities is like. During this time, those on rumspringa can wear “English” — aka modern — clothing, drink, use technology, and live in urban cities with NO penalty. This gives these young adults a chance to make an informed decision about whether they want to commit themselves to the church or not.
6. Baptism does not occur until around the ages of 16 and 25 (after rumspringa) which joins the individual with the church and community for life. Marriage can not occur until baptism does, and the Amish may ONLY marry individuals that are a part of their congregation.
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Do Auras Exist? Exploring the concept of the human aura
Have you ever felt like your personal space has been invaded? Or, have you felt uncomfortable when a stranger stands too close? Was there ever a time when you told someone they were "glowing"? Have you been able to tell that something or someone was coming up behind you without even turning around? Can you sense that your friend is happy before they tell you? Do you ever feel connected to someone in a way that you can't explain?
These are just a few examples that can stand as evidence that a human aura exists.
Defining the human aura
The existence of an aura has long been a controversial subject due to the fact that like most ‘magical’ concepts, its existence cannot be scientifically proven or defined.
Anyone that you talk to — expert or layperson — will define and describe the aura in different ways.
It is “the interaction of patterns of energy, vibrating at interwoven frequencies and intensities” (Harrower). A luminous atmosphere that surrounds all living things. A link between our inner self and the outside world. Or, a reflection of the spirit that resides inside our bodies.
Some scholars believe that it is a characteristic of the human spirit (energy), which remains whole even if the body doesn’t. This can explain why, when an individual has a missing limb, the outline of the arm will still be present in that person’s aura and they may feel like their limb is still there.
Who can see auras?
According to my research, anyone has the potential to see auras, but unless you are a child or an animal (think about how intuitive they seem to be) it is something that you will actively have to practice, study and — most importantly — believe in.
Though there is scientific technology that can measure the electromagnetic field around the human body, what causes a lot of skepticism is that no two people who claim that they can see auras ‘read’ them or ‘see’ them the same way.
Some claim (think fortune tellers) that they can read a person’s education, background, potential, and future in their auras, while others may say that they can predict a physical injury or illness by seeing a ‘dent’ in the aura. There are those that believe that an aura’s colour will give a viewer information by the feelings that emerge from looking at the colour.
The concept of the aura in history
The concept of a human aura is present in many different cultures throughout human history.
Traditional Chinese Medicine uses the idea of a human energy system as a basis of its healing practices, Ayurvedic medicine found in India teaches how to balance energy in order to achieve optimum health and well-being, and the Hindu concept of Chakras claims that energy is taken from the environment through one of the seven of them to help revitalize the body and spirit.
A more ‘western’ concept is the practice of Therapeutic or Healing Touch, a medical practice that uses the power of the aura for practical purposes. It is defined by professionals as a practice that helps restore proper energy flow and entails the use of a ‘sixth sense’ and strong compassion that together aid in the re-balancing of energy.
So, does the human aura exist?
There is evidence to support both sides.
Though there is a strong case for the skeptics, it's hard to deny the fact that there is some kind of energy surrounding our bodies.
But can anyone actually see this energy?
At this point, with nothing ‘proven’ in a conventional way, it seems that the only person who can answer this question is you!
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What Does Kosher Mean?
The word 'kosher' gets thrown around in everyday language a lot lately, but do you actually know what it means?
According to the website Judaism 101, 'kosher’ describes a set of biblical dietary restrictions.
Contrary to popular belief, though they may recite blessings over a dinner table, rabbis do not bless food to make it kosher, and the word ‘kosher’ does not describe a style of cooking.
For example, Chinese food can be kosher if it is made in accordance with Jewish law and, on the flip side, typical Jewish food like bagels can be non-kosher if prepared incorrectly.
8 general rules for eating kosher
Only animals with cloven hooves who chew their cud can be eaten (that means no camel, badger, hare, or pig burgers allowed). Aquatic animals with fins and scales are fine, but shellfish are a no-no. Birds of prey, scavengers, rodents, reptiles, amphibians, and insects are forbidden (Indiana Jones is definitely not Jewish).
Animals must not have died from a natural death or been killed by another animal. There must be no diseases in their organs and they must be killed quickly with a deep stroke across the throat.
There is a belief in Judaism that an animal's life (aka soul) is contained in the blood, so all of it must be drained before the meat can be eaten.
You must not eat the sciatic nerve or blood-vessels surrounding it, and the fat that surrounds the vital organs is off limits.
All fruits and vegetables are kosher but not the bugs that crawl on them so they must be carefully inspected.
Meat and dairy must never be eaten together.
Dish-ware touched by dairy can never be touched by meat and vice versa.
Grape products like wine and juice, made by non-Jews are forbidden. (This rule stems back to ancient pagan religions’ use of wine in ritual).
Why are these rules in place?
The short answer? Because the Torah says so.
Apparently though, the Torah does not actually give reasons for these rules and many adherents believe that following the rules without needing reasons shows obedience to God.
In 1974, east of what is now called Xi’an in China, peasants digging a well in their field uncovered one of the largest, and arguably the most important finds of the 20th century — an underground vault full of thousands of intact terracotta warriors and horses standing in battle formation.