When we rise above the currents of everyday life and start asking about the origin of life itself - Kabbalah steps in
Kabbalah became hidden about 2,000 years ago. The reason was simple - there was no demand for it. Since that time, humanity has occupied itself with developing monotheistic religions, and later on, science. Both were created to answer man's most fundamental questions: "What is our place in the world, in the universe?" "What is the purpose of our existence?" In other words, "Why were we born?"
But today, more than ever before, many people feel that what has worked for 2,000 years no longer meets their needs. The answers provided by religion and science no longer satisfy them. These people are looking elsewhere for answers to the most basic questions about the purpose of life. They turn to Eastern teachings, fortune-telling, magic and mysticism. And some turn to Kabbalah. Because Kabbalah was formulated to answer these fundamental questions, the answers it provides are directly related to them.
Kabbalah made its "debut" about 5,000 years ago in Mesopotamia, an ancient country in today's Iraq. Mesopotamia was not only the birthplace of Kabbalah, but of all ancient teachings and mysticism. In those days, people believed in many different teachings, often following more than one teaching at a time. Astrology, fortune-telling, numerology, magic, witchcraft, spells, evil eye - all those and more were developed and thrived in Mesopotamia, the cultural center of the ancient world.
As long as people were happy with their beliefs, they felt no need for change. People wanted to know that their lives would be safe, and what they needed to do to make them enjoyable. They were not asking about the origin of life, or most important, who or what had created the rules of life.
At first, this may seem like a slight difference. But actually, the difference between asking about life, and asking about the rules that shape life, is like the difference between learning how to drive a car and learning how to make one. It's a totally different level of knowledge.
Showing posts with label learning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label learning. Show all posts
Thursday, 17 July 2008
Online Guitar Lessons or Private Guitar Instructions: by Kirk Downing
Guitar Lessons - Pre-classroom Blues
This is a common experience all of us - guitarists as well as wanna-be guitarists - have had when we first decided to take guitar lessons: the questions came up in our heads in a flood - who is the best teacher? Which is the best guitar? How much do I shell out for a guitar? Electric or acoustic? Rhythm or bass?
The primary question usually is 'who is going to teach me?', and this is what we will attempt to answer in this article.
Taking Your Guitar Lessons
Broadly, you have two options as far as finding a tutor is concerned. You can search for a teacher in your town or city or you can get on the Internet and search for websites that provide guitar lessons. Each of these approaches has its own set of advantages and disadvantages. You need to weigh these carefully in your mind before making a decision.
Are you good at being instructed? Or do you resent authority? I know at least one person who has a problem with authority! Besides, there is the time factor; when would you be able to find time to visit a teacher for lessons? And these are not the only factors at work. For some people, a very pertinent factor is cost. Usually, it is a combination of these factors at work.
Studies are showing that while taking guitar lessons from a teacher is a good option, more and more people are taking to online learning nowadays.
Which Website Provides the Best Guitar Lessons?
The best website for everyone interested in guitar lessons is a myth; there is no such thing. Expectations may vary, and it is important that the website you choose fulfils your expectations. Another tip: never register with the first website you come across. There may be many better websites than the one you came across first. Browse through a few before deciding on a specific site.
Be clear about why you want to take guitar lessons. Is it purely for fun, or is there a career option element to the whole thing? This question, while being another basic question, is critical because it will help determine which kind of website you want to learn from - one that provides detailed lessons or one that just teaches you the fundamentals and lets you practice them.
In conclusion, you must be clear that there is no compulsion to learning online. Whatever the mode of learning you opt for, it is a choice you will have to make. Online learning, for all intents and purposes, is a trend. Do not choose it if you are not comfortable with it. The bottom line is for you to have an enjoyable learning experience while taking guitar lessons.
This is a common experience all of us - guitarists as well as wanna-be guitarists - have had when we first decided to take guitar lessons: the questions came up in our heads in a flood - who is the best teacher? Which is the best guitar? How much do I shell out for a guitar? Electric or acoustic? Rhythm or bass?
The primary question usually is 'who is going to teach me?', and this is what we will attempt to answer in this article.
Taking Your Guitar Lessons
Broadly, you have two options as far as finding a tutor is concerned. You can search for a teacher in your town or city or you can get on the Internet and search for websites that provide guitar lessons. Each of these approaches has its own set of advantages and disadvantages. You need to weigh these carefully in your mind before making a decision.
Are you good at being instructed? Or do you resent authority? I know at least one person who has a problem with authority! Besides, there is the time factor; when would you be able to find time to visit a teacher for lessons? And these are not the only factors at work. For some people, a very pertinent factor is cost. Usually, it is a combination of these factors at work.
Studies are showing that while taking guitar lessons from a teacher is a good option, more and more people are taking to online learning nowadays.
Which Website Provides the Best Guitar Lessons?
The best website for everyone interested in guitar lessons is a myth; there is no such thing. Expectations may vary, and it is important that the website you choose fulfils your expectations. Another tip: never register with the first website you come across. There may be many better websites than the one you came across first. Browse through a few before deciding on a specific site.
Be clear about why you want to take guitar lessons. Is it purely for fun, or is there a career option element to the whole thing? This question, while being another basic question, is critical because it will help determine which kind of website you want to learn from - one that provides detailed lessons or one that just teaches you the fundamentals and lets you practice them.
In conclusion, you must be clear that there is no compulsion to learning online. Whatever the mode of learning you opt for, it is a choice you will have to make. Online learning, for all intents and purposes, is a trend. Do not choose it if you are not comfortable with it. The bottom line is for you to have an enjoyable learning experience while taking guitar lessons.
3D Animation in a nutshell: by Morph
If you have wandered onto this post, you probably have a general understanding of what 3D Animation is. It's difficult not to watch a movie that hasn't used 3D Animation in one way or another to produce stunning visual effects and highly engaging characters. You need only look at movies like King Kong and Transformers: The Movie to realize how far 3D Animation has progressed in such a short time. Knowing that, the objective of this post is to either reaffirm what you already know or have you questioning what you thought you knew about 3D Animation and it's ever developing industry.
Simply put, 3D Animation is just animation within a 3D environment. The length to which 3D Animation is used within that environment depends largely on what is required. As a not-so-newbie newbie to the 3D Animation industry, I have learnt a great deal of things about what I thought I knew about 3D Animation. First off, the field of 3D Animation covers a broad range of lesser fields, the main ones consisting of modeling, texturing, rigging, animation, dynamic simulation, scripting and rendering. Each field in itself deserves its own moment in the spotlight so I will keep this post on the topic of 3D Animation in a Nutshell and will talk about these fields in larger detail in later posts.
Because 3D Animation is so expansive and dynamic a field as technology makes it easier for artists to visualize their work, it's easy to become lost within the many lesser fields within itself. Luckily, most 3D Animation enthusiasts do not possess the ability to perfect all fields. For example, someone who is good at modeling and texturing, may not be as good at scripting and rigging. Likewise, a person who is capable at animation may not have lighting and rendering as a strength. Does this mean 3D Animation is too impossible a field to create a career out of? You could not be further from the truth concerning 3D Animation. Because it is always developing, 3D Animation has the benefit of enjoying growing appeal from more and more 3D Animation enthusiasts than ever before. With modelers turning into lighting TD's and animators becoming proficient at dynamics simulation and rigging, there are more than enough opportunities to learn and grow in the 3D Animation industry.
And that, my fellow readers, is the challenge of learning 3D Animation. With so many avenues to pursue and so many places to stop and learn new tools and skill sets, we are given the awesome opportunity to become whatever we want. In reality, this is the way a MMORPG should be played. A kid uses 40+ hours on his computer playing an online game that lets him level-up his character a few levels on a bad week, signing off at the end with nothing more to show for it than a few game props and typing cramp. I on the other hand, can invest 40+ hours of my time modeling a character that'll put that kid's avatar to shame. 3D Animation provides the applications and means for me to create a character as realistic as technologically possible. Thanks to 3D Animation, I might also choose to design props, be they weapons or vehicles which will have you wincing in pain or whining in jealousy. If I so choose, 3D Animation makes it possible for me to create an environment for my character that could hold it's own against that of the Crysis or Unreal in-game environments. I could also make a short animation for my character within this environment, all thanks to 3D Animation.
Now sure, a kid might still enjoy playing a game that contains all of these things and more, but heck, why would I waste my time in a game created by someone else, controlled by their own rules and regulated by their own standards when I have the ability to develop my own. Need I say more..? I hope not but just in case, doing this as well as so much more is all possible because of 3D Animation.
Simply put, 3D Animation is just animation within a 3D environment. The length to which 3D Animation is used within that environment depends largely on what is required. As a not-so-newbie newbie to the 3D Animation industry, I have learnt a great deal of things about what I thought I knew about 3D Animation. First off, the field of 3D Animation covers a broad range of lesser fields, the main ones consisting of modeling, texturing, rigging, animation, dynamic simulation, scripting and rendering. Each field in itself deserves its own moment in the spotlight so I will keep this post on the topic of 3D Animation in a Nutshell and will talk about these fields in larger detail in later posts.
Because 3D Animation is so expansive and dynamic a field as technology makes it easier for artists to visualize their work, it's easy to become lost within the many lesser fields within itself. Luckily, most 3D Animation enthusiasts do not possess the ability to perfect all fields. For example, someone who is good at modeling and texturing, may not be as good at scripting and rigging. Likewise, a person who is capable at animation may not have lighting and rendering as a strength. Does this mean 3D Animation is too impossible a field to create a career out of? You could not be further from the truth concerning 3D Animation. Because it is always developing, 3D Animation has the benefit of enjoying growing appeal from more and more 3D Animation enthusiasts than ever before. With modelers turning into lighting TD's and animators becoming proficient at dynamics simulation and rigging, there are more than enough opportunities to learn and grow in the 3D Animation industry.
And that, my fellow readers, is the challenge of learning 3D Animation. With so many avenues to pursue and so many places to stop and learn new tools and skill sets, we are given the awesome opportunity to become whatever we want. In reality, this is the way a MMORPG should be played. A kid uses 40+ hours on his computer playing an online game that lets him level-up his character a few levels on a bad week, signing off at the end with nothing more to show for it than a few game props and typing cramp. I on the other hand, can invest 40+ hours of my time modeling a character that'll put that kid's avatar to shame. 3D Animation provides the applications and means for me to create a character as realistic as technologically possible. Thanks to 3D Animation, I might also choose to design props, be they weapons or vehicles which will have you wincing in pain or whining in jealousy. If I so choose, 3D Animation makes it possible for me to create an environment for my character that could hold it's own against that of the Crysis or Unreal in-game environments. I could also make a short animation for my character within this environment, all thanks to 3D Animation.
Now sure, a kid might still enjoy playing a game that contains all of these things and more, but heck, why would I waste my time in a game created by someone else, controlled by their own rules and regulated by their own standards when I have the ability to develop my own. Need I say more..? I hope not but just in case, doing this as well as so much more is all possible because of 3D Animation.
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