I.2 Vampires – Power and Basic Features

Hello, dear readers!

In the previous article posted yesterday about vampires, I told you about concepts and short history. Today I will write about the strengths and basic characteristics of the vampires.

As you well know, vampires are mythological beings who hunt / feed at night with mortal blood.

                                                The basic characteristics of vampires

1. Vampires feed on the blood of humans (adults or children), using their sharp teeth afterwards killing them or turning them into vampires.

2. Creating new vampires. The new vampires will automatically become the slaves of those who created them.

3. Vampires do not stand the light of day because they weaken their powers at the time. The vampire can not maintain its home unless it is covered by fear and shadow. The light itself offends him. He could still live, but his evil deeds are nothing.

4. Vampires have supernatural powers (the power of 10 people together) which makes them hard to defeat in battles.

5. Super-Speed ​​- Vampires have the ability to move faster than the human eye can perceive. It is also said that vampires have the ability to teleport.

6. Increased sensation. As predators, vampires have sharp senses: see, hear, smell. Vampires can see in the dark as well as ordinary mortals.

7. Hypnosis – One of the most powerful weapons of vampires, through hypnosis they can „plant” suggestions in the mind of anyone who meets their eyes. The power of the suggestion depends on the difference between the will of the vampire and the victim.

8. Resistance to injuries. Vampires are extremely resistant to bodily injury. Weapons like swords and guns can not hurt their physical shape. Only holy objects and weapons built of certain materials can affect the physical integrity of vampires.

9. Regeneration. Despite the fact that a vampire can be injured, his healing power is very high. Most wounds can heal on a rest night, while some wounds can heal by feeding fresh blood from the victims.

10. Control over animals. Vampires can control the minds of bats, mice and wolves in its vicinity. The animals in question will be subjected to vampires, even if this means their death.

11. Change of shape. Vampires can take the form of a bat or even a wolf. They also have the ability to disperse in the form of vapors, which allows them to squeeze under doors or cracks in the wall.

12. Walking on the ceiling / walls. Vampires can easily go to the walls or ceiling without the help of any special equipment.

13. Magical abilities. Vampires have limited control over the weather. Vampires can pick up the fog or summon a storm to cover their tracks. Older vampires possess powers such as necromancy or alchemy.

14. Immortality / Immortality. Vampires are immortal. They do not age as they age. Sometimes, lack of food can make them older, but once they feed on the blood of the victims they will become young as they were. Vampires are immune to human disease.

The passage below, extracted from the Galician folklore, says a lot about the powers of the vampires:

„The power of the vampire is very large and vast-
during his lifetime he can kill people and even eat while they are alive; can bring to life or eliminate various
diseases and epidemics, storms, rain, hail and the like;
he throws spells on cows and their milk, crops and
their growth in general; he knows all the secrets and
the future. In addition to this, he can be invisible
or to turn into various objects, in particular
in the form of animals. „

(Image Source – Pinterest)

Reclame

I.1 Vampires – conceptions and short history

I was thinking today that I did not post anything about vampires. A strange thing because in high school, vampire books and movies of the same category were among my passions. So the article today will be with vampires.

What are vampires?

Vampires are mythological or folkloric beings who survive by feeding blood from living creatures, whether they are undead or living. Monsters who hunt without mercy, in the night hidden under a black mantle.

Where did the initial vampire come from?

The first sources date back 4,000 years ago, to the Assyrians and to the Babylonians in Mesopotamia.

Lamastu. It translates into „the one that wipes”, the children and the adults, and brings illness, sterility and nightmares. In the Assyrian legends, Lamastu, the daughter of Anu, was sneaking into people’s homes at night and stealing or killing babies, either in their cradles or in the mother’s womb. Those who believed these legends attributed the syndrome of sudden child death or spontaneous abortion to this monster.

It is often described with wings and claws like birds, and sometimes with a lion’s head. To protect themselves from Lamastu, pregnant women wore amulets with Pazuzu, another evil god who once defeated Lamastu.

Lilith, a prominent figure in some Jewish texts. Writings about Lilith vary considerably, but the most common version of stories is that she was the first woman. God created Adam and Lilith from Earth, but soon problems arose between them. Lilith refused to obey Adam because they are both made of the earth.

In an ancient version of the legend, Lilith left Eden and gave birth to his own children. God sent three angels to bring her back, and when she refused, they promised to kill 100 of her children every day until she returned. Lilith instead vowed to destroy the children of men.

Lilith’s image as a child killer seems to have been taken directly from the legend of Lamatsu. She is often described as a waxed demon and sharp claws, which comes at night especially to steal newborn or stillborn babies.

The ancient Greeks were afraid of similar creatures, especially Lamia, a woman with a head and a trunk but with the bottom of the snake body. In a version of the legend, Lamia was one of Zeus’ mortal miracles. Full of jealousy and rage, Zeus’s wife, the goddess Hera, made Lamia crazy, so she ate all the kids.

After realizing what she did, Lamia became so angry that she turned into an immortal monster that sucks the blood of young children from jealousy to their mothers.
Like Lilith and Lamastu, Lamia is described as half woman – half animal.

Empusal, the evil daughter of Hecate, the goddess of witchcraft. Empusai, who could change shape, came the night of Hades (the underworld) as a beautiful woman. Then she was seduce pastors from the field and devoured them. A similar creature, baobhan sith, appears in Celtic folklore.

Vampire-like creatures also appear in the long history and Asian mythology. Indian folklore describes several nightmare characters, including rakshasa, a creature like a gargle that can change shape and eat children, demons who enter and take control of dead bodies recently and attack the living. In Chinese folklore, the corpses could sometimes rise from the grave and walk again.

Vampires from Moldova, Walachia and Transylvania (the territories now forming our country, Romania) are called undead. These undefended are almost always human spirits who have returned from the dead. Unlike the vampire or the vrykolakas, the strigoes pass through several stages before leaving the grave.

Initially, he becomes an invisible poltergeist, who tortures his family members by moving furniture and stealing food. After some time it becomes visible, showing just like when it was a living person. Again, the poltergeist returns to his family, steals their cattle, takes food and brings illnesses. poltergeist feed on people, first family members, and then anyone who comes in their way. In some descriptions the poltergeist sucks the victim’s blood directly from the heart.

Besides dead dead, people were afraid of live vampires, or live vagabonds. Live shouts were called cursed men to become dead undead after their death. Children born with malformations were usually considered vicious. If a dead poltergeist lives among people and has children, these children are cursed to become dead (dead) after death. If a person considered a living virgin dies, the family destroyed the body to be sure it would not return from the grave.

In other parts of Eastern Europe, creatures like the poltergeist were known as the vampire or vampyr, probably a variation of the Russian uprising. Later, English adopted this name, becoming „vampire”.

In the 17th and 18th centuries, vampire hysteria spread to Eastern Europe. People said they were seeing their deceased relatives hanging around, attacking the living. Authorities have opened dozens of graves, burning and tapping into bodies. Vampire-related panic news has also reached Western Europe, leading to many academic speculation about these creatures, as well as poems and vampire paintings.

Throughout history, there were more people who had vampire behavior. The most famous vampire was Elisabeth of Bathory, a nobleman from Transylvania who lived between 1560-1614. Elizabeth, who was horrified by the thought of aging, was convinced that bathing (and perhaps consuming) blood is the secret of a young look.

For this, he tortured and killed hundreds of people, most young girls. At the end, she was judged for her crimes and jailed in her castle, where she died.

Contemporary vampires

In 1927, „Dracula”, and in the film that followed in 1931, Bela Lugosi adopted this notion of artist, acting as a suave and sophisticated man. This piece also introduced Dracula’s familiar costume – black clothes and a mantle. In the novel „Dracula,” the count is described as an old man. But the image of Dracula’s suave caught on to the audience and remained so in dozens of movies, series and drawings.

The image of the vampire continued to evolve over the years with the reinterpretation of the filmmakers and filmmakers. In the popular short stories of Anne Rice, she takes the vampires to the next „level” and gives them a conscience. In her world, vampires are not necessarily bad – they are portrayed as real people with feelings and emotions. For example, in the television series „Buffy, Vampire Killer”, creator Joss Whedon adopted similar ideas of soul vampires. Also, Stephenie Meyer creator of the Twilight series describing a tumultuous love story between a common man and a vampire.

In this article I introduced vampires in history, folklore concepts. Ultimately, our fascination with the supernatural defines the extent to which we manifest our fears through these unknown, mysterious and paranormal events.

(Image Source – Unsplash)

Tuesday inspiration within quotes

Hello, dear writers and readers! Today’s post will be about awareness, better thinking and consciousness.

I have come to realize yesterday that our daily actions, our activities and the way we actually comport in various situations define who we are. We are usually advised to be ourselves and act in consequence, but should we all the time?

We have a lot of colleagues, a lot of unknown persons around us, and for a fact we know them by the surface, but are those persons really who they claim they are? Behind us we may hear often unspoken words about our behavior or our response to reality… . In the end, the way we react and behave in situations create our character and the way the entire world sees us.

So, today, Tuesday, my advice for you and me, will be to raise consciousness, to think and before talking and acting, to be aware.

And as I accustomed you in the last posts, I will enlighten you with a few motivational quotes for a better day. Hope you will enjoy!

1. The awareness of our own strength makes us modest. Paul Cezanne
2. The awareness of our environment came progressively in all countries with different outlets.  Jacques Yves Cousteau
3. What is necessary to change a person is to change his awareness of himself. Abraham Maslow
4. Rather than being your thoughts and emotions, be the awareness behind them. Eckhart Tolle
5. Contemplation is the highest expression of man’s intellectual and spiritual life. It is that life itself, fully awake, fully active, fully aware that it is alive. It is a spiritual wonder. It is spontaneous awe at the sacredness of life, of being. It is gratitude for life, for awareness and for being. Thomas Merton
6. If, then, I were asked for the most important advice I could give, that which I considered to be the most useful to the men of our century, I should simply say: in the name of God, stop a moment, cease your work, look around you.
   ― Leo Tolstoy, Essays, Letters and Miscellanies
7. The really important kind of freedom involves attention, and awareness, and discipline, and effort, and being able truly to care about other people and to sacrifice for them, over and over, in myriad petty little unsexy ways, every day. David Foster Wallace
8. Be present in all things and thankful for all things. Maya Angelou
9. The first step toward change is awareness. The second step is acceptance. Nathaniel Branden
10. Wisdom tends to grow in proportion to one’s awareness of one’s ignorance. Anthony de Mello
11. Being self-aware is not the absence of mistakes, but the ability to learn and correct them. Daniel Chidiac
12. The better awareness, the better your choices. As you make better choices, you will see better results.
13. Awareness is all about restoring your freedom to choose what you want instead of what your past imposes on you. Deepak Chopra
14. Once you awaken you become fully aware of your true potential. ATGW
15. Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.   Albert Einstein

(Image Source – Unsplash)

Do you hate Mondays? Start to love them!

Today is Monday. Another day, from another week, from another month and a brand new year, 2019.

I never understood why the world hated so much Mondays. Yes, I understand it’s another beginning of the week, and we need to carry our daily activities that we left on Friday before the weekend.

Returning back to work and daily week activities should not be seen as a rerun, especially if you want to make a change, and live every second of your life to the fullest.

Of course, going back to work is not easy, and for sure implies a lot of attention, hard work and perseverance but we are not lazy people and we started this journey called life with a purpose in mind.

In my opinion Mondays should not be seen as such a burden every single week, simply because:

• We have the right to start a new journey, make a difference in people’s life, in our life;
• We must be thankful for every day we live, thankful that we are present in now, the day that we so awful call Monday;
• We had to opportunity to rest and start refreshed a new beginning. There are people who haven’t had a free weekend in years.

In the end, my advice is to gather all bad emotions that we accumulated in the past few days, to throw them in a basket and start a new day with positivity and good vibes.

I gathered for you a few Monday Motivation Quotes. Hope your Monday will be better!

1. When life gives you Monday, dip it in glitter and sparkle all day.
2. “Candy is natures way of making up for Mondays.”
   ― Rebecca Gober
3. “Monday is the day of silence, day of the whole white mung bean, which is sacred to the moon.”
   ― Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, The Mistress of Spices
4. “What about Monday? That could be our one day we look at things the same way, and wear funny shoes.”
   ― Kevin Dalton – Faubush Hill
5. “Success is to wake up each morning and consciously decide that today will be the best day of your life.”
   ― Ken Poirot
6. “Mindful Monday Humans, May your coffee kick in before reality does.”
   ― Napz Cherub Pellazo
7. “Good Morning.
   Let Monday be your friend and he will show you a wonderful week.”
   ― Anthony T. Hincks
8. “The thing about today is…
   It’s Monday!
   No other day could get the week off to such a great start.”
   ― Anthony T. Hincks
9. “Monday is a new experience waiting to be enjoyed.”
   ― Anthony T. Hincks
10. Hey I know it’s Monday but it’s also a new day, a new week, and in that lies a new opportunity for something special to happen. Michael Ely
11. For me, Monday represents a fresh start to the week. It is the day where the slate from the previous week is wiped clean. It is a day of new beginnings.
12. Mondays are the start of the work week which offer new beginnings 52 times a year! David Dweck
13. Monday is a fresh start. It’s never too late to dig in and begin a new journey of success.

(Image Source – Pinterest)

Scrisoare catre tine, strain nenorocit/ Letter to you, rascal stranger

Tu, strainule ce ma privesti urat din departare, ce treaba ai cu mine?! M-ai cunoscut cumva, vreodata in viata asta sau ai auzit de mine poate?

Nu imi amintesc sa te fi zarit vreodata in pasii mei, nici macar pentru o clipa, nici macar pentru o secunda. Si totusi, imi vine greu sa te vad, la cativa metri distanta scrutand priviri ucigatoare in aer.

Poate pe fata-mi obosita o sa vezi un zambet scurt si timid. Tu, strainule, niciodata nu o sa stii ce dureri se ascund in spatele zambetului, ce trairi, ce suferinte si ce necazuri am intalnit pana acum, si chiar astazi. La tine, totul e relativ, si ochii tai judecatori nu cunosc mila sau blandetea.

Iti place sa imi analizezi portul si stilul vestimentar, sa examinezi fiecare element in parte. De sus pana jos, categorizezi totul drept infim si lipsit de stil sau eleganta. Stil pe care, o fata obisnuita ca mine, il poate considera placut si modest, potrivit pentru o zi la birou, insa tu nu il intelegi. Iti citesc in ochii cenusii si tulburi dispretul si lipsa de interes.

Ma urmaresti cercetator prin mijlocul de transport in timp ce discut cu o simpla taxatoare in varsta, in timp ce respect regulile de buna maniera, spunandu-i un simplu dar sincer noapte buna. Cum ai putea tu sa te cobori vreodata la inaltimea unei persoane ce nu iti impartaseste idealurile si scopurile impertinente? La o persoana mediocra in comparatie cu tine?

Tu esti o persoana rece si inefabila ce nu va putea vreodata cunoaste alte realitati, in afara de cele ingradite de propria gandire ingusta si lipsita de idealuri. Ma urasti din simplul motiv pentru ca te regasesti in mine, in zambetul sincer si lipsit de interes, in inocenta din glas si linistea din privire.

Aflandu-ne in acelasi mijloc de transport, statia decide destinatia astfel ca la coborare tot simpli pietoni ai vietii suntem, captivi intr-un orasel mic si lipsit de importanta. Tu, la fel ca si mine, esti un simplu trecator, doar ca ai sufletul incarcat de ura si dusmanie, inversunat pe necunoscut si esti captiv in propria lume.

Pentru tine, strain nenorocit, nu am nimic astazi. Nu am zambete, nu am incruntari, nu am furie… ci doar indiferenta.

English version

You, stranger, why do you look bad at me, what do you have with me ?! Did you ever meet me, ever in this life or you heard of me maybe?

I do not remember seeing you in my footsteps, not even for a moment, not even for a second. And yet, it’s hard for me to see you, a few yards away, looking at me with those killing eyes in the air.

Perhaps my tired face will show a short and shy smile. You, stranger, will never know what pains are hiding behind the smile, the living and the troubles I have encountered so far, even today. To you, everything is relative, and your judge do not know mercy or gentleness.

You like to look at my port and style, examine each item. From top to bottom, you categorize everything as infinite and lacking style or elegance. A style that, like a regular girl like me, can find it pleasant and modest, suitable for a day in the office, but you do not understand it. I read in your eyes gray and troubled contempt and lack of interest.

You are following me with your eyes through the means of transport while talking with a simple old taxpayer, while respecting the rules of good manners, telling her a simple but sincere good night. How can you ever descend to the height of a person who does not share your impertinent ideals and goals? To a mediocre person compared to you?

You are a cold and ineffectual person who can never know other realities, apart from those inherent in your own narrow and lacking ideals. You hate me for the simple reason that you find yourself in me, in the sincere and unkempt smile, in the innocence of my voice and the silence of my gaze.

By the same means of transport, the station decides the destination so that when descending all the simple pedestrians of life we ​​are trapped in a small and irrelevant town. You, just like me, are a passerby, only that you have a soul filled with hatred and anger, you invade the unknown and you are captive in your own world.

For you, miserable stranger, I have nothing today. I don’t have a smile, I do not have anger, I do not have anything … but just indifference.

(Image Source – Unsplash)

How to keep calm in stressful situations

Lately, the situations around me have been extremely stressful both at work and at home. So, in a short time, I came to become from a calm and extremely patient person, to an agitated one, anxious and ready to attack in the second two.

Now, since it is Saturday, a day of relaxation and rest before next week before Easter, I set out to make a change. I will focus on changing behaviors and reducing the vibrant stress that set in the last period.

Today I want to share with you, my dear readers, some of the methods I want to address in avoiding stress and keeping more calm as I possible can.

(Image Source – Unsplash)

What is stress?

Dex define: STRESS, stresses, (Med.) General term used for any environmental factor (trauma, emotion, cold, heat, etc.) capable of causing a state of tension and a reaction to the human, sometimes causing serious illnesses; p. ext. an unfavorable effect on the body of the beings by an environmental factor.

How to keep calm in stressful situations?

The fact that we are in a constant hurry to quench our energy. Work, everyday routine and unexpected situations make our patience and calm to the test, overwhelming us. Therefore, several important steps that we must follow in this case are:

– Breathe and Expire. Breathe and expire deep 5 times. Imagine how all the tension disappears from your body after each expiration and smiles.
– Relax. After the breath / expiration process, analyze your body and identify exactly which areas are embedded and tense. Slowly massage the affected areas and imagine yourself in a place that could calm you down: at the beach, in the mountains or even in a hot tub with water.
– Do not get attached, just give up. As strange as it may seem, giving up a stressful situation is very often, indicated. Stressing and worrying will not improve the situation because you are already involved in the act. So keep your head up and give up, simply say No.
– If you have a great goal, divide it into small successes. Always focusing on the end result can become exhausting because it takes a lot of time and patience. Stop focusing on negative thoughts. Being able to give you positive feedback will help you grow in patience, courage and find more joy in fulfilling a goal.
– What would someone else do in this situation? Another way to avoid stress is to imagine what another person would do in this situation. Just ask yourself, what would „Z” do in this situation? „Z” can be anyone, your favorite hero from the last book read, the character most adored from a movie or even at some point in your life. Because „YOU” are strong.
– Look at the picture as a whole. When you find yourself in a stressful situation, stop, breathe deeply. Ask yourself if you lose your temper now, this will still matter: next week, next month, over the next 10 years? The answer, you know it too, I know it, it will not matter to you! What’s the point of agonizing in a passenger pain that we probably will not remember next week?
– Do not ask for the impossible! No one is perfect and it’s okay. Perfection has never existed, nor will it exist. Asking perfection from a person and even from you is stressful and impossible.
– Put your patience to the test every day. You may be laughing because every day patience is being challenged by external factors. Why would we try to gamble with our luck? The answer is simple. As we practice, our patience will become more malleable and we will be able to react differently to the unknown, without stress and nerves, only with calm and perseverance.
– Be present in TODAY. When you have many things to do and need to be active 24/24, both at work and at home, do not overstretch your thoughts and energy on tomorrow. You live today, you are present today in the actions today and that’s it. Because tomorrow will come anyway, and it does not make sense to think today for tomorrow and tomorrow for today.
– Take care of yourself, and listen to your thoughts frequently. Around us, we are attacked everywhere in every direction, and in some cases there is no one around to give us the sense of comfort and safety. Plan more to take care of yourself. Respect your thoughts and desires, love yourself. If you love yourself enough then other persons will do it too.

Remember, dear reader, you are the sky… the rest of the things that are happening are only part of the weather.

(Image Source – Unsplash)

How to overcome fatigue accumulated during the week

Today, 4/18/2019, on Thursday I declare that I feel tired. Last week was extremely crowded, and on the weekend I worked and this week seems to be just as busy.

At one point, in the middle of the week, I had the impression that I was pulling with all my strength to resist and face the challenges of every new day. But I never did it with the „charged” batteries. Thus, small mistakes have squeezed both in work and at home.

The most important thing is that I have learned to be perseverant and to treat every new aspect of my life. I have learned from mistakes and gradually build a new I every day, in a better way, despite all the obstacles from the outside, from nowhere.

Today, I thought it would be important to share with you, dear readers, some ideas and tips on how we could cope with the tiredness over the week.

In order to be able to recover our energy and daily activity we need to respect a few simple elements:

1. Nourishment

Everyday food has to be chosen according to the needs of the body, otherwise if we feel tired, then our interior is equally affected.

It is important to avoid large amounts of carbohydrates, especially unhealthy carbohydrates in sweets. Existing carbohydrates in sweets increase and then lower blood sugar, producing mood swings and fatigue.

But that does not mean we have to avoid carbohydrates altogether, because they are responsible for increasing serotonin levels (serotonin increases the level of well-being in the body). Thus, it is advisable to replace unhealthy carbohydrates with various healthy vegetables, fresh fruits or even cereals.

Also a good source of energy and vitality are the oil. Hazelnuts, caju, almonds are rich in protein and magnesium. The absence of magnesium in the body can lead to fatigue.

Selenium Complex, Omega 3, Magnesium and Vitamin B12 – are real adjutants in combating fatigue and lack of energy. From the meat category we recommend: pork meat (rich in tyrosine), fish meat (rich in Omega 3). A need for 20-25 g of fiber is needed every day.

Hydration on time – is very important in combating fatigue, as dehydration causes fatigue. Therefore, it is important to properly hydrate each day, respecting the average of 2.5 L of water.

Black chocolate – A square of dark chocolate in a snack increases the level of energy and good mood. Cocoa beans contain caffeine and theobromine (a caffeine-like compound).

2. Coffee

Coffee is the most recommended drink to combat fatigue. I do not know how it works for other people, but to me, short-term 🙂. Caffeine increases metabolism for the moment and improves concentration. So a coffee drank at different intervals of the day will help us maintain concentration and will prompt us to be alerted for a longer period of time.

3. Passion for exercise

People who know me may admit that I’m joking. Seating at work for 8-9 hours a day and accumulated fatigue impedes the will to move. But, however, we have to try. It is important to get out of the chair once in a few hours, to let ourselves out with a few exercises, to go out to clean air to oxygenate our brains.

We have to practice at least 1 hour / 30 minutes a day of exercise during our free time. I recommend back exercises especially for people who work in the office and stay with their backs bent more and more. Also, exercises for hands and feet are important for a better posture and for improving blood circulation in the body. Even a quarter-hour walk is a step forward for a healthy life.

4. Rest

Specialists recommend 8 hours a day for sleep. Working in night shifts and arriving at a late hour at home can interfere with your regular rest. Thus, chances are either to sleep more than 8 hours, or not to sleep for 5 hours.

Regardless of work schedule, rest periods must be strictly observed. In order to be able to focus throughout the day, in order to be productive and positively charged, we need to rest properly.

Conclusions

Respecting everyday rest, healthy eating, hydrating and moving, we will be able to fight against so much fatigue and keep ourselves healthy and energetic. A healthy body maintains with a healthy, well-thought-out and well-established program.

I consider that the formula of Iuvenal: „Mens sana in corpore sano” applies very well in this article. So, dear readers, let’s keep a healthy mind in a healthy body!

All the pictures existent in the article are from Unsplash.