Latest news with #NewAge
Vancouver Sun
2 days ago
- Health
- Vancouver Sun
Book review: Memoir celebrates B.C. yoga teacher's battle with quadriplegia
Mary-Jo Fetterly | Friesen Press $20.49 | 327pp. On Jan. 25, 2004, Mary-Jo Fetterly was a young and vital yoga teacher based in Nelson, B.C., enjoying a ski outing with friends. Before the day was out, a fall on the slopes snapped her neck and left her paralyzed. This remarkable book is the record of how the author found ways to remake her life, drawing on the mindfulness practices she had already adopted as part of her yoga studies, on somatic therapies and on the emerging science of neuroplasticity. According to the Shepherd Center, a rehabilitation hospital specializing in spinal cord injuries, brain injuries, stroke, multiple sclerosis and other complex neurological conditions, a patient with a complete injury to one of the neck vertebrae faces a daunting array of possible impairments, including: Get top headlines and gossip from the world of celebrity and entertainment. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sun Spots will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. • 'Loss of sensation or feeling in the arms, hands, chest, or legs, depending on the level of injury. • Paralysis in varying degrees, such as tetraplegia (quadriplegia), which affects the arms, legs, and torso. In severe cases, full paralysis may occur • Difficulty breathing or breathing problems if the injury affects the diaphragm or chest muscles, potentially requiring mechanical ventilation.' In a moment, the author's life was changed utterly, and she joined the nearly nine million Canadians living with disability. ( Stats Can figures for 2020 . Current numbers are undoubtedly higher.) Her memoir chronicles an impressive struggle to regain as much function as possible, drawing on her already established practices of mindfulness from her yoga study and on a broad array of somatic therapies, meditational approaches and high-level physiotherapy. What is notable about her text is the elegantly detailed and sharply observed accounts she gives of the inner experience of the paralyzed body. Fetterly is obviously a very determined person and she focused her determination, her courage, her luminous spirit and her active intellect on recovery. Although this is not a tale of miracles, it is a story of discipline and progress and a remarkable degree of service to others, even in the face of the considerable challenges she faces still. This book is both inspiring and instructive. Some readers may be put off by the author's writing style, finding it a little too inflected by yoga and other New Age disciplines. But it would be a mistake to let that response keep you from completing this account of human dignity and triumph. Highly recommended. Tom Sandborn lives and writes in Vancouver. He welcomes your feedback and story tips at tos65@ .
India Today
2 days ago
- Business
- India Today
As Yunus fiddles, Bangladesh slides, his Grameen family soars
Bangladesh's economy might be gasping for fresh air right now, but it seems the country has a Donald Trump-like business-minded leader at the helm. Several companies of the Muhammad Yunus-founded Grameen Family of Organisations have secured permits and tax exemptions since the interim government led by its patriarch came to power in August 2024. Though none of the approvals are illegal, they raise serious concerns about conflict of interest. Even some appointments by Yunus have raised nepotism who now resides in the government guest house Jamuna, might find a parallel with the present White House occupant. Trump has mixed business with politics and pleasure, and his close family has a 60% stake in World Liberty Financial, a crypto firm that is cutting deals and triggering the chief adviser to the interim government, Yunus is the de facto prime minister of Bangladesh. The Yunus-led set-up took over in August 2024 after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was forced into exile after a students' anti-reservation protest ended up toppling her regime. The Hasina government had become synonymous with state-enforced disappearances, torture, killings and rampant corruption. Yunus seems to be maintaining some continuity from the previous regime, at least when it comes to business operations. Here's a ahead for the establishment of Grameen licence for Grameen Employment for Grameen Telecom mobile government's stake in Grameen Bank was cut to 10% from 25%.Tax-exemption status of Grameen Bank be fair, it must be stated that the Grameen companies had applied for these now-approved permits during the Sheikh Hasina government. The former government might have acted vindictively and held back these approvals, given Hasina and Yunus had a strained has had a running feud with Yunus, a Nobel laureate, since the 1/11 plan -- which was meant to bar her and BNP's Khaleda Zia from politics -- was exposed. Yunus was believed to have been planned as the replacement the rush to grant the permits and tax-exemption status has been questioned. People are questioning why they couldn't wait to be approved by an elected government, which, going by Yunus-asserted timeline, should be in place by mid-2026.'Grameen venture clearances create conflict of interests' -- New Age, a Dhaka-based newspaper, headlined an opinion on the the clearances, the New Age opined, "But all this having happened at a time when he [Yunus] needs to establish the just rights of people and remove obstacles to all that curbs the just rights has created a conflict of interests involving him".PRIVATE INVESTMENT IN BANGLADESH AT 5-YEAR LOWThe good times for Yunus' companies come even as Bangladesh's economy investment in Bangladesh hit a 5-year low, according to data released by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics on Tuesday. This will impact job creation in a country already hit by high loss of business confidence comes amid a liquidity crunch, falling Bangladeshi taka that makes imports costlier, inconsistent energy supplies and macroeconomic of the big promises of Yunus and his advisers was to bring in huge foreign direct investment (FDI), which they failed to deliver. In January, FDI into Bangladesh hit a 6-year the early post-Hasina phase, Bangladesh's economy is struggling, even as Grameen companies continue to TIMES FOR GRAMEEN UNIVERSITY, GRAMEEN EMPLOYMENT SERVICESThe Yunus-led interim government approved the setting up of the Grameen University on March private university will operate under the Grameen Trust, founded by Yunus, according to the Dhaka is the first private university to be granted approval by the Yunus-led interim government, according to Bangladesh more interesting is the human resource-export licence to Grameen Employment Services. The company will be sending Bangladeshis for jobs to foreign countries, including Hasina government capped the number of licenced agencies that can recruit and send Bangladeshis abroad. This, according to Bangladeshi sources, ended up creating a ruling the game, these agencies asked for huge fees, which, at times, were impractical and unjustified because of the salaries earned abroad, Bangladesh experts told India Today Digital. This even led to human trafficking and crimes by Bangladeshis of cracking down on the cartel, the Yunus government boosted it with the licence to Grameen Employment Services, the experts TELECOM WALLET SERVICES AND TAX RELIEF TO GRAMEEN BANKIn January, Samadhan Services Limited, a concern of Grameen Telecom, was authorised to operate a mobile wallet service, reported Dhaka-based daily, The Daily Telecom had applied for the licence in 2009, but the approval was delayed by the Hasina government, according to a report in Dainik mobile-wallet licence is being seen as a lucrative business award for a company of the Yunus-founded Grameen interim government has also reinstated the five-year tax exemption status for Grameen Bank until the Grameen Bank is dressed as an NGO, it behaves and operates like a corporate than the tax relief, the interim government also reduced the Bangladesh government's stake in Grameen Bank from 25% to 10%, thus benefiting some officials have said that Yunus didn't benefit from any of these deals as his direct association with the entities ended in the assertions, the approvals and benefits to companies of the Grameen Family of Organisations are being questioned by Bangladeshis."Dr Yunus has shown little respect for the rule of law. Increasingly, his actions mirror those of Sheikh Hasina, leading the country down an uncertain and troubling path. Awarding licences to his own ventures like Grameen Digital Wallet and Grameen Manpower not only reveals a serious conflict of interest, but also raises ethical and contractual concerns," wrote US-based Bangladeshi physicist Muazzam Kazi on compared to the Hasina regime, which has been branded 'fascist', would be the last objective of the Yunus APPOINTMENTS RAISE STINK OF NEPOTISMLike Trump didn't wince a bit when appointing son-in-law Jared Kushner the White House adviser in his first term, Yunus too has blatantly appointed his nephew to his official media Yunus government in March appointed Apurba Jahangir, his nephew, as the Deputy Press Secretary to the Chief Adviser. Critics alleged nepotism, pointing to Jahangir having no substantial experience in media or public relations but getting the appointment of Nurjahan Begum, former Grameen Bank acting managing director, as the Health and Family Welfare Adviser in the Yunus Cabinet also came in for severe criticism."Nurjahan Begum is one of the earliest associates of Professor Muhammad Yunus during the establishment of Grameen Bank," wrote the Dhaka Tribune while profiling the members of the interim sources said, has been conspicuous by her absence in the might not be heading an economy as large as that of the US, but in several ways he might be the poor Bangladesh's Trump. What Yunus, a Nobel laureate, needs to realise is that he is heading an interim, not elected, government, and the hopes of millions of Bangladeshis are pinned on him. Covering himself with a shroud of doubt and controversy, like Hasina did, should be the last thing on his InMust Watch
NBC News
21-05-2025
- General
- NBC News
LGBTQ people and young women are astrology's biggest fans, U.S. survey finds
About half of LGBTQ Americans, or 54%, consult astrology or a horoscope at least yearly, which is about twice the portion of U.S. adults overall, at 28%, according to a new report. The report, published by Pew Research Center on Wednesday, is based on a nationally representative survey of 9,593 U.S. adults conducted last year. LGBTQ adults were also three times as likely to consult tarot cards than non-LGBTQ adults (33% vs. 9%), and four times as likely to say they rely 'at least a little' on what they learn from astrology and tarot to make major life decisions (21% vs. 5%), the survey found. LGBTQ women were more likely than LGBTQ men to consult astrology and tarot at least once a year, at 63% and 40%, respectively. Younger U.S. women, generally, were more likely to report believing in and consulting astrology, the report found. Nearly half (43%) of younger women, those ages 18 to 49, said they believe in astrology and consult astrology, compared with 27% of women 50 and older, 20% of men ages 18 to 49, and 15% of men 50 or older. The results might not surprise some members of the queer community, whose interest in astrology has been well-documented on social media and in dozens of books and articles. In fact, Netflix on Wednesday released the full cast of the upcoming second season of 'The Ultimatum: Queer Love,' a popular reality show about queer couples in which one member of the couple has given the other an ultimatum to get married, and each cast member's personal information includes their astrological sign. Pew Research Center noted in its report that 'there is limited academic research on the topic' of why LGBTQ people are more interested in astrology, but that 'media publications focused on LGBTQ+ issues have described the prevalence of New Age practices in the LGBTQ+ community.' Some queer people who grew up in unsupportive religious communities have also written about how astrology provided them with a daily practice similar to religion. Some religious adults were more likely to consult astrology, the report found. Those who were among the most likely to say they consult it at least annually were Hispanic Catholics (39%), Black Protestants (33%) and adults who say their religion is 'nothing in particular' (35%). White evangelicals and atheists were among the groups most likely to say they never consult astrology, horoscopes, tarot cards or fortune tellers, the report found.
Miami Herald
21-05-2025
- General
- Miami Herald
Some religious Americans among the most likely to consult astrology, poll finds
Nearly 30% of Americans consult New Age practices such as astrology, Tarot cards or fortune tellers, with some religious groups ranking among the most likely to look to the practices for guidance in their lives, according to a new poll. Most Americans who engage in at least one of these practices said they do it 'just for fun' while half as many said they do it because they 'believe the practices give them helpful insights,' a May 21 survey by Pew Research Center found. The poll of 9,593 Americans was taken from Oct. 21 to 27 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.3 percentage points, according to researchers. Thirty-five percent of Hispanic Catholics,34% of Black Protestants, and 36% of people who describe themselves as believing in nothing in particular said they consult astrology for helpful insights, making those groups among the most likely to turn to the practice, the survey found. When it comes to making major life decisions, Hispanic Catholics are the most likely to rely on these practices rather than engaging in them leisurely, researchers said. On the other hand, Atheists, Jewish people, and white evangelical Protestants, are among the least likely to believe in these practices, according to the survey, with less than 20% of those surveyed saying they believe. In general, both religious people and those who are religiously unaffiliated said they believe in astrology at similar rates, 27% to 28%, respectively, according to the survey. Other findings The poll also found that the biggest difference in the likelihood of Americans to believe or consult astrology is age and gender. Women are twice as likely as men to believe in astrology, and people under 65 are more likely than people over 65 to consult it for guidance, according to the survey. Americans who identify as LGBT also stood out when it came to consulting astrology, horoscopes or Tarot cards for helpful insights and not just for fun, with 29% saying they do so — 19 percentage points more than Americans in general, according to the survey. Conservatives were also less likely than moderates and liberals to consult astrology for guidance, the survey found.
USA Today
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
It's the future: Nearly a third of US adults consult astrology, tarot cards
It's the future: Nearly a third of US adults consult astrology, tarot cards Show Caption Hide Caption What is Mercury retrograde? What the astrological phenomenon means. What happens during Mercury retrograde? What to know about the astrological occurrence. J Davis-Jones knows what it's like to struggle with life's demons. The Dallas-based tarot reader and theater artist fought their way back from the void with the urge to be loud about what they had learned in their healing process. Part of that had come from tarot cards, with which Davis-Jones now dispenses hope and positivity on their TikTok account with a global following exceeding 204,000, many of whom reflect Davis-Jones' own identity as a young member of the LGBT and BIPOC communities. "Tarot is a tool to connect with your intuition," said Davis-Jones, 28. "It's a way to gauge your guides, to give your angels and God, the great spirit, a voice in your life.... The cards have meaning, but the more you study and learn it, the more you develop this deeper intuitive side." A new report from the Pew Research Center indicates nearly a third of U.S. adults consult astrology, tarot cards or fortune tellers at least once a year, with the share highest among women, young people and the LGBT community. A third of those who do say they do so to gain helpful insights, while the rest say they pursue the practices just for fun. LGBT adults are most likely (29%) among the survey's analyzed demographic subgroups to say they use either tarot cards, horoscopes or fortune tellers to get helpful insights, and 21% of LGBT adults said they relied at least 'a little' on these practices when making major life decisions. The past decade has seen rising interest in New Age practices, largely associated with young people seeking mental wellbeing. Some, like Davis-Jones, have cultivated social media followings initiated by pandemic-related anxiety and social distancing. The trend comes as Gen Zers and Millennials have increasingly broadened or reconstructed their spirituality around non-traditional religious activities while abandoning Christian faith systems and increasingly describing themselves as agnostics, atheists or "nothing in particular." Beliefs marked by gender and age differences The Pew Research Center survey of nearly 9,600 U.S. adults, conducted in October, found 30% of people pursue at least one of the new age practices annually, with differences in gender and age. For example, 43% of women aged 18 to 49 said they believe in astrology – the notion that the position of celestial objects can affect people's lives – compared to 20% of men of similar age; overall, women are about twice as likely as men to believe in astrology (35% to 18%). LGBT adults were more than three times as likely (33%) as non-LGBT adults (9%) to consult tarot cards – a deck of cards featuring images and archetypes used to interpret one's situation – at least annually, with 15% of LGBT adults doing so once or twice a month. Meanwhile, nearly a quarter of Americans aged 18 to 29 said they used tarot cards at least annually, compared to 11% of the general population, 6% of Americans aged 50 to 64 and just 3% of those 65 and older. "Something happened with the quarantine, where we were forced to go back to our roots," said Davis-Jones, who launched their TikTok account after their work as a bartender dried up with the pandemic lockdown. "We were all on autopilot, just going to work — and then overnight, we were forced to see ourselves." The portion of Americans who believe in astrology hasn't budged much in recent years, slipping to 27% compared to 29% in 2017. Gallup polls between 1990 and 2005 consistently found between 23% and 28% of Americans believed in astrology, the Pew report noted. But LGBT adults were much more likely (43%) to do so than non-LGBT adults (27%), the report found. More than half of LGBT adults (54%) said they consulted astrology or a horoscope at least once a year, with the share higher among LGBT women (63%) than LGBT men (40%). Among religiously affiliated Americans, Hispanic Catholics (39%) and Black Protestants (33%) were the most likely groups to say they used astrology, in addition to 35% of those who described their beliefs as 'nothing in particular.' Few Americans report consulting with fortune tellers: Just 6% of all U.S. adults said they did so at least once or twice a year. However, the figure was more than twice as high among Asian Americans (15%) and adults under 30 years of age (14%). Just 3% of White Americans and 2% of adults aged 65 and older reported doing so. Compared to one in 20 U.S. adults overall, 12% of both Hispanic Catholics and Asian Americans said they relied 'a little' on either astrology, tarot or fortune tellers when making major life decisions. The figure was slightly lower among Black Americans (11%) and Hispanic Americans (9%) and lowest among White Americans (4%). Just 1% of U.S. adults said they relied 'a lot' on such practices to make major life decisions. White evangelicals and atheists were among the groups most likely to say they never engage in such practices, the report said. In Dallas, Davis-Jones, the tarot reader, said most paying clients come looking for healing. Sometimes that's easier with another person, they said. "There was a time in my life when tarot became a way of finding my breath and my healing again," Davis-Jones said. "That's the value this offers. I'm not a therapist. I'm not here to fix them, I'm just here to hold space for that spirit to enter the room and speak to them. For somebody who's lost to feel seen."
