Falcon Consultancy

What is AI? Everything to know about artificial intelligence

admin — Sun, 24 Dec 2023 19:04:58 +0000

If you want to know about the fascinating and fast-developing technologies of artificial intelligence, we cover everything from machine learning and general AI to neural networks

What is artificial intelligence?

Hear the term artificial intelligence (AI) and you might think of self-driving cars, robots, ChatGPT or other AI chatbots, and artificially created images. But it’s also important to look behind the outputs of AI and understand how the technology works and its impacts for this and future generations.

AI is a concept that has been around, formally, since the 1950s, when it was defined as a machine’s ability to perform a task that would’ve previously required human intelligence. This is quite a broad definition and one that has been modified over decades of research and technological advancements.

When you consider assigning intelligence to a machine, such as a computer, it makes sense to start by defining the term ‘intelligence’ — especially when you want to determine if an artificial system is truly deserving of it.

Our level of intelligence sets us apart from other living beings and is essential to the human experience. Some experts define intelligence as the ability to adapt, solve problems, plan, improvise in new situations, and learn new things.

With intelligence sometimes seen as the foundation for human experience, it’s perhaps no surprise that we’d try and recreate it artificially in scientific endeavors.

And today’s AI systems might demonstrate some traits of human intelligence, including learning, problem-solving, perception, and even a limited spectrum of creativity and social intelligence.

How can I use AI?

AI comes in different forms that have become widely available in everyday life. The smart speakers on your mantle with Alexa or Google voice assistant built-in are two great examples of AI. Other good examples are popular AI chatbots, such as ChatGPT, the new Bing Chat, and Google Bard.

When you ask ChatGPT for the capital of a country or you ask Alexa to give you an update on the weather, you’ll get responses that are the result of machine-learning algorithms.

Though these systems aren’t a replacement for human intelligence or social interaction, they have the ability to use their training to adapt and learn new skills for tasks that they weren’t explicitly programmed to perform.

What are the different types of AI?

Artificial intelligence can be divided into three widely accepted subcategories: narrow AI, general AI, and super AI.

What is narrow AI?

Artificial narrow intelligence (ANI) is crucial to voice assistants, such as Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant. This category includes intelligent systems that have been designed or trained to carry out specific tasks or solve particular problems, without being explicitly designed to do so.

ANI might often be referred to as weak AI, as it doesn’t possess general intelligence, but some examples of the power of narrow AI include the above voice assistants, and also image-recognition systems, technologies that respond to simple customer service requests, and tools that flag inappropriate content online.

ChatGPT is an example of ANI, as it is programmed to perform a specific task, which is to generate text responses to the prompts it is given.

What is general AI?

Artificial general intelligence (AGI), also known as strong AI, is still a hypothetical concept as it involves a machine understanding and performing vastly different tasks based on its accumulated experience. This type of intelligence is more on the level of human intellect, as AGI systems would be able to reason and think like a human.

Like a human, AGI would potentially be able to understand any intellectual task, think abstractly, learn from its experiences, and use that knowledge to solve new problems. Essentially, we’re talking about a system or machine capable of common sense, which is currently not achievable with any form of available AI.

Developing a system with its own consciousness is still, presumably, a fair way in the distance, but it is the ultimate goal in AI research.

What is super AI?

Artificial super intelligence (ASI) is a system that wouldn’t only rock humankind to its core, but could also destroy it. If that sounds straight out of a science fiction novel, it’s because it kind of is: ASI is a system where the intelligence of a machine surpasses all forms of human intelligence, in all aspects, and outperforms humans in every function.

An intelligent system that can learn and continuously improve itself is still a hypothetical concept. However, it’s a system that, if applied effectively and ethically, could lead to extraordinary progress and achievements in medicine, technology, and more.

What are some recent examples of AI?

Overall, the most notable advancements in AI are the development and release of GPT 3.5 and GPT 4. But there have been many other revolutionary achievements in artificial intelligence — too many, in fact, to include all of them here.

Here are some of the most notable:

ChatGPT (and the GPTs)

ChatGPT is an AI chatbot capable of natural language generation, translation, and answering questions. Though it’s arguably the most popular AI tool, thanks to its widespread accessibility, OpenAI made significant waves in the world of artificial intelligence with the creation of GPTs 1, 2, and 3.

GPT stands for Generative Pre-trained Transformer, and GPT-3 was the largest language model in existence at the time of its 2020 launch, with 175 billion parameters. The latest version, GPT-4, accessible through ChatGPT Plus or Bing Chat, has one trillion parameters.

Self-driving cars

Though the safety of self-driving cars is a top concern of potential users, the technology continues to advance and improve with breakthroughs in AI. These vehicles use machine-learning algorithms to combine data from sensors and cameras to perceive their surroundings and determine the best course of action.

Tesla’s autopilot feature in its electric vehicles is probably what most people think of when considering self-driving cars, but Waymo, from Google’s parent company, Alphabet, makes autonomous rides, like a taxi without a taxi driver, in San Francisco, CA, and Phoenix, AZ.

Cruise is another robotaxi service, and auto companies like Apple, Audi, GM, and Ford are also presumably working on self-driving vehicle technology.

Robotics

The achievements of Boston Dynamics stand out in the area of AI and robotics. Though we’re still a long way away from creating AI at the level of technology seen in the moive Terminator, watching Boston Dyanmics’ robots use AI to navigate and respond to different terrains is impressive.

DeepMind

Google sister company DeepMind is an AI pioneer making strides toward the ultimate goal of artificial general intelligence (AGI). Though not there yet, the company initially made headlines in 2016 with AlphaGo, a system that beat a human professional Go player.

Since then, DeepMind has created a protein-folding prediction system, which can predict the complex 3D shapes of proteins, and it’s developed programs that can diagnose eye diseases as effectively as the top doctors around the world.

What is machine learning?

The biggest quality that sets AI aside from other computer science topics is the ability to easily automate tasks by employing machine learning, which lets computers learn from different experiences rather than being explicitly programmed to perform each task. This capability is what many refer to as AI, but machine learning is actually a subset of artificial intelligence.

Machine learning involves a system being trained on large amounts of data, so it can learn from mistakes, and recognize patterns in order to accurately make predictions and decisions, whether they’ve been exposed to the specific data or not.

Examples of machine learning include image and speech recognition, fraud protection, and more. One specific example is the image recognition system when users upload a photo to Facebook. The social media network can analyze the image and recognize faces, which leads to recommendations to tag different friends. With time and practice, the system hones this skill and learns to make more accurate recommendations.

What are the elements of machine learning?

As mentioned above, machine learning is a subset of AI and is generally split into two main categories: supervised, and unsupervised learning.

Supervised learning

This is a common technique for teaching AI systems by using many labelled examples that have been categorized by people. These machine-learning systems are fed huge amounts of data, which has been annotated to highlight the features of interest — you’re essentially teaching by example.

If you wanted to train a machine-learning model to recognize and differentiate images of circles and squares, you’d get started by gathering a large dataset of images of circles and squares in different contexts, such as a drawing of a planet for a circle, or a table for a square, for example, complete with labels for what each shape is.

The algorithm would then learn this labeled collection of images to distinguish the shapes and its characteristics, such as circles having no corners and squares having four equal sides. After it’s trained on the dataset of images, the system will be able to see a new image and determine what shape it finds.

Unsupervised learning

In contrast, unsupervised learning uses a different approach, where algorithms try to identify patterns in data, looking for similarities that can be used to categorize that data.

An example might be clustering together fruits that weigh a similar amount or cars with a similar engine size.

The algorithm isn’t set up in advance to pick out specific types of data; it simply looks for data with similarities that it can group, for example, grouping customers together based on shopping behavior to target them with personalized marketing campaigns.

Reinforcement learning

In reinforcement learning, the system attempts to maximize a reward based on its input data, basically going through a process of trial and error until it arrives at the best possible outcome.

Consider training a system to play a video game, where it can receive a positive reward if it gets a higher score and a negative reward for a low score. The system learns to analyze the game and make moves, and then learns solely from the rewards it receives, reaching the point of being able to play on its own and earn a high score without human intervention.

Reinforcement learning is also used in research, where it can help teach autonomous robots about the optimal way to behave in real-world environments.

What are large language models?

One of the most renowned types of AI right now are large language models (LLM). These models use unsupervised machine learning and are trained on massive amounts of text to learn how human language works. These texts include articles, books, websites, and more.

In the training process, LLMs process billions of words and phrases to learn patterns and relationships between them, making the models able to generate human-like answers to prompts.

The most popular LLM is GPT 3.5, on which ChatGPT is based, and the largest LLM is GPT-4. Bard uses LaMDA, a LLM developed by Google, which is the second-largest LLM.

What is deep learning?

Part of the machine-learning family, deep learning involves training artificial neural networks with three or more layers to perform different tasks. These neural networks are expanded into sprawling networks with a large number of deep layers that are trained using massive amounts of data.

Deep-learning models tend to have more than three layers, and can have hundreds of layers. It can use supervised or unsupervised learning or a combination of both in the training process.

Because deep-learning technology can learn to recognize complex patterns in data using AI, it is often used in natural language processing (NLP), speech recognition, and image recognition.

What are neural networks?

The success of machine learning relies on neural networks. These are mathematical models whose structure and functioning are loosely based on the connection between neurons in the human brain, mimicking the way they signal to one another.

Imagine a group of robots that are working together to solve a puzzle. Each one is programmed to recognize a different shape or color in the puzzle pieces. The robots combine their abilities to solve the puzzle together. A neural network is like the group of robots.

Neural networks can tweak internal parameters to change what they output. Each one is fed databases to learn what it should put out when presented with certain data during training.

They are made up of interconnected layers of algorithms that feed data into each other. Neural networks can be trained to carry out specific tasks by modifying the importance attributed to data as it passes between layers. During the training of these neural networks, the weights attached to data as it passes between layers will continue to be varied until the output from the neural network is very close to what is desired.

At that point, the network will have ‘learned’ how to carry out a particular task. The desired output could be anything from correctly labelling fruit in an image to predicting when an elevator might fail based on its sensor data.

What is conversational AI?

Conversational AI includes systems that are programmed to have conversations with a user: trained to listen (input), and respond (output) in a conversational manner. Conversational AI uses natural language processing to understand and respond in a natural way.

Some examples of conversational AI are chatbots like Google Bard, smart speakers with a voice assistant like Amazon Alexa, or virtual assistants on your smartphone like Siri.

Which AI services are available to use?

General consumers and businesses alike have a wealth of AI services available to expedite tasks and add convenience to day-to-day life — you probably have something in your home that uses AI in some capacity.

Here are some common examples of artificial intelligence available to the public, both free and for a fee:

Voice assistants: Amazon Alexa sitting in that Echo device on your shelf or Apple’s Siri in your iPhone and Google Assistant all use natural language processing to understand and respond to your questions or commands.
Chatbots: AI chatbots are another form of virtual assistants that can interact with people and, in some cases, hold human-like conversations, even mimicking empathy and concern.
Language translation: Machine learning reaches far and wide, and services like Google Translate, Microsoft Translator, Amazon Translate, and ChatGPT all use it to translate text.
Productivity: Microsoft 365 Copilot is a great example of a LLM used as an AI productivity tool, embedded within Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, Excel, Teams, and more to automate tasks for you. Simply asking, ’email the team about the latest status on the project’ will trigger Copilot to automatically gather information from emails and documents to generate a text with what you asked.
Image and video recognition: Different programs use AI to find information about the content in images and videos, such as the faces, text, and objects within them. Clarifai, which employs machine learning to organize unstructured data from sources, and Amazon Rekognition, an AWS service that lets users upload images to receive information, are two examples of this.
Software development: Many developers have started using ChatGPT to write and debug code, but there are many other AI tools available to make a programmer’s job easier. One example, the AI pair programmer GitHub Copilot by OpenAI Codex, is a generative language model that can write code faster with less effort by autocompleting comments and code instantly.
Building a business: Aside from an everyday user availing themselves of artificial intelligence around them, there are services offering AI tools for businesses, including OpenAI’s GPT-4 API (currently on waitlist) to built applications and services using the LLM; or Amazon Bedrock, a suite of cloud-based AI tools for developers.

What company is leading the AI race?

Though generative AI leads the artificial intelligence breakthroughs of 2023, there are other top companies working on their own breakthroughs.

OpenAI

It’s not surprising OpenAI has taken the lead so far in the AI race this year, after making generative AI tools available for widespread use for free, such as the AI chatbot ChatGPT and Dall-E 2, which is an image generator.

Alphabet

Google’s parent company, Alphabet, has its hands in several different AI systems through some of its companies, including DeepMind, Waymo, and the aforementioned Google.

DeepMind continues to pursue artificial general intelligence, as evidenced by the scientific solutions it strives to achieve through AI systems. It’s developed machine-learning models for Document AI, optimized the viewer experience on Youtube, made AlphaFold available for researchers worldwide, and more.

Though you may not hear of Alphabet’s artificial intelligence endeavors in the news every day, its works in deep learning and AI in general have the potential to change the future for human beings.

Microsoft

Aside from creating Microsoft 365 Copilot for its 365 lot of applications, Microsoft provides a suite of AI tools for developers on Azure, such as platforms for developing machine learning, data analytics, and conversational AI, customizable APIs that achieve human parity in computer vision, speech, and language.

Microsoft has also invested heavily into OpenAI’s development, and is using GPT-4 in the new Bing Chat, as well as a more advanced version of Dall-E 2 for the Bing Image Creator.

Other companies

These are just a few examples of companies leading the AI race, but there are many others worldwide that are also making strides into artificial intelligence, including Baidu, Alibaba, Cruise, Lenovo, Tesla, and more.

How will AI change the world?

Artificial intelligence has the power to change the way we work, our health, how we consume media and get to work, our privacy, and more.

Consider the impact that certain AI systems can have on the world as a whole. People can ask a voice assistant on their phones to hail rides from autonomous cars to get them to work, where they can use AI tools to be more efficient than ever before.

Doctors and radiologists could make cancer diagnoses using fewer resources, spot genetic sequences related to diseases, and identify molecules that could lead to more effective medications, potentially saving countless lives.

Alternatively, it’s worth considering the disruption that could result from having neural networks that can create realistic images, such as Dall-E 2, Midjourney, and Bing; that can replicate someone’s voice or create deepfake videos using a person’s resemblance. These could threaten what photos, videos, or audios people can consider genuine.

Another ethical issue with AI concerns facial recognition and surveillance, and how this technology could be an intrusion on people’s privacy, with many experts looking to ban it altogether.

Will an AI steal your job?

The possibility of artificially intelligent systems replacing a considerable chunk of modern labor is a credible near-future possibility.

While commonplace artificial intelligence won’t replace all jobs, what seems to be certain is that AI will change the nature of work, with the only question being how rapidly and how profoundly automation will alter the workplace.

However, artificial intelligence can’t run on its own, and while many jobs with routine, repetitive data work might be automated, workers in other jobs can use tools like generative AI to become more productive and efficient.

There’s a broad range of opinions among AI experts about how quickly artificially intelligent systems will surpass human capabilities.

Fully autonomous self-driving vehicles aren’t a reality yet but, by some predictions, the self-driving trucking industry alone is poised to take over 500,000 jobs in the US inevitably, even without considering the impact on couriers and taxi drivers.

25 reasons to study abroad

admin — Sun, 31 Dec 2017 09:29:28 +0000

1. It’ll look good on your CV 25 reasons to study abroad

If you can explore a new country at the same time as picking up the international skills to gain a decent graduate job, then that’s pretty good going.

2. Brush up on your language skills

Remember the foreign language skills you picked up in school? No, me neither. Refresh them by studying abroad; you might be surprised at how much you remember.

3. Living in a foreign country is completely different to a holiday

You’ll actually get to experience your place of study in the long term, picking up local knowledge such as where sells the best coffee, what tourist traps to avoid and how to get the most out of your new city.

4. Meet a diverse range of people

Your exposure to many different types of people will not only help you to develop your people skills, but it will also give you a firmer knowledge of others, both friend and foe.

5. Make lifelong friends

You may not love every single person you meet, but chances are that you’ll meet at least one lifelong friend (if you’re good at keeping in touch, that is).

6. Discover new and exciting foods

Get more paella /poutine /pierogi /schnitzel /shawarma /chimichanga /katsudon /bobotie /baklava (delete as appropriate) in your life.

7. Study and learn differently

Often those studying abroad will experience a completely new way of teaching. This can be daunting, but it will also open your mind to new ways of learning.

8. Gain independence

It’s not easy being independent – to paraphrase Destiny’s Child – but it’s also a heck of a lot better than living with your parents as a 20-something.

9. Learn self-reliance

Moving abroad is the ultimate test in self-reliance. When (or if) you move back, you’ll likely rely on others less and you’ll take more responsibility for yourself.

10. You’ll gain a greater knowledge of different cultures

Cultural sensitivity isn’t just a quality which politicians may be accused of lacking; it’s also something you can develop while studying abroad!

11. See your own culture through a new lens

It’s easy to accept your own culture as absolute, but living in another country can help inform your point of view on your home culture, allowing you to develop your own views rather than simply accepting those defined by where happen to come from.

12. Learn more about yourself

Throwing yourself into a completely new environment will help you to figure out what you’re good at, as well as what you’re not so good at. These are things that can then be built on during your study abroad experience.

13. Become an adult

Speed up the transition from teenager to adult by leaping into the unknown. You’ll have to fend for yourself, buy your own meals and wash your own clothes, but it’ll all be worth it.

14. Gain life experience

One of the ultimate reasons to study abroad is to gain life experience. You’ll learn how to organize your life and condense it into one suitcase, handle unforeseen situations, be independent and self-sufficient.

15. Be spontaneous and adventurous

When you’re hundreds of thousands of miles away from home, spontaneity and adventurousness are your best friends. Open your mind up to new experiences and sights and the fun will come your way.

16. You learn to appreciate the smaller things more

Studying abroad usually means you have even fewer possessions than the average student, and being that much further from home can really make you miss those familiar comforts you’d taken for granted. Welcome to a new-found appreciation of everything from your parents’ cooking to having more than two pairs of shoes to choose from.

17. Gain a global mind-set

Whether it’s in work, study or play, you’ll be able to use your new global mind-set to back up arguments, inform your beliefs and steer your future.

18. Get the perks of international student discounts

Student discounts are always fun but 100 times more so when you’re shopping in a new store with funny-looking money! (Disclaimer: don’t spend it all at once.)

19. It’s an unforgettable experience

Even if your friends back home get bored of hearing about it (warning: they will), your study abroad experience will stay with you long after it’s over.

20. You’ll appreciate your home and family more

Any memories of parental arguments or sibling rivalry will pale in comparison to your memories of how amazing they are. (Likewise, they’ll have time to forget about all your less attractive attributes too…) When you get back these relationships will look so much stronger!

21. International student funding is becoming more common

Studying abroad doesn’t have to leave you penniless, as more and more institutions and governmental bodies are offering dedicated scholarships for international students. To discover international scholarships from around the world, see this page.

22. Take advantage of lower tuition fees

This of course depends on where you study abroad, but if you choose a location in many parts of continental Europe, Asia and Latin America, you’ll find it’s possible to study at a highly reputed university without getting into five-figured debt.

23. Use your spare time to explore

In between lectures and lab sessions, studying abroad should leave you with plenty of time to explore. Whether you’re one for visiting iconic landmarks, trying new foods or bartering at local markets, there’s always bound to be a better way of spending your time than scrolling through Facebook!

24. Increase your international job prospects

While you can always go home at the end of your time as an international student, many choose to stay put and apply for a working visa. Even if you return home or decide to seek work elsewhere, the international experience provided by studying abroad is likely to be looked on favorabl home or decide to seek work elsewhere, the international experience provided by studying abroad is likely to be looked on favorably by employers.

25. Because “variety is the spice of life”

It might be something your dad says when opting for a different flavor of crisps at the supermarket, but it’s true; change, variety and new experiences are what make life worth living. Mix it up a bit: study abroad!

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How To Manifest Everything That You Want

admin — Tue, 27 Dec 2016 16:09:02 +0000

Manifesting is the metaphysical art and science of how we can easily bring our desires into the physical world. It is natural process that involves a specific vibration of energy which you experience that will attract any heartfelt desire to you quickly and effortlessly! To start this process, you should think of something that you would like to have. Start from small things first because this will give you more faith as to that they will manifest.

When you manifest small things, you will be able to gradually progress to bigger and bigger ones. Some fail to manifest because they want to get large amounts of money, houses or cars with their first intention. But that does not work this way because you cannot possibly completely believe that such big things will manifest when you are just a beginner.

How to manifest your desires

Slow Down, Relax and Fully Be Here Now.

Being ever-present to this eternal moment is one of the most essential and basic key to manifesting. The mind will jump from past to the future and back again to the past, distracting you from the Infinite Source of power that is only here now. The entire Universe is happening only in this moment. If you are thinking about anything but this moment you are missing out on the Source that is connected to everyone and everything in it. The mind/ego is an extraordinary tool and is what we use to manifest our desires with. If the mind is free from the distracting thoughts about the past and future, then the amazing core of your magical manifesting power has room to come through! By slowing down you are able to shut off the mind chatter and tap directly into the infinite Source of manifesting power that is available ONLY in the Now. As you learn how to slow down your thoughts, your breathing and the movement of your body, eventually the mind comes to a halt and creates space of timelessness. Here we tap into the Infinite Source and you make contact with a super-natural power inside. When we live throughout our day at an enjoyable relaxed and peace filled pace, we can truly resource the intelligence and power in this eternal moment.

Remember, every idea begins with an intuitive hunch. We know we need certain things at certain times in our lives. There is an inner voice which tells us. We encounter omens or coincidences which point to it. Conversations trigger ideas through synchronicity. There are times when you know you want something.

Practice Stillness Everyday.

In order to stop the constant chattering of the mind, we need a conscious daily Meditation practice of training the mind. Manifesting happens instantly when you have made the mind to act according to your way. The longer you can maintain focus on your breath, the faster your goals will manifest for you. The actual time it takes to manifest is directly proportional to the number of minutes you can concentrate on what you want without distraction. Become the master of your thoughts, get to know this seat of consciousness inside.

Be clear on what it is you wish to create in your life. The more specific – the better. We teach making lists as a way to clarify what you want. The world is a reflection of our mind. We attract into our lives a reflection of the thoughts we project. If you really want anything, you can have it. Creating a crystal clear vision is an important step.

Make Conscious Contact With The Universe

The first step here is to acknowledge that there is a higher power inside you right now, and its very easily available to you. The next step is to be open to this extremely ever-present intelligent Source that is always happening everywhere you are. Believe and get to know your personal conscious connection with this sacred Omni-present Source of power. As you progress in your relationship with this very real divine intelligence, center your mind closer to your heart. You will come to know that God is closer to you than your heart, your mind or your next breath of air.

By spending time getting clear on what you desire, you will recognize it when it turns up! That will provide you with certainty that you have found what you are looking for and give you the courage to complete the plan to manifestation.

Trust in Life’s Magical Unfolding Process.

Be infinitely patient! Discover a deeper “knowingness” inside you that can help you let go of anxiety, disbelief and doubt. Decide and believe that your goal is on its way. The Universe is always supporting what you want and if you affirm what you want it will always help you to achieve it. The more you can surrender to this deeply wise and powerful feeling of trust and letting go, the more the Universe can help you. It’s about getting in touch with that infinite patience that ignites and engages this manifesting process. The experience of Trust is really the greatest and deepest surrender to the Universe from the tiny ego trip we’re on.

Thus, be crystal clear on your outcome; daily visualize what you desire, but release the need to have it. When we project neediness, we block manifestation. When we don’t care, miracles happen. Be confident. Release any negative thoughts. Affirm that what you desire is on the way with everyone you meet. Brush off any thoughts or comments that you can’t achieve what you wish.

Focus on your Desired Outcome without Attachment to it.

When you allow your mind to ONLY have positive thoughts towards your desired outcome you are saying to the Universe that you are devoted to manifesting your dream. Being in a deep, positive, open connection with your desired outcome without being overly attached to it, is one of the greatest hidden keys to manifesting it. Positive thinking is a way of sending direct messages to the Universe saying what you want is important and sacred to you. Visualize, feel and imagine that your greatest dream is happening to you without clinging to it. Assume that your imagination is real! Honor and respect your goals in life as if they were given to you from the highest and most powerful being you can imagine.

By now you need to put in place all that is necessary to make your dreams come true. Completely let go and it is a matter of time. We live in an infinite universe of absolute abundance. It is only our limiting beliefs which restrict our experience.

Love Yourself Always and In All Ways.

By simply and profoundly giving Love to yourself everyday in every way you are saying to the Universe you are worthy of attaining any dream, vision or goal. Immediately drop any neediness for love, acceptance and approval from others and replace it with self-love. Step aside from everyone’s judgments of you and use that crucial time and energy to send yourself loving and appreciative thoughts. You will increase your manifesting ability and power with every loving feeling you have about yourself that is usually negative and skeptical. The greatest manifesting energy comes from within this Infinite Source of Thought of your being which is in essence Absolute Love.

In simple words, anchor in your belief in your own power to manifest by celebrating your success. The more you do this, the easier it becomes to find exactly what you want in life. Have a glass of champagne. Go out for dinner. Splash out. It is important to honor your victories. Angels tread lightly. You are an angel. Lighten up, have fun with life, and watch your desires come to pass with ever increasing rapidity. Make it so!

Conclusion

Decide what you want, know you deserve it, believe that it is and it will be yours!

A Simple Guide to De-clutter Your Mind

admin — Tue, 27 Dec 2016 16:02:10 +0000

[box] “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” – Leonardo DaVinci.[/box]

The goal of reducing clutter is to eliminate the non-essentials and keep only what is needed. If you are cleaning out your closet, this means deciding which pile each thing belongs in. But when it comes to the contents of your mind, the choice is where you place your attention. What do you want to feed with your most precious resource – your attention? We must however be aware that the beginning of any change and any new direction starts within. More accurately it starts with a thought. No matter what that new journey will be, no matter how far it will take us, that first step will quietly, occur within the realms of our own mind.

An uncluttered mind is still and pristine like a mountain lake on a windless day. Even if a ripple appears, the tranquility remains, undisturbed. Your actions are clean and efficient. In the spaciousness, you notice creative impulses, novel ideas, and boundless peace. You feel light, calm, and alive.

Mental Noise

To a great extend, much of this can be classified as mental noise. We are forced to deal with it, blocking it out when we can, doing our best to filter out small pieces that are actually useful to us. We as humans were simply not designed to deal with this much information all at once. This noise keeps us at a disadvantage. It prevents us from focusing on our goals, focusing on what truly matters. It keeps us disconnected from the big picture and from each other.

Without the much needed mental clarity, no matter how many courses we may take, we are not prepared to recognize that which truly makes the difference in our lives, what brings us the lasting happiness that we seek.

Inquiry for Thoughts and Feelings

Are you ready to de-clutter your mind? Experts suggest asking a series of questions to decide what to keep and what to let go of. Take each thought pattern, each emotion, and any internal experience that holds you back and pose these questions:

Do I need this? Is it essential or necessary?

Does it serve me? Is it helpful or useful?

Am I attached to it? Can I let it go?

The Process of Letting Go

Let’s be clear about what “letting go” means. It’s not exactly like throwing away those clothes you haven’t worn for five years – or is it?

Letting go might mean choosing to move your attention away from a non-essential thought or feeling every time it arises. Or, the process of asking these questions might automatically dispel a long-treasured, old, boring story.

And sometimes the letting go is more of a process that happens over time.

Start by asking yourself the three questions, and see what you discover. Maybe you will be ready to let go of a mindset that doesn’t serve you. Or simply asking the questions may help the patterns loosen their grip.

De-cluttering is not an order, or even a goal. With great wisdom and love, simply notice, inquire, receive, then watch what happens…effortlessly.

Simple Breathing Meditation Technique

Here is a step by step guide to a simple breathing meditation technique that can be helpful for de-cluttering your minds.

Find a quiet dark area where you will not be disturbed for a duration of your session. Assume a comfortable position sitting down, without leaning back.

With your eyes closed, take a couple of deep breaths to help you relax. Now, breath normally. Gently bring your attention to the air moving in and out of your nose. Feel the cool air entering your nostrils, rising up through the nose passages on inhale. Don’t hold your breath. Feel the warmer air moving through and out of your nose at exhale. You can keep your eyes focused at the point between your eyebrows if you like.

Continue with your attention on the breath. Never force your breathing but allow it to naturally flow in and out of your nose. Thoughts will come up in your mind. One by one acknowledge them and gently return your mind to the breath. Watch your breath, never forcing it, simply observing. The thoughts will come and go, but the breath will continue, calmly and peacefully. It may be helpful to mentally repeat “in” while breathing in and “out” when breathing out.

You may find that after a while, your breath will become shallower. This is normal and you should just go along with it. Don’t force your breath. The key is simply to observe the air, become the air itself if you will. Let go of everything else, allow yourself to deeply merge with it. If your time is limited, you may want to set a gentle alarm in advance letting you know when the time is up. Slowly get out of the state of meditation but try to retain the calmness that you are experiencing. Bring this feeling of calmness with you when you’re done.

This simple practice will train your mind to focus on just one thing – in this case, your breathing. The effectiveness of this method comes from having a permanent point of attention. You may practice it as long as you’d like. It is recommend to start for just 5 to 10 minutes per day and growing your practice from there. Eventually, this meditation practice may be performed sitting at your office during a break, on the bus, whenever you have some down time or need to focus yourself.

The benefits of de-cluttering your mind are felt almost immediately. You will become more focused and prone to less distraction in general. All of your ideas will evolve more naturally. Your decisions will become more intuitive. Any task that you approach will be more manageable and easier to achieve. You will be ready to handle the new journeys or to improve your current ones. The answers will naturally come to you, just listen. This practice may also make you feel more peaceful and attuned to everything and everyone around you. You will realize that we all have the same desire for love, peace and appreciation that connects us all.

Conclusion

To be in a position to create a brand new program we have to change the programming of the past. Clear the slate if you like. So let’s get into how we can de-clutter our minds. It takes work, sacrifice and persistence.

However this is the price you must pay to prepare the fertile garden in your mind. There is no such thing as something for nothing. The universe will only align with you when you are prepared to pay a price for what you will receive. I hope you can commit to the price being asked here. The rewards will far outweigh the asking price.

The process is working when you begin to feel a difference in your energy level. Soon after that you will begin to be aware of the thoughts buzzing around in your head.

Aberystwyth University

admin — Mon, 03 Nov 2014 12:27:45 +0000

Aberystwyth University:

Aberystwyth University (Welsh: Prifysgol Aberystwyth) is a public research university located in Aberystwyth, Wales. Aberystwyth was a founding Member Institution of the former federal University of Wales. There are over 7,500 students in the University’s three main faculties of arts, social science and the sciences.

Founded in 1872 as University College Wales, Aberystwyth it became a founder member of the University of Wales in 1894 and changed its name to the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth. In the mid-1990s, the university again changed its name to the University of Wales, Aberystwyth. On 1 September 2007, the University of Wales ceased to be a federal university and Aberystwyth became independent again.

Aberystwyth University was ranked between the 601-650 bracket in the world by the QS World University Rankings. The Guardian University League Table 2015 ranks Aberystwyth 106th out of 116 UK universities, the 2014 table having ranked it 88th in the UK. The Complete University Guide’s 2015 table ranks Aberystwyth 87th out of 123 British universities,

History

The University was founded in 1872 as University College Wales. The first Principal was Thomas Charles Edwards and initially there were 26 students. Before 1894, when the college joined the University of Wales as a founder member, students were submitted for examinations to the University of London.Women were admitted in 1884.

In 1885, after a fire in what is now known as Old College, Mr. Stuart Rendell purchased the Gogerddan Estate on Penglais and donated it to the University. It became the location of Penglais Campus, the University’s principal campus.. On June 26, 1896 the Prince of Wales was installed as Chancellor, and that same year Britain’s Prime Minister Gladstone was awarded an honorary degree.

The university’s coat of arms was awarded in the 1880s. The shield features two red dragons, symbolising Wales, and an open book, symbolising learning. The crest is an eagle or phoenix above a flaming tower; it may symbolise the College’s rebirth after the 1885 fire. The motto is Nid Byd, Byd Heb Wybodaeth (a world without knowledge is no world at all).

In the early 1900s the University expanded in subjects that included Law, Applied Mathematics, Pure Mathematics, and Botany. The Department for International Politics, which Aberystwyth says is the oldest such department in the world, was founded in 1919.

The Department of Sports and Exercise Science was established in 2000. Joint honours Psychology degrees were introduced in September 2007, and single honours Psychology in 2009.

The university appointed a new vice chancellor in 2011 who has now initiated a complete restructure of academic departments into larger subject-themed institutes.

Organisation and administration

Departments and Institutes

Art
Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences
Computer Science[
School of Education and Lifelong Learning
English and Creative Writing
European Languages
Institute of Geography and Earth Sciences
History and Welsh History
Information Studies
International Politics
Law and Criminology
School of Management and Business
Institute of Mathematics and Physics
Psychology
Sport and Exercise Science
Theatre, Film and Television Studies
Welsh

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Bangor University

admin — Mon, 03 Nov 2014 12:21:55 +0000

Bangor University:

Bangor University (Welsh: Prifysgol Bangor) is a Welsh university in the city of Bangor in the county of Gwynedd in North Wales. It received its Royal Charter in 1885 and was one of the founding member institutions of the former federal University of Wales. It was officially known for most of its history as the University of Wales, Bangor (UWB) (Welsh: Prifysgol Cymru, Bangor). From September 2007 it became known as Bangor University, having become independent from the federal University of Wales.

In 2012 Bangor was ranked 251st among the world’s top universities. According to the Sunday Times University Guide 2012,it is rated top in Wales for teaching excellence and is among the top 15 universities in the UK in this category.

In 2012 Bangor was ranked 251st among the world’s top universities.According to the Sunday Times University Guide 2012, it is rated top in Wales for teaching excellence and is among the top 15 universities in the UK in this category.

Organisation

The University is divided into five Colleges and these are then broken down into Schools and Research Institutes. Bangor’s Colleges, and their constituent Schools and Research Institutes, are:

College of Arts and Humanities

School of Creative Studies and Media
School of Education
School of English
School of History, Welsh History and Archaeology
School of Lifelong Learning
School of Linguistics and English Language
School of Modern Languages
School of Music
School of Philosophy and Religion
School of Welsh
ESRC Centre for Research on Bilingualism

College of Business, Law, Education and Social Sciences

Bangor Business School
School of Education
School of Law
School of Social Sciences

College of Natural Sciences

School of Biological Sciences (includes Treborth Botanic Garden)
School of the Environment, Natural Resources and Geography
School of Ocean Sciences
Welsh Institute of Natural Resources

College of Health and Behavioural Sciences

School of Healthcare Sciences
School of Medical Sciences
School of Psychology, Bangor University
School of Sport, Health and Exercise Sciences
Institute of Medical and Social Care Research

College of Physical and Applied Sciences

School of Chemistry
School of Computer Science
School of Electronic Engineering

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Cardiff University

admin — Mon, 03 Nov 2014 12:16:45 +0000

Cardiff University:

Cardiff University (Welsh: Prifysgol Caerdydd) is a public research university located in Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom. The University is composed of three colleges: Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences; Biomedical and Life Sciences; and Physical Sciences and Engineering.

Founded in 1883 as the University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire, it becam

e one of the founding colleges of the University of Wales in 1893, and in 1999 became an independent University awarding its own degrees. It is the second oldest university in Wales. It is a member of the Russell Group of leading British research universities.The university is consistently recognised as providing high quality research-based university education and is ranked 123 of the world’s top universities by the QS World University Rankings, as well as achieving the highest student satisfaction rating in the 2013 National Student Survey for universities in Wales.

The University has an undergraduate enrollment of 20,611 and a total enrollment of 27,774, making it one of the largest universities in Wales. The Cardiff University Students’ Union works to promote the interests of the student body within the University and further afield. The University’s sports teams compete in the British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) leagues.

History

Discussions regarding the founding of a college in South Wales began as early as 1879, when a group of Welsh and English MPs urged the government to consider the poor provision of higher and intermediate education in Wales and ‘to consider the best means of assisting any local effort which may be made for supplying such deficiency’.

In October 1881 Gladstone’s government appointed a departmental committee to conduct ‘an enquiry into the nature and extent of intermediate and higher education in Wales’. The committee was chaired by Lord Aberdare and consisted of Viscount Emlyn, Reverend Prebendary H. G. Robinson, Henry Richard, John Rhys and Lewis Morris.[6] The Aberdare report, as it came to be known, took evidence from a wide range of sources and over 250 witnesses and recommended a college for North and South Wales each, the southern to be located in Glamorgan and the Northern to be the already established University College of Wales in Aberystwyth (now Aberystwyth University). The committee cited the unique Welsh national identity and that many students in Wales could not afford to travel to University in England or Scotland. Furthermore it advocated for a national degree-awarding university for Wales, composed of the regional colleges. It also recommended that the colleges should be unsectarian in nature and that they should exclude the teaching of theology.

After this recommendation was published the Cardiff Corporation attempted to secure the location of the college as Cardiff, and on 12 December 1881 formed a University College Committee to aid the matter.A competition arose between Swansea and Cardiff about where the college should be located and on the 12th March 1883, after a period of arbitration, the location was set as Cardiff.The case for Cardiff was strengthened by stressing the need to take account of the interests of Monmouthshire, at that time not legally considered part of Wales, as well as the greater sum of money received by Cardiff in support of the college, through a public appeal that raised £37,000, and a number of private donations, notably from the Lord Bute and Lord Windsor.[9][10] In April Lord Aberdare was appointed as the College’s first president.The possible locations considered for the college included Cardiff Arms Park, Cathedral Road or Moria Terrace, Roath, before the site of the Old Royal Infirmary buildings on Newport Road were chosen.

The University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire opened on 24 October 1883, offering studies in Biology, Chemistry, English, French, German, Greek, History, Latin, Mathematics & Astronomy, Music, Welsh, Logic & Philosophy and Physics. The University College was incorporated by Royal Charter the following year, this charter was the first in Wales to allow the enrollment of women, and specifically forbid religious tests for entry.[10] John Viriamu Jones was appointed as the University’s first Principal, at age 27. As Cardiff was not an independent university and could not award its own degrees, it prepared its students for the examinations of the University of London or further study at Oxford or Cambridge.

In 1888 the university college at Cardiff and University College of North Wales (now Bangor University) proposed to University College Wales (at Aberystwyth) a joint action to obtain a university charter for Wales, modeled on that of Victoria University, a confederation of new universities in Northern England. This charter was granted to the new University of Wales in 1893, allowing the colleges to award degrees as members of this institution. The chancellor was set ex officio as the Prince of Wales, and the position of operational head would rotate among heads of the colleges.In 1885, Aberdare Hall opened as the first hall of residence, allowing women access to the university. This moved to its current site in 1895, but remains a single-sex hall. 1904 saw the appointment of the first female professor in the UK, Millicent McKenzie.

Organisation and academic profile

Schools and colleges

The 27 academic schools of the University are divided into three colleges: Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences; Biomedical and Life Sciences; and Physical Sciences.

College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences

Cardiff Business School
Planning and Geography
English, Communication and Philosophy
European Languages, Translation & Politics
History Archaeology and Religion
Journalism, Media and Cultural Studies
Law
Lifelong Learning
Music
Social Sciences
Welsh

College of Biomedical and Life Sciences

Biosciences
Dentistry
Healthcare Studies
Medicine
Nursing and Midwifery Studies
Optometry and Vision Sciences
Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences
Postgraduate Medical and Dental Education
Psychology

College of Physical Sciences

Architecture
Chemistry
Computer Science & Informatics
Earth and Ocean Sciences
Engineering
Mathematics
Physics and Astronomy

Cardiff also has a University Graduate College that brings together the work of four previous discipline-based Graduate Schools and the postgraduate research activity of the University’s Graduate Centre.

Glyndŵr University

admin — Mon, 03 Nov 2014 12:10:48 +0000

Glyndŵr University:

Glyndŵr University (Welsh: Prifysgol Glyndŵr, Welsh pronunciation: [priːvˈəsɡɔl ɡlɨnˈduːr]) is a British university with campuses at Wrexham, Northop and St Asaph in north-east Wales; and at Elephant and Castle, London. It offers both undergraduate and postgraduate degrees, as well as professional courses. GU has approximately 9,000 students.

Formerly known as the North East Wales Institute of Higher Education (NEWI), it was granted full university status in 2008 after being a member of the University of Wales since 2003. The university is named after the medieval Welsh prince Owain Glyndŵr, who first suggested the establishment of universities throughout Wales in the early 15th century.

In June 2014 the university was suspended from recruiting students from outside the UK. This followed an investigation into students who had obtained fraudulent English language qualifications in order to gain admission to the university. An investigation is currently underway and a task force has been established with the aim of getting the suspension lifted

History

The university’s origins date back to the opening of Wrexham School of Science and Art (WSSA) in 1887. At this time Viriamu Jones called for a University of Wales.[citation needed] The WSSA began offering University of London-validated degrees in science in 1924. The original name of Wrexham School of Science and Art was changed several times. In 1927, it became Denbighshire Technical Institute, becoming Denbighshire Technical College in 1939 and North East Wales Institute of Higher Education in 1975 by the merger of Denbighshire Technical College, Cartrefle Teacher Training College and Kelsterton College of Connah’s Quay, Deeside. Initially, its degrees were validated by the University of Salford. Some famous alumni include William Roberts, Srinjoy Guha and Rupert Humphrey among others.

In 1993, NEWI became an associate member of the University of Wales and all further education courses in Wrexham were moved to Yale College, Wrexham. In 2004, NEWI became a full member of the University of Wales and in 2006 became accredited by the University of Wales and exercised devolved powers to validate and deliver its own degrees. The university was officially renamed “Glyndŵr University” in July 2008 after being granted degree awarding powers. The name was chosen in favour of other suggestions such as “University of Wrexham”, “University of Wales, Wrexham”, and “North East Wales University (NEWU)” amongst others. The university was visited by the Queen in 2003 and by HRH the Duchess of Gloucester in 2005.

In June 2014, the Home Office suspended the University’s authorisation to sponsor international students.

Campuses

The university has various sites in the Wrexham area and also a site in south London to develop the university at an academic and professional level. This is near the Elephant and Castle tube station.

Wrexham

The university has five sites in Wrexham. The main site at Plas Coch covers 93 acres (380,000 m2), and was inherited from the former Cartrefle TTC which moved there in 1953. It houses over 70 seminar suites, conference suites, lecture theatres, work shops and laboratories, complemented with a library (the Edward Llwyd Centre) and learning resource facilities, as well as a fair sized sports centre (the Plas Coch Sports Centre), a Centre for the Creative Industries, the Centre for the Child, Family and Society, the Glyndŵr University Racecourse Stadium, a human performance lab, the Terry Hands studio, the Catrin Finch Centre, William Aston Hall, the Oriel Sycharth Gallery, the Welsh international hockey team, and Techniquest, a science discovery centre which is open to the public.

The other Wrexham site on Regent Street, is near to Wrexham town centre and is home to courses in Art and Design. It formerly housed the Denbighshire Technical College, who moved to the site in 1927 (under their previous name of Denbighshire Technical Institute).

In 2008, the university took over the higher education provision of the Welsh College of Horticulture in Northop, Flintshire, and now has a full campus in that location. Courses offered include Animal Studies, Equine Science, Geography, Ecology & Environment and Wildlife and plant biology.

In 2011 the university acquired the Racecourse Ground, the home of Wrexham FC, renaming it the Glyndŵr University Racecourse Stadium.

The university has its own music recording facilities, notably The Wall Recording Studio.

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