Simony means that one pays for an office or a position in the hierarchy of Christian church. It is an offense against canon law. Simony became widespread in the Catholic Church in the 9th and 10th centuries. The name comes from Simon Magus, who appears in the Acts of the Apostles 8:18-24. Simon Magus offers the disciples of Jesus, Peter and John, payment so that anyone he would place his hands on would receive the power of the Holy Spirit. This is the origin of the term "simony". but it also extends to other forms of trafficking for money in "spiritual things".
In the Middle Ages there were problems with simony and accusations of simony, especially during the Investiture Controversy. Rulers wanted to employ the educated and centrally organized clergy in their administrations.
Flesh
Flesh is the soft part of the body between the skin and the bones. It is sometimes compared to bones, in the saying "flesh and bone". If it is to be eaten, it is normally called meat instead.
Locomotive
A locomotive is the part of a train that makes the train move. Normally, it is the first part of the train, and has an engine.
A diesel locomotive is a powered by a diesel engine. The diesel engine may drive the locomotive's wheels directly via a gearbox, shaft or chain (called mechanical transmission); by generating electricity which is in turn used to power the wheels (called diesel-electric); or by using a hydraulic transmission system (diesel-hydraulic). Diesel locomotives are extremely popular worldwide, due to their ease of use and reliability. They can be more powerful than steam locomotives and do not need an expensive power grid like electric locomotives.
A steam locomotive uses wood, coal or oil (but mostly coal) as fuel to heat water in a boiler, which turns into steam which pushes pistons to power the train. Steam locomotives were invented in the early 19th century. They are not widely used any more due to their operational costs, especially the fuel costs; steam locomotives are now mostly only used on tourist railroads.
An electric locomotive runs on electricity as the name suggests. Electric locomotives cost the least to buy and operate. However, the railway electrification system is very expensive, so only tracks used by many trains per day are usually electrified. Thus, electrics are only the second next used type, behind diesel locomotives.
The Man Who Knew Too Much
The Man Who Knew Too Much is a 1934 suspense movie directed by Alfred Hitchcock and released by the Gaumont British company. It was one of the most successful and critically acclaimed movies of Hitchcock's British period.
Hitchcock remade the movie in 1956 for Paramount Pictures, the only one of his movies that he ever remade. The two movies are however very different in tone, in setting, and in many plot details.
Regent
A regent is a position of government in a country where there is a monarchy (like a king or queen). They're an "acting monarch", and does the job of a monarch where the real monarch is either too young, sick or cannot do what he is meant to for some other reason.
They may also be voted in if there are no monarchs in line to the throne, for instance, if the current monarch does not have any relatives when they die.
Transcendental Meditation
The Transcendental Meditation technique, or TM technique is a kind of meditation that was developed by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Today, the name is trademarked.
The meditation technique is practiced while sitting down with the eyes closed and is practiced twice a day.
Reviews of studies on the effects of the Transcendental Meditation technique show some results are not definite while some reviews of studies show patterns of positive effects.
The Transcendental Meditation technique is learned in seven steps. There are two lectures and a personal interview. This is followed by a session in which the student learns how to meditate. In three more sessions the meditation is checked to make sure the technique is being done correctly.
The goal of the Transcendental Meditation technique is said to be that the meditator continue to feel the deep rest, and the comfort of the meditation while living everyday life.
In 1955, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (born Mahesh Prasad Varma) began teaching a meditation technique he says was based on the Vedas. He gave this method for meditation the name, Transcendental Meditation.
Before this, Maharishi had studied with his teacher Swami Brahmananda Saraswati, and was also his secretary from 1941 until Brahmananda Saraswati's death in 1953. In 1957, Maharishi began the Spiritual Regeneration Movement in Madras, India, on the last day of a festival held in memory of his teacher. In 1958, he began the first of a number of worldwide tours in which he began to teach the TM technique to people around the world.
In the early 1970s, Maharishi began to establish one Transcendental Meditation teaching center for each million of the people in the world, which at that time would have meant 3,600 Transcendental Meditation centers throughout the world. In 1990, Maharishi moved to the town of Vlodrop, in the Netherlands, where he began an organization he called The Global Country of World Peace that takes care of all of the teaching of the Transcendental Meditation technique around the world. The Global Country of World Peace says there are more than 6 million people worldwide who have learned the Transcendental Meditation technique.
Transcendental Meditation has been researched since 1970. The earliest study, done in 1970, showed that with the Transcendental Meditation technique the body rests deeply, but is not asleep, and is alert. This study also showed that with the Transcendental Meditation technique stress became less.
According to one study Transcendental Meditation has been found to not have any advantages over health education in improving a persons health.
Transcendental Meditation websites say the Transcendental Meditation technique does not interfere with a person's religion.
In 2013, Monsignor Raffaello Martinelli, servicing Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, having worked for over 23 years with Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI), said that for his Meditation, a Christian can learn from other religious traditions (zen, yoga, controlled respiration, Mantra):" "As long as the Catholic Church rejects nothing of what is true and holy in these religions, we should not despise these indications since non-Christian. Instead, we can collect from them what is useful, provided you never lose sight of the Christian conception of prayer, its logic and requirements, since it is within this that all these fragments must be reformulated and assumed.../...»". In 1984, Cardinal Sin, an Archbishop in the Catholic Church stated that the Transcendental Meditation technique interferes with Christian religions. And other clergy believe the technique does not interfere with religious belief and practices.
Experts on cults say those who use the Transcendental Meditation technique may show cult-like actions, while David Orme-Johnson, a psychologist and researcher who was once a professor at Maharishi University of Management, says studies show that those who use the Transcendental Meditation technique act in ways that are adult and self – sufficient, and do not act in the way people in cults are said to act.
Honshū
Honshū is also Japan's main island. It is south of Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Seto Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyūshū across the Kanmon Strait. It is the seventh biggest island, and is the island with the second highest number of people in the world after Java.
In March 2011, the east coast of Honshu was struck by a huge earthquake and a following tsunami.
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