It seems there is an assault on sound judgment within the ranks of the New Age spiritual movement. The more time progresses, the more the idea that it is never okay to judge anyone for anything comes about. Is this true? Is this a proper way of life? Can we really go through life without judging others or even ourselves? As with all things, there is a duality to this answer. While it is true that we should not judge others harshly or treat them unfairly based on such judgment, it is equally true that we must become capable and strive for sound judgment in all things. There is somewhat of a slippery slope to this task. What is sound judgment? Who gets to make that determination? This is where the slope becomes extra slippery. Judgment must always be grounded in truth rather than belief or faith. Judgment should seek to expose lies and misunderstandings by expressing truth. However, how can we be sure that our judgment is sound and that our understanding is truth? We simply cannot. There are things that we know, things we know in part, and things we know nothing of. Most things fall neatly into the category of ‘things we know in part’ and thus we cannot be sure of our own understanding entirely. However, the only understanding we can truly know is our own. That being the case, we must seek to increase that understanding if we desire to pass sound judgment upon ourselves and ESPECIALLY if we desire to help others by offering judgment upon situations. We must increase our knowledge and be continually questioning of ourselves and of the world around us. If there is an opportunity to become educated about a topic, seize that opportunity. In the Age of Information, the internet is everywhere. If you have internet access, you have an infinite library at your fingertips. By the time you finish reading this, the internet will have grown tremendously in size. There simply is no excuse for ignorance among spiritual seekers any longer. So then, sound judgement can be labelled and defined as judgement based on truth. Nothing less qualifies. If we are being truthful in our judgement then it is sound. However, the very idea of judgement seems to invoke negativity among most. The New Age crowd is no exception to that. Sound judgement has become so rare that it is almost unrecognizable to most. When we think of passing judgement we immediately think of rude behavior, derogatory commentary, highlighting negative traits, and exposing character flaws. While some of that may be a part of sound judgement, those things certainly are not always associated with sound judgement. Further, rudeness and derogatory commentary are typically the last things one would want to incorporate when trying to pass sound judgement. We can be kind judges for ourselves and for those around us. We can tell the truth without being offensive. This does not mean that others will not get offended. Such is not the case. People will become offended. The truth is painful at times and many resist it. This is why it is important to pass sound judgement upon yourself FIRST. Ask yourself if this person will be receptive of your judgement and if the answer is, “no”, then why bother? Why offend them for no results? Why cause a problem where none is necessary? Also, we must judge ourselves to ensure that we are simply offering sound judgement to others rather than trying to assert ourselves over them. We know our hearts. We know our true motives and desires. A working model for sound judgement is based on cooperative behavior. We must be open to the judgement of others, especially if we intend to judge them. We must communicate with one another and recognize our own shortcomings as well. It is entirely possible to recognize a problem within yourself and thus be able to pass sound judgement regarding that problem on someone else. As a matter of fact, the best judgement we can provide is judgement based on our own problems. As the old saying goes, “It takes one to know one.” That is very true. Take drug addiction for instance. Who is better at recognizing drug addiction than someone who has dealt or is dealing with it themselves? Who better to recognize a health issue than someone dealing with the same issue themselves? Who is more suited to expose someone’s tendencies to be a liar than another liar? This issue is a common wedge between judge and the judged. Often the person being judged is resentful of the judgement due to the fact that the judge is flawed. This is illogical. Of course the judge will always be flawed, no matter who it is. We are all flawed. The ability to recognize our own flaws is the first and most important part of becoming able to pass sound judgement. Those of us that have taken the roles of teachers, seers, mystics, and seekers of knowledge are often accused of being hypocritical or manipulative. Of course, many times it may be true. However, even if the judge IS a hypocrite it does not reduce the truth. Truth can be uttered even by fools though they may not understand it. Do not disregard a message simply because the messenger is flawed. Do not reject sound judgement because the judge is not perfect. Those of us that have chosen these paths of knowledge are bound to be accused of such things sooner or later. No matter how many people love and are improved by your words, many more will be offended and resentful of you. In the words of Pythagoras, “Rest satisfied with doing well, and leave others to talk of you as they please.” Do not concern yourself if they reject you and even despise you. There are multitudes that despise knowledge. Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets: She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates: in the city she uttereth her words, saying, How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? And the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge? Do not be shaken or upset by such rejection. Continue your path and light the way for others. There are those that will listen, though few they are. Be steadfast and remember to judge yourself FIRST. Do not use sound judgement as a means to place yourself above your brethren but use sound judgement as a way to uplift them. Be receptive of the judgement of others and always test to be sure the judgement comes from a place of truth. Again, truth can come from any vessel. Even a liar can tell the truth. “Rest satisfied with doing well, and leave others to talk of you as they please.” - Pythagoras
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“You can hypnotize people with music, and when you get them at their weakest point, you can preach into their subconscious whatever you want to say.” – Jimi Hendrix Music is a powerful tool. It can be used to aid us in altering or elevating our consciousness. It can be used to create an atmosphere or set the mood. It can be used to convey powerful messages and emotions. Ask almost anyone, anywhere on the planet and they will agree that music is a powerful tool. Music has long been in the toolboxes of the shamans, the mystics, the alchemists, the philosophers, and the religious institutions. The psychedelic revolution of the 60’s and 70’s was fueled by music and revolved around it. Music has been employed on the battlefield and in war. Music has been used to torture inmates and frighten them. The truth of the power of music is very, very clear. So then, what does this mean for the Initiate or the spiritual seeker? Firstly, it means that we can add a weapon to our arsenal. However, possibly the most important thing the spiritual seeker can do in regards to music is choose it wisely. Remember, what you put in your head is what you get back out. o fully understand that, a sufficient understanding of neuroplasticity is required. Neuroplasticity is the process that alters your brain’s neural synapses and pathways according to environmental, behavioral, and neural changes. Basically, your brain creates pathways of information according to your lifestyle. Just like a trail through a field, the more you use a pathway, the clearer that pathway becomes and the easier it is to move down it. This occurs hand in hand with synaptic pruning – the brain’s way of deleting unnecessary neural connections that you no longer use. This all depends on your life experiences and the frequency of your use of these pathways. Again, the more you use it the clearer a path becomes. This is how your brain fine tunes itself to think about the things you deal with most often more quickly. This is how your brain develops itself to respond faster and faster to your demands. It is for this reason that ‘practice makes perfect’. The more you do something, the more you think about a topic, the more you focus on a certain thing the quicker your brain becomes at it. If this is still a bit of a fuzzy topic, think of it from an electrical standpoint. The brain is essentially just a bunch of electrical signals and chemical interactions. Electricity always takes the path of least resistance. If your brain keeps building the path and making the path easier, it literally becomes the path of least resistance allowing your brain to fire electricity down said path at a faster rate. So then, when it is said that you get out what you put in, it really is deeper than a cliché. How does this tie back in to music? Well, if it isn’t obvious, the topics that your music discusses fuels this neuroplasticity. The more you listen to music about certain topics, the quicker and more accustomed to that line of thinking your brain becomes. If your music discusses materialism and bad relationships, your brain becomes literally hardwired to those topics. The more you listen, the more your brain continues to improve these pathways and let the information flow more quickly. If you listen to music about positive things or success, your brain becomes attuned to such things. This is the vital, crucial importance of music to the Initiate or to those that seek enlightenment and illumination. Be selective in your music. In today’s Western culture, it is quite normal to listen to music without ever examining the lyrics. We let the radios play everywhere, all day long. In restaurants, in elevators, in cars, in trains, in subways, even while we pump gas there is music playing. Usually, it is popular music and usually popular music is devoid of any significant lyrical content. Popular music is almost always about bad relationships, loose morality, irresponsible behavior, lack of personal responsibility, drug addictions, alcoholism, violence, and MATERIALISM. Are these topics what the spiritual person should be putting in their brains? Are these the pathways that we should be cultivating in our minds? Probably not. Now, I do not want to seem high and mighty. We are in this world but not of it. However, that does not mean that we need to shut out the world around us and be a music snob or anything like that. There is no reason to worry or fret if you find yourself in a place with disagreeable popular music or music that is discussing things you are not interested in. The occasional exposure will not calcify your pineal or prevent you from reaching your goals. You may even enjoy popular music upon occasion. You may enjoy gangster rap or death metal. You may even like country-pop. That is fine. It is okay to enjoy yourself but do not become absorbed by it. Do not allow yourself to become fixated on the topics of popular music. To further recognize the importance of music and how it can greatly influence our minds, let’s continue observing popular music. Is it not strange to you that many popular musical artists use occult symbolism in their art? Is it not strange that esoteric concepts are discussed plainly in popular music with increasing frequency? Take a look below this paragraph and you can see the evidence for yourself. Why would so many artists use similar symbols and discuss similar ideas? To the conspiracy theorist that thinks they know what direction this is going, no…we are not about to discuss the tired and misunderstood thing that is The Illuminati. That is a subject for another time. The reasoning behind the persistence of occult knowledge in popular culture is explained simply. These artists have an understanding of the power of music and they use it for their purposes or possibly for the purposes of the highest bidder. These artists understand that if they can instill their idea in you that they can create culture. One has only to look at our Western society to see the huge impact popular music has on our fads and trends. Musical artists set the trends for everything from fashion to technology. They encourage us to buy shoes and clothes. They sing about fancy cars and big houses. They rap about making lots of money and abusing others to do it. They make music glorifying apathy and carelessness. They decide what charities are popular and what causes we should fight for. They stand behind political viewpoints and sway millions. Some would argue that musicians simply make music about the culture they are targeting but I submit to you the idea that many of them are out to sway culture with their music. Now, that leaves one more thing to discuss. What exactly is good music? If so many of these artists are using their music for negative reasons and cultural conditioning, are there others fighting against those efforts? Absolutely. There are huge artists that fight the messages of the mainstream music media. Music is powerful but it is not limited to only the corrupt and morally deficient. Of course there are those that use their music to rise to a position of power and then spread positive messages and knowledge. No one can decide for you what you should put in your head. However, each of us can examine the music we listen to and be honest with ourselves if it is doing us harm or good. What pathways are we creating in our brains with the music we surround ourselves with? What is the message of the music we find ourselves attracted to. That can be a huge window into ourselves.
In the end, just as with all things music needs to be thought about from many angles. Be honest with yourself and make choices that reflect the direction you want to travel in. Influence the pathways that you wish to and neglect those that you no longer want to travel.
What is the ego?How can we identify our ego? Traditional psychoanalysis defines ego as, ‘the part of the mind that mediates between the conscious and unconscious and is responsible for reality testing and a sense of personal identity’. Basically, this means that your ego is the most important part of your mind when it comes to the subjective human experience. That, however, does not mean that letting our egos run wild is better for our human experience and it most certainly does not mean that reducing the ego is better either. It is far more complex of a situation than that. Metaphysical philosophy would define ego as, ‘a conscious thinking subject’. That definition is even more broad and further asserts that we ARE our egos. So then, to mold the ego is to mold the self and to mold the self is the desire of almost all spiritual seekers, mystics, religious persons, etc. To further understand the ego, let us define it in even greater detail. The ego is the part of our mind that transcends modes of consciousness. It moves between your subconscious and conscious minds relaying messages. Having an ego unchecked can lead to incorrect messages. With an ego running rampant, one could convince themselves of some undeserved superiority or that they deserve something more than others; that they are above human law and even natural law. This delusional state creates psychopaths, narcissists, sociopaths, and similar types. What does this mean for a spiritual seeker? What could become of the spiritual seeker that allows their ego to trick them into overvaluing themselves? The most obvious issue that can arise is the issue of stagnation. If we allow ourselves to believe that we are superior to others, we risk missing out on knowledge from what we consider inferior sources. We can become so sure of ourselves and our knowledge that we disregard the knowledge of others and fail to question our own. This is obviously folly for the person on a path of illumination. Likewise, having a frail and weak ego is equally if not more damaging to the seeker. If we humble our egos and humble ourselves so much as to doubt every experience and every truth we find within ourselves, then we risk being indecisive and running in circles. We can get in a loop of ‘good enough’ because we fail to see that we can be more. The ego can be a fuzzy thing to identify in writing but it is not hard to identify within ourselves so long as we do not let it grow/shrink out of proportion to begin with. When you begin thinking about a task or goal, that voice that tells you, “yes, you can do this” or, “you will never succeed” is your ego. When you introduce yourself to someone new and you feel confident or maybe even unconfident, that is your ego. That voice in your head that tells you what you do or do not deserve in life, that is you ego.
Again, an ego that is too large or too small can drastically effect our ability to receive or to seek new information. We either don’t value the outside sources enough or we value our own understanding too little. To ensure a positive role of the ego in spiritual development, a healthy balance must be maintained. According to the circumstances, the ego may need to be enlarged or reduced from time to time. There may be no ‘one size fits all’ ego. However, it is important to recognize ego and to be certain that our spiritual path is not being directed by our ego. Are we pursuing knowledge for the sake of having knowledge or are we pursuing knowledge for the sake of knowing more than the person next to us? Do we just want the inside scoop? Are we just seeking to be ‘in the know’? Are we truly in search of the experiences of spirituality and the benefits that brings or are we just trying to position ourselves above others? These are questions we must ask ourselves frequently to ensure that the ego is not guiding our spiritual paths. A sufficiently large ego is necessary to attain upper levels of mastery. The role that the ego plays in our illumination is the role of self-confidence. We must be sure of our own understanding and have the ability to recognize when we actually have something figured out. However, we must not be so sure of our own understanding that we reject sound doctrine or new information that opposes our understanding. This is further evidence of the importance of a questioning attitude when it comes to the ego. We must constantly question ourselves and our egos. Without this practice, we are destined for delusion and/or stagnation. How do we treat the ego while we work towards enlightenment and illumination? Well, as previously stated, we must continually question ourselves about our motives and perceptions. This is probably the most important part of keeping the ego within the right dimensions. Secondly, we must maintain an adequate level of ego based on that questioning. If we find that we are starting to overvalue our own understanding, maybe it is best to humble oneself and seek greater complexity of understanding. Nothing reminds you of your true level of understanding like trying to grasp a new and complex topic. Another healthy exercise in ego management is in the company you keep. If you surround yourself with those that are obviously of lesser understanding, it is easy to allow yourself to feel superior or above the crowd. However, if you surround yourself with those that you recognize as being of superior understanding, you may have a hard time convincing yourself that you are more worthy or deserving than they are. On the other end of the ego spectrum, if we reduce our egos so much that we lose self-worth and do not value our own understanding and our own direct experiences we risk falling into a pit of depression, stagnation, and mental inferiority. It is healthy to recognize falsehood and fallacy. It is wise to take note of that which is base and incorrect. If something is wrong, there should be no issue with asserting that it is. You may not wish to do so publicly but the wise can always recognize and notate the things that are untruths. There is no shame or dishonor in calling bullshit when it is time to do so. Just remember to ask yourself about your motives. Are you trying to increase knowledge or do you just want to show off and prove something? Recognizing and separating truth and lie is good practice and aids in our spiritual and mental progression. Even if that recognition is completely internal, we benefit from it. Another important aspect of ego maintenance is being able to recognize your worth and how much ego you are justified in having. The ego is a slippery slope. It is just as important to remember to keep enough of it as it is to remember to not let it grow wildly. This is often forgotten among spiritual people. It is perfectly fine to know your worth and even be proud of your intelligence or accomplishments. There is a distinct difference between boasting to make yourself feel better and to receive recognition and boasting to belittle others or reduce their worth. Those that do such things are usually guilty of having a large ego that they recognize they do not deserve. They have an inflated self-worth with no reason so they attempt to validate themselves by reducing others. Rather than lifting themselves up, they attempt to pull others beneath them. They are the ones that have created this negative outlook on larger egos. If you win the strongman competition for the entire planet, you can be justified in allowing your ego to recognize that and live accordingly. If you are the world’s fastest man, there is no negativity in admitting it. The same can be said of intelligence. If you recognize that you are intelligent, there is no shame in admitting it. There is no moral deficiency in knowing that you are smarter than most. However, do not use that to put others down. Do not use your mental superiority to reduce others. Everyone has different proclivities, fancies, attributes, inclinations, aptitudes, and abilities. You may be smarter than someone but that does not mean you are a superior human as a whole. There are many smart, wicked men on this earth. In the end, the use of the ego should be to build the self rather than to destroy others. One can have a marvelously large ego and use it for their own good. This is evidenced in athletes, artists, musicians, and many other talented people frequently. However, there are probably many more that use a large ego to destroy others and so they become politicians, bankers, fraud clergymen, con artists, and the like. Keep yourself in check by questioning your motives frequently. Be honest with yourself. You will most likely fail at times. Most of us get a big head at times and many of us even get depressed and feeling worthless at times. It is important not to get stuck in one of those loops. By questioning yourself and being honest with yourself, you can recognize when you may be straying from your path and thus can correct your direction. Do not let society convince you that humility is more valuable that understanding or knowledge. Do not let culture convince you that you cannot rely on your own understanding but rather increase that understanding so that you can rely on it. Use your ego. Do not be used by it.
Live in the moment. We hear this phrase and others like it repeated not just among religious circles but even in daily life. So many profess that ultimate peace is found in living in the moment. What does it mean? What does it really mean to live in the moment? It seems to be a simple phrase and at first glance it is very obvious what it means. Most would say that they understand what it means to live in the moment even if they do not think such philosophy to be proper. If you were to ask someone what it meant to live in the moment they would likely say something like, “It means not to worry about the future and just enjoy the present.” They would be correct in saying that. However, do they understand what they say? Do you? Does anyone ever really think about this concept in depth? Do those that chant this mantra to the masses fully understand what that means? Most of the time, probably not. True understanding of living in the moment is much deeper than a simple refusal to let the mind wander into and worry about the future. That is, of course, part of it but not the whole thing. Living in the moment is not something that one can do all the time. Well, at least not typically here in our Western societies. It is important to plan ahead and set goals for the future otherwise society will eat you up and spit you back out. Accomplishing goals is one of the most primitive and naturally hardwired methods of improving happiness. It doesn’t matter what the goal is. Modern science shows us that we release chemicals that result in the elevation of our mood when we accomplish even small scale goals like finishing our household chores or completing that extra rep at the gym. So it is obvious that ‘living in the moment’ can simply not mean that we should disregard proper planning and preparedness.
So, we are back where we started. What exactly does it mean to live in the moment? The act of living in the moment is a conscious effort. It is not the abandonment of responsibilities or care for the future but rather a momentary effort made consciously to observe the present moment. We westerners get so caught up in thought, in ‘what-if’, in anxiety, and in affairs that really do not affect our direct experience. You’re walking down the hall at work. You’re thinking about what you will eat for dinner. You’re thinking about that asshole that cut you off in traffic. You’re thinking about that strained relationship or your economic situation. We see it every day; millions of people walking about with their heads full of questions and fabricated fears. We walk with our faces to our phones, scrolling through social media trying to live vicariously through others. We post short videos of our lives while our lives actually pass us by. We take pictures of important moments without awareness of those moments. We are constantly in thought or imagining negative situations and how we might avoid them. We are constantly reflecting on ‘what-ifs’ or how we could have handled something better. We do all of these things while we miss the present moment. Sure, you remember it. You were there. You even took pictures. Too bad that you spent most of the time thinking about possible problems or what you are going to do next weekend. Living in the moment means so much more than neglecting to worry about the future. It also means neglecting to worry about the past or about ‘what-ifs’. It means clearing your mind for the present moment and thinking only about the task you are currently performing. To the Zen Buddhist, this will be a familiar thought. One can use even the mundane and ordinary tasks as a moment of meditation. We may not be able to neglect our responsibilities and live in the moment 24/7. We have to plan and design the life that we want and deserve. There is work to be done by all of us. Who can say that they are complete? Who can say they need not to improve? Who can say that they know it all or have seen it all? So it is important that we build our lives and plan for the future. We need to set ourselves up for whatever our version or definition of success may be. However, we can still live in the moment. Take a second while you are performing some ordinary task and clear your mind. Say you are walking down the street or through your office building. Don’t stuff your face in your phone to see what is going on somewhere else. Don’t think about dinner or how many hours you have until you get off. Think only about walking. Note the birds and the other walkers. Note the cracks in the sidewalk and the shape of the clouds. Do not dwell on anything. Simply walk and observe as you do. Judge nothing. Think nothing. This can be done for any task. If you are shoveling dirt, do only that. If you are driving a car, do only that. If you find yourself on a boring walk through the same old places, do only that. A certain duality or polarity must be maintained between living in the moment and planning for your future. Set aside time every day, early in the day to plan and prepare for the events of the day. Divide your free time between planning and preparing for things to come and observing the things that are. Develop a schedule if you must. Set yourself up for your definition of success first. THEN you can live in the moment for the remainder of the day. If you know exactly what you are doing (or at least a loose outline), then you do not have an excuse to let the mind wander or become distracted. You can focus on the tasks at hand throughout the day. You can truly live in the moment. Do not let the modern definition of living in the moment be your definition. There is no merit in simply neglecting responsibility or neglecting to build your life how you desire. So many complain about their situation without creating a new situation. It is even easier to live in the moment if it is a moment of your own design. How hard it must be to live in the moment as the world comes crashing down around you. It is certainly possible but is it really what you want to do? So go forth, do great things. Build your life the way you want it. Create the moments you desire and then live in them. What is with the over valuing of the collective and the reduction of the individual? Does this not seem wrong to anyone else? Yes, I know of and accept our general interconnectedness. We are aware of this connection via modern physics AND mysticism. I am in total agreement. However, does not the paradoxical and polar nature of the Universe indicate that while being a part of a whole we must also be a whole of our own? Are you familiar with The Seven Hermetic Principles? If not, look in to them as I cite the Principle of Polarity in my argument as well as the persistence of paradox in the Universe. The Principle of Polarity tells us that all things have their poles. Opposites are often merely differing degrees of the same thing. What is light without darkness? Heat without cold? Something without nothing? Can you locate on a thermometer where hot begins and cold ends? Can you point me to a place where the light stops and the darkness begins? Of course not. So then, by applying this logic along with the Principle of Correspondence (as above, so below) we can easily see how this polarity is manifested via the paradox of the whole being a made of the individuals while the individual is made of the whole. We mostly all accept that we are connected and that is just a condition of the Universe. Period. So then why the obsession with increasing the connection via collective endeavors? Would it not be more simple and sensible to increase ourselves? To increase the individual? The chain is only as strong as its weakest link. If all the links are increased in strength does not the whole chain become stronger?
Our culture has taught us the great value of cooperation and the importance of being a part of something larger yet the same culture has diminished the power and liberty of the individual. Our religions tell us we are flawed and need to be saved. Our culture teaches us that we must be doing something for the collective for it to be a great accomplishment and that is true to a certain extent. Our culture tells us that we need friends and relationships to be happy and that being alone is negative. This is fallacy. We have recognized the importance of the collective yet ignored the method of improving the collective. New Age Religion even teaches that we should strive for communal behavior and that any value of the self is ego run amok. Even the New Age Movement has adopted the resentment of the individual. They teach that it is a reflection of a large ego if we are primarily concerned with our affairs. Now, let it be clear that I am not advocating selfishness or the idolization of oneself and it is not wise to try and elevate oneself above one’s peers. We cannot afford to consider ourselves more deserving or better than anyone else. My point after all of this is that being an individual and adhering to your own morality, your own fads, and your own ideas is the most important thing that we can do. Reject culture. Reject programming. Seek to become great but keep in mind the collective. Do nothing that will harm the whole because you are a part of the whole. That doesn’t mean that we need this undying devotion to the ‘bigger picture’ as we are taught. We do not need to be consumed with politics, religion, social issues, or any other macro problems. I know, easier said than done. The point of it all is to become a greater person and to increase yourself while taking care not to decrease the whole. Balance. You can be totally absorbed in the building of your own self without ever harming the whole and by building yourself you have built and therefore increased the whole. I think the most moral and personally beneficial path along these lines would be self-sufficiency but that is another topic.
So, in closing, take note of your own power. Reclaim your mind. Be your own person however you choose to be. Do not let culture devalue your individuality or tell you that the whole is more important than you. After all, if you die you will no longer be concerned with the human collective and thus the collective cannot be more important than you. They are equal. Treat them as such. You are just as grand as all of us, at least within your own sphere.
Start today. Put the clocks away. Lose track of time. That is when we are truly free.
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Throughout the rest of the site we try to keep things as focused on raw information as possible. On this page, we at The Hidden Ones will be sharing our unique views and opinions on a wide variety of topics. Archives
March 2017
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