Tuesday, October 5, 2010

A Very Important Announcement...

If you’ve been struggling getting results and are looking for a new SIMPLE way of getting more girls in your life that isn’t weird, forced, fake, or contrived, I’ve found something for you.
This is for you if you don’t want to go out to bars and clubs alone or with a wing man night after night every weekend just to get results.
I’ve been fortunate enough to get my hands on this amazing pre-release copy of my good friend’s new eBook. It’s pre-release so I can’t spill the beans to you on who and what yet. All I can say now is if you are interested in a new way of gaming girls, one that is social, and you don’t have to be the lone guy starting conversations with strangers just to face rejection this is something that will impact your dating and social life FOREVER…
Too hype-ish?
Not really.
You see, at first I was skeptical but you are going to be shocked and extremely pleased because it is completely different than anything you have been exposed too. I’ve seen a thing or two and been around the block in the dating and success with women community for a long time...
I have NEVER seen anything like it anywhere before and I am excited to share this wonderful piece of information with you come
Ok, that's all I can say for now.
Again, keep your eyes glued to my newsletter
Be sure to look out for it...

VISIT SITE HERE

Sexual Magnetism: Pheromones

Sexual Magnetism: Pheromones – The Scent of Sex
By Al Link

All this time you thought it was sculpted muscles, dazzling smiles and fast cars that were surefire babe magnets. Well have we got news for you. What really drives women wild are naturally occurring body chemicals called pheromones. Actually they work the same way to drive men wild, but the male and female pheromones are chemically different.

The name pheromone comes from two Greek words pheran (to transfer) and horman (to excite). According to Dr. Winnifred Cutler, pheromones are “substances excreted by an animal that affect the reproductive behavior of another same-species animal acting at a distance.” Since 1870 when the French naturalist Jean-Henri Fabre discovered male moths flying from miles away to visit a female moth caged in his lab, scientists have known about and documented the effects of pheromones on mating in insect and animal species. For example male cockroaches go wild when exposed to a glass rod covered with female cockroach pheromones, and attempt to mate with it! A randy boar opens his mouth and puffs out a breath laden with pheromones that freeze a sow in heat, ready for mounting. It wasn’t until 1986, however that Dr. Cutler, director of Pennsylvania’s Athena Intstitute, proved the existence of human pheromones and began to document their effects.

In humans, pheromones are activated at puberty. Both men and women produce varying amounts of “male” pheromones: androstenone and androstenol, only women secrete the “female” pheromone copulins. Produced by the apocrine glands in the armpit and around the genitals pheromones send signals that are picked up by the vemeronasal organ (VNO), just inside the nose. The VNO passes these messages on to the limbic part of the brain which governs the most basic human sensations, like joy, anger, love, hate and sexual arousal.

While we aren’t consciously aware of another person’s pheromones, we can’t “smell” them in the traditional sense, they do have a major impact on us. They ignite the sex drive, increase fertility and help regulate women’s menstrual cycles.

For her early studies Dr. Cutler gathered sweat from the armpits of healthy women and men in their 20s, removed the bacteria and odor and used the extract. Because it’s much too costly to collect and process human pheromones for sale, she and her team have produced laboratory equivalents. Since then controlled studies by Dr. Cutler and other organizations around the world have shown some amazing results.

In a double blind experiment with young women 36 percent of those exposed to pheromones had sex weekly during the first three weeks of the study. Of those receiving a placebo only 11 percent had weekly sex. By the end of the study, 14 weeks, 73 percent of the pheromone users were having sex every week, while those on the placebo stayed at 11 percent. In another of Dr. Cutler’s control groups 38 men were given either a pheromone-alcohol solution to add to their regular cologne or a straight alcohol solution. None knew which they had been given. After 8 weeks of wearing the cologne 47% of the pheromone users reported that they had more sexual intercourse, compared with only 9.5% of those with the placebo. There have been a few unusual tests illustrating the effects of the male pheromone androstenone on women. For one study, a single chair in a dentist's reception area was sprayed with androstenone, all the others were left untouched. It was observed that women most often sat in the chair treated with the pheromone. Another test involved three attached pay telephone booths. Again one of the three phones was sprayed with androstenone and more women used the treated phone than the other two.

The Australian organization, Bennett Research, conducted a survey of 306 men using pheromones. Ninety percent of them claimed that the product had increased their attractiveness to women. Increased response from women was measured by:

• Making conversation – 61%

• Starting up a conversation – 52%

• Expressing an interest in the man – 43%

• Being responsive to him – 40%

• Paying unsolicited compliments – 36%

• Overt flirting – 34%

A significant measure was a big increase in physical response by women – brushing against the pheromone wearers (31%), touching them (30%), becoming sexually excited (18%), expressing a desire for sex (17%), and actually having sex with them (16%).

One survey participant described his experience: “One night in a bar a woman walked past me and looked at me. The second time she walked past she came straight to me, said hello, started talking to me and I was very surprised when she grabbed hold of my hands and gave me a kiss on the lips…”

It’s not just sexual attraction that appears to be boosted by wearing pheromones. Users of pheromone products report that people generally pay more attention to them, listen more when they speak, and are friendlier in social situations. Pheromones seem to affect people’s general impressions and assessments. In one clinical study participants wearing surgical masks were shown photographs of buildings, trees, animals, women and men. Their task was to assess each according to impressions of friendly/unfriendly, aggressive/passive, attractive/unattractive and so on. The purpose of the test, they were told, was to examine how stress related to wearing a surgical mask affected decision-making. Participants were tested twice, with a two-week interval between sessions. For one of the tests small quantities of pheromones were sprayed on the mask, without the participants’ knowledge. With the added pheromone there was no noticeable difference in the study group’s impressions of trees and buildings. Animals were considered slightly more aggressive. Most stunning however was the difference in assessments of people, both women and men were considered to be more friendly, sensitive, intelligent, attractive, confident and good.

It’s no wonder then that people are trying pheromone products not simply for sexual attraction, but to give themselves a competitive edge. Salespersons are wearing them to boost their sales, job applicants are using them to create a favourable impression and social butterflies are spraying them on to increase their party invites.

As you can well imagine a whole crop of pheromone products has hit the market with differing formulas for both men and women. Most are made of laboratory synthesized versions of male and female hormones, and as is the case with most anything you get what you pay for. It appears that the more pheromones contained in the product the more money you’ll pay. Some of the top selling brands are more than $100 for a sixth of an ounce, but the concentration of pheromones is such that that sixth of an ounce will last you a long time.

There are scented and unscented versions. Unscented can be added to your regular cologne or aftershave. You may want to experiment with applying pheromones to your clothes as well as to your skin. Both methods have different effects. Due to body heat pheromones sprayed on skin evaporate quickly putting them into action right away, the “instant attractor”. The downside is that the active ingredients are used up just as fast. Sweat and surface bacteria also tend to break down and wash away pheromones on the skin. Spraying unscented products on clothing gives a slower acting but much longer lasting effect. It may in fact last longer than you want, requiring dry cleaning or several launderings to remove, and some delicate fabrics may not take kindly to a spray-on product at all. Some folks go for the double whammy with a combo of scented pheromone on the skin and unscented on the clothes.

By now, you may be wondering how you can get your hands on some of this liquid sexual magnet. We have links to many of these products on our Pheromones web page: http://www.tantra-sex.com/ep6.html#lure It is not likely you will find any of these products in retail stores, not yet. You will have to order them on the Internet and have them delivered by mail. At our web site, you will also find additional scientific studies about pheromones in case you need more convincing that they work. By the way, both Al and Pala have used pheromones and they work for us. Al added the unscented variety to one of his musk colognes. Right after that Pala not only started hugging and kissing him more frequently, but she started telling everyone how much she loved that cologne—she had never mentioned it before!

Here’s a look at a few of the pheromone products available:

• Androstenone Pheromone Concentrate, for men an androstenone only oil-based formula. Scented.

• Athena 10X for men and Athena 10:13 for women – by none other than Dr. Cutler herself. The formula is a closely guarded secret

• DateMate 2000 for men with androstenone and androstenol. DateMate FM for women with androstenone, androstenol and copulins. Unscented 15 ml. spray.

• Primal Instinct for men only, contains 5 mg of androstenone per 10 ml bottle. This baby will last you a long time! Scented.

• Realm, men’s and women’s formulas. Scented. Contains .05% androstenone by volume.

• Xcite wipes, foil wrapped moist towlettes impregnanted with pheromones, easy to carry and quick to spread on the body. Scented.

Everyday new “pheromone” products are being touted on the market. How do you know you’re going to get the real thing and not just an ineffective cologne with a lot of hype and no results ? Well, when buying a pheromone product you should ask yourself these questions:

1. Is there a money back guarantee? Most of the reputable brands offer this.

2. Does the product information clearly indicate that pheromones are present, what type they are and in what quantity? There are different mixtures, but generally look for androstenone, androstenol, and for women - copulins

3. Do the results promised sound absolutely too good to be true? They probably are.

There is one similarity with regular perfume, it seems that various pheromone formulas can react differently with each individual. So you may want to experiment with a few types. You can find out more about pheromone products—brands, what they do and how to get them - at this website: http://www.tantra-sex.com/pheromones.html

Al Link and Pala Copeland own and operate 4 Freedoms Relationship Tantra. They regularly host Tantra Sacred Loving weekends near Ottawa Canada, and weeklong retreats in exotic locations around the planet. For more information call toll free from Canada or USA: 1-800-684-5308 International long distance: 1-819-689-5308. Visit their website http://www.tantra-sex.com/ or send email: 4freedoms@tantraloving.com Their book, Soul Sex: Tantra for Two, is published by New Page Books, 2003. http://www.tantra-sex.com/soulsex.html

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/

4 Love-scent.com Framed

Sunday, October 3, 2010

Body Language...How to Tell if She's Interested?

So you’re a flop in the dating world. Women are just too confusing and you can’t tell if they are interested in you or not. They say one thing, but their actions indicate something entirely different.
Men are often confused because women’s verbal and nonverbal messages seem to conflict, sending him ”mixed signals.” Here is the key: experts predict that 7% of a woman’s attraction is shown through her verbal communication; 38% from her tone and 50% from her body language. What does this mean? Learning to read body language is the key to successful dating!
So, what are the signs that she is interested? If she points toward you or faces you, she is probably attracted to you. She may point with her shoulder, her leg or her whole body. Beware if she seems to be pointing the opposite direction; it is time to move on.

Watch her eyes. If her eyes are not straying around the room and seem to be focused intently on you, she is most likely interested. Are her eyes dilated? This is kind an unfair indicator because she has no control over it, but when a woman is attracted to you, her eyes will slightly dilate while interacting with you.
Does she seem to be involved in your conversation with you, or does she seem restless? If she is attracted to you, nothing else is going to occupy her attention while you are talking to her.
The more you see of her wrists, palms and the inside of her arms, the better. Look for signs of nervousness. She may show this through fidgeting with an object or adjusting her hair or clothes. If she is nervous, she probably likes you.
Smiles are great! If she smiles at you when you aren’t talking, or laughs at everything you say, funny or not, you can assume she is interested.
Does she seem relaxed around you? A woman who is interested in you will face you directly, lean in and relax her body. Folded arms, a stiff back and leaning away from you are signs that she wants out of the situation.
The best and easiest predictor of her attraction is her physical contact with you. Does she frequently touch your hand or keep it hidden in her pocket? Does she touch your arm or leg when she is making a point? The more physical contact she has with you during your conversation, the better.
Warning! Beware of the shy or awkward flirter. The signs may be very confusing. She may be restless or quiet due to nervousness. She may not understand how to use her body language to give you the ”okay".
If you sense that a woman may be awkward or shy but interested, look for nervousness when you approach her directly or look intently into her eyes. Watch her pupils to see if they change size. When you are in the same room, frequently glance in her direction to see if she is watching you. If you catch her stealing glimpses of you, go ahead, she is most likely interested.
Learning to read body language helps you weed those who are attracted to you from those who are polite, but uninterested. Study her nonverbal cues; if they seem to indicate an attraction toward you-go for it!

How to tell if a girl is Attracted to you

We are surrounded by women all the time and some of these women are attracted to us. So many men question whether a woman is attracted to them or not. Women are much more delicate than men in the way they show their attraction. But once you know the signs, you’ll always be able to tell if a woman is attracted to you. One of these should be sufficient to act on, more than one and it is an explicit “go” signal! Here are the ways women show that they like you:
  1. If She Wants to Speak to You:
  • She points her feet in the direction of you when standing up.
  • She smiles, or looks away embarrassed when you hold eye contact.
  • She jerks her leg in your direction if sitting down with legs crossed.
  • She adjusts her posture – sits up straighter and tucks in belly.
  • She faces you with her hips/legs while sitting down.
  • She opens up her body language to you while standing.
  • She brushes up against you pointlessly when she passes.
  • She looks at you two times before approach.
  • She twirls her hair when she notices you.
If you get one of these signals, go in and start a conversation with her. Your next objective is to take the interaction to a point where she wants to have a conversation with you. It might happen instantly or it might not. If you have approached without any of the above invitations, you should look for some of the below to know that she is attracted to you.
  1. If She is Interested in making the interaction longer:
  • She asks you questions
  • She asks your name.
  • She gives extended answers to your questions.
So now you know whether she likes you to the point of wanting to talk to you, but how do you know if she wants to get physical with you?
  1. If She is Sexually Attracted to You:
  • She strokes her neck when in conversation with you.
  • She peeks at your mouth.
  • She tilts head to the side when speaking to you.
  • Her pupils dilate.
  • She giggles too much at your jokes, even when they aren’t funny.
  • She is happy listening to you even when you are talking rubbish.
  • She holds eye contact with you and doesn’t glance around the room or at her friends. Note – if she is anxious and it is just not her character to hold strong eye contact, she could still be interested.
  • She is relaxed with you touching her and invading her space.
  • She shows enthusiasm to leave her friends and stay with you.
  • She laughs and hits you on the shoulder when you tease her.
  • She looks at you in a dreaming kind of way.
  • She asks if you are single.
  • She says your name in conversation.
  • She leans in to you.
Now that you know all the ways that a girl can show that she is attracted to you, you will be able to make the move and will stop having missed chances. It will increase your success rate by a huge amount.

How to Overcome Your Fear of Rejection

"How to Overcome Your Fear of Rejection"

Hot Woman ake a look at the woman on your left. She’s hot, isn’t she? Now imagine walking up to her and asking her out on a date.
There she is across the room in front of you...  You look at her beautiful face and sexy hot body... and feel your manly desire for her... you also feel intimidated by her beauty... are you good enough for her? Will she reject you if you make a move?
And before you even have a chance to take another breath... you feel your chest tighten... your breathing constrict...
The anxiety grips you in the pit of your stomach... and your mind grows foggy as your fear of rejection completely overwhelms you...

Yes, Approaching a Hot Women is Challenging,
isn’t it?

The question is, why?
Why is it so difficult to approach a hot woman whom you obviously want?
The answer will fascinate you.
There are two reasons you feel fear when you try approaching a beautiful woman:
  1. You aren’t managing your emotional states correctly.
  2. You haven’t dealt with the pain of past rejection and negative experiences with women.
Let’s explore these two causes in more detail.

You aren’t Managing your Emotional States Correctly

Throughout your life, you feel many different emotional states. Sometimes you feel happy; sometimes you feel angry; sometimes you feel carefree; and when you are approaching a hot woman, you feel anxious.
The key to developing confidence when approaching a hot woman lies in effectively managing your emotional states – especially when the woman is standing right in front of you and you must make a move now or lose out forever.

So, how do you Manage your Emotional States more Effectively?

The answer will surprise you.
It’s all in your breathing.
A recent scientific study published in Psychophysiology Journal has established a link between how fast you breathe and what is known as heart rate variability (HRV).
Basically, heart rate variability measures how your pulse rate varies over a period of time. A normal, healthy heart has greater variability than an unhealthy heart.

What does Heart Rate Variability have to do with Meeting Hot Chicks?

Everything.
Think about it; when you approach a beautiful woman, what do you do?
You’re nervous, so you either breathe too fast or hold your breath. Scientific studies have found that both those behaviours decrease heart rate variability.
And guess what?
A study published in Elsevier Science found that a decrease heart rate variability results in increased anxiety levels.
So this means that the anxiety you feel when approaching a woman is actually caused by either breathing too fast or holding your breath.

This Understanding Provides an Easy Solution.

All you need to do to feel calmer when approaching a hot woman is remember these two easy tasks:
  • First, make sure you are breathing
  • Second, breathe more slowly.
It’s that simple.
Here’s a simple exercise you can use to practice breathing correctly when approaching a beautiful woman. It is called the 4-2-6 Breathing Technique. It works like this:
  1. Inhale deeply through your nose for 4 seconds.
  2. Hold the breath for 2 seconds.
  3. Breathe out through your mouth for 6 seconds.
  4. If you feel out of breath, then sigh audibly on your next breath out.
  5. Repeat 10 times.
By breathing in this way, you eliminate anxiety and relax your body on a deep physiological level.
As a result, you feel much calmer – and more confident.
If you practice breathing like this before you approach a woman, then you will immediately feel a reduction in fear and a more balanced emotional state, which is ideal for flirting.

How to Overcome Your Fear of Rejection -CLICK HERE

NLP Attraction Accelerator


CLICK HERE

How to Talk to Women

By golly, you’ve actually met a woman.
Maybe you’re in bar. Maybe you’re at the gym or laundromat. Maybe she’s someone you know from work. Or maybe, even, you’re actually out on a date.
In any event, now you’ve got to do something scary, something unpredictable, something with the power to launch a future romantic relationship, or end one before it even gets started. YOU’VE GOT TO TALK TO HER.
What do you talk about? Should you tell her about your childhood, your therapist, your plans for the future, the wart on your big toe? What if you can’t think of anything to say? What if you say the wrong thing? And, by the way, what would be the "right" thing to say? Do you have a clue?
Most guys don’t. When your average gent converses with a woman, he’s basically just flailing blindly at the wind, hoping by chance that something he says will "connect" with the woman and make her fall for him.
Needless to say, this is not the "Don Juan" way of doing things.
You need to have a plan. You need to know DEFINITELY what works and what doesn’t, what to talk about and what not to talk about. You don’t want to leave her feelings to chance or to fate. You want to be charming and in control.
And that’s what we’re going to discuss right now.
Now there are many many aspects of a conversation. This particular article focuses on the conversational TOPICS that you should focus on when wooing a beautiful lady. Those topics which will almost GUARANTEE increased interpersonal attraction. Topics which will leave you in complete charge of the conversation, and which will leave you the option, IF YOU SO DESIRE, of future conversations, dates, or an intense romantic relationship.
Are you getting excited?
Okay, so WHAT exactly do you talk about?
Well, the first thing to remember is that men frequently err by talking TOO MUCH. They often monopolize conversations, droning on and on about topics that bore women to tears. They think they’re "impressing" the women when, in reality, they’re "depressing" the women.
Just because a woman listens to you and acts interested in what you’re saying doesn’t necessarily mean she really is. She might just be acting polite while silently wishing that the date would hurry up and end, or that you would go away... and never come back.
So key number one is DON’T TALK SO MUCH! Try not to monopolize the conversation and try to LISTEN to what SHE has to say. Remember, everyone is incredibly interested in what they themselves have to say. People will talk to you about themselves for as long as you will listen.
So stop worrying about what you’re going to say next. Focus all your attention and energy on listening to what the woman is saying to you. Try to visualize or "feel" what she’s saying.
This does take a little effort. It’s not very hard to do, but it’s not something that men "naturally" do. You simply have to concentrate.
Now when listening you want to pay particular attention to any "seeds" or free information she happens to throw your way. Seeds refer to subtle hints that women give that point to conversational topics that they would like to or be willing to discuss.
An example:
Bob: You come here often?
Kim: Actually this is my first time here. Just moved here from Florida.
Bob: Oh. I come here every week. I love this band. It’s pretty crowded tonight.
Bob is clueless.
Kim gives him plenty of free information to follow up on. It’s almost as if she’s testing him to see if he has the intelligence or social skills to capitalize on what she says. Bob fails.
So what would be the "right" thing to say?
Well... she mentions that this is her first time in the club and she just moved here from Florida. Bob could have properly "watered the seeds" by asking a) How does she like the club, band, etc? b) What brought her here from Florida? c) How long has she been in the area? d) Where in Florida is she from? e) How long was she there? f) What’s it like there?
Kim’s two short sentences gave Bob tons of information to follow up on. Tons of conversational topics that she has indirectly indicated that she’d like to talk about. But Bob was too worried about himself. Too worried about the impression he was making. Too worried about what to say next to LISTEN to what she said.
Do you see the importance of listening now? You must concentrate on what she says and block everything else out of your mind. If you listen you never have to worry about what to say next because the other person is "telling" you exactly what to say.
Kim even subtly indicated that she was attracted to Bob (or at least not repulsed by him). How? She didn’t blow him off. She gave him some free information to talk to her about. This may have been a conscious decision on her part or it may have been a somewhat unconscious act. In any event, Bob didn’t pick up on it and blew his chances with her.
Keep in mind that if a woman likes you or would like to get to know you better, she will GIVE YOU free information to follow up on. She will throw out some seeds for you to water. If she’s not attracted to you, she won’t give you much of anything and it will be very difficult to maintain a decent conversation with her. No matter how charming you are, if she doesn’t "help you out some" you’ll eventually have to admit defeat and walk away.
So be sure to listen for the topics she’d like to discuss.
Now in order to converse for maximum attraction, you need to keep two other things in mind. You need to tell her about yourself. And you need to maintain a proper talk/listen ratio.
You may have heard or read somewhere that people like to talk about themselves and that you should spend most of your time listening and asking questions if you want others to like you. This is true... to a certain extent.
People DO like to talk about themselves and they DO like those who listen, ask questions, and seem interested in what they’re saying.
But...
If you’re goal is to charm this lady, you’ve got to do more than that. You’ve got to tell her something about yourself. Specifically, you’ve got to "tell her" that YOU TWO ARE VERY MUCH ALIKE.
You do this by making "me-too" statements.
That is, it is desirable to bring yourself into the conversation when you can relate yourself to something she’s talking about or make yourself seem similar to her.
For example:
Kim: I really miss Miami.
Jim: I can imagine. I spent two weeks in Miami last summer. I loved it. Even thought about moving there myself.
Jim is smooth.
Jim didn’t ask a question (this time). He told Kim something about himself that made him seem similar to her. Now if Jim has also been listening and asking questions, then he’s probably doing very well with Kim.
A good talk/listen ratio would be around 40/60 or 30/70. That is, you want to spend around 30 or 40 percent of the time talking, and about 60 to 70 percent of the time listening. And you should spend as much of that 30 to 40 percent as possible in the "me-too zone."
Think about it this way...
Let’s assume you just went on a dinner date with a lady you like very much. If you monopolized the conversation and spent most of the time telling her how "wonderful" you are, you can pretty much expect there won’t be a second date. I hope you can understand this.
On the other hand, imagine you’d spent the entire two hours together sitting there, listening, and asking her questions. You probably did much better. She did seem happy. She did seem to enjoy the conversation. But still...
After the date she’s going to go home and think about the date. And she’s going to think about you. She’s going to think about whether she should spend more time with you or not.
The fact that you haven’t said much of anything all evening is going to be your downfall... BECAUSE SHE HAS NOTHING TO THINK ABOUT.
You haven’t told her anything about yourself. She still has no idea if she should be interested in you or not. She knows you don’t monopolize the conversation and you’re a good listener. And she likes that. But that’s not enough to spark any kind of emotion in her.
Now imagine you’d spent 60 to 70 percent of the date listening to her (really listening and asking questions), and about 30 to 40 percent of the time telling her about yourself. Specifically, telling her about yourself in a way that makes the two of you seem very similar.
This time when she goes home, sits down, grabs something to drink, and starts reminiscing about the date (and you), she’s going to have something substantial to think about. She’s going to think what a wonderful conversationalist you are. You didn’t monopolize the conversation. You didn’t bore her with details of your job, your childhood, or the health of your colon.
And because you spent a substantial amount of time pointing out how similar the two of you are, she’s going to think that you are very SPECIAL. (After all, you’re just like her. You must be.)
People always like others who are similar to themselves. By being similar to me, you essentially validate my perceptions of the world. I will see you as clever, intelligent, charming, and likeable... because you’re like me.
(It’s true that opposites do SOMETIMES attract. But only under certain situations. On the other hand, similars ALMOST ALWAYS attract. You should always go for the similarity angle during the first part of a relationship. You’ll can reveal to her your "unique" qualities later.)
And don’t worry or feel cheated because you don’t get to talk about the things you want to talk about. If you play your cards right during the first few conversations or dates, you’ll have plenty of time later on to bore her with all your "interesting" stories.
The first few conversations (dates) are critical and you have to "play" them right. That means listening for free info, asking interested questions, and making "me too" statements. It’s a simple 1, 2, 3.
Allen Thompson