The Twelve Days of Christmas start with Christmas Day and finish with the eve of Epiphany on 5th January. The carol dates back to English origins in the sixteenth century although the music is reputed to be French. The first publication date for the carol was 1780. Each of The Twelve Days of Christmas has a religious significance and are symbolized following the lyrics of the carol. What do the twelve days signify?
In England (from 1558 to 1829), it was illegal for Catholics to practice any pieces of their faith in their homes or in public.
"The Twelve Days of Christmas" was written as a "catechism song" to assist young Catholics to learn the tenets of their faith without being obvious to the outside world, that it was of religious roots.... See More
The gifts mentioned in the song symbolize different teachings of Catholicism, and the giver of the gifts, "My true love," is God. The recipient of the presents refers anyone who has been baptized.
The symbols:
Partridge in a pear tree = Jesus
2 Turtle Doves = The Old and New Testaments
3 French Hens = Faith, Hope and Charity, the Theological Virtues
4 Calling Birds = the Four Gospels and/or the Four Evangelists
5 Golden Rings = The first Five Books of the Old Testament
6 Geese A-laying = the six days of creation
7 Swans A-swimming = the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit (the seven sacraments )
8 Maids A-milking = the eight beatitudes
9 Ladies Dancing = the nine Fruits of the Holy Spirit
10 Lords A-leaping = the ten commandments
11 Pipers Piping = the eleven faithful apostles
12 Drummers Drumming = the twelve points of doctrine in the Apostle's Creed
NOT! lol
Wow. I had no idea religion would try to jack things like that. Although it did give me some brilliant ideas.
(insert snopes)
http://www.snopes.com/holidays/christmas/music/12days.asp
Merry +mas!!!
They say the partridge represents Jesus feigning injury amongst other things. But then the entire currently widespread religious symbolism is disassembled DaVinci Code-style.
Well, at least disassembling things DaVinci Code-style creates a whole industry according to the TV.
;)
Merry Christmas Everyone!!!
- A -
Friday, December 25, 2009
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
I rest my case.
(from an extremely intelligent Facebook friend of mine, DK Matai)
Apparently cultural self-destruction isn't the only problem as I've been repeating like a broken record since you first met me. What's your plan cowboy?
Dear Friends,
When we examine the asymmetric threats facing humanity, it becomes clear that major challenges -- whether local, national or international -- are all tied together by the exponential function! A lack of appreciation for what exponential increase really means leads our society to be disastrously sluggish in acting on critical issues. Believe it or not, our great survival struggle -- manifest via Demographics, Energy and The End Game -- is about understanding the practical meaning and effects of the exponential function!
What is the Exponential Function?
Simply put, the exponential function means growing like this: 1, 2, 4, 8, 16 and 32. Doubling, doubling again and then doubling again and again. Everyone surely understands that? Yes, at a theoretical level, and No, at a practical level!
For example: suppose one agrees to eat one almond on the first day of the month, two almonds on the second, four almonds on the third, eight almonds on the fourth, and keeps doubling them every day. How long can one keep going? How long will a pound of almonds last? The first pound of almonds will be gone on the ninth day as one eats the remaining half of the pound. On the tenth, day one will eat a whole new pound of almonds. By the fifteenth day, one will be expected to eat 32 pounds of almonds! One will have to eat roughly one's own weight in almonds by the 17th day! On the 21st day the total will have risen to one ton, roughly the weight of a car; and by the end of the month, assuming a 30-day month, it will be 500 tons, or the weight of a ship!
Impact on Demographics
The human population of Earth reached 1 billion in 1804, 2 billion in 1927, 3 billion in 1959, 4 billion in 1974, 5 billion in late 1986 and 6 billion in late 1999. We are presently on the cusp of reaching 7 billion. Mexico, with a population of 107 million and a doubling time of 70 years, will, if it keeps that up, grow to 214 million in seven decades. That's nothing compared to Kenya, which has a doubling time of 26 years. If Kenya goes on growing at its present rate, in 70 years there will be roughly three Kenyans for every one today!
Impact on Energy Capacity and Consumption
Until the 1970s world oil consumption was growing at seven percent per year. That means doubling every ten years. The doubling time of anything growing exponentially is 70 divided by its annual growth rate — 70 divided by seven percent is a ten-year doubling time. Every ten years we used as much oil as we had used in all previous history. Every ten years we had to go out and discover as much oil as we had ever discovered before — and then, to keep going, discover twice that much in the next ten years. We didn't keep going after 1970 because we couldn't have. In 1973, there was an massive oil shock and that global economic crisis began to alter consumption behaviour. Since then, per capita oil consumption in the US -- which reached a peak in 1978 -- has fallen by 20 percent from that level. As a result, there's still plenty of oil around at present, but we've been burning it faster than we've been discovering it for 20 years now because of the arrival of China, India and other emerging countries as major consumers of oil alongside the G7 and other developed nations. It is well known that we have around a 1,000 years' worth of coal left. However, if we burn 7 percent more of it each year than the year before -- which we may well do, substituting it for the disappearing oil -- it will last just 60+ years, and it will bring on global climate chaos much faster than even the worst case scenario projections!
The End Game
One doesn't get much reaction time when problems grow exponentially and come closer to the end game. An old French riddle illustrates the point: Suppose one owns a pond on which a water lily is growing. The lily doubles in size each day. If the lily were allowed to grow unchecked, it would completely cover the pond in 30 days, choking off other forms of life in the water. For a long time the plant is almost invisible, and so one decides not to worry about cutting it back until it covers half the pond. On what day will that be? On the twenty-ninth day!
We are emitting carbon dioxide and several other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere exponentially. We are clearing tropical forest at an exponential rate. The human population is growing exponentially. Human energy use, human production of synthetic products, chemicals, deserts and rubbish are growing exponentially. Many national economies are growing exponentially in terms of x percent GDP growth per annum, and we cheer them on, although a worldwide economic growth rate of, say, 3.5 percent per year means another whole industrial world is added to this one in just two decades! We can't keep it up. If all interlocutors truly understood the consequences of exponential growth, we would have no differences of opinion, no conflicts of interest, within the one world united point-of-view!
Escape Velocity
The Key Question: How to build the escape velocity needed to break free from the current gravitational pull of influences that limit the capacities of leadership? Educate one and all on the practical relevance and power of the Exponential Function as it applies to Demographics, Energy and The End Game!
[ENDS]
We welcome your thoughts, observations and views. To reflect further on this, please respond within Twitter, Linked and Facebook's ATCA Open and related Socratic dialogue platform of HQR.
All the best
DK Matai
Chairman and Founder: mi2g.net, ATCA, The Philanthropia, HQR, @G140
To connect directly with:
. DK Matai: http://twitter.com/DKMatai
. Open HQR: http://twitter.com/OpenHQR
. ATCA Open: http://twitter.com/ATCAOpen
. @G140: http://twitter.com/G140
. mi2g: http://twitter.com/intunit
- ATCA, The Philanthropia, mi2g, HQR, @G140 --
This is an "ATCA Open, Philanthropia and HQR Socratic Dialogue."
The "ATCA Open" network on LinkedIn and Facebook is for professionals interested in ATCA's original global aims, working with ATCA step-by-step across the world, or developing tools supporting ATCA's objectives to build a better world.
The original ATCA -- Asymmetric Threats Contingency Alliance -- is a philanthropic expert initiative founded in 2001 to resolve complex global challenges through collective Socratic dialogue and joint executive action to build a wisdom based global economy. Adhering to the doctrine of non-violence, ATCA addresses asymmetric threats and social opportunities arising from climate chaos and the environment; radical poverty and microfinance; geo-politics and energy; organised crime & extremism; advanced technologies -- bio, info, nano, robo & AI; demographic skews and resource shortages; pandemics; financial systems and systemic risk; as well as transhumanism and ethics. Present membership of the original ATCA network is by invitation only and has over 5,000 distinguished members from over 120 countries: including 1,000 Parliamentarians; 1,500 Chairmen and CEOs of corporations; 1,000 Heads of NGOs; 750 Directors at Academic Centres of Excellence; 500 Inventors and Original thinkers; as well as 250 Editors-in-Chief of major media.
The Philanthropia, founded in 2005, brings together over 1,000 leading individual and private philanthropists, family offices, foundations, private banks, non-governmental organisations and specialist advisors to address complex global challenges such as countering climate chaos, reducing radical poverty and developing global leadership for the younger generation through the appliance of science and technology, leveraging acumen and finance, as well as encouraging collaboration with a strong commitment to ethics. Philanthropia emphasises multi-faith spiritual values: introspection, healthy living and ecology. Philanthropia Targets: Countering climate chaos and carbon neutrality; Eliminating radical poverty -- through micro-credit schemes, empowerment of women and more responsible capitalism; Leadership for the Younger Generation; and Corporate and social responsibility.
Apparently cultural self-destruction isn't the only problem as I've been repeating like a broken record since you first met me. What's your plan cowboy?
Dear Friends,
When we examine the asymmetric threats facing humanity, it becomes clear that major challenges -- whether local, national or international -- are all tied together by the exponential function! A lack of appreciation for what exponential increase really means leads our society to be disastrously sluggish in acting on critical issues. Believe it or not, our great survival struggle -- manifest via Demographics, Energy and The End Game -- is about understanding the practical meaning and effects of the exponential function!
What is the Exponential Function?
Simply put, the exponential function means growing like this: 1, 2, 4, 8, 16 and 32. Doubling, doubling again and then doubling again and again. Everyone surely understands that? Yes, at a theoretical level, and No, at a practical level!
For example: suppose one agrees to eat one almond on the first day of the month, two almonds on the second, four almonds on the third, eight almonds on the fourth, and keeps doubling them every day. How long can one keep going? How long will a pound of almonds last? The first pound of almonds will be gone on the ninth day as one eats the remaining half of the pound. On the tenth, day one will eat a whole new pound of almonds. By the fifteenth day, one will be expected to eat 32 pounds of almonds! One will have to eat roughly one's own weight in almonds by the 17th day! On the 21st day the total will have risen to one ton, roughly the weight of a car; and by the end of the month, assuming a 30-day month, it will be 500 tons, or the weight of a ship!
Impact on Demographics
The human population of Earth reached 1 billion in 1804, 2 billion in 1927, 3 billion in 1959, 4 billion in 1974, 5 billion in late 1986 and 6 billion in late 1999. We are presently on the cusp of reaching 7 billion. Mexico, with a population of 107 million and a doubling time of 70 years, will, if it keeps that up, grow to 214 million in seven decades. That's nothing compared to Kenya, which has a doubling time of 26 years. If Kenya goes on growing at its present rate, in 70 years there will be roughly three Kenyans for every one today!
Impact on Energy Capacity and Consumption
Until the 1970s world oil consumption was growing at seven percent per year. That means doubling every ten years. The doubling time of anything growing exponentially is 70 divided by its annual growth rate — 70 divided by seven percent is a ten-year doubling time. Every ten years we used as much oil as we had used in all previous history. Every ten years we had to go out and discover as much oil as we had ever discovered before — and then, to keep going, discover twice that much in the next ten years. We didn't keep going after 1970 because we couldn't have. In 1973, there was an massive oil shock and that global economic crisis began to alter consumption behaviour. Since then, per capita oil consumption in the US -- which reached a peak in 1978 -- has fallen by 20 percent from that level. As a result, there's still plenty of oil around at present, but we've been burning it faster than we've been discovering it for 20 years now because of the arrival of China, India and other emerging countries as major consumers of oil alongside the G7 and other developed nations. It is well known that we have around a 1,000 years' worth of coal left. However, if we burn 7 percent more of it each year than the year before -- which we may well do, substituting it for the disappearing oil -- it will last just 60+ years, and it will bring on global climate chaos much faster than even the worst case scenario projections!
The End Game
One doesn't get much reaction time when problems grow exponentially and come closer to the end game. An old French riddle illustrates the point: Suppose one owns a pond on which a water lily is growing. The lily doubles in size each day. If the lily were allowed to grow unchecked, it would completely cover the pond in 30 days, choking off other forms of life in the water. For a long time the plant is almost invisible, and so one decides not to worry about cutting it back until it covers half the pond. On what day will that be? On the twenty-ninth day!
We are emitting carbon dioxide and several other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere exponentially. We are clearing tropical forest at an exponential rate. The human population is growing exponentially. Human energy use, human production of synthetic products, chemicals, deserts and rubbish are growing exponentially. Many national economies are growing exponentially in terms of x percent GDP growth per annum, and we cheer them on, although a worldwide economic growth rate of, say, 3.5 percent per year means another whole industrial world is added to this one in just two decades! We can't keep it up. If all interlocutors truly understood the consequences of exponential growth, we would have no differences of opinion, no conflicts of interest, within the one world united point-of-view!
Escape Velocity
The Key Question: How to build the escape velocity needed to break free from the current gravitational pull of influences that limit the capacities of leadership? Educate one and all on the practical relevance and power of the Exponential Function as it applies to Demographics, Energy and The End Game!
[ENDS]
We welcome your thoughts, observations and views. To reflect further on this, please respond within Twitter, Linked and Facebook's ATCA Open and related Socratic dialogue platform of HQR.
All the best
DK Matai
Chairman and Founder: mi2g.net, ATCA, The Philanthropia, HQR, @G140
To connect directly with:
. DK Matai: http://twitter.com/DKMatai
. Open HQR: http://twitter.com/OpenHQR
. ATCA Open: http://twitter.com/ATCAOpen
. @G140: http://twitter.com/G140
. mi2g: http://twitter.com/intunit
- ATCA, The Philanthropia, mi2g, HQR, @G140 --
This is an "ATCA Open, Philanthropia and HQR Socratic Dialogue."
The "ATCA Open" network on LinkedIn and Facebook is for professionals interested in ATCA's original global aims, working with ATCA step-by-step across the world, or developing tools supporting ATCA's objectives to build a better world.
The original ATCA -- Asymmetric Threats Contingency Alliance -- is a philanthropic expert initiative founded in 2001 to resolve complex global challenges through collective Socratic dialogue and joint executive action to build a wisdom based global economy. Adhering to the doctrine of non-violence, ATCA addresses asymmetric threats and social opportunities arising from climate chaos and the environment; radical poverty and microfinance; geo-politics and energy; organised crime & extremism; advanced technologies -- bio, info, nano, robo & AI; demographic skews and resource shortages; pandemics; financial systems and systemic risk; as well as transhumanism and ethics. Present membership of the original ATCA network is by invitation only and has over 5,000 distinguished members from over 120 countries: including 1,000 Parliamentarians; 1,500 Chairmen and CEOs of corporations; 1,000 Heads of NGOs; 750 Directors at Academic Centres of Excellence; 500 Inventors and Original thinkers; as well as 250 Editors-in-Chief of major media.
The Philanthropia, founded in 2005, brings together over 1,000 leading individual and private philanthropists, family offices, foundations, private banks, non-governmental organisations and specialist advisors to address complex global challenges such as countering climate chaos, reducing radical poverty and developing global leadership for the younger generation through the appliance of science and technology, leveraging acumen and finance, as well as encouraging collaboration with a strong commitment to ethics. Philanthropia emphasises multi-faith spiritual values: introspection, healthy living and ecology. Philanthropia Targets: Countering climate chaos and carbon neutrality; Eliminating radical poverty -- through micro-credit schemes, empowerment of women and more responsible capitalism; Leadership for the Younger Generation; and Corporate and social responsibility.
Monday, November 9, 2009
Acting Fast...
A rather interesting article from Dave @ rockyourday.com.
Figured I'd copy and paste it here for future reference. Not a whole lot new to report. Making progress in many directions. Occasionally taking note of it on the FB as usual.
Hope everyone is having great time making the world spin as usual.
:)
;)
- A -
How To Train Yourself To Be In The Mood You Want
When you have major changes going on in your life, or you’re just frustrated about where you are, it’s easy to get trapped in a cycle of depression, bad moods and frustration. I know, I’ve been there … and when I’m not careful, I still get there more than I want to.
But lately I’ve had a particularly hard time, as I make some major (positive) changes in my life. I hit these moments where I’m in a foul mood, or I’m just feeling paralyzed, and I’m just stuck. Sometimes I just stew in that and stay there, but sometimes I actually get intelligent and pull my way out of it.
I’m going to outline the framework that I’ve been using over the last 30 days to really get myself resourceful and motivated (and in a better mood) when I’m feeling stuck. Hopefully it will help you, too, and if you do I truly hope you’ll share it with others.
First Up: Using A Framework to Escape From Paralyzing Emotions
When we feel bad, it’s hard to “feel good” again. You can’t just wish yourself better, and when you’re in a stuck place, you don’t generally have the mental energy to pull out. Willpower doesn’t help, and “positive thinking” sure as hell doesn’t help. But falling back on a framework of steps does help, because we humans function well when we have a set of steps to follow.
The reason for this is that steps take the emotion out of our situation and give us direction to simply act. Duck and Cover. Stop, Drop, and Roll. When you know with certainty what to do next, you’re in a much stronger position to take action, even when you’re panicking. (And it doesn’t have to be words, either – just think of Lamaze breathing, which expectant mothers practice well ahead of time so they can slip back into it during the stress of labor.)
You can call these verbal step-by-step tools anchors if you want, because they’re ways to anchor your emotional state to a time where you knew what to do and you felt prepared. So I’m going to lay out a framework that you can use as your own anchor when you need to reset your mood, and while it’s seven steps long, it’s hella effective at getting the job done.
The seven steps form the acronym ACT FAST, and I picked that because I felt that it was a pretty empowering term as it forces you to presuppose you have a workable course of action. So let’s dive in.
A: AGREE With Yourself That You Don’t Want To Be In This Mood Right Now.
This seems hokey, but it’s important for this reason: Once you agree with yourself that this is not the right mood for you, you’re revoking permission to stew in your own juices and keep the “pity party” going. Think about it: When we’re mad, the thing we hate the most is when someone tries to cheer us up, because on some level we want to be mad and stay mad, or be depressed and stay depressed.
And that’s not always a bad thing. Maybe we want to stay sad because on some level we know we need to hang out in this mental state and really look at what’s making us sad, to really connect with it and deal with it instead of pretending it doesn’t exist. Maybe we want to stay mad because we’re not finished processing our emotions and figuring out what our situation means and what we’re going to do about it.
So don’t take this as me saying “man up and stop crying.” What I am saying is that at some point if you want to move forward in a functional way, and not feel paralyzed, you need to agree that this stage of emotion has to be finite, it has to come to an end so you can deal with the solution that the emotion demands of you. When you’re ready to deal with it, you agree with yourself that you’re ready to shift gears.
Let’s say you’ve lost your job and you’re freaking out about what to do. You could tell yourself something like, “Okay, I’m ready to stop being scared of this situation now.” Then you move on to the second step.
C: CLARIFY The Mood or Emotion You Want To Move Towards
Now that you’re ready to change, you need to make sure that you know where you’re headed so you have something you can focus on. It’s not enough to say “I just don’t want to feel this way anymore,” because then you’re still swimming in the Sea of What You Don’t Want. You need to have a focus.
It could be as simple as defining the mood you want to be in with a single word or two. Resourceful. Confident. Infectiously Happy. Stable. Calm. Controlled. Helpful. Pleasant. Civil. Generous. Whatever it is, you need to give it a name.
Then you combine it with the last thought, so you can tell yourself something like “I’m ready to stop feeling scared and start feeling resourceful.”
There’s nothing magical about these words, and again, it’s not positive thinking. This is all about creating something you can say to yourself to pull the emotion out of your mental state and focus on what you can do next and what you can influence.
When you start getting scattered and lose track of where you are, and you’re stressing, you can fall back on your statement: “I’m ready to stop feeling scared and start feeling resourceful.” You’re putting yourself back in control and you’re ready for the next step.
T: TAKE Responsibility For Taking Immediate Action.
Now that you know what you want to move away from and what you want to move towards, it’s time to face reality: It ain’t gonna happen unless you make it happen. You’re going to have to consciously accept responsibility for getting yourself in a better state.
This is a big deal, because it means that you‘re going to have to revoke permission to blame other people so you can do this. Note that I’m not saying that you’re absolving other people of blame – if someone just screwed you over, then they’re still at fault, and you don’t pretend that didn’t happen.
But focusing on that isn’t going to help you get to your desired emotional state. You have to take full responsibility for what thoughts you’re going to focus on and what attitudes you’re going to reinforce, because no one is going to do it. No one is coming to your rescue.
You want out of this emotion? You’re going to have to do it yourself. the good news is you totally can do it yourself, and we’re going to cover that in the next four steps so you can get there.
So now our statement to ourselves gets a little longer – it’s something like, “I’m ready to stop feeling scared and start feeling resourceful, and I’m going to make that happen right now.”
We’re going to move into four questions right now, and you’ll need to memorize them so you can get yourself back on track instantly when you’re backsliding into the emotional state you don’t want to be in.
F: “What Would I Need To FOCUS On To Feel this Way?”
This question is a really empowering one, because it forces you to stop thinking about the things that are draining you and gets you to acknowledge that there are things you can focus on that will give you more mental and emotional energy.
When you ask yourself this question, you’re putting yourself on the spot – you’re saying, “Hey, if I wanted to feel resourceful (for this job loss example), what would I need to focus on?” You’re presupposing the answer is available to you rather than saying “How do I get out of this funk?”, which is an open ended question that invites an “I dunno …” response.
Think about it. If you were feeling resourceful in this job loss situation – imagine that you were for a second – what would you be focusing on in order to feel resourceful? Would you be thinking of all your contacts and references, about renewing old work relationships? Would you be taking stock of all the online job boards, or maybe sites like LinkedIn? Or would you be revisiting your skills and experience and seeing if another career would be more fun?
Ask yourself this question, and write down the answers. You’ll need that written note to look back on when the painful emotion you’re moving away from resurfaces. Have a written library of answers to this question and you can benefit from it when you’re feeling emotionally unable to conjure up answers later.
Sometimes the answer can be external as well. The first part of my career was spent in software testing, and that’s some boring stuff. It’s frustrating to test the same thing 100 times and not feel totally unmotivated. But I’d focus on something external – like the road trip I was going to take with this week’s pay – and that would keep me going.
In one case I was testing training Army courseware for avoiding/disarming landmines, and after the 1,000th retest I was so bored out of my skull I wanted to scream. But I told myself that if I focused on testing it until it was 100% ready, then it would save people’s lives in the field. Someone’s Dad would be coming home because they didn’t trip a landmine or trigger a roadside bomb. That didn’t make the job less boring, but it gave me a sense of purpose and a better emotional state.
So think: What would you have to focus on to move towards the mood you want? There’s always an answer. Find it and write it down.
A: “What Would I Need To ACT On To Feel The Way I Want To?”
Now that you’ve established what you need to focus on, you need to address what kinds of actions you need to take to build up that feeling. If you’re depressed and you want to feel happier, maybe you ask yourself, “How can I help 3 people today?” and you do something simple like send an encouraging email, or meet them for lunch, or just send $25 to a charity of your choice in someone else’s name.
Action is important because it’s extremely difficult to feel your way into a different way of behaving. You know this, or you wouldn’t be stuck in the first place. When you’re feeling scared or mad or depressed, you can’t just manufacture emotion to get yourself going.
But if you do something – if you take action – you can behave yourself into a different way of feeling. And it doesn’t have to be directly related to your own issue if that’s causing you friction. If you hate your life situation and you can’t figure out how to make it better, then focus on helping 5 other people feel better. Be an encourager, and that will help you pull out of that sense of depression. Trust me, it works, because it breaks your pattern of feeling helpless and connects you with other people.
But that’s just the start – it’s all well and good to take external actions to get your emotions jump-started, but you also need to get a sense of the actions you need to take relative to your own problems. In the FOCUS step you will probably come up with things you need to not only focus on, but actually do, and you need to make a list of those actions and start running with them.
Sometimes that’s hard to do – the motivation wanes – and that’s when you fall back on the FOCUS step again. It will help you get in a better frame of mind to take action.
Moving on, you’ll also need to ask yourself,
S: “What Would I Need To SURROUND Myself With To Feel The Way I Want To?”
This is an overlooked concept when it comes to mood change. Your surrounding environment plays a huge factor in your mood, and if you don’t consciously take control over it, you’re leaving power “on the table.” When you arrange your environment in ways that empower you, the chances of you keeping the mood you want to be in go through the roof.
Right now I’m writing this while listening to epic soundtrack music – I personally find that isolating my ears via headphones and keeping high-adventure music going keeps me focused and motivated. It’s hard to feel complacent when listening to instrumental tracks like “A Storm Is Coming” and “Rise of the Destroyers” are drowning your ears in epic symphonic goodness. :-)
I know that this kind of music helps me kick ass, but you’ll have your own environmental triggers. Maybe it’s classical music or R&B, or maybe it’s just the silence of an empty room (or noise-cancelling headphones). Maybe it’s a clean desk, or maybe it’s a desk littered with action figures and crazy stuff. Maybe it’s wearing your favorite hat, brewing a certain kind of coffee or lighting some incense.
It doesn’t matter what it is - it just matters that you become aware of it, and you leverage it to help create the emotional state you want. Whether it’s keeping the counters clean, making the bed, soaking in hot bath or cranking up Aerosmith, get a feel for what makes it easier to be in the moods you want to be in. Then make it easy to build that environment when you need it.
T: “What Would I Need To TELL Myself To Feel The Way I Want To?”
This is where it all comes together – the part where the rubber hits the road and you have to fight against the emotions you want to move away from. This is where the previous steps all kind of combine and you create this little script you can say to yourself, a litany of conscious choice, as it were, to recalibrate yourself when you’re struggling.
Maybe it’s something like this for the freaking-out-about-the-job-loss example:
“I’m ready to stop feeling scared and start feeling resourceful, and I’m going to make that happen right now. I’m going to focus on the resources I have, like the 50 past co-workers who can get me leads, the job boards online and the in-demand skills I can show on my resume. I have everything I need to make this crazy time less crazy and I know what to do next.
I’m going to make a plan for getting (or creating) the job I want and set aside 3 hours a day to take serious action. I’m going to neaten up my home office so I can think straight, and make it a relaxing place to work in the meantime.”
If you read this over and over again, what do you think would happen? Would you keep freaking out about your job? Or would you start feeling a little bit better?
Yeah, This Takes Some Work, But What The Hell Else Are You Doing?
Most people, if they’ve read this far, will say, “That’s too much work, Dave.” But seriously, if you’re paralyzed and feeling terrible, you have time on your hands already. You’re just using that time to stew in the emotion instead of making it finite and taking action. I know how it feels, I fight it all the time.
But this is a way out – or at least the beginning of the way out for you. And it’s easier than you think, because once you understand this process, 9 times out of 10 you won’t have to use all of it. You’ll just be sitting there stewing and say to yourself, “What would I have to focus on right now if I wanted to get my ass up and exercising?” or “What would I need to change about my surroundings right now to feel a little bit happier?” and that will be enough to get moving.
The quality of your life revolves around the quality of the questions you ask yourself on a minute-by-minute basis.
If you ask yourself, “Why me?” or “What can I possibly do?” you‘re going to be paralyzed.
If you ask yourself “What can I do next, from where I am, with what I have,” you’re going to put yourself in a position of strength.
Ask better questions. Train yourself to be the sculptor of your moods, rather than being tossed about by urgency and externalities you can’t control.
You can do it. I hope this helps.
My best to you,
Dave
PS – I think this article can help a ton of people. Please link to it and spread it on social media sites right now if you agree, even before you leave a comment.
Figured I'd copy and paste it here for future reference. Not a whole lot new to report. Making progress in many directions. Occasionally taking note of it on the FB as usual.
Hope everyone is having great time making the world spin as usual.
:)
;)
- A -
How To Train Yourself To Be In The Mood You Want
When you have major changes going on in your life, or you’re just frustrated about where you are, it’s easy to get trapped in a cycle of depression, bad moods and frustration. I know, I’ve been there … and when I’m not careful, I still get there more than I want to.
But lately I’ve had a particularly hard time, as I make some major (positive) changes in my life. I hit these moments where I’m in a foul mood, or I’m just feeling paralyzed, and I’m just stuck. Sometimes I just stew in that and stay there, but sometimes I actually get intelligent and pull my way out of it.
I’m going to outline the framework that I’ve been using over the last 30 days to really get myself resourceful and motivated (and in a better mood) when I’m feeling stuck. Hopefully it will help you, too, and if you do I truly hope you’ll share it with others.
First Up: Using A Framework to Escape From Paralyzing Emotions
When we feel bad, it’s hard to “feel good” again. You can’t just wish yourself better, and when you’re in a stuck place, you don’t generally have the mental energy to pull out. Willpower doesn’t help, and “positive thinking” sure as hell doesn’t help. But falling back on a framework of steps does help, because we humans function well when we have a set of steps to follow.
The reason for this is that steps take the emotion out of our situation and give us direction to simply act. Duck and Cover. Stop, Drop, and Roll. When you know with certainty what to do next, you’re in a much stronger position to take action, even when you’re panicking. (And it doesn’t have to be words, either – just think of Lamaze breathing, which expectant mothers practice well ahead of time so they can slip back into it during the stress of labor.)
You can call these verbal step-by-step tools anchors if you want, because they’re ways to anchor your emotional state to a time where you knew what to do and you felt prepared. So I’m going to lay out a framework that you can use as your own anchor when you need to reset your mood, and while it’s seven steps long, it’s hella effective at getting the job done.
The seven steps form the acronym ACT FAST, and I picked that because I felt that it was a pretty empowering term as it forces you to presuppose you have a workable course of action. So let’s dive in.
A: AGREE With Yourself That You Don’t Want To Be In This Mood Right Now.
This seems hokey, but it’s important for this reason: Once you agree with yourself that this is not the right mood for you, you’re revoking permission to stew in your own juices and keep the “pity party” going. Think about it: When we’re mad, the thing we hate the most is when someone tries to cheer us up, because on some level we want to be mad and stay mad, or be depressed and stay depressed.
And that’s not always a bad thing. Maybe we want to stay sad because on some level we know we need to hang out in this mental state and really look at what’s making us sad, to really connect with it and deal with it instead of pretending it doesn’t exist. Maybe we want to stay mad because we’re not finished processing our emotions and figuring out what our situation means and what we’re going to do about it.
So don’t take this as me saying “man up and stop crying.” What I am saying is that at some point if you want to move forward in a functional way, and not feel paralyzed, you need to agree that this stage of emotion has to be finite, it has to come to an end so you can deal with the solution that the emotion demands of you. When you’re ready to deal with it, you agree with yourself that you’re ready to shift gears.
Let’s say you’ve lost your job and you’re freaking out about what to do. You could tell yourself something like, “Okay, I’m ready to stop being scared of this situation now.” Then you move on to the second step.
C: CLARIFY The Mood or Emotion You Want To Move Towards
Now that you’re ready to change, you need to make sure that you know where you’re headed so you have something you can focus on. It’s not enough to say “I just don’t want to feel this way anymore,” because then you’re still swimming in the Sea of What You Don’t Want. You need to have a focus.
It could be as simple as defining the mood you want to be in with a single word or two. Resourceful. Confident. Infectiously Happy. Stable. Calm. Controlled. Helpful. Pleasant. Civil. Generous. Whatever it is, you need to give it a name.
Then you combine it with the last thought, so you can tell yourself something like “I’m ready to stop feeling scared and start feeling resourceful.”
There’s nothing magical about these words, and again, it’s not positive thinking. This is all about creating something you can say to yourself to pull the emotion out of your mental state and focus on what you can do next and what you can influence.
When you start getting scattered and lose track of where you are, and you’re stressing, you can fall back on your statement: “I’m ready to stop feeling scared and start feeling resourceful.” You’re putting yourself back in control and you’re ready for the next step.
T: TAKE Responsibility For Taking Immediate Action.
Now that you know what you want to move away from and what you want to move towards, it’s time to face reality: It ain’t gonna happen unless you make it happen. You’re going to have to consciously accept responsibility for getting yourself in a better state.
This is a big deal, because it means that you‘re going to have to revoke permission to blame other people so you can do this. Note that I’m not saying that you’re absolving other people of blame – if someone just screwed you over, then they’re still at fault, and you don’t pretend that didn’t happen.
But focusing on that isn’t going to help you get to your desired emotional state. You have to take full responsibility for what thoughts you’re going to focus on and what attitudes you’re going to reinforce, because no one is going to do it. No one is coming to your rescue.
You want out of this emotion? You’re going to have to do it yourself. the good news is you totally can do it yourself, and we’re going to cover that in the next four steps so you can get there.
So now our statement to ourselves gets a little longer – it’s something like, “I’m ready to stop feeling scared and start feeling resourceful, and I’m going to make that happen right now.”
We’re going to move into four questions right now, and you’ll need to memorize them so you can get yourself back on track instantly when you’re backsliding into the emotional state you don’t want to be in.
F: “What Would I Need To FOCUS On To Feel this Way?”
This question is a really empowering one, because it forces you to stop thinking about the things that are draining you and gets you to acknowledge that there are things you can focus on that will give you more mental and emotional energy.
When you ask yourself this question, you’re putting yourself on the spot – you’re saying, “Hey, if I wanted to feel resourceful (for this job loss example), what would I need to focus on?” You’re presupposing the answer is available to you rather than saying “How do I get out of this funk?”, which is an open ended question that invites an “I dunno …” response.
Think about it. If you were feeling resourceful in this job loss situation – imagine that you were for a second – what would you be focusing on in order to feel resourceful? Would you be thinking of all your contacts and references, about renewing old work relationships? Would you be taking stock of all the online job boards, or maybe sites like LinkedIn? Or would you be revisiting your skills and experience and seeing if another career would be more fun?
Ask yourself this question, and write down the answers. You’ll need that written note to look back on when the painful emotion you’re moving away from resurfaces. Have a written library of answers to this question and you can benefit from it when you’re feeling emotionally unable to conjure up answers later.
Sometimes the answer can be external as well. The first part of my career was spent in software testing, and that’s some boring stuff. It’s frustrating to test the same thing 100 times and not feel totally unmotivated. But I’d focus on something external – like the road trip I was going to take with this week’s pay – and that would keep me going.
In one case I was testing training Army courseware for avoiding/disarming landmines, and after the 1,000th retest I was so bored out of my skull I wanted to scream. But I told myself that if I focused on testing it until it was 100% ready, then it would save people’s lives in the field. Someone’s Dad would be coming home because they didn’t trip a landmine or trigger a roadside bomb. That didn’t make the job less boring, but it gave me a sense of purpose and a better emotional state.
So think: What would you have to focus on to move towards the mood you want? There’s always an answer. Find it and write it down.
A: “What Would I Need To ACT On To Feel The Way I Want To?”
Now that you’ve established what you need to focus on, you need to address what kinds of actions you need to take to build up that feeling. If you’re depressed and you want to feel happier, maybe you ask yourself, “How can I help 3 people today?” and you do something simple like send an encouraging email, or meet them for lunch, or just send $25 to a charity of your choice in someone else’s name.
Action is important because it’s extremely difficult to feel your way into a different way of behaving. You know this, or you wouldn’t be stuck in the first place. When you’re feeling scared or mad or depressed, you can’t just manufacture emotion to get yourself going.
But if you do something – if you take action – you can behave yourself into a different way of feeling. And it doesn’t have to be directly related to your own issue if that’s causing you friction. If you hate your life situation and you can’t figure out how to make it better, then focus on helping 5 other people feel better. Be an encourager, and that will help you pull out of that sense of depression. Trust me, it works, because it breaks your pattern of feeling helpless and connects you with other people.
But that’s just the start – it’s all well and good to take external actions to get your emotions jump-started, but you also need to get a sense of the actions you need to take relative to your own problems. In the FOCUS step you will probably come up with things you need to not only focus on, but actually do, and you need to make a list of those actions and start running with them.
Sometimes that’s hard to do – the motivation wanes – and that’s when you fall back on the FOCUS step again. It will help you get in a better frame of mind to take action.
Moving on, you’ll also need to ask yourself,
S: “What Would I Need To SURROUND Myself With To Feel The Way I Want To?”
This is an overlooked concept when it comes to mood change. Your surrounding environment plays a huge factor in your mood, and if you don’t consciously take control over it, you’re leaving power “on the table.” When you arrange your environment in ways that empower you, the chances of you keeping the mood you want to be in go through the roof.
Right now I’m writing this while listening to epic soundtrack music – I personally find that isolating my ears via headphones and keeping high-adventure music going keeps me focused and motivated. It’s hard to feel complacent when listening to instrumental tracks like “A Storm Is Coming” and “Rise of the Destroyers” are drowning your ears in epic symphonic goodness. :-)
I know that this kind of music helps me kick ass, but you’ll have your own environmental triggers. Maybe it’s classical music or R&B, or maybe it’s just the silence of an empty room (or noise-cancelling headphones). Maybe it’s a clean desk, or maybe it’s a desk littered with action figures and crazy stuff. Maybe it’s wearing your favorite hat, brewing a certain kind of coffee or lighting some incense.
It doesn’t matter what it is - it just matters that you become aware of it, and you leverage it to help create the emotional state you want. Whether it’s keeping the counters clean, making the bed, soaking in hot bath or cranking up Aerosmith, get a feel for what makes it easier to be in the moods you want to be in. Then make it easy to build that environment when you need it.
T: “What Would I Need To TELL Myself To Feel The Way I Want To?”
This is where it all comes together – the part where the rubber hits the road and you have to fight against the emotions you want to move away from. This is where the previous steps all kind of combine and you create this little script you can say to yourself, a litany of conscious choice, as it were, to recalibrate yourself when you’re struggling.
Maybe it’s something like this for the freaking-out-about-the-job-loss example:
“I’m ready to stop feeling scared and start feeling resourceful, and I’m going to make that happen right now. I’m going to focus on the resources I have, like the 50 past co-workers who can get me leads, the job boards online and the in-demand skills I can show on my resume. I have everything I need to make this crazy time less crazy and I know what to do next.
I’m going to make a plan for getting (or creating) the job I want and set aside 3 hours a day to take serious action. I’m going to neaten up my home office so I can think straight, and make it a relaxing place to work in the meantime.”
If you read this over and over again, what do you think would happen? Would you keep freaking out about your job? Or would you start feeling a little bit better?
Yeah, This Takes Some Work, But What The Hell Else Are You Doing?
Most people, if they’ve read this far, will say, “That’s too much work, Dave.” But seriously, if you’re paralyzed and feeling terrible, you have time on your hands already. You’re just using that time to stew in the emotion instead of making it finite and taking action. I know how it feels, I fight it all the time.
But this is a way out – or at least the beginning of the way out for you. And it’s easier than you think, because once you understand this process, 9 times out of 10 you won’t have to use all of it. You’ll just be sitting there stewing and say to yourself, “What would I have to focus on right now if I wanted to get my ass up and exercising?” or “What would I need to change about my surroundings right now to feel a little bit happier?” and that will be enough to get moving.
The quality of your life revolves around the quality of the questions you ask yourself on a minute-by-minute basis.
If you ask yourself, “Why me?” or “What can I possibly do?” you‘re going to be paralyzed.
If you ask yourself “What can I do next, from where I am, with what I have,” you’re going to put yourself in a position of strength.
Ask better questions. Train yourself to be the sculptor of your moods, rather than being tossed about by urgency and externalities you can’t control.
You can do it. I hope this helps.
My best to you,
Dave
PS – I think this article can help a ton of people. Please link to it and spread it on social media sites right now if you agree, even before you leave a comment.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Elvis is in the building.
So, let's see...where to begin after taking such an extended hiatus?
Yawn.
Seen any good politics lately? Only in your dreams?
I can relate, but there are some high points since last I reported from the front lines of my life experience...and here we go...
So, in typical true-to-life fashion, after much debate I allowed peer influence to affect me into jumping through the hoops to get a medical cannabis card. It's one of those things I'd pondered in the past, but I'd largely forgotten about it in the same way I had forgotten about the whole drug war/medical marijuana debate as it didn't seem to affect my life. Nonetheless, at some point I signed up for the national chapter of NORML's Facebook page. I presume as an indirect result, a few weeks ago I was randomly befriended by Cheryl Shuman. Cheryl is an exceptional lady who just happens to be in the process of opening a Beverly Hills chapter of NORML beyond her other unique business endeavors...and as such makes a very interesting Facebook neighbor. Given the compelling and understanding nature of her story and apparent caliber as a human being, suddenly the 'Great California Medical Marijuana Debate' was brought to my attention...
...with a different face and story...
...and a few weeks later...
...here we are.
Me writing again if nothing else... Right? Write? I'm trying...
So, there I was, there I was, there I was with my appointment set for today, October 29th at 1:30. Showed up. Filled-out paperwork. Walked down really long hall of unoccupied offices to a very straightforward Asian doctor. Without the specific note from my normal primary care doctor he only gave me a three month clearance, but when I have it faxed over or bring it by I'll have a full year of legal protection for my $150. I also see why it's called the 'green rush' as so many businesses are suffering while others are making fortunes as fast as they can write. I guess one doesn't truly appreciate how much doctors and the healthcare system make unless you see a very basic grassroots model like that in action. And they take Medicaid.
No worries though. This pseudo-legal version appears far superior to the way 'the game' is run on the street. The more intelligent, responsible people you associate with something, the better the results are most likely going to be.
(sidebar)
Judge Gray's Argument
You'll be pleased to know the legal option and experience seems not only fairly reasonable ('cept maybe the price$ ;), but far superior, convenient, and easy. Not only having options, but having 'experts' give you simple suggestions seems like a brilliant approach to self-medicating. It just backs up all the points I've been making, but at the same time I do realize the legal paradox regarding profit from such endeavors.
Granted, one must realize that profit is just forced back onto the street if the operation is shut down, but I do see how they could totally be operating as serious money trees...and how that kind of cash flow could be considered criminal because it's so easy...and in a non-profit? When profit is being poured on by God and the human condition alone as the doctor's office line testified? Totally normal, harmless, Jay-Z-NASCAR loving people though. But seriously. How's that for common ground? lol Jay Z. Nascar. That would make a great alias. Well, at least on the flip side I don't think the model is driving anyone to marijuana or dangerous behavior, and it might be significantly improving the lives of otherwise law-abiding perfectly harmless citizens trying to escape the pain of everything from cancer to the just possibly man-made recession-grade terror. Which is a positive impact on society as far as I can see.
While I'm on the subject I'd like to also officially thank Obama for his generalized blanket protection regarding this matter. The catalyst can be debated, but the realization is profound.
It's amazing the difference a token cakewalk can make in helping people help themselves. No seriously. Sometimes a little advice, direction, and encouragement can go a long way. Other times a simple recommendation will do. In this case, either way it seems to have worked out for the better. So, as Elvis would say - Thank ya very muuuch!
More undoubtedly to follow...
The rest of the nonsense parade has been on Facebook as usual. Off-line I'm still juggling career directions while dreaming up satirically epic campaigns of one sort or another. After putting it off for a few months I finally decided to sell Pepe the BMW and managed to do so immediately upon trying. My life is funny like that. I put some things off thinking they will be a huge ordeal...and then it takes me much less effort than expected to do it. Hmmm... Helped my sister put together her new store in Malibu since last I wrote as well. Interesting. I must say it looks pretty cool though. She's calling it bLank. She said I'm free to design stuff and sell it there if I like, so throw one more option on the table of things I could, would, should and might be doing if I get around to it.
Alright, I guess that's enough. It's totally annoying and boring talking about myself, but I figure this is the closest thing I have to a diary...and I may as well at least make Cliff Notes of where and what I've been up to here and there.
The political rhetoric you might typically expect from me is frustrated by the only apparent option of choosing between what I believe to be several non-working options...but maybe I'm wrong and Stephen Colbert's lines of satirical truth are too.
God help us.
Well, at least today I saw one thing working in an improved way and can now benefit from it. Hopefully you were as lucky.
:)
- A -
Oh damn...Halloween is on Saturday eh? Ha. I just had an idea... I could go as a Canadian. Because I found it humorous my old boss dressed as a Canadian when he traveled to avoid airport security scrutiny. Meh. Alright, guess you had to witness it. Coaster is going as an Obama Zombie. I could go as a Tea Bagger holding a sign telling people to 'inform' the zombie about how their political beliefs are superior...but a Canadian seems easier. Wait. Don't have a Canada shirt. Nevermind. Back to the drawing board... K. I'm done for now.
Yawn.
Seen any good politics lately? Only in your dreams?
I can relate, but there are some high points since last I reported from the front lines of my life experience...and here we go...
So, in typical true-to-life fashion, after much debate I allowed peer influence to affect me into jumping through the hoops to get a medical cannabis card. It's one of those things I'd pondered in the past, but I'd largely forgotten about it in the same way I had forgotten about the whole drug war/medical marijuana debate as it didn't seem to affect my life. Nonetheless, at some point I signed up for the national chapter of NORML's Facebook page. I presume as an indirect result, a few weeks ago I was randomly befriended by Cheryl Shuman. Cheryl is an exceptional lady who just happens to be in the process of opening a Beverly Hills chapter of NORML beyond her other unique business endeavors...and as such makes a very interesting Facebook neighbor. Given the compelling and understanding nature of her story and apparent caliber as a human being, suddenly the 'Great California Medical Marijuana Debate' was brought to my attention...
...with a different face and story...
...and a few weeks later...
...here we are.
Me writing again if nothing else... Right? Write? I'm trying...
So, there I was, there I was, there I was with my appointment set for today, October 29th at 1:30. Showed up. Filled-out paperwork. Walked down really long hall of unoccupied offices to a very straightforward Asian doctor. Without the specific note from my normal primary care doctor he only gave me a three month clearance, but when I have it faxed over or bring it by I'll have a full year of legal protection for my $150. I also see why it's called the 'green rush' as so many businesses are suffering while others are making fortunes as fast as they can write. I guess one doesn't truly appreciate how much doctors and the healthcare system make unless you see a very basic grassroots model like that in action. And they take Medicaid.
No worries though. This pseudo-legal version appears far superior to the way 'the game' is run on the street. The more intelligent, responsible people you associate with something, the better the results are most likely going to be.
(sidebar)
Judge Gray's Argument
You'll be pleased to know the legal option and experience seems not only fairly reasonable ('cept maybe the price$ ;), but far superior, convenient, and easy. Not only having options, but having 'experts' give you simple suggestions seems like a brilliant approach to self-medicating. It just backs up all the points I've been making, but at the same time I do realize the legal paradox regarding profit from such endeavors.
Granted, one must realize that profit is just forced back onto the street if the operation is shut down, but I do see how they could totally be operating as serious money trees...and how that kind of cash flow could be considered criminal because it's so easy...and in a non-profit? When profit is being poured on by God and the human condition alone as the doctor's office line testified? Totally normal, harmless, Jay-Z-NASCAR loving people though. But seriously. How's that for common ground? lol Jay Z. Nascar. That would make a great alias. Well, at least on the flip side I don't think the model is driving anyone to marijuana or dangerous behavior, and it might be significantly improving the lives of otherwise law-abiding perfectly harmless citizens trying to escape the pain of everything from cancer to the just possibly man-made recession-grade terror. Which is a positive impact on society as far as I can see.
While I'm on the subject I'd like to also officially thank Obama for his generalized blanket protection regarding this matter. The catalyst can be debated, but the realization is profound.
It's amazing the difference a token cakewalk can make in helping people help themselves. No seriously. Sometimes a little advice, direction, and encouragement can go a long way. Other times a simple recommendation will do. In this case, either way it seems to have worked out for the better. So, as Elvis would say - Thank ya very muuuch!
More undoubtedly to follow...
The rest of the nonsense parade has been on Facebook as usual. Off-line I'm still juggling career directions while dreaming up satirically epic campaigns of one sort or another. After putting it off for a few months I finally decided to sell Pepe the BMW and managed to do so immediately upon trying. My life is funny like that. I put some things off thinking they will be a huge ordeal...and then it takes me much less effort than expected to do it. Hmmm... Helped my sister put together her new store in Malibu since last I wrote as well. Interesting. I must say it looks pretty cool though. She's calling it bLank. She said I'm free to design stuff and sell it there if I like, so throw one more option on the table of things I could, would, should and might be doing if I get around to it.
Alright, I guess that's enough. It's totally annoying and boring talking about myself, but I figure this is the closest thing I have to a diary...and I may as well at least make Cliff Notes of where and what I've been up to here and there.
The political rhetoric you might typically expect from me is frustrated by the only apparent option of choosing between what I believe to be several non-working options...but maybe I'm wrong and Stephen Colbert's lines of satirical truth are too.
God help us.
Well, at least today I saw one thing working in an improved way and can now benefit from it. Hopefully you were as lucky.
:)
- A -
Oh damn...Halloween is on Saturday eh? Ha. I just had an idea... I could go as a Canadian. Because I found it humorous my old boss dressed as a Canadian when he traveled to avoid airport security scrutiny. Meh. Alright, guess you had to witness it. Coaster is going as an Obama Zombie. I could go as a Tea Bagger holding a sign telling people to 'inform' the zombie about how their political beliefs are superior...but a Canadian seems easier. Wait. Don't have a Canada shirt. Nevermind. Back to the drawing board... K. I'm done for now.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Auto-defaults.
So it occurred to me there I was on Facebook preaching and running out of room in the 'What's on your mind?' box, then I remembered I had a blog for just such purposes.
Hey, I go through phases. I wonder if God designed behavior to default into that 'cycle' to test a range of options? Like the evolution of trial and error until an acceptable level of success and happiness is achieved.
The crazy part is, if you give me a box and the internet I'm set.
That says something - because imagine if every person on Earth adopted that mindset simultaneously.
Anywho, so life finds me watching the Daily Show and bitching about politics...but only through the observation that I haven't been paying attention to politics because apparently it's upset me that much. :(
Here's what inspired this entry:
was just upset by the realization I've become so disappointed by the condition of the political system in America I've just started 'blocking it out'/ignoring it. It's not like it's in my job description right? I must be more disenchanted with the media than I thought because Obama gave an interview to all major networks - and I'm only learning of it from the Daily Show. Yeah, that's the condition of history in the world today. Actually, that is the one cool thing about technology - it records a level of 'reality' unprecedented in the course of human evolution. History probably won't be nearly as romantic from this point on, but much better. The depth of human history being recorded now is exponentially more vivid in POV detail, and in diagramming how human groups interact. I think I need a political psychiatrist - I seem to feel disenfranchised - ooooh that stupid government bailout. The key question is, where are people going to vent that?
Nevermind. I'll blog about it...
_________
Tah dah!
See, I'm a man of my word.
;)
Now Colbert is on and they're making 'the second coming of Jesus jokes'...
...which makes me think of lyrics even rappers wouldn't pull...
Yawn.
Anywho, I'll spare us. The Daily Show got an Emmy over the Colbert Report?
Well, it's a free country.
Although I love the 'feel free to call to apologize' skit.
Dear business people, if you're going to advertise your web address while being exposed on a show as powerful as the Colbert Report, make sure your servers are up to the challenge ahead of time.
Just a PSA for future reference.
Interpret things allegorically if you wish.
Alright kids...go back to bed America, your government is in control again...
'night!
:)
- A -
Bonus! Cool song from back in the day.
Bonus 2! Same song with a different mix and cooler video.
Hey, I go through phases. I wonder if God designed behavior to default into that 'cycle' to test a range of options? Like the evolution of trial and error until an acceptable level of success and happiness is achieved.
The crazy part is, if you give me a box and the internet I'm set.
That says something - because imagine if every person on Earth adopted that mindset simultaneously.
Anywho, so life finds me watching the Daily Show and bitching about politics...but only through the observation that I haven't been paying attention to politics because apparently it's upset me that much. :(
Here's what inspired this entry:
was just upset by the realization I've become so disappointed by the condition of the political system in America I've just started 'blocking it out'/ignoring it. It's not like it's in my job description right? I must be more disenchanted with the media than I thought because Obama gave an interview to all major networks - and I'm only learning of it from the Daily Show. Yeah, that's the condition of history in the world today. Actually, that is the one cool thing about technology - it records a level of 'reality' unprecedented in the course of human evolution. History probably won't be nearly as romantic from this point on, but much better. The depth of human history being recorded now is exponentially more vivid in POV detail, and in diagramming how human groups interact. I think I need a political psychiatrist - I seem to feel disenfranchised - ooooh that stupid government bailout. The key question is, where are people going to vent that?
Nevermind. I'll blog about it...
_________
Tah dah!
See, I'm a man of my word.
;)
Now Colbert is on and they're making 'the second coming of Jesus jokes'...
...which makes me think of lyrics even rappers wouldn't pull...
Yawn.
Anywho, I'll spare us. The Daily Show got an Emmy over the Colbert Report?
Well, it's a free country.
Although I love the 'feel free to call to apologize' skit.
Dear business people, if you're going to advertise your web address while being exposed on a show as powerful as the Colbert Report, make sure your servers are up to the challenge ahead of time.
Just a PSA for future reference.
Interpret things allegorically if you wish.
Alright kids...go back to bed America, your government is in control again...
'night!
:)
- A -
Bonus! Cool song from back in the day.
Bonus 2! Same song with a different mix and cooler video.
Monday, September 21, 2009
The Grapevine
Hello World!!!
Miss me?
I haven't written in awhile (thank you Captain Obvious)...errr...actually I have, I just haven't finished writing the entries and posting them so they are in the 'Drafts' folder with a whole bunch of other stuff...but anywho...
I've been back at the drawing board lately, but so far, so great... Instead of the TV route I'll be exploring the entrepreneurial route the next few months...so wish me luck!!!
Here is something one of my best friends from college, Alistair, just sent me. I presume he received it through the grapevine. Highly amusing to the point it makes me wonder what all my humorous thoughts would look like if I actually compiled them in one sheet...
Hmmm...well, perhaps one day.
Since I've apparently been too lazy/distracted to write lately, why not just cut and paste premium content until I get around to writing again?
And here it is...(random thoughts from the grapevine)
I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option.
More often than not, when someone is telling me a story all I can think about is that I can’t wait for them to finish so that I can tell my own story that’s not only better, but also more directly involves me.
Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.
I don't understand the purpose of the line, "I don't need to drink to have fun." Great, no one does. But why start a fire with flint and sticks when they've invented the lighter?
Have you ever been walking down the street and realized that you're going in the complete opposite direction of where you are supposed to be going? But instead of just turning a 180 and walking back in the direction from which you came, you have to first do something like check your watch or phone or make a grand arm gesture and mutter to yourself to ensure that no one in the surrounding area thinks you're crazy by randomly switching directions on the sidewalk.
I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.
The letters T and G are very close to each other on a keyboard. This recently became all too apparent to me and consequently I will never be ending a work email with the phrase "Regards" again.
Do you remember when you were a kid, playing Nintendo and it wouldn't work? You take the cartridge out, blow in it and that would magically fix the problem. Every kid in America did that, but how did we all know how to fix the problem? There was no internet or message boards or FAQ's. We just figured it out. Today's kids are soft.
There is a great need for sarcasm font.
Sometimes, I'll watch a movie that I watched when I was younger and suddenly realize I had no idea what the f*** was going on when I first saw it.
I think everyone has a movie that they love so much; it actually becomes stressful to watch it with other people. I'll end up wasting 90 minutes shiftily glancing around to confirm that everyone's laughing at the right parts, then making sure I laugh just a little bit harder (and a millisecond earlier) to prove that I'm still the only one who really, really gets it.
How the hell are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?
I would rather try to carry 10 plastic grocery bags in each hand than take 2 trips to bring my groceries in.
I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die.
The only time I look forward to a red light is when I’m trying to finish a text.
A recent study has shown that playing beer pong contributes to the spread of mono and the flu. Yeah, if you suck at it.
Was learning cursive really necessary?
Lol has gone from meaning, "laugh out loud" to "I have nothing else to say".
I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.
Answering the same letter three times or more in a row on a Scantron test is absolutely petrifying.
My brother's Municipal League baseball team is named the Stepdads. Seeing as none of the guys on the team are actual stepdads, I inquired about the name. He explained, "Cuz we beat you, and you hate us." Classy, bro.
Whenever someone says "I'm not book smart, but I'm street smart", all I hear is "I'm not real smart, but I'm imaginary smart".
How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear what they said?
I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars teams up to prevent a dick from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers!
While driving yesterday I saw a banana peel in the road and instinctively swerved to avoid it...thanks Mario Kart.
MapQuest really needs to start their directions on #5. Pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.
Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.
I find it hard to believe there are actually people who get in the shower first and THEN turn on the water.
Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.
I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.
Bad decisions make good stories.
Whenever I'm Facebook stalking someone and I find out that their profile is public I feel like a kid on Christmas morning who just got the Red Ryder BB gun that I always wanted. 546 pictures? Don't mind if I do!
Is it just me or do high school girls get sluttier & sluttier every year?
If Carmen San Diego and Waldo ever got together, their offspring would probably just be completely invisible.
Why is it that during an ice-breaker, when the whole room has to go around and say their name and where they are from, I get so incredibly nervous? Like I know my name, I know where I'm from; this shouldn't be a problem....
You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you've made up your mind that you just aren’t doing anything productive for the rest of the day.
Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after DVDs? I don't want to have to restart my collection.
There's no worse feeling than that millisecond you're sure you are going to die after leaning your chair back a little too far.
I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten page research paper that I swear I did not make any changes to.
"Do not machine wash or tumble dry" means I will never wash this ever.
I hate being the one with the remote in a room full of people watching TV. There's so much pressure. 'I love this show, but will they judge me if I keep it on? I bet everyone is wishing we weren’t watching this. It's only a matter of time before they all get up and leave the room. Will we still be friends after this?'
While watching the Olympics, I find myself cheering equally for China and USA. No, I am not of Chinese descent, but I am fairly certain that when Chinese athletes don’t win, they are executed.
I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello? Darnit!), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to voicemail. What'd you do after I didn't answer? Drop the phone and run away?
I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.
When I meet a new girl, I'm terrified of mentioning something she hasn't already told me but that I have learned from some light internet stalking.
I like all of the music in my iTunes, except when it's on shuffle, then I like about one in every fifteen songs in my iTunes.
Why is a school zone 20 mph? That seems like the optimal cruising speed for pedophiles...
As a driver I hate pedestrians, and as a pedestrian I hate drivers, but no matter what the mode of transportation, I always hate cyclists.
Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.
It should probably be called Unplanned Parenthood.
I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.
I think that if, years down the road when I’m trying to have a kid, I find out that I’m sterile, most of my disappointment will stem from the fact that I was not aware of my condition in college.
Even if I knew your social security number, I wouldn't know what do to with it.
Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket, finding their cell phone, and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey - but I’d bet my a$$ everyone can find and push the Snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time every time...
My 4-year old son asked me in the car the other day "Dad what would happen if you ran over a ninja?" How the hell do I respond to that?
It really pisses me off when I want to read a story on CNN.com and the link takes me to a video instead of text.
I wonder if cops ever get pissed off at the fact that everyone they drive behind obeys the speed limit.
I think the freezer deserves a light as well.
I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Lites than Kay.
The other night I ordered takeout, and when I looked in the bag, saw they had included four sets of plastic silverware. In other words, someone at the restaurant packed my order, took a second to think about it, and then estimate d that there must be at least four people eating to require such a large amount of food. Too bad I was eating by myself. There’s nothing like being made to feel like a fat b@st@rd before dinner.
________________
Additional cool/random stuff:
1.) Did you know Richard Branson is going to be in town next month? Sweet! One of my few role models! We won't have our business plan put together in time to submit it, but the conference looks cool nonetheless. Man, all I've ever dreamed of is creating a brand as successful as his... Well, it's never too late to start...
2.) If you have Facebook, check out this guy/group. And I only thought my plans to take over/save the world were something. George here has clearly put a lot of thought into something that even makes me go WTF? It is certainly quite impressive at any rate. If you don't have the Facebook, he is his blog: http://georgetbhua.blogspot.com/
3.) Save your life. If you happen to have the Facebook, then this is probably worth the $3 investment. Just calculate the amount of money this is worth in the context of your time/life invested. Feel free to tell you friends...but only the nice ones! ;) lol
4.) Additionally...nevermind, I'll save it for next time...
;)
Hope everyone has been having a wonderful life experience since we last spoke!
:)))
Carry on.
- A -
Miss me?
I haven't written in awhile (thank you Captain Obvious)...errr...actually I have, I just haven't finished writing the entries and posting them so they are in the 'Drafts' folder with a whole bunch of other stuff...but anywho...
I've been back at the drawing board lately, but so far, so great... Instead of the TV route I'll be exploring the entrepreneurial route the next few months...so wish me luck!!!
Here is something one of my best friends from college, Alistair, just sent me. I presume he received it through the grapevine. Highly amusing to the point it makes me wonder what all my humorous thoughts would look like if I actually compiled them in one sheet...
Hmmm...well, perhaps one day.
Since I've apparently been too lazy/distracted to write lately, why not just cut and paste premium content until I get around to writing again?
And here it is...(random thoughts from the grapevine)
I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option.
More often than not, when someone is telling me a story all I can think about is that I can’t wait for them to finish so that I can tell my own story that’s not only better, but also more directly involves me.
Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.
I don't understand the purpose of the line, "I don't need to drink to have fun." Great, no one does. But why start a fire with flint and sticks when they've invented the lighter?
Have you ever been walking down the street and realized that you're going in the complete opposite direction of where you are supposed to be going? But instead of just turning a 180 and walking back in the direction from which you came, you have to first do something like check your watch or phone or make a grand arm gesture and mutter to yourself to ensure that no one in the surrounding area thinks you're crazy by randomly switching directions on the sidewalk.
I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.
The letters T and G are very close to each other on a keyboard. This recently became all too apparent to me and consequently I will never be ending a work email with the phrase "Regards" again.
Do you remember when you were a kid, playing Nintendo and it wouldn't work? You take the cartridge out, blow in it and that would magically fix the problem. Every kid in America did that, but how did we all know how to fix the problem? There was no internet or message boards or FAQ's. We just figured it out. Today's kids are soft.
There is a great need for sarcasm font.
Sometimes, I'll watch a movie that I watched when I was younger and suddenly realize I had no idea what the f*** was going on when I first saw it.
I think everyone has a movie that they love so much; it actually becomes stressful to watch it with other people. I'll end up wasting 90 minutes shiftily glancing around to confirm that everyone's laughing at the right parts, then making sure I laugh just a little bit harder (and a millisecond earlier) to prove that I'm still the only one who really, really gets it.
How the hell are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?
I would rather try to carry 10 plastic grocery bags in each hand than take 2 trips to bring my groceries in.
I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die.
The only time I look forward to a red light is when I’m trying to finish a text.
A recent study has shown that playing beer pong contributes to the spread of mono and the flu. Yeah, if you suck at it.
Was learning cursive really necessary?
Lol has gone from meaning, "laugh out loud" to "I have nothing else to say".
I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.
Answering the same letter three times or more in a row on a Scantron test is absolutely petrifying.
My brother's Municipal League baseball team is named the Stepdads. Seeing as none of the guys on the team are actual stepdads, I inquired about the name. He explained, "Cuz we beat you, and you hate us." Classy, bro.
Whenever someone says "I'm not book smart, but I'm street smart", all I hear is "I'm not real smart, but I'm imaginary smart".
How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear what they said?
I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars teams up to prevent a dick from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers!
While driving yesterday I saw a banana peel in the road and instinctively swerved to avoid it...thanks Mario Kart.
MapQuest really needs to start their directions on #5. Pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.
Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.
I find it hard to believe there are actually people who get in the shower first and THEN turn on the water.
Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.
I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.
Bad decisions make good stories.
Whenever I'm Facebook stalking someone and I find out that their profile is public I feel like a kid on Christmas morning who just got the Red Ryder BB gun that I always wanted. 546 pictures? Don't mind if I do!
Is it just me or do high school girls get sluttier & sluttier every year?
If Carmen San Diego and Waldo ever got together, their offspring would probably just be completely invisible.
Why is it that during an ice-breaker, when the whole room has to go around and say their name and where they are from, I get so incredibly nervous? Like I know my name, I know where I'm from; this shouldn't be a problem....
You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you've made up your mind that you just aren’t doing anything productive for the rest of the day.
Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after DVDs? I don't want to have to restart my collection.
There's no worse feeling than that millisecond you're sure you are going to die after leaning your chair back a little too far.
I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten page research paper that I swear I did not make any changes to.
"Do not machine wash or tumble dry" means I will never wash this ever.
I hate being the one with the remote in a room full of people watching TV. There's so much pressure. 'I love this show, but will they judge me if I keep it on? I bet everyone is wishing we weren’t watching this. It's only a matter of time before they all get up and leave the room. Will we still be friends after this?'
While watching the Olympics, I find myself cheering equally for China and USA. No, I am not of Chinese descent, but I am fairly certain that when Chinese athletes don’t win, they are executed.
I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello? Darnit!), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to voicemail. What'd you do after I didn't answer? Drop the phone and run away?
I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.
When I meet a new girl, I'm terrified of mentioning something she hasn't already told me but that I have learned from some light internet stalking.
I like all of the music in my iTunes, except when it's on shuffle, then I like about one in every fifteen songs in my iTunes.
Why is a school zone 20 mph? That seems like the optimal cruising speed for pedophiles...
As a driver I hate pedestrians, and as a pedestrian I hate drivers, but no matter what the mode of transportation, I always hate cyclists.
Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.
It should probably be called Unplanned Parenthood.
I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.
I think that if, years down the road when I’m trying to have a kid, I find out that I’m sterile, most of my disappointment will stem from the fact that I was not aware of my condition in college.
Even if I knew your social security number, I wouldn't know what do to with it.
Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket, finding their cell phone, and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey - but I’d bet my a$$ everyone can find and push the Snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time every time...
My 4-year old son asked me in the car the other day "Dad what would happen if you ran over a ninja?" How the hell do I respond to that?
It really pisses me off when I want to read a story on CNN.com and the link takes me to a video instead of text.
I wonder if cops ever get pissed off at the fact that everyone they drive behind obeys the speed limit.
I think the freezer deserves a light as well.
I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Lites than Kay.
The other night I ordered takeout, and when I looked in the bag, saw they had included four sets of plastic silverware. In other words, someone at the restaurant packed my order, took a second to think about it, and then estimate d that there must be at least four people eating to require such a large amount of food. Too bad I was eating by myself. There’s nothing like being made to feel like a fat b@st@rd before dinner.
________________
Additional cool/random stuff:
1.) Did you know Richard Branson is going to be in town next month? Sweet! One of my few role models! We won't have our business plan put together in time to submit it, but the conference looks cool nonetheless. Man, all I've ever dreamed of is creating a brand as successful as his... Well, it's never too late to start...
2.) If you have Facebook, check out this guy/group. And I only thought my plans to take over/save the world were something. George here has clearly put a lot of thought into something that even makes me go WTF? It is certainly quite impressive at any rate. If you don't have the Facebook, he is his blog: http://georgetbhua.blogspot.com/
3.) Save your life. If you happen to have the Facebook, then this is probably worth the $3 investment. Just calculate the amount of money this is worth in the context of your time/life invested. Feel free to tell you friends...but only the nice ones! ;) lol
4.) Additionally...nevermind, I'll save it for next time...
;)
Hope everyone has been having a wonderful life experience since we last spoke!
:)))
Carry on.
- A -
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Lost in Space
Don't you just love talking animals?
How about magic?
Sorry kids, the essays and nonsense have still predominately been confined to Facebook as of late, but I leave it wide open for a reason.
Have a Terrific Tuesday!
;)
- A -
Bonus!--> A really good speech I'm part way through watching.
How about magic?
Sorry kids, the essays and nonsense have still predominately been confined to Facebook as of late, but I leave it wide open for a reason.
Have a Terrific Tuesday!
;)
- A -
Bonus!--> A really good speech I'm part way through watching.
Friday, August 21, 2009
The LCD is in sight.
The 'Lowest Common Denominator' that is.
So, you know I've been tinkering with my whole '1' world branding plan since day one basically right? "Friends, 21st century Romans, Countrymen - lend me your ear or rent it out to me like a media voice-over set to pictures for varying amounts of time as needed..." That whole Alexander the Great meets Jesus plan for my '1'world umbrella religion? Oh, you don't know anything about that chapter? That's why I'll have to redo this as a book at some point. Anywho, the idea is an idealized world working conceptual model that's better than WTF is going on now...and that takes a universal key to solve.
Not the 'One Love' community per say...had never even really heard of or done much research into it, but it sounds cool...just not very sophisticated. The '1' World plan of mine to symbolically get everyone on the same page by making that page blank and my logo symbolize a mirror, allowing that person to paint their own personal beliefs onto it provided they document and understand where their beliefs come from...and where key others come from as well. First-hand understanding or the desire and willingness to experience it.
So, I've actually come up with some pretty profound schemes on things...which is something to work with even if my 'guardian angel' isn't exactly playing the role well.
God, if I can only start taking things more seriously and try a little bit...my designs are aimed on: TOP SECRET
;)
-✧-
P.S.
Here's an interesting piece of what I consider 'abstract poetry'. Now this is an interesting filter to apply to things... Very impressive Neil, whomever you are...
Subject: "Duality"
its okayyyy if
sometimes u see darkness
just remember it teaches us what light is
and how much we miss it
when the absence of presence
eternal resting place of all aquatic bodies
i am every and nobody
i know everything and nothing at all
i am hate and i am love
fear and trust
pain and bliss
love and lust
sex and a kiss
i AM what has been seen
what will always be
what will never become
the slumber of delirium
I AM the illusion of a reality that we think we are in
I AM the confusion of duality of war where no one truly wins
I AM the pollution of intellect and youth where we believe all we do is a sin
I AM the fusion of like minded souls who together will transcend
I AM spirituality and organized religion!!!
I AM the perception of consciousness manifested into this dimension!!!!!
I AM the lesson transcend fear and aggression achieve ascension!!!!
I AM the New World Order
I AM the world full of borders
testing my commitment to the recycled universe!!!!!
I AM loyal and I have betrayed
lied, killed, pillaged, loved, torchered...
hated, lusted, trusted, incarnated and nurtured...
all experiences... in these universes...
you and I are all of this
I AM the perfect circle... split by the white light
and twisted to form the infinite...
you see... I AM all that IS....
<3 achieve enlightenment for euphoric bliss
- neil
P.P.S. Watch out, ceiling cat is watching you!
P.P.S. Random bonus video!
So, you know I've been tinkering with my whole '1' world branding plan since day one basically right? "Friends, 21st century Romans, Countrymen - lend me your ear or rent it out to me like a media voice-over set to pictures for varying amounts of time as needed..." That whole Alexander the Great meets Jesus plan for my '1'world umbrella religion? Oh, you don't know anything about that chapter? That's why I'll have to redo this as a book at some point. Anywho, the idea is an idealized world working conceptual model that's better than WTF is going on now...and that takes a universal key to solve.
Not the 'One Love' community per say...had never even really heard of or done much research into it, but it sounds cool...just not very sophisticated. The '1' World plan of mine to symbolically get everyone on the same page by making that page blank and my logo symbolize a mirror, allowing that person to paint their own personal beliefs onto it provided they document and understand where their beliefs come from...and where key others come from as well. First-hand understanding or the desire and willingness to experience it.
So, I've actually come up with some pretty profound schemes on things...which is something to work with even if my 'guardian angel' isn't exactly playing the role well.
God, if I can only start taking things more seriously and try a little bit...my designs are aimed on: TOP SECRET
;)
-✧-
P.S.
Here's an interesting piece of what I consider 'abstract poetry'. Now this is an interesting filter to apply to things... Very impressive Neil, whomever you are...
Subject: "Duality"
its okayyyy if
sometimes u see darkness
just remember it teaches us what light is
and how much we miss it
when the absence of presence
eternal resting place of all aquatic bodies
i am every and nobody
i know everything and nothing at all
i am hate and i am love
fear and trust
pain and bliss
love and lust
sex and a kiss
i AM what has been seen
what will always be
what will never become
the slumber of delirium
I AM the illusion of a reality that we think we are in
I AM the confusion of duality of war where no one truly wins
I AM the pollution of intellect and youth where we believe all we do is a sin
I AM the fusion of like minded souls who together will transcend
I AM spirituality and organized religion!!!
I AM the perception of consciousness manifested into this dimension!!!!!
I AM the lesson transcend fear and aggression achieve ascension!!!!
I AM the New World Order
I AM the world full of borders
testing my commitment to the recycled universe!!!!!
I AM loyal and I have betrayed
lied, killed, pillaged, loved, torchered...
hated, lusted, trusted, incarnated and nurtured...
all experiences... in these universes...
you and I are all of this
I AM the perfect circle... split by the white light
and twisted to form the infinite...
you see... I AM all that IS....
<3 achieve enlightenment for euphoric bliss
- neil
P.P.S. Watch out, ceiling cat is watching you!
P.P.S. Random bonus video!
Thursday, August 20, 2009
The Tiger Theme...
One of the most recent people I've befriended on Facebook is Telepathic Tiger. I reckon that's not his real name just like Allyn Tygrrr isn't mine...but since we have the same animal theme in common, it makes sense that we might have like minds in some regards.
Here's the list of quotes from his FB page...I thought it was cute...especially the little 'tiger face' he's created =^_^=. Points for creativity.
Favorite TV Shows
Do not adjust your set.... Black and white striping pattern is normal. Enjoy the show =^_^=
Favorite Quotations:
“Oh, the tiger will love you. There is no sincerer love than the love of food.”
“Appeasers believe that if you keep on throwing steaks to a tiger, the tiger will become a vegetarian”
“You handle depression in much the same way you handle a tiger.”
“An oppressive government is more to be feared than a tiger.”
“When a man wants to murder a tiger, he calls it sport; when the tiger wants to murder him, he calls it ferocity. The distinction between crime and justice is no greater.”
“In the past, those who foolishly sought power by riding on the back of the tiger ended up inside.”
“Time is the substance from which I am made. Time is a river which carries me along, but I am the river; it is a tiger that devours me, but I am the tiger; it is a fire that consumes me, but I am the fire.”
“Everyone needs a dog to adore him, and a tiger to bring him back to reality”
“In waking a tiger, use a long stick.”
“When a man wants to murder a tiger, he calls it sport; when the tiger wants to murder him, he calls it ferocity.
"It is better to have lived one day as a tiger than a thousand years as a sheep." -- Tibetan proverb
"When tigers transform themselves into men, their tails do not change." -- Chinese proverb
"The one who tied the bell on the tiger can take it off." -- Chinese proverb
"Vicious as a tigress can be, she never eats her own cubs." -- Chinese proverb
"There is no off switch on a tiger." - Proverb
"He who rides a tiger is afraid to dismount." -- Chinese proverb
"Do not blame God for having created the tiger, but thank him for not having given him wings." -- Indian proverb
"Tigers do not need monarchy. The Tiger lives in a world where power and beauty are king and queen..." -Telepathic Tiger
"Children of light, don't become blind, experience a little darkness and let your eyes adjust. there is nothing to fear only mystery and understanding. Love yourselves and become one with all of nature..." -Telepathic Tiger
________________
"Admire the stripes, just mind the claws." -Me
OK, so I just made that up and it's not that great...but meh, I tried...and I actually wrote something today!
(2 points)
"My, what sharp claws you have!"
"That's why I'm so very careful about who gets to pet me my Dear."
;)
- AES -
Here's the list of quotes from his FB page...I thought it was cute...especially the little 'tiger face' he's created =^_^=. Points for creativity.
Favorite TV Shows
Do not adjust your set.... Black and white striping pattern is normal. Enjoy the show =^_^=
Favorite Quotations:
“Oh, the tiger will love you. There is no sincerer love than the love of food.”
“Appeasers believe that if you keep on throwing steaks to a tiger, the tiger will become a vegetarian”
“You handle depression in much the same way you handle a tiger.”
“An oppressive government is more to be feared than a tiger.”
“When a man wants to murder a tiger, he calls it sport; when the tiger wants to murder him, he calls it ferocity. The distinction between crime and justice is no greater.”
“In the past, those who foolishly sought power by riding on the back of the tiger ended up inside.”
“Time is the substance from which I am made. Time is a river which carries me along, but I am the river; it is a tiger that devours me, but I am the tiger; it is a fire that consumes me, but I am the fire.”
“Everyone needs a dog to adore him, and a tiger to bring him back to reality”
“In waking a tiger, use a long stick.”
“When a man wants to murder a tiger, he calls it sport; when the tiger wants to murder him, he calls it ferocity.
"It is better to have lived one day as a tiger than a thousand years as a sheep." -- Tibetan proverb
"When tigers transform themselves into men, their tails do not change." -- Chinese proverb
"The one who tied the bell on the tiger can take it off." -- Chinese proverb
"Vicious as a tigress can be, she never eats her own cubs." -- Chinese proverb
"There is no off switch on a tiger." - Proverb
"He who rides a tiger is afraid to dismount." -- Chinese proverb
"Do not blame God for having created the tiger, but thank him for not having given him wings." -- Indian proverb
"Tigers do not need monarchy. The Tiger lives in a world where power and beauty are king and queen..." -Telepathic Tiger
"Children of light, don't become blind, experience a little darkness and let your eyes adjust. there is nothing to fear only mystery and understanding. Love yourselves and become one with all of nature..." -Telepathic Tiger
________________
"Admire the stripes, just mind the claws." -Me
OK, so I just made that up and it's not that great...but meh, I tried...and I actually wrote something today!
(2 points)
"My, what sharp claws you have!"
"That's why I'm so very careful about who gets to pet me my Dear."
;)
- AES -
Monday, August 17, 2009
One way to explain the coincidences...
Intelligence Unit
Today at 3:40pm
Reply
What is Holistic Quantum Relativity?
Dear Friends
Since many of you have asked for a simple explanation of HQR, this is an attempt at providing it, with apologies for errors and omissions.
Let us take a table. What is it essentially made of? Wood on the surface and underlying that... what? Nothing! Why? Let us examine the wood under a powerful electron microscope. What is it made of? Carbon and hydrogen atoms amongst other types connected to each other with what? Vast open spaces... What are the carbon atoms made of? A nucleus and polarised charge clouds with electrons etc and... what? Vast open spaces... What is the nucleus made of? Sub-atomic particles and... what? Vast open spaces!
Beyond the 1920s we referred to the nucleus as a collection of protons and neutrons enveloped by an electron charge cloud and step by step we have put so many designer labels on the sub-parts -- sub-nuclear particles -- that at last count there were at least 100+ different names for such particles and growing!
Now, as we go deeper... and observe: the sub-atomic particles -- all flavours -- are just forms of packet (Quantum) energy connected with each other as Happenings, ie, "Haps" manifest as pulsating particles or waves depending on how we look at them or don't! [Heisenberg ist wunderbar!]
The "Haps" are the sequence in which the entire universe connects to create a grand story, yes, the illusion of duality, which when looked at holistically is all just One space-time continuum of energy, which can be expressed as a grand manifestation of light or cosmic vibration simultaneously appearing and disappearing as matter, based on the illusory lens of observation set at simultaneous multiple planes of consciousness! No wonder, at first glance, it makes no sense. It confuses, disturbs and we end up worrying! No need to worry, at all!
What is HQR suggesting in a nutshell?
We ignore micro- and macro- connections and connectivity at our peril because this is the entire universe! The more we are able to connect people, events, places, stories, facts, fiction, things etc we re-create haps in our mind-spirit matrix as neural networks and then step by step, everything appears connected and Holistic via imaginative associations. The past, present and future merge into one when imagination triumphs over logic and the creative spark overtakes the mundane banality of our tedium-inspired illusory entrapment!
Holos is not just "Whole", it is essentially about recognising perfection: Why? The so called good, bad and ugly do not exist but only do so in the duality of our mind's perception. Holistically, all is there for a perfectly valid reason or completely not there for a perfectly valid reason manifest as Synchronicity! Perfectly timed, perfectly placed, perfectly connected!
If we were to revisit the original 30+ HQR Socratic dialogues what we would find is that even these humble thoughts have been expressed within them. Everything is connected with everything else and that is the "Grand Narrative" of our existence. Once we are able to recognise the Quantum nature of Energy, the Relativity of our existence suspended in an illusory -- disconnected -- duality of the mind (an entrapment) and that our true essence, the spirit, is Holistic and no different from the Cosmic Origin of the entire universe and beyond -- The Supra Universal Consciousness -- we are then able to recognise that Holistic Quantum Relativity = Spirit Mind Connectivity.
Within the dynamic HQR of our trinitised existence: The Father is the Supra Universal Consiousness (Divine and Primordial Awareness at all Eight planes); The Son is the Universal Consciousness (Director of Mental Awareness at Three lower planes); and The Holy Ghost is the Consciousness (Individual Spirit or Soul's Awareness entrapped at a restricted number of lower planes or a single plane depending on Gravity of attachment).
The moment the Spirit recognises that it is none other than a part of the Supra Universal Consciousness and acts as such, the duality imposed by the mental faculties is removed step by step. There is a rich narrative of connectivity going all the way back to creation put together Holistically with perfection, Quantised by Time and Energy, and then re-presented as Relativity as a Space-Time Continnum connected across multiple planes, which we cannot externally visualise as ONE, but only in our within and then alone via our "Rising Consciousness" that:
"Yes! We are indeed all One-in-All and All-in-One!"
[ENDS]
. ONE Creator.Name Truth.Sole Doer.Fears None.Without Hate.Never Dies.Beyond Birth-Death.Self-illuminated.Realised by Master's Grace.Ever True! - Mula Mantra (Root Chant)
To witness the One-in-All, and the All-in-One! To listen, learn and love!
Love
DK and Family
To connect directly with:
. DK Matai: http://twitter.com/DKMatai
. Open HQR: http://twitter.com/OpenHQR
. ATCA Open: http://twitter.com/ATCAOpen
. @G140: http://twitter.com/G140
. mi2g: http://twitter.com/intunit
All "Early Morning Thoughts!" can be found at The Holistic Quantum Relativity Group: http://ow.ly/7wb6
Today at 3:40pm
Reply
What is Holistic Quantum Relativity?
Dear Friends
Since many of you have asked for a simple explanation of HQR, this is an attempt at providing it, with apologies for errors and omissions.
Let us take a table. What is it essentially made of? Wood on the surface and underlying that... what? Nothing! Why? Let us examine the wood under a powerful electron microscope. What is it made of? Carbon and hydrogen atoms amongst other types connected to each other with what? Vast open spaces... What are the carbon atoms made of? A nucleus and polarised charge clouds with electrons etc and... what? Vast open spaces... What is the nucleus made of? Sub-atomic particles and... what? Vast open spaces!
Beyond the 1920s we referred to the nucleus as a collection of protons and neutrons enveloped by an electron charge cloud and step by step we have put so many designer labels on the sub-parts -- sub-nuclear particles -- that at last count there were at least 100+ different names for such particles and growing!
Now, as we go deeper... and observe: the sub-atomic particles -- all flavours -- are just forms of packet (Quantum) energy connected with each other as Happenings, ie, "Haps" manifest as pulsating particles or waves depending on how we look at them or don't! [Heisenberg ist wunderbar!]
The "Haps" are the sequence in which the entire universe connects to create a grand story, yes, the illusion of duality, which when looked at holistically is all just One space-time continuum of energy, which can be expressed as a grand manifestation of light or cosmic vibration simultaneously appearing and disappearing as matter, based on the illusory lens of observation set at simultaneous multiple planes of consciousness! No wonder, at first glance, it makes no sense. It confuses, disturbs and we end up worrying! No need to worry, at all!
What is HQR suggesting in a nutshell?
We ignore micro- and macro- connections and connectivity at our peril because this is the entire universe! The more we are able to connect people, events, places, stories, facts, fiction, things etc we re-create haps in our mind-spirit matrix as neural networks and then step by step, everything appears connected and Holistic via imaginative associations. The past, present and future merge into one when imagination triumphs over logic and the creative spark overtakes the mundane banality of our tedium-inspired illusory entrapment!
Holos is not just "Whole", it is essentially about recognising perfection: Why? The so called good, bad and ugly do not exist but only do so in the duality of our mind's perception. Holistically, all is there for a perfectly valid reason or completely not there for a perfectly valid reason manifest as Synchronicity! Perfectly timed, perfectly placed, perfectly connected!
If we were to revisit the original 30+ HQR Socratic dialogues what we would find is that even these humble thoughts have been expressed within them. Everything is connected with everything else and that is the "Grand Narrative" of our existence. Once we are able to recognise the Quantum nature of Energy, the Relativity of our existence suspended in an illusory -- disconnected -- duality of the mind (an entrapment) and that our true essence, the spirit, is Holistic and no different from the Cosmic Origin of the entire universe and beyond -- The Supra Universal Consciousness -- we are then able to recognise that Holistic Quantum Relativity = Spirit Mind Connectivity.
Within the dynamic HQR of our trinitised existence: The Father is the Supra Universal Consiousness (Divine and Primordial Awareness at all Eight planes); The Son is the Universal Consciousness (Director of Mental Awareness at Three lower planes); and The Holy Ghost is the Consciousness (Individual Spirit or Soul's Awareness entrapped at a restricted number of lower planes or a single plane depending on Gravity of attachment).
The moment the Spirit recognises that it is none other than a part of the Supra Universal Consciousness and acts as such, the duality imposed by the mental faculties is removed step by step. There is a rich narrative of connectivity going all the way back to creation put together Holistically with perfection, Quantised by Time and Energy, and then re-presented as Relativity as a Space-Time Continnum connected across multiple planes, which we cannot externally visualise as ONE, but only in our within and then alone via our "Rising Consciousness" that:
"Yes! We are indeed all One-in-All and All-in-One!"
[ENDS]
. ONE Creator.Name Truth.Sole Doer.Fears None.Without Hate.Never Dies.Beyond Birth-Death.Self-illuminated.Realised by Master's Grace.Ever True! - Mula Mantra (Root Chant)
To witness the One-in-All, and the All-in-One! To listen, learn and love!
Love
DK and Family
To connect directly with:
. DK Matai: http://twitter.com/DKMatai
. Open HQR: http://twitter.com/OpenHQR
. ATCA Open: http://twitter.com/ATCAOpen
. @G140: http://twitter.com/G140
. mi2g: http://twitter.com/intunit
All "Early Morning Thoughts!" can be found at The Holistic Quantum Relativity Group: http://ow.ly/7wb6
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Friends in Low Places...
So there I was wandering aimlessly around the Facebook as usual last night when I stumbled across this.
Now then, crazy as it sounds, it gave me an idea...
What if we could set up a U.N. organization that makes microloans to citizens of developing countries directly from the World Bank?
Basically the sane thing Kiva is doing, but on the ultimate international, goodwill, 'save the world' level.
I sounds crazy, but if I ran the world...9/10 of the problems I see could easily be fixed. On a slightly related note...WTF is this?
Do other countries have this same problem with such low-intellectual performance meeting such socially destructive lustful behavior?
How's that working out? Granted, it tortures me just to read the back of L.A. Weekly or watch porn and see people whoring themselves out...but come the fuck on. Really?
Boss King? Really?
Brace yourselves...then read this.
Then watch this. (If you already have, just re-watch it as needed until it sinks in.)
I realize none of these are technically my problems to worry about, but when I see glaring problems...because they are blatantly thrown in from of me, I typically automatically start devising solutions whether I want to or not...and between the crap getting thrown at me on TV and the crap getting thrown in front of me on Facebook and online...God help me...and since God is 'us'...I think we can do better as a species.
If you were God, what would you do? Count on the monkey-like humans in high places to solve the problems? With the way the current system is designed? It is literally not the 'leaders' job to actually worry about saving the future of human civilization on this planet, noooo...they are too worried about money.
The irony of course is they already have so much of it compared to most they should be ashamed for behaving so selfishly...but that's not most human behavior, and in the meantime the current ruling system is designed to condition the opposite human behavior.
Sigh.
Meh.
Well, I figured I'd throw it out there.
I've already started dreaming up my '1' branding campaign...how long it will take to make reality match the 'visionary' '1'?...that I can't tell you.
Sorry for getting sidetracked by the girl...I thought she might have been sent as the catalyst/fuel for my 'ideological rocket' I built over the last few years...but between her reality and mine and the Facebook 'interference'...I don't even know what to believe at this point.
In other political news I haven't been paying attention to...
Healthcare reform?
Yeah, we need it.
Breeding licenses?
Yeah, we need them.
F*ck it...use my own family as an example. Hanging out with my half-sister and her offspring yesterday underscored that point in a frightening way. It's nothing personal, it's just, she should NOT have had kids in the context she did...and watching the domino effect of f*cked up parental role models and circumstance is hard for someone like me to watch.
Bringing kids into this world in a non-stable environment should be a crime...but instead we actually reward the f*cked up behavior and welcome more problems into our society with things like welfare. I'm not saying we shouldn't have compassion for our fellow humans, I'm saying we should have the upmost compassion for them and the rest of society by designing and implementing intelligent rules that encourage and reward the 'right', responsible behavior...not the 'other' WTF shit I see far too often.
I wonder if and how much the government has supported 'Boss King' in his lifetime...that's where I start asking questions about where we are as a society outside of the relatively-insulated class system.
There are so many amazing and 'normal', kind, hard-working, loving people in the world...why do we continue to tolerate such f*cked up behavior from some?
It's all relative...but just watch...with Google-type technology I'll be able to measure and graph this shit one day...and maybe the world will wake up and take evasive action before it's too late and we've crossed a very ugly tipping point.
Hope everyone is having a Super Sunday!
Talk to some people...get back to me.
Carry on.
;)
- AES -
P.S. While driving to the beach this morning I passed a crowd of people in a park adjacent from the beach. They were surrounding a statue of Mary standing in what appeared to be a sea shell. I thought, wow, that's interesting. I wish I could believe in things that completely only make sense in an imaginary way too. And it once again dawned on me that the modern-day human condition is ironically still one of MASS DELUSION dating back millenniums. Talk about living in the Dark Ages. I've been tortured by this understanding and my church experience as a child my entire life. It imposed a moral belief system that I actually believed in...only to experience other people using it as complete hypocrites. Then realizing the entire storyline is completely insane but believed by so many in the world... But insane compared to what? Yeah, I know. Crazy people and b.s. everywhere in God's name when God = The Truth? How unholy is that? What's the point? Where is reason? Where is logic? Where is honesty? Where is understanding the world in which you are blessed enough to live? Can we not mix believing in some 'Divine Power' with a bit more common sense? Just so I can have a 'group belief option' or two that don't test my sanity? Jesus says hi. Can we seriously not do much better? I can.
P.P.S. Bonus blast from the past to add some REAL light to the conversation. Push the button --> 'X' Now all we need do is analyze peoples' words and in comparison to the reason they say them.
P.P.P.S. Bonus bonus. --> 'V' Something I stumbled across while searching for that previous article I referenced.
Addendum: Damn. See, I told you so.
Now then, crazy as it sounds, it gave me an idea...
What if we could set up a U.N. organization that makes microloans to citizens of developing countries directly from the World Bank?
Basically the sane thing Kiva is doing, but on the ultimate international, goodwill, 'save the world' level.
I sounds crazy, but if I ran the world...9/10 of the problems I see could easily be fixed. On a slightly related note...WTF is this?
Do other countries have this same problem with such low-intellectual performance meeting such socially destructive lustful behavior?
How's that working out? Granted, it tortures me just to read the back of L.A. Weekly or watch porn and see people whoring themselves out...but come the fuck on. Really?
Boss King? Really?
Brace yourselves...then read this.
Then watch this. (If you already have, just re-watch it as needed until it sinks in.)
I realize none of these are technically my problems to worry about, but when I see glaring problems...because they are blatantly thrown in from of me, I typically automatically start devising solutions whether I want to or not...and between the crap getting thrown at me on TV and the crap getting thrown in front of me on Facebook and online...God help me...and since God is 'us'...I think we can do better as a species.
If you were God, what would you do? Count on the monkey-like humans in high places to solve the problems? With the way the current system is designed? It is literally not the 'leaders' job to actually worry about saving the future of human civilization on this planet, noooo...they are too worried about money.
The irony of course is they already have so much of it compared to most they should be ashamed for behaving so selfishly...but that's not most human behavior, and in the meantime the current ruling system is designed to condition the opposite human behavior.
Sigh.
Meh.
Well, I figured I'd throw it out there.
I've already started dreaming up my '1' branding campaign...how long it will take to make reality match the 'visionary' '1'?...that I can't tell you.
Sorry for getting sidetracked by the girl...I thought she might have been sent as the catalyst/fuel for my 'ideological rocket' I built over the last few years...but between her reality and mine and the Facebook 'interference'...I don't even know what to believe at this point.
In other political news I haven't been paying attention to...
Healthcare reform?
Yeah, we need it.
Breeding licenses?
Yeah, we need them.
F*ck it...use my own family as an example. Hanging out with my half-sister and her offspring yesterday underscored that point in a frightening way. It's nothing personal, it's just, she should NOT have had kids in the context she did...and watching the domino effect of f*cked up parental role models and circumstance is hard for someone like me to watch.
Bringing kids into this world in a non-stable environment should be a crime...but instead we actually reward the f*cked up behavior and welcome more problems into our society with things like welfare. I'm not saying we shouldn't have compassion for our fellow humans, I'm saying we should have the upmost compassion for them and the rest of society by designing and implementing intelligent rules that encourage and reward the 'right', responsible behavior...not the 'other' WTF shit I see far too often.
I wonder if and how much the government has supported 'Boss King' in his lifetime...that's where I start asking questions about where we are as a society outside of the relatively-insulated class system.
There are so many amazing and 'normal', kind, hard-working, loving people in the world...why do we continue to tolerate such f*cked up behavior from some?
It's all relative...but just watch...with Google-type technology I'll be able to measure and graph this shit one day...and maybe the world will wake up and take evasive action before it's too late and we've crossed a very ugly tipping point.
Hope everyone is having a Super Sunday!
Talk to some people...get back to me.
Carry on.
;)
- AES -
P.S. While driving to the beach this morning I passed a crowd of people in a park adjacent from the beach. They were surrounding a statue of Mary standing in what appeared to be a sea shell. I thought, wow, that's interesting. I wish I could believe in things that completely only make sense in an imaginary way too. And it once again dawned on me that the modern-day human condition is ironically still one of MASS DELUSION dating back millenniums. Talk about living in the Dark Ages. I've been tortured by this understanding and my church experience as a child my entire life. It imposed a moral belief system that I actually believed in...only to experience other people using it as complete hypocrites. Then realizing the entire storyline is completely insane but believed by so many in the world... But insane compared to what? Yeah, I know. Crazy people and b.s. everywhere in God's name when God = The Truth? How unholy is that? What's the point? Where is reason? Where is logic? Where is honesty? Where is understanding the world in which you are blessed enough to live? Can we not mix believing in some 'Divine Power' with a bit more common sense? Just so I can have a 'group belief option' or two that don't test my sanity? Jesus says hi. Can we seriously not do much better? I can.
P.P.S. Bonus blast from the past to add some REAL light to the conversation. Push the button --> 'X' Now all we need do is analyze peoples' words and in comparison to the reason they say them.
P.P.P.S. Bonus bonus. --> 'V' Something I stumbled across while searching for that previous article I referenced.
Addendum: Damn. See, I told you so.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Lose Your Fear etc.
Went and watched my sister's band 'Lose Your Fear' play in Venice Beach this evening...
It was interesting. They are actually kinda good though. Hmmmm...
This is just a thought marker to remind myself to recant the story later on for the autobiography.
Nothing too thrilling, but it's cool to get out amongst the crowds once in awhile.
Safely home. Being mature and low-key, just chilling at the house on a Saturday evening in my state of Zen as usual.
Miss me?
You know the story.
I'll be around...
;)
- AES -
It was interesting. They are actually kinda good though. Hmmmm...
This is just a thought marker to remind myself to recant the story later on for the autobiography.
Nothing too thrilling, but it's cool to get out amongst the crowds once in awhile.
Safely home. Being mature and low-key, just chilling at the house on a Saturday evening in my state of Zen as usual.
Miss me?
You know the story.
I'll be around...
;)
- AES -
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