The Unfolding Life Report

Obama Signs NDAA Martial Law

2011-12-19T06:31:00.000-08:00

Obama supports draconian FY 2012 National Defense Authorization Act provisions. Justification given is national security and war on terror hokum.

Constitutional, statute and international laws won't apply. Martial law will replace them if so ordered.

In other words, presidents may order anyone arrested and imprisoned for life without charge or trial. Tyranny arrived in America. Abuse of power replaced rule of law protections.

A black man's view on Ron Paul being racist

2011-12-19T01:04:00.000-08:00

An intelligent viewpoint about how the media try to smear Ron Paul.

Senate passes defense authorization bill

2011-12-15T21:09:00.000-08:00

Obama changes his mind

Barack Obama has abandoned a commitment to veto a new security law that allows the military to indefinitely detain without trial American terrorism suspects arrested on US soil who could then be shipped to Guantánamo Bay.
Human Rights Watch said that by signing the bill Obama would go down in history as the president who enshrined indefinite detention without trial in US law.
Rand Paul, a strong libertarian, has said "detaining citizens without a court trial is not American" and that if the law passes "the terrorists have won".

‎9/11 FACTS that sheeple often get wrong

2011-10-28T05:43:00.000-07:00

Waking Up Described - It IS Real.

2011-10-13T00:52:00.000-07:00

Those who woke up

The world looks different.

Most people will laugh or joke when you talk about 'waking up' or mention 'sheeple'. For those who have woken up, it is no laughing matter - In fact, for those who are awake, it is as if they traded a dream for a nightmare.

Something happens when you wake up, you look at people differently and they look at you differently. Most of those who are still asleep will look at you strangely, they figure that you're different, but they can't exactly pinpoint why. It sounds like a cliche, but the experience is the same as in the Matrix movie. Things that you believed before and took for granted, just suddenly appear ridiculous, and you wonder how you were ever convinced that it was true.

Phrases that you thought were once full of wisdom appear to be common sense. Why do the sheeple look for words of wisdom? Because they have lost their own wisdom, which is the most natural thing in the world. They look for guidance and approval from others, and never question why they need to. When you're awake, there are no 'wise' words, only truth, and you're able to accept it because you realize that it was always a part of you, except you were told to think otherwise.

The reality which those who seek to control us is hiding, is the fact that we have the power to change our reality for the better. Those who control, brainwash us with lies. The lies are convincing, but when you're awake, you see them for what they are - it is like a parent telling a child about the existence of the easter bunny, but the child is unable to discern the truth. People who see the truth, the truth of the lies, perceives the harsh reality - there really is a war, a war for your mind. This is the truth, and those who get it, really get it, those who don't, continue to be blind, or are under the illusion that they are awake.

But you can tell if someone is awake. Maybe their eyes show more awareness than the average person. It is the loneliest place to be, among the crowds who cannot see how conforming they are to the ludicrous lies that they are told, unable to reason, or show common sense. Sheeple are deluded into thinking that they're capable of free-thought and reason, but they are as predictable as clockwork.

When you are awake, 'words of wisdom' seem like common sense. Stories told by the government seem like fairy tales. The possiblities of creating a better world seem more accessible. You notice and question everything around you. You have the confidence of yourself for guidance rather than relying someone in authority to tell you how to think.

How to recognize sheeple?

What drives people to wear a corporate brand logo?
The illusion of free-thought.

Sheeple are people who conform, they are like sheep, always following the crowd, but unaware of their adherence to regulations and conventional thought. They do not believe in 'waking up' - it is a complete myth to them, so there is no point trying to convince them that there is a state of extreme clarity. They find it hard to believe that when you wake up, you see the majority of people walking around like zombies, because they are one of the zombies. These words only make sense to those who have seen and witnessed it - those who have take a step out of the box, gone against the grain and found themselves recognizing a different world to the one they once knew.

Also a major trait of sheeple is that they're able to change their views to conform to the masses without much of fight, at times switching to completely polarized views without so much as a struggle. This is what happens when you allow authority or peer pressure to control your opinions, and this phenonmenon is observable in cults. The cult leader will give the impression that the follower has made their 'own' choice, that the follower used his 'own' logic, to come to a conclusion that had already been predetermined from the start. Most ex-cult members are often surprised at how they manged to get trapped into the beliefs, which make absolutely no sense to the free mind.

But you tell someone who has been brainwashed that their beliefs are crazy or insane, and they look at you blankly, as if you're the crazy one instead, except you're not following a leader, or blindly praising a system that doesn't work. Sheeple are proud to conform, it gives them a sense of belonging, they have a built in sense of naievety that those who lead them are pure and good, and those who criticize their idols are destructive and evil.

Once someone has truly woken up, there is no turning back, you look for others who have also woken up. Some are more prone to brainwashing/ hypnotism than others, as evidenced by the way they lead their lifestyle, and their obsession with celebrities and corporate brands. Those who are awake, will wake others to see the world as it truly is.

The Cult of Apple

2011-10-12T21:45:00.000-07:00

Think Different? ... or just don't think. Apple fans believe they're capable of free-thought, but these images show otherwise, as they demonstrate how brainwashed they have become! Beware those who are easily influenced for their minds are weak and unable to see their own foolishness - iDiots.

(THEY'RE CALLING ME A) TERRORIST?

2011-10-05T11:38:00.000-07:00

Most Afghans have never heard of the 9/11 attacks on the WTC.

The Greatest Speech Ever Made

2011-10-04T00:16:00.001-07:00

Calloway V Gate : Perpetual Motion Free Energy Generator

2011-09-20T06:42:00.000-07:00

This simple video progressively shows how the Calloway V gate magnetic free-energy generator works, leading up from the most basic principles of magnetic repulsion. This technology has been suppressed because it is a threat to the profits of the energy corporations. Anyone can build a free energy generator and be free from the grid. Please feel free to share this video and spread the knowledge! More info at http://www.callowayengines.com

Mysterious Deaths of 9/11 Witnesses (MUST SEE)

2011-09-11T08:23:00.000-07:00

9/11: Explosive Evidence - Experts Speak Out, Trailer; AE911Truth.org, 9/11/11 DVD

2011-08-01T22:01:00.000-07:00

Obama Attempting To Set Up Dictatorship!

2011-07-10T22:13:00.000-07:00

Obama plans to use executive orders to bypass Congress. The government is paid for by the people's taxes, and is supposed to serve the people - Why then is the government working so hard to take away the people's rights?

Obama wants to push for tighter gun control without going through Congress, breaking the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution for the right of the people to keep and bear arms. Yet at the same time, the Obama administration is pushing for the UN Arms Trade Treaty which is just a way for America to monopolize the arms trade, so it has exclusive rights to sell more weapons.

It just seems ironic that a country that claims to be for world peace and gun safety, is spending tax payers money to create death and destruction in other parts of the world.

The Century Of The Self - Full Length Documentary

2011-07-02T04:54:00.000-07:00

The General's Son : The ‘Three Myths’ of Israeli History

2011-06-12T19:27:00.000-07:00

Mobile phones ARE to blame for killing off the world's bee populations, scientists claim

2011-05-11T19:13:00.000-07:00

Mobile phones ARE to blame for killing off the world's bee populations, scientists claim

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Last updated at 2:01 PM on 11th May 2011

Phone signals confuses bees and cause them to begin flying erratically before suddenly dying

For some, the mobile phone is the bane of modern life even as it .

But for bees it could be more than just an irritation.

Scientists claim to have proved that signals from mobile phones are behind the sudden decline of the world's bee population, which plays a vital role in both agriculture and horticulture.

Researchers placed mobile phones in bee hives under controlled conditions and monitored the results. They found the phone signals confused the bees who begin to fly erratically before dying suddenly

Lead researcher Daniel Favre from Lausanne, Switzerland, placed phones in a series of hives under controlled conditions and monitored the results.

The study - published in the beekeepers' magazine Apidologie - found that the phone signals confused the bees who began to fly erratically before suddenly dying.

The scientists carried out 83 experiments in hives and recorded the bees' reactions to mobile phones in off, standby and call-making modes.

The noise produced by the bees increased more than ten-fold whenever a phone made or received a call - the noise dropped to normal level when the phone was off or on standby.

Mr Favre explained: 'The bees' noise drastically increases as soon as the phone rings - the rays from the phone and the noise clearly disturbs the bees.

'This gives the bees the signal to leave the hive. But often they are so confused they fly to their death.

'Mobile phone technology is fateful for bees. The study definitely proves that.'

The study isn't the first to link mobile phones with the death of bees.

In 2008, a German researcher found that bees refuse to return to their hive when mobile phones are placed alongside it.

Lost and disoriented, they die. The result is abandoned hives, a possible honey shortage and, most gravely, a lack of pollinators for our flowers and crops.

In March, a UN report warned that a perfect storm of perils and threats is behind the disastrous decline in honeybees over the last few years.

Scientists identified more than a dozen factors - from chemical pesticides to the loss of wild flowers - which are conspiring against one of the world's best loved, and most useful, insects.

In Britain the number of bees has halved since the mid-1980s, while in America honey producers have been badly hit by colony collapse disorder - a mysterious condition in which entire hives vanish.

Black People Love Us!

2011-05-05T22:01:00.000-07:00

Found a cool site, Black People Love Us!, which parodies most (unintentionally) patronizing North Americans I've ever met! You don't really get this in London, I suppose people are more genuine in the UK. Most Canadians will unknowingly do this patronizing thing with non-white people, and the very same people will freak out if you say something non-PC!!! You can have a lot of fun with this.

I'm guessing that a group of black people got fed up and decided to put this website together to poke fun at this condescending attitude.

Some of the satirical 'testimonials' on the site crack me up probably because they ring absolutely true! A few examples:

Johnny calls me "da man!" That puts me at ease. It makes me feel comfortable, because I am Black and that's how Black folks talk to one another.

Johnny always plays up his (Italian, Irish, Jewish, etc.) ethnicity to me—as an entree into friendship!

Johnny always says: "I'm not racist; one of my best friends is Black!" I think he might mean me!

The Truth about ADHD

2011-04-09T08:38:00.000-07:00

Japan Disaster - What The Media Are NOT Telling Us -

2011-03-18T20:41:00.000-07:00

Continued Part 2 - 11

Alcohol Abstinence Benefits

2011-02-19T21:08:00.000-08:00

Damage caused by long-term abuse.

Children can have fun without alcohol, why can't adults?

Since I cut alcohol, my visual memory has improved to the point where when I close my eyes, I can see the faces of people that I last saw twenty years ago as if they're standing right in front of me, even remembering distinguishing features like small moles, scars, etc. Also, the extra boost in brain horsepower, allows me to learn and understand complex concepts faster, as has my ability for mental arithmetic returned.

Although the brain is known to recover from bouts of drinking, I wonder if regular alcohol consumption causes more subtle and unmeasurable faculties of the brain to degrade or even disapper over time. For example, the intensity of concentration required to maintain the mental model of a concept or idea within one's head for a long enough duration to be able to analyse and comprehend it. For being able to bring together more than a few concepts, and maintain them long enough in the brain is the key to understanding and innovation.

The brain is a machine that is able to recognize and compute patterns at speeds much faster than any computer. I imagine that when unimpaired, it is like an accelerating car, adapting gear changes and speed along a winding road. Alcohol is like the puddles or oil on a road which causes a moving car to slip or slide, making it difficult to control. Over time, the driver becomes cautious and conditioned to drive much slower. I doubt that the effects are irrepairable, I believe that they can be healed through abstinence.

What can one gain from giving up alcohol? Is a question I asked myself - perhaps the ability to have fun and relax without requiring any substance. Animals, children and (I'm quite sure) prehistoric man managed to have fun without alcohol, so why can't we? Of course it will be hard at first, but if everything was easy for us without trying, then we'd all be superhuman. Yes it is difficult, but enduring difficulty is how to progress and overcome it.

The obvious gains include health, better ability to cope with stress, increased willpower, increased concentration, more awareness, better coordination and meditative control over body/mind.

Please feel free to refute my points, or justify why alcohol is good.

Why Theism Can Be Detrimental To Your Success And Happiness

2011-02-05T23:35:00.000-08:00

As toddlers we view the world with unconditional optimism, from the time we learn to roll over and crawl, we learn that with effort and persistence, we can achieve and conquer each goal, putting that which was once out of reach within our grasp. This is part of being human, to learn through trial and error, to acquire an understanding that we're in charge of what we gain through our efforts. Toddlers do not believe in magic, they have no concept of technology, yet they quickly learn that if they stand up, they may fall, and however many times they fall, they strive to get up again. Babies are not born clumsy - in fact, each time they fall, they learn how NOT to; this is the innate ability of humans, and this is why we are capable of achieving, successively improving upon earlier records.

We determine that there are certain rules that cannot be broken - the most predominant of these are the physical laws, eg, the constant gravitational force of the Earth on our bodies. That we cannot move physical objects with the power of our mind, or that we cannot walk through brick walls. We accept these concepts, not only because we have tested them, but because of the belief we uphold in our confidence to judge and ascertain observational aspects of our reality; that is, until we're told otherwise ...

The majority of people will not be able to pilot a space shuttle, but given enough training, any able-bodied person would be capable of skillfully operating a space shuttle should they apply themselves confidently to the task. They may crash the simulator a few times, but the process of learning involves understanding how to fail in order to recognize the pitfalls and overcome them next time. Success really, is a process of repeated failure. Nobody ever gets it right the first time, even if by some fluke they did, then they would have lost out on the opportunity to experience the alternative outcome, which could prove invaluable should they decide to instruct others in the future.

Religion, or more specifically, believing in a supernatural, all-powerful being who controls every aspect of your life, can be seen to obstruct the natural learning mechanism which I described above. I don't doubt that theists can and have been successful - the very idea that there are unknown, unexplained, and unproven forces that determine fate, although a religious person may feel that they are conscious of how they think and in control of when they apply their faith, such concepts remain active on a subconscious and systemic level which exerts a much stronger influence upon an individual's actions and decisions than they are consciously aware of.

Being religious, may have its benefits. There may be more opportunities for employment within the religious peer group, as those who have established positions within companies are willing to recommend those who follow the same faith. But how much is that a success? While some may consider slaving away to earn money for someone else as the ultimate goal in their life, and many with a religious mindset do seem to think this way because they have been trained to obey and follow, true success is putting yourself on the path to attaining your own goals, whatever they might be. And (on a sidenote) to those who say, "But I don't have the luxury to choose my career path, I have bills to pay...", they may be better off paying their bills by becoming a prostitute or drug dealer; if they're making more money than that, then I believe that they do have the luxury, except they're too busy indefinitely slaving themselves for their high maintenance lifestyle - until redundancy wakes them up with a hard cold slap in the face; I digress. While I disagree that a job position be given solely on the merit of religious inclination, which at least constitutes discrimination, and also exempts many others who may be better suited to the job in question, the person who is awarded the job based on their religious beliefs will expect the same treatment for all the jobs they will apply to in future, and if they don't get the job, then it will be "God's will".

GOD'S WILL

What is God's will? For everything else there is an explanation, and if something does not make sense, or goes against the desires or wishes of an individual then for theists, it is God's will. If a theist goes to the races, bets on a horse that does not win, is that God's will or just a gambler down on his luck? If he continues to bet and lose, is this the will of God? or as a way to test the theist's faith (thus a true believer will continue gambling)? Because when one begins to reason like that, then it is easy to see why some people fall into a slippery pit, and continue stay there out of a stubborness to accept reality.

There is always an underlying reason to believe the things we do. Someone who has a fear of failure, may prefer not to try, if they don't try, then they won't need to face failure, right? They may have not had much success, so they attribute it to God's or Gods' WILL (who is to say that there is only one or many gods?) Seems harmless enough, right? But just think, what those few words are doing on a subconscious level... They are reinforcing, and reaffirming an underlying belief, whether that belief is at a conscious or subconscious level is irrelevant, the fact is that it allows the individual to justify their failure. It is not only a justification of failure, it is a form of denial - a denial of failure. In order to succeed at anything, we must recognize our failure, to deny failure, is to not see it at all, and therefore the opportunity to learn, improve and correct has been lost.

The person who places him or her self at the mercy of the unknown and mysterious workings of an invisible higher super being, has already surrendered themselves and therefore their life to a process of cumulative unsuccesses, one after the other. They may or may not be aware of their failings until someone points it out, perhaps they know that something is wrong, and the feeling of helplessness might drive them into a depression, which causes them to burrow deeper into their religion for comfort because it confirms their belief and is a way to ignore and face a fearful reality. Why, it is better to fear God, than it is to fear reality, they'll say! For reality hurts infinitely more than what God can do, because 'He' supposedly gives you the 'love' (ignorance) you so desire when you are down...

Now back to the start of my article. A child picks him/herself up after falling down, knowing full well that they could fall again. A child will not say "It is God's will that I fell!" because such 'reasoning' is taught by the Church. If we all thought like that, then many of us would be in wheelchairs. The truth is, that there is no fear. Once again, judgement is a concept that has been perpetuated and perpetrated by the doctrine of religion. A child does not consider falling over as a failure, nor do the child's parents. The greatest fear is fear itself, and those who have the biggest dreams, fear the biggest disappointment, something that hasn't or never will happen. If we have a dream, there is no reason why we can't put it at least within our grasp, for success is a process of trial and error - to think otherwise is to live in a fantasy world where everything comes true when you wish for it to an all powerful wizard who lives in the sky. Besides, the ultimate destination is death, so whichever way you see it, all that you could or would gain in life, would eventually be lost anyway - there really is nothing to lose. As each second of your life ebbs away, it is better to think, "It is my life and it is MY will!"

Each failure, should be seen as a step forward towards the greater goal. Those who are quick to accept defeat, may also be quick to accept god/gods and accept their situation for better, or worse. Just one small idea can change your entire life, this idea is that you are the only one in charge of and responsible for your life, no super being, no magic, just you. You can choose to change your life just by accepting this one powerful idea. Allow that idea to infuse your mind, and then you can begin to move upwards towards your happiness instead of a slow painful downward spiral. All the other good things will follow from then onwards. Don't believe in god, believe in yourself.

The Pyramid Code: High Level Technology

2011-02-03T06:15:00.000-08:00

The Pyramid Code: A New Chronology

2011-02-03T05:33:00.001-08:00

A Deeper Exposure Of The Truth About Religion

2010-12-16T21:45:00.000-08:00

The real Christianity exposed visually ...

2010-12-15T08:44:00.000-08:00

Klaus Dona : The Hidden History of the Human Race (March 2010)

2010-11-03T08:01:00.000-07:00

How Your Childhood Affects You

2010-10-19T23:33:00.000-07:00

The other night, they showed the Michael Jackson documentary on television, 'This Is It'; while watching, it got me thinking about how Jackson's abusive childhood really shaped him as an adult. Although MJ's case may be unusual and extreme, undoubtedly for everyone, our childhood and upbringing has an undeniable influence on the people we become and the way we think as we grow up.

For those who know me, I used to have long hair - as soon as I finished school, the freedom from uniform and dress-code allowed me to nurture long and flowing locks. I also liked heavy metal, the music of rebellion against conformity. About a couple of years ago, I had a sudden realization while I was meditating - an old memory surfaced from the depths of my mind like a sunken old ghost ship.

I remembered that once my mother took me to have a haircut at a new hair salon that opened in town; I was around nine years old, and too young for a boy of those times to really care about my appearance or be conscious of it. The hairdresser snipped away at my hair while I could see my mother standing anxiously in the reflection of the mirror. Snip, snip, snip, the hair dropped away, and the look on my mother's face turned from worry to anger. 'I don't like this haircut, it looks horrible!' she said, I had a bowl cut, and either way, I felt apathetic to the style. Although seeing my mother almost in tears and full of anger at the hairdresser, I realized, really upset me. When you are a kid, your parents are the foundation of your world, they are your safety bubble, and if anything should shake them up, then it will shake the kid up even more because the child looks to the parents for security and protection. I hated having my haircut from that day onwards, I didn't know it at the time, but subconsciously, hairdressers threatened the security of my world - so I grew my hair long as soon as I had got the chance.

Children look up to parents and the adults around them. They give their respect to their parents, trusting that they know what is right for them since their parents raised them from defenceless and helpless babies. There is a bond of trust between the parent and child, but the bond can be broken with the betrayal of abuse. As I said before, the parents are the centre of the universe of the child, if they should fall, then everything around it will too, because if you can't trust the people who brought you up, then who can you trust?

Many kids are not affected directly by their parents, as in the case of my haircut, it is the result of seeing my mother's reaction to something that a stranger had done, and that reaction was painful for me. It is for this reason, that I think it is wrong for parents to argue in front of their children, and to avoid showing any sign of weakness, for kids believe their parents are infallible and full of strength, and while they are still young, this perception should be upheld for the sake that they should grow up as secure and confident individuals. If parents argue about money in front of the child, then the child is no longer going to perceive their parents as in control, but money, as the child suddenly realizes that people who are in charge are not actually in charge, and the child develops an insecurity revolving around money or food, and later in life might feel the need to hoard or become obese to compensate for the insecurity from their childhood. Of course to note, this does not mean that you can't scold a child for being naughty, but do it for the right reasons - most children are disobedient for a reason, and sometimes it is a reaction to past parents behaviour.

Finally, a parent's anxiety can alter how a child perceives something, whether they view it as enjoyable or painful. Children, especially young children like to mimic their parents, particularly everyday tasks like cooking or shopping, they reenact in their play. If a parent finds a task particularly enjoyable, like football for example, then likewise the child will find the same enjoyment in the sport. Thus we can find simple correlations between the interests of parents and their children, and the easiest way to get a child interested in something, is by showing interest too. If you're anxious, then the child becomes anxious - anxiety paralyzes the learning ability of children, they should be relaxed to function optimally.

Why do most adults fear spiders? Fear is taught by the parents to their young kids. I doubt that most people have experienced a spider hurting them to warrant their fear later in life. Kids can grow up without anxiety, confidence is the greatest gift you can give to a child, and it is the gift that keeps on giving.

While My Guitar Gently Weeps

2010-10-11T22:01:00.000-07:00

John Lennon's birthday — 9 October 1940

David Icke - You Don`t Want to Know About This - Shut Up!

2010-10-07T22:56:00.000-07:00

Eyesight Focus Training Update

2010-09-23T22:54:00.000-07:00

As the days go on, I'm getting more and more hopeful that I can eventually throw away my glasses. I've been doing my Yoga eye exercises each morning and night, with at least an hour of meditation, and when I wake up, there are noticeable improvements in my vision, whether it is the ability focus at distance, or focus faster. Some days I get discouraged by worsening vision with glasses, but I just have to remember that the prescription has likely become incorrect for my improved eyes.

I have been experimenting with focusing techniques - although the focusing at the moment is not perfect, if I relax my eyes (without squinting or narrowing them), details in the distance become in very sharp focus as if I'm wearing my glasses. Early on, I would strain due to eye dryness, and it would cause me to lose the focus, but I've resolved this by practicing to properly blink. If I manage to stay relax, I can hold the focus, but I also have to hold my gaze, which takes a lot of practice if you are easily distracted - That's why I think eyesight training also builds up your self-discipline to become more focused mentally too.

So, I noticed that without my glasses, parts of the overall scene captured by my eyes, there will be certain parts that will be detailed, and some that aren't. I figured that the parts that had detail, eg, text would be readable, or fine textural details were pronounced, were because my eye knew how to focus them - in that some kind of eye muscle memory was able to recall the focus length for that particular distance. For normal sighted people, focusing is an analogue process, but with my myopia I'm only able to focus at the distances that my eyes remember. So with this fact, I decided to develop a new technique for focus training, which I will call focus leading. I don't know if it has ever been covered by anyone before, but I certainly have not read it anywhere else.

I begin by finding a part of a scene (which overall) is kind of blurry to me, and locate a part which is unusually in sharpest (these are not necessarily the closest to me). This part isn't always fully in focus, so I begin by relaxing my eyes and my mind, allow it to come gradually into focus. Now I have it in focus, I move my eyes, slowly and with precision, to a neighbouring part, giving enough time for my eyes to slowly adjust the focus to adapt. This may be similar to holding a pencil, in focus, in front of your eyes, and slowly moving it away, to build up your ability to focus further and further away, but it has the advantage that your eyes can move back to the original location as a reference whenever it needs to find the focus again - I imagine that the focusing involved is very delicate, and the yoga eye exercises allow your eyes to be controlled with with extreme precision.

You may not begin with a scene, perhaps it is better to begin with a grouping of objects. By focus leading, you can quickly put a close group of objects into focus. Using each successful focus point as a stepping ladder onto the next one, you build the ability to see a whole scene, although it will not be perfect, and you may have to keep revisiting certain points, I believe it is a good exercise and I understand this is perhaps the way that babies also learn to see.

Learning To Focus & Eye Dryness Solution

2010-09-21T23:43:00.000-07:00

Focusing by the eyes is performed so instantaneously that we take it for granted that the whole process is innately given. But focusing is actually something that our brains have learnt to do, because our eye muscles do not have the complexity to understand how far an object is, or what indeed should be within our attention. When something is in focus, the visual details become clearer, and in turn, our brain is 'rewarded' with information; this reward, teaches us how to achieve the same result faster in the future.

With my myopia, I'm learning how to focus on distant objects - in reality, it does not matter how far, because my vision has a refractive error, which makes things appear blurry beyond a certain point. So far, I've discovered that I can put distant objects into focus, if not for but a brief moment, if I relax my body and mind. Often it requires that I stare at a point of interest, without straining my eyes, then the object will become as clear as if I am wearing my glasses. I believe that the more often that the eyes can achieve this, then the better and faster it becomes at focusing.

A problem I encountered early on while trying to focus at distance, were my eyes drying up. As I relaxed my eyes, the objects would slowly come into focus, and then my eyes would suddenly begin to sting and tear up. This transient pain would be enough to cause all my eye muscles to tense up and all the learning effort would be wasted. I came to the conclusion, that perhaps, this was the reason why my myopia was so bad in the first place, that I'm not blinking correctly (sounds silly I know); but blinking lubricates the eyes, and prevents them drying out and hurting - Any type of pain, whether it is in the body or eyes, can create muscle tension. Since then, I've made a lot more progress by practicing blinking, and to blink at intervals while engaged in my focusing exercises.

I've always questioned why myopia is so prevalent in the Chinese population compared to the rest of the world, and my earlier discovery about blinking to relieve tension while 'focus learning' could be partly responsible for this. The Asian eyelid is formed in a noticeably different way from other races, in that many cases, it is insufficiently large enough cover the eyeball without engaging other muscles of the upper brow area. Dry eyes are a common problem in Asia, incidence of persistent dry eyes are estimated to be over 28% compared to 5% in the Caucasians. I believe that this problem can be corrected by learning to blink properly. One exercise that I developed for this, is to just close the eyes lightly, then relax the face. Feel the tension escaping from around the eyes and forehead, then slowly open the eyes without any strain or utilizing your brow muscles, just let the eyelids 'slide' open, keeping all your muscles relaxed while you do it. Then close your eyelids again gently, and repeat twenty times. This exercise will train you to blink fully, and prevent your eyes from drying up.

On a side note, there are many other reasons why people may suffer from dry eyes, from pollution to lack of sleep. The tears that lubricate your eyes are composed of not only water, but also salts and oils. If the oil glands in your eyelids become blocked, then your eyes are not getting the necessary oils to keep them wet. To overcome this, you can use a warm compress over your eyes - just soak a wash cloth in warm water, the fold it into a compress over your eyes for 5 to 10 minutes for several times a day - this will help unclog any blocked oil glands.

So keep your eyes relaxed. I know that many Asians are self-conscious of having 'slitty eyes' so they unconsciously open their eyes more than they should, putting the surrounding muscles under continuous tension, and exposing more of the eyeball area than the tears can lubricate. The forehead and brow muscles should remain relaxed, and if anyone has a subconscious fear of appearing 'slitty eyes' should deal with that psychological obstacle first, before dealing with dry eyes.

Natural Eyesight Healing: Almost 2 Weeks Progress

2010-09-20T01:12:00.000-07:00

It may be a bit early to start blogging about my natural eyesight healing progress, since it has only been 11 days, but I'd like to keep reporting my thoughts and ideas before they become lost from time, and I have the advantage of being in a process of myopic healing.

Every day I have been performing my Yoga eye exercises, twice a day, morning and night. Even after the first week, I could feel as if my eyeballs were more lubricated, there seems to be an extension of my peripheral vision - taking in visual information by quick scanning with my eyeballs rather than relying on motioning my head towards the direction objects that I want to observe. So the first big benefit is a faster reaction time - good for sports, no doubt.

The Bate's Method suggests reducing the wearing time of spectacles - This is something that is hard to do for most people, but I've developed my own technique. I doubt that many people need to wear their glasses while sitting on the toilet or eating, so during these periods, it is a good time to relax the eye muscles and reduce eyestrain. When I am out and about, I wear my glasses a bit lower, so I may peek over the top of the rims to help relax my eyes again - even for walking long distances, I can look over my glasses to help train my eyes.

Already, my eyesight seems better without glasses as the distance of the 'double vision' effect is smaller. With glasses, my eyesight has gotten worse; one might be mistaken to think that I have damaged my vision somehow, although the only reason for this is because the prescription is trying to correct a visual problem that no longer exists - it may be discouraging at first, but bear in mind that with exercising, eyes can only improve, and that the stronger your eyes get, the worse you're going to see with glasses.

I'm learning to relax my eyes when looking at distant objects. Sometimes, I will stare at the text on the screen, it will appear a blur. The mistake that most people make is to strain to focus the text, but that is the complete opposite what you should do, you should just relax. I've had some amount of success with this technique, but it requires a very relaxed mind, and a sense of indifference to the objects around you. Very much like the 'Magic Eye' books, you just stare, and relax your eyes, and after a while, the objects or text come into focus. The idea is to keep doing this, until your eyes remember how to do it by themselves. Unlike relearning to see, for me it's like learning to see, feels as if I missed out on this process while growing up as a kid, and I'm learning to be more aware of textures (sharp and soft) and subtle shades of light and dark.

I find that riding on the upper deck of a bus is a good way to train and strengthen the eyes. There is no need to wear glasses at all for this exercise, and the constantly updating movement of light and colour, encourage eyeball movement. It can also be very relaxing as long as you remember to be indifferent to what you see, breathe fully and slowly with your diagphragm, and avoid straining. Once the eyes become fully relaxed, you'll be amazed at catching glimpses of small print at a distance, although whether something is near or far becomes irrelevant because one has to stop thinking like a glasses-wearer, ie, straining to see something beyond the prescription - a person with perfect vision (as in uncorrected) sees near and distant objects with the same visual acuity. All becomes clear when the mind is relaxed and one with the universe.

Avoid Motivation Bullshit & Energize Your Body!

2010-09-16T06:09:00.000-07:00

A quick search on the topic of 'motivation' reveals a ton of websites devoted to teaching you how to be motivated by a 'qualified' motivation coach. Sorry, but WTF? - There are people who will always try anything to make a living, and I feel especially sympathetic to those whom these workshops are targeted at, i.e, desperate unhappy individuals who are willing to part with the remainder of their savings in order to basically 'learn the secret of success'. I'm not going to say anymore, except, close your eyes to such nonsense - I can show you the path for free, and you can thank me by being a good human being.

Motivation; the solution is not to merely tackle the problem by hurling motivational advice and phrases, but by understanding the individual situation. Although there are psychological issues which can often be resolved using NLP techniques, the practitioners of NLP, neuro-linguistic programming,fail to embrace solutions outside their field, because any type of healing, and making someone motivated is a form of healing, needs a holistic approach in order to be successful. NLP, which I am a firm advocate of, is only one approach, and many 'motivation coaches' believe that it is the end-all-be-all-holy-grail answer. I'm telling you it isn't because the mind is affected by the brain, which is an organ of the body. You affect any physiological process of the body, and it will affect the way you think - makes sense right? Such a rationally simple piece of holistic thinking, escapes the NLP believer, and without this foundational logic, most of the people who subscribe to their courses are going to fail.

There are many reasons why someone may not be motivated. When someone feels 'lazy', finds it hard to get out of bed, or have energy to start exercising - they're going to blame themselves - 'why am I so lazy?' Next they'll force themselves, coercing their bodies into physical rigor - it won't last long, there is only so much that physical determination can do. They'll believe that something is wrong with their thinking, and will probably find 'inspiration' in motivational quotes, see a motivation coach, etc. As I see it, it's akin to pushing a wheel barrow with a flat tire.

One major reason for tiredness in many cases is due to the liver being unhealthy. The liver is the second largest organ in the body next to skin. It is responsible for removing toxins, and making energy for the body. If you're eating fatty junk food all the time, then your liver is also going to be clogged up with fat. If you're not drinking enough water, then your kidneys are going to dry up - the job of the kidneys is to clean the blood, your kidneys need water for optimal functioning, if they aren't working that well, then your liver takes over its job. If the liver is busy doing the job of the kidneys, it's not going to do its main job of breaking down fats and making energy for you very well, is it? So keeping your liver in good condition is the FIRST step in overcoming your motivation problems.

Other causes of tiredness could be a build up of toxic metals in your body. In which case, chelation can be used to remove them. I have amalgam fillings given to me by a drill-happy dentist - every time I chew, I'm releasing cumulative amounts of mercury into my body. Naturally, my body gets rid of any poisonous metals if I'm eating the right stuff. A natural chelation supplement is Selenium, which occurs at high levels in Brazil nuts, but be careful you don't take too much - you can overdose on it. Selenium will remove other metals in your body that are useful to you, so make sure you replace metals like zinc and calcium. Selenium is also found in other food substances, here is a list and other useful information.

Digestion problems can also be responsible for lethargy. If you're not digesting your food properly, then you're not able to absorb the nutrients that give you energy and help your body repair. From a holistic point of view, digestion can be the root of many severe problems - I've read so much stuff, that I wouldn't be able to do it any justice by attempting to even begin to cover it. The digestive tract consists of so many organs, including the stomach, that any diagnosis would be specific to any array of secondary symptoms.

Finally, no matter what. Every human should get enough life-giving, nurturing, energizing SUNLIGHT. We've been warned about the dangers, and of course the radiation from the sun can be harmful in the form of UV rays, but the sun is a good source of vitamin D (which is most beneficial to the liver). It is good to get this solar supplement without sunglasses or sunscreen when the sun is at the lowest in the sky - meaning near sunrise and sunset. Sunlight has been known to cure depression, and many people who suffer from SAD, seasonal affective disorder, can attest to the healing effect of sunlight on their mind. The more sunlight you get, the energized you will become in body and mind. Not only will it cure depression, it will also clear your mind of worries or other neuroses. Getting daily sunlight is as essential as breathing!

The Truth About Myopia

2010-09-13T22:11:00.000-07:00

original article

"By using a hood to restrict the vision of monkeys so that they could not see more than fifteen inches (38 cm) from the eye, it was found that most of them develop myopia after a few months' time, just as humans do. Monkeys living in the wild, on the other hand, do not develop myopia."

"Numerous researchers have found a higher incidence of myopia in girls than in boys. Heredity need not be the reason for this. It can be explained by the fact that boys have traditionally spent more time in outdoor sports activities while girls have more frequently turned to sewing, knitting and other close-work activities."

"At one time, most of the lenses produced by optical companies were plus lenses to correct hyperopia or presbyopia. Minus lenses to correct myopia made up only a small percentage of their production. Now this situation has reversed, and far more minus lenses than plus lenses are produced."

Reminiscing Childhood Optician Visits

2010-09-12T22:25:00.000-07:00

When I was a child, I hated visiting the opticians as much as the dentists. The whole idea of being physically examined, and then corrected, filled my adolescent body with an anxiety that went beyond the fear of school tests and exams. No amount of studying can yield a good result for eye and teeth examinations; except with regular maintenance and care, I could never expect a good outcome for something that seemed outside of my control.

I started wearing glasses at about age thirteen - quite a late age to start for most children - and by that age, I had already become fully aware of my outward appearance to others, so that in vanity, I was quite self-conscious whenever I needed to use my spectacles; therefore, in an effort to avoid the playground taunts of 'four eyes', or as I imagined other kids to judge me, I only wore my glasses when I deemed it necessary.

My mother knew that I didn't wear my glasses all the time, and to my betrayal, reported this to the optician during my eye examination. The optician who was in her late-twenties, starting out this new business venture with her husband, scolded me - "If you don't wear your glasses all the time, your eyesight will get worse!" Those words, that I never felt the need to question, stayed imprinted on my mind for many years after.

The truth is, that even though I did what the optician said, by obediently wearing my glasses - all the time, my eyesight still continued to deteriorate! So, now I realize that I have been lied to, I wonder if my eyesight would have been better if I hadn't started wearing glasses at all. For certain, I did have better vision as a child, but I can only speculate that wearing glasses for all these years have weakened and strained my eye muscles, so that they have 'forgotten' how to focus correctly.

Eye Exercise May Boost Creativity

2010-09-10T00:17:00.000-07:00

original article by David Pescovitz

A study in the scientific journal Brain and Cognition suggests that increasing the "crosstalk" between the brain's left and right hemispheres can increase creativity. Researchers from the Richard Stockton College of New Jersey ran an experiment on 62 people to gauge creative thinking. After a first try at the task, some of the participants were told to shift their eyes horizontally back and forth for 30 seconds, an exercise that boosts the communication between the hemispheres. Those subjects performed much better on the test the second time around than a control group who stared straight ahead. The scientists published the results of their study in the journal Brain and Cognition. From the British Psychological Society Research Digest:

An important factor that the researchers took note of was the participants' handedness. Prior research has suggested that people who have one hand that is particularly dominant, so-called "strong-handers", have less cross-talk between their brain hemispheres compared with people who are more ambidextrous or "mixed handed"...
The key finding is that on their second creativity attempt, strong-handers who'd performed the horizontal eye movements subsequently showed a significant improvement in their creativity, in terms of being more original (i.e. suggesting ideas not proposed by others) and coming up with more categories of use...

The researchers also showed that, for strong-handers, the beneficial effects of the eye movement exercise lasted nine minutes for originality, but just three to six minutes in terms of coming up with more categories of use.

Paul McCartney Teaches Eye Yoga!

2010-09-09T21:32:00.000-07:00

Natural Eyesight Healing: Day One

2010-09-09T01:28:00.000-07:00

Over the past month or so, I have been considering to have eye sight correction by Lasik surgery, but because I have an aversion to any type of surgery, I decided to look up alternative treatments to improve my sight. I suffer from myopia (short-sightedness), and I stumbled upon the Bates Method, which I remembered reading about from a book I borrowed when I was fourteen.

I won't go too much into it, but the underlying theory is that the muscles that are used to rotate the eyeball are under tension causing a 'squeezing' which deforms the shape of the lens creating difficulty in focusing. The Bates Method involves a combination of exercises and relaxations that are designed to train the eye to be able to see properly again. There have been many books since written, elaborating and building upon the original principle, with very optimistic results from practitioners.

I approach everything with a slight skepticism, but seeing as the underlying theory seems plausible, I'm willing to give it a go. There's no harm in trying, and the process would help me learn more about the fascinating biology of the eyes and its processes.

Before going to bed last night, I practiced some of the Bates Method eye exercises. When I woke up this morning, I resisted the temptation to grab my spectacles. Apparently, when the eyes are relaxed the vision is better, because the muscles are not deforming the eye structure - I decided to take advantage of possibly improved vision after a relaxing night's sleep. I'm quite blind without my glasses, with quite a severe myopia of more than -6.0 in each eye; so at first I felt quite handicapped unaided by them, feeling retarded and clumsy when performing my usual tasks.

After a while without them, I found that I started to develop more confidence at doing things. One feels as clumsy without glasses, as one who has been depending on crutches to walk all his life. Initially, I struggled to think to do the most simplest things like making a cup of coffee, but that may be because of the distraction of the blurred environment. But there is no reason why I couldn't perform these tasks because if a blind person can do it, then there's absolutely no reason why someone who has partial vision cannot.

I thought about the difference between people who depend on glasses and those with perfect vision. People who look through lenses all day long have built a habit of locking their eyes forward (fixating on the optimum part of the lens), so that without glasses, they tend to look as if they are staring - ie, they don't have the soft stare that perfect vision people have. People with perfect vision scan more with their eyes, the movements are miniscule, yet small enough to notice. Someone who uses glasses, rely more on the movement of their head to look at things, whereas those with perfect vision move their eyes. That small but essential differentiation, is the reason why people with perfect vision have a faster peripheral vision. I decided that I would break the habit of my locked gaze, and be more conscious to use my eyes to scan, in that way, it would also work those muscles that have perhaps atrophied over the years.

So I tried reading a book, it was possible but uncomfortable because I held the novel so close to my eyes that I could smell the ink. When I used the computer, I had set my font size to 150%, and activated the magnifying tool, but even then it was difficult to read the screen without compromising my posture, so I decided to use my glasses for now whenever I used the computer - but removing my glasses when away from the screen to use the toilet or get a glass of water, etc.

Luckily, I have a mild obsessive compulsive order which makes it easy for me to keep up with things like these tedious eye exercises. These repetitive eye exercises which involve moving the eye up/down, left/right, clockwise/anticlock, etc, I imagine, are designed to mimic the natural eye movements of a full sighted person that us short-sighted people lack. I didn't expect to see any immediate improvements in vision after doing the exercises, especially after such a short time, but my eyes certainly did feel a lot more looser, as if someone had lubricated my eye sockets.

I've always had a fear of being blind in public, so I decided to challenge that fear and go out to lunch without the aid of my glasses - although I brought them along incase I needed to read anything. At first, I felt quite uncomfortable going outside without glasses, almost naked, and when I'm not wearing my glasses, I never know what to do with my eyes, they automatically lock into that straight forward, mannequin gaze. People appear as a blur to me, but I'm able to see enough to avoid a collision. I mimic the eyes of someone who can see, scanning my environment as if every object was sharp. It's easy just to stare blankly straight on because when everything is a blur, it's not very interesting, but I decided to be interested in the different types of blurs and fuzzy shapes. I managed to enter the mall without smacking my face into a glass door.

I feared my vision would be even more limited indoors, and I was right. As soon as I entered the mall from the sunny outside, the contrast between objects became even fuzzier and abstract. I got the feeling of jumping in at the deep end, but I decided that I'd feel more comfortable once I got used to it. I didn't collide with anyone, and I also made the effort to keep looking around, gazing into shop windows as I passed them. When everything is blurry, it's tempting just to isolate the larger shapes and ignore the smaller ones. Textures, words, and small collections of objects are extremely demoralising when you're half blind, but I decided that I would make a concerted efforted to 'scan' them, and not look like a semi-blind person stumbling through a mall, but more like a shopper taking a leisurely stroll. After a while, my eyes became more comfortable and relaxed, and after having lunch, I found that I could even read some of the text from the billboards at a distance. I could also begin to 'decipher' textile patterns on clothing, and start defining people's faces, although still blurry, I had the confidence to look at them, rather than avoid them as 'too difficult'.

I don't know if by this method I'll ever have perfect vision; I've read some people claim to go from 20/500 to 20/30 - 20/40. But I'll be happy with 'functional' vision, where I can perform daily tasks without depending on my glasses. I'll keep up this experiment for now, just to ... see. Off with my glasses again.

Curing My Mother's Arthritis

2010-09-07T04:34:00.000-07:00

My mother has been suffering from arthritis in her fingers for over six years. She was referred to a specialist who said that the best thing that they could do for her was to operate, and there was no guarantee that it would improve her condition. Since then, her joints have gradually gotten worse, becoming swollen and sore, causing the thinner skin at the knuckles to form abscesses.

After some careful analysis and research, I finally diagnosed that the arthritis was caused by a gastro problem, as my mother suffers from a frequent and persistent heartburn which she self-medicates with indigestion tablets. I deduced that the indigestion problem was caused by a lack of stomach acid production, as it is also related to acid reflux.

I prescribed her apple cider vinegar; she has been on it for two weeks now, and her abscesses have cleared up, no sign of red sores, and she is not experiencing any pain. I expect that if she continues taking the supplements, the swollen joints will eventually recede in size. The apple cider vinegar has been aiding her digestion, giving the extra acidity required to break down undigested proteins in her stomach, which were leaking into her bloodstream and getting trapped in her joints.

Now this is first-hand experience about the effectiveness of apple cider vinegar helping cure arthritis - you may or may not believe that this simple product can have such curative strength, but I have seen it, and it is up to you whether you want to try or dismiss it. There are plenty of websites (which I believe function as big pharma propaganda disinformation) which claim that the apple cider vinegar cure is an old wives remedy and does not cure anything - The best advice is not to take anyone's word for it, but to try it yourself. Apple cider vinegar is a harmless food product which you cannot overdose on, and it does not manifest any side-effects, so there is no harm in trying.

Most people, when their parents begin to suffer the symptoms of ageing, think that they can throw money at the problem and hope that some 'so-called specialist' can solve the problem. The problem with the medical profession, is many of those who practice it, do so only as a job without any real passion or interest in the subject and thus they are unable, or unwilling, to keep up with the latest or alternative developments in their fields. You love your parents, why would you leave them at the mercy of people whose job it is to prescribe the most expensive method of treatment?

Do yourself and your parents - and your relatives and friends, for that matter - a favour and put the effort into researching their symptoms and finding alternative natural cures which are often better than conventional medicine. Only true love and caring can drive a passion for learning. The books are available in libraries and academic bookstores. Money may be the quick and easy 'pay and forget' answer, but it could also be the regretful decision in years to come - Show your love, and study as hard (and with passion) as the professionals whose advice you pay for!

Cayenne Pepper Benefits - Including but not limited to curing cancer and healing the heart!

2010-08-31T04:31:00.000-07:00

Original Article Here

Key Health Benefits of Cayenne Peppers

• This herb is a great food for the circulatory system in that it feeds the necessary elements into the cell structure of the arteries, veins and capillaries so that these regain the elasticity of youth again, and the blood pressure adjusts itself to normal. It rebuilds the tissue in the stomach and heals the stomach and intestinal ulcers; in equalizing the blood circulation, Cayenne produces natural warmth in your body; and in stimulating the peristaltic motion of the intestines, it aids in assimilation and elimination.

• Cayenne regulates the flow of blood from the head to the feet so that the pressure is equalized; it influences the heart immediately, then gradually extends its effects to the arteries, capillaries, and nerves (the frequency of the pulse is not increased, but is given more vigor).

• Human circulation; it is warming; dilating; specific for varicose veins; equalizes the blood pressure in the arterial and venous system; equalizes blood pressure instantly actually.

• Cayenne is useful in alleviating allergies, muscle cramp, improving digestion, gives more pep and energy, and helps wound healing with minimal scar tissue.

• Cayenne is a counter-irritant; it brings blood to the surface and allows the toxins to be taken away.

In an article reported on March 16, 2006 by Reuters, the main ingredient in Cayenne, capsaicin, was found to destroy prostate cancer cells. Here is what the article said,

"Capsaicin led 80 percent of human prostate cancer cells growing in mice to commit suicide in a process known as apoptosis, the researchers said. Prostate cancer tumors in mice fed capsaicin were about one-fifth the size of tumors in untreated mice, they reported in the journal Cancer Research. 'Capsaicin had a profound anti-proliferative effect on human prostate cancer cells in culture,' said Dr. Soren Lehmann of the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and the University of California Los Angeles School of Medicine."

• Capsicum supports the natural beat (rhythm) of the viscera and interior actions of the glandular, circulatory, lymphatic, and digestive systems. It has been used with great success as a cure for spotted fever (?); the most active stimulant to support and re-animate feeble or exhausted powers.

• This is a medicine of great value in the practice, and may be safely used in all cases of disease, to raise and retain the internal vital heat of the system, cause a free perspiration, and keep the determining powers to the surface. The only preparation is to have it reduced to a fine powder. For a dose, take from half to a teaspoonful in hot water or tea sweetened with honey.

• Dr. Coffin includes cayenne pepper in his composition powder to restore the normal function of the body in the various stages of pregnancy and childbirth. For morning sickness he recommends a combination of ‘White poplar bark, agrimony, centaury, raspberry leaves, yarrow and rhubarb, each a quarter of an ounce, steep in two quarts of water, strain, and add while hot two teaspoons of powdered cinnamon, half a teaspoonful of Cayenne pepper, and let the patient take one tablespoonful every three hours until the symptoms are removed if this should not relieve, give an emetic and repeat if necessary.

• Great for heartburn.

• Capsicum is a powerful rubefacient.

• Capsicum is a general nervous stimulant; a specific for delirium tremens.

• For atonic gout, in paralysis, in dropsy, in tympanitis, and in the debilitated stages of fever.

• For scrofulous; dyspepsia; flatulence; it's an excellent carminative.

• For sore throats—gargle (prepare the gargle with honey); for spasmodic and irritating coughs; heartburn and diarrhea;

• Enables feeble stomachs to digest food; for atonic dyspepsia; specific for hemorrhoids; cures intermittent fever; Capsicum has the power to control menorrhagia; relieves sea-sickness;

• In delirium tremens it is beneficial by enabling the patient to retain and digest food.

• Capsicum is particularly efficient in tonsillitis, and the sore throat of scarlet fever and in diphtheria no application is so efficient as a strong gargle or wash make with Capsicum.

• Promote digestion; relieves pains of the womb; removes obstructed menstruation; for quinsy; for all diseases of the throat; use as a plaster with honey for rheumatic pains, pains of the joints, gout, swellings, etc.; Use outwardly as a liniment, apply it warm or hot for arthritis and rheumatism; gargle for scarlet fever; use an infusion for ulcers in the mouth, strep throat or tonsillitis. (p.103)

• Cayenne is an excellent remedy for a cold; mix infusion with slippery elm and molasses or honey, and take in doses throughout the day; also excellent for sore throat and coughs.

• Cayenne mixed with pennyroyal (an herb) taken for three days will expel the dead birth material from a miscarriage.

• Eases toothache; preserves the teeth from rotting, and when rubbed on the gums, stimulates them enough to prevent pyorrhea.

• Excellent for any type of internal hemorrhage, (create an infusion with bethroot or star root);

• Capsicum is an important remedy in cholera; Capsicum stops vomiting; combine with equal parts of Capsicum and common table salt, one half ounce of each, one pint of good vinegar, give in tablespoon doses for cholera, vomiting "cholera morbus" -- the gross material associated with cholera from the system

• In chronic lumbago a plaster of Capsicum with garlic, pepper and liquid amber (silarasa) or storax is an efficient stimulant and rubefacient application. (p105)

• When made into a lozenge with sugar and tragacanth it is a remedy for hoarseness.

• For a carminative make pills of equal parts of Capsicum, rhubarb and ginger or aloes.

• Combine Capsicum with cinchona for intermittent and lethargic affections and for atonic gout and in advanced stages of rheumatism.

• Combine with asafoetida and sweet flag root or camphor in the form of pills in cases of cholera.

• Capsicum has a powerful action on the mucous membrane, and in hoarseness and sore throat, and in putrid throat a gargle made of Capsicum is particularly beneficial.

• By pouring hot vinegar upon the fruits of Capsicum all the essential qualities are preserved. This vinegar is an excellent stomachic.

• The whole plant steeped in milk is successfully applied to reduce swellings and hardened tumors.

• An infusion with cinnamon and sugar is a valuable drink for patients suffering from delirium tremens as it satisfies the craving in dipsomaniacs. A dose of ten grains of finely powdered capsicum seed, given with an ounce of hot water, two or three times a day, sometimes shows wonderful effects in cases of delirium tremens.

• Capsicum can be used in the treatment of a snake bite.

• As well as the fruit being used as a spice, the leaves were applied to ulcers and headaches. (p.111)

• Capsicum is given internally in atonic dyspepsia and flatulence. It is used externally as a counter-irritant in the form of ointment, plaster, medicated wool, etc. for the relief of rheumatism and lumbago.

• Oral administration of Capsicum may stimulate the gall bladder reflex.

• Capsicum either contains a cholagogue, or acts as a powerful stimulus upon the mucous membrane of the duodenum.

• Cayenne pepper is forgotten therapeutic agent against anorexia, liver congestion, and vascular troubles. Capsicum is highly effective in causing hemorrhoids to regress; and these fruits have the same action on varicose veins. The results are attributed to alkaloids or glucosides in the peppers.

• Excessive amounts of Capsicum (above 20 grams, thus, nearly an ounce) may induce frequent bowel movements.

• Cayenne stimulates the appetite, more especially as a hot climate tends to produce anorexia. We have always held the saliva is the key that unlocks the door to digestion. Capsicum, a sialogogue, will stimulate the flow of saliva and will be very helpful to people who have become accustomed to ‘inhaling’ their food and thus robbing themselves of the benefits of saliva in the digestive process. Capsicum would stimulate their flow of saliva as they return to a healthier attitude toward eating.

• Capsicum may be valuable in the prevention and treatment of blood clots.

• Cayenne pepper is very soothing; it is effective as a poultice for rheumatism, inflammation, pleurisy, and helpful also if taken internally for these. For sores and wounds it makes a good poultice. It is a stimulant when taken internally as well as being antispasmodic. Good for kidneys, spleen and pancreas; wonderful for lockjaw; will heal a sore ulcerated stomach; Capsicum is a specific and very effective remedy for yellow fever, as well as other fevers and may be taken in capsules followed by a glass of water. (p. 119).

So, there you have it. Cayenne pepper is literally one of the greatest health secrets in the world. It's also remarkably inexpensive. I've seen it as low as $1.67 a pound and as high as $35 or so (it was organic certified), but even that $35 a pound figure was astonishingly low, in my view. Big Pharma hates medicinal spices and herbs as they are a powerhouse of nutrition and healing but they don't offer much with profits. It, therefore, takes the dedicated seeker of truth to find out for themselves -- and that is why I put up this website.

HAARP - CBC News - US military weather weapon

2010-08-20T22:57:00.000-07:00

"It isn't just conspiracy theorists who are concerned about HAARP. In January of 1999, the European Union called the project a global concern and passed a resolution calling for more information on its health and environmental risks. Despite those concerns, officials at HAARP insist the project is nothing more sinister than a radio science research facility."

"Electromagnetic weapons ... pack an invisible wallop hundreds of times more powerful than the electrical current in a lightning bolt. One can blast enemy missiles out of the sky, another could be used to blind soldiers on the battlefield, still another to control an unruly crowd by burning the surface of their skin. If detonated over a large city, an electromagnetic weapon could destroy all electronics in seconds. They all use directed energy to create a powerful electromagnetic pulse."

"Directed energy is such a powerful technology it could be used to heat the ionosphere to turn weather into a weapon of war. Imagine using a flood to destroy a city or tornadoes to decimate an approaching army in the desert. The military has spent a huge amount of time on weather modification as a concept for battle environments. If an electromagnetic pulse went off over a city, basically all the electronic things in your home would wink and go out, and they would be permanently destroyed."

Begin Getting into Shape Strategies: PART 2

2010-08-19T22:58:00.000-07:00

So you've started detoxifying your body, and you've slowly accustomed your muscles to exercise by going for long and longer walks, now you push your training level up a notch, and begin more serious exercise. Before you begin any exercise, it helps to develop a habit of putting yourself into the correct frame of mind before you start. This involves clearing your mind of any pressing problems or deadlines you have to meet, you're not going to entirely get rid of all these current issues, but it helps to unload the majority of them because although you may think they weigh only on the mind, just having them there can increase risk of injury and reduce your performance ability.

Begin, by standing with an upright posture, and slowly breathe in and breathe out. This will help remove tensions from your diaphragm which controls your lungs. Breathe all the way in, and exhale all the way out. Imagine that you are breathing in focus and clarity and exhaling troublesome thoughts. Do this until you feel comfortable and relaxed. Then proceed to do some stretching - you'll find that stretching comes much easier after this, as most tension in the muscles originate from the mind. Keep your mind clear while you stretch your body thoroughly. I won't explain any stretching exercises, you can do a search on YouTube if you don't know how - but it is important to do this before you initiate any kind of strenuous exercise to prevent cramp and injury, also it allows you to perform longer without your muscles stiffening up.

Nowadays, I do most of my exercise outdoors, for reasons I will explain another time, but for beginners, the gym is a safe environment to begin working out. At first it may be slightly intimidating for the first timer to a gym, but most people are too focused on their own exercises to care what anyone else is doing. Make sure you are familiar with the equipment before you begin using them by seeking the advice of a qualified instructor - if you're using the equipment incorrectly you could hurt yourself or others. When you start, like I said in my previous post, think LONG term - this is something you want to keep doing for the rest of your life, so don't burn yourself out by trying to overachieve your goal in a short period of time - this will have the effect of putting you off exercise and making you mentally and physically weaker in the long run. It is best to proceed slowly at a pace that is not relaxed but enough to challenge your heart rate - if you're too relaxed then you're not going to benefit, if you're going too hard, you're going to burn yourself out, you want to be in the middle so your heart is getting a good workout and the blood is really pumping around your body.

The most important part of maintaining a workout routine is frequency - Someone who works out twice a week benefits more than someone who does twice as much once a week. This is because unlike your brain, the body does not have a memory, it won't remember how much work it did two weeks ago. The longer you leave it, the more unfit you get. If you're extremely busy, and can't find to go to the gym, just doing a few minutes of 'maintenance' exercises at home is better than doing none at all, this is how you keep your body in shape - instead of waiting to make up for the lost time by doing a big bout in the gym when you do go - remember, the body has no memory, your fitness level drops quite fast if you're not maintaining it.

On some days, you probably won't feel in the mood to workout - everyone gets it, it's completely normal; we're not robots which can turn it on and turn it off. Sometimes, I feel too tired, or the idea of all those repetitions and sets makes me feel tired - but once I get the blood pumping, I forget about it. Your psychology plays a big role in determining how motivated you are. Most people when they see a hill, they look all the way to the top and think, 'pheww, that's a big hill!' and immediately feel exhausted just from thinking about it! That is a psychological weight, it burdens the body as much as the mind, and can exist in any form, whether it be about work or relationships, it can be the obstacle to our goals. Some motivators will tell you 'attack it! face your obstacle and charge at it!', but I take a different stance, obstacles are obstacles because they are seen as such. A mountain cannot be overcome by a single bound, but it can be done slowly with each step and each breath. So the trick is not to look at the top of the hill/mountain, but to focus on each step that brings you closer, because that's what each step does, it brings you closer to your goal - no matter how small.

When I go running, there are parts of my regular route which has long straights where I can see stretching all the way to the distance, I avoid looking that far, instead I gaze at the ground just a few metres ahead, looking up now and then to make sure that I'm not going to hit something. By concentrating on each stride I take, I'm not overwhelming myself with the entire task - I'm breaking it down and making it more manageable, I'm not giving myself something bigger than I can chew, and this is all mental as all things are in life. People who give up easily, tend to be those who expect the prize at the end. Each step that you take should be a reward in itself, because each step makes your healthier and fitter, and that is all you should keep in your mind, the more steps you take, the narrower the gap becomes between you and your target. When you train, you should remember that you're training your mind as well as your body.

When you manage to build up frequency in training, like I said already, there are going to be some days which you don't really feel like it. The best way to overcome this is not to set yourself a target for the exercises you do that day - on the treadmill, don't set the timer, just run without looking at the clock until you feel exhausted. If you've decided that you're tired before you've even begun, it's pointless to expect that you'll do each exercise with your normal intensity, so don't count your repetitions because you'll be disappointed and your morale will take a beating. Just exercise without counting or timing, you may even find that you do more than usual! Often it is our own expectation of ourselves that creates the burden, a performance anxiety which comes to those who demand too much of themselves. We all like to see progress, but we kick ourselves hard if we're not making any - it happens to everyone. Forget about numbers, let your body work until you sense it has had enough, you may surprise yourself, because when there is no pressure, we can do much better. Once you're done, be happy that you did something rather than nothing, and the next time you train you'll be grateful that you did your maintenance exercises.

The ability to think long term is unique to human beings, no other animal on this planet can hold a goal in their head for years or even a century. A goal may not appear achievable at first, because we're not able to see the fiftieth step from the first step, but as we draw closer to the fiftieth step, we have a better perspective on how to proceed to the hundredth step. Exercising and building a body to good health and fitness, requires a long term strategy. Your body is what you wear everyday, something that you carry with you for the rest of your life, whatever you have been given, you should make the most of what you've got. A fit body brings confidence and keeps the mind happy.

Begin Getting into Shape Strategies: PART 1

2010-08-18T22:51:00.000-07:00

A few years ago, I was in quite bad shape. When I was younger I kept to a regular, almost daily, routine of exercise, over the years, I let it slip. So I was leading quite a hedonistic lifestyle where I would binge drink at least once a week, not sleep much, work all through the night until the mid-afternoon without eating, then eating vast quantities of fast food and drink lots of coke. Needless to say, my body became a mess, and I ended up with all kinds of allergies and disorders with my digestive system. This is from someone who worked hard to maintain my health and fitness, and then a few bad habits repeated frequently can destroy all that effort in just a few years. I gained a lot of weight, and if I ran down the street, my lungs would feel like they were burning for ten minutes afterwards.

When my business took off, I decided to spend less time on it, and concentrate on repairing my mental and physical health. My allergies were gradually getting worse, to the point where everyday I had hives and rashes on my skin, and it hurt to inhale causing my breaths to be short, and I would easily get out of breath. So this made me wake up that I had to do something or end up dying from ill health. I could keep going along the road where my quality of life would decline, or I could make a choice to improve my quality of life - after all, if you're going to live life, you may as well live it well.

So the first thing I began doing was quite simple - getting enough sleep, and going to bed early. Having a refreshing night of sleep benefits the mind aswell as the body. Getting your mind fit is fifty percent of the battle for a healthier and fitter body, because as the brain is able to function right, it is able to make informed decisions and drive the body to a better state. Next is eating correctly, nutrition is vital, because if your body lacks any vitamins or minerals, then your organs will not be able to perform its functions efficiently, and the most important funtion is performed by your skin and liver which help export toxins out of the body. Toxins in the body make us feel sluggish and also cause rapid ageing, therefore we want all the vitamins and minerals which enable optimal liver function. Drinking plenty of water is important for the kidneys which filters the blood into urine - if the kidneys do not receive enough water, then they become less effective at doing their job, forcing the liver to do some of it - and the liver is responsible for breaking down body fats and converting them to energy. Someone who is not drinking enough water can suffer kidney failure, and because their liver is busy doing the job of their kidneys, then warning signs could be weight gain and lethargy from lack of energy.

When you have cut out all the junk food from your diet, the next thing to do is isolate other food sources which could interfere with the body's normal functioning. Milk is one of those foods which appear innocent, but can contain a cocktail artificial hormones which are injected into cows to enable them to produce enough milk to meet the demands. If you must drink milk, then it is best to stick to organic milk. The hormones found in dairy is responsible for early pubescence in children, and leading to obesity in later life. By cutting out milk, you'll give your body the chance to eliminate these hormones, which can lead to infections from a weakened immune system if not dealt with. Also, many people use milk as a substitute for water when they are thirsty - when you are thirsty, it is your body's way of telling you that it requires certain minerals, vitamins or just water - the adult body does not need milk, and therefore milk is unable to quench a thirst, therefore it is easy to keep drinking milk with an insatiable need.

The next step of my new regime, was to begin taking longer and longer walks. Before, I would spend most of my time in front of a computer, back and shoulders tense from trying to meet my own production deadlines. When I'm trying to get the work done quickly, at the same time my adrenaline is also pumping - although mentally it is easy to deal with stress, it does not go unnoticed by the body, and when adrenaline is released into the body, it has to be worked off physically or it creates problems like heart disease and cancer. The benefit of going for long walks instead of sitting in front of the television or reading a book, is that it absorbs enough of your concentration to avoid snacking, and it straightens out your posture. Most headaches are caused from tension in the back (if not by slight dehydration), by walking, it flexes the spine, and releases tensions in the back muscles. The other important function of walking is to help blood pump around the body, helping move toxins to the organs which can take care of them, and also allow your lymphatic system move and distribute fats around the body - the lymphatic system does not have an automatic pump system unlike the heart of the cardiovascular system, so it uses gravity and or the contraction of the muscles to aid it. Fats that are not properly distributed in the body can cause blocked lymph nodes leading to cysts, but usually trapped fats is visible as cellulite.

Getting healthy and fit is not something that happens overnight. Most people who want to improve their physical condition have unrealistic expectations of results after just a few weeks, and hence they give up. Although all these paid fly-by-night diet and fitness courses might say otherwise, one should not expect major results nor be even thinking within a short timespan. The most successful people who maintain their fitness after achieving it think in the long term, and really it is the ability to think in the long term that ensures any type of success in whatever you do. There are adverts that promise a six pack in just three months, while it is possible for one in a hundred people, for the majority it doesn't work like that, and besides, what is the hurry that a six pack needs to be achieved in three months? What difference really is three months to the person who has had a beer gut for many years! Then what happens when the objective of a six pack is achieved after three months - do they stop and let it get flabby again? These are things that people forget to think about when they are presented with the potential rewards, all rationality goes out of the window and they enter fantasy land. Getting fit and healthy should be thought about in terms of a life long habit, a maintenance routine just like brushing your teeth and sleeping - once this idea is accepted by your subconscious, then you're almost there.

Astral Projection or Out of Body Experience

2010-08-16T22:42:00.000-07:00

Astral projection, otherwise known as Out of Body Experience (OOBE) is when the consciousness is able to move beyond the confines of the physical body. My own out of body experience may not be as interesting as other people's but it has been enough to warrant my belief and further exploration of this subject. I believe that most people are capable of it, and do indeed have OOBEs when they sleep, albeit without the memory upon waking. Also there are many stories out there, many I believe are fake, and the only way to know it is to have a personal experience of it. There are many things that science has yet to discover about consciousness and the other functions of sleep.

During my life I've had several OOBEs, especially in the period where I was doing daily meditation, up to three or four times on some days. My intent at the time was only to clear my mind and achieve a state of clarity, but sometimes, would inadvertently end up outside of my body in a confused state. The most memorable event was when I was meditating in my bedroom in the late afternoon, somehow during my meditation, I must have slipped into a state which was more conducive to an OOBE, because when I opened my eyes I was sitting on the sofa in the living room. Although, my eyes did not really open, it felt more like I had just blacked out and the blood had rushed back into my head as I regained consciousness, with the similar whooshing sound of blood rushing into my head! At the time I did not realize that I was out of my body because I was as conscious as I am now typing this, but a few things did not feel right - firstly, I felt drunk or very stoned because whenever I tried to move I swayed with a slight loss of control. The kitchen was in the adjacent room, and I heard my parent's voices coming from behind the kitchen door, and at that point I panicked because I feared that they would suddenly walk in and see me in this drunk/high state, and I had no idea how I had gotten there. Once again, I want to stress how real the state was, the total experience only lasted perhaps a couple of minutes, but was completely distinguishable from a dream; I had complete control of my thoughts, and the scene did not shift or morph, but stayed as still as it would if I had actually sat in the same room in waking life for two minutes. Near the end of the experience, I felt like I was blacking out again, in my confusion, I thought that perhaps I had smoked some weed earlier which caused my amnesia, and marijuana has the effect of making me black out. My vision started to darken and I began to panic, fearing that my parents would walk in and find me lying on the floor, so I tried to fight it and stay conscious, as I did so, I felt my body tingle as if it was dissolving, then blackness. Next second, I was staring at the ceiling, lying on my bed in my relaxed meditation position, arms at my side, facing upwards. I didn't feel as if I had just woken up.

I will try not to recount too much in this post, as I know that these stories can quickly get boring to those who have not had an OOBE, although people who have had the experience can get really excited talking about them no matter how uneventful the experiences might have been. My other strange experience also happened during a meditation session. Once again, I was lying on my bed, on my back, eyes closed. Suddenly I was staring at the ceiling, the ceiling in my bedroom is recognizable because it is covered in an embossed ceiling paper pattern - it felt as if my nose was almost touching it, as I could see the pattern up close. I was a bit confused at first - what happened? - had my bed suddenly risen or had the ceiling fallen down? - this was how 'awake' I was, to be able to reason and not accept it as if it was a dream (in dreams you tend to accept the extraordinary or bizarre, where in a waking state if you see something strange, you question it.) Anyway, I realized I could not turn my head or move my body, so I was staring close up to the ceiling for about five seconds, when suddenly the ceiling moved, or more precisely I was moving, the patterns blurred, and then the ceiling changed and I was staring at a different texture. I recognized the texture as the ceiling panels of the bathroom in the adjacent room to my bedroom, and then I saw bathroom tiles, then the next few seconds I found myself in the bathroom staring at a row of toothbrushes hanging on the wall. This time, I knew that I was out of my body, perhaps the strange journey beforehand helped me to realize this, and at that point I got excited, as soon as this happened, once again I saw the ceiling all the way back to my room, and I was in my bed again. Perhaps a boring story, but provides reason for further study of this strange phenomenon.

The final story that I want to share with you, I'm not sure if it is astral projection or a hallucination, or a combination of the two, but I want to add it in my recollection because at the time, I felt fully aware and could see my room clearly without the morphing or shifting that is peculiar to a dreaming state. Once again, I was meditating. I meditate with my eyes closed, but sometimes (and I have not had anyone help me verify this), they may open slightly during the process. During this meditation, I felt that I had achieved about 90% clarity of thoughts and felt comfortable where I was. Suddenly I could see the room quite clearly as if I had opened my eyes - I assumed that I had opened my eyes, and I was aware that I was lying down on my bed in my usual position, but I felt quite relaxed so I decided to stay like this and not think about it. In the next moment, it felt as if someone had grabbed my ankles and began trying to yank me off the bed, pulling my ankles in an upward motion - it felt they were trying to pull me out of my body! It sounds bizarre and crazy, but I was fully conscious and struggling to stay inside my body. 'They' kept tugging, and in my desperation, used all my strength to cling to my body. This struggle seemed to go on for what seemed like ten minutes, until the mysterious force gave up and let go. Immediately, I physically sat up in bed, and my whole body felt tingly, when I stood up, it took me a while to regain coordination and align myself.

When I share my experiences with other people, they either stare at me in disbelief, thinking that I am lying or making it up, which causes me to doubt my own sanity, or they will attempt to explain the experience as some kind of hallucination or dream. If people do not believe my experience, then it is fair, because if I were them, and someone told me those stories, then I probably would think they were lying too. On the otherhand, people who try to dismiss the experience as a hallucination or dream, I ask them if they feel they are dreaming there and then, and they say no, and I ask them why? and then they say they just know that they are not dreaming; I tell them that is how I felt in my OOBEs - I had the same waking consciousness then as I do in my daily life.

Another set of people I've met and talked to about such experiences, tend to be composed of liars or those who actually believed that they had an OOBE when they hadn't really. This type of people, for whatever reason, like to associate themselves with the occult, whether they do it for attention or for monetary gain, they often believe in things like spells and magic potions. Often, it is the person who was bullied at school, or the one who is socially awkward, and who withdrawals into this world of magic, to feel a sense of control of their reality, a type of psychological safe-haven to retreat to. But at the same time, these people can be detrimental to those of us who have had true experiences, because we often get lumped in with them, and then we are not taken seriously or laughed at; it becomes a hindrance to a proper academic study of this phenomenon.

I am so confident about my experiences, that when I discuss OOBE with others, I know whether they are genuine or not. I've met plenty of wannabe 'sorcerers' or Wiccans, who recount stories of travelling to mystical realms where they talk to strange beings who give them objects of power, or visit different levels of hell, etc, and I believe that they are talking about Lucid Dreaming, which unlike OOBE, is more like a type of induced hallucination, and is more creativity related. This type of hallucination can actually be induced with hypnosis or the ingestion of psychedelic substances, and I think that the practitioners of Lucid Dreaming perform a type of self-hypnosis to enter this creative right-brained state.

In future, I may cover more on this topic, but personally, I don't feel I know enough about it, but my own experiences convince me to believe that there is a huge scientific gap in understanding this phenomenon which has been reported worldwide. The OOBE, is also known as a near-death experience, as countless people have experienced an out of body experience on an operating table - most of who are not religious or into the occult. So it seems that aside from our physical body, everyone has a second energy body or consciousness which is able to co-exist in our reality state.

Empathy and Emotion

2010-08-12T22:24:00.000-07:00

Those who are empathic have a natural ability to pick up the feelings and emotions of others. We're naturally drawn to empathic people because they can pick up our wavelength and tune into our frequency, making us feel as if they understand and want to listen to us - we seek those who are similar to ourselves.

Empaths, when properly trained as a guidance counsellor, can take us from an uncomfortable emotional place to one where we're more comfortable. A metaphor for being in an uncomfortable place may be being stuck climbing on a moutain rockface, the empath has the ability to locate us, go up to that place, and bring us back to our safe place.

A tuning fork works both ways, if you strike it, it creates a certain pitch, the wavelength based on the distance between the forks. But if the same pitched is played at the tuning fork, it will caused the forks to vibrate. We are all innately empathic, except that most have forgotten how to use it, preferring to make sound rather than tune into it. Most people are only tuned into their own emotions, and they amplify the state that they believe themself to be in because of this, they will say, 'I am feeling sad', 'I am happy', etc - it is a function of the ego to commentate on one's emotional state - but it must be understood that these states are merely transient, and if you dwell on the state it is like stopping a moving stream from running - eventually the water pools up and becomes rotten and stagnant - emotions can become stagnant too if they are not allowed to circulate.

Most of the powerful empaths avoid large crowds, because so many conflicting radiating energies in such a small space can cause confusion. If each frequency of the human range of emotions is represented by a colour, than a room full of people and their different colours just creates a muddy blackness, although if everyone in the same room is feeling the same thing, like happiness, the overall energy can be overwhelming and self-amplifying. It is for this reason that empaths have to choose carefully where they live because they can pick up the emotions and energies of the other occupants in a building or street.

Animals like dogs and cats are extremely adept empaths. Just by petting a dog or cat for a while, you can release an incredible amount of stress. So the effect of a domestic animal in a house can be quite dramatic. Although like humans, dogs and cats can also be overwhelmed by strong emotional forces, and in violent households, they can also become violent and hostile too. But dogs and cats can sense your true emotions, while most people can appear confident on the outside, they are able to detect any fear inside you. Usually people who act confident, may ask a lot of questions because psychologically it gives them the feeling of control in a conversation, inside they may have a lot of doubts about themself and other people, which makes them suspicious and untrusting unless they have know someone for a long time.

Often it is hard for an empath to reach someone who has their guard up, because they are suspicious and scared inside, if the empath reached inside the person to help them, then both would end up with their guard up, creating an awkward situation, but all these problems can be navigated around, although the person who is guarded and suspicious is harder to form an empathic union with, it only takes a matter of time before the person learns to trust the empath as they will realize that the empath means no harm to them. This is the same with wild animals, if you are walking in the woods and you encounter a bear, it is your fear that will drive them also into fear, and most wild animals have nothing to gain by attacking a human, it does it for protection because it thinks you are a threat, so next time if you're unfortunate to bump into a wild animal, just stay calm and let the animal know that you're relaxed and cool.

If an empath wants to reach out to a large group of people, but feels that everyone is on a different wavelength, he can start by bringing them to him/her, instead of the other way round with the empath going to their emotional states. This level where the empath brings the others would be a middle ground area which most people are able to access. For bringing people together for, say, a business meeting, the leader of the meeting could initiate a fun activity that everyone participates in before the actual serious discussion begins - it could be as simple as listening to some music, synchronous exercise or dancing. What this does is slowly move people to the same operational frequency, and whatever unrelated negative problems that they brought to the meeting will slowly dissipate, and the conference/meeting will continue with better focus and concentration.

It is important for the empath to understand themself as much as they understand others, because if the empath forgets to be self-aware, then it is easy for them to spiral out of control, as other people's emotions and thoughts overwhelm their being. Therefore empathic people must learn to centre themselves, and one of the most effective ways to do this is by meditation. Some of the most 'charismatic' empaths tend to be victims to alcoholism, gambling or violence - this is because they're riding on other people's feelings of addiction, and because of their empathic nature, they can also become the most dangerous amplifier and promoter of these addictions. Meditation is the most useful tool in the empath's toolbox; I will cover meditation more in a later article, but meditation is a way to clear the mind of negative thoughts, and the body of negative energy (stress) which if left untreated could manifest as physical illness.

For those who lack empathy, it can be trained through meditation. By meditating, like a slate, you are wiping residue emotional energy from your body which is like an antenna. If your analogue television has an antenna, and it is covered in dirt and moss, your signal reception will be not very clear and full of static. The body is a very sensitive and finely tuned electrical device, all the time, electrical signals are moving throughout your body and brain. When you are under stress this does not work that well. Other things that affect the functioning of your body are processed foods, lack of exercise and nutrient deficiencies. Meditation can provide the peace that your body needs to work out the stresses, because everyday you're bombarded by stresses which can cause your mind to tighten particular muscles in your upper back, this is negative energy because the muscle has been tightened and therefore is under tension like a spring, there is trapped energy which blocks the normal flows of electrical energy around the body. Getting a massage can help release the trapped energy in muscles, releasing them like uncoiling tightly compressed springs.

So this is all I have for now about empathy, I may write a more advanced article on empathy in the future for those who have been practising it for a long time.

Peace and love.

On Taking Risks, and Life Changing

2010-08-10T23:10:00.000-07:00

The term "taking risks" is something that has been stolen by corporate culture. Corporations may have these 'staff team-building' events which are designed to promote loyalty and increase productivity within the company. When corporations talk about 'taking risks', the context often involves a type of 'conquest'. The British SAS (special air service) have a motto, 'Who dares wins', and it is this conquest mentality that corporations want to encourage.

Risks, what are they exactly? A gambler may be someone who is considered to take risks all the time, but he may not necessarily win all the time, and perhaps if he is particularly unlucky, he may end up with nothing. A stunt performer who does action movies, may not see his job as risky, although he may understand that there is risk involved, he has enough confidence in his abilities to not feel there is risk. Risk is something outside of your control - if you jump out off the top of a skyscraper without a safety, then you're going to die, if you run across a motorway blindfolded, you may survive or you may get hit by a car, but these types of risks are situations that you put yourself in, and whether you see them as risks depends on your perspective.

Bungee jumping is now included in the list of corporate team-building events - among other adventure activities - if I ran an adventure company, I'd certainly love to have some large finance corporations as my clients! I would sell them every adventure as a team-building activity to improve their staff qualities and other bullshit. The corporations are willing to spend money on these events because they believe that it builds relationships within the organization, enabling better cooperation, and teaching people to become go-getters! The idea that you can have everything you want if you put yourself outside your comfort zone is a complete falsehood perpetuated by the people that sell these theories.

Let's take for example the typical office worker, who works for a company with complete loyalty yet he hates his job and dreams of doing something else - we'll call him Bob. The company that Bob works for organizes bungee jumping, in the hope that the staff would learn to adopt the 'who dares wins' mentality and become more aggressive in work. Unwillingly, Bob under the pressure of his colleagues takes a jump, he experiences a few seconds of fear as he plummets towards the ground. Do you think Bob will be a changed man? He will most likely forget the incident and continue doing the job that he hates so much.

The idea of taking risks cannot be limited to the micro sense, but must envelope a macro sense of life and take on a grander all encompassing vision. The biggest risk that Bob could have taken would be to quit his job, and pursue his dreams, not someone else's dreams but his own - not a dream sold by an advert on television or a magazine, but something that will enable him grow to his full potential - mentally, physically and spiritually.

So how do we begin to do these tasks which will ultimately transform our lives? Firstly, for most people, their life will not change overnight - It requires patience, and the understanding that being on the path to our goal is better than not being on it. An object in the distance may be further than it looks, but when we change the way we think in terms of scale, then mentally we can bring the target closer to us. This is the first step in life transformation, and it is the hardest step, the choice to choose the way we think - once we change the way we think, then everything else follows without resistance.

The Buddha achieved enlightenment while sitting under a bodhi tree - once we align ourselves with the universe, we empower the natural spirit inside us - there is no resistance in being one with our environment, and when we move with the flow of the universe, we're effortlessly on the path to self improvement. But in order to be on the path, we have to learn to recognize what is real, and in truth, nothing is real, our desires are externally manipulated so that we become slaves to them and forget who we are. Most people, if they took a few minutes out of their schedule, to just meditate, and clear their mind, they can find their centre and their connection to the universe, this is where they find their strength, away from the distractions that destroy your individuality and creativity. The biggest risk in today's fast moving world, is to step outside of that box, the unknown which is really the core of your self and true nature. It's scary because we like to surround ourselves with what we know and understand, but many people do not really know or understand themself.

There is a Greek aphorism, "Know thyself", your strength lies in your self-awareness. Most people go through life as if on autopilot, letting the current of other people's ambitions and advertisements take them to places that they don't really want to go. Once you discover yourself through meditation, you can begin to see through all the control, and you become more efficient at being you - a more focused, stronger, and patient you. Choose the path of least resistance.

'Never mind the heat, climate change is hoax by gravy-train scientists'

2010-08-10T08:49:00.000-07:00

GUILT - A Psychological Mind Control Weapon!

2010-08-10T01:30:00.000-07:00

Guilt, something that can completely paralyse us or motivate us. Guilt is the most powerful weapon of religion, for it drives many of those in the Catholic religion to Church every week. The world's leaders understand the potency of the effect of guilt, because if used incorrectly can control our will and our desires to further their own agendas. This is not some arcane knowledge but a science that has been passed down from generation to generation among those who are part of the largest and most influential cults on this planet.

From an early age we're taught to feel guilt, but guilt itself is abstract, it is a feeling of rejection. As a child if we wet the bed, we're made to feel 'guilty' for making our mother change the sheets, scolded for something outside our control, yet somehow our subconscious is hammered like hot iron on an anvil to respect the mysterious feeling of guilt. Some will argue that guilt is the guiding force that stops us from doing evil, but I disagree, guilt is different from conscience, whereas conscience is a voice that offers us a choice to do something, guilt is a voice that punishes for not obeying.

Religious cults will have its followers confuse guilt and conscience. Conscience is what we are born with, guilt is what we are taught. Guilt applies to our ego, whereas conscience applies to our inherent nature. Guilt punishes and conscience rewards - they are on opposite ends of the spectrum, one is negative and one is positive, and they both affect our overall spiritual energy. Guilt is destructive, if not relieved it can cause the afflicted to go insane or even commit suicide, therefore people seek to have guilt removed in order to feel well. Karl Marx once said that religion was the opiate of the masses - religion is designed to implant the idea that you have 'sinned' and thus make you feel guilty, this overriding sense of guilt can only be removed by the 'men of god', and once they remove it, a sense of euphoria is felt, but this does not last long as the religious dogma re-implants this sense of guilt into the masses.

If you look at the psychological profiles of most serial killers, they all have a background of being raised in strict religious families. This goes to show that you cannot use guilt to instill a sense of duty to do good in an individual - it doesn't work, and has the opposite effect; creating a fertile environment for growing sociopaths. Also guilt is infectious, once the thoughts have been implanted in an individual that they have somehow committed a crime, that individual in order to alleviate a partial load of their burden, will make others feel guilt too - it is human nature to feel the need to share one's experience with others. So the preached to, becomes the preacher, and thus the cycle continues. But this can also happen a different way, where the individual who has committed a sin will initiate others into the same sin so they are not alone in the guilt burden. We see that guilt is not a solution to a more conscientious society, but the very cause of many of the problems that plague humanity, and a weapon used by those immune to guilt on the masses in order to control.

Be Aware of Individuals who Display a Predilection Towards Guilt

The most dangerous people you can meet are those who uphold the guilt-based authoritarian system of control. In life, without doubt, you will meet people who appeal to the guilt complex, and those individuals at a superficial level may appear like normal citizens. You'll meet people who may support a very moral cause, appearing to others like a moral beacon to others, on the outside, they may be very likeable and seem to have a direction, but on the inside is an extremely unstable person, balanced on the precipice of insanity and loss of control. These people who are susceptible to guilt, and subscribe to the guilt system, are the most easily manipulated of all personality types. With careful phrasing or language, they can be controlled, their guilt is a leash and they can be led and exploited by whoever so desires.

These people feel the need to believe that they are doing 'good', so that the guilt is alleviated. Psychologically, these people may have had a history of some kind of mental illness, especially some form of depression. Depression is often related to some kind of unrealized childhood guilt trauma. There is a cure, but psychiatrists in particular favour the more profitable pharmaceutical prescription route. Someone with bipolar disorder swings from being free of guilt to extreme feelings of guilt, many of these individuals come from strict families where they may have been made to feel guilty for 'having fun' or 'enjoying life'. But like I said before, the root of all this behaviour comes from the infectiousness of guilt and the ability it has to be passed from generation to generation like a psychological plague.

Guilt, as we have established already can be used to control individuals. No matter how ridiculous the antidote to guilt, an individual is willing to go to extremes to seek redemption. Rationality does not come into the equation, because clear thinking is not a part of the guilt system of control. Guilt can overcome all rational thought and compel an individual to perform all manner of tasks. The CIA have experimented with different methods of mind-control - most notorious is their project MKULTRA which used hypnosis, drugs, etc on real human subjects to determine the most effect way to place an individual under hypnotic control, and in many cases with the subject unaware and believing that they still have freewill. These people become the perfect automated control subject, and are inserted back into society to function as spies for big brother and to report on those who may challenge the authority of the status quo.

How to Tell if Someone is Dangerous

A dangerous person is like a truckload of dynamite, it only needs the right conditions to be activated and cause damage. As long as the tyrannical guilt system is in place, society will continue to create non-rational individuals who will seek redemption from their induced sense of guilt. Those who are most susceptible swing from cause to cause, like a drug addict who survives each day swinging from drug dealer to drug dealer. The addiction is not the need to do good, although that is what the person may believe, but rather the need to alleviate a feeling of guilt, which is often described as a feeling of 'helplessness' or of 'a need to make the world a better place' How do charities recruit our aid? they do it by subjecting us to images of depravation, making us feel guilty for what we have, and suddenly we feel the need to donate, not to help, but to take away that horrible feeling - once the guilt is (temporarily removed) we do not care to even follow up to see if our money arrived to those it was intended for, or pocketed by some corrupt official. Guilt is inherently selfish because it is targeted at our ego. The bigger the ego, the more effective the control using guilt.

Ego is the way we perceive ourselves through the eyes of others - it cares what others think. Therefore when the ego is big, it cares not for the rationale of the individual, but the acceptance of others, even though the individual may disagree with his peers, he is driven to perform accordingly by the pressure of those around him. The egoistical individual does what he believes other expect of him. Therefore, the most dangerous people are the ones who see themselves as the moral upholder or pillar of society, the self-appointed watchdog and policer of all that is 'right' and 'good', whose own perceived self-worth is based on the views of others. These self-important people build their personality around a guilt-imposed construct, and because they do not like the attention on themself, they are often the first to be critical of others, not giving a care about their own hypocrisy, when in actuality the finger that they point is at themselves.

This type of individual can be a most influential member in society, who if recruited at the highest level can prove to be invaluable to converting and cooercing others. Their ideas will not be radical, and their views will usually reflect the commonly held beliefs of the time, but their ability to induce guilt and therefore control would be respected by those recruited. The person who is afflicted with the abstract concept of guilt is incapable of creativity or critical thinking because those abilities require individual enlightenment, although they are very capable of citing memes or spreading propaganda. They believe their cause is noble, and will give up their life, no matter how ridiculous the reason. The subject is a potential walking time-bomb waiting to go off, and should any organization be able to recognize these types of traits in an informal interview, could recruit the said individual as a loyal member to further their cause.

The Self-Perpetuating Psychological Illness

I can use many examples of the guilt-addicted individual, they all display destructive behaviour, particularly the alcoholic, but I will use the example of the binge eater, since unlike the alcoholic, they remain conscious of their behaviour at all times.

From an early age, we are taught about the Seven Deadly Sins, which originated in Greek philosophy but was later adopted by the Catholic Church. One of those 'sins' which might be considered prevalent in today's society is Gluttony, the over indulgence in the offerings of entertainment; overeating and its associated effects of obesity is a common sight, in the west, large people are made to feel 'guilty' about their size with the aid of advertising, yet it is also advertising in the first place which put them in their dire situation in the first place.

Let's analyse this mechanism of indulgence and guilt which bombards and shapes our lives on a daily basis. This very same mechanism drives our consumerism, and also creates a generation of confused and mentally damaged individuals. The Gluton is exposed to advertising which promotes products to make the Gluton feel good, he/she is encouraged to keep buying and using that product, let's say that the product is icecream. The icecream advert sells the product as a feel good escape, the consumer buys the product (because they want to feel good) and perhaps they enjoy the product a bit too much and get fat as a result. Then there is an advert on television selling a low fat food product, and it sells itself by appealing to the guilt of indulgence in the viewers. The only real way out of this situation in this case is to exercise, but the problem with guilt is that it can paralyze us from action if we are not aware of the underlying problem - this is the depression phase, where we feel helpless and unable to move - the helplessness drives us to further indulge in icecream, and temporarily we feel good, and then we feel guilty and feel the need to eat more low-fat food which doesn't do anything, and back into depression again, and round and round we go, a viscious cycle which is hard to break out of if you are not aware of what is happening.

Some people feel so trapped in the cycle of pleasure-guilt-depression that they end up committing suicide, but a few are so desperate to get out that they are willing to do anything to escape it at the cost of their individuality and self-worth. Thus the drug companies target these people, producing drugs such as Prozac, which remove emotions and numb the ability to think freely and as an individual. Some are offered a type of redemption in the form of 'community service' whether it be for the army or being recruited into a cult as mentioned earlier. These people are desperate, and they hand over the reigns of their life to somebody else in the hope that they may be cured.

The Cure, and Freedom

I have been careful in what I have written in this article because the ability to manipulate people is the holy grail for world domination! I decided not to share my techniques, although they can be discovered by anyone who has the ability to analyse and think outside the box, and I do not believe in manipulating people, so I only want to make people aware of the dangers in our media controlled world. You should be suspicious of all information, even this one, never cease to question. Above all, question who you are and who you want to become, for many people, their vision of the person that they want to become is very different from the life path that they have chosen. So look at your upbringing, think about what angered you most in your childhood, your fears and analyse their origins - because if we do not understand why we think the way we do, then we will be forever lost and a slave to other people's wants, which are not always to our benefit.

Politicians will always tell you to 'do the right thing', but the 'right thing' often suits their agenda. Only you know what is right and what is wrong, because you trust your own decision, not anyone elses, because you based your decision on facts and careful analysis and not an abstract feeling or concept. You are a free-thinking individual who has the ability to question, and you understand that others have the same right, you will respect others as they respect you, and free yourself from those who seek to control your thoughts and make you a slave to their plans, and those who want to exploit you and suppress the very people who want to help you be free. You are a freedom fighter who frees others, and nobody controls you except yourself.

End Game

2010-08-02T09:15:00.001-07:00

The Impact of Science on Society

2010-08-02T08:46:00.000-07:00

"Diet, injections, and injunctions will combine, from a very early age, to produce the sort of character and the sort of beliefs that the authorities consider desirable, and any serious criticism of the powers that be will become psychologically impossible. Even if all are miserable, all will believe themselves happy, because the government will tell them that they are so."

- Bertrand Russell, The Impact of Science on Society p50, 1953

"Gradually, by selective breeding, the congenital differences between rulers and ruled will increase until they become almost different species. A revolt of the plebs would become as unthinkable as an organized insurrection of sheep against the practice of eating mutton."

- Bertrand Russell, "The Impact of Science on Society", 1953, pg 49-50

FLOW: For Love of Water

2010-07-30T10:20:00.000-07:00

Flow: For Love of Water (2008)

How did a handful of corporations steal our water?

Water is the very essence of life, sustaining every being on the planet. 'Flow' confronts the disturbing reality that our crucial resource is dwindling and greed just may be the cause.

Architects of Mind Control

2010-07-29T05:03:00.000-07:00

Architects of Control

Top Blogging Mistakes and Crimes

2010-07-15T05:24:00.000-07:00

Technically, there is no right or wrong way, but you're here to read an article to help you with blogging, right? So if you're new to blogging, you're probably finding out the way to do it, if you've been blogging for a while now and you're unhappy with the results then you're probably reading this to find out where you are going wrong. I want to start by saying that this is not like the thousand other articles that you'll find on the net about blogging and provide you with a cheat sheet on how to hit the right marks and earn lots of money by publishing articles on the internet, I'm just going to show you how to be a good blogger, and by reading this article you're already 90% of the way there.

There are many reasons to start blogging, and there is only one truly good reason to be a blogger - that is because you enjoy writing and the process of sharing your thoughts with others. Many people want to make money on the internet these days, they hear success stories of how bloggers make a living selling advertising on their blogs, and they are drawn to the idea of blogging because of the potential monetary rewards. These people never had any interest in writing, their sole motivation for starting out in the first place was to make money; if you're one of those people who want to blog for money, then here is a nice piece of advice for you - DON'T. If money is your motivation, trust me, there are plenty of other jobs where you can earn money without putting in effort, try selling your body on the street corner or pushing drugs to junkies instead (please don't take that advice seriously) - Find something you enjoy doing, rather than forcing yourself to make money with something that you have little or no interest in. If you're writing for solely for money, perhaps you will make some cash at first, but eventually the incentive to write will disappear as the money becomes less important, and your writing will reflect that in dull, boring, and uninspired articles. This is something you may end up doing for a long time, do you think that you'll be able to maintain a website, would you want to be stuck doing something you don't enjoy?

For those who do enjoy the process of writing, then you're more likely to succeed as a blogger than the gold diggers (by succeed, I mean create a popular blog). You should concentrate on writing, not visitor count or money, because if you write well, those things will come to you. Patience is key, and it is important to keep writing and publishing those articles, build up a solid blog so that your subscribers know that you are here to stay, you will get the attention you deserve. Stick to writing things that you have a passion for or are knowledgeable about, once you start wandering into subjects that don't interest you, the readers will be able to sense your apathy. Invest in a comfortable keyboard, go to a store and take the time to try the different keyboards, sample the touch and feel of the keys, and buy a keyboard that you'll enjoy and look forward to typing on. A comfortable chair is important to help you relax; your ideas are the most valuable things and if you're uncomfortable then it's going to be harder to focus on your concepts.

Once again, patience is key. Don't quit your day job, keep churning out the articles and try to post frequently so your readers won't think that you're dead. Don't think about making big bucks from your blog, because once you start thinking along those lines, it can be demoralising because you're using income to guage the quality of your writing. You should be fully focused on the task that you have set yourself and that is to write, write what you love because it comes easily, and when you do start earning from your blog you can smile because you are doing something that you love rather than forced - so stick to your style. Also the benefit of writing and posting frequently is that it will quickly help you improve, the more you write, the better you'll get and the easier it will be to express your thoughts and ideas, naturally you'll advance.

This is the best advice I can give you, most of the work is up to you. There are too many blogs designed to make money, hit keywords, and talk without passion. Write about the things that concern and interest you, show off your writing talent, and after all of it, you will have a resource to remember.

Exercise Motivation that Works from the Mind

2010-07-14T23:53:00.000-07:00

I cannot stress enough how important it is to maintain good physical fitness and health. Exercise is as important as getting enough sleep or drinking water, but many choose not to do it, in the same way that children don't eat their vegetables. As part of a healthy lifestyle to maintain one's body function at optimum efficiency, exercise is not a choice, but an essential regime.

People do not value their bodies enough until it is too late, and partly the problem is to do with their perception of exercise. Children will not eat greens until the adult explains that their growth will be stunted if they don't eat vegetables. In the same way, adults can delay beginning a healthy exercise routine by creating all kinds of excuses in their heads. Once again, we're dealing with psychology, it has nothing to do with the starting physical condition of the individual, it has nothing to do with willpower, it is all about how one perceives the tasks at hand.

The task of exercising can often be seen as daunting, an enormous vehicle to overcome. People who don't exercise and want to start, generally set their goal too high. The goal exists as an image or phrase within the individual's mind, but when the bar is set too high, then one's morale may start to wane after a few weeks. So the trick is not what the goal is but rather, how one sets the goal. Whether through imagery or linguistically, the goal can be set so it is an easily accessible target for the body and mind to achieve and gain satisfactory results each time. It is common to say, "I want to lose weight", instead this can be rephrased, "I want to become lighter" - the use of the word 'lose' often comes with negative connotations; nobody wants to lose something. So once we begin to apply these newly reworded goals, the tasks magically become easier and more doable.

The other problem is time; in this day and age, with all our modern technology and devices, we're spoilt for instant results, we expect to get trim and fit in just a few weeks rather than thinking in terms of years. Also modern advertising is partly to blame, as many ads for weight loss and gym programs claim big results within a month, but these claims are false, as the companies that produce these adverts often place a disclaimer in small print at the bottom of the screen or poster to say that it won't for everyone. Time and patience is another topic I will cover in more depth later on, but in terms of exercise and fitness, you won't see results very quickly and because of this there is little incentive to keep going or even start. Most people are stuck in the process of preparing for the day when they 'really need to start' but by then it is too late.

Routines are important, and there are many routines that we perform (naturally and unthinking) on a daily basis that don't provide any immediate benefits. A daily routine that most people perform is washing their hands after using the toilet. We cleanse our hands of bacteria invisible to the naked eye, we can't see the bacteria yet we wash with soap and water with the knowledge that it helps remove the germs. We have such confidence in this routine because in our mind, we envision getting some heinous stomach bug and sitting on the toilet with cramp for hours if we were to ignore it. Brushing our teeth is another one, I do not know many people who don't brush their teeth, and the longer we delay to clean our teeth the more we envision our teeth slowly rotting and decaying right inside our mouths - I think it's hard for many people to skip brushing their teeth for long, even after a couple of days, there might not be any sign of visible decay, but the thought and the fear is there, enough so we're willing to take some time out of our daily schedules to take preventative measures. This is something that has been hammered into you from the day you learnt to brush your teeth and learnt about teeth hygiene, and it stays with you because you know that negligence leads to black rotting teeth which you have seen photos of.

So exercise, what are the consequences of not exercising? We already know what they are - weight gain, heart disease, premature ageing, high blood pressure ... the list goes on, but why are they not enough to shock most of us into exercising regularly? The answer is simply that we cannot imagine those things happening to us in the time frame that those things usually occur, we're talking maybe decades. Teeth decay is a different matter, we've all lost teeth, it's a part of growing up, so it is something that we can relate to, thus we continue to perform our teeth brushing, and we're taught that when we aren't brushing our teeth the decay is occurring all the time. Now we should think of exercise in the same terms, people are more motivated to prevent loss than to work towards gain. Someone may be quite reckless in their life, taking risks like drink driving, but if someone pointed a gun at their head, they may view their life differently, most people are not as response to gain as they are to loss. You could tell someone that by exercising, it will improve their looks, but that might not be the type of gain that they're interested in, but if you say instead that they will lose their looks by not exercising, it might be a more persuasive suggestion.

So we learn that in order to motivate ourselves to become better, we should keep in sight the pit that awaits us should we decide to ignore the advice. Think that each day you delay, you are losing your health, the opportunity to preserve your youth, your overall fitness. We do not need to think in terms of years, because you can wake up tomorrow morning with an extra wrinkle, because each day we fall apart, our bodies are continually decaying when we are not servicing them, this is a reason to begin today, for each hour provides an opportunity to preserve what you have, and tomorrow you can be better than without.

iPhone Vs a thing called life

2010-07-14T06:19:00.000-07:00

So the new iPhone 4 has been launched and ready for release in stores, are you thinking of getting one even though you know that deep inside that you don't really need it and it is an unnecessary luxury and waste of money. 'I can do whatever I want, it's my money!' you retort, but, are you really doing what you want? Have you like many millions of others been captivated by Apple's clever branding and marketing?

You know, I watch people go crazy when talking about the iPhone, they don't even see it as just an electronic device, to them, it is a solution to all their problems! This is how most modern day advertising works, the products are pitched in such a way that you're made to believe that somehow the product will transform your lifestyle for better. In truth, the only way that this phone (some will go so far to say it is sacrilege to call it as such!) is going to transform people's lives is by putting them into debt. Many are led to believe that by purchasing and owning an iPhone, somehow all their life problems will ebb away and never been seen again - The iPhone is not the answer to all your life problems, in fact, it may well become the opposite!

Firstly, I'd like to do a quick thought experiment. The current competitor for the iPhone 4 is the HTC Evo, which has a faster processor and is capable of multitasking applications. Even though the HTC Evo is a slightly more powerful phone, many will still choose to buy the iPhone for whatever reason they believe or convinced themselves to believe. If we were to take the Apple logo and put it on the Evo, and put the HTC Evo logo on the iPhone, would this change people's perception of the products if they had never seen or heard of either phone before? Most claim that the iPhone is the better looking phone, but with the Evo logo, would it perhaps look slightly less attractive, because in terms of design, what do we use to guage what is better looking than our own biases and what we have been told is good. I imagine, and I hope you will too, if the Apple logo were to be emblazoned on the HTC Evo phone, it would somehow become a different object in many people's eyes.

There are many reasons to own an iPhone, but the reasons for owning one may outweigh them. Out of all the companies, Apple have latched on to the idea that people are embarrassed of owning an older model phone, while most companies have already built in a lifespan for their phones, Apple have gone one step further and made it so once you buy an iPhone, you become invisibly subscribed to Apple's 'upgrade or be embarrassed' money sucking scheme. Because who wants to have last year's iPhone, when the latest iPhone is marketed as the item that only cool kids have? Now think about each iPhone generation, is each successive iPhone really that much better than the previous - essentially it is a phone, and perhaps a bonus if you can access the internet on it, but how much does it contribute to improving your life overall?

I can name a few things that most people might use their iPhone for ... check Facebook, watch YouTube, check Facebook again, and again ... Is it really constructive to be so connected? I've seen groups of friends sitting together, all busy posting their Facebook statuses via their iPhone about how they are hanging out with their friends. How is that productive? Some people will argue that social networking is important in this day and age, and if you don't do it, you'll be left behind - little do they know that most of these claims are sponsored by the very companies that promote them! How strange is that? Not very, all these companies have their own interests to look after, and social networking is another way for companies to administer their advertising to us. It's a multi-billion dollar business, and it is not very hard to understand why they would want us to be staring at advertising wherever we go; the iPhone is in essence, an efficient portable advertising viewer.

Why do people want to make their lives so complicated with electronic gadgets all of a sudden? I believe it all started with the Tamagotchi craze, the electronic pet which needed your attention at all times to feed and clean it, or it will die. The iPhone has become the replacement for that toy, Facebook and Twitter are the virtual pets. We've all become addicted to this new game of trying to keep our friends happy by publishing our statuses to the world every five seconds. Why do people do it? Because they're unhappy or bored. Like I said at the beginning of this post, the iPhone is not the answer to your life's problems, and many people who have problems or are unhappy (and believe me, it seems to be he majority these days) look to these products to fill an emptiness in their lives.

There are other ways to fulfill your life, and it is simply a matter of discovering it, and looking within yourself for the answers. We just have to stop being busy, because to be honest, Facebook is not constructive for our time. We can find other ways to improve our life and ourselves. Maybe think about getting fit? Some will say that the iPhone is an excellent way to pass the time, but time can be passed in other ways, for example if you are waiting for your dental appointment, you could do some exercises in the waiting room, bring a pen with you and do some relaxing doodles, improve your mind by doing a crossword puzzle, most of these alternatives are cheap or free and they provide endless benefits.

So if you don't spend the money on an iPhone, then what to spend it on. Who says you need to spend money? Maybe the need to spend comes from a less answered need within you. Like I said, we look for answers in the wrong places, and we often think that buying something provides the solution, but if only there were such quick fixes to our problems! Some people have never traveled outside of their own country, the price of the latest iPhone may get them a holiday abroad - life is too short to be staring at a tiny screen, the world is to be explored! Invest the money in life experiences, whether it be business, learning, creativity or exploration!

Motivation: Work Hard Vs Play Less

2010-07-14T04:12:00.000-07:00

Motivation, or the art of getting things done is a subject that goes beyond simply telling yourself repeatedly to do something, and there are other factors involved such as psychology, upbringing, environment and peer pressure. There are numerous websites out there that claim that they can teach you how to be motivated and succeed in life, but they never question whether the motivation is right or suitable for the individual. These sites will motivate you to 'get rich' (for a one time fee), and they'll tell you how and what to do, although I doubt that they really work because such website prey on the vulnerable and the desperate whose minds are already open to suggestion - I suggest that one avoid these type of 'get rich motivation' schemes at all costs.

First of all, let's try to understand what motivation is. For a start, everyone is motivated, people are naturally motivated to pursue happiness, and happiness may be sought in various ways. The mistake is to believe that money is motivation, although money can be a by-product of motivation, money itself is just paper -what you do with the money can be motivation, although it shouldn't be because there are more ways to make money than one can possibly conceive of. If money itself were motivation then there would be many prostitutes standing on every street corner of the world, and some financial professions could be considered to be a type of prostitution.

When we were growing up, our parents and teachers will often tell us to 'work hard'. This is part of a global cultural meme that has been passed down generation to generation without questioning whether it is valid advice or not. There is a difference between 'motivation' and 'self-motivation', 'motivation' itself does not guarantee success (success in the sense of achieving one's goals), one needs to be self-motivated. If we take the example of the farmer and the workhorse who pulls the plough to cultivate the land, the farmer is motivating the workhorse to pull, and the workhorse works hard to do the farmer's bidding, yet left to its own devices, the workhorse would not have the self-motivation to pull the plough by itself, but would probably rather be relaxing and eating hay. This concept can be seen everyday in society, in our cities, where the workhorses are the office workers and the motivators are the bosses.

As I already stated, everyone is self-motivated, we're self-motivated to eat when we're hungry, we're self-motivated to explore, have fun, laugh, be creative. Most of these self-motivations are a natural part of being human, and everyone is gifted with these natural abilities. Think about that most things in life are quite pleasurable or fun to do, but we've been taught to separate fun and work, when actually, and ideally, they could become one and the same thing for everyone. Our educational systems teach us that we must 'work harder' towards goals that we don't want, we are like the workhorse who just wants to eat hay, but the farmer drives us forward with his riding crop, achieving his goals rather than our own.

So how do we begin to be self-motivated? First we must discover in ourself for ourself what we want. Usually the things we want most are those things that we pursue when we are not working, ie. our hobbies and interest, these pastimes that become the manifestations of escape from our tiresome work routines. I mentioned in the previous post, that I do enjoy writing, as much as I enjoy the sound of the keyboard when I tap the keys, it is a pleasurable experience for me - I'm also listening to music as I type this, all these factors combined, the writing experience itself is its own reward and therefore motivation for this piece. Some people may see this as hard work because it is not for them, others may think about it, and realize, 'hey you're right, I'm just as self-motivated to continue reading as you are writing!' - now we are beginning to establish a relationship here, and if everyone could alter the way they think about work, we could have a perfect and efficient society where everyone had fun and did their best work without feeling as if it hurt them.

Often than not, some of those things that require self-motivation may not be too pleasant to do, but they may be needed in order to fulfill our overall happiness plan. This is the most psychological part of self-motivation, and that is our perspective on how we look at things. Exercise is something that is essential to our lives as sleep to maintain our health, yet it is one of those things that many people find it hard to build up the self-motivation to even get started. How we change the way we look at something can often make all the difference. In the same sense as looking at deciding whether the glass is half empty or half full, we can apply that linguistic approach towards how we set our goals in our mind. Self-motivation exists as a constant stream of internal dialogue in our minds, and how it appears inside our head, is how we deal with it, and depending on our character, we can either see it as a challenge, a new experience or an insurmountable barrier.

The human mind has an internal dialogue, a debate rages on inside your head to decide whether you do something or not. You throw some words into the debate, like danger, or pain, and the question is quickly resolved. The brain usually responds to a little coaxing with words that it likes. If we tell ourselves to 'work hard' then for most people those two words immediately conjure up images of sweat, exertion and pain; instead, an alternative choice of words that could be just as effective are 'play less'. Instead of 'lose weight', how about 'gain confidence', 'stop smoking' becomes 'breathe more fresh air'. In order to convince ourself and others, we avoid using negative words or phrases, and replace them with positive terms.

Later on, I will go back to some of these topics like exercising, and cover them in more depth. The point I want to make, is instead of 'forcing' or somehow 'coercing' yourself into doing something, as many of these websites and books will teach you how to do, focus on what you want, and what you want to achieve. If you want to achieve a healthier body, and that is what you really want, the motivation to do that is already inside you, you just have to tap into it, and phrase it to yourself in the correct way, and it will be done. Also, self-motivation comes easily to the things you are interested in, turn your hobbies and interests into your job and earn money from it! You do them anyway, why not think of a way to turn that hobby into an investment, and get paid to do something you enjoy.

I will cover the topic of motivation again in the future. In the meantime, avoid those motivation websites and books, the only thing that they motivate is the author's bank account.

Sharing Yourself as a Way of Life

2010-07-14T01:07:00.000-07:00

I write this blog because I like to share my thoughts to the world, also I enjoy typing on my keyboard, I like the feel of the keys, the soft clicking sounds as I tap them, and the process of connecting my mind to the internet. I feel that in this way, if we all do something that gives us pleasure while at the same time giving something to others, that we could benefit each other's lives as well as our own.

This is not a blog to teach you how to make money, or tell you how to live life, as you are probably well aware there are many such resources out there on the internet if one would do a simple search on Google. I have a personal dislike for blogs aimed at telling people how to 'become successful or rich on the net', the only purpose of such blogs is to exploit those less fortunate and only looking for a way out of their financial desperation. The people who claim to help you lead a successful life, and speak arrogantly of themselves as a shining example of what one can be, climb their pedestal on the backs of those who have nothing left to give except their blind loyalty. These people may be better aided by not teasing them with glimpses of unimaginable fortune or power, but rather giving them the tools to become what they want to become - It is a mistake to tell people what they want, because people want different things in different times of their lives according to how they choose to travel the lessons on life's path.

One way we can improve the quality of life for everyone is by sharing ourselves to others, by that, I mean share our thoughts, our time and our fears. Only by exposing our feelings can others begin to understand and perhaps aid us on our path. Sharing itself is not necessarily good, as we can share things that can cause harm to others. The problem with modern society is that nobody discusses their fears, so these problems never get dealt with, instead the fear is repressed by the individual and manifests itself as other symptoms within the person. Fear plays a large factor in society's ills, and it is something that is difficult to discuss, and perhaps considered a form of cowardice to be frowned upon. Instead we're provided many distractions from that fear, although those types of fears may be expressed in books and movies, it seems the only outlet for such angst is as a passive onlooker, which further distances ourselves from dealing with the issues.

Unfolding Life

2010-07-14T00:40:00.001-07:00

Welcome to Unfolding Life, I say this to both my readers and myself, as I write the first post of this new blog which will be a resource of information and, hopefully, inspirational anecdotes for living in our times.