So common

One does not even notice it

It is quiet silent

No noise

No smell

Just permeates the system

Then one day

One fine day you notice

You discover that all has changed

And what are we talking about?

What happens when you hold on to a point of view which is not objective

Not in reality

Not true

It seemed like it to us

We were so sure that we were right

Absolutely positive

Then came that day when whoops!

We understand that it was not like that at all

Depending on our level of consciousness

We either find excuses for why we had insisted that we were right

Or we say sorry

Or we quietly say nothing and adjust our memories or point of view accordingly

That is not that although we might want it to be

Some might even deny that it makes any difference that they were wrong all along

But it does because if you are smart you will stop being so sure

So sure that you are right

Just stop and think well if I got that wrong and I was so sure that I was right

What else should I look at?

What else am I fixating on?

Be smart if this happens to you and you are able to hold your hand up and say I was wrong

Then don't beat yourself up

Just accept that consciousness evolution is like an onion

There are layers and layers

A process

Accept that through good fortune or more likely because you are ready

That you have been given an insight into yourself

And that you will use this to grow

To move on

Peel another layer if you will

Spend time each day to wonder about your strongly held beliefs

Are they true?

Are they yours or have you just picked them up because everybody else thinks that way

Because everybody else says so

Find your own truth

No one else can find your truth for you

This is your work

Your life

Bon voyage!

Mental stuff

Mental exercises such as puzzles and quizzes are said to burn an average of 90 calories every hour – more calories than are contained in a jammy dodger or a chocolate hobnob.



Mental agility expert Tim Forrester from brain training website cannyminds.com which published the claims, said giving the brain a workout burns calories in the same way that giving the body a workout does.


"Our brains require 0.1 calories every minute simply to survive," he said.


"When we do something challenging such as a puzzle or a quiz we burn through 1.5 calories every minute."


The brain is made up of millions of neurons which communicate with other neurons, transmitting messages to the body.


Neurons produce chemicals called neurotransmitters to relay their signals.


These neurons extract 75 per cent of the sugar glucose, available calories and 20 per cent of the oxygen from the blood to create these neurotransmitters.


So undertaking activity such as difficult crosswords or challenging sudoku’s means your brain will need more glucose and more calories.


Eight-time World Memory Champion Dominic O'Brien said brains needs work outs just as much as bodies.


"Just as you need to continually exercise your body to stay fit and healthy you also need to exercise your brain and memory to remain mentally agile," he said.


* Snacks you can enjoy which have the same calories as an hour's brain workout include:


A chocolate chip cookie = 56 calories


A jammy dodger = 85 calories


A custard cream = 57 calories


A chocolate hobnob = 79 calories


* But if you carried on for two hours with a puzzle you could enjoy:


A pack of Hula Hoops = 175 calories


A bag of Maltesers = 186 calories


A creme egg = 173 calories


A bag of jelly babies = 180 calories


Telegraph

Manipulation

Are you being secretly manipulated?
.
Are you being openly manipulated?
.
Does your self-esteem depend on the approval of others?
.
Do you apologize just to keep the peace?
.
Does your self-esteem change according to approval or disapproval from your partner?
.
Do you feel really happy when your boss praises you and then go right down if your work is criticized?
.
Are you aware that this is manipulation?
.
Is it a nice feeling?
.
Surely not?
.
So make choices
.
Choices to get out of this situation
.
Manipulators have taken the trouble to learn how to find your weak points and exploit them
.
Time for you to understand what is going on
.
Look closely at what they see
.
Is this true?
.
If yes then decide to change it because only you can do this
.
Fear is often one of the reasons why we allow ourselves to be manipulated
.
Is this your situation are you being bullied or put down?
.
If yes then for sure you have told yourself there is no choice
.
Except in very few situations, like a dying mother manipulator perhaps, this is not true
.
It is your perception
.
Ask others who know how they see your situation
.
Does your partner have to be right in order to preserve his own sense of self and his sense of having power in the world?
.
Do you allow him to define your sense of reality?
.
Because maybe you idealize him and seek his approval
.
This can happen to either gender
.
Can happen in any type of relationship including with your boss as well as your partner
.
Many people who experience this kind of manipulation are actually very successful in every other area of their lives and
.
They could never imagine themselves in an abusive relationship
.
Often this is such a gradual process that it tends to creep up unnoticed and so by the time they realize it the damage is usually done
.
Women more than men are generally very good at empathizing and it often comes naturally to put themselves in other people's shoes.
.
Without noticing it they start seeing things from the other person’s perspective.
.
Their own feelings and sense of reality become subordinate and they will often end up apologising for someone else's behavior
.
They keep wondering if they are too sensitive.
.
Wondering if they are good enough and why they are not happier
.
They start lying to avoid the put-downs and have trouble making simple decisions thinking twice before bringing up certain seemingly innocent topics of conversation.
.
Sensing all the while that they used to be a very different person.
.
Feeling they can't do anything right and getting angry with people they used to get along with
.
When these things happen the most important thing is to identify what is really going on
.
And if this is your situation then once you understand what is really happening in your life then this gives you power
.
Once you realise that you have your own part to play in the situation then you have the chance to
stop it
.
The next step is to immediately recognise when it comes up, and to tackle it head on
.
Opt out of unpleasant conversations and say that, although you respect that person, you are going have to agree to differ
.
Remember you have the right to a relationship where people show respect to you
.
And if this is not the case then you can decide whether you really want to stay with that person
.
If you do not then leave.
.
The ultimate power that we have in any relationship is the power to withdraw
.
Find the courage to exercise this power
.
Living with manipulation in our lives leads to breakdown over time
.
You owe it to yourself to end any manipulation in your life
.
Besides which life is much nicer when we are not being manipulated

The Unthinkable - 1

That the current world economic order has outlived it's usefulness
.
Continued unlimited economic growth on all fronts as the underlying concept for the world economy is a fantasy
.
For many years this idea has remained virtually unchallenged
.
Even as we plunged into our latest recession brought about by greed and the desire for unthinking and unlimited growth, few mainstream commentators wanted to challenge this unsustainable model
.
In fact few if any want to talk about it period
.
Over time various fringe groups and some economists have challenged this idea of unlimited growth, however some of their thinking does not sound too realistic either
.
One area that has some merit deals with resourced based models
.
This approach drops money altogether
.
What?
.
Yes, ever since money came into being we have had problems
.
Major issues that pull man apart
.
Yes many might want to laugh at this idea
.
However what else do you want to recommend?
.
Carry on as we are?
.
Essentially money in all it's forms has created monster global greed
.
Pulling people away from each other
.
This resource based model might not be what we need to adopt however the point being made is that thought about what else we can do is certainly in order
.
Just as climate change has become a major issue so has greed
.
Greed and lack of moral values in business and public life are serious issues
.
One could go further and say that they are planet threatening
.
The way we govern ourselves is also not working democracy as practised is a joke but less so than dictatorships and communism or any other ism
.
Can we reform democracy?
.
When it so corrupt and beholden to special interest groups
.
Probably not
.
So what to do?
.
Think outside the box
.
Do nothing and pretend or hope that the mystical magical "they" will fix things for us
.
Unfortunately the "they" in question have their arms up to their elbows in the pig trough
.
It is highly unlikely that those who gain the most from current policies are going to support their own demise
.
Question
.
If the governments, business leaders, religious leaders, media and pundits are all part of the problem then who is going to challenge the status quo?
.
Funny answer
.
Nature
.
She already is
.
Notice how no part of the planet has avoided what commentators like to call "unusual conditions"
.
Nothing on this planet will be left unchallenged and this is already happening
.
Everything but everything will be obliged to change or die
.
However while waiting for more of this to happen might be fun for some, it is more helpful to challenge yourself
.
What would make our world a better place for you?
.
What do you think needs changing?
.
Any ideas?
.
Time you thought about it because at the end of the day "there is no them only us"
.
And your choices yes they do make a difference
.
So time to engage please
.
What do you think we should change?
.
More to the point what are you going to change in your own life?
.
And when might that be?
.
Make it easy on yourself start with your own thought process
.
Change that now
.
Why?
.
Because it is literally true that to change our planet in positive ways requires that we change ourselves in positive ways
.
So become part of the solution and not part of the problem

If the hat fits

No comment

Solar flares

Did you know a solar flare can make your toilet stop working?
.
That's the surprising conclusion of a NASA-funded study by the National Academy of Sciences entitled Severe Space Weather Events—Understanding Societal and Economic Impacts.
.
In the 132-page report, experts detailed what might happen to our modern, high-tech society in the event of a "super solar flare" followed by an extreme geomagnetic storm.
.
They found that almost nothing is immune from space weather—not even the water in your bathroom.
.
The problem begins with the electric power grid.
.
"Electric power is modern society's cornerstone technology on which virtually all other infrastructures and services depend," the report notes.
.
Yet it is particularly vulnerable to bad space weather.
.
Ground currents induced during geomagnetic storms can actually melt the copper windings of transformers at the heart of many power distribution systems.
.
Sprawling power lines act like antennas, picking up the currents and spreading the problem over a wide area.
.
The most famous geomagnetic power outage happened during a space storm in March 1989 when six million people in Quebec lost power for 9 hours:
.
According to the report, power grids may be more vulnerable than ever.
.
The problem is interconnectedness.
.
In recent years, utilities have joined grids together to allow long-distance transmission of low-cost power to areas of sudden demand.
.
On a hot summer day in California, for instance, people in Los Angeles might be running their air conditioners on power routed from Oregon.
.
It makes economic sense—but not necessarily geomagnetic sense.
.
Interconnectedness makes the system susceptible to wide-ranging "cascade failures."
.
To estimate the scale of such a failure, report co-author John Kappenmann of the Metatech Corporation looked at the great geomagnetic storm of May 1921, which produced ground currents as much as ten times stronger than the 1989 Quebec storm, and modelled its effect on the modern power grid.
.
He found more than 350 transformers at risk of permanent damage and 130 million people without power.
.
The loss of electricity would ripple across the social infrastructure with "water distribution affected within several hours; perishable foods and medications lost in 12-24 hours; loss of heating/air conditioning, sewage disposal, phone service, fuel re-supply and so on."
.
"The concept of interdependency," the report notes, "is evident in the unavailability of water due to long-term outage of electric power--and the inability to restart an electric generator without water on site."
.
NASA Science

When anger keeps arriving

"When angry
.
Count to four.
.
When very angry, swear.” – Mark Twain


For many people
.
It is time to accept that there is an issue with anger
.
Anger is an issue that will not get better without your attention
.
It is an issue composed of different elements
.
At one level fear
.
At another frustration
.
Whatever the cause we all know that it is better not experience anger
.
Anger tends to tire us out
.
Tends to strip us of our balance and equanimity
.
Anger can be of the slow burn type
.
It can also come upon us suddenly
.
So what to do?
.
Revising your thinking, perception, attitudes and beliefs
.
By putting yourself on the right path a different path, certainly this will help
.
Buddhists and Hindus suggest that patience and the understanding of karma can be productive
.
They say that anger presents itself through a lack of wisdom and understanding in the moment
.
What else?
.
Empathy where you try and understand where the other person is coming from
.
This will lead to a clearer understanding of the situation and, in turn, help you to control your emotions
.
The problem with all of these solutions is that anger sometimes comes upon us so rapidly
.
If you find yourself in the early stages of a slow burn towards an emotional outburst
.
Then any of the processes above will be quite helpful
.
Simply because you have time to think about them
.
You can then act in the appropriate manner
.
But if you're the sort of person who just suddenly becomes angry, it's not a great help
.
Simply because anger clouds every other thought
.
In that heated moment nothing but nothing is in your mind
.
Just the anger
.
Meaning that the answer has to be as they say above in your training and efforts before anger arrives
.
The work to be done is before the anger breaks
.
Because once it is upon you it is too late
.
All you can do then is try to calm down quicker
.
Learn to say sorry
.
The real work is to find the causes
.
Acknowledge there is no quick fix
.
Find the causes, which are usually in your fears
.
Once you have found them
.
Work every day to become a better more balanced person

Have you

Figured out a way to handle the less-than-perfect relationships in  your life?

Do you wish some people to just get themselves together?

Or do you keep trying, and failing to "fix" them?

Maybe it's time to accept that they are who they are, warts and all

And decide how they fit into your life

Or they don't as they are

Speaking of relationships what positive things do you bring to relationships with your husband, your children and friends?
.
Is it your wicked sense of humor?
.
Your sage advice?
.
Your habit of listening to a loved one who's in the dumps?
.
Your generosity?
.
Your tolerance and forgiveness?
.
Being aware of what you bring to the relationship helps you go easier on yourself when you hit those inevitable rough moments in your relationships.
.
Reminding yourself of your strengths makes you feel more capable in every aspect of your life, from handling a crisis at work to running the house, job whatever your life involves

My time alone

How do you spend your alone time?
.
Certainly, walking the dog, even gardening is therapeutic, satisfying, and gives you relief from pressures of the day  

But if you always stick with the same routines, 'same-old stuff', you'll probably admit to finding yourself feeling a bit bored and uninspired

For some the answer is no as the 'same-old stuff' offers a kind of security

If  you then rationalise that your garden or walk is the best activity in the world then you are well on your way

On your way that is to a perception that is not objective reality

So many do this arguing that they are right

That they are correct

Insisting that they do not need change

That they do not need any other stimulus

Life is just fine as it is

And you know this is true for some

Only though if their understanding of life is narrow and fear of the new is strong

If you see your life as about doing things for others

Then letting yourself feel newly curious and challenged by all the cool stuff out there is helpful

Who knows what you'll love?

What new activity, with what group, doing what hiking trail, going to that new film?

Prepare to be surprised

For new is what helps us stay young

Young is not about calendar years

Young is about being vital, being energised

Surprised by life, by nature

Our time alone is important

Many keep busy to avoid being alone

Try not to do this take time for yourself

We all need time alone

Make your alone time exciting

To whom are you grateful?

Maybe you do not remember the teacher who helped you so often

Or the boss who gave you time off

The aunt who encouraged you to try new things

Recall their efforts

Remember their generosity

When you begin to remember consciously all those to whom you are grateful it can change your life

Recognising how many people gave freely of their time and energy to you

Do you do the same for others?

It can alter your outlook remembering those who helped you

It can also teach us so much

If you find you were really thankful for the strong people in your life

Maybe this is what you want to be?

Do you compare your life to other people's?

If you do spend too much time comparing your life to other lives

Realise that what you see is not necessarily how it is

Most of us put on a brave face in public

Don't live on the public image of others

Who knows how their lives really are?

Whether it is because you want what they have

Or because you don't like what you see and judge them for that

Have a smile instead and let them be

Appreciate all those who helped you

Have a smile for where you are today

In other words appreciate what you have and not what you don't