Tuesday, March 29, 2005
Easter a Time for Re-Balancing?
Well, a whole week since the last posting! Can't believe it.
Does that show some progress towards prioritising, saying 'no', and all those other selfless activities the pundits say you must do for yourself?
A little, perhaps. But it also owes quite a bit to the fact that when Easter rolls around, all sorts of other priorities and patterns hold sway.
And the Internet, in some corners of the world, slows and fades from quite a few radars.
Perhaps it's more a re-balancing of the world. A much healthier and spiritually uplifting condition.
Does that show some progress towards prioritising, saying 'no', and all those other selfless activities the pundits say you must do for yourself?
A little, perhaps. But it also owes quite a bit to the fact that when Easter rolls around, all sorts of other priorities and patterns hold sway.
And the Internet, in some corners of the world, slows and fades from quite a few radars.
Perhaps it's more a re-balancing of the world. A much healthier and spiritually uplifting condition.
Tuesday, March 22, 2005
No Such Things As Problems
You've heard it before ... "there are no such things as problems".
But have you ever thought about it?
Or done anything about it?
Even old Willy Shakespeare had his two cents (pennies?) worth to say on the topic:
"Nothing is either good or bad, but thinking makes it so."
And that was 400 years ago.
What would happen if instead of labelling the next irritation a 'problem', you chose to feel - deep inside of you - that it is actually your next gift, your next chance to grow, to gain peace of mind, to finally understand ...
That's about when you'd stop your wild mood swings, and start to focus on the potential, the silver lining, the joy of living ...
Try it.
But have you ever thought about it?
Or done anything about it?
Even old Willy Shakespeare had his two cents (pennies?) worth to say on the topic:
"Nothing is either good or bad, but thinking makes it so."
And that was 400 years ago.
What would happen if instead of labelling the next irritation a 'problem', you chose to feel - deep inside of you - that it is actually your next gift, your next chance to grow, to gain peace of mind, to finally understand ...
That's about when you'd stop your wild mood swings, and start to focus on the potential, the silver lining, the joy of living ...
Try it.
Sunday, March 20, 2005
The Power of Innocence
Over the last couple of days I've been intrigued by the antics of a 2-year-old.
If you want some lessons in self help, it's not a bad place to start.
I'm not sure if you call it 'innocence' - perhaps more 'survival instincts" - but there is a freedom from the usual guiles and wiles of older folk.
The aims are simple, and they're direct.
"I want that. Now."
No complications. Just an unwavering focus. And often against all odds, the impossible becomes his.
The world bends to his will.
What lessons from that can you apply to your own situations?
If you want some lessons in self help, it's not a bad place to start.
I'm not sure if you call it 'innocence' - perhaps more 'survival instincts" - but there is a freedom from the usual guiles and wiles of older folk.
The aims are simple, and they're direct.
"I want that. Now."
No complications. Just an unwavering focus. And often against all odds, the impossible becomes his.
The world bends to his will.
What lessons from that can you apply to your own situations?
Thursday, March 17, 2005
Expectations Can be a Double-Edged Sword
Two examples in my today. Of people giving.
People giving without being asked, without expecting anything in return.
Well, let's hold on a moment there.
"Without expecting anything in return". That's how it's supposed to be, isn't it?
Not necessarily, Isiah.
The fine distinction worth taking home is this: "expect" the universe to give in return, but don't "expect" or "obligate" the receiver to return anything at all.
This is not about blackmail, or "owing". It's about balances and swings and roundabouts.
That's the way the universe operates.
People giving without being asked, without expecting anything in return.
Well, let's hold on a moment there.
"Without expecting anything in return". That's how it's supposed to be, isn't it?
Not necessarily, Isiah.
The fine distinction worth taking home is this: "expect" the universe to give in return, but don't "expect" or "obligate" the receiver to return anything at all.
This is not about blackmail, or "owing". It's about balances and swings and roundabouts.
That's the way the universe operates.
Monday, March 14, 2005
What Makes Chocolate Happy?
If chocolate makes you happy, what makes chocolate happy?
I asked this question in another forum today, prompted by reading a number of articles on the creative process of genius.
The defining factor, it seems, is that geniuses are restless and twisted. They don't ask ordinary questions, and they don't accept ordinary answers.
Which many would find an intolerable way to live.
Which may also explain why even - or particularly - the self help crowd keep chasing the elusive grail.
My 'chocolate' question might appear frivolous, but it actually provides a profound template.
Where can you apply it?
I asked this question in another forum today, prompted by reading a number of articles on the creative process of genius.
The defining factor, it seems, is that geniuses are restless and twisted. They don't ask ordinary questions, and they don't accept ordinary answers.
Which many would find an intolerable way to live.
Which may also explain why even - or particularly - the self help crowd keep chasing the elusive grail.
My 'chocolate' question might appear frivolous, but it actually provides a profound template.
Where can you apply it?
Friday, March 11, 2005
Blogging Self Help Dramas
Had to call on quite a bit of self help yesterday, right on blog publishing time, right on tea-time, and right on the time the international time-line clicked over into the following day.
All to no avail. Which is why this blog didn't get an entry.
Nine attempts to get the post published on the other blog failed.
Yet nine times it appeared in the public area.
And nine times the software said there was nothing to delete to reduce the duplicates to one.
So today, the public version shows the same entry 9 times, the control panel shows just once, and the self-control is ... yeh... 'tested' is quite a good word!
All to no avail. Which is why this blog didn't get an entry.
Nine attempts to get the post published on the other blog failed.
Yet nine times it appeared in the public area.
And nine times the software said there was nothing to delete to reduce the duplicates to one.
So today, the public version shows the same entry 9 times, the control panel shows just once, and the self-control is ... yeh... 'tested' is quite a good word!
Wednesday, March 09, 2005
The Secret of Winning Gold
One of the best kept secrets of success is ...
Nah, perhaps it's not really a secret after all. Everyone knows about it. And almost everyone has put it in the too-hard basket.
So almost nobody does it.
Those that do? Amazing strike rate.
Those that don't, of course, can never measure their strike rate. Because they have nothing to hit, nothing to register a score on.
So how can they ever possibly achieve success? If you don't know what it is - for you - you'll never know whether you've achieved it.
Or just how close you might be.
The secret? Knowing what you want. Specifically.
Simple as that.
Olympic shooters don't point their weapons at that big lump down the range. They aim specifically at a miniscule point right in the high-diddle-diddle - after factoring in a calculated specific margin to compensate for wind and other environmental factors.
Do that with your life, and you too could win gold.
Nah, perhaps it's not really a secret after all. Everyone knows about it. And almost everyone has put it in the too-hard basket.
So almost nobody does it.
Those that do? Amazing strike rate.
Those that don't, of course, can never measure their strike rate. Because they have nothing to hit, nothing to register a score on.
So how can they ever possibly achieve success? If you don't know what it is - for you - you'll never know whether you've achieved it.
Or just how close you might be.
The secret? Knowing what you want. Specifically.
Simple as that.
Olympic shooters don't point their weapons at that big lump down the range. They aim specifically at a miniscule point right in the high-diddle-diddle - after factoring in a calculated specific margin to compensate for wind and other environmental factors.
Do that with your life, and you too could win gold.
Monday, March 07, 2005
Give and You Shall Get?
Yesterday I was made aware of what appears to be a very nice free service - something called Skype.
Essentially, their blurb says that you can speak to anyone just about anywhere in the world for free through their computer telephone network.
No charge, no catch. Computer to computer. (Computer to phone = small charge.)
How? Why? And how is self help involved?
Well, the buzz is probably going to rival the ancient Hotmail plague, but they do insist their service will always be free.
And maybe it's not so crazy. It's just a modern incarnation of the free-to-air radio and television, newspapers ... even Hotmail.
Advertising will even support a Superbowl!
Help your self by first helping others. Still seems to work!
Essentially, their blurb says that you can speak to anyone just about anywhere in the world for free through their computer telephone network.
No charge, no catch. Computer to computer. (Computer to phone = small charge.)
How? Why? And how is self help involved?
Well, the buzz is probably going to rival the ancient Hotmail plague, but they do insist their service will always be free.
And maybe it's not so crazy. It's just a modern incarnation of the free-to-air radio and television, newspapers ... even Hotmail.
Advertising will even support a Superbowl!
Help your self by first helping others. Still seems to work!
Sunday, March 06, 2005
Self Help May Be To Step Back
Sometimes, helping your self can be a matter of back-pedaling, admitting something is not working, cutting your losses and moving on.
Irritating, but healthier in the long run. I hope.
My computer has been playing up ever since I installed anti-spyware, and towards the end of last week it became almost unusable.
First attempt to help myself was through the company that makes the software. Two months of fruitless inquiries.
Today I applied a different software to root out the causes. By lunchtime - having tied up the machine so I could do no other work - it was still trying to make up its mind. So I killed it.
Fingers crossed. For this 5 minutes, everything is working fine.
Irritating, but healthier in the long run. I hope.
My computer has been playing up ever since I installed anti-spyware, and towards the end of last week it became almost unusable.
First attempt to help myself was through the company that makes the software. Two months of fruitless inquiries.
Today I applied a different software to root out the causes. By lunchtime - having tied up the machine so I could do no other work - it was still trying to make up its mind. So I killed it.
Fingers crossed. For this 5 minutes, everything is working fine.
Friday, March 04, 2005
Help Your Self to Suppress Pain
Brain-Watching Helps Suppress Pain
People can learn to suppress pain when they are shown the activity of a pain-control region of their brain, according to a small new study reported by Helen Phillips in New Scientist.
The new biofeedback technique might also turn out to be useful for treating other conditions.
Biofeedback techniques based on electroencephalogram (EEG) recordings of brainwave patterns, in which electrodes are placed on the scalp, are used with some success to treat epilepsy and attention problems such as ADHD.
But until last year no one had found a way to use the method for controlling pain in people.
However, Peter Rosenfeld of Northwestern University in Chicago, one of the pioneers of biofeedback, has now shown it is possible.
The researchers reported at the Cognitive Neuroscience Society meeting in San Francisco that it took just three 13-minute sessions in the scanner for eight volunteers to learn to vary the brain activity level, and thus to develop some control over their pain sensations.
The effect seemed to last beyond the sessions in the scanner, although the researchers have yet to determine how strongly and for how long.
People can learn to suppress pain when they are shown the activity of a pain-control region of their brain, according to a small new study reported by Helen Phillips in New Scientist.
The new biofeedback technique might also turn out to be useful for treating other conditions.
Biofeedback techniques based on electroencephalogram (EEG) recordings of brainwave patterns, in which electrodes are placed on the scalp, are used with some success to treat epilepsy and attention problems such as ADHD.
But until last year no one had found a way to use the method for controlling pain in people.
However, Peter Rosenfeld of Northwestern University in Chicago, one of the pioneers of biofeedback, has now shown it is possible.
The researchers reported at the Cognitive Neuroscience Society meeting in San Francisco that it took just three 13-minute sessions in the scanner for eight volunteers to learn to vary the brain activity level, and thus to develop some control over their pain sensations.
The effect seemed to last beyond the sessions in the scanner, although the researchers have yet to determine how strongly and for how long.
Thursday, March 03, 2005
Persist, With a Goal In Mind
The movie 'Touching the Void' tells how British climber Joe Simpson was left for dead after he broke his leg and then fell down a crevasse on Siula Grande in Peru in 1985.
Joe survived by climbing out of the crevasse and then crawling for three days in excruciating pain.
The movie leaves you in awe of the human survival capacity and of Simpson's mental toughness.
Your takeaway: when realising the enormity of his task, Simpson set himself 20 minute goals - just to reach the next rock.
You can too. Any task - however impossible it might at first seem - can be achieved once you break it down into smaller steps, keep your eye on the outcome and persist, persist, persist.
Joe survived by climbing out of the crevasse and then crawling for three days in excruciating pain.
The movie leaves you in awe of the human survival capacity and of Simpson's mental toughness.
Your takeaway: when realising the enormity of his task, Simpson set himself 20 minute goals - just to reach the next rock.
You can too. Any task - however impossible it might at first seem - can be achieved once you break it down into smaller steps, keep your eye on the outcome and persist, persist, persist.
Wednesday, March 02, 2005
An 'Over the Wall' Technique
Yesterday I went to Sydney, and ended up having some time to spare.
So, forsaking the bustle of the city streets I stepped over the hill and down into the peace and tranquillity of the Botanic Gardens.
That couple of steps through the convict-build sandstone walls may as well have been through a stargate ... it is a different world.
On one side of the wall, frenzied turmoil that masquerades as modern living.
This side, a calmness and a beauty that would turn on those tortured souls racing about just moments away.
How many busy places hide such pockets of uplifting peace?
And what have you done to help your self to what they offer near you?
So, forsaking the bustle of the city streets I stepped over the hill and down into the peace and tranquillity of the Botanic Gardens.
That couple of steps through the convict-build sandstone walls may as well have been through a stargate ... it is a different world.
On one side of the wall, frenzied turmoil that masquerades as modern living.
This side, a calmness and a beauty that would turn on those tortured souls racing about just moments away.
How many busy places hide such pockets of uplifting peace?
And what have you done to help your self to what they offer near you?
Tuesday, March 01, 2005
The Power is in Doing Nothing
The power is in doing nothing.
The power is in doing nothing.
Yes, I've repeated it. The power is in doing nothing.
That is one of the hardest lessons I've ever had to learn. Know it is so - whatever your desire is - and let go. Move on. Get on with life. And let the Universe arrange everything for you and bring it to you.
Put your order in, and then get out of the way and let it come to you.
Get sick of saying 'they make it look so easy'. Because that's what 'they' are doing.
Now it's your turn.
The power is in doing nothing.
Yes, I've repeated it. The power is in doing nothing.
That is one of the hardest lessons I've ever had to learn. Know it is so - whatever your desire is - and let go. Move on. Get on with life. And let the Universe arrange everything for you and bring it to you.
Put your order in, and then get out of the way and let it come to you.
Get sick of saying 'they make it look so easy'. Because that's what 'they' are doing.
Now it's your turn.
