Quote of the day

"It is easy to forget how full the world is of people, full to bursting, and each of them imaginable and consistently misimagined."
- John Green -

I will start with an affirmation. Pronouns are limitations. When we say 'he' or 'she', we are limiting by gender. When we say us or them, or when we start with 'they', aren't we separating ourselves from others. We create walls using only words, and then we complain that we feel lonely. That we are alone in a big world. So, next time when you are using a pronoun, think about it. Do not limit yourself, and do not impose your own limitations on others. Because, if you are maintaining a limit long enough in your mind, it may become real.

Quote of the day

"We were born to unite with our fellow men, and to join in community with the human race."
-Cicero-

Yes, the community can be a gracious thing, but i will ask you: What was the last action that you did to help your own community?

Quote of the day

"The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched - they must be felt with the heart."
- Helen Keller -

According to some recent research, art and beauty are contagious, they can really jump from one soul to another, improving the quality of our life in the same time. Fill your life with beauty. Find a sculpture you like and put it on your desk, order huge paintings online and put them on your walls. The benefits will be huge. Your mind will open, your smile will appear and you will have a great story to tell to others about it. Just do it!

Quote of the day

"That the birds of worry and care fly over your head, this you cannot change, but that they build nests in your hair, this you can prevent."
- Chinese Proverb -

Maintaining thoughts of worry and anticipating disasters somewhere in the future, instead of enjoying every aspect of the present moment, is a clear path to self destruction. Or as Mark Twain said: "I've had a lot of worries in my life, most of which never happened."

The power of a teacup

It is a bit long, but it is totally worth it to listen to it. 

Quote of the day

"We must shift our allegiances from fear to curiosity, from attachment to letting go, from control to trust, and from entitlement to humility."
- Angeles Arrien -

As it is pointed out, shifting our allegiances and combating the wrong self beliefs that are equivalent with personal truth will dramatically change the quality of our own life. But to boldly go there, you need courage, and while sometimes it can be born out of desperation, it is more important to do it as a voluntary choice.

Quote of the day

"Ultimately, the only power to which man should aspire is that which he exercises over himself."
- Elie Wiesel -

And to extend this idea a bit more, we can choose the same approach towards competitiveness. I know it is hard to do it, but in order to achieve peace of the mind, it is better to compare the Us from Now'' with the 'Us from Yesterday'. Not to compare with others. This is how we grow, healthy and care free.

Repetition

- You are nothing but a big child,
In perfect touch with your innocence,
The angel told me.
- I am nothing but a big child,
In perfect touch with my innocence,
I repeated.
- You are playful light,
You are fire and lightning
You are perfect.
- I am playful light,
I am fire and lightning
I am perfect.
- My job is done here,
The angel said.
- Your job is done here,
I said, and I opened my eyes.

Quote of the day

"Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness."
- Desmond Tutu -

Hope will get us out from our darkest hours, and we need not to forget that our biology is influenced by our emotions, and while we choose to linger in depressive thoughts or accept a bad mood, it is entirely in our power to change instantly, in a heartbeat, and become active, open to the beauty existing around us, becoming a pillar to sustain the other people that were affected in the same time. A bad time make some thieves, some heroes. And it is only your choice that will finally define you.

Empathy and quick thinking

Or why this was the best short movie in the world in 2014. Inspired from one of Gandhi's stories.

Communication 101

Motto: "Words are windows, or they're walls,
              They sentence us, or set us free.
             When I speak and when I hear,
              Let the love light shine through me."
              - Ruth Bebermeyer -


A. Aim for connection.
B. Listen more than you speak.
C. Try to understand the other person.
D. Understand when is a need, a wish or a value.
E. Empathy ( Refrain from telling your own similar story, interrogating with lots of data-type questions, interpreting the other’s experience, giving advice, one-upping e.g. “if you think that’s bad wait till you hear about what happened to me!”, dismissing the person’s feelings e.g. “Oh don’t be angry.”, dismissing the person’s experience, or telling the person that this experience is actually good for them!
F. Make practical, specific and positive requests.
G. Take responsibility for your feelings.
H. Be willing to hear "No".
I. Use neutral, accurate descriptions.
J. There are other ways to communicate than words.

Quote of the day

"My life is my message."
- Mahatma Gandhi -

No need for other words.

Quote of the day

"Wisdom begins in wonder."
- Socrates -

This three words phrase contains a big secret. The direct relation between wisdom and wonder (also known as awe). We are constrained, restrained, limited by our perception of space and time. One minute of awe will modify the time perception, making us to feel that we have plenty of it, taking away that rush and endless run after material things. Awe and sense of wonder will give us roots, will help to build that foundation which create a character, a real personality, with deepness and direct connection to our heart, to our soul, to the real Self.

Quote of the day

"When you commit an act of violence, you are basically disconnecting yourself. You are putting yourself outside the circle."
- John Malloy -

Let's explore our yesterday post even further. We said that we are part of the bigger tapestry of life, interconnected with everybody else. We are all part of a bigger organism, and we benefit from this as long as we are connected. By doing something that is contrary to our own nature, we are basically saying "I am this" instead of "I am". We become someone, we create another identity for ourselves, instead of just being. If this identity is fake or not, this is a story for another time. Have a good night!

Feed the world

Motto:"Great things are done by a series of small things brought together."
- Vincent Van Gogh -

There are a lot of food banks and similar initiatives, trying to solve the problem of equal access to healthy eating, but this idea has something magical, and you gonna be surprised after you read about it. I think that each off us can do it, and give a hand to the ones who need it. Seriously, read about it. It is amazing.

Quote of the day

"Humankind has not woven the thread of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect."
- Chief Seattle -

We are not alone. We are connected. We are supporting and sustaining each other on our journey, and we have many unknown benefactors, but sometimes we still complain about life. We need to learn how to be grateful and kind, because we are not only individuals, making our way trough life. We are One.

Quote of the day

"The earth has music for those who listen."
- William Shakespeare -

As I was talking in one of my previous posts about the empty space technique and the necessity of recovery after a busy schedule, one of the easiest way to give to our over-excited brain a break (after the breathing focus meditation technique) is a walk in a natural environment, being aware of every one of your senses. Just focus on what you hear, see, smell. Do not think, just open yourself to the myriads of sensations and stimuli, and enjoy it.

Quote of the day

"Guard well within yourself that treasure, kindness. Know how to give without hesitation, how to lose without regret, how to acquire without meanness."
- George Sand -

I someone would ask what is the first lesson that i will teach my child, i will answer without a second thought: Kindness. This is the foundation of every good human being, the root from where a beautiful tree will grow up. The different branches will have names as compassion, charisma, pro-social tendencies and beauty, and creativity,and happiness. A lot of good deeds are emerging from this spring. And we should all practice it first, as we are living examples for our little ones on what and what not to do. Think about it!

Quote of the day

"I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. And I will not let what I cannot do interfere with what I can do."
- Edward Everett Hale -

I can talk about the story of the 101st monkey, as it was told by Rupert Sheldrake, but i will not repeat myself now. The idea is that you can change the world, mainly by changing yourself first. And that every act of kindness, as small as it gets, can generate a ripple effect that you cannot estimate. You can never now, but every tipping point was generated in a similar manner. One singular action was done, and somehow expands, encompassing the entire world. The problem which raise the result is the same, regardless that an action is good or bad. For this reason only, if not for any other, you need to be kind and helpful anytime you can. Go there, in the world, spread your wings and be the equivalent of a human angel. You don't need to, but you must to be the change that you want in the world.

One example here.

Neuro-hacks

Motto: "“Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.”
Benjamin Franklin

*
Awareness is the most important skill preceding perfect flow, helping you to recognize and be in synchronicity with your environment. Here are some ideas about how to do it always, being aware in every moment, staying in the present in the same time.

**
About the concept of empty space and constant learning, as I was mentioned Ben Franklin, i found an interesting article related to this. Read here.

***
And for all of you that are voluntary sleep depriving yourselves, read this. A simple hack to greatly improve your brain performance and not only this.

****
And finally, the all praised resilience, and how this is not about going on, but about how you recover every after extra-push. How much you lose by keep going forward, regardless of your own body intelligence signals and warning. Have an idea reading this.

Just because

Some very inspiring video from KarmaTube.

Click here.

Quote of the day

"Books have the power to have us feel empathy and have us experience the thrill of a journey of someone else."
- Laura Moulton -

I am often asked what do you need to do in order to become as close as it gets to being a genius. My answer is usually: Read and travel, as early and as much as possible. I will not be too boring talking about cultural immersion, the necessity to learn other languages (reading great authors in original is a worthy achievement) or the necessity of knowing how to speak, write, or have a large vocabulary. But yes, this is my reason. They say that the clever one learn from his own mistakes, the wise one learn from everybody's mistakes. Or great deeds. Like the ones you read about. Get it?

Word of the day

Tesseract

In geometry, the tesseract is the four-dimensional analog of the cube; the tesseract is to the cube as the cube is to the square. Just as the surface of the cube consists of six square faces, the hypersurface of the tesseract consists of eight cubical cells. The tesseract is one of the six convex regular 4-polytopes. The tesseract is also called an 8-cell, C8, (regular) octachoron, octahedroid, cubic prism, and tetracube (although this last term can also mean a polycube made of four cubes). It is the four-dimensional hypercube, or 4-cube as a part of the dimensional family of hypercubes or "measure polytopes".

Quote of the day

"If there was an abundance of misery in the world, there was also sufficient joy, yes - as long as one knew where to look for it."
- Rohinton Mistry -

We are talking here about the union of the contraries, yin and yang, light and dark, night and day. In the end, it is all about perspective. The hell and heaven are not waiting for us at the end of our life, we are living them right here, as a result of our every action, small or big. Or as one of my favourite jokes state it, the pessimist will see the glass half empty, the optimist will see it half full, and the engineer will see it twice as big than it is needed.

Quote of the day

"Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life."
- Pablo Picasso -

We can mirror perfectly the entire spectrum of our emotions, once we learn how to polish ourselves, in order to reflect it accurately. Because, if the vision is blurred, the others cannot see it as we see it. Even if sometimes the beauty expands out from the artists, transcending every limited perception. We call this masterpiece.

About beauty, patterns and earthscape

There are people that are connected to something bigger then their own person. And simplicity enriches the soul. What is art? Is this related to permanence, or all that we need is to feel that our inner child is still alive?

Become the bliss, and let it go. Transcend your limits. Stop your mind. And be happy. Just be. BE!

The eyes can look, but they cannot see

Remember when you walked along the street. How much aware were you about what happen around yourself? Maybe you looked, but you couldn't see. Do not worry, i got the remedy for you, right here, right now.

Watch it:

Enjoy it!

Quote of the day

"The artist is nothing without the gift, but the gift is nothing without work."
- Emile Zola -

A big truth here, and this will also explain why sometimes hard work get better results than genius. the gift is your potential, but in order to learn how to use it optimally, you need to work on it. If you do not, the potential will remain potential, and a zero is nothing, doesn't matter how many times we try to add it to any other number.

Question of the day

How many times in your life did you take what was not given to you?

Quote of the day

"The good life is one inspired by love and guided by knowledge."
(Bertrand Russel)

What happen if it is inspired by knowledge and guided by love, would you say? Then maybe you know how and what to do, while following the ancestral call to unity that is whispering every moment within ourselves. The author of this quote was a pragmatic mind, but most probably he couldn't teach us how to let ourselves moved by the endless waves of our emotions, until we become one with the silence hidden behind the motion. Some call that satori, nirvana, samadhi or any other name. If you are not on your way towards Knowledge, only poetry can save you and take you there. Or love. Endless, unlimited love, even if it is directed only to one person, and not to the whole humanity. This could be the start, anyway, and you can learn how to love more later. What would you choose, the first or the second option? Why?

Question of the day

What is the pain threshold that you are willing for endure in relation with other people? (0 to 10)

Quote of the day

"He explained to me with great insistence that every question possessed a power that did not lie in the answer."
(Elie Wiesel)

We were told that a good question contains the answer itself. But the same questions can bring different answers in different people. And there are many kind of questions. Some are trivial, as "What time it is?", some are deep and stirring something inside us, such as "What is the purpose of my life?". But it is not like that. We are not looking for the questions, because we need their answers. We need the answer that is raising inside us, the feeling that will emerge, and all this happen even before the words get the consistency and become real. Think about it. Can you?

Eternal choices

I spread my wings and I fly over the city. I am ready to fulfill one desire, made by the first person I will meet. This planet is a bit troublesome, but I am one of the Ancient Gods, almost Almighty, close to perfection. I am safe. I take the appearance of one of them, and I start to walk though the city. They are all busy, running like ants between different goals and schedule, forgetting about their potential to be unlimited beings. One poor dressed guy stops me and beg for a dollar. I ask him intently if this is everything he is needing right now. He is adamant. "One dollar is all I need, brother, God bless!". I give him the note and he leave me with a smile on his face. Maybe it is still hope on this planet. I will stay a bit more.

Question of the day

What do I really need right now in order to be happy?

Quote of the day

"Friendship with one's self is all important, because without it, one cannot be friends with anyone else in the world."
(Eleanor Roosevelt)

And the idea can be pushed even further, if we are thinking at the research about self-compassion, made by Dr. Kristin Nuff. In all the animal reign, humans are the only one who can make themselves feel miserable. But the reversal is also true. We can make ourselves to feel happy, fulfilled and kind. All we need is  a little practice. Treat yourself always as you would treat your best friend. And your life will change.