What a weekend!

It included

• 1 Thursday night with my man Ryan hitting up Leeds.
• 1 Friday night hanging in my favorite bar in the world
• 1 Saturday Pajama party with 150 students
• A pub crawl through headingly
• Meeting a whole wad of new people and having more fun than should be legal
• Being lead by a Unicorn on a stick to a bar that was a boat on land
• Meeting a whole lot of old friends, new friends and potential new clients
• Being offered an interview for a job worth 43k a year + car
• Hanging with my best friends throughout
• A viewing of a night at the roxbury
• Having my necklace fixed while in a club by a girl named rose

Wow.

Tranquility

There is a place within us, so majestic, so beautiful and tranquil that our whole daily lives become irrelevant.

We are capeable of feeling existence soley within ourselves, the experience is so powerful our body becomes irrelevant, our mind's thoughts disapear. We experience pure beauty. For some this is a beach with waves crashing, for others it is stars or galaxies, or a temple in China. Maybe for you it is all of the above, but this place exists within you. This is your Majestic Self. Revel in this light, the tranqulility and beauty of who you really are

You are not your bank account
You are not your height
You are not your ability with women

You are the single most amazing thing the universe has ever seen.
You are capeable of moving mountains with desire alone.
You are free, you are alive, you are happy.

You will achieve the object of your desires in life because you will find that within you is the most amazing and wonderful potential. You will find that within you exists the key to understanding. Within you, who you are, right now in this very moment is everything you could ever wish for.

You are on the journey, the journey is the destination, it is how we act today that makes our tomorrow. Take those 15 mins, be inspired, live.

Middle East Misconceptions

There is a difference and a split in the Middle East and one that the USA is aware of and exploiting in Iraq but not across the region. The wahabbi's (mostly linked to Saudi and in more extreme cases AQ) are of the opinion that anything the West does is bad, and should be wiped off the planet (they of course include Israel in this). The only reason the Saudi's don't get louder about it is because the house of Saud needs the USA to avoid being overthrown. Other regimes in the ME, like Syria and Iran are actually much more west facing in their culture and ideals. They too dislike the wahabbi's and generally have nothing against the west. Their major beef is with Israel, and even that is politically motivated to win support in the region.

The Shiite Syria/Iran bloc need to appear hostile to the west to win minds in the ME away from AQ. Now their (Syria/Iran) behaviour lately has been frankly terrible, but in the current state of affairs military force is not an option and rightly so. The old defensive forces of the cold war cannot deal with the complexities of the modern world. Our great mistake with Hamas was in not negotiating with them, if we had simply laid down the condition of "accept and work with Israel and we'll talk to you", we could have saved a lot of problems, and the same goes for Hezbollah. There may have been fighting between the two sides, but both can have a common enemy if we sort out their beefs with Israel. This is the situation we need to get to, winning these states round will take some concessions on our part, but I think we will be surprised by how cooperative they are. Their current behaviour is reactionary not proactive.

It requires us to swallow pride and talk to those who we have de-humanised as terrorists, but it worked in Northern Ireland and The Balklands. Often its the only way to solve Ethnic and nation state issues. Give people a stake in the future and incentivize them to work towards that future. Then we can concentrate on wiping out AQ who are the only real thread we here in the West have.

Iraq needed to happen, Saddam needed to go, and hopefully if we learn anything from the cultural divide in the region... its that we can have common ground and work with some seemingly hostile factions if we incentivize them to do so. We can all take lessons from this. Often our must emotionally and strongly charged beliefs are leading us astray.

On Happiness

I have been lambested in the past for saying the most wonderful thing you can do for the people you know, is to learn to love yourself.

It seems counter intuative on the simple level, but when you stop and realise that all negativity, all hurt or bad things you may ever cause come from inner dis-harmony it makes a lot of sense. Angry people, are sad people who do not know or love themselves. They may blame external factors, but this simply adds to the issue.

At your very core is silent happiness, and a sense of being alive.
At your very core is the mat-ernal happiness.
At your very core is a connection to life that is pure white light

Meditation, silence, all forms of spirituality, whilst greeted with cynicism by the mind, are often the greatest ointment for our ils. When we go into ourselves we gain true perspective, we loose all worry, worry is a prison imposed by the minds social barriers. Happiness is within all of us, when we were children we were happy, we lived in the now, if something mad us sad, as soon as we forgot about it we defaulted to happy.

Finding this in yourself will strengthen all relationships you have, it will allow you to accept and love yourself for all your mistakes. All your fears will leave and you will find it easier to trust and love others, if you are not hiding anything.

Thoughts

The very word 'Christianity' is a misunderstanding — in truth, there was only one Christian, and he died on the cross - Friedrich Nietzsche

Ok so that's a little harsh on the Christians, but I've used it to make a point. We often hold ourselves to standards that may not entirely fit who we are.

Honesty is the key to freedom and happiness. The two are mutually linked and inseparable. Trying only to please people shows a mistrust in yourself. Who you are should please them, any actions you take should be natural and honest. Any grooming for social status only serves to make us look weaker. We all make mistakes, we are all human, yet we have been left the impression by past generations that pleasing others will reflect well upon ourselves. We have been lead to believe that servitude is a positive. This is absurd. There are three area's we must consistently work on to ensure our social ability does not hinder our lives. Love for our self Love for others. Responsibility. All THREE are essential. Many people have the last two, and are deeply unhappy without realising until its too late.

The colloquial revolution

There has been an immense amount of hype surrounding the use of blogs and independent media taking over. Much of which is yet to come to fruition, however I did stumble across something the other day that struck me. The tide of authoritative and colloquial news and business speak seems to have turned.

Microsoft have shifted a lot of their focus internally for the XBOX360 to what they are calling "Dev Luv". This is a title that makes corporate emails and is used in business meetings. Ten years ago it would be unimaginable that anyone could stray so far from the accepted norms. Then there was marketing speak, which brought out a new buzzword every week. At last the cultural revolution has begun. Companies have realised they can have a personality, and even be funny, whilst remaining very serious and professional. I predict many will follow this lead, and a LOT can be learned from it.

In our every day dealings we can maintain a strong presence without being aloof or distant. Indeed being aloof now works as a disadvantage; a strong personality is an essential requirement for strong leadership. Do not hide who you are, the social constructs that use to exist to confine us are lifting, and showing personality can be a massive benefit. We are social animals and we should use that gift to our advantage.

London Baby!

Yeah boi, I'm in London for the weekend. Business AND pleasure ;)

Actual random thoughts

Ok so the prior post turned into a rant again. I'm a rantalicious type of guy, it makes me happy in my special place. That said I have a lot of energy, and thats because I have a lot of mass (at least 14 stone of mass). Since Einstein says E=mc² which literally means Mass is energy squared by the speed of light. I have an abundence of energy! We really are beings of energy, no matter how physical we appear. That Einstein guy, what a goon but we love him. Classic hair do.

IRC Quote of the day
Pedlya So I got this really big usb drive, and me and my dad are trying to put shit on it.
*Simpe has entered #cancelled
Pedlya my dad said its too big, and I guess it was
Pedlya so my mom comes in and is trying to push it in...it still didnt go in
Pedlya my brother uses his and it fits fine, so we just use his
* Simpe has quit IRC (I dont want to know dude... )

Stream of thoughts

To get the most out of someone you have to be willing to let them fail. You have to put the ball in their hands and empower them to run with it, for better or worse. I have seen and experienced both types of expectation, and from this learned which motivates me better and become a better motivator as a result. In larger companies often being the young enthusiastic and capable newcomer is not as welcomed as it would seem. Even in young projects, anything that involves large scale has Dogma which takes time to assimilate. Plans of action and good coaching whilst seeming like overhead and time wasting to those already at work, are utterly essential to a project keeping focus. Political in fighting within organisations occurs at all levels further abstracting people from the product and their customer. True customer focus large in business is very rare.

In life we often get lost in the quagmire of daily tasks (giggity), instead of keeping focus on our longer term goals. We find ourselves working with the task and completing the task well, but perhaps not always to the best benefit of our overall goal. For example, if we intend to create a piece of software or other product, we work very hard on the site but not the documentation. Then when the customer wants to use the product and it breaks, we spent so much time designing the best product we could that we lost focus of what the customer needs.

What do we need from life, and how does that differ from what we want, or more accurately, what we think we want. Do we need financial discipline when what we want is more money? Do we need to keep perspective when what we want is to get overly involved in a task? In the daily grind of life we loose the bigger picture very easily. Yet one of the most common traits in the successful is to not get lost in the excitement of an idea, to keep the skeptic or third person perspective. Consider other points of view, and how an idea, thought or possibility fits in to the wider world. You may have the greatest most intricate electronics MP3 gadget design ever, but who cares if it costs more than the iPOD and isn't as easy to use? Perspective is essential.

A question

The question Does consciousness arise from the universe, or does the universe arise from consciousness?

They are one and the same thing, the universe exists with rules laws and conciousness inherant. Life itself is an extension of universal conciousness. Realising that the universe holds all the answers already allows you to stop looking for them and to start seeing them. To use a programming analogy, its like when you stop working on the bug thats been annoying you all day and you go to sleep, then the answer hits you. Your mind, body and supra concious (I dislike the term subconcious) are tuned into the universe in ways your five senses cannot perceive. When we act on instinct and live in the now, we achieve far greater perspective than we have stuck in our intellectual frontal lobe.

I discovered this earlier today and found myself giggling uncontrollably. I really do have an odd sense of humor. Lately I've found that I'm not the only one and indeed that the Family Guy fans of the world are out there!

I have been drinking Mountain Dew and watching both The Boondocks and Robot Chicken an awful lot lately. This may not sound strange unless you know I reside in the UK where none of the above is widely available. There is great comedy out there that is being missed people! This isn't right, its left of Che Guverra! Damn lefties with their leftorium and left handed scissors. I'm still confused over the whole Aqua Teen Hunger Force thing though. To me this show looks like a recipe for loosing my face in a freak confusion incident involving a sledgehammer. You know, when a show is so odd on first viewing that you really do feel like the guy in the lovely picture? (Which shall henceforth be known as "the lovely picture".

Anyhoo, slap any of the aforementioned odities into wikipedia and/or playusa.com if you are a fan of the whacky and the odd. Then head to americansoda.co.uk and order yourself a crate of Mountain Dew. Only THEN can you call yourself Mr Duckypants.

Charm

Charm is an interesting word, its one which carries different meanings for different people. Usually it is held in a positive light, but with a wink at the negative; yet still liked. The interesting character of the word leads well to its use in social situations. What is it about the charming, the crafty and the behavior that would be unacceptable if it were not pulled of well? Why does it affect us like it does, and why is it a useful tool in our arsenal of social success?

Charm seems counter-intuitive, being purposefully cheeky with the intention of being liked. Or on the other hand, being purposefully caring and attentive but from a position of social dominance. Why is it we appreciate someone who can convey their social superiority without actively challenging us? Well, it would appear the answer is exactly that. We can not be jealous of those who are charming because they have "groomed" us as it were, by acting in a way we will appreciate. They slide straight through the radar of mistrust we hold for strangers and assure us with a sense of familiarity.

Familiarity breeds contempt, yet that contempt in most healthy social relationships takes a playful form and is not meant. Our politeness to long term acquaintances and friends often has a hint of familiar humor. When we as social animals can trigger these reactions within moments of meeting complete strangers we have at our disposal a very useful tool. The good news is that charm can be learned, like all behavior it is intrinsically learned. We are either taught by our environment growing up that charm is a successful trait, or we choose to incorporate it into who we are.

This means, that at all times our posture should be strong, and that if we do supplicate/help someone else we ensure they know our time is valuable and not free. They in turn will value our help more. We should be conscious of our facial expressions and learn what social triggers we can achieve with a half smile, the use of eyebrow raises and chin positioning. Our social circle is our playing ground, we can hold any position in that circle we wish to have. Among new people it is even easier, assume you hold all the cards to their potential success and realize they would not even be interacting with you if they did not have something to gain. You have unlimited power, unlimited potential; awaken your charm and live easier.

Idea's

Some great quotes I came across... umm... Discovered. Read and digest each of these, and think of where they apply to your life.

• Diplomacy is the art of letting someone else get your way.
• No great man ever complains of want of opportunity.
• Truth often suffers more by the heat of its defenders than the arguments of its opposers.
• You can complain because roses have thorns, or you can rejoice because thorns have roses.
• Charity is injurious unless it helps the recipient to become independent of it.
• What I do today is important because I am paying a day of my life for it. What I accomplish must be worthwhile because the price is high.
• It is a funny thing about life: if you refuse to accept anything but the best you very often get it.
• He who foresees calamities suffers them twice over (<-- God I can relate to that)
• In the province of the mind, what one believes to be true either is true or becomes true
• The purpose of life is a life of purpose.
• Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.
• There is one thing stronger that all the armies in the world; and that is an idea whose time has come

We are each of us angels with only one wing, and we can only fly by embracing one another.
-Luciano de Crescenzo

A simple question

A question was posed to me as follows, and I thought the answer worth sharing.

Q: If one truly believes death is the absolute end, what's the point in trying to live a better life?

A: It sure as hell gives me a seratonin and endorphine boost doing so. You will naturally feel better about yourself after you achieve. Junkies and criminals are the saddes people on earth. I seek happiness. Death is irrelevant to how I live.

Infinity and the Universe

Infinity is a pretty simple concept that my 8 year old sister understands. Basically infinity is a shitload of anything/everything, and Wherever or however you view infinity it will always look like a shitload. Look at it from another angle, and its still a whole shitload. Basically its a lot of stuff.

Remember though that the universe to a frog is its pond and whatever may lie beyond. Whatever lies beyond that may not be seen or known about, but we can assume it stretches to infinity because we have not seen its edges. Yet is this logical? When our universe appears to have a beginning (according to Hubble), then it could potentially have an end. The beginning and end may not fit with our human and socially imposed ideas of beginnings and ends because of the nature of time and space (which we know is affected by gravity). It is not difficult then to imagine that a supermassive singularity of gravititional pull could swallow both space and time into a white hole, and then explode it all back out again.

Indeed what is to say there are not other universes outside our own, or even within our own that we cannot see. We exist in 4D, but I have seen theory (M Theory) that suggests the extraverse exists on an 11 dimensional plane. The reaction between membranes of energy in this 11 dimensional extraverse could trigger reactions in certain dimensions such as spawning universes. Spawning a universe may be as common as air molecules here on earth.

Within society we live in a world where its 2006, up is up and down is down. Yet all we have to do is leave our tiny planet and that is no longer true. As such we comprehend everything in our lives through this lexicon, despite being able to comprehend many different ideas some of us still are choked by this very boundary to thought. When we see something that awe's us our human socially conditioned mind attributes it to a great power. This is something societies have done for thousands of years, but it has no bearing on the actual truth. The year is actually something like 4,540,002,006 here on earth and 12,540,002,006 for our universe. A lot can happen in that time, much of which we understand.

A lot has happened to get us where we are, a lot that we can understand. The human mind has unlimited potential if you let go of your every day boundaries.

Guidance

The hardest part about teaching is you have to allow people to make mistakes. The hardest part about learning is that you have to make mistakes. The most vital part of learning is that you must make mistakes.

Birthday Season

Anyone noticed that this time of year has more birthdays per week than Groundhog day at McDonalds? They're everywhere, everyone got older latley, including me! Although the virtues and advantages of being 22 haven't quite set in just yet, the sunshine is more than making up for it. I have a new car, which has brought a sense of change to my universe. I have a sense that tomorrow I'm going to push a couple of websites in a good direction, and secure a little more private work. Alas my dream of being a freelance "dude" appears to be taking shape.

I've always been able to come up with unique ideas and solve problems. I've always been able to start and finish projects that most would never attempt. The useage of both these talents is something that fits around my need to stay up late and party a whole lot :D

On the other hand I just got an offer to work in Central NJ for quote "Good money". I'm on the launch pad, the question is which direction to explode into.

Childhood values

Thinking whilst on the throne, I remembered an experience from the age of about 6 or 7. We were assembled in the main play hall which seemed absolutely huge at the time, and split into small groups to be taught. At that age, you don't really question why you are no longer in the class room, you just accept the opportunity to be away from the desk.

Gathered around in a group of 5 or so, we were assigned to what appeared to be a teacher, around a small board on which we would stick pieces of paper with words written on them. The catch was that we first had to bid for these words with Monopoly money. The words all represented a value, so for example we could bid for "Good Job", "Nice House", "Good Family", "Good Health", "Happiness". There were two of each, meaning there was an element of competition for what could be considered the best. Here's the twist, I bid all of my money on "Good Job" which of course the Charity worker or whatever she was chose to "talk" with me about. She asked if that really was the best value...

In my best possible articulated words I tried to explain that a Good Job meant I was ambitious, and could thusly afford the Nice House and Good health. The Good Family and Happiness were not something I would ever choose to try to buy with money. Of course she didn't get it, and tried to install the values of happiness over money upon me. I never thought about it until earlier today, but it struck me that we often try to force our values on to others. Even if our values may help them in a myriad of ways. Yet often a person has to experience failure before they are willing to succeed. Not all of us has an inbuilt drive to achieve. It is a lack of compassion that compels us to not allow our loved ones to experience failure, because if we did, even though it is difficult, we would be doing them a service.

Thought of the Day

Politics and religion are still only just being separated, and their separation is embryonic at best. Politics by the very nature of the beast sneaks into other areas of life. It would be handy for all involved if we could check the pre-conceptions and preconditions at the door. Yet we are emotional creatures attached to our beliefs like junkies to the drug...

I wanna redecorate my room so bad. I'm a style concious guy living in a room created without style. Its just wrong, nay; a crime!

Hotter than 10,000 suns!

Yeah ok so it's warm and you're feeling lathargic? Me too (shh). Chapel Allerton in Leeds is simply stunning, especially in the sun. Sun shine, hot weather, heeeeeat!