“The GREATEST gift you can give to humanity?
Conquer your own Demons…
…so you do not pass them down to the next generation”
Want to improve the world? Improve yourself… the rest will follow.
Tag: change
The Wisdom of Master Splinter
“We choose what holds us back…
…and what moves us forward.”
~Master Splinter
What once was Black and White is now Fifty Shades of Gray
WARNING: As the herd of Valentines weekend movie-goers eagerly prepare to contribute to what is sure to be jaw-dropping box-office numbers — the following point of view may be as controversial as the film itself…
The inevitable success of Fifty Shades of Grey is essentially a raised glass to the moral decline of values in the Western world.
BUT WAIT! Make no mistake… or better yet make mistakes: humanity is not perfect! And in a world where our experience is based on polarity and relativity, we never will be….AND THAT IS OKAY! Being perfect is not our purpose… nor is that point the purpose of this article.
The purpose is to use the latest of many points on our social trend line to reflect on the real threat our humanity faces: desensitization…. Evil needs to exist in order for “Good” to prevail… We will make mistakes, we will do evil… but will we recognize it?
The biggest obstacle which stands in our way of becoming a more loving and unified world is the blurred lines. Good and Bad used to be two opposing but clear perspectives, now its controversial. Right and wrong used to be Black and White, now it’s many shades of grey.
I admittedly have not read this book, so am not passing judgement on it — and CERTAINLY not on it’s readers or movie watchers. I wrestle with my own demons — and they would gain ground on me if I focused too much on the wrestling matches of others.
I am however using the controversial buzz as a springboard to remember that the single most important thing to do on the road to becoming a good person IS NOT to be flawless, but rather, to recognize your flaws. As long as we, as individuals and as a society, can be true to ourselves and discern what is making us weaker or stronger — then by simply recognizing our negatives becomes a positives…
There is NO greater strength than the recognition of one’s own weaknesses.
I HOPE ENJOY YOUR WEEKEND! It’s okay to indulge in a drink, some not-so-healthy eats, or the guilty pleasure of your choice, but as you do, I challenge you to challenge yourself with some self-evaluation and ask yourself the question “why”? Our weakness is demonstrated in how we ‘chase those highs’ — we enjoy the junk food so eat more and more of it, we enjoy the drink so go from 1 to 5… We lose ourselves in the chase of those highs, and become prisoners of our own device. Our strength, however, is demonstrated in our ability to enjoy those guilty pleasures with the discipline to do so in moderation.
And if you’ve already chosen to see it, then…
I HOPE YOU ENJOY THE SHOW! And as you do, I challenge you to challenge yourself to recognize how the message of it, or other creations, can change you and/or others around you. Then discern whether or not the change reflects the type of person you want to be and/or the type of world you want to live in.
I HOPE YOU ENJOY YOUR LIFE! It’s okay to make mistakes — we are not perfect, on purpose! Every saint has a past and every sinner has a future. As you enjoy your life, I challenge you to challenge yourself to simply acknowledge them!
After all, WE ALL MAKE MISTAKES... the best of us will work on them, the worst of us won’t recognize them.
“The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist.”
~Kevin Spacey, “The Usual Suspects”
There’s only two sides; from Day to Night, Dark to Light, and Death to Life…
But between the extremes we lose site of what once was Black and White.
So why would you and I use the grey-scale for weighing Wrong and Right?
ENJOY!
Lord, help me to be great
Saying this prayer, OUT LOUD, (most) every night, is the single most important contributor to making me a (somewhat) better person than I used to be.
Lord, help me to be:
Courageous, Selfless, Loving,
Patient, Peaceful, Humble,
Hard working and Forgiving.
Help me to be a great husband,
a great father, and a great human being.
And help me to always remember.
PERSONAL TIP:
Every small epiphany I have in life, I ‘assign’ to this prayer… Every time I say I’ll pray for someone, I assign it to “always remember”…. So every time I say it, in my heart, those folks share a piece of my prayer…
I also wear, thanks to my wife, a necklace with the word “REMEMBER” on it — so I remember to never forget ;).
Why Cater to the Valleys?
Throughout our peaks and valleys,
we kept calling it our prime…
But all the evolution we saw in writing,
was really in our eyes!
If I got better for you today,
it might make me worse in time;
Since living for other standards,
may take sacrificing mine.
Why cater to the valleys, when you can wait for them to climb?
Are you Self Aware?
“Are you Self Aware?”
a. Yes.
b. No.
c. Maybe… Let me reflect on it.
Dream Big or Achieve Little
“Everything that is created is dreamed-up first.”
“TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:” – a message from our distant relatives.
TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN,
This letter came to you from the place you’ll soon find timelessness;
We hope you get the message… before there’s a need for writing it.
Hope… a redeeming quality which you had deemed too childish;
We were born to bring revival, but grown to be survivalists.
Saw you playing “Simon Says”; so we did as Simon did…
Only shown how to rock a boat, never how to right the ship.
Since innocence seemed ignorant, we sought our bliss from sciences;
Our character’s best measured by the depth of our one-sidedness.
Taught to win at any cost…. But when we lost, our fight would end.
So this time when you teach us, can you please try “try again”?
We have the drive of motorized rides equipped with nitrogen;
While working just as tireless as the hovercrafts we’re flying in.
And we were taught to dream, but not to sleep until retirement…
There’s no peace in counting sheep, while lyin in a lion’s den!
A pill for that, a pill for this; a pill so both will strike more quick;
A pill to help us swallow all the truth of our reliances…
Now we’re living even longer – thanks to stronger vitamins;
Our ignorance was thinking it’d bring incremental life with it!
A device for that, a device for this; a device to make devices quick;
So desensitized by devices, we don’t even see the vice in it…
Now we’re obnoxiously robotic, a product of our environment…
Great at catching breaks we’ll never make the time to fix.
A fight for that, a fight for this; a fight so that the fight exists;
Standing by our right for peace, we’ll never cease the fight for it!
What goes around comes around; we found the reason spite exists.
So you can pay the piper, and in time we’ll pay the piper’s kid….
Pride for that, pride for this; pride for pride we might omit;
Pride which is tightly clinched in a fist too mighty to be pried of it.
With a sense of entitlement stemming from senseless mindfulness;
You could find us in the darkest age, describing it as enlightenment.
Until one day: a device ended the fight, a pill killed off the viruses.
Loved winning; but having won – we didn’t take much pride in it.
Then suddenly, we were blinded by a liquid leaking out our irises!
Perplexed, we entered the question in our engine: “Why is this?”
Across every generation, the gap is bridged by righteousness.
It was the first message off the presses when Gutenberg provided his.
The trend reflects the plight of men, who rise then fall to rise again;
But the cycle can recycle; there’s no wound that time won’t mend.
SO TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: Too few were too concerned…
But there’s still time to change your lesson plan, before our lesson’s learned.
Yours Truly,
GENERATION ALPHA, EST 2010
Your future is our present, help us change it today.
Fix-it Tips: No time to Regret
What regrets would you have if today was the last day of your life?
What would you do different if, instead, you were given more time?
Forgiving and Forgetting
“Forgiving & Forgetting
…it’s a gift FOR GIVING,
not FOR GETTING!“
Are you Complaining, Waiting, or Changing?
“While you’re busy complaining…
…that others don’t change;
They’re busy waiting…
…for you to do the same.”
~LoopholesOnLife.com
A REAL Butterfly Effect
“The Extended Hand has a tremendous Butterfly Effect.”
~LoopholesOnLife.com
A Reflection of Us:
Every single gesture can change a life;
and a single moment is not made of time.
If one person needs help, then others do too;
World Peace is a decision beginning with you.
Intuitive Writing….
Want to tap into a super power you may not even have realized you had within you? Check out Ido’s article above on a tool for intuitive writing! It’s an amazingly powerful, yet amazingly simple, tactic for you to grow any direction you’d like — up, down, inward and outward!
It took me nearly 3 decades to understand how to effectively leverage “intuition”…. 3 decades….
….And considering I was a creative writer/poet from the moment I could write AS WELL AS the fact that I’ve been able to lucid dream since I was a young child — it is that much more amazing that it took me THREE DECADES to first appreciate, learn, and then leverage the creative power of intuition…..
We ALL have it within us, but some of us are further removed from this source than others…. and again, I went nearly THREE DECADES while being about as close as you can get to this source (in the good ‘ol dream-scape of creativity). But like many things, it is hard to appreciate somethings value until it is experienced for ourselves…. (and hey, I didn’t even realize that “lucid dreaming” was somewhat rare for people, or that the concept even had a name, until high-school— and I certainly didn’t realize how certain aspects of life can serve as a tool to hone a gift which exists within us for, amazingly.. AGAIN, THREE DECADES!!)
So if you don’t have the patience to wait for three decades like I did on the hope that eventually “it all clicks” for you one day, but would still like to learn how to tap into the super-person in you —- start with Ido’s article on “tool for developing intuitive writing”!
By taking some time IN THE MORNING and doing “stream of consciousness writing”, you are allowing the intuitive in you to speak, and allowing your conscious mind to listen. Start somewhere and eventually you can go anywhere!!! 😀
Change Begins from Within
“Change within;
or remain without“
~LoopholesOnLife.com
How Search Engine Usage will Correspond to a Rise in Dementia
It is fun to reflect on and appreciate the technological advancements of our modern world, isn’t it? After all, most would comfortably agree that our society is at the apex of intellectual aptitude. However, is it fair to assume that the intelligence of our collective species implies the same for the individuals within it?
In a day where any and all information appears readily available at our fingertips, we are changing the way we utilize the very instrument which made it all possible! In a day where answers can be accessed as quickly as the question is asked, we are changing the way we store and retrieve information. We are changing the way we think!
When used correctly, the internet can substantiate a single minds ability to problem solve – when used incorrectly, however, it can stifle creativity and undermine the processing power of the mind.
With a basic understanding of how memory works, and a bit of, dare I say it, deductive reasoning, one can fathom how the rise in search engine usage is likely to correspond to an increase in dementia in the youth of our society.
With an open mind, consider how you can help future generations avoid further degeneration!
Continue reading “How Search Engine Usage will Correspond to a Rise in Dementia”
Inspired By: Life in a Moment
If you can do it once… then you can do it twice;
It takes succeeding in a moment, to do so in a life.
~LoopholesOnLife.com
Remember the Future; Change the Present
Why does history repeat? We replay the past over and over in our minds.
Want to change? Replay the future over and over in your mind!
Changing Today by Anticipating Tomorrow!
Universe You: Give yourself Space!
5 Things You can Improve by Giving Yourself Some Space!
Do you focus on what matters? Maybe what ‘really matters’ is the space BETWEEN the matter.
Want to become a better artist, musician, cook, speaker – or even a better person? Give yourself some space!
A Record Breaking New Year!
You’ve said it. I’ve said it. We’ve ALL heard it.
BUT do you recognize what you’ve been a part of? Do you realize that, on this first day of 2013, records are already being shattered?!
You may have underestimated them; after all, they were just words….
Inspired by: The BEST Resolution
“Want a picture-perfect resolution for 2013?
This year, render your self-image in 1080p!”
~LoopholesOnLife.com
A Single Moment, A Lasting Impact – 12/12/12 @ 9:30 PM EST
Many throughout history have alluded to the idea that if a large enough percentage of humanity “wished” for global peace simultaneously, that a lasting change could happen instantaneously. Skeptics and believers alike have a chance to be a part of a world-wide test of this theory TONIGHT, 12/12/12, at 9:30 PM EST.
A Single Moment, a Lasting Impact; An Individual Contribution to Global Change:
CHALLENGE: take a moment to think about the word “smiling”.
Think about it for a second longer.
NOW, try to think about the word “smiling” without actually physically smiling! If we’re honest with ourselves, one can almost feel the contention between “thinking one thing” and “doing the other”. That is how the video which introduces this world-wide ‘moment of peace’ begins:
Don’t believe in the power of prayer? How about statistics?
If you are still someone who has a hard time conceptualizing the inter-connectivity of all things, from yourself to the universe, from thought to action to physical manifestation — you are not alone.
As mentioned many times in this blog – at this point in our history, truth and lies are so intertwined in nearly every subject matter that it is hard to fully trust anything. This is particularly evident as many question the dogma of institutionalized religion. However, when science, spirituality, AND MATH actually converge to support a particular hypothesis – isn’t there some providence to the findings that should not be overlooked?
I have expanded on the “Universe You” concept in a series of articles, so will try not to digress further — BUT — it is important to note that several independent studies have measured the impact of group prayer and meditation, actually showing statistically significant drops in crime rates.
From your own personal experience – haven’t you ever walked into a room, or a party, which you felt, simply put, had a “bad vibe”? Haven’t you been around people who’d you classify as having a “magnetic personality”? Prayer, meditation, POSITIVE THOUGHT — after we get past the subtleties which differentiate them, they are really not so different at some juncture. If you believe that “starting your day on the right foot” leads to an, even ever-so-slightly, increased probability for a “good day” — as opposed to the days when you “wake up on the wrong side of the bed” — then are you sure you really have any reason to be skeptical with “this cause” at all?
If you ARE still skeptical, I do not blame you! After all, I epitomized the word ‘skeptic’ for many years even AFTER being aware of these so-called ‘studies’ — it takes time for an individual to “re-calibrate” their understanding. Look up the information, try to go into it your ‘research’ with an open mind, and discern for yourself.
HOWEVER – I will say, skeptical or not, take a moment at 9:30 PM to contribute a positive thought or two to a world which needs it! Worst case scenario — it certainly cannot hurt!! Best case scenario…. where would I begin and where would I stop?!
Let’s take a moment and see if we can’t surprise ourselves with the results.
I wish you all the best! Now — and at exactly 9:30 PM EST Tonight! 😉
Additional references:
http://heartflow2012.wordpress.com/2012/12/10/12-12-12/