There were 4,000 years between the written language and the printing press.
300 years between the steam engine and reaching outer space,
30 years between the internet and mobile technology.
Friends, can you imagine?
If there were 8 babies, an island,
and nothing more but a spring of hope?
How would society (re-)evolve differently? Would history repeat? Would the New York Stock Exchange be recreated (warning: a topic of heated debate ensues between Stan and Stitch)
Join us and let’s rebuild this baby to be even better, together!
4,000 yearsbetween the written language and the printing press.
300 years between the steam engine and reaching outer space,
30 yearsbetween the internet and mobile technology.
Friends, can you imagine?
If there were 8 babies, an island, and nothing more but a spring of hope?
How would society evolve differently? Does history repeat? Would the New York Stock Exchange be recreated? (warning: a topic of heated debate ensues)
Friends… join us. and let’s rebuild this baby TOGETHER, to be EVEN BETTER………. FOREVER!!!
‘GOTTA HEAR ITS’!
” …history is just a collection of the societies which made it up in the past; and society is just a reflection of the individuals which make it up today. “
High-five for mediocrity! Each confident clasp we reward ourselves with today hauntingly echoes the dreams and memories of our tomorrows. Yet, for now, we triumphantly we march together in the lemming line.
In an age where success is defined by ensuring the social norms remain undisturbed, Stitch and Stan challenge the protocol.
In this episode, discover the single attribute required to break the lemming line and be yourself, the best version you can possibly be!
High-five for mediocrity! Each confident clasp we reward ourselves with today hauntingly echoes the dreams and memories of our tomorrows. Yet, for now, we triumphantly march together in the lemming line.
In an age where success is defined by ensuring the social norms remain undisturbed, Stitch and Stan challenge the protocol!
In this episode, discover the single most important attribute you need to break the lemming line, be yourself, and thusly, the best version of you that you can possibly be!
‘GOTTA HEAR ITS’!
>> “is a lemming a real thing, like an animal?” >> “i also love that you’re the albert einstein of the toilet seat!” >> “i know women that skip entire days, or so they say.” — “just women? like it’s such a dirty secret that we sometimes pooh.” >> “i’d rather use a leaf from the backyard.” >> “i come with my homeruns, then miss a game or two.”
Materialism is a disease that has infested society since the dawn of time… It is important we work to recognize how it shapes the lives of ourselves and our loved ones.
It is also important to pay homage to your appliances which work ever so hard for you as the unsung heroes behind the scenes in your daily grind.
Have you considered the Unenviable Life of Washing Machines, and Materialism?
If you have, you probably should have done this podcast first…
If not… let’s consider the mystical and magnificent roles that both have in our day to day lives together!
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?
A Song Against Songs… A Counter-Strike to Pop Culture Manipulation:
If you only have 3 minutes today, listen to this song and consider what it means to you. If you have 5 minutes – listen to the song, and thenread on.
It’s not about the song – or even ‘their’ message – it’s about the message behind the message, which is both abundantly clear and logical… IF ‘we think’ about it.
If your goal was to “rule the modern world” — how would you go about it?
In age of globalization and technology enables near real-time communication across the masses — if you’re goal was to rule the world, how would you do so?
Do you believe that “empires” do not exist today? Do you believe that at some point, folks “in control” stopped caring about securing MORE CONTROL?
While technological advancements ‘appear’ to have fundamentally changed the world around us — it merely changes how we ‘execute’ certain things, but it does NOT fundamentally change what motivates us — what drives us as human beings.
Empires still exist. And behind EVERY empire, there is a desire to expand it. Whether in politics or in business, it is a natural inclination — it is human. The goals have not changed — but what HAS changed is how ‘borders’ are defined, and how empires expand.
How would you Expand an Empire?
Conquering another country via “brute force” just does not fly these days, in the traditional sense. As much ‘bad’ as there in the world today, there is still something within most of us, which makes up the overwhelming majority — which DOES PREFER RIGHT OVER WRONG.
We are not perfect all the time, perhaps we are not even ‘good’ most of the time. But at the core, we want the world to be better — and if anything, hope that our ‘leaders’ are more altruistic than we are on a day-to-day basis.
To expand and maintain an empire, while ‘brute force’ may have been efficient back in the day — the most effective plan is by ‘training the minds you’re leading to put value in the things within your control as a leader’… as a royal.
GET THE MESSAGE: MONEY, DRUGS, VIOLENCE IN POP-CULTURE
Empires are being expanded, and controlled, TODAY – far beyond the boundaries of those we learned about in History class. The technology is in place to grow them bigger than the Ming Dynasty and faster than the Roman Empire… and the systems are in place to maintain them.
The “ruling class” does so today through age-old tactics which are more effective than ever — a tactic well studied and executed by one of the cruelest and ‘brute force’ examples, in Nazi Germany…. SOCIAL MANIPULATION.
The TV shows we watch…. The songs we listen to — over, and over, and OVER again. They shape the minds of the populous, slowly, but exponentially, and ever so surely. The minds of those ruled are shaped to align in favor of those ruling. If we are exposed to “money, money, money” on a consistent basis – eventually even the most humble of us will be hard-pressed to NOT have ‘money on our minds’… That is not ‘conspiracy theory’, my friends, that is frickin’ logic!!!
And yes, even those of us acutely aware of this tactic for mass-control, are at risk. In fact, those of us “truly” aware of it, understand that there is no reason to “fear” — it is, again, a logical means to an age old end. This does not mean we need to avoid all ‘pop-culture’ songs which do not have a positive message — and it does not mean we cannot enjoy a particular show which is somewhat violent — it just means that we SHOULD be aware, and remember “all things in moderation”….
So how did a mere song in pop-culture today pique my interest? BECAUSE, using the same medium used to shape our minds — this song “Royals” STRIKES BACK with a different message.
“Royals” by Lordes: THE MESSAGE BEHIND THE MESSAGE
This song is a strong counter to the steady stream of “money, drugs, & violence” we are exposed to today.
If one were set to the rule the world, cough, royals, it would be logical to shape the minds of those you’re ruling via pop-culture. After all, if one controlled the ‘financial system’, they’d like to increase the value of it – and the best way to increase the value of a dollar is to increase our love of money.
All things in moderation – but if you’re going to listen to one song on “repeat” for a minute – choose wisely — because no matter how strong willed you are, or how cognatively disciplined you are — all things in our environment eventually “get through to us”, and once it gets through, it eventually shapes who we are today and who we will be in the future!
Song “Royals” by Lorde – The Meaning’s Above, the Lyrics are Below
Our enemy is deceitful, conniving, and…. surprisingly logical.
Our adversary will strive to convince us that it is not a foe, but a friend.
Our opponent will remind us of all the great things we are, and attribute it to our successes. Then subsequently remind us of all we are not, and attribute it to the failures of others.
Our rival goes by the name of “Ego”, and it has been called the source of ALL conflict! Welcome to Project: E.G.O., the 3-step battle plan for shared victory in our individual battles.
“Everybody is a genius, but if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid” ~Albert Einstein
Genius is a title which is typically received long after the creative moment occurred. Here are 4 tips to maintain the creative genius which you WERE BORN WITH!
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!
You appeared, smack dab in the middle of a story. You appeared right where the plot is at its thickest and yet, amazingly, are ALREADY the main character. Amidst old friends who seem different and new strangers who seem familiar; surrounded by a recognizable landscape you’ve never seen before. You accept it.
Then suddenly, you hear your name being whispered with screeches of cynicism, as your alarm clock reminds you that it was all a dream.
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! 😉
We awake to a new day. There are new experiences to be had and new choices to make. It may sound liberating at first. Yet, we begin each morning by believing everything we’ve been trained to see; and there are no better slaves than the ones who are convinced they are free.
Great quote from Hawking. I think it puts into perspective both our ‘relative’ significance in the universe and reinforces perception as well — after all, who are us ‘slightly more advanced monkeys’ to assume that ‘advanced’ isn’t relative in itself, and that those ‘less advanced monkeys’ have, perhaps an even more, clear grasp on how the universe works?
In fact, perhaps those ‘less advanced monkeys’ define advanced differently — perhaps their understanding of the universe is intuitive and they view US as less advanced for fruitlessly breaking down particles more and more and exploring the cosmos further and further — and in the process, THE ONLY THING WE HAVE DISCOVERED IS INFINITY. 🙂
From rock ‘n roll icons to religious leaders;
From ancient philosophers to 20th century scientists;
From inventors & poets to politicians & social reformers;
The mystery of time has been revealed to us through a series of clues left behind by history’s most influential figures. It’s been easy to overlook the common theme across such an uncommon group – UNTIL NOW!
The most renowned and wise of our kind all spoke about “time”. Think about the themes you see, as the sayings from 23 of these individuals are brought together in a timely verse of their timeless words.
