How American Are You Actually?

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6 Expectations of Others We All Need To Let Go Of

Most of the time, depression comes from your own thoughts.  If you are only happy when other people are happy with you, then you will likely be depressed at some point in your life.  The reality is that not everyone will like you and you will not like everyone.  It’s human nature.

Understanding other people’s thoughts and expectations of you will greatly reduce your frustrations, which could lead to feelings of depression.  Focus on things that truly matter in your life, and remember the following points…

1. Don’t expect people to be as excited as your life
There’s sometimes no worse feeling that being excited about something, only to not feel the same amount of excitement from someone else.  You could be excited about a promotion, a new business venture, or even going out on a date with the person you’ve been crushing on for a while.  What you need to understand is that the none of those things really matter to the person you are talking to, so their level of excitement won’t be as much as yours.  That doesn’t mean that they don’t care, so don’t take it personally.

2. Allow other people to be themselves
You should always be yourself in any situation, so why should you try to change other people in certain situations?  You will almost always feel some sort of tension when you try to change other people, so it’s best to just let them be themselves and understand that they don’t need to change for you.  If you try to change other people and succeed, then you will probably be dealing with a fake person in the future, and who wants that?

3. Don’t expect others to change for your benefit.
Unless you are a talking about being a boss or a manager, you can’t expect people to change for your direct benefit.  People act how they do because they’ve acted that way for a long time.  Instead, try supporting them for who they are.  When that happens, they will think more highly of you and notice the actions that you are taking.  What you may experience is that they are changing for the better in a more pleasant way.

4. Stop thinking that other people know what you are thinking.
You can really wear yourself out if you try to take some sort of action with the expectation that another person knows your thoughts.  It depends on the situation, but most of the time, people don’t know what you are thinking unless you tell them.  Communication is an effective tool for any life situation, but you have to use it effectively.  Be straight up with people, whether it’s at your job or in your personal life.  Tell them what you’re thinking so they know how they can help you out.

5. Don’t worry if people don’t like you.
This is probably an obvious point to you, but you can’t dwell on the people that just don’t like you.  It doesn’t mean that you are a bad person; it just means that something about your personality doesn’t click with them.  That’s fine, just move on.  The worst thing that you can do is try to make someone like you.  It’s bad for your personal health and it will just continue to eat you up inside if you continue to think about it.

6. Don’t expect everyone to agree with you.
Everyone has their own opinions, and they are entitled to them.  What you have to understand is that it does more harm than good to try to get people to agree with your opinions.  Be strong-minded and know that your opinions are all that you need.  If you are constantly seeking approval from others, then you will almost always be disappointed and begin questioning your own opinions.  You will undoubtedly make mistakes, but you will also have more pride knowing that you made those mistakes using your own intuition rather than someone else’s.

Setting proper expectations for others is one of the best ways that you can stay happy.  People are going to disappoint you in life, whether you like it or not.  But it’s how you deal with those disappointments that make you the person that you are.  Be strong and prideful of yourself, and you will find that you will live a happier and more confident life.

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8 Surprising Health Benefits of Sex

As wonderful as sex is, not a lot of people realize what happens to your body when you have sex on a regular basis. Evolutionarily speaking, there is a reason that sex feels good, and it is not just to promote the procreation of the species. Our bodies actually benefit in many ways from regular intercourse, and in some cases – masturbation. I know, this is somewhat of an awkward topic, but we are all adults, right? Sex is good for you, and here is why:

1. Immune System
“Sexually active people take fewer sick days,” says sexual health expert Yvonne K. Fulbright, Ph.D.
Researchers at Wilkes University found that people who had sex regularly had a 30% increase in immunoglobulin A (IgA). IgA proteins act as antibodies by binding to pathogens when they first enter the body. IgA proteins then trigger the immune system to destroy those pathogens.

2. Libido
“Having sex will make sex better and will improve your libido,” says Lauren Streicher, MD.
Let’s face it: if you are having fun – you’ll want to do it more often. Spicing up your romantic activities, in general, can lead to more sex, which leads to more enjoyment, which leads to wanting to do the deed more often.

3. Heart Health
“One landmark study found that sexual intercourse specifically (not masturbation) lowered systolic blood pressure,” says Joseph J. Pinzone, MD.
According to research from the Queens University in Belfast, men who have sex three or more times a week cut their risk of suffering a heart attack or stroke by 50%.

4. Burns Calories
“Sex is a really great form of exercise. Like with exercise, consistency helps maximize the benefits,” says Joseph J. Pinzone, MD.
There is an actual SEX CALCULATOR that you can use to determine exactly how many calories you burn during your performance of the horizontal mambo. You can use this tool as a goal-setting application for you and your significant other, or simply for bragging rights.

5. Pain Killer
“Orgasm can block pain. We’ve found that vaginal stimulation can block chronic back and leg pain, and many women have told us that genital self-stimulation can reduce menstrual cramps, arthritic pain, and in some cases even headache,” says Barry R. Komisaruk, PhD.
For women, in particular, the “big O” dumps a flood of oxytocin, also known as the love hormone, into your system. Oxytocin then triggers the release of endorphins, which are the body’s natural painkiller. Research has also shown sex can lessen the aches associated with menstrual cramps while also helping to regulate a woman’s monthly cycle.

6. Prevents Cancer
Men who ejaculated frequently (at least 21 times a month) were less likely to get prostate cancer during one study, which was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
The research was done by the National Cancer Institute, and showed that in a survey of 30,000 middle-aged men, those who averaged 21 ejaculations a month showed a 33 percent lower risk of prostate cancer than those with 4 to 7 ejaculations a month.

7. Sleep Aid
“After orgasm, the hormone prolactin is released, which is responsible for the feelings of relaxation and sleepiness,” says Sheenie Ambardar, MD.
Prolactin is a complicated hormone that does everything from promoting lactation (as the name would suggest), to triggering sleep. One weird aspect of prolactin is that it has been shown to induce that “recovery stage” in men after an orgasm where their libido tapers off.

8. Reduces Stress
Sexual contact release your body’s natural “feel-good hormone.” Sexual arousal releases a brain chemical that revs up your brain’s pleasure and reward system.
This is again, from the oxytocin released by your body after you have an orgasm. Oxytocins reduces the levels of the hormone cortisol, which is associated with stress.

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The “World’s Angriest Robot” that Stephen Hawkings Warned Us About

New Zealand based Technology firm Touchpoint Group is creating the world’s angriest artificial intelligence (AI) machine. The reason according to The Australian Business Review– “to help banks, telcos, and insurance companies defuse explosive episodes in customer service”

Artificial Intelligence is progressing at a rapid rate. AI is no longer a science fiction plot for the movies like “The Terminator” or “I, Robot”. It is becoming a reality. As per the movies, it all begins when scientists develop a solution to a problem that begins with efficiency – replacing manpower for machine power. Touchpoint Group CEO Frank van der Velden created this AI because “companies don’t have the numbers of staff to go through this manually. It’s very difficult. Take a bank for example; they receive a hell of a lot of data every day. But it gets to a point where that dataset grows so large that it becomes meaningless unless you can interpret it. That’s where Radiant will fit in,”

The project is named Radiant after Isaac Asimov’s science fiction novels the Foundation Series. In the Foundation series, Prime Radiant was a supercomputer that could predict the future behavior and evolution of humanity from a statistical analysis with information from history, sociology and mathematics.
Australian Business Review states, “Once complete, the project will simulate hundreds of millions of angry customer interactions that will help companies better understand the behaviors and processes that trigger customer outbursts. Touchpoint Group chief executive Frank van der Velden said the research would help with the complex task of understanding how customers were affected by the various products, systems, policies, processes and people they interacted with in the lead-up to reaching breaking point. Mr. van der Velden said the program would constantly run “what if” scenarios to see if a particular scenario was likely to enrage or benefit the customer. “The end goal is to build an engine that can recommend solutions to companies — and we’re talking about the people at the frontline here — how they can improve particular issues that customers are facing,” Mr van der Velden said.”

Stephan Hawking, the director of research at the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics at Cambridge and a 2012 Fundamental Physics Prize laureate for his work on quantum gravity, had quite a bit to say about the subject of AI on The Independent UK roughly a year ago after seeing the movie Transcendence. In the movie Transcendence, Johnny Depp plays a famous researcher of Artificial Intelligence who sought to create a sentient being with the collective intelligence of humans with the addition of a wide range of human emotions. Anti-technology extremist aim to stop Depp’s character, but the power of knowledge gets the better of him. In the end, it becomes terrifyingly clear there may be no way to stop him.

Hawking appears to not trust so-called AI experts. He said, “So, facing possible futures of incalculable benefits and risks, the experts are surely doing everything possible to ensure the best outcome, right? Wrong. If a superior alien civilization sent us a message saying: ‘We’ll arrive in a few decades,’ would we just reply: ‘OK, call us when you get here — we’ll leave the lights on’? Probably not — but this is more or less what is happening with AI. We are facing potentially the best or worst thing to happen to humanity in history. Whereas the short-term impact of AI depends on who controls it, the long-term impact depends on whether it can be controlled at all.”

Let’s evaluate – why would we resort to AI to understand real human emotional triggers? Why wouldn’t banks, telcos, and insurance companies sort through their customers complaints and eliminate the people projecting their anger on a stranger versus the legitimate complaints? It is my belief; we observe a general imbalance of the mind over the heart in our culture. We praise intelligence, but we shame emotions. In truth, the mind carries out the messages from the heart and we should place value on those messages. Has it really come to the statistical analysis of the motions from a machine? Are we overburdened in our “rat race” style culture that we do not realize how much we project our collective anger on a stranger behind a phone? Should we demand changes in establishments that cater to the needs of people versus the needs of the corporate hierarchy’s pocketbook? Whatever the solution, there is one to be found and it does not include artificial intelligence.

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5 Things You Can Do Today to Simplify Your Life

Life isn’t nearly as complicated as we make it sometimes. Trust me, I know how naive that sounds. The truth is, that we tend to complicate our existences with the clutter of a hectic life, more than we even realize. Simplification can seem like a pipe dream, but I assure you there are things you can do right now, today, that will bring simplicity back toy our world quicker than you think. Take a second to really consider these 5 simple things, you’ll be surprised the impact that they can have.

1. Identify
I’ve talked in the past about the theory of a “worry list”. Basically, the idea was to make a literal list of the things that you worry about every day and work through them to reduce the number of items on the list. The theory was just as sound then as it is now. When I say “make a list” I mean get a piece of paper and write down the things in your life that YOU feel are complicating your existence. Don’t just kick the idea in your head – make it tangible. Consider this step to be like a diagnosis of an illness.

2. Evaluate
Armed with your list of complications, take a minute to assess the things that you can and cannot change. Think about the root of the items on the list. Give an objective view to all of the things that are robbing you of your simplicity. How many of the things on the list are out of your hands? How many center around an action that you perpetrate? How many are just useless worries?

3. Trim the Fat
This is the key. Once you’ve identified and assessed these “complicators”, be realistic about which things on your list that you can actually control. Again, I know this sounds naive, but something about looking at a tangible list, and saying to yourself, “I can’t fix that, because it is out of my control”, holds more sway over your brain than you’d think. It’s like making a road map to simplicity, by choosing your own route.

4. Focus on You
Another key here is to quit worrying about what other people think. For instance, let’s say that one of the things you find complicating your life is keeping up with the busy social schedule of a group of friends. You’re afraid to say no to them because of what they will think of you, even if it is what you need to do. Well, if they are true friends, they will understand your need for time to yourself. If they don’t, they weren’t friends to begin with.

5. Accept Things for What They Are
One thing to keep in mind throughout this whole process is being realistic about the things in your life that are complicating things. Don’t make something out of nothing just for the sake of having something to complain about. Complaining and worrying are two of the most counter-productive activities in life. Be realistic about what you are capable of. Be realistic about what it is that YOU want.

Simplification in itself is an art form that requires a little practice. This entire process that I just lined out is an actual practice of mine that I go through on a weekly basis. I wouldn’t recommend something that I wouldn’t do myself.

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Teenagers Develop a Brilliant New Condom

Who better to design a new type of condom than a group of teenagers? Especially if that condom is designed to detect sexually transmitted infections like chlamydia, herpes, HPV, or even syphilis.

The condom, which is being cleverly dubbed the “S.T.EYE”, is designed to react to the specific pathogens that cause common sexually transmitted infections. The team explained that once developed, the S.T.EYE would glow green for chlamydia, yellow for herpes, purple for human papillomavirus or blue for syphilis. According to 14-year-old Daanyaal Ali, one of the inventors, “We wanted to make something that makes detecting harmful STIs safer than ever before, so that people can take immediate action in the privacy of their own homes without the invasive procedures at the doctors. We created the S.T.EYE as a new way for STI detection to help the future of the next generation. We’ve made sure we’re able to give peace of mind to users and make sure people can be even more responsible than ever before.”

The S.T.EYE has won the Teen Tech Award for best health innovation, and will hopefully be moving from the conceptual stage into actual development. The concept behind the idea is brilliant in my opinion, even if it is a little like having a bullet proof vest that tells you when there is a gun present only after you’ve been shot. Still, it is a step in the right direction for the prevention of STI’s. Also, I have to imagine that the S.T.EYE would make for some interesting pillow talk…”Um…Why am I glowing Green?”

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A Letter from Hunter S. Thompson that Changed My Life

Roughly 57 years ago, a 22-year-old Hunter S. Thompson wrote a letter to a friend that had asked him for advice. On the surface, this doesn’t seem like a big deal – 57 years ago letters were just how people communicated. What stands out to me is the fact that Thompson wrote this letter way before anyone really knew who he was. The letter, in my opinion, is a pure statement of faith, written by one of the most influential writers of our time, solely for the purpose of helping his friend. I know the letter wasn’t written to me, but I still read it like it was.

April 22, 1958
57 Perry Street
New York City

Dear Hume,

You ask advice: ah, what a very human and very dangerous thing to do! For to give advice to a man who asks what to do with his life implies something very close to egomania. To presume to point a man to the right and ultimate goal — to point with a trembling finger in the RIGHT direction is something only a fool would take upon himself.

I am not a fool, but I respect your sincerity in asking my advice. I ask you though, in listening to what I say, to remember that all advice can only be a product of the man who gives it. What is truth to one may be disaster to another. I do not see life through your eyes, nor you through mine. If I were to attempt to give you specific advice, it would be too much like the blind leading the blind.

“To be, or not to be: that is the question: Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, or to take arms against a sea of troubles … ” (Shakespeare)

And indeed, that IS the question: whether to float with the tide, or to swim for a goal. It is a choice we must all make consciously or unconsciously at one time in our lives. So few people understand this! Think of any decision you’ve ever made which had a bearing on your future: I may be wrong, but I don’t see how it could have been anything but a choice however indirect — between the two things I’ve mentioned: the floating or the swimming.

But why not float if you have no goal? That is another question. It is unquestionably better to enjoy the floating than to swim in uncertainty. So how does a man find a goal? Not a castle in the stars, but a real and tangible thing. How can a man be sure he’s not after the “big rock candy mountain,” the enticing sugar-candy goal that has little taste and no substance?

The answer — and, in a sense, the tragedy of life — is that we seek to understand the goal and not the man. We set up a goal which demands of us certain things: and we do these things. We adjust to the demands of a concept which CANNOT be valid. When you were young, let us say that you wanted to be a fireman. I feel reasonably safe in saying that you no longer want to be a fireman. Why? Because your perspective has changed. It’s not the fireman who has changed, but you. Every man is the sum total of his reactions to experience. As your experiences differ and multiply, you become a different man, and hence your perspective changes. This goes on and on. Every reaction is a learning process; every significant experience alters your perspective.

So it would seem foolish, would it not, to adjust our lives to the demands of a goal we see from a different angle every day? How could we ever hope to accomplish anything other than galloping neurosis?

The answer, then, must not deal with goals at all, or not with tangible goals, anyway. It would take reams of paper to develop this subject to fulfillment. God only knows how many books have been written on “the meaning of man” and that sort of thing, and god only knows how many people have pondered the subject. (I use the term “god only knows” purely as an expression.) There’s very little sense in my trying to give it up to you in the proverbial nutshell, because I’m the first to admit my absolute lack of qualifications for reducing the meaning of life to one or two paragraphs.

I’m going to steer clear of the word “existentialism,” but you might keep it in mind as a key of sorts. You might also try something called “Being and Nothingness” by Jean-Paul Sartre, and another little thing called “Existentialism: From Dostoyevsky to Sartre.” These are merely suggestions. If you’re genuinely satisfied with what you are and what you’re doing, then give those books a wide berth. (Let sleeping dogs lie.) But back to the answer. As I said, to put our faith in tangible goals would seem to be, at best, unwise. So we do not strive to be firemen, we do not strive to be bankers, nor policemen, nor doctors. WE STRIVE TO BE OURSELVES.

But don’t misunderstand me. I don’t mean that we can’t BE firemen, bankers, or doctors — but that we must make the goal conform to the individual, rather than make the individual conform to the goal. In every man, heredity and environment have combined to produce a creature of certain abilities and desires — including a deeply ingrained need to function in such a way that his life will be MEANINGFUL. A man has to BE something; he has to matter.

As I see it then, the formula runs something like this: a man must choose a path which will let his ABILITIES function at maximum efficiency toward the gratification of his DESIRES. In doing this, he is fulfilling a need (giving himself identity by functioning in a set pattern toward a set goal), he avoids frustrating his potential (choosing a path which puts no limit on his self-development), and he avoids the terror of seeing his goal wilt or lose its charm as he draws closer to it (rather than bending himself to meet the demands of that which he seeks, he has bent his goal to conform to his own abilities and desires).

In short, he has not dedicated his life to reaching a pre-defined goal, but he has rather chosen a way of life he KNOWS he will enjoy. The goal is absolutely secondary: it is the functioning toward the goal which is important. And it seems almost ridiculous to say that a man MUST function in a pattern of his own choosing; for to let another man define your own goals is to give up one of the most meaningful aspects of life — the definitive act of will which makes a man an individual.

Let’s assume that you think you have a choice of eight paths to follow (all pre-defined paths, of course). And let’s assume that you can’t see any real purpose in any of the eight. THEN — and here is the essence of all I’ve said — you MUST FIND A NINTH PATH.

Naturally, it isn’t as easy as it sounds. You’ve lived a relatively narrow life, a vertical rather than a horizontal existence. So it isn’t any too difficult to understand why you seem to feel the way you do. But a man who procrastinates in his CHOOSING will inevitably have his choice made for him by circumstance.

So if you now number yourself among the disenchanted, then you have no choice but to accept things as they are, or to seriously seek something else. But beware of looking for goals: look for a way of life. Decide how you want to live and then see what you can do to make a living WITHIN that way of life. But you say, “I don’t know where to look; I don’t know what to look for.”

And there’s the crux. Is it worth giving up what I have to look for something better? I don’t know — is it? Who can make that decision but you? But even by DECIDING TO LOOK, you go a long way toward making the choice.

If I don’t call this to a halt, I’m going to find myself writing a book. I hope it’s not as confusing as it looks at first glance. Keep in mind, of course, that this is MY WAY of looking at things. I happen to think that it’s pretty generally applicable, but you may not. Each of us has to create our own credo — this merely happens to be mine.

If any part of it doesn’t seem to make sense, by all means call it to my attention. I’m not trying to send you out “on the road” in search of Valhalla, but merely pointing out that it is not necessary to accept the choices handed down to you by life as you know it. There is more to it than that — no one HAS to do something he doesn’t want to do for the rest of his life. But then again, if that’s what you wind up doing, by all means convince yourself that you HAD to do it. You’ll have lots of company.

And that’s it for now. Until I hear from you again, I remain,

your friend,

Hunter

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The Absolute Power of Being Alone

As humans, we are social creatures by nature. Throughout our time on this planet we have banded together for safety, strength, and security. Now, as an advanced collection of beings, there is some crazy importance on constantly being surrounded by other people, whether physically or digitally. There is a power to separating yourself from the masses and simply being alone.

“Language… has created the word ‘loneliness’ to express the pain of being alone. And it has created the word ‘solitude’ to express the glory of being alone.”
-Paul Tillich

Spending time without the presence of other people can be one of the most effective forms of therapy that exists. Imagine being able to turn down the volume knob of the world, and simply enjoying the silence of your own mind. I’m not implying that you need to run off to the woods and be a hermit to achieve inner peace. I am, however, implying that it doesn’t hurt. Having the opportunity to get away from all of the other voices we hear every day and listen to our own words in our own heads is a chance to reflect on what really matters.

I mean, think about it: All day we are influenced by everyone around us. Like people walking by and putting their own brushstrokes on the canvas of our brains. Advertising, social media, media – they all leaves a mark. Being alone is your chance to clear those marks and see what really lies underneath without any social pressure. It gives us a chance to see ourselves through our own eyes and love what we see.

“The great omission in American life is solitude; not loneliness, for this is an alienation that thrives most in the midst of crowds, but that zone of time and space free from outside pressure which is the incubator of the spirit.”
-Marya Mannes

To me, the real benefit of solitude is the chance to “reboot” your brain. When you unplug yourself from everything around you, your brain has a chance to focus on things in a different way. Concentration is the biggest victim of a busy mind. Your thoughts, when you are alone, can go from a flashlight to a laser beam. One thing that I do to take advantage of that concentration is keep a journal. Having the ability to stop, collect your thoughts, and record them on paper can do amazing things for your productivity.

Remember, it’s not a bad thing to be alone.

“I never found a companion that was so companionable as solitude.”
-Henry David Thoreau

Image Copyright: icsnaps / 123RF Stock Photo

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20 of the Most Inspiring Quotes About Love

Of all of the human emotions, the strangest, most dangerous, and most exquisitely beautiful of them – is love. Love is like a fire. Throughout history, wiser people than myself have expressed the complexities and amazing power of love much better than I could hope to. I put this collection of quotes together as a simple tribute to the wonderful, confusing, awe-inspiring nature of the most beautiful emotion that we experience. Enjoy.

1. “The best love is the kind that awakens the soul; that makes us reach for more, that plants the fire in our hearts and brings peace to our minds. That’s what I hope to give you forever.”
— The Notebook

2. “You know when you’re in love when you can’t fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams.”
— Dr. Seuss

3. “The greatest happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved; loved for ourselves, or rather, loved in spite of ourselves.”
— Victor Hugo

4. “All, everything that I understand, I only understand because I love.”
— Leo Tolstoy

5. “Once you truly believe you’re worthy of love, you will never settle for anyone’s second best treatment.”
— Charles J. Orlando

6. “When you trip over love, it is easy to get up. But when you fall in love, it is impossible to stand again.”
— Albert Einstein

7. “And remember, as it was written, to love another person is to see the face of God.”
— Les Miserables

8. “If a thing loves, it is infinite.”
— William Blake

9. “With love one can live even without happiness.”
— Fyodor Dostoyevsky

10. “It’s a very dangerous state. You are inclined to recklessness and kind of tune out the rest of your life and everything that’s been important to you. It’s actually not all that pleasurable. I don’t know who the hell wants to get in a situation where you can’t bear an hour without somebody’s company.”
— Colin Firth

11. “It’s an unexplainable feeling, an expression. It’s a touch, it’s a feel. Once you feel it, it’s like no other thing in the world.”
— Snoop Dogg on love

12. “The best and most beautiful things in this world cannot be seen or even heard, but must be felt with the heart.”
— Helen Keller

13. “A dream you dream alone is only a dream. A dream you dream together is reality.”
— John Lennon

14. “To love is nothing. To be loved is something. But to love and be loved, that’s everything.”
— T. Tolis

15. “Lots of people want to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down.”
— Oprah Winfrey

16. “In order to be happy oneself it is necessary to make at least one other person happy.”
— Theodor Reik

17. “The heart wants what it wants. There’s no logic to these things. You meet someone and you fall in love and that’s that.”
— Woody Allen

18. “There’s no substitute for a great love who says, ‘No matter what’s wrong with you, you’re welcome at this table.'”
— Tom Hanks

19. “If you live to be a hundred, I want to live to be a hundred minus one day so I never have to live without you.”
— A. A. Milne

20. “You don’t love someone because they’re perfect, you love them in spite of the fact that they’re not.”
― Jodi Picoult, My Sister’s Keeper
Image Copyright: kevron2001 / 123RF Stock Photo

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6 Simple Things We Do Every Day that Take Away our Happiness

Happiness is not a destination. It’s not some magical combination of life factors, that when balanced correctly will spring some magic trap door into a place where you can exist. Happiness is a state of being. That being said, there are things that we do every single day that swallow that happiness up.

1. Waiting
So many times in life, we find ourselves waiting for that “perfect moment”, as some magical starting point for beginning something new. Sorry to break it to you, but very rarely does that “perfect moment” exist. You can stand at an abandoned train station all day waiting for the train to paradise, but eventually – you just have to start walking.

2. Harboring
We are guilty of harboring fears, hates, worries, and even people in our lives that we just need to let go of. Our hearts are like rucksacks, that when full of useless things, prevent us from making the progress in life that we could make otherwise. I know, these things we harbor are hard to let go of. But that’s the challenge of the journey.

3. Seeking
Seeking happiness will lead to missing out on it. It is the classic “missing the forest for the trees” scenario. We get so focused on finding happiness as we envision it, that we don’t realize that there is joy all around us.

4. Dwelling
Leaving our mind in the past, keeps us from enjoying the present. The same can be said about looking too far forward to the future. Happiness is found right here in the here and now. Our past is a guide for what we have learned, and our future is where we want to be. Use your past accordingly.

5. Validating
Too often in life we are expecting validation from others as a means of our own happiness. We don’t think we are good enough, or pretty enough, or smart enough without other people’s approval. Dale Carnegie once said, “The person who seeks all their applause from outside has their happiness in another’s keeping.”

6. Amplification
Too often in life we place unnecessary importance on things that don’t warrant a second glance. We worry about our physical appearance or our social status, when neither of those things is important in the scheme of happiness. We blow situations out of proportion because of things like ego and pride. Take what life gives you for what it is.
Image: Copyright: otnaydur / 123RF Stock Photo

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This family sold everything they own to visit 400 national parks in an Airstream Bus

BY: TYLER FYFE
Thousands of dollars in renovations and several trips to Ikea later, the Works family found that although their life now looked like the picture-perfect images of home-décor magazines, between the marble-countertops and stainless steel appliances there seemed to be a canyon growing inside of their chests.

Just a stone’s-throw-commute away from their design jobs at Kansas State University, the Works family could have been a 21st century sitcom. The couple met on Facebook. Jessa was a graphic designer and former homecoming queen, Josh a successful web developer. By 2010, they felt that the suburban life was closing in on them. Luckily, their son Jack was just old enough to make planning a great escape possible.

As Josh writes, “the interminable routine of bed too late, work too fast, eat too much, see too little has been difficult to interrupt and leaves far too little time for anything truly meaningful, including each other.”

What the Works began to feel most is that sometimes comfort can be suffocating.

So in 2011 they decided to sell everything they owned, quit their jobs for freelance work and bought a 27-foot Airstream Travel Trailer.

 

They began to travel 24/7 with the lofty goal of visiting all 400 American national park sites.

They found that by simplifying their life, the weight that had been hanging over their heads began to dissipate in the expanse of the sky.

At first they kept a fast pace trying to cover as much ground as possible, but once they let go of the hustle of suburbia, they slowed to match the rhythm of nature.

The popular assumption is that full-time travel is far too expensive, but Josh says that with monthly bills, insurance, maintenance and taxes, travel actually cut their costs significantly.

When the Works family began their adventure, their son was just 2-years-old and since casting off from the suburbs, his imagination has flourished.

They found that home  is defined by family, not familiarity.

The family began to document their adventure on Instagram and have attracted thousands of followers.

In true geek fashion, they named their trailer 1337STREAM (l-e-e-t-stream) as homage to 1337speak, a numerical language embraced by computer enthusiasts.

When filmmakers Dark Rye caught hold of their story, he knew that it needed to be preserved.

Once the Works family conquered the Great American Landscape, they set their sights on a new horizon. Currently they are off exploring Greenland.
Source:instagram.com, theplaidzebra.com

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6 Things to Keep in Mind When Life Knocks You Down

Despite our best efforts, there are going to be times when we find ourselves flat on our proverbial asses. Life is just funny like that. Sometimes it is by no fault of our own, and sometimes we are our own worst enemy. Whatever the circumstances may be, the most functional response to getting knocked down is to get back up. Trust me, I know how simple that sounds. It can be so much easier to just flail around like a wounded fish, but we all know that doing so gets you nowhere. If you find yourself looking up a life, reeling from a fall, here are 6 things to keep in mind while you dust yourself off and get back up:

Be Realistic
When you get rattled, it is easy to make mountains out of molehills. Don’t blow your situation out of proportion simply because you were caught off-guard by whatever life has thrown at you. A housecat jumping out from under a bed can be as terrifying as a lion bursting from savannah grass if you aren’t expecting it, but that doesn’t mean the housecat can eat you. Life is all about perception, and perception is reality. Keep that perception in balance and move forward from the issues that present themselves.

Be Postive
Attitude is the only thing in life that you realistically have 100% control over. You choose what affects you and what doesn’t, no matter how simplistic that sounds. Keeping your chin up is the key to getting back to your feet. Take life as it comes.

Maintain Integrity
Don’t drop down to the level of the things in life that bring you down, especially the people that bring you down. It can be easy to become spiteful and vindictive, but at that point you lose touch with who you are.

Maintain Vision
There is a light at the end of the tunnel. Get the notion out of your head that it is a train, and move forward. Falling along the way is part of the journey, not the end of the trip.

Have Faith
You’ve got to believe that you can get where you want to be. You’ve got to maintain the belief that no matter how it may seem, the universe isn’t stacked against you. What you put into the universe, you will get back in return.

Have Guts
Don’t be scared of life. We are all going to hit the concrete at some point, sometimes even hard enough to bounce. That doesn’t mean that you need to be afraid to do it again. The minute you quit moving forward, you quit living.
Image copyright: vadymvdrobot / 123RF Stock Photo

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5 of the Most Ridiculous Arguments Against Marijuana Leagalization

As more and more people become advocates of legalizing marijuana, the “Ant-Weed” people are getting desperate. Really desperate, in fact, to the point where it is getting to be comical. Here are a few arguments that I have found recently that show you just how thin the argument against marijuana is getting. Sit back, and enjoy.

1. It’s a Gateway Drug
Saying that smoking pot leads to doing other drugs makes about as much sense as saying that because you have swum in the ocean you are likely to develop gills. As far back as 1990 researchers have been blowing holes in the “gateway drug” theory. Even more research has shown that alcohol is actually the gateway substance.

2. It’s Bad For You Because You Smoke It
Again, this is false. The “Anti-Weed” crowd loves to compare weed to cigarettes based on the principle of ingestion. Again, this is like saying skittles are bad for you because you can pop them in your mouth one at a time just like a Percocet pill. Not only has research shown that smoking weed doesn’t damage lung tissue, it actually suppresses the development of cancer cells.

3. It’s Addictive
In the year 2012 alone, The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) reported that 957,000 people age 12 and over sought treatment for marijuana. That seems liek a lot, but how many of those people do you think “sought counseling” as part of legal intervention? The same theory applies to people who are convicted of an alcohol-related offense being court-ordered to attend AA meetings.

4. It’s Dangerous
Ant-drug people claim that marijuana is just as dangerous as harder drugs like LSD or heroin. That’s funny, because even Obama said it isn’t, but I bet the anti-drug agencies that answer to him won’t agree. According to the DEA, schedule 1 drugs – of which marijuana is one of: “are the most dangerous drugs of all the drug schedules with potentially severe psychological or physical dependence”. They are also said to have “no currently accepted medical use.” Yet anytime someone asks the DEA about the damaging effects of weed, they refuse to answer the question. Rep. Earl Blumenauer explains why that is a problem in his eyes,”Being unable to answer something clearly and definitively when there is unquestioned evidence to the contrary is why young people don’t believe the propaganda, why they think [marijuana is] benign. If a professional like you [DEA Administrator Michelle Leonhart] can’t answer clearly that meth is more dangerous than marijuana — which every kid on the street knows, which every parent knows — if you can’t answer that, maybe that’s why we’re failing to educate people about the dangers. If the deputy director of the office of drug policy can’t answer that question, how do you expect high school kids to take you seriously?” Hey, Blumenauer – did you ever think that they can’t answer the question because they know it contradicts everything else they say about weed?

Last but certainly not least, they best/worst argument against marijuana legalization EVER…

5. Stoned Attack Bunnies
I wish I was kidding about this one, but it’s true. As Utah was considering legalizing weed like Colorado and Washington, Matt Fairbanks, a DEA agent, told a harrowing tale of his experiences with the state’s “cannabis eradication” team. He started his story by saying that, “I deal in facts. I deal in science.” He explained that while his team was destroying marijuana crops, they found that “rabbits that had cultivated a taste for the marijuana. One of them refused to leave us, and we took all the marijuana around him, but his natural instincts to run were somehow gone.” Yep, fearless, stoned attack rabbits. That’s how thin the argument is getting…

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The Shocking Reason Behind why an Australian Mother was Denied the Right to Breastfeed her Child

An Australian judge banned a mother from breastfeeding her child because she received a tattoo 4 weeks prior to the judge’s ruling where he believed the mother was placing her baby in an unacceptable risk to receive harm.

This unusual case was brought to court because the baby’s father expressed his concerns about the mother’s choice to receive a tattoo during a bitter parenting dispute.

Judge Matthew Myers, a Federal Circuit Court Judge, made the decision to grant an injunction to halt this mother from nursing her son regardless of the fact her tests results proved she did not contract HIV or hepatitis from her most recent tattoo. Judge Myers still felt that she put the child in an unacceptable risk because the tests were not conclusive.

In the aftermath of this court case, a few leading breastfeeding advocates came forth to share their concerns and frustrations with Judge Myer’s ruling. Rebecca Naylor, CEO of Australian Breastfeeding Association, said she is very worried about the dangerous precedent this could possibly set. Naylor asked the broader question – Does a judge have the right to control the risk-taking behaviors of women?

Naylor’s response to the ruling of this case: “Tattooing is a regulated industry, so if you go to a tattoo parlor that is reputable then the chances of contracting an infection are very low. I think unless there’s evidence that she has contracted an infection as a result of that tattoo – then it is unreasonable. Tattooing in and of itself, as long as it’s done in reputable way and that the infection control procedures are followed, the risk is low and so no, we would absolutely encourage women who have had tattoos to breastfeed their babies for as long as they choose to.

Does that mean that women who expose themselves to any sort of risks around the contraction of a blood-borne virus… shouldn’t be allowed to breastfeed? Of course, we have to consider the risk to babies, and I’m not in any way dismissing that. Women do need to be careful. They’re feeding a child; it’s going to be their main source of nutrition up until they’re 12 months of age, so you do have to be careful. But it doesn’t mean that you have to wrap yourself in glad wrap.”

Karleen Gribble from the University of Western Sydney, another breastfeeding advocate, was shocked by this court case. She said, “I have NEVER seen a case like this before”.

Gribble’s response to the ruling of this case: “I think if it were reasonable then we would have very, very many women in Australia who would be quite horrified and perhaps child protection authorities should be taking action because many mothers who are breastfeeding get tattoos — very often of their children’s names. I’m only aware of one case where somebody contracted HIV from tattooing and that was somebody who’d got a tattoo in Bali, not somebody who’d gotten it in Australia. I think when it comes to mothers and breastfeeding, we need to consider that mothers are people, they do things. Sometimes there’s a risk associated with what they do, but we generally think that they don’t need to protect their children from all risk and it comes down to considering, is this a reasonable risk? Most people consider that the risk of contracting HIV or hepatitis from using a tattoo parlor, and particularly if they’ve been careful about checking it out, is infinitesimally small.”

Family Court has agreed to hear this mother’s urgent appeal against the ruling in Sydney on Friday.

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Boost Your Wi-Fi Signal Without Spending a Penny

There I was, sifting through wireless signal boosters, antennas, wi-fi repeaters, and any other piece of gadgetry that could get my W-Fi signal from where my internet company wired my router into the house, and my office. The problem seems to be that the router and my office are as far away from each other in this floorplan as is possible. My phone didn’t even pick up Wi-Fi in my office. Then it occurred to me: “I’m sure there is a lifehack for this.”

Sure enough, there is. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you The Windsurfer:

Over at FreeAntennas.com, you can download the template and make your own little parabolic reflector with nothing but paper and foil. At first, I thought that there was no way this could work, it was way too simple. Well, I was wrong:

Here are my Wi-Fi signal strengths before: I made my first set of windsurfers. The first set was resized to fit 2 full templates on one sheet of 8.5″ X 11″ paper:

I completed my first set, and actually saw some improvements. I adjusted them, tweaked them, and even completely flipped one around to have the foil facing forward. I saw improvement, but it wasn’t as mind-blowing as I thought it would be:

So I did what any man would do, I doubled the size of my Windsurfers (original is on the right):

The results were amazing…

I’m not selling anything here, so if it didn’t work, I wouldn’t take the time to post this. Not only did these simple handmade reflectors improve my signal strength, they improved the quality. I don’t see speed fluctuations or drop Wi-Fi signal like I used to. If you have trouble with your Wi-Fi signal like I used to, you owe these a shot. It really is as simple as printing out the templates, cutting them out, and assembling them.

A couple of tips:
– In my case, I used tape instead of glue because it was easier to work with.
– I used 4 layers of paper because I didn’t have cardstock, and it held up just fine.
– Cut the tabs on the middle piece longer, it makes putting everything together easier.

You can download the templates HERE

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Bringing the East to the West: 20 Eye Opening Quotes from Alan Watts

At an early age, Alan W. Watts was fascinated with the Far East. He dedicated his life to bringing the teachings of Vedanta and Buddhism to the Western World. Watts died quietly in his sleep in 1973, but his insights live on today through an extensive audio library of nearly 400 talks and more than 25 books, including his final volume, Tao: The Watercourse Way

Here is a collection of some of the most profound quotes from Alan Watts:

“Trying to define yourself is like trying to bite your own teeth.”
― Alan W. Watts

“We seldom realize, for example that our most private thoughts and emotions are not actually our own. For we think in terms of languages and images which we did not invent, but which were given to us by our society.”
― Alan W. Watts

“Man suffers only because he takes seriously what the gods made for fun.”
― Alan W. Watts

“Muddy water is best cleared by leaving it alone.”
― Alan W. Watts

“This is the real secret of life — to be completely engaged with what you are doing in the here and now. And instead of calling it work, realize it is play.”
― Alan W. Watts

“The meaning of life is just to be alive. It is so plain and so obvious and so simple. And yet, everybody rushes around in a great panic as if it were necessary to achieve something beyond themselves.”
― Alan W. Watts, The Culture of Counter-Culture: Edited Transcripts

“To have faith is to trust yourself to the water. When you swim you don’t grab hold of the water, because if you do you will sink and drown. Instead you relax, and float.”
― Alan W. Watts

“You are an aperture through which the universe is looking at and exploring itself.”
― Alan W. Watts

“The menu is not the meal.”
― Alan W. Watts

“The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance.”
― Alan W. Watts

“Advice? I don’t have advice. Stop aspiring and start writing. If you’re writing, you’re a writer. Write like you’re a goddamn death row inmate and the governor is out of the country and there’s no chance for a pardon. Write like you’re clinging to the edge of a cliff, white knuckles, on your last breath, and you’ve got just one last thing to say, like you’re a bird flying over us and you can see everything, and please, for God’s sake, tell us something that will save us from ourselves. Take a deep breath and tell us your deepest, darkest secret, so we can wipe our brow and know that we’re not alone. Write like you have a message from the king. Or don’t. Who knows, maybe you’re one of the lucky ones who doesn’t have to.”
― Alan W. Watts

“You are a function of what the whole universe is doing in the same way that a wave is a function of what the whole ocean is doing.”
― Alan W. Watts

“I have realized that the past and future are real illusions, that they exist in the present, which is what there is and all there is.”
― Alan W. Watts

“The art of living… is neither careless drifting on the one hand nor fearful clinging to the past on the other. It consists in being sensitive to each moment, in regarding it as utterly new and unique, in having the mind open and wholly receptive.”
― Alan W. Watts

“Through our eyes, the universe is perceiving itself. Through our ears, the universe is listening to its harmonies. We are the witnesses through which the universe becomes conscious of its glory, of its magnificence.”
― Alan W. Watts

“The more a thing tends to be permanent, the more it tends to be lifeless.”
― Alan W. Watts

“Try to imagine what it will be like to go to sleep and never wake up… now try to imagine what it was like to wake up having never gone to sleep.”
― Alan W. Watts

“Every intelligent individual wants to know what makes him tick, and yet is at once fascinated and frustrated by the fact that oneself is the most difficult of all things to know.”
― Alan W. Watts

“A scholar tries to learn something everyday; a student of Buddhism tries to unlearn something daily.”
― Alan W. Watts

“Things are as they are. Looking out into the universe at night, we make no comparisons between right and wrong stars, nor between well and badly arranged constellations.”
― Alan W. Watts
Image: lifehack.org

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Straight from the Source: An Actual Interview with Nikola Tesla

It is one thing to read about the history of man, and quite another to read about how he was in everyday life. The following excerpt is from an interview between a journalist, John Smith, and Nikola Tesla. Not only is it amazing to have a glimpse into Tesla’s revolutionary mind, but into his sense of humor as well. He even tells the story of the time he almost made Mark Twain poop in his pants. Seriously.

George, May 7, 2015

Journalist: Mr. Tesla, you have gained the glory of the man who got involved in the cosmic processes. Who are you, Mr. Tesla?

Tesla: It is a right question, Mr. Smith, and I will try to give you the right answer to it.

Journalist: Some say you’re from the country of Croatia, from the area called Lika, where together with the people are growing trees, rocks and starry sky. They say that your home village is named after the mountain flowers, and that the house, where you were born, is next to the forest and the church.

Tesla: Really, all it true. I’m proud of my Serbian origin and my Croatian homeland.

Journalist: Futurists say that the Twenty-and Twenty First Century was born in head of Nikola Tesla. They celebrate conversely magnetic field and sing hymns to Inductions engine. Their creator was called the hunter who caught the light in his net from the depths of the earth, and the warrior who captured fire from heaven. Father of alternating current will make the Physics and Chemistry dominate half the world. Industry will proclaim him as their supreme saint, a banker for the largest benefactors. In the laboratory of Nikola Tesla for the first time is broken atom.

There is created a weapon that causes the earthquake vibrations. There are discovered black cosmic rays. Five races will pray to him in the Temple of the future, because they had taught a great secret that Empedocles elements can be watered with the life forces from the ethers.

Tesla: Yes, these are some of my most important discoveries. I’m a defeated man. I have not accomplished the greatest thing I could.

Journalist: What is it, Mr. Tesla?

Tesla: I wanted to illuminate the whole earth. There is enough electricity to become a second sun. Light would appear around the equator, as a ring around Saturn.

Mankind is not ready for the great and good. In Colorado Springs I soaked the earth by electricity. Also we can water the other energies, such as positive mental energy. They are in the music of Bach or Mozart, or in the verses of great poets. In the Earth’s interior, there are energy of Joy, Peace and Love. Their expressions are a flower that grows from the Earth, the food we get out of her and everything that makes man’s homeland. I’ve spent years looking for the way that this energy could influence people. The beauty and the scent of roses can be used as a medicine and the sun rays as a food.

Life has an infinite number of forms, and the duty of scientists is to find them in every form of matter. Three things are essential in this. All that I do is a search for them. I know I will not find them, but I will not give up on them.

Journalist: What are these things?

Tesla: One issue is food. What a stellar or terrestrial energy to feed the hungry on Earth? With what wine watered all thirsty, so that they can cheer in their heart and understand that they are Gods?

Another thing is to destroy the power of evil and suffering in which man’s life passes! They sometimes occur as an epidemic in the depths of space. In this century, the disease had spread from Earth in the Universe.

The third thing is: Is there an excess Light in the Universe? I discovered a star that by all the astronomical and mathematical laws could disappear, and that nothing seems to be modified. This star is in this galaxy. Its light can occur in such density that fits into a sphere smaller than an apple, a heavier than our Solar System. Religions and philosophies teach that man can become the Christ, Buddha and Zoroaster. What I’m trying to prove is wilder, and almost unattainable. This is what to do in the Universe so every being is born as Christ, Buddha or Zoroaster.

I know that gravity is prone to everything you need to fly and my intention is not to make flying devices (aircraft or missiles), but teach individual to regain consciousness on his own wings … Further; I am trying to awake the energy contained in the air. There are the main sources of energy. What is considered as empty space is just a manifestation of matter that is not awakened.

No empty space on this planet, nor in the Universe.. In black holes, what astronomers talk about, are the most powerful sources of energy and life.

Journalist: On the window of your room in hotel “Valdorf-Astoria”, on the thirty-third floor, every morning, the birds arrive.

Tesla: A man must be sentimental towards the birds. This is because of their wings. Human had them once, the real and visible!

Journalist: You have not stopped flying since those distant days in Smiljan!

Tesla: I wanted to fly from the roof and I fell: Children’s calculations could be wrong. Remember, the youth wings have everything in life!

Journalist: Have you ever married? It is not known that you have affection for love or for a woman. Photos from the youth show you were handsome man.

Tesla: Yes. I did not. There are two views: a lot affection or not at all. The center serves to rejuvenate human race. Women for certain people nurtures and strengthen its vitality and spirit. Being single does the same to other people. I chose that second path.

Journalist: Your admirers are complaining that you attacking relativity. The strange is your assertion that the matter has no energy. Everything is imbued with energy, where it is?

Tesla: First was energy, then matter.

Journalist: Mr. Tesla, it’s like when you said that you were born by your father, and not on you.

Tesla: Exactly! What about the birth of the Universe? Matter is created from the original and eternal energy that we know as Light .It shone, and there have been appear star, the planets, man, and everything on the Earth and in the Universe. Matter is an expression of infinite forms of Light, because energy is older than it. There are four laws of Creation. The first is that the source of all the baffling, dark plot that the mind cannot conceive, or mathematics measure. In that plot fit the whole Universe.

The second law is spreading a darkness, which is the true nature of Light, from the inexplicable and it’s transformed into the Light. The third law is the necessity of the Light to become a matter of Light. The fourth law is: no beginning and no end; three previous laws always take place and the Creation is eternal.

Journalist: In the hostility to the theory of relativity you go so far, that you hold lectures against its Creator at your birthday parties..

Tesla: Remember, it is not curved space, but the human mind which cannot comprehend infinity and eternity! If relativity has been clearly understood by its Creator, he would gain immortality, even yet physically, if he is pleased.

I am part of a light, and it is the music. The Light fills my six senses: I see it, hear, feel, smell, touch and think. Thinking of it means my sixth sense. Particles of Light are written note. O bolt of lightning can be an entire sonata. A thousand balls of lightning is a concert.. For this concert

I have created a Ball Lightning, which can be heard on the icy peaks of the Himalayas. About Pythagoras and mathematics a scientist may not and must not infringe of these two. Numbers and equations are signs that mark the music of the spheres. If Einstein had heard these sounds, he would not create theories of relativity. These sounds are the messages to the mind that life has meaning, that the Universe exists in perfect harmony, and its beauty is the cause and effect of Creation. This music is the eternal cycle of stellar heavens.

The smallest star has completed composition and also, part of the celestial symphony. The man’s heartbeats are part of the symphony on the Earth. Newton learned that the secret is in geometric arrangement and motion of celestial bodies. He recognized that the supreme law of harmony exists in the Universe. The curved space is chaos, chaos is not music. Einstein is the messenger of the time of sound and fury.

Journalist: Mr. Tesla, do you hear that music?

Tesla: I hear it all the time. My spiritual ear is as big as the sky we see above us. My natural ear I increased by the radar. According to the Theory of Relativity, two parallel lines will meet in infinity. By that Einstein’s curved will straighten. Once created, the sound lasts forever. For a man it can vanish, but continues to exist in the silence that is man’s greatest power.

No, I have nothing against Mr. Einstein. He is a kind person and has done many good things, some of which will become part of the music. I will write to him and try to explain that the ether exists, and that its particles are what keep the Universe in harmony, and the life in eternity.

Journalist: Tell me, please, under what conditions Angel adopt on the Earth?

Tesla: I have ten of them. Keep good records vigilant.

Journalist: I will document all your words, Dear Mr. Tesla.

Tesla: The first requirement is a high awareness of its mission and work to be done. It must, if only dimly, exist in the early days. Let us not be falsely modest; Oak knows that it is oak tree, a bush beside him being a bush. When I was twelve, I have been sure I will get to Niagara Falls. For most of my discoveries I knew in my childhood that I will achieve them, although not entirely apparent … The second condition to adapt is determination. All that I might, I finished.

Journalist: What is the third condition of adjustment, Mr. Tesla?

Tesla: Guidance for all the vital and spiritual energies in labor. Therefore purification of the many effects and needs that man has. I therefore have not lost anything, but just gained.

So I enjoyed every day and night. Write down: Nikola Tesla was a happy man… The fourth requirement is to adjust the physical assembly with a work.

Journalist: What do you mean, Mr. Tesla?

Tesla: First, the maintenance of the assembly. Man’s body is a perfect machine. I know my circuit and what’s good for him. Food what nearly all people eat, to me it is harmful and dangerous. Sometimes I visualize that chefs in the world are all in conspiracy against me … Touch my hand.

Journalist: It was cold.

Tesla: Yes. Bloodstream can be controlled, and many processes in and around us. Why are you frightened young man?

Journalist: It’s a story that Mark Twain wrote a mysterious stranger, that wonderful book of Satan, inspired by you.

Tesla: The word “Lucifer” is more charming. Mr. Twain likes to joke. As a child I was healed once by reading his books. When we met here and told him about, he was so touched that he cried. We became friends and he often came to my lab. Once he requested to show him a machine that by vibration provokes a feeling of bliss. It was one of those inventions for entertainment, what I sometimes like to do.

I warned Mr. Twain as not to remain under these vibrations. He did not listen and stayed longer. It ended by being, like a rocket, holding pants, darted into a certain room. It was a diabolically funny, but I kept the seriousness.

But, to adjust the physical circuit, in addition to food, dream is very important . From a long and exhausting work, which required superhuman effort, after one hour of sleep I’d be fully recovered. I gained the ability to manage sleep, to fell asleep and wake up in the time which I have designated. If I do something what I do not understand, I force myself to think about it in my dream, and thus find a solution.

Read the entire interview HERE

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Revolution of Ideas: 25 Timeless Quotes from Bill Hicks

The brightest flames always burn the fastest, and Bill Hicks was no exception to that rule. As a comedian, Hicks wielded comedy like a sword in an attempt to slay the “fevered egos” that were screwing us all, every day of our lives. Hicks died at the age of 32, but not before he spent 19 years using his talents to expose the faults all around us. Paul Outhwaite said it best when he said “People use and misuse the word “tragedy” all the time. It seems to accompany the death of anybody famous. But the real definition of tragedy evokes a sense of loss and poignancy, a sense of someone dying before they really gave everything they had to offer. Without hyperbole, Bill Hicks’ death was a tragedy, for there was so much still to come from this creative, imaginative talent. When he died in 1994 the world lost a rare talent, but his spirit and philosophy still live on.”

Bill once said, ““Listen, the next revolution is gonna be a revolution of ideas.” So, in the spirit of that mentality: Here are 25 Quotes from Bill Hicks that personify the beautiful, sarcastic, dark, wonderful mind that is dearly missed:

“They lie about marijuana. Tell you pot-smoking makes you unmotivated. Lie! When you’re high, you can do everything you normally do just as well — you just realize that it’s not worth the fucking effort. There is a difference.”

“I’m tired of this back-slappin’ “isn’t humanity neat” bullshit. We’re a virus with shoes.”

“I don’t mean to sound bitter, cold, or cruel, but I am, so that’s how it comes out.”

“We all pay for life with death, so everything in between should be free.”

“Watching television is like taking black spray paint to your third eye.”

“The whole image is that eternal suffering awaits anyone who questions God’s infinite love. That’s the message we’re brought up with, isn’t it? Believe or die! Thank you, forgiving Lord, for all those options.”

“The world is like a ride in an amusement park. And when you choose to go on it, you think it’s real because that’s how powerful our minds are. And the ride goes up and down and round and round. It has thrills and chills and it’s very brightly coloured and it’s very loud and it’s fun, for a while. Some people have been on the ride for a long time and they begin to question: “Is this real, or is this just a ride?” And other people have remembered, and they come back to us, they say, “Hey, don’t worry, don’t be afraid, ever, because this is just a ride.” And we kill those people.”

“I loved when Bush came out and said, ‘We are losing the war against drugs.’
You know what that implies? There’s a war being fought, and the people on drugs are winning it.”

“I believe that there is an equality to all humanity. We all suck.”

“Folks, it’s time to evolve. That’s why we’re troubled. You know why our institutions are failing us, the church, the state, everything’s failing? It’s because, um – they’re no longer relevant. We’re supposed to keep evolving. Evolution did not end with us growing opposable thumbs. You do know that, right?”

“This is where we are at right now, as a whole. No one is left out of the loop. We are experiencing a reality based on a thin veneer of lies and illusions. A world where greed is our God and wisdom is sin, where division is key and unity is fantasy, where the ego-driven cleverness of the mind is praised, rather than the intelligence of the heart.”

“Why is marijuana against the law? It grows naturally upon our planet. Doesn’t the idea of making nature against the law seem to you a bit …unnatural?”

“The definition of black irony is Pro-lifers killing Doctors who do abortions”

“I get a kick out of being an outsider constantly. It allows me to be creative. I don’t like anything in the mainstream and they don’t like me.”

“I ascribe to Mark Twain’s theory that the last person who should be President is the one who wants it the most. The one who should be picked is the one who should be dragged kicking and screaming into the White House.”

“Oh sorry, I was taking life seriously.”

“I can’t watch TV longer than five minutes without praying for nuclear holocaust.”

“I never got along with my dad. Kids used to come up to me and say, “My dad can beat up your dad.” I’d say Yeah? When?”

“You see, I think drugs have done some good things for us. I really do. And if you don’t believe drugs have done good things for us, do me a favor. Go home tonight. Take all your albums, all your tapes and all your CDs and burn them. ‘Cause you know what, the musicians that made all that great music that’s enhanced your lives throughout the years were rrreal fucking high on drugs. The Beatles were so fucking high they let Ringo sing a few tunes.”

“Wouldn’t you like to see a positive LSD story on the news? To base your decision on information rather than scare tactics and superstition? Perhaps? Wouldn’t that be interesting? Just for once? ‘Today, a young man on acid realized that all matter is merely energy condensed to a slow vibration – that we are all one consciousness experiencing itself subjectively. There’s no such thing as death, life is only a dream, and we’re the imagination of ourselves. Here’s Tom with the weather.‘”

“This is the material, by the way, that has kept me virtually anonymous in America for the past 15 years. Gee, I wonder why we’re hated the world over? Look at these fat Americans in the front row – ‘Why doesn’t he just hit fruit with a hammer?’ Folks, I could have done that, walked around being a millionaire and franchising myself but no, I had to have this weird thing about trying to illuminate the collective unconscious and help humanity. Fucking moron.”

“Life is only a dream and we are the imagination of ourselves.”

“I know this is not a very popular idea. You don’t hear it too often any more … but it’s the truth. I have taken drugs before and … I had a real good time. Sorry. Didn’t murder anybody, didn’t rape anybody, didn’t rob anybody, didn’t beat anybody, didn’t lose – hmm – one fucking job, laughed my ass off, and went about my day. Sorry. Now, where’s my commercial?”

“It’s great to be here. I thank you. Ah, I’ve been on the road doing comedy for ten years now, so bear with me while I plaster on a fake smile and plow through this shit one more time.”

and finally…

“I left in love, in laughter, and in truth, and wherever truth, love, and laughter abide, I am there in spirit.”

Thank You, Bill. You are missed.

The post Revolution of Ideas: 25 Timeless Quotes from Bill Hicks appeared first on I Heart Intelligence.

10 Things You Could Do With the Time You Spend on Facebook Every Day

So we all know that social media has become an integral part of everyday life for most of us. According to the Pew Research Center, 71% of adults used Facebook as of September of 2014.

Now, I won’t say that I was shocked by those statistics. Let’s face it, social media is a huge part of what we do here, so keeping up with the trend of internet usage is important. What those statistics DID do, was lead me to ask the question: “How much time does the average person spend on Facebook every day?” Amazingly, according to NBC News, the average American spends 40 minutes a day on Facebook alone. As astounding as that may sound, keep in mind, that is the AVERAGE.

I will be the first to admit that I spend at least that amount of time on Facebook every day. In my case, it has to do with what I do for a living, but even then – it’s too much. So instead of just acknowledging the problem, I’ve decided to put together a list of things that you can do every single day with that same 40 minutes that is more fulfilling than and Facebook status update ever could be.

1. Exercise
The Mayo Clinic recommends that you get at least 30 minutes of exercise a day. For the people that claim that they don’t have enough time to work out, here is your opportunity. For the record, exercise is not getting dressed, driving to the gym, taking locker room selfies for 20 minutes, and staring at weight machines for 20 minutes. Exercise can be as simple as walking around the parking lot at your office at lunch.

2. Take a Class
The internet itself is a vast wealth of information. That same 40 minutes a day that people spend on average on Facebook, is roughly the same time it takes to complete a free online class. There are hundreds of websites that you can utilize to learn something new, or hone an old skill. Here are 40 of them right here that are completely free.

3. Read
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average daily time spent reading for kids between the ages of 15 to 19 is 4.2 minutes. That statistic doesn’t improve much for adults across the spectrum. Again, there are thousands of free, online sources for books. There is no reason not to engage your brain in a book at for 30-40 minutes a day. Besides, science has shown that reading is even good for you.

4. Cook a Meal
The standard American Diet exists mainly because people sacrifice quality for convenience. Imagine if you took that 40 minutes a day spent looking at what other people are eating and cooked yourself a quality meal. Again, there is no lack of instructional materials for cooking and diet.

5. Truly Connect with Family and Friends
A lot of people use the excuse that they are connecting with friends and family via social media, and that is why they use it so much. In reality, how well do you connect with someone digitally? Instead of scrolling through your news feed to see what someone is up to, why not pick up the phone? Social media tends to be the part of someone’s life that they want you to see, so breaking through that digital barrier allows you connect with the people in your life in more meaningful ways.

6. Take a Nap
I know that napping, as opposed to social media usage, sounds counter-productive – but naps are actually good for you. More specifically, short, 10-20-minute naps – which leaves you an additional 20-30 minutes to be even more productive.

7. Write
I might be a little biased about this one, but I think that writing is one of the healthiest things you can do for your mental and emotional state. I have always recommended to people that they maintain a journal or sorts, even if it is just to vent or collect ideas. You’d be amazed how much better you can feel after taking everything in your head and dumping it out on paper. Even in our techno-gadgetry heavy world, you’ll very rarely find me without an old beat-up spiral notebook and a pen.

8. De-Clutter
This is another personal activity I engage in at least once a day that has the ability to completely reset my brain. Every morning before I sit down to work, I completely clean off my desk, so that I start every day with a clean, organized workspace. Something about that mundane task just clears my head and focuses me on what I have to do that day. The same can work for your bedroom, refrigerator, or your entire house for that matter.

9. Organize
De-cluttering and organizing kind of go hand-in-hand, but organization can extend into the intangible aspects of your life as well. Sitting down to get your proverbial ducks in a row is not only productive, but it reduces stress as well. Again, there is a whole collection of free apps and services you can use to collect the scattered aspects of your life.

10. Meditate
Meditation is one of those things I never thought I would get into. So when I started trying it, I mean REALLY trying it, I was amazed to find out how beneficial it can really be. Meditation has the ability to lower blood pressure, reduce stress, improve brain function, and elevate and balance your mood. Meditation isn’t something that requires a whole bunch of training or hours of time to get good at; it just requires you finding what works best for you, and doing it.

The post 10 Things You Could Do With the Time You Spend on Facebook Every Day appeared first on I Heart Intelligence.

The Largest Floating Structure in History Has a Very Important Ecology Job

If you are like me, when you hear about the “largest floating structure in the world”, you might immediately conjure images of some giant floating monstrosity of a cruise liner carrying a bunch of tourists across a desolate stretch of ocean. THANKFULLY, that is not the case – in reality, the largest floating structure in history is much, much more important than being a floating hotel.

2 years ago an 18-year-old kid by the name of Boyan Slat set out to change the world. He founded The Ocean Cleanup, with one objective in mind: to tackle the pollution epidemic that our Oceans are facing.

(from The Ocean Cleanup)

The Ocean Cleanup has designed a system that will collect the plastic trash that we have so carelessly discarded for decades. Their pilot system is 2.1 miles long, and will be in place for 2 years. According to The Ocean Cleanup Website:

“The coastal array will be the first time an operational Ocean Cleanup system is to be deployed in the ocean. Spanning 2000 meters (and with a barrier length of over 2300m), it will become the longest floating structure ever deployed on the oceans, even though this will be just 2% of the full-scale structure. Deployment is expected in Q2 2016. On May 20, The Ocean Cleanup and the city government of Tsushima (a Japanese island which lies between Japan and Korea) jointly agreed to conduct research to bring the world’s first ocean cleanup array to Tsushima Island.”

So How Does Ocean Cleanup Work?

“Why move through the oceans, if the oceans can move through you? Instead of going after the plastic using boats and nets, The Ocean Cleanup will use long floating barriers, using the natural movement of the ocean currents to passively concentrate the plastic itself.”

“Virtually all of the current flows underneath these booms, taking away all (neutrally buoyant) sea life, preventing by-catch while the lighter-than-water plastic collects in front of the floating barrier.”

“The scalable array of floating barriers, attached to the seabed, is designed for large-magnitude deployment, covering millions of square kilometers without moving a centimeter.”
(images and text via The Ocean Cleanup)

The Ocean Cleanup is far from just a concept, it has actually already been proven to work. The initial tests have all shown that the system is effective. So effective, in fact, that initial research estimates that The Ocean Cleanup could eliminate the Great Pacific Garbage Patch in just 10 years – and can do it in a manner that costs 33 times less money, and is 7,900 faster than the current boat and net methods.

Check out this video from The Ocean Cleanup to see their work in action:

The post The Largest Floating Structure in History Has a Very Important Ecology Job appeared first on I Heart Intelligence.

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Magical Mekong: 139 New Species Discovered

What The Dementor Wasp Does to Cockroaches is Simply Awesome

The World Wildlife Fund released a new report detailing 139 new species of plants and animals found in the Greater Mekong region, and one of the coolest/scariest on the list is the Ampulex Dementor wasp. No, really – that’s what they named it.

Ampulex dementor, or as it is more cordially called, “the Soul-Sucking Dementor”, was named for the very same dementor character in the Harry Potter series because it essentially sucks the souls out of its prey. Cool, right? Basically what happens is: the dementor wasp injects venom into a cockroach and that venom then blocks the neuroreceptors of the cockroach – turning it into a zombie of sorts. The cockroach can still move, but it has no control over its own body. So the dementor just grabs a hold of one of the cockroaches antennae and drags him back to his waspy lair. After the wasp has had a quick snack of the still living roach, the wasp then lays its eggs in the living roach, buries it, and goes off to find another cockroach to turn into a living nest for more baby wasps.

The wasp’s name was actually part of a PR campaign put together by the natural history museum in Berlin, the Museum für Naturkunde. A group of German researchers discovered the wasp back in 2014 but reserved the special task of naming the wasp to the public visitors of the Museum. According to Michael Ohl, who worked on the project said, “I am convinced that events like this increase people’s curiosity about local and global fauna and nature.” The choices were: “Bicolor,” after its red-black pattern; “Mon,” after a local ethnic group where the wasp lives; “Plagiator,” since it mimics, or “plagiarizes,” ants; and “Dementor,” described to visitors as “magical beings, which can consume a person’s soul, leaving their victims as an empty but functional body without personality and emotions.”

Clearly “Ampulex Dementor” was the way to go.

The following video is of a jewel wasp, a cousin of the Dementor Wasp, which also turns its cockroach victims into zombies. Watch this little guy in action:

The post What The Dementor Wasp Does to Cockroaches is Simply Awesome appeared first on I Heart Intelligence.

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