03/09/2010 by admin.
If we are not careful we can accumulate so much mental baggage about what we do, what we want, what we would like, what others have and we don’t, why are are like we are and why others are seemingly better (we never compare with those who have less), and so it all goes on. We have aspirations, and dreams and desires and the like and whilst none of these are bad in themselves if we are not careful they just pile up on our “In Tray” and never get filed, updated or sorted. The trouble with thoughts is that they are just what they are, thoughts, and as such thoughts don’t contain criteria nor do they hold depth, they are but mind aberrations based upon certain bits of information that we have and as they have no demonstrative action to accompany them, we can think of anything then forget it all, or enhance it or custom it or do whatever we like, we have that luxury with thought. We can be so abstract with what we think that there at times isn’t anything logical about the end result. We can even hypothesize and take thought to another level, and couple our thoughts with our emotions and well anything can happen, we can even make ourselves depressed. It’s good at times to take our mind for a walk on the “wild side” it’s like a car it does it good to have a good run, and similarly our mind at times needs taking for a walk and getting rid of the dull repetitiveness that it can find itself in at times. Of course how we live our lives makes a difference to our thoughts, if we live a sedentary life then our thoughts usually reside in the sedentary more and possibly even to the extent of us becoming an armchair critic too, doing nothing but judging a everything.
After a while we can start to slow down both physically and mentally because the accumulated dross which has not been updated nor sifted out in our mind’s “in Tray” eventually takes its toll. We feel that there is so much to achieve and a lot of that stuff to achieve is not only now redundant but it has grown into another dimension of thought as we have either progressed or regressed in life. Being free from the detritus and the flotsom and jetsom that can accumulate and the dust which settles on it all does slow our mind processes down as we often take into account this large storage area of redundant information much of which has no bearing upon what we do today, it’s mainly consisting of yesterdays thoughts based upon yesterdays situations. Letting Go isn’t about giving up, nor is it about not having aspirations nor things we would like to have, it’s apportioning them to a real list of thoughts that if the opportunity came around you’d go for it, but until such times happen then you live life to the full without the constant reminder of the ‘wish list’. Letting go of emotions pertaining to unsavoury incidents or bereavement or work or redundancy etc, frees up the mind to seeing the “bigger picture”, and allows for happier times, fun, a lightness of life, one becomes more interesting rather than boring and in all life takes a turn for the better.
Letting go is like having a ship tied up in harbour, if you don’t untie it it will never get to sea the purpose for which it is made, and whilst some people are more gregarious in life, everyone needs to keep some degree of freedom within themselves otherwise they get cocooned into a place of small room and then thoughts ands feelings and indeed life becomes very isolated. Letting go also means making an effort to forgive, to stop the hatred, to stop the feelings of retribution, to stop punishing yourself for events of the past, to live for what today is all about and allow tomorrow to come into your life fresh and new. Letting go isn’t moaning and endlessly complaining, it’s to have love within your heart and being pleased for others and not wanting them not to get on as it strikes a jealous or selfish note within. Letting go is not trying to control the world and life around you but just make sure that where you fit into the overall picture you are respected and not looked upon as a misfit or jaundiced soul that has no purpose. Letting go is like throwing the ballast out of your hot air balloon, and allowing it to rise so that it takes you out of the narrow ground base and from up above you can view the entire landscape, it makes that much of a difference.
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©John Rushton / The Life Alchemist 2010
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01/09/2010 by admin.
Most of us like illusionists, we know it’s all trickery, but we like to be tricked in a nice way so that it gives us that “wow” factor feeling and the usual response that follows of “How did they do that”? It’s fun and it’s harmless, and it’s above all very entertaining, the slight of the hand, the misdirection of the eye, the redirection of glances and lots of mechanical trickery that eludes us as we gaze forward thinging we are going to spot how its done, yet we don’t. We don’t mind failing because we then believe that what was done is just so good that it deserves to be what it is, and all the best to the illusionist who game plays the act every day or twice at weekends. The feeling that a group of people see the illusion together and all are taken back brings on a shared commonality even with people you don’t even know, it brings if only for a moment a shared smile and a mutual understanding in all those smiles that what everyone has seen was good. In life things can be just so different, the smile that one person has is because they are of a pleasant disposition and always smiles, it’s their second nature and it reflects their personality even when they are faced with not so nice things they remain smiling. Then there is the person who smiles because they’ve just been privvy to a joke or something funny with a friend or colleage or are taking the ‘micky’ out of a mutual friend and it brings up a whole batch of stuff which is shared and comical. Then there is the person who smiles but has little if anything to smile about, the person whose world has almost come to an end emotionally because of the internal pressures that they are facing, and the only way they can get through each day is to smile because in doing so others reciprocate and that brightens up life and promotes a degree of that “feel good” factor, and in that state every little helps. We are not only illusionists ourselves we are masters of divisive content that we, like chameleons can change colour or stance depending on our surroundings.
The ambiguity of smiling can reflect or cover up a whole menagerie of things that are not only unknown to the onlooker but can be quite deceptive too, we assume therefore we react in a certain way, quite understandable yet so often we make mistakes based upon assumptions without knowing what it is we are really seeing. Whilst it’s good to smile at all times even at funerals, there are times where being expressive can allow us to be the person we are and allow our feelings to show through. For some however they constantly allow how they feel to show through, which is not as one would expect being totally true to yourself, it reflects a more sinister “I don’t care about anyone else” attitude and that they are not only selfish, their thoughts being, “all about me”, such people are a nusance and can’t be trusted as they are temperamental. We all have somewhere stashed in our minds an emotion that’s called humility, it’s becoming rather rare today, never the less like precious stones it has its place and it’s picked up by others as a gesture of an elevated form and distinction, if it isn’t then who are you talking to? Humility allows us to take the grace and comprehension of others and allow them to be who or what they are at face value without judging or trying to fathon out any hidden or alternative meanings, it furthermore allows the initial impact to allow the real truth surface, without us losing our cool, or without us being astounded or dumbfounded at how wrong we were. We were wrong because we assumed rather than awaited further information before building our picture of what we think, which could be a million miles away from what it really is.
Smugness is not a positive attribute but showing a genuiness about yourself and those around you is appaudible, it gives rise to a heightened understanding and sees through the detritus of life, it breaks barriers, it percolates the the contorted aspects of others lives into a more simplistic undestanding and it stops the negativity of others rubbing off, it’s a none-stick coating the permeates one way and stops the dross getting through the other. People who smile nearly always get better treatment or are approached more often or get access more quickly because it resonates with those other human beings who can associate with the feeling and what it stands for. The irony is that people who can smile and who don’t need help are still more likely to be asked over and above those who really do need help because of the negativity that the latter subliminally put out which is over and above the help and assistance that they seek. The unsmiling are often complex and lazy and self centred and arrogant and mean and have some degree of ego problem or that things are unfair etc. Life is not fair, there’s nothing written in law or life itself that things need to be or are fair, fairness is what man attributes to himself, and it’s upheld by individuals in a collective called society, the unsmiling see it as a one way venture and thus are always at loggerheads with society. We can’t help how we look, and beauty denotes nothing other than a look, the real beauty of somone is from within not via the outer shell. It’s what’s within that element that comes from the brain that makes life what it is. It may be that if life isn’t what it is to our way of thinking, but it could just be you you who needs to shape up and smell the coffee.
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©John Rushton / The Life Alchemist 2010
Posted in I'M SMILING YOU'RE NOT | No Comments »
31/08/2010 by admin.
Two very powerful words that express so much about life, the person we are, our understanding of life and others, the etiquette of getting out and about and communicating proficiently with fellow man, the humility of the self and above all our understanding of ourselves regardless of what others think. It’s important that we know when we are wrong and can admit to it without our ego creeping in or without degrees of arrogance taking over and us making excuses trying to avoid saying sorry. Being sorry and saying thank you can be very liberating indeed, it can free the self up from harbouring deceit and lies and and building a hard and callous interface within that over time will stop us from enjoying life as we should be and it will by default keep others away as they will be able to read the “unfortunate” side of our character and immediately not want to commune with us. Whether being sorry for whatever it is that one is sorry about is not accepted or if so begrudgingly by the other party is not important you can’t tell others what to do or what not to do, their thought patterns are the way they are for a reason. But the fact that one offers sorrow over an action or deed is enough to placate the self even if initially it was of a selfish and divisive nature. Having said all of that saying sorry doesn’t make things alright especially if the deed that one is sorry over was selfish and divisive and it all went wrong, but life is for living and moving on, it’s hot from dragging the past with you or harbouring ill thoughts on a permanent basis to try and keep justification for negativity alive and hatred or anger as a live credential for purpose. Such thoughts make the holder of the negative emotions as bad or worse than the one or ones who instigated the wrong doing in the first place.
The human nature of man himself is to show gratitude and in showing gratitude it’s an acceptance of what some one else or others have done or are offering for you. The deeds of individuals or groups of people giving of the service or product play an equally important part in how we communicate with others, life is full of reciprocity it’s this reciprocity that makes the world go around and allows many of us the freedom to interact without let or hindrance by others. Religions in society (man made aspects of God) are the kiss of death as they impart evil and control and censorship and ritual and mayhem and evil and guilt and it’s administered by those who should be preaching love, not the hatred as hate is the keynote of devil worship. Saying thank you denotes the acceptance of human exchange, the giving and taking of something no matter how large or small, it’s the deed or service or product that we giving thanks for and that gives an elevated feeling of purpose, even if many say thank you almost begrudgingly, which denotes a staid and dull mind of a somewhat selfish nature. Happy and positive people are always profuse with exclamations in life of thanking everyone for whatever they have done no matter how small, they are given thanks. For those who have a grudge or a chip on their shoulders or who think they need more than they have or any other mentally defective thought then is there any wonder why those that don’t have or are envious or prideful aren’t as smart or as outgoing as those that do make a difference.
Politeness is a mild lubricant on life, someone with manners is almost automatically accepted even if not liked for some reason or another, the genuineness of manners is something else but the absence of them stands out a mile. Manners done a quality of the human being and a degree of breeding and the people whom one mixes with, and the company that one keeps overall. The absence of manners denote an almost ignorance that’s inherent and that one does not know the difference between a person of merit and an ignorant slob. Whether we the character or style of one over the other is immaterial, the fact that everyone knows the difference and that people who are usually well mannered in their acceptance of what they do in relation tro others places the type of person who has such credentials on one side of the fence and the rest on the other. Manners are common to man, wealth or any other trappings are ancillary to what others say or do, it’s that point of contact that one can be honest with any deed or service that has not gone well or has been offered and that the other person or people in question and reciprocating their acceptance of whatever it is. Even if it’s a thank you or a sorry by proxy it never the less excludes a degree of ongoing implication unless there is some legality adhering to what has been transacted.
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©John Rushton / The Life Alchemist 2010
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30/08/2010 by admin.
The power of the mind is amazingly strong, although most people have little faith or confidence in themselves other than in what knowledge they possess and the knowledge that that knowledge can thus be utilised for, business purposes or some material gain somewhere, otherwise it’s just a latent aspect of the mind that’s there and fulfills no real or useful purpose. Having said that many people are literally power houses of knowledge and do little about it or even deem that it has value as the knowledge they have attained has been relatively easy and thus their mind set is the old “no pain no gain” and whilst there is an element of truth in that, it’s not what it’s all about. Our whole persona and attitude towards life emanates from our mind, this is based upon our knowledge and importantly the kind of knowledge more than the amount of varied knowledge, even if this has an effect of broadening the mind. The brain works of a feedback system in that we give out or radiate information and we similarly receive or take in information, process it all and then make an assessment of it based upon what we know and then either store it or work on it, whichever is appropriate, all done in nano seconds.If we are bad or good people then it’s us who decides which, it comes from our thoughts and it ’s relayed by our actions, if we pull the trigger we can’t blame others regardless of circumstances, it’s our finger engaging with the trigger, full stop. Our interface with life is exactly the same, we interface with life which includes our surroundings and all those within it including animals and buildings and the property of others too. Our mind is permanently like a computer evaluating what feeds it, even if we are somewhat thick and stupid and lazy, we know right from wrong, so there’s no excuse as to making the wrong choices no matter how many lies you make up or jump on to the “blame culture” band of the mentally deficient.
Good things elevate our thoughts they make us feel good, they raise our expectations of life and of others, they make us more affable and less trite and uphold a purpose that we have for others no matter who they are. Even the selfish need some degree of positivity otherwise even they rescind into a place of lowness and become sharp, contrite, mean and selfishly self spirited. Goodness has a wonderful healing effect on our bodies too, it allows us better sleep, enhances our immune system, allows us the luxury of not jumping to conclusions, not taking offence at something we dislike or disagree with and it gives us the ability to “see” far more than those who are negatively charged and only dwell on the problems rather than the solutions in life. Goodness breeds goodness, it’s contagious, it brings a harmony and removers discord and it removes too inbuilt anger and thoughts about those that we disagree with as well as placing ourselves at a level which is conducive to a better life and importantly more stress free too. Negative people usually attract negative people and positive people attract the positive people this can be seen quite openly as we form our conversations based upon the power of achieving or failing. Failure to a positive person is but one solution that needs refinement, failure a negative person is tantamount to giving up such is their dull mind set and them feeling dowhearted and all the rest.
Goodness in people helps them get on in life, it can in many circumstance allow those who have a pleasant disposition to get on better than those who basically no one likes and which is evident in a company. Goodness in someone promotes higher degrees of trust than those who are less so, as the more “goodness” someone has generally the more thoughtful they are, so the bottom line in qualifications can be thwarted by not employing someone who is technically slightly superior but would bring down the whole atmosphere and is a lousy communicator. Goodness is a reciprocal thing it’s not only nice to receive but to give out too, and for no other reason than it is really good to do. Those that have to decide to effect a good deed or do so because of what it may bring are in themselves not as well forward and as elevated in the life stakes as they think they are. Goodness isn’t at all a weakness, indeed it’s a strength because people who do good things are not a pushover and can see a mile away those who think they can latch on to something for nothing. Goodness allows for forthright conversation because it won’t stand for being lied to or being mislead or anything subversive because it’s not good. Goodness can see those who scheme and plot at the expense of others and thus move on to more wholesome territory, goodness promotes better relationships and gives life a stability that others permanently seek or desire and wonder why they can’t ever find it. Goodness is what it is, you should know how good you are?
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©John Rushton / The Life Alchemist 2010
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29/08/2010 by admin.
From the Chaos Theory we get the “Butterfly Effect”, then we get ‘sensitive dependence’ whereby both describe the changes that take place in any given scenario no matter how small that can affect the long term prognosis or estimate of what will happen or could happen. Small changes which to the casual observer mean relatively nothing or are indeed insignificant can eventually produce devastating or dramatic changes to a concept or theory or projection. Even our washing machines and dishwashers use a type of “fuzzy logic” to predict a random set of events or circumstances to give us a better and cleaner and more efficient wash. Every day pilots flying around the world often have to make small but continuous adjustments to the aircraft speed and direction otherwise they would miss the destination airport particularly on long haul flights. Chaos like anything else changes in appearance depending upon how we look at it, from a snapshot chaos is just that something that is literally chaotic and is all over the place or hasn’t got set parameters or boundaries. But from the “bigger picture” it has a definition and a life of its own that can accommodate relative predictable and quantifiable areas that together can be utilised to provide a solution to many problems. Knowing that a certain degree of predictable unpredictability is to happen allows us to programme such events into an equation and work out something that gives us a tangible grasp of whatever it is we are looking at. In short there is an order in life and sometimes that order has a span greater than we imagine or possibly shorter too so everything has to be looked at in context.
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Where our human thought comes into play it’s often somewhat different in that we rarely see the bigger picture or make allowances for events or situations preferring to jump straight into the emotional aspect of what we feel or what we perceive and not put a great deal of thought into considering implications and conditions unless they stand out a mile, and then we don’t often do justice to what we have gleaned. Many people go drastically wrong by assumptions and by wanting to move on too quickly and get some degree of closure or resolution based upon the facts as they see them. And facts are relative, if we are wealthy then the price of a small car is not only cheap we wouldn’t even consider buying it, if we are somewhat ‘hard up’ then even the cost of a cheap car could be quite considerable and we may even need a loan, so what is said by whom always needs to be born out by the credentials of who is saying what and for what reason. Most people like order in their lives it gives stability as well as a feeling that they know that they can move in different directions on the understanding that their bearings are always relative to their movement. But where even minor chaos is in evidence one can move forward and from whence one came has now changed or not there anymore although in itself that position still exists. For example in a revolving restaurant, one gets up from the table to go to the toilet, on returning your table has moved forward further round the building yet the core has remained firmly where it is so you have to look around to get your bearings again and then find your table, simple, but with life itself it can be far more complicated.
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How we live our lives depends upon how we view life and accept the changeability of same as well as at times the unpredictability and the consequences of such. There are many variables in our lives and many that we take well within our stride, that a certain road is closed so we go via another route that we know, or the buses or underground has routes that are not running for some technical reason, we with a little thought plan our journey in our mind using what knowledge we have of the transport system, and so it goes on. The future of our lives rests with what we do today even though there are ponder-able areas such as bereavement, winning or being bequeathed some money, or bankruptcy, or illness etc, that can radically alter the structure of our lives and how we respond defines the quality and ability we have in coping with whatever it is that’s made such a difference. Our mind rules who we are, it’s just so personal to us, even if we go around taking advice from anyone who can string a sentence together, it’s a choice we make, and the resultant actions are down to us to follow. There is an order in life and we are both part of that order and part of the larger chaos at the same time. We can make both aspects work towards our own benefit and it can be very advantageous that we consider facts in future about decisions to be made as opposed to blindly jumping in then wondering yet again why things aren’t exactly where they should be and that yet again there is a dead end sign ahead.
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©John Rushton / The Life Alchemist 2010
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28/08/2010 by admin.
Our opinions of ourselves are at times quite “economical” with the reality of who we really are, we know our faults some of which we openly admit to, others we keep schtum about as it says too much of our possible failings and possible lack of knowledge in areas where we think we should know more. We are not unique in this respect as everyone has such thoughts even the blase arrogant and egotists, it’s just that they make more of an internal issue of it all such is the fickleness of their self esteem. We like to think we are observant, yet when it comes to recalling something we often struggle with the details, although we all too have a penchant for picking up obscure things as those for some reasons of our character register more than others. If we are car drivers we tend to notice cars more than those that don’t drive, if we like cooking we register foods more than those who live on “boil in the bag” or take away pizza, and if we like gardening we register the flora and fauna more that most others, and so it goes on, whatever we are interested in or have a liking such as in fashion, shoes, whatever we pick them out a mile before anyone else even registers them. Similarly if we tell someone that this year there are more red cars on the road than ever before they suddenly start to notice them, whether they are drivers or not. It’s this unlocking of the mind and seeing the entire picture that frees us up quite a lot from the mundanity and narrowness of our own selves. It can be quite revelatory in that one feels that all of a sudden they have gained an insight into an aspect of life that was previously closed or shut out, but of course it’s nothing of the sort, it’s only what it is and unless one changes one’s “mind set” the dull dowdy old self will continue in the background missing out much of life’s aspects because of enriched monotonusness of the past.
There’s nothing in context with having had ones eyes opened that’s spiritual, or synchronistic or even aspected with underlying serendipity either, although there are possibilities of all these being in evidence, but on average unless one looks at life from where it is and not where the “I think”, “I know” “I don’t like” “this is wrong” “that shouldn’t happen” “they can’t do this” and so on then you become no better than some religious bimbo hell bent on your own version of Godliness which is mean, selfish, self centred, narrow, bigoted, alien, stupid, and above all does more harm than purports to be good. The self can really fool itself though shades of inability and staid concepts that cling like barnacles to the mind refusing to go away until colonies of the stuff drench and slow down forward movement and progress. Ignorance is a great threat to mankind, yet it’s mankind that allows ignorance to grow and indeed waters it with ripe nutrients to the extent they omit to see anything else other than what rests within their own minds. Like wine and food tasting can open up realms of taste and excitement that enhances eating and drinking and even promotes degrees of ’stepping out’ to try new foods and drink elevating one’s past dull existence. But to those whose staple diet is chips with everything it’s all too weird and stepping into the unpleasant unknown and actually educating themselves is wildly alien and tantamount to torture, as the mind has made up well before that whatever they eat is going to be nasty.
Quite often managers and even directors in companies and especially in finance can have this blase attitude of having tasted the good things of life that they believe that certain aspects of such cannot be changed, but experience at times hinders rather than helps new blood to step way out and create what age has rounded off the excitement of breaking news or technology or traditional areas of protocol. Eventually the old fogies who once did great things but who are now mere spectators or advises move in and out of modern consciousness with what was, what is and what could be and are lost as to going forward as even at their age it frightens them, it’s a new level that they have no grasp on nor more importantly foresight on even though they will argue until their blood pressure soars and their ulcers play up that it’s all wrong. Most visionaries and entrepreneurs and the like can see the picture they are looking at, it’s what excites them and to a large extend make the journey somewhat different to that of everyone else’s who relies on what the media says to form opinions because they generally don’t think that much themselves. It’s frustrating to see ordinary and good people living below what they could be achieving because they “give in” to outside statements, they thus mould their lives in comparison and then by default see less and less until something hits home or hurts them somehow, and then they take notice. A life being pro-active is far better than being retroactive but established mind values and dull families breed what they breed and if individuals are not taught to look beyond their front door then they reap what they sow.
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©John Rushton / The Life Alchemist 2010
Posted in HAVING YOUR EYES OPENED | No Comments »
27/08/2010 by admin.
What is it that gives you the “WOW” factor and that some people have it and others don’t? Why is it that some people just leave you feeling cold and bored whereas others actually liven you up and you feel full of beans in their company. It’s usually the WOW factor that you pick up from someone else that resonates well within and you tend to like them no matter what. Of course the “WOW” factor can be created to a certain extent, and there are companies in the market place that will style you, groom you, talk you through things to say and do and how to react to situations and so on and so forth. And to some extent they do really help, it can elevate your stance within whatever you are choosing to do and it can bring in a higher degree of attention than previously one enjoyed. But it’s not always enough, and similarly companies can have the same treatment whereby their profile is elevated and status raised and their raison d’être amplified to make yet another “mission statement” that the public at large don’t understand nor care about, but it’s done as part of the package. People in PR are used to sniffing others underwear and after a while get oblivious to what clean fresh air really smells like, and that there s a difference between telling lies - which is called being “economical with the truth - and what is the truth, (truth -quaint perception but there we are) often covering up some great embarrassment, which eventually comes out anyway.
But closer to home and far more important than corporate and celebrity profiles, after-all if they died overnight we still need ours, and that’s where the real importance lies as we have to make our way forward in life and maximise who we are, even if we think it isn’t that much, and for some it isn’t. However we all have different aptitudes and abilities and if we choose to do something perceivably mundane then that’s quite OK, many such so called mundane jobs are essential to life and the environment we live in. But as we are all different at times we have to shine over and above others and that’s where our USP (unique selling point) or WOW factor comes into its own. Of course we have to have a good attitude otherwise our communicable abilities will be somewhat letting us down and throwing the confidence factor of others about us into a state of flux and doubt. But assuming that we can talk liberally about what makes us tick then we are to some extent halfway there to being at one with our abilities and aptitudes and being able to deliver them with a high degree of flair, dexterity, charm and possibly humour too, even if it’s a serious subject that’s being spoken about. We must be our own WOW factor, even if it’s a personal thing like gardening or cooking privately at home for friends. Many people have a job of work and whilst they do a good job don’t have the full love of what they do nor have any degree of WOW factor, thus just get on with it as it tends to pay the bills etc.
To make a difference is to put more thought into our application of deed no matter what that is, it’s the ability to get beyond the acceptable level of proficiency or general level of acceptance and for even those who know little about whatever it is they can see that there is something that radiates almost to a degree of excellence. The difference between a top restaurant and a fast food chain, the thought to detail is evident on a large scale. Some people possess the WOW factor every day, and all day, they make an effort to look good, be nice, be positive, have thought and friendliness at the front of who they are and not as an adjunct to their character and it’s these people who subliminally make a world of difference to our own environment, they separate the plodders who see nothing but struggle in front of them yet at the same time make no effort at all. If you don’t make an effort at the basics in life it really does show mega-time, and subliminally others pick up upon that and soon one has a general aura of negativity that’s been self induced and then firmly established.
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©John Rushton / The Life Alchemist 2010
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26/08/2010 by admin.
It’s difficult at times to see outside of where your mind resides, this could be for a whole range of reasons, selfishness is usually the main one, but social, religious and environmental aspects including the mind sets of those in your own family are the most common. Middle Eastern mind sets are usually fairly set in rigid thought unless they have travelled and see that there is a life outside the staid, controlled, narrow and pathetic. However, where many come unstuck is that their focus is on the self as a prime thought, and whilst there is nothing wrong about thinking about yourself because if you don’t no one else will nor can with regards your inner thoughts, it does reduce vastly the possibilities of life evolving in any positive way. Which is why religiously controlled countries are always overall backwards and full of controls as they see only their point of view which creates fear and instability. The bigger picture is actually where we reside, it’s where it all happens and where all the opportunities in life are available to us, it’s only us that places them out of reach because of self imposed boundaries and parameters.
We are all different, and that’s actually a good thing, we all have different thresholds in life and our expectations coupled with our mental abilities and degrees of responsibility shape who we are. At times our aspirations outweigh our abilities and it’s this mind set that needs addressing to achieve what’s best for us and not an imaginary ideal that’s beyond our capabilities. Often this imaginary ideal thwarts what we could really do and do well at it but it’s forever held back because our ideals won’t allow it to happen. The bigger picture is full of great and wondrous possibilities, even within our own environment the bigger picture holds much more than we can imagine yet how many people fall into the “poor old me” syndrome, and then look towards others thinking they are OK or they do better because of the excuses that we make up to absolve ourselves of what others have done. It’s all, excuses, excuses, excuse, and it’s also being fearful and lacking in confidence to step out, for if you don’t step out you’re not going to even make the first move towards walking anywhere. How we view life makes a big difference too, it places our mind into a position that can either accept or reject areas of life that we deem are “not us” or “are us” whether the physicality of all that is correct of self induced.
The bigger picture is just that and placing ourselves in the bigger picture mentally allows us a great freedom to roam unfettered by the chains knitted by others which comprises of their fears, their phobias, their indecision’s, their failures, their stupidities, their narrowness, their selfishness and all the rest. Once free from those and other man made criteria we are at the helm of our own ship and can steer a course where we like. Of course it could be that’s not for us and we would be far more comfortable as a passenger at the discretion of the captain as to where we go, and that’s fine too. As long as we accept that then we have a really good chance of enjoying the life we want on our terms even if we have admonished some responsibility and delegated or farmed out parts of it to others. The base however to moving onwards is that we look beyond the me me me me and me syndrome which not only makes us boring and dull as company, but it precludes others to the extent that you are no longer of value in any company and that has its own repercussions too.
For more : www.thelifealchemist.com
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John Rushton / The Life Alchemist 2010
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25/08/2010 by admin.
It would appear at times that humour is something we take for granted and that it’s only for jokes or television comedies with tons of fake laughter added to try and boost the dull script and situational aspects as if laughter was an on cue effort. However, real humour of life transcends the devised aspects of broadcasting and in all honesty the real writers of radio and television humour are more scarce that precious diamonds, most humour today is transient and hollow. But humour in any aspect of life enhances our ability to both communicate and say what we have to say often in a way that straight forward and direct conversation wouldn’t ordinarily deliver. Humour is an underscore in our vocabulary that highlights comprehensive thought that resonates at different levels within our mind, it brings together factual content with over-toned aspects that require an extra modicum of thought to understand the nuances that make humour what it is, humorous. Degrees of camaraderie and synergy and warmth and friendship can be forged just by the commonality of understanding a synergy of humour and some times humour acts as a catalyst in our work, no matter how serious it is, it stops our brain from ’setting’ itself too rigidly and therefore not allowing it’s creative side to see the bigger picture. Humour is one of those things that we seek in our friends that they resonate well with a unity and commonality that we can share and enjoy together, as it heightens our spirits and lightens the load of life thus keeping us brighter, especially when things go wrong.
Whilst we may not go out looking for humour in our every day life, we certainly know those we meet who appear not to have any, dull, dowdy, boring, wan, pathetic, lifeless, insular, pale, even to some degree lacking in trust as one is not quite sure as that persons ability to think outside of their own personal world or remit. There are of course many variances on the humour level and it can range from the rude and very un-politically correct (which are the best) to the highbrow and intellectual where laughter isn’t expected, but the raise of an eyebrow and perhaps a a mere twitch with regards a smile is more than enough applause to have understood the nuanses of what was being implied or said. It’s this higher thinking that sets apart those that have humour and appreciation for the finer aspects of language and those who see nothing other than what they see which is virtually nothing. Like a fashion designer that utilises their chosen fabric for its texture to enhance the final image, yet for many they just see the final image as one homogeneous lump of material and can’t or don’t see what it consists of. Similarly with food, it’s often the subtleties of taste and texture and enhanced spices or ingredients that sets it apart from what else is around that consists of a burger and french fries.
Humour has subliminal benefits too, it has health giving properties in that if we are happy or positive in our outlook our immune system is enhanced or fortified, if we are negative or glum then it’s reduced and for those who are almost always depressed or feeling low they manifest symptomatic ailments like rashes, itches, forever coughing slightly, sniffing, tummy problems, mild flu symptoms that never develop into anything, creeping tiredness, lack of concentration, it can be whatever it is for the individual. Humour can lift the senes, it can enhance life right where you are and it can click the brain into gear into seeing beyond the here and now and view the horizon with a more positive stance knowing that endless potential resides out there. Our ability to communicate requires humour to be effective and efficient, it promotes trust, it enhances our value as to who we are and it allows us to make friends more easily by lubricating our body language into a stance that looks warmly and welcoming and approachable even if our meetings at times have a very serious side to them. Humour allows us to delve that bit further into the psyche of others and for them to open up to us, it promotes a side of the human condition that many lack for the sheer inability to be able to enjoy a combination of humour within daily life forever seeking an elusive aspect that keeps them shrouded in nothingness.
For more : www.thelifealchemist.com
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©John Rushton / The Life Alchemist 2010
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23/08/2010 by admin.
We all paint a picture in life and at times we conceal what lurks beneath. Hollywood is an expert at proficiently producing sets that despict a whole manner of desired looks and settings behind which is but weeds and scaffolding. Governments and politicians do likewise paint pictures with words that whilst representing some degrees of truth are but tools to do what they like rarely if ever has any politician carried out thoroughly what they have intended to do as more important aspects regarding the self have crept in. Religions are similar too in that that have ulterior motives and just say “good” things and not the bad, so much for religion. And then of course there is the press and media, a licence to do and say as you feel as long as it’s punchy, gets noticed and above all hopefully sells more copies, the truth often is an incidental accident. Steganography is nothing new, it has been on the go before it had a title like many things in life. It’s like a social set, it’s only when the press get to learn of it does it get a name, but for those who are a part of it it’s something very real and empathetic and has degrees of mutual understanding and purpose over and above what it’s all purported to be when a name is given to it.
Steganography is used by Al Qaeda and similar terrorist organisations so it’s not an exclusive product or service, it’s used by third world countries as well as the West, it’s an aspect of life., Paranoia and wanting to control what people say isn’t an answer either as it opens up greater possibilities for other subversive actions to take place. Similar to the Blackberry scenario about governments wanting to eavesdrop on telephone calls as if it is something like “Blackberry - the preferred system for terrorists”, it’s almost a new ‘Soap Opera’ in the making. Whilst the authorities are trying to listen in to calls the terrorists and bankers are long since away doing other dastardly things laughing at the pea brained and insular who once get the ability to “listen in” won’t hear what they want as it will be shifted or cyphered to an extent it won’t mean anything at all, and then there’s always “plan B” too which is usually so far removed as a good back up so it makes a mockery of the whole thing. Unfortunately we all get used to things today being somewhat “economical” with the truth, that things aren’t quite what they seem and financial products have more pages of opt out clauses than the areas they are deemed to protect or cover. The more dilatory companies become, the more frustrated customers feeling cheated and badly done by, like talking to call centres that waffle on endlessly in “none English” ways. The more devious and unscrupulous clients and customers become to the extent if mistakes are made and they are the beneficiaries they don’t care anymore because customer loyalty is but a mere boardroom conversation for the mentally constipated who appease themselves with schemes but just can’t let go because the bottom line is that customer loyalty means money and real service and real value from support staff that can help and not just jot down statistics.
The use of steganography is to hide information or data from the public gaze effectively within other information, so that it needs to be either detected or deciphered by those who need to know. It’s different from encrypting information. On a more mundane level we at times hide or subvert our purpose from the public gaze too, alluding to be something that we are not or want to entice certain “others” who will respond to “what they see” whereas everyone else just passes by totally un-noticing anything other than what ‘they see’ which is not quite the same. If we are not careful however we lose our own grip and others perceive us as something we are not and then form opinions of us based upon those thoughts as they little else if anything to go on. We can live like this for some time, but after a while it all starts to tell, and cracks develop because of the pressures and stresses related to upholding that facade. Our lives are full of degrees of richness and sorry all melded together in a commonality of who we are, if we add attitude that is not conducive to life, i.e. it’s not positive then we have a large price to pay.
For more : www.thelifealchemist.com
FREE”E” Book : www.the-alchemy-of-life.com
©John Rushton / The Life Alchemist 2010
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