A while ago, I had a conversation with a very disorganized and spontaneous woman. She seemed to think that life is alot more fun when she is just a "get up and go" person. Someone who makes plans on the go, and always have 2-5 backup plans if plan "A" fails. I was very curious as to why someone would behave in such a chaotic manner toward daily, monthly and yearly life. It just did not compute on my end, as I am a very organized person and see things only on that spectrum.
She explained that she used to be somewhat organized and her "friends" often told her to loosen up and be more accomodating. She found it hard but once she let go, she found that things worked out for the better more times than not in the end. So I asked how often did her plans worked, and she said about 30% of the time. So I asked whether it was good odds to keep such a rudimentary routine concerning her well being and acceptance of her friends. She said that with plan b-c-d-e, multiple plans can come in handy when people cancel at the last minute, she forgets to do something, is late, and so forth. So I asked if she meant that she has an excuse for anything that might come up or just to keep busy if her plans got cancelled, and she essentially said yes.
After such a conversation, I realize that some of us more intelligent people take our knowledge and insight for granted and usually do not share it with others who are less inclined. Rightfully so, because most people without a certain level of thinking (intelligence), usually do not want to hear that someone is smarter than them, or look into why an answer or suggestion might help them without being overly defensive.
The person essentially asked me the same questions they were asked before they changed into a spontaneously energized aimless drone. I explained that my views on life and my future are decisions I make myself, as a result of analysis and reanalysis of information, experience, insight and foresight of what has been and what I look forward to. I was fortunate enough to have been into computers since 1999, merely a year after I came to New York. I was so curious that I learned things on my own, that still help me to this day in my career, and also able to teach others in my profession some of these self taught techniques. I confirmed, that if you do not have a solid goal, something to look forward to, then you will NEVER reach anywhere. You will become someone "chasing ghosts".
Our minds are made up in such a way that we need a "full circle" of information in order to make sense of anything. That is why 95% of movies are based on a chronological or reversed-chronological order of events, making a story. Something with a beginning and an end. Something with a subject, body and ending like a letter. Without this basic connection, we get bored, annoyed, frustrated, and essentially unmotivated to do many things.
When we set goals, we allow the mind to work in such a way, that it aligns our life around getting to that goal. If you tell your mind you want to be on a road to success, thats exactly what you will get, a road to success always ahead of you, never reaching it. If you tell your mind that you want to start a business in 1 year, and you keep that in focus as you go through your days, weeks, months and eventually the year, you will see how many things come into perspective and opportunities that presents themselves in front of you for the choosing. Just like a JigSaw Puzzle, you must choose the right parts to complete the picture.
Friday, January 14, 2011
Monday, August 9, 2010
Genesis in Reverse - A Small Disection
The quest for truth, to a person who do not have knowing of what it is like to be taken away from your comfort zone might find this path disturbing. Some will continue, some will turn back and leave the unknown to the "brave" ones.
Most of us that grew up with the christian faith do not question beyond the bible. We are taught to accept the age old religion as fact and follow the way it has been for generations. Yet, some of us blatantly reject this kind of blind faith into something we cannot make reference to, neither spiritually, nor physically. But I am not here to write about the believers and non-believers, I am here to give you an alternate way of thinking about something you probably have never wondered yourself.
The book of genesis primarily describes what might have been the root of the creation of earth and of man/woman. In this respect, both science and religion are somewhat on par, that the earth and its inhabitants were "created". However, past that line of thinking, to not dive into what really happen, lets focus on Human history and how we got out of the "Garden of Eden" for a little bit. Quotes are from the book of Genesis.
We are told that Man was created in God's image (think of an image of yourself or get a photo of yourself and see what you get). And God put man to work:
"15 And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it."
Now, why would a perfect garden need a man to "dress it and to keep it"?
Then eve was created from a "rib" of Adam (we will not go into how small or big Adam's rib must have been). So now we have Adam and Eve in the garden.
"23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man."
So to recap, Man can talk, and he is intelligent enough to know that things and beings need a name. And he refers to himself in the third person, so this means he is talking to someone (God).
Now we arrive at an important statement:
"24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh."
Leave his "Father" and his "Mother"? Why is the creation now split in 2? Just pointing it out.
Ok ok, not weird enough right, then lets put a couple more verses to the test from Chapter 3:
"1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:
3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons."
Now this is where alot of people claim to be angry with Eve, for eating the fruit, as well as sharing it with Adam. First of all, lets make a few things clear so you overstand what is actually going on. As some claim the bible is not written in clear language.
1. Before they ate the apple, their eyes were closed. Their ability to reason logic and perception (have a mind of their own) was not apart of their initial programming. They were not made aware of "lies" as it would create the perception of duality and give man the ability to "Question" God, which obviously, no leader wants to be questioned about their actions.
2. They were both told that if they ate the apple, they would die, and they believed this, because they have no reference of memory to question for the truth or think beyond what they were told (just like a slave or drone).
3. They did NOT realize that being naked was a disgrace in public or before others, unless in an intimate setting.
4. The so called "Serpent" spoke to Eve with reasoning to his proposal. And many would assert that the snake was the "devil" and what not. I for one do not believe an all knowing God would allow any interference with his creation beyond his will. And I do not believe that it was a "Snake" that spoke to Eve. In ancient times people would say "Cunning as a snake" or "Elusive as a snake" because of a snake's nature to be unseen and move very quickly at a very low distance on the ground. The snake gave Eve an "explanation" of why she should take the apple and eat it, this is the beginning of logic and thinking.
5. When Man and his Wife ate the apple, without hesitation, because he only obey commands, with the expectation that he would die, he was reassured that he would not die. After eating the apple, he now saw that something was wrong with thinking only one way. He now saw that there was another way, another eye, another perception to what he once thought was absolute. Now he noticed that he was without clothes, like an animal without fur. So now he realize that he needed to cover himself.
6. Now "God" comes looking for the couple:
"8 And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.
9 And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?
10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.
11 And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?
Now lets break down the first line of verse 8. If this "God" is all seeing and ever present, how could they hear the lord coming? To hear something or someone coming, they must be coming from a direction towards you. If they are hiding, they must KNOW that "God" is coming.
Again, in chapter 9, WHY would "God" not find them instead of calling them?
Now that we see the whole dialog above and that "God" got angry at them for now "Seeing" and "Knowing", tell me if it makes any sense that "God", who loves and cares for you, would put you to work in a garden, with no knowledge of who or what you are, or how you should be? Why would "God" need to give a being Rules, and things "Not" to do? Why would he leave them naked in the bushes? Why were they to stay dumb and just "do as they are told", without thinking for themselves?
Fact: The bible itself said adam had a "Mother" and "Father"
Fact: God made man before he made the Garden of Eden, so where was man before he was put in the garden?
Fact: In the garden of eden, they could not think for themselves, only do as they are told
Fact: They could not bear children
Fact: Once out of the garden, they could now produce children
Fact: They could now "live" a life of knowing what pain is, what pleasure is, what it is like to have a family and to love.
Fact: They did not "disobey" as they were scolded for, because they had no mechanism or reference point in memory to logically say "NO", they followed a direct order or command, just not from their "God/Creator"
The truth is first rejected, scorned, criticized, revisited, acknowledged, then accepted once it is understood.
Most of us that grew up with the christian faith do not question beyond the bible. We are taught to accept the age old religion as fact and follow the way it has been for generations. Yet, some of us blatantly reject this kind of blind faith into something we cannot make reference to, neither spiritually, nor physically. But I am not here to write about the believers and non-believers, I am here to give you an alternate way of thinking about something you probably have never wondered yourself.
The book of genesis primarily describes what might have been the root of the creation of earth and of man/woman. In this respect, both science and religion are somewhat on par, that the earth and its inhabitants were "created". However, past that line of thinking, to not dive into what really happen, lets focus on Human history and how we got out of the "Garden of Eden" for a little bit. Quotes are from the book of Genesis.
We are told that Man was created in God's image (think of an image of yourself or get a photo of yourself and see what you get). And God put man to work:
"15 And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it."
Now, why would a perfect garden need a man to "dress it and to keep it"?
Then eve was created from a "rib" of Adam (we will not go into how small or big Adam's rib must have been). So now we have Adam and Eve in the garden.
"23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man."
So to recap, Man can talk, and he is intelligent enough to know that things and beings need a name. And he refers to himself in the third person, so this means he is talking to someone (God).
Now we arrive at an important statement:
"24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh."
Leave his "Father" and his "Mother"? Why is the creation now split in 2? Just pointing it out.
Ok ok, not weird enough right, then lets put a couple more verses to the test from Chapter 3:
"1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:
3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons."
Now this is where alot of people claim to be angry with Eve, for eating the fruit, as well as sharing it with Adam. First of all, lets make a few things clear so you overstand what is actually going on. As some claim the bible is not written in clear language.
1. Before they ate the apple, their eyes were closed. Their ability to reason logic and perception (have a mind of their own) was not apart of their initial programming. They were not made aware of "lies" as it would create the perception of duality and give man the ability to "Question" God, which obviously, no leader wants to be questioned about their actions.
2. They were both told that if they ate the apple, they would die, and they believed this, because they have no reference of memory to question for the truth or think beyond what they were told (just like a slave or drone).
3. They did NOT realize that being naked was a disgrace in public or before others, unless in an intimate setting.
4. The so called "Serpent" spoke to Eve with reasoning to his proposal. And many would assert that the snake was the "devil" and what not. I for one do not believe an all knowing God would allow any interference with his creation beyond his will. And I do not believe that it was a "Snake" that spoke to Eve. In ancient times people would say "Cunning as a snake" or "Elusive as a snake" because of a snake's nature to be unseen and move very quickly at a very low distance on the ground. The snake gave Eve an "explanation" of why she should take the apple and eat it, this is the beginning of logic and thinking.
5. When Man and his Wife ate the apple, without hesitation, because he only obey commands, with the expectation that he would die, he was reassured that he would not die. After eating the apple, he now saw that something was wrong with thinking only one way. He now saw that there was another way, another eye, another perception to what he once thought was absolute. Now he noticed that he was without clothes, like an animal without fur. So now he realize that he needed to cover himself.
6. Now "God" comes looking for the couple:
"8 And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.
9 And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?
10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.
11 And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?
Now lets break down the first line of verse 8. If this "God" is all seeing and ever present, how could they hear the lord coming? To hear something or someone coming, they must be coming from a direction towards you. If they are hiding, they must KNOW that "God" is coming.
Again, in chapter 9, WHY would "God" not find them instead of calling them?
Now that we see the whole dialog above and that "God" got angry at them for now "Seeing" and "Knowing", tell me if it makes any sense that "God", who loves and cares for you, would put you to work in a garden, with no knowledge of who or what you are, or how you should be? Why would "God" need to give a being Rules, and things "Not" to do? Why would he leave them naked in the bushes? Why were they to stay dumb and just "do as they are told", without thinking for themselves?
Fact: The bible itself said adam had a "Mother" and "Father"
Fact: God made man before he made the Garden of Eden, so where was man before he was put in the garden?
Fact: In the garden of eden, they could not think for themselves, only do as they are told
Fact: They could not bear children
Fact: Once out of the garden, they could now produce children
Fact: They could now "live" a life of knowing what pain is, what pleasure is, what it is like to have a family and to love.
Fact: They did not "disobey" as they were scolded for, because they had no mechanism or reference point in memory to logically say "NO", they followed a direct order or command, just not from their "God/Creator"
The truth is first rejected, scorned, criticized, revisited, acknowledged, then accepted once it is understood.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Take small steps to your goal, then look back and see that you made a big leap!
Take small steps to your goal, then look back and see that you made a big leap!
Many of us just wish to live a normal life and be able to take care of our loved
ones or our families. However, it seems that such is a luxury rather than a normality in today's economic climate. Some of us also wish to live at an above normal rate, in order to guarantee a happy and prosperous life for our self and our future, as well as our children. We have seen just about every scam and lucrative business go down the drain, from Enron, to small businesses struggling to stay open. So it is logical to say, that hard work alone will not bring us riches or a happy life, if anything, hard work is not a guarantee to anything, as you can still get fired, and if you have a loan, you can still lose your business. So what exactly is it that keeps successful businesses afloat, successful people making a steady income, and others happy with what they have? it is simply, their state of mind and ability to be persistent on a given goal. The easiest thing to do is give up. In any situation, and whether it be a good or bad situation, we have to make a choice the same way, to continue, or give up, or give up to continue. Might seem simple, but it is really that simple. We know all the formulas and rules to not be successful, yet very little on the road to success. A famous quote from one of my favorite books, Think and grow rich, "The ladder of success is never crowded at the top".
I've had what I call extreme success with my goals and I can definitely attribute such success to being exposed to various books, audio books and an open mind. One example I will use, is a goal I set from my last year of college that materialized in front of my eyes.
When I was in my last year of college, I took a course called "Systems Analysis and Design". This course was very interesting to me, as the male side of my family is very business oriented. We love planning, outlining and making things happen or making things work. We touched on a topic of what a Systems Analyst does and how it helps the other core people in various projects come together and achieve a specific goal. I've been fixing computers since high school, and that has been my passion, and I envisioned both of these coming together, making an interesting career for me. Since that class, that's all that's been in my head.
After Graduation, I went to Jamaica for 2 weeks, and I only thought about this goal 1 day and saw myself actually going to work with my briefcase in the morning. I got back from my vacation and and immediately worked on my resume intensely. I wanted to be different, so I searched for about 12-15 jobs and found out the specific key words they were seeking in a candidate and included them in my resume, as well as making sure my resume was over 1 page, without too much redundant stuff. in 2 weeks I had a job, as a Desktop Support Technician, Level II. I was promised a permanent position within 2-3 months, and in the 5th month, I was told there was a hiring freeze (November 2008). At that point, I made a choice to focus my attention to finding a new job, more geared towards my satisfaction and not to the sake of just having a job. I set the terms of my employment and minimum salary rate I would take, and within 3 weeks, I was offered the opportunity to interview over the phone. I was given a 2nd phone interview a day later and then an in person interview 2 days later. I was so confident, it was as if I knew I had the job and was gearing up myself to start. I started as a Corporate IT Analyst 3 days later, and currently in that position today.
Now look back at the starting point and see how I reached my goal. It is obvious some goals may require more effort and dedication, but it is still possible.
No one can make you do anything, it is you who make the choice to do or not do to it.
As Morpheus would say in "The Matrix", "Free Your Mind" and then make the jump!
Many of us just wish to live a normal life and be able to take care of our loved
ones or our families. However, it seems that such is a luxury rather than a normality in today's economic climate. Some of us also wish to live at an above normal rate, in order to guarantee a happy and prosperous life for our self and our future, as well as our children. We have seen just about every scam and lucrative business go down the drain, from Enron, to small businesses struggling to stay open. So it is logical to say, that hard work alone will not bring us riches or a happy life, if anything, hard work is not a guarantee to anything, as you can still get fired, and if you have a loan, you can still lose your business. So what exactly is it that keeps successful businesses afloat, successful people making a steady income, and others happy with what they have? it is simply, their state of mind and ability to be persistent on a given goal. The easiest thing to do is give up. In any situation, and whether it be a good or bad situation, we have to make a choice the same way, to continue, or give up, or give up to continue. Might seem simple, but it is really that simple. We know all the formulas and rules to not be successful, yet very little on the road to success. A famous quote from one of my favorite books, Think and grow rich, "The ladder of success is never crowded at the top".
I've had what I call extreme success with my goals and I can definitely attribute such success to being exposed to various books, audio books and an open mind. One example I will use, is a goal I set from my last year of college that materialized in front of my eyes.
When I was in my last year of college, I took a course called "Systems Analysis and Design". This course was very interesting to me, as the male side of my family is very business oriented. We love planning, outlining and making things happen or making things work. We touched on a topic of what a Systems Analyst does and how it helps the other core people in various projects come together and achieve a specific goal. I've been fixing computers since high school, and that has been my passion, and I envisioned both of these coming together, making an interesting career for me. Since that class, that's all that's been in my head.
After Graduation, I went to Jamaica for 2 weeks, and I only thought about this goal 1 day and saw myself actually going to work with my briefcase in the morning. I got back from my vacation and and immediately worked on my resume intensely. I wanted to be different, so I searched for about 12-15 jobs and found out the specific key words they were seeking in a candidate and included them in my resume, as well as making sure my resume was over 1 page, without too much redundant stuff. in 2 weeks I had a job, as a Desktop Support Technician, Level II. I was promised a permanent position within 2-3 months, and in the 5th month, I was told there was a hiring freeze (November 2008). At that point, I made a choice to focus my attention to finding a new job, more geared towards my satisfaction and not to the sake of just having a job. I set the terms of my employment and minimum salary rate I would take, and within 3 weeks, I was offered the opportunity to interview over the phone. I was given a 2nd phone interview a day later and then an in person interview 2 days later. I was so confident, it was as if I knew I had the job and was gearing up myself to start. I started as a Corporate IT Analyst 3 days later, and currently in that position today.
Now look back at the starting point and see how I reached my goal. It is obvious some goals may require more effort and dedication, but it is still possible.
No one can make you do anything, it is you who make the choice to do or not do to it.
As Morpheus would say in "The Matrix", "Free Your Mind" and then make the jump!
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