STATES OF MIND ARE PERHAPS ...

States of mind are perhaps the secret to life.

Without getting into the philosophical or scientific aspects of that statement, this article by Steven Barnes provides a solution to the problem a lot of us face.

Many people have to write as part of their job, and many make a living writing. Writer’s block is a serious affliction and there are many ways to combat it. Here is one of the best because, mastered, it leads on to greater heights mentioned in the later half of the piece.

Turning Writer's Blocks Into Stepping Stones

Years ago at a presentation at the UCLA Extension Writer’s Program, I promised an audience to teach them to conquer this beast once and for all. Later, another instructor approached me and said “why did you say that to those people? It’s not possible.”

Poor woman. All she was saying is that SHE cannot break writer’s block, which told me all I need to know about her career. In all likelihood a promising beginning, perhaps an award-winning poem or book…and then pain.

It is not only possible to end writer’s block forever, but you can actually use it to your advantage!

First, let us define it in some useful way: Writer’s block is the inability to:

1) Produce new text.
2) Edit and polish existing text
3) Finish projects on a reasonable schedule
4) Send those projects out for editorial judgment.
5) Continue sending them out until they are sold.

Accepting the above, I’m going to give you a definition of the root cause of Writer’s Block that will actually help you in every arena of your life.

“Writer’s Block is nothing more than a confusion of two different states of mind: the Flow state, where you produce new text, and the Editing state, where you evaluate and polish what you have written.”

The reason WB is such a killer is that most of us have done far more reading than we have writing, and spend far more time in critical analysis of finished, polished work of the masters than in experiencing our own early drafts. So when we try to create text, we measure our first draft efforts against the polished work of the world’s great writers. Immediately, that “this is garbage!” voice goes off in your head, and you have a block.

It is said that novice writers must work through a million words of garbage before reaching their true voice. How in the world will you ever get through it if you constantly judge every word? If you will learn to turn that voice off, you will learn a massive and important lesson about the structure of the human psyche.

But what exactly is “Flow”? It is the psychological state where time seems to vanish, where you “fall into the page”, where the rest of the world floats away as you concentrate. This is similar to the “hypnogogic” state experienced just prior to sleep, and the first thing in the morning. It is experienced in distance running, dancing (remember the lyrics to “Flashdance”? “She’s moved into the danger zone, where the dancer becomes the dance”) and, to be perfectly frank, it is experienced during sexual relations in the moments just prior to orgasm. It is the dissolution of the subject-object relationship sought by numerous schools of meditation.

1) Alternate days (or work sessions) between flow and editing. If necessary, wear different hats, or sit in different chairs for each. NEVER DO BOTH IN THE SAME SESSION

2) Set yourself a daily output that will get you to your goal of one million words in less than 5 years. 1000 words a day will do it in three years. That’s roughly comparable to earning an AA degree. Not too shabby!

3) Explore and specifically study “Flow State” as a discipline. Do your internet searches and find a physical or mental activity (running, dancing, meditation, Tai chi, yoga, etc.) that opens a doorway to this inner world.

4) Listen to largo rhythm, sixty-beat per minute string music. Vivaldi is perfect for this, and induces “Alpha” (flow) state rapidly and effectively. Stay away from music with lyrics, but soft jazz is also terrific.

5) Practice making pictures in your mind, and then writing down what you see WITHOUT judging the quality of your descriptions. You want to enhance the connection between your deep consciousness and your typing or writing.

6) If you can’t find a good meditation technique, just sit and “listen” to your own heartbeat for 15-30 minutes a day.

There are many other ideas, but these will get you started. The most valuable thing you will learn is to “turn off” or ignore the negative voices in your head. And an artist who learns to do this on demand is on the way to integration of the deep levels of the unconscious…and greater joy in the act of creation.

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About the Author
NY Times Bestselling author Steven Barnes has published over three million words of fiction, been nominated for Hugo and Nebula Awards, and wrote the Emmy-winning "A Stitch In Time" episode of the Outer Limits. He is the creator of the Lifewriting™ high performance system for writers. Get a free daily Lifewriting tip at: www.lifewriting.biz

The “Flow” is similar to the athlete’s “Zone” but to a lesser degree. It is an altered state of consciousness that can be achieved with some practice.

But the real benefit comes with what is learned via meditation. I don’t mean relaxation technique. Real meditation embodies sustained focus as well.

What Steven is saying here too is the separation of the right-left brain activities.

Let the creation happen. Organize it later.

Actors talk about “the Stage Doctor”. Many great performers suffer nervous attacks before a performance. But upon walking onstage they enter the Flow or Zone. They become the part. It is a merging with the role.

This is a secret that can be used repeatedly in all aspects of life. When we learn to slip into the appropriate state of consciousness for the activity we are involved with, it flows with an astonishing intensity and ease.

This UNION with the act is what he means by “becomes the dance”, as the actor becomes the role, as the love making transcends the physical to become cosmic.

Whether it’s writing, building a box, gardening, eating, shooting pool or listening to a concerto, become that activity.

Your life will be so much richer.

*****
You can have your say by sending a comment. This is your blog too, without the work. From now on I’ll pick a comment and post it here (without your edress) and that person will get a gift if they give me their edress to send it to.

The reason for this is to get comments. Six billion people and only 3 comments! Is it that tame? Have you told anybody about IQ Adult?

*****
"People who believe in predestination still look before they cross the road." Maybe Steven Hawking said that. ?

Keep the blood pumping,
Jay Ross.

SEXUAL INTELLIGENCE.

There is a great divide in how we think about sexual matters. One side says that it is evil to indulge in carnal pleasures while the other says we were given bodies to enjoy.

The first side says that physical pleasure distracts us from the spiritual life yet Tantra Yoga uses sexual union as a means to obtain spiritual enlightenment.

We have nudity seen as obscene yet everybody knows exactly what a body looks like nude because we all inhabit one.

We are told to protect children. Against what?; knowing what nature gave us? They know what nude is. They don’t care. What we teach them taints their innocence.

Little boys get erections and little girls put their fingers in “there”. Any parent can see that. To say that it is “dirty” is a denial of what naturally happens. Children explore their bodies. Repressing this only leads to mental conflict. The right idea, surely, is to let it happen so they feel comfortable with it. Telling them their natural functions are dirty or wrong, is wrong in itself.

Some people have neglected bodes that are displeasing to see, nude or otherwise; others have bodies that we envy. Chances are if you had to appear nude, you would take more care of your body, not cover your neglect with fabric.

It seems youth holds the mirror. The Aphrodite and Adonis are icons. Yet we can all have great bodies if we take care of them.

Throughout history art has continually represented the human nude of both sexes. It has been exalted as sublime beauty and in another era great art has been disfigured as being sinful. Even cupids’ genitalia have been covered for reasons that escape me. There was even a movement, started as a joke, to clothe animals. Some people actually took it seriously, wanting to put skirts on cows’ udders and pants on bulls. I wonder how they bath themselves.

You can see people at the zoo protect their children from seeing an animal with an erection. Why? It only makes the child more curious. Wouldn’t it be better to say the animal was feeling sexy? Most children have seen dogs “at it”.

Our adult attitudes about sex come from childhood teachings. These precepts are established in our minds before we can think or test for ourselves. They are instilled before we even experience sex. We have an attitude about something before we know what we have an attitude about.

Doesn’t that mean we should re-evaluate our information in light of the new evidence presented by our body and societal changes?

Back in Pompeii sex was a part of life just like sport or the movies are today. The erect penis was revered. The many legal brothels offered men and boys as well as girls and women. English and French Kings openly had concubines. There have been gay Popes. Catherine the Great chose one-night-stands from her palace guards. Women have “toy boys” just as men have “Lolita” women. Movie stars have hidden their sexual natures because of public mood at the time. Evangelists have been “outed” for infidelity and gay sexual liaisons. A prominent actor was caught with a street prostitute giving him oral sex. How many pages do you want me to fill?

Yet in Queen Victoria’s’ reign “a glimpse of stocking was looked on as something shocking”. Women thought it was wrong to even examine their breasts for telltale lumps that could signal cancer. Many died because of a social taboo. Oral sex, however clean, was considered filthy. Women with broad hips, slim hips, long legs, small breasts, large breasts, blonds, brunettes, redheads, tanned skin, white skin, painted or plain etc have all had their place in the desirable basket. Nobody can claim “The Sexiest Woman/Man Alive” title. What a joke.

REALITY is what happens. If you don’t acknowledge it, you get a problem or warped idea of life.

You have to weigh your teachings against what IS; what is actual. To do this we have to look with innocent eyes. Not easy. “You must become as children”.

Twisted sexual outlets come about because of twisted emotional states in childhood and adolescence; this fight between teaching and reality. All of us have sexual urges and needs. Repression causes dysfunction. That’s why child rapists exist. They haven’t learnt to relate maturely and express their emotions. They are still children but in adult bodies.

This is not talking about experimenting. Most people who are not clouded by dogma will experiment. It is talking about those who want to be humiliated or whipped or can only have sex without making love.

It seems obvious why a woman may find a form of pleasure with another woman; the tenderness, patience, understanding. It’s the type of care only an unselfish, experienced man would provide.

With men, the need to submit or feel raw masculinity may be what is needed to balance their psyche. Fatherless male children often go this way.

Prostitution is the oldest profession. Whoever thinks they can rid the world of “harlots, scarlet women, whores” is deluded. In countries where it is legal the girls (and guys) pay taxes, have regular health checks and provide a service. Speak to the better prostitutes and they’ll tell you of the surprisingly high number of men who just want to talk; to bare all in that respect.

Men are the sowers of seed. Most men can have sex and that’s all it is to them, simply having sex. Women think it’s a betrayal of their love. It’s not. Maybe the idea of monogamy came about at a time when there were few women. It was a necessary social convention to ensure enough women for each man. Today it is upheld because we don’t want men to sow their seed. “Go forth and multiply” certainly is not good advice in an overpopulated world.

Pornography is another crazy topic to visit. One person may see a tower or minaret but another may see it as a phallic symbol. Photograph a closed armpit at close range and it looks like the hairless erogenous region between a woman’s legs. Movie makers use shadow to create ‘erotic’ scenes where he may be licking the inside of her thigh but it’s really her upper arm.

The idea that pornography urges a man to rape is false; most of them will masturbate right then. You’ve heard of the ‘pages stuck together’ or found a tape only partly viewed or disc left in the player. It’s because after that release, it’s all over.

For the sake of teenagers’ mental and emotional maturity, do not tell them their urges are wrong. As a teenager, a school friend told me his Mum got him aside one day to ask him something serious. He was worried, nervous and ready for anything except what she said. “John, your father wants to borrow some of your pornos but is too afraid to ask. Could you have a talk to him?”

He was dumbfounded.

She knew! She accepted! She took any guilt away; she opened the way for closer ties with Dad; she treated him as a capable mature individual, and he loved her more than anything.

I’ve never forgotten that couple and the solid base they provided.

Think about your sexual attitudes. Don’t let them master you.

*****

"You cannot be what you are not, but you can become what you are not." Anon.

Jay Ross. iqadult@gmail.com

Copyright applies to all these posts. Permission to reprint is only an email away.

REAL WORLD INTELLIGENCE

Here come the charlatans

It doesn’t take long for the rip-off merchants to get in on any thing they can make money from. Now we have people selling pendulums and psychic crystals by using the Law of Attraction as an excuse. Soon there’ll be Tarot cards and “your future revealed” hype making a claim to scientific validity.

Can you see it?

“This power packed 6 week course to effortlessly change your life can be yours! Backed by data from the lost writings of Professor Ripemoff, head of quantum archaeology research at the University of Neanderglob in Loopyga. Learn the Hidden Secrets of the Ancients. Avalanches of Wealth, Romance, Good Luck, flood your life to the envy of all your new friends. Never be lonely again in the arms of your lover as you cruise the islands till sunset. Send only $167 for this unbelievable offer. But be quick! This definitely won’t last! “

That’s the type of CRAP they insult you with. Sadly, some people fall for it. Those who do fall for it, need protecting or to be taught.

That is one purpose of this blog. It’s to make it easier to live by learning skills we can all learn but maybe not know about. It’s to clear the cobwebs of ignorance.

It’s to help prevent naïve people succumbing to the rip-offs of these cretins.

Pendulum Power will not replace informed decisions. You are the master of your destiny.

The I Ching does not know how to direct your life. You are the master of your life.

Tarot cards will not tell your future. You make your future with your beliefs and actions.

Anything can be ‘proven’ by numbers. Numerology is a farce. Look deeply enough and numerical ‘proof’ can be made for any belief.

Do not believe this junk!

DO NOT SEND MONEY!

A ‘hidden message’ can be found in any large enough text. The Bibles’ secret code can be found in Tolstoy’s ‘War and Peace’ or Melville’s ‘Moby Dick’. You can find ‘Elvis Presley is dead’ or ‘King Kong likes blonds’ in the Koran.

“You’ve got to believe in something.” is a stock sentence from a misled friend who believes in all sorts of rubbish. I keep telling him to believe in the truth.

Investigate! Test what you are told. Someone said there were invisible little critters passing on infections from patient to patient after surgery. She was laughed at as being off the rails. But someone tested it. Now I don’t have to tell you about hygiene.

There could be fairies in the garden. People of various cultures have spoken of Nature Spirits etc for a long time, but I don’t know how to test it so it remains a theory to me. I’m not going to believe it just because I’ve been told.

Recently a woman I have some respect for sent this…I’m not of the Muslim faith so don’t make an unfounded assumption…

“The following verse is from the Koran, (the Islamic Bible)

Koran (9:11 ) - For it is written that a son of Arabia would awaken a fearsome Eagle. The wrath of the Eagle would be felt throughout the lands of Allah and lo, while some of the people trembled in despair still more rejoiced; for the wrath of the Eagle cleansed the lands of Allah;

and there was peace.”

Well, I looked up the reference.

There is no such thing as 9:11. As with all chapters, there is just Chapter 9. So there goes the magic number. In the 21 pages with notes, there is no mention anywhere of an Eagle. The entire thing is a lie.

Whoever wrote this is a liar. He/she may be a Patriotic Christian American but still a liar. Whoever didn’t investigate this is being misled.

How many lies do you believe?

How much do you toss away without any consideration?

Do you toss away fact because somebody lied to you?

Are you acting on false beliefs?

Investigate!

Challenging mental decay in old age is a process that should begin now. Listening to new ideas and keeping an open attitude to change is vital to your well being later in life. Analyze what you are told. Being prepared to think that there could be invisible little critters that transmit diseases, or trying to test if there are really plant fairies (?) is ensuring you will still have an active mind when others of similar age become vulnerable.

You can change your latter life now by exercising body and mind now. Remember, it’s a lot harder to get back in shape than to stay in shape.

YOU, ONLY YOU Can Change Your Life.

You are where you are because of your’ doing! (or Not doing) You can be anywhere you want if you decide to, then take steps to get there.

You may need help at the start so get it. Stuff those excuses into a bin.

Get up from this monitor and do five or ten squats to exercise your legs. Go on; do it now. If you do; you’ve made a start. It’s as simple as that!

If you did do that just now; you feel happier, don’t you? Yes. Yes, Yes.

Now start to get some real advice, not by making some pendulum power prophet richer. By the way; I’ve got this bridge you might like to buy …

*****

Wit or Wisdom.

“Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge…” Charles Darwin

"It does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are 20 gods, or no god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg." - Thomas Jefferson

*****
Contributions are welcome. Would you like to write a paragraph each week? Email to iqadult@gmail.com

Jay Ross.

EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

One of the greatest tools you can have is impartial self observation. This means looking at what you do from an outsiders’ point of view and understanding why. Even the lightest application of this, done honestly, is a boon. See why you did that, or want that, or are as you are.

Motive comes into it and you may discover a lot about why you behave in a particular way. There are deep reasons why we act. Some are to get sympathy, some to establish our importance, some to be mothered or be dominated. Seeing these motives is not always easy.

There will be times when you can’t explain your actions. Analyze these as an observer. Use your intellect to look at your emotions. If you can do this impartially you’ll discover so much about yourself. Some of it will hurt but you are doing this to become more complete. Knowing yourself is the keystone to knowing others.

Inside you is that essential “I” that was born. It doesn’t change. That ‘real you’ can see the scars and qualities of what you have responded to over the early years of your life. It watches how you deal with the influences of your environment, successes and failures, parents, friends, or those who harm you.

Don’t blame anyone. People who do harm are simply still lost. They haven’t seen yet.

Once that knowing starts to build, your self respect and respect for others will start to grow. You can’t really know anybody without knowing yourself. “Know Thyself” is one of the oldest teachings.

Your self respect is basic to how you treat others. An angry person, who can’t identify the cause of their anger, and deal with it, treats others with disrespect. Most of the time the person we’re angry with, has done something without malice or even nothing at all. The worker who comes home and lets his anger out on his partner is an example.

Children don’t know. They may wash your laptop in the sink, thinking you’ll be pleased. What can you do? Anger won’t bring it back. Why did the child have access to it? Why was the child alone? Have you backed up your files? It could have been stolen or lost. The result would be the same.

We get bashing of children even leading to death because the child was crying too much or kept making a mess with its food.
Somebody may ‘snap’ over an otherwise casual remark by a partner or fellow worker.
Hospitalization or worse can follow a minor road incident or next doors’ loud TV.
The person who does this has lost control.

Defeating emotional impulses needn’t be long struggle. It just means realizing that you have been influenced by the things you were taught. It’s your job as an adult to clean out the dross that hurts, or is in conflict with what you really feel.

Self observation is part of emotional intelligence. Your IQ is not only a genetic thing. Adaptability and intelligence are linked. Adaptability is learned through self observation.

Intelligence does mean being in control of your body, mind and emotions. You won’t gain control unless you observe how and why you do things.

Being a slave to emotions is not smart. Every time you react instantly, you’re showing a conditioned response. When you start to see this, you’ll see how easy it is for others to use you, or how others won’t go there because they’re afraid of your response.

When you fully realize it, you’ll see others with the same characteristics. You may wonder how they don’t see it too, just like you didn’t.

When you do know; it’s very obvious. I think it was Cary Grant, the actor, who tried an LSD trip under controlled conditions back in the late ‘60s, early ‘70s. He is reported as saying, “Now I know why I hurt every woman I ever loved.”

This is not an endorsement of LSD or similar psychotropic drugs. It was under controlled conditions. The drug helped him see an inner fault/need that drove him.

All of us have these unresolved needs that make us operate in certain ways. Seeing them yourself is sometimes painful but always liberating.

Becoming a complete person is a learning thing; often an un-learning process to rid us of falsehoods we were taught. You’re intellectually and emotionally sound if you can change beliefs when you find them to be wrong. Blindly holding on only leads to more pain.

When we talk about IQ we are only talking about the processes of clear logical thinking. But we are not simply a data base. Decisions are made with the influence of emotions. We should talk about EQ as well.

Your Emotional Quotient takes into account how you take responsibility or let go of responsibility, giving and receiving, ability to lead or follow well, how you dominate or accept dominance or rules.

You’ll only understand all this if you are self aware, observe yourself, be introspective, see why a need is there.

*****

I’m trying to get this auto-responder working so you can get instant info articles and eBooks quickly. Can anybody help with auto-responders? I’m at iqadult@gmail.com

Would you like to contribute a paragraph or two each week? Mail me.

*****

Wit or Wisdom.

Opportunities always look bigger going than coming.

Obstacles always look bigger coming than going.

*****

Visit the NEW SITE – IQChildren.blogspot.com It has just been born. If you like it as a baby, tell some friends but if not please email iqchildren@gmail.com with constructive comment. Your input is welcome here too.

*****
If you see someone without a smile today, give them one of yours.
Jay Ross.

Law of Attraction - money.

Let’s get a bit more serious about the Secret. My previous post gave you a link to see the movie and said to also go to “How to Manifest…” Here is the link. It’s a 24 minute video. You’ll benefit from it. Go there now then return for comment.

Ok? The guy seems genuine and further investigation has won me. But there is something I disagree about in the film. His disdain of money should be clarified.

Money is necessary. It’s easy to get, using the law of attraction, provided your motive is just. Remember this is about thought. What he’s talking about is acquiring money for its own end -- greed, self aggrandizement, selfishness.

The good Samaritan of the Bible was able to help because he was wealthy. So don’t knock the value of money, just check why you want it – your motive.

There is a limit to how much you need. You don’t need three stereos in each room. You can only sleep in one bed at a time. More is just waste. If you’ve got more than you can use, spread it around. Help somebody.

The Law of Attraction is not new. Its previous big revival was in the 1960s with “New Age” thinking, vibes etc. There were so many books on Cosmic Mind Power, Cosmic Law, Mystic Path to the Infinite, At One with the Universe. The terminology has changed a little but the message is the same.

Basically it seems like “like attracts like” but it’s a matter of faith in action. We’re aware what religions say about faith. It’s virtually “Ask and ye shall receive”. Look at John 14 in the Bible. It says all this and more you will do.

The attitude in your mind determines what happens to you. You are what you mentally eat. Your imagination is the building material.

The subconscious will accept and act upon any belief you give it.

It’s easy enough to prove. Just do it.

That doesn’t mean to wish for a million dollars in your letterbox tomorrow morning. As the makers of “The Secret” said on Oprah, it involves “thoughts, feelings and actions”.

The Biblical statement is to ask in “my name”. This presupposes faith—thoughts, feelings, belief. If you believe, have faith, without doubt, it will work. When that happens you will act differently, thereby fulfilling the requirements.

What the law of attraction teaches is the same thing. Instead of Jesus, Muhammad, the Great Pumpkin or whatever deity you believe in, it says you can do this yourself. That is not detracting from your religious beliefs. It’s simply saying this works regardless of your explanation for how it works.

It seems to be that he sun rises and sets. It doesn’t. You can argue the point, saying any fool can see it does. It certainly seems that way but it’s only relative to your position- your viewpoint.

You can say that Ra drives his fiery chariot across the sky every morning till night or accept that the sun’s light gets to your part of the planet because the Earth revolves once in 24 hours while orbiting the sun. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galileo_Galilei

Your religious focus, icon, symbol, serves the same purpose as a mandala.

You must first know what you want and your motive behind wanting it. Your faith, full belief, without doubting, will set the wheels turning. Now build in action. Actively set about preparing for the result.

If you want to be free of debt and on the road to a healthy financial future; start being that way. Prepare for it. Get free help from the many good people who offer it via the net or in person via charitable organizations in your area.

Start looking richer in a way you can afford. Wear your good clothing; keep well groomed. Your new life is here. You only have to change into it. Use your imagination. It IS the stuff of life.

Great thinkers as diverse as William Blake and Albert Einstein have said that the imagination is everything. Emerson said, “A man is what he thinks.” Aristotle and Plato wrote of it. Mark Twain said that life is a sum of the thoughts flowing through one’s head.

“The greatest discovery of my generation is that human beings, by changing the inner attitudes of their minds, can change the outer aspects of their lives.” – William James.

“We are what we think. All that we are, arises with our thoughts, we make our world.”- Buddha. “… believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.”- Jesus.

It’s easy to fill a page with similar quotes but why, when you can prove it for yourself. You ARE already using this force. You have made your life. All you need to do is realize it and start using it in a conscious manner. Direct it. That’s the secret.

It won’t cost you anything to change your mind. If you’re unhappy at least you’ve got the good fortune to know it. There are people who think misery is all life is. They may never know the truth. How sad is that?

You have already got everything you need to change your life and help others do the same. What you need is already in your heart and head. The force is with you. Use it for good.

*****
Send an email to iqadult@gmail.com to ask for the Wattles' book on money. It's free.

*****

Jay Ross.

Decisions, and "The Secret".

Do you make decisions easily? Do you weigh the facts logically and intelligently, choose, then pat yourself and say, “I’m a darn genius.”? “I’m so clever I could kiss me.”

Maybe you have trouble deciding which shoe to put on first. It was the right shoe yesterday so it will have to be the left shoe today, for balance. And naturally the socks follow the alternative routine. Or should they be the same? Oh why is the world so complicated?

You know what I’m getting at. Some things are important and some not worth thinking about. So what is important and how do we decide? What influences our choices?

We can be fooled. In fact, every day somebody is trying to get us to think in a particular way, their way. Do you buy that sugary flavored water called Coke or pay for that tasteless overpriced bun from Macs? You wouldn’t buy it if it was offered by the fat man in the little shop down the road.

You’ve been influenced. Advertising is an art. It’s designed to guide your thinking.

So is any political speech. Manipulation of your mind is what it’s all about. Look for the reality behind everything people say and do.

It’s easy to lay down the guidelines to start thinking for yourself but it takes a lot of thinking to build them into your habit pattern. Even then we’re open to the bug of emotion, but that can work for us too.

In pre-school kids play a game about where to get something. The idea is for the teacher to call out a common item and the youngsters run to the spot marked as that type of store or category, e.g. “hammer” everyone runs to the ‘hardware’ spot. Or is supposed to. The last one to arrive is eliminated and eventually the one remaining is the winner.

What happens? Group psychology takes over. The group follows the leader. You may yell “hammer” and the group runs to the ‘grocery’ spot because the leader did. He was wrong but they followed. Individual decision making was surrendered. That’s very dangerous in social and political situations.

There is no need to remind you of history but maybe there is a need to take a fresh look at world events today. What are you being told? Are you being manipulated? Do you think what you think because of ’follow the group thinking’?

This is very closely associated with ‘peer group pressure’. Teenagers are not the only ones prone to fads. Emulating your peers is how we tend to think, even if it is wrong in another context. We don’t have to join a group to accept group thinking. We are born into groups whether they’re economic, national or geographic.

Be aware of how much of your thinking is based on what your associates think. People who think outside the ‘group think’ are more well balanced in deciding what is best for the group. That’s thinking ‘outside the box’.

Getting stuck in a geographic, economic, career or social mindset has its benefits but a closed mind leads to belief in a system of thoughts that, in another setting would be terribly wrong. Take the atrocities of war and consequent opinions about nationalities as examples.

If you think you’re immune to this check out the Stanford University famous experiment of 1971 where students became “prison guards”. The abuse of “prisoners” caused the whole thing to be stopped. http://www.prisonexp.org/slide-6.htm These were ‘normal’ men. What would YOU do? What ARE you doing?

If you want to get further into this, visit http://milkriver.blogspot.com/2002_08_01_archive.html

If you find yourself getting angry, keep reading. You’ll see why.

*****
Currently the films “The Secret” and “What the bleep do we know?” are making the rounds. They explain the “Law of Attraction”. Watch it here, "the secret".

You may think this is just another ‘positive thinking’ con or fanciful rubbish but it’s not. This is related to motivation and decision making. And they are right about quantum physics, but it's as much a puzzle as life itself.

The hardest part of any project is to get started. Try to convince someone to do something! People offer all the illogical excuses not to get started. So do we.

When you have that mindset, nothing will happen. When you make the decision to DO something about changing whatever you want changed; it’s more likely to happen. All you need now is a rough plan. Refine it as you go.

You can get out of, or into, the small town, if you make the decision. Start doing something about it. Keep doing it.

You can make more money than you know, if you make the decision to do it. Start trying to make an extra $5 a day, then $10, then $15. Think Rich.

There are over six billion people on this planet. Your perfect partner is there. You won’t find them by complaining about loneliness. Go out - socialize. No excuses.

There are so many examples of people who have dramatically risen above their mere birth status. You’ve heard the stories. You can do it too. That’s why excuses are illogical. They don’t count.

Start small. Aim high. Learn what you need to know and persevere. You’ll learn more. Then when you start to see results, your mindset will be reinforced. That’s when you’re doing it right. Keep going.

Adam Khoo sent me an edress to watch the whole movie but it won't work when coppied. It started -clicks.aweber.com. Can anyone help?

Enter "the secret" in Google to watch the Oprah show and other short films. DO watch the film "How to Manifest, the secret to creating the life of your dreams." Make a note of his edresses.

I'll include "The Secret of Getting Rich" by Wattles in next weeks' blog. It's free.

YOU ARE IN CONTROL of your life. If you’re in debt it is because you did it or let it happen – same thing. There is an equitable way out of the unhappy relationship, and you can work from home, or achieve inner peace or anything else that is possible. It’s only a matter of taking control and planning.

“The Secret” is a matter of tuning your mind. The radio will only give you static unless you tune it. Your mind is the same. Thoughts are forces just as real as gravity is. The millionaire mindset doesn’t see obstacles. It sees new lessons to learn from.

Tune in. Make that decision. Today IS the first day of the rest of your life.

*****

Wit or Wisdom.

"Ideas are more powerful than guns. We would not let our enemies have guns. Why should we let them have ideas?" - Joseph Stalin.

*****

Intelligence only works if...

Thomas Edison was no fool but he was less a genius than you might think. He was doggedly determined, patient, persistent to the point of annoyance, a hard nosed business man, ruthless in cutting down opponents and sucked up to whoever would further his interests. So why call him a genius?

Why call anyone a genius? If they’ve got a high IQ they should be leader of the pack, top dog, king of the hill, breezing through life like a warm spring breeze above the daffodils.

Well you know that isn’t so, so what happened to the IQ genius?

A lot of them got bored with an education system that didn’t recognize them. Others had a home life that prevented their talent from showing. Some had no discipline or drive to achieve anything. Some had big talent in areas they couldn’t access because of life’s direction.

“Yeah, yeah, so what about the ones that do make it; the bright sparks that get to the top?”

As Edison said, “genius is ninety-nine percent perspiration.” He was wrong in the figure but right in the message.

The people who make it big do so because of effort, with some talent thrown in.

You’ve heard of the over-night-success who took 15 years to get there. No talented performer has walked on stage to give a knock out performance without practicing often and refining their art.

No inventor ‘just did it’. It took experiment and perseverance, marketing, contacts, money, waiting, oh so much. Ask any inventor.

To make it to the top, you have to persist, believe, work cleverly, practice, ’know’ you’ll make it, and persist till you do. Talent alone won’t do it!

There are hungry geniuses walking the streets. They’ll never be known. And at the top we get those who applied their talent and learned the skills needed to be able to develop it. You don’t have to be a genius to get all you want. It definitely helps but the effort put behind it is the difference.

Common factors behind the successfully intelligent are

• their environment
• a teacher
• study to a purpose
• self discipline and
• persistent effort.

Let’s clarify these to see if you can improve your life with the intelligence you have. You know you can. It’s just a matter of guidance (teacher) and action (effort).

You will get more done in an environment that you’re happy with. Damned obvious, so why do so many people try to study or work in conditions that are hopeless? Noises, interruptions, lack of space, tension, all kill your output. Do something about it.

Tell everybody what you’re doing and why, then set some rules. Don’t accept phone calls after a certain hour. Close the door, buy a latch, go to a friends’ house. Rent someone’s garage. Get the right environment.

Your purpose is to win the prize, top the class, fulfill your dream, be self employed, own your home, have a million dollars, or write songs, your call. Whatever you do; there’s a purpose, a goal behind it. Even when you go out to play, there is purpose.

Be sure of your purpose. Make it your consuming interest, your intent, your great reason. You have to be dedicated to the task. Live it. Write and repeat affirmations to help. Carry a notebook for those illuminated thoughts that come unexpectedly in times when you relax. Relaxation time after effort is when your subconscious gives you answers. Be ready. Work toward your goal. It should be constantly in mind.

Self discipline comes with the amount of dedication you have in your purpose. If you believe in your goal and ability to get there, you’ll settle into a regimen of regular times and courses of action to get there.

Your teacher is an outside observer to remind and guide you, prompt and reinforce, help keep you on track. Your information comes from your teacher and anybody else who knows what you don’t. Your teachers are everywhere. The net is your library.

It’s amazing what single mindedness can achieve. A calm determination without stress is the right attitude. Stress or worry only confuses your progress. Treat every obstacle as a minor detail to be dealt with. Obstacles are further opportunities to learn. Deal with them kindly, knowing you are the master. Obstacles are clever but their secrets will make you stronger.

Genius, intelligence, natural ability, all need direction and refinement, and this means effort to get the best from your talents.

*****
Housekeeping Dept. Not this week.

Wit Or Wisdom.

Once again from the Massachusetts Bar Association Lawyer's Journal (I haven't checked this. It was sent to me as a floating net piece.)

• 5. "Was it you or your younger brother who was killed in the war?"
  
  
• 6. "Did he kill you?"

7 "How far apart were the vehicles at the time of collision?"

• 8. "You were there until the time you left, is that true?"
  
  
• 9. "How many times have you committed suicide?"
  
  
• 10.Q: "So the date of conception (of the baby) was August 8th?"
• A: "Yes."
• Q: "And what were you doing at that time?"
  

11.
Q: "She had three children, right?"
A: "Yes."
Q: "How many were boys?"
A: "None."
Q: "Were there any girls?"

12.
Q: "You say the stairs went down to the basement?"
A: "Yes."
Q: "And these stairs, did they go up also?"

13.
Q: "Mr. Slatery, you went on a rather elaborate honeymoon,
didn't' t you?"
A: "We went to Europe, sir."
Q: "And you took your new wife?"

14.
Q: "How was your first marriage terminated?"
A: "By death."
Q: "And by who's death was it terminated?"

15.
Q: "Can you describe the individual?"
A: "He was about medium height and had a beard."
Q: "Was this a male or a female?"

16.
Q: "Is your appearance here this morning pursuant to a
deposition notice which I sent to your attorney?"
A: "No, this is how I dress when I go to work."

17.
Q: "Doctor, how many autopsies have you performed on dead
people?"
A: "All my autopsies are performed on dead people."

18.

Q: "All your responses must be oral, okay? What school did
you go to?"
A: "Oral."

19.
Q: "Do you recall the time you examined the body?"
A: "The autopsy started around 8:30 p.m.."
Q: "And Mr. Dennington was dead at the time?"
A: "No, he was sitting on the table wondering why I was
doing an autopsy."

20.
Q: "You were not shot in the fracas?"
A: "No, I was shot midway between the fracas and the navel."

21.
Q: "Are you qualified to give a urine sample?"
A: "I have been since early childhood."

Be good to each other, Jay Ross.