It's funny I was so busy tring to take a photo of the hot air balloon that I completely failed to notice the amazing sky. We have had a lot of amazing skies over the past few days. Clouds that are so mountainous and fluffy that you feel that if you could only reach them you could climb up them and have a snooze on the top.
I love these kinds of skies, they make me feel glad to be alive!
Tuesday, August 30, 2005
Sunday, August 28, 2005
Camera Phones and the Whole Soul Stealing Issue
N and I went on the train to Sheringham this week. Whilst we were on the train I noticed that some chavvy types were taking pictures on their mobile phone and laughing.
For some reason I didn't feel comfortable with this. I had already been thinking a bit about photo usage as I am a member of flickr and also because of the phone footage of terrorists in London. I heard one news broadcaster say that with the advent of camera phones we have all become journalists, but isn't there a sickly voyeuristic side to it all? And whatever happened to privacy of the individual. I certainly don't want mine or my children's photos taken without our permission, and I certainly don't want it passed around to strangers or posted on the internet. This link will take you to a list of what you should and shouldn't do with a camera phone. Apparently there is also a gender issue where pictures are taken up skirts and down blouses and posted on the net.
The Aborigines believe that haing your photograph taken would steal your soul. Of course I don't believe that, but to have someone surreptiously snap you does make you feel like they are taking some part of you, and it certainly means that they are taking your power and choice away from you.
It's bad enough that here in Britain we are the most videoed nation on the planet, boasting 14 cctv cameras for evry person in the UK. and just what has all this surveilance done for us - absolutely nothing as far as I can see. It doesn't stop terrorist attacks or violent crime, and when footage of crimes is looked at it is often too blurry to make out the faces.
I supose it's main use is as a deterrent but as we are all so used to it now, even that doesn't work. The only way that cctv can really work to deter acts of terroism and violent crime is if there was one person to watch the footage from each camera 24 hours a day. Well in reality of course this doesn't happen, it would cost far too much for a start.
So in reality what happens to all that footage, who does watch some or any of it? How many hours of video are there of each of us? and how many laughs have been had at our expense? It may sound paranoid but sadly that seems to be the kind of culture we live in now - the piss take culture. The type of society where programmes like the worlds worst criminals, and those programmes where people get set up are popular.
Maybe I am wrong about this, or maybe I am just having an off day, but I would like to know what other people think.
For some reason I didn't feel comfortable with this. I had already been thinking a bit about photo usage as I am a member of flickr and also because of the phone footage of terrorists in London. I heard one news broadcaster say that with the advent of camera phones we have all become journalists, but isn't there a sickly voyeuristic side to it all? And whatever happened to privacy of the individual. I certainly don't want mine or my children's photos taken without our permission, and I certainly don't want it passed around to strangers or posted on the internet. This link will take you to a list of what you should and shouldn't do with a camera phone. Apparently there is also a gender issue where pictures are taken up skirts and down blouses and posted on the net.
The Aborigines believe that haing your photograph taken would steal your soul. Of course I don't believe that, but to have someone surreptiously snap you does make you feel like they are taking some part of you, and it certainly means that they are taking your power and choice away from you.
It's bad enough that here in Britain we are the most videoed nation on the planet, boasting 14 cctv cameras for evry person in the UK. and just what has all this surveilance done for us - absolutely nothing as far as I can see. It doesn't stop terrorist attacks or violent crime, and when footage of crimes is looked at it is often too blurry to make out the faces.
I supose it's main use is as a deterrent but as we are all so used to it now, even that doesn't work. The only way that cctv can really work to deter acts of terroism and violent crime is if there was one person to watch the footage from each camera 24 hours a day. Well in reality of course this doesn't happen, it would cost far too much for a start.
So in reality what happens to all that footage, who does watch some or any of it? How many hours of video are there of each of us? and how many laughs have been had at our expense? It may sound paranoid but sadly that seems to be the kind of culture we live in now - the piss take culture. The type of society where programmes like the worlds worst criminals, and those programmes where people get set up are popular.
Maybe I am wrong about this, or maybe I am just having an off day, but I would like to know what other people think.
Thursday, August 25, 2005
signs..
Sometimes you hear people say that the air was so sweet you could almost see it - well i did!
Talking of signs (which we weren't but never mind!), I saw one that bemused me today. The Marks and Spencer sore in Norwich has a slight overhang halfway up the wall, it is very slight about 10 inches at most. Well there was a sign on the wall that said 3.1m. It looked like the kind of sign you get to tell you the depth in the swimming pool.
I could only surmise that it was for one of two reasons:
1. It is a depth marker just in case you get out of your depth swimming against the tide of fashion.
2. It is for the benefit of extremely tall (3m tall!) people, who might otherwise bang their heads.
Talking of signs (which we weren't but never mind!), I saw one that bemused me today. The Marks and Spencer sore in Norwich has a slight overhang halfway up the wall, it is very slight about 10 inches at most. Well there was a sign on the wall that said 3.1m. It looked like the kind of sign you get to tell you the depth in the swimming pool.
I could only surmise that it was for one of two reasons:
1. It is a depth marker just in case you get out of your depth swimming against the tide of fashion.
2. It is for the benefit of extremely tall (3m tall!) people, who might otherwise bang their heads.
Saturday, August 20, 2005
How does one create creativity?
How does one create creativity? I occasionally feel like all the creative juices have been sucked out of me and it is not a great feeling!
There are many things that I would like to accomplish creatively: finish my recipe book, do a painting, make another animation, write a novel, write some more poetry etc.. Is my problem motivation or lack of creativity? Or are they one and the same thing?
"Often what you call procrastination, a lack of motivation or boredom is really just being trapped in the shell of your own comfort zone. Like a turtle, you pull inside and stop moving. Stop growing. Stop seeking. You rationalize your position with excuses and justifications and put a limit on it. You lock it up with a "guarantee" that consists of two extremely powerful words:"I can't". You paint yourself into a corner with your fears and inhibitions. You resist change.You avoid risk. Your senses are dull. You may feel as if you are suffocating. You notice the dull ache of emptiness. You feel paralyzed by your fears,real or imagined! Pretty soon, living inside the safety and comfort of your shell, devoid of challenge or change, becomes a habit just like brushing your teeth in the morning or tying your shoes. Easy, effortless,predictable, familiar! You've retired from the excitement and challenge that purposeful living offers. Your comfort zone has become your liability zone! As W.H. Auden once said, "Home to supper and to bed. Shall we like this when we are dead?"
Quote courtesy of Creatvityforlife.com
Right today I am going to step outside of my comfort zone and go and do something creative!
There are many things that I would like to accomplish creatively: finish my recipe book, do a painting, make another animation, write a novel, write some more poetry etc.. Is my problem motivation or lack of creativity? Or are they one and the same thing?
"Often what you call procrastination, a lack of motivation or boredom is really just being trapped in the shell of your own comfort zone. Like a turtle, you pull inside and stop moving. Stop growing. Stop seeking. You rationalize your position with excuses and justifications and put a limit on it. You lock it up with a "guarantee" that consists of two extremely powerful words:"I can't". You paint yourself into a corner with your fears and inhibitions. You resist change.You avoid risk. Your senses are dull. You may feel as if you are suffocating. You notice the dull ache of emptiness. You feel paralyzed by your fears,real or imagined! Pretty soon, living inside the safety and comfort of your shell, devoid of challenge or change, becomes a habit just like brushing your teeth in the morning or tying your shoes. Easy, effortless,predictable, familiar! You've retired from the excitement and challenge that purposeful living offers. Your comfort zone has become your liability zone! As W.H. Auden once said, "Home to supper and to bed. Shall we like this when we are dead?"
Quote courtesy of Creatvityforlife.com
Right today I am going to step outside of my comfort zone and go and do something creative!
Wednesday, August 17, 2005
Greatest song lines of all time
I find myself wondering what are the greatest song lines of all time. here are a few that I like...
"my balls feel like a pair of maracas" (Frank Zappa, Why does it hurt when I pee)
"Frankly Mister Shankly since you ask, you are a flatulent pain in the arse" (the Smiths, Frankly Mister Shankly)
"All the way from Washington. Her bread-winner begs off the bathroom floor "We live for just these twenty years. Do we have to die for the fifty more?" (David Bowie, Young Americans)
"But I'm a creep. I'm a weirdo." (Creep, Radiohead)
"There is no pain, you are receding. A distant ship's smoke on the horizon. You are only coming through in waves. Your lips move but I can't hear what you're sayin'." (Comfortably numb, Pink Floyd)
"Arnold Layne had a strange hobby, collecting clothes, moonshine, washing line, they suit him fine" (Arnold Layne , Pink Floyd)
"I stumbled to my feet. I rode past destruction in the ditches. With the stitches still mending 'neath a heart-shaped tattoo. Renegade priests and treacherous young witches Were handing out the flowers that I'd given to you." (Changing of the Guards, Bob Dylan)
These are just a few - would love to know which lyrics other people rate!
Saturday, August 13, 2005
God Blog
A cathartic morning page type of blog for me today. Yesterday I was feeling ultra positive, but it is hard to sustain that. That is the thing that I need to work on, not bombing back into negativity at the first sign of things not going my way.
Dr Joe Dispenza in the film "What the Bleep do we know" says that he can create his own day.
'I'm taking this time to create my day and I'm infecting the quantum field. Now if (it) is in fact the observer's watching me the whole time that I'm doing this and there is a spiritual aspect to myself, then show me a sign today that you paid attention to any one of these things that I created, and bring them in a way that I won't expect, so I'm as surprised at my ability to be able to experience these things. And make it so that I have no doubt that it's come from you,' and so I live my life, in a sense, all day long thinking about being a genius or thinking about being the glory and the power of God or thinking about being unconditional love.”
(Dr. Joe Dispenza in What the BLEEP Do We Know!?TM)
Not sure I understand all of his wording but the intention is excellent. I'm not sure about the power and glory of god bit beacause I am not sure whether I believe in a god. I believe in something, a force greater than we are. I think I have a slight resistance to the word GOD, probably stemming from all the religion shoved down my throat at primary school. I find organised religion difficult because so much violence and harm has been done in the world in the name of religion. But I think that it would be depressing to believe that we are all that is and that there is nothing more...
Dr Joe Dispenza in the film "What the Bleep do we know" says that he can create his own day.
'I'm taking this time to create my day and I'm infecting the quantum field. Now if (it) is in fact the observer's watching me the whole time that I'm doing this and there is a spiritual aspect to myself, then show me a sign today that you paid attention to any one of these things that I created, and bring them in a way that I won't expect, so I'm as surprised at my ability to be able to experience these things. And make it so that I have no doubt that it's come from you,' and so I live my life, in a sense, all day long thinking about being a genius or thinking about being the glory and the power of God or thinking about being unconditional love.”
(Dr. Joe Dispenza in What the BLEEP Do We Know!?TM)
Not sure I understand all of his wording but the intention is excellent. I'm not sure about the power and glory of god bit beacause I am not sure whether I believe in a god. I believe in something, a force greater than we are. I think I have a slight resistance to the word GOD, probably stemming from all the religion shoved down my throat at primary school. I find organised religion difficult because so much violence and harm has been done in the world in the name of religion. But I think that it would be depressing to believe that we are all that is and that there is nothing more...
Friday, August 12, 2005
Believe in yourself!
Whilst I was washing up this morning I found myself thinking about the series Jamies School Dinners that was recently repeated on E4. I was thinking especially about the dinner lady called Nora and how she blossomed over the course of the series. At the beginning of the series she was a difficult and narrow minded, set in her ways. By the end she was a much more vibrant, confident woman whose horizons had well and truly broadened.
This beggars the question would we all flourish given the right encouragement, nurturing and opportunities? I suspect the answer to that question is YES! The trouble is that a lot of us have not had that in our background and are not likely to have a tv crew and celebrity chef whisk in and change our lives. So where will we get that nurturing and encouragement from? Either we carry on as we are in our ordinary little ruts of disatisfaction or we find a way to provide it for ourselves. Sounds difficult? Well maybe that is half the problem, if we learned to love OURSELVES when we are young then maybe the world would be abetter place.
Yesterday in a discussion with my son I found myself saying "a lot of people believe that you cannot truly love anyone else if you do not love yourself". He looked surprised and then I realised how true that statement is. There have been times in my life when I have been very unhappy and during these times I have disliked myself, found myself unattractive and considered myself to be a fraud and a failure. I have been my own biggest critic. Some of this might stem from negative messages received in the past, but I take full responsibility for sending myself those messages as an adult. I am now choosing toview myself in a different light. Sure I still have that little critical voice inside my head that pops up with annoying regularity, the one that says things like "you're not good enough", "you are unattractive", "noone will ever love you" etc. But when that voice pops up I have to learn to recognise where it comes from, give it the voice of the person who first said it to me then decide that I don't want to believe them anymore - after all are they so great and successful? If the voice is my own then I have to offer up evidence to the contrary, I believe that eventually I can make these negative voices subside and replace them with positive ones.
Affirmation for the day - I am becoming a positive and successful person.
I found this great quote at thinkrightnow.com
Anxiety and fear strips away courage and makes great performances impossible. Doubt makes even the best decisions feel difficult and causes procrastination. Anger rips your focus away from your goals.
Frustration can only serve to make you quit.
Guilt makes it impossible to enjoy any successes you achieve.
Jealousy and envy create dishonesty, hate and corruption.
This beggars the question would we all flourish given the right encouragement, nurturing and opportunities? I suspect the answer to that question is YES! The trouble is that a lot of us have not had that in our background and are not likely to have a tv crew and celebrity chef whisk in and change our lives. So where will we get that nurturing and encouragement from? Either we carry on as we are in our ordinary little ruts of disatisfaction or we find a way to provide it for ourselves. Sounds difficult? Well maybe that is half the problem, if we learned to love OURSELVES when we are young then maybe the world would be abetter place.
Yesterday in a discussion with my son I found myself saying "a lot of people believe that you cannot truly love anyone else if you do not love yourself". He looked surprised and then I realised how true that statement is. There have been times in my life when I have been very unhappy and during these times I have disliked myself, found myself unattractive and considered myself to be a fraud and a failure. I have been my own biggest critic. Some of this might stem from negative messages received in the past, but I take full responsibility for sending myself those messages as an adult. I am now choosing toview myself in a different light. Sure I still have that little critical voice inside my head that pops up with annoying regularity, the one that says things like "you're not good enough", "you are unattractive", "noone will ever love you" etc. But when that voice pops up I have to learn to recognise where it comes from, give it the voice of the person who first said it to me then decide that I don't want to believe them anymore - after all are they so great and successful? If the voice is my own then I have to offer up evidence to the contrary, I believe that eventually I can make these negative voices subside and replace them with positive ones.
Affirmation for the day - I am becoming a positive and successful person.
I found this great quote at thinkrightnow.com
Anxiety and fear strips away courage and makes great performances impossible. Doubt makes even the best decisions feel difficult and causes procrastination. Anger rips your focus away from your goals.
Frustration can only serve to make you quit.
Guilt makes it impossible to enjoy any successes you achieve.
Jealousy and envy create dishonesty, hate and corruption.
Wednesday, August 10, 2005
Intentions, thoughts, quantum physics and all that...
Saw an excellent and exceedingly weird film at the weekend called what the bleep do we know. It's a phillosophical film and talks a lot about quantum physics, which can be confusing, weird and extremely mind boggling! One of the things that really grabbed MY attention in this film was the studies of a Japanese man called Dr Emoto. Dr Emoto has taken micropscopic pictures of water, but with a difference. What has put Dr. Emoto at the forefront of the study of water is his proof that thoughts and feelings affect physical reality. By producing different focused intentions through written and spoken words and music and presenting it to the same water samples, the water appears to "change its expression". In other words at a microscopic level the struture of the water changes as you can see from his photos.
These photos are so weird and amazing, you could easily believe that they are a hoax like the fairy and UFO pictures of the past. But if they ARE real, what are the implications. It means that we should be able to physically change ourselves through thoughts and intention. Does this mean that we all have the capacity to cure ourselves? to make ourselves happy or even to bring about world peace. Maybe, if enough of us practiced it and had the same intentions and of course truly and wholeheartedly meant it. Because as far as we know water cannot think, so when those good thoughts/intentions were focused on it in Dr Emotos experiments, it did not have a little inner voice contradicting them, or criticising itself as most humans do.
It would seem that the conclusion of this is that humans are lacking in consistency and faith. Most of us do have good intentions but we also have an inner critic and saboteur. Were we to miraculously to lose that then our potential might be limitless. Hmm something to ponder on...for myself I am sending love and good thoughts to myself every night now before I go to sleep, and only time will tell if that will make a difference to me in the long term.
These photos are so weird and amazing, you could easily believe that they are a hoax like the fairy and UFO pictures of the past. But if they ARE real, what are the implications. It means that we should be able to physically change ourselves through thoughts and intention. Does this mean that we all have the capacity to cure ourselves? to make ourselves happy or even to bring about world peace. Maybe, if enough of us practiced it and had the same intentions and of course truly and wholeheartedly meant it. Because as far as we know water cannot think, so when those good thoughts/intentions were focused on it in Dr Emotos experiments, it did not have a little inner voice contradicting them, or criticising itself as most humans do.
It would seem that the conclusion of this is that humans are lacking in consistency and faith. Most of us do have good intentions but we also have an inner critic and saboteur. Were we to miraculously to lose that then our potential might be limitless. Hmm something to ponder on...for myself I am sending love and good thoughts to myself every night now before I go to sleep, and only time will tell if that will make a difference to me in the long term.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)