Be the Change You Want to See in... Yourself

Sunday, June 29, 2008

A couple of nights back I saw a film called What the [Bleep] Do We Know? It had some interesting points to make about relativity and entanglement theory—two of the precepts behind the idea that every atom in the universe (including those that make up each of us) is interconnected. It has deep implications on how we treat others and the universe we live in.

The film also introduces ideas on how our emotions create the version of world we each see. In one instance a scientist photographs molecules of water before and after an emotion is channeled into them. It is eerie enough to see that the shape changes with the introduction of an emotion. However, it is disturbing to see the difference between, say, the result of love—a beautiful snowflake-like crystal—and anger: a formless, jagged mass. If our bodies are made mostly of water, how do our emotions affect us? Perhaps there is more to being positive than we realize.

According to the film, when we feel or think the same things over and over it causes our minds to rewire into a perception of the world based around the people, places and events that created the thoughts or emotions in the first place. We experience something significant, and the brain releases hormones called peptides tied to the emotions. Over time our bodies get used to—and even dependent on—running on these things. Maybe we hesitate to get into and out of new emotional states because our bodies dread the chemical withdrawal that will take place when we change our thoughts and introduce new emotions.

I’m sure there are scientists who support or disagree with what the film has to say, but one thing looks to be possible: we have the ability to design the reality we perceive from the inside out. We can create a world for ourselves filled with love and happiness; or fear and hurt. We can push ourselves into a rut—or we can pull ourselves out of one—with the act of consciously filling our minds with the thoughts and emotions we want to act as the foundations for the world our minds will perceive.

I'm Back... Now Go See WALL-E

Saturday, June 28, 2008

Greetings, friends. It's been a month since my last post, and an explanation is due. I moved into a new apartment June 1st. (This is a good thing.) It is a semi-spacious third floor studio with ample closet space, a decent kitchen and a tiny bathroom. It's in the rear of the building, away from the street and facing a back yard that only the chap two floors below me has access to. Luckily for me, said chap happens to be a friend of mine and the person who helped me find the new place. So far I am definitely digging living by myself! I am waiting on my economic stimulus check to arrive any day now so I can go and get my new bed, and have had an eye on some of the flat-screens at Best Buy... I would say by the end of August the place will look like it does in my mind's eye. I'll make a video and post it on here so you all can see my new home once it's complete.


Anyhow, for the first two weeks of June, I had no internet access at home. In a weird way, it was both inconvenient and nice. I had no ability to look things up outside the office, but at the same time didn't feel sucked into being online at home. In the end, though, I now have internet, and thus will be writing here more frequently! This is doubly true because I think I am going to start carrying around some type of little notebook that I can jot my ideas down in while I'm on the go... I feel like there are times I mean to write something but just have too much other stuff in my brain.

So... the last month in a nutshell: a lot of billiards with my 8-ball team winning the Brooklyn Championship and qualifying for a free trip to Vegas to compete at a national tournament in August.... getting settled into the apartment with a wonderful visit from John and Katherine a couple weekends back to help me paint the place.... weekend fun with friends from work in the form of Hudson River kayaking and seeing Hamlet at Shakespeare in the Park. All in all, it has been an insanely busy period that I am rather relieved is over.

I'll wrap this post up by recommending that you all go and see WALL-E in theatres as soon as you have the chance to do so. I hardly ever go to the movies anymore because most of them deserve nowhere near $10-13, but I had a feeling that WALL-E just might. Man, oh man... it is an amazing picture on so many levels. The animation at Pixar continues to get more and more awe-inspiring, and the experience of seeing this film on a big screen is truly a pleasure. The story has two levels going on... one that will touch a range of your emotions, making you laugh out loud at times and feel a lump rising in your throat at others... and another level that I hope young viewers will take away and hold on to as they grow older. I am going to buy this DVD as soon as it is available and beseech thee: Go see it. If you haven't seen the trailer, here goes:



 
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