Monday, December 28, 2015

You are listening to too much advice.



We are surrounded by so much advice about everything.
From health to financial advice.

There are so many top 10 tips. Top 20 tips that it comes out your ears and you are listening to it because you want to improve in whatever you are doing.

Maybe we need some more advice that we learned from Richard Branson or from Steve jobs.
Need some more tips and tricks from " The experts"?

How much did it help you? It probably helped you somewhere. I don't argue that.
What I do argue is that you aren't becoming one of the experts by listening to experts.

Why ?

Because experts didn't go to every fricking top 10 or top 20 tips and tricks from other experts.
They had a challenge before them and were in a specific situation that drove them to learn the skills to go forwards in their life.

They made most probably more mistakes then most have tried.


It's a process of tinkering over time rather than trying to find one big secret! 

The first step is to get busy and just learn along the way.
Most experts learned how to deal with feedback in the best way and utilized it to their advantage.

Knowing what is valuable feedback and what is not is very important.
Adjusting as fast as possible is a second.

Experts have a vision of what they want to achieve.
They want to improve the field in wich they operate, no matter what that field is.

Even when you have just one single task to do, look at how you can make that task into a artform.
In other words, look into how to improve it. Push it too the limits. Work smarter.

So it is about pushing your vision in to the world and the more you do that the more you will notice that you don't have the necesary tools at hand or not the ideal tools to do so.

So you have to become creative and push what you think is possible.
First say that you can do the job and then see how you can do the job.
It will get you in to trouble but the right kind of trouble where you can learn a lot.

Getting yourselve into situations where you will need to learn and push yourselve.

What do you want to put in this world?
What are you willing to sacrifice in order to get it into the world ?



Extra - Doing a Disney

I here want to give you what is called the Walt Disney Process.
It is valuable in whatever you want to excel in.
There were always 3 steps Walt Disney went trough in a specific order to come up with brilliant animations and every step was done in a different room:

The Dreamer : First begin to spout a lot of crazy ideas of how to accomplish something. Don't judge any of your ideas.

You could see the BIG panels that were drawn here and the WIDE open room where it was discussed and the team was dreaming and thinking out loud.

The Realist: Begin to think of how to realize and actualise the ideas. Be specific. Think what exactly you need to do to accomplish those ideas.

This was done in a medium sized room.

The Critic: Be your own worst critic and begin to sift trough whats's left. Put the presure and expectations higher then ever. Shoot holes in your own ideas. See what survives.

You could see how the men were looking at very small picures and specific frames in a very SMALL room. Here the team stood very slosely togheter and close to the process board. It was also called the sweat room.

Now, you don't need to have different rooms to do this process. Just remember to stop , take a breath and break away from the previous mood and mode of thinking before going to the next.. that's what the effect of different rooms was. It seperated the mood and atmosphere. We think, feel and remeber context dependent.


Also check out : Money bitches .. euh witches.  and  Hacking the learning process.

Tuesday, December 22, 2015

Hacking the learning process



What does a plank on top of two wooden sticks 1 cm from the edge have in common with :
"How I want a drink, alcoholic of course , after the heavy chapters involving quantum mechanics."  ?

Keep thinking about it when you continue reading further.

When you visit this blog I can imagine you want to learn something new.
So let's learn something about learning. In fact when you have something specific you want to learn , you can follow along even better.

Imagine you have an test or examine tomorrow of what you will learn today.
How will you try to memorise what you know ? Will you try to repeat it over and  over ?
I can ensure you that that only will work in very limited cases.

You remember much more when we process the information again.
In other words, rework the information. Use the information you have in new ways.
Put in new context , a new scenario and see how that information helps you there.

Only when we are active with the new information do we attain the most.
So have fun and play with it.

Now that you now how to attain more let's boost it just a bit further.
When we can think of a specific situation this information can be used and imagine going trough that scenario it is much more likely to be remembered because now it has a practical application.

The reason why we can't remember names that well is because they have no link with what that person does and how to deal with that person. When you know what that persons job is, like for instance a baker, you link the name to the job and it comes easier to remember because you can see in your mind what that entails in general. It's the images in our mind that are of importance for remembering and not so much the words itself.

So think back to what you want to learn and come up with a specific context and situation to use it in. Imagine what you would, see, hear and feel. Imagine the possible consequences and result of that.

If nothing comes to mind, don't worry just continue.

Take on a new role when reviewing what you want to learn. When you learn it as a student , how would you teach somebody else about this? Switch roles.

Find new point s of view to talk about it and think about it.
Indeed, you will memorise it much better when you share the information with others. Talk about it.
When there is nobody to talk about it, imagine talking to people.

We remember better when we have to teach it to others also. Even when there is nobody to teach, imagine teaching other people.

Now repeating the information will be much more effective. How many times should we review the information if we want to remember it? The optimal way is:

Shortly after learning it.
one day after you learned it.
One week after you learned it.
one month after you learned it.
3 - 6 moths after you learned it.

You will have noticed that it can take a while sometimes to learn the skills you want.

People often praise having a lot of willpower but willpower is not really reliable at all.
Habits on the other  hand require almost no effort at all. We are all creatures of habit.

When there is that much to practise that you can't see the trees trough the forest, it is easy to understand why some people would give up on it. Honestly, we all would consider just stopping to learn if you couldn't see the end of it and even couldn't see where to begin.

So when you don't know where to start, just start anywhere you want. Tinker along the way.

Practice just 1 thing at a time for a week or month on a regular interval.
Look in how many ways you can do that one thing and variate the scenarios and context as much as you can.

Well, it  seems like this the exit and the end of this blog post.
Maybe you learned how to think in different ways now.
Maybe you have a bridge to more understanding at this moment.

So , you begin to understand what the answer to that first question was.
If not, just take a break and eat some pie. You have learned much anyways.

Cheers.

Wednesday, December 16, 2015

The case against Mythology.




All those myths what are they good  for ?

Yes, they were used as maps of where we are spiritually and how to get from one life phase into another.

But let's not forget that storytelling was and is still used to spin the truth most of the time.
Myths were used to  explain things they didn't understand quite complete as we do now.
They were used to push political agendas.

They seem to be used to unite people behind a common cause.
Myths and stories traveled where commerce was. Where caravans traveled and trade routes were.


Look around you and you will see that many that hold on to the old stories and myths are still trapped in outdated beliefs that are harmful. How else could it ? Those stories had a SPECIFIC function that was rallied for a specific cause by specific people. It was useful to some people in some period.

It has an expiration date imo.

We tend to romanticize the past, forgetting the horror that came with it.
This is something Game of thrones author George RR Martin knew very well while researching for his story.

Mythology is useful to study how people used to think but poor to as a guide in this time when we forget what its originally came from and its context.

Look around and see what those religions do that hold on to those myths and forgot it's origins.
They tend to live out that mythology .

Maybe we need to learn to look at what's really going on instead of trying to look for an higher and higher meanings and forgetting what is right in front of our noses.

Maybe we should be more worried about the story we are creating right now then the stories from ancient times.

We are creating new mythology nevertheless. Comic books reflect our more recent culture and the struggles we had and still have.

Some authors like Warren Ellis, Alan Moore and Grant Morrison are making new myths that I quite like.

Maybe our next holy books can be comics.
God ways are mysterious.

And don't forget to look at what's in front of your nose.


- Praise Totoro -


For more check: Trapped in stories

Monday, December 14, 2015

Lucifer rising




Lucifer rising. Red sun dawning. The sea turns to blood. Fairy tales awake mankind goes to bed.

All is said. The fat Buddha is fed. Two flies in one clap . Baal Zebub.

Cherub with wings covering his mouth.

Enter the tomb here in. Pyramid of light. Second sight. Eye of Horus. Hear us. Lord of light descend upon us.

Face the trials. Liars. The sphinx and the riddle. Don’t fiddle. Kindle.

Burn your sacrifice. Break the ties. Undo yourself. Undress yourself. Make love on Eros bed. Aphrodite jealous. Whore Babalon. Accept all. Be right back. Ecstasy explodes and erects.

Pan. All-begetter, All expander, Alexander, Great triumphant. Pi never ending. A in awe of all energy. Nun. Neither. None. Death. Duality. All is here. All will end.

That that is. The great mist. Ships on sea blinded. Mermaids singing your name. Stay awake !

Sefas. The rock. I will sent. The dove. Noah. Transcend. Stay in my covenant.

Pete. Something to hold on to. Stepmother means ‘ I wed’ .

Cradle softly rocking. Moses drifting on the Nile. Cry for Osiris. Two found at the stream. The end.

New moon. New beginning. Calendar reset. The era of the child. Eaon of confusion. Unrest.

Music and dance. Snakes swirling. Dangers of the mind. Illumination. No ego. All Pride.

Tales told and retold. Roots that wrap around each other. Branches of the Great Mother.

The Tree, The snake, Lover, Brothers, Down to Malkuth we descend. Crawling back up. Unite and mend.

Kavod, A fire send. Sandals off. Sancta terra. Presents of the divine with us.

Eternal spark. Creativity. Dreams and Aspirations.

Toth. Hermes. Words. Math. Magic. Rite.

Write !

Mundus Patet ! Sesam open !

Lysergic acid diethylamide. Mushrooms. The Chariot. Ezekiel’s vision.

Just a bit tipsy. Realities blend. Quantum physics. Pick your maya. Welcome in Indra’s net.

Welcome to the matrix Mr Anderson. A man and a woman but it needs more Paprika.

Inception. Down to Wonderland.

Sleepwalking. Among Gods.

Ascend !

Prometheus rise ! Promethea Rise !

More Moore, much more Moore please.

I am an Idea ! And ideas can’t die.

(see I am)
V

The Matthew effect


" For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken even that which he hath. " 

This effect seems to be more and more important as we get wealthier and wealthier as group and yet individually we get poorer and poorer. It's like you are playing monopoly and the bank has 90% of the money distributed and the other players now fight for the leftovers.

With new technology raising hopes for better lives for many people and even to extend life beyond the life expectancies we now have, it is more important than ever, because all the technology that could help us could be held hostage by people with the most of money and power.

Now that I think of it, maybe they can beta test it so that by the time it comes to the less fortunate it is more stable and reliable.
This is one of the challenges I see when we enter the Transhumanistic future.
But even now, we can talk about the financial aspect of it but the informational aspect is in my eyes just as bad. Let me explain :

People who are in need of help AND had little education often don't think that much of themselves out of shame and will therefore less likely to ask for further info and help.
People who are in need but had a lot of good quality education are more likely to ask for more information and help when needed.

I don't like where this is going at all !


Help is on the way!

Democratising of information and resources seems to be a huge concern moving forward.
The internet is a very valuable tool for democratising information but can be monopolised by a few big corporations who also have a hand in politics, by giving campaign money to politicians. So we need to watch over it and dare to make noise when something happens that can harm its freedom.

The EFF - Electronic frontier foundation is a great organisation that looks out for the freedom of the internet. ( https://www.eff.org/ )

Making noise works btw. Policies that are harmful pass the vote because nobody notices it.

They make the law text so boring, dry and difficult that you don't want to know what it says.

It's like those "agreements" for Itunes and updates for other apps that we automatically click yes too because who has time to read that boring stuff.

Politicians worry about their image because it influences polls and votes . When the public makes noise about a bad policy that only helps the politicians bank account they can't slip it by congress unnoticed without harm to their image.

Make noise!

I encourage every person to think about what all the resources can be that can be held hostage.
If we forget it. The people keeping it hostage will not tell us.

Just as aristocracy was a way to create a divide that establishes privileges and give the rich more richness, just so are many constitutions being used to create a divide that they want to go unnoticed.

The more we fight among ourselves the less we notice.

Notice, for instance, how rigged the elections are when politicians are sponsored by corporations.
Lobbyists make sure that policies and bills benefit their corporations instead of the people.
The lobbyists from corporations that sponsor a politician also make sure that it benefits the politician of course.

This big wheel of money is not concerned about you. It will rather crush you.
Luckily, the organisation Represent.us (https://represent.us/) is helping people to be more aware of the trap that is set up for us.

The same seems to be true about resources,like food, but it must be said that it isn't always the fault of the shop owners that they throw away so much food that is still edible instead of giving it to people in need. There seems to be a misconception that when you donate food and the person gets sick of the food you can get sued. So shop owners are still afraid to do so. But the worst is that they have to pay tax in order to be able to donate it so it's cheaper to throw it away.




These are only a few of the ways that the abundance there is can not reach those who need it.

It is also therefore that I encourage people to rethink the way we design things.

To see how we can do more with less. This is called Ephemeralization:



It's never over !

The fight is never over. Even when the laws change for the better or we get freedom to get the information we want. People in power can always try again or somebody else will try. We must stay alert and guard our own liberties.


Stay alert. Stay together. Stay strong!

Sunday, December 13, 2015

DaVoid - Part 01


DaVoid.

Da, the Buddhist word for the world as it is not as we perceive it. 

The world before we attach meaning to it.

It is the first utterance of a baby, it has no meaning. 

It just is.

Void, there is no spirit and matter, the two are one and the same. 
The two is none. Two is zero.

All that is, is divided below the void, below the abyss and in an divide space is created.
It is the space that gives it, its function.
It is the space that creates an opening for a door, a cup to fill.
It is divides and spaces that create meaning. 
Division creates difference and spaces create context.
Division between background and foreground, black and white, these allow for letters and numbers.
Spaces between letters and numbers these allow for words.
Much more can be said about this.
Spaces between words can create sentences.

Sentences like ..

‘’Hi, I am DaVoid. Welcome to the Intro(vert). ‘’

In the beginning....
There was only God. There was nothing but God and because there was nothing outside of God
God could only look into itself. The first introvert.
In that moment Wisdom was born and with it Understanding.
The Crown, Wisdom and Understanding reflected and created Strength, Mercy and Beauty.
Strength, Mercy and beauty reflected again losing even more of its purity in to Splendor and Victory.
Two Cities and two ways to the Fundament. The fundament to Malkuth, The Kingdom.
Thy Kingdom ! Thy kingdom come !
A new day is on the horizon. The horizon is orange almost red hot . Burning. Burning bright. 

Brighter and brighter until…



Go to part 02

What's left if nothing is right ?



It seems to me that grammar needs to be just so and not a letter more.
To be right about the topic but  wrong in spelling is to ask people to hit you according to some.
Just as they seem to look at the letter of the law but forget what it was used for.
To serve the people and not to be a burden.

To forget what science is for and let science be a bore.
To drill a hole in your head and let others advice sink in.
They seem to forget the hole in the heart they left.

Empty stories before going to bed.
Children in fear.
Tears that flood the chamber.

Drowned in what others say we should be and should say.
Science shifts from day to day.

Learn E-Prime.
Learn to say things without absolutes , without saying "me" or "mine".

What if you read Finnegans Wake and find fault there in?
Is James Joyce a bad writer or is Salvador Dali a bad painter?

Is that a black spot on your wall or a hole to look in ?
A Black hole to sink in.

Is shouting help in italic such a sin?
Will nobody come ?
Will everybody but you be wrong?

So what ?
How lonely the place you dwell in!


(pic: Please help me - KunstRitter )

Art thoo dit 2 ?

Being a vegetarian is a big missed steak! 
Sometimes you see something in the corner of  your eyes and sometimes it's gone away.
Shadows that shift and slip away. 

Perceptions are lucid and some day you see it my way. 


It seems so that we think and explain things that are unfinished our way. 

So what does it mean to scramble the signal? Erase the structure that held it all before?

23 everywhere.

 Eris dances to the upbeat tempo of my swag and slack.
One minor mistake written in the Death Note and it could be not your birthday.


I think what I want to say is:
It can fast go it to the mist.
A place where neuro networks need to assist.
Alter images of fate.
Pinch the pink unicorn in the butt.
Although that might hurt a lot.

It is necessary for re readjustment and recalibration.
Change the tune of the song and dance to a different vibration.

So much noise to saturation.

Close to peak-minded, narrow blood vessels. head exploding tactics these days.

This the art of not being that is being under attack. Man must be always be man, so they say.

"WHO ARE YOU ?" asked the caterpillar.

Let me go and let's go to lalaland.
Drawing reimaginations of the future in the 

 WET SAND .



Initiation


Confucius come closer circle around circular logic programmed in Nuit ohm shortcircuit dominant structures collapse of the enterprise of falsehood, the dark brotherhood. YHVH. Shattered shards. Frustration and confusion into the inner sanctum leads to corridors of Silent Gods right to the rites of initiation.

Welcome to the first page of some called Magi.

Illuminati trial for retribution of contribution denied. Sight. Blight. They cast you out. Who is at fault? Error 404 Error not found. Sound. The Bell. Vast solid wooden doors open. Church of Dagon Enter Beliel. Baal found my foundation. Winter is coming. Sinister solace. Prime minister. Sint Nikolaas. Enter no man's sky Ra. Spring and Rites of Eleusis. Come .Come. Summer radiates.

Things unknown.

A newborn Sings.

These are the codes of the matrix. The matriarchal cradle rocking.
Pop art hardcore topping.
Sex magick seductive sucking.

iniminimanimo.
Queen Elizabeth. Queen Jezebel.
Dual  processing core.
Babalon.
Ho

Ho ho ho.
Sacrifice for summer. Blood must flow.

Oh oh oh.
Little Red Riding Ho.
Run to your grandma.
Evil laughs in shadows .
Leaping towards you.
Look back behind you.
Shadows surround you.

Flames that reach the sky.
Reincarnation.
Celebration.
Feast for the nation.

Lackey or Loki ?
Nobody knows.
It's Tupsy Turvy day.
Ask Coplin the way.
The way to astray.
To be fooled to find the fools way.

To fall and be The Fallen
To be hanged and be The Damned.
To drown and suffocate again.

May my words fall where they may. 
Dewdrops as bombs make dusty ground ...

BREATH AGAIN!






(pic: Evanescent Intellect - Wizards of the coast - Dan Scott)