(the trick is commitment)

The title is a little bit ironic, considering I've been away for a while. But hey, at least I'm back! :D It's been around 4 and a half months since I've graduated from university.  

Coming back home, I'm wondering if I'm the only one out of my batch, (hell, even my year!) that hasn't decided to get a job in the government/private sector. I'm seeing a lack of creativity, guts to step outside the box and start thinking for themselves. My primary concern here is that my country's generation will resemble that of the previous  generation: stagnant, fearful and content to settle for the present quality of life, unwilling to strive for greater things. Nonetheless, this is a topic best continued at a later date.

Getting back to the topic on hand -

Commitment: Why it is absolutely necessary.

In life, you have to be committed to the things, the jobs, the people, whatever it is you are linked to, to get the absolute maximum out of life.

What is commitment exactly?

Commitment is the never-ending process of giving your all in your relationship towards anything else that is directly (and possibly indirectly) related to you. 

From the Merriam-Webster dictionary: Commit - to obligate or pledge oneself.

How do I know if I should be committed to something?

Here's a small checklist I made, tick whatever feels appropriate to you:

I do this commitment
for myself.

for others, but I'm comfortable with that.

because it feels right.

because I love doing it.

because I feel free during it.

If you ticked at least one of these boxes, then you've found a commitment worth having. However, if you've ticked at least one of these boxes yet feel you can't put everything you have into a certain commitment, it may be time to rethink that commitment.

Admittedly, being fresh out of uni, I feel unable to commit to any jobs back home. I can honestly say that I don't envy anyone's job here. And I'm comfortable with that. Not looking for a reliable source of income on the other hand, isn't cool, but I'm looking to change that situation ASAP. Maybe a move back to the UK would do me good. Time will tell.

Back to the topic of commitments, here's my latest one: The Uberman sleep schedule. Basically, it involves completely splicing the classic sleep pattern of an unbroken 6-8  hours of sleep daily into a somewhat (initially) scary pattern of 6 20-minute naps in each 24 hour period, seperated by a regular interval of 3 hours and 40 minutes of whatever it is that defines your day (or night). This essentially gives you 4-6 extra hours in a day. Personally though, I find you take out a bit of extra time by finding a suitable place to nap and arranging things to nap. Nonetheless, it's quite an interesting sleep pattern that I've taken up once or twice before, but I've never taken the time to blog it out. Till now, of course. I'll post daily reports of my (essentially REM sleep-deprived) schedule for about two weeks, and see how it goes from there.

[book I'm reading at the moment] - The Plastic Mind. From what I've read so far, this book focuses on the central topic of neuroplasticity, i.e. the ability of the brain to change based on one's experience, that the brain is 'malleable' and 'plastic-like' in that respect. Definitely worth a read if you've got the time. It even has a foreword from the Dalai Lama! :D (he and Buddhism play a part in this book too~)

|One day your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure its worth watching.

- Gerard Way, lead vocalist of My Chemical Romance|

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(heaven on earth)

I finally get what the meaning 'Heaven on Earth' means. To me, it means accepting on a personal level that everything in life is placed there, at that time and life itself is the oppurtunity to experience whatever you choose, consciously or subconsciously.

I have to be honest here. I don't feel my day is complete unless I feel emotional to the point of tears about how amazing it is to simply exist, and to possess and create and experience my own life. If you haven't had a moment like that before, you may want to take the time to think about it.

Anything is possible. What's missing in the world is personal faith. And personal responsibility. Society and religion at large have taken it onto themselves to make sure its members believe that these groups hold the ultimate answers to a successful and worthwhile life. But what state is the world in currently?

The world works. But thats like saying a water hose with a huge gash in its side works in putting out fires.  

the. world. barely. works.

Why is that, you ask. Well, most people wander about their daily lives, working to live up to the expectations of others or based on the views of what society views as 'necessary', whether consciously or subconsciously. Not really working well is it? Heart attacks, stress, road rage, obesity, high blood pressure to name a few problems in the developed world.

I honestly doubt that humanity would suffer on a global scale if everyone took 3 weeks to sort out what they wanted to achieve and who they wanted to be for themselves, and put that plan into action. 

Try it for yourself. 21 days of absolute dedication to your personal values and desires. Wake up in the morning with nothing on your mind but what life means to you and what you will do that day to define your life. Sleep with no regrets, and dream of how tomorrow will be even better than today.

But they did not give up.

|There is only one success: To be able to spend your life in your own way. - Christopher Morley|

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(the unnecessary stigma of death)

Today's topic is about death. Specifically, why people are scared of it, why the media loves it and why, in my opinion, it really doesn't need so much drama.

Let's start with what happens when someone dies. In this case, death is defined as the termination of the biological functions that define a living organism (as quoted from wiki). The person, lets call him John, gets shot during a botched robbery in his house. The bullet enters the base of John's neck at a vertically diagonal angle, severing his spinal cord and causing near instantaneous death.

The neighbours hear the gunshot and call the police, who arrive soon and pronounce John dead on arrival. John's body is sent to the morgue, where John's kin are called in to identify the body. A funeral is booked, and John's body is prepared at the funeral home. A few days later, the funeral takes place. The minister says a prayer, John's family and friends tell of John and how he has played a big part in their lives, then John's casket is laid to rest in his grave. It is almost certain that everyone at the funeral will be mourning. The media get hold of the story and the headlines the next day in the town newspaper reads "MAN KILLED DURING HOUSEHOLD ROBBERY" in large, bold letters.

But why the mourning and outrage? Certainly, John will not be around ever again. John's family has the right to feel hatred towards the robber, who didn't need to kill John that night. But what would really worry the average person who reads John's story is the fact that John has died. His story ends there. For those who believe in religion, either John has led a good life and has passed through to Heaven, or John has sinned and ended up in Hell, or Purgatory or some other related afterlife.

Hence, I believe that it is the opinion of the masses that induces such negative feelings towards death. When you're dead, you can't do all the things that being alive allows for (obviously). Additionally, you might be worried about the consequences of living 'improperly' and dying, thus finding yourself in some unpleasant place post-death. But all of this 'knowledge' is passed on to us by people who claim to know about the subject, where in reality, noone actually knows what happens after death. Or rather, noone's come back from the dead to inform people about what happened to them.

As far as I'm concerned, the very presence of self-consciousness itself in humans shows that an afterlife itself does exist. Something so precious and amazing signifies that such a quality cannot and should not be wasted on an event as trivial as death. What I am implying here is that yes, we live on even after our mortal shells have stopped functioning. Furthermore, we have the choice later on to continue life as we would have it. I'd go into detail about this but I think that there's enough material there for another blog post.

Basically, I refuse to believe in a God that would give us consciousness and the right to free will, yet judge us in the afterlife based on what we have done in this life. The fact that free will itself exists just blasts away any need for religion itself to exist. The reason why religions exist and put so much emphasis on 'keeping free of sin' and performing duties related to religion on a regular basis is to form a basis of power and control over the masses. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but using God to serve your own purposes, well it doesn't work. Why else does race and religious segregation exist in this modern world? The same goes for governments, every government tries to work towards a more unified world, but it doesn't work, simply because of conflicting ideas projected onto people by the media, religion and governments.

The point that I'm making here is simply that, since birth, you've had nothing but the opinions of others heaved onto your fragile, easily impressionable mind. As a result, you grow up with some opinions of your own, but most of the time these opinions are overridden by the opinions of others.

So at which point do you truly break loose of the opinions of the masses and start making choices and having opinions of your own? At what time will you accept that ultimately, the responsibility and freedom of living your own life, control of your own happiness, and creation of your own purpose in this world is yours to own? Now would be the perfect time, I reckon.





Questions worth asking yourself.

|Why not let people differ about their answers to the great mysteries of the Universe? Let each seek one's own way to the highest, to one's own sense of supreme loyalty in life, one's ideal of life. Let each philosophy, each world-view bring forth its truth and beauty to a larger perspective, that people may grow in vision, stature and dedication.

– Algernon Black|

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(the first step)

[Everyone has to start somewhere.]

This blog represents the start of my journey to achieving the highest level of consciousness possible, towards self-perfection, discovery and experience.

A few years ago, heck even a few months ago, I thought that life was a never ending grind, repeated over and over through humanity's history. Go through school, then college, followed by university, get a job, buy a house, marry, have kids, make them go through the same cycle, grow old, and pass away. There's a depressing thought personally.

In the last few weeks though, I've realised all of it doesn't matter. And at the same time, all of it does matter. Life is a series of choices, leading to experiences. Who we are is defined by each and every choice we make. Regardless of whether we accept responsibility for our choices, our life will always head in the direction of those choices.

Why do I say 'all of it doesn't matter' then? Well, that's because life is given the meaning that you decide on. Anything you regard as a defeat, an error, a negative, that is nothing but an opinion that you give to a situation. And that opinion can be changed in a single thought, simple as that and faster than you can snap your fingers. At the same time, I could mention that essentially, there is no right or wrong, no bad or good, except whatever label you decide to assign to a thought or a situation at that point in time.

What are the consequences of that last statement? It's simple. Whatever happens, you have a choice and how you deal with that choice is who you are. Every second, every day, every thought, you are deciding who you truly are.

So here's to conscious thought, and bringing humanity one step closer to higher, evolved consciousness.

21 lessons I've learned after 21 years alive - Glen

|There is only one cause of unhappiness: the false beliefs you have in your head, beliefs so widespread, so commonly held, that it never occurs to you to question them.|

– Anthony de Mello

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