oxy_ana

Psych inspired

Mon, 14 Jan 2008 21:45:57 GMT

So, our thoughts create the reality!

When we think that God exists, then he really does, at least for the person who does the thinking. He doesn't have to exist for anyone else, just that person. As long as the benefits of God's existence for that person outweigh the disadvantages, it's practical and beneficial for God to exist.

Now, the question of reality does not only grasp the existence of tangible proof of invisible objects like God. There are many other intangiable things that people have created the language for, as a result of which those things became part of the reality. Take for example the idea for anorexia. The concept probably did not exist until someone came up with the word to describe the phenomena that may have occurred to only one person. Possibly that person was just to sick and tired of life and didn't have strength or willingness to support life in his or her body. Maybe the reason that person was not eating was because of that, not because of the willingness to stay super skinny. However, the term became known to the general public and the phenomena became the reality of those who willing to embrace it.

So, it seems like there is a reason to believe that our language creates the reality and shapes our views of ourselves and others in the society. I wonder if there is a way to become aware of the fact that sometimes the language that has been created does not do us any good. I mean, if there was no such thing as eating disorders, most people wouldn't have recognized that they are affected by them. And maybe that would save the women from a great deal of suffering.

Maybe some terms are useful in the reality, but others can bring about a great deal of harm to the easily influenced society.

Sat, 12 Jan 2008 02:41:45 GMT

Lately, I've been thinking that the universe really does conspire to help me out. I've come to believe that everything in fact is really going to be fantastic, awesome, amazing and joyful in my life. I mean, why wouldn't it?

If it is up to me to decide on the kind of life that I want to have, than why would I decide to have a miserable one? It doesn't make sense to me.
Recently I learned about the law of attraction, which in essence states that your thoughts, beliefs, fears, and insecurities build your reality. When you catch yourself thinking, "God, I really won't do well on this exam", you really won't. When you go for an interview and you think, " I'm the best candidate for this job. I've got all the required qualifications and more than enough experience that they just must hire me", then they really will. It's a self fulfilling prophecy. When you go for that interview and you are so confident and at ease, the interviewer is really going to sense it. Your thoughts are somehow, by means of some mysterious energetic forces, are conveyed to the interviewer.

Another supportive argument that contributes to the effectiveness of the law of attraction is the placebo effect. Numerous studies have been conducted by psychologists where two groups of people, all having a certain disease, were assigned randomly to either take the real active pill or a placebo (an inert substance that has no medical application whatsoever). All participants were told that they are taking a pill against the disease they are fighting. However, both groups would show an improvement regardless whether or not the pill was active. This explains how our beliefs shape the reality. If I truly believe that a pill is going to help me to get better, it will, even though it is a placebo.

If I believe in something, and I work for it, and I believe that my work is going to pay off, I will surely see the results immediately.

So, now the question is:
What do I believe in? What is it that I want?

First of all, I want to find my personal legend and make it my way of making a living. That way I'll enjoy my life and what I do to contribute to my personal development and to the society.

Therefore, I must believe that the universe conspires to lead me to my personal legend. And I think it really does. So far, I don't regret any of my decisions. I made all the rights choices. They may have seemed not so rights at the moment when I made them, but they seem very right as of now. Therefore, I am grateful and I believe that the Universe is going to continue to help me out in every decision I make.

Second, I want to come up with a list of some short term and long term goals that I am deemed to accomplish because the Universe will help me with that.

Regarding to what those goals are going to be, here is my initial list:

Short term goals:
Learn salsa
Meditate
Prey
Experience Astral Projection
Use a more fluent English vocabulary
Get closer to my dad and sustain our relationship
Read and reflect
Go abroad for studying

Long term goals:
Write a book
Inspire people
Change the society around me for better
Cook very well
Travel the world and learn from every culture
Go on a pilgrimage
Find my own meaning of life
Find someone who I truly loe and who truly loves me; a companion who shares my views and feelings regarding life and society
Teach those who want to be taught

I mights make some additions to these lists.
Now, that the Universe knows what I want, I am sure it will do everything in its power to help me achieve these goals.

Mon, 07 Jan 2008 12:43:16 GMT

It's going to be a good day today. I promise I will do my best to get closer to my personal legend. I'll spread love and I won't be judgemental. I will try to see the good even in the bed. After all, the whole universe conspires to help me out in whatever is my reason to be. Everyone and everything is wishing me well, and well is what I'm going to do. I'm only one person, but I'll try to make this world a better place regardless of how tiny my contribution is. I will listen instead of talking and I will learn instead of rebellig. I am alive and that in itself is a reason to be happy!

Sat, 05 Jan 2008 19:38:15 GMT

As children, we all, without exceptions, used to talk to ants, imagine friends that didn't exist, communicate with flowers, read books to our toys, etc. We would do these things in front of other people, whether its kids or adults. We would invite those people to participate in our imaginary world of barbies coming alive and kens falling in love with them to get married and live happily ever after. Kids of our age would join in and share the experience. They would also hear voices and communicate back. Adults, however, would join in and pretend that they hear something, just to make it fun for the kids.

Recalling these childhood adventures, it makes me think, why at some point we abandon those games where nature and objects talk to us. I mean, wasn't it fun? It would always save us from loneliness, and we, as kids, would enter a state of trance, where our minds are so genuinely involved in the game that hours pass within minutes. Why, now, as adults, do we think that talking to ourselves, or our cats, or the trees outside is a bad idea? Why do we think that others that do so are crazy? If I can't hear something, it doesn't mean others can't hear it. Why are kids allowed to be part of the imaginary world whereas adults are considered crazy?

Another funny part worth noticing is the fact that the state of trance that kids are capable of achieving through their games is very healing and highly beneficial for our well being. So, it turns out that kids are unconciously aware of ways to reduce the minimal stress they experience in those early stages of their lifes. Adults, on the other hand, who experience much higher degrees of stress than their children, abandon those fun ways of reaching trance, which is their natural way of healing themselves. Aren't we self-destructive idiots.

I believe that it is highly beneficial to allow oneself to be silly and playful and full of dreams. You don't need to do it in front of people if you feel highly uncomfortable. Do it when you are alone, or with your significant other, or with your cat. Sing in the shower. Who cares you've got no voice. Release your inner "you" through music you love. Have some "me time" in the basement of your house. Close the door and let the fun begin. Dance a striptease, shake your hair, act your favorite line from "The Notebook", pretend you are a frog and make according sounds. Let the neighbors wonder. Who cares about the neighbors. I'm sure they've got things to hide, too. We all do.

Meditate; allow yourself to simply be. Just breath and enjoy that you are alive. Although it sounds easy, it may sometimes be hard to accomplish. We are so rushed with our lifes that we have forgotten what it means to completely relax and be in balance with ourselves. With technological advancements, relaxation came to be associated with lazily watching TV on a couch. But this kind of relaxation cannot be compared to the meaningful and aware state of trance produced by meditation. TV is a passive entertainment. It does, in fact, make us forget about our problems, but it doesn't teach us anything about our mind and body balance, whereas meditation does. So, turn off your TV and meditate. You'll feel much less stressed and full of life.

Masterbate. There lies a great power in pleasuring oneself. First of all, you are the only person who really knows how to do it. You can explore yourself and spend as much time with yourself as you want. Masterbation is an act of love. If you don't love yourself, why would anyone else. Show your body that you are totally and eternally in love with it and that you are ready to do anything to please it. Your body, in turn, will say a big Thank You and charge you with positive energy, enhanced immune system, and tons of endorphines.

Overall, enjoy your life. You are the only person that knows how to make you happy.
So, go ahead, do things that you like doing. Uncover the inner child in yourself and be happy.

Fri, 28 Dec 2007 15:18:05 GMT

After reading Paulo Coelho's "The Alchemist" I was inspired. Actually, it wasn't only the alchemist that was inspiring. "Veronica Decides to Dye" was simply amazing. I loved it more than any of his other of his books. "11 minutes" was also higly inspirational and thought-provoking.

However, the alchemist explained that everyone on this planet has a purpose, their Personal Legend, which is what that person wants to achieve the most, whether it is travelling or becoming an olympic champion. And when a person is trying to achieve his or her Personal Legend, the whole Universe conspires to help that person. Coelho called this principle "Beginner's luck". Also Coelho said that right before your dream of achieving your personal legend comes true, you are put through a severe examination to test how badly you want to ahcieve your goal. Not surprisingly many of us fail at this last but not the least important step. People give up 2 feet away from their finishing line. Reasons? Maybe fear that the dream wouln't come true. Maybe realization that after this dream becomes reality, there won't be anything else to strive for. Whatever it is, I want to promise that I'll take my personal legend to the end and that I will go through the most severe tests this world has to offer. I will prove worthy of my dreams!

And now about my dream:

I am not a money person, but I want to have just enough. I want to be independent and be able to have choices. But I will never pursue a business for money. I find malls and sales discusitng and I disrespect those whose life revolves around money and sales.

What I want is to serve the society and myself. I want to bring spirituality back into our society. People are so driven by their work, their duties and responsibilities, as well as opinions of others, that they forget to calm down and relax and enjoy the peace of the present moment. Instead, they rush through their days because their is so much to be accopmlished. Therefore, I believe people are depressed and vulnerable to all kinds of diseases. Considering the fact that most diseases come from your mind, I want to encourage people to think positevely and use the Law of Attraction as extensively as possible. I want people to become appreciative of their life and realize that the problems they have are at times minute comparing to the hunger in Africa as well as to blindness, deafness or having a child with a down syndrome.

I want to surround myself with people who are willing to learn how to think positively and who see beyond looks, clothes, and money. I want to concentrate on the endless possibilities of a human mind and body. I want to bring out spirituality and religion. I don't want to tell people which God to believe in, instead, I want people simply to believe in higher forces. I want to teach people that being who they really are is going to make them happier than if they were to be a picture perfect with suppressed wished and desires. I want to teach people that it is perfectly healthy to be a bit crazy. After all, we are all unique. However, everyone is trying to supress that uniquness and be the same as the crowd. That way they don't feel like outcasts. However, I think, people will accept us as long as we ourselves accept us. What it is even better, when you don't hide your real you, people with similar interest get attracted to you instead of the people who simply follow the trends. This way you surround yourself with those who are similar to you, which in turn makes your life more complete and fulfilling.

So I want to create a school, where people could come and take various classes on subjects such as spirituality, yoga, breathing, religion. I want to have workshops where people with similar interests could get together and practice various rituals like tantra. I want to organize trips to India, Africa, China, Japan, and other countries for people to experience the real culture of those highly culturistic places.

I want to write books, stories, anything. I like writing out my thoughts. I want to have a book club in my school where people could discuss major themes and possibly make readjustments to their daily life when they learn some useful lessons.

I want to teach people that life is possible without all these technological advancements. That we don't have to take an escalator. We can walk the stairs and that will keep us healthier and more physically fit. We don't have to drive our car everywhere. Walking is great exercise and it gives you time to think about your life and your dreams. Riding a bike takes away the need to go the machine-filled gym. The use of phones, blackberries, and other devices is incredibly destructive. You are reacheable anywhere, anyplace, anytime. Isn't it much lovelier, though, to meet up with your friend for a cup of authentic asian tea and have a face-to-face conversation where you can read the body language of your partner and their gesticulations.

I want to teach people to be happy with who they are and appreciate what they have even when it is not a lot.

I want my school to be affordable so that young people could also join. I'm only 19 myself, but looking at today's young people, it scares me. Nothing interests them unless it's drinking, partying, or grabbing someone's ass. Everyone is deeply affected by the glamour of Hollywood and willingness to live the LA type of life. People have become so good at hiding their personalities that all you see now is a girl from a magazine cover with no other interests but clothes, guys, actors, and did I mention clothes? Same with young gentlemen. Personalites are hidden underneath those muscles that have accumulated after hours and hours spent in the gym so that girls find you "hot".

What happened, people? Are we that superficial that we don't see beyong those bimbo blondes and muscular buffs? Are they more attractive than a person with a real personality and something interesting to say? Are they better in bed? I highly doubt it.

This is a lot of writing. But what is important is that I don't agree with the today's society. And I want to find people that are willing to be my proponents. I know it is a hard task but I'll try my hardest.

Fri, 28 Dec 2007 14:55:39 GMT

So, the first monthly resolutions:

January (to be done daily):

stop picking skin
pray and meditate
eat 2 fruits/day and/or drink V8

January (in general)

Finish Paulo Coelho books
Downhill Skiing
Find a good place for salsa lessons
Start redecorating my room
Practice tantra
Write as much as I can
Read about religions (buddhism, taoism, christianity)
Try to be more appreciative
Try to be more loving and attentive towards those who really care about me
Try to find people who have similar views on life and communicate with them
Control unnecessary swearing
Observe the environment and learn from people

February will have to wait...I'll see how january goes.

possible daily goals:
Post to lj
read a book that i wouldn't normally read (ex. fantasy)
spiritual enhancement

New Year's Resolutions

Thu, 27 Dec 2007 23:57:12 GMT

New Year's is close, and everyone is making their Resolutions...in North America they do anyway.
Nothing like that takes place in Latvia or anywhere else in Europe where I am originally from, which makes me wonder whether people in Europe are overall happier with themselves. If they are overweight, they don't go on a diet on the 1st of January. They accept themselves the way they are and that is it. I, personally, find it very pointless to wait til a specific date to start changing some aspect of my life. If I truly want to change something, there is no better time to do it than right now.

This is what I read from "The Best of O, the Oprah Magazine":
when you want to either change some aspect of your life or introduce something new into it, repeat it for 28 days.
Now you would ask, why 28 days?
The answer is: 28 days is how long it takes for our bodies and our minds to get used to the change that has been incorporated into our daily life.

For example, if you decide that you want to stop swearing, watch yourself carefully for 28 days, and after that you'll get used to being able to express your anger and dissatisfaction without using the word "fuck" and its numerous derivations. You will simply get used to it.

It works the same way with food addictions, religious prayers, daily compliments to you wife. Creating a ritual and repeating it for long enough time is a powerful thing to do.

One precaution, however: if you want to stop smoking, lose weight, become more religious, stop swearing, read more, quit gambling, be more loving, and 300 other things that you would like to change, it won't work unless you take no more than 3 at a time.

You've got to choose for yourself what 3 things I'm going to change in my life this month and concentrate on those before you move to the next 3. Step by step you'll become the kind of person you want to be!

Marriage

Tue, 25 Dec 2007 02:50:28 GMT

Why do people marry each other? Is there really a point? I mean, couples stay more or less happy for maybe a year, 2, 3, 4, 5 max, and then eventually they do get sick and tired of each other. They start dreaming of having sex with other people, they even have crushes on other people. Once they have their first crush while still being married, they try to deny it and feel guilty for desiring someone other than their legal spouse. Therefore, they may not act on that first crush....they might not even act on the second one that happens later...However, eventually they cheat. Communication with the spouse gets worse or there is simply nothing else to talk about. People change, and as they do, they lead their lifes into different paths. Most of the time, the paths chosen by a husband and his wife are different from each other. Sex happens once every blue moon and the quality of it is definitely lagging, to say the least. The two people surround themselves with things to do such as caring for the children, work, cleaning, cooking, etc to have an excuse why the relationship has gone sour.

I may be wrong. After all, I'm only 19 and my youthful maximalism may be acting out. I believe that I am superior and capable of everything. I know it's wrong and one day I'll understand that I am 1 out of 7 billion, but I do have my own opinion, whether it's wrong or not. Plus, what is wrong for one may be utterly right for another. Rightness and wrongness are very relative.

Anyways, back on track. I believe that the reason why such relationship goes sour is becuase people get bored of each other. It's is very hard to tolerate someone for a very long time. Especially, when you and that person share finances, bed, and cleaning duties. Arguments arise and as it should be, people forgive and never forget. As a result the bitterness builds up as the beginning-of-the-relationship excitement diminishes exponentially.

So then my question is, why does everyone want to get married and have kids? Because they are afraid of loneliness? Because a bad partner is better than no partner? Because people are scared that there is going to be no one to take care after them when they get old? Because people like stability? Or maybe because it is a social norm to want to get married? Possibly because our ancestors have been doing this for thousands of years. But, look, how many of those couples are happy? Five percent would be the maximum.

Only a few people are naturally monogamous. Most of us are capable of falling in love more than once in our lifes. However, polyamory is not very welcomed in today's society due to the strong traditions of the past. In fact polyamory is viewed as perverted and abnormal. Yet the people who actually embraced it are probably way happier with their lifes and sexuality becasue they get to realized their dreams and make them a reality without even feeling guildy and commiting as they would say "the crime of adultery".

Fri, 21 Dec 2007 20:07:12 GMT

"For one human being to love another is the most difficult task. It's the work for which all other work is mere preparation."
-Rilke

"Some day after we have mastered the winds, the waves and gravity, we will harness for God the energies of love; and then for a second time in the history of the world, humans will have discovered fire."
-Teillard de Chardin

"Everything I understand, I understand only because I love."
-Leo Tolstoy

"If you do not love too much, you do not love enough."
-Pascal

"Until you have loved, you cannot become yourself."
-Emily Dickinson

"He is not a lover who does not love forever."
-Euripides

"Lord, grant that I might not so much seek to be loved as to love."
-St. Francis of Assisi

Wed, 19 Dec 2007 02:36:53 GMT

What is perfection?
Perfection is an unattainable desire. No one is perfect, yet everyone wants to be perfect and what is even worse, everyone is trying to appear perfect. People do it in numerous ways. They dress according to current fashions. They go to school for education so they won't disappoint their parents and crash their dreams. They try to please others in order to appear kind and altruistic. They go to church and give money to the charities without really feeling and reflecting on what they are doing and why. Whatever makes them appear perfect, people would do. People deny themselves pleasures and hide their personal flaws. Teenage girls put tons of makeup so as to look as perfect as a magazine cover(which was photoshoped right left and center). Guys go to the gym to get all muscled up because that is what is considered "perfect". Women follow strict diets to reach that "thin perfection"....We all go really far to reach perfection and yet no one has ever reached it. Everyone is flawed in a way. So fuck it! It's fine not to be perfect. Everyone is "abnormal" in their own way and people shouldn't be ashamed of it.

This world has become so polite and all about pleasing. If someone irritates you, why not tell that person they are irritating? Why tolerate them and get frustrated by their presence? We are living in a free country and yet we are so restricted by opinions of others? We always wonder what kind of impression we leave and whether what we say sounds good enough. Who cares really? Why do we have this constant desire to appear perfect?

Maybe it is just human nature. We are afraid that our imperfection will turn others away from us and we will be left alone. No one likes loneliness. Everyone wants to be loved and cared for. Everyone wants to feel important. Everyone wants attention. And in this world, this kind of attention is majorly given to those who appear perfect. All those Hollywood starts with skinny muscular bodies, million dollar donations to various charities, tons of makeup, edited biographies, expensive suites, and empty hearts seem to be a standard of perfection.

No one sees perfection in a homeless person sleeping on the street. Everyone feels bad for them because they don't own material things. But who are we to judge? Maybe that homeless person with a penny in his pocket is million times happier than Tom Cruise with his double-digit castles on the shores of varios waterfronts. Why is Tom Cruise perfect and the homeless person is not? Why does the materiality determine the degree of perfection?

When someone tells you: "You are perfect", what does it mean? Does it mean that this person is willing to look beyond your flaws and see only the good things about you? Or does it mean that this person is just ignorant and does not know you well enough? Or maybe it means that you hide your imperfections so well that you convince this person that you are truly flawless, ie. perfect. I personally would prefer the first option. The person who is willing to look beyond imperfections and see the inner beauty of his partner is beautiful in itself.

My goal is to become that kind of person who is capable to see only the good things. I am very materialistic, which makes me a hypocrite, but I promise I am going to work on it. I want to be able to respect people for their inner personality qualities. I want to be able to see good in the stack of evil. I am not going to look for perfection or make myself appear perfect. Instead, I am going to look beyond that and be who I am and try to be happy with who I am, focusing on the good qualities of myself and others.

Wed, 19 Dec 2007 01:27:29 GMT

New things that I would like to research about for my personal development:

Law of attraction

New Thought Movement or New Thought is comprised of a loosely allied group of denominations, organizations, authors, philosophers, and individuals who share a set of metaphysical beliefs concerning healing, life force, visualization, and personal power. The New Thought Movement developed in the United States during the late 19th century and continues to the present time. It promotes the ideas that:

God is all omnipotent and omnipresent
Spirit is the totality of real things
True human self-hood is divine
Divine thought is a force for good
All sickness originates in the mind
'Right thinking' has a healing effect.

Louise Hay and her books

Tue, 18 Dec 2007 15:29:47 GMT

Yesterday I met a stranger. He was one of 900 people that were writing the financial accounting exam. I knew that after the exam was done I will never see him again. It's funny, however, that when you know that you are never going to encounter that peron, you are not ashamed of talking to him/her about anything. Somehow our conversation turned into the discussion of various addictions. His plan is to open a chain of addiction offices and council those who need help. He said he is a really good counselor. And maybe he is, I can't tell. I haven't spent enough time with him to be able to tell.

The irony of it is that he can council anyone but himself. He smokes, he picks his skin, plays video games, and always thinks of all the possible ways he could die in any given situation. Those are the 4 addictions/obsessions that I was told about. It's quite possible that there are many more.

I had a chance to tell him about mine, but I didn't have enough courage. I guess I'm very ashamed of it. However, I think that as long as my addiction does not do any bad to the society or to those who care about me, it's not that horrible. I'm not a pedophile and I don't have a desire to do little kids. I'm not a serial murderer who just can't help his passion to kill. I feel bad for those people because they are seriously sick and definitely need counseling. However, I don't believe that full recovery is possible with any addiction. Partial - maybe, full - never. If you've got, you've got. Your brain is what it is, and that's one thing that you cannot change.

It seems to me that every person on this planet has some sort of addiction/obsession that they are ashamed of and that they would love to get rid of. Some try to hide it, like me, and appear to others as "picture perfect". Others speak about it openly, and appear to others as "flawed". Those who are "picture perfect" judge the ones that are "flawed". Hyporcrites, myself including. Those who are "flawed" are jealous of those who are "picture perfect", although they clearly shouldn't be. Why? Because the "flawed" people are much more brave than the "picture perfect" ones. They have enough courage to admit their flaws while the "the picture perfect" ones don't. That's an indication of some screwed up world, isn't it.

Also, people think that if they were able to drop thier addictions, they would be much happier. Who knows, Maybe they would be. I haven't dropped mine....so I wouldn't be able to tell. Maybe in a few years or decades I'll write about the addiction that I have quit.

Those people who quit smoking, don't they always have it in the back of their minds? Especially when they are stressed? They stop the process of smoking, but they never stop the process of thinking about it!

Maybe I am wrong...Correct me if I am...in any case the life will correct me and provide me with all the answers..

Sun, 16 Dec 2007 16:24:32 GMT

Romance is good. It makes me melt, it makes me forget. It makes awkward silences perfectly comfortable. The unison of 2 people feels perfectly complete, like one entity. Dancing to some sappy music, embracing each other and feeling the melody around you makes a perfect atmosphere. The dance becomes some sort of a foreplay. It is prolonged and less sexual, yet not at all less effective. It is slow and subtle and it makes your body burn slowly from the inside.

And it's amazing how a loving man acts in this situation so differently from the one who would just want to get laid. A loving man respects the romance and the fact that his woman enjoys it. He doesn't try to get straight down to the business, take my clothes off and bang bang. No, a loving man takes his time and waits until his lady has had enough of that romantic non-sexual foreplay and is ready to proceed further. It is so fantastic to realize that your man cares about what you want and how you feel, and is ready to sacrifice his animalistic desires just to make you feel happy and loved. He waits until the lady makes the first step towards the bed and only then he takes the reigns.

He knows how to touch you and where to kiss you. You are not ashamed of anything. You feel loved, sexy, and wanted. Any existent insecurities disappear as you see how passionate your man is about you. It becomes a spiritual experience rather than a physical one. Your breathing and his breathing intensify.

Then you are done. You lie beside each other in what I call "a state of relaxation". Oxytocin kicks in and you feel even more connected. You hold each other in a sweet embrace. Your hearts are still beating very fast but soon they are going to slow down. You say "thank you" to each other for this amazing experience. Or maybe the "thank you" is not just for that particular night. Maybe it is for all those days and nights that you have spent together, and for all those conversations you have had, and for all those songs that you have listened together. You start talking and you ask questions that you would have never asked if you weren't drugged by the high of lovemaking. You listen to more sappy music and wish that you saw a concert of this artist or that. You make jokes and you laugh at them till your jaw hurts. You both get sleepy and you doze off into the world of Morpheus.

In the morning you wake up with a smile on your face and with your loved one beside you. In your mind you think: "this guy is awesome and it's going to be a good day". You get up and go to your laptop to write this little essay-wannabe, and you are happy with who you are and that's all that matters, isn't it?

Thu, 13 Dec 2007 16:43:33 GMT

Power is in the knowledge and at the same time there is a saying in russian, "Men'6e znaje6, lu46e spi6", which means, "the less you know the better you sleep".

It's funny and contradicting, but probably true. The more you know, the more you understand how much you don't know and how much more there is for you to uncover. The more you know, the more you think; as a result you might start thinking instead of sleeping. However, I believe that it is worth to sleep a little less and to understand this world a little more.

This world is full of disciplines and famous people who have contributed to the growth and evolution of those disciplines. In reality, it is impossible to come to know everything because this world keeps growing the library of discoveries and new knowledge. However, I think it is important to pursue those disciplines that interest you and those through which it is possible for you to make sense of your existence. Life is short, and therefore, we shouldn't waste. We should acquire as much meaningful knowledge as we can. Also, people shouldn't be afraid of disciplines that they have never studied. It is always to your advantage to be aware of the variety of disciplines rather than specializing in just one.

That is why I would like to introduce a list of goals that I have created for myself
I know that the more items i check off this list, the more items will appear in there (probably in exponential growth)
Anyway, here is the list of so far things to learn or do:

Travel to Spain or Mexico
Learn a bit of Spanish
Read more of Paulo Coelho
Travel Africa, Europe and Australia
Study Sociology on daily basis:
Marx, Weber, Engels, Decartes, Calvin
Study philosophy
Write as much as I can
Think think think

The list is to be continued...

Wed, 12 Dec 2007 18:02:26 GMT

Often, when we know someones secret, we are dying to share it with someone; we want to gossip about it; to judge the person who the secret belongs to. When we reveal the secret that we were asked to keep and tell no one, we feel guilty and tell our conversation partner, "Don't tell anyone, ok? It's a secret". What hypocrites we are.

However, when it comes to revealing your own secrets, it may sometimes be very shameful. However, I believe that those who love you and care about you have the right to know.

I have a secret and no guts to tell my significant other about it. I am ashamed of it and I am ashamed of myself. I want to tell him but I don't know how he is going to react. Will my secret change the way he sees me? Will it change the way he treats me? Will he be disappointed?
He sees me as no less than "perfect" and it's is a shame to fail to his expectations. The funny thing is the fact that I myself have established this picture perfect image and I am very intensely trying not to fail to my own standards. That's why revealing the secret to him will also be the admittance to myself that I am not as perfect as I'd want to be.

Whatever the results are, I clearly believe that he deserves to know it because without this knowledge his picture of me is incomplete and maybe even distorted. He is in love with someone he does not completely know; with someone who is playing a role; to him it's not fair; he deserves to know the real me. If he is truly in love with me, he will understand, right? So let this revelation be a test to the truthfulness of our love.

Tue, 11 Dec 2007 23:45:48 GMT

I just finished reading this book by Paulo Coelho, 11 Minutes. I won't say that this book has changed my life completely, but it has contributed to my self-development as a human being. I have learned such important lessons as the following:

1) Don't procrastinate. If you have a dream, go and fulfill it. You say you want to travel Europe? So go and do that. Don't tell yourself: "Oh, maybe later, when I have some more money ", or "later, when I finish school and have nothing to worry about"....LATER never comes. If you want to do something, just DO IT.

2) Communication is important in a relationship

3) Love is a root for the flower named "happiness"

4) You can be a very good person while holding a really bad job

5) Money is nothing. Experience and knowledge are everything.

6) It's fine to be weird...because everyone is weird. It's just that everyone is afraid of admitting that they have some sort of awkwardness to their personality

7) Society consists of many dumb people who are superficial and judge everything that is not perfect. However, there are minorities that disregard the norms and standards of society and accept the fact that nothing is perfect and that it is not wrong to have flaws. Those are the people worthy of your time; those are the people you are going to learn great lessons from

There are many other lessons to be learned from this book. Everyone who reads it will learn his/her own lesson depending on who they are and what they are.

The thing that I was really fascinated about in this book is that it is written by a man with the main heroine being a woman. Due to the gender difference one would assume it nearly impossible to describe the feeling of a woman with the words of a man. Paulo Coelho reassured me that it's in fact very feasable.