tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-51316225293602831462024-03-13T10:34:41.704-07:00.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger43125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131622529360283146.post-44128928792514362442011-06-21T13:23:00.000-07:002011-06-28T09:11:29.149-07:00Seek Wise People, Not Wise Words<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xhcX8Kr_0ak/TgD76PoOhSI/AAAAAAAAAKo/Kc9eA3W0rlE/s1600/wisewords.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Living Well Through Education" border="0" height="168" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xhcX8Kr_0ak/TgD76PoOhSI/AAAAAAAAAKo/Kc9eA3W0rlE/s400/wisewords.PNG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
If you Google search "wise quotes", in about 0.07 seconds you can find 46,400,000 results. Anything from Plato, Buddha, and Confucius to Jimmy Hendrix and Eisenhower. People talk about all sorts of things, and if you are famous enough, i.e. played in a movie, been auto-tuned in a popular song, or released a sex tape, then people will tend to listen. And some people will tend to write these things down and pass them off as wisdom later on.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>With so many quotes online these days, however, things can get screwed up pretty quickly. Think of how many times you have been reminded of a quote, only to realize you forgot who said it, and where it came from, and what it actually said.<br />
<blockquote><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c;">"Well I'm pretty sure it was Steven Spielberg or somebody who said, 'Its not who you are, its what you do in life that matters most.'...or is it the other way around?"</span></i></blockquote>Now take those instances and multiply them by the vastness of the internet and you can begin to see what I'm getting at. Quotes are so often misspoke, misinterpreted, and credited to the wrong person that the quote itself becomes meaningless. It becomes a joke. <br />
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Then, on the other hand, you have people who think that just because you say something that sounds wise means you are wise, as if being able to spout off something intellectual means you are intelligent. Take for instance this quote attributed to Paris Hilton:<br />
<blockquote><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c;">"A lot of women feel it's a man's world. Some people think all you need to do is marry a rich guy, and you don't need to do anything with your life.... I would hate that. I don't care whether he has money or he doesn't, because I don't need it, and that's a good feeling that I don't have to worry about that."</span></i></blockquote>Such amazing words coming from such a strong woman who no doubt has endured many hardships in li....wait, what? Paris Hilton, really? Describing how she doesn't require money? She is famous for being a celebutante, a child of fortune famous only for her looks and lifestyle, not for any actual worth she brought anyone. Attribute this quote to somebody else, though, and it could sound like a legitimately wise quote.<br />
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However, this is just not the case. Words assembled in a particular way alone do not convey wisdom, only an ability to orate. Wisdom is much more than speech, although that is part of it. It is about action, about applying knowledge in such a way as to reinforce values. It is about a person's entirety of character. Wise words are only so because they come from a wise person, a person who says them with a genuine understanding of their meaning. To seek out wise quotes without also seeking out a full understanding of those words is to miss the point.<br />
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Do not merely seek wise words, then. Seek to understand just what the words mean in their larger context. This will entail finding just who exactly said them, what they mean, where did they come from, and what sort of person said them. Seek out wise people, not wise words, and you'll soon find yourself finding true wisdom.<br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Mitchell Sahlfeld</span></b>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131622529360283146.post-34341856032034190782011-06-16T15:55:00.000-07:002011-06-28T09:19:48.126-07:00Finding Online Courses to Enhance Education<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EAN0GXpnTp0/TfqKQpDemVI/AAAAAAAAAKk/sD6KMQQBQbg/s1600/untitled.PNG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="125" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5618955503601097042" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EAN0GXpnTp0/TfqKQpDemVI/AAAAAAAAAKk/sD6KMQQBQbg/s320/untitled.PNG" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" width="320" /></a><br />
The Internet provides loads of information. There are pros and cons to this. The pros are that gap between the expert and the average person has significantly shrunk. However, the main con to this is that with all this information it is very easy to fall victim to false data. Different biases, viewpoints, and prejudices can cause information to be skewed. Continuing education can be a dangerous endeavor. <br />
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<a name='more'></a>Thankfully, thanks to the prevailing appearance of online courses, this fear can be put aside. Put your mind to rest and enhance your education through online courses.</div><div><br />
</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>1.) <a href="http://www.textbookrevolution.org/">TextbookRevolution.org</a></div><div><br />
</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>2.) <a href="http://www.lecturefox.com/">LectureFox.com</a></div><div><br />
</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>3.) <a href="http://oyc.yale.edu/">Open Yale Courses</a></div><div><br />
</div><div>These are just a few of the sources available online for college courses. Continue your search for further resources to only unlock your mind to even further possibilities.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Mitchell Sahlfeld</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131622529360283146.post-37354968164548443802011-05-17T07:14:00.000-07:002011-06-28T09:26:30.161-07:00The Journey Only Begins<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-78MTrQ1sqkg/TebotvqZK6I/AAAAAAAAAKY/e4haCbVuUPw/s1600/hiking1.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="136" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5613429858149936034" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-78MTrQ1sqkg/TebotvqZK6I/AAAAAAAAAKY/e4haCbVuUPw/s200/hiking1.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" width="200" /></a><br />
I've always thought the best movies were the ones that had the hero dying at the end. The tale finishes with the fade to black and we are left with a sense of closure, with the satisfaction of knowing that the hero went out like a flame, fighting until the very end. We are not concerned with whether or not he went on to die of old age, no doubt never seeing another adventure. We do not care if his lessons learned actually aided him later on in life or if he just became a lazy drunkard, abandoning his friends and family.<br />
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We are not worried because the story is complete. It results in a final climax, leading to the resolution and there are no more questions to be answered. Any question has died with the hero, there is no sense in continued worry.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>Often I like to think that the hero who lives goes on to live an enriched life. How could he not, considering all of the lessons he must have learned and the fortitude that he must have built along his journey. He no doubt has become a virtuous archetype, one for all of us to try to emulate. However, my rational self knows that this is not necessarily true. There are many people who go through trials and tribulations and yet still come out rotten on the other side. There are scores of those who move forward without learning a lesson at all.<br />
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This past weekend I graduated from college. The event itself was very meaningful for me. My parents were able to come and throw a party in which friends and family attended. I reflect on what I have learned my past five years in college; the difficulties I had to face, the friendships I gained, the lessons I learned. I can't help but worry if all of this has resulted in true wisdom, or if I had merely showed up, taken a test, and left.<br />
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There is a definite difference. A robot can perform functions, can do daily tasks, but intuition doesn't have robots as being able to possess wisdom. We give students identification numbers and try to throw them through the system like robots, hoping somewhere along the way they become enlightened. But this process is not an easy one to see. A teacher can only shape the environment in which the student learns. He cannot transfer data to him like one would to a computer. It is the curiosity and the willingness to learn that makes the connection happen, not a cord plugged from one outlet to another.<br />
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As I sit here and ponder on where to go next, there are no doubt important lessons that have stuck with me throughout college and life. Are these lessons enough to lead me to wisdom? Only time can tell me that.<br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">It Starts With Energy<br />
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</span></span>We often slip into ruts for a reason. They are energy efficient. Once you get settled into that shitty job and get into the daily flow of things then you are able to get through the day without being drop dead tired. But that is how a rut comes about. You get stuck in one spot, not moving forward, only standing still. Each day is ended with the bare minimum achieved, with mediocre projects accomplished.<br />
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If you are thinking of the factory line worker, then you are on the right track. The truth is though that this can happen to anyone in any field, some fields are just more susceptible to it than others. When we sacrifice novelty in our lives for energy, then ruts begin to form. In our effort to gain stability and confidence, we build walls around ourselves, for protection from outside forces. When these outside forces do occur, we become agitated and unable to handle them without suffering.<br />
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I remember my first semester in college. I was trying to get used to the new lifestyle of going to classes around campus and also trying to contend with going to football and track practice. I tried to allot myself a certain time slot to be able to take a nap in the afternoon before practice. While this tactic worked extremely well in helping me feel more energized, I got used to it, and soon enough, when the semester changed my new schedule was unable to accommodate this. I was easily agitated. Over the years I learned not to rely so much on a perfect schedule. If I was able to get a nap, that would be great, but if not, I no longer found myself thinking so pessimistically.<br />
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Energy is the key to achieving great things though. It is the tool which we put to use to do certain activities and it is definitely not a limitless tool. Depending upon the activity, more or less energy is required, but it is usually the case that the most wholesome activities require the most energy.<br />
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The most wholesome of activities take patience, an ability to reflect, to remain open to the situation. They are important problems and in order to solve them we must be willing to use our whole character, our whole knowledge base. Think of trying to raise a child. This is probably one of the hardest endeavors to set out to do. We often wish the best for the child but know that it is our own character that has the most profound impact upon them. In order for them to grow up successfully the parents must have successful ways of thinking.<br />
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How can a person then gain the necessary energy in order to attain great things? It is through the formation of habits. Habits which empower a person to be able to achieve things that would lead them to success. Habits of health like improving sleep and exercising. These habits can help a person feel better throughout the day. Habits of communication like courtesy and respect. These can help foster healthy relationships. And habits of thought like reflectiveness and understanding. These allow a person to understand their own beliefs and the beliefs of those around them.<br />
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While initially it is difficult to attain these habits, once they are attained then they allow a person to be able to achieve even more fulfilling activities. The efficiency in these habits allow for more energy to be used in other ways, in truly wholesome ways.<br />
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Wisdom starts with energy. We must be able to call upon our passions and to really care about something in order to really understand and connect with it. But this is impossible without having energy. So many meaningful experiences are lost to the fact that we are too tired to be able to experience in a way which really tells us something about ourselves and the world. It is through understanding our use of energy that we can be able to see just how important it is in wisdom and living meaningfully.<br />
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</div><div><span style="color: #cc0000;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><b>It Continues with Direction</b></span></span></div><div><br />
</div><div>Often, when you have no idea what you are doing or where you are going, you tend to remain completely still. In today's world there is no doubt a multitude of options available. This can be overwhelming. As individuals we are constantly trying to analyze who we are through what we are doing, and because of this, we tend to worry so much about how our actions will connect with what we want to be. We are scared that a certain direction will define our entire life.</div><div><br />
</div><div>This idea though is largely a false one. Your life is not defined by what you studied in college, or by the job you are currently working in. Ask many people; Their perspectives change, their interests move from one thing to another. The endeavors they sought and accomplished did not cement them into a particular kind of person. They were merely snapshots of a life overall; problems to be solved, adventures to be had, stories to be told. They are like stops on a path, just a break in the larger journey.</div><div><br />
</div><div>This past weekend I accomplished something I had been trying to accomplish my entire time in college: Receiving All-American in track and field. For five years I worked in order to attain that status and I would not trade a single year for something else. After today though, it could very well be the case that I never again even pick up a shot put, discus, or hammer. I could move on to other things, other interests. Does this mean that my time spent as a track and field athlete was useless? Meaningless?</div><div><br />
</div><div>No man worth his weight in salt would think such a thing. Just because certain endeavors do not seem to connect to others does not mean that they do not. There are no doubt lessons learned, knowledge acquired, wisdom attained. The greatest endeavors take all of a person. They take mental and physical prowess. They take the ability to be able to adapt ourselves to the situation and the ability to grow in accordance with obstacles. They take the ability to become aware of our surroundings. These are skills that transcend activity; that are applicable in any situation.</div><div><br />
</div><div>There is a common thread then through all of your activities. It is not in what you are doing, but how you are doing it. The common laborer can work with the awareness and mental agility of a professional, while the stock market executive can work with the passion of a corpse. Our ability to put all of ourselves into a task determines what we get out of it.</div><div><br />
</div><div>It is not through finding that one direction which defines us that is important, then, it is through choosing a direction and raging like a flame in order to achieve that particular goal. This is how we really achieve great things. Focusing on one thing at a time and really trying to get something out of it. This is how we can achieve enriched experiences.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Our interests and employments are but snapshots of times in our paths moving ever-forward. The goal is to make these snapshots livid, colorful, enriched, and really mean something.</div><div><br />
</div><div><b><span style="color: #cc0000;"><span class="Apple-style-span">It Never Ends</span></span></b></div><div><br />
</div><div>Life is constantly moving. There are always things going on. With each passing moment a span of our lifetime is taken away, lost to the universe, never to be seen again. This is a scary notion, but an important one. The path towards wisdom is one that never ends while we are alive. We are constantly encountering novel situations, situations which teach us something more about the world and ourselves. In order to remain wise we must be able to remain open to changes that are going on around us. To stop this process is to arrest growth, and lose wisdom.</div><div><br />
</div><div>We are always amidst the world, with all of its interconnected problems. To ignore this is to build walls around ourselves, and to no doubt send us to an early grave. The truly wise are the one's who realize that the journey never ends, it is through seeing the value of the current moment that one really begins to enjoy life. To be able to live each moment as if we are aware of everything around us. To be able to take on tasks wholeheartedly, using every fiber of our being to take them on, so that if they are accomplished they mean more to us than anything else. They become moments which begin to define who we are, not by what we were doing, but how we did it. By how we battled our way to the position we attained.</div><div><br />
</div><div>So energize yourself, find a direction, and blaze a path through the brush in order to reach it. And when you do reach it, realize the achievement you have attained, but do not dwell too long on it, for you have many more paths to create.</div><div><br />
</div><div><b>Mitchell Sahlfeld</b></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131622529360283146.post-33642609030865287612011-03-19T19:13:00.000-07:002011-06-28T09:32:27.044-07:00What Makes a Life Meaningful?<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ky3xnP-2x0g/TYV83u2fXJI/AAAAAAAAAKQ/spmkCVd8LhI/s1600/1286127258789.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="179" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5586008209734196370" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ky3xnP-2x0g/TYV83u2fXJI/AAAAAAAAAKQ/spmkCVd8LhI/s320/1286127258789.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" width="320" /></a><br />
I guess this is going to be the question that I will ultimately be trying to answer for my Senior Thesis, and what a way to try to culminate my experience at college. But the way I figure it, why not go for that question?<br />
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Why not try to take on a topic that is especially challenging. Challenging for many reasons. First, it can become so cliche; everyone has a way of answering the question. Secondly, because to answer it in a meaningful way is extremely difficult.<br />
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This question started to take its form when I was writing a final paper for my Aesthetics class. In his book, "Art as Experience," John Dewey explains his notion of an aesthetic experience. An aesthetic experience is one which is demarcated from usual experiences as being especially important. Its <span style="font-style: italic;">an</span> experience. Scoring the winning basket for your team. Playing a song which you have practiced a numerous amount of times in a recital for your peers and parents. These experiences have the ability to become <span style="font-style: italic;">an</span> experience. An aesthetic experience involves a person moving to solve a meaningful problem. The solving of this problem is not merely a point in time; it is a consummation. It is a summary of all that has come before it. This experience enriches further experience. It transforms the way a person experiences the world by expanding the connection a person has to it.<br />
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My paper in this class wanted to bring attention to the experiences which we dont consider to be aesthetic experiences, the ones which seem to slip so easily out of our minds, the everyday experiences. These experiences, I attempted to explain, gain their meaning when the aesthetic experience occurs. However, the aesthetic experience could not be achieved unless these everyday experiences supplied the necessary connections which could be enriched. In other words, in order to have amazing experiences you need to set yourself up for them.<br />
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This does not seem to be overly controversial. However, what sorts of experiences does one seek in an attempt to gain meaningful aesthetic experiences? This is where Dewey's views on morals will come into play. Dewey's ethics entails a view which is not concerned with achieving certain values or dogmas. Views which attempt to espouse these things are unable to equip intellect with the ability to encounter a new situation with an open and reflective attitude. While certain values can be favored through reflection, one can never say for sure if a certain way to go is always the right way.<br />
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Dewey's focus is on the reflection that must occur and the evaluation of values and their place in certain contexts. What sorts of experiences are worth striving towards? Those that stand up to reflection, an open reflection that takes everything into account. Dewey says himself that "the business of reflection in determining the true good cannot be done once and for all." This is important. A person is an organic entity, constantly moving, constantly encountering new problems. To assume that we somehow can reach some point where we can sit back and relax is just denying what it means to live in this world.<br />
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My senior thesis will then use these ideas in an attempt to answer the question of what a meaningful life is. A person lives meaningfully by having experiences which enrich the further experiences that they do have. The experieces that they do seek out are good not by some dogmatic value, but through reflection. It is the test of true reflection which the values must stand up to. Through seeking out these kinds of experiences a person sets themselves up for the kinds of experiences which stand out above the rest. These are the kinds of experiences which give emotional content to prior experiences, they give meaning not only to prior but to further experience. They are also themselves part of the learning process. They help to cement important connections in the mind by giving them meaning.<br />
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It is the oscillation between these two kinds of experiencing which has the ability to make a life meaningful. And as a person continues to grow, their general everyday experiences begin to become aesthetic in nature compared to past experiences. They have grown into an individual whose experiences are meaningful in general. They are living a meaningful life.<br />
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Mitchell SahlfeldUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131622529360283146.post-25589985791188247552010-04-19T10:56:00.000-07:002011-06-27T18:17:48.373-07:00A Friendly Reminder<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_qWP5AKYNPFw/S8ysYhevygI/AAAAAAAAAJo/O0ZtXfMR5r4/s1600/passion_painting.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461929985397737986" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_qWP5AKYNPFw/S8ysYhevygI/AAAAAAAAAJo/O0ZtXfMR5r4/s320/passion_painting.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 246px; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 320px;" /></a><br />
Cancer. I overheard someone this morning talking about a relative who had been taken off treatment as it was inevitable the cancer was going to soon take her life. The woman is young, spending as many hours as she can with her two children and husband.<br />
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There it was. Here I had been sitting here pondering over how tired I was from lifting earlier this morning and here it was; my friendly reminder that I haven't got jack shit to complain about. It comes every once in a while and usually comes when the thought had escaped my mind, as it usually does once I start worrying about my own important little life again.<br />
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Over and over again, the cycle continues. I get reminded that I need to stop worrying about my petty problems, but over time I begin to worry again, but those moments come once more and remind me of my shitty attitude. Reading this you may be beginning to think the same thing. The fact that your Starbuck's Iced Caramel Machiatto had just a little too much milk? Seems pretty damn insignificant when you think about the starving young boy on the other side of the planet who would eat shit if he could just to survive.<br />
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You and me need to get our priorities in check. What does it mean to live in such a way as to respect the notion that you should be grateful though? To be grateful means to be aware of the fact that things could be different, and maybe, just maybe you had the luck enough to be put on this planet with an ounce of charity. What are you doing with it though? We can get certain gifts out of life by just being born, some more than others, some not at all. A random variable. What's the x factor though? What is that determining factor that can help us live a grateful life no matter what the random variable handed out to us?<br />
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I recently attended a speech given by a holocaust concentration camp survivor. She spoke of many of the horrible atrocities that occurred which need not be repeated here again. She was one hell of a friendly reminder that anything hard I had ever gone through paled in comparison to what other people have and will have to go through. Her mission however dealt with spreading the notion of acceptance among the world. It was one of the reasons she was able to survive; she became <span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">passionate</span> about something.<br />
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It is through this passion that she came to survive and how she comes to respect and be grateful for her life. Founder of Elite Fitness Systems (<a href="http://elitefts.com/">http://elitefts.com/</a>) Dave Tate uses passion as one of his tools for teaching a person how to be successful, in lifting, business and life. Passion becomes the factor that determines whether or not a person will survive the hard times and whether or not they will persist in their dreams.<br />
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You don't necessarily need to keep in mind 24/7 that you should be more grateful about your life. To be passionate about what you are currently doing shows that you are grateful, because the passionate ones know how life comes to unfold. Passion is the action which reflects your respect for life. As long as you are passionate about life you will find that when those moments come, those friendly reminders, you will smile and know that you are living a life that sees the importance of remaining grateful.<br />
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<strong><em>Mitchell Sahlfeld</em></strong>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131622529360283146.post-13293074134835904672009-08-13T10:50:00.000-07:002011-06-27T18:18:15.454-07:005 Ways to Increase Your Learning Capacity<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_qWP5AKYNPFw/SoRTW2t6MOI/AAAAAAAAAJc/iqc5Xda7AgU/s1600-h/students_at_desk2.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5369508307842773218" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_qWP5AKYNPFw/SoRTW2t6MOI/AAAAAAAAAJc/iqc5Xda7AgU/s320/students_at_desk2.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 320px; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 218px;" /></a>Increasing your personal capacity for learning is a complicated thing. Learning things tends to be be very situational; the protocol draws on the facts relating to the precise circumstance. The question, "Well how can I learn better?" is usually responded with "Well what are you wanting to learn?"<br />
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As such, finding generalized ways of increasing learning capacity is difficult. One must be careful not to describe one way of learning for everything. Here, though, are five ways of increasing your capacity for learning. With these ways, you can enhance learning no matter what it is.<br />
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<span style="color: red; font-weight: bold;">1.) Become Healthier</span><br />
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This one is easy. A person who has the energy to learn is more likely going to learn better than the person who stayed up all night on a drinking binge at their buddy Ted's house because it was the third Thurs. of the month and cousin Phil was coming into town and wanted to be shown a good time. Having your sleep and daily activities in order will help your body keep up its natural rythm. You will be able to stay more alert in the activities you are wishing to learn from.<br />
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<span style="color: red; font-weight: bold;">2.) Have a Passion for Learning</span><br />
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Learning is the way by which you come to understand yourself, others, and the world around you. Without it, you would not be able to take on harder and more fulfilling challenges which will create a wholesome life. It's important then to see just how much of an impact learning in general has for you. Having a passion for this tool will help you take advantage of it. You will not suffer through new experiences, but instead face them with joyous determination, ready to learn anew.<br />
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<span style="color: red; font-weight: bold;">3.) People are Goldmines for Learning</span><br />
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Everyone has their interests; the things that they believe it is wholesome for them to invest them. Likewise, through their personal passions, they have come to learn things in areas you know nothing about and they have different perspectives on things you thought you knew about. Merely talking with someone for half an hour can have a more profound impact than a 1000 page textbook.<br />
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<span style="color: red; font-weight: bold;">4.) Seek to Understand at a Deeper Level</span><br />
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Too often we want to know everything and thus end up just skimming across the surface of every subject, merely learning bits here and there. Seeking to understand at a deeper level means seeing into the connectivity between subjects and the world in which they lie. Connecting things together means they will have more meaning to you when they arise in conversation, in problem solving, etc.<br />
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<span style="color: red; font-weight: bold;">5.) Education is All Around You</span><br />
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Restricting education to schooling is like restricting sex to the missionary position; sure there's something happening there but your missing out on alot. Learning can occur anywhere and finally "understanding" something you learned in school usually entails some activity beyond it. Your job, social gatherings, etc. are all places where learning is most fruitful; where you can have life-defining moments.<br />
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These five tips are not in any way "fast." It takes time and lots of energy to devote to these things but doing so will allow for you to not only learn in a better fashion but also to have a more fulfilling life.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131622529360283146.post-67964868089507866822009-08-09T12:37:00.000-07:002011-06-27T18:18:34.178-07:00Understanding Your Hierarchy of Needs<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_qWP5AKYNPFw/Sn8nJf5iPQI/AAAAAAAAAJU/DeyU1flOCmM/s1600-h/abraham-maslow.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368052324984044802" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_qWP5AKYNPFw/Sn8nJf5iPQI/AAAAAAAAAJU/DeyU1flOCmM/s400/abraham-maslow.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 400px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 256px;" /></a><br />
Abraham Maslow (1908-1970) was one of the founders of the humanistic school of psychology, which emerged in the 50's and 60's. Maslow, a graduate of the University of Wisconsin, served on the faculty of Brooklyn College from 1937 to 1951. During this time and onward in his life, he developed a notion of a hierarchy of human needs. What was unique about Maslow's hierarchy was that on the top of this pyramid lay what he called the Self-Actualized person. The self-actualized person, according to Maslow, was a person capable of achieving great things. This person was concerned with helping others and was all-around a genuine person.<br />
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The hierarchy consists of five areas. The bottom tier represents a person's basic physiological needs like food, water, shelter, etc. The next tier represents a person's need for safety. From there the pyramid moves to social needs and esteem needs. At the top of the pyramid is the need for self-actualization. You see, a person cannot merely stop growing. As long as someone is alive, they are experiencing and constantly shaping themselves. A person with all of their needs met, to Maslow, would no doubt move on to be the greatest person they could. A fulfilling life could not go otherwise.<br />
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<span style="color: red; font-weight: bold;">A Lion in the Brush</span><br />
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Just like the pyramid, if the needs of the lower tiers are not met, the person cannot continue to grow. A man who struggles to eat does not care about social networks and does not care about the esteem he recieves from others. All he can care about is getting his next meal. A man fearful of the lion in the brush, waiting to pounce, does not care about self-actualization; he cares only for his and his family's safety.<br />
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The top tier of the pyramid is merely a false wish if the lower tiers are not built.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_qWP5AKYNPFw/Sn8m0svBcTI/AAAAAAAAAJM/W4vyYf10qIU/s1600-h/maslows-hierarchy.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368051967652360498" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_qWP5AKYNPFw/Sn8m0svBcTI/AAAAAAAAAJM/W4vyYf10qIU/s400/maslows-hierarchy.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 350px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
Is this not obvious though? How could we ever think otherwise about ourselves, that our most basic needs must come first? Don't be so quick to think so. This idea has become widespread over the years and thus just seems obvious. There is more to Maslow's optimism than meets the mind's eye.<br />
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<span style="color: red; font-weight: bold;">Finding Yourself</span><br />
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When I was younger, I was driven to "find myself" like mostly every other adolescent. Because of a lost sense of self, my motivation for activities was stifled. I felt no reason to do certain things if I didn't feel like I knew who I was, where I was going, etc. I was mistaking the top tier for the lower tier. I seemed to think that knowing yourself was the base of the structure. I was building a pyramid in the sky, thinking it would stay afloat.<br />
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Becoming self-actualized does not lie with finding yourself and then experiencing life as "this or that person." Becoming self-actualized lies with finding yourself within the lower tiers; with finding ways to supply your needs, the needs that supply the base of the pyramid, of who you are.<br />
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<span style="color: red; font-weight: bold;">Realizing the Right Goals</span><br />
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Focusing on the aspect that is needed the most will help to free up a person's life so that the highest goals can be achieved. Why are you worried about becoming self-actualized if you cannot even pay your monthly rent? Your building pyramids in the sky; merely making dreams and doing the wrong thing to see them come true. A person should deal with the pressing matter, study, learn, and overcome their afflictions. Dealing with problems in this way will provide a person with the necessary experiences in order to find themself in the long run.<br />
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Is your marriage burdened financially? Focus on that one problem until it no longer is a problem and you will have learned something about yourself that you would not have otherwise.<br />
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The important thing to realize about the hierarchy is that none of these needs completely goes away and there will always be times of hardship where lower tiers will become problem areas once again. The key is being able to become aware of these problems and deal with them. Too often these problems come slipping in our back door, raiding our fridge, and causing problems without our even knowing it.<br />
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Understanding your own personal hierarchy will make you aware of just how you should realize certain goals. You should be able to understand the circumstance well enough to know how to deal with it. Then you may be able to realize your self-actualization and become the enduring learner.<br />
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~ Mitchell SahlfeldUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131622529360283146.post-15857007839660990322009-03-02T11:28:00.000-08:002011-06-27T18:18:45.183-07:00Putting Labels In Their Proper Place<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_qWP5AKYNPFw/SaxAd279NmI/AAAAAAAAAIQ/YxNG_F4KCVw/s1600-h/hand-tools-list-important.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5308688942470346338" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_qWP5AKYNPFw/SaxAd279NmI/AAAAAAAAAIQ/YxNG_F4KCVw/s320/hand-tools-list-important.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 269px; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 320px;" /></a><br />
It's comforting, isn't it? It's comforting to know that when you walk into a CD Tradepost and ask the local vendor where the Neo-Death-Industrial-Metal Section is in the music, she can take you to the exact spot and you can find your favorite band, Necro PileDriver. It's nice to know you can go to the horror movie section and see the latest movie crapped out by hollywood about a 110 pound teenage girl that defeats a 10,000 year old demon in PG-13 form.<br />
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Being able to dinstinguish some things from other things is pretty cool. Being able to categorize certain obejcts in our experience using just a word or two is pretty useful. In fact, without this ability, it's pretty hard to see the human race surviving for very long. The ability to categorize and label is a tool of the human understanding.<br />
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The ability of attaching an entire viewpoint around a certain word or idea is connected to the study of heuristics.<br />
<blockquote style="font-weight: bold;">In <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychology" title="Psychology">psychology</a>, heuristics are simple, efficient rules, <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hard-coded" title="Hard-coded">hard-coded</a> by evolutionary processes or learned, which have been proposed to explain how people make decisions, come to judgments, and solve problems, typically when facing complex problems or incomplete information. ~<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heuristic">Wikipedia.org</a></blockquote>In terms of labeling, a good heuristic gives us a good idea with what we are dealing with in any given situation. If you ask me my favorite kind of music and I tell you Classical Rock, whatever idea you have attached to those words comes up in your mind and you have a grasp on the situation.<br />
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The ability to cluster large amounts of information together in a couple of words is a very useful idea. In fact, this extreme efficiency is what most likely gave rise to the ability. It saves our minds both time and energy in any situation. We are able to grasp very complex ideas through relating it to other similar ideas we may have had.<br />
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So, once again, this ability is a very useful tool. Like other tools, though, it can be sometimes be used wrongly. This great ability, when taken too far and used in the wrong situation, can only hinder a person's growth. This occurs most notably in relationships.<br />
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We have certain ideas attached to certain labels that we attempt to use in order to really know someone. This can be seen flourishing in politics. Once we know whether or not someone is Democrat or Republican we think we can deal with them however we want. This can get us into deep trouble though. Remember, our heuristics we have allow for extreme efficiency in understanding our situation. In this way, though, we have a tendency to shut ourselves off to further incoming information. We believe we have a grasp on the situation and keep that perspective.<br />
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It's easy to see how this can be bad for our relationships. By attempting to label someone, we have good intentions; we only wish to know more about the person. But by labeling the person, we are not really attempting to know the person for who they are, we only hold on to some idea of what we think them to be. The worst part is, is that we leave it at that. We've already decided whether or not we like them, how we are going to treat them, all because of some notion we think we have.<br />
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This may be useful for everyday encounters with people we may not know too well, but it only spells doom for a relationship you wish to be wholesome. Attempting to know our close friends in this way will only cause us to come to certain assumptions about who we think the person is, and this creates false expectations, and <a href="http://allmustendure.blogspot.com/2009/01/how-buddha-can-help-you-with-your_28.html">expectations in relationships leads to trouble</a>.<br />
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Overall, then, a person should seek to release their use of labels in relationships they wish to be wholesome. Knowing the person for who they truly are takes an open mind, and by trying to take an easy, efficient route, we close ourself off from the true individual.<br />
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Mitchell SahlfeldUnknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131622529360283146.post-61447574084996762642009-02-25T11:00:00.000-08:002011-06-27T18:18:58.949-07:00The Difference Between a Person with Good Habits and the Truly Virtuous<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_qWP5AKYNPFw/SaWqDw9g9YI/AAAAAAAAAIA/PxA5DIWBFKU/s1600-h/SuperStock_1527R-1110436.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306834717585241474" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_qWP5AKYNPFw/SaWqDw9g9YI/AAAAAAAAAIA/PxA5DIWBFKU/s320/SuperStock_1527R-1110436.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 320px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 230px;" /></a><br />
I have this nasty habit, and if human nature be similar, I suspect you may have it too. You see, whenever I walk into our out of a building and someone is close behind, I have this horrible tendency to actually stand there holding the door in an attempt to let the same person through with minimal work needed to open the door. A small vice, I suppose, but one that has been ingrained into me since my no doubt traumatizing childhood.<br />
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My parents, my teachers, my companions have all conspired against me in order to ensure that my virtue is held back. All things considered, though, I turned up alright...so far. I've managed to pull myself up by the boot straps in order to escape an unwholesome character.<br />
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A good parent tries to instill good habits in their child, habits that will be useful to child later in life. Holding doors for people is useful in keeping people from wanting to kick the crap out of you. Trust me, just don't do it once and look back to see the look on that person's face. It may be funny, but you'll be laughing by yourself before too long. It just annoys the crap out of people.<br />
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So, here you are, man of the world, taking on each new situation with your childhood ingrained habits at hand. And maybe these habits are good ones, <span style="font-style: italic;">damn</span> good ones. Your a pretty damn good person they say. You hold the doors for others, you help old ladies across the street, you pay for thing with legitimate, legal tender, etc. Are you a virtuous person then?<br />
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Well, by usual, everyday language standards, probably. But this is the glamorous, high paying field of <span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;">philosophy</span></span>. We have to be more careful with how we say things. The word virtue in ancient Greece, arete, is a little more idealistic than the lackadaisical usage of today. It's closer to a state of excellence, doing the human thing not only great, but <span style="font-style: italic;">excellent</span>. <em></em><br />
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So under this usage, the merely good-natured person is not truly virtuous, although they are on the right track. It's not enough to just do the actions out of habit, although that is part of it. There's something else that has to be there. There has to be, as Bruce Lee would say, "emotional content." The driving force has to be the person, the autonomous will, not merely a habit ingrained from childhood.<br />
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Becoming truly virtuous means taking responsibility for your actions, and to take responsibility for your actions means to have an understanding of the importance of acting in a particular way. The action is a habit, but a habit backed by understanding, backed by wisdom, backed by the "emotional content."<br />
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A child can act with good habits, but a man must act with wisdom, he must act knowing the ins and outs of the action.<br />
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The virtuous man has taken responsibility for his actions, he has made them personal to himself, he has made them important to his life for reasons beyond mere habit. To do so, however, takes some work. It takes hard work to come to realize our motivations, our reasons for doing certain things and not others. But then again, we are talking about <span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;">excellence</span></span> here. We can only think of something excellent as being something that takes at least a little work to achieve. It takes hard work and a strong character to want to take responsibility for how he lives, but through doing so, he achieves the attribute of <span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">arete</span></span> and hopefully along with it, a wholesome life.<br />
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Mitchell SahlfeldUnknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131622529360283146.post-37862081979424073202009-02-18T11:42:00.000-08:002011-06-27T18:19:11.075-07:00Take Your Time<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_qWP5AKYNPFw/SZxmNAEkUzI/AAAAAAAAAHw/byqW5W4sea4/s1600-h/takeyourtime2.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304226834679092018" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_qWP5AKYNPFw/SZxmNAEkUzI/AAAAAAAAAHw/byqW5W4sea4/s320/takeyourtime2.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 211px; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 320px;" /></a><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br />
</span><span class="news" style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">This article was originally written on Aug. 5th, 2008</span></span><br />
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Take Your Time</b><br />
</span><span class="main" style="font-size: 100%;">Patience is a virtue, but not always. You see, there are just some times when quickness is hailed supreme, especially when considering decision making. A person who is able to make decisions at a lightning-quick pace is usually praised; someone who not only makes tough decisions, but makes them fast, and makes them with confidence. These traits usually go hand in hand with the business profession, and as the US and the world is constantly becoming more and more "business-esque," then these traits also become valued by most of society. Let's face it, when it comes to practicality, there's nothing better than a person who is swift to decide and decides with confidence. </span><br />
<span class="main" style="font-size: 100%;"><strong>"A good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect plan executed next week." - George S. Patton</strong> </span><br />
<span class="main" style="font-size: 100%;">There is alot of truth to these words. Getting things done requires the ability to assess the situation, come up with ideas, and put them into action. Getting things done efficiently though requires all these things to be done easily and quickly. And efficiency is something that goes hand in hand with practicality. The more efficient someone is, the more they can do with less energy. </span><br />
<span class="main" style="font-size: 100%;">The ability to make quick decisions may not be so advantageous however in some realms of thought. Patience is indeed a virtue, and some decisions need to be toyed around with for awhile. For example, when a doctor has seen that something is not going to be life-threatening, then it will work to his favor to take a little bit of time to diagnosis the problem. With all the possible combinations of symptom to problem it becomes easy to make a wrong decision by going on first thought. And wrong decisions can cost lots of money in the medical field. </span><br />
<span class="main" style="font-size: 100%;">Secondly, deciding what you would like to do with your life is something that does, and should, take plenty of time. It takes self-questioning, self-searching, and also outward looking upon possible options, and possible paths. It's just something that should not be rushed. Deciding what to do with your life helps to shape who you will become in the future. </span><br />
<span class="main" style="font-size: 100%;">In essence, it takes a rational being to be able to look at a situation and decide the proper action for it. The philosopher John Dewey held the idea that an when an anamoly presented itself, certain steps are taken to rationalize it. These five steps included "a felt difficulty, its location and definition, suggestion of possible solution, development by reason of the bearings of the suggestion, and further observation and experiment leading to its acceptance or rejection; that is, the conclusion of belief or disbelief." (1) An individual, according to Dewey, looks at a situation and determines the amount of time that is needed on each particular step: </span><br />
<div style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="main" style="font-size: 100%;"><span class="news2"></span></span></div><blockquote><strong>"The disciplined, or logically trained, mind--the aim of the educative process--is the mind able to judge how far each of these steps needs to be carried in any particular situation. No cast-iron rules can be laid down. Each case has to be dealt with as it arises, on the basis of its importance and of the context in which it occurs. To take too much pains in one case is foolish--as illogical--as to take too little time in another. At one extreme, almost any conclusion that insures prompt and unified action may be better than any long delayed conclusion; while at the other, decision may have to be postponed for a long period--perhaps for a lifetime. The trained mind is the one that best grasps the degree of observation, forming of ideas, reasoning, and experimental testing required in any special case, and that profits the most, in future thinking, by mistakes made in the past. What is important is that the mind should be sensitive to problems and skilled in methods of attack and solution." - "How We Think" by John Dewey, part 2 chapter six, 1910.</strong></blockquote><br />
<center><span class="main" style="font-size: 100%;"><img border="1" src="http://allmustendure.110mb.com/takeyourtime1.jpg" /></span></center><br />
<span class="main" style="font-size: 100%;">There is a personal relationship between the person and decision itself. He must be able to see what it will take to make the decision go the best route. </span><br />
<span class="main" style="font-size: 100%;">There is an anamoly, however, that can be safely said to be one that requires a lifetime of analysis. That is the anamoly of the self, of finding and trying to decide who we are as a person. To bring light to this fact has two reasons. One, because it is the greatest endeavor each of us can strive for. Two, because there seems to be alot of pressure to choose not only from set and concrete belief systems, but also to have chosen this system from an early age. This is a false dogma. Who we choose to be is something that is a long, drawn out process, that not is confident, but is filled with doubt. </span><br />
<span class="main" style="font-size: 100%;">There is a literal buffet of idealogies, philosophies, religions, and belief systems that are there to be chosen from birth. Each of these carry an ethical system, an idea of how the universe has come to be along with other things. Each brings a burden of which a person must shape themselves to fit the mold of that system. </span><br />
<span class="main" style="font-size: 100%;">Why must this search be one that is tedious and at times complex? It is because as humans at times we are complex ourselves, and foregoing the long route in favor of a short one because it looks good at the moment could possibly hinder who could be down the road. Secondly, it is because the exploration of a belief system requires a large amount of time, and the word "explore" implies no destination, merely checking out the scenery. Thirdly, because it is important that one has an inkling of an idea toward the reasons for a certain belief. This is because is personalizes a person with their belief, it becomes something "about them." </span><br />
<span class="main" style="font-size: 100%;">One must not be in a hurry to claim oneself as Christian, as a Jew, as a Muslim, or Atheist just as one should not be in a hurry to claim oneself as a Republican or Democrat. It takes a knowledge of the issues and and a belief towards them not only on one side, but on the other as well. It also takes a knowledge of the reason for upholding that particular belief. </span><br />
<span class="main" style="font-size: 100%;">So time must be taken, and why not? We can afford to take our time in these matters, while in something like an important business decision we cannot. We can take our time because in the meantime we are living the day-to-day, and living only adds to the experiment of life itself, and the more experimentation, the more accurate the conclusion. </span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131622529360283146.post-61045654431124115402009-02-16T21:36:00.000-08:002011-06-27T18:19:38.841-07:00Enjoying Being Alone<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_qWP5AKYNPFw/SZsvhFuUqAI/AAAAAAAAAHo/tdlLkrP4Vxc/s1600-h/adolescent-insomnia.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5303885231677548546" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_qWP5AKYNPFw/SZsvhFuUqAI/AAAAAAAAAHo/tdlLkrP4Vxc/s320/adolescent-insomnia.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 300px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 265px;" /></a><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br />
</span><br />
<blockquote style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size: 100%;">I've got more companions<br />
When I'm all alone.<br />
Flesh is fetching. ~</span><span style="font-size: 100%; font-style: italic;">Alone</span><span style="font-size: 100%;">, Amorphis</span></blockquote><span style="font-size: 100%;">I believe the biggest motivator that drove me to the study of philosophy is that horrible feeling I used to have while lying awake at night looking at the ceiling. My professor, Dr. Eugene Rice has told me once before that everybody is a philosopher but not everyone realizes it. And really, it is true. Those moments in the middle of the day, sitting in my desk in high school, thinking the "thoughts of the universe" as my teacher used to say. Those aren't exclusive to a handful of people. They come to all of us in one form or another.<br />
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They come with a rage and relentlessness rarely seen in the world. And the worst part is...they come when we're alone. They come when there is no friend to protect us, when there is no wise teacher to guide us, and when we least want them to. Our own minds are capable of great things, but they are also capable of imprisoning us. There seems to be no limit to how low our own thoughts can take us. I can only imagine the thoughts going through someone's mind on the verge of suicide.<br />
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TC Luoma, columnist at <a href="http://www.t-nation.com/">T-Nation.com</a>, recently wrote an article on happiness titled the <a href="http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/sex_news_sports_funny_grok/testosterone_guide_to_happiness">Testosterone Guide to Happiness</a>. TC explains that the buddhist Lama Zopa Rinpoche told a prisoner that "Your prison is nothing in comparison with the inner prison of ordinary people: the prison of attachment, the prison of anger, the prison of depression, the prison of pride." Our own mind can work against us if we let it, if we hold onto things for bad reasons.<br />
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TC also goes on to say that<br />
</span><br />
<blockquote style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size: 100%;">"Social scientists estimate that 70 percent of our happiness comes from our relationships, both their quantity and quality, with friends, family, coworkers, and even neighbors.</span></blockquote><span style="font-size: 100%;">Our relationships really do have a profound impact upon the quality of our life but is the time spent alone that seals the deal. When we are alone we begin to second guess ourselves, we begin to re-evaluate our position on this giant piece of rock. This can be both a wonderful and horrible thing. Without questioning ourselves we would never grow, but with the questioning comes the difficult part: owning up to your own thoughts. Sometimes your own thoughts don't match up with your life. You find you hate your job, your spouse, your life. You may push these thoughts down inside and push forward, but they must and will always return if you take no action.<br />
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If you never attempt to answer these questions, examine these thoughts, then you will always not enjoy being alone, but enjoying being alone is essential to having a good life. Aristotle believed that the good life was one of contemplation, contemplation of the good. If a man was truly virtuous, Aristotle believed that being alone for him was no problem as he spent his time thinking good thoughts.<br />
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But if we ignore our self when we are alone and instead try to substitute time with friends, activities, etc., we find that the self we encounter when we are lying awake at night is a complete stranger. Jean Jacques Rousseau speaks of this "man of the world" thus:<br />
</span><br />
<blockquote style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size: 100%;">The man of the world is whole in his mask. Almost never being to himself, he is always alien and ill at ease when forced to go back there. What he is, is nothing; what he appears to be is everything for him. ~ </span><span style="font-size: 100%; font-style: italic;">Emile</span></blockquote><span style="font-size: 100%;">The man who clings to pleasures outside himself, to thoughts outside himself, and to others outside himself, finds that he must depend upon them for his happiness. He must depend upon that which he has no control over. And when the world changes, as it must, he must change with it, or fall victim to his own thoughts, the thoughts that rage against him late at night, when he is alone.<br />
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Being alone is not bad, there is an equilibrium to all things. It is when there is a failure to really attempt to know oneself, and instead only hide away, hoping your thoughts leave you be, that a dependence upon everything else arises. The prison is made by our own mind. Don't lock your true self away only to seek false gods when the answer lies where you most fear to tread.</span><br />
<blockquote></blockquote>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131622529360283146.post-72094090834926087972009-02-11T10:53:00.000-08:002011-06-27T18:19:56.082-07:00The Relationship Between Expectations and Emotions<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_qWP5AKYNPFw/SZMudbJa8SI/AAAAAAAAAHY/WC5fFS9CraA/s1600-h/CB058340.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5301632269383561506" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_qWP5AKYNPFw/SZMudbJa8SI/AAAAAAAAAHY/WC5fFS9CraA/s200/CB058340.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 134px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 200px;" /></a><br />
I do not think it to be too controversial a statement to say that there is a proper place for emotions in a life well-lived. The dilemma lies not in getting rid of emotions, surely no one wants to do such a thing, but it is being able to have control over your emotions. A person must be able to <span style="color: red;">(1)</span> pinpoint their feelings, <span style="color: red;">(2)</span> know why they are feeling it, and <span style="color: red;">(3)</span> take measures in order to either keep that feeling alive or attempt to dispel it.<br />
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If you are able to determine both <span style="color: red;">(1)</span> and <span style="color: red;">(2)</span>, then <span style="color: red;">(3)</span> will come easier. You have to know what the problem is in order to fix it.<br />
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Pinpointing a feeling involves looking at the situation of which the feeling was aroused. The context of which the feeling exists will allow for the feeling to be properly examined. If you feel tense in a classroom you may be nervous about a test if there is one that day. If there is not, you may have to look at other relevant facts. Perhaps you didn't do the reading for the day, perhaps there is something going on later in the day that you are excited about. Of course, a case this simple does not need a psychologist; it is relatively easy to see what the emotion is.<br />
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What about harder cases though? There are some times when there is an underlying emotion digging away throughout the day and it is hard to determine exactly what it is and what is causing it. In cases like this it is important to examine your thoughts throughout the day. Our thoughts have a profound effect upon our daily activities and mood. There are some times when our thoughts go on without our noticing, when we don't take time to examine what it is we are actually thinking about.<br />
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Through the examination of your thoughts you can begin to see the pattern in your thinking. Perhaps you find that you are worried about a loved one or you may feel as though you are not living up to your own expectations. These recurring thoughts may make you feel irritable. You are more likely to lash out about things that before you had laughed about.<br />
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It is imperative to be able to gain the self-awareness necessary to understand your emotions. Emotions in themselves are not necessarily bad, but they always have something to teach us about ourselves.<br />
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<span style="color: red; font-weight: bold;">Going Deeper</span><br />
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What is it that emotions can teach us? If we are feeling an emotion, we must examine the situation relevant to the emotion or we must examine our own thoughts. There is an underlying theme that arises from this examination. By asking the all-important question of "why?" we are able to see what we are valuing in this particular situation. If we are nervous about taking a test, we can see that we highly value doing well on this test. If we are irritable because of thoughts about a loved one's health, we can see that we value this person's health.<br />
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From these values arise expectations. If we value a thing enough we attach an "ought" to the value. If we value doing well on tests, then we believe we "ought" to do well on these tests. We "expect" ourselves to do well.<br />
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It is the key idea of expectations that is the subject of this article. By examining a situation involved with an emotion enough, we are able to see our expectations in relation to that situation, and with any luck, we will be able to see expectations that we apply universally, or in all situations.<br />
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Thus, emotions and expectations are essentially linked. By realizing your expectations you gain an advantage over your emotions, you can cut them from the base.<br />
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<span style="color: red; font-weight: bold;">The Degree of Difference</span><br />
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An emotion is a difference between the expectation involved in a certain situation and what actually occurs in the situation. The larger this difference, the stronger the emotion. When things go exactly as expected, no emotion occurs. For example, say you are sitting in a classroom awaiting the return of a test. You studied for the test but still knew you could have done better and you expect to get a solid B. The teacher hands the test back and you notice the grade. Your face goes pale, you become serious. Someone is talking to you but you don't really listen.<br />
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<span style="font-style: italic;">How on earth could I have gotten a low D?</span><br />
<br />
You are stunned. The lowest you expected was a middle C. Someone begins laughing next to you so you look at him. He proudly exclaims that he got a low D on the test. You wonder how he can be proud of such a poor grade. He, while smiling, tells you that he thought he would get less than a 50%. The grade, for him, is a victory while for you it is a failure.<br />
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This example shows how our expectations shape how we react to the world. If the world keeps to our expectations, we have no strong reaction.<br />
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There is a problem with this view though. Our expectations in life are not so clear cut as they are on a simple test. You cannot describe your emotions in exact language, only hope to pinpoint them as much as possible; find the range in which they fit. This is because the world never really conforms to every single stipulation we place on it. Even things we have done habitually get screwed up once in a while. Sometimes finding your shoes in the morning becomes the most frustrating thing you've ever encountered.<br />
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The shoes have become such a deep ingrained part of your life, when something goes out of place, your expectation is not met.<br />
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In summary, then, even our subtle emotions are affected by our expectations as these expectations are never a single point or single thought. The greater the difference though, between expectation and occurrence, the stronger the emotion.<br />
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<span style="color: red; font-weight: bold;">How to Use this Information</span><br />
<br />
I have attempted to show how it is possible to know both <span style="color: red;">(1)</span> and <span style="color: red;">(2)</span>, but now what about <span style="color: red;">(3)</span>? If you know the expectation causing you to feel a certain emotion, you can begin to see whether or not this expectation is really founded on solid ground. Should you really believe that you will never lose a shoe once in a while? Shit happens as they say, so you really shouldn't hold on to expectations which cannot be met.<br />
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As humans, though, we always have expectations about the way things will go. The key is to know what these are and to realize that our expectations are not always fulfilled. Sometimes things can go wrong, sometimes we lose, but through it all, we can always learn something about ourself.<br />
<br />
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</script>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131622529360283146.post-1067461781497207272009-02-09T11:59:00.000-08:002011-06-27T18:20:12.383-07:00Pruning Yourself of all of the Unnecessary<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_qWP5AKYNPFw/SZETtY6v6ZI/AAAAAAAAAHQ/DkzydrhK93Y/s1600-h/river.gif" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5301039906895686034" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_qWP5AKYNPFw/SZETtY6v6ZI/AAAAAAAAAHQ/DkzydrhK93Y/s200/river.gif" style="cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 160px; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 200px;" /></a><br />
The ancient thinker Lao Tzu is known for having attempted to describe the correct way of living. This "way" is literally called "the way," or the Tao (there are many alternate spellings for both Lao Tzu and the Tao).<br />
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One of the main themes put forth in Taoism is the "essenciality" of getting back to nature, getting back to the Tao, and going with the flow. And finding this flow invokes one of the main examples in Taoism; that of water. Water is inherently a constant changing substance that shapes and conforms to every situation it is in. This example of water was popularized by Bruce Lee in his various writings and interviews:<br />
<blockquote style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Be like water making its way through cracks. Do not be assertive, but adjust to the object, and you shall find a way round or through it. If nothing within you stays rigid, outward things will disclose themselves. </span><br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;"></span><span style="font-weight: bold;">Empty your mind, be formless. Shapeless, like water. If you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle and it becomes the bottle. You put it in a teapot it becomes the teapot. Now, water can flow or it can crash. Be water my friend.</span></blockquote>Lee took this example and applied it to his philosophy of martial arts, called <span style="font-style: italic;">Jeet Kune Do.</span> This style attempted to incorporate many other styles, in so much a way that it ceased to be a style itself. The style was particular to that individual, it had no name.<br />
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It is easy to see how this applies to the martial arts. A good fighter is one that goes into a fight knowing what kind of situation he is in. He will use the tools at his disposal in this particular situation in order to come out victorious. In a real street fight, Bruce Lee thought that even biting was allowable. If a situation comes down to life and death, the real fighter, the real man will do all he can to win. If he holds on to preconceived notions about how one should fight, or about what style he is, he will fall to the centerdness of his own mind.<br />
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This philosophy of water ,though, can, and should be applied to every facet of our lives. While the Tao seems most to portray a metaphysical description of the universe, a layman's view will allow a person to see the inherent practical qualities.<br />
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To get back to nature, one must only begin to shed, begin to prune himself. While a man does not have to go to great lengths to shed everything in his life, he can see that there are things in his life that if he were to shed, he would not only free himself, but make himself happier.<br />
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<span style="color: red; font-weight: bold;">The Many Unnecessary</span><br />
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Unnecessary things do not only include material possessions, but these possessions are a good place to start. Most of the things we have we don't really need, but this idea goes far beyond nostalgiac items. We need to be asking whether or not we really do need the items we think we need. If goes for double if these things are currently a detriment to living. If you can't pay the rent, what makes you think you need texting? Sure, maybe it's a small trinket of expense, but the expense builds, the small becomes the large, and the snowball envelops you.<br />
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But there are all sorts of unnecessary things in life. There are unnecessary ideas, prejudices, thoughts, and habits as well. For instance, you may have gotten the idea that you have to go to college in order to achieve a happy life. This is plain wrong. You may be thinking and worrying all day about things in the future and not realize you're missing out on the now.<br />
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And this pruning is not just about efficiency. It's freeing yourself from unneeded clutter. It's realizing that there's not just one way to live and creating your own style, not centering yourself in those around you.<br />
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<span style="color: red; font-weight: bold;">The Daily Simplification</span><br />
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In Taoism, a person does not build themself up, they break themself down. A person doesn't seek knowledge; he seeks to rid himself of the unnecessary. Everyday is an attempt at simplification, at realizing your hopes and dreams lie not in gathering, but in releasing your notions about the way things ought to be.<br />
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When you do this, things fall into place. You are able to focus on the life you're living, not the life you think you should live, or the life others think you should live.<br />
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Simplify then and see with perfect sight that your living now, and now is all you've got.<br />
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<a href="http://technorati.com/tag/life" rel="tag"><img alt=" " src="http://static.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=life" style="border: 0pt none; margin-left: 0.4em; vertical-align: middle;" />life</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/religion+and+philosophy" rel="tag">philosophy</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/taoism" rel="tag">taoism</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131622529360283146.post-15764782421198927532009-02-07T11:41:00.000-08:002011-06-27T18:20:26.837-07:00Choosing Your Path Knowingly<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_qWP5AKYNPFw/SY4FzZdASdI/AAAAAAAAAGo/L6QhHCxiogI/s1600-h/ForkInTheRoad-713508.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5300180192025659858" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_qWP5AKYNPFw/SY4FzZdASdI/AAAAAAAAAGo/L6QhHCxiogI/s200/ForkInTheRoad-713508.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 134px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 200px;" /></a><br />
In order to achieve a happy life, a rational person must be able to take responsibility for himself. What this means is that a person should be able to know the ins and outs of who they are, what they are going to do, and why they are going to do it. Of course this is just in the realm of decision-making.<br />
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But decision making is a tremendously large aspect of our lives. Most of our days our filled with very small to fantastically large decisions. As I type write now, I decide which sentence will come after which. I decide how I want this article to look and feel. These are relatively small decisions compared to others such as deciding whether or not to get married, deciding on a college field of study, and deciding just what career you wish to pursue.<br />
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These decisions are much harder to sift through. There are so many factors involved that it may seem impossible to determine which fork in the road to follow. But they are decisions that will have to be made by most sometime in their life.<br />
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And why not make these decisions? There are many goods to be had in deciding to spend your life with another person. There is much success possible if you decide to pursue higher education.<br />
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<span style="color: red; font-weight: bold;">Focus on the Negative</span><br />
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The problem lies with the negative side of the decision. And there are negative sides to every decision, otherwise they would not be hard decisions at all. Even the small decisions sometimes have negative consequences. In typing this article a certain way, it may be the case that someone reads it and may eventually decide not to get married, and it may be for a bad reason. That's not the intention of this article at all. Even though that is a weird example, it is the case that sometimes even though we have good intentions, our actions create chaos, whether we like it or not.<br />
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In that case we have to be somewhat careful in our decision making process. <span style="font-style: italic;">Is this decision going to have the opposite effect of what I would like it to have, even though my intentions are good? </span>It may not be so clear. That is why we must become aware of the effects our decisions may have upon people, places, and things.<br />
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<span style="color: red; font-weight: bold;">You've Made the Decision</span><br />
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But what about after you have made the decision? You've weighed the pros and cons, and you have to make it eventually, right? But where do those pros and cons go? They don't just disappear. They are still in the process, just waiting to pounce on you the moment you forget they ever existed.<br />
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And you most likely will. Us humans have a nasty way of forgetting these things. When you're making the decision you focus on the good and bad, positive and negative, but after the decision has been made, you begin to focus only on the good. You begin to form expectations about the way things <span style="font-style: italic;">should </span>go, when only it is how you <span style="font-style: italic;">wish </span>things would go.<br />
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You end up making the decision for the possible good that may come out of it, so why would you think things may go otherwise than the good you expected. This is a mistake that can be made so easily; we always overrate our ability to see the outcome of things.<br />
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<span style="color: red; font-weight: bold;">The Consequences</span><br />
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Every choice has its consequences, whether they be good or bad. By choosing a certain path, you are not only choosing the good, even if you wish you could, but you are also choosing the bad.<br />
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Choosing the bad. It may seem strange, but that really is what is going on. You are choosing to make mistakes in the future, you are choosing to get into fights with your spouse, you are choosing to have money problems. You are choosing these possibilities when you choose the path that inherits them.<br />
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<span style="color: red; font-weight: bold;">Becoming Aware</span><br />
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So, when you choose to do something, you must become aware of the bad that may occur. And if it does occur, why do you fight it so valiantly, as if somehow the universe has done you some great misfortune.<br />
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Sometimes choices just do not work out in the ways we planned, but really, we knew this from the beginning. And if we didn't, then we are not taking responsibility for ourselves.<br />
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The process of choosing does not end with a single thought. A choice is a process, when you choose you inherit everything that the path has to offer. Everyday you choose to see that path come to fruition, the good and bad. Why must you be so surprised when the bad happens?<br />
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<blockquote><span style="font-family: georgia, 'bookman old style', 'palatino linotype', 'book antiqua', palatino, 'trebuchet ms', helvetica, garamond, sans-serif, arial, verdana, 'avante garde', 'century gothic', 'comic sans ms', times, 'times new roman', serif;">Life is the sum of all your choices. ~Albert Camus</span><br />
<blockquote></blockquote></blockquote>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131622529360283146.post-73952526277546755632009-02-04T11:39:00.000-08:002011-06-27T18:20:40.514-07:00Five Things You Know But Don't Really "Know"<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_qWP5AKYNPFw/SYuQzy_r3EI/AAAAAAAAAGg/wgROD8L_Dfw/s1600-h/ShovelDirt.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5299488606068137026" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_qWP5AKYNPFw/SYuQzy_r3EI/AAAAAAAAAGg/wgROD8L_Dfw/s200/ShovelDirt.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 170px; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 200px;" /></a><br />
There are many facts of life that are continually present to us. The fact that we see these things time and time again means that they should be considered staples of the way we live. But, alas, most of the time we end up forgetting these things. Sometimes life has a harsh way of reminding us again, but if we try to remember these foundations, we find ourselves in a better spot on the path to success.<br />
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While there are unarguably more than five of these pieces of knowledge, I believe the five I have picked are extremely relevant in order to set yourself up for success.<br />
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<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">1.) It Takes Hard Work to Achieve Anything Worthwhile</span><br />
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</span><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #666666;">This single point is probably the one that is forgotten the most. You can see this point prevalent in most of society today. There are an abundance of commercials on television everyday that promise quick fixes to problems that cannot be fixed in an instant.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666;">Want to get out of debt? It will take a planned and patient approach.</span> <span style="color: #666666;">Want to lose weight? It will take an all out struggle.</span> <span style="color: #666666;">Want to get smarter? You'll have to do your homework.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666;">These important things that most of us strive for are not easy and instead take a systematic, planned, and well thought out approach.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666;">That is why they are valued by many. If they were easy to achieve everyone would be reaping the benefits. That is not the case, however, and it remains a common problem to all of us.</span></span></span><br />
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And while the wholesome things in life take hard work, there is something else that we always forget that is relevant.<br />
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<span style="color: red; font-weight: bold;">1B.) You Can Always Work Harder</span><br />
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The human body is capable of surviving some of the most extreme conditions it is placed in. Elite athletes, military personnel, and hard job laborers push themselves everyday to the brink of what they believe they can take, and everyday it seems they find that there is more left in the tank.<br />
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It can be extremely uplifting to know that you always have more in you, but it can be disheartening as well. We usually think that we work hard anyways, how much worse would it be if we had to work even harder?<br />
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But working towards the worthwhile things in life allow one to have a goal, a reason for working hard. Working hard with a wholesome end gives one an extreme motivation. The athlete strives for gold, the soldier protects our freedom, and the laborer supplies for his family. It is when we do not have a wholesome goal that we find ourselves falling short.<br />
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Worthwhile things take hard work, but to work hard one must be in pursuit of worthwhile things.<br />
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<span style="color: red; font-weight: bold;">2.) Most of Your Problems are Self-Inflicted</span><br />
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"I am the cause of my own ignorance." ~Bruce Lee<br />
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When we find ourselves in crises that arise in our workplace, relationships, and life, if we really take a moment to reflect, we will find that with a little change in perspective we can relieve the situation.<br />
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We are always shielded by our own biases, opinions, and thoughts. This can allow us to bring our own perspective to the table that is the world, but sometimes this can hinder us as well.<br />
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Unless we take a moment to "step outside ourselves" or open ourselves up to other ideas, we will find that we are always trapped in our own center of the universe. The way we do things now will be the way we always do them and there will be no growth present.<br />
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Hubris, that ancient version of being much too prideful, makes us think we are "most-knowing" beings; that we can do little wrong. This gets us into trouble not only in relationships, but at work, at home, and in the mirror.<br />
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We are all wrong sometimes, and it takes a person willing to grow to see that faithfully.<br />
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<span style="color: red; font-weight: bold;">3.) Knowledge Goes A Long Way in Problem Solving</span><br />
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While this point may not be the most forgotten piece of knowledge about life we have, it is one of the most important. Take any problem you have, figure out exactly what the problem is, and research it. You won't need any luck to help you. You won't need fate to intervene.<br />
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For some reason we sometimes believe that our problems will either go away, fix themselves, or we will somehow have a Eureka! moment in which all the answers are shown to us. Well the important problems never go away, they loom over us like storm clouds. They sure as hell don't fix themselves. And Eureka moments only happen when you've acquired relevant information and it lies dormant in the mind just waiting to shout out the answer.<br />
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The key though here is being able to determine the problem. Some problems are right there just waiting for an answer. Other problems are dug deep within the soul, affecting our dispositions yet for unknown reasons. To figure these problems out, we need to gain self-awareness, we need to be able to know what is going on in our body and mind.<br />
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Those problems we do know though, the solution is research. Talk to people who have had similar problems, read books on the subject, but for the love of Thor, at least Google it.<br />
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Knowledge is a tool for solving problems, the more knowledge you have, the more tools.<br />
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<span style="color: red; font-weight: bold;">4.)Your Success is Limited By Your Will to Act</span><br />
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It's true. You are a human being. You were well equipped to be able to act in this world and become successful. If your ability to solve problems is hindered by your knowledge, it is completely crushed if you fail to act.<br />
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Knowledge with a desire but without action won't get you anywhere. This is usually not a forgotten element, only one that needs to be reiterated time and time again. You know it, you just don't do it.<br />
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The action is the hardest part. It is always the element that holds us back the most, but if you have the desire, have the plan, and truly know the consequences, then what is it holding you back? Fear? Fear of what, a better life? Hurting someone? If you don't act honestly you will cause them more suffering in the long run. More responsibility? Why would you fret over making yourself freer?<br />
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To be scared to act is only to be excited. The big decisions are the ones that force us to feel most alive. If you don't take advantage of that, can you truly say that you have lived?<br />
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<span style="color: red; font-weight: bold;">5.) Nothing Ever Lasts</span><br />
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Don't get me wrong, I can see how pessimistic this one is, but it's true. And is it really pessimistic? We all seem to forget that one day the one's we love will be gone. It is not pessimistic to realize that someday they will die, it only serves to fuel our motivation to spend quality time with them.<br />
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With the knowledge that nothing ever lasts comes the knowledge that we should make the important things count whenever we have the chance. Why leave things in the tank? Hoping that someday we will use this "precious resource" for bigger and better things?<br />
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In a way, this last point synthesizes all the others. If you become aware of this point, then all the others become easy. You seek knowledge, you work hard, you realize that you are not the center of the universe, and you see things for what they are. Knowing this allows you to want no regrets, live life to the fullest, and love those around you while you can.<br />
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<span style="color: red; font-weight: bold;">Concluding Remarks</span><br />
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While there are many more elements of our life we always seem to forget, I will leave those for a later date. These five I have shared with you seem to me the most important for achieving a life well lived, and that is what we all are striving for.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131622529360283146.post-51803761940990445422009-01-30T18:11:00.000-08:002011-06-28T16:43:23.174-07:009 Ways to Better Understand Your Books<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_qWP5AKYNPFw/SYnrUy5JZCI/AAAAAAAAAGY/slCJS6d-a0Y/s1600-h/books.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="Understanding books is important" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5299025179069473826" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_qWP5AKYNPFw/SYnrUy5JZCI/AAAAAAAAAGY/slCJS6d-a0Y/s200/books.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 175px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 200px;" /></a><br />
As a college philosophy major, I find myself spending a large amount of time with a book in my hand. While time constraints are a problem all their own, the greatest problem I face with these sometimes difficult to understand books is actually <i>absorbing</i> the information I wish to retain. I want to be able to understand what the author is attempting to convey both inside and out. I want understand both the large picture and the details.<br />
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Instead of just drudging through the books I believe it is important to try to hone my skills of reading; find ways to be able to understand the readings without having to read the texts multiple times. Below are nine tips that I have incorporated into my own book reading endeavors.<br />
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<span style="color: #339999; font-weight: bold;">Before Reading the Book</span><br />
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<span style="color: red; font-weight: bold;">1.)Understand What Type of Book You're Reading</span><br />
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Before you even attempt to read the book or text, you should take a moment and reflect upon just what type of book it is. This will allow to be able to perhaps come up with a game plan in relation to that particular text. Depending upon the difficulty of the reading, you may want to do more in the way of planning how you will take it on. Some of these cases are no-brainers; you hardly need to do anything in order to better comprehend a compelling novel. The story does the work for you. On the otherhand, you need to have a clear plan when taking on some sort of textbook. Textbooks usually contain a gigantic resource of facts, ideas, and names and it will be extremely ignorant of a person to think they will be able to read through once and remember everything.<br />
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There are some books that may not be clear on this scale between extremely easy and extremely difficult. In my own experience, I found <i>How We Think</i> by John Dewey to fall somewhere in the middle. I read the first couple of chapters fairly easily, but found I wasn't seeing his conception of thought as well as I had liked. I started over with a new plan of taking notes in order to gather the main points.<br />
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The difficulty of the book will not always be clear. That is why it is also important to remember tip two.<br />
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<span style="color: red; font-weight: bold;">2.)Know Your Goals Before Reading</span><br />
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What do you want to get out of this book or text? Are you reading it for a class, in order to understand a certain topic? Are you reading it for pleasure, just hoping to gain a new perspective on it? Or perhaps you're gathering information for a Senior Thesis.<br />
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The point is that if you don't know what you want to get out of the book, then you most likely will end up with nothing rather than everything. Knowing what you want gives you a focus, a goal, some sort of problem to be understood. Of course, for leisure reading, this is more difficult, but for classes this is essential. You want to gain a way of looking at a certain topic that will allow you to take part in discussion and more or less make your way through the class.<br />
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This also finds less importance with the compelling novel and an extreme amount of importance in reading a textbook.<br />
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<span style="color: red; font-weight: bold;">3.)Understand the Hermeneutical Circle</span><br />
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The Hermeneutical Circle is a concept in the study of interpretation which shows the relation of the parts of a book to the whole of the book. In order to understand the parts, you must first know how they fit in the larger scheme of the book. To know the larger scheme, however, knowledge is required of the parts. Both must be referenced to eachother in order to understand the text.<br />
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What this means though is that the textual context must be analyzed. It's place in history, author, and language are all important to gain a grasp of the environment the text inhabits.<br />
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What to take away from this is to remember to acquire necessary background knowledge about the particular book you would like to read. To do so will help you better understand the parts, and thus, better understand the whole.<br />
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<span style="color: #336666; font-weight: bold;">While You're Reading the Book</span><br />
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<span style="color: red; font-weight: bold;">4.)Grab a Pencil</span><br />
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In order to better understand the reading, you should be able to pick out meaningful statements within it. Not every sentence of the book is going to contain a different idea that you should remember. To better help with finding these meaningful parts, it is helpful to make marks in the book with a pencil.<br />
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Marking points you find important will help keep your concentration upon the text. This will also aid in attempting to re-analyze and point out significant statements as you will have them marked.<br />
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I have found doing this small thing invaluable. It has also supplied me with possible block quotes that I may want to use in writing.<br />
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<span style="color: red; font-weight: bold;">5.)Grab A Notebook</span><br />
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Sometimes just marking in the book is not enough. You may be able to find important statements in the text, but you may not be completely sure just what the author is attempting to convey. For this problem, it is useful to use a notebook to attempt to either summarize or re-state what the author intends.<br />
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Doing this forces you, the reader, to attempt to jump into the mind of the author and extract the main points. To be able to state them in different ways shows that the idea has been understood in some way or another; it shows that your reading is going according to plan.<br />
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<span style="color: red; font-weight: bold;">6.)Be Swift Yet Not Hasty</span><br />
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When reading a particular text, it is important that you be persistent in reading it. Keep up a good pace. Set a certain time aside everyday so that you will keep up this pace. It may be even possible to set deadlines for yourself in order to get your butt in gear. A common theme these days is to attempt to read one book a week. Depending upon your current endeavors, this may or may not be possible. Personally, as a college student, a track athlete, and a tutor I find this completely impossible.<br />
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In any case, the quicker you read a book (assuming you are attempting to really understand it) the better picture of it you will have at the end. The book will always be in the back of your mind; you will be applying it to daily situations, thinking of it in terms of experience. This is extremely useful and allows you to understand and retain the book better.<br />
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There is a limit though to how quick you can be provided you aren't a speed reader. If you get too fast, you will be fatigued easily when reading and your mind will wander even though you may be following along perfectly.<br />
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To ensure this doesn't happen, it is important to periodically stop every once in a while and attempt to see if you have retained what you have just read. If not, you had better change your game plan.<br />
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<span style="color: #336666; font-weight: bold;">After You Have Read the Book</span><br />
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<span style="color: red; font-weight: bold;">7.)Summarize The Book</span><br />
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After having read the book, it is important to test your knowledge on it. Simply summarizing it works well. A good summarization hits all the keys spots and does not dwell on any certain aspect to long. It forces you to "put things in their place" so to speak and requires you to put everything together as well.<br />
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If you've been keeping a notebook, you can just use your notes and marks in the book to achieve this summarization.<br />
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<span style="color: red; font-weight: bold;">8.)Write A Paper Over Some Aspect of the Book</span><br />
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In order to really understand the book, writing a paper over it may be the ultimate way of doing so. It may be in the form of a simple review, but critical analyses work very well. Come up with some topic pertaining to the book that interests you greatly, such as some point the author has made, or perhaps the implications of his ideas.<br />
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To do this requires some great reasoning skills. Not only must you come up with possible objections, but you must also be willing to object to your objections, to really take the view of the author and give him a fair trial.<br />
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<span style="color: red; font-weight: bold;">9.)Refine Your Methods</span><br />
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This final step is the most important. If you never critically examine yourself you will not get any better at comprehending what you read. It is important to examine what you retained, why you retained it, and if it is subpar, what you can do in the future to solve this problem.<br />
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To examine yourself in this fashion will help you to evolve to your higher standards. You will be able to refine your methods and allow yourself for better reading tough books in the future.<br />
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<span style="color: red; font-weight: bold;">Concluding Remarks</span><br />
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Hopefully these nine tips will help you in some way to enhance your book reading understanding. Personally, as an avid reader I find it interesting to see what works and what doesn't, and to see if I can get any better at this endeavor I love and sometimes hate to do. If you have any more tips or suggestions, or perhaps even criticisms, please comment.<br />
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Mitchell Sahlfeld<br />
<a href="http://digg.com/submit?phase=2&URL=http://allmustendure.blogspot.com/2009/01/as-college-philosophy-major-i-find.html">Digg this article!</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131622529360283146.post-22255890545736805782009-01-28T11:58:00.000-08:002009-01-30T06:52:47.916-08:00How the Buddha Can Help You With Your Relationships<span style="font-size:120;">There are all sorts of reasons that relationships fail and by relationships I do not mean exclusively those of the romantic sort; friends, parents, teachers, teammates, etc. can all be affected. The causes are usually highly contextual. There is not always one single cause that can be blamed and thus we are left scratching our heads trying to understand just what went wrong.<br /><br />There may be an underlying theme though, and in order to understand this concept you may need some background information. Siddhartha Gautama, better known as the Buddha, was attributed to having laid out what is called the "Four Noble Truths." These truths allow for one to see the world for what it is and to escape suffering and achieve for the Buddha what was called </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:120;" >Nirvana</span><span style="font-size:120;">.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_qWP5AKYNPFw/SYDClrMfLVI/AAAAAAAAAGI/BmjmYnFt2Iw/s1600-h/gautama-buddha.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 268px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_qWP5AKYNPFw/SYDClrMfLVI/AAAAAAAAAGI/BmjmYnFt2Iw/s320/gautama-buddha.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296447114293751122" border="0" /></a><br />It is the second of these noble truths that will be important to this article, that of the truth that <b>our desires are ultimately what cause us to suffer</b> (for more explanation on these truths, visit <a href="http://souledout.org/wesak/4nobletruths.html">here</a>).<br /><p align="right"><br /><script type="text/javascript"><!--<br />google_ad_client = "pub-0098408923996749";<br />/* 120x90, created 1/28/09 */<br />google_ad_slot = "7528535962";<br />google_ad_width = 120;<br />google_ad_height = 90;<br />//--><br /></script><br /><script type="text/javascript"<br />src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"><br /></script></p><br />What did the Buddha mean by this? Surely he can't mean that wanting to excel in sports, business, life is the ultimate cause of our suffering? These though, in a way and no matter how admirable of tasks, to cause us to suffer. The athlete who works relentlessly and is unable to grasp victory suffers. The mother who finds her son, of which she has worked hard to raise virtuously, has stolen a car, suffers. The business man who pours his soul into his work only to go bankrupt suffers.<br /><br />For the Buddha though, there is something more than merely a desire. It is desire mixed with ignorance, or perhaps a better way of looking at it is that it is a desire stemming from ignorance. What we come to find is that suffering largely occurs from our expectations, expectations that were grounded on false beliefs.<br /><br />The athlete really "knows" that victory will not always be at his doorstep, his desire stems from an ignorance of the way sports work. The mother "knows" her son may end up doing bad, yet her desire is so strong she forgets this fact. The business man fully well can see that some businesses fail badly. By joining in this activity, either consciously or not he understood this.<br /><br />The key, for Buddha, to attaining freedom from this suffering, or Nirvana, is to rid oneself of these false expectations.<br /><br />So how does one use this in relationships? How does one achieve relationship Nirvana?<br /><br />First, you must sit and think about whatever relationship it may be and truly ask yourself, "What are my expectations in this relationship?" Some may not be clear to you at first. But you will find that most of them will be unfounded and most are just setting you up for more suffering.<br /><br />This is found in a plethora of examples in romantic relationships. People have clear conceptions of how they and their partner should act in a relationship that they have acquired through books, movies, and hearsay. While some may not be very grand in the scheme of things (the man paying for supper), if these expectations are not met, we find ourselves basing the relationship on cliches instead of on the important things.<br /><br />The hardest part of this task is finding what these expectations are. Do you expect that woman to do certain things in the household? Do you expect your son to act a certain way? Do you expect your teacher to tell you everything? Are these expectations really valid? Or are they merely an attempt at wish fulfillment; keeping our heads in the clouds.<br /><br />These are important questions. A good relationship can help a person soar to new heights. These are things the Buddha was thinking about thousands of years ago. Human nature has not changed much since then.</span><br /><br /><p><a href="http://digg.com/submit?phase=2&URL=http://allmustendure.blogspot.com/2009/01/how-buddha-can-help-you-with-your_28.html">Digg this article!</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131622529360283146.post-29413868682045588472008-07-10T19:30:00.000-07:002011-06-27T18:21:37.521-07:00The Importance of Problem Solving<a href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_qWP5AKYNPFw/SHbTdcv33pI/AAAAAAAAADc/958nUqSdg5w/s1600-h/mdis_0000_0003_0_img0101.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5221593320869322386" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_qWP5AKYNPFw/SHbTdcv33pI/AAAAAAAAADc/958nUqSdg5w/s400/mdis_0000_0003_0_img0101.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 216px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 214px;" /></a>The title of this article seems to induce a kind of "duh" feeling, even within myself. I might as well have titled it "The Importance of Eating" or "The Importance of Breathing." The truth is that most can see that problem solving has an extreme importance in today's fast-paced society. We are continually pressured to make important decisions with more speed and more efficiency. It is important though to examine just where all the emphasis upon problem solving came from and why the idea came about.<br />
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The emphasis upon problem solving in everyday situations arose significantly from the ideas of the philosopher John Dewey. His works in the philosophy of education had a profound effect on the manner in which teachers do their job. But it is important to realize what Dewey was battling in his ideas. The antagonist to Dewey's emphasis upon problem solving was the teaching style of earlier times, namely, that of fact memorization-listen and repeat. Dewey believed that self-reflection was the key to education, as it utilized the surrounding environment and social structure with a thinking and involved individual. Self-reflection came about through a problem in the norm, and involvement by the individual meant that individual believed the problem to have meaning. If the individual believes there is no meaning, the problem never even seems to be a problem.<br />
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Even though it may seem that the two sides of the coin, fact-learning and problem solving, are in opposition, they are not at all. The two different styles work in unison. Both are needed to create a system where learning capacity is at it's utmost.<br />
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Problem solving itself deals with experimentation. An individual is experimenting whenever they are attempting to solve a problem. But experimentation relies upon past experience, past knowledge, current beliefs, etc. Thus we can see where fact-memorization comes into play. As an example, an young man is walking down a street. As he comes to crossing he realizes he is not quite sure where to go. He wants to go to the pool. He has learned a fact that the pool is on the north side of the town, and he has also done well to learn his directions. One of the streets heads south while the other heads north. As a problem solver, he calls upon his past recollections and reflects and decides it would be logical to take the northbound road. On their own, the facts are basically useless, neutral. They have no purpose other than for remembrance. But when a problem arises where these facts are called upon, they now become relevant and good uses of time.<br />
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Thus, solving a problem relies upon one's basis in facts. But problem solving is much more than that. It involves imagination. It involves being able to take all of what one has learned and incorporate it into seemingly unrelated endeavors. Experimentation involves imagination and problem solving is experimentation. Without the ability to tie facts to a situation, the facts are useless and are merely good for a gameshow.<br />
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Also, the imaginative mind is able to tie meaning to a given situation. It can find importance in things once thought not. What this allows is that a person is much more able to notice all the variables within a situation and that allows for greater control of the situation. This means a better solution to that particular problem.<br />
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The take away point of this article is that although problem solving has grounds in fact-learning, merely knowing facts does not make one a good problem solver. Also, while learning facts pertaining to your particular endeavors is important, is can also be noted that things not within that field can still be applied with enough imagination.<br />
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A good problem solver puts to use all the tools at their disposal and facts are tools, just waiting to be taken out and used.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131622529360283146.post-5339773882262126192008-05-18T19:21:00.000-07:002011-06-27T18:21:51.196-07:00An Inquiry into Gaining Schedule Equilibrium<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_qWP5AKYNPFw/SDDksQ-aZdI/AAAAAAAAADU/tKtPLt10Zaw/s1600-h/schedule.gif" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5201909018735044050" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_qWP5AKYNPFw/SDDksQ-aZdI/AAAAAAAAADU/tKtPLt10Zaw/s400/schedule.gif" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" /></a>It is often the case that we end up becoming so involved with something that it becomes part of our lifestyle. And this particular thing becomes so engrained within us that to think ourselves without it would be absurd. This is because as humans, as part of life, we have a knack for adaptation. We adapt to things in such a way as to do things with the utmost of efficiency. It is a hinderance for survival if the mind and body have to do extra work. So we find ourselves getting "schedulized." We have a certain way of doing things at certain times.<br />
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Is there a problem with this fact? No. There is nothing wrong with keeping to a schedule. Some of the greatest things one can get out of life require a constant "chipping away," a constistency. Knowledge, Strength, Relationships; these things all require "putting in your time" so to speak and sometimes that means getting schedulized. It may mean setting a time out of the day to read a book, visit the gym, or call up a loved one. Schedulizing ourselves helps us to focus upon one task at a time. It allows us to be more productive in achieving our many goals.<br />
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Can schedulizing ourselves be bad, however? The sad fact is that it can. It can be very bad, just as it can be very good. If we become too schedulized, then we tend to not want to diverge from that path. Just doing something different for one thing seems to screw up the entire schedule, throwing us out of place. As a result, we are apt to less likely take risks, even if those risks are miniscule in nature. We are less likely to change our views on something even though there is overwhelming evidence to the contrary, and we are less likely to simply try anything new. There is one problem with becoming over-schedulized that is the main focus of this article, and that is failing to realize how ourself, as a person, may change in relation to the schedule.<br />
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It is no secret that over time people change. In fact, it's one of the simplest facts of life. It is how we change, whether good or bad, that we try to take control over. It is the case, however, that alot of the time our changes go unnoticed to even ourselves. Over a large span of time these changes may build on one another until we become almost entirely new people. The sad fact is that we don't realize it until something large happens to shake us from our foundation. Then we must make the treachorous journey of building ourself back up from scratch through self-comtemplation.<br />
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What does this have to do with becoming schedulized though? Well, the entire idea of a schedule and what a person is are polar opposites. A schedule is something that is solid, unchanging, and focused. A person, however, is entire different. People are constantly changing, thinking, and have a tendency to jump from one idea to the next. Looking at this point alone it is easy to deduce how becoming too schedulized could become a problem for us; it attempts to go against our very nature. But jumping further into the matter shows just how important this topic may be.<br />
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A person who has become over-schedulized may, over time, become blind to the fact that they are changing and as the changes snowball it may get to the point where the reasons that they kept to the schedule so tightly in the first place are completely gone. Their actions do not reflect their thought patterns. What results is a person whom is generally miserable. They are doing things they don't want to do in places they don't want to be. Their so stuck to a schedule that they don't know, or are too scared to know, anything different. The result? It either takes something extremely large to happen to break them away from the schedule or they continue on, constantly digging a deeper hole, constantly becoming more miserable.<br />
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This scenario is an extreme one, though. However, this tendency to become over-schedulized can happen at smaller levels as well. The cure? It may sound simple to say that all you need to do is switch up the schedule every once in a while, but this is too idealistic. Sometimes people just don't have a choice but to keep going to the same job doing the same things for a long time. It is important, though, to have a recognition of things we have a responsibility for and the things we can play with a little. For most, controlling what has to be done at work is merely a dream, but controlling our activities beyond that is completely within our power. The more schedulized your job is, the more variance you should try to incorporate within the rest of your life. This will help to keep an equilibrium between the two poles.<br />
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Keeping tabs on ourselves is perhaps even greater advice. It may seem strange to say something like that, but the truth is, we have a tendency as individuals to get caught up in the group. We may start something with a valiant reason, but as time goes on, find ourselves continiuing it for other reasons, reasons which perhaps go largely unnoticed. The key here is to never be so sure as to know yourself. We must always be willing to ask the important questions:<br />
"Why am I doing this?"<br />
"Does this fit with my goals?"<br />
"What am I expecting from this?"<br />
Asking ourselves this every once in a while may help to keep track of the things we find important. These questions will help us to pinpoint our values.<br />
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The philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre believed that with re-thinking our role within the world anguish was brought in as well. This is because it came with it a realization that we have a freedom to choose our role, that it is not given to us at birth. This, which became known as "radical freedom" is one the tenets of the school of Existentialist thought.<br />
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Whatever the case, this "anguish" that is experienced becomes good in a sense that it motivates us to make sense of ourselves. Without it, one day we may come to the realization that our values don't fit our actions and that we are too afraid to do anything about it.<br />
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Overall, it is important to find a middle ground from becoming too schedulized or too fickle. If we are too fickle our dreams will never come true because we won't have the consistency and focus needed to attain them. However, on the opposite end of the spectrum, if we are too set in stone with our schedule we will forget the reason we wanted to achieve that particular goal in the first place and may find ourselves searching for something we don't even care to find.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131622529360283146.post-70307137790264911622008-03-20T20:01:00.000-07:002011-06-29T22:08:09.580-07:00What is Perspective?<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_qWP5AKYNPFw/R-MmFFZEUoI/AAAAAAAAADM/-LdkIqsgG0U/s1600-h/perspective.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="238" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5180025865194721922" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_qWP5AKYNPFw/R-MmFFZEUoI/AAAAAAAAADM/-LdkIqsgG0U/s320/perspective.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" width="320" /></a><i><b>Perspective</b></i> is a word that can be used in many different ways. This is because the idea of perspective itself can deal with the greatest of objects to the most miniscule.<br />
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It deals with not only the senses, but the realm of ideas, philosophy, attitude, perception, and values.<br />
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The idea of perspective is also relational, as it deals with a person's or people's outlook upon the world.<br />
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What is perspective, then? It's the way by which a person makes sense of the "world." As a young child's conciousness grows, the ability to percieve grows, and the ability to be cognitive of this perception grows. This growth, however, occurs within the child's present experience.<br />
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<i>His perspective cannot grow beyond his ability to percieve.</i><br />
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The fact remains though that each person has a different perspective. This is true because each person experiences in differing, although perhaps minute, ways. This can be extremely advantageous. Because of the fact that our perspective is hindered by our ability to percieve, through communication with others our perception of the "world" can grow substantially.<br />
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This is especially true within the world of ideas. The Socratic Method itself relies upon the differences in ideas. By relating our ideas to each other, we can analyze them and perhaps come to a strong synthesis, or conclusion.<br />
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The world of choice is also important. Through the communication of others, we can broaden our scope of possible choices we can make in certain situations. Although this is perhaps burdening to have to choose between multiple paths, if one has the courage to choose they will see that it significantly enhances their freedom.<br />
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This can also be applied to the physical world. The strongest person in one gym may be the weakest in another, but the strongest in gym 1 has already reached what they believe to be the peak while the weakest in gym 2 is starting at the bottom. To break the four-minute barrier in the mile was once thought impossible, but after the first there followed many within a short time-span. This is because the perspective grew.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.telovation.com/articles/illusions-forced-perspective-photography.html" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Change Your Perspective to change your experience" border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jLBbH7PZ008/TguA4q6OhQI/AAAAAAAAALQ/mnIPOZbfGo0/s200/forced-perspective-photography-5.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>Apply this idea to any "world" that you choose, the idea behind the idea still remains the same: <b>By associating with many different people, a person can truly see how large the world is and achieve ever larger things.</b><br />
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Perspective can also, however, be a creator of barriers as well. The bigger the difference between someone's ideas, the potential that the wall between them will be larger. What ends up happening is that a group of people become so set in stone in their own perspective, that they lose all ability to change it, thus the wall will grow ever higher until communication is nearly impossible.<br />
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Why is the growth of perspective so important, though? It's simple; it's a cohesive force. A person with a large perspective can get along in all walks of life, from all angles. They have the ability to get along with all different kinds of people and thus their personal growth is able to flourish.<br />
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<b>People with small perspectives only find themselves getting along with people with whom they have shared similar experiences and as time goes on they find themselves ever further from understanding other's points of view.</b><br />
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Perspective is something that is dynamic, and parallel to growth itself. People make sense of the world through their perspective, remember? If a person's perspective never grows, then they become simplified to their perspective and become a stone in relation to a world made of water.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Mitchell Sahlfeld </span></b>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131622529360283146.post-49398510307434137152008-01-20T11:24:00.000-08:002011-06-27T18:23:00.507-07:00Four Surefire Ways to Inhibit Growth<strong></strong><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_qWP5AKYNPFw/R5OhDP9nokI/AAAAAAAAAC4/zrMEP7hoGt0/s1600-h/ignorance-of-faculty.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5157643075466011202" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_qWP5AKYNPFw/R5OhDP9nokI/AAAAAAAAAC4/zrMEP7hoGt0/s400/ignorance-of-faculty.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" /></a>The process of trial and error is one that is both a blessing and a curse. No matter what the effect of what we are attempting is, we can learn something from the outcome. Through this process, we can omit the things we are sure to not work in favor of the desired outcome. More specifically, we can come closer to seeing what does work by looking at what doesn't.<br />
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I've always been interested in what unlocks a person's ability for growth. What kind of things does it take to awaken a person's passion for higher learning and improvement? On the opposite end of the spectrum, there are some things that will no doubt inhibit someone's growth, whether inward or outward. Here are some things that I believe are surefire ways of inhibition.<br />
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<span style="font-size: 130%;"><strong>1. A Narrow Language</strong><br />
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There are many theories of why humans evolved the way the did in response to certain things. One of these questions involve language and the social interactions between us. There is no doubt that we are social creatures and through working together we can accomplish some pretty outstanding things. It seems that the better able we are to communicate the more progress we make. Computers, phones, and media are a testament to this; knowledge is widespread.<br />
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At the base of the large things though is the basic forms of communication, namely, body language and speaking. There are many forms of language and many forms of body language. Many people react differently to situations and thus there can be a great amount of variation.<br />
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A narrow language will only inhibit our ability to grow. By not being able to communicate, our ability to gain social relationships is greatly diminished. Extreme cases of this would be those with Autism. Autistic individuals usually have a hard time making and maintaining friendships.<br />
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By broadening our language, we can broaden our ability to interact in a world that is getting smaller everyday and our interaction with ideas is greatly increased.<br />
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<strong>2. Lost Sense of Self</strong><br />
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Without a strong sense of self, the passion for growth is undermined. This is because there is a lacking in a direction, a lacking in a sense of purpose. Without purpose, a person will find it difficult to begin something as they will find little meaning in doing so.<br />
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There are many times where our sense of self is thrown into a loop, most predominantly in the adolescent ages. This is a time when our body and mind is changing drastically and things that we thought we knew are questioned greatly.<br />
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During this time, questioning is essential. Even though a sense of self is not greatly established, a wandering and curious mind will help to find and establish this self. This is a time when the tough questions should be asked: What is happiness, who am I, what do I want out of this life? Attempting with courage to answer these questions will help a person rise out of their rut.<br />
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<strong>3. Insinuation of Falsity</strong><br />
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This is an outward inhibition of growth, beyond a person's control. This is one for the teachers of the world. An insinuation of falsity is responding to a person's question or thought in such a way as to imply either greatly or subtlely that they are wrong. This action kills inquiry of any kind. A curious person will soon lose their luster if they are constantly led to believe that anything that diverges from the path will inherently be false. They will follow with zombie-like enthusiasm, being led by others and not following through with the questions they may have.<br />
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A good teacher is one that does not give an answer, but converses in such a way as to help the inquirer find the answer on their own. A good teacher presents ideas, not truth, presents thought, not dogma.<br />
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<strong>4. Condemnation of Exploration/Creativity</strong><br />
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This certain point is a very large one. An environment that makes exploration and creativity morally wrong is one that will eventually grow stale and crumble. This is true for any kind of environment, whether it be a large community or small school.<br />
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The condemnation of thought is something that goes against the natural act of what it means to be human. You can easily control a person if you can convince them that what they are is wrong.<br />
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Especially in the case of a school. A school should be working to instill a passion for learning in a student. When you condemn exploration of thought, however, you create zombies who don't actively take part in their learning. It may be the case that they do well or do horribly, but all are slaves to the thought of others.<br />
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Schools should look not at grades, but at progress. We all start at different points and grow in different ways. It only follows that a certain way of teaching will not work for everyone. A good teacher should be looking for ways to help the student progress and find their learning style, not condemning every thought that diverges from their set path.<br />
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A society of exploration is a society of growth and progress, a society of learning.<br />
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Ideas, not truth.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131622529360283146.post-42912846245240730192008-01-05T18:27:00.000-08:002011-06-27T18:23:14.472-07:00The Development of the IndividualThere are two key aspects of a person's life: The world as it is and the person's relationship with it. The world represents things that are beyond our control, things outside of ourselves while our relationship represents what our reactions are to these things or surroundings. Looking from a vantage point concerned with growth and the fulfilling of a person's potential, both of these aspects can be used to achieve these goals.<br />
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A person has a greater chance of growing in an environment that allows this growth to occur, whatever that environment may be. A person growing up always hunting for food for the next meal will have a difficult time moving beyond this life. When basic needs are not met, we don't have time to worry about fulfilling our potential. An environment that supplies for the basic needs of a person supplies a strong foundation on which that person can build themselves.<br />
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The psychologist Maslow created the hierarchy of needs in order to reach the pinnacle of what he referred to as the "self-actualized person." Without the step below it firmly founded, a person could never fulfill their potential.<br />
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Looking at this hierarchy, we can determine that the greatest environment would be one that supplied for all the needs. In theory, if we supply for all these needs there should be an abundance of growth within the person or people, but this isn't always the case. Why is that?<br />
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The other factor in play in this situation is the person's relationship to their environment. It doesn't matter what type of genetics a person has, where they grow up, or what connections they have. If they lack the attitude or perception necessary to achieve their potential, they won't. There have been many people who have thrown all the money and status that they are given away on unfruitful endeavors and on the opposite end of the spectrum, there are many people that rise from poverty and create a better environment for themselves and their family.<br />
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A person's relationship to the world is also seen in such things as religion. The same religions are often used as tools of peace and growth by some, and by others as vehicles for hate and destruction. Personal interpretation plays a big part in the differences of people's beliefs.<br />
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So while our environment is important, the person's relationship with it also plays a large part. In some cases, a subpar environment will actually strengthen the person's resolve and they will be better off. When they achieve a greater situation for themselves, the understanding they have accumulated allows them to be humble with what they have achieved and know its importance.<br />
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The ancient Greeks thought of ethics in a different way than is intuitive today. While today ethics is mainly focused on good or bad actions, the Greeks were accustomed to the develop of values within the individual, or virtue ethics. They were concerned with what virtues made a person good. A person who has reinforced the correct values within themselves will be able to do good no matter their environment or situation.<br />
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In summary, both aspects must be nurtured in order for us to grow abundantly. Within our control, though, is our relationship with the world. We may not have complete control over our situation, but if we work on instilling and reinforcing the correct values, our environment will hold little when compared to the vastness of our spirit.<br />
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<img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5152204908134900274" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_qWP5AKYNPFw/R4BPEP9nojI/AAAAAAAAACw/9iqtys7Qxzo/s400/memory_mind1.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131622529360283146.post-1151137844813304212008-01-02T10:46:00.000-08:002011-06-27T18:23:40.092-07:00Try and Try<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_qWP5AKYNPFw/R3vczf9nohI/AAAAAAAAACg/I0JkY42jPqw/s1600-h/To-Valhalla-Dielitz-L.jpg"><img align="left" alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5150953376139682322" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_qWP5AKYNPFw/R3vczf9nohI/AAAAAAAAACg/I0JkY42jPqw/s320/To-Valhalla-Dielitz-L.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px;" /></a> <span style="font-size: 120%;"><em>The following was originally written on July 28, 2005.</em><br />
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It seems that no matter how hard I work on my body I'm always forced to battle an injury. No matter how fast I get I'm always slow. No matter how long I wait, I realize I must wait longer. And no matter how much I learn I'm continually reminded that I know nothing.<br />
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It seems to me that defeating one obstacle just brings a greater, tougher challenge in my path. I just don't understand anymore and might not want to. But I know one thing. I pray to God in all his grace that I never quit battling them, never quit trying, never give up. Because when that happens, that will be the day I die. I might not die physically, but I'll just be a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BiB9zcx07ZE">dead man walking</a>.<br />
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Sometimes I have to ask what it's all for. Why do I even get up in the morning? Why do I continually try and try and never reach Valhalla? But then I just shrug it off.<br />
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I'm too busy taking on my next challenge.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131622529360283146.post-70808046002498021922008-01-02T10:42:00.000-08:002011-06-27T18:23:57.461-07:00Escaping Pain<span style="font-size: 120%;"><em>The following was originally written on July 28, 2005.</em><br />
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As a person on this earth I am constantly searching for something to fill the void inside me. Constantly searching for happiness I guess. And I always thought everyone else was doing the same. Finding their own form of it. But I was wrong.<br />
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It seem there are two kinds of people on this earth. Those who are searching for happiness...and those who seek to escape pain. But what could be the difference between those? Alot, actually. My coach tells the team once in a while that we should go try to win, and not try to not lose. When you try to win, you put everything you have into it, so that you may win. When you just try to not lose, you just do what's needed to get by, the minimum of what is asked of you.<br />
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The same can be said in this dilemma. People searching for happiness will continue searching for this cause. People seeking to escape pain and suffering will try but soon realize it's harder than they thought and eventually give up. They don't have the hope they need to continue on. But that's the simplicity of it all. It's all their choice. The world is how you percieve it.<br />
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Are you going to choose to wait around hoping happiness will find you, or are you going to have one hell of a journey reeling it in?</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5131622529360283146.post-15862226489959130192007-12-30T18:07:00.000-08:002011-06-27T18:24:47.014-07:00Damn Me<span style="font-size: 120%;"><em>The following was originally written on May 29, 2005.</em></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 130%;">The great master and "philosophizer" Bruce Lee once said, "I am the cause of my own ignorance." This remains one of the best quotes I've ever heard, not only because Bruce Lee is the man, but because it is one of the truest qoutes I've ever heard. Each man has complete control over his own mind and body (given you don't have any detrimental psychological or physical illnesses).</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 130%;">Then why doesn't every man or woman able have the physique or goals they wish? Because somewhere along the way they allowed themselves to be swayed by their own minds. They listened to the side of them that likes being in the comfort zone they've come to love, the side that requires no pressure because if you don't try to be great, there can be no failure. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 130%;">Well to me, a person trying something and actually working at it and failing, is ten times greater than the guy standing there watching, saying to himself, "I probably could have done it." Just by not trying his hand at success, he had already failed, failed himself. He allowed himself to be content with mediocrity.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 130%;">I sometimes have to tell myself, "Damn me," to realize and remember that if there was something I really wanted to do and didn't, I only had myself to blame. Because to be quite frank, no one can stop you from doing anything you want, unless they kill you. No one has the power to say stop lifting weights, stop working out, stop having fun, and you must comply. No one. And if your already thinking of people, stop making excuses. Do what you must to be happy, take a little time extra for yourself and don't pass at a chance to be successful because your afraid of failure, or worse yet, of what people will think of you.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0