Consider these illustrative examples:

Example #1 You are working on the Web blogging about something interesting. One of your goals is to grow your blog into a successful website. As you write your article, suddenly an email rolls in and you find yourself reading the latest chain-email of humorous nonsense. At this point, you stop yourself and realize that the email fluff is utterly irrelevant and requires nothing more than a simple click to the Trash bin.

Example #2 You are spending time with your family and enjoying one another’s company. One of your personal goals is to enjoy your family more and spend some genuine quality time. Everything is going great until you decide to see what’s on TV. Moments later, you are staring mindlessly at some insipid bit of television programming. An hour later, your family is elsewhere and you find yourself alone on the couch, sucked into the latest distraction. Instead of giving in to the brain-dead comfort of TV, wake up out of your mental stupor and stay focused on the moment. Enjoy your family, friends, or whatever is most beneficial to you. Hint: TV is not it.

Example #3 You are waiting in the dentist’s office for a routine checkup. The anticipation is making you uncomfortable, so you grab a cheese rag from the corner table. Thumbing through the sleazy, greasy pages of celebrity trash and commercial garbage, you recall one of your goals: to live in the moment and grow as a person. Is filling your mind with cheap marketing ploys and nonsense going to help you achieve these goals? Probably not. So do yourself a favor: drop the sheep feed and focus on what you are doing. There is no better time to listen and grow than while you are faced with unpleasant circumstance.

The point here is that you are better than what the Global Media Empire has been feeding you these days, and your mind deserves so much more than greasy commercials and empty Hollywood garbage. You have goals this year and you want to grow as a person, find the balance, hang with friends, love your family, succeed at work, draw closer to God, and all of the other good things that are possible in this life. So I encourage you to stay focused and don’t let the media marketing rubbish pollute your mind. Stay clean this year, feed your mind the good stuff, remain focused on what matters, and achieve your goals.

Copyright © 2010 mindfeed.org

So this year, instead of telling lies to your kids, why not do something healthy and positive by explaining the truth about Christmas? Tell your children that Jesus Christ was born to take away the sins of the world, and that, because of Christ, God and man have been reconciled. This is the true meaning of Christmas — not the hokey-pokey hollywood garbage that sells GAP khakis and cheap chinese toys. You don’t need that trash. It is nothing more than empty materialist distraction. Time to wake up people.

Even if you’re not a real Christian, that doesn’t mean you have to lie to your daughters and sons. Is lying ever the right thing to do? Do you teach your kids to lie to their teachers, friends, siblings, and grandparents? Do you want them lying to you? Do you want them lying to your smiling, naive face while they secretly plot to do what they think is best? That’s exactly what you’re doing every single year by perpetuating this pathetic Santa Claus nonsense.

Seriously folks, lying is wrong — don’t do it. Don&rsdquo;t lie to anybody, especially your own offspring. Amazing that someone actually has to say this, given that adults should realize the significance of their actions. You’re stupid if you think that Christmas won’t be wonderful unless you perpetuate the santa myth and deceive your children with pagan lunacy. Here’s a hint to the clueless pagan wannabe: basing your holidays on lies is the wrong way to do it. Instead, embrace the truth and watch as God blesses your Christmas with overflowing joy and happiness.

Stop celebrating the Father of Lies on Christ’s birthday. If you deceive your children when they trust you the most, what makes you think they won’t return the favor when they trust you the least. Tell them the truth. You love them, and they deserve to know what Christmas is all about.

Copyright © 2010 mindfeed.org

End of story, or so I thought. Just as I was ready to close the browser and get back to work, I decided to pop in and browse through the Newsvine comments for the article. I wasn’t expecting much, maybe a few tasteless jokes and mindless rants about having too many kids, but perhaps something interesting as well. To my surprise, there were over 1,200 responses, with more rolling in every minute. Even more surprising was the overwhelming hatred displayed in a vast majority of comments. Usually, those Newsvine threads are fairly mild, with a reasonable balance of different views and ideas, but for some reason the vast majority of responses on this thread were in vehement opposition.

After scanning through the first few hundred comments, I had to stop. I just couldn’t stomach any more. As a conspiracy nut and social-media enthusiast, I have read a lot of comment threads on just about every topic you can imagine, but I have never witnessed such a relentless display of hatred, malice, and ill-will toward anything or anyone, let alone a family. If people were raging against the government, the New World Order, or some murderous tyrant or something, then yeah, I could understand the anger. But a family? Come on, surely there is a better target for your outrage than some oversized family.

Am I exaggerating the situation? Here is a small sampling of the comments on that post. Judge for yourself:

Downright disgusting. Michelle is not a woman, she is a breeder. They don’t take care of their children themselves. They use their children to take care of them by subjecting their daily lives to the cameras and public and complete lack of privacy. They should be ashamed of themselves for abusing their children for financial gain. And Michelle, cross your legs and wrap a rope around them. God did not just give you the power to breed, He gave you the power to think and use good judgment. Turn off the cameras and use your time parenting instead of breeding. — CalifGrl

What comes to mind every time (and really from the first time) I hear of this wacky family, is of totally irresponsible, delusional adults, trying to use their warped beliefs in God and religion to justifya truly sick mentality. Instead of glorifying this mad couple, why aren’t the networks and tabloids attacking their POOR parenting decisions, lack of direct supervision for each and every one of the children, say past the 5th or 6th, and the children’s emotional health in future years? Of course, if they’re raised in this cultish mentality, probably all the children will feel the need to procreate incessently; and then what will the numbers be?….19+ children (we can ONLY expect more from this crazy woman (and her nutty husband) who might have 10 or more children each? the numbers are staggering! Sickening. Just sickening. (Mother of 2, btw, and my older daughter complains how I don’t give HER enought attention!) — MyView-1306213

having more than 2 children is vile, selfish, short-sighted, and wrong. Humans are killing this planet. Sure, the Duggars look like a happy family, but they are poisoning those kids with their religious nonesense. It’s ignorant and evil. The women are oppressed and stifled, the men are phony and shallow…it’s pathetic and frightening. — Chris L.-339676

These people make me absolutely sick. It’s not natural for a human body to produce babies like some kind of animal. Eventually, her insides are going to just fall out of her body. Stop already. Why can’t you just love the children you already have? Having 10 children is obscene — having 19 is repulsive. They should be ashamed. — Katey B

They need to have tied her tubes about15 kids ago and cut off his nuts at the same time. There is no “glory” in a large family, any pig can do that. It’s sad that a tv network chose to glorify them and there over active sex life. Didn’t their parents teach them about birth control? People like this and the tv network involved make me want to puke. Sooeee pig pig pig. — Colonialgirl

Way to go, you moronic cow, now sew yourself shut. Someone should tell these dolts that pushing out pups isn’t a skill and that numbers don’t equal prestige. — MrShin

One word sums it up in a nutshell — pigs! Of course the older children are raising the younger ones because their ridiculous parents are too busy breeding like rabbits. That is not a “reality” show, it’s about stupidity and ignorance. The parents are disgusting and why the networks pay them for their ignorance is baffling to me. It’s mind boggling to watch the parents … all I can do is shake my head in disgust! — Nokky

Let’s see. Where do I begin. If ever two people needed to be spayed and neutered it’s these two idiots. Wanting to have a few children is one thing but they have taken this to far. It’s not fair to the other children to keep popping out babies. They cannot possibly give them all the attention they need and deserve. I would not wish this many children on my worst enemy. It’s totally insane. Can you imagine being forced to live in their little commune having to share everything down to the intimate details of ones life? These kids deserve better and should not have to suffer because of the sick notions of two out of control breeders. Put them up for adoption and place them in homes with a 2-3 child limit. — Pippy Longstocking

Again, the cause for this bloody outrage is not some political scandal, some act of murderous terrorism, or some ruthless genocidal campaign — it’s a ..wait for it.. family. Ooh, how upsetting, how terrible, how outrageous. If there ever was an example of people targeting the wrong enemy, this is it.

So what is going here? Why is this happening? Why have over 1,000 commentators expressed such disgust and contempt for their fellow human beings? Why aren’t we seeing the same kind of outrage over, say, political corruption? Unfair taxes? Biased and dishonest media? Just about any form of modern injustice seems more worthy of anger and outrage than some large family living in the middle of nowhere. Think about it.

Here are the common points raised in the thread:

• There are already too many people, and stopping breeding is a solution.
• No family has a right to have that many kids, they should have been stopped.
• It is impossible to properly raise a family of any more than one or two kids.
• The woman is too old to have kids, she is putting them and herself at risk.
• There are not enough resources on the planet to support so many people.
• Christians and Christianity are responsible for such large families.
• It’s a conspiracy, they are having children to take over the world.
• There is something wrong with people who want large families.
• The media should not be covering stories of large families.
• And on and on and on…

Where are these ideas coming from? Why do people feel so strongly about them? Is it because Satan hates God, Christians, marriage, children, families, and everything else that God has ordained? Is it because of the media? Who controls the media? Is it because people are just so smart and wise that they can’t help but to share their knowledge of the issue? If so, why not explain your ideas with a little compassion and concern for your fellow citizen? Why the need to bark out your ideas like some wild animal? Why the rage? What are you so angry about?

The enemy is not the family. The enemy is anyone who hates the family.

As I said in the comment thread,

I think the entire story is a beautiful thing. Praise God for blessing this family with many children. I wish them much joy and happiness in their lives.

If there is anything on this planet that is good, it is the human family. And the bigger the better. Those who attack, disparage, or insult families of any size are ignorant, evil, or both.

Copyright © 2010 mindfeed.org

I love to hear about regular, ordinary people getting passionate and being active in town-hall meetings. Maybe they always have done so, but the recent media coverage is really stirring things up, encouraging and validating such behavior by showing it on television, discussing it on the radio, printing it in newspapers, magazines, blogs. People have been sick and tired of getting stepped on and taken for granted for ages. There have been many revolts, revolutions, uprisings, riots, protests, and civil wars. It’s nothing new, certainly, but it sure has taken it’s sweet time manifesting in this current generation. For awhile there, I was beginning to wonder if people would ever stand up and say, “enough is enough.” I was thinking that maybe the people of this country had completely given up and were ready to roll over and let the government have their way with them. Needless to say, in this case, I am glad to be wrong.

I love to see the government and the cultural elite scramble in response to harsh criticism, fierce opposition, and an uprising populace. For too long people have sat idly by, unmoved by the corrupt political system. The elite play their games, joust for power, oppress the people. Laughing when confronted, the self-loathing megalomaniacs are consumed by ignorance, deceived through arrogance, drunk on power. They look upon the unwashed masses as nothing more than slaves to do their bidding, pay their way, obey their rules. Watch as government representatives, cultural and media elite continue to insult those who dare oppose their will. Insults will accomplish nothing — the people will continue to rise up and fight against the corruption in government. The fire is being fueled with extreme urgency from both sides. Yes, we’ve gone from being ignored to being insulted, and the world watches as the insults roll and the rage increases.

I love to feel the growing tide of revolution in this country. The cultural and media elite have gone too far, assumed too much, and their corruption is well-known and much-despised by the people. The government is corrupt. The government is broken. We are long-past the point of civil discourse and polite conversation because it is ineffective. The government will respond to increasing opposition by labeling Americans as “hate-mongers,” “radicals,” and “terrorists.” The people will be ostracized in the media, but this will only add fuel to the fire and escalate the inevitable. Eventually, people will take to the streets, protesting, rioting, demanding change. As in Iran, the government will respond with force, doing whatever is necessary to quell the rebellion. Unlike in Iran, however, many Americans are well-armed and well-prepared for what’s ahead.

This has never felt as close as it does now. There has never been a more exciting time to be alive.

Copyright © 2010 mindfeed.org

But think about it for a moment. Your responses to these two comments should be reversed. After all, “have a nice day” is a kind, or at least benign sort of statement, whereas “go to hell” is quite mean-spirited and malevolent. Yet your perception of these two exemplary phrases is determined largely by the way in which they were delivered. Your mind, aware of the context and characters involved in each situation, quickly analyzes the speaker’s tone and body language as the words are spoken. The grocery clerk’s sarcasm leads you to the conclusion that he really doesn’t give a flying flip, but when your co-worker is joking and smiling at you, just about anything will be perceived in a positive light.

I present these two examples to make a simple point: you must listen carefully to what you hear. And not just what people are saying to you, but also to the things you hear and read on television, radio, and the Internet. Instead of taking so much for granted and at face-value, spend a few moments to think about the actual words that are being presented to you. What is the literal meaning of the content you are reading? Comedians often spew some of the most vile, wicked things that you will ever hear, but the laid-back nightclub context and the riotous laughter of the crowd alter your perception such that “it’s all good.” If it is, you’re not listening.

I really love what you did — I just can’t say it enough.

To see this from the opposite side of the spectrum, consider your rebellious teenage years, when your parents forbid you to stay out all night and then lecture you for an hour before grounding you to your room. Yes, it sucks at the time, but now that you’re older and (presumably) more mature, you can see the wisdom of your parents’ words and now understand their diatribe to be some of the most pertinent and relevant information you will ever receive. It’s all in perspective, and how you interpret the words you read and hear, moment-by-moment, every day of your life.

Unfortunately, not everyone “gets it.” People tend to assume that they know what they are talking about, and then become arrogant about their thoughts and ideas once they have decided to stop listening to others. In our ignorance, we hear what we want to hear, completely disregarding the literal meaning of words that are communicated to us. This is unfortunate, as there are people who take advantage of human arrogance every second of the day. The life-insurance salesman who targets the elderly; the drug dealer who appeals to at-risk youth; the politician who says anything to get elected — all preying on your ignorance and inability to hear what is actually being said.

Just leave it unfinished — I want a reason to contact you later.

But perception is much more subtle than that. Human perception is powerful stuff, enabling people to turn down eternal salvation while elevating the mundane to rock-star status. The cleverness of marketers, lawyers, and other linguistically savvy individuals never ceases to amaze me. You may be fooling the vast, unwashed masses with your subtle doublespeak, but there are many of us who can hear everything you are saying, and then some. When you hear someone trying to convince you with a thinly veiled insult or some well-spoken back-handed compliment, you not only perceive their pathetic, slithering tongue, but you also gain clear insight into the nature of their very being — deceptive, dishonest and utterly presumptuous. Those of you who aren’t listening to what is actually being said are deceived easily, and completely missing out on the real story.

Copyright © 2010 mindfeed.org

Many great examples of semantically loaded material may be seen in various song lyrics and band names. Musicians are often quite creative when it comes to their band names, album titles, song names, song lyrics and so forth. People who hear these different names and lyrics will interpret them differently, depending on their personal experience, education, and familiarity with the music or band in question. In fact, there are entire websites devoted to the deciphering and understanding of popular song lyrics.

An excellent example of relative interpretation may be seen in the band name, “Nine Inch Nails.” This is one of the most semantically rich phrases I have ever heard, and serves as an excellent demonstration of how experience determines perceived meaning of environmental stimuli. Note that these interpretive perspectives are greatly simplified for the sake of clarity, but serve as representative idealizations of associated perceptive patterns. That said, let’s have a look at a few different ways to perceive the phrase, “Nine Inch Nails.”

Mundane, everyday interpretation

On the surface, from a mundane, everyday-type perspective, the phrase “Nine Inch Nails” is taken literally to mean either a set of nine-inch nails or a set of nine inch-nails, depending on interpretation. Like, if I went to the hardware store, I might purchase some very large nails, perhaps nine of them.

Poetic, lyrical interpretation

Poetically, the phrase, “Nine Inch Nails” has a certain ring to it. Three one-syllable words that contain plenty of “n” sounds. Like iambic pentameter or something, the phrase is suggestive of aggressive pulsation and instinctual rhythm.

Branding, marketing interpretation

For marketing purposes, the name “Nine Inch Nails” accurately represents Trent’s style of music, providing solid band identity and rich branding opportunities. Although Trent could have opted for the obvious marketing route with the whole “nail” motif, he wisely chose the ambiguous, inverted anagram, NIN.

Sexual, somatic interpretation

“Nine Inch Nails” may also be interpreted from a sexual perspective. Without elucidating the graphical nature of the phase, suffice it to say that the word “nail” is common slang for sexual intercourse. When used in this context, the phrase “nine inch” injects obvious sexual overtones.

Spiritual, religious interpretation

From a spiritual perspective, the phrase “Nine Inch Nails” ominously refers to the instruments of Christ’s sacrificial crucifixion. The nails used to execute the Lord required enough length to pierce both feet and anchor them to the cross. While nine inches may not have been the exact length of the nails, the meaning is obvious to anyone who is paying attention.

Violent, aggressive interpretation

From more of a malevolent point of view, the phrase “Nine Inch Nails” suggests interpretive themes of violence and aggression. In general, nails are sharp, piercing objects that are hammered on with large tools and immense force. Small nails are one thing, but when you start talking about nails as long as your skull, you better check yourself.

Other interpretations

We have already seen six different interpretations for “Nine Inch Nails,” and there are many more I’m sure. One common interpretation is understood as “really long fingernails.” This could refer to a witch, a dragon, or even the typical notion of Satan. Speaking of which, if Satan is responsible for the naming of “Nine Inch Nails,” another interpretation may see the NIN band members as instruments of satanic purpose.

Of course, there are as many different ways to interpret “Nine Inch Nails” as there are interpreters. The different perspectives summarized in this article represent some of the most common ways of interpreting environmental stimuli. Within each of these perspectives exists countless ways of interpreting the phrase and applying meaning based on individual life experience. The fascinating aspect of relative interpretation is that it applies to everything — not just band names and song lyrics. The next time you are out and about enjoying your day, take some time to exercise alternate perspectives toward your interpretation of everyday reality. You might be surprised at what you find.

Copyright © 2010 mindfeed.org

Not that I am completely innocent in this regard. With a family of four, two full-time jobs, and a new house to take care of, I rarely have enough energy at the end of the day to do more than dive onto the couch and watch some mindless television show. But even so, I hate this behavior. I despise the way the world manages to suck up all of your time, money, and energy. Dealing with other overworked, underpaid people on an everyday basis is enough to make you want to scream. Think about it: when was the last time you were able to engage in a meaningful discussion about life, death, philosophy, or spirituality? It is sad to see the mass migration of clones jump into that lifeless, mainstream mentality of apathy and mindlessness.

There have been times when life has kicked me so hard that I wanted to give up. Cuts that ran so deep that I wanted to just throw in the towel. After all, fighting day after day to keep your dream alive takes every ounce of effort you’ve got — it doesn’t take that many apathetic idiots to discourage you, refuse to help, or deny your efforts before you start asking yourself, “what’s the point?” Why continue to fight and fight and work my fingers to the bone just to achieve some lofty goal set for myself many moons ago? Why not just give up, roll over, and take it like a man? After all, beyond yourself, nobody wants to see you succeed. Nobody wants to watch you win. Everyone is so busy doing everything they can to do nothing new that your efforts to shine are rejected and hated in wholesale fashion.

But if you can hear this, and you haven’t given up on progress, I say to you: keep going. Keep pushing forward. Never mind the bastards who hate you and want to watch you fail just so they can win by default. Don’t let the apathetic bring you down. You have something that they do not. You possess something that they have lost. You are working toward something that they despise: Success. Personal betterment. Lifestyle improvement. Spiritual awareness. Whatever it is, keep going. Pursue your dreams in spite of those that do not care, who shrug it all off, as, “whatever, dude.” Let them sit and stare and be entertained with their television wasteland. Let them mock your efforts and laugh at your mistakes. Let them hope for your failure, your misery, your execution. By trying, you have already won the game. Success is yours every day that you do not give up. We reap what we sow, it is true. So continue to sow with every ounce of your being and let the apathetic reap the tragedy that is already theirs.

Or don’t. An equally valid line of thinking is to simply give up and go with the flow. Let go of those silly ideals and dreams of your past and embrace the future. Embrace change. Embrace the moment without expectation and live your life one day at a time. Focus on the now and do what you are meant to do as each moment unfolds before you. You are exactly where you are meant to be, doing exactly what you were meant to do. Holding onto past notions and fighting in vain to achieve pointless goals will only bring you misery. There is no need to desire anything that you do not already have. Stop reinforcing your own ego and live for others instead of yourself. Give up your selfish will and obey the will of God. Let go of your desire, your pain, your suffering. See through the illusion — there is no reason to be anything other than hard-working, humble, and loving. In letting go of your desires, dreams and goals, you will find peace. In looking beyond yourself, you will find contentment. In obeying God’s will, you will find true happiness.

These two completely different ways of approaching life share a common theme. Be active in your life. Be a participant. Be concerned about the direction you are headed. Be aware of those around you. Have something to live for. Live your life with purpose. Live with meaning and give it your best. Don’t hold back. Once you know, you must decide. Once you decide, you must go. So go with everything you’ve got and be a part of this wonderful, mysterious, tragic thing they call life.

Copyright © 2010 mindfeed.org