Hmmmmm...02-18-13

“Sometimes I suffer from indigestion of the mind.” –Carrie Latet

How do you spell relief? M-E-D-I-T-A-T-I-O-N. 

It is estimated that we have 70,000 thoughts per day. Since there are 86,400 seconds in a day, that means we have about 0.8 thoughts per second.  It’s exhausting just to think about—oops, there goes another thought!

When you’ve had one too many helpings of food for thought and your brain is chock-full, the best way to clean your plate is meditation.  A mere twenty minutes of meditation a day reaps numerous physical and mental benefits—from weight loss to curing insomnia—and there are no side effects!  This mental floss helps to eliminate all those thoughts you’ve been gnawing on—and that have been eating at you.

If your mind is all talk, it’s time to take the action of inaction. What do you need to start?  Nothing—and the more of it, the better.  No technology needed, no batteries required.  Then what?  Sit.  Stay.   

It’s all a matter of mind over chatter.

Go out of your mind,

Gina J

Hmmmmm...02-11-13

Hmmmmm…02/11/13

“The secret of education lies in respecting the pupil.” –Ralph Waldo Emerson

Here’s a list of some historically prominent self-taught students.  Do any of these names ring a bell? 

Leonardo da Vinci, Abe Lincoln, Malcolm X, Benjamin Franklin, Charles Darwin, the Wright Brothers, Herman Melville, Ernest Hemingway, Ray Bradbury, and Thomas Edison are all considered autodidacts, those who are either partially or completely self-taught.  Many of them overcame incredibly overwhelming odds to do this.  Odds are they were able to achieve great things by believing in their own abilities.

Keith Moon is widely considered one of the greatest drummers of all time.  He had just three lessons.  Jimi Hendrix is considered one of the most influential electric guitarists in the history of music. He learned to play by ear.  David Bowie had only a few singing lessons and taught himself to play five instruments.  Rap superstar Eminem dropped out of high school at age 17.  His love of words comes from a love of reading, and he has even read the dictionary front to back several times.  Steven Spielberg dropped out of film school—twice—and never graduated.

In the School of Thought, you are both teacher and student.  It’s time to test your mettle, but don’t worry.  Acing this test is simple.  It all starts with self-respect.  Don’t stop believin’…

Hold on to that feelin’,

Gina J

Hmmmmm...02-04-13

Hmmmmm…02/04/13

“To belittle, you have to be little.” –Kahlil Gibran

Do you know any fault finders?  Now ask yourself:  are they perfect?

Fault finders have only perfected the quality of feeling superior.  They achieve this by being better players at the Blame Game, using the game pieces of Judge, Jury, and Executioner.  The point of the game is to build themselves up while tearing others down—except that everyone loses in the end.

Bad-mouthing is for bad apples with bad attitudes.  Before you pick up a pawn in this winless contest, ask yourself who will benefit if you decide to play the game.  Could any of us ever beat the charges if we were on trial for crimes of imperfection?

Play in the big leagues.  Don’t belittle.     

Let’s put the ‘kind’ back in mankind,

Gina J