Water for Elephants

Last night I went to see Water for Elephants with my dear friend, Elizabeth Duncan. It was an inspiring movie, and taught me important life lessons. The main character, played by Robert Patterson, is a young guy who left Cornell and a Veterinary Medicine degree after his parents were killed. He took off to the city to find work, but eventually got tired of the long, lonesome walk and jumped on a train. On the train, he met his future co-workers, who happened to be part of a traveling circus. He soon became the "vet" of the circus. Even though he wasn't particularly qualified, he had an innate gift, as the circus director pointed out. Seeing how this character could look at a horse's hoof and diagnose a disease, made me realize that in life, skills and gifts are what's important, not some degree that claims you are competent. He was so gentle with the animals that he had a hard time using force to get the animals to behave in certain ways. The show was radically transformed for the better when his new method of training animals was implemented. Perhaps this is the new style we need to adopt in this world today: tenderness, compassion, gentleness. Though it is not part of our human nature to behave this way, as spiritual beings on this earth, this is how we can create a better existence for every living thing. Combat suffering with loving kindness.

Student of Life

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCNzrV_X1P8

Tonight I had just finished hanging out with my friend, when I decided I wanted to spend the rest of the night roaming through Barnes & Noble seeking inspiration from the books that fill the store. When I seek inspiration, it usually involves finding books geared towards self-improvement, such as changing your life in a drastic way for the better, or finding astrology books that enhance my fantasies about having and fulfilling an ideal romance that consists of passion, love, nurturance, elation, stroking, anticipation, you name it! Tonight, the book that caught my attention, the one my soul grasped, was in the "New Age" section. It was called "I See Your Dream Job" by Sue Frederick. Sue Frederick is a career intuitve who seeks to bring people to their life mission through her own intuitve abilites. I've always wanted someone to just tell me what to do with my life so that I don't have to stress over figuring it out for myself. This book offered that kind of relief I've been searching for, at least temporarily. What was interesting to me about this book, was that it focused on your individual life path number, which is calculated from adding all of the digits of your birthday down to a single number 1-9. That means that there are 9 potential categories you could fall into. Mine happened to be life path 7, calculated by adding the digits 8/9/1988. The book told you the kind of career that you would be suited for based on both your life path number and your sun sign in astrology. In my case, I am a Leo with a Life Path of 7. I couldn't believe what the author told me about my life path career. She told me that I was analytical of the inner life and would likely get a PhD in Psychology or Political Science, and go on to become a profressor in one of these subjects in academia. Coincidentally enough, I just received by Bachelor's Degree in Psychology from UNC-Chapel Hill and my twin sister, who obviously has the same life path number as myself, graduated from Duke with a degree in Political Science! I also happened to be looking at Psychology PhD programs in California online two nights ago. (What I like so much about California, is that ideas there are on the cutting edge. For example, health and positive psychology are two areas that are becoming increasingly popular, and California is setting the trend. ) Perhaps I should take this advice more seriously, especially since there have been testimonies in the book of individuals living much happier lives after consulting this particular author for her advice on what they should do in their lives, as they had usually come to a point of extreme dissatisfaction in their lives which lead them to her for guidance. As I read further on, I noticed that she began to expand on ideas such as fear, and how fear really isn't a negative concept. In fact, she said fear is energy, that fuels our success, and that no human being on earth exists without fear. The trick is, though, to channel fear properly so that it is energizing and produces results rather than keeping you back. I knew this concept whole heartedly when I was a senior in highschool, and had reached a very high level of success being a three-time indoor track state champion while at the same time being at the top of my class. I was a very energetic, yet fearful individual, and I was not afraid to hide my fear, because I knew that that fear was a huge source for everything I did. Those who had a problem with my high energy/fearful nature, completely misunderstood. This thing that they were so uncomfortable with, was a great source of power within me, and within them as well. Unfortunately, they had not come to realize this yet, and I don't know if they ever will. But, that is why I am using this blog to express my deepest hunches, and intuitve, spiritual truths, that I have gained through my "peak" experiences, or what humanists would describe as a period in which you transcend yourself and reach a high level of understanding, often this occurs when a great level of success has been achieved. Perhaps, in writing this, I will inspire you, too, to find what I found, if you have not yet discovered it. One thing I want to mention, that is related to fear being the source of energy, is that medication prescribed by psychiatrists that is designed to get rid of "anxious" feelings should be banned. What this medication does is wipe the life force, energy, out of a person to where they really can't function at the high level that they originally did. There are strong messages that emotions reveal to us. And those who are designed as more intuitve folks, who really rely on their intuition to guide them in life, can be thrown astray by being medicated and suppressing the emotions that appear "weak" are actually their biggest strength. Anyways, I wanted to share with you some insightful, valuable information that I learned tonight by randomly picking out a book from a shelf and reading it. I hope this has inspired you in some way.

Celebrities Admit They're Not Perfect

In recent pop culture news, two celebrities have admitted to having Bipolar Disorder. Catherine Zeta Jones and Demi Lovato both announced that they have been privately struggling with this disorder for years. Demi Lovato said that she would, "Write seven songs in a night and stay up until 5:30 A.M.", which would be considered her manic phase, while Catherine struggled to fight off the stress that accompanied her husband having cancer, as she would have episodes of crying and mania. I commend these women for coming out in the open and sharing one of their deepest secrets with the world. There are so many people of all ages struggling with mental illness, and yet no one really talks about it. Since it's rarely a topic of conversation, many people assume that they're the only ones in the world struggling with mental illness. This only adds to the person's worries and insecurities about themselves as being "different" or outcasts of society and exacerbates their condition. Having celebrities who are usually glorified in the limelight as being perfect and infallible admit to what society considers a major weakness can really empower people everywhere who are fighting mental illness and striving to lead normal lives. Perhaps this is one of the first steps in eliminating the pain of mental illness, openly talking about it and relieving the stigma that is associated with it.

Ron Paul for President 2012

Why do I think Ron Paul should be President? First and foremost, he plans to attack the most prominent issue concerning the state of America today, the economy. Obama claims to be fixing the American economy, yet he is only increasing government spending. How on earth do you restore a nation's wealth by spending money that does not exist? This only exacerbates the the issue, leaving more debt for future leaders to handle. Common sense, folks? I think so! Ron Paul, on the other hand, is aware of the enormous debt our country has accumulated, and he has no intention of hiding the truth from the American public. He plans to cut government spending altogether, allowing the free market to determine which businesses go bankrupt. Though this may leave some businesses hurting in the short-term, it will produce lasting long-term results for America as a whole. We are supposed to be looking after the future generations of America, right? I hope so!

Another reason I like Ron Paul, and think he should be president of the United States beginning in 2012, is that he is devoted to personal liberty, meaning Americans have the right to do whatever they wish to, as long as they are not inflicting harm on other people. This means that if you wish to smoke marijuana and get a lovely little high, you can do it! Also, if you wish to get married to your same sex friend that you find so beautiful, go for it!

In my opinion, Ron Paul has the best interest of the American people at heart. He is into restoring the financial situation of the economy, while also encouraging personal happiness. With these values instilled in Americans, America can return to the Land of the Free it was originally meant to be.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JmA2ClUvUY

In case you are unable to open this link (or don't feel like watching it), I will give you a quick synopsis of this video. The video shows two twin boys, who are too young to talk, and hence communicate, with the average person, carrying on their own conversation with each other in "baby talk". One twin boy says to the other, "Da, da, da, da", to which the other identical twin boy replies, "Da, da, da, da, da". One boy even gestures to his foot, and attempts to climb on the refrigerator, both of which evoke a "da, da, da" response from the other twin. The unique twin language seen in this video captures perfectly the different "culture" that exists between twins that is completely foreign, and almost impossible to understand, for anyone who is not a twin. I know this because I, too, am an identical twin and can relate to this video, as well as the lack of understanding of the twin bond from the outside world. Apparently my sister and I had a similar experience when we were younger where we communicated with each other in "baby talk". Before my parents could figure out what we were doing, one of us had gone to get an ice pick and the the other one was holding a chair to let the other one climb up and open our parents' bedroom door using the ice pick. I am currently separated from my identical twin, and I now realize the strength of the bond, and how much it is a part of me, as my twin and I seem to be living parallel lives even away from each other! The twin bond is like two people sharing one soul and I honestly feel half empty without her near me. I attempt to explain my struggle to people who are not twins, and they act like they have a similar situation with the bond they have with a brother or a sister, but there is no way on earth a typical sibling bond can compare to a twin bond!

One of those rainy, thought-provoking days...

Today was one of those days that I decided to sleep in until 12. I always find it to be coincidental that alot of these days happen to be rainy ones. It's as if my biological clock knows when to be "under the weather". Due to my unfortunate laziness, I missed both of my classes. However, I did eventually work up the motivation to grab a bite to eat and go on a little run. It's when I go running, that I learn so much about life. Who would think that by simply putting one foot in front of the other, moving at a swift pace, one would conjure philosophical thoughts? I think about how the only way to go faster is to "mentally let go of any limits", which then leads me to think about how everyone could better live out their potential in life if they just let go of judgment and pursued what they really want to do in life. In fact, this could be applied to society as well. If we as a society "liberated" those who continue to be oppressed by discriminative laws and prejudicial attitudes, we could move forward as a society. How long will it take, though, for this to happen? Just yesterday, my roommate was telling me about her boss who illegally gave her her paycheck late as punishment because her boss was racist. Now, I don't know if this is true, but when will actions derived from racist attitudes stop, and when will actions stop being perceived as racist? I guess only time will tell. Anyways, now that I have eaten, run, and written a blog, it's time to do mundane things.

Using your "disordered" way of thinking about the world to your and society's advantage

Do you feel that college is a waste of time, and that you're not actually learning necessary skills to make it in the real world? Well, Garret Loporto, author of "The Davinici Method", would tell you that what you're experiencing is actually the key to carving out the future that you desire. He'd tell you you're better off listening to your gut feelings, or "unconscious", about how to learn and grow, than listening to what the American education system is attempting to force upon you. The current American education system was designed after the industrial revolution to encourage a linear style of thinking, as that was the skill necessary to carry out the assembly line process. However, those of us who struggle to not just survive, but thrive in this type of academic environment, are suffering from what is coined by society as "disorders", such as ADHD, addictions, general anxiety, and BPD. In order to avoid falling into these traps that society outcasts, Garret Loporto says we must learn to express our unconscious thoughts and feelings in more productive ways that will actually help us to instead transform the society in which we live today. Those that have the "DRD4" gene that is responsible for the more creative style of thinking, have the energy, and style to make positive changes in society! When the expression of these unconscious thoughts, feelings, images are productive, we turn into what he calls "the artist". We can become successful, creative, entrepreneurs, instead of suffering everyday in the classroom style environment that our more primitive brains are not comfortable in.

This book was recommended to me by a colleague of my mother's, and it has been a true inspiration. Never in my life have I not been able to put a book down because every word rang so true to me. Though I do not currently plan to drop out of college, I do only have one month left, and I can't wait to get out and explore the true gifts and talents that God has given me. If you are someone out there who is constantly trying to find "a better way", then rest assured, there is! And it is up to you to pay attention to your deep, inner feelings, not to your conscious mind, to live the life you were meant to live!