Author Archives: Jeremiah Stanghini

Jeremiah's primary aim is to provide readers with a new perspective. In the same vein as the "Blind Men and the Elephant," it can be difficult to know when one is looking at the big picture or if one is simply looking at a 'tusk' or a 'leg.' He writes on a variety of topics: psychology, business, science, entertainment, politics, history, etc.

The Unending Wisdom of TEDTalks

For quite some time now, I’ve been accumulating a list of TEDTalks that I wanted to do posts about. Unfortunately, I think the list is growing “out of control.” As such, I thought I would just do a catch-all post to cover some of the more under-discussed TEDTalks. If you’re unfamiliar with TEDTalks, I highly recommend checking out the list of the . There are some really good topics there. In previous , I have discussed other TEDTalks (), and I’m likely to talk about them again in the future. Without further adieu, here are some of the TEDTalks that I think are worth a gander:

– This one was recommended to me by a good friend of mine, likely because of my inclination for a positive disposition about life. There were some interesting statistics about smiling (and health). I highly recommend this to anyone, but especially to those who would rather be gloomy.

– This is a talk I learned of by following the . It was given by one of the passengers on-board the infamous  (the one that landed in the Hudson). Not only was this passenger on-board, he had a front row seat to what was going on as he was in seat 1A. I very much enjoyed his talk. I think my favorite line from his talk: “I’m a collector of bad wines.” If you don’t quite get what he means by this, I’d watch the video.

– As the top comment on the video laments: “Why doesn’t this have more views than Lady Gaga?” Given that there are many ways of learning, I think it’s important that data be represented in many fashions. Rolling has, really, made data interesting (to those who would have otherwise not thought so) and even for those who think that numbers are interesting all by themselves. In an updating post about who I’m following on Twitter, you’ll notice a number of additions of people who are focused on transforming data in chart/graph/etc. form.

– I think I was watching  one night and one of his guests was Salman Khan. I was amazed by what this one guy had put together from simply starting with the intention to help his cousins with mathematics. There are now thousands and thousands of videos teaching students around the world about a range of subjects from the French Revolution to calculus.

– I just had to include this follow-up to one of the . I must say, I am surprised that this video has only garnered about a quarter million views in a year’s time, while his first TEDTalk has more than 2.5 million views.

– Somewhere along the way, I developed an affinity for the brain and brain science (or neuroscience). Things that have to do with the brain fascinate me. Maybe it’s the trillions of intricacies to the brain (I’m a , remember?) In this video, Limb shows the neuroscience behind creativity.

– I’m not necessarily endorsing WikiLeaks (one way or the other), but I believe it can be useful to seek to understand the viewpoint or reasons why someone does something.

– With a title like this, how could I not include this in a list of TEDTalks to watch? I’m in favor of most things that seek to unify the world in peace. In this video, Hunter explains how he attempts to get his 4th-graders to solve the problems of the world. I think this is superbly brilliant! Most of the time, children haven’t been socialized into ways of thinking that can become rigid. It’s useful to allow them to use their unencumbered imagination to work through some of these complicated issues.

There are many more TEDTalks that are worth talking about (both under-viewed and adequately viewed). I invite you to share with us some of your favorite TEDTalks in the comments section.

Everything is Dynamic: Nothing Stays the Same

As I think back to my , I can’t help but be in awe of how much has changed. Not just in the world, but with me, too. A little more than a month ago, I was looking over my for this site and realizing that it needed a bit of updating. I also noticed that my “mission/vision” statement needed some updating. I wrote both of these things 6 months ago and they need updating. It’s amazing how quickly we can grow and evolve from our previous selves. I only started writing posts for this site 6 months ago, but I’d say I’m quite different from the person I was when I first started. And so much has changed. At that point, I was just finishing up my master’s in and considering my options. Now, I’m on the precipice of my next big adventure: an MBA.

~

The problem with static pages, or static anything really is just that — they’re static. Nothing stays the same. Everything is always changing. Moving. Growing. Interacting. Dynamic. The title of this post is “everything is dynamic.” I chose the word dynamic because I felt it really represented the way that I see the world. The  of dynamic: “characterized by constant change, activity, or progress.” I really feel that this is representative of the world. Everything is constantly changing… it’s always in motion.

Static pages or static (things) don’t have this quality. [For that matter, why would they?] This changing and interactive quality is what emerged in the mid-2000’s known as . In the early days of the internet, there were just static pages. Somewhere along the way, someone thought it would be a good idea to have surfers interact with their content. This was the switch from static websites to more dynamic and interactive websites. One way to have a dynamic site is to attach a blog to it. Blogs are constantly being updated (or can be constantly updated). Of course, you could constantly update the ‘static’ pages, but that might not necessarily continue to attract traffic.

~

I’ve mostly been talking about static websites, but as I said initially, this applies to all life. Nothing stays the same. People often lament that when they are on an airplane, there’s no movement — that they’re still. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Do you know how many chemical reactions, interactions, and processes that are taking place in your body right now just as you read this? Not to be too dark, but the only time one can be completely still is after they’ve had their last breath, but even then, the decaying process begins (another dynamic process). So really, not even then, can something be static.

I’ve also heard the argument that inanimate objects are static and not moving. Okay, that seems plausible. Except when we take a closer look at the object under the lens of quantum physics, which tells us that most of what we think of as solid objects are actually made up of empty space. And in that empty space are tiny particles that are oscillating at a very high frequency. In fact, I’ve even heard of some people who are able to perceive this quality.

Overall, I really wanted to emphasize the point that nothing in life stays the same (which is a good thing!) and that things are always moving, interacting, and changing. With regard to the idea that “nothing staying the same” is negative, I emphatically disagree and would direct you to a recent post about .

Golf is a Sport

I’ve been in Toronto and Ottawa for the last couple of weeks and have had the opportunity to experience some of the “” hitting this region. During this time, I had the chance to ‘hit the links.’ While I wouldn’t consider myself ready for the , I like to think that I can hold my own and at least keep up with the pace of the average amateur golfer. The thing that struck me the most: golf – by nearly any definition of the word – is a sport.

In preparation for this post, I looked at a number of definitions of the word sport:

– A sport is an organized, competitive, entertaining, and skillful activity requiring commitment, strategy, and fair play, in which a winner and loser can be defined by objective means. Generally speaking, a sport is a game based in physical athleticism.

– An athletic activity requiring skill of physical prowess and often of a competitive nature, as racing, baseball, tennis, golf, bowling, wrestling, boxing, hunting, fishing, etc.

– Physical activity that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often engaged in competitively.

– (1) Physical activity engaged in for pleasure (2): a particular activity (as an athletic game) so engaged in

From my perspective, any one of these definitions would qualify golf as a sport. As a matter of fact, one of them even uses golf as an example!

It seems that I’m not the first person to consider whether or not this particular activity should be qualified as a sport. A few years back, someone wrote an article for the Huffington Post titled: “” While his title was a bit of a giveaway, I still read through to try to understand his opinion. There is also a scientific angle to this debate, which was taken by the author of the article entitled: “.” From the article:

Subjects walking and carrying their clubs burned 721 calories per round, while the lazy folks in the carts burned just 411. Surprisingly, there was no difference in carrying clubs versus using a push cart, so save your back and rent the cart.

These numbers are important because the article later cites the calories burned of other activities that are less than those burned while playing golf.

As I think back to carrying my clubs for 3000 yards (and that’s a small course), I couldn’t imagine having to do this for 4 straight days (typical weekend tournament for golf) and still having the energy and focus to play well on Sunday afternoon. Golf is a sport. Golf requires a practicable skill and physical exertion. I can’t imagine someone who is (really) out of shape trying to play in a weekend golf tournament where they are required to carry their clubs. Playing 72 holes is a whole-body experience. Everything from your head to your toes is used to ensure you are playing your best.

I suppose there may be some folks who think that the pro golfers (who have caddies) have it easy, then, right? Because they don’t have to carry their clubs, they really aren’t getting the full effect of “golf as a sport.” Well, that might be the case. They might burn a bunch more calories if they carried their bags, but even to walk 7000 yards [A typical professional golf course of 18 holes will have around 7000 yards and that’s just the yardage from the tee to the pin, which wouldn’t include all the other walking to the ball (if it’s not in a straight line to the hole), around the ball, etc.] and multiply that by 4 days… that’s nearly 30,000 yards. If we include the other extraneous walking and bump the number to 40,000 yards, that translates to more than 22 miles walked in a Thursday-Sunday tournament. All the while, these golfers are stopping to hit their ball and mentally plan their shots.

Golf is a sport.

What’s On My iPod: Lectures From A Road Trip, LA to DC, Part 2

This post is a bit overdue as the lectures/podcasts I listened happened during the last week of June, but I thought it would still be nice to go over some of the things that I learned from the lectures/podcasts. As you’ll see, this is a “Part 2” where the first part was dedicated to the I had on my iPod (). (Look for Part 3 in the coming week, which will list the Podcasts I included from this trip.)

As I mentioned in , I was in the midst of a long haul of a drive — 4o hours of driving time. Initially, I thought I’d be listening to more music than other things, but it didn’t turn out that way. Prior to leaving LA, I went through  and picked out a number of different lectures that I thought would be interesting. Part way through the trip, I discovered what Podcasts were and that allowed me to add a number of other “lecture”-type tracks along with the latest from a few shows that I like to watch to stay ‘informed.’ Without further adieu, here are the lectures along with a little snippet about them (note: partway through the trip, I erased some of the lectures I had heard to make room for others and I’ve forgotten which ones they were, so you won’t find them in this list):

The Authentic Leader: Interview with Bill George – From what I remember of this, it was quite short (about 10 minutes) and the interviewer asks a few questions of Bill George about some of the key findings of his book, .

Preventing Future Financial Failures – This was another short track (about 20 minutes). The interview is with , a professor of Business Administration at Harvard. Moss references his working paper called, “.”

Fiscal Policy in an Emerging Market – This was one of my favorite lectures. It was by the former Chilean Minister of Finance, . He had some fascinating ideas and examples of the success that Chile observed in managing its fiscal policy (and how that could be applied to other countries). The most important takeaway: use the surplus from the “up times” as stimulus during the “down times.” (This is different in that most countries tend to borrow more money in the “up times.”)

Winners Don’t Take All – This probably was my favorite lecture. I learned so much from listening to try to cram her regular (30-hour course) into 90 minutes. There were so many important takeaways from her lecture that I listened to it on three different occasions just to try to retain it all. In fact, I even mentioned her work on negotiation in a (read: plea) to Democrats with regard to negotiation a few weeks ago (on the subject of the debt ceiling negotiations).

The last 4 lectures I have were all from a series from the University of Chicago aimed at educating the educators about “Understanding the Global Economy.” The four titles were:

Econ 101: What are Markets?
Markets, Trade, and Globalization
Teaching Economics and Trying to Step Outside the Bubble of Capitalism
Globalization: The Great Debate

The last lecture (Globalization: The Great Debate) was probably my favorite in this series. The speaker, , had the audience do a mock debate on the pros and cons to globalization. I learned some interesting points about (both) sides of this debate.

As I mentioned earlier, there were some more lectures I listened to, but I deleted them to make room for some new ones. If I recall correctly, one of them was a series by . In about a weeks times, I will be getting back in the car and driving from Ottawa to DC and I will have about 9-11 hours of time to listen to more lectures. If you can think of any that I might find interesting, please let me know with a comment (or email) or even a tweet! ()

The Best Piece of Advice: We’ll See…

One of the best pieces of advice I’ve ever come across is one with regard to . I’ve written about perspective and having a in posts before, but I think that this particular post, or more accurately, the content of this post, is the best summary of my “perspective” when it comes to perspective.

The I’m quoting this from says the story is Taoist, but I’ve heard other people say it’s from different traditions:

[There was] an old farmer who had worked his crops for many years. One day his horse ran away. Upon hearing the news, his neighbors came to visit.

“Such bad luck,” they said sympathetically.

“We’ll see,” the farmer replied.

The next morning the horse returned, bringing with it three other wild horses.

“How wonderful,” the neighbors exclaimed.

“We’ll see,” replied the old man.

The following day, his son tried to ride one of the untamed horses, was thrown, and broke his leg. The neighbors again came to offer their sympathy on his misfortune.

“We’ll see,” answered the farmer.

The day after, military officials came to the village to draft young men into the army. Seeing that the son’s leg was broken, they passed him by. The neighbors congratulated the farmer on how well things had turned out.

“We’ll see” said the farmer.

This kind of story could keep going on and on and on — and it has relevance to every subject (you’ll notice that I’ve placed it in every category that I currently have for the posts I write). While there are some things that I categorically disagree with (the death penalty being one), I could see this story or as the answer to many hardships in people’s lives. Having lived through *some* hardships so far, I can understand how hearing these words are not necessarily comforting with regard to certain instances, but well after the fact (in my experience), the perspective created by these words can illuminate some unexpected insights.

~

I thought I’d present some examples from the news where we could apply this wisdom:

– Many Toronto Blue Jays’ fans are pleased (myself included) that they acquired Colby Rasmus (via trade). He may turn out to be a great player for the Jays, or he may not. We’ll see.

– Most economists (and people) following the “” will tell you that the US needs to raise its debt ceiling or there will be ramifications of epic proportions. Most of what I’ve heard/read on the issue seems to be a whole lot of politicking. If the US defaults on its loans will that be the worst thing in the world? If the US averts this “disaster,” will that be a good thing? We’ll see. (This particular We’ll See might not have a concrete answer for another 30 years).

– As Borders’ stores continue to close their doors for the final time, many speculate on what this may mean for other businesses similar to Borders. The outlook isn’t usually positive, but maybe this will free up time for other endeavors. We’ll see.

– (An odd bit of news, to say the least). This particular example is quite similar to the farmer’s son falling off the horse and breaking his leg. While I don’t expect Alex Trebek to be drafted to the military, who knows what this injury will do for his “perspective” on life. And the answer is: We’ll see.

As you can see, these “three” words can apply to pretty much anything you can come up with. I’d like to invite you to share with us in the comments some situations that you initially thought were poor (or great) that turned out to be great (or not so great) with us in the comments section.

For the folks who are visual learners:

When was the Last Time You Unplugged?

I’ve been in the midst of traveling a lot recently (), DC to Ottawa, Ottawa to Toronto, Toronto to Niagara Falls, back to Toronto, and now back to Ottawa (and in about a week), back to DC. In this time, especially when I was going from LA to DC, I have, somewhat out of necessity, had to “unplug” from my usual comings and goings on the internet. In this time, I have rediscovered how liberating it is to be away from technology.

Do you remember the last time you unplugged?

It might sound scary at first, turning off the blackberry, putting away the iPad, shunning your iPod, leaving the TV room, and just being with your “thoughts.” Or even just being quiet with yourself. I don’t have the statistics in front of me, but I would bet that there are a fair number of people who have tried this temporary “unplugged-ness” who, at first, were probably quite anxious about it. Maybe there were trepidations about what would happen to x, y, or z while they weren’t able to respond immediately. Eventually (at least that’s the hope), these types of people realize that the greater world (and even their more immediate world) still goes on without their interacting with it. Strange, huh?

In preparing to write this post, I did a few searches and found that there are nearly 6 million results for the search query: “.” An interesting result: .

Straight from the :

It’s an epidemic. It can strike anyone. It begins harmlessly enough… maybe with a cell phone, an online social network profile, or an IM. But before long, the electronic screens invade every corner of your life.

There’s a name for this tragic and extremely annoying condition: Screen Addiction.

But there is hope. Send an intervention to someone you care about! Help them take the first step towards recovery.

There’s also a and a form you can fill out to send to your friend with a number of drop-down menus, which, depending on your mood, can be quite comedic (or quite unfortunate, should the intended recipient actually be exhibiting some of the tendencies). Overall, I think the site could be quite handy for an “electronic” intervention (which may be the only way of reaching someone who has a fear of unplugging).

I think the most important thing to consider with regard to “unplugging” is moderation. Someone who spends 14 hours a day with their laptop or the blackberry glued to their thumbs is probably, at some point, going to need a day or two where this isn’t the case. I can’t imagine it’s very welcomed by the body (even if their ). In the end, you can’t force your friends to “unplug” themselves from their technology, but you can lead by example. As the title asks, “when was the last time you unplugged?”

The “Secret” to a Happy Life: Psst, It’s not really a Secret at All

I’m still fairly young by most standards, but I’ve had quite a (both formal and informal). In that time, I have learned (at least I’d like to think so) a thing or two about myself and other humans (by way of my time in psychology). Sometimes, I like to sit in a coffee shop on a busy street corner and just watch “us” interact with “us.” It can be quite entertaining — I recommend doing it at least once.

As I watch these people about, I’m struck by the constant string of perplexed faces. More than that, there are a number of folks who don’t look happy. There could be any number of reasons for that, so I won’t speculate, but I will group them together. Meaning, the expression on their face, I would gather, has to do with something they are thinking. This thing that they are thinking causing this uncomfortable expression, more than likely, is unpleasant. Some would even say that .

So we’ve got the group of folks thinking things that are causing unpleasant feelings. I pan to the right and I see a couple arguing on the street. Relationships can be fickle, so who knows what the surface argument is about. The underlying argument, more than likely, has to do with something that one person is thinking. It’s a similar situation to those who are walking down the street with strange looks on their faces, only in this instance, we have the people expressing themselves (outwardly) in an intentional (or sometimes, not-so-intentional) manner.

There’s the folks thinking and walking and then there’s the arguing folks. There are other examples I could bring up, but let’s stick with these two for now.

I’d like you to imagine these interactions, these people walking and thinking or the couple arguing, if both parties (or the singular party) didn’t assume anything. How would the interaction look different if the rule was to “assume nothing.” Seriously now, take a second to imagine the scenario in your head — (I’ll wait). Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Hey, welcome back. What did you notice? Did the interaction take place differently? I bet it did. Let’s take a closer look.

With the people who are walking and thinking, the looks on their faces are evidence of the thoughts they are having. These thoughts are likely about someone (or something) that isn’t going the way they hoped it would. What’s the underlying cause: assumptions. These people are assuming that what has happened wouldn’t (or shouldn’t) happen. If we eliminate this preliminary step of assumption, the reality that exists is no longer at odds. It just is. There’s nothing to be disdainful about. (It’s pretty hard to be angry with reality.)

Let’s move on over to the couple. Let’s say the are arguing about the cost of parking. One person wants to park on the street, while the other wants to look for more inexpensive parking. The one who wants to look for more inexpensive parking may be operating under the assumption that a) there will be less expensive parking somewhere else, and/or b) we don’t have the money to afford this much for parking. Part b) of that sentence assumes that there won’t be more money coming in from (anywhere or more specifically, an unexpected source). Maybe, when they are hanging their coats up at home, a $20 bill falls out of the pocket — boom! Paid for parking.

Or how about another example that I bet most of us can relate to. You’re driving down the highway in the “fast lane” when all of a sudden, you start to come up really fast on someone causing you to slam on your brakes. How dare they make you have to slam on your brakes. Who do they think they are? You may begin to tailgate (I hope not!) or you may slow down or you may try to pass them on the right (again, I hope not!) But what’s the underlying cause for your anger? You may say that it’s because that person shouldn’t be driving slow in the fast lane or maybe you think (as part of the first half of this sentence), they should move over if someone quickly approaches from behind. I went to driving school when I was a teenager and I don’t remember hearing those “laws.” So, what are they? These are assumptions we carry about driving on the highway and we think that people are supposed to abide by our assumptions.

My purpose in writing this is not to make you feel bad about yourself (or your assumptions), but simply to shed light on the idea that there may be some assumptions that are contributing (maybe even causing) you to feel the things you think you are justified in feeling. And in the moment, you probably feel infinitely justified. However, once the emotion has passed, I would encourage you to look back and see if you can identify an “assumption” that you may have been operating under during that time of distress.

What’s On My iPod: Songs From A Road Trip, LA to DC, Part 1

I’ve been away from writing posts for a while (my last post of quotes was on ) because I’ve been driving across the country (well, countries). I spent the last part of June and the beginning of July driving from . It’s not an easy trip, especially if you’re driving by yourself. A few years ago, I had driven from (with an indirect route that went from Colorado to New Mexico and then across), (again, by myself), so I was prepared for a long haul. On my first trip (Detroit to San Francisco), I didn’t have an iPod or any kind of mp3-player. This time around, I had an iPod and I made good use of it — kind of.

In preparation for the trip, I combed iTunes for songs that I would want to listen to on this trip from Long Beach to DC. When I was a teenager, I really liked to belt out tunes — were fun to sing. However, much of the rock ballads that I would sing as a teenager (and much of the rock ballads that have been written), from my perspective, are a bit unhealthy (to sing as someone other than the actual singer). Much of the language used in songs is not something that you really want to affirm for yourselves. As we learned earlier, our words and . So, I had to find songs (for the most part), that I wanted to “sing” and “affirm” the meaning of. This really narrowed my search and because of it, I made some exceptions.

Below, you’ll find two lists. One list is of the songs that I actually ended up listening to. The other is a list of songs that I had downloaded and added to the iPod, but just didn’t feel “in the mood” to listen to.

Did Listen To

Aerosmith – Dream On
The Beatles – Because
. . . – Eight Days a Week
. . . – I Saw Her Standing There
. . . – I Want To Hold Your Hand
. . . – All You Need Is Love
. . . – Hello Goodbye
. . . – We Can Work It Out
. . . – All My Loving
. . . – And I Love Her
. . . – Can’t Buy Me Love
. . . – I Should Have Known Better
. . . – Help!
. . . – Girl
. . . – Across The Universe
. . . – Strawberry Fields Forever
. . . – Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds
. . . – Penny Lane
. . . – I Feel Fine
. . . – Yellow Submarine
. . . – In My Life
. . . – With A Little Help From My Friends
. . . – While My Guitar Gently Weeps
. . . – Hey Jude
. . . – Something
. . . – Come Together
. . . – If I Fell In Love With You
. . . – Let It Be
. . . – Blackbird
. . . – From Me To You
. . . – Get Back
. . . – Here Comes The Sun
. . . – Love Me Do
. . . – Revolution
. . . – She Loves You
. . . – Stand By Me
. . . – There Are Places I Remember
. . . – Ticket To Ride
. . . – Yesterday
Bill Withers – Lean On Me
Billy Joel – For The Longest Time
. . . – Just The Way You Are
. . . – Piano Man
. . . – She’s Always A Woman
Boston – More Than A Feeling
Bryan Adams – Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman?
Bryan Adams – Everything I Do, I Do It For You
Colbie Caillat – Fallin’ For You
. . . – I Never Told You
. . . – Bubbly
. . . – The Little Things
. . . – Realize
Corinne Bailey Rae – Like A Star
. . . –  Put Your Records On
Elton John – Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
. . . – Circle of Life
. . . – Can You Feel The Love Tonight?
. . . – Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me
. . . – Something About The Way You Look Tonight
. . . – Tiny Dancer
. . . – Your Song
Eric Clapton – Layla
. . . – Change The World
. . . – Tears In Heaven
. . . – Wonderful Tonight
Jack Johnson – Better Together
. . . – Banana Pancakes
. . . – Belle
. . . – If I Had Eyes
. . . – Do You Remember
John Legend – Everybody Knows
. . . – If You’re Out There
. . . – Ordinary People
. . . – Stay With You
. . . – So High
. . . – Save Room
. . . –  Each Day Gets Better
. . . – P.D.A. (We Just Don’t Care)
. . . – Again
. . . – Heaven
John Lennon – Give Peace A Chance
. . . – Imagine
Journey – Open Arms
. . . – Faithfully
. . . – Don’t Stop Believin’
. . . – Lights
Led Zeppelin – Stairway To Heaven
. . . – Black Dog
. . . – Kashmir
Tracy Chapman – Fast Car
Usher – Nice And Slow
. . . – U Got It Bad
. . . – How Do I Say
Whitney Houston – The Greatest Love of All

Did Not Listen To

Andrea Bocelli – Ave Maria
. . . – Time To Say Goodbye
Bach – Air On A G String
. . . – Prelude
The Beach Boys – Kokomo
. . . – Wouldn’t It Be Nice
. . . – Good Vibrations
Beethoven – Fur Elise
. . . –  Moonlight Sonata
Bob Marley – Get Up Stand Up
. . . – Stir It Up
. . . – Exodus
. . . – Waiting In Vain
. . . – No Woman No Cry
. . . – Could You Be Loved
. . . –  Is This Love
. . . – Jammin’
. . . – One Love
. . . – Redemption Song
. . . – Three Little Birds
Bobby McFerrin – Don’t Worry, Be Happy
Boyz II Men – A Song For Mama
. . . – In The Still Of The Night
. . . – It’s So Hard To Say Goodbye (To Yesterday)
. . . – Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me)
. . . – I’ll Make Love To You
. . . – The Color Of Love
. . . – On Bended Knee
. . . – Silent Night
. . . – One Sweet Day
Coldplay – Yellow
Creed – Higher
. . . – With Arms Wide Open
Debussy – Clair De Lune
Green Day – Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life)
Kelly Clarkson – A Moment Like This
Michael Jackson – Heal The World
. . . – The Way You Make Me Feel
. . . – We Are The World
. . . – You Are Not Alone
Natasha Bedingfield – Unwritten
Pachelbel – Canon in D
Savage Garden – I Knew I Loved You
. . . – Truly, Madly, Deeply
Styx – Come Sail Away
The Temptations – My Girl
. . . – The Way You Do The Things You Do
Three Dog Night – Joy To The World
UB-40 – Red, Red Wine
Yo-Yo Ma & Bobby McFerrin – Ave Maria

~

So, these are the songs that I had on the iPod. As a percentage, I’d say I listened to about 67% of what I had on the iPod. I’d say I listened to my “Beatles” playlist a few times, too. As well, when I was in (or near) major cities, I would listen to the radio. The songs that you see here are just the songs that I had on the iPod. I also had a number of lectures from and podcasts. I’ll talk about those more in another post. For now, I’m interested to know if you think I missed any songs. Are there other songs out there that have a positive meaning to them and would be in alignment with the two posts about words that I cited in the 2nd paragraph?

Quotes: Pensiveness, Presaging, and Perception

As I a couple of weeks ago, I started tagging posts where I used quotes with the tag “,” so it’s easier for you to find other posts with quotes in them. I also decided (a couple of weeks ago), to every once and awhile, do a post with just quotes. The first post of quotes contained famous words in passion, produce, and production. Today’s post of quotes covers the topics of pensiveness, presaging, and perception. (I don’t have some sort of preoccupation or propensity for the letter ‘P,’ it just happened this way.) The first, from :

“Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it’s time to pause and reflect.”

I first saw/heard this quote on an episode of The West Wing (or so I thought — in trying to find the episode it was in, I’m at a loss). I could see saying something like this given his character (no pun intended). This seems to be a poignant quote, especially for politics, with regard to debating ideas and bills. I’ve seen a number of articles explaining the and I think it’s true. Dissent is a way of preventing  from taking hold. More than this, dissent allows for a diversity of opinion and thus, a diversity of ideas. When there is more than one opinion bandied about, it would seem (and is) more likely that new ideas can emerge.

An important piece that comes to mind is or what I was explained to me as dialectics. I’ve been reading the wiki article, so that I could more accurately describe the concept that was explained to me and I now see that maybe what I was told was dialectics is not actually dialectics (or maybe is a form of dialectics). Anyway, the exercise that was explained to me was for when two people have differing opinions (and want to settle an argument or come to a resolution of ideas). They begin to have a discussion, but instead of arguing for their own points of view, they argue against their point of view. So, in effect, they find support for their compatriot’s point of view. It can be a very different experience. The next quote we have is from :

“A good hockey player plays where the puck is. A great hockey player plays where the puck is going to be.” – Wayne Gretzky

Personally, I haven’t been a very big “fan” of Wayne Gretzky, but that’s more because I grew up watching the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1990s and Wayne Gretzky played for the rival Los Angeles Kings. Nonetheless, it’s hard to debate the ‘‘ without including Gretzky in the argument. This quote above is one I’ve found in some of the unlikeliest of places (business, for one). It’s a different way of re-focusing one’s attention on what’s to come rather than what is. It seems especially important when talking about . I wouldn’t advocate living “in the future,” but in most instances, it’s important to have foresight. And the last quote we have is from :

“I know what I have given you. I do not know what you have received.” – Antonio Porchia

This is a great “” quote that can almost come across as arrogant or condescending, depending upon how you receive it (ha!) It kind of lends credence to the idea that “we only hear what we want to hear.” It’s probably not reasonable for everyone to engage in “” all the time, but I bet there’d be a whole let less misunderstandings in the world. really are just a sophisticated set of symbols that help us communicate with one another. It is but a means to an end. It’s like telephones. It’s not that we like/need/want telephones, but we want the ability to communicate with people who are not nearby. The next time you’re talking with someone, think about how much of what you’re saying is actually being received. Better yet, the next time you’re listening to someone, think about how much of what they’re saying to you is actually being received.

Have You Tried… Rearranging Your Space?

Right now, my house is in a bit of an upheaval of sorts – I’m in the process of packing and subsequently moving from the Hawaiian Islands to the east coast (metro DC). As I went to make myself coffee this morning, I realized that the kettle was not in the same place that it was yesterday (or for the majority of the time I’ve lived here). It threw me for a second, until I realized it was on a counter across the kitchen. As I plugged the kettle in to heat up the water, I realized that this situation offered me a new perspective.

How often do you find yourself stuck in a rut? You’re at your desk and you just can’t think of where to go next. You don’t know if you should choose the first option or the second option. Maybe you have writer’s block. Maybe you’re trying to solve a really important problem, but you can’t think of an answer. In fact, all you can think of with regard to answers are all of the answers you’ve already thought of. Has this ever happened to you? What have you tried to do to rectify the situation? Have you thought of rearranging your space?

Some would say the and this is not a concept unbeknownst to the world’s religions (see: ). Have you ever noticed this? Have you ever noticed that your physical world is a mess (and so is your head space)? It doesn’t even have to be this way. As I was saying earlier, it could just be that the way that things are set-up in your environment has become stagnant. Maybe the energy in the room needs to shift (to allow the energy of your thoughts to shift) and allow you to come to a solution.

You may think it’s , but I pause and reflect anytime someone presents an idea from ancient times. In this particular instance, I think that applies. You don’t even have to believe it because it’s ancient wisdom, try it for yourself. Try rearranging your room (either intuitively or counterintuitively). Maybe put your desk in a way that your and see how it feels.

When I first sat down to write this post, I didn’t intend to use Feng Shui as a reference, but so it goes. If you like, you can totally ignore the inclusion of Feng Shui in this post. I just like to have some sort of reference for you to click on (to lend credence to what it is that I am saying), but with what I’m saying today, you can totally just try it out on your own (sans Feng Shui). Whether or not you believe in “unseen energy,” I think you’ll find that when you rearrange your space (physical), you’ll gain a new perspective on things (literally and figuratively).