Subconscious Creation?
Around 95% of our brain activity is said to be the unconscious mind. That means I am only 5% conscious. If this is true, and I have no doubt that it is, what does it actually mean? The subconscious mind is like a tape recorder where I can set up a bunch of activities and then run it over and over again. It’s a sort of set of automated routines running in background that maintain bodily functions and habits. It is also often our adversary. Through my mind, I create my reality. But if 95% of my thoughts are subconscious and I am unaware of them or they are accidentally or purposely programmed responses like fear and flight, my reality will be chaotic and might even be a total nightmare.
Read More »Telling Tales About Writing
I have always liked, no – enjoyed and thrived – in telling stories. I am a story teller. I cannot resist it. I like to spin tales whether fact or fiction and watch the faces of my audience. The truth be told, I talk too much and listen too little. In Yorkshire terminology, I could talk the hind legs off a donkey! My idea of a good night is to sit, glass in hand, telling stories and being told stories, entertaining those willing to listen and feeding off the other’s tales. What I am most certainly not is a writer in the classical sense of the word. Last night, I happened on an article and simply hundreds of comments about the fact that there should be only one space after
Read More »What If?
In a recent interview, I found myself talking about the idea that if we give a thing our attention then it becomes real. In so many words, I was saying that we create our own reality through mental focus. You can, in fact, more or less prove this to yourself any time that you wish. Simply, think of something – something as bizarre as you wish – and give it your focus. For example, decide that today you will see a mouse dance. Keep on giving this thought your focus and attention throughout the day – keep looking for that dancing mouse. I guarantee that you will at some point during the day see a dancing mouse even if it is just a Disney cartoon on TV. If you experiment
Read More »Spock’s Last Journey
I still cannot believe that Spock is gone. Off to where everyone has gone before and from where no one seems to return. I grew up with Star Trek and it was my favorite show. I often marvel at how so many things depicted as the far future in Star Trek have already come true in my lifetime. Every time I pick up a tablet, I think of Star Trek…. I didn’t know Leonard Nimoy but his passing had more than an impact. I have reached that point in life where icons are passing on. It is something I will have to get used to I suppose while perhaps thinking that at least I am still around to experience this and that is the good news. Somewhere, perhaps, I am still
Read More »Time Lapse
As many of you who visit my blog will know, Time is something that intrigues me and that I write a lot about. Well, today, as I sat here working at my desk something rather interesting occurred. For a few seconds, I was back in the mid 1970’s sitting at my bedroom desk in my childhood home doing homework. It seemed to me as if I just flipped into that past moment and back again due to some outside prompt – a sound perhaps? It was a truly bizarre feeling because I expected to look out of the window and see Thornwick Ave in Willerby from an upper vantage point. Instead, I saw my street in Brno. I felt shocked by that somehow too. Was it all just imagination? Or,
Read More »The Parasites of Capitalism
Businesses often need access to cheap capital in order to grow and thrive. There are, of course, a number of ways to obtain capital but one involves selling shares in the business in return for an investment from Private Equity or Venture Capital. It is the lifeblood of business but, in my experience, it comes with a lot of strings attached. Some PE and VC firms probably do a good job. Plainly, they are in it to make money for their investors and they want to see a return on their investment. Sometimes though, the PE or VC firm becomes a parasite that feeds off of a good business and sucks it dry. To me, this is a crime and thats why I write about it today. I have directly
Read More »All Ears
These days, I ask everyone if they have ever seen a ghost or had a strange experience. It’s been great for material for the My Haunted Life books. Everyone – and I mean even the most cynical people I know – has a story to tell. Some of them are terrifying and some just weird but everyone has a story. Since I write, I tell stories. I do it all of the time whether it’s a client white paper or a story in one of my books. I tell stories. Sometimes, I am so busy telling stories I forget to listen to other people’s stories. So, to go around asking people about their stories and hearing such a diverse collection of really scary and interesting stuff is an exercise in
Read More »Talent
Talent. It is a strange thing. Some people ooze it without effort while others strive for it. A talent is a gift and it is a shame when a talent isn’t used. I purchased a guitar for my eldest son Paul when he was quite small. He picked at it and strummed it as small kids do and then it gathered dust. I did try to teach him some chords but he seemed to have little interest. He took up violin in school and actually became quite good at it. He did study music as well. One long hot Houston summer, I came home from work to discover Paul playing my electric guitar. Hours and hours on end in his room he strummed and played. after a few days, he
Read More »In Search of A Barber
I must confess that I have never much liked having my hair cut. I just think that firstly, its a real waste of valuable time and secondly, I hate people fiddling with my ears. Really, fiddle with my ears and I get quite ratty. However, today I had to go and try to have fixed the mess the last cutter made two weeks ago. You see, here in Brno, getting a decent haircut is like asking for a miracle. In fact, why beat around the bush (!), it is a miracle. Prague was different. There you could find a decent haircut no problem and come out looking very dapper. I even found a barbers shop that did a wet shave, provided a glass of whiskey and allowed you to smoke
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