Be mindful of your negative thoughts

Published July 19, 2013  ·  All posts on Jul 19  ·  

This entry is part 4 of 72 in the series My Journey

When we are unaware of our thoughts and urges, which arise in the back of our mind mostly unnoticed, they have a power over us. We are unable to change if these unbidden thoughts control us. But when we learn to observe them, we can then release their power over us.

Meditation is practice for observing those thoughts, for being more mindful of them throughout the day.

~ Leo Babauta from, Meditation: The Most Fundamental Habit – Zen Habits Website

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Meditation is literally the easiest thing you can add to your life — 5 minutes, 2 minutes, even 60 seconds will do you good. As I wrote elsewhere:

 If you were handed a large bucket of sloshing and disturbed water and told to calm the water, you should simply set the bucket down and wait for the water to calm. You would definitely NOT shake the bucket in an attempt to convince the water to calm down.

Driving, texting, walking, rushing, typing, watching TV, playing games, talking, frenzied eating. Set the bucket down for a few minutes.

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Do you have a question?

Published July 15, 2013  ·  All posts on Jul 15  ·  

The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend a little of this mystery every day. Never lose a holy curiosity.

~ Albert Einstein

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Start now

Published July 14, 2013  ·  All posts on Jul 14  ·  

Maxim:

Dead last finish is greater than did not finish, which trumps did not start.

~ unknown

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Corollaries:

Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.

~ Plato

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Never throw in the towel. Use it to wipe the sweat from your brow. Then keep going.

~ unknown

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The hardest part of any journey is believing you are able to begin it.

~ unknown

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Did not start

Published July 14, 2013  ·  All posts on Jul 14  ·  

The hardest part of any journey is believing you are able to begin it.

~ unknown

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Did not finish

Published July 14, 2013  ·  All posts on Jul 14  ·  

Never throw in the towel. Use it to wipe the sweat from your brow. Then keep going.

~ unknown

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Precendence

Published July 14, 2013  ·  All posts on Jul 14  ·  

Dead last finish is greater than did not finish, which trumps did not start.

~ unknown

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Non-violence Versus Non-existence

Published July 12, 2013  ·  All posts on Jul 12

Why is this? How has the United States become so saturated in slaughter?

There are, of course, many reasons, but three stand out, one of which is deep and longstanding and the others of more recent vintage. The deep reason lies in our competitive individualism. … The second reason is the decline of our ability to control events in the world. … The third reason is economic.

~ Todd May from, Is American Nonviolence Possible? – The New York Times

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Nyuunanshin. And that is not a typo.

Published July 11, 2013  ·  All posts on Jul 11

Nyuunanshin roughly translated means having a “flexible, pliant, generous spirit.” It’s having an attitude of being open to one’s feelings, environment, and situation, and trying to adapt instead of trying to be like an unmoving, solid block of wood. It’s sort of a contrast to the notion of fudoshin (being immovable, like the implacable god Fudo-Myoo); but fudoshin concerns a spirit of facing adversity. Nyuunanshin is not so much about a combative mind as it is about being able to grasp or accept concepts in a learning environment. It’s not about being a pushover; you do have convictions. But you are flexible enough to look at all sides and then make a conclusion.

~ Wayne Muromoto from, 77. Nyuunanshin: Being “open” to your feelings – The Classic Budoka

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Debate

Published July 10, 2013  ·  All posts on Jul 10  ·  

Is there any way to make genuine debates — sustained back-and-forth exchanges, meeting high intellectual standards but still widely accessible — part of our political culture? (I leave to historians the question of whether there are historical precedents— like the Webster-Hayne or Lincoln-Douglas debates.) Can we put our politicians in a situation where they cannot ignore challenges, where they must genuinely engage with one another in responsible discussion and not just repeat talking points?

~ Gary Gutting from, A Great Debate – The New York Times

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The Listserve

Published July 9, 2013  ·  All posts on Jul 9

http://thelistserve.com/

The Listserve is an e-mail lottery. One person a day wins a chance to write to the growing list of subscribers. (23,000+ when last I looked at the web site statistics.) So every day, you get one REALLY random email via The Listserve from someone, somewhere around the globe.

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Keep it simple. Good luck with that.

Published July 8, 2013  ·  All posts on Jul 8

In fact it is so difficult to argue against simplicity that this post won’t even attempt to.  Let’s state emphatically that software should always do only what you need it to do, with the fewest number of steps, and least potential for errors due to complex choices and options.

On the other hand, good luck with that.

~ Steven Sinofsky from, Designing for scale and the tyranny of choice | Learning by Shipping

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Make the most of this life

Published July 7, 2013  ·  All posts on Jul 7  ·  

I would love to believe that when I die I will live again, that some thinking, feeling, remembering part of me will continue. But much as I want to believe that, and despite the ancient and worldwide cultural traditions that assert an afterlife, I know of nothing to suggest that it is more than wishful thinking.

The world is so exquisite with so much love and moral depth, that there is no reason to deceive ourselves with pretty stories for which there’s little good evidence. Far better it seems to me, in our vulnerability, is to look death in the eye and to be grateful every day for the brief but magnificent opportunity that life provides.

~ Carl Sagan

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I need to work this into conversations more often

Published July 4, 2013  ·  All posts on Jul 4  ·  

What you’ve just said… is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.

~ “Decathalon Judge” from, Billy Madison – Wikipedia

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Peak oil

Published July 2, 2013  ·  All posts on Jul 2

We can see that PPUE for most regions peaked around 2000. The big exceptions being Canada in 1992 and Europe and Africa in the mid 2000s. What this means for the majority of the world is that in little over ten years the average number of barrels of oil a single rig produces has almost halved. Put another way oil companies have had to double the number of rigs in operation just to maintain oil production at 2000 levels. This is the very definition of drilling faster just to stay still.

~ Andrew McKay from, Drilling Faster Just To Stay Still: A Proposal To Use ‘Production Per Unit Effort’ (PPUE) As An Indicator Of Peak Oil

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One way to gauge the cost/effort of producing oil is via Production Per Unit Effort (PPUE).

“Peak oil” is not simply about the quantity of oil being produced; it is about the cost/effort of producing oil. For most of the history of petroleum production, the cost/effort was decreasing or steady. But now the cost/effort is increasing; That’s an inflection of the second derivative of the cost/effort versus production relationship.

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Balance is key

Published July 1, 2013  ·  All posts on Jul 1

Everyone wants his parent’s, or friend’s, or partner’s undivided attention — even if many of us, especially children, are getting used to far less. Simone Weil wrote, “Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity.” By this definition, our relationships to the world, and to one another, and to ourselves, are becoming increasingly miserly.

~ Jonathan Safran Foer from, Opinion | How Not to Be Alone – The New York Times

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The key is to use technology in ways that enrich your life, save you time, open new horizons or make new accomplishments possible; Not to simply distract yourself from your life. It’s that simple.

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