This Will Mindfuck You: The Double-Slit Experiment The video below shows scientific proof that there is something NOT quite logical or scientific about this universe. The mere act of observation can completely change the outcome of an event! Before I get too ahead of myself, you need to watch the video below to understand: (Forgive the corny cartoon character explaining the concept — at least he knows his stuff) Recap: When a camera observed the electrons, they acted as particles. So what’s the reason for this? Want even further proof? Then in 2002, a group of researchers set up the experiment in a way that the electron could not possibly receive information about the existence of an observing instrument. Here’s the kicker: The insertion of the interferometer took only 40 nanoseconds (ns) while it would take 160 ns for the information about the configuration to travel from the interferometer to reach the photon before it entered the slits. The Results: The photons acted like particles 93% of the time that they were observed. 1. 2. 3.
The Love Experiment: Introduction On Thursday, February 3rd, 2011 I am going to start a 7-day experiment with love and I invite all of you to try it with me. Before I tell you what the experiment consists of, I need to tell you how I came up with the idea. I’ve been doing a lot of reading and meditation in the last week and the idea of love kept coming up. It pursued me further in movie lines, song lyrics and StumbleUpon articles. It then became ridiculous when love showed up in two articles sent to me by some readers. Feeling compelled to look into the idea of love further, I began re-reading a book that speaks almost only about love: “Conversations with God” by Neale Walsch. “Masters are those who have chosen only love. The word ‘Master’ in this case is referring to someone who has mastered life. I never refer to religion to support my ideas in my articles. So how do I apply this love thing? Close your eyes. Does that not feel ridiculously good? The Experiment What is that going to do? To be honest, I have no idea.
The Love Experiment: Conclusions It’s been 7 days since I started the Love Experiment and all I have to say is wow. Those of you who were also feelin’ the love this week will know what I’m talking about when I say I feel amazing. Being loving towards everyone completely removes most of the day-to-day anguish with other people. Even if you momentarily become frustrated, it’s so easy to take a deep breath, look at the person and think ‘Whoa, close one there! I love you and I hope you have a fantastic day.” It sounds so lovey-dovey and new-agey but it feels fantastic. Overall my demeanor was much more positive than normal and happiness was virtually constant. One a more concrete note, I think being a loving person has a direct effect on how fast your goals come to fruition. Those numbers are still being reached today and are showing no sign of stopping. Since last week I’ve also had some very cool people reach out to me, both through HighExistence and people from my past. P.S.
How to Learn & Enjoy Life More: The Power of Audio Learning A few months ago, while living in Australia, I was given an assignment by my boss I was not at all thrilled about: drive 5 hours into the country, meet with a client for 2 hours, and drive back that night. At first, all I could think was “wait, whaaat? You want me to drive 10 hours to meet a guy for 2 hours? Can’t I just call him or something?!?” It seemed like a gigantic waste of my time, but he was the boss and I, the employee, so I had to obey. That night, I sat at my desk. There had to be a way… And then, just like that, an idea popped into my head. 24 hours later… I’m back at my desk, an 800km round-trip under my belt. The last 24 hours, destined to be a mind-numbing waste of a day, had turned into one of the most enlightening days of my life. What the hell happened? I had entered the wonderful world of audio-learning. On the way there, I delighted myself with the audio version of the Dalai Lama’s The Art of Happiness: A Handbook for Living. My Mission 1) There’s Something For Everyone
This Will Change Your Life. “Everything is a matter of perspective.” That’s an overused phrase that’s generally said without much thought. It’s an easy go-to argument to end all arguments. Today, however, I’m going to show you why it’s one of the most important lessons you could ever learn…and yes, it will change your life if you use it properly. Take a look at the image below. It’s a common optical illusion but it illustrates my point perfectly. Do you see ‘good’ or do you see ‘evil?’ Now let’s apply this concept to a real life scenario. The Christian chose to see ‘good’ (God) while the atheist chose to see ‘bad’ (not-God). Here’s one more example just to be sure you get the message (remember this could change your life!). 1) Deciding that this trip SUCKS. 2) Decide that this trip is going to be FANTASTIC. This is much more than simply looking on the bright side. Now let’s bring this idea to a much larger scale…let’s apply it to life as a whole. We can view life in any way that we want to see it.
Ayahuasca: The story of Death, Rebirth and Love “Every man takes the limits of his own field of vision for the limits of the world.” - Schopenhauer The Ayahuasca experience was the most intense, spiritual, emotional, mind-blowing, frightening and loving experience I have ever had. Nothing could have prepared me for the inner journey I am about to describe. Because I believe I died. ‘I’ meaning that which I am in this current form while I’m writing this. Ayahuasca, the ‘spirit vine’ or the ‘vine of death’, is a brew containing the Banisteriopsis caapi vine and Psychotria viridis or Diplopterys cabrerana leaves. With drugs like these it’s hard to extrapolate the meaning of your experience and use it for the benefit of your daily life, and so I was skeptical about what the insights could bring to me. It all started with my interest in the link between psychedelics and spirituality, partly fueled by the book ‘DMT: The Spirit Molecule’ by Rick Strassman. The Ceremony Why do I always need more? Why is now not enough? Rebirth: It’s a shock.
Life Experiment: An Alien on Your Own Planet Would you like to try something different today? Here is a perception-experiment that will surely give your day an interesting twist. If you’re skilled at placing your brain in a desired state, this experiment is perfect for you. Imagine that you’re an alien who has just arrived on Earth. You’re seeing everything for the very first time. If you’ve ever experience culture-shock, you know exactly what I mean. The hallmark of this experiment is focus. 150% of your attention should be aimed at whatever element you’re attempting to make alien to yourself. When you go to order some food, pay close attention to the facial expressions and hand motions of the waiter/cashierObserve the minuscule details of the matter around you — the subtle textures of walls, concrete, furniture, plants, etc.Listen to music and alternate between focusing on the bass, treble, vocals and the song as whole. Above all, this is a fancy way of practicing being present.
Wake the F**k Up! This is a wake up call for anyone that is not living the life they want to live. It will be dogmatic and heated, but nonetheless full of truth. I apologize if this shocks you into a state of discontent with your current lifestyle (that’s the intention). First, take a look at the road map below: Where did you end up? 1) Do I love what I do on a daily basis? If you can’t answer yes 100% to both of these questions, then you need to change something. Yeah, you’ve heard that 1000 times before. This is your life. When you give yourself pathetic excuses like that, this is how your life ends up: That’s depressing. And yet it’s the norm all over the world! So going back to the road map at the very top, change is the key. 1) Figure out what you want to change about your life 2) Plan out the steps and attitude changes you need to implement in our to see those changes 3) Dedicate every fiber of your being to bringing about those changes Your life (and happiness) depends on it. P.S.
How to Become A Social Badass I’m tired of being a little girl when it comes to meeting new people. To rid myself and others of this pathetic habit, I’ve put together a step-by-step guide on overcoming social anxiety taking from other articles, books and my own experimentation. So what is a ‘social badass,’ you ask? A social badass is an individual who dominates social situations without anxiety or trepidation of any kind. The Basics Before we get to any intimate social interactions, we need to master the basics with some 2-second strangers. 1) Make Eye Contact If someone asks you what you’re staring at, just smile and respond, “Sorry, I thought you were an old friend.” 2) Say Hi When you’re comfortable making eye contact, throw in a quick ‘Hello’ with a smile. 3) Add a Greeting ‘Good morning/afternoon/evening’ usually does the trick. Warning: Some people will completely ignore you and not respond, but don’t be discouraged. Social Badass Challenges Make Yourself a Spectacle You get the idea. Take on a Persona Anchoring
Altru-Hedonism: A New Perspective on Pleasure & Helping Others Altru-Hedonism is a mash-up of the terms altruism (selfless concern for the welfare of others) and hedonism (the pursuit of pleasure). Normally these terms are considered antonyms, which would make my made-up word a complete oxymoron. I aim to convince you of just the opposite. Note: For you smartasses out there, yes we all know that helping other people feels good. This post does eventually transcend common sense :) Altru-Hedonism can be summed up very well in a little memory exercise. WHAT? Altru-Hedonism (noun) - the act of maximizing one’s own pleasure by seeking to help others The key word in that definition is maximizing. But Charity is a Chore! Why does helping others have such a bad rap? You don’t need to make sacrifices or break a sweat to lend someone a hand. What about drugs, sex and nice things? Don’t get me wrong, those ‘vices’ all feel fantastic. Still Not Convinced? Next time you have an opportunity to help someone, try a simple cost-benefit analysis.
How do we achieve and appreciate success? Success is the topic of a thousand clichés, songs, and inspirational quotes; it’s conquering the proverbial mountain, or winning the proverbial foot race. It is elusive, yet we cling to the hope that, someday, we will acquire it. We not only pursue success, we crave it desperately as we climb the ladders and jump the hurdles that present themselves along our paths. The question is: How do we achieve and appreciate success? First, we must get a major misconception out of the way. The good news is that you are completely in control of that, and therefore in control of your success. The last and most important facet of success is that you will not achieve it alone. Surround yourself with people who share your passion, and they will share in your success, celebrating your victories with you.Tweet In the same way, they will pick you up when you feel overwhelmed. This all may seem rather wishy-washy, but isn’t that the whole idea of success? If you believe that you can succeed, you will.
Inside Job (2010) The Fastest Way to Change Something About Yourself Do you have some personality trait, quirk or habit that you would like to change but have yet to succeed? Well I know the easiest and fastest way to change anything about yourself. That sounds way too good to be true, but I guess you’ll have to keep reading if you want to know for sure. Step 1: Decide what you want to change Examples include confidence-level, speech impediments, ability to converse with the opposite sex and other sources of insecurity. Step 2: Lie to yourself I know this sounds stupid at first, but hear me out. If you are very shy, then tell yourself that you are considered by most to be “the life of the party” and that you love addressing entire groups of people. Step 3: Imagine the change in yourself Create a minute-long movie in your head of yourself after the change has been made. It’s almost like you’re planting a false memory in your head. Step 4: Become a method actor You need to emulate the person you want to be as if you already are him/her. Step 5: Believe
Lucid Dreaming “It’s the only way to fly.” Lucid dreaming is the experience of being completely aware within a dream that you are, in fact, in a dream. This realization leads to complete power for the dreamer, allowing him/her to go anywhere and do anything in their dream. You might have had this happen to you once or twice in your life, but chances are the dream didn’t last very long. This is because as soon as people get excited from realizing they have achieved lucidity, they tend to wake up. So how does one avoid this problem, or even have more consistently lucid dreams in the first place? 1) Master Dream Re-Call Before you can lucid dream, you have to be able to remember that dreams that you have so that you can improve your technique. Second, figure out your method for recording your dreams when you do remember them. 2) Carry Over Some Consciousness Pick a night when you are so tired that you will fall asleep as soon as you hit the bed…but don’t. 3) Reality Checks 4) Final Tips