Monday 30 August 2010

Getting it out of your head

I have lists. Numerous lists. Some that hold a physical form and some that are just whispers in my mind. Not as many as some but a fair few nonetheless. One of these lists contains subjects that I want to post about and on this list is written the words ‘Getting it out of your head.’

Obviously the link has now been made as to why I am commenting on the lists I make, however my point still eludes. I create these lists in their physical (or digital) form to clear my clouded mind of all the busying and bustling ideas and information that resides within—as trivial as most of them may be. I find I need to do this. I feel that it is terribly important if I am ever to progress on anything. It’s one of my perpetual attempts at shoehorning structure into my life and one that has stuck! I must say though that as interesting as this may be for me, this was all I really had to talk about on the subject and I didn’t think that it should be classed as good post material. It lacked substance as I really wasn’t sure why I liked to get as much of it out as possible and I wasn’t sure if it even helped.

With this said it remained on the list untouched and unperturbed, until today. A ‘podcast’ brought it into my periphery in a rather roundabout way. The podcast was called Choices in a series of well thought-out and produced episodes called Radiolab. The episode reignited my awe for the subconscious mind. How it is constantly recording, constantly calculating and constantly going unnoticed. It has always seemed extraordinary to me how powerful it really is. The trouble is that this is not really the subject of Radiolab’s podcast, nor does it directly link to this post.
You may have to bear with me here. Radiolab’s episode discusses how easy it is to confuse the analytical side of your brain when making choices. They mention the rule of ‘seven plus or minus two,’ which is the number of digits that the average person can remember at a time. They then explain how feeding the analytical side with this many pieces of information completely fogs it up and removes it from decision making process entirely.

The way I see it is that the conscious mind is made up of the analytical and emotional parts whilst the subconscious mind holds the information. If you clog up the conscious mind with too much information you will fail to make the right choice. Try making a decision when angry or sad and making a decision when you have lots on your mind is equally difficult. Ideally you need to clear your head of anything that isn’t relevant and go with your instinct! It’s not always going to work for many reasons that Radiolab’s episode explores. Though it surely can’t help to keep everything in your head.

So there you have it, the link from the list to the subconscious; if only we could unlock it completely.

Yours, currently crossing one off the list,

Victor Blemish

Friday 27 August 2010

Good Vs. Evil

My brother ranted the other day. He ranted that ‘good’ is only an illusion that is reinforced by antiquated stories that get passed down through the ages. His experience is that there is no balance of ‘good’ vs ‘evil’ and only malevolent actions.
Well, that is if I paraphrased and understood correctly anyway.
These thoughts got my mind working—made the little cogs turn and essentially, if you strip away all the pessimism and anger, he is right.

‘Good’ and ‘evil’ is just an illusion, an illusion that can evoke endless emotion. A wicked act will wail in your mind. It will torment and torture you, driving you to fury! Just as a wondrous act of kindness will warm your heart and elate your soul. The concept is one that encompasses the causality of benevolent and spiteful actions
What I am saying here is that the concept of good and evil is an illusion however I am stipulating that both are illusions. If good is, then you have got to believe that evil is too.
But what does that mean in a world where all that is televised is the wrongdoing? All that is shouted about is the malice, the anger and the suffering. The evil side of the illusion is forced upon us so we must complete this two-sided illusion. We need to tell and remember the stories that fight the battle for good. We must do this because at first glance we live in a messed up world that is fuelled off stories of woe. If we don’t remind ourselves of all the good that does exist then the evil that appears to ooze from every pore of our bedraggled world will bog us down.

Now to put it in slightly chirpier a way: the world is wonderful and under every unturned rock you can find its’ hidden wonder, if you were to look.

Yours pre rock flipping,


Victor

Monday 9 August 2010

Fwd, Bwd, Up and Dwn

As I march through life people have often told me not to look down, ‘There’s more to the world than what you’re about to step on.’

Then other people say I shouldn’t look up, ‘Get your head out of the sky son, you keep dreamin’ like that and you’ll never get anything done!’
I have definitely also been told not to look back, ‘don’t dwell on what has happened to you and what you’ve done. Obsess over the past and you are doomed to repeat it.’

And as I continue my trudge, they also tell me not to look forward, ‘With your head so far in the future you may very well end up missing the now.’

A distinct contradiction of terms that renders me motionless and suspended between the four directions. Of course I understand what they mean. As with many things, partaking in excess is not good for you, however this got me thinking.
Without the dreamers looking up at the sky and asking, ‘what if?’ The world would be so much less spectacular. Without the people watching where they are going, routed and steady. Their heads engrossed in the now and enjoying the beauty of the present, we might all miss it. If no one studied the past then we might all just forget it. Lessons and triumphs lost in the wastes of time. And finally, though no less important, without people with one foot in the future we would no doubt, never get anywhere at all.

So with that I do say that I must disagree. I disagree with those who tell me not to dream, not to reminisce, and not to think too much on what may or will be, not to watch where I am treading. I say that the world needs them all and on a smaller scale, each of us need to be a bit of them all for confidence and stability in yourself.
It cant be too healthy to be one more than another, so expose yourself in this light and really probe your decisions and see if you can make yourself a little more balanced.
Though, if you manage a perfect balance then you are far superior to me! I tend not to toil over it however. I figure as long as I look at what I am doing and assess whether it is keeping me positive then I don’t mind where I sit on the graph. As far as I am concerned that’s it, you just have to stay positive about yourself then it’s hard to get roughed up by the unpredictability of it all.

So I ask simply, ‘Where do you fit on the graph? And would you be better off marching with a different target in mind?’

Yours looking up (Currently)

Victor Blemish