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Daniel Smith

 

Monday, July 18, 2005

Sharing light and love

You need to focus on sharing light and love with people... spending
time with people of light and love, rather than finding the 'right'
kind of guy or girl.

The 'right' kind of guy or girl is a very poor first filter - there
are few enough people thinking at the level that you want to find one
at as there is, and you still have stuff to let go of yourself that
will tend to disguise you from them anyway. We all do.

The importance of design

Good design adds more value to the 'experience' of living and being in and around that space. There is a calculation of the value added that needs to be done, the value being used to decide upon whether we ought invest in it, though this largely intangible and usually unaccounted for value, is very real.

It is a very simple concept, yet something that the beauty of London and Hong Kong have reinforced to me more than I could have ever imagined...

Monday, July 04, 2005

Power versus Force

Power vs Force presents a collection of ideas, attitudes and notions that aim to raise your consciousness. Individuals, communities and humanity as a whole operates and exists at different levels of conciousness, levels that impact upon the way people live, the way they think, and their core motivations. Without attempting to justify the desirability of higher levels of thinking, there is a clear connection between those who are judged to be at a 'higher' level of consciousness, and their power and positive impact upon the world. Before proceeding, it is useful to distinguish between power and force.

Power is good. Force is bad.
Power is unseen, unsuspected and undetected; Force can be experienced though the senses. Humanity tends to be moved by Force rather than by Power, which in turn limits our growth. From time to time, we can experience a sense of joy, relief and awe indicating a leap in consciousness and movement towards Power and away from Force.
Skilfullness leads to effortless ease and simplicity. Power, based upon carefully and precisely pulling the right levers, is elegant. To have this power reflects understanding of the laws of the Universe.
When you align yourself to your higher self, you tap into your intuition. This can be verified through kinesiology: Test strength in the presence of positive and negative stimuli. These negative stimuli can take the form of artificial sweeteners, listening to known deceipts or saying falsehoods. In turn, one's strength when posed a binary question (one with a yes or no answer) can indicate truth, where weakness reflects falsehood. Over time, this was applied to ideologies and a scale created and calibrated.
Very simply according to Power vs Force, 1000 is pure good or pure Power or pure God, while 1 is pure evil or pure Force or pure banal humanity. Various levels arose in the observations that were collapsed into factors corresponding to levels of the perennial philosophy of humanity. These are like the electron shells of atomic physics or the attractor Fields of chaos theory. Implications can be found to apply across emotional and intellectual phenomena in sociology, psychology and spirituality.
Perhaps framing questions appropriately could help in gaining access to the wisdom of the ages. It is like each human brain is a terminal connected to a vast mainframe with perhaps limitless resources. And each of us is entitled to access by virtue of our birth and life.
We are drowning in data yet starved of wisdom.
Humanity is stuck with its problems, such as poverty, starvation and mental illness, because it cannot see beyond the apparent causes. What we see in the physical world are effects rather than causes.
Society needs visionaries of means, not dreamers of ends. We have countless examples of individuals with great ideas about how the world could be or should be, yet a dearth of those willing and able to convert their ideas into vehicles. Once we have the means, the ends will reveal themselves. Our lack of solutions and the obstacle to our development is our lack of knowledge about the nature of consciousness itself.
To raise our level of consciousness, we need to increase our buoyancy. We must become enlightened rather than trying to pull ourselves up. Facts come through effort; Truth comes effortlessly.
Attractor pattern examples: Fractals, electron shells and Nash equilibria... Patterns of stability in a dynamic environment. Within these patterns, the individua components may operate chaotically while maintaining order of the whole.
Critical points: Those points within a complex system that can yield great changes to the overall state of the system.
Causality: The structure of the Universe more often reflects an interaction between variables and their causes, rather than simplistic cause-effect relationships.
Under chaotic conditions, slight variations in initial conditions yield radically different outcomes. A slight change in course will lead to ship being many miles off course or closer to its ultimate destination over time. Likewise, slightly differing initial conditions or ongoing stimuli will lead to radically differing destinations over time.
Within the Power vs Force calibration simple patterns could be identified. Scores of below 200 could be regarded as negative or evil. Those scores above 200 could be regarded as positive or good, while those above 600 approach spiritual purity.

Testing procedure for scoring: "This item (having in mind the book or idea or motivation) is over ." Test with both partners, using the arm strength test.
Arm strength test: Two persons are required. One acts as the test subject by holding out their straight arm horizontally. The second person presses down with two fingers on the wrist of the extended arm with the command "resist". The subject resists the downwards pressure with all their strength. To facilitate objectivity (and validity), there should be no music playing and the tester must remain objective and impersonal. This procedure can test declarative statements, with yes or no answers, though tends not to produce reliable results for questions about the future.
Results may be enhanced by first testing the question to be asked by asking, "I may ask this question", with a weak response indicating that the subject is not ready to answer the question concerned.

Relationships

Finding that special person is a very precious thing that we all dream of sharing our life with. The sort of person that lights us up in a storm of passionate love. Yet sometimes I wonder whether perhaps some of us actually settle for far than perfection.

I wonder whether people knowingly settle for less than "10/10", and fill the gaps otherwise. For some, that gap will be filled with romantic infidelity or infidelities; for others, it may come through work or hobbies or children; while still others might find ways to resolving the deficiency through blaming themselves for the lack or fantasizing about how life 'could' be.

Should we 'settle'? Or are we doomed to 'settle' and the issue ought be one of whether we should accept things as they are? And, if so, what should we look for in a romantic partner?

If 'nobody is perfect', perhaps we need to focus on doing what we enjoy, and living in the moment.

Yet, I feel that there are some people with whom we share immensely powerful connections - far more than just enjoying each others' company. And that passion is something that to me should be part of that romantic experience.

Sunday, July 03, 2005

What are Life Skills? Educational frameworks?

For a long time, I have argued that there are four levels of abstraction in learning outcomes:

  • Values
  • Attitudes
  • Skills
  • Techniques

Several other models exist. Some educational theorists delineate between knowledge-based, skills-based and affective goals (incorporating values, attitudes and interests), which is essentially the same as the VAST framework that I have used. Bloom's Taxonomy of Educational Goals provides a very sophisticated framework, highlighting the appropriate assessment procedures that might be adopted as well as the helping frame the learning outcomes themselves.

How much better could our schools and parents be if they had clear outcomes in mind? How much more effective could we be as people if we clearly had in mind the messages that we wanted to communicate to those around us?

Each level is critically important, though different in nature. Educational experiences often focus upon some of these outcomes more than others; sometimes deliberately, othertimes not. UNICEF has created a list of what it considers to be "Life Skills", a list that I think is valuable, interesting and worthy of consideration by our educators. As you look at this list, consider how many of those skills you were deliberately taught - ever - and how much more powerfully you could live your life and impact upon the world if you had been...

Communication and Interpersonal Skills

  • Interpersonal communication skills
    Verbal/Nonverbal communication
    Active listening
    Expressing feelings; giving feedback (without blaming) and receiving feedback
  • Negotiation/refusal skills
    Negotiation and conflict management
    Assertiveness skills
    Refusal skills
  • Empathy
    Ability to listen and understand another's needs and circumstances and express that understanding
  • Cooperation and Teamwork
    Expressing respect for others' contributions and different styles
    Assessing one's own abilities and contributing to the group
  • Advocacy Skills
    Influencing skills & persuasion
    Networking and motivation skills

Decision-Making and Critical Thinking Skills

  • Decision making / problem solving skills
    Information gathering skills
    Evaluating future consequences of present actions for self and others
    Determining alternative solutions to problems
    Analysis skills regarding the influence of values and attitudes of self and others on motivation
  • Critical thinking skills
    Analyzing peer and media influences
    Analyzing attitudes, values, social norms and beliefs and factors affecting these
    Identifying relevant information and information sources

Coping and Self-Management Skills

  • Skills for increasing internal locus of control
    Self esteem/confidence building skills
    Self awareness skills including awareness of rights, influences, values, attitudes, rights, strengths and weaknesses
    Goal setting skills
    Self evaluation / Self assessment / Self-monitoring skills
  • Skills for managing feelings
    Anger management
    Dealing with grief and anxiety
    Coping skills for dealing with loss, abuse, trauma
  • Skills for managing stress
    Time management
    Positive thinking
    Relaxation techniques

Friday, July 01, 2005

Purpose of life?

Peace, love and purity of spirit... what more is there for us to strive towards?