Philosophy

Nutrition of Your Mind

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“When we think about nutrition, we often only think of food. But it’s also the information you consume, the people who influence you, and the content you allow in your mind. Your brain deserves clean nutrition too.”  

Some people are obsessed with nutrition of their body, but who thinks about nutrition of their mind?  

Who understands that the news and shows we watch are influencing our mind? 

Studies show that you become like the 5 people you are closest with. 

You become similar to what you consume, and who you’re around.  

What are you doing, not just for a healthy body, but for a healthy mind?

DARE To Use Your Own Intelligence

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“Have the courage to use your own intelligence.”

— Immanuel Kant 

If you’ve had a unique language and way of thinking and living for the first 25 years of your life, and then angry, uneducated, military-like men march into your life and tell you you’re wrong, & they try forcing their beliefs into you, would you submit?  

Sort of like what the Europeans did to the Indians. 

Or they march into your life and tell you that you are correct – but they hate it! And they want to change you to be like them. 

It happens more often than you can imagine. Conformity has always been a stronger gravitational pull than beating to the sound of your own drums.  

Einstein said, “Few are those who see with their own eyes and feel with their own hearts.”  

It is almost always fear within a person that guides them to conform. 

And when you conform, you lose your independence. You stop seeing the world with your own eyes & you start seeing the world from someone else’s perspective. 

Many people want that though – they want to be led, and that is okay. 

But if you’re going to be an authentic leader, you must DARE to use your own intelligence. 

Happiness > Dignified

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“I would always rather be happy than dignified.”

— Charlotte Bronte  

Is happiness something only for children?    

As people age, it appears that any true happiness leaves them. (Not everyone, but the majority).

Many people get more death-like as they age, and less life-like. 

The true joy they had a child leaves them as they learn about the “real world.”  

In the real world you discover some people who only find “happiness” at someone else’s pain….thats not happiness or joy; that is sickness. 

But if the majority of people are sick, and even world leaders promote this sickness – it’s difficult to find true happiness. 

So, it is great to be serious, but we can also be happy too (& not “happy” at someone’s pain).  

How can you discover a real happiness again? 

That’s a great question, and the answer will be different for most people. 

What did you enjoy when you were younger? 

Do you have any hobbies that you actually like? 

Turn the television off. Ignore cruel politicians & never befriend a person who laughs at someone else’s pain.

You’ll never be happy if you laugh at the pain of someone. 

Think about what you enjoy, and take time to do some of that. 

How To Calm Negative Energy

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“There are many ways to calm a negative energy without suppressing or fighting it. You recognize it, you smile to it, and you invite something nicer to come up and replace it; you read some inspiring words, you listen to a piece of beautiful music, you go somewhere in nature, or you do some walking meditation.”

— Thich Nhat Hahn 

Negativity is a part of human society. 

Positivity is too, but negativity seems to be “winning” so far. 

It’s easy to watch the news and get emotional and angry. 

70% of USA politicians intentions are to provoke negative emotions in people.

It’s easy to take the negative bait of a politician – but then you’re caught like a fish. 

It’s easy to be negative. It’s easy to be angry. 

It’s easy to hate.  

And the majority of people conform to “easy” because what is great is difficult. 

It takes time to be positive. 

It takes being intentional about your mental health. 

It takes ignoring cruel politicians and focusing on good leaders and being a good leader.  

But yea, Thich Nhat Hahn has some good ideas about how to calm negative energy: 

— Invite something nicer to replace the negative

— Read some inspiring words

— Listen to beautiful music 

— Go somewhere in nature 

— Do walking meditation 

Add Fun To The Game & Arts

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“When an archer shoots for enjoyment, he has all his skill; when he shoots for a brass buckle, he gets nervous; when he shoots for a prize of gold, he begins to see two targets.”

— Zhuangzi    

In this life there is work & play, and some people get to play for work; athletes & artists mainly. 

The best artists and athletes really love what they do.  

To most of them though, it is still work & requires extreme effort. 

The fun gets taken out of the game & the art as we age, but it doesn’t have to.   

Just because others have lost the joy of the game or art doesn’t mean you need to. Don’t conform. 

If you love the game, play. You’ll become great. 

If you love the art, do it. You’ll also become great. 

Focus Means Saying “No” Often

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“There are measures of focus and one of them is how often you say no.”

— Steve Jobs  

Almost everything cries out for your attention.  

They say:

Look at me!  

Think of me! 

Listen to me! 

Your parents want your attention. 

Your teachers want your attention.

Your children want your attention.

Your government wants your attention. 

Your friends want your attention. 

Celebrities want your attention.

Mr Potato Head wants your attention. 

And so there’s a certain balance needed in giving our attention to others. 

It’s healthy to give your attention to people you trust, people who are helping, and people you help. 

But we don’t need to give our attention to everyone. 

And most importantly, we must attend to ourselves as much as possible. 

Listen to yourself. 

What do you think? What do you actually think? (Don’t just repeat something you’ve heard) 

What do you want? 

It’s healthy to not give our attention to everything. It’s healthy to say no.  

It’s healthy to focus on your life path & to not be distracted by all the noise and people outside of ourselves.  

So, go your way. 

Trust your path. 

And say no to any strangers who go out of their way to get your attention. (Even if they’re in the government …governments should be here to protect and serve – & not to scare people…) 

Too Much Fear Is Slavery

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“The slavery of fear has made men afraid to think.”

— Thomas Paine  

Fear is not always bad, but too much fear is unhealthy for your brain and body.  

It’s okay to be afraid of lions and tigers and bears. Oh my.  

But you should not ever be afraid to use your brain – to think. 

Governments go out of their way to make their own people afraid to think – and most people quietly surrender their minds – and since almost everybody does it, it’s easy to conform. 

But that is irrational & impractical to give up your mind to “fit in.”

The military also uses fear to destroy the minds of the people who just joined the military. Boot camp, etc. They scream and shout. They wake people up at different times throughout the night. 

They break your mind and spirit until you are so disconnected from yourself that you literally cannot think anymore. Your brain is in fear mode. Now those fearful soldiers are only obedient to their superiors and do as they say, without question.  

Fear fear fear. 

The antidote to fear is education. 

The more you learn, the less you have to be afraid of. 

But also the more you learn – the more of a threat you may appear to be to any tyrants and cruel governments. 

Intelligence should not be a threat – but it is to governments who only desire power & control.  

Dare to think. 

Relax Into Yourself

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“Tension is who you think you should be. Relaxation is who you are.”

— Chinese Proverb 

We live in tense, fast paced societies. 

So fast that some people & organizations appear as if they are on a train going full speed – with an unbreakable mountain ahead that they will inevitably crash into. 

Society persuades its citizens to hop on this train, and most people do, but it’s not going anywhere. 

What is the antidote? Slowing down. Not getting on that train. Relaxing. 

But even if you get further than most and are able to relax in these restless societies – ignorant fools will inevitably go out of their way to try and bother you. Try to disturb your inner peace – since they have no peace within themselves. 

Observe those fools like they are demons sent from hell – and treat them as such. Just as Jesus did, and live your life. 

Stand up for your inner peace and don’t conform to being a miserable, ignorant fool.

Dare To Use Your Mind

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“The man who obeys his own mind is accused of rebellion by those who never used theirs.” 

Education is powerful – real education – and not just repeating something you hear.  

Real education involves using your own mind. Reading. Thinking. Learning. 

And to not just conform to being a mindless lifeless nothing of a person. 

Governments love mindless obedient servants, and if a real genius or real spiritual teachers arrives on the planet – the government does what it can to shut them up, since the government doesn’t want educated citizens. They want scared obedient slaves. 

They want people to give up their own mind, their own education, to conform to being an ignorant, scared, anxious, person. 

And then you can take all the prescription pills from big pharma to make it so you’re numb to what the government has actually done to you.  

OR!! You can say no. To the government. They do not own you, or me, or anyone. 

Well maybe they own you, but they don’t own me. 

I am my own master. I use my mind. I learn. 

I lead my life, and I don’t let any mindless ignorant fearful conformists get in my way. Trust me, they’ve tried. 

And for a year or two I really wondered how so many people have given up their own mind – and why they did so… 

fear, probably. Maybe to fit in with all the other no-minded “people” .. 

who knows, but I will never ever give up my mind and my education to fit in with ignorant, mindless, dead-minded people.

Expand Your Mind Beyond The Times

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“Every man is a creature of the age in which he lives and few are able to to raise themselves above the ideas of the time.”

— Voltaire  

Humans are products of their environment, and few are able to perceive beyond current times.  

One of the best ways to start thinking beyond current times is to study history. 

Who are your favorite humans from the past? From 2,000 years ago. 

From 500 years ago. 

200 years ago.  

Think of your favorite humans and then go read about them. 

Learn about the lifestyle they lived. 

Learn about how there were no bathrooms or running water. Learn about the slaves & emperors in Egypt, and the Kings of Scotland. 

Learn about Shakespeare and da Vinci & artists throughout the years.  

As you do your research you will be able to (in your mind) transport yourself to the time & era of those people.  

You’ll learn that things are always changing – and that the things today that so many people cling to as absolutely true – may not be true at all, and time will tell. 

Conformity is strong and always has been – but dare to think beyond today’s beliefs. 

Dare to think. 

Dare to research and come up with your own beliefs.