Another interesting social culture I know is "the power of praying".
And before anyone asks, no, I'm not here to badmouth religious people, even though I must admit I enjoy doing so.
So yeah, people do believe that praying is actually a valid way to get something done. Such as, when a religious person's relative is sick, they'll pray to god that their relative gets better. Of course they won't turn down medical care, they're not that stupid.
What I find interesting about this is, the same people who believe in praying, despise the power of magik, which is, in a more fundamental level, the same thing. Here I use the term magik because magic is usually referred to as the art of illusionism.
Let's analyze the previous statement.
Try not to add beliefs into this train of thought, let's just keep scientific about it.
What do people do when they're praying? They devote their faith to a greater force so that this greater force will help them achieve whatever goal is it they have. You could also say that they devote their energy into having a greater force to help them.
What do people do when they practice magik? They drive their energies into another greater energy, so that this greater energy will move and, by doing so, help them achieve their goals.
The only difference is that magik involves rites and more complicated processes, which may even make it more powerful, since it requires more energy, but let's not get into that.
The sad part is, even though you may believe in either and have personal experience that whatever you chose do work, you can't prove that. It's scientifically impossible to prove that either prayer or magik actually work, because they involve greater, intangible forces.
Now I bet some people may be thinking, what's this got anything to do with the placebo effect? I'm just getting to that part.
An important part of why you can't prove that those work is the placebo effect. This has been proven, it exists, and we can reproduce in a controlled environment.
When a person is sick, and people pray so that they'll get better, the person is usually aware that someone is praying for them. Be it because someone told them so or because they know their peers very well. When the person is aware of the praying, the placebo effect comes into play. Out of sheer belief in the powers of god or whatever it is people are praying to, the person may recover miraculously. The same principle apply to magik. If someone is aware that there are rituals being performed so that they'll get better, they just might.
I have my own beliefs, but they're not important here and now.
I just find it interesting how people despise the other people's beliefs, even though they're so similar. Wonder if anyone has ever stopped to analyze this deeply.
My point, after all this talk, is: whatever it is you believe in, don't depend on it to achieve whatever objectives you have on your life. Believe in yourself, because that's where most miracles come from.
Learn to fly with your own wings, and you'll soar the sky as high as you can dream.
Jul 22, 2010
Jul 21, 2010
The little things
It's funny how good the little things feel when you're upset.
Such as having dinner with your family. In a normal day, it may be just a formality, something you do to be polite. But when something's dragging you down, it just feels great. There may not even be much talking, it's just good to be around people that care, for a change.
I don't know about other people, but I like to look at the night sky. Not where I live, though, I can barely see any stars here. At more faraway places, away from the noise and the smoke of the city, you can truly see the night sky. It's a whole different feeling.
I wonder why, though, those little things seem to have so little to no meaning when we're not upset or bothered by something. Maybe people are so busy with their lives that they have no time to enjoy those.
I know this post might seem like a motivational speech, but it's not. I've just had one of these little moments, and it was great. Thought I'd like to share my thoughts on it, without being so damn analytical about it.
In the little things are hidden the greatest values.
Such as having dinner with your family. In a normal day, it may be just a formality, something you do to be polite. But when something's dragging you down, it just feels great. There may not even be much talking, it's just good to be around people that care, for a change.
I don't know about other people, but I like to look at the night sky. Not where I live, though, I can barely see any stars here. At more faraway places, away from the noise and the smoke of the city, you can truly see the night sky. It's a whole different feeling.
I wonder why, though, those little things seem to have so little to no meaning when we're not upset or bothered by something. Maybe people are so busy with their lives that they have no time to enjoy those.
I know this post might seem like a motivational speech, but it's not. I've just had one of these little moments, and it was great. Thought I'd like to share my thoughts on it, without being so damn analytical about it.
In the little things are hidden the greatest values.
Jul 13, 2010
Masquerade
Do you think you know a person? Think again.
I don't know how obvious this is to the general folk, but it's quite clear to me: You'll rarely see the true colors of someone.
It's important to note, though, that people don't always hide things about themselves willingly. It's much of an unconscious process. In case you're doubting these statements, think a little about how you behave.
When at work, I bet there are things you don't say, even though you want to. There are things you don't do, smiles you fake, just so people won't get the wrong idea. That's not being true to yourself. That's wearing a mask, as shallow as it is, to make yourself more suitable for the environment.
And that's done all the time, at school, family meetings, even in relationships. It's very rare for a person to find a situation where they can lower their guard and drop their masks. When that happens, it's important to cherish it. Be it around that certain friend, in a place where no one can watch you, whatever the situation, keep close to it.
If you hold your mask up for too long, it might break.
And it never breaks at convenient times.
I don't know how obvious this is to the general folk, but it's quite clear to me: You'll rarely see the true colors of someone.
It's important to note, though, that people don't always hide things about themselves willingly. It's much of an unconscious process. In case you're doubting these statements, think a little about how you behave.
When at work, I bet there are things you don't say, even though you want to. There are things you don't do, smiles you fake, just so people won't get the wrong idea. That's not being true to yourself. That's wearing a mask, as shallow as it is, to make yourself more suitable for the environment.
And that's done all the time, at school, family meetings, even in relationships. It's very rare for a person to find a situation where they can lower their guard and drop their masks. When that happens, it's important to cherish it. Be it around that certain friend, in a place where no one can watch you, whatever the situation, keep close to it.
If you hold your mask up for too long, it might break.
And it never breaks at convenient times.
Jul 6, 2010
True beauty
I've been observing human behavior for several years now. And, while doing so, I noticed some very curious patterns.
I'll talk about one that's been on my mind today: Beauty reckoning.
The concept of beauty isn't really easy to grasp.
There's what I call outer beauty, which is defined by a person's features, such as face, height, weight, build, measurements, and the accurate balance between these and some other factors. All those can be perceived by glance, so it's not really hard to understand.
There's also an inner beauty, which is defined by the personality, and that's where things get confusing, since there are as many variations as there are tastes.
It's important to tell that both inner and outer beauty are needed so a person can be truly beautiful. If someone's pretty on the outside, but the inside's rotten, they're not really that good. And if someone's nice inside but their outside isn't, well, they just don't get your attention fast enough.
But the interesting part of all this is: The beautiful people usually don't think they're beautiful.
It's quite easy to observe, and a very common phenomenon. You see this really gorgeous person walking down the street, you talk to them for a while, and then you notice that they have no idea of how good they look, and how nice of a person they are.
True beauty is invisible for those who bear it.
I'll talk about one that's been on my mind today: Beauty reckoning.
The concept of beauty isn't really easy to grasp.
There's what I call outer beauty, which is defined by a person's features, such as face, height, weight, build, measurements, and the accurate balance between these and some other factors. All those can be perceived by glance, so it's not really hard to understand.
There's also an inner beauty, which is defined by the personality, and that's where things get confusing, since there are as many variations as there are tastes.
It's important to tell that both inner and outer beauty are needed so a person can be truly beautiful. If someone's pretty on the outside, but the inside's rotten, they're not really that good. And if someone's nice inside but their outside isn't, well, they just don't get your attention fast enough.
But the interesting part of all this is: The beautiful people usually don't think they're beautiful.
It's quite easy to observe, and a very common phenomenon. You see this really gorgeous person walking down the street, you talk to them for a while, and then you notice that they have no idea of how good they look, and how nice of a person they are.
True beauty is invisible for those who bear it.
Jul 2, 2010
Shackles of reality?
Limits are hard to discuss, aren't they?
Just how far can one person go? How good can you get at something? What is it that differs the best from the rest?
The human mind is basically a gathering of preconceptions and logic. It is simple logic that everything must have a threshold, an unbreakable limit that can't be crossed, no matter what. After all, things do break when you exert a certain amount of strength into them.
But, the preconceptions also play their part in this. Knowing that everything has a limit, humans just assume that this must be it when they've put a considerable amount of effort into whatever it is that has reached it's apex. And, in that, they're generally wrong.
It's true that some may actually be right at their assumptions, but that doesn't mean they should stop trying, which is what they usually do. Believing they've reached the limit, they just give up. And by knowing they've reached the limit, they free themselves of the guilt. There was nothing else I could do. It doesn't get better than this.
What is it that separates the best from the others? The best don't believe in limits.
Just how far can one person go? How good can you get at something? What is it that differs the best from the rest?
The human mind is basically a gathering of preconceptions and logic. It is simple logic that everything must have a threshold, an unbreakable limit that can't be crossed, no matter what. After all, things do break when you exert a certain amount of strength into them.
But, the preconceptions also play their part in this. Knowing that everything has a limit, humans just assume that this must be it when they've put a considerable amount of effort into whatever it is that has reached it's apex. And, in that, they're generally wrong.
It's true that some may actually be right at their assumptions, but that doesn't mean they should stop trying, which is what they usually do. Believing they've reached the limit, they just give up. And by knowing they've reached the limit, they free themselves of the guilt. There was nothing else I could do. It doesn't get better than this.
What is it that separates the best from the others? The best don't believe in limits.