Everything Under the Sun

Depending on who you talk to, their experiences as an individual and the general course of their life, typically makes them fall into one of two strong beliefs about this topic; relying on others. Belief 1: If you have negative feelings about other people, relationships, family, or friends, because somewhere in your life you've been given reason to (divorce, breakup, family member screws you over), then you're probably a hard no on incorporating others into your reliance structure. If you're insecure about your status in society, or what people think of your capabilities, then you're probably a no as well, seeking to "do it yourself, without anyone's help." Belief 2: If you've been taught to prioritize yourself and your career first, and that people are tools to help you achieve your goals, that networking creates allies, and that everyone you meet or rely on owes you a favor, then you probably fall into the hard yes side. To put it categorica...

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs -- at the base level we have physiological , then safety , love/belonging , esteem  and finally, self actualization . This pyramid represents the structure with which an individual follows whilst proceeding through life. But what if we could adapt this structure to represent the way humans as a whole proceed through history? A sort of Hierarchy of Priorities . I dawned on this idea of the path humanity has followed throughout history in determining the priority of the era and its resemblance to Maslow's hierarchy, while reading a book my good friend recommended to me called Status Anxiety. Status Anxiety details human's capacity to seek status in this life and the burden we bear mentally in trying to obtain it. In the book, there is a lengthy section detailing the history of consumerism and its contribution to our status anxiety. This is where it hit me. In my generation here in America, there is a real ideological pull-away from consumerism....

Recently in an interview, Jordan Peterson, a Clinical Psychologist from Canada who's been very vocal about the state of the modern man, was asked,  "Can you describe what we should all be shooting for as a man?"  Jordan Peterson:   "Yes, yes, I was thinking about an image related to that. So there’s a cathedral in Montreal called St. Joseph's Oratory and it’s built on a hill. It’s a very large cathedral. So it overlooks the hill. It’s a beautiful building. And there are many, many, many steps leading up to it. Hundreds of steps. And pilgrims come there to trudge up the steps one at a time towards the cathedral. And there’s something deeply symbolic about that. The idea that’s being expressed is — is profound and necessary. And that is that we all need a vision of the way that life and the world could be. We want to have a vision that that could be as good as it could be. The least amount of suffering and the most for everyone. And the most freedom for everyon...

Sight. Sound. Smell. Touch. Taste. The 5 senses. Once you block them out, what's left? That is the quest, the end goal is to answer that question. In a sensory deprivation tank filled with 1200 lbs of Epsom salt I attempted to answer this question for myself as others have done before me. I climbed in the tank, minimally clothed (touch). I shut the door and pressed the knob - lights out (sight). As soon as I laid back on the water I was floating do to the buoyancy effects of the salt. The air temperature was the same temperature as the water, it was hard to tell the difference once I got comfortable. There was no sound with my earplugs in, no taste in my mouth, and no smell in the air. I was blocked. What happened over the next 90 minutes was a real treat. An induced meditation. A relaxation unlike any I'd experienced before. From my best recollection I went through 3 phases while in the tank. Although I can't recall the time allocation to each phase I can recall my thoug...

Every since I discovered it, Quantum Entanglement has baffled my mind. In short, quantum entanglement is a phenomenon that occurs when two particles are generated or begin to interact, and then at the quantum level they become linked. The quantum state of one of the particles cannot be described independently of the other. Their actions and properties become linked by an inanimate bond that is observable but immeasurable. If you perturb one of the particles, the other will react and change instantaneously. This included the spin of the particles, polarization, and position in space. And the entanglement exists regardless of distance.  Einstein described it as "spooky action at a distance." There is no mechanism for explaining the entanglement at extraordinary distances but it has been measured. Understanding this crazy notion of an immeasurable link that knows no boundaries, no distances, and no restraints, we shift our thinking to the possibility of other immeasurable phen...

This month, as one of the most influential evangelists in history has passed, his legacy and his life leave us with much to learn. The late Reverend Billy Graham was endearingly described by his son Reverend Franklin Graham at the funeral procession as being, "FAT". Faithful. Available. Teachable. These three descriptions say so much about a person's character. Whatever context we chose to give flesh to these qualities, I believe they are nonetheless extraordinary and yet simple to embody. Faithful. To be faithful is to have conviction. But it doesn't stop there. To be faithful to an idea, to a mission, to a person, takes a second step. Commitment . Have the base conviction and then commit to it. It is impossible to ask of any person, that they be unwavering, unshakable, or unquestioning. It is the nature of humanity to be cautious and curious. But we can make one simple adjustment that makes all the difference. Have faith. Raise up a conviction about the world....