All Things Pondered Here

Pondering Many Things....

Self Improvement

Heart Shaped Cake Pen – Men’s Perspective

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Well, that didn’t last long.

We all make New Year’s decisions knowing that they probably won’t last for long. It usually takes about a month for me to abandon this practice and go back to my routine. Normally, I would make silly little decisions not looking to change anything big: one less beer a day, fasting every Friday, cutting out donuts, stuff like that. But this year I actually wanted to make a meaningful commitment and to see how long could I stick to it.

So, when the clock wound up to ten seconds left in a year, I decided that 2017 will be the year where I won’t pick a fight with my wife over the “lost cause”. To be clear, this is the term I use when I know for a fact that winning a certain argument (or losing it for that matter) will only end up badly for me! Something like having an argument with your wife whether she got fatter or the jeans shrunk. You just cannot possibly be on a winning side for that one. Hence, the lost cause.

Without getting into details, I started, escalated and then in trying to mend the situation caused even a bigger fight with my wife, 2 days into the year. I couldn’t even last for 48 hours without making a shitstorm. So the subject, who did what, why, and when, and all the details were massively stacked up against me, but I kept swinging. The result is: I booked a spa treatment for my wife on Friday. Then on Saturday, she will pick out a suitable gift which I will pay for from my beer fund and I have to make her dinner and waffles. Now you can imagine the shitstorm magnitude I created LESS THAN 48 HOURS

I made the decision of not doing that again!

There is a silver lining in all of this. What my wife still doesn’t know is that our waffle iron is broken, and you can safely guess it was me who broke it. I ordered this one and will throw the old one away.

You can see it here.

I’m hoping that heart shaped waffles will win me some extra points and spare me of doing the dishes afterwards. The last time I cooked for my wife, let’s just say it took me longer to clean up than you would expect.

There is a lesson to be learned here, but I seriously doubt that I’ll be the one learning it. And I do realize that not many men will read a blog post regarding a waffle iron or a cake pan. But for those of you who do read this, you can probably relate to my situation. My mistakes don’t necessarily have to be your mistakes as well, so where I failed, you will succeed. And believe me, there is no “marriage school”, so pay attention and avoid New Year’s decisions. You are just gonna end up disappointed.

–Marko Lipozencic

They Cannot Understand Your Answers Until They Have The Right Questions…

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They Cannot Understand Your Answers Until They Have The Right Questions

answers to questionsIf you have ever had important information that you know can help people, then you may have run into a situation where this applies.

Tell me what you think about that statement and what it means to you?

Ever had this exact feeling?   What situation where you in?

Is it impossible to help someone who is not ready for that help?

Leave your comments below.

 

About The Author

Achilles’ Heel – Achilles’ Last Stand – What Are Your Weaknesses?

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Achilles Last StandAchilles was an ancient demigod – part immortal but not completely.

He was born of an immortal mother and a mortal father.

His mother wanted him to be immortal and dipped him into the River Styx.

Achilles’ body then became immortal – no weapon could harm him – except for one place.

When he was dipped into the River Styx, he was held by his heel.

His heel was not immortal.    During the Trojan war,  the coward, Paris shot him in the heal with a poison arrow.

The arrow was guided by Apollo, the Sun God,  who had a few grudges against Achilles.

Achilles had killed a few of Apollo’s mortal offspring…

 

The Lesson In The Story

Each of us has weaknesses.  Knowing what they are can be just as important to our ability to navigate this difficult world as knowing what our strengths are.

Of course, no one likes to have limitations. This means it is difficult for many of us even acknowledge that we have weaknesses, let alone try to understand what they are.

In business, you would, of course, delegate  your weaknesses out to others.  This is assuming that you have such a position.   If you are not in a place to delegate work out, then you are either an employee or self-employed.

Having a business means that you have an entire system in place.  That system has a way to run and repair itself even if you are away.    If you don’t have that, then you probably don’t really have a business.

No matter how great we become, however, we can always be brought down.

This is the larger lesson in the story:  None of us are too great to fall.

We all have our weakness.

In life, we may not even see that we are about to take a fall.   That’s scary, isn’t it.

 

Why Do We Have Weaknesses? 


Drilling a little deeper:  Why are we this way?    You would think that there would be some type of pathway towards becoming better and better, right?

Human beings get sick, they age and they die.   But why is it that way?

I know that throughout history there have been many that have attempted to answer this question.

However, I have yet to find any teachings, writings or information that explains things as thoroughly as this book:  Zhuan Falun

Free copies are available in most languages at the FalunDafa.org website.

 

You Have Questions

Once we start to ponder our weaknesses,  we are led to more and more questions about ourselves and our nature.

If you stopped asking questions along the way, then it is time to start asking those questions again.

I know it is hard to get through the day as it is!   When you starting seeking the truth about life,  perhaps it gets a little harder – on the surface at least.

But I hold that life actually can get easier when you ask questions and when you start finding answers.    The right information can make a huge difference.   I suggest reading Zhuan Falun.

If you are struggling to understand why this world is the way it is,  how it works, and what is really going on,  then that book is for you.

Read through it once – all the way through.   Then see how you feel.   Read it again and you will have a new perspective.    It keeps going like that.

I have been reading it for over 12 years now.    I love what I get from reading that book.   You should read it too.
Achilles Had A Weakness

Perhaps if Achilles had asked more questions about his fate or his purpose for existence, he would not have met with the fate that he did?

Are we all moving towards a preset destiny?   Or, is it possible to rise above that and to find a better destination.

Who wants to be remembered for killing a lot of people anyway?   What is there in that?    We don’t need more heroes in the world.

We need more thinkers.

Do not share the fate of  Achilles.    Ask the questions that start to free your mind now…

 

 

Human Nature and LOSING Your Mind…

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Ever walk into a room and forget why you went into it? I’ve done it!

The best thing to do is blame it on the coffee. Everyone knows you think faster on coffee. You can just say: “I just got a little ahead of myself”.

It might even be true! This tends to happen to me when I am drinking coffee.

I was sitting in a coffee shop recently when I notice that my laptop was running low on battery power. I looked around for an outlet and found one by another table.

I started moving my things, including my backpack over to the new table.

Then, I saw my friends backpack sitting at a nearby table. My mind was blank. I walked over and picked up THAT backpack as if it were mine and starting walking back to my table, where my backpack was clearly visible.

I was completely in another world at the moment, I had no idea what I had just done. Then my friend called out to me and I suddenly was back in reality and VERY embarrassed about taking his girlfriend’s backpack.

That was a very strange moment, I wasn’t even on planet Earth. I have no idea where I went. Nor do I have any idea what I was thinking. I was blank at that moment. Unaware!

This is a true story and it is also a metaphor for human nature. We forget all kinds of stuff.

We certainly don’t remember where we were or who we were before we were born!

How many times a day do we go into forgetful states of mind? We really do. After that incident I started noticing that I do this far more often than I thought I did. Chances are, you do too!

We are so strange as human beings. We cannot remember what we were doing exactly three weeks ago, let alone ten years ago. Yet, we did have those experiences. But, we just cannot remember. Isn’t that strange? We are like a computer that has lost a lot of data files.

All that is relatively ‘normal’. Now, here is the weird part. On top of all of the above, our ability to perceive is seriously limited.

Think about the world around you. We have no idea what is happening just one block away from us. We usually don’t know what is happening next door at the neighbor’s house either. Often times, we are unaware of what is going on in our own house or apartment!

There is so much happening in the world and we are completely clueless. What’s on the airwaves? We don’t know. At best, we can tune into one radio or TV program at a time.

The very nature of being human seriously limits our experience. Without being able to take in all that knowledge about what is around us, we are seriously stunted in our ability to learn from the world we live in.

I read about two girls that were switched at birth by accident at the hospital they were born in. For years, the two families lived only a few miles apart and had absolutely no awareness of each other!

We are so limited. Our human nature is very limited. Is there a way to break free?

I like the book Zhuan Falun, by Li, Hongzhi.  It shares a perspective on why we are the way we are that is very interesting and insightful.   You can read it online for free at FalunDafa.org

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Meditation Results on an AcuGraph

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The Experience

This test was a before-and-after test performed at a chiropractor’s office in Overland Park, Kansas.

I was interested in the machine that they claimed would measure the flow of energy through the body’s meridian points.  (see below).

I thought that it would be intriguing to try a before and after test with 30 minutes of meditation.

I had not performed the meditation that we tested (Falun Dafa or Falun Gong meditation) consistently for quite some time.

The initial reading on the machine, which is before the meditation,  showed (according to the doctor) signs of some depression.

After I performed 30 minutes of the Falun Dafa meditation, I was retested.  As you can see from the graph below, there appeared to be a definite improvement in almost every one of the meridian channels.

Can Meditation Improve The Quantity and Quality of Energy Flowing Through Your Meridian Points?

This graph depicts energy flowing through meridian points as measured on a machine called the AcuGraph.

The before graph (bottom) was taken first.

The after graph (top) shows the changes that took place on the readings taken from the same meridian points after  only 30 minutes of  Falun Dafa sitting meditation (exercise 5)  practice.

You can see that the graph readings showed some changes after the meditation as compared to before.

 

What Are Meridian Points?

In acupuncture, the theory of meridian energy points is used to explain the flow of energy through the body.  In this type of theory, it is hypothesized that blockages in these points correlate to health problems.

Therefore, acupuncturists seek to unblock these channels with their acupuncture needles.

Before you attempt to dismiss this type of therapy, main stream medicine has recognized the benefits of acupuncture and it has also been reported on by the NIS (National Institute of Health).

So the benefits of acupuncture have been documented and accepted by mainstream medicine.

You might also find that some insurance companies will even pay for acupuncture treatments.

The AcuGraph

The AcuGraph is a machine that is claimed to be able to measure that actual flow of energy through the points.

Not All Meditation Is Necessarily Equal

The specific meditation I used was the 5th Exercise (sitting meditation) of Falun Dafa

Since this test involved this specific form of meditation I cannot say that other forms of meditation will product the same results.

It is my theory that the Falun Dafa meditation is probably one of the most beneficial forms of meditation to be found.   I can only offer the results of this test as proof.

There is plenty of anecdotal and subjective experience stories written about this meditation practice in particular.

Conclusion

The Accugraph seems to indicate that there is a change in the flow of energy through meridian points when practicing 30 minutes of Falun Dafa meditation.

Thoughts

It might be fun and interesting for you to perform your own test.

 

Letting Go of Stress

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As cliche as it sounds, stress kills.  If you’ve never experienced stress levels that suck the life out of you and actually affect your physical health then you are a lucky person.  Many people have no idea how detrimental extreme stress can be to their health.  Gone long enough, stress becomes something that many of us begin to get used to.  This is a very dangerous scenario.

Stress at work is a big problem for many in our society.  We frequently find ourselves in a position in our work places where we feel like we can’t speak out or speak up.  This ends up causing stress that can’t be efficiently dealt with.  Many times this is an issue as a result of a work environment that does not place importance on their employees.  Sometimes, though, this stress can be a direct result of an employee’s lack of ability to deal with his/her own stress appropriately. Try to determine which of these two descriptions apply to you and your stress levels.  Be open to examining the part that you yourself are playing in your stress levels.

Learning to address issues that create stress is the first step towards becoming responsible for your choices and being accountable for the results of those choices.  You have the ability to reduce your stress levels even if you don’t have the ability to change your work environment.  Changing your perception of others is a good place to start.  You must honestly reflect on whether or not the person/people causing you stress are intentionally making the choice to do so.  Usually, the person you hold responsible for your stress has no clue about their participation in your stress levels and most certainly did not intend to cause these issues for you.  Are you taking things too personally?  Are you being open to examining the part you are playing in this matter?  Think long and hard about the fact that you may be unknowingly blaming others and not recognizing the part you are playing.  Put yourself in the other person’s shoes and try letting go of any prior judgment.  See how you feel.  Do you still feel like you carry no responsibility in the stress being felt?

If stress is poisoning your life take the time to search out ways to handle your stress by changing your response to stress.  Many simple techniques can be implemented to change the way you perceive your stress and your environment.  You have nothing to lose in being open to changing yourself and your reactions. Most importantly, learning knew ways of letting go of stress will save your from many difficult repercussions.

Happy New Year 2010 and Reflections on Past Years…

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Not long ago, the clock struck midnight and it is now 2010 where I live. Some places have not quite reached midnight yet, but will soon.

I want to wish everyone a happy New Year. If 2009 was not a good year for you, I hope this one will be a lot better. If 2009 was a good year, I wish you continued happiness for 2010.

Sometime this year I will turn 42 years old. Therefore, I wanted to share a few thoughts about life for anyone who has the chance to read this.

Life is short! It goes by very quickly. I still view the events of twenty years ago as if they were yesterday and I have to remind myself that it really was twenty years ago.

There are many paths that people walk in life. We all live different lives and some of our lives are really, really different than the lives of others.

I remember times of stress. In fact, I count the current period of my life as one of the most stressful ever. Stress can do strange things to people. Your thought process can change. You can find yourself doing and saying things that you would not normally do.

Therefore, my first thoughts would be to remind each person reading this to take time to relax. Get rid of the stress in your life as best you can. One time, I simply let all of my thoughts go through my mind and I just kind of watched them for about 20 minutes. When I got up, I felt 200% better.

Meditation is a very good way to relax and unwind. I have tried several different kinds of meditation in my life. To this day, and in my opinion, the best one has been that of Falun Dafa. There is nothing like it.

As time moves forward, this is my message to a stressed out world: Relax! Take a break from your hard work. Try to keep positive happy thoughts. Negative thinking makes us stress that much more.

There are many problems to solve in this world. Become a great problem solver and you can accomplish much.

I wish you a happy and prosperous 2010.

Learn more about improving your dental health from home: https://www.ToothyGrinsStore.com

David Snape is the author of the book: What You Should Know about Gum Disease. ISBN: 978-0981485508 – Available online at most book retailer sites. It can also be ordered by most book stores.

Pregnancy Increases Your Risk For Developing Gum Disease…

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It is understandable that the excitement of pregnancy keeps you busy in many ways. A simple word of caution is recommended here: This is an especially important time to look after your dental health.

Actually, some would suggest that this is the time to really pay attention to overall health and well-being. There is an old saying about the number of teeth missing being equal to the number of children a mother gives birth too.

Though certainly not one-hundred percent accurate, there may be a kernel of truth in this. The fact is that women are more likely to develop gum health problems during pregnancy. Hormones have a great role to play in this scenario.
If you are a mother-to-be, pay special attention to your oral health. Do not be content with just brushing and flossing. Consider using a a good oral irrigator.

Another excellent product to consider would be an oxygenated, ph balanced mouthwash. There are many mouthwashes on the market but very few that harness the power of oxygen with a proper pH. The importance of this should not be overlooked.
Chew xylitol gum. Xylitol has been used in Finland since WWII and they have found that the incidence of dental disease is lower as a result. Xylitol is fine for human consumption but keep it away from pets.

Make sure there is someone looking at your gums a little more frequently during pregnancy – just to make sure that problems are not creeping in. As mentioned before, the probability for developing gingivitis / gum disease increases during pregnancy. If you do not know what you are looking for, then you need someone who can help. Besides, it is not so easy for a person to examine her own mouth.
Ask your practitioner about your pocket depths and how they relate to the health of your gums and teeth. Next, learn more about this topic from the next links.

Grab your free report on How to stop Gum Disease at https://www.HowToStopGumDisease.com. Shop for products that may help you to manifest better dental health at https://www.ToothyGrinsStore.com —

David Snape is the author of the book: What You Should Know about Gum Disease. ISBN: 978-0981485508 – Available online at most book retailer sites. It can also be ordered at most book stores.

Disclaimer: This article is for information and entertainment purposes only. It does not intend to render advice, diagnosis or treatment. If you have or think you might have gum disease or any other health problem, visit your periodontist or physician for advice, diagnosis and treatment. The USFDA has not evaluated statements about products in this article.

overcoming anxiety

Are We Connected Or Isolated…?

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Connected - picture of connected hexagons representing human connectednessI overheard an interesting conversation the other day. The woman that was talking to another said that she believes we are all ‘connected’.

After thinking it over for a bit, a few questions came to mind.

If we are all connected then why do people feel lonely at times? One would presume that if we were all connected that it would be impossible to feel isolated or lonely.

Another thought is that if we are all connected why do we have so much trouble understanding each other?

Why do people miscommunicate so often? This doesn’t require much explanation because frankly, everyone has experienced the effect of misunderstandings in even the most basic of human communication.

Why are there wars? If we were so wonderfully connected there shouldn’t be any warfare. Any issues that come up would be rapidly solved by the innate understanding that should come from being connected.

Why is there so much diversity in our various belief systems and backgrounds. Let us face it, many cultures are almost diametrically opposed. One cultures ‘normal’ idea is another’s radical thought. This is similar to freedom fighters and terrorism. What one man calls a terrorist, another man will call a freedom fighter. This is living proof that our perceptions and beliefs are radically different from each other.

What some people call evil, others call good. How can this be? If something is bad or evil, it just is so. Why would someone else call it good?

With so many different ways of thinking, so many different beliefs, so many different value systems and all the variations of human thinking – how could we be all ‘connected’.

Any thoughts on this question?   Comment below.

 

Gum Disease Fighting Book is Now Available on Amazon

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The Book, What You Should Know about Gum Disease is now available on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk

What You Should Know about Gum Disease

I have received very good feedback on this book. It is an excellent resource for both those attempting to fight gum disease as well as for those who wish to avoid it in the first place.

The Mayo Clinic’s website indicates their belief that up to 95% of the population will have some form of gum disease by age 65.

Consider learning what you can do now to stop an existing case from progressing or to prevent this ‘silent epidemic’ from visiting your mouth!

Buy at Amazon.com

Buy at Amazon.co.uk

Buy the e-book version

You can also visit WhatYouShouldKnowaboutGumDisease.com