The Savage Philosopher

I am beginning to wonder if there is a difference between malignant and benign influences. Without getting into a full debate today about the relevance of good and evil; I want to highlight an observation: An unseen power flows through repeated messages. Only recently I have begun to watch TV again. After five years overseas there was no point to watch the local cable stations. And now that I’m back in the states, over the last two weeks I have been taking advantage. I have concluded that those who have chosen the programming do not know what they do. As the word suggests, programming is a deliberate intent to create actions by convincing the cognitive space. I understand the economics of advertisement and the systems that employ them. I do not think that those who schedule the programs really understand how they affect the cognitive space outside of purchasing a consumer product. Being reborn into this environment I was not prepared for the psychological battle I would h

For those who are following along my little journey, here are my results: Feat 1: Education. The goal was to have everything done so that I can start school.  I’ve completed 75% of what I need to do. All my transcripts have been sent except for the last school I was going to. I still need to send them back the books from my last classes, which of course are in one of the many boxes in my garage from the move. A perfect intersection of this feat with Feat 3. Feat 2: PMP Certification. I have ordered the hardcopy book to study from and have it with me now. This week I will put my hours in the PMI website, and next week I can schedule the test. So I’m at 30% here. Feat 3: Home Ready for Guests. We have squared away about 25% of the boxes. Unfortunately the items in the boxes have not been completely put away yet. Once that is done, then we can work on the boxes that are in the garage. Feat 4: Write a Book. I am at 0% complete. Feat 5: Conquer Life Admin. OK, me and the wife hav

Rule one, don’t suck! Sounds easy, but actions speak louder than words. There are just times when we are not feeling it.Times when we want to lay in bed rather then come up with the reasons to care. But then again, this is the struggle that us humans are blessed with. For the last couple weeks I have personally been struggling with finding my path and with finding reasons to be awesome. Being mediocre is so easy. It barely takes any effort at all. I have been trying to dig deeper into myself and I realized that I need more reasons to put in the effort. I need hope, I need the dreams, and I need to be inspired. When I don’t have these things my thoughts range from apathy to chewing on bullets. Deep down I know that I am not alone with these thoughts. I know that others are suffering in silence seeking some sort of glimmer of light in the darkness. So what to do about it? I have chosen to enact my divine right of choice. I am going to choose a higher purpose to believe in and ex

Without fail, every time I try to push or force my personal reality into existence I face an immobile Force that pushes back. I then get frustrated when my desire is not manifested. For instance; even as I wish to create this blog post I am being interrupted through my Facebook Messenger. In this case, I am attached to the idea of completing this blog post and the interruptions frustrate my desired end state. And then, through the conversations I'm having on the Facebook messenger, I am further tasked with things that will interrupt my day. These interactions are not inherently bad. They simply do not fit my worldview on what I imagined the day would be. My attachment to the situation is the direct cause of my negative emotions and frustrations. The obvious solution would be not to have any attachment. Without attachment I would not have these negative emotions, but I also would not have any positive emotions either. Or is this assumption wrong? This brings into context the word

I am blown away of how we are attracted to stories and images of sex, tragedy, and beliefs. Another celebrity sex tape and I am left wondering why such a story so important to the human population? Is it simply our procreative instincts kicking in? Or something deep down in us that reflects our species worldview? Or maybe it is a welcome distraction… Maybe it is too much to ask to be curious why the president of the United States is in India, the impacts of a giant volcanic eruption in Indonesia, or debating melting over 3 million weapons currently held by Americans. When I compare and contrast events that may have a direct impact on my life, a celebrity sex tape doesn’t even register. I am impacted by trade agreements other countries. I am impacted by volcanoes spewing tons of ash into the atmosphere further the cooling of the planet. I am impacted by the fear in political discourse that may shape my kid’s future. Neuroscience teaches us that the brain deliberately attempts to co

All authority must be given and cannot be taken. Those in charge may be disillusioned that somehow they ‘forced’ their authority, but in reality it was a choice by the person being ‘ruled’ to choose to be ruled. This begs the question, “how is control obtained?” What is it that the ruled do to specifically give others authority over them. My answer: Obligation When we agree to an obligation we are giving over our control to the obligation. We give over our control in our; promises to ourselves, promises to others, and promises to God. The promises we make to ourselves generally fall into changing the type of person we are. We want to be a better person, a healthy person, or a charitable person. Every day I strive to be a better friend, parent, and spouse. I’m not always as successful as I would like, and when that occurs I feel like a ‘failure’. I feel that I failed to live up to the obligation I set before myself. This pain is a point of control. I make stives to eat well,

I am not sure if the Reaper came knocking or just did a drive by, I decided not to take the chance and ended my Fast. I started it officially on Monday evening at 1900 and ended on Friday at 1600; a total of 93 hours without food. My only consumption was lots of water, black coffee, and a 20 oz Gatorade split over two days diluted in the water. I went from 230.6 pounds to 222.4 pounds in that time frame and slept about 40% less than normal. I also worked out every day. Other than what was reported, on Thursday I jogged with a 12 pound weighted vest for 25 minutes in 100 degree weather followed by 10 minute rest and another set of 35 minute speed walking. Then on Friday, I took an easy and inclined walked for 20 minutes at a moderate pace without the vest followed by 20 minute sauna time. Bottom Line: I learned that I can control my hunger and push myself physically and mentally much further than I ever thought. I learned that by having big goals and not small ones are the key to a

An animal does not need to think about the benefits of exercise or eating right. It simplies taps into its instincts and does what it needs to do. The Human animal has the same level of instincts with the added ability to think about them. What we have lost over time are the proper conditions the instincts were designed to help us survive in. I assert that by better understanding where our instincts come from within the body, we will have the ability to utilize them to help us survive and thrive in the modern world. The five hormones that form the basis of our instincts are: Endorphins, Dopamine, Serotonin, Oxytocin, and Cortisol. Here is the basic break-out of what they do and why we have them. The Big Five Endorphins - Released during physical activity to inhibit the transmission of pain signals. Also known as the “runner’s high”, this hormone allows us to hunt prey and move over long distances. Side note, laughing also produces endorphins. Dopamine - Released a

I took a couple of days off from this series to build up some successes (or failures) that were worthy of talking about. Our last discussion was very bland as I started to engage into a more optimal battlerythm. We left off with some simple goals of increasing the number of blogs and getting the dishes done. Well, with such low goals, I can say with complete confidence that over the last couple of days I had complete success….yea me. I did though begin to stretch into a couple of different areas and techniques that I think are pretty cool. I started to do some of my blog posts from my phone. I have the ‘blogger’ app on my phone and when I combine it with the voice-to-text technology, I am able to produce a 300-400 word blog without a keyboard. This freedom from the computer will allow me to blog more when I am not home and only have access to my phone and wifi. Another thing I started was drinking MCT Oil (C:6,C:8) with my coffee in the morning. So far I am very excited about

That’s right, I said it. Don’t be a pusillanimous! You need to take life by the axle and twist it for your advantage. If it was easy, anyone would do it. But it is not. You simply have to make a choice on what kind of person you want to be; pusillanimous or heroic. When a situation presents us with an opportunity we have about five seconds to take action. Five seconds until you will choose inaction over action. I learned this concept from Mel Robbins ( www.melrobbins.com ), and she is spot on. You know that I don’t just take anyone’s word for anything. I want to see it in action for myself, so I experiment with the different ideas I’m presented with. The five second rule is a thing. Just ask Mel. What this means is that our natural state is to be a pusillanimous. Or, at least we have a very small window to be heroic. Perhaps this is why we admire heroes. We think that they are awesome because we could never do such things. And as long as someone else does it, we won’t have to.

How to have a kickass day.  I want to take a few moments this evening and talk about how to have a kickass day by creating a morning ritual. The purpose is to prime your day the same way everyday, so that you can have consistent results.  Start the morning right. Here are three simple steps that I use every morning to get ready for the day. Do not be underwhelmed by there simplicity. I recommend you practice them with an experimental mindset and see the results for yourself before you judge them.  1. Make your bed. I get up really early and my wife is still sleeping. This does not stop me from taking my blanket, folding it half long ways, and laying it down on my side of the bed. After I take a moment to smooth it out, I top it off with my pillow. This is the first thing I do right after my feet hit the floor.  This first step is the trigger for the next thing, writing in my gratitude journal. It also puts me into a productive mood. I can say at the end of the day th

Ok, here it is. Day 1 of 17. A small sabbatical to get myself re-centered and upgraded. A time to rebuild who I am, so when I go back to the real world of work and the daily grind, I will be stronger and more capable to take on the world. Or so is the goal. The Plan. I am going to document my next 17 days here as part of a blog series called “Resetting Life”. It will be a way for me to look back on this time in the future and see what parts of this reset took hold in the long term. And of course, this is the best way I know how to share my experiences with you. Here is the list of the bigger accomplishments I want to have by the end of this reset. Some of these may be a little audacious, but that is the point. Consistently execute the One Meal a Day (OMAD) meal plan with a focus on fruit, vegetables , nuts, and seeds with a little bit of chicken or fish chopped in. Workout for an hour every day. Blog at least once a day and increase my subscription to 200

I am inspired to take control of my life from the clutches other people’s obligations and the entrapment of other people’s desires. These are the reasons why I have not found the time nor priority to do this blog, which I love. At first, I thought it was I just out of things to say. A barren dustbowl of topics that I cared about had dried up like the desert. I had said all the things that I could say. In reality, I couldn’t find the time to even think. As I am on the cusp of a two week staycation, I can hear the faint voice of expression. It is as if my mind had been burdened with so much ‘stuff’ that it was being suffocated. In taking my first gasp of air in a long time, I see that it was the weight of the chains put on me that was bringing me down. Like an anchor, I was sinking to the bottom of the sea. I promised in the title that this will be a how-to guide. So here it is; How-to Take Control of Your Life: Step 1: Realize that your depression may not be of your making and