thoughts

Have any of you paid full attention to your thoughts made in solitude?
what do we actually devote our time thinking of out of the 24 hrs a day. After 8 hrs of sleep, we're pretty much awake for the other 16hrs.

Our thoughts are probably devoted to the activities we are involved in. Therefore, when we are working, our thoughts are trying to figure out the solutions to our problems. It is possible to say, that those who are not efficient workers are day-dreamers. Is it possible to establish the most important thing to think about when we are pondering while staring into the distance? or all thoughts are equal in importance, or it is not possible to distinguish which thoughts are more important?

Music as an influence Part DEUX

Have you ever came across a situation when you put on a song on your playlist and you feel that it does not suit the current mood you were in? Sometimes, I keep changing the music back and forth because I have difficulty pin-pointing what I actually feel like listening or hearing ( for some the melody and feel may be enough reason to listen to music, others include the interpretation of the lyrics).

The types of users may be distinguished by a basic fact that people who do not know the lyrics may only interpret the melody and the tone of voice, not the actual words written/sang. However, this does not mean that someone who can recite the entire song can interpret the writer's intentions accurately. In fact, those who pay less attention to the lyrics may find it less confusing (i.e. some of us like to ask why or, "what did he/she mean by that line?") and may have less complications in terms of interpreting the information chosen to receive. The downside of not atempting to interpret certain lyrics is that some experiences are too painful to experience on your own and you might miss out on some direct information the writer wanted to communicate to its listeners. (e.g. Alanis - Jagged Little Pill)

When people refer to music, they usually say, e.g. "that was a sad/happy song". This observation suggests that music has an effect on the listener's emotions and the intensity of the emotions triggered, will depend on the depth of the interpretation done by the listener. This includes the interpretation of the melody and/or the lyrics. However, some songs are perfectly normal or even better without vocal support. These instrumentals still manage to spark a flame on the candle which we call emotion (e.g. John Coltrane, Mogwai) and there are also others which not only inspires emotion but also creativity in thought (e.g. Django Reinhardt).

Somehow, some of us still manage to take for granted the things that were handed down to us on silver platters. As long as you can find purpose to listen to music you will always enjoy it. The question is HOW MUCH will you enjoy it. If/when you guys and girls get the chance, pay attention to the details.

Music as an influence

For as long as I can remember, music has always played a big part as an influence in my life. Before the age of 14, I was mainly listening to anything that either was memorable (i.e. catchy tunes), or ones that made me smile. A possible reason for this particular behaviour could have been the fact that when I was younger, my mind was obviously too immature to make anything more of music through reason besides the facts mentioned above.

Music started to play a bigger role when I was 12 but did not really take-off until I started listening to Greenday. Firstly, I started listening because the songs were catchy (this turned me into a major fan because I wanted to observe all the cathyness in detail unlike ever before - the basslines and drums played a crucial role). Later on, I paid a lot more attention to the lyrics. They sang about adolescent life and and the realities they had to face on their own. They had punk hair, tattoos, and a massive following. It must have intrigued me the fact that they were so weird and yet were accepted by their peers.

To those who have shared my hardship of not being accepted by your peers (the masses, the popular crowd) will know what I'm trying to explain. It was then when I joined in the craze and decided to be a punk myself, repeating to others what I had learned from the music I had fell for so much). Basically, screw everyone!. However, this is no longer the case. My musical interest has found its way into the different corners of the earth. Greenday offered a way out for me and many others to feel a sense of belonging. Since then, I figure if i judged other types of music the way people have judged me in the past, I'll be no better and I am quite certain no good can come of it. I believe, that human beings carry with them a curse which is to ' Turn into the people we Hate'. Come to think of it, other bands/artists must have given you all a sense of belonging too at one point in your life or another.

Addiction

Ask yourself, what is 'addiction'?

Personally, I have been addicted to many things in my life. To keep the list short, I will only name a couple:
(1)Food - The smell and sight of something delicious was enough to make me want to eat.
(2)Cigarettes - even until the point that i was no longer enjoying it.
(3)Being a Couch Potato

These addictions became routine for me. My guess is that I created these routines to make me feel safer from the unpredictability of what the world has in store for me. In other words, I may have been afraid to really live life. A friend of mine recommended to me a book on psychology by Richard Gross supposedly the book that was held in such high esteem by others in the field.

After reading the relevant chapter, I am more aware of my own addictive tendancies and am less likely to take these addictions lightly. Unfortunately, my understanding of psychology is no better than the average laymmen. However, I recommend to anyone out there who will like to make changes in their own lives for the better to gain more information on the realities of addiction. This is because, addiction does not only apply to harsh drugs and booze but to many other things that are available to us. For example, coffee ( not as harmful, but those addicted to coffee cannot function properly for the rest of the day without it ).

I cannot help feeling that what I've written on this particular topic was not very helpful to anyone. I am terribly sorry for recognising an important problem but unable to discuss it in detail.

Brain Pain

Where i come from, mental health is not a topic people like to discuss. If the term 'mental health' was used in a conversation, most people will draw a picture of a 'nuthouse' in their heads. It has taken me some time to realise how common that our mental health can catch a 'cold' just like on physical health.

So, when we catch an average nose 'cold' we'll take some medication available at a drug store to make it go away. The equivalent on the mental side I reckon possibly some sort of counselling will be a good idea, or seeing a shrink if you can afford it. I'm not too sure whether drug prescriptions are a good idea personally but, with proper care and responsibility could be helpful.

The good side about seeing a shrink is that they're being paid to not judge you. This means that you'd be able to tell the doctor anything. In other words, you'll be obligated to be completely honest with them, this will obviously help those who have trouble confiding in those already around them, for any particular reason of course. Therefore, this will allow the doctor and patient to gather accurate data that may be helpful to diagnosing the problem and a possible remedy later on. Without honesty to oneself or another, all the necessary information required cannot be assessed. Possibly, increasing the level of HONESTY to all those around us may limit the problems that might arise in our daily lives.

I want to sum it up by saying that it is important for us to take care of our mental health just as much as our physical one. So, if you are ever feeling stressed out and have trouble telling someone, go see a counsellor beofre your life starts to deteriorate.

Communication II

Let us look at the conflicts that may arise from mix-signals of body laguage.

For example, If a girl was hanging out at a bar and was dressed to impress, any guy would pay her some attention despite the fact whether the feeling is mutual or not. If you've ever observed different courting attempts you may have been able to see the differences in the body language when a girl is interested in the guy and when she is not.

The funny thing is, a lot of people have no clue on how to tell the difference because just like the most of us we may have taken body language for granted. Therefore, it is possible to say that those guys or men who are unfamiliar with reading body language will only see the fact that, 'whoah, that girl is fit! I'm gonna go butter her up' (and probably will stick around for the next half hour working different raps to gain her attention or affection). I suppose a simple way to clear up the mis-understanding is for the damsel in distress to say nicely that, "I'm terribly sorry but, you are not the gentlemen I'm looking/waiting for" :) or "I'm not the girl your looking for". This is an example on how clear verbal communication could save you in a misunderstanding.

Another example that could be useful is to those who has the floor and have an audience listening to them. Some people are boring when they talk and some are the complete opposite. A difference in individual skill could explain the various individual characters. I've been observing people's gestures when I engage them in conversation, and with some basic ideas on the interpretation I have experienced first hand on 'changing gears' during a conversation just like driving a stick shift car. I find that it is possible to determine what people really think when you are talking to them but, the accuracy of the read will depend on the experience and knowledge of the reader.

Communication

Since this is written in english I will discuss the topic of communication between 2 individuals in relations to the language used.

We as human beings have been given the privilege of communicating our thoughts to another either by speech or other methods (e.g. sign language). Therefore, it is important to discuss the ways we have chosen to communicate in our daily lives.

For example, I must confess I have taken for granted the use of the engligh language up to recently. In the past, I have used words that I thought I knew the meaning of, and maybe I did but, the people who heard the statements made may have had different definitions of the same word. I have chosen this particular example to explain the fact that when those involved in a conversation that have different definitions of the same words could mean that the conversationalists will not be able to be on the same 'brain wave length' leading to possible misunderstandings.

This got me to think how important it is for us, who get involved in a conversation, to either share similar definitions of the words used (as provided by the english dictionary, or the web definitions) or in other cases make sure as the speaker to leave the listener when he or she has given their acknowledgment of what has been said and to clarify even further what information is to be heard.

I will also bring to your attention to those that don't already know, that verbal communication makes up roughly 30% of communication. The other 70% of communication is performed physically, commonly known as 'body language'. A well known book on this topic is available written by Alan and Barbara Pease (they also wrote Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus). It is known that lying might come easy for people with the gift of the gab but, the fact that not many are aware of their own Body Language not to mention others', means that the body does not lie as well as the mouth. So, if anyone out there is interested in detecting the truth in what people say, explore what you can find on the topic and equipped yourself with the skill of communication. If there are those interested in my two cents on bodylanguage read on.