Your Space in my Blog: 9th of April 2009

Thank you for this opportunity to contribute to your blog. This is from mine, “A Writer’s Edge”, http://www.writers-edge.info/2009/04/nice-networking-opportunities.htm

“…I’m not really a social person. For those writers who say the same and just stay home hiding in the corner of the closet–force yourself to get out and about and mingle with your peers (and betters). You never know what opportunities are going to present themselves, and if you don’t play in that traffic, good luck will never strike you, no matter how well-prepared you are.”

Now Twittering @GLHancock
saying the nothing I have to say

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PS: Thank you for your books Paulo!

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Our Brain At Its Absolute Best

When neuroscientists tested brain activity in Tibetan monks, they found inner peace had significantly expanded the usual networks that generate higher order brain function. These networks were larger and more fully integrated than brain scans show on the average person, with increased blood flow to the region.

As a result, brain function in these monks had reached levels never before reported in the scientific literature. The readings on Gamma Wave activity, signaling higher mental activity, was off the chart. The highly developed neural circuitry generated a flow of intelligence that was emotionally peaceful, positive, and fearlessly self-confident, all of which made the monks immune to stress. Even more astounding was the finding that when the monks were not actively practicing mindfulness meditation, they continued to sustain these optimal brain states.

The conclusion of science: Inner peace builds a powerful brain. When the scientists drilled into the basic approach to inner peace that these monks practiced they found it consisted of four essential qualities that any of us can develop. Better still, science found that a little practice goes a long way in building brain structure.

These four qualities not only produce a great monk; they produce peak performers. The dynamically peaceful attitude the monks mastered is the zone athletes work toward. It’s the calm under siege that drill-sergeants ingrain in soldiers. It is the stream of creativity that entrepreneurs call the top of your game.

I call this dynamically peaceful attitude “Mystic Cool,” which is the name of the book I wrote on the subject. In the book I provide a simple set of tools for integrating each of the four qualities into daily life to sustain this powerful attitude. The reward is a powerful brain generating a joyful intelligence that can excel at work and at life.

1. The first quality of Mystic Cool focuses our attention. We are quietly engaged, fully present. We drop the incessant thinking that produces a pointless preoccupation with the past or endless worries about the future. We practice being present, right here, right now, engaging whatever is before us with an open, alert mind.

2. The second quality sets our stance in life. We are peaceful inside regardless of what is happening outside. We are not afraid or threatened by the outside. Thus, we can face a challenge confidently and feel our way to the best possible response to the situation.

3. The third quality creates our sense of connection. Our hearts are open and empathic, with the intention of creating an atmosphere of interpersonal resonance. We consciously connect with our own internal center, with the people we happen to be with, and to that which we conceive of as greater than ourselves. We practice listening better, judging less, and forgiving more.

4. The fourth quality of Mystic Cool engenders a wider perspective. It is an enduring sense of the whole that transcends the fragments. We see the proverbial forest and the trees as we hold to the big picture.

These four qualities, when evoked consistently, transform a disconnected, stress-provoking way of living into a richer, more integrated way of being. In the process, this simple approach to mindfulness builds higher brain structure so we can reach higher ground, in whatever we pursue. Mercifully, it could not be simpler. It is no further than a basic shift in attitude.

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Dear Diana
How do I have the courage to remain honest when I’m in a company that doesnt respect that?
- By being able to live in peace with yourself, by being honest you can respect yourself and be able to sleep at night. Having no fear of consequences and having a clear consciounce.

The world is a better place with people like you.
Libh

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Good morning from Maryland, Paulo and everyone!

I’ve been reading tarot cards since I was a teen, so what on my mind today is the Devil.

All tarot cards have layers of meanings and interpretations differ depending on the question asked, placement near other cards, etc..

Today, for me, the Devil is guilt. And it looms over me, like a movie critic. I had a back injury years ago and most of the time I’m in a low level of pain, but there are times, like now when all I can do is rest, cause any other movement hurts. So I’ve been pretty stationary for the past week and a half. I’m a single parent with a 15 year old and an 11 year old. I’ve been teaching them how to cook, clean, laundry and so on for awhile and they are pretty independent for their age. Really good kids ~ I’m blessed.

I feel guilty because I’m the mom, you know. I feel like I should be doing all those things. When I’m well, I take time to teach them things that they can do when I’m not able. Like preparing for war in times of peace, you know. And yet all the while I’ve got the inner critic yelling about how awful it is that I would take some time to recuperate, when so much needs to be done around the house.

Thank you for the space to free associate, have a blessed week :-)

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There seems to be a huge gap between lies and truth. However, being honest seems to get me into unwanted situations, mainly at work. How do I have the courage to remain honest when I’m in a company that doesnt respect that?

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Tonight, in my small corner of the globe, the moon will rise above the eastern horizon at 8:04pm (CDT). It will be 100% illuminated, no portion of it hidden, not even the smallest slice. In other words, it will be full.

I will not see this, however – not unless I want to stay up until near mid-night, when it finally peeks its head up above the tops of the tall pines that surround my house on all sides. Even then, it will only remain visible for a couple of hours, before it ducks down again to be reabsorbed in the foliage on the western side of my house.

I miss the moon. I miss watching it come and go, a glowing orb of glory. The sun, as well – once its rays reach me, it is high in the sky, near noon. It does not last long – the shadows of the towering pines fall early. And the sunrises and sunsets here are particularly beautiful. I’ve traveled to other parts of the world, but I’ve never seen anything else quite like them. Frequently, the entire horizon is set ablaze in oranges and reds so intense that it brings to mind biblical visions of Armageddon. Some say that this is caused by the intense heat produced by the density of the trees and the lush underbrush; regionally, this area is known as “The Big Thicket.” Still I suspect that the peculiar awesomeness of our sunrises and sunsets may be due merely to air pollution. There are many oil refineries in the coastal area near here. Whatever the reason, however, I still miss seeing these wonders.

Early next week, the logging trucks will be pulling in through my front gates, coming to take down the pines. To some, this may seem tragic, even criminal, but there are many factors to consider before breaking out the banners that read “SAVE THE TREES.” This particular variety of tree is not indigenous to the region. They are a crop, like corn or wheat, that is planted and harvested and re-planted again, and again. This particular stand of trees sprouted when I was a child. This piece of land was logged, the last time, by the man who now mows my grass – a logger by profession, but a lawn-keeper on the side. He is also a good friend the family. He has known my father all of his life. Standing in the yard, staring up at the tree-tops high above our heads, he says, “Yep, I cut this tract back in the early 70′s, when you were about this high.” He makes a gesture with his hand, indicating that I was little more than a toddler the last time the trees on this piece of land were harvested. There was nothing left then – a clear-cut, stubble. But even a clear-cut will grow back; it will re-seed itself, even if not re-planted. This was never replanted; the pines do not grow in neat rows. And yet now, in my middle-age, it is again a lush forest.

I do not like the pines, because they are not what grew here originally, before the mills came and the loggers and the timber industry. There were pines here in the beginning, but they were of the long-leaf variety, which grow too slowly to suit the needs of a fast-paced production industry. So, the long-leaf were replaced by fast-growth hybrids developed in labs. There are a few of the long-leaf here on my property, and I will leave them. But the other, fast-growth pines, must go. There are many young hardwoods, and these the loggers will take great care to leave unharmed. Once the pines are gone, and these saplings are no longer smothered under a canopy of trees that out-grow them, the hardwoods will thrive and quickly flourish.

I want to see the horizon as my great-grandfather saw it. I want to see the full moon rise and set between the canopies of great oaks. I want to track its course from the East to the West, uninhibited by the imposing tops of pines aspiring to outgrow and smother out all other forms of flora. By the time the moon again rises ripe on the eastern horizon, at 8:53pm, on the 9th of May, I should be able to realize this dream. I will sit precisely where I sit now, in this same chair, and I will look out over the top of my computer screen, out this same window facing east, and I will see past my own property line into my neighbor’s field of spotted ponies, and even beyond that, to the next hill and the horizon beyond, where the moon will rise like a piece of ripe fruit, juicy and full and ready to eat.

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when we are emotinally thrown between two opposing poles of a life changing decision……..as I am right now……I feel trapped by paralysis. I know deep down perhaps what road i should take, but as I push towards that decision which has life changing implications not just for me, but others around me…..my clarity gets overcome with fear and ‘what if’s’….the bad times and the feelings of lifelessness that i have experineced for so long…all of a sudden are obscured by….’it wasn’t that bad after all….maybe you should stay…better the devil you know!!!”But I have so often, for years, screamed to be released from just existing in my life, compramising things that are important, to wanting to live my life alive…..but the inaction brough on by fear makes that so hard……the above situation is on wanting to leave a long term relationship… (including my son who adores me and I him)……………inspiration please I am causing so many more problems by inaction……

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Querido Paulo,

Todos os dias faz muito bem vir aqui e eu agradeço muito por tudo que vc me ensina.

Tenha um otimo dia.

Abraços pra vc, pra Cristina, e a todos.

Que Deus abençoe vcs!!!

MARG,

CA

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