Christmas Season

The Christmas season is suppose to be a joyous time of the year, but in reality people have misconstrued almost every aspect of Christmas. We've made it about consumer products and political correctness. What we really should be focused on is caring for others, and feeling blessed for what we have. We should want to help those less fortunate and spend time with our loved ones. It may sound a little cliche, but currently in the world we live in these things are constantly put to the way side. To be honest it shouldn't be about religion either, religion seems to divide people and we should be coming together as a whole instead. These concepts should be followed in our everyday lives, all the time, but that isn't the case and if the Christmas season is the only time this is really emphasized we should talk advantage of it. I say we should abuse others with kindness not our religious integrity or consumer products. Just try and keep these simple but crucial concepts in mind this Christmas. With that being said:


MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

The Meaning of Life

 Natural psychology seems more philosophical than other fields of psychology, which seems appropriate since psychology's roots are in philosophy. The article below explores the age old question "what is the meaning of life?" If you've never contemplated this question, you truly need to in order to understand your own life. The only finite things to life are your birth and death, the journey is completely up to your own volition. In my opinion I do not believe there is a simple answer to this question. Perhaps the only simple answer would be to find the things that make you happy, but even that answer is more complicated than it seems. I have never lived my life pursuing one specific purpose, because there is not one purpose that could encompass a whole person's life. I think it is more important to live life with eyes wide open, keeping your own morals and values as guidelines, but not concrete. Maybe we are just meant to live life as it comes and enjoy the journey until it's end. This includes all the ups and downs, because even the things do not seem so positive do contribute to the person we become. I think everything would be worth it's while in the end if we could be happy with the person we've become. Just because there is no definite meaning to life does not mean it is sad or pathetic, it gives us the opportunity to set our own goals and create the life we want, not follow some intended structured path. This idea is what makes life have such intrinsic meaning in my opinion. The best part of this question is that it's open-ended, so you can determine your own "meaning to life," whatever that may be.  
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/rethinking-psychology/201211/why-choosing-your-life-purpose-is-so-darn-hard

Vase; A Metaphor For Love

This is how I look at relationships. A relationship is like a vase crafted by two loving people; fragile and beautiful. But when one person hurts the other, that vase falls and breaks, each person gets some of the pieces. They can choose to start trying to put the pieces back together, but if only one person is trying to put the pieces together, that vase won't be whole until the other is willing to work at it too. If that person doesn't care they will keep misplacing and losing pieces, until they've lost all their pieces or perhaps they decide to start rebuilding. If they do start trying to rebuild, the vase still won't be whole because of those already lost pieces, unless they are willing to go searching for them. The thing to remember is you will always be able to see the cracks and it will never be as strong as it previously was. That sounds like a slightly sad way to look at it, but you can also see the effort put forth by both parties to make it whole again and find beauty in the cracks.

Rape Myths

The idea that any woman wants to be raped is beyond any expression of words. No woman wants this, NONE. It's not a hard concept, if she says no than that's your first clue she doesn't want it. If she struggles it's more than obvious she doesn't want your nasty body parts anywhere near her. But somehow these stupid men committing rape don't see how that's not consent. How anyone can think a woman brings it upon herself to be raped by what she's wearing and how she's acting, needs a right smack in the head. No one brings that upon themselves and no one wants that. If you don't know or understand the meaning of "no" go back to kindergarten. Five year olds know what it means, how can thirty-five year olds not? And this whole aspect that men can't control their urges, get over yourself. We are grown people, we are the human species, the apparent superior species because we have the ability to think, SO DO IT! You have the ability to control your own behaviours, we have will power, use it! You are no more than a dumb, stupid animal if you commit rape. Don't give in to the rape myths either, they are just that, a myth. They aren't true and they are merely acting as excuses for peoples' actions, take control and responsibility of your own actions. And for anyone who believes rape myths, again use your head, get educated. If you think anyone deserves this, you're sick. 
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/in-love-and-war/201211/she-asked-it-the-impact-rape-myths

Glen Arthur

(The picture above is called Blood is Thicker Than Water, from The Ghost and the Banshee collection)
Glen Arthur, is one of my favourite artists. His pieces are always so well done. The titles of his pieces are clever and explain the meaning behind the piece. They seems like simple pieces but they are so complex. He uses different types of media and touches upon such serious life subjects. His artwork is so raw and I love his colour schemes, and his signature use of the hummingbirds. My favourite collection is the ghost and the banshee. The theme of daulity and the themes of each piece are hunting. I feel like we all face the idea of the image others see of us fighting against the image that we see. Also the good and evil in ourselves clashing. I can praise Arthur for all his work but it's more meaningful for you to experience for yourself.
This is a link to his website http://www.glennarthurart.com/Glenn_Arthur_Art.html
 

The Power of Laughter

Currently I am out of a job and need one desperately. I have some money troubles, who doesn't? The only thing causing me a ton of stress is the fact that I don't have a job, I'm not even finding school too stressful. But this job thing is killing me, literally. Stress is a silent killer. It increases neurotransmitters that can increase hormones like cortisol, which are harmful to the body. Cortisol decreases immune functioning, leaving you susceptible to illness and disease. A lot of recent research has been looking at the positive effects of laughter, which release hormones like endorphins (these hormones relax you). Laughter could quite possibly be considered a medication for fighting the effects of stress. Positive psychology is a fairly new area in the field, so more research needs to look at the subject of laughter. For now though I think it's safe to say whenever you feel a panic attack coming on, sit down and watch your favourite comedy.    
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/jobless-not-joyless/201210/unemployed-and-feeling-down-try-laughter-2

Awesome

The author of this article, Christopher Peterson, was a positive psychologist who recently passed away. This was the last article he wrote and somehow it is huntingly beautiful. He mentions his own death and how he hope that he leaves some kind of unique not necessarily lasting impact. His article talks about the true meaning of the word awesome, which has manifested into simply meaning good or bad (awful). In a way it's sad because it's true meaning has so much more depth. It means something is so great that it causes positive feelings but because it's so great it also causes fear. He talks about his awe inspiring memories, but also the true meaning of this moments. Most times we live our daily lives without giving much thought to the amount of people in the world and how we are all the same but also unique. One of the times I noticed this and had an awe moment was being in the Mall of America looking down from the top floor to all the levels. There were so many people and it looked like a giant ant hill. Everyone was just going about their business but I was struck in this awe inspiring moment. Sometimes these moments happen randomly, sometimes we plan them out, such as a trip to Greece, but these are the moments when we realize how amazing and beautiful life truly is. Even reading this article reminiscing about my own moments caused a bit of an awe moment in itself. Thank you Chris for giving me that.
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-good-life/201210/awesome-e-pluribus-unum

DMT

This documentary is pretty eye opening. Not only does it highlight the features of DMT, an organic compound found in plants, animals and humans, but also makes you realize how ass backwards North American laws are. DMT is a natural drug and opens the mind up into a dream like state. To be honest it's extremely safe, in the idea that it doesn't harm the body because our bodies already make DMT. But apparently this drug can lead to life changing experiences. This documentary looks at a study that explored the effects of the drug, physically, but also the subjective experience. Most of the subjects are professionals, like psychologists, neuroscientists, writers and mathematicians. Even if you aren't into the whole drug experimentation, this documentary isn't merely about doing drugs, but also spirituality.  

http://thespiritmolecule.com/

Life is too short

We all of those moments when we contemplate what's important in life and what do we want to get out of our lives. A big thing we all look for is a happy, care-free existence, but in order to get to that point in life, there are a few things that we have to work towards. I agree with pretty much everything in this article. 
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/pressure-proof/201210/life-is-too-short-10-things-not-worth-tolerating
It's important to keep a positive attitude, appreciate yourself and your body and to be happy with what you have. As sad as it is money does play a role in our happiness, it's important to be aware of your money problems but we shouldn't dwell on our financial shortcomings. One of the biggest things is this idea of perfect, of having the perfect life, perfect family, perfect job. There is no such thing as perfect and you will never achieve this. But there is maybe your ideal life and it may not be the same as someone else. Essentially, why should we be so concerned with other peoples lives, and what they think of ours, when we should be focused on create the best life we can in the way that we want to? Just as the article says life is too short for these types of worries. Everyone's different and so is their lives, it's because of all these differences that our world is so diverse. Not only that but it should make us thankful for having our very own lives and stories.

The Times They Are A-Changin

 Bob Dylan may be a controversial figure but his music is amazing. He is hands down one of the best lyricists in my mind and wrote about so many global and still relevant themes. When a musician can write something that is relevant and still relate-able years later that's how you know they are a true artist. Dylan was able to do that and I say that without hesitation. Though people may not like folkish music, you can't deny the power of his lyrics. You could just read his lyrics and they can come through as a poem instead of a song, that's the sign of an amazing writer. My favourite song, I think, by Dylan is "The Times They Are A-Changin". It's an extremely moving song and every generation can relate. More so now I think considering how rapidly the world has changed in the past 50 years. Our parents are so quick to judge us on so many topics like technology, school, sex, religious belief, life paths. They aren't exactly open minded and ready for the world to change. Our current generation is so much more open and ready to accept it I think. We have our own beliefs but we're open to listen to others as well. Regardless of whether or not anyone wants the world to change, it always will be, it's inevitable. Like Dylan says "you better start swimming, or you'll sink like a stone", this could not be more true. So below are the lyrics to the song and the song itself.   
http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/bobdylan/thetimestheyareachangin.html

We Are All Human

 http://www.psychologytoday.com/collections/201210/weeks-top-posts/the-love-humanity
This article touches upon the idea of "being human". From the beginning of man to our current era, people associate themselves with smaller groups, but rarely humanity as a whole. Which is what so many activist groups are supposedly striving for, like the feminist movement or gay rights. As much as I believe in these types of movements and that equality should be reached I doubt it ever will be and quite frankly, in a way these movements still create separate minority groups, (just to make things clear, I am not against any minority group trying to get a head in society. I myself believe in the feminist movement, but I'm not an active advocate). But in the pursuit of creating a homogenous society derived only of "human beings", we have to be blind to all differences and see our selves simply as one species. The psychologists in this article, tried to come up with a way to measure how much a person can identify to all humanity. Their main conclusions were; people high in openness and agreeableness rate higher and those who worry about "the little things" do as well. These types of people tend to worry about global problems such as poverty and natural disasters. They also speculate that those people who are more wealthy and grew up in a loving childhood environment could possibly score higher because they have the luxury of having less to worry about in the way of physical and psychological needs. It's hard to say for sure why certain people care more about humanity as a whole, but I think more research in this area is extremely important. I think that we all could benefit from future findings and be able to strengthen our selves as a humanity. A little consideration for others can go a long way, a simple smile could improve someones bad day. We need to accept that everyone has their own beliefs, views and morals. It's important to keep in mind that different paths can lead to the same conclusions and not to forget that we are all, only human. 

I AM CANADIAN!!

In honour of Canadian Thanksgiving, I decided to post something Canada related. Being Canadian there are just certain things that apply; you're not a fan of Americans, your welcomed in almost any country, you love the beaver and you know that we don't live in igloos. This website has a lot of jokes and such having to do with being Canadian http://www.swanparadise.com/Canadian-Jokes.html including the Molson commercial, "I Am Canadian"  (if you don't know the one, you must not be Canadian). So for all you Canadians out there enjoy :)

Waging Heavy Peace

Neil Young, one of my favourite musicians/ performers has written his first book. The book is called, "Waging Heavy Peace", it's an autobiography of course, but oddly he tries to stay away from the topic of his music writing. An interest thing to not is Young wrote all his music high, this book however he wrote completely sober, which he said was a challenge. I have not read the book yet, but I do intend to in the near future. I think this could be a real treat of a read, considering how well of a songwriter he already is. This is a link to Neil explaining his new book: http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/arts-and-life/entertainment/books/following-in-his-fathers-footsteps-singer-neil-young-writes-1st-book-172804421.html

Beautiful Losers

If you like art, specifically graffiti, I suggest you watch a documentary called "Beautiful Losers". It's about artists in the late 80's and throughout the 90's. Most of these artist are well known and all of them have a great insight to creativity and perhaps life in general. It tells their stories of how they got involved and what their lives were like during their artistic adventures. Steve Powers is one of the featured artists, and I have to say his pieces are very profound. Almost all contain phrases accompanied by pictures, but it is the meaning behind them that is so compelling. They're very straight forward pieces, yet still leave the mind to wonder. This is just some of his artwork.
 
If this type of art intrigues you, or if you are looking to be inspired you should definitely watch "Beautiful Losers".

The Voice

This is another post on a tv show, now i rarely watch any reality tv shows, especially singing shows, but The Voice is a good laugh. The people are talented, but the dynamic of the coaches is just unmistakable. There's a lot of witty banter between them especially Adam and Blake, but they really put on a show.All through the live auditions I just anticipate the end of the performance just to hear the banter that follows. Cee Lo is just an absolute nut. Last year his sidekick was a cat this year it's a pink cockatoo. Cee Lo doesn't even have to be talking to the other coaches to be entertaining, he just says some of the oddest things. He's a character to say the least. And Christina is just gorgeous as always. The show has a way of keeping you captivated because it's something different and new each week. Plus the coaches perform as well and not just judging the singers, they get involved too. If you have nothing better to do on a monday or tuesday night I would recommend it, if not for the awesome banter than for the prime singing.
 

Once Upon A Time

So season 2 of Once Upon A Time just ended and I must say I expected a bit more for a season premier. I did enjoy it and I'm more than excited it has started up again, but I found it slightly jumbled and a bit anti climactic. With that being said, I love this series. It's a nice new fresh take on some classic fairy tales, and does not sugar coat them as Disney has and they are not as dark as the Grimm brothers had originally written. Some of the aspects of the show are cleverly placed and thought out, such as the chipped cup (that being Chip from Beauty and the Beast), which makes me anticipate and actively watch to see what the next hidden treasure will be. If you're a fan of fairy tales, this show is a new outlook on the favourites.  
 

Future Success

I recently read this article about raising "quitters" but it's more about students perceptions about how to approach school. It is written by a developmental psychologist who has been noticing a trend in colleges and university with students dropping courses. Students are dropping courses they think will bring down their GPA, therefore hindering their chances of getting into graduate school. Getting an education is no longer about obtaining knowledge and learning new things, which is a sad state of affairs. Students rarely enjoy going to class, and are more focused on finishing their assignments and papers than actually having a love affair with the material being taught. Though this strategy of "quitting" may be beneficial in the college and university setting, Dr. Darling raises a good point about this strategy being problematic in the real world. I personally believe in sticking with things, and working hard to get where you want to go. Unfortunately in order to get to the professional job you want you may have to take the quitters approach. I am not necessarily are naturally intelligent individual and I have to work hard in order to understand concepts or get what I want, but I think I'm a better person for it. Just because someone has a talent, does not mean they'll master it, not without hard work. This is what's important and makes you a dynamic person, real world ready. 
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/thinking-about-kids/201005/raising-quitters

Bloggin

This is my first post and it'll just be a quick explanation as to why I started this blog. There are many subjects I have thoughts on but normally just keep to myself. I want to be able to share my thoughts with people and I want to hear their thoughts on the matters as well. Our world has changed drastically from the world our parents grew up in and I believe we have the power to change it for the better still. I can't wait to start looking into different subject matters and express my thoughts about them. I even have the hopes that I may learn new things too, in areas such as fashion and philosophy. So with that said let the expression begin :)