Ozric Tentacles:-'Mae Hong Song'

CYMATICS: Science Vs. Music - Nigel Stanford

Niyaz - in the shadow of life

Broad Peak

NORWAY - A Time-Lapse Adventure

Time Lapse

Suffering

I am going through one of extreme cycles of pain and look for some consolation. I have found that Americans disregard pain, they pretend it does not exist, a form of denial. In American society it is shunned, disregarded, despised and put in dark corners. Pain ruins the American dream.

Suffering is one of the most difficult things to cope with. Suffering takes many forms from the physical, emotional, mental, financially, loneliness, fears, failures and rejection. Suffering is part of being human. Suffering must be confronted and understood, avoiding it only furthers the journey.



Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved. 
Helen Keller

Pain and suffering have come into your life, but remember pain, sorrow, suffering are but the kiss of Jesus - a sign that you have come so close to Him that He can kiss you.
 Mother Teresa


Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars. 
Khalil Gibran

Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable... Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals. 
Martin Luther King, Jr.

To live is to suffer, to survive is to find some meaning in the suffering. 
Friedrich Nietzsche


Our human compassion binds us the one to the other - not in pity or patronizingly, but as human beings who have learnt how to turn our common suffering into hope for the future. 
Nelson Mandela


Suffering, failure, loneliness, sorrow, discouragement, and death will be part of your journey, but the Kingdom of God will conquer all these horrors. No evil can resist grace forever. 
Brennan Manning


Once we're willing to confront our emotional suffering, we begin making choices based on attraction instead of aversion, love instead of fear. Where we used to think about what was 'safe,' we now become interested in doing what seems right or fun or meaningful or ripe with possibilities.
Martha Beck


We are healed from suffering only by experiencing it to the full.
Marcel Proust

Chinese Radio

Lightning Storm recorded at 7000 frames per second

So What!

As humans, we constantly search for approval, it is response that tells us we are good, worthy and on the right track. But what if people's responses are not like that? Inevitably we cringe inside and begin to question our motives, choices and actions, this is only natural.

Dr. Ellen Hendriksen (Savvy Psychologist) address this issue in her article "How Not to Care What Other People Think". She offers a slew of remedies about how to deal with the opinions of people from considering the source to understanding people are ever changing. A good read for anyone.


http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/health-fitness/mental-health/how-not-to-care-what-other-people-think

Clarity

Clarity is the opposite of confusion. When we have a problem we have two options, first ignore the problem and that only works until it becomes a chronic problem or secondly do something about it in which case we must find a solution to that problem. In order to find the solution we must first understand the problem as we can never solve a problem we don't know anything about. You must gather all the facts and possibilities (brainstorm), then implement those ideas then finally evaluate the process then do it all over again if you have not solved the problem.

Curve fitting is a term used in some circles in which we try to make the solution  fit the problem which in hindsight does not work. Denial of facts like smashing a wooden block into a round hole, of course we need a big hammer for that. I see a lot of curve fitting in this world.

When there is little clarity there is murkiness or opaque thinking. This is the inability to see clearly. It changes brain behavior (stress) which makes feel uneasy, vulnerable and makes our journey unpredictable. In order to find solutions we must talk to people with acute specialization and
preferably talk to more than one expert. Do not stress under the weight of these pressures, focus on your target, reach out to many and press on, you will find the answer.

 "If you are going through hell, keep walking" -Winston Churchill

Wrong

One of the more difficult challenges of life is admitting when we are wrong. Being wrong is being human, it happens to all of us but we are oftentimes unwilling to admit it. Life is a giant maze with an infinite amount of doors, each door leads us to a new path which leads to more doors. Inevitably it is impossible to choose the right door, if we could then we would choose the right lottery numbers every week or find an answer to every question that haunts us.

Nobody likes to admit they are wrong, whether it was the choice of President, the friends I chose or the car we bought.  Being wrong is shunned by our society so people hide, lie or deny. I have gradually learned that I do not know everything which is ok since I am human. 

Shadows In The Myst

connect.ohm

Understanding

Understanding (noun):  1. The ability to understand something. (adjective) 2.  Having insight or good judgement.

Opinion (noun): A view or judgement not based on fact or knowledge.

Rumor (noun): A circulating story of uncertain or doubtful truth.

From time to time I am confronted by some memories of my past in which I am reminded of conflicts that I had with people. The conflicts arose from the inability to understand which are fueled by egotism. The fallout from these conflicts had profound effects on my life, many of them traumatizing.

NASA

I have spent a great amount of time in analyzing data* and to interpret things correctly you must let the data speak for itself. I have found that critical issues have many components and oftentimes very tight tolerances. All factors must be considered to arrive at a correct conclusion.

“Altogether too often, people substitute opinions for facts and emotions for analysis.”
― Andrew S. Grove, Only the Paranoid Survive

Opinions are always interesting but seldom reliable. Opinions provide an easy answer which is the low road and to be quite honest is a lazy way to get an answer. Rumors are generally based in fantasy, they are the lowest on the truth scale and  they are circulated to elevate sagging egos.

I think to travel the high road, we must have intelligence and the ability to sift through mountains of useless information. We must know the difference between valid information and junk. It requires integrity and hard work.

Rumors are trash. Some opinions are hyper-critical and have large consequences. Use critical thinking skills and discernment before releasing your thinking, you will do your neighbors and community a big favor.

"Don't argue with the emotions, argue with the data" -Andrew S. Grove

*Data Analysis includes a minimum of 10,000 hours of financial market data from option pricing models to statistical arbitrage and many other things. 25,000+ hours in medical research and countless other hours in research, study and practice in a number of fields.

"It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt" -Mark Twain

Images from the Milky Way

Images from the European Space Agency telescope. 

Cory Henry

Self healing

I have received great help by administering acupuncture via a low level red laser, it has been one of my bigger allies in my fight. I have learned techniques through a variety of teachers including some local acupuncture therapists. I tend to focus on some specific meridians (liver, spleen and kidney) which provide great results.

Malian Music

Mali has a rich music heritage and I found many good artists including Oumou Sangare