Think Big and DO IT

Have you ever felt like the multiverse is trying to tell you something? This makes me understand why people believe in God: you hear/see/read something that resounds with you and then hear the same message again (and again sometimes) from different sources. 

This is happening to me right now. First I had a life-altering conversation with Norm, the owner of Sarinbuana Eco Lodge in Bali, and now one of my blogging idols Matt Frazier is telling me the same thing. So what are they saying?

Think Big and DO IT.

Lets start with Matt Frazier's blog post, "5 Easy Steps for Making your Unrealistic Goal a Reality". If you haven't read this then give it a try - especially if you have a big goal in mind.

Matt's 5 points so closely matched my own thoughts after our talk with Norm that it really felt like the universe/multiverse/God/whatever-you-believe-in was ramming its ideas home. The five points of Matt's blog are:

1. Think really big
2. Ask: Does action flow from it?
3. Give yourself time
4. Create massive accountability
5. Get to work

Norm was even more direct - points 1 and 5 summarise his attitude. I went into our conversation looking for insight into planning an eco-retreat and I came out with a fire lit under me. I was ready to change the world.

That's what was so inspiring about our conversation; Norm said, building an eco-retreat in Western Australia is fine, it's going to take you the rest of your lives and it'll be fine. But you can do MUCH more than that.

So that's the plan! To do MUCH more.

Stay tuned ...

Using music to alter your mood

I’ve been feeling a bit down lately. It happens to most of us at some point, but with a history of depression I tend to be quite aware when the gloomy thoughts take over. I use “in the moment” meditation techniques to break the cycle of negative thinking (such as “I feel the ground beneath my feet; feel the posture of my body”) because your body is always in the present moment. If you bring your mind to your body then you can break free from the negative monologue in your head.

This is something that needs to be done repetitively and is helpful to re-write the synapses in your brain. If you’ve had depression before then the repetitive negative thinking you experienced creates pathways in your brain that re-fire when you feel depressed. Hence the ‘cycle’ that you can become aware of (see the movie “What The Bleep“ if you want this explained beautifully).

Returning to the now IS helpful but it can also become tiring if you need to do it constantly (if the negative thoughts keep coming). What I’ve discovered, and now use as a secondary technique is upbeat music. Music has a profound effect on my mood; I used to know this subconsciously when I would listen to The Carpenters for hours when I was depressed. There’s nothing like Karen wailing her sad songs to keep you wallowing in depression!

With this awareness I now keep my mp3 in my bag and plug in my head phones whenever I need to. I did this on my way in to work this morning and changed a drab dark mood into an upbeat one, simply by playing tunes that made me smile or made me want to dance. You can’t be depressed when you’re dancing! I did have to sift through my songs so I think I’ll start an upbeat playlist called ‘happy tunes’ for a faster result next time.

Think back to the old songs that already have happy memories associated with them. When you’re in a dark place this won’t be easy but you may hear a great song somewhere and remember how happy it makes you feel, so note it down and add that tune later. ‘Brim full of Asha’ did that for me this morning, I mean, how can the lyrics “Everybody needs a bosom for a pillow, everybody needs a bosom” NOT make you smile?

What music makes you smile or dance?

Quantum mechanics: What do you mean I’m empty headed?

I watched a documentary last night called The Story of Science (Episode 2. What is the world made of?) Which, within the first 30 seconds completely blew my mind. Apparently if you were to take every person on the planet and remove all the empty space in us and push our matter together, we would take up the same amount of space as one small sugar cube. That’s all 7 billion of us in that one small sugar cube.

This is because when you break down what IS matter, you find molecules of elements made of atoms, but in each atom is a miniscule nucleus surrounded by a few whizzing electrons that don’t really occupy any space. Quantum mechanics does its best to offer a theory of where our electrons may pop into being at any one time, but, the electrons are so far away from the nucleus that the massive majority of what makes us (and all matter in the universe) is nothing. Void. Empty space.

A brilliant quote by physicist Niels Bohr offered in the program is, “If quantum mechanics hasn’t profoundly shocked you, you haven’t understood it yet”. Really this is a mind blowing concept if ever there was one. I feel solid, so does the ground, my chair, this desk; actually it’s all just empty space with trillions of tiny atoms moving around each other.

Although the theory of quantum mechanics has raised more questions than it has answered, it opens up the realm of possibility for human potential. As a Buddhist, it seems to me that knowing quantum mechanics (particularly, knowing that we are void empty space) is akin to enlightenment. Is it possible that Buddha had this awakening under the bodhi tree, that we are just star dust and space?

Of course knowing something with your head and knowing something with each atom of your body are two separate things. The movie “What the Bleep Do We Know?” discusses the possibilities that open up as we take charge of our infinite possibilities and manage our internal mayhem. I had a eureka moment watching that movie years ago as I realised that I had been choosing to be depressed for years because that was the habit my body was in. Changing my mood was literally up to me to change my mind. Once you have this knowledge you can change yourself in an instant. I did.

I’m not saying I’ve never been depressed since watching that movie, but when I’ve felt the old habits of whinging and sulking begin, I’m aware I have the power to change them, and I do. I no longer wallow in self-pity, and that’s a pretty amazing skill to have learnt while watching a movie.

As a new generation grow up with the knowledge of quantum physics, the possibilities of a deeper understanding are apparent. If we KNOW in our vibrating physical being that we are simply nuclei, electrons and space, what is stopping us from separating our bodies into particles in space? Humankind has the potential for a conscious evolution.

No, by the way, I’m not tripping, although I understand your point. This can all sound very hippy-dippy fast, which is why it is so amazing that scientific theory and research are proving that fact is truly stranger than fiction.