PersonalBrilliance

Emotional Costs of Social Media

Twitter is currently enjoying a surge in popularity and it seems that everyone is doing it. But while the social networking tool, and other fast-paced information sources, are designed to allow users to connect in real-time, a new University of Southern California study reveals that the rapidity of such connections could actually harm the emotional development of young people.

Twitter, the new Facebook, and the crawl at the bottom of the screen on cable news shows bombard us with a constant stream of information that, according to experts, is too fast for our brains to digest.

"If things are happening too fast, you may not ever fully experience emotions about other people's psychological states and that would have implications for your morality," says researcher Mary Helen Immordino-Yang.

The study found that humans can process and respond to signs of pain in others very quickly, but in order to feel admiration or compassion, we need time to reflect. Too much information too fast doesn't allow for reflection and can adversely effect the emotional growth of young people.

"We actually separate the good from the bad in great part thanks to the feeling of admiration. It's a deep physiological reaction that's very important to define our humanity," says Antonio Damasio, lead researcher and director of USC's Brain and Creativity Institute.

USC sociologist Manuel Castells says that despite the growing popularity of Twitter and other social networking sites that rely on rapid-fire information delivery, television remains the major culprit in this information overload.

"In a media culture in which violence and suffering becomes an endless show, be it in fiction or in infotainment, indifference to the vision of human suffering gradually sets in," he says.

I know there are many people who believe that blaming media for society's growing indifference to violence is a cop out, but I am not one of those people. I firmly believe that the steady stream of violent images and information that I personally have been exposed to as an adult has impacted my ability to react with the same compassion and feelings that I once did. I am not indifferent to the suffering of others, but I may at times be numb to it. Will young people who are growing up with 24-hour news and the constant chatter of the Internet ever learn to feel that compassion in the first place?

Source
Image credit: interimlover.livejournal.com

Married for 62 years, 90 years old and still having fun!

7 Public Speaking Survival Tips

I found this great article by Mark Tyrrell of Hypnosis Downloads. I can relate as I trained with Toastmasters for 5 years to overcome some of my public speaking jitters. At the end of the day, it all comes down to attitude and nerves though... and both of it we can control.

7 Public Speaking Survival Tips

I used to be terrified of public speaking - now it's natural and fun.

Dry mouth, fast heart, sweaty palms, blank mind - yeah I've been there! It's easy to fear public speaking. But I was never just content with overcoming fear. I wanted to be a great speaker. What I needed was a way of calming down and applying simple techniques and strategies to talk like a pro.

When I'd learned to relax (more of that later) I learned and applied the following four steps.

1. Reassure your audience - they need to know you know your stuff and you are human!
2. Hook them by being interesting and relevant. Tell them why what you are saying is relevant to them.
3. Inspire them by giving them information and ways of seeing that are new and applicable.
4. Leave them on a high by telling a story them encapsulates your central message.

How do you become confident enough to apply the four steps?

Here's some tips some of which are practical some of which are to do with the way you think about your public presentations and also how you can start to change the way you feel about them.

Tip One

Breath your way to calm. When you breath out you relax that's why people sigh when they're stressed.

Breathing in without breathing out causes hyperventilation and worsens anxiety. Just before your speech take five minutes breathing in to the count of seven and out to the count of eleven (quick count-not seconds!). On the out breath hold it a second before breathing in again. This will produce quick and lasting calm. Remember extending the out breath calms you down.

Tip Two

You have a responsibility as the presenter but relax you don't carry all the responsibility. Presenting is a team effort. Audiences are responsible for politeness, extending their attention and attempting to learn. It's not all you-it's a meeting of two halves. Never mind how they judge you. How do you judge them?

Tip Three

Use metaphor and stories. We all experience life metaphorically. The most technical logical person spends at least two hours a night dreaming! Talk detail if necessary but present patterns with metaphors. Folk from 4 to 104 love stories. Use em.

Tip four

Captivate attention by using words that evoke all the senses. Describe how things look, sound, feel, smell and taste. Paint pictures and sensations in their minds with your words.

Tip Five

Vary your voice tonality and speed of delivery. Keep them alert and engaged. Convey energy when need be and slow down when you need to 'draw them in close.' You are the conductor to their orchestra. And pepper your talk with humour. Your willingness to be funny shows personal confidence and confidence is contagious.

Tip Six

Tell them what they are going to get. What they are currently getting and then what they have got from you. Sell your sizzle!

Tip Seven

Watch and learn from other great speakers until compelling, relaxed speaking is a part of you.

Rehearse positively. You need to rehearse how your going to feel as well as what you are going to present. Don't think about your forthcoming presentation whilst feeling nervous as this creates an instinctive association between fear and presenting. This natural negative self-hypnosis is very common with nervous speakers.

Hypnotically rehearse your speech whilst feeling relaxed. This produces the right 'blueprint' in your mind. In fact when you do this enough times it actually becomes hard to be nervous!

All great speakers know how to use great self-hypnotic rehearsal. Hypnosis changes attitudes and can bring emotion under control. I used hypnosis, to change my instincts around public speaking. Now I just can't get nervous whether it's 50 or 500 people. The world needs great communicators. Go for it!

Cure your fear of public speaking at HypnosisDownloads.

What's really free in life?

Your thoughts are free, right? It must follow, then, my friend, that so is everything else.

Greetings from the Universe!

Mind Over Chocolate - Monetizing Prayer?

Move over, organic, fair trade and free range--the latest in enlightened edibles is here: food with "embedded" positive intentions. While the idea isn't new--cultures like the Navajo have been doing it for centuries--for-profit companies in the U.S. and Canada are catching on, infusing products with good vibes through meditation, prayer and even music. Since 2006, California company H2Om has sold water infused with wishes for "love," "joy" and "perfect health" via the words, symbols and colors on the label (which "create a specific vibratory frequency," according to co-founder Sandy Fox) and the restorative music played at their bottling warehouse...

Does it really work? Find out and read the Time Magazine Article.

The Eye of God

The following image was taken by the hubble telescope by NASA.

Contemplate the beauty of our Universe and what it may mean to you and humanity.
No more words are needed.

A New Year - Granting Wishes

I was about to wish that your every dream for 2009 come true. That you find yourself surrounded by friends, laughter, and good times. I almost wished that your every cup runneth over financially, romantically, spiritually, and creatively. That good health be your faithful companion, peace your guarded ally, and love your perpetual guide. When suddenly, it dawned on me that as an infinite, powerful, fun-loving gladiator of the Universe, with eternity before you and the power of your thoughts to help shape it... it's you, my friend, who will be granting wishes this year.

10...9...8...7...6...
   
The Universe

A Serious Message of Hope!

Very soon the world will see a large, bright star.
It will appear in the sky & be visible to all throughout
the world both night and day.
===================================================================================

Share International News Release, December 2008

Christmas Miracle

For years the world has been filled with miracles of all kinds. In April 1995 Time magazine devoted an eight-page spread to its cover story on miracles, and concluded: People are hungry for signs.

Look now for the biggest miracle of all. In the very near future a large, bright star will appear in the sky visible to all throughout the world night and day.
 
Unbelievable? Fantasy? No, a simple fact. Around a week later Maitreya, the World Teacher for all humanity, will begin His open emergence and though not yet using the name Maitreya will be interviewed on major US television.

In 1988 CNN and many other media reported on Maitreya's miraculous appearance to 6,000 people in Nairobi, Kenya, on Saturday 11 June. A week before the event a remarkable sign occurred: On Saturday 4 June a big, bright star was sighted, unusually brighter than ordinary stars, reported Kenya Times editor Job Mutungi.

For over 30 years artist, author and lecturer Benjamin Creme has been preparing the way for the biggest event in history the emergence of Maitreya and His group, the Masters of Wisdom. In May 1982 Creme revealed at a packed press conference in Los Angeles that Maitreya had been living in the Asian community of London since 19 July 1977.

Awaited by all faiths under different names, Maitreya is the Christ to Christians, the Imam Mahdi to Muslims, Krishna to Hindus, the Messiah to Jews, and Maitreya Buddha to Buddhists. He is the World Teacher for all, religious or not, an educator in the broadest sense.

As a modern man concerned with today's problems, Maitreya works behind the scenes of our changing world. The outpouring of His extraordinary energy has been the stimulus for dramatic developments on many fronts: the ending of the cold war; the break-up of the Soviet Union; the reunification of Germany; the ending of apartheid in South Africa; the growing power of the peoples voice, leading to demands for freedom and justice; and the worldwide focus on preserving the environment.

Maitreya's message can be summarized as share and save the world. He will seek to inspire humanity to see itself as one family, and to create world peace through sharing, economic justice and global co-operation.

With Maitreya and His group working openly in the world, humanity is assured not only of survival but of the creation of a brilliant new civilization.

For more information visit: www.Share-International.org 

A Buddha Laptop...

...it's not what you think! My friend Franci and I exchanged gifts today, and she gave me a quite unique gift:

From the outside it looks like a laptop, until you open it: it has no keyboard. Instead it has a "screen" on which you can paint with a paintbrush. And you don't paint with color, but simply with water. Paint or writer whatever you desire, and after a few minutes the picture dissolves slowly.

So what's the purpose of this? It teaches us to live in the moment. Capture any of your thoughts or desires and express them on the board... and see it disappear slowly. Neat!

Oh, by the way, what's wrong with the YingYang painting I attempted? - It doesn't matter, does it? It is going back to a clean slate anyway. I'll clear my mind and try again. :)

Try it online here.

Baking Bread - A Recipe for Life

I love the smell of freshly baked bread in my home, especially during the Christmas Holiday Season and when it is cold out. And what I love even more is creating a bread from scratch, based on my mother's recipe for a "Butterzopf" (Swiss Braided Butter Bread).

I remember so vividly, when I was 18 years old, about to move out from home, she walked me through the process. I have been baking this bread on a regular basis for many years. Then I forgot about it and recently picked up the habit again. My kids are crazy about this bread - once out of the oven, it does not last very long!

What I discovered is that the recipe is important, however, it is not the most important thing in the process. To me, it is more about the emotion and thought that goes into it. I am going to share with you the basic recipe and mix in some wisdom I have discovered. Baking bread can truly be a recipe for life! (Hang with me... I'll get to the life lessons at the end of this post).

Ready to start? Here we go with the basic ingredients:

- Take a large bowl and pour 1 kilo/36oz of white flour in it (don't bother sifting it)
- add 21oz of dry yeast (3 packs of 7oz each),1 tea spoon of salt and 1 teaspoon of sugar
- mix the it all up well with a spoon
- slowly melt 1 1/2 - 2 sticks of butter in a medium sized pan (I prefer 2 sticks of butter)
- once melted, add 1 egg (beat it in a small bowl with a fork), and 500-600ml/18-22oz of milk directly into the pan with the melted butter
- form a hole in the flour bowl and poor the butter/egg/milk mixture in it
- take a spoon and carefully mix everything up until you see a wet dough materialize
- if the dough is very stick to your fingers, add a little four
- spread some flour on your counter top/table and pour the mixture out of the bowl
- start kneading the dough, add a little flour if too sticky; dough should be moist but not stick to your hands.
- let it rise for about an hour; it should be double volume after that time
- punch it and let it collapse; knead it again on your counter top, using a little flour to help prevent sticking. (do this three times)
- preheat oven at highest level (600+ degrees)
- divide dough into 4 equal strings and braid
- beat one egg in a small bowl brush on top of the braided bread
- bake bread at about 350 degrees for 60 minutes/ 30-40 minutes for 2 medium breads

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yummie!This one tastes good, even though it came out a little drier than I wanted.

And now, what exactly are the life lessons to be learned from baking this bread? Well, here are a couple that came to mind.

1. Stuff - There are some ingredients/some stuff in bread as in life that cannot be left out. Passion in life is like the yeast in bread: without it we can't rise to the occasion.
2. Love - The warmth of your hand while kneading the dough activates the yeast. It is like the love that lends a warm and healing quality to any life situation.
3. Time - As we must give ample time for the bread to rise, we cannot rush but must exercise patience in the pursuit of our goals.
4. Beauty - The combination of the parts make the beauty of the whole. As we braid the four strings of dough to form the bread, we must pay attention to individuals in our families, communities and work teams, so that we may cooperate in harmony to build a beautiful whole.

I encourage you to bake a Swiss Butter Bread. It is therapeutic... and it tastes good. :)