If Someone is Living In Your Head Rent-Free, Put Them to Work!

(Compliments of artist Bruce Holwerda @ www.bruceholwerda.com)

Not giving your power away is easier 'Said than done'", and it is a chore that I have to work on every day, but I am bound and determined to win the war.

HOWEVER.... (Fury, anger, stress) produces stress - and stress produces adrenaline, and there might be a silver lining to that cloud.

A study was done on rats. They were placed in several inches of water in a tub. Prior to placing the rats in the tub, a clear plexiglas platform was placed in the middle of the tub, with only an inch of water covering it.

The rats were placed in the tub, and eventually found the plexiglass island in the center of the tub.

The next day, half of the rats were given a 'booster' shot of adrenaline before being placed in the tub. The rats that received the shots found the plexiglass island in half the time required to find the platform by the rats that were not given the shot.

The conclusion reached by this experiment:

Even though living in a constant state of fight-or-flight is not a 'good thing', occasional boosts of adrenaline definitely does improve memory!

(Compliments of artist Bruce Holwerda @ www.bruceholwerda.com)

I practice reading music and playing piano or organ every day, usually 2 - 3 hours a day. If I keep tripping over a spot in the music (and I am sure that I have previously played that passage with no mistakes), the only thing I have to do to get over the speed bump that is tripping me up is to envision smashing the face of some untalented individual who exists in my past who previously poked fun, jeered, or would walk by me when I was practicing and say, "That's not how you play that song!" when they, themselves, couldn't carry a tune in a bucket, even if I carried it for them! Unfortunately, that person has historically been a family member, but....I digress.

I can do this little exercise 'at will'. Should I start stumbling while playing my music, I only have to call up a certain mental image, and there is no possible way that I can convey to you how effective this exercise is, when it comes to getting me by a tough spot in the music that my memory previously perceived as a 'block'. It works like a charm!

(Compliments of artist Bruce Holwerda @ www.bruceholwerda.com)

The moral of this little saga:

Even though it is technically not a 'good thing' to let somebody live inside your head rent free, and to give away your power to them, there is no law against gaining SOME compensation for their inconvenience in your live by putting them to work to pay for their stay (inside your head!) If you are going to let them dwell in your head, put them to work!

- Michael

When I need an Inspirational Infusion....

Meet Theo Jansen, a Kinetic Sculptor:

This man is truly inspirational. I was captivated from the first second of this video!

I believe **everybody** is given the same amount of energy, and that before one's life is over, that energy will be and must be spent.

This gentleman is a great example of a person who has chosen, on a daily basis, to use the energy that was given to him in ever-increasingly creative and beautiful ways.

Our brains are in a fluid state, so-to-speak. Some people think (or they are to lazy to think about it at all!) that the information that is in their minds is there on a permanent basis. (Watching 'Brain Games'on NatGeo should change their minds, but it probably won't):

http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/channel/brain-games/

Like our brains, our energy is never static. It doesn't stand still. Our energy will be used - either for good or for bad purposes. Someone will win. Someone will lose. There are no 'in-betweens', and we can't call a stalemate.

The people that ARE reading this comment are great examples of me "preaching to the choir."

The people that need to read my comment will be the same people that will not do so because I don't want most of those individuals any where near me.  A few of them have slipped past the super-sensitive radar that I use to screen out lazy, bitter, uncreative, destructive individuals who do nothing to make the world a better place before they make their exit. They're too lazy (or guilty!) to read this, so they won't get this far, either! It's much like offending an Amish person on TV. Due to several beliefs, they can't watch TV, so they wouldn't see the offense in the first place. Ya know?

- Michael

The Pet Shop Girls..... Out of the mouths of.... Parrots!

Conrad is so much like his daddy!

This morning, I heard him yelling, "I love you - and ME!"

Yesterday, I had him in the bathroom, playing on the counter while I took a bath. After several attempts at getting me to come and get him ("Come here! Come here!") he proceeded to pick up everything off the counter (my contact lens case, a hair brush, tooth brush, etc), and threw them - one by one - at me!

Like humans, African Greys do not readily recognize themselves in the mirror, but they can be taught to do so. After Conrad threw everything from the counter at me, he spent the remainder of my bath time doing his version of the "sticking your tongue out at yourself" in the mirror! Like his daddy, he loves mirrors, too - and he KNOWS he is looking at himself.

‎(I failed to mention that after Conrad threw each item from the counter at me, he would duck down.... The normal routine is that when he throws something at me, I pick it up, and throw it back at him. He was preparing himself for retaliation by ducking after he threw it!)

African Grey Parrot

Yellow Naped Amazon Parrot

There was a yellow-naped Amazon parrot at a pet store that I used to frequent in Quincy, IL. Her name was Penny. Because of psoriasis - and I like the way I look - I have been tanned for decades. VERY tan. When I walk by Penny's cage, she would call me the "N" word, then she would quickly duck down in the bottom of the cage, yelling, "You'd better watch that! You'd better watch that!"

Where did she learn this routine? The pet shop owners had to set up hidden cameras, and they caught their evening staff showing Penny pictures of black people, and telling her to call them the "N" word! When she would call somebody that word, they would take a whack at her cage in retaliation, and they would say, "You'd better watch that (who you say that to) !" She learned to duck and hide in the bottom of her cage, and say "You'd better watch that!" after she called a person the derogatory term!

Needless to say, the evening shift was fired and replaced.

HOWEVER.... Once a parrot learns something, you can hope and pray to change it, and with VERY minor success, but for the most part, once it's learned, it is EXTREMELY PERMANENT!

Yellow-naped Amazons are immediately behind African Greys when it comes to their ability to use human speech appropriately.

 There are a couple differences between the 2 species:

1) Amazons enjoy 'mimicry', as well as using the language for a specific reason.  Greys do not particularly enjoy mimicry, although they will occasionally engage in such activity, and get rather bored quickly by that simple game.

2) You will rarely ever see an African Grey parrot in "Bird Shows" on TV, or in amusement parks, for 3 reasons:

a) They do not enjoy mimicry games, which is required for human entertainment in "Bird Shows".

b)  They are NOT happy being perched in one spot for more than a few minutes.  A macaw, Yellow-naped Amazon or Cockatoo can be left on a perch in a public for many hours.  If a Grey is left in such a spot, they will jump off (or climb down!) off that perch in a few short minutes, and they are outta there!

c) It is an unfortunate fact that the even though the African Grey parrot has the highest intelligence of all parrots, they are also the most shy of all the large parrot species, AND they are smart enough to 'not talk when they don't want to do so.'  That can be frustrating to a silly human being who thinks African Greys are little puppets that will do everything at the whim of a beckoning human being!  The Grey will have other ideas.

- Michael

"You can't eat THAT! You're not....Jewish?".

Mark came home from work last evening, and shared with me the conversation that was held around the table as he had lunch earlier in the day.  He mentioned to one of his coworkers that he was craving "Lox & Bagles" (formerly called "New York Lox" at Einstein Bagels, for example).

To the uninitiated, Wikipedia provides a good explanation of 'Lox & Bagels" (I prefer mine on a pumpernickel bagel, but that is just a personal preference.):


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lox


After he mentioned this craving to his coworkers, one gentleman looked at him with an honest, stern look on his face and said, "What?  You can't eat that!  You're not Jewish!"


Personally, I can't resist the urge to sling back a zinger at these people, but Mark doesn't seem to share this weakness with me.


I would have snapped back at the gentleman making the comment any or all of the following:


"You eat Fries, but you're not French!"


"You eat Bacon, but you're not Canadian!"


"You eat that fake Americanized 'Chinese' take-out crap, and you tell yourself it's Chinese, but your last name isn't Chin!"


"Did you know that Baked Alaska can be made and consumed right here in the lower 48 states?  I have an even bigger scoop for you!  Mars Bars are made right here on this planet, and they are consumed by Earthlings!"

__________________

When we went to the Missouri Botanical Garden's Best of Missouri Show and Sale, we got in the door at 8:00 AM - a Garden Member's preview.  I headed straight for the wine tasting booths.  They get crowded the quickest when the General Admission crowd gets through the gates at 9:00 AM.  
Mark said, "What?  You can't drink wine now!  It's only 8:00 AM!"  Both myself, and our friend, Anne, said to him, "The Hell we can't! Stand back and watch!"  Not only did we taste wine at 8:00 AM on a Sunday morning, but we bought 6 bottles, and had them hold the bottles in their booth until we picked them up later in the day.  (We didn't want to carry around heavy packages for several hours before we left the venue.)

The same can be said for eating certain types of food. My food (and drink!) doesn't have a 'clock' on it.  I will have breakfast food at any time of the day or night, and I will have savory food at the same time - any time of the day or night.

(Along the same lines, I don't believe sewing needles, knitting needles, crochet hooks - or nail polish, as far as that goes - has a vagina, so EITHER sex, both male or female, can take full advantage of those items virtues without fearing that they will suffer repercussions or persecution as a result of their use! You are free to roam about the cabin!) 
__________________


I am here today to tell ya:   As long as I live, I will never, ever understand the mental and physical cages and prisons that people have, either willingly or inadvertently, constructed for themselves.  A fact that is even more sad than those self-inflicted limitations and beliefs is the fact that they feel so uncomfortable being around someone who is not bound by these beliefs that they want to make themselves feel better about their predicament by dragging the 'liberated few' into the quagmire with them!


If I could have only one request honored, it would be my plea to those self-entrapped people to either pull themselves up by their bootstraps, and get out of the hole they allowed themselves to crawl into, and join the few of us that enjoy VARIETY in our lives, or simply get the Hell out of my way!  You are cramping my style, and blocking my view!   There are no excuses.  I don't care if "That's how your mother did it!"  or "My father treated me a certain way."  Trust me when I tell you that I am living proof that you - yourself - are capable of forming your own belief system that is entirely independent of "How your were raised."


A quote from Dr. Phil:
"Rise above your raising!"


A quote from Maya Angelo:
"You did what you knew to do.  When you knew better, you did better!"


Both statements are applicable to me - and you.  I did, indeed, "Rise above my raising", and I was given the gift to know that both, way I was raised, and those people's beliefs, were screwed up more than I can ever convey in a simple blog.  Once I became an independent adult, I was bound and determined to change my entire world.  I have done so, and I will continue to do so on a daily basis.  


HOWEVER....   Once again, their efforts will not go down in flames!  If it were not for the existence of people like that, I wouldn't know any difference in my life, and I wouldn't have anything to be thankful for!  On that note:  Prathibah Vasuedevan, the next time you go to (Hindu) Temple, please say a puja for me!


Puja:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puja_(Hinduism)


- Michael