Our Shared Condition: Consciousness - with philosopher John Searle

Posted by John Lee of YourBestYouEver.net

IT'S a question that has long vexed the greatest of minds and remains a subject of debate.

Does 'the human consciousness' really exist and if so what form and function does it take?

Philosopher John Searle speaking about 'Our Shared Consciousness'

Even a cursory glance at current opinion reveals deep divisions between different schools of thought.

Well, in the fascinating video you can access below, eminent philosopher John Searle presents his view.

Speaking at CERN - the European Organization for Nuclear Research - in Switzerland, his talk covers:

* Why consciousness is the most important aspect of our lives

* The reasons why there appears to be a reluctance and hostility to the idea of consciousness

* The differing views held by the scientific and spiritual worlds, and why they 'paralyse' our thinking

* Some of the outrageous claims made about consciousness, its form and existence

* Reasons why these views really don't stand up to scrutiny

He also offers his own common-sense definition of what consciousness really is as part of our daily experience.

These are just some of the subjects covered by John in the very lively and insightful talk, which was filmed by TED.

I'm sure you'll find it both enjoyable and enlightening, and come away feeling a lot clearer in your own mind.

Simply click on the link below to go to the original recording:

http://tiny.cc/JSearle

How To Make Your Dreams Come True

By Justin Harmon

“Children see magic because they look for it.” - Christopher Moore

What is it to dream?

Consumed by the chaos that surrounds me, my life is but a mere echo of a faint cry for true freedom and a dream to come true.

I’ve been stuck in a catatonic state of dismay fueled by the fire to dwell in my ever growing abyss of despair.

Will I ever reach the destination which rests in my heart? The place where majestic wonder and perpetual fortitude for life’s greatest pleasures resides? 

OK. So my desire for a poetic entrance has been fulfilled, yet the relevance of the words remain unchained in my persistence towards my own dreams.

I believe there is a dream within all of us. A desire for a future that leaves us free to live openly, fully, and without the constraints of any cultural restrictions we’re presented with.

To dream means so much more than just having a visionary fantasy. Dreaming is a gift we have all been given. A way to envision our greatest desires and aspirations.

There is a problem though. Most of us have come to think of dreaming as an imaginary state reserved only for thought and not meant to become part of our reality.

I disagree with that premise. I believe our dreams can be the catalyst for our life’s transformation into reaching our greatest potential.

If we use the desire towards our dreams for fuel to move us towards them, we can bridge the gap between our dreams and our own reality.

It took me a long time to realize just how much is possible in this world when we put our dreams into action. 

It’s not easy, especially when there is so much skepticism towards being able to achieve our dreams, but I now know it’s possible.

I know it’s possible because I’ve turned one of my long time dreams into a reality, well almost.

When I was in fourth grade, we had a published author, (don’t remember her name) come to our school and give a workshop on writing.

I remember being in awe of the entire experience and being obsessed with the fantasy of one day being a famous published author.

That dream, like most in life, faded as I grew older. I became subjugated by the status quo and the restrictions society placed on me.

I reluctantly got a job, then another, then another … After 30-some jobs and still as lost as I had ever been, I decided to settle. I found a job and decided to stick with it no matter what.

That just hasn’t done it for me, so two years ago I started a blog. I forgot how much I still loved to write. I decided I would write a book, so I did.

I wrote not one, but two eBooks. Then I decided I would write a book to be published and I did. I didn’t do it alone.

I enlisted the help of my newly acquired friends who were making their dreams come true to participate.

After all was said and done, 20 of some of the most remarkable people I know helped bring the long-time dream to life.

I finished the book in August, successfully funded an Indiegogo campaign to help with publishing costs, and then something unexpected happened.

I was contacted by an independent publisher who was interested in turning my once childhood dream into a reality. We worked out an agreement and the book is now in the process of publication.

If all goes as planned, it should be released around the beginning of the New Year.

It’s by no means what I dreamed it would be like, but just by believing my dream was possible and taking some steps towards making it real, I was able to actually make it happen.

I believe anyone can turn their dreams into a reality, even you. I’d like to share some of the things I believe made a world of difference on my path.

Perception

Above all, the way you see what’s possible for your life will be the determining factor to whether you start a journey towards making your dreams real or just continue passively dreaming of 'what ifs'.

If you are up for it and can get past the negative feedback from the naysayers who would never believe in their own ability to turn their dreams into a reality, you can absolutely learn to see your dreams as an inevitable future destination.

Begin to connect and surround yourself with others on a similar path as you and you’ll begin to see how much your perception changes. They will be your inspiration and support, as you will be theirs.

Dedication

You may have heard this before, but I’ve found it to be true. The bigger your dream, the more work you need to put in to make it real.

There is no substitute for hard work except maybe for the dedication to keep working through the most difficult of circumstances.

I came across many pitfalls with periods of low ambition, lost faith, and just plain old laziness.

Those may have stalled my progress from time to time, but I remained dedicated to persist in my efforts and in the end, it was worth it.

Don’t ever stop chasing. Even when you come across a roadblock, it’s OK. Accept it for what it is and keep moving forward. Dreams don’t come true overnight. Sometimes it can take years, even decades.

Strength of Purpose

Not until I came up with a good enough reason to convince myself that going after my dreams was going to be worth it, did I actually make a dedicated commitment to start pursuing them.

The reason I came up with was that I wanted to make some sort of impact in the lives of others.

I had finally come to believe in the possibility for my dreams to come true and I wanted to help others see it for themselves.

Don’t ever underestimate the power of purpose. It can push you through trying times. When you begin to question whether or not you should continue on and you ask yourself what the point is, you’ll know.

Are there more things you need to know to achieve your dreams? Sure, absolutely there are. But you know what? You continue to learn and grow as you move forward towards your dreams.

Just remember it’s all a journey. You can either strive for your dreams or not. The choice is obviously yours.

Will you take a chance on yourself and your dreams?

Article source: http://tiny.cc/DreamOn

The Only Decision-Making Tool You Will Ever Need

By Lolly Daskal

THERE are many theories, tools, and techniques on how to make better decisions.

What would happen if we abandoned all the programs, steps, and processes, and simply allowed a tool that we already possess to lead us toward what we want?

Here’s the only tool you really need: The willingness to follow your heart and the consent to grasp its candor.

Following your heart is about observing, watching, knowing, seeing, feeling, and trusting and it requires only discipline in a few areas:

Trust. Trust your judgment. What you need to decide is already within your scope of intelligence and instinct. No one knows as much as you know about what needs to be done.

Fear. We all have fears, but allowing fear-based decisions fuels them further. It allows doubt to rule.
When we make decisions out of our fear we are allowing our doubt to rule.

Control. Our best decisions are made when we are willing to let go of the illusion of control. It is not that illusion, but the reality of surrender and acceptance that lead us to the truth on which good decisions are made.

Thought. In short, don’t believe everything you think. The head wants us to avoid failure, mistakes, and pitfalls. Its analytical approach will keep us from having the will and courage to make the decisions that lead us to what we really want.

Insight. Confusion sometimes results when we don’t want to agree with the truth. Maybe our truth makes us uncomfortable, and it takes us to our discomfort zone. But confusion disappears in the face of the heart’s truth.

The heart is always helping us to decide, and our confusion is often the smoke screen obscuring our truth.

Following the heart is an individualized experience. But we each have an inner compass providing answers to our questions and challenges in our decision making.

Decision-making from the heart takes courage in trusting and boldness in accepting its challenge.

Following your heart may make you uncomfortable and the discipline may make you feel fearful. But its wisdom will lead you to innovation, creativity, originality, artistry, and resourcefulness and it requires us to surrender and lead from the unfamiliar.

Lead From Within: Following your heart when it comes to decisions will result in getting you where you ought to be, doing what you ought to be doing, and being who you are meant to be.

For coaching, consulting, workshops and speaking. Please feel free to contact me. © 2013 Lolly Daskal. All rights reserved.

Article source: http://tiny.cc/LollyD

Great Xmas 'Flash Mob' Video - Featuring 'Deck the Halls'

Check out this brilliant 'flash mob' movie, courtesy of flickspire.com and the Carlton School of Management.

Just what you need to get you in the mood for the forthcoming festivities... even those who are a little bit 'Scrooge' and prone to a spot of 'Bah, humbug!'

So turn up your sound, hit 'fullscreen' and enjoy! And a very Merry Pre-Christmas to one and all!

Click on the link below to go to the original YouTube video.

Carlson School of Management Flash Mob, Deck the Halls Movie

How To Forgive And Forget: The Truth About Forgiveness

By Doc Orman M.D.

MUCH has been said about forgiveness throughout the ages. Despite all the spiritual and self-help advice we receive, however, most people still find it very difficult to forgive.

While we often say the words "I forgive you" or "let's forget and move on," still deep within our hearts we are not really letting go of most of the anger and blame we feel against someone who may have seriously wronged us. This can result in ongoing personal suffering that, for some, continues to last throughout their lifetime.

The reason why most spiritual and self-help advice about forgiveness doesn't help is because it doesn't delve deeply enough into the actual causes of our anger and blame in the first place. When you correctly understand the true causes of anger in human beings, you begin to deeply appreciate that the most important causes of anger and resentment lie mainly within us, and not with the behavior of others or whatever may have happened in the past.

These internal causes are anger-producing thought patterns and action patterns that become triggered within in our bodies. Often, these internal thought patterns and action or behavior patterns produce "false internal realities" within us that we automatically assume to be true, but that have little correspondence to the truth about what really happened. But we end up getting angry and holding on to our anger anyway, because our bodies automatically assume that all of these "internal realities" are indeed true.

For example, automatic anger-producing thoughts such as "someone did something they shouldn't have done" or "I was hurt or harmed by what happened" or "the other person was unilaterally to blame for what occurred" are frequently incorrect. As a result of these mistaken "internal realities," we conclude that a crime has been committed and that someone should apologize, offer to make amends, and/or be punished. When none of these things occur, or sometimes even when they do, we may find it very difficult to forgive.

There is no way you can "let go" of your anger or truly forgive the past as long as "false internal realities" remain unchallenged within you. You cannot pretend "all is forgiven" when you are certain that: a) you were seriously harmed; b) the other person (or yourself) was unilaterally to blame; and c) this person should have done something different.

THE SECRET TO TRUE FORGIVENESS IS TO CHALLENGE YOUR INTERNAL ASSUMPTIONS THAT LEAD YOU TO BELIEVE AN UNFORGIVABLE CRIME WAS ACTUALLY COMMITTED IN THE FIRST PLACE.

The best way to do this is to recognize where your automatic assumptions, which are causing your anger and resentment, are false or misleading. Once you challenge and disprove these "false internal realities," your anger and resentment will quickly disappear, without you having to do anything to try to force this to happen.

Even when a true crime, such as a theft or murder was committed, it is still possible - although not easy - to forgive the offending party. This can sometimes be done by challenging your automatic assumption that the person should have "known better" or should have behaved in a different manner.

Copyright (c) 2013 M.C.Orman, M.D., FLP

Doc Orman, M.D. is a physician, author, stress coach, and founder of The Stress Mastery Academy. To learn more about his advice on how to forgive, as well as how to solve other lingering stress or anxiety problems, visit http://stressandanxietysolutions.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7451728

Unconditional Love: The Key To Lasting Relationships - By Barrie Davenport

Posted by John Lee of YourBestYouEver.net

IT'S a concept with which we're all familiar, that of  'unconditional love'. But what does it actually mean? Is it the love between two life partners?

Is it the love given to a child by his or her parents? Is it the kind of love a faithful pet will offer to its owner?

Some would say that it's any or all of the above... and who could argue?

But where does this, the very strongest and most enduring of human emotions, begin?

Well, the feature you can read via the link below, by Barrie Davenport, has some wonderful insights.

Take a look. It will more than likely open your eyes.

And if you're interested in exploring this idea further, I can highly recommend an excellent book by Marci Shimoff, entitled, 'Love for No Reason - 7 Steps to Creating a Life of Unconditional Love'.

You can find out more about the book and purchase a copy by clicking on the image over to the left of this post, by the title.

To read Barrie's feature, click here: http://tiny.cc/Unconditional

6 Surprising Sources of Happiness - By Brendan Baker

Posted by John Lee of YourBestYouEver.net

DO you sometimes find that the usual activities you indulge in to cheer yourself up or feel happy somehow fail to hit the mark?

It's probably because you've become so used to them and their pleasurable effects that they've lost a degree of their power.

Well, here... just to give you a few new ideas... is a light, fun feature that suggests one or two alternative strategies.

Some may be fairly obvious. Others are certainly not. So why not take a look and give them a try?

At the very least they could give you a fresh, new perspective!

Just click on the following link: 6 Surprising Sources of Happiness