my response to some ignoramus’ on a facebook discussion:

“so many uninformed commenters here… once you’ve reached an objective, logical, and unbiased understanding of the issues and realities of economic distribution in this country, you realize that any debate incorporating “liberal vs. conservative,” “republican vs. democrat,” or even “socialism vs. capitalism vs. whatever” is one that’s already gotten hopelessly off track. these divisions are misleading and deceptive, and their only purpose is to further divide the very people that should be realizing that we’re ALL in this TOGETHER. separating ourselves into illusory categories only divert us from COLLECTIVELY tackling the problems of this country and the world at large. we cannot do this until we put the bullshit aside and start working together.

also… whenever a debate arises surrounding this and similarly complicated issues, the quickest way to prevent anything substantial from being accomplished is to begin pointing the finger and assigning blame. BLAME is the most unproductive thing of which to focus on in intellectual discussions. what does a conversation regarding blame, and who’s fault it is, actually accomplish? that’s right, NOTHING. it’s pointless, the only purpose it serves is to allow people to engage in an ego-driven pissing contest, to get up on their soapbox and to flaunt their presumed intellectual superiority over others.

you know what’s more productive? focusing on root causes, leaving the egotism and confirmation-bias in the trash can where it belongs. start discussing our commonalities, that which we actually agree on, and go from there. cover some actual ground for a change.

unless, of course, your only interest is puffing out your ego vest. then by all means, get on that soap box. i would argue, though, that ignorance is NOT bliss, and is a one-way ticket to creating your own hell on earth.”

Things in my life have been downright spooky lately… or maybe just “strange as fuck” would suffice. Seems like life is either getting a lot easier or tremendously more difficult for folks, with just a bit of in-between. Maybe that’s how it’s always been, but it seems especially dichotomous as of late. The more unbalanced individuals in my life keep sliding further into the deep dark, despite an apparent lack of friction from outside sources. Perhaps if the environment itself doesn’t provide us with challenges, we’re driven to create that dysfunction within ourselves. I don’t know.

My mood hasn’t been this stable, consistent, and balanced in what seems like ever. I’ve rarely been deviating from a neutral medium, the low points appearing more as the dark sides of the stable coin. This is in shocking contrast with some of my loved ones seeming to be trading in their chips entirely… is there an pandemic of psychosis festering in the world these days or something? Or perhaps it’s more a manifestation of smaller-town cabin fever, only within the woodlands of the local collective mind. Is crazy contagious? I wonder.

My poor parents are doing the best they can, bless their patient hearts. They’ve been unfailingly kind toward me lately, I couldn’t be more appreciative of their support as I already am. I’m finally starting to settle in to this carefully cultivated mindset I’ve been nurturing for some time now, and this is leading me in a natural progression toward my future, thinking about my education & desiring more action and change in my life. I’m gearing up to get back into school and work toward independence, at long fucking last.

I trust myself finally and I think I’m ready to put my newfound decision-making abilities to the test. Even on the male/relationship front, I know that even when (not if!) I make mistakes and have regrets, I’ll continue to bounce back quickly. The only one that can break my heart is myself, and I’ve done enough healing of self-inflicted wounds to last many lifetimes. The past is a barren land of illusions and regret, and I’ve already packed my bags to board the future bus. There’s nothing left for me back there.

My, oh my… my poor parents. They’ve done everything they can for my siblings and I, but still find themselves at a loss with myself and my 23-year-old twin brother. He’s went off his meds again, last November… hence (I suspect, anyway) why he made the impulsive decision to abandon ship in Florida (where they essentially purchased a condo for him, to give him his own space and sense of autonomy) and he shit on it all to seemingly follow me back to Michigan. If I were a paranoid type, I’d swear that it was my turn to bear some of the karmic burden, for my life to be made miserable for a change…

But I know life isn’t that easily tied up into such a sensical package with the bow of destiny tied neatly around it. For so many life occurrences come about by chance and a hapless roll of the die. The cards simply fall and we’re faced with trying to make sense of them after the fact.

But damned if it isn’t testing my patience right now. My vehicle has been hijacked, my sense of serenity in my previously-peaceful childhood home, my plans to maintain a quiet decorum in my immediate environment – they’ve all been dashed. For he rolls through like a destructive tornade hell-bent on disrupting all of the above I’d been so desperate to maintain. For it’s not enough that he suffers and struggles; no, the status quo of disorder must be distributed among all of which exists around him.

For maybe it is my turn to share upon the burden, to be thrust into a quasi-parent role of having to be the one to deal with such an impossible person. The harder I try to extend compassion toward those around me, the more this dedication is pushed and pulled until the band of patience is stretched beyond all recognition. There is no place to hide from the darkness of those infected by it, the only recourse is to somehow weather the storms without becoming downtrodden and despaired by it all.

I wish he could see the pain and immense stress he burdens us all with, merely by the black-hole of his negativity sucking the life out of our lives. He just exists as he is, and that existence is a magnet of ruin that myself, and the rest of my family, must prepare ourselves to confront in battle, lest we find ourselves caught off-guard by its destruction.

The saddest part of this whole mess, for me anyway, is that he has developed so many delusions about not only himself but of the supposedly important people in his life. He said to me last night, “Judy, you have severe emotional and psychological problems…” (and so on). Talk about a quintessential pot-meet-kettle perceptual analysis. How about the impulsivity, the selfishness, the delusional undercurrent of nearly every behavior, interaction, and decision he has made for himself over the last few years?

I may not be perfect. Everyone has their own problems, to be sure, but considering love as the most important theme within the drama of higher existence, losing that as one’s guiding light is a surety toward loneliness, depression, and dysfunction. Lose sight of what is truly most important and you’ll all but guarantee your own private, personal hell. And I refuse to succumb to such a pointless and dark reality.

My only option is to confront the difficulties presented to me head-on, as yet another life lesson, trial, tribulation, whatever insufficient wordage I use to describe it. I will learn from this. It might take some suffering along the way, but it definitely won’t last forever.

Sharing yet another long-winded comment I’ve posted elsewhere on the world wide web. From the eCat blog

“To me, the public dismissal of cold fusion and Rossi’s eCat is part of its brilliance, and the very reason why there could be something to it. Notice that there’s little “hype” surrounding this technology? The MSM will barely touch it, but those that have are refraining from demonizing it completely. Perhaps to prevent a situation of having to eat their words later? Perhaps because any extreme in assessing the potential of cold fusion, from complete belief all the way to outright dismissal, is likely to be based on dogma instead of fact, because as it stands we simply do not have enough information to make a non-biased, objective assessment.

Sometimes I choose to approach more “alternative” sources of information and possibilities with a broad, philosophical analysis of things, especially when science is unable to take a definitive stand (and even then, as quantum physics shows us, the more we peel back the layers of truth, the more questions that appear). This could actually work… or, it might be a load of bunk.

It’s possible that Rossi is misinformed, and is unknowingly engaging in confirmation-bias… yes, that’s possible. I think this is more likely than him purposely deceiving the public and scientific community. If he’s a conman, the truth won’t be difficult to find. If there is any grain of truth within this technology though, it has the potential to completely revolutionize the planet.

It could very well contain the seed for the next global paradigm shift. Man discovers fire and other tools. Man develops verbal language. Man develops internet. Man discovers a plentiful and sustainable energy source.

It’s possible. Whatever the case ends up being with Rossi and the eCat, I believe the next stage of human evolution will have to do with some fundamental change in how humanity interacts with the material world, whether that be through a new energy source, a change in how we experience time, a deeper understanding of the mind/body connection… it’s GOING to happen (science and history all but guarantees it!), and cold fusion is a viable possibility. I wouldn’t be so quick to dismiss it.

Just be open-minded, that’s all. The world and the things inside of it are a lot more interesting and beautiful than we’ve been conditioned to think. Try not to limit yourself… “either anything is possible, or nothing is.” View the world with fresh and imaginative eyes, like children do. We need to hold onto our sense of wonder, lest all of our creativity floats away with the wind.”

I actually sort of enjoy when someone acts condescending toward me, because then I know my message is getting underneath their skin. The ego can engage in all of the “system justification” it wants, but know that deep down, it is actually the benevolence of your conscience stoking your flames of frustration… not my passionate activism of the truth.

I will never give in. I would rather be sequestered in prison for the rest of my earthly life than to silence my passion for the world. Reality is perception, what I choose to see is positivity and love. TPTB are fighting a losing battle, for these waves of compassion and desire for the truth are crashing all around the world, gathering more and more of Us in its path. We are quickly moving toward that point of no return, the point at which there will be NOTHING “they” can do, for We will never drown… We’ll simply figure out how to breathe underwater.

I really can’t stand hearing my family discuss the current economic situation in Greece… they’re so brainwashed, so uninformed. It’s depressing for me to be confronted with such grave ignorance in my own home, from my own parents. Ah… what can you do. I have hope that the light will someday wash away the dark, although it can’t come soon enough.

I, like many other of my fellow citizens, have come to the realization that the net of governmental power has been cast far too wide, that the immensity of red tape and regulation is ineffective, expensive, and very harmful. I increasingly find myself wondering if “smaller government” is the answer. However, I also recognize there are no simple, easy solutions to be had for a system that has grown so complex and dysfunctional.

If America is going to progress in a more universally beneficial, positive direction, it seems that the development of a more transparent, fluidly functional system is integral. Smaller government, yes indeed, but ONLY if the deregulation/scaling back is supplemented by the SIMULTANEOUS reinstatement of the many individual rights and freedoms we’ve either lost or been denied throughout the history of this country, AS WELL AS elevating the importance and economic stability of the public programs we’ve come to rely on (i.e. police and fire services, libraries, the postal service, road and other infrastructure services, etc.)

OH, and the mainstream media monopoly needs to be abolished IMMEDIATELY. In fact, the media should be considered PUBLIC PROGRAMS and run as such. Not for profit whatsoever. Perhaps they could be funded by taxes, but personally I sort of like the idea of being able to opt out of any and every public system. And really, with the internet and the incredible technologies we have, why not allow for public input (via voting through the internet, in some capacity or another) on the decision-making of the programs, these public programs, that are FOR US? Not every fucking thing needs to be so inextricably tied to economic profit. How about finding a way to remove greed entirely from the systems supposed to benefit the all?

So, downsize the federal government, but ONLY if this will result in stronger functioning of local communities. Reconfigure local and state police departments to function as protectors, not as branches of a militant police state. The way things are headed is incredibly frightening.

I haven’t put a ton of thought into it, and my understanding of politics is admittedly limited. These are just some ideas, quick thoughts I’m entertaining. Regardless though, things have simply got to change… or the majority will continue being wage slaves to the greedy and the reckless destroying the world with their endless, avaricious desires of wealth, environmental, and global domination. This simply isn’t a conspiracy theory, and hopefully the next paradigm shift will occur before it is too late.

Copy of the Amazon review I just submitted:

Along with being an undergraduate student in Psychology (at a research university), I’m also an autodidact (i.e. self-motivated learner) that considers myself to be a skeptical optimist. That is, I try to view information through an objective albeit hopeful eye – our BELIEFS are integral to our conception of truth and reality, and we have the tremendous power to choose what they are.

Anyway. On to the book. It isn’t a “magic bullet.” (Such things don’t truly exist anyway, there are no truly beneficial shortcuts to anything worth having in life. Including health). It won’t make you quit if no part of you wants to. But if the seed is there, a careful read of every single one of the book’s pages will inspire, motivate, and nurture that seed to grow with showers of empowerment. For “empowering” is the most befitting word I can think of to convey the potential that this book has to inspire a person wrestling with the cigarette demon to finally quit.

The seed must be there, though. If you are completely resistant to even considering that you might not truly enjoy smoking, then you’re not ready for this book. I thought I enjoyed smoking, too… until the seed of doubt was planted, that is. Like many other young people, I thought I was invincible, that I could give up smoking whenever I wanted. But of course, the nature of addiction is such that by the time we realize how deeply entrenched we are, it’s all the more difficult to extricate ourself.

That’s where this book comes in. I call it “empowering” because it completely dismantled and then cleverly rebuilt the assumptions and preconceptions I had regarding smoking. Some of the epiphanies I’ve had:
a) We’re actually not “giving anything up” when we quit, this is an ILLUSION. We actually gain the ability to become empowered by choosing truth, health, and learning to trust ourselves and our strength.
b) It is nonsense that we’ll face a lifetime of cravings, denying ourselves, and wishing we could smoke, once we quit. If you quit and find that’s the case, then you’re still clinging to the commonly-held illusions that we as individuals and society have manipulated us to have.

At first I thought this book was employing a technique of reverse psychology, or some subtle levels of manipulation. However, I’ve since realized that its methods are more akin to cognitive behavioral therapy. Smokers tend to have immense cognitive dissonance surrounding cigarette addiction:
“If it’s so bad for me, why do I enjoy it so much?”
“Quitting smoking is more difficult than quitting heroin!” (I especially like this one, as it’s usually presented with “statistical evidence” to prove it. Correlation=/=causation, folks!)
“Why do so many people still smoke if they know it’s awful for their health? It must be because it’s so hard to quit!”
Cognitive dissonance is a large source of anxiety, unhappiness, and dissatisfaction for us human beings. We are unsettled by such disharmony.

These are all perceptions, beliefs that we’ve CHOSEN to have, both on the individual and societal levels. If we’ve developed a belief that something is near impossible to stop doing, then it follows that only immense WILLPOWER will pave the path to ceasing that action/behavior. However, that’s an example of a perspective that we have CHOSEN to believe. So essentially, the extreme levels of cognitive dissonance inherently incited by smoking addiction are, in many ways, a state of mind that we have chosen.

This book presents a method by which to resolve this conflict by closing the gap created by cognitive dissonance. If you’re open to the ideas it presents, then you’re choosing to reconfigure the perceptions and beliefs you have regarding your own addiction and of cigarettes in general. It is a method of positive reinforcement, that is, it motivates the smoker to start framing the process of quitting from an optimistic lens. We’re not giving anything up, that’s a destructive and outdated illusion. We don’t need willpower – we just need to be open-minded to the possibility that we can choose a different, more empowering, and much more positive understanding of smoking, why we did it, and why we want to stop. We gain back our health, our freedom, and the realization of our own individual power. It’s exhilarating once we have these epiphanies. Are you ready for it?

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2078355,00.html

I remember when I first heard about the krokodil epidemic in Russia… it was about a year ago. It horrified me, didn’t seem real, the stuff horror movies are made of… but it was. It is.

This is where the War on Drugs leads us, folks. The devastation and suffering that people across the world face, and often in more extreme manifestations than affects us here in the US, is what leads people into the arms of addiction. The desperation to escape the torment, even it’s just a transient respite… Krokodil is another result of that desperation, magnified to an extreme degree.

Those who don’t understand addiction are the ones who say “Who would do this to themselves? They chose to be so stupid/irresponsible/selfish, they deserve what they get!” Aside from this being an abhorrently cruel and inhumane perspective on such a deeply human issue (escaping our suffering, that is. WE ALL DO TO SOME DEGREE), it’s ignorant. Incredibly, ridiculously, ignorant.

The perspective we should have is, “wow, how tragic and sad is it that the world they they are forced to live in is so unbearable that they escape into such a destructive substance.” Clearly substance use, recreational as well as habitual use and addiction, aren’t going away, for they are intrinsic and inseparable parts of the human experience. Prohibition just pushes tackling this and other social health crisises into a “no-man’s land” of responsibility, assuming substance abusers don’t end up in prisons first.

This is a primitive way of thinking, and when I reflect on similarly inhumane systems and illogical thought paradigms that the larger world still clings to, even as the ship continues to sink… I have to actively fight against the tidal wave of hopeless frustration that threatens to consume me. Why do we allow people to suffer like this? And the answer I find myself increasingly become aware of is almost more horrifying than the initial problems themselves… straight up greed. Incomprehensible avarice on the part of the governments and institutions that pull the strings for much of western society.

It’s almost becoming a joke, more buzzwords trailing into meaninglessness… while I’m glad the Occupy movements are motivating people to gather and push back against the system, I also fear that it threatens the seriousness of these issues by breaking it down into just another media soundbyte. However, the more of the darkness that is pushed out into public consciousness, the better – there is nowhere for the evils and inhumanity of the world to hide anymore. For every method they’ve clung to, from painting our contemporary activists as lazy troublemakers to diversionary tactics of distraction, become more obvious and more pathetic as the days pass by.

I find observing my parents’ reactions to the blizzard of world events we’re experiencing in increasing ferocity quite intriguing, albeit troubling. By all accounts, they should be part of the progressive, knowledgable and “awake” among us, yet, they seem to grow increasingly resistant to lifting the veils of ignorance as the days go by. I think this is an example of how defensiveness is a manifestation of subconscious guilt… “that which you find most distasteful in others is also that which occupies the darkest pieces of our own selves.” Conscious apathy is the darkest choice a human can make, that which I find the most distasteful and immoral.

I have to continually refill my compassion reserves, for I also know that those who are the most resistant to change are also the ones who have the most to lose. A lifetime of careful planning and decision-making buttresses their stubborn and conservative perceptual lenses. People such as my parents are operating from a place of fearful self-preservation, albeit on a subconscious level. Until that security is threatened through forces outside their control, forcing them to reevaluate their relationship to the economic system and schemas of the political and societal systems on a global scale… they will continue to saturate their brains with the fluff media that reinforces their fears, strengthens their complacencies, and perpetuates their ignorance of the real truths in this world.