"Every enhancement of life enhances man's power of communication, as well as his power of understanding."
- Friedrich Nietzsche, Will To Power
Choose the most effective states of mind, as you awaken, as you go about your day, as you face challenges, as you go to bed. Your state of mind will decide what opportunities you seize. It will decide how resourceful you are and it will allow you to spot meaningful coincidences.
By having a list of questions to ask you actively choose to create the most powerful mind states to accomplish your moment-to-moment intentions. Your state of mind can be thought of as your intensity of mood plus your expectation or outlook. As you rehearse your list of questions on a daily basis, they will soon enough become habitual. After all we continually ask ourselves questions throughout the day that create a mood for us. The problem, is that we usually ask the same questions, and repeat the same moods, or worse, we ask dis-empowering questions that prevent effective action.
Choose questions that will allow you to experience the successes you've had
and what you're most happy about currently. You can ask, "What am I most proud about right now?", or "What possibility most excites me right now?" Once you have a powerful mind state you become open to bountiful possibilities.
An interesting metaphor to consider is a communication device, like a radio or cell phone. A communication device is a "receiver" and "transmitter." However, to properly "receive" or "transmit" the intended message the device needs to be properly tuned. That is, noise has to be eliminated, and the channels need to be open and calibrated. We naturally wish to communicate or transmit ourselves to others congruently. We also wish to be able to "receive" or understand the messages that are being sent to us.
The only way we can tune ourselves, is by first calibrating our mind state to a positive one. One that is receptive to receiving, and one that is capable of transmitting effective and efficient signals. A state of mind that expects success, that feels free, that extends love, that anticipates a win, is an example of a powerful empowering mind state. If our mind state is negative, then effective transmission of our signals is cut off, regardless of how much we desire to communicate the message. Additionally, if our mind state is negative, we become rigid and incapable of receiving a message, regardless of how beneficial or important it might have been for us. Our specific dependence on this continual communication implores us to master our mind state and habituate them to properly enhance the grandeur of our lives.
Angel Armendariz
A results oriented look at the principles of self mastery. Information that empowers the personal, business, and spiritual arenas of our lives. Be Successful.
"Those who apply themselves too closely to little things often become incapable of great things." Francois de La Rochefoucauld
Showing posts with label mind states. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mind states. Show all posts
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Friday, October 5, 2007
Happiness Rules - You're All Set
I Seek Happiness -
"I want Happiness..." the repetitive lyrics of a favorite song of mine. "Pursuit of Happyness" title of a recent favorite movie of mine. Happiness is sought by all. At an early age I figured out that happiness depended to a large degree on myself. Kind of like a game you play. In the game of happiness you choose the rules.
You choose "what" has to happen to be happy. Some of us make it to hard to win. Some of us require a so much to happen before we can feel happy, that we rarely feel it. I've seen some people have rules set up like this: to be happy this has to happen...
1)lots of money, 2)no problems, 3) no hard work, 4) perfect lover, 5)complaint coworkers, 6)everything goes according to plan....
No wonder some people are never happy. On the flip side here are some of my rules for happiness:
1)being alive, 2) awareness of infinite possibilities in the present, 3) self improvement, 4) deep breathing, 5)learning something new...
In my world happiness is easy...because I make it like that. Unfortunately many of us accept rules from friends, tv, movies, parents, etc., instead of choosing our own. Some of us have become experts at consciously diverting our attention from all the good and all the potential and finding or making up dramatically tragic sorrows.
The second thing I mentioned regarding possiblities of the present is probably the biggest deal for me. Something I adopted from Einstein. Its the awareness of expectation. Of embracing the unknown with optimism. Instead of repelling the unknown with pessimism. Its true that any little occurence in your life can transform everything instantly. Its been true for many individuals. Mark Cuban, said in an interview in Selling Power, that he would read everything he could get his hands on. To him he justified doing so because he realized that any minute distinction made in the knowledge he encountered could mean the difference between him "making it" or not. This is the type of expectation that enchants any ordinary moment with potential, expectation, or excitement.
Think about it. You can meet someone in 1hr. that completely changes your life. You can pick up a book right now that opens a new dimension of possibilities for you. You can listen to a song that inspires a dormant passion in your heart. Every moment erupts with potential to transform your life. If you think about it like that then how can anyone ever be bored? How can you be sad? Its almost impossible.
Happiness is not a quantity. Its not limited, or scarce. Its infinite and available to appease your whims at any moment. Enjoy your happiness...
Angel Armendariz
"I want Happiness..." the repetitive lyrics of a favorite song of mine. "Pursuit of Happyness" title of a recent favorite movie of mine. Happiness is sought by all. At an early age I figured out that happiness depended to a large degree on myself. Kind of like a game you play. In the game of happiness you choose the rules.
You choose "what" has to happen to be happy. Some of us make it to hard to win. Some of us require a so much to happen before we can feel happy, that we rarely feel it. I've seen some people have rules set up like this: to be happy this has to happen...
1)lots of money, 2)no problems, 3) no hard work, 4) perfect lover, 5)complaint coworkers, 6)everything goes according to plan....
No wonder some people are never happy. On the flip side here are some of my rules for happiness:
1)being alive, 2) awareness of infinite possibilities in the present, 3) self improvement, 4) deep breathing, 5)learning something new...
In my world happiness is easy...because I make it like that. Unfortunately many of us accept rules from friends, tv, movies, parents, etc., instead of choosing our own. Some of us have become experts at consciously diverting our attention from all the good and all the potential and finding or making up dramatically tragic sorrows.
The second thing I mentioned regarding possiblities of the present is probably the biggest deal for me. Something I adopted from Einstein. Its the awareness of expectation. Of embracing the unknown with optimism. Instead of repelling the unknown with pessimism. Its true that any little occurence in your life can transform everything instantly. Its been true for many individuals. Mark Cuban, said in an interview in Selling Power, that he would read everything he could get his hands on. To him he justified doing so because he realized that any minute distinction made in the knowledge he encountered could mean the difference between him "making it" or not. This is the type of expectation that enchants any ordinary moment with potential, expectation, or excitement.
Think about it. You can meet someone in 1hr. that completely changes your life. You can pick up a book right now that opens a new dimension of possibilities for you. You can listen to a song that inspires a dormant passion in your heart. Every moment erupts with potential to transform your life. If you think about it like that then how can anyone ever be bored? How can you be sad? Its almost impossible.
Happiness is not a quantity. Its not limited, or scarce. Its infinite and available to appease your whims at any moment. Enjoy your happiness...
Angel Armendariz
Friday, September 7, 2007
Your Brain Might Be Falling Apart
According to Neurologists there are three main factors that contribute to neuroplasticity. This is the ability of the brain to reorganize itself, adapt, and grow. Neurogenesis (a form of neuroplasticity), explains Ernest Rossi is activated through novelty, environmental enrichment, and physical exercise. In his landmark book The Psychobiology of Gene Expression, Dr. Rossi attributes this adaptability to the action of genetic mechanisms, termed activity-dependent gene expression. Thus by taking in a hefty dose of these three brain growth elixirs we become more mentally capable, more healthy, and in a more harmonious state.
Novelty involves new information, or learning. New information is the very substance of all growth and development. Whether we're talking about innovation in business, governmental reform, or personal development; new information yields growth, learning, and possibilities. The deluge of information disposable to the average person on earth today in general is astounding. Never before has information been so disposable. Information is the most valuable commodity in existence; its return on investment is staggering. And rightly so; not only do we use information to grow and to gain knowledge consciously, but all organic life is dependent on information for existence. What is the opposite of information increase?
Entropy...remember that from biology class, it has to do with the breakdown, decay, of systems; the weary second law of thermodynamics that dooms all matter to death by loss of information and energy. Eminent biophysicist Werner Lowenstein, in his work The Touchstone of Life, poignantly explains how to battle the malaise of time's arrow, "There is only one way to keep a system from sinking to equilibrium: to infuse new information...Thus, to maintain its high order, an organism must continuously pump in information."
So we thus have a clearer understanding of the need and tremendous benefits of novelty through information. We also tend to see more insights and knowledge from fields such as physics and biology. Which give us incredible models of efficacy. We tend to see a pattern though, or a lag time between the time we discover an insightful method in the working of nature and the universe, and the time we see the same pattern arise while studying ourselves, our business, economy, and other sociological systems.
It might make more sense to study the ways nature has developed schemes to deal with progressive existence, as opposed to studying the subject within itself; and closely mimic, or devise models that cultivate the insights gathered by such inspection. In a recent interview with the Harvard Business Review, economist and business consultant Paul Ormerod compares business strategy with evolution, he says, " Companies should embrace the inherent randomness that drives success and failure...The companies that are most able to explore and innovate - something akin to random mutation - and then rapidly and flexibly adapt when an innovation succeeds or fails, will do best."(italics added).
To "explore" and "innovate" is precisely what novelty is about. So by directly participating in neurogenesis by learning, creativity, or gathering new information you are putting yourself in a better position to succeed in business, and life overall.
excerpt, Untitled, by
Angel Armendariz
Novelty involves new information, or learning. New information is the very substance of all growth and development. Whether we're talking about innovation in business, governmental reform, or personal development; new information yields growth, learning, and possibilities. The deluge of information disposable to the average person on earth today in general is astounding. Never before has information been so disposable. Information is the most valuable commodity in existence; its return on investment is staggering. And rightly so; not only do we use information to grow and to gain knowledge consciously, but all organic life is dependent on information for existence. What is the opposite of information increase?
Entropy...remember that from biology class, it has to do with the breakdown, decay, of systems; the weary second law of thermodynamics that dooms all matter to death by loss of information and energy. Eminent biophysicist Werner Lowenstein, in his work The Touchstone of Life, poignantly explains how to battle the malaise of time's arrow, "There is only one way to keep a system from sinking to equilibrium: to infuse new information...Thus, to maintain its high order, an organism must continuously pump in information."
So we thus have a clearer understanding of the need and tremendous benefits of novelty through information. We also tend to see more insights and knowledge from fields such as physics and biology. Which give us incredible models of efficacy. We tend to see a pattern though, or a lag time between the time we discover an insightful method in the working of nature and the universe, and the time we see the same pattern arise while studying ourselves, our business, economy, and other sociological systems.
It might make more sense to study the ways nature has developed schemes to deal with progressive existence, as opposed to studying the subject within itself; and closely mimic, or devise models that cultivate the insights gathered by such inspection. In a recent interview with the Harvard Business Review, economist and business consultant Paul Ormerod compares business strategy with evolution, he says, " Companies should embrace the inherent randomness that drives success and failure...The companies that are most able to explore and innovate - something akin to random mutation - and then rapidly and flexibly adapt when an innovation succeeds or fails, will do best."(italics added).
To "explore" and "innovate" is precisely what novelty is about. So by directly participating in neurogenesis by learning, creativity, or gathering new information you are putting yourself in a better position to succeed in business, and life overall.
excerpt, Untitled, by
Angel Armendariz
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Using Your Zoom Function For Success
How Do You Use The Zoom Function?
Category: Goals, Plans, Hopes
The theme of seeing both the part and the whole runs the gamut of this manifesto. Holons as discussed previously, again referring to a thing being both a whole and a part allow efficient analysis of processes that are important to us. A second point in the thought process of efficacy is what can be referred to as zooming in and zooming out.
Zoom out to see the big picture, the forest, the future, or the goals; and zoom in to see the pieces, the steps, the details, the rectangles, to master the manifestations of your hearts content. To cultivate the ability to zoom in and out of scenes in your life is a basic necessity to establish proportion in your life and assimilate circumstances in the grandeur scope of things.
Many times we fail to include information in a particular circumstance in our lives because we fail to zoom out and see the big picture. We are at times so stuck on seemingly endless details that we take those for the whole of our lives and of our mock reality. I'm reminded of a Persian saying that goes " I cried because I had no shoes...until I saw somebody that had no feet." I've seen people with minor problems, especially financially, focus intently on those results, make a morbid picture, slump their postures, make their breathing shallow, and imagine these results producing even greater turmoil.
What do you think this does to your ability to act effectively? What kind of messages is your nervous system receiving? This creation of an imagined hell is manifested immediately, and you feel the effects throughout your body sometimes to cause your own pathologies; this additionally coagulates any mental abilities. Under such imagined danger you body instinctively shuts down cognitive operation, and you by this means create your own sabotage. This amazing display of what your mind is capable when you focus on something is an example of the degree of power disposable to you to effect yourself and circumstances...although this is clearly a negative use of such power.
In a scenario that produces an undesired outcome leaders have acquired the ability to use the zoom out function in some form and overcome obstacles. If you focus on a small piece, and have no awareness of any remedy or alternative, you've achieved learned helplessness. When an individual isn't able to "see" a positive alternative it creates an incredibly powerful effect of dissonance. Because of the fact that problems are incredibly beneficial to us, as you will see in the chapter on Artificial Problems, it becomes essential to be able to use the zooming out ability to grasp a more empowering reality. This can lead us to seize opportunities and use problems to our advantage.
One way of applying the zoom out function is to see your life in a timeline fashion...see the many obstacles you've overcome...see what valuable lessons you learned that you would have otherwise failed to acknowledge had it not been for a particular tragedy. The timeline or capitulation method allows you to see, feel, and hear how time flows...you're able to witness, at a very personal level the ebb and flow of life, the cyclic format of existence, the seasons of your ascension in life; and put things in "perspective" this exercise will free a lot of dissonant energy....you re-experince the reality that change is inevitable, and thank god it is that way. This is one form of zooming out of your current situation and seeing a larger perspective.
The goal of the visual zoom out function is two fold. To put yourself in a more resourceful state of mind, and secondly to have a visual display of pertinent information to allow you to see more empowering alternatives. In The Power of Impossible Thinking, by Yoram (Jerry) Wind, Colin Crook, and Robert Gunther, the authors, allude to zooming in and zooming out as a creative function that is used in progressive organizations to enhance their mental models. An example of this in business is related by the authors; a simultaneous method of zooming in and out is used in what is called "Extreme Programming" or (XP) and is used by such companies as Ford Motor Company, Daimler Chrysler, and UBS...
"The key is the definition of tasks for each programmer. One person, the "driver," is zoomed in on the details of the development of the code, while the other, the "navigator," is zoomed out, looking at the big picture as the programming is moving forward. This helps avoid the problems of well-written code that misses the bigger picture or becomes detached from user needs."
This is an example of using this ability to create more empowering alternatives...in the (XP) case more empowering software through enhanced code, using the simultaneous zoom in, zoom out with a partner.
" There is a law in psychology that if you form a picture in your mind of what you would like to be, and you keep and hold that picture there long enough, you will soon become exactly as you have been thinking." - William James
- Excerpt, Untitled, by Angel Armendariz
Category: Goals, Plans, Hopes
The theme of seeing both the part and the whole runs the gamut of this manifesto. Holons as discussed previously, again referring to a thing being both a whole and a part allow efficient analysis of processes that are important to us. A second point in the thought process of efficacy is what can be referred to as zooming in and zooming out.
Zoom out to see the big picture, the forest, the future, or the goals; and zoom in to see the pieces, the steps, the details, the rectangles, to master the manifestations of your hearts content. To cultivate the ability to zoom in and out of scenes in your life is a basic necessity to establish proportion in your life and assimilate circumstances in the grandeur scope of things.
Many times we fail to include information in a particular circumstance in our lives because we fail to zoom out and see the big picture. We are at times so stuck on seemingly endless details that we take those for the whole of our lives and of our mock reality. I'm reminded of a Persian saying that goes " I cried because I had no shoes...until I saw somebody that had no feet." I've seen people with minor problems, especially financially, focus intently on those results, make a morbid picture, slump their postures, make their breathing shallow, and imagine these results producing even greater turmoil.
What do you think this does to your ability to act effectively? What kind of messages is your nervous system receiving? This creation of an imagined hell is manifested immediately, and you feel the effects throughout your body sometimes to cause your own pathologies; this additionally coagulates any mental abilities. Under such imagined danger you body instinctively shuts down cognitive operation, and you by this means create your own sabotage. This amazing display of what your mind is capable when you focus on something is an example of the degree of power disposable to you to effect yourself and circumstances...although this is clearly a negative use of such power.
In a scenario that produces an undesired outcome leaders have acquired the ability to use the zoom out function in some form and overcome obstacles. If you focus on a small piece, and have no awareness of any remedy or alternative, you've achieved learned helplessness. When an individual isn't able to "see" a positive alternative it creates an incredibly powerful effect of dissonance. Because of the fact that problems are incredibly beneficial to us, as you will see in the chapter on Artificial Problems, it becomes essential to be able to use the zooming out ability to grasp a more empowering reality. This can lead us to seize opportunities and use problems to our advantage.
One way of applying the zoom out function is to see your life in a timeline fashion...see the many obstacles you've overcome...see what valuable lessons you learned that you would have otherwise failed to acknowledge had it not been for a particular tragedy. The timeline or capitulation method allows you to see, feel, and hear how time flows...you're able to witness, at a very personal level the ebb and flow of life, the cyclic format of existence, the seasons of your ascension in life; and put things in "perspective" this exercise will free a lot of dissonant energy....you re-experince the reality that change is inevitable, and thank god it is that way. This is one form of zooming out of your current situation and seeing a larger perspective.
The goal of the visual zoom out function is two fold. To put yourself in a more resourceful state of mind, and secondly to have a visual display of pertinent information to allow you to see more empowering alternatives. In The Power of Impossible Thinking, by Yoram (Jerry) Wind, Colin Crook, and Robert Gunther, the authors, allude to zooming in and zooming out as a creative function that is used in progressive organizations to enhance their mental models. An example of this in business is related by the authors; a simultaneous method of zooming in and out is used in what is called "Extreme Programming" or (XP) and is used by such companies as Ford Motor Company, Daimler Chrysler, and UBS...
"The key is the definition of tasks for each programmer. One person, the "driver," is zoomed in on the details of the development of the code, while the other, the "navigator," is zoomed out, looking at the big picture as the programming is moving forward. This helps avoid the problems of well-written code that misses the bigger picture or becomes detached from user needs."
This is an example of using this ability to create more empowering alternatives...in the (XP) case more empowering software through enhanced code, using the simultaneous zoom in, zoom out with a partner.
" There is a law in psychology that if you form a picture in your mind of what you would like to be, and you keep and hold that picture there long enough, you will soon become exactly as you have been thinking." - William James
- Excerpt, Untitled, by Angel Armendariz
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