In the movie Limitless, Bradley Cooper stars as a man who takes a pill that will allow him to use all of his brain instead of the “20% that we normally use”, according to the film.  Robert De Niro co-stars.  It’s a great movie, if you haven’t seen it already, I would recommend it.

So, do we use only 10% of our brain? Well, guess what, I researched this and apparently its a myth.  We use ALL of our brain.  What I had heard was that we only used 10% and that Einstein used all of his brain.  Apparently he’s one of the figures who was misquoted and this myth is perpetuated in the media and by word of mouth throughout the years.

source:  Neuroscience for Kids, Univ. of Washington

http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/tenper.html

Experts believe that we use 100% of our brain, and although there are different pathways being used, it is fully used, even during sleep.

Happiness can come quite easily and is always present in our lives if we only recognize it.
When the question and subject of “what is really happiness” comes up in a conversation many people come up with various reasons on how happiness is created. Some people speculate that happiness is a state of mind. This might be true in some respects that happiness is a main component of our thoughts and feelings. But I propose that happiness is something that we are all innately born with and instantly drawn to it. The human soul’s natural state of being is utter happiness and connected with God, the Earth, and the entire universe simultaneously. The purpose of our lives is to be happy – Dalai Lama.

When you are the state of happiness, you are aligning yourself with the full potential of the universal source of all love and possibilities. Happiness is something not ready made. It comes from your own actions – Dalai Lama. Have self-confidence in your own ability and potential, and create the world you want and need to be happy. Once the soul has left the boundaries of the limitless potential of the spiritual realm and embarks on a journey with the mundane, physical limited existence upon the Earth, it begins again to reacquaint itself with the familiarities of regaining its true existence of finding happiness. Happiness is a direction, not a place  – Sydney J. Harris.

The state of happiness is a feeling derived from love and enjoyment of your own existence and surroundings. Listen to your life. All moments are key moments – Frederick Buechner. Look upon your life as stepping stones to a grander existence that you create from your own experience and hold your head up high to the positive outcomes that are surely to come your way and help facilitate your most precious dreams. Happiness is not something you postpone for the future; it is something you design for the present – Jim Rohn. By your own actions and moods set the theme of the day. Enjoy every part of life’s existence, embrace the sunlight, marvel at the ocean blue, walk amongst nature’s natural beauty, and give love to those you meet.

Having happiness and hope in our hearts opens your mind and imagination to the possibility of miracles happening in your life. Happiness is not an ideal of reason, but of imagination – Immanuel Kant. Like walking on the beach until the sun goes down and your total consciousness is relaxed, free, unworried, uncluttered, filled with natural contentment, and feeling a natural sense of love opens yourself manifesting a powerful faith in all that is good and possible. Love is the greatest refreshment in life – Pablo Picasso. When you are in a state of love and happiness you are recognizing spiritually quality, and experience a profound feeling of intimacy that is immensely beneficial to your whole existence.

Following the path to happiness and experiencing a state of constant happiness one should be mindful of these simple things. We are what we think. What we think, we become. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make the world -Buddha. Celebrate the day, celebrate your life! Live life to the fullest. Listen to the sounds of love and nurture the future with intuitive happiness. Make your dreams come alive, have faith in yourself, and create miracles in your life. The Grand essentials of happiness are: something to do, something to love, and something to hope for - Allan K. Chalmers.

Discovering your own happiness and finding out what makes you happy greatly affects your life in a positive way and imparts to others a gift of shared happiness that is contagious. Happiness is said to be like a kiss that you must share to fully enjoy it. Happiness and love are connected and knows no rules or boundaries. If you obey all the rules, you miss all the fun  - Katharine Hepburn. From your heart and soul comes love and happiness that knows no bounds or limits, and manifest offsprings of smiles, hugs, hope, and laughter that are the makings of a wonderful day. Miracles come from the embodiment of happiness and love. For laughter and happiness, smiles and kindness, spillover the present and make the future even more lovable. When happiness comes you are in an existence of pure potentiality and your heart is filled with immeasurable joy.

For more interesting writing by this author:

Time Travel or The Rip Van Winkle Complex
Olivia Munn leaves Attack of the Show
The Consciousness of water
The Art of Smiling
The Power of Healing Music

T.S.Garp © Copyright 2011 All Rights Reserved.

Limitless is now my new favorite movie.  The Matrix was my favorite before I saw Limitless and still is close. I still watch it frequently because of the relevancy to the “American Dream” state the I see everyone around me falling into. The false since of security that we believe in as Americans is now beginning to be revealed to us with the housing and market collapse. We as Americans really do not own anything not even ourselves. We are all the property of the United States Government. Here is a video that I really believe you should take a look at.

Here are some other movies that I thought were similar:

Wall Street ; Money Never Sleeps

The Secret

Capitalism: A Love Story

The animal parts of our brains–vestiges of the vestigial–to which we normally don’t have access indeed scare me.  The cruelty with which humanity behaves even towards its own species is horrifying (and that’s the conscious bit).  Murder and war are small potatoes compared to the insidious portions some individuals seem to access (e.g., pedophilia, rape, capacity to design bioweapons, to bring about genocide, etc.).  Don’t get me wrong: do I think that we also each have capacities deep within our psyches that allow us to keep this heinous side in check?  Of course.  Not to paint the id, ego, superego argument, but I do believe that, with our awful urges, there have risen counterpoints and balances–ways to maintain control over such urges.  Some of us control things far better than others, but I do believe that within each human lurks the crawling, clawing vagabond darkness that is constantly pursued by the torchbearers of social pressure, pride, faith and hope.  Sometimes the torchbearers get distracted, though.

And this brings me to my point: just as we cannot access 100% of our brains, and we function without a thorough understanding of how we function, all the horrible, hateful, accidental, disgusting, disillusioning, disappointing, foul, ungodly, unearthly horrors that we as a species have perpetrated, experienced and chosen to record for posterity and continue to unleash are common knowledge–we know about this enormity of enormity.

In other words, all these horrors–the worst crimes and atrocities one can imagine–are borne of roughly 20% of our grey matter functioning.  I will follow the law of averages on this one and not assume that the remaining 80% somehow is just where the elusive Justice League has camped out, and therefore, I will assume what rests within that 80% is just as bad/good as what we have. Perhaps the untapped good within us will balance the untapped evil, but perhaps it was locked away for good reason–no part of this world needs more of what we humans have proven ourselves to be.  For every life we save and create, we subject more and more to pain and grief.  Limits–just like dress codes, traffic laws, the Geneva convention, codes of ethics in general–might seemingly stand in the way of progress, creativity or instant gratification, but they also stand as barriers to the worst in us.  And make no mistake, there is always a worse part in each of us. 

As for me, I know exactly what thoughts already invade my mind while doing everyday tasks.  Take driving, for instance.  Many jaywalking pedestrians owe their lives to the barriers in place in my conscious and sub-conscious and, if I am conscious of that fact (the whole contemplation of vicious, unrestrained murder), I know I am capable of more than I care to think about.  

What will really screw with your head is if you consider the scenario I just set forth: using 20% of our brains over generations we have managed to create a system in which it is far easier to kill multiple people on our daily commutes to work, to the grocery store, to school, than it is to actively assist, support and protect people.  You might say, “Come on, now; that’s not true. By choosing not to side-swipe everyone on the street like in Grand Theft Auto you are automatically assisting/protecting them.” My answer? “When you stop your car, get out and help the little old lady across the street; when you pull over to give the homeless guy on the corner a blanket or some food or some money; when you stop playing a game like Grand Theft Auto because it is fun in its senseless brutality and sick sadism, then talk to me about automatically assisting/protecting.”

For every student we reach in a classroom, there will be multiple students at the school who refuse to be reached and then reach out and touch society with acrid negativity, cancerous dystopic choices, and sometimes with violence.  For every land mine we remove from the pock-marked earth, our military contractors will develop a batch of new weapons capable of maiming, killing, destroying or poisoning whole cities and countries.  For every vaccine our brilliant scientists can manage to come up with, there will be a new zombie-based video game and a new disease to take the previous one’s place (and there will be parents who don’t take their kids to get vaccinated because it is a bother/extra expense that could go to cigarettes or fill-in-the-drug/non-necessity).  So go ahead: tell me we’re benevolent and tell me we’re good and tell me we’re selfless souls, doing what we can to help and protect others; that all bad things are accidents of circumstance or a few bad seeds.  I will tell you how far up your colon you left your head. 

God, I hope the remaining 80% holds something better than this rotten 20.  Keep your pill; I’ll keep working hard not to open my own Pandora’s box.

You can call a number to get a free sample from the company, a photo linked below:

Cool or what? You even get a USB in the shape of a key so that you can find out more information. Even film star Bradley Cooper is the front man for the advertising campaign:

But actually, this is an advertising campaign for the film Limitless, which stars Bradley Cooper, Abbie Cornish and Robert de Niro. The film is based on the book The Dark Fields and was released a few weeks ago, and features the topic discussed above: that there exists a drug, NZT, which helps those who take it to use their brain to it’s full potential. Possible? Perhaps. And maybe in 100 years time such a thing will be possible.

 “A man who for years had thought he had reached the absolute limit of all possible suffering now found that suffering had no limits, and that he could suffer still more, and more intensely.”

This is an extremely sobering comment from Victor Frankl, concentration camp survivor and author of the book Man’s Search for Meaning.  

Put  this way, life provides no limits. We assume that there are limits because our experiences have limits. Some people tend to think that at some point suffering stops others know, through experience, that suffering can go on and on . . . Until either the sufferer snaps or changes or the world changes.

In nature the unlimited or infinite confronts us from every side through endless blue sky and innumerable stars, grains of sand, forms of life. Humans use doors, walls and locks to provide borders. Nature provides no locks, doors or borders.

Once we recognize life as infinite, we can consider the dangers and the possibilities involved. If life is infinite each moment becomes part of something larger than life, something more meaningful, something worth fighting for. There are wise actions to take and foolish actions.

Daily hassles seem to limit the infinite nature of life.  We are stopped, blocked, convinced we can’t go on. Our goals are in the same way limited depending on what we expect from life. Sometimes we are limited to what life expects from us. It is up to us to consider when life expects something from us and if it is indeed life or our own limited thinking that expects it. After all, if suffering can be unlimited then so can contentment.

Everyday, heaven knocks on the doors of our consciousness. It is up to us to break down the walls that separate us from the infinite.   

If you are unfamiliar with the term “Out of Body Experience”, it quite simply means to separate one’s consciousness from one’s body, therefore creating a unique feeling of freedom and power. To be uncontained and wild in the earth. There are several, at home ways of doing this. But be patient, having an OBE requires patience and relaxation. Here are 6 foolproof steps to guide you on your way to your first OBE.

1. Find a quiet, dimly lit, comfortable environment where you can lay down and relax. Remove any uncomfortable clothing.

2. As you lay there, perhaps warmly covered by a blanket, begin some deep breathing exercises. I prefer to breathe in through my nose, with my mouth slightly open, and as I inhale, tense all of the muscles of one of my body parts. As I exhale through my nose, I gently release the muscles, and imagine all of the tension flooding away. I proceed to do this for five minutes, letting my mind focus on the relief relaxation brings.

3. By now, you should be comfortably relaxed and ready to begin Phase 1. Give yourself a mental command that you will begin counting from 10 to 1, and when you reach one, all physical contact with the world will be gone. You will be sleeping, but in control of your consciousness. Slowly, there is no rush, count from 10 backwards, with your thoughts focused on a spot on top of your head. When you reach one, keep your thoughts on the back or top of your head.

4. You might still feel the sheets, or some physical paraphernilia, but by now your consciosness should be awake and your body beginning to drift into the realm of sleep. “See” the flashes of light in front of your closed eyes and focus on them. When you are immersed, begin the seperation phase.

5. Start SLOWLY imagining your body parts to rise respectively out of your body, creating a replica of you. Imagine yourself leaving your body. At this point, you will feel vibrations racking your body, and you will also feel paralyzed. It is a scary feeling, however DON’T PAY ATTENTION TO IT. Keep your mind focused on leaving the body.

6. You will, at some point, feel your consciousness separate and you will be free. Go explore, but be careful, because the slightest distraction from the real world will bring you back, thus ending your OBE.

Source

First of all, it is imperative to start your mornings off on the best foot you can.

How can you ensure this? Make sure if you need 8 hours of sleep each night, you get 8 hours of sleep. The better you feel the more endurance you have and the more positive energy you can pass on to others. Get yourself prepared the night before so that you are not scrabbling to get ready, making you late or disoriented upon arrival. The better you are able to present yourself the better things you will attract. It sounds so simple and yet, it can be challenging for so many people. But you can and are making every essential change because you know in your heart you deserve only the very best!

Source

Keep your energy and spirits high!

So you’re working a sales event, or you see someone you’d like to approach to ask out on a date, you need to make sure you feel positive and good while you are in the moment.  Positive quotes, focusing on what you did right and successful customer/dating experiences are some great ways to keep your spirits overflowing with good energy. 

You also need to make sure that you are in the best physical shape as possible.  Be sure to exercise at least 3-4 times a week, drink at least 8-10 glasses of water a day, and eat a healthy, low-fat diet.  Anything you can do to keep you feeling your best will propel you forward, more efficiently toward all your goals and dreams.

Source

Compliment, support, and give back.

It’s very important to always be as complimentary of others as possible.  What we see in others is truly what can be found within ourselves.  Learn to love what you dislike and you will add volumes to your life.  And, because this is true be sure to be as positive and supportive as you can to others.  When you “give” a compliment (which is like a gift) to another person, you are at the same time lifting yourself up.  Seen another way, it is like giving a gift to you.  After all, we are all reflections of one another.  Thus, supporting others and telling them they can do anything, is in turn, telling yourself you can do anything as well. 

Source

Learn how to be comfortable with yourself and others.

People have busy lives and spending even a second in a situation they feel uncomfortable in or unsure of, will surely sending them running in the other direction.  Learn how to feel as comfortable with yourself and others as you can.  This takes practice, but the imagination is a wonderful tool.  When you feel completely comfortable with yourself, people will sense this and be magnetically drawn to the positive energy you give off.

You might have heard the saying, “Fake it ‘til you make it.”  Truly when you believe you can do anything, regardless of experience or knowledge, you can and are easily able to absorb new information, adapt to new situations, and excel in anything you put your heart and mind into.  

Source

Give yourself a break.

Learn from the times that didn’t work and don’t be hard on yourself.  Remember, you are human and sometimes you may feel tired, or the other person might be having a rough day, you just don’t know all the circumstances involved.  Remember each time you don’t get what you want, take it as a lesson to learn how to eventually get what you want.  Instead, take a moment to think about the times when you’ve successfully dealt with people.  Use these memories to make you remember how great you felt and that you can be successful right now. 

Source

Remember, every day, every moment is an opportunity to learn and get better. 

Seek knowledge.  See yourself with clarity.  Forgive your flaws, for they are simply indicators that you need more attention, love and self-acceptance.  Allow humility and an altruistic heart to sweep through every aspect of your life.  Let it lift you up and give you a natural high. 

Remind yourself that you have the limitless power and gifts inside of you and that you can and are making all your dreams come true. 

Joie Schmidt © Copyright 2008 All Rights Reserved.

==================================================================

Dreams of the Heart – volume I by Joie Schmidt is available:

  * Volume I: Amazon Kindle, Adobe Reader, iTunes, iPod, iPhone, iPad and iBooks

Dreams of the Heart – volume II is available:

  * Volume II: Amazon Kindle, Adobe Reader

———> Stay tuned . . . vol. II will soon be available on iTunes, iPod, iPhone, iPad and iBooks!

(*In memoriam of the tragedy in Japan all proceeds from – volume I – sales will go to the relief efforts until 3/11/12)

==================================================================

For more great reading:

• B12 Shots: The Newest Energy Booster
• When the Night is Blue (poem)
• Celery: Do Your Body Refreshingly Good
• If I Tell You I Love You (poem)
• Restore Your Spirit Through Quality Time Alone
• Vitamin Water: The Hottest New Health Trend
• Tips to Keep You Motivated
• Green for Life

Do you have a story, poem, artwork or photography you’d like to share and earn residual income for life? Please check out this site to earn limitless income for life: Triond

image source

Currently, I am on my fifth book by Deepak Chopra, M.D., world renowned alternative spiritual healer.  It is called “Ageless Body, Timeless Mind” and it challenges the notion of body atrophy.  After countless studies, Chopra discusses that thoughts manifest one’s reality and, thus, we have the power to create health or disease (or literally = dis-ease) within the body. 

For example, he illuminates the idea that if you tell a person that he or she will feel something (i.e. pain) this suggestion alone starts the process without the actual stimulus needing to be present.  This is similar to the Pavlov saliva dog response that demonstrated the phenomena that after being “conditioned” just the sound of a bell that was previously paired with food a dog will begin to salivate in anticipation of its meal.

image source

Similarly, we have all been conditioned to believe that there is a particular cycle of life.  However, in Chopra’s “Perfect Health” he speaks about the idea that DNA technically never dies and, thus, we technically need not either.  While I’m a very practical, logical person, his extraordinary “out of the box” thinking has completely captivated my attention.  After all, people have been found to have psychic powers: twins who have sensed the other’s troubles from another country, the world was once deemed flat, and the idea of walking on the moon to our great, great, great grandparents was once an entirely obscure notion.

Chopra’s postulation of living forever, being a choice and made possible by your thoughts, has been supported by other works I have studied.  For example, in “Visualization: Directing the Movies of Your Mind” by Adelaide Bry, a psychotherapist, studies a little boy who was diagnosed with asthma.  Through the power of the mind and visualizing that the asthma is getting smaller, the boy successfully and seemingly miraculously makes it disappear. 

From natural curiosity, I happened upon another story that involved a person with a multiple personality disorder who was examined by a medical doctor. In one personality the person was diagnosed with diabetes.  However, quite remarkably, in the second personality, same person, examined by the same doctor, lo and behold, no diabetes was found. 

It is my belief that physical disease and aches and pains are actually tangible manifestations of emotions and thoughts a person feels he or she cannot express in words.  It is the body, mind and spirit’s cry for help and love, just as anything we do to ourselves that is not good for us: smoking, doing drugs, etc.; these are all signals to the world that a person is in need of attention and love.
image source

Because our society is always on the go, it seems that the fundamental basics to life are often forgotten.  Most people know that studies have shown when a baby is neglected its development can be stunted, gravely handicapped and even lead to premature death.  And, the solution is simple: that baby needs love, kindness, and nurturing; and that same infant in need still lives inside of all us. 

Just as a plant needs to be placed in its best light in order to live and thrive, so too, do we. 

It is important that each and every one of us recognizes this, not just within ourselves, but within every single person we meet. 

Expand your thinking beyond the limits already set by society, and a world beyond your wildest dreams will open limitless doors to you!

Joie Schmidt © Copyright 2008 All Rights Reserved.

==================================================================

Dreams of the Heart – volume I by Joie Schmidt is available:

  * Volume I: Amazon Kindle, Adobe Reader, iTunes, iPod, iPhone, iPad and iBooks

Dreams of the Heart – volume II is available:

  * Volume II: Amazon Kindle, Adobe Reader

———> Stay tuned . . . vol. II will soon be available on iTunes, iPod, iPhone, iPad and iBooks!

(*In memoriam of the tragedy in Japan all proceeds from – volume I – sales will go to the relief efforts until 3/11/12)

==================================================================

For more eye-opening, alternative healing articles:

• Hemi-Synchronization
• Tie a Knot and Hang On
• Nature, a Beautiful Teacher
• Honesty, is it the Best Policy?
• Why Deleting Comments Does a Writer Good
• Writers: Rejection is a Part of Being Successful
• Triond Will be the Most Popular Writing Site on the Internet
• How to be Successful in Sales: Essential Tips for All Aspects of Life

Do you have a story, poem, artwork or photography you’d like to share and earn residual income for life? Please check out this site to earn limitless income for life: Triond