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February 27, 2006

Standing out - resume posted online

What do you do when you are out of college, university, school and have nothing to do but looking for a job? You can go to JobsDB or the one that calls itself the fastest growing job-search website in Malaysia.

How much creativity do you have as a job searcher? Not much. Space is limited to a templated version, and creativity is restricted to a few boxes that allow you to describe yourself in a few words. Better than nothing, but hardly the stuff that makes you stand out.

Jeff has done something different - he created a website. Not a flash presentation as recently done by Alexandre, whose resume circulated through the Internet last year.

And sure, Jeff's English is bad, but then, it is not about the writing style. It is about standing out, trying something different, WoWing potential companies, being proactive, showing creativity, go beyond just a blog created for free in Blogspot or Wordpress (even so this is something as well!).

But then again, this is Jeff's style. He knows what he wants and he is striving to get it. Using the web is one way. I wonder if he has a personal goal plan and what other initiatives has he outlined.

So, what have you tried today to be different?

Are you reactive or proactive? Just waiting for next weekend's recruitment section in the New Straits Times or actively searching out opportunities?

Posted by Andreas at 11:05 AM | Comments (3)

February 26, 2006

12 to 88 and 5 to 9

I am often enough talking about the conscious and the subconscious mind and how the subconscious influences all of our life. From the decision to stop smoking, to failures related to weight losses and even such simple tasks as following through on your goals.

We have goals and the best intentions (okay, there are differences, but I bear with me until another entry). We strive hard to meet what we strive to do - just to fail - again, and again and again.

Why?

Because the subconscious mind is in control - it is the part of your brain that stirs most of our actions. Why is this so important? Are we often saying that we are doing things consciously? My client is often saying, let's decide consciously on this. But most of what we do is done subconsciously. This, my typing in this blog. I am not directing my fingers, each individually. I am not saying, dear Pinky, please click the "A" and then, dear thump, please click the spacebar. I just type. Subsonsciously, I know where the different letters on the keyboard are. I even know when I type a mistake, and then, consciously, go back to do the correction.

When I drive car, I am not telling my foot to press the accelerator to get started. The ringing of the phone reminds me that I have to answer it, but I do it ---- subconsciously. Picking it up, click the answer button, while I keep typing.

The brain is only able to hold 5-9 items at one time consciously. The rest is done unconsciously. Don't believe it?

Well, do this experiment (after you finish reading this, of course). Pick any point in a map somewhere in an area, vaguely known to you. In the beginning, when you leave the house, sit in the car, stir through the traffic and the jams, you will feel comfortable and just drive. Most of this, believe it or not (better do!) is done unconsciously. Until you come to the area where the familiarity stops. When it stops, you probably lower the volume of the radio, or tell your partner sitting in the car to be more quiet, you are concentrating. Yeah, that is the time when the conscious mind comes into play. You have to do something consciously, and suddenly, you need to stop something else in order to get things done.

I also give you the magic number - The conscious mind makes up 12% of our mind or brain function, while the other 88% is what we call the subconscious mind.

In fact, it is easily comparable to an iceberg, with the main structure located below.

Iceberg.jpg
(Picture from http://www.earthfuture.com/stormyweather/gallery/19%20-%20Iceberg%202.jpg)

The main function of the subsconscious mind is to keep you alive. Via breathing, to let your blood flow smoothly and so on. But it also stores memories, those memories that let you drive through the city on autopilot. It knows that it has learnt driving already (hard to believe in Malaysia, but that's the fact). It has learnt a lot more, throughout the years, from small onwards. And when it believes that it has to do something to make you feel secured and comfortable, it will do everything it can to boycott your actions - like smoking, like eating, like shopping, like procrastinating, like indecisiveness and so on.

And this frustrates you and your conscious mind in turn. And once again, you wonder why you didn't manage to reach your goals. Read more about this here.








Posted by Andreas at 04:59 PM | Comments (1)

February 23, 2006

Fascinating test of computer game under hypnosis

Wow, this is fascinating.

In fact so fascinating that I copy the whole article into this entry.

"In a video game magazine first, Buena Vista Games successfully hypnotised the Deputy Editor of the Official Xbox Magazine, Mark Robins, and age-regressed him to ten years old in a groundbreaking project that saw Mark review the Xbox release of Disney and Walden Media Presents The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe through the eyes of the game's intended market.

Taking place in Future's London offices and lasting around 45 minutes, the hypnosis session was undertaken by Mark Howe, a professional and seasoned hypnotist, and will appear as part of a four-page feature in the April issue of The Official Xbox Magazine, on-sale 16th March. Video footage of the hypnosis session will also appear on the Official Xbox Magazine's covermount disk.

"The idea of hypnotising someone into believing they're a ten year old to review a game was so unique that I simply had to get involved, even if it was just to see how it would turn out," commented Mark Robins, Official Xbox Magazine Deputy Editor. "Luckily I've come out the other end mentally unscathed and I even had my fear of flying cured to boot. I'm amazed it worked so well: I can't usually remember what I was up to last week, let alone twenty years ago."

"The Chronicles of Narnia is a computer and video game aimed at 8-12 year old boys and girls and finding anyone in that age bracket that has both the journalism experience and gaming skill to articulate a full and fair review has been impossible, until now," commented Mark Ward, on behalf of Buena Vista Games. "I had to promise that we wouldn't plant any other suggestions while Mark was 'under' and I've stood by my word. That said, he's been clucking like a chicken ever since."

This means that they hypnotised the guy, and he tested the game while his mind believed that he was 10 years old. How great is this? Imagine the possibilities for yourself and the conflicts from the time when you were ten and that you can solve now?

Remember that all those unsolved situations of your past need energy and strength to hold in place. When resolved, you can free yourself from so many, many situations that still bug you!

This does not mean that you are re-writing your history, but that you are solving issues - regrets, doubts, guilt -of the past that still hold you back now.









Posted by Andreas at 07:28 PM | Comments (1)

February 22, 2006

Overweight Malaysians

It does not really affect only Malaysians but it happens globally - we are eating more, and we get fatter and fatter. Obesity is the magic word, when the rings around your stomach start to grow.

Gaining weight starts slowly, and it can only be realised when suddenly colleagues make "strange" remarks, the trousers that seemed to fit yesterday don't fit anymore today. It is easy to grow bigger and tough to get it down.

Governments are alert and there are companies (so far in the West only) that require a healthier lifestyle from their employees or else - pay more for your health insurance or check out of the company. In Malaysia, the number of overweight Malaysians is increasing, with more than 5.5 million on the list.

Is sheer diet possible? Even healthy?

Frequently not. Frequently, some kilos go down only to come back after you completed the diet. And then the fight starts again.

Why?

Easy - because often there is a gain behind the weight gain. I mentioned it before when I wrote about smoking and its relation to confidence.

With weight gain, it can be something else. May be somewhere in your youth, someone told you that you are cute and chubby. Others might have said that you are too thin, too skinny and that this is not great.

Commands that the subconscious mind picks up and follows.

This is called Secondary gains - you subconscious mind follows these orders and keeps those secondary gain with all means. It wants to protect and nurture you - even so your conscious mind rebels.

It is too late. Your sub-conscious mind is stirring you and preventing you from getting slim and skinny again, again, it wants to protect you.

Hypnotherapy is a very useful way to fight those extra pounds, but the task of the qualified hypnotherapist is to identify those secondary gains.

As this article simply states: "When used by a trained therapist, hypnosis can help you lose weight and keep it off. But be wary of any program that promises simple miracles." One therapist is quoted as saying that it is important even crucial to check on those secondary gains.

Check with me, if you have a question, or... want to lose weight! To be in real deep hypnosis is a wonderful feeling - you can go places, you have never been or wish you could go again. Check out this short script at Mind Changing Hypnosis, for what is a nice, short script relating to health and reaching your goals.

Posted by Andreas at 04:48 PM | Comments (2)

To finish my story about eBuilding

eBuilding replied to my mail regarding their service delivery.

They said that they are aware of problems in my building and aware of my posting. Also, that they appreciate my feedback.

It was a very neutral mail, but at least, not a computer-generated. They addressed me by name, not "Dear Valued Customer".

After the mail, they also send me a text message, that service is restored.

I am critical of the first contact via mail, but wow-ed by the personal approach via SMS. The email was too neutral, and didn't come from "higher levels" of the company. I don't expect it, but it would have been something "nice", appreciative, showing more effort. There are CEOs who do this!

The second approach, via text message, is personal - okay, I am not sure if they did not send the same text message to all subscribers.

A simple approach like this sways subscribers back to their former loyalty. I haven't tried the service yet and if it really works. But I give eBuilding credit for this effort.

Posted by Andreas at 10:38 AM | Comments (1)

February 21, 2006

Memories and development

A colleague of me resigned after 6 years and moves on. His last e-mail states, as last sentence: "What would have happened if I would have said "NO" to the job offer of COMPANY ABC 6 years ago.

This is a question that always haunts us - what happens if you do something or don't do something. How would your life develop if you would have chosen a different path?

But put it in a different perspective.

Tad James, the developer of Timeline once said:

"How do you know in the morning when you wake up, who you are?"
(can this be part of the "Miracle Question"?)

Think about it because it is a damn good question. It means that we all are products of our memories. Our memories determine who we are, what we belief in (or even how this belief has been established in the first place), whom we interacted with - and best of all, how we will act today, and tomorrow, if left alone.

It is possible (and very easy) to identify your own belief system, and your own strategies of how you handle your life and how you react in certain situations, when you think about how you handled similar situations in other parts of your life.

Ask yourself: What are the crucial decisions that you made, or even, how did you go about buying your last car, refrigerator, whatever. Everything that we do is so revealing about how we are, think, act, and what we belief in.

Try it!! It is fascinating.

Posted by Andreas at 02:44 PM | Comments (1)

February 20, 2006

A continuation to my eBuilding Story

After the endurance throughout Saturday afternoon with eBuilding, I actually received a call from eBuilding sometimes around 20.30 PM. This was nice, but by then, the computer was switched off already. i asked the lady on the line if there is someone at work on Sunday and she confirmed.

Astonishingly, Asa, one of the very friend ladies from Saturday called me on Sunday shortly before noon to inform me that there has been a technician on the site of my condominium to check on the connections. She also checked if I would still have problems, because I was in eBuilding's website this morning (aha - monitoring!). I responded that I was in their website but that it was not possible to log in to any other website. I also asked her if it the technician on site would be able to come an check. She promised to try.

About 4 hours later, he called. He first asked me if all my cables are connected to the computer. I said yes, they are. He asked me to check. I checked the output and input and confirmed, yes, the wires are connected. he asked if I am sure, since there are so many entries into computers. I said, I am very sure. He asked again if I am sure - it became quite frustrating for me to constantly confirm. So I explained to him that yes, I am very able to check wires and there is no icon blinking on my computer confirming any connection and if he could come over to check.

He said he would call me back and hung up. I would still be waiting for him! He never called back!

Posted by Andreas at 08:54 AM | Comments (0)

February 18, 2006

eBuilding or: How to create an unhappy customer

There was a time I was very happy with eBuilding. I would have recommended anyone.

This entry is a story of how a couple of bad events changed me into a customer that is no longer engaged and absolutely disappointed in the company. This is a story about a company that tries hard to beat strong competitors but whose telephone customer service is able to destroy all the good-will built up in just a couple of calls.

So here we go:

Over the last couple of weeks, eBuilding’s connection to my building was very erratic - on and off, but actually more off than on. It took a long time to get the connection up and running.

Calling and reaching someone in eBuilding over the weekend is a game of luck. One time in January I was lucky and I reached someone. One very friendy woman from eBuilding let me through a process that helped me connecting. But a week later, it was gone again.

The thing is that frequently, I am online at home during the weekend. This is of course very disadvantaging for me when I cannot reach anyone in eBuilding. How often did I call them to no avail. Leaving messages and no on returns the call – not even on a Monday.

Last weekend, my wife purchased an online tool for my child, to assist him in his homework. He didn’t go to school the following Monday as he was sick and instead, they decided to log on to the web. No connection. Since my wife is not that internet savvy, I called eBuilding and talked to a guy called Jack. He asked me if I were at home and I said, no, I was in the office. I asked him to either call my home and lead my wife through the process of reconnecting or, even better, send someone over. He said that no technicians of eBuilding was in the area and if I could call eBuilding in the evening. I said that this is useless, because my wife would need the computer during the day, and it is impossible to let a customer wait until the evening. To convey this message wasn't easy. I had to repeat it may be five times, and he constantly came with the argument that I have to call in the evening time. Excuse me! A customer is in need, and you are asked to wait until the evening? Finally, he got the message, I thought. He promised to assist and wanted to call back – never did.

Somehow along the line the connection worked again and I left it at that - I actually thought that may be Jack tuned the connection on their side.

Today, the connection failed again. Again, I am on the phone. The lady told me that there are some technical problems in my place and that is why the web doesn’t connect. If things are back to normal they would call me. Again, no news.

In the afternoon I call again. I am now told that they migrated the system and if I would have migrated already. Duh - I didn't even know that they planned a system migration. No e-mail, nothing!. So I said no, and that I wasn’t told.

Apparently it already happened last weekend. I didn’t get a respective e-mail. The lady assists me in migrating, leading me through the process. According to her instructions, I am logging on to the computer, to eBuilding’s webpage, register, agree to the service agreement (didn’t I do so the very first time I subscribed to them, way back in 2003???) – and then, the system fails - "the webpage you are trying to reach ... blah, blah, blah!.

I try again – the same situation, and one more time. Finally, it works, but then, the call is interrupted. No connection as well. I call eBuilding and reach the answering machine. I leave a message asking for a return call – a call that doesn't came.

Okay, I proceed alone. Somehow, I manage to register. An old user has to register again. I get worried that I am getting charged twice, if all of this is so complicated and not customer friendly – at least in my perspective.

Okay – proceeding. New user name, new password – the automatic response that an email has been send to my email account for verification. Ha – everything done.

Let’s see how it works. Trying to open Internet to log in to my GMail account and no, the webpage doesn’t open. Okay – I log off from eBuilding and want to log in again. Hoping that it needs to go through this process. Typing in my username and password. The box tells me that the username is wrong. Wrong? How can that be.

I call eBuilding again. A guy responds. He sounds a bit helpless listening to my description. Since I couldn’t get the lady, and she hadn’t have my telephone number, I give him my contact details straight away - I don’t want to lose out again. I explain the case again and he gets even more lost. He asks me to hold on, he wants to check with his colleagues – and the line goes dead. He never calls back!

I try to log in to the web again. The same result. Then I try it with a large caps first letter. Ah – it now registers my name, but not my password. While doing so, I call eBuilding, since I sense more trouble. The password, my good old password, doesn’t work and trouble looms. The system informs me that I tried to log in more than three times and that it shuts me out for 24 hours. Great - how pathetic can this be?

Finally reaching someone in eBuilding. But the moment I mention my name, the line goes dead. Is there a system behind the system? I call again, and reach someone. The lady again, her name is Asa. She is friendly. Tries to help, wants to get my name correct first. I have to repeat it 5 times, that the last letter of “Andreas” is an “S”, not a “N”. This happens all the time – frequently, I am ending up as Andrean instead of Andreas.

I tell her my problem and she does sound lost. Suddenly she says that there is a Gateway problem in my building and they try to rectify this. Doesn’t this sound familiar? She gives me a temporary password and says that a technician will call me back when their problem is rectified. She doesn’t know when. She doesn’t answer to my frustrated question, if I can charge eBuilding for all the lost hours and enjoyment.

I am very angry, very unhappy with eBuilding. I hope I have a chance to get a new supplier because today, eBuilding lost a loyal subscriber. It is difficult and cost intensive to win customers and when you are a smaller company such as eBuilding, shouldn’t you run twice as fast and work twice as hard to keep your customer?

Later: I am out on the highway when y handphone rings. It is eBuilding. I ask the guy if he can call me back in 45 minutes, since I am on my way home. He intends to do so.

45 minutes later. I am waiting, and waiting. I call eBuiding. Leave a message on the answering machine. Ask then to return my call. 15 minutes later, I call again, and tell the answering machine that I am pretty fed up.

I am now using my good old Jaring dial-up to post this entry. Tomorrow morning, I am trying to reach eBuilding again. And on Monday, I want to talk to their management.

Posted by Andreas at 05:14 PM | Comments (0)

February 17, 2006

The Peter Principle and business coaching for mindset change

Imagine the following situation - a situation that a Business Coach is encountering frequently, but you will surely recognise the trait in your own business environment

You have a great engineer, or executive. For the sake of this entry, let's stick to the executive. It is a young man (sorry ladies), aspiring, enthusiastic, motivated or engaged and happy. Whatever his boss gives to him is promptly dealt with, he doesn't miss a deadline and, simply speaking, it is fun to have the guy around.

Now, it is time for the promotion and the guy gets it. Yes, he has been long enough with the company and surely deserves the promotion. Especially since teamwork is required and he surely is "beloved" by his colleagues.

He leaves the company 12 months later, devasted that a promising career came to an end. The employer doesn't know what went wrong, but over the last 12 months since the promotion, more and more complaints came in about the guy. It simply didn't work anymore.

He meddled around in the work of his employees, micro-managed them, and, simultaneously wasn't able to get his own work done. A couple of projects went totally astray, clients complained about his work - simply speaking, his promotion did not turn out the way it was forecased.

He fall victim to the Peter's Principle. Who hasn't heard of the sentence that in a promotion, you lose a great engineer and win a bad manager?

The Peter Principle states that "it may be simply that the position is different from the position in which the employee previously excelled, and thus requires different skills, which the employee may not possess."

This means a promoted employee is doing what he knows best - instead of doing his new job, which requires new skills and a new mindset, he is "bothering" the employee who is now doing his former job. He hasn't received the new mindset to cope with new challenges - no one coached him. He does what he feels competent to do. The other employees, of course, are unhappy - and might even start to meddle in other people's work as well. Do you see the cycle?

Employees need to change their mindset to move on, to develop capabilities and new behaviours. There is a different air that you breathe, once you climb the career ladder. You can even say that there is the requirement for a different mindset once your company start growing. A different kind of management is required when you manage a small department vis-a-vis a larger department, 5 employees in a company vis-a-vis 10 or 15 or 50 employees, a small company growing to a big company, revenues of US$1 million to revenues of US$10 million and so on.

This is the fun part of business coaching. Business coaching, amongst others, helps company leaders to develop the mindset of their employees. You coach employees to develop their mindset and to avoid the Peter Principle.

I would be interested to hear your story. Or, if you need a personal coach or a business coach, just send me an email.







Posted by Andreas at 04:19 PM | Comments (1)

February 13, 2006

Smoking, hypnotherapy and a personal story

I found this entry which describes the advantage of hypnotherapy in helping to quit smoking. Worthwhile a read.

It is clearly correct to say that it is tough if not impossible to quit smoking with willpower alone. And that hypnotherapy is extremely valuable as a tool for those who want to quit smoking.

I remembered when I stopped smoking about 10 years back. It was like starting a new life. New habits needed to form. Behaviour rectified. Imagine that anything related to smoking needed to get rewired. The cigarette after the morning coffee. The cigarette while driving my car. The cigarette after food, during discussions, to smooth conversations, to gain confidence, to hold on to something. No more of such things. The first time I went to a pub to meet with friends was like hell. We drank, had fun, but then, as the urge for a cigarette started to grow, i had to leave. This wass the worst day of it. I paced up and down in my living room, and simply longed for a cigarette. I got over it!

A friend once told me that there is hardly any picture or photo available of me without a cigarette in my hand. I stopped, from one day to the next. By chance, it was a day when Mahatir, Malaysia's former prime minister, called onto the nation to stop smokine, make it a non-smoking day. Thank you, Tun! I followed your advice.

There were a couple of incidences when I nearly started to smoke again. One was the death of my father and the guilt in me that I hadn't seen him for a longer while. I just started to work in Malaysia on a 2 year contract and didn't want to go back to Germany for my leave but instead took the chance to travel around Asia. I thought that after the two years, i would go back to Germany and see him again anyway. I never did. He died, after a long fight against Parkinson's disease.

The day my mother called to tell me that my father died was the day I wanted to smoke again. It didn't happen, thanks to my wife (I dated her at that time) and her "handholding" at that time.

The next time was when I actually had a big argument with my wife-to-be. I was so angry that I told her that I need a break to throw the remaining cigarettes (yes, I kept some spare, just in case!) away, otherwise, I would start to smoke again. When I came back, we had lost our the feeling for the fight, didn't know what the fight was about anymore, had a good laughter and moved on.

I still like the cigarette smoke, every now and then. And every now and then, I still feel the urge to smoke. I don't because I know that I wouldn't be able to control the habit and would be back to my 30 or 40 sticks in a day.

And no "Tak Nak" campaign would help me then!

I believe that hypnotherapy is one way to overcome addiction.

It is simply instilling new values, new beliefs into the system. I won against my addiction because I was able to change my behaviour and had a good fight for a different behaviour and strong, very strong willpower (hey - I am a German, okay?).

But behaviours operate at a lower level of your neurology and are often directed by values and beliefs. The subconscious belief that a cigarette helps to strengthen confidence is strong. It is entrenched deeply in the sub-conscious mind, more than the behaviour that consciously says cigarettes are bad for your health.

Values and beliefs influence behaviour but changes in behaviour are pretty much challenged to change values and beliefs - in fact, a changed behaviour might not influence beliefs at all if left at that.

Only "extreme" behavioural change is able to change values and beliefs - for example, a lot of my beliefs changed after I moved from Germany to Malaysia, thus even the environment is able to ultimately change behaviour and beliefs - but who is willing to change so dramatically to change values and beliefs? Strong group pressure is another possibility to change beliefs and then, following, values and beliefs.

Ultimately, it is easier to directly go into the belief system. A good hypnotherapist is able to identify those original secondary gains - e.g.; the need for confidence - that come with the consumption of cigarettes.

Once this gain is identified in an initial session, a certified practioner hypnotherapist can easily eliminate the habit and behaviour.

Posted by Andreas at 10:16 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack

February 09, 2006

Positive Thoughts and positive attitude

Everybody talks about the importance of positive thoughts and a positive attitude. This surely is a better way of living than to be constantly dragged down by negativity.

Agree!

The challenge is two-fold, nevertheless.

Firstly, it is tough to stay positive in an environment that is negative. How to be positive when you are working in an office, for example, where people are constantly negatively inclined? Talk negatively about clients, about their colleagues, about their friends about their dog, about anything?

Secondly, we surely haven't been raised to think and behave positively. Everybody, or at least plenty of people, has been exposed to negativity throughout their life. Even those that attempt to live positively only mostly cover a sea of negativity with positive thoughts. Scrape deeper and you can find negativity. Sad, but at least they are trying.

This is worthwhile an attempt - to live and breath positivity. Why? Well, ask yourself, are thoughts energy? Or, better, do they cause something in your body? Is there a link between body and mind, thoughts and body?

Sure there is. If you don't believe it, just think of the reaction of your body the moment you have some sexual fantasy. Really, I am serious! What is the reaction? I bet that even so you didn't "engage in any sexual activity" (I hope not, I hope you keep reading the entry), there was a reaction in your body.

Now this is a reaction to a sexual thought.

Think, what is happening when you have negative thoughts, feel anxious, nervous, lack of confidence, insecure or even hate, lack of passion, frustration, passion etc.

Now that is scary, Isn't it?







Posted by Andreas at 04:28 PM | Comments (0)

February 05, 2006

Handing over your money

The New Straits Times today has a sad article of a group of elderly women, who handed over their hard-earned money to some crooksters.

Some victims claim that they were hypnotised.

This is not possible, or only possible if they were willing to part with their money.

The facts:
1.) 99% of those being hypnotised are fully aware of their surrounding - a huge number.
2.) It is not possible to do something under hypnosis that contradicts your values or does not make sense to the hypnotised person.

If I ask someone under hypnosis to stand on their head and laugh, they would wake up. Immediately.

It is something like an urgent legend that those under hypnosis can be influenced to do things that they don't actually want to do.

As sad as the story is, this is the truth!







Posted by Andreas at 08:55 PM | Comments (1)

Bald heads and a positive attitude

Interesting statement from Selangor police chief Datuk Yahaya Udin, who commented about the head shaving of the 11 arrested men:

"We cut their hair as short as possible and sporting short hair reflects positive image."

Before, I was worried that I am getting bald only. Now I have the hope that I at least now, I am attaining a positive attitude naturally.

But seriously, I don't see the connection between short hair and positive image. What has one to do with the other? Is this clear as a statement to anyone? For those of you experienced in NLP, this is a clear violation of the Meta-Model. How language is put together to form a statement - and in doing so, expresses a belief system.

A NLPler could ask: "Have you ever seen someone with long hair and a positive attitude?" Or, "Is it possible to have short hair and still have a bad attitude?"

Basically - to identify the deeper structures of the belief behind the earlier sentence. But, and this is interesting, when you go around listening to other people (which people?), it is easy to see that there are many, many statements around us that express similar beliefs.

Just thinking of my parents and what they liked to tell me: "If you listen to music that loud, it is clear that you become deaf soon." Got it?








Posted by Andreas at 08:44 PM | Comments (0)

February 02, 2006

Meditation and science

Wired has quite an interesting article about the conflict between Western science on neurology and Eastern ways of approaching "brain science through meditation" (if I may say so).

Cause of the stir? The Dalai Lama's invitation to speak at the Society for Neuroscience's annual conference in front of 14,000 people and the worry of other participants that there is a "mix of science and religion."

He came because of the apparent alteration of the brain structure of monks that meditated tens of thousands of hours.

Monk 1_f.jpg


Picture taken from Wired Magazine - Buddha on the brain

"Results suggested that, in the course of meditating for tens of thousands of hours, the monks had actually altered the structure and function of their brains."

I am not discussing the pro and con of the invitation. I believe that anything that enlightens the functioning of the brain and possibility to change brain functions is worthwhile pursuing.

Why are we afraid to change? Change is possible. Habits are changeable and beliefs created a long time ago inhibit us today in developing our capabilities. If there are ways to change those (and be assured, there are), go for it.







Posted by Andreas at 11:07 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

February 01, 2006

Natalia's Diamonds sneaking in via comments

One way to increase the ranking in Google or other search engines is for a webpage to link and be linked to. For some companies, this is a challenge.

Challenging especially when you are in a business that sells high value products, such as jewellery or diamonds, you are not as "famous" or "reputable" as Amazon.com or an EBay.

It seems AlwaysWoW has been found worthwhile by a company to be used as "link base".

In an older entry of mine a diamond company commented, totally unrelated to the original entry. Sprinkled in the comment are a variety of different links as well.

I leave it as it is, but please, dear Natalia, I am linking back to you. I don't like spamming, or sneaking in. It is unethical. And anyone who will search for Natalia's Diamonds on the web will also find this entry. And once they read it, they might think twice of shopping at your side.

Posted by Andreas at 01:10 PM | Comments (4)

Spam - and then, they were quiet

Movable Type has installed a spam filter. I believed it doesn't work. May be it didn't - because over the last 2 or 3 days, spam inflow to my blog (and my Yahoo email address) became crazy. Every hour, minute, second and even more, I received spam messages.

Bravely, I clicked them away. Enough of viagra, and bird flu medicine, and cheap printer ink and those that offer themselves in my neighbourhood.

Suddenly, it is quiet. There hasn't been any spam inflow over the last 6 hours or so - neither in the trackbacks nor in the comments. Are spammer sleeping? Have the robots been turned off? I am curious. But may be, it will start again tomorrow, and these six hours are just time differences between one country and the next. But still, I hope!!

Posted by Andreas at 12:01 AM | Comments (1)