The Gift of FailureWritten by Jean Fritz
During this Thanksgiving holiday, we are reminded to reflect on bounty in our lives. Most of us have jobs, family, a place we call home and food on table, and for these things and our ability to obtain them we should be grateful.But what about those who are struggling with financial difficulties, bad relationships, or employment problems? Do they owe any thanks for their circumstances? Can failure really be a gift in disguise? FAILURES TEACH US ABOUT PROCESS Thomas Edison tried over 9,000 designs before he created a working light bulb. A young reporter asked him how he felt after having failed 9,000 times. Edison replied, "I didn't fail - I just learned 9,000 ways how not to make a light bulb." Failure is often a clue to redirect our efforts in a different direction, and to follow a different set of plans. How many times have we learned how not to sell a product, how not to get a new job, or how not to judge a future mate? If a series of failures leads us to open our minds to new knowledge or information, or gives us willingness to try different behaviors, then we haven't failed, we've learned how to create different results. FAILURES TEACH US ABOUT OURSELVES During '40s, a young Jewish boy chose to forego academia in order to pursue his dream of becoming another Benny Goodman. Against his parents' wishes, he began playing in a jazz band. His musical talents were less than sterling, and soon he realized he was just another musician teetering on brink of unemployment. Unlike many of his fellow musicians, he was able to manage income he had, so those periods of unemployment weren't nearly as devastating for him as they were for others. His musical colleagues recognized his talent for money management, and soon they had hired him to manage their finances - for a fee. This caused young man to rethink his career goals, and changed course of his life. This failure's name is Alan Greenspan, Federal Reserve Chairman, who has been credited with performing an economic impossibility - sustaining long term economic growth without stimulating inflation. His failure taught him that money, rather than music, was his forté, and we have all benefitted from that epiphany.
| | Inner Head: Ear Worms & Audio MemesWritten by Dorian Greer
Inner Head: Ear Worms & Audio MemesMemes Memes are "neurological instruction code" of behavior that is passed on from person to person, replicating itself like a virus. The key is that they are self replicating! Pronounced like "dreams", memes are snippets of memory stored in brains and passed on by imitation or duplication. Examples are tunes, fads, catch-phrases, slogans, culture, superstition, customs, mass hysteria, and so forth. Audio Memes Audio memes are neurological code in output form of sound. For example, a huge sample of adult Americans would likely know name and subsequent notes to song, Don't Worry Be Happy, after hearing just first distinctive note! Why? It's an audio meme. Ear Worms Ear worms are metaphorical creatures in form of sound. They have a life of their own, and they infect humans much like audio memes. The difference is that they don't stop playing (the tune) inside a person's head. They just keep going, and going, and going... Earworm: (EER.wurm) n. A song or tune that repeats over and over inside a person's head. Also: ear-worm, ear worm. Sound Advice It is apparent, that sounds can drive us crazy. Sounds can drive us "sane", too. Sounds can affect emotional fabric of our lives, psychologically (mood music), kinesthetically (dance music), and possibly spiritually (alpha-theta combinations found in advanced states of meditation). Like music, brain wave patterns are measured in frequencies, or pulses of sound. It is a vitally significant breakthrough that you can now utilize sound in ways to most benefit your own well being and development. Imagine what it must be like to synchronize your brain wave patterns with that of a Zen master during meditation. Well guess what?
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