Category: Insight Blog

Observations on humanity and technology

No Time to Think!

On By Pamala CliftIn Education, SocietyLeave a comment

We are modern and important. We have LOTS to do. We need to time-manage every moment. There are only so many minutes in a day. The river of life doesn’t slow down for anyone.

These are the precepts of our life these days. No introspection, no free time (unless it is scheduled and then few know what to do with it).

If I wanted to make people sheep this is exactly what I would do.  Make them rush around after false goals. Tell them they are not successful unless every second is managed. Make their so called off times filled with entertainment, music, noise. That way they don’t have time to think, to question the status quo.

Hunger games, 1984, Brave New World, Animal Farm all have heroically pointed out the step-by-step method of dominating a society. Propaganda and more regulations should eventually shove everyone into line. We will be controlled. 

This is all there is to it:

1. Make entertainers positions of idolizing and the media God.

2. Regulate with insurance, taxes and complex laws every ounce of innovation out of the masses, so only those already in control can survive. 

3. Make sure healthcare is controlled so we can decide who lives and who dies. 

4. Fill their minds with stuff that means nothing all the time so they have no time to think. (paperwork that no one reads, but is there just in case someone wants to sue or the law says so; noise, closed in spaces, ratings or data so they can believe something is better than something else and they can fill their time chasing erroneous data projections or the almighty dollar which is a fiction as well.)

5. Fill their food with stuff they won’t let you know about-Monsanto.

6. Keep the people controlled with the unbridled Family courts that even regulate personal relationships.

It is horrible to think with all the information available out there we still don’t think. We don’t know how to think. We constantly look to someone else to think. The Pope, president, scientist says… instead of thinking ourselves.

Vacations have to be filled with amusement parks, Vegas, family demands etc. Not once have I heard, I am taking a vacation to go sit on a rock to think. lol

I have watched kids who have been filled with noise and meaningless activity wither in almost pain because they were forced to sit outside and think.  It is an unknown activity.

The body is not set up to deal with these constant multiple inputs; so we have sleepless nights as our brain works to defrag the day’s events into a cohesive manner it can store in memory. Instead we take pills by-passing memory-saving to the point we don’t remember what just happened and wouldn’t have the resources for proper introspection anyway.

The Roadside Philosopher’s is just a small little organization. Many there have disabilities that prevent them entering the rat race and they actually enjoy examining new viewpoints and thinking. They have time. 

How can we grab those moments back? How can we actually live?

Those who succeed tend to be those artistic kooks, who write, philosophize, make music or art. They are those whose inner being will not be denied. They travel a journey most often close-to-poverty just so they can express the being that is them. To show the world, wonder or a moment of beauty is all that is required.They enjoy the journey. 

Please find time to think and discover your own feelings and thoughts, so you too can enjoy the journey.

Hugs, Pam

The Roadside Philosoopher

Façade or Reality?

On By Pamala CliftIn Philosopher comments on RealityLeave a comment

Glamor? or Façade?

Glamor Shots use to be a big deal. Get yourself all fixed up, hair teased, sprayed and dressed up and take a picture.

We would look at ourselves and not recognize us. Who is that person in the mirror?

So 45 minutes of drawing on our face, covering our spots, making our eyes bigger, lashes longer, minimizing wrinkles … and THAT is reality for most women.

We can’t seem to go out in public without “putting on our face” Why is that considered Real? Why is that considered right?

Does it mean that we do NOT want reality; we want a story? We want the fairytale story of being beautiful forever…no matter how long it takes to dress up reality. It is only proper for a female to make an effort to please others. We have to reach for a visual perfection to be taken as relevant. 

Men have a different story they play. They want to be seen as macho so they get big trucks, tear their shirts, lift weights to get pumped up to look like the dude on the magazine… OR they let themselves go scruffy as if to say, “See I don’t care what I look like.” …but macho dude, you still need a bath. 

We keep asking for truth, but keep spending our effort in creating fantasy. 

Our politicians give us fantasy because that is what we want to hear. Media creates “reality TV” which is FAR FROM real, because the drama is something we desire to see.

Almost everything in our society that is considered acceptable is window dressing. The core of the truth is never examined if it looks pretty, or as we expect.

I did an experiment one time back in school. I wrote a paper in about 1/2 hour, did almost no research, put no effort into the quality of what was written, but… I put it in a wonderfully decorative high quality paper cover with clear plastic over a highly decorative font all laid out beautifully and typed with lovely spaces.

Guess what? I got an A. The paper was garbage. It doesn’t appear to matter. This is what we have become. So when I say, “We do not live for reality; we live for our fantasies.” it is not just in virtual that this paradigm exist.

How can we get this to change when we put value on the valueless? 

Politics is a bore, since we spend our time realizing it is all for show and have no idea what the candidates really think, or more important who is backing them, controlling the puppet strings. We don’t know and don’t seem to care.  He came in on a pretty helicopter. She is always dressed so nice. He is articulate and speaks lovely. 

If we want the world to change we are going to have to change what we expect and what we examine. There actually may be great beauty in that person sitting on the corner in that torn jacket. There might be greater wisdom in the withered grandmother than the PhD in the suit.

If we don’t spend effort in digging for gold, we will continue to get fools gold.

Enjoy the journey ! Hugs, Pam

When Preparedness Meets Opportunity- Instant Success?

On By Pamala CliftIn Education, SocietyLeave a comment

You often hear the phrase. He/She was an instant success! 

That means they were suddenly brought out of obscurity into the public eye for their expertise.

Did they just develop that expertise overnight? The public eye may have become instantly aware, but the expertise was developed over years and many trial & error struggles.

The railway couldn’t have sent their first train to the west, until many things happened: the idea had to be conceptualized, the land surveyed, purchased, people hired and years of effort made to lay tracks. Were there hiccups? Absolutely, problems were there. Many times changes and compensation for errors had to be made. The success came only after all the work was completed. Only then could the train go over the tracks to the targeted destination.

Developing an expertise or a project is lonely. You’re trying to do something that hasn’t been done before so there is no one to grade you except you when what you envision does or does not solidify.  Many can’t take that. 

People want someone to validate them at every step, hence academia tries to launch self-thinkers by giving them validation with grades and certificates. But many times what they do is just get people into an addiction awaiting fast-food validation. (forever students) A validation that may or may not be valid, because nothing new has been established. The student has just regurgitated back what was already known from another forever student who has spun reality from their vantage point.

Those who get fed up with being told what to do usually leave to create their own reality. Working solo, fighting naysayers, trying to make things workout for the new set of problems that they see. Only after the thought has been envisioned, the research done, the money has been invested, and the years of effort to lay one track after another will the opportunity possibly come for a chance at instant success. lol

So prepare your passion, do your work, don’t care if you’re not recognized for your labor. Most artist, composers, authors and philosophers are not seen as great until after their death.

What you will get is the fulfillment of engaging your life with your passion. That is the blessing. You are contributing something new to the universe, a viewpoint, a creation that most likely will never go viral…or lead to instant success (which has its own difficulties), but has value. Believe in that.

If you’re tired of being just one of the sheep, and have the endurance for the long haul, get started now for your instant success…. possibly decades in the future. lol

Enjoy the journey!

Hugs, Pam

To Copy is to Lose! Be Unique…

On By Pamala CliftIn Interpersonal RelationshipsLeave a comment

When you imitate another you will always lose. You can never be the same as the original. So the best you can hope for is second place.

We often compare ourselves to others. I am not as strong as he is; or I don’t have her beautiful hair. This list goes on and on with things we are not as good as someone else. 

But no matter who you compare yourself to, one thing is certain… they will come in second if they try to be you.

You are unique. A huge component of strengths and weaknesses that spin a composite that no one can rightly imitate. There is beauty in that. There is also wonder. Every snowflake is unique. Why is that? 

Where do we get this compulsion to be like everyone else? Why does someone else get to dictate how another should be?

Almost everything in the universe has uniqueness. Nothing is exactly like something else. The trees are all different, animals, rocks…I am sure if we were to be able to discern completely the components of insects and molecules there would be uniqueness.

So why is everyone trying to be like…? I need to dress like so & so. I want to be cool and hip like…? You are cool and hip & YOU. Don’t follow.

When you interact with someone they hand you the rules, sometimes they do it with their dress. (I am a Dr so you have to treat me like X.) So we take our cues from the mannerisms, dress, and customs of the culture. That is all fine and good when you wish to play someone else’s game.

You can never win someone else’s game, because THEY have set the rules and will change them so you can’t. So play your OWN game. Make up your own rules. Hand off the cues to others so they will treat you the way you wish to be treated. We create our reality. We don’t need others to buy into it for it to be our reality. We need to be unique, our fully unique self. One that follows our passions.   

If you are a dog person…be totally that. Don’t let the “I love soccer” people rain on your parade. We all have different directions our soul takes us, just like water freezes in a snowflake with unique directions. Does that mean we are not a snowflake? 

Be your passion. Create your game. If your idea of points is how many licks your dog gives you…and that makes you happy, then that is your game and the points. You don’t need to be a speed skater, a great painter, or worse of all… The points are $/money. That means you are competing with the world for points that don’t bring you happiness. 

There is awesomeness in those that think for themselves. I marvel when I see a person no one else talks to because they don’t look the same. I WANT to talk to someone unique. I am drawn to the people who have not taken sheephood as a religion.

Look in the mirror. Marvel at the being that is you. Make you all that your passion and direction wish to be. *wink* I will be looking for you!

Enjoy the journey. Hugs Pam

Solidify Reality by Where You Focus

On By Pamala CliftIn Education, Philosopher comments on RealityLeave a comment

One of the hobbies I enjoy is reading books on Quantum Physics. So many unknowns speculated upon and extrapolations made. You can’t help think that philosophy is not dead…just renamed scientific hypotheses. 🙂

The illustrious double slit experiment is spun in so many different ways and used to validate new ideas almost daily. 

So to again try and explain the outcome of a complex experiment with a truncated definition; “Waves and particles only solidify into reality upon observation!”

I am going to leave it at that for this article. There are tons of resources if you wish to research it, but based on that, I have my own key to understanding reality.

Wherever we focus IS reality. Reality is a program where we choose the subroutines of our existence with our focus.

So if i focus on what I am missing in my life, it is a miserable life. If I focus on the beautiful sunrise and the things I do have, I couldn’t be happier.

I am writing the Hiccup Chronicles (will it never end…lol) and its premise is that we are outside of the universe engaged in a simulation program called our physical existence. (a slowing down of the energy waves so things can be solidified)

The physicists speculate that there are multiple worlds. Which I believe is partly correct. The program of this existence has already been written. We are just exploring all desired subroutines of that program. We possibly are creating and expanding the range of possibilities. How would the butterfly effect of “NOT taking that toy truck away from my younger brother actually affect the entire program of the universe?”

People yell at me quite adamantly when I say you choose your subroutine in the program. “I would NEVER have this problem or this illness or trouble if I had a choice. You must be freaking kidding me!”

Well lets look at the things we enjoy. We like to play games. We like to make artificial rules and then try to see if we can win with those limitations. We workout, take on challenges, create and build things.

If this world WAS just a game or an artificial construct, and we knew we existed elsewhere, then the difficulties we have here would be like moving the game from easy to hard. 

If reality is anything we can conceive and we have played this game on easy level, sometimes we will raise the difficulty, lift a heavier weight, run a greater distance.

The interactions of this program only allow us to engage with 5 senses, all of which have been scientifically proven to be foolable, yet we only count those interactions as reality?

There are obviously more senses out there. Animals have all sorts of abilities we do not. (radar, animal-direction sense for migration etc.) So we are limited.

We create measurement tools/math of our own creation and then act as if those are the only definitive truth? 

We try to quantify things and make rules saying “Well it works for A, B, C; so if it doesn’t work for the rest of the alphabet it must be the “things” that are wrong, not our measuring stick?”

In our digital age we try to put all the rest of the alphabet into an algorithm. It can’t be reality if we can’t shove it into our self-declared measuring compartments. 

If we limit our life to ONLY looking at the measurements of our self-created compartments we will miss a very entertaining existence.

Wonder, philosophizing and enjoying the “not knowing” is the journey. 

Focus and slow down on what you WANT to see, experience, choose your subroutines and enjoy the journey. 

Hugs, Pam 

The Honeymoon of a New Relationship

On By Pamala CliftIn Interpersonal RelationshipsLeave a comment

When a new connection is made, life is a whirlwind.

Trying to make your significant other happy. Hoping that as they get to know you they don’t hit an impossible roadblock. (Nope, I can’t be with someone that clips their toenails in bed…type thing)

It is as stressful as it is exciting. Will the rough edges of the two of you eventually interlock? Can he/she be everything they are portraying? Are they lying? Playing you? Are they just a leech and will run out on you when you can not provide any more stuff? All those thoughts run constantly in the back of your mind as your emotions and desire for the ultimate fairytale relationship continue to race to the infinity sign of the universe. This has GOT to be IT!

There are those that find a perfect relationship and ruin it with all their questions and fears. How can you get past that knowing at any moment it can all come crashing down on you? 

My solution: Nothing is perfect. People change. For every “Hello” there will be a “goodbye”. (even if it ends at the death bed)  So there you have it. 

“What?” you say? That is a very dismal attitude.  No, it is a very freeing attitude. It allows you to forgive in advance the eventual demise of that honeymoon closeness, which will come. 

The honeymoon phase of any relationship will shift and change. Nothing can ever be the first kiss, or first orgasim with your new partner. People remember firsts. Once you have gotten past that you have other things to discover, but they will be different. It is a good thing to understand that.

Once you make up your mind to attempt a merging, live it to its fullest. Do not question yourself. You have chosen a leg in your maze of life, some will be good, some will be bad. Nothing will stay the same, but this is an exciting journey. Don’t dampen your full engagement with this experiment to play with doubts and troubles that have not arisen yet.

Too many people are doing the “Well, I will stick my toe in the water.” not fully committed to exploring, discovering, changing and merging. Guess what? If you only give a bit…you will only get a bit. That is something no one wants. So give it your all. In for an ounce…in for a ton, good, bad, or ugly you are choosing this path. If it crashes and burns, that is ok because you forgave in advance. 

It then becomes totally freeing. Enjoy this upswing of feelings. Know that it most likely will end and certainly change. But many things end. The roller coaster ride ends; the last bite of the banana split ends; your favorite book and movie end…none of those endings will stop you from choosing to engaging in them just because they will end. Why should you require infinity for a relationship to be true and worthwhile?

Engaging with life shouldn’t end, until your life ends. Be comfortable with being the fool, because that step off the precipice will be one hell of a ride. lol

Hugs, Pam

April Fools…?

On By Pamala CliftIn Interpersonal RelationshipsLeave a comment

We are all strange in our approach to our existence.

NO ONE likes to be the fool. No one enjoys being the brunt of a practical joke, but yet we hail the jester that can pull it off?

It is fun to see someone else fall, get scared or embarrassed. Why is that?

The internet holds an extra layer of anonymity that makes it even easier to set someone else up for an untruth. We can create multiple personalities, stories, and attacks and feel it is not us…it is just a joke. 

Trolls & griefers have separated themselves in their mind from their actions, because “It was all for a laugh.” So the philosophical questions are “Where ARE we? & Where do we begin and end?” The line seems to be drawn in different places. 

If we do harm: it wasn’t my intention… If we all laugh it was because of me.

I was a professional clown and could play the fool, knowing… I was setting myself up… I was the one pretending to be surprised. People enjoy watching things go awry. 

If we were God, having that same propensity, we could look at this existence with greater humor. Existence is always pulling tricks on us. What we think will happen and what does happen, rarely match.

The answer to the confusion is intent. Selfish or generous? Did you put honey on the toilet seat to make them laugh or you? Did you slip the money in their shoe, knowing the surprise would delight both you and them?

Simple rule: Do unto others as you would like them to do unto you.

This April Fools Day enjoy the delight of the absurd and the surprises. Be creative, just be mindful of what you create may go awry. Everyone’s perception is different.

Enjoy the journey. Life is too important to take too seriously from our only one perspective.

Hugs, Pam

The Vacuum of a Break-Up

On By Pamala CliftIn Interpersonal RelationshipsLeave a comment

What people are totally unprepared for when a breakup occurs is the vacuum.

Now a spot that has always been filled is gone? That hollow feeling, which repeatedly screams something-is-missing eats away at any resolve that constituted the breakup originally.

Vacuums are uncomfortable. Change is uncomfortable. Being a free ion probably is uncomfortable. Whenever there is a need to break, whether it be with a career choice, a significant other, a geographical location that is loved, anything that we considered ours and part of our identity …now missing, gives us that hollow feeling.

Some people are so distressed by it that they will return to a bad situation just because it is better than the vacuum they feel inside. Abused women and children have been known to do this, men return to a bad job all because their identity can not stand the vacuum. Their identity has been painfully depleted.

This is when an imagination is important. Create a new you. That image might initially be missing a leg, but it will walk. That hollow inside is very noticeable but you have to remember…Nature abhors a vacuum. Something will come fill it. Be cautious what you let fill it, because usually it is very nearly the same as you escaped.

We often do that. Grab the familiar, and put ourselves in the exact same situation. I do it as well. (gasps) 

Vacuums are opportunities to choose again. Remake yourself again. Being comfortable with a vacuum is a difficult thing. I wish I could give you an easy solution, but I can’t. Recognize the vacuum. Mourn the lost, and be very choosy as what to let replace it.

Life wouldn’t be fun if it were easy, so enjoy the journey.

Hugs, Pam

OMG…or Not! (When Bad Things Happen)

On By Pamala CliftIn Interpersonal Relationships, SocietyLeave a comment

Bad Things Happen.

Life is a near death experience.

You have a disappointment or a biological snafoo and your first and only thought jumps to your worst fear. 

You are now using the little amount of positive energy you have toward, What? You are focusing your plot/story toward destruction.

Many of us read novels, biographies and movies, which as a requirement of interest, there is a major hiccup that has to be overcome. If there isn’t such a catastrophe there is no reason to read the book, watch the movie or even have bothered with the story, right?

Yet, our first tendency when faced with a staring-up-in-the-face-of-the-paramedic moment is to doom ourselves with, “This is the end!” We wall ourselves into a story that takes in no other possible alternative.

What if WE were the movie? We would watch the character chagrined at their dilemma and wait for the working out of the resolution. We think, “This is bad…or not?”

This is what I would like to add to our dilemmas of life. When a crushing blow hits…acknowledge the OMG moment but add to your thoughts…or not? You will find you can step out of the situation for a moment and see it as a storyline with multiple possibilities. It is now elevated to an “interesting” component of a greater story. This allows yourself to conceptualize other possibilities. 

Just that little bit of optimism makes the world of difference. You now have an escape route. 

Tons of studies have been done to see what aids in recovery of patients and a positive, purposeful outlook has had the greatest effect. Whether it is religion, family, job, goals or your spirit to persevere, that optimism is the key.

So how much more important is it to have that positive outlook when faced with non-lethal possibilities? Your love left you; you didn’t get the job, you lost the house, these are now just components of a greater story which is your life.

The movie of your existence is far more interesting now. So this tragedy is the last blow…OR NOT?

Enjoy the journey, both the ups and downs. Hugs, Pam

Stuck in Online Love?

On By Pamala CliftIn Interpersonal Relationships, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Virtual relationships can be excellent support. They can also be invigorating, intriguing, feed our creativity, and put a spring in our step.

However, when your heart is so involved with your love online that you can not extract your feelings for real life engagements, it can feel like prison.

You are a prisoner of a love that doesn’t seem plausible that it will ever come to fruition. You can’t move forward with your life and you can’t live just online, so what can you do?

It is simple for others to say, “Well forget him/her and move on.” but it isn’t that cut & dried. You owe a lot to your support and love relationship. Your heart doesn’t want to lose that solid connection.

So I am going to give you HORRIBLE advice from the guru standpoint, which says, “Be one and whole”. 

You are on a teeter totter of realities. Your heart is in virtual and you exist in the physical world which HAS to have things taken care of like eating, showering, making a living and laundry.

So you Split your stories. Instead of having virtual be ALL your reality for your heart, you start another story, persona, personal exchange and compartmentalize your virtual love to a strict timed allotment. Your chore is to put step by step more weight on the teeter totter leaning toward your real life explorations of love. 

Tell your virtual love of your decision and what steps you have decided to take. If they really love you and they can not join you in real life, then they should understand that you still love them but can’t stay solo in virtual. 

If they don’t understand in time(say a week), you have hooked yourself a drama king/queen and you will have to do a complete severance, since you can’t be made to feel guilty for having a physical life.

What can I tell you? It will be painful for both if a complete severance is needed but usually the pain dies down in about two weeks if you focus on something else.

If your online loved one, does truly love you and wishes for your happiness then they might be your greatest source of “gender translation” as they explain the stories you choose to share with them about your biological pursuits.

“Stuck” is a word that only you can change in your mind. You are far more free than you think. You create your reality and if you are not happy with it in either the digital or physical world, it does not make sense to keep doing the same thing.

The journey is yours to pursue. Think about your direction and go forward consciously not compulsively.

Hugs, Pam