"All events are true based on how I remember & interpret
them, though names have been changed. The facts and opinions I talk
about regarding these issues are typically well researched and not
written lightly on, without much thought and consideration. These blogs
are drafts that will be gone over in time when compiled into the
book. They are being posted now to promote the issues "now" and to get
feed back from those who wish to help in the process. Just because you
are tagged in them I do not expect you will always have the time to
read or keep up with them, so please don't feel obligated to. I expect
some if not many grammatical and spelling errors. Other than that
please feel free to give me feed back whither, positive or critical. I
need both! Either with my writing style, ethical principles or
philosophical interpretations. Some of the issues I discuss involve
walking a fine line between respecting certain views in several subject
areas and challenging them and the status-quo... I'm trying to walk it
the best I can. Thank you!
12/12/12-14
I wake up tired from not getting to bed early. The conversations of
last night still faintly rolling around in my head. "What's Bobby going
to do?...Should I call my work and see if he's tried calling there? How
late did my dad stay last night?" I shake these thoughts out of my
head, the light shining brightly above me and the groans of others
beside me from not wanting to go out and face the cold bitter weather. A
couple jokes as usual pop off "Hey Joe! turn the light off on the way
out will ya?" "Hey Joe! come and cuddle with me and keep me warm." "One
more hour Joe, we won't tell anyone." I lay there for a minute thinking
if I should meditate now or later. Now is ideally not the best time
given the commotion going on around me but as one who knows the
scientifically proven tremendous benefits it has in numerous areas...
I'm always wanting to promote it...even by example. I opt out deciding
I'd probably just fall back asleep anyway. I have a habit of doing that
when I try and meditate when I'm tired. It causes me to do what is
called the "Buddha Bob" in many circles, though meditation transcends
any and all religions and philosophies. Scripturally speaking both
Christ and Muhhamed practiced and taught it as well. I pull the covers
off me. I'm still fully dressed in the clothes I had on, minus my socks
and shoes. We are suppose to take our sheets off every morning to be
washed but aside from the first night, I have been leaving my on. Though
one is not allowed by the rules to reserve a bed, it's an unspoken
rule that as long as the place is not full or over crowded then one's
bed is there until they leave for good. So seeing that no one anytime
soon is going to be sleeping in "my bed" I don't see any health
violation reasons to change them after every night. I put on my socks
and shoes and head up front. Upon entering there I find an enormous
amount of french toast awaiting our arrival. Joe went to town on cooking
last night wile we were tucked away under our blankets. " I must of
cooked about 40 pieces of french toast." He said half laughing to him
self. "Gees Joe, that's a lot of french toast! You are a french toast
making machine." I reply. "Well I figure there is enough here for
everyone." A big smile on his face. "I'd say!" Thinking to myself there
was way more than enough for us and our families." The others who have
not made it up yet are starting to fill in. One new guy who I did not
meet last night due to him being asleep before I got there. Jack, an
older man, white hair with a clean goatee and some stubble all around
it, who I knew was not new to the shelter. Tim comes in behind him
making a joke about "chicken bread." "Chicken bread I say with a puzzled
expression?" "Yea cause french toast is made of eggs and bread...duh"
He whips back with a smile on his face. Joe warns us that one of the
bottles of syrup are watered down and to watch out for it and that he
should throw it away...though he doesn't get to it, getting distracted
by something else. We all eat and talk about what's on the agenda today.
For me it's a full productive day...even by my standards! Starting out
with a genetics conference out at lake land in which one of the worlds
greatest geneticist will be speaking on the latest cutting edge stuff in
the field biology and genetics. Something my grandmother invited me to
and I accepted with great interest knowing the field has a lot to do
with the mission! It starts at nine and will last for four hours. Seven
O'clock comes rolling around, our time to leave the shelter. I'm out the
door first wishing everybody a good day and on my way out thinking to
myself about the balance I must live of being homeless and being a
professional. That in some sense I am way to far past in my
enlightenment to really experience it. What people don't typically
realize is that poverty is in the mind about 90% more than it is in
their circumstances. Something I've come to learn through studying and
experiences in my self and others. The first time ever getting a glimpse
this was at the age of 17 in rehab...The one thing I took from it
shortly after I left. That I am, within reason, in control of my
thoughts, emotions and over all attitude...the one thing that drives our
behavior. Charles Swindle Put it this way "“The longer I live, the more
I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more
important than facts. It is more important than the past, education,
money, circumstances, failure, successes and what other people think
or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or
skill. It will make or break a company... a church... a home. The
remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we
will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past... we cannot
change the way certain people will act in certain ways. We cannot
change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one
string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is
10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. And so it is with
you... we are in charge of our Attitudes.” Or to sum it up nicely
Henry ford put it this way "Whither you think you can or think you
can't...You're right." This true philosophy though is only possible if
One is to first hear about it and then also hears about it enough to
understand it fully to have it wired in. This is a life long process
sometimes but I did not come to understand better untill I was 19 and in
my 5th year of high school at Charleston High. It was a final in
psychology class in which the teacher said we were able to give a report
on anything within reason that was related to the area of psychology.
The book I chose was "You are what you think" By Doug Hooper, a book I
hope in doing a book study on here at the shelter. It was the first of
countless many books related to the subject of self development in which
I've read. It completly altered the way i thought about how I think.
The book points out that people such as the ones in poverty have vastly
different thought patterns than those who are considered wealthy or
successful. Someone who's thought process equates to images and thoughts
of "I can't do this, this is to hard, I'm not good enough, smart enough
or capable of enough" will give rise to emotions that fuel our actions.
Now contrast that with a thought process of someone who thinks " I can
do this, I know it will be challenging but challenges keep things
interesting. I may not be smart enough now but I can learn on my own or
from someone else and become smart enough and through that I will become
more capable of achieving my goals or dreams." The results and
evidence of a positive psychology has become so accepted it is now a
class in and of it's own throughout many universities and often, if not
the most popular class, one of them. Achieving success often times is a
b!tch no doubt! And it is not for the weak minded. But that's we have
to strengthen it. Our mind is like a muscle it requires daily work outs
just like any other muscles does. Zig Ziglar puts it this way. "People
often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing -
that's why we recommend it daily.” I like to use the analogy of
thoughts as pathways. A thought is like walking across the grass one
or two times wont' do much but if you continue to walk that path,
repeat that thought you will start to develop a path way or
connections in the brain. Continue more and eventually that pathway
will turn into a road...then even a super Highway. And what happens
after you going through that pathway? Eventually nature will take it
back and cover it up. This is the main criteria the differs a life of
utter failure and success. Though these things can and do depend three
factors such as our mental and social environments as mentioned whither
intentional or not, Is it one that is conducive to feeding us
positively. meaning what goes into the brain our brains will spit back
out through emotions and actions. Our genetic dispositions in the way
our brain is wired and our physical health. Through the completion of
the "Human Genome project", the largest scientific study ever in the
world. In which Scientist over thirteen years and spanning over 20+
countries mapped our entire genetic biology. What they discovered was
AMAZING and still continues to BLOW the lid off what we understand about
our selves and our possibilities. At the least our genetics affect
everything if not there being literally a gene for "Everything" from the
ones we knew about such as physical characteristics to the ones we are
aware of now like diseases such as Alzheimer's gene, diabetes gene &
alcoholic gene to personality types such as an aggressive gene or funny
gene. The majority of them being polygenic or multifactorial, meaning
many factors environments biological and social included. For example
someone with a predisposition of the happy gene of lets say 70% is going
have their brain wired to be pretty much happy most of the time
regardless of their surroundings, within reason of coarse. Compare that
to a person with a predisposition of someone with a happy gene of lets
say 30% is going to have their brain wired to be more negative
regardless of their circumstances, within reason too. This is why we can
see people born into little to nothing and have horrible things happen
to them but they rise above it and become successful. Wile others can
have every opportunity to succeed and live a happy life but they are
miserable and continue down a negative destructive path. The wiring of
our brains though can change, within reason, to our environments. It's
called neuroplasicity. Now I don't claim to fully understand how both of
these factors work together but depending on the strength of our
genetics in any certain area determines how well we are susceptible in
changing these characteristics through our environments alone. The good
news that this genome project has opened up an entirely new field of
science in which genome therapy and more personal forms of medication
can now be applied. Meaning the more advanced it gets our access to
treat the worse case scenarios in which environment alone proves too
difficult to change, such cases of extreme anxiety, psychopathy,
addiction and more, can be treated at it's root cause. Aside from the
more extreme cases though we are all wired genetically and
environmentally to have strengths we can work with. A great program I
have came to love is through the "Gallup Organization" the biggest
organization for conducting surveys and poles. It's called simply the
"Strengths based Program" And it's revolutionizing the way structure our
organizations and personal lives. There are many books on the subject
but the best one to start with is "Strengths-Finder 2.0" by Tom wrath.
It works by taking a test online with a code in the back of the book.
And from that It will spit out your top five strengths. From this they
have various programs and teachings on how you can live you life and
work a career in a way that will suit not only what your naturally good
at but would be the most happy at living and doing. As I sit here typing
this at 3:34 in the morning at the shelter the 3rd tri-factor is
starting to kick in, our health. There is a reason we evolved to have
brains attached to bodies. Our bodies work as a tool for the brain to
accomplish it's will and is directly connected to it. If our overall
health becomes Jeopardized then so does the health of our brains and
their ability to act which in turn effect our overall ability to act.
For example the food we eat directly effects our mental out put and
consciousness just like drugs can. So can a lack of sleep. These are
both issues that effect poverty in big ways. Our brain is like a car. A
car needs gasoline, oil, brake fluid and other materials to run
properly. Your brain also needs special materials to run properly:
glucose, vitamins, minerals and other essential chemicals. For example,
the fuel (energy) for your brain is glucose. You can get glucose by
eating carbohydrates or other foods that can be converted to glucose.
Your brain must manufacture the right proteins and fats to do things
such as grow new connections or add myelin, the fatty sheath to axons.
You do this by digesting proteins and fats in food and using the pieces,
that is, the amino acids and fatty acids, to make the new brain
proteins and fats. Without the correct amount and balance of particular
building blocks, your brain will not work properly. Too little
(deficiency) or too much (overabundance) of the necessary nutrient can
affect the nervous system.* Many of these things are needed by the
brain and body but are not produced by the brain or body. Therefore,
these materials must be taken in as part of the diet. As sit here I am
noticing how my lack of sleep is starting to directly effect my mental
out put and mood. Insufficient rest can also cause people to have
hallucinations, tremors or slurred speech. Lesser amounts weaken the
immune system and could lead to depression, heart disease or
hypertension among other things.
The consequences of lack of sleep involve more than just feeling
tired. Proper brain function is linked to the importance of sleep as
adequate sleep is essential to the health of our mind and body. Without
proper rest, the brain works harder but less effectively to
counteract the myriad effects of sleep deprivation. Concentration
levels and reaction time drop, memory and vision becomes impaired,
decision-making abilities and Judgments are compromised, the brain
falls into rigid thought patterns that make it difficult to generate
new problem-solving ideas and think creatively. It is difficult to
memorize and recall information as our mind becomes groggy. It effects
or Psyche, meaning psychologically, sleep deprivation can lead to other
negative effects including moodiness, irritability, aggression,
burnout, additional stress and depression. Which can lead to an over
abundance of bad sleep in turn leading to other negative effects as
well. When we do not get enough sleep, our body does not have the
opportunity to do things that are essential to keep us healthy. The
body recharges and heals itself while asleep, and works to fix chemical
imbalances while ensuring blood sugar levels are at proper levels for
the following day. Based on these facts, the importance of sleep should
be evident and when people are environments that are not conducive to
proper nutrition and sleep then there can become a vicious cycle in
which one finds it almost impossible to escape...Add to this a drug and
alcohol dependence or mental issues and one starts to see that poverty
and homeless is not as simple as..."Just go get a job buddy!" ......P.S.
seeing these connections is easier for me, given one of my very top
strengths via the strengths program, is "Connectedness" Good night;)
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