Understanding Conditioning -- Volume Twelve

Life is What You've Done -- and Think You've Done

So if you have a fantasy, it should be a good one -- that lasts a lifetime.  Unfortunately, many have to discard theirs many times -- after learning something difficult, the hard way.  Hopefully, they learn to meet life halfway -- and the vision and the actuality, are in the same ballpark.  But it is better to have the two rather than just the one -- because that gives one perspective -- of each to the other.  The greatest mistake in life, is to see things only in one way -- unvaryingly, for the rest of one's life.  That makes one blind to all things.

But life is always changing -- if one allows it.  It takes its own course, and its own time.  The question is, if you get to see it.  Especially if it is a vision everyone else would like to see.  Invariably, that is a world without hopelessness -- as every savior would like to sell with their miracle product.  That's pretty much how we can tell them apart -- from the real people, actually doing good.

The sale might be selling the infomercial.  Whoever pays, dictates the terms -- and the content.  Unfortunately, commercial (professional) writers heed no higher law.  They'll write, whatever somebody pays them to write -- regardless of any other consideration.  That's what the rest of us are up against -- The Scribes, the mouthpiece for the Pharisees -- wise men have been warning us to be wary of for time immemorial.  They will always claim to be the pious, righteous, merciful, enlightened and just -- as their personal province.  "$99.99" is just their way of "giving back."  Mostly they are just confused with what they really want.

It used to be said that what was "good for General Motors" was good for America," as though they were one and the same, and now many individuals think that what is good for them, is good for the world -- and not just their own unique work they have to do. That larger cause is what keeps them keeping on.  But really, the largest perspective, is the realization that one is the entirety of the world -- in which one hopes to find their niche, and not merely the egomaniacal projections of a dysfunctional upbringing.

In such a worldview, it is believed that the world did not know it, until one personally "discovered" it.  There is no provision nor possibility for the unknown -- as greater than what one already knows.  Of course, that is the critical operating mistake in any discussion of the known -- and hopefully to be discovered.  In any inquiry, one only looks to confirm what they already know, as all that can be known -- which for many years, the institutions and old mass media dictated.  And they warned, there was nothing else beyond -- no coming back from falling off the edge (of the world).

As recently as the 20th century, learned scholars were proud to proclaim that all that could be known, was already discovered and known.  They had no idea that that was just the beginning -- and not the end of the world.  To have such a worldview, is always limiting -- never allowing for the possibility of any solutions to any persistent problem.  They use whatever knowledge they have, to defend the status quo -- that the problem as they see it, are inviolable rules of our existence -- and there is nothing beyond, no possibility of anything else -- only more or less, of the same.

That is the culture of poverty -- for lack of better ideas -- that become a consensus with repetition, and their conventional wisdom.  Life and effort is futile -- and makes no difference.  There are no "breakthrough" moments -- as distinguishes any life of merit.  Just more of the same -- and worse.  Life never gets better -- only worse.  Some call that normal aging -- even commencing immediately after high school.

Better -- Not More

Quality of life is about "better" -- and not simply "more" of the same, which implies that at some point, there is a transformative leap into a wholly different realm of experience than simply a linear progression along the predictable course.  As such, it is difficult to measure -- or to predict -- because it is a leap into the unknown and unexpected, and so the inquiring mind, has to be open to outcomes that exceed their expectations -- because that great success, would have been unimaginable starting out.

And that is what every great leap in consciousness has been -- and not merely bigger and better clubs for subduing all the others -- although admittedly, a few are still operating on that level.  But that should be well regarded as "kindergarten," and not a major thrust forward in evolution -- which is the greater meaning and purpose of life in every aspect.

In this ultimate game, the goal posts are always being moved, so one has to be prepared and poised, to move in any dimension effectively -- and not just the fixed objective for time immemorial.  That is how their youthful strategies fail them in time -- and simply remaining as they used to be, is no longer a winning strategy -- but finds them competing less successfully with each year, until they give up and drop out for the remainder of their lives -- which can be as soon as no one is there to tell them what to do with every moment of their lives.

At some point of their upbringing, it is hoped that they assume that responsibility and control themselves -- and become one less person to have to nurture, with a real possibility that they find a better way for generations to come.  One must then allow for the possibility that there is more than meets the eye of possible outcomes -- and provide for that possibility as well, leaving a margin for error, that could also work marvelously in their favor -- beyond their wildest expectations.

In these times, in this age, that would be the real possibility of not only living extraordinarily long lives (as have already been achieved), but doing so without the accompanying condition of deterioration -- heretofore regarded as inevitable and normal -- rather than merely predictable due to a lack of better understanding.  That is to say, that what we think to be true, is simply wrong, and we have to realize that -- rather than devoting all our resources to defending and rationalizing that as the only possible outcome.

That was the way it was for many years -- preparatory to a breakout, and breakthrough.    Society hits a wall, but that gets everybody thinking along the same conclusion -- that everything we thought was right, was presumed, but never proven.  It just seemed so rational, that one would have been a fool to question those premises and presumptions -- so one is best proceeding with caution, rather than being the first to hop on every passing bandwagon -- thinking they are on the road to paradise and unmistakable certainty.

Nowhere is that more true, than in the instruction of the health sciences -- in which one frequently is instructed to give 110%, when it is more prudent and productive to know the 10%, that accounts for 90% of the favorable results -- and when played out over a sufficient amount of time, compounds to an overwhelming sum that could not have been imagined starting with such a modest effort.  But then, the reason for their modest effort, was in admitting and realizing they could be wrong -- yet proceeded cautiously, in contrast to those who gambled 110%, certain that things could only go their way.

That is an egregious and often irrecoverable mistake -- but not unlike those who are overly certain of anything -- until they are no longer certain of anything, anymore -- and their lives and well-being, are totally in the hands of others.  It need never get to that point -- if one leaves open the possibility that one could be wrong, and not simply proceeding more certainly, despite all the warning signs along the way.  They probably mean something.

Life is precisely that way.  Things don't work out because one is wrong -- and needs to better their understanding of the process, and not simply apply more force and conviction -- and everything will be all right.  It doesn't work that way.  All that can be known, is not already known -- but remains to be discovered, in each and every moment.  The thought is not the actuality -- because one can be mistaken in thinking of the actuality; it may in fact, have nothing to do with the actuality.  That is how so many can be so wrong -- having been taught that their knowledge was an absolute certainty -- but never proven to be so, in the actuality.

One should not mistake the hypothesis (theory), for the reality of the matter -- particularly, when the results are unpredictable, and more contradictory despite our certainty.  Simply hearing it repeated over and over again by many different people, does not make it any truer.

Exercise should not be hard, and made harder -- but rather easy, and made easier -- in order to remain productive and doable all one's days.  One hopes to achieve effortless movement throughout the full range of that possibility -- and not simply handling the most weight (resistance) only at a single point along that full articulation, which is what most people's conditioning program consists of.  They develop strength in only one position -- rather than the full range of movement, which is a development entirely different.

That disproportion of strength along the full range of movement, is what particularly makes older bodybuilders look so peculiar -- because the muscle, instead of expressing a full development, obviously and disturbingly express that imbalance, and disproportion.  It is not pleasing to the eye, but points out the vulnerability of maintaining such imbalance -- at a critical moment of failure.  At such a moment, one can be totally incapacitated -- often experienced alarmingly but commonly to the previously impervious -- by an Achilles tendon tear, and then try as they might, all momentary effort is realized as futile -- and should desist, rather than increase -- thinking to will one's way to a more favorable outcome.

Injuries are nature's way of advising one to slow down -- and better learn to work within one's momentary capabilities -- which are always changing, and rightly so.  But that could also lead to a better understanding and way of moving and doing things -- than simply running faster, jumping higher, and lifting more -- as the best, or only solution.  In this manner, evolutionary progress is made, and not simply more of the same.  Even with 110% of the effort.  Or 110% of the certainty.


Rather, one has taken a step back, in order to leap farther forward.

The Power of Necessity

In a world of abundance, the hardest thing to see and understand, is necessity -- and its power to organize and achieve human purpose.  That challenge is one's primary environment, and so it was often said in times past, that necessity was the mother of invention -- and in its absence, everything was much less likely -- because it is the organizational driver of every activity -- and not understanding that purpose, doomed one to futility -- whether that be winning a game, earning a livelihood, or ensuring one's health and well-being.  One has to have that focus and clarity -- especially in a world of confusion and uncertainty.  Obviously, that will assure a great competitive and survival advantage -- when many have lost that edge, or never learned it in the first place.

Life is not automatic -- assuring the same outcome for everyone, no matter what one does -- or does not do.  Rather, everything one does, and doesn't do -- matters.  That is the world of personal reality -- and success, and greatly explains the extent to which one is effective and efficient in anything they do. They have to perfect their understanding as much as possible before their undertaking, and not simply hope to attain it at the end -- like so much wishful-thinking.  Those who begin with that clarity and focus, are much more likely to experience success at anything they do.

That means even understanding what they do NOT know -- and are operating under faulty premises that got them into their present mess -- so more effort and struggle in that same pattern, is not going to solve their dilemma, but entrap them further.  Thus the concept of NOT DOING -- or beginning all over again with nothing, can be an effective strategy when things are not going so well -- though one may persist at it unsuccessfully for years, if not all one's life.  At some point, they must wake up and smell what is happening -- and where they got everything wrong.

And that is the beginning of wisdom -- and any success.  Otherwise, it is all sound and fury -- amounting to, and signifying nothing of any great significance or meaning.  But once one achieves the smallest of successes, they can go on to build much greater ones -- seemingly without much greater effort.  That is the power of necessity -- only what is necessary, and eliminating what is not -- ruthlessly, and building one's health and well-building on that structure.

Of course not everybody achieves that -- even living to an old age.  It is easy to mistake quantity for quality, and just add up the years -- but those years are dependent on how well one built that structure.  That is not a random outcome but the summation and accumulation of everything one has done -- to get to that point.  Those lessons are easily lost -- in a world in which everything and anything is possible -- for the ridiculous to the sublime.  Each has to cultivate that appreciation and distinction individually -- and not in the mass media model of one size fits all -- no matter how badly.  That has never worked -- and conveys no survival advantage.

And by survive, we mean to thrive -- and not just simply hang on for as long as we can -- bloodied and bruised, until finally we let go.  One hopes to cultivate and live a much better life than that.  That is entirely reasonable -- in this day and age, for nearly everyone, and not just the 1% -- and that 1% is not determined by privilege and advantage -- but where everybody goes from here.  It doesn't matter how great a head start anyone begins with -- if they don't know where the end is.  For all they know, they may be heading in the wrong direction -- secure in the knowledge, that they know everything that can be known.

And the truth is never like that.  It always has to be discovered in the present moment -- as the only truth that matters.  What seems to work for others, is not necessarily the reason it works in every case -- and especially this case.  The situation may be entirely different from what one thinks it is -- and it is not the thinking that makes it so, but the reality of the situation -- obviously.  That is the difference between correlation and causation -- and knowing that difference above all else.  Especially from the very beginning.

That is usually easier said than done -- and when the group immediately disintegrates into those who have a clear understanding of where they are and what they are doing, and those who believe that anything is equal to anything else -- because they simply say so.  That is not enough to secure and assure a successful outcome in everything they do and undertake.  That clarity is ensured by doing nothing for as long as necessary to know that one is beginning with no previous misconception and misunderstanding -- when everyone is eager to get underway -- doing what they think is most important to do.

For most, that is simply doing more of the same -- whether that  is working out well or not.  That is often all they know -- and think that is all there is to know -- even if it is not working!  It doesn't matter that it has ever worked either -- and everyone says it is so, and not working for everyone else also.  That "might" makes "right," they have been taught to believe.  But it doesn't matter how many people say it is true, if it just doesn't work -- or everyone will just be deluded -- instead of finding out what really works.


For this, there is great advantage for independent thought -- which is the bedrock of scientific inquiry -- and not simply repeating everything everyone else has learned.  It is not the conformity and repetition that gives power to truth -- but whether it is successfully challenged each time and comes up with the same unmistakable result.  That's when one is on to something.  It works the first time, and every time thereafter.  Then one knows something worth knowing.

The Power of Letting Go

Halfway through the year, as well as halfway through life, it is reasonable to ask if one's life is getting better -- or simply worse without end?  Life is very different before and after that turning (tipping) point -- at which one feels the best is ahead of them, or is already a distant and fading memory.  The easiest measure of that is one's present health and well-being -- and how one perceives and expresses that in everything they do.

If life seems to be only increasing aches and pains, and no increasing functionality and capabilities, then certainly, the future does not look bright, or promising.  But if in some measure, one is improving -- no matter how they choose to measure it -- then it seems that improvement is always possible, and with it, even a transcendence onto a higher level of functioning and capabilities.  There will no doubt be times of uncertainty and struggle over the direction one is headed -- until a breakthrough -- or not.

Such a breakthrough for many was learning of the discussions over what constituted the optimal diet -- beyond the old wisdom that more is always better.  That way of thinking, had created the present health crisis, when people who evolved very slowly over millennia, now had an abundance most bodies were unprepared for, and could not recondition themselves to handle.

Whereas food was long defined as something scarce and to be hoarded as much as possible, that strategy is disastrous in conditions of plenty.  An obviously bad way of adaptation, is simply to waste as much as possible -- as the many do when given a windfall -- for which nothing in their previous experience and training, had prepared them adequately for.  In that way, many simply turn their good fortune into greater problems -- even spending more than they have, while not realizing it.  They think all they have to do is come down with the initial down payment, and then it is life happily forever after.  Naturally, they go out and spend even more.

So that legacy can be a huge problem, if society has not prepared its individuals to handle success -- as well as they do failures.  If such skills of solving problems is all they know, many come to perpetuate the problems, so they can solve them again -- rather than moving on to higher levels of challenge and learning.  That is the characteristic of the leading edge of societies -- to discover the unknown, and better know what they don't know -- which is the root of their problems and difficulties.

One can't be "right," if everything meaningful in their lives, is wrong -- as the truly dysfunctional, insist life must be -- and there is no other.  They simply have not continued to search and learn -- but have settled for the first wrong answer they can find.  They need that certainty -- even if it is wrong, and makes everything in life a struggle -- against every other reality.

So the simplicity of the matter comes down to this -- not doing anything -- including eating, and from that mindfulness, one see what works, and not the chatter that fills most lives.  One must first be quiet and still, and from that stillness, all movement becomes apparent -- but never if the mind is always restless, contending with itself, overriding all the other senses.  That is also the feature that ultimately defines contemporary digital life -- either zero or one, computed as many times as necessary.  From that, we can derive the most complex answers -- and deconstruct its simplicity and elegance.

The complex and complicated, is the confusion necessary -- to market the unpalatable, and indigestible.    When those conditions are invoked, all manner of mischief rule the day -- but thinking people, are also mobilized to solve that overwhelming problem of the day -- as the categorical imperative of any species -- or its very survival is in jeopardy.  So things do not get infinitely worse, but get worse to the point, that all other endeavors and activities, are subsumed to this great urgency -- when facing virtual extinction, unless there is a way out.

That way out, is the realization that everything is connected and related to everything else -- and not that there are a different set of rules, for every category and specialization one can think of -- as their exclusive, inviolable turf.  This ultimate fragmentation causes all of reality to fall apart -- but also to be reconstructed in a better way.  That is merely the story of evolution -- as well as individual lives.  We have to let go of the old, for the new to come into being.

That is the wisdom of fasting -- to cure most contemporary human ills -- and unless periodically done, there is nothing but the accumulation of the old, weak and diseased cells -- while the body is ingeniously designed to improve itself -- unless it is thought otherwise.  And it is largely this thought, that makes full restoration unavailable and impossible -- and not that is is difficult or impossible in itself.  People have been conditioned to maintain the status quo at all costs -- even if it is to their detriment and ultimate destruction.  Thus the solution, is largely a matter of reconditioning to the latest, greatest understanding -- and not holding on to everything that has brought us to this present crisis.

And that crisis is that everyone suffers from this inability to let go of the old -- and being reborn in this way, which is the natural recycling process of the human body -- and all life forms, for that matter.  That's why life persists -- and not that we have to crank up our heart rates or the heart won't function at all.  Also, one doesn't have to keep on feeding the body, if one is way overweight and obese.  The body is designed to live off of its stored reserves -- for as long as necessary -- because it has evolved that way.

We know those problems as the twin problems of obesity and diabetes -- of which current assessments, regard that more than half either have diabetes or prediabetes, and are the precursors to every other disease and dysfunction of the human body.  So whether diagnosed or not, one should simply treat oneself as though that were the problem -- since it probably is, and follow the well-proven cure for it -- of Intermittent Fasting, a Ketogenic Diet, and let Autophagy do the rest. 


That's the only thing we need to learn -- and that will enable everything else.  That is the critical path.  That is the fundamental understanding of life.  That is the dividing line between the healthy and the sick.

Squatting Meditation

At this time and stage of life, it is increasingly being recognized that the major themes involved in optimizing health and well-being, are lifestyle, diet and exercise -- all resulting in a greater integration with one another.  Improving lifestyle, boils down to increasing mindfulness (meditation) -- but not apart from the doing of anything else.  It is most valuable and productive, when that mindfulness is integral to the doing of anything -- and everything for that matter.

Then life is not this constant struggle against oneself -- but all the parts, are moving in unity and unison.  Then the parts magnify each other with greater synergies and effectiveness -- resulting in the more productive life.

That is the knock against yoga and other traditional forms of exercise (practice) -- because doing it, is exclusive of doing anything else -- and the real power of any exercise, is the doing of it -- and not something else.  One becomes very good at doing what one actually does -- and not something else.  That's why it is less useful to run a marathon -- when really, one wants to solve another problem -- and would benefit more, with that focus and presence of mind.

To do otherwise, is actually to become more scattered (fragmented) -- and obviously, less focused and effective.  Yet that is usually what we condition ourselves to do.  That's why it will be noted among the most astute and observant, that there is no substitute, for actually playing the game.  No amount of mental projection or visualization of the desirable outcome, suffices for the actual doing.

This fragmentation -- of practice from reality -- causes us to do something else entirely -- than that we really want to become good at.  In fact, we might do everything else -- but what we directly want to do.  And that is a huge problem in our education and conditioning programs -- they never address the challenges and problems of our actual lives and living -- and we have no idea what to do about that.  Because instea of actually solving the real problem, we do something else entirely -- and observe, mindlessly, that we're too busy doing something else, than what would be most productive and necessary at that moment.

Life endlessly gets put on "hold" in that way, so at the end of the day, or at the end of life, one feels they have not lived or done anything -- they actually wanted to do -- even as much as they have done, instead of it.  So constantly, they live in that feeling, of never having lived their own authentic lives -- but only something illusory.  Then towards the end of life, they become hopelessly delusional -- but most think it is normal for them.  That -- they explain, is the normal process of aging -- after living a life that way.  What else would one expect?

So one asks, what is the best way to achieve and practice that mindfulness -- by which we learn to do everything that way?  It is rather simple -- but difficult, if not impossible for many -- and that is simply sitting in a flat-footed squat position -- as many elderly, indigenous people do -- while conducting and performing many of their daily activities with that proficiency.  Yet in modern, contemporary culture, that is frequently the dividing line between the most able, and those we regard as disabled -- by this inability to get up and down frequently, easily and painlessly in that position.

This is visibly seen in those who occupy one position throughout most of the day -- whether that is lying, sitting, or standing.  Their difficulty, is moving into any other position.  Thus, change becomes a very difficult, if not nearly impossible, concept to entertain.  And in this manner, they become increasingly divorced from the movement and vitality of life in all its activities, and the world seems to pass them by.

The sitting squat should be one's mantra -- practiced to one's end -- as the greatest indicator of one's continued vitality.  It seem like such a simple thing -- because it is -- but for many, seemingly impossible to execute -- even if they can run marathons and lift more than their bodyweight.

How to regain those capabilities -- one thought was lost forever?  The best exercise for doing so, is to master the squat -- which for many older and disabled -- seems impossible to entertain, but it is far more valuable and productive to practice -- than any other exercise, or movement.  Getting up and down, is worth far more than going any distance, at any speed.

The practice of yoga, is largely the mastering of individual poses and positions, and even the flow from one to another, but one position not suggested, is just the full squat -- as the king of all postures.  Bodybuilders and weightlifters get into and out of this position as quickly as possible -- while the real power of it, is sitting and relaxing in the full squat for as long as possible -- and improving the range of that posture -- by relaxing even more.  Thus the better objective is not to discover how much weight one can "squat" with, but finding out how relaxed one can get into that position -- that restores the best alignment of the muscle and skeletal structures that misaligned, cause so much joint pain increasingly without such practice and maintenance.

How to begin:  No matter what one's present capabilities in this manner of performance is, the best way to begin is to squat (bend one's knees) as low as comfortably possible while holding the back of a sturdy chair (supportive structure).  Then practice moving lower until one has reached the absolute bottom position -- and rest in that position increasingly longer.  Shortly, probably within a month for most, one will achieve the low position -- previously thought impossible starting out.  And from there, one can simply relax into a meditation -- or mindfulness, of anything else one wants to contemplate.


Getting in and out of that position should be made as easy as possible -- and not as difficult as possible -- as people are conditioned to do everything -- until ultimately, they fail completely.

Getting Down to the Nitty-Gritty: Putting It All Together

The original intention of my life's work, was to conceive of a manner in which people could stay in tip-top condition all their lives -- in the most meaningful and useful way.  That's obviously the only thing that makes sense -- rather than climbing Mt. Everest -- with a high probability of death, not only for oneself, but all supporting members of that party, or crawling over the finish line after everyone else has gone home.

Meanwhile, they no longer do anything meaningful -- saving themselves for such attempts.  They may even wait for the Handicap Van to take them to the gym where they still get on the machines for a much compromised version of the original designed movement -- without questioning that usefulness in doing so.  They are at this point, just going through the motions thinking that is enough -- rather than the suspicion and possibility, that they don't have to remain in that compromised condition -- if what they are doing, really worked -- and not simply repeating the affirmations that they do, while obviously declining in abilities.

It never occurs to such people, that what they are doing -- is making them that way -- and not that thinking otherwise, is enough to make it so.  But at that point, most are happy to see them doing anything -- with the thought of mastering any skill or ability, long a foregone and preposterous conclusion.  And so, those movements and activities lack that organizing principle and intent -- that measures any progress useful.  They are simply in an endless loop -- they hope to sustain -- rather than moving on to higher and better purpose.

And that is the measure of any activity, movement, and life -- whether young or old, in whatever condition.  Is there some tangible evidence of progress -- in a very obvious and measurable way -- and particularly without incurring further damage and injury?  One need not destroy one's knees, feet, back, and hips -- to prove one still can -- until the day they mercifully die.  That should obviously seem counterproductive -- but is that the only option from all the human capabilities?

But one does not necessarily throw out everything in quest of the new -- but goes back first -- to the known, to try to figure out if there was any wisdom in those time-proven ways.  In weight training, they have standardized their measures around the lifts of bench press, squats and the deadlift -- without thinking that it is possible to combine all three in one very useful and definitive movement of viability -- in rising from a deep flat footed squat to a fully upright position, and back again -- easily, effortlessly, and painlessly throughout a productive normal day and throughout their lives -- that is obvious testament to such abilities.

Nowhere is this more obvious, than in seeing older competitive bodybuilders -- tottering out on atrophied legs, because they can no longer bend at the knees -- and fear to do so.  At that point, they are merely parodies of what they used to be -- rather than the best they can be, at that moment and time.  But they're not going to achieve that by continuing to do what wrecked their knees, hip and back -- by doing those movements with increasingly heavy weights until they ultimately and invariably fail.  At that point, it should become obvious that the chances for injury continuing to do so, approaches absolute certainty -- which one is better off to avoid.

However, discontinuing all movements is not the only option -- as many have been conditioned to believe -- as the only choice they have.  That is simply poor education and conditioning -- instead of the much more valuable and productive approach of considering, and even inventing all the ways possible.  In most cases, fight or flight are not the only actions possible -- as many controlling and manipulative leaders would like one to think.  Nobody is allowed to go outside the box -- they have arbitrarily proscribed.

But increasingly, in this day and age, we realize that it is not the only game (and fate) in town -- and that the world and universe, is vastly more than what some say it is -- for their exclusive advantage and benefit (status).  If one hangs around the senior and disabled populations, the dividing line becomes very apparent -- as to this simple ability to get up and down -- rather than running, jumping, lifting barbells, and even walking.  If one can get up and down, it is far more indicative of ability that shuffling along for any number of miles -- fearing to fall -- because they know they cannot get up!

That now becomes their terror -- rather than the confidence of their best days -- of knowing even if they fall, they can always get back up -- literally and figuratively.  That ability is resilience -- the confidence in knowing that one is still viable even if their desired outcome is not achieved, and they can even go beyond further -- in spite of it.  That outlook and attitude gives one immense confidence -- to live that much greater life than they ever thought possible before.  Thus, the future always lies ahead -- waiting to be discovered, and actualized -- and not that their best days now, are a distant and receding memory from here on out.

Such an attitude becomes increasingly important when one senses diminishing physical capacities -- because there is a greater need for economies and efficiencies -- which is the great equalizer.  That's how some people do more with less -- while others seem to fritter away all their advantages, no matter how much they have.  That is the key insight to achieving success in everything one does -- at any level -- even getting up and down off of one's bed and chair.  It is not that sitting (or lying) is bad -- but that one hardly moves out of that position -- into another, and finally at end-stage, does not move at all off of sore points that can now fester to the inevitable end.

So while the bench press, squat and deadlift have been chosen as the competitive events for lifting the most weight, those movements can be combined to lift the body itself, from its lowest to highest position -- much more meaningfully and productively in everyday life and activities -- by not using weights!  Beginning in the full squat position, one simply places the hands on the knees, leans forward and straightens the arms as though doing a pushup (bench press) into the unversally recognized hands on knees resting position while bentover -- and proceed from there to shrug one's shoulders until one is fully erect.  That is the bench press, squat and deadlift -- all in one integrated, useful motion (movement).

One can further add to that movement by placing one's hands together, interlocking the fingers but leaving the index fingers straight and pointing up towards the ceiling, and straightening the arms as much as possible.  In doing so, one will notice the fullest contraction of the back and shoulder muscles, along with the arms.  That is called The Mountain position in yoga, the overhead lift in weightlifting -- but many in doing so, never proceed to extend their arms to their highest position -- and fullest range of motion for all the muscles and structures involved.  And that is the major difference between those with impressive ranges of movement, and those without.

Reversing those mechanics, allows one to get into the beginning position in the full squat -- which is the universal sitting position of indigenous populations noted for their agility and longevity.  In this way, one uses all the muscles of the body to do the one most productive and useful thing to do -- for the rest of their lives, which is to get up and down from this position.  Even former champion athletes have difficulty in these movements -- because they associate danger and injury with such movements -- instead of making and practicing the safest way to accomplish such movements -- and strengthening that ability.


Making the Best of What You Already Have

Most people can be doing far more with what they already have -- rather than incessantly needing more -- without end.  At some point, one should come to realize that one has all they actually need and use, and make very little of it, but to fuel their insatiable need for "more."  Such people actually do very little with what they already have, and feel the problem is always that they need more.  So it is an endless, vicious, corrupting cycle -- of never being satisfied with whatever one has -- but always demanding insatiably more.

The worst, is that they never get rid of anything -- but hoard everything they have, even if they've never used it once.  The acquisition and retention becomes ends in itself -- rather than just serving one's actual and real needs.  In fact, their cup runneth over, spoiling everything they have to uselessness, which they never realize, because they never actually use anything they have.  They simply like the idea of possessing things -- whether people, places, or things.  Even their memories are regarded that way.

It's not so much that they actually have anything useful to remember, but they just like having those memories -- whether they serve any real purpose or not.  More often than not, they are false memories -- of what they would like to remember, than anything that actually happened to them.  Information can always be retrieved -- if it is actually needed for a task.  But just to hold on to everything, refusing to let go of anything, never allows the space to learn and do anything new or different -- because they are always replaying their memories rather than devoting themselves fully to each present moment.

And that of course, is where a person needs to be -- fully and totally, to live their most productive lives.  All those reliving of their memories, is a de facto admission that they no longer are living in each present moment -- and may never have.  In every moment of their lives, they were reliving a previous moment -- and so quite naturally, life passed them by -- as being too preoccupied to do anything real and meaningful, let alone, significant.

The present moment implies the past, and the future -- which are not valid concepts in themselves, but are always dependent on what one actually does -- and not what they think and say of the past or future.  That is meaningless -- their entertainment, because they cannot think of anything more important and productive to do.  They become "experts" on the irrelevant and inconsequential.  They debate endlessly among each other and with themselves, so that nothing useful can ever be done -- and priding themselves that others are doing worse.

And that is their only concern -- that others are doing worse than they are -- who are doing nothing.  They might even write about it extensively to anybody who will listen to them -- and claim all kinds of awards, as though that was another achievement in itself.  But it is a totally fabricated existence that takes on a greater reality the more times they tell it.  It is their own self-fulfilling prophecy of faking it until they make it -- which they never do.   They are living entirely in their own echo chambers.  The fantasy is preferable to any reality -- and even coming to know themselves as they actually are -- and that is the whole point of life, and any existence.

That is the whole meaning of life -- to find out what it is, and what one is capable of.  Of course many demagogues will tell them what that is -- and their place in the scheme of things.  From that point on, all one needs to do is repeat whatever they say -- as the only truth they need to know.  Many prefer such a life -- of never thinking for themselves, and allowing others to do all their thinking for them.  They like that safety in numbers -- reassured that that is what everybody else is doing.  But assuredly, it is not -- and at all times and places, there are always a few, determined to find out on their own -- what is actually happening.

Culture and environment produce such individuals -- and are the measures of such success.  Societies that don't produce such successful adaptions, must go extinct -- not just because they are killed off by others, but the culture is not viable, cannot stand the test of time and challenge.  The rest of the world cannot wait for them -- it must move on.  That is the story of evolution and civilization.  There will inevitably be winners and losers -- because not all actions are the same -- producing the same result.  The world just doesn't work that way -- no matter how much they try to engineer it.

Some ways work, and some won't -- and not that everyone can just do their own thing -- with equal results, no matter how much education they have.  That should be very reassuring to know -- for those who can know the difference, and make a difference.  The vast majority, just would rather not know -- but let others tell them what to think -- as though they thought of it themselves.  They have no way of knowing the difference -- so what the heck.  As long as they are on the side that's winning -- but they only know what others tell them -- as the truth.


So it is good to take stock and inventory, of what one actually has -- rather than the promises of what others will deliver -- if given enough time and money.

Finding Out What Works for You

Most people have been conditioned to believe that whatever the majority thinks, makes it true -- which is an egregious error.  The fact of the matter is that most people will usually be wrong -- and only a rare few will be right.  The majority, or might, does not make it right -- but is usually an indication of error -- that should be investigated more deeply and thoroughly for the truth of the matter, from the appeal of the false.

That is to say, that what people wish to believe, is unerringly what they believe -- in preference to the actual truth of the matter.    Often, it is because it seems more complicated than it is -- because those who explain it, are not certain of what they speak, and misunderstand it themselves -- which doesn't stop them from assuming an air of authority that they know what they are talking about.  In fact, the less they know and are certain, the more they try to hide that fact -- and particularly, allow others to question their authority.

Most will encounter that somewhere along the line -- frequently early in their lives -- in people who have nothing of merit to say, but will insist on saying it incessantly, and unnecessarily, so that astute minds know to tune them out -- even at the risk of seeming inattentive and difficult -- because they simply are reluctant or refuse to go along with the crowd.  Primitive societies often regard such lack of adherence to the majority will, as a major breach of the social contract -- that the senior citizens have a right to impose on its junior members.

Most learn to simply go along to get along -- and never learn to think for themselves on any matter, but simply go with whatever others tell them is the truth -- even if they know it is outrageously false.  The prevailing thought is that the majority, makes it right -- and there is no higher truth than that, or their lives will be arduous and difficult.  But rather than being the easy way, it eventually makes life exceedingly difficult -- fin everything they do -- because they never develop the critical skill of thinking for themselves.

As a result, they will always need others to do all their thinking for them -- which a few, are always happy to do -- but that may not serve them the best.  It may in fact, be the cause of most of their problems -- as they become tools for other's self-aggrandizing lives.  It's not like there are many of the latter, but it often seems like it because they have to go through everybody, to find the few who are vulnerable to their exploitation and manipulations.  But we don't know that for a fact unless we first give them the benefit of the doubt -- that they are simply mistaken, rather than that the deception is deliberate and intentional -- and there is no correcting that.

At that point, one learns to avoid further contact and influence -- rather than waste more time, energy and other resources -- setting them straight.  Usually, such predators, run into a more ruthless one -- as their just desserts, and eliminate each other.  One hopes not to be around when such outbursts occur -- which is the major reason to avoid such contact.  But in so doing, one creates space for more positive contacts and influence -- rather than being entrapped in those vicious circles and cycles.

That is inevitably part of every life -- but the degree of success in dealing with them -- determines how far they go on in life, and quickly assess the dangers, risks and rewards.  One can't win them all -- nor should one try.  Those lessons are usually learned with age and experience -- while an unfortunate few, make a fatal error, that compromises and disables the rest of their lives.  Thus the advantage and wisdom of learning from experience -- and not just thinking to be able to do everything one could do as a young person yet to experience any major setbacks -- and skills for handling them.

That's how defeat and failure prepare one better to deal with life -- and not that one should only and always win -- hoping that will serve them unfailingly in life.  Thus, many arrive at a point and challenge they are ill-prepared to handle, and never recover, and go into endless decline -- at any age.  They think it is enough just to run with the crowd (mob), until the mob turns and abandons them -- and then they are lost, by themselves -- with no idea of what to do anymore.  And so they languish and perish, because the steady presence of others telling them what to do, no longer guides them.

Unfortunately, many "retire" to such a fate -- and implode in such a vacuum -- endlessly filling their days with as much entertainment and diversions that others present for them.  Everything they do, just becomes their entertainment -- whether that is eating or exercising, seeing the skills of others, or learning what they'll never use.  Meanwhile, they are distracted from all that they could be doing productively, and usefully in their own lives.  Eventually, they are mystified and baffled when everything goes wrong -- and they feel there is nothing they can do about it.


Nothing in life, has conditioned and prepared them for the moment.  It may be a health challenge, or a financial challenge, or even a physical one -- requiring them to think for themselves -- with no explanation by others on what is happening, and what to do.  Those are the moments of truth everyone must eventually face -- and are the tests of how much further one will go on.  That is the ultimate test of one's conditioning and fitness.   It will be unique for every individual.  No standardized test.  And that truly, is what life is -- and must be prepared for.

Don't Do Something Else Instead

Insanity is doing what doesn't need to be done -- in preference for doing something requiring urgency and priority.  That is like filing one's fingernails, while the house is burning down around them.  It would seem rare that such a thing should happen -- but it is the commonplace rather than the exception.

We condition ourselves in precisely that way -- of going through a preprogrammed exercise routine -- rather than addressing the point of our momentary greatest concern -- thinking (hoping, actually), that we will eventually get there -- in good time, if at all.  Invariably, we usually run out of time, because all the things not necessary and urgent to do and consider, never got finished -- and so get put off for the next time, or the time thereafter.  In short, we never get around to doing what we really have to do, because all the distractions prevent us from getting there.

It seems like such a simple and obvious thing, but this capacity to deceive and distract ourselves, is a huge part of our conditioning -- that keeps us from getting to the point we absolutely need to get to.  In fact, many are conditioned to believe that is the point.  We must simply never get there -- but engage in all manner of distraction and entertainment -- and in the end, one simply runs out of time and money, or anything entertaining to do.

In the meantime, all the problems never attended to, have piled up -- into what seems to be an insurmountable mountain of hopeless debris one doesn't know where to begin -- and so defers it once again to another time.  Of course, things never get done in that manner -- but instead, one is always on vacation or at the bar, escaping from all those problems.  For unfortunately many, that is their lives and existence -- and so it is no surprise that they often end up homeless, and jobless, and not doing anything productive -- but escaping into their world of entertainment, illusion and addiction -- and having no idea how to escape it.

What would one expect?  How could one expect anything else?  So all the talk about grandiose goals, are merely another distraction from the basics that go unattended -- yet again.  To go far, we have to begin near -- and each step, gets us closer to our ultimate goal -- and not simply wishing it harder, while doing nothing to move in any direction.  Movement is change -- while no amount of wishful thinking -- makes a difference.  It is not enough to wish it were not so.

Yet many experts give such advice -- because it grows their business -- and they are all about.  Solving any problem, is not the answer.  Only increasing the magnitude of the problem and its hopelessness, ensures their future prospects.  What is a rare problem, must become an epidemic and flood of hopelessness, if they are to be successful -- whether that is obesity or diabetes, or all the other conditions for which it predisposes one greatly.

In fact, organizations must be established to promote its equality and acceptability -- and not that we should have a preference for any other condition.  But miraculously, a few started questioning that premise of non-discrimination of anything, anymore.  Some differences do matter -- even as much as they try to convince us that trivial things do -- but it is only "entertainment" anyway -- which are the only differences one should entertain.  A lot of people get lost in such worlds -- no longer knowing the difference, and in fact, preferring the illusion for all realities.  That is their drug of choice -- their preference for the arbitrary and needless, over the basic necessities.  It is all an indistinguishable blur.

Obviously such people need to be brought back into focus -- and with such practice and sharpening, they relentlessly move in the direction and preference of improvement -- as the driving force in their lives and the only thing that matters anymore.  Improvement are the means, and not the ends -- by which one gets anywhere.  Those fixated only on the ends, don't realize that those goals may change in the doing of anything -- which is the natural development and measure of any practice and productivity.

The ultimate objective is to change -- and movement makes that possible.  Change is the measure of movement -- and that is why we practice and cultivate movement.  It is what gets us there.  We are what we practice and cultivate.  That is the greater story of civilization -- and not that any great culture got there by staying stagnant and inert -- hoping that if they simply hang around long enough, life will rotate them to the top, by some mysterious, random process.

That's not how any one of us got here.  Always, somebody was trying to do better -- by their own understanding and circumstances.  That is the best one can do.  It doesn't guarantee any particular outcome -- but prepares us better for many different scenarios -- and not just the one.  The one, may not be the ideal, or even the preferred -- but the best reveals itself in the process.  The process is life working itself out -- in having all the information, and not simply the knowledge in each head -- often working against each other.


Thus the sum of the totality, is always much greater than just the sum of the parts -- but every individual, must still do their part.  It is for the greater (collective) wisdom and intelligence, to sort it all out -- and not for individuals to proclaim their all-encompassing wisdom -- in knowing better than any other part.  That is childish -- and the wise are always occupied in learning more than the little they know.  They do not presume that what they know, is everything that can be known.

No Longer Optional

Most people go through life thinking "health" is optional -- until they run out of options, and health becomes mandatory for their very survival.  Usually, that is the case as they get older -- and have frittered away their chances at "being their best."  People live long lives not by accident and chance, but because they've increased their chances for survival at every point along the way, in everything they do -- better than most.  Attaining old age is no exception -- unlike the many who still believe that is a random achievement, not worthy of any deeper thought and effort.

But increasingly, there is a growing realization that everything we do -- has consequences and effects, so that doing their thing -- whatever they like, determines the quality of life they experience from here on out.  It is merely wishful thinking to believe that they can eat and drink unlimited quantities of delectable foods, attend the most tantalizing and intriguing entertainments, and at the end of the day (life), they will be as fit as they can be -- for the remainder of their lives.  Nothing in nature works that way.

Unfortunately, many will learn that lesson too late to do anything about it -- not that it is ever too late to do something positive and beneficial, but at that stage, they haven't developed the necessary skills to make that difference -- and think nothing makes a difference anymore.  And so they do nothing but wait for their end -- with as much entertainment, diversion, and junk food as they've consumed all their lives -- that put them in such a state and condition.  However, no matter how long it has been that way, it need not continue for another second -- because change is always possible in the present moment -- and from such moments, the future course of their health and lives, can be different, and better -- but not if they simply continue doing what they've always done before.

Getting to that realization, is the tricky point for most, but it is not just a trick of mind -- but the actuality.  The moment one does anything different, is the moment change has been set in motion.  That is unfailingly how the world works -- not that any one person, has the ultimate control over everything.  They just have that ultimate control over their own action -- but already, that is enough to make a difference.  It may not lead to the outcome one desires, but it will be the beginning of change -- and not simply continuing on the course of a disastrous path.

Even the most dysfunctional people recognize that -- so even they desire change, despite their inability to effect those changes.  That requires practice -- the practice of simply doing -- and learning what the outcome will be.  Because one never knows what the outcome will be.  They can simply play the game as though it mattered -- as best they can.  So at the end of the day (life), they know they have given their best -- and that is good enough, all one can do -- and the rest of the universe decides.

That is obviously the larger picture of life -- one hopes to have achieved as their crowning achievement in life.  It is no longer simply about them and their individual, petty struggles -- but about the whole, and how the world is a better place -- not because of them, but because of all.  But that is not achieved by one individual telling everybody else what to do and think, but of understanding what everybody else thinks and does, and making their best contribution to that synergy.  That is the evolution of the 21st century personality and culture.  It is not just the old -- one century older.

When one realizes that, then one is the entirety of life -- and not just a small part of it -- struggling against every other.  The beauty of that is that one can then draw upon the total resources available -- and not just one's ownership of it.  It doesn't matter if one owns it, or merely has access to it -- even if just for a single solitary moment one actually needs it.  That manner of thinking -- is to have total access to all that is known and available -- which is quite an advantage over the old mentality of having to purchase everything exclusively for one's own use.

That led to the concept of sharing -- which can be done with bicycles, cars, even living spaces.  But it can also mean, sharing the roads, sidewalks, information, parking and storage.  That makes all the resources available to all -- and not simply the monopoly of the richest person who can afford them only for themselves.  In this way, the average person of these times, is richer than any king or emperor was in previous times -- when they were the only ones who might have them -- and not everyone, but they have to know about them -- and its availability.


That's what many still do not realize -- that their best health -- is within their own power to achieve and exercise.  They do not have to wait in line to be approved for every latest and greatest finding known to humankind.  It is largely just for the taking -- or cheap enough to be virtually free.  Of course the worthless and fraudulent will always be too much -- for too little, or nothing at all.  That is what one still has to determine, distinguish and discriminate -- and not as they would have us believe, that nothing should be discerned in this manner of effectiveness anymore -- because they will determine that for everybody else -- henceforward, and from here on out -- just like the good ol' days.

Seeing the Obvious

The hardest thing to see -- is what is plainly in front of us -- that we simply take it for granted, that there is nothing there.  Yet that may be precisely what the problem is -- and not seeing it, is to solve every other problem, but the one in front of them -- and thus, nothing can ever be solved.

That is particularly true, when those who are telling you they have a solution for the problem, have created the problem -- because they have the solution.  It doesn't matter that there needn't be the problem -- because they have a solution to sell.  They have a drug to lower blood cholesterol -- although it is not necessarily a problem.  But they have the solution if it was -- regardless of whether it is a problem.

Meanwhile, high blood sugar, cannot be caused by eating sugar, and the foods that break down to sugars.  No, that would have to be caused by cholesterol -- in some mysterious transmutation.  One should simply go on eating sugar -- and instead, lower the cholesterol that is a cure for the inflammation caused by sugar.  But one must continue to consume the sugars, because the very livelihood of many, depends on it.  There is too much at stake in upending the status quo of rapidly escalating metabolic disorders -- caused by eating too much sugar.

Any attempts to quash sugar consumption, must be undermined with the full weight of authority.  Instead, they must do the impossible, in order to avoid that conundrum -- and attempt to burn it off by exercise -- knowing full well that one is defeated in that task before even beginning -- because exercise is not effective for that purpose.  A far better exercise, would be not putting the sugar (carbohydrate) in their body in the first place -- but that makes so much sense that it could not even be considered, because any fool could do that.

That would not require a Ph.D. in the highest of sciences -- and firmly establishing the hierarchy of authority -- which is what they are there for.  Their self-serving public service announcements proclaim as much.  We must consult with the properly designated authorities (experts) before even considering to cure ourselves.  That is the world they live in -- and wish to convince everybody else, is the only world possible -- and not that anybody should ever think outside of those possibilities.  They and only they -- have the exclusive truth for all humankind.

So naturally they feel quite threatened when anybody challenges that exclusive authority -- as their God-given turf -- to be exploited only for their exclusive benefit.  They are the rightful defenders of that status quo.

That is the story played out through the history of humankind -- of the divine right of a self-selected few, to exploit the masses of society -- for their exclusive benefit.  It works as long as everybody buys into that vision -- as people felt they had no choice in previous times when only a few could control the press, print and publication -- or knew how to do it.  Now, they don't like the level playing ground for everybody else -- and demand a return to their good ol' times -- when only they could be on top.

All of a sudden, that is not right.  People have no right to cure themselves -- or better, not be troubled in the first place.  That is quite possible, if they are free to see the obvious in front of them -- rather than the alternative universe the experts demand, is the only way to see things.  But invariably, that was the problem.  The choices often were not choices at all -- but the demand to see things only as prescribed by them -- under penalty of inquisition and torture -- that was the "political correctness" of their times.

It is less obvious when we now see so many images -- to know with certainty which is the true and which is the fake -- but that is also the beauty of living in these times, for those who can tell those differences and act on them.  That is living in the truth of that moment -- and every other.  The less fortunate, live in the truth of the past that somebody else told them -- as though they experienced it for themselves, and determined those truths.  They have no way of knowing the difference -- and so are completely at the mercy of others to do all their thinking for them.

But they grow overconfident and slip up -- thinking nobody can see the obvious anymore -- because they have been so conditioned with the false.  How does one know?  It obviously doesn't work -- but they will explain, that is how it is supposed to work.  It creates the problem -- which they alone can solve.  In the case of modern medicine, they recommend the diet sure to cause metabolic disorders.  It is no secret -- but a sure-fire formula for all kinds of disorders and dysfunctions.  But assuredly, they have the cure -- or at least the treatment for the rest of one's days.  That is the best one can hope for -- but other complications may arise.  And assuredly they do, because the root of the cause, is never addressed -- only the symptoms, expected to last a lifetime.

That is the state of modern medicine and treatment -- which we all are expected to just get worse.  Nobody is expected to get well -- and better with wisdom.  Quite the opposite, we can almost be guaranteed to lose our minds and all our faculties.  And it will also cost everything we have. 

So one is wise to ask, "Is there a better way?"  Can there be another vision of the future?  Is it possible for even one to continue to improve throughout their lifetime -- and then for many more to follow?  Surely, that is the next frontier.  That is the limit to happiness -- how long can it last? -- and even get unprecedentedly better?

All the money in the world cannot guarantee that.  So obviously, health and well-being are the limiting factors -- that determine all the rest.  First we have to see the obvious -- and then we can go a little deeper -- if necessary.  But not maximum employment of full resources at the start.  If we do things right, we may never get there -- or need them.  If we're doing things right, and are on the right path, people should be getting healthier -- rather than worse, with full blown epidemics on the horizon.  Something is not right with that scenario.  But that is the picture they paint.


So what's in it for the rest of us?

The "Average" is not the "Optimal"

One of the great flaws in modern education is the belief that the average is the ideal -- when it could be far from it.  Just because the average intelligence will be designated as 100 -- thoughtful people would not think to use that as the optimal attainment -- but aim for the exceptional, which would be very different from the average.  Instead, enlightened people would study the characteristics and profile of the exceptional, and attempt to replicate that -- or at least simulate it as their goal -- rather than striving for mediocrity in everything they do.   

That really is the history and evolution of society and culture -- to determine what works best -- rather than simply repeating what they've always done before -- precluding and prohibiting progress and evolution.  The objective of life, is to better itself -- and not just to keep on doing what it has always done before -- even if it is not working, and many have already forgotten why it is they were doing it in the first place. 

Instead, they have to move on -- and discover what works -- and not merely repeat the past, as though that was an intelligent thing to do -- let alone, the most intelligent thing one can do.  That's not it at all.  That is in fact, the dysfunctional pattern -- of dysfunctional individuals and societies.  Of course they become extinct -- and before then, suffer every disadvantage. and catastrophe.

There are always a few who think that is their opportunity to get ahead -- and remain there -- insisting that everybody else should remain behind them, and never jump ahead -- no matter if one is in the wrong line.  That they are at the head of it, is all they want to know -- and the bigger picture, is not of their concern, even if their line is not moving, nor shows any signs of life.  They're just going to continue to do what they've always done before -- with little or disastrous results -- thinking that is the average, and the best one can hope or strive for.

Far more useful to know than the average, or the median, is the range -- and particularly those associated with desirable outcomes, rather than dragging everybody back to the average -- as though that was an intelligent thing to do.  The healthiest people will not be the average -- nor will the strongest, fastest, most resourceful.  They are exceptional for that reason -- and that should be studied, rather than the average -- and achieving greater mediocrity with each iteration.

So beyond knowing what the average is, one selects those qualities one hopes to accentuate, and eliminates those liabilities that undermine their aspirations, and not simply try to make everyone as equal as possible -- thinking that is the goal of any enlightened and progressive society.  Assuredly that is not -- because a more perfect society is the higher objective -- and not merely spreading the poverty and misery equally so that none can rise above any other.  That is totally misguided and foolhardy.  An intelligent society wishes those most capable to get ahead -- and define that possibility that never existed before, for everybody else to come.

That is the march of humanity -- and how we got to where we are.  The objective of any race, is not to establish and maintain the existing status quo and pecking order -- but ultimately, to challenge it -- and in doing so, better it.  Of course in this, many will be left behind -- but mostly because they choose to be so, and not because it is not in them, to keep up.  The better way, is invariably the easier way -- and so many more can participate, rather than excluding those who will not conform to the narrowly-contrived arbitrary prerequisites of those who insist on being always on top -- and for everybody else to get behind them, and tow the conformity.

Thus, many use the average, for that self-serving purpose -- of forcing everybody else to live up to their expectations for everyone else.  That is what they think everybody else showed up for -- to further their own political/social/economic aspirations.  Increasingly though, that is becoming rarer -- as more people feel empowered to fulfill their own unique visions of what is possible.

There will be those who will maintain that such aspirations are not possible for any but the elites that they represent -- as their God-given distinction.  That is increasingly rare except for a few professions -- who still maintain that they are the gatekeepers for all that can be known.  They may even claim a Constitutional mandate for such privileges -- as the only ones who must be believed.  They know the averages -- and are in charge of their adherence and conformance.


In most cases, they are largely self-appointed, and self-serving -- as they feel is their proper station in life.  The averages are for everybody else to conform to -- and never to question.  To question, is to exhibit weakness -- that one does not know -- which in their world, is a major crime.  One should know everything -- with perfect knowledge -- to be among the elite -- even, and especially when one has no idea what they are talking about.  That is what the average knows -- and there can be no variance from the known.  What they know, is all that can be known.  There is no other.

Treat Each One as though it Matters

Many people think they have a thousand chances to get it right -- rather than understanding that they have one chance to get it right, and when they do, may earn a thousand more chances -- further on in life, but if they get it wrong one time, may never have another chance.

That is the simple lesson of life -- that one earns all their future chances -- or may be eliminated entirely from the game of life by just the one bad choice.  So it behooves one to err on the side of caution and prudence -- rather than being overconfident that luck and God will always be on their side.  That's not how the game of life is played -- and plays out.  That's why it is often noted in a bad end, that Darwinism has once again proven itself -- as some survive, and many perish -- even at the same challenge.

The proper understanding, is not that one has a random chance of anything happening for them, but that each decision and choice, predetermines the next.  So even a baby step, well done, can lead to many others, and then, to a bigger step -- but one thinking only to make a giant leap without any practice, never learns how it is done.  Instead, they will think that it is sufficient -- just to imagine that success, and enjoy the fruits of victory -- without ever putting in the hard work to get anywhere.  Invariably, they think somebody else should do all the work -- but they should share equally with the fruits of that success -- equally, and even, a little more -- because they cannot do it for themselves.

The wise teacher would then offer to show them how it is done -- systematically and methodically -- so they can achieve it for themselves, as well as for others.
But unfortunately many, do not want to achieve it for themselves -- or any others, but are only interested if it is "free," and costs them no money, time or effort.    That is the world they were raised in -- and think explains everything -- that all that is required, is to press one's demand for an equal share -- regardless of their contribution.  In fact, often, they try to discourage everyone else in making those efforts --  as foolish because everyone is entitled to the same, in the end.  In such a world, nobody makes a difference -- and it is the same outcome, no matter what.

Of course, that's not the real world -- where everything makes a difference, and has significance -- though some argue mightily that nothing does, and nothing ever has.  Clearly that is a wrong understanding of effort -- and its ability to make a difference.  And for that reason, such people live in constant despair, hopelessness, and dysfunction.  Nothing seems to turn out right for them, and they have no idea why.  That is the mystical outlook -- that nothing happens for a reason, and there is no cause and effect relationship.  Bad things, as well as good things -- merely happen, and so life and its outcomes, are just one big crapshoot -- and one can waste all their chances, because it doesn't make a difference.

Contrast that with one who tries to do the best they can -- as though their very life depended on it -- and their future -- even the future of the whole species.  Meanwhile, the masses are merely preoccupied with where they stand in line for all the goodies.  Instead, they castigate those taking the risks and doing all the work to produce that bounty.

That is the groundwork for societies and conditions that don't work -- emerging on the fringes of societies to greater prominence, because societies cannot discriminate that essential difference.  Instead, they are totally self-absorbed in things that do not matter -- like whether they can control what others think of them.  That has become the major disease of these times -- that people want others to think of them as more important than they actually are.  So now, everyone is an award-winning something or other -- and is a major influencer on thought, even if they have nothing to say, or contribute.

They are totally delusional -- and simply become more so with age.  So is it any wonder that they become deranged and demented ultimately?  It is only revealed more clearly and obviously, because they become more helpless and unable to support themselves in their delusions of competency.  It may strike one at any age -- and some in the prime of their lives.  Most battle back, but some never do -- and just go completely off-track, into their own private worlds.  That is the darkness of mental illness -- that most are largely buffered from.

But as many more survive who in previous times would have perished, that population becomes naturally more evident -- with all its problems.  However, the road back is to get them to do one thing right -- and then another.  That is the essential skill-building exercise one needs to grow stronger and more competent.  That should be encouraged -- and not vilified.   The answer is not how much more others can do for them, but how much they can do for themselves -- and are given those opportunities.

Basic hygiene and self-care, are primary skills -- even in the apes and other animals.  That keeps them healthy and competent -- beyond any other.  If all they do is look very good, they are well on their way to restoring a mainstream life.  Mere appearance is the objective -- actually manifested, and not just trying to convince others of that competence and ability.  That is not superficial -- but the actual -- particularly as people get older and care less and less about those things.  The person who at 100 still looks good, has achieved something everybody else has failed at.

Many simply give up trying -- altogether, and those who should know better, think it shouldn't matter.  But otherwise, there is no measure by which to shoot for -- and verify their progress.  A person who is just expected to get worse, will most assuredly do so -- because there is no standard for achievement and distinction.  Many cannot take care of the basics of their own hygiene, and are not expected to do so.  They simply require caregivers to do it for them.  Predictably, they lose those capacities -- and capabilities, and go on that way for years.


Those insisting on maintaining their own competence in self-care -- are admonished from doing so.  That is what the professionals of every stripe are for.

Towards a Quality of Life

Most measurements are about the cost of living and the quantity of life that purchases, while those in the know, are more concerned with that quality of life -- that is beyond what money can buy.  Money is not the sole determiner of what and how much one can buy.  Just as important, is the amount of thought and research that goes into every transaction -- that can leverage it greatly in one's favor.  As often as not, it means being in the right place at the right time -- and not being in the wrong place at any time.

The circumstances of bad things happening, are not equally distributed randomly across all places, and among all people.  That is the whole reason for everything thoughtful and prudent people do -- to decrease the probabilities and incidences of bad things happening, and in their stead, the good manifests -- because it has the time and space to.  That has less to be planned and designed for, because just by eliminating the bad, the unforeseen good has a chance to come into being.

Evolution is not seeing a final perfected outcome, but in merely eliminating the distractions and dead ends -- which is every avoidable, untold disaster -- favoring the desirable outcome.  That is the cause and effect, world of karma.  A thinking person would hope for nothing less -- or more.  It is a world that makes sense -- and not everything turning out equally badly or equally well -- regardless of what they do.  Of course shit happens with such a world view.  Buckets and buckets, and their only resource then, is to go into denial.

They don't want to know about any other reality and possibility -- because they are too used to, and too well prepared -- for the disastrous outcome, that they wouldn't want any other -- even if it was just for the taking.  And that largely, is what good fortune is -- just for the taking, for those who can realize its value -- because not everybody can.  Most will prefer what they are used to -- even if it produces a sad and disastrous outcome.  That is what they are used to, and are conditioned for -- and not that there can be anything beyond that.

And assuredly, the future, and everything good, lies beyond that limited world of predetermined and fated possibilities.  That's why the advantage goes to those who regard the total content as their own being -- and not just the little they claim exclusively as their own.  But that doesn't mean claiming everything one can, as their own.  No, far better to realize that exclusive ownership and control is seldom necessary to achieve satisfaction and fulfillment -- but the knowledge that it is available only as one needs it.  Already, that is more than enough -- and under those operating premises, there is more than enough -- for everyone.

It's when people behave as though there is not sufficient resources, that the struggle is on for each to grab more than their fair share -- and need, with predictably disastrous results.  That is likely to happen, when all those who think that way, congregate, and compete with each other for all the spoils -- even leaving no man standing.  If they can't have it, then nobody else can either.  Such societies and cultures, leave nothing to posterity -- because that would be anybody else, and that is not what they are about.

So any traces they leave behind -- are unfathomable monuments to themselves -- and there is no greater meaning and significance of that culture and all its efforts.  They are not equal to all others.  They rightfully and with good reason, become extinct.  Of course they are dysfuctional long before that final nail in their coffin.  But that is not the only way, and only life they can choose.  That difference is their individual quality of life -- and outcomes.

For that reason, life is not simply a repetition of what has gone on before -- but can be unprecedented -- which means the life never lived before.  And that is true possibility and actualization -- and not just repeating hopelessly what doesn't work -- as though that is some kind of genius -- that they know something that nobody else does -- and believing that despite all the information to the contrary, will make it prevail.


Meanwhile, the rest of humanity has moved on -- to a better life.  That is the truth of our existence.

The Way of the World

Once upon a time, people and organizations thought it was enough just because they said so -- to make it so, and any who said otherwise, was not "certified" to do so by them -- who should remain the sole authorizing agent from God Himself -- or so they wanted everybody else to believe.  The biggest casualty of such a deception, was the media itself -- who claimed to know everything worth knowing.  My, how the mighty have fallen -- but in their stead, many shoots have arisen -- that provide far more accurate a picture of what is actually going on -- then the one often manipulated to seem so.

That is usually obvious in the many con-artists seeking to propagate their exclusive vision of the world -- with only themselves at the top.  But in this time and age, many more have access to the printing presses and broadcasts than the few who formerly owned them exclusively.  They may have even claimed that those rights were specifically guaranteed to them in the constitution of that civilization -- as a special class of citizens -- above all the rest.

So when the century began with the Internet available to all, it did not occur to them that the world had shifted beneath their feet -- and they were no longer exclusively in control of what the rest thought to be true.  That is a long way to fall.  But from the few that have fallen, many have sprouted and risen -- which is the relentless story of evolution and progress.  Things just don't keep repeating themselves endlessly -- but move on to ever higher levels of realization and revelation.  That's not to say that many will not rise to the defense of the status quo -- no matter how inappropriate and irrelevant they have lately become.

The old ways will not return -- no matter how insistent they are.  That is not the way of the world.  It moves on relentlessly towards the future -- sweeping everything in its way.  To try to simply restore and rebuild is folly -- waiting for the next disaster to hit, and celebrating their luck -- until one day it runs out.  One hopes to have moved on to higher ground -- before they are engulfed by the tides of change.  What can one say to those who live in such denial?

The greatest tides now, are the tides of information -- washing away what is no longer true.  Of course there are always those who pride themselves that everything they know, is knowledge that was believed to be true since the earliest of times -- even before recorded history, and so that makes it even more true.  There is no record, or evidence even, that such a thing was ever true -- though they believe proven a long time ago.  But lately, it explains and predicts nothing -- and as such, is useless information -- and not proof that one is the first to know anything worth knowing.

Information that only explains why everything is not working properly -- with no remedy for how they can go right, is not worth knowing -- and certainly should not be accepted as the gospel truth.  Far better, to know something that makes a difference -- in that knowing.  Unfortunately, much of what people know, and is reported, cannot be proven by independent observers -- but are embraced and propagated as though it was true, and proven -- when they are merely the sales pitch they can get anyone else to buy.  Frequently, they are successful, but more often than not, does not stand the test of independent corroboration.

It is enough just to have their "true believers" -- those who will believe no matter how much evidence and experience to the contrary.  They will just organize and shout it louder to bully everyone else into believing -- as well.  They believe that might makes right -- and that is all the proof they need.  To make anything fit, all one needs to do is apply unlimited more force -- even if it breaks completely.


So then, nothing works -- and they are quite justified in their belief that the world has ended, or is coming to its end -- when it is only so for those who refuse to change and adapt.  Instead, they demand that everything in the world change to accommodate their world view -- because no matter how compelling the evidence otherwise, they're not going to change.  They will also not long endure.  That is the way of the world.