The Great Quest

This world will tell you what or who you should be from day one.  For the Highly Sensitive Person (HSP) and Empath this is a tragedy.  Without knowledge, we HSPs will listen to any idea out there and abide by it just out of sheer loyalty.  Self can get lost.  Some people feel like they need to forgive themselves.  I think they might have gotten their 'self' really lost. It's essential for the HSP to figure out who and what they are so that they can grow and be effective in society.

Its easy to live in someone's reality.  We do it as children.  We get to live in our parents' reality.  We may not get the message that we are to create our own reality.  That is, live in our own world and play our own game.  It may be a frightening thing to start down that road, but start we inevitably must.  Sooner or later we will be without our parents.  We may start our own families, careers, hobbies, and preferences.  I know of people who have the hardest time taking that step.  I recommend to take a deep breath and jump in.  Like jumping in a pool, it may feel awful at first but you soon get your bearings.

I realize it's hard to disconnect from parents, mentors, or even friends.  If you have a great family life, it is harder to disconnect than if you had a bad family life.  If you do come from a great family, being on your own is important to discover yourself and figure out how to better yourself.  Sometimes separation is thrusted upon you like entering the military, moving because of a new job, or even a death.  In such cases, I think it's important not to latch on to anyone else but to become self sufficient and start planning what you want to do.  It's only when your alone can you meditate and figure out your own feelings.


Eventhough you are on your own, your really not alone.  Parents, mentors, friends should be a phone or text message away for advice.  It's good to listen to your guides.  Guides come not only from people in your life, but also from what people say, what papers and blogs write, what books say...etc.  I think the most important guide to listen to is the guidance you get when you meditate.  You can extend your feelers to the world around you and figure out what it coming.  Feelings and premonitions are normal to have.  Too often people ignore these.  It is good to take these into consideration while you observe the physical world.  Of course, one of the most important guide is the plan you laid out for yourself.  That is, the things you want in the future.

Why am I encouraging HSPs to be their own person?  Well, it's because it took a long time for me to realize that that is the better way.  There are groups out there that recruit the unsuspected into their ideology, theology, or 'mission.'  These groups are self absorbed manipulative masters.  No, the HSP is better off on their own and figuring out how to help people in the world around them.  The Quest in this life should be for the betterment of self and community.  Do not waste it on someone else's ideals.  More often than not, if you do follow someone else they usually are sociopaths.  These people have no concern for anyone else but their own goals no matter what it costs others.  That's why I give this warning to all HSPs and Empaths.

Respecting Life

In our materialist society, life is often disregarded.  We are entrenched in our own lives and care little about the life of anyone else.  This is a path of self destruction.  We should work at regarding all life.

In the recent tsunami tragedy in Japan we have seen over the internet some images of people and animals who became stranded and in need of rescue.  One particular heartbreaking image was of a dog trying to care for another dog.  Even in such touching scenes, I came across comments to the effect of "but its just a dog".  Tonight I heard reports of rescuers who have rescued a dog off a pile floating debris in the Pacific Ocean.  In other similar rescues, I've seen where some have questioned why were money and resources wasted on such a feat.  What is your life worth?  Is it worth going to work, eat, sleep day after day to one day die by any number of known diseases or any of the unknown diseases without a caring about another life form?  A character like Ebenezer Scrooge would think in such a way.  Someone who hoards money and resources for their own comfort would also think in such a way.  Some may think that rescuing an animal when humans are in danger is irresponsible.  This is not the case in rescuing efforts.  In rescuing efforts you rescue what you can when you find it because your racing against time.  There is an old spanish proverb that says a bird in hand is worth more than a thousand flying.  You cannot rescue what you cannot detect.  Why not spend some resources on rescuing life, any life, that is in danger?  Were only going to spend it on something else of lesser importance.


What does it say about us if we disregard life that needs help?  Astronomers, space explorers, and space biology scientists have not found conclusive evidence of life on any other planet than Earth.  There are also extinctions of species documented in our history.  Should we take for granted the life that surrounds us on our fair planet?  If there is life on other planets, of which I am hopeful, then we should consider how unique life on this planet is.  We have conquered the Earth.  We are its masters.  We have responsibility to the planet and all its life.  If they are extinguished we have no one to blame but ourselves.  This is our legacy from the great explorers and the technology innovators.  We can alter the weather, but like toddlers trying to be gentle we crush and bumble around having little control over our weight.  We also have learned to create environments like the International Space Station.  If we disregard life and our other responsibilities we are stupid.  We are stupid because we have let the very thing that allows us to live die.  We must regard life for the very simple reason that it helps our very existence.

Respecting life is more than just respecting life.  We eat an enormous amount of meat, beef in particular.  In a New York Times article, Mark Bittman describes how meat factories use many resources and are detrimental to the environment.  There is also a health concern with the eating of factory breed meat.  The Mayo Clinic's Dr. Martha Grogan notes that grass fed beef is leaner than the corn fed factory meat.  The reason why we have these factory style cattle farms is that they produce a lot of beef compared to traditional farming.  With the concern of cholesterol and fats giving us heart disease, the corn fed beef has a bad effect on human beings.  The reason for the need to that volume of beef is the demand for it from the public.  So the large demand of one food type makes for bad health and bad environment.  This is bad and its our fault.  We have to fix it.  If people stopped eating so much meat dinners and started to incorporate all vegetable meals, then the demand for meat will drop.  Then we could go for the more nutritional beef as a delicacy rather than as a staple.  One way I have been able to make easy vegan dishes is to substitute meat with some beans, it happens to be cheaper too.  Respect for cattle will result in respect for ourselves.  Its about resources and its about priorities.

In view of the bigger picture we really need to change our attitude towards animals and all life on Earth.  We are only flying through this space-time on a rock flying through the universe on an unknown trajectory.  Life, its all we got.  Let's respect it.

Financial War

In the aftermath of the 2009 recession, the financial landscape is pretty decimated.  Jobs are hard to find.  Big business is still trying to find ways to make money and grow.  Housing foreclosures doesn't seem to stop.  Services are tacking more fees on things and reducing service.  Education sector is trying to save money.  States are faced with cutting budgets and services and raising taxes.  Its nothing short of a Financial War.  The enemy is economic fragility.  In such a frail state another financial catastrophe could be sparked.  We have to work in virtual unison to get ourselves financially stable.  I have a few ideas how.


Reduce your costs.  This not only includes shopping costs but also avoiding fees by paying on time or early.  Make a list of shopping needs and another for shopping wants.  Research your shopping wants and make a plan to save money for them one at a time.  This will give you goals to work for and keep you encouraged as time goes on.  Take a calculator to the grocery store and tally up your items as you go.  You may consider what you need versus impulse purchases.  Consider TV via the internet versus Cable or Satellite TV.  Services such as Netflix, HuluPlus, and Amazon On Demand are paid services but much less than the traditional paid TV.  There are also free video stuff online.  Now we have devices that puts the internet streaming video on your television.  So the experience comes as good or better than traditional paid TV.  Look into new technology that you may be able to use.  Recently I found a LED light bulb for under ten dollars.  I bought it because I figured I could use it in a desk lamp I have.  That bulb take the place of a 40 Watt bulb and it only uses 1 Watt.  Take advantage of free services such as the public library and public parks.  These and other ideas you can implement and reduce your cost.  Regardless of how little you can save it pays off in the end because of the frugal habits you gain.

Reduce your debt.  Stop using the credit cards except for emergencies.  Pay the debt on time or off.  If you cannot find a way to pay more than minimum, then you may consider bankruptcy.  Bankruptcy protection is a legal action that at the end leaves you with no debt.  In the process you have to give up your assets as well.  For personal stuff you get to keep a lot.  Avoid credit card debt reduction scams.  If your not sure about an offer don't do it.  If you calculate all you own and take away all your debt, then that's what your basically worth.  For a lot of people that number will be a minus number.  That's when you know that you can benefit from bankruptcy protection.  This is not a popular view because its so emotional to go through it.  The reason is because there is an amount of social shame that comes with it as well as letting go of assets and old habits.  Reducing your debt will strengthen your buying power and your financial situation.

Increase your income.  Finding a job is hard now.  Hopefully, jobs will become more available.  There are a lot of people who have lost their jobs.  To make yourself more competitive, get some education.  If you don't have a High School Diploma, get into a GED program and be serious about it.  For some taking courses at their local Community College could give them some more skills.  Certificates may or may not help you in your field, research it.  You may consider changing fields.  If so, think of what you really want to do.  Then you can look for a job that resembles what you want.  The reason for this is that if you love what you are doing, then you will feel better about it.  Get a part time job.  Part time jobs may add to your full time job income but also may lead you in a different field that you enjoy better.  To find a job try going around your area and see who is hiring.  Talk to people and have some face time networking.  Small business constantly look for people to hire.  Do your research and see where you can fit.   You may be able to increase your income in a small way on the internet.  There is Amazon's Mturk which allows you to do tasks for money.  There is adding Google's adsense to your blog.  There are others opportunities to make some small income.  I look at these as a way to give you income for stuff you are already doing or love to do online.  You can start a business.  This will take a lot of personal work.  Often its better to start a business with a partner.  You will also need investors.  So knowing how to make a business plan is essential.  Above all you have to network to get the business up and running.  Who knows, you may be able to hire people who need to strengthen their financial situation.  Increasing your income even a little may yield good rewards in the future.

Strengthening you financial situation is essential to your future and society's future.  Taking steps in each area of reducing your costs, reducing your debt, and increase your income is a good tactic.  For many it will take courage to take the steps the fear to take but are necessary to take.  I say the sooner you take the steps the sooner you can rebuild, and the better you will be.  Taking care of your finances may enable you to help others in time.  The more people have financial responsibility the better the economy will get.

Social Responsibility

In the aftermath of the January 8th 2011 shooting in Tucson Arizona, the political talking heads came out pointing fingers at the opposite side of the Congressional isle.  They insinuated blame to each other for the atrocity.  What they did not do is to take responsibility.  What did I say, take responsibility for a crazy shooter guy actions?  Yes, I said take responsibility, but not for the shooter's actions but for the circumstances of that day.  Ike famously said "the buck stops here" referring to himself as President of the United States.  He took responsibility.  In this case the buck really stops with the boss of the President, the People.  We are the People.  We need to take responsibility.  We the People should take responsibility for the circumstances that brought about the shootings in Tucson Arizona.  I will explore what responsibility means and what it means to us, I will layout the circumstances as far as is known, and I will explore possible solutions to help prevent such an atrocity to occur.

  So we know what in the world we are talking about, let's define responsibility.  In the Dictionary.com (or should we say at Dictionary.com, I figure its a dictionary)  the word responsibility has one meaning of "a particular burden of obligation upon one who is responsible."  The word responsible has a definition of the same source as "answerable or accountable, as for something within one's power, control, or management."  You may ask how in the world are we the people managers of the circumstances that day?  Its hard to see the responsibility.  One form of responsibility that has been thrown around is the gun and violent references made in today's political rhetoric.  If that has any part in this incident, its a small one, but it is a circumstance.  Beside the obvious legal issues this incident brings up, there exists the concept of social responsibility which is one of the main responsibilities of every citizen.  Social responsibility includes how we interact with one another, how we argue, and how we do on curtailing violence.  How are regular citizens supposed to curtail violence, isn't that the job for the police?  Every act of violence starts with an idea.  These ideas are anti-social and violent in nature.  How are we doing teaching each other to argue ideas civilly rather than resorting to violence?  Not very good as far as I can see.  How many heated arguments are there going on on the internet today?  How many people cause strife on purpose?  There is a social imbalance there.  Causing anger in people is never without its consequences.  Bullying is a social crime.  Bullying can also be a legal crime when its accompanied with verbal abuse or results in a death.  How many people know how to argue civilly or to walk away from verbal abuse?  Apparently, it's not enough.

What were the pertinent circumstances for the Tucson shooting?  There were good and bad circumstances.  Gabrielle Giffords decided to meet her constituents out side a common supermarket.  This was the main circumstance.  This type of circumstance was set up by the nature of our democratic republic.  The Representative of the People must meet the People in person.  They must interact.  Thus a level of insecurity was accepted.  The political rhetoric had been passionate in the last few months.  The rhetoric included violent imagery and wording.  This can explain a passionate crowd and could have helped the shooter take a gun that day to the scene.  Children were present, namely Christina Taylor Green who was nine years old looking to learn about politics and democracy and to help others by meeting her representative in person.  There was a crowd of people in a limited area which prevented movement.  Finally there came the shooter apparently out of his mind.  I heard that he was suffering form a form of schizophrenia or that he lost his grasp on reality.  The shooter had a gun he purchased legally.  These circumstances I gleaned from hearing news reports.  For many of these circumstances, if they were not present some lives could have been saved.  The circumstance of the crowd and no movement was a sign that there was potential risk present.  Any time you have a crowd there is risk involved.  If the crowd cannot move then the risk is very high.  What if some car ran into that crowd?  They could not move away fast enough.  A car did not run into the crowd but a shooter shot into the crowd and the crowd could not move.  There was risk involved there.  These circumstances came together and aided the result we all saw on January 8th.

Now, what how could have socially responsible citizens preventing all these circumstances from intersecting at the place and time of the shooting?  I cannot argue against Giffords' action of setting up or attending the function in front of the grocery store.  Social responsibility calls for interaction and peaceful communication among people.  Passionate rhetoric can get out of hand.  Social responsibility calls to curb the passion, or encourage to argue civilly and not in extremes.  This could have changed the shooter's mind from even going to the scene that day.  It also might have curbed his thoughts about violence.  Having children present is a touchy subject.  Social responsibility requires the chaperon to continually evaluate the situation for danger.  Was there cause to make the chaperon of Christina Taylor Green suspicious of a dangerous situation.  We could speculate here, but I'd rather leave it with her chaperon that day to judge.  Clearly a protective mindset was called for in similar situations.  About the crowd not being able to move, I feel that the citizens participating in Giffords' event could have asked to move the event over to a more open area.  This type of social responsibility we rarely see.  We want to leave it up to some security personnel.  That day there were no security personnel.  In such a case I believe that responsible citizens can look over the situation  and influence a better setup.  The shooter didn't have a grasp on reality.  Where was his support group?  Perhaps he had none.  He seemed to have some friends on the internet, and you have to wonder how they handled him and each other.  Too often people on the internet provoke other people and bully them or manipulate them for some reaction.  This is not social responsibility, but it's social irresponsibility.  We need to watch out how we treat other people even in impersonal formats like the internet.  Above all empathy could have influenced the shooter to not commit such an event.  To empathize with someone is not to condone them or even to like them, but it can be used to influence them and nudge them in a little different way.  You see if any of these circumstances were nudge in different way the results would have been far less tragic.


Social responsibility includes empathy, caring, being aware of circumstances, acting to reduce risk, being a friend, and a myriad of other things.  These things culminate in interacting with other people and not keeping to yourself nor just look out for number one.  As tragic the shooting in Tucson was, there have been other tragic situations in the past and there will be in the future.  If we are socially responsible we can minimize the effects of these situations.  Those who are socially responsible we end up calling heroes.  Heroes of that day were pointed out by President Obama in his speech to Tucson and the nation.

Here is his speech in its entirety from PBS: