the red cultivated

During this year I had a lot of anxiety about death. Death is a concept which contains lots of emotions and feelings. Maybe even within you? Historically these emotions are stories given over the from past generations. Christian concepts like Hell or Heaven and Judgement day in the Islam. But also stories told by friend or family in Atheist families. We all have some sort of "story" of death. Death is one side of the duality. The other side is to be alive, to live. Non-duality is the philosophy which sees them as one and the same.  There is no duality; only existence or consciousness.  The Concept of Non-Duality: Recently, I read a book of Alan Watts which explains it with a simple story. Image a landscape with mountains and valleys. This all is the same material, earth. But without the mountains we wouldn't have the valleys. It is relative to each other but the same. In a similar way we don't have the best days of our life without the worst days of our life. This rel

A short while ago, I felt myself attached to the past and the uncertainty what we call the future. I would be thinking about what I did wrong or what hurt me. But it was the past. The past were we have no control over. We can better let go of it. But that is the hardest part of the mind. When one practises this for years they can master it. And they can let go of the heavy load they always have carried around. However, most people don’t practice it. They can also let go of most of the load by committing to one of the four ways of letting go. “it’s only heavy when you hold it but if you let it go it gets no weight at all” - Ajahn Brahmavamso Throw Things Away  The first way of letting go sounds so simple. Although it is way harder than it sounds because we get attached to things too quickly. Besides that we get attached to the past or the future by our minds. To calm your body and mind is to let go of the bygone days and our fates. Stick to the present by the practice of mindful

 The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go."  -  Dr. Seuss In the past six months I have read more than in all my other years. My lifestyle changed with it. I am glad I did. I want you to help to read more. Not by one or two books a year but by ten or more. It is not as hard to read thirty books a year as you might think. Although, you will have to start with smaller goals to make a book more enjoyable. 1. Read two books at the same time   Most people read one book at a time. Although, it can be very handy. I do prefer read two books nowadays. Because in some moods you are likely to want to read a novel and other times when you are more concentrated you will be reading a non-fiction. So, try to read two different types of books at the same time. 2. Give audiobooks a try   I was skeptical about audiobooks in the beginning. Nevertheless, I gave it a try and it turns out to be one of the fastest way

A lot of people are struggling with a low self esteem, myself included. I still struggle with it. Maybe you recognize yourself in this; I don’t look that good, I have some flaws or I can’t do this huge project I want to do. Maybe you don’t look after yourself while you look after everyone else. My views lately, have changed on loving yourself and I increased my self confidence with some exercises. But also by reading about this subject. there is not a lot concrete studies done on this subject. So, you have got to find your own way in this (and maybe do some research yourself). Although, in this article I will give you a start with some exercise and some wise words. The mirror exercise Firstly, a exercise that helps a lot when you feel down about yourself. It will give, at least in my opinion, a feeling that you are worth it. Get towards a mirror up close to your face. Really look towards your skin. Take yourself in. And then, say out loud; ‘I love and accept exactly how you are’. Tw

One day, about two or three years ago, my little brother stole my bar of chocolate. I was mad and lost my respect towards him. Later on that day I asked ‘Why did you steal my bar of chocolate?”. He said “Because it is mine”. I said “No it isn’t”. “Yes it is” he kept saying. Then my mom came in the room and asked why I didn’t eat my chocolate bar. My perspective changed; I could n’t find my bar and I said that he stole it , which he didn’t. My facts didn’t changed but the way I looked at it did. This is called recontextualization. The importance of Recontextualization When we get the inside in this phenomena we learn how we can change or perspectives. It also opens up the possibility of radically changing your understanding of a situation or facts without changing the facts. In my opinion, reality can hide the things that are in our reach. It helps us to put the right things in the proper context. Another example, ‘a man is jumping’. Think for a second a

We all know, I guess, that music is awesome. And it helps us get through hard times. It helps us feel happy when we want to feel happy and helps us through our worst breakups. It helps us in all different ways. But why? Why has it such a fascinating effect on our brains. A few weeks ago, I listened to some (hardcore) music. And I felt one with everything in life. But the day after, I felt very down. Even the music I listened changed with it. It influences us in our daily lives. Therefore, I think is one of the finest arts in this world, well after writing of course. So, let’s dig into the research I've done on this topic! Increase in Dopamine Levels A group of researchers in Canada showed in a study that there is, in fact, a relation between dopamine and music. This is one of the first studies that showed that an abstract reward gives a dopamine boost (dopamine: A.K.A, a “feel good” neurochemical that is involved when experiencing pleasure). The study had 217 participants, but

Hey there! Today we are going to discuss spiral dynamics. What are they? And how can we use it in our daily life? For this blog post I studied several lectures and videos to get to know this subject. And I found it so interesting that I want to share it with you guys. It is about the psychological evolution of thinking. How we think but also our perspectives which change through out our lives. Which will help you to find your blind spots. Which you don’t want to see. But once you see them you will see the need to develop in those blind spots. Besides that, it will help you to see the world from all life perspectives. You will get to know how to talk to certain groups of people. And it will be a really open-minded experience once you understand this concept developed by Clare Graves. Let’s dive into the concept! Before I am explaining all levels I am going to let you know how I am going to do that. Each color is a level of a perspective on life. The first three aren’t really relevant b