Living Life Logically--Day 30

Today is the last day of my 30-day trial of living logically. This is the day on which I decide to either continue living in this way, or not to.

So would I contiune to live logically?

Of course! For as long as I live. =)

These past 30 days have been a great experience for me, and I have learnt a lot about the basis of logic and the line between logic and emotion.

One of my original goals was to get rid of irrational fear, such as fear of noises in the dark, fear of what other people say, and fear of being responsibility and getting things done. I thought, it wouldn't be logical to be afraid of something that you don't even want to approach.

Another goal was to control my emotions and prevent them from taking over me totally. This proved to be quite successful as well, and I am better at dealing with emotions such as frustration and anger. When I usually felt bad, I would ask myself: "Is it logical to waste energy on feeling this way? Or would you rather learn what you have to and get over it?"

This logical lifestyle helped me to get over general laziness as well. Instead of wasting my time hour by hour, now at least I waste it minute by minute. =) I'm still practicing waking up early, like 4.30 am, to get things done. And so far, it's good. I have indeed, cleared up more free time for myself.

There was a little dilemma along the way, which was me wondering whether to be a physicist or study medicine. I've decided--its' medicine, because I think that if I get really good at it, I get to be in touch with people, and then contribute more directly to the advancement of the human race. It's a big hope, but I think it's more logical to be hopeful than pessimistic, since we live in the present, not the future. At the least, you can make your present moment a great one.

Oh, and I saw the Twitter account of a doctor working in the International Space Station which is orbiting around Earth. One day, I would like to be a space doctor too, working in space, floating around in the cosmos. Like Bones from Star Trek! Now this hope, I know, is achievable.

Speaking of Twitter, I used it a LOT during the last 30 days, and I found so many inspirational quotes from very motivating people, who all found me on Twitter by chance. They all share the common belief that how our reality is, is how we want to create it. In other words, your thoughts can actually create things. I do believe in this because there are scientists who actually research such things, for example those from the Institute Of Noetic Sciences (from Dan Brown's book, but it's a real institution). Their findings point to the fact that our thoughts can indeed change things.

Moreover, I experienced a new sense of calm during my logic trial. By not succumbing to destructive emotions, I could actually see bad things as something to learn from, not something designed to stop me. After all, life is a learning process, all of it.

Besides negative emotions, I did actually dissect some positive ones, such as celebrity crushes. I've arrived at the conclusion that part of any crush happens because we feel that we see something in the other person that corresponds to us. For example, I'm always very inspired by the way actors and actresses act on screen, and how they play different emotions and roles so well. There is something about this skill and confidence that I myself wish I had more of (I'm not a very confident person sometimes).

In short, I believe all crushes have this element of admiration that we feel for the other person, something that seems, to me, to be a way of saying we are all connected some way, by consciousness. (See living life logically day 4)

So what's next, you ask? Well, this is only the beginning; I may start a series of new trials with logic, such as using it to improve socially, or using it to ask deeper questions such as "Why are we here?"

But now, I'll probably just take a break for a week or so before starting the next trial.

To anyone who read any part of my blog, thank you for your time. I hope I have inspired you to live a bit more logically. If I haven't, thank you for getting to know my thoughts anyway. ;D

Living Life Logically--Day 29

Wow! It's the 29th day of my logical self-trial. I'll post my verdict on it tomorrow. haha. Keep you waiting.

Well, the college's Scarefest was good. =) Sugee and gang really worked their butts off making the haunted house. Which was a blast, by the way. Appropriately spooky and authentic. Especially that creepy background noise she managed to download... They really had fun. All in all, great!

I went as the female Spock, by the way. It felt so good to be so logical. Really. I felt very 'in the zone', and all I did besides helping out was to feel so happy that the Scarefest was going quite well. I'll just put up a photo here:

From the left: Imran (he was the mad scientist) Esther, (the one dressed as a witch) Isabelle (She did the lighting and sounds for the house) and well, that's me on the very right. Oh, and the bloodstained mannequin which was subject to much molestation.

Speaking of Halloween, I'll talk about brains now. My grandma has Alzheimer's dementia, and while not in the worst stage yet, she has moments where she can't remember who we are or what day it is or what she just did.

It's sad, really. I still wonder why this disease is so common, and as of now there is no fixed cure, only drugs that can stall the progress of the disease. I think I want to read up more on this disease, and I saw some interesting brain books in the bookstore as well, including "My Stroke of Luck" and "Brain Rules".

"My Stroke of Luck" is about the victim of a stroke to the left brain, who is forced to use her right brain instead. The left brain is the logical, analytical side, while the right brain is creative and intuitive. By focusing using her right brain, the author found a whole new sense of inner peace and ascceptance that her left brain wouldn't allow otherwise.

"Brain Rules" talks about how the brain works, how we are programmed for lifelong learning, and how to use your own brain to your best advantage. I plan to buy either both or just one of these books sometime in the future, they seem really interesting. And they seem to give logic a whole new meaning--for me, I think it has to involve emotions, but the only thing is, don't let the emotions overtake you.

Sorry Spock, I don't think cutting out your emotions totally is right. :D

Living Life Logically--Day 27

It has now occurred to me that I may not have made some very logical chocies concerning my time management skills, and my activities.

I mean, Japanese class every Thursday night for 2 hours?

Violin practice every day for the exam.

Applications to universities that must be finished by the early half of next year.

On top of it all, A-levels.

Don't get me wrong--I'm not complaining too much about it. But it is getting a little overwhelming right now. That's why I'm blogging about it--in order to get it out of my system. With all the projects and stuff, ergh.

Not to mention weekends are for 'family time' and stuff so I have to squeeze even more out of my weekdays.

A totally logical person would probably make timetables everyday and follow it. I know I'll kill myself trying to follow a nice fixed timetable, so I've just shrunken it to reminder lists and a list of important dates to keep track of. Not very detailed, but it works. =)

Oh. And sleep. I need to sleep, so that the brain can actually rest. (Unless it's producing freaky time-travel dreams).

Living Life Logically--Day 25

Um...it's day 25 of the living life logically challenge--going to end quite soon. But up till then, let's just go along for the ride. ;D

This Friday is the college's Halloween scarefest, I was thinking of going either as a pirate or the female Spock. But most likely the female Spock. However, pointy ears are hard to find in Malaysia, and my craft-making skills are brrflppt. Most probably I'll pin my hair so my ears look like they're pointy and sticking out or something. It's time to improvise. ;)

I have been warned that I risk social suicide if I go as the female Spock. Come to think of it, I'm not even sure whether there are many Star Trek fans in school apart from me, Sugeeta and Jinn. Oh well. The main thing is for me to have fun, eh. Shouldn't care too much about what other people think.

Here I must remind myself again that the purpose of living life logically is to remove irrational fear, and one of the irrational fears is fear of what other people would say. As long as I'm cool with it, it shouldn't matter.

Living Life Logically--Day 22

I have nothing much to blog about today, except that Joo Yun came over and we studied together because there's a lotta darn things to study. I think it was a good idea because we actually managed to concentrate on our work...if I were studying alone today I probably would've ended up watching some random series or movie on the computer instead.

So now, I can waste my time without worrying too much about it. =)

I think A-levels can turn you into a homebody. But I don't really mind. My hobbies are pretty much one-person affairs such as reading, blogging, drawing and playing music.

But I'm sure you don't want to just read about my day. So today I'll just blog about people's hobbies and interests, including my own.

As you probably already know, I enjoy watching Sci-Fi, (Spock! Star Trek! Big Bang Theory! The Fifth Element!) and also reading sci-fi novels. (Dune, Zima Blue, Artemis Fowl is to some extent quite sci-fi-ish).

And you may wonder how I can like sci-fi, especially if you don't like it, or if you don't understand it. Well, I sometimes also wonder how some people can like shopping and totally commit themselves to it, following all the trends and such.

To put it basically, sci-fi is some sort of escapism for me; the shows I watch and the books I read are like places where I let my imagination run along with the story, and forget about the outside world for a while.

I also like the hope that sci-fi offers: a glimpse at how our human race may advance, or triumph, and cross new boundaries, and also at the same time, understand ourselves better. I actually enjoy reading books on modern physics because it's so weird and so arcane, yet, it seems, we might actually be on the way to understanding the very nature of the Universe and reality itself.

It might seem like a very big hope to you, but it's certainly a hope that I enjoy indulging in.

Another thing is, what do you enjoy? What hobbies do you fill up your spare time with? I guess it's unrealistic to expect everyone to share the same hobbies and tastes because the world is a great big spinning blob of rock and metal, and there are so many different things you can take an interest in.

Hobbies are great things because they are like creative outlets for people to express themselves, whether it's by playing piano or critically reviewing a book or playing sports or having a Grey's Anatomy marathon. It's so great to actually say, "I made that." or "I think that this is..." because your hobbies and interests feel natural to you.

My hobbies and interests somehow make me feel...connected, not just to people who share my interests, but to the things I'm interested in as well, along with everything else. And I feel just so very happy when I think about that.

It all started with a Big Bang, and everything we like and everything we are came from that. It just makes me feel so...peaceful, and now getting to know different people seems more like getting to a different part of the big picture, a different piece of the puzzle, even if the different pieces aren't the same as you, or even if they don't think and act like you. Yeah, even if they downright clash with you.

I'm feeling quite postitive as I wrap up this post. And that is good.

Living Life Logically--Day 21

Haven't blogged for two days...

Anyways, I've just finished reading Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol. Good book. Good twists. But I think it wasn't much of a thriller, rather it was more like a way to spread a message to the public.

What message was it huh?

Basically he's trying to say: God lies within the human him/herself. We all have untapped potential just waiting to be used in the right way.

Some evidence offered by the book includes the scientist Katherine Solomon talking about the brain scans of meditating yogis, which show that the brain's pineal gland produces a wax-like secretion which actually repairs and heals cells. I'm not too sure about this, gotta do some reading on it. The book thinks that this may be why yogis can live so long.

I've also heard about gamma-waves emitted by the brain in a highly meditative state.

But I fully support the idea of there being unlimited potential in the human mind, and that our thoughts can affect things. Supposedly, the book says our thoughts have mass. And like anything that has mass, it exerts a certain gravity. So if many people share the same thoughts, i.e. mass worship, mass prayer, or even just thinking happy thoughts, it could actually change an aspect of our physical reality.

I've had some success with my own thoughts and intentions too.

I've had pretty positive expereinces with Twitter. I joined initially to stalk famous people, but at the same time, I wanted to find positive people, ones who actually cared about changing reality.

I didn't know who these people would be, but after a few tweets, some random positive people actually started following me. And more and more came. More positive people are adding me to their list. And all I had to do was to be confident and think positively that I would achieve my goal.

I even thought more about reading the news and knowing what's going on in the world. And an account which provides regular news updates started following me too.

So keep an open mind...and try out the power of intention.

Living Life Logically--Day 18

I'm sorry to all readers who have been following my posts so far, lately it's all about me rambling on and on about choosing medicine or astrophysics as a career...

Anyways, attended a Michigan State University talk today; found out more info about the U.S. university system; I quite like the fact that everyone needs to learn a bit of science and arts in the first two years of undergraduate study.

Today, we had our bio presentations on infectious diseases. My group did AIDS, and even though we were a bit fast, I thought we were ok. Not too bad. I sat in with Lina and Josephine on BS6's presentations as well, the other class was good. We only managed to watch until Izzie and gang's presentation, but still, fascinating.

When I watched all those presentations, I felt a twinge of sadness when I saw the videos of all the victims of diseases, especially those who cannot be cured even though the disease is treatable, as they live in poverty.

I guess, medicine offers something up-close and personal, as I would interact with many many human beings, as opposed to astrophysics. To me, somehow, interacting with many people seems part of any job I would like to have.

I find people interesting. I find their views interesting, even those who believe in things I wouldn't. Yes, even sick people are interesting.

I think I am an optimist; besides all the sick twisted criminals and crazy people in the world, I feel that we can advance, and we can indeed put aside our differences and world towards that advancement.

In fact, I believe that once we learn to unify ourselves properly as a race and civilisation, then only can we proceed to the very big stuff like space travel and intergalactic visits at speeds previously unimaginable. Who knows, we may actually find life and civilisation beyond Earth.

This sounds a lot like Star Trek, huh? But think about it: if we unify ourselves, we are a force of 6 billion with many different talents, and all of that can be extracted for use. And if we use our technology and konowledge properly, then we can certainly tackle bigger things like venturing out into space, and understanding more about the nature of this bizarre but wonderful Universe we happen to find ourselves in.

As a human race, we aren't very advanced as a whole yet. If we were, there would be no separation of less and more economically developed countries, and no cases where people who are too poor to afford treatment...I've also read a bit about the U.S.A's healthcare reform, and it just seems so tangled at the moment.

Well, I just got to thinking, I'd get to make a more direct contribution to the human race in the field of medicine. My dad gave me some inspiration too; he said, "It will be a wonderful time when technology has eliminated the need for surgery. And it will be even better if a surgeon pioneers the surgery-less technique."

I haven't made a fixed decision yet, but I figure I could always study medicine and then study the physics on the side. This option seems to work best with me, and it feels the best to me; well, it wasn't made on a logical basis, but more of an intuitive basis. But logically, I get the best of both worlds this way. =D