Tag: calm

A big fan of angels.

This post is part two of a recent post. If you haven’t read that one, this one won’t make much sense, so I am reblogging it here. Feel free to catch up on that one and come back here.

What exactly is a soul?

I talk to God a lot, and sometimes he answers my prayers, but not always. I honestly didn’t expect him to answer this one at all. I didn’t know how such an answer would even be delivered. I never heard the loud voice of God booming out of the heavens or anything, so I assumed it might be in a subtle sort of way. Honestly though, it wasn’t very subtle.

After reading the previous post, you might think I received an odd message that I needed to interpret, like what happened in another dream I had. That’s not exactly how the answer came to me though. It was a pretty direct message honestly. No need to decipher it, and possibly get it wrong. It also wasn’t exactly a dream. In fact, I don’t even recall having a dream that night.

Sometime in the early hours of the morning, I was awakened by something in my room. When I opened my eyes, it became apparent that someone in the room had wanted me to awaken. On the right side of my bed was a wall with a window, and a pale light streamed in from the streetlamps outside, but there was empty space at the foot of my bed. This space wasn’t unoccupied at the moment though. I could make out two figures at the foot of my bed, and another figure standing on my left side. You would think it would be very frightening to awaken to three figures surrounding your bed, but they didn’t evoke any kind of fear in me.

From what I remember, they were all dressed in long white robes that appeared slightly luminescent. I did not feel like they were of this world. They seemed like angels to me, but they didn’t have wings or halos or anything. They did have a warm feeling to them though. It was almost like goodwill was emanating from them. It made me feel very calm. I also had this feeling that I was in the presence of great wisdom, like they knew all the answers.

The one standing to my left started speaking to me. He said, you asked about your soul, and I am here to answer your questions. Your soul is a spirit, and spirits are made of ideas. After this message, they remained for a few minutes, telling me many other things. Unfortunately, I don’t remember the rest of what they said very well. Maybe it didn’t make sense to me at the time.

As I was listening to the one on my left, I noticed his speech began to gradually take on the sound of a loud hum. This hum sound grew until his words were no longer discernible. As this was happening, his body and robe seemed to fade away, and a new object started to materialize right before my eyes. This new object was a big electric fan sitting on a chair beside my bed, and the hum was merely the sound made by its motor and blades spinning at high speed.

When their presence was completely gone, I found myself wide awake and staring at this noisy fan. This direct move from sleep to waking state with my eyes open really made me question whether it was a dream or something else. I think this may have been my first visit to the place that exists somewhere between reality and dream.

As I sat there staring into that fan, my worldview began to change. It all started to make sense to me. God knew I was struggling to keep a worldview with him in it, but my logical mind just couldn’t figure it out. My thinking was too focused on the material because science is completely materialistic. The explanation was right in front of me now. I am not made of flesh and blood. I am made of something immaterial. I am made of ideas.

I also began to realize how much your worldview affects how you interpret reality. For instance, I could have seen these visitors as ghosts, not angels. I could have chosen to ignore them altogether and just say it was a strange dream. I might also say that the revelation was just my subconscious mind trying to satisfy me with an answer.

I believe how I interpreted this event is accurate for me, but I realize that many of you will read this story through the lens of your own worldview, and that’s fine. For me though, these were words of comfort that allowed me to keep my faith and better understand myself and the reality around me.

Have you ever awakened in a state somewhere between dream and reality? Do you think this was some sort of vision? Have you ever considered how materialistic our thinking is today? How do you think your own worldview affects how you see reality?

The trait I value most about myself.

There’s a lot of traits I have that might be considered valuable, but I don’t know that I notice them too much. They are things that other people would notice more than me, because they are external traits, not internal traits. I live on the inside, not the outside. Here are few external traits that people might notice about me.

  1. I am calm under fire. Several of the people working under me noticed this about me. They sometimes worry about the outcome, and I just stay the course unwaveringly. It is impressive to them that I am fearless and calm. When something does go astray, I gently bring it back on course. It’s an odd trait I picked up over the years. I think it also comes from shifting to a growth mindset.
  2. I have some degree of charisma. It’s not overwhelming, but if people are around me for a while, we begin to unite. I think it’s because they figure out that I’m an empathic person who listens to them, and I can also be pretty fearless under normal conditions. I once read that this is what charisma is all about. It’s a combination of presence, power, and warmth.
  3. I have extensive knowledge in a wide range of fields. I spent half of my life reading textbooks, encyclopedias, and other books. I know quite a bit about computer science, electronics, engineering, psychology, biology, philosophy, etc. I’ve even studied subjects that would be considered esoteric. This is on top of degrees in business and information technology.

If you would like to read more about charisma and the growth mindset, check out these books. You won’t be disappointed.

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The trait I value the most.

After thinking about it, the trait I value most about myself isn’t any of these. The trait I value most about myself is an odd trait that is at the core of my being. I believe it might drag me down, but I still value it. If I lose it, I will lose some aspect of what makes me into the person that I am.

As I went through life, I met a couple of people along the way that I really came to love on a very deep level. When that occurred, I become very scared that something would happen to them. It caused me to try and keep them in my life and take care of them. I think a lot of people hate this type of behavior, calling it clingy, but to me this feeling is the equivalent of deep love.

I believe this is something that was accidentally taught to me growing up. My grandmother was the closest person to me in my childhood and she was very overprotective. She wouldn’t let me out of her sight for fear that I would get hit by a car, or drown in the pool, or burn myself alive, or catch some awful disease, or you name it. I heard that what was modeled to you growing up is what you think is normal, and what I experienced most was the watchful eye of caring grandparent.

This trait probably causes trouble for me because if you are one of these special people it might feel very clingy. I honestly didn’t always appreciate it growing up either, but it still translates to love in my mind. It is definitely something I like about myself, but other people may not. Basically, I want to take care of a special person and help them survive and thrive because that is how I was raised.

What trait do you value most about yourself? Are you calm under fire? Would you consider yourself charismatic? Do you have a trait that’s misunderstood? Are you a clingy person? Do you avoid clingy people? What subjects do you know the most about? Let us know in the comments, and please like, share, and subscribe! Also, thanks for reading!

How I relax.

I started this new way to relax. I haven’t done it long enough to know how well it works. After I got those new wine glasses, I decided to just pour a glass of wine and sit in bed and read. Seems to be working fine so far. I also take melatonin on nights I have to work the next day, just to make me sleep through the night. If I don’t take them, I tend to wake up around 3 or 4 am and can’t go back to sleep. Sleeping is not my forte.

Right now, I’m reading a series of short books over novel writing that I found on Amazon. The author’s name is K. M. Weiland. Maybe you might be interested in them if you are thinking about writing a novel. I’m just on the first one, but it’s pretty informative so far.

Outlining Your Novel: Map Your Way to Success

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I normally don’t add to a post after it’s published, but it occurred to me that I have one more thing I do to relax. I listen to thunderstorm sounds. I don’t know why, but storms calm and soothe me.

I have a Windows app that I use on my computer called Ambie. It is a white noise generator that allows you to mix various sounds, including those of a thunderstorm. The app is free, but you can buy different sounds to mix. I positively love this app! I sleep with it on practically every night, and I think I sleep much better on the nights that I use it.

Picture of Ambie Windows App

Sometimes I just pull up YouTube and find a channel that has thunderstorm sounds. There’s a lot of them out there, so I guess I’m not the only one that can be put to sleep by a storm. Below is a random one I found as an example. Watch it for a few minutes, and maybe you will feel relaxed too.

Do you have trouble relaxing? Ever take sleep aids? Do storms relax you? Do you like to listen to nature sounds? Have any relaxation tips? Have you written a novel or thinking about it? Do you outline your writing beforehand? Any tips on novel or story writing? Let me know in the comments, and don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe!

How I would describe myself.

Physically, I’m a tall and relatively lean looking person, at 6’2″ and around 180 lbs. I have blue eyes and brown hair. My skin favors the color of Northern Europeans, as I am mostly of Scottish and Irish decent, with a little German and Dutch blended in. I wouldn’t classify myself as being special in any way, just an average looking person.

If you saw me in a bar, I’d probably just be chilling and scrolling through my phone or something. I’ve been told I’m really good a just chillin. I think this is because I have a calm demeanor and I’m generally very coolheaded, even under pressure. If I’m not chillin, I’m probably chatting with the bartender. I definitely know a lot of the bartenders downtown, and most of them are great conversationalists.

I think that’s really part of the draw to bartending. I had one bartender friend tell me they loved their job because they basically got paid to socialize. It’s probably a dream job if you like to talk to people. If you go to a bar long enough, you really start to feel like you are a part of their lives. The bartenders and regulars form an odd sort of family. It’s really the best part of bars in my opinion.

I think I would also be considered good at conversation, especially with the right person. I can talk for hours if the subject is interesting. I’m also not someone who would come across as arrogant in conversation. There’s a girl I used to talk to at the bar. She was always complaining about her dates sounding arrogant in conversation. She seemed to have no problem talking to me for hours. I’m a good listener also.

I’m also a pretty empathic person. I think this is picked up by some people. They can tell I’m sincere and actually interested in them. I remember one girl described me by saying, Ken, you are a very genuine person. I thought it was a nice compliment. You are not always aware of how others perceive you, so it’s definitely interesting when someone points something out. This girl taught me a lot about myself.

How would you describe yourself? What’s your personality like? What would other people say about you? Let me know below and please like, share, and subscribe!

Things that get better with age.

What is it that gets better with age? One could name an abundance of things that do not get better with age, but there are a few things that definitely improve with time. Below are the things that I think improve with age, provided the environment remains stable, but there is often a limit, and value can fluctuate.

  • The flavor of fine wine increases with age. I personally like the dark wines.
  • The flavor of some aged cheeses only appears after aging.
  • Art and other collectables, and heirloom quality items, but it’s hard to predict.
  • Old photographs become more valuable because of attached memories.
  • Real estate value increases due to inflation and increased need.
  • People can become more valuable due to experience.
  • Sound decision making improves with time.
  • Lifestyle can improve as a person ages.
  • Wisdom and deep understanding improve with age.
  • Some people look better older than they did younger.
  • Personal taste can improve with age.
  • Ageing can improve calmness.
  • Memorabilia gains in value due to nostalgia.
  • Realism tends to increase as a person ages.
  • Patience improves with age and requires time.
  • Religious ideas often become more valuable as you age.
  • Compost requires aging to improve its value to plants.
  • Relationships can get better with time.
  • Knowledge increases with time and learning.
  • How you treat others tends to get better.
  • Sex, I just get better at it every year.

What do you think about this list? Have anything you would add? Please remember to like, subscribe, and share! See you in the comments!