#most people can just deal with the ''smallest most insignificant changes'' like that. Unfortunately i am not Most People

[syrinq]

i'll be fucking dead in a ditch before i install windows 11. taskbar noticeably ginormous + increased border radius L + no more drag/drop files + designed for ipad babies + default bold font + windows 11 as a whole is utterly repulsive. DIE

[ignisgalaxia]

An Introspective on Writers

I’m bored and I have a headache and now I’m reflecting on all the frikkin ideas I have for my stories but I’ll probably never actually write them because I think wayyyyyy too deeply into the details. And that got me thinking about my problem, and honestly a lot of people’s problem, when it comes to writing. 

See, I’m a perfectionist. That in and of itself is a big issue for a writer to have. This means that no matter how much I think something through or try to improve on it, I’ll never be completely satisfied. It’s why I can never finish a damn thing I start writing and why I’m still in the character design stages of my original series. But that’s just me; I’m sure there are a lot of writers out there that don’t care if their writing is shit and just do it for the fun, and good for them. But the big problem starts to come up when we actually publish what we’ve written, and then it doesn’t matter what kind of writer you are. You will be plagued by this issue constantly. 

What am I talking about? I’m talking about one word, a word that all creators are familiar with: criticism. 

Recently I’ve been watching a lot of analysis videos on YouTube, and one thing they’ve made me realize is that people will make a big deal about the most insignificant things in shows, movies, books, etc. And sometimes they focus on issues that aren’t even there and completely ignore actual problems with the writing. Now of course this can’t be avoided because people are stupid and will whine about literally anything that offends them or they don’t agree on. But that doesn’t change the fact that their loud, angry comments that ultimately amount to nothing other than “It’s bad because I say so,” are why criticism has come to be known as such a negative thing. When people throw angry tantrums about something that offends them, it drowns out the actual criticism that is meant to help the writers and the piece as a whole. Criticism is meant to acknowledge the problems of a piece of writing and suggest or provide ways to improve on it. It is not an outlet for you to vent your frustration about whatever you don’t agree with. You can like a work of fiction and have problems with it, but there is absolutely no reason for you to target it like it’s some kind of virus. Of course, I’m not saying that you should never get mad, sometimes that is literally the only way stubborn creators who don’t listen to any criticism will hear it. What I’m saying is if you cannot explain why you don’t agree with a choice in writing or your only argument is “because it makes me angry,” then you have no business critiquing said writing. There’s a reason it’s called constructive criticism, because people need to be told that you have to explain why you don’t like something in order for your opinion to be justified. 

I may have gone on a bit of a tangent there, but it contributes to my overall point, that being that we as writers are very sensitive to criticism. 

When we spend so much time creating something that we’ve put so much of ourselves into, it’s very easy to dismiss anything toward our work that’s not positive. Look, there are always gonna be trolls and haters and all those people who will insult you and your work for no reason, because people are the worst. No matter the medium, no matter the fandom, no matter the circumstances, there is always going to be someone that isn’t happy with the decisions you’ve made. It’s a very unfortunate lesson that creators have to come to terms with. But because of this fear, sometimes we go to extremes and try to do all the criticism ourselves before we even publish our writing to avoid the train wreck of hate that can follow. I myself am not immune from this. 

My ultimate dream is to create my own Star Trek series. However, trekkies are notorious for nit-picking things like continuity and getting easily offended over the smallest things. When you write something for an established universe, there’s a lot less leeway for creating things just because and you have to try not to repeat themes and plots that have already been explored. But the big thing, not just for Trek but for all stories in general, is tackling sensitive and/or controversial topics like abuse, racism, lgbtq stories, etc. There is such a fine line for these topics that often times no matter how you write it, and even just for writing it period, someone’s gonna get mad. 

I cannot tell you how many circles my mind has run in trying to come up with good, realistic, character stories that don’t come off as bad or lazy writing. I wanna tackle stories with abuse, racism, lgbtq stories, etc; but I’m so afraid of critics bashing me for sending a bad message because I’ve miswritten it somehow, or for just disliking my writing all together and bitching about how it’s garbage and driving away any audience that I could muster. Do you know how hard it is to think so thoroughly about a redemption arc trying to avoid people crying about it being contrived or toxic? Or how tiring it is to think so deeply about a species’ lore and history as to avoid it being called lazy and unoriginal? 

I want so badly for people not to hate my stuff that I spend so much time thinking it through, and never actually end up writing it. And therein lies my problem, and probably a lot of writers’ problem as well. We’re so afraid of the criticism that it discourages us from actually writing the masterpieces that form in our imaginations. I know there are a lot of people out there who take their writing very seriously and are afraid to see anything negative toward it. But at some point we have to accept that we can’t make everyone happy, and that we need to hear and consider criticism in order to improve as writers. Sometimes we need to start out writing shit in order to get better. We can only improve by taking feedback, reflecting on it, and actively trying to fix the problems. Cause let’s face it: nobody’s perfect. And that’s a hard thing for a perfectionist like myself to say. 

So yeah, there’s my rant for the day. I’ll eventually get my fanseries off the drawing board and actually start writing it. I just need time, and school’s not exactly being kind in that respect (even though it’s the end of the year, bastards). As a final note to all my writers out there, just know that your effort is worth it and you’re appreciated for all that you do. We may never think that our writing is perfect, but I guarantee that there’s someone out there that loves it regardless. And if they offer some tips for improving (and they’re not screaming), then we can take the time to listen. 

[28-11s]

hello, my darling! the blog update came as a very welcome surprise. funnily enough, at 3:37, i suddenly woke up; i believe my body sensed that you were writing to me. i read the message several times throughout the day since, as you said, i enjoy reading your padlet posts, especially when they deal with relatively serious subjects. it's always fascinating to see you share your thoughts on various topics, it helps me see new sides of you. honestly speaking, i do like to use the blog to simply let out my thoughts, and i never expect a response, especially because it feels like i’d be burdening you by asking you to acknowledge my messy train of thought. BUT i love it when you share your experiences and viewpoints, because it enables me to shift my "philosophy" and see things from a different perspective. it's wonderful to have someone pull me back down to earth, because you know i tend to overreact, magnify minor issues, and throw myself into a pit of worry. being someone who despises change and has a natural fear of restriction is understandable; in a way, we are both control freaks. hehe. but i think i simply hate not having control over people… not knowing if and when they'll change, not knowing how they're feeling, and not being able to /maintain/ the same relationships. it’s all too scary, and as a result i have problems relaxing and enjoying life. i don't mean to imply that i like manipulating others… i just don’t want things to change so i can stop worrying about all the possible outcomes. you know what you’re losing but you don’t know what you will find kind of deal. i am extremely, extremely greedy, and i think my aversion to change stems from my absurd worry of never again being able to feel joy. which IS absurd, because it’s impossible for me to never feel positive emotions again. most likely a trauma response? i never seem to be able to move on from anything, so even though it's been years, i still think about the individuals i’ve lost, the things i wish i could experience again, the things i’d do differently. maybe fear of change and regret go hand in hand. it’s just unfortunate  how even the smallest alteration can end years of love and make all the joyful memories insignificant. you know better than anyone else that despite my tendency to always appear optimistic, i am just a negative wreck when it comes to myself. it’s just really hard to think positive when the most normal thing in life makes you want to crawl in a hole. i understand what you mean, though, and that’s lovely way of thinking. it is also reassuring… i’ll always carry a small part of my former self, their experiences and the people they met with me, basically. this is exactly why i always search for comfort in this padlet. besides feeling like home, it helps me visualise my emotions. another one of my issues with change is the fact  that i NEED to see or hear something that can evoke feelings. i have a hard time experiencing things with only the help of my own memories, which is one of the reasons as to why i always end up here, or in one of your playlists, or your carrds, when i need inspiration. i’ll record every single word you say so i’ll never forget how i felt at the time. oh, before i forget! i wanted to (belatedly) thank you for your support with matcha. i was supposed to do it a few days ago, but i’ve been in a slump ever since, and i didn’t feel like talking to anyone lol. the ending was unfortunate, and honestly i will never forgive twitter for destroying weeks of hard work, but i’m so glad i got to experience that week with you, riku and winnie. you are truly my biggest cheerleader and fan, i still cannot believe YOU managed to reach 1k in less than 7 days; i did not lie when i said i cried a little because of your overwhelming support (and activity). being in a roleplay with you always makes the experience 12 times better, and mtc was the third roleplay in an year which is a new record for us! yay moonyal! 

i hope you will never apologize for writing long posts, those are my favourite ones and you know it. however, i will laugh at you for going ia because somebody flirted with you, and i will also ask for their username so i can send them threats. it’s scorpio season and i am not scared of beefing with strangers. glad you’re not cpdping with others, though. especially given the fact that i’ve been with my eyes glued to the screen for the past weeks looking for a picture we can use to cpdp as skz. i am getting sick of their faces, why did you give me this task ueueueueueueue. omg how is it 2am already HELPPP i’ve been writing for so long… well, i have to get up in a few hours so it’s time for me to go. thank you for acknowledging my vent honestly, it feels good to be heard, and it feels good to know that i am not the only person who experiences these worries. you always manage to make me feel better about myself. i guess i tend to forget that i am human, after all. i love you so much, i know there are certain things that we cannot control but i hope you will be in my life for a very long time. i hope you managed to get more than enough sleep last night? you went to bed really late… goodnight my love, i’ll go and sleep well! salutes. 

bats eyelashes. there is something incredibly attractive about your knowledge of mbti, btw. mbti bf and astrology bf.

[healthcareblg]

Security in cross border Healthcare: Fundamentals?

Historically, the medical professional handled patient data with the privacy and integrity that the Hippocratic oath demanded. Now that medical data is handled by so many different, non-medical professionals, in different organizations with different objectives, new standards have to be incorporated into data management architecture to match the same privacy and integrity that the medical professionals apply. This places the burden on the Information Security Professional to champion the cause at corporate level and provide the confidence and security that patients need.

Unfortunately, there are a few gray areas in the interpretation of the scope and responsibility of the Information Security Profession. The Wall Street Journal reported on the secret transfer of 50 million Americans medical data to Google for their own purposes under the Nightingale Project. It is also reported that Amazon, Microsoft and Apple are also pushing aggressively into the healthcare market. (wsj.com11/11/2019 4:27) This is not to be confused with another deal between Google and other smaller groups like Colorado Centre for Personalized Medicine, who only send encrypted data with the keys being held only on the medical site.

Let's raise the Bar...

Obviously, the massive tide of opportunities presented by larger organizations moving into the healthcare market cannot be ignored. For some people, the temptation to broker a deal with Google regarding your user data may appear financially tempting. However, as we all know, with that bait comes the call to maintain ethical standards of the medical profession, within our business and security framework.

Similarly, with the massive increase in commercial value of medical data among the criminal community, comes a call for greater depth and breadth in information security services for medical data. The volume of commercially available attack tools is growing daily. The sophistication of the more targeted attacks often requires a degree of forensics beyond the scope of most in-house cyber security teams. Very few organizations can afford the cost of a team of specialists in such a wide range of experiences.

Medical Professional Standards

The aim in Caresocius is to promote the same standards of integrity and confidentiality in Information Security that are applied to the medical profession.

To make this more real, lets make it personal.

How would you like your mothers medical data to be sold, profiled and used to manipulate her daily life, what she buys, where she goes and even what news she receives.

The security community recognize that medical data has greater longevity so more commercial value than even banking details. Banking details can be changed but medical data stays for the rest of our lives.

One challenge is to enable even the smallest point of contact with medical data to have the same data vault integrity as institutions with the resources to employ a full information security management and response team.

Another challenge is to promote and maintain adopted ethical approach to data security at all levels of operation.

Perhaps it is a little easier to promote ethical standards in a tight-knit, business community. Generally speaking, the larger the community the harder it is to get the adoption of ethical standards as a way of life.

However, presenting and maintaining a viable security profile for a clinic, at all levels of the organization is a challenge when resources and experienced staff are not readily available.

Beyond the Bounds of the Enterprise

In these times of global connectivity, some wanted and some unwanted, even the smallest institution can be hit by a state-sponsored actor on another part of the globe.

Since they are no-longer the target but they become the vehicle to target others, the concept of the “Small, insignificant target” no-longer exists. Every member of the team is a useful target to the commodity hacking tools now available.

So, even the smallest medical service provider needs a strategy to stand against the thousands of spiders creeping across the threads of the global web.

The general feeling used to be that only the larger companies have sufficient resources and SME's are stuck, stranded, without any defence against the tremendous breadth and depth of commercially available exploits on the fingertips of potential criminals.

At Caresocius we want to dispel that myth:

It is time to stand on the shoulders of giants and offer the armoury of tools and services they have to spent years developing.

On the shoulders of giants

While waiting for the annual check-up on my car I met John Sherwood, the founder of SABSA, an enterprise security architectural standard. In that conversation I found confirmation of my concerns that we should broaden the security scope from Cyber Security to Enterprise Security- protecting the entire business model.

It became clear that although we had a small team, our personal experiences in emergency, crisis and recovery scenarios, coupled with I.T. and network management was sufficient to shift the focus from the narrow field of internal cyber security to externally supported Enterprise Security. It became clear that cyber security must incorporate the security of all aspects of the enterprise, from cleaner to client facing web services.

To carry this out would normally require considerable in-house resources. At Caresocius we decided to adopt the concept of standing on the shoulders of giants.

Why try to do in-house what is already available somewhere else!

With the global connectivity of data comes the global connectivity of security products and services.

The strategy has been to develop four columns of expertise and experience that we could depend upon; Governmental, Industrial, Academic and International Standards.

With these columns we can offer a stable support to the full spectrum of clinical service providers with the confidence that their Armory behind us can deal with most of our security concerns.

Governmental

In 2016, the UK Government, national Cyber Security Centre formed the Active Cyber Defence initiative to reduce the high volume of commodity cyber attacks on UK businesses.

They recognized that the NCSC already developed strategies to help their national infrastructure defend against commodity cyber attacks. Recognizing that these were plaguing much of British industry they decided to offer these services to vetted organizations working in critical industries.

We have found the services and experience invaluable, from basic take-down service, mail check, web check and a vulnerability disclosure platform to guidance and collaboration from highly skilled professional.

Industrial

Having explored various organizations, we formed partnership with a few high value partners. These have given us the capacity to carry out remote vulnerability analysis, rapid detection and response, cloud protection for the sales force, and to call upon specialist services for escalated incident response if needed.

Academic

It is always useful to keep track on what the academic community is doing in their explorations and development of new lines of research and development. With the changing academic climate, many universities are seeking industrial contacts to generate revenue and their input is highly valued. As part of the E.U. Funded H2020 CUREX project. This has a focus in cyber security in healthcare. It works to discuss challenges, methodologies, tools and solutions to reduce the risks in clinics and hospitals.

International Standards

It became clear that standards are more of an asset than a problem.

We have seen how ISO27k, GDPR and HIPAA bring a degree of structure and consistency to the industry. They enable us to promote a genuine, maturity assessment to the board of most organizations. The risk of penalties is no-longer a burden to the InfoSec team but becomes a checklist that brings financial pressure on the commercial side to take things seriously and invest in security.

We find that bringing GDPR to the attention of Medical Data Management outside the E.U. re-enforces the need for Security by Design and restores the concept of Personal Ownership of data. This in turn lead Caresocius to place a Block-Chain approach into the long term development program for patient controlled data.

In Conclusion

With £130bn stolen from global consumers in 2017, the global cyber crime market is an attractive source of revenue for organized cyber-crime. The situation is getting more serious within the US healthcare market where Universal Health Services stalled due to a cyber-attack, forcing some hospitals to resort to pen and paper. With an average ransomware payment of $234k USD and a median payment of $110k USD, the US healthcare services are becoming more aware of the risks they face. Not all these attacks are sophisticated. The fatal attack on a hospital in Germany was a result of widely used commodity software with known vulnerabilities that had not been identified. The legacy systems of some medical equipment and associated IT have been a challenge for some health centers. There may be a general reluctance to throw away a perfectly good medical scanner just because it can only work under Windows 7 for example.

However, with the globalization of data comes the globalization of the tools and services available from the cyber security community. Find the sources of experience and skills among the wealth of services available and build partnerships that will benefit you both. Do not try to go it alone, the front-line battle is too broad and the sheer volume of attacks too great.

You will be surprised at the quality and level of support these partnerships can bring. These mature professionals have acquired a range of experiences and have a willingness to step in if the problem seems overwhelming. There is an entire Armory of tools and services available from a variety of sources with years of experience. They are able off a depth and range of services to tailored to the level of involvement required.

Our partnerships can provide the Armory of tools and services you need for today, the maturity to recognize when things need to change, and the versatility to implement that change.

Source : https://bit.ly/3tS5Be3

[torontohypnotherapist]

AUGUST 30 ― GEORGE GURDJIEFF QUOTES

SPEAKING FROM INNER CONVICTION DUE TO DIRECT EXPERIENCE

"In my childhood, and indeed later on in life, all sorts of persons, from my parents to my superior officers in the army, were constantly telling me what to think, feel, and do. Outwardly I accepted their views, inwardly I doubted them; I doubted whether they were speaking from inner conviction due to direct experience. Now I had met a man [Gurdjieff] who, I was convinced, was speaking from his own experience when he pointed out my faults and weaknesses. By his own efforts he had overcome these things, and he fully understood my needs. The older pupils also, when they answered my questions about the system, spoke only from their own direct experience."

~ CS Nott “The Teachings of Gurdjieff - A Pupil's Journal” ...

THE CONSCIOUS FEELING OF ONE’S REAL SELF

“The Institute opens new horizons for a man and gives a durable sense to a man’s existence. A man begins to see clearly that everything that he previously counted so precious and big is only a house of cards, only ideals artificially built by him or by others, and from this nothing stays. But a man clings to it all because he is afraid to stay in front of an emptiness, an abyss.

“He understands clearly that it is necessary to throw all this away, to blow down this house of cards and then, brick by brick, to build something that nothing can blow away. He knows this with his mind, and wishes it, but he is afraid to give up all his past; perhaps he will not even find a brick! What then? What will happen? He thinks it is better to have an actual house of cards than nothing.... But a risk is necessary. Without having blown away the old, nothing new can begin.

“Sometimes in a sudden flash one sees all his nonentity so clearly! And then a man who feels it has the right ― no, he is 'obliged' ― to throw all that past away, even to stamp it all under his feet, because it is no longer necessary for him. And then how insignificant do all people appear to him, with their little ideals, strivings, sufferings, passions and so on. How he wishes to shout to them that all that does not exist: there is no such suffering, no such love, nothing of it, all this is invented by themselves! And it seems then to him that wings grow on his back, and he does not know why he begins to love everyone, understand everyone, and wishes to tell other people, to explain to them all that he understands and thinks. And at the same time, when it is you, you feel that you do not know 'how' to speak to them so that they will understand. And, because of that, you remain silent. . .

“Then, something occurs, something from the outer life, and where do all those good thoughts and feelings disappear to?

"You begin to see only that outer life. You suffer, because you begin again to see only through this dark glass, You remember all that took place a few minutes before, and you even remember your sensations and thoughts, but you can do nothing.... Something inside physically gnaws at your heart, physically aches as a tooth aches. And hours and hours are necessary, with much reasoning and many examples, to push away your thoughts and feelings, to throw all this away from you and to be able again, without aching, to feel your Self....

“And here is the question: how to bring it about that these bad things will not occur again? We can, perhaps, even reach the point where nobody from outside can tell what is going on inside ourselves. . . But for what serves all this outside, when inside there is all the time the same gnawing? To understand, to see, not to show ― that is possible. But how to pull out the root itself so that nothing of the same ever occurs again?”

~ "Gurdjieff's Early Talks 1914-1931" ...

OUR THINKING MACHINE POSSESSES THE CAPACITY TO BE CONVINCED OF ANYTHING

“Our thinking machine possesses the capacity to be convinced of anything you like, provided it is repeatedly and persistently influenced in the required direction. A thing that may appear absurd to start with will in the end become rationalized, provided it is repeated sufficiently often and with sufficient conviction. And, just as one type will repeat ready-made words which have stuck in his mind, so a second type will find indicator proofs and paradoxes to explain what he says. But both are equally to be pitied. All these theories offer assertions which, like dogmas, usually cannot be verified. Or in any case they cannot be verified by the means available to us.

“Then methods and ways of self-development are suggested which are said to lead to a state in which their assertions can be verified. There can be no objection to this in principle. But the consistent practice of these methods may lead the overzealous seeker to highly undesirable results. A man who accents occult theories and believes himself knowledgeable in this sphere will not be able to resist the temptation to put into practice the knowledge of the methods he has gained in his research, that is, he will pass from knowledge to action. Perhaps he will act with circumspection, avoiding methods which from his point of view are risky, and applying the more reliable and authentic ways; perhaps he will observe with the greatest of care. All the same, the temptation to apply them and the insistence on the necessity for doing so, as well as the emphasis laid on the miraculous nature of the results and the concealment of their dark sides, will lead a man to try them.

“Perhaps, in trying them, a man will find methods which are harmless for him. Perhaps, in applying them, he will even get something from them. In general, all the methods for self-development which are offered, whether for verification, as a means, or as an end, are often contradictory and incomprehensible.

“Dealing as they do with such an intricate, little-known machine as the human organism and with that side of our life closely connected with it which we call our psyche, the least mistake in carrying them out, the smallest error or excess of pressure can lead to irreparable damage to the machine. It is indeed lucky if a man escapes from this morass more or less intact. Unfortunately very many of those who are engaged in the development of spiritual powers and capacities end their career in a lunatic asylum or ruin their health and psyche to such a degree, that they become complete invalids, unable to adapt to life. Their ranks are swelled by those who are attracted to pseudo-occultism out of a longing for anything miraculous and mysterious. There are also those exceptionally weak-willed individuals who are failures in life and who, out of considerations of personal gain, dream of developing in themselves the power and the ability to subjugate others. And finally there are people who are simply looking for variety in life, for ways of forgetting their sorrows, of finding distraction from the boredom of the daily round and of escaping its conflicts.

“As their hopes of attaining the qualities they counted on begin to dwindle, it is easy for them to fall into intentional charlatanism.”

~ George Gurdjieff "Views From the Real World" ...

YOU MUST ACQUIRE AN UNCHANGEABLE ‘I’

LL: I don’t know what is most important for myself, where I should focus my efforts.

Gurdjieff: Ever since you started coming here, you have heard it constantly repeated that you must acquire an ‘I’. Today, everything is changing, unstable, inconsistent. You are a taxi available to any chance passenger. You must acquire an unchangeable ‘I’. That is what is most important, what you must focus all your efforts on.

~ “G. I. GURDJIEFF ― Paris Meetings 1943”

[necros-writings]

Anti meets John

(I know the SepticArt event is over and all, but all that beautiful artwork and just the sheer joy people got out of it, and @therealjacksepticeye ’s enthusiasm over his fans and the art, got me in the mood to do what I do best: fanfiction! So enjoy!)

The building groaned for the fourth time since John, the Master of Thieves, and Harold, the Master of Science, had stepped foot in it nearly an hour ago. Harold glanced around quickly and rushed forward to stand closer to John. “I hate this. I hate old buildings. Especially big ones! It could fall on us at any moment!”

“Harold, I’m going to say this one more time: based on the sound of the walls around us, this building won’t fall for the next seventy-five years, at least! Please just trust my hearing and stop worrying. You’re making it difficult to concentrate.” And concentrating was what John needed to do. It was so important, in fact, that he had even dropped the affected Scottish accent he had grown so attached to, and instead spoke in a sort of monotone, a result of speaking English.

“And why should I trust your hearing? That thing in your ears hasn’t been scientifically proven!” He all but yelped just as the building groaned again.

“It’s specifically designed to hear atomic vibrations and send the signal to the visual cortex of my brain. Just because it hasn’t been proven to YOU, doesn’t mean it doesn’t work. Now, do you want my help or not?” He growled.

“You’re helping whether I like it or not, since the various Masters of all things tech are looking at my EMFD.” The EMFD (or Electromagnetic Field Detector as Ethan, the Master of Inventors, named it) was an interesting little device that could sense even the smallest change of an electromagnetic field and predict what was causing it. It took many years of testing and input from the various scientists that worked with Harold, who really only oversaw the different branches of science departments since there were too many to have a Master for all, and was supposed to be ready by that day. Unfortunately, Ethan was not the best at wiring and the poor thing gave out just before Harold was meant to leave for a field assignment. (He also served as an errand boy for the other scientists, who weren’t quite fond of the man.)

“Yes yes, because my body is essentially a living EMFD. Ethan’s gonna-oh, look, my hand.” John said suddenly, holding up his right hand, which had begun to shift like gravity defying sand, at least where his skin was.

“God, it’s….disintegrating! We need to go back!” Harold cried, turning to run back the way they’d come, only to be stopped by John.

“No no, that’s just my body reacting to some sort of EM field disturbance nearby. I can purposefully rip my atoms from each other and move to another location, thanks to the special electrical field I produce, but it makes me sensitive. If something disturbs the EM field near me, my body does this.” He pointed at spots of his body where the outer skin layer was, in essence, disintegrating and floating around in a form of black smoke or sand. “I’m glad I’m wearing shorts and a t-shirt today. This sort of disturbance would ruin my usual outfit…” He sighed.

“So….that means we can find this EM field distortion and get out of here! The others simply want a fixed location, so this makes it much easier. But….are you sure you’re alright?” Harold hated to admit it, but the exposed bits of muscle beneath the Master of Thieves skin was making him feel a little ill.

“Oh yes, it doesn’t even hurt. A little strange to feel the air on my muscle tissue, but once we’re done and get back, my skin should reintegrate with the rest of the my body. Ah,” he glanced down at his hand, not that he could honestly see it, and frowned. “The field distortion is…moving? This way, too?”

“What? Surely that’s normal? After all, the team back home is pretty sure it’s something to do with this building’s person power grid.” And, as if on cue, the lights above them flickered briefly.

“I suppose. It would explain why the lights have been coming on on a schedule despite no one being here to make good use of them. Guess whoever left it here forgot to shut down the grid.” John turned and started walking, heading for their original destination: the power grid control room. Not fifteen minutes later, he stopped, maybe five or six feet in front of a darkened doorway, Harold bumping into him.

“What’s wrong? The power grid control room is still at least thirty minutes away.” It would’ve been shorter, but the building had been abandoned in a hurry over a century ago and there desks and chairs and some random bits of furniture and boxes strewn about, even blocking doors at points, especially some stairwells. And the elevators were unlikely to be in working order after so long. If only their drop off point hadn’t been the roof.

“Hey, Harold, you remember how we got here?”

“Yeah. Why?” He looked over John, the small man’s stature making it a simple thing to do, and frowned at the darkness.

“Good. Because I need you to start running.” John replied as he slipped a knife out from under his shirt, grateful he always kept one on him, though this one’s five inch blade wasn’t likely going to be much help.

“Why?” Harold insisted, before the answer to his question stepped out of the doorway. At first, the man that stood before them didn’t seem all that dangerous. He was, maybe, two or three inches taller than John, nearly half a foot shorter than Harold, and his vibrant green hair spoke of a fun personality. Even the shirt he wore, despite saying ‘No Fun’, seemed rather welcoming. It wasn’t until Harold noticed the rather large kitchen knife in one of the man’s hands and disturbingly green eyes that he realized something wasn’t quite right. And no, dear reader, the green is not a reference to the man’s irises, but rather to the sclera, or the, usually, white part of the eye. The two most prominent features, however, that convinced poor Harold to heed John’s words were the long, poorly stitched slit alone the man’s throat and the smile that promised nothing but pain and death to those within reach. “Good luck!” Harold shouted as he took off sprinting back the way they’d come.

“You’re gonna need it.” The man said, his voice like something heavy and made of metal scraping the ground.

“Probably.” Joh agreed as he spun his knife so the blade pointed down as he moved into a loose stance. “Got a name?”

“Most people call me Anti.” The man giggled as he took a step forward.

“Anti? Well…what are you the opposite of?” He asked, taking a step back. His skin prickled when Anti moved closer. Whatever he was, he was responsible for his body reacting like it was. Even now, the patches of his skin that were turning into the sand-like substance were growing at a concerning rate. If he didn’t deal with it soon, he would be flayed alive by his own ability.

“Doesn’t matter. He’s gone now, because he was weak! And now I’m all that’s left.”

“All that’s left? You make yourself sound a bit insignificant, but given the size of the EM field you’re throwing out, you’re anything but.” He spun his knife again and changed his grip on it. John was certainly all for banter, but even he had to admit that the lack of knife fighting was making him antsy. And also his skin was slowly peeling away, so that was a problem too. Well, if at any point in his life he needed to just say ‘fuck it’ and dive into a dangerous situation without thinking, now would probably be it. So that’s what he did.

Anti easily blocked his first few swipes and countered, earning a shallow cut on John’s cheek. “You bleed pretty easily.”

“You cut pretty quick. For an amateur.” John may have said this in a joking manner, but he was quite serious. He needed to step further in with his strikes, thanks to the damned too short blade, but Anti had no problem reaching him with his knife. And the speed with which he moved had been surprising to say the least.

Anti frowned and moved in this time, swinging wildly at John. “Hey, I got a question for you.”

“We’re fighting to the death right now. Do you really need to ask me a question?” Oops, there was another cut on his forearm and right through a patch of missing skin. That was gonna hurt like hell once the adrenaline wore off.

“Why ya wearing that mask?” Anti asked, swinging again and onoy barely missing John’s neck.

“Why does everyone care about the fucking mask!” He groaned. He was slowing down. As tended to happen even when he was in control, his body was beginning to break out in various spots within as well as without, meaning, in some cases, less muscle to move him the way he needed to move. “Can you even die, by the way?”

“Don’t know. Never tried. Ask the Reaper when you see him!” Anti lunged forward, eyes glinting madly and gleefully as he aimed right for John’s neck.

“He’s not very forthcoming!” John replied, ducking under the lunge and stabbing up, his knife easily piercing the other man’s skin and muscle, but glancing slightly off target after hitting a bone and instead lodging itself in a lung, rather than the heart. Taking his chance, John grabbed for the nearest electrical wire and fed a pulse of his own electrical field into it. To Anti, his target suddenly disappeared in a cloud of black smoke. To John, he suddenly found himself in the power grid control room. “Well. That’s not where I wanted to go.” He huffed.

(Alright, I’m gonna call it here. I’ve been writing this for a bit and need to step back from it. I will probably continue this in a part 2. Until then, enjoy Anti meeting my own character John. Fuck, I wish I could draw, cause the fight scene looks soo cool in my head. Anyway, @therealjacksepticeye, hope you see this too, cause I think you’ll get quite the kick out of it.)

[officialnaturalnatures-blog]

The Futility of Violence

In a world where the average human is either plagued by being within a world of constant violence and war or is constantly being bombarded with the imminence of being forcibly dragged into such a state, I think it is time we discuss why all this fighting is entirely pointless.

I have a feeling that I am not alone in this realization. Most of the humans I have had the opportunity to speak with see that conflict rarely produces any positive outcome, and even if there is some positive outcome to be noted, the greater result is negative. So why then do we seem to live in a society that craves war, fighting, and conflict? For you warmongers and proponents of violent resistance, the following discussion is going to appear to be insulting, but it is not meant to be. In fact, I am grateful to your mindset, because it was essential to our early evolution, but now I’d like to reason that it might be time for a change. Through a tracing of logical conclusions, perhaps you will be able to see and understand the need for a new kind of evolution. Of course, when feeling battered, you will want to point out the holes and real-world cases where my logic would fail. Feel free to leave these observations and complications as comments below, and I would be happy to engage in civilized logical debate with you.

Now, back to the question, why does our society seem to crave war, fighting, and conflict? The answer is quite simple, the need to protect and uplift oneself through violence is an early evolutionary trait of the human psyche. It comes down to the reasoning of “fight or flight” present in every species that my mind can currently think of. This will lead some to think that violence is legitimized, but read that again, it is an early form of evolutionary thought. It is derived from a simple way of thinking that predisposes one to the belief that the life currently being lived is the beginning and ending of all existence. Further and higher thought begins to reject this possibility.

The world and universe exists on a timescale that makes the mortal human existence nearly insignificant. To think that existence can therefore be measured through the frail reality of a mortal life is a faulty conclusion and is based in faulty anthropocentric thought. Higher thought begins to recognize greater patterns: “my lifespan is insignificant compared to the span of human existence; human existence is insignificant compared to the existence of mammalian creatures; the mammalian existence is insignificant in comparison to the existence of reptilian creatures; on and on goes life until the existence of organic life pales in consideration to the existence of the physical universe.” This line of higher thought continues, eventually leading to the assertion that consciousness is beyond physical and exists in a place “out of time.” Life is simply an embodiment of consciousness in a physical and time structured existence. Death can only be the release of consciousness from these bounds. Therefore, death is not an issue to be concerned about.

As one can see, higher thought brings one to realize that there is no need to emphasize the prolonging of the physical existence. If there is no reason to prolong the physical existence, there is never a need to fight or kill in order to prolong this existence. Those unevolved thoughts that say there is a need to kill come from the acceptance of the idea that physical existence is the be all and end all of one’s universe. (It is strange that those who put the highest value on their own life are those quickest to discard other lives.) Remove that obstacle of thought, and there is no longer any way to legitimize violence as a form of protection.

Religion in its higher form is an effort to teach people this principle of the futility of preservation of the physical self, so that peace may be realized. Unfortunately, there is a lower form of religion that introduces an argument of higher thought to legitimize violence to a more conscious being. You see, this lower form of religion brings in the idea that there is only a single truth, and that this truth must be defended even unto death, or through murder and violence. This form of violence sees that the length of a human life is rather insignificant, but that ideas can long outlive a single mortal life. If someone feels as if the truth he/she holds is universal and immutable, then that truth must outlive the individual so all others can have access to it, even if it means enforcing it through violence and murder.

This strategy for creating violence is used with political and financial ideologies as well. We see this with the immense number of “holy wars” the U.S. has been involved in since the end of World War II—wars to end any government that did not fit the “ideal democracy” that the U.S. created (which is faulty in even calling the U.S. a democracy since we live in a republic, not a democracy). This desire to instill ideology will probably be what leads to World War III unless the current world leaders can learn to evolve their own intellectual understandings. For the higher truth--the one that can realize peace and live kindly with a whole world of different organisms--will not and cannot fight. This is a direct interference with the higher philosophy. For this reason, the evolution of man moves very slowly, for those who are evolved will speak, but they will not fight, leading to their own deaths and the progression of a lower mindset.

Many may stand up and say, “Well, if you reach such a level of intellectual evolution, shouldn’t it be your duty to fight to live and spread that evolution?” No, because evolution must happen naturally, and to commit the act against which one is preaching is to be a hypocrite and to have one’s entire message fold in upon itself. This is a truth that has led me to craft an aphorism: “There is truth worth dying for, but never truth worth killing for.”

All of what has preceded is theoretical discussion, but now let us see how this philosophy could change things in the world we see today. First and foremost is the issue of terrorism. There are many (especially in the U.S.) that feel terrorism is something that must be met with violence. This is clearly a false conclusion, as can be seen by the growth of terrorist groups rather than the diminishing of them since the beginning of the “War on Terror” in 2001. This is because violence engenders violence. If a cause feels that it must be violent in order to get attention, it will be violent to get attention. If that violence is solely bemoaned and pitied and in all other ways ignored, then there is very little feeling of justice among the members of that group to continue with violence, for clearly the violence did not produce results. However, if a violent act is met with greater violence and militarism, then people outside of the cause will begin to pity and associate with the struggles of the cause, swelling the ranks of people supporting it.

We also face issues with gang and drug violence. The drug violence is caused by a government being unwilling to control and distribute certain substances based on perceived ideas of truth, and making laws that run in this same order. (Government can then exacerbate the problem by providing drug rings with the drugs for street markets, thereby increasing the size of the industry and violence associated with it as was the case with the CIA and cocaine in the 80’s.) When trapping any living thing and pushing it into a corner one can expect to receive violence in return, this is because of those basic “fight or flight” instincts. Take away the choice of flight and the only remaining choice is to fight. Many street drugs addle the brain and reduce it to basic instincts as well, so it would make sense to try and ban them, but if they are existent within a person’s system addiction kicks in, which pushes one to violent measures to obtain the drug. The answer becomes finding a way to provide and regulate it, take the customers from illegal street gangs that use violence to compete and put the source in hands that know how to operate in a more evolved manner.

Another issue within the violent gang lifestyle is that when subjected to violence an individual is likely to revert back to early evolutionary thinking. The way the world currently deals with these communities caught in a loop of violence is to send in armed cops that are themselves fallible and capable of returning to violence when met with violence. Give them armaments and send them into a violent situation and they are—more likely than not—just going to become part of the problem rather than a solution to it. Send in a bunch of friendly, unarmed people talking about peace and love and there may be some violent reaction, some people may die, but with an elevated form of consciousness life is already impermanent, but the change provoked by seeing violence met by nothing but peace and tears is transformative to most living creatures. The point being that violence cannot and will not diminish violence, and so a violent solution cannot even be placed on the table.

From the most macro to now the smallest microcosm, psychotic breaks in individuals (often induced by unmonitored and unregulated drug use) can lead to sudden bursts of violence. An event like this can lead people to react in anger, demanding the revoking of guns or the purchasing of more guns. Does this anger do anything aside from spread the psychosis of violence into a greater expanse of people? It makes sense to mourn and to wonder. In fact, if the wondering is followed by an investigation into the background of the individual to see what may have caused the psychotic break, then the wondering could lead to finding ways to prevent such psychotic breaks in the future. But for psychosis to be met with thoughts of anger and lashing out with violent words or acts at those who believe differently than the self will make it impossible for evolution or progression to be achieved.

We are at an age where, per capita, there is less violence than there has ever been, despite the pervasiveness of violent language between unevolved leaders. It was only a couple hundred years ago when most people had some experience in a gun or sword duel, now there exist those who may have never even been punched before. At this incredible juncture, are we going to support the growth of violence by supporting unevolved thinkers who currently have power and their desires to start war, or are we instead going to demand greater levels of peace than we are currently experiencing?

It is still a personal choice. There can only be information given from those that promote peace, there can be no militaristic, fascistic, or unkind way of promoting peace, only the proposal of the idea and the hope for its acceptance. You now should have all the tools necessary to realize that the promotion of war is to be unevolved in thought. The choice should be easy: evolution and peace, or devolution and violence.

 P.S. There are many jumps in reasoning in this blog post, mainly because a few of the interim assumptions would take a book long discourse to prove in a conclusive manner. Also, I am going to start the troubling of my own proposition: one of the most difficult instances to choose peace and Love over violence would be the perpetration of violence against a person that you loved, especially when that person is still left alive to deal with the consequences wrought on the physical form. In these moments I think I would snap. It goes back to that creation and allowance of a culture of violence that would allow the act to happen in the first place.