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Principles to Live By – Freeing Yourself from Preconceptions

August 30th, 2009 No comments

"Relativity" by M.C.Esher

"Relativity" by M.C.Esher

The biggest limitation to your enjoyment of life, your personal fulfilment and your peace of mind is nothing other than your very own set of preconceptions about life and your situation in it.

The reality of life is that there is nothing that can make us unhappy other than our own thoughts about, and resistance to, what we experience around us.

If you are unhappy, irritated, sad, angry, jealous, agitated, it is because you are holding on to a mental conception of how you think things ought to be, and dwelling in that unrealistic state rather than connecting with the truth, simplicity and immediacy of what is, right now.

Here is a challenge for you. Next time you notice yourself making a negative mental comment about yourself or your circumstances, stop and ask yourself whether or not that mental comment or perception is necessarily actually true. Look deeply, try to find the root of it – what may have generated that perception in you in the past, why it might have become a pattern of thought for you, whether you have challenged that attitude in yourself before.

Some examples?

  • I’m no good at this.
  • Life has been very hard on me.
  • If only I could afford a nice place to live, I would be happy.

And some possible corresponding truths?

  • I’ve always believed I was not good at this and have therefore never really tried, or given up without giving it a proper chance. In any case, what does “no good” mean – do I mean absolutely no good, or just relative to some other people, or am I just talking about other people’s opinions that I have adopted? Even by those standards, there may be others have have done it better, but no doubt also many others who have done it worse. Relative to at least one other person, I’m probably better. Maybe they could even learn something from me. Etc…
  • No person ever has a totally hard or easy life. Many people whom I imagine have had an easy life in reality may have experienced many hardships that I just don’t know about. How can I say for sure that my life is harder than anyone else’s? Even if I know a lot about their life, and think that their circumstances make it easy, is it not possible that they have their own private inner torment, and that they in fact experience life as even harder than I have done? Etc…
  • If I look back, I can remember thinking that I would be happy if only lots of different things had happened, and by now in fact some of them have happened. And yet I am probably no more or less happy than I was then. Actually I am sometimes happy now anyway, at least if I’m not thinking about wanting a nicer place to live. And who’s to say that even if I bought an expensive house, I would soon get used to it and then start noticing lots of little things that weren’t as good as I had imagined. Etc…

So even if you still think or feel that something is probably true, just the recognition that there is at least a small possibility that it may not be true is enough to begin the process of freeing yourself, and allowing yourself to experience the current moment a little more fully, with greater presence, greater joy.

And from that point on, it is simply a matter of rinsing and repeating, rinsing and repeating. Each time you notice and challenge your own preconceptions, their grip upon you becomes diminished. Even though some patterns of thought may be deeply embedded and ingrained, a continuing process of self-observation will eventually wash them away, and leave you freer, lighter, and more alive.

Is This Typical? Telstra Convolutions

August 30th, 2009 1 comment
1. I purchased prepaid Telstra mobile SIM (pre-assigned number 0419470322)
2. I activated this SIM by phone and requested transfer of my existing number 0417010666 (from Optus)
3. A few hours later transferred number was working successfully with this SIM in my mobile
4. Tried to register for online services to deal with prepaid account top-ups etc, but unable to do so – got error messages saying mobile number wasn’t valid
5. Spoke to Telstra by phone, was given an account number to use to register with (instead of mobile number) – then completed online registration process
6. However, online registration showed that I apparently have no prepaid mobile account
7. Spoke to Telstra by phone – was told I had account but was NOT pre-paid. Operator offered to switch account to prepaid, and said they had now done so.
8. However, online registration STILL showed that I apparently have no prepaid mobile account (even after waiting another 24hrs)
9. Came to conclusion that Telstra account number I was given (see item 5) must have been for an old Telstra account plan I had terminated about 2 years ago.
10. Therefore tried to re-register for online services using my existing number 0417010666 (instead of the account number given by Telstra)
11. This number was now apparently recognised as valid (ie. no error message), but was then prompted for a PIN, which supposedly had been sent to my handset, although I had not actually received one. I did have a PIN that was provided to me verbally by Telstra (in item 5), but this was a 4 digit PIN and was rejected by the online process.
12. I therefore tried calling Telstra again (1258880) and was TWICE cut off before was able to speak to anyone
13. HELP!

This isn’t so much a discursive blog post as it is a convenient place to leave a public record of my dealings with Telstra while trying to transfer from an Optus mobile plan to a Telstra pre-paid mobile account (in Australia).

1. I purchased prepaid Telstra mobile SIM (pre-assigned number XXXXXXXXXX).

2. 11th Aug 2009 – I activated this SIM by phone and requested transfer of my existing number YYYYYYYYYY (from Optus).

3. A few hours later the transferred number was working successfully with this SIM in my mobile.

4. Tried to register for online services to deal with prepaid account top-ups etc, but unable to do so – got error messages saying my mobile number wasn’t a valid Telstra pre-paid number. I tried both my existing number (YYY…), which got an error message saying the number was invalid, and the pre-assigned number (XXX…), which got an error message saying the system was experiencing problems and unable to process. Repeated process after weekend – same result.

5. 17th Aug 2009 – Spoke to Telstra by phone, was given an account number to use to register with (instead of mobile number) – then I completed online registration process.

6. However, online registration showed that I apparently have no prepaid mobile account.

7. 18th Aug 2009 – Spoke to Telstra by phone – was told I had account but was NOT a pre-paid account. Operator offered to switch account to prepaid, and said they had now done so.

8. However, online registration STILL showed that I apparently have no prepaid mobile account (even after waiting another 24hrs).

9. Came to conclusion that Telstra account number I was given (see item 5) must have been for an old Telstra account plan I had terminated about 2 years ago.

10. 20th Aug 2009 – Therefore tried to re-register for online services using my existing number YYYYYYYYYY (instead of the account number given by Telstra).

11. This number was now apparently recognised as valid (ie. no error message), but was then prompted for a PIN, which supposedly had been sent to my handset, although I had not actually received one. I did have a PIN that was provided to me verbally by Telstra (in item 5), but this was a 4 digit PIN and was rejected by the online process.

12. I therefore tried calling Telstra again (1258880) and was TWICE cut off before was able to speak to anyone. NB – Even though this is a number for dealing with customer problems, it is a paid number.

13. Having tweeted about this, was replied to by @bigpondteam, who offered to help by providing an online form to submit the problem. I submitted items 1 through 12 above.

14.  Mon 24th – no change, no further response from anyone, still not receiving a PIN when I try to register my number, so called Telstra again. Telstra rep suggested I try again several times, clear browser cache etc, then finally tried it herself at here end using my details, without success. Final answer from Telstra – wait 24 to 48 hrs and try again.

15. Thu 27th – no change, no further response from anyone, still not receiving a PIN when I try to register my number, so contacted Telstra by via online customer support form submission, re-iterating the above.

16. Sun 30th – on the off chance, tried to register for online services again. This time I got a message telling me I was already registered. Hurrah! I was then able to login, view my account details, recharge etc. PROBLEM FINALLY SOLVED.

I suspect that the crux of the problem here was the complexity of Telstra’s internal systems, and the likelihood of “knots” developing from any small kinks that might appear from slightly unusual circumstances. It was quite frustrating – especially due to the fact that they never contacted me back. Apart from the brief flirtation with @bigpondteam via twitter, it was all one way. I had to keep retrying and keep recontacting them, or else just give up, and I have no idea whether @bigpondteam’s intervention made any difference at all. But I was of course pleased that they at least apparently made an attempt.

Categories: Life Tags: ,

City to Surf

August 12th, 2009 No comments

Last Sunday I ran the Sydney City to Surf race – the largest footrace in the world with over 75,000 entrants. I’d been training for it effectively for more than year, after having had a couple of years off running due to an ankle problem, and deciding that this race would be my next big running challenge, if my ankle would only improve enough. And gratifyingly, it did.

It was a fabulous experience. Being part of such a large group of ambitious, motivated people, all with the same goal, all labouring hard together, in such beautifully crisp, sunny weather and along such a beautifully scenic harbourside and beachside route was quite moving.

For much of the course the main sound was the pattering of thousands of running shoe soled feet. Most of us were focused on our run, concentrating on maintaining just the right pace, sometimes weaving a little to avoid collisions as the odd contestants accelerated, slowed or weaved a little. But for brief period as we ran through Rose Bay, I turned my head to gaze at the sparkling bay waters beside the stream of determined and focused runners. What a joy to behold!

Based on my training times, I had expected to be able to run the 14km course in around 70 minutes, but was delighted to find, on the day, that I was able to run quite a lot faster than I thought I could. Although this would have been partly due to the lengthy preparation, during which I averaged about 40km per week running, I felt that it was also due in part to the momentum of the crowd on the day. I didn’t feel that I was running faster than usual, but more than I was being drawn along, almsot as if swimming in a river.

My results:

City 2 Surf Results

I also carried my iPhone in a arm-strap, and used the RunKeeper app to track the entire run. The full results, of my run including a map of the course, graph of speed and elevation and time splits, can be found .

As is my habit, I also wore a heart rate monitor. Typically, even during hard training, my heart rate averages around 150bpm, peaking at 160 to 165bpm on the hills. But during the race, the average rate was 160bpm, peaking at 170bpm on “Heartbreak Hill” – the big rise that occurs between the 6 and 7km marks of the course. I have to admit that I did slow to a walk for 30s or so towards the top of the hill, feeling that I was at my limit. But apart from that the level of effort was constant throughout the race, and I feel as though I achieved the best result that I possibly could have done.

So where to from here? Well, Adelaide has a City to Bay race coming up in 6 weeks or so. I’m tempted to keep up the training momentum and give it a go. But if not, for any reason, then I’ll definitely be looking towards next year’s City to Surf in Sydney. It was truly an experience not to be missed! Highly recommended.

Categories: Running Tags: ,

The Living Matrix

August 8th, 2009 1 comment

Last night I got to watch a preview of a new film about healing, called The Living Matrix. It is somewhat reminiscent of “What the Bleep Do We Know?” in its subject, although it is strictly a documentary.

Here are some of the more thought provoking items it presented or referred to.

  • The power of intention and belief in healing has been illustrated repeatedly in medical trials of all kinds – via the placebo effect. And yet most people seem to just ignore or discount this, and continue to rely purely on chemical remedies, many of which are only partly effective anyway, or may have unwanted side-effects. There are many stories of dramatic and seemingly miraculous recoveries by people who changed their mental and emotional attitude when drugs have failed.
  • Reputable research shows that people start responding emotionally to images before they actually see them. This is prime skeptic fodder, but there is no obvious traditional explanation for these results.
  • Living things, including human beings, emit small amounts of light – “biophotons”. Yes, it seems we are truly radiant beings. 🙂
  • The heart has its own neuronal network, and can process information on its own before sending it on to the brain. Thus, the concept of thinking with the heart may be as much physical reality as it is a metaphorical concept.

As usual with a presentation of “alternative” viewpoints, I found myself wanting more background information than the film makers were able to include (or than would be of interest to the general audience of the film I suspect). I guess that’s my scientific background at play – I want more details about how the research was done, whether its been replicated, peer reviewed etc. And yet even if some of this research did turn out to be scientifically flawed, there is still some profound re-thinking that needs to be done by many! Keeping an open mind can bring many benefits in life.

Categories: Life Tags: