What Makes People Tick?

One of the reasons for not blogging for quite some time is, simply put, that real life intervened. I changed jobs, my long-term relationship ended, I started studying again... All of this, as well as me questioning whether blogging was still what I wanted to do with my time, led to not posting. Not posting for a month leads to not posting for a year, leads to not posting for almost three years. Which brings us to the here and now.  While I still have no interest in making this a personal blog, I do hope to get back to blogging about things that interest me. Things like psychology and anthropology, religion and spirituality, coaching and counseling, education and conservation, global warming and world peace. I'd also like to write about things that are perhaps a little less mainstream yet that very much interest me. Things like the possibility of alien life, parapsychology, meditation, telepathy, mindfulness, reincarnation, yoga and such. Simply put, I've been a little afraid to...

The Dalai Lama writes an amazingly inspiring and insightful piece which puts into eloquent words that which I stumblingly hope to confer to the world in my own way through this blog - we are all human, we all think and feel, we all need to learn to share our planet and we all deserve to live with dignity and respect. I originally started writing this post in February 2015, then attempted to continue it later that year, before abandoning it again. It is now October 2017 and after resetting every password for this blog and the associated Twitter account, I've come back to it after barely thinking about it for more than two years. There are things I want to say, things I want to speak out about, things I want to write about... Doing that under my own name isn't always the smartest idea in this day and age, which is why I created this blog in the first place. What I write about however isn't all that controversial - equality for all, humans from different backgrounds underst...

Read an article today that got me thinking. Sharing the first paragraph of the article here. Hope you'll head over to the Jewish Press to read the entire article. It's worth reading and the question the article asks is worth thinking about, no matter what you think about the Israel / Palestine situation. With the BDS movement gaining momentum, many on the Israeli Left are increasing their calls for negotiations under the premise of a two-state solution. In their minds, the two-state solution is the only practical solution that could end the international isolation of Israel and lead to peace. But in the midst of the exhausted political ping-pong of whether or not the two-state solution is actually viable, the most important question often goes unasked – what if they are wrong? Source: What if they are wrong? | The Jewish Press | 22 June 2015 Now, whether you went and read the article or not - and I hope you did, it's worth reading - do yourself a favour and use your i...

Some quotes by the amazing and inspiring Yoko Ono. Dear Yoko,  You make me want to be a better person.  Thank you for being you. “War is over if you want it.” “ You change the world by being yourself.” “A dream you dream alone is only a dream.  A dream you dream together is reality.” “Remember, each one of us has the power to change the world.  Just start thinking peace, and the message will spread quicker than you think.”

Operation Protective Edge continues. While I read earlier this morning that there might be a 72-hour ceasefire starting today; Israel National News (Arutz Sheva)  tells me that the ceasefire has already been broken, not even two hours into the 72 hours. How surprising... Not... "Israel uses weapons to protect its civilians. Hamas uses civilians to protect its weapons. Hamas puts Palestinian civilians in the line of fire." Source: IDF through Barenaked Islam

Want to know what life is like in Israel? Watch this very touching video made by Dana bar-on who lives very close to the Gaza border. She brought tears to my eyes, which is why I'm sharing this video. Source: 10 minutes about living on the Gaza border ,YouTube

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon visited the Middle East this week. He met Israeli Prime-Minister Benyamin Netanyahu and gave a speech on Tuesday 22 July 2014 from Tel Aviv, Israel. It gladdens me that the United Nations fully support Israel's right to protect itself. It gladdens me to see that the UN condemns the use of their facilities for terrorist purposes. It gladdens me to see that the UN, unlike so many people I hear from and speak to these days, seem to care about both sides instead of praising one side and condemning the other. "My message to Israelis and Palestinians is the same: Stop fighting. Start talking. And take on the root causes of the conflict, so we are not back to the same situation in another six months or a year." Source: Ban Ki-moon's speeches: Remarks at press conference with Benjamin Netanyahu , United Nations News Centre

Many years have passed since 1948 and whether one likes it or not (I'm looking at you, Hamas!), the State of Israel is an established fact. The only way to remove the State of Israel is to wipe every last bit of it off the map entirely, which would equate to the mass genocide of millions of innocent people. Seeing the world already tried that 'solution' some seventy-odd years ago, let's try building bridges this time instead of fences. Just as the State of Israel is an established fact, so are the Palestinian people in Israel, Gaza and the West Bank and their aspirations for a united Palestinian state. Just as the horrors of the Holocaust must always be remembered so that we will never repeat such crimes against humanity, so too must the Palestinian people find a way to live without feeling like refugees, safe and secure, in a place they can call their own, in a land that they call their own. It is time that Israelis and Palestinians realise that they can keep fight...

Source :  The Happy Nomads -  Rainy Day Hikes and Emily the Cow “War is over ... If you want it.” ― John Lennon Dreaming of peace is easy. Working towards achieving peace -- true and lasting global peace based on respect for all of humanity and all living things, mutual understanding between peoples and common goals the world over -- is a lot harder than just dreaming of it. Yet peace is something worth dreaming of and also worth fighting for, or rather - It is something worth struggling for, worth working towards and worth supporting unconditionally. “If everyone demanded peace instead of another television set, then there'd be peace.” ― John Lennon True . Sad but true. Perhaps more true today than it was when John Lennon lived, over thirty years ago. Imagine if, instead of demanding things like television sets, mobile phones and music players we start demanding justice, equality, understanding, cooperation, liberty, religious freedom and peace for a...

The Guardian reported yesterday (25 May 2014) that the head of the worldwide Catholic Church, Pope Francis, visited the security barrier separating Israel from Palestine at Bethlehem to speak and pray there. "It is an image that will define Pope Francis's first official visit to the Holy Land. Head bowed in prayer, the leader of the Catholic church pressed his palm against the graffiti-covered concrete of Israel's imposing "separation wall", a Palestinian girl holding a flag by his side. It was, as his aides conceded later, a silent statement against a symbol of division and conflict." Source :  Pope Francis offers prayers at Israeli separation wall in Bethlehem The Guardian

An interesting article from The Algemeiner looking at the Israeli - Palestinian conflict and how the (fight for the) establishment of a Palestinian state is viewed by Arab nations. A quote from the article to give you an idea of why I find it interesting: "Ignoring reality, Western policy makers consider the Palestinian issue the crown jewel of Arab policy-making, the core cause of Middle Eastern developments and the crux of the Arab-Israeli conflict. An erroneous underlying, Palestinian-driven assumption has produced an erroneous policy, radicalizing Arab and Palestinian expectations, fueling terrorism and inherent Middle Eastern instability, distancing the parties from peace and bringing them closer to war, and undermining Western national security and vital economic interests." A Palestinian State - Not a Priority , The Algemeiner Writer: Yoram Ettinger; Dated 23 May 2014. Article originally published by Israel Hayom

"Imagine there's no countries It isn't hard to do Nothing to kill or die for And no religion too Imagine all the people Living life in peace... You may say I'm a dreamer But I'm not the only one I hope someday you'll join us And the world will be as one"

While wandering around the internet looking for new and interesting things to learn from and write about, I came across a YouTube video entitled " 'Sulha' Prayer at Abraham's Tomb in Hebron ". After watching this video, I was left with tears streaming down my face. In a region filled with so much anger, misunderstanding and hatred it is amazing to see Jews and Muslims together making an effort to understand each other, learn from each other and pray together at a place with such importance to both religions. Investigating some more led me to another YouTube video entitled the " Sulha Peace Project ". This video too left me speechless and amazed. If it were possible; understanding, love and hope would be coming from my computer screen and heading straight into my heart. The video itself explains it best of all, saying: "The Sulha Peace Project is a grassroots organization for healing and reconciliation of the Children of Abraham."   Je...