Posted by Raul on December 14, 2010
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Today I have the pleasure to announce that Alien Ghost has made a trip to Madrid, Spain. This weird alien has a Guest Post at the awesome blog Zerebria.
Zerebria is where Nacho Jordi talks about the human brain; as he describes in his blog:
“The human brain, the mysterious machine, and everything that has to do with it, from the point of view of a fascinated user”
So please take a quick trip there to check the post “Loop Mode”, where I talk about the similarities between computers controlled new cars and some people you might have encounter in your daily life.
And while you’re there, don’t let pass the opportunity to dig Zerebria’s Archives, to find: “Profitable gems that allow you to live a more active, focused and productive life”
Have fun! 
Raul
Posted by Raul on December 2, 2010
Having money to pay for all the stuff we need seems to be the perfect solution for a simplified and easy life, yet money can become a problem, even if is in small amounts.
What I see (and it has happened to me) is the lost of ingenuity to solve even simple, everyday problems. We tend to just use money for everything (plastic…kicking the purchase to the future) and forget how to use our creativity. I know because when in my country in South America, due to a lack of money, I used to take apart every mechanical device that supposed to be disposable, and fix it with ingenuity and lots of work.
For some time, while in the States, I used the normal procedure of throwing away and buying a new one. Soon I discovered I was loosing my capability of thinking, analyzing, and even the fun of fixing something that suppose to be “not fixable” (breaking the system ), and instead having the stress of requiring more and more money.
Let me give you an example:
Some time ago I had a problem with the alternator in my van. It stopped charging, and for a vehicle with everything electric, and using it for night delivery, it just couldn’t be driven without it. So I checked the cost in an auto part store and got shocked: More than 300 dollars for a rebuilt one! I just couldn’t afford it at that moment.
So decided to go back to the “ingenuity solution system” and took the alternator apart to find out what the exact problem was. It happened to be the carbon brushes that wore out beyond the minimum size. So searched in my tool box and found a couple of old, used carbon brushes from another vehicle, which were bigger in size. I sand them down to the approximate size required, then installed them in the alternator and returned it to the vehicle.
It worked like a charm! It’s been more than 25,000 miles since then and it is still working without a problem. Total cost: Zero! Time: Approximately twice that it’ll take just exchanging the old alternator for a new one (four hours).
There are many things we can do, not only to save money, but to keep “oiled” our creativity, and avoid becoming more and more dependant on money to solve everyday problems.
It is really nice to just buy and replace, especially when there’s new, with more features to enjoy, but the problem is we are giving up our thinking capabilities in the process, and after a while, we might find ourselves unable to find solutions to bigger, life-size problems, becoming people highly trained in using the latest device, yet desperate for more money to sustain our way of life, and having at the same time a sense of loss that we cannot explain (so many in search of minimalism, self awareness, inner balance, and so on).
“Sometimes having money can destroy a good, working brain”
Ahh…the pleasures of not being rich!
Raul
Posted by Raul on November 29, 2010
It is surprising when we see all the possibilities available with the actual problem of a falling economy.
At one hand it seems that stability in a job is no longer possible, and even if someone have such stability, the continuous reductions in pay rate, benefits, etc. make the future a “little” obscure.
Yet, if we consider that, together with the problems people are facing these days, also there is a new set of possibilities for those who dare to take the problem of this situation in their hands.
For instance, no longer can someone rely in society structure to receive a comfortable way of life just by integration, but rather the time has come to become the builder of the system around oneself and, unfortunately, somebody else’s despair could and will become someone else’s advantage.
When services had a set cost under the policy of “take it or leave it” (I have enough business), you had to have more money to spend in such services. Nowadays, with less and less business available for the many companies struggling to survive, the reduction in charges and “great deals” has become part of everyday life.
When just a couple of years ago a car dealer negotiated between 6 and 18 percent interest rate (depending on credit score) as a normal rate, today is more and more common to find zero percent interest for 60 months (five years) as a way to just get some sales.
When restaurants used to charge between 18 and 30 dollars a dish just five years ago, today they have reduced their prices (and sizes) to 7 to 15 dollars a dish. You just receive a smaller amount of food in the dish (which should be good to fight the long accumulated overweight!).
When companies like landscaping didn’t go out of their specialty and didn’t reduce their prices, today they are willing to even do wall repair inside your house for a discounted amount. Anything these days to just remain alive!
Houses that used to cost a huge amount of money are now reduced to half their original price. The areas where I deliver, when houses used to cost one million dollar, now are for sale in half a million, even after their owners spent lots of money in many improvements after moving in.
So what would happen to someone who discards the traditional way of employment and get into creating a small business in his/her area of expertise? He/she doesn’t have to make a ton of money, but just a stable, decent income to take on the benefits of the falling economy that is affecting so many business, and with it, have a chance to live better than before with even less money than what was required just a couple of years ago.
I’m not saying it is a good thing what’s happening these days to so many business that are struggling to survive, but under the actual condition, it is possible to those who take the challenge, to reach an even better financial situation and way of life that they could achieve before, when the economy was stable and growing.
Of course, not everyone will succeed in reaching an independent way of generating money, so many more will have to remain in the employment system and adapt to the changing down condition of life that the actual economy is going to.
“The struggle of the majority becomes the advantage of the few who dare to think and act out of the box.”
Raul
Posted by Raul on November 11, 2010
There is such a fuss nowadays about self growth and reaching a perfect state, where we can be at peace and balance with life and nature. The idea seems to be reaching a point where we don’t get affected by the negative situations around us, so we can remain in a state of happiness and inner balance
If we reach a state of never being mad, never being sad, never being scared, how we suppose to call ourselves real human beings? Wouldn’t we become just smiling robots? Courtesy people all around, that flows in a society where a full range of human feelings are an uncivilized custom from the past? Could that be called “Living Life”?
I’m not saying we should let our anger flourish at any time we feel it, so we are being human, but rather accept the experience while we remain polite in the outside to those who have no part in it, and politely argue with those who might be the reason for our anger.
One thing is to have control over our emotions, and another completely different is suppressing them.
So, in my personal opinion, it is not about learning and adapting to always be happy and seeing the good in every situation, but rather learning to control our reactions to our feelings rather than suppressing them.
Reality is harsh and ugly sometimes; there are wars and crime and deceive in society, so closing our eyes to it in order to see just the beauty and good will (which does exist) will only promote selfishness in everyone.
“My personal world of happiness”
Closing our eyes and mind to the bad things of reality in order to see and feel just the good, so we can remain in a happy state permanently it is not just perceiving half of life and thus, living half a life, but with it we are being just half a human being.
So my point is: Is it the right direction to go on and pursue the perfect balance in the way of retreating to an idyllic state, where we can shut off the commonly considered negative feelings by the way of training our perception to filter the given situations, and become capable of only perceiving the happy part of it, discarding the (still real), ugly side of things?
Or should it be a more realistic approach to learn to deal in a more civilized manner with the ugly side of things, in order to retain the full range of feelings a human being is capable of, instead of just creating a shortcut and just eliminate part of ourselves?
Raul
Posted by Raul on September 6, 2010
Some people dream of becoming a balanced human being; some people dream of becoming wealthy and popular, some people dream of becoming powerful and respected; I dream of becoming a concrete wall!
I know…I tend to dream big.
What can I say, in my concepts if we don’t go for the big one then we are just wasting time, so naturally my dreams are for what I consider the best results of a well used life.
So many times I’ve seen people trying and struggling to reach the societal considered “success” of becoming wealthy and living the life of the rich and famous.
So many times I’ve seen people trying and struggling to reach inner peace, balance with nature and positiveness that promote the increasing movement of self growth we can see nowadays.
I just want to be a concrete wall!
I can see your faces of envy because you didn’t see the grandness of this project of mine before I did, so now, in case you decided to change lifetime projects, you will have to settle for becoming just a follower instead of the creator of the movement. Sorry!
And for the few of you who don’t know what I’m talking about, let me explain.
“Reaching a point where I can be a silent, quiet being, standing there living and enjoying my life without hurting anybody with my existence”
“Provide shelter from the sun and wind of life to those in need”
“Becoming a place to rest for those tired and in search of peace and calm”
“Being strong without the need or desire to show it and if someone attacks me, physically, emotionally or intellectually, they will only hurt themselves when clashing with the quiet strength of a concrete wall”
(If you throw a punch or scream to a concrete wall, you only hurt or make a fool of yourself, while the wall stands there quietly, without the need of doing anything)
Figuratively of course!
I know it’ll take time and effort to reach my desired goal, but I’ll keep going until I reach it or die…whichever comes first!
Raul
