What About Your Christmas? Was It Merry And All?

Me, grandma and Hedda, my sister.

Merry Christmas y'all! Joyeux Nöel! Feliz Navidad! God Jul! And such..
There are so many ways to greet Christmas. And there are so many ways to deal with this Christly Holiday.

How we, them Oftedahls, do it is just the same procedure as every year (to frase "Grevinnen og Hovemesteren", which is a famous video clip everyone loves to watch the 23rd..............................). Which I find a bit sad and funny at the same time cause I can't separate not even one Christmas from the other besides the ones when I was younger and we celebrated at a nice winter hotel the whole week with my fathers family. And I also remember the times when we celebrated at grandmas place in Florø but thats like 16 years ago I think.. Anyhow, its a nice way of doing it.. Although I really dislike that all my Christmas memories end up in one small basket of porridge in my mind.
I'm super grateful that I got my whole family in good shape and health and that we all can celebrate together.
(It's also forever gonna be a puzzle to me why we Norwegians still celebrate christian traditions, when none of us Norwegians really are truly religious. Just to add in a random thoughts)
Anyhow, we celebrate being together and eating LOADS of food just like majority of people in Norway. This year we were opening presents for 3 long hours. Which is sad an not ok after my opinion. Frustrating to look at. Instead of long and deep and meaningful conversations I'm left drained with energy only 1 hour in.
Why can't we just celebrate each other, the love we all carry for one another? Instead of wasting time on things that doesn't matter in the moment? We leave the party and still do not know one bit more about the other people than we already knew.

 Well at least, all of the family is together under one roof and we all are perfectly healthy. Really, I've got not reason to complain. I just wish we could be a bit more.. Humble, sustainable and loving towards the whole wide world instead.

My dream Christmas would either be to travel with the whole family, donate all the money usually spent on gifts to research in stead, on longevity research, or to gather at a large venue and invite immigrants and poor people and other people and have this huge celebration of love. Where EVERYONE is welcome. One day. This is something I'd like to start doing. Cause all the gifting and stress and expectations all people have makes me SICK. Its LOVE that we are supposed to celebrate. I cant wait until this is what is the norm in our society. 

One gift each would be more than enough. And what would be better was if that we traded stuff that we already had, stuff that I got tired of might please my sister. 
There are so many ways to celebrate Christmas that would make me way less embarrassed.

I guess its soon time for me to arrange christmas where I set the rules. 
Where the zone is completely stressfree, one gift for all, and deep meaningful conversations will rule the whole evening. Not some random bullshit like we always do, and end up leaving the party and holiday without even know ONE more tiny bit of each other. I've left Stavanger now, and I still have NO clue on how my mother, father, siblings, grandparents and my aunt and her familys year went, what was meaningful to them, what did they enjoy the most, what did they learn, did they regret anything, what was the most wonderful they experienced, and the worst... etc... and I'd lso like to hear what they wish for and plan for in 2018.

What does a merry Christmas mean to you ? Do you have lots of expectations? What is a dream Christmas for you? And does reality ever live up to your expectations?

Merry Merry Merry Christmas. Enjoy spending time with the people you love and try embrace every minute with gratitude. 

The Nightmare Before Christmas

Why why why do I have this photo. This will for ever be engraved in my mind I guess as a flaw I'd rather be without.

This week, on Tuesday to be exact, what appears to be most peoples worst nightmare happened to become real. It became my reality. The most annoying thing is that I didn't even see it coming. Totally unexpected. It didn't cross my mind once as a possibility. Which is why it probably did happen.

Beware; if you're ready to feel embarrassed and anxious on my behalf you can continue reading, if you're not in the mood for those kinds of feelings simply leave my site or scroll further down to the next post.

I really just write this piece because writing it all out works therapeutic to me, and I also belive that some people might find it helpful to know that the worst of the worst can happen to anyone. And knowing that someone that usually is super comfortable around all kinds of people flunked so completely might be relieving to think of when it's your turn on stage. 

Well, let's get into it.

A month ago my boss asked me to perform a two minute pitch at an event where all the co-working spaces in Oslo was supposed to gather to tell each other what we're all doing so that we can get to know one another. It was arranged by Oslo Business Region at Ingensteds. (Btw for the past month I've been working at a super nice co-working space in the midst of Oslo Centrum which recently opened. Its called Spaces and it's a global concept with 60 locations all over the world. I love it. I love the people and I love the place)
Fine I sad, and was thinking that it was a month until that event and that for sure I would manage to toughen up until then (interestingly enough I read at Tim Urbans blog wait but why the number one fear people have is public speaking, and then death comes second. ) What she didn't know was that this would be the first time I would ever be on stage talking in front of 250 people. And I wasn't sure how to deal with it. And most importantly; could I deal with it? I've been speaking for smaller crowds which I kind of enjoy (while speaking about something I am really passionate about) but this was by far my first big experience. And I'd never ever pitched Spaces before. How the fuck could I do this? I put it all away in my head, postponing that this was even going to happen, until a few days before the happening.
Even when I wrote my script I actually didn't feel nervous or anything and was pretty sure I was gonna do all fine. Sadly enough I didn't worry at all.

I love talking in front of people, or rightly put; I've always been dreaming of being a public speaker, because I know that once I break the fear barrier I'm gonna love it. I would even love to sing in front of people, If someone just taught me to sing properly.. of course..

Anyhow...What the fuck was I supposed to say? I've been working at Spaces for 1,5 months and only part time, so in total not even for a month. My boss and one other girl pitches
the space every day with potential new clients.. Now why ME? Of course I was flattered bc of her belief in me and I couldn't be more grateful.. But I really think I should be getting some help here. But sure, I didn't dare asking for that either.. Cause I was sure I was going to nail it anyhow even though being pretty unsure about how to communicate the whole concept from beginning with. It's a huge international company with strict policies on everything, so I did not want to screw it up.. perhaps that also put a real pressure on me...

Well you might already be bored off by reading at this point so maybe I should jump to the 40 minutes before I was about to enter the stage.
Before arriving I felt pretty content. I knew the script by heart. Even though the day before I had to rewrite it all because my boss had lots to say on what to say.. (I for sure wish she had given me these notes earlier, but oh well). And that 6pm the day before I open my email and figured out that I was to do everything in english as well? WHAT THE FUCK? And indeed the whole script didn't feel natural to me to say.. That might be one of the reason it all got messed up as well...
So when I entered venue I realised it was a large room filled with loads of people I saw this enormous stage. With huge lights pointed on it.. WTF? Oh man.. not prepared for this.. Not mentally prepared for this environment at all.

When the whole pitching process began and one by one entered the stage I slightly started trembling and it escalated.. Quickly.. I felt my palms getting all sweaty... Damn it.. They were all such great speakers all the people talking before me. Their english were excellent and they looked so calm and happy... What the heck is wrong with me?

The audience was mainly filled with people I know from the startup community, people whom I have a well known reputation with and am very well liked and respected. So why so anxious? This should be an easy crowd? Or was it because this was my friends and potential colleagues that I became this tense? Perhaps it would have been easier if there were really nothing to lose. And.. Why should I lose something anyways?

So... 

"Next up... Yrja from SPACES!"
Shoot... Me... I managed to climb on stage and started opening my mouth, a few words came out.. But then. I realised that the lights were far to bright and I couldn't see anyone in the crowd.. and... In an instant.. My head turned black. I blanked out. I. Blanked. Out. On. Stage. Wtf? All out of nowhere my body didn't respond and my mental wellbeing got completely out of place. Seriously, I couldn't get a word out. And then I realised fuck I only have like 1 minute left on this stage, there is not even a spare second to be used to calm myself down.

Feverishly I scouted for familiar faces in the crowd, anyone there to calm me down??? No one. Not one single person could I see. It was way too dark.  And I had no notes and no slides. Nothing that could pull me back to the present moment and make me deliver. I was doomed.
All I wanted was to pass out... But that I couldn't do either. That would just look way too weird and even below my comfort zone.. I'd rather run of as quickly as possible after saying at least something.

Then, desperately I managed to find some words to squeeze out "I'm a bit nervous..." And then.. I stood there for a bit longer before someone said "wooohooo" And then everyone started clapping. And I mean, I REAL roundup applause. The audience couldn't scream and clap enough. They all wished me well and I guess they were all filled with the same anxiousness as me... Poor people :P
Well, all PR is good PR? Isn't it so? At least I made an impression I guess as humans remember better when feelings are attached, and especially negative ones :P

Literally this was the most awkward moment in a long time.  So, so annoying... Blanking out was far out of my imagination so I was not prepared. Shame on me. It was basically my fault. If I had just not pre-visualised all possible outcomes in such a situation I would be at least as cleaver as to bring a few notes to get me back on track. Too foolish really.

«When you said you were nervous it didn't make sense to me cause you seemed like you had full control up there and enjoyed it» people said to me afterwords... what went wrong? Oh well, lets not dwell with it no more but I'm pretty sure this happened to me because of the teachings coming with it and because of my ignorance and dumbness of not being focused enough and taking the task seriously.

You know what, the weirdest thing of it all was that I actually saw a movie the night before where someone ended up blanking out on stage but luckily the main person in the movie was a time traveler so he could go back in time and fix it.. It might have affected my sub consciousness. Then again, I think it was a good thing it happened to me and not another person. I'm not dealing with things so seriously and my feelings related to it will disappear in not to long. 

But if I could stimulate my neurones to a point where I could erase this memory from my head and everyone elses head I would do It right away. Wouldn't I? The best would be if I could simply just erase it from all the people watching's head. Or go back in time and do it all over again. Because than I could get the teachings that came out of it even though living with the flashes of visuals and feelings from the accidents will continue to run into me pretty strongly and often for the next weeks and months perhaps and even for years it will stay there. Yikes, I messed up my inner life. Well, I think I can deal with it. I'll just pretend no one were actually watching me fail.
And after all, I'd rather see this happening than having anyone in my family or close friends get ill.

So, whats the whole gift about this event? As usual when weird things happen, the instruction that comes out of it. So what are they?

• Always bring slides, OR notes, especially always notes in your hand if you've got nothing else.
• You rock no matter what
• If you loose, it breath and take your time and just say SOMETHING.

I'm glad it happened to me as Im not a person who seldom get bothered by things happening, what people think of me etc... Even though some random visuals flash through my head every now and then I'm sure that if I was an insecure person it would be soooo much worse. So I spared y'all out there. Took one for the team...........

And damn what a story! Finally I have a relatable funny story to tell in company with others. Can't wait to shout it out on me and a friends new podcast that will be launching in January. #excited

All though I kinda lost the public speaking game this time. To me, it might have (just to pacify myself to the fullest) A win the hard difficult way?

What a way to put an ending to 2017!?

Cheers to fresh beginnings in 2018.

And good luck to you next time you will be speaking!

Lets to this! 2018, bring me more of public speaking gigs, please!

Anything Is Better Than Never

Be Fluid

"If you do not change direction you might end up where you are heading " – Lao Tzu

STEEMINGIT!

So happy that I got introduced to the platform... Ohlala. Loooove connecting with people sooo much!

Yes, I'm STEEMINGIT up! This is almost embarrassing but it took me until yesterday to discover this blockchain based content platform where all content creators get rewarded in STEEM coins. This is SO freakin excitiiiing. You guys know how eager I am for this technology, or perhaps I didn't express that too much already. What really gives me joy about the platform is that lots of people actually started reading my posts. Not too many but my first one 135 people have seen and already and I've gotten almost 40 followers... I'm so touched. The community seems so warm, welcoming and loving. Not only that but it gives me a feeling that many of the people present there are intelligent. Nothing pleases me more than meeting likeminded people from all over the world which I can learn from and connect with. If you, like me haven't heard of it, it's worth checking out! At least if you enjoy follow me thats a platform where I'll be dedicating lots of my time . It's in BETA, meaning I'm on as one of the early adopters woho, perhaps thats also why the community seems so connected and genuine..
I'll upload posts I've posted here but some new content/versions will follow and of course I'll continue to post on my beloved website :D
You can read my introduction on the website here 

What do you think of this platform?
Where do you think the journey of blockchain will take us?
What do you think we'll be using it for? 
What kind of cryptocurrencies do you believe will take off? (I've invested in etherum and already my investment has increased several times :) Apparently Bitcoin is called the gold of internet and etherum silver.. :)...)

Find me here @yrja

Wanna Laugh & Get Some Smart Imputs? Rick & Morty Put Some Real Outbursts on The Menu.

Mirror mirror on the wall, will you ever show us any meaning at all?
Perhaps this is a frase which you've stumbled upon every now and then or maybe you ponder about it pretty often? I guess it has touched most of our brains at some point. Hasn't it?

Anyhow, we should all know by now that the meaning of our own life we have to create ourselves. There is no special purpose (that we know of this far) or sense of meaning unless we wire our brains to invent it. And to do that you got to accept the meaninglessness there is to it all.

You need to sculpt and cultivate the why of you. I'm sorry to say there is no one that will serve this to you on a silver spoon. So either you'll find it or you'll not. It all depends on your perspective on the world and on your own thoughts. 

Anyways.. Why indulge in depressing existential thoughts which brings you nothing but misery when life is full of stuff to enjoy? Redirecting our minds and start leaving the struggle of looking for a bigger picture behind. Instead, go explore and find important stuff in the things around you.

The underline of the awesome TV series Rick and Morty, which goes far into the portal of philosophy, is all about this. Almost every episode questions existence.
And apparently the message that gets through is that the only meaning there is is the one you'll have to make up yourself together with the people you love. There is no other secret than that.

Rick is the most genius scientist of the whole universe and even he struggles to figure out a reason to stay alive at times which is why he find himself burping alcohol at any time of the day. , But the TV series shows us pretty clear that Rick actually finds meaning in loving, being of service and caring for his family.
This shines through in one touching episodes where he has to risk his life to save Rick. 
That's what I enjoy the most with this show, it spreads awareness of life and deliver meaningful , valuable content which creates thoughts and activate the viewers brain in a subtle, entertaining and funny way.
Definitely worth some of your precious time. Perhaps it'll even teach you something or spark som enlightenment neurons in your mind!

My why I know, cause after observance of my own wellbeing and way of life this make the most sense (of course sometimes I have to pretend that I know it to trick my conscious self to be convinced of that's a fact. Yes indeed life can, or our head can deliver some real shit storms at times but as long as one do not pay too much attention to it, it's fine) it's loving, being of service and caring for others. Deep within I have a wish and I'm on a mission to make the world a better place, even though it's just on a tiny tony scale if that is all I can manage.


Quote from the video (weeell said)

"The only thing more terrifying than not existing or not knowing why you exist is existing and having no one to share it with."

What is your why?
Why do you wake up in the morning?
Where do you find meaning?
What really makes you smile and get a warm sensation?

Well, perhaps not think about it too much either, embrace life and enjoy it.
And really, do NOT take life too seriously. That's my one and only advice.
Really, don't.

And oh, while you're here you really need to check out this mind blowing peace of art, the trailer for Rick & Morty season 3. No words. Or one word actually: TRIPPY.COM

Ok one more video if you're super into it like I am at the moment you probably wanna watch this one as well:
 

If you are new to the show, you'll find it on Netflix! 
Enjoy!

Are We Attracted To People That Look Like Us?

"According to research reported in the July 2010 issue of Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, we are attracted to people who resemble our parents or ourselves."

Makes sense though? Right? 
Weirdly enough all of my friends, family and previous boyfriends have either my or my parent's characteristics. Perhaps it isn't that strange after all? We are used to look at ourselves in the mirror and in my case almost three decades of looking at my own and my parents faces it kinda turned out as a recognition of safety. These familiar character traits has become an easy unconscious choice to stay comfortable, as we all know, we all strive to stay secure, economically, friends wise, family wise, housing wise an so on. All of us wants a place where we can relax and let our guards down. And all our life we've learned which kind of people to "trust" more than others.
The reason why I started once more pondering about this fairly interesting concept more deeply is because suddenly I found myself in a situation where it's basically literally in my face and it creeps me out.

My previous boyfriend turned out to be an almost exact look alike, we heard several times that we could be twins or even was asked if we were brother and sister. Lol funny but we were madly in love with each other. Were we really just in love with ourselves? 

I totally get the concept and of course I'd (or my unconscious mental state) prefer to happily remain in the circle of resemblance but a challenge has shown up in which I need to break this pattern of mine if it is to be continued. Challenge accepted? Hmm it actually freaks me out which is also way too hilarious that it does, almost weird that it frightens me, that I, with such insights to psychology has a resistance towards embracing new character traits amongst my closest people. But I totally get why, which is of course is the only way to change this whole situation and turn it in to a positive exciting adventure of opening my arms to and embrace new kinds of (character traits) people entering my life in the future. Haha it's all to witty that I even write this, feeling like such a discriminator? I find it immensely embarrassing actually. But well, research shows (making me more relieved) that it's usual feeling and thinking like this either unconsciously or consciously. Have you ever been thinking about it before? Try to think, how do your friends look? What does your family look like? What's your own character traits? Who do you normally tend to find attractive? What about instant attraction looking at photos, people walking by you on the street, subway etc..? Try noticing it. It might show up as an unconscious crazy factor of your choices of people.. Some people have never ever though about this at all earlier, and some people don't even follow this ancient instinct at all, but most of us are according to scientific studies. 

What's your thoughts on this?
Safety first? Or "risk"? What do you prefer?

Adding on some reflections:
Often love is based on fear. We are haunted by the fear of not being loved, then taking a risk adding a second fear(trying to be loved by someone with and unfamiliar face and body) is difficult for our unconscious self? Don't you think? Just throwing some thoughts out here.

Curious to dig into this? Read some more about it here:

There is something disturbing about the people we end up with
The scientific reason why you're attracted to people who look like you
Dating narcissism
Why we are attracted to people just like us
Are we attracted to people looking like us?

Stargate Media - My New Colleagues

Alright, it's official. I've started doing some freelance work for Stargate Media. A super cool VR production company which also has an awesome AI 360 cam coming up which they are making all by themselves (even though they're betting on their hardware product their software will become pretty valuable if you ask me. Well, actually certain of that). With a team of just three (plus a few freelancers) they surprise me every time I talk to them with all those impressive clients they've been doing work for. Seriously, Rihanna?! Jay-z? It's too wild to even wrap my head around. They've even done a production in Frank Sinatras previous home. And Stargate, the music duo from Norway are also in the owner side of. Say no more.
Renate Fossum and Bjørn Morten Nerland have been in the 360/VR game for more than 7 years making them super competent. Innovative and daring for sure but they did it! They still exist, even though scaling their business has been a problem. I've realised that the marketing part they're not really good at, they'd like to hide, typical artist. Don't want to brand themselves too much. But hey there.. Lets start doing that! They do way too many great things to not be out there showing their awesome stuff. I'm excited to dig into this company learning more about this kind of production and the Virtual Reality world. The future is heading into Mixed Reality, pretty innovative daring people those peeps. Going for this as early as 2010.
Some companies and some people are not onto this SoMe game yet. But its very important to step this us. I'm so proud to be by their side!

And yes, I know that VR is fairly a new concept for loads of people, most has heard the term but do not really know what its all about or how it works. If you are one of those starting to look at it right now, have a look at these sites to learn more:

VRscout
VRROOM
UploadVR
Reddit Vive
Reddit Oculus

You can check out Stargate Media's Youtube channel here.
 

Time To Follow The New Norms

Week In Review - Sunday 3rd of September

I'll serve you the weekly recap by Singularity Hub today :)

For All You Out There Feeling Stuck

Book of the Month: Essentialism

If you haven't yet heard of the book Essentialism it certainly was about time you did.
I downloaded it yesterday all though one of my very best friends has been throwing it after me for months. I finally picked it up and I now understand why.

Taking a left turn for a few sentences: I believe she has the most helpful library in her home ever existing. She reads all the best books on how to have a life in fulfilment and peace, and how to get on track towards your vision and mission. So I value her recommendations highly. A bit more background info on her: she is one of the best time managers I've ever met in person. She also has three kids and a house, in Stavanger, addition to that she is divorced and have found a new boyfriend in Oslo and on top of that she is an entrepreneur. Her life if all about responsibility. She HAS to be a total pro in this field, like many others also need to, but the only difference, she manages to do it, on point. I respect her profoundly and she is one of my go to friends for advice and support. She is a huge inspiration source and the mist kind and joyful woman I know. How does she do it? Well, practice and reading a lot, and of course worshiping the book Essentialism, and now I totally understand why. If you'd like to learn more about how she does it and what she do You need to check her out actually, Siri Abrahamsen. Oh well this suddenly became a blogpost where I honor my dear friend but so be it and so while I'm at it you could also check out the Ingefær podcast where she guested some months a go. She is on a mission to spread the awareness of and build emotional intelligence amongst us. Which is highly needed in our time being. She mainly focus on kids and their parents but also work B2B and has written 3 books with the 4th and 5th on the way. Her main focus is how to create great relationships, with yourself, partner, family, kids, colleagues, friends. If you start follow her, you'll learn a lot on how to live a happier and more peaceful life. She is one of the most mentally wise people I know. And I'm lucky to have her as a friend and guide! In a way she is this book that I am talking about. It has become the core of all her choices and actions in life. She is super conscious about her time and what she use it for. And I believe this is the way we all should live to lead a life full of content and no stress.

Ok, so back to the book. Essentialism. What this book is all about is how to do this. How to actually adopt Siris mentality and how to implement it into actions in your daily life. It's all about asking yourself the right questions. The book starts with the author telling his story and what catalysed it. He hit the tipping point when he, as embarrassingly it was, rushed from the hospital where his wife just gave birth to their child simply to go to a meeting which nothing came out of but negativity. He lost his integrity and respect at work and at home that day.  From that point he understood he had reached rock bottom. I believe this might be the case for many people these days. Saying yes to everything with the feeling of not really be able to manage anything at all and the feeling of that hanging over them constantly. Always disappointing oneself and mirroring this feeling in managers, co-workers and family members. Divorces even happen because of unavailability to manage their time correctly. If you feel like one of these people you need to start reading this book asap, and if you are like me that just want to be more aware of how putting the tools into words so to being able to guide others properly this is also a book for you, and if you are simply curious on this way of thinking, read it!!! Let me know what you think. I guess that when I finished the book I'll add some more content to this post.

Stop stressing and start living. There is nothing more important than living with content and calmness in the now. There is nothing more important than being happy with your life right here right now. As long as you're moving forward, no matter how fast or slow, it's a success. Health and wellbeing in this very moment is what to cherish. Base all your actions and thoughts on this. 
And ask yourself what truly matters.

What are the trade-offs by me doing this?
How many people do I help by using my time on this?
What really matters? 
What really makes me happy?
What makes me smile?
What give me the sense of wellbeing, in which mindset and situation is this?
What would happen if I could figure out the one thing I could do at work that would make the highest contribution?
All these questions and more are SO important to ask yourself to map out your road to a better and healthy life for yourself and those around you. All your relationships will get better when this is on the right track.

This is also the core of my life. This is what makes me do whatever I do in life. Sometimes I of course wish I could accomplish and move in a faster pace more but when I think about how I'd feel if I felt constantly in a rush it's not a positive answer. So.. I'm rather happy with moving in my own pace and not comparing myself to everyone else. I need to be calm and stay happy, smile and laugh a lot. And I only do that when I follow my core belief. So.. Lots of things need to be sacrificed but the most important things are worshiped and cultivated by living this way. So mission accomplished. I think so.

"If you don't prioritise your life, someone else will."

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NO THANKS.

Foods That Resemble The Body Parts They're Good For

Wait, what?

Perhaps you've never thought or never even heard about this before, that there exists foods in nature that mirror the body parts they provide nutrients for? Or perhaps you've heard some mentions here and there about walnuts being good for the brain but never really had your curiosity triggered into indulging in the wisdom of earths magic?
There is all this forgotten/hidden yet essential information about our existence and mother nature that we never learn anything about while growing up... Such wisdom, such knowledge, all lost. Gone.

Anyhow, I find it extremely fascinating that some of the food growing right next to us actually look like our organs and not only that, the organ that the food resemble happens to be beneficial to this exact organ. Wait what? 
I must say, after my opinion, nature is simply way too perfect to be random. Don't you think? Seems like someone is trying to give us a message. No?
Is it really such a simple message that we're apparently too ignorant to receive it?

Well, I thought I'd write about this topic cause I'd like to put everything I've ever learned about that topic in one place and memorise it. It's handy to know, then you get a sense of what to eat to strengthen the different body parts, and perhaps this time I will actually remember to eat accordingly? 
I also find it in my duty to spread this knowledge as it seems not too many people out there are aware of this. Neither Youtube nor the web is flowing with videos or articles on knowledge. No words. Oh wait? Is it because of the food industry? Or the pharmaceutical industry? We won't know for sure but something is quite odd about this.

Though these healthy foods are beneficial to the whole body, the list below is a fun reminder of what to eat to target specific areas

Carrots. If you examine a slice a carrot you can avoid seeing that it looks quite like a human eye.
And, according to science, eating carrots greatly enhances blood flow to the eyes. Carrot gets their orange color from a plant chemical called beta-carotene, which reduces the risk of developing cataracts. The chemical also protects against macular degeneration an age-related sight problem that affects one in four individuals over the age of 65.

A Tomato has four chambers and is red in color. Our heart can be described the same. It's red and has four chambers. Research has confirmed that tomatoes are loaded with lycopine and it is indeed pure heart and blood food.

Grapes resembles our lungs. The lungs are made of branches of ever-smaller airways that finish up with tiny branches of tissue called alveoli. These structures allow oxygen to pass from the lungs to the blood stream. A diet high in fresh grapes has shown to reduce the risk of lung cancer and emphysema. Grape seeds also contain a chemical called proanthocyanidin, which is thought to reduce the severity of asthma triggered by allergy.

Grapefruits, Oranges, and other citrus fruits look just like the mammary glands of the female and actually assist the health of the breasts and the movement of lymph in and out of the breasts. The similarity between round citrus fruits––like lemons and grapefruit––and breasts may be more than coincidental. "Grapefruit contains substances called limonoids, which have been shown to inhibit the development of cancer in lab animals and in human breast cells," says Dr. Moulavi.

Olives assist the health and function of the ovaries. An Italian study found that women whose diets included a lot of olive oil had a 30% lower risk of ovarian cancer. The reasons are unclear, but the healthy fats in the oil may help suppress genes predisposed to causing cancer.

Figs are full of seeds and hang in twos when they grow. Studies have shown that Figs increase the mobility of male sperm and increase the sperm count as well as overcoming male sterility.

Avocados and Pears are good for the health and functioning of the womb and cervix of the female and look just like these organs. Modern research shows that when a woman eats one avocado a week, it balances the birth hormones, sheds unwanted birth weight and can even prevent cervical cancer. It even takes exactly nine months to grow an avocado from blossom to ripened fruit, just like a human baby! There are said to be over 14,000 photolytic chemical constituents of nutrition in each one of these foods.

Celery, Rhubarb, Bok-choy and more look just like bones structure. These foods specifically target bone strength. Bones are made up of 23% sodium and these foods have sodium in them. If you don’t have enough sodium in your diet the body pulls it from the bones, making them weak. These foods replenish the skeletal needs of the body.

A Walnut certainly looks like a little brain with a left and right hemisphere, upper cerebrums and lower cerebellums. Even the wrinkles or folds on the nut are similar to those of the neo-cortex. Scientists claim that walnuts help in developing over three dozen neuron-transmitters within the brain enhancing the signaling and encouraging new messaging link between the brain cells. Walnuts help warding off dementia. They also extract and break down the protein based plaques associated with Alzheimer’s diseases, according to a study by Dr. James Joseph of Tuft University in Boston.

Kidney Beans actually heal and help maintain kidney function by providing a variety of minerals and vitamins. All though, a catch I find odd is that if your kidneys are diseased, you actually might need to moderate your intake of kidney beans.

Sweet Potatoes resemble the pancreas and can actually balance the glycemic index of diabetics. The oblong sweet potato bears a strong resemblance to the pancreas, and also promotes healthy function in the organ. Sweet potatoes are high in beta-carotene, which is a potent antioxidant that protects all tissues of the body, including the pancreas, from damage associated with cancer or aging.

Onions look like our body's cells. Research shows onions clear waste materials from all of the body cells. They even produce tears which wash the epithelial layers of the eyes. 

Ginger looks like the stomach and it also aids in digestion. Indians and Chinese have been using it for over 5000 years to calm stomach and cure nausea, and motion sickness. It also slows down the growth rate of bowel tumors

A Mushrooms when sliced in half resembles the shape of the human ear. Mushrooms improve hearing abilities, since they contain Vitamin D, which is healthy for bones, especially the 3 tiny bones in the ear that transmit sound to the brain.

Broccoli believe it or not but it actually looks like cancer cells. A team of researchers at US National Cancer Institute found if a weekly serving of broccoli was enough to reduce the risk of prostate cancer by 45%..

Ginseng root looks like a human body, and it is a holistic cure for almost everything.

Red wine, what does it look like? Blood. Wine is rich in antioxidants and polyphenols, including powerful resveratrol. And this apparently loads up on the healthy stuff that protects against destructive things in the blood, like LDL cholesterol. There's also a blood-thinning compound in red wine, so it reduces blood clots, which are associated with stroke and heart disease. 

FASCINATING!

Here You Are

How To Beat Your Repetitive Negative Mind? Part I

Did You Know That 95 % Of Your Thoughts Each Day Are Repetitive?

Usual Thoughts

Terrible. Right? 60.000 is the amount of thoughts your brain holds each day. And guess what 95 % are the same everyday. Yes, 95% of your mind is repetitive. Depressing? Right? But whats even worse is that 80% of these thoughts are negative. Nahh you say, that can't be? Well, a study in 2005 by the National Science Foundation says so. 
And if you start paying attention to your thoughts and feelings, let me know if they aren't. We humans get annoyed, worried, become in doubt, in despair, shameful, irritated, guilt, insecure, sad, envious, jealous, angry, stressed all the time, yes everyday apparently we hold thoughts having us feel like this. We often dwell in the past or the future, obsessing about mistakes we might have made, battling guilt or planning ahead. We are constantly drifting into fantasy, fiction and negativity. Consequently, an absolute minuscule number of our thoughts are actually focused on what is truly important and real: the present moment. The moment is all that is, every was and will be. Everything else is elusive and illusory, particularly as our subjective awareness and feelings are concerned.
You recognise those feelings and thoughts, don't you? Some people just fires up if the person in front of them drives too slow when they have to catch a meeting starting in not too long and some people gets annoyed when their partner didn't clean up when he came home earlier than you. Etc.. Apparently there are sooooo much things to get frustrated about. It basically seems like the human mind is wired for neuroticism. 
But, you might also be one of the persons that are really aware of your consciousness and also knows how your subconsciousness works and know how to manipulate and alter your state of mind to take control and be in charge and quit having these feelings and thoughts. But if you really do not work on yourself to discover your brain, you might be one of those people who copes with negative thoughts and feelings 80 % of the day. You really have to go through lots of self observance and hard work to get rid of them and live with happy and content thoughts and feelings. You might also be one of the lucky people who have no feelings at all only good ones and a quiet and peaceful mind, but believe me, there are not too many of you guys out there.

So seriously, whats wrong with us? And how can we really alter our minds? Is it even possible?
Yes as I mention above there is a way. It might have seemed a bit understandable when you read it if you have never been thinking about these things before... But let me break this down for you.
And to mention first, I find it really annoying that emotional intelligence is nothing that we learn in school or in our community or really not from our parents either, cause they haven't learned this themselves.. Sadly, it fucks us up. Depression is increasing, suicide is increasing, mental illnesses is increasing in general. Clearly we live in a society in which we weren't mentally prepared for after centuries of just living from day to day feeding ourselves, hunting for food and water and making clothes all day. And now things are moving to fast for us to even keep up. We haven't learned any tools to cope with our minds, to understand others and to truly be happy, peaceful and content within ourselves and in relations with others. This society have made us more isolated even though we are surrounded by more and more people everyday. And as we are people persons this is not good for our mentality but again, we really don't learn this in school and we don't learn how to do anything about it. How to get a stable mind and life. So, I'll do my best to give you some tips.
Being aware of this is what is called mindfulness. 

1. Do Not Believe Everything You Think
Basically 80 % is just pure nonsense. Never ever consider everything you think as real. Most of it might be shaped by society or your own insecurities or your egocentric and ignorant perspective on the world. Which might be complete bullshit. So..

2. Do Not Dwell in The Past
You can't do anything about it anyways. Up until now, there is no way we have a chance to go back and rewrite our past. It's possible in quantum physics but not the physics or which we are currently in. Dwelling of the past, is what makes you feel guilt, sorrow, 

3.  Neither think about the Future
The future is, believe me or not, actually completely unpredictable. Even though most likely a scenario where you while tomorrow walking down the streets get a brick in your head, you never know what tomorrow holds. You don't even know what surprises the next hour might bring you. So why worry or plan to much a head. Of by course covering your basic need you need to plan a bit ahead, like housing, money, clothing, educating, nurturing the relationships with the people you care the most about to keep the relationship healthy, educating you kid etc is a necessity. But besides this, there really ain't nothing else to think about, so why do it? You can not predict it anyways. Of course its nice to plan things to look forward to but don't do to much of it, cause as I said.. You dont know..

An important note is that: Anxiety and stress is future related, depression is past. If you live in the present, these negative thoughts will swiftly go away and content will enter you body and mind.

4. Get Your Sleep
A study tracking peoples sleep showed that after even just one night with no sleep made some of the test people psychotic. Say what? Thats insane. It's super important, it disturb your mental state so much, making it run faster and even more difficult to control. It also fires up your amygdala, which is the fear center of the brain.

5. Eat Healthy
What is healthy these days? There are all these different diets out there online each one of them claiming they are the best. Well, I will argue that you do it as simple as simply eat plant based, and keep the meat, fish and animal products on a moderat level. Why?
It doesn't just reduce your waste line or make you body healthy, but.. your brain aswelll!! A healthy lifestyle help build a healthy mind. Again its the same as with sleep. Give your brain healthy fuel and it will work with you, easier to get mindful and stress will lowers it gears.

7. Studies have proven that months of exposure to stress can destroy neurons in the brain permanently, which affects learning, memory, reasoning and impulse control.

Stress literally kills your brain, in addition to having severely negative effects on the rest of your body. When you’re stressed, your body produces more of the stress hormone cortisol which can kill, shrink and stop the generation of new neurons in the part of the brain called the hippocampus. Next time you feel stressed out, reading can reduce stress by 68% – more than listening to music or taking a walk.(source)

More to come later.

Will Future Technology Help Us Become More Present?

The internet is flooding of articles on how to be present. All over you can find books telling us how to live in the "now" and lots of public speakers and workshop holders will try to teach you how to live mindfully but when you think about it, really.. Does it even work? The way we interact with technology today and how we communicate with each other through it is very isolating, isn't it? Looking at one single device all day not in each others eyes, not speaking verbally. Just glancing at one spot all day bending our necks and cramping our body in such unhealthy ways humans never have done before, all day. yikes. 
I read a really good article on how this has affected the youths of today a few days ago. With the title "Have our smartphones destroyed a generation?" Here is a little extract from it.
“I’ve seen my friends with their families—they don’t talk to them,” Athena told me. “They just say ‘Okay, okay, whatever’ while they’re on their phones. They don’t pay attention to their family.” Like her peers, Athena is an expert at tuning out her parents so she can focus on her phone. She spent much of her summer keeping up with friends, but nearly all of it was over text or Snapchat. “I’ve been on my phone more than I’ve been with actual people,” she said. “My bed has, like, an imprint of my body.”*
Well, what I wanted to pinpoint in this post is that I have a few thoughts of that there might be a possibility for it to help us turn this the other way around and that we will within a decade see a huge difference in how we communicate and how we interact with technology. I can't help but wonder, could this turn into a power tool for us to use when we want to be more present and mindful? Could entering an immersive reality for an hour besides our own function as a therapy? Not only do I believe so but I'm almost 99,9 % certain of (it might seem a bit crazy) that this will also make us happier and more social with our peers which also might help on living mindfully. After all, we are social beings made to explore our surroundings. Right now we just sit still all day almost, exploring only blue light and letters but that's a side track.

So here is what I think could happen; if we use VR & AR in a way which we will feel immersed with all our senses, it will be an easy gateway to get in touch with our inner child, by that I mean that children are always in an extreme state of presence which is where all the yogis, articles and public speakers want us to go. Actually kids are always present, right here in the now playing around laughing and inventing their own realities within this one. If you let yourself play and being entertained in a way were you can interact being in a surroundings you feel really captivating in Don't you think that you will become amazed and filled with awe and excitement, just like a child? To add an example to the table; imagine entering a reality where you dream scenario is coming through, for instance if your dream always has been to go to New York, you just put on your Mixed Reality lenses and equipment and boom you're walking straight into the city, without the hassel of going to the airport and flying for hours. And you experience everything as its completely real, the smells, the though, feelings, sounds, visuals everything. It feels completely real. Don't you think that you would become completely excited and paying attention to everything around you, at least for an hour? Just like a kid suddenly entering the playground? You get my point? This might actually help us get grounded and forget everything outside our own little reality bubble we've already built up, our normal life for an hour or so, or at least I think it's easier than sitting on a pillow saying ooooohm to reach a place close to living in "the now". Or what do you think? So perhaps we can use mixed reality as therapy? To get a break from our noisy minds? A reality in which we become fully present with our whole body? Imagine for those who can not reach a state of presence cause they are so captivated by their chaotic inner thoughts, always living in the future and the past simultaneously filled with feelings impossible to cope with. And then if you enter another world where you know you can just let go of it all, and you let go of it all cause it's so captivating and magic that there is no way you actually won't be able to not be present. Perhaps some people will call it an escape, explaining that you're basically escaping from yourself. But isn't it better to have an hour with a silent, mindful mind each day than not, have a place you can go to for inner peace? If you ask me, I believe it's gonna be a great tool.

I'm not sure if I explained this in a graspable way for you guys.. But in someway perhaps you understood? To add another example; imagine playing a game where you really have to focus and be present in able to win or to actually play it, or imagine running from a lion. In order to succeed in that very moment you have to be fully in the now to be able to cope with the situation. And if one create such an exciting an non stressful reality you will enter that state of mind? Don't you think? It is interesting how we will be able to use virtual worlds to actually be able to cope with the other reality we live in, cause we have messed our lives up soooo much that we need to enter different realities to be able to not struggle. Crazy how this all have turned out like this but it's amazing the how our new way of living will become. At least we will have options for everyone, and not only those people who actually manage to calm down and relax by saying ohm sitting in a lotus flower. The things is, I don't think that is too many.
Excited? Yes I am.

Week in Review - 13th of August

News and content I've come across for the past week that I find sharable  :))

Climate change and airflights 

This week I did something that felt really meaningful, I helped create a successful technology summer camp for 13-16 girls. There were more than 100 of them and I helped on a workshop on how to create a facebook bot. They were really excited all of them and had a great day empowering feelings of mastery. This might help create a movement. TENK is the organisation behind the initiative and I really hope it will just continue to grow. More females with tech & science knowledge is just what the worlds need. It's time to change the status quo.
 
This week I read somewhere this week that Norway has gotten 20 % more rainy. Wtf? Well, so people that doesn't believe in global warming could go kiss someone's ..... he he. Norway is going to continue getting more and more wet and even colder.. Believe it or not.
Click here if you'd like to read some more about possible outcomes..
Also interesting; hot weather and climate change affects airline flights more than you think.

Anyways, whats up this week?

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Elon Musk's nonprofit AI company, OpenAI,  has successfully created a Bot that has beaten some of the world's greatest esport, Dota 2 players. The game is much more complex than chess or Go, and the bot's ability to win is indicative of the increasing power of AI systems. READ MORE


ENHANCED HUMANS

Exosceletons

Amazon Alexa can now communicate with an exosceleton.

Bionik Laboratories has demonstrated a prototype of its Arke lower-body exoskeleton that can be controlled via Amazon’s voice assistant, Alexa.
Its in prototype at the moment but it already has a huge potential, from assisting the elderly and disabled +++.

VIRTUALITY

Mind-controlled VR game finally a thing! All though it may be a while yet before we can harness telekinetic powers in real life, but now a brain-controlled virtual-reality game is aiming to let us use our mind to pick up and throw items with ease. Read more about the invention by the startup Neurable here

ROBOTICS & MACHINES

Robots can take all forms and shapes. I love these animal like creatures.

MEDICINE & HEALTH

#BIOTECH

A biotech company genetically is engineering pigs so that their organs might work in people.
There is a huge lack in organs and loads of people die every day while on the waiting list to get one.. Until we can 3D print our own tailor made organs getting organs from the pigs might be a good in between solution, all though I'm not pro using animals for any humanish things. 

CRISPR, I LOVE IT. We are on our way to a periode of wellness, where illness certainly do not exists. CRISPR technology is a simple yet powerful tool for editing genomes. It allows researchers to easily alter DNA sequences and modify gene function. In the future you will basically be able to use it to tweak everything in your body. Watch the video below on super bakteria. Here you can also check out 11 things CRISPR has helped us do in 2017.

EARTH & ENERGY

The worlds largest floating solar power station is made in Japan. It was actually fully up and running in 2015.

Stretchable electronics.
As I always say the future is mind bending and also material bending (!) apparently.

Transparent Solar Panels
These solar panels are game changing. Please make no new windows without them!!!! That should soon become a rule.

FUTURE SOCIETY

China just used a quantum satellite to send data from space to earth.
"China just sent data to Earth from space using a quantum satellite. This successful use of quantum cryptography could make data unhackable, in a huge world first for cybersecurity and a major step toward realizing their global quantum network plans.
This technology could have huge implications in cybersecurity. Businesses would be safer online, and e-commerce would be free of problems caused by hacking and identity theft. The tech would also make it far more difficult for governments to spy on private communications — something that global leaders and agencies around the world have a vested interest in." Futurism
Quantum computing. Damn it, so beautifully amazing!

Scientists just hacked a computer using DNA. Wtf!?
"In what appears to be the first successful hack of a software program using DNA, researchers say malware they incorporated into a genetic molecule allowed them to take control of a computer used to analyze it... .. The researchers warn that hackers could one day use faked blood or spit samples to gain access to university computers, steal information from police forensics labs, or infect genome files shared by scientists.  " - MIT

#cryptocurrencies
Bitcoin has surpassed another milestone by reaching worth of more than $4,000. Many are still optimistic about the currency's future. I've invested in Etherum and I feel pretty good about it. The ROI has raised from 1500 to 9200. The highest amount it has reached so far was almost 12k. Not to bad right? :D

SINGULARITY HUBS PICK OF THE WEEK

Change Yourself

When we can't change the situation, we must change ourselves. 

Why Musk Says We're Living In A Simulation

My point exactly.

What The World Will Look Like in 2030 & 2040