tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-903878474202023135Tue, 20 Oct 2009 14:52:31 +0000My observations on meaning, creativity, relationships, how self improvement happens, my own stories and artwork.http://myhalfof.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (- Franis)Blogger178125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-903878474202023135.post-2836245691456805374Tue, 29 Sep 2009 22:36:00 +00002009-09-29T12:36:00.217-10:00toolspsychologyideasthinkingteachinglisteningpredictionA characteristic is of genius is fascination. Investigating different psychological systems that attempt to explain and group human nature has been fascinating for me. What gets grouped and what characteristics are considered mutually exclusive is curious. IMHO, there is always an exception where the person who does not fit the categorization marries the opposition that has been defined as http://myhalfof.blogspot.com/2009/09/learning-genius.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (- Franis)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-903878474202023135.post-4577404526515427002Sun, 13 Sep 2009 10:42:00 +00002009-09-13T00:42:18.727-10:00Core experiencesassumptionsAlexander Techniqueteachingvirtual questionsobservationstime perceptionexperimentHow do you perceive? Well, you just do it. That's an inadequate answer, so I decided to do some thinking about this. Perhaps the way I teach people to observe themselves would be relevant to making up a language for perception. It's my business to be teaching people to perceive what they take for granted by teaching Alexander Technique. I use the often ignored kinesthetic sense as a medium, http://myhalfof.blogspot.com/2009/09/observing-yourself.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (- Franis)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-903878474202023135.post-5550455171197000297Fri, 04 Sep 2009 01:19:00 +00002009-09-03T15:31:46.385-10:00visionpsychologychangeworkhopechangeadvicemotivationpublic speakingA lifetime of struggling against the status quo tends to beat creativity out of people. Isolation is a dream-killer. Innovators must fight to get their most brilliant solutions accepted, and the when acceptance comes, others take the credit. Let's imagine the opposite.Let's say it's a given that we have an audience of self-selected innovators with a high level of operacy in the real world. If youhttp://myhalfof.blogspot.com/2009/09/do-you-hope-for-humanity.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (- Franis)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-903878474202023135.post-8856127509869144795Sun, 23 Aug 2009 10:58:00 +00002009-08-23T01:00:46.976-10:00Core experiencesrespectpsychologyrelationshipsvirtual questionsobservationsadviceOn the road to confidence, each piece of the puzzle offers the reward of a new skill. It's not merely a struggle to get to zero.Sometimes behind a lack of confidence is usually some sort of fear or assumption about the consequence of revealing thoughts, feelings or values. Such as, "If I get noticed, then I'll get squished like a pretty bug." Suspect these conclusions of "If....then...." Once http://myhalfof.blogspot.com/2009/08/how-to-get-confident.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (- Franis)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-903878474202023135.post-5190066628101030672Fri, 07 Aug 2009 08:02:00 +00002009-09-02T19:57:13.242-10:00artemotionfaunatimingI know, I know. I started this blog because it's a place where I write. But anyone who knows me would also know what I fan I am of animals. Believe that until we get around to communicating with animals, we will not stand a chance to communicate to an extra-terrestrial. We already have them here, they're called cetaceans. Why have we not yet figured out they are smarter than we are?There have http://myhalfof.blogspot.com/2009/08/inter-species-art.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (- Franis)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-903878474202023135.post-4937284310052479582Wed, 05 Aug 2009 07:49:00 +00002009-08-04T21:55:52.463-10:00How do you perceive? Well, you just do it. That's an inadequate answer, so I decided to do some thinking about this.Perhaps the way I teach people to observe themselves would be relevant to making up a language for perception. It's my business to be teaching people to perceive what they take for granted by teaching Alexander Technique. I use the often ignored kinesthetic sense as a medium, ratherhttp://myhalfof.blogspot.com/2009/08/language-for-perception.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (- Franis)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-903878474202023135.post-7381485880860738613Sun, 12 Jul 2009 00:51:00 +00002009-07-11T15:23:36.330-10:00evolvetoolslinguisticschangeworkthinkingvirtual questionsexperimentHow can people not get seduced by content or what everyone else does? How can people focus instead on strengthening the constructive means - the How of thinking skills? What motivates people to remember to think?Some ideation (the new word for "brainstorming") on those questions: Make the content boring, funny or not make sense so the "How" becomes focal. Need ways to compensate for time of http://myhalfof.blogspot.com/2009/07/seductive-content-vrs-means.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (- Franis)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-903878474202023135.post-2195168823153962088Sat, 04 Jul 2009 20:11:00 +00002009-07-04T10:12:43.024-10:00personalanger managementstoriesnegotiationmediationimpulse controlangerI have taught myself to creatively problem solve while angry. It was a very strange skill to learn, not a skill which I'd recommend to others. Better to not to get to this level in your ability to have to manage anger in the first place!Twenty years ago, I had a relationship going with a person skilled in being manipulative. When I entered into the relationship, I observed that he also possessed http://myhalfof.blogspot.com/2009/07/thinking-while-angry.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (- Franis)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-903878474202023135.post-8312315946955855871Fri, 19 Jun 2009 22:27:00 +00002009-06-19T12:44:46.479-10:00cold callinginterview techniquesadviceI have a trick when I have no clue how to do something - such as start a business. This trick assumes that you live in a big enough town where a number of other people do the thing that you think they could tell you about. If you don't, you'll be calling a place where that is possible.This is cold-calling, actually. It's not so terrible when you realize that you'll be calling business owners and http://myhalfof.blogspot.com/2009/06/picking-their-brains.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (- Franis)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-903878474202023135.post-1365319967195865931Sun, 14 Jun 2009 07:07:00 +00002009-06-14T00:24:33.995-10:00evolveeclecticpredictionOne of the characteristics of "evolving" would take a limited area. If the world is our limit as humans - then what could possibly help the scourge of over-population that is about to saturate the planet? We are evolving as a world, whether we want to or not. It's going to be crowded, less resources per person, water levels will rise and other changes... We could use some thinking to figure out http://myhalfof.blogspot.com/2009/06/are-humans-evolving.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (- Franis)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-903878474202023135.post-320599079971113542Fri, 29 May 2009 19:23:00 +00002009-05-29T09:29:29.739-10:00de BonoCore experiencespersonalideasthinkingrelationshipsvirtual questionsstoriesI have had a lifetime of benefits from using de Bono's creative thinking ideas, even though I have merely enjoyed the humble success of an interesting and creative life. My choices have led me to put time to be creative ahead as a priority, which has turned out to have been a rewarding, satisfying and happy choice.I'll start out with how I used de Bono's thinking skills in the first five years http://myhalfof.blogspot.com/2009/05/influences-in-thinking.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (- Franis)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-903878474202023135.post-777626617849305485Mon, 04 May 2009 10:31:00 +00002009-05-04T03:09:25.591-10:00weight lossunfamiliaritychangeSometimes a person doesn’t know what they have to gain from a course of action until they do it. Sometimes it's not possible to see ahead until you stand on the next step so that you can see ahead. By stepping up to a challenge, perhaps that is the only way to find out for yourself what you are getting from it after you have done so. Sometimes this finding out takes time to allow its effects to http://myhalfof.blogspot.com/2009/05/learning-as-loss.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (- Franis)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-903878474202023135.post-3128004933346955502Mon, 13 Apr 2009 23:33:00 +00002009-05-16T20:37:32.521-10:00respectassumptionsrelationshipsvirtual questionslisteningfriendsHad an old friend of mine (gone now) who would say self-deprecating things out loud to people, and it was hilarious. He'd chase someone down who had fled when the conversation lagged for a moment...he'd ask them, "Ahhh, does that mean I'm not interesting enough to hold your attention long enough for you to say good-bye, or did you just need to run away for another excellently secretive reason?"http://myhalfof.blogspot.com/2009/04/what-to-say-when.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (- Franis)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-903878474202023135.post-5742096076612043128Tue, 07 Apr 2009 00:57:00 +00002009-04-10T17:31:05.646-10:00personalideasteachingrelationshipsstorieswritingexperimentTeaching creative problem solving is so often done with diagrams, acronyms and theories. Many good systems exist, but key would be remembering to use their points at moments when new ideas are needed. Did this hunch to write a story that also teaches work as advertised? Turns out that linking the steps of using a process to drive the plot of a story makes new points memorable. I've started threehttp://myhalfof.blogspot.com/2009/04/about-creative-problem-solving-notebook.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (- Franis)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-903878474202023135.post-2834288511914526681Fri, 20 Mar 2009 04:18:00 +00002009-05-04T18:30:53.837-10:00time perceptionThis year is the year of the boar, (if I've gotten it right.) Got to participate in pageantry by holding up a forty foot Chinese dragon. It was quite a challenge physically because I was near the front, untangling bamboo spines and hoops, but was quite a fun time.I was born in the year of the water snake in the Chinese astrology, in the hour of the dog - which makes me an awfully sociable snake http://myhalfof.blogspot.com/2009/05/why-time-flies-slows-down.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (- Franis)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-903878474202023135.post-6794155925761475610Mon, 02 Mar 2009 21:35:00 +00002009-04-10T17:31:29.217-10:00Core experiencespersonalrelationshipsstoriesfriendsMy father had just turned fifty in December in 1941. He had wanted company to celebrate New Year's Eve with, but instead had found himself alone and bereft of friendship at all.He carefully considered his state of affairs. He observed about himself that he had been focused for a great deal of time during his life on what other people had thought of him.He considered what he was going to do about http://myhalfof.blogspot.com/2009/03/where-i-learned-to-hand-out-compliments.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (- Franis)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-903878474202023135.post-3271884106129379871Sat, 21 Feb 2009 20:58:00 +00002009-04-10T17:31:55.375-10:00emotionideasassumptionsrelationshipsfriendsWe love to work, play and live with people who "read our minds" successfully. Like playing music together, tacit agreements coming from a shared subculture can sometimes give a very pleasurable conviction of bonding. It's is pleasurable how easy it can be to “read” each other's intentions and needs in the context of shared values and circumstances. However, tacit agreements can be tricky to http://myhalfof.blogspot.com/2009/02/tacit-agreements-and-how-to-change-them.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (- Franis)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-903878474202023135.post-1402006140584769871Thu, 19 Feb 2009 17:18:00 +00002009-04-10T16:13:19.957-10:00Core experiencespsychologyassumptionsvirtual questionschangeBeautiful women must make peace with how others react to them at some point in their lives. Problems coming from other women must be dealt with as well. Lots of people wouldn't have much sympathy for these sorts of problems; like having to deal with being rich. But they are very real.I speak from experience. Once I was young and stunningly beautiful. I did not need to hear about how beautiful, http://myhalfof.blogspot.com/2009/02/accident-of-birth.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (- Franis)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-903878474202023135.post-4647513084521001347Wed, 04 Feb 2009 21:48:00 +00002009-05-04T02:07:11.827-10:00toolspersonaltimingobservationschangeexperimentSleep less and you'll have the time to be creative, make more money at a second job or whatever you want to do. But don't just deprive yourself of sleep - get smarter about it.When I was going to Alexander Technique teacher training school and had to pay for it myself AND live an hour commute away, I came up with the brilliant idea of a split sleeping schedule. Went from nine hours a night sleep http://myhalfof.blogspot.com/2009/02/have-more-time-save-on-sleep.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (- Franis)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-903878474202023135.post-8060293654843352320Thu, 22 Jan 2009 11:21:00 +00002009-04-10T17:33:21.454-10:00assumptionsrelationshipsrandom acts of kindnessvirtual questionsobservationsBy nature, I'm a very discerning person. Meaning, I perceive subtle factors by nature, as a talent/obsession. Without even using much effort, I am talented at catching the subtle differences that may be making a difference. I zero in on them.When I was younger, these were usually things I would spot that "stuck out". They seemed to need attention or fixing or were "wrong" in some way. I realized http://myhalfof.blogspot.com/2009/01/discernment.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (- Franis)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-903878474202023135.post-1249432472243956212Fri, 16 Jan 2009 22:43:00 +00002009-04-10T17:33:58.291-10:00personalpsychologyideasassumptionsvirtual questionsobservationsI am very confused...I have my whole live problems, that I have a lot of ideas, creative writing, being a yoga teacher, playing a music instrument, painting, drawing and have business careers. But unfortunately, I have started a lot, like flamenco dancing, tai chi, yoga, meditation, painting but I don't do something to an and, I haven't goals for my life, what is very frustrating for me, but I http://myhalfof.blogspot.com/2009/01/curse-and-blessings-of-being-eclectic.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (- Franis)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-903878474202023135.post-1971169442269863762Wed, 07 Jan 2009 22:17:00 +00002009-04-10T16:13:19.976-10:00artideasassumptionsvirtual questionsThere are a number of motives about why an artist is making art. There are some factors in each case: to notice the artist's motives, to learn how difficult it is in factual terms for the artist to follow their apparent intention, and to come up with alternate intentions. The viewer's participation needs to be enough, in either case, to put together the content of what the participant is gettinghttp://myhalfof.blogspot.com/2009/01/what-people-see-in-art.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (- Franis)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-903878474202023135.post-7568614456663342819Tue, 23 Dec 2008 09:42:00 +00002009-04-10T16:13:19.997-10:00artGuess Santa can surf too!http://myhalfof.blogspot.com/2008/12/snowboarding-santa-happily-merry.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (- Franis)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-903878474202023135.post-9014117501929571297Tue, 16 Dec 2008 09:33:00 +00002009-04-10T16:13:20.003-10:00artHow fast does Santa have to go to do all that work on Christmas eve? Sounds like it will be a quantum Santa, but magic is magic, after all. Hope you're having fun being Santa this year, if that's your role.http://myhalfof.blogspot.com/2008/12/tippy-toe-santas-delivering-soon.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (- Franis)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-903878474202023135.post-3952909398291378853Wed, 03 Dec 2008 05:50:00 +00002009-04-10T16:13:20.246-10:00art Sometimes I get certain requests for specific subjects from my window painting jobs. Here was one. Dogs commonly would come to work with their people, so it was more than appropriate.http://myhalfof.blogspot.com/2008/12/requests.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (- Franis)1