Category: The Kitchen Sink

At Georgia Tech, you can build the Iron Man suit: The making of an amazing speech

August 21, 2013August 21, 2013by Douglas Ernst12 Comments

If you haven’t seen the video clip of the Georgia Tech Freshman convocation speaker that’s making the rounds, I highly suggest watching it. It’s priceless.

Here’s a taste:

“In the words of Sir Isaac Newton: “If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” Georgia Tech is proud of its many traditions, but the one I find most exciting is our tradition of excellence. Our mission as students is not to follow in the footsteps of the astronauts, Nobel Prize laureates and president of graduated before us, but to exceed their footsteps. Crush the shoulders of the giants upon whom we stand. We here are all such innovative people.

So I am telling you: If you want to change the world, you’re at Georgia Tech — you can do that. If you want to build the Iron Man suit, you’re at Georgia Tech — you can do that! If you want to play theme music during convocation speech like a badass, we’re at Georgia Tech — we can do that. I AM DOING THAT!”

I’d love to meet this guy, buy him a drink and shake his hand. No matter what you think of the speech, it’s stuff like this that makes me get up every day and say to myself: “Life is awesome.”

‘The Lone Ranger’: A mess more accurately named ‘Johnny Depp’s Tonto’

July 8, 2013September 13, 2015by Douglas Ernst5 Comments

Disney’s ‘The Lone Ranger’ could have been great. Instead, it’s a beautiful train wreck you might want to watch on mute. It’s a crowded mess of a movie that is more accurately named ‘Johnny Depp’s Tonto.’

The result? A box office bomb:

Just as Lone Ranger began rolling out in theaters July 3, Cowen & Co. analyst Doug Cruetz predicted a $100 million write-down for Disney. Now, box office experts and rival studio insiders tell The Hollywood Reporter that the loss could approach or even surpass $150 million based on final opening numbers, although they add that Disney likely can weather the storm thanks to summer box office hits Iron Man 3 and Monsters University.

First and foremost, you can’t have a movie titled ‘The Lone Ranger’ and then emasculate him to the point where Helena Bonham Carter’s Red Harrington (a brothel-owner and former ballerina) is better suited for the role. ‘The Lone Ranger’ took what should have been the story of a reluctant Ranger coming into his own and turned the character into a cartoonish klutz who sorta-kinda figures the hero thing out by the end of the movie. Johnny Depp is the star of the show, which makes one wonder how Disney would have moved forward with future installments had the film been more successful: “Come see this Lone Ranger trilogy featuring Armie Hammer, where’s he’s supposed to be the main hero but … he’s not.”

In what appears to have been an attempt to mask the fact that ‘The Lone Ranger’ was really about Tonto, the movie starts spending an unnecessary amount of time exploring themes, motifs and sub-plots that ultimately lead to an unfocused and unsatisfying experience. The expansive set pieces are great, but the movie itself is not tight by any stretch of the imagination.

If Disney wanted to successfully kick off a Lone Ranger franchise, they should have contacted Zack Snyder for pointers. Snyder’s ‘Man of Steel’ took another hero whose ideals sometimes seem better placed in another era, and made them relevant again for a modern audience. For an origin movie to be successful, the team charged with making it happen needs to hone in on the character’s core qualities and then work overtime to make sure creative drift doesn’t set in. It seems that for ‘The Lone Ranger,’ producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Gore Verbinski hoped the money hose could cover up for the unfocused creative vision. The film cost over $215 million, and that’s not including world-wide promotions.

In the theater I saw ‘The Lone Ranger,’ roughly 90 percent of the audience seemed to be on the verge of collecting Social Security benefits, grandparents who remember the 1950’s television show. It didn’t have to be that way. The masked man who brings justice to troubled towns is a proven money maker (e.g., Batman), and whether he dresses up as a bat and rides in a fancy car or simply wears a mask and rides a horse doesn’t matter. As it stands, ‘The Lone Ranger’ didn’t attract a young audience and in all likelihood disappointed Baby Boomers looking to re-live their childhood.

If you see ‘The Lone Ranger,’ you’ll be excited to know that The William Tell Overture does make itself known before the end credits roll. Sadly, during the scene you might find yourself closing your eyes and imagining what could have been had Disney hit its mark.

Here’s to hoping that another movie studio gives the ranger another chance years from now. He deserves it, and just might succeed if he’s given a chance to star in his own film.

Boot Campaign: Texas group does our troops — and the nation — proud

June 25, 2013June 26, 2013by Douglas Ernst15 Comments

Years ago I read Marcus Luttrell’s book ‘Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10,’ and was blown away. It captured the complexities of war in ways I had rarely seen on the nightly news. Luttrell’s tale brought tears to my eyes and left a lasting impression in my mind. Apparently, it did the same for five women from Texas, who went out and started Boot Campaign, a non-profit dedicated to helping war fighters and their families when they return home.

This past weekend in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., I had the pleasure of taking part in the final event of the year for Pushups for Charity, which worked in conjunction with Boot Campaign to help raise funds for our returning war fighters and their families. Men, women and children of all ages and fitness levels came out to do as many pushups as possible within 90 seconds, with the goal of hitting 10,000 before the end of the day. There was a lot of people who needed a shower when all was said and done, but the goal was ultimately accomplished.

The thing that most struck me about Pushups for Charity was the sense of community the event instilled in participants from the get-go. All of the Team Leaders were upbeat men and women who made complete strangers feel as if they were longtime friends. It was hot and humid with no wind and no shade — but no one cared because everyone was having fun. Organizers, participants and the audience that cheered and clapped with each round all seemed to concentrate on a shared bond — love of the military. There was no amount of sunburn or sore muscles that could take away from the joy of moment.

After I got home on Sunday night, I was looking at a picture of myself with Team Leaders Mark Little and Chris Nesbitt and wondering why I seem most at ease (no pun intended) around soldiers. I laugh more. I smile more. I’m more “me” in those moments than in any other social situation.

I think a clue to the peace that company brings me can be found in the bio for CPT Mark Little (U.S. Army Ret.), which reads:

Mark enlisted in the Army in 2002. Mark spent 4 years as a Combat Engineer learning and performing the craft of a demolitions expert.

Mark was deployed to Iraq as a Platoon Leader for the 3rd Infantry Division. He spent 99 days in Iraq, conducted over 150 Combat Patrols, and received 3 direct IED blasts, resulting in 2 Purple Hearts and the loss of both of his legs.

Mark is the Captain of the USA Warriors Hockey Team, which provides recreational hockey therapy to wounded Service-members, he actively Crossfits, and is excited to help the Boot Campaign with their critical mission of supporting our Nation’s Heros as they return from combat.

Mark is a Hero Team Leader because every fiber of his being is dedicated to serving his fellow Military Service-Members and refuses to let injuries get in the way of completing any mission he undertakes.

Selfless Service. Check. Courage. Check. Perseverance. Check. The list of qualities that I respect, admire and seek to cultivate in myself are so often found in individuals like CPT Little that it is in their presence where I feel most comfortable.

There is something extremely awe-inspiring about men and women who can have both of their legs taken from them and, upon healing, get out of bed and essentially say to the world, “You took my legs and knocked me down? Okay. I’ll just build myself some new legs and stand right back up again. And on top of that, I’m going to be just as hard-core awesome as I ever was.”

That is the character of winners. These are the individuals we should look to for inspiration. Their stories are the ones that should not be forgotten.

The next time a political party comes knocking on your door, I suggest laughing them off and turning to an organization with a track record of actually keeping its promises. Boot Campaign is one, but there are many, many others. And if you can’t give money, you can always take 90 seconds out of your day during the next Pushups for Charity event to knock a few out. It won’t cost you a dime, and you’ll meet some incredible people in the process.

Best,

Doug

'The Rock' is batting 1000 for awesomeness. He's relaunching movies, he's got a great new show with 'The Hero,' and now it turns out he's connected with the Boot Campaign. — ‘The Rock’ is batting 1000 for awesomeness. He’s relaunching movies, he’s got a great new show with ‘The Hero,’ and now it turns out he’s connected with the Boot Campaign.

AMA declares obesity a disease: We are all Homer Simpson in a muumuu now

June 19, 2013January 13, 2014by Douglas Ernst11 Comments

Every time a political problem gains national attention certain segments of the public cry out for politicians to “do something” — even if the prudent thing to do is to sit back and break the problem down into manageable pieces. Today, the AMA decided to use the “do something” approach to obesity, defining it as a “disease” — even though that isn’t true.

The Los Angeles Times reports:

The American Medical Assn. voted Tuesday to declare obesity a disease, a move that effectively defines 78 million American adults and 12 million children as having a medical condition requiring treatment.

The nation’s leading physicians organization took the vote after debating whether the action would do more to help affected patients get useful treatment or would further stigmatize a condition with many causes and few easy fixes. …

Got that? Many causes. It could be that person x has a thyroid condition, or it could be that person x sits on the couch all day playing video games while eating potato chips and drinking cans of soda. It could be that person y has natural joint pain that prevents them from exercising, or it could be that person y has joint pain because they were lazy for decades and the excess weight is straining their knees.

I was once getting examined by a military doctor for what ended up being a slightly fractured collar bone and the guy next to me said, “I have knee problems.” The doctor’s response: “You don’t have knee problems — you have a fat problem. Lose some f***king weight and your knees will feel better.” That’s the kind of honesty that the AMA fears.

“As things stand now, primary care physicians tend to look at obesity as a behavior problem,” said Dr. Rexford Ahima of University of Pennsylvania’s Institute for Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism. “This will force primary care physicians to address it, even if we don’t have a cure for it.” …

Perhaps doctors look at obesity as a “behavioral problem” because in the vast majority of cases it is. It’s called “not paying attention to the things you shove down your throat and not exercising regularly.”

In laying out the case for and against the redefinition of obesity, the AMA’s Council on Science and Public Health argued that more widespread recognition of obesity as a disease “could result in greater investments by government and the private sector to develop and reimburse obesity treatments.”

The Food and Drug Administration, which has approved just two new prescription weight-loss medications since 1999, would probably face increased pressure to approve new obesity drugs, spurring new drug development and more widespread prescribing by physicians, the council noted. …

[The Council also warned that its decision could] shift the nation’s focus too much toward expensive drug and surgical treatments and away from measures to encourage healthy diets and regular exercise, the council wrote in a background memo for AMA members.

Are you ready for more Drugs! Drugs! Drugs!? That’s exactly what’s going to happen because we live in a society that looks for any opportunity to cut corners. It wants to have its cake and eat it, too. And the sad thing is, the AMA knows exactly what’s going to happen.

I talked to a good friend of mine in the medical field today about this issue and feel as though I should share her response:

It’s a complicated issue. I’m pissed that people who are obese now get to eat up another chunk of my monthly insurance premiums, but I am also happy that doctors will have incentive to counsel patients on the very same issue.

Here’s where I’m torn: People in the U.S. are fat. Despite what science has been warning them of for years and years, they keep putting fat in their mouths and keep putting a burden on medical costs.

Heart disease has become a major killer and the number of diabetics is increasing exponentially. Also, each person who has a metabolic disease won’t have just one issue. They have hypertension, coronary artery disease, foot ulcers, breathing problems — you name it. The lifestyle that brought on diabetes and obesity probably involved drinking (liver disease) and smoking (COPD, lung cancer) and generally living it up. The fat lazy patients who live their entire lives doing what they want to then use the lion’s share of healthcare premium costs. It’s ludicrous.

The other half of me, the doctor half, is relieved. It’s about time that primary care doctors got paid for counseling weight loss. Or for those who don’t currently do it because it doesn’t pay, maybe this will be more incentive to start. I know some doctors don’t even touch on the subject with their patients and it’s not necessarily because they don’t want to call them fat. It’s because they don’t want to spend precious time out of the 15 min they have with the patient when the guy has a list of medical problems a mile long and the doctors don’t even get paid to counsel on obesity.

I envision visits purely dedicated to a “weight loss” talk where the physician goes through diet, exercise, and physiologic impact with the patient — one-on-one. Granted, it won’t be a magic pill but it’s bound to help some people and as a first step, it’s not too shabby.

Anyway sorry for the long rant. The AMA and insurance companies each have their own agenda too and that’s a whole other conversation.

Between the AMA deciding that obesity is a disease and the American Psychiatric Association’s new DSM-V essentially seeing to it that we’re all classified as having some sort of mental disorder, is it any wonder that no one takes responsibility for their actions? “Fat? Pssst! I have a disease. It’s not my fault. And my psychiatrist says I eat because I suffer from a new version of PTSD caused by elementary school bullying. Stop giving me a hard time and pass the Cheetos.”

At what point in time will J Crew start selling designer muumuus? I’ll have my Extra Small in lightweight chambray sunset check, please.

If you look like fat Bender from Futurama, it's not your fault. You have a disease. The AMA came off the mountain and declared it. — If you look like fat Bender from Futurama, it’s not your fault. You have a disease. The AMA came down from the mountain and declared it.

Break free of the Matrix: The 1-year challenge to see the world in a different light

June 6, 2013June 6, 2013by Douglas Ernst2 Comments

We are in our very own kind of Matrix. We’ve been conditioned to want more, more, more of any number of material goods, and then when we don’t have as much as the next guy we’re told we should be angry. We should be jealous. We should be envious. You need the newest technology and the newest clothes. You need to eat out multiple times a week, and if you’re married with children then the both of you need to work because there are so many things that you need to purchase now, now, now.

Once you believe that you need to buy what they’re selling, you are being controlled. Once you believe that the redistribution of wealth by government bureaucrats is necessary, you are being controlled. The only thing that matters is your soul. All the material goods in the world mean nothing, because one day you will die and you won’t be able to take them with you. Given that, it stands to reason that during the course of your life the primary focus should be to figure out what will make you happy at the deepest of levels, and then finding a way to do it. If there is one legitimate gripe about “the system” it is that these days it is geared towards keeping you from attaining higher levels of consciousness. There is great power inside you — incredible power — but over the course of generations we have been surreptitiously led to believe it wasn’t there until the mechanisms that detect it atrophied. You have the muscle — you just need to use it.

The world’s elite would rather have you playing XBox and looking at pictures of animals on the Internet than looking into “God” or “Source” or “Enlightenment,” because when you do that everything melts away (perhaps literally, but that’s a discussion for another time). The sickest thing may be that the elite even enlisted many of your friends and family to do their dirty work for them. Is it possible to convince a prisoner to lust over his own chains? Yes.

Someone who looks within and then turns that eye back on the material world can see the charade, and so you’ve been trained to play with the anger and hate and resentment that resides on some level in all of us like a kitten with string.

There are many ways to break free from the mind-forged manacles we’ve willingly fastened in place. Without much effort, you can find many inspirational figures online who are willing to discuss this journey. I happen to believe that real change only comes from looking inward, so here now is my challenge to you:

For one year — every day — actively look for ways to give of yourself. If there’s a man on the street corner asking for change, give it to him. If you think he’s scamming people, give him some money or food anyway. If you have an opportunity to give someone a genuine compliment, do it. Call up (or text if you must) an old friend and remind them of something nice they once did for you years ago; tell them you still think about it and are thankful for what they did. Make someone feel good. Be the light in your office environment or at school or in your immediate family. There are any number of ways you can give of yourself or perform a kind gesture. The key is to make a conscious decision every day to take advantage of — or create — such opportunities.

As you do this on a daily basis, changes will begin to occur within you. Your new thought processes and actions will start to affect other areas of your life. You might even notice a change in your basic biology (e.g., more energy). Material things you once cared about will matter less. Relationships that had withered from neglect or animosity will spring forth with new life. Your mood and your entire disposition will shift. All of this will occur because kindness is a stimulant, and unlike anger and vindictiveness there are no unwanted side effects.

During the course of the challenge, all I ask of you if you aren’t a religious person that you at least entertain the possibility that Jesus was who He claimed to be. Then, since all humans are capable of empathy, I want you to find a quiet room and put yourself into the body of someone who is infinitely loved. Try and feel it. Try and wrap your mind around what it would mean. My guess is that it will overwhelm you because the human mind can not contain something so powerful. Tears will well up in your eyes because you will realize just how flawed you are, and that no matter how much you give it could never match the love and mercy Christ has for you.

But those tears will not particularly be tears of sadness because that person is you and He does love you. Infinitely. God (or “Source”) wants you to be happy. He wants you to realize your true nature. He wants your life to be filled with joy and abundance, and the kindness and love you’ve shown over the course of “the challenge” will have put you on the path to attaining all of those things.

Once such a realization happens it will start a positive feedback loop, in which your desire to exude light feeds an appreciation for the life you’ve been given, and that new found appreciation for life in turn cultivates a better you. Your spirit will quite literally be vibrating at a higher frequency, and you will never want to return to what you once were.

The thing is, there is absolutely nothing wrong with wanting a nice car and a nice home and the amenities of modern life for you, your wife and kids. The problem comes in when people feel as though they need it. Why do certain celebrities fill airport hangers with cars? Why do famous athletes buy houses like they’re trading cards? Why do politicians have countless versions of the best suits and ties and shoes? They buy more and more “things” as some sort of status symbol — as something to give their lives meaning — and they can never have enough because what is really important is to fill up your insides with spiritual riches.

This challenge is not meant to convert you to Christianity. I wrote this because whether or not you believe in Christ by the end of it, I firmly believe you will see the world in a different light. You will have awakened something inside you that was always there, but calcified by hate, anger, envy and jealousy by pundits who constantly want you pitted against your fellow man. We are all individuals who were sent here for a reason, but we are all one. Once you realize that, you will no longer fall for political stagecraft or feel the “need” to buy your favorite product.

I wish you well on your journey, because I know you’ll come through it in flying colors.

Best,

Doug

Banksy doesn’t get it: The world owes you nothing

May 24, 2013May 24, 2013by Douglas Ernst18 Comments

Let me first start off this post by saying that I think Banksy is a creative genius. There is something special in his work that is worth tipping our hats to. It makes us think and question and turn over ideas in our head that we long ago cast aside like a child bored with the new toy mom bought the previous week.

With that said, I think it is ironic that in many ways he contributes to strengthening the system he rails against.

Take the following piece:

“Asking for permission is like asking to keep a rock that someone just threw at your head. … They owe you.”

Translation: “Do what you want because the world owes you.”

No. The world doesn’t owe us anything. Advertisers don’t owe you anything. The government doesn’t owe you anything. Rich people don’t owe you anything. Poor people don’t owe you anything, and neither does your neighbor.

In the middle of the vast cold void of space we were granted life, health and intelligence, and we often spend it sitting on a couch shoving potato chips in our face while complaining we don’t live like a Hollywood celebrity. Life alone should motivate someone to look inside themselves, be eternally grateful and then go out into the world to be the best person he could be. But instead, we’re told that someone or some thing “owes” us. It’s a poisonous seed of thought that generally just sprouts fear and envy and jealousy.

One of my best friends sent me the following email that sums it up quite well. (I’ve altered the text slightly, but he’ll understand why):

I think it’s the whole mindset that only govt can solve things … Since there is no personal responsibility, there are no personal human failings in their world because they believe only the system corrupts. Where they confuse me is that they want to add on to the system they hate.

I’d point out that when govt dominates every facet of life, you inevitably get the mess that you have in Detroit, and the people suffering are the poor, tax-paying (if there was a job available) people that they want to protect. The officials in Detroit artificially inflated wages (unions/politicians in city), they taxed heavy to “look out for the poor,” they filtered every city contract through a goverment committee that led to worse corruption — they threw money at everything — and look at Detroit now.

Talking biblically to them is difficult because belief in God forces you to acknowledge you are a sinner, which forces you to look at yourself. It’s much easier to blame the system. The reward is heaven. Jesus dies a horrible death, St. Paul dies a horrible death, 11 of the 12 apostles meet an end at human hands, and yet they didn’t “blame the system” — they kept trying to do what’s right (Jesus didn’t have to “try,” but you get my point). Even Judas took some sort of personal responsibility and threw the silver away and killed himself in shame realizing what he did. You will never get that mindset in their world.

I’ve thought long and hard about guys like them. I think it’s a fear to fail. Doing something about your situation is riskier than blaming God for your problems. The television will always be there, but stepping out on your own is much more difficult. I may fall flat on my face for leaving a comfortable job, learning a new skill set, and establishing a new career, but I hated what the company I worked for morphed into, so instead of blaming the system I decided to do something about it. I’d have it no other way, but I have faith in God and because of that, faith in myself. I actually feel sorry for individuals who won’t see past a system and tap into their own abilities.

Again, Banksy is a creative genius, but for whatever reason he looks around him, doesn’t like what he sees, and instead of looking inward he keeps his eyes focused on the material world. He seems to assume that people do not have free will, and instead of coming up with art that unleashes what is already inside all of us, he expresses himself in ways that, in all likelihood, calcifies the human spirit.

Coupling the idea that we should be able to do whatever we want with the belief that others owe us something is an extremely dangerous thing. While Banksy’s creative talent is worth acknowledging, the effect it has on society is something that deserves much more scrutiny.

‘Soldier of Steel’ campaign: Gym Jones shows what real men are made of

May 23, 2013May 26, 2013by Douglas Ernst6 Comments

Years ago I met a friend who was heavily influenced by the Gym Jones training philosophy. I had always thought I was a pretty fit guy — and then I met Mike. Those workouts broke me. They were truly a humbling experience, but I wouldn’t trade them for the world. They taught me a lot about myself, as well as just how much more was possible if I was willing to venture deeper into the realm of pain and anguish than I ever had before. Some of our greatest moments of mental, physical and spiritual growth are born out of pain and suffering, and in a bizarre way the person who realizes this truth comes to love and appreciate such feelings in proper doses. And that is why I highly suggest watching the “Solider of Steel” video for the new ‘Man of Steel’ movie by Zack Snyder.

When I was in the military, there was a joke that was made during our morning PT or in the middle of road marches: “Pain is weakness leaving the body!” Gym Jones offers plenty of pain, but there is so much more. It’s the kind of philosophy that turns boys into men.

Mark Twight, Gym Jones trainer, explains:

For me in the mountains, fitness was often the difference between life and death. In a military environment, it can be the same thing — you never never want to come up short due to a lack of conditioning. When we talk about training one of the most important characteristics I believe, is functional training. And by functional I mean “transferable.” The training that you do in the gym should be transferable to the actual task, which means that if I have to sprint forward to grab a buddy who might be injured and drag him back to a point of cover, then sitting on the a bench wearing a little seat belt doing quad extensions is not transferable. When you’re training for your military tasks you should be training to develop functional fitness, not the appearance of fitness.

Point number one in our training philosophy in the gym is that the mind is primary. And one of the outcomes of training the mind in the gym is the development of values. Values that are very similar to military values. One of the things for me that is important in the gym is that you always do what you say you’re going to do. You show up every single day. What we practice in here becomes a habit, and if my habit is always to do less that’s how I’m going to behave in the field. So get in the habit of doing more than you’re asked to do.

Respect starts with self respect. If you respect yourself, you prove to others that you are worthy of their respect. One of the things I like to do is to set up a tag-team type of workout, where one guy has to accomplish a particular task all the while his teammate is suffering. And the faster he does it the less his teammate suffers. These types of workouts really cause a person to digger deeper than they would to save themselves because we will always work harder in the service of someone else.

In the gym context we always know when people are telling the truth and when they are not telling the truth. If you do what you say you’re doing when in comes to diet, then the result is going to be obvious. If you do what you say that you’re doing in terms training, then the result will be obvious. When we make that honor, that honesty, part of our daily life, then it becomes automatic.

A lot of times we assign homework to people outside of the gym because I need to know how they’re going to behave on their own. Does that person have the integrity to do what they said they were going to do? In the training environment, if we practice on a daily basis confronting the things that we’re afraid of and confront our fear — if we get in that habit — then we’ll be to express that in an automatic way once we get outside into the real world.

Wow. Mr. Twight’s passage is a thing of beauty. If all Americans were exposed to this philosophy, let’s just say that the political landscape would change dramatically within a single generation.

Gym Jones is not for everyone. It should be, but it’s not. The reason is because it doesn’t accept excuses, and the modern world is filled with people who live to make excuses for their failures, be it with their diet, love life, personal finances, physical fitness or any number of things.

Regardless, check out the other videos if you get a chance. If you’re interested in taking the first step in transforming you mind, body and spirit they’re a great place to start.

Editor’s note: The image of that guy falling off the rowing machine into a lump on the ground in Episode 3 just gave me a flashback. Sometimes hitting the floor is the best way to motivate someone to reach for the stars.

Here I am doing a workout inspired by Gym Jones, 2009. Pain never felt so good.

Thoughts on lucid dreaming and the floating purple orb

May 20, 2013November 24, 2013by Douglas Ernst24 Comments

Every so often bloggers are accused of writing for “attention.” There are many reasons why this is silly, but what drives me to write is because I’m a writer. It’s really that simple. That’s just what I do. I have thoughts and feelings and emotions that I have to get off my chest. They’re inside me and they have to get out. Every time I get a random comment from someone who essentially says, “I thought I was alone out there,” it brings a smile to my face, because one of the primary reasons I write is so that people who have similar experiences do not need to feel as if they are alone. No one should ever have to feel like there isn’t somebody out there who they could talk to or lean on, and bloggers of all kinds help mitigate such situations.

It is for that reason that today I’ll part ways from politics and popular culture to talk about lucid dreaming … and the floating purple orb.

The following is a dream I woke up from at 6:47 a.m. EST.

I’m at an old high school cross-country meet, but I’m on a pair of swings talking to my old friend Larry about the upcoming season and he says he’s in better shape going into senior year than he was in the past. Then I think that I am in really good shape too and I say, “One more year! Gotta make it a good one!”

Then I pause and think: “Didn’t we already graduate? I’m actually not in cross country shape anymore because I’ve been lifting weights and I like where my physique is at. Wait a second … I’m lucid dreaming!” I jump off the swings and start running around in circles like an excited little kid, saying, “I’m lucid dreaming! I can ask anyone anything I want! I can do anything! I need to talk to someone before I wake up.”

I see my old coach, Coach Devine, and he looks confused for a moment and says, “Doug, is it really you?” I say yes and he says: “Do you still think about me? Do you still love me?” (There wasn’t any sexual connotation to it.) I say, “Yes. I do. I really do think of you,” and he smiles and I smile and we both come close to having these tears of joy and then I give him a really big hug.

As I hug him everything begins turning white and then I start flying towards this book that opens with pictures of an older woman hugging a child drawn in purple ink. It’s not my deceased grandmother and me, but it reminds me of the two of us. I try to read the lettering that is on the bottom as I then start to enter the book, but can only make out ‘Ha xx Ho xx Ho xx’.

I then started to really wake up and my whole body was tingling, particularly my arms and hands. As I opened my eyes I saw a purple orb floating directly above my head that scared me, so I closed them again, and then there was a little “whooop” feeling (Perhaps like I was disconnected from my body?) and then I woke up. The purple orb was gone.

Question: Was I lucid dreaming? Was I having an out of body experience? Was the purple orb real or was it just my eyes playing tricks on me? My wife thinks I was dreaming that I was lucid dreaming and she thinks my eyes were just playing tricks on me.

I’m sharing this story, again, because on a long enough time line I figure someone out there will have had a similar experience that they could share, or perhaps they just think it’s all a bunch of “hooey” and they can let that be known as well.

The only thing I will add is that this dream felt real. Very, very real. It was extremely vivid and clear, perhaps an “HD” version of my other dreams.

So there you have it. Thoughts on lucid dreaming and floating orbs? I’d like to hear them.

Here is me accepting an award at the Crystal Lake South cross country meet as a junior in high school. I believe I came in 17th place out of perhaps 120 runners. I was always a "mudder" and a hill runner. On a rainy day I always performed a lot better, and for whatever reason I could grind out hilly courses and beat guys who would normally fly by me on flat terrain. Larry is dressed in the maroon running pants. — Here is me accepting an award at the Crystal Lake South cross country meet as a junior in high school. I believe I came in 17th place out of perhaps 120 runners. I was always a “mudder” and a hill runner. On a rainy day I always performed a lot better, and for whatever reason I could grind out hilly courses and beat guys who would fly by me on flat terrain. Larry is dressed in the maroon running pants.

Money will not solve your problems: Powerball fever highlights human weakness

May 19, 2013May 19, 2013by Douglas Ernst8 Comments

Sometimes the most dangerous thing that can happen to a person is for them to get what they wish for. Every time I start seeing news stories about “Powerball fever” or a run on gas stations when lottery jackpots explode, I can’t help but think of Tim Burton’s Batman. In it, Gotham’s population lunges for cash as The Joker throws out bills to them from on high, stuffing the paper in their pockets and crawling on all fores to claw in as much as possible. Then, the poison gas hits.

There is a big difference between a “what the heck, why not” lottery ticket purchase and one bought where the person essentially fantasizes about how “all my problems would be solved” with a winning draw. Whether it is the at a federal, state, community or individual level, all too often people look at dollar signs as the ticket to happiness or fulfillment, when it is not.

“Who do you trust? Hubba Hubba Hubba! Money! Money! Money! Who do you trust? Me, I’m giving away free money! And where … is this Batman? He’s at home, washing his tights! … And now comes the part where I relieve you, the little people, of the burden of your failed and useless lives. But, as my plastic surgeon always said: ‘If you got to go, go with a smile!'”

More often than not, the lust for money only serves to mask or exacerbate existing problems. And when anyone dares to point out that it is our emotional weaknesses and spiritual bankruptcy that is more likely the root of our financial ills and cultural unhappiness, the citizens of Gotham get defensive.

Barring some sort of medical problem or environmental disaster, the vast majority of people who are so hopeless that they see a lotto ticket as “a way out” of their financial predicament need emotional and spiritual currency — not money.

Let me put it this way:

When I was in high school I was a cross country runner. Sometimes, on an eight mile run I’d pass a casino and I’d see extremely poor people walking inside, in all likelihood to spend what little cash they had, hoping they’d hit a big jackpot. Today I live in Maryland, where politicians — both Republican and Democrat — have pushed casinos as a form of economic stimulus.

Question: Does Maryland want an economy built around Blackjack dealers and zombies who pull on slot machines, or does it want an economy built around science and art and engineering? That question has already been answered, and sadly the zombie-backers have won out.

The people who promote lotteries as a way to fund education are like plumbers who fix your leaky faucet by diverting water to flood your basement. The people who promote casinos as a the ticket to long-term economic growth are like high school guidance counselors who would tell a student to consider dropping out and getting a GED sometime down the road. We constantly mislead people, and then when they go down dangerous paths that with disastrous results, we blame this guy or that guy or anyone else within our line of sight.

Instead of running out to the grocery store to buy a lotto ticket when the payday hits 700 million dollars, I suggest using that 30 minutes to sit down in solitude and work towards figuring out what will make you happy at the deepest of levels. When you figure it out you’ll realize that such knowledge is worth more than any joker could ever put in your bank account.

Best,

Doug

The is no ‘spare’ time because there is only time

May 6, 2013May 6, 2013by Douglas Ernst2 Comments

Yesterday I was eating lunch at Panera, and next to me were two men, one of which was trying to sell the other on some sort of pyramid scheme. The seller said at one point: “Don’t you want to make some extra cash in your spare time?” l generally had a depressing lunch because I thought of all the people like them who don’t realize that there is no such thing as “spare” time because there is only “time.”

Every moment of every day you are either moving closer or farther away from fully realizing who you were meant to be. How you spend your time when you aren’t working is just as integral to living up to your potential as what you do at your place of employment. Your friends and your associations matter. Do you exercise to relax, or do you drink? Do you make time to read a good book once in awhile, or do you play video games? Do you get adequate rest on Saturday and Sunday, or are you out all night trying to fit as much fun as possible into the weekend? All of these things matter. I am not passing judgement on one activity or another. I am merely stating that everything requires self examination.

You could die ten minutes after you read this blog of a heart attack. You could die a few days from now in a car accident. Or, you could die many years from now in your sleep simply due to old age. That is why every second counts.

What kind of person wants to spend their life chasing after spare change like they were Mario or Luigi from Super Mario Bros.? No one should ever have to do that unless, for whatever reason, that is what their spirit truly desires to experience during its time on earth.

The person who goes around thinking of “spare change” in their “spare time” will generally just lead a life where they’re only just getting by because all of their energy is focused on just getting by. On top of that, people who are always looking for spare cash usually tend to do so because they want to buy “things”; it’s a good indicator they are way to concerned with filling up their life with gizmos and gadgets and clothes, and when you lead a life chasing after earthly pleasures you will never be satisfied.

Look at some of the most successful Hollywood stars out there, sports figures and politicians who have enough money to buy anything they want. They have closets and mansions and garages filled with “stuff.” They don’t need “spare” change, and yet, if you follow that person in the news it’s not long before the writing is on the wall that many of these people are absolutely miserable.

But I digress. That’s another issue for another blog post.

The point is, one of the keys to finding happiness is asking the right question. Instead of saying “how can I make some spare cash” one might ask: “How can I be financially independent by age 50?” Or they could ask: “How can I make $100,000 a year and enjoy what I’m doing?” The brain is a supercomputer, and if you ask it the right questions it will come up with answers for you. However, if you put garbage in, you will get garbage out.

There is a reason why people say they need to “focus like a laser.” That’s because the human body is pure energy. Your thoughts and your feelings and everything that makes you “you” — when you dig deep enough down — is pure energy. So it stands to reason that if you focus your mind and your body and your spirit in one direction, that energy will begin to carve out the reality you desire.

You might think the Catholic guy is getting all New Age at this point, but he’s not. Regardless, I hope this post will do its little part to help get you focused on what you need to do to attain true happiness.

Best,

Doug