Aliens Scared Shitless After Human Encounter

Where do we come from? Why are we here? These are probably two of the most important questions that no human on Earth has provided with a definitive and final answer. In this article, however, I’d like to discuss another question that branches out from the ones I mentioned. A question that is perhaps lighter to contemplate upon. The question is, “Do aliens from another place in the universe exist and will the human race someday have an encounter with them?”

Some of you may have seen news reports on television or the Internet recently saying that there has been an alarming rate of UFO sightings from all around the world. Some people even believe that these UFOs belong to aliens who have come here to help us while we go through some major changes in the next decade. These changes, for some reason, have something to do with anticipated events that will happen before, during, and after the year 2012. You may want to read my 2012 Doomsday article to understand what some of these events could be.

I’ve always been fascinated by the universe. It’s so enormous. I mean, if Earth is so full of shit, then imagine how much more could be out there floating in the vastness of space. I guess it’s the reason why black holes exist. There’s a need to flush the crap off the face of the cosmos from time to time. Anyway, before I go any further, let me remind you that I don’t claim to present answers to all the questions that you might have. I only provide food for thought. If you start to get bright ideas after reading this, then those ideas are entirely yours. I’m not responsible for any indigestion that may occur.

By the way, mad props to Rose Belle for her inspirational comment and to Shanaz for her stimulating curiosity. Now, let's proceed, shall we?


Life Is Commonplace In The Universe, But Where Are The Aliens?

Notice how I stated the question above. Instead of asking if life is commonplace in the universe, I immediately concluded that it is. I think common sense is enough to support this claim. If the universe is estimated to be 15-20 billion years old and there are 100 thousand million stars in the Milky Way alone, what makes our planet so special? Obviously 100 to 200 billion (the estimated number of galaxies in the known universe) far exceeds Larry Graham’s “One In A Million” standard. Furthermore, if the laws of physics and the chemical elements needed for the creation of life are the same throughout the entire universe, then many life forms could’ve even began billions of years earlier than the creation of our solar system. Nevertheless, for the sake of providing a sound argument, you may want to take a look at the discovery of planets in other star systems and microorganisms that survive in hostile environments if you still find the need to be convinced.

Now, if you accept the idea that life exists beyond our planet, in huge numbers, the next obvious thing to ask is, “Where are they?” Seems like a simple question, right? To make it a little bit more challenging, a physicist named Enrico Fermi developed a theory called the Fermi Paradox which basically asks, “If intelligent extraterrestrial life is abundant in the universe or even our galaxy alone, then why don’t we see physical artifacts or any signs of intelligent life?”

A number of theories to answer this have been proposed, but none has been generally accepted so far. Some scientists have even tried to answer this question mathematically by using a formula called the Drake equation. The Drake equation is used to calculate the potential number of extraterrestrial civilizations in our Milky Way galaxy. Unfortunately, all the parameters in the equation are completely unknown, making the result worthless. If, for example, you have (X + Y = Z) as your formula and the value of X and Y is equal to “maybe,” your equation will more or less look like this (maybe + maybe = beats me).

Here are other arguments that address the question in Fermi’s paradox:

• We are alone in this universe. The condition needed for life to evolve at our level is rare or even unique to Earth. This is quite arrogant, in my opinion, but many religious traditions are satisfied with this assumption and instruct their members to make it a central component of their belief system. What’s new?


• We’re just too far apart from each other. Considering that there are civilizations out there similar to our own, it’s just impossible to have an acquaintance party with them without violating the laws of physics.


• We’re not smart enough. Civilizations, just like ours, have already experienced a technological singularity allowing them to become highly intelligent. An attempt of any advanced alien culture to communicate with humans is hypothetically similar to a person talking to an ant.


• They just choose to leave us alone. According to the zoo hypothesis, any advanced civilization that may have detected us will opt to hide their presence to avoid any kind of influence over our existence. Yes, leave us alone please.


• They are out there seeking or having fun with aliens that possess the same level of intelligence. Let’s face it, if a bunch of losers invited you to go out and party, will you consider hanging out with those guys? If your answer is no, then what makes you think aliens would want to hang out with us?

Are Aliens Incompetent?

As humans, we need models that we could use to compare the various things and events we observe in reality. For this reason, most people often make the assumption that aliens or extra-terrestrials, capable of interstellar travel, are biological creatures with human-level intelligence and human-like interests. I think the problem stems from our inability to think beyond our preconceived notions of existence. Is it possible to detect aliens with superior intelligence if the only type of intelligence we can comprehend is of our own kind? I don’t think so. Try reading Ten Alien Encounters Debunked and see how people annoyingly fit patterns of human behavior to extraterrestrials to create false claims about their existence. Are there alien spacecrafts that crashed on Earth? C’mon, give me a break!

Maybe you’re asking, “If that’s the case, then will there ever be a time when we can arrive at the understanding of their existence?” Probably. If species evolve into more complex species, then why should we stay like this forever? Besides, scientists in various fields of study like nanotech, computer science, and quantum physics are racing to develop technologies that will aid us in transforming into a more intelligent type of creature. It may no longer be a matter of how, it’s probably just a matter of when. Take a look at this list of emerging technologies and try to imagine what kind of effect it might have on us humans.

Now, if we get to that level, does that mean it’s the end of the road for everyone? If we become astronomically intelligent and aliens welcome us into their poker club, does it mean we can stop right there and not continue to evolve? Well, I don’t know. I’ve never been in that situation before. I’m still human. However, in the short amount of time that I’ve spent here on Earth, I’ve observed that everything in my reality seems to fall into a hierarchy. There’s always something bigger, faster, more complex, and so on. If that’s the case, then is there a reason not to think that the same is true for intelligent life in the universe? Isn’t it possible that there are networks and networks of highly evolved beings, each largely hidden from the others, due to vastly different complexity and intelligence scales?


What Do Aliens Look Like?

Do you remember what the “U” in “UFO” stands for? Some people, however, seem to forget that it’s supposed to stand for “unidentified” and claim that the UFOs they saw are actually alien spaceships that came from outer space. We humans have a burning need to have an answer for the unknown, but our perception is awfully susceptible to ways of getting things wrong. Thus, in some cases, we create the mistake of inventing explanations to things that we cannot explain and descriptions to things that we are unable to describe. This is called argumentum ad ignorantiam or argument from ignorance.

There are many theories that try to clarify the existence of aliens and UFO sightings. Some of these theories include, but not limited to, the following:

Psychosocial hypothesis - states that culture has a significant influence on people’s accounts of alien and UFO encounters.

Interdimensional hypothesis – states that UFOs and alien encounters are visitations from other "realities" or "dimensions" coexisting separately alongside our own.

Ultraterrestrials - states that extraterrestrials are a species that has always been here, which evolved on Earth along with other species, but which represents a far superior intelligence.

It’s clearly up to you to decide which one to believe. You can even treat it like your religion and offer prayers, worship, and sacrifices, if that suits you. As for me, I can’t really decide if aliens exist or not, but I do think that appearances are trivial. If these dudes aren’t physical and biological in nature, then why should looks even matter?


Will Aliens Invade Our Planet?

Definitely! I think aliens will come on Earth to annihilate the entire human race. The reason?

BECAUSE WE CAN’T GET OUR ACTS TOGETHER! =P

What do you think?

UPDATE Dec 12: See the overwhelming need of people to find an explanation: Anyone for some Arctic roll? Mystery as spiral blue light display hovers above Norway

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Mindfucked In The Theater of Dreams

Have you ever been mindfucked before? Well, I have. In fact, I get mindfucked every single day of my life. It’s just like having a bad dream that doesn’t seem to have an ending. When you wake up, you just find yourself in another dream of the same sort but with different characters and a different setting. Sometimes, the characters stay the same, but their appearances change. Try watching a musical or a dramatic performance in a theater and you’ll understand what I’m saying.

I was at KFC last night, waiting for the Kentucky friktard chicken that my wife ordered, when I had another unprovoked seizure. My mind suddenly went into a state of chimerical projections while I was looking at all the people around me. Then I immediately felt the urge to ask myself, “Are these guys fugging real?” I mean, they are real from a materialist’s perspective, though from that point of view, they are just a bunch of molecules moving around. Fundamentally, they are no different from the chairs and tables that I see. If, on the other hand, we’re going to use another spectrum of thought and consider the fact that there must be something that binds random molecules to form a human body and move it around, then where is it located and what does it really look like? Where are the real people?


Turkey Rights and Wanderers

Palma of Buddha Trance created this wonderful article about Wanderers. It explains the idea that, although all of us here on Earth think of ourselves as humans, there is a possibility that some people are not exactly what we think they are. I think I can pretty much relate to her description of wanderers. Like I said earlier, I often get confused about reality and the dream world. Maybe I just forgot who I truly am when I was born. Maybe I’m not of this Earth. It’s a good thing that Mike created his letter to the nice folks at P.E.T.A which made me think of the possibility that I might just be an interdimensional turkey who now manifests as a member of the human species. Consequently, this made me feel sympathetic towards my associates from the chicken race that were slaughtered by the wicked Colonel Harland Sanders at KFC.


TV Shows and Planetary Formations

I was watching Naked Science on the National Geographic Channel while I was having lunch today and I saw this episode about the birth of the solar system. I know… it’s pathetic. I’m only familiar with two channels – it’s either NGC or Discovery. Wayne is probably having a much better time with his favorite TV shows. Anyway, I gobbled up the pork I was eating because I needed to concentrate on the show. Turkeys just love science programs. Gobble, gobble!

One part of the show featured an astronaut spending his free time in space messing around with a few experiments to see how particles behave in zero gravity. He takes different grains (such as coffee, sugar, and salt), places them in pouches, and watches as they begin to attach to each other. He realizes that the friction between them as they rub together inside the pouches is creating an electrostatic charge that pulls particles together and forms them into clumps (see picture above). The same electrostatic charges would’ve been created if the experiments were carried out on Earth. But on Earth, the far stronger force of gravity would’ve made it impossible to observe the same results. This process may thus be used to explain how the planets were formed. Astrophysicists call this process accretion.

What’s my point? Hmm. Nothing, I guess. It’s just like a dream – pointless and bizarre. Didn’t I ask if you’ve ever been mindfucked before?

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Do You Know Kung Fu?

I usually got myself into fights when I was kid. Most of the time, however, I was the one who got beaten. I’m not sure if I was just being a genuine retard at the time or if it was fate that decided to always put me in a match with bigger kids, but my experience somewhat pushed me to try to find ways to become stronger so that I can defend myself from my enemies.

One time, my friend invited me to join him in his karate class. I got pretty excited because, for a moment there, I thought I no longer needed to imitate Jackie Chan’s stunts from his old school kung fu movies. It was time to do some true to life ass kicking, and with the help of some real training, I will be the one who is left unscathed after the show. Eh, that’s what I thought.

After a few trials, I realized that I just didn’t have the discipline to continue with the training. My mind was too weak. Being in highschool with friends, homework, and stuff took my attention away from my dreams of becoming a martial arts expert. Thus, I decided to quit and just spend my spare time lifting weights. Besides, I didn’t really like karate. I wanted to learn kung fu. Hehe. Yeah, baby! Yeah!

I’m not sure if I made a wrong decision because, from the looks of it, the martial arts have a lot of things to offer to anyone who is willing to learn it. Here are a few things that I know of:

• Training in karate, tae kwon do, kung fu and other styles will improve one's cardiovascular fitness as well as tone the muscular system.


• The practice of light exercises, which promote general fitness, play an important role in improving one's stamina.


• Strength will increase from the calisthenics usually employed within training but perhaps not to the same extent as working out with weights.


• Most people will also improve their flexibility significantly while training since entire ranges of motion from the body are exercised.


• All martial art styles will result in an improvement of one's coordination.


• Unlike many other forms of physical activity, martial arts also have a mental and sometimes spiritual element which not only improves the mind's focus but also helps in self control.


• Training in martial arts usually involves many little steps and progressions. As one advances, the feeling of accomplishment comes with added confidence.


• The basic concept of martial arts is proper utilization of strength and energy effectively, therefore practicing any form of martial arts is bound to bolster your energy levels.


• People who practice martial arts also tend to have a stronger immune system. It is believed that some forms of martial arts, like Tai Chi, grant various health benefits, such as anti-aging, to their practitioners.


• Practicing martial arts can help you to control your aggression and defeat your fear, thus making you experience internal peace. Other challenges in life, both physical and mental, will be met with much less fear.

I guess I did make the wrong decision after all. I was such a pussy. Imagine all the benefits I could've had if only I was diligent enough to attend the training class. It’s too late now, of course. The ass whoopin days are over. One’s bones are already too brittle and one’s interests have already shifted into much deeper concerns.

Nevertheless, I still like kung fu to some extent. In fact, there has never been a day when I didn’t apply the dragon, tiger, snake, crane and leopard techniques on my existential and phenomenological ponderings. I call it Mind Kung Fu. I know… I know… it had to match the niche. Thank you for noticing.

Wanna know how I practice it? I’ll tell you later, but you have to watch this short video first.

Now, think for a moment about all the things that Morpheus said. Maybe you think it’s just some friggin dialogue, but have you ever considered asking yourself if it has something important to say about your life?

“Do you believe that my being stronger or faster has anything to do with my muscles in this place? You think that’s air you’re breathing?”

We live our life everyday thinking that everything around us is real. We think it’s real because we see it, hear it, touch it, taste it, and smell it. For things that we cannot detect using our senses, like gravity or electromagnetic waves, we use instruments that were invented by our friendly scientists. However, isn’t it true that with all these detection and perception mumbo jumbo sh*t that we’re doing, everything doesn’t make any sense unless we become conscious of it?

Let’s say you see dog poo on the road. Have you tried asking yourself what dog poo is really made of and why it is there basking in the sunlight? Would it still be there if you hadn’t seen it? Is it enough to say that tiny particles of matter, with disgusting qualities, just wanted to stick together to form dog poo? What’s the fundamental reason for them to stick together? Is it because the dog had diarrhea or something? No, there must be a deeper reason for that. What is it?

“What are you waiting for? You’re faster than this. Don’t ‘think’ you are; ‘know’ you are!”

Sorry for the previous paragraph. I hope you’re not eating while reading this article. Anyway, speaking of eating, did you know that 98 percent of the atoms in our body were not there a year ago? If you do not eat, there’s nothing to replace those atoms which leave that fabulous body of yours. I guess it’s safe to say that we are what we eat and also safe to say that if we don’t select the right kind of food, we will end up not looking the way we want to. There’s some “thinking” involved in the eating process, right?

Well, that’s where the trouble lies because “thinking” can be easily influenced by many external factors. You “think” it will make you fat, you “think” it’s too sweet, you “think” it’s not nutritious enough, etc., etc. The dog probably knows better. It does not discriminate. It just eats. Then it goes outside to… oh, hehe… never mind.

The same thing happens in each and every aspect of your life. Things keep on changing no matter what you do, and the more you think about it, the more your mind gets confused. Give yourself a break. Don’t think you are; just know you are. Know what you want to be. OK? Now, repeat after me, “I know kung fu, I know kung fu, I know kung fu!”

“I’m trying to free your mind Neo, but I can only show you the door. You’re the one that has to walk through it.”

So, here we are, at the end of the article, wondering what I’m going to say next. Hmm… let me see. I guess I’ve said it all. You can try martial arts if you think it will help you become a better person, you can start questioning everything around you so that your mind will open up to a lot of things, you can train your mind to be your servant by just “knowing” who you really are, and you can stop imagining the dog and that silly thing that comes out of his ass.

The door is open. Are you ready to walk through it?

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Lucy In The Sky With Forest Gump & Mentholated Vapor Rubs

I remember being exposed to the Beatles at such a tender age. I was in grade school then, listening to songs like Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds for an hour each and every morning of my prepubertal life. This happened whenever I went to school riding a middle-aged-hippie-intelligence-operative’s jeepney which was disguised as a school bus. Don’t know what a jeepney is? Just think of it as a VW Kombi on steroids mixed with cannabis.



It was brainwashing to the extreme and I felt like I was Forest Gump on acid. The driver, who I assume was a secret agent working for hedonic anarchists, was brutal. He tuned in to no other frequency but that of a radio station which played Beatles songs all day long. Did I just hear someone say “mind control?” You’re definitely right about that.

Hey Jude, as far as I can recall, those were the days when I first experienced altered states of consciousness. I took sad songs and made them better, but it was still nauseating to hear the same lyrics over and over and over and over again… and over again... and again... and again. ENOUGH!!!

But it was all good. The hallucinations allowed me to peek into my future, so I knew right then and there that I will finish my B.S. degree (which happened almost ten years ago) and that I’m going to be awarded with a research doctorate in crap-ology soon. As of today, I’ve conducted almost a hundred experiments using methane on human test subjects in my quest to find the neural correlates of consciousness. I must say, however, that I’m still interested in the more common methods which I will describe below.

If you have the same type of curiosity I possess, we can study these together. That will make it more interesting, doncha think?


Psychoactive drugs



The use of psychoactive drugs to explore consciousness became popular during the 1960s (The Psychedelic Era). I was still in the nth dimension during that time, playing with elves and fairies, and it wasn’t until more than a decade later that I came out of my mom’s… uhm, you know… and shouted, “I am king of the world!”

A lot of people are taken aback when they hear or see the word “drugs.” The reason is because television and other forms of media have strongly associated it with addiction, suicide, murder, and other types of negativistic behavior. Please know that a drug is not harmful unless it is taken by an idiot.

Some drugs that can be used safely in controlled medical settings to study consciousness are opiates, entheogenic plants and their derivative chemicals such as LSD, DXM, peyote, cannabis, mescaline, salvia divinorum, MDMA, psychedelic mushrooms, and Dimethyltryptamine (DMT).


Mind Control Techniques



If drugs still scare the hell out of you and you can’t entertain the notion of taking psychoactive chemicals yourself, then perhaps you can try mind control techniques like hypnosis, meditation, prayers, mantras, sleep deprivation, and lucid dreaming. These techniques work by tuning out most of the stimuli around you so that you can access your subconscious mind directly. You focus intently on a subject, to the near exclusion of any other thought. Stare at the picture above for four hours each day and see how it works.


Neurotechnology



Scientists are fascinating people. They always find a way to explain what’s happening in our world. Obviously, that’s exactly their job and it wouldn’t be long until they find out what’s going on inside the brain when it comes to experiencing psychic and mystical phenomena. Consequently, a variety of technological means have already been discovered that simulate these kinds of experiences. Examples are psychoacoustics, binaural beats, mind machines, and cranial electrotherapy stimulation.


Sensory Deprivation




Sensory deprivation works in a similar way to mind control. This method allows you to explore your consciousness by deliberately avoiding or reducing signals that enter one or more of the senses. The isolation/floatation tank is probably the best known device used to experiment with the effects of sensory deprivation on the human brain and mind, but quite expensive for the ordinary person to acquire. If you want to simulate a near death or out-of-body experience without spending some cash, you can try floating on the beach at night when the sea is calm. Just wait for a few minutes for the sharks to come and there you will have it.


Yoga Breathing Exercises




The Hindu and Buddhist traditions use breathing techniques to simulate altered states of consciousness. The most popular method is called Pranayama (a Sanskrit word meaning "restraint of the prana or breath). It doesn’t involve strangling the neck, if that’s what you’re thinking. Pranayama allows you to control the flow of energy inside your body and to some extent make both your mind and body healthy. If practiced regularly, it allows you to open the different channels of your consciousness.


Sniff It Good



Right now, my daughter (not connected with the dog) is suffering from congestion and a nasty cough. I have to admit it was entirely my fault because I allowed her to take a shot of coke the other day. No, not the drug. I’m referring to the soft drink. It just had a lot of ice. I told my wife to rub Vicks on the soles of her feet to see if it can relieve her of the agony.

Anyway, when I was her age, I usually saw my father dabbing the goddamned ointment in his nostrils. It’s supposed to be just under your nose. I guess he had his own way of decongesting himself. Nonetheless, since he had such a strong influence on me, I acquired the habit and sort of took it to the next level. Can’t blame me. I’m just a guy from Generation X and we’re supposed to take everything to the next level, right? So today, I dab Vicks on my nostrils, in huge amounts, whenever I want to communicate with extra-dimensional beings. Psychedelic that, dude!

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Give My Regards To Satan

When I was a little boy, everyone around me used to say that bad people go to hell. It left me with a strong impression that I must count all the terrible things I did during the day and pray for forgiveness before I go to sleep at night. Another requirement was to occasionally confess all my sins to the priest so that absolution can be granted to my poor and unenlightened little soul. It was dreadful. As the years went by, I began to slowly realize that I wasn’t earning any points to go to heaven. Everything I did seem to work totally against me. I was learning foul language, I was exploring the genitals of other kids as well as my own (pretty exciting), I was disobeying my parents, and so on. Needless to say, I was becoming a bad boy.

It didn’t take long before I noticed the peculiarity. “Jesus H. Distinctively Christ, this is ridiculous...” I uttered in frustration as I glanced at my imaginary list of bad deeds which regrettably surpassed the length of Rapunzel’s hair. It may not mean anything for someone else but, to me, it was an epiphany.

After that, I started to wonder if consciousness can really survive the body’s death and if there’s a possibility for us to know the states of consciousness that belong to the afterlife without dying. Hence, I explored, and with the same amount of excitement I had for genitals, I found seven categories as to how various religions perceive life after death.


1. Heaven or Eternal Paradise



Your soul finds itself in a perfected world surrounding God. You go to Paradise as a reward and never leave. If you are bad, you go to Satan’s bachelor pad where he slaps you from behind each day and night while saying, “You like that, huh?”


2. The Godhead



God exists in three persons. The three persons of the Godhead possess identical attributes. They are one in substance and one in essence, and therefore they are one God. Your soul returns to God, but not in any particular place. You discover the location of God as a timeless state infused with his presence. Amen.


3. The Spirit World




Your soul rests in a realm of departed spirits. You are drawn back to those you loved in this life. Or you rejoin your ancestors, who are gathered with the great spirit. You see dead people, walking around like regular people. Then there’s Bruce Willis. Oh, sorry. He’s still alive, right?


4. Transcendence




Your soul either quickly or gradually dissolves and all your beliefs and memories are erased. The pure soul rejoins the sea of consciousness from which it was born. You’re like a tiny drop of water released by a heavy dark cloud floating above the middle of an ocean. After spending your life in the shadows of this material plane, it’s now time for you to be reunited with the collective.


5. Transmigration (or Metempsychosis)




Your soul is caught in the cycle of rebirth. Depending on one’s karma, each soul rises or falls from lower to higher life forms — and may even be reborn in objects. The cycle continues eternally until your soul attains the highest realization.


6. Awakening




Your soul arrives in the light. You see with complete clarity for the first time, realizing the truth of existence that was masked by being in a physical body. You enter nirvana where Buddha and Kurt Cobain are chanting mantras to the tune of Smells Like Teen Spirit.


7. Dissolution: Eternity is nothingness




As the chemical components of your body return to basic atoms and molecules, the consciousness created by the brain disappears completely. You are no more. Nothing, nada, zilch, zip!


8. I don’t know. Let’s find out!



This one has to be my favorite. Your soul is confused to the point of spiritual illness. You read and hear so many things, but you just can’t seem to decide on which one to put your faith upon. You wonder why so many people want to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die. Then you decide to just sit back, relax, and enjoy the show.

Decades later, the little boy who thought he was going to have a party in hell with the devil, grew up to become a fairly decent man and can even be described, according to one of his friends, as a cosmic comedian - fighting to save humanity from eternal torture and damnation (props to Marty for the title).

Yeah, I accept nothing and disbelieve everything. That’s just me, of course. Give my regards to Satan.

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Essential Speed Reading Tips For Bloggers

Speed reading is an indispensable skill for bloggers and you should have it. The reason is that a major portion of your activity on the web is dedicated to two things – reading and writing. If you take blogging seriously, then you probably do research for your articles, read other people’s blogs, visit news sources and meme trackers, answer or send emails, leave comments on other people’s websites, and so on. All these activities allow us to improve our skills on observation, interpretation, communication, and argumentation, but a common problem for all is the lack of time and the inability to read fast to absorb more information and accomplish more tasks.

To solve the dilemma, I assembled numerous ways on how you can develop your ability to read more quickly while making sure that ideas stay inside your mind for a longer period of time. The degree of improvement may depend on your personality and interests, but if you follow these techniques whole heartedly, you will notice a drastic improvement on your reading comprehension and retention rate.


How To Prepare Yourself For Reading




1. Maintain a positive attitude. You’re more likely to remember what you read if you have less worries.

2. Find a suitable environment where you can read with less distraction.

3. Understand your current ability. Find out if you are capable of recognizing the concepts inside the material.

4. Clarify your purpose. It helps in organizing thoughts inside your head during the actual process of reading.

5. Find the main idea. The title of articles, essays, and books should have it. If you encounter vague titles, then look for the main idea on the first paragraph.

6. Finding the supporting ideas. In books, the chapters ordinarily contain the supporting ideas. In articles, you can see them on subheaders just like what I did on this post.

7. Determine the word choice and point of view of the author. It helps you understand more easily where he or she is coming from.

8. Determine the tone of what you’re reading. It will help you realize how you should align your own mood in the course of reading the text.

9. Do some skimming and scanning first. Your mind will capture snapshots of the material. As you read further, the ideas will appear more familiar to you.

10. Have a pen or a marker to highlight important words or ideas.


What Makes Reading Slow




1. Difficulty of the text - Each subject, topic, or niche has its own set of technical terms and jargon. The more you know the terms being used, the easier it is for you to understand the material.

2. Faulty eye movements - To avoid inaccuracy in placement of the eye while reading, use a guide.

3. Regression (re-reading of items already read) – Highlight points you do not understand then return to it when you’re done with the whole material. You’ll notice it will make more sense once you’ve digested the rest of the contents.

4. Word-by-word reading – You should either read fluidly or read words in big chunks. Only kids in kindergarten read sentences word-by-word.

5. Subvocalization (the process of putting sounds to words you read) – Avoid pronouncing words in your mind as you read. Don’t treat words as words when you read. Treat them as symbols that represent different concepts.

6. Outside anxiety or stressors (job, home, family, etc.) – Yeah, this sucks. Before you read, make sure you address any pressing issue at home or at work so that your mind will be free to concentrate on what you’re reading.

7. The false belief that slow reading leads to better comprehension – Your brain and mind are capable of many unbelievable tasks. It’s just your belief that is getting on their way.

8. Poor evaluation regarding the relevant parts of the reading material – Follow the first ten steps in this article and you will be able to avoid this mistake.

9. Lack of sufficient vocabulary – In reality, words are many but objects are few. We invent words all the time although we may just be referring to the same thing. Nonetheless, you should keep up with the trend as much as you can if you want to improve your reading skills.

10. Concern about technique – You may be conscious about the techniques at first, but once they are embedded into your subconscious mind, you’ll be able to execute them automatically.


Factors Contributing to Speed



1. Urgency and stress levels – Be your own boss and give yourself a deadline. Depending on what kind of material you’re reading, setting a time frame for reading it will give you a sense of urgency.

2. Concentration – Your concentration can be affected by both environmental and cognitive factors. Find a place where there are less distractions and eliminate unwanted thoughts in your head.

3. A good attitude towards reading – If you don’t like reading, then there’s really no need to ask why you’re so slow at it. It’s a no-brainer. People who love to read get to practice often.

4. Familiarity with language rules – Speed may also depend on how familiar you are with language use and structure. Understanding basic rules in grammar and writing extremely helps in being able to read fast.

5. Good background knowledge of the subject – Expand your field of interest. Read articles and books on many subjects as hard as you can. Sticking to one is no longer practical in our time. As Kurt Vonnegut once said, “Specialization is for insects.”

6. Build the context first – The material you read may be presented through various forms of expression and social context. It will be easy to identify the context by learning about the author’s background first.

7. The faster you go the less you will vocalize – Your mental image projector works faster than your mental boom box. Like I said earlier, you should avoid using self-talk while reading. Just visualize.

8. Read actively – Ask yourself questions, highlight words, and observe your emotions. These are just some of the things you can do to read actively.

9. Use ear plugs - Oh yeah! Can’t leave home without them. This is probably the best thing that works for me. Noise is my greatest enemy. I just love it when I don’t hear anything.

10. Push yourself and practice often – It is also useful to keep a daily/weekly record of your reading speed. To do this, you should know how to calculate your reading speed first.


How To Improve Your Reading IQ



1. Recognize organizational strategies – People use traditional structures for conveying information. Understanding the patterns of organization can help improve not just your speed but the way you absorb ideas as well.

2. Prediction – To keep yourself hooked to what you’re reading, anticipate what the author will say by predicting his or her conclusions.

3. Distinguish fact from opinion – When an author provides citation of other people’s work, he or she may be presenting a fact. Majority of the time, however, he or she is giving an opinion about the subject.

4. Record your questions and reactions – Write them down so you can do some research after you finish what you are reading.

5. Visualize to remember – If you associate new ideas with your own experience by using your imagination, then there is a higher chance that it will stay in your memory.

6. Practical application – Good ideas are useful ideas. Make sure that what you’re reading is actually something that you can apply at some point in your life.

7. Interact - Give your own ideas and contribute to the discussion. If it’s a blog you’re reading, use the comment section. If you’re reading a book, send the author an email.

8. Identify the solution – Ordinarily, solutions involve action statements. In articles like this one, it’s not hard to see that. In other forms of writing, solutions may be hard to spot.

9. Evaluate what you read – State what you generally feel about what you’ve just read. Is it good or is it bad? State the reasons on why you perceive it the way you do.

10. Examine your thoughts and feelings about what you've just read – Did it make you cry? Did it make you pee in your pants? Did it make you want to stand up and shout, “This is SPARTAAA!”

I’m certain some of you are already using some of the techniques here. Would you mind sharing what works for you best?

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Fear No Evil! Conquer Your Demons!

Thoughts become things. You’ve probably heard this phrase before and know why it became so popular. If not, then I won’t tell you because it’s a secret. However, do you agree that the things you think about, like fear, are as real as you are? If you’ll ask me, I’d say, “hell yeah!”

Fact is, each day is like a battle for me because I’m always fighting. I’m fighting little infectious creatures inside my head which other people oftentimes call demons. These demons are as real as anything can be because they affect my actions. Therefore, one certainly needs to guard his greatest ally, the mind, from thoughts that create fear all the time and I think you’ll agree with me on that.

To protect myself from my mental enemies, I carry weapons with me all the time - weapons that kill negative thoughts but create peace of mind. I want to share them with you so that you have something to use when you fight your own demons. To conquer fear, just remember these simple reminders.

• The components of anxiety, stress, fear, and anger do not exist independently of you in the world. It’s all in your mind.


• The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.


• Action is a great restorer and builder of confidence. Thinking will not overcome fear but action will.


• If you look into your own heart, and you find nothing wrong there, then there is nothing to worry about.


• The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.


• Ignorance leads to fear. Knowledge leads to power.


• Men are moved by two levers only: fear and self interest.


• Fear of death increases in exact proportion to increase in wealth.


• The greatest mistake we make is living in constant fear that we will make one.


• Fear is the foundation of most governments.

• Depend on no one. The moment you reject all help will you be free of fear.


• Dislike evil, feel tranquil, listen to good teachings, and you will be free of fear.


• Do the thing you fear most and the death of fear is certain.


• He who is not everyday conquering some fear has not learned the secret of life.


• If you know the enemy and know yourself you need not fear the results of a hundred battles.


• Things done well and with a care, exempt themselves from fear.


• There is a time to take counsel of your fears, and there is a time to never listen to any fear.


• In order to succeed, your desire for success should be greater than your fear of failure.


• Know what not to fear and you will have courage.


• It is not death that a man should fear, but he should fear never beginning to live.

Remember, your greatest enemy is not what you fear. It is fear itself. You don’t have to go out of your mind when things go wrong or out of control. Life may be like fighting a war, but if you nurture courage, you will be able to conquer all your fears.

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