Brave New World – the Book

Brave New World by Aldus Huxley was part of my high school curriculum so I was forced to read it in my youth.   It is more than 30 years since I read Brave New World and such was the impression upon me that I remember it surprisingly well till this day.  I also remember it being one of the hardest books to get into as I struggled with the first chapter or so trying to follow multiple conversations of the different characters being introduced into the story.

Once into the book I was fascinated by the dystopia Huxley described where on surface all the world problems had been solved and finally everyone was happy.  The scariest thing about this dystopia was that it seemed to work and there was no opposition to it nor could one develop.

A world where everyone belonged to everyone and nobody belonged to anybody. This was achieved by removing the function procreation from individuals and assigning it to the state.  Babies are no longer born but genetically engineered and decanted from test tubes. 

The practice of eugenics and cloning is used to create a caste system with members naturally predisposed to their role in society and re-enforced further by conditioning including constant subliminal instructions from birth to be happy with their role.

Sexual promiscuity is promoted and even taught to young children.  Forming long term relationships is frowned upon and considered unhealthy.  Emotions are kept under control with voluntary doses of Soma drug to modulate feelings.    There is even a new religion with Henry Ford as the figurehead admired as the father of modern mass production.

Brave New World – the Movie

I recently became aware that a 1998 movie had been made and was very curious to see it.  I finally got a copy and just finished watching it.  I found it generally disappointing as it failed to present the same believable model of the dystopia I had read in the book.

Visually the movie was disappointing and unconvincing.   The movie is meant to be set far in the future after the death of Ford and devastating World Wars that resulted in the setting up of a world government, but the technology shown was at best contemporary and in many cases already dated.

The clothing was also very dated with a mix of contemporary and retro 60s.   In one scene the World Controller had on a bright orange suit with huge chunky orange beads and would have looked in place on a set for Austin Powers.

The movie only superficially covered the caste system and neglected the cloning aspect among the lower castes.   At one point in the movie a Delta Tea lady is asked if she is happy to be a Delta and she confirms she is using a programmed response from her conditioning.   To my mind she looked far too normal and unconvincing compared to glazed eyed moronic Delta I expected to see.

There were changes to the characters and story line also that I think detracted from the believability.

In the book Bernard is socially inapt but desperately wants fit in.  He is physically shorter than other Alpha plus caste members and there are rumours that alcohol was accidently administered to his test tube this being a method employed to stunt the growth of Epsilons. 

The rivalry between Bernard and his boss culminating in a plot to kill Bernard using a reconditioned Delta are additions not found in the book.  While this made the characters far more human by our standards they are inconsistent with the socially conditioned members of Brave New World where such personal rivalry and aggression would be alien concepts.  

In my opinion there is too much missing from the movie and it fails to deliver the believable vision of a dystopia that Huxley wanted to warn us about.   I suggest skipping the movie which is very forgettable and reading the book.

One of my interests this year has been quantum physics and there is a term used when referring to the universe that has caught my imagination – Infinite Possibilities.

At first it seemed to me to be just another buzz word in the amazing mix of ideas that quantum physics explores but it kept popping into my head and slowly its real meaning started to hit me. It is an idea so exciting with so many ramifications that you will never see the world the same way again.

A month ago I came across and audio program of the same name by Mike Dooley and I knew I had to listen to it. Mike was actually featured in The Secret and has been running a website for many years with what he calls the adventurers club. The concept being that life is an adventure. He also has a mailing list called Notes from the Universe which I have been subscribing to for some time.

So I downloaded it aware that it would not really be on the topic of quantum physics but related none the less.

I have actually listened to a lot of material from many of the world’s most renowned motivational speakers and the messages of many are similar. From each I can usually gleam a new insight or some clarification of a topic I am already familiar with.

Watch this Youtube video of Mike talking about his Notes from the Universe

The 12 hour audio program Infinite Possibilities from Mike knocked my socks off. For me it was a lot more than a few more insights and some clarification – it actually helped me put some important jigsaw pieces for the puzzle of like together. Everything has started to make a lot more sense.

Many programs can be motivational and inspirational but this was enlightening and liberating. If you are interested in Mike’s message in the above video or perhaps already familiar with him in The Secret then you are here to take your next step on your road to understanding. You are here to discover Infinite Possibilities.

The sixth sense

I came across this brilliant use of technology and thought it was a brilliant example of creative thinking. 

I am a bit of a technology buff and very interested on how new technology impacts on society so this is of particular interest to me.

 Here is the description:

‘SixthSense’ is a wearable gestural interface that augments the physical world around us with digital information and lets us use natural hand gestures to interact with that information.

 Watch this video first – it should amaze you

If you enjoyed that then you can learn a more about how it works in the second video which is a presentation to TED

Pranav Mistry is the brilliant mind behind this new sixth sense.  Many people watching it might be thinking that he and MIT Media labs have developed totally new technology.  This is not really the case.  

It is really just a new human interface connecting up existing technologies.   They do not show the little “box” that runs it all but anyone that has a new i-phone will recognise many of the applications.  I do not mean to take away from the brilliance of the concept.   I admire this guys mind.

I don’t think I could ever go back to a mobile phone with a keypad now!

I came across the teachings of Abraham who is one of the original exponents of the Law of Attraction some time ago.   At first I assumed it was just more about the law of attraction but there is more to it than that.

Abraham is not a person but rather ARE non-physical entities that communicate through Esther and jerry Hicks.   Esther claims to channel  these entities from source energy from which we all originate.   She describes what she is doing as tapping into “infinite intelligence” which is the same term that Wallace Wattle used in the last century to describe much the same concept.   

Here is a summary of some of the major concepts of Abrahams teachings:

• You are a physical extension of that which is non-physical.
• You are here in this body because you chose to be here.
• The basis of your life is freedom; the purpose of your life is joy.
• You are a creator; you create with your every thought.
• Anything that you can imagine is yours to be or do or have.
• You are choosing your creations as you are choosing your thoughts.
• The Universe adores you; for it knows your broadest intentions.
• Relax into your natural well-being. All is well.
• You are a creator of thoughtways on your unique path of joy.
• Actions to be taken and money to be exchanged are by-products of your focus on joy.
• You may appropriately depart your body without illness or pain.
• You can not die; you are everlasting life.

I had seen references from time to time about Abraham being included in the first release of the secret but later removed by Rhonda Byrne for some reason.  I had suspected that maybe Rhonda decided that using “Abraham” would be too way out there when many of the ideas of the secret were already going to challenge people.  It turns out this was just my own speculation.

First the “The Secret” Original Intro with Esther Hicks and deleted scenes:

Next Abraham – via Esther Hicks – explains why there are two versions of “The Secret” DVD and why Abraham is no longer in the video. Recorded live at a 2007 Abraham-Hicks workshop

Firstly I am very happy with Attractor Genie but was not overly impressed with their support response.  They tried to help but just did not seem to understand my questions.

I had three questions and created a separate ticket for each.

Question 1 : Application Bug (very minor) – Reminder function display
Question 2 : New Functionality request – add additional questions to Daily Journal
Question 3 : Windows Support – Subliminal application and dual monitor extended desktop

If you read the descriptions below you will see that these are all very minor concerns and when I think about it  THIS IS ALL I HAVE FOUND after using the application for a month then I have to conclude that Attractor Genie is VERY GOOD.   I find more issues with most of the “big name” applications where they have hundreds of developers.

Question 1 : Application Bug (very minor) – Reminder function display

I reported what is a real bug with the Reminder function.  If you create a reminder with multiple lines that extend down below the default displayed onscreen you cannot scroll to read them despite there being a scroll bar.  It is disabled and “greyed out”.    The reminder function does not support hyper links so you cannot have a link to open the fully txt from another source.  You also cannot click to open the original reminder to view in full.

Now if the Reminder function only allowed you to input the same number of lines it displays I would have just accepted this as a limitation but because it allows you to enter more that it displays it can be considered a bug. 

The response from support was to send me this asking if mine worked the same.

I’ve just setup a reminder on my PC
Here’s what happens on my PC
http://i42.tinypic.com/2wdpowm.jpg

Yes it would work that way on mine also but had they tested it with more than 4 lines they might have noticed the problem also.  I have created the same test with 10 lines to demonstrate and only 7 are displayed.

 
The scroll bar to the right does not work

Question 2 : New Functionality request – add additional questions to Daily Journal

In the daily journal there is a questions tab.   There you will find about 40 categories of questions with each category containing a number of pre-written questions designed to prompt you to think further about topics you are concerned about.  I think this is a great resource that I will write more about later.

My question to support was can I add my own questions.   My reason for wanted to do so is that I am current doing another online course that provides me with daily questions and I thought it would be great to use Attractor Genie rather than print off the question sheet and physically write the answers as they course suggests. 

I also asked about the data structure of Attractor Genie thinking I might be able to edit the files and insert my own question category.

This is not a bug with the Attractor Genie application but rather a request for a new functionality in future updates. 

Question 3 : Windows Support – Subliminal application and dual monitor extended desktop

I asked about the subliminal application and support for dual monitor extended desk top configurations explaining that it only seemed to work on the primary monitor (1) and I wanted the subliminal messages to display on the second monitor (2).  The response was to show me what the working subliminal screen should look like and some irrelevant suggestions. 

Subliminal
This is how it would like:
http://i44.tinypic.com/osxx8w.jpg

If you don’t see all parts of the Subliminal Generator It means
that you are not using “a native resolution” on your PC  Screen.

Please change the screen resolution(set it to 1024×768) and see
If anything changes.

Yes this is what it looked like for me but had nothing to do with my question.  

I would have accepted a response that they did not support dual monitor extended desk top configuration.   I have since resolved this problem and It turns out that it is a Windows function and nothing at all to do with Attractor Genie.

I am running vista on a notebook with a second monitor attached and using the extended screen option.   To set this up you right click the desktop and select “Personalize” and then “Display Settings”.  It does not give you the option there to change the primary monitor.

When I run the subliminal application from Attractor genie it only displays on the first monitor (the smaller notebook screen) which is not the primary one I use.   Therefore it was not much use to me as at the very best I would only pick it up in my peripheral vision.

In what can only now be called serendipity my display went crazy for no apparent reason with my display rotated.  I had no idea what was happening but it forced me to delve deeper into the options. 

I actually found that for some reason my screen rotation had changed under “Graphics Options” “Rotation”   You get there by a Right Click on the desktop and not via “Personalize” where I had been looking.  I fixed the rotation but also noticed “Graphics Properties” and what do you know…It gives you the option to specify the primary monitor.    

Not only has this fixed my Attractor Genie subliminal application (have it running now – works perfectly) but it has also fixed some other minor irritations with the dual screen extended monitor configuration.  It’s wonderful now.   The only thing is that I had to physically rearrange my desk as the notebook now needs to sit off to my right.  

I suppose all of this would not make any sense to anyone that has not seen the extended desktop working.

While assisting people wanting to run the subliminal application with dual monitor configurations is probably beyond the scope of Attractor Genie support I invite them to take this information and add it to their knowledge base as it might assist other attractor genie users in the future.

Today I had the experience of seeing what I could have become.  A sort of “there go I but for the grace of God” type of realization.

I have mentioned in previous posts my encounter with a psychopath and how it took me off the rails for the previous year.   I was deeply affected by this experience and actually vented all my emotions including bitterness and anger on a website I made dedicated to the love of my son who was taken away from me by this psychopath.

Well it seems that the Psychopath has found an ally in another guy who is bitter and twisted about being kicked out of an organization which I am currently a member and serving as a president.

He has attacked me personally on his website using false allegations made against me by the psychopath.  His vitriolic website has been running for a few years attacking the organization and any members of it who do not support him.

He has chosen to attack me purely because I am associated with this organization he is running his own personal war against. 

He claims to take high moral ground in attacking me but if he is honest to himself then he knows he has only attacked me because I am currently serving as a president within that organization he hates.

The guy seeks revenge against an organization that he feels has wronged him.

“Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves.” – Confucius

The reality is he is only digging his own early grave because the organization he is attacking is too big and impersonal to care about him.  His attempts to attack and embarrass it are futile.

This guy attacked me a perfect stranger in order to send another volley at the organization he hates with every being of his body.  In particular I resent that he also negated my love for my son as part of his attack.  

I recognise that I could have gone down the path he has.   My website was similar to his but I do not believe it was anywhere near as vitriolic.   Mind you that could have come in time if I allowed it to become an obsession as his war against this organization has become. 

Friends warned me that it was becoming an obsession with me many advised me to pull back.  Many of my friends told me to close the site and get on with my life.  These are real friends who care about me.  I wonder if he had friends to tell him to let it go.  If he did then perhaps he ignored them. 

There is a time to let go and I have been fortunate enough to recognise it before I too became a bitter, angry and twisted person.  

This guy also needs to let go and take back control of his life.   He needs to sit down and really re-evaluate his life.  He is only harming himself by continuing to hold all these feelings of anger and hatred.

The guy wants me to resign from this organization.  He might be surprised to learn that I am most willing to do so.  In fact I have been looking forward to the end of the term as it’s just not important to me now.  I have made it clear to the organization that my resignation is there for the asking.  If it’s asked for then this guy will feel that he has won a great victory but in reality he will have gained nothing at all.

Also read Choose your battles wisely

I am not sure the direction this blog with take.  Will it be a self indulgence that I put up like a personal journal or a useful resource for others?  

To some extent I know it will be a journey of exploration and discovery.   I also envisage it as a focal point for my own Personal Development.

Thus begins my blog about the power of thoughts.