Wanchain's Space

Seth exercise: following non-recognized neurological sequences (1) The analogy of the onion layers. You are used to a time structure, so that you remember something that happened at a particular time in the past. Usually you can record events in that fashion (chronologically). The body record events biologically in neurological pockets as it perceives activity. Those neurological pulses are geared to the biological world you know. (2) Past, present, future all exist in the now . Other-life memories do float to the surface, but their rhythm is not synchronized, and they are not tied into the nervous system as precisely as your   regular memories. Your present gains its feeling of depth because of your past as you understand it.  Other life memories are carried along beneath those other pulses, never coming to rest so that they can be examined , instead, forming the undercurrents (unconscious) upon which the memories of your current life ride. The future represents another kind of dep

The three main reasons that propelled me to write: 1) The Swiss film director Godard once said, "Art is not a reflection of reality.  It is the reality of a reflection." After I started writing, I understood this point.  It is the main reason why I am still writing today. We think we are alive, but we are often dead inside.  A writer's task is to instill life in her writings.  If she has no life in her, she will have no life to instill in her works, and her audience will be able to sense it, how ever subtle that life may be. My cousin's photography instructor said, to take a good portrait photo, the photographer must be genuinely interested in the subject.  In the same way, to write a good book, the writer must be genuinely interested and passionate about the subject.  After I started writing, I have taken up an interest in arachnids, the Qing dynasty, and other subjects which I would normally disregard, and have engaged in various conversations as part of my

Laugh Like Children

After speaking to the Writer in Residence today about my story, I started to ask myself, "How to inspire others?" I did ask her that question, as to how to inspire others with my writing. She laughed. It was a very broad question. She said, she could write an essay on that topic. Okay, no hard and fast rule. That's fine. Based on the questions and comments of the Writer in Residence, I saw that my story did not inspire her. That's fine. Different people focus on different aspects of the same thing. I can be inspired just by looking at the clouds. But not everyone can get inspired with little stimulation. This is how I started my question. I don't want to inspire by telling, for example, by explicitly writing something like the teachers are not the ones to teach but to learn from the students ; or the one who inflicts pain is the one to learn compassion and love from his victims ; etc. I think it's meaningless to just say it to others. I don't

One day, the president of Toastmasters Club came to me to ask me to participate in the weekly meetings. I had stopped doing so after I finished 20 speeches. I had never felt comfortable with Toastmasters. It's not the public speaking that I have trouble with. It is the structure and advices that I have trouble with. I am curious and inquisitive. I prefer to be self-taught. I learn best by exploration and experimentation. I need a lot of freedom to explore and play. I prefer to be a free-range chicken rather than a penned up chicken. An environment that is highly structured and has many rules stifles my creativity and growth. The first Toastmasters meeting gave me that very restrictive feeling. I managed to stick to it for over a year. I don't think I can stick to it any more. The president of the club did not give me the freedom I needed. In fact, he did exactly the opposite. He said, I should do this and that. He said it's not fair that after I had received my awar

A Bruneian Friend One day I messaged my Bruneian friend something silly, like "Have you ever tried ...?" It was a funny thought that I wanted to share with him. He replied, "Have you ever thought of the quality of your question?" I was immediately taken aback by his response. My funny moment turned solemn. As if he had not succeeded in dampening my mood, he continued, "Pay attention to how your thought affect the level of your consciousness. Ask yourself, what is the benefit of your question?" I told him, sometimes I like to play around, to explore, to be curious, etc. He did not reply. This is a friend I've known for 15 years. He's very sociable, witty, and funny in a social setting. A Pakistani Colleague I have a Pakistani colleague who have been in the same company as me for the last four or five years. When I first knew him, he would always advise me to get a better job with a higher pay and a nice job title. He would advise me to be