M.J. Penny's Blog, page 4

Behind da Vinci

So much has been written, suggested and created around the genius of Leonardo da Vinci – but what is it about the man that makes him such an enigma?

Movies, books and implications of the Master’s mind have made for compulsive interest. Through his own personal notebooks, da Vinci revealed his thoughts about life, society, science and life.… Read the rest

STORY IDEAS VIA SELF-HYPNOSIS

By Dave Wise

While much of what a writer does is simply down to discipline and putting in the hours, each has a way of accessing the Muse.

Believe it or not, I get a lot of my ideas using a metronome and meditation.

Here’s how it works for me:

    I relax in my writing room for ten minutes.… Read the rest

10 Tips for a Stress Free Christmas

Do you remember when you were a child and the anticipation of Christmas got you excited? Can you recall your parents decorating the tree in December and the excitement sitting in the pit of your stomach?

Roll forward 25-years and it’s a different story. The excitement has been replaced with anxiety and the anticipation exchanged for fear.… Read the rest

The Road Less Travelled

[image error]We’ve all done it – we’ve all taken paths of least resistance at some points in our life, and yes sometimes it’s good to just go with the flow and swim with the current rather than resist it.  But what happens when it is the norm, when it becomes a matter of habit?

Life can become very stagnant when we choose the easy options, we learn nothing new. Of course we are comfortable just dawdling along, but by not risking anything, neither do we gain anything – sometimes we just need to get out of our comfort zone.  When we travel along a road we know so well, there are no surprises and we feel secure, when we are taken off road along different paths, it gives us an uneasy feeling, and the older we get, the more uneasy we feel.  What you need to decipher is the difference between gut-instinct and old habit patterns.

Gut instinct is that deep feeling that something is wrong, the hairs go up on the back of your neck and you instinctively know something. Habit patterns are based on conditioned response and are an unconscious reaction, served up by the subconscious out of pure habit.

Irish Philosopher, Edmund Burke (1729-1797) once said: “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.“  No real sane person likes conflict, but sometimes is it necessary to stand up for what you think is right instead of travelling along that old comfortable road?  It’s not easy to stand up for what you believe in, especially if the majority of the masses disagree with you. It’s easy to turn a blind eye and ear to what you feel is right just for that feeling of security.

If you always take the predictable safe route, you will never know what you are truly capable of, you will never know your steel or your resolve, and of course you will never really know yourself – you will forever be the background noise, the statistic of the average.  Human Beings by their very design are remarkable creatures – just take a look at the world around you, the cities, the buildings, the infrastructures, look at what was created because of someone’s vision and the courage to carry out their imagination.  Then take a look at the destructive forces mankind wields, the wars, the injustice and the misery. Again, creation is not biased, it can be used for either negative or positive results, but YOU are the deciding factor, it is your choice to accept or change the world you live in and it starts with just one step-the road of least resistance or the road less travelled.

Technological advances have made the world a smaller place. Through the internet, you can meet up with like minded people and create something new, change what needs changing and take back your power – you have a voice. Old-fashioned and outdated propaganda and spin are quickly diminishing as news can reach millions of people with the stroke of a keyboard – you shape your world by your thoughts, feelings and actions. For more information on organisations dedicated to change visit:  http://www.change.org and http://sumofus.org to see where you can make a difference.

That unknown and winding road that very few people take is waiting for you.

Tags:  attitude, Behaviour, lifestyle, Negative Emotions, positive thinking, positive thought




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 A Willing Servant by E.R. Thompson & How to Cure Insomnia  Why is Liverpool Rejoicing at Thatcher's Death?  Putting things into perspective  Are you really you?  7 Steps for Creating the Life YOU Want Copyright © M.J. Penny [The Road Less Travelled], All Right Reserved. 2014.

Don’t Worry – Be Happy

Life is often called a fleeting experience.  Yet if it is so fleeting, why then, when we have the choice, do we choose to live life in suffering?

You could say that since we are here, why at this juncture in our lives do we allow negativity, depression, consumerism and egotism dominate the way we live our lives?

Answer:  Because we are only doing what we know.  If we don?t know anything different, then how can we make that choice to live life fuller and happier, in a state of presence?

In the downturn of a global recession the old system, the old mindset is failing.  Many people no longer strive for aspirations of a lavish lifestyle ? many are choosing a quality of life instead of a standard of living.  People are more aware now of the great global money and power making machine ? the conditioned world of the carrot and donkey.  More now than ever there are a vast number of people in the western world who are not looking for happiness through stuff.  In other words, they know they won?t find happiness through a top of the range car, a new wrinkle cream or feel that creating a life of long work hours and stress is worth that house they cannot afford.

More and more people are waking up. They want a life that means something; they want purpose other than accumulating stuff that adds no real value to their life.  And it?s not only consumerism that is being scrapped slowly, propaganda, gossip, advertising techniques designed to make you part with your cash and status chasing is not as powerful on the masses as it once was ? it is losing its appeal and people are becoming more aware of this.

With any shift in mindset comes upheaval ? we can only scrap and do away with the old system if we have a new and better system in place.  Through the age old process of ?demand and supply?, once people demand better, demand different, then it is only then that it is created for them.  We are after all co-creators on this planet, and as such responsible for the state of play here.

So as Ghandi once said: ?Begin by being the change you want to see in the world?.  It is only when we become that change that we will see it reflected like a mirror in the world around us.  Don?t waste your life on negativity that serves you no purpose or tie yourself up with other people?s opinions of status and aspirations….Only you know what makes you happy.

Tags:  attitude, Behaviour, Negative Emotions, positive thinking, positive thought, self help




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Comments:  0 (Zero), Be the first to leave a reply!You might be interested in this:  
 Children of Divorced Parents Are More Likely to Switch or Leave Religions  D. H. Lawrence - Pornography and Obscenity  More than half of us will send a Facebook message instead of a gift or card this mother's day  Singapore based writer unseats Stephen King as Number 1 Horror author on Amazon  The Most Valuable Question You Can Ask Copyright © M.J. Penny [Don't Worry - Be Happy], All Right Reserved. 2013.

A man who will be sorely missed

A powerful and shining light, that chased the shadows away and made this world a better place to live in.  Today the world mourns a great man.

Sleep well Nelson.

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 10 Simple Ways to Build Self Confidence  Be Interested by E.R. Thompson  7 Steps for Creating the Life YOU Want  When will you be happy?  What are relationships all about?Copyright © M.J. Penny [A man who will be sorely missed], All Right Reserved. 2013.

National Novel Writing Month

Get your bum into that chair, pencils sharpened and at the ready…It’s National Novel Writing Month!

Don’t think you can do it? What if I said you only needed to write 1,670 words a day to complete a novel within one month?  Doesn’t sound that difficult now does it?  To find out more about the initiative, visit: http://nanowrimo.org/ to sign up.  From here you can track the progress of your novel, get support from other members and join in with the writing community.  National Novel Writing Month begins November 1st and ends November 30th.

If it’s getting started that’s the problem, I recently wrote a guest blog for a self publishing site, clockwork content publishing. Getting into the writer’s mindset is sometimes all you need to begin feeling inspired to write. To check on my tips, click here to learn the shortcuts to getting into that writing zone.

Tags:  writing




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 The10 Best Self Help Phone Apps  Think Straight  E.R. Thompson - The Human Machine, Secrets of Success  The Nation That Procrastinates Reveals New UK Statistics  How Authors can Get More Followers on Twitter - Georgia Tech ResearchCopyright © M.J. Penny [National Novel Writing Month], All Right Reserved. 2013.

Live Out Loud by Keri Smith

Being an only child, growing up was a lonely business.  Born of the era where children were seen but not heard and without a voice, I would escape into a world of books and creativity.  As money was scarce for my family, treats that children take for granted these days was unheard of back then, so I would spend hours creating things from scraps found around the house.  Old clothes would be re-fashioned into funky bags and purses, margarine tubs would become little miniature gardens and macaroni would become painted necklaces.

I’d forgotten all this until I stumbled upon Keri Smith’s ‘Live Out Loud’.  It’s a great book and has transformed me back to my childhood on rainy afternoons between publishing projects.  As a writer, I always worry about stagnating, my voice becoming stale and ending up with nothing to say, or worse, just saying the same thing over and over again, like dementia for creative has-beens.

The childish tone of voice of Keri’s book is a kindly reminder that the creative acts of our youth were indeed a route into inspiration.  The exercises in this book are an excellent media to tap into that childlike creativity once again…it’s a definite must for all creative types.  Along with this edition, Keri also has further books that are available that will surprise and help you find that childlike awe you once held.

Tags:  Good Reads




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 Are you really you?  A Great Big Thank You  Praising Children for Their Personal Qualities May Backfire  The10 Best Self Help Phone Apps  Conquering Shyness by E. R. Thompson -The Human MachineCopyright © M.J. Penny [Live Out Loud by Keri Smith], All Right Reserved. 2013.

Putting things into perspective

The Universe Song

Putting things into perspective as only Monty Python can!

Monty PythonWe’ve all done it, we’ve all had those times.  The times when we’ve let our minds attach themselves to those nasty thoughts, the worse case scenarios and future fears-the what ifs?  When you actually think about it though, fear, worry and anxiety serve us very little purpose. The real purpose of such fears are really of any use when we actually face a problem or drama up close and personal, and somehow we survive the trauma, somehow we go on.  And yet we all do it, we project our future worries into the present, which really is illogical as we cannot do anything about a prospective event that has not happened or may very well not happen.

So what stops us living in the present? What stops us enjoying our life right now? The Answer: WE DO.  It may not be a conscious choice, but we all do it, we all project at sometime our future lives, so much so, that we don’t actually live at all in the present. Instead we move from one emotional reaction to another with scant thought as to the why’s and wherefores-it’s simply a subconscious habit.

So how do you live in the present?

It’s as simple as just being aware. It’s about making a conscious decision to be present and to enjoy or to not enjoy the moment-after all, you get to choose how any situation affects you….or you should do.  With 95% of our responses run on automatic pilot through the subconscious, it all too easy to forget the conscious choices we make, the old emotional reactions instilled in us through repetition.  So next time you find yourself worrying about a (possible) future event or fear-based problem, stop and think.

Tags:  attitude, Behaviour, lifestyle, Negative Emotions, positive thought for the day, self help, thinking




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 Praising Children for Their Personal Qualities May Backfire  6 ways to build your self esteem and maintain your self-confidence  The Drill Sergeant by E.R.Thompson  Busted! My marmoset monkey Alfie does the writingCopyright © M.J. Penny [Putting things into perspective], All Right Reserved. 2013.

Busted! My marmoset monkey Alfie does the writing

I just sit back and eat the bananas!

“We’ve all heard that a million monkeys banging on a million typewriters will eventually reproduce the entire works of Shakespeare, well I’m training mine now:) 

Just need to stop him hacking my Paypal Account…….

Tags:  Authors, Behaviour, Books & Literature, positive thought for the day, writing




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Comments:  0 (Zero), Be the first to leave a reply!You might be interested in this:  
 Bluey and the Great Spirit Moon  Taking Time Off From Yourself  How Authors can Get More Followers on Twitter - Georgia Tech Research  Five Signs of Sleep Disorders in School-Age Children with Special Needs  The Hardest Part About WritingCopyright © M.J. Penny [Busted! My marmoset monkey Alfie does the writing], All Right Reserved. 2013.