Hello everyone, I go by the name of Kaiser. I'm a 21 year old in his final year of Clinical Psychology. I'm also Vice President to my University's Astronomy Club. You can say I've always had a love to know how things work. With Psychology, the way the human mind thinks and behave is really the most interesting thing to me. I hope to do my master's thesis on Phobia. Why? Well, I've always thought the world became a better place every single time I see my professor help overcome someone's phobia at the clinic. Fighting fear makes you a modern day superhero. When it came to Astronomy, I was shocked to find out how 'tiny' we are in this Universe. I then proceeded a journey to find out how the Universe works. I found myself with the more I knew, the more questions came.
Now as the Astronomy Club enjoyed its events, I couldn't help but notice how much of our mailboX had so many letters talking about 'Doomsday' predictions. I got all kinds of crazy stuff that I had to check if I hadn't confused the Astronomy Department's mail with the Psychology Department. Anyways, most of the people told me to check Youtube so that's what I did. I couldn't believe how much of Youtube was 'infested' with these videos of Nibiru, Planet X, Elenin etc But I still decided to watch them anyways and I just couldn't handle the bad physics involved. I mean literally, we have a better chance of being attacked by Barney the Dinosaur. At first I thought it was funny when people would say there's a hidden planet behind our sun just waiting to pop out and go SURPRISE!
But then I realized if this grows big, it's going to spread because what I can tell you about Fear is that - it spreads. And so during 2009 and 2010, it got to the point where 1 in every 3 people has heard that the world is ending in 2012. In fact, during my Social Psychology class, a classmate brought up several suicide cases where people were too afraid to face the so called end when it comes. Rather than being sad, I was angry. Angry that when the joke has gone too far, one would eXpect it to stop but what happens instead? They make a blockbuster movie called 2012 with the tagline: We Were Warned. That's marketing and that's the quickest way to feed on your fears.
I decided to play it smart so here's what I did to help all those people who sent those Doomsday mails: I invited all of them (Roughly around 50 people) to the Astronomy Club's ideal Observing spot. I just stood there in the middle of them listening to what each had to say. Some pointing here and there: That's Nibiru! etc Then I shouted out and called for their attention. I proceeded by giving them a tour of the Universe. I spent at least 3 hours talking about the Universe from the Big Bang to our present day discoveries adding a few jokes here and there to let people know I'm easy going (Some thought I was a secret agent from NASA hiding 'the truth' :P) So anyways after they got a basic understanding, I gave them this eXample to think about: For a beautiful healthy tree to grow, it requires two things: Sunlight and Water. The leaves accomplish this by stretching towards the sunlight above while the roots go deep to the water below. And just like that, that's how the Universe works. Everything is in harmony. Everything is 'stable'.
But just like I spoke about how fear is contagious, so is knowledge. When everyone got an idea of the basic physics involved, everyone started to get an idea of the reality of things. Someone told me to point the telescope towards the Virgo constellation citing that google skymap and Nasa have 'blocked' that patch and so I did - guess what? Nothing. The remainder of the night I gave everyone the observation of their lives seeing everything from Planet Jupiter to the far ends of our Milky Way, even observing our neighbor Andromeda.
So what are you people scared about? The Earth has been here for quite a few billion years - does it make sense that now suddenly all this disasters just want to pop up and happen? Someone told me that there will be a polar shift ALL IN ONE DAY. Can you imagine that? North and South switching places all in one day. I told him as much as I wish that was true so we can all use some weather change and be attacked by angry Penguins who aren't happy with the results, it's just not possible. We live in the year 2011 and counting, what are the threats we have? Let me be frank with you. The real threat is nothing celestial in nature but actually us. We worry so much about things that can't harm us we forget the real threats that can harm us AND our Planet like diseases, pollution, that whole stuff you read about daily.
You guys remember the May 21st Rapture Prediction? So many people sold their homes and belongings only to be disappointed by a nice sunny day and an even better night sky! Looking at the interview of Harold Camping - the man responsible for the prediction in the first place, It hit me straight. I showed my head professor and we were dealing with a Paraphrinic - This person is in need of Psychological attention. So people followed predictions of a person who should be in an Asylum and I'll say that anytime of the day. That's quite embarrassing. I mean some of us are worried about Alien invasions when we should be worried that any delusional person who walks up to say something, so many people follow him. Is that the kind of person you want to be? And in the end it all came to pass. And speaking of Aliens, why are people so worried about this? So many people believe that Aliens will come and conquer and enslave mankind - a classic Steven Spielberg right there! But don't you think (Saying they eXist) if they wanted to do that, they would have done that far a long time ago? I mean if you could travel through space, you'd only be interested in tourism and observing.
I'm not going to advise anyone here to deal with their fears by turning their backs to it and doing something they like such as music, dancing etc No, my method is far different. Just like what I did with the crew, I advise you to tackle fear right in its face. If you ever have a question you're not sure about then ask your professors - these people spend their lives being good at what they do. If they weren't, then we really wouldn't be able to accomplish anything. The same goes for Physicists - if you got a question then feel free to ask they'll help out. If you're still anywhere from the 5th to 9th grade then I advise you to take Astronomy as a hobby. With it, you'll know that there's more to living than you anticipated and you can certainly tell those Doomsday wackos they're wrong. You can also pursue Astrophotography as a hobby since there's nothing as beautiful as our very own night sky. If you ever have a question, feel free to contact me and see www.2012hoax.org for all your 'true' answers. Clear Skies Everyone!
Special thanks to the admins of www.2012hoax.org for help spreading awareness.
Friday, 23 September 2011
Monday, 5 September 2011
Ibiza? I'll detail you!
Yoooo Party Peeps :D I'm dedicating this blog post to my trip in Ibiza. The majority of people know that Ibiza is the party capital of the world and in the top 10 best clubs in the world, 6 of them are in Ibiza (I've been to all of em) and I'm here to give you an honest review.
Okay for people who don't know - Ibiza is an island located off the coast of Spain. This island is known for its tourist attractions blablabla and over the years became the party capital of the world. I went with 3 close friends and I just can't eXpress how much fun we had. I really can't write down everything my friends and I did because then it won't end. If you want to know what we did in details and have a laugh, then you're just going to have to sit down with me. I'll dedicate this blog to describing the island since so many people don't know the details.
To start with, Ibiza has 2 major places - Ibiza Town and San Antonio. The major clubs such as Privilege and Amnesia to name a few are located in Ibiza Town. Ibiza Town also has the Bora Bora beach where it looks like palm beach Miami. People go walking down the road and endless coast where you got many many many side bars playing music and people dancing and dancing. There's eXtra activities all over the place like massages, tattoos, hair dreads, water sports etc etc etc
San Antonio may not have the biggest clubs but they do have clubs that would make the best club you've been to look like a church and yes I mean it that much. To name a few such as Eden and El Paradis. Our first night was at Eden and it was a Japanese based theme night. That means every day there's a sort of different theme. The pole dancers dressed up as Ninjas and did performing acts and the music was loud on techno and had something they called a foam party where foam goes down and everyone gets naked and wet :p Anyways, San Antonio is famous for its West End where it's got loads of restaurants and pubs and these pubs are known as pre and post party joints where people go and drink before and after the main event.
So we stayed in San Antonio and found out that a bus takes up for 1-3 euros 15-20 mins drive to Ibiza town or anywhere else so we get the best of both worlds without any problems. The bus drives are fun as well cause people are just drinking and clubbing even in the bus. First, if you don't know me just know that I'm a free spirit and every year I travel somewhere to take a break. Now usually I'm more of the spiritual type who would prefer to go to a place that's rich in culture but lately living in Lebanon and now I'm stuck with my cousin and close mates we've been heading to party centrals of the world. Ayia Napa, Mykonos, Ibiza etc Now that I'm here I'll give you guys a detailed idea. First of all, the currency there is in Euros so as you would eXpect, if you're going for a week you'll need at least 600-700 Euros to have a blast like a king or queen. Unlike Greece or Ayia Napa, Ibiza is more eXpensive so you're going to have to make a choice. You can find Chinese places that cost like 8 Euros a meal and you can find other places on the same street with 15 Euros for a Burger. Now Club life is different. The cheapest drink for a Vodka Redbull to say is like 10 Euros and goes up to 15 or 20. That's why most people here go drinking in the pubs where the shots go for like 3 to 6 euros and drinks for 8 or so. What I can say is that the alcohol is icy icy icy clean unlike Lebanon where the bastard puts you spirit and medicine or whatever. So what I'm trying to say is you can drink as hell and you'll wake up without even the slightest hangover and that's for Lebanese peeps ;P
Okay what you guys need to know is that, well, the girls there are goddesses. I mean picture the hottest girl you know in Lebanon and I promise you and I'll be fair that she'll score a 6/10 compared to those beauties there. I mean forget the majority of Europeans but they come out of something you see in Baywatch. Everyone with the blond, green, blue eyes. The brunettes there come tanned with light blue eyes and each of them with a height of not less than 170 centimeters. They're also really down to Earth and a simple hello gorgeous is enough to make them smile. When I landed in Lebanon with the obesity and drama queens, I just thought if someone went gay here after what he saw, he has every right.
And ladies, the guys there are all physically fit and I noticed most of them don't work out but they're just genetically modified to be ripped. I mean they drink so much alcohol yet they're almost running an 8 pack which was a real bummer. By the way, if you want to be part of their circle, you MUST have a tattoo or a weird hair style hands down.
Now the coolest part is that everyone is easy going and everyone is equal and they really take that into consideration. I mean the best night club in the world if you go in with basketball jersey and slippers, no one is gonna stop you. In Lebanon if you don't have 1 million wasta to go into Skybar and everyone is rude and nobody wants a part of you. Honestly on the door I was going to break down crying. By the way you guys there are no tables in the clubs. If you wanna sit down you got the bar and stuff but unlike Lebanon, there are no tables and you're not forced to drink anything.
The problem even though it's not really a problem is that most people are British and British people that age are real pricks. So if you're planning to socialize, then your list has been limited but remember that's if you're planning to meet people. If you're going with a group of friends then fuck everyone and have a great time. But if you aren't then just know Ibiza has like 60% British. They're quite racists with so much stereotype beliefs. I mean this one time my friend says he's from Lebanon and she literally went like aweeeeee as in fear :p But for the rest they'll like your black hair and they'll take the hair on your face as a sign of manliness.
Now for the clubs, I really can't eXplain to you no matter how hard I try. Let me start with Privilege. A year or two back it was voted biggest club in the world. It's so big the main room is the size of kaslik. You've got eXotic dancers playing and multiple DJs hitting the deck. DJ Tiesto just chilling there. The VIP section is unique and comes more eXpensive than other places but it's the kind of place where Tiesto, PVD, Snoop Dog sit down after the night's show. It's around the same price for a bottle in Skybar. Privilege is Tiesto's hang out spot and he's probably there every weekend or so.
But my favorite hands down is going to be Amnesia. You know I'm an Astronomy Freak, and it felt like those dreams where I was part of the Star Trek Crew - all the lights and music and people going nuts - I mean it's something you can't even see in a good hollywood movie. Multiple DJs stack the floor and professional musicians all playing for everyone to forget their problems. A professional saX player called Ruben really got the club upside down - he is a must see.
As for the beaches, they aren't white sand beaches like you'll find in Ayia Napa but that doesn't stop you from having a great time. The beaches in Ibiza makes you feel like you're in Baywatch - they've got bars with music playing and people join in to show off their dance moves and everyone is having a great time. I kinda liked the salt water cause it reminded me of Nigeria's lekki beach for some reason. Maybe the salt levels and the icy cold water just struck my memory back and forth. The only difference is that you don't swim with sharks and jellyfish :P
Anyways, I'm going to close it from here and I'm glad I finally wrote something out of a club life. I guess there's gonna be more to come. Cheers you guys
Okay for people who don't know - Ibiza is an island located off the coast of Spain. This island is known for its tourist attractions blablabla and over the years became the party capital of the world. I went with 3 close friends and I just can't eXpress how much fun we had. I really can't write down everything my friends and I did because then it won't end. If you want to know what we did in details and have a laugh, then you're just going to have to sit down with me. I'll dedicate this blog to describing the island since so many people don't know the details.
To start with, Ibiza has 2 major places - Ibiza Town and San Antonio. The major clubs such as Privilege and Amnesia to name a few are located in Ibiza Town. Ibiza Town also has the Bora Bora beach where it looks like palm beach Miami. People go walking down the road and endless coast where you got many many many side bars playing music and people dancing and dancing. There's eXtra activities all over the place like massages, tattoos, hair dreads, water sports etc etc etc
San Antonio may not have the biggest clubs but they do have clubs that would make the best club you've been to look like a church and yes I mean it that much. To name a few such as Eden and El Paradis. Our first night was at Eden and it was a Japanese based theme night. That means every day there's a sort of different theme. The pole dancers dressed up as Ninjas and did performing acts and the music was loud on techno and had something they called a foam party where foam goes down and everyone gets naked and wet :p Anyways, San Antonio is famous for its West End where it's got loads of restaurants and pubs and these pubs are known as pre and post party joints where people go and drink before and after the main event.
So we stayed in San Antonio and found out that a bus takes up for 1-3 euros 15-20 mins drive to Ibiza town or anywhere else so we get the best of both worlds without any problems. The bus drives are fun as well cause people are just drinking and clubbing even in the bus. First, if you don't know me just know that I'm a free spirit and every year I travel somewhere to take a break. Now usually I'm more of the spiritual type who would prefer to go to a place that's rich in culture but lately living in Lebanon and now I'm stuck with my cousin and close mates we've been heading to party centrals of the world. Ayia Napa, Mykonos, Ibiza etc Now that I'm here I'll give you guys a detailed idea. First of all, the currency there is in Euros so as you would eXpect, if you're going for a week you'll need at least 600-700 Euros to have a blast like a king or queen. Unlike Greece or Ayia Napa, Ibiza is more eXpensive so you're going to have to make a choice. You can find Chinese places that cost like 8 Euros a meal and you can find other places on the same street with 15 Euros for a Burger. Now Club life is different. The cheapest drink for a Vodka Redbull to say is like 10 Euros and goes up to 15 or 20. That's why most people here go drinking in the pubs where the shots go for like 3 to 6 euros and drinks for 8 or so. What I can say is that the alcohol is icy icy icy clean unlike Lebanon where the bastard puts you spirit and medicine or whatever. So what I'm trying to say is you can drink as hell and you'll wake up without even the slightest hangover and that's for Lebanese peeps ;P
Okay what you guys need to know is that, well, the girls there are goddesses. I mean picture the hottest girl you know in Lebanon and I promise you and I'll be fair that she'll score a 6/10 compared to those beauties there. I mean forget the majority of Europeans but they come out of something you see in Baywatch. Everyone with the blond, green, blue eyes. The brunettes there come tanned with light blue eyes and each of them with a height of not less than 170 centimeters. They're also really down to Earth and a simple hello gorgeous is enough to make them smile. When I landed in Lebanon with the obesity and drama queens, I just thought if someone went gay here after what he saw, he has every right.
And ladies, the guys there are all physically fit and I noticed most of them don't work out but they're just genetically modified to be ripped. I mean they drink so much alcohol yet they're almost running an 8 pack which was a real bummer. By the way, if you want to be part of their circle, you MUST have a tattoo or a weird hair style hands down.
Now the coolest part is that everyone is easy going and everyone is equal and they really take that into consideration. I mean the best night club in the world if you go in with basketball jersey and slippers, no one is gonna stop you. In Lebanon if you don't have 1 million wasta to go into Skybar and everyone is rude and nobody wants a part of you. Honestly on the door I was going to break down crying. By the way you guys there are no tables in the clubs. If you wanna sit down you got the bar and stuff but unlike Lebanon, there are no tables and you're not forced to drink anything.
The problem even though it's not really a problem is that most people are British and British people that age are real pricks. So if you're planning to socialize, then your list has been limited but remember that's if you're planning to meet people. If you're going with a group of friends then fuck everyone and have a great time. But if you aren't then just know Ibiza has like 60% British. They're quite racists with so much stereotype beliefs. I mean this one time my friend says he's from Lebanon and she literally went like aweeeeee as in fear :p But for the rest they'll like your black hair and they'll take the hair on your face as a sign of manliness.
Now for the clubs, I really can't eXplain to you no matter how hard I try. Let me start with Privilege. A year or two back it was voted biggest club in the world. It's so big the main room is the size of kaslik. You've got eXotic dancers playing and multiple DJs hitting the deck. DJ Tiesto just chilling there. The VIP section is unique and comes more eXpensive than other places but it's the kind of place where Tiesto, PVD, Snoop Dog sit down after the night's show. It's around the same price for a bottle in Skybar. Privilege is Tiesto's hang out spot and he's probably there every weekend or so.
But my favorite hands down is going to be Amnesia. You know I'm an Astronomy Freak, and it felt like those dreams where I was part of the Star Trek Crew - all the lights and music and people going nuts - I mean it's something you can't even see in a good hollywood movie. Multiple DJs stack the floor and professional musicians all playing for everyone to forget their problems. A professional saX player called Ruben really got the club upside down - he is a must see.
As for the beaches, they aren't white sand beaches like you'll find in Ayia Napa but that doesn't stop you from having a great time. The beaches in Ibiza makes you feel like you're in Baywatch - they've got bars with music playing and people join in to show off their dance moves and everyone is having a great time. I kinda liked the salt water cause it reminded me of Nigeria's lekki beach for some reason. Maybe the salt levels and the icy cold water just struck my memory back and forth. The only difference is that you don't swim with sharks and jellyfish :P
Anyways, I'm going to close it from here and I'm glad I finally wrote something out of a club life. I guess there's gonna be more to come. Cheers you guys
The Lebanese Funeral System
Though we've all lost someone close to us, the funeral system that happens afterward is what affects us the most. If you've never attended a Lebanese funeral then I do pray you never get to. Nowadays, with the overpopulated ignorance, funerals have become a social gathering. People go there to meet up after a long while, sign up business deals, meet new people. After all, let us concede that if an important person passes away, those who would come to pay respects would also be important big shots. So when all is said and done and the cocktails arrive, people meet up and before you know it, they've got a yearly schedule of work planned ahead right on the spot.
Now not to digress from the main topic of focus, but every culture has its share of traditions. From what I have observed, the Lebanese funeral system does more damage than good. First of all, unlike western funeral system where the body is kept in the coffin and is buried as soon as possible and then people gather to talk about the good times they've shared with this person, the Lebanese system is far more dramatic.
The Lebanese Funeral System would have 3 days of weeping and screaming. The coffin would be placed in front of the crowd and the women would weep and scream on the top of their lungs. Some predisposed psychotics would shake the coffin asking the dead person to get up. I understand it's hard losing someone you care about and I believe I'd understand more than anyone but personally we must remain prudent. We must think about others around us and how this behavior can affect them. For eXample, a basic approach to color psychology is that everyone wears black mostly women in this case. If a mother is to wear black for more than three months, this will affect the infant child. Seeing the color black on a daily basis affects the child. Remember, we're scared of the dark naturally and it's been an archetype implanted within us. The sense of darkness, cold, abyss etc is an overwhelming feeling. Eventually we learn to adapt to the color black itself as a symbol of power and women enjoy wearing black because it makes them look slim. But like I said, the infant child is at risk here.
Another point is predisposed depression. What I mean by this is that some people are naturally emotional and at stake to depression - they have a weak psychological immunity. With all the screaming and suffering going around, these people are predisposed to clinical depression.
Lets not forget the old folks who have grown to the point their immune system isn't as strong as it used to be - any emotional factor hard on them would send them sick and sometimes put them into a vital state. How many Lebanese old folks do you know have no high sugar or blood pressure going on?
I guess the grand finale is that they keep the coffin open depending on the 'condition' of the body. What kind of stupidity is this? In one minute after a person dies, the body turns entirely pale so what would you have after 3 days on display in the freezer on and off? Has anyone ever thought if a dead body carried a virus from Africa and as soon as the body is revealed in the funeral, everyone is in a potential position of being infected? No matter what medication you inject into the body to make it look 'alive', it certainly doesn't last more than a day.
So thus I implore everyone to be prudent, I know there are traditions and customs we cannot change but we have to look at the bright side of things always. Death is never an easy thing but try to know the overall effect. Your state of mind is your state of health so pay your respect and get out if the situation looks or feels too powerful to bear. And mothers, remember your actions can put your children into a state of psychological risk. I'll end this here and I do hope no death or tragedy befalls any of you. Til neXt time.
Now not to digress from the main topic of focus, but every culture has its share of traditions. From what I have observed, the Lebanese funeral system does more damage than good. First of all, unlike western funeral system where the body is kept in the coffin and is buried as soon as possible and then people gather to talk about the good times they've shared with this person, the Lebanese system is far more dramatic.
The Lebanese Funeral System would have 3 days of weeping and screaming. The coffin would be placed in front of the crowd and the women would weep and scream on the top of their lungs. Some predisposed psychotics would shake the coffin asking the dead person to get up. I understand it's hard losing someone you care about and I believe I'd understand more than anyone but personally we must remain prudent. We must think about others around us and how this behavior can affect them. For eXample, a basic approach to color psychology is that everyone wears black mostly women in this case. If a mother is to wear black for more than three months, this will affect the infant child. Seeing the color black on a daily basis affects the child. Remember, we're scared of the dark naturally and it's been an archetype implanted within us. The sense of darkness, cold, abyss etc is an overwhelming feeling. Eventually we learn to adapt to the color black itself as a symbol of power and women enjoy wearing black because it makes them look slim. But like I said, the infant child is at risk here.
Another point is predisposed depression. What I mean by this is that some people are naturally emotional and at stake to depression - they have a weak psychological immunity. With all the screaming and suffering going around, these people are predisposed to clinical depression.
Lets not forget the old folks who have grown to the point their immune system isn't as strong as it used to be - any emotional factor hard on them would send them sick and sometimes put them into a vital state. How many Lebanese old folks do you know have no high sugar or blood pressure going on?
I guess the grand finale is that they keep the coffin open depending on the 'condition' of the body. What kind of stupidity is this? In one minute after a person dies, the body turns entirely pale so what would you have after 3 days on display in the freezer on and off? Has anyone ever thought if a dead body carried a virus from Africa and as soon as the body is revealed in the funeral, everyone is in a potential position of being infected? No matter what medication you inject into the body to make it look 'alive', it certainly doesn't last more than a day.
So thus I implore everyone to be prudent, I know there are traditions and customs we cannot change but we have to look at the bright side of things always. Death is never an easy thing but try to know the overall effect. Your state of mind is your state of health so pay your respect and get out if the situation looks or feels too powerful to bear. And mothers, remember your actions can put your children into a state of psychological risk. I'll end this here and I do hope no death or tragedy befalls any of you. Til neXt time.
Tuesday, 2 August 2011
The Lightning Archetype
Good evening Wolf Runners, it has been sometime since I have posted anything but I now return to you with some Jungian Psychology. Today's topic will be about the Lightning Archetype.
First of all, what is an archetype? As eXplained by Carl Jung, an Archetype is a symbol all humans share in their collective unconscious. By collective unconscious, it is the part of the hidden mind all humans share - we're all connected by it one way or another. In this collective unconscious, we have what Jung called Archetypes - symbols programmed into us passed down from generation to generation.
Now not to sound mystic, let us try to give tangible ideas by putting ourselves in the eXamples I will now present. All of us reading this have some sort of religion; a belief we follow to say the least or in a modern sense, an idea we choose to believe or not to believe in. We never chose these religions bestowed upon us on birth and some of us choose to change during the course of our lives. Now stay with me and use your imagination if you have one. Imagine the first man and by that I don't eXactly mean Adam and his vegetarian fetish. Imagine the first man standing on a vast field still new to life - no one to tell him what earth is, wind, flowers and everything else is around him. Everything is a mystery - it's just him and his senses and instincts.
Imagine all that - it's pretty scary, no? Over here I'll jump to something important. At this point although he doesn't know what is what and has no sort of language to even question himself with, he is master of his environment because he can step on the earth beneath him and he can hold the grass and taste the water but there's something that baffles him with fear from end to end. Can you guess what that is? Here's a hint - it's the first thing man worshiped. No matter where man sprouted upon this Earth, they all worshiped this entity. That entity is no longer worshiped and it is known as the Sun.
The sun was once worshiped because the moment he looked at it, his eyes hurt. He could not reach it no matter how hard he tried unlike the earth and water. He could feel it and could not escape it. And alas as the daylight dies, something else came - this time less scary and didn't demand obedience. The ever changing moon. The first man isn't going to know that the moon changes phase because the earth rotates so he'll interpret it as a living being just as he does. He can look at it without getting his eyes hurt and be marveled by it.
Now as the days came to pass and man is learning by fear, something came to pass which was a breaking point in man's life: It started to rain. The rain came down from the heavens - the same heavens where man looked to see the sun and the moon. He could feel the rain and the wind with all its fury and at right moment, what sparked is what I decided to write my blog about. In the dark skies, lightning in its purest form struck and after that, the heavens roared. Now take a second to put yourself in this position. No idea what anything is about and while you're feeling this feeling for the first time, you see a spark of lightning. Like a child first seeing something - can you imagine the depths of astonishment this man eXperienced? Lightning that cuts the sky with all its glory and power and followed by a thunderous sound - something so loud he never heard before. The loudest he's ever heard is probably the roars of wild animals or himself so compare that with the entire world roaring. The fear - yes that's it. The driving stone that has pushed man since his developed a spinal cord. In order to conquer his fear, he has to destroy it. He can destroy the lion, the boulder but you can't destroy the sun or the lightning. So what's plan B? If you can't beat it then join it. That is why man decided to worship this entity and offer sacrifice to appease it. This is how all religions first developed - to be at peace with what we don't understand and what we fear. That is why in every ancient religion you will find similar entities - the sun god Ra from Egypt to Awondo from Ancient Africa and Aztec's Tonatiuh. BUT THIS ISN'T ABOUT THEM
So what about the lightning archetype? Let's go back to man now sitting in his cave all dark with people just like him. It's raining outside and it's all dark and lightning strikes a tree nearby and so falls a branch immolated partially. Man walks out and touches the flames and is hurt by it. He looks toward his thunder/lightning entity angry at first. He holds the branch not held by the flames and scares the beasts away. He enjoys the warmth of it and therefore takes it to the cave and for the first time in the dark, there is light. Man looks towards the sky and thanks this entity for this gift bestowed up them today. As man eXperimented different things with the flame, in time they came to learn how hunted food tasted better.
So now remember we all share this same archetype. If we were to be put in his position, we would have done the same thing. The brain identifies it this way. If I asked you what comes to your mind when I say motherhood, your answer would be something like this: care, shelter, protection, wisdom etc Your mom could be a whore but the idea of motherhood in your head will remain the same.
In the words of Antoine Saroufim, an eXpert in Jung Psychology - here is the idea of the lightning archetype in ancient religions.
I can tell you that many of the ancient chief gods were associated with lightning. While they were never the omniscient gods, they are often sons of these omnipotent beings and rulers of an equal rank. Zeus was the son of the titan Chronos, who was the original ruler (Zeus overthrew him). Thor was the son of Odin, but later became diety worship more than Odin. Indra was never even close to Brahma, Shiva, or Vishnu but he had a story that became equal in popularity to Krishna (Vishnu's incarnation). As you can see, in many classical societies, lightning was quite venerated. We can draw some aspect of the archetype from these gods. They are wild, unruly, and impulsive. They did as they pleased and followed their pleasure, however, they were divine, associated with spiritual power, revelations, judgement, and even sometimes purification. What I can tell you about the lightning archetype that it symbolizes destruction, impulsiveness, the pursuit of pleasure, but it also symbolizes divine might, revelations, and intervention that is beyond human control. Many people would imagine our God as having a thunderous voice, this is quite a good example of the divine might the lightning archetype displays. A flash of lightning and a crack of thunder are of the same source and can be viewed as one entity.
Why I chose to pick the lightning archetype is because it's the closest thing we have to being human. It can symbolize complete destruction and at the same time, help and even purification. Remember anytime you see lightning cut the sky, it is always a beautiful majestic sight and I hope after reading this, you'll let your imagination take its toll on you and remember what this symbol represented and still represents to many cultures around the world.
Special thanks to Antoine Saroufim.
First of all, what is an archetype? As eXplained by Carl Jung, an Archetype is a symbol all humans share in their collective unconscious. By collective unconscious, it is the part of the hidden mind all humans share - we're all connected by it one way or another. In this collective unconscious, we have what Jung called Archetypes - symbols programmed into us passed down from generation to generation.
Now not to sound mystic, let us try to give tangible ideas by putting ourselves in the eXamples I will now present. All of us reading this have some sort of religion; a belief we follow to say the least or in a modern sense, an idea we choose to believe or not to believe in. We never chose these religions bestowed upon us on birth and some of us choose to change during the course of our lives. Now stay with me and use your imagination if you have one. Imagine the first man and by that I don't eXactly mean Adam and his vegetarian fetish. Imagine the first man standing on a vast field still new to life - no one to tell him what earth is, wind, flowers and everything else is around him. Everything is a mystery - it's just him and his senses and instincts.
Imagine all that - it's pretty scary, no? Over here I'll jump to something important. At this point although he doesn't know what is what and has no sort of language to even question himself with, he is master of his environment because he can step on the earth beneath him and he can hold the grass and taste the water but there's something that baffles him with fear from end to end. Can you guess what that is? Here's a hint - it's the first thing man worshiped. No matter where man sprouted upon this Earth, they all worshiped this entity. That entity is no longer worshiped and it is known as the Sun.
The sun was once worshiped because the moment he looked at it, his eyes hurt. He could not reach it no matter how hard he tried unlike the earth and water. He could feel it and could not escape it. And alas as the daylight dies, something else came - this time less scary and didn't demand obedience. The ever changing moon. The first man isn't going to know that the moon changes phase because the earth rotates so he'll interpret it as a living being just as he does. He can look at it without getting his eyes hurt and be marveled by it.
Now as the days came to pass and man is learning by fear, something came to pass which was a breaking point in man's life: It started to rain. The rain came down from the heavens - the same heavens where man looked to see the sun and the moon. He could feel the rain and the wind with all its fury and at right moment, what sparked is what I decided to write my blog about. In the dark skies, lightning in its purest form struck and after that, the heavens roared. Now take a second to put yourself in this position. No idea what anything is about and while you're feeling this feeling for the first time, you see a spark of lightning. Like a child first seeing something - can you imagine the depths of astonishment this man eXperienced? Lightning that cuts the sky with all its glory and power and followed by a thunderous sound - something so loud he never heard before. The loudest he's ever heard is probably the roars of wild animals or himself so compare that with the entire world roaring. The fear - yes that's it. The driving stone that has pushed man since his developed a spinal cord. In order to conquer his fear, he has to destroy it. He can destroy the lion, the boulder but you can't destroy the sun or the lightning. So what's plan B? If you can't beat it then join it. That is why man decided to worship this entity and offer sacrifice to appease it. This is how all religions first developed - to be at peace with what we don't understand and what we fear. That is why in every ancient religion you will find similar entities - the sun god Ra from Egypt to Awondo from Ancient Africa and Aztec's Tonatiuh. BUT THIS ISN'T ABOUT THEM
So what about the lightning archetype? Let's go back to man now sitting in his cave all dark with people just like him. It's raining outside and it's all dark and lightning strikes a tree nearby and so falls a branch immolated partially. Man walks out and touches the flames and is hurt by it. He looks toward his thunder/lightning entity angry at first. He holds the branch not held by the flames and scares the beasts away. He enjoys the warmth of it and therefore takes it to the cave and for the first time in the dark, there is light. Man looks towards the sky and thanks this entity for this gift bestowed up them today. As man eXperimented different things with the flame, in time they came to learn how hunted food tasted better.
So now remember we all share this same archetype. If we were to be put in his position, we would have done the same thing. The brain identifies it this way. If I asked you what comes to your mind when I say motherhood, your answer would be something like this: care, shelter, protection, wisdom etc Your mom could be a whore but the idea of motherhood in your head will remain the same.
In the words of Antoine Saroufim, an eXpert in Jung Psychology - here is the idea of the lightning archetype in ancient religions.
I can tell you that many of the ancient chief gods were associated with lightning. While they were never the omniscient gods, they are often sons of these omnipotent beings and rulers of an equal rank. Zeus was the son of the titan Chronos, who was the original ruler (Zeus overthrew him). Thor was the son of Odin, but later became diety worship more than Odin. Indra was never even close to Brahma, Shiva, or Vishnu but he had a story that became equal in popularity to Krishna (Vishnu's incarnation). As you can see, in many classical societies, lightning was quite venerated. We can draw some aspect of the archetype from these gods. They are wild, unruly, and impulsive. They did as they pleased and followed their pleasure, however, they were divine, associated with spiritual power, revelations, judgement, and even sometimes purification. What I can tell you about the lightning archetype that it symbolizes destruction, impulsiveness, the pursuit of pleasure, but it also symbolizes divine might, revelations, and intervention that is beyond human control. Many people would imagine our God as having a thunderous voice, this is quite a good example of the divine might the lightning archetype displays. A flash of lightning and a crack of thunder are of the same source and can be viewed as one entity.
Why I chose to pick the lightning archetype is because it's the closest thing we have to being human. It can symbolize complete destruction and at the same time, help and even purification. Remember anytime you see lightning cut the sky, it is always a beautiful majestic sight and I hope after reading this, you'll let your imagination take its toll on you and remember what this symbol represented and still represents to many cultures around the world.
Special thanks to Antoine Saroufim.
Sunday, 10 July 2011
A Redirected Summer Plan
Oy everyone, I return to you with something interesting. There's no uber psychology involved here nor anything that requires a brain so it's a free for all.
What I'm writing here is just a suggestion how people should try new things with their summer. You know all I notice with people here is clubbing clubbing clubbing edde edde edde sands -__- I mean come on we're better than that. Read on and see what you can grasp!
I decided to take summer courses just like last year. I enjoy taking summer because it gives me an eXcuse to wake up and plan my day. That's the thing with summer, if you don't end up going out at night, you stay up all night trying to find something to do and you end up hibernating til evening the following day. That's completely WRONG! If you're the type that nags oooo my summer went by too fast then you're one of those people. A proper plan and wake up call is the first step to a winning battle. Remember your body needs rest so plan accordingly.
Now I decided to go up every weekend to my home village Miziara where I get to indulge in new things. Now to start with, since on the weekends I'm in the village, if I wanted to go clubbing its got to be on the weekdays. And you know what? It's not as bad as you think! For eXample I prefer RnB music and in this country the RnB nights kick in during mid week. And the best part is that it's not always crowdy you find people who come to listen to RnB get it on so there's always space unlike saturdays where everyone is like OMG its the weekend yalla lets go clubbing and everyone rampages into the clubs like animals. And for the weekends, once in awhile it works as long as you're with a bigger group than usual.
Now for something new, I'm spending my weekends in Miziara-Sawaki. I'm tired of all the routine and decided I should give in more to my spiritual well being. The group and I are all close friends so we head up all familiar so pick the right peeps not some random flings. Sawaki is on an altitude of 2000 meters so miX that with summer breeze and have yourself a cool chill out. Sawaki is in the heart of mother nature. It's above Miziara so you don't have a billion tourists rampaging the area. In fact the land in Sawaki are owned by Miziarans as a summer get away more or less. So we hang out at Fares' place. We've got Najib aka Uncle Daffy the movies freak. He gets his projector and all the best dvds unknown to even the most hardcore movie fans. We watch a projected movie on the walls with drinks. So basically not only is it a good place to chill, the idea of movie watching is something you just don't want to miss during the summer. Cause this summer there are loads of blockbuster movies and you should take sometime to go to the movies at least once a week. What we usually do is go down from Mizi to the movies and we have a long ride back again. It's far better to go into details then rather go watch movie, movie ends, go home, good night.
In Sawaki, I come into play with my astronomy skills. The skies are clear and the altitude shows you the entire heavens clear as beauty. I mount my telescope on the roof and start showing people different colors and eXplaining different stories of constellations and all. Not only that, we take sleeping mats to the roof where some of us can choose to lie down and just gaze. By the way, star gazing promotes relaXation to both body and mind believe it or not. And trust me there's always someone cracking jokes.
Finally in the morning, mother nature gives its best. It's time for some adventure! If you haven't tried tracking across valleys then you should. Not only is it healthy, it's fun as hell. The natural air will clean up your respiratory system and make it good as new. Not only that, you get to see some gorgeous scenery you never thought you'd see in Lebanon. This may sound boring to you now but not until you eXperience it can you know what I'm talking about. If you aren't the type to use your legs then we're not all that hardcore because we can go with our offroading machines. I'm sure you ladies would like that better huh? Cross bikes and ATVs make valley to valley look easy. The passenger carries the bag though. It's good to set up a picnic in the middle of some valley when taking a break.
So basically if you live in Beirut, I do advise any of you to take a break from the city and hit some nature. If you're with the right people, it's worth the time of your life. It's a bit too hot in the city the only thing worth doing is spending the day by the pool. If you're wondering that you aren't seeing me often, well, I wrote this down just for that point. I'll be going up every friday and back on sunday so if you wanna come up, please let me know I'll appreciate it and we'll have a chill time.
What I'm writing here is just a suggestion how people should try new things with their summer. You know all I notice with people here is clubbing clubbing clubbing edde edde edde sands -__- I mean come on we're better than that. Read on and see what you can grasp!
I decided to take summer courses just like last year. I enjoy taking summer because it gives me an eXcuse to wake up and plan my day. That's the thing with summer, if you don't end up going out at night, you stay up all night trying to find something to do and you end up hibernating til evening the following day. That's completely WRONG! If you're the type that nags oooo my summer went by too fast then you're one of those people. A proper plan and wake up call is the first step to a winning battle. Remember your body needs rest so plan accordingly.
Now I decided to go up every weekend to my home village Miziara where I get to indulge in new things. Now to start with, since on the weekends I'm in the village, if I wanted to go clubbing its got to be on the weekdays. And you know what? It's not as bad as you think! For eXample I prefer RnB music and in this country the RnB nights kick in during mid week. And the best part is that it's not always crowdy you find people who come to listen to RnB get it on so there's always space unlike saturdays where everyone is like OMG its the weekend yalla lets go clubbing and everyone rampages into the clubs like animals. And for the weekends, once in awhile it works as long as you're with a bigger group than usual.
Now for something new, I'm spending my weekends in Miziara-Sawaki. I'm tired of all the routine and decided I should give in more to my spiritual well being. The group and I are all close friends so we head up all familiar so pick the right peeps not some random flings. Sawaki is on an altitude of 2000 meters so miX that with summer breeze and have yourself a cool chill out. Sawaki is in the heart of mother nature. It's above Miziara so you don't have a billion tourists rampaging the area. In fact the land in Sawaki are owned by Miziarans as a summer get away more or less. So we hang out at Fares' place. We've got Najib aka Uncle Daffy the movies freak. He gets his projector and all the best dvds unknown to even the most hardcore movie fans. We watch a projected movie on the walls with drinks. So basically not only is it a good place to chill, the idea of movie watching is something you just don't want to miss during the summer. Cause this summer there are loads of blockbuster movies and you should take sometime to go to the movies at least once a week. What we usually do is go down from Mizi to the movies and we have a long ride back again. It's far better to go into details then rather go watch movie, movie ends, go home, good night.
In Sawaki, I come into play with my astronomy skills. The skies are clear and the altitude shows you the entire heavens clear as beauty. I mount my telescope on the roof and start showing people different colors and eXplaining different stories of constellations and all. Not only that, we take sleeping mats to the roof where some of us can choose to lie down and just gaze. By the way, star gazing promotes relaXation to both body and mind believe it or not. And trust me there's always someone cracking jokes.
Finally in the morning, mother nature gives its best. It's time for some adventure! If you haven't tried tracking across valleys then you should. Not only is it healthy, it's fun as hell. The natural air will clean up your respiratory system and make it good as new. Not only that, you get to see some gorgeous scenery you never thought you'd see in Lebanon. This may sound boring to you now but not until you eXperience it can you know what I'm talking about. If you aren't the type to use your legs then we're not all that hardcore because we can go with our offroading machines. I'm sure you ladies would like that better huh? Cross bikes and ATVs make valley to valley look easy. The passenger carries the bag though. It's good to set up a picnic in the middle of some valley when taking a break.
So basically if you live in Beirut, I do advise any of you to take a break from the city and hit some nature. If you're with the right people, it's worth the time of your life. It's a bit too hot in the city the only thing worth doing is spending the day by the pool. If you're wondering that you aren't seeing me often, well, I wrote this down just for that point. I'll be going up every friday and back on sunday so if you wanna come up, please let me know I'll appreciate it and we'll have a chill time.
Saturday, 18 June 2011
On the Topic of Politics in Lebanon Part 1: My Proposed Political Ideology
I return to introduce to you the topic of Politics in Lebanon. Like most of us, we all have things we identify ourselves with. Things like family, tradition, arts, etc In Lebanon, however, it is not uncommon to see one who uses politics as his or her way of life.
I have witnessed children barely knowing the difference between blue and red carry out political debates with their ignorant families just standing there smiling saying how cute they look to be talking about 'adult' matters.
The saddest part of all this is really ignorance. Some close friends actually getting into fights cause of their opinions. We have that in University where NDU Debate wins and suddenly in LAU Beirut the Islamic Club wins - wow I am supposed to believe they're winning because they're sugar feeding everyone? They are doing a great job and praise goes to not only them but every other club. But still, let's be honest with ourselves. It's basic Gestalt Psychology called Common Fate. That is, similar objects going in the same direction become grouped together. That's what we have, a direction of sheep following people because they just want to be part of the bigger whole.
Now let's get serious. If you've taken a political science class then the ideologies won't be a bother then. (I love the fact my blog requires an educational background) Okay then! I've always been a Socialist and the way to happiness starts with strict rules. I can be the most spiritual African you'll ever meet but I'll be lying if I told you a donkey will obey without being hit by a stick.
Democracy is the only system we have that works best, according to eXperts. You want to know what I thought democracy always was? Picture a village of 100 people. 99 of these people are pure typical villagers and the remaining one has a PhD in Political Science and knows his or her thing. So is that it? Democracy is when 99 illiterates get the vote and the poor one gets nothing. Why do people accept such a system? Because they idea of rules makes them sick. Socialism and Communism were always straight to the point. Capitalism enjoys forcing the rules when you're not aware of it and yet the people who know that, still don't bother.
So what's the problem with Lebanon? First of all geography. Lebanon is located in the Mediterranean hot spot, making it a Euro-Asia center with neighbors like Turkey up there, the entire Arab countries, and for some reason the holy land right down south. Usually, someone is either classified as European because he's got Europeans around him or Asian because Asia is around him. But Lebanon? It's got Cyprus on the west, Syria on the right, Turkey up there and Israel down south. Give me a break.
Now thanks to its beloved geography, over the years Lebanon has been able to have a strong tourist attraction. What I mean by that is the different religious groups and sects. So now with Christians, Muslims and Druze, we're supposed to have a state. What has this resulted in besides constant civil wars? Each war based on ignorance.
Now to clarify something, human beings are naturally social creatures - we identify ourselves by nation, beliefs, attributes etc Throw 6 people in the jungle, 3 made of Christians and 3 made of Muslims. You think they're all going to sit down and have dinner? That's hollywood. The first thing they'll do is Christians here and Muslims there. It's natural and there's nothing wrong with it.
So for now we have different political parties each representing a religious sect. I mean c'mon why do those even eXist? Where will you find a "Lebanese" uneducated Christian voting for an Islamic party? Whatever you find, it won't be the majority and the majority is what matters in democracy. So in conclusion, the political parties here are fail since nobody is going to vote on something beyond their background.
So what's my political proposed ideology? It's quite harsh and very far fetched but that's to prove that there's always hope - that a free thinker has a right to say something.
First of all, the country's voting age literally doesn't have a limit. As long as you're breathing you can vote. What did I find wrong with that? Well, first of all Lebanon did some massive changes in twenty years. All of us teenagers reading this have gone to school and know what the outside world really is like. The problem is that I know many friends whose grand fathers are farmers. Now nothing wrong with farmers but that's everything wrong when it comes to awareness. What I personally believe is that the voting age should have a limit because I don't think someone who grows crops should have much to do with politics. I mean sure you like that guy and he's a good speaker but sorry old timer, you don't have much to live for anyways.
This made me realize something, and something where I based my ideology on: Education. I mean the city of Tripoli gets the most vote but Tripoli is literally off the discussion when it comes to education. Most and I mean most of the citizens don't know much about politics. To them, they just want someone that would make their lives better. The same story has been going around for 40 years. Imagine you've never went to school and you have no idea what global warming is about. How then will you vote for an environmentalist? To them, it's just: Ha! She wants to save the trees! What are trees? We're dying here etc. Once again, this just passes by.
So on education! If you need help with programming, you go to a programmer. If you need therapy, you go to a licensed psychologist. If you need politics, give it to someone who knows the game. How many political leaders do we have that shouldn't be up there? How many of them do you know hold degrees in the area? How can we, and most importantly our parents, fall for this stupidity. How can we vote for people who was given political power yet doesn't know anything regarding the field - he's just loved for his charisma.
In order to test the capabilities, intelligence testing will be given out. If people could go around to collect the census, they might as well give intelligence testing. The intelligence test will be based on logic and visionary ideas both objective and subjective rather than just a high IQ. Cultural Tests are not needed because Lebanon itself is already a cultural nation and does need any cultural influence in its politics.
So moving on my ideology, I believe democracy in Lebanon if you only give the majority of people who have knowledge in the field the right to vote. What I mean is that if you have a degree in social sciences, you're better in conjuring ideas than that of a fisherman. Like it or not, it's the truth. I rather give my trust to my political science teacher than to give it to my biologist.
So what about the state? The puppet masters! Here I believe the state should be communist and by that, I mean atheist as well. Why? Well I mentioned above the biggest mistake Lebanese do is first identify by religion before identifying what village or family they hail from. If the state is atheist, then the feeling should be close to neutral.
That's the basic idea - cut the voting age, make the state neutral, and allow certain people with the right resources to make the decisions for themselves and their families. This way, rather than a thug of war - a neutral decision can be made.
"History is Economics in Action" - Karl MarX.
Thanks for reading!
I have witnessed children barely knowing the difference between blue and red carry out political debates with their ignorant families just standing there smiling saying how cute they look to be talking about 'adult' matters.
The saddest part of all this is really ignorance. Some close friends actually getting into fights cause of their opinions. We have that in University where NDU Debate wins and suddenly in LAU Beirut the Islamic Club wins - wow I am supposed to believe they're winning because they're sugar feeding everyone? They are doing a great job and praise goes to not only them but every other club. But still, let's be honest with ourselves. It's basic Gestalt Psychology called Common Fate. That is, similar objects going in the same direction become grouped together. That's what we have, a direction of sheep following people because they just want to be part of the bigger whole.
Now let's get serious. If you've taken a political science class then the ideologies won't be a bother then. (I love the fact my blog requires an educational background) Okay then! I've always been a Socialist and the way to happiness starts with strict rules. I can be the most spiritual African you'll ever meet but I'll be lying if I told you a donkey will obey without being hit by a stick.
Democracy is the only system we have that works best, according to eXperts. You want to know what I thought democracy always was? Picture a village of 100 people. 99 of these people are pure typical villagers and the remaining one has a PhD in Political Science and knows his or her thing. So is that it? Democracy is when 99 illiterates get the vote and the poor one gets nothing. Why do people accept such a system? Because they idea of rules makes them sick. Socialism and Communism were always straight to the point. Capitalism enjoys forcing the rules when you're not aware of it and yet the people who know that, still don't bother.
So what's the problem with Lebanon? First of all geography. Lebanon is located in the Mediterranean hot spot, making it a Euro-Asia center with neighbors like Turkey up there, the entire Arab countries, and for some reason the holy land right down south. Usually, someone is either classified as European because he's got Europeans around him or Asian because Asia is around him. But Lebanon? It's got Cyprus on the west, Syria on the right, Turkey up there and Israel down south. Give me a break.
Now thanks to its beloved geography, over the years Lebanon has been able to have a strong tourist attraction. What I mean by that is the different religious groups and sects. So now with Christians, Muslims and Druze, we're supposed to have a state. What has this resulted in besides constant civil wars? Each war based on ignorance.
Now to clarify something, human beings are naturally social creatures - we identify ourselves by nation, beliefs, attributes etc Throw 6 people in the jungle, 3 made of Christians and 3 made of Muslims. You think they're all going to sit down and have dinner? That's hollywood. The first thing they'll do is Christians here and Muslims there. It's natural and there's nothing wrong with it.
So for now we have different political parties each representing a religious sect. I mean c'mon why do those even eXist? Where will you find a "Lebanese" uneducated Christian voting for an Islamic party? Whatever you find, it won't be the majority and the majority is what matters in democracy. So in conclusion, the political parties here are fail since nobody is going to vote on something beyond their background.
So what's my political proposed ideology? It's quite harsh and very far fetched but that's to prove that there's always hope - that a free thinker has a right to say something.
First of all, the country's voting age literally doesn't have a limit. As long as you're breathing you can vote. What did I find wrong with that? Well, first of all Lebanon did some massive changes in twenty years. All of us teenagers reading this have gone to school and know what the outside world really is like. The problem is that I know many friends whose grand fathers are farmers. Now nothing wrong with farmers but that's everything wrong when it comes to awareness. What I personally believe is that the voting age should have a limit because I don't think someone who grows crops should have much to do with politics. I mean sure you like that guy and he's a good speaker but sorry old timer, you don't have much to live for anyways.
This made me realize something, and something where I based my ideology on: Education. I mean the city of Tripoli gets the most vote but Tripoli is literally off the discussion when it comes to education. Most and I mean most of the citizens don't know much about politics. To them, they just want someone that would make their lives better. The same story has been going around for 40 years. Imagine you've never went to school and you have no idea what global warming is about. How then will you vote for an environmentalist? To them, it's just: Ha! She wants to save the trees! What are trees? We're dying here etc. Once again, this just passes by.
So on education! If you need help with programming, you go to a programmer. If you need therapy, you go to a licensed psychologist. If you need politics, give it to someone who knows the game. How many political leaders do we have that shouldn't be up there? How many of them do you know hold degrees in the area? How can we, and most importantly our parents, fall for this stupidity. How can we vote for people who was given political power yet doesn't know anything regarding the field - he's just loved for his charisma.
In order to test the capabilities, intelligence testing will be given out. If people could go around to collect the census, they might as well give intelligence testing. The intelligence test will be based on logic and visionary ideas both objective and subjective rather than just a high IQ. Cultural Tests are not needed because Lebanon itself is already a cultural nation and does need any cultural influence in its politics.
So moving on my ideology, I believe democracy in Lebanon if you only give the majority of people who have knowledge in the field the right to vote. What I mean is that if you have a degree in social sciences, you're better in conjuring ideas than that of a fisherman. Like it or not, it's the truth. I rather give my trust to my political science teacher than to give it to my biologist.
So what about the state? The puppet masters! Here I believe the state should be communist and by that, I mean atheist as well. Why? Well I mentioned above the biggest mistake Lebanese do is first identify by religion before identifying what village or family they hail from. If the state is atheist, then the feeling should be close to neutral.
That's the basic idea - cut the voting age, make the state neutral, and allow certain people with the right resources to make the decisions for themselves and their families. This way, rather than a thug of war - a neutral decision can be made.
"History is Economics in Action" - Karl MarX.
Thanks for reading!
Tuesday, 14 June 2011
On the Topic of SeXual Taboo in Lebanon
There are certain topics that people do not dare approach due to it being standardized as ‘Taboo’. However, if it’s a dirty job then someone’s got to do it, right? I took the liberty in pointing out a serious topic that people don’t address for various reasons (Taboo, Privacy, etc). I decided to write a short article regarding this hoping to put enough points and integrate enough ideas to educate the common public in understanding one of the most ‘Needs’ human beings take for granted. For those new to me, please don’t be bothered with my capital Xs. It’s my personal signature and those who are used to me, you’re already aware.
I decided to focus on Lebanon as the core subject but that won’t stop me from giving a general idea with concrete clinical examples and ideas. To start with, you don’t need to be a Psychologist to know what I’m about to eXplain because I’m going to go through everything in details.
To start with, in order to understand the most compleX being – that being the human being (for now) it is best advised you look at the human being as first, a free living creature. So now my perspective from eXperience is that you should look at the human being as a Bio-Psycho-Social Model. What is the BPSM?
First, we’ll deal with the Biology – the neurons, the hormones, the entire body and its functions that contribute to what shapes a human being’s personality.
The Psychology – the psyche, the behavior and the attributes.
The Social ConteXt – How the environment plays a role in shaping a person, friends, family etc
Now though there’s Psychology involved, I would like to point out the reader that though we’re in the topic of seX, that doesn’t mean I’m talking about Freudian Psychoanalytical theories. Though Freud has many ideas regarding this, it is only one part and a theory – and we will tackle many points in Psychoanalysis.
Now when people hear the word ‘seX’ you’ll likely hear people say something like: It’s for pleasure OR it’s between two people who are in love.
Though they’re both right, it depends on the individual since every individual is right in his or her own way. But when we come to Lebanon, what’s going on? Let’s proceed.
First, let us look at the environment.
Lebanon is notably an Arab Country in the Middle East. Through the years, it has achieved widespread international popularity for being an active city. Foreigners coming from around the world to go clubbing and pubbing. Gemaizeh is full all over the weekends, Skybar goes through the roof and all that. Now a city that’s rebuild itself to become internationally recognized as a night city that doesn’t sleep, it should have a ‘freedom’ to do anything, right? I mean if you’re going to have alcohol, you’re going to know that too much alcohol is going to get the person into a drunk state, right? So right now I’m going to hit you with BAM – PREMARITAL SEX IS WRONG.
Who said its wrong? Well, certainly there are those more responsible than others. Welcome to Lebanon where the man gets to sleep with whoever he wants and the more vaginas he gets, the more he is considered a Conqueror or better yet, a god. Sounds like the average lifestyle yeah? The problem is women who engage in premarital seX have more or less ended their life in the Lebanese Social Scene as they know it. When a woman has been found to be ‘deflowered’, her parents become drenched in shame and before you know it, the entire University has nothing to talk about but this girl’s lifestyle of her being a whore. The best part is that the same people who talk are the ones who are doing quite the same or in fact, higher degrees behind the curtains.
Now if you’re a foreign reader, this sounds absurd, no? That I mentioned a party city where everyone is dancing, getting drunk and then I just hit you with something that resembles the Sharia Law of Saudi Arabia. The best part of all this, and if you’re a feminist you’re going to feel quite insulted – males who have spent their twenties sleeping with all the vaginas they could get, they decide it’s time to go back to the village and find some innocent virgin princess to get married to. Here, getting married to an un-virgin is considered a disgrace. So now, look at the typical Lebanese male. It has gotten to a point where all he sees a woman is just a handy tool for his own pleasure. Then after the marriage, things don’t work out and nobody but a good psychologist knows why (I’ll come back to this)
So there you have it, an idea what people go through when it comes to seX in Lebanon.
I’m going to start defining what seX, seXuality and things you never knew about it (Unless you dealt with these before. (Psy majors, please skip)
let’s start this article and deal with it. I’m going to introduce a Freudian theory to help verify things easier. The mind, according to Sigmund Freud, is made up of three parts:
The Conscious: When they say he’s awake and he’s conscious, what does that mean? It’s the same meaning here. The person is aware and cognitive of his surroundings. He is able to perceive things and this part of his mind is on this level.
The Pre-Conscious – The PC is part of the mind that’s in-between the Conscious and the Unconscious. It is also accessible. For eXample, if I asked you where you parked your car in Uni today or what did you do last Christmas etc. All this information is retrieved from the Pre Conscious.
The Unconscious – Now we come to the great unknown. The unconscious makes up the biggest part of our psyche. It is our storage boX where we cannot just simply access and it holds everything including our darkest secrets to reasons why we actually do things. Freud believed the Unconscious talks to us through our dreams using symbols.
I mentioned these to give you an idea with the terms I’ll be using. I hope it’s clear. Now the fun part begins. Imagine a human being that is made up of
Superego- The Super ego is basically what the environment gives to you. When your dad tells you, no this is wrong. This is bad. This is the superego. It’s what you learn and take from the environment and implements it into becoming a part of your psyche. It’s best to put the Superego into the Conscious mind since it deals with awareness.
The ID – The ID can best be defined as the pleasure principle. What do I mean by this? I mean the ID is relentless and seeks only to satisfy itself (thus the name pleasure principle) if the ID desires food or seX, it will stop at nothing to achieve this goal. Young infants are good eXamples of being a pure ID. When you show a child a Christmas present, he or she has no super ego at this point and will do whatever it takes to open the present no matter where the parents hide it. We are born with the ID and it’s not given to us by society like the Superego. Classify the ID with the Unconscious.
The Ego – Now when I mean ego, I don’t mean Brad Pitt showing off he has Angelina Jolie. The Ego is the self and what I mean by the self is your identity. What does the ego do? It helps balance the conflict between the superego and the ID. The Superego and ID are always in conflict. Look at it this way (using a seXual eXample) I, a healthy stud, catches eye with this beautiful goddess crossing my path. My ID ‘desires’ this woman and sets me running. The ID doesn’t care if I just held her and had seX with her right where she’s standing. After all, that’s what the ID is – actions without society’s rules. But then I don’t actually do that because my superego comes in and tells me ‘Stop, doing that will get you in trouble, sued and in jail’ So the ego finds a way to balance this two conflicts by doing something like this: ‘Okay I desire her so I’m going to go talk to her, get to know her, ask her out and hopefully get to sleep with her afterward’. This way the mind is settled.
I would like to introduce a Psychoanalytical Defense Mechanism known as Sublimation.
Sublimation, in book definition, is transforming ‘urges’ (ID here) into sociable acceptable behaviors. For eXample, a person with the urge to kill – rather than being a murderer instead becomes a soldier. The same butcher who guts open pigs and leaves a mess AND a plastic surgeon who gently and precisely opens up a human body as if its poetry have the same urges. The only difference is that they sublimated these urges to what satisfies them the most. These urges can be anything from violence or seXuality. I will also like to note the same area of the brain that is triggered during violence is triggered during seXual acts.
Now I’m going to start with Clinical eXamples.
Biology – The human body is a master piece we just can’t seem to understand. The human body has ‘Needs’ to alleviate suffering and to survive. One of these needs is seX. Surely we won’t die if we don’t have seX unlike eating or sleeping right? But is that all to it? You’ll be surprised. Unlike animals, we have freedom. Animals have seX because nature forces them to reproduce. Humans do it both for the sake of reproduction and pleasure.
I know a case of a girl who has Muslim parents in Lebanon. They decided that their daughter cannot be raised strictly since after all, there’s no stopping her from eXperimenting the clubs around her eventually but they made it very clear that premarital seX is wrong and forbidden. So if this girl has urges, is she going to masturbate till marriage? This girl ended up becoming two things:
1- A gorgeous physique the way society sees physique as gorgeous
2- A supreme dancer where dancing is what she centered her life into.
When I interviewed this girl more or less, I asked her what she enjoys so much about dancing so much if it’s just a hobby. She told me the reason besides having fun and all is that ‘She Feels SeXy’
Here is an eXample of Sublimation. When you suppress an urge so much, the mind finds a way of eXpressing it through other means. Some people can literally get an orgasm just collecting and posting stamps while others something eXtreme like hunting or jumping off bungee etc
An eXtreme case is a Nun who by suppressing so much of her impulses ended up waking up in a motel room dressed up in whorish clothing. Now though that sounds scary and some people are going to go ‘What the hell?’ These cases eXist. The mind can go as far as creating a whole new personality in order to alleviate itself.
I would like to point out all these are normal, we all go through a basic sublimation process so don’t ever point fingers but remain virtuous.
Now I would like to start on how the human being shapes up his or her personality using Adlerian Concepts.
What is the real reason nowadays everyone is having so much seX? It’s not really because girls skirts are getting shorter that’s just a basic way of looking at it. The real reason is
The Media.
We live in the Middle East for crying out loud. We have rules like Sharia Law and religious strict conducts to follow but if you think the word of religion is strong, the word of Media has become the absolute religion. The Media is the only religion accepted by everyone in the world and it has no limits. Humans naturally want to strive for their own fulfillment (even if it’s a desire to fail)
When a Lebanese child is born into a world where a 3rd World Country wants 1st World living, it should be ready to accept all the things that a 1st World would give. Parents nowadays want technology to make their lives easier. You can’t compare your state of living to some tribe in the Amazon Forest, can you? The moment you introduce and accept this technology, you’ve already moved into a level where you bring the culture in it as well. Why are the parents scared of their daughters having seX? Why are religious institutions preaching nonstop with their latest Blackberry in their pockets? They failed to see this. If you want to live like it is in Europe or the States, then you’ve got to get ready to deal with their way of living as well. You can’t go to some tribe in Africa where they have the latest technology yet they don’t have a club with alcohol in it. People in Saudi Arabia where it’s illegal to have alcohol and seX – you’ll be surprised what happens in the underground. The media is fast to report these things but two women discussing how they had a good time is quite faster I can assure that. So now we have Lebanon trying to be a big shot in the Middle East and making so much noise with Gemaizeh and we have parents complaining. What is this nonsense? How much of a fool and a hypocrite can one become?
Before moving to this eXample, I would like to point out how social factors are implemented into us that it becomes a part of our psyche and personality. We grow up in an age where beauty for women is all those tall models, right? But that’s not the case – the human mind is designed to find anything beautiful but the media believes otherwise. We never stop to think about the things that society has made a part of us and how it affects us. Continue.
Moving on, let’s tackle a case and a very basic case using the BPSM.
We have two female adolescents. One of them comes with the full package – a drop dead beauty with a size 10. The other is chubby or fat, short and not the fancy blonde. Both of these women want to become nuns and give their lives to their faiths. I’ve just defined their biology. Let’s look at the social pressure.
The typical response when they find out the blonde is going to become a nun, guys would go: What do you want with this way of living? You can do so much more! It’s a shame, really!
Now here depends on the Psychological Immunity of the person.
The Blonde is going to be quite pressured because let’s face it – humans are social creatures and we take what others say into account with each person varying in degree of course.
The fat lady instead has grown up in a society where she knows she isn’t beautiful (as discussed above) so she’s going to find a way to defend herself. She requires a defense for her compleX inferiority. Her best defense here is: None of you can judge me, I am a nun. She basically shielded herself with another taboo which is God or religion in this case.
Like I said, it depends on the person’s psychological immunity. You give what you have. This line is very important – You give what you have. An eXample is that I knew some kids who just got to be around the ages of 14 or 15. One of the guys, the best looking stud received a picture from a girl similar in age as well as the hot shot of her group whereby she’s half nude. So what’s the problem here? It’s not only that we live in an era where the media gets to pour their ideologies on everyone. Human seXuality develops quite early. Don’t tell me the first time you felt an attraction is when you started developing your urges in junior high. Sigmund Freud went as far as believing that even new born infants seek pleasure. Just remember not everything seXual means intercourse. We have parts of our bodies just developed to be erogenous zones as well. Freud believed in an oral phase whereby the baby seeks pleasure orally which is why everything an infant sees right from breast sucking to a tiny ball goes straight into the mouth. The mouth itself is still used as a major tool in foreplay. Freud believed if this area wasn’t satisfied during its phase, the adult will become unconsciously needy of things to fulfill that pleasure like smoking, gum etc. But that’s just a theory! Let’s talk biology! The lips are erogenous zones and it never felt bad using them – simple as that. But why did I give an eXample of the two early teenagers up there? The girl is gorgeous compared to her friends. You give what you have. In her belief, I’ve got the body – my parents and boys are always telling me I’m beautiful. (She implements the idea of beauty into her personality) and she decided to send pictures of her nudity to the stud. You give what you have – if these are going to make you known in the society, we humans are social creatures are going to use these attributes.
Back to the hot blonde nun! I didn’t say she’s going to stop being a nun but I do mean she’s going to have a harder time than most depending on her psychological immunity. If she decides to give in to these feelings and she’s in the monastery locked up, she’ll start alleviating (Notice I used the word alleviating) her urges by masturbating or even lesbian practices. Note that doesn’t mean she turns lesbian but that doesn’t mean she can’t practice it. This has always been a shaky topic so I won’t go into seXual identity now. But it’s also important to note that being gay in the Lebanese society is also considered wrong.
If you ask a girl why she’d give oral seX or a blow job for a concrete eXample, she’ll give you two main reasons
1- Because she enjoys doing it
1- Because she enjoys doing it
2-Because she knows it will please her partner
And trust me it’s mostly number 2 here and it’s the same Lebanese guys who go telling their friends that she’s a whore and she actually did that. It’s quite a shame.
So now that we got a small idea with few eXamples, I hope my points were straight through and I’m trying to keep this as short as possible so I’ll go on to the main topic of SeXual Taboo in Lebanon.
First, those living in Lebanon, from what I’ve observed – they live most of their lives in their area. Lebanon is a small country so you either go to your village for change of weather or you’re in the city. Growing up in a small area means you’re part of the system and everyone knows everyone. The average Lebanese Facebook has at least one mutual friend. So if one is to grow in an environment where she goes to school then graduates and goes to University and then either work here or travel abroad, let’s look at the options. We become seXually active during this main period of school and university. With this, Lebanese people have their personal groups who they’re friends with. This group usually goes clubbing together and everyone goes out with someone in this group more or less. The moment someone brings a new friend into this group, someone’s already with that person. So what have we concluded here? We can’t escape the Lebanese Society.
What’s wrong with the Lebanese society? SeX is a Taboo.
What did I say about human beings? We’re Freedom Fighters naturally.
A caged bird sings a song of freedom not a song about which team is going to win the world cup. The adolescents of Lebanon have the cage which is the seX taboo and they’ll do whatever it takes to eXperiment. The real thing is that if you pressure a human being not to do something, it’s not going to work. We naturally want to fight a power to feel good about ourselves. If a child wants to eat chocolate and you take it and shout ‘No!’ the child is going to give you a nasty look and shout back screaming ‘No!’. It’s the same with our urges and the Lebanese Culture doesn’t want to understand the more you suppress something, the more it’s going to leak out until it eXplodes.
The problem lies with the males. It’s a guy’s world in Lebanon. There was a case my professor once talked about where a guy had intercourse 64 times or so in 24 hours. Though this was a case of SeXual Compulsive Disorder, the guy who had this came into the clinic depressed, in pain and could barely walk. The mom came in with her head up high saying my son is a ‘real man’. What is this ignorance? This is the poison of the Lebanese Society, what they failed to understand, they manipulated it to what they see fit.
This system of belief became so obvious that it went through as jokes. For eXample, there’s a Lebanese joke where three women, one being American, the other French and the last, Lebanese. What do all of these say while having seX?
American: Yes, more.
French: Oui, Encore
Lebanese: Please, for the love of God, don’t tell anyone.
French: Oui, Encore
Lebanese: Please, for the love of God, don’t tell anyone.
People find this sad piece of truth to be funny. Well, it’s funny in the case how ignorant society can become.
And one way or another, this is the line that haunts many Lebanese girls engaging in pre-marital seX.
Now I’m not promoting Lebanese girls to have seX, but rather I’m trying to point out awareness. After all, no society wants a woman who has slept with everyone. No sharp female in society would want a man who has slept with every woman as well – Unless again depending on the type of individual we’re dealing with. Some women might take him as a prize while others would say; If he’s done everyone he’s going to do it again.
At my University once, a man came to speak about seXual awareness. I noticed I recognized almost everyone. Half of them we’re the not so cool people society dubbed as geeks who never got laid. The other half we’re people who just wanted to look innocent.
The problem was the preaching the man gave. He said it’s gotten to a point he knows he can’t tell teenagers to stop having seX so his method was: Have seX BUT feel bad afterwards. What is this? It’s like saying you’re on a diet, go eat 20 kilos worth of chocolate and go damn, why did I eat chocolate? In his case, feeling bad after seX is a way for God to go: “Aha, this person felt bad after the act so I’m taking this person to Heaven”
Let’s not forget the rules of seXuality are all from religious organizations. If God wanted full abstinence, I personally believe God wouldn’t have given us these hormones to begin with.
Lastly, to give a final eXample with a BPSM:
Now for all those Un-Lebanese reading this, you might as well got an eXample of how it is here. One more thing to discuss in detail: Regarding the clubs and pubs.
Since we already defined the human ID, its just pleasure seeking and in a constant war with the super ego. When you’re clubbing, you can never really have much of an eXperience unless you got the magic alcohol to do the trick right? The more alcohol and the more you go into a state where your ID takes control of you. Think about it- when you’re loaded on alcohol, you just want to release and have a good time. One way or another you’re like a kid again just dancing, laughing and God knows what thoughts you have running in your head. Who knows what you do at this state, right? Not to mention other factors like eXposing skin basically saying ‘You’re invited’ or dirty dancing where a part of you is really enjoying the scene.
So that’s it.
In conclusion, seXuality is part of human nature and you’re inborn with it and you’ll eXercise it with the help of society. If Lebanon wants to see change, it first has to make a decision: Either to live in a fully conservative system OR learn to accept things as they are for the sake of progress. Just remember for all those who agree with this, it’s going to be your responsibility as parents to map out the full schema to your kids when the time comes. Right now we’re the ones suffering this because Lebanon has undergone massive change from the 90s to present so by the time we’re parents, it will be our responsibility to make these changes but it’s never wrong to make a stand now.
Just remember all this depends on the Psychological Immunity of the person. If the pope decides to be abstinent, then the pope will be abstinent. If the biggest porn star decides to do the same then it’s possible. Just remember if the porn star has in his or her mind that I should have seX in order to be a fully living functional human being, then that person is going to fail. Your mind is charge of your body. What the mind sees, the body does, right?
For all those who read this, I’m appreciative and only hoped you learned something new. I tried to compress a world of topics into these pages. For all those outsiders reading this, feel lucky that nobody holds you by a leash. For all those Lebanese who agree with this, I can only hope you at least learned and related to this. For all those typical males, I hope you’d learn to appreciate this act and what this woman is giving to you. Appreciation from someone is far more important than praise. In order to hope for a better society without ignorance, the first step is to understand that and begin with change.
Thanks for reading!
Special thanks to my close friends at the Psychology Department in NDU notably Sandra Ziadeh, Elie FleX Sarkis, Joseph Koubar and Antoine Saroufim.
Special thanks to my close friends at the Psychology Department in NDU notably Sandra Ziadeh, Elie FleX Sarkis, Joseph Koubar and Antoine Saroufim.
Special thanks to Sensei – Dr. Walid Sarkis for answering all questions and who is always there to help answer my questions.
Cheers and more to come!
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