A Fresh Opinion

It's About Dancing...

I just couldn't pass this one up.

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60 Minutes Gets It Right

I'm not a big fan of "60 Minutes" as they too often hurt people under the guise of investigative journalism, but this time they got it right.

The following video demonstrates how music  can save lives. Very Well Done "60 Minutes" and continue to bring this kind of information to our TV sets!

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You Can't Possibly Be Right If I Am!

When I'm driving around, I'll tune in to various talk shows. I like to listen to different points of view. Some of these viewpoints are presented with a "hey, here is what I've observed, see if you agree" attitude. This approach goes like this: one person talks while another (or others) listen. Then the listener acknowledges what was just said and offers his/her viewpoint. This unique method always involves an exchange of communication back and forth.

Unfortunately there is another method used quite often in talk radio. One person presents a point of view and often before they get it fully communicated, the "listener" cuts them off and tells them they really don't know what they're talking about. Our first person now may feel compelled to do the same, as he knows that he is in possession of the only real correct point of view on this subject. So he cuts the other person off and, now slightly louder, restates his position. This escalates and what ensues is a most unenjoyable bickering back and forth between two parties who are certain the other person is an idiot.

This is not relegated to just radio talk show. It happens quite often on television "talk" shows. When people are so sure they hold the only correct viewpoint and they each try to drum the other person out of existence, this is incredibly unpleasant to observe. (I guess if you are agree with one side of the discussion then you may enjoy this type of thing when your side is winning the drumming-out-of-existence battle.)

This kind of talk show spectacle seems to be quite prevalent when politics are involved. If you need to demonstrate the concept of dogma to someone, have them listen to someone from the far left AND someone from the far right. Get two of these folks together in the same room and broadcast their "discussion" on TV or radio and these are times I'd rather have my head in a vice.

When people are so sure they are right and that their views of life are supremely correct, the only new information they are capable of processing is information that aligns and agrees with what they already know. That's gotta hurt. The potential for real growth in that frame of mind is next to nil. It's an operating basis that produces upsets on a personal level (between friends, family, etc.) and, on a societal level, causes very bad decisions to be made that can adversely affect a lot of people. In my next post, I'll give an example of this.

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Celebrities, Superstars and Heroes

In other posts, I discuss my views of how an unbridled media affects the quality of our every day life. One post in particular even offers a simple remedy that could significantly reduce your stress level.

But in this post, I'd like to discuss one of the favorite subjects of the media: Celebrities.

Many media outlets are certain that their preoccupation with reporting every possible celebrity failing is justified by the fact that you and I and almost everyone we know are simply dying to know what Paris Hilton or Mel Gibson or Rush Limbaugh did wrong today.

These folks (in the media) are banking on the fact that we want to see and even hear Michael Richards' comedy bit in which he slanders black people.

We're supposed to be even more interested in Mel Gibson because he went off the deep end railing against Jews.

We're not satisfied unless we hear the very latest Brittany Spears scandal. And we'd sure love to hear something juicy about The Royals if at all possible.

How many people were glued to the OJ case?

How many people were happy to see Rush Limbaugh run into a bit of trouble?

I decided to write this post after watching different people on ESPN go after Mark Mc Guire. Mark went before Congress in 2005 and decided not to tell Congress what he had done (that was possibly illegal) that helped him to break baseball's time-honored home run record. So, in the last couple of weeks, ESPN "analysts" have been discussing whether he should be voted into the Hall of Fame and most were of a mind to vote no.

After listening to the comments about Mark Mc Guire, I started thinking about celebrities in general. And after thinking on this for awhile, I asked myself this question:

What do we know for absolutely certain about every celebrity, about every superstar, about every hero we've ever had?

They're human.

Every person that's been put up on a skyscraper-high pedastal is nothing more and nothing less than a human being. Yes, most are fabulously wealthy and many are famous beyond imagination (some notoriously so).

But celebrities and superstars are human and are subject to the very same frailties every one of us is subject to. They have fears and shortcomings; they have strange thoughts running through their minds. They have compulsions that some of them act out and which land them in front of a judge. Some of those compulsive acts don't make their way into a police report, but they do offend us.

Every single person on this planet is subject to the very strong, sometimes cruel pressures from things inside of us that we do not understand.

Why do some of us have a fear of flying so intense, we'll never get near a plane? Why do others fear elevators, or tall buildings or small enclosures?

Why are some people so afraid of failing, they'll not even try to make their lives a real success. The flip side of that coin are those who are afraid of succeeding, so they don't try either. I could list another 50 different fears people have, but you get the idea.

Why do some of us feel compelled to rail against another person's religion or race? For that matter, why do some of us rail against our spouses or our children?

Why would someone think that strapping dynamite to their chest and blowing up innocent people is a solution to anything?

And we could talk about the very large number of physical ailments that actually have no physical source. Some doctors believe that 75% of the problems they treat are psychosomatic in origin. (a psychosomatic illness has its origin in the mind)

And I could go on, but I think I've made my point: Human beings have frailties. And some of these frailties are sufficiently intense to ruin our lives and the lives of others. And it matters not how rich and famous one is. If he's on this planet, he's in the same boat as the rest of us.

I realize I haven't really told you anything new here, but hang in there — the NEW news is coming. And here it is:

Every one of these problems mentioned above comes from a very specific area of the mind and this area of the mind has been studied, understood and remedies exist that will actually remove these difficulties from our day-to-day living. Please note that I used the word "remove" in that last sentence. I did not say procedures exist to help us "cope" with these incredibly uncomfortable fears and compulsions. I said "remove."

I think the best thing to do next is to give you a much better understanding of how this area of the mind works. You're in luck, I have just the link for you. Click here and enjoy!

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Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes

Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes were married last Saturday in Bracciano, Italy. The wedding took place inside a beautiful castle just off of Lake Bracciano. From what I could see from pictures and videos of the castle and surrounding area, it was quite the romantic setting!

Tom and Katie getting married was an enormous news event for Italy and for many others around the world. Here are a few short videos covering the excitement:

E News

Inside Edition

The Early Show

The Insider

My wife, Mary Ann, and I were married in a Scientology wedding. We've been happily married now for 28 years and we're both quite certain the various tools of Scientology have helped us create a wonderful relationship and family.

If you would like to know more about Scientology weddings, give a click here and enjoy!

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