I have many compulsions, but up to now, I have not seen thinking as one of them. I need to reconsider.

Eckhart Tolle’s soft voice whispers strange messages from my iPod to my mind. I listen to his book The Power of Now. I learn that I am a compulsive thinker. My thinking defines my identity, and not before I stop thinking will I be truly free. I think, therefore I am, said Descartes. Wrong, says Eckhart. It is quite the opposite, actually. You are when you do not think. Being conscious, present and in the now is impossible when you think.

Moreover, you are not your mind; your thoughts are not your identity. Thinking is just a stage in the evolution of consciousness. The mind is a tool; you can pick it up and use it when needed. When it has done its job, put it down again.

The compulsive non-stop thinking most of us suffer from is damaging. Thought alone becomes destructive when it disconnects from the realm of consciousness.

This realm of consciousness is a bit harder to grasp and explain. I get that it is a kind of presence, closeness and connectedness to an intelligence beyond us. Some call it the universe. Others call it God. Eckhart prefers the Being.

The mind is a survival tool, developed to help you avoid perishing by thy neighbour’s axe or eaten by a lion. All true artists create from a place of no mind, from inner stillness. The mind comes later, and gives form to it. Great scientists receive their most profound insights in a state of inner stillness. Creation and creativity is not a product of thoughts, and people who consider themselves not creative, often will find that it is not because they do not know how to think, it is because they do not know how to stop thinking.

Eckhart’s message makes me curious. There is a paradox, an ambiguity in them. Listening to him, I observe my mind, just as he tells me to. What I see? I see myself thinking. I truly cannot grasp his message about not thinking, without thinking. If I do as he says, stop thinking, the message does not come through.

What do you think about that?

Link to Eckhart Tolle – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

HP wants to build the world’s central nervous system, using nanotech devices that measure everything. Absolutely everything.

Imagine walking down the supermarket aisle with a cheap device you could hold up to a tomato. If the sensor detects a pesticide residue, you’d know the “organic” label is a lie.

This is probably the world’s most ambitious nanotech project, according to Fortune. HP aims to build ‘a central nervous system for the earth.’ Nothing less.

Well at least this makes my central nervous system a little shaky.

The company aims to develop a panoply of microscopic-scale nanotech devices that will be able to measure essentially anything. Viruses, bacteria, the chemical composition of molecules, vibration, moisture levels, particular sounds.

Fortune: HP’s grand vision: measure everything

A new morning coming up. Gray day in May, green trees outside my window. Little Lisa laughing in the doorway.

Newspaper speaks about the crisis in Burma. Pictures of the generals in their parade uniforms. There are pictures  of men with medals, lots of glitters, pomp and circumstances. One of them is the boss, a fat, middle-aged scared lump of meat, with a face that hasn’t felt the joy of a smile in ages.

This man’s shit stinks just like other’s. When he studies himself naked in the mirror morning, it’s with the same disillusioned unloved pathetic sigh as anyone else having to live in fear and luxury.

Who gives him power?

Power puzzles me. How come we allow single individuals to acquire so much power over other people’s lives? How come the zillions of people in Burma just don’t eat him for breakfast? What is it in man’s mind that craves humility towards abusers?

From this post and onwards, this blog will be written in English. I realize that all the important stuff I have to say should be presented in a format that slightly more people than the 1% of humanity that speaks Norwegian can adhere to.

For en måned siden grep kong Gyanendra overraskende makten i Nepal. Han beordret straks alle kommunikasjonslinjer, inkludert telefon og mobiltelefon, avslått.

Telefonnettet kom i gang igjen etter en uke. Men mobiltelefonene er fremdeles tause.

Omkring en tredjedel av landets telefonlinjer er trådløse, og handelen og næringslivet i landet lider sterkt under mangelen på mobilkommunikasjon, skriver USA Today.

USATODAY.com – Nepalese learn life without cell phones

En rettsak om pedofili som involverer 66 voksne og 45 barn er i gang i Angers i Frankrike.

39 menn og 27 kvinner er anklaget for voldtekt og salg av sine barn. Saken har satt i gang en sjelegranskende nasjonal debatt om forsvinnende moralske verdier og statens evne til å beskytte barn.

At rettssaken foregår samtidig som Michael Jackson står i tiltaleboksen er ikke tilfeldig, i følge en lokal avis. Forskjellen er at i Angers er det ingen glitter, bare gjørme og natt.

French open huge pedophile trial

Norske toppledere legger vel så stor vekt på magefølelsen som analyse når de fatter strategiske beslutninger i nytt og ukjent terreng.

Stipendiat Elisabeth Norman ved Seksjon for kognitiv psykologi, UiB skriver på sitt doktorgradsarbeid om intuisjon. Forskningen underbygger hypotesen om at i alle fall visse former for intuisjon er faktabasert.

Det er ingen forskjell på kjønnene, noe som betyr at myten om den kvinnelige intuisjon antagelig er nettopp det: en myte. Din evne til å koble deg inn på magefølelsen avhenger av hvilken kontakt du har med dine følelser generelt sett.

Mavefølelse en viktig veileder- Aftenposten Nettutgaven

I mange av nekrologene til nylig selvdøde Hunter S. Thompson beskrives han som en forgjenger til dagens bloggere.

Thompson hadde en tilnærming til journalistikk som mange måter speiler moderne blogger, disse hjemmelagde kommentatorene som blander nyheter, meninger og personlige dagboknotater på sine nettsteder.

Også CBS sin politiske redaktør Dotty Lynch trekker disse linjene mellom gonzo-journalisten og moderne blogging.

The passion, energy, anger, paranoia, obsessive focus, innovation and sophistication of the blogs on the left, right and in between are shaking up the MSM. Frank Mankiewicz has referred to “Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail ‘72,” Thompson’s book on the McGovern-Nixon presidential race, as “the most accurate and least factual” account of the campaign.” That insight also applies, for good and ill, to many of today’s blogs.

CBS News: Fear & Loathing In The Blogosphere

Asias mange nye mobilprodusenter utfordrer vestens etablerte i slaget om 3G, mener Gartner.

Tette allianser mellom industrien og statlige interesser gjør at Asia vil bli det markedet som driver fram videre utvikling av 3G og tjenester omkring det nye nettet, slik jeg leser denne artikkelen i digi.no.

digi.no – Slaget om 3G vil stå i Asia