THINKING OF THOUGHTS

There is nothing in this world that is 'nothing'. The only reason we might consider something as 'nothing' is because we have not found a way to measure it yet. Simply put- anything in this world we can perceive with one of our 5 senses we have figured out a way to measure. For example- sound, which we perceive with our ears, can be measured a number of ways with devices that we employ and are expressed in units according to what we measure eg. a 'decibel' is the power or intensity of the sound or a 'sone' is a unit of perceived loudness. 

So, there is no such thing as nothing. Even when we wave our hand gently through the air, though we cannot perceive the air with any of our 5 senses, the air is not nothing, it is a combination of gasses made up of different chemical compounds. Every corner of this earth has something in it. Scientists have never even created a ‘perfect vacuum’, they have only ever managed a ‘partial vacuum’. However, even if every single atom and particle could be removed from a volume, it would still not be "empty" due to vacuum fluctuations, dark energy, and other phenomena in quantum physics.

Now we know that there is no such thing as ‘nothing’ if we look at what everything is made of… from the chair you are sitting on, to the computer you are reading this on, to the eyes you are using to read these words… it is all made of the exact same thing- atoms. That is right, your right hand, when broken down, is made of the exact same thing as the right leg of the chair you are sitting on. The difference between the atoms in the chair’s right leg and your right hand is its state of vibration.

Which brings me to the title of this note… ‘thinking of thoughts’. If there is no such thing as ‘nothing’ and every single ‘thing’ on this earth is composed of atoms at different vibrations then- what is a thought? A thought must be a ‘thing’. Something we can measure. Dr Alexander Graham Bell, who invented the telephone, spent a lot of time studying vibration and what he hypothesised was that thoughts can be measured and are at a state of vibration somewhere between sound and heat. Dr Bell says

“Suppose you have the power to make an iron rod vibrate with any desired frequency in a dark room. At first, when vibrating slowly, its movement will be indicated by only one sense, that of touch. As soon as the vibrations increase, a low sound will emanate from it and it will appeal to two senses.

At about 32,000 vibrations to the second the sound will be loud and shirll, but at 40,000 vibrations it will be silent and the movements of the rod will not be perceived by touch. Its movements will be perceived by no ordinary human sense.

From this point up to about 1,500,000 vibrations per second, we have no sense that can appreciate any effect of the intervening vibrations.

After that stage is reached, movement is then indicated first by the sense of temperature and then when the rod becomes red hot, by the sense of sight. At 3,000,000 it sheds violet light. Above that it sheds ultra-violet light rays and other invisible radiations, some of which can be perceived by instruments employed by us.”

Dr Bell goes on to say that the gap between sound and heat (40,000 vibrations per second to 1,500,000 vibrations per second) is so vast and considering there is no human sense that can recognise the vibration, there is something there that we are yet to discover just as we did not know that ultra-violet light was there until we found a way to measure it. Just as radio signals are broadcast through the air and we cannot hear them until we use our radio to tune into the frequency. Napoleon Hill, one of my all-time favourite Authors, believes that our thoughts vibrate even higher- well past ultra-violet light at 3,000,000 vibrations per second.

Thoughts are seemingly nothing that originate nowhere but we do know that that is not how the world works. Are thoughts the one and only exception or are thoughts things that have their own vibrations and electrical impulses that we send out into the world and when you delve even deeper what is the cause and effect of these thoughts? Do thoughts send out messages to our surrounding world through our brain, through our skull, into the gases and bring back to us what the equivalent of that thought and the power and rate behind the thought was thinking? That was a mouthful. After everything you have just read… what am I talking about? Yes, of course, you might know it as The Secret, The Law of Attraction, Karma, God, Allah, Good Things Happen To Good People, Like Attracts Like and so on and so forth.

Thinking about thinking took me all afternoon and had me read everything from how light is formed, to what electrons are composed of, to how light bulbs and batteries work and back to atoms! To think about thoughts from a scientific and measurable point of view was pretty cool so I thought I should share!        

IS YOUR GLASS HALF FULL OR HALF EMPTY?

It has come up. It was bound to come up. I do realise that and I am hoping that I am writing this not to justify my actions to you but to maybe get you thinking or even to set an example. But as usual I am getting ahead of myself!

I posted an article on my facebook wall about size zero models and how I actually disagree with it which prompted someone to mention that it was "Hard to read that and see Alex Perry in your profile pic. He's the poster boy for size zero.” Which, don't get me wrong, is a fair statement! You can read all about my thoughts in regards to the fashion industry being blamed for poor body image in Australia HERE. I have also been asked recently as to how I can be a Life Coach through the week and then cover fashion events on the weekend as a fashion blogger?

My answer to both of those is: PERCEPTION. Everything in our lives and whether it is good or bad is about our perception. The most simple and overused but underrated example of this being: is your glass half full or half empty? To me the fashion industry is not a big money fuelled, soul sucking, humanity destroying industry. It is an industry of self expression, innocence, beauty, fun and glamour which gives us new ways every season to express ourselves! Now before you jump up and down and say 'but Casey it promotes bad body image and new clothes come out every season just to make money'. That statement is fine and if you want that to be your perception then that is completely your choice. If you would like another point of view on the body image debate I suggest you go HERE and in regards to clothes coming out every season just to make money (I have heard this so many times!) you are implying 1. That it is wrong to make money (which it is not, if you provide a service you are entitled to make money from it) and 2. That everyone goes out every season and buys every piece straight from the runway. I don't know anyone who does that, all people do is buy a few new pieces every season to add to their collection of unique style. The fashion industry is also known for their drug culture and putting pressure on models to be skinny but what industry isn't known for a certain degree of drug culture and the perceived pressure to have the 'ideal image'.

You can perceive any industry as good or bad it is your choice but if you choose the optimistic out look you will gain so much more freedom and you will contribute to the positivity of that industry. The bad side of any industry is not due to the industry itself, it is due to the lack of faith and self worth people have in our culture and in many cultures all over the world. The negative paradigms that have wormed their way into our heads and have taken up residence saying we are no good and worth nothing so we give into peer pressure or commit crimes looking for acceptance instead of looking to the only person we need acceptance from and that is... ourselves.

We judge other people, situations and circumstances every single minute of every single day. We are never going to stop doing it and nor should we. We are observant beings who take part in this magnificent world! When we make a judgement it is extremely important to recognise whether this judgement is coming from a place of pessimistic insecurity or optimistic knowledge. There really never is any real reason to say a harsh word against or to anyone. As Napoleon Hill points out "If you believe someone is good you will find good qualities. If you don't, you wont.". If you are a positive person who has even a small amount of control over your thoughts because you have worked to understand why you have certain thoughts or say certain things, you will look for the good in people, situations and circumstances. 

If you find something or someone that doesn't feel right to you then instead of feeling the need to label them bad and bring that label you have bestowed on them to their attention which just placates hurt and negativity, you have the choice to remove it from your attention. It is as simple as that. If we could all learn to take our attention away from the things that distress us and turn it to the things that make us happy then we would all feel so much more safe in our skin. If we respected ourselves we would not have 'tall poppy syndrome' or gossip magazines because our attention would be focused on ourselves and when we did hear or read someone else's story we would feel happy for their success or empathy for their loss and in no way feel the need to point out a 'perceived negative'.

My picture of Alex Perry and I in my profile picture is not merely there as a 'look at me I am with Alex Perry' picture. I have it there because I not only love his designs, it also marks a very special milestone for me in my career. The shy, reserved girl I was when I first started in the industry was put aside that night and I made a conscious effort to put myself in the shoes of the confident, professional and intelligent woman I wanted to be. To go up to Alex Perry, an icon in the industry I was trying to make my mark on, and ask him for the photograph was a huge feat for me at that time. I got home on a huge high, proud as punch at the fact that I had the confidence to go up to him and ask! Even if he had said no I still would have been exceptionally proud of the fact that I pushed my limits! If the event was a month earlier there is no way I would have asked and I would have gone home disappointed I didn't have the confidence to 'put myself out there', so to speak. 

I, like many people, am working hard on my goals, dreams and especially on myself. To try and reverse the years of negative self talk takes time and effort. It takes effort to remember to do it and time to educate myself on how to reverse it in the first place. It requires constant attention to your thoughts and actions. I make sure I catch myself when judging someone from that place of insecurity and ask myself why am I doing it? The answer is always there! And because of these conscious efforts I am happy to say that I am proud to be the woman I am today and will wake up as tomorrow which gives me the confidence to live more and shy away less!

So before you judge someone in any industry, be it a football player, politician or a fashion blogger, ask yourself... is my glass half empty?

Stay fabulous!

CLE