Moving on

My new blog about my adventures, random thoughts and favorite quotes here http://kamiladagilova.wordpress.com

Wish you all the best!

Love,

K

Holidays in Singapore

I am so lucky to be in Singapore now. As I already mentioned Singapore is a multicultural country and you can celebrate different holidays almost every day! ;D Tomorrow, for example, I'm going to Sentosa Island to celebrate Indian Festival of Colors (also known as a festival of love <3) - Holi. *feeling excited.

Now, however, I'm gonna share with you my experience of my first celebration of Chinese New Year (a year of Horse) and Chingay Holiday (which is usually celebrated 7 days after the Chinese New Year).

Chinese New Year is an important holiday in Singapore, where people invite each other to their houses,   eat tangerines, enjoy fireworks, go out to China Town for food. We were invited to New Asian Bar , which was on 70th floor and offered a great view on Marina Bay Sands hotel and other amazing buildings of Singapore Downtown. (By the way, the architecture of the buildings here is really impressive because the weather stays the same - Singapore never experiences strong winds, frost, or whatever can damage buildings - that's why architects can experiment a lot with the shapes and height). We didn't stay there long - since it was quite crowded and we believed that we can find a better view on fireworks, so we decided to go to Marina Bay, where they had nice performances and a lot of lights and decorations. Pictures cannot describe all the things I see but anyway I uploaded some for you:

Chinese New Year Fireworks at Marina Bay

 China Town, "lucky coins" and Horses

Buildings *_*

Later, I was invited by my friend - Eleonore, an exchange student from France to a Chingay Parade, holiday, widely celebrated in South East Asia as a procession of the Goddess of Mercy. From our dorm (also called College), we got free tickets, and were lucky to get seats in front of the prime-minister of Singapore - Lee Hsien Loong. The parade was very bright! The participants represented different Singapore organizations - university students, youth associations, association of ballerinas, representatives of different cultures like Japan, Korea, etc. who reside in Singapore. We enjoyed music, dances and fireworks. The theme of the parade -"One People", and the speech of the prime minister made me feel so patriotic haha, and honestly, I never feel like I'm an outsider when I'm here, no one does I guess :) 

And here's another small celebration… of my Birthday. It was on Monday, February 10, and I'm so happy my friends shared this day with me, even though they had work/projects/sleep experiments, they anyway came!

More entries are coming soon: My Recess week in Thailand, My Classes, exams, projects and challenges, "Singapore safe by default or by design", "Feng Shui in Singapore", Life in Alice and Peter Tan Residence Hall, Palau Ubin trip, Zero Uncertainty Avoidance in Singapore, how come is it true?  and many many more

Mischief managed

 I wrote this very first entry about my exchange student experience many weeks ago… Realized I didn't really published it anywhere.

It’s is the end of my first week in Singapore, and I’m sitting in my dorm room alone…bored…not because there is nothing else to do in the city, but because I lost my voice :( I “blame” crazy air conditioners. Also, I went to Sentosa Island last night and swam a little bit… All of this made me sick. All the physical symptoms remind me that my body needs to rebalance itself and relax, which appears impossible during the orientation week (perhaps everyone has experienced at least one orientation week in their lives, when you enter a new society/environment and you want to learn/explore/communicate = no place for sleep). On a happy note, I finally have time to geoblog about my first days. I will describe why I think Singapore is a wonderful place for studying abroad.

Reason 1 Singapore is multinational, multireligious, multilingual… It is a home for about five million people, and about 10 million people annually visit Singapore. It keeps fascinating me everyday with its diversity, cuisine, hospitality, etc. The very first thing that I did here is I went to the city tour with a group of exchange students, which was organized by the iCare (university project for international students). We visited old parts of Singapore, which embodied the coexistence of Malaysian, Chinese, Indian cultures. Here are some wonderful things that we saw:

Colorful Arab Street with good food and nice shopping. Here you can find such things as Persian carpets, halal alcohol free perfume, handmade bags, scarves and souvenirs. 

Chinese Part of Singapore and preparation for Chinese New Year + beautiful temple

Later, my friends and I went to see the Garden by the Bay, which is situated next to the Marina Bay financial clusters. It is regarded as symbolic of Singapore's status as a premier tropical Garden City, and embodies the notion of work-play-live environment. Through the creation of such a perfect environment, Gardens by the Bay seek to position Singapore as a leading global city of the 21st century and botanical capital of the world. And this is the reason No. 2 why I like Singapore - it is very beautiful and green. To turn Singapore into a Garden City was a mission of ex prime-minister, Lee Kuan Yew. 

Here is another Garden Picture - this time Singapore's Botanic Garden:

Шоколадная экскурсия. Guiltfree Indulgence ;]

В эти предновогодние дни так и хочется скушать шоколадку. А потом сидишь и краснеешь, когда видишь, что скушал не одну конфетку Линдт, а целых пять >.< ...Постой-ка, а может быть все не так и плохо, и для краснения, стеснения, самобичевания  и повода то нет? :) Сделала небольшой поиск в этом семестре, чтобы удостовериться, что можно расслабиться в дни-когда-хочется-шоколада-больше-чем-обычно...Результат поиска  "утолил" любопытсво и отправил в CVS за горьким шоколадом :) Почему именно dark chocolate? Because it has more cocoa solids, and of course/in fact, white chocolate is the unhealthiest of all kinds - contains only milk, fat and sugar. 

A picture above shows us a raw chocolate. This is the chocolate in its unique original form called cocoa by the British, but it's really coca (or kakao) (that the real word) . It is sometimes called bean, but it is actually a nut - the most widely eaten nut in the world that nobody actually eats! 

Chocolate beans/nuts are rich in magnesium, that distresses us, and makes us feel relaxed and happy. They are also a natural source of iron, chromium, manganese, phosphorus, zinc, copper, which are important for stable blood sugar, healthy nervous system, and strong bones and teeth. That's why, as you see umpa-lumpa's teeth are white and strong. 

Also, according to Brunswick Lab Research (Massachusetts), chocolate bean is the highest antioxidant food in the world that contains fifteen times more antioxidants than wild blueberries. Brown-colored pigment in chocolate is the polyphenols, they protect you from aging, that makes it number one longevity food. 

One of the dominant chemical in chocolate is theobromine which comprises 1.5-2.7% chocolate. Theobromine is a weak stimulant for the central nervous system. From its structure, there is no Br in theobromine, as its name means 'food of the gods'. Theobromine also a cardiac stimulant and causes dilation of arteries, but its metabolic half-life is only 6 - 10 hours, so its effect is rather short-lived. Furthermore, dogs cannot tolerate theobromine; just 50 g of chocolate can kill a small dog.

Secondly is caffeine which is an alkaloid drug found at low levels (0.1%) in chocolate and you can see that it is very similar chemical structure to theobromine (methylated theobromine). Caffeine is known as the world's most widely used 'psycho-active' substance and it is a stimulant for the heart and central nervous system. Caffeine also promotes awakefullness and increases mental activity.

The third prominent ingredient of chocolate is phenylethylamine which raises blood pressure and blood glucose levels and it makes us feel more alert and contented. Phenylethylamine is related to amphetamines; known as the love drug. Besides that, phenyethylamine is thought to cause release β-endorphin, an opioid peptide, and it is also claimed to be an aphrodisiac: mimics the brain chemistry of someone in love.

"Our primary source of energy in this system is the sun. But in general, the human being in his present state of evolution, has not developed the ability to make direct use of the sun's energy; you cannot 'eat sunlight' except in limited ways. When humanity does develop this ability, the digestive organs will become vestigial and the laxative companies will go out of business. For now, food is the form of stored sunlight which you need. A proper diet allows you to make the most direct use of the sun's energy. The ensuing store of energy will open your senses, expand your awareness, and sharpen your concentration into a slashing blade"

Staying healthy

Tai Chi Chuan

I practice Tai Chi for its numerous beneficial effects on physical and mental health and well-being, as well as wonderful logical principles and philosophical aspects, where there is a room to explore and analyze more. I guess, according to Professor Cheng’s “13 Chapters”, “There are those who curious about, and impressed by its wonderful qualities, they are studying Tai Chi Chuan to find the meaning within its principles…”, I can be related to this group of people.

In the past few weeks of Tai Chi we continued learning the form by practicing old movements, adding new onse, seeing the applications of the form and understanding the principles behind it. The new postures that we performed last week were the single whip, lift hands, shoulder strike, play guitar, etc., where we noticed how one gives the rise to another. By performing the form, we also learned how to pay attention to rooting discipline and centering, being present and following the Qi, balancing movements (empty gets full, full gets empty) and neutralizing motions (for example, hand goes up and, then, down). We clearly see the concepts of the yin and yang, which are thought of as complementing, interconnecting and independent forces that influence all the aspects of traditional Chinese philosophy, art, medicine and life style.

When I was practicing the form out of class, I tried to focus my awareness on the postures, and correct all the slight mistakes. After every class I had a new look on the whole form because we were covering new concepts, which were very helpful in understanding the origin and purpose of every movement. Twice per week I was practicing the martial application of Tai Chi. It was easier to do so, by centering the intention on the ideas of sticking, connecting, adhering and following. When you are counteracting with the energy of a person who attacks, you are using less of your own energy and not getting tired. Explaining things to other people, helps me to learn myself, it was also the case this time. 

Also, after learning a new way of meditation – the inner smile meditation, I started to practice it every day, which I find very helpful in these busiest weeks of my life. It makes me feel more relaxed, more optimistic, and reduces the risk of catching cold (I think it’s very important because when we are busy and work more than usual, we are more vulnerable, so it’s good to open new ways of body protection). In the inner smile meditation, we are also applying a concept of 5 elements and associate them with color and organ.

In addition, to the form, we also learned some new theory about the “three Fearlessness”, which are the fearlessness of taking pain, fearlessness to suffer loss, and fearlessness towards ferocity. There is a well-known proverb: “No pain - no gain”, which can relate to Tai Chi’s “must-have” skills of patience and ability to learn through pain and challenge (for example, horse stand can be quiet painful, but it brings you a lot of health benefits, burns calories, and disciplines your mind). I think these ideas apply not only to Tai Chi but also to everyday life. It is hard to adjust to any situation, when a person isn’t used to accept pain or loss. There is a story I’ve heard about a mother who was overcoming the death of her son with deep grief: “I can’t bear the pain and sorrow,” she told her sister. “My sister, did you mourn your son before he was born?” “No, of course not!” – The sad woman replied. “Then, you need not to mourn for him now. He has only returned to the same place, his original home, before he was ever born.” This story has some relevance to being prepared to loss, because nothing in this world is permanent, and there are different kinds of loss: loss to opponent, loss of a wallet, loss of a loved one.

We also had a chance to practice reiki, which is a Japanese spiritual, vibrational healing technique that brings balance to body and mind. You can apply such a palm-healing practice for self-healing as well as for healing someone else; however, you need to receive a consent from the other party, before you start penetrating the energy field of a that person with your vibrational field, because otherwise, you might harm yourself or that person. According to what I have learned, you can transfer your universal energy, in the form of chi through the palms that can help to fight a disease or pain, without even using any medication or instruments. Also by the end of the week we learned some basic sword forms which seem very gracious and want me to continue learning more.

Tai Chi Sword Form Practice

A Closer Look

If there is no joy, ease, or lightness in what you are doing, it does not necessarily mean that you need to change what you are doing. It may be sufficient to change the how.

Eckhart Tolle

I had an assignment for my Business Opportunities in Engineering class to read a book written by my professor and analyze which of the lessons of that book had already influenced any important aspect of my life. The book is called Seeking the Edge; it is a great book about the life and success. Its main idea is clear – if you want to reach your goals, you just need to look for “a fine line that separates excellence from mediocrity”, and then the success is very possible. I’d like to comment on some “lessons” of the section Character, which helped me to understand, why I am an Engineer.

Give it a chance. This is what I told myself when I was applying for a presidential scholarship “Bolashak” that financially covered one year of English language and four years of Undergraduate degree classes abroad. “Bolashak” is the most prestigious scholarship of our country sponsored by our President, and to receive it, you have to pass certain criteria, exams and interviews. I was happy to be one of the recipients of this stipend; however, there was a thing that bothered me – a limited choice of majors that were offered by the program. In fact, the only majors I could choose were Engineering and Science majors. I decided to give a chance to Electrical Engineering. It was the quickest decision I have ever made. At that time I was reading a book “Blink” by Malcolm Gladwell, where he said that the biggest decisions of your life, like choosing career, spouse, house,  are made quicker than when you are choosing little things like pictures or clothing because you don’t have enough information for judgment, and only rely on your feelings.  So, I felt I made a good decision and I didn’t think much about the consequences because I was very excited about the changes. I just gave it “a wholehearted, fair chance”.

After a great year of English Language and Orientation Program at Boston University, I went to Pennsylvania State University, where I was accepted to the Electrical Engineering program. From the very first days I realized that my major takes a lot of time, and I barely get time for myself, for my friends, for making new friends, for fun and hobbies. The first year seemed like a struggle, since I was not used to such classes like physics, calculus, computer science, computer engineering, etc. because in middle and high schools in Kazakhstan I specialized on English and German languages and Russian literature. However, I knew that hard things get easy with practice, and since I wanted to be successful I needed to develop right attitude towards the current situation. Like in the book “Seeking the edge” it is well-said that a “successful person never gives up…This person is always doing his/her best regardless of the situation. Who knows what’s around the corner? Who knows who is coming in the door next?” I thought, if you are not challenging yourself, challenges will be eventually "sent" to you in an unexpected way, in unexpected situations. I worked on myself. The work based not only on studying much, but on developing a right attitude, a balance of body, mind and spirit. I tried to discipline my mind by regular meditations; to keep my body healthier I joined yoga and Tai chi clubs. I worked on my patience and did exactly as it is described in the “Seeking the edge”: “Make the best use of each moment in conversation, reading, writing, thinking, or observing everything around us…Be patient! Just stop and smell the flowers or listen to some beautiful music. Let’s learn from others. Be patient and do the right thing”. Eventually, with "failures" and "successes", I saw that I can easily find time for all the opportunities offered by my major and student life. Classes seemed easy and I could also employ my communication skills and imagination in such classes like engineering design, design tools, public speaking, etc.

Right now it is a second semester when I’m taking major classes and I realized that I learned how to enjoy them. I’m very grateful to all the opportunities of my life that led me to “now”. I took a chance, it was hard, but I never gave up, I learned through patience, and now I’m able to take a closer look and appreciate all that I have. Everyone would agree that Electrical Engineering is not an easy major, and not everyone will be able to understand all the concepts. Being the one who understands and enjoys is a nice feeling. Now I also see that being able to deal with stress produced by unknown “uncomfortable” situations is a great skill. Usually people get stressed, when they are resisting the present. They experience the stress which is not caused by the events but from their view of those events. My “freshman year” stress was produced by my high expectations and my attachment to the results. It is always better to give more attention to doing than to the fruit of your action, which will imply that you completely accept the present moment, because you cannot fully focus and at the same time resist it. When you are accepting, life begins to flow with joy and ease.

 Here is another good statement that I have read in the “Seeking the Edge”: “Quite often, if we are trying to take a closer look or gaze into a microscope, the work efforts and the tasks associated with some adventure, desire, or problem solution could actually become quite simple. You must go beyond the first impression or the first look. The edge is in determination to take a closer look. Many times, we are overwhelmed with the thoughts, or what might be involved, for example, to climb a mountain or to carry out a particular project or to study a specific subject. If attack the problem in a step by step fashion, however, and look into the microscope for the next small step, we may find out that the work efforts aren’t so bad. Pursuit can lead to prolonged happiness”. Everything that I read in the book sounded very familiar and I had a feeling I already knew it!!! It is a pleasant and satisfying feeling. 

Some thoughts on negotiation skills (+ more on non-verbal communication observations)

You get what you negotiate

According to Joseph Rose, “Negotiation is not an option in today’s world”, especially for those, who understandably aim to achieve the best possible outcome in any situation, while avoiding arguments and leaving both parties satisfied. Negotiation skills are the “must-have skills” nowadays because they can be very helpful in succeeding and reaching the agreements, which will prevent people to feel the barriers in future communications. Negotiation often takes place in situations, when we are trying to determine a salary increase, or when we are purchasing things at the most satisfying price, etc.

One of the strategies that I found very useful is the one that discusses the significance of an emotional aspect of negotiations. We not only have to be in a positive mood, whenever we are trying to start negotiation, but we also need to be attentive to the emotions of a person we are talking to. It is important to consider the needs, aims and beliefs of individuals we are negotiating to. By understanding their feelings you will be in control of any situation, and it will be easy to decide whether to start, finish or postpone the discussion. I was looking for more tips that can help me to find the connection of people’s behavior to their intentions during the negotiations. According to Anne Warfield, from a study of over 2000 negotiations, not one achieved an agreement, if at least one person started negotiation with his crossed legs/arms. People just say that they are comfortable sitting in this position, but most of the time it just means that they are not willing or ready to listen to what you have to say. Also, it is important to notice that the negotiation will usually end successfully if you create a cozy and relaxed atmosphere by showing your excitement and enthusiasm. 

The importance of non-verbal communications

Can a story be told with nonverbal messages alone?

https://vimeo.com/19208251

Tai Chi Chuan Journal 2 Free Moving Chi Gong and Tai Chi forms

“Rather than being your thoughts and emotions, be the awareness behind them.”

A big portion of a book that I read this summer was about emotions. According to it, an emotion is an expression of energy in motion – e-motion. In our Tai Chi classes we deal with emotions a lot: we try to be aware of them, to control them, to make the most efficient use of the energy generated by them.  

Previously, I was curious myself about such subjects. I watched a lot of videos and read books dedicated to the emotion control. Most of them were focused on the same thing – letting go. There are, however, different methods of letting go. Mano, a student of Osho, teaches us to let go all of the old emotions and feelings, which were out of our attention, but still remain in our body and mind, by simply screaming, moving in a dance, jumping, and laughing. Pretty crazy, right? I do it all the time though, when I’m alone.

In our Tai Chi class, during the past weeks, we learned free moving Chi Gong, which I think is another good way to release our emotions and emotional pain body. The clue is in concentrating on the things that bother you – your physical or emotional pain, and then start moving. The movements should come from your heart-mind, not from the “mind” that we use to plan everyday activities or to solve math problems. Being aware of your feelings, while you perform the free moving chi gong movements, is not the same as thinking about your movements. You shouldn’t think about them at all. Things should flow naturally. Your body knows how to relax and release negative emotional “remnants”.  Also, after you let go physical pain, anxiety, impatience, etc. there is some free space which you can fill with peacefulness. Free moving Chi Gong is not only about focusing on negative aspects. It also helps to deal with positive feelings like love, gratitude, happiness, etc. Again, you just need to concentrate on all the good that you are feeling and move!

In class, when performing the free-moving chi gong, I try to observe my feelings and look at the impact the chi gong exercises have on me: I try to compare before and after the activity, and it does feel different. It feels light and free. I would compare it to dynamic meditation. I think it is important to feel comfortable “with yourself” and feel confident “in your skin”. Someone said in class that he doesn’t want to move anyhow and he just stays still. I think the problem is in being unable to connect to your inner-self and discover who you are.

Usually, the only problem that I have to focus on during the Free moving Chi Gong is so far is the lack of sleep. I try to deeply breathe in all the tiredness and then breathe it out. Then I relax my body and mind. I feel how my eyelids are relaxed, and I spread this state of relaxation across my whole body. If there are some random thoughts – I observe them and then picture them as birds flying away from my mind. I observe my breathing pattern. It is usually breathing with my abdominal part – I expand it when I am breathing out and contract it when I’m breathing in.

When I practice Chi Gong at home during weekends and sometimes evenings of Tuesday and Thursday, I feel just a feeling of gratitude and love, and I’m expressing it with Chi Gong. I entirely relax myself and move. My movements are often just yoga stretching, or sometimes I’m just lying on the floor and breathe in and out, trying to “clean” my meridians and fill my whole being with light.

During the past weeks we also learned the Tai Chi Forms, i.e. Preparation Posture, Beginning Posture and the application of them in martial art aspect. We practiced a lot by ourselves and then later we applied this knowledge to our opponents. I consider Tai Chi as a peaceful and graceful kind of all martial arts. We do not harm, we just control the flow of our energy and the energy of our opponents. We efficiently use it by applying tai chi forms we learnt so far. 

Positive Thinking and Habits

On a construction site in the Midwest, when the lunch whistle blew, all the workers would sit down together to eat. And with singular regularity Sam would open his lunch pail and start to complain.  “Not peanut butter and jelly sandwiches again!” Sam moaned about his peanut butter and jelly sandwiches day after day after day. Weekes passed, and the other workers were getting irritated by his behavior. Finally another man on the work crew said, “If you hate peanut butter and jelly so much, why don’t you just tell your old lady to make you something different?” “What do you mean, my old lady?” Sam replied. “I’m not married. I make my own sandwiches.”

According to the book “the Way of the Peaceful Warrior”, every predicament of your life has been arranged by you, consciously or unconsciously, and it is better for you to take responsibility for your life as soon as possible, instead of complaining and blaming everything around you. If there is an aspect of your life that you don’t like, (it can be your health, your body, your grades, or your personal life) you need to find your own path on how to make it “better”, or just accept it the way it is.  If you are aiming for success, there is a large number of important things such as creativity, focus, push, persistence, hard work and practice, which undoubtedly lead to it. However, here I’m going to focus only on such powerful aspect of a personal character as positive thinking because it can significantly affect your reality.

When I went to school in Kazakhstan, we used to have one “Health week” per semester. Usually on those “Health” weeks, we had seminars about HIV, suicide and depression, eating disorders, etc. None of these seminars included “healthy” topics; they were mostly outlined on negative things because the majority says that the absence of illness is health. Similarly, most of us think that we need to succeed first in order to be happy. We say “I have a good job, now I need a better one, only then I can be happy”. I believe we need to reverse such way of thinking just because if we don’t succeed we suffer, and in case we succeed, we set another goal; even if we finally get what we want, we still suffer because we can’t hold onto it forever.  However, if we try to reverse our “success formula” and try to think positively, our performance will significantly improve.  It is important to think positively because more than 80% of your work outcome depends on your optimism level and on your ability of considering stress as a challenge, not as a threat; only 10-20% is based on your IQ.  So how do we start thinking positively? If we start writing at least 2-3 things for which we are grateful, if we start making random acts of kindness, and if we meditate for at least 15 min a day (it was proven that meditation helps people to overcome depression and stress) we can easily turn it into a habit. Positive actions and thoughts will help you to achieve your goals faster.

Here is, by the way, a good video about "implanting habits", or how to start a change with a tiny habit and be awesome!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdKUJxjn-R8

One of the seven habits of highly-effective people, according to Stephen Covey, is to begin with the end in mind. I think the power of positive visualization helps you to succeed in any beginning. When I was a child I kept visualizing a lot about me going to America. Its best educational system attracted me a lot, and I made a lot of drawings about my future life in America. Of course, I worked hard to get a scholarship, but I guess my power of visualization and my passion contributed a lot to my success. Like Steve Jobs used to say, that if there is no passion for an idea/job/project any rational person gives up when it gets hard. It is also always helpful to visualize the prosperity of your business, and it is important to think that it will help many people, not only you.

Beautiful song

makes me smile! :):)

Every morning starts with...

Shi Ba Shi

1 Awakening the Qi

2. Open the Chest

3. Paint a Rainbow

4. Separating the Clouds

5 Repulse the Monkey

6. Row the Boat

7. Lift the Sun

8. Turn to Look at the Moon.

9. Twist Waist and Push with Arm

10. Wave Hands through Clouds

11. Scoop the Sea and Look at the Sky

12. Push the Waves

13. Flying Dove Spreads its Wings

14. Punch the Mud

15. Flying Wild Goose

16. Circle the Sun

17. Step and Bounce the Ball

18. Quieting the Qi

Push that box away!

The nail that sticks up will be hammered down. This is a rule of social conformity. From ancient times, people generally tend to imitate other people, consciously or unconsciously.  There is an example from an old video on YouTube, where the three actors face the back wall of an elevator, and the fourth person, who unknowingly was videoed, by looking at everybody else, also decides to face the back wall. Here is a question, how did we survive the “threats” of environment in a long human history behaving like this? It might seem very surprising, but besides of negative effects on decision making processes and personal freedom, this conformity bias, as a large part of cultural evolution, brought us some superior outcomes. Well, perhaps conformity is very helpful in collaboration, observation, or social problem solving aspects, but if it was enough, we would never know growth and success.  Conformity feels comfortable, like a safe and warm box, and when you get rid of that box, leaving that “comfort zone” to try something new, you come to creativity, which is a very important life skill. 

Conformity was never sufficient in solving problems we encounter every day.  According to Albert Einstein, "Problems cannot be solved at the same level of consciousness that created them", so we have to be flexible and imaginative because causes, conditions, and solutions of problems that we encounter are never the same. ENIAC, the first computer that was built in 1947 had thirty separate units, power supply and forced air-cooling; in addition to that, it had 19,000 vacuum tubes which were supposed to be changed about every twenty minutes because if one bulb stopped working it would literally take “forever” trying to understand which one was that. Why aren’t we using computers like that anymore? The answer is simple - we need innovations, to make our lives easier. Looking at all the latest technology, we see tons of applications of human creativity. One of the best examples is the latest IPhone by Apple (who are just experts of how to “Think Different”) which recognizes human fingerprints, and performs lots of other tasks.

On one of the first topics of our Business Opportunities in Engineering class we covered a lot of aspects of creativity, and now I will try to focus on questions like “Why can it be hard for us to be creative and what kinds of obstacles we encounter when we try to turn our ideas into actions?” Also I will talk about my “lessons” of creativity taken from my own experience.

Once I read that NASA performed some creativity tests on children, the result of which was that 98% of them had scored as “highly-creative”. However, when they retook that same test couple of years later, only 30% remained in a “highly creative” range. How can we explain the lack of creativity and why does it vanish as we get older? I think one of the reasons is that we get under a significant influence of family, school, university, clubs, and other social institutions. In other words, we get into a “box”, or system of standard rules, such as “There is only one right answer”. People are getting used to live in a comfortable system. Some studies show, that even if a person spends more than a decade in prison, he doesn’t want to leave it anymore, because the world outside is so different, unpredictable and “uncomfortable”.

I think, in general, fear and doubts kill creativity and dreams more often than failures. People are afraid of making mistakes and are scared of being criticized or misunderstood, and there always will be someone who judges and misunderstands. You just never have to stop and pay attention to killer phrases like “Don’t be ridiculous”, as well as you don’t need to explain yourself. I totally agree with what Steve Jobs said once: “People who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do”. It does seem crazy when you try to be creative and extraordinary, just because it is NOT STANDARD and it’s not what other people usually expect from you; it doesn’t have to be successful, but at least it is different and it teaches you something new.

There is one thing I can tell you about creativity – it is all around us, and it is all inside of us. You can find beauty and ideas everywhere. One can cherish perfection, as well as one can be inspired by imperfections, just because they make a significant difference. Whenever I feel that creativity is “locked” inside of me – I let it go with a help of such activities as painting, coloring mandalas, playing musical instrument, exploring and learning something new. Whenever I feel I’m overwhelmed with classes, I give my mind a good respite from my
“noisy” and “ineffective” thoughts with a help of running, meditation, and meeting people. There is always an infinite amount of opportunities provided by my life, so you just have to push that box away and grab what you need, even if it’s impossible - my teacher is used to say that “there is less competition in doing impossible things”. A rule of thumb is not to resist the challenges which you encounter, but to learn through them. I learn a lot about myself in “bad” days, and the lessons of my “bad” days help me to move on and be creative. I considered my major to be highly challenging, but now I just laugh at such an early conclusion since I see how much it has to offer me, and how much it shaped my way of thinking.

There are so many ways and places when you can feel yourself as an excellent source of creative ideas; for example, Thomas Edison slept in his lab, so he could instantly right down ideas he saw in his dreams. J.K. Rowling sketched down Harry Potter’s world on a piece of napkin when she was traveling on trains, and Rene Descartes was working on his ideas when he was lying in bed. I have found it very interesting that usually the best ideas come to us when we are fully relaxed, not when we are on our work place, stressing out about homework and projects we have to do. Often I hear that the greatest ideas are coming at night, when a person wakes up or about to go to sleep. There are a lot of examples, like a Russian scientist Mendeleev claims that he saw the periodic table of chemical elements in his dream, and as soon as he woke up he took it down on a piece of paper. Another similar story happened to a famous Russian writer Gogol, who had a lethargic sleeping pattern; he used to wake up with ideas for his great novels like “Dead Souls”, “Vii” etc. When I was a child I used to write poems before I went to bed. I was trying to understand why it happens so, and found some good explanations in one of the most recent books that I read, which describes the energy levels on which our brain is functioning. The one that is responsible for our creative thinking in a relaxed state is alpha level.

As I have mentioned, all the aspects of creativity are important to us if we want to grow and succeed because it really does seem sometimes that “Knowledge is limited and imagination encircles the world”. Try to think outside of the box, or just get rid of it.

This speaker is great, by the way! I like the way she looks at creativity:

Tai chi chuan

Since most of my time is devoted to the self-work, I had an idea to try some martial arts too, to develop discipline and to know how to control my energy flow and to make the best use of it. For the reason that I’m not an advanced practitioner of any martial art, I wanted to start with something convenient, and suitable for me. To take Tai Chi class was a perfect decision in my case, because Tai chi has tons of benefits in physical and mental health, it helps you to develop inner strength, cultivate Chi, I can practice it indoor and outdoor, it has a very long and rich history. It is not only powerful as a martial art, but also as a good way to meditate or heal. It helps you to focus on your own body and feel the flow of Chi, or Qi (life energy, or bio-energy) through the “channels”.

There are a lot of styles in Tai chi, and the ones that we are going to cover are Yang style and Chen style. Yang style is a system of gentle, continuous and slow movements, which help you to balance your energy and feel relaxed. Chen style is a powerful martial art, with the use of “soft-arm techniques” and swords. My objectives are to learn a lot about the philosophy of Tai Chi and to know all the features of the styles that we are going to learn, and practice them by myself. I would also like to know more about the pressure points, which, I guess, I can apply in healing, or defense.  In addition, I would like to understand how to breathe correctly and how to control my own movements, body posture, etc.

This semester I’m taking a lot of credits of Engineering and Business classes , and I am very glad that I have registered for Tai Chi Chuan, since it helps to reduce stress of everyday life.

Here is a quick summary of my first two weeks of practice:

In class we performed some Qi Gong warm-up exercises, basic arms-swinging, rotating and stretching.  We meditated for about 10-15 minutes, and also worked with our Qi, and Qi of our classmates. We tried to feel it, rebalance it, define the presence of it in someone else. In conclusion we tried to understand its impact on our body and heart-mind system. I personally felt more aware of myself and fully present, when I was trying those moving and static meditation exercises. Every Tai chi class is a great beginning of a day. 

Looking quickly at the history of Tai Chi, we see that it is coming from the Chinese Book of Changes (I-Ching, 2800 BC), which is about the understanding of natural phenomena and Universe. It rises from the idea of Yin Yang - balance of opposites. The wholly organized system of gentle movements was "officially established" by Chen Wang Ting in 1660s. It is just so impressing how people in China wake up every morning and fill in all the streets and squares performing these beneficial exercises.