A nexus is Latin for a “connection.” I have had this experience…a feeling as if I am in such a state of clear consciousness, that I can see through a long cave. And the cave is made of myselves, at different intervals of time and space. And I can see [...]]]>

The big dots are Nexus Points

A nexus is Latin for a “connection.” I have had this experience…a feeling as if I am in such a state of clear consciousness, that I can see through a long cave. And the cave is made of myselves, at different intervals of time and space. And I can see layers of being. Have you ever been in a cave or a long winding passageway where the turns make it so you can’t see the other side? Well that’s what life usually feels like for me. It feels like I don’t exactly know where I’ve come from and I don’t know where I’m going. But during this Nexus experience, I feel like I know not only where I’ve been and where I’ve come from; but I understand all the steps that brought me there. It is the same feeling for the future. The future seems to become less like an unknown and more like a clear decision that is guided by my will and the ground is paved by destiny. It is a long winding cave with many mirrors. Then I see a certain point in the cave, and the entire cave itself starts to change shape and straighten out. And I am able to see the mouth of the front entrance of the cave, as well as the distant exit. I remember when this nexus happened, I felt like I could breathe. I mean really breathe. It was cold outside and I could feel the air filling my lungs. The air tastes clean and crisp and almost minty.

It took a great deal of discipline to read that nexus point. I ate a vegetarian diet and exercised regularly as well as engaged in Kundalini Yoga. Part of that was synchronizing the body with the mind. By doing breathing techniques and eating well, I could feel my body very clearly. It isn’t how I’ve been feeling lately when I’ve been drinking lots of milk and caffeine, basically being a blob. There is a great deal of energy that is exerted when we do anything. Even something as simple as taking a walk around the block generates heat and burns a few calories, brain activity increases, oxygen intake changes. I have read things that say that people can change things and attract money and other pleasures by thinking about it. That makes a little bit of sense because using your brain is really the first step of attaining any goal. But it is the actual action that gets the ball rolling. When I entered the nexus point that I mentioned earlier, I was engaging in a lot of physical actions that were centered on my mind and body and spiritual well being. I was actually spending time on those areas of my life. And that is why I think I was able to enter the nexus. Because I worked for it.

I remember that I could only stay in the nexus for a short time. I wasn’t really ready for the sense of control and power that I was feeling. It was similar to walking on a tight rope with the wind at my back. I didn’t trust my sense of balance, so I decided to crawl across the rope instead of walking briskly.

Recently I read something that said the night is when the work gets done for the person who is trying to affect the invisible world. I couldn’t agree more. There is something unbeatable about working alone in the darkness. It is just you and your mind. Whatever distractions that come to be are usually deliberate.

So recently I have been feeling this nexus state. But instead of a physical feeling that is attached to the breath. This time it more like a premonition of the future. It unfolds as I examine statistics  and go over details. Instead of a cave that I can almost see. There is a distant place growing. A city perhaps. But it is changing and adapting. And I know it is somewhere. We are linked, as if through simple connections. I want this place to exist. So I work methodically to build a bridge to get there. But through the simple actions of building the bridge, the city itself grows on the other side. It prepares itself for the moment that the bridge is complete.

-Tyler

Not all forms of music have the same effects on one’s mind and concentration. Some music invigorates you with fast beats and hooks. Others are more ethereal and pull the mind out of the body entirely. But the music by ASURA in their album, Life Squared is ideal for relaxation and [...]]]>

ASURA - Life Squared

Not all forms of music have the same effects on one’s mind and concentration. Some music invigorates you with fast beats and hooks. Others are more ethereal and pull the mind out of the body entirely. But the music by ASURA in their album, Life Squared is ideal for relaxation and writing. The reason why Life Squared is so good for writing is because it is a mix between world music and trance with a strong electronic tree trunk of sound. The whole album is seamless and flows from song to song with elegance. I’ve used this album several times for meditation sessions so I already knew it intimately before I started to use it while writing on the computer. As a blogger, have good music to write to is a must. And Life Squared is always at the top of my list. The song, “Back to Light” is one of those kinds of songs where when you listen to it, you feel like you gained insight and experience. The song is inspiring and it infuses me with confidence as well as awe. It is a song that is one of those that give you that feeling of flying with purpose.

It would be normal for a good album to peak at some point. But ASURA’s, Life Squared peaks so early with “Back to Light” that is more like a tall plateau than a peak. The rest of the album has such sincerity and the craftsmanship and composition of each song is done with such skill that I was blown away when I realized it was the work of one man. His name is, Charles Farwell.

The main type of sound that Life Squared emanates would best be describes as, full. It is a full, well layered sound. The mastering done on this music must have been both a labor of love and a challenge. This is because there are a lot of subtleties and themes in the music. I’m listening to “Galaxies Part One (ALBUM EDIT)” right now as I write this and the pads and swells are like being in the ocean while fog rolls in. I am completely carried by the music and connected to the ambiance and tempo.

As a writer, I’m often looking for music that is both relaxing and inspiring at the same time. I need something that is capable of running through my headphones in the background, while I am still able to think. This is a tall order but Life Squared really stacks up. The kicks used for the drums are punchy enough to maintain a good flow, yet they are subtle enough to not bother my ears over a long time of listening. Sometimes with other music, my ears get tired because the beat it too heavy or the music is mixed a little to foreground. Life Squared does a great job with balancing mood with message and I can listen to it at a relatively loud volume without hurting my ears or loosing interest.

When used during meditation, Life Squared is one of the few albums that I keep next to my Future Sound of London collection. I listened to Life Squared on repeat along with A Gigantic Globular Burst of Antistatic by FSOL for a couple months until the machine broke. I would relax to the music in the morning before I started my day, laying flat on the floor. I wasn’t sleeping or awake. I was in that state of meditation that seems to regenerate and relax the mind before a long day.

If you like relaxing music and/or trance music you will probably love Life Squared. This music is great for nighttime listens as well as early morning music sessions. I bought my copy and the package for the album and some promotional material came from France and that was super cool! I love getting international packages.

-Tyler

I love the Lotus Sutra. I’ve read it multiple times and it has changed my life. I found a website called, sacred-texts.com that has the Lotus Sutra online so you can read it for free. It is a slightly different version than the one I’ve read, which was the [...]]]>

Read the Lotus Sutra for free online

I love the Lotus Sutra. I’ve read it multiple times and it has changed my life. I found a website called, sacred-texts.com that has the Lotus Sutra online so you can read it for free. It is a slightly different version than the one I’ve read, which was the Kumarajiva version so I am going to read it again online and see if there are any major differences. The Lotus Sutra is a Buddhist text that has a tremendous amount of good in it. The version I read had a glossary so I could look up the words that I was unfamiliar with in the back. But if you check out the link above you could always just have a tab of Wikipedia open so you can look up any words or phrases you are unfamiliar with. The wikipedia entries aren’t as concise as the glossary definitions that I read in the printed book form, but they should do well to clear up major questions and ambiguities. The Lotus Sutra has a special place in my mind and heart because every time I have read it I have had a different experience. The text brings up ideas that are both thought provoking and stillness invoking. I remember reading the Lotus Sutra one day at a Starbucks in Orange and I felt like I was having a mild out of body experience. It wasn’t like what I expected the experience to feel like.

Out of all the books and texts I’ve read in my life I can say hands down that I am most thankful for the opportunity to read the Lotus Sutra.

The Lotus Sutra changed my life in more than one way. It altered my perception on the world that I live in. I no longer viewed the world as a finite experience. After reading the text, I no longer viewed my fears in the same way.

It took me a long time to decompress after reading The Lotus Sutra the first time. But I’m glad I did it.

I love spiritual and religious texts so reading The Lotus Sutra was very enjoyable. One of the great things about The Lotus Sutra is that it is presented in an interesting way. There are descriptions before each chapter of the situation and the beings in the area. Then there is spoken words. So the information is presented in an interesting fashion and you always know who is talking. It is very clear and if you have patience with the longer names and words it will flow easily. One personal suggestion that I have is that you try and pronounce the longer and unfamiliar names slowly out loud in order to remember and get to know them. Some names in the text are very long and beautiful and sound like poetry when spoken aloud. It isn’t a big deal if you don’t pronounce them perfectly, it is more about paying respect to the entities in the text. By doing so you will probably have a more enjoyable and fruitful reading experience.

Another cool thing about The Lotus Sutra is that it is divided into easily manageable chapters. I read each chapter usually during one reading session and then took time to reflect on what I read. You may find yourself reading at a different pace, but that’s what worked for me.

Here’s a link to The Lotus Sutra so you can read it for free at sacred-texts.com.

-Tyler

I’ve been listening to Matthew Sforcina’s musical exploits for the past few months on and off and generally have been mildly amused and slightly impressed by his work. But earlier this week I had the real pleasure of listening to Sforcina’s latest not-for-profit album called, “yod kaf [...]]]>

Matthew Sforcina's "Meme" is zen-state stimulating music (FREE DOWNLOAD)

I’ve been listening to Matthew Sforcina’s musical exploits for the past few months on and off and generally have been mildly amused and slightly impressed by his work. But earlier this week I had the real pleasure of listening to Sforcina’s latest not-for-profit album called, “yod kaf meme.” You can download “yod kaf meme” for free by clicking HERE. The first two songs, are clever but the real gem of the album is “meme.” This song incorporates experimental, ambient and eerie elements to create a piece of music that is definitely worth celebrating. When I first listened to the beginning of “meme” I was instantly drawn into a Zen state of relaxation. The ambient rain-forest sounds set my mind at ease. There are sounds of birds and either rainfall or a distant waterfall. It is very soothing and listening to it on headphones was like being wrapped in a blanket of contentment. I love how the song stays with this feeling and state for a substantial length of time. It shows that Sforcina truly understands that sublimation of distraction and standard emotional states takes more than just a 15 second hook.

The transition between the rain-forest intro to the first verse melds into place with a violin and piano. They remind me of a meditation bowl, being hit at the perfect time to send the mind deeper and deeper. Then the drums kick in a mechanical and deliberate fashion. It is jarring yet appreciated because you are prepared for it. When Sforcina sings he does so with spoken word accuracy and rhythm, while retaining an unending melody. His words hit hard and the music is both disturbing and serene.

Meme is a great piece of music because it can be listened to over and over again due to its stages and uniqueness. But most of all the place it brings the listener to is so special that it borders on the sacred. Sforcina’s music is usually very intimate. But this time he outdid himself by a long-shot. Meme is both recognition of oneness as well as the entrance to a parallel consciousness. I’d be lying if I said I’ll ever be the same again.

You can download “yod kaf meme” for free by clicking HERE.

You can “like” Matthew Sforcina on Facebook by clicking HERE.

Subscribe to Matthew Sforcina on YouTube after clicking HERE.

-Tyler

August 2010 was a record breaking month in terms of unique visitors and number of visits for overidon.com. According to AWstats we received 4,627 unique visitors so far in August. As well as 7,396 overall visitors for the month to date. The last time we got close to this many viewers [...]]]>

August was a Record-Breaking Month

August 2010 was a record breaking month in terms of unique visitors and number of visits for overidon.com. According to AWstats we received 4,627 unique visitors so far in August. As well as 7,396 overall visitors for the month to date. The last time we got close to this many viewers was June 2010 when we received 4,470 unique visitors and 6,492 overall visitors. This is important because now overidon.com is finally approaching its original goal: To disseminate information. According to Alexa.com this website as of today is ranked 2,679,773 globally. I know that doesn’t sound like much but the interesting thing is that the website has gone up in the rank by nearly one-million this past month. Which is kind of a big jump. But that means that there are still over two-million other websites that get more traffic than overidon.com.

As a bonus, here’s how you officially pronounce overidon:  oh-v-air-eh-dawn

Some people pronounce it like: over-eye-dawn. And that’s cool, but that’s not the official pronunciation.

-Tyler

I have this strange habit of needing to “earn” my most pleasurable music listening sessions. One would think that listening to the best and most enjoyable music would be second nature. But in fact, my most treasured albums like The Future Sound of London’s “A Gigantic Burst of Antistatic” are [...]]]>

The Rainforest reminds me of music

I have this strange habit of needing to “earn” my most pleasurable music listening sessions. One would think that listening to the best and most enjoyable music would be second nature. But in fact, my most treasured albums like The Future Sound of London’s “A Gigantic Burst of Antistatic” are only listened to every few weeks or so. This is strange because I literally love that album. I realized something was odd when I turned the album on a few minutes ago and thought to myself, “Why don’t I listen to this everyday?” The answer is: Because deep down I feel like I need to earn the enjoyment I get from this music. And the main way that I “earn” such experiences is through experiencing unpleasantness or hard work. I guess there is some sort of equilibrium that is reached when listening to music. When I feel really drained I like to listen to The Future Sound of London because it regenerates me. But what’s up with the need to earn good listening sessions?

The answer to the question probably reveals more about self-worth than I’d like to admit. But I question it all the same. It almost boils down to a more simple question, “Am I worthy of feeling the way that I truly want to feel?” And what are those feelings anyway? The first things that come to mind are feeling at least somewhat in control, tranquility, focus, relation, accuracy and competence. It is so easy to be distracted, so easy to backslide. Frustration and the desire to force things are energy levels that I fall into when I am not mindful of my emotions. But the idea that emotions and worthiness are somehow linked intrigues me. Maybe the trick isn’t necessarily knowing that I’m worthy of feeling the emotions that I want to feel. But instead, I must simply accept the emotions as one would accept a gift from an old friend. There is no reason to judge or reciprocate. The simple acceptance of the gift is thanks enough.

So if the music listening sessions are pleasurable and I don’t know if I truly earned them or not, then that means I should make a point to have the sessions. Because the end result of the music feeds the behavior and mindset and emotions that are needed and required to experience the self worth. And that in of itself propagates a positive demeanor. It is kind of like the journey of enlightenment and freedom from desire. Isn’t the goal of enlightenment a desire in itself? The more I think about it the less I believe so.

Enlightenment is a natural state.

-Tyler

The “Like” button on Facebook has become a cultural icon for our generation. It is a way that people can instantly give their approval and/or association with a thought, picture, quote or meme. It may seem like an innocent and small aspect of our [...]]]>

The "Like" button is doing a lot more than just showing opinions

The “Like” button on Facebook has become a cultural icon for our generation. It is a way that people can instantly give their approval and/or association with a thought, picture, quote or meme. It may seem like an innocent and small aspect of our online society. But in fact the Like button is having a profound effect on how people think and act on both conscious and subconscious levels. The best way to investigate this subject is through a thought experiment. Imagine yourself as someone who is regularly checking his/her Facebook profile. Let’s make the assumption that the reason(s) that you may be using Facebook is either for entertainment, boredom, money making purposes, social interaction or all of the above. Ok, so now you are on your main status and update page, and you see what other people are saying. What comments and images do you think you are going to click on or take the time to read the most? The ones that will probably catch your eye will be the ones that either have the most “comments” and/or the most “Likes” or thumbs up. The simple reasoning for this is because if someone else took the time to read or comment or approve of something, then it would be more worthy of your attention. While reading you start to ascribe a sort of value to comments or pictures that have the most “likes.”

Something happens when you decide to write on your wall. Do you usually get a lot of comments on what you have to say? Do people give you the thumbs up and press the “Like” button? Let’s say you write about how your day went. And your comment was something like this, “Work was tolerable, but my boss fired Jim and now I am fearful of my job.” And for the sake of this thought experiment, no one commented on this and no one pressed the “Like” button. Does this mean this was a bad status update, or was this useless information? No. It just means that no one showed an interest in this comment and didn’t want to add any extra attention to this issue. So let’s now say you wrote a status update that said, “I went to Starbucks and I’m so thirsty that I just drank 2! Count ‘em TWO venti lattes! Now I’m goona barf.” Well, your friends read this wall update on their friend feed and most of them had a good chuckle. So a few friends wrote comments, joking around with you. And several other friends clicked the, “Like” button. What just happened here? Not only were you given more attention and feedback from your peers, but you also got one thing that you desired from Facebook in the first place: Social Interaction. So by writing a more witty and interesting wall update, you achieved one of your online goals. Thus, you have been rewarded for your form of communication.

Yet we don’t just use Facebook once a day. Most users log in and spend over 30 minutes per day if not more and check it often. I myself keep my Facebook page open while I’m writing in case someone wants to get a hold of me or if there are any notifications on my communications. So there are many chances for people to write things and either get or not get feedback. So if you think about it, over time you are being evaluated hundreds if not thousands of times on what you say and how you contribute. And the simplest form of judgment on your actions is of course, the “Like” button. After using Facebook for a few months one can begin to learn patterns in how people react to information and what will garner “Likes.” But what is really going on here? Are we putting spin on our interactions to gain more approval and affinity from our peers? I don’t think so. We are actually being reshaped behaviorally using Pavlovian methods. But the interesting part is that we are reshaping our behaviors both consciously and subconsciously. The conscious part is that we push the “Like” button on information that we have an affinity with or agree with, and thus propagate the usage of such a button. And the subconscious part is that we gradually reshape the patterns of our actions to cater to getting more “Likes” from other people. Thus we are molding our online personalities to become more attractive to the attention of other online personalities that are shaped by the very same trends and forces.

Since the online social networking groups are connected through vast webs, even the most unique and stalwart of individuals will become tempered by the temptation of online acceptance and popularity. This factor is multiplied when the user wants to gain notoriety for the purpose of promoting his/her idea or business.  Now there is a more rapid expansion and evolution of personality shaping on the internet. We are already witnessing memes getting spread faster than wildfire. It seems like even the standard media sources like the TV News and Newspapers pay tribute to often silly internet phenomenon like Double Rainbows and others. The end result is that our culture and especially our behavior is being self-regulated and almost policed for no other reason than getting attention. People used to have to write music or books in order to get 15 minutes of fame. Now someone can make a YouTube video about makeup and get tens of thousands of Facebook fans overnight.

Thus we aren’t the same people anymore since we’ve started to use Facebook. Similarly to the substance “D” in the film A Scanner Darkly: There’s no withdrawal from Facebook. You’re either “ON” it, or else you haven’t tried it yet.

So my main concern about the Like button is that we used to have our behavior primarily modified by our parents, then by the education system. Then the media became a larger factor in influencing behavior. But now people are modifying their own behavior wholesale. The real danger in this is that we are setting ourselves up more manipulation and suggestion on such a huge scale that we could have artificial and subliminal memes integrated into our collective psyche literally overnight without anyone knowing the difference. One thing that comes to mind is this new trend of people constantly, “Checking In” to stores and places they visit and transmitting that information via Facebook. This blatant disregard for security and personal privacy really worries me. What if you live alone? Couldn’t someone rob your apartment or house super easy by finding out when you check into McDonald’s on Main street? Afterwords you can check into the police station downtown saying, “I got my ass robbed!” – Jim Smooth just checked into Police Station 2013 Downtown 2 hours ago.

-Tyler

Figure it out [...]]]>

The Meaning of Life

Figure it out for yourself.

I am very suspicious and am keen on the conspiracies. But there is one conspiracy that is more dangerous than all the lizard people combined: The conspiracy of WHO MAKES THE BEST LATTE! Many of you have read the article I wrote a couple months ago called, I had the best latte of my [...]]]>

Latte Conspiracy

I am very suspicious and am keen on the conspiracies. But there is one conspiracy that is more dangerous than all the lizard people combined: The conspiracy of WHO MAKES THE BEST LATTE! Many of you have read the article I wrote a couple months ago called, I had the best latte of my life today. But today I had a latte that even topped that one. It was a latte that I got from my neighborhood Starbucks in Corona del Mar. This master barista made it with foam that was more serene than a sunset inside the Horse-head Nebula. The foam was so good I almost felt unworthy to drink it. But then after a few moments of admiration I decided to take the first sip and slipped into Latte Samadhi. At the first sip I was stunned by how smooth and mildly sweet the latte was. It tasted buttery and sweet. I asked the barista if he added caramel sauce to it, he said, “yes.” So, this latte had caramel sauce and therefore was not a virgin puritanical latte as compared to the one mentioned in the previous article. But the thing was, it was buttery and soothing and delicious just like the one from Antonello Espresso Bar. Yet the difference was that the one I got at Starbucks had far superior foam to the other latte. So that made it an overall better experience. Also the one from Starbucks was a bit sweeter than the other latte but not overwhelmingly sweet. It was the perfect blend of sweetness and bitterness. It was almost a hybrid between a latte and a caramel macchiato.

I’m going to be honest with you. I think that baristas act like they are all friendly and community minded. But deep down they are very competitive and are on a secret mission to make the best drinks. It’s kind of like how all baristas seem to know a lot about music. What’s up with that? They don’t teach you anything about music when you sign up to be a barista. They teach you about foam…if you’re lucky! This is obviously a conspiracy and I’m going to get to the bottom of it.

-Relyt