Latest Posts by possiblyfromorion - Page 5

“It takes practice to hear your true desires. Your passion will often come as a whisper or serendipitous event that reminds you of what’s important and what makes you happy.”

—

Eckhart Tolle

“Trying to maintain a pleasant state and avoid an unpleasant state is actually the cause of sorrow. When you stop resisting, you see that what seems frightening is actually the absolute beauty of reality. When you see that everything is a momentary display of reality, then you stop resisting it. Resistance hurts, only every single time. Love is the state of nonresistance.”

— Adyashanti

““Getting away from it all,” many people want that, and of course ultimately the only way to get away from it all is to go within, now.”

—

Eckhart Tolle

“If you do not know how to take care of yourself, and the violence in you, then you will not be able to take care of others. You must have love and patience before you can truly listen to your partner or child. If you are irritated you cannot listen. You have to know how to breath mindfully, embrace your irritation and transform it. Offer ONLY understand and compassion to your partner or child - This is the true practice of love.”

—

Thich Nhat Hanh

Room view goals

Wild bananas contain large seeds. Our commercial bananas (which are, for the most part, the Cavendish variety) have been specially bred so that they are seedless triploids (with three sets of genes, instead of just two) that do not form mature seeds (genetic engineering). If you’ve noticed little black dots in the middle of the banana, you’ve discovered immature seeds that won’t develop, which happens with triploids.

“Stress, worry, and anxiety simply come from projecting your thoughts into the future and imagining something bad. This is focusing on what you don’t want! If you find that your mind is projecting into the future in a negative way, focus intensely on NOW. Keep bringing yourself back to the present. Use all of your will, and focus your mind in this very moment, because in this moment of now there is utter peace.”

—

Rhonda Byrne

Twilight at St Kilda, Scotland

“The power is in you. The answer is in you. And you are the answer to all your searches: you are the goal. You are the answer. It’s never outside.”

—

Eckhart Tolle

So pretty 😍

Purple-ring topsnail (Calliostoma annulatum)

The purple-ring topsnail is a medium-sized sea snail with gills and an operculum.This is a sublittoral marine gastropod mollusk in the family Calliostomatidae. This snail lives off of the Pacific coast of North America.his species is fairly omnivorous, feeding seasonally on kelp, sessile fauna like bryozoans, and detritus.

photo credits: Peter Liu Photography, Ed Bierman

“You are an aperture through which the universe is looking at and exploring itself. Through our eyes, the universe is perceiving itself. Through our ears, the universe is listening to its harmonies. We are the witnesses through which the universe becomes conscious of its glory, of its magnificence.”

— Alan Watts

“Detachment is not that you should own nothing, but that nothing should own you.”

— Ali Ibn Abi Talib

I love the sunflowers! :D

Chalcopyrite Crystals in Cluster with Quartz Accenting

Locality: Herdorf, Siegerland, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.

Size:  7 cm by 6.8 cm by 6.3 cm

Remember to take it slow with the frozen treats

So I just learned something that pisses me off. Y’know quinoa? The ~magical~ health food that has become so popular in the US that a centuries-long tradition of local, sustainable, multi-crop farming is being uprooted to mass-produce it for the global market? Potentially affecting food stability and definitely effecting environmental stability across the region?

Ok, cool.

Y’know Lamb’s Quarter? A common weed throughout the continental US, tolerant of a wide variety of soil conditions including the nutrient-poor and compacted soils common in cities, to the point where it thrives in empty lots? These plants are close relatives, and produce extremely similar seeds. Lamb’s quarter could easily be grown across the US, in people’s backyard and community gardens, as a low-cost and local alternative to quinoa with no sketchy geopolitical impacts. You literally don’t have to nurture it at all, it’s a goddamn weed, it’ll be fine. Put it where your lawn was, it’ll probably grow better than the grass did. AND you can eat the leaves - they taste almost exactly like spinach. 

This just… drives home, again, that a huge part of the appeal of “superfoods” is the sense of the exotic. For whatever nutritional benefits quinoa does have, the marketing strategy is still driven by an undercurrent of orientalism. You too could eat this food, grown laboriously by farmers in the remote Andes mountains! You too could grow strong on the staple crop that has sustained them for centuries! And, y’know, destroy that stable food system in the process. Or you could eat this near-identical plant you found in your backyard. 

“When you are present, you can allow the mind to be as it is without getting entangled in it. The mind itself is a wonderful tool. Dysfunction sets in when you seek your self in it and mistake it for who you are.”

— Eckhart Tolle (via spiritualgateway)

Rosy Land and the Golden City - by Ruxing Gao

“What pigments you plaster upon that face,

All to be swept away to dust, in time;

But it is not a futile thing, no,

But a lively, pretty act.”

—Vagabird

Road Trip! 

Be an artist

Street Carpets Painted by Arthur-Louis Ignoré

Some Narrative/Storytelling tips from an wanna-be writer

Use interesting character names

Why name your character Sarah when you could name her something more complex and memorable like Lexington or Hazel? Basic run-of-the-mill names come across as boring and are likely to make your character more bland as a result. There’s a reason that people remember Katniss and Peeta over Sophie and Josh. Also, you can add name symbolism to enrich your themes and characters. In Siddhartha, the main character shares a first name with the famous Buddha and the themes of philosophy and religion are that much more complex. (Plus it’s a cool Easter egg)

Use Symbols and Motifs (that are relevant to the plot/theme)

These can be anything, from religious symbols to ancient civilization motifs, heck even death. In Croak, the main plot is centered around the idea of death and the afterlife so symbols like black hoods, scythes, and even death puns are littered throughout the series. In Kill la Kill (manga not book but whatever), scissors, thread, and clothes are used to relate to the plot of sailor uniforms and fashion (as well as deep symbols to the themes). You want to give your book a vibe instead of a hodgepodge of different ideas and themes stacked on top of one and other. Be focused and direct with your setting and symbols.

Strike a balance between introspection, dialogue, and description

The worst thing, personally, for reading old classic novels is that there is so little dialogue and character interaction. Almost everything is description or character introspection which can be a drag to get through. On the other hand however, barely anyone wants to read straight scripts with only dialogue. There needs to be a healthy balance between the three to get a good feel for the characters, the setting, and the relationships and bonds.

Don’t be so blatant with your themes

Nothing’s worse than having a character bring up deep philosophical conversation in the middle of a casual conversation. Your theme, if you include one, should integrate seamlessly into your story and should really be shown rather than told. Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid is an anime that accomplishes sliding philosophical thought into conversation to great effect while still feeling natural. There also shouldn’t be a huge time stopping conversation spilling all your themes out at once. Take it slow and make it meaningful, not some gaudy piece of crap.

*These are just a few things I’ve noticed! Of course there are exceptions and this isn’t the end-all-be-all when it comes to good storytelling. Feel free to add more!

The Human Microbiome Reimagined as a Cut-Paper Coral Reef by Rogan Brown

Hugh Herr: The new bionics that let us run, climb and dance