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31/1/2014 4 Comments Come on' home baby HI AND WELCOME TO THE MOODLAB! Today I'd like to talk to you about 'coming home'. To get in the mood, let's ask Mel to join us, shall we? Press 'play' on the YouTube video and start reading! When returning from a Summer holiday: don't you love the feeling of coming home? Opening the door, that familiar squeek, finding all the mail on the doormat, greeting your pet? How green your garden, how much mail! Reuniting with friends sharing stories? But how much 'home' can you actually get? Many people can't truly come 'home' cause they have no 'home'... Not that they're homeless; they might very well have the most beautiful house, no, I'm talking about their true 'home': the body/mind/soul that they do not inhabit. Not connected with their inner world, many people have 'signed out'. They go through life numbing themselves. Numbing to not have to feel. Not really knowing what lies deep within them. Denying their natural state of well-being, they go through like a phantom. Phantoms have voids that need to be filled. And the ego mind will come up with very clever ways to do just that. Basically it could be anything from serious addictions like smoking, alcohol, drugs to shopping, watching TV, eating, gaming, gossiping, there are so many an subtle ways. Anything will do. It brings in clutter & noise and prohibits you to connect with your inner world. It's a downward facing very addictive spiral. I think many 'phantom people', on a subconscious level, 'know' their true state. Filling voids leaves you with nasty nagging sensation. A feeling, fear, an urge, a call to action, like background music repeated over and over again. "come on home, baby now come on home now, right away I'm coming home baby real soon" Feel good? SO HOW CAN THIS BE? We are bombarded by imput in the external world: Cell phones ringing, checking your last Facebook messages, Neon signs along the road, TV: All screaming for our attention. Our modern society is built to pull us outwards. It's very tempting to 'sign out' and lean back and just slide on out. But what will you pay? Well: you! When you're not at home, you can easily become a puppet for others, loosing the steer in your own life, not knowing what it is that you really want.
WHY DOES THIS MATTER? I agree with Sir Ken Robinson when he states that the future of our world depends on what is going on within us and that we need to reconnect ourselves with our inner selves. influences the quality of our lives and with that it has a great impact on the quality of our communities. Think about the health care costs, sick leaves, the penalty system, all this numbing implies. no conformity/standardising Our world is changing so quickly, I don't think there is any more room for signing out. But change evokes fear. It is a mechanism of our subconscious mind to keep us safe. However: if we are to face and solve our problems, I think these changes have to come from within every single individual. It's time to come home to ourselves. You can do it. You are a unique person. Did you know there has never been and will never be anyone on the planet throughout history that is exactly like you. That's right. You are unique and special and the world needs to see you. "Our differences are to be celebrated" "It's such a shame you ever went away..." How about you? On the 'phantom-scale' from 1 to 10 how would you score? How do you -even if it is subtly- numb yourself? I believe in a way everybody does, even if you're not fully aware... WHAT TO DO? What helps me to get grounded & 'come home' is: SImplify, Declutter, Get creative by letting your imagination run. Move. Sit still. Eat well. Drink water. Do things that make you feel good. There's so many things you can do Changes are best made in small increments by adding in the good stuff. 'WHAT GOOD COULD YOU ADD IN TODAY'? Seek the silence so you can hear the you in you There are many modalities that can help you with that. I personally love Moodwalks. It quits my mind and visualises my thoughts. See what's really going on inside you and take charge from there. The slightest change is perception can alter your life. Take personal responsibility, open your mind, get out of phantom mode and put life back in your hand It's time to get grounded and come home. Come on' home baby, now Do do do Next time: creative ideas and the jungle See you then! ~Niene.nu  You may absolutely share this article with people you think may enjoy it.
When doing so, please forward it in its entirety, including our contact and copyright information. Thanks and enjoy! V The Appetite for light article is written by Niene.nu and www.nienesmoodlab.nu If you have any questions or comments, please send them to: mail[@]niene.nu If you'd like to see more moods: feel free to take a look around in the MoodLab while you're here and see if Niene.nu can help you raise your 'Appetite for life"! Buy the song in the iTunes store And yes, the photo at the top is available as a print here or as a gift card here.
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HI AND WELCOME TO THE MOODLAB! I like kids in the age between 4-6 years old. Why? Because they're curious. They will ask you tons of questions. They love to play and explore and are highly creative. Innate 'Appetite for life'! CREATIVITY? According to professor Paul Iske, creativity is being able to have a multi-paradigmatic view; i.e. 'being able to see different perspectives'. This is how you get creative ideas. The trick is to integrate all these ideas (Provocative Operation) and generate new patterns. We can increase the number of new patterns by asking questions. Not just any question but questions like: ~ What would happen if...? ~ Suppose if... ~ Why is it that...? These kind of questions will trigger your brain and allow you to absorb new patterns. 'Lateral thinking, the making of new combinations, will too. A good way to do this is via humor. THE BENEFITS OF ENHANCED CREATIVITY ARE: ~ Creative activities will yield significant cognisant gains; creativity makes you smarter! ~ Creativity also makes you more flexible, and therefor ... lessss prone to stressss ... ~ Being able to think creatively is placing yourself in option-mode. It creates space. A global study by Adobe showed that 80% of those were surveyed said that creativity is important to economic growth. Just a few evidence based facts. NOW THE THINGS IS... The older we get, the less questions we pose & less we laugh, the more prone we are to what Professor Iske refferres to as: 'terminal seriousness' Terminal... As in 'no turning back..? He demonstrates in this graph: 
Source: Paul Iske via www.hi-re.nl
WHY IS THIS DROP TO "TERMINAL SERIOUSNESS" TO BE TAKEN SERIOUS? * it's a drop in quality of life: * less laughter... less good for your health * less questions = less new experiences = more grey in your life * being less creative = being less adaptive to change * not open for new things = less flexibility of mind If you want to create value, you have to be creative. Think about the costs and state of society.. Plus: in this rapidly changing world we HAVE to be creative. 'Terminal seriousness'. What a phenomenan... YOUR ANTIDOTE? * laugh * ask lots of questions YOU ARE BORN A CREATIVE HUMAN BEING. You don't have to wait for creativity to appear, it's a natural part of who you are. Yet it ís through deliberate practice, you can enhance your creative thinking. Creativity has always been important for human evolution yet today creativity has never been more important. We can't wait for the creativity muse to give you the breakthroughs. "We have to be 'deliberate creative' to accelerate what nature has given us". says Gerard Puccio at TEDxGramercy So don't be to serious, laugh! Ask questions! Play! Do! Let your hair down and get creative! And if you're not sure how to shake the condition of 'terminal seriousness' and train your creative mind? Come have fun and join me for a Moodwalk! It'll make you question and give you new, fresh perspectives and raise your 'Appetite for life'. Or you could watch the video below... MnahMnah! Niene.nu  You may absolutely share this article with people you think may enjoy it. When doing so, please forward it in its entirety, including our contact and copyright information. Thanks and enjoy!
The Appetite for light article is written by Niene.nu and www.nienesmoodlab.nu If you have any questions or comments, please send them to: mail[@]niene.nu If you'd like to see more moods: feel free to take a look around in the MoodLab while you're here. See if Niene.nu can help you raise your 'Appetite for life"; Subscribe to the Moodlab e-zine 30/8/2013 2 Comments Forum: 'I need a dollar...' We shape our buildings thereafter they shape us. HI AND WELCOME TO THE MOODLAB! I remember a story of a teenager that had to study for an important test that was coming up that week. Her dad said: "Tonight I'll take you to the opera!" To which the daughter objected, because the test was an important test and she still had some serious studying to do. To which her dad replied: "No way! In a month you will have forgotten the results of your test no matter if the result was positive or negative, yet the opera.. That memory will remain with you for the rest of your life!" My point! We need right-brain things because they make life worth living. So why do we come up with all kinds of temporary objections and forget about the vision, the big picture? Why do we let ourselves be ruled by lack and fear? Especially is these times of 'economic disaster' we need imagination and 'Appetite for life' more than ever! In my hometown there's a great example which illustrates. I live in a town called Groningen. We are a the biggest and central town in the ('almost north pole') North of the Netherlands, a historically isolated area with high unemployment rates. We need to be and keep being a great town to attract people to keep things moving. What is the best way to ensure this in the future? Well; exponential growth in technology and world population means "we need more right brain skills." says best selling author Daniel Pink. "We need art, innovation and imagination", says educational expert Sir Ken Robinson. And as more and more evidence out of research is piling up, many more experts start to call out for these right brain skills. So what have we come up with in Groningen? The Forum! As you can tell by the photo I made above, they are building it as we speak. Here is a picture of the end result:  This 'Forum' raises a few questions -and eyebrows-... Why do we need a Forum? What will it bring? Goals of this building? "The Forum' is to be a creative nursery, house profoundness and interaction, hand in hand with entertainment and relaxation. A grand international meeting place for stories, debate, art, multimedia." (So you're welcome!) "A sensational building that houses experiment, development and discovery." "A new concept befitting the Groninger status of second cultural hotspot of the Netherlands." Great! A place for imagination, inspiration and creativity! We're getting ready for the future. Yet.. 'New concepts'.. -read- 'unknown' concepts -read- 'fear' concepts... So what say the nay-Forum-sayers... There is a crisis!!!! How can we afford such a building right now? And much to my surprise this is the answer of the all new CEO of the Forum: The new CEO of the 'Forum' stated in a recent article that we need to skip the art (I read skip the imagination) and focus more on shops/commerce/celebrities/ sports...; According to the CEO we need to focus on current events or we shan't be able to pay for it. We need dollars... The newspaper article also stated: "The role of history is no longer leading in our concept." ... Art historian Danielle Oteri: "We need stories that feed the senses. History didn’t die. History is the story of transformation. " Pretty current I'd say.. The Forum CEO: 'People can enjoy the historic view of Groningen when they're at the top of the building" As in 'ByeBye historic department in the Forum' Really?!? History comes alive by telling stories. INSIDE the Forum... That's why we choose to build it in the first place... So I say: this a huge mistake and missed opportunity. *We've already got a sports stadium. And grand scale cinema's. And shops. In other parts of our town. If that's the leading motivation to build this building, we would indeed wasting all that money... * There is also a mental thing going on here. If you think 'This building will be a disaster? Guess what: it will! If you think this building will bring good; guess what; it will! If you don't know what the future will bring, why not think of it as positive? *But most important: this new policy is a sure way to throw imagination, creativity, empathy, communication, innovation down the drain. Thats jobs down the line. Not too smart in our region I'd say. We've got a big reputation as a great university town. Highly educated people like culture. This is how the plan has come up for The Forum! It is a classic example of mismatch between what scientists know about motivation/stress-reduction, well-being and what business does. According to Daniel Pink the world of work is going through a huge paradigm shift due to exponential changes in technology, Asia and the world population. One of the reasons for the high level of disengagement in the workforce is that people don’t know why they’re doing what they’re doing. They’re willing to work hard but they want to make a contribution; they want to know why it matters. We need the zest in life. We need stuff that lifts us out of the grey of the ordinary day and that feeds our soul. We want to feel what matters Anything you do in life that comes in a sense of lack is a mistake and can only reap havoc. Let's have the courage to have a vision. Let's build that Forum Let's go to that opera Let's be humans!
Amen! Niene.nu  You may absolutely share this article with people you think may enjoy it. When doing so, please forward it in its entirety, including our contact and copyright information. Thanks and enjoy!
The Appetite for light article is written by Niene.nu andwww.nienesmoodlab.nu If you have any questions or comments, please send them to: mail[@]niene.nu If you'd like to see more moods: feel free to take a look around in the MoodLab while you're here and see if Niene.nu can help you raise your 'Appetite for life"! Buy the song in the iTunes store 24/8/2013 3 Comments You wanna be like you-hoo-hoo
HI AND WELCOME TO THE MOODLAB! Last post we took a look at 'coming home'? Remember the Jungle Book? Well, I listened to my favorite song from Jungle Book the other day and it made me wonder... Hmm... "Whoo-hoo-hoo, I wanna be like You-hoo-hoo..."? Once you get 'home', 'who' is there? Who ARE you, really? And who do you wanna be? Just like all the other men? How much are we 'ME'; our own unique selves? Last year I was at TImes Square in New York. -That's where I took the picture above; if you'd like the rest of the series called 'Time Squared', please click HERE- Times Square visualises so well how the media deludes us with their message: "You-hoo-hoo! You wanna be like me"? And, without thinking twice, we gladly sing along "Oobidoo, I wanna be like you-hoo-hoo" Well, what's left of You? Hoohoo? I think there is a problem hidden in this message... On a subconcious level the media message your brain gets is: 'You are not good enough.' 'You should be better' 'You can be happier' Leaving 'You' restless, striving for more, more, more and something you're not. Needing external stuff to acknowledge ourselves? To try and create a new... what? What I desire is man's red fire To make my dream come true Give me the power of man's red flower So I can be like you In other words: If only I have (...) than I will be (...) If only I do (....) than I will be (...) Just think about it; we're looking for external stuff, creating an image of something we're not. Like rabbits chasing a carrot on a stick. What environment do we create for ourselves if it is one in which we can't be ourselves? Living on the whims of 'what is supposed to be...' Living like the Joneses... Can we please just be who we are as is? Can we please be encouraged to find our uniqueness? Especially in the rapidly changing global economy this is extra important. According to best selling author Daniel Pink that's the way to keep a future job. We need the unique you, the person only you are. What makes you unique? Left brain stuff are useful, yet can be automated or off-shored, yet right brain skills -that make you unique- cannot. Skills like: creativity, music, art, empathy, intuition, thinking randomly and free, imagination, innovation. The way you see the whole picture, connect the dots. Those are the skills you 'must master in an outsourced, automated age.' That's where art steps in: So visit that museum, enrol for a Moodwalk, play a game of Pictionary, write that short story or envision that plan. Unique; that's who you are and who we need you to be So please let go of the 'shoulds' & 'if only's' and.. WHOOHOOHOO! YOU BE LIKE YOU-HOO-HOO!!! Next time: the Forum See you then! ~Niene.nu Oh and PS: Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.” ~ Oscar Wilde  You may absolutely share this article with people you think may enjoy it. When doing so, please forward it in its entirety, including our contact and copyright information. Thanks and enjoy!
The Appetite for light article is written by Niene.nu and www.nienesmoodlab.nu If you have any questions or comments, please send them to: mail[@]niene.nu If you'd like to see more moods: feel free to take a look around in the MoodLab while you're here and see if Niene.nu can help you raise your 'Appetite for life"! Buy the song in the iTunes store And yes, the photo at the top is available as a print here or as a gift card here.  HI AND WELCOME TO THE MOODLAB! Remember this song: "Out of the picture" by the Robbins? In the song the singers' relation ends and it made me wonder... Wether it's with a person or at work: a relationship that ends means; Change! Time to reframe! Do you take that opportunity? Change is a part of live. It's a package deal. Cliche, but when you're in the midst of the package deal, it can really feel like you've got nothing to smile for.. It can make you feel lost, sad and alone.. -You fill in the blank there So here's the thing: You are in charge of your own reaction! Basically this leaves you with two options: 1. You can keep looking back and sit around moping (which is actually quite healthy for a little while) or 2. Move on... It's you who gets to decide how you feel. Don't we all want to be in that mood where you're not so dependent of what goes on around you and you feel in charge. At the steer of your own life? No matter what goes on around you, it's you who decides how you feel. So if it's all up to you: How to get hand back on the steer? I like to use my camera. It's an excellent medium really: I get to decide what's in a picture or not. This is one of the main reasons why I organise Moodwalks. It's a great way to take out your camera and reframe, giving you literally different perspectives. On life. Everybody needs to reframe from time to time. And know: what you CHOOSE to SEE, determines HOW you FEEL A Moodwalk so much fun! I mean, you can sit on your psychiater's couch until you've analysed every detail of all those years gone by, but what would you rather do? Why not add in the good stuff? Go out there. Seeing things in a way you've never seen them before? Wouldn't that increase your 'Appetite for life'? Yep: change can make you feel 'out of the frame'. And yes for a while 'nothing's the same' but ending relationships also leave you with a great opportunity to change your view and get you back into the driver's seat. But -again- no matter what goes on around you: it's you who decides how you feel. So I'd say: do that moodwalk! Take out your camera, re-focus, re-frame, add in beauty and find new visuals of how to move on! And if you wanna join in with me: you're welcome! There's actually a Moodwalk coming up next saturday! Yay! Check the details here Next week : a field trip to Dr. Feelgood. See you then! Niene.nu  You may absolutely share this article with people you think may enjoy it.
When doing so, please forward it in its entirety, including our contact and copyright information. Thanks and enjoy! The Appetite for light article is written by Niene.nu and www.nienesmoodlab.nu If you have any questions or comments, please send them to: mail[@]niene.nu If you'd like to see more moods: feel free to take a look around in the MoodLab while you're here and see if Niene.nu can help you raise your 'Appetite for life"! Buy the song "Out of the picture" in the iTunes store And yes, you can get the photo at the top as a print here or as a gift card here. |
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January 2014
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The MoodLab is a photo mood creating lab by Niene.nu,
a Fine Art Photographer from Groningen the Netherlands. Read more about her here The Moodlab is her space to experiment with beauty / creativity / art / inspiration / projects / concepts & moods through photography so you can thrive. Visit the lab here |
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