Doing nothing or nothing much

On April 4, 2021April 1, 2022 By Inese, visual artist, writer and life sciences bloggerIn happiness, life, lifestyle, style, trend17 Comments

Here is what our family does this Easter: Nothing!

It’s such a cool thing to do nothing for a change. We are just two of us here at the moment, no kids, no other relatives coming over. It wouldn’t be advisable anyway even if my relatives were not across the Atlantic Ocean. Therefore, we can take our time and just stretch it out over the long and lazy weekend. I used to cook all kinds of food just for the sake of cooking some years. The question I later asked myself was: how much can actually two people eat? We are not big eaters; we do not bother often with 3-course meals. If I go for big cooking, the largest part has to be discarded before we get around to consuming it all.

How about eggs?

I boil a few eggs, they contain good nutrients, and when you have organic eggs, it’s really food which makes us feel better. Eggs are one of those products which cannot be too much modified or enhanced with extra chemicals, I mean shouldn’t be via feed. Somehow any advice on diets misses the part that everything close to its most natural state is good, not chemically improved, at lab fortified or grown through tubes under artificial light. Organic eggs fit excellent nutritional value demands. I’ve never experienced any raises in cholesterol levels or any weight increase due to eating eggs with butter and salt. We eat eggs a few times a week, not only at Easter.

Keeping decorations at minimum

I don’t bother with that because for decorations I can use the artificial colored eggs which I bout maybe some 7 or more years ago. I have numerous room plants all year round. They create nice background and add a bright touch of green to our settings.

Our Easter menu is very simple: oats for breakfast (I have them every morning), eggs for lunch and pancakes with strawberries for dinner, that’s all we can handle, I might add something more as the day gets older.

I can use some of my own illustrations as decorations

Doing nothing

Doing nothing does not really mean one sleeps for 24 hours. For me, that means doing nothing important, urgent, mandatory or otherwise demanding. My husband plays guitar and sings when he has free time, he just went for a long bike ride, too. I usually spend a few hours outdoors or read. Sometimes, I look at old photos, the real ones, not on computer. Doing nothing means relaxing and lazy sitting in the backyard, listening to silence or birds and watching spring walk around and take over. In the overachievers’ society doing nothing is a sin, but who cares? I’m past that. Hopefully, our weather gets warmer soon, that would be much appreciated by everybody in Ontario.

All comes together nicely: we do love simplicity

If you have kids and big family

If you have kids and a big family, you have your hands full. I’ve been through that, too, just many years ago. You also have more fun, more tiredness in the evening and plenty more to think about. However, you still have to make some time for doing nothing. Depending on the area you’re located, it might be warm, cold, sunny, stormy, who knows, but doing nothing with and in the nature is the best. The most inspirationally killed time. We should always add something rewarding to the day, so it might be a relaxed walk or just staring out there.

I hope you have nice start of April and happy Easter to those who celebrate!

Internet advice, helplessness and pill which cures everything, 1

On February 5, 2020March 21, 2021 By Inese, visual artist, writer and life sciences bloggerIn happiness, health, healthy ideas, trend, truth26 Comments

Part 1

Trendy trends, trendy you and trendy cures

Everything has a chance to become a trend nowadays. Whether a trend is genuinely worthy to engage in or pursue, is always questionable because in a trendy environment some aspects of our life are made more important simply for the sake of a trend. Self-care has become a huge trend. In reality, self-care has been always a number one aspect to address if you love yourself and if you care about yourself. Due to this trend, it feels like people have just woken up and suddenly realized there are things which nobody else can do for them. The one true thing which has never changed is that we have huge resources to help ourselves and we have a great ability to cure and straighten out ourselves, too. In fact, the only person, who can give the best advice and knows everything about you, is you.

The helpless person

If we have a question, we go to the internet. When we are unsure how to do something, we go to the Internet. My personal preference is Google. I do not take it to the level of nonsense. We have to admit that nobody knows everything about anything. However, Internet has developed the helpless person, who is lost if we take away their phone, laptop or other device. At times, it feels like the helplessness has reached such a degree where we have to start assuming this person has no experience in any area of their life, zero decision making ability and no imagination. That in turn leads to loss of brain flexibility and decreases the cognitive function even more. Our brain is no different from other parts of the body: we lose what we do not use. I would love sometimes to simply push somebody so that they start making their own decisions and start trusting their own judgement. We actually have all answers to our questions. We can find any solution to a problem we have. It’s just difficult to admit we have a problem. It takes courage to be honest to yourself.

Maybe don’t leave it up to apps

Devices can do so much for us nowadays; there is hardly any need to think. Every device and app wants to make suggestions. Yet, the base of our well-being is making our own decisions depending on our personal situation and experience. We do try to think instead of people around us, not to mention dictate our own principles as the best way to live. That could be the best way for that particular person, who claims having discovered a miracle diet or a miracle cure, but one size never fits everybody. We have to stop pretending that some expert knows everything about us. They do not; they cannot decide what is best and what isn’t for us if they never knew our background, our habits, our lifestyle, the conditions we have, the therapies we have applied, our work and financial situation, our food preferences or diet, our medical history and our ancestors. In the face of huge distinction from person to person, the ways we thrive can be very distinctive, too.

Globalization of advice and recommendations

The problem with any care, self-care and lifestyle advice is in its global nature. That is an aftereffect of self-improvement books. Some people are assigned the role of an expert or they have taken up this role. Expert nowadays is almost any ambitious person, who has explored something about the matter and feels like they can tackle anybody else’s problems. While any self-improvement book has some good core in it, it’s rarely that the same things will also help you to become and be a better person. Our life is so multifaceted, so is our personal history, medical history, environmental factors and family background which affect our life and its quality. Look at advice, weigh it out, consider what is good about it and fits you, but make your own self-care decision.

Becoming a magician and the power of plum tree leaves

On September 3, 2018November 25, 2020 By Inese, visual artist, writer and life sciences bloggerIn gardening, green living, health, healthy habits, nature, trend8 Comments

Shaping your life and getting where you want to be

Becoming a magician and shaper of your life involves watching signs, being in harmony with our surroundings and nature since they wish us well and are helping us getting where we want to be. We want to be healthy, and there are numerous ways to stay healthy and get help when we have problems. Problems indicate that we have moved away from the balanced model of life. That indicates our concerns, feelings of guilt, regrets and grief have started to manifest as physical or mental conditions.

How did we get where we are?

We could have invited our problems by refusing to be honest to ourselves. We may be missing the personal love aspect and we might be spending too much time worrying about everything. Living worry-free is certainly the path to take. If we admit we are stressed out most of the time, that is a definite sign changes must be implemented. First of all, changes have to be conscious, have positive and honest intention which harms nobody and they have to be directed towards our wellbeing.

Our subconsciousness is smart

By default, we have known and we know everything we need. We are mostly aware of the visible and touchable things, but frequently completely unaware of the hidden impacts of our thoughts, emotions and behaviours. Instead of helping ourselves staying on the right path, we start to fight different things, and become obsessed with the other ones, describing some of them as evil and some as healing. In fact, we are in place which we have chosen either consciously, or subconsciously. We have taken ourselves to this place where we are right now and we are in a situation which we have created. I could not accept this for the last two decades, but the universe is wise, and sooner or later, one finds what they are looking for.

We have created our surroundings

What we have is what have wished for and what we have been working towards. We have created the situation we are in and we are in place where our life has taken us. We have created the life we know. We have to become different when we want a different situation and different outcome. If we stay and live in one place long enough (5-10 years), the nature literally grows and brings to you all plants, fruits and vegetables you need. We know that we have subconscious cravings for some herbs, plants, flowers, fruits and vegetables and we feel annoyed by some other. The nature wants us to feel good, to pay attention to what it offers and to use what it gives us.

Accessibility of natural resources

Most of us have direct access to natural resources even when living in big cities. We just need to open our eyes and re-evaluate what is available. Going for a hike, visiting relatives in the country side, taking a trip to a green region or simply walking in the park? Take advantage of what comes your way as leaves, blossoms, plants. I do not mean one has to tear of all greens, but picking flowers and greens in a wild flower field is not going to offend either nature, or somebody else.

Tea and extract of plum-tree leaves

Previous time, I shared the many uses of apple leaves which are extremely easy to pick.

This time, I would like to share how you can utilize plum-tree leaves.

You can pick plum-tree leaves all summer. Try this healing natural resource and keep using in winter by drying and making flavorful tea or extract.

There are no restrictions when using plum-tree leaves as tea. It is especially recommended for people who have sedentary way of living since it successfully removes toxins from our body, as well as boosts excretion of unnecessary substances.

Coumarins in plum-tree leaves prevent formation of blood clots in the blood vessels, relax smooth muscles in the blood vessels, therefore, dilating them, as well as have soothing and relaxing effect.

Finely chopped fresh plum-tree leaves are believed to facilitate healing of wounds.

Extract of plum-tree leaves with a small amount of vinegar can be used for cleaning deep or infected wounds.

By hair loss: Pour boiling water over plum-tree leaves, allow to steep for about an hour. Use for hair rinsing and apply to hair roots.

Stomatitis: for rinsing mouth, pour 200 g of water over 20 g of plum-tree leaves and boil for 15 minutes, cool, drain.

Gum disease: use 200 ml boiling water over 1 tablespoon of finely chopped or crushed plum-tree leaves, allow t steep for 3 hours, drain and rinse mouth 4 times a day.

It is possible to also use plum-tree leave extract in red wine: finely chop leaves, pour red wine over them, let stand for 3 weeks and then drain.

Extract of plum-tree leaves and/or plum blossoms can be used also for treatment of internal diseases. Such extract cleans the liver, normalizes and improves our metabolism, improves nervous system conditions and helps in cases of insomnia. Plum tree leaves are also used to treat kidney problems.

Plum tree leaf extract can be successfully used for treatment of bladder and kidney inflammations, as well as for cold related conditions: 200 g of water pour over 1 tablespoon of leaves and boil for 15 minutes on low heat (once boiled add boiling water to reach the initial amount of water); use 100 g 3 times a day before meal.

To maintain beautiful skin: use plum leaf extract 2 times a day to clean skin.

Warning: if you suffer from serious conditions and if you have to use medications, you should always check with your doctor how the natural products will affect your condition and whether it is safe to use such products.

Plum tree leaf extracts and tea will cost you nothing. Let us make use of the power of natural plants!

You can read what apple leaf tea and extract can do for you in the previous article: https://inesepogalifeschool.com/2018/08/25/using-life-skills-and-recipe-of-powerful-health-boosting-tea-that-costs-you-nothing/

How social are social media and how they get you

On June 24, 2018August 28, 2018 By Inese, visual artist, writer and life sciences bloggerIn blogging, life, lifestyle, social media, success, trend, truth22 Comments

Why am I on social media?

If you ask me, I don’t know why I am on Twitter, on Pinterest, on Linkedin and on Facebook and a few other sites.

My blog and my website need some exposure, additional exposure, because not everybody is on WordPress. That might be one reason

Am I on social media because the widgets make my website look better? That is true to some extent.

Am I there because social medial make me socially engaged? No, that is not always true. They sometimes make me feel worse, more upset and more isolated. In fact, they frequently make me feel physically bad, too. That is, in the most direct meaning of this word. I find that many articles promote doubtful information, as well as push people to inadequate decisions.

There was a time at the dawn of social media activity when they were truly social. They were about real friendships and real lives.

“Social” cover for selling anything

It did not take too long for the socializing part to transition into advertising and selling features until social media became mainly about selling: opinions, propaganda, products, brands and trends.

As such, social media are the biggest consumerism promoter ever. Our task is actually straight the opposite: decrease junk, avoid consuming useless and harmful things and stay away from products that we never needed in the first place. Social media makes us believe that we will be considered a decent, happy and worthy person only when we have have all the attributes which are advertised.

Social media will impose trendy pictures, trendy products, trendy people and trendy opinions on you. I have even seen: health trends. Is there anything else as healthy and unhealthy? Does that mean that sometimes only mental health matters, but some other time: skin disorders, digestive, nervous or cardiovascular system?

I do not agree with trends. I suppose, trends disagree with me.

Consumerism

Consumerism is killing every one of us by taking away the air we breathe and turning it into polluted smog, it is taking away the clean drinking water and causing soil damage, it is making you into somebody who consumes what you never needed and what makes you sick and poor.

Internet selling is based on positive attitude, lack of education and greed. Greed is the biggest driving force of any so-called economic growth.

Is it economic growth or destruction of the planet in reality? If we did not interfere so badly with anything that the Earth has to offer us for free: natural air and water recycling and purification, clean and nutrient-rich soil, natural food that helps us staying fit and healthy, we would be fine. However, everything must be sacrificed for the economic growth which ironically leads us into more and more debt and disasters.

Offers and missed posts

While Facebook wants me to sign up for all kinds of services or products, I never see what my best friends and relatives have been up to. Facebook will persistently invite me to buy products and services which I do not require, which I am absolutely not interested in and which I do not need or like. That is all based on their algorithms and my likes which I place here and there.

The page I initially created as a Fan page, has transitioned into business page, and I wasn’t even sure I wanted that. I can see it is helpful, however, I have limited time and therefore, I most likely cannot reach the exposure I am expected to.

Facebook makes one pay

The thing I really have to wonder about is as follows: Facebook makes absolutely no distinction between a single person’s business (hence, they invite me to join my team, which would be I am joining me), and so they want to charge me the promotion fee for anything I put on that page. Huge businesses which have hundreds of employees and specific media managers and other executives can certainly use a specific budget for that. I think there should be a chance to show that one is working alone, maybe part time or something similar.

They make me compete with sites like Wayfair.com or Artfulhome.com and similar that sell art prints while I am selling only originals.

Dear Facebook! I am just a single person, who creates art, does painting, promotes, writes about art and teaches it also, and I need to cook, clean, do daily chores, do medical research and writing to support living, and every day has only 24 hours. If I wanted to be successful on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook advertising, I would not only need a lot of money to promote every post, every picture, every article and every event, but also a lot of time.

My taste disagrees with trends

I do not spend hours scrolling through trends or looking for viral videos. They are not trendy for me most often because my taste often disagrees with them. I disagree with dumbing the population more and using bad and harmful products for such purpose. I am against the noise everywhere. We need a break from music, a break from shows that do not teach anything, that have no content and make no sense, but stand out due to bad acting and simply bad screenplays.

Facebook does not represent me as a person correctly and it does not allow me to become socially more involved. If I do not promote everything and comment on everything, I am practically non-existent.

It is time we turn to critical thinking and sort out our preferences. The narrow-minded and to more consumption leading and directed I-need-it-all thinking has caused enough trouble. Enough is enough.

We have to stop being sheep to such a huge extent.

Social media pressure

I have come to conclusion that instead of allowing one to be true and honest, social media imposes on me their message. Their message is not always my message. It can be quite contrary, in fact.

So, Facebook when there is going to be time when I see everything I choose based on what I prefer as opposed to posts that have been directed to me depending on my age, gender and previous likes?

I once clicked on Artfulhome.com image because I was reading about some artist. They would not let me free afterwards. Wherever I go, the Artful home is trying to sell me something. The same about the flight: I booked it already. I booked it a while ago. Wherever I look, Facebook, Twitter, Yahoo mail or any other site, there are Flighthub advertisements. I did not even use the Flighthub.

If I click on a gardening image, Facebook will only put gardening posts in front of me. If I click on shoes or cosmetic product: that is all I am going to see for quite a while, until I do not spam that product everywhere.

I have moods, I have good days and bad days, I have curiosity, I have preferences and I have interests, and they do not match the Facebook algorithms. I am a human who is changing, who has personal opinions and, most importantly, who has a very personal taste.

Misleading social media

Twitter sends me trends and trendy tweets, as well as, lies about people who followed me because they did not. That is to cause a counter-reaction and feeling that I am actively using Twitter. I am not. The tweets are all automated and it looks nice in the widget area of my website, that’s all.

Pinterest does the same, they let me know that somebody pinned an image which I never put on any of my boards, Pinterest also has picked out topics for me. Well, Pinterest, don’t do that. I do have my own brain and my own opinions. That is already too much care, way too much care. If I looked at an old barn yesterday, it does not mean I want to look at old barns for the next few years. If I looked up a spinach recipe today, it does not mean I will be eating only spinach for a few months.

Facebook means a lot of wasted time for me. I would click on like when I am seeing a few posts of people who I have never met, but who I know distantly from the blogging community. I would leave a comment here and there if the post makes sense. Well, Facebook will show me posts only created by these people for quite a while, and, no, it will not show me what my daughter has been up to.

I am finding all the social media very superficial, very ignorant because they try to make me feel meaningless. Just compare yourself with influencers! Go ahead, compare!

My preferences

Well, I am not going to compare me with nobody. I do not care about lots of products just because I find them useless. I don’t literally care about powders, liquids, pills, gels, creams and other things which are advertised as miraculous. These miracles last only as long as there is a decent research done, and it proves rather the harming, not healing effects of this product.

Choose carfully

Social media should take a huge blame for poisoning and making people sick with bad quality, never tested products because while they do not endorse them, they make one see these products and the fake promises which come with such products.

There is a lot of pressure from the social media. A lot. The pressure wants you to subordinate the main mood and the main tone. If you do not, you are not a decent person. Why? There are guys who have nothing better to do: they use any chance to attack somebody. I posted once a comment that gluten-free products have absolutely no effect on people who do not have a celiac disease which is 100% scientifically true, yet, much denied fact because they want you to spend more on gluten-free and more processed products and imagine that you feel better. Somebody did not read it; they just noticed the first line and totally attacked me: what was I thinking because people who have celiac disease would be at such a disadvantage, etc. That was not at all what I was saying. They did not read, but they felt they had to attack me. So, it goes. One will understand only what they want to.

Social media and socializing

Do I see social media as a great socializing opportunity? To some extent, it is a place where to advertise. However, it is not a place where to find somebody or something. I want to see all variety of topics, all the multi-faceted life, everything which I might or might not like instead of “topics picked out for me”. Social media, you don’t know me, you do not want to know me and you do not believe I have my own brain which allows me making my own decisions that are based on my own experience, education and preferences.

I wish social media started trusting me instead of limiting my choices and free speech.

P.S. I had written this post already when I accidentally saw an interview with the high-tech insider Jaron Lanier on CNBC. It was about his book: Ten Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now. This interview absolutely echoed what I do agree with. Too much advantage taking, definitely!

Link to article about him and his book: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/may/30/ten-arguments-deleting-your-social-media-accounts-right-now-jaron-lanier

To trust and to rely on

On March 26, 2018 By Inese, visual artist, writer and life sciences bloggerIn blogging, life, privacy, social media, trend5 Comments

One of the most human features is to trust somebody until they do not prove it otherwise. We want to trust things that we believe are fair; we want to rely on services that we assume are honest.

The recent Facebook issues while they are losing a lot of faces which were relying on and trusting their promises about keeping our personal information safe clearly show that we have been very silly and to reliable. Most likely, not all of us have done that, but the natural feeling of trust and reliability has fogged our eyes.

It was hilarious how Mark Zuckerberg tried to convince everybody in his speech that he had no idea about what was going on. They believed the personal user data were deleted. They just take somebody’s word for it and live happily ever after. It is like as if they do not deal with a huge number of people, but just have some school kid’s site that is running on its own. He literally looked like a kid who has not grown up yet, but he has certainly learned how to say sorry with an innocent look. He was sorry about allowing selling off and giving to whoever access to such data. We are so sorry. We hear that so frequently, way too frequently.

Well, we also hear about people deleting their profiles and pages from Facebook.

Basically, while it may help one in the future, the harm has been done. If you were using many apps and sharing all kinds of attractive images with unknown origin and these hearty “if you have a daughter …”, “if you have a mother …”, “if you have a sister or brother…” texts or images, you are already in. You’ve been tracked big time. The truth is that software that is intended to mask its real intentions is designed to appeal to people who do not have time or enough insight in order to realize what they are really doing. Some people are really hooked on this. I told one lady: could you please stop sending me these attachments, I told a lot of people: could you please stop inviting me to strange games and sites and activities that I am completely not interested in, but they ignore my requests. They believe everybody is in silly games and sweet attachment sharing.

It is not that I really love any of the social media sites. In fact, I’d rather not be on any of them, but just like everybody else I simply need access to larger audiences while being quite isolated in the real life. For me, it feels quite frequently like a duty: if I do not post any announcements or any updates of my studio, I become 100% invisible. It is not that I am extremely visible right now. I do not have time to be obsessed with posting even on my blogs, not to mention I could ever have enough time to review or read everything on Twitter or on Facebook. I limit my presence there to approximately 5 minutes a day or 10 minutes every three days. I do sometimes disappear completely from blogs and social media when I am having some large writing job, do not feel well enough or when I am struggling with my current pain attack.

I never understood people who congratulate their children or spouses who live together on Facebook. My question always was: cannot you say this personally?

Lots of people use such social media sites to show off, to get some “oh, my God you look so beautiful” when they actually absolutely do not, “you are so talented” when that is not the case at all, “your kids are so wonderful and gifted” when your kids are just simply kids and do everything normal what a kid should.

I am wondering how people are not alarmed or worried when they post all of their life on social media. They check in during the day and even night in all places they visit or stay, or work, they take numerous selfies and make everybody aware about what exactly they are doing and when. What a wonderful tracking experience that must be for companies that sell you lots of junk and useless things, as well as ask you to sign up for anything and register with anything! Plus, anybody can spy on your whereabouts.

If you think that deleting Facebook profile or business page is enough and you do not want to be there, you still cannot undo the past and take back your data from tracking and malware inserting sites that spy on you, your activities and are present in every step of your life. Instagram is owned by Facebook. You Tube along with multiple companies is owned by Google which is owned by Alphabet. As you watch You Tube somebody could be watching you. We all use Google maps, we are all certainly aware that somebody also knows where we are at all times.

Every time when you sign up for a new app on your smart phone, you should really think who you are allowing into your house, into your family and into your personal life. Tracking is not only what Facebook apps do. Every app has a potential to steal your data and use your data in the way they find necessary.

It might be a good moment to clean up the social profiles or to at least clarify what does what and where things you share go.

The more connected you are, the bigger threats you actually are facing. If you are an obsessive internet shopper, these tracking and spying apps adore and love you. Even if you just send a few messages and e-mails here there, even if you have signed up for a few sites that you believe have nothing to do with spying on you, you still cannot trust everybody and blindly rely on their promises.

I personally think a good principle is this: if you can show the content that you are posting or letting to appear on the internet to anybody including your children, parents, teachers, boss or coworkers, as well as law enforcement agencies and it does not disclose too much of your sensitive information, why not? It is just so that one has to really decide who and what they should trust and to what extent they are able to rely on their agreements about not selling out your personal information to third parties. Trust is something that must be earned. Do not give it out as added value to what you are already paying for the services some social or other online site provides you with. Trust, but check meticulously. Rely only on these who have proven to be worth your trust.

As I was typing this, Facebook’s stock was on a downtrend, it was down quite a lot actually, somewhere in the range of 150 US. Well, there were mentioned also other internet giants who pose a big threat to your privacy: Yahoo being one of the most affected in the past and the potential vulnerabilities of You Tube. When something is so big, there is always potential to miss some harmful bad guy and anybody unfair will use that. Therefore, maybe it’s time to switch your trust to somebody more reliable, such as the real people in your real life.