In prayer it is better to have a heart without words than words without a heart. -- Mahatma Gandhi

Spotted the creation from a fellow stick figure addict this morning. What a way to start the day!

Reciprocally for dinner I decided on creating 

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Jacinta's Stick Figure オムライス / Omu-rice

What a way to end the night!

Crime is terribly revealing. Try and vary your methods as you will, your tastes, your habits, your attitude of mind, and your soul is revealed by your actions. -- Agatha Christie

I have been charged guilty of neglecting the blog for the past few weeks. However, in my defence (and a good one!), this is all a result of my current preoccupation with the pursuit and mastery of a new found impetus - cooking. 


Surely enough, dinning out and sampling assorted food offered by various restaurants is undoubtedly an enjoyable experience. But to put yourself through the sweat, blood and tears in order to plate up something that is merely edible? It turns out to be an equally enjoyable experience in its own right. I guess we should never entirely dismiss or discount any old sayings such as this one -- You never know (what you can do) till you try. :)


Strangely enough, I catch myself approaching all new recipe with great enthusiasm and optimism without the slightest hint of reservation or hesitation. Somehow it must turn out alright, in the end, the food must turn out fantastic. Therefore unsurprisingly, blind confidence in the ability to improvise mixed with a lack of knowledge have led to a mini disaster tonight. And the verdict? One hour of 'community' cleanup in the kitchen. 


Well, it was not all that bad. 


The instinctual drive that unconsciously impels one as suggested by Sigmund Freud (the inventor of psychoanalysis), manifested itself tonight in a precipitate manner. Although arguable to however Freud originally conjectured it, in my case, this drive was simply just pure hunger at 9PM. The result this time? My second attempt at it produced gold, and this all came about in 5 minutes.

Jacinta's fast and furious seafood pasta

So what was the lesson learnt from this? Similarly, old sayings and proverbs again hold virtue and value -- If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. 

Wholeness is not achieved by cutting off a portion of one’s being, but by integration of the contraries. -- Carl Gustav Jung

The desire to write has departed me unexpectedly and is instead substituted with an eagerness to draw as an alternative mode for self expression. Unprecedentedly, I felt impelled to sketch out these diagrams without having had a central theme in mind at that time, so now, a story must be constructed to conceive the meanings behind them in order to fill the void. (<- This could be all just a subconscious denial of an addiction to stick figures!)


I presuppose that we are not entirely unfamiliar with the concept and classification of the four elements, being FIRE, AIR, WATER and EARTH. Each element represents a certain type of consciousness and consequently an attunement to a specific field of life experience. In a nutshell, the elements symbolise different realms of being and experience: 


Fire is connected with enthusiasm, motivation and spirituality
Air is correlated with abstract thought patterns of the universal mind 
Water is dominated by intense yearnings, feeling reactions and compelling desires  
Earth is concerned with physical senses and material forms   


If a keyword is to be assigned to each of the elements, then Fire would be associated with inspiration, Air would correspond to rationalisation, Water would exemplify emotion and lastly Earth would be motivated by sensation. And please don't think of these in terms of which one being better or worse than the other as there are only neutral connotations and ramifications linked to them. The elements simply indicate distinctly separate orientations.


To elaborate further using astrology, the twelve zodiac signs can be divided precisely amongst the four elements:
Fire - Aries, Leo and Sagittarius
Air - Gemini, Libra and Aquarius
Water - Cancer, Scorpio and Pisces
Earth - Taurus, Virgo and Capricorn


Carl Jung was one of the pioneers to recognise the value of applying astrology in the field of psychology and psychoanalysis, and in association with the principal of archetypes proposed by him, Jung attributed each of the above elements respectively to the following psychological types: Intuition, Thinking, Feeling and Sensation. Each of the types is also modified by the two attitude types: extraversion and introversion. 


Is this all beginning to sound too familiar? Yes, Jung established the earlier foundation for the Myer-Briggs Type Indicator (a world-wide renowned psychometric questionnaire used for the assessment of a person's psychological perception). The different preferences and combinations from MBTI were extrapolated from the typological theories purported by Carl Jung. 


Based on each individual's predisposition and predominant emphasis, they tend to have an inclination towards one or two preferred elements for exhibiting the effects of spontaneous manifestations. In Jung's terminology, each of us therefore is inherently adept with certain qualities which we can always rely on, and these contribute to superior functions. In contrast, the qualities which we feel less comfortable with are suggested to be our inferior functions but are equally crucial if not more in the sense that they operate as a hidden drive towards attaining full consciousness and integration.


Without further adieu, let me summarise (excuse me for generalising) how each element naturally demonstrates care and nurturing by introducing back our favourite Stick Figures:


FIRE: displays affection through grand gestures 

AIR: driven by communication and the need to understand and make sense of things

WATER: values building emotional rapport and creating intimacy

EARTH: displays affection by being reliable and offering material support

If Jung is correct in postulating that the drive for human development is the process of individuation through striving for unity and wholeness, then we can understand why we both attract people who bring out the best and the worst in us. We will continue to meet people and circumstances that push us to realise our unique identities through the experiences they provide for us,    until we are able to comprehend and merge the opposite polarities.


It is not hard to see that we are all different in our own ways and sometime we run into conflicts and distress because other people are 'incompatible' with us. So what can be the best method to reconcile these differences?


We say: "It is not about WHAT you say, but HOW you say it." But sometimes if we are willing to perceive beyond the facade, we may realise in the end that we do all have one thing at least in common

So maybe it is important to share with an open heart, and maybe intentions should be looked at with the most interest. If we all somehow learn to skew more towards the WHAT and less towards the HOW, we may truly begin to apprehend and appreciate the essence of our seemingly different languages.

A drawing is simply a line going for a walk -- Paul Klee

I was really surprised by the overwhelming response that I got from the last post. I didn't realise my child-like stick figure scribbles would be so well-received. Although very talented, drawing had not been my cup of tea(simply because I was never any good), but right now I am starting to feel that maybe I do have a knack for it. You know what, this just proves that if you are willing to put your mind to it, you really can achieve anything!


So, as a sign of appreciation for all your ongoing support, I proudly present the ever so popular


Stick Figures


And the theme for today is: 


The Simple Life of Jacinta 


French baguette (tuna, eggs, mayonnaise, tomato, lettuce)
and 
Belgian waffle (flour, icing sugar, hmm, secret ingredients perhaps? anyways, yum)
for lunch
(and I had managed to finish 80% of it, what an achievement!)

Conversation with friends over lunch 
(Oh no, where is the food?)

Shopping for new yoga wear
(This is not being drawn out of proportion, I really do have a tiny waist and long legs!)

And last but not the least
First meditation class - send out the love. PEACE  

It is our choices... that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities -- J.K.Rowling

Those times when I feel uninspired and having nothing in mind to write about, I choose instead to write about anything. I recall a conversation that I had with a friend today, the details of the discussion are insignificant, but I distinctly remember that we both acknowledged that there are two sides to everything. 

This shouldn't be new to anyone.

Good and evil, black and white, love and hate, north and south, east and west and it goes on. With this, we are allowed to become even lazier by simply appending a un, a im, a ab or a in to construct i.e. unpopular, impersonal, abnormal or inflexible to suggest the opposites to their original meanings, and in no mean this is the exhaustive list. 

Is it just me or have you also noticed that those words perhaps carry a slightly negative connotation? But if we try and put them into contexts:

• Unpopular can mean someone who is popular amongst their friends, but disliked by their relatives, or someone who is well liked by the cops, but unpopular with the drug dealers (now I wish I had picked a different word and very different examples, oh well, continue on)
• Impersonal can imply either neutral and objective or cold and detached
• Abnormal can be different therefore suspicious or different therefore exciting
• Inflexible can denote rigid and stubborn or indicate structured and strong willed

We know there exist polarities and opposites. Although knowing this, we sometime feel propelled to pick a stance and choose an action. 

When we are presented with various possibilities, we become accustomed to performing little mental potential P&L assessments to help weigh up the different options so we capitalise on our returns to avoid seeing a number in red. We carefully select and determine our decisions based on what we know, how we feel and what we see as more promising, more rewarding or more feasible at that moment in time, and hopefully that will lead us to a better outcome. 

Is it better to always know more? So we will have more information to rely upon in order to produce a more comprehensive risk analysis on pros and cons? But sometime the more we know, the more indecisive and reluctant we can become as more scenarios must be contemplated. Or is it better to go with what you have? This may force us into making an immediate decision without having considered all the possibilities, but how can we be assured that it is the correct one? 

Or is there even a correct decision as such?

If we are to pick an answer from a multiple choice question, the decision tree may look like, or you can also think of this as cause and effect if you prefer (be warned about the most horrific drawings you will ever find available on the World Wide Web):

a. Different decisions will lead to different outcomes

b. Different decisions eventually will lead to the same outcome

c. Different decisions will lead to different outcomes but we cannot foresee

d. Different decisions can lead to either different outcomes or the same outcome

e. No choice can be seen or made, seems empowered by fate

f. Everything is within reach, you can have it all!

So which one are you? 

The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes of mind. -- William James

Tonight, the Scorpio Mars will not stop until I get this topic out of my system. Remember, Mars is the urge to assert and act, and when it is in Scorpio, trust me, it is definitely persistent. In this case, I cannot help but oblige but I promise not to write anything heavy loaded, just something light and fluffy~~~

Till now, I hope that I have managed to put enough emphasis in addressing some of the misconceptions that people carry towards astrology. Contrary to popular belief, astrology is not to be solely used for the purpose of future prediction aka the horoscopes, but instead should be adopted as a tool to assist us with understanding the personality roadmap.

A few people have wondered why I suddenly became interested in astrology. Well, what has motivated me is precisely the desire in seeking the why. Astrology appears no different from any other studies such as psychology or science: to help with identifying the underlying pattern or behaviour that seems to be at work. 

Some of you may not be comfortable with me suggesting that astrology is comparable to science, so let me explain myself further.

We have all learnt that in order to draw a conclusion for any scientific experiment, the process involved in formulating a hypothesis and performing necessary field studies or observations is not unfamiliar. But quite often, observations are the result of subjective human sensory impressions, therefore acknowledgedly, the observer effect can be a problem encountered in the field of scientific research. It essentially describes that the act of observation may alter the outcome of a phenomenon than if it is unobserved. Different biases can also occur during any experimentation that consequently do not give rise to total objective conclusions. These biases include, to name a couple, confirmation bias, which is "we see what we expect to see" and pathological science, which is "we see what we want to see".

Similarly, astrology is also a subjective experience. We assign intrinsic meanings to the different planets and houses and signs, and then derive interpretations based on their locations and the interactions resulting from various planetary alignments. Even though astrology is an ancient study widely used in the ancient world of Babylon, Greece and Egypt, it has certainly evolved and modernised through the continual effort of gathering empirical evidence and our increased awareness of the universe. These information are then assimilated and reinterpreted by astrologers in their dealings or evaluations of their clients. Based on the experience, knowledge and orientation of an individual astrologer, for the same client, you can expect different output and interpretation. 

It is not reasonable therefore to expect astrology to be 100% accurate, and neither should we get too disappointed when it fails to do so. We may need to accept that this is perhaps inherent and underlying in all studies: it is in the eyes of the beholder. As explained perfectly by Einstein that we live in a universe which is limited by time and space.

However, I am also constantly reminded that we may never reach a why. In this book that I read recently written by Richard Idemon, it is mentioned that we can go in circles and perpetually asking why like the merry go round, but that doesn't help us. 

We learn to piece things together thinking they must be interconnected somehow. What if things just happen randomly and they don't really happen for a reason? This would be perplexing for some of us but reassuring for others.  :)

So there! That is my little give-back to the astrology community. 

Now I have got you all somewhat more interested (hopefully) in astrology, I will begin the next series of topics using real people's charts (yes, famous people!) for illustrations. Delving into the deep end is often the best way to learn, and then we can watch astrology gradually unfolds the working of itself.

NOTE: By the way, if you are still unsatisfied with the reason why I got into astrology, so to speak astrologically, Uranus (symbolising new ideas, inventions, technology, independence, other things, etc etc, and astrology) is right now transiting over and making a strong aspect to my Sun (identity, ego, drive, etc, etc). Aha!! No wonder then right? :P

It will never rain roses: when we want to have more roses we must plant more trees. -- George Eliot

This week I got myself an air plant. It doesn't need soil, it rarely needs to be watered, nonetheless it flowers. It is the perfect low maintenance option to revamp my office feng shui. One that resembles mine looks like 

After placing it carefully on my desk, I immediately became attracted to the 'energy' of its presence. I can't help but gaze lovingly and grin absent mindly at it throughout the day. I don't understand why, but it makes me very happy.

We know that indoor plants improve the air quality by removing air pollutants which are caused by emissions from paints, furnishings, computer screens and other fixtures in the office. They offer additional health benefits including noise reduction and cooling, thereby reducing stress and increasing productivity as suggested by several research. 

I am not sure enhanced productivity can be effectively proven in my case, since that I also spend time playing with my plant. (This primarily includes lifting and putting the lid on and off the glass container) But interestingly, it possibly has had some tangible impacts on my emotional wellbeing.  

According to a UTS research, interior plants have been recorded to produce a reduction in negative feeling for workers by a magnitude of 30 to 60% over a 3 month test period. http://www.ngia.com.au/files/nurserypapers/NGIA_NP_2010-06.pdf


Maybe it is a good idea to clear out the clutter by giving away or throwing out the unused and no longer worked, and replace them with some nice plants. As for the next addition onto my little desk, I am debating over whether to get a water feature or a new mouse pad.


I suggest we all go and get some plants or simply something that makes us feel good, and watch it works its magic into our lives.