Thought Terminating Clichés
I find psychology fascinating. It’s so important to be aware of tactics that can be used by nefarious people or organizations to subconsciously distract/control us. I was scrolling through the toxic wasteland of mental mush that is my Twitter feed and found something very interesting I’ve never heard of before.
As it turns out phrases like, “It is what it is.”, “YOLO” (you only live once), “It’s in God’s hands”, etc. all fit into this classification and are designed to short-circuit cognitive dissonance in the human brain. Think of it as a huge stop sign which tricks your brain into thinking about something different entirely. Food for thought, huh?
The last few days I’ve been paying attention to mass media and television programming and thought terminating clichés are used more often than I realized. It’s so important to be aware and have your eyes and mind open. Knowledge is power.
I’m warning you, once you learn about thought terminating clichés it’s tough not to notice them. I guess that’s a good thing. Maybe all of those vaporized thoughts weren’t brain farts after all.
Smart Plugs
So, these devices have been around for a while but I’m a late jumping onto the smart plug IFTTT bandwagon.
Smart plugs have a million uses but I intend on using it for my VanMoof ebike. I’m learning it vastly improves the life of the ebike battery if you don’t charge it over 80%. With this device, and the Moofer app, I can program the smart plug to shut the power off when the battery reaches 80% charge. Up until now I’ve had to be home while the bike is charging so I can physically unplug it. This will give me more freedom and I’m sure I’ll find other uses for these things. How could I not have known about these before? Power to the people!
YOLO!!! (sorry, I couldn't resist) #pluglife!
Ephemera Book Cover Reveal!
Here it is. The final Ephemera book cover reveal! Thanks again to @preparedwombat for finding the kerning issues in the draft of the cover. This looks much better. Publication date is coming soon! If you didn’t read the details of the Ephemera book contest/Bitcoin easter egg I urge you to read about it in my last post..
The first person to find the private key hidden in the manuscript can sweep it into a wallet and claim the bitcoin. Once you find it just make sure to transfer it into another wallet because anyone with the private key can transfer the bitcoin. I’ll be watching that wallet as if my life depended on it until it’s found. This is going to be so much fun for me.
Joe Rogan Podcast #1645 - Christopher Mellon
If you have even a mild interest in US national security and the UFO phenomena please give THIS PODCAST a listen. Having grown up in close proximity to Wright Patterson AFB in central Ohio in the 1970’s we saw and experienced some very interesting things that can’t be explained. One day I'll expound a little more on this.
Christopher Mellon had access to some of the top security clearances available during his twenty-plus year career. In his discussion with Joe, Christopher said believes much of what we are seeing may truly not be terrestrial in origin. He’s of the opinion that the Tic Tac UFO video footage that was captured by the crew of the USS Nimitz and made public recently by the US Navy may be part of a network of highly advanced network of undersea drones that our "ultra terrestrial". One theory is these drones were put into place by some extraterrestrial civilization that have been surveilling us for eons, possibly even directing our evolution. He said they might now even employ some kind of artificial intelligence and are operating completely independently.
Whatever their origins, the government seems to be getting more comfortable releasing this previously classified info to the public. I do believe this trend of slowly trickling previously classified information to the public will continue in the years to come. I really do hope we find out the truth while I’m still on walking this Earth.
Photos Of The Week
Wave after wave of color is starting to reveal itself now in the upper midwest. The lilacs have about another two weeks before they’re done. Next will be the linden and catalpa trees. The catalpa tree is my favorite, the scent is indescribable, but to me they smell kind of like a sweet tart.
The view from one of our nightly walks in Cathedral Hill. Pretty soon the sun will be up until almost 9pm.
All for now.
With Gratitude,
Eric Vance Walton
(Gifs sourced from Giphy.com, photos/ideas are original.)
Most of us have experienced a moment of perfect peace at least once in our lives. In these moments we lose ourselves and feel connected to everything. I call these mindful moments. Words can’t describe how complete they make us feel.
These moments are usually fragile, evaporating in seconds. What if there was a way to train your mind to experience more of them? It’s deceptively easy and requires nothing more than a subtle shift in mindset. My new book, Mindful Moments, will teach you to be much more content despite the chaos and imperfect circumstances continuing to unfold around you. Upgrade your life experience today for only $15.99 on Amazon.com.
Let’s Keep In Touch
Hello dear friend @ericvancewalton good day
I must admit that I had not heard of the Thought Terminating Clichés. This information is very interesting
I loved the smart plug that you can program its charge level
Good that your book cover is ready, it looks great. very interesting the treasure hunt that you have included in the book, a very attractive proposal
Beautiful shots, tulips look beautiful.
I take this opportunity to wish you a happy start to the weekend. That you enjoy it a lot
Thank you my friend. I hope you have had a good week so far.
Wait, there is a bitcoin easter egg. I would definitely check it out and try find the private key. The sun do not actually settle late here, not yet. But 9pm. Can't really believe in possibilities in that.
Yes, the easter egg is now worth considerably less than when I funded the wallet thanks to Mr. Musk and Vitalik Buterin. I'm sure it'll go back up again though.
The TTC’s are useful when you are at a point of disagreement and the discussion becomes unproductive.
They certainly do have the intended outcome.
I really enjoyed the potpourri of a blog, so much food for thought;)
I must get my hands on that smart plug and hope to find that hidden key when your book is on the Amazon shelves so to speak! I'm fascinated with UFO stories so will listen to this podcast for sure; our universe is so vast so how on earth can we here on planet earth be the only living beings?
You must be super excited about the publication of Ephemera!
Enjoy spring!
I'm glad you enjoyed it! My smart plugs are being delivered today. I'll have to see how they work with the bike.
It's looking like we may be able to launch the book before the end of June or possibly early July. I can't wait. : )
It's a fairly good podcast. I would recommend this one as well:
I share your opinion, we simply can't be the only ones out there. I do think the universe is stranger and more complex than we even imagine. Thanks! I hope you're enjoying your cooler weather.
The cover is so beautiful and elegant. I am so waiting to be part of this challenge.. I hope it doesn't come out this may.. I am kind of tied up for this month. Thought terminating cliches are just not what I want to indulge my self in but I guess you only live once. I couldn't resist too. Live in the moment and all those things.
Nice book cover again
I appreciate it! I think we're looking at a late June/early July publication date. I'll be sure to announce it here once we have it pinned down.
I guess I should be saving for the book. Have you made your mind on how much it will cost??
It’ll be priced around $15 USD.
Yeah, I was shocked last night to see that the sun was still out when I got out of my school board meeting. It was nice not to have to drive home in the dark! I have always felt like Joe Rogan was kind of a douche, but I have heard his podcast is really good, so I might have to put my biases aside and try to listen to one of two of the episodes at some point. Some of this new stuff they are releasing about UFOs is just outright creepy. Cool, but creepy! I use some of those phrases all the time and have never really thought about them. Also just picked up some smart plugs a while ago myself. They are pretty cool.
The extended daylight seems to happen all of a sudden this time of year. I didn’t really know much about Rogan before his podcast but have to admit I really enjoy them. I always feel like I learn something from each episode. What are you using your smart plugs for?
I remember him from News Radio I think it was and then he was the host on fear factor. I watched the show, but I never really cared for him. Then he got all into MMA I think. I am just using my plugs for lights right now. We have the ones above our cabinets in the kitchen and then one in the living room and one in the bedroom.
I remember him on Fear Factor but I never watched it. Ahh, I see. I'm looking forward to experimenting with them to see what uses I can find. I always assumed you needed Alexa or Echo to run them and have never been keen about non-Apple "smart speakers" due to privacy concerns but just recently found out you can operate them outside of those ecosystems.
Yeah, I bought the Gosund plugs and I use them in conjunction with Google Home. We don't do any of the voice stuff. Even though I am sure my phone is listening to me anyway, it still creeps me out. My wife is pretty anti Alexa as well. How does it know when you say hey Alexa if it isn't listening!
I got mine yesterday and they're all set up. I'm just running them with the Kasa app but plan on seeing what I can accomplish with the IFTTT app. It seems like the "listening" from the mobile phones is getting more intrusive. My Google newsfeed is populated with ever more pertinent stories/ads. I agree, it's more creepy than it is helpful.
The cover of the book is really fabulous, I loved it. The combination of the colors and the concept make a nice composition. Congratulations, success is guaranteed, my friend. I love flowers and this sample you give us is a beauty. I wish spring was eternal. Regards, a hug.
Thank you! I'm super happy with it. I wish you a wonderful week @aurodivys!
The cover of the book is awesome and the photos on your post is beautiful.
Thanks!
Thought I'd share this with you here:
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