Back from my trip

I returned from my 17-day Mediterranean and Egypt trip last Monday. Unfortunately I caught when I returned and I am finally recovering.

I was hoping I would have access to the Internet much more than I did during the entire trip. Sadly I did not but I did the next best thing, making notes on a journal. So during the next few days I will try to upload these notes & pictures and share one of the best experiences I have had in my life so far.

On that note, a few recommendations on traveling as an Architecture students or otherwise.

1. I realized taking a cruise in a cruise liner is the best way to see the world. I am not sure if it is the cheapest but it sure is the easiest and the safest. You will come to see why when I upload the above mentioned notes
2. Try traveling in a a group. Not only it is fun but it is also the safest.
3. If you are a student, take part in at least one study abroad program. If you are in Miami-Dade area you can check with the program I did. I will post more info about that..

I checked-off a few of my bucket list in this trip:

• Rome (Everything about Rome) - Check
  
• The Parthenon in Athens - Check
  
• Climb a Volcano : Mt. Vesuvius - Check
  
• Great Pyramids of Giza - Check

Await more pictures and info.....

Why is there something as opposed to nothing?

Is there something?

As Descartes would have said, "I think, therefore I am." We look around and we see mater and we measure energy.

Was there ever a time where there was nothing? If so, "something" would have had to come out of "nothing". Since this is not logically possible, we can assume that - since there is something today and it could not have come out of nothing - there has always been something.

So, we have two possibilities: Either, there has always been something, or there has never been anything. There could not have been a scenario where there was nothing because you and I, we, are here and we are something. Hence, there must have always been something.

Thus the question "Why" is irrelevant because something had always existed. Why has always something existed?, because you can't make something out of nothing. In fact, why comes from the fact that we exist and we can formulate "why." So, while we cannot make something out of nothing, we can take what is and has always been and make it better - for us and for each other.

- excerpt from a discussion with my nerdy husband on a lovely Friday night

Upcoming trip

I signed up for a study abroad trip with our school. We will be leaving in 2 days and I am excited beyond words.

We will be first visiting Italy - Rome, Naples, Pompeii & Mt. Vesuvius, Sicily. Then we will be going to Greece - Athens, Rhodes. The to Turkey - Ephesus and finally to Egypt - to Alexandria & Cairo.

I have always wanted to visit these places and it was perfect when the school announced it, I jumped at it.

So await more posts with details & pictures from the Mediterranian & Egypt. :)

Evidence for life before and after lives

Interesting series of videos

Part 1



Part 2



Part 3



Part 4



Part 5



This is an interview with Dr. Jim Tucker, University of Virginia:

Life Purpose

Since I was a kid, I've always had this profound sense that there must be something more to life than just doing a great job, having a family and wealth. A sense that I must be here to do something beyond just my own interest. Of course ,I took the wrong paths a few times, tried to immitate others and then realized I must find my own unique path and my own unique goals.

Some of the techniques that worked for me were:

• Trying to understand what I deeply cared about, what I valued and what I really liked
• Trying to know my skills
• Use these skills to find what I cared about, valued and really liked

One of the important things I learned over the years was that things change, I change, my likes and dislikes change and my goals change. I needed to build up and improve the techniques further. Also never stop looking for what needs to be done.

During this quest, I fortunately came across a few very good tools. A few years back I came across Anthony Robin's book "Awaken the Giant Within" and saw some of his books. There were some very good pointers into figuring out your potential and fulfilling your potential. I had taken the CDP course at the IAC previously and wanted to take their Advanced program on self knowledge. It filled in some more of the gaps in this big puzzle I was trying to put together.

Last weekend, one of the best lectures I've heard on the topic happened here in Miami. Wagner Alegretti from Portugal gave an 8 hr lecture of "Identifying your Existential Program". He introduced the concept of Existential Program, which is an integral term for life purpose or life mission; how assistance is an essential part of it; how we have an obligation to ourselves, our families and friends, to the community and to the bigger world. He also introduced some techniques and asked questions that we could ask ourselves in order go deep into this topic.

It is important to stop and think about what kind of life do I want? Then think about what kind of a life do I have now? The idea is to figure out how to match these two but also to go beyond.

We have to understand the concept of Karma. Using this knowledge we can begin to address the obligations starting with ourselves, our families and friends and to the community.

We can start with a comprehensive analysis of ourselves and identify what are the talents, strengths, strong qualities and abilities we posses. We should also identify what are the characteristics of ourselves that are weaknesses, less than admirable and/or than needs to be improved.

Ask important questions from ourselves continuously to keep a tab of the direction we are heading; also, ask yourself from time to time if you die today will you be happy about the life you spent?

One more aspect to consider when trying to figure out our existential program is the need in a particular place we live or the people we live around with. It makes sense to use your talents and skills in an area to help people where help is needed the most.

One of the effective techniques you can use is one more year of life technique. Chasing daylight is a related book you can read that can inspire you. The Journal of Conscientiology volume 10, # 40 reviews this book in comparison to this technique.

Be aware, you will not instantaneously know every detail of the whole journey you have to take and everything about what you have to do with life. Every single step of the way, you will find a new piece of the puzzle that will lead you closer to the goal.

Knowing what we want in life, what we have to do and the direction we must take is quite crucial. This enables us to have a satisfying life and complete the goals to move on to the next level in our evolution.

PS: Recommendation - Dr. Vieira's Existential Program manual is a book to read if you are willing to dive deep into this topic.

TV interview :)

We did an interview on our school TV station on Consciousness & Architecture. Hope you enjoy it.

Model making material tips for students - Part 3

Plexi 101:

You can by Plexi glass or acrylic sheets at Utretch or Pearl or art supplies stores.. For thicker plexi glass - anything ticker than 1/4 inche, go to Homedepot. If the model / construct is of a very small scale, don't buy very thick ones because they are harder to cut through. And don't buy acetate paper, that doesn't serve the same purpose as Plexi glass.

Scoring (I hope this is the way to spell it)
Scoring is to draw a delicate line on the plexi using a cutting knife. Don't score deep or it will break. Do a matrix scoring so it follows the concept of you model. And make sure to use 3 plexi panels together always, to create encolsed spaces. Do not use plexi as windows. And continuity of the score lines through out all 3 panels was something prof mentioned yesterday as well.

Cutting plexi
You can use a plexi cutter, box cutter or your xato knife for this. Score deep a few times and fold gently at the score line. This will give a clean cut.

Frosting Plexi
Plexi glass planels as it is will be called Transparent elements. If you want to make then translucent (Semi-transparent) you can frost the plexi. You can do one of the 2 things...

1. Use Glass frosting spray found at the art store or
   
2. Use a soft sand paper and sand on both sides to give a nice soft but even frosty look.
   

Gluing Plexi
You will see once you start using that working with plexi is more difficult than working with other materials we have used so far. You have to use a tiny-tiny bit of glue, the TOXIC glue that is, and glue it in one shot. If you wobble it or move it, it could potentially leave ugly glue marks. And if you have glue allergies like me, good luck... I am still in search of a glue that will bond plexi but will not make me sick.

How to integrate plexi into your model?
Use your Dremel and make 4 tiny holes at the 4 corners or the panel. Slide tiny linear element pieces through the holes. And paste them on to the linear elements or panels near where the plexi planel is supposed to go. (I was going to put an image here but I can't find the cable for my camera. If I find it, I will upload a picture later today)

*Disclaimer - Above info is not the only way in which one make your model. And this is only from my personal experience. So don't hold me to it if it doesn't quite work out :). Try out on a few small pieces before you move into the actual model pieces.