Flow

Flow to Here, Flow to Now
Now is Past, Future is Now
As it was, As it is, As it will be
Be it was, be it is, be it will be
Be

Con-fusion

Confusion makes us feel lost, perplexed, bewildered, and sometimes overwhelmed.  There is always some sort of decision-making happening that lead us to a sense of being split, as if you are right in the middle of a tug of war.  It is often underpinned by fear, for the decisions involved will certainly involves some degree of risk.  And when we fail to see the pros of our options, we may zoom in and focus on what we have to forgo in each scenario.  It could be very unsettling that makes us ungrounded and off-centred.

But are these feelings derived more from the connotation of the word?  Or are we observing our "confusion' with curiosity and letting it guide us to what this will lead to?  The prefix "con" has its Latin root which means "with or together", and "confusion" is "the process of joining two or more things to from a single entity".  So next time when you feel confused, how about pretending to be an alchemist and watch the mundane ordeals transmuted into great opportunities in life?

Opposite of Déjà Vu

In psychology, there is a term called jamais vu (literally means "never seen" as opposed to "already seen" in déjà vu).  It is the phenomenon of experiencing a familiar situation but has the impression of seeing it for the first time.  So objects and people who are seemingly recognisable become completely strange for a few minutes.  This condition is mysterious in a way that it happens suddenly and without obvious causes, but there are not any significant consequences either as everything usually goes back to normal after some time.  And because jamais vu cannot be created artificially or simulated in the laboratory, it is difficult for scientists to study and fully understand these phenomena.

Here is the interesting part: there is a tendency to explain that jamais vu is due to some inconsistencies in the interaction between our memory and the perception of information.  So whilst our perception is often caused by our distorted memory, jamais vu may actually provide us with an opportunity to challenge the validity of our memory, and naturally, our perception.  Moreover, if jamais vu can only apply to here and now, maybe it's a kind reminder that all we have is the present moment.

If you experience life in the eyes of jamais vu, something magical will happen, just like a baby taking his very first bite of ice-cream or the first time you tenderly look into your lover's eyes.  Can we allow ourselves to re-engage with novelty?