Mind Detox

Everything is amazing...

2012-02-12T08:00:00.000-08:00

‎"I want to look at life - at the common places of existence - as if we had just turned a corner and run into it for the first time."

- Christopher Fry

Photographing Perth's Abandoned Buildings: Part 1

2012-02-12T07:12:00.000-08:00

Coogee Power Station

Officially opened in 1951 and at it's peak had over 250 employees. It was closed in 1985. Since closing, many have committed suicide from the higher levels, and there have been rumoured murders there according to a historical site I was looking at.

Here are some of my pictures from my first visit:

Montgomery Hall

Built in 1904, Montgomery Hall was a mental institution that operated until 1987 and has since been abandoned.

Here are some pics from one of my visits: Model, Kate Lowe.

Sunset Hospital/ Claremont Old Men's home

a health facility built in 1904 and closed in 1995. Several of the buildings are heritage listed, limiting the money that could be made by selling the prime location land.

Here are some pics I took from outside. Apparently the property is Heritage listed but also privately owned, with residents living on the premises.

Alan Watts is a lad

2012-02-08T23:05:00.000-08:00

Girls, don't sweat the small stuff.

2012-02-08T22:59:00.000-08:00

**Our identity is never absolute, it's just a matter of perspective.

Why girls hate each other

We don’t just hate each other because we don’t know each other.

It’s far more pathetic than that.

We hate each other because we attempt to compare the non-comparable

aspects of ourselves with others.

There will always be people you just don’t like for a variety of reasons. They may not like the same things you do, or do things that upset you or piss you off for whatever reason. But beyond that, sadly, there are things about us females that make it really hard for us to like each other too. In a civilized world, we’re exposed to other people; society, people that rank us and judge us and make us rank and judge ourselves in the scheme of it. If Brittany Speares has a massive ass, where the fuck do we stand? Do we hate ourselves or do we hate the people that her apparent “massive ass” is being compared to – aka the girls with the tight little perky asses? You learn that you fit somewhere amongst your peers. This makes it awfully hard to remain objective when meeting people who you feel you can’t match up to, or even more stupidly, people who have completely different personal characteristics to you. Why do we get so caught up in competing? If everyone says someone is hot, why must we feel inadequate in our own minds by comparing ourselves to them?

I think the most frustrating thing is that sometimes we don’t recognize our own jealousy or the jealousy of others. We get all down and depressed about the girl that hates us and spend too much time overthinking the reasons why when it’s probably plain and simple – you have non-comparable differences which one of you is clearly trying to rationalize (or more so, be irrational about). I myself know that people have thought I have hated them because of the way I seem to act sometimes, when it’s really not the case. And in the same way, I have perceived people to dislike me, based on false ideas and actions that I have misread. Stupid really.

So although this is a blog post that a 14 or 15 year old girl should be posting, I just want to say this to all the females I know:

Shut up! Stop bitching about everyone. Stop comparing yourself to “the other girl”. We know you naturally hate “the other girl” when she gets the guy you want or does something better than you. As female friends, we always support these ideas when discussing them with each other in order to make the other person feel better. I’ve done it, you’ve done it. MAN UP…. or.. WOMAN UP! Just be the person that you want to be and the person that you can be. That should be fulfilling enough. Why do we care so much about what people think of us? Shouldn’t we find peace of mind in knowing how we see ourselves? You are the person you create yourself to be, not just in your own mind but in your actions.

Eat well

2012-02-08T18:06:00.001-08:00

Life is a verb.

2012-02-07T01:54:00.001-08:00

Connected.

2012-02-06T22:42:00.000-08:00

There is this strange feeling of acceptance and comfort found when one finds another that has experienced what they have; that shares similar thoughts and feelings that have deemed individuals ‘loners’ in their own unexposed minds, prior to a point of foreign connection. Loneliness and sorrow is really quite a common and profound invitation for a connection to form between two people. But I ask – what if it had started from something else? Do we seek others for comfort in our own loneliness, our times of pain or insanity, or can we just stumble across someone in a carefree state and have something as personal with them anyway?

I supposed neither side has encapsulated my opinion entirely. Being an emotional human being myself, times of extreme ‘feelings’ and ‘emotions’ seem like the ingredient or avenue to start something quite special. But are we vulnerable because of this? Are we only vulnerable when we are sad, or is happiness included? Why does it seem loneliness only sets in when we are sad, not happy? Is it because sadness and loneliness go hand in hand?

I think sadness is the perfect opportunity for one to confide in another as a human coping mechanism, but sooner or later there needs to be more to it. I used to think that feeling as different as someone else felt, and finding comfort in their strangeness was all I needed in this world. Yet I have come to realise that feeling like someone else does isn’t the key to being content. Being happy is about creating yourself, making your life what you want. More than one person out there will always be feeling or have felt similarly to you, you just may not realise. As you grow up, you will realise this more. There are more factors that contribute to a good connection with someone, although deep and meaningful conversations might bring about acceptance between you.

Just remember, everyone feels alone sometimes; it’s a fact of life. And such horrible things happen in this world on a day to day basis; many of which push us closer to someone else as we feel we need to cling to something to stay afloat. I for one was lucky enough to stumble across a great person, when I was in a time of need. But unlike the mistake I made before, there is more to this love than pure understanding of problems. There is an understanding and sharing of dreams. We forget how important our dreams are until we work out what makes us happy, what we want and most importantly, observe the contentment of others who have strived for theirs.

So thank you to my special person, for understanding that dreams a priority, and that there is more to us than pure acceptance of one another.

Let's go places together.

2012-02-06T21:22:00.000-08:00

I think my study and work habits go in a set cycle - I study, I work, I save enough money and then I travel. If I could cancel out the study part, and do the other bits forever, I think life would be pretty perfect.

“As the traveler who has once been from home is wiser than he who has never left his own doorstep, so a knowledge of one other culture should sharpen our ability to scrutinize more steadily, to appreciate more lovingly, our own.” – Margaret Mead

“Traveling is like flirting with life. It’s like saying, ‘I would stay and love you, but I have to go; this is my station.’” – Lisa St. Aubin de Teran

“I haven’t been everywhere, but it’s on my list.” – Susan Sontag

“Travel at its truest is thus an ironic experience, and the best travelers… seem to be those able to hold two or three inconsistent ideas in their minds at the same time, or able to regard themselves as at once serious persons and clowns.” – Paul Fussell

Every moment

2012-02-06T21:09:00.001-08:00

There are times when you realise that life really is too short, or more so, that you wish you had lived more in the time that you've had.

Every moment affects the whole.

Sometimes we forget that.

Pity the hater.

2012-02-04T04:03:00.000-08:00

“Sooner or later, fate puts us together with all the people, one by one, who show us what we could, and shouldn’t, let ourselves become. Sooner or later we meet the drunkard, the waster, the betrayer, the ruthless mind, and the hate-filled heart. But fate loads the dice, of course, because we usually find ourselves loving or pitying almost all of those people. And it’s impossible to despise someone you honestly pity”.
― Gregory David Roberts

And the rain has come :D

2012-02-04T03:59:00.000-08:00

Whatever you do, in the privacy of your own rain shower, is your own business...

Perfect.

2012-02-04T03:49:00.000-08:00

Everything will be okay in the end.

If it's not okay, it's not the end.

Spooning.

2012-01-31T18:56:00.000-08:00

I love mornings like this :D

Growing up.

2012-01-31T18:50:00.000-08:00

The more you get into life,

the more it makes sense.

Inspiration.

2012-01-30T08:44:00.000-08:00

Enjoy.

2012-01-30T08:42:00.000-08:00

"When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive - to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love."
Marcus Aurelius

Food is friend.

2012-01-30T08:37:00.000-08:00

STOP diabetes!

2012-01-30T08:27:00.000-08:00

It scares me to think how out of control diabetes has become, especially in the last 10 years or so.

PLEASE don't ignore the signs, even if you are young...

- 275 Australians develop diabetes every day
- Diabetes is Australia’s fastest growing chronic disease
- Nearly 1,000,000 Australians are currently diagnosed with diabetes.
- For every person diagnosed, it is estimated that there is another who is not yet diagnosed; a total of about 1.7 million people.
- The total number of Australians with diabetes and pre-diabetes is estimated at 3.2 million.
- As the sixth leading cause of death in Australia, it is critical we take action.
- Up to 60% of cases of type 2 diabetes can be prevented.

Sources:
Diabetes Atlas, third edition, International Diabetes Federation, 2007
Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease: Time to Act, International Diabetes Federation, 2001
AusDiab Report, 2006
The Economic Costs of Obesity, 2006
World Health Organisation Diabetes Uni

Long term effects

Symptoms of Type 2 Diabetes

In type 2 diabetes, many people have no symptoms at all, while other signs are dismissed as a part of ‘getting older’. By the time type 2 diabetes is diagnosed, the complications of diabetes may already be present. Symptoms include:

Being excessively thirsty
Passing more urine
Feeling tired and lethargic
Always feeling hungry
Having cuts that heal slowly
Itching, skin infections
Blurred vision
Gradually putting on weight
Mood swings
Headaches
Feeling dizzy
Leg cramps.

Preventing Type 2 Diabetes

It is estimated that up to 60% of type 2 diabetes can be prevented. People at risk of type 2 diabetes can delay and even prevent this disease by following a healthy lifestyle. This includes:

Maintaining a healthy weight
Regular physical activity
Making healthy food choices
Managing blood pressure
Managing cholesterol levels
Not smoking.

Don't worry, be happy.

2012-01-30T08:05:00.001-08:00

Young and free.

2012-01-30T07:39:00.000-08:00

I have no idea what my life is about yet, I wish I could fast forward time. But in saying that, I guess like surprises, and I'm willing to sit out each day if it keeps coasting this way.

I am young. Endless possibilities await.

Scare yourself, its healthy.

2012-01-30T07:34:00.000-08:00

If your dreams don't scare you and excite you at the same time, they're not big enough!

Analyse and Question.

2012-01-29T08:59:00.001-08:00

Many of us are well equipped to be rational and developed thinkers. With all that grey matter (among other things that would be too retarded to list) that make up our anatomically pleasing human brain and CNS, it is fair to say that we are rather lucky in the scope of living animals. But are we rational and logical thinkers? Do we do more than just “think”? Can we put our brains to good use?

Have you ever noticed a child’s curiosity? To say purely that curiosity is responsible for developed thinking, in my opinion, is invalid I know- that will not be the basis of this argument. It is evident that many animals are curious, but what seems to differentiate us from other animals is our driving need to know. I know that children ask questions, so many questions, but it would seem that they have a driving need for valid answers; they must know. “Children are born to perceive – they make the ‘cause-effect’ links and relationships” (from the book “Why people believe weird things”…. Give it a read)! So as I have established, as the child wonders, he must find out. So as the adult wonders, what stops him from finding out? That’s what I want to know? It seems far less adults have the driving need to know that children so classically possess. Do adults hit much bigger walls? Is it too difficult to ‘find out’? Surely not. Do we think we know enough at a certain point, to get by without knowing more? I guess on a basic level, thinking is required to keep us alive. As children, thinking is required to help us grow and although we may not think of it, we are aware. It is a competition to know. But as we mature do we give in? Do we see that specializing in a certain field of knowledge is more relevant as we become adults?

I suppose I think that that is so. For I myself will not go out of my way to learn computer programming, the most uncommonly used words in the Oxford Dictionary or anything of sorts like that. Do I need to know that or are there other more relevant and more important things for me to know on a personal level? Do I know that I realistically do not have time to know those words or how to program and because everything is somewhat prioritized, they are further down on the list than others that hold greater status in the scheme of knowing? Perhaps. But if I had all the time in the world, would I ever want to know; would I try to know or would I stick to what I want to know most? When is it progression and when is our mind’s curiosity to know, a limitation?

One thing I wonder, is how we can know what nobody does? How can we really know that a big discovery is valid and real? Because we hear about it, does that make us believe its true? What I love most about science is that it leads us towards rationalism. Science cannot improvise details as it must give valid details. And if details are left out we, as humans, question relative evidence, and if evidence is scarce or irrelevant, this affects our scale of belief…. A rational mind would think this is valid to say? So when you read a text, do you not analyse its content and rationally critique it, like us skeptical humans might with any new and valid information? Don’t we select credible sources when writing academic papers, instead of just anything written? I think so. So why do many not perceive and/or read scriptures with a skeptic’s mindset? This has puzzled me for years. It seems such texts as the bible and other similarly based written work is that it lacks critique in itself and does not provide any absolute evidence, nor much reason. As a contrast, science must prove itself to be believed, unlike religion, which seems a little ‘wishy-washy’ for me. Take Darwin for example. If he just chucked everything out there without properly discussing it or providing any evidence for his theories, would we even consider believing them? The thing I love about Darwin is no matter what he argues; he likes to touch on “negative evidence” or “difficulties of theory”. These are rational arguments that discuss exceptions to rules and theories. I’d like to think that a rational mind would have decided to include such things (yes, perhaps to improve credibility) but it’s his open minded and thorough discussion of perceived and collected evidence that makes his personal papers/texts so pleasurable to read.

So why can’t religion be rational? Why can people read the bible and assume it to be true because of its age and all the mystical things it says? How is the bible any less or any more valid than any other piece of writing ever produced? And who and how many people have ever critiqued it close to the time it was written? Who was ever there to rationalize? It makes it a very difficult task for us to do now as it could have held some truths. But we will never know, so why build our lives around something that has such flimsy evidence, when science produces so much more, especially as technology has and does progress?

Although I have drifted, I conclude with my initial train of thought –

Why do humans have a limit on their ability to wonder?

Why do some choose not to think at all, if given the choice?

How can we get by with so little thought?

How can one ever be fulfilled with something without proper assessment?

I hate how some things just sound good, so convincingly good.

Please be rational, please think, please be inspired to learn in order to progress.

I know all of these things are only values to me on a personal level but I wish more people in the world analysed and questioned.

Growing

2012-01-26T18:10:00.000-08:00

Stay balanced and grow.

10th August.

2012-01-24T06:22:00.000-08:00

There’s a kind of luck that’s much more than being in the right place at the right time, a kind of inspiration that’s not much more that doing the right thing in the right way, and both only happen when you empty your heart of ambition, purpose and plan; when you give yourself,

completely, to the golden, fate-filled moment.

Shantaram

2012-01-24T05:38:00.000-08:00

"They’d lied to me and betrayed me, leaving jagged edges where all my trust had been, and I didn’t like or respect or admire them any more, but still I loved them. I had no choice. I understood that, perfectly, standing in the white wilderness of snow. You can’t kill love. You can’t even kill it with hate. You can kill in-love, and loving, and even loveliness. You can kill them all, or numb them into dense, leaden regret, but you can’t kill love itself. Love is the passionate search for a truth other than your own; and once you feel it, honestly and completely, love is forever. Every act of love, every moment of the heart reaching out, is a part of the universal good".

The hate that feeds you.

2012-01-24T05:20:00.000-08:00

I'm not quite sure what fuels long lasting hate in the heart. Perhaps when humans hurt, our weakness is that we can't instantaneously let go. I'm reading a wonderful book and here is a quote from it:

"I don't know what frightens me more, the power that crushes us, or our endless ability to endure it".

Dealing with hate and bitterness has always been a plague to me. If conflicts can't be resolved, it is evident that we can only let them be. Trying is wise because once you've tried, no matter the outcome, it seems easier and lighter to endure. This is because you know you've tried and therefore can walk away with nothing but peace in your heart. Letting go is all that can be done, all that is healthy. Life goes on regardless, but for those that hold that bitter hatred, life will progress with this thing that pulls at you from time to time.

Nothing in any life, no matter how well or poorly lived, is wiser than failure or clearer than sorrow. And in the tiny precious wisdom they give to us, even those dreaded and hated enemies, suffering and failure, have their reason and their right to be.

My light

2012-01-15T06:43:00.000-08:00

Never be a scratching post for someone else's anger. And don't worry about the cracks. They help the light get in!

Press your belly button against mine...

2012-01-03T05:44:00.000-08:00

“One thing I do know about intimacy is that there are certain natural laws which govern the sexual experience of two people, and that these laws cannot be budged any more than gravity can be negotiated with. To feel physically comfortable with someone else's body is not a decision you can make. It has very little to do with how two people think or act or talk or even look. The mysterious magnet is either there, buried somewhere deep behind the sternum, or it is not. When it isn't there (as I have learned in the past, with heartbreaking clarity) you can no more force it to exist than a surgeon can force a patient's body to accept a kidney from the wrong donor. My friend Annie says it all comes down to one simple question: "Do you want your belly pressed against this person's belly forever --or not?”
― Elizabeth Gilbert

As 2011 ends..

2011-12-28T09:24:00.000-08:00

Random shots from 2011, not all the best quality/composed well, but good times :)

A million smiles...

2011-12-28T08:49:00.000-08:00

It's hard to stay mad when there is so much beauty in the world....

(probably the 300th time I have quoted that).

Simple pleasures.
I feel so at peace with the world.
Originally I wanted to go on a massive rant about recent USDA articles I have read and all the discoveries I have made, but there is just too much beauty in my life that I can't ignore.

I am meditating without even really meaning to, my mind and body have completely encapsulated me in this strange state, taken hold and discarded all other nonsense things/thoughts (actually things/thoughts with complete sense...things with TOO MUCH SENSE). I feel this is one of my most pleasure and intense mind detoxes.

I will be scatty tonight with blogging. I don't expect it will get read but these ramblings must be documented. I can’t describe the state of bliss my mind is in right now. I am on a high fuelled by energy, I am ambitious and I am happy and I am free.

***

Isn't it funny how people envy children for their innocence and freedom?

Is it perhaps because it is so hard to be in control of one's innocence and freedom?
Although awareness and exposure makes us lose control, we can so easily be free,
If only we allow ourselves to be.

***

It is amazing how much power is in a song…

And in a mind…

And in a flower or a leaf or a particular time of day when the light bounces and makes pretty colours in the sky which causes the trees to cast beautiful shadows, surrounded by golden light.
Even something as simple as light itself, has the power to completely change the mood of a photograph, the emotions we feel and the way we see things.

How much beauty there is, just look.

***

How lucky we are to be gifted in one thing or another.

Finding that thing is a challenge sometimes, as is practice and pursuit - once it has been found.

A gift does not have to be a talent, but something absolutely possible and present (although sometimes it may need to be aquired or learnt to be utelised).

Choice is one of these things - how lucky we are to have a choice about the eyes we see the world with.
This can be argued, for do we have a choice in what we physically see?
Not always.
It's the choice we have in changing what we can see if we don't like it, for the better.

***

So much goes unnoticed about people, maybe it’s a beautiful mystery,
but maybe it is also a fault in itself…

***

I love stupid metaphors. They flow into my head like water. It’s how I express perspective. Right now I am thinking about my life; my character; my canvas.
My canvas shows visible and vivid outlines, but the masterpiece hasn’t been finished yet.
The foundations are unfortunately or fortunately stuck as are, but lines can be tweaked and maybe made stronger and greater than I was first able to make them when I started. I realise I have ambition when I am aware that I have lost my way but can easily find it again;
when I think about how I can strive harder and better myself further to be who and what I want to be, both now and in the future.

***

If you have to tell people that you have power, you don’t.
If you have to tell people what you are, you aren’t... well sometimes.

Habbits become character, so get into good ones.

***

Do not have expectations of others, only yourself.

If you do you will always be assuming, always be waiting,
always be allowing some degree of absent control.

Whilst this is good, it is not always desirable, for assumption changes everything.

***

If you want to cut your own throat, don’t come to me for a bandage.
I can help with the occasional splinters and even sometimes broken arms or nose bleeds,
but anything so drastic is something that should never be considered my concern. Far too long have your problems been my concern and negative energy is absolutely draining.
I don't want to have all the life sucked from me.

***

We are.

2011-12-28T08:23:00.001-08:00

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3255/2299212973_b421ce4bd3.jpg

Human or not...

2011-11-13T09:56:00.001-08:00

My favourite things...

2011-11-13T09:53:00.000-08:00

This is one of my more pointless blogs.... just a heads up

OMG.....thank you Dave Tipper.

2011-11-13T09:27:00.001-08:00

Click to hear Tipper's new awesomeness

Thursday.

2011-11-11T16:48:00.000-08:00

Umshini Wam

Darwinism.

2011-11-05T22:51:00.001-07:00

Our sexuality

2011-11-04T10:15:00.000-07:00

I am reading the most engaging and truly fascinating book on human sexuality. It seems we are instinctual when it comes to our sexuality but really, instinct is the tip of the iceburg. I think many find it a true challenge to be in touch with their sexuality and this is partly to do with their awareness and understanding of the world around them. In order to understand one's sexuality, so much else must be embraced. I will definitely write more about this when I can think straight (am not as tired). I feel like I'm repeating myself and making no sense but I had to express my excitement. If anyone ever gets the chance to read anything by Michael Foucalt or Betty Dodson - you will never regret it.

Communication driver.

2011-11-04T08:59:00.000-07:00

Without communication, we are nothing; the world is nothing.

How would everything work without driving systems?

Think about the cells and systems that make up one single organism..

And all the systems in which that one organism has relevance.

Think of your personal interactions.. you're relationships.

Think of war... poverty... sexuality.

Communication drives us.

I think we take for granted how important it really is.

I know I do.

Old thoughts.

2011-11-04T08:48:00.001-07:00

Given the elusive character of human life, it doesn't surprise me that people resort to mystical interpretations. However, it is amazing what extensive stories can be told to explain things we don't yet understand. Do people need something to ease their minds as we will never know everything in our lifetimes; or for that matter, any lifetime perhaps? Life is short but I would rather be ignorant than substitute answers with myths crafted long before science ever took off. Excuse me for my insensitivity. This is all a matter of my own perspective.

You.

2011-10-26T00:41:00.001-07:00

This intimacy is rare..
And that's why you're so precious.

Wednesday.

2011-10-26T00:34:00.001-07:00

"Of course there is not formula for success except, perhaps, an unconditional acceptance of life and what it brings."

Habit gone

2011-10-26T00:31:00.001-07:00

Breaking the moment of past habits is the challenge here: In the life of the spirit you are always at the beginning...

Growth.

2011-10-24T00:10:00.000-07:00

“We do not grow absolutely, chronologically. We grow sometimes in one dimension, and not in another; unevenly. We grow partially. We are relative. We are mature in one realm, childish in another. The past, present, and future mingle and pull us backward, forward, or fix us in the present. We are made up of layers, cells, constellations.”
—Anais Nin

Letting go.

2011-10-23T23:55:00.000-07:00

You seem to be blinded by manipulation.

A new self of yours is being created.

With it may come happiness, in which I am glad.

But this change - its making you just like everyone else.

Unique as you have been, indigo,

The only reason you don't understand me is because you are different.

But your perception moves in the ways in which you want it to.

You still see what you wish to see,

Even though you're not the real you anymore.

Don't become a clone... I never tried to change you.

Maybe I should have.. but life does what it does.

You are entitled to what you deserve...

I hope you are happy.

Leave those behind who hurt you.

They are merely bricks in the wall.

You will find many more people on your journey,

Never settle for less than you deserve.

Happy place, I am coming...

2011-10-23T23:49:00.000-07:00

To be calm...

2011-10-23T23:34:00.000-07:00

“It seldom happens that a man changes his life through his habitual reasoning. No matter how fully he may sense the new plans and aims revealed to him by reason, he continues to plod along in old paths until his life becomes frustrating and unbearable—he finally makes the change only when his usual life can no longer be tolerated.”
—Leo Tolstoy

Liar, liar

2011-10-19T03:12:00.000-07:00

It's funny how much some people lie to the point where you don't know if what they are saying is the truth.
I'm sick of hearing you laugh about her shitty tattoos, failed sex life, annoying habits and other associated things.
You lie to me probably just as much as you do her.
But I'm done with your shit....
For good this time.

Wicked

2011-10-19T03:09:00.000-07:00

I never did blog about how truly wonderful this was.

If you ever have a chance, Wicked is well worth it...

What's on your plate?

2011-10-15T20:07:00.001-07:00

It's perspective

2011-10-13T03:14:00.000-07:00

You cannot have East without having West. And you cannot have night without having day. And you cannot have summer without having winter. We have to accept the life in its totality. There is a certain rhythm, there is a polarity...

Be greatful.

2011-10-13T03:05:00.000-07:00

Gratefulness is the key to a happy life that we hold in our hands, because if we are not grateful, then no matter how much we have we will not be happy -- because we will always want to have something else or something more."
David Steindl-Rast

Wednesday.

2011-10-04T11:16:00.000-07:00

Diamonds from the pavement

Where a broken glass had been Just like these troubles
that I'm leaving to the wind ..

Confidence.

2011-10-04T11:02:00.000-07:00

Walk your lonely street and think of me.

And even if you try to pull apart my pieces,

I know the real reason you are scared.

You know you can't break me,

And you know that I'm fine with being just as I am, without you.

Sexology is over for the semester :(

2011-10-04T05:38:00.001-07:00

Warm and fuzzy

2011-10-03T11:04:00.000-07:00

Significant

2011-10-03T10:58:00.000-07:00

Im sure this has been said by someone in the world before but I thought back to a book I once read and had to post something from my train of thought...

Never forget your own insignificance, but consider yourself significant.

We are are all tiny little insignificant life forms floating deep within the universe.

And because there are many of us, this makes us even less significant in the scope of our own kind.

However, this is your life and you are important.

Never forget the scope of your existence, either way.

Tuesday.

2011-10-03T10:52:00.000-07:00

Pursue the things that catch your heart.

Words.

2011-10-03T10:44:00.000-07:00

I felt the need to refresh myself and calm from all this study before bed.

A favourite past time has been reading poetry, sounds rather lame but true.

So I opened up a book and read from its pages the perfect words of John Keats:

"The only means of strengthening one's intellect is to make up one's mind about nothing, to let the mind be a thoroughfare for all thoughts".

-John Keats

..... perhaps my inability to decide on numerous things daily isn't such a terrible fault.

And also, the fact that I must always argue something out both ways until I drive myself into the mindset of a fence sitter may also be acceptable??

I don't think that is quite what he was getting at but poetry is all a matter of perspective, right?

And here comes the random shit from the bottom of my brain... the stuff that really means nothing and are thoughts that pass casually through the heads of most people but somehow dwell in mine for a substantially and highly unnecessary period of time...

Communication is such a gift.

However - why are words never enough?

They can arouse the deepest thoughts,

the most amazing feelings.

They transfer wisdom and teach fact.

But look at them and their ridged shape.

There is such restriction,

"Masculine with a compact frame".

But can one only 'create' or be 'creative' with words to a certain degree?

Or can sentences be constructed delicately and skillfully enough to sound like they have never been written or thought of in word-form before.

I guess this, like poetry is all a matter of perspective.

I've been told that people can't simply 'create' from words.

But there are definitely two sides to that argument.

Inspire me.

2011-10-03T10:21:00.000-07:00

Perhaps we all have this longing, a need in fact - to be inspired.

And when those valuable sources of inspiration pass, we embrace them.

It's fair to say that a lot of our time on this earth is spent looking for inspiration.

I suppose that's why we hold onto those special people who have the power to inspire us...

Everyday.

Life is good.

2011-10-02T04:50:00.000-07:00

‎"The only dream worth having is to dream that you will live while you are alive, and die only when you are dead. To love, to be loved. To never forget your own insignificance. To never get used to the unspeakable violence and vulgar disparity of the life around you. To seek joy in the saddest places. To pursue beauty to its lair. To never simplify what is complicated or complicate what is simple. To respect strength, never power. Above all to watch. To try and understand. To never look away. And never, never to forget."

Rant #239802

2011-10-02T04:32:00.000-07:00

How are people so concerned with praising a sacred "higher power" that they forget that they themselves are sacred? So is the word 'faith' trust and belief without necessary proof? Is there really any logic in that at all? Was science and medicine just so undeveloped when the whole idea of religion came about that absolutely nothing seemed ridiculous? I mean if diseases could make people ill "out of the blue" (obviously reasons were not yet known) and there were few answers to many of life's questions wouldn't it be easy to believe in something that has not been proved? Clouds can be seen in the sky but do we need proof as to how they got there? Because people didn't originally understand these things, did that make their minds vulnerable? I believe so.

So why has religion not died out yet? Why are humans happy to place their whole livelihood and trust in a non-existing being/set of beings? It actually blows my mind. But what to I know? And what use is it? Will religion ever be disproved more than it already has been? And by religion, I am particularly referring to Western religions like Christianity. To me, scientology and christianity are on par when it comes to bogus ideas but why are people so dumbfounded by 'wizardology' and all that but a guy in the sky creating the world is totally legit? I hope that before I die I can meet a religious person who can give me some awesome arguments. I would actually like to hear some, legitimately!

Some people :)

2011-09-21T09:19:00.001-07:00

Eeep day :)

2011-09-21T09:18:00.000-07:00

I love those days where things are productive.
Where you appreciate the little things that make the day brighter.
And where you realise that there is so much to look forward to in this stupid little life...

Uni Venting - Not a good feel good read I assure you.

2011-09-16T10:52:00.000-07:00

Uni has been bothering me lately, but in a long term, career aspirations sort of way...

So here's my study journey...

Its daunting when you started something at uni that really wasn't your thing and it happens to the best of us I guess. In 2009 I realised that journalism wasn't for me and in Semester Two I did bridging units for nutrition. For semester one I could only do 3 out of 4 units as one wasn't offered, then I failed my first semester chemistry exam and my life was basically over for a few hours until I managed to deal with it. Sadly, the same unit wouldn't be offered until the following year and I'd have to repeat in 2011, unless I did a similar unit from the biomedical science course and soldiered on through biochemistry. Luckily, biochemistry was a lovely change and I accustomed quickly. I found a way to structure all units to meet every prerequisite required and life became sweet again...

So now I've started some third year units but I have missed two core second years that i'll be needing as they were only offered in certain semesters and the bridging units limited me in my first semester unit selection as my entire course was based on chemistry prerequisites. I know this is the direction I am meant to be going in but I see everyone slowly graduating and I sit and wonder when the fuck it will be me. When will I finally have what I wanted? After trying this hard, it must be in reach? ... but it seems so far away and I'll need to keep soldiering on.

The primary problem I have had lately is what will I do when I'm finished this course? It seems apparent that I will need to stay until the end of 2012 to finish my Nutrition degree but then what? I'm writing this blog as a means of justification, as a way of working things out. I sit here and question my capabilities. I sit here and I think of how many people have actually wanted something as much as I want this. But alas, there is a silver lining to all this worry and it has just come to me - emails from oh mighty course coordinators and Curtin and ECU. Now I hate to seem pretentious but ECU has never really been a model university for me as a hopeful future health care professional. In fact, I have steered away. However I've just received a nice neat package for the course information for Masters in dietetics. GREAT success. The course is far more recognised than expected, it offers almost an entire year of prac and it gives you a life membership with the DAA (Dietetics Association of Australia) AND allows you the accreditation required for own clinical practice. This is everything I wanted to hear. Of course I will investigate my options but this is good news... HOWEVER, good always comes at a price. The course only starts mid year and i'll miss next years cut off.... Fuck. My. Life.
What to do....
I have wanted this far far too much.
I think its time to remind myself of that.
I have come so far but it really doesn't feel like it..
But I'm through the hard part, I'm over half way and I know I am capable.
I guess I'll have to suck it up and realise that I'm going to be at uni for quite a while..
And I guess in order to be fulfilled in life, I'm going to have to be ok with that.

Sunshine

2011-09-15T00:25:00.000-07:00

No matter the weather, always bring your sunshine...

Today is Thursday

2011-09-14T20:00:00.000-07:00

So I started this sober but have ended up drunk. I'm not sure if its due to all the wine i've been consuming over the last few years or the beauty of this journey I have experienced. I will go with the latter as being drunk from years of drinking holds no logic :P ... but I can't describe this indistinguishable feeling.

I'm not sure whether when faced with the choice, some of us can push past things with a strength we never knew we had. It makes no sense to say this - any of this. The more I have lived, the higher I have aimed and to be honest it feels like I haven't got very far. Failure, guilt, lack of priorities... it has all come down to me though. I guess the less control you experience from time to time, the more you feel you have when suddenly you take hold of it.

I wish I had a camera and a notebook, constantly with me. It seems like so many thoughts fill my head and I lose them as fast as they make their way in there in the first place. Perhaps they are trying to make room for the new ones and my brain briefly ponders, finds a meaning or resolution and lets them go. Perhaps I'd go insane if it didn't? The longer I live, the more I know... and the more I know, the more I want to know.... and the more I want to know the more I know I will never know as much as I want to... for there is far too much to know and each human being only lives long enough to know a minuscule proportion of information, despite the longing...

Wednesday 15th September

2011-09-14T19:47:00.000-07:00

We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.

~Oscar Wilde

RE: religion

2011-09-11T09:30:00.000-07:00

RE: Food cents

2011-09-11T09:21:00.000-07:00

I feel the least inspired by uni that I have ever felt and it saddens me. I can't wait until the holidays to get through my massive stack of books to reignite me but I suppose there have been some things I'm yet to write about:

I have a lot of awesome shopping tips for healthy budgetting and upon request I will tailor some to vegetarians and Low GI diets as promised before.

Blog on iron also coming :)

First world problems

2011-09-11T09:10:00.000-07:00

How infatuated we are with our lives that are so insignificant in the scope of the universe.
And who can blame us really - we are consciously or subconsciously government by context, by all these social and cultural 'norms' that exist around us. A characteristic of human beings is that we can easily adapt, but this is generally in response to a change in physical environmental state - changes in weather, people etc. How easily we can break like glass when placed in new extreme and contrasting contexts, unlike those we are so comfortably adapted to. It is worrying really, the mentality of our first world minds with our first world problems and how breakable we would be if faced with something so unthinkable. But we are what we are and we are like this because we are here, in this place, in this time.

Its funny really, despite how dramatically I can sometimes react to first world problems it always brings a smile to my face when I know I can appreciate little things to a strong degree; when I feel like something so small has really impacted me. Right now I feel simply blissful. And it feels like such a big deal. It feels like just when you begin to adapt to something, to really truly live your life with and around something; new variables come in to play...

Now you may not really know it yet but this is so platonic for me.

You text me just to say good night and good morning...
You brush my hair out of my face when it gets in my eyes...

You smile at me with this extreme content that ricochets through me...
Now... you may not know it but, you have been the best adaption so far.
And this appreciation for little things is so fulfilling because..

Well, I guess they don't really seem like little things to me.
And that's the best part.

RE: Rage

2011-09-02T10:16:00.000-07:00

This is for your rage...

See we got together so young,
before our real lives had begun,
but flowers don't grow up as one,
each finds its own way to the sun,
and that's exactly what we've done.

We've grown up separately too,

And for a few years now it's been the problem,
and these realisations...i wish that i could stop them,
but I've realised that love is all we have in common,
and deep down you know that's true.

Time to bloom.

2011-09-01T06:58:00.001-07:00

It's time to bloom... ^_^

Now

2011-08-31T10:31:00.000-07:00

Everything fits just right...

Beauty.

2011-08-31T10:19:00.000-07:00

Time waits for no one.

2011-08-31T10:03:00.000-07:00

***

There are few moments in my life where I feel lost for words, peaceful, escaped from turmoil. That isn't to say that everything I say and express is always negative and I guess I feel selfish of any negativity that gets out on here, or anywhere by me in public really. Absurd feelings are always had when you look back on your former self, before a life changing experience. I suppose this has occured to me often, after times of travel, happiness, hurt and everything wonderful and terrible that lies in between. I feel so jaded, like my mind can't even seem to catch up. It feels like pure exhaustion relief; something I have come to realise is a ridiculous feeling to have in a life so short. I almost feel dramatic really but I would rather be just right here in comparison to anywhere else. I feel naive, but this is what happens. We become so concerned with bigger and more complicating things in life that we forget the essentials. We forget pure and easy pleasure. We always worry about not having enough to say, having too much to say; being too much of this or not enough of that.... rarely moments like these, honestly.

If I could describe how I feel it would be like sitting on a cloud. I sit here in bed and wonder how many people get to feel this - how many right now? How many will never be absent of stress. I wonder so often what people are thinking in the moments they pass me. I hope that everyone gets to feel this perfect, if only for one tiny little moment amongst the many they experience...

Mmm... People & their crazy lives...

Sometimes human interaction is so comforting to observe.
I had to put these up... makes me warm and fuzzy.

***

Perfect night.

2011-08-30T09:53:00.001-07:00

...and I can't feel anything but gratitude for every single moment of my stupid little life...

Tuesday.

2011-08-15T19:11:00.000-07:00

"The thing is that I want it all next week, right now, this millisecond. The leader, the instigator, the creator, the cold origination; life should sparkle and rush, burn with fire, hot like melting steel, like freeze-burn from a comet. Be seriously involved with growing, with your own development, and never fear. Be the kind of person who is naturally powerful, positive, ingenious, open, to the highest degree, but with no interest in coercion or pressure or power over other people. That kind of power is hollow. It contains nothing and brings you nothing in the long run".

Today.

2011-08-15T01:29:00.000-07:00

“All flowers in time bend towards the sun, I know you say theres no one for you, But here is one”

- Jeff Buckley

Epiphany #34984

2011-08-14T10:34:00.000-07:00

Farm to fridge.

2011-08-14T09:51:00.001-07:00

I know this is just one perspective among many good ones but it made me vomit. My stomach is strong but I couldnt do it. Beware before watching.

http://youtu.be/THIODWTqx5E

or

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THIODWTqx5E

^_^

2011-08-12T19:50:00.001-07:00

Mi-ran-da.

2011-08-12T12:44:00.000-07:00

Miranda \m(i)-ran-da, mir(a)-nda\ as a girl's name is pronounced mer-ANN-dah. It is of Latin origin, and the meaning of Miranda is "worthy of admiration". In Shakespeare's "The Tempest".

Find yours.

2011-08-11T18:43:00.000-07:00

The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for
newer and richer experience." Eleanor Roosevelt

***

Colon Cancer: An Aussie problem

2011-08-11T10:42:00.000-07:00

So as a nutrition student, time and time again colon/bowel cancer comes up and facts and figures are always shown, prevention methods are given and causes are always stated. However it's actually fucked how many Australians are diagnosed with bowel cancer. It is so easily preventable with some good old resistant starch or probiotics added to the diet.

This whole blog has stemmed from a little book I started reading about disorders of the digestive system. Admittedly the pictures were very pretty (I love microscope slides) but feel free to look at them and then read the rest of my ranting.

The Facts and the Figures:

Colorectal cancer

Excluding non-melanoma skin cancer,(1) colorectal cancer, commonly called bowel cancer, is the second most common cancer in both men and women in Australia. Eighty per cent of cases have no known hereditary genetic associations. Colorectal cancer is preceded by adenomas (polyps), which may become invasive cancer if undetected.

Incidence and mortality

There are more than 14,000 new cases each year. The risk of being diagnosed by age 85 is 1 in 10 for men and 1 in 14 for women.

In 2007, there were 4047 deaths from colorectal cancer.

- From the Cancer Council Australia website.

Prevention

How much fibre is enough?

Reports suggest you should be eating 30g of fibre each day, yet most of us probably eat around 10-12g. A banana contains 1.8g of fibre, as does 1 slice of wholemeal bread.

How do you build fibre into your diet?

Replace lower fibre foods with high fibre foods.
Eat vegetables and fruit raw, whenever possible. Boiling too long can cause up to one half of the fibre to be lost in the water. Steam or stir-fry them, if you cook them.
Replace fruit or vegetable juice with the whole fruit – fruit skins and membranes are a particularly good source of fibre.
Always start your day with a bowl of high-fibre cereal – one that has five or more grams per serving.
Add fresh fruit to your cereal for an extra fibre dose. Sprinkle wheat germ or bran on top of cold cereals. Mix wheat germ or bran with hot cereals while they are cooking.
Add bran cereal to muffins, breads and casseroles.
Buy and eat only whole grains.

Not all who wander are lost.

2011-08-09T20:48:00.000-07:00

Not all who wander are lost...

wanderingpresent participle of wan·der (Verb)

1. Walk or move in a leisurely, casual, or aimless way.

2. Move slowly away from a fixed point or place: "

Sometimes its nice to wander; to be free.
It seems strange really - not having to attempt adequacy.
I only have to worry about myself,
Everything else can just fall into place as it so chooses.
And although I wander, my path is still clear.
I know what I want and I will get there eventually.
Just you watch.

Sunday afternoon

2011-08-07T12:19:00.000-07:00

Here are a few of my unedited pics from this afternoons photography mission. Hopefully I will get some proper ones up with some touching up but I love how rough these are... gives a real feel for the type of afternoon it was and the beauty of the building at that time of day. How I love afternoon lighting...

Grief.

2011-08-06T09:58:00.000-07:00

They say that there are these 'stages' of grief.

I feel like I've lived through them over and over...

I lose out, I find peace, I keep going.

And the hardest things about an end to things are the way things sway.

They may start off good or bad or somewhere in between...

But no matter where they start they always shift.

Shit in the long term is not hard to deal with when you put your mind to it,

Yet in the short, its hard when someone you care about feels the need to inflict hurt on you.

Why do these things happen? I will never know.

But if the cycle is not broken, this will never get better.

Here's to the future - may it be brighter and clearer than the now.

Build something beautiful...

2011-08-05T07:31:00.000-07:00

"Do not think of today's failures, but of the success that may come tomorrow. You have set yourselves a difficult task, but you will succeed if you persevere; and you will find a joy in overcoming obstacles. Remember, no effort that we make to attain something beautiful is ever lost..." Helen Keller

Nutrition PREVENTION?

2011-08-03T01:01:00.000-07:00

I am currently in the library at uni but have far too many issues running through my head - gahh.... why am I so passionate about all this health stuff. I will not complete this blog until later tonight.. for anyone who may possibly be reading.

Nutritional potential of food products

It honestly feels like companies, food scientists and advertising is seriously diminishing our opportunity of gaining the most out of our foods. Shelf life concerns cause multiple preservatives to be added to shit, colourings and additives increase consumer appeal, just chemical techniques in food science are especially damaging to products but its all about the money....

I guess this is harsh reality. I know this. It doesn't mean that I'm not going to raise awareness though. Ignorance is such an unfortunate fact of living and breathing in this world. We obviously can't know everything so that is why we need to help eliminate detrimental ignorance one piece of personally insignificant information at a a time...

New study set up...

2011-08-02T20:21:00.001-07:00

Motivation?

Sexology #1

2011-08-02T05:16:00.000-07:00

I was conned into doing this third year promotional unit and as much as I can't stand health promotion I am adoring the tutor and the discussions we have in class. Sexology is the unit by the way. It's amazing how endless sexual health is as a topic - so many branches, so many issues, so many interesting and wonderful things. We are sexual beings. Although sexual acts aren't necessarily vital for existence we are driven by our sexuality, our desires, instincts, attitudes, identities, pleasure sensors, curiosity, lust and intimacy. Sexology is such a taboo topic for a lot of people but sexuality is sacred, sex is something that is so healthy for us as humans if done in the right way.

Things I learnt in sexology today:
1. That men have more sensitive nipples than females

2. The number one "must do" for good sex is good lubricant containing silicone.

3. The more aroused you are as a female, the more loose your vagina will be before
intercourse.... although this is logical and quite obvious, it occured to me in class that some men think tight vagina means that you are sexually aroused...hmm.

4. A new product has been released in the US/UK that is a ball of lubricant which is inserted into the vagina and slowly releases and lubricates it over two days.

5. Females who smoke marijuana during week 6-7 of pregnancy are those most likely to produce children with 'ambiguous genetalia' because of the solubility of weed and sexual differentiation occuring in the foetus at that time.

6. Worldwide, 1 in 1200 people have 'ambiguous genetalia'.

One "controversial" issue came up today - sexual education for children. How young is too young? My tutor educates children who are 11 about the words 'cunt' etc.

I ACTUALLY HAVE SO MUCH TO SAY ABOUT THIS BUT NEED TO GO STUDY SOOOO
**** TO BE CONTINUED...
And as much as I hate popular radio music:
(OFF TOPIC BUT) Oh my god... on the radio on the way home I heard the lyrics 'Me like it when you...' and 'I ain't never gonna let ya steal him from me'......wtf?

We got the afternoon
You got this room for two
One thing I've left to do
Discover me
Discovering you

One mile to every inch of
Your skin like porcelain
One pair of candy lips and
Your bubblegum tongue

And if you want love
We'll make it
Swim in a deep sea
Of blankets
Take all your big plans
And break 'em
This is bound to be awhile

Your body is a wonderland
Your body is a wonder (I'll use my hands)
Your body is a wonderland

Something 'bout the way the hair falls in your face
I love the shape you take when crawling towards the pillowcase
You tell me where to go and
Though I might leave to find it
I'll never let your head hit the bed
Without my hand behind it

You want love?
We'll make it
Swim in a deep sea
Of blankets
Take all your big plans
And break 'em
This is bound to be awhile

Making it better.

2011-08-01T19:06:00.000-07:00

How very unexpected life can be.
Things that never seem like possibilities become them...
People you never hear from or even see can impact your life...
But the thing I am pondering most now is me.
I know where I am, and where I want to be.
Now its a matter of eliminating the bad and replacing with good.
But in a way I'm a little scared about this.
Did I blow it somehow already?

First impressions usually last right, although they might be jaded?
And although it seems insignificant amongst everything,

I hope I didn't throw away this chance before it had time to happen...

To do NOW

2011-07-29T19:57:00.000-07:00

I found this and thought it was really cute. Although obscure it puts into perspective the crazy yet worthwhile SIMPLE things we can do in life.......... when we get bored.

***

Puzzle pieces

2011-07-29T19:35:00.000-07:00

If you fit together enough pieces of a puzzle,
the picture becomes clearer :/

***More 'feel-goods'

2011-07-29T10:10:00.000-07:00

Another lot of my lame 'feel goods'...

Once.

2011-07-29T09:22:00.000-07:00

For those that have read a lot of my previous blogs it will be evident to you that this thought crosses my mind quite frequently. The more I experience life, taste new things, see new places, feel new emotions; the more I ponder this saying. Life is short but life is long - its a complete contradiction in itself. Our days are numbered but in the same regard, there are a lot of them to live if you waste your time doing nothing. And you know what - nothing is actually ever permanent. Life passes by, things come and things go and you can change the direction; your path, like the rudder of a boat, whenever you choose.

I suppose what I am saying is that new possibilities are always in reach, as long as you have the willpower or the freedom at heart to either stive for them or alternatively, allow yourself to fall into them. There are days where you will master this and everything will be at balance, just as there will be days where you'll risk everything, maybe fuck shit up and then get back on that horse. Nothing is permanent, not even entire cities, species of animals or civilisations. Everything comes and goes with time. I guess that's why you must make choices while you are young enough to embrace all that life offers.

I am becoming aware that this blog seems like ludicrous ranting and yes, it is to some degree. But the thing I enjoy most about my blogs is when I look back at each one I remember exactly what was happening in my life at the time and all the things I was thinking as I typed. This particular one is of significance as my mind is searching for ways to let go of being tied down and suppressed. It has just occured to me that I can easily keep myself afloat, but I am too young to take responsibility in doing this for others - especially when it consumes all my time and energy. It is hard when you have your eye on something and someone constantly tells you that you'll only forever be able to dream it. It is now that I have ultimate control, my path can change as I choose and I am quite content with knowing that this moment will be different from the next and many others I will experience in my short little lifetime....

Liver psoriasis and redbull

2011-07-29T09:00:00.000-07:00

I don't believe much of what I hear in the media - in particular facts and figures from television programs like today tonight. However I heard something today that I had never really thought too hard about - the possibility of redbull causing psoriasis of the liver. Perhaps it is obscure to think that a beverage so easily purchasable by anyone could be seriously damaging but upon assessing further information I am intrigued to find out the details.

I have previously read other articles about the negative effects of redbull. There have been people who have died after drinking more than three cans of redbull in combination with strenuous exercise, although in stating 'people' I have read of too. Also, I read an article of a man who had extreme bacterial growth around his liver due to drinking copious amounts of redbull. I am obviously not an idiot and definitely do not believe that energy drinks are healthy in any way but as for such serious issues as this, are there facts and figures that can correctly diagnose redbull as the problem?

I am going to do my best to research this but if anyone knows anything credible please let me know :)

New semester: what to remember

2011-07-25T03:12:00.000-07:00

Some awesome tips for semester 2....

Motivation

2011-07-25T02:59:00.000-07:00

The pill

2011-07-22T08:09:00.000-07:00

So for 50 years women have had the joy of oral contraception, regulated hormones and menstrual cycles but I've come to become skeptical of "the pill".

So my nutrition studies strike again! At uni we looked at how the pill reduces vitamin B absorption which is essential for the production of brain chemicals such as neurotransmitters. It's fucked that they don't tell you this when you're prescribed it. Do doctors even really know? As well as this, muscle tone/density is significantly reduced in women on the pill and moods are far more regulated in those whom are not.

I decided to stop taking the pill, purely for personal interest's sake. For three months I was off it and I had never felt better. My body started toning up so much more than usual, even with the same amount or less exercise. I was happy all the time, my moods were regulated and I seriously felt like I came out of a crazy coma. For those of you who don't know I was on the pill for 7 years and had never experienced time without it over that time. I highly recommend the experience to anyone who is skeptical.

So here's the other side of the story - care must be taken when coming off the pill. Obviously sexual care and monitoring of periods etc. are important. Sadly I am now back on the pill for some personal reasons but as soon as possible I will come straight back off for good. Yeah its nice not using condoms and such but nothing is worth the control.