Elvis the Universe & Everything: 2011-03-13

The Many Worlds Theory

"Physicist Hugh Everett proposed that when a quantum measurement is performed, rather than the wave function collapsing into merely one outcome, every possible outcome will actualize. In the process of actualizing, the universe will split into as many versions of itself as needed to accommodate all possible measurement results. This gives rise to the (rather unwieldy but definitely mind-expanding) notion that there are innumerable parallel universes where all the quantum potentialities are played out.

Take a moment to digest that concept - anytime you make a choice, there are innumerable parallel possibilities or outcomes of that choice occurring at once!"

Some of my favourite films

The Big Blue: Jean Marc Barr is gorgeous and the scenery and story are divine.

10: Dudley Moore is one of the funniest screen drunks I've ever seen. Watch this if you need to laugh.

My Life As A Dog, Lars Haelstrom. A beautiful, moving film from the director of:

The Shipping News: Kevin Spacey, Judi Dench, Kate Blanchett - incredible performances and an eerily beautiful setting.

The Graduate: Dustin Hoffman's debut. This film is classy and funny and completely of its time.

Crazy Heart: Jeff Bridges deservedly won an Oscar for this. A beautiful, sweeping epic of a film.

Love Actually: Doesn't Richard Curtis do a great job? This is a brilliant feel-good film. And why not?

Bringing Up Baby: Katherine Hepburn & Cary Grant. Need I say more?

The Wonder Boys: A revelation of a film. Funny, moving, and a delightfully surprising performance from Michael Douglas.

Something's Gotta Give: I adore this film. Diane Keaton and Jack Nicholson are brilliant but even they are overshadowed for me by the Hamptons House. One of the funniest films I've seen.

Funny Girl: I love Barbra Streisand and she is a brilliant comedic actress. Have you ever seen "What's Up Doc?" with her and Ryan O'Neil? Hysterical. But Funny Girl has everything - music, drama, humour...and Omar Sharif.

Sophie's Choice: Meryl Streep, need I say more? This film had me prostrated on the floor howling.

How Stella Got Her Groove Back: Angela Bassett, Whoopie Goldberg and the Caribbean.

French Kiss: Kevin Kline is brilliant as a French petty thief and it has the delectable Jean Reno. Too funny.

Top Hat: a masterpiece of its time.

The Boat That Rocked: Another Curtis and just too funny.

I'm bored now, and so probably are you, so I'll come back another time.

Neuroplasticity

"Neuroplasticity is the term for the brain's ability to form new connections."

"The brain likes surprises. After a surprise, the neuroplasticity in the brain goes way up. It's easy to see why: suppose you're walking in the jungle and Aunt Rosie in a leotard jumps out in front of you. Surprise!

Your brain has to immediately go into high gear to work out a way to deal with a new situation. Connections have to fire instantly to link up all possible solutions and help you choose among them. You have to process the information very quickly in order to survive.

Neuroplasticity also increases after laughter. ANd since neuroplasticity is the prime ingredient to learning, you learn better after having a good laugh."

Extract from "What the Bleep."

Extract from "Return To Love ' by Marianne Williamson

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, "Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?" Actually, who are you not to be?

You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that people won't feel insecure around you. We are meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us, it's in everyone. And as we let our light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we're liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

Marianne Williamson

We are all connected

"We are all connected. We are entangled: if you want to call it quantum entanglement fine. But we are entangled. And there is no real separation between us, so that what we do to another, we do to an aspect of our self.

None of us are innocent in that regard. There's something out there we don't like; we can't really turn our backs on it because we're co-creators, somehow or another.

And we have to do the right things to try to get the future that is best for all of us. That's our responsibility as co-creators.

And in the process, whether we become a politician, whether we become a theologian, whether we become a scientist or a doctor or whatever, we can all contribute to life and lift it to the utmost of our ability and do the things that are the best things to do.

Which require that we really think about things. We reflect and we act, recognizing that all the others are our brothers and sisters, and it's a family matter."

William Tiller Ph.D.

SOME OF MY FAVOURITE BOOKS

What The Bleep Do We Know?

The God Of Small Things - Arundati Roy

Don't Sweat The Small Stuff & It's All Small Stuff - Richard Carlson

Anything by Mark Rashid

22 Scotland Street - Alexander McCall Smith

The Story of O

Coastliners - Joanne Harris

I love Joanna Trollope

About A Boy - Nick Hornby - beautiful

Siddartha - Herman Hesse

Anything by Isabelle Allende & Amy Tan - fab!

Lots of Classics: Jane Austen, Emile Zola, Maupassant, oh I'll have to come back to this because I can't remember any of the books I've read!

I am rubbish x

Elvis the Universe & Everything

Monday 14 March 2011

Here Comes The Sun