Tag: encyclopaedia

Posted in Life & Happiness

Dull Knife

Posted on by Jinavie

Which is more dangerous in the kitchen: a sharpened knife or a dull knife? Common sense would dictate that the sharpened knife is obviously more dangerous as it can cut you more easily. But as every chef will tell you, a dull knife is much more dangerous.

This is because a sharp knife will cut through your ingredients with ease and as long as you handle it with care and pay attention, the risk of cutting yourself is very low.
A dull knife on the other hand, will often slip and slide over the ingredient because it can’t cut straight through. This makes it more likely that it will slip off the food and slice your fingers instead.

Think of your relationships as a knife. Like with anything, we become used to and comfortable with our partners and friends over time. We sometimes unintentionally become lazy and careless around them, forgetting basic etiquette and the effort we put in at the start to cultivate that relationship. Much like a dull knife, we can easily make a mistake and deeply hurt the other person in this state. It might be because you accidentally said something hurtful or lost interest in their passions. In general, it is easier to become less attentive and thoughtful of the other person because you have been “dulled”.

No master chef would keep their knives unsharpened, for how could they prepare a delicious meal if they did not care? We expect our relationships to be immortal in the face of time thanks to the power of love, but the heart and soul will wear out like anything else without proper care and maintenance.

So how do we know how often to “sharpen” our relationships? It’s simple: stay mindful that your relationship is something that needs constant care.

Be attentive to the other person, be generous with your kindness and never take them for granted. The best way to prevent you from being dulled to something is constantly reminding yourself how grateful you are to have that person in your life. That way, your metaphorical knife will stay sharpened and it will be much harder to hurt your loved ones.

(Image source: Puuung http://www.grafolio.com/puuung1)

Posted in Life & Happiness

Bullet Journal: Migration And Collections

Posted on by Jinavie

(This post is a part of the series “How to Bullet Journal”. Read the rest here: https://jineralknowledge.com/tag/howtobujo/?order=asc)

The final part of starting a bullet journal is knowing how to migrate and how to truly make it your own, unique journal by using Collections.

Migration is the task of reviewing your entries for the past month and then re-grouping for the next month. At the end of the month, look back on your Tasks and see which were not completed. If you feel you do not need to do it any more, cancel them by crossing them out. If you feel it is important enough that you need to do it this month, you can migrate the task over. You can do this by using a notation, such as turning a “.” into a “>”. Migration is simply reassigning the task to the new month so you have another chance to complete it.

The key is to avoid migrating the same task over and over, but to recognise that it is a “second chance” so you prioritise it higher. Along with migrating Tasks, you can look back on the month and see what interesting things happened. It is also a good time to review how you liked your spread and experiment with different page layouts for the next month.

Using knowledge from these three articles, you have the bare framework of a bullet journal. But the beauty of a bullet journal is how customisable it is. Collections are basically everything else you can put into a journal to make it truly your own.

A Collection can be as simple as a list, such as a list of all the books you read or want to read, movies you have enjoyed or recipes that you want to try out. It could be more innovative, such as a log of when you caught up with friends, or a collection of stories from your life or from people that you met while travelling. You could devote a page to practise your handwriting, or make a Brain Dump where you can write down all the random thoughts in your head to try clear your mind.

A common, useful tool is a Tracker, which is a simple record of when you have done something. You could do this on a weekly or monthly basis and all you have to do is make a grid and colour in the squares of the days you have done something. This is a great way to keep track of your habits and things you want to do more often, such as exercise or getting enough sleep.

The bullet journal is a carte blanche – you can do whatever you want with it. So grab a notebook and a pen and try jotting some things down. You will be surprised how powerful such a simple tool can be, and you will notice the impact it has on your life through the power of organisation and creativity.

Examples from my Bullet Journal:

Tracker – Try different colour schemes to easily see how well you are keeping up a certain habit. Note that the Leuchtturm 1917 dotted notebook makes it easy to create a grid.

Collection of books, movies, whiskey – Let your creativity flow and try out different designs to make your lists look more interesting.

Other examples of collections – A collection can be whatever you want. Think of some ideas of things you want to record in your “Life Archive”.

Note: There are a lot of material on the internet on how to make a bullet journal – simple or elaborate – thanks to the amazing community. Check out the original video made by the creator as well: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fm15cmYU0IM

Posted in Life & Happiness

Bullet Journal: Modules

Posted on by Jinavie

(This post is a part of the series “How to Bullet Journal”. Read the rest here: https://jineralknowledge.com/tag/howtobujo/?order=asc)

Now that we know the basic format of the Bullet Journal, it is time to organise it. Think of the bullet journal as a framework, where you can hang different types of modules to better organise your life.

First, use the first few pages of the notebook to set up a Key for your Bullets, then an Index. The index is simply a way to keep track of what content is on which pages. This can be used to keep track of date ranges, or collections.

Next, it is helpful to create a Future Log. This is a barebone view of things to come in the next six months. Make it simple and minimalistic so you can easily refer to it when you are filling in your Monthly Logs later.

The Monthly Log is a place where you can have an overview of the current month. This could be as simple as a list ranging from the first to the last day of the month, or a traditional calendar shape. Put important dates and events on the log so that you can remind yourself in your Weekly or Daily Log. This is a place where you can form a basic plan for the month.

The basic unit of the bullet journal is the Daily Log, but this can be organised in different ways.

Some people choose to use a minimalistic style where they simply write Daily Logs day-after-day until the month is over. This style is useful if you like to keep things very simple and like to quickly jot things down.

A more common form is using a Weekly Log to have set spaces for the Daily Log of each day in a week. This requires slightly more set-up, where you draw up a Spread for the Weekly Log. For example, you could divide the pages into seven large boxes. The benefit of this style is that you can plan up to a week in advance, so you can record your Events ahead of time and remind yourself. It also lets you get more creative as you can fill the empty spaces with other useful modules.

This is the barebone form of the bullet journal. Once you are ready to start, draw up a key, index, Future Log and a Monthly Log for this month. Then, write today’s date and start writing a Daily Log. You will find that it is awkward at the start, but the more you use your journal, the more you will find yourself figuring out exactly what the bullet journal means to you. Is it simply a planner, or a place to release your creative side?

In the last section, we look at Migration and Collections, to see how we sustain bullet journaling as a hobby, while making it unique and creative.

Examples from my Bullet Journal:

Future Log – Minimalistic style, dots represent month. This style allows you to keep adding to the log out of order. Colour coding is a helpful way to organise different kinds of events.

Index – First page is an index of collections, while the next page is an index of what page to turn to for each Monthly Log

Monthly Log – Calendar style, note the Habit Tracker on the side (to be discussed in the next section)

Weekly Log – Simple version, pre-divided sections but Daily Log is still the classic style

Weekly Log – Variation, notice how Tasks and Thoughts have been moved to a separate section, with a small section to remind you of Events in the short-term future.

Posted in Life & Happiness

Bullet Journal: Basics And Bullets

Posted on by Jinavie

(This post is a part of the series “How to Bullet Journal”. Read the rest here: https://jineralknowledge.com/tag/howtobujo/?order=asc)

Life can become so busy that sometimes we lose track of things we need to do and things we have done already. A great way to keep track and organise your life is keeping a journal or planner. However, many people find this habit hard to keep up as it can be time-consuming to write diary entries and keeping a rigid planner can be quite cumbersome and boring.

A digital product designer from New York named Ryder Carroll decided to create a simpler system of journaling to combat these problems. The end-result of his many experiments is the Bullet Journal system.
A bullet journal is a note-taking system that is simple, rapid, highly customisable and forgiving.
The point of the system is that it can be as simple and minimalistic as you want, while forgiving you for making mistakes.
The strength of a bullet journal is that because it is so easy to use, it only takes 5-10 minutes of your day.

Your entries should be short, succinct and to-the-point to reduce the time and effort it takes. Because it is non-restrictive and customisable, you can tailor it to your own style and make it interesting so that you can keep it up as a habit.
It is a powerful tool that lets you plan for the future, organise your present and keep a record of your past. Essentially, it is an analogue archive of your life.

Although certain notebooks such as the Leuchtturm 1917 Dotted notebook is best thanks to its customisability, any notebook that you have lying around can become a bullet journal. In fact, it is a great idea to trial a bullet journal on an empty notebook to see if it fits your personality and to experiment with different styles and spreads to make it work the best for you.

Bullet journals utilise different kinds of bullets to simplify your life. It is useful to use three distinctive bullets: Tasks, Events and Notes.

  • A Task is something you have to do. You could use a “.” to denote a task, then cross it with a “X” when it is done. If you can’t finish the task by the set date, you can mark it as “>” to show that you have migrated it, meaning that you will do it by a new due date. Alternatively, you could draw a square for a task, fill in half of it when it is in progress, then completely fill it in when it is finished.
  • An Event is either a scheduled appointment or something that has occurred that day. You can use an “O” bullet, then tick it when it is finished. For example, if you have a dinner or doctor’s appointment, or if a friend just got engaged, you can mark it as an event.
  • Notes are essentially “everything else”. You can use a “–” to mark these. These can be a reminder to yourself of something that happened that day, a thought you had, or an observation you made. Essentially, anything from that day that you wanted to record in the journal can be written as a note.
  • The bullet journal is extremely customisable. This means that you can come up with your own bullets depending on what you want to record. For example, you may use “!” for a thought that crossed your mind or “?” to record something you learnt or want to look up later.
  • Bullets can be modified with signifiers, such as putting a “*” next to it to mark how important it is.
  • Because everyone has different preferences on what kind of bullets they use, it is helpful to create a Key at the start of your notebook so that it can index the different bullets you use and describe what they denote.

At its most basic form, all you need is the date, followed by a bullet point list. It’s as simple as that. This is the Daily Log.

That’s all you need to know to start bullet journaling. In the next section, we will look at different modules such as the Monthly Log and Future Log to better organise your life

Examples from my Bullet Journal:

Simplified guide to Bullet Journaling

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Key – Note that I use squares as I am used to it from working in the medical field

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Daily/weekly log – Very minimalistic style, this is the best way to start bullet journaling as it is simple and does not require much effort

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Posted in Life & Happiness

Oreo Fudge

Posted on by Jinavie

The following is a recipe to making a simple yet delicious fudge. Because it is a “cold fudge”, it requires little baking skills and can be made even by a rookie in the kitchen.

Ingredients:

  • Icing sugar 4 cups
  • Cream cheese 225g
  • White chocolate 425g
  • Vanilla extract 1.5 teaspoons
  • Oreo cookies (chopped) 14-15 (1 packet)

Instructions:

  1. Beat cream cheese, icing sugar and vanilla in a bowl using a mixer until smooth
  2. Heat white chocolate in a bowl set over a pot of simmering water (double boiler) until melted and smooth
  3. Stir melted white chocolate and ¾ of Oreo cookies into bowl of cream cheese mixture
  4. Spread mixture evenly into a baking dish lined with baking paper
  5. Press the remaining chopped Oreo cookies onto the surface of the fudge to decorate
  6. Chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours
  7. Cut into small squares (2-2.5cm size), serve chilled (store in fridge)
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(Recipe and image source: http://www.bunsinmyoven.com/2013/12/13/oreo-fudge/)

Posted in History & Literature

Headline

Posted on by Jinavie

With the advent of the internet, the media has become faster and more accessible than ever before. Nowadays, breaking news is reported within minutes and you can browse multiple different news agency at the click of a button. But speed and access has become a double-edged sword, with many articles following a trend of focussing less on the content (or the truth) and more on how sensational the headline is, so that more people will click on it (known as clickbait).

Sensational headlines have always been popular, particularly in tabloid journalism. Headlines such as “Are the government lying about event X?” or “Have scientists found the cure to cancer?” attract people as hypothetical questions allow journalists to report on something without conclusive facts or evidence. Luckily, there is an old journalistic adage that allows us to combat this.

Betteridge’s law of headlines was devised by technology journalist Ian Betteridge, based on an old journalistic principle. It states that: 

“Any headline that ends in a question mark can be answered by the word no”. 

If you apply this law to the above sensational articles, then you can avoid wasting time reading an article that will add nothing to your knowledge.

Learning is not only about acquiring knowledge, but also knowing what “knowledge” to avoid.

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Posted in History & Literature

Sword Of Damocles

Posted on by Jinavie

Damocles was a courtier to Dionysius II, king of Syracuse, Sicily. One day, he exclaimed how envious he was of the sheer power and authority the king wielded. To Damocles’ surprise, King Dionysius II responded by offering to switch places with him for a day to experience what it is like to be a king. Damocles jumped at this chance and agreed to it immediately.

So Damocles was changed into royal attire and was allowed to sit on an ornate throne. But as he sat on the throne, indulging in the magnificence he was surrounded by, he noticed that Dionysius had arranged for an addition to the throne room. He had arranged for a large sword to be hung above the throne, suspended on a single hair of a horse’s tail. The sword loomed over Damocles’ head, threatening to drop and kill him in an instant at any given moment.

The constant threat of death was too much for Damocles and he quickly begged the king for mercy to leave the throne. He finally understood that with great power, comes great danger around every corner. It was impossible for Damocles to enjoy the luxurious life of a king with a sword above his head.

The allegorical sword may not just be the threat of death. Many of us voluntarily hang a sword above our heads: anxiety for the future, paranoia that something will go wrong and of course, existential dread. How can we possibly be happy with a sword dangling above us? Happiness cannot blossom from a soul drenched in fear.

Look above you: what kind of sword hangs above your head? What is preventing you from being happy?

Posted in Life & Happiness

Silliness

Posted on by Jinavie

When we play with children and babies, we become silly. We make faces, use made-up words and play make believe. It seems that we have an innate drive to make as much of our interactions with children positive and fun. Perhaps this stems from a protective instinct; we wish to shield the innocent from the harsh realities of life. So instead of teaching cynicism and negativity, we encourage children to enjoy life and to be happy.

Yet we see adults doing the complete opposite. Acting silly is deemed immature and unseemly. Many cultures even condemn smiling and laughter because they believe it is the sign of an insincere fool. So instead of breaking into song and dance like any child would, many of us put on our most serious face and try to look “mature” and professional. In fact, this is beaten in to us so much during our twenties and thirties that a significant number of people forget the joy of being silly.

Why is it that we can only be silly in the company of children? Why do we forget that deep inside every adult, there hides an inner child wanting to enjoy life? So many people lament that they are unhappy while they deny themselves the infinite source of happiness they hold within.

It takes a very deep level of unhappiness for you to be incapable of smiling at the sight of a laughing baby. Remember that we were all happy children at one point in our lives. That child still lives in on us as we age – all they long for is for you to play and be silly with them.

Try singing a cliché pop song in the shower. Pretend you are in a musical and put a skip in your step while you listen to your favourite song. Laugh at how ridiculous you look while playing air guitar in front of the mirror.

Life is so much more enjoyable when you see it through the eyes of your inner child.

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Posted in Life & Happiness

On Tiredness

Posted on by Jinavie

“I’m tired because I didn’t get enough sleep last night.”
“I’m tired even though I’ve slept enough last night.”

“I’m tired because I have too much work to do.”
“I’m tired because I’m finishing up work.”

“I’m tired because I haven’t had coffee yet.”
“I’m tired even though I’ve drank coffee.”

“I’m tired because it’s Monday.”
“I’m tired because it’s Tuesday.”
“I’m tired because it’s Wednesday.”
“I’m tired because it’s Thursday.”
“I’m tired because it’s Friday.”

You aren’t tired when you are at a concert.
You aren’t tired when you’re fully immersed in a movie.
You aren’t tired when you’re on a date with someone you love.
You aren’t tired when you are doing something that you enjoy.

If you feel tired every day, then that is a sign you are doing something that you hate.
Instead of making another cup of coffee, try finding something that you love doing.

Your tiredness will simply melt away.

(Image source: Puuung http://www.grafolio.com/puuung1)

(from 1cm+ by Eun Joo Kim)

Posted in Life & Happiness

Standards Of Happiness

Posted on by Jinavie

If we list some things that affect our happiness, they can sound a little ridiculous.

The angle the chair reclines to, where you sit at the meeting table, the country your bag was made in, a few letters at the sole of your shoes, the number of toilets at home…

Or respectively:

Business class or economy, boss or employee, “Made in Italy” or “Made in China”, famous brand or cheap brand, one-bedroom apartment or three-bedroom house.

Just a few hundred years ago, these things were not standards of happiness.
These standards were artificial sources of happiness created by consumerism to promote constant spending, or to create competitiveness to improve productivity.

Artificial happiness is usually relative. No matter how much you own, if you meet someone who owns more, you will feel unhappy.
Happiness itself has become a competition.

On the other hand, we also have these sources of happiness:

The number of friends who you can really connect with, flowers and trees, caring and love from your family, a healthy body, a delicious meal.

Above are natural sources of happiness that are absolute rather than relative. This means that once you achieve them, you do not feel less or more happy when you compare yourself to others.
Natural happiness was likely the standard of happiness hundreds of years ago, and will remain so hundreds of years in the future.
Natural happiness enriches the relationship to your soul.

In modern life, we are often systemically pushed into seeking artificial happiness.
But if you only seek artificial happiness, we will forget the absolute happiness we get from natural happiness, and be put in an ironic situation where we are competing to be happier than others.

What kind of happiness are you living today?

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(Image source: Puuung http://www.grafolio.com/puuung1)

(from 1cm+ by Eun Joo Kim)