When we think of qualities and attributes will get us to where we want to be in life, we normally think of things like motivation, ambition, determination, persistence, work ethic, and productivity. Working 6 or 7 days a week, getting up early, planning, and prioritizing are things that we typically thing of when we think of success and productivity.

But what if all of this was only partly true, and that the best thing you can do to be productive in life is actually the complete opposite of all of those things? Relaxation is something that often gets equated with laziness, but in reality it is one of the most productive things you can do for yourself and your career.

Relaxation allows you to actually get more done by preventing burn out, be more creative by preserving mental energy, keep your mind focused on one thing at a time to improve quality of work, and it allows you to enhance your own energetic state (which is the best thing you could produce). Here are some more reasons why relaxing is the most productive thing you can do:

I always tend to see a basic fault when I hear people talk about hoping for change in the world. It’s the idea that we see the notion of change as something happening outside of us, driven by some faceless group of elite scientists, inventors and leaders coming up with some revolutionary idea that would set the world on a different course.

The fault with this notion is that it comes from the same mould which gave form to the problem in the first place – separation. We feel that we are separate from all the atrocities happening in different corners of the world; separate from shady global deals done in the interest of the few; separate from the marvelous work done by selfless peacekeepers and volunteers; separate from the bloodied hands of our previous generation and the problems of the next generations.

We think that we are helpless, innocent and powerless in the face of all this and that the change we expect ‘has’ to come from others, individuals, collectives or nations.

“Live authentically. Why would you continue to compromise something that’s beautiful to create something that is fake?” ~Steve Maraboli

From the way we have been brought up, many of us have learned to conform so that society accepts us. Society has taught us that if we want to live safely we need to compromise ourselves, not listen and trust our inner voice, but follow the rules dictated by other people. By not truly expressing our authentic self, however, we can only live a life or sadness and misery, and unless we embrace our self and dare to reveal it to the world just the way it is, our life will never get any better.

Here are three important reasons why you should make sure to stop compromising and always be your authentic self:

Kristin Wartman, Guest
Waking Times

Chemicals and additives found in the food supply and other consumer products are making headlines regularly as more and more groups  raise concern over the safety of these substances. In a recent statement, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) asked for reform to the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976. The group is particularly concerned about the effects these substances have on children and babies.

Last month, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) held hearings on the safety of food dyes but failed to make a definitive ruling—the most recent study on Bisphenol-A (BPA) added to growing doubts about its safety but the FDA’s stance remains ambiguous. Meanwhile, in 2010, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) reported that the FDA is not ensuring the safety of many chemicals.

We often speak of the universe being a reflection of ourselves, and point to how the eye, veins, and brain cells mirror visual phenomenon in the natural universe. As above so below right? Well check this out. How about the idea that the universe is a giant brain? The idea of the universe as a ‘giant brain’ has been proposed by scientists and science fiction writers for decades, but now physicists say there may be some evidence that it’s actually true (in a sense).

The Study

According to a study published in Nature’s Scientific Reports, the universe may be growing in the same way as a giant brain - with the electrical firing between brain cells ‘mirrored’ by the shape of expanding galaxies. The results of a computer simulation suggest that “natural growth dynamics” – the way that systems evolve – are the same for different kinds of networks – whether its the internet, the human brain or the universe as a whole.

The Kyocera Corporation is transforming an abandoned golf course into a solar power farm, with ambition to partner and repeat the same sustainable work elsewhere in Japan.

Incredible news: An abandoned and bankrupt golf course is being transformed into a solar power station by the Kyocera Corporation.

Last week, the business announced it would turn the former golf course in Kyoto into a 23-megawatt solar farm; the artist’s rendition is shown above.

Once the solar power farm is finished and online (in 2017), it will generate enough electricity to power 8,100 homes.