Tapping into cosmic energy… (Part Three)

To learn more about practical methods to “unclog the pores” and how to cultivate a "porous" state, you’ve arrived at the right place. Well, we’re looking at something very real, without cosmic rays or mystical downloads, but just knowing the inner conditions that make a human mind more permeable, more intuitive, more insightful. When we talk about “unclogging the pores,” we’re describing the process of removing internal noise so that ideas, patterns, and insights can flow more freely. 

Let’s explore practical, grounded methods that genuinely cultivate this “porous” state — the same state that Mozart, Einstein, or Mother Teresa lived in. Let’s begin with “Quieting the Noise”, that is the foundation. We can’t be porous if our mind is jammed with static. A warning, the solutions sound simple but can be very demanding. It’s mindfulness meditation and takes at least 15 minutes daily. It’s not mystical and consists in just training your attention to stop jumping around.

In time, it will reduce our internal chatter, increase awareness of subtle thoughts, and improve emotional clarity, just like rinsing the pores of our skin. It’s demanding because it’s daily and needs to become a habit and it takes time that’s measured in years, not just hours. You’ll know when you get there. It will be where the “porous” state really begins. 

We’re teaching our mind to notice what it normally filters out. We need to cultivate our sense of observation or awe to literally quieten the brain’s self-focus regions and open us to the world through our senses. Following this, we must strengthen our subconscious “receiver”, like tuning a radio. This is where creativity, intuition, and insight emerge. 

We’re not pulling knowledge from the cosmos but we’re allowing our subconscious to surface what it already knows. This includes a period of incubation involving time, thus patience and the ability to let our minds drift among other tools. Then we must work on the emotional component to remove resistance. 

Porosity isn’t just cognitive, it’s emotional. So we start by letting go of perfectionism, choosing curiosity over control and self-compassion, which means that we need to remove the harsh critic that we often are. Finally, we need to use our body as a receiver, keeping in mind that a tense body results in a tense mind. We do this with our breath, where slow, deep breathing increases neural coherence and opens us literally as do light movement and natural immersion. 

This is the physiological version of opening the pores. When all this is achieved and all is aligned, insights feel like they come from “outside,” even though they’re emerging from the deepest layers of your own mind. This is what Mozart meant when he said music appeared “fully formed,” or what Einstein meant by “intuition.” This is what we’re pointing toward when we commit to it. Work smart at it, and good luck!

Tapping into cosmic energy… (Part Two)

We could say that the forces of our universe work in unison with the way our brain works. Our brain is constantly absorbing patterns, forming associations, recombining ideas, generating insights, noticing subtle cues and making leaps that feel sudden, but are built on years of subconscious processing. When our mind is quiet and receptive, these processes become more visible and feel like “inspiration arriving out of nowhere.” 

In fact, it’s not coming from outside, it’s inside, but it feels cosmic because it originates from a domain so vast that we can’t fully fathom it. If we aren’t as “porous” as Mozart or Einstein, the keys to let that universal wisdom rush in, can be found in mindfulness, the best “unclogging” mechanism that includes meditation, stillness, and even awe.

Mindfulness help reduce internal noise, increases neural coherence, improves attention, quiets the default mode network (especially the “self-chatter” region), enhances creativity, increases sensitivity to subtle patterns and improves emotional clarity. This is the mental equivalent of “opening up the pores.” Unlike what I might have thought or said before, we’re not absorbing cosmic energy by the cubic foot, we’re just removing the blockages that prevent our own mind from functioning at its highest capacity. 

In fact, Mozart and Einstein weren’t cosmic antennas but were both uncluttered minds. Amadeus Mozart described music as “already complete” in his mind, as if he were discovering it rather than inventing it. Albert Einstein said his ideas came as “intuitive leaps,” not logical steps. Their descriptions match what happens when the subconscious is highly active, the conscious mind gets out of the way, the person is deeply attuned to patterns, the internal critic shuts up or is at least quiet, the mind is in a state of flow. 

This feels like receiving something from beyond ourselves, but it’s really a measure of the mind functioning at its most open and integrated. I find this approach to be a modern, secular version of a very old idea where the insight comes not from force, but from receptivity. We are not looking at magic but mental permeability, that is the ability to let the world, ideas, patterns, and inspiration flow through us without resistance. 

It’s not mystical, it’s simply wisdom. This approach, I believe is not only coherent, it actually grasp a procedure that has existed for millennia and sees cosmic or universal energy as something that penetrates us to help us grow while clearing all the internal noises that make our lives so hard to live. 

If you don’t have the “porosity” of the famous folks we talked about and want to know how to get it, just stay tuned for the next episode...

Tapping into cosmic energy… (Part One)

The entire universe is immense and contains an almost unlimited amount of energy. So my thinking has always been “Why not tap a tiny bit of that energy, to help us when we need it and make our lives easier both from physical to a mental standpoint?” In fact, without a clear and definite answer to my question, I had intuitively believed it was possible. 

I thought it could happen by opening up, body and mind, and immerse ourselves into that unlimited sea of knowledge and power, just pulling the tiny bit we need of its immense content. How does this strike you? Perhaps what I’m saying here is actually more common, and more profound than people will admit. To me, “cosmic or universal energy” is not literally a physical substance like some parcels delivered by Amazon. 

Instead, it’s a permeable model, as if we were immersed into vast substance, and our degree of openness would determines what we received and perceived. This could mirror a view held by a limited few that have thought already about this. What I’m trying to define is a real psychological phenomenon. Not a few magical cosmic rays, nor a literal energy transfer, but something far more subtle and far more powerful. Something that would make our mind becomes more creative, insightful, and perceptive when it’s open, quiet, and receptive. 

This is not mysticism either. It’s more like neuroscience, psychology, and lived experience. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Albert Einstein, and many others didn’t “receive” knowledge from the universe like a computer downloads a new update, but by cultivating a mental state that allowed ideas to emerge to their attention with unusual clarity and fluency. This in fact is the mechanism I want to discuss and try to explain. 

For instance, Trump stands at the opposite end of this spectrum of awareness, by remaining totally impenetrable untouched by the forces of the universe. “Porous to the cosmos” could be a metaphor for the cognitive openness I’m trying to explain. This means a heightened pattern recognition, a deeper intuition, the ability to hold complex ideas lightly and keep a mind that doesn’t fight or resist insights. 

That also implies a nervous system that isn’t cluttered with noise and a capacity to easily “go with the flow”. These are measurable traits that have nothing supernatural about them. They’re just psychological and neurological and can be cultivated. We are in fact immersed in a “sea of knowledge” and it’s up to us to let it soak in or work at improving our own “porosity”. 

Tomorrow, I’ll share with you what really goes inside the process of opening up the pores...

Dialing down to last longer… (Part Two)

As we continue aging, we also need to build more predictability into our activities as accidents often come from surprises due to terrain, weather, fatigue, traffic, or other people. We’ll be safer if we choose conditions we know we can handle well, like avoiding crowded days or knowing when to stop before we’re tired. It’s not fear, it’s simply strategy. 

Let’s not neglect good equipment that can compensate for aging reflexes and stability. For instance, better helmets, goggles, bindings, and skis well tuned. Cars with advanced driver-assist features, reverse view screen, or bikes with disk brakes and all the modern accessories. We should also train for stability, not just strength, as with age, our biggest accident risks come from slower reaction time, reduced balance and reduced ability to correct a mistake.

These measures don’t just make us safer, they make you feel younger. We must be willing to listen to our bodies “whispers” before they become “shouts”, as our body never fails to give us early warnings long before it breaks down. What I mean are slight hesitation, a moment of imbalance, a sense of being “off”, a little stiffness or a tiny lapse in focus. 

When we were young, we could ignore these, older we shouldn’t. We also need to redefine what “risk” means. It’s not just the chance of injury, but it’s losing the ability to keep doing what we love. This doesn’t mean that, as BB King sings “The thrill is gone”, as we don’t need to eliminate excitement, simply just recalibrate it. 

Like skiing groomers more often now instead of fighting the trees or drive spiritedly on the open roads, not in heavy traffic, cycle hard on familiar paths, not unpredictable ones. Reframe aging as an evolution, not a decline. The most active older people aren’t the ones who fight aging; they’re the ones who adapt to it. Let’s stay curious, disciplined, and self-aware. 

We don’t stop moving, we just adapt the way we move. With this said, Lindsey Vonn’s unfortunate fall at the Olympics wasn’t in vain, but she delivered a strong teaching moment to all of us who still believe we’re 25 but are no longer there...

Dialing down to last longer… (Part One)

A few days ago, following Lindsey Vonn’s accident a the Olympics, I felt grateful to her for reminding me that, as we age, we must slow down or at least control our expectations when it come to performance. From that indisputable reality, I wonder how does highly active and competitive persons can dial down the personal risk they take, and the effort they make as they age, so they don't get into trouble or are exposed to the kind of bad accidents generally linked to an advancing age?

It’s absolutely true that the years don’t totally erase an active person’s identity, they simply affects the rate of certain risks. The real challenge is psychological. Our instincts, confidence, and appetite for intensity stay young, while our reactions like time, balance, and recovery quietly and inexorably shift. 

The trick is not to stop living boldly, but to adapt the way we take risks, so we stay in the game instead of getting sidelined by preventable accidents. As we age, brute force and split‑second reactions become less reliable but, smoothness, skill, precision, and planning become our new superpowers. For instance, when I get on the hill to ski, this new paradigm pushes me to control my boards even more effortlessly with cleaner lines instead of pushing maximum speed. 

When I drive my car, I focus infinitely more, pay as much attention as I can, I’m much more courteous, patient and in all cases, I’m not doing less, and whatever I do is much smarter. In my vocabulary and mind’s eye, I’m replacing “proving myself” with “preserving myself”. 

Younger people often push limits to test themselves. Older folks push limits to stay alive and active for decades. This should make us say: “I’m not here to win the day — I’m here to win the next 20 years!” Such a mindset naturally reduces unnecessary risk-taking. Tomorrow, we’ll add a few more crucial tools to our quiver, so come back for more! 

Managing liars (Part Two)

So we know one or a few confirmed liars. What are we going to do with them? Attempt to reform them, put them in the fridge, hope for some miracle or exile them faraway? What kind of relationship will we choose to carry on with them in the future, if any? 

If we still want to be friends with someone who lies, remember that friendship requires trust. If someone’s lying erodes that trust, the friendship becomes lopsided and unsafe. Can we even be friends with a liar if the untruths told are small, infrequent, or rooted in insecurity? Maybe, if the individual is willing to talk about it, show remorse and grow out of the practice. 

All of this is theory, instead I tend to go with “Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me” a 17th century proverb, advising that while being deceived the first time is the offender's fault, being fooled again is the victim's fault for not learning from the experience. So, I can’t be friends with a liar if I must feel anxious around them or am constantly second-guessing what they say.

This holds also true if we see them lying to manipulate or control, Just remember that friendship is voluntary; we don’t owe anyone access to our inner life. Then there’s the question as to whether liars can be reformed? The answer is NO for me, but could be YES, only if the truth manipulator wants to be. Let’s remember that people can change when they fully recognize the harm they’ve caused and feel safe enough to tell the truth. 

They must also be motivated to build healthier patterns and practice honesty even when it’s uncomfortable. People won’t change if they continue to see lying as a very effective tool, blame others for their behavior, deny their lying problem and continue to benefit from the deception it procures them. We can encourage honesty, but we cannot force integrity.

It’s up to the individual to decide, and I don’t know about you, but I’m still incapable of reading other people’s minds too well. Finally, should we shun liars or what level of access does this person’s behavior earn? Trust is not a moral judgment — it’s a calculation. We should certainly distance ourselves when someone’s lying consistently harms us or others. 

That’s not cruelty — it’s self-respect. What we shouldn’t do is humiliate or punish liars and declare them “bad people”. Instead we can choose to limit the access they have to us, not place ourselves in their way and don’t rely on them. Boundaries are not rejection, they’re clarity. 

Now, I hope you’ve got some useful tools to navigate the murky waters of dealing with a person whose proven track record was never to be reliant about telling the truth...

Managing liars (Part One)

How do we deal with liars once they’re identified as such? What form will our relationship take with them? These are brave and important questions, and it’s a good thing that they don't stop at just asking “how to spot dishonesty”, but what to do with that knowledge. 

Human relationships are messy, and lying sits right at the intersection of trust, fear, insecurity, and self‑protection. There isn’t a single “correct” response, but there are patterns that should help us navigate it with clarity and self‑respect. We’ve seen before that not all lies and liars are the same. People lie for very different reasons and it’s important to understand the type of lying they use to helps us decide how to respond. 

Let’s start with the situational or fear-based liars, those who lie because they’re scared of consequences, embarrassment, or conflict. There is a figment of hope with that group as it can change, because some individuals usually feel guilt. In fact, they may lie less when they feel safe enough to be honest. Next, we have the habitual liars, those who lie reflexively, even when the truth would be easier. They’ve often learned lying as a coping mechanism and if they’re willing and able to put in the effort, they might change, but I wouldn’t bet the farm on it.

The following and scarier group are the manipulative or self-serving liars who lie to control, exploit, or gain advantage. These are dangerous dudes. They rarely change without major consequences or professional help, so don’t ever touch them with a ten foot pole! That brings me to the subject of whether or not we should consider working with someone who lies. 

 This might be tried, but only with boundaries. We could work with someone who uses fear-based or minor lies, if they acknowledge their behavior, show consistent effort to improve, and we are clear-headed about what to expect and can live with the consequences. Clearly, do not work with someone who lies if they use it to manipulate outcomes, deny or justify their flaw and use them to harm others or undermine trust in the team. 

If a liar ever is a candidate for working in a professional setting, the key is structure with documented agreements in writing what the expectations are and there can’t be any reliance on verbal assurances alone. This isn’t punishment — it’s protection. 

Tomorrow, we’ll see if we can continue any relationship with liars. Could we be stay friends with them? Reform them? Or should we just shun them?