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?

2-12 The “art” of lying… (Part Two)

Obviously, even when somehow related, lies are all different. Today, we’ll try to bring some clarity to their vast diversity. So, is there a good way to classify them into buckets that range from their intensity, immorality, expediency, and issues that define one’s character. 

What follows is a framework that attempts to capture all this. In sorting them out by intensity, we measure how far a lie departs from reality. Is it creating minimal distortion, like small exaggerations? Is it of moderate fabrication, like mixing truth with fiction? Is it on the contrary total and complete invention, creating a false reality? 

Then it gets worse with a lie that sustains deception by maintaining a falsehood over time. That intensity factor often correlates with the effort required to maintain the lie. If we sort lies by moral weight, how much harm does the lie cause or intends to create? Are they just harmless / prosocial lies that are meant to protect feelings? 

There are these neutral lies used for convenience, privacy and to avoid embarrassing situations. We also find self‑serving lies that are there to protect ego or avoid consequences. It gets worse again when lies become harmful in order to cause clear damage to others. That goes also for malicious lies that are intended to deceive for personal gain or to hurt. In those instances, the liar’s nefarious intent becomes totally visible. 

When we sort lies by expediency, it measures how quickly they can solve a problem. Like the instant‑relief lies used to escape a moment of discomfort. The so-called “strategic lies” that are planned, calculated and often manipulative are much worse. Those are chronic lies, the convenient, habitual shortcuts that are used to avoid responsibility. Expediency often reveals whether the lie is impulsive or deliberate. 

Finally there are the lies that reveal a liar’s character. This is probably the dimension people care about most. It begins with the occasional, low‑stakes lies that are part of normal human behavior. Then there are these that are used to avoid accountability, signaling immaturity or insecurity. In dialing up we find the lies that harm others for personal gain, showing some clear, ethical cracks. 

When the mind gets too cloudy for its own good, there is compulsive lying that signals the need to talk to a mental professional. Today with Trump and his enablers, we see lies that rewrite history and reality, white signaling a strong dose of narcissism or a fractured sense of self.

Of course, character isn’t measured by whether someone lies — everyone does — but by what and why one’s lies about, how liars behave when confronted with the truth. So to conclude this voyage in a world of lies, we should wonder if there’s more lying today than in the past? 

It may not be more common, but it’s more visible because digital communication leaves permanent traces, social media rewards exaggeration and performance, public figures go for casual dishonesty, people live in echo chambers that normalize bending the truth, and anonymity reduces accountability. So the perception of widespread lying is strongly amplified. 

I don’t think there’s any falsehood in making that statement!

The “art” of lying… (Part One)

It seems that lying has never been so prevalent, at least that is the way I think it is. In fact, I tend to believe that Trump “legalized” the practice. So, this leads me to wonder why do people lie, and if anything how lies can fall into categories like, intensity, immorality, expediency and can they help us gauge someone’s character?

Whether lying is actually more common or simply more observable in a hyper‑connected world is debatable, but the experience of being surrounded by dishonesty feels very real for many people. What we’re talking about is the psychology of deception and the moral “spectrum” of lies. In other words, why people lie, how those lies differ, and what they reveal about character. What I’m really asking is what does lying say about who someone is? 

Of course, it depends on the motive, the stakes, and the pattern. A single lie tells us almost nothing but a pattern of lies generally tells us everything. Let’s go deeper into any of these dimensions, especially the character side, which is where the topic gets most interesting. People lie for a surprisingly small number of core reasons, even though the forms vary endlessly. 

Most lies fall into one or more of these categories. First it’s for self‑protection, that’s the most common motive. They want to avoid embarrassment, punishment, conflict, or loss of status. Next comes the need to boost one’s image, competence, or desirability; we’ve all seen that. This includes exaggeration, humble‑bragging, and résumé inflation. 

There is also lying to protect others, what’s often called “white lies.” It’s used to sooth feelings, avoid hurting someone and maintain good harmony. In a more dishonest category are those who use lying to gain some advantage, through manipulation, exploitation, or strategic deception. This is where lying becomes morally darker. 

We also have all those who lie by habit or compulsion. They just lie reflexively, even when the truth would work fine. In these situations these people should clearly seek mental assistance. Naturally there are also the lies many of us use for “social lubrication” (or hypocrisy) like saying “It’s so great to see you” or “I love your dress – or your car – or your new skis”, etc. 

Finally, there is what’s called “Identity maintenance” when people lie to preserve a story they’ve built about themselves, even to themselves. Maybe the kind of mode of operation Trump uses daily? Tomorrow, we’ll explore how we can classify lies and measure them, so please stay tuned and don’t forget to bring a measuring tape!