The Official Website of Michael Corthell

by Michael Corthell Most people who do not succeed in life have one glaring trait: they are negative minded and they know every reason for their failures. They have what they think are absolute, air-tight alibis to explain their own lack of achievement. Some of these alibis are cool and even entertaining, and a few of them are even reasonable, ones that can be justified by facts. But you can't spend alibis. Excuses don't pay the bills. The world loves a winner, the one who makes a difference, the one who can get the job done. People tend to shy away from the excuse-makers because of their dishonesty and unreliability. ''It is better to offer no excuse than a bad one.''   —George Washington Below is an extensive list of the most commonly used alibis. As you read these, be honest with yourself. Identify how many of these alibis and excuses you own. This may be a negative exercise, but it is a necessary one. The good news is that with yo

  Underwater test of a nuclear weapon circa 1950 by Michael Corthell General Douglas MacArthur said in his 1961 address to the Philippines Congress: "You will say at once that, although the abolition of war has been the dream of man for centuries, every proposition to that end has been promptly discarded as impossible and fantastic . But that was before the science of the past decade made mass destruction a reality. The argument then was along spiritual and moral lines, and lost. But now the tremendous evolution of nuclear and other potentials of destruction has suddenly taken the problem away from its primary consideration as a moral and spiritual question and brought it abreast of scientific realism." Why were nuclear weapons developed? This is the official line:  President Harry Truman authorized the use of two atom bombs in an effort to bring about Japan’s quick surrender in the Second World War and thereby save lives. In the days following the bombings, Japan did in fact

by Michael Corthell ''Can I bring peacefulness of mind into the middle of a very busy and stressful day?'' Yes, you can, not always perfectly, but you can do it. ''Walk as if you are kissing the Earth with your feet.'' —Thich Nhat Hanh How do I find inner peace? Live, breathe, love, listen, teach and be present. The answer is simple, but as I stated above, it may not be so easy to put into practice and you may not always do it perfectly, but we can start learning to be 'present' -- present in the moment.  It makes no difference how chaotic your day has become, or how stressful your job or life is, the practice of being 'present' can become a safety, a true oasis. It can and will change your life, and it is a very simple thing. When are completely and totally 'present', the external forces of the outside world are no longer an issue, because there is only you and that 'force', that exist in this moment,

“Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none.” ― William Shakespeare, ''All's Well That Ends Well'' by Michael Corthell Love all. Do not restrict your love to just a few people, but have your heart open to everyone and give your love without prejudice. Trust a few. People need to realize that there are people out there who are intent on doing evil to you. So don’t just simple trust everyone with a naïve trust. Only trust a few people that you know and whose intentions are pure. Do wrong to none. Never do bad things to anyone. No one, whoever they are, deserves to be harmed by you. No matter what anyone else does, you should always do the right thing, even towards people who have done wrong to you(excepting self-defense of course). Be kind to everyone. One of the most valuable assets a human being can have is trust. It allows for openness, exchange of emotion and ideas. When there is no trust, it becomes very difficult to get anything done. It is truly

by Michael Corthell 'Let there be light, and there was light, love, and life.' When writing about God (the creator/the first cause/the prime mover or simply The ONE) I often say that creation is love or love is the essence of what the ONE is, and that 'love is all there is'. I say this because the true effect and purpose of all creation is love, life, and the love for it. In fact, all life is the ONE's manifestation of itself. ''A Brief Awakening' ' ''In the vastness of the out-rushing cosmos, you are but tiny—a warm and pulsing spark.  Against all odds, your birth a brief awakening from silent eons spent sleeping in the dark.  When you feel your heart swell with wild wonder at the dazzling diamond chandeliers of night,  know your body was built from ancient stardust and the universe now sees through your eyes.  So let the breath of sweet gratitude fill you, as the light of each new day begins.  For this moment itself is a miracle,

by Michael Corthell  Qualities such as assertiveness, adaptability, intelligence, and conscientiousness are some of the most important leadership skills.  Transformational leaders , are leaders who are positive, and inspiring. They empower people and develop followers. ''A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.'' —John C. Maxwell A transformational leader works with his subordinates, treating them as a team, to identify any needed change. She or he creates a vision to guide the change through inspiration—executing the change along with committed members of the group or team. These types of leaders are more valued by their followers and their superiors because they inspire action and therefore get things done. You may aspire to be a great leader. Here is exactly how to do it: Make sure you have a clear vision. Take the time to share your vision, your mission and your goals with your group. Your job as a leader is to provi

by Michael Corthell How to build a better body? That is the question. The next question: How can you live longer and enjoy a better quality of life? The answer to both? We make wise choices about the foods we eat and the amount of excise we get. We just maintain our 'machine' properly.   Your building materials and fuel. It is certainly true that 'we are what we eat'. ''So then if I eat an all plants diet with absolutely no meat do I become a vegetable?'' No, you get a better, longer-lasting body, science has proved that. Eating right and exercising properly are the right things to do, most of us know this.  How do we start? Make up your mind to start taking good care of your 'machine'.  Set small, measurable goals that will help you get to your overall larger goal. Keep a food and exercise journal. Measuring your progress is great feedback. Stop eating animal flesh and processed junk food . Eat only nutritious wh

  “The word love will disappear in the future and be replaced by a new term called extensionality , meaning you’ll enhance one another’s lives. But ‘I love you’ is just empty words that manifest nothing. It’s how people behave to one another that indicates love.” -  Jacque Fresco by Michael Corthell I would like to talk about 'extensionality' in a new sense of the word.  Extensionality in the way I'm defining it is 'love in action' or that is to say, extend as much love, care, and concern to people and nature as possible. Why do I want to talk about it? Because there is a new world on the horizon and new words are needed to adequately describe that world.  ''We live in a world with very unkind systems. The lack of caring, compassion, and concern in this world stems from the environment created by our monetary system which generates our behavior, societal norms, and traditional beliefs. Many people desire a kinder and more compassionate world. We have peopl

by Michael Corthell Define happiness in terms of  living  a good life, or flourishing,  rather than simply as an emotion.  A happy life is a positive life. Life is both a serious business and a game we all play. Some of us play at it better than others, and they are the people you see smiling all the time - they are happy, and joyful in their lives. Do you want to be one of them? I believe that you do. There are some parts of life that are seemingly secret. I say secret because they are so obvious we often take them for granted sometimes. Some of us need to be reminded often, others are just naturally happy. ''The way to happiness: Keep your heart free from hate, your mind from worry. Live simply, expect little, give much. Scatter sunshine, forget self, think of others. Try this for a week and you will be surprised.''   ― Norman Vincent Peale, The Power of Positive Thinking What is the number one secret?   Choose to be happy! When you

Noam Chomsky, Steven Pinker, Evelina Fedorenko,  and Daniel Dor join Brian Greene to grapple with the foundations of language.  Language ranks among the most powerful influences on human existence. Even so, language presents many mysteries that are the subject of heated debate. Was there a rewiring of the human brain which gave us the capacity for language? Or is it a human invention developed to facilitate group cooperation? Is language primarily a communication tool or the substrate of inner thought? And how is it that with a few choice phrases language can fire the imagination or transport us to the stars?

 '' W ords are tools, extensions of self, used to craft ideas into  reality and emotions into pictures in order to share with others.'' Michael Corthell 

  Semantics: the branch of linguistics and logic concerned with meaning. There are a number of branches and subbranches of semantics, including formal semantics, which studies the logical aspects of meaning, such as sense, reference, implication, and logical form, lexical semantics, which studies word meanings and word relations, and conceptual semantics, which studies the cognitive structure of meaning. The Story of A-town and B-ville (From:  Language in Thought and Action , S.I. Hayakawa.) Once upon a time, said the Professor, there were two small communities, spiritually as well as geographically situated at a considerable distance from each other. They had, however, these problems in common: both were hard hit by a recession so that in each of the towns there were about one hundred heads of families unemployed. The city fathers of A-town, the first community, were substantial and sound-thinking businessmen. The unemployed tried hard, as unemployed people usually do, to find jobs;

  ''The Universe itself which is all that it contains, including us is a system  ―  I will go so far as to say it is, in fact, a living organism. All material systems require balance to function properly(picture a swirling galaxy or planets orbiting stars). In physiology, we call this homeostasis or that is to say, 'the same state'.'' 

  The first exercise in  ''Revelation '22 Eden Restored'' is to read and then discuss the 1972 book "The Limits to Growth'' . <<You can download it free and/or buy the update >> '' Limits to Growth: The 30-Year Update '' (we do not have a stake in the sale, in fact, The Vegan Project never asks for or accepts money). The Exercise Read the book and watch the videos Post your comments and opinions to The Vegan Project's Facebook page If you would like further information or want to comment privately DM us SUMMARY Published 1972 – The message of this book still holds today: The earth’s interlocking resources – the global system of nature in which we all live – probably cannot support present rates of economic and population growth much beyond the year 2100, if that long, even with advanced technology. In the summer of 1970, an international team of researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology began a study of t