I just watched “Meet the Robinsons” on ABC channel. It is definitely one of the most inspirational movies I have ever seen. Simple yet inspirational. Although it might seem like a movie for children, it is a good reminder for adults that we must let go of things. I am inspired by a quote that I saw in the movie.

“Around here, however, we don’t look backwards for very long. We keep moving forward, opening new doors and doing new things, because we’re curious… and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.”

-Walt Disney

I think we, human, very often dwell in the past or keep looking backwards because of what happened to us, because of things and people that we cannot let go. But those hours and little moments remain in us and be part of us, and somehow we find a way to let the clarity define us and make us who we are today, and all we remember is how it felt. If you want to keep moving forward and see what it’s like in the future, then the only way to really know is to really let it go. It doesn’t matter what we are talking about here in terms of the past.

It is a cheesy movie. But hey! We all sometimes need these cheesy movies to remind these little things to us… not to mention that I had two bowls of delightful chocolate brown fudge ice cream on a Sunday chilly 55 Fahrenheit night.

“Some people come into our lives and quickly go.
Some people move our souls to dance.
They awaken us to understanding
with the passing whisper of their wisdom.

Some people make the sky more beautiful to gaze upon.
They stay in our lives for awhile,
leave footprints on our hearts,
and we are never, ever the same.”

-Unknown Author-

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/16/opinion/16gopnik.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&sq=baby%20smarter&st=cse&scp=1

A good human example of Pavlov’s classical conditioning involved the salivavy conditioning of Pavlov’s dog. =)

What a powerful book that I’ve just read. There are so many things can just happen in a split second – Blink. Some people make judgments based on their careful analyses and instinctive thinking, but some people just make good decision based on their instinctive thinking. The power of thinking without thinking has become very interesting and fascinating to me.

Instinctive thinking is based on our unconscious cognition and intuition. Unconscious cognition is beyond the immediate awareness that happens very quickly and spontaneously without thinking; and intuition is an act of knowing or sensing without the sense of rational processes. According to Jonathan Schooler’s Insight Puzzle, given the example of meeting the waitress at a restaurant, it is very hard to describe a person in words. Interestingly, I went out for coffee after church with friends today. We happened to talk about a mutual friend of ours, Melissa, to one of our friends, and she did not remember how Melissa looked like, so we tried to describe how she looked like. However, we got stuck after telling her about Melissa’s hair, eyes, ethnicity, and body type. We use our deliberate cognition to describe Melissa verbally, nonetheless, we ran out of words or descriptions about Melissa. Similarly to Jonathan Schooler’s Insight Puzzle, I would run out of words too. With the sense of knowing without rationally and deliberately thinking, we unconsciously can point out who the waitress is right away within a second if she stands in front of us. These are what the intuitive and nonverbal kind of cues and experiences we have. Furthermore, recognizing people’s faces requires our implicit memory, where the unconscious cognition is used. Implicit memory is a type of memory in which the previous experiences in performance aid with the task without conscious awareness of those previous experiences. By meeting or seeing the waitress, which is an experience, and ordering food from her, which is a task, we unconsciously remember her face; and when you meet her the next time, your implicit memory and unconsciousness tell you that you recognize that waitress because you met her and interacted with her.

On the other hand, we also rely on both deliberate and instinctive thinking to make good decisions. The officer David Klinger interview is a great example of relying on both thinking. He made one of the most important and best decisions because he thoroughly thought about the whole situation with the boy. He explained he did not shoot him was because of his age. He deliberately thought the boy was still young, and yet to experience life himself. With that conscious cognition, he delivered a message to himself that he was not going to shoot him. On top of that, the boy showed a lot of fear on his face, and the officer was able to read his mind because of what he perceived visually from the frightened face of the boy. It also brought back to what I talked about on the previous paragraph on implicit memory. The officer was also able to implicitly use his memories and past events that he learned to judge the life-death situation as fast as possible at that very moment. He then instinctively and immediately knew that he was not going to shoot the boy because of what he gained from his past experiences and what he perceived in other situations let him made the one of the smartest decisions.

We, as human, sometimes make good judgment and decision by thinking deliberately and instinctively. However, there are times that require us to think just instinctively. I agree with Malcolm that every moment is made of series moving parts, and every one those parts gives us an chance to correct and to change for the better. We just need to know how our minds work no matter what our weaknesses or strengths are in that very moment –Blink, and act on what it takes for the best judgment and decision in life.

I cannot help not posting this. A little bit about prosocial behavior…

Jason Mraz is playing at the Hollywood Bowl in October!!! How exciting!! Can’t wait to see him perform!

It’s been awhile since I posted something on this blog. Simply because I was too tired and I’ve been too busy with work and schedules of arrangements. Today, my sister and I had a conversation how life has become a routine for people. You wake up, go to work,  get off work, then sleep, same thing happens for another day… then here comes the weekend, then work again. It has become such a routine, it almost just turn me in a robot. And I asked myself, where is the excitment and sparks in my life? I need some! And I’ll find some!

It’s been such a hard emotional mentally challenged yet sweet and awesome week and weekend for me.

Having my brother coming back from U of Oregon for a week was a great thing. However, he came back for our grandfather’s funeral.   This is bitter-sweet.

Knowing my mom was sent to the hospital by the ambulance and the fact of unknown of why she was in hospital when I was work scared me because I was not able to reach her. But talking to the doctor about my mother was okay after I got there made me feel a lot better. This is bitter-sweet.

From what I experienced about how I was so afraid of losing her to knowing that she is going to make it through let me realize how much I love my mother and cannot afford to lose her yet. This is bitter-sweet.

Getting stuck in the traffic from Santa Ana to Van Nuys for about 2.5 hours while listening to my little pink ipod nano, out of four hundred and eighty four songs I own in my ipod, God arranged to play my two favorite worship songs and have my mentor to call me to see how I was doing at the same time. He knew that I needed Him at that moment as I was going through all these and trying to process my emotions. Telling God that “God! You have gotta be kidding me!” that I was just so in awe of what He has done for me in my life so far. This is bitter-sweet.

Going to Winter Youth Retreat as a youth leader and knowing that I would not get enough rest for the upcoming week for work discouraged me and felt a little dragged from the retreat. But God is good! He helped me, and I did have a good time with the youth, especially the girls. Realizing that God did some AMAZING work in their lives this weekend encouraged me to want more of good relationships and friendships with them, and it wasn’t a drag anymore. This is not just bitter-sweet, but it’s beyond sweet!!!

Going to my grandfather’s funeral and being able to play my sweet guitar for his funeral in front of my relatives, and my family was such a privilege. This is bitter-sweet.

So much to take in, so much to sink in, and so much to process and digest within a week. But God was with me, is with me, and will be with me. God is so faithful. He is beyond more than anymore can ever imagine!

” Do you not know? Have you not heard?

The Lord is everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.

He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.

He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.

Even youths grow tired and weary and young men stumble and fall;

But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.

They will roar on wings like eagles;

They will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”

- Isaiah 40:28-31

It was just beautifully made.