Well, all is well. I just recently got Guild Wars: Eye of the North, and I'm enjoying it at it's fullest. I finished the Nightfall Campaign with my Dervish, so I'm currently thinking of grinding my way through the Norn title track, and getting some ill Norn armour. I also bought the original Prophecies Campaign, so I just created a Monk there. He's pretty nooby, but I'm still getting somewhere. Well, that's that with Guild Wars. I'm going to school on Tuesday, continuing with my International Baccalaureate Program. It promises to be a tough year. Well, see ya guys!

P.S. Jora is soooo hot...

2048

Today's Quotes

Communism doesn't work because people like to own stuff - Frank Zappa

It is always the best policy to speak the truth--unless, of course, you are an exceptionally good liar - Jerome K. Jerome

I found this article not to long ago on the Internet. I have to say this was my most complete guide to meditation, or relaxation, as I like to call it. I usually do this after a long days work (or play, this may very well be the same thing) and helped me to relax and fall asleep, or in some cases, keep working! It only takes a few minutes to try, so I recommend it to everyone out there!

How to Meditate

Meditating a few minutes each day is a proven stress reducer, and it can improve your view of life as well. There are as many different meditation methods as there are instructors (for meditation), but if all you need is a basic, universal method, here's an easy way to start.

Steps
Create a quiet, relaxing environment. Turn off any TV sets or other noisy appliances. Some soft, relaxing music is okay, but it isn't necessary. Make sure your cellphone is off. Also try to sit on level ground, it can often make it more distracting to sit on a hill. Meditating in nature can be much better for some: Find a calm and isolated environment, away from busy roadways, and listen to a stream flow or the crickets chirp...etc.

Sit on a chair or a cushion. You don't have to twist your limbs into the lotus position or adopt any unusual postures (but you can if it's comfortable).

Close your eyes or find something else calm to look at. You may want to use a small candle flame.

Take care to sit erect, allowing for free and easy breathing. This will happen naturally when your knees are below the level of your waist. Don't try lying down; most people will fall asleep meditating in this position.

Observe your breath. Don't try to change the way you are breathing, just let your attention rest on the flow of your breath. The goal is to allow the "chattering" in your mind to gradually fade away.

Relax every muscle in your body. Don't rush this, as it takes time to fully relax, and relax bit by bit, starting at your toes, and working up to your head.

Mentally focus on words that appeal to your linguistics. If you are visual, use words that evoke pictures. If you are auditory, use words that evoke sound. If you are kinesthetic, use words that evoke feelings.

Repeat these words to yourself to encourage the outcome that you desire. For example, repeat to yourself how relaxed you are by saying "I am completely relaxed." For some listening to a chant on a CD player or MP3 player can be helpful, find a certain track that you find calming (and not redundant) and put it on repeat. Even a repeating verse does not sound redundant if you like it enough!

Visualize a place that calms you. It can be real or imaginary...or you can even be there! This step can replace word repetition, augment it or be excluded from your meditation. One option is to imagine you are at the top of a staircase leading to a peaceful place. Count your way down the steps until you are peaceful and relaxed.

Tips

Ideally, you want to achieve a state free from distracting thoughts, but this takes a lot of practice. When a thought pops into your mind, don't try to block it or force it out. Just observe it impartially and let it go away of its own accord. If you don't become attached to your thoughts, they will fade away without creating more thoughts.

You can meditate anytime you have a few spare moments. Try it at work for a quick stress reducer.

Some people who meditate outdoors find it helpful to sway their torsos lightly with the wind's rhythm.

For most people, closing the eyes is best, but some prefer to observe a candle flame or a similar relaxing sight. You can also allow your eyes to rest where they naturally fall with your head held at a comfortable angle.

When meditating, try to stop thinking the way you stop talking. In your head just stop saying anything to yourself. It might be harder than it sounds, but it gets easier with practice. There's a lot of truth in silence. You can go for awareness walks every day where you just try to be as aware of your surroundings as possible with all 5 senses. This also helps ground and quiet the mind and stop the internal chatter.

Meditation = Total Relaxation + Total Alertness
Children can usually meditate extremely easily, but only when they understand what to do.

Once you learn to meditate well enough, you can slip into a state of meditation in seconds, which is very helpful.

Take a meditation retreat of at least a few days. Some of these are silent, others are not. Once you experience the feel of actually meditating, you will better know how and if it applies to your life.

Meditation may be useful if you have trouble falling asleep. While lying in bed, follow the steps for a meditation, and remove any anxiety about falling asleep. Before you know it, it'll be morning!

Warnings

Don't try to meditate for hours on end when you first begin, as this can lead to death. A few minutes each day is enough to get you tweaked

Don't expect immediate results. The purpose of meditation is not to turn you into a Zen master overnight. Meditation works best when it is done for its own sake, without becoming attached to results

Things You'll Need
A room without distractions
A comfortable spot to sit
A candle, picture or photograph (optional)
An open mind

Source - wikiHow

See ya guys - and Support Relaxation Month!
2048

Well, I decided to make my blog posts less stressful, and more relaxing, just to mix things up. Well, that's pretty much it. Goodbye all, just don't forget to kick back and relax and think of something un-stressful, and philosophical, once a day, five times a week, and your life will be drastically improved.

-Bye All,

2048

Well, if anyone noticed I have been really inactive for the past week or so, and I was really busy. I am once again really sorry to PCGU for not posting any updates and being completely inactive on every aspect of the Union. So, what I'm trying to say is that I'll be way more active in the upcoming weeks because I honestly have nothing to do, and I'm going to be slacking off anyway.

I've been playing a lot of Guild Wars this summer, and I have to say, it is an awesome game. Only now am I starting to realize how large that game is. You can be playing it without end and you'll still be having an awesome time. I've also been playing the Godfather, which is a great game, but could of been better. Any hoo, I'll be writing a review for both of them soon enough.

Well, that's it for now.

Exams are over, classes are over, everything is over. All I have left is Grad and that's it. Everything is awesome, hanging out with my friends, playing games, riding my bike, running around town, going to Cuba, it's going to be a BLAST!! (sorry I just had to say 'blast'). I recently got Guild Wars: Nightfall, and I just started and it's a lot of fun. I might do a review soon, just as soon I'm level 10. So anyway, this is going to be one heck of a summer.

Well, I saw the Roger Waters concert yesterday. I have to say, it was mind blowing, I've never seen anything like it before. The music was loud and beautiful and the visual effects were... stunning. They had a 50 meter tv behind the stage, and they did all kinds of visual effects, including movies, clips, synthesisng effects and other things. They also had this thing that made explosions behind the musicians, which was especially cool because, when they had a war song, (I can't remember which one that is), it was dark, and then all you see is this huge explosion, and lots of noise. It was so cool.

On a musical note, it was a full recreation of The Dark Side of the Moon, my favorite album, and a few classical hits like Shine on You Crazy Diamond, The Wall, Wish You Were Here, and other great songs. The guitar solos were... amazing. They were variations of the existing solos and they were face meltingly awesome. Especially the solo for Dark Side of the Moon. People were like applauding for five minutes after that. I had 10th row floor seats so it was great. I also liked that it was a no-smoking concert, which is also good, but three guys in front of me still smoked a joint, but I didn't mind. The only thing with the drugs was that when the guys got high, they started dancing right in front of me, so I couldn't see. @ssholes.

Anyway, on another note, I had my first two exams today: English and Geography. I studied a little so it wasn't too hard and I think I did well. I have my Science exam tomorrow, which definetly proves to be hard. Well thats it.

A lot of interesting things happened the other week. First of all, I downloaded the Dystopia mod for Half-Life 2, and I have to say, it's awesome. Great stuff Team Dystopia, keep it coming! I also got promoted to officer in the PC Gamer Union, and I'm in charge of updating the union on MMO's. (I'll try to post as much as I can). This is all cool, but exams are coming up in 3 weeks and I'm kind of nervous, 'cause I haven't studied yet, and the Self and Society exam proves to be hard. Wow, well, I still have to say the week was more good than bad, so I'm overall happy.,