Posts tagged #behavior

Archetypes Made Easy

We all wonder why we are attracted to certain stories, certain people and certain patterns.  This human inquisitiveness - regardless of culture, race or religious - about our own behavior, tendencies and thoughts drives us to create and to study guiding methods.  Archetype analysis is one those methods.  

I think of archetypes as our energy companions.  You know these archetypes very well, they are the characters you love or despise in fiction or real life. Since studying Joseph Campbell's work, this type of pattern analysis has resonated with me, and coupled with Yoga it has made a huge impact in how I use my intuition.  Archetypes are our stories in the quest for bliss.  According to Carolyn Myss, my go-to Archetype guru, 'we are continually scanning our world for patterns, particularly in people, because we know intuitively that if we understand someone’s behavior patterns we understand how she relates to herself, to her life, and to us. We understand a person better, for instance, if we know that she is essentially an Intellectual; that explains, for example, why she loves foreign films and biographies of great historic figures.' Ms. Myss calls Archetypes "the language of our soul."

Each one of us have archetypes idiosyncratic to our patterns of behavior.  These archetypes allow us to connect intuitively and on a deeper level to ourselves and to others.  Ms. Myss suggests that 'once we engage and begin to honor the language and patterns of our archetypes, a transformation begins not overnight but over time' (patience people, patience!).  She insists that by listening to our Archetypes we can step into our purpose, into a life more balanced, and friendships and relationships that fit with more ease and less effort. 

How do you get started?  Well there are tones of classical-psychology books on this subject, but If you want a fun way to ease yourself into this study, visit  Archetypes.com and take their quiz.  You can watch the video below to see if this is for you.

Warning! (don't resist warnings please, all tools come with them) when you embrace the language of archetypes you will immediately begin to notice patterns of synchronicity and coincidence appearing on a regular basis and sometimes dramatically so. 

Share your quiz results with me, I'll share mine.  


Posted on September 8, 2014 by Eduardo Martinez and filed under inspiration, Spirituality, Pop Culture, wellness and tagged archetypes yoga behavior.

Dum & Dangerous: Why it is time to check our technology use

It isn’t technology alone, but our relationship with technology that determines our experience of life.  Take my iPhone, in that little rectangle I can look at my calendar, locate my contacts’ information, I can receive and answer my mail, and solve dinner table debates with just a finger touch.  So, yes, I do love my iPhone, as I love any other technical device that enhances my experience of life.  What isn’t a loving relationship, but a hot-mess-entanglement is people’s compulsive obsession of being attached to smart phones or other technologies.  Chances are, unless you’re living deep in the mountains or at a meditation retreat (located deep in the mountains, staffed by geriatric monks), your world is populated by people glued to cellphones.  And apparently this obsession is not only making these people waste time, it is making them stupid, it’s killing them and it’s brewing a generation of careless parents.

Here are some tech obsession studies that prompted me to write this post and that will illustrate my point:

  • A Kent State University study found that of the 500 students observed, “high frequency cell phone users tended to have lower GPA, higher anxiety, and lower satisfaction with life (happiness) relative to their peers who used the cell phone less often.”

  • According to the National Safety Council, there is a cellphone related car accident every 30 seconds (~335K this year alone). The NSC reported 3331 distracted related deaths in 2011; 12% (350 fatalities) were explicitly attributed to cellphones. Experts believe that number is far higher given that 50% of fatalities were for reasons unknown.

  • Studies conducted at the University of Essex found that the presence of a cellphone, even when not used, affected subject’s ability to connect on a deep level and find empathy for his or her partner.

  • A University of Maryland study found that people who used a cellphone, even for a short period, were less likely to engage in “prosocial” behavior, which is defined as behavior intended to benefit another person or society as a whole.

  • A Boston Medical Center study observed how cellphone use affected parenting. They found that 40 out of the 55 caregivers studied used their phones during meals, and that children were more likely to act out with caregivers in direct proportion to the level of the caregiver’s absorption with the phone.

So what do we do to avoid falling in the cellphone/technology trap?

  • Cultivate awareness. Check yourself frequently to see if your use of technology is taking you away from the present moment. Sometimes the present moment calls for a phone call or checking your GPS. But quite often, what’s going on around us in our immediate environment–talking to friends, practicing yoga, walking in the park, doing a work task, doing nothing–is more important than whatever we’re doing on our phones. If you’re mindlessly using technology, stop.

  • Go techless. Leave your phone at home. Don’t pack a tablet. Get away from backlit screens. It might feel uncomfortable for a while. Your brain is detoxing. If people like your spouse are accustomed to reaching you at any time, let them know you won’t have your phone. It’s okay. The world will not fall off its axis.

Posted on April 30, 2014 by Eduardo Martinez and tagged cellphones technology behavior addiction.

Are We Ready to Share Our Toys?

Pley’s has big ambitions for renting the small blocks. From their site:

Pley is a socially-responsible company that aims to change the way families consume products and spend time together. Leveraging collaborative consumption, we aim to raise a more creative and skillful generation that follows the principles of open-ended play while emphasizing the benefits of sharing, reducing waste and giving back to the community. Every set that Pley rents saves a tree over the lifetime of its rental. Todate, Pley had reduced waste by eliminating the wasteful production of 90,200 pounds of ABS plastic which resulted in a reduction of 3.9 million pounds of C02 emission.

And I just think this is cool.

Posted on April 16, 2014 by Eduardo Martinez and tagged sharing behavior declutter.