In This Season of ...

Every Christian knows that God gave them a season for their current state in life. They may be college students, pursuing their degree, professionals starting their career, or parents taking care of their children, guiding them throughout their life. Whatever season you're in, each one have its own struggles. But every struggle have an end, like a season, it has an end.

I would like to share this amazing experience that God always gives me whenever I'm with my spiritual brothers and sisters, specially when we have an outing or bonding. Currently, I'm a college student, pursuing BSIT; In a season where college students usually are.
  

Love is one important part of our life, and it's present in every season...

Love of friends, love of neighbors, love of family, love of God, etc. But some of us wanted romantic love. In our generation today (at least in my age), most teenagers wanted it, love life or romantic love. Personally, I also wanted to have one but, there's something more important than that, God. He made me realize that I don't need that in my current season as I'm already full of love. A love that overflows, satiating my want for a love life. Love from my family, love from my friends, and specially, love of God.

Walking to Timezone

The above photo is my spiritual brothers and sisters. The moment we're walking in a mall to Timezone, God made me realize something. I don't need love life right now, I already have the love of my friends! I took a picture for the memories, and as a reminder that in this season, I don't need love life. This is what I need, the love of my friends! And it satiates my want for a love life.

Romantic love will wait for itself. It has a season, and for my current season, it's in the season of waiting. After all, it will not go away, nandyan lang naman siya sa school eh :). Time will come when the season of waiting is at an end, and the season of courtship will come at God's time. All glory to Him!

Why do I... Play Hearthstone?

Hello my readers! I have decided to make a new series of posts. This series I will call Why Do I... This series will be talking about my opinions or preferences on why I do this and do that, hence the title of the series. For today I would like to post on Why Do I Play Hearthstone? As you all know, Hearthstone is a card game. You can learn more about Hearthstone from its official website.

I play Hearthstone because...

 Hearthstone is a simple yet very entertaining game. As they say, it is a thinking man's game. The diversity of every deck is very versatile and making your own deck can be very complex. The combination of cards across the whole game, the way how you handle the situation on the board, how will you use your turn with the current cards in your hand.

My first screenshot

I like the way that you have to think how will you turn the game to your favor by using the minimal amount of mana in a single turn. Well, not usually turn the "whole game" to your favor because it always depends on the deck you are playing. Also, it's using what you have in the most efficient and minimal way of using resources. Much like in real life, you have to use what you have in the most efficient and most minimal way for the best possible outcome. Playing decision making, turn-based games, such as Hearthstone, might improve my decision making skills. Other than the game's nature of making you think every turn, you also have to read the enemy's every turn, hand, and how he/she reacts to the minions you have placed on the board. Making more precise predictions based on the enemy's actions. That way, you have an idea of what is in their hand, and what will they do on their next turn.

Making the best deals anywhere

If you anticipate what will happen, then you will do what is appropriate. Much like in life, if you know what will happen, then your reaction will eventually be the most appropriate for it. Another thing that I liked about Hearthstone is the game's design and interface. It it is made to be a little less serious compared to other card games. You know what I mean right? Anyway, this game is one of many ways on how will I relax after a hard day's work. Thinking to me is not that tiring and it makes me engaged. And it also gives you time to think on your turn. I don't personally get relaxed on RTS games that's why I gave up playing Dota 2 or HoN. Although I still play them when I play with my friends.

Technology Tip # 8 (Follow-up on # 7): Getting Drowsy zZzZ

Of course, there are times where we can't stop using our devices. And sometimes, those times fall when we're about to sleep. But on this post according, to my knowledge, there's a program in the computer that lowers blue rays that the monitor emits. When we're talking about smartphones, specifically Android, I know an app that can do just the same. But first, we're talking about the computer program. And also some apps on mobile devices to help you sleep at night. Now you and your device are sleeping buddies!

f.lux

This computer program, as was discussed earlier, lowers the blue rays your monitor emits. I don't know exactly how it does it but from my experience, it makes the color orange more dominant than others. Which actually makes sense because blue colors or rays are significantly lower. I can't exactly show the difference because screenshots are not affected by the program. But if you wanted to see comparisons, go the the f.lux website. The color of the background compared to a white colored background is the difference. But you can further the orange color if you wanted to. Configurable at the program's settings after installing. You can set how low you want the blue rays to be, would it only be subtle or you want it to be almost incandescent, or simulate the color of a candle it's your choice! f.lux also uses location to lower the blue rays when the sun sets. It does it automatically for you! But you have to set your location first for the automatic function to work.

CF.lumen

This Android app also does what f.lux and other similar programs/apps does. It lowers the blue rays your android device/s emits. But this app is more customizable; You can set the color the screen will change into. Three sliders as per usual, red, green and blue. for example green or blue. You can also set how saturated the color is, will it be pure green or a combination of both, it's your combination! A word of caution though, CF.Lumen requires a rooted device. If you don't want your device rooted, you can download other apps in the Play Store that also does the same. But this app is the most customizable one that I have used. It requires root access because it will automatically change the colors when the sun sets. The same as f.lux.

Pzizz

Another mobile app that actually helps you sleep and/or take a nap at the middle of the day. If you wanted to snatch some minutes from your work to take a nap, then this app is for you! Seriously talking, Pzizz will help you fall asleep, or at least take a nap when you have the (proper) time. It uses relaxing music, binaural beats to entertain your brain wave, some instrumental sounds at the background, and truly relaxing nature sounds like chirps of bids and waves at the beach. All of these and more can be viewed in detail at their website. Although there are other apps that also have the features of Pzizz, this is the most effective that I have used.

Want to know what binaural beats and/or to know more of it? You can visit this website about binaural beats, monaural tones, and isochronic tones. All of them three are similar but they have different effects, and people prefer one rather than the other.

Anyway, speaking of brainwave signals and beats, These are the things that helps me get drowsy and actually help me sleep better. I hope these tips also helps you get drowsy and have better sleep. One more tip before I end this post, "Quality sleep is better then quantity sleep". More on how to sleep better and not longer in my next post!

Brain Training App and Website (Lumosity)

Lumosity is a brain training application for smartphones, and website for computers. It is mainly used to, as said previously, train the brain. You might be wondering, why train the brain? As we cannot defy the laws of physics, that everything ages, it also affects our minds. But this have a different effect on our minds. We already know that when we don't use our minds' capabilities that much, it will degrade. Sooner or later we will develop cognitive deficit/s.

Our brain have this property/capability called neuroplasticity. If we challenge our brain everyday, as what Lumosity does, the aging effect will be greatly slowed down and it gives our brain more capability to handle different life challenges, events, decisions and other aspects of life.

Yes, I'm using this app and website to train my brain. You're probably wondering why would I use Lumosity. Well, in my childhood, my brother wanted me to play a brain training game in the computer. He installed a game, which I can't remember, and we played it. From that point I have this very faint interest of playing it. I didn't play it everyday because at first, I didn't like it. But as we're forced to play it, I gained some very little interest out of it. And at some point in time, he uninstalled it. And my interest carried on until today.

You can create a new account or use your Facebook account to create an account. I'm currently using the free version because I couldn't afford the premium. Their premium offers subscription for a lifetime, two years, yearly, and monthly.

Using a free account in the website, you can only play 3 games a day. But in the smartphone application, you can play games until you can't play anymore. But there's a catch, you can only play games that are unlocked for that day. Other games are locked unless you purchased a premium account.

If you wanted to learn more of what Lumosity is, visit their website: Lumosity

My Experience

I've been using Lumosity for about 6 months now if I can remember that right(talk about brain training). At first, it was hard, very hard in fact. I got low scores in games and my response was very slow. I didn't play it everyday as I don't remember to play it everyday even though I have its icon on my smartphone's laucher. But as I play it, things gets easier overtime. I got higher scores, beating my previous high score and response was faster. There is a breakdown of how are you performing and also, there's a history chart that summarizes your overall performance daily. Though the history chart is only limited to the last 4 weeks for free accounts, I can see my progress going up. I remembered I have an LPI(Lumosity Performance Index), your overall performance, of around 1550 the first week I used Lumosity. Then it went up from 1550 to 1650 to 1720 today! That's a big difference!

You might be wondering, "the games gets easier because you've been playing it over and over again". But that's were you're wrong. The games gets harder as you progress and get higher scores. Giving new challenges until you stumble on a level where it is very hard, you can't level up in the game! Because that's my current situation haha!

But still, my LPI is increasing despite the hard games I'm facing. And it also decreases because sometimes, I'm not performing well.

Why don't you try Lumosity today? There's nothing to lose here after all, and it's for the better of you and your mind!

I've Tried Meditation and the Results are...

Before I say what the results were, I would first say why I tried Meditation.

So, Why did I try Meditating? Because, I've been reading things online on how to improve your mental health. One topic popped up and that points to what I tried, Meditation. It says that meditation does not only bring mental health, but also physical and emotional health. I can prove that, except for the physical part in which, maybe, I don't meditate enough to say that it does affect physical health. But in my opinion, it does so by relaxing your body, making it function better because the muscles are relaxing. Removing stress from too much moving. Because when you're tired and stressed, your performance will be poor and your productivity will drop.

Anyway, so meditation makes me feel and/or do (at least):
- Great about myself
- Relaxed and nothing to worry about
- A glowing smile on my face
- Calm state of mind
- Better treatment to people
- Can think clearly

So, let's discuss each on of these:
- Great about myself
I usually feel great about myself. Because why not? But this time, when I meditated, it make me wanna seize the day. To the point that I have full confidence for that day and that nothing will go wrong.

- Relaxed and nothing to worry about
Because nothing is stressing your mind. You will feel relaxed and you have nothing to worry about. If there is something to, then you will definitely get it sorted out in no time. This time, sorting it out will be a lot easier and it will be done calmly.

- A glowing smile on my face
I'm usually a happy person. But it does not extend to the point that I will smile. But this time around, it put a smile on my face. I don't know why but, I just fell like doing it :)

- Calm state of mind
After meditation, you have nothing in mind. Having nothing in mind is great for awhile specially if you're stressed out. It will relax the brain and it will function better, because of the relaxing treatment from your meditation.

- Better treatment to people
There are times where you wake up to a bad day. I'm not talking about Monday but, when we have a bad day, your mood will definitely affect other people because you will treat them not the usual way you treat them. Moods have the capacity to treat other people depending on how our mood is. For example, you went to a coffee shop. You went to the counter after you make-up your mind on what to buy. The barista greets you with a glowing "Good morning sir/ma'am!". On a bad day, you will usually just nod and make your order (at least that's what I do). On a good day, you will respond with a, "Good morning!". Meditation will calm your mood, usually making it a better than your last state, and you will treat other people better.

- Can think clearly
This is an obvious one. You can think clearly now! Combining with the previous benefits, you now have a clear state of mind. Having a clear state of mind is like having no friction on a car engine, it functions at its fullest!

On a side note...
These are what I felt after doing a meditation. I don't know if these will also apply to you because all of us are different, unique. But there's one thing that I'm certain of. If you did it correctly and properly, benefits will come to you. It may not be the same on what I've experienced, but it definitely has benefits.

Online Games vs Offline Games

As a life of being a gamer, I have addressed the difference between online and offline games. Both are great games and each have advantages and disadvantages over the other. I assume that if you're a gamer, you have already played online and offline games as offline is limited to LAN games. Playing with your friends with LAN games and letting them know of what are you doing with your offline games. So, with no further ado, let's define the differences of one after the another. And if not differences, then at least my outlook of them.

Note: These are my opinions. I have no intention of offending people who are favoring one over the other.

Online Games:
- Usually competitive
- Have a very large world to explore (MMORPG type)
- Have fun with other people around
- Depend on your teammates
- Can be a bit stressful and raging
- They have pros and noobs
- Players can either be helpful or annoying
- Usually engaging if competitive playing

Offline Games:
- Mostly story engaged
- Items don't matter that much
- Story options matter
- No stress if you don't stress it
- No commentator if you are doing good or bad
- Mostly self learned
- More variant than offline

It's Not in the List of Life Goals. Well, not anymore...

So I got block down for what I wanted. This is something that is not easy to go by. Today, as I was going home, something hit me. My mind started to flashback all the things that happened. And I said to myself that I think that this is not for me. That I don't deserve this. But, something butted in my mind. It's my subconscious. It started to fight my bad thoughts and stop the flashback. Then I was talking to myself in my brain.

"Look Jasper, it is not yet for you at this age. It is hard when you are young. And it will get easier when you age. At this point of 18, there are still many things that will happen to you. With around 60 - 80 more years of life, or maybe earlier. We are still not certain of what will happen to us in the future. Something that you are expecting and something that you never intercepted that it will happen. So at this young age, just be patient. The quotations "Patience is a virtue" and "Good things come to those who wait" are very good quotations. But of what do they really mean? You already proved what they mean and gathered the prizes already. You are already bathing in those hard earned prizes. How did you prove those quotes already if you're not waiting for something? Not literally waiting for something. Patience comes in may ways; Some is waiting, some is forgiveness and some if for repetitive movement. And the form of patience that you proved already is the repetitive movement. Think of it that everyday you do the same thing. Go to school and attend class. Eat lunch and hang out with your friends. Seatworks and notes are written. Dates are scribbled and inks are used. After the day at school, study, homework, project and write here, write there. And finally, do some fun! Don't you realize that you are doing the same thing everyday without hesitation? It's because we are being patient! That's the main point of why we are doing things repeatedly redundant! And still here we are, doing the same thing over and over again. Then we can decide to do something different. It's still the same thing! Because we wanted to discover or learn. We learn and discover everyday so the cycle begins again! Isn't having patience beautiful? And your prize will be arriving at you. You will not go to the prize, the prize will go to you because you are being patient.

Now what does this relate to "It"? Well, this kind of patience is the patience of waiting. 18 years old doesn't have to be the end of everything when you are turned down. But at these times, thinking clearly is not easy. Clearly, it's not easy at these times. So that happened, it slowly broke down of what you believe in that thing "forever" from solid as a block to an air as evaporated."

So, when I was writing my list of goals in life. You will notice and see that it's not in the list of life goals. Well, not anymore...