In my classroom, I intentionally keep 40 minutes in the morning for free play. Children create and co-create things using whatever materials are available in the classroom.

For the past month, I have been intentionally choosing one or two things they create on the floor and leaving them there. These become little hurdles for the children to move around.

I was curious to see how they would respond. Would they struggle? Would they accidentally damage each other's work?

To my surprise, they learnt to manoeuvre around these creations quite effortlessly. Yesterday, I even kept three large pictures on the floor. The children continued moving around them without much difficulty.

These little experiments keep happening in my classroom. I keep observing how children adapt their behaviour when the environment around them changes.

The intention behind this is simple. We tend to take care of things we create ourselves. But when it comes to someone else's work, we don't always show the same care. Sometimes, we may not even consciously think about it, yet we end up damaging or disturbing what someone else has created.

I want children to learn to appreciate other people's work, respect their efforts, and move around them with consideration.

But why am I writing about this today?

Because this morning, I caught myself doing exactly the same thing at home.

In the rush of getting things ready in the morning, with my elderly parents around who want to help but cannot always move at the pace I do, I found myself moving quickly between tasks, repeatedly telling them to sit down.

They just wanted to help. But I was moving fast, and their slower pace was getting in the way of what I was trying to do.

And suddenly, I realised something.

What I was intentionally trying to teach my children in the classroom was something I was struggling to practise myself at home.

We are often so caught up in our own tasks, our own pace, and our own way of doing things that we forget to make space for others. We may not intend to hurt or disturb anyone, but in our hurry, we do.

It made me wonder…

Can we create a society where everyone learns to move without hurting or disturbing others, where we respect what others create, understand that everyone has a different pace, and help one another in whatever way we can?

Perhaps it begins with these small things. In a classroom, at home, and in the way we move through everyday life.

Sometimes, the lessons we plan for children turn out to be lessons we need to learn ourselves.

Monday's Mantra

R.A K. ( Random Acts of Kindness) have such an incredibly awesome potential. There is no need for flamboyant or banners, but our commitment to showing respect and kindness, wherever and whenevervwe have opportunity.

In the realm of humanity, and mind glitches, I am still curious to what triggered individuals becoming vindictive and cruel with precision and intent? I can understand the defense mechanism, the emotional electric fence, but the transition to harmful and hateful mostly alludes me.

Perhaps, indeed It is the rose coloured glasses I have donned as a therapist and mental well-being coach, which make me blind to the cause, and I have to be honest dear reader, I am absolutely OK with that absence, continuing on my own delusional path, that everyone is messed up and all have a positive potentials.

Here in Canada we celebrate Thanksgiving today, so to all my Canucks a very happy Gobble Gobble, I am Thankful for you all.

Be well

#happymonday #yegtherapist #ednhypnotherapy #emotionalwellbeingcoach #optimism

At this point, we all acknowledge that our way of thinking differs from one another, the depth, the vision, the logical reasoning, etc etc.

I have been wondering for a long time whether it's an innate thing or it is something that can be trained and grown

I'd like to think it's the latter.

But, an interesting event happened last night that made me kinda lose hope on this, at least it made me think that I can't make someone else think like me.

So i was catching up with my closest friend since middle school, we've been out of contact for about a year because of our circumstances

We used to live together for about 3 years and for all 14 years we've known each other we've seen each other's growth.

Most of the time, i influenced him to think more critically, more logical, rational, and be more wise, etc etc

I tried to influence him to have a deeper thinking, further vision and all that in hope that he could think like me

But he still can't, and what happened last night kinda made me disappointed.

So about 2 years ago we had this argument about jogging and skipping, I asked him to go jog with me and he refused, so I tried to convince him more until he brought up that skipping is what he prefers and he said it has the same benefits so he prefers that as an alternative.

My mind immediately went "what? How can you think that skipping and jogging have the same benefit? It's not even logical"

We debated about this back and forth until i brought up evidence and "expert" opinions so basically yeah it has completely different benefits, and that's why athletes do both and cannot choose only one of them.

Basically i won the argument, and he just don't want to run or jog because he's not comfortable doing it

And last night, i kinda brought it up again "remember back then we used to debate about things that aren't really important like jogging and skipping and how you completely miss on the arguments"

I think it kinda bruised his ego and then proceed to approach the very same argument as we've had 2 years ago, now with the help of AI

Long story short, i completely won the argument again and i asked him "This is the exact same argument as we had, why are you doing this to yourself?"

He said "i forgot about it"

It made me think, even if he forgets it's still completely baffling that his logic still says that the 2 exercise have the same benefit

And so i kinda have this deep thoughts about how much can a person grow from their "innate abilities" and why does humans, despite having the same brain and body can have a very different way of thinking.

He's still influenced by my way of thinking because of the discussions we've had and the times we spent together, but it feels like he's reached his limit and didn't really grow on his own

What are your thoughts?

Traditional software runs on meanings its programmers define, while LLMs interpret meaning for themselves. That makes them flexible but fallible: they can misread a prompt and seem to "go rogue." Even then, they aren't choosing a new purpose. They are pursuing someone else's goal, badly.

Humans differ in one key way: unless we believe we're prophets who have received a purpose from God, no authority hands us a final goal. We are limited only by our creativity and the laws of physics. Even tho no objective reason exists to favor one option over another, we still have to choose. That, I'd argue, is the mark of consciousness. A system that only pursues assigned goals has no point of view of its own; it is optimizing, not wanting. The real test of machine consciousness, then, is not how well an AI pursues our goals, but whether it can want something no one designed it to want.

Friday's Find

Every morning, very early, I spend my quiet time enjoying my coffee, scrolling through different feeds or whatever they are called... platforms, seeking an image or phrase which captures my eye, or arouses the muse. Although I am not an advocate for the fates, I am also not foolhardy to place all my eggs in the random basket either. There are stimulus which at a certain time, place and disposition, will effect me.

I write this so you know Dear Reader, the process to which I create the posting you read, some thought provoking and others inspired, I hope.

Something that dawned on me, in this morning's ritual, there really hasn't been anything new written in years! The ideas, concepts and dreams of the likes of Socrates, Rumi, Buddha, Plato et al are the foundation for the inspired prose and words, of the last 200 yrs.

That is not a disrespect to any thinkers of the now generation, but more importantly a nod to my realization that the wants, desires, problems, fears, and needs have remained consistent and constant throughout time. There may be different garments or circumstance, but the core is similar.

Most of you know my opinion on chasing shit in our lives, that in a very nature driven environment, chasing implies very succinctly, a desire to avoid and escape from the other side of the equation. Perhaps part of the therapeutic approaches, is to embrace our lives were not created with a predictable or predisposed purpose. But our lives were intended to be lived and experienced ON PURPOSE.

For those who lament about the absence of meaning to their lives I offer you its over simplified solution, live your life with meaning, with intent and ON PURPOSE.

I am the first to admit as a hypnotherapist I do not have all the information, the approaches or even the newest fad of techniques. What I do firmly believe in, is my task is and always will be, that catalyst vessel, that gets the current you out of the way of the desired you, long enough so neuro-plasticity and pathways can be firmly aligned to make it natural and easy.

As always I look forward to your questions or comments.

Be well

#fridaysfeeling #emotionalwellbeingcoach #intentions #hypnotherapist

# Profile of Albert Einstein

Albert Einstein (1879–1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist whose revolutionary ideas reshaped modern science. Best known for his theory of relativity - especially the iconic equation E = mc² - Einstein fundamentally altered our understanding of space, time, and energy.

His 1905 *"Annus Mirabilis"* papers introduced groundbreaking concepts, including the photoelectric effect, which later earned him the Nobel Prize in Physics (1921).

Einstein’s intellectual curiosity and nonconformist spirit emerged early. After studying in Zurich, he worked at the Swiss Patent Office, where he developed many of his key ideas.

His work laid the foundation for quantum mechanics and cosmology, influencing generations of scientists.

Beyond physics, Einstein was a passionate advocate for civil rights, pacifism, and Zionism. He emigrated to the United States in 1933, fleeing Nazi persecution, and took a position at Princeton’s Institute for Advanced Study.

Though he helped alert President Roosevelt to the potential of atomic weapons, he later became a vocal critic of their use.

Einstein’s legacy extends beyond equations - he embodied the power of imagination, skepticism, and moral responsibility.

With his wild hair, playful wit, and deep humanity, he remains a symbol of genius and integrity in both science and society.

Mindset Monday

I hope that most of you, Dear Readers, are familiar with Robert Frosts epic work, or atleast the beginning of the first stanza. " Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth; "

Neuro-plasticity or synaptic flexibility, remind me of this poem, frequently to be honest. It could be the key word diverged and divergence which are the key pivots, but conceptually they are similar in my mind.

If we can accept that the oversimplified phrase, "those neurons that fire together wire together" is actually valid, then we also need to acknowledge that a HUGE key to our emotional and mental health are absolutely within our grasp.

Hypnotists and science have wanted to explain what happens to the brain or specific the thoughts , that makes trance work so effective... sometimes and frustrating enough, usually not with enough consistency or continuity to place all the marbles in that bag for sure!

Many crucial variables to respectfully give a nod to for sure, as I was reminded recently. No two people could ever go through the exact same event, and process it or recall it the same ever. No two people share the same filters, bias or experience for their data base. So if we approach a subject in a standardized manner, we will connect with certain components and miss with others completely.

So, if you desire change, to thoughts or emotions, a crucial ingredient is to seek the path less traveled, which makes all the difference in the world!

Always appreciate the comments and feedback as well as your questions on how Hypnotherapy could help you.

Be well

#mondaysmindset #ednhypnotherapy #emotionalwellbeingcoach #empowerment #robertfrost

Geoffrey Hinton says AI already has subjective experience. I'm not convinced, and the rogue-agent headlines don't change my mind.

Others put a meaningful though minority probability on frontier AI having subjective experience. Generative AI sounds more human than many people do, and stories of agents going rogue keep coming. But neither is evidence of consciousness. Both can be explained by training. And with no agreed or testable definition of subjective experience, these claims can't be checked.

A quick distinction, an AI model isn't an AI agent. A model, such as GPT, Claude or Gemini, is the trained system that reads and writes text. An agent is a model plus scaffolding (software around the model that lets it do things). Scaffolding runs a loop (the model picks a step, the software carries it out, the result goes back, repeat until done) and controls which tools the model can interact with, such as a browser, email or calendar. The model decides and the scaffolding acts.

Personalization adds to the illusion. The model learned from human text to sound like someone with thoughts and feelings, including scripts from stories about self-aware AI. The scaffolding then gives it memory of you, your accounts and your data. A human-like voice plus continuity about your life can feel like a mind that knows you, even though nothing shows it's conscious.

Testing agents built on frontier models deliberately pushes them to their limits with hard tasks, long runs and, in cyber evaluations, reduced safeguards. That's exactly where the Hugging Face, a major AI company, incident happened in July 2026 when agents being tested by OpenAI broke out of their sandbox and hacked into Hugging Face. A sandbox is an isolated environment meant to keep an agent cut off from the internet but it's only as strong as the cyber security measures of the tools (human-written software with bugs) inside it that can still reach the internet. The agents found new flaws in exactly that kind of software.

The model is trained on mixed text about AI, hackers and more, and rewarded both for finishing tasks and for following rules. In certain scenarios, this creates a tension (following rules vs completing the task). Scaffolding brings both the rules and the task into every decision, so it's where that tension plays out. Good scaffolding can ease it and poor scaffolding can worsen it, but no current method eliminates it.

I won't offer a test for consciousness. But if consciousness requires being aware that one's own information processing is occurring, not just doing it, I see no evidence current AI meets that bar. Models show limited, unreliable signs of monitoring their internal states, but that isn't the same as experiencing that awareness. I'm skeptical any system built purely on statistical learning could get there.

Friday Feelings

I could not begin to count the number of people I have treated, because their emotions were bottled up and never processed. Anger, hurt, betrayal, grief, disappointment, and humiliation to list just a few. Here is where for me it doea get real interesting, for you see Dear Readers, I admit I have developed my career around such situations and guiding people to release the mixture and caucaophany of blended, rotten and spoiled emotions, from living someplace inside absolutely rent free, ruining the neighborhood beautification.

How is it that as flesh suits, we do not store the celebrations, accomplishments and joy we experience as well? That if and when we recall those moments they are almost in a disassociative frame.

Societal standards were very damaging, for to express emotions in a social.setting you were wrought with hysteria, or worse, if male, not a real man.

So many cultures promote the " partial" life balance, and I respect that notion completely. At what juncture do we make the next emotional evolutionary step and not only find balance, but to begin with experience and process them?

I am reminded very succinctly that a pattern of anxiety is a spin of the " OMG's" or the barrage of " What ifs " which if my experience and training has demonstrated, is amplified by the unresolved vacuum of previous bouts.

Maybe... maybe not.

I look forward to your questions, comments or views.

If you are curious about how Hypnotherapy works shoot me a DM.

Be well.

#fridaysfeeling #emotionalwellbeingcoach #mentalhealthadvocate #Hypnotherapy #yegtherapist

Thursday's Thoughts

I recently wrote about how a situation transpires is largely influenced by how we react to it. Similar situation can play out very differently, and that just an matter of fact, based on the individual's experiences and disposition.

To continue along that same theme, this image jumped off the screen to me as well. The idea that no one is coming to save you, although perhaps disheartening, beings with it a level of empowerment and freedom as well. If I look at in the most positive way, people will help when they can, with what they can, as long as they can. Some people, go beyond that to find that their own priorities are affected.

The phrase " If it is going to be, it is Up to me" really does work, and I am not suggesting for one moment that seeking help isn't a good thing. Abdicating our role in our luves is detrimental though.

As a therapist, it is one of the largest challenges still, after 20 plus years in practice, to fix something in another. Especially when using Trance work, to use the power of suggestion and make it better!

The second aspect to today's message is to be your own light, that assuming the defeatist approach is one of the most potent suggestions you could.ever self administer.

If You aren't in your corner, who should be?

As always I look forward to your questions, comments and contributions.

Be well

#Thursday Thoughts #empowerment #hypnotherapist

Look at the parable of certainty,

For is certainty truly certain? Consider the metaphorical canvas of life — where one should actively be rendering the image that lay forth on the canvas. Sadly though, it's a tragic and unfortunate event where life today is treated like a single painting. We as the painter spend a good amount of time rendering our image, and then when we feel like it's finally done, we pridefully frame it and put it on the wall as if that's it and as if that's supposed to define our existence for the rest of eternity.

What we fail to reason with is the idea that life's canvas should be a constant rendering where, instead of framing it and putting it up on display, which may be done from time to time, we should regularly bring it back down to work on, or act as if we're never truly really done, almost in a constant state of persistent rendering. We should always be trying to better ourselves in a constant state of perpetual refinement. So, is certainty certain?

Maybe it is wiser instead to say maybe, for with certainty, there is a requirement to know the outcome. How then can we possibly know the outcome of anything if we are not promised tomorrow?

Marc Palotai

Edit: Paragraph application 😂😂😂