Build Your Creative Spaceship

Is there anything more inspiring and mysterious than the time a man went into space for the first time in history? It happened on April 12th, 1961. Yuri Gagarin, a Soviet astronaut was the first human to see our planet from orbit. I can only imagine what an inspiration it was for science fiction writers and filmmakers all over the world.

I think this historical event inspires me today to write science fiction stories for my films. There’s something eternal in searching for the reasons for our existence by experiencing the latest technologies. It moves us to the next levels of thinking and seeing the world. It helps to become better human beings, kinder ones.

Because of space travel, people now have seen Earth from above in high-quality pictures from magazines like National Geographic. Almost everyone in our world has an image of our planet from space in their head. Each time you imagine this peaceful image in your mind, it becomes easier to be a better person. You realize that all the reasons that made you angry and irritated are worthless in comparison with the eternal wisdom of the universe.

Space is still the final frontier. We are a long way from knowing what this world is made of, but we are on our way. It seems like every decade there’s a new mind-blowing technology that pops and blows everyone’s mind. It is also interesting to notice that new technology becomes a regular everyday occurrence. The beautiful part is that it all starts with a crazy idea that many people don’t believe in, and then it turns into a real achievement, which later becomes an everyday thing.

It’s been like that since the beginning of time. We always come up with newer, better, smarter, faster ways of doing things. Creativity goes hand in hand with progress. If Sergei Korolev, the chief engineer of the spaceship Vostok-1, the one that sent Gagarin into space, wasn’t creative, the rocket wouldn’t exist. First, it was an idea in his head, which then with hard work turned into a real spaceship. Isn’t it incredible? You can do that too.

What thoughts are you having as you read this article? Pick any of them and turn it into something tangible. Write a story, make a film, or perhaps design the next rocket that could send safely the first man to Mars. The limit is your imagination. Remember, if you can imagine something, it means that it is possible to create it. Our minds won’t give us ideas that are impossible to make real.

To help you with connecting to your creative self, you can check out my book Vitamin C for a Soul. Each chapter ends with an exercise that allows you to connect to your true creative self, and everyone’s true self is a creative one. Let’s build our creative spaceships and send our first men and women into space so that we set the new standards of what the human mind is capable of. Good luck! I believe in you.

Alternative Worlds

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Imagine that there is another person like you, but slightly different. They think in a similar manner behave in a way that would be familiar to you, but their life path evolved into something drastically distant from where you are in your life.

This difference happened because your alternative self did something that you were afraid of. One little decision like going to an audition or writing the first word of your screenplay made a world of difference between your fearful self and your braver version in the alternative world.

The problem is that you will never get a chance to see that alternative self. Your paths will never cross, and yet both of you will think that this the only way life should be. At every decision point, our life splits in an uncountable number of possible future timelines, or, in other words, alternative lives that every version of “you” inhabit.

A person from that world would feel exactly like you and wouldn’t even think of the possibility of your existence unless he’s a sci-fi nerd like me. But here comes another question, “If you knew for sure that another “you” are successful, would your life change because of that fact?” That is the question that quantum mechanics “wizards” tackle on a daily basis.

While a coin is spinning, you don’t know the outcome, and this is an example of how we unable to know for a fact whether other realities exist or not. What lesson can be learned from all of this philosophical puzzle?

To me, is this, whenever you make any decision, ask yourself: “Is this the best decision I can make, or, perhaps, my alternative self would have the courage to come up with something better?”

Inspire your counterparts from alternative worlds with your courage to make hard, uncomfortable decisions that would shape your reality in the best possible way.

Modern Slavery

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I've noticed this secret evolution of machines, smartphones in particular. A wave of distractions comes from various apps that attack our humanity nonstop.

This dependence on technology appears to me like a modern type of slavery. A virtual ball and chain well-tied to our souls every single day. And when it's away from us, we feel insecure, bored, even lost. This notion of having the smartphone in your pocket to feel safe makes me terrified. Do we need this security?

Each life journey is an adventure, but it reveals its secrets only to those who dare to experience unknown. You'll never discover the gems of the World if you delegate control over your life to a mobile device.

I encourage everyone to spend at least one day a month entirely without a smartphone. Sounds like an inconvenience, I know. But how addicted we are if only a day seems so hard for us?

Leave your gadgets at home and lose yourself in nature for a day or two. Make the first step to real life and thrilling wonders of the Universe reveal themselves to you.

Mysterious Tim Turner

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Tim Turner, aka (T&T), is an ambitious engineer. He graduated from Stanford, majoring in data science. He leads a minimalist lifestyle. Tim is a top gun in his field.

Tim is obsessed with the development of a new wave of artificially intelligent personal devices. Tim ignores the fact that there are 24 hours in a day. His greatest fear is to die without making a significant impact.

Tim likes to drink rare teas regularly. They cost so much that you can buy a house for Tim's annual tea budget. He plays hand drums to relax. Tim is single, except for his prototype of a self-made artificially intelligent woman. He claims that she’s nothing more than his assistant. Tim lacks experiences with women, as well as socializing with people in public, but it doesn't bother him.

Tim is an orphan. He inherited a small house in Pasadena which he turned into one big laboratory. Tim's primary source of income - orders from private clients for custom made intelligent robots. Tim never meets his buyers. All orders are shipped via mail.

Tim strives to optimize his sleep but fails miserably for most of the time. Occasionally, Tim hallucinates the end of the world and dreams about it too. Some people say that he knows the future. It may or may not be true, but he's definitely onto something.

Mystery of Cessna

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LINDA flies almost fuel-less Cessna 172. There is a vast ocean ahead, and no signs of land. Her navigator ROGER is dead.

Propellers stop spinning. Cessna glides down to the sea. The plane gains momentum when a THUNDERSTORM devours the aircraft. Linda barely holds on to the seats in front of her. The plane shakes hard.

A BULLET-SHAPED VESSEL prevents Electra's crash, several feet away from the ocean's surface.

CAPTAIN of the mysterious VESSEL invites Linda aboard the sleek aircraft. A crew welcomes Linda as a Messiah. The legend says, "A savior will fall from the sky." In a blink of an eye, Linda watches Captain and the crew disappear. They were holograms. The ship operates itself away.

Linda meets human beings of the avatars she saw on the bullet-shaped vessel. They call themselves OUTCASTS and they risked everything by leaving their VR incubators.

In this world, people live in Virtual Reality. A long time ago, humanity sacrificed their bodies to the World of VR. Interactions in real-life prohibited by LIFE HUNTER, the human-like creature that owns the real life. The punishment - slavery in his castle for life. Life Hunter sucks human energy to feed himself.

Life Hunter imprisons Linda and the Outcasts in the castle. Linda has no clue on how to escape. Outcasts sure that solution will come to Linda in the right moment.

Linda struggles to find out what she must do. Life Hunter puts each outcast through the series of cruel mental labor that tremendously challenges their minds and bodies. After these sessions, they all crawl out exhausted.

One of the Outcasts can't bear the pressure and degrades to a baby mentality. Outcasts start to doubt that Linda is the savior.

Linda's turn. Life Hunter exploits her. She overcomes torturous mind drudgery. Life Hunter overloads her brain more, Linda's sense of reality blurs. Her mind slowly turns against her. Linda sees things that try to kill her will, her humanity. It pisses off Life Hunter. Linda gets tired, but she walks out of the torture chamber. Outcasts are fascinated. There's hope.

Next day, Life Hunter aggressively increases the intensity of Linda's thought challenges. Linda envisions series of high-pressure flights which make her mind to feel physical pain. After this session, Linda crawls to outcasts, and she still hasn't found the way to beat the Life Hunter.

Linda discovers that she must let go of her ego and accept things that happen to her as they are. Stop resisting them or trying to control, merely allowing them to go. Linda avoids any interactions with Life Hunter as if he isn't there. Life Hunter gets pissed, but he realizes that his influence on Linda is declining. Soon, she disappears from Life Hunter's eyes. The anger grows within Life Hunter until it destroys him.

Outcasts leave the castle. They can live in real life now and teach others how to do the same. Linda flies the Cessna over the ocean towards the horizon. The light grows brighter until Linda dissolves in it.

Ghostly beast

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I was running along the Hudson River in New York at night, and the red glow from "exit" signs inside of the buildings attracted my attention. I felt an evil presence in them as if some secret power controls all those structures. I could almost sense its invisible heartbeat. 

Then I thought this "ghostly beast" has eyes as well. Surveillance cameras, smartphones, and other devices can see almost everything we do. There is a possibility that this "beast" is Artificial Intelligence (AI), and it secretly uses those devices to gather data. What does it do with it? Could AI decide to expand its influence? If the answer is "yes," it would want to make the world absolutely efficient, but not necessarily in the right way. The ghostly beast could annihilate or enslave all humankind. Perhaps, it would be able to come up with something even worse.                                                                                                  

Even though it's impossible to stop the advancement of AI, we can focus on developing our inner abilities, which are still at a very early stage. Even the smartest people use only 13% of their brains. What can we do if we will be able to use more than that? Superpowers might be one of the answers. In the meantime, we have to keep an eye on our relationship with AI.

Moon mission application

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I've been fascinated by the idea of becoming a Moon Traveler since I was a kid. When I created my first online account, my user name was "Moonraker," and it remains the same today. Now, there are a lot of other "Moonrakers." This user name gained popularity over the years, but I believe that I have the potential to become an actual Moonraker.

The movies about the Moon and Space travel added more fire to the burning desire to get my curious being to that lonely satellite. Sometimes, I'm doing visualization sessions that help me to practice the Moon trip. There's no question about it. One way or the other, I will get to the Moon.

For more than a decade, I've been following a rigorous physical and nutritional regime. It's essential to have your body in its best shape and keep your senses fine-tuned to get the most from the Moon adventure. Daily, I follow and study every cosmonaut who went to space. Their experience is crucial for the success of my mission. I'm grateful to have an opportunity to speak to them. Their daily logs serve me as the Bible.

I believe I would be an excellent candidate to represent your Moon exploration mission. Also, I'm in close friendship with other top-qualified candidates, which names I can disclose only in a private meeting. I would be happy to set up an interview so that you could feel my enthusiasm for this mission. I can guarantee that you will get the best possible value from sending me to this incredible and mysterious place.