Eighteenth and nineteenth century physical science had completed and embellished the “golden age of a mechanistic and deterministic models of the universe” where the universe and its constituents are ruled by rigid interactive forces that can be measured, phenomena that can be predicted using mathematical tools, and where the universe or any system operating within it is made of the sum of its parts.

Light was thought to be an electromagnetic wave vibrating in an undetected, and later experimentally disproved media: “the ether”, at certain rates of vibration that would define its color. It was part of the electromagnetic wave spectrum that allowed one to perceive an electromagnetic wave as heat, light , radio waves, or other electromagnetic radiations depending on the frequency of its vibrations. This spectrum had been well-defined by the equations of the English physicist James Clerk Maxwell in 1864.

Yew Choong Cheong, a West Virginia University student who plays and studies classical piano despite a loss of hearing, recently won the 2007 International Young Soloists Award given by VSA arts.

The international, nonprofit organization was founded in 1974 by Ambassador Jean Kennedy Smith to create a society where all people with disabilities learn through, participate in and enjoy the arts.

As one of four award recipients from around the world to receive this honor, Cheong will play at the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., on March 21. He will also receive a $5,000 scholarship to assist with his career and studies in music.

I’ve often said that that which you focus your mind on is THE KEY to what you create in life. What you focus on determines the internal states you experience – how you feel, moment by moment – and it also determines the external results you get.

The trouble is, most people do their focusing unconsciously and without intention. How they focus, and what they focus on, runs automatically – which means that sometimes they focus on what they DON’T want – and get it. And, in addition, focusing on what you don’t want creates bad feelings.

In fact, I’ll make an even more sweeping statement:

Confidence is a tricky thing. One moment you feel on top of the world, able to accomplish all your hopes and dreams, and the next minute you feel your knees buckle – you become tongue-tied and are unable to even say hello. How can confidence be so strong one moment and then so fleeting and elusive the next? What magic ingredients do superconfident people possess that make them appear unflappable? And, most importantly, you ask, �How can I become more confident and self-assured in life?�