"The moment you stop caring about what others think of you then you can finally be yourself"

"Before you continue, if you haven't already I'd like you to read this blog The Art Of Understanding because what I'm about to write is sort of an extension. I have explained that, over time and through first hand experience my views, perspectives and opinions change. This is because I try to apply my mind to the things I choose to do. It's easy to stay the same in both your actions and the way you think about things, there are many reasons for this but in general I think some of us just get so tired with life and settle into a groove we feel comfortable with. I really wish I was one of these people but my mind never bloody stops."

If Your Views Differ From The Majority Then God Help You

Snap shots in time come in many forms, photographs, letters, music, art and video, music is actually a really good example for what I'm trying to explain. When I listen to my old recordings going way back over 20 years, I hear the drum parts in a different way - Why Is This? because my drumming mind has progressed and I'm now hearing all types of different ideas in my head, usually better ideas BUT at the time those old parts were recorded they were a snap shot of where I was musically at that specific point in my journey. Below is one of the last drum recordings I did, because I gave up shortly after this the part I played feels right. I had to step away from the drums for my own sanity so my journey ended.

When you document your activities for others to hear or see, be it making records, videos etc you are providing a snap shot that other people can participate in. When you keep your thoughts in your head and don't share them with any one then people have no evidence of your views or opinions, meaning that if they do change during the process of learning then no one really knows. I have over 300 videos on my YouTube channel, if my opinions about metal detecting stayed exactly same from the first to the last then there's clearly something wrong, I'm obviously not pay attention or learning anything.

How Did My Perspective Change?

That's a very simple question to answer, because I added more elements into the equation, in this instance these elements were metal detectors. Listed below are the machines I currently own and swing - all having been purchased with my own money - my wife thinks I'm nuts !

Minelab Equinox 800

Nokta Legend

Nexus Standard MP V2

Nexus Standard MP V3

Nexus Credo DDM

Nexus Coronado

Golden Mask 4WD Pro

Golden Mask Mono 1+

Golden Mask Dual Tone 1+

C Scope 990XD

Tesoro Silver Sabre

Troy Shadow MK X2

Tesoro Eldorado

Fisher F75

Fisher F19

Red Heat MK2

Tesoro Lobo Super-Trak

Tesoro Cutlass

Tesoro Compadre

Tesoro Outlaw

Laser Rapier 2

Deeptech Vista X

All the machines listed above have hundreds, if not thousands of hours on them, I use all my Nexus detectors on inland sites, the rest I use on the foreshore of the river Thames here in London. If the mood takes me I might use my Credo and V2 on the river as well, if I wasn't learning and changing my views swinging all of these machines then I'm clearly not paying any attention to what I'm doing. If I was only swinging the 800 and the Legend then both my views, experiences and opinions would be very limited because I wouldn't really have anything to compare their performance to.  

There's A World Outside YouTube

I'm currently swinging 22 different metal detectors and this provides me with enough "DATA" to come to my own views, beliefs and assumptions on detector performance. Let's not forget, I've learnt the audio to all these machines both inside and out and I know each of their languages along with their strengths, quirks and weaknesses. Am I An Expert? nope, no one is an expert, I'm just a guy using a set of machines that I bloody love, obviously some people will disagree with my conclusions. But let us remember that opinions don't trump the facts so If I Say Something That "Apparently" Could Be "Factually" Wrong, Does It Really Matter? no it shouldn't because, believe it or not, we should be entitled to our own opinions without people getting the pitchforks out. And in regards to 'Facts', going by the recent 'Fact-checker' mechanism now in place on all forms of media, a lot of the time the words "facts" and "science" are usually used is to control conversation or to push a specific narrative. 

Burn All Heretics & The Church Of Metal Detecting

When you look back through history freethinkers, renegades, artists etc would get chastised by the baying crowds, anyone who spoke against the church was slaughtered, those that didn't agree with the majority were made examples of and the supposed witches were burnt at the stake whilst the mindless shells of the world cooked verbal marshmallows on their ashes. My opinions seem to be annoying some of the crowds that inhabit the 'Church Of Metal Detecting', I don't care, because, to put it bluntly I don't give fuck what people think of me, I never have and I never will, I'm grateful to my dad for installing this into my belief system at a very young age. Any criticism and hate is merely a fart in the wind, at first it sort of creates a bad smell but then disperses into nothing becoming meaningless.

I will continue to write about "MY" thoughts and experiences when it comes to metal detecting and I will continue to make my videos expressing the way that I see things. People can shout, ridicule, edit videos to make me look like an idiot as much as they want, I don't watch YouTube, once I've posted a video or blog I then get on with my day in the real world, to me YouTube is part of the scripted and synthetic reality that I don't want to be a part of. So to conclude, in a world full of fake, choreographed bullshit where a vast majority of people want to be someone special, don't give in to the conditioning, be yourself and don't let anyone change who you truly are, it's really all very simple

“Never argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience.”

― Mark Twain