------------------------------------------------------------------
Good and Right
By Don Iannone
Being good,
Being right,
Doing good,
Doing right,
Right is good,
Good is right,
If you could,
Shed some light.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Sunday, February 29, 2004
------------------------------------------------------------------
"First Man: I think, I think I am, therefore I am, I think..
Establishment: Of course you are my bright little star,
I've miles
And miles
Of files
Pretty files of your forefather's fruit
and now to suit our
great computer,
You're magnetic ink.
First Man: I'm more than that, I know I am, at least, I think I must be.
Inner Man: There you go man, keep as cool as you can.
Face piles
And piles
Of trials
With smiles.
It riles them to believe
that you perceive
the web they weave
And keep on thinking free."
Moody Blues, In the Beginning, On the Threshold of a Dream, 1969
------------------------------------------------------------------
"First Man: I think, I think I am, therefore I am, I think..
Establishment: Of course you are my bright little star,
I've miles
And miles
Of files
Pretty files of your forefather's fruit
and now to suit our
great computer,
You're magnetic ink.
First Man: I'm more than that, I know I am, at least, I think I must be.
Inner Man: There you go man, keep as cool as you can.
Face piles
And piles
Of trials
With smiles.
It riles them to believe
that you perceive
the web they weave
And keep on thinking free."
Moody Blues, In the Beginning, On the Threshold of a Dream, 1969
------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------
Non-Doing
The notion of "non-doing" is the most fundamental challenge to our many concepts of who and what we are. Non-doing "un-does" all of our ideas about "doing as a way of being." Is non-doing not a form of doing? Can we be without doing?
------------------------------------------------------------------
Non-Doing
The notion of "non-doing" is the most fundamental challenge to our many concepts of who and what we are. Non-doing "un-does" all of our ideas about "doing as a way of being." Is non-doing not a form of doing? Can we be without doing?
------------------------------------------------------------------
Saturday, February 28, 2004
The right thing happens to the happy man...
I was delighted to discover this Theodore Roethke poem on Loren Webster's weblog. It resonates with me at the moment.
The Right Thing
by Theodore Roethke
Let others probe the mystery if they can.
Time-harried prisoners of Shall and Will-
The right thing happens to the happy man.
The bird flies out, the bird flies back again;
The hill becomes the valley, and is still;
Let others delve that mystery if they can.
God bless the roots! -Body and soul are one
The small become the great, the great the small;
The right thing happens to the happy man.
Child of the dark, he can out leap the sun,
His being single, and that being all:
The right thing happens to the happy man.
Or he sits still, a solid figure when
The self-destructive shake the common wall;
Takes to himself what mystery he can,
And, praising change as the slow night comes on,
Wills what he would, surrendering his will
Till mystery is no more: No more he can.
The right thing happens to the happy man.
The Right Thing
by Theodore Roethke
Let others probe the mystery if they can.
Time-harried prisoners of Shall and Will-
The right thing happens to the happy man.
The bird flies out, the bird flies back again;
The hill becomes the valley, and is still;
Let others delve that mystery if they can.
God bless the roots! -Body and soul are one
The small become the great, the great the small;
The right thing happens to the happy man.
Child of the dark, he can out leap the sun,
His being single, and that being all:
The right thing happens to the happy man.
Or he sits still, a solid figure when
The self-destructive shake the common wall;
Takes to himself what mystery he can,
And, praising change as the slow night comes on,
Wills what he would, surrendering his will
Till mystery is no more: No more he can.
The right thing happens to the happy man.
Mystical journey...
More has happened this week than I can even begin to put into words. Poetry has played a big part in it. Meditation has taken me to some wonderful places that I haven't been to in a while. Lots of omens and signs reinforcing why we should...as Santa Fe Dan says..."trust the power that knows." Reconnecting with old friends from many directions has added to the mystical alchemy. New business concoctions that I would not have dreamed of--actually I have been dreaming about. Intuitive insights that parallel the 1992/1993 period in my life, and so much more. Life is rich and I am truly blessed. I love the journey...It's who I am.
Friday, February 27, 2004
The close of a poetic week...
Poetry is evidence that there is a lot of stuff kicking around inside all of us.
At times oblique, poetry causes us to scratch our heads to understand what the hell the poet really had in mind when he dashed off his or her poem.
When melodic, it charms us into dancing or makes us feel like we are riding the ocean waves. Sometimes poems actually make us want to sing.
When disturbing, poetry makes us consider our own feelings and thoughts about life.
Always, poetry makes us look inside for answers, and very often the questions--that underlie our most momentous journeys through life to find meaning and purpose.
This past week has been an interesting journey for me--a form of meditation if you will. Stay tuned...there will likely be more.
At times oblique, poetry causes us to scratch our heads to understand what the hell the poet really had in mind when he dashed off his or her poem.
When melodic, it charms us into dancing or makes us feel like we are riding the ocean waves. Sometimes poems actually make us want to sing.
When disturbing, poetry makes us consider our own feelings and thoughts about life.
Always, poetry makes us look inside for answers, and very often the questions--that underlie our most momentous journeys through life to find meaning and purpose.
This past week has been an interesting journey for me--a form of meditation if you will. Stay tuned...there will likely be more.
****************************************************
Timeless Reflection
By Don Iannone
Broken clocks,
Lost time.
Seeping like water
through any crack,
Running away won't help,
You can never bring back
What you never had.
Foolish little boy.
Sitting all alone,
Waiting for the clouds to pass
And for the sun to shine.
An old man stares through
The young boy's eyes,
Seeing the shadows of life about to appear
As the sun breaks free.
The old man knows the boy,
But the boy knows nothing of the man,
Even if they came face to face,
The boy would only see a stranger,
Just another someone looking back from the crowd.
Clocks and clouds,
Sunshine and time,
Old men and young boys,
Shadows and strangers,
Only time will tell.
****************************************************
Timeless Reflection
By Don Iannone
Broken clocks,
Lost time.
Seeping like water
through any crack,
Running away won't help,
You can never bring back
What you never had.
Foolish little boy.
Sitting all alone,
Waiting for the clouds to pass
And for the sun to shine.
An old man stares through
The young boy's eyes,
Seeing the shadows of life about to appear
As the sun breaks free.
The old man knows the boy,
But the boy knows nothing of the man,
Even if they came face to face,
The boy would only see a stranger,
Just another someone looking back from the crowd.
Clocks and clouds,
Sunshine and time,
Old men and young boys,
Shadows and strangers,
Only time will tell.
****************************************************
One that Mary passed along...
**************************************************
The Story We Know
By Martha Collins
The way to begin is always the same. Hello,
Hello. Your hand, your name. So glad, Just fine,
And Good-bye at the end. That's every story we know,
and why pretend? But lunch tomorrow? No?
Yes? An omelette, salad, chilled white wine?
The way to begin is simple, sane, Hello,
and then it's Sunday, coffee, the Times, a slow
day by the fire, dinner at eight or nine
and Good-bye. In the end, this is a story we know
so well we don't turn the page, or look below
the picture, or follow the words to the next line:
The way to begin is always the same Hello.
But one night, through the latticed window, snow
begins to whiten the air, and the tall white pine.
Good-bye is the end of every story we know
that night, and when we close the curtains, oh,
we hold each other against that cold white sign
of the way we all begin and end. Hello,
Good-bye is the only story. We know, we know.
**************************************************
The Story We Know
By Martha Collins
The way to begin is always the same. Hello,
Hello. Your hand, your name. So glad, Just fine,
And Good-bye at the end. That's every story we know,
and why pretend? But lunch tomorrow? No?
Yes? An omelette, salad, chilled white wine?
The way to begin is simple, sane, Hello,
and then it's Sunday, coffee, the Times, a slow
day by the fire, dinner at eight or nine
and Good-bye. In the end, this is a story we know
so well we don't turn the page, or look below
the picture, or follow the words to the next line:
The way to begin is always the same Hello.
But one night, through the latticed window, snow
begins to whiten the air, and the tall white pine.
Good-bye is the end of every story we know
that night, and when we close the curtains, oh,
we hold each other against that cold white sign
of the way we all begin and end. Hello,
Good-bye is the only story. We know, we know.
**************************************************
Thursday, February 26, 2004
*****************************
Shining Forth in Our Work
By Don Iannone
Our work...
should reflect
our true essence,
Nothing more, and
nothing less.
We need a
clean inner mirror
to see ourselves
in our work.
Our true essence then
shines forth to others.
Reflect...
who you are
in your work.
*****************************
Shining Forth in Our Work
By Don Iannone
Our work...
should reflect
our true essence,
Nothing more, and
nothing less.
We need a
clean inner mirror
to see ourselves
in our work.
Our true essence then
shines forth to others.
Reflect...
who you are
in your work.
*****************************
Special news bulletin...
"We are mad monkeys eternally doing unnecessary things, obsessed with the necesssity of 'doing', terrified of inaction, glorifying 'doers' almost uncritically, regardless of the havoc they cause, scorning 'non-doers', equally uncritically, blind to the prosperity that follows in their wake...." Source: Wei Wu Wei
(This one is courtesy of Dan Shimp from Santa Fe. Thanks Dan.)
(This one is courtesy of Dan Shimp from Santa Fe. Thanks Dan.)
Wednesday, February 25, 2004
Tuesday, February 24, 2004
****************************
The Beauty of Things
By Don Iannone
The beauty of things lies not
in their external functionality,
rather their ability to help us
see ourselves more honestly.
Anything, in this sense, that
opens our inner door to
personal awareness may be
considered a form of art.
We become artists when
at last we see life and
ourselves for what they really are,
without illusion or fantasy.
From that moment onward,
everything in life changes.
The world touches us differently,
and much more deeply.
Stripped of our self-illusions,
the true beauty of things
then reveals itself to us with
divine clarity and purpose.
Allow yourself to
revel in this revelation.
It is your treasure and reward
for acting on your own beauty.
*********************************
The Beauty of Things
By Don Iannone
The beauty of things lies not
in their external functionality,
rather their ability to help us
see ourselves more honestly.
Anything, in this sense, that
opens our inner door to
personal awareness may be
considered a form of art.
We become artists when
at last we see life and
ourselves for what they really are,
without illusion or fantasy.
From that moment onward,
everything in life changes.
The world touches us differently,
and much more deeply.
Stripped of our self-illusions,
the true beauty of things
then reveals itself to us with
divine clarity and purpose.
Allow yourself to
revel in this revelation.
It is your treasure and reward
for acting on your own beauty.
*********************************
Monday, February 23, 2004
This little poem...
came to me in my sleep...
***************************************************
The One-Armed Gardener
By Don Iannone
Self-doubt is no luxury
for the one-armed gardener,
who must trust in the
miracle of herself and God
with every seed that is planted.
The sun knows it must deliver
an extra ray of hope to the
flowers born in the one-armed
gardener's garden.
But the real miracle of this
special garden is how it
causes faith to grow in
the one-armed gardener,
and appreciation and respect
in those of us with two arms.
***************************************************
***************************************************
The One-Armed Gardener
By Don Iannone
Self-doubt is no luxury
for the one-armed gardener,
who must trust in the
miracle of herself and God
with every seed that is planted.
The sun knows it must deliver
an extra ray of hope to the
flowers born in the one-armed
gardener's garden.
But the real miracle of this
special garden is how it
causes faith to grow in
the one-armed gardener,
and appreciation and respect
in those of us with two arms.
***************************************************
Sunday, February 22, 2004
In search of poetry...
in my life...that is something I have come to realize. Poetry is a path to the heart. It causes us to reach inside and understand life in an intuitive archetypal way. For example...
***************************************************
Life as Poetry
By Don Iannone
Consider the possibility
that life is nothing more
than a simple poem.
That maybe, just maybe,
we are moved from a
deep poetic well
that bubbles up inside us.
The magic of poetry
is how it turns us inward,
causing us to grasp
the obvious, but also
reach beyond.
Poems are like dreams,
filled with images that
rise unexpectedly
from our inner depths.
Like dreams, they fill us
with inexplainable feelings
and vacuums.
To be connected to
one's inner poetry is
to be alive.
What more could we ask for?
***************************************************
***************************************************
Life as Poetry
By Don Iannone
Consider the possibility
that life is nothing more
than a simple poem.
That maybe, just maybe,
we are moved from a
deep poetic well
that bubbles up inside us.
The magic of poetry
is how it turns us inward,
causing us to grasp
the obvious, but also
reach beyond.
Poems are like dreams,
filled with images that
rise unexpectedly
from our inner depths.
Like dreams, they fill us
with inexplainable feelings
and vacuums.
To be connected to
one's inner poetry is
to be alive.
What more could we ask for?
***************************************************
Poet James Wright...
was from my hometown, Martins, Ferry, Ohio. Click here to read his biography. You may actually find his lifeline to be more interesting. Well, especially if you are from Martins Ferry.
You can find his poetry here. Finally, for an excellent discussion of his poetry, go here.
To many, Wright's poetry seemed dark and unsettling. There is an honesty to his poems that appeals to me. Moreover, his poems, in many ways, reminds us not to miss the "moment." That, I think, is a significant contribution of his work.
Thanks to Dan Shimp, my recently rediscovered childhood friend from Martins Ferry, I was reminded of Wright's poetry. We need friends to remind us of what we have forgotten in life--I think.
Here is one of Wright's poems, reflecting his struggle, like so many of us, to accept the world as it is.
Leave Him Alone
The trouble with me is
I worry too much about things that should be
Left alone.
The rain-washed stone beside the Adige where
The lizard used to lie in the sun
Will warm him again
In its own time, whether time itself
Be good or bad.
I sit on a hill
Far from Verona, knowing the vanity
Of trying to steal unaware on the lizards in the evening.
No matter how quickly
I pounce
Or slowly creep among the low evergreens
At the bend of the water,
He will be there
Or not there, just as
The sunlight pleases him.
The last feather of light fallen lazily down
Floats across the Adige and rests a long moment
On his lifted face.
You can find his poetry here. Finally, for an excellent discussion of his poetry, go here.
To many, Wright's poetry seemed dark and unsettling. There is an honesty to his poems that appeals to me. Moreover, his poems, in many ways, reminds us not to miss the "moment." That, I think, is a significant contribution of his work.
Thanks to Dan Shimp, my recently rediscovered childhood friend from Martins Ferry, I was reminded of Wright's poetry. We need friends to remind us of what we have forgotten in life--I think.
Here is one of Wright's poems, reflecting his struggle, like so many of us, to accept the world as it is.
Leave Him Alone
The trouble with me is
I worry too much about things that should be
Left alone.
The rain-washed stone beside the Adige where
The lizard used to lie in the sun
Will warm him again
In its own time, whether time itself
Be good or bad.
I sit on a hill
Far from Verona, knowing the vanity
Of trying to steal unaware on the lizards in the evening.
No matter how quickly
I pounce
Or slowly creep among the low evergreens
At the bend of the water,
He will be there
Or not there, just as
The sunlight pleases him.
The last feather of light fallen lazily down
Floats across the Adige and rests a long moment
On his lifted face.
Saturday, February 21, 2004
Buried deep inside...
like sunken treasure on the ocean's floor, lies the truth of who we are. Plunge the deep waters and swim in the direction of your personal treasure.
Friday, February 20, 2004
All things come...
in their time. If we look inside, we know when that time is. I discovered there is a voice inside me that tells time better than any clock I know. It is re-assuring to hear that voice say..."the time has come," or..."it will come to pass, wait." These words give me comfort...and a quiet confidence that my life is exactly what it should be.
Watch for the signs...
That is the message for Don, who is working to more actively access and use his intuitive gifts. The signs are often small and subtle. They usually come in clusters or bunches. They come from different directions and different people. Some times they are messages buried in dreams. Other times they are the words or the melody of a song. Listen to what strangers have to say to you. You never know who has a sign for YOU. Watch, observe, listen, and heed the signs.
The signs help us to understand what we need to do to lead authentic lives. They show us how to align with our true self. They point us to our healing center, which exists inside each of us.
The signs for me are training wheels. Maybe some day I will be able to ride my "lifecycle" without them.
The signs help us to understand what we need to do to lead authentic lives. They show us how to align with our true self. They point us to our healing center, which exists inside each of us.
The signs for me are training wheels. Maybe some day I will be able to ride my "lifecycle" without them.
As you reflect on the past week,
what was your leading accomplishment? Mine was to rediscover "pleasantness" through my meditation.
The Universe...
provides everything we need for our true journey in life. We have been fully outfitted with legs to carry us forward, arms allowing us to reach, hands to grasp, a mind to learn, comprehend, and understand, ears to listen and hear, a voice to speak and sing, and a heart to feel and love. What more do we need?
Don't allow...
a little stumble or fall keep you down. You get stronger each time you get up and continue your journey.
Thursday, February 19, 2004
What do you...
most want to know about yourself? Don't hestitate to ask yourself this question. The answer might surprise you.
If you could do anything...
you wanted to do today, what would you do? What is your deepest passion? Close your eyes for a few moments and locate your passion inside. Now that you know where your passion lies, how can you unleash it in whatever you do today?
Wednesday, February 18, 2004
The Universe has...
a design for each and every one of us. For each of us, there is a unique design and purpose. This purpose flows from who we are. It tells us what we need to be each day. Allow your "river of purpose" to flow through whatever you do.
Do we spend...
too much time "wanting" and maybe not enough time "appreciating" and simply "being" in life? This seems to be a tendency for many of us--me included. When is enough enough? Why do we want so more than we really have? Could it be that we really don't see how much we really have in life?
Tuesday, February 17, 2004
How do you...
employ your "faith" as you go about your work in life?
It seems to me that faith is a crucial ingredient for all work. We must have faith in ourselves and in others we work with. Sometimes our faith is tested. That is the best time to remind ourselves that our work is about something higher.
It seems to me that faith is a crucial ingredient for all work. We must have faith in ourselves and in others we work with. Sometimes our faith is tested. That is the best time to remind ourselves that our work is about something higher.
Of parables and koans...
Just as the Christian tradition has its teaching devices (for example, of Jesus’ parables or his penetrating one-liners), one school of Buddhism makes special use of the “koan,” a kind of story which usually revolves around a puzzling question or paradox. The pondering of koans is a form of spiritual practice intended to push the ponderer beyond ordinary reliance on reason into a deeper, intuitive grasp of reality--and of Reality.
Our work...
embodies our spiritual energy. It requires us to use our creativity, communication, respect, yision, partnership, energy and flexibility to succeed.
Monday, February 16, 2004
Allow some music...
to touch your soul as you start this new week. It could change your entire outlook on the week ahead.
Each of us...
is here for a reason that is far simpler but far more powerful than our minds will allow us to imagine. There are two paths to discovering that reason. Actively seek it. Allow it to come to you. Which do you prefer?
Meditation...
is about sitting quietly on a cushion, focusing on your breath, and hushing our busy minds so the truth inside can surface.
Sunday, February 15, 2004
Buried just beneath...
the February snow are the seeds of Spring, which await their time to blossom and bring forth rebirth and new life.
Seek the question...
that represents your life journey. It is the question behind the question behind the question. Seek it. It's there.
Conscious Living is...
a small campfire in the desert where weary travelers can come to warm themselves, rest, and seek inspiration.
Saturday, February 14, 2004
Trust...
Everything I ever worried about turned out exactly as it was going to despite my worry moments to the contrary.
--Wayne Dwyer
--Wayne Dwyer
Stretch Article: New Signs of Life
I believe we need to stretch our thinking from time to time. Here is a story that will do just that. What do you think?
Reprinted from Wired Magazine
Living Machines
By Christopher Meyer
Technology and biology are converging fast. The result will transform everything from engineering to art - and redefine life as we know it. Scientific advances point to a startling conclusion: The nonliving world is very much alive.
Copernicus demoted humanity by removing Earth from the center of the universe. Darwin showed that, rather than being made in God's image, people were merely products of nature's experimentation. Now, advances in fields as disparate as computer science and genetics are dealing our status another blow. Researchers are learning that markets and power grids have much in common with plants and animals. Their findings lead to a startling conclusion: Life isn't the exception, but the rule.
The notion that the inorganic world is alive is as old as mythology; think of Poseidon, the Greek personification of the sea. However, the tools available to examine life at its most essential - DNA sequencing, bioinformatics, gene chips - are new. We're beginning to discern life processes at their fundamental level, and as we re-create these processes in silico, we're starting to see how they work in inorganic settings. It turns out that many of life's properties - emergence, self-organization, reproduction, coevolution - show up in systems generally regarded as nonliving.
EMERGENCE describes the way unpredictable patterns arise from innumerable interactions between independent parts. An organism's behavior, for instance, is driven by the interplay of its cells. Similarly, weather develops from the mixing of oxygen, carbon dioxide, water, and other molecules.
SELF-ORGANIZATION is a basic emergent behavior. Plants and animals assemble and regulate themselves independent of any hierarchy for planning or management. Digital simulations made up of numerous software agents have demonstrated self-organization in systems ranging from computer networks to tornadoes.
REPRODUCTION was considered strictly the purview of organisms until recently. Now computer programs procreate, too. Genetic algorithms mimic biology's capacity for innovation through genetic recombination and replication, shuffling 1s and 0s the way nature does DNA's Gs, Ts, As, and Cs, then reproducing the best code for further recombination. This technique has been used to evolve everything from factory schedules to jet engines.
COEVOLUTION inevitably accompanies evolution. When an organism evolves in response to environmental change, it puts new pressures on that environment, which likewise evolves, prompting further evolution in the organism. This cycle occurs in many social systems - for instance, the interaction between behavioral norms and legal codes.
These life properties are already being built into real-world devices, like Sony's robotic dog Aibo; put two of them together and their personalities will coevolve. The line between organisms and machines is beginning to blur.
Consider a hypothetical pod of Predator drones. Each unmanned aerial vehicle monitors terrain, weather, and potential threats, and continuously receives target updates and transmits its findings via satellite. The drones are motivated by two rules: hunger for valuable intelligence and repulsion from other drones to minimize redundant observation. These rules enable the UAVs to direct themselves better than any dispatcher could. Other rules help the fleet survive. When a drone observes a hostile signature - missile, rocket-propelled grenade, rifle fire - it executes an evasive maneuver from a stored repertoire. As Predators live and die by these rules, they generate new information about fitness under various conditions. Genetic algorithms use this data to breed more effective rules. Predators are connected, so if one is shot down over Afghanistan, all drones everywhere gain improved responses to that form of attack. This is precisely how bacteria develop resistance to antibiotics, only faster.
This sounds far-out until you realize that something similar is already happening on your desktop, when Norton AntiVirus updates virus definitions automatically over the Internet. In fact, networks could play a critical role as machines come to resemble living creatures. In life, as on the Net, connections matter more than processors. The Internet could allow sensors to interact in emergent ways, forming an autonomic nervous system for the physical world. An early version is taking root in Los Angeles, where sensors at intersections identify approaching buses and ask a central computer whether they're on time. Late buses get the green light; the system gives crossing traffic extra time in subsequent cycles. The result: 25 percent improvement in transit times without creating congestion.
Oddly enough, our growing knowledge of life processes could have its biggest impact in the social sciences. Social systems, after all, are made up of interacting agents, i.e., people. When we become adept at applying these insights to the social sphere, we'll be able to run simulations that reveal, say, the conditions under which Iraq would reconstruct itself. At that point, the new science of life will help us not only live better, but live better together.
Go here to read more.
Reprinted from Wired Magazine
Living Machines
By Christopher Meyer
Technology and biology are converging fast. The result will transform everything from engineering to art - and redefine life as we know it. Scientific advances point to a startling conclusion: The nonliving world is very much alive.
Copernicus demoted humanity by removing Earth from the center of the universe. Darwin showed that, rather than being made in God's image, people were merely products of nature's experimentation. Now, advances in fields as disparate as computer science and genetics are dealing our status another blow. Researchers are learning that markets and power grids have much in common with plants and animals. Their findings lead to a startling conclusion: Life isn't the exception, but the rule.
The notion that the inorganic world is alive is as old as mythology; think of Poseidon, the Greek personification of the sea. However, the tools available to examine life at its most essential - DNA sequencing, bioinformatics, gene chips - are new. We're beginning to discern life processes at their fundamental level, and as we re-create these processes in silico, we're starting to see how they work in inorganic settings. It turns out that many of life's properties - emergence, self-organization, reproduction, coevolution - show up in systems generally regarded as nonliving.
EMERGENCE describes the way unpredictable patterns arise from innumerable interactions between independent parts. An organism's behavior, for instance, is driven by the interplay of its cells. Similarly, weather develops from the mixing of oxygen, carbon dioxide, water, and other molecules.
SELF-ORGANIZATION is a basic emergent behavior. Plants and animals assemble and regulate themselves independent of any hierarchy for planning or management. Digital simulations made up of numerous software agents have demonstrated self-organization in systems ranging from computer networks to tornadoes.
REPRODUCTION was considered strictly the purview of organisms until recently. Now computer programs procreate, too. Genetic algorithms mimic biology's capacity for innovation through genetic recombination and replication, shuffling 1s and 0s the way nature does DNA's Gs, Ts, As, and Cs, then reproducing the best code for further recombination. This technique has been used to evolve everything from factory schedules to jet engines.
COEVOLUTION inevitably accompanies evolution. When an organism evolves in response to environmental change, it puts new pressures on that environment, which likewise evolves, prompting further evolution in the organism. This cycle occurs in many social systems - for instance, the interaction between behavioral norms and legal codes.
These life properties are already being built into real-world devices, like Sony's robotic dog Aibo; put two of them together and their personalities will coevolve. The line between organisms and machines is beginning to blur.
Consider a hypothetical pod of Predator drones. Each unmanned aerial vehicle monitors terrain, weather, and potential threats, and continuously receives target updates and transmits its findings via satellite. The drones are motivated by two rules: hunger for valuable intelligence and repulsion from other drones to minimize redundant observation. These rules enable the UAVs to direct themselves better than any dispatcher could. Other rules help the fleet survive. When a drone observes a hostile signature - missile, rocket-propelled grenade, rifle fire - it executes an evasive maneuver from a stored repertoire. As Predators live and die by these rules, they generate new information about fitness under various conditions. Genetic algorithms use this data to breed more effective rules. Predators are connected, so if one is shot down over Afghanistan, all drones everywhere gain improved responses to that form of attack. This is precisely how bacteria develop resistance to antibiotics, only faster.
This sounds far-out until you realize that something similar is already happening on your desktop, when Norton AntiVirus updates virus definitions automatically over the Internet. In fact, networks could play a critical role as machines come to resemble living creatures. In life, as on the Net, connections matter more than processors. The Internet could allow sensors to interact in emergent ways, forming an autonomic nervous system for the physical world. An early version is taking root in Los Angeles, where sensors at intersections identify approaching buses and ask a central computer whether they're on time. Late buses get the green light; the system gives crossing traffic extra time in subsequent cycles. The result: 25 percent improvement in transit times without creating congestion.
Oddly enough, our growing knowledge of life processes could have its biggest impact in the social sciences. Social systems, after all, are made up of interacting agents, i.e., people. When we become adept at applying these insights to the social sphere, we'll be able to run simulations that reveal, say, the conditions under which Iraq would reconstruct itself. At that point, the new science of life will help us not only live better, but live better together.
Go here to read more.
Friday, February 13, 2004
The truth is...
today is Friday. Smile, laugh, rejoice in what you've accomplished this week, and now rest and play.
--Don Iannone
--Don Iannone
Poetic truth...
Truth, like milk, arrives in the dark
But even so, wise dogs don't bark.
Only mongrels make it hard
For the milkman to come up the yard.
~Christopher Morley, Dogs Don't Bark at the Milkman
But even so, wise dogs don't bark.
Only mongrels make it hard
For the milkman to come up the yard.
~Christopher Morley, Dogs Don't Bark at the Milkman
God offers to every mind...
its choice between truth and repose. Take which you please - you can never have both.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson
~Ralph Waldo Emerson
All truths...
are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them.
--Galileo Galilei
How true that is!
--Galileo Galilei
How true that is!
Thursday, February 12, 2004
Rediscovering your "beginner's mind"...
Beginner's Mind
By Shunryu Suzuki
It's hard to keep our mind
And practice pure in its fundamental sense.
In Japan we have the phrase shoshin,
which means 'beginner's mind.
The goal of practice is always to keep our beginner's mind.
You might easily lose your original attitude towards it.
For a while you will keep your beginner's mind,
But if you continue to practice,
You are liable to lose the limitless meaning of original mind.
For Zen students the most important thing is not to be dualistic.
Our 'original mind' includes everything within itself.
It is always rich and sufficient within itself.
You should not lose your self-sufficient state of mind.
This does not mean a closed mind,
But actually an empty mind and a ready mind.
If your mind is empty,
It is always ready for anything;
It is open to anything.
In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities;
In the expert's mind there are few.
If you discriminate, you limit yourselfl
If you are demanding or greedy,
Your mind is not rich and self-sufficient.
If we lose our original self-sufficient mind,
We will lose our precepts.
If you keep your original mind,
The precepts will keep themselves.
In the beginner's mind there is no thought,
'I have attained something.'
All self-centered thoughts limit our vast mind.
When we have no thought of achievement,
No thought of self,
We are true beginners.
Then we can really learn something.
The beginner's mind is the mind of compassion.
When our mind is compassionate, it is boundless.
How important it is to resume our boundless original mind.
Then we are always true to ourselves,
In sympathy with all beings,
Then we can actually practice.
So the most difficult thing is
Always to keep your beginner's mind.
There is no need to have a deep understanding of Zen.
You should not say 'I know what Zen is,'
Or 'I have attained enlightenment.'
This is the real secret:
Always be a beginner.
Be very careful about this point.
If you start to practice zazen,
You will begin to appreciate your beginner's mind.
It is the secret of Zen practice.
By Shunryu Suzuki
It's hard to keep our mind
And practice pure in its fundamental sense.
In Japan we have the phrase shoshin,
which means 'beginner's mind.
The goal of practice is always to keep our beginner's mind.
You might easily lose your original attitude towards it.
For a while you will keep your beginner's mind,
But if you continue to practice,
You are liable to lose the limitless meaning of original mind.
For Zen students the most important thing is not to be dualistic.
Our 'original mind' includes everything within itself.
It is always rich and sufficient within itself.
You should not lose your self-sufficient state of mind.
This does not mean a closed mind,
But actually an empty mind and a ready mind.
If your mind is empty,
It is always ready for anything;
It is open to anything.
In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities;
In the expert's mind there are few.
If you discriminate, you limit yourselfl
If you are demanding or greedy,
Your mind is not rich and self-sufficient.
If we lose our original self-sufficient mind,
We will lose our precepts.
If you keep your original mind,
The precepts will keep themselves.
In the beginner's mind there is no thought,
'I have attained something.'
All self-centered thoughts limit our vast mind.
When we have no thought of achievement,
No thought of self,
We are true beginners.
Then we can really learn something.
The beginner's mind is the mind of compassion.
When our mind is compassionate, it is boundless.
How important it is to resume our boundless original mind.
Then we are always true to ourselves,
In sympathy with all beings,
Then we can actually practice.
So the most difficult thing is
Always to keep your beginner's mind.
There is no need to have a deep understanding of Zen.
You should not say 'I know what Zen is,'
Or 'I have attained enlightenment.'
This is the real secret:
Always be a beginner.
Be very careful about this point.
If you start to practice zazen,
You will begin to appreciate your beginner's mind.
It is the secret of Zen practice.
A youngster's words on winter...
WINTER
I am Winter full of woe,
I am the season that is oh-so-slow!
White! White everywhere!
The only type of weather I have is fair
Snow on top of mountains,
Frozen water in the fountains.
Snow and Ice help me on my quest,
To try and make me the very best.
Spring and Summer are my worst foes,
I hate them so bad I melt my own snow!
Autumn is okay, He is my best friend,
Our friendship won't ever have an end.
Frost is the twin brother of Ice,
He has a temper as hot as spice!
Well, I am sorry I have to go,
The sun is starting to melt my snow!
~~By Ame B.~~
I am Winter full of woe,
I am the season that is oh-so-slow!
White! White everywhere!
The only type of weather I have is fair
Snow on top of mountains,
Frozen water in the fountains.
Snow and Ice help me on my quest,
To try and make me the very best.
Spring and Summer are my worst foes,
I hate them so bad I melt my own snow!
Autumn is okay, He is my best friend,
Our friendship won't ever have an end.
Frost is the twin brother of Ice,
He has a temper as hot as spice!
Well, I am sorry I have to go,
The sun is starting to melt my snow!
~~By Ame B.~~
Wednesday, February 11, 2004
Another Valentine's Week Special for Mary...
*********************************************
Making Valentines
By Shel Silverstein
In February, what shall I do?
I'll make some valentines for you.
The first will have a cupid's face;
The second will be trimmed with lace.
The third will have some roses pink;
The fourth will have a verse in ink.
The fifth will have a ribbon bow;
The sixth will glisten like the snow.
The seventh will have some lines I drew;
The eighth, some flowers--just a few.
The ninth will have three little birds;
The tenth will have three little words:
I love you!
*********************************************
Making Valentines
By Shel Silverstein
In February, what shall I do?
I'll make some valentines for you.
The first will have a cupid's face;
The second will be trimmed with lace.
The third will have some roses pink;
The fourth will have a verse in ink.
The fifth will have a ribbon bow;
The sixth will glisten like the snow.
The seventh will have some lines I drew;
The eighth, some flowers--just a few.
The ninth will have three little birds;
The tenth will have three little words:
I love you!
*********************************************
Chi Town...
CHICAGO
By Carl Sandburg (1916)
HOG Butcher for the World,
Tool Maker, Stacker of Wheat,
Player with Railroads and the Nation's Freight Handler;
Stormy, husky, brawling,
City of the Big Shoulders: They tell me you are wicked and I believe them, for I
have seen your painted women under the gas lamps
luring the farm boys. And they tell me you are crooked and I answer: Yes, it
is true I have seen the gunman kill and go free to
kill again. And they tell me you are brutal and my reply is: On the
faces of women and children I have seen the marks
of wanton hunger. And having answered so I turn once more to those who
sneer at this my city, and I give them back the sneer
and say to them: Come and show me another city with lifted head singing
so proud to be alive and coarse and strong and cunning. Flinging magnetic curses amid the toil of piling job on
job, here is a tall bold slugger set vivid against the
little soft cities; Fierce as a dog with tongue lapping for action, cunning
as a savage pitted against the wilderness,
Bareheaded,
Shoveling,
Wrecking,
Planning,
Building, breaking, rebuilding, Under the smoke, dust all over his mouth, laughing with
white teeth, Under the terrible burden of destiny laughing as a young
man laughs, Laughing even as an ignorant fighter laughs who has
never lost a battle, Bragging and laughing that under his wrist is the pulse.
and under his ribs the heart of the people,
Laughing! Laughing the stormy, husky, brawling laughter of
Youth, half-naked, sweating, proud to be Hog
Butcher, Tool Maker, Stacker of Wheat, Player with
Railroads and Freight Handler to the Nation.
By Carl Sandburg (1916)
HOG Butcher for the World,
Tool Maker, Stacker of Wheat,
Player with Railroads and the Nation's Freight Handler;
Stormy, husky, brawling,
City of the Big Shoulders: They tell me you are wicked and I believe them, for I
have seen your painted women under the gas lamps
luring the farm boys. And they tell me you are crooked and I answer: Yes, it
is true I have seen the gunman kill and go free to
kill again. And they tell me you are brutal and my reply is: On the
faces of women and children I have seen the marks
of wanton hunger. And having answered so I turn once more to those who
sneer at this my city, and I give them back the sneer
and say to them: Come and show me another city with lifted head singing
so proud to be alive and coarse and strong and cunning. Flinging magnetic curses amid the toil of piling job on
job, here is a tall bold slugger set vivid against the
little soft cities; Fierce as a dog with tongue lapping for action, cunning
as a savage pitted against the wilderness,
Bareheaded,
Shoveling,
Wrecking,
Planning,
Building, breaking, rebuilding, Under the smoke, dust all over his mouth, laughing with
white teeth, Under the terrible burden of destiny laughing as a young
man laughs, Laughing even as an ignorant fighter laughs who has
never lost a battle, Bragging and laughing that under his wrist is the pulse.
and under his ribs the heart of the people,
Laughing! Laughing the stormy, husky, brawling laughter of
Youth, half-naked, sweating, proud to be Hog
Butcher, Tool Maker, Stacker of Wheat, Player with
Railroads and Freight Handler to the Nation.
About London...
By William Wordsworth
Earth has not anything to show more fair:
Dull would he be of soul who could pass by
A sight so touching in its majesty:
This City now doth like a garment wear
The beauty of the morning: silent, bare,
Ships, towers, domes, theatres, and temples lie
Open unto the fields and to the sky;
All bright and glittering in the smokeless air.
Never did sun more beautifully steep
In his first splendour valley, rock or hill;
Ne'er saw I, never felt, a calm so deep!
The river glideth at his own sweet will:
Dear God! the very houses seem asleep;
And all that mighty heart is lying still!
Earth has not anything to show more fair:
Dull would he be of soul who could pass by
A sight so touching in its majesty:
This City now doth like a garment wear
The beauty of the morning: silent, bare,
Ships, towers, domes, theatres, and temples lie
Open unto the fields and to the sky;
All bright and glittering in the smokeless air.
Never did sun more beautifully steep
In his first splendour valley, rock or hill;
Ne'er saw I, never felt, a calm so deep!
The river glideth at his own sweet will:
Dear God! the very houses seem asleep;
And all that mighty heart is lying still!
Poems about cities...
SINGAPORE
Hail, Mother! East and West must seek my aid
Ere the spent gear may dare the ports afar.
The second doorway of the wide world's trade
Is mine to loose or bar.
HALIFAX
Into the mist my guardian prows put forth,
Behind the mist my virgin ramparts lie,
The Warden of the Honour of the North,
Sleepless and veiled am I!
Source: Rudyard Kipling
Hail, Mother! East and West must seek my aid
Ere the spent gear may dare the ports afar.
The second doorway of the wide world's trade
Is mine to loose or bar.
HALIFAX
Into the mist my guardian prows put forth,
Behind the mist my virgin ramparts lie,
The Warden of the Honour of the North,
Sleepless and veiled am I!
Source: Rudyard Kipling
Tuesday, February 10, 2004
Walking the edge...
"Edges are important
because they define
a limitation in order
to deliver us from it.
When we come to
an edge we come to
a frontier that tells us
we are now about to
become more than
we have been before.
As long as one operates
in the middle, one
can never really know
the nature of the
medium in which
one moves."
--William Irwin Thompson, Author of The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light
Source: Edgewalkers Institute
because they define
a limitation in order
to deliver us from it.
When we come to
an edge we come to
a frontier that tells us
we are now about to
become more than
we have been before.
As long as one operates
in the middle, one
can never really know
the nature of the
medium in which
one moves."
--William Irwin Thompson, Author of The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light
Source: Edgewalkers Institute
Taking care of our bodies and staying grounded...
The vast proliferation of body practices and therapies during the past century is often viewed as within the rubric of healing practices. This obscures their more profound importance as means of developing more grounded states of consciousness more connected with earthly and cosmic realities. Source: Institute of Noetic Sciences.
Addition: We must be "grounded" in our quest for greater consciousness in life. Taking care of our bodies is essential to that journey.
Addition: We must be "grounded" in our quest for greater consciousness in life. Taking care of our bodies is essential to that journey.
I am a senior citizen...
******************************************************************************
- I'm the life of the party... even when it lasts 'till 8pm.
- I'm very good at opening childproof caps with a hammer.
- I'm usually interested in going home before I get to where I'm going.
- I'm good on a trip for at least an hour without my aspirin, antacid...
- I'm the first one to find the bathroom wherever I go.
- I'm awake many hours before my body allows me to get up.
- I'm smiling all the time because I can't hear a word you're saying.
- I'm very good at telling stories...over and over and over and over.
- I'm aware that other people's grandchildren are not as bright as mine.
- I'm so cared for: long-term care, eye care, private care, dental care.
- I'm not grouchy, I just don't like traffic, waiting, children, politicians...
- I'm positive I did housework correctly before the Internet.
- I'm sure everything I can't find is in a secure place.
- I'm wrinkled, saggy and lumpy, and that's just my left leg.
- I'm having trouble remembering simple words like... uh...
- I'm realizing that aging is not for sissies.
- I'm walking more (to the bathroom) and enjoying it less.
- I'm sure they are making adults much younger these days.
- I'm in the *initial* state of my golden years: SS, CD's, IRA's, AARP.
- I'm wondering, if you're only as old as you feel, how could I be alive at 150?
- I'm anti-everything now: anti-fat, anti-smoke, anti-noise, anti-inflammatory.
- I'm a walking storeroom of facts... I've just lost the key to the storeroom.
- I'm a Senior Citizen and I think I am having the time of my life... Aren't I?
**********************************************************************************
- I'm the life of the party... even when it lasts 'till 8pm.
- I'm very good at opening childproof caps with a hammer.
- I'm usually interested in going home before I get to where I'm going.
- I'm good on a trip for at least an hour without my aspirin, antacid...
- I'm the first one to find the bathroom wherever I go.
- I'm awake many hours before my body allows me to get up.
- I'm smiling all the time because I can't hear a word you're saying.
- I'm very good at telling stories...over and over and over and over.
- I'm aware that other people's grandchildren are not as bright as mine.
- I'm so cared for: long-term care, eye care, private care, dental care.
- I'm not grouchy, I just don't like traffic, waiting, children, politicians...
- I'm positive I did housework correctly before the Internet.
- I'm sure everything I can't find is in a secure place.
- I'm wrinkled, saggy and lumpy, and that's just my left leg.
- I'm having trouble remembering simple words like... uh...
- I'm realizing that aging is not for sissies.
- I'm walking more (to the bathroom) and enjoying it less.
- I'm sure they are making adults much younger these days.
- I'm in the *initial* state of my golden years: SS, CD's, IRA's, AARP.
- I'm wondering, if you're only as old as you feel, how could I be alive at 150?
- I'm anti-everything now: anti-fat, anti-smoke, anti-noise, anti-inflammatory.
- I'm a walking storeroom of facts... I've just lost the key to the storeroom.
- I'm a Senior Citizen and I think I am having the time of my life... Aren't I?
**********************************************************************************
Some recent bumper stickers I've seen...
*********************************************************************
-I love animals, they taste great.
-EARTH FIRST! We'll stripmine the other planets later.
-"Very funny, Scotty. Now beam down my clothes."
-Friends help you move. Real friends help you move bodies.
-The gene pool could use a little chlorine.
-Make it idiot proof and someone will make a better idiot.
-He who laughs last thinks slowest!
-Give me ambiguity or give me something else.
-A flashlight is a case for holding dead batteries.
-Lottery: A tax on people who are bad at math.
************************************************************************
-I love animals, they taste great.
-EARTH FIRST! We'll stripmine the other planets later.
-"Very funny, Scotty. Now beam down my clothes."
-Friends help you move. Real friends help you move bodies.
-The gene pool could use a little chlorine.
-Make it idiot proof and someone will make a better idiot.
-He who laughs last thinks slowest!
-Give me ambiguity or give me something else.
-A flashlight is a case for holding dead batteries.
-Lottery: A tax on people who are bad at math.
************************************************************************
Monday, February 09, 2004
New illness hits the workplace...
********************************************************************************
Employee....."I'm sorry but I can't come in today. My doctor says I suffer from Anal Glaucoma."
Boss........"Anal Glaucoma? What's that?"
Employee...."I just can't see my ass coming to work!"
********************************************************************************
Thanks Mary!
Employee....."I'm sorry but I can't come in today. My doctor says I suffer from Anal Glaucoma."
Boss........"Anal Glaucoma? What's that?"
Employee...."I just can't see my ass coming to work!"
********************************************************************************
Thanks Mary!
One for Mary...
*****************************************************
Blessings Are the Things We Take for Granted
Blessings are the things we take for granted.
Each holiday we notice what we see.
Most know the Earth is utterly enchanted
Yet walk through life and love mechanically.
Valuing one's gifts takes resolution
After days and nights of fantasy.
Love brings the sweet relief of absolution,
Enveloping our hesitance in need.
No touch inspires so swift a revolution,
Transforming all the hieroglyphs we read.
In your love is the charity of spring,
Neither self-obsessed nor blinded by some creed,
Embracing the grey dawns that blessings bring.
Author: Nicholas Gordon
*****************************************************
Blessings Are the Things We Take for Granted
Blessings are the things we take for granted.
Each holiday we notice what we see.
Most know the Earth is utterly enchanted
Yet walk through life and love mechanically.
Valuing one's gifts takes resolution
After days and nights of fantasy.
Love brings the sweet relief of absolution,
Enveloping our hesitance in need.
No touch inspires so swift a revolution,
Transforming all the hieroglyphs we read.
In your love is the charity of spring,
Neither self-obsessed nor blinded by some creed,
Embracing the grey dawns that blessings bring.
Author: Nicholas Gordon
*****************************************************
The 80-20 rule applies to human behavior...
80% of our suffering (and joy) has its roots in what we think, feel and do everyday. Our experience of life is very much shaped by our attitude and behavior.
Sunday, February 08, 2004
Rejoice...
in the truth that awaits you in each fleeting moment. Ride the wave of time like a galant horseman, knowing that a blessing awaits you in each breath you take.
Our lives are like...
the candle's flame, flickering in the darkness, casting both shadows and light on the room.
Perish the thought...
that hides the truth of our existence. What we think can be harmful to our health.
This morning I am the river...
that flows through valleys and along side mountains. I mesh with the land on my edges and help things grow. The green fields and trees reach out to me for nourishment through their roots. I am fed by many smaller streams and tributaries from many different directions. I started as a single raindrop that trickled off God's cheek. I cease to be the river when the last of my water empties into the ocean, where all of life is finally connected.
Saturday, February 07, 2004
Globalization and free expression...
I ran across a fascinating discussion about how our ideas about "globalization" affect the ability of people to express themselves freely. It's called the "McDonalds or McDocumenta: Artistic Freedom in a Global Economy Forum." It is a part of The Censorship in Camouflage project, which is dedicated to investigating how expression is stifled in ways less obvious than outright government censorship.
For better or worse, the changes to which theories of globalization refer define our present. Interesting point. An investigation into how the processes of globalization affect the ability of individuals, states and minority groups to voice their concerns and be heard is not of purely descriptive value; it could serve as the base of active intervention in cultural policy and thus have tactical as well as theoretical uses.
But, first, what is globalization? There are many ways to see globalization—depending on who is looking, where they are looking from and what they want to see. Yet, we can probably all agree that, in the widest sense, globalization refers to an intensification of worldwide economic and social relations, as a result of which the local and the global are linked to an unprecedented extent.
In culture globalization brings into play two main recognized forces—the forces of homogenization and diversification/ hybridization—each of them with its own complications. Homogenization refers to the global spread of cultural products coming mostly from the US, i.e. the proliferation of McDonalds, Hollywood, CNN, American pop music, and so on, while diversification emphasizes the process of multiculturalism occurring in different nations due to both foreign imports and the new visibility of internal minorities.
So, how long do you plan to hide behind YOUR definition of "gloabalization?"
Got your attention? Get on over to the full article. What do you think?
For better or worse, the changes to which theories of globalization refer define our present. Interesting point. An investigation into how the processes of globalization affect the ability of individuals, states and minority groups to voice their concerns and be heard is not of purely descriptive value; it could serve as the base of active intervention in cultural policy and thus have tactical as well as theoretical uses.
But, first, what is globalization? There are many ways to see globalization—depending on who is looking, where they are looking from and what they want to see. Yet, we can probably all agree that, in the widest sense, globalization refers to an intensification of worldwide economic and social relations, as a result of which the local and the global are linked to an unprecedented extent.
In culture globalization brings into play two main recognized forces—the forces of homogenization and diversification/ hybridization—each of them with its own complications. Homogenization refers to the global spread of cultural products coming mostly from the US, i.e. the proliferation of McDonalds, Hollywood, CNN, American pop music, and so on, while diversification emphasizes the process of multiculturalism occurring in different nations due to both foreign imports and the new visibility of internal minorities.
So, how long do you plan to hide behind YOUR definition of "gloabalization?"
Got your attention? Get on over to the full article. What do you think?
1...2...3...4...who do we appreciate?
Why of course the biotech industry, the most chased after industry in economic development today. Excuse my sarcasm this morning.
What's my point? The biotech guys are buying political favors just like all the "old economy" industries that have been hanging around the Washington Beltway for the past couple hundred years. Hey, don't believe me? Click here and see for yourself.
I know this article belongs over on ED Futures, but it's about "consciousness" so I posted it here.
What's my point? The biotech guys are buying political favors just like all the "old economy" industries that have been hanging around the Washington Beltway for the past couple hundred years. Hey, don't believe me? Click here and see for yourself.
I know this article belongs over on ED Futures, but it's about "consciousness" so I posted it here.
Who gets the media's money?
For a look at how much the R's and D's get from the radio and TV media, aim your cursor here and click. Why spoil the discussion with my own interpretation of the numbers? I'll let you judge for yourself.
Friday, February 06, 2004
To Mary...
Deer Wisdom
I love the way the doe knows how to go
through the tall brambles: She ambles
her hips first to one side,
then another; tosses her nose high
to sniff the trails of air; and
proffers only a passing glance to
the chickadee on his slanted
branch. She knows the way;
she knows the turn of a hoof print
here, to the right of the wild rose brier;
there, past the tip of the raspberry twig;
she knows the sun even before
his fine arced dome appears
on the eastern horizon, and
she goes that way,
into the still of the dew
into the hills of the morning
in through that path between the thorns
that is so hard for us to see.
--Pat Campbell Carlson.
I love the way the doe knows how to go
through the tall brambles: She ambles
her hips first to one side,
then another; tosses her nose high
to sniff the trails of air; and
proffers only a passing glance to
the chickadee on his slanted
branch. She knows the way;
she knows the turn of a hoof print
here, to the right of the wild rose brier;
there, past the tip of the raspberry twig;
she knows the sun even before
his fine arced dome appears
on the eastern horizon, and
she goes that way,
into the still of the dew
into the hills of the morning
in through that path between the thorns
that is so hard for us to see.
--Pat Campbell Carlson.
Why geographic location matters
I posted this to George Nemeth's BFD this morning. It is worth putting up here for my visitors to read and comment on.
*****************************
George,
Your post prompts some further thought.
Geographic location is a reflection of our physicality as living creatures. It is an important defining dimension of our existence and search for deeper meaning in life. "Place" is as much a psychological and spiritual concept as a physical one.
Geographic place matters because in the most fundamental sense it is an important dimension of where we live in Nature, which encompasses all of us.
Technology, including the Internet, has enabled us to span geography and to appreciate what various locations mean to us. My ED Futures blog has nearly 5,900 subscribers, who come from all over the world. (I consider that a good thing.)
Transcending our physical/material being (including our attachment to geographic place) takes many forms in life. Not the least of which is medical science's quest to extend physical life and prolong the existence of our matter form.
What happens to the physical environment is a concern to all of us because all places (and the people who live there) share one unifying physical environment.
This may sound a bit strange, but I think it is worth considering. Astrology provides an intersection of geography, physical existence, mind, and spirit. It has taken many forms in many cultures over many millenna. There is a distinct geo-physical dimension of anybody's "chart."
I would contend that geographic location will continue to matter to us as long as we cling to our physical being. That may continue to be a long time.
One final point. Geographic location does not need to be the final determinant of our mental and spiritual being.
Back to you...
Don
*****************************
George,
Your post prompts some further thought.
Geographic location is a reflection of our physicality as living creatures. It is an important defining dimension of our existence and search for deeper meaning in life. "Place" is as much a psychological and spiritual concept as a physical one.
Geographic place matters because in the most fundamental sense it is an important dimension of where we live in Nature, which encompasses all of us.
Technology, including the Internet, has enabled us to span geography and to appreciate what various locations mean to us. My ED Futures blog has nearly 5,900 subscribers, who come from all over the world. (I consider that a good thing.)
Transcending our physical/material being (including our attachment to geographic place) takes many forms in life. Not the least of which is medical science's quest to extend physical life and prolong the existence of our matter form.
What happens to the physical environment is a concern to all of us because all places (and the people who live there) share one unifying physical environment.
This may sound a bit strange, but I think it is worth considering. Astrology provides an intersection of geography, physical existence, mind, and spirit. It has taken many forms in many cultures over many millenna. There is a distinct geo-physical dimension of anybody's "chart."
I would contend that geographic location will continue to matter to us as long as we cling to our physical being. That may continue to be a long time.
One final point. Geographic location does not need to be the final determinant of our mental and spiritual being.
Back to you...
Don
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Thursday, February 05, 2004
Yep...
So much of what we call management consists in making it difficult for people to work.
--Peter Drucker
--Peter Drucker
The key to being a good manager...
is keeping the people who hate me away from those who are still undecided.
--Casey Stengel
--Casey Stengel
Here is one to think about...
"Every society honors its live conformists and its dead troublemakers."
--Mignon McLaughlin
--Mignon McLaughlin
Wednesday, February 04, 2004
Yet another take on time...
Time is a cruel thief to rob us of our former selves. We lose as much to life as we do to death.
--Elizabeth Forsythe Hailey
--Elizabeth Forsythe Hailey
Another take on time...
Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you.
--Carl Sandburg
--Carl Sandburg
Time...
An unhurried sense of time is in itself a form of wealth.
--Bonnie Friedman, in New York Times
--Bonnie Friedman, in New York Times
Tuesday, February 03, 2004
Re-connecting with an old friend...
Dan (Danny) Shimp and I talked yesterday. 43 years is a long time, but also a short time in terms of the heart's clock. It was a wonderful conversation. So rich! We talked about the past, present, and future and we agreed it is good to remember old times. It grounds us and re-stokes the heart fires. We also agreed life is about one thing really...Now!
Lesson: True friendship once created, never dies and never grows old. I am thankful for Dan and what we shared together as kids following our hearts onto baseball diamonds, into old coal mine shafts, teasing the bull in the cloverfield, walking along a stream re-enacting ancient scenes when the woods was filled with Indians, and many other things. Summers were special times because it was our time to do what we wanted to do in life. Everyday should be summer. Don't you agree?
Lesson: True friendship once created, never dies and never grows old. I am thankful for Dan and what we shared together as kids following our hearts onto baseball diamonds, into old coal mine shafts, teasing the bull in the cloverfield, walking along a stream re-enacting ancient scenes when the woods was filled with Indians, and many other things. Summers were special times because it was our time to do what we wanted to do in life. Everyday should be summer. Don't you agree?
Monday, February 02, 2004
Passed along to me from a very old friend...
Memories
Flee and
Are no more:
All are empty dreams
Devoid of meaning.
The vagaries of life
Though painful,
Teach us not to cling
To this floating world.
If at the end of our journey
There is no final
Resting place
Then we need not fear
Losing our way.
No beginning
No end;
Our mind
Is born and dies:
The emptiness of emptiness!
In this world
All things, without exception,
Are unreal:
Death itself is
An illusion.
--Ikkyu
Dan Shimp of Santa Fe passed this special poem on to me and I pass it along to all of you. It's wonderful. Much to ponder about what we hold onto in life. Thank you, Dan.
As background, Dan and I shared several special summers together in the early 1960's in Martins Ferry, Ohio, where I grew up and where his grandmother lived. We played together from dawn to dusk. What wonderful memories.
Dan and I rediscovered each other after 40+ years. Can you imagine? Dan did an Internet search on "Martins Ferry, OH meditation groups" and my name popped up on his computer screen. He made his way over to Conscious Living and sent me an email, which I just replied to.
Life is a gift. Celebrate it every day. I am thankful for the Martins Ferry part of my life, and thank Dan for helping me to remember the good times.
Flee and
Are no more:
All are empty dreams
Devoid of meaning.
The vagaries of life
Though painful,
Teach us not to cling
To this floating world.
If at the end of our journey
There is no final
Resting place
Then we need not fear
Losing our way.
No beginning
No end;
Our mind
Is born and dies:
The emptiness of emptiness!
In this world
All things, without exception,
Are unreal:
Death itself is
An illusion.
--Ikkyu
Dan Shimp of Santa Fe passed this special poem on to me and I pass it along to all of you. It's wonderful. Much to ponder about what we hold onto in life. Thank you, Dan.
As background, Dan and I shared several special summers together in the early 1960's in Martins Ferry, Ohio, where I grew up and where his grandmother lived. We played together from dawn to dusk. What wonderful memories.
Dan and I rediscovered each other after 40+ years. Can you imagine? Dan did an Internet search on "Martins Ferry, OH meditation groups" and my name popped up on his computer screen. He made his way over to Conscious Living and sent me an email, which I just replied to.
Life is a gift. Celebrate it every day. I am thankful for the Martins Ferry part of my life, and thank Dan for helping me to remember the good times.
Sunday, February 01, 2004
Through these eyes I see...
Lately I have been pondering this question: "How do I go about looking for what I seek in life and how do I discover what life presents to me independent of my seeking?" Understand your own search strategy in life. Your questions will lead you.
How do you see things?
"You see things as they are and ask 'Why?' I dream of things as they never were and ask, 'Why not?'" George Bernard Shaw
Hemingway...
when asked what was the most frightening thing he ever encountered, answered: "A blank sheet of paper."
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