I'm reading a quantum physics book (for lay people!) at the moment... and he's talking about how space and time are part of the same continuum... basically the same critter but different clothing... That space and time are inextricably related... And I thought a few things...
How, when we are meditating, and becoming quite still... in our bodies and in our minds... time seems to slow down... That there is a connection between the space we occupy and the our experience of time. As our body becomes stiller... and our mind as well... that somehow time shifts for us.... Which is kind of a neat concept... It reminds me of Rip Van Winkle, who went to sleep (deep meditation)... and time stood still for him, while it zipped by all around him... So, he time-travelled by falling asleep... Interesting thought... Time-travel through meditation??
The edge of Ideas. The edge of Connections. The edge of the Unknown. And... in 2020... reading my way (again) through a hefty list of World-Changing books.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Master Manipulators
Have you ever noticed how we humans like to get things to go our way? Any which way we can? We are master manipulators. And we do it almost completely unconsciously... it is so much a part of us. And it involves a lot of things... dishonesty being a big one... We tweak things to put ourselves in a better light. We shift a story just a bit to make others act a certain way. We try to get people to do things the way we think it should be done... and we manipulate them in the bargain...
Because we don't even realize we are doing it... it's not something that we try to alter... We just do it... and often in a split second... It comes so naturally to us... We try to get people to stay in a conversation long after they want to leave. We try to get attention focussed on ourselves, so that we are in the spotlight. We crave attention and we do things to get the attention we so desparately want. We try to get things to go our way so that it always works out the best for us... and to heck with the others.
It is so divisive... It separates us from others... It separates us from ourselves. It separates us from life... Ultimately it separates us from God! Because, let's face it.... we try to manipulate God as well!! "God, if you do this... I will do this"... Manipulation is a tiny step away from blackmail...
Because we don't even realize we are doing it... it's not something that we try to alter... We just do it... and often in a split second... It comes so naturally to us... We try to get people to stay in a conversation long after they want to leave. We try to get attention focussed on ourselves, so that we are in the spotlight. We crave attention and we do things to get the attention we so desparately want. We try to get things to go our way so that it always works out the best for us... and to heck with the others.
It is so divisive... It separates us from others... It separates us from ourselves. It separates us from life... Ultimately it separates us from God! Because, let's face it.... we try to manipulate God as well!! "God, if you do this... I will do this"... Manipulation is a tiny step away from blackmail...
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Climate Change
So, I was flying into Saskatoon a few weeks ago and... the farm fields were very wet! Like, very wet.... Every little hollow had a pool of water. Every little lake was bigger than normal. Everything looked very green... Which is unusual for Saskatchewan in September!
Looking at all of this water I thought... the only ones who are going to be happy are the migrating ducks and geese and other water fowl! They must look down and think... oh my God... where to go!!! So many choices... So many opportunities. Every duck could have their very own little patch of water by the looks of it!
So, while climate change is not good for farmers trying to harvest crops in this soaking wet climate... the ducks are happy for all of the wetlands that have appeared... magically... all around them. But... at the same time... We didn't really have a summer this year... And it makes me wonder what the winter is going to be like. And while it might have been an extremely wet summer this year... what if it shifts and we get drought for several years?? I don't think anyone wants a repeat of the 1930s Dust Bowl...
Every little change we make... makes a difference... So, what are you doing to reverse/halt/slow down climate change?
Looking at all of this water I thought... the only ones who are going to be happy are the migrating ducks and geese and other water fowl! They must look down and think... oh my God... where to go!!! So many choices... So many opportunities. Every duck could have their very own little patch of water by the looks of it!
So, while climate change is not good for farmers trying to harvest crops in this soaking wet climate... the ducks are happy for all of the wetlands that have appeared... magically... all around them. But... at the same time... We didn't really have a summer this year... And it makes me wonder what the winter is going to be like. And while it might have been an extremely wet summer this year... what if it shifts and we get drought for several years?? I don't think anyone wants a repeat of the 1930s Dust Bowl...
Every little change we make... makes a difference... So, what are you doing to reverse/halt/slow down climate change?
Monday, October 11, 2010
Deadlines
Deadlines... always deadlines!! Have you ever noticed the word itself... dead-lines... Hmmm, does that mean that if you don't cross the line in time, you're dead??? Sometimes it can seem that way! Why not call it live-lines... Hmmm, if you look it up on wiktionary, there are some archaic uses that make a bit more sense. The idea that it was a line around a prison... cross the line and you're dead! Or that it was a line which doesn't move... i.e. It is not a live-line... because in that case it would move!! So it is a dead-line...
I don't know about you, but I have a lot of live-lines!! Deadlines that move as things change... I plan to have them done by a certain date, but then there is a certain flexibility in them that creeps in... or they just migrate to the bottom of the importance pile... But at some point, they all become deadlines!! If they aren't completed by a certain date, at some point, then the project is a dead duck... or I am in a bit of trouble... or it becomes a moot point. Everything seems to have an expiry date... Whether it is a project or a task or a chore. There comes a point, where, if it hasn't been completed... then there really isn't any point in doing it any more!
Sometimes my own expiry date of energy and enthusiasm comes first! And the thing gets put on the indefinite pile of "maybe someday"... It seems I am always in the midst of juggling various things, and some things just get taken out of the mix at some point, and laid to rest on the sideboard of life... Maybe someday... maybe I'll have time for that... or energy... or a spate of inspiration. Some of those things just vanish off the horizon of life.... others sit there and call to me... And I know that at some point, I will need to bring them back into the mix, get them back in the air and see what I can do with them...
And maybe that's a good thing.... Maybe it's good to see if a project has a life of its own, calls to me to complete it... or just quietly vanishes off the horizon. In that case, it probably wasn't all that important. But the project that sits on the sideboard and won't go away, the one that jumps up and down every once in a while and taps me on a shoulder... Those are the ones I need to heed.... the ones that I need to complete... and perhaps sooner rather than later...
I don't know about you, but I have a lot of live-lines!! Deadlines that move as things change... I plan to have them done by a certain date, but then there is a certain flexibility in them that creeps in... or they just migrate to the bottom of the importance pile... But at some point, they all become deadlines!! If they aren't completed by a certain date, at some point, then the project is a dead duck... or I am in a bit of trouble... or it becomes a moot point. Everything seems to have an expiry date... Whether it is a project or a task or a chore. There comes a point, where, if it hasn't been completed... then there really isn't any point in doing it any more!
Sometimes my own expiry date of energy and enthusiasm comes first! And the thing gets put on the indefinite pile of "maybe someday"... It seems I am always in the midst of juggling various things, and some things just get taken out of the mix at some point, and laid to rest on the sideboard of life... Maybe someday... maybe I'll have time for that... or energy... or a spate of inspiration. Some of those things just vanish off the horizon of life.... others sit there and call to me... And I know that at some point, I will need to bring them back into the mix, get them back in the air and see what I can do with them...
And maybe that's a good thing.... Maybe it's good to see if a project has a life of its own, calls to me to complete it... or just quietly vanishes off the horizon. In that case, it probably wasn't all that important. But the project that sits on the sideboard and won't go away, the one that jumps up and down every once in a while and taps me on a shoulder... Those are the ones I need to heed.... the ones that I need to complete... and perhaps sooner rather than later...
Sunday, October 10, 2010
10-10-10
Hmmm... how often does this happen? Well, I guess every 100 years or so!! It's kind of neat to see a 10-10-10 day... Maybe it will be a top 10 day!? If I was a figure-skater, that would be pretty good for a score!! Of course, last year, it was 9-9-9... Next year it will be 11-11-11... That looks like a good number... And then 12-12-12... Also a cool number. After that though, we have to wait almost another 100 years for the next little sequence of triplet numbers.
Which reminds me that December 21, 2010 is supposed to be a big day in the Mayan calendar. The end of one age and the beginning of a new one... It would be kind of cool to have a shift in human consciousness... so that we could stop destroying things and get around to the real business of creating things! Funny how destruction is so much easier than creation... Creation takes some work, takes some guts, takes some ingenuity... And it puts us in touch with the spirit of who we are... We are co-creators with God, so every time we create something, a meal, a book, a letter, a painting... we are participating in our call as creators...
It could even be something simple as the words we use that create something... or words that destroy something. Perhaps we use words that create/contribute to the self-esteem of someone... or participates in their creation of something in their world...
10-10-10... a great day to create... But then every day is a great day to create!!
Which reminds me that December 21, 2010 is supposed to be a big day in the Mayan calendar. The end of one age and the beginning of a new one... It would be kind of cool to have a shift in human consciousness... so that we could stop destroying things and get around to the real business of creating things! Funny how destruction is so much easier than creation... Creation takes some work, takes some guts, takes some ingenuity... And it puts us in touch with the spirit of who we are... We are co-creators with God, so every time we create something, a meal, a book, a letter, a painting... we are participating in our call as creators...
It could even be something simple as the words we use that create something... or words that destroy something. Perhaps we use words that create/contribute to the self-esteem of someone... or participates in their creation of something in their world...
10-10-10... a great day to create... But then every day is a great day to create!!
Saturday, October 9, 2010
France and The Roma
There's been lots in the news about the expulsion of the Roma (Gypsies) from France under Sarkozy's government. It has been widely denounced by certain politicians, commentators, human rights organizations and churches. Some have even compared it to what happened in Europe prior to and during World War 2... European leaders have denounced such a comparison and expressed support for France...
Leaving me to wonder... where is Europe going??? If all of Europe supports this sort of ethnic targeting... where are they headed? Who is next? For truly, it does remind me of what happened in Europe and Germany prior to World War 2... Ethnic groups (Jews, Gypsies, etc.) being blamed for the economic woes back then. Finding a scapegoat that we can pin our trouble on...
What is next... Jews? Turks? Muslims? Oh right, the French have already cracked down on facial/head coverings in France... Have we learned nothing???
Leaving me to wonder... where is Europe going??? If all of Europe supports this sort of ethnic targeting... where are they headed? Who is next? For truly, it does remind me of what happened in Europe and Germany prior to World War 2... Ethnic groups (Jews, Gypsies, etc.) being blamed for the economic woes back then. Finding a scapegoat that we can pin our trouble on...
What is next... Jews? Turks? Muslims? Oh right, the French have already cracked down on facial/head coverings in France... Have we learned nothing???
Friday, October 8, 2010
Looking vs. Seeing
I think the only thing I know about Henry David Throeau is that he spent time in the wood and wrote Walden's pond... The other day I came across a quote of his that struck me:
"It's not what you look at that matters,
it's what you see"
Which strikes me as being a very deep truth. We look at many things, but that isn't what matters... What matters is what we see when we look at things. So it's not the thing that we are looking at that is the issue... It is what we see, through all of our filters and interpretations and judgements. What we look at might not be what we see!! Which is a scary thought.... How often do we actually see what we look at? Or do we see other things... Do we see our story about the thing? Do we see our history about the thing? Do we ever look at something with fresh eyes, free of interpretations of any sort? I highly doubt it!
If I take his quote and modify it slightly... it becomes potent again in a different way...
"It's not who we look at that matters,
it's who we see"
We can look at a person... but do we really see the person... or do we see our judgements about the person, our history with that person, our emotions about that person? Do we actually see anyone for who they really are? We look at a person and immediately... immediately start putting them into a category... Ah yes, older person, grandmotherly type, has back issues, looking for a book for her grandchild perhaps, reminds me of so and so... I never liked so and so... I don't know that I like this woman"... All of that happens in a split second... faster than we can blink, our brains have looked, interpreted, categorized and sent us a message as to what we see... But the truth is... we rarely see, clearly see, what we are looking at....
"It's not what you look at that matters,
it's what you see"
Which strikes me as being a very deep truth. We look at many things, but that isn't what matters... What matters is what we see when we look at things. So it's not the thing that we are looking at that is the issue... It is what we see, through all of our filters and interpretations and judgements. What we look at might not be what we see!! Which is a scary thought.... How often do we actually see what we look at? Or do we see other things... Do we see our story about the thing? Do we see our history about the thing? Do we ever look at something with fresh eyes, free of interpretations of any sort? I highly doubt it!
If I take his quote and modify it slightly... it becomes potent again in a different way...
"It's not who we look at that matters,
it's who we see"
We can look at a person... but do we really see the person... or do we see our judgements about the person, our history with that person, our emotions about that person? Do we actually see anyone for who they really are? We look at a person and immediately... immediately start putting them into a category... Ah yes, older person, grandmotherly type, has back issues, looking for a book for her grandchild perhaps, reminds me of so and so... I never liked so and so... I don't know that I like this woman"... All of that happens in a split second... faster than we can blink, our brains have looked, interpreted, categorized and sent us a message as to what we see... But the truth is... we rarely see, clearly see, what we are looking at....
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)