FEB. 19.2007
Ah the patterns the human mind chooses to identify
The minutest of details might be noticed for those oddities that catch our attention
All the while we miss the largest gorillas of moments and the elephants of importance
Where is it that this chaos around us comes from?
We filter
select
choose
What we want to believe
to see
to hear
Our worlds are such distortions of reality
Yet we have the ability to
stop
time
and experience moments of complete nirvanic understanding
Even with time moving, we pile little pieces of knowledge
on top of the
pieces already documented,
creating a deep,
colorful, complex
kaleidoscope of swirling, ever-changing,
geometrically complex
pile of pick-up-sticks
Each layer deeply embedded and completely supported by those beneath
Is this a chaotic, entropic movement towards the same moments of nirvanic understanding?
A collective, mechanistic movement…
I like to think that I am experiencing things counter to the chaos
But perhaps my moments make me better able to contribute to collective understanding
To the multi-dimensional stained glass society is building at a gross rate
Thrusting us further into chaos
Moving us one step closer to inspired, blissful understanding
Monday, February 19, 2007
Thursday, February 8, 2007
FEB.8 Elite
We all have unique things to offer this world, but some people are just more superior than others.
Am I an elitist?
Life isn't always fair
It wasn't made to be fair
Darwin one point "O" has become obsolete
Progressive policy
Technological advancement
Utopic theoretical hyperbole presents warm fuzzy concepts;
Equality
Human empathetic response
"Save the children."
Some people just weren't meant to be
They defy natural selection
They are weaker
They are unfit
Their keep is greater than their worth
They defy selection because we defy nature
We've made equality a priority;
Ignored animalistic responses to life and death
Rerouted circuitry to value compassion
To love
To love is to believe
....and to believe.....
.... is to be human....
To be human is to know that life isn't fair and to try to do something about it
Am I an elitist?
Life isn't always fair
It wasn't made to be fair
Darwin one point "O" has become obsolete
Progressive policy
Technological advancement
Utopic theoretical hyperbole presents warm fuzzy concepts;
Equality
Human empathetic response
"Save the children."
Some people just weren't meant to be
They defy natural selection
They are weaker
They are unfit
Their keep is greater than their worth
They defy selection because we defy nature
We've made equality a priority;
Ignored animalistic responses to life and death
Rerouted circuitry to value compassion
To love
To love is to believe
....and to believe.....
.... is to be human....
To be human is to know that life isn't fair and to try to do something about it
Friday, February 2, 2007
FEB.1 Belief
What an interesting song. So hauntingly beautiful and true! I recently finished watching part of Season Six of West Wing where Bartlet is convinced that he can reach a peace deal between the Palestinian and Iranian leaders. How beliefs can lead us to hold so much anger, hatred and hostility towards others is incredible. In March I'm going on an interfaith trip at the chapel to Turkey. The purpose is of course to learn about the historical religious tension of the middle east and to enter into meaningful dialog with others about matters of spirituality and religion. It's such a large messy, mess that I have really not wanted to think about it. Beyond what John Mayer identifies, what is the point of thinking about it? There really isn't much of one. Once you've come to the realization that it is all quite pointless, we can't do much more other than listen and learn solely for the purpose of satisfying curiosity. We can each solve world peace on our own time alone in our thoughts, or in the lyrics of a song, but can we ever move beyond the imagining and conjuring of our mind?
John Mayer; "Belief"
Is there anyone who ever remembers
changing their mind from the paint on a sign
Is there anyone who really recalls ever breaking rank
at all for something someone yelled really loud sometime
Everyone believes in how they think it ought to be
Everyone believes and they’re not going easily
Belief is a beautiful armor
It makes for the heaviest sword
Like punching under water
you never can hit who you’re tryin’ for
Some need the exhibition
Some have to know they tried
It’s the chemical weapon
for the war that’s raging on inside
Everyone believes from emptiness to everything
Everyone believes and no one’s going quietly
We’re never going to win the world
We’re never going to stop the war
We’re never going to beat this if belief is what we’re fighting for
What does a hundred thousand children in the sand?
Belief can
Belief can
What puts a folded flag inside his mother’s hand?
Belief can
Belief can
John Mayer; "Belief"
Is there anyone who ever remembers
changing their mind from the paint on a sign
Is there anyone who really recalls ever breaking rank
at all for something someone yelled really loud sometime
Everyone believes in how they think it ought to be
Everyone believes and they’re not going easily
Belief is a beautiful armor
It makes for the heaviest sword
Like punching under water
you never can hit who you’re tryin’ for
Some need the exhibition
Some have to know they tried
It’s the chemical weapon
for the war that’s raging on inside
Everyone believes from emptiness to everything
Everyone believes and no one’s going quietly
We’re never going to win the world
We’re never going to stop the war
We’re never going to beat this if belief is what we’re fighting for
What does a hundred thousand children in the sand?
Belief can
Belief can
What puts a folded flag inside his mother’s hand?
Belief can
Belief can
Thursday, January 25, 2007
JAN. 25 Ethical Principles for Consideration (notes from Org. Beh. Readings)
The four ethical principals:
∑ Utilitarianism: work to make the largest difference for the largest number of people. This focuses on the outcome of our actions, not so much the ethical quality of the action itself (if the outcome is ethical, the action need not be).
"nature has put man under the governance of two sovereign masters: pleasure and pain." From this is derived the rule of utility: that good is whatever brings the greatest happiness to the greatest number of people.” – Jeremy Bentham.
“cultural, intellectual, and spiritual pleasures are of greater value than mere physical pleasure, because the former would be valued more highly by competent judges than the latter.” –John Stuart Mill
This seems to me to be the phase of young ambition; to reach a peak position where one can “change the world” so to speak. I see it leading quickly to a savior behavior which can trigger a power hungry drive to move too quickly in order to make the biggest changes possible. Dangerous. Described as “Hedonistic.”
∑ Individual Rights: each person is entitled to rights as a citizen and human being, Human rights are different in that they seek a higher truth in what is classified as “right or wrong.” Rather, individual rights focus on personal restraint and the recognition that it is each individual’s choice to behave as they see fit. Individual rights are codified within the framework set out by society as law.
This seems to make a lot of sense to me. It is important to recognize the strength of the individual to make good choices. It is also important to recognize that we as humans can come to grips with a set of common values, and I would also say it is important for us to recognize a higher order Truth (with a capital ‘t’) in discussing what makes ethical “right and wrong.” Now of course, I’m the first to admit that there is no way for us to identify the Truth and create universal law, but to recognize that it does exist and there is a moral higher ground beyond what we as humans can comprehend is vital to this basic philosophical understanding.
∑ Distributive Justice: benefits should be distributed equally across all groups. Known for a radical sense of equality, those that believe in distributive justice believe that resources should be equally distributed with no reference to similarities and differences of groups. This system does not take preferences into account, but focuses only on egalitarian principle.
It seems that this would be completely unrealistic, but I would also hope that somebody in society will always argue this as necessary. I can’t be that person because I don’t think I actually believe complete equality is what we want in healthy society, but somebody must consistently remind us of utopia. I say this as a privileged middle class white woman.
∑ Care Principle: The morally acceptable action is the one that best accounts and preserves relationships. Focuses on partiality- favoring people with which we share special relationships. I couldn’t find much more on this than the paragraph in my text. It seems to be very small-world and selfish.
So I believe I've moved through multiple versions of these ethical understandings. I've seen friends travel similarly through variations on a theme. It's amazing how it can change as we grow and learn how to fit ourselves into the world.
∑ Utilitarianism: work to make the largest difference for the largest number of people. This focuses on the outcome of our actions, not so much the ethical quality of the action itself (if the outcome is ethical, the action need not be).
"nature has put man under the governance of two sovereign masters: pleasure and pain." From this is derived the rule of utility: that good is whatever brings the greatest happiness to the greatest number of people.” – Jeremy Bentham.
“cultural, intellectual, and spiritual pleasures are of greater value than mere physical pleasure, because the former would be valued more highly by competent judges than the latter.” –John Stuart Mill
This seems to me to be the phase of young ambition; to reach a peak position where one can “change the world” so to speak. I see it leading quickly to a savior behavior which can trigger a power hungry drive to move too quickly in order to make the biggest changes possible. Dangerous. Described as “Hedonistic.”
∑ Individual Rights: each person is entitled to rights as a citizen and human being, Human rights are different in that they seek a higher truth in what is classified as “right or wrong.” Rather, individual rights focus on personal restraint and the recognition that it is each individual’s choice to behave as they see fit. Individual rights are codified within the framework set out by society as law.
This seems to make a lot of sense to me. It is important to recognize the strength of the individual to make good choices. It is also important to recognize that we as humans can come to grips with a set of common values, and I would also say it is important for us to recognize a higher order Truth (with a capital ‘t’) in discussing what makes ethical “right and wrong.” Now of course, I’m the first to admit that there is no way for us to identify the Truth and create universal law, but to recognize that it does exist and there is a moral higher ground beyond what we as humans can comprehend is vital to this basic philosophical understanding.
∑ Distributive Justice: benefits should be distributed equally across all groups. Known for a radical sense of equality, those that believe in distributive justice believe that resources should be equally distributed with no reference to similarities and differences of groups. This system does not take preferences into account, but focuses only on egalitarian principle.
It seems that this would be completely unrealistic, but I would also hope that somebody in society will always argue this as necessary. I can’t be that person because I don’t think I actually believe complete equality is what we want in healthy society, but somebody must consistently remind us of utopia. I say this as a privileged middle class white woman.
∑ Care Principle: The morally acceptable action is the one that best accounts and preserves relationships. Focuses on partiality- favoring people with which we share special relationships. I couldn’t find much more on this than the paragraph in my text. It seems to be very small-world and selfish.
So I believe I've moved through multiple versions of these ethical understandings. I've seen friends travel similarly through variations on a theme. It's amazing how it can change as we grow and learn how to fit ourselves into the world.
JAN. 20. Female Chauvinist Pigs...
Through a quasi-pop-culture-ethnographic study, Levy provides no direct solutions to the raunch culture we've become so accustomed to, but she makes some damn good points about how stupidly far we have yet to go in feminist thought. (And in many ways, how we have regressed.)
"We have to ask ourselves why we are so focused on silent girly-girls in G-strings faking lust. This is not a sign of progress, it’s a testament to what’s still missing from our understanding of human sexuality with all of its complexity and power. We are still so uneasy with the vicissitudes of sex we need to surround ourselves with caricatures of female hotness to safely conjure up the concept “sexy.” When you think about it, it’s kind of pathetic. Sex is one of the most interesting things we as humans have to play with, and we’ve reduced it to polyester underpants and implants. We are selling ourselves unbelievably short.”
I’m not sure what to think because I too have come to represent and live raunch culture. That’s saying a lot since I am typically very aware of what I fall prey to within standardized culture. Regardless of whether you choose to participate directly in supporting Brittney spears, Pamela Anderson, Paris Hilton, the porn industry, Hugh Hefner, the morphing of homosexuality (and near abuse of terminology in the world of LGBT), there are many things that have mainstreamed. Fashion has led us to a natural raunch (knee-high boots, corsets, stilettos, low cut dresses, slinky clothing…) I’ve been taught to “appreciate” the female body. Is that unhealthy? Where is the line drawn between an understanding of sensuality and even sexuality (in a more raw, passionate means) and raunch? It seems to be a very fine distinction and I’m not sure I know where it lies yet. I’m certainly still very unclear on what I think, but Levy’s point is well made and if nothing else, will make you more aware of the raunch that surrounds us.
"We have to ask ourselves why we are so focused on silent girly-girls in G-strings faking lust. This is not a sign of progress, it’s a testament to what’s still missing from our understanding of human sexuality with all of its complexity and power. We are still so uneasy with the vicissitudes of sex we need to surround ourselves with caricatures of female hotness to safely conjure up the concept “sexy.” When you think about it, it’s kind of pathetic. Sex is one of the most interesting things we as humans have to play with, and we’ve reduced it to polyester underpants and implants. We are selling ourselves unbelievably short.”
I’m not sure what to think because I too have come to represent and live raunch culture. That’s saying a lot since I am typically very aware of what I fall prey to within standardized culture. Regardless of whether you choose to participate directly in supporting Brittney spears, Pamela Anderson, Paris Hilton, the porn industry, Hugh Hefner, the morphing of homosexuality (and near abuse of terminology in the world of LGBT), there are many things that have mainstreamed. Fashion has led us to a natural raunch (knee-high boots, corsets, stilettos, low cut dresses, slinky clothing…) I’ve been taught to “appreciate” the female body. Is that unhealthy? Where is the line drawn between an understanding of sensuality and even sexuality (in a more raw, passionate means) and raunch? It seems to be a very fine distinction and I’m not sure I know where it lies yet. I’m certainly still very unclear on what I think, but Levy’s point is well made and if nothing else, will make you more aware of the raunch that surrounds us.
JAN.19 The lucky seven...
The gnashing teeth of my stomach, the neurons firing off in my mind, the icy glare that can freeze the hearts of men, the hot fire of passion engulfing my diaphragm, my throat, my lips. Seven of them have seen it. No luck so far. Seven that I have shared the most intimate moments with, where I have allowed myself to go. Let it all come out. Bared my inner soul.
One for curiosity sake
One as experimentation and obligation
One as an exploration of past passion and as a revolt to confinement
One out of desperation
One for recovery
One to investigate historical flirtation, stimulated elsewhere
One of liberating freedom of supposed kindred souls but of substandard quality
One because being held is of comfort
One for myself
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine. There are seven of them. Two of them got an extra shot. One missed. One hit.
I am smitten.
Lucky number nine and three. Too bad I’m not as lucky as he.
One for curiosity sake
One as experimentation and obligation
One as an exploration of past passion and as a revolt to confinement
One out of desperation
One for recovery
One to investigate historical flirtation, stimulated elsewhere
One of liberating freedom of supposed kindred souls but of substandard quality
One because being held is of comfort
One for myself
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine. There are seven of them. Two of them got an extra shot. One missed. One hit.
I am smitten.
Lucky number nine and three. Too bad I’m not as lucky as he.
JAN. 17 Enlightenment...
It seems to me that to be motivated by the moment and to share that joy with those around you is the ultimate of enlightenment.
“Enlightenment,” if it must be called that, is the actualization of this process: the counterintuitive, and yet completely primal instinct to forget the suffering around you and motivate yourself to a plane of sheer joy. Sharing laughter, food and moments of cosmic connection, energy, health, spirit, and soul with others is the ultimate of all in enjoyment and happiness. I feel that you must be confident in defining, identifying, and creating these moments for yourself and those around you if you are to be truly mindful.
But to do so out of simpleminded selfishness is counterproductive because nothing in this universe acts in isolation. To be the joy that is the world and all things in it, and to be constantly mindful of what it is that makes feelings and emotions happen, is to also be aware of your surroundings and share the positive energy you yourself have learned to achieve. To lift up those who are unable to experience joy or do not have the blessedly bestowed situation that allows self actualization to be a natural path is the step that must follow the experience of personal contentedness.
You must first learn what it is to be who you are, and how to use what you have. Infants explore their bodies, first they find their hands, then they realize what usefulness they might have; then the miraculous feet and toes. Body parts can be used to pound against a piece of furniture to make noise. Mouths can scream and gurgle and screech. Over time, bodies can be used to express. They can express hunger, dissatisfaction, discontent, pain and frustration. They can ask questions, comment, claim things. This is a simple bodily awareness.
To communicate is to move beyond the understanding of only the fingers, feet, toes, and mouth. It requires moving beyond expression. To communicate is to recognize that every other soul has the same capabilities as you. To recognize the empathic existence of every soul’s sufferings, hunger, dissatisfactions, discontents, pains and frustrations.
This is a stepping-stone to complete self-actualization. Once an individual has realized that they are able to control their personal plight in life, they then have the responsibility to use their wisdom wisely. It is wonderful to recognize how much joy can be had from all that is possible in life, but it is another to waste it away frivolously. It then comes naturally that you are able to recognize that purely by being an individual, you are able to control your own happiness and subsequently able to recognize the potential in every other being to experience the same joy. The responsibility that follows is to teach those around you what it is to experience bliss and live in joy.
“Enlightenment,” if it must be called that, is the actualization of this process: the counterintuitive, and yet completely primal instinct to forget the suffering around you and motivate yourself to a plane of sheer joy. Sharing laughter, food and moments of cosmic connection, energy, health, spirit, and soul with others is the ultimate of all in enjoyment and happiness. I feel that you must be confident in defining, identifying, and creating these moments for yourself and those around you if you are to be truly mindful.
But to do so out of simpleminded selfishness is counterproductive because nothing in this universe acts in isolation. To be the joy that is the world and all things in it, and to be constantly mindful of what it is that makes feelings and emotions happen, is to also be aware of your surroundings and share the positive energy you yourself have learned to achieve. To lift up those who are unable to experience joy or do not have the blessedly bestowed situation that allows self actualization to be a natural path is the step that must follow the experience of personal contentedness.
You must first learn what it is to be who you are, and how to use what you have. Infants explore their bodies, first they find their hands, then they realize what usefulness they might have; then the miraculous feet and toes. Body parts can be used to pound against a piece of furniture to make noise. Mouths can scream and gurgle and screech. Over time, bodies can be used to express. They can express hunger, dissatisfaction, discontent, pain and frustration. They can ask questions, comment, claim things. This is a simple bodily awareness.
To communicate is to move beyond the understanding of only the fingers, feet, toes, and mouth. It requires moving beyond expression. To communicate is to recognize that every other soul has the same capabilities as you. To recognize the empathic existence of every soul’s sufferings, hunger, dissatisfactions, discontents, pains and frustrations.
This is a stepping-stone to complete self-actualization. Once an individual has realized that they are able to control their personal plight in life, they then have the responsibility to use their wisdom wisely. It is wonderful to recognize how much joy can be had from all that is possible in life, but it is another to waste it away frivolously. It then comes naturally that you are able to recognize that purely by being an individual, you are able to control your own happiness and subsequently able to recognize the potential in every other being to experience the same joy. The responsibility that follows is to teach those around you what it is to experience bliss and live in joy.
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