The blank page haunts me.
Its very emptiness longs to be filled.
How then should I fill it?
When so often it would only be filled with my own emptiness.
But in the exchange of empty for empty I find myself fulfilled, and seeking to fill another page.
emptiness on emptiness
ACTION
fullness on fullness
my emptiness makes me dread its emptiness
its fullness makes me realize my fullness
Monday, May 2, 2011
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Success by the Bag
ORGANIZE: The Bag
I will first cover the general topics and then give you MY preferences.
I need a CALENDER
Life can be complicated. There are always things that need to be done. People that you need to be in contact with. People that are counting on you to remember that important date (birthday, anniversary, wedding, funeral, ball game, etc) It is best if those things gets done when they are supposed to.
There are a multitude of possibilities for filling this requirement. Both from the digital and the hard-copy. Smart Phones and their apps. Palm Pilots and their PDA friends. Wall calenders, pocket calenders, Day Timers, Franklin-Covey ad infinitude.
The issue here is NOT which one is the best. The issue is to find one that you will use and use consistently. An empty calender, or a calender that you don’t have with you is pointless.
I need a NOTE PAD/BOOK
There are always thoughts flying through the air. Some of them come directly to us. Some come to us through other people. Some ideas land for long periods others are fleeting and swift. Some ideas are amusing and trivial, others are powerful and high priority. Be prepared to write them all down,
The rise of the digital assistant, the laptop and the smart phone, have given us new ways of recording those thoughts. Post-its, and index cards are often in easy reach. Notebooks of every shape size and binding are easily acquired for a minimum of work.
Again the issue here is NOT which one is the best. The issue is to find one that you will use and use consistently. If you don’t have the space the idea could be lost, save your ideas they are precious.
I need a PEN AND PENCIL
Wood pencils, mechanical pencils, colored pencils. Dip pens, fountain pens, felt tip pens, ballpoint pens, gel pens. Beyond the necessity of a writing utensil if you are using a hardcopy note system. You will also find that there will be items to sign for on a regular basis. There will be times when other will want to jot a note and need to borrow a pen to catch that idea. PICK ONE. USE IT.
I need a TIME PIECE
Clocks are critical. They help us to consistently meet with each other at precise points during the day. They can be found in cars, on walls, on computers, on phones, in pockets, attached to belts and purses, and strapped to wrists. As much as is possible get the most accurate one you can find. Keep it with you.
I need a BAG
After listing all these things that I need. I need somewhere to keep them. Especially since I not only need these things with me but want to have some other items along as well. A folder that will keep other papers flat. A multi-tool for random quick fixes. A book to keep me company during long waits and meals. Project items that need hauling to and from places. A light meal for on the go. The list could be endless. But you have all that stuff in ONE place and ready to grab when you need it.
PERSONALLY:
All the items listed here are for hardcopy. I like digital stuff, I tend to grab the second generation of any tech. I place no faith in batteries, and loath the power outage, and sigh at the loss of communication with the internet. No thanks.
My phone does have a clock and calender that I can set day to day with alarms. My permanent calender is a large weekly/monthly beast that gives me plenty of writing space and looks impressive lying open on my desk. NEVER USE PEN ON YOUR CALENDER, stuff happens and will need to be adjusted.
I carry several writing spaces. A small Moleskine Cahier notebook in my pocket. A 6x12 quilters rule with a binder clip holding half sheets of scrap paper. A legal pad for more permanent notes. Post-it notes for making notes on a document that I don’t want to mark on directly, or tearing smaller to make more permanent book marks.
I carry a pen directly on me at all times. I don’t have a favorite pen. I do prefer a very fine tip black ballpoint. A mechanical pencil for my calender in the bag. A separate eraser because of the pencil. A red ink pen because of how I take notes in the books I study. I also carry an assortment of Sharpie markers for making odd text art projects and just making things more colorful.
Currently my timepiece is my cell phone. I do however see particular jobs where having your phone on the work floor is not appropriate. I will need to get batteries back into some of my watches, or a new watch.
My preferred bag is a brown canvas backpack. Backpack because the mass that I am currently carrying plus a laptop or other device I hope to be getting down the road will make too much weight to put on a single shoulder for long. Brown canvas because I tend to wear brown plus it is a bit more formal than the neon nylon packs and the school age targeted packs.
I know exactly the bag I want. Just go to SaddleBack Leather Co. and you will find out both why I want it and why I don’t have it YET.
PS
Take the time once a week or every other week to do an audit of the contents of your bag. Take out the trash that might have accumulated. Take out the stuff you haven't used regularly. Replace the supplies that got used/borrowed/lost. Include items that you have found yourself wishing for repeatedly.
GET IT. USE IT. ENJOY IT.
I will first cover the general topics and then give you MY preferences.
I need a CALENDER
Life can be complicated. There are always things that need to be done. People that you need to be in contact with. People that are counting on you to remember that important date (birthday, anniversary, wedding, funeral, ball game, etc) It is best if those things gets done when they are supposed to.
There are a multitude of possibilities for filling this requirement. Both from the digital and the hard-copy. Smart Phones and their apps. Palm Pilots and their PDA friends. Wall calenders, pocket calenders, Day Timers, Franklin-Covey ad infinitude.
The issue here is NOT which one is the best. The issue is to find one that you will use and use consistently. An empty calender, or a calender that you don’t have with you is pointless.
I need a NOTE PAD/BOOK
There are always thoughts flying through the air. Some of them come directly to us. Some come to us through other people. Some ideas land for long periods others are fleeting and swift. Some ideas are amusing and trivial, others are powerful and high priority. Be prepared to write them all down,
The rise of the digital assistant, the laptop and the smart phone, have given us new ways of recording those thoughts. Post-its, and index cards are often in easy reach. Notebooks of every shape size and binding are easily acquired for a minimum of work.
Again the issue here is NOT which one is the best. The issue is to find one that you will use and use consistently. If you don’t have the space the idea could be lost, save your ideas they are precious.
I need a PEN AND PENCIL
Wood pencils, mechanical pencils, colored pencils. Dip pens, fountain pens, felt tip pens, ballpoint pens, gel pens. Beyond the necessity of a writing utensil if you are using a hardcopy note system. You will also find that there will be items to sign for on a regular basis. There will be times when other will want to jot a note and need to borrow a pen to catch that idea. PICK ONE. USE IT.
I need a TIME PIECE
Clocks are critical. They help us to consistently meet with each other at precise points during the day. They can be found in cars, on walls, on computers, on phones, in pockets, attached to belts and purses, and strapped to wrists. As much as is possible get the most accurate one you can find. Keep it with you.
I need a BAG
After listing all these things that I need. I need somewhere to keep them. Especially since I not only need these things with me but want to have some other items along as well. A folder that will keep other papers flat. A multi-tool for random quick fixes. A book to keep me company during long waits and meals. Project items that need hauling to and from places. A light meal for on the go. The list could be endless. But you have all that stuff in ONE place and ready to grab when you need it.
PERSONALLY:
All the items listed here are for hardcopy. I like digital stuff, I tend to grab the second generation of any tech. I place no faith in batteries, and loath the power outage, and sigh at the loss of communication with the internet. No thanks.
My phone does have a clock and calender that I can set day to day with alarms. My permanent calender is a large weekly/monthly beast that gives me plenty of writing space and looks impressive lying open on my desk. NEVER USE PEN ON YOUR CALENDER, stuff happens and will need to be adjusted.
I carry several writing spaces. A small Moleskine Cahier notebook in my pocket. A 6x12 quilters rule with a binder clip holding half sheets of scrap paper. A legal pad for more permanent notes. Post-it notes for making notes on a document that I don’t want to mark on directly, or tearing smaller to make more permanent book marks.
I carry a pen directly on me at all times. I don’t have a favorite pen. I do prefer a very fine tip black ballpoint. A mechanical pencil for my calender in the bag. A separate eraser because of the pencil. A red ink pen because of how I take notes in the books I study. I also carry an assortment of Sharpie markers for making odd text art projects and just making things more colorful.
Currently my timepiece is my cell phone. I do however see particular jobs where having your phone on the work floor is not appropriate. I will need to get batteries back into some of my watches, or a new watch.
My preferred bag is a brown canvas backpack. Backpack because the mass that I am currently carrying plus a laptop or other device I hope to be getting down the road will make too much weight to put on a single shoulder for long. Brown canvas because I tend to wear brown plus it is a bit more formal than the neon nylon packs and the school age targeted packs.
I know exactly the bag I want. Just go to SaddleBack Leather Co. and you will find out both why I want it and why I don’t have it YET.
PS
Take the time once a week or every other week to do an audit of the contents of your bag. Take out the trash that might have accumulated. Take out the stuff you haven't used regularly. Replace the supplies that got used/borrowed/lost. Include items that you have found yourself wishing for repeatedly.
GET IT. USE IT. ENJOY IT.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Totemic Beasts and Teddy Bears
Archetypes: the people, places, things, events, that consistently arise from the collective unconscious to take new forms and importance.
Even the concept of archetypes is a recurring theme in my life, first with Joseph Campbell and now with Carl Jung.
In a now recurring job working with stuffed animals, bears in particular, I wondered if the “stuffed animal” or Teddy Bear had a base in our unconscious archetypes. I FOUND ONE!
The modern stuffed animal traces its history back to the Teddy Bear built in association with the historical event of Teddy Roosevelt refusing to shoot a captive bear. “During a bear-hunting trip in Mississippi in November 1902, to which Roosevelt was invited by Mississippi Governor Andrew H. Longino. There were several other hunters competing, and most of them had already killed an animal. A suite of Roosevelt's attendants, led by Holt Collier,cornered, clubbed, and tied an American Black Bear to a willow tree after a long exhausting chase with hounds. They called Roosevelt to the site and suggested that he should shoot it. He refused to shoot the bear himself, deeming this unsportsmanlike, but instructed that the bear be killed to put it out of its misery, and it became the topic of a political cartoon by Clifford Berryman in The Washington Post on November 16, 1902. While the initial cartoon of an adult black bear lassoed by a white handler and a disgusted Roosevelt had symbolic overtones, later issues of that and other Berryman cartoons made the bear smaller and cuter. Morris Michtom saw the drawing of Roosevelt and the bear cub and was inspired to create a new toy. He created a little stuffed bear cub and put it in his shop window with a sign that read "Teddy's bear," after sending a bear to Roosevelt and receiving permission to use his name. The toys were an immediate success.” (quote from Wikipedea)
Creating images of animals goes back further than that. There is a shamanic practice of totemic or power animals. Images of an animal used as a guardian or guide for you spiritual life. This was the beast who became your connection to the spirit realm. The one who watched over you while you slept or when you were sick. The one you told your dreams, worries, fears to that you wouldn’t tell anybody else. The creature you might aspire to be like as you matured. I know the sound of my child’s voice. The sound that comes through the monitor as the nap has ended but not yet ready to be lifted out. A cadence of conversation with no one really responding. A conversation with the bear telling of what took place during the nap, a conversation with one who really understands even when mom, dad, and the beloved Grandparents don’t and can’t understand.
Today the stuffed animal is often a child’s first friend. One who comforts a child in the midst of their nightmares, fears, and chaos of growing up. Of old it would be the quest of a young member of the tribe to seek their totem animal as a coming of age rite known as a vision quest. Now the search for the crib companion falls to the family of the newborn.
Next. Track the spread of the Totemic Bear: Native American, European, and Northern Japanese
Next. Track usage of BEAR in pop culture beyond the teddy bear.
Yogi Bear, Redwall, His Dark Materials, Greatful Dead, Pooh Bear, Paddington Bear
Even the concept of archetypes is a recurring theme in my life, first with Joseph Campbell and now with Carl Jung.
In a now recurring job working with stuffed animals, bears in particular, I wondered if the “stuffed animal” or Teddy Bear had a base in our unconscious archetypes. I FOUND ONE!
The modern stuffed animal traces its history back to the Teddy Bear built in association with the historical event of Teddy Roosevelt refusing to shoot a captive bear. “During a bear-hunting trip in Mississippi in November 1902, to which Roosevelt was invited by Mississippi Governor Andrew H. Longino. There were several other hunters competing, and most of them had already killed an animal. A suite of Roosevelt's attendants, led by Holt Collier,cornered, clubbed, and tied an American Black Bear to a willow tree after a long exhausting chase with hounds. They called Roosevelt to the site and suggested that he should shoot it. He refused to shoot the bear himself, deeming this unsportsmanlike, but instructed that the bear be killed to put it out of its misery, and it became the topic of a political cartoon by Clifford Berryman in The Washington Post on November 16, 1902. While the initial cartoon of an adult black bear lassoed by a white handler and a disgusted Roosevelt had symbolic overtones, later issues of that and other Berryman cartoons made the bear smaller and cuter. Morris Michtom saw the drawing of Roosevelt and the bear cub and was inspired to create a new toy. He created a little stuffed bear cub and put it in his shop window with a sign that read "Teddy's bear," after sending a bear to Roosevelt and receiving permission to use his name. The toys were an immediate success.” (quote from Wikipedea)
Creating images of animals goes back further than that. There is a shamanic practice of totemic or power animals. Images of an animal used as a guardian or guide for you spiritual life. This was the beast who became your connection to the spirit realm. The one who watched over you while you slept or when you were sick. The one you told your dreams, worries, fears to that you wouldn’t tell anybody else. The creature you might aspire to be like as you matured. I know the sound of my child’s voice. The sound that comes through the monitor as the nap has ended but not yet ready to be lifted out. A cadence of conversation with no one really responding. A conversation with the bear telling of what took place during the nap, a conversation with one who really understands even when mom, dad, and the beloved Grandparents don’t and can’t understand.
Today the stuffed animal is often a child’s first friend. One who comforts a child in the midst of their nightmares, fears, and chaos of growing up. Of old it would be the quest of a young member of the tribe to seek their totem animal as a coming of age rite known as a vision quest. Now the search for the crib companion falls to the family of the newborn.
Next. Track the spread of the Totemic Bear: Native American, European, and Northern Japanese
Next. Track usage of BEAR in pop culture beyond the teddy bear.
Yogi Bear, Redwall, His Dark Materials, Greatful Dead, Pooh Bear, Paddington Bear
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Prophecy Child
each of us is a child of prophecy
words spoken to us,
words spoken about us,
words spoken around us,
words spoken for us
words put in our mouths
words left un-spoken.
what will you say today?
To the children around you, to give them a prophecy of hope, joy, and love?
words spoken to us,
words spoken about us,
words spoken around us,
words spoken for us
words put in our mouths
words left un-spoken.
what will you say today?
To the children around you, to give them a prophecy of hope, joy, and love?
Memetic Ancestors
We often speak of our spiritual ancestors. People who are not physically related to us but who have affected our lives. I think we can add another way of speaking about this class of people.
There are our genetic ancestors, and our memetic ancestors. The first have affected our lives in the nature sense. The second affect us through their nurturing of our minds and spirits.
If we are lucky our biological parents will also be a positive memetic force in our lives. But there are times when a memetic ancestor/parent will take a larger role than our biological parents.
I don’t believe that i am coming up with this out of whole cloth. I am giving another term for it that compiles a great number of archetypes under a larger banner.
The mentor, the wise-old-man/woman, the muse, the teacher, and to some degree the friend all can come under the banner of a memetic ancestor.
There are our genetic ancestors, and our memetic ancestors. The first have affected our lives in the nature sense. The second affect us through their nurturing of our minds and spirits.
If we are lucky our biological parents will also be a positive memetic force in our lives. But there are times when a memetic ancestor/parent will take a larger role than our biological parents.
I don’t believe that i am coming up with this out of whole cloth. I am giving another term for it that compiles a great number of archetypes under a larger banner.
The mentor, the wise-old-man/woman, the muse, the teacher, and to some degree the friend all can come under the banner of a memetic ancestor.
Monday, January 17, 2011
Evolution: semantics and gripes
Evolution is a hot topic in some circles. But what is it? Evolution by it self simply denotes that things change over time. Nothing more. So? How is that a "hot topic." I see at least 4 distinct types of evolution. First is on the micro/macro scale. Small changes over time and Large changes over time. The other is a difference of biological(gene) and informational(meme) change. Gene from genetic. Meme from memetic, and a similar root to memory.
SO:
Evolution of the gene on the micro scale is why you look like your biological parents, why we have different breeds of cats, dogs, and horses, etc. This, I believe, can be counted as fact
Evolution of the meme on the micro scale is why we are (hopefully) smarter at 15 than at 5 and smarter at 30 than at 15, ad nauseam. This, I believe, can be counted as fact.
Evolution of the meme at the macro scale gives us the "ages of ...." The Stone, Bronze, Iron, Industrial, Information. This, I believe, can be counted as fact.
Evolution of the gene at the macro scale gives us the evolution of the species. Birds evolving from certain dinosaurs. Humans as an advanced subset of apes. This is the particular point of "evolution" that is being argued. The argument is primarily on the part of literalist readers of the Chistian Bible who assert that the earth is too young for gene to have evolved on its own. And based on the work of one James Ussher, Archbishop of Armagh, who concluded that the Earth was formed by God in 4004 BCE.
Those who question this literalist reading of the Bible or those who don't have a stake in the text argue the side of a much much older planet that would have the time for a gene to evolve on its own.
SO:
Evolution of the gene on the micro scale is why you look like your biological parents, why we have different breeds of cats, dogs, and horses, etc. This, I believe, can be counted as fact
Evolution of the meme on the micro scale is why we are (hopefully) smarter at 15 than at 5 and smarter at 30 than at 15, ad nauseam. This, I believe, can be counted as fact.
Evolution of the meme at the macro scale gives us the "ages of ...." The Stone, Bronze, Iron, Industrial, Information. This, I believe, can be counted as fact.
Evolution of the gene at the macro scale gives us the evolution of the species. Birds evolving from certain dinosaurs. Humans as an advanced subset of apes. This is the particular point of "evolution" that is being argued. The argument is primarily on the part of literalist readers of the Chistian Bible who assert that the earth is too young for gene to have evolved on its own. And based on the work of one James Ussher, Archbishop of Armagh, who concluded that the Earth was formed by God in 4004 BCE.
Those who question this literalist reading of the Bible or those who don't have a stake in the text argue the side of a much much older planet that would have the time for a gene to evolve on its own.
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