New Civilization News

One photo and the memory it contained. . .

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 13:04:02 GMT

I was just going through some old photo files stored on my hard disk when I came across this photo, as soon as I saw it a flood of memories came back and I was there again...

"In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." - John Muir

We had walked across the meadow behind the old cottage we used to live in and climbed over the five bar gate that led into the wood; As soon as I put my foot down I could feel the spongy ground thick with pine needles and I breathed in the wonderful damp cool smell.

We knew these woods well and loved to go off the beaten paths and make our way though the thick curling ferns. The slanted dappled light dancing through the canopy made the place seem magical.

In these quiet hidden inner places of the woodland we would often come face to face with its creatures, coming out of the dark green into a passage of sunlight to see a deer standing stately and silent, bathed in the almost luminous light.

It was strange that no matter how many times we explored, we always found new areas that we were sure we had never seen before.

On one of these forays we stumbled out of the damp green interior into a clearing and there lit by a ray of sunlight, radiant amongst the blankets of dark green pines was the tree in the picture.

It almost took my breath away!

I walked over and stood in front of it and made Joe laugh when I said that it looked like something special was happening and that maybe it was having a birthday. :-)

I stood for a moment just taking in the wonderful sight and enjoying the moment of sunshine, then remembering my camera, I retrieved it from my deep pockets and took the photo before we headed back into the shade of the canopy and made our way home.

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The CascoDuro Case and who laughs last..

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 17:55:15 GMT

Far from making a joke, a pack of Brazilian self-acclaimed intellectuals attacked Brazilian's President as being analaphetic and unable to speak correct Portuguese. In the end it turned out to be a joke but the joke was on them as Lula's choice of words was not only legitimate but even intelligent as I will show below.

However, the problem lies deeper than using a certain word or not. It is symptomatic for a mental, oops, intellectual illness, it is a SYNDROME. One could simply focus on the obvious part and call it 'literal thinking'. But this would easily be dismissed as pertaining only to autism. In reality, an autist DOES conceive outside the framework of words but does not abide to the 'domestication process' that commands people to abstract from words the same way that had been determined by the current 'society'.

In a larger sense, 'literal thinking' also describes the inability to conceive a thought outside a pre- and other-determined frame of words. In other words, to 'think outside the box'. Rigid language thus keeps people captured within a limited range of possibilities and, Heavens forbid they would step beyond those boundaries of the mind. Don't even think of it!

Let's look at languages that are less rigid than Portuguese: the English of the United States is notoriously open to newly constructed expressions and even allows for 'inventing' new words, be it from scratch or through combinations of existing words like 'brunch' (= BReakfast plus lUNCH). It's no news that the American people were world leaders in innovation during the last century even though the vast majority of them is still at the 'literal level'.

The German language provides another example of linguistic flexibility: agglutination. The former communist regime of Eastern Germany wanted to export their fabrications of angels for Chrismas trees without internally referring to religion. They created the new word 'Gefluegelte Jahresendfigur' - a 'figure with wings for the end of the year'.

Back to the pack of predatory journalists in Brazil: they just can't confront the success story of a Northeastern metal worker becoming president. Whenever he speaks in public, they are hunting for some signs of illiteracy and they had a feast when Lula declared the other day: "tenho o casco duro", claiming it should be 'casca dura'. But the class of journalists of Brazil that is hunting for Lula-bloopers outdid themselves in their own smartness:

not being a Brazilian, it took me less than 2 minutes on the Internet to find out who's right and who's wrong!

This is silly, of course, but it comes to show that preconceived thinking combined with literal thinking makes anyone a fool of himself. To add shame to injustice, the same journalists and bloggers that blasted Lula for alleged 'erroneus Portuguese', took down their own pages ridiculizing Lula faster than you can say 'casco duro'.

Where is Google here - to conserve this outrageous, shameful behavior of the Brazilian mass media? Like in the recent case of an accident in Sao Paulo, they quickly remove any links to whatever is not convenient to the wannabe rulers and enemies of the Brazilian president, doing their part in local politics without the official status of a lobbyist. But Google's links (or non-links!) are in part controlling the Memes of the world and in this case local politics. Something that should seriously be looked into on a larger scale!

In any case, Lula, a 'simple' 'Nordestino', from a formerly poor and underdeveloped region of Brazil, rose to power in an unprecedented way and despite a massive mass media campaign of lies, unproven allegations and badmouthing in general. It was in the context of these shameful maneuvers that he stated that he survives these attacks of the mass media because of having a 'thick skin' as we would say in English.

Here is a little Portuguese lesson for the Brazilian mass media who claims that 'casco' should be 'casca' and only an illiterate person could mix those up:

'casca' - the shell of an egg, the rind of a tree
'casco' - the hull of a ship, the hoof of a horse, the shell of a tortoise

So, dear reader, what did Lula mean? That he's like an egg or a tree?

For me the message is clear and it prompted me to engage in some interesting musings about Lula's archetype: one thinks of a metal worker as an Ogun-type person. But Lula changed his career from a worker to being an advocate for workers as a syndicalist and then, much to the surprise to Brazilian Elitists, he went on to become President of Brazil. And reelected. Wow! What a shock it must be! And what a strange way to go for an Ogun! Isn't this a classic, THE classic, path of Shango?

Let's look for clues in Lula's words, not just of the other day but along the past years of presidency and we can see an old warrior carefully scheming his way amongst his own enemies, deflecting all attacks by a strong shield while maintaing his heart soft, warm, and intact, the way of the turtoise (sic!), and, after the storm is over, having the last laugh! What archetype would that be?

(Note: one can find the answer, of course, in the book 'Your Personal Archetype' (by Ed, Aaron, and myself), but you can also find it on the Internet if you sift long enough through all the trash&jewels that's out there about archetypes, Orishas, Archons, Devas, you name it).

the Most Important Second ever

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 07:57:55 GMT

Blimey - the more we know and understand about the world
the more amazing it becomes !

more >

Quotations about Kindness

Tue, 9 Mar 2010 07:35:02 GMT

Today I bent the truth to be kind, and I have no regret, for I am far surer of what is kind than I am of what is true. Robert Brault

If you haven't any charity in your heart, you have the worst kind of heart trouble. Bob Hope

Never look down on anybody unless you're helping him up. Jesse Jackson

A good character is the best tombstone. Those who loved you and were helped by you will remember you when forget-me-nots have withered. Carve your name on hearts, not on marble. Charles H. Spurgeon

It's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice. Author Unknown

Today, give a stranger one of your smiles. It might be the only sunshine he sees all day. Quoted in P.S. I Love You, compiled by H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

Treat everyone with politeness, even those who are rude to you - not because they are nice, but because you are. Author Unknown

What this world needs is a new kind of army - the army of the kind. Cleveland Amory

If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion. Dalai Lama
more >

Sunday . . . at my computer

Sun, 7 Mar 2010 18:16:41 GMT

. . . The view from my window when sitting at my desk.

"The little things? The little moments? They aren't little." - John Zabat-Zinn

The Doves have spent a few days now hanging out on the fence enjoying the sunshine, and then flying over to the bird table for some seed, then back to sunbathing and courting! I watch as they gently groom one another, then I tactfully avert my eyes as they mate!- regularly! ;-)

It is wonderful to have my computer right in front of this window, as it feels like I am part of what is going on out there. . . the changing light, the hundreds of birds that visit the bird table and hanging feeders throughout the day.

I know that as I watch, before long all the trees will have their leaves and the bush to the right in the bottom photo will be dripping with huge lilac blooms that I will be able to smell through the open window.

It is wonderful to watch the sun go down, it sets just behind the red heart in the window, and in the morning to watch the pink light of sunrise bathe those trees in a gentle golden light.

I think this is a great place to have my computer!

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The word for World is Forest

Sat, 6 Mar 2010 07:49:49 GMT

WOW !
Just discovered this book - how could I have missed it !!
It's now at the head of my wish list !

The Word for World Is Forest is a science fiction novel by Ursula K. Le Guin, published in 1976 and based on her 1972 novella. It is part of the 'Hainish Cycle'.

Setting
Several centuries in the future, humans from Earth have established a logging colony and military base named "New Tahiti" on Athshe, a tree-covered planet whose small, green-furred, big-eyed inhabitants have formed a culture centered on lucid dreaming. Terran greed spirals around native innocence and wisdom, turning the ancient society upside down.

Humans have learned interstellar travel from the people of Hain (the origin-planet of all humanoid races, including the Athsheans, despite their appearance). The various planets have been expanding independently, but during the novel it is learned that the 'League of All Worlds' has been formed. News arrives via an ansible, a new discovery. Previously they had been cut off, 27 light-years from Earth, meaning a 54-year delay in question and response.

Athshe's plants and animals are similar to those of Earth, placed there by the Hainish people in their first wave of colonisation that also settled Earth. The Cetian visitor also states categorically that the native humans "came from the same, original, Hainist stock". It is not explained why they are green-furred and only one meter tall. Other distinctive humans such as the Gethenians are said to have been produced by genetic manipulation by the ancient Hainish colonisers.

The events of the novel occur after The Dispossessed, where both the ansible and the League of Worlds are unrealised dreams. Also well before Planet of Exile, where human settlers have learned to coexist. A date in the 24th century has been suggested
more >

just in.. what makes us happy?

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 01:44:46 GMT

A great article written by Clara Moskowitz from Live Science... at this site

http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20100222/sc_livescience/5thingsthatwillmakeyouhappier

(an excerpt of her article)

5 Things That Will Make You Happier
LiveScience.com

LiveScience.com clara Moskowitz
livescience Senior Writer
livescience.com Mon Feb 22, 11:50 am ET

Here are five things that research has shown can improve happiness:

1. Be grateful - Some study participants were asked to write letters of gratitude to people who had helped them in some way. The study found that these people reported a lasting increase in happiness - over weeks and even months - after implementing the habit. What's even more surprising: Sending the letter is not necessary. Even when people wrote letters but never delivered them to the addressee, they still reported feeling better afterwards.

2. Be optimistic - Another practice that seems to help is optimistic thinking. Study participants were asked to visualize an ideal future - for example, living with a loving and supportive partner, or finding a job that was fulfilling - and describe the image in a journal entry. After doing this for a few weeks, these people too reported increased feelings of well-being.

3. Count your blessings - People who practice writing down three good things that have happened to them every week show significant boosts in happiness, studies have found. It seems the act of focusing on the positive helps people remember reasons to be glad.

4. Use your strengths - Another study asked people to identify their greatest strengths, and then to try to use these strengths in new ways. For example, someone who says they have a good sense of humor could try telling jokes to lighten up business meetings or cheer up sad friends. This habit, too, seems to heighten happiness.

5. Commit acts of kindness - It turns out helping others also helps ourselves. People who donate time or money to charity, or who altruistically assist people in need, report improvements in their own happiness.
Lyubomirsky has also created an iPhone application, called Live Happy, to help people boost their well-being.

Dialectical analysis of the Post-modern Epoch

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 15:55:14 GMT

Civilization and Post-modernism more >

Osho on fear

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 08:15:13 GMT

"Whenever fear comes to you, don't suppress it, don't repress it, don't avoid it, don't get occupied in something so that you can forget about it.
No! When fear comes, watch it.
Be face to face with it.
Encounter it.
Look deep into it.
Gaze into the valley of fear.
Of course you will perspire, and you will tremble, and it will be like a death, and you will have to live it many times. But by and by, the more your eyes become clear, the more your awareness becomes alert, the more your focus is there on the fear, the fear will disappear Like a mist. And once fear disappears, sometimes, even for only a moment, suddenly you are deathless.
There is no death.
Death is the greatest illusion there is, the greatest myth -- a lie.
For even a single moment, if you can see that you are deathless.
Then no meditation is needed.
Then live that experience, then act out of that experience, and the doors of eternal life are open for you.
Much is being missed because of fear.
We are too attached to the body and we go on creating more and more fear because of that attachment.
The body is going to die, the body is part of death, the body is death -- but you are beyond the body.
You are not the body; you are the bodiless.
Remember it.
Realize it.
Awaken yourself to this truth -- that you are beyond the body. You are the witness, the seer.

Then death disappears and fear disappears, and there arises tremendously glorious life ." more >

Mindmap for Ifa for the 21st Century

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 18:50:09 GMT

For some time now I wanted to map out the contect of modern day Ifa.
At the same time I want to revive the concept of 'Ifa for the 21st Century', a project from the early 2000's and very useful for 2,3 years but shredded when I was traveling/working so intensely that I hardly answered my e-mails.

Recently I found MindOMO http://mindomo.com , a mind-mapping software that is easy to use and share/collaborate.

As a first map, I posted above mentioned map. Whoever finds some errors, has suggestions, or wants to on or off this map, please mail me or leave a comment to this post.

Ifa for the 21st Century Mindmap: http://bit.ly/aKunvW

Standard Disclaimer: I don't necessarily endorse every of the links, especially those that are NOT explicitly using Ifa but provide a branch of a holistic approach (which for necessarily includes the energy and archetypes of Ifa). I do not receive any compensation or favor in listing or not listing a certain provider, organization or author.