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3 Aug 2007 @ 21:51, by craiglang. Diary
(Adapted from article on my Yahoo 360 blog site)
This week has been a helluva week - and beneath it, I sense a very meaningful chain of synchronicites. Read More
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23 Dec 2005 @ 23:36, by craiglang. Diary
It has been an interesting few months, putting the finishing touches on my book, "The Cosmic Bridge - Close Encounters and Human Destiny". The book is a compilation of what I have discerned from clients - and from my own observations about the evolving relationship between humanity and the UFO abduction phenomenon. The current task has been to get it proofread and find a publisher for it. Read More
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5 Jul 2005 @ 16:37, by craiglang. Diary
I had some very mixed emotions as I watched the July 4th parade in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. On one hand, it was neat to see the sense of esprit de corps and civic spirit that seems to have come together in the last year or two in home-town America. The attendance this year - at this and other civic events - seemed to be way up from previous years.
In addition, I noted a deep sense of patriotism - perhaps even deeper than I observed following 9/11. It is a sustained, deep-seated sense of identification with homeland. And I'm willing to bet that it is something we haven't seen since World War 2. Unfortunately, that's just the problem - it's because of war that we have this coming-together.
The dark side of partriotism and nationalism is that it usually means that you have to have an enemy. It seems that we can't have an "Us" without a "Them". And that's what gave me such a mixed feeling.
It is great to see such patriotism and comraderie. I, too, felt that stirring sense of national pride. Yet beneath it lurks the knowledge that, at present, much of it is based upon a lie. We are at war based upon a deception. And because of it, we have have invaded another nation. Yet, what I saw this weekend was resounding support for this very same "fight for freedom". To me, it was the rousing support for the mistake we are mistaking - enthusiastically affirming the wrong road our nation is travelling.
It is clear for all to see how the war was launched via deception. A reading of the Downing Street Memo and other evidence should be convincing to anyone. Yet people still support the war. Does the aggregate population simply "not get it"? Why is there so much support for the war? Why is Bush so popular? The information is out there for all to see. Why are there no (or at least very few) cries for his impeachment?
As the local National Guard unit (those that are not in Iraq right now) paraded past, there were loud (nearly unanimous) cheers from the crowd. It was moving to see the support for those who are presently oversees, and I know that if I were off in battle somewhere, I sure would want such support from the folks back home. And yet, mostly what I felt was sadness. Because the only reason that these kids are now facing ambushes and roadside bombs is that we were all lied to. And in spite of the evidence of the truth, the aggregate "Us" still prefers to believe the lies.
I deeply love this country, and so I feel even greater pain than I did on 9/11. Because it is from within, by our very own leadership, that the damage is being done. And yet still we cheer loudly and beat the drums. Boldly and with great national pride, we march with flying flags - straight into the abyss. Read More
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10 Mar 2005 @ 17:04, by craiglang. Diary
I have often been fascinated by various personality typing tools such as Myers Briggs, and the Wilson Social Interaction Types.
Just as a background, in the Wilson model the primary types are Analytical, Amiable, Expressive and Driver. The sort is by ask vs tell assertiveness and task vs people focus:
- Analyticals have a task direction, ask assertiveness,
- Drivers have a task direction and tell assertiveness,
- Amiables are more people directed with ask assertiveness,
- Experessives are people directed with tell assertiveness.
(Note: my own type is largely Expressive/Amiable - people focus with a borderline tell/ask assertiveness. This translates to a focus on ideas and people)
What I have noticed recently is that many more people seem to be showing Driver type of mannerisms. This constitutes a "tell" assertiveness, but a task focus. In short, it becomes a "bossy" or directive interaction. Getting the job done with a minimum of discussion seems to be the most important. There is less tolerance for discussion, etc...
Typically this interaction type seems to show up alot under stress. One often sees intolerance of questions or ambiguity - and in cases of disagreement, a tendency to "lay down the law". I have noticed this alot in multiple aspects of life. This leads me to ask the question - is there alot more stress in the world at large in recent weeks/months?
I have noticed this among people in the day job and at school. I have also seen it on the road as road rage seems to be increasingly prevalent - drivers honking and flipping eachother off, etc... And I simply get the sense that there seems to be a wave of this ornery/agressive attitude as each person seems to be percieving other as elbowing into his/her personal space.
I have been wondering if others have percieved this, or if it just my own perception. And if this is really the case, then I wonder what is the "driver of the drivers". Read More
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27 Feb 2005 @ 23:51, by craiglang. Diary
Tired old cliches can be such fun... :-)
In reality, I am finding that, while fun, writing is not always easy. When one tries to channel creativity into an actual work, one finds that it does not come quite as easily. And so it is with my current project. Read More
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8 Feb 2005 @ 18:45, by craiglang. Diary
This weekend, I got quite a view of the disparity between incomes/lifestyles that seems to characterize our society. Read More
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4 Nov 2004 @ 20:54, by craiglang. Diary
"It has begun..."
-Ambasador Kosh
(On witnessing the destruction of the ship carrying President Luis Santiago - in the Babylon 5 season 1 conclusion: "Chrysalis")
The day after election day was one of what I call the "cellar" days, in which you feel that you are at the bottom of the canyon. I found that on several occasions during that day, I had to fight back tears. A deep blanket of sadness seemed to smother my heart.
I wondered at the road that we have collectively chosen. How could we get it so wrong, yet so many people come to that conclusion at once? And I wondered even more, where will this road take us? And the only answer I could provide was "Into the abyss", Or, to quote the title of Greg Bear's novel of apocalypse, "The Forge of God." Read More
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9 Sep 2004 @ 04:17, by craiglang. Diary
I received alot of feedback on my last article, "Life as Usual". More than one person pointed out that the article was pretty dark. And thus, I have to conclude that in one way it delivered its message well. Changes are indeed upon us, and there will be many challenges down the road. Furthermore, most of the people out there simply don't see them. So they continue on with life as usual. And so in many ways, we are probably committed to those changes. That was the key, and perhaps the only, point of the artcile. But the implications were many, and the discussion it stirred up was vast - including/especially within my own psyche. Read More
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26 Aug 2004 @ 00:37, by craiglang. Diary
Today has been one of those rather non-spiritual days - one of those times in life when we realize that, even though we are spirits living in the material world, it is a material world that can be rather trying. I truly think that today was one of those "material moments". Read More
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9 Aug 2004 @ 10:16, by craiglang. Diary
Some observations from a weekend of hiking, climbing, and other activities. We attended a gathering at the fiftieth anniversary reunion of Minnesota Rovers Outing Club, a varied assortment of outdoors enthusiasts.
For me, it was a great way to take my mind off of the coming perils at the day job (see my previous post). It was also a way to relive past days as a climber and general physical adventurer.
Ten years ago, I was a very avid climber/mountaineer. Then came grad school, and vertical rock faded from my life, to be replaced by school books, house payments and an expanding waistline. But now this weekend left me asking the question, in what ways can one retrieve parts of the joys, simplicity and adventure of the past in a way that is part of the present? Read More
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