mermaidcamp
Keeping current in wellness, in and out of the water
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Punctuality, Politness, Professionalism
February 15, 2013
The the P’s have served me well as a guide since I first saw them on a sign in a panyard in Port of Spain, Trinidad. I hung out at the Neal and Massey Trinidad All Stars yard in the early 1980’s. I took my video camera and shot the practice sessions. I adored the look as well as the sound of the steel drum. The panman was just leaving the shadows of Trini society in the 1980’s. The Despers, The All Stars, and some other very old steel bands were representing very hard neighborhoods in Port of Spain. The idea that you could build an instrument out of an oil barrel and make a professional orchestra of people who did not read music was not yet considered to be a fine art by everyone.
I had some of the best times of my life at that yard. I remember Dane Gulston for his artistry and also his super friendly attitude. He was very young, but was already indoctrinated with the discipline of the All Stars. Dedication and cooperation are the ingredients needed to win in Panorama and in life. Today Pantrinbago oversees educational programs and the nation is proud of their indigenous instrument. Brooklyn has a large contingent of the best musicians for at least part of the year. In the above solo Dane ably demonstrates the benefits of practicing the three P’s.
Know too Much to Argue or to Judge
February 14, 2013
— 3 Comments
The limits to your love are set by you. Finding fault is the opposite of finding love.
Do Not Mess with Cupid
February 13, 2013
— 6 Comments
Apollo and Daphne
The myth of Daphne is an illustration of fate and revenge of the gods. She was part of cruel power play between two archers, Apollo and Eros. The proud Apollo bullied Eros who shot two arrows, one tipped in gold and the other in lead to find revenge. Eros, the son of Aphrodite enchanted his arrows to cause total lust and desire in the golden arrow victim, and total hatred in the recipient of the lead tipped arrow. Apollo was hit with the golden arrow, and the object of his desire, Daphne, was struck by the lead one. The struggle between lust and chastity is ended when Daphne turns into a laurel tree. She begged her father to transform her body forever in order to escape Apollo’s desire for her.
Eros is the god of sexual desire. He marries Psyche, a goddess/human representing the human soul. They have one daughter Hedone. Hedone is the quest for pleasure with only good consequences. The English word hedonism is derived from this word, but has a meaning far from the original. Eros is also known in Rome as Cupid. We know this god as a logo for Valentine’s Day, a time when we honor a Christian martyr by consuming mass quantities of cheap chocolate. Neither Valentine nor Cupid will be impressed nor honored with a mindless mandatory purchase of tacky gifts. That is neither pleasurable nor sexy. Eros, Apollo, Daphne, and Aphrodite are archetypes that exist in the human pantheon of possibility. Which one will you play on Valentine’s Day?
@Pontifex Punts
February 12, 2013
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To tweet as the holy father of the Catholics was a much dirtier job than Benedict could ever have imagined. His twitter stream is full of everything that life contains, much of it funny and irreverent. Since he longhand wrote his tweets (in Latin?) and was assisted in the typing of 140 characters, we can only assume he did not read all his tweeps remarks to him. He kept a certain distance from his own stream, since this was the first papal twitter stream and had to be approached with caution. Ironically he is the oldest pontiff elected in 300 years, so his decision to enter social media was a little off beat. The Vatican social media experts will now need to make some decisions.
Does the handle stay with the office or will Benedict be tweeting as @Pontifex in his retirement? Will he start to type his own and read those of his tweeps? Is he finished with twitter? Will the tweeps be more kind to him now that he has end of life issues in public? Will the new Pope have a fan page and G+ account for hanging out? Will the Vatican social media presence develop customer service that wows Catholics back to church? Will prayers be launched to protect the church and the Pope from trolls? These and many other questions will face the new Pope. #Paxvobiscum.
One Step at a Time, Self Image
February 11, 2013
— 5 Comments
Typically people want more of everything. Your ability to estimate is very closely related to your ability to execute. Risk has many faces. In the quest to be fit and healthy the biggest risk is burn out. I can say that with assurance because I have observed people in the earnest pursuit of better health for decades. Over this time the offers to remove symptoms have become overwhelming. Drugs, frozen prepaid meal plans, personal coaching, and one of the oldest, but still happening trends, the weight loss shake, are everywhere to assist the starving, overweight population.
In an effort to bypass the moment all systems are switched into deprivation mode. Suffering and tofu must follow as punishment for wild times at the Dairy Queen on the weekend. The disconnect between self image and soul is now almost complete. Confession and penance are the rituals that surround food and eating now. Joy, creativity and community are not in the food pyramid for many people because diet is presented as obsession, and denial of pleasure. The ancestors had to grow, gather, kill, render, store, dry, milk, and otherwise do something very basic in order to eat. They did not concern themselves with the calories contained in the food as much as they did with starvation. They were all constantly involved with the original exercise known as work. They did not drive to a gym or change outfits to do it. They picked up the tools of their various trades and worked physically. If they had a treadmill it was to run something, not to be run by it.
Valentine for Kali Maa
February 7, 2013
— 3 Comments
The Hindu goddess Kali has protection on her mind at all times. She is one heavily armed vigilant benevolent mother. She has a red tongue to represent our carnal desires, and she prefers red flowers as an offering. Remember Kali at Valentine’s Day because she is the ultimate power ranger of tough love. She can and will make or break you. Understanding the Hindu pantheon will not conflict with your religion, and may bring to light your own relationship with the wrathful mother. You do not have to call her Kali to know who she is.
Kali is the destroyer. Her name is based on the word time. Nothing escapes time. Her job is to shatter illusion. She shows up all blue and naked with weapons and multiple severed heads and arms. She herself has four arms to administer justice. She is intent on the destruction of evil, and like all mothers, teaches her children about evil in doses they can handle. Her protection is essential for the continuation of the universe, but she gets a bad rap. Destruction is only the other side of creation. The birth and death cycle is inevitable. To grasp the power and the glory of Kali you need to see that time is at least as powerful as space. Mother Earth is the ultimate judge. This too shall pass. This year dedicate some red flowers to the eternal protective mother.
Women in History-Anima Projection
February 4, 2013
— 3 Comments
The celebration of Women’s History Month will take place in March, 2013 with a theme about innovation and imagination. A salute to women in engineering, math and science must include the women who broke into those and other fields after a struggle to be educated. By following a timeline we can see the contributions women have made. The Queen archetype, both in history and in mythology has power to rule with wisdom when she is at her best. Queens inherit the power and responsibility of ruling people wisely. The shadow queen is ruled by her own heart and lacks boundaries.
It is obvious that without women there could be no history, no men, and no archetypes. Our collective consciousness is full of both reality and projections. To create a better and more wholesome future it behooves us to sort out delusions in order to enlighten both men and women. When archetypes are understood well the need to perceive the world by using stereotypes can vanish. Stereotypes are cliche. Archetypes are infinitely instructive. When you look around the world do you notice examples of both? How do you avoid being a stereotype?
Frances Latham
January 31, 2013
Latham Coat of Arms
One of the graves I will look for in Newport, Rhode Island is that of Frances Latham. She sailed from England to Boston with her third husband, Jeremiah Clarke, and her four children from a previous marriage. After religious disagreements arose between the Pilgrims, many of my ancestors moved to Rhode Island for more religious tolerance.
Frances Latham (1608 – 1677)
is my 10th great grandmother
Daughter of Frances
Daughter of Sarah
Son of Sarah
Daughter of John
Son of MARGARET
Son of Benjamin
Son of Paul
Daughter of Valentine
Son of Sarah LaVina
Son of Jason A
Son of Ernest Abner
I am the daughter of Richard Arden
Birth: Feb. 15, 1609KempstonBedfordshire, England
Death: Sep. 2, 1677NewportNewport CountyRhode Island, USA
Frances Latham (Dungan Clarke Vaughn) is known as the “Mother of Governors”. Her third husband was the Reverent William Vaughn. She had four children by her first husband; from the descendants of these children are many distinquished statesmen. There are seven children born of her second marriage, and these too have given many governors to the country. Each one of Frances Latham Clarke’s sons served his country, or church, with public service, and each daughter married men who did the same. “She was undoubtedly a very attractive woman, her three marriages would indicate. One can only imagine the gathering of distinquished men and women in the “Common Burial Ground” of Newport when Frances Vaughn, recently widowed for the third time was laid in her grave.There was her eldest Clarke son, then governor, her daughter Mary, with her husband, then Deputy-Governor John Cranston and later governor; and their son Samuel, who before the century closed would also be governor; her daughter Sarah, sometime the wife of Governor Caleb Carr; Barbara with her husband, James Baker, to be chosen the next year as deputy governor; Frances and her husband, Major Randall Holden, ancestors of several of Rhode Island’s governors and one of Washington: Weston Clarke, then attorney-general; James, Latham, and Jeremiah Clarke, with their sons and daughters, and Rev. Thomas Dungan, who perhaps was the one to say the last sacred words over his mother’s grave “Mother of Governors”Her father was Sargeant Falconer Lewis Latham to King Charles I.Children not listed below: John Dungan (died young), William Dungan, Frances Dungan Holden, Elizabeth Dungan (died young), Walter Clarke, Latham Clarke and Jeremiah Clarke Spouses: Married four times1st Lord Weston2nd William Dungan3rd Capt. Jerimah Clark4th Rev. William Vaughn Family links: Spouses: William Dungan (1606 – 1636) Jeremy Clarke (1605 – 1652) Children: Barbara Dungan Barker (1628 – 1677)* Thomas Dungan (1635 – 1688)* Mary Clarke Stanton (1640 – 1711)* Weston Clarke (1648 – 1730)* James Clarke (1649 – 1736)* Sarah Clarke Pinner Carr (1651 – 1706)* Inscription:Here Lyeth ye Body of Mrs. Frances Vaughn, Alias Clarke, ye mother of ye only children of Capt’n Jeremiah Clarke. She died ye 1 Week in Sept. 1677 in ye 67th year of her age.” Burial:Common Burying Ground NewportNewport CountyRhode Island, USA.
Gradual Decline
January 29, 2013
— 1 Comment
The people who have gone through natural disasters and survived can tell us change is never what we expect. The people who languish in unhappy circumstances often believe that fate has trapped them without options. The appearance of permanence is a mind boggler. The sensory world seems permanent and meaningless, virtually everything it is not. You are an element of change, weather you acknowledge it or not. Some folks imagine they are preserving the world, others think they are destroying, ruling, or upgrading it. If sudden events alter the world around you, you will both adopt new ways of coping and adapt new skills. This is true for gradual change as well.
The median income in the U.S. of all but the top 10% of earners has remained relatively flat since 1967. Not all family groups, but most, own less than they owned three years ago. A small increase in household income is enjoyed by the top 5 percent of earners, but the middle class has lost income since the big crash of 2008. The adaptation to this reality does not look like healthy acceptance and appropriate response. The concept that the future is always better casts a dark economic cloud over real budgets. Spending as if there is no tomorrow usually results in a future of gloom. Paying the piper is inevitable in terms of karmic as well as financial debt. At both a personal and a national level new skills and perspectives are needed to break the cycle of gradual decline.
Saboteur Archetype
January 28, 2013
— 1 Comment
archetype card deck
The saboteur archetype is at the heart of the reasons you do not attempt change. Each person has a saboteur, but few of us have any knowledge of how it works. When this archetype speaks it is important to decipher the message. It wants us to give up, put off, or just forget our aspirations. It offers plenty of reasons for you to be discouraged from trying any kind of change. It takes a dim view of just about everything.
What can you learn from the nagging pessimistic voice in your head that will lead you eventually to contentment? You can openly learn the language and the logic it uses in order to engage it in a meaningful dialog with you. Listen to the voice of your sceptic in order to understand how and why you stay stagnant, unable to accomplish what you set out to do. Begin to identify the script your inner critic uses to deflate your hopes and postpone your dreams. As in dreamscapes, there might be themes that are literal or more symbolic. There are deeper interpretations to archetypal insights, but basically our saboteur teaches us how to see through fear founded in insecurity. The reasons we believe we are not capable are usually unexamined. Once the issues are observed in the light, the lesson can be to use logic and wisdom rather than fear to draw boundaries. The energy and power bound up in the struggle between our whole selves and our personal traitors is a tragic waste. Sit down and have a drink with your saboteur. You both sabotage and are sabotaged in ways you do not currently recognize. Long term analysis will not bee needed to find the main talking points used to discourage you on a regular basis. As with a human bully, be firm and polite when dealing with your inner punk.
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