mermaidcamp
Keeping current in wellness, in and out of the water
You can scroll the shelf using ← and → keys
Vicitm Archetype, Queen for a Day
February 26, 2013
— 3 Comments
Jack Bailey, host of Queen for a Day, gave big prizes to the most pathetic contestant as judged by audience response. The woman deemed most victimized got a full length mink coat, long stemmed red roses, and almost always a washing machine. The prizes were given in consideration of promotional value of the show. This was the prototype for almost every game prize show that was ever produced. In the 1950’s what it took to win was the most tragic story.
The victim exists in all of us, as it is a survival archetype. We have all been on both sides of bully/victim, typically starting with siblings at a young age. The lesson the victim teaches is that pity can be a temporary reward, but a hollow one. Like the lady who takes her full length mink coat back to her shack in Appalachia, the victim never really wins. If suffering gains too much collateral reward, suffering will be used to control others. We need boundaries to be happy and well balanced. By being victims we learn how to protect ourselves. If this lesson is not learned the individual always feels that they suffer through no fault of their own and have no power to change that.
Regular Guy Archetype
February 25, 2013
— 2 Comments
Everyman, also known as the regular guy, is one of the archetypes in Carl Jung’s core breakdown. The primary goal of this player in the personality is to be accepted. Blending in, not standing out, is the way the regular guy relates to society. Ad companies use this profiling to create messages that they hope will reach the market of choice. To be desirable to a regular guy a product needs to show that everyone uses it. The most common experience is the target.
This player has much in common with the orphan child archetype, having similar needs and fears. This personality will forfeit much in order to feel like a part of something. After finding the fold in which to fit, they often find it unrewarding and not what they had hoped it would be. The irony of seeking approval from others by being like them is that your own desires may never be made clear. If standing out in a crowd is your worst fear, your own dreams (and personality) may forever remain a mystery to you.
I do not respond well to messages aimed at Everyman. They have a negative effect by showing me that everyone is doing something. I recoil from that. A Eurofriend said this week she does not understand Oprah, the American phenomena. I tweeted her that Oprah is everywoman, as a joke. But, in truth, Oprah does market herself as everywoman (who can afford to buy $900 blouses). That is pretty ironic in itself, that her favorite things are out of range in price for most of her audience. She makes many feel like they are a part of her network, even if she is really the queen.
Do More with Less, Just Add Water
February 24, 2013
— 4 Comments
The eighth core value at Zappos is Do More with Less. This is an essential philosophy to make it in the world now. Using what we already have is a first step to achieve better results. Recent economic bubble popping has shown us how wasteful and risky spending can have dire consequences. As household and government debt grew so did people’s expectations that the prosperity could never end. Now that the economy is reorganized. People look for value and efficiency like never before. Many have embraced thrift over extravagance as a necessity.
Floatli does more with less by versatility. It uses the common floatation noodle, which is easy to replace. Since it works in all kinds of water, including a jacuzzi, it provides a new activity or sport to pools and natural bodies of water. From light to heavy work can be done, by everyone from elite athletes to those recovering from injury. That is another reason Floatli is the perfect official sport for Zappos. It works anywhere there is water, and will be really fun in Lake Mead in summer.
Nature of Man
February 23, 2013
— 3 Comments
Is the essential nature of humans greedy or generous? There are two sides to every coin. If it were possible for you to reverse one trend, what would you change? I think I would make it obsolete to ship, process, and package food.
Food as Metaphor
February 22, 2013
— 1 Comment
I have a sourdough start that has been living for about 5 years. I feed it potato water, sugar and potatoes to keep the yeast alive. The yeast lives in the air and will be different in each geographic location. Technically beer yeast and bread yeast are different strains, but they are both alive. The sourdough is a domesticated life form growing in my kitchen. Each time I make bread I take out half of the starter and add potatoes and sugar to the bowl. After it grows for a day or so I refrigerate it because I have no need to make bread every 24 hours. The ritual of making the bread and keeping the levain alive is important. Mine is unusual because I use no flour in the starter liquid.
Making and sharing food has deep significance. Not everyone has time or interest in bread baking or cooking as a sport, but everyone gets hungry. The way we deal with our appetites tells us something about our relationship to divine providence. To be too strict or picky results in loss of joy, whereas to be undiscriminating will have the exact same result. Culinary taste can and does vary greatly, but the full pleasure of dining is in the execution. The delightful MFK Fisher wrote before the advent of Food Network and the crush of celebrity chefs as entertainers. I have purchased tickets to see Anthony Bordain live on stage in Providence because he does the same schtick. His travel and dining adventures are metaphor fairy tale food stories. Once I saw that he and I will have traveled to the same city at the same time I knew I had to see his show Good and Evil, an obvious referral to food as life. He and I do not eat the same things, but we dine with the same attitude. I look forward to the evening with delight. It will be tasty.
St. Verena, Coptic Healing Saint
February 21, 2013
St Verena of Egypt
I first knew St. Verena because I stayed many times a year for many years at her hotel in Baden Switzerland. It is a fantastic Belle Epoque building with plaster elephants on the dining room ceiling and a direct access to the hot spring mineral baths. Verena served one of the best ever Swiss breakfast buffets, which is saying a lot. The Swiss hotel breakfast buffet is designed to wow you, fill you, and make you a loyal customer of the establishment. As a vegetarian I do not care about all the cold cut and caviar stuff, but am an expert in knowing a good muesli bar when I find one. Verenahof had everything, but the stairs were noisy and creaky, the elevators smelled highly of sulpher, and the surrounding hotels had closed. Now it looks like Baden, with a history of spa since Roman times is having a grand reopening. I am so pleased to know that Verena will once again be serving breakfast at the bad.
I did not think too much about her until I visited Bad Zurzach on the Rhine a few years ago. She is buried there in a church. The mineral spring there was not discovered until relatively recently, but Verena was a big deal there for centuries. I saw all kinds of statuary and art of Verena, and made an attempt to read about her in German (ha!). It looked like she was from Egypt and lived in a cave in Switzerland ( aka Rome) where she became a magical healing saint. Since that was way too weird, I decided I must be translating very badly. I went to her grave and lit some candles and hung out all by myself with her a few times at the church. She does have a heavy vibe, based on the people who have come here to see her for centuries. When I arrived in the states I looked up her story and read about Coptics in the Roman army in English. Her story is even wilder than I could have imagined.
Verena grew up in Luxor and traveled to Italy to receive a Christian education. When she learned of the fate of St Maurice she went to Switzerland to look for the Theban legion. They had been decimated by the Roman Emperor Maximian. Since her army was slaughtered, she found herself in a strange land with no language skills, so she went into a cave to pray and meditate. She came out of the cave healing like crazy, and was even imprisoned for it. She is typically depicted as holding a water vessel and a comb, symbols of her work with the sick and the poor. Today you can visit the cave where she had her big empowerment. Who would guess that a third century Coptic saint would end up at Swiss spas? Another great reason to visit Bad Zurzach, where the healing complex is extensive and elegant, is the hand organ festival which they hold each year.
God Archetype
February 20, 2013
— 5 Comments
Jung’s Kundalini
One of Carl Jung’s most controversial theories was his view of the God within. He was drastically disappointed in his first communion at the Swiss Reform Church. His father was the pastor and Carl was a faithful member of his church. He expected something more, or different, when he attended that communion. He basically never stopped pursuing that ecstasy he had wanted through religion for the rest of his life.
His later years were consumed with individuation, which he considered to be the meaning of existence. He used artistic expression, dream journaling, and isolation in a primitive tower built by his own hand to achieve his own individuation. He studied ancient alchemy and philosophy. His belief that symbols contain the most direct and deep meaning lead him to study ancient texts and charts. To Jung individuation was not a substitute for God, but a deep search for the divine nature of self.
His investigations were deep and lengthy. He stated that he only studied of God as a psychological archetype and not as religious doctrine. His idea of the collective unconscious is that images and symbols are primordial. We absorb symbolic messages but do not analyze their meaning. That is why Jungian therapy can include sand box drawing, word association, and art to discover archetypes. Dream work is a pivotal part of Jungian analysis. In his tower, reading about ancient alchemists, living without modern conveniences, Jung came close to living in a dream. Most cannot afford such an extravagant personal quest for the divine, but we can all do a little dream investigation. Does God enter your dreams?
dream spiral
Red Book
February 19, 2013
— 2 Comments
“My friends, it is wise to nourish the soul, otherwise you will breed dragons and devils in your heart.” ~Carl Jung, Red Book, Page-232.
Carl Jung changed the history and the practice of psychiatry. His work is used today by some who are not even aware of his influence or the story of his life. The Red Book was published posthumously after being locked in a bank vault in Switzerland for many years. Finally out of the shadows itself, the book serves as a deep reference as well as an artistic guide to the underworld. How would the Red Book of your soul look? When do you plan to create it?
Drawing Red Book
Healing vs Stagnation
February 19, 2013
— 3 Comments
There is a tendency to avoid truth and maintain status quo in an effort to stay in control. This habitual use of the lowest common denominator to define reality is detrimental to wellbeing. Bernie Seigal notes in the above video that to forget is to get something for yourself. To forgive is to give something to another. The gift that everyone has to give is responsibility. We have selective memories and stories that we tell about ourselves and our circumstances. The story about the wound is the one that keeps the wound alive, whatever it may be.
Woundology is the currency exchange that places value on damage. The currency of pain only has value if you accept it and give it. Carolyn Myss coined the phrase and noticed a growth of the epidemic. Her work as a medical intuitive has been to explain and teach Why People Don’t Heal. I believe that there is a codependent heath and fitness industry that feeds the insecurity and pain as a way to make a living. I have seen this in action, although I do not think the participants had awareness of their folly. If your health and fitness story is not a clean, clear and happy one, the good news is that you can change it. Change your story by refusing to allow the past to define your present. Trade in the wounds for a brand new set of possibilities.
Passionate and Determined
February 18, 2013
Feet of Culture Clown
Zappos Insights
The number nine core value at Zappos is about passion and determination. This one may be the determining factor in my quest to make Floatli the official sport of Zappos. I am positive that many have, are currently, and will pursue a spot in Zappos future. In order to make my offer stand out in a giant crowd I accept the challenge of showing more passion, and ultimately more determination, than others who are vying to be the provider of the official sport of the company.
With any luck I will be the only one applying for this position. Zappos is full of healthy employees who enjoy working and playing. The presence of the company coach supports this balanced lifestyle. Employees can schedule coaching sessions for work or personal reasons. The popular program is much utilized, therefore a waiting list exists for appointments with her. I admire this kind of development program because a passionate determined employee is a content and personally fulfilled employee.
Zappos Education Dept
As the most insightful capitalist venture I have ever seen, Zappos screams sport. The minute you walk into the place the vibe is all about personal expression and fashion extravagance. The team spirit is overwhelming. My guide, Culture Clown, told us how she and her firefighter husband enjoy Lake Meade and participation in outdoor fitness events. She had completed a tough mudder with Marines that impressed me greatly. The reason Floatli is the perfect team sport for Zappos is that it is non competitive. What gravity does, Floatli remedies. The more you wear shoes and play tough games on land, the more you need to reverse that action. Floatli downshifts the joints and prehabilitates the body to do more sports without risk of injury. Summer is hot in Vegas, but they still have a big beautiful Lake Mead, as well as millions of pools.
I want the chance to to market Floatli with Zappos. More fun even than that would be to organize an exciting alternative fitness program that enhances staff levels of health and satisfaction within the company. The integrity of the company comes from taking care of the employees so they can deliver happiness to customers. I want to deliver some happiness to the discriminating employees to give them a new way to chill and stay fit. I am passionate and determined to get an audition.
mermaidcamp 