mermaidcamp
Keeping current in wellness, in and out of the water
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Three Kinds of Truth
April 10, 2015
— 5 Comments
iris only looks up
There are three separate kinds of truth in the world:
Empirical has backing of indisputable evidence, proven fact
Cultural is believed by everyone in our group without question
Rhetorical is instilled through language, debated into being
iris only looks up
These tributaries of veracity flow from different mountains:
Facts fall vertically from the highest peaks of observed reality
Tribal beliefs are instilled from birth with social hill climbing
The waterfall of rhetoric is loud and impressively massive
iris only looks up
Politicians are dealers in rhetoric designed to sway opinions
Cultures have blind spots that obscure parts of the total picture
Empirical truth is obvious, amplifying proof, ignoring prejudice
The well of pure truth will quench your thirst only if you draw from it
NaPoWriMo 2015
Ride the poetry train with some very creative and witty folk here during the month of April.
What Is My Modus Operandi?
December 11, 2014
— 6 Comments
unique bloom
The way you do one thing is the way you do everything. This is the theory that detectives use when they construct a modus operandi for criminals they want to catch and crimes that may be linked. In business it is helpful to know the M.O. of your customers or clients in order to better serve them. This way of observing things applies to politics and daily life just as much as it does to business and law enforcement. In our world today it is often necessary to construct a modus vivendi between individuals or groups just to survive. The U.S Congress is engaged in just such a desperate way of doing business. We look at big institutions and see these conflicts but rarely do we bring it down to a personal scale. How do I know what my own M.O. is? How do others perceive my communication? Do I poison the conversation with preconceived notions?
Normally we start be assuming we are right and entitled to our opinion. In conflict, however, both sides usually reveal some irrational thinking that arises from prejudice. If we bring some reflection to the subject beliefs often cloud all evidence to the contrary. We may not be able to start from the position that we might be wrong, but by asking some simple questions we may discover our own ulterior motives and intellectual weakness.
- Do I listen in an open spirit, without a need to form a reply?
- Do I do any research before adopting something as a fact?
- Am I more concerned with appearance than with reality?
- Do I hold any hard feelings for entire countries, races, or religious groups?
- Could I possibly be too prejudiced by my past to make good decisions on this subject?
- Can I see the opposition’s point of view?
- Is my argument based on fact or emotions?
Each of us has a unique way of doing business, and patterns are engrained in all of us. We could all do with less mendacity and obstruction in our lives. To do that we have to identify the ways we create that obstruction through our thoughts words and deeds. Look within, Gentle Readers. You are your own answer.
unique bloom
Time Lines Tell the Truth
July 5, 2014
— 6 Comments
cactus blooming
Our memories are not accurate. Our self images are not well aligned with reality, and our sense of time is warped. This is true for almost everyone. I have embarked on some time line drawing exercises that have proven to me how far off base I am with a lot of my beliefs about my life and myself. The course in archetypes asks that I draw a time line for each of my dominant archetypes, including first meeting and how their powers entered and left the scene. I am surprised about the details I recall when I focus on only one aspect. This is also true if I draw a time line that includes all my physical injuries, surgeries, and illnesses. I have lead a healthy life, but I do see a pattern when I study the tendencies I have had. My doctors ask me to outline my injuries and illnesses, but I had never drawn them out on a paper with dates before. This chart alone tells a big story about your health and your life. There are other valuable time lines to draw for self knowledge:
- Mental time line- included studies, hobbies, development of talents
- Emotional time line- describes the highs and lows of living as it occurred
- Spiritual time line- takes some concentration to detail moments of enlightenment and deep meaning to the soul
- Global time line-the places we go during our early years especially, influence many of our cultural patterns
- Physical time line- mastery of skills and sports, as well as the injuries and illnesses
When you have drawn these lines (all in the same scale) line up the sheets of paper under one another to see if they have any sequential patterns. Putting them all in a row shows detail that can sort out patterns in our lives. We tend to think of time in various delusional ways. We believe we have always been like this (whatever this may be), for instance. We often believe we were innocent when we were guilty, and sometimes believe just the opposite. The time line describes turning points and events that were pivotal in our development. If we then overlay the archetypes in our personalities, and which ones were dominant at what times the portrait becomes even clearer and more detailed. I started with the assignment of the archetype timelines, which is the most intricate and difficult of them all. By doing the easy ones above first we become accustomed to the focus it takes to really remember accurately. Then we are warmed up to question who was in charge and when. Time lines contain a great deal of power while still holding mystery in the line where it says nothing. Obviously there were constant events, but only some can be brought to mind. More practice brings better proficiency in stringing it all into place.
Selena, Goddess of the Moon
October 17, 2013
— 2 Comments
Selena bears good tidings at the full moon. She rides through the sky in a silver chariot reflecting all that is true and eternal. She was a Titan goddess, predating the Olympians. Selena bathed during the day and rode around the heavens at night. Her love affair with a handsome mortal resulted in 50 daughters. She has the power to control time, mask reality, and expose the truth. She had her lover put to sleep eternally so she could visit him in a cave forever. She is distant, cold, and yet kind.
The full moon is associated with mania and extreme states of mind. The time between the last new moon and the full moon tonight was characterized by the loony government shutdown and all it entailed. When the old men in the Senate had nothing, the women organized to end the stalemate. They shed light on a ridiculous situation. I am reminded of a saying attributed to the Buddha:
“There are three things that will not long stay hidden, the sun, the moon, and the truth.”
Selena
Who is Crazier than Whom?
January 10, 2013
— 1 Comment
There is no crazy in the big overview. There is only true and false. To establish a mental health norm we need to establish a norm for the plain old truth. The truth will set us free, but the will to quibble about what is true is stronger than our will to be free. I attended the University of Texas at Austin in 1968 where our very famous tower had been featured a couple of years earlier in the first spectacular insane school shooting in America. The tower says, in giant letters, “You shall know the truth and the truth will set you free.” During the school year someone managed to steal Bevo ,the longhorn mascot, and take him to the top of the tower to hold for ransom. I believe this was part of the Send Bevo to Biafra movement, but that is not the important point. The point is that Bevo himself could be taken to the top of the tower two years after the mentally ill Nam Vet found the perfect spot to take aim at society…that tower. Let us not debate what is true and not true, what is safe and not safe. Let us take a rational overview to see what is happening to our social fabric. Let us be willing to be still and know the truth in order to be set free from our own self inflicted crazy.
Satya
September 26, 2012
— 1 Comment
ST Teresa of Avila
Truth and the relationship one has with it are both elements of discernment. Each person has a reality that is colored by the limits placed on observation. I have noticed that Americans have been trending toward believing what can be seen has value, whereas what is invisible has no merit or value. When presented with a choice of money or wisdom it would be very common for most to choose money as a solution to any problem. If we only consider short term solutions, money does come in handy. If we look at how the problem to be solved now has arisen we often find there has been misuse of finances. If no new wisdom arrives with new funding, this problem will very likely to expand to the extent that the new funding allows.
Some of you are naturally thinking of politics, but that is not my subject today. Satya, or the truth that is love, exists. It has no need to be believed in order to continue being true. The details, and the attention given to the infinitesimal either hide or make clear what is true. You are a detective in your own life. You not only choose your environment and the people you encounter, but you fill in all the details by focusing on some while ignoring others. When I loose an object in my office and start to hunt for it I never cease to be amazed by what I find while searching. The longer it takes me to find the desired object, the more I am able to sort, file, dump, and make clear what is in there all the time. Clearing away the outdated, the insignificant, and the garbage makes a new level of truth exist between my office and me.
St Teresa of Avila was a woman determined to see the divine in the details of life. Interesting to me is that her focus on every little tiny thing eventually brought her a big fat vision of Interior Castles. I take this to mean that when and if I finally clear out all the junk in my life I too will see my interior wealth. I already prize teaching over money, but St. Teresa is hinting at something even more elaborate and permanent. I am sure that the stern Teresa could never have allowed her office to become such a mess. She does give hope in her quote, “To reach something good it is very useful to have gone astray, and thus acquire experience.” This is very good news. There may well be castles under all this junk.
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