Saturday, October 30, 2004
Whatever happened to kissing?
At first glance, it doesn't seem like ANYTHING happened to it; we see it all the time... or do we? What *I* see on TV and in the movies looks like chewing and slobbering to ME, which doesn't qualify as kissing in my book unless the participants are St. Bernards. Where has all the REAL kissing gone?
Some of you may be old enough to remember when there were TWO kinds of kissing; the regular kind, which was the impassioned meeting of 2 pairs of lips, and French kissing, which meant doing something vaguely like kissing, except with the mouths open and tongues stuck in each other's mouths (generally with a steady flow of saliva involved, although the movies don't show that part of it). Now, sadly, only the latter form of kissing, which someone in Hollywood at some point apparently decided was better somehow, still exists... and I PROTEST!!
I'm not saying that there should be no French kissing shown just because *I* think it's vaguely icky, I'm saying that eliminating the "standard variety" makes no sense, and deprives those of us who swoon over REAL kissing of the enjoyment that romantic scenes are supposed to be giving us... the enjoyment that brings in movie-goer dollars. Furthermore, American men, taking their cues from what they see, have altered their kissing styles to match what they think is "the right way" to do it, and I can't tell you how many times I've heard women complain about it; I've never encountered a single woman who claimed to LIKE having her face slathered with spit. (Men, if you're smugly congratulating yourselves that no women YOU'VE been with have ever complained about how you kiss, keep in mind that you're the LAST person they'd complain to about anything in the romantic department (sorry, ladies, lol, but the guys have a right to know).)
A few decades ago, when the leading man kissed the leading lady, you could feel it all the way down to your toes; these days, you can't tell if he's kissing her or trying to gnaw off the bottom half of her face. If you don't know what I mean about what kissing looked like when it was wonderful, rent an old Errol Flynn movie, such as "Robin Hood," and watch when he locks lips with Olivia DeHavilland; within 5 seconds, she looks like her knees have buckled and she'd fall to the floor if he wasn't holding her up, and you can totally see why she feels that way, given his technique (and his handsomeness, too, granted).
I'd given up hope of us ever getting good stuff like that again, but my hope has been renewed thanks to "Queer as Folk"; the main character, studmuffin Brian Kinney, while not going so far as to do the bending the kissee backwards thing that was common in the old days, as it would look a little odd doing that with other men, nevertheless kisses the way they did in the movie classics... in a way that makes you wonder how the recipients can remember their lines, or even stay on their feet. I've got my fingers crossed that the success of QAF, and of the Brian character as a sex symbol, will motivate directors to have more couples kiss the old-fashioned way.
Fellas, you don't have to wait for the next kissing revolution to give this a try; surprise the women in your lives with deep, romantic kisses that don't require them to have towels or bibs, and see what it gets you. ;-)
Some of you may be old enough to remember when there were TWO kinds of kissing; the regular kind, which was the impassioned meeting of 2 pairs of lips, and French kissing, which meant doing something vaguely like kissing, except with the mouths open and tongues stuck in each other's mouths (generally with a steady flow of saliva involved, although the movies don't show that part of it). Now, sadly, only the latter form of kissing, which someone in Hollywood at some point apparently decided was better somehow, still exists... and I PROTEST!!
I'm not saying that there should be no French kissing shown just because *I* think it's vaguely icky, I'm saying that eliminating the "standard variety" makes no sense, and deprives those of us who swoon over REAL kissing of the enjoyment that romantic scenes are supposed to be giving us... the enjoyment that brings in movie-goer dollars. Furthermore, American men, taking their cues from what they see, have altered their kissing styles to match what they think is "the right way" to do it, and I can't tell you how many times I've heard women complain about it; I've never encountered a single woman who claimed to LIKE having her face slathered with spit. (Men, if you're smugly congratulating yourselves that no women YOU'VE been with have ever complained about how you kiss, keep in mind that you're the LAST person they'd complain to about anything in the romantic department (sorry, ladies, lol, but the guys have a right to know).)
A few decades ago, when the leading man kissed the leading lady, you could feel it all the way down to your toes; these days, you can't tell if he's kissing her or trying to gnaw off the bottom half of her face. If you don't know what I mean about what kissing looked like when it was wonderful, rent an old Errol Flynn movie, such as "Robin Hood," and watch when he locks lips with Olivia DeHavilland; within 5 seconds, she looks like her knees have buckled and she'd fall to the floor if he wasn't holding her up, and you can totally see why she feels that way, given his technique (and his handsomeness, too, granted).
I'd given up hope of us ever getting good stuff like that again, but my hope has been renewed thanks to "Queer as Folk"; the main character, studmuffin Brian Kinney, while not going so far as to do the bending the kissee backwards thing that was common in the old days, as it would look a little odd doing that with other men, nevertheless kisses the way they did in the movie classics... in a way that makes you wonder how the recipients can remember their lines, or even stay on their feet. I've got my fingers crossed that the success of QAF, and of the Brian character as a sex symbol, will motivate directors to have more couples kiss the old-fashioned way.
Fellas, you don't have to wait for the next kissing revolution to give this a try; surprise the women in your lives with deep, romantic kisses that don't require them to have towels or bibs, and see what it gets you. ;-)
Friday, October 29, 2004
What's in a name?
A rose by any other name may smell as sweet, but we're VERY sensitive to being referred to by other than our name, so much so that the deliberate use of the wrong name for someone is used as a form of insult:
1) a) Person A dislikes person B, so person A calls and/or refers to person B by the wrong name; the message this is meant to send is "I think so little of you that I can't be bothered to remember your name," but the reality is that A is just pretending, and in fact doesn't even expect anyone to believe that he doesn't know the correct name... he's just using this ploy to toss a little contempt at B without getting called on it, knowing that no one can "prove" that he actually knows the name, and so they'll never accuse him of acting badly.
b) In a more subtle version of this, person C has some sort of relationship with both A and B, and A is jealous or resentful or disapproving of B, and so uses the wrong name for B to C, but not to B directly... thus involving C in a little act of disloyalty to B if C fails to correct A's usage of the wrong name for B, all without B knowing anything.
2) Person A, who uses whatever name comes to mind for person B and doesn't care if it's right or wrong, considers himself far "above" B, as might be the case if A were the worst kind of boss and B had the misfortune to work for him, or if B were the servant of A; the message here is "I'm too important to keep track of petty details like the names of workers." It's nothing personal, it doesn't show specific feelings about B, it's a blanket insult that's applied to everyone of the supposedly lower status, as part of an overall attitude of extreme arrogance... A might not even realize he's doing it any more, as it's become a knee-jerk (and I do mean JERK) reaction to being faced with an "inferior."
3) Person A has no trouble remembering the name of person B... as long as B is male. If B is female, and not a blood relative, when speaking to her (which he may actively avoid doing) A will either give her a name at random, or will call her (with thinly-veiled contempt) "honey"; when speaking of her to whatever man he associates her with, he'll use either a random name or refer to her as "your wife" or "your assistant." A's a misogynist, and sees denying a woman a name as denying her recognition and power, and showing himself (in his mind) to be superior; this type of man usually drives a flashy car, as he does not fill out his inseam very well.
Be very, VERY careful around a person who displays any of the above behaviors; unlike when people say something nasty during an argument, or because they're angry or upset, this name substitution is done in cold blood, and always, ALWAYS, indicates that the substituter is NOT a nice person. Most folks don't think this through, and will be fooled by "person A," who may give no other overt evidence of being a baddie; as is usually the case with the red flags about a person's true character, no one will see this as meaning anything if you point it out to them, so don't bother... just keep your eyes open, and don't let A suck YOU in to being a part of his life.
1) a) Person A dislikes person B, so person A calls and/or refers to person B by the wrong name; the message this is meant to send is "I think so little of you that I can't be bothered to remember your name," but the reality is that A is just pretending, and in fact doesn't even expect anyone to believe that he doesn't know the correct name... he's just using this ploy to toss a little contempt at B without getting called on it, knowing that no one can "prove" that he actually knows the name, and so they'll never accuse him of acting badly.
b) In a more subtle version of this, person C has some sort of relationship with both A and B, and A is jealous or resentful or disapproving of B, and so uses the wrong name for B to C, but not to B directly... thus involving C in a little act of disloyalty to B if C fails to correct A's usage of the wrong name for B, all without B knowing anything.
2) Person A, who uses whatever name comes to mind for person B and doesn't care if it's right or wrong, considers himself far "above" B, as might be the case if A were the worst kind of boss and B had the misfortune to work for him, or if B were the servant of A; the message here is "I'm too important to keep track of petty details like the names of workers." It's nothing personal, it doesn't show specific feelings about B, it's a blanket insult that's applied to everyone of the supposedly lower status, as part of an overall attitude of extreme arrogance... A might not even realize he's doing it any more, as it's become a knee-jerk (and I do mean JERK) reaction to being faced with an "inferior."
3) Person A has no trouble remembering the name of person B... as long as B is male. If B is female, and not a blood relative, when speaking to her (which he may actively avoid doing) A will either give her a name at random, or will call her (with thinly-veiled contempt) "honey"; when speaking of her to whatever man he associates her with, he'll use either a random name or refer to her as "your wife" or "your assistant." A's a misogynist, and sees denying a woman a name as denying her recognition and power, and showing himself (in his mind) to be superior; this type of man usually drives a flashy car, as he does not fill out his inseam very well.
Be very, VERY careful around a person who displays any of the above behaviors; unlike when people say something nasty during an argument, or because they're angry or upset, this name substitution is done in cold blood, and always, ALWAYS, indicates that the substituter is NOT a nice person. Most folks don't think this through, and will be fooled by "person A," who may give no other overt evidence of being a baddie; as is usually the case with the red flags about a person's true character, no one will see this as meaning anything if you point it out to them, so don't bother... just keep your eyes open, and don't let A suck YOU in to being a part of his life.
Thursday, October 28, 2004
The future is SEMI-fixed
Why do people insist that the future has to either be entirely fixed, or entirely up for grabs? The only way there could be a future in which ANYTHING could happen would be if there were no past, no such thing as memory, nothing fixed existing in the universe... in other words, if we lived in a scifi novel. The only ways there could be total predestination would be if there were a deity who'd planned it all out, or if everything that will ever happen already exists like a great cosmic DVD that's being played... maybe over and over. Either of those things could, in theory, be the way it works, but each of those choices would add a whole new layer to reality, and, as an adherent to Occam's Razor, I prefer to go with the simplest explanation... which means using the scheme of karma I already know exists and seeing how time is most likely to work based on that.
As always, I start my analysis with what I know: The first thing I know is that time does NOT work the way we think it does, with moments being added on one by one, like beads on a string, and time moving from one point to the next, in one direction, and with nothing existing beyond the current "bead"; quantum physics, in which effect sometimes precedes cause, shows us that. The 2nd thing I know is that, since precognition exists (I've experienced it many times), some part of the future must already exist... or else how could a precognitive be seeing it? These things, combined with the unlikeliness of the existence of either traditional view, add up to a future that is semi-fixed, and, given the way I see karma, this is what seems like the simplest and most logical way for it to work:
Everything we do, say, think and feel creates energy, and these energies combine with all other energies from all other sources to create karma; what happens in each moment is the sum total of all previous karma... or, rather, that part of karma that is still "active." Not all previously-released energies are part of "the engine of karma" (the part of karma that does things) any more; most energies are only actively present as part of karma for a short time (although they can never disappear, according to the laws of physics)... for example, you said good-night to your dog 10 years ago, and that bit of karma became inactive in probably 2 seconds.
Energies vary wildly in how long they'll remain active, and thus in how far-reaching their impact will be; many currently-active energies will naturally remain active, and continue to be able to have an impact, FAR beyond the current moment. Because those energies have already been released, their eventual future impact has already been created... so, part of the future already exists.
However, most of the future is dependent on energies that do NOT yet exist, as they haven't been released yet, and thus most of the future does not yet exist... I'd guess that a future moment isn't 100% determined until a fraction of a second before it happens, as new energies might still be released to change things right up until the instant actually gets here.
So; you DO have free will and the ability to choose, BUT you have to take into account the influence of things that already "are," and of course your karma and that of the people around you... it's not like writing a story where you can make literally anything happen no matter what has gone on before. It's neither a pre-planned road down which you're hurtling helplessly, nor chaos where things can happen totally at random; all in all, a pretty good deal.
As always, I start my analysis with what I know: The first thing I know is that time does NOT work the way we think it does, with moments being added on one by one, like beads on a string, and time moving from one point to the next, in one direction, and with nothing existing beyond the current "bead"; quantum physics, in which effect sometimes precedes cause, shows us that. The 2nd thing I know is that, since precognition exists (I've experienced it many times), some part of the future must already exist... or else how could a precognitive be seeing it? These things, combined with the unlikeliness of the existence of either traditional view, add up to a future that is semi-fixed, and, given the way I see karma, this is what seems like the simplest and most logical way for it to work:
Everything we do, say, think and feel creates energy, and these energies combine with all other energies from all other sources to create karma; what happens in each moment is the sum total of all previous karma... or, rather, that part of karma that is still "active." Not all previously-released energies are part of "the engine of karma" (the part of karma that does things) any more; most energies are only actively present as part of karma for a short time (although they can never disappear, according to the laws of physics)... for example, you said good-night to your dog 10 years ago, and that bit of karma became inactive in probably 2 seconds.
Energies vary wildly in how long they'll remain active, and thus in how far-reaching their impact will be; many currently-active energies will naturally remain active, and continue to be able to have an impact, FAR beyond the current moment. Because those energies have already been released, their eventual future impact has already been created... so, part of the future already exists.
However, most of the future is dependent on energies that do NOT yet exist, as they haven't been released yet, and thus most of the future does not yet exist... I'd guess that a future moment isn't 100% determined until a fraction of a second before it happens, as new energies might still be released to change things right up until the instant actually gets here.
So; you DO have free will and the ability to choose, BUT you have to take into account the influence of things that already "are," and of course your karma and that of the people around you... it's not like writing a story where you can make literally anything happen no matter what has gone on before. It's neither a pre-planned road down which you're hurtling helplessly, nor chaos where things can happen totally at random; all in all, a pretty good deal.
Wednesday, October 27, 2004
What's harmful to kids on TV?
The answer most people would give would be, "Nudity, sex, and violence"... but, which of these things are REALLY harmful to kids?
In so-called "primitive" cultures, children of all ages generally see total nudity of adults of both genders every day, and no one thinks anything of it, or that harm to the kids could come from it; since we're not born with clothes on, and it's therefore natural for us to be naked, how COULD it be harmful for kids to see any parts of other people's bodies?
It's also common in these cultures for children to see sexual acts, as it's typical for everyone in the family to sleep in one room, and in general because nothing about sex is seen as "dirty," or bad for kids to see; neither humans nor other animals have an instinct to hide from all eyes when mating, so it's natural to see the matings of others... how COULD seeing sex be harmful, then, to kids or anyone else?
Any problems that OUR kids end up with in the areas of nudity or sex come from our sick cultural attitudes about those things: the secrecy, the embarrassment, the conflicting information, the unrealistic portrayals, and the implication that these things are somehow wrong or dirty, despite being natural and necessary for the species to continue.
Violence, however, is VERY different; while some degree of violence IS "natural," because that's part of how all animals survive, it's stressful to the body and mind, and we are NOT biologically set up to witness the sort of nonstop violence shown on TV... so we DO need to worry about kids seeing too much violence. Even worse than the potential harm to our kids from being frightened and upset by seeing violence on TV is the deeper harm done when they become desensitized to it as their brains' last-gasp attempt to help them cope; this can make them into quasi-sociopaths rather than the compassionate people we want them to be, and that society needs them to be... and remember, most violent criminals are sociopaths.
Is there any chance that we, the adults, will EVER stop making it profitable for television programming to show extreme and repeated violence during times that children are awake and watching TV? Sadly, in America, we'd rather worry that a kid will see a naked backside, sigh....
In so-called "primitive" cultures, children of all ages generally see total nudity of adults of both genders every day, and no one thinks anything of it, or that harm to the kids could come from it; since we're not born with clothes on, and it's therefore natural for us to be naked, how COULD it be harmful for kids to see any parts of other people's bodies?
It's also common in these cultures for children to see sexual acts, as it's typical for everyone in the family to sleep in one room, and in general because nothing about sex is seen as "dirty," or bad for kids to see; neither humans nor other animals have an instinct to hide from all eyes when mating, so it's natural to see the matings of others... how COULD seeing sex be harmful, then, to kids or anyone else?
Any problems that OUR kids end up with in the areas of nudity or sex come from our sick cultural attitudes about those things: the secrecy, the embarrassment, the conflicting information, the unrealistic portrayals, and the implication that these things are somehow wrong or dirty, despite being natural and necessary for the species to continue.
Violence, however, is VERY different; while some degree of violence IS "natural," because that's part of how all animals survive, it's stressful to the body and mind, and we are NOT biologically set up to witness the sort of nonstop violence shown on TV... so we DO need to worry about kids seeing too much violence. Even worse than the potential harm to our kids from being frightened and upset by seeing violence on TV is the deeper harm done when they become desensitized to it as their brains' last-gasp attempt to help them cope; this can make them into quasi-sociopaths rather than the compassionate people we want them to be, and that society needs them to be... and remember, most violent criminals are sociopaths.
Is there any chance that we, the adults, will EVER stop making it profitable for television programming to show extreme and repeated violence during times that children are awake and watching TV? Sadly, in America, we'd rather worry that a kid will see a naked backside, sigh....
Tuesday, October 26, 2004
Strong + Weak = DISASTER
Most people are average in the area of strength of personality, just like most of us are about average in ALL areas, but there are also people who are unusually strong, or who are, to be blunt, weak... and they generally find each other irresistible, both as friends and as lovers. The weak person can't WAIT to give up control over their lives to the strong one, and take everything the strong one can give; it makes them feel loved. The strong one feels loved because of the trust and admiration of the weak one, and is happy to make endless effort... lulled into the false sense of security that "(s)he loves me so much, I do everything for him/her, so I know (s)he'll be loyal to me." It SHOULD work that way, yes, but human nature has many foolish elements to it, one of which is that, instead of being thrilled to be receiving, the average person becomes increasingly resentful that the other person has it to give, has more than them, and has control over them... and that sets the stage for bad behavior to ensue if a 2nd strong person comes on the scene, because for many strong people, the most appealing person in the world to them as a friend or lover is someone ELSE'S weak friend or lover.
They know just how to play it with the weak person, too: "How come (s)he is always telling you what to do? They're supposed to be your friend, and friends should never tell each other what to do. *I* never tell anyone what to do, and YOU don't either, right? We're not like her/him, we're GOOD friends to people. Why do you let her/him treat you like that? You deserve better. I'LL never treat you that way, because I really value you... you're such a special and wonderful person." And on and on and on... and the weak person laps it up, believes every word, has no clue what's going on, gets total amnesia about everything the friend has done for them, not to mention about the concept of loyalty, is soon agreeing that the friend is this terrible person, and is instantly buddy-buddy with the interloper. The original friendship is effectively over at this point, but the weak person will play at being friends for a while longer (although behaving badly to the confused and astounded strong person, who has no idea why the weak one is suddenly so cold and distant), so that they can make it look like they just grew apart, or quarreled repeatedly and then parted, rather than having to try to justify to mutual acquaintances why they "broke up" out of the blue in response to... nothing.
The 2nd strong person will do virtually ANYTHING during this time to keep the weak person by their side, getting more and more involved, and more estranged from the original friend. In one such situation I was the original friend in, the interloper, a married straight woman who had expressed discomfort with the concept of homosexuality, went to the extreme of repeatedly having cybersex with the woman who was my "follower" (who was bisexual, single and lonely), who she had decided to "steal"; I found this out a couple of years later when this follower came crawling back, admitting that the "friend" she allowed to "break us up" was exactly the sort of person I'd told her she was, and had used, and mistreated, her in exactly the ways I'd predicted.
Yes, that's the part that eventually gets the weak ones in the butt; once the new "friend" gets them totally away from the old friend, and feels secure in their relationship, they start treating the follower, not just the way the original friend did, but like DIRT... secure in the knowledge that the weak one has no one to fall back on any more. Secure, that is, until the NEXT strong person comes along, or until the thrill of the "theft" fades, and they toss the weak person out like a piece of trash.
In the romantic arena, this works pretty much the same way, with some added lines, such as, "I can't imagine why (s)he neglects you, doesn't appreciate you, doesn't pay you compliments, doesn't romance you, you're SO beautiful, sexy, sensitive, and smart," "If I had someone like you, I'd be so happy, because you're the perfect sort of person for me," and, of course, "if you'd just leave her/him for me, I'd give you all the things you deserve." As always, the weak person is oblivious to the thrill of the steal that's motivating the strong person, and to the simple fact that EVERY relationship settles into the normal pattern of NOT swimming in romance fairly quickly, and is easily lured away.
This dynamic is so common that it amazes me how few people seem aware of what's going on; every time I point out to someone that this game is under way, they think I'm making an issue out of trivial things... right up until those trivial things bring the result they always do. What's even more amazing is that children act out this pattern, too: I can remember as a teenager being endlessly puzzled by the behavior of some of the younger kids in the neighborhood; there were 2 girls who were always battling for the attention and best friendship of a 3rd girl, and this 3rd girl was essentially a zero with legs, with no personality, nothing to say for herself, no qualities that would make her a candidate to be desired, fought over, even BRIBED (whoever had candy or cookies would run to offer them to her if only she'd go off to play just with them)... no qualities, that is, except the only one that mattered, which was that she was the only follower available, and the 2 stronger girls would rather battle ceaselessly over her than for all of them to just be friends and all play together.
It's one thing for children to act childish, but what EVER possesses adults to break up people's friendships rather than join in and be friends with everyone? How do people justify stealing someone's lover rather than making a karmically clean relationship with an available person? I don't know. I just know what I've learned the hard way; avoid getting into a strong/weak relationship no matter what.
They know just how to play it with the weak person, too: "How come (s)he is always telling you what to do? They're supposed to be your friend, and friends should never tell each other what to do. *I* never tell anyone what to do, and YOU don't either, right? We're not like her/him, we're GOOD friends to people. Why do you let her/him treat you like that? You deserve better. I'LL never treat you that way, because I really value you... you're such a special and wonderful person." And on and on and on... and the weak person laps it up, believes every word, has no clue what's going on, gets total amnesia about everything the friend has done for them, not to mention about the concept of loyalty, is soon agreeing that the friend is this terrible person, and is instantly buddy-buddy with the interloper. The original friendship is effectively over at this point, but the weak person will play at being friends for a while longer (although behaving badly to the confused and astounded strong person, who has no idea why the weak one is suddenly so cold and distant), so that they can make it look like they just grew apart, or quarreled repeatedly and then parted, rather than having to try to justify to mutual acquaintances why they "broke up" out of the blue in response to... nothing.
The 2nd strong person will do virtually ANYTHING during this time to keep the weak person by their side, getting more and more involved, and more estranged from the original friend. In one such situation I was the original friend in, the interloper, a married straight woman who had expressed discomfort with the concept of homosexuality, went to the extreme of repeatedly having cybersex with the woman who was my "follower" (who was bisexual, single and lonely), who she had decided to "steal"; I found this out a couple of years later when this follower came crawling back, admitting that the "friend" she allowed to "break us up" was exactly the sort of person I'd told her she was, and had used, and mistreated, her in exactly the ways I'd predicted.
Yes, that's the part that eventually gets the weak ones in the butt; once the new "friend" gets them totally away from the old friend, and feels secure in their relationship, they start treating the follower, not just the way the original friend did, but like DIRT... secure in the knowledge that the weak one has no one to fall back on any more. Secure, that is, until the NEXT strong person comes along, or until the thrill of the "theft" fades, and they toss the weak person out like a piece of trash.
In the romantic arena, this works pretty much the same way, with some added lines, such as, "I can't imagine why (s)he neglects you, doesn't appreciate you, doesn't pay you compliments, doesn't romance you, you're SO beautiful, sexy, sensitive, and smart," "If I had someone like you, I'd be so happy, because you're the perfect sort of person for me," and, of course, "if you'd just leave her/him for me, I'd give you all the things you deserve." As always, the weak person is oblivious to the thrill of the steal that's motivating the strong person, and to the simple fact that EVERY relationship settles into the normal pattern of NOT swimming in romance fairly quickly, and is easily lured away.
This dynamic is so common that it amazes me how few people seem aware of what's going on; every time I point out to someone that this game is under way, they think I'm making an issue out of trivial things... right up until those trivial things bring the result they always do. What's even more amazing is that children act out this pattern, too: I can remember as a teenager being endlessly puzzled by the behavior of some of the younger kids in the neighborhood; there were 2 girls who were always battling for the attention and best friendship of a 3rd girl, and this 3rd girl was essentially a zero with legs, with no personality, nothing to say for herself, no qualities that would make her a candidate to be desired, fought over, even BRIBED (whoever had candy or cookies would run to offer them to her if only she'd go off to play just with them)... no qualities, that is, except the only one that mattered, which was that she was the only follower available, and the 2 stronger girls would rather battle ceaselessly over her than for all of them to just be friends and all play together.
It's one thing for children to act childish, but what EVER possesses adults to break up people's friendships rather than join in and be friends with everyone? How do people justify stealing someone's lover rather than making a karmically clean relationship with an available person? I don't know. I just know what I've learned the hard way; avoid getting into a strong/weak relationship no matter what.
Monday, October 25, 2004
Quantum physicist makes the connection to karma
A friend of mine, who is herself a physicist, sent me the following URL:
http://healthywealthynwise.com/article.asp?Article=411
The rather lengthy article there circles around "world-renowned quantum physicist" John Hagelin, who has a stunning list of credentials, AND is deep into things within the New Age/spiritual/metaphysics areas... all in all, my kinda guy.
I started really paying attention to what he was saying when I got to, "Karmically, the teacher always gains more than he gives." Then, I got to the part that almost gave me a heart attack:
"the material universe is built upon the non-material quantum-mechanical world of abstract intelligence that underlies it. The exploration of deeper levels of natural law at the atomic and nuclear and sub-nuclear levels was probing deeper levels of intelligence in nature that were far beyond the realm of material existence.
Ultimately, the discovery of the unified field, or heterotic superstring, was a discovery of a field of pure intelligence whose nature was not material, but pure, self-interacting consciousness. So physics, in effect, had discovered consciousness at the foundation of material existence. "
How many times have *I* said that the energy that all matter is made out of is the same energy as thought, feelings, and spirit/soul are made of, which I refer to collectively as "karma"?
A little farther down, the interviewer says, "the magazine believes strongly in the power of intention to manifest outcomes," and Dr. Hagelin says in his reply, "I strongly support your belief in the power of intention based upon both science and direct experience"... and the "power of intention" is what I described as "neutral karma" in my post of 2 days ago.
I've known from the beginning of my spiritual journey that the world of quantum physics was intimately connected to the metaphysical, and thus that they were really ONE mystery rather than 2; every time I read how physicists are seeing the same sorts of things as I am, it redoubles my intention to continue along this path.
http://healthywealthynwise.com/article.asp?Article=411
The rather lengthy article there circles around "world-renowned quantum physicist" John Hagelin, who has a stunning list of credentials, AND is deep into things within the New Age/spiritual/metaphysics areas... all in all, my kinda guy.
I started really paying attention to what he was saying when I got to, "Karmically, the teacher always gains more than he gives." Then, I got to the part that almost gave me a heart attack:
"the material universe is built upon the non-material quantum-mechanical world of abstract intelligence that underlies it. The exploration of deeper levels of natural law at the atomic and nuclear and sub-nuclear levels was probing deeper levels of intelligence in nature that were far beyond the realm of material existence.
Ultimately, the discovery of the unified field, or heterotic superstring, was a discovery of a field of pure intelligence whose nature was not material, but pure, self-interacting consciousness. So physics, in effect, had discovered consciousness at the foundation of material existence. "
How many times have *I* said that the energy that all matter is made out of is the same energy as thought, feelings, and spirit/soul are made of, which I refer to collectively as "karma"?
A little farther down, the interviewer says, "the magazine believes strongly in the power of intention to manifest outcomes," and Dr. Hagelin says in his reply, "I strongly support your belief in the power of intention based upon both science and direct experience"... and the "power of intention" is what I described as "neutral karma" in my post of 2 days ago.
I've known from the beginning of my spiritual journey that the world of quantum physics was intimately connected to the metaphysical, and thus that they were really ONE mystery rather than 2; every time I read how physicists are seeing the same sorts of things as I am, it redoubles my intention to continue along this path.
Sunday, October 24, 2004
Karma has sent me an intersexual friend!! :-O
I know I shouldn't EVER be surprised when karma sends me what I asked for, but sometimes the circumstances are so amazing that I still am. On June 16th, I posted about a revelation I'd had, that a soul doesn't have a gender (how could it?), and thus that gender clouds our spiritual perceptions; at that point, I realized that an intersexual, who belongs to neither "standard gender," would be free of that "clouding," and should therefore have the potential for greater spiritual insights. I wished profoundly to meet an intersexual with whom I could discuss these issues, and, unbelievably, I've MET one.
No, I was NOT looking around for such a person, nor have I ever; I was skimming through a forum that had nothing to do with either intersexuality or spiritual matters, and there she was. Let me pause here and make the point that I've asked her what pronoun she prefers people to say in reference to her, and "she" is what she told me to use; I did NOT take it upon myself to pick a pronoun for her. Interestingly, she does "feel" more female to me than she does male, which is probably because she lives as a woman (her face looks female, so that's the easy way for her to go); she has equal amounts of male and female "parts," though, and thus isn't actually more one than the other.
Any intersexed person would be able to provide me with valuable perspective on many things, spiritual and otherwise, but karma can do better than that, and it did; my new friend is heavily into matters spiritual and metaphysical. (Think about it; what are the CHANCES of that?!!) And even BETTER; she has psychic abilities, and topics she has studied, that are outside of my own "areas," so I can do more than get her ideas on my pet theories, I can learn whole new CATEGORIES of stuff from her... UNbelievable.
Actually, it's NOT unbelievable, any more than any other force of nature is, it's just that it's mindblowing how karma will send you the things you've "asked for" even when you're making no effort to get those things yourself... and I'm coming to believe more and more that for certain kinds of "wants," making a concerted effort BLOCKS the ability of karma to send you what you asked for. This seems counter-intuitive, but when you're struggling fruitlessly to get something that you don't quite have the right abilities or opportunities to connect with, the negative energy you generate counteracts the neutral energy you sent out "asking for" you goal, at least in part... possibly a BIG part.
Back to the point: I'm so excited over this new friend that I hardly know where to start the dialogue with her-I want to talk about everything all at once, and start gathering new data to ponder and use to expand my worldview. And... I'm wondering what to ask karma to bring me next...
No, I was NOT looking around for such a person, nor have I ever; I was skimming through a forum that had nothing to do with either intersexuality or spiritual matters, and there she was. Let me pause here and make the point that I've asked her what pronoun she prefers people to say in reference to her, and "she" is what she told me to use; I did NOT take it upon myself to pick a pronoun for her. Interestingly, she does "feel" more female to me than she does male, which is probably because she lives as a woman (her face looks female, so that's the easy way for her to go); she has equal amounts of male and female "parts," though, and thus isn't actually more one than the other.
Any intersexed person would be able to provide me with valuable perspective on many things, spiritual and otherwise, but karma can do better than that, and it did; my new friend is heavily into matters spiritual and metaphysical. (Think about it; what are the CHANCES of that?!!) And even BETTER; she has psychic abilities, and topics she has studied, that are outside of my own "areas," so I can do more than get her ideas on my pet theories, I can learn whole new CATEGORIES of stuff from her... UNbelievable.
Actually, it's NOT unbelievable, any more than any other force of nature is, it's just that it's mindblowing how karma will send you the things you've "asked for" even when you're making no effort to get those things yourself... and I'm coming to believe more and more that for certain kinds of "wants," making a concerted effort BLOCKS the ability of karma to send you what you asked for. This seems counter-intuitive, but when you're struggling fruitlessly to get something that you don't quite have the right abilities or opportunities to connect with, the negative energy you generate counteracts the neutral energy you sent out "asking for" you goal, at least in part... possibly a BIG part.
Back to the point: I'm so excited over this new friend that I hardly know where to start the dialogue with her-I want to talk about everything all at once, and start gathering new data to ponder and use to expand my worldview. And... I'm wondering what to ask karma to bring me next...
