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 13 Mar 2005 @ 03:31, by tlingel. Personal Development
Anomie:
Greek anomia, lawlessness,
from anomos, without law.
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 18 Feb 2005 @ 15:54, by ming. Personal Development
The things to do are: the things that need doing: that you see need to be done, and that no one else seems to see need to be done. Then you will conceive your own way of doing that which needs to be done -- that no one else has told you to do or how to do it. This will bring out the real you that often gets buried inside a character that has acquired a superficial array of behaviors induced or imposed by others on the individual. --Buckminster Fuller
I gotta quote that once in a while, as it is one of my favorites. The things to do are the things that need doing, that you see need to be done, and that no one else seems to see need to be done.
To me it implies that there's meaning in life. That we're here for something. That there's something unique and useful for us to do. It doesn't have to be taken that way. You can simply use it as a method for grabbing the opportunities with the most potential. The most satisfying kind of success is found in doing something needed, at the right time, which nobody else noticed was needed. There's not so much potential in just doing what everybody else is doing. No, see something different, and do something different. But do something that is needed.
We all seem to be different. From nature's hand we all have a little bit different DNA, different fingerprints. And then different experiences that have influenced us, different information we have absorbed. And including all that, and beyond all that, we each have a different consciousness, a different way of seeing things, a different perspective. It is only natural that we will see something nobody else is seeing, and we'll see things a different way than others. We're perceiving the world from a different point, using different filters than anybody else. And that is probably not just an accident, an error in the production machinery of nature. No, I don't think it is. It is a feature. It is by design. I'm inherently made up to see things differently and to do things differently than anybody else.
It is a bit of a waste if one just tries to do what everybody else is doing. A waste if one only learns to see things like one is "supposed" to. A waste of life. You're boring God, if you want to put it that way. There isn't a lot of use for billions of people who try to do the same thing the same way. It is counter-evolutionary. Short-circuiting the creative process of evolution. We've somehow accidentally created a society that tries to make us all do the same thing. It was a dumb idea. And it isn't going to work, because you just can't stop everybody from having a different perspective. There will always be somebody who sees something different and who acts on it.
There are lots of things that don't need doing, because they don't really add value. It is just like Information Theory. There isn't much information in "0000000000000001000000". There's just that one "1", and its position. Predictable information can be left out when data is transmitted, because it doesn't add meaning, it doesn't add value, it isn't information. Likewise, if you're just doing something that has already been done, in roughly the same way, you aren't adding value. You're wasting our time and yours. The net result is: not very much.
Imagine this reframe of the Information Society: the things that are valuable are those that add information.
A million copies of the same thing is adding no information, no value. It is valuable for somebody to record a new song, which others might find refreshing and enjoyable. A million copies of it add no value in itself. What the listeners might do with them might add value. Compare that with the music industry and arguments for or against file sharing. A new system of sharing adds value. The creative uses of information one has access to adds value. A carbon copy of any of it does not in itself add value. No information, no value.
So, imagine a society that really gets that. Where the value is in adding value. Duh. Economically speaking, I mean. Where the rewarding thing to do is the thing that adds information and value. I.e. you see something new, and you do something about it, and you share it.
We're headed there, I think. And there are well known fields that work pretty much like that. Open source, obviously. There's no point at all in making another piece of software that does exactly the same as another one, if the first one is freely available and modifiable. Might be smarter to look at how one can add value to what is already there, by adding something new, something different.
Lots of people doing what they see needs doing, is probably a very threatening prospect for certain groups, certain people in power positions. So many old structures are based on quite the opposite. I.e. persuading large groups of people to accept the perspective and the needed tasks of a very small group at the top. Here is the perspective you're supposed to have, here are the morals you need to adhere to, and here's your job. Which creates big machines that work, but only inefficiently. So everybody's running around and struggling to do what they're supposed to do. Where the system really could be so much more efficient and fun if we all could be active components, rather than passive. Most of us running on most of our cylinders most of the time. Because our inherent ability and tendency to see things differently and to add value is one of our key qualities. We're conscious players, who have the ability to create information and add value, indefinitely. We just have some unlearning to do, to get back to that.
So, what do you see that needs doing? More >
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 4 Feb 2005 @ 09:14, by skookum. Personal Development
Rose by Ian Britton.. Freefoto.com
A Few Things
There are some things I won’t leave behind
The breeze as it wafts through the curtains
The smell of fresh mown grass
The sound of children laughing
The touch of a loving hand More >
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 2 Feb 2005 @ 12:56, by scotty. Personal Development
The Shepherd's Dream, from `Paradise Lost'
Henry Fuseli
I've just finished reading a book that Astrid sent me for christmas - The Shift by John England ! (Thankyou so much Astrid)
When I got the book I thought hmmm it's going to be more political stuff and sighed !
I started reading it all the same - and then I just couldn't put the damn thing down !
It's the best book that I've ever read !!!
It isn't the best written book that I've ever read - but !! I think it's changed me somewhere inside !!!
I can't help thinking that me - who's always been so 'anti-politics' - well - If I could ever find a party like the one in the book then I'd go with them - hell I'd even work for them !!
I ended up trying to find some kind of party on the net that even vaguely resembled them ( them - being the new party in the book) and came up with zero nada zilch nought nothing !
I thought hmm - maybe I'm supposed to try and 'dream it into existance' !
Sounds daft doesn't it ! hahahaha
I suddenly had this image of everyone trying to dream this party into existance - and I thought hmmm - maybe they are ! Maybe everyone who's read this book feels just like that too!
Maybe everyone is going to start dreaming of a Political Party that is going to be born - one that is going to change the way we look at and incorporate alternative ways of living - and begin to construct a path of change - so much so that the earth will begin to heal and we'll have something worthwhile to pass on to our children and our childrens children !
Maybe the book is going to be some kind of self-fulfilling prophecy !!!
One thing I do know - I want things to change - and the change has got to begin with me - and for the first time ever I KNOW that the Earth is my mother !
Martin Luther had a dream - and now I have one too !
Do try to read the book if you can - it's brilliant ! More >
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2 Jan 2005 @ 11:30, by newdawn. Personal Development
In this moment;
I let go of my busyness,
I let go of the past and the future,
I let go of my thoughts and feelings.
I am aware of the energy that moves silently through my body.
I allow my awareness to feel this constant presence to expand,
encompassing everything around me.
I am aware of the subtle rhythm of the Universe, the continuous flow of life, expressing Itself though and as me, connecting everything and everyone. More >
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11 Dec 2004 @ 12:05, by swanny. Personal Development
Towards A Holistic Lifestyle
It seems with each passing day, we are beginning to hear more and more about how the planet can no longer tolerate or process, what seems to amount to our abuse or ignorance of it. Our desires for instant gratification and addictive natures seem to have accumulated to the point where, if we do not become conscious of and change some of these destructive patterns and now, the consequences to the future will be compounded and dire. It is interesting to realize that hey, we puny human beings as a whole, can have an impact on this planet, which when thought about is quite extraordinary given its vastness and scope. Yet wouldn't it be more logical and better to have an impact that is perhaps beneficial, constructive, and advantageous rather than negative or destructive.
What though, could be considered in a nutshell, to be our most destructive behavior pattern? It is difficult to say and to nail it down to one predominant behavior. I think the effects are cumulative and habitual and the problem lies in the area of "behaviors" or lifestyles. I suspect then that it is the "consumptive" lifestyles that have allowed the problem to propagate and fester. They say for instance, that there are now more cars in North America than people. An indication that something is rather skewed. It would seem then that this consumptive lifestyle is somewhat inconsistent, problematic, and incompatible with the planets design constraints or at least the design constraints of the existing and current "biosphere."
Now over time perhaps, the planet could possibly "evolve" to accommodate this human error but evolution does not happen overnight or not usually and I think humanity has to kick a little cash and effort and contribute something to the equation. How? What can be done? What can we do?
Well in my own opinion and estimation, I think part of the answer perhaps lies in making and adopting a more conscious, committed and holistic lifestyle and thusly living in a more holistic manner or what could be called, adopting a more holistic outlook to life rather that the consumptive one. What would a more holistic lifestyle or outlook involve or be? Being holistic perhaps is about thinking logically but also living a little more out of ones own box and on a global scale or sense and being conscious and aware of how ones behaviors, actions and even thoughts effect, affect and impact the well being and health of the planet as a whole. And it means not simply paying lip service to such but actually doing, living and embodying it. It means accommodating and following the process and path through to its natural, logical and cumulative outcome and outputs, in the that way things work on this Earth, which to my understanding, is in a sense, in a whole systems and cyclic manner.
Is this the answer then? Ah alas if only life were so simple but If we can at least begin and do this and perhaps a little more and then if we can pass this knowledge and wisdom on to the future generations then humanity could stand a better chance of being more than just a minor blip on the universe's timetable.
Alfred G. Jonas
2004 Earth (c) More >
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5 Dec 2004 @ 15:41, by swanny. Personal Development
ahh hello world.....
what of the now....
where and what is the now
the global now.....???
or the local now.....????
well it be Sunday..... Yes?
and December.... Yes?
and the year 2004 ...... yes?
on the planet Earth.... yes?
in many places..... Yes?
and it is the 5th of Dec...... yes?
and morning..... yes?
Yes and no.....
we live in a swirling whirling dervish of time
Locally it is cold and windy here today and early.....
and cloudy... but quiet......
Globally ..... it is many and every thing perhaps.... yes?
Now again .......
what is our "agreement"...???
of this?
of now?
What is our "understanding".....???
of this?
of now?
time is circularly passing......... More >
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8 Nov 2004 @ 14:52, by lugon. Personal Development
I think I belong to the fine group of the easily distracted, or maybe it's my pay-job's fault (at times, that is).
Fact is, I've started carrying a notebook to work, where I write what I think about whatever I'm suposed to be doing. Otherwise I easily drift over to more interesting subjects, and the boring parts never get done.
I think it's a way to try and make dull activities more interesting. And, if at all posible, to rutinise them so much that they will disappear into automatism.
Some people talk to themselves to achieve just that: to keep themselves on track. A bit like when actors are helped in the theater play, by someone who is whispering what the next line is.
Of course, it's a pity that there are such jobs that need mumbling or notebook-writing to make them doable.
Also, not all boring jobs are like that: the job has to be both boring and demand your very own initiative. If I don't do something by my own initiative, it doesn't get done. Quite different from helping someone over the counter (or near a patient's bed), when that other person provides the motivation and you just have to dance to their rhythm. There's a problem that grabs your neck and forces you to pay attention.
Not so with many really important things such as changing the world. Those you have to look for them - or maybe not. Hmm, I'll have to think a bit more about this.
So maybe a software-bot that keeps me in track ... hmmm ... what if I code it right now (well, start anyway) and forget about that boring thing I was doing until that fly flew near my head? More >
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 1 Oct 2004 @ 15:38, by ming. Personal Development
Via Vicky, a quote from Beth Johnson:When things seem out of control remember that, indeed, they are. It is only the belief that you are ever in control that makes life seem to go awry. The harder you try to rule life, the harder it fights back. Learn to tell the difference between creating in the present and trying to control the future. One feels good, the other bad. It is quite telling that the people who try the hardest, or even who succeed the most in being in control, are people with personality disorders. Obsessive-compulsive neat-freaks and tyrants and dictators. Seems illogical and even counter-intuitive for us humans. Seems at first glance like it should be a great virtue to be in control of oneself and one's environment.
I suppose it still is, in a sense, but it is important to understand which kind of control is impossible, and which tends to drive us crazy. The quote points it out, for that matter. The time to create is in the present. The only thing you really have control over is what you do right now. And, sure, the better you can be aware of what exactly you're doing here in the present, and why you're doing it, and what you're trying to do, the better you'll probably do.
But you have no real control over what happens in the future. If you do things well in the present you have a whole lot of say as to what directions things go in. But you don't control what actually happens in the future. You might control what direction you're pointed in in the present, but you don't control what exactly happens, and you don't have direct control over where you end up.
You don't control the past either. A lot of our baggage relates to that we're trying to wish the past into being something different than what it was. Our regrets and failures. The things we should have done differently. The actions or results we feel ashamed of. You can't really change any of it. But you CAN change what you feel about it now, what you will learn from the past, and what you actually do right now, and how you create what you want now.
You don't control other people. You can influence them, inspire them, help them, guide them, threaten them, whatever. But if you think you actually directly can control them and their thoughts and emotions and actions, then you're probably a bit psycho. What they actually feel like doing is outside your realm of control.
It is one of those paradoxical things. You of course CAN influence others, and make things happen that you'd like to happen. But the catch is that you can only do that by what you do right here in the present moment. You can be knowledgable and perceptive and do the very best you can. And the better you are at it, the more likely it is that you'll create something like what you had in mind. But you're not in control of it.
And, yes, it feels good to do what we know how to do, what we like to do, what we feel is right right now. And all the other things we try to control typically feel bad. They're the causes of stress. Trying to make sure a certain outcome is guaranteed. Worrying about what other people will think and do. Worrying about what we might have done wrong, or what we might have forgotten about in the past. Worrying about what we might have failed to predict, or what we're failing to predict right now. We might feel it is necessary, but generally those things feel bad and stressful.
What makes it all harder is that our society seems to be structured so as to demand of us to be in control of both our past and future. We will be blamed for the things we do wrong, and for our failure to predict and control what happened. Our lives are full of commitments and accountabilities we can't easily opt out of. You need to pay the rent next month, of course. Your kids need to go to school, of course. You need to have done your taxes right, of course. You needed to have had the right permission to remodel your house. If you do the wrong thing, or say the wrong thing, or don't say the right thing, other people might be very upset with you. There are many things that could ruin your career or your reputation if you do them, or don't do them, or you hide them, or you don't hide them. Most of those things aren't here right now, and don't really have much to do with what you're inspired to be doing right now. But any of them can pop up and bite you at any time, and if you screw them up, everybody can easily agree on what a big idiot you are. So it seems like you have to always try to control all of these factors. Most of which you don't really control.
If we were just living from day to day on a south sea island without an economy, picking fruit off the trees when we were hungry, sleeping when we were sleepy, it would seem much easier. Nothing much to worry about, other than what is here right now. But that isn't how most of of live now. And even if you packed up and moved to Tonga, it probably wouldn't work like that today.
So, is it practical, or is it just a cool self-help thing to tell people to make them not be so stressed?
Well, it is first of all an awareness, I think. Know the difference between what you control and what you don't control. As to the stuff you DO control, try to do it as masterfully and deliberately as you can. Don't wait for somebody else to come and do your part. And for the part which you don't control, relax and be prepared for any outcome. Don't be attached to any one particular outcome. Doesn't mean you can't have preferences, and do certain things to make the more desirable things happen. Just means, do your part, but then let go, and don't be attached to outcomes. Know when your part stops, and it is up to the universe and to other people and to luck to make things happen from there on.
Isn't just a motivational thing to day. I'd say it reveals a key principle in how the universe works. And it provides one of the keys to happiness and success. And it also reveals another of our mental fallacies. I.e. ways we use our abstract thinking faculties to screw ourselves up, because we don't understand them well, and we confuse our thoughts about things with the things themselves. More >
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 20 Aug 2004 @ 10:51, by scotty. Personal Development
After A While
After a while, you learn the subtle difference
Between holding a hand and chaining a soul,
And you learn that love doesn't mean leaning
And company doesn't mean security,
And you begin to learn that kisses aren't contracts.
And presents aren't promises,
And you begin to accept your defeats
With the grace of God, not the grief of a child,
And you learn to build all your roads on today
Because tomorrow's ground is too uncertain for plans,
And futures have a way of falling down in mid-flight
And after a while you learn
That even sunshine burns if you get too much.
So you plant your own garden and decorate your own soul,
Instead of waiting for someone to bring you flowers.
And you learn that you really can endure ...
That you really are strong
And you really do have worth
And you learn and learn ...
And with every goodbye, you learn.
By Veronica A. Shoffstall
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