when you can create it?
~~~~
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Monday, April 26, 2010
Radical Indeterminacy
An Invitation from Andrew Cohen:
In our most evolutionarily enlightened moments, we directly experience the truth of the fact that we are all truly on a cosmic journey. When we literally begin to feel the telos*, or directionality, of the entire process moving in and through our own nervous system, this is when we directly experience that movement as a vertical impulse in our own consciousness, way beyond our egos. We see that where we are headed is never static or predetermined.
In every moment there is the possibility for something new. This is what I have recently been calling "radical indeterminacy" - when we glimpse for ourselves the limitless nature of our own potential to evolve, infinitely and forever.
~~~~
* Telos - the philosophical concept of purpose;
related to teleology, the study of design, purpose and intent.
~~~~
Limitless undying love which shines around me like a million suns
It calls me on and on across the universe
- The Beatles
~~~~
In our most evolutionarily enlightened moments, we directly experience the truth of the fact that we are all truly on a cosmic journey. When we literally begin to feel the telos*, or directionality, of the entire process moving in and through our own nervous system, this is when we directly experience that movement as a vertical impulse in our own consciousness, way beyond our egos. We see that where we are headed is never static or predetermined.
In every moment there is the possibility for something new. This is what I have recently been calling "radical indeterminacy" - when we glimpse for ourselves the limitless nature of our own potential to evolve, infinitely and forever.
~~~~
* Telos - the philosophical concept of purpose;
related to teleology, the study of design, purpose and intent.
~~~~
Limitless undying love which shines around me like a million suns
It calls me on and on across the universe
- The Beatles
~~~~
Saturday, April 24, 2010
How To Get Free When You're Feeling Stuck and Scared
A little bird told me.
Well, actually it told Julie Roads, owner/founder of Writing Roads, who tells this delightful story on Copyblogger.
A chickadee had become trapped inside her house, frantically trying to get out and in its panic failing to notice the wide open window through which it could easily fly away. In recounting the bird's (and her own) escalating panic, confusion and ultimate escape to freedom, Julie deftly weaves this tiny drama into a lesson for anyone anywhere who feels stuck and scared. When, as she puts it, you're too scared to stop what you're doing, even though you know it's pointless.
She kindly provides pointers to help us find our open window:
This article is well written, funny and straight from the heart. Read it HERE - guaranteed to brighten your day.
~~~~
I want to fly like an eagle to the sea
fly like an eagle, let my spirit carry me
I want to fly like an eagle, till I'm free
fly right into the future
- Steve Miller Band
~~~~
Well, actually it told Julie Roads, owner/founder of Writing Roads, who tells this delightful story on Copyblogger.
A chickadee had become trapped inside her house, frantically trying to get out and in its panic failing to notice the wide open window through which it could easily fly away. In recounting the bird's (and her own) escalating panic, confusion and ultimate escape to freedom, Julie deftly weaves this tiny drama into a lesson for anyone anywhere who feels stuck and scared. When, as she puts it, you're too scared to stop what you're doing, even though you know it's pointless.
~~~~
I recognized her self-inflicted entrapment, and I recognized the joy of her freedom. I said to myself, I want more of that, I want more of finding the way forward, to the good stuff.~~~~
She kindly provides pointers to help us find our open window:
- Take yourself out of the equation
- Calm down
- Try something new
- Ask for help
This article is well written, funny and straight from the heart. Read it HERE - guaranteed to brighten your day.
~~~~
I want to fly like an eagle to the sea
fly like an eagle, let my spirit carry me
I want to fly like an eagle, till I'm free
fly right into the future
- Steve Miller Band
~~~~
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Enlightenment Is Not The End of the Path
It's the beginning.
So then the important question becomes, how can we cultivate the ability and readiness to express the beauty, perfection, and wholeness discovered in spiritual revelation?
Andrew Cohen shares his insights in a new article entitled The Evolution of Enlightenment. He describes how his personal understanding, and its expression through his teachings, have evolved from the traditional view of enlightenment to what he terms Evolutionary Enlightenment.
~~~~
Some highlights:
"In the traditional Eastern metaphysical perspective, the world isn’t real, it’s only an ephemeral appearance, an illusion, a mere insubstantial, transient dream in the mind of God. I felt differently. To me, the world was certainly real and in fact, was an inherent and all-important dimension of what God always is. For millennia, this question has been the spark of an ongoing metaphysical argument among sages, seers, and philosophers. And it is a significant one.
If the world isn’t real, then nothing needs to be done about the way things are. But if the world is real, then it soon becomes apparent to us that there is real work to be done ... to bring the power of enlightened awareness into the world through rational action, through moral being, and through engaging with the process of time in the most deliberate and creative way."
.....
"To me it always appeared obvious that the power and significance of that which is Absolute was given validation only through our willingness to stand for and embody its glory as ourselves—through action, through choice, through the way we lived in the world of time and form."
.....
"To put it simply, enlightenment is evolving. It is no longer found only in the bliss of timeless Being; it is found also in the ecstatic urgency of evolutionary Becoming."
~~~~
I suspect many will find these ideas challenging, intriguing or disturbing. Some may think they are just wrong. For me they are a breath of fresh air, a brilliant light in the darkness. I often have difficulty accepting the traditional teachings, feeling that they demand me to deny my own experience, my own intuition, my own heart, but have become reluctant to express these doubts because so often such heartfelt expressions are met with derision or ridicule.
I appreciate that Cohen has the courage (audacity?) to proclaim that the world is real and that there is real work to be done - in the world of time and form.
This is the best article yet from Andrew Cohen - please CLICK HERE to read it in its entirety.
~~~~
Some related RoadKill posts:
Redefining Enlightenment For Our Time
Evolutionary Enlightenment 101
The Endless Thrill of the Possible
Awakening to Deep Time
Time Is All We've Got
~~~~
So then the important question becomes, how can we cultivate the ability and readiness to express the beauty, perfection, and wholeness discovered in spiritual revelation?
Andrew Cohen shares his insights in a new article entitled The Evolution of Enlightenment. He describes how his personal understanding, and its expression through his teachings, have evolved from the traditional view of enlightenment to what he terms Evolutionary Enlightenment.
~~~~
Some highlights:
"In the traditional Eastern metaphysical perspective, the world isn’t real, it’s only an ephemeral appearance, an illusion, a mere insubstantial, transient dream in the mind of God. I felt differently. To me, the world was certainly real and in fact, was an inherent and all-important dimension of what God always is. For millennia, this question has been the spark of an ongoing metaphysical argument among sages, seers, and philosophers. And it is a significant one.
If the world isn’t real, then nothing needs to be done about the way things are. But if the world is real, then it soon becomes apparent to us that there is real work to be done ... to bring the power of enlightened awareness into the world through rational action, through moral being, and through engaging with the process of time in the most deliberate and creative way."
.....
"To me it always appeared obvious that the power and significance of that which is Absolute was given validation only through our willingness to stand for and embody its glory as ourselves—through action, through choice, through the way we lived in the world of time and form."
.....
"To put it simply, enlightenment is evolving. It is no longer found only in the bliss of timeless Being; it is found also in the ecstatic urgency of evolutionary Becoming."
~~~~
I suspect many will find these ideas challenging, intriguing or disturbing. Some may think they are just wrong. For me they are a breath of fresh air, a brilliant light in the darkness. I often have difficulty accepting the traditional teachings, feeling that they demand me to deny my own experience, my own intuition, my own heart, but have become reluctant to express these doubts because so often such heartfelt expressions are met with derision or ridicule.
I appreciate that Cohen has the courage (audacity?) to proclaim that the world is real and that there is real work to be done - in the world of time and form.
This is the best article yet from Andrew Cohen - please CLICK HERE to read it in its entirety.
~~~~
Some related RoadKill posts:
Redefining Enlightenment For Our Time
Evolutionary Enlightenment 101
The Endless Thrill of the Possible
Awakening to Deep Time
Time Is All We've Got
~~~~
Monday, April 19, 2010
Floating Garbage
"Not to be outdone by the wily Pacific, the Atlantic Ocean is now reporting the existence of its very own giant, rancid, thousand-mile-wide swath of plastic collected over a period of years in a huge, swirling vortex and choking off sea life as far as the eye can weep. The Atlantic Plastic Explosion™ (as it would like to be known) is drifting somewhere between Bermuda and Portugal's mid-Atlantic Azores. Yay world!"
According to Charles Moore, an ocean researcher credited with discovering the Pacific garbage patch in 1997, "humanity's plastic footprint is probably more dangerous than its carbon footprint."
~~~~
So next time we are about to throw something away, we might ask ourselves: where exactly is "away"?
~~~~
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
To Forgive Is Also Human
To reimagine the human capacity for forgiveness, we must first challenge our ideas about the human inclination to seek revenge.
Western religious and therapeutic mindsets have come to imagine revenge as a disease that can be cured by civilization. It hasn't been seen as a natural, biologically driven impulse to which we all remain prone under certain circumstances. And at the same time, the seemingly colder eye of evolutionary biology has analyzed ruthlessness as an advantage in the relentless arc of the survival of the fittest. Forgiveness in both of these scenarios is a rare transcendent quality, a cure for revenge albeit one that would never help human beings really triumph.
Michael McCullough of the University of Miami Laboratory for Social and Clinical Psychology says this view of the world is based on simplistic understandings of both human nature and evolution. He describes a science that helps us comprehend how revenge came to have a purpose in human life, but he also stresses that forgiveness is a much more powerful instinct than we realize.
In this interview for Speaking Of Faith, we explore ways to recognize the revenge instinct in ourselves and embolden our inherent capacity to forgive.
~~~~
The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is an attribute of the strong.
- Mahatma Gandhi
~~~~
Western religious and therapeutic mindsets have come to imagine revenge as a disease that can be cured by civilization. It hasn't been seen as a natural, biologically driven impulse to which we all remain prone under certain circumstances. And at the same time, the seemingly colder eye of evolutionary biology has analyzed ruthlessness as an advantage in the relentless arc of the survival of the fittest. Forgiveness in both of these scenarios is a rare transcendent quality, a cure for revenge albeit one that would never help human beings really triumph.
Michael McCullough of the University of Miami Laboratory for Social and Clinical Psychology says this view of the world is based on simplistic understandings of both human nature and evolution. He describes a science that helps us comprehend how revenge came to have a purpose in human life, but he also stresses that forgiveness is a much more powerful instinct than we realize.
In this interview for Speaking Of Faith, we explore ways to recognize the revenge instinct in ourselves and embolden our inherent capacity to forgive.
~~~~
The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is an attribute of the strong.
- Mahatma Gandhi
~~~~
That Good Self-Existing Sword
This pain that I feel now in my breast, that makes me sob and that frightens the poor lamb, has been felt since human beings first existed. Few can accept the burden of their own victory; most give up their dreams when they see that they can be realized. They refuse to fight the good fight because they do not know what to do with their own happiness; they are imprisoned by the things of the world. Just as I have been, who wanted to find my sword without knowing what to do with it."
~~~~
From The Pilgrimage by Paolo Coelho.
~~~~
Friday, April 9, 2010
The Power of Purpose
Which do you think is a more powerful motivator - benefit for oneself or benefit for others?
Check out another excellent article from Dan Pink for the surprising answer, and some lively discussion in the Comments section.
~~~~
Check out another excellent article from Dan Pink for the surprising answer, and some lively discussion in the Comments section.
~~~~
Failure vs Mediocrity
Here's a thought for the day from Dan Pink:
Most people are more frightened of failure than of mediocrity. It should be the reverse.
Failure is a broken leg — painful, but easily fixed. Mediocrity is a creeping disease — invisible and insidious — that disables so completely that there’s often no recovery.
~~~~
Most people are more frightened of failure than of mediocrity. It should be the reverse.
Failure is a broken leg — painful, but easily fixed. Mediocrity is a creeping disease — invisible and insidious — that disables so completely that there’s often no recovery.
~~~~
Thursday, April 1, 2010
What's Marilyn Been Up To?
Just wanted everyone to know about a new dance class I started teaching recently. Here's a demo video - I'm the one in the black pants (in case you didn't recognize me with my hair up).
~~~~
My Hips Don't Lie - Shakira
~~~~
~~~~
My Hips Don't Lie - Shakira
~~~~
There's Nothing Here But Words
Some disturbing news from The Onion:
Nation Shudders at Large Block of Uninterrupted Text
WASHINGTON—Unable to rest their eyes on a colorful photograph or boldface heading that could be easily skimmed and forgotten about, Americans collectively recoiled Monday when confronted with a solid block of uninterrupted text.
Dumbfounded citizens from Maine to California gazed helplessly at the frightening chunk of print, unsure of what to do next. Without an illustration, chart, or embedded YouTube video to ease them in, millions were frozen in place, terrified by the sight of one long, unbroken string of English words.
"I've never seen anything like it," said Mark Shelton, a high school teacher from St. Paul, MN who stared blankly at the page in front of him for several minutes before finally holding it up to his ear. "What does it want from us?"
Read on if you dare...
~~~~
A moving story of the triumph of the human spirit, of hope arisen even amid the ashes of despair, and ultimately a glorious re-affirmation that those time-tested qualities of denial, ignorance and apathy that have brought us through confusion and chaos before, remain steadfast and trustworthy still. Makes me proud to be a human.
~~~~
Nation Shudders at Large Block of Uninterrupted Text
WASHINGTON—Unable to rest their eyes on a colorful photograph or boldface heading that could be easily skimmed and forgotten about, Americans collectively recoiled Monday when confronted with a solid block of uninterrupted text.
Dumbfounded citizens from Maine to California gazed helplessly at the frightening chunk of print, unsure of what to do next. Without an illustration, chart, or embedded YouTube video to ease them in, millions were frozen in place, terrified by the sight of one long, unbroken string of English words.
"I've never seen anything like it," said Mark Shelton, a high school teacher from St. Paul, MN who stared blankly at the page in front of him for several minutes before finally holding it up to his ear. "What does it want from us?"
Read on if you dare...
~~~~
A moving story of the triumph of the human spirit, of hope arisen even amid the ashes of despair, and ultimately a glorious re-affirmation that those time-tested qualities of denial, ignorance and apathy that have brought us through confusion and chaos before, remain steadfast and trustworthy still. Makes me proud to be a human.
~~~~
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