Emma Goldman (1869-1940) was a charismatic activist whose writing and speeches had a big impact on leftist politics in the first half of the 20th century. Unlike some of her fellow travelers, she wasn't a dour, dogmatic proselytizer. She championed a kind of liberation that celebrated beauty and joy. "If I can't dance, I don't want to be in your revolution," she is alleged to have told a sourpuss colleague. As you contemplate the radical transformations you might like to cultivate in your own sphere during the coming months, Gemini, I suggest you adopt a similar attitude. Make sure your uprisings include pleasurable, even humorous elements. Have some fun with your metamorphoses.
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Imagine that you have been relieved of your responsibilities for a given time. They will be taken care of by people you trust. You won't have to work to make money during this grace period, but will be given all you need. Nor will you have to clean your house, wash your clothes, or buy and make your food. Now here's the big question: What will you do now that you are free to do anything you like?
29 June 2011
23 June 2011
Deep Horoscope
Advertisements are often designed to make you feel inadequate about the life you're actually living so you will be motivated to "improve" your lot by buying what they're selling. In this short horoscope, I don't have room to express how much soul sickness this wreaks upon us all. Recently HBO unleashed an especially nefarious attack. Promoting its new streaming service, it informed us that "The story you could be watching is better than the one you're in." Fortunately, Gemini, you won't be tempted to swallow that vicious propaganda anytime in the coming weeks. Your personal story will be profoundly more interesting and meaningful than the narratives that HBO or any other entertainment source might offer.
Deep Thought
if you spend too long holding onto the one who treats you like an option, you will miss finding someone who treats you like a priority
-unknown
-unknown
21 June 2011
Human shift work
shift work split into four hour intervals. Not working two consecutive shifts
0000-0400
0400-0800
0800-1200
1200-1600
1600-2000
2000-2400
part time would be one four hour shift in the day
full time would be two four hour shifts
over time would be three four hour shifts
or six hour intervals
0000-0600
0600-1200
1200-1800
1800-2400
Just another idea about labor efficiency.
what country works the most per day
4 hours 7 days/week = 28 hours
6 hours 7 days/week = 42 hours
6 hours 6 days/week = 36 hours
0000-0400
0400-0800
0800-1200
1200-1600
1600-2000
2000-2400
part time would be one four hour shift in the day
full time would be two four hour shifts
over time would be three four hour shifts
or six hour intervals
0000-0600
0600-1200
1200-1800
1800-2400
Just another idea about labor efficiency.
what country works the most per day
4 hours 7 days/week = 28 hours
6 hours 7 days/week = 42 hours
6 hours 6 days/week = 36 hours
17 June 2011
Bottom Up Government
Starts with the individual
Self sustainment
Anything the individual cannot provide for themselves, they ask the family
If the family can not provide,
they ask the community
If the community cannot provide
they ask the city
Then the county
Then the state
Self sustainment
Anything the individual cannot provide for themselves, they ask the family
If the family can not provide,
they ask the community
If the community cannot provide
they ask the city
Then the county
Then the state
16 June 2011
Theory in life
Principles of Chaos
The Butterfly Effect: This effect grants the power to cause a hurricane in China to a butterfly flapping its wings in New Mexico. It may take a very long time, but the connection is real. If the butterfly had not flapped its wings at just the right point in space/time, the hurricane would not have happened. A more rigorous way to express this is that small changes in the initial conditions lead to drastic changes in the results. Our lives are an ongoing demonstration of this principle. Who knows what the long-term effects of teaching millions of kids about chaos and fractals will be?
Unpredictability: Because we can never know all the initial conditions of a complex system in sufficient (i.e. perfect) detail, we cannot hope to predict the ultimate fate of a complex system. Even slight errors in measuring the state of a system will be amplified dramatically, rendering any prediction useless. Since it is impossible to measure the effects of all the butterflies (etc) in the World, accurate long-range weather prediction will always remain impossible.
Order / Disorder Chaos is not simply disorder. Chaos explores the transitions between order and disorder, which often occur in surprising ways.
Mixing: Turbulence ensures that two adjacent points in a complex system will eventually end up in very different positions after some time has elapsed. Examples: Two neighboring water molecules may end up in different parts of the ocean or even in different oceans. A group of helium balloons that launch together will eventually land in drastically different places. Mixing is thorough because turbulence occurs at all scales. It is also nonlinear: fluids cannot be unmixed.
Feedback: Systems often become chaotic when there is feedback present. A good example is the behavior of the stock market. As the value of a stock rises or falls, people are inclined to buy or sell that stock. This in turn further affects the price of the stock, causing it to rise or fall chaotically.
Fractals: A fractal is a never-ending pattern. Fractals are infinitely complex patterns that are that are self-similar across different scales. They are created by repeating a simple process over and over in an ongoing feedback loop. Driven by recursion, fractals are images of dynamic systems - the pictures of Chaos. Geometrically, they exist in between our familiar dimensions. Fractal patterns are extremely familiar, since nature is full of fractals. For instance: trees, rivers, coastlines, mountains, clouds, seashells, hurricanes, etc.
The Butterfly Effect: This effect grants the power to cause a hurricane in China to a butterfly flapping its wings in New Mexico. It may take a very long time, but the connection is real. If the butterfly had not flapped its wings at just the right point in space/time, the hurricane would not have happened. A more rigorous way to express this is that small changes in the initial conditions lead to drastic changes in the results. Our lives are an ongoing demonstration of this principle. Who knows what the long-term effects of teaching millions of kids about chaos and fractals will be?
Unpredictability: Because we can never know all the initial conditions of a complex system in sufficient (i.e. perfect) detail, we cannot hope to predict the ultimate fate of a complex system. Even slight errors in measuring the state of a system will be amplified dramatically, rendering any prediction useless. Since it is impossible to measure the effects of all the butterflies (etc) in the World, accurate long-range weather prediction will always remain impossible.
Order / Disorder Chaos is not simply disorder. Chaos explores the transitions between order and disorder, which often occur in surprising ways.
Mixing: Turbulence ensures that two adjacent points in a complex system will eventually end up in very different positions after some time has elapsed. Examples: Two neighboring water molecules may end up in different parts of the ocean or even in different oceans. A group of helium balloons that launch together will eventually land in drastically different places. Mixing is thorough because turbulence occurs at all scales. It is also nonlinear: fluids cannot be unmixed.
Feedback: Systems often become chaotic when there is feedback present. A good example is the behavior of the stock market. As the value of a stock rises or falls, people are inclined to buy or sell that stock. This in turn further affects the price of the stock, causing it to rise or fall chaotically.
Fractals: A fractal is a never-ending pattern. Fractals are infinitely complex patterns that are that are self-similar across different scales. They are created by repeating a simple process over and over in an ongoing feedback loop. Driven by recursion, fractals are images of dynamic systems - the pictures of Chaos. Geometrically, they exist in between our familiar dimensions. Fractal patterns are extremely familiar, since nature is full of fractals. For instance: trees, rivers, coastlines, mountains, clouds, seashells, hurricanes, etc.
Deep Horoscope
In Mark Harris's novel Bang the Drum Slowly, professional baseball players cheat their fans out of money by engaging them in a card game called TEGWAR, which is an acronym for The Exciting Game Without Any Rules. Judging from your current astrological omens, Gemini, I'd say it's prime time for you to play a more ethical version of this game. Strictly speaking, the game *can* have rules, but they may be changed at any time, and new ones may be added as needed. The object of your brand of TEGWAR is to have as much smart fun as possible without anyone getting hurt.
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I was watching a martial arts competition on ESPN TV. It featured a vehement macho dance-off, in which rivals took turns brandishing their high-octane warrior choreography. At one point the announcer waxed poetic as the eventual winner pulled off a seemingly impossible move: "And that was a corkscrew illusion twist rodeo spin!"
I urge you to do something like that yourself. As you seek to take your game to a higher level, practice your personal version of the corkscrew illusion twist rodeo spin.
*
16 June 2011
*
SACRED ADVERTISEMENT
I was watching a martial arts competition on ESPN TV. It featured a vehement macho dance-off, in which rivals took turns brandishing their high-octane warrior choreography. At one point the announcer waxed poetic as the eventual winner pulled off a seemingly impossible move: "And that was a corkscrew illusion twist rodeo spin!"
I urge you to do something like that yourself. As you seek to take your game to a higher level, practice your personal version of the corkscrew illusion twist rodeo spin.
*
16 June 2011
14 June 2011
Anicca
Things I've learned
I create my own misery
In order to free myself from my misery
I must observe life objectively and with equanimity
Be fully aware of the present moment
As it is
Not as it was
Not as I want it to be
Just letting it be
Letting myself live in the present moment
Being aware of reality
The past is not reality
The future is not reality
only now
And the pain will come
Observe and let it pass
The pleasure will come
Observe and let it pass
No craving
No aversion
Everything arises and passes
Everything is impermanent
I cause myself misery
when I become attached to those things that cause me pain
those things that have caused me pleasure
Attached to what doesn't really exist
The Art of Living: Vipassana Meditation
I create my own misery
In order to free myself from my misery
I must observe life objectively and with equanimity
Be fully aware of the present moment
As it is
Not as it was
Not as I want it to be
Just letting it be
Letting myself live in the present moment
Being aware of reality
The past is not reality
The future is not reality
only now
And the pain will come
Observe and let it pass
The pleasure will come
Observe and let it pass
No craving
No aversion
Everything arises and passes
Everything is impermanent
I cause myself misery
when I become attached to those things that cause me pain
those things that have caused me pleasure
Attached to what doesn't really exist
The Art of Living: Vipassana Meditation
12 June 2011
Laws that govern life
Every object in a state of uniform motion tends to remain in that state of motion unless an external force is applied to it.
For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.
Energy can be changed from one form to another, but it cannot be created or destroyed
For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.
Energy can be changed from one form to another, but it cannot be created or destroyed
Phantoms
I've created phantoms in my mind
the cause of my misery
the ghosts of those who have hurt me, intentionally or not.
This is the product of not forgiving
The haunting
The person who hurt me doesn't exist anymore
The person that was insulted doesn't exist anymore
but the phantom exists in my mind.
I cause my own misery
09 June 2011
Deep Horoscope
Primatologist Jane Goodall, who lived for years among chimpanzees in Tanzania, is one of the world's top experts on the creatures. Can you guess what her favorite toy was when she was young? A stuffed monkey, of course. There were no doubt foreshadowings like that in your own childhood or adolescence, Gemini. Right? Signs of the magic you would eventually seek to ripen? Seeds of destiny that had just begun to sprout? Now would be a good time to reflect on those early hints. You'll benefit from updating your understanding of and commitment to the capacities they revealed.
Take inventory of the extent that "No" dominates your life. Notice how often you say or think: 1. "That's not right." 2. "I don't like that." 3. "I don't agree with that." 4. "They don't like me." 5. "I'm not very good." 6. "That should be different from what it is."
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"I am a devout atheist," writes Tom of Ohio, "but I have to explain to my atheist friends that I do pray to the 'GodIdontbelievein.'
"My first direct contact with this Divinity arrived when I was coming out of anesthesia after surgery. I was somehow aware of my existence but totally sensory-deprived. As I emerged from total unconsciousness, a tiny flickering Tinkerbell-like creature in the form of a shimmering globe of light fluttered into my consciousness and hovered irresistibly before my internal eyes. I was in love with it and it loved me.
"In fact it was me, or at least the manifestation of cosmic energy that settles in me and is my being. It gave me a blessing of good will, then went about its business of operating my body. In parting, it gave me the assurance that it would always be there for me and with me, and would join me after it shut the body down for the last time.
"Since that first encounter, I commune with the little sparkling wonder every so often. I thank it for its presence and it thanks me for mine, though we are actually one and the same. I find myself praying to it, though there's really no need to -- it knows me better than I do, and guides me toward my goals, though I know not what they are."
Inspired by Tom's report, write a love note or an expression of appreciation for the shimmering globe of wonder that animates your life.
Free Will
Take inventory of the extent that "No" dominates your life. Notice how often you say or think: 1. "That's not right." 2. "I don't like that." 3. "I don't agree with that." 4. "They don't like me." 5. "I'm not very good." 6. "That should be different from what it is."
*
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"I am a devout atheist," writes Tom of Ohio, "but I have to explain to my atheist friends that I do pray to the 'GodIdontbelievein.'
"My first direct contact with this Divinity arrived when I was coming out of anesthesia after surgery. I was somehow aware of my existence but totally sensory-deprived. As I emerged from total unconsciousness, a tiny flickering Tinkerbell-like creature in the form of a shimmering globe of light fluttered into my consciousness and hovered irresistibly before my internal eyes. I was in love with it and it loved me.
"In fact it was me, or at least the manifestation of cosmic energy that settles in me and is my being. It gave me a blessing of good will, then went about its business of operating my body. In parting, it gave me the assurance that it would always be there for me and with me, and would join me after it shut the body down for the last time.
"Since that first encounter, I commune with the little sparkling wonder every so often. I thank it for its presence and it thanks me for mine, though we are actually one and the same. I find myself praying to it, though there's really no need to -- it knows me better than I do, and guides me toward my goals, though I know not what they are."
Inspired by Tom's report, write a love note or an expression of appreciation for the shimmering globe of wonder that animates your life.
Free Will
02 June 2011
Deep Horoscope
In the far northern reaches of Ilulissat, a town in Greenland, the sun sets for good on November 29 every year and doesn't rise again until January 13. Or at least that was the case until 2011. This year, to the shock of locals, sunlight broke over the horizon on January 11 -- two days ahead of schedule. Though a few alarmists theorized that this disturbance in the age-old rhythm was due to a shift in the earth's axis or rotation, scientists suggested that the cause was global warming: Melting ice has caused the horizon to sink. I expect something equally monumental to make an appearance in your world soon, Gemini. Can you handle an increased amount of light?
*
SACRED ADVERTISEMENT
"Why, I don't even respect myself, I tell ya," said comedian Rodney Dangerfield. "When I make love, I have to fantasize that I am somebody else!"
Experiment with just the second half of that formulation. While you're making love, fantasize that you're somebody else. But do it because you care deeply about yourself -- so deeply that you want to transcend your customary reactions and expand your identity. Do it because you dare to awaken to previously unknown possibilities of who you might be.
Free will
*
SACRED ADVERTISEMENT
"Why, I don't even respect myself, I tell ya," said comedian Rodney Dangerfield. "When I make love, I have to fantasize that I am somebody else!"
Experiment with just the second half of that formulation. While you're making love, fantasize that you're somebody else. But do it because you care deeply about yourself -- so deeply that you want to transcend your customary reactions and expand your identity. Do it because you dare to awaken to previously unknown possibilities of who you might be.
Free will
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