All Things, One Thing

Sometimes it is startling, even to me, how much everything is the same thing, all part of a universal whole.
I want you to read this exerpt from Creation and Destruction: The Operational Level of War by Col. John Boyd, and then read the article about Neurogenesis I linked in my previous entry.

"Godel's Incompleteness Theorems, Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle, and the Second Law of Thermodynamics, all taken together, show that we cannot determine the character or nature of a system within itself. Moreover attempts to do so lead to confusion and disorder - mental as well as physical. Point: We need an external environment, or outside world, to define ourselves and maintain organic integrity, otherwise we experience dissolution and disintegration - i.e. we come unglued.

Living systems are open systems; closed systems are nonliving systems. Point: If we don't communicate with the outside world - to gain information for knowledge and understanding as well as matter and energy for sustenance - we die out to become a nondiscerning and uninteresting part of that world."

Emphasis (bolding and italics) is mine.

Now, go read the entry where I originally posted those paragraphs: Journey

Some people will never understand that if you are going to have them, you cannot seperate faith and science. They are two approaches to the same questions. I realize I am one of the few people for whom both work almost equally well, but I dont think that changes the fact that they are seeking to answer the same things.
I wish people would be able to pull their heads out of their asses enough to see the connection, and stop fighting about whose dog is better. Everything is part of the whole.
Not the way of this world though.

The Endemic Decay of the Modern Brain

There is a new theory emerging in the field of Neurogenesis (the study of neuroplasticity, the brains ability to grow completely new neurons and pathways) that says, in simple terms, that brains in deprived, stressed and un-stimulating environments stop neurogenesis, retreating into a sort of "survival mode" of basic functions, without growth.
A prime example of this is Professor Elizabeth Gould's work with marmosets. Marmosets kept in standard lab cages exhibit no signs of neurogenesis - Those kept in a rich, naturalistic, environment exhibit very active neurogenesis. The marmosets from the spartan (stressed) group when introduced into the rich environment begin neurogenesis anew very quickly. There is a fantastic, and more in-depth, article on this very topic (and Professor Gould in particular) in the Feb/March issue of Seed magazine, titled The Reinvention of the Self. I recommend it highly.

Neurogenesis and neural plasticity are subjects I am intensely interested in already, and I am giving serious consideration to directing my Psychology career along those paths. The Seed article refreshed my mind on the topic some, and had the gears grinding about it anew when I happened to watch the finale of the ABC television series American Inventor.
For those who do not watch TV (smart people that you are), American Inventor was a show where a group of four judges, made up of marketing experts and inventors, traveled the country interviewing inventors and viewing demonstrations of these inventions. From these hundreds they were supposed to pick a group of four finalists, to receive $50,000 each to further develop their product. Based on their performance the judges would select the single most valuable invention and crown its inventor the "American Inventor".
The guy who won invented a baby-strolled that if it tipped over had a freely rotating baby-bucket that would keep the baby upright and not spill the infant out into the street or down a hillside. An interesting, and probably very valuable, invention. But I found myself asking "Is this the best our nation can produce?"
We are not 150 years from the inventions of the telephone, the automobile, the airplane. We are not 50-years from the personal computer and space flight. And the best our nation can produce is a redesigned baby-stroller?

That’s when I realized - Most of society, in the first world as much as in the third and fourth worlds (they are closer than most people realize, small colonies of third and fourth world people isolated in the middle of the first world), is living in an un-stimulating, and highly stressful, environment.
For the first world, there are so many people, so many things going on at once, and in-fact so many sources of information and stimulus that people have become desensitized to it all. So many of the things that are going on are highly stressful as well, what does catch peoples attention is terrorism, economic stresses, war and extreme poverty.
For the "developing world" (such a nice term, makes it so much easier to ignore) the stimulation simply isn’t there. No money, no food, no water and as often as not extreme political strife (often in the form of civil war or genocide) keep those people bound up in a small world of limited contact, information and stimulation and a great deal of fear.
Then there is education - With a new generation being formed practically constantly education dictates how they will respond to stimulus. In the "developing world" education is a ghost of an idea at best - Even tribal custom and ritual cannot replace true education for those forced into that nebulous middle ground between the tribal community and global community. In the first world, education is simply failing. Education has become, and is ever more so becoming, a reflection of the en vogue political thought of the time - The substance of it is all but gone, because good education requires dealing with uncomfortable subjects, and that is culturally verboten. The education so necessary to expose the developing generations to knowledge, that basic foundation of stimulation and discovery is without that very substance, it is a meal without food.
The majority of people in the world are working, operating, in survival mode. (It is an odd correlation but Hunter S. Thompson suggested this in a speech he gave, talking about the failure of Timothy Leary's ethos - Thompson made the comment that "we're all in survival mode now". It tickled my brain, like a teasing taste on the tip of the tongue, there was a powerful idea there - I tried to write on it, read on it, and I just wasn’t thinking in the right ways, looking in the right places, at the time.)

Those who are not operating in survival mode make the effort not to - They make the effort to expose themselves to outside stimulus and see it for what it is (even without realizing the specifics), a means to better themselves, step above their current situation. They are out there, and they are numerous - but what is numerous in the face of a human population growing so much, so fast, that nearly everyone is displaced or disenfranchised in some fashion even today, where everyone is bombarded with either deafening silence, or a roar so great it becomes the new invisible, the new silence: Unnoticed and un-stimulating.

Monday Morning Poetics

I am not the biggest fan of George Gordon Lord Byron, I find his works rather ponderous. However, my appreciation is beggining to expand. In particular, this morning at least, there is this:

CXIII

I have not loved the world, nor the world me;
I have not flatter'd its rank breath, nor bow'd
To its idolatries a patient knee,
Nor coin'd my cheek to smiles, nor cried aloud
In worship of an echo; in the crowd
They could not deem me one of such; I stood
Among them, but not of them; in a shroud
Of thoughts which were not their thoughts and still could,
Had I not filed my mind, which thus itself subdued.

CXIV

I have not loved the world, nor the world me,
But let us part fair foes; I do believe,
Though I have found them not, that there may be
Words which are things, hopes which will not deceive,
And virtues which are merciful, nor weave
Snares for the failing; I would also deem
O'er others' griefs that some sincerely grieve
That two, or one, are almost what they seem,
That goodness is no name, and happiness no dream.
Childe Harolds Pilgrimage, Canto III Stanzas 113 & 114

I could go on about poetry and poetics, I'd like to as I have a whole entry on it in my head already (as is my standard, in about five seconds I flash on an entry I want to make and its all just there). Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately, depending on your attitude dear reader), I have places to go and people to see. Miles to go before I sleep.
Maybe later.

Zen and the Art of....

I work at a library on weekends, mostly to entertain myself with high-speed internet and being in a one room building with 26,000 volumes. Occasionally I order a book through the InterLibrary Loan program, so I can read something not in the library. Today one of my newest orders came in and I've been sitting in the back of one of the corner stacks and reading it.
Its a good book - A bit dry, but with a lot of value to its contents.
There are many side-notes in the book, important single points from the main body of the text. They are quite "guiding", and I thought I'd share a few.

"The seer and the seen exist only in confusion. There is only the seeing."

You can act "without thought, without effort, without limitations. You must first understand those limitations."

"...concern yourself only with what is happening and how you are feeling. That will leave no room for what 'might happen' or 'just happened'."

"An idea is merely a formulation of thought as a symbol; and the effort to live up to that symbol brings about a contradtiction."

"Concentration can exist through awareness; but awareness cannot exist through concentration."

"The truth - that which is actually happening - cannot be written down or spoken about. Once it becomes spoken or written down, it is knowledge. And knowledge is not truth, because knowledge is fixed in time. And truth is ever moving and changing, without regaqrd to time. Truth is outside of all knowledge, of all thought. As soon as you pause to reflect, it is not truth."

"You can never learn to act. You can only learn as you act. Never limit yourself to what you know." (Slightly paraphrased...)

"Free yourself from the 'do this to get that' syndrome."

"The truth beyond the technique. The application beyond the analysis. The means beyond the methods. Here's where we stop thinking and start" acting.

"Pay attention! Nothing more really needs to be said. Most people aren't going to accept the truth of that because it is just too simple. They ask, What do I pay attention to? Just pay attention to what's happening. Its all right there before you. You must learn to see what you haven't been seeing. Find something that's out there and pay attention to it!"

"You see with your mind. Your mind and body work togather. When your body is tense, your mind is tense, 'sticky' also. And when your mind is tense, so is your vision."

"The only true limit is in the body's nervous system. Anything less implies interference from lack of attention."

"Any time you plan for action based on an idea, what happens? When you actually meet the idea - down to the finest detail - it is never the same as you had pictured it, and so your response will be lacking in creativity."

"Confidence is an emotion created by concious thought. By its very nature it can work for you or against you. When you step up" to act, "let the emotion of confidence yield to pure action."

"Do not become caught up or attached to the idea of knowing how to do something. The knowing is not it. There is only the doing."

"Everything in this book could be wrong...
Check it out for yourself. It's you who has to learn. You won't learn by copying an idea - you have to experience it for yourself. When you become the experience, you will have learned, possibly without understanding."

These can all be applied as guidelines for living a good, successful (emotionally and professionally speaking), life. Many of these ideas or their equivilent can be found in Eastern philosophy (particularly Taoist), but can be as easily found in Christianity or other major world religion.

The quotes above all come from the book "Practical Shooting" by Brian Enos. It is about effectively working with a handgun to affect hits. I am reading it to improve my ability to affect terminal effect with a handgun.
Art in all things.

Nice Guys Finish Last... and Real Sons'A'Bitches Get Backshot Before the Last Turn

There seems to be a debate between people of a certain "hardness" as to what consitutes a "nice guy" and whether or not it is something to be. Some, many, take the stand that a nice guy is weak, cowering, manipulative and unable to deal with sudden shock or change with resiliency or flexibility. Others take the stand that sort of man is a pussy, and real nice guys are simply good, even keeled, men who can handle stress without being dicks, but who can "flip the switch" and do what needs doing when it needs done.
I am of the latter camp.
I believe fairly strongly in leading a good life, to my definition. That includes being a good person, again to my definition.
There is a lot to be said for love and kindness - There isnt enough of either in the world. I want to be treated with respect and I try (although this is a struggle for me at times) to treat others with respect. A calm, steady, hand and kind voice will deliver fantastic results from most horses, dogs and children most of the time. It works amazingly well on adult humans too - Sometimes even in the face of their agression, a kind word is a more powerful weapon than an angry one.
All this I believe - All this I try to practice. But this is not the all to a good life, or being a good person.
If you cannot stand up to violence, aggression, and if neccessary overcome it with your own violence and aggression, you will never be able to uphold or protect the standards you wish to live by of good behavior. Cowering in fear is not "nice" or "good" - There is no moral superiority, or emotional, karmic, darmic, spiritual superiority, in allowing yourself to be pushed, herded, or brutalized. Allowing yourself to be those things, even (if not especially) in some misguided attempt to be the "bigger person", borders on vile cowardice. Allowing your family (or yourself tot he detriment of your family) to be pushed, herded or brutalized is sickening weakness, and I honestly believe some kind of evil.
Nice guys are not pussies. Nice guys are kind, friendly, helpful, decent, respectful men who will allow no harm to come to themselves, or those they love, without at least taxing it to their utmost ability.
Someone who cant do that, but says he is a "nice guy" isnt, he's a pussy.

Be as nice as you can, every chance you get. Reserve the options for cruelty and brutality at any moment. Both are neccessary at different times.
Always use kindness with dogs, horses, children and most women.
Be ready to use either with men, and some women.

Extremist Violence

Here is a news Item I'd like to share with whoever reads this blog.

Scores Killed, Hundreds Injured As Para-Military Extremists Riot

Boston, April 20 -- National guard units seeking to confiscate a cache of recently banned assault weapons were ambushed on April 19th by elements of a para-military extremist faction. Military and law enforcement sources estimate that 72 were killed and more than 200 injured before government forces were compelled to withdraw.

Speaking after the clash, Massachusetts Governor Thomas Gage declared that the extremist faction, which was made up of local citizens, has links to the radical-right tax protest movement. Gage blamed the extremists for recent incidents of vandalism directed against internal revenue offices.

The governor, who described the group's organizers as "criminals," issued an executive order authorizing the summary arrest of any individual who has interfered with the government's efforts to secure law and order.

The military raid on the extremist arsenal followed widespread refusal by the local citizenry to turn over recently outlawed assault weapons. Gage had issued a ban on ammunition earlier in the week. This decision followed a meeting in early April between government and military leaders at which the governor authorized the forcible confiscation of illegal arms. One government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, pointed out that "none of these people would have been killed had the extremists obeyed the law and turned over their weapons voluntarily."

Government troops initially succeeded in confiscating a large supply of outlawed weapons and ammunition. However, troops attempting to seize arms and ammunition in Lexington met with resistance from haevily-armed extremists who had been tipped off regarding the government's plans.

During a tense standoff in Lexington town park, Colonel Francis Smith, commander of the government operation, ordered the armed group to surrender and return to their homes. The impasse was broken by a single shot.

Ironically, the local citizenry blamed government forces rather than the extremists for civilian casualties.

Governor Gage has called upon citizens to support the state/national joint task force in its effort to restore law and order. The governor has also demanded the surrender of those responsible for planning and leading the attack. Samuel Adams, Paul Revere and John Hancock, who have been identified as "ringleaders" of the mob, remain at large.

Read the whole thing and give it some thought.
If you get it, then I dont care who you are, where you came from, or what your current beliefs about violence are, if you are an American (or even a resident, legal or otherwise, benefitting from what the nation has to offer), I want you to ask yourself what would be different without some "extremists" and some "violence".
Then maybe consider the labels applied to some people by the major media, and the "beloved" and "trustworthy" federal government.

Dem Holocaust Blues

Gonna blow on over like a nuclear wind
Leavin' us dead and burnin' in the end
The world be gone, and momma's in the street
Dead dogs gonna eat our bones for the lack of meat
Huddlin' in the rubble and the smoke an' ash
Clouds o' human dust gonna clash
Down in the street an' down in the road
Stories that everybody done been told
School children under their desk
Payin' their respects not darin' to ask
"Dem Holocaust Blues", Unfinished Composition

Folks who are tracking on current events and forecasting their future, or trying to, based on what happens now are aware that things are changing, rapidly and aggressively. I simply call it a "shift", others have called it "the quickening", still others call it "the apocalypse" or even "end times".
I, personally, disagree - I do not believe things can or will simply end, at the whim of the universe. I do not believe human beings, hate them or love them, can or will simply be wiped from the face of the earth like snot off a glass coffee table. I, will not be wiped from the face of the earth like snot off a glass coffee table, I like it here and feel I still have a lot to learn here.
And there-in, I think, is the nature of the coming unpleasantness - Human will, very human forces, all at play all working for something, reaching breaking points. After so long, ignorance, greed, imperialism (ooohhh, I said it - although unlike the fuckknuckles who usually say it now, I dont mean the U.S. in Iraq. The Olive Tree Wars are the result of several centuries of colonialism and imperialism from mainly Europe), and the general disintegration of society in the mass of conflicting cultures, even conflicting "worlds" (the first world versus the so called "developing" world, those third and fourth world countries we have, in reality, forgotten except for the occasional $0.75 a day "adoption" of little Ndugu by some well meaning middle American whitebread church lady), are coming to a head. One force cannot hold back the others, but one cannot allow the necessary freedom to the others either - Everyone is trying to fit through the door at once, toes are getting stepped on, elbows are finding eye sockets, blood will be spilled.
And that is what is coming - Not an end, not in the conventional sense of "full stop, end", but an end as a beginning. I think it is what the world needs.
It has happened at least once before - probably more than that (The ancient cultures, the Sumerian and the Anasazi, didnt just fall off the face of the Earth.... yet for all intents and purposes their people did) - and after the dark ages there came a period of enlightenment, a renaissance of art, technology and eventually science. New religions supplant old, old take on new faces, new tools replace no tools, and people learn and grow - Society makes a surge forward.
It is a cycle.
The forest has to burn to grow properly. Everything has to burn. We're approaching our time.

It is my hope, that in the end, what will have been burned off at least for awhile will be the detritus, the fractured, disconnected, hateful elements that are driving us to the fire now. There always have to be some of those things, Balance in all things - but the balance is off, their weight is toppling the scale at the moment.
In a few generations, maybe it will be different. I doubt I will see it in my life - I am, honestly, simply looking forward to the cataclysm. After all, Chaos is one of my required nutrients, just how I'm made. I am looking forward to putting the first part of that famous Thomas Jefferson quote to work, with the absolute belief that my son will be a farmer, and his son will be an artist.