Chia's Spa experience

Went to a day spa today and it was almost as rejuvenating as a trip to the mountains to see Nature. What is it about spas that is so refreshing? Now I don't mean simply relaxing, because the massage was merely mediocre - my beefy friend usually does a better job. I mean soul-cleansing, escapist, transporting-you-to-faraway places kind of relaxing. I found the serene setting and peace and quiet (evocative of nature) to be the best part. What is it about the slowing of one's breath, the quieting of one's mind, and the connection to one's creator and terra firma that is so calming? Not only are we taken away from the hustle of industrial life, we are reminded of that which nourishes us. We are reminded that we are God's children, that we are loved.

The trick about these places is that they evoke "home," if for a short time, at a premium. Now if I'll just fix up my home the same way - darkness, good lightning, sound of water, flowers, candles, relaxing music, good feng shui - I wouldn't need to visit these fancy places.

July is here

Here are some things that I've found interesting lately:



Solar-powered LED lantern kit.


Despite her reclusivity and elusiveness, Princess Masako of Japan has always been my favorite royal.

Organic Chocolate Milk, and season 1 of The Good Wife.

St. John's Eve

I dreamt of blood that washed ashore, of eyes that spoke of sin
The lake was smooth and deep and black, as was her scented skin.
A mask I wore as I approached, I was what I am not
And though the pattern was unclear, its meaning could be bought.
Drawn to Bacchus's abode, I sought there to conspire.
But it was in the city of the dead that I found my heart's desire....
I spoke to one who smelled of death, he gave to me his ears.
And crosses that were marked were made into a veil of tears...
The road was blocked, the truth was shunned, the white flag had been waved.
Reversal cost me all I had, and everything I'd braved...
And then the night became as day, I glimpsed nature's reddest claw!
The face of fear looked back at me as I gazed into the maw...
My last ally laid to waste, I ran towards the light
I prayed for one to change my path, to give me strength to fight...
Inside a hidden chamber where I had no right to be,
I found the wheel at last, or, could it be, the wheel found me
And then the wheel went round and round, I could not find my way
Twelve and three and turn the key, I heard the madman say
Deep in the earth I faced a fight that I could never win
The blameless and the base destroyed, and all that might have been.
-Gabriel Knight

On Growth & Capitalism

Excerpt from Jonathan Franzen's Freedom (2010):

"Mainstream economic theory, both Marxist and free-market, Walter said, took for granted that economic growth was always a positive thing. A GDP growth rate of one or two percent was considered modest, and a population growth rate of one percent was considered desirable, and yet, he said, if you compounded these rates over a hundred years, the numbers were terrible: a world population of eighteen billion and world energy consumption ten times greater than today's. And if you went another hundred years, well, the numbers were simply impossible. So the Club of Rome was seeking more rational and humane ways of putting the brakes on growth than simply destroying the planet and letting everybody starve to death or kill each other.

[The Club of Rome is] a group of people who are challenging our preoccupation with growth. I mean, everybody is so obsessed with growth, but when you think about it, for a mature organism, a growth is basically a cancer, right? If you have a growth in your moth, or a growth in your colon, it's bad news, right? So there's this small group of intellectuals and philanthropists who are trying to step outside our tunnel vision and influence government policy at the highest levels, both in Europe and the Western Hemisphere."

Walter, not seeing the little neck-slicing gesture that Patty was making, pressed on. "The whole reason we need something like the Club of Rome," he said, "is that a rational conversation about growth is going to have to begin outside of the ordinary political process. Obviously you know this yourself, Joyce. If you're trying to get elected, you can't even talk about slowing the growth rate, let alone reversing it. It's total political poison. But somebody has to talk about it, and try to influence policy, otherwise we're going to kill the planet. We're going to choke on our own multiplication."

....

Capitalism can't handle talking about limits, because the whole point of capitalism is the restless growth of capital. If you want to be heard in the capitalist media, and communicate in a capitalist culture, overpopulation can't make any sense. It's literally nonsense.

"The reason the system can't be overthrown in this country," Walter said, "is all about freedom. The reason the free market in Europe is tempered by socialism is that they're not so hung up on personal liberties there. They also have lower population growth rates, despite comparable income levels. The Europeans are all-around more rational, basically. And the conversation about rights in this country isn't rational. It's taking place on the level of emotion, and class resentments, which is why the right is so good at exploiting it."

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America, you do excess like no other. Perhaps you are rivaled only by Saudi princes in your wastefulness.

My Enlightenment Salon

"Reading from Moliere," Jean Francois de Troy c.1728

France, 1793

"But what of social occupations in America?" said Talleyrand. "Do they have salons as in England or France?"
"Once you've left Philadelphia or New York - which are full of Dutch immigrants - you'll find little more than frontier towns. The people sit by the fire at night with a book, or have a game of chess as we're doing now. There isn't much of society outside of the eastern seaboard."
--Katherine Neville, The Eight (1993)

I seem to have forgotten how to write, apart from terse business communications (We'll have that deliverable for you by Monday. Have a great weekend!) and dry, technical sales prose (I'll spare you the torture). On the other hand, I've been doing a lot of reading and thinking. Since moving to the Confederacy and former capital city of the KKK, and a very, very red state, I've been thinking a lot about capitalism, communtarianism and what it means to live life in America. After reading that bit in The Eight, I've realized that we don't have salons anymore. They've been replaced by TV, games, and other cheap entertainment. There must be more than this.

American society has denigrated since the Enlightenment. How did this happen? We developed an irresponsible consumeristic society in tandem with the Industrial Revolution. A responsible consumerism is shaped by the common good, while an irresponsible one is not. We have lost touch with the lessons of the Enlightenment, and failed to allow humanistic morals to shape our practice of capitalism. See Nicholas Kristof's recent article on how Pakistan might be representative of America's ideal model of a government with low taxes, little regulation and traditional family values. Everything is privatized. Our goals no longer line up with those of the common good, but what is best for ourselves.

Mindless consumerism affects every aspect of our life because it is a huge drain on our time. Time spent consuming products means less time spent with our loved ones, less time building relationships, less time participating in our community and serving those in need, and less time for us to become well-rounded people, to better teach us to pass on the torch of our time with the lessons of this age to the next generation. These are the things that truly matter the most.

I propose that we as a society return to a more enlightened age, a more civilized and humane time where citizens respected and valued each other and the common goals of humankind. Share your gifts with the community. Talk to your children and really get to know them, understand their motivations, peer into their souls. We would all fare much better if we had those post-dinner discussions, if we were only able to turn off the television and our manifold electronic devices, quit our addictions to shopping and awaken our minds. Quit reading the internet and read a proper book. Come to my salon.

Some Other odds and ends:
- Southern people say "like I said," Northerners say "as I said."
- Southern people pronounce insurance with the accent on the first syllable ("IN'-surance"), which annoys the bollocks out of me.
- I've gotten heckled here in 6 months more than I was ever heckled in New York City for 15 years. Long stops at red lights, and
- I'm coming to terms with the realization that I am actually enneagram 6w5, not 5w6 as I've believed for over ten years. My obsession with hegemony, hierarchies, and the evolution of state societies probably stems from that motivation. Another post to come about that....

An Enneagram Poem

The Stages of the Work

If we were to really observe ourselves,
we would become aware of our habits.

If we were to become aware of our habits,
we would let go and relax.

If we were to let go and relax,
we would be aware of sensations.

If we were to be aware of sensations,
we would receive impressions.

If we were to receive impressions,
we would awaken to the moment.

If we were to awaken to the moment,
we would experience reality.

If we were to experience reality,
we would see that we are not our personality.

If we were to see that we are not our personality,
we would remember ourselves.

If we were to remember ourselves,
we would let go of our fear and attachments.

If we were to let go of our fear and attachments,
we would be touched by God.

If we were touched by God,
we would seek union with God.

If we were to seek union with God,
we would will what God wills.

If we were to will what God wills,
we would be transformed.

If we were transformed,
the world would be transformed.

If the world were transformed,
all would return to God.

–from The Wisdom of the Enneagram

Don Richard Riso & Russ Hudson

I'm Alive! and May's almost over.

My reason for the lack of updates: Between Twitter, Google Buzz, Facebook, Livejournal, and all the other sites I use, I've been spread thin on the social networking circuit lately. Perhaps the deluge of information I'm exposed to - a speedily flowing volume of bits and bytes of news and info - reduces, or detracts from, deeply-considered thought.

These days, one is more likely to quickly scan a huge deluge of short bursts of ideas, rather than process something substantial and complex for a long time. And so, continuing in the same pattern, my poor audience has only been getting 140-character tweets instead of deeply considered, thoughtful posts. Some sparks:

On why being a person of faith is almost a revolutionary act in these times:
In the greater part of the 20th century, most of the enemies that the Western world fought against were atheists and Communists. Religious orthodoxy was wholesome in comparison at that time. However, the bad guys who want to blow us up now are religious zealots. Devout religious belief is suspicious and anti-democratic (Keller).

May is National Suicide Prevention Month and Asian American Pacific American (AAPA) Heritage Month. My brother sent me this article from KimchiMamas: "Raising Your Asian-American Teen"
A great excerpt:
The model minority myth for Asians states that we are smart, hard-working and overcome the difficulties of acculturation. This stereotype can also promote depression, as it’s difficult to live up to, and can hinder teachers and parents from identifying youth to help. Asian American girls, for example, are positively rewarded for being compliant, persevering without complaint, and putting others’ needs before their own. So parents and teachers may overlook their isolation or withdrawal. This creates a difficult dynamic for the child who has learned to withhold emotions. Shame, a sense of low self-control, and a culture that limits expressing emotions lead to helplessness and isolation.

Reach out to a brother or sister today.

May 29th is World Enneagram Day.
I perceive the world as a Five with a Six wing. Do you know what your number is?

Real Life Bambi and Thumper

Since it's Easter season, and the newborn animals abound. From here

Excerpt from Counterfeit Gods (Tim Keller)

Archbishop William Temple once said, "Your religion is what you do with your solitude." In other words, the true god of your heart is what your thoughts effortlessly go to when there is nothing else demanding your attention. What do you do enjoy daydreaming about? What occupies your mind when you have nothing else to think about? Do you develop potential scenarios about career advancement? Or material goods such as a dream home? Or a relationship with a particular person? One or two daydreams are not an indication of idolatry. Ask rather, what do you habitually think about to get joy and comfort in the privacy of your heart?

Another way to discern your heart's true love is to look at how you spend your money. Jesus said, "Where your treasure is, there is your heart also" (Matthew 6:21)...Most of us, however, tend to overspend on clothing, or on our children, or on status symbols such as homes and cars. Our patterns of spending reveal our idols.

A third way to discern idols works best for those who have professed a faith in god. You may regularly to to a place of worship. You may have a full, devout set of doctrinal beliefs. You may be trying very hard to believe and obey God. However, what is your real, daily functional salvation? What are you really living for, what is your real - not your professed - god? A good way to discern this how you respond to unanswered prayers and frustrated hopes. If you ask for something that you don't get, you may become sad and disappointed. Then you go on. Hey, life's not over. Those are not your functional masters. But when you pray and work for something and you don't get it and you respond with explosive anger or deep despair, then you may have found your real god.

A final test works for everyone. Look at your most uncontrollable emotions. Just as a fisherman looking for fish knows to go where the water is roiling, look for your idols at the bottom of your most painful emotions, especially those that never seem to lift and that drive you to do things you know are wrong. If you are angry, ask, "Is there something here too important to me, something I must have at all costs?" Do the same thing with strong fear or despair and guilt. Ask yourself, "Am I so scared, because something in my life is being threatened that I think it is a necessity when it is not? Am I so down on myself because I have lost or failed at something that I think is a necessity when it is not? If you are overworking, driving yourself into the ground with frantic activity, ask yourself, "Do I feel that I *must* have this thing to be fulfilled and significant? When you ask questions like that, when you " pull your emotions up by the roots," as it were, you will often find your idols clinging to them.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From pp 168-169 of Counterfeit Gods: The Empty Promises of Money, Sex, and Power, and the Only Hope That Matters. There is only one who can wholly hold the weight of our human needs and desires.

School Lunch Nostalgia

Ann Cooper's Dream School Lunch: Grilled beef salad with tatsoi, brown rice and tofu salad, bok choy stir-fry, pear and 1 percent milk via TED blog.

Mmm, I miss those subsidized government lunches we ate in public school for $1. Things that I remember the most: cheeseburgers in those microwaveable foil pouches, beefaroni, overcooked green beans, French Bread pizza, chicken nuggets, tater tots, and the best part: chocolate milk!

School lunch in Korea:

Choose conscience over ease.

Does anyone really doubt that the corporations that control the vast majority of animal agriculture in America are in it for the profit? In most industries, that's a perfectly good driving force. But when the commodities are animals, the factories are the earth itself, and the products are physically consumed, the stakes are not the same, and the thinking can't be the same.

- Jonathan Safran Foer, Eating Animals (2009)

Hikaru Dorodango

Hikaru Dorodango are polished balls of mud made by Japanese children. Since they take great focus and concentration to make, I think this would be a great form of stress relief - and fun. (Yes, you can polish a turd.)

Neat.

Whee! Mammals.

Dolphins at sunrise.

Open-Source Education

Some free online courses to help expand your horizons:

Open Yale

MIT Open CourseWare

Academic Earth

Peachy Keen. This is not spam.

Music for Monday, Auto-tune not included

Acoustic version of Creep by Radiohead accompanied by a clip from what looks like an enchanting French Johnny Depp movie.


This came out 10 years ago! Stuck in my head since I heard it last weekend.

2010 #1

Happy New Year. Some links to keep you entertained:

1) Introverted Intuition (Ni) and the Meaning of Music

2) Songs in the key of life: What makes music emotional

3) I finally came across a description of Extraverted Feeling (Fe) that makes sense to me. Coincidentally, it happens to use music as a metaphor.
Music is a flow, a series of notes that invoke certain things. Music is essentially strategy with more feel than logic. You have a goal in mind, to make a friend, or emotionally bruise an enemy, and use what strategies you know (from your perceiving function) to reach it. Music is the same, you want someone to feel a certain thing and you use what strategies you know to reach that end.

Basically Te, but with an F instead of T. Fe users are just much more in tune with feelings of people and their reactions rather than the Te's use of hard data.
(Source: Fe as Vibration in the Ether)


4) Flavors of Enneagram Fives. Who knew that there were so many varieties? I tested as 5.1.3. I was definitely very strongly 5.3.1 about 10 years ago. I shudder to think of the word "glacial" as an accurate description (ugh).

The idea of the tritype is new to me. To determine your tritype, find your preferred type in each of the three triads: heart triad (ennea type 2,3,4), head triad (5,6,7) and gut Triad (8,9,1). I took this test here.

Happy Winter Holidays.

We now have a brussels sprouts tree in my brother's place, thanks to Trader Joe's! It looks similar to this one:


Ah, California. As a visitor to your state, you have succeeded in making me feel inadequately green. You've made my efforts to recycle, save, and spend a sustainable dollar feel insignificant compared to your conservation-friendly, sustainable infrastructure and your abundance of widely-available organic food. Sadly, New Yorkers often only embrace a green, sustainable diet/lifestyle because it's the "trendy" thing to do. It's OK to be crunchy here.

Be blessed in knowing that, now, in the most desolate time of year, God loves you.

Amaranthine flowers feel no decay.

I drank something with elderberry liqueur, ginger, and absinthe in it recently, so I've been thinking about the language of flowers.

Amaranth = immortal, Rose = fleeting.

Milton, Paradise Lost:
"Immortal amarant, a flower which once
In paradise, fast by the tree of life,
Began to bloom; but soon for man's offence
To heaven removed, where first it grew, there grows,
And flowers aloft, shading the fount of life,
And where the river of bliss through midst of heaven
Rolls o'er elysian flowers her amber stream:
With these that never fade the spirits elect
Bind their resplendent locks."

Winter cheer to brighten your cold day.

In this photo provided by Disney, the canine stars from Disney's new holiday DVD 'Santa Buddies: The Legend of Santa Paws' pose on Sunday Dec. 6, 2009 on Main Street U.S.A. at the Magic Kingdom in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., while taping a segment for the 'Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade' TV special. The annual holiday telecast is scheduled to air December 25 on ABC-TV.


A participant rides with his eagle during an annual hunting competition in Chengelsy Gorge, some 150 km
(93 miles) east of Almaty, December 5, 2009. REUTERS/Shamil Zhumatov


Finally, a use for lazy cats.

Sesame Street's 40th birthday

Some songs have gotten stuck in my head over the years. Others, for example, the Letter "U" video, have been more like nightmares - downright scary.

The Ladybug's Picnic


Do De Rubber Duck