We as a nation have been at war for almost 10 years. With times of war, our foreign policy is on the offensive to articulate our national needs and will. Meanwhile back in the US, every individual in this country embodies the effects of the violence perpetuated to maintain US dominance over the rest of the world. The higher up in the socio-economic strata, the more material possessions are used to guard against the personal responsibility to global humanity as a whole. Individuals are encouraged to represent notions of superiority, happiness, and fulfillment with their consumer choices.
As the world economy continues to suffer at the hands of derivative bundling schemes that are crashing, the wealthy class scrambles that much harder to justify their lifestyles of excess in the face of economic crisis. The ones without are experiencing trauma from desperately trying to to fulfill a broken dream in a country that isn't valuing the majority of their citizen base.
The 99% are TIRED OF BEING LEFT OUT, TIRED OF BEING USED, TIRED OF BEING USED UP AND DISCARDED AS IF NON-HUMAN. THE ECONOMIC TRAUMA OF THIS COUNTRY STOPS NOW!!!
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Science Tarot Exercise
Yesterday, I read my tarot cards for myself, for the first time. This is what I did: I shuffled the Science Tarot deck, I cut the deck twice, I spread the deck. I chose three cards. I flipped over each card, right to left, looked at the image and wrote down what the image feels like. One at a time. Then looked at all the cards together and wrote down how they all made me feel. My three cards were: Supernova; Reductionism; Relativity. I wrote down a bunch of words and thoughts for each card and when I put them all together left to right it became:
Relativity, Reductionism Relativity.
Some times I feel in motion caught in balanced coordination - Seeking perspective to the context of my truth delayed the gateway to weightless transcendence, I am brought back to the basics. Slowing my linear thinking, dry to the touch - I measure with great clarity. This I learned: the mundane, of the world, purposeful deeds will continue with love. Exciting, yes! Buzzing chaos!! generating warmth for the uncertain nexus. Sensing instability, and supernova potential - Love erupts.
Relativity, Reductionism Relativity.
Some times I feel in motion caught in balanced coordination - Seeking perspective to the context of my truth delayed the gateway to weightless transcendence, I am brought back to the basics. Slowing my linear thinking, dry to the touch - I measure with great clarity. This I learned: the mundane, of the world, purposeful deeds will continue with love. Exciting, yes! Buzzing chaos!! generating warmth for the uncertain nexus. Sensing instability, and supernova potential - Love erupts.
It feels reckless and out of control, but it won't always...
We’re driving across a bridge. Its snowing wildly. A white out of snowflakes impedes all visibility. We’re crossing a bridge and we can barely see our hands in front of our faces. But the driver is telling us that we can make it! We need to just trust that the driver knows how to drive in extreme weather conditions. Extreme weather conditions can freeze blocks of ice onto your windshield wipers. When the wipers stop working, that’s your cue, as the passenger, to put your head out the window and assist the driver. You look down ahead of the car and make sure the car stays in the lane. Hopefully there’s not too much snow covering the paint. Even if you can’t see the line, you can see the car tracks ahead of you and you can help the driver stay on the road. This usually happens at the height of darkness, new moon time, but it wouldn’t matter anyway because it’s a snowstorm and clouds are covering the sky. Dark and snowy, limited visibility on a bridge, freezing cold weather and dangerous driving conditions is how it feels right now in 2011. Its hard sitting in the backseat without all my muscles shivering to: fight off the fear of crashing; shake off the cold air streaming through the car; keep me present in the moment. Everything that begins, also ends. It always stops snowing, and driving conditions become less hazardous. The moon shines. We’re not always able to realize, though, that while our head’s are sticking out of the car in the snowy night helping the driver, we’re actually just being reckless. It is ok to pull over, to wait it out, to let it snow. It is ok to not be in control of everything. However, it is not ok to pull over on a bridge. Thus making 2011, equally reckless and out of control.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Its written in our faces
A few days ago I had a dream that I was an old woman. I stood in front of the mirror and studied my aged face. I had shock white hair and other than that I was startled at my appearance. I was struck by the dream because I don't often have dreams where I reflect on my reflection. It seemed pertinent.
The way my life works is if I become aware of pertinent imagery, ideas or concepts then with little subtlety I become flooded with more of it. Its always interesting to note just what captures the mind's imagination for more exploration. For me, in the wake of our holiday season, I have facial lines and wrinkles as my most recurring themes.
I dogsat last week during Thanksgiving. I also decided to fast for the week. My gratitude for intentional cleansing. Curled up with two french bulldogs, I read about the significance of facial lines. The aesthetician gave a symbolic synopsis of core essences engrained in the face lines. Smile lines, wisdom lines, they all made me feel happy to earn lines on my face because to her it meant I was a compassionate being.
Then today, day 3 of a 14 day Kundalini set, the video instructor described the face lines. The journeys of our lives and the maps imprinted on our faces. As winter approaches and as I learn more about my relationship to my wrinkles, I hope to open to more patience and acceptance of myself.
The way my life works is if I become aware of pertinent imagery, ideas or concepts then with little subtlety I become flooded with more of it. Its always interesting to note just what captures the mind's imagination for more exploration. For me, in the wake of our holiday season, I have facial lines and wrinkles as my most recurring themes.
I dogsat last week during Thanksgiving. I also decided to fast for the week. My gratitude for intentional cleansing. Curled up with two french bulldogs, I read about the significance of facial lines. The aesthetician gave a symbolic synopsis of core essences engrained in the face lines. Smile lines, wisdom lines, they all made me feel happy to earn lines on my face because to her it meant I was a compassionate being.
Then today, day 3 of a 14 day Kundalini set, the video instructor described the face lines. The journeys of our lives and the maps imprinted on our faces. As winter approaches and as I learn more about my relationship to my wrinkles, I hope to open to more patience and acceptance of myself.
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
What is your metaphysics?
Metaphysics* is defined as:
1. The knowledge of beings which lie beyond sense experience. (Descartes)
2. The knowledge of what beings are in themselves, in opposition to their appearances. (Schopenhauer)
3. The knowledge of moral truths, of the 'ought,' the ideal, considered as an order of reality which is superior to the order of facts and contains the ontological ground of the order of facts. (Liard)
4. Knowledge of pure reason. (Kant)
5. Absolute knowledge through direct intuition, in opposition to discursive thought. (Bergson)
6. Knowledge of that through which whatever is has meaning. (Jolivet)
7. The attempt to comprehend from within the 'human condition' in its totality. (Sartre)
8. Placing oneself, in one's totality, before the totality of the world. (De Beauvoir)
9. The stubborn attempt to think clearly and coherently. (James)
10. The knowledge of nature, considered as being in a state of rest, immobility, stagnation and immutability. (Stalin)
*Excerpt from Luijpen's "Phenomenology and Metaphysics" - 1965
1. The knowledge of beings which lie beyond sense experience. (Descartes)
2. The knowledge of what beings are in themselves, in opposition to their appearances. (Schopenhauer)
3. The knowledge of moral truths, of the 'ought,' the ideal, considered as an order of reality which is superior to the order of facts and contains the ontological ground of the order of facts. (Liard)
4. Knowledge of pure reason. (Kant)
5. Absolute knowledge through direct intuition, in opposition to discursive thought. (Bergson)
6. Knowledge of that through which whatever is has meaning. (Jolivet)
7. The attempt to comprehend from within the 'human condition' in its totality. (Sartre)
8. Placing oneself, in one's totality, before the totality of the world. (De Beauvoir)
9. The stubborn attempt to think clearly and coherently. (James)
10. The knowledge of nature, considered as being in a state of rest, immobility, stagnation and immutability. (Stalin)
*Excerpt from Luijpen's "Phenomenology and Metaphysics" - 1965
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Maximon Atitlan
June 2003
Disembarking from the Santa Catarina at a small dock in Santiago Atitlan, I was greeted by a gentleman named Francisco who asked me if I needed a hotel 3 times. He followed me, followed by 2 boys asking for ‘uno quetzal por favor.’ Maybe 30 steps away from the dock he stealthily asked me if I wanted to visit Maximon, the regional harbinger of sacred virtue and vice.
I knew enough to know that the only way I could hope to see Maximon (pronounced Ma-shee-mon) was if a local brought me to the private home in which the icon was housed for that particular year. I graciously accepted his invitation.
The proud keepers of the statue standing on either side of the four foot wooden ‘God of the Maya’ adorned with candles, an offering plate, incense at his feet and music playing in the background, I was keenly aware that my higher power never seemed to look like this in my own reflections of piety and good fortune.
To the left (my left) of the alter was a Christmas light and music decorated coffin of, I think, the father of Maximon. Lonely planet, no more. To the right (my right) was four female saints all draped in cloth. Maximon's regalia included a fat unlit cigar, two black cowboy hats and many many ties and various other pieces of cloth tied around his neck. Crepe paper streamed across the ceiling, joined by an assortment of party decorations.
Francisco said people make offerings in exchange for health, wealth, and other life sustaining requests. My offering was in gratitude for Francisco's guidance to Maximon.
Disembarking from the Santa Catarina at a small dock in Santiago Atitlan, I was greeted by a gentleman named Francisco who asked me if I needed a hotel 3 times. He followed me, followed by 2 boys asking for ‘uno quetzal por favor.’ Maybe 30 steps away from the dock he stealthily asked me if I wanted to visit Maximon, the regional harbinger of sacred virtue and vice.
I knew enough to know that the only way I could hope to see Maximon (pronounced Ma-shee-mon) was if a local brought me to the private home in which the icon was housed for that particular year. I graciously accepted his invitation.
The proud keepers of the statue standing on either side of the four foot wooden ‘God of the Maya’ adorned with candles, an offering plate, incense at his feet and music playing in the background, I was keenly aware that my higher power never seemed to look like this in my own reflections of piety and good fortune.
To the left (my left) of the alter was a Christmas light and music decorated coffin of, I think, the father of Maximon. Lonely planet, no more. To the right (my right) was four female saints all draped in cloth. Maximon's regalia included a fat unlit cigar, two black cowboy hats and many many ties and various other pieces of cloth tied around his neck. Crepe paper streamed across the ceiling, joined by an assortment of party decorations.
Francisco said people make offerings in exchange for health, wealth, and other life sustaining requests. My offering was in gratitude for Francisco's guidance to Maximon.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Who you towing???
Yesterday afternoon, upon approaching Angelo Brocato’s on Carrollton, a New Orleans Sheriff Deputy on detail at the pastry shop told me that if I parked in front of K’Jean’s, four store fronts down from the pastry shop, that I should move because the owner is towing cars.
I was confused because – 1) there is no clear demarcation to indicate where K’Jean’s parking starts/stops and 2) I didn’t see a sign warning me of potential towing because of errant parking.
Filled with civic pride, I retorted, “Is that legal without proper demarcation??” I just added two question marks to my response because I want to note my confusion and urgency that was clearly conveyed to this officer of law.
He looked at me shocked, said that he’s doing his job at the pastry shop and that he’s trying to help me out to not get towed. That really confused me more and I responded with, “You are a law enforcement officer, if there is no demarcation warning me about getting towed, I think that is illegal. Are there any signs in front of K’Jeans?” He said yes, I was relieved and I asked him to tell me where it was so I could read it and know what my rights were on this private commercial property on Carrollton Ave.
He quietly looked away, seriously annoyed that I would be so impetuous as to question legal authority from a law enforcement agent. “Sir?” I questioned. He looked back at me and pointed at the sign on Angelo Brocato’s door warning everybody of potential towing. The sign read something like – ‘Please be aware that if you parked diagonally in front of K’Jeans the owner will tow. He watches and laughs.’
I looked back at the Deputy and repeated, “You are a law enforcement officer and I think this is illegal, and I don’t think its right that you let it go on.”
I’ve researched the legality of towing without proper warning and from what I can tell there needs to be proper signage and demarcations for legal towing authority. I understand he has a job at hand - to protect Angelo Brocato’s, but in general isn’t his job also to protect citizens from prevailing injustices. What aggravates me more is that others haven’t questioned the legal rights of this business owner to act in such a manner.
Maybe I just missed the sign stating the ramifications for utilizing the limited parking in that commercial sector and also maybe the officer didn't know if its existence; and maybe I didn’t see clear lane indications for each businesses allotted parking spaces. But, that’s not my issue, my issue is with the ‘not my job’ attitude and ‘lets let crazy be crazy’ attitude that prevails.
To be perfectly honest, this makes me want to boycott that strip on Carrollton for being unwilling to share space and being aggressive to potential customers. Like I tell my 2nd graders, if you are going to act like that, I don’t want to be around you because you are out of control. This situation seems out of control.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Time
The other night I thought I was going to be late for work. I frantically shuffled from room to room gathering myself together to leave.
‘I’m freaking out…’ I whine.
Doug replies, ‘Time doesn’t exist, free your mind.’
And literally since he said that, time has been at my mercy. I can make five minutes last twenty seconds or four hours. I have freed my mind. My time mind. My time mind has surrendered to the possibility that time will work the way I want it to work, for my purposes, for my comfort and convenience.
Einstein probably realized when he was in high school away from home, with time to think and develop his thoughts, that he would figure out how to teach people that time control is possible. I don’t know, though, if he quite anticipated the depth and breadth of potential that his imagination offered. Those boundless bounds served as a platform for others to reach on their tippy-toes into their own furthest corners of imagined possibility.
Nuclear disaster is terrible for a lot of reasons. The thought that really makes my heart hurt most is that children’s reproductive organs are often mutated, not showing the effects of the disaster until they reproduce. Thus, disaster is replicated through multiple generations.
I pray that we all heal together. We are all family. If the interconnectedness of the world’s economy should teach us anything in the long run, it’s that we are all family. When one of our allies is hit, we all stagger. When one of our enemies is hit, we all mourn collateral damage. Sooner or later, we as people will realize there is no ‘us’ and there is no ‘them,’ there is only ‘we.’
Clearly, we need more time.
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Friday, January 21, 2011
Leadership through Educational Empowerment
Recently making New Orleans my home, I quickly adopted this city as my own. New Orleans continues to face challenges, new and old. The foundation of meaningful and lasting progress is education. The key to the future of New Orleans is in empowering our youth with the necessary resources and critical thinking skills to be leaders in the years to come.
High-need schools are often in high-need communities; the same communities that need leadership from within. I view education as a means of expanding the mind to not only critically think through situations, but also as a conduit for sharing a sense of ownership to the options and decisions before our youth. Youth leadership is an extremely powerful force. I believe empowering students to want to make good choices and to feel good about their self will have a ripple effect not only through the school but also through the community.
The inherent challenge with getting the youth to want to make good choices and to feel good about themselves is that there are so many things in the world telling young people the opposite, or worse that they shouldn’t care at all. With gun violence being such a disturbingly vivid part of life for so many children in this city, children are coming into the classroom with heavy hearts. Children have less impulse control to begin with and add to that, scenes that children cannot really process because of the enormity of the reality, they become even less manageable.
My education experience with children in South Dakota and in New Orleans has taught me that coming into the classroom with compassion and a willingness to acknowledge the root of a child’s frustration rather than reacting to their frustration itself enables me to communicate clearly with the students. My experiences have strengthened me to be able to see a positive leader in every child.
High-need schools are often in high-need communities; the same communities that need leadership from within. I view education as a means of expanding the mind to not only critically think through situations, but also as a conduit for sharing a sense of ownership to the options and decisions before our youth. Youth leadership is an extremely powerful force. I believe empowering students to want to make good choices and to feel good about their self will have a ripple effect not only through the school but also through the community.
The inherent challenge with getting the youth to want to make good choices and to feel good about themselves is that there are so many things in the world telling young people the opposite, or worse that they shouldn’t care at all. With gun violence being such a disturbingly vivid part of life for so many children in this city, children are coming into the classroom with heavy hearts. Children have less impulse control to begin with and add to that, scenes that children cannot really process because of the enormity of the reality, they become even less manageable.
My education experience with children in South Dakota and in New Orleans has taught me that coming into the classroom with compassion and a willingness to acknowledge the root of a child’s frustration rather than reacting to their frustration itself enables me to communicate clearly with the students. My experiences have strengthened me to be able to see a positive leader in every child.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Decatur Parade!
Kicking off parade season in New Orleans, 2011 style! How peculiar, a one band, one float parade with a pinhole portal in the center! Imagine my surprise to come home to a parade!
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
The dog gang
I turned onto Banks and saw a lump in the dimly lit road, while biking tonight. Getting closer, I recognized the lump as two dogs in the middle of the road. I was thinking about a story I heard earlier, that teenagers were going around on their bikes terrorizing people, with guns, in another part of town. Then I realized that one of the dogs probably got hit and his buddy was standing next to him in solidarity to mourn the loss of the fallen partner. As I passed the scene, the dead dog got to its feet and both dogs animatedly made moves to the neutral ground. I passed the dogs and realized... I just saw two dogs hanging out in the middle of Banks Street.
Approaching the next block, two more dogs emerged. Instantly I thought, 'Banks Street Dog Gang!' But then the only pit of the lot, turned, and made eye contact with me. The pit bull started bolting in my direction. In the less than one year of working at the City Council, I heard of more than 6 pit bull attacks with several being fatal. I pumped my crazy legs like it was my job.
This city is electric hot right now, the kids and the dogs feel it most keenly!
Approaching the next block, two more dogs emerged. Instantly I thought, 'Banks Street Dog Gang!' But then the only pit of the lot, turned, and made eye contact with me. The pit bull started bolting in my direction. In the less than one year of working at the City Council, I heard of more than 6 pit bull attacks with several being fatal. I pumped my crazy legs like it was my job.
This city is electric hot right now, the kids and the dogs feel it most keenly!
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