Dude... (TEDTalks)

Okay, this "dude" is completely unrelated to the previous one. But it still merits the dude.

I was looking up Podcasts, and I stumbled upon something called TEDTalks. It's from TED, a get together that stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design. On the site, one person totes TED as the "pre-Heaven" get together of all the greatest minds in the world.

After watching some of the videos here, I have to agree. Not only are these people brilliant and passionate, they're funny. My personal favorite is below. It's from David Pogue, a technology columnist. Warning: Pogue is a known Mac aficionado, so prepare for some Windows humor.




I hope you enjoy these presentations. They make me all electrified inside. I know that feeling of inspiration is just a state I'm in. I wish I knew how to get to where they are ALL THE TIME.

Namaste.

Dude...

I got this video from a Dan Millman newsletter.

Assuming this is real, this kid is amazing. It's like "extreme" gymnastics.

Crazy.

AP Test Scores Are Available by Phone

If you're interested, our AP scores are available via phone. July 1st, psh!

Anyway, it's $8 a pop (as if College Board hasn't already sucked us dry). A little pricey. But can you put a price on peace of mind?

Since I'm a big loser, er hm, I mean, was curious, I called up and got my scores. I got a five in Bio, a five in Calc, and, the shocker, a five in English. Therefore, judge how well you did in these classes compared to me, and now you have a rather accurate subjective guess to your score. For free. Aren't I nice?

I'm not too suprised by the Bio and Calc scores. No, I'm not conceited, but those tests just seemed easy to me. The English score, on the other hand, was up in the air. Completely. Somehow I pulled through, though. Maybe it was my writing about literarature... I mean... uh... never mind! I expect many more fives in English. The question is, who do we give credit to? Buh buh buuuuuuh!

You can now return to your scheduled programming. Thank you.

Namaste.

Right Where It Belongs by Nine Inch Nails

See the animal in it's cage that you built
Are you sure what side you're on?
Better not look him too closely in the eye
Are you sure what side of the glass you are on?
See the safety of the life you have built
Everything where it belongs
Feel the hollowness inside of your heart
And it's all
Right where it belongs

What if everything around you
Isn't quite as it seems?
What if all the world you think you know
Is an elaborate dream?
And if you look at your reflection
Is it all you wanted to be?
What if you could look right through the cracks?
Would you find yourself
Find yourself afraid to see?

What if all the world's inside of your head
Just creations of your own?
Your devils and your gods
All the living and the dead
And you really are alone
You can live in this illusion
You can choose to believe
You keep looking but you can't find the woods
While you're hiding in the trees

What if everything around you
Isn't quite as it seems?
What if all the world you used to know
Is an elaborate dream?
And if you look at your reflection
Is it all you wanted to be?
What if you could look right through the cracks
Would you find yourself
Find yourself afraid to see?

A More Measured Approach

I've realized after thinking for way too long that the reason I don't get anything done is because I think too much. Ooh, got you on that one, huh?!

Anyway, my point is that I've been trying to "do" too many things at once and in the process ended up doing none of them. That's tricky.

Now my goal is to be more measured and actually get things done as a result. For example, my big goal for the next 30 days is to get up at 8 AM every day. That may not sound like much (then again, it might sound like a lot), but it's the one thing I'm setting my sights on. I realized that by getting up at 11 AM each day, I waste about 3 hours per day, so that's about 21 hours per week. That's almost a day! Sleep is good, but not THAT good!

Another thing you might notice is more structure at this site. Don't worry, there will still be the willy nilly posts like this one that just spring up organically, but there will also be the more carefully planned out serieses, like GodAIM (The Reckoning), a primer on Buddhism, and more exciting ideas as they pop up.

Why all this sudden decision to get something done? Because I realized that I only have 8 weeks of summer left, no job, and nothing to show for the past two weeks.

Huzzah!

Namaste.

PGSS 2006

Wow, a year ago today I was at Governor's School for the Sciences. For my first day. Completely lost.

Wow.

I'm glad I don't have that this summer. I'd much rather spend the time with my friends here in Chi for the last time before we all become [insert your college name here] students instead of Chichesterians. Though I imagine, and I'm sure Ed would corroborate, Governor's School can be more fun than anything else in the world.

Wow, that time and place seems way more than a year away. I can remember going there, completely without any desire to get to know anyone. I remember all the amazing people. Really, really amazing. I've been browsing through some of their blogs / livejournals from that time. It's amazing to see the interiors of some of these people. It's such a shame we can only see people's exteriors. That's the least interesting part!

Well, the one person I look forward to reading from is Sir David Pickett, my favorite TA from Governor's School. I can read his Xanga here. He reminds me a lot of myself. I wish I had gotten to know him more when I had the chance. The French L attacks!!! ;)

Time for the summer to really start. Only eight more weeks to go. Not even.

Wow.

Movie Schedule Update

Well, Holly just called me, and it sounds like she'd like to get together sometime tonight for the movie thing. That's fine with me if it's fine with everyone else.

Hm, I'm thinking I'm going to make a blog dedicated to movie news / information. In fact, I will. And here it is: http://chimovie.blogspot.com/

Thanks for your patience. Check that site for any and all updates (I don't see the point in clogging up this blog with random scheduling).

Hm, technology is marvelous!!!

Namaste.

Movie Schedule

As long as it's alright with everyone, I'm proposing that we start brainstorming / filming the "movie" (which I imagine we'll have to give a title eventually...) tomorrow. I'm going to take today to get caught up on some of my backlogged work, such as the Science Olympiad Video.

I'm available all day tomorrow. If you could, please post the time you'd prefer to get together here, or just e-mail me. And I guess we need somewhere to meet. We can meet at my house, but I'd prefer not to (not much room for any sort of meeting without interruptions). If anyone has any ideas, feel free to post / e-mail them as well.

Well, thanks for your patience. I'm not the best group coordinator ever, but I'll do my best. Or someone else could take over. You know, whatever works.

So, when we meet tomorrow, have some ideas on hand. Or don't. We'll just have a massive brainstorming session and figure out where we're going with this.

But most of all, this should be FUN. It's summer. Our last one before college.

Thanks everyone.

Namaste.

Quote

Guests, like fish, begin to smell after three days.

- Benjamin Franklin

Quote

As with all great moments in life, this moment seemed non-descript, commonplace, and mediocre. Then again, so does death, birth, the first kiss, the last goodbye, the first shots of war and the final signing of a peace treaty. All things in life, it seems, pass without careful notice.

- Me

The Urinal Rule

I realized that I never posted this. That whole censorship thing got to me! But now that I'm out of Chi, I can post anything I want. Well, in all honesty, I could have posted this here at any time, I just forget about it. So, without further ado:

Urinal Rule: Universal Truth or Evolutionary Relic?

A little over a month before the writing of this article, I was introduced to an interesting concept explained to me as "The Urinal Rule." Now, I kid you not, that is exactly how it sounded, with quotation marks and all. This rule, I was told, stated that one... Well, first I suppose I should explain the set-up of a male bathroom for the ladies out there who (hopefully) have never been in a guys bathroom.

In the male lavatory, there are two places in which a man may relieve himself: the toilet and the urinal. The toilet needs no explaining. It's the throne of men, and women, and has been since the dawn of modern plumbing. But the urinal, ah, that is the prize of every man's anatomical advantage. In the typical bathroom, there are anywhere from one to seven urinals, depending on the location. A urinal is like a toilet put on its side, opened up, and barred to the world. And very convenient to pee in, I must add.

Now, back to the Urinal Rule. One thing lacking in my description of urinals is the fact that most urinals are immediately next to one another, with, typically, no divider. Therefore, you, to put it crudely, pee with your neighbor. Now I was told, after an embarassing incident in which I stood next to someone at a urinal, that such an act defies a universal code of male conduct known as, and here it is, the Urinal Rule. I was informed that every man knows for a fact that when there are three urinals, one never, and I mean never, uses the center urinal. If there are two urinals and one is occuppied, the other person must wait their turn. Now, this assumes no divider. With dividers, anything goes. But back to the Urinal Rule. I was quite dismayed by my lack of knowledge in this area. So I decided to conduct a survey.

After a thoroughly unscientific study of my peers, I found that 1 in every 600 men don't know about this urinal rule. So that led me to an interesting thought: perhaps the urinal rule is NOT a universal truth, as I was told. It might be a cultural norm. Or just maybe, and this might get certain people angry at me, it's an evolutionary relic! After asking a very respectable source, I was informed that humans are animals. Okay, I can accept that part. I was also told that humans, as animals, have a natural sense of "personal space" that they wish to maintain between themselves and others. This sense of space depends on numerous factors, including how intimate a person is with the people around them. Interesting.

I took this line of inquiry a step further and found work by a Dr. Edward Hall called Proxemic Theory. This theory states that personal space is not only defined not only by biology, but also by culture. Different cultures have different ways of determing the space that one may enter without causing discomfort. Dr. Hall then divides the world into two types of people, the contact variety and the non-contact variety. The contacts include Arabs, Latin Americans, and Southern Europeans. Contacts have little to no personal space, and because of this don't mind people being near them, or even touching them. The non-contacts include Asians, Northern Europeans, and, not suprisingly, Americans. Non-contacts feel very uncomfortable when someone they are not intimate with gets too close. We are, therefore, a non-contact culture.

And there you have it. One thing is most certain: the urinal rule IS NOT a universal truth. If it is anything, it's a culturally bound tradition affected slightly by biological factors. But that won't change whether or not you feel comfortable urinating next to me. And yet, it makes me feel better to know why.

Levels in Games, Levels in Life

This is a thought I had a while ago, but I never got around to posting on it, so I will do so now.

After reading about flow, I came to an interesting conclusion: one of the most important components of flow is "clear goals," and such clear goals make video games interesting. Woah! you're thinking. I know, I know, genius.

But it doesn't stop there. My next thought was, "Wouldn't it be interesting to create such a system, something resembling a video game, for ones life?"

Now I've got your attention.

Think about it. What makes games interesting? There's some sort of inherent scoring going on, and the main goal is to increase that score. Now, the "score" may be defined in several ways (getting further in the game, literally increasing the score, etc.), but there is always that score. And it is that score that makes the game interesting. What would a game be without the score to push you to move further and further into the game? Very, very boring.

Same thing with life. Now, I realize that life isn't a video game, but why not apply the same concepts? Create levels, a point system, rewards, etc, and see how it affects life. The first real life video game!

Then again, life is constantly a video game. The question is whether or not it's award winning.

Hm, this is something to think about. I imagine it would be a bitch to actually implement, but the application seems intriguing.

And of course, there's the fact that no amount of "winning" the video game will make you happy. That requires realizing that there is no video game and that you've created the entire illusion to amuse yourself.

Namaste.

INTJ?!

If you're at all interested in personality tests, an interesting/useful one I've found is the Myers-Briggs. I think it's the one we did in Health class in 10th grade. But then again, I didn't pay much attention in health class...

Anyway, the MB test is based on 4 different continuums, the introvert/extrovert, the sensing/intuitive, the thinking/feeling, and the judging/percieving. When I took the test, I came out to be INTJ, which stands for introverted, intuitive, thinking, and judging. From a table on wikipedia that extrapolates the percentage of the human population that's this type, only about 2.1% come out as INTJ. Hm, that's a big minority.

Anyway, take the test for fun if nothing else. Though, like any personality test, take it with a grain of salt. You are you, and not some label. And certainly don't let that label constrict you.

Namaste.

The Stink of Zen

There's a saying in Zen Buddhism about someone that only thinks about the concepts of Zen instead of practicing them. They're said to "stink of Zen."

I find myself suffering from that affliction. (And I can't seem to spell!). Far too much cerebral activity and far too little action. Luckily, I have three graduation parties to look forward to in the next two days. Hopefully that will allow me to shake up all this stuffiness I've built up over the last week.

You see, it's not that I'm bored with Summer or with what I'm doing. It's just that I think I'm missing out on some of the other things I could be doing. You know, like pleasurable (in that very moment) activities. I feel very ethereal right now, very otherworldly. I need some major grounding.

Hm, sounds crazy. Yes.

Namaste.

Quote

We need to pay attention to how we generalize, because we generalize about people in so many different ways. For example, if someone was in a relationship with a person who treated them badly, they tend to generalize and think that everyone they become involved with in the future is going to treat them badly as well. In Buddhism, specificity is very important - we must pay attention to the uniqueness of each circumstance and situation.

- Traleg Kyabgon Rinpoche

Quote

Addictions or attachments to things being different than they are need to be upgraded to preferences, so when "what is" is not what you want it to be, you do not suffer over it and your happiness and peace are therefore not controlled by forces outside of your control.

- Bill Harris

Quote

If you are irritated by every rub, how will you be polished?

- Rumi

Interest in Personal Growth

I've thought of an interesting (though not all that new) theory in regards to personal growth and life in general. I call it, quite imaginatively, the Principle of Interest. OOOOOOOH. AAAAAAAAH.

Everyone knows what interest is, but let's get a dictionary definition for clarity's sake: A charge for a loan, usually a percentage of the amount loaned. Wow, after looking for that definition, I realized how important context is in my message. "Interest" has about five or six definitions that might pop up in your mind first. The one I'm using here just happens to be the one that pops up in my head first.

Any-gay (to quote Sean), interest, for our purposes, is when more than the original amount of some "thing" becomes required over time. So, with interest for loan (something we're all familiar with thanks to "higher" (read more expensive) education), if you don't pay the money by time X, you have to pay amount Y more. Pretty simple.

So simple, in fact, that it can be applied to just about any life situation. The Principle of Interest (PI) is why procrastination never works: you'll have to do that "thing" you're putting off eventually, and probably at much higher a cost. The PI is why, in life, it's often better to just bite the bullet. That "right" moment will never come for you to do that one thing, so why not just do it now? If you're planning on doing it eventually, why not just do it now?

Didn't come out quite as eloquently as it was in my head, but that's nothing new.

In short, keep this in mind: if there's something that you have to do that won't benefit from you putting it off (and you'll know when "putting it off" is really a good strategy), consider the fact that you'll have to pay the price eventually anyway, and possibly with interest.

Tada!

Namaste.

You Gotta Eat?

I've noticed a strange phenomena over the past few days. Nothing especially to worry about, just interesting. Over the past few days, I haven't been all that especially hungry. At all. I don't mean that I haven't been eating. I have been, just as much as or more often than I had in the past. In fact, I still eat every 2.5 to 3 hours, like I've read is best (yeah, you know me and reading things about doing things).

Anyway, after the 3 or so hours have passed, I don't feel the hunger that I normally associate with that time. It's like the Pavlovian instinct somehow got killed. I have to "force" myself to (though force is far too strong a word, more like I have to make a conscious decision to) eat. I don't have any problem getting the food down. I just don't really want to eat it.

I'm going to mark this one up to the fact that I am eating regularly. Over the school year, meals can be seperated by five to six hours. That just doesn't happen during the summer. I guess my body just normalizes and gives me the option to not eat.

Then there's also the fact that I'm more or less constantly engaged during the summer. There may be times when I reach a state of overwhelm, but never when I reach a state of boredom. If I'm fully in the "moment," to use a cliche, I don't feel the need to stop that activity and eat.

Interesting. Nothing all that important or profound (especially to someone that's not me), but I just felt like sharing.

You are now free to go about your day.

Namaste.

Mysticism in Rock

Only by Nine Inch Nails

I'm becoming less defined as days go by
Fading away
And well you might say
I'm losing focus
Kinda drifting into the abstract in terms of how I see myself

Sometimes I think I can see right through myself
Sometimes I can see right through myself

Less concerned about fitting into the world
Your world that is
Cause it doesn't really matter anymore
(no it doesn't really matter anymore)
No it doesn't really matter anymore
None of this really matters anymore

Yes I am alone but then again I always was
As far back as I can tell
I think maybe it's because
Because you were never really real to begin with
I just made you up to hurt myself

I just made you up to hurt myself, yeah
And I just made you up to hurt myself

And it worked.
Yes it did!

There is no you
There is only me
There is no you
There is only me
There is no fucking you
There is only me
There is no fucking you
There is only me

Only

Well the tiniest little dot caught my eye and it turned out to be a scab
And I had this funny feeling like I just knew it's something bad
I just couldn't leave it alone, I kept picking at the scab
It was a doorway trying to seal itself shut
But I climbed through

Now I am somewhere I am not supposed to be, and I can see things I know I really shouldn't see
And now I know why, now, now, now I know why
Things aren't as pretty
On the inside

Wow, a mystical message in hard core rock?! I love the internet radio. Almost as much as I love mysticism.

I mean, anatta and the oversoul/Brahma in rock? Amazing.

Wowzer

I don't really have anything to say. I just felt like posting. So, um, hey! And while I'm at it, might as well share a good quote. So, here it is:

No man is free who is not master of himself.

- Epictetus

Actually, that quote is rather timely, as it relates to some insights I plan on posting about personal growth teachings and how they're all the same at the core. Cool beans.

Namaste.

Quote

Life is the only real counselor; wisdom unfiltered through personal experience does not become a part of the moral tissue.

- Edith Wharton

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Sneak Peak of SO Video

NOTICE: I made this public. But that means EVERYONE can see it. Hopefully I'll be able to come up with a private way of showing this. Or, if you guys don't mind, I'll just keep it public. Just don't sue me!!!

Here's part of the Science Olympiad Video. Well, in all reality, it's the very end. But it was SOOOO much fun to make. Nothing like video editing to get ones creative juices flowing.

More to come!

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Insomniac Special

Hm, well, it's finally hit me. That point where I just can't get to sleep. It took just a week. Wow. Usually it takes longer.

I'm sure there are plenty of factors I could blame for why I can't get to sleep. Some of them may even be valid. But why blame something that can be a blessing.

I mean, with all this time I'm going to be spending awake instead of sleeping, I can get so much done. Like this blog post for example.

And while I'm getting things done, did I mention that it's been a week since graduation. Amazing, huh? It feels like forever since I've been in school. I really want to know why the mind plays such tricks with time. It's not nice. Not nice at all.

Well, hopefully all of you are asleep in your beds at this point. If not, why?!

Oh, are you sharing this nocturnal wonderland with me?

Cool.

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Quote

The idea is to step out of the dream, to know it’s a dream, and then, to continue to play your part, but to have it be fun because you know it’s a dream. When you do this, you can play with the dream and make it into whatever dream you want. Or, if you like, let the dream be whatever it is, because you know nothing can hurt you and that everything is fine, everything is perfect.

-- Bill Harris

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Quote

We interface with the world through our five senses. In a way, though, we really have one basic sense, touch. All the other senses are a type of touch. We touch light waves with our eyes, we touch sound waves with our ears, and so on. The neurons that sense these things really notice two things. They either notice “on” or they notice “off”—that the phenomena of being “touched” is happening or not happening.

-- Bill Harris

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Chi Band

Well, in case any of the alumni are interested, Chi's Marching Band Leadership positions are currently up. Go check them out here.

Congrats to everyone. At least this year, the mid-voice won't be too loud all at one. :)

Though it's weird to see all those names as leadership positions. Man, getting old is odd!

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Movie

Wow, these insomnia sessions are really starting to get the best of me. And by best of me, I really mean that it brings out the best!

Anyway, I would like to put this out there: I'm considering creating a movie. I don't know of what genre or type. My point is this: if anyone would like to get involved, please drop me a line either through a comment or via e-mail at ddarmon8705@yahoo.com. I really would like to make a collaborative movie sometime. I remember how fun making the movies was for High School. I don't see why it couldn't be just as, if not more, fun when made independent of school.

So, if you have a screenplay idea, or would like to direct, act, or anything else, feel free to let me know. I'm completely open to any ideas!

Thanks for your interest.

Namaste

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Cuz Zaadz Rocks!

Look at all the cool stuff that Zaadz sent me! That's one copy of The Essential Ken Wilber, one copy of Love, one copy of Good Business, one issue of What is Enlightenment, of Utne, of Ode, and of VegNews, along with some kickass Zaadz cards and a paperback version of thinkarete.themanifesto. Oh yeah, and I can't forget the freakin' awesome t-shirt!

In other words, kick ass!

I got all this stuff for joining the "ambassador" program. I figure I helped the cause by mentioning Zaadz in my graduation speech. Now I'll mention it again here. Zaadz is out there to Change the World. Go and join, if you so choose. It's like MySpace, but with a purpose! How hardcore is that.

I'll be getting more involved over at Zaadz as I find the time (and all I have now is time!).

Goodnight, all.

And remember, let your light shine.

Introvert, Part II

Yeah, I marvel at Michael who can always somehowturn the conversation right over effortlessly and keep it going evenwhen what he says is not necessarily profound or interesting. What hecomes up with is perfectly tuned to the sense and flow of theconversation. But it's not words that are particularly intended toconvey ideas or mean things. It's words that socialize—thatsimply continue the conversation. It's chit-chat. I have no gift forthat. I have to think about what to say next, and sometimes I can'tthink fast enough and end up saying something stupid. Or sometimes Ijust come up dry and the conversation kind of ends for while until Ican think of another topic. This is why it's work for me. It takespositive cognition on my part. I think that's probably a core introvertcharacteristic that you and I have in common and which can probably bedistinguished from shyness per se—that small talk takes consciouseffort and is very hard work. There's nothing small about small talk ifyou're an introvert. But we're good at big talk.

-- Jonathan Rauch, from "Introverts of the World, Unite!"

An interesting sequel to the other article I discussed. This stuff just resonates with me so much. Perhaps I'll stop trying to "get over" my introversion and just embrace it.

Or maybe not.

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Satan Introduces Chi Valedictorian

powered by ODEO

I had a little fun with iMovie's voice modulator. Just playing around a bit until I start on the Science Olympiad movie. Which, I'm starting... right... about... now!

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A Satirical Look at Introversion

I came across a brilliant essay on introversion today while browsing through Salon. This essay, written by a self-proclaimed introvert, Jonathan, discusses what it's like to be an introvert from an introverts perspective. I've often wondered if other people out there shared these traits with me (as I mused in this post), and now it's good to know that I'm not alone. I know that my mother and sister are introverts, and my brother and father are mildly extroverted (depending on who they're around). It runs in the family. But I've often wondered how "normal," from a psychological standpoint, being introverted is. This article offers an interesting answer.

Seriously though, check out this essay. It's a quick read. No more than 5 or so minutes. And it clears up so much confusion about introverts actions that may seem rude or antisocial. My favorite quotation out of it is as follows:

Extroverts are energized by people, and wilt or fade when alone. They often seem bored by themselves, in both senses of the expression. Leave an extrovert alone for two minutes and he will reach for his cell phone. In contrast, after an hour or two of being socially "on," we introverts need to turn off and recharge. My own formula is roughly two hours alone for every hour of socializing. This isn't antisocial. It isn't a sign of depression. It does not call for medication. For introverts, to be alone with our thoughts is as restorative as sleeping, as nourishing as eating. Our motto: "I'm okay,you're okay—in small doses."

This is obviously meant to be comedic, so don't take umbrage at what Jon says about extroverts.

My opinion is that it takes all kinds. I just happen to be in the minority in this dichotomy too. What would I ever do if I were in the majority? Oh, wait, I'm a white middle class male. Sigh.

Namaste.

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Serenity

se·ren·i·ty
n.

The state or quality of being serene.

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Flow

There's a fun game on the interweb called, quite elegantly, Flow. It's based around the work of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (yeah, you just try and pronounce that name!!!). Flow has eight basic tenets:

1. A challenge activity that requires skills
2. The merging of action and awareness
3. Clear goals
4. Direct feedback
5. Concentration on the task at hand
6. The sense of control
7. The loss of self-consciousness
8. The transformation of time

When most of these criteria are met, a person experiences "flow."

Implementing more flow in ones life is probably the best way to get things done AND to enjoy life. I'm going to try and apply some of these principles creatively to areas of my life and see how that turns out.

For a great example of how flow might have made school more fun, here's an excerpt of how the GRE's have been made more interesting and fun:

The concept of player-oriented DDA also known as active DDA is a powerful design tool applicable not only in video games.

It can be applied to nearly any fields where there are human interactions. For example, if active DDA is applied to GRE (Graduate Record Examination) test rather than its original passive DDA, here will be the changes.

1. There is no cap for the total score. Students can gain as much score as possible during the test period. Therefore, even top students can still challenge themselves every time they take test.
2. Students should be able to see scores gained through each questions and feel the joy of answering them correctly, which encourages them to do more.
3. The difficulty and the score of each question should be related. More challenge equals more reward.
4. Student should be able to sense the difficulty of each question and have the control to skip hard questions.

And you can imagine how the overall experience will change from a passive question after question based test into an active free roaming score collecting contest.

Imagine how much more fun school would be for the "gifted" (read slightly faster at picking things up) crowd if these ideas were implemented in school. I suppose that's years of, but maybe someday.

Just thought I'd share this little gem. Good luck flowing through life.

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Quotation

It is the greatest good for a man to discuss virtue every day…for the unexamined life is not worth living.

Socrates

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What is Time?

Once again, I owe some of my current fixation with the concept of time to Dave. However, several serendipitous writings have fallen into my awareness about time in the past few days, so I feel like sharing them with you.

First, some of my own, original thoughts on time. Time is a very strange concept simply because our perception of the universe does not occur in an instantaneous manner. Take for example, catching a ball (all jokes aside!): if I catch, oh, wait a second. If you catch a ball, when did you actually catch it? Not when you perceive yourself catching: light doesn't travel that fast, and since light is the speed cop of the universe, neither did any of the signals in your body. Therefore, all the events that you think occurred "in the present" didn't actually occur as you saw them.

An extreme example of this is of course stars: most people know that when they look up at the sky, the pinpoints of light they see aren't coming at them instantly. Rather, the light is thousands, millions, even billions of years "old." It's a trick of our perception that makes it seem as if we're seeing the "present" of those stars.

Add relativity to the mix, and suddenly time becomes even MORE confusing. I'm not going to go there, because I don't quite have the requisite grasp of physics necessary to make intelligent commentary.

Now some thoughts from outside sources. I came across an interesting article about a group of native South Americans that have a "backwards" concept of time. Basically, where we "see" the future as being ahead of us and the past as being behind us, the Aymara of South America believe the opposite. When they think of the past, they feel that it's ahead of them (because, well, what can you really "see" better, the future or the past?). When they think of the future, they believe it's behind them, something that they can't possibly see or even guess about.

Interestingly enough, they're one of the few people left on this planet that views life through this metaphor. This raises the question of how much metaphorical thinking affects our concept of time. The Aymara view the future as something not worth regarding, so they never plan "ahead."  This has resulted in severe restriction on any sorts of advancements. It makes one wonder what sorts of restrictions OUR language has placed on our perception / engagement with the world.

Stuart Davis (yes, another one of the ubiquitous names I reference on this blog :P) did a magnificent series on this over at his blog. I highly recommend his series on linguistics here, here, and here. Davis is creating a new language known simply as IS. He's created his own characters, syntax, grammar, and every other thing necessary to have a language FROM SCRATCH. It's his attempt at creating a more faithful interpretation of the Kosmos through language. Because truth be told, so much of how we "know" the world around us involves how we approach the world verbally. Cultural conditioning.

Well, so far I've covered physical and cultural correlates of time. Now lets talk subjective experience of time. For this one, I'll have to add a new name to the mix: David Deida. He's a spiritual teacher that focuses on more tantric (read non-dual) approaches to life. If you download his sample ebook Instant Enlightenment and turn to page 12, you'll find an interesting discussion of time. Here, Deida describes how watching your favorite movie at differing speeds would greatly affect your enjoyment of that movie. He then goes on to discuss how our interpretation of time works much the same way. Humans only focus on a very small swath of what occurs around them: grass growing is boring, but celebrity affairs are fascinating. We use a HUMAN timescale to judge how much we will pay attention to something.

Here's one of my favorite parts:

Nevertheless, parts of your life are happening really fast -- such as the constant motion of your eyeballs that scientists call physiological nystagmus, a high-frequency tremor of the eye that serves to continuously shift the image on the retina.

And, your hair grows far too slowly to occupy your attention, although you notice when it's finally too long.

Yet, the angry argument with your spouse about who forgot to pay the utility bill does occupy your concern. The quarrel happens at a precise speed, which catches your attention more than your hair as it lengthens or your eyes as they oscillate.

Everything happening too fast or slowly to catch your attention goes unnoticed; the human domain of drama is paced within a very narrow range, indeed, yet we take it very seriously.

I highly advise reading the entire chapter. And any other work by Deida, for that matter.

Well, that's all I have to say about time for now. If you've gotten this far, thank you for reading. It's things like this that get that set of that spark in me. I guess you could call this "metaphysics." I'll hopefully be exploring more of these topics, in memory of a good, short-known friend.

Namaste.

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Quote

"Scandinavia is one of the last great strongholds of the Ideal." - Anonymous

Hm, maybe someday I'll move to Denmark. Or Norway. Those places is hott!

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Gay: The New Straight

I've been meaning to post on this topic for about two weeks, ever since I saw an article in the science magazine Seed about it. In all actuality, this isn't something I really want to give commentary on. Just so you know subjective lens I'm focusing all this through, my opinion on homosexuality is that it's just another form of sexuality. Three years ago, you might have heard me saying insane, stupid things like "homosexuality is a disease," but I've luckily grown out of that. Some people see homosexuality as a defect, or as a psychological illness, or as any other number of "problems." In my opinion, it's just another expression of love.

That said, the article I referenced above is titled The Gay Animal Kingdom. It basically talks about how homosexuality is not just natural, but extremely prevalent amongst other mammals. Cool stuff. I  advise you read the entire article. It's really informative and interesting.

However, the part that really got my attention is as follows. Warning: if you're prudish, don't read on. Pick up where the italics end!

Male big horn sheep live in what are often called "homosexual societies." They bond through genital licking and anal intercourse, which often ends in ejaculation. If a male sheep chooses to not have gay sex, it becomes a social outcast. Ironically, scientists call such straight-laced males "effeminate."

Giraffes have all-male orgies. So do bottlenose dolphins, killer whales, gray whales, and West Indian manatees. Japanese macaques, on the other hand, are ardent lesbians; the females enthusiastically mount each other. Bonobos, one of our closest primate relatives, are similar, except that their lesbian sexual encounters occur every two hours. Male bonobos engage in "penis fencing," which leads, surprisingly enough, to ejaculation. They also give each other genital massages.

Hilarious! Well, if you're immature like me, that is! I think I laughed for a good minute or so when I first read that. Luckily, this really hooked me into reading the rest of the article (which, once again, is good stuff).

Enough of my commentary. Remember, don't be close minded like me. People do things differently. Sometimes it's okay to celebrate the difference.

Namaste.

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Tired

So, I've been socializing like a mad man over the past five days. It's been fun, but it hasn't allowed much time for introspection (that would be labeled as "antisocial" and uncool :P ).

However, it has allowed a sore to open that hasn't been opened in a while. Namely, a feeling of insecurity. I've been pretty secure about everything over the past year or so, but that sense of security got poked and prodded at over the past few days. Not because of anything or anyone in particular, other than "me" and my insecurities. Just a general sense of uncertainty about my life, myself, and my interests.

Thankfully, I think I have it all worked out.

It's fun to have light shined on a sore spot. It's like putting a nice splash of hydrogen peroxide on a cut. It hurts like hell, but when the HP is done, the sore is clean.

Thank you, grad parties, for showing me about life, me, and the world.

Who knew? I guess it's true that experience is the best teacher.

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Time

I'm planning on writing a post on time. Similar to what Dave's talking about. But a little different. From a slightly more esoteric point of view.

Though, in all actuality, I just want to keep using flock more. This browser is the shit for anything related to Web 2.0. You's got to check this out!!!

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This is How the World Works

This is a test post from an application known as Flock. It's based on Firefox, so you know it has to be good. I figure if I'm going to claim that I am a real blogger, I should get more regular with my posting. Plus, I just got a package to help me change the world (more on that later), so I feel like kicking some ass.

I hope everyone is enjoying their summer. It'll be done in a flash. But in the meantime, let's have fun!

Namaste!

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When Spontaneity Attacks

And that (above) is what happens when I allow my creative impulses to strike. Well, to be honest, I did get part of the idea from Dave.

Summer, you are going to be so freakin' kickass.

Good-byes = Bad-byes

Okay, whoever invented the word "good bye" needs to be shot. Right now. Or, rather, they should be said good bye to.

Seriously, though, there has to be a better way of offering a farewell. I like aloha. It means hello and good bye. Then there's the saying about how if you never stop waving good bye, you just might end up waving hello again. Yes, that phrase has to be encapsulated into a word. A word such as nestwagobyyojumienupwaheag. Hm, that's a mouthful. How about Bob?

From now on, instead of good bye, I will say Bob.

So, Bob to all of you for tonight (this morning). And there are a whole lot more bobs in store.

Namaste.

PS - And in all actuality, there are no goodbyes, or Bobs. We are all one. Forever. In this moment. Om.

Is it June 13th yet?

The answer to that question is a resounding no. No, it's June 14th. I have another 364 days until June 13th. A whole year. Guess what, though: It doesn't matter. The question has lost its power. June 13th now has no more significance than January 4th or March 10th or October 11th. Amazing.

On another (slightly unrelated) topic, I haven't gotten around to saying that I've had this blog for a year. In fact, the one year anniversary took place June 6th. On that day, I left this whopper of a post (if only they were all that succinct). Man, what a year that's occured in between then and now. What a crazy year. I never fail to stand at awe at the direction my life takes. Especially when I'm not looking. I would have never guessed that the year between then and now would have ever happened. Thank God it did. :)

Um, well, final thought: sorry for the speech. I'd post it on this blog, but I figure you're all done hearing / thinking about it. I should have written the speech I've always said I would: the short, funny one. I missed the boat on this one. Sigh. Maybe next... graduation? Four years. I could totally graduate valedictorian of Ursinus! Totally! Not.

Congratulations again to the class of 2006. Now we'll see if Chi really goes downhill. I doubt it. We (the graduating class) always seem to think that we're the best class Chi's ever had. Yet, a greater (or different) class shows up. 100% of the time. But then again, 99% of statistics are made up.

Namaste, all. Time for the new era to begin. For all of us.

Good night.

Graduation! WTF!

Hm, I think I'd be bereft in my duty of chronicling my life if I failed to mention that the class of 2006 and I graduate in less than four hours. Wow. I remember a year ago looking at Ryan Chominski's xanga and reading, "What the fuck, we're graduationg!"

I feel a little different. It's more like, "What the fuck, we're graduating?" Notice the question mark instead of the exclamation point.

I'm excited in the only way I can be (in a mild way). Everything just doesn't seem aligned right. I don't have the speech I want to give written (the one in my head is so much better), I don't feel like I'm graduating (school tomorrow, right?), and I don't feel like I'm entering a new era.

Maybe I should stop looking at life from the sidelines. Maybe that's why graduation seems so tepid instead of boiling. Maybe.

We're graduating. This is the one and only time in my life that I graduate from High School.

It's time to do this! It's game time!

(Man, I'm such a lame motivational speaker. :) )

Namaste.

karma

everything that has
ever happened to
you
has happened to get
you
here

every choice that you
ever
made has gotten you
here

every choice
anyone
has ever made
got you here

in a way, there was no
choice as to whether or not
you got here

but at the same time
there was all the choice in the
world

karma,
that's the dharma

Order, Chaos, and Scheduling

There comes a time when just going with the flow doesn't cut it anymore. Yes, I've definitely written on this before, but I feel like writing on it again, just so I can really GET the idea.

First, some background. For the past month or so, I've gone about my day by following whatever idea happened to pop into my head. If I decided, "Hey, lets check our e-mail" (yes, I'm referring to myself in first person plural!), then I would go out and do that. If I decided, "Hey, let's just check a website again," I'd do that as well. I didn't really plan out my day in any way, assuming (wrongly) that my monkey mind would somehow guide me to do the most important things in my life. Wow, how incredibly wrong is that?

More often than not, my mind would tell me to do lots of OCD things: check my e-mail multiple times per day, check my RSS reader multiple times per day, put on music just for the sake of putting on music. Most of the important things I (the higher "I" not led by the pure pleasure / pain dichotomy) wanted to get done just didn't get done: no meditation, no exercise, no creative / analytical writing, no studying, nothing. Therefore, the second half of May and the first half of June went by and I didn't' accomplish anything.

It's important to point out that this doesn't mean these past months haven't been enjoyable. With all the socializing (graduation parties) and random fun (cards in school, random outings, etc.), I've had a great time. There's just that sinking suspicion that I could have had MORE fun. Well, more REAL fun. If you know what I mean.

So, instead of going into a discourse as to why scheduling is important (something about creating a basic ordered framework around which chaos may form a more organic schedule), I'll just leave you with this anecdotal evidence. When I plan out my day, I enjoy my day. When I don't plan out my day, I may or may not enjoy my day.

'Nuff said.

The Best Song I've Ever Heard About The Evening News

Dirty Laundry by Don Henley

I make my living off the evening news
Just give me something-something I can use
People love it when you lose,
They love dirty laundry

Well, I coulda been an actor, but I wound up here
I just have to look good, I dont have to be clear
Come and whisper in my ear
Give us dirty laundry

Kick em when theyre up
Kick em when theyre down
Kick em when theyre up
Kick em when theyre down
Kick em when theyre up
Kick em when theyre down
Kick em when theyre up
Kick em all around

We got the bubble-headed-bleach-blonde who
Comes on at five
She can tell you bout the plane crash with a gleam
In her eye
Its interesting when people die-
Give us dirty laundry

Can we film the operation?
Is the head dead yet?
You know, the boys in the newsroom got a
Running bet
Get the widow on the set!
We need dirty laundry

You dont really need to find out whats going on
You dont really want to know just how far its gone
Just leave well enough alone
Eat your dirty laundry

Kick em when they're up
Kick em when they're down
Kick em when they're up
Kick em when they're down

Kick em when they're up
Kick em when they're down
Kick em when they're stiff
Kick em all around

Dirty little secrets
Dirty little lies
We got our dirty little fingers in everybody's pie
We love to cut you down to size
We love dirty laundry

We can do the innuendo
We can dance and sing
When it's said and done we havent told you a thing
We all know that crap is king
Give us dirty laundry!

One Week and Counting

What would I be if I didn't mention the fact that it's only one week until Chichester's Class of 2006 graduates?

It's amazing. I'm sure that we've all heard enough people amazed and bewildered by the passage of time. Swift footed time. How does it do that? I still don't know. I think it has something to do with fairy dust and trolls.

Come a week from tomorrow, we'll no longer be the class of 2006. We'll be a disparate group of young adults attending different universities, colleges, trade schools, and jobs. The only unifying thread between us will be our memories, which will fade, and our diplomas, which will be placed in a box somewhere to be forgotten.

I suppose I am being overly cynical. In truth, many of us will keep in touch. Some of us may even stay close friends. But most of us will fade into the deep recesses of pleasant nostalgia. And believe it or not, Chi will go on.

A mini death is ahead of us, and like all victims of mortis, we must remember that the world does not end with us. Somehow, amazingly, it does not.

But for us, it is the end. And the beginning.

Namaste.

Serendipity and Mr. Miller

I was browsing through the interweb and I came across this name: Béla Fleck and the Flecktones. Ring any bells? You may remember them as the crazy awesome band with the guy that can sing three tones. Yeah, the one Mr. Miller showed to us.

Man, crazy. You can find some free tracks by them here. I don't really know if I'll still like them, but what I do know is that it's crazy that I came across them now, as my Chi career comes to a close.

I miss you, Mr. Miller. You were one of the best.

Namaste.

What's your direction?
Think about somebody else
For the night

Life's more than girls
God's more than words
You're more than this

So what's your direction?
And where are you now?

-- From Ode to Chin by Switchfoot

(Pre) What is Metaphysics

Because I promised I'd post on this last night, I'll just give a very basic definition of metaphysics that I think will clear up a lot of confusion (it did for me at least): metaphysics is the study of the spiritual elements of reality, and by extension, of the very nature of reality itself.

That is all. I'll post more on this later (though probably not in the next 3 or so days).

Namaste.

Quotation

But only when we release everything from the obligation to make us feel better do we actually feel better.

-- Robert Augustus Masters

What a Strange World We (Or Maybe Just I) Live In

Warning: This is a very long winded explanation of why I thought I should be able to meditate at a graduation party. I doubt anyone will find this interesting unless (a) they were at the party or (b) they have ever tried to meditate at a social gathering. Read on at your own risk (of boredom).

As I sit here at a graduation party, I realize a strange phenomena of our culture (or maybe even our species). In our society, we don't allow a person to be truly with themselves while in an area with multiple people.

Let me explain. As I'm here, I am having a great time, and yet people do not understand this. I experience a "good time" in a different way than some (okay, most) people. For a while, I attributed this to being an "introvert." I figured introversion was some sort of disease, as if being with oneself isn't okay. I realize that at one time I did make introversion into a social phobia, but I've grown past that. I now feel (more or less) equally comfortable in either an introverted or extroverted setting. Yet, on average, I still prefer "introverted" activities (discussions, writing, meditation, etc.) to extroverted activities (gossiping, small talk, dancing, etc.)

Now for my example. As today's graduation party neared a close, I decided I'd like to take a break and meditate for the remaining fifteen minutes or so. However, a good friend (who I am in no way mad at [really]) came over to inform me that the host of the party might be offended by my behavior. I understood this, and stopped meditating out of courtesy. However, I'd like to offer an "apologia" (that's not an apology; it's like Plato's "apologia", an explanation) of my behavior.

I find it interesting that most people associate meditation with zoning out, being in a bubble, and "contemplating the navel." Maybe I can dispel this myth. Meditation (at least vipassana, the type I was practicing) means becoming more alive, getting more in touch with reality. It involves noticing every sensation, every sight, sound and smell, fresh, as they arise. If that's zoning out, then I'm a bike rider. Anyway, for some reason, we find it socially acceptable for people to look around and be zoned out, yet when I try to sit down in indian style and meditate, it is seen as odd. Zoning out is passive acquiescence to boredom; meditation is full acceptance and passionate embrace of the present moment. Yet society smiles upon the former while cursing the latter. Go figure.

PS - Okay, after thinking about the situation a little further, I realize that maybe I am wrong about thinking my behavior should be socially acceptable. Some reasons why it's not: (a) it was a party and I went, therefore I signed a (invisible) contract saying that I'd participate. (b) this is America, home of the none meditators (I can't assume that people will understand where I'm coming from when I meditate, if they've never tried it themselves). (c) Some people may see my behavior as an attempt to get attention. In sooth, I did do that a lot last year to get attention (I was a sorry bastard last year). I don't do that anymore. This year, if I'm meditating, I'm doing it because I need a break from extroversion. I need to introspect. (d) I'm in a minority of one. No one else is exactly like me, therefore I should not say, "Well, if they don't understand me, tough shit! That's there problem." That would be pure narcissism cloaked in monk's clothing. (e) People really can't read my emotions. I don't emote very much, so I guess that throws off people's "emotion-dar." I'm happy most of the time, though I don't tend to show it.

To conclude, I'd like to apologize to anyone that I offended. I hope I didn't dampen anyone's good time. I did have a great time. I might have even danced if a certain hetero-life partner wasn't so vehement against me doing so. I just hope that you can understand my point of view. I've tried to articulate it as lucidly as possible.

I hope you have a pleasant evening. I also hope that you have a great weekend.

And remember, when you see that kid at the party sitting cross-legged with his hands on his lap, he's not bored or upset. He's experiencing life to its fullest. In his own way.

Patience in the moment is simply the decision to stop expecting.

Impatience is expecting and not getting. What are you expecting and not getting? Stop it. Stop expecting it until it arrives. Are you chronically impatient? List all the things you are expecting and stop expecting them until they arrive. Conversely, list the things that arrive unexpectedly and use them as a bulwark against empty expectation. Close the expectation gap. Get more and expect less. Want what you have, as they say.

As long as there are things we can expect and not get we will have to wait, and we will occasionally become impatient. We must learn to adopt a graceful posture of active waiting.

-- Carry Tennis