A mind divided against itself cannot thrive

Abraham Lincoln gave one of his most famous speeches while running for a Senate seat.  In this speech, he tried to convince his listeners that America would not survive if it continued to live according to two totally different sets of rules.  He said, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.”  And, truly, if the people of those times had not sought to rectify this chasm, who knows what state we would be in today?

Any kind of dualism seems dangerous, especially when the implications – material, spiritual, ethical and otherwise – for each way of living are not considered.  The current battle for controlling America’s memes seems to be playing out between two forces – liberalism and conservatism.   It is probably not that simple, though.  The key point here, though, is that we are in trouble if we tear ourselves apart because we would rather be right than survive as a nation.

All of that being said, the real reason for this essay is to address the divide that happens within individuals.

We have discussed all term the separation between Plato and Aristotle, the City of God and the City of Man, the ethereal and the corporeal, religion and science, spiritual and logical.  What I have tried to convince you is to admit the possibility that all of these separations only exist in the human mind, and that they may not be relevant to the rest of the universe.  They are separations we have created because we desperately want to capture the universe with our minds using some reliable meme-set.  We believe that, if we can somehow define (make finite and knowable) the secrets of the universe, there will be a sense of peace in that.

That is when scientists begin trying to come up with theories, experiments, even whole disciplines that will reliably provide valid answers to these secrets.  Different sciences pop up, left and right, hoping to eventually lasso in the elusive mysteries.  Of course, the other reason we have lost our way with science is that many of its considerable resources are now actually focused on making life easier, less confusing.  Technology, instead of trying to address all of the conundrums and enigmas, is now being used to entertain or anesthetize us away from what troubles us.

On the other side of the aisle, new spiritual disciplines have arisen for thousands of years (probably longer than that if we count prehistoric examples), usually in response to the fact that the previous disciplines either were not providing enough answers or because the people running the current religions were straying from the original “true” ideals.  Siddhartha Gautama abandoned Hindu practices because he felt they were not leading him to Nirvana.  Martin Luther left the Catholic Church because he felt it was straying from the ideals of Christ.  Henry the VIII left because he wanted a divorce.  Joseph Smith and his followers started Mormonism because they felt it was a truer faith than earlier forms of Christianity.  Islam of today seems to be torn between whether it should peacefully or aggressively establish its ideals worldwide.

Is it preposterous to think that there might be more than one God and that any one particular God is better than the others?  Is it equally preposterous to assume that any one faith can claim that it has a superior way of approaching or appeasing that one God?  How could we ever know that?  For example, if a person were looking for a new form of spiritual discipline, either because he lost faith in a former religion or because he was not raised on any particular spiritual practice, how would you suggest he choose?  He could not simply take people at their word that their faiths were the best faiths, mostly because they would all likely say something to that effect.

Is it not also true for science?  Is it also a religion of sorts?  Do many of us sit back and wait for scientists to fix this or cure that?  Do we not continue to mistreat our planet, hoping that someone will design a shell that will surround the globe so we can control global warming?  Either that, or, like in Avatar, will these knowledgeable scientists find another planet for us to exploit?  Is it not true that we keep hoping that scientists will design pills or surgeries that will protect us from our own lack of mental or physical discipline? 

Here is an irony - Is there anyone out there praying to God that scientists will develop non-carcinogenic cigarettes or a cure for lung cancer so that he will not have to go through the struggle of quitting the habit for himself?

What should we rely on – faith or reason; emotions or logic; science or religion; love or discipline?  Can the answers really be so obviously bipolar?  Does it not make sense that the answers are in between, on the outside, or running throughout the entire spectrum of these myopic ways of “knowing” the universe?  Is it not true that a human “knowing the answers” to all of these questions is a lot like a minnow trying to describe the sea to us? 

The very act of knowing with certainty tries to take the immensity of the universe, oceans upon oceans of data and relationships, and condense it into a tidy package that the human mind can comprehend and then casually manipulate to his liking.  Is this not a ludicrous expectation?  Could it ever be that simple?

Or is it possible that we should recognize our limitations while celebrating our abilities, and then continue to discover the potentials that lie all around, within and throughout this vast playground? 

Truthfully, I do not know.  But I do know this: I want to train my mind, body, and spirit to not work against itself, because that seems to be one of the key reasons that we end up feeling like we are not a part of this amazing experience.

As John Donne said, hundreds of years ago (the parenthetical additions are mine):

No man is an island entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent (universe), a part of the main; if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as any manner of thy friends or of thine own were; any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind (the universe).  And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.

Only in our minds can we be separate and alone in the universe, because we are the universe, and the universe is us.  Open your mind to this, and you will begin to continuously rediscover the infinite wonders around, through and within you.

Philosophical Buddhism - Awakening to Life

I am not, nor have I ever been a religious Buddhist.  I do not literally believe in reincarnation, that I might have been a worm in a previous life.  I do know, however, that the atoms, elements, and molecules in me now were once spread all over planet Earth and will be once again.  My cells are replicating, regenerating, thriving, dying and being replaced daily.  My DNA gives structure to the matter (Mater) that is constantly flowing through me, like a river bed does for the water of the river.  In this way, I believe in reincarnation.  Like it or not, some of the oxygen atoms in you have likely kept maggots alive in the past, and they will do so again in the future.

Who am I?  I (in Latin, I is ego) am a collection of mater that is structured by my inherited DNA.  I am also a collection of almost 47 years of ingested memes.  These memes, taken together, have built, maintained and often changed my world views over time.  People use memes to manipulate the energy in other people all of the time.  I discussed this earlier when I wrote about the Divine Right of Kings.  This elaborate set of memes controlled the nature of reality for western humans for many millennia.  My current world view is now composing this blog.

I am always smaller than my potential because of the limitations imposed by genetics, natural laws, societal mores and my current world views.  A world view can never capture all of existence.  In fact, a world view is a lens through which I attempt to define existence, but because I am finite and limited by my perspective, it is nearly impossible for me to understand much less explain the infinite.

The Veil of Maya tries to describe these ideas metaphorically.  To religious people, Maya is a goddess who veils people from reality or at least, the rest of reality.  The veil makes reality seem smaller than it really is.  Often, when people become desperate about their lives, it is not because it is impossible for them to find meaning or purpose.  Their current world views cause them to only see what is harmful of negative, hiding from view some of what they could find to be beautiful or meaningful.  A person can also have world views that make him vulnerable to danger.  If he sees only the beauty and majesty of life, he might put himself, his family and even his society at risk because he ignores potential dangers.

A person's world view changes constantly.  Just as atoms and molecules are constantly in flux (moving and changing as they flow through all organisms and objects) so are ideas, memes.  Your current world view is always being called into question by new and often conflicting information.  Many people are able to look at new information and quickly either reject it or allow it to change their world views.  Other people only experience cognitive dissonance when they encounter memes that contradict their world views.  They will stubbornly cling to dogma, even when, at some level, the new information seems to make more sense.

Another group of people has world views that are in constant flux, never really getting a sense of reality that works for them.  These people can experience great stress because their emotions try to tell them that they need to grasp SOME ideas about the reality within which they function.  Otherwise, how can they know how to behave from moment to moment?  They are like an algebraic equation with nothing but variables, no known quantities.  The word and concept of Samsara attempts to describe this state of mind.  Samsara refers to constant, unrelenting desires.  When we become captives of our thoughts and emotions, they can torture us with suffering.  Why?  Because we cling to them.  Monkey Mind - constant, often aimless thinking - causes great suffering because it generates anxiety without end.

History tells us that Siddhartha Gautama taught some key ideas for people to awaken to healthier world views.  He gave us the Four Noble Truths:

First Noble Truth - Suffering is inevitable.
Second Noble Truth - Suffering is caused by clinging, clinging to either what is good or what is bad.
Third Noble Truth - Suffering can be alleviated through disciplined practices.
Fourth Noble Truth - Follow the Eightfold Path to curb suffering and gain enlightenment.

He also taught us the Eightfold Path:

Right Views - Be certain your world views are healthy and productive, not damaging and restrictive.
Right Conduct - Do what is right, not just for yourself, but for your family, your society, your country, your planet, and then even the universe (yes, I know that is a tall order).
Right Effort - Whatsoever you do, do it with all of your heart.
Right Speech - Say only that which benefits all.  Do not engage in petty, harmful or unproductive speech.
Right Livelihood - Be certain that what you do to make a living or give back to the world is right for all that will be impacted by this livelihood.
Right Intent - Do and say the right things, and also do them for the right reasons.
Right Mindfulness - Open your awareness to an appreciation of all that exists and all of the interconnections that give the universe integrity.
Right Concentration - Teach yourself to calm your Monkey Mind by training it not to cling to thoughts or memories, either the good ones or the bad ones. Doing so will allow you to live fully in the present moment.  This, in turn, will help you with Right Effort.

Buddhism, like Confucianism, is mostly about training yourself to have good habits.  Humans tend to develop habits, no matter what.  When we go simply by trial and error, we often end up with habits that are not necessarily the best.  Many of our behaviors simply became habits because they led to less pain than others,  so we stuck with them.  If you become Mindful of your habits and how they are impacting you, you can begin to practice newer Right Conduct, Right Views and Right Speech.  If, through practice, you develop Right Concentration, you can create these new habits with the Right Intent in mind: to become an excellent human.  After a while, Right Speech, Actions, Effort and Intent can lead to the Right Livelihood, and then you have the perfect opportunity to be the most excellent
version of yourself, because your job allows you opportunities to do so.  Over time, your views of the world will change to healthier and more productive ones.  These new views will then release more of your pent up energy, and you will find yourself excited about going out into the world and making a difference.

Certainly, all of this is easier said than done, but is it not worth the effort?

Dualism - Dichotomies that keep us from ourselves

In the previous blog, I focused on the dichotomy created by Plato, Aristotle and St. Augustine, as well as how this dichotomy led to the Divine Right of Kings.  Another term that is useful when discussing such dichotomies is Dualism.  Dualism has a way of working for us and against us at the same time.

Humans often end up splitting along the lines of a duality.  What are some of the major dualities that have gotten in our way throughout the course of human history?  Religion or science?  Man or woman?  Natural or man-made?  Emotions or reason?  Conservative or Liberal?  Idealism or Realism?  A dualistic world view often imagines that reality is split into equal halves, and just as often, the halves are antagonistic polar opposites.

Plato and Aristotle planted the seeds of the dualities between science and religion, for example.  St. Augustine fertilized this dichotomy when he created the separation between the City of Man and the City of God.  This often meant that if a person loved to experience the joys that came with being alive on Earth, he was choosing the City of Man over the City of God.  As a result, many people felt it was sinful to enjoy living on Earth because it might mean not being allowed to enjoy the City of God later on.

Consider this: The word "matter" has its roots in the Latin word for "mother," which is "mater."  The word "material" also comes from this ancient root.  There was a time in human history that "matter" or "material" meant "from the mother" to people who used these words.  We no longer see this connection to Mother Earth when we use her resources for our benefit because, mentally, we have separated ourselves from nature.  We see ourselves as being better than the natural world because we are human beings.  In contrast, some etymologies for the word "human" report that our name for our species initially meant we were of or from the Earth ('humus').

The Greeks likely had much to do with this separation from Earth when they declared "man is the measure of all things."  This declaration helped many generations afterward to think of Earth as essentially meaningless until some human came along and gave it meaning.

Mankind, after that, felt a kind of unlimited power when it came to using the Earth however they wanted to, and, as I mentioned in the last blog, power without limits usually leads to tyranny.  There are many dictators being overthrown today because of the tyrannical power they have exerted over their people. I wonder how long it will take for the rest of nature to finally overthrow the tyrants called humans.

Ever notice the duality we have created between "natural" and "man made"?  This dichotomy is interesting because mankind is from nature, arising from the Earth, just like every other living thing, plant, animal, micro-organism, etc.  We spring from Earth and then we begin to dig down into its soil, pulling up resources.  Next, we start to make guesses about how these natural materials are put together, all the way to the sub-atomic level.  Once we start to understand the rudimentary building blocks of nature, we begin to experiment with ways we can manipulate them for our benefit.  When all is said and done, we develop metals, plastics, paper products, atomic energy, and more.  Then, we take the next step and combine these "materials" into inventions: cars, buildings, computers, phones, jets, satellite dishes, etc.  These "man-made" products all come from the Mother.

One of the coolest ideas I ever heard from Native American cultures was the Seventh Generation rule.  This rule stated that, when the council elders sat down to make a decision for their society, they had to take into account how that decision would likely impact the seventh generation after them - their great, great, great, great, great, great, great grandchildren.  For us, that would take us back to the 18th Century.  For these people, the idea was that they must take into account, not just how the decision will add comfort to their lives today, how it will make life easier for them now, but also what impacts the decision will have on their descendants.  It is important to note that they did not evolve as a society under the influence of a meme like "man is the measure of all things."

I may be wrong, but it seems like we now make decisions that bring profits today, feeding the creature we call Economy.  Then, later, when we do not know where to put the nuclear waste or how to account for all of the carbon dioxide in the air or what to do with all of the plastic bottles we have created, we try to deal with the impacts caused by those decisions.

With great power comes great responsibility (Thank you, Ben Parker).  We, because of our advanced intellect, have been given great power to manipulate the stuff of Earth, but just because we can does mean we always should, at least not without carefully studying the long-term impacts of our decisions. Is it not sadly humorous to think about how adults often chastise young people for not being forward-thinking enough, not planning for their futures, when, indeed, it seems these youths are simply living according the ancient world view that "man is the measure of all things"?  To an individual, this becomes, "I am the measure of all things."  Anthropocentrism leads very easily, almost seamlessly, into egocentrism.  Anthropocentrism puts mankind above all else, and egocentrism put Me above all else.

But what about the Mater?

Locomotive on Train Tracks - Hegemony and Dogma

"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men." (Lord Acton)


Much of what we have been discussing in class regards hegemony and dogma.  Hegemony - power over others - is the locomotive behind much of what humans do and have done.  Dogmas become the train tracks upon which those locomotives travel.


One example would be the Divine Right of Kings.  How did this philosophy come into being?  Dogma and hegemony certainly had a lot to do with it.


Plato was the philosopher who talked about ideal, what he called the "Forms."  He thought that contemplating ideals was more important than studying the reality around him, since reality was tainted by illusions.  Our senses, for example, cannot always be trusted, so why worry about what comes to us via the senses?  It is better, Plato and Socrates thought, to engage in dialectic (reasoned debate) to discover universal truths, awareness of ideals.


Aristotle, Plato's most famous student, disagreed that the Forms were more important than the real.  He believed that empiricism - using sensory data, facts observed through experiences - was a much better way to learn about the world.  He thought the Forms were good because they gave us examples of excellence towards which we could aim our lives.  He did not, however, think that dialectic was enough.  In his mind, if you want to know the world, roll up your sleeves, get your hands dirty, and do experiments.  Use the scientific method to learn about everything: plays, wild life, plants, cosmology - everything.


So, if you are reading carefully so far, the seeds of a dichotomy had already been planted during the Golden Age of Greece.  On the one side, you had the non-scientific idealism of Plato, and on the other side his student became the champion of realism.  When St. Augustine came along, he further cemented this division when he elaborated on the City of God and the City of Man.  Plato became acceptable to learners because he talked about the perfect Forms, and "perfect" fits in well when people are talking about the City of God.  How can anyone find something more ideal than Heaven?  Aristotle and his empirical studies of the corporeal (the Earth) were unacceptable because he represented the City of Man, the material world.  Aristotle, though he strove for perfection with his Golden Mean, knew that reality was far from ideal.  It seems he was okay with imperfect, as long as one worked towards excellence.


Moving on, it is important to mention here that Emperor Constantine converted to Catholicism in the 4th century, the same century that Augustine wrote his ideas down.  Suddenly, the immense power, war-like nature and opulence of the Roman Empire met with a religion that espoused peacefulness, loving of neighbors, turning the other cheek, the "meek shall inherit the Earth," etc.  There is no way that these two huge sets of memes are not going to impact each other.  Platonian memes threaded throughout these later Roman dynasties, while Aristotelean notions were put on the back burner.


There are many reasons that the Dark Ages occurred during the latter half of the first millennia.  One that cannot be fully discounted is that people of that time were living according to a different set of memes than the ones that dominated during the Roman Empire.  Many people chose simple, peaceful and holy lives over luxury, materialism and conquest.  They saw many of the elements of Earth as being tainted with imperfection, even evil, so they instead focused on the perfection of the City of God.  Their lives were very much like the way we understand the lives of current people who live in the Third World, the undeveloped countries on the planet.  These people were not suddenly stupid, too idiotic to think and invent new technology.  They simply chose to live according to a new set of memes.


In the midst of this time period, a deal was struck between Charlemagne and Pope Leo III.  Charlemagne offered to protect the papacy and the Church, and Pope Leo, in return declared  Charlemagne to be official, God-appointed and anointed leader of the empire.  It was not the first time in human history that it was assumed a leader was a representative of God or the gods, but it was one of the first times it happened in the Christian West.  That was in the year 800 CE.  Remember that our American forefathers were fighting a God-appointed king in 1776 and beyond.  Talk about your long-term deals.  The Divine Right of Kings is a doctrine still followed in some parts of the civilized world today.


It is not much of a stretch to see that this marriage between royalty and religion solidified the control that certain people and certain families held over other people.  Their only reason for being kings was because they were fortunate enough to have been born to kings or other powerful people.  The only reason this system lasted is because the common people bought what the kings, queens, dukes and earls were selling.  What was the motivation for selling these memes? Power.  What were the train tracks that kept that locomotive going so long? Dogmas, unquestioned beliefs that were kept even after evidence called them into question.


By the time the Revolution happened in the America, the leaders of the new nation had broken the stranglehold that these beliefs had on them, released themselves from the tracks of dogmatic thinking.  God had not changed His mind and suddenly decided that people should all be in democracies.  No, a few people had rejected the memes of the powerful and changed society to a new set of tracks.


How strong can an idea be?  It can take thousands of years to break its hold on the minds of people.  If we are not careful, people who seek hegemony will create new tracks on which we will run for their benefit.  Perhaps we are on them right now?

Creating a Canyon

People travel for miles, sometimes many thousands of them, to see a wonder like the Grand Canyon or Niagara Falls.  The landscapes are indeed breath-taking.  There is a grand majesty in seeing what a powerful sculptor nature can be, and for her, it is effortless.  Her tools?  Precipitation, winds, erosion, and most of all... time.  These natural beauties were created by persistent and consistent forces over millions of years.

Talk about values - why is it that our most precious resource is one that we fritter away with minutiae?  How many of us find ourselves trying to endure our time rather than relishing it?  Do you spend five sevenths of your week looking forward to the other 28.5 percent we call a weekend?  Do you then even waste some of that fretting about the fact that Monday is looming just around the corner again?  Do you frequently find yourself on the brink of beginning your life for real, and then notice that the times you planned to do so just keep crashing upon the shoreline of your consciousness and then disappearing into the past, leaving only the apparitions of faded dreams?

Our world-views have a way of corralling all of our thoughts and perceptions into easily understood and definable conceptions we then call "reality."  We have discussed memes all term.  Memes are bits of information that are passed on from person to person, usually through communication, like talking, singing, writing, etc.  Every day, ideas fight for recognition and acceptance within human minds, and like viruses, these ideas do so apathetically.  The ideas do not care about whether or not they are accepted by you, although the people disseminating them may care very much whether or not these ideas grab others.

For instance, Senioritis has always been a pet peeve of mine.  It is a set of ideas that are not based in material reality.  In other words, it is not generated out of human instincts, nor are your cells aware that the entire organism is a high school senior.  There was a time when twelfth graders did not exist, and therefore, it is not much of a stretch to assume that senioritis did not exist.  Yet, year after year, I see the power of this set of ideas grab ahold of the spirit and energy of healthy 17 and 18 year olds and "force" them to miss the joys of that time and age in their lives.  They are told by their peers that it is normal and natural, so they assume that makes it all right.  Conversely, adults who apparently have stopped setting meaningful goals for themselves tell these teens that "these are the best years of your life!"  How sad a life story is when the climax is in the exposition.

These are all world views, prepackaged ways we see the world and filter out that which does not fit these views.  This is why optimistic people see opportunities but sometimes miss dangers; and this is why pessimistic people are great at seeing potential roadblocks but miss the beautiful two-track that could take them to a breath-taking lakeside panorama.

Are you tired of not having ideas of your own?  Are you yet aware that many of your ideas have you?

"Shoulds" can be useful, but they can also be chains.  People give you shoulds every day, in both spoken and unspoken ways.  We also learn our shoulds just by watching how others live.  If we see quality in their actions, either consciously or unconsciously, we assume that those are ways one "should" live.  For instance, if someone has a million dollar home, a Navigator, a Porsche and travels the world every year, we might value all of this and assume he has found the way a human should live.  Then, we might want to emulate what he has done to achieve these valuable commodities.  At some point, we might realize that he has been involved in the the sex slave trade as a side job.  Now, our world view would become even more important, because one person might see that the slave trade is wrong and that this man should no longer be emulated.  Another person might instead say, "Wow, I might have to be more careful than he was so I do not go to jail.

So, bringing it back to Philosophy class: The Daffodil Project was designed to get you to see a different world view, one that teaches that incremental progress on goals we set for ourselves over time can lead to successes we would not have if we had not invested our time and energy over those days, weeks, months and even years.  It is a carpe diem assignment.  However, I fear it was tainted by world views.  It was viewed as "just another assignment, " "just another due date."  Therefore, goals that you chose for yourselves, not those imposed by me, were not enjoyable or meaningful for many of you.  While you were completing your particular projects, you may not have been saying, "I am glad I took the time to do this, because I have always wanted to."  Instead, the thought was, "Oh my gosh, when is the due date for this project?  I haven't done anything on it," thus making it just another stressor.

Trust me, I am not blaming anyone, judging anyone or accusing anyone.  Just pointing out a human tendency.  I technically do not have time to write this blog, but I did it anyway.

If you want your life to become wonderful, think about how canyons are made.  Put concentrated effort into meaningful goals (not just shoulds) over your time on Earth, and someday people will look upon you in awe because of the spirit of excellence your life exudes.

Vocabulary words for Philosophy VQz4

Following are the vocabulary words for this week and the reasons I chose them for philosophy class.

Aesthetics - This major branch of philosophy concerns itself with the nature of beauty, quality, or "goodness" in life.  Obviously, we have often heard that "beauty is in the eye of the beholder."  If this is true, then beauty is not existent on its own.  Rather, it is an interplay between objects and their perceivers.  A carcass, then, would be the epitome of natural beauty if you were a fly, but humans have an instinctive revulsion to dead, rotting flesh.  When your parents ridicule your music or favorite television shows, it is fairly clear that their opinions of good or quality entertainment are based upon rules from a different era.  For instance, what this generation calls "beats" I call redundant notes in a simple melody, played over and over again.  I regret that real drummers have been replaced by drum machines and "tracks" that repeat themselves.  Beauty is relative to the being who perceives it, or is it?

Avocation - This word generally refers to something a person does on the side, when he is not performing his mandatory duties, like studying for school or working to pay bills.  What has been lost from this word and the related word "vocation" is the original meaning found in the root "voc-".  An avocation or a vocation originally referred to one's "calling."  Notice that both words share the root found in the words "vocal" (related to speaking) or "advocate" (to speak for).  One of the eight principles found in the Eightfold Path is that a person should find her "Right livelihood."  This refers not just to any job, but a vocation that (1) feeds his soul, and (2) serves the universe well.  We now think of vocations as jobs, obligatory duties we must perform in order to survive until we inevitably die.  What I wish for each of you is that you will find vocations and avocations that fill both your pockets and your hearts.  Corny, I know, but I'm okay with that

Consternation - This is yet another of the many words that we use to describe cognitive dissonance.  When we get frustrated - which is what I consider to be a root emotion - we often let that feeling turn into something else.  I realized long ago that the immensity of the universe was not designed to satisfy my desires, so in that grandiose scheme of cosmic actions and reactions, I am bound to become frustrated when I find it difficult to follow through with my day to day plans.  If I let my feelings of frustration degenerate into feelings of helplessness, then I will feel consternation.  If I, instead, recognize what tools I have to deal with my frustrations, what gifts I have been given, both personally and as part of my social network, I might instead turn that root emotion into feelings of perseverance and hopefulness.  Do I sometimes (or even often) feel consternation in my life?  Yup. However, in retrospect, even during those times I wish I had looked at what I had more than what I did not have before reacting to my frustrations.

Cultivate - As a writer, and especially as a poet, I love metaphorical language.  The word "cultivate" is frequently used in gardening or farming.  One must weed, water, fertilize and otherwise care for his crops in order to bring them to fruition.  Not only that, a quality gardener will recognize that not all plants are the same, that some require different levels of light, varying amounts of water, and particular mixes of nutrients.  I love the metaphorical use of this word, as well, because it implies that living is not passive; rather it is active.  If you want to properly educate yourself for quality vocations, you must cultivate a quality understanding of your surroundings.  If you want your relationships to be as fruitful as your garden, then you must carefully cultivate them by attending to what kinds of caring each friend or family member needs.  If you want friends, be a friend.  If you want to be loved, then love.  Though most people lose sight of this, love is not just something you have or do not have.  Love is a verb.  So cultivate your connections to the world by loving.  If that is too corny for you, consider that one scientific precept says that every action has an equal and opposite reaction.  Whatever you put out into the world causes reactions in the world.  Karma says, what comes around goes around.

Etiquette - This word refers to proper or conventional behaviors in various situations.  "Conventional" means that people get together (convene) and decide what is and is not proper or acceptable.  For instance, in some cultures, burping at the table is poor etiquette, while in others it is one way of telling the cook, "Ummmm, that was good!"  Etiquette changes from culture to culture or generation to generation.  For instance, I sometimes like to sit with my feet up because it feels good for my legs.  However, in some cultures I would be insulting whomever was in the room because I am showing them the bottoms of my feet.  What is interesting about etiquette is the relative nature of right and wrong.  Remember what I said about the Golden Rule versus the Platinum rule.  If you follow the Golden Rule, treating others as you wish to be treated, you might accidentally violate someone else's sense of etiquette.  If you follow the Platinum Rule, you will find out how people prefer to be treated, and if it does not violate your own values and virtues, you will try to treat them as they wish to be treated.  Some people say that this would be too time and energy consuming, that an overly PC (politically correct) world is inefficient and ineffective.  This too is a decision the individual must make for himself.

This definitely takes longer than covering the words in class, but it helps me polish my writing skills.  I will finish later today.

Immersion - Anyone who has studied a language has likely heard of immersion studies.  When you learn a language from a book, recordings, worksheets, etc., it is always going to be less effective than being around people who speak that language all of the time and then actively striving to learn what they are saying.  To immerse, literally, means to surround yourself with something or in something, like water.  I chose this word because I wanted to emphasize that self-improvement, one of the main goals of this course, involves almost total immersion and commitment.  If you make self-improvement your daily, even hourly goal, you will see positive results.  If, instead, you try to improve 15 minutes a day or a half hour per week, do not expect to see results.  Remember, though, pick Daffodil Projects with well-defined goals while you attempt to improve, because two things among many others destroy our will to improve: (1) Changing too many variables at once can cause one to get overwhelmed; (2) not defining desired end results (goals) means that you will know that you are working towards nothing in particular, so it just feels like work.  Once you choose your project and define your goals, then immerse yourself in achieving them.

Imperturbable - I think I like the word "unflappable" even better.  To be perturbed means you feel consternation about something.  One goal of philosophy is to teach a person to be imperturbable, undisturbable (that is not an actual word, but I liked the rhyme).  Meditation is one way to attain a quiescent spirit.  Imagine what it would be like if you could, at a time when you feel the worst possible consternation, relax and turn all of that negative mental energy into a serene, glassy-smooth pond on a cool, brisk spring day, just as dawn emerges.  Few people actually train their brains to not think, but when our thoughts start racing, crisscrossing, overlapping and generally tearing to shreds our tranquility, being able to go to that quiet mental place is more than welcome.  Then, after basking in placidity for a few moments, return to your tasks from a calm center.  It works.  I've tried it.

Irresolute - Why most attempts at positive personal changes fail - the seekers are irresolute.  Look at the root of the word.  You can see, if you look carefully, the roots for the words "solve," "resolve," "resolution," and "solution."  Many people make New Year's Resolutions, but they are not truly resolute about making these changes or improvements.  When you hear someone say, "I hereby resolve to ...," this person is saying that he promises to do something.  When a person breaks promises to others, they begin to not trust him anymore, but this is also true for a person who breaks resolutions (promises) he makes to himself.  Maybe at first, he feels guilt about not following through on his promises.  Then, after a while, it gets easier.  He may even stop resolving anything anymore because he knows how easily he goes back on his promises.  He is irresolute, not fully committed or not committed at all.

Steadfast - Earlier, we discussed the North Star as a symbol for solidity, for resolutely committing to a set of quality values and virtues.  My grandfather has always been my North Star (though he passed away three decades ago) because whenever I saw him (and I watched pretty carefully) he was acting like I believe a man should.  Many people thoroughly depended upon him.  He was a go-to guy because he was steadfast regarding his moral and ethical codes.  If you look at the word "steadfast" you see the roots for "steady" and "fastened."  In fact, it is a bit redundant because "steady" means "solid" or "fixed" and so does "fastened," as in "fastened down."  Just as the North Star was a steadfast guide for sailors as they navigated the open seas, a person can become a steadfast guide for others, because she always does the right things at the right times for seemingly the right reasons.

Voracious - This adjective frequently refers to appetites, desires, wants.  "Voracity," as a personal characteristic, is similar to greed.  One reason many people across history and in many different philosophical or religious disciplines have emphasized asceticism is because they recognized how voracious our animal natures can be.  In the modern world, the impacts of voraciousness can be magnified because, compared to other time periods, we find it easier to acquire the goods that we used to have to create, raise or grow for ourselves.  What are the results?  Obesity, debt, health problems, social unrest, unequal division of wealth, etc.  Neither you nor I can make the rest of the world less voracious by ourselves, but we can resolve to be North Stars for those around us.  Some day, you may have your own children, and one of your jobs will be to help them learn so they can eventually gain employment opportunities and start families of their own.  The other side of the coin, though, is to teach them to value economy relative asceticism so they also learn how not to waste their resources on trinkets.  Help your children control their voracious appetites.

Who's in charge?

It seems as though the world expects people to self-advocate, to be independent agents, functioning autonomously.  Ironically, most people who do so are considered to be renegades, out of touch with "reality."  From what I have gathered from the media (always a trustworthy source of factual information), Ron Paul is that kind of a political candidate.  He is not saying what the two major political parties advocate for their platforms so he is being marginalized by them.  What I also gather is that his message is starting to get through the forest of electronic noise.  Put another way, the prisoners looking at Plato's cave wall are seeing a new, distinct shadow, but is it just another amorphous mirage?  They'll get back to each other on that.

This is not a political blog, though.  The question is: How much is the average person really a self-advocate?  Is the majority of what we believe we are choosing just pre-packaged realities others want us to accept for ourselves?  If we step too far outside of those choices, are we in grave danger?  For example, did the deaths of Ghandi, Martin Luther King, Jr., Medgar Evers, and the Kennedy brothers guarantee that the rest of us would stay in line from now on?  Will there ever be such heroic people again?  Are there already such heroic people around us today?

Do you have thoughts, or do your thoughts have you?

Memes, a term coined by Richard Dawkins, consist of bits of information - some small, some large - that are encoded in various forms - written, auditory, symbolic, etc. - and then replicated by other machines or organisms.  To put it more simply, memes are pieces of information that exist in one place and are copied to another place, such as from one mind to another.  This is why we can finish corporate jingles once someone has begun them.  If I write "My bologna has a first name," many 30-plus adults will follow it with, "it's O-S-C-A-R."  If I write "You deserve a break today," those same adults will frequently say or sing, "at McDonald's."  Corporate jingles, manufactured decades ago are still encoded in the neurochemistry of our minds.

This becomes a problem when our minds become fragmented by the meme viruses that are roaming around their neural playgrounds and causing psychic entropy.  This leads to an unfocused, even chaotic state of mind in which it is working very hard on nothing in particular because the incoming stimuli are overwhelming it.

"Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity."  I have to chuckle a bit when I think of Henry David Thoreau in the 1840s as he escaped the chaos of his life to go off to Walden Pond and solitude.  He was concerned, even then, about how much people were getting disconnected from their humanity by the minutiae of (then) modern life and the burgeoning Industrial Revolution.  What would he say now?  His concerns occurred well before deluge of memes called the Internet, well before television and the telephone, and even the telegraph was in sparse use during his time.  He used to grouse about the fact that he stopped reading the newspaper because, once you had read about one theft, one murder, one war, you knew about pretty much every theft, murder or war after that.  To him, the news got old.

I recognize the irony of writing this entry and posting it online.  I am sending out yet another school of memes into the ocean of electronic ideas.  Think of this set of memes, though, as a potential defragmentation program.  Log off the computer; click off the cable TV; give your thumbs a rest.  Calm the sea of troubles that has saturated your mind by learning how not to think, not to puzzle, not to worry about minutiae.  Put your brain in sleep mode every once in awhile....