http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2009/01/06/earth-twin-cores-02.html
Above is the link to the article that I was mentioning yesterday, about how some scientists are thinking that at the earth's core there are actually two bodies circling each other.....while the article itself was really interesting, I found myself wondering about the duality of the earth's core being really symbolic and relating to the whole yin/yang concept which seems to be at the heart of how everything works, at least to me and IMO.
Anyhoo, hope the link works - if not, try copying and pasting it...or go to the discovery channel website and search for earth twin cores.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Week Three Assignments: Synchronicity
On Synchronicity:
I found the article on “The Law of Attraction and Manifestation” to be particularly interesting as I looked further into this topic. There were many things mentioned in that article that I have found to be true in my own life; for instance, “Synchronicities are people, places or events that your soul attracts into your life to help you evolve to higher consciousness or to place emphasis on something going on in your life” – this has proven to be true many times in my spiritual practice, as I become aware of a need in my own life for a mentor or teacher, I find myself drawn to often a series of events which will inevitably lead me to a person or course of study which eventually fills that need.
Likewise, another phenomenon that I have noticed in my personal life occurs when I am feeling a need for a change, either of job or where I will live. I have found that when I feel the need to find another job, that I can apply to many different job postings and go to multiple job interviews, or I can look at multiple places to live and fill out application after application – but that nothing will come of any of it if it is not the path that I am destined to take – which is actually how I ended up studying TCM and ultimately how I ended up here at AIMC.
On Connectivity:
This was another of those fascinating scientific principles which I didn’t know anything about. Again, I did have a spiritual understanding of the interconnectedness of the whole world – this concept is actually an integral cornerstone of my personal belief system – but to find that there is scientific thought devoted to this concept is frankly exciting to me.
So. My understanding of the concept is that every action has a reaction, and that my actions can influence another person who may be on the other side of the planet from me. While that perspective is a bit hard for me to get my head around completely, I do know that if I am having a really really bad day, and I am subsequently cranky or out and out angry about it all – that I can adversely affect all those that I come into contact with; or perhaps on a more positive note, a smile can change the world – one smile can spread like a contagion, and in a very real sense this can change the life of someone I have never met nor will ever meet.
I found the article on “The Law of Attraction and Manifestation” to be particularly interesting as I looked further into this topic. There were many things mentioned in that article that I have found to be true in my own life; for instance, “Synchronicities are people, places or events that your soul attracts into your life to help you evolve to higher consciousness or to place emphasis on something going on in your life” – this has proven to be true many times in my spiritual practice, as I become aware of a need in my own life for a mentor or teacher, I find myself drawn to often a series of events which will inevitably lead me to a person or course of study which eventually fills that need.
Likewise, another phenomenon that I have noticed in my personal life occurs when I am feeling a need for a change, either of job or where I will live. I have found that when I feel the need to find another job, that I can apply to many different job postings and go to multiple job interviews, or I can look at multiple places to live and fill out application after application – but that nothing will come of any of it if it is not the path that I am destined to take – which is actually how I ended up studying TCM and ultimately how I ended up here at AIMC.
On Connectivity:
This was another of those fascinating scientific principles which I didn’t know anything about. Again, I did have a spiritual understanding of the interconnectedness of the whole world – this concept is actually an integral cornerstone of my personal belief system – but to find that there is scientific thought devoted to this concept is frankly exciting to me.
So. My understanding of the concept is that every action has a reaction, and that my actions can influence another person who may be on the other side of the planet from me. While that perspective is a bit hard for me to get my head around completely, I do know that if I am having a really really bad day, and I am subsequently cranky or out and out angry about it all – that I can adversely affect all those that I come into contact with; or perhaps on a more positive note, a smile can change the world – one smile can spread like a contagion, and in a very real sense this can change the life of someone I have never met nor will ever meet.
Week Two Assignments - Quantum Mechanics
On Uncertainty:
As a student of metaphysical thought since early adolescence, I find that the idea of uncertainty does not in any way make me uncomfortable. I actually find that I resist the idea of certainty more often than not; for instance I find that in any of my examinations of interpersonal behavior, I spend a great deal of time wondering about the many different circumstances in another’s life which lead them to a particular place in time and hence to a particular way of behaving/being. Because of this, I find it difficult to classify a person’s behavior as being due to anything certain, or any one thing which may have been a part of their experience – and because of this I also acknowledge that there are so many variables in another’s experience that I could never know or even understand or appreciate – due to my own personal and specific life experiences - and so the examination is by definition, uncertain.
On Causality:
I found the idea that in quantum particle experiments, that the intention or thought of the experimenter has a direct affect on the experiment itself to be totally fascinating and a little mind blowing. I do know from my own personal experience that intention is a crucial element in much of my own spiritual practice; and I have suspected for some time that intention is also a driving force in the world all around us as well – but to find that there is scientific thought which examines this phenomena was news to me.
I guess a good example from my own life which illustrates my understanding of the concept, at least in a very rough sense, would be a time some years ago when I had a car in the shop for repairs – and which I had to leave at the mechanic’s overnight. My mother happened to drive by the shop after hours, and saw my car sitting outside in the lot – and she called me worrying that my car was not safe outside and then she spent the rest of the night obsessively worrying that something would happen to it. In the morning I got a phone call from the shop, telling me that my car had been broken into overnight…..(as a result I often go to great lengths to keep information of that sort out of my mother’s radar). J
Is the Universe Weird?
This is a really interesting question. I looked up the definition of “weird”, just to make sure that there weren’t any different definitions of a scientific nature that I didn’t know about, and the first thing that came up was that the word relates to the supernatural. What I am finding so far in this course, is that an understanding of these principles does seem to involve a certain amount of ability to also understand the supernatural; and I have found in my own life and spiritual studies that the supernatural plays a big part as well. I also found a reference to the “Weird Sisters”, or another spelling would be “Wyrd Sisters”, which is the representation of a triple goddess from Norse tradition, also known as the Norns, or the Fates; Urd/Past, Verdandi/Present, Skuld/Future. It sometimes seems to me that the ancient world and its peoples had a pretty good understanding of how everything works, even without our modern scientific minds.
As a student of metaphysical thought since early adolescence, I find that the idea of uncertainty does not in any way make me uncomfortable. I actually find that I resist the idea of certainty more often than not; for instance I find that in any of my examinations of interpersonal behavior, I spend a great deal of time wondering about the many different circumstances in another’s life which lead them to a particular place in time and hence to a particular way of behaving/being. Because of this, I find it difficult to classify a person’s behavior as being due to anything certain, or any one thing which may have been a part of their experience – and because of this I also acknowledge that there are so many variables in another’s experience that I could never know or even understand or appreciate – due to my own personal and specific life experiences - and so the examination is by definition, uncertain.
On Causality:
I found the idea that in quantum particle experiments, that the intention or thought of the experimenter has a direct affect on the experiment itself to be totally fascinating and a little mind blowing. I do know from my own personal experience that intention is a crucial element in much of my own spiritual practice; and I have suspected for some time that intention is also a driving force in the world all around us as well – but to find that there is scientific thought which examines this phenomena was news to me.
I guess a good example from my own life which illustrates my understanding of the concept, at least in a very rough sense, would be a time some years ago when I had a car in the shop for repairs – and which I had to leave at the mechanic’s overnight. My mother happened to drive by the shop after hours, and saw my car sitting outside in the lot – and she called me worrying that my car was not safe outside and then she spent the rest of the night obsessively worrying that something would happen to it. In the morning I got a phone call from the shop, telling me that my car had been broken into overnight…..(as a result I often go to great lengths to keep information of that sort out of my mother’s radar). J
Is the Universe Weird?
This is a really interesting question. I looked up the definition of “weird”, just to make sure that there weren’t any different definitions of a scientific nature that I didn’t know about, and the first thing that came up was that the word relates to the supernatural. What I am finding so far in this course, is that an understanding of these principles does seem to involve a certain amount of ability to also understand the supernatural; and I have found in my own life and spiritual studies that the supernatural plays a big part as well. I also found a reference to the “Weird Sisters”, or another spelling would be “Wyrd Sisters”, which is the representation of a triple goddess from Norse tradition, also known as the Norns, or the Fates; Urd/Past, Verdandi/Present, Skuld/Future. It sometimes seems to me that the ancient world and its peoples had a pretty good understanding of how everything works, even without our modern scientific minds.
Friday, January 9, 2009
Week One Assignments - The Meaning of Time
Quiz Answers:
- What attracts me to Chinese Medicine?
How I ended up here, in this place and time, is actually a really long story which would take a very long time to tell. Short story, I developed serious health issues which Western medicine had little or no answers for, and even less viable treatment options. Several friends suggested I try acupuncture, and so I became a patient at ACTCM's clinic. At the same time, I was very unhappy with my job, and when I subsequently lost my job, I decided to consider returning to school, and so here I am now.
I find that the entire philosophy of Chinese Medicine fits well with my personal world view - that of interconnectedness, the concept of Yin/Yang and the mechanism of balance and/or imbalance and the importance of this in all areas of life, and from a strictly medical perspective the need for a holistic approach to personal health - the integration of body and mind. These are the things that I am most attracted to in Chinese Medicine.
- What do I honestly think of Physics, really?
Although I am fascinated by science and medicine, I have honestly struggled with some of the basic science requirements - mainly due to the fact that I have always had trouble with math and I don't have the kind of mind that "gets" it very well - I am much more comfortable with writing and reading. However, I also have an extensive background in metaphysical and religious thought, so as it turns out, Physics is actually a topic that I feel that I should be able to get my head around after all. At least I am hoping that this is so..... :)
- Now that I think about it, have I ever experienced time "slowing down" or "speeding up"?
As several of us mentioned, there does seem to be an odd phenomenon of the whole world moving faster than it used to. As I have grown older I have noticed this in a more pronounced way, and I have had friends say they have also noticed this in their lives as well, so I am thinking that for the most part this is a perception that for some reason has to do with aging; that being said, I have also noticed that people of all ages across the board are saying that the world seems to be moving faster - and so I am also thinking that there is something else going on in addition to whatever is a "normal" progression of time in our lives....as for time slowing down, I would say the only time that I have noticed that phenomenon is when I am meditating or taking place in some intensive spiritual work.
- Reflections of the class discussion of the concept of "The Meaning of Time":
When we broke into two groups, the "western" perspective, and the "eastern" perspective, and I found myself in the "western" group - I immediately had a bit of a dilemma, as my thought is already far closer to eastern philosophy than to that of the west. Additionally, a great part of my personal world view is dedicated to changing the western paradigm which predominates here in the US and which has also overtaken so much of the rest of the world. So for me, the entire exercise was a challenge for me right from the start.
I found that the discussion of "time is money" and the way that so much of our society is enmeshed in this philosophy was interesting - and as I have also been exploring my relationship with the concept of money in my life, I find now that equating time and money is really so impossible - neither one of them have anything in common, and so how is it that we in this culture have bought in so completely to this way of thinking and being in the world?
Although we didn't spend very much time on the topic, I was also interested in the idea of "white holes" - something I confess that I had never heard anything about. I would like to explore that topic further.....
- What attracts me to Chinese Medicine?
How I ended up here, in this place and time, is actually a really long story which would take a very long time to tell. Short story, I developed serious health issues which Western medicine had little or no answers for, and even less viable treatment options. Several friends suggested I try acupuncture, and so I became a patient at ACTCM's clinic. At the same time, I was very unhappy with my job, and when I subsequently lost my job, I decided to consider returning to school, and so here I am now.
I find that the entire philosophy of Chinese Medicine fits well with my personal world view - that of interconnectedness, the concept of Yin/Yang and the mechanism of balance and/or imbalance and the importance of this in all areas of life, and from a strictly medical perspective the need for a holistic approach to personal health - the integration of body and mind. These are the things that I am most attracted to in Chinese Medicine.
- What do I honestly think of Physics, really?
Although I am fascinated by science and medicine, I have honestly struggled with some of the basic science requirements - mainly due to the fact that I have always had trouble with math and I don't have the kind of mind that "gets" it very well - I am much more comfortable with writing and reading. However, I also have an extensive background in metaphysical and religious thought, so as it turns out, Physics is actually a topic that I feel that I should be able to get my head around after all. At least I am hoping that this is so..... :)
- Now that I think about it, have I ever experienced time "slowing down" or "speeding up"?
As several of us mentioned, there does seem to be an odd phenomenon of the whole world moving faster than it used to. As I have grown older I have noticed this in a more pronounced way, and I have had friends say they have also noticed this in their lives as well, so I am thinking that for the most part this is a perception that for some reason has to do with aging; that being said, I have also noticed that people of all ages across the board are saying that the world seems to be moving faster - and so I am also thinking that there is something else going on in addition to whatever is a "normal" progression of time in our lives....as for time slowing down, I would say the only time that I have noticed that phenomenon is when I am meditating or taking place in some intensive spiritual work.
- Reflections of the class discussion of the concept of "The Meaning of Time":
When we broke into two groups, the "western" perspective, and the "eastern" perspective, and I found myself in the "western" group - I immediately had a bit of a dilemma, as my thought is already far closer to eastern philosophy than to that of the west. Additionally, a great part of my personal world view is dedicated to changing the western paradigm which predominates here in the US and which has also overtaken so much of the rest of the world. So for me, the entire exercise was a challenge for me right from the start.
I found that the discussion of "time is money" and the way that so much of our society is enmeshed in this philosophy was interesting - and as I have also been exploring my relationship with the concept of money in my life, I find now that equating time and money is really so impossible - neither one of them have anything in common, and so how is it that we in this culture have bought in so completely to this way of thinking and being in the world?
Although we didn't spend very much time on the topic, I was also interested in the idea of "white holes" - something I confess that I had never heard anything about. I would like to explore that topic further.....
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