Merkabah

[Skarekrow]

Why Is It So Important to Be Right?

Accepting being incorrect without any loss or embarrassment.
​

One of the most prevalent - and damaging - themes in our culture is the need to be right.
It's one of those essential memes that we take for granted.

It is so deeply embedded in our belief system and in our collective psyche that we never even pause to consider it.

It would really serve us to inquire why it is so compelling.
Before we begin to look at that, let's just reflect on how it impacts our lives.

From the more personal and mundane battle over who said what in the midst of an argument to the larger issues of politics, religion, abortion, health care, gun control or climate change, being right is mandated.

It quickens our pulse, causes us to shout and can sever relationships. It is the raison d'etre for most acts of hatred, violence and warfare.
Our educational system is rooted in the construct of right and wrong.

We are rewarded for what are deemed to be correct answers and the ensuing higher grades, which generally lead to more successful lives.
Being right affirms and inflates our sense of self-worth.

As students we learn to avoid as best we can the embarrassment of being wrong.
Getting the right answer becomes the primary purpose of our education.

Isn't it regrettable that this may be inconsistent with actually learning?
Can you imagine the generative and exciting learning environment that would result from a class that rewarded asking the best questions?

If you think about it, the most intriguing questions are those that don't offer simple answers.
Even more, they drive our thinking into greater complexity and curiosity.

This would be a most wonderful learning experience.
No one need be cautious about a wrong answer.

And everyone would be invited to safely participate in a generative and shared inquiry.
Children certainly wouldn't nod off in boredom.

This experience would look much different that the rote memorizing and spewing back of information - rooted in right or wrong answers.
Raising your hand to gain the reward of getting the correct answer is pointless.

It doesn't teach you anything; you already knew the answer.
It simply massages your ego, but it doesn't inspire a genuine learning experience.

Talking Heads

Cable news shows stage the predictable impasse, particularly in the political arena, fervently pitching the argument around right and wrong.
What is more stultifying than watching two talking heads assert and then refute each other?

A mindless ping-pong match.
No one walks away any more enlightened than the way they came in - both pundits and audience.

Have you ever heard a Republican pause and reflect back to a Democrat that they appreciated their point and were reconsidering their point of view?
Or a Democrat acknowledge to a Republican that their own opinion wasn't substantiated by fact as much as belief?

It would be an extraordinary moment to witness any break through in this stalemate.

Would you rather be right or would you rather be happy?

As a marriage counselor I often ask people if they'd rather be right or they'd rather be happy.
Although nearly everyone says they would prefer happiness, the battle enjoins over right or wrong.

If you pause and consider it, it's really insane isn't it?
The very fact that we'd mindlessly choose to win an argument at the cost of damaging our relationships points to something terribly amiss.

This inclination leads to the need to win an argument, which assures that no one is actively listening.
If I need to be right, and we have differing points of view, that obviously makes you wrong.

Doesn't exactly sound like the stuff of friendships, let alone romantic relations.
This compulsion to be right sidetracks our lives and impedes our learning and happiness.

Why is it so vital to be right?

It's curious how mightily our thoughts and beliefs defend their territory.
Why is it so vital to be right?

Well to begin with, if you're not right, then you are indeed wrong, with all the accompanying sense of humiliation and failure.
But is this a given?

Does it have to be this way?
Could we accept being incorrect without any loss or embarrassment?

I believe this fixation is more likely wed to highly competitive cultures than traditionally-oriented cooperative societies.
In the latter, issues of right or wrong don't equivalently inform one's sense of self or identity.

The ego may be shaped by other influences such as being honored, respected or altruistic.
In first world cultures the drive to be right advances one in the competitive race.

In the desire to get ahead this is utilized as a core value.
I would actually suggest that this is a highly pervasive fixation attachment that ruins our relationships, derails our mindfulness and erodes our natural instinct to learn.

During a 2004 news conference on the Iraqi war, a reporter asked President Bush to cite an example of a decision he regretted or an admission of something he did wrong during his presidency.

Bush looked completely dumbfounded as he struggled to acknowledge having been wrong about anything.
As I watched him struggle, I considered that as a child the need to be right was likely a major influence in his life.

This is true of so many people.
Whether due to demanding expectations of parents, a humiliating moment in a classroom or being taunted by friends, most of us remain attached to the need to be correct.

 

[Skarekrow]

Yes…I did get (and sometimes need) a walking cane for Christmas…but it’s a cool one, made from Blackthorn and Sandalwood.

Tree Lore: Blackthorn

​

Species: Prunus spinosa

Family: Rosaceae (Rose family)

Ogham: Straif (ST), a Chieftain Tree

Scots Gaelic: Draighionn

Irish Gaelic: Draighean

Welsh: Draenen ddu

Astrological Rulers: Saturn and Mars

The Blackthorn tree is esoterically known as both the Mother of the Woods and the Dark Crone of the Woods.

Description

Type: Blackthorn is a deciduous tree; its leaves turn yellow in autumn and fall off in winter, leaving a stark twisted black skeleton.

Location: Found throughout the British Isles, Blackthorn dwells on the edge of woodlands forming dense thickets and hedgerows, often with Hawthorn and Elder. I found Blackthorn growing along the sacred Ridgeway near Wayland’s Smithy, and on the path leading to the White Horse of Uffington.

Size: The Blackthorn ‘tree’ is actually more like a large shrub, with dark twisted branches, which can grow to twelve feet in height.
Traditionally, it is said that Blackthorn never exceeds thirteen feet.

Bark: ‘Rough and scaly, and bright orange just under the dark gray surface.

Branches/Twigs: The thickets are dark, dense and thorny, the branches and twigs twisting and branching out in all directions.
The sapwood is light yellow and the heartwood is brown.

Thorn: The tree bears wicked long sharp thorns, which if pricked, can turn septic.

Flower: The tree bears musk scented small, delicate, white flowers with oval petals clustered into a star shape in early spring.
The blossoms, which are thin and rounded with toothed edges, appears before the leaves in early March, and bloom for several months.
They are usually white, but occasionally pink, with red tipped stamens.

Leaf: Small dark green oval leaves which turn yellow before they fall off in winter.
Fruit: Small blue-black, sometimes deep purplish, round globular berries in the summer, ripening after the first frost.
Sloe berry juice can be used for ink or a strong red dye.

Commercial uses: The wood is mainly used to manufacture walking sticks and Irish shillelaghs.
The berries are harvested for sloe gin and fruit jam.
It also has medicinal uses.

Medicinal Uses

The Blackthorn’s fruit, the sloe berry, ripens and sweetens after the first frost.
Tasting the berry in August, I found it to be extremely bitter.

An alcoholic drink, Sloe Gin is made from this small dark blue berry, which is used both medicinally and magically.
This berry has been found in archaeological sites from the Mesolithic and Iron Age periods (8000-2700 BC), proving that the blackthorn berry was a part of early man’s diet.

Sloe berries are a very bitter tonic.
They are astringent, stimulate the metabolism, clean the blood, and are used as a laxative and diuretic.

They help with indigestion, eczema, herpes, allergies, colds, catarrh, neurosis, weak heart, kidney stones, skin, bladder, and prostrate problems.
They disperse toxins.

10 In 17th and 18th Century, sloes were brewed as a purgative to treat ‘fluxes in the belly.

The fruit and leaves of Blackthorn contain tannins, organic acids, sugars and vitamin C. Steeped in boiling water, the flowers have a mild diuretic, tonic and laxative properties.

The dried fruits are used to treat bladder, kidney and stomach disorders.
The liquid from the boiled leaves can be used as a mouthwash for sore throat, tonsillitis and laryngitis.

It is also good for circulations, blood strengthening, and nutrient absorption.’(The Wisdom of Trees, page 127)

Green Man Tree Essences: ‘Blackthorn - Circulation.
Helps absorption of energies necessary for life.

Stabilizes emotions. Brings hope and joy.
Stimulating.

The leaves can be boiled into a decoction that, once cooled, is an excellent mouthwash and gargle for those suffering from tonsillitis or laryngitis.
It can also be used as a soothing eye bath.

A tea made from the powdered bark has a calming effect on the nerves. (Celtic Tree Mysteries, page 166)

They can be prepared as a juice, syrup, jelly, jam, wine or sloe gin beverage.
They are excellent when combined with apples in a jam.

Try making a blackthorn tincture, with a sloe gin base!

Folklore

Blackthorn is depicted in many fairy tales throughout Europe as a tree of ill omen.
Called Straif in the Ogham, this tree has the most sinister reputation in Celtic tree lore.

The English word ‘strife’ is said to derive from this Celtic word.
A long hard winter is referred to as a Blackthorn Winter.

To Witches, it often represents the dark side of the Craft.
It is a sacred tree to the Dark, or Crone aspect of the Triple Goddess, and represents the Waning and Dark Moons.

Blackthorn is known as ‘the increaser and keeper of dark secrets’.
The tree is linked with warfare, wounding and death, associated with the Scottish Cailleach - the Crone of Death, and the Irish Morrigan.

In Scotland, winter begins when the Cailleach (also the Goddess of Winter) strikes the ground with Her Blackthorn staff.
According to Christian folklore, Blackthorn is seen as a sinister tree and associated with Witches.

Blackthorn was often used for ‘binding and blasting’.
A black rod is a Blackthorn wand with fixed thorns on the end, used to cause harm to others.

In British folklore, a Witch will use a Blackthorn stang in rituals of cursing.
The sharp thorns were reputedly used by English witches to pierce poppets in their curses, called the ‘pins of slumber.

In South Devon folklore in England, Witches were said to carry Blackthorn walking sticks, with which they caused much local mischief.
Witches and heretics were burned on Blackthorn pyres.

The Devil was said, in medieval times, to prick his follower’s fingers with the thorn of a Blackthorn tree.
Blackthorn is also associated with Witchcraft in Scotland.

In 1670, in Edinburgh, Major Thomas Weir was burned as a Witch along with his most powerful magical tool - a Blackthorn staff, carved with a Satyrs head, which was said to have fantastic powers - it was even able to fly through the air.

Major Weir claimed that he received this magic staff from the Devil, but it is more likely that he obtained it while he served as an officer under General Leslie in Ireland.

The Major was a pious Covenanter, and people came from miles around to hear his sermons.
He was considered the ‘Saint of West Bow’, until one day in 1670, instead of his usual sermon, he confessed years of debauchery with his sister, Jean, to the congregation.

Brother and sister were both tried and condemned to death.
His ghost, along with the infamous Blackthorn staff, is still said to haunt the Edinburgh West Bow district.

The Irish cudgel is called a bata, or more popularly, a shillelagh, (named for the Shillelagh forest near Arklow, in County Wicklow).
Every young boy was trained to defend himself with this Irish fighting stick.

Although sometimes made from Oak, Ash or Holly, the shillelagh is usually made from Blackthorn, which is hard, strong, plentiful, and has a convenient knob formed from the root of the shrub.

The black bark is especially tough.
The wood was cured by burying it in a dung heap or smearing it with butter, then placing it in the chimney.

Blackthorn can be used in spells of protection as well.
In Irish tales, heroes were aided by the Blackthorn tree - if they threw a twig of Blackthorn after them, it would take root and form an impenetrable hedge or woods, thwarting the pursuing giant.

In England Witches would carve the Norse rune thorn on a Blackthorn stave for protection.
Often in fairytales, such as ‘Sleeping Beauty’, Blackthorn forms the thick, impenetrable thorn bramble that hides the magic castle from intruders and princes alike! In order to prove worthy, the prince must cut through this thorn forest to rescue the princess.

Blackthorn is said to bloom on Christmas Eve, as is the holy thorn at Glastonbury.
It is one of the trees, which were reputed to form the thorny crown of Christ at His crucifixion.

Where Blackthorn grows near its sister plant, Hawthorn, the site is especially magical.
Blackthorn often topped the Maypole entwined with Hawthorn, and is called ‘Mother of the Woods’.

At New Year, celebrants made Blackthorn crowns, which they burned in the New Year’s fire.
The ashes were used to fertilize the fields.

Blackthorn was sometimes woven into wreaths with Mistletoe to bring luck in the coming year, and the garlands used to wassail the Apple trees.

Celtic Legend

In The Word Ogham of Morainn, for Blackthorn it is said, ‘careful effort, strongest of red, strong red dye on metal, and hedge of a stream.
Steve Blamires teaches that Blackthorn is associated with warriors, war, blood and death.

The hedge referred to is the warriors’ spears, and the stream is their rapid advance into battle.
According to Steve Blamires, ‘Straiph, that is Blackthorn; the hedge of a stream is Straiph.

In the Irish legend, the Pursuit of Diarmaid and Grainne, a passage describes Sadhbh eating sloe berries and becoming pregnant as a result.
She gave birth to a son who was born with a lump on his head.

The lump turned out to be a worm or snake.
The snake was eventually killed in sacrifice for another man.

In The Sword of Oscar, sloe berries are part of a sacrificial theme as well.
Blackthorn’s theme in traditional stories often indicate a warrior’s death in service to the High King or tribe.

In the Word Ogham of Cuchulain Blackthorn is ‘an arrow’s mist’ and ‘smoke drifting up from the fire.’
These are both kennings for death.

Literary References

Biblical reference: ‘There was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan, to buffet me.’ (II Corinthians, Ch. 9, v. 19)

Of all the trees that grow so fair,
Old England to adorn,
Greater are none beneath the Sun
Than Oak and Ash and Thorn.
(Puck of Pook’s Hill, by Rudyard Kipling, 1906)

Ogham Oracle

Straif (ST)
Drawing a Blackthorn stave or card indicates the actions of fate in your life, something that cannot be avoided but must be faced and dealt with.

Blackthorn gives you the strength to accept and persevere in the face of adversity.
The Sloe berry sweetens after the first trial of winter, the frost.

Accepting fate and adversity as a challenge, and making it work for you, results in an unexpected sweetness in your life.
Blackthorn can also herald the presence of the darker deities in your life, such as the Irish Morrigan and Dagda.

Again, this is a sign of the spiritual strength and support that is available to you if you pick up the gauntlet.
It is the one of the trees associated with the Bean Sidhe and the Dubh Sidhe.

‘Straif also offers initiation into the mysteries of self-conquest and transcendence.
Daring to travel with the darker deities of the Celtic pantheon is a spiritual adventure at the deepest level!

Blackthorn opens the pathway to Underworld initiation.
Meditating under a Blackthorn bush during the Samhain season can put you in touch with powerful Underworld deities, such as the Morrigan.

Wear a protective amulet with the Blackthorn ogham, sloe berries, or a blackthorn wand, if you choose to do so.
Blackthorn is the tree, which helps us to face the necessity of our own death.

In many magical practices, we are encouraged to face death, in order to abate our morbid fear of it.
Initiations are often re-enactments of our own death and rebirth.

On the negative side, Blackthorn can indicate a persistently negative, resentful attitude that draws negative experiences to you.
Blackthorn can indicate a persistent and morbid fear of death.

How you ‘frame’ your life is how your life plays out.
Blackthorn can be seen as a reminder not to frame your life in negative scenes, but re-interpret them in a more positive way, to draw more positive experiences.

Magical Uses

According to John Matthews, the message of Blackthorn is ‘Magic is Everywhere’.
Jane Gifford assigns Morrigan as the deity associated with Blackthorn, as well as the colour red, planets Mars and Saturn, gem Black Opal, and a feminine polarity.

The chief attributes are the ‘Inevitability of Death, protection and revenge, strife, and negativity.
Blackthorn is used for purification, as well as protection, ridding the atmosphere of negative energy.

It deals the issues on a Karmic level, which cannot be avoided.
Meditating on Blackthorn can purify our minds of negative thoughts and impulses at the deepest level of our psyche.

It can aid us in combating fear, depression and anger.
The thorns of the Blackthorn can be imagined to lance the built up abscess of negative thoughts, and release the emotional toxins, which can then begin to heal.

Using the gentler sister tree, Hawthorn, in conjunction with Blackthorn, can aid the process of healing.
Traditionally, Blackthorn is used in protection against evil, creating boundaries, purifying, confronting our own dark side.

Blackthorn dispels negativity, toxins, old wounds, and impurities.
It can be used in exorcisms.

It is associated with chthonic and protective deities.

With Blackthorn staff,
I draw the bound.
All malice and bane,
I thus confound.

From a blackthorn tree along the Ridgeway near Wayland’s Smithy, I cut myself a wand (and left a little blood).
I saved the cuttings from the wand as well, which included leaves, twigs and berries, and dried them.

I use blackthorn to establish boundaries when working magic, so that nothing evil or unwanted can enter my Circle or Grove.
I also carry a ‘mojo bag’ of protective herbs with me.

I've included dried sloe berries for their powers of protection.
Magical Blackthorn tools come in many forms; Irish shillelagh, walking sticks, stangs, wands, thorns, ogham staves, berries.

Most of these are used for protection, although some will still use the energy of Blackthorn for cursing.
Tools made of blackthorn must be treated with the utmost respect.

Healing with Thorn Trees

Next time you are ill or depressed, imagine lying on your pallet, and in the dark of night, two eldritch sisters enter the room, one dressed in black, the other in white.

The dark older sister, Draighean, (Blackthorn), assesses your illness with a calculating experienced eye.
She moves her sinewy, dark hands quickly over your body, touching points here and there, causing you acute pain.

She mutters strange incantations under her breath in a low, crackling voice.
She is frightening, but you must trust her if you are to heal.

All the negative images you’ve ever held rise out of your subconscious like phantom characters in a Samhain festival.
The night grows old and dawn approaches.

Weary, the elder sister steps back and the gentle Huath, (Hawthorn) takes her place.
Dressed in white, with long bright hair, she lays a cool gentle hand on your brow, muttering her own incantations in a sweet bell-like voice.

The phantoms recede with the light, and the pain eases.
As she sweeps her pale hands up and down your body, touching the same spots her dark sister had, the pain vanishes and you feel refreshed.

You fall into an easy, restful sleep as the sisters leave your chamber, their work done
The most powerful times of the year to use Blackthorn for purification and banishing are Imbolc (Feb. 1st) and Samhain (October 31st) At Imbolc, Blackthorn is one of the first trees to flower, thus, it aids the ushering in of Spring.

In the Celtic Ogham, Blackthorn, called Straif, rules the mystical three day period of Samhain, from October 31st to November 2nd, where it marks the ‘parting of the veils between the physical and the spiritual.

Blackthorn can be used to create safe boundaries from which to communicate with the dead, and protect us from evil spirits during this auspicious time.
At Samhain, because its berries ripen in the Winter, it helps us to prepare for the dark season to come.

At this uncanny time, the Morrigan and Dagda, are said to mate.
The wintry fruiting Blackthorn tree is associated with Underworld Initiations.

The Cailleach announces winter with a bang of her ancient Blackthorn stang.
Blackthorn is also used to celebrate the fertility magic of May Day, along with its sister tree, Hawthorn.

Blackthorn wands were used for divination and wishing at this auspicious time of year.
Bridal chambers were decorated with Hawthorn and Blackthorn flowers in May, the musky scent of the flowers stimulating desire.

Blackthorn and Hawthorn, being sister trees, represent the dark half and the light half of the year.
Blackthorn is the tree of Samhain, whereas Hawthorn is the tree of Beltain.

Protective Spell from Jacqueline Paterson:

This spell must be performed with the clear intent of returning ill wishing to the source.
In doing so, the spell caster must divorce herself from all ill wishing, or the spell will backfire upon herself.

Purchase or carve a candle into a body shape.
Carve the name of your tormentor into the candle, naming him or her out loud.

Use three Blackthorn thorns, and push one each into the candle image’s forehead, heart, and stomach.
Light the candle, and when it burns down to each thorn, utter these words each time:

Evil return to the one who sent thee
For me and mine are now set free
No hurt nor harm can enter here
For my life and way are now made clear.

Allow the candle to burn down, and out.
See yourself as released from the other person’s energy.

Your intent must NOT be to harm your tormentor, but to release every baneful connection between you both.
If your tormentor continues to send harm, it will now be his or her responsibility, and rebound on his self or herself.

This spell is about protection and justice, not revenge

Deities

I associate this tree with the Irish Morrigan and the Dagda, the Scottish Cailleach, the Welsh Cerridwen, the British Morgan le Fay and Gwynn ap Nudd; all dark, chthonic, Underworld deities.

Jane Gifford associates the Blackthorn with the Morrigan.
Steve Blamires associates Blackthorn with the Irish God, Donn, a father God, who is associated with death.

He, being a paternal deity, is a gentle guide who helps us mitigate the fear associated with death.

Druid/Celtic Ritual

Druids often use the magic of wood in their ceremonies.
Rituals taking place in sacred groves or nemetons are especially potent.

The presence of Blackthorn in a Samhain or Yule ritual would be ideal.

Initiations: Blackthorn wands or staffs can be used during initiations.
It is especially effective if used in conjunction with a Hawthorn staff to represent death and rebirth; Samhain and Beltaine.

Samhain: During your Samhain ritual, you can use a Blackthorn staff for the celebrants to pass under, on their way to the Underworld.

Samhain or Yule: During your Samhain or Yule ritual, you can ceremonially call the Caeilleach Bheur, who is the Old Blue Hag of Winter, a fearsome Scottish deity who, banging Her magic Blackthorn stang upon the ground, calls in the season of Winter.

Song of the Cailleach Bheur

What’s all this merriment and cheer?
Is it not winter that you fear?
I am the old veiled one of the wood,
And my appearance shall do you no good.
My realm is cold, dead, and dark.
The ground is barren and the trees are stark.
My fierce white hounds, with eyes of red
Howl through the night, a paean to the dead.
I strike my blackthorn upon the ground!
Now nothing green or living shall be found.
I am the Cailleach Bheur, and now is my reign.
I shall not leave you until next Beltaine.
__

 

[Skarekrow]

 

[Skarekrow]

“The Mystic is swimming in the same water
the psychotic is drowning in.”

~ Joseph Campbell​

 

[Skarekrow]

At the moment of enlightenment, everything falls away - everything.

Suddenly the ground beneath you is gone, and you are alone.

You are alone because you have realized that there is no other; there is no separation.

There is only you, only Self, only limitless emptiness, pure consciousness.

To the mind, the ego, this appears terrifying.

When it looks at limitlessness and infinity, it sees meaninglessness and despair.

However, the view changes to unending joy and wonder once the mind is let go of.

When you are enlightened, you stand alone.

You need no supports of any kind because there is nothing to support; a separate you no longer exists.

You realize that the whole ego experience was a flimsy illusion.

You stand alone but are never, never lonely because everywhere you look, all you see is That, and you are That.

Adyashanti (The Impact of Awakening)
​

 

[Kgal]

At the moment of enlightenment, everything falls away - everything.

Suddenly the ground beneath you is gone, and you are alone.

You are alone because you have realized that there is no other; there is no separation.

There is only you, only Self, only limitless emptiness, pure consciousness.

To the mind, the ego, this appears terrifying.

When it looks at limitlessness and infinity, it sees meaninglessness and despair.

However, the view changes to unending joy and wonder once the mind is let go of.

When you are enlightened, you stand alone.

You need no supports of any kind because there is nothing to support; a separate you no longer exists.

You realize that the whole ego experience was a flimsy illusion.

You stand alone but are never, never lonely because everywhere you look, all you see is That, and you are That.

Adyashanti (The Impact of Awakening)
​

This is truth!
When I'm identified with the ego I feel fear at the thought of floating alone in the void of space.

When I'm merged with All That Is I feel boundless peace and unlimited connection with everything and everyone. It's the most amazing feeling ever! :love:

 

[invisible]

Why Is It So Important to Be Right?

Accepting being incorrect without any loss or embarrassment.
​

Well firstly, I agree with this piece of writing.

Secondly, in regard to what it says about the education system. Well, I think that initially the education system is formulated in terms of right and wrong, correct and incorrect... literacy and numeracy... surely there is a better way to teach those things? But the higher I go in education system classrooms, at least in terms of the humanities classrooms that make up my own experience, the more that it is about constructing understandings rather than right or wrong. I'm not saying that everyone in the classroom observes this type of attitude, and I'm not saying that there aren't many problems with the education system! But classrooms are definitely one of the few empowering environments I have been in, in terms of approaching complex problems from diverse disciplinary or political perspectives. At its best, institutional education is cooperative rather than competitive... I think that's the kind of approach we need to work towards expanding for our education system.

In preparing us to submit assessment work, what my teachers have constantly told me (although I have only recently grasped it to any useful extent) throughout my previous degree and now this one, is that the pathway to the high disinction grades is to express our own perspectives and ideas coherently against the background of the current and historical theory and research - with the support of those backgrounds, or by filling in their blind spots that we have recognised. I think that this is not an approach of correctness but an approach of respectfully extending previous understandings and synthesising new understandings from out of the things they achieved.

 

[invisible]

Wow! That is really beautiful!
I have never been to Carlsbad Caverns but it’s on my list of stuff to do.
Once you are serious about caving, you join the National Speleological Society and get in with those guys…most of the caves have longs since been removed from forestry maps because people go in and destroy them, chip off beautiful crystals that formed for thousands of years and leave trash.
But once they know you are good, they will show you where the “hidden” caves are.
One of the most awesome places I have been is called “Temple Crag”, and I had plans to climb it for the longest time…I never did, but just to stand at the base of it was so incredible!
(again, not me in the photo, but it gives you some perspective on the sheer size of it…I slid down some of the glaciers along side it, not too many in this picture but different years there are more)
The reason the lake is such a turquoise color is from the glacier runoff through the copper in the rocks…..I believe that is either 3rd or 4th lake on the map…we hiked up further to Black Lake (because it was the only one not bright blue…it was black…but it had the best fishing)

We were planning to climb the portion of the crag where you can see the “a” from then photo stock picture…just to the right of that…to to point that comes up like a castle kind of…anyhow…it was about 16 pitches…which is a rope length…then my arthritis started up.
Glad I got to see it and touch it anyhow.

Awesome story, loved it, what beautiful experiences. Why would people cause treasures of the earth to be destroyed for others, I don't understand it, so selfish!!

 

[Skarekrow]

Awesome story, loved it, what beautiful experiences. Why would people cause treasures of the earth to be destroyed for others, I don't understand it, so selfish!!

Just a bit more to the right in that photo (out of frame) is the Palisades Glacier….the largest year round one in California….it’s almost gone now I guess, was glad I got to see that with my own two eyes.

 

[Skarekrow]

Well firstly, I agree with this piece of writing.

Secondly, in regard to what it says about the education system. Well, I think that initially the education system is formulated in terms of right and wrong, correct and incorrect... literacy and numeracy... surely there is a better way to teach those things? But the higher I go in education system classrooms, at least in terms of the humanities classrooms that make up my own experience, the more that it is about constructing understandings rather than right or wrong. I'm not saying that everyone in the classroom observes this type of attitude, and I'm not saying that there aren't many problems with the education system! But classrooms are definitely one of the few empowering environments I have been in, in terms of approaching complex problems from diverse disciplinary or political perspectives. At its best, institutional education is cooperative rather than competitive... I think that's the kind of approach we need to work towards expanding for our education system.

In preparing us to submit assessment work, what my teachers have constantly told me (although I have only recently grasped it to any useful extent) throughout my previous degree and now this one, is that the pathway to the high disinction grades is to express our own perspectives and ideas coherently against the background of the current and historical theory and research - with the support of those backgrounds, or by filling in their blind spots that we have recognised. I think that this is not an approach of correctness but an approach of respectfully extending previous understandings and synthesising new understandings from out of the things they achieved.

I agree with you regarding college, I had similar experiences though I would say it was only in certain classes that I felt such camaraderie and even those times were only made possible with the support of my Professor for that particular class.
Of course I was taking a whole bunch of classes like Physiology, and Chemistry blah, and stuff relating to the body.
But I really did enjoy Psychology and I really miss writing classes and such.

The younger schools and high school are still very much set up for competition amongst the students and even the staff.
They exist mainly to teach our children how to do a desk job for 8 hours a day…like it or not…and I know some teachers and students would disagree with that idea, but take a look at what they have to teach now? They teach to the lesson plans of the current standards. We give the kids so many stupid standardized tests that the teachers have no room to teach anything other than to the test.
Music and art are virtually nonexistent in many areas of the country…but it’s okay, that money we saved teaching art or shop, or homemaking, or music bought us a brand new fucking football stadium…pretty badass.
Then we have these sheltered kids who need warning labels on the content of reality when they get to college, else it damage their poor sensibilities…it’s okay though, you don’t have to learn about all the evil shit America has done at those liberal colleges, come on over to the university of just-make-shit-blatently-up.
Where man existed with the dinosaurs and burning fossil fuels in in no way contributing to climate change..hahahaha….stupid liberals.

Luckily, that viewpoint is still a minority one in the US, but we do need serious reform in our primary education system.
My Son for example got into a really great Art Magnet School 6-12 grade…they have no sports teams, but they do have anything art related you can think of which he loves and is great at….sculpture, painting, drama, theater, dance, chorus, etc, etc. etc. They even have classes on digital graphics and computer animation.

 

[Kgal]

This video has shown up twice in my feed...so I thought I'd share it here.

Does it look real to you?

[video=youtube;ST6X0Ra7zOQ]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ST6X0Ra7zOQ&feature=share[/video]

 

[Skarekrow]

This video has shown up twice in my feed...so I thought I'd share it here.

Does it look real to you?

[video=youtube;ST6X0Ra7zOQ]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ST6X0Ra7zOQ&feature=share[/video]

God it’s so hard to tell what is real these days and isn’t just some fun special effects some dudes cooked up.
Two thoughts though…
A tornado actually forms sideways/horizontally in the air like that and then will flip vertically.
There are theories out there that all tornados, hurricanes, lightening, weather in general is formed by small black holes.
Though it clearly dissipates when the white object is sucked into it, causing one to believe that it has something to do with it.
IDK is my best answer, but it is a cool video nonetheless.
I think that is part of why I have been avoiding much about UFOs in general on this thread, because I do think there is SO much disinformation out there - I wouldn’t want to feel contributory.

 

[Kgal]

I watched this Gaiam TV video this morning while I'm here at home recovering from a migraine headache.

It just hit me that I know why you and I have had dreams of searching and walking through halls and doors and stairs. We have been through the mystery schools initiations.
Even now we are moving through it...only without the artificial constructs.

I invite you to watch the movie on my Gaiam TV account. You can explore around and also see my playlist to look at anything of interest there to you. If you find it worthy of your time then you can get your own account.

Deal?
PM me if you want the access.

As always take only what resonates with you and toss away the rest.

[video=youtube;ouuchsJaap0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouuchsJaap0[/video]


[MENTION=251]Wyote[/MENTION] You may be interested in watching this as well.

 

[Skarekrow]

I watched this Gaiam TV video this morning while I'm here at home recovering from a migraine headache.

It just hit me that I know why you and I have had dreams of searching and walking through halls and doors and stairs. We have been through the mystery schools initiations.
Even now we are moving through it...only without the artificial constructs.

I invite you to watch the movie on my Gaiam TV account. You can explore around and also see my playlist to look at anything of interest there to you. If you find it worthy of your time then you can get your own account.

Deal?
PM me if you want the access.

As always take only what resonates with you and toss away the rest.

[video=youtube;ouuchsJaap0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouuchsJaap0[/video]


@Wyote You may be interested in watching this as well.

I have posted a couple stories here about the different places that they have uncovered as being places of such initiation.
Of course you know that most we also under the influence of mushrooms or similar psychotropic drugs at the time as well. [MENTION=4459]Sensiko[/MENTION] and I have had many discussions about our dreams and she has had a recurring one now since childhood where she is running lost in what appears to be the Paris Catacombs or somewhere similar…so this may be something she would like as well.
I would say that the imagery of the twisting staircase got to me.
I was always in church…taking stairs down, around corners, down more stairs..always down down down….I knew the slide would take me even further down but I wanted to go there so badly. There was the place that everything was…well, indescribable…mostly because I can’t remember.

But somehow the dreams were more…not like remembering a past life (though I don’t discount that could be my interpretation of that now in dream-form), it was returning to that place that none of us really remember now in our waking lives but some of us know is there.

I will PM you later about the account…thank you, that would be cool to peruse.

 

[Skarekrow]

[video=youtube;Cl5QDrQ0kC8]https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=Cl5QDrQ0kC8[/video]​

 

[Skarekrow]

Time:
Reversible or Irreversible?

Classical physics says time is reversible because its laws hold true whether time flows forward or backward.
Thermodynamics says time only flows forward, because were it to reverse, entropy of an isolated system could decrease which would violate the second law of thermodynamics.

So is time reversible or irreversible?
The answer cannot be deduced from either classical physics or thermodynamics because both are flawed in their assumptions.

Classical Systems are Timeless

Classical physics only deals with deterministic systems whose past, present, and future are entirely contained in a single timeless equation. As a result, for such systems time does not exist except as spatial increments marking the various aspects of a static pattern frozen in eternity.

Moving one way or another on a static pattern does not change it, and for this reason the laws of classical physics hold true regardless of whether the time variable is positive or negative.

Because time is not an intrinsic part of deterministic systems, classical physics has nothing valid to say about the real nature of time.

Thermodynamics Is Just A Suggestion

Thermodynamics is a statistical science that calculates trends rather than individual events.
This means it sweeps complex molecular motion under the rug and only makes observations about the resulting lump.

It is important to remember that according to classical physics, molecular motion is deterministic, implying that thermodynamic systems must also be deterministic because they are merely collections of deterministic molecules.

If the components of a system are time reversible, then so must the system itself.
So why does thermodynamics claim time is irreversible? Because due to the overwhelming complexity in keeping track of every deterministic molecule, it is forced to ignore this level of precision where reversibility resides.

The illusion of time irreversibility in thermodynamics arises from two problems:

1) its inability to calculate a system with absolute precision, which prevents it from mathematically confirming time symmetry, and

​

2) that its laws are based on incomplete statistical observations and assumptions.

​

Time symmetry or reversibility requires that the laws of a system in question do not change when time is reversed.
In classical physics, this is easy to check because past and future of a system can be calculated with absolute precision.

But thermodynamics cannot completely know the total characteristics of a system because its molecular details are too complex to take into account.

So it cannot even compare the forward and reversed systems to check for symmetry because they are too complex.
On this point alone, thermodynamics is therefore inconclusive about the nature of time.

Thermodynamics Makes Statistical Laws Apply to Individual Cases

Resorting to statistical observations, it forces a match between limited laboratory observation and mathematics by fatally assuming that instead of collections of deterministic particles, things are made of perfect fluids.

This is done as a matter of practicality to smooth over the randomness of molecular motion, which unfortunately throws out its inherent deterministic and time reversible nature.

Assuming a perfect fluid is like assuming that each family in America has exactly 1.3 children, to match the national statistic.
While this is a neat mathematical device, when it gets taken too seriously any family’s claim to have two children is seen as an impossibility because it would “violate the statistical law.”

Likewise, when time is reversed and entropy decreases, the resulting violation of the second law of thermodynamics should be no cause for alarm because the second law is only a unique statistical trend, not an absolute pillar of physics as its supporters claim.

It seems universal only because the mathematics apparently support it, but remember that the math in thermodynamics is built upon the assumption that systems are made of perfect fluids.

While the systems to which science has restricted its observations do show increasing entropy, this says nothing about the ignored systems. What applies to the minority need not be universal for the majority.

In truth, a decrease of entropy violates nothing because it is not an impossibility – it simply has lower probability than were the system to increase in entropy.

Therefore, the mathematical and observational proof in thermodynamics are insufficient to claim that time is irreversible.

Proper Definition of Time Irreversibility

So how do we determine whether time is reversible or irreversible, being that classical physics and thermodynamics have now been eliminated from the debate?

We see that thermodynamics is on the right track – stated another way, time seems irreversible because the future is more uncertain than the past.

While the past can be clearly observed from observation of what transpired in a system, if calculations are unable to perfectly predict the future as well, the future will seem murkier.

So the future seems always “in the making” which gives rise to an apparent forward flow of time.
But this murkiness of the future is only due to incomplete information concerning the individual particles of a thermodynamic system.

Were we to know them in detail, we could indeed see that the future is as certain as the past and that time in that case is reversible.
The nearsightedness of an observer says nothing about the intrinsic fuzziness of the object observed; that science cannot determine the future state of a system does not mean the system itself is nondeterministic.

Quantum Mechanics Proves Direction of Time

It should now be clear that only nondeterministic systems are time irreversible.
Time cannot be symmetric in systems whose future is not already contained in some tidy equation connecting it with the past.

Do such systems exist?
Yes, quantum processes are nondetermistic by nature.

What state a wave function collapses into cannot be predicted mathematically.
Quantum mechanics is a lot like thermodynamics in the sense that its laws deal with the statistical trends of random processes, except there is one crucial difference: the unpredictability of a quantum system comes not from shallowness of an observer’s perception, but on the intrinsically nondeterministic nature of the system itself.

Then how exactly does time arise?
By consciousness sequentially choosing which aspects of quantum wave functions to manifest as physical experience.

Choice is nondeterministic because were it not, it would already be pre-decided, leaving no choice.
Choice necessitates freewill, so the irreversibility of time ultimately stems from freewill being neither predictable nor easily undoable.

Perhaps this sounds like new age mumbo jumbo to you, but all this is self evident from the mathematics of quantum mechanics.
There are no hidden variables in quantum theory, only those created on the spot by conscious selection.

Nothing in quantum physics contradicts this idea.

Consciousness and Quantum Phase

The phase of a wave function is entirely “arbitrary” according to physics, and it is precisely this phase that creates huge consequences for how a time-dependent wave function evolves and interacts with other wave functions.

In truth, this phase factor is not arbitrary, but deliberately chosen at some level of consciousness because being detached from the deterministic (statistical) parts of quantum theory, phase is left entirely at the discretion of choice.

This shows how mind ultimately affects physical reality, not by violating its classical laws, but by working through nonlinear systems to amplify “arbitrary” quantum fluctuations into macroscopic effects.

Time dependent wave functions show how consciousness creates time.
The only reason they appear to evolve through time is that they consist of multiple stationary states (wave functions independent of time) whose various phases change to produce a “moving” wave function.

But these phases are chosen by consciousness, and since it is the phases that give rise to the seeming time-dependence of a wave function, it should be beyond debate at this point that consciousness creates time.

Furthermore, once a wave function has “collapsed” (one disc of the jukebox selected to be played), it cannot “uncollapse”.
The collapse of a wave function is not time reversible because mathematics cannot calculate it equally well forwards and back.

Only linear systems which are perfectly predictable are time reversible.
So once more, time is irreversible when, and only when, it comes to quantum systems and freewill choice.

The Interface Between Quantum and Classical Systems

How does all this fit with the systems of classical physics?
Classical systems are merely series of deterministic effects, while conscious choice is the original nondeterministic cause.

The interval between deterministic events is known as linear time, which is illusion for the simple fact that the span between first and last effect is redundant and thus nonexistent except to the observer choosing to observe it as real.

Deterministic systems appear to move only because our consciousness slides its observational focal point along the eternally static pattern of the system, not because the system itself is changing.

As an analogy, the songs on a CD do not change with time because they all exist simultaneously as data on a disc, and any illusion of time between beginning and end of a song arises solely from them being played as such.

When a CD is played, it progresses at a default sequence, direction, and speed – but these can be changed if one chooses to skip tracks, increase the speed, or listen to it backwards, all without actually changing the CD itself.

True time does not span intervals of deterministic sequences, but rather intervals of freewill choice.
If consciousness were to choose to view the static pattern backwards, sideways, or in jumps, then that is perfectly permissible.

The term “irreversible” only means that there exists a tendency for time to progress in the direction that conscious choices are made.
Thus, reality progresses in piecewise deterministic jumps.

This can be compared to how road trips consist of roads and intersections.
What roads have been traveled determine which new roads are available at an intersection, but not which particular road will be chosen.

Quantum physics equations show what roads are available, but consciousness ultimately decides which to follow.
And so it is with reality – the choices we make determine what choices are available, but not which ones we’ll end up making.

Thus, classical and quantum processes interact to give rise to the rich dynamic fractal we call life.

​

 

[Skarekrow]

[MENTION=13730]PintoBean[/MENTION]

For some reason I feel like you can relate with me on this meme…hehe

 

[Skarekrow]

Agree with this meme on several fronts though not all of it.
I most certainly turn off certain movies or TV shows, not because I can’t handle the content (remember what I used to do for a living), but rather it is unnecessary to expose myself to such content.

Electrical devices drive me crazy in general.
Electrical buzzing is a frightening noise to me ( I have my reasons) and I can hear even the slightest buzz or high-pitched background noises electrical devices create.

As far as knowing someone else’s feelings I can’t say that that is true always or even a majority of the time.
I can tell if you are lying.
I do crave solitude, but so do many people.

Order being necessary for me to think straight is false, I function very well in high-stress, seemingly chaotic situations.
I can shut that part of myself off very well, though I can’t say it doesn’t later effect me.

Complete strangers DO tell me their life story, but more than that they tell me bizarre things that random strangers shouldn’t say like,
“You’re a medium you know?”
“There are Angels surrounding you.”
“You’re a star-child.”
“You have spiritual gifts."


I AM a healer, have been a healer, have healed many thousands of people - probably to my own physical detriment in some way.
I will still continue to heal those around me however I can, which isn’t always easy when you yourself have some physical disabilities, but I will never stop.​

 

[Skarekrow]

 

[PintoBean]

Why Is It So Important to Be Right?

Accepting being incorrect without any loss or embarrassment.
​

One of the most prevalent - and damaging - themes in our culture is the need to be right.
It's one of those essential memes that we take for granted.

It is so deeply embedded in our belief system and in our collective psyche that we never even pause to consider it.

It would really serve us to inquire why it is so compelling.
Before we begin to look at that, let's just reflect on how it impacts our lives.

From the more personal and mundane battle over who said what in the midst of an argument to the larger issues of politics, religion, abortion, health care, gun control or climate change, being right is mandated.

It quickens our pulse, causes us to shout and can sever relationships. It is the raison d'etre for most acts of hatred, violence and warfare.
Our educational system is rooted in the construct of right and wrong.

We are rewarded for what are deemed to be correct answers and the ensuing higher grades, which generally lead to more successful lives.
Being right affirms and inflates our sense of self-worth.

As students we learn to avoid as best we can the embarrassment of being wrong.
Getting the right answer becomes the primary purpose of our education.

Isn't it regrettable that this may be inconsistent with actually learning?
Can you imagine the generative and exciting learning environment that would result from a class that rewarded asking the best questions?

If you think about it, the most intriguing questions are those that don't offer simple answers.
Even more, they drive our thinking into greater complexity and curiosity.

This would be a most wonderful learning experience.
No one need be cautious about a wrong answer.

And everyone would be invited to safely participate in a generative and shared inquiry.
Children certainly wouldn't nod off in boredom.

This experience would look much different that the rote memorizing and spewing back of information - rooted in right or wrong answers.
Raising your hand to gain the reward of getting the correct answer is pointless.

It doesn't teach you anything; you already knew the answer.
It simply massages your ego, but it doesn't inspire a genuine learning experience.

Talking Heads

Cable news shows stage the predictable impasse, particularly in the political arena, fervently pitching the argument around right and wrong.
What is more stultifying than watching two talking heads assert and then refute each other?

A mindless ping-pong match.
No one walks away any more enlightened than the way they came in - both pundits and audience.

Have you ever heard a Republican pause and reflect back to a Democrat that they appreciated their point and were reconsidering their point of view?
Or a Democrat acknowledge to a Republican that their own opinion wasn't substantiated by fact as much as belief?

It would be an extraordinary moment to witness any break through in this stalemate.

Would you rather be right or would you rather be happy?

As a marriage counselor I often ask people if they'd rather be right or they'd rather be happy.
Although nearly everyone says they would prefer happiness, the battle enjoins over right or wrong.

If you pause and consider it, it's really insane isn't it?
The very fact that we'd mindlessly choose to win an argument at the cost of damaging our relationships points to something terribly amiss.

This inclination leads to the need to win an argument, which assures that no one is actively listening.
If I need to be right, and we have differing points of view, that obviously makes you wrong.

Doesn't exactly sound like the stuff of friendships, let alone romantic relations.
This compulsion to be right sidetracks our lives and impedes our learning and happiness.

Why is it so vital to be right?

It's curious how mightily our thoughts and beliefs defend their territory.
Why is it so vital to be right?

Well to begin with, if you're not right, then you are indeed wrong, with all the accompanying sense of humiliation and failure.
But is this a given?

Does it have to be this way?
Could we accept being incorrect without any loss or embarrassment?

I believe this fixation is more likely wed to highly competitive cultures than traditionally-oriented cooperative societies.
In the latter, issues of right or wrong don't equivalently inform one's sense of self or identity.

The ego may be shaped by other influences such as being honored, respected or altruistic.
In first world cultures the drive to be right advances one in the competitive race.

In the desire to get ahead this is utilized as a core value.
I would actually suggest that this is a highly pervasive fixation attachment that ruins our relationships, derails our mindfulness and erodes our natural instinct to learn.

During a 2004 news conference on the Iraqi war, a reporter asked President Bush to cite an example of a decision he regretted or an admission of something he did wrong during his presidency.

Bush looked completely dumbfounded as he struggled to acknowledge having been wrong about anything.
As I watched him struggle, I considered that as a child the need to be right was likely a major influence in his life.

This is true of so many people.
Whether due to demanding expectations of parents, a humiliating moment in a classroom or being taunted by friends, most of us remain attached to the need to be correct.

This is something I struggle with quite a bit. Not that I can't admit I am wrong. Quite the opposite actually. I've found that when I screw up, make an incorrect assertion or do something that is weighing on my conscience, it is simply easier to say "I'm sorry, I was wrong" ( or something to that effect). Yet, this has actually worked to my detriment professionally and socially on a few occasions because the common perception is "why do that?" Basically people believe it makes you look weak and/or stupid. So even if one is clearly in the wrong, the general perception upon admitting this fact is that it is a gutless, pathetic thing to do. A mellow "oops, sorry" becomes a groveling Mea Culpe to the ears of most. Aside from feeling at a disadvantage, I also end up disappointed in humanity in general. Because I am willing to stand corrected, I end up holding this expectation of others. Only to be terribly disappointed that they act like belligerent 5 year olds until the bitter the end. Any resolution is usually achieved by ignoring and silently forgiving rather waiting for and actually receiving any kind of apology or self-correction.