week nine

newton's three laws and me:

looking through this week's packet, the repeated use of the word "laws" is starting to give me the creeps. thinking about how laws are used to both define and limit our experience of life. i definitely appreciate the understanding that knobbier, fatter tires are going to make my bike a good deal harder to ride than my slick, smooth city tires, the force of friction impeding freedom of motion. but! i think people got a little carried away with their joy at the limitations defined by newton and his followers. i guess it felt comforting to them. but for some of us, the proliferation of their mechanistic way of thinking has left us feeling like aliens in what some part of us remembers as the formerly comfy human world.

our "energy efficient" culture: 

are we referring here to all the wasted heat and the first law of thermodynamics? our technology, though developing rapidly is still pretty limited here on earth when it comes to beauty and flow and intrinsic understanding and expression of the interconnectedness of all that is. we have so much to learn from the other beings with whom we share this earth about living efficiently. there was a great interview recently by caroline casey on kpfa of a woman who's all about nature-based design. check it out here:

https://www.coyotenetworknews.com/productcart/pc/radioshow.htm

scroll down to the oct. 16th show on biomimicry. click on listen.

descartes has a lot to answer for!: 

humans are separate from nature? this painful prescription has lead to much abuse and destruction of the vibrant living natural world of which we are actually an intimate part. i certainly respect anyone who explores the nature of our (many?) reality(s). but it's just so unfortunate that a mindset like this was allowed and encouraged to dominate the holistic understandings of all of our root cultures.

ps - "cool experiment #1" update:

from my 100% subjective viewpoint, i would say my actions in the experiment (see last week's blog) had little or no positive effect on the overall atmosphere of the class last week, which was very tired and low energy. (post-midterm blues, and "classical physics", maybe not the best combo to begin with...) anyway, the experiment did have a very nice effect on me. spending time envisioning, sending love, and connecting with the divine light in each person before class helped me feel good and happy to go to class, and gave me greater insights into the unique beauty of each person. fun! and energizing.