A mishmash of informed snark, piquant opinions, refined nastiness, occasional schmaltz, & tawdry graphics, served up continuously since 2006 by COSMIC CONNIE, aka CONNIE L. SCHMIDT. Covering New-Age/New-Wage culture & crapitalism, pop spirituality & religion, pop psychology, self(ish)-help, alt-health hucksterism, conspiranoia, business babble, media silliness, Scamworld, politix, & related (or occasionally unrelated) matters of consequence.
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Saturday, January 24, 2009
It's Cosmic Connie Day!
Yes, Dear Ones, today, January 24, is my birthday. While it is not yet the international holiday it really should be, you can still celebrate it anyway. Do something nice for someone. Send me money. Share a smile with a stranger. Send me money. Volunteer at a soup kitchen or homeless shelter. Send me money. Most of all, think about me. And send me money. Or not. Just make it a great day. I'll be back to snarking soon, but today I'm celebrating.
Thank you, Volly, I'm touched. (Well, people have always told me I'm a bit touched in the head, but that's something different.) Anyway, I appreciate the warm good wishes. It was a great day.
Thanks for the b.d. wishes, Marie. As for JV offering me a free ride in his Rolls, I'm probably the last person he'd want in that car. :-)
However, he did observe Cosmic Connie Day by taking a select group of his followers for another type of "ride" -- a three-day "Awakened Millionaire" weekend for which he charged $12,500 per person. It began Friday and ends today. (I suspect that not everyone paid that price, but I'm equally sure he'll never tell; it's good for marketing to advertise that you had a full house for such a pricey event.)
Anyhoo, on the second day of the seminar, which happened to fall on Cosmic Connie Day, Jan. 24, he supposedly talked about spiritual principles and shared new secrets for cleaning, manifesting, etc. It is only fitting that the day honoring such an exalted being as myself would be devoted to such lofty things. ;-)
And today, Sunday, is the "bonus day," when the lucky attendees get to listen to Joebot and junior hustledork Craig Perrine. As Joe himself said, "This rocks!"
Dear Connie, somewhat belated but no less genuine wishes of much happiness, love, good health and energy (to deal with the challenges of country life) from me too.
As for sending you money, funny, I was about to ask you the same thing! Y'know, one kid in college, another about to go to one, and with the food prices, the way they are going up... I'm sure you understand. So contact me off-blog, I'll send you my account number. ;)
Anyway... :)
The WV is "paski." Which means "belts" in Polish. Which is unfortunate, because one cannot come up with a proper snark for that. Oh well, maybe that's OK, this being your (belated) birthday 'n all. Will snark next time.
Thanks for the good wishes, Eliz! Don't worry about having no money. I understand. As for that confirmation word, "paski," meaning "belts" -- once again Blogger's 'bots astound me. This is their way of saying that because money is scarce, we all need to tighten our belts. Wow.
Hey, Eliz, after we do that scam we've been planning around The Wisdom of Turds, do you want to have a go at The Wisdom of the Blogger WV Bots?
Thanks, Mojo! What can I say, we blue people age gracefully. And hey, my subliminal suggestions about sending money really worked! Yippee! I'm going to have to write an e-book about how to extract money from readers via a blog. Oh, wait, that's already been done thousands of times. Oh, well...off to search for a more original scam.
Hey, Eliz, after we do that scam we've been planning around The Wisdom of Turds, do you want to have a go at The Wisdom of the Blogger WV Bots?
Totally! I'm on it, as soon as I finish my Dancing Teeth project. (I'm getting close! Given how much dentists cost, I should be able to launch it within the next few years!)
P.S. Why haven't I thought of that? LOL! Paski -- yes, IOW, tighten your belts, ladies! (Hm, either that, or S&M ;).
Mrs Elizabeth, I bet you can answer this. It is said that a child in it's early years recognises no difference between self and environment. In your opinion, what is the relationship between that and reputed states of enlightenment?
My dear 3H, you are not pulling my leg here, are you...? :) (BTW, what does hhh stand for -- handsome, hunky and hilarious?)
If you expect a Dancing Teeth answer, you'll have to wait a bit, I'm afraid, 'cuz I'm still working out the details of that business.
If you are not pulling my leg, however, this is indeed an interesting question. My honest answer is, I don't know.
If pressed, I'd speculate that these are not the same things -- the state of oneness of a very young child is pre-ego, while the one experienced by a spiritually enlightened adult would be post-ego, forged by, among other things, the necessary experiences of suffering, loss and all the other woes of human earthly life (which a very young child presumably has not experienced) *and* a conscious spiritual practice. But there are differing points of view on the subject, I suppose. They may well be the same thing, at least as subjectively experienced.
I should do my research properly first, I suppose, because this question has probably been well chewed over since the sixties and before. There are probably hundreds of volumes on it. Infant egolessness is probably in pre-university textbooks and all over the web (and I'm probably very lazy).
I don't know how it has been detirmined that a child is egoless , but I would guess that the parts of the brain that give a sense of separate self take a few years to develop. Then, if you want to regain that egolessness you have to learn to switch them off again, for some types of experience at least. There's been research with fMRI to look at what happens to the brain during meditation and religious experience, to get some good ideas about this- neurotheology and what have you.
Andy Newberg's experiments with nuns and buddhist monks showed deactivation of parts of the brain correlated with loss of sense of self or experiences of inner space (if I remember right). His research showed parts of the brain at the back of the head which are involved in spatial awareness becoming less active as the subjects went into their meditations. I would guess that would mean that an infant loses a sense of egolessness as it learns to walk and come into control of it's body, and those parts of the brain develop. I'm going to award myself a certificate if that turns out to be true when I research it in a few minutes time.
His subject's experience didn't neccessarily involve a dark night of the soul, though others developments may, and that may lead to something different. It may be that somebody growing up with regular a regular spiritual practice retains control over these parts of the brain and doesn't suffer the same sorts of mental consequences of being unable to lose the self. I have only seen one theory on the neurology of the dark night of the soul, but there may be others.
For research into religion and the brain try... http://tinyurl.com/2odosr
Info on child egolessness is not so easy to find, and my research continues. However, I did stumble upon this fascinating piece of research which tells us that women with big asses are smarter and have smarter children. I could not possibly comment on wether anyone reading this may find comfort in this fact.
I say, carry on! I'm thrilled that we're actually having an intelligent conversation here on MY blog. People usually save the really intelligent exchanges for SHAMblog. Then again, SHAMblog is a more intelligent blog than this one. :-)
Do you think I should stop mentioning asses, it seems to stall the dialogue somewhat?
Anyway, where I planned to send the dialogue was into a meditation on the frightening marriage of new age theology and modern technology. That is, once the areas involved in non dual perceptions are well identified, an offer can be made to artificially affect them, possibly by plugging in your brain chip, plugging into the Net, and becoming 'one' with everyone/everything.
Or perhaps with a little genetic manipulation, those areas of the brain relevant to spiritual experience can be enhanced or bred into/out of a population. What do you think?
Standard SciFi fare, really, but approaching as a possibility.
3H, a strategically placed ass, or its mention, has a potential to enrich any discussion, IMHO, so personally, I don't consider it stalling. (Though the size of an ass may be a problem, I think, so that aspect should be, er, handled with extreme caution.) ;)
That is, once the areas involved in non dual perceptions are well identified, an offer can be made to artificially affect them, possibly by plugging in your brain chip, plugging into the Net, and becoming 'one' with everyone/everything.
Or perhaps with a little genetic manipulation, those areas of the brain relevant to spiritual experience can be enhanced or bred into/out of a population. What do you think?
I think that it would not be too bad if we could find a way to inject a little spiritual experience into our lives on a daily basis, whether in a pill or other artificially administered form; the decision, of course, would belong to the person. I am all for any non-harmful ways to enhance our mental (including emotional and spiritual) functioning. Why not? Say, if you can take pills that help your concentration and boost your energy levels, why not take those that would create a spiritual experience that may lead to an expanded vision of the world, self, etc.? As long as the stuff is safe.
Speaking of brain localization of the non-dual perceptions, have you heard of Jill Bolte Taylor? She is a neuroscientist who had a massive stroke which practically wiped out her left hemisphere: she was unable to walk, speak, recognize herself, remember anything. But as a consequence of shutting down her left hemisphere, she gained access to a reservoir of creativity and spiritual awareness "localized" (I think it is a wrong term) in the right side of her brain. She eventually recovered the left hem functions and you can hear her talk about it on the linked video. She has also written a book (which I'm looking forward to reading).
About childhood spiritual experiences: if you have a stomach to wade into Wilber's self-important and jargony (but valuable here, IMO) discussion on the subject, I'd recommend it, including exploring the links included there.
I think it'd be difficult to ascertain the quality of the non-dual states experienced by very young (pre-verbal) children; but spiritual experiences in children are well documented. I had several myself. :)
'the decision, of course, would belong to the person.'
"We are sorry, citizen Elizabeth, but your habitual dualistic reasoning is proving problematic to our sustainable community. Your carbon output has already exceeded your quota, and we know that you are planning a relaxing holiday in Jamaica. We try to discourage excess fossil fuel usage by our citizens. We can offer you two choices, you may wish to be recycled, or you may wish to be implanted. You have twenty four hours to decide. Hail to the wise ones, the bringers of oneness!"
http://tinyurl.com/c6babz
Now, if I was a zealous scientist, and I was looking at a solution for the middle east, and I had this chip....... I wouldn't even need to turn it on fully for the oneness experience, I could just 'calm' things a bit......
You see where it may get a bit iffy.
Have I heard of Bolte Taylor? Indeed, thank youI have seen her videos. She got criticised for being a bit loose with her science, but I liked her lecture. I had tried to describe that to people for a long time in almost the same words- alas, no one listened. Hey-ho.
Wilber? Talks too much waffle for me. Seems to buddy up with crazy people, too.
Well, 3h, if you put it this way, I'll go for "implanted," what the heck.
But see, I'm thinking spiritual, not totalitarian. By definition (I think :), spiritual awareness would preclude totalitarian tendencies. No?
I had tried to describe that to people for a long time in almost the same words- alas, no one listened.
You mean, you tried to describe the oceanic feeling or the left hemisphere stroke? ;)
And as why they don't listen, you know how that is: the prophets are always disregarded in their own lands.;) But you can tell us here, at Whirled Musings. I, for one, would be interested to hear what you have to say, whether on spiritual experiences or stroke (or whatever else it may be).
Eliz wrote to HHH: "I, for one, would be interested to hear what you have to say, whether on spiritual experiences or stroke (or whatever else it may be)."
Me too! I'm fascinated, even though I'm not actively participating right now (due to that four-letter word W-O-R-K, plus a couple of new blog posts that have been brewing).
Someone comes near me with a chip, they'll need kevlar underpants.
'spiritual awareness would preclude totalitarian tendencies. No?'
It may, at that.
'the oceanic feeling or the left hemisphere stroke? ;)'
The oceanic bit. Well, not quite an ocean, more a bottomless reservoir.
If your going to have spiritual experiences, do them outside. It's not very impressive to say you merged with a small bedroom and a spider plant in a terraced house- much better to be one with the mountains and oceans etc.
Or keep your eyes closed.
Ho-hum.
Could be time to try a retreat.
'And as why they don't listen, you know how that is: the prophets are always disregarded in their own lands.;) '
Oh the pain, the loneliness, the suffering on behalf of an ignorant humanity that does not care. O forgive them Father, they know not what they do. Oh!. Oh!
I have looked at the link you provided- and recognise one of the list of luminaries, Sarah Lazar, who measured brain growth in meditators.
Have you seen all those Phd's? Reassuring to know they've all been stamped 'approved'.
So, this mind & life thing. How come nobody is calling the Dalai Lama on his reincarnated leader scam?
What scientific tests has he been subjected to over this matter, and how can I wangle my own international inter-religion organisation based on my being a tulku?
At least the D.L. has proper flowing robes, unlike the western leaders, but it might be interesting to see him in a studded leather jacket with a few Motorhead patches sewn on.
So, this mind & life thing. How come nobody is calling the Dalai Lama on his reincarnated leader scam?
What scientific tests has he been subjected to over this matter, and how can I wangle my own international inter-religion organisation based on my being a tulku?
At least the D.L. has proper flowing robes, unlike the western leaders, but it might be interesting to see him in a studded leather jacket with a few Motorhead patches sewn on.
BTW, one of your books has gone from the shelves of the local Waterstones. Whether it left under someone's coat or went legit I don't know, but someone wants 'em.
3h, I have a very dear friend with two Ph.D's (one in molecular biology, one in psychology), who is convinced of the truth of reincarnation. He recommended to me the work of Ian Stevenson -- have you heard of him? I read his case studies (of allegedly reincarnated individuals) and as mind-boggling as they are (and many are, IMO), I remain very skeptical. But this is a matter of belief, obviously, since it's impossible to prove (or disprove) it.
BTW, I find the Western scientists' (and not only scientists) awe of DL and other Eastern gurus (legit or not) a bit ridiculous.
Elizabeth I immediately went to look at Stephenson, and read one of his accounts of reincarnated child knowing impossible things about remote events and people. I don't know what to think. I remain sceptical but interested.
Esatern philosophy has turned out to have provable results in some aspects, to me. It may turn out that other aspects are real, and with measurable correlates or causes, just like meditation. It may be that some peope interact with their environment in ways which are hard to detect or explain, giving knowledge that is otherwise impossible to come by. It may be that something survives death and transmigrates, though there isn't much measured evidence that I know of, apart form doing things like weighing corpses at the poin of death and the like.
What does your Phd friend say? Electromagnetic templates evolving from body to body? Dark matter etheric bodies undetectable by any instrument but involved in the processes of life?
There are occasionally people with extraordinary minds who can do things like spend 8 hours reciting prime numbers, who says there aren't people who can extrapolate the past from the present, simply by an acute but unacknowledged awareness of the laws of nature?
Connie How much money does a moderately selling book on the paranormal normally make it's author?
hhh - The study you linked to concluded that, "Overall, the data supported the view that readers construct mental simulations of events when reading stories."
Perhaps, for their next study, the researchers will try to document whether pounding test subjects' fingers with a hammer elicits pain responses. :-)
Essentially, what these "researchers" have accomplished is that they have turned grant dollars into justification for the purchase of time on very expensive machinery, in order to prove what anyone who is even marginally literate has always known. And people wonder why "research" isn't universally revered! :-)
Yeah, Ron, isn't it something? That too was my exact reaction after reading this "study." They could have just gotten in touch with a bunch of third-graders who love to read -- the kids would have told them the same thing, as would anyone who's ever read fiction (and not only).
This, btw, is what a lot of psych research looks like. (Hold the presses: worried people experience more anxiety than non-worried ones! And, later that year, another breakthrough study showing that anxious people worry more than non-anxious ones! Wow... Isn't science, like, awesome?! ;))
3H, my "reincarnated" friend (who is in his 70's, btw) does not speculate on the mechanism of reincarnation -- or at least he and I have not discussed the details. But any theory about the process would be a massive speculation, obviously.
Having said that, yes, there are things in our human world that clearly defy our explanatory powers, yet are rejected off-hand by "professional" skeptics -- prematurely so, IMO.
Speaking of which, have you ever had the experience of "knowing" when somebody somewhere behind you stared at you and perhaps made you turn around to look? Or perhaps you stared at someone in this manner and made them react? (There is a follow-up to my question, so I'm not just asking to be silly. BTW, I'm never silly. Ahem. ;)
's right RevRon, that's what I thought at first- big wow, reading makes you think. Oo, impressive.
I suppose this opens the way for neurologically targeted books, advertising copy, political manifestos. Maybe they will be able to do it in reverse, stimulate the brain and see what words come up. Maybe one person can read a book, networked to others brains, and share the experience. I also expect that one long term goal, after scanning the brain areas is a direct visualization of what is in the mind- what the reader sees. If there is enough money in it, I suppose.
So are we going to be reading scientifically crafted books in the near future- 'Marvin gripped the door handle for a moment. 2.4 seconds, to be precise. [optimum time for eliciting maximum fight or flight response in male subject of target demographc classification]. He thought of Archibald, his son [studies show high empathy response in middle to high income bracket males towards entities called Archibald], and gripped his Smith and Koch silver/green lazer pistol [scans indicate multiple areas of high response to these colours and brands, and a further response in areas related to anticipated technologies]......'
etc. etc.
'Or perhaps you stared at someone in this manner and made them react?'
This is my cue for a crass comment about women having sensors in their butts, no?
Rupert Sheldrake has been banging on about morphogenic fields for a long time, and I don't know if he has come up with any actual evidence yet.
I don't know what he has found about being stared at. I don't see why that wouldn't just be instinct. The sense of not being jumped by a sabre toothed tiger, or the guy from the tribe in the next valley? I suppose there could be some electromagnetic interaction between people that may give a mechanism, but that would be measurable in the same way that heart and brain rhythms are measurable, so has it been measured?
One of his other areas of interest is knowing who is on the phone before it rings. I think that is just familiarity with the person, like you know what they will say next. Also, I have never had a cold call from India to sell me a mobile phone without experiencing irritation as soon as the phone rang. Conversely, a phone (or email) from a friendly source is preceded by a feeling of relaxation, or inner certainty. Normally the type of tingling in my gut tells me if a call is for me or wether it is going to benefit me. I think it is more about timing than about paranormal fields etc.
Sheldrake also goes on about dogs knowing when the owner comes home. My Dad's dog had good hearing, and my Dad had a noisy van- I think I see a solution to this mystery.
Alas I beg to differ, HHH, my dolphin always knows when I am returning home, and rushes to meet me before any sign of my arrival could possibly be detected by any normal means.
And I also think that you should stop trying to scare people with talk of 'peak oil' and mind control and other silly things, it makes you look like an amateur tinfoil hat wearing loony. In these times of crisis you need to save your tinfoil for your chickens. That's what my dolphin says, anyway, don't you boy?
Wow, I am soooo far behind on this discussion I am not even going to try to catch up. But I am enjoying it nonetheless, and it's good to hear from Mary Maid and her dolphin, although I know the real truth about cetaceans: http://tinyurl.com/a9wt4x
As for asses, in response to your earlier question, HHH, it is certainly okay to talk about them in the proper context. I've been thinking about asses a LOT for several months now. http://tinyurl.com/c45r4x
I haven't been thinking about peak oil very much, though. Maybe I need to.
Anon, I'm no expert on little donkeys but I would love to be. Llamas are kind of neat too. But I think a couple of mini donkeys would be more practical around here than llamas.
Little donkeys are nice, but I do get an inner shudder as I remember the state religion psychological warfare operation they ran on me for years as a kid. This is an example of the humiliation that was forced upon us as they tried to undermine us mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually. Little Donkey, my arse. Disgusting, and look how they co-opt the brain dead servants of the MSM into their sinister scheme.
Worry about peak oil? I don't think you should worry about anything, Connie, but is Obama gonna change the amount of oil in the ground, too? 'They' say there isn't enough time to re-tool the economy to cope with an oil shortfall, but nobody can predict when that will be, they just say it's close. Whether there are big lakes of it being hoarded and hidden, I don't know. US oil is said to have peaked in the 70's, as per Hubbert, North sea oil has been and gone, for the rest it's only a matter of time. Not many people seemed to have picked up on what Putin said at Davos about energy problems as we emerge on the other side of the depression. Wonder what he meant. I do enjoy a good prophecy of doom, mind, so I may not be seeing the good news that must be out there somewhere. Anyway, I'm a real zen dude and all I need is can of beans and a yoga mat. Obviously I am spiritually prepared for these times of Earth changes, oil or no.
Hi, Connie. Have you heard about the new imminent new wage movie called 'the one'? Luckiliy it's got Chopra in it, so it will all make total sense. Well, it may not make sense, but it will make money. Hoo yes.
HHH: Oh, yeah, "The One." It's also supposed to have His Holiness the Dalai Lama -- well, doing a voice-over, anyway. Basically it's a string of talking heads going on about the nature of God. Included are some first-tier spiritual leaders and New-Wage gurus.
Notably absent: The Buddha of the Internet, aka The Jesus of Business. I am guessing that we won't be seeing a lot of hype about The One on his blog and Twitter page.
Here's a link to one of the trailers: http://www.onetheproject.com/TheTrailer.jsp
PS ~ I do confess to a fondness for Ram Dass, aka Richard Alpert, just for his staying power and his (intentionally) humorous persona. I've never really been able to Be Here Now; by the time I get to Here it's generally Somewhere Else. But I like ol' Ram anyway.
Rammed Ass seems like he more or less knows what he is talking about with oneness and wotnot, but he also seems quite nuts too.
'How's that Transition Towns book coming?'
Oh, well, it's 'oil is soon to run out and things will fall apart. Grow your own food, make your own currency, knit your own clothes, make your own medicines, insulate your house, don't be too disturbed by billions starving.' Stuff like that. (The last one was mine.)
If you get sheep instead of donkeys, you could grow your own socks.
As I sit here, I am surrounded by things made from oil that could be made from something else, and we may just regret that sort of mis-allocation of resources.
I agree with you, HHH, about Ram Dass. Probably too many psychedelics in his youth.
I could probably get socks from alpacas too. But the disadvantage there is that, like llamas, they spit when displeased. I'm sure that sheep are more useful than donkeys, but in my opinion donkeys are just cuter. Besides, we have quite a coyote problem here on the Edge of Nowhere, and donkeys keep coyotes away, whereas sheep just attract coyotes.
It sounds as if "Transition Towns" is in that increasingly popular literary genre sometimes referred to as Doomer Porn.
Well, I'm a bit more optimistic than that. My solution to the oil problem is that we just make more. Who says it's not a renewable resource? All we gotta do is grab the DNA or whatever from some of those fossils, reintroduce a few prehistoric species, and wait a few million years. In the meantime we may have to rough it a bit.
==BEGIN SNIPPET== 3) Make oil without the inconvenient "millions of years" thing
In more proof that the line between being retarded or a genius is often whether people tell you to shut up before you try something, a geneticist and a biologist asked "Why don't we just make more petrol?" Before anybody could explain that you'd need a Delorean with an extremely large trunk, and that people would get annoyed when you started stealing animals just to dump them in a hole the cretaceous period, George Church and Chris Somerville of San Carlos-based firm LS9 engineered a form of E. Coli which produces hydrocarbon chains with promising petrol potential.
This work provides an interesting environmentalist dilemma - on the one hand it could eliminate the need for oil drilling altogether, but it would also remove the current impetus to develop alternative energy sources that don't depend on the "burn stuff and don't breathe the smoke" strategy. Not to mention that a sentence involving "E.Coli", "petrol" and "genetically engineered" may well be enough to make an eco -activists head explode on the spot.
==END SNIPPET==
So we may all be roughing it, unless the brilliant minds of today can come up with truly workable alternative fuel sources.
Anyway, I like a bit of doomer porn. I particularly like MILTSTEW's That's 'Mom I'd Like To Survive The End With'
More fuel from microorganisms is http://tinyurl.com/4mta8s
This stuff is good because it eats CO2, seawater is cheap, and there is a lot of desert. I know there are people who say it won't be enough, but it looks cool. It may be a good thing for the developing world to get into.
O.k., your not an expert on peak oil, but what about peak bullshit? As you survey the baloney scene, do you think there is any sign of an imminent shortfall in global bullshit supplies?
I was lent a copy of 'Crossing the Rubicon' a few years ago, by Mike Ruppert here which is what got me looking at it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRo5jdWQPDI&feature=related
So if there is going to be a big shortfall of oil supply within the next few years, wouldn't it be a good idea to keep troops in Iraq, to remind the Iraqis of who their freinds are? I mean, if Obama pulls out (he did say he would do that didn't he), isn't there a danger all that lovely oil may go to the Chinese or Indians?
Scanned through the Mind and Life annual report and found that they are researching lots of questions pertinent to what we mentioned.
"In early July MLI convened a meeting of 20 leading contemplative scholars, philosophers, neuroscientists and social scientists atYale University on “The Plasticity of the Self.” The Mind and Life Plasticity of the Self
Collectively, the participants at theYale meeting were encouraged to discuss: 1. How is self conceptualized and studied in your field of scholarship?What is self substantively?What does self do functionally?Why and how did self evolve in human beings? 2. Do we need a self to be happy or is self actually a hindrance to happiness and a harbinger of suffering? 3. How does self develop substantively? How is the process of self-identification understood over developmental time and what are the functional implications of self-identification for human health, well being and development? Do the functions of self change over developmental time? 4. What do you consider to be the most important research questions in this area that have not yet been addressed? 5. What do you consider to be the most appropriate scientific paradigms and methodologies within which to investigate the self and the process and consequences of self-identification across human development and in the context of contemplative practice?"
Yes, Dear Ones, today, January 24, is my birthday. While it is not yet the international holiday it really should be, you can still celebrate it anyway. Do something nice for someone. Send me money. Share a smile with a stranger. Send me money. Volunteer at a soup kitchen or homeless shelter. Send me money. Most of all, think about me. And send me money. Or not. Just make it a great day. I'll be back to snarking soon, but today I'm celebrating.
Happy Birthday, Connie!
ReplyDeleteI can't send you any money, 'cause I haven't got any, but maybe next year!
Meanwhile, I'm sure I can do something nice for somebody.
Celebrate well!
/v
Thank you, Volly, I'm touched. (Well, people have always told me I'm a bit touched in the head, but that's something different.) Anyway, I appreciate the warm good wishes. It was a great day.
ReplyDeleteJoe Vitale might offer you a free ride in his wonderful car ?
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday from Montreal !
Happy Birthday.
ReplyDeleteI've baked you a cybercake and made some virtual lemonade!
Thanks for the b.d. wishes, Marie. As for JV offering me a free ride in his Rolls, I'm probably the last person he'd want in that car. :-)
ReplyDeleteHowever, he did observe Cosmic Connie Day by taking a select group of his followers for another type of "ride" -- a three-day "Awakened Millionaire" weekend for which he charged $12,500 per person. It began Friday and ends today. (I suspect that not everyone paid that price, but I'm equally sure he'll never tell; it's good for marketing to advertise that you had a full house for such a pricey event.)
Anyhoo, on the second day of the seminar, which happened to fall on Cosmic Connie Day, Jan. 24, he supposedly talked about spiritual principles and shared new secrets for cleaning, manifesting, etc. It is only fitting that the day honoring such an exalted being as myself would be devoted to such lofty things. ;-)
And today, Sunday, is the "bonus day," when the lucky attendees get to listen to Joebot and junior hustledork Craig Perrine. As Joe himself said, "This rocks!"
Thank you, HHH. I'm enjoying the cake and lemonade as we speak (or write).
ReplyDeleteWhat??!! And all this time, you've been telling me that EVERY day is Cosmic Connie Day!
ReplyDeleteAh, well... I'll bake you the cake anyway! :-)
Happy birthday, my love. And you're wise to avoid being taken for a ride. I still hold somewhat to the belief that stupidity is contagious.
BTW - VW is Sheer. I think it's an omen (or at least a hint!!)
Hey Connie, Stuff the Happy Birthday, have a Brilliant Birthday!
ReplyDeleteDo nothing, eat heaps, drink like theres no tomorrow and do whatever else you feel will irk everyone like keep right on snarking.
Seriously have a good one.
Dear Connie, somewhat belated but no less genuine wishes of much happiness, love, good health and energy (to deal with the challenges of country life) from me too.
ReplyDeleteAs for sending you money, funny, I was about to ask you the same thing! Y'know, one kid in college, another about to go to one, and with the food prices, the way they are going up... I'm sure you understand. So contact me off-blog, I'll send you my account number. ;)
Anyway... :)
The WV is "paski." Which means "belts" in Polish. Which is unfortunate, because one cannot come up with a proper snark for that. Oh well, maybe that's OK, this being your (belated) birthday 'n all. Will snark next time.
Happy B-D, Connie!
ReplyDeleteYou don't look a day over yesterday! At least, going by your avatar pict.
Funny, I have this inexplicable desire to send you money....
Hope you enjoyed the day, and every day!
Thanks for the good wishes, Eliz! Don't worry about having no money. I understand. As for that confirmation word, "paski," meaning "belts" -- once again Blogger's 'bots astound me. This is their way of saying that because money is scarce, we all need to tighten our belts. Wow.
ReplyDeleteHey, Eliz, after we do that scam we've been planning around The Wisdom of Turds, do you want to have a go at The Wisdom of the Blogger WV Bots?
Thanks, Mojo! What can I say, we blue people age gracefully. And hey, my subliminal suggestions about sending money really worked! Yippee! I'm going to have to write an e-book about how to extract money from readers via a blog. Oh, wait, that's already been done thousands of times. Oh, well...off to search for a more original scam.
ReplyDeleteHey, Eliz, after we do that scam we've been planning around The Wisdom of Turds, do you want to have a go at The Wisdom of the Blogger WV Bots?
ReplyDeleteTotally! I'm on it, as soon as I finish my Dancing Teeth project. (I'm getting close! Given how much dentists cost, I should be able to launch it within the next few years!)
P.S. Why haven't I thought of that? LOL! Paski -- yes, IOW, tighten your belts, ladies! (Hm, either that, or S&M ;).
Mrs Elizabeth, I bet you can answer this.
ReplyDeleteIt is said that a child in it's early years recognises no difference between self and environment.
In your opinion, what is the relationship between that and reputed states of enlightenment?
My dear 3H, you are not pulling my leg here, are you...? :) (BTW, what does hhh stand for -- handsome, hunky and hilarious?)
ReplyDeleteIf you expect a Dancing Teeth answer, you'll have to wait a bit, I'm afraid, 'cuz I'm still working out the details of that business.
If you are not pulling my leg, however, this is indeed an interesting question. My honest answer is, I don't know.
If pressed, I'd speculate that these are not the same things -- the state of oneness of a very young child is pre-ego, while the one experienced by a spiritually enlightened adult would be post-ego, forged by, among other things, the necessary experiences of suffering, loss and all the other woes of human earthly life (which a very young child presumably has not experienced) *and* a conscious spiritual practice. But there are differing points of view on the subject, I suppose. They may well be the same thing, at least as subjectively experienced.
What do you think?
Nope, honest question.
ReplyDeleteWhat do I think?
Is that a client centred answer?
I should do my research properly first, I suppose, because this question has probably been well chewed over since the sixties and before. There are probably hundreds of volumes on it. Infant egolessness is probably in pre-university textbooks and all over the web (and I'm probably very lazy).
I don't know how it has been detirmined that a child is egoless
, but I would guess that the parts of the brain that give a sense of separate self take a few years to develop.
Then, if you want to regain that egolessness you have to learn to switch them off again, for some types of experience at least.
There's been research with fMRI to look at what happens to the brain during meditation and religious experience, to get some good ideas about this- neurotheology and what have you.
Andy Newberg's experiments with nuns and buddhist monks showed deactivation of parts of the brain correlated with loss of sense of self or experiences of inner space (if I remember right). His research showed parts of the brain at the back of the head which are involved in spatial awareness becoming less active as the subjects went into their meditations. I would guess that would mean that an infant loses a sense of egolessness as it learns to walk and come into control of it's body, and those parts of the brain develop. I'm going to award myself a certificate if that turns out to be true when I research it in a few minutes time.
His subject's experience didn't neccessarily involve a dark night of the soul, though others developments may, and that may lead to something different.
It may be that somebody growing up with regular a regular spiritual practice retains control over these parts of the brain and doesn't suffer the same sorts of mental consequences of being unable to lose the self.
I have only seen one theory on the neurology of the dark night of the soul, but there may be others.
What do you think?
Oh ho! This is going to be challenging -- and interesting! Me likes it. But too busy now to respond -- will later. Promise.
ReplyDeleteP.S. Not at all "client-centered," but a genuine question. :)
For research into religion and the brain try...
ReplyDeletehttp://tinyurl.com/2odosr
Info on child egolessness is not so easy to find, and my research continues.
However, I did stumble upon this fascinating piece of research which tells us that women with big asses are smarter and have smarter children.
I could not possibly comment on wether anyone reading this may find comfort in this fact.
http://tinyurl.com/bfmdzl
What about all that, Connie?
ReplyDeleteHHH asks, "What about all that, Connie?"
ReplyDeleteI say, carry on! I'm thrilled that we're actually having an intelligent conversation here on MY blog. People usually save the really intelligent exchanges for SHAMblog. Then again, SHAMblog is a more intelligent blog than this one. :-)
But like I said, carry on!
Shamblog? It just goes yah yah yah blah blah blah.
ReplyDeleteDo you think I should stop mentioning asses, it seems to stall the dialogue somewhat?
ReplyDeleteAnyway, where I planned to send the dialogue was into a meditation on the frightening marriage of new age theology and modern technology.
That is, once the areas involved in non dual perceptions are well identified, an offer can be made to artificially affect them, possibly by plugging in your brain chip, plugging into the Net, and becoming 'one' with everyone/everything.
Or perhaps with a little genetic manipulation, those areas of the brain relevant to spiritual experience can be enhanced or bred into/out of a population.
What do you think?
Standard SciFi fare, really, but approaching as a possibility.
3H, a strategically placed ass, or its mention, has a potential to enrich any discussion, IMHO, so personally, I don't consider it stalling. (Though the size of an ass may be a problem, I think, so that aspect should be, er, handled with extreme caution.) ;)
ReplyDeleteThat is, once the areas involved in non dual perceptions are well identified, an offer can be made to artificially affect them, possibly by plugging in your brain chip, plugging into the Net, and becoming 'one' with everyone/everything.
Or perhaps with a little genetic manipulation, those areas of the brain relevant to spiritual experience can be enhanced or bred into/out of a population.
What do you think?
I think that it would not be too bad if we could find a way to inject a little spiritual experience into our lives on a daily basis, whether in a pill or other artificially administered form; the decision, of course, would belong to the person. I am all for any non-harmful ways to enhance our mental (including emotional and spiritual) functioning. Why not? Say, if you can take pills that help your concentration and boost your energy levels, why not take those that would create a spiritual experience that may lead to an expanded vision of the world, self, etc.? As long as the stuff is safe.
Speaking of brain localization of the non-dual perceptions, have you heard of Jill Bolte Taylor? She is a neuroscientist who had a massive stroke which practically wiped out her left hemisphere: she was unable to walk, speak, recognize herself, remember anything. But as a consequence of shutting down her left hemisphere, she gained access to a reservoir of creativity and spiritual awareness "localized" (I think it is a wrong term) in the right side of her brain. She eventually recovered the left hem functions and you can hear her talk about it on the linked video. She has also written a book (which I'm looking forward to reading).
About childhood spiritual experiences: if you have a stomach to wade into Wilber's self-important and jargony (but valuable here, IMO) discussion on the subject, I'd recommend it, including exploring the links included there.
I think it'd be difficult to ascertain the quality of the non-dual states experienced by very young (pre-verbal) children; but spiritual experiences in children are well documented. I had several myself. :)
Then again, after all the ponderings of techdom.....
ReplyDeletehttp://tinyurl.com/c3x8dx
'the decision, of course, would belong to the person.'
ReplyDelete"We are sorry, citizen Elizabeth, but your habitual dualistic reasoning is proving problematic to our sustainable community.
Your carbon output has already exceeded your quota, and we know that you are planning a relaxing holiday in Jamaica. We try to discourage excess fossil fuel usage by our citizens.
We can offer you two choices, you may wish to be recycled, or you may wish to be implanted. You have twenty four hours to decide.
Hail to the wise ones, the bringers of oneness!"
http://tinyurl.com/c6babz
Now, if I was a zealous scientist, and I was looking at a solution for the middle east, and I had this chip.......
I wouldn't even need to turn it on fully for the oneness experience, I could just 'calm' things a bit......
You see where it may get a bit iffy.
Have I heard of Bolte Taylor? Indeed, thank youI have seen her videos. She got criticised for being a bit loose with her science, but I liked her lecture. I had tried to describe that to people for a long time in almost the same words- alas, no one listened. Hey-ho.
Wilber? Talks too much waffle for me. Seems to buddy up with crazy people, too.
Well, 3h, if you put it this way, I'll go for "implanted," what the heck.
ReplyDeleteBut see, I'm thinking spiritual, not totalitarian. By definition (I think :), spiritual awareness would preclude totalitarian tendencies. No?
I had tried to describe that to people for a long time in almost the same words- alas, no one listened.
You mean, you tried to describe the oceanic feeling or the left hemisphere stroke? ;)
And as why they don't listen, you know how that is: the prophets are always disregarded in their own lands.;) But you can tell us here, at Whirled Musings. I, for one, would be interested to hear what you have to say, whether on spiritual experiences or stroke (or whatever else it may be).
3h, this may interest you:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.mindandlife.org/index.html
Eliz wrote to HHH:
ReplyDelete"I, for one, would be interested to hear what you have to say, whether on spiritual experiences or stroke (or whatever else it may be)."
Me too! I'm fascinated, even though I'm not actively participating right now (due to that four-letter word W-O-R-K, plus a couple of new blog posts that have been brewing).
But as I said earlier, carry on...
Someone comes near me with a chip, they'll need kevlar underpants.
ReplyDelete'spiritual awareness would preclude totalitarian tendencies. No?'
It may, at that.
'the oceanic feeling or the left hemisphere stroke? ;)'
The oceanic bit.
Well, not quite an ocean, more a bottomless reservoir.
If your going to have spiritual experiences, do them outside. It's not very impressive to say you merged with a small bedroom and a spider plant in a terraced house- much better to be one with the mountains and oceans etc.
Or keep your eyes closed.
Ho-hum.
Could be time to try a retreat.
'And as why they don't listen, you know how that is: the prophets are always disregarded in their own lands.;) '
Oh the pain, the loneliness, the suffering on behalf of an ignorant humanity that does not care. O forgive them Father, they know not what they do. Oh!. Oh!
I have looked at the link you provided- and recognise one of the list of luminaries, Sarah Lazar, who measured brain growth in meditators.
Have you seen all those Phd's?
Reassuring to know they've all been stamped 'approved'.
I will check that out again.
So, this mind & life thing.
ReplyDeleteHow come nobody is calling the Dalai Lama on his reincarnated leader scam?
What scientific tests has he been subjected to over this matter, and how can I wangle my own international inter-religion organisation based on my being a tulku?
At least the D.L. has proper flowing robes, unlike the western leaders, but it might be interesting to see him in a studded leather jacket with a few Motorhead patches sewn on.
So, this mind & life thing.
ReplyDeleteHow come nobody is calling the Dalai Lama on his reincarnated leader scam?
What scientific tests has he been subjected to over this matter, and how can I wangle my own international inter-religion organisation based on my being a tulku?
At least the D.L. has proper flowing robes, unlike the western leaders, but it might be interesting to see him in a studded leather jacket with a few Motorhead patches sewn on.
Happy birthday!
ReplyDeleteSorry I missed the date,
can I still send you money?
W-O-R-K eh?
ReplyDeleteBTW, one of your books has gone from the shelves of the local Waterstones.
Whether it left under someone's coat or went legit I don't know, but someone wants 'em.
3h, I have a very dear friend with two Ph.D's (one in molecular biology, one in psychology), who is convinced of the truth of reincarnation. He recommended to me the work of Ian Stevenson -- have you heard of him? I read his case studies (of allegedly reincarnated individuals) and as mind-boggling as they are (and many are, IMO), I remain very skeptical. But this is a matter of belief, obviously, since it's impossible to prove (or disprove) it.
ReplyDeleteBTW, I find the Western scientists' (and not only scientists) awe of DL and other Eastern gurus (legit or not) a bit ridiculous.
Elizabeth
ReplyDeleteI immediately went to look at Stephenson, and read one of his accounts of reincarnated child knowing impossible things about remote events and people. I don't know what to think. I remain sceptical but interested.
Esatern philosophy has turned out to have provable results in some aspects, to me. It may turn out that other aspects are real, and with measurable correlates or causes, just like meditation. It may be that some peope interact with their environment in ways which are hard to detect or explain, giving knowledge that is otherwise impossible to come by. It may be that something survives death and transmigrates, though there isn't much measured evidence that I know of, apart form doing things like weighing corpses at the poin of death and the like.
What does your Phd friend say? Electromagnetic templates evolving from body to body? Dark matter etheric bodies undetectable by any instrument but involved in the processes of life?
There are occasionally people with extraordinary minds who can do things like spend 8 hours reciting prime numbers, who says there aren't people who can extrapolate the past from the present, simply by an acute but unacknowledged awareness of the laws of nature?
Connie
How much money does a moderately selling book on the paranormal normally make it's author?
Radzik at guruphiliac say the Dalai Lama had a bit of ticker trouble.
ReplyDeleteHe says that the D.L. is due respect because of the way he conducts himself, and I think he has a point.
Read 'Seven Years in Tibet' yonks ago, very interesting.
Incidentally, I don't know if this is of interest to a writer.
ReplyDeletehttp://tinyurl.com/cy8kud
hhh - The study you linked to concluded that, "Overall, the data supported the view that readers construct mental simulations of events when reading stories."
ReplyDeletePerhaps, for their next study, the researchers will try to document whether pounding test subjects' fingers with a hammer elicits pain responses. :-)
Essentially, what these "researchers" have accomplished is that they have turned grant dollars into justification for the purchase of time on very expensive machinery, in order to prove what anyone who is even marginally literate has always known. And people wonder why "research" isn't universally revered! :-)
Yeah, Ron, isn't it something? That too was my exact reaction after reading this "study." They could have just gotten in touch with a bunch of third-graders who love to read -- the kids would have told them the same thing, as would anyone who's ever read fiction (and not only).
ReplyDeleteThis, btw, is what a lot of psych research looks like. (Hold the presses: worried people experience more anxiety than non-worried ones! And, later that year, another breakthrough study showing that anxious people worry more than non-anxious ones! Wow... Isn't science, like, awesome?! ;))
3H, my "reincarnated" friend (who is in his 70's, btw) does not speculate on the mechanism of reincarnation -- or at least he and I have not discussed the details. But any theory about the process would be a massive speculation, obviously.
Having said that, yes, there are things in our human world that clearly defy our explanatory powers, yet are rejected off-hand by "professional" skeptics -- prematurely so, IMO.
Speaking of which, have you ever had the experience of "knowing" when somebody somewhere behind you stared at you and perhaps made you turn around to look? Or perhaps you stared at someone in this manner and made them react? (There is a follow-up to my question, so I'm not just asking to be silly. BTW, I'm never silly. Ahem. ;)
's right RevRon, that's what I thought at first- big wow, reading makes you think. Oo, impressive.
ReplyDeleteI suppose this opens the way for neurologically targeted books, advertising copy, political manifestos. Maybe they will be able to do it in reverse, stimulate the brain and see what words come up.
Maybe one person can read a book, networked to others brains, and share the experience.
I also expect that one long term goal, after scanning the brain areas is a direct visualization of what is in the mind- what the reader sees.
If there is enough money in it, I suppose.
So are we going to be reading scientifically crafted books in the near future-
'Marvin gripped the door handle for a moment. 2.4 seconds, to be precise. [optimum time for eliciting maximum fight or flight response in male subject of target demographc classification]. He thought of Archibald, his son [studies show high empathy response in middle to high income bracket males towards entities called Archibald], and gripped his Smith and Koch silver/green lazer pistol [scans indicate multiple areas of high response to these colours and brands, and a further response in areas related to anticipated technologies]......'
etc. etc.
'Or perhaps you stared at someone in this manner and made them react?'
This is my cue for a crass comment about women having sensors in their butts, no?
No, 3h. That was an intro to a new thread of our discussion, on ESP. All butts aside. For a while at least. ;)
ReplyDeleteI knew you were going to say that.
ReplyDeleteOf course! :)
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of the sense of being stared at (something I've experienced numerous times in my life, as both the starer and staree), see this.
Rupert Sheldrake has been banging on about morphogenic fields for a long time, and I don't know if he has come up with any actual evidence yet.
ReplyDeleteI don't know what he has found about being stared at. I don't see why that wouldn't just be instinct.
The sense of not being jumped by a sabre toothed tiger, or the guy from the tribe in the next valley?
I suppose there could be some electromagnetic interaction between people that may give a mechanism, but that would be measurable in the same way that heart and brain rhythms are measurable, so has it been measured?
One of his other areas of interest is knowing who is on the phone before it rings. I think that is just familiarity with the person, like you know what they will say next.
Also, I have never had a cold call from India to sell me a mobile phone without experiencing irritation as soon as the phone rang. Conversely, a phone (or email) from a friendly source is preceded by a feeling of relaxation, or inner certainty.
Normally the type of tingling in my gut tells me if a call is for me or wether it is going to benefit me. I think it is more about timing than about paranormal fields etc.
Sheldrake also goes on about dogs knowing when the owner comes home. My Dad's dog had good hearing, and my Dad had a noisy van- I think I see a solution to this mystery.
Off topic, what do you think about peak oil?
ReplyDeleteAlas I beg to differ, HHH, my dolphin always knows when I am returning home, and rushes to meet me before any sign of my arrival could possibly be detected by any normal means.
ReplyDeleteAnd I also think that you should stop trying to scare people with talk of 'peak oil' and mind control and other silly things, it makes you look like an amateur tinfoil hat wearing loony. In these times of crisis you need to save your tinfoil for your chickens. That's what my dolphin says, anyway, don't you boy?
ReplyDeletekkkkkkkkkrrrrrrkrkkkkrrrrrrrrkkkkk!
ReplyDeleteWow, I am soooo far behind on this discussion I am not even going to try to catch up. But I am enjoying it nonetheless, and it's good to hear from Mary Maid and her dolphin, although I know the real truth about cetaceans:
ReplyDeletehttp://tinyurl.com/a9wt4x
As for asses, in response to your earlier question, HHH, it is certainly okay to talk about them in the proper context. I've been thinking about asses a LOT for several months now.
http://tinyurl.com/c45r4x
I haven't been thinking about peak oil very much, though. Maybe I need to.
Wow, Cosmic Connie, I don't thnk there is anything you are not an expert on!
ReplyDeleteAw, little donkeys, aw.
Anon, I'm no expert on little donkeys but I would love to be. Llamas are kind of neat too. But I think a couple of mini donkeys would be more practical around here than llamas.
ReplyDeleteLittle donkeys are nice, but I do get an inner shudder as I remember the state religion psychological warfare operation they ran on me for years as a kid. This is an example of the humiliation that was forced upon us as they tried to undermine us mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually. Little Donkey, my arse. Disgusting, and look how they co-opt the brain dead servants of the MSM into their sinister scheme.
ReplyDeletehttp://tinyurl.com/d85r6p
Did I place that link?
ReplyDeletehttp://tinyurl.com/d85r6p
Worry about peak oil?
ReplyDeleteI don't think you should worry about anything, Connie, but is Obama gonna change the amount of oil in the ground, too?
'They' say there isn't enough time to re-tool the economy to cope with an oil shortfall, but nobody can predict when that will be, they just say it's close. Whether there are big lakes of it being hoarded and hidden, I don't know.
US oil is said to have peaked in the 70's, as per Hubbert, North sea oil has been and gone, for the rest it's only a matter of time.
Not many people seemed to have picked up on what Putin said at Davos about energy problems as we emerge on the other side of the depression. Wonder what he meant.
I do enjoy a good prophecy of doom, mind, so I may not be seeing the good news that must be out there somewhere. Anyway, I'm a real zen dude and all I need is can of beans and a yoga mat. Obviously I am spiritually prepared for these times of Earth changes, oil or no.
Just got my mitts on a copy of 'The Transition Towns Handbook, from oil dependency to llocal resilience'.
ReplyDeleteWould you like to know how it goes?
Hi, Connie. Have you heard about the new imminent new wage movie called 'the one'?
ReplyDeleteLuckiliy it's got Chopra in it, so it will all make total sense. Well, it may not make sense, but it will make money. Hoo yes.
HHH: Oh, yeah, "The One." It's also supposed to have His Holiness the Dalai Lama -- well, doing a voice-over, anyway. Basically it's a string of talking heads going on about the nature of God. Included are some first-tier spiritual leaders and New-Wage gurus.
ReplyDeleteNotably absent: The Buddha of the Internet, aka The Jesus of Business. I am guessing that we won't be seeing a lot of hype about The One on his blog and Twitter page.
Here's a link to one of the trailers:
http://www.onetheproject.com/TheTrailer.jsp
PS ~ I do confess to a fondness for Ram Dass, aka Richard Alpert, just for his staying power and his (intentionally) humorous persona. I've never really been able to Be Here Now; by the time I get to Here it's generally Somewhere Else. But I like ol' Ram anyway.
PPS ~ How's that Transition Towns book coming?
Rammed Ass seems like he more or less knows what he is talking about with oneness and wotnot, but he also seems quite nuts too.
ReplyDelete'How's that Transition Towns book coming?'
Oh, well, it's
'oil is soon to run out and things will fall apart. Grow your own food, make your own currency, knit your own clothes, make your own medicines, insulate your house, don't be too disturbed by billions starving.'
Stuff like that. (The last one was mine.)
If you get sheep instead of donkeys, you could grow your own socks.
As I sit here, I am surrounded by things made from oil that could be made from something else, and we may just regret that sort of mis-allocation of resources.
I agree with you, HHH, about Ram Dass. Probably too many psychedelics in his youth.
ReplyDeleteI could probably get socks from alpacas too. But the disadvantage there is that, like llamas, they spit when displeased. I'm sure that sheep are more useful than donkeys, but in my opinion donkeys are just cuter. Besides, we have quite a coyote problem here on the Edge of Nowhere, and donkeys keep coyotes away, whereas sheep just attract coyotes.
It sounds as if "Transition Towns" is in that increasingly popular literary genre sometimes referred to as Doomer Porn.
Well, I'm a bit more optimistic than that. My solution to the oil problem is that we just make more. Who says it's not a renewable resource? All we gotta do is grab the DNA or whatever from some of those fossils, reintroduce a few prehistoric species, and wait a few million years. In the meantime we may have to rough it a bit.
Regarding my brilliant scheme to make more oil, greater thinkers than I have, of course, already thought of it.
ReplyDeleteConsider this snippet from a July 2008 article on dailygalaxy.com:
http://www.dailygalaxy.com/my_weblog/2008/07/super-cells-fiv.html
==BEGIN SNIPPET==
3) Make oil without the inconvenient "millions of years" thing
In more proof that the line between being retarded or a genius is often whether people tell you to shut up before you try something, a geneticist and a biologist asked "Why don't we just make more petrol?" Before anybody could explain that you'd need a Delorean with an extremely large trunk, and that people would get annoyed when you started stealing animals just to dump them in a hole the cretaceous period, George Church and Chris Somerville of San Carlos-based firm LS9 engineered a form of E. Coli which produces hydrocarbon chains with promising petrol potential.
This work provides an interesting environmentalist dilemma - on the one hand it could eliminate the need for oil drilling altogether, but it would also remove the current impetus to develop alternative energy sources that don't depend on the "burn stuff and don't breathe the smoke" strategy. Not to mention that a sentence involving "E.Coli", "petrol" and "genetically engineered" may well be enough to make an eco -activists head explode on the spot.
==END SNIPPET==
So we may all be roughing it, unless the brilliant minds of today can come up with truly workable alternative fuel sources.
My brain hurts.
Can you eat coyote?
ReplyDeleteCan you make mitts and slippers from them?
Anyway, I like a bit of doomer porn. I particularly like MILTSTEW's
ReplyDeleteThat's 'Mom I'd Like To Survive The End With'
More fuel from microorganisms is
http://tinyurl.com/4mta8s
This stuff is good because it eats CO2, seawater is cheap, and there is a lot of desert. I know there are people who say it won't be enough, but it looks cool. It may be a good thing for the developing world to get into.
O.k., your not an expert on peak oil, but what about peak bullshit?
ReplyDeleteAs you survey the baloney scene, do you think there is any sign of an imminent shortfall in global bullshit supplies?
I was lent a copy of 'Crossing the Rubicon' a few years ago, by Mike Ruppert here which is what got me looking at it.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRo5jdWQPDI&feature=related
Looking at what?
ReplyDeletePeak oil.
ReplyDeleteSo if there is going to be a big shortfall of oil supply within the next few years, wouldn't it be a good idea to keep troops in Iraq, to remind the Iraqis of who their freinds are?
ReplyDeleteI mean, if Obama pulls out (he did say he would do that didn't he), isn't there a danger all that lovely oil may go to the Chinese or Indians?
God, you're so doom and gloom serious, I wish I had never mentioned it now.
ReplyDeleteScanned through the Mind and Life annual report and found that they are researching lots of questions pertinent to what we mentioned.
ReplyDelete"In early July MLI convened a meeting of 20 leading
contemplative scholars, philosophers, neuroscientists
and social scientists atYale University on “The Plasticity
of the Self.” The Mind and Life Plasticity of the Self
Collectively, the participants at theYale meeting were
encouraged to discuss:
1. How is self conceptualized and studied in your field
of scholarship?What is self substantively?What does
self do functionally?Why and how did self
evolve in human beings?
2. Do we need a self to be happy or is self actually a
hindrance to happiness and a harbinger of
suffering?
3. How does self develop substantively? How is the
process of self-identification understood over
developmental time and what are the functional
implications of self-identification for human
health, well being and development? Do the
functions of self change over developmental time?
4. What do you consider to be the most important
research questions in this area that have not yet
been addressed?
5. What do you consider to be the most appropriate
scientific paradigms and methodologies within
which to investigate the self and the process and
consequences of self-identification across human
development and in the context of contemplative
practice?"