THE MICROCOSM -- FLITTER OCTOBER 2010

SWEDENBORG SAYS ...

Swedenborg Foundation

 ...affections bring forth thoughts but thoughts do not bring forth affections. There is an appearance that they do, but is is a fallacy. And when affections bring forth thoughts, they at the same time bring forth all things of man, because affections are of his life.

          ---E. Swedenborg, Apocalypse Explained (22, #1175:4)

NATURE OF THE EGO

..."When you realize that you are a microcosmic image of the whole, as God of your universe, then you might decide to improve it. As you begin to improve yourself, you are likely to encounter the most central trap of the whole spiritual realm ---ego...

-- Returning to the Source -- They Way to Experience God (The Microcosm pg 63 line 9) 

by Wilson Van Dusen

 A POEM OF CREATION

I once had a dream,

I dreamt that I, even though a man, was pregnant,

pregnant and full with Northingness like a woman who

is with child.

And out of this Nothingness

God was born.

-- from Meditations with Meister Eckhart


BILL AND BARRY BLESS THE WORSHIP CENTER

Thanks to Bill Blue and Barry Colley many improvement have been made to the worship center. Maintenance which has been lacking for many months is being done and they have started a wonderful garden and are working some bee hives. They prepare for the congregation each Sunday morning with coffee, fresh fruit and home baked goodies. 

We would like to place the following people in the light: Marianne, Ruth, Paul, Barry, Norm and any others you know with a challenge. If you want to place someone in our prayer circle please send the names to chrysalisgarden@gmail.com 

                     I only see You. I am in love
with whatever Your Creating does. You make
happiness, and I'm grateful. You make
disaster, and I'm patient
                    Anyone who loves
Your making is full of Glory. Anyone who loves
what You have made is not a true believer.
                    ---Rumi, This Longing (24)


REVIEW: Can Science Explain the Soul?

By Stuart Hameroff MD and Deepak Chopra MD

Please take time to read this essay on The Soul. There are many secrets revealed by these two authors, who offer (in many instances) two versions of an idea. Entire article can be found at this link

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/deepak-chopra/can-science-explain-the-s_b_675107.html

This is one writing that I want to keep on my Kindle. You might find inspiration on Dr. Chopra's website www.depakchopra.com
Some subtitles in this article are:

• Consciousness and the Soul
• Awareness After Bodily Death
• The Quantum Plunge
• Running on Empty – The Soul At Large in the Universe
• Conclusion – A Science of the Quantum Soul

COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT IS BIG BUSINESS: BUT NOT WHAT YOU THINK

Some of the big newspaper chains are scouring the web with search engines looking for snippets and whole copies of their articles on rebel websites. The “PLAN” is to sue websites that pilfer-to-publish and hold them by the throat, to either make them pay up to $150,000 penalty fee or suffer a long and painful lawsuit in court.

The ‘suits’ who thought up this plan are trying to squeeze additional revenue by forcing the small players into an untenable situation. If you get caught in this net your a dead fish. But it is not all gloom and doom for first time writers and fledgling websites. In some cases the ‘suits’ have spent tens to thousands of times more money pursuing perps than they can possibly hope to recoup. In one case $64M was spent to receive only $150,000.

The caution against violating copyright rules also goes for: books, music, art, documents and other artistic  and original works. When we say “PLAN” we mean a well organized team are working day and night with focus and energy. This is not a hit-or-miss copyright editor who happens to see a redux of his paper’s Lifestyle feature in a suburban housewife’s web page. A team of law school grads and hungry lawyers is going to work every day just to see if they can slap your wrist. Beware of quotes and snippets ­— paragraphs and pages that you place on the web.


REFINING EDUCATION CULTIVATING THE SOUL
From the Living section of Huffington Post


What is the defining myth of our times? I’ve heard our culture described as materialistic, but we don’t seem to love the material world all that much. I’ve also heard our philosophy labeled as “the myth of fact.” Although I do see the academic world mad in its pursuit of facts, all carefully defined and counted, I think more simply that we are devoted to the myth of things.

We pride ourselves on the things we possess, and we go to school to learn things. The things we learn are all sorted out and grouped together: We learn mathematical things and scientific things and even psychological things. When I taught at universities, one of the problems I ran into -- and no doubt one of the reasons they didn’t give me tenure -- was trying to create thing-type exams for material that was not reducible to things. It isn’t easy to adapt philosophical and religious issues to a multiple-choice exam.

At school, students cram for an exam. “Cram” means to fill up or stuff. Well, if you’re stuffing yourself for an exam, you must be filling yourself with things. That’s how we imagine education: filling our minds with stuff.

The Greeks of old had a different idea that they called paideia. This was education conceived as creating a cultured person who would be a mature citizen and leader. Imagine if our focus in education was on the person rather than the things studied. We’d be concerned that a student grow up and learn how to deal with life and help others deal with it as well. This education has two purposes: self-ripening and leadership.

It’s a false hope, and the quality of our leadership in business and government, with some notable exceptions, betrays the failure of that hope. Some things have to be taught, and eventually we discover that the most important things aren’t things at all. They’re qualities of character and hard-won values and matters of taste. The reason we have so many tasteless things in our society is that we don’t teach taste, and the reason we confuse moralism with ethics is that no one taught us the difference.

There are many items we assume can’t be taught that will simply fade away if we don’t teach them: manners, civility, good language, mature love, good art, self-awareness and reflection, intelligent reading, responsible travel, care of one’s home and belongings, a sense of the beautiful, intelligent spirituality and empathy for our fellow citizens on the planet. This is a small part of a much longer list.

Who should teach these things--parents or teachers? Obviously, both. And not only parents and teachers, but brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles, neighbors and friends, managers and CEOs, mayors and senators, movie stars and janitors. As members of society, each of us has a role to play in teaching the values and wisdom we’ve somehow acquired.

One way is not to treat the material we teach as things. I’ve used mythology in much of my writing, and frequently a reader will say to me, “I never knew that mythology had anything to do with my life.” Most people could say the same about many things they have studied. I didn’t know literature had anything to do with me. I didn’t know that science had something to say about my life. I didn’t know that I could sort out moral issues by reading poems.

The “thingification” of education has cost us an immeasurable loss of values and insight. We build great machines, but we don’t know how to use them for human edification. Many have studied the natural world as a collection of things of which we are the absent landlord. We grant Ph.D.s to people without knowing if they’re ready to be creative and responsible citizens of the world. As long as they know certain things...

Maybe it’s time to restore subjectivity to the subjects we study and to redefine our very idea of education. We could guide people as they learn not only things of value but also how to be.
from www.huffingtonpost.com 

  Thomas Moore

Thomas Moore has been a monk, a musician, a professor, a psychotherapist, an author and a lecturer

VOLUSIA COUNTY IN FOREFRONT OF EDUCATION REFORM

Another concept in teaching has reached Volusia County. Woodward Elementary School is now dividing up a few grade classes into gender specific groups. Boys and Girls are being taught differently in an effort to provide a better educational experience for both. Scientific studies have determined that boyS and girls have different preferences as to subjects, lighting, atmosphere, colors, sounds, activities and social structure.

Males are more tribal and enjoy physical movement while learning. Some prefer to walk around the classroom or drum during study time. Much of their interaction in an "in your face" type of posture.Boys would rather take things apart and change the arrangement of the furniture and reference materials. They also prefer brighter primary colors and lots of natural light.

At a recent presentation of the Paul Harris Fellow award to Dr. Wendy Libby, Dean of Stetson University ...Dr. Elizabeth Heins of Stetson and Torrence Broxton, Principal of Woodward Elem. School spoke on the subject of gender-specific teaching. As a partner in this project Candace Lankford, School Board President made some comments. This picture shows Dr. Libby's award (L-R) Candace Lankford, Dick Brunning Past District Gov. of Rotary, Dr. Libby, Al Bouie President of Rotary Club of DeLand, Dr. Patrick Coggins (making presentation) and Gloria Denston incoming President of Rotary Club of DeLand. Not shown: Torrence Broxton and Betty Heins.

Girls, on the other hand, are not necessarily competitive, but often support and cheer each other on. The girls prefer softer lighting, paler or pastel colors, and beauty and symmetry are important to their surroundings. They are less likely to move furniture once it is a pleasing arrangement that is functional. I am thinking girls might want to decorate the classroom for seasonal activities and establish a theme.

The differences go even deeper into the education experience. Single gender classes often bring out the leadership qualities of both boys and girls when the complicated social structure of gender is eliminated. The genders also prefer to study (and excel in) different subjects. Achievement improvement is the determinant factor in the effectiveness of gender specific classrooms. Stetson University and the Volusia County School Board are cooperating to take this method to it's most effective limits in our public school system. To learn more go to www.stetson.edu/artsci/education/pds/network.php
An article on this subject can be found on the blog cogwheeldelandrotary.blogspot.com

DRUIDRY
Religion
Britain Recognizes Druidry As a Religion

The Pagan festival of Samhain approaches. An ancient Celtic belief is held by Druids who worshipped deities with natural forms. Neo-paganism, Wicca and Voodoo are often mentioned in the same category as Druidry. The British has finally recognized Druidry as an official religion and bestowed official status to the existing members. Tax exemption as a religion is a boon to Brits who worship in Druid congregations . They already have such status in the US.

Membership of 350 comprises The Druid Network in Britain, which has only sought charitable status for “the advancement of religion for public benefit and no other purpose.” As explained below, the Druids claim they are not ordinary. They hold no asserted dogma, and worship love and fertility. Druids associate their Gods with the natural forces of nature, the moon, rain and love. Their Gods take the forms of animals and plants of the world of nature.

They often tend to be demonized. Official recognition will help legitimize the religion."We are not just a bunch of people who run wild in the forest as neo-pagans, communicating with spirits and practicing witchcraft." Many people do not realize that practicing witchcraft and communicating with spirits is not Satanic. Druids do not believe in or recognize Satan, Judaism or Islam.

According to the 2008 American Religious Identification Survey, neo-pagan groups are growing in the United States. So, who knows what will come next: Druid Schools, Druid hospitals, maybe even a Druid center of worship near Ground Zero.

A short definition of Druidry (from Wikipedia)

Neo-druidism or neo-druidry, commonly referred to as Druidism or Druidry by its adherents is a form of modern spirituality or religion  that generally promotes harmony and worship of nature, and respect for all beings, including the environment. It is considered to be a Neopagan faith by some adherents, along with such religions as Wicca and Asatru, though “some assert that Druidry is not a religion at all, not even necessarily a spirituality, but simply a philosophy of living” that can be adhered to by followers of any religion or by atheists.

Originally inspired by 17th-, 18th-, and 19th-century Romantic movements, modern Druidism was based upon theories about the Iron Age Celtic druids which are no longer considered to be historically accurate. Modern Druidism has no demonstrable historical link to the ancient Celts or their culture. In the first half of the twentieth century, modern druids developed fraternal organizations modeled on Freemasonry that employed the romantic figure of the British Druids and Bards as symbols of indigenous British spirituality. Some of these groups were purely fraternal and cultural, creating traditions from the national imagination of Britain. Others merged with contemporary movements such as the physical culture movement and naturism. Since the 1980s some modern druid groups have adopted similar methodologies to those of Celtic Reconstructionist Paganism in an effort to create a more historically accurate practice. However, there is still controversy over how much resemblance modern druidism may or may not have to Iron Age or earlier druidism.

MICROCOSM

"It is to begin with, all inside us. But because we are all miniature versions of the universe, it is also found far beyond. And because we are all biologically and spiritually part of the first man, the place precedes us. And because we all carry within us the genotype and vision of the last man, the place is foretold in us. There is no surprise in any of this. We have all known it all since before we were conceived by our most recent mother and father."
--Rabbi Lawrence Kushner, Honey From the Rock (15)

A POEM OF ENLIGHTENMENT

slightlywarped.com's Curiosities

slightlywarped.com's Curiosities

THE GODS LIVE ON MOUNT OLYMPUS

FLITTER                                                                                                                                                  

Regular Sunday services at Chrysalis Spiritual Center will resume the Sunday after Labor Day at 10 am
Skuli will return from his summer adventure and we can catch up on activities at Chrysalis Garden, Bamboo Arts and our lbeloved members.

When I dwelt in the ground,
      in the bottom, in the stream, and
      in the source of the godhead,

No one asked me where I was going or
      what I was doing

Back in the womb from which I came,
      I had no God
            and merely was myself,

And when I return
      to God and to the core, the soil, the ground,
      the stream and the source of the godhead,
No one asks me where I am coming from
      or where I have been

For no one misses me
      in the place
      where God ceases to become.

Path 1: CREATION from Meditations with Meister Eckhart

MT. OLYMPUS WAS HOME TO THE GODS

Myths The Creation of the World

In the beginning there was only chaos. Then out of the void appeared Erebus, the unknowable place where death dwells, and Night. All else was empty, silent, endless, darkness. Then somehow Love was born bringing a start of order. From Love came Light and Day. Once there was Light and Day, Gaea, the earth appeared.

The religions of ancient Greece and Rome are extinct. The so-called divinities of Olympus have not a single worshipper among living men. They belong now not to the department of theology, but to those of literature and taste. There they still hold their place, and will continue to hold it, for they are too closely connected with the finest productions of poetry and art, both ancient and modern, to pass into oblivion.

In order to understand these stories, it will be necessary to acquaint ourselves with the ideas of the structure of the universe which prevailed among the Greeks- the people from whom the Romans, and other nations through them, received their science and religion.

The Greeks believed the earth to be flat and circular, their own country occupying the middle of it, the central point being either Mount Olympus, the abode of the gods, or Delphi, so famous for its oracle.
The circular disk of the earth was crossed from west to east and divided into two equal parts by the Sea, as they called the Mediterranean, and its continuation the Euxine, the only seas with which they were acquainted.

Around the earth flowed the River Ocean, its course being from south to north on the western side of the earth, and in a contrary direction on the eastern side. It flowed in a steady, equable current, unvexed by storm or tempest. The sea, and all the rivers on earth, received their waters from it.

The northern portion of the earth was supposed to be inhabited by a happy race named the Hyperboreans, dwelling in everlasting bliss and spring beyond the lofty mountains whose caverns were supposed to send forth the piercing blasts of the north wind, which chilled the people of Hellas (Greece). Their country was inaccessible by land or sea. They lived exempt from disease or old age, from toils and warfare. Moore has given us the “Song of a Hyperborean,” beginning

“I come from a land in the sun-bright deep,
Where golden gardens glow,
Where the winds of the north, becalmed in sleep,
Their conch shells never blow.”

The abode of the gods was on the summit of Mount Olympus, in Thessaly. A gate of clouds, kept by the godesses named the Seasons, opened to permit the passage of the Celestials to earth, and to receive them on their return. The gods had their separate dwellings; but all, when summoned, repaired to the palace of Jupiter, as did also those deities whose usual abode was the earth, the waters, or the under-world. It was also in the great hall of the palace of the Olympian king that the gods feasted each day on ambrosia and nectar, their food and drink, the latter being handed round by the lovely goddess Hebe. Here they conversed of the affairs of heaven and earth; and as they quaffed their nectar, Apollo, the god of music, delighted them with the tones of his lyre, to which the Muses sang in responsive strains. When the sun was set, the gods retired to sleep in their respective dwellings.

On the south side of the earth, close to the stream of Ocean, dwelt a people happy and virtuous as the Hyperboreans. They were named the AEthiopians. The gods favoured them so highly that they were wont to leave at times their Olympian abodes and go to share their sacrifices and banquets.

On the western margin of the earth, by the stream of Ocean, lay a happy place named the Elysian Plain, whither mortals favoured by the gods were transported without tasting of death, to enjoy an immortality of bliss. This happy region was also called the “Fortunate Fields,” and the “Isles of the Blessed.”

We thus see that the Greeks of the early ages knew little of any real people except those to the east and south of their own country, or near the coast of the Mediterranean. Their imagination meantime peopled the western portion of this sea with giants, monsters, and enchantresses, while they placed around the disk of the earth, which they probably regarded as of no great width, nations enjoying the peculiar favour of the gods, and blessed with happiness and longevity.

The Dawn, the Sun, and the Moon were supposed to rise out of the Ocean, on the eastern side, and to drive through the air, giving light to gods and men. The stars, also, except those forming the Wain or Bear, and others near them, rose the stream of Ocean. There the sun-god embarked in a winged boat, which conveyed him round by the northern part of the earth, back to his place of rising in the east. Milton alludes to this in his “Comus”:
Hestia, Demeter, Dionysus, and Hades are the variable gods among the Twelve. Hestia gave up her position as an Olympian to Dionysus in order to live among mankind (eventually she was assigned the role of tending the fire on Mount Olympus).

Persephone spent six months of the year in the underworld (causing winter), and was allowed to return to Mount Olympus for the other six months in order to be with her mother, Demeter. And, although Hades was always one of the principal Greek gods, his home in the underworld of the dead made his connection to the Olympians more tenuous.

The Olympians gained their supremacy in the world of gods after Zeus led his siblings to victory in war with the Titans; Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Demeter, Hestia, and Hades were siblings; all other Olympians (with the exception of foam-born Aphrodite) are usually considered the children of Zeus by various mothers, except for Athena, who in some versions of the myth was born of Zeus alone.

Additionally, some versions of the myth state that Hephaestus was born of Hera alone as Hera's revenge for Zeus' solo birth of Athena.

Aphrodite
Apollo
Ares
Artemis
Athena
Demeter
Hephaestus
Hera
Hermes
Hestia
Poseidon
Zeus

 The Titans, also known as the elder gods, ruled the earth before the Olympians overthrew them. The ruler of the Titans was Cronus who was dethroned by his son Zeus. Most of the Titans fought with Cronus against Zeus and were punished by being banished to Tartarus. During their rule the Titans were associated with the various planets.

• Gaea
• Uranus
• Cronus
• Rhea
• Oceanus
• Tethys
• Hyperion
• Mnemosyne
• Themis
• Iapetus
• Coeus
• Crius
• Phoebe
• Thea
• Prometheus
• Epimetheus
• Atlas
• Metis
• Dione
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Ancient Greek theology was based on polytheism 

  There were many gods and goddesses. There was a hierarchy of deities, with Zeus, the king of the gods, having a level of control over all the others, although he was not omnipotent. Some deities had dominion over certain aspects of nature, for instance, Zeus was the sky-god, sending thunder and lightning, Poseidon  ruled over the sea  and earthquakes, and Helios ruled over the sun. Other deities ruled over an abstract concept, for instance Aphrodite  controlled love.

  
  Whilst being immortal, the gods were not all powerful. They had to obey fate, which overrode all. For instance, in mythology, it was Odysseus’ fate to return home to Ithaca after the Trojan War, and the gods could only lengthen his journey and make it harder for him, but they could not stop him.

  
  The gods acted like humans, and had human vices. They would interact with humans, sometimes even spawning children with them. At times certain gods would be opposed to another, and they would try to outdo each other. In the Iliad, for example, Zeus, Aphrodite, Ares and Apollo support the Trojan side in the Trojan War, while Hera, Athena and Poseidon support the Greeks (see theomachy).

  
  Some gods were specifically associated with a certain city. For instance, Athena was associated with the city of Athens, Apollo with Delphi and Delos, Zeus with Olympia and Aphrodite with Corinth. Other deities were associated with nations outside of Greece, for instance, Poseidon was associated with Ethiopia and Troy, and Ares with Thrace.

  
  Identity of names was not a guarantee of a similar cultus; the Greeks themselves were well aware that the Artemis worshiped at Sparta, the virgin huntress, was a very different deity from the Artemis who was a many-breasted fertility goddess at Ephesus. When literary works such as the Iliad related conflicts among the gods these conflicts were because their followers were at war on earth and were a celestial reflection of the earthly pattern of local deities. Though the worship of the major deities spread from one locality to another, and though most larger cities boasted temples to several major gods, the identification of different gods with different places remained strong to the end.

  
  
  Afterlife

  
  The Greeks believed in an underworld where the spirits of the dead went to after their death. If a funeral was never performed, it was commonly believed that that person’s spirit would never reach the underworld and so would haunt the world as a ghost forever. There were various different views of the underworld, and the idea generally changed over time.

  
  One of the most widespread areas of the underworld was known as Hades. This was ruled over by a god, a brother of Zeus, who was called Hades (his realm was originally called ‘the place of Hades’). Another realm, called Tartarus, was the place where the damned were thought to go, a place of torment. A third realm, Elysium, was a pleasant place where the virtuous dead and initiates in the mystery cults were said to dwell. The underworld commonly featured in mythology and literature based thereupon.

  
  A very few, like Achilles, Alcmene, Amphiaraus Ganymede, Ino, Melicertes, Menelaus, Peleus, and a great part of those who fought in the Trojan and Theban wars, were considered to have been physically immortalized and brought to live forever in either Elysium, the Islands of the Blessed, heaven, the ocean or literally right under the ground. This belief was of little relief to practically everybody, as the moment your body was living through either decay, fire or consumption, there was no hope of anything but the existence of a disembodied soul.

  
  Some Greeks, such as the philosophers Pythagoras and Plato, also espoused the idea of reincarnation, though this was not accepted by all.

  
  Greek religion had a large mythology. It consisted largely of stories of the gods and of how they affected humans on Earth. Myths often revolved around heroes, and their actions, such as Heracles  and his twelve labors, Odysseus and his voyage home, Jason and the quest for the Golden Fleece and Theseus and the Minotaur
  .
  

  

  Minotaur -- Half man half bull

  
  Many different species existed in Greek mythology. Chief among these were the gods and humans, though the Titans also heavily appeared in Greek myths. They predated the Olympian gods, and were hated by them. Lesser species included the half-man, half-horse centaurs, the nature based nymphs (tree nymphs were dryads, sea nymphs were Nereids) and the half man, half goat satyrs. Some creatures in Greek mythology were monstrous, such as the one-eyed giant Cyclopes, the sea beast Scylla, whirlpool Charybdis, Gorgons, and the half-man, half-bull Minotaur.

  
  Many of the myths revolved around the Trojan war between Greece and Troy. For instance, the epic poem, The Iliad, by Homer, is based around the war. Many other tales are based around the aftermath of the war, such as the murder of King Agamemnon of Argos, and the adventures of Odysseus on his return to Ithaca.

  
  There was no one set Greek cosmogony, or creation myth. Different religious groups believed that the world had been created in different ways. One Greek creation myth was told in Hesiod’s Theogony. It stated that at first there was only a primordial deity called Chaos, who gave birth to various other primordial gods, such as Gaia, Tartarus and Eros, who then gave birth to more gods, the Titans, who then gave birth to the first Olympians.

  
  The mythology largely survived and was added to in order to form the later Roman mythology. The Greeks and Romans had been literate societies, and much mythology was written down in the forms of epic poetry (such as The Iliad, The Odyssey and the Argonautica) and plays (such as Euripides’ The Bacchae and Aristophones’ The Frogs). The mythology became popular in Christian post-Renaissance Europe, where it was often used as a basis for the works of artists like Botticelli, Michelangelo and Rubens.

  
  

  Sacred Texts

  
  Hesiod’s Theogony and Works and Days, Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey and Pindar’s Odes are included as sacred texts as are other works of classical antiquity. These are the core texts that were considered inspired and usually include an invocation to the Muses for inspiration at the beginning of the work.

  
  

  Rites of Passage

  
  One rite of passage was the amphidromia, celebrated on the fifth or seventh day after the birth of a child. Child birth was extremely significant to athenians, especially if it was a boy.

  
  Mystery religions

  
  Those who were not satisfied by the public cult of the gods could turn to various mystery religions which operated as cults into which members had to be initiated in order to learn their secrets.

  Here, they could find religious consolations that traditional religion could not provide: a chance at mystical awakening, a systematic religious doctrine, a map to the afterlife, a communal worship, and a band of spiritual fellowship.

  
  
  Some of these mysteries, like the mysteries of Eleusis and Samothrace, were ancient and local. Others were spread from place to place, like the mysteries of Dionysus. During the Hellenistic period and the Roman Empire, exotic mystery religions became widespread, not only in Greece, but all across the empire. Some of these were new creations, such as Mithras, while others had been practiced for hundreds of years before, like the Egyptian mysteries of Osiris. 
  -nss- in part extracted from Wikipedia and other sites.
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  Moving Away from Conspicuous Consumption
  

  
  
  
  The relentless consumerism of the good old days -- i.e., before the financial crisis hit -- seemed as natural as Apple pie. Now, though, it's becoming apparent that the spending habits of old were more a factor of cheap money economics and nonstop corporate propagandizing than an unavoidable human compulsion. Brought back to earth by a harsh new reality, many people are discovering, as the New York Times reports in "But Will It Make You Happy?" that there's more to life than borrowing and buying:
  
  
  

  SHE had so much.
  A two-bedroom apartment. Two cars. Enough wedding china to serve two dozen people.

   Yet Tammy Strobel wasn’t happy. Working as a project manager with an investment management firm in Davis, Calif., and making about $40,000 a year, she was, as she put it, caught in the “work-spend treadmill.”
   
  

  So one day she stepped off.

  
  Inspired by books and blog entries about living simply, Ms. Strobel and her husband, Logan Smith, both 31, began donating some of their belongings to charity. As the months passed, out went stacks of sweaters, shoes, books, pots and pans, even the television after a trial separation during which it was relegated to a closet. Eventually, they got rid of their cars, too. Emboldened by a Web site that challenges consumers to live with just 100 personal items, Ms. Strobel winnowed down her wardrobe and toiletries to precisely that number
  
  Her mother called her crazy.Today, three years after Ms. Strobel and Mr. Smith began downsizing, they live in Portland, Ore., in a spare, 400-square-foot studio with a nice-sized kitchen. Mr. Smith is completing a doctorate in physiology; Ms. Strobel happily works from home as a Web designer and freelance writer. She owns four plates, three pairs of shoes and two pots. With Mr. Smith in his final weeks of school, Ms. Strobel’s income of about $24,000 a year covers their bills. They are still car-free but have bikes. One other thing they no longer have: $30,000 of debt.
  
  Ms. Strobel’s mother is impressed. Now the couple have money to travel and to contribute to the education funds of nieces and nephews. And because their debt is paid off, Ms. Strobel works fewer hours, giving her time to be outdoors, and to volunteer, which she does about four hours a week for a nonprofit outreach program called Living Yoga.
  
  “The idea that you need to go bigger to be happy is false,” she says. “I really believe that the acquisition of material goods doesn’t bring about happiness.”
  
  While Ms. Strobel and her husband overhauled their spending habits before the recession, legions of other consumers have since had to reconsider their own lifestyles, bringing a major shift in the nation’s consumption patterns.
  
  “We’re moving from a conspicuous consumption — which is ‘buy without regard’ — to a calculated consumption,” says Marshal Cohen, an analyst at the NPD Group, the retailing research and consulting firm.
  

  There's lots more. Click here to read the rest.

  Posted by Michael Panzner on August 08, 2010 at 08:37 PM in Social Conditions Permalink

  Digg This
  
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  MEMORY IS LIKE A BOX OF CHOCOLATES
  

  
  

  
  
  "In psychology, memory is an organism's ability to store, retain, and recall information. Traditional studies of memory began in the fields of philosophy, including techniques of artificially enhancing the memory. The late nineteenth and early twentieth century put memory within the paradigms of cognitive psychology. In recent decades, it has become one of the principal pillars of a branch of science called cognitive neuroscience, an interdisciplinary link between cognitive psychology and neuroscience".  -Wikipedia
  
  Dr. Camille King of Stetson teaches psychology and has an excellent presentation on Memory. In a recent appearance Dr. King revealed some exciting information on the WHAT and HOW of Memory. She quoted some studies from a book called  The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat by Sachs
  Dr. King related there are 3 types of memory.
  
  Long Term
  Short Term and
  Sensory
  
  Long term memory holds learned information and experiences from childhood on that can be triggered by a thought, smell, question, condition or other stimulous. In this list could be standards of behavior such as promptness, honesty, ambition, fetishes, beliefs, relationships and responses to stimuli. Character and personality are formed somewhat on the values of long term memory.
  
  
  Short term memory has a limited capacity and a limited duration. Although animals were not included in Dr. King's study, I have learned that a dog has a short term memory of 20 seconds. Loss of short term memory in humans can cause you to be standing in front of an open refrigerator wondering what you are looking for. The ability to form short term memories can deteriorate in time and can be a herald of a medical problem. 
  
  
  Sensory memory is unlimited and brief. It is visual and iconic. Of the five senses all have an effect on sensory memory. This type of memory can be used in learning responses to certain stimuli such as: heat, cold, ice, noise, pain, ecstasy, loneliness, color, texture, taste, heights and softness. An example of sensory memory could be that gripping feeling in your jaw when you see someone eating a sour pickle. 
  
  
  There are simple procedures for improving all types of memory:
  
  
  1.) Paying attention (hold your attention on the object and get a clear vision)
  
  2.) Associating (remember the blue B alphabet block by BBB)
  
  3.) Chunking (divide and memorize 'chunks' or portions of the object)
  
  4.) Visualizing (seeing my Aunt Minnie in a hospital gown reminds me she has a doctor's appointment.
  
  5.) Meaning (combine the object with an emotion such as comfort or elation)
  
  6.) Repeating (focus on the object for a time and then go back several times and repeat. Persons with short-term memory loss may find it beneficial to repeat and repeat occurences until they become "long-term" memories. This helps them to become more cognizant.)
  
  7.) Concentrating (intense focus -- may be combined with other methods to re-inforce)
  
  -nss- 
  
  
  Memory Improvement Techniques
  

  
  

  
  The problem with human learning, is that so much that we learn is in terms of what we already know. --www.mindtools.com 
  
  Avoid frustrating memory loss. Retain and recall more information.
   It’s a classic situation - you meet someone new, and then moments later you’ve forgotten their name! Names, passwords, pin and telephone numbers... the list is endless - with so much to memorize is it really possible to improve how much you can remember?
  
  The good news is “yes”! Just like every muscle in your body, the adage “use it or lose it” applies, so the more you exercise your brain, the more you will remember.
  
  Mnemonics
  
  ‘Mnemonic’ is another word for memory tool. Mnemonics are techniques for remembering information that is otherwise quite difficult to recall: A very simple example is the ‘30 days hath September’ rhyme for remembering the number of days in each calendar month.
  
  The idea behind using mnemonics is to encode difficult-to-remember information in a way that is much easier to remember.
  
  Our brains evolved to code and interpret complex stimuli such as images, colors, structures, sounds, smells, tastes, touch, positions, emotions and language. We use these to make sophisticated models of the world we live in. Our memories store all of these very effectively.
  
  Unfortunately, a lot of the information we have to remember in modern life is presented differently – as words printed on a page. While writing is a rich and sophisticated medium for conveying complex arguments, our brains do not easily encode written information, making it difficult to remember.
  
  Using Your Whole Mind to Remember
   
  

  

  The key idea is that by coding information using vivid mental images, you can reliably code both information and the structure of information. And because the images are vivid, they are easy to recall when you need them.
  
  The techniques explained later on in this section show you how to code information vividly, using stories, strong mental images, familiar journeys, and so on.
  
  You can do the following things to make your mnemonics more memorable:
  
  • Use positive, pleasant images. Your brain often blocks out unpleasant ones.
  
  • Use vivid, colorful, sense-laden images – these are easier to remember than drab ones.
  
  • Use all your senses to code information or dress up an image. Remember that your mnemonic can containsounds, smells, tastes, touch, movements and feelings as well as pictures.
  
   • Give your image three dimensions, movement and space to make it more vivid. You can use movement either to maintain the flow of association, or to help you to remember actions.
   
   • Exaggerate the size of important parts of the image.
  
   • Use humor! Funny or peculiar things are easier to remember than normal ones.
  
   • Similarly, rude rhymes are very difficult to forget!
  
   • Symbols (red traffic lights, pointing fingers, road signs, etc.) can code quite complex messages quickly and effectively
  

  

  .
  
  Designing Mnemonics:
  Imagination,
  Association and
  Location
  
  The three fundamental principles underlying the use of mnemonics are imagination, association and location. Working together, you can use these principles to generate powerful mnemonic systems.
  
  Imagination: is what you use to create and strengthen the associations needed to create effective mnemonics. Your imagination is what you use to create mnemonics that are potent for you. The more strongly you imagine and visualize a situation, the more effectively it will stick in your mind for later recall. The imagery you use in your mnemonics can be as violent, vivid, or sensual as you like, as long as it helps you to remember.
  
  Association: this is the method by which you link a thing to be remembered to a way of remembering it. You can create associations by:
  
     • Placing things on top of each other.
     • Crashing things together.
     • Merging images together.
     • Wrapping them around each other.
     • Rotating them around each other or having them dancing together.
     • Linking them using the same color, smell, shape, or feeling.
  
  As an example, you might link the number 1 with a goldfish by visualizing a 1-shaped spear being used to spear it.
  
  Location: gives you two things: a coherent context into which you can place information so that it hangs together, and a way of separating one mnemonic from another. By setting one mnemonic in a particular town, I can separate it from a similar mnemonic set in a city. For example, by setting one in Wimbledon and another similar mnemonic with images of Manhattan, we can separate them with no danger of confusion. You can build the flavors and atmosphere of these places into your mnemonics to strengthen the feeling of location.
  
  For a detailed explanation of how to use imagination, association and location mnemonics, try these articles: Go to www.mindtools.com/memory.html to find these articles.
  
     •  The Link Method and Story Method – Remembering a Simple List
     •  The Number/Rhyme Mnemonic – Remembering Ordered Lists
     •  The Number/Shape Mnemonic – Remembering Ordered Lists
     •  The Alphabet Technique – Remembering Middle Length Lists
     •  The Journey System – Remembering Long Lists
     •  The Roman Room System – Remembering Grouped Information
     •  The Major System – Remembering Very Long Numbers
     •  Using Concept Maps to Remember Structured Information
     •  Memory Games – Have Fun While You Improve Your Memory
  
  The above information is from Mind Tools a web site for development of career skills. It also provides a simple demonstration of the importance of memory in learning and daily endeavors.
  
  Mind Tools has a free eNewsletter that is published every 2 weeks called “Remember” They also have a memory improvement workbook that is FREE when you subscribe go to www.mindtools.com/memory.html
  
  
  

  SEVEN SPIRITUAL LAWS

                                                                                                                                                           

  
  

  

  1.)  The Law of Pure Potentiality

  
  

  2.) The Law of Giving

  
  

  3.)  The Law of Karma

  
  

  4. )  The Law of Least Effort

  
  

  5.) The Law of Intention and Desire

  
  

  6.) The Law of Detachment

  
  

  7.)  The Law of Dharma or Purpose in Life 

  
  

  From Summum by Summan Bonum Amen Ra

  
  

  
  PROBLEMS

                                                                                                                                                   

   

   PROBLEMS

  Correct Idea

  Misconceptions

  Fancy

  Sleep

  Memory

  
  

  SOLUTIONS

  Balance 
  
  See you next month. Does anyone have an article to include in our newsletter? Please email to chrysalisgarden@gmail.com
  -nss-

INRODUCTION TO THE KYBALION

FLITTER

The Monthly Newsletter of Chrysalis Spiritual Center

825 Mercer’s Fernery Road
DeLand, Florida 32720
Sunday Services from 10 am to 11:30 am each week
Pastor - Skuli Thorhallsson

For more information or counseling phone (386) 478-9201
Email questions or requests to chrysalisgarden@gmail.com
Copy this link to come back to our newsletter http://chrysalispiritualcenter.blogspot.com
(note -- the spelling consists of just one S in the name, not 2. A product of human error)

Chrysalis Spiritual Center is a Swedenborg based congregation that studies non-denominational topics based on the value of certain writings and speech to society as a whole. No denomination is excluded from meeting with us. We welcome all religions and beliefs.

This is August and Skuli is on vacation. Bill and Barry have been producing the services ... but so many people are out of pocket, they have decided to discontinue the Sunday morning service until the Sunday after Labor Day, when Skuli returns. If you are thinking of attending please call Bill  386-490-5966 in advance to make sure there is a meeting scheduled.  

As Above so below, As below so Above. --Kybalion

BOOK BY BOOK

 We are starting right off relaying this information at your request. Bill Blue forwarded the link to a PDF file containing the Kybalion, a book written by Three Initiates in the Hermetic tradition that begins thus:

"The lips of wisdom are closed, except to
the ears of understanding."

Hermes Trismegistus

Dedicated to Hermes Tresmegistus also known as the Great Great and the Master of Masters.

The Three Initiates dedicated The Kybalion to a figure by the name of Hermes Trismegistus whom they credit for this information. But the axioms really describe the intelligence and characteristics of nature, and so the source is nature itself rather than a person. Nevertheless, the figure of Hermes has become closely tied to the work. Who or what was he? Explore the myths, the legends, the stories.

The alleged teacher the magical system known as Hermeticism of which high magic and alchemy are thought to be twin branches. The name Trismegistus means thrice greatest Hermes, and is the title given by the Greeks to the Egyptian god Thoth or Tehuti, a lord of wisdom and learning.

At one time the Greeks thought two gods inseparable. Thoth governed over mystical wisdom, magic, writing and other disciplines and was associated with healing, while Hermes was the personification of universal wisdom and the patron of magic.

Thoth

The myths go further. Both gods are associated with sacred writings. As scribe for the gods, Thoth was credited with all the sacred books. In various Egyptian writings he is called "twice very great" and "five times very great." Hermes is credited with writing 20,000 books by Iamblichus (ca. 250-300 BC), a Neo-platonic Syrian philosopher, and over 36,000 books by Manetho (ca. 300 BC), an Egyptian priest who wrote the history of Egypt in Greek, perhaps for Ptolemy I.

The combined myths of these gods report that both Thoth and Hermes revealed to humankind the healing arts, magic, writing, astrology, science, and philosophy. Thoth wrote the record of the weighing of the souls in the Judgment Hall of Osiris. Hermes led the souls of the dead to Hades.

The English occultist Francis Barrett in Biographia Antiqua wrote that Hermes "communicated the sum of the Abyss, and divine knowledge to all posterity"

According to legend Hermes Trismegistus is said to have provided the wisdom of light in the ancient mysteries of Egypt. "He carried an emerald, upon which was recorded all of philosophy, and the caduceus, the symbol of mystical illumination. Hermes Trismegistus vanquished Typhon, the dragon of ignorance, and mental, moral and physical perversion."

Surviving Hermes Trismegistus is the wisdom of the Hermetica, 42 books that have profoundly influenced the development of Western occultism and magic. A.G.H.

Kybalion has15 chapters with names that will be readily recognized to students of the occult and ancient wisdom.

1. Hermetic Philosopy
2. The Seven Hermetic Principles
3. Mental Transmutation
4. The All
5. The Mental Universe
6. The Divine Paradox
7. The All in All
8. The Planes of Correspondence
9. Vibration
10. Polarity
11. Rhythm
12. Causation
13. Gender
14. Mental Gender
15. Hermetic Axioms

I already found more profundity on the the first page of the Mental Universe Chapter than in many  years of searching and studying for truth. This tome definitely bears examination by anyone who wants to expand wisdom.

 If you are interested in the wisdom of the Kybalion may I recommend Summum.

SUMMUM: Sealed Except to the Open Mind (Kindle Edition)

Very similar to the Kybalion ... but written in a more present tense with modern references and events. It goes into more detail about the task of the follower who truly wants to be absorbed into the Infinite. Explains how creation begins and continues, the duality of reality, the swing of the pendulum, vibrations and gender, the death of universes and rebirth. A must to read.

HA HA  YUK YUK YUK HO HO CHUCKLE CHUCKLE

If you are in California and want to attend one of these camps, here is the information.

TURN YOUR AHA MOMENT INTO A HAHA MOMENT!

YOU'LL USE THESE TECHNIQUES EVERYDAY!

PREREGISTER AND SAVE

Six Week Course $100 preregistration

$20 per class

$5.00 at the door to audit

(Credit Cards Accepted)

Register now by calling (818) 876-0454 CAPERS

Lynn Chaplin-Noe , Broadway Veteran (CABARET, COCO, HELZAPOPPIN, SUGAR, CANTERBURY TALES), has been teaching corporate Comedy Camps since 1985 to "seriously" hilarious results.

COMEDY CAMP games and improvisation exercises help to lift your spirits while shaking loose resistance, old beliefs, negative programming. Communication through comedy has also proven to be an effective positive method in conflict resolution, team dynamics, positive role playing, mediation, motivation by bringing people together and then releasing them into the Law of Laughter! And laughter is healing!

This is one of the projects originated by my sister Rev. Lynn Chaplin-Noe. She also does a counseling program called Soft Landings and a physical fitness program based on spirit, called Happen Dance. 

This week's affirmation from Soft Landings:

Rev. Lynn Chaplin-Noe

      The beauty of grace is that you receive blessings for no reason.  As above, so  
           below. Give to others for no reason. Practice Grace. -Louise Hay

This week Rev. Lynn explores and reveals how we were born to be happy, joyous and even funny.  Come join in the fun. (July 16, 2010)

 YOGA - DANCE - PILATES - TAI CHI - WALKING - BALLET                                 

The book review of Summum has a detailed practice for meditation that includes focusing or pointing your thoughts on one object or location to filter out all the chaos in the thinking mind. There are other considerations such as, clothing, location, position, and other aids to enhance meditation. 

A revelation to me was the Summum suggestion that  following meditation you can release the positive energy flow into the lower vibrations and through your body with exercise. I am assuming that certain exercise would be more effective that others.(I am thinking of the Whirling Dervishes of which Rumi is the most recognized.)

Due to my age I visualize that I can stretch, pose, reach, and turn or twist to effectively utilize the benefits of meditation to my physical life. Dancing would also be very effective. Rev. Lynn teaches a dance method called "HappenDance" that not only brings up the vibration of the body, but also helps in weight loss.

POEM FROM PHYLLIS WHEATLEY                                                              

GOODBYE TO BUDDY

Buddy wearing his Party Animal Scarf

Buddy's story may be read on thecatseyeproject.blogspot.com Buddy took ill and went downhill very quickly last week. After over a year of strange symptoms that he shrugged off (and a clean bill of health from his veterinarian) he became very thirsty, week and thin. At first he looked good because he has always been overweight, but when he keep loosing weight and became weaker he went to see a different vet.

We have to thank Dr. Evers from Value-Vet for his sympathetic and thorough treatment for Buddy. So many tests came back with bad news that we knew that Buddy was about to cross The Rainbow Bridge. He died Friday morning at 9am after 3 days on IV's. Buddy would have been 12 in September.

The night before Buddy passed I heard his tail wag against my bed at night as he always did. Twice I heard the thump, thump, thump and even reached out my hand to touch his nose. I turned on the light and no one was there. Buddy's body was miles away and he was in a coma.

My deepest thanks and appreciation to Bill Blue and Barry Colley. They are going to lay Buddy to rest near the garden at Chrysalis on Wednesday August 4. I know that Buddy will be blessed to be there.

MEDITATION

A person works in a stable.
That person has a Breakthrough.
What does she do?
She returns to work in the stable.

If you have articles for this newsletter please email to chrysalisgarden@gmail.com

SENIORS NEED COMMUNICATION

Seniors Need to Start Texting, Using Facebook.

If there is one clear need of seniors it is to be able to connect with their families. This is true for not just those in nursing homes, but for those in condos hundreds of miles from their closest relatives and former friends. But look…

Among those who go online, around 37 percent of adults above 50 say they use social networking sites like Facebook, according to a survey by AARP. "It connects you with your past. I'm on Facebook,” said Jim Spencer, of Northampton, Mass. Seniors are also connecting with their families via texting on their smartphones. Soon, you might start seeing text messages from grandma: "LOL did u see Jay Leno last
night?"

AT&T workers held free 20-minute sessions in West Los Angeles to demonstrate basic cellphone features to the elderly. Those who signed up in advance got schooled on how to send SMS messages, make phone calls, add and edit contacts and manipulate settings.

Verizon Wireless has held similar training sessions at senior centers. The telecom company also boasts four-dozen hearingaid-compatible cellphones and a line of simple devices with giant buttons. Last month we discussed communication via videoconferencing and promised to look into that issue come this fall. We also
need to address this issue as well.

If you have trouble figuring how to text and IM with your phone or computer, ask a kid to help you. --Nan

From Senior Stuff, the monthly electronic newsletter produced, written and edited by Ron Burgher of DeLand, FL If you want to subscribe to Senior Stuff  ... it's FREE. Email delandseniorstuff@yahoo.com

A CHAMPION LIFE                                                                            

Are You Living a Champion Life?

Did you awaken this morning as a champion -  excited
about this new day bouncing out of bed with arms
lifted high singing a joyous tune? Or did you follow
an old pattern of “oh no what now uugggghhhh….”

The way you start the day set’s the tone and energy
for living the champion life or not.

Now here’s the secret; even if you didn’t get started
as a champion, even if you have rarely lived as a
champion, you CAN change! Awesome!

Living a champion life requires living consciously,
choosing to live the champion life no matter what.
Living consciously in each moment allows you to
make decisions and take action based on what IS, and
not what you wish, or hope. Living consciously gives
you the added plus because your awareness enables
you to make the best choice in any situation.

At anytime during the day you can decide to change
your attitude from non-champion to champion. It is
not easy; it will take effort, especially if you’ve
developed a laissez faire attitude. Here are three tips
to changing your attitude to support a champion life.

First, acknowledge your feelings. Feelings are very
important; they are usually a way of checking in to
see what is out of balance. Being out of balance when
you start this process is really okay and lets you know
you’re on the path to champion living.

Second, make an agreement with yourself to change
the feeling to a champion one. Ask “what can I do
differently to support my new way of being?”
Third, honor your agreement; it might take longer
than you think, stick with it, even if something comes
along to validate the non-champion feeling.

Champions take responsibility for their life, they look
for and expect the positive and create joy from the
inside out. Living the champion life requires that you
become aware and that you live in the moment.

Inez Bracy, BS, MS, CNLP, CGC
Lifestyles Transitions Coach
Connect with her: www.facebook.com/inez.bracy
or www.InezBracy.com