The interpretation of Kirlian photography

Since I don't know the mechanics of it, I am assuming that Kirlian's equipment actually is capable of capturing the auras of biofields. The appearance of the auras seems similar what I feel when I touch certain people or objects or when I meditate and can see auras around things. The photos seem a bit more ragged or jagged than what I perceive. Is it all electrons flying?

Acu as energy medicine and human intent

I think acupuncture can be used as physical and energetic medicine. The intention of the practitioner is important. The more I study the various aspects of acu, the more I realize how flexible a medicine it is. The more practical group will want to bend it to fit research projects, western medical models and more mainstream ways of using medicine. The more "woo-woo" crowd, which I tend to identify with, may rely more on "esoteric" acu. I happen to think that whatever I call my medicine, a large part of it is becoming a conduit for universal love - which might just be another name for that "energy" that seems to exist outside of "four forces" and not subject to physical laws. I also believe that intent/thought is a major component of health, where being aligned with the truth of who we really are is a key to happiness as well as good health. My guess is the future of medicine will not be about what's "out there" attacking us but more about the internal environment, starting with our "thought diet" (degree of optimism/clarity) and how we handle stress.

Biophysics and me

I'm very glad that some scientists have had the genius to develop microscopic and electron photography as some of those images are just astounding. Although the purpose of those technologies is to better understand the form and function of the microscopic world, I am wondering if scientists see its beauty and magic as well. I like the intenseness of the colors that some computer programs assign to probably colorless structures (remembering some of the fractal images from a few weeks ago, as well as some National Geographic and science magazine photos of amoebas, molecules & such). Outside of the visual, my comprehension of what I'm seeing is rather limited. Breaking those things down into descriptions or mathematical equations has no meaning, really. I would much rather take away with me the vibrational-energetic impact from seeing and imagining that world, rather than analyzing it.

Planet Jody

I am my own planet, complete with an atmosphere (usually vanilla-scented), hydrosphere (chose a good antiperspirant!), geosphere (that's where the acupuncture needles go) and biosphere (host to millions of living things, a world of ubiquitous organisms). For some time after I die, I will still be "living" in that sense. Until that fateful day, I shall be living by other terms as well: able to recreate/repair myself, even replicate (reproduce) if it weren't for the fact that I'm lesbian, oh, and menopausal.

And what about interacting with the environment? Why, on a good day, I can rearrange the ecosystem around my dwelling (bugs and weeds, look out!), chase dustbunnies with a vacuum, make the house smell lemony fresh, convert gluten and fructose into a culinary delight, burn quite a bit of fossil fuel, and convince legislators that it's the other people burning fossil fuel that they have to be concerned about. Oh, and talk about being an "organized" system - honey, we be alphabetized from our recipes to our formula study cards to our CD collection!

Now if I ever forget that I am a living, conscious entity, I know the Universal Mind won't let me sleep too long. It has methods for reminding me that life is just too short to be sad, angry, or zombie-like. Just read the paper or listen to your aging parents and you'll know what I mean.

Synthesizing East and West

From the ripe old age of 15 or so, I have been one of many people in the West influenced on a relatively deep level by Eastern thought. Early on, it was meditation techniques, hash pipes, Indian music, yoga, vegetarianism, Moonies, Hari Krishna, Buddhism, communalism...I would even include belly dance on that list, although one could argue just how far west the East extends.

Nowadays, the Eastern influence is more one of groovin' with the qi and using oriental concepts to describe health care/lifestyle choices and the philosophy of balance. However much we ascribe the natural cycles/herbal medicine theories to the East, I feel on some cellular level that what I regard as the essentials of the medicine are probably what pre-IndoEuropean "western" cultures also practiced, and it was probably the women of those societies who were the shamen/healers/keepers of the sacred knowledge.

Teenage son in e-prime

My son Kyle, who is 18 years old if counting from the day he was born, appears to be extremely influenced by his girlfriend Hannah - the girl he spends most of his time with - for the last half year or so. His buddies seem to be agitated by his lack of availability, expressed to me via their phone calls to my home trying to locate him weekly, him rarely being home, and having to be referred to said girlfriend's cell phone, from which they rarely received a call back . Also, Kyle reported to me that he and Hannah quit their jobs at summer camp after one week because Hannah could not cope with the two of them living in a 15 x 15' platform tent with a bed, couch, dresser, t.v. and air conditioning but no bathroom. According to their supervisor, who is my sister, Hannah was also dismayed that she and Kyle did not have the exact same work hours and that the supervisor had the nerve to come get them out of bed at 10 am when they were two hours late reporting for work. After all, Kyle said, they weren't there to work but to spend time alone together, and they were doing my sister a favor by working for her.

Prior to Hannah's arrival at camp, Kyle appeared to be happy with the work and living arrangements and was a motivated worker, according to my sister. After Hannah's arrival, Kyle also appeared withdrawn and unwilling to spend time with the other staff members.

With the exception of myself and Kyle's grandparents who provided taxi service for the young couple, I believe all parties involved are happier now with Kyle and Hannah's departure from camp.

Energy efficient culture?

Do I remember it correctly that Americans use 5 times the energy per capita of any other developed country? I did suffer some culture shock when I moved to France in the early 1980s: not only the cost of petrol, but how different the frequency of bathing, washing clothes, washing the car, etc. No clothes dryers, everyone hung out their laundry, including the laundromats. Air conditioning was scarce. Not all the waste and frivolity (disposable toilet cleaning wands, for example). Much more recycling, less packaging, you brought your own fabric shopping bags everywhere.

I love that Brazil has become free of oil-dependence by going to biofuel. Totally possible for us to shift away from fossil fuels also. I like that building green has been adopted by so many city planners now. There's some great technology out there. And it's a sign of maturity, I think, knowing that human and natural energy is limited and precious.

Descartes - what a thinker!

Now, here's a guy who, bless him, must not have been breastfed. But his mom could have been proud of him as president of the local Mensa chapter. To view ourselves separate from nature, or most of the universe as dead, or everything in life as mathematically calcuable? How fun was he in bed?

I had a t-shirt once that read: "I eat, therefore I am", signed, Rene Dessertcarte. Dude, get on board! Hedonism is the way to go!

Newton's 3 laws

Newton's laws seem so natural that it's hard to imagine them not ever being true. I'm down with F equalling m * v, and/or m * a. If any of the 3 laws were to be puzzling, it would be the third: the force exerted by item 1 on item 2 is matched by an equal counterforce when the two interact. But the math is pretty: m1 * v1 = m2 * v2. We know right away where a balance, or imbalance in force occurs.

Now, as for thermodynamics, the idea energy is neither created nor destroyed, seems counterintuitive to me. That is like saying there is no such thing as infinity, or omnipotence, yet we experience those concepts our whole lives. We know there's something so vast out there it seems to have no end. So why shouldn't the creation of energy be unending also?

The idea of entropy increasing is manageable. I experience it everyday, even in aging! Yes, believe it or not I'm almost 50 - that jewel-like glow of nubile skin is gradually giving way to a mess of wrinkles, the force of gravity exceeds the strength of breast tissue, and a black hole is growing where brain cells used to reside. And as for zero K degrees being the point at which entropy stops, I know this to be true. Her name was Laurie. I lived with her, miserably for 2 years. I wouldn't call her perfectly crystalline, though.

Ordered chaos & fractals & consciousness

One of my favorite discoveries years ago was triangular stalagtites & stalagmites, which to date have only been seen in certain caves in the Pyrenees bordering France and Andorra. I saw them for myself during a spelunking expedition in 1983. The whole crystal formation process is fascinating to me and is representative of the coalesive nature of so many things - from molecular bonds to galaxies. So I wonder if you took a triangular stalagmite and broke it down into the smallest of pieces, would they all look like tiny stalagmites - pyramid-like gatherings of minerals? If so, would those fractals repeat on huge magnitudes, so that eventually over the millenia, that stalagmite might reach the size of, say, the Eiffel Tower? The largest one I've seen so far is about as tall as a 10-story building.

This coalesive force that builds order out of randomness appears omnipresent. Could it be a form of love? that which creates something from nothing? What if in the mind of Spirit/the Creative Force there is no chaos, just such a myriad of themes and creations and forces that we cannot fathom the entirety of it?

I don't believe consciousness is the child of chaos, nor is consciousness born of order necessarily. Consciousness seems to exist outside that whole notion of order/chaos, for it is the ability to experience both that gives it its definition.

Ordered chaos & fractals & consciousness

One of my favorite discoveries years ago was triangular stalagtites & stalagmites, which to date have only been seen in certain caves in the Pyrenees bordering France and Andorra. I saw them for myself during a spelunking expedition in 1983. The whole crystal formation process is fascinating to me and is representative of the coalesive nature of so many things - from molecular bonds to galaxies. So I wonder if you took a triangular stalagmite and broke it down into the smallest of pieces, would they all look like tiny stalagmites - pyramid-like gatherings of minerals? If so, would those fractals repeat on huge magnitudes, so that eventually over the millenia, that stalagmite might reach the size of, say, the Eiffel Tower? The largest one I've seen so far is about as tall as a 10-story building.

This coalesive force that builds order out of randomness appears omnipresent. Could it be a form of love? that which creates something from nothing? What if in the mind of Spirit/the Creative Force there is no chaos, just such a myriad of themes and creations and forces that we cannot fathom the entirety of it?

I don't believe consciousness is the child of chaos, nor is consciousness born of order necessarily. Consciousness seems to exist outside that whole notion of order/chaos, for it is the ability to experience both that gives it its definition.

Resonance, Energy & Qi

I experience qi as resonance. This is a little different from energy. I think of energy as the raw forces driving every type of movement, while resonance or qi is more of a specific expression of energy. A silly parallel might be energy as the orchestra leader, up there with a baton, and qi/resonance as the individual instruments. So as I work with qi, it is like tuning up an instrument so that it utilizes energy in the best possible way, to produce clear and beautiful tones.

As a singer/dancer/writer, "feeling" resonance is essential. It is the difference between channeling a pure and precise expression of a thought or feeling , or channeling a sort-of-got-it thing. You know when the actual expression is not in sync with the intention. It feels so much better when the two match.

Vibrations

I can think of several cases in which vibrations could be classified as "not good": rage, bombs, avalanches with people in the wrong place at the wrong time, road rash...the list could be substantial. However, I prefer to think about the flipside, how "good" vibrations can be: warm fuzzies you feel with friends or pets, good music/food/massage/sex, the sounds of walking through a redwood forest or listening to the ocean crash against the shore. The world around us is a banquet of good vibrations if we sit still long enough to enjoy.

Parity

What physicists call parity may just as well be called the Source of all things (material). The concept of kaons decaying at different rates and thereby upsetting the matter-antimatter balance and thereby creating a past/future...a bit beyond my understanding, but perhaps as good a theory as any.

Sacred geometry

Physics may be another variation of sacred geometry in that it seeks to illustrate and quantify the mysteries of nature. The math of physics is a symbolic representation of either a tangible or intangible real phenomenon. The observation of patterns is depicted in diagrams and measurements in sacred geometry and with equations, measurements or descriptive hypotheses in physics. I much prefer the artistic representations to the mathmatical ones. Perhaps the preference of one over the other is due to which side of our brain is dominant.

The world is symmetrical and asymmetrical

I think of the universe as a set of repeating, symmetrical patterns within a "sea" of asymmetrical tides. I would liken it to those sand and water sculptures which rock on an axis and generate waves inside. You know that the sand of a certain color has a weight different from the other colors of sand, so has a tendency to collect in a certain way - to drop or float over the other colors. It has a pattern of distribution which is pulled and shaped by the water. Perhaps a simplistic portrayal of something so vast, but the symmetry (replication) of the universe is as obvious as the asymmetry (forces of change/chaos).