Morning Meditation™️. My whole life has been based in an insatiable desire to learn - a curiosity about everything that comes into my orbit. Learning & Knowledge = Power.
#HealingMorning™️ #MorningMeditationArchives™️ #KnowledgeIsPower
Healing Morning is a space to discuss those indefinable moments, topics, thoughts, that allow us to grow on a spiritual, personal and, I hope, global level. I hope to remark upon holistic healing, spiritual concepts, and stumble upon topics that inspire, intrigue and push us all to regard life in a different manner from having read what is posted.
Showing posts with label learning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label learning. Show all posts
Thursday, July 28, 2022
Thursday, February 10, 2022
Morning Meditation - Knowledge Is Empowering
Morning meditation. Education comes from everywhere and everything. I say it often, knowledge is empowering! ✨
#HealingMorning™️ #MorningMeditation™️ #KnowledgeIsEmpowering
Tuesday, February 1, 2022
Morning Meditation - Personal Truth
Healing Morning’s™️ Morning Meditation™️. Personal truth can change over the course of a lifetime. Be receptive. ✨
#HealingMorning™️ #MorningMeditation™️ #PersonalTruth #ReceptiveToGrowth
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Not crisis....opportunity
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| Kanji symbol for Crisis www.japanese.about.com |
In Japanese, the symbol for crisis is made up of two symbols, one means danger and the other one means opportunity. There is SUCH wisdom there. - Mastin Kipp, The Daily Love
I liked the thought so much that I shared the quote on my Facebook page. I took care to say, along with the post, that I'm not in crisis, but that I did find this comment to be valuable. Life is so much about the manner of perspective.
Another homily is that with age comes wisdom. I reflect quite a lot about those things I wish I had known in my younger years. Of course, we are all meant to live our mistakes and learn from the living itself. We become a sum of our experiences and it is to be hoped that we take conscious note of strong lessons, modify our behaviors and strive to become better versions of ourselves.
Change is a given on this Earth School. We don't live in a static environment. Earth itself is constantly changing, morphing, stretching and breathing. Those endless life cycles exist on a moment by moment basis. I can get myself into a spiral of existential thought very easily, pondering these concepts!
When we consider that we are never the same person on a moment by moment basis, if we truly wish it, we can change. With every breath, we are given that opportunity.
So, is crisis a bad thing? It's certainly not fun to experience. This quote above, however, is polarizing for me. I focus conscious thought each day on how I reflect to the world around me. I also put a lot of effort into NOT being a mindlessly, emotionally reactive person. This is not to say I'm lacking in emotion...far from it! I do choose to be mindful of my behavior. I want to respond in a fashion that serves not only me, but others, and if I am constantly reacting from that mindless emotional state, then I am guilty of creating chaos. I may be more sensitive to the energy of chaos than others, I may not be. I just know that I don't enjoy the sensation of it. Some do, and they thrive in that jangling, unsettled energy. I prefer to find order and a sense of calm, and I do find it is possible to reach that state even in the midst of crisis.
The concept of the Japanese symbol for the word "crisis" providing a second option for opportunity resonates strongly for me. From a common sense perspective, if something isn't working, we can either fight it and dig in to keep change from happening, or we can be open to change. I will never lie and say that I am a fan of change! Indeed, I spent a great deal of my younger years doing that digging in and being stubborn, clinging on to the familiar out of fear and resistance. And I can honestly say that this is when the true definition of crisis would always rear its head. Most likely, I caused myself much unnecessary trauma, pain and grief, but I had to live that level of discomfort repeatedly before I finally awakened to the thought that there might be another, better-feeling way.
These days, I look at things differently. While I still don't enjoy change, or endings, I have a different perspective regarding both. I am currently in yet another transition period. Being a freelance writer means I exist in that state quite often, going from one contract to the next, sourcing new connections to always keep new opportunities in my personal pipeline. Right now, I'm in the quiet stage where I tend to reflect and review what I've recently experienced. This reflection allows me to decide how to focus my thoughts and energies for the future. While being between paying jobs can present a huge opportunity for fear based thoughts and panic to set in, I choose to instill appreciation for what I now call a Resting Phase. See how two simple words, and the emotions they convey, "fear/panic" change completely when replaced with "appreciation/resting"? Even writing the comparison, I find my whole body and emotional state have an instantaneous response.
So, here I am, in transition......and opportunity. Rather than considering the end of a work contract as reason for panic and crisis, I've shifted my perception to view it as opportunity. I'm taking time to appreciate my recent work experience so that I can extend that energy to God/Universe/Spirit and request more of the same, or better, energy to manifest. This conscious choice that I make produces a happy feeling. A warm glow of intent. A sense of calm, that all is well in my personal world.
I find it delightful that God/Universe/Spirit chose to drop the quote from Mastin Kipp into my line of sight today. It always makes me smile when I am given a nudge, a wink and a friendly reminder that yes, I'm doing okay. I'm taking this resting phase to do some thinking, some organizing (that part isn't fun) and some dreaming. I have some creative projects on the horizon that I'm excited to implement. I don't know when or where or how my next work contract will manifest, but I am confident that it will. Because of this, fear and crisis aren't words I embrace these days. Opportunity.....now that's a word I do embrace! Perspective, my friends. Life is an endless opportunity for us to shift our perspective.
Monday, December 13, 2010
The Blogging Class of 2009
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| Photo courtesy of Bing images |
From there, I bumbled and fumbled my way along, exploring all the infinite details of marketing my blog, gaining readers and followers, adapting various formatting tools to my own needs and learning. Always learning. That learning process continues today, more than a year later, and I doubt it will ever end. Blogging and the blog-o-sphere is a fluid world, ever changing to fit the new dynamics of the internet and new programming brain child creations of widgets, gadgets and flashy fun things.
Around the time of my one year anniversary, or blog-o-versary, I began to realize that many of the dear friends I've made in the blogging world had also created their own blogs around the same time I created Healing Morning. I still find this to be rather apropo and fascinating. Was it an accident that we all decided to venture into the world of blogging at the end of the summer of 2009? I don't think it was an accident at all. I think there was very sure, clear, beautiful purpose and Divine Order and logic to the whole thing.
We became what I am now calling The Blogging Class of 2009. In a sense, we all started a new school, just as we did with first grade in elementary school. These people, regardless of linear age, are my contemporaries in the school of blogging. We've all struggled with various ephemeral classes such as Content, Marketing, Advertising, Gadgets and Widgets, Embedding Photographs and more. Some of us turned out to shine more brightly and show more aptitude than others in certain "classes". We have banded together to support and encourage one another, to cheer one another on with victorious moments, and to be the proverbial hand to hold in sad times. A few of us have dropped off the face of active blogging, and that's a natural progression to a degree.
It is said that there are literally millions of "orphan blogs" cluttering up the blog-o-sphere, where people just abandoned the poor things when they found the task of daily maintenance to be too burdensome. Again, this is a natural occurrence. As with all things, there is a season. Some blogs just aren't meant to last forever.
For the current moment, my Blogging Class of 2009 is still mostly intact. There is a core group of us who are earnestly tapping away at our keyboards on a regular basis, giving birth and voice to a wide range of topics and mindset on our respective blog pages. I find it fascinating, how we all migrated together within that one to two month time period of late summer of 2009.
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| Photo courtesy of Authentic Blogger |
Where will this particular, intimate Blogging Class of 2009 grow? Where will we all land in the creative process? Personally, I hope there is no evident end in sight for any of us. I would wish for all of us to endlessly flourish, to continually grow, to tirelessly excel and dream. What I can say with certainty is that an unseen bond exists between all of us. I believe we all subconsciously entered the world of blogging for a larger purpose, with one of them being for all of us to connect in this seemingly random manner. Accidents, my friends, do not exist - I think most of us are aware of this. The Blogging Class of 2009 happened for a reason. Great things have come as a result already and more great things will be created in the future.
As we reach the end of another calendar year, I will very soon celebrate another one year anniversary - that of Authentic Blogger on Facebook. As the snow falls softly outside my office window tonight, I have been very reflective. This happens to me every year in December, as I cast my mind back over what I have lived and experienced in the past twelve months. Through whatever whim of Fate and the Unseen Guiding Hand of Light, I landed right slap in the midst of the Blogging Class of 2009. I am forever connected to this cozy group of creative, talented, bright individuals and find myself in excellent company. You all know who you are, and I hope you are smiling as you read this post. I vote that we create some bumper stickers, maybe a class t-shirt, plan a Senior Trip in three more years, and talk up a class reunion at some point. This was our Freshman Year, and I believe we have all done ourselves proud with our writing endeavors.
Well met, Class of 2009....well met, my friends.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
New word delight
One of my Facebook friends recently posted a word I hadn't ever heard before: apophenia.
I'm an inveterate reader and get excited beyond what might be considered logical when I run across a word I haven't heard before. In fact, I'm so word oriented, that I asked for years for the Webster's Unabridged Dictionary as a Christmas gift. You're reading this and saying, "Okay, we all have a dictionary in the house. Nothing special." This version is HUGE. I whipped out my tape measure to give dimensions - it is over 20 inches tall, and close to 8 inches thick. To put that into perspective, it is taller and about as wide as your basic hard drive tower (the older versions). I have it on a library stand in my office and rarely walk past it on any given day without spending some enjoyable minutes paging through and devouring words, meaning, history, etc.
So, apophenia - the Wikipedia explantion of this is as follows:
Apophenia is the experience of seeing patterns or connections in random or meaningless data. The term was coined in 1958 by Klaus Conrad,[1] who defined it as the "unmotivated seeing of connections" accompanied by a "specific experience of an abnormal meaningfulness".
Conrad originally described this phenomenon in relation to the distortion of reality present in psychosis, but it has become more widely used to describe this tendency in healthy individuals without necessarily implying the presence of neurological differences or mental illness.
In the case of autistic spectrum disorders, including Asperger syndrome and individuals who are autistic savants, individuals may in fact be aware of patterns (such as those present in complex systems, large numbers, music, etc) that are infrequently noticed by neurotypical people. Rather than being aware of patterns that do not exist, autistic individuals may be aware of meaningful patterns within situations that appear meaningless to others. Indeed, in some philosophies (e.g. existentialism), meaning is something subjective, unique to each person, that must be achieved. What, then, is 'abnormal' meaning? [2]
After reading through the full Wiki page on this word, I sat back to ponder. Conrad applied this word to the phenomenon of recognizing patterns and connections. He was studying what are looked at as abnormal behaviors and psychosis. In light of that fact, my own thoughts might seem to be a slight reach, or a monumental one, depending on the interpretation of the reader. I happen to believe, upon reading this interesting information, that we all recognize these patterns and connections - we're just normally distracted by the overwhelming, multiple stressors and obligations of the workday world.
Could this concept marry up with the phenomenon of serendipity? I think it can.
Serendipity is defined as is the effect by which one accidentally discovers something fortunate, especially while looking for something entirely unrelated.
That sounds quite similar to the concept of apophenia to me, albeit in a non-mental illness application! The Wiki definition does go on to say that subsequent understanding and application of the word apophenia is becoming more mainstream. I would say that that fact all on its own is an astonishing shift in consciousness in the medical and psychiatric communities, to allow that a definition meant for severely mentally challenged individuals can also apply to completely healthy, highly functioning individuals. That type of identification of mental and emotional status rarely crosses boundaries from one world to the other.
Do I have a point? I do, and it is that I learned a new word for what I normally call serendipity, and that gave me a happy moment today. The word apophenia opened up a whole new world of contemplation and study, and that's always exciting for me. The final thought is that this new-to-me word introduced me to a new concept, which, in turn, brought me full circle back to one of my favorite words. That would be, it appears, a stunning example of.....serendipity!
Funny and fascinating how I recognized that pattern. My recognition, was, however, very motivated! I love to discover these so-called random connections...about words, about music, about inspiration, about relationships, about history....about anything, really. It broadens my mind, forces me to observe and contemplate topics and concepts I might not otherwise ever look for intentionally. As a result, I am constantly growing and changing in a very elemental way.
I'm an inveterate reader and get excited beyond what might be considered logical when I run across a word I haven't heard before. In fact, I'm so word oriented, that I asked for years for the Webster's Unabridged Dictionary as a Christmas gift. You're reading this and saying, "Okay, we all have a dictionary in the house. Nothing special." This version is HUGE. I whipped out my tape measure to give dimensions - it is over 20 inches tall, and close to 8 inches thick. To put that into perspective, it is taller and about as wide as your basic hard drive tower (the older versions). I have it on a library stand in my office and rarely walk past it on any given day without spending some enjoyable minutes paging through and devouring words, meaning, history, etc.
So, apophenia - the Wikipedia explantion of this is as follows:
Apophenia is the experience of seeing patterns or connections in random or meaningless data. The term was coined in 1958 by Klaus Conrad,[1] who defined it as the "unmotivated seeing of connections" accompanied by a "specific experience of an abnormal meaningfulness".
Conrad originally described this phenomenon in relation to the distortion of reality present in psychosis, but it has become more widely used to describe this tendency in healthy individuals without necessarily implying the presence of neurological differences or mental illness.
In the case of autistic spectrum disorders, including Asperger syndrome and individuals who are autistic savants, individuals may in fact be aware of patterns (such as those present in complex systems, large numbers, music, etc) that are infrequently noticed by neurotypical people. Rather than being aware of patterns that do not exist, autistic individuals may be aware of meaningful patterns within situations that appear meaningless to others. Indeed, in some philosophies (e.g. existentialism), meaning is something subjective, unique to each person, that must be achieved. What, then, is 'abnormal' meaning? [2]
After reading through the full Wiki page on this word, I sat back to ponder. Conrad applied this word to the phenomenon of recognizing patterns and connections. He was studying what are looked at as abnormal behaviors and psychosis. In light of that fact, my own thoughts might seem to be a slight reach, or a monumental one, depending on the interpretation of the reader. I happen to believe, upon reading this interesting information, that we all recognize these patterns and connections - we're just normally distracted by the overwhelming, multiple stressors and obligations of the workday world.
Could this concept marry up with the phenomenon of serendipity? I think it can.
Serendipity is defined as is the effect by which one accidentally discovers something fortunate, especially while looking for something entirely unrelated.
That sounds quite similar to the concept of apophenia to me, albeit in a non-mental illness application! The Wiki definition does go on to say that subsequent understanding and application of the word apophenia is becoming more mainstream. I would say that that fact all on its own is an astonishing shift in consciousness in the medical and psychiatric communities, to allow that a definition meant for severely mentally challenged individuals can also apply to completely healthy, highly functioning individuals. That type of identification of mental and emotional status rarely crosses boundaries from one world to the other.
Do I have a point? I do, and it is that I learned a new word for what I normally call serendipity, and that gave me a happy moment today. The word apophenia opened up a whole new world of contemplation and study, and that's always exciting for me. The final thought is that this new-to-me word introduced me to a new concept, which, in turn, brought me full circle back to one of my favorite words. That would be, it appears, a stunning example of.....serendipity!
Funny and fascinating how I recognized that pattern. My recognition, was, however, very motivated! I love to discover these so-called random connections...about words, about music, about inspiration, about relationships, about history....about anything, really. It broadens my mind, forces me to observe and contemplate topics and concepts I might not otherwise ever look for intentionally. As a result, I am constantly growing and changing in a very elemental way.
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