Of One Accord

I've been studying the Mind/Body problem pretty extensively in a few classes lately, and it has been the focus of my thinking as a result. It is interesting to read studies on growth and development of the self in respect to this Mind/Body relationship because there are definite separate forces which drive the self to grow or not.

First of all I think that a human being is composed of many separate things:
1. Mental Faculties (the Mind)
2. Emotional Faculties (the Heart)
3. Physical Composition (the Body)
4. The Self or Essence (the Soul)

I believe primarily that the Soul is the most fundamental yet mysterious piece of every human being. It is the part of us that I think is virtually unknowable in this life.

The Soul's relationship to this world in my conception is that it is given utility of a Mind, Heart, and Body with which to interact and experience and cause change in this world. The Mind, Heart, and Body are only tools used for understanding in this conception.

What I mean by 'Of One Accord' is that these three tools have a tendency to break down if they are not maintained. All things in this world demonstrate this tendency, and if they are not properly cared for, will decompose until ultimately they can no longer serve their purpose. I believe that part of this maintenance is to have these three parts of the person 'aligned', or 'of one accord'.

The Body is our physical piece. It gives us the ability to engage physically with the world - to use our five senses and feel our way in space. It is a tool very equipped for establishing the happenings of the present; such as assessments like cold, hot, soft, hard, sweet, sour, light, dark, loud, quiet, etc.

The Heart is our emotional piece. It gives us the ability to assess the present apart from the physical happenings alone - fire in a fire-pit can inspire joy or contentment, whereas that same size fire in a kitchen can inspire fright. The Heart assesses the qualitative parts of a situation.

The Mind is our mental piece. It gives us the ability to operate outside the boundaries of time and space. The Mind equips human beings with planning and foresight, as well as creativity and conceptualization. Because it can operate outside of time and space, it allows critical thinking. For example: there was rain yesterday, and plants have grown today. Rain must be essential for plant growth. Of course there is much more to that process than those two simple steps, however it illustrates the concept adequately. Assessments can be made of the present from knowledge of the past.

These three pieces are very important for growth of the Soul. If they are not maintained properly and begin to deteriorate, then it becomes useless. An example of deterioration for the Body would be the development of lung cancer from smoking. The Body's desire for the present act of smoking over-rules the Heart's feelings of doubt as to its goodness, and the Mind's knowledge as to its health hazards. In a similar situation with a restored Body, the deteriorated Heart's feelings for the act of smoking in order to be accepted or look cool or be rebellious etc. over-rules the Body's assessment that it hurts the throat and lungs and is producing acid-reflux, as well as the Mind's knowledge of its health hazards. In the last scenario, with a deteriorated Mind, the Mind chooses smoking because of ignorance or naivete and over-rules the Body's assessment that it is painful and the Heart's feelings of doubt as to its goodness.

In any of these three scenarios, there is a lack of unity, resulting in discordance. So the Body is addicted to nicotine, the Heart does not want to stop, and the Mind does not see the need to stop. In order for the person to stop smoking, all three of the pieces must be aligned, 'of one accord'. Of course if one tool is strong enough, the Soul can use it in order to initiate and in time the other tools will follow (for a human being cannot live Mind without Body or Body with Heart, etc).

I believe that when all are aligned and of one accord, then, and only then, may growth take place.

The Times We Are Living In

I've been walking around today with an almost surreal view of my surroundings. I can't believe the things that go on in the world around me. Last night I was watching a documentary on the sex-slave industry. I was sickened to say the least. I cannot describe the pit that the knowledge of these things forms in my stomach. While I know there are people out there fighting this thing, the most alarming factor is this: the industry flourishes as any other capital enterprise - it is meeting a demand.

Are we so depraved? Are we so inhuman? I wish that I could say that we are not, however I am beginning to lose faith.

And after I watched this, I retreated to my room. I was numb. My entire life suddenly seemed meaningless. What is this? What is the value of learning Anatomy and Physiology? What is the value of earning an A on a History and Systems Paper? What is the value of any of my dreams or aspirations compared to these human lives that are being destroyed? What makes this sickness even more bitter is that I thought this, and then rationalized it in my mind. Even if I could save some, there would still be millions exploited. What power do I really have? I can't accomplish any real change from my current vantage point.

Edmund Burke famously said "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing"

To give you an idea of what he stood for, he was an English member of parliament advocating for the American Colonies.

I don't know how to change things right now. I only know that I don't want them to go on this way.

I would encourage anyone to research this subject and to get involved in some way in opposition to it. I feel as if it is time for me to do more than nothing.

Some links about sex-trafficking:

http://www.rferl.org/Content/UN_Says_Human_Trafficking_Appears_To_Be_Worsening_/1492561.html

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/09/11/earlyshow/main3250963.shtml

Twitter: Updated

So I've decided to start a Twitter. In the wise words of my brother (who got them from someone else undoubtedly...as all things go), "No disclaimers". I'm really intrigued to figure out what the heck this thing is, and why its so interesting to everyone. My name is musicnaut for anyone who wants to find me and...I don't know yet what the point of finding me on there would be, but whatever is...do that.


Update:
I found a use for Twitter! Kind of.....but it is actually pretty exciting for me that I even set it up - perhaps demonstrating how behind the curve I am. Twitter can be used in tandem with Facebook to update status. Not that impressive you say? I agree. What is so amazing however is the incredible ease with which you can set up your mobile phone to update your Twitter. A text message to Twitter equals a text message to Facebook, voila! You can now update your Facebook status from your cellphone, completely devoid of any fancy or expensive web technology on your phone! Trust me, if anyone would have trouble with this it would be me, my phone is completely obsolete at this point - but because all you need is text capabilities, most any phone should be compatible.

I probably won't even use it all that often, but it is very cool to have gone through the process/experience. I'm still on top of the game at this point! Patrick 1, Technology 0.


Just found this article this morning, a real journalist who did pretty much the same thing I did.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/12/technology/personaltech/12pogue.html

Sometimes Things Blow My Mind - Unfortunately That Leaves My Brain In My Skull

I realize that the tidal wave of technology is growing at such an incredible rate that we are all closer to being obsolete every second that we are not on a computer. Insanity. The newest technology that I have interacted with is Twitter, and it brings me very close to expletives at how astounded I am. In Twitter's own words, "Twitter is a free service that lets you keep in touch with people through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing?" It almost sounds like text messaging, but then what the hell do you need a web-page for if that is all it is?

Before I go on (in case you are just slightly more obsolete than I am) here is an example of a Twit(ter?).

http://twitter.com/lynncardona

It is just so incredible to me that Facebook status has been taken and turned into a separate and completely viable entity unto its own! People are you serious?!?! To quote Yeasayer's 2080, "I can't sleep when I think about the times we're living in".

Of course I see that Twitter is the new fastest growing phenomena on the internet, I'm sure everyone will have one in a week and pretty soon we'll all be wearing computer screens on our heads because who needs face to face conversation with one person at a time when you can just throw your comments in EVERYONE'S face with no one ever there to tell you to shutup?

This is why The Matrix is so ironic - it is made to glorify Neo, who would save everyone from the evil Matrix, when really the freaking robots would be hailed as the hero with their cure-all - tubes and wires for everyone!

Reserve yours today!

http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/projects/matrix_regenerator/mr_worklog/mr_images/matrix_complete_16.jpg

Wasting My Degree?

It is really interesting whenever I enter into a conversation with someone about the goals and roads that I am walking towards/on. I have had a few people wonder aloud whether I am wasting my degree by not applying it to an occupation somehow right out of college. Of course what they mean is wasting it in the sense that it will not be making me any extra money in itself.

Where I disagree is in the notion that I will not be using it. Sure the piece of paper will have little effect on my career (at least in my short-sighted view from here), however I have obtained absolutely priceless knowledge of the human mind and interpersonal interactions.

I had an extremely entertaining conversation with a friend tonight about a realization I had. I was talking about my insatiable appetite for new music. I find on average two new artists to listen to every week. Not full albums or anything like that, simply single songs or perhaps a couple. What I am doing is finding a hook into the artist, something that will bring me back when I have more time or the right mood, and at that point I can dive deeper into their full sound.

So I was thinking about this fact that I am constantly seeking new experiences in music: quickly assessing my initial interest and either diving in or moving on. The really intriguing realization that I had was that I am veeeeery similar in my interactions with people. I am constantly meeting new people - I say hi to most unfamiliar faces. I can say with certainty that I meet at least two new people every week (I met five last night, three on Friday night, I'm way over that estimate it would seem).

I love to meet new people - and in some weird way I treat them similarly to my music library. People that grab my attention immediately I dive right into. Some don't grab me in quite that way and so I move on for the time being, until time or mood strikes me to investigate further. Much like my musical taste, I love to meet people of all backgrounds and places. There is nothing like being surprised at my liking of something I did not anticipate to enjoy at all.

This friend that I was conversing with agreed that her relationship with music is also very analogous to her relationships with people, and we agreed that most people must be this way (from our very limited and egocentric survey, ha)

Of course there are those people, just as songs, that I keep for a very long time indeed. There are songs that I have loved and listen to and still love as much as I did the first time I heard them. There are other songs that I have loved and grown out of. There are songs I have never heard and may never hear. That is the beautiful picture for me to explore, everyday that I live. How awesome is God.

In case you are wondering about the new (to me) artists this week, I'll list three I was really happy with and plan to explore further, as well as my favorite songs by them:

Menomena
-Oahu (I Am the Fun Blame Monster!)
-The Pelican (Friend and Foe)
-Wet and Rusting (Friend and Foe)

Beirut
-My Night with the Prostitute From Marseille (March of the Zapotec & Realpeople - Holland)
-Venice (March of the Zapotec & Realpeople - Holland)
-No Dice (March of the Zapotec & Realpeople - Holland)

J. Tillman
-Steel On Steel (Vacilando Territory Blues)
-Firstborn (Vacilando Territory Blues)
-No Occasion (Vacilando Territory Blues)



I had a bunch more artists I could have put down, this week was definitely fruitful in that respect. There will be more to come in the future for sure ;)