Shape of the universe
Mood:  cheeky
Topic: History of Time
Brian,
How is it going in England? I have been reading an advanced uncorrected
copy of Poincare's Prize by George G. Szpiro which a friend in NYC posted
to me. The book started me  thinking about the shape of space(the
universe). Most people probably think of the universe as never ending or
as a sphere. But what if the universe is torus (donut) shaped or some
other shape like a three dimensional mobius strip. What are you thoughts?
Mead
 

Mental illness
Mood:  quizzical
Topic: special needs

Brian, have you ever read any writings by the German mathematician Georg
Cantor. He developed the theory of infinite sets and also did some
philosophical and theological writing. Cantor also suffered from mental
illness. I often wonder if he could have created his theory of infinite
sets if he had been "sane"! And that brings up a good question; What is
normal and what is abnormal. Some of my best friends suffered/suffer from
so called mental illness. They never seemed that strange to me. Society
can be so judgmental. Michel Foucault, the eminent French writer and
philosopher, contends in his book MADNESS AND CIVILIZATION that French
authorities in the 1600's shut away mentally ill people not for therapy
but to police society. Moreover, Thomas Szaz, professor of psychiatry at
Syracuse University, New York, USA has written books entitled THE MYTH OF
MENTAL ILLNESS(1961) and THE MANUFACTURE OF MADNESS (1970). Szasz has
written , " There is no such thing as mental illness!"

Hi Mead! I think that mental 'illness' can cover such a wide range of definition that it can not easily be defined. Perhaps the best example of this occurred in my journal, when a fellow busker (Everts) came up
to me in a bar and said,
"It seems like everyone is acting strange in here tonight."
I replied, "That makes you strange."
That made him laugh, and resulted in his writing of a song where the chorus ran, "The strangest man on Earth tonight? Is it you?"
The term "Busker" can cover such a wide range of motivations and diversity. In the end, it results in the negation of the term as a means to isolate generalisation. It is possible to say that a busker seeks reward
from impromptu and random audiences, but no other generalisation will fit. Every busker has an individual motivation.
I think mental illness is a term similar to "Busker". It is possible to say that a mentally ill person is someone who doesn't behave or think in a way the mainsream of a society may class as understandable, but
no generalisation will fit. Every person defined as mentally ill needs to be studied individually. It is possible to put names onto behavioual patterns and a patient might ape these patterns quite well. But that
doesn't get any closer to generalising the term "mental illness". It simply isolates buskers (analogy) who play the guitar and like to play Bruce Springsteen songs (example).
The kind of "mental illness" my journal gleefully embraced was the "derangment of the senses" unveiled by Rimbaud.
What is normal?
A. Something I am not.
What is abnormal?
A. Something I am (preferably).

Now I shall ask you a question:
If John (imagined person) dies, would he be impressed if his epitaph on his tombstone read:
"Here lies John. He was normal." ?
Suppose he were a politician. Suppose a fellow politician should stand before his mourners and say
"I think the greatest tribute I can give John is that he was extraodinarily normal; and all his works were very normal indeed." ?
As recently as the middle of last century it was possible for parents to commit their teenage daughter to a mental institute for pre-marital sex or even for loving a person considered unsuitable. These victims
were sane, but years of incarceration in the institute led to them becoming institutionalised and effectively mentally ill.
I'd care to bet that you (as a psychologist) look at each individual case on its own merit, using guidelines established over the years by the summary of other similar cases experienced by yourself or other
psychologists. There would be no point in there being psychologists if there was no hope of curing a condition, or modifying it.
It seems that thoughts that are advanced or retarded cause the greatest confusions. If you were to show this e mail to a seven year old and ask them (as a friend, not as an authoratorive adult) what they think
about the issue, I'd care to bet they wouldn't understand a word of it. Because of this, they may well look at this mail and then at you and say, "You're mad."
Bringing in one final analogy: anti biotics will kill harmful bacteria, but they may equally kill good bacteria.
Be in touch. keep in touch.
Cheers
Brian

Emotionally disturbed children
Mood:  quizzical
Topic: special needs

Brian,

I have seen so many emotionally disturbed children the past few years that
I have reached a few general conclusions. First, far too many children are
being placed on psychotropic medications for even minor disorders such as
the much heralded ADHD. The driving factor here seems to be a concerted
effort on the part of pharmaceutical companies to expand their market to
include adolescents and children. As the Beatles once sang, " I get by
with a little help from my friends!" Second, children, in many cases, are
being reared by parents who are unconcerned, alcoholics, or drug addicts.
Or the children have been abandoned and are being reared by relatives.
Finally, we and the children live in a world gone insane; the rising tide
of globalization in the name of capitalism is creating a world where
people are only concerned with materialistic gain and no longer possessed of
value moral/spiritual ideals.

In summary, I fear that until we stop the denigration of the human spirit
in the name of a World Economy where every material need is met and every
individual takes a pill to feel "just right" that not only the children
but mankind as well will sink into the deep, dark abyss of
self-destruction.

What is your perception? Am I wrong or right?


Best regards,

Mead


Hi Mead! Have you ever read "The Prophet" by Kahlil Gibram?
It was written in 1923 - and would appear to have been cast aside by the early 20thC mind.
There are some things in that way ahead of its time - and possibly way ahead of the present time.
I came across it while writing the journal, and its value was shown by the journal's reference
to it - especially about laws and how a society can construct a 'criminal'.
I think that, overall, your perception is all too close to right in the way that conglomerates and
governments are presently operating. The way of both seems to be a gradual restriction of
choice. Morality and Spirituality have been trampled on - and made to wear a mask. They are
wheeled in only to make political or commercial gain - and neither morality, nor spirituality, have
much value in the market place.
As Gibram pointed out, a King who can not dance may make a law forbidding anyone to dance
within his Kingdom. There are too many people in high places who have the mean spirit of the
'carpet bagger'. There are too many people ready to apply their cynicism like the Venetians,
who diverted the fourth crusade onto an attack on Constantinople.
The problem is that Capitalism sees itself as the victor in the cold war. My view is that it was
the cultural richness of the West in the '60s and '70s that played a bigger part. Cultural richness
is too diverse to market, so Capitalism gnaws at itself.
Pete Seeger and Bob Dylan introduced a mainstream idea that culture should challenge establishment.
As analogy, Athens (culture and trade) and Sparta (government and control) challenged each other
constantly. However, they eventually joined together in alliance - and became less. Thebes built
an army based on emotional and spiritual bonding - and successfully challenged Athens and Sparta.
In this analogy, Thebes has yet to form.
I can't see how we can have a free market when companies who honourably treat their workers are
undercut and cast aside by scavenger companies who treat their workers like slaves and have scant
regard for anything other than profit. Other scavenger companies have only one aim: to scam the
consumer and get something for nothing.
A generation will come who will tire of this greed. From this will come Thebes.
Nothing is more promising toward this goal than to know that school psychologists can question
themselves and society, because the children under their care may need to do exactly the same
thing.
The only thing I can do is publish what I can of the journal (and post journal thoughts) online -
and hope it may reach a mind or two. It runs on the principle: I can't change the world, but I can
influence those around me. They can influence me. Eventually, the world may be changed through
the grapevine.

Cheers
Brian

Infinity and re-living past moments
Mood:  caffeinated
Topic: History of Time
 

Brian,

I have spent the last several days thinking about infinity.
I have come to a possible conclusion; The only real infinity may be
mathematical infinity such as 1,2,3,... . I cannot conceive of any
material substance/entity including the universe extending to infinity.
The one exception may be time but time is not a material substance.
Any thoughts?


Best Regards,

Mead



Hi Mead!

Imagine a sphere in seemingly perpetual, constant and predictable orbit around a larger sphere. Inhabitants on such a sphere can create the idea of infinity through the experience of this perpetual, constant and predictable orbit - and prove it through a seemingly proven system of mathematics.

The Universe (or universes) however, would (if conscious) view the sphere orbiting as a temporary occurrence and understand the event as a re-action to its own system of mathematics.

We can achieve remarkable accuracy with our present numerical system, but if it is applied to ever wider space and time it becomes increasingly inaccurate. Within the full complexity of the universe, our mathematics may be viewed as heavily flawed.

There are 13 new moons in a year. We divide the year into 12. We need an extra day every four years to adjust to the flaws within our numerical system. we are able to arrive at 33.3333333 recurring. From such things, we conceive infinity.

Applying the numerical idea of

http://home.buskerbrian.com/universesequence.html

to the cycle of moons, arrives at three sequential events per two years. 26 moons (under our present system) becomes 2 new cycles + 8 stages (completion of a third cycle). The start of the next cycle 3c (27 in our present system) heralds the start of what we would regard as the third year.

This would indicate universal years of Jan to August (inclusive), September to April (inclusive) and May to December (inclusive) - allowing for minor incursions.

It also indicates that the way we would class a year (from one condition to a return to a similar condition) is not the way the universe would class a year (from one condition to the opposite).

It is natural for us to think mathematically within a decimal system, because we have a total of ten appendages on our hand. But thumbs are are actually very different from fingers. We have eight fingers - and their completion is an event (1c). Every human being is supposed to have eight fingers. It is a constant result. If this does not occur, it is an anomaly within the universal sequence that should have led to it. These anomalies are most likely due to an imbalance of temperature (and therefore time).

The biggest cycle in our lives is that of being young to being old, if you discount being born to dying. If you look at all other cycles of our lives, it is likely to be births and deaths of experience.  We regard a year as something that will return to a predictable state, with similar conditions. The universe seems to see a year as a period of change - from one state to the opposite. As long as there is a variable in temperature there will always be a journey between two opposites. Infinity depends on this to perpetually occur. But, without change, there is no universe. If infinity entered the equation of the universe, then the universe would eventually cease to exist.

Be in touch. Keep in touch.

Cheers

Brian

Brian,

Expand a little on your sentence [If infinity entered the equation of the
universe, then the universe would eventually cease to exist.] I find that
thought very interesting!

Also, what happens to all the past moments which we have lived? Are they
gone forever or are they repeated over/over or are we living them all in
different universes?


Best Regards,

MEAD

Hi Mead! I found it hard to define and explain this sentence:

But, without change, there is no universe. If infinity entered the
> equation of
> the universe, then the universe would eventually cease to exist.

But infinity has no value, nor deviation. therefore it can not change. Man's retreat to the idea of infinity is the surrender of the validity of a theory. Time (temperature) is dependent on change in molecular and force-driven values responding to inevitable consequence. Infinity implies a non-variable. Time (temperature) is not possible without variation above the value of absolute zero (or below).
PAST MOMENTS: I would guess that 99.9% of our past moments are, by themselves, utterly forgetable. They count more as a cumulative experience that can be viewed with a generalistic summary. As my article "Sarah - the inner memory"  laid out, I feel there is a dual layer of memory within us. One is the outer memory, which is used daily by us and it tends to erase (or summarise) past moments that have little weight within our present emotional and functional being.  The amount of information that can be stored in the outer memory is dependent on the capacity of our IQ and the way our individual retentive abilities have been utilised and organised. Most of us are perhaps a little lazy... perhaps simply realistic under the duress of living...so we tend to allow overwrite rather than 'flexing the muscles' of our memory.
But the inner memory is a different animal altogether. It remembers EVERYTHING - and applies it to a universal sequence. The outer memory may forget events, or when they occurred, but the inner memory does not and it alerts us to the relevance of a past event impacting on potential actions we may employ in our present life.
Time is Temperature is akin to saying we move forward against a past that is locked. If we can go back to the beginning of a fire, then we would be able to extinquish it before it burns the house down. In such a way, we may extinquish our very existence. The past may be locked, but I do feel it is fully recorded. Our inner memory may well be able to utilise this resource.

Be in touch. Keep in touch

Cheers

Brian

School Reform Proposal
Mood:  quizzical
Topic: special needs
 Make the Primary School the only School
The modern media has expelled the need for travelling to a central school for further education. Trouble is no government has realised it.  A sense of identity and responsibility to the local community (for all students) could be achieved by this radical plan, alongside a more stable environment for special needs children.

Brian
I certainly agree with you that it is time to drag education into the 21st century.  Education should move to having the best instructors in the world on T.V. or a web site and then having teaching assistants to help those who need assistance as the lessons advance.  By the way, M.I.T., in America is in the process of putting all their undergraduate courses online. I am currently doing a course in Linear Algebra( vectors, matrices, etc.) All the lectures are free for download and you can take the mid-term and final exam and then grade your work with ideal solutions posted on line. I bought the used book for $20.

See MIT link below.


http://ocw.mit.edu/index.html

Knowledge is no longer the exclusive domain of the rich and powerful.
But our schools continue to function like it is. They are, in fact,
antiquated relics of a time gone by. Today, anyone who wants to learn can do so at very little cost.  In many cases, top notch courses are free!

Take care and continue to think, write, and share your exciting ideas!
MEAD

Hi Mead! Of course, any reform comes down to funding. But the reform (we both agree needs to be done) can be enhanced AND funded here in Britain by this radical plan:

At present, there is the Primary School for children up to the age of 11. They then move on to a High School (Secondary, Comprehensive) up to the maximum age of 18. From here, a student will move on to University or College.

My proposal is this:

Keep the Primary Schools and equip them with IT and TV technology (including laptops for the pupils). Expand these schools sufficiently to accommodate pupils of all ages within the local area. Encourage senior pupils to assume a level of responsibility toward the junior pupils AND toward the local area itself. Parents will have a better chance to get involved and monitor their child's behaviour and progress. Children will not be plunged into that 11+ experience of being 'another brick in the wall' where misbehaviour, bullying, isolation and a sense of difference can cause all sorts of problems within the High School environment. These schools need not be closed once day pupils have gone home. Mature students and extra keen schoolchidren can continue to use the facilities in the evening.

The funding to develop the Primary Schools will come from:

The massive saving on school transport.

Example: students in a village will not have to travel miles to get to their nearest high school. In many cases the student will spend their entire student life making a two minute walk to school.  

The closure and sale of the vast majority of High Schools and an option to close and sell many universities and colleges.

This may seem horrendously radical, but performance and behaviour has suffered under present structures. My proposal seeks to introduce the close-knit 'family' into education. It will replace the present system of competitive facelessness.
BRIAN

As you can see, I tend to use this blog to let my imagination run wild. It's kind of like being in the wilderness. In the wilderness no one can hear you rant.

Black Holes, Light and time
Mood:  mischievious
What are Black Holes?
Hi Mead! My personal idea about black holes was formulated in my journal, when I wrote about time lines. Filling flesh onto those musings, I suggest that black holes are light travelling in an opposing
direction from us. Given the vast distances in the universe, imagine shining a torch into it and seeing light streaming from it. If you switch off the torch, the light previously emited will continue to travel. Once it
progresses beyond the distance of the speed of light it will no longer be visible to the torch bearer. But the particles of light will continue their journey. Such an event would make it appear as though light is
being swallowed and can't escape. A black hole could represent the light from a sun or a galaxy that is moving in an opposing direction from us. It could be our sun or galaxy.
Unless this retreating light encounters something that could reflect it back or refract it, the light will continue to appear to us as a dense mass of powerful blackness.
The possibility that emerges from this is that black holes could tell us where we are going and where we have been, in context to the universe as a whole.
As for hell? The word comes from the German and it means light. Hell is spoken of as a fiery domain. It seems the most tormenting and destructive position for a soul to be is within the fusing and turmoil of a
sun. It could be purgatory or annihilation - or a cleansing process in line with higher ascension.
Could black holes be the tunnel described by so many as a route to Heaven?

Can Souls whizz around the Universe?
Hi Mead! It seems we could be light whizzing about. Except that a soul bound by the speed of light attempting to travel the universe would seem equivalent to a man walking around the world. How long
would it take for a man (assuming he can walk on water) to walk the surface of the Earth in its entirety?
If Earth is the 'North Pole' in the universe, a man could begin there and take an ever widening orbit around the 'Pole'. He takes one step out from the 'Pole' and then walks around it. Then he takes another
step away from the 'Pole' and walks around the 'Pole' once more. Eventually, each step out would lead him to the equator, with each circumnavigation becoming longer. From the equator he will take the step
out that will mean he is circling the South Pole - and each circumnavigation becomes slightly less.
Will it take him a thousand years to do this? Or a hundred thousand? Or a million?
Given this analogy, it would appear that a man (soul) will consider anything beyond a seven mile radius (c. 2 hours walk) as long distance travelling. Many people live (or lived) and die (or died) without ever
walking beyond that seven mile radius.
In Ireland, there is a pub (tavern) called the 'Deadman's. It is named thus because it is the only pub within a seven mile radius (approx).
Yet the stagecoach (supported by stabling and inns at six mile intervals in England), then the train, then the car and bike (supported by Tarmacadam roads), then the airplane, then jet propulsion, then the
space rocket etc...
Suddenly seven miles becomes of no moment to many people today.
In essence, I am saying that if death releases a soul from organic restriction then it may well release it from universal law restrictions (as we perceive them in our mortal form). Of course, it may not do this at
all if we are particles of light (as souls). If so, we will be bound by that seven mile radius (in analogy).
For God to be omnipotent, it would indicate an ability akin to 'rocket science' in comparison to a man restricted to walking everywhere. It could be argued that souls whizzing at the speed of light fits this
analogy fine.
But can you see the limitations for souls (and God) within that argument?
As for Hell (or the devil - or evil), my journal claims that there is only one emotion that is elemental. That is Love. All other emotions are by-products of this elemental force. A perfect one liner summary of
this was discovered post journal by me when one of my old friends (Stef Kamil Carlens) quoted a Tom Waits comment when being interviewed by a magazine:
THERE IS NO DEVIL. THERE IS ONLY GOD - AND GOD WHEN HE IS DRUNK
Put this analogy onto souls - and then apply the catalyst of fear - and a rational explanation for all our actions on this planet materialises. A sense of betrayal (of love) or the fear that this will happen creates all
the by-products like Hate, Envy, Resentment, etc...
But if we apply God to the universal sequence I presented to you we come to a defineable reason why God will always be more powerful than negative forces that have sprung up as a re-action to his work.
God initiated the plan and the forces of Hell can only re-act to it - and owe their initial existence to the creativity of God.
The art community is a perfect mirror to this. The journal amplifies the mechanics. The creative force will take the critic and the non-creative technicians by surprise. Higher creative talents and technicians will
appreciate the input of a creative force, but the lower beings will sink to envy and malicious put downs to inhibit and stem this force. A creative force seeking a higher path will trigger a countering that will
resort to baseness to negate it.
So there will be times when God may seem defeated and hounded out of the scheme of things. But his creativity is limitless and able to see things his foes can not. When he seems most defeated and
discredited? He will re-emerge stronger.
In summary, someone might write a song and refuse to let others hear it because they fear their song (or its idea) will be stolen. So no one ever hears that song - and the person dies and the song has died with
it. A confident creative force will not worry if a song has been stolen in some way, because he has a mass of other songs both written and about to be written (at some future date).
On the other hand, a person who produces a song and then spends the next five years trying to market it is not confident about his creativity. He is confident only about that song.
Analogy? Souls on Earth are busy trying to market a song. God is busy creating the universe and producing song after song. It's the one hit wonder on one side - and Bob Dylan on the other.

Does Space and Time exist?
Brian,

I have been reading a book entitled Time and Space by Barry Dainton and
want to pass on the following information to you. As we know space and
time are both invisible so this naturally leads us to the question of ,
"Do they exist?".

There are currently two prevailing philosophical theories in regard to the
above question. The first is known as Substantivalism and can best be
summed up as:

UNIVERSE* = Things + Space/Time

* original read SPACE which didn't communicate.

The second prevailing theory is known as Relationism and is summed up as:

UNIVERSE= Things + Spatiotemporal Relations

Relationism contends that space/time do not exist as individual
objects (i.e. If there were no objects; subatomicparticles-> galaxies,
there would be no space and hence no time.)

I basically agree with the latter theory. However, Einstein's special
theory of relativity contends that gravity is the result of bodies warping
the spacetime continuum. If space/time do not exist as individual
objects, what is being warped?


Hi Mead! I differ from the prevailing view that time is invisible (as earlier mails stated). As my idea is that time is temperature - and that both terms have no definition outside of each other - it follows (in my
view) that space would be equivalent to ice taken to its ultimate extreme (where nothing moves).
An analogy to this would be a stagnant pool of water (space), into which is thrown a number of stones (time/temperature). Eventually, the water will close in and revert to stagnant once more. But it will take a
while.
How low in density must Space (its inert permabound material) be to allow light and heat to sweep it aside and still be able to do this billions of years after this universes's creation?
Yet still Space seems to offer some resistence (like the water in the pool), because the speed of light is restricted to a constant. It suggests that Space (and its inert material) is equally constant, if this were
true. The energy of time/temperature may well collect material from Space - and it could be that the diamond may hold the clue to this, alongside graphite. A diamond has unique properties, but in time will
convert to graphite under the conditions of exposure to the outer atmosphere of this planet. This slow conversion may, in itself, be a further clue to the properties of Space and its resistance (or alienation)
from the impulsion of time/temperature.
The question I ask is whether the permabound ice that is Space, and its resultant material, is conductive or non-conductive. If it is the former, it will help time/temperature move faster. If it is non-conductive, it
will resist time/temperature movements - and will need to be swept aside.
The paradox is that light can shear through Space and keep a straight line (it would seem), while man will float. A minute particle separated from a stone previously hurled into that stagnant pool would also
float, while the new stone would scythe through to the pool's bottom.

Brian,

Light may be the key to the universe. Just what is light? I have read the
scientific definitions but they don't seem to get to the heart of the
matter. Einstein, himself, was puzzled by the fact that light exhibits
both particle and wave characteristics.

If you are interested there is a marvelous book entitled THE FIRE WITHIN
THE EYE: A HISTORICAL ESSAY ON THE NATURE AND MEANING OF LIGHT by David
Park, Emiritus Professor of physics at Williams College.

"God is light and in him is no darkness at all, " The Bible. This may well
be more than just a metaphorical statement. These words may be fact.

Hi Mead! My idea is that light is puzzling to define because people tend to look for a generalistic substance, in the same way that 'mental illness' and 'busker' may be puzzled over. With regard to my ideas on
temperature being the same force as time, it offers less mystery to me.
The material of Earth that is bound up and organised into a structure conducive to our eco-system (including us) is only doing so because the speed of time tends to be limited to a range of about 100 degrees
C planetwide (say - 50 C to 50C). Local events and conditions may exceed this, but the mean average remains planetwide. I recently went on a tour around a cave in the dales nearby - and the almost
constant temperature of those caves was 8 C. Nothing organic grew in them, but the insertion of lamps (for the visitors) has eventually caused algae to grow in places.
When light from the sun reaches our planet it is processed and filtered, but I believe there are forms of light that can pass through not only us - but the planet itself. If we view the short wavelength light filtered
out by the ozone layer, the blue (short wavelength) light that is dispersed more easily by our atmosphere to create the illusion of blue skies, the green portion of the spectrum which seems to hold the key to
plant life, the longer wavelength of the red (seen at sunset when the view of light's descent through the atmosphere is seen via a longer path), and the knowledge that our retinas are evolved to generally
exclude violet and indigo to avoid perilously confusing images - it seems, already, that it is evident that light is not one thing, but a combo of many things able to be extracted from the main body.
Any form of light that is able to pass through solid rock is seemingly incapable of nurturing life on this planet, while light filtered out by the atmosphere would destroy all known life, were it to rampage through
unfiltered.
Temperature/time can be adjusted by pressure (ie: melting point is affected). So the sun is possibly time moving at its greatest speed. But all the matter, particles and energy that make up light are the same
(minus the filtering) that make up Earth. The physical and chemical properties that make up light are adapted to that level of time speed. Once they enter this planet's atmosphere they will enter our radically
slower time speed - and will be slowed down or stopped by matter on this planet.
To a light 'being', it will appear as though its compatriots have been frozen (or destroyed). But this planet will integrate the light into its indigenous environment.
In my mind, I thought I could explain my view on 'what is light?' very quickly, but what is easy to explain to myself is hard to explain to another. It is often the way with inner understandings.
Light is us and our environs as we would be if we were moving at that time speed. In other words (in all probability), we were once light.... and we will be light once again.
In my eyes, the world has four constant time zones: lava, oxygen, water, ice

Mood:  spacey
Topic: special needs
FURTHER MENTORING BY MEAD

Hi Mead! Well said! My defining term for conformists are 'White Sheep'. My term for those who have something unique and potentially beneficial to the world that can only be delivered through forms of
non-conformity is 'Black Sheep'. Within the mechanism of this (apparently) simple definition is everything from Hitler to Gandhi. It is important to recognise in which camp you should reside, because then it is
easier to recognise that one camp needs the other.
In the same context, a psychologist/psychiatrist may not be able to cure a condition or even diagnose exactly what that condition is - but they can point the way. From this, a patient may recognise there is a
problem and search answers and compromises from within themselves. The journal recognises (through hard experience and the timely reminders from the wisdom of others) that allowing others to see
themselves through their impact on those around them is the most promising way for an individual to search within for a better self.
The journal was particularly harsh with me. Or was it that it was disturbingly blunt? Or was it that it let me off too lightly?
I still don't know.
Because the more, and further, I looked within? I simply came across towns, then nations, then worlds, then universes of thought and motivations that (in the end) made the idea of "Know thyself!" an
impossible task. But perhaps, an entry in one of the last journal books did manage to explain and convey the reason for this inner complexity - and why it is so hard for our outer consciousness to assemble
anything other than a simplified summary from our "inner nations".
Given this, I hope you will see that the task facing your profession is mountainous. I don't think a psychologist can be blamed for misdiagnosing. All he/she receives is a garbled summary (most probably) from
the patient of the 'simplified summary' that has emerged, or is emerging, from that patient's outer consciousness.
With every patient, a psychologist/psychiatrist is attempting to summarise a 'forum' of thousands (or possibly millions).

Brian,

Excellent thoughts. I posted a parcel to you yesterday with some
information on asperger/autism. I prefer to view autism as a spectrum
ranging from mild to severe. Hope you have a wonderful weekend and that
you will be able to spend time with your daughter.

Re: Book. Make a chapter outline with a goal of 200-300 pages. Then start
writing chapter one with a limit on the number of pages it will contain.
Constraint is the word here. After you complete two or three chapters, get
a publisher to look at it. I believe that you have much to say that is
worth sharing with the world.

Take care and walk in the light.

Best regards,

Mead



Hi Mead! Thanks for the book and the autism copies. But the advantages and disadvantages of mild autism are most readily displayed by the modern media. The tsunami, the hurricane and the earthquake
have caught public attention worldwide. Many will receive aid because of this, but many of the second wave repercussion will be ignored because the newsworthiness will have disappeared. In amongst the
millions of voices will drown the truth of many - and the adjudicators will sail into the sunrise of their accreditation with promotion and extended powers. The autism of constant charitable enterprise will suffer
if it does not relate. The noble will see little of the largesses flung about. The emperor will nonetheless parade his new clothes - and none will say that he is naked


Hi Mead! My idea is that light is puzzling to define because people tend to look for a generalistic substance, in the same way that 'mental illness' and 'busker' may be puzzled over. With regard to my ideas on
temperature being the same force as time, it offers less mystery to me.
The material of Earth that is bound up and organised into a structure conducive to our eco-system (including us) is only doing so because the speed of time tends to be limited to a range of about 100 degrees
C planetwide (say - 50 C to 50C). Local events and conditions may exceed this, but the mean average remains planetwide. I recently went on a tour around a cave in the dales nearby - and the almost
constant temperature of those caves was 8 C. Nothing organic grew in them, but the insertion of lamps (for the visitors) has eventually caused algae to grow in places.
When light from the sun reaches our planet it is processed and filtered, but I believe there are forms of light that can pass through not only us - but the planet itself. If we view the short wavelength light filtered
out by the ozone layer, the blue (short wavelength) light that is dispersed more easily by our atmosphere to create the illusion of blue skies, the green portion of the spectrum which seems to hold the key to
plant life, the longer wavelength of the red (seen at sunset when the view of light's descent through the atmosphere is seen via a longer path), and the knowledge that our retinas are evolved to generally
exclude violet and indigo to avoid perilously confusing images - it seems, already, that it is evident that light is not one thing, but a combo of many things able to be extracted from the main body.
Any form of light that is able to pass through solid rock is seemingly incapable of nurturing life on this planet, while light filtered out by the atmosphere would destroy all known life, were it to rampage through
unfiltered.
Temperature/time can be adjusted by pressure (ie: melting point is affected). So the sun is possibly time moving at its greatest speed. But all the matter, particles and energy that make up light are the same
(minus the filtering) that make up Earth. The physical and chemical properties that make up light are adapted to that level of time speed. Once they enter this planet's atmosphere they will enter our radically
slower time speed - and will be slowed down or stopped by matter on this planet.
To a light 'being', it will appear as though its compatriots have been frozen (or destroyed). But this planet will integrate the light into its indigenous environment.
In my mind, I thought I could explain my view on 'what is light?' very quickly, but what is easy to explain to myself is hard to explain to another. It is often the way with inner understandings.
Light is us and our environs as we would be if we were moving at that time speed. In other words (in all probability), we were once light.... and we will be light once again.
In my eyes, the world has four constant time zones: lava, oxygen, water, ice.


Brian,

Your ideas on light are very thought provoking and I plan to re-read them
at a later time and offer up some comments. An additional thought on
autism. Psychologist/psychiatrist are very good at diagnosing "mental"
problems but we are lousy at curing them. For example, if Brian meets four
of seven criteria for motorcycle-phobia, then we classify him as a
motorcycle-phobic. Very simple to diagnose but to cure is complex to say
the least. We can choose from at least 40-50 types of therapy ranging from
talking therapies to behavior modification or combinatiuons. We can zap
him with myriad types of psychotropics. And when it is all said and done,
he may not be cured. And we may decide during the course of treatment that
we have misdiagnosed Brian. I abhor putting labels on the children that I
work with but I have to do it in order for them to receive special
education classes and I often wonder if the special education classes
actually do them any good. Brian, if society would only learn that we are
all unique individuals blessed with different gifts and different
problems, it would be a much better world. But society is determined to
make everyone conform. And conformity has never accomplished anything like
writing a poem, painting a beautifiul work of art, composing a sonata,
solving the Riemann hypothesis, or developing a new theory of gravity.
Conformity usually leads to mass chaos under the name of patriotism which
results in WAR! The one thing that a political state can not allow is
nonconformity. Even though I served 28 years in the Reserves including
four years of active duty, I would much prefer to live in a society which
de-emphasizes conformity and allows all people including the "mentally"
ill and autistic to pursue productive lives and creative endeavors without
being " tranquilized" or locked away.

Tungsten Girlfriend

She comes from Venus
My Tungsten girlfriend
Glows in the night
Her mind, a vaporous mist
Melting at 3422 C
My love for her knows no bounds
But to kiss her
Would mean
INSTANT DEATH-HOW EROTIC!



Best Regards,

Mead

Hi Mead! The idea of impossible love is always highly erotic, but to visualise it in the first place is to open a path to discover its actual reality. That can have surprising results.
Speaking to a friend on the phone tonight, he told me that someone may actually have visually recorded beings who move at a faster speed than us on this planet - and may be responsible for crop circles. My
cynicism is high, but my prepared visualisation gives me some data on which to judge any such claims

Hi Mead! As I said, I can judge. The 'foremost' authority on crop circles seems to be an opportunist. He is selling his life research for $500,000. That suggests he doesn't believe in it too well.
Motivation needs to be inquisitive, rather than acquisitive

Hi Mead! The autism related to Bob Dylan may be very different to the autism of a physically brain damaged person. With the former, it's an attempt to explain:
Societies
With the latter, it's an attempt to explain anything, including the wheel.
This child has not yet learnt that the possible should be labelled impossible, because scientists are seeking life within our terms rather than imaginative terms. A girl once told me she had a former life (she was
Dutch). She was a 17 year old female living in Canada in the mid 19th Century. The village accused her of being a witch - and her father killed her in a bout of rage. It was one blow, but it killed her. In this
life, she has 'guardians' who threaten or protect her. The threatening could be viewed as fathering - and former life memories are (thankfully) usually removed from our upper conscious, so the 'threat' is more
from the unknown. But the sorrow of her former life seems to be too traumatic to forget - and she claimed to remember all of this at the age of three. She is now a festival organisor (in some capacity). The
knowledge of her former life gave her the wisdom to survive a potentially dangerous moment. She was able to show no fear when threatened by a man who had given her a lift, who said, "I could kill you
now! No one would know"
The knowledge of her guardians and her former life saw her face the man down and she only fled into quaking once she was home and safe.
Perhaps you could ask the child how this dreamscape could be used beneficially within his life. It may prepare him for the moment when such knowledge will save his life,

Hi Mead! I am familiar with the children crusades. I have taken them as real events. They seem to be accepted as real events by extremely reliable sources and documentation.
But the idea that these crusades were composed of 12 year olds is wrong. This distortion probably arrives from Stephen of Cloyes being a 12 year old shepherd boy. His idea was probably to lead an army
of children, but the 'army' itself was composed of a variety of 'poor people - landless peasants, poor aristocrats and others - who have no real voice in society'.
Quote comes from "Chronicle of the world" - Longmans.
There is a perfect example of how folklore satirised such events as this. The story of the 'Pied Piper' probably originates from the children's crusade. It transforms into a political and economic reality once the
story is applied thus:
A city is plagued by rats (too many poor people, landless peasants, and other troublesome elements etc).
The 'Pied Piper' (Stephen of Cloyes - Pied can be read as pious - Piper can be interpreted as the pipes a shepherd would play) comes to the city and offers to rid the city of rats if the city would pay him
(provision the journey and pay for the ships etc).
True to his word, the Pied Piper begins to play (rouses the targeted populace) and leads the rats out of the city.
King Philip II of France Banned the expedition, but the Pope supported it.
The Pied Piper arrives in Marseilles, where two merchants offer their aid.
We can suppose that the financial backing promised by the 'city' did not materialise - and merchants cashed in by selling the human cargos to slavetraders.
The rats are transformed into the 'children of God' who were tragically averted from their 'holy aim' because of double dealing, double crossing and malicious opportunism.
All of this against the background of movements like the 'Albigensians' shows there was much free thought floating around at that time. The Popes would take a hard line against 'heretics' in the ensuing years.

Hi Mead! As you can see from my possible genealogydirect ancestors, there is an overall theme of drop out.
Both Harald Hardradi (King of Norway) and Earl Tosti Godwinsson of Northumbria (the house of Wessex) are direct ancestors. Harald is 30 generations distant and Tosti 31, though they were not related
directly to each other. They fought in strategic alliance with William of Normandy (a distant relative - son of the sister of Tosti's father in law) for the right to rule England.
Before that, and after that, my ancestors fought for power and wealth - and were malicious and treacherous at times. Despite this, they formed nations and ruled them. They explored beyond the known world
and discovered Greenland and America.
Iceland finally obscured them as their reliance on their own resources became reliance on the resources of others - as mini ice ages swept away the Greenland settlements and the American landings and
dealings (trading, skirmishing) with the skaldings (Indians) became legends.
Much of what I am makes sense through this.
I would probably be as bad as Tosti was as a ruler.
Crusades were bad things in the manner of their execution. The first crusade took Jerusalem and slaughtered non Christian residents of the city. The forming of a new crusade would often mean the green light
for the slaughter of thousands of Jews in Germany and England, so that their wealth could be seized and used to fund the crusade.
Nobility was easier to find in muslim states back then. Saladin, Cordoba, Alexandria... civilisation and a tolerant, questing spirit. Perhaps the greatest tragedy in the field of learning was the fire that destroyed
the library at Alexandria. Priceless writings from Greek, Roman and Persian writers were destroyed.

Gibram

Brian,

I have seen so many emotionally disturbed children the past few years that I have reached a few general conclusions. First, far too many children are being placed on psychotropic medications for even minor disorders such as the much heralded ADHD. The driving factor here seems to be a concerted effort on the part of pharmaceutical companies to expand their market to include adolescents and children. As the Beatles once sang, " I get by with a little help from my friends!"

Second, children, in many cases, are being reared by parents who are unconcerned, alcoholics, or drug addicts.
Or the children have been abandoned and are being reared by relatives.
Finally, we and the children live in a world gone insane; the rising tide of globalization in the name of capitalism is creating a world where people are only concerned with materialistic gain and no longer possessed of value moral/spiritual ideals.

In summary, I fear that until we stop the denigration of the human spirit in the name of a World Economy where every material need is met and every individual takes a pill to feel "just right" that not only the children, but mankind as well, will sink into the deep, dark abyss of self-destruction.

What is your perception? Am I wrong or right?


Best regards,

Mead


Hi Mead! Have you ever read "The Prophet" by Kahlil Gibram?
It was written in 1923 - and would appear to have been cast aside by the  early 20thC mind.
There are some things in that way ahead of its time - and possibly way ahead  of the present time.
I came across it while writing the journal, and its value was shown by the  journal's reference to it - especially about laws and how a society can construct a 'criminal'.
I think that, overall, your perception is all too close to right in the way that conglomerates and governments are presently operating. The way of both seems to be a gradual  restriction of
choice. Morality and Spirituality have been trampled on - and made to wear a mask. They are wheeled in only to make political or commercial gain - and neither morality, nor spirituality, have much value in the market place.
As Gibram pointed out, a King who can not dance may make a law forbidding anyone to dance within his Kingdom. There are too many people in high places who have the mean spirit of the 'carpet bagger'. There are too many people ready to apply their cynicism
like the Venetians, who diverted the fourth crusade onto an attack on Constantinople.
The problem is that Capitalism sees itself as the victor in the cold war. My view is that it was the cultural richness of the West in the '60s and '70s that played a bigger part. Cultural richness is too diverse to market, so Capitalism gnaws at itself.
Pete Seeger and Bob Dylan introduced a mainstream idea that culture should challenge establishment.
As analogy, Athens (culture and trade) and Sparta (government and control) challenged each other constantly. However, they eventually joined together in alliance - and became less. Thebes built an army based on emotional and spiritual bonding - and successfully
challenged Athens and Sparta.
In this analogy, Thebes has yet to form.
I can't see how we can have a free market when companies who honourably treat their workers are undercut and cast aside by scavenger companies who treat their workers like slaves and have scant regard for anything other than profit. Other scavenger companies have only one aim: to scam the
consumer and get something for nothing.
A generation will come who will tire of this greed. From this will come
Thebes.
Nothing is more promising toward this goal than to know that school
psychologists can question themselves and society, because the children under their care may need to do exactly the same
thing.
The only thing I can do is publish what I can of the journal (and post
journal thoughts) online -
and hope it may reach a mind or two. It runs on the principle: I can't
change the world, but I can influence those around me. They can influence me. Eventually, the world may be changed through
the grapevine.

Cheers
Brian

Welcome to the Labyrinth Busker Journal blog
Mood:  bright
Hi! I'm Busker Brian! Never used a Blog before, so I'll be feeling my way with this one. All of you masses of not one single person avidly reading this - please be patient. The two posts attached to this entry deal with the issue of normality. Who is normal?