Signals from Within

Feelings of hunger, signaled from within, keep me coming back, so that I may fulfill my need for nourishment...

Knowing what I find deeply nourishing and delicious, keeps me coming back to the honey holes I have discovered over this lifetime...

Each Morning Sun

In nature, each morning sun, every beginning of the day, represents another opportunity to grow just a little more for all living things...

Invisible Borders?

Historically, as humans ventured off to new land along the spherical mass we call Earth (in English), new languages would sprout up, as if to demarcate this new area of land with a kind of invisible border. Even if from a similar or same origin, the neighboring area suddenly gains a slightly different shade or tone via the use of different of words/sounds/symbols. The physical or mental experiences might be the same or similar, but a different set of representations are being used.

Each area of land had its unique set of characteristics, and ultimately different forms of expression arose in the form of shared ways of doing things, foods, customs, ritual, unique regional words, etc. Physical adaptations to the environment also took place, creating a wider palette of representation of the human experience.

And within the invisible borders of language there are further demarcations. Language itself can reflect regional differences through accents. Language can reflect areas of interests via jargon and terminology used to explore and express an area. Language might also reflect socioeconomic status or even levels of education... it might also reflect subculture... Language might also reflect underlying differences in psychic priorities, by consistent focus and use of groupings of words within a language.

Rooting deeper into a spot or territory, while creating opportunities for growth in an area, it also creates unknowns and blind spots. The most basic primitive animal question will arise with what we perceive to be different or unknown to us: "Friend or Foe?"  Our continued survival demands we consistently ask the question over and over again.  Encoding within genes also seems to have its own agenda of "Friend or Foe towards long-term survival", thus we might have unknown forces encouraging us to act in one way or another.

Our territory identity markers make it easier to identify that "we're safe" or that "we belong"... but the same distinction creates the alternate view "you might not be safe" and "you belong elsewhere. A lot of the drama that continues to unfold is a result of this dynamic....

Okay... i don't know where this is going, so I will end this babble... while contemplating the end of the Tower of Babel.

The Path of Most Fulfilling Resistance?

To me it seems as if each individual mind has a path of "most fulfilling resistance." Each mind has their own Sun which they gravitate towards, forming and deepening roots... and penetrating through earth and sometimes rock, which another mind might not pass through. It's like each mind has it's own territory with it's own gravitational pull, tending to pull in some elements over others, with a direction towards growth through deepening and expansion.

The common advice given is to "go outside of one's comfort zone"... but I think the path to growth still relies on residing within what is still fulfilling to one's own mind/brain/soul/etc. There exists challenge and resistance within each way of being. An egg or a seed has its own casing or shell that must be broken through to reach the next stage. Along the river path will be twists, turns, and obstacles, eventually leading to the ocean. I think it's possible that each individual has their own True North.... their own compass to follow which will provide plenty of opportunities for challenge along the way.

The Stem Cell Psyche?

Stem cells are cells that can differentiate and develop in many directions. A cell can only fully fulfill its potential by changing and playing a role in a larger system.... Cells, Tissues, Organs, Systems...

I've read in a typology book by Lenore Thomson that the psyche is similar. It is full of raw potential... but a psyche, when forming, takes on a direction, leaving some possibilities behind. Assuming that the psyche is analogous to stem cells, that means for a psyche to fulfill its potential, it has to take on a role in a larger system. It has to fully be what it is in order to contribute, while still being integrated and part of the larger overall system.

The psyche is also seems to be like a plant... needing specific nutrients or even climates in order to really blossom and fruit... There are many variables in the system(s) contributing to the direction the psyche takes: The system that the psyche is part of... Other systems that the psyche interacts with... There exists a multitude of factors influencing outcomes... But the overall goal remains the same: To differentiate, grow, develop, and contribute to a larger system while maintaining its own integrity. If time were a kind of system, then perhaps part of the role of a psyche is to be part of a long lineage of slow change throughout time by leaving traces behind, by leaving legacy, fruit, flowers... contributing to the living story and narrative we call life.

Projecting My Experiences onto the Outer World

Every part of my experience etched into my being
Light surface markings from the color and texture of everyday life
Deep penetrating fissures blasted from the rarest meteors from heavens
Water continuously ebbing, flowing, twisting, and turning
Coming and going, rushing and slowing, flooding and fading
Creating a webbed network leading to an inner Ocean Core
Time continuously sheering away until majestic canyons made apparent
Until deepest veins revealed, leading to the motherlode: the gold within
All shaping a sculpture always projected onto the outer world
My vision, my being, my knowing, and my understanding...
Light and shadow combined to paint pictures, to play musical scores
Forming a composition only revealed through time
A composition in need of constant deciphering
Questions of belonging and identity:
What narratives belong to me?
What narratives belong to others?
What parts are uniquely mine?
What parts are uniquely theirs?
What parts belong to our shared human heritage?
What belongs to our shared human experience?
And finally, What belongs to the all, the universal?

Walking Where the Wind Blows

I often walk where the wind blows
Creating footsteps
That no one will ever see...