Tuesday 14 January 2014

Post No. 510 - Astrology, fashionable idiocy and reading

I'm getting blunter as I get older and grumpier, and I have been thinking about fads and poor communication lately, triggered by hearing, firstly, someone urge caution about sunscreens because "you're putting chemicals on your body", and, secondly, someone else saying that commercial meats are all full of hormones and antibiotics.

Let's look at the first of those comments. What the person concerned really meant was, I think, "you're putting HUMAN-MADE or ARTIFICIAL (i.e., NOT NATURALLY SOURCED) chemicals on your body", which is clumsier, but more accurate. My immediate concern here isn't whether or not the sun screens do more harm than good, but that the argument would be completely ignored by those who NEED to consider it, because of their - entirely correct - response (which I have encountered many times, sadly) that everything is a chemical - including material sourced from nature. As an example, I use olive oil [2] as a hair conditioner (I have very fine, dry hair which has had a lot of damage from sun and salt water, over the years, and commercially available ARTIFICIAL CHEMICAL conditioners are not strong enough for me [3] ) and skin moisturiser: olive oil is mostly triglycerides "an ester derived from glycerol and three fatty acids", according to Wikipedia, so has the general chemical formula CH3(CH2)nCOOH. If the argument is put forward in a lobbying or education situation that sun screens are bad because they're chemicals, it quite possibly won't get the consideration it merits.

Also concerning to me, it promotes sloppy communication and fuzzy thinking, and that is not good for anything, whether it is lobbying for change, everyday living, or spiritual growth. (Oh, and for the record, I think any damage which may be done by sun screens is FAR outweighed by the damage done by skin cancer, but see also here * and here.)

Now, commercially production of meat often IS tainted by excessive use of antibiotics (which may adversely impact on our ability to effectively use antibiotics as microorganisms may develop resistances to these through meeting the antibiotics via animal wastes) and, in some cases, hormones, and - particularly in the case of cage hens and live animal exports - cruelty, as well as environmental questions ... but that doesn't apply, or doesn't apply fully, to ALL commercial meat production. What about meat labelled as 'organic'? Here in Victoria and Australia more generally we have laws about what can and cannot be labelled organic, and it is clearly being done commercially ...

Another point that came to mind when I heard that comment is the issue of waste: if I can find the link, I will post it to an article where a journalist followed what happened to a particular pig carcass, and found there was actually no waste. One of my big issues with food and consumption generally is lack of gratitude - and that includes plants, who are a form of life that I am rather attuned to, and those who do so much to get us the food at a low price. I think everyone with any soil should grow something - I'll be harvesting our potatoes and carrots soon, and the corn is not far off being ready. This helps to put us back in touch with Nature generally, but also promotes an awareness of what is happening in the world of nature (and, to some extent, to local farmers).

Now, going back to the comments, although the first was based on sound knowledge, the second was more flawed, and I consider it highly likely -based on my experience, which includes stupid things like forwarding alarmist emails about 'a million Muslims' (even if that was true here in Australia, which is clearly is not, so what???), some people who would unthinkingly propagate either point are examples of people wanting to seem knowledgeable and therefore putting on what seems to them to be a convenient facade of intelligence, rather than using some of what Brendan Myers describes as "Clear and Present Thinking". On the other hand, it could be argued, particularly in light of thalidomide-associated birth defects, that some of these apparently simplistic concerns are actually valid manifestations of the precautionary principle ... and, incidentally, the first of the links I provided about sunscreens (at * above)  included a fatal flaw common to scientific circles: not finding evidence of problems is NOT necessarily proof that something is safe ...

So, clear communication and thinking are good, but so is the precautionary principle and accepting the limits of scientific method, which I wrote about here, back in 2007, is also equally good. And those who would write off an argument on the basis of poorly chosen, but nevertheless clear, words, are guilty of intellectual bigotry, in my view ...Sadly, I think much of what I am concerned about is really more about finding a way to connect to people - saying what one thinks will be lied by one's associates to create a sense of ... well, I won't call it friendship, I'll term it 'belonging'.

Hmm. Looking at the flow of this post, maybe I shouldn't hang around my power animal coyote so much ... :)

On a different note, I have finally found a website which gives me astrological aspects on a day by day basis, so no more laborious entry of planetary positions into the spreadsheet I created - instead, I just go to http://www.mazahra.com/node/47.

Now, some reading links. 
G'day, hello, howdy, hi, zdravstvujtye (some of my work colleagues are Russian, including an absolutely invaluable administrator who has recently taken maternity leave - may she and young one and family be blest), guten tag (where I have connection owing to a recent past life), sveiki, czesc (I have friends, not just colleagues, at work who are Polish), bonjour (colleagues at a former workplace were French, and we practised and tried to extend my woeful and limited range of this language), selamat pagi (one of the best junior engineers I ever worked with was Malaysian, and she taught me a few words), annyeonghaseyo, pryvit, bitaem, como vai (a friend of mine a few years ago, although not Brazilian, had Portuguese ancestry), ¡Hola (a former work colleague and friend, a VERY talented artist - with a Mexican sensibility to her artwork, particularly around the Day of the Dead - used to teach me Mexican Spanish), Selamat pagi, ni hao (ah, my work trips to Asia, and the many wonderful, wonderful people I have met there - and some excellent work colleagues and friends here, as well), bongiorno (my current home city of Melbourne has lots of Greeks and Italians, who have made our culture far richer - and made us coffee snobs :) ), hoschakal, hejsan, ciao, no japolt kivanu, chào bà, chào ông, yiasou (from the city which has, I understand, the largest collection of Greek people outside of Greece), ceau, salam wa aleikum, sawas dee ka, dia duit, hoi. 


I'll end with a link to a post of mine that has been on my mind of late, so I suspect someone needs their attention drawn to it - all the best to you, whoever you are:
What I would add to that post now is for those who fear not connecting with someone they love: in the astral, our concept of 'physical distance' is replaced by closeness or separation which is based on how much in harmony you are with others. If you are emotionally, mentally and spiritually close to someone, it is IMPOSSIBLE to be far away from them in the astral. (Just keep in mind that if you try to short circuit things by committing suicide, you may well damage yourself in such a way that you are no longer the same person, and thus no longer close to them - not to mention the possibility of getting forced into a cycle of rebirth that keeps you apart, so ... patience is the key.)

[3] I also have had someone complain vigorously about the presence of silica in some hair care products, not realising that silica is considered by some people to be essential for health hair growth - for instance, see here.

[1] BPLF = Balanced Positive (spiritual) Light Forces. See here and here for more on this.

[2] Please see here and my post "The Death of Wikipedia" for the reasons I now recommend caution when using Wikipedia. I'm also exploring use of h2g2, although that doesn't appear to be as extensive (h2g2 is intended - rather engagingly - to be the Earth edition of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy"). 

Love, light, hugs and blessings


Gnwmythr 
(pronounced "new-MYTH-ear"; ... aka Bellatrix Lux? Morinehtar? Would-be drýicgan ... )

My "blogiography" (list of all posts - currently not up to date) is here.  

I started this blog to cover karmic regression-rescue (see here and here), and it grew ...  See here for my group mind project, here and here for my "pagans for peace" project (and join me at 9 PM on Sunday, wherever you are, to meditate for peace), and here for my bindrune kit-bag. I also strongly recommend learning how to flame, ground and shield, do alternate nostril breathing, work with colour - and see also here, and be flexible.
  • One size does NOT fit all. 
  • Don't be mediocre - seek to excel.  
  • Gnwmythr's Stropping Strap: Occam's Razor only works if  the simplest solution is actually recognised as being the simplest, rather than the one that best fits one's bigotries being labelled 'simplest'.
  • May the world of commerce and business be recognised to be a servant, not a master, of the lives of people.
  • Ban the dream interpretation industry! 
  • A home is for living in, not feeling, becoming or being rich or a “better” class than others.
  • Housework is for ensuring a home is comfortable to live in, not competing to outdo or belittle others.
  • Like fire to the physical, emotions to the soul make a good servant, and a bad master. 
  • Expertise at intimacy and emotional happiness is generally not the same thing as spiritual growth.
  • "Following the crowd" is not "going with the flow".
  • Armageddon is alive and well and happening right now: it is a battle between the indolence of "I only ..." and/or "I just ..." and/or "Everyone knows ... " and/or "they can ..." and what Bruce Schneier [2] calls "security theatre" on one side, and perspicacity and the understanding that the means shape the end on the other. Indolence vs. perspicacity, and expediency vs. honour.
  • The means shape the end.  
  • As words can kill, the right to freedom of speech comes with a DUTY to be as well-informed, objective and balanced as you can be.
  • My favourite action movie of all time is "Gandhi", although I've recently come across "Invictus" and might put that one in to that category. However, I loathe the stereotypical action movie - and, for similar reasons, I loathe many dramas, which are often emotionally violent, more so in some cases than many war films. 
  • All of the above - and this blog - could be wrong, or subject to context, perspective, or state of spiritual evolution ... 
Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger [people]. JOHN F. KENNEDY (who was quoting 19th century Episcopal Bishop Phillips Brooks)
Jesus loves you.  Odin wants you to grow up. (Facebook meme, according to John Beckett)

Females, get over 'cute'. Get competent. Get trained. Get capable. Get over 'cute'. And those of you who are called Patty and Debby and Suzy, get over that. Because we use those names to infantalise females – we keep females in their 'little girl' state by the names we use for them. Get over it. If you want to be taken seriously, get serious. JANE ELLIOTT 

The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good [people] to do nothing. (based on writing by) EDMUND BURKE

"The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them." EINSTEIN

We didn't inherit the Earth from our ancestors, we only borrowed it from our children ANTOINE DE SAINT-EXUPÉRY

Like an unchecked cancer, hate corrodes the personality and eats away its vital unity. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.

True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar; it is not haphazard and superficial. It comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.

Those whom we cannot stand are usually those who we cannot understand P.K.SHAW

Few men are willing to brave the disapproval of their fellows, the censure of their colleagues, and the wrath of their society. Moral courage is a rarer commodity than bravery in battle or great intelligence. Yet it is the one essential, vital quality for those who seek to change a world which yields most painfully to change." SENATOR ROBERT F. KENNEDY (US Attorney General 1966 Speech) 
Too much and too long, we seem to have surrendered community excellence and community values in the mere accumulation of material things. Our gross national product ... if we should judge America by that -- counts air pollution and cigarette advertising, and ambulances to clear our highways of carnage. ... Yet the gross national product does not allow for the health of our children, the quality of their education, or the joy of their play. It does not include the beauty of our poetry or the strength of our marriages; the intelligence of our public debate or the integrity of our public officials. It measures neither our wit nor our courage; neither our wisdom nor our learning; neither our compassion nor our devotion to our country; it measures everything, in short, except that which makes life worthwhile." ROBERT F. KENNEDY 1968
Tags: about me, attitudes, communication, discrimination, environment, precautionary principle, science, shamanism, society, war,

First published: Tysdagr, 14th January, 2014

Last edited (excluding fixing typo's and other minor matters): Tuesday, 14th January, 2014
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