About Me
- Sofia
- California born by a Cuban mother, and having lived in Japan since 2004, with many former years in the California Bay Area and six in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. I have friends and family throughout the world, and the web of trails it grows. I live the dream of traveling to many distant lands, creating music and dancing to it, meeting interesting people, discovering treasures in the most unlikely of places, and finally returning to the continent of my birth.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Monday, December 20, 2010
Dinner with Taeko
Yesterday, Shinpei and I had dinner with my friend Taeko. She is the same age as my mother, and her daughter is married to a Canadian man, and lives in Canada.
We had a delicious dinner with her and her friend. I am so happy to live close to other people now. We have lived here three months and I have met with people numerous times, as well as having all sorts of clases and arts, cultural resources, internet, supermarkets and thrift shops at a bike ride's distance. It is so nice hereeeeee!!!!
We had a delicious dinner with her and her friend. I am so happy to live close to other people now. We have lived here three months and I have met with people numerous times, as well as having all sorts of clases and arts, cultural resources, internet, supermarkets and thrift shops at a bike ride's distance. It is so nice hereeeeee!!!!
Times are not the same as 30 years ago...
And as such, I have to do some research!
I think this must happen to a lot of foreign English teachers who have never taught in their own country... everybody asks what school is like there.
So one automatically answers, to their own experience, what it was like...
20 or 30 years ago!
The thought started creeping up on me a while ago, and so yesterday I did some research online, and lo-and-behold, school lunch is not the same! There are apparently even organic school lunch programs being promoted by the federal gov't! That is soooo different from the high carb and fat cafeteria food they served when I was in elementary school. If there are any moms out there, won't you please comment as to your own knowledge regarding school and/or lunches in the US?
I think this must happen to a lot of foreign English teachers who have never taught in their own country... everybody asks what school is like there.
So one automatically answers, to their own experience, what it was like...
20 or 30 years ago!
The thought started creeping up on me a while ago, and so yesterday I did some research online, and lo-and-behold, school lunch is not the same! There are apparently even organic school lunch programs being promoted by the federal gov't! That is soooo different from the high carb and fat cafeteria food they served when I was in elementary school. If there are any moms out there, won't you please comment as to your own knowledge regarding school and/or lunches in the US?
Friday, December 17, 2010
The past, the present, the future
I walked into the lab, excited. The head grad student was there, and I excitedly told him what my idea was.
"I don't think that Darwin's Theory is complete. There are too many holes in it. Too many evolutionary jumps in nature don't add up. I would like to study why this is, and try to disprove the current theory of evolution as complete in itself."
"You're wasting your time. If there were some other theory, someone would have come up with it a long time ago. Its impossible, so just give up."
And I did.
As easy as that.
And that was the last straw in solidifying my feelings of disrespect toward the study of what is called "Biology", in its incestuous stance of approval of theories and the progression of the so-called science. Its like going back to popularity contests in High School! Wherein the most popular theorists get their theories approved and then subsequent submissions must be based upon the approved theories.
Despite this, a few years later, there was an article in Science or Discovery that supported my theory, someone else had indeed found that it was true. Not that it is taught in schools.
My original theory was this (It is not based on anyone else's thoughts):
That there is a CONSCIOUS EVOLUTION underlying the traditional theory of evolution, which is due to mutations, time and natural selection (the weak or disadvantaged are taken over by the strong and advantaged).
Of course natural selection is a basic part of evolution. It is a central force to evolution. However, it is not the end all be all of evolution.
I believe, and have since childhood, that evolution is guided by consciousness, and consciousness comes in many forms. It is a desire to be a certain way. It is recognition of necessity, or a recognition of possibility, that guides living things into their future position or state. I believe that conscious evolution can be unconscious as well, it just means that it is the mind and purpose of a living thing that governs its future, and not only its situation in the world.
This is easy to say about humans, who use language and can thoroughly understand each other. But what about animals, and plants? I believe that they also have chosen their future, their path. My biggest examples are of mysterious symbiotic relationships, such as those between clownfish and sea anemones, or pilot fish that clean sharks in return for not being eaten.
Actually, my thoughts go much further, and far beyond the theory of conscious evolution. But for the purpose of todays blog, I'll limit it here.
The reason that I am posting is because I found a bookmark from a few months ago, one linking to Jean Houston. Jean Houston's book with Robert Masters, Mind Games. Shinpei says he is concerned at the use of the book to open human consciousness. He says that perhaps humans should not be able to do such things on a day to day basis, and that there might be a reason why we are not all enlightened at all times. Perhaps. But I believe that there are those who are ready to jump into that state, and that the book is a tool. {Its like Kundalini Yoga. Those who are ready to have their Shakras opened do not suffer, and indeed are given a great gift. But those who are not ready, have their shakras "ripped open" as an old friend called it, and their protective layers tattered by the "Serpent Energy", and are left to struggle in a strange world between madness and reality, sudden flashes of heat or shivering in different parts of the body, and a general sense of malaise. Apparently it takes months to years to recover. I met a young man once who suggested that I never do it, his eyes wide with fear, because he was still struggling after having given it up. After that, I stopped doing the Fire Breathing if I felt that my body could not take so much, and never suffered. I did feel a wonderful tingling sensation in my hands, which felt as though it reached out about two feet.}
In the book Mind Games, players are lead on hypnotic journeys into themselves. There is a guide, someone who reads the book and watches over the players. The games themselves are tools for opening up the mind from what is considered reality by the conscious and unconscious mind into an "outside the box" ability to look at the world. I have lead several friends on these journeys. Some people remember them, some don't. All feel very well afterward.
So how do the Mind Games and Jean Houston fit into my theory of conscious evolution?
Well, I went to Jean Houston's page. I really respect what she has done in life, and her works with other people, but recently what she has done seems kind of creepy, and really stinks of lies. Like her video with the Dalai Lama and her website. I have a feeling that she has been sucked into trying to make a living by manipulating spirituality to her own design. Her eyes are scary, too... But maybe I am wrong.
Anyway.
On her wiki page was a link to the noosphere, and that was where it got interesting. It seems that not only is my theory possibly correct, but it began in 1907 with the studies of Henry Bergson
...
I have to make dinner now.
"I don't think that Darwin's Theory is complete. There are too many holes in it. Too many evolutionary jumps in nature don't add up. I would like to study why this is, and try to disprove the current theory of evolution as complete in itself."
"You're wasting your time. If there were some other theory, someone would have come up with it a long time ago. Its impossible, so just give up."
And I did.
As easy as that.
And that was the last straw in solidifying my feelings of disrespect toward the study of what is called "Biology", in its incestuous stance of approval of theories and the progression of the so-called science. Its like going back to popularity contests in High School! Wherein the most popular theorists get their theories approved and then subsequent submissions must be based upon the approved theories.
Despite this, a few years later, there was an article in Science or Discovery that supported my theory, someone else had indeed found that it was true. Not that it is taught in schools.
My original theory was this (It is not based on anyone else's thoughts):
That there is a CONSCIOUS EVOLUTION underlying the traditional theory of evolution, which is due to mutations, time and natural selection (the weak or disadvantaged are taken over by the strong and advantaged).
Of course natural selection is a basic part of evolution. It is a central force to evolution. However, it is not the end all be all of evolution.
I believe, and have since childhood, that evolution is guided by consciousness, and consciousness comes in many forms. It is a desire to be a certain way. It is recognition of necessity, or a recognition of possibility, that guides living things into their future position or state. I believe that conscious evolution can be unconscious as well, it just means that it is the mind and purpose of a living thing that governs its future, and not only its situation in the world.
This is easy to say about humans, who use language and can thoroughly understand each other. But what about animals, and plants? I believe that they also have chosen their future, their path. My biggest examples are of mysterious symbiotic relationships, such as those between clownfish and sea anemones, or pilot fish that clean sharks in return for not being eaten.
Actually, my thoughts go much further, and far beyond the theory of conscious evolution. But for the purpose of todays blog, I'll limit it here.
The reason that I am posting is because I found a bookmark from a few months ago, one linking to Jean Houston. Jean Houston's book with Robert Masters, Mind Games. Shinpei says he is concerned at the use of the book to open human consciousness. He says that perhaps humans should not be able to do such things on a day to day basis, and that there might be a reason why we are not all enlightened at all times. Perhaps. But I believe that there are those who are ready to jump into that state, and that the book is a tool. {Its like Kundalini Yoga. Those who are ready to have their Shakras opened do not suffer, and indeed are given a great gift. But those who are not ready, have their shakras "ripped open" as an old friend called it, and their protective layers tattered by the "Serpent Energy", and are left to struggle in a strange world between madness and reality, sudden flashes of heat or shivering in different parts of the body, and a general sense of malaise. Apparently it takes months to years to recover. I met a young man once who suggested that I never do it, his eyes wide with fear, because he was still struggling after having given it up. After that, I stopped doing the Fire Breathing if I felt that my body could not take so much, and never suffered. I did feel a wonderful tingling sensation in my hands, which felt as though it reached out about two feet.}
In the book Mind Games, players are lead on hypnotic journeys into themselves. There is a guide, someone who reads the book and watches over the players. The games themselves are tools for opening up the mind from what is considered reality by the conscious and unconscious mind into an "outside the box" ability to look at the world. I have lead several friends on these journeys. Some people remember them, some don't. All feel very well afterward.
So how do the Mind Games and Jean Houston fit into my theory of conscious evolution?
Well, I went to Jean Houston's page. I really respect what she has done in life, and her works with other people, but recently what she has done seems kind of creepy, and really stinks of lies. Like her video with the Dalai Lama and her website. I have a feeling that she has been sucked into trying to make a living by manipulating spirituality to her own design. Her eyes are scary, too... But maybe I am wrong.
Anyway.
On her wiki page was a link to the noosphere, and that was where it got interesting. It seems that not only is my theory possibly correct, but it began in 1907 with the studies of Henry Bergson
...
I have to make dinner now.
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Hi...
We found five kittens, found homes for four of them and kept one. His name is Ebi, which means shrimp in Japanese, because his coloring resembles that of a cooked shrimp. He's really cute, but has some bad habits which seem to be hereditary, because all his brothers and sisters do it, too. Or maybe its just a kitten thing to pretend your caretaker is a tree, and climb on them. Or climb on the table, the drapes, and other places where you tell him repeatedly not to climb. Or sleep on your caretaker's face...Ebi isn't as bad as his brother Angel, who actually sleeps ON my friend's face, he chooses to sleep next to my face, and in between Shinpei and I on one of our pillows. He is actually a really adorable kitten, and he has made our lives so much more peaceful just by being around.
On another note, Turkey Day came and went. So fast. And I didn't have any turkey. Grrr.
Hopefully there will be one at a Christmas Dinner... I did get my pumpkin pie fix, however, thanks to Costco!! Thanksgiving Day is an interesting holiday to teach in Japan. It was fun to make turkeys with the elementary school kids and teach them words of thanks in their lives. I think that we all forget how much we have, and it is important every day to reiterate some little place in your life that you are thankful for. Thanksgiving is just a reminder to do that.
Too bad the day that was chosen by my country to praise life, was the day that the Massachusetts Puritans chose to massacre 700 men, women and children in what was also referred to as the Piquot "War". (This is just one example of the lies that the country tells to protect the Church. Children are never taught, for example, what all of the Missions in California were really for, either.) I learned about it while searching for information on Thanksgiving. I knew the holiday was probably not as happy as it seemed, from what I had learned in college about the number of natives who died due to Small Pox and other European illnesses when the pilgrims came, but I had no idea that the actual naming of the holiday had this dark of a history.
Well, if we were to dwell on all of the horrible things that have happened in the past, we would never be able to move on. It is important to know what happened, so that one can understand the present, and one can possibly prevent future similar occurrences. It is also crucial to a positive and healthy progression to forgive what happened 200 years ago, or 20, or 2, if the aggravation is no longer occurring, to move on for one's own health.
Today's lesson; to forgive and forget so that we can move on. Much harder when it is my own skin, but nonetheless important...
Last night we watched the Golden Compass. Shinpei commented on how fractured the plot was. We discussed why there might have not been a sequel, when one was promised. And then he commented on the anti-Christian angle of the film. I looked it up online at that point, and lo and behold, the story is based on a series of books called "His Dark Materials" by Phillip Pullman. According to Wiki, He won several medals for the series and is considered one of the best authors of the past 50 years, but the series has a very anti-religious sentiment. How it got into Hollywood is beyond me. The film went through a lot of change, because I guess people didn't read the script before they OK'd it... So that explains the choppy plot; a bunch of it is missing. And after it was made, with plans for a sequel, it got canned due to the anti-Christian aspects of the series, almost imperceptible in the film. Secular people complained that the religious aspects had not been addressed, and the religous people complained that the film was based on something that they didn't approve of. So the sequels won't happen. The books are available on Amazon, however, and I am going to order them asap. I want to know what all the hubbub is about, and hear what Mr. Pullman's religious viewpoint is. Is he a devil worshipper? Is he flagrantly insulting to the Church and the Heavenly Father? Why? Novels are better than movies anyway...
On another note, Turkey Day came and went. So fast. And I didn't have any turkey. Grrr.
Hopefully there will be one at a Christmas Dinner... I did get my pumpkin pie fix, however, thanks to Costco!! Thanksgiving Day is an interesting holiday to teach in Japan. It was fun to make turkeys with the elementary school kids and teach them words of thanks in their lives. I think that we all forget how much we have, and it is important every day to reiterate some little place in your life that you are thankful for. Thanksgiving is just a reminder to do that.
Too bad the day that was chosen by my country to praise life, was the day that the Massachusetts Puritans chose to massacre 700 men, women and children in what was also referred to as the Piquot "War". (This is just one example of the lies that the country tells to protect the Church. Children are never taught, for example, what all of the Missions in California were really for, either.) I learned about it while searching for information on Thanksgiving. I knew the holiday was probably not as happy as it seemed, from what I had learned in college about the number of natives who died due to Small Pox and other European illnesses when the pilgrims came, but I had no idea that the actual naming of the holiday had this dark of a history.
Well, if we were to dwell on all of the horrible things that have happened in the past, we would never be able to move on. It is important to know what happened, so that one can understand the present, and one can possibly prevent future similar occurrences. It is also crucial to a positive and healthy progression to forgive what happened 200 years ago, or 20, or 2, if the aggravation is no longer occurring, to move on for one's own health.
Today's lesson; to forgive and forget so that we can move on. Much harder when it is my own skin, but nonetheless important...
Last night we watched the Golden Compass. Shinpei commented on how fractured the plot was. We discussed why there might have not been a sequel, when one was promised. And then he commented on the anti-Christian angle of the film. I looked it up online at that point, and lo and behold, the story is based on a series of books called "His Dark Materials" by Phillip Pullman. According to Wiki, He won several medals for the series and is considered one of the best authors of the past 50 years, but the series has a very anti-religious sentiment. How it got into Hollywood is beyond me. The film went through a lot of change, because I guess people didn't read the script before they OK'd it... So that explains the choppy plot; a bunch of it is missing. And after it was made, with plans for a sequel, it got canned due to the anti-Christian aspects of the series, almost imperceptible in the film. Secular people complained that the religious aspects had not been addressed, and the religous people complained that the film was based on something that they didn't approve of. So the sequels won't happen. The books are available on Amazon, however, and I am going to order them asap. I want to know what all the hubbub is about, and hear what Mr. Pullman's religious viewpoint is. Is he a devil worshipper? Is he flagrantly insulting to the Church and the Heavenly Father? Why? Novels are better than movies anyway...
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Iceberg
My husband and I talk about a variety of things everyday. We do all sorts of things together. Watch "Harold and Maude"(1971). Discuss global warming. And the scary educational advertisements by AC (look it up on youtube). Swim at the pool. Go to amusement centers. Search for and photograph fungi, insects, and other living things. Go to the Nagasaki Biopark.
Anyway, today, I was talking to the Kyoto Sensei (Vice Principal) at my junior high school, and we were contemplating what would happen with global warming. This week 24 children died on the East Coast of the US because they were left in cars in the heat. How horribly stupid of their caretakers.
I was wondering about the climate change and how it would affect different areas of the world when he mentioned the caps melting. Now, this is a common belief, that the caps will melt and raise the ocean levels. However, my husband is convinced that this will not happen. He says, "Take a cup of water with ice in it. The ice melts, the level doesn't change. The world is just a big version of this." OK, I can understand this about The North Pole, because it is all ice. But Antarctica lies on a land mass. Just a bit of scientific contemplation...
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