Experiment with Light, Svartbäcken, part III

Wow, what an amazing, powerful, awesome experience. I was thrilled when we were told that we'd get to do this modern yet perhaps old (?) Quaker experiment. :) 'A guided Light meditation' I think is what J.R. called it... That's what I'd call it too.

Now, I can't remember all the 'steps' so please have that in mind when you read what I've written...

We were in the Silence, told to wait In the Light rather than For the Light... and as soon as those words were spoken something shifted in me. I sensed the Light in a way I haven't before. I struggled to hang on to it when she told us to bring what we stuggle with into the Light but it stayed there, shimmering, growing brighter...

I was In the Light..

'Surrender it to the Light, Trust the Light.' Wow...! Oh. My. Goodness.

I'm hesitate to write what I'm about to... but I know now (perhaps I've always know?) that I have the Answers, the truth...My Truth, in me...In the Light. (!?!) Wow...

An experience, and a knowledge, which left my face wet with tears.

After that session we had some time to ourselves, followed with Worship Sharing and then dinner in well-needed silence. :)

In the Light,

Absent...

...in blog, mind and soul...

I'm fumbling in the darkness again, decisions needing to be made. Again. Loads of 'whatif's and no-one to give me answers...

I know, know, I know that I'll be alright, that things will fall into place, that there is a point and purpose for all of this and once I'm out on the other side I'll see things clearer.. But! It fecking SUCKS being stuck in this angry, angry, lonely place when all I want and wish for is to not be so angry...not feel so alone..

I try to hear, to feel, the answers inside - I know they're there but...I also know that there is not absolute Right or Wrong...things are what they are - it is how it is... Whatever I decide it'll be Right...we choose and decide to the best of our ability in the time and place that we're in at the particular time and place... When a decision has been made it is Right... Right for the journey we need to make...for what's ahead. And, it is that gut-feeling we have to follow...for us... 'cause we can only choose for ourselves - not for anyone else (except perhaps our children - who will hopefully know/learn we did the best we could with what we had at hand)...

Truth

...is important, but neither simple nor easy.

Love&Light,

"If you tell the truth you don't have to remember anything."
- Mark Twain

"...Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even to the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story..."
- Max Ehrmann

"If you shut the door to all errors, truth will be shut out."
- Rabindranath Tagore

"Whoever undertakes to set himself up as a judge of Truth and Knowledge is shipwrecked by the laughter of the gods."
- Albert Einstein

"Truth stands, even if there be no public support. It is self sustained."
- Mahatma Gandhi

"Say not, 'I have found the truth,' but rather, 'I have found a truth.'"
- Khalil Gibran

"Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth."
- Marcus Aurelius

"Mistakes are, after all, the foundations of truth, and if a man does not know what a thing is, it is at least an increase in knowledge if he knows what it is not."
- Carl Jung

"The truth is a snare: you cannot have it, without being caught. You cannot have the truth in such a way that you catch it, but only in such a way that it catches you."
- Søren Kierkegaard

Aristotle

(detail from The School of Athens by Raphael)
Aristotle (384 BC – 322 BC). Greek philosopher, scientist, student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. An interesting fellow who's had an enormous impact on how, and even what, we think. Some stuff is spot on and other things are a bit 'off'...and being me, I pass on the stuff that I think is spot on (why bother spreading rubbish when one can pass on gems&jewels?) ! :)


"In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous."

"Anybody can become angry - that is easy, but to be angry with the right person and to the right degree and at the right time and for the right purpose, and in the right way - that is not within everybody's power and is not easy."

"Education is an ornament in prosperity and a refuge in adversity."

"It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it."

"No great mind has ever existed without a touch of madness."

"I count him braver who overcomes his desires than him who conquers his enemies; for the hardest victory is over self."

"It is just that we should be grateful, not only to those with whose views we may agree, but also to those who have expressed more superficial views; for these also contributed something, by developing before us the powers of thought."

"Those who are too smart to engage in politics are punished by being governed by those who are dumber."

"The one exclusive sign of thorough knowledge is the power of teaching."

"We become just by performing just action, temperate by performing temperate actions, brave by performing brave action."

- Aristotle

Immauel Kant

Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) - German philosopher from the Prussian city of Königsberg. He published important works on science, religion, law, and history, believing himself to be creating a compromise between empiricism and rationalism (simply put - experience and reason combined rather than being each other 'opposites').



"Always recognize that human individuals are ends, and do not use them as means to your end."

"There can be no doubt that all our knowledge begins with experience."

"He who is cruel to animals becomes hard also in his dealings with men. We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals."

"Seek not the favor of the multitude; it is seldom got by honest and lawful means. But seek the testimony of few; and number not voices, but weigh them."

"Everything good that is not based on a morally good disposition, however, is nothing but pretense and glittering misery."

"Live your life as though your every act were to become a universal law."

- Immanuel Kant

Confucius

Confucius (Kong Fu Zi), 551 BC – 479 BC. A Chinese thinker and social philosopher, whose teachings deeply influenced East Asian life and thought. Confucius presented himself as a "transmitter who invented nothing" (not speaking of unknown things? ;)) and he put great emphasis on the importance of study (or learning).

Confucius's moral system was based upon empathy and understanding others. Virtue was based upon harmony with other people, summed up in the earliest versions of the Golden Rule.

"What one does not wish for oneself,
one ought not to do to anyone else;
what one recognises as desirable for oneself,
one ought to be willing to grant to others."
- Confucius

More quotes from Confucius:

"Knowledge is recognizing what you know and what you don't."

"Reviewing what you have learned and learning anew, you are fit to be a teacher."

"To study and not think is a waste. To think and not study is dangerous."

"When we see men of worth, we should think of equaling them; when we see men of a contrary character, we should turn inwards and examine ourselves."

"It does not matter how slowly you go
so long as you do not stop."

"To be able under all circumstances to practice five things constitutes perfect virtue; these five things are gravity, generosity of soul, sincerity, earnestness and kindness."

"He who speaks without modesty will find it difficult to make his words good."

Sense of Coherence

...or Salutogenesis is a concept or actually a theory of health and illness by Aaron Antonovsky. It explains how some people are more protected agains stress factors in their daily life due to the "sense of coherence" they have about Life and its challenges.

The sense of coherence has three components;
Comprehensibility: Does things make sense? Do I understand what's happening? Can I say what will come next?
Manageability: Can I manage? Have I got the support and "tools" to cope with what's happening?
Meaningfulness: It there a point? A purpose? A good reason? Are things in Life interesting? Worth caring about?

According the Antonovsky, meaningfulness is the most important factor. If there is no sense of meaning one will not have the motivation to make sense of things and/or to manage them...

And my point for this post?! (if there need to be one... ;)) :D Well, I've heard/read about salutogenesis before as a stress coping tool and/or a way to find balance in one's life... The other day at a lecture about learning the lecturer used this theory as a key part of making studies/studying meaningfull. If a child/person doesn't understand why/what/what for he/she learning something then he/she becomes a observer rather than a participant in school, and in the bigger scheme... Life.

I got a light bulb-moment out of this world!! :D OF COURSE! It makes perfect sense to use salutogenesis in the learning field too...! :) And I believe that a sense of coherense can be applicable to any and all aspects of life...so if you're still with me (bless you!) ;) That is my point...!



"Beyond the specific stress factors that one might encounter in life, and beyond your perception and response to those events, what determines whether stress will cause you harm is whether or not the stress violates your sense of coherence."
- Aaron Antonovsky

Knowledge...?

So...I've been abscent for a little while... Uni's started and it is all sort of New and Scary. :) Especially since we have our first exam is on Friday - barely two weeks in to the term!?!

My darling daughter has had a fever the last few days and I can just not allow myself to miss any lectures this early on so daddy has done his duty and mummy's been feeling guilty for not being "able" to... :/ Silly I know, but it's all a part of being a mum, isn't it? :\

I really hope that I'll find time and inspiration to keep posting here regularly, I think I really need this space. :)
My little Haven. ♥

"Perplexity is the beginning of knowledge."
- Kahlil Gibran
So hope that's true! :P

Where to begin...?

A new blog with new ideas of what I want to do but not really sure where to start... :)

Haud Ignota Loquor - I speak not of unknown things, sort of sums up my thought about this blog... I don't believe I'm a carrier of any new knowledge or revolutionary ideas, but I do believe that words have power and that all things are connected in some way.

I have many times 'by chance' come across thoughts, words and inspiring deeds that have changed, or more correctly deepened and given more colour to my already existing knowledge. I LOOOVE reading, learning, figuring things out, trying to get the why's and what for's of things.

I believe that I know myself quite well and that I'm good at reading people but I aspire to constantly learn more...to grow.

That's what I want to do here! :D I want to wonder, question and talk about lots of different issues with the aim of growing...!

By sharing what inspires and guides me in life perhaps I in turn might give someone else another variation of colour to their own ideas... Possible?? I don't know! :) There a very few things in life I know for sure...so maybe this blog will end up being a load of nonsense babbling about nothing and everything! ;)

My soul sister over on The Postulations of an Iconoclast wrote an awesome post a while back, about what she knows now. She spoke words right out of my own heart, I guess that's why we're soul sistas! ;) She wrote "the more I learn, the more I don't know" "I don't know shit. And I'm okay with that. Really. Because that means there's still room in my Brains for New Learning, New Thinking, New Ideas." (forgive me Cora for butchering your post!) and the sum still being the empowered "I don't know shit, but I *know* my shit" :D and that's SO true for me too!! ♥

And that brings the "If Anthem" to my mind!! :D Nonsense babbling-warning! ;) From the National Geographic Channels "Live Curious" 'campaign'.



If you are, you breathe.
If you breathe, you talk.
If you talk, you ask.
If you ask, you think.
If you think, you search.
If you search, you experience.
If you experience, you learn.
If you learn, you grow.
If you grow, you wish.
If you wish, you find.
And if you find, you doubt.
If you doubt, you question.
If you question, you understand
and if you understand, you know.
If you know, you want to know more.
If you want to know more,
you are alive.

I am alive! :) ...and this place is mine... So join me or leave me to my nonsens... ;)

Be safe,