life-long learning – Lisa Z. Lindahl

April 30, 2017

A Credo of True Beauty

photo by Lisa Z. Lindahl Diarmuid O’Murchu, a fascinating Irish scholar and social psychologist, puts forth one of the best descriptions/explanations of Bohmian of dialogue* in his excellent book, “Quantum Theology.”

I had always thought of this process (though I had no name for it) more as a way of being, really. When I thought consciously along these lines, it was in terms of “nonattachment,” or “objectivity.”

In my best moments, I strive to live life as a “dialogue.” I.e., unattached to any one point of view, deeply listening, open to all points of view without having to “have it” or “take it on” on a personal level, and being response-able — able to respond — hopefully with the greatest good in mind. At the same time to be aware of my own preferences and choices, and also responsible for my own condition in so far as I am consciously able (which one works at to continue to become more conscious). And always aware of beauty, supporting it, nurturing it, being surrounded in it.

This is the closest to a personal “credo” I have articulated in recent times. Deepak Chopra has said, “Quantum physics are the mechanics of creativity; reincarnation is the quantum leap of creativity…the soul takes on new expression.”[1] Until recently I considered Deepak’s comment to refer only to the life/death cycle. Today, I see its application to my own credo and attendant learning spirals: quantum leaps of understanding that leave me dying in one reality while popping into another – one that sometimes defies wordy articulation but can be summed up in a sweeping gaze while at the beach.

And, I have come to understand that I am endeavoring to practice beauty.

The dialogue between theology and science is not a dialogue at all;
it is a drama of the human spirit. ~Alexei Nesteruk

* Wikipedia definition: [Bohmian] dialogue has no predefined purpose, no agenda, other than that of inquiring into the movement of thought, and exploring the process of “thinking together” collectively. … allow group participants to examine their preconceptions and prejudices, …explore the more general movement of thought. … Dialogue should not be confused with discussion or debate, both of which, says Bohm, suggest working towards a goal or reaching a decision, rather than simply exploring and learning…

[1] Excerpted from a lecture in workshop, “Seduction of Silence,” April, 2005, Lake Lanier, GA

April 9, 2017

Skill Building? Snow Shovels & A/C Filters

There is always something new to learn. A new horizon to befriend…especially for the homeowner. And where I live, in just the past week, both my heat AND my air-conditioning have gone on. Fickle spring weather? Climate change? Doesn’t matter…I still have to cope.

After over 40 years in Vermont, I know about cold weather. I know, for instance, how to shovel snow. I don’t particularly like to, but I know how. I even have a preference about which sort

of snow shovels are better. (The ones with crooked handles.) I know there are tools especially designed to remove snow from roofs, and ice from sidewalks. There are even sharp, clumsy looking cleats you can strap on over your shoes or winter boots so you won’t slip on that pesky snow or ice. I know about all these things.

But I am still learning about the seasonal changes, their nuances, here in the south. I am largely ignorant about how to cope in the hot and humid southern weather. I know nothing about air conditioning, specifically, air conditioner filters.

I was surprised, after living here in a Southern state for three years, to learn that I should have changed those filters! Who knew? In fact, I was informed by the sincere young a/c repairman, that every 3 months was preferable. Oh. Frankly, I’d forgotten I even had them; no alarm had gone off or anything, even after 3 years.

So I took a look. The cardboard throw-away ones were easy. The size was printed very big on the side, which was visible once I scraped off the layer of gray dust bunny-like stuff that had crept around that edge. So I just had to go buy another! But then I noticed that the 3 vents in the house were all different sizes. How inconvenient is that? Poor planning I ranted to anyone who would listen.

This time it was a nice young neighbor, born and raised here, who explained to me the relationship between square footage and vent size and placement. Oh.

Well, but not all my a/c filters were those cardboard ones. It turned out I had some sort of “microstatic” reusable somethings in a couple of the vents. I was supposed to clean and re-install these.

Okay; but there were no directions on how to clean said items. And boy! were they filthy. I only knew just how dirty because there was one corner in the larger filter that wasn’t quite clogged up yet; I could see through it, and see all the pieces of yuk shaking around while trapped in its reusable screen grid.

So using my common sense I tried vacuuming it. And vacuuming it. And then with a different brush head, I tried vacuuming it. All to absolutely no avail. I googled “how to clean re-usable air conditioner filters” and found nothing. Evidently this is so self-evident it is not even on You Tube. Hesitantly I took the smaller of the two reusable filters to the kitchen sink and tried water. I used the sink hose on it for a looong time. As I suspected, it all just turned to mud in all those tiny screen chambers in there.

I was beginning to wish for the old Vermont me who knew what she was doing.

I gave up and went to the local bargain store to replace the cardboard one. While there I looked at the packaging for the reusable kind and, Voila! finally saw some directions – in tiny print – for cleaning them. Hose. Outdoor hose. Full throttle. OK! Success!

Except…when I got home I realized that I had bought the wrong size throw-away filter. …Heavy sigh.

However I spent a joyful hour spraying the heck out of those reusable screens, watching over 3 years of accumulated crap wash out onto my patio stones. I made a concerted effort not to think of what I had been breathing in in my oh-so-very-closed-up-in-JulyAugustSeptember-house.

Ah, the satisfaction of house-wifery!

Now I can add air conditioner filter replacement and cleaning to my list of skills, right there after snow shoveling.

July 17, 2016

The Curiousity Asset

“Curiousity killed the cat!” so begins an old sing-songed taunt tossed about when I was a child. It was meant to shame or deter someone who had poked their nose where it wasn’t — according to someone or something — supposed to be. The usual retort was “Satisfaction brought him back!” often accompanied by a final “Hmph!” and perhaps an appropriate sound effect.

I find it interesting that curiousity was discouraged. For me that curiousity is the very basis, indeed the seed of the desire to learn. It is the puzzle, the mystery to be solved, the great unknown leading us forward…

The asset of being curious…

What part does a curious nature have to do with with the pursuit of a formal education? Education is the passing along to upcoming minds that which is already known. As we progress through the educative process it can be augmented with the research process: “what’s next? what does this lead to/infer/prove?” And this is usually only entered into by those with the “Iamcurious” gene. So, while formal learning is most definitely lubricated by curiousity, a desire to know, it is really quite different from curiousity itself. And curiosity is nurtured and fed by triggers too often absent in a schoolroom.

So here’s what the curiousity cycle might look like: as a child we are full of wonder and curiosity, it is all about learning: there is a whole new world to discover. Then the teen-ager becomes know it all, having settled on his/her opinions and justifiably needing to feel independent and in charge. Next we humans tend to embark on the busy work of creating, managing and controlling; the productive years. This can be a very long cycle; some people never leave it — dying “in the saddle” as that saying goes. We carve out our lives, might get into our routines, some might negatively say “ruts.” Personally, I find stability very good for fostering creativity.

But as age and the longer perspective all those years gift us with, sometimes we begin seeing over the edges of our respective ruts once again, discovering anew. We get curious again about things that may once have been taken for granted, or thought we understood, or had forgotten, or didn’t have time to notice, care about or pursue.

For me some of these are birds, clouds in the sky, shamanism, science stuff like physics — which I always assumed was way over my head — and just the beauty of everyday sunlight, the Isness; that incredible beauty everywhere. I find I am curious about a great many things.
I am grateful for the time and wherewithal to indulge my curiosity, and despair only of my inherent laziness that stops me and says: “Let’s just sit and read a book, now.”

Well, that’s not so bad either.

To be curious is definitely an asset, not some annoying stick-yer-nose-innit bad habit. It is the foundational block for life-long learning. That old saying about the cat should be banned!

P.S. You may have noticed that I am using what is now referred to as the “British spelling” of the word curiousity, with a second ‘u’. That’s how I was taught it was spelled. I mean, without the -ity on the end, it is curious, correct? Spell check is always trying to make it “curiosity” — which just looks weird and mis-spelled to me. I don’t understand the fashion for changing the root word spelling when adding ‘ity’. Why do that? Just curious…

P.P.S. Oh, and in case you were wondering or worried, the cat in the uppermost left hand picture isn’t dead at all; she just likes to lie around like that.

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