Links for Making Good Mondays

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Earth Day gets bigger every year. April 22, 2009 celebrated "The Green Generation." It brings to mind how fragile our home planet is and how much we are tied to the waters of the ocean and to the land. The oceans are home to our cousins the whales and our friends the dolphins. These are the Green Generation's core principles:

• A carbon-free future based on renewable energy that will end our common dependency on fossil fuels, including coal.

• An individual’s commitment to responsible, sustainable consumption.

• Creation of a new green economy that lifts people out of poverty by creating millions of quality green jobs and transforms the global education system into a green one.

Here are a few related links sent by my regular contributors:

"Oprah Shines Light On Great Pacific Garbage Patch (VIDEO)#," from The Huffington Post (4/23/09).

"Trooper charged with stealing loads of mulch*," from Press & Sun-Bulletin, (4/23/09). Betmo comments, "Wow, you know things are tough."

"BigAg Ticked at Michelle Obama's Organic Garden,*" from Common Dreams (4/23/09). Summary: "Michelle Obama's decision to make her new White House vegetable garden entirely organic has angered America's powerful agribusiness lobby who are urging the First Lady to consider the use of appropriate "crop protection products". This link courtesy of Dusty, who is a mutual friend of Betmo and Carol Gee.

"Longest place name spelt wrongly*," from Anova. The post begins: "Embarrassed US officials have been forced to admit that they have been spelling Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg wrongly for years." Betmo quips, "guess they have eeggg on their faces:)."


Hat Tip Key: Regular contributors of links to leads are Betmo*, Dan'l+ and Jon#.

My news and political blog is at South by Southwest.

Carol Gee - Online Universe is the all-in-one home page for my websites.

Technorati tags: earth day blogging news links

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Earth Day is now past tense

It is like the day after one's birthday. The congratulations have been proffered. And revelry is over, the gifts have been opened, the packaging taken to the trash.

Earth Day was about paying attention to Mother Earth. Noting the planet, making resolutions to do better, setting up a recycling center, changing out a lightbulb, taking in Vitamin D from real sunshine -- all these little things matter. And for the earth, everything adds up. Ruin or reclamation are each cumulative.

People from a variety of countries came by Making Good Mondays to pay me a visit yesterday. The visitor chart above tells the story of what a small world it is. And how easily we can connect with each other. I am fascinated that someone in Vietnam or the Czech Republic or Qatar wants to read the little things I have to say.

I would love to visit every one of your homelands and meet the people on your street corners or rural roads. I would like to see your blue skies and feel your gentle rains. It would be quite familiar in a way. Your trees and flowere would look different than mine, but not so different.

Now what I want to say in conclusion is "Thanks to all" for clicking on my web address. I hope your corner of the earth had a good day yesterday. I am your fellow citizen of Planet Earth, and I shake your hand.

My brand new blog is called "Behind the Links."

Carol Gee - Online Universe is the all-in-one home page for my websites.

Technorati tags: earth internet

I am fully dressed.

I am sitting at my computer, casually dressed with blue jeans, a collared tee shirt, tennis shoes and socks, with my hair in a pony tail. I am a blogger, to tell the truth, and every day I write for multiple hours at my notebook keyboard. Now the real point of this post is to answer another question I have never asked:

DO YOU EVER WRITE SERIOUS POSTS IN YOUR PAJAMAS OR EVEN JUST UNDERWEAR?

Truth is that I am an early riser and do my best writing when my mind is fresh. That I blog does not mean that I am not serious, careful, ethical or responsible. I just do not get paid or use my actual name as my byline. Perhaps I should use my own name. Many more people are doing so these days.

And the writing has never been hampered by my nightgown and terry cloth robe. I don't think so, at least. But I do not ever, as we bloggers were grouped and accused of yesterday on C-SPAN, "blog from my basement in my underwear." Perhaps I should always get up, get dressed and groomed before sitting down to do a heavy political post. But at this point it is not necessary because the post you are reading here will not include a webcam video. Nor can you see me as I write.

You can only imagine what I am like. I am a rather youthful 71, with natural brown hair, hazel eyes and modern small oblong lensed glasses, a few freckles and age spots on my hands and arms, and a ready smile. I am a bit over 5' 2" and a bit over-weight, a size 14 petite, actually. I was born and raised in the West and eventually trained as a clinical social worker, another name for a counselor. I am happily married for 50+ years, have four grown children and six grandchildren, who all live within driving distance of our house for holidays.

I am Liberal, Democrat, Episcopalian (backsliding), good at English and barely adequate in Math. So what qualified me to blog? I prepare, I read widely, I check my facts and cite my sources, and I am passionate about politics. And I am a bit creative, which is what Making Good Mondays is for.

Thanks for stopping by and visiting. I am glad you could stay because I am dressed for the day.

**********

My brand new blog is called "Behind the Links." It is a collaborative effort of people who know my interests and send me links.

Carol Gee - Online Universe is the all-in-one home page for my websites.

Technorati tags: blogging [writing personal

General News of Interest -- a Digest

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What would we do without Yahoo!? I get a lot of my news from Yahoo! News, because it comes up on the opening page of my email site. Pictured on the left are Jerry Yang and David Filo, the founder of this groundbreaking company. Here is your news. Links by my regular contributors (see details below):

"Dog overboard found four months later#," is from Yahoo! News. (4/6/09).

"Shroud Of Turin Was Hidden By Knights Templar: Vatican#," from The Huffington Post (4/5/09).

"Today's Papers - No Strings attached#" was found at Slate Magazine on April 4, 2009.

"America's Lost Decade#," linked from Daily Kos (3/8/09).

"We are programmed to be interrupted*," from The Long Now Blog (2/20/09). Betmo labels this "The 21st Century" To quote:

Wired has a great interview with an author named Maggie Jackson who has written a book about the neurobiological basis of attention and how it is affected by all the “lovely distractions” modern society provides. Distracted: The Erosion of Attention and the Coming Dark Age describes three types of attention - orientation, a general sense of awareness, and executive. Her concern is that our modern technological culture is constantly distracting us - and that we like it.

"Oil in the Sand#," a photographic essay from Time Magazine - "In Canada's Alberta Province, Syncrude is mining black gold hand over fist." Jon introduces it: "Interesting pictures. I found one that states we get more from Canada than Saudi Arabia interesting."

"Modern meat: is your meat safe?: antibiotic debate overview*," from Buzz Flash.

**********

Hat Tip Key: Regular contributors of links to leads are Betmo*, Dan'l+ and Jon#.

Technorati tags: news news and politics links blogging news

This post will be cross-posted to my brand new blog, called "Behind the Links."

My news and political blog is at South by Southwest.

Carol Gee - Online Universe is the all-in-one home page for my websites.

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• Digital Overload Is Frying Our Brains (wired.com)

Mood imagery

FreeImages.co.uk deserves the credit for all these interesting pictures. These mood images are to be found free at the link above.

These images all have a certain "vantage point:" It depends on where you are, as to how you look at things.

You might be feeling "on top of the world, have an "overview," or have to "step down" from a lofty position. Up appears to be the desired location.

Or you might feel " blocked," "down in the dumps," or "trapped." Down is not the way most of us want to feel.

Most of us just wish for "a level playing field."

Have a great week!

My brand new blog is called "Behind the Links."

Carol Gee - Online Universe is the all-in-one home page for my websites.

Technorati tags: images moods figures of speech emotion

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Tools for Dreamers - Part IV

Image by Zerone Eric Ouano via Flickr

The Five Dream W’s

Questions to ask myself . . . . .

Who

Who are the characters in my dream?

Are they people I know?

Are they strangers?

Are they alive today, or have they already passed on?

Am I a character in my dream, or an observer?

Who might these characters represent or stand for,

or do they represent themselves?

Where

Where is the dream setting?

Where is the dream taking place?

Is it a familiar place; or is it a place to which I’ve never been?

Have I dreamed of this place in the past?

Is it an interior scene or an exterior scene?

Do the scenes change, seemingly without reason, or does the action go “on and

on and on.”

When

When does the action of the dream take place?

Is it in the past, the present or the future?

How old are you in the dream? How old are the other characters?

Is this a recurring dream?

Does this dream represent one in a series of dreams with the same theme?

What

What is the action in my dream?

What is going on in my dream?

Does the scene have a beginning and an end?

How does the plot turn out?

What are my feelings as these things happen?

What is going on in my life these days, that might be a precipitator?

Why

Why did I dream this dream?

What was the function of this dream?

What did I need that might be fulfilled by this dream?

Why did I dream this dream at this particular time?

Why was I “ready” to have this dream?

By Carol Gee.

My brand new blog is called "Behind the Links."

Carol Gee - Online Universe is the all-in-one home page for my websites.

Technorati tags: dreams

Tools for Dreamers - Part III

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My Dream Language

How does my dream-maker write my dream story . . . The Five W’s

By Carol Gee

Who

Who are the regular characters in my dreams? Do they stand for themselves, for another, or for parts of myself?

Name the people or representational types that regularly inhabit my dreams, or the dream in question:

Who speaks and what is the dream dialogue like?

State some ideas about what characterizes the usual conversations in my dreams, or the dream in question:

What

What is the plot of my dream drama?

Write a synopsis of the story of what happened in this dream or in my typical dreams:

The language of objects or dream props –

For what do the “things” in my dreams stand, or what are the meanings of the main items that my dream-maker showed in this dream?

Where

What does the dream location say?

Describe the place in which the dream events happen. What are the most frequent locations of my dream dramas?

Inside or outside is a question

Do most of my dreams take place inside or outside? Where does the dream action occur in this dream?

When

Orientation to Past, Present or Future?

Is this dream set in the past, present or the future? What is my normal internal consciousness orientation to time?

Time’s message from the dream

Do the time orientations of conscious and unconscious match? How long does it take for the dream to unfold?

Why

Translating from conscious to unconscious

What “day material” routinely influences my dreams or influenced the dream in question?

Remembering my (habitual) internal dialogue’s shorthand phrases -learning my own unique words, my dream language

What is the literary style of my internal dream-maker? What does this shorthand tell me about what I might infer about the meanings of my dreams?

My brand new blog is called "Behind the Links."

Carol Gee - Online Universe is the all-in-one home page for my websites.

Tools for Dreamers - Part II

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On Archetypes

Joseph Campbell, in a conversation with Bill Moyers, defines archetypes this way:

“The human psyche is essentially the same all over the world. The psyche is the inward experience of the human body, which is essentially the same in all human beings, with the same organs, the same instincts, the same impulses, the same conflicts, the same fears. Out of this common ground has come what Jung has called the archetypes, which are the common ideas of myths.

Moyers asks, “What are archetypes?” Campbell replies:

“They are elementary ideas, what could be called ‘ground’ ideas. These ideas Jung spoke of as archetypes of the unconscious. ‘Archetype’ is the better term because ‘elementary idea’ suggests headwork. Archetype of the unconscious means it comes from below. The difference between the Jungian archetypes of the unconscious and Freud’s complexes is that the archetypes of the unconscious are manifestations of the organs of the body and their powers. Archetypes are biologically grounded, whereas the Freudian unconscious is a collection of repressed traumatic experiences from the individual’s lifetime. The Freudian unconscious is a personal unconscious, it is biographical. The Jungian archetypes of the unconscious are biological. The biographical is secondary to that.

All over the world and at different times in human history, these archetypes, or elementary ideas, have appeared in different costumes. The differences in the costumes are the results of environment and historical conditions. It is these differences that the anthropologist is most concerned to identify and compare.”

Arthur Benard, Ph.D., M.F.T., in his workshop, “Dreams: Awakening Your Sleeping Genius,” lists archetypes:

“There is a part of the unconscious that all people have access to, which Carl Jung labeled the ‘collective unconscious.’ It is a psychic storehouse for all humankind, and the contents of the collective unconscious are called archetypes: patterns that are found within the conscious of everyone.

It is important to understand that the universal meanings and generalized definitions are of minimal value in terms of self-understanding and personal growth. Only through discovering your own translations of symbols, even universal ones, can you effect any real change or insight. Another limitation is that symbols change meaning according to the context in which they appear and the personal experience of the dreamer.

Angel – spiritual ideals; higher self-image, guiding angel

Bull – strength; earthly desires; take the bull by the horns; ‘bull market’.

Cave – hidden aspects of self; deeper levels of mind; exploring the depths of the inner self; site of mystery and healing; secrecy; hiding place when troubled.

Cross – difficulties we have to bear; the way of Christ; rebirth

Fire – at its worst-uncontrolled temper, jealousy, vengeance, hatred; its opposites are the fires of love, zeal, patriotic fervor, cleansing and purification.

Light – mental understanding; insight; spiritual illumination.

Mandala – designs usually enclosed within a circle, which represent wholeness and the higher self.

Mountain – attainment of spiritual awareness after surmounting obstacles; high ideals; mastery of earthly concerns; climbing a mountain – making spiritual progress.

Ocean – our emotions and their condition; subconscious and super-conscious areas of the mind; mysteries of the deep within us.

Rainbow – God’s promise to people; protection, happiness, joy and good things to come.

River – the course of life; flow of ideas and emotions; spiritual activity

Serpent/snake – the kundalini, the creative force that flows through us and can raise our energy to spiritual awareness; represents both good and evil; negative aspect - lust and temptation; positive aspect - wisdom and healing.

Star – high, spiritual ideals

Stone – foundation of truth, solid, dependable

Tree – support, strength, permanence, dignity; indicates growth and un-foldment; flowering tree – inner beauty, abundance, promise of the fruits of your labor.

Water – source of life; spiritual depths; feelings and emotions; deep, clear still water often represents truth about the inner self; murky water – emotions upset and in turmoil.

My brand new blog is called "Behind the Links."

Carol Gee - Online Universe is the all-in-one home page for my websites.

Technorati tags: dreams archetypes

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Tools for Dreamers - Part I

My Dream Kit

A “Dream Kit” is something I put together in order to enhance my dream work. It allows me to do dream work more effectively, and have more fun in the process. What else should I think about? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________

The purpose

Why would I need a dream kit? ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

What would I actually do with it? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

How hard to make would it be? ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The contents

How often would I use it? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

What would the kit need to contain to serve the purpose?___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

How much would I need to invest? ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The container

Where would I keep the container? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________

What form would the container take? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________

Would it be an open or closed container? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________