Aditi Shankardass: A second opinion on learning disorders | Video on TED.com

Aditi Shankardass: A second opinion on learning disorders | Video on TED.com

An fascinating look at a new technology that could correctly diagnosis children with learning disorders from ADD to Autism.

Mirror Image

The mirror

another opportunity

to admire your pretty flesh

You primp and preen

pout and pose

but avoid looking

into your own eyes

 

Image via Wikipedia

del.icio.us Tags: Vanity,Shallowness,Narcissim

Love Note

I'm going to write a book
a book of poems
filled with tragedy and melancholy

I'm going to leave you out.

Sanctity

Image by Funchye via Flickr

Swallow me whole
on a field of black
that follows like silk

with your touch

take me to the limits of soul
return me to nothing but touch
and the absence of sound
a directionless journey
to the completion of one.
del.i.cio.us tags: wholeness,journey,joining,soul mates,love,erotic,completion

Recommended Reading: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: Story to Screenplay [CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTO]

Rumi Waits

The man took his wine stained pillow
into a field
to wait

Waiting
with nib, dry as thirst,
he scratches poems in the sand
which dung beetles neatly compact
and roll away for meaningless consumption

A woman, mute by desire, brings him
day old papers and meatless sandwiches;
as sweat gathers between breast and thigh
she watches him devour her penance

He drinks from the puddle of her shadow
and feels the pull of her leaving

He reaches for her hem but instead
finds her ankle, he kisses her instep
smells earth, fertile garden
His confession, her absolution, falling
like stars from his mouth

Recommended Reading:  Rumi: The Book of Love: Poems of Ecstasy and Longing

del.icio.us Tags: Rumi,Passion,Poetry,Love

Suffering

It is so easy to get down. To beat ourselves up for our own suffering as if we are some how to blame. We think we have to carry our pain around under a cloak, like good little soldiers. We don't. It's okay to rage against the dragon that consumes us and to weep for the lives we had. Tomorrow we can wake up and be strong and brave but today we huddle beneath our blankets and send comfort to those huddled there with us.

Let’s Assume, Absolutely

You may have heard the saying, “Assume makes an ass of u and me.” Even Webster’s Dictionary defines assumption in a negative way. Sadly, as evidenced on many forums and comment boards on the internet, the negative connotation seems to hold true far too often. But assumptions are simply theories and are not only the cornerstone of learning but also of dialogue. It is not the theory that makes asses out of men but the absoluteness that is placed upon those assumptions creating gospel and rhetoric. Once that has taken place dialogue and growth are shut down.

“No theory is good unless it permits, not rest, but the greatest work. No theory is good except on condition that one use it to go on beyond.”  –Andr

As children we almost immediately begin to make assumptions based on our experiences and as the number of our experiences increase our assumptions expand. This practice continues, hopefully,for our lifetime. Yet all too often we can see the wrongness that happens when we turn our theories into absolute belief: Bigotry, Racism,  Fanaticism – the list is long. All serve to limit our growth not only personally but as humankind.

“The wise man regulates his conduct by the theories both of religion and science. But he regards these theories not as statements of ultimate fact but as art-forms.”  -J.B.S. Haldane

Personally I have worked diligently, and still do, to remove absolute language from my world view. I fail at times and allow my passions to cloud my vision. But the same absolute thinking causes the same destruction when we apply it to ourselves. I am guilty of this most of all and have yet to remove this stifling language from my internal dialogue. I can see, logically, how it keeps me “stuck” and damages my ability to grow but I believe the emotional aspect of this type of thinking is difficult to overcome.

Leaving ourselves open to create assumptions without attaching emotional absolutes is a mountain that must be climbed, I believe, if we are to evolve both as individuals and as the human race.

“Creating a new theory is not like destroying an old barn and erecting a skyscraper in its place. It is rather like climbing a mountain, gaining new and wider views, discovering unexpected connections between our starting points and its rich environment. But the point from which we started out still exists and can be seen, although it appears smaller and forms a tiny part of our broad view gained by the mastery of the obstacles on our adventurous way up.” -Albert Einstein