The tour moves on

This blog is over.

The infinite bold moves tour will be chronicled elsewhere (see below)

I decided I didn't like the format of long-post-once-a-week, and wanted to write short posts, more frequently, with a more coherent theme, but more flexibility. Thus, the new blog (still in the works, but functional), which I finally managed to get up and rolling about 3:30 AM this morning:

THE UNIVERSE WILL NOT BE CONTROLLED BY THE LIKES OF US
(http://theuniversewillnotbecontrolledbythelikesofus.wordpress.com/)

There are three posts up so far - check 'em out & please do comment, even if just two words. When you do, you'll show up as a "Collaborator" in the second column.

See y'all over there!

Resurrection & Negative Entropy

The Resurrection of Christ by Piero della Francesca (c.1420 - 1492)
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c2/Resurrection.JPG

Happy Easter, all!
In a recent passage in the novel, I meditated on the theme of resurrection, and compared it to re-greening a desert, and vice versa. This passage also comes right after an exploration of the concept of entropy, which is important. In general, "things fall apart" -- they go from a state of relative order (low entropy) to a state of increased disorder, or chaos (high entropy). However, things like resurrections and re-greening deserts seem to defy this trend. Please enjoy this interview with the late farmer-philosopher, Masanobu Fukuoka, who said in his book, The Natural Way of Farming, that his goal was to "resurrect a humanity divorced from God" by teaching them natural farming.
Love,
Graham

Greening the Desert

Robert: What have you learned in your 50 years of work about what people could do with their agriculture?

Masanobu: I am a small man, as you can see, but I came to the States with a very big intention. This small man becomes smaller and smaller, and won't last very long, so I'd like to share my idea from 50 years ago. My dream is just like a balloon. It could get smaller and smaller, or it could get bigger and bigger. If it could be said in a brief way, it could be said as the word "nothingness." In a larger way it could wrap the entire earth.

I live on a small mountain doing farming. I don't have any knowledge, I don't do anything. My way of farming is no cultivation, no fertilizer, no chemicals. Ten years ago my book, One Straw Revolution, was published by Rodale Press in the United States. From that point I couldn't just sleep in the mountains. Seven years ago I took an airplane for the first time in my life and went to California, Boston, New York City. I was surprised because I thought the United States was full of green everywhere, but it looked like death land to me... (read more)

Revolutionary Questions

Questions (earnest and open questions, not rhetorical questions) open up space for a kind of reflection and consideration that allows one to move forward (do you think that's true? It might not be; or, it might just depend.)
Here are some "revolutionary questions" I've been pondering lately, questions that I think have the potential to create significant positive change. I've organized them into different "horizons" or spheres of activity (hope the metaphor makes sense; this organizational scheme may be more a reflection of my own OCD, rather than any actual ontological features of human beings.)

Economic Horizon

- Where does my food come from? Where do I want it to come from?
- Where does my water come from? Where do I want it to come from?
- What do I use money for? How can I use money more efficiently? Do I want to use it more efficiently?
- If I stopped using money at all, what necessity would be most difficult to acquire?
- How can I give gifts more often? What kind of gifts do I want to give? What kind of gifts do I want to receive?
- How simple do I want my life to be? How complex?
- Besides nutritious food, clean water, shelter, and clothing, what else do I need?
- If I had to give away three things right now, what would I give away?
- What is my life's work? Have I begun it yet?
- To whom does my labor belong? To whom do I want it to belong?
- What do I spend the most time doing? What do I want to spend more time doing? What do I wish I didn't do at all?
- Do I have a safety net? Can I take risks? Do I want to take risks?

Social Horizon

- Who are my friends? Who are my enemies?
- How many friends and enemies do I have? How many do I want to have?
- Who partners with me on my life's work? Who is opposing me?
- How can I compete more? Do I want to be more competitive?
- How can I become more collaborative? Who do I wish would collaborate with me?
- What do I offer my friends? What do they offer me?
- What holds me back from loving others more? How can I turn my weaknesses into strengths?
- What kind of people do I like most? Who am I afraid of?

Somatic Horizon

- Are my body and I on the same team, or do we oppose one another?
- What nutrients do I need more of? What do I need less of?
- What kind of body do I want to have? What is within my range of control for shaping it?
- What are my skills? What skills do I want to have? What skills do I most appreciate when others have them?
- How are my resilience, flexibility, endurance, and strength? What do I want them to be?
- Do I feel balanced and orderly? What kind, and what amounts, of stress do I want to have?
- When do I feel strongest? Why?
- When do I feel weakest? Why?
- What kind of food makes me feel happy, clean, and healthy?

Spiritual Horizon

- Am I intentional about what I do? Do I want to be more intentional or less intentional?
- What motivations drive my actions? What motivations do I want to drive my actions?
- How patient, focused, poised, calm, grateful, and brave am I?
- Am I a curious person? What do I think of curiosity?
- How frequently do I feel sensations of awe? Can I feel awe more often? Should I?
- Do I take responsibility for my experience of life? Do I feel like my life is controlled by outside forces?
- Am I open to new ideas? How open? Do I seek them out? How do I express my openness?
- Do people look to me for guidance? Do I want them to? Do people feel reassured around me?
- Am I a creative person? Do I want to be? If so, what do I want to create?

Cosmic Horizon

- What animal do I love the most? What animal do I fear the most? What animal is most puzzling to me?
- What do plants and animals think about me? What do I want them to think?
- If I could live anywhere on earth, where would it be? If not here, then why am I not there?
- What's my opinion on the planet, its present, its future, and its past?
- How often do I look at the sky, in any given day? How often do I want to?
- Can I see the stars? Does this matter? If so, why? If not, why?
- Do I think there is a Creator? If so, how does this affect the way I live from hour to hour? If not, how does this affect the way I live from hour to hour?
- Do I think time is linear or cyclical (or both)? What are my feelings about time?
- What do I think of outer space? Does it have any meaning for my life?
- Is the universe chaotic or ordered, static or evolving, meaningless or meaningful, obvious or mysterious?

Horizon of Discovery

- What questions should we be asking that no one has asked yet?

Love,
graham