All Rise

1. 

 I AM NOT THE JUDGE

I can’t quite  imagine  every topic on this earth

Needs the entire world to  recognize my humble two cents worth

No pretending play dough pondering need seem like they’re carved in granite.

I needn’t hold opinions ‘bout all folks across the planet

It’s perfectly acceptable  to admit “oh no, I haven’t. Seen it.”

You can swear you don’t care especially when you mean it

I am not the Judge my words are just suggestions

So I propose you question answers just as you answer  questions

Chorus

You see I am not  your judge and I am not your jury

There’s no claiming  facts are clear if many still are blurry

If you’ve got no time to listen Oh..what’s your bloody hurry?

When we could all work together or alone  mix fear and fury

No No No No No

I am not your judge—-No I am not your jury 

Verse 2

There is no harm in smiling as you say I haven’t learned that yet

The things in life that baffle us won’t approach an empty set

You needn’t be a ruler with delusions  of defining 

Which  clouds  will only rain and which have a silver lining

Don’t declare your lot is awe full when  at least half the time it’s awesome

or be quick to say  that thing’s a weed give it a chance to blossom

Chorus

Breathing Dash one last gasp?

 

 BREATH —A LAZST GASP?

Well...I’m kidding... this WILL NOT BE THE LAST TIME  we wander. Down the road of breathing... Unless you wish to stop breathing in which case  read fast... 

However...maybe take this three-part entry  series as a beginning..like we are  just in the delivery room and the doctor is holding us by our feet and. Slapping us  on the rump to get us howling and sucking in that. Valuable air.  Now... I don’t remember  my kids getting slapped  when they were born and as Rodney Dangerfield  might remark... when. My kids were born the doctor slapped their father...

Okay moving back to a little more serious time and place—

Here and Now—-

Much of my current awareness of breathing comes from two sources.  Peter Leidy  and John Kabat-Zinn.  

So assuming you all know who Peter is... I’ll start with  JKZ..Now  this person wrote tow books that  helped me understand  about meditation and breathing  as a path  to the meditation /mindful state.   Not only did he write clear and very readable. Books they have great titles..

Full Catastrophe  Living—-

Speaking of 2020 for so many people and my personal favorite title with the possible exception of Green Eggs and Ham—

Where ever You Go There You are.

In both these. Books JKZ  illustrates how people can use breathing to  help people become “mindful—-Now that’s a much-used  trendy self-help word although I’d guess we all could  find some people we would claim are mind-empty.  

Anyway breathing or being aware of  this thing called breathing that we do 20,000 times a day, helps us pay attention to what is happening right here and right now.  It helps us focus on our current state—-not on what happened ye3sterday—so we become aware of the fact that  our concept of yesterday is a present one and not  tomorrow yet.  JKZ makes it clear that today’s  actions  do create tomorrow’s possibilities to some extent.   The point is that when we pay attention —full attention to now we don’t ‘mindlessly tumble  forward or fall where we stand.  

Let me put this another way...

Imagine your life is a walk down a hallway.  At the end of the  hallway there is a door you can see through and on the other side of that door  there appears to be  something you believe you want or need...a goal. The realization  of a purpose so to speak.   Now this  hallway has doors   Indented  on either side... you can see that there are. Doors but can’t see into them.  

So sometimes the hallway will appear scary and you won’t. Go down it... that’s a topic for another. Blog...however let’s say for today you have decided to move. On ahead—In reality life will move you down the hallway whether you  like it or not....again a topic for a different day..

Okay if we stay focused on where the hallway  came from we will likely wander  down the.path looking. Back and  maybe not see the places where the  hallway has tacks  on the floor rotten boards or even worse....

As we pass. The first door on the right moving down the hall there may be a key that just might unlock the door at the end of the. Hall...but if we are not paying attention we may miss it—-stop and breathe and notice the key or  move forward automatically  and miss it...I’d say BREATHE

Breathe again as we pass the  second door on the left.  Stop and really pay attention and you may smell the. Most delicious  cinnamon  rolls ever and looking in you may see the most beautiful garden and from the garden you hear sounds  emerging like birds and what’s that?   Some sweet combination of. Vivaldi, Mozart, and Blue Grass violin (although  the bluegrass will come from a fiddle.  Suddenly you realize that. This door has. Much more to offer than the one at the end of hall and you noticed it because you  were paying real attention to the here and  now which is rally all we have full access to.. You see the rest is only what our mind is imagining  what was and what will be..... You see in that. First door there was  a key....

Well Breathing is the Key to countless doors a if you let it be—I didn’t forget there’s a Beatles” Day coming  before the end of September.  

Okay... contact me directly if you want to hear more about JKN and his books.  

Okay Peter Leidy

Keeping this to the point...he was the first  “regular” Joe I knew who said “I’ve been getting into this “mindfulness” stuff.  Notice I used the word. Regular instead of normal—Normal is a loaded word and Peter might be offended if I used it in describing  him in the here and. Now.   

anyway...we  all benefit. From  knowing people in our network who  highlight their. Curiosity  right out loud.   I’m fortunate to know quite a few folks who  have that kind of courage....

Time to Exhale...

I’ve spent about two hours trying to figure out  how to  finish up this thing on breathing and then it sort of hit me like a ton of featherrs—which weighs just as much as a ton of bricks by the way—

So...since breathing doesn’t stop —well  until it’s over and it’s not over till it’s over...I’ll just say we’re going to  take a step down our hallway of topics for now.... Instead of  closing the topic it may be interesting to  toss some info. About meditation (breathing with a purpose of paying attention)..

Now here’s a cautionary note...if you are reading this info to see  how much you will be accepted  or how much you are like others if you  meditate stop reading  HERE AND NOW

 Otherwise here are some interesting  facts... 

As of about three years ago  it was estimated. That 14% of all Americans  claimed to have tried meditation.  The. Number of children who  currently meditate is  nearing 5%.  The. Number of adults has tripled  in the past two decade as and  the number of children  has increased nearly  tenfold .  So maybe kids are not completely  losing the capacity to  pay attention in this attention economy—

Speaking  of paying attention... I have asked for enough of your attention  for one post...So thank you...close your eyes ...breathe. In  hold think a positive thought. Breathe out—-

A human being’s guide to breathing and thinking

 BREATHING, FEELING, AND THINKING—NOT NECESSARILY IN THAT ORDER

In honor of the fact that each breath is thought to have two basic parts—the inhale  and the exhale  there were going to  be two parts to this “breather” portion of the show.  Then many sources  included a third part to the breath—the “hold” part.  So..now in honor of  my changed perception there will be three parts and this is the second of those.   since most of us can’t hold our breath  all that long I’ll try to make this  middle portion a bit  short, however, if it leaves you gasping for air...well..sometimes it happens.

So what’s the big deal about breathing?  

Here’s some perspective...  

We  make (these days )  probably a dozen or two career/job changes in a lifetime.   We enter into  about that many  romantic relationships some of which result in marriages or long-term partnerships.  Some of these. Are “till death us do part” although it is somewhat worth mentioning. That  when this concept was introduced the average  human being  lived  to the ripe old age of about 24 years old.   Now before I get nasty comments...I have nothing against marriage at all I’m just offering some context.   Some other things that happen repeatedly...

Well we eat on an average 3 to 5 meals a day... We go to the bathroom  lots of times..I’ll have a post about that in  September..... Although  suffice  it to say after  about age 50 it seems like the “view from the throne” is far more frequent.  

If you add all those numbers up... the number of things we do in a day... wow!!!

Yet,  you can go a couple days without water and a couple weeks without  food however. Drumroll....

Breathing and Thinking/feeling are mountains compared to the  molehills of other things we do.

Breathing 

We use our tennis-court sized  lungs to bring in somewhere around  23,000  breathes a day.   In an 80 year lifetime we are talking  over 672 million times.   So... maybe, just maybe, we should give this breathing thing a little attention right?

given this number of breaths we are taking maybe exploring clean fuels and things like. Wind and solar energy aren’t such a bad notion.  Maybe  electric and self-driving efficient  transportation could be a plus?   Okay commercial over...

However, as long as you are going to be breathing anyway why not make it something  gun and interesting?   In yesterday’s post  there was a brief  breathing technique—and there are almost countless others like. It available in books and online.   After all, I didn’t invent breathing and neither did your yoga instructor or Buddha.  

Now let’s set that aside for a second and add a little something called 

Thinking

Science has had a difficult time. Nailing down just how many thoughts we have in a day.  Most  folks agree that it’s somewhere between  12 and 60 thousand  thoughts a day.   Well tha’t like saying  the weather is going to be  partly cloudy.   If you see a cloud any time in the day then it was partly cloudy right?   Okay back to thinking....

Not only do we think a lot —-but not too much I have argued—most folks have  more negative thoughts than positive ones.   In fact the Cleavland Clinic estimates that 80% of  our thoughts might be negative.  Oh and for extra measure  science has started to show us that. 95% of these  negative  thoughts are  repeated .

So how are we supposed to feel good if  the stories we are telling ourselves   Over and over are not the night. Before Christmas” they are  the Nightmare” before  Christmas on Elm Street?   

So  in seeking peace and joy and being armed with these  notions... I suggest that we become a bit more aware of breathing and thinking as a combo.  

Breath in..imagining a healing or  joyful thought...Hold. In the breath and the. “Happy thought” for a few seconds —WARNING IF YOU ARE PETER  PAN YOU MAY TAKE OFF FLYING— and the breath out a negative. Thought... No really actually  imagine the3 last negative thought you have and let it exit your body with the  breath you have held for a second or two.  

does this sound a lot like yesterday?  We’re you breathing yesterday?—and are you still breathing today? ,sorry about  the sarcasm).  

In seeking peace and joy (for me) it is usually  a productive activity to  breath in positive thoughts.  If I do. This  with awareness about  10 minutes a day life seems a bit more  cerntered—

It’s an experiment  I’m sharing and saying I’m just wondering  how it might work for you?

Short of Breath?

Well I promised I would try to keep this. A bit short—sohere’s the wrap...

We breath and think a lot... We hold the breath in us for  a bit.... this provides  an opportunity to explore changing some negative thoughts to positive or creative ones.  

If I’m still breathing  tomorrow or Saturday...then there will be one last gasp at this subject matter for now...

Until then. Know that there’s  something in the air go ahead and instigate...

Who needs a breather?

 TIME  FOR A BREATHER?

The “I don’t. Know” entries  were pretty serious—okay a lot of the entries. Here have serious  moments—so I decided it was time to take a “breather.”   So all together now...

Imagine  a spot within you that is  holding stress or pain—come on it’s not hard to do...I know you can do it... Now imagine that all the air around you is a cool bl.ue healing  gel/liquid.   Now imagine the  painful/stressed space in you is red and holds the red inside you...

Breathe in blue maybe to the count of 4 or so or just a deep breath.   In your mind’s eye direct this blue breath. To the red spots and visualize  the blue filling in the. Spots while  you scoop some of the red up.  Breathe out  the red...just a little bit at a time..Repeat.  How often?  Well not with every breath, however as long as you plan on breathing anyway do this. As often as you might find it helpful.  

Okay...I would be a liar if I claimed I didn’t mean to go all Zenn on you having you focus on your breath for therapeutic  reasons.  Bottom line deep breathing and increased. Lung capacity  are healthy  habits and can remove some barriers to seeking peace and. Joy.  Try to do it through your nose if  possible...but if not don’t quit breathing.  

In. The next. Entry  there will be some links to  some really great resources. That feature. Breathing, however, I did want to make this a breather for the reader and keep this  relatively short so let’s  have a bit of fun...  

Here are some  interesting. Facts about breathing and ther lungs (body parts involved—you’ll find the links tomorrow).   

How. Much do we breathe?  

Well normally wee take in about 13 pints of  air per minute or in an hour imagine  780  gallon milk jugs filled with air going into and  coming out of your body—sort of makes you think air quality might matter?   Laughter is a form of breathing and  “it is  the best medicine—-well that and honey—“. Anyway  laughter  is  good for you and unfortunately its one of those things we  seem to get worse at as we get wiser (old).  Children laugh on an average 300 times a day while adults cackle  and snort only 15 to 20 times on the average earth spin.  

Lungs, the primary  breathing  body part are huge —although the right one is  lbigger because the left one makes room for  some  fairly important  body muscle otherwise known as your heart.  How big are.your lungs?   Well they not only take in  this three quarters of a gallon of air  on a regular basis—if you  flattened them out ...they would be the3 size of?  A queen-sized  bed? .... No..  A 1972 Country Squire or other such  family station  wagon where you could throw  little children in the far back and let them out withe swinging  tailgate  door...No...the size fo the average  American workspace?...n—-drum roll Lungs flattened out  would cover the square feet equivolent  to a tennis court.  

Oh and one3 of the  coolest things we do with this air we take into our lungs in singing Iit seemappropriate to wrap up todays entry with a  little challenge... 

Think of three songs that. Have “breathe  in the title. Or as a significant part of the lyrics.   

I’m taking

Every Breath You Take—All I Needs  (Is the. Air thatI breathe)  and Bush’s Machinehead  “breathe in—Breathe out... Now your turn

Understanding a flood of uncertainty in today’s world or simply knowing when you’ll know

below...

KNOWING WHEN YOU

Well... as I rambled on and on about the merits of  declaring. “I don’t ”—a few folks, in a gentle way, shook their heads and said—“okay , I understand what you are saying, however, there are things I need to know and I need to know when  I know  what I know.”    This entry is  a transition between. “Not knowing and understanding the. Process of seeking a functional level of certainty (otherwise known as knowing when you know).

Understanding. Information, Knowledge, and Wisdom (according to my school of philosophy)

“Information is Power” is something many of us have heard over the past couple of decades.  We also heard we are living in the Information Age.  You know, we went through the  Stone Age, the Iron Age,  the Middle Ages, the Age of Enlightenment (where they  still commonly used blood letting. With leaches and burned people for being witches a and warlocks), the Industrial Age, and the golden age of radio—until we got to the Information Age.  Some would argue that  we are now in the “attention”age where the main  commodity we seek, buy, and sell is  attention.   However, when asked.attention to what...many people fall back on information...so let’s look at that.   

Information Saturation?

We have a tool, a unit of measure, known as the byte (a countable. Digital  representation of data to tell us how much information we  are producing and storing these days.  I’ll droop a link below to  give you the facts on this, however, some highlights  might be very  illuminating.   In the past couple of years we have produced as a planet a staggering amount of  information.  In fact, 90% of all the information ever produced  and collected/saved by humans has been accumulated  in the past two or three years.  We do about 40,000 google searches a minute.  We produce somewhere over 4 million YouTube videos a minute... 

Talk about getting a sip of water with a fire hose.... Or maybe it’s more like trying to fuel your car by dipping it into a swimming pool  filled with gasoline?  Let’s stick with that  car metaphor for a few paragraphs.

So if knowing when you know only  hinged on. How much information. You have or could get, everyone should know everything about just. About everything by  now or maybe next week at the latest.  So if knowing is not about information—maybe there’sa a difference between  information and knowledge. And wisdom?

Knowledge—

If information is the fuel we use to think then knowledge is the car we fuel with it.   So is it going to work if you roll. Down the window and pump the gas in?  How about if you fill up the trunk with petrol—you know Pinto style—? How about putting  a drop or two  in the glove compartment.  Of. Course there is no room left in that center  console  place where you have  some important papers, an old pen that may write every now and then, a receipt  fort 7 gallons of gas, beef jerky, that  healthy granola  bar and  some M&Ms, 67 cents in loose change—and what’s this?   Yes! My ABBA cassette that I’ve moved from car to car since 1979.   Anyway you get the point the gasoline has to get into the gas tank where it. Can make it’s way into the. Motor.   Until then gasoline is not really fuel per se because  it hasn’t been put where it can be. Used.  Once it is  then it’s fuel.   In the seeking peace and joy world having information is okay, but not valuable until  it fits into a thinking or feeling process.   So information becomes knowledge at that point.  How much time do  we spend as a society/w2orld concerned with  the many ways to turn information into fuel...to turn  data into knowledge?   We have become experts at getting people information whether. Or not  we want or need it... We have learned to use  information as  a criteria for  entry  into careers , health care systems, databases etc... We grade children on how much information they can. Retain and  retrieve.   Precious little time is spent exploring how  we gather, process, and share information in values-based ways or even in any way whatsoever ever.   With the exception  of a couple of teachers and close friends very few people I know has volunteered  their views or helped me explore how information is converted/processed... It. Would seem.  That with so much information to process a bit more attention might be paid to this and definitely in seeking  peace and joy  the information processing  engine can serve us and others and thus is worth some focus—-and in a couple of weeks this blog will go there.   

So lt’s climb in our car and drive.... Well here we sit in the parking lot driving  around. In circles—-why?—because we  haven’t figured out  what to type into. Our GPS as a destination.  It doesn’t matter how much  fuel you have or how much of it is in your fancy car if you have no  idea where  you are going or why  you are going there.... and that my friend is the. Difference between information, knowledge, and wisdom..   As a very smart professor. Of mine once said.   Those who know Howe will likely always have a job, however those who know why will. Almost always be their boss.”   In the world of seeking personal peace and joy and  responsibility being one’s own  centered. ‘Boss” or captain of the process of making. Meaning from one’s experiences means taking the time to understand  your purpose your. Channel, your glow so to speak.   Often times this comes from  learning the lessons offered by a wide variety of. Experiences and connecting  with l a wide variety of people who offer. A range of examples of. How to process information and examples a of  purposes they seem to have chosen (or the lack thereof).    Ironically  or Luckily once  a purpose is settled upon it is easier to determine how much fuel  is needed, wheat kind of car is best, how fast you need to travel etc.   Sure sometimes you will have to go to several restaurants before  you know the best. Place to get a ham and cheese omelet,  or that you’d rather have biscuits. And gravy, however that just means you will get into your car and travel down a few roads—to learn some more—be  okay with that as long as you keep your car running okay.   

The point is...once you know you were meant to be a food tester. For a living you can google  The Drake in Burlington, Jonesy’s  inb Solonb, Tony’s I-75 l in  Mid Michigan or the Golden Arches supper club almost  anywhere preservatives are shaped into the form of  food.  

so coming around full circle like when you miss your turn on that damn “around-about”—you will  know when you know when the information you get fuels the  knowledge/concepts. You use to think with and that’s thinking helps you experiment with or pursue  a values driven purpose.   

Anywhere in that process...which is often is various segments of your life at any given point... it is very reasonable and quite  accurate  to say....

I DON’T KNOW...OR I DON’T KNOW YET!!!

Sure you can act without. Always knowing  with 100% certainty and doing so  is an excellent  chance to learn about how your knowledge is working or is your wisdom  needs to be reconsidered.  

The point of all these recent  posts is  pretty much that there is power in  saying I don’t know.   Doing this is  a gift to others telling them that your process is not complete and that you  are aware of that.  It also means you have the courage to  share your. Learning spirit and humanity.  Then seeking peace and Joy  embracing  that learning  spirit and. Your human experiences as a spiritual being  has been  super valuable for me.   

So what’s up next????  

I need a breathe..and so do you...so  the next. Couple  of entries are going to be about  Breathing—we all do it!!!Regardless of how. Many pairs of Nike’s we own...

Link about. The. Production of information

https://blazon.online/data-marketing/how-much-data-do-we-create-every-day-the-mind-blowing-stats-everyone-should-read/

Do you know someone who thinks too much?

 So You Think Too Much?—Really?

About  three weeks ago...and about. Once every month or so, someone remarks usually pointed at me—“You think too much.”  From. Now on I believe I’ll respond to that  by saying “Wow that’s interesting—I’ll have to think about  that.”   

I’ll say that because I did  think about that for a bit and  the thoughts below are  my pondering.   as in earlier posts this week—I don’t  know yet how convinced I am  of some of these thoughts (and after you read this you may be thinking/saying “he thinks too much.”  

Let’s start with the “Too Much” Part

Clearly seeking peace and joy  requires some balance between  forming meaning through experiences and  actually having the experiences as the result of decisions.  Oh and let’s add in taking personal responsibility  for the experiences just for good measure.  Well from. A curious. Mind the  question emerges... how much is too much?—this leads to three  more questions.

Can one really think too much?  —Well  if we only use. About 10% of our brain as humans I’m pretty sure we are in no danger of overthinking anything.   So a a preliminary  response I would say —get back to me when  we are going  at least half-throttle  with our noggins.  More on this in a minute.

Do we all “think” the same?—Do we all take in information, process it, store it, and let the world know we. Have retained it in the same way?   A quick look at social media, cable news,printed literature, the history of music, art, and religion sort of indicate that we don’t all think the same—which leads to. Question 3.

Who decides  what is too much?

My observations are these...  When someone tells you  that you are thinking too much there are a number of possible  reasons—not many of them have to do with thinking.   

Many times someone tells you  that you are thinking too much when you have  had the courage to share  the fact that you don’t know enough about something to decide something and you are courageous  enough to share your  thoughts out loud.   Now the  person telling you. That you are thinking  too much will usually tell you. Whether or not it’s out of concern for you or not.  If they follow up that statement with. “You need to just trust your  instincts because they have been. Good so far—they are probably. Trying to  be supportive and  want to. Solve your. Apparent  frustration .   On the other hand if they demonstrate frustration while you are thinking it’s  a power move, a move to say “I don’t understand  you and what  is worth thinking more about here.”  You see  they don’t  really mind how much you think as much as they wonder why you don’t think the same things in the same ways  as they do.   In short they. Are telling you it’s not valuable for you to be curious about this anymore or anyway.  In short, prolonged curiosity bothers them to some— and usually a large—degree.  

Okay now back to “thinking the same?”   

Is there only one type of  beer, pizza, perfume, music?   If not, then we probably don’t all think, feel,  or act the same and never have...oh and if you are a curious soul that makes the world  so much richer.  Back to the thinking... If thinking is a pre-acting activity then there’s a couple reasons why most people would get acused of doing too much of it.   Other people think you have had enough time and information  to decide how to act... or you are not acting. In the way they want.  

Level of commitment  Needed

Another reason. That. Thinking continues is that. A person is still evaluating  possibilities.  Now... this happens for two reasons... the first is simple—the thinker hasn’t  figured out or committed to the matching of actions to values so the process of rationalizing these actions by thinking them through or crystallizing  a tentative choice is not complete.  Ironically, thinking  is usually  not the barrier to peace and joy. In this instance.  It’s that. A person hasn’t. Internally or externally  had time to solidify the emotional  support needed to act... in short it has nothing to do with  thinking it has to do with feeling... it has to do with fear berating out curiousity... So if you personally feel like you think  too much. About one or more things ask yourself “what am I afraid of and see what happens.   

Generally soon after you do this. You will find the emotional  support needed to act or not act in any case the  thinking  

It’s not really thinking .... it’s feeling..

Another. Sticking point here is that while people may claim. Or you may tell yourselfit’s too much thinking... it may not be thinking per se at all.  Empathy is a strange thing... If you experience empathy  a lot you can find. Yourself b ring curios as to how. Something might impact others.  So you. Spend some time  getting in touch with various ways other people may be. Bringing meaning to  an experience you are sharing.  In recent times  less and less social value has been placed upon empathy and if you openly ezxpress  ideas that reflect you are thinking. Things through from a variety of perspectives, you are likely to be publicly scorned for doing  so.   

so—to sum this up.. 

Think too much?  —doubtful.

think the same as everyone els? Or is there a need to?—Incredibly Unlikely.

Is thinking tied to emotions such a s fear and curiosity?  —definitely

Is there help if you think you are thinking too much????

LOL—Takje time to understand  your. Values and the range of behaviors that  demonstrate lthem.  Know that if you  act accordingly you will be using your gifts to make your best effort at the time.   Understand  that you think the way you do and it has worked for you so far in most cases.   When someone tells you that you. Are thinking too much stop  that train  by slowly saying  to yourself or them... “well  would you rather  have people not thinking enough? Or more useful..remember the old junior high ploy of telling someone they  are blinking too much... 

In short reflect upon  your good decisions and follow. That lead and if that doesn’t  work throw  on your lab coat and safety goggles and experiment. With your life until you find a different flow that works.   

If you have to. Say I don’t. Know yet... then do so because when you know you know and you’ll know it.  

One more  “I don’t know entry left... probably  in a couple days ..I have some more thinking to do. About it first. —smile!attern will change.  

no dead cats: finding your curiosity tribe

SEEKING Peace  & Joy

Hello it’s me again—that  is I will be using a lot of personal pronouns like in the previous post and like all the posts I am only claiming. These are the thoughts that  create the compas I use to travel by...and if these ideas become part of your compass or “you are here” marks on your map then by all means they are yours to use and share.  

With this I  titled. This entry. No dead Cats”—Building a curious tribe—to follow up on the idea of being. Brave enough to  state “I don’t Know.   

What Killed the cat?  Look I am the first to admit I am  not a cat person, however, the idiom /saying curiosity  killed the cat” is just plain dangerous.   Seeking  peace and joy is an active  process that  is enhanced by experimenting and connecting with others in multiple sets of circumstances.  Killing  Curiosity is a  sure-fire  barrier to growth of knowledge, wisdom, sharing, the building of community, and that’s only the  tip of a very ugly iceberg.  Any system or individual who discourages curious minds and souls is saying in no uncertain terms.  Don’t question the status quo which I either agree with or control.  This is a power  thing not a well-being thing.  Someone who  tells you of this cat-killing is not truly concerned about. You at all.   

You see ideas and questions might be thought of as  “cogs” in the Peace and joy machine.  If you have an idea. It spins and your outreach are the  little sprocket things (technical  term) that can link into someone else’s idea or questions and  thus create a larger thought/question/creativity/action engine.  Taking out the curiosity gears significantly reduces the  utility of  ideas and creative abilities.   Your curiosity might be the link between two ideas or an idea and an action etc.... 

Finding a Curiosity Tribe

Well step one is declaring your curiosity by answering your call to question  ideas that  are being  placed in front of you.  No you don’t need to be a conspiracy. Theorists of the world’s  greatest skeptic... you do have to wonder. Out loud when you come across something that makes you wonder.  Those people who  are willing to enhance or enlarge your questions before  providing ‘THE  answer you need are likely members of a curiosity tribe.  The point is if you demonstrate  the willingness to risk asking questions then you make the leap and the net will appear.

Next, ask people what they read...No this is not a singles bar... however. Think about this a second.   Reading requires a commitment. To obtain materials, time to  read them, and respects that the topic is  not likely a flash in the pan.  You are not likely to read about the video that has gone viral, especially. A book about it.  You are seeking people who are committed  to questioning  and spending time to  enhance their.knolwledge.   

Seek out folks who ask questions for a living... even if the purpose for these questions is not always  the generation of wisdom.   Take for example social workers, teachers, real estate agents, medics, and law enforcement officers.  They may have a purpose in their questioning, however if you have  a question that intrigues them they become a strong (if temporary)  member of your curiosity tribe.   A key question to ask them is “other than (insert professional stuff) what do you  have interests in or  how do you spend your time?  You see some people naturally  know the power of curiosity whether they. Realize it is a whole different story.  

Use social media... 

Not to provide answers...like I’m doing here... but to share the questions you have... and the ideas and connections you make.  Sharing odd connections is a way to ask “so here’;s a connection I maker—what connections do you make?”   

Then listen!!! 

Oh and observe in group settings who else is listening.   Who can’t wait to add to the  conversation so much that they stop listening?   Or even more who has to. Be the “topper”?   You all know  people who are the. Topper...they have to have had the craziest time, the most to drink, the best car, the worst injuries, and they have to let as many people know about it as is possible.  Toppers are not  generally great curiosity tribe. Members.  

Finally, make sure you spend  some time around childsren on a regular basis if possible.  many children are curosity experts and seek information and sask questions a lot... learn from them.  Study the look they give you when your answer has been a discount of their questions... you are killing the cat... 

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Well... these are just a few ideas about seeking a curious  tribe... 

to sum it Be curious and show it.

Look for people who depend upon curiosity. 

Look for people who are listening because they are feeding their curiosity oh and listen yourself too.

Finally learn from children because they are. Natural experts before we. Teach the. Not to. Be... (that’s an editorial for another day).

So.. tomorrow?  The blessing of thinking too much... and other  strange things.

For now may your life bear an interesting. Balance between the  questions you are answering and the answers you are questioning.