Modern Omens and Personal Prophesy

Despite my thirty years of research into the feminine soul, I have not been able to answer... the great question that has never been answered: what does a woman want? ~ Sigmund Freud

Well, shoes for one... The acquisition of a single new pair of fabulous shoes can change the course of a day. This can seem fairly ridiculous until you swap the shoes for something that has strong personal meaning for you. Whatever you subconsciously assign with the power to affect your mood and therefore your actions, is profoundly sacred.

We all have a personal mythology that makes certain beasts, objects and archetypes special to us. When we are young they can be favorite animals, colours or symbols (Rainbows and Unicorns baby!) Certain items and particular ways of doing things continue to be inexplicably more special and therefore more "powerful" for us. Collectors fill their houses with statuettes on a theme because it makes them happy. Is a sports fanatic so different from a pot-bellied pig fancier? Athletes have intricate rituals that the believe help them play better. Artist's have elaborate routines to get them into the creative zone. So how does this practice go from perceived as being a cute game, to vaguely superstitious crutch to problem obsession? I've created a chart...


Cute

• Having to have the right game piece (shoe, top hat, race car, etc.)
• Drawing endless lightning bolts or swirly vines.
• Eating the M&Ms in a certain order.
• Walking around particular cracks on the sidewalk.
• Playing a special song before a date.
• Wearing underwear with a slightly more powerful blend of cotton.

Superstitious

• Wearing the special underwear for a first date.
• Playing a special song before a job interview.
• Locking the doors and windows in a particular order.
• Playing the same loto numbers every week

Obsessive

• Eating the green M&Ms to ward off alien attack.
• Wearing the special underwear everyday for its magical protective powers.
• Playing the magic song 24 hours a day.
• Checking the locks, rechecking the locks, rechecking the locks...

In our modern world, we can giggle at these above and assume that practices such as the avoidance of inauspicious days and believing in illnesses caused by transgressions against taboos can be signs of mental illness. Perhaps they are merely a revival of the most ancient mystery religions which urged practitioners to "know thyself". The Ancient Roman's themselves employed two distinct types of professional omen readers. Augurs interpreted the flights of birds, while haruspices employed animal sacrifice to obtain the entrails necessary for divination -- and these people had running water and toilets for goodness sake!

A subtle personal mythology perceived with a grain of salt can be a comforting way to navigating the daily stressors and pitfalls of modern life... (or to inspire a new decorating theme) Believers say that the resistance a modern mind puts up to these ideas is merely interference from the rational egoic mind; and that these blocks must be pulled down to enhance the ability to truly channel higher wisdom in relation to future events. Divination then becomes a means of gaining self-knowledge and a deeper understanding of the hidden causes behind appearances. And a very creative way to influence your future.

What are you obsessing about today?

Utopia is Drupal

And once again in English...

Utopian society is often characterized as egalitarian distribution of goods in a society that is striving toward perfection. Citizens work on pursuits that are both enjoyable and contribute to the common good. This ideally leaves the citizens with more time for the cultivation arts, culture and sciences (and of course, Facebook).

Drupal?

Drupal is a free, open source content management system that allows an individual or a community of users to easily publish, manage and organize a wide variety of content on a website. With it you can build a powerful, flexible website with a feature-rich, database-driven site with little knowledge of programming.

Last weekend I attended Drupal Camp Vancouver (dcv08); on purpose. I say this because I was hesitant, afraid there might be a skill testing question at the door. Classified as a neophyte because I'm still unclear about what a "node" is. I mostly don't get the in-jokes even though I really dig Darth Vader. But I'm drawn to this community.

Originally written by Belgian student Dries Buytaert as a bulletin board system, Drupal became an open source project in 2001. The purpose was to enable others to use and extend the experimentation platform so that more people could explore new paths for development. Web development companies use this system free of charge and then contribute new modules for future users. It is getting so popular that BusinessWeek included Dries on their list of top 30-and-under innovators for 2008. The curious name came about when Dries made a typo trying to aquire Dorp.org (Dorp is the Dutch word for 'village') The name Drupal, pronounced "droo-puhl," derives from the English pronunciation of the Dutch word "druppel," which means "drop."Drupal has a worldwide community made up of of users and developers. All you have to do is believe... I've been marveling for days at what a nice group of folks I met at the Vancouver Drupal Camp. I was particularly impressed at the community spirit and great sense of "togetherness" that was apparent throughout. Competing web development companies came together and shared.

"Open-source communities work best when its members jump in and help out..." says the Drupal Community website, "Please contribute your knowledge back to the community... edit existing handbook pages -- to fix typos, to clarify confusing sentences, or to move pages around in the hierarchy support the Drupal project, even if you are a beginner. In fact, beginners have a distinct advantage over the experts, because they can more easily spot the places where documentation is lacking...Even the most gifted Drupal developers were new once, and chances are someone has helped you at some point along the way. "

Wow. Now I really feel welcome. No longer trying to hide the awkward incompetently incompetent stage that I'm in... I'm actually feeling wanted... participating in discussions and winning door prizes... warm fuzzies... good sandwiches... mmm.

In fact, at the end of a long day full of informative and challenging sessions, many of these good people volunteered their time to help build out the Fearless City website -- a project to facilitate community participation in the creation of media and community dialogue on issues relevant to people in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver.

Clearing your plate while shopping for dinner

In the wake of recent events, and as a global citizen, it was necessary that I eventually bring up the triad of dairy department scourges; light cheese, past date whipped cream and yogurt made with sugar substitute. All of these things are occasionally brought home by mistake if one is not paying attention. But the true question is: where is our attention wandering off to anyway? Most likely floating around in a mental list of "to dos" and "should ofs".

Because it is human nature to keep loop of ones achievements, afflictions and sufferings running through one's mind at all times, it's a nice exercise (if not an utter relief) to step back from your chattering mind for a short time. Make friends with the red light -- you're going to have to sit there anyway. Use those few moments to breathe deeply and let your body relax into the seat.

Deepak Chopra says that we have 50-60,000 thoughts a day and that 90% of them are negative. I don't know how "they" measured this, but it does seem likely that a great majority of these thoughts are connected to the pressure we put on ourselves to have a "productive day". Daily errands are a great way to practice mindfulness on the go and give your soul a break from all that drama and judgment thrust upon it.

One rather entertaining way is to shop like you're from another planet. It doesn't take any longer than usual to examine the texture of the radicchio before you buy it, or make a pact to smile widely at every person you make eye contact with. Move swiftly through the store but open up your peripheral vision and notice the colours around you. Try not to mentally name what you see, but simply let it pass by and acknowledge the life and vitality bustling all around you.

Don't wait for it; this is life and it's a miracle.

***

Empty your mind of all thoughts.
Let your heart be at peace.
Watch the turmoil of beings,
but contemplate their return.

Each separate being in the universe
returns to the common source.
Returning to the source is serenity.

~ from the 16th verse of the Tao Te Ching