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The Friendly Universe [1]
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Date: 2022-12-25
Do you experience the universe as a friendly one?
I’ll be honest. I’m mostly here to read the Ukraine news. I’m autistic, so I naturally gravitate to solid writing. Kos and Mark are fantastic that way, helping me to untether a bit from feeling the need to research what is happening in Ukraine. They do it for me.
I’m also an engineer, inventor and small business owner, dedicated to creating better software for humanity. So I’m taking DK in as a great source of inspiration along those lines, as well. I love the sense of community here, and I’m deeply aware that this is a labor of love.
So here, on Christmas morning, it seems appropriate to contribute my 2 cents to what is going on in the world, from perhaps an even broader view than that which Mark and Kos take.
I resonate with Albert Einstein’s point of view, even so many years after his death, as encapsulated nicely here. To sum up:
I think the most important question facing humanity is, “Is the universe a friendly place?” This is the first and most basic question all people must answer for themselves.
For it is against the evidence of massive trauma in Ukraine that we also notice the beautiful human side of all of this. The emergence of Zelensky as the voice of democracy in our modern world, even as he struggles to speak in English, has been truly remarkable. When I say Zelensky, I really mean his organization, including his speech writers, his generals, and effectively, his entire country. It extends well beyond Ukraine’s borders, as well. How could anyone not understand that as they watched the standing ovation he received in congress a few days ago?
It’s up to each of us, then, to decide if we view the universe as friendly or not. I can only invite you all to consider it. I can’t make you take that leap of faith. I was taught in engineering school to show my work. And so I will leave you all with a bit of a bread crumb trail on how I feel like I got to this place where I truly believe in the messages of Jesus, Buddha, Gandhi, Mandela and so many other voices all leading me toward this one basic understanding that the universe is, indeed, a friendly place for me. I’m a 57 year old autistic white dude. Your mileage will almost certainly vary!
May peace be with you all.
Slava Ukraini.
Namaste
________________________
Music: (links provided are to the best videos on youTube I could find)
Solsbury Hill, Peter Gabriel
The Way It Is, Bruce Hornsby
For Good, Wicked (musical)
Video: (this might be a good order...)
Still Face Experiment (short YouTube here). -- put yourself in the baby's shoes
Temple Grandin movie
The Social Dilemma movie
Video Courses: (both available on SoundsTrue.com)
Dream Yoga (Holecek)
Surrender (Singer)
Books: (also roughly in order, but please pick and choose your own path!)
Look Me in the Eye , Robeson (autism memoir)
No Bad Parts , Schwartz (internal family systems theory)
Indistractable , Nir Eyal (how to live a life free from distraction in the modern world)
Neurotribes (looong history of the diagnosis and thought around autism and Aspergers)
How to Change Your Mind , Pollan
The Untethered Soul , Singer
Cured , Rediger (studying cases of spontaneous remission and working out four pillars of healing)
The Body Keeps the Score , Van Der Kolk (the impacts of trauma)
Awake: It's Your Turn , DiLullo (a guide to awakening)
Food Isn't Medicine , Wolrich (a solid case for rethinking our relationship with food)
The Kitchen Healer , Davis (showing us how to change our relationship with food and our kitchens)
My Grandmother's Hands , Menakem (healing through somatic experience)
Podcasts:
Tara Brach (a deeply spiritual and trustworthy voice) -- pick any of her podcasts... they are all good.
https://www.tarabrach.com/talks-audio-video/
Soundstrue.com also is something of a treasure trove of great interviews introducing some of the best minds in the personal growth space.
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