octopus consciousness

       Many scientists still do not feel comfortable attributing some sort of cognition to animals.  But all of us dog and cat lovers simply know that our beloved pets have a consciousness, albeit different from our's.  They recognize different people, know our character (whether we are kind to them or not), can make themselves understood (being bored, being hungry, hurting), and exhibit feelings (mourning when a close mate has died, or exuberance when you take your dog out to run on a beautiful day).  My daughter says her Betta fish watches her as she moves about her room.

            Maybe Paul the Octopus, who supposedly predicted many 2010 FIFA World Cup outcomes correctly, was instrumental in spreading the idea of octopuses' intelligence to the wider public.  I am currently reading Sy Montgomery's delightful new book The Soul of an Octopus.  It is quite amazing to find out that these animals, whose beingness seems so  much further removed from our's than even cats or dogs, recognize their keepers and distinguish between people they like (reaching out and tasting their skin with their suction cups - yes, they taste with their suction cups, and who knows what they are able to taste, hormones? medication in the blood stream? feelings?) and dislike (water squirting).  Octopuses are enormously intelligent and inquisitive and have been known to exit their supposedly tightly secured tanks to go explore.  They can go through extreme appearance changes in a matter of seconds, not only to blend in to their environment as protect against predators, but also reflecting their disposition, such as white and smooth when calm, or red and bumpy when excited.  Each octopus has a distinct character.

            It seems to me that we are slowly entering a new and more inclusive era of understanding the nature that surrounds us  - my daughter is into crystals and swears she can feel them pulsating.  Please revisit an earlier blog post spiritual cats.

why not indulge?

             I admit that I easily feel guilty when I indulge myself.  Not so much on the food side - I did grow up in a food culture and don't feel particularly guilty about some wine and chocolate here and there.  But when it comes to massages, pedicures, meeting friends for drinks or lunch, an hour of slow yoga in the middle of the day, just treating myself in general, I tend to feel a bit guilty about spending money on "frivolous" things.  But it is the frivolity, that it is unnecessary and special, that makes such occasional treats so worthwhile. 

            Whether it's an hour of reflexology, paint night (one of those wine & art events), or anything else that let's you know how much you appreciate yourself, is good for you.  The pleasure of feeling good about yourself, about feeling pampered and taken care of, is very soothing.  You are totally worth it!

library of things

            Perhaps a better way to understand the new sharing economy than using Uber or Airbnb's services (after all these businesses are for-profit) is through a "library of things." I really like the idea.  A similar principle already exists in the form of seed banks, from which you can obtain seeds as long as you bring back seeds from your harvest at the end of the season to replenish the seed bank.

            Libraries of Things go beyond lending books, movies and magazines, as a recent NY Times article explained.  They lend tools, equipment or things to community members.  The benefits are multifold.  For one, you as an individual won't need to invest in the cost of say an expensive 3-D printer to experiment with, or buy a pair of snowshoes for that once-in-a-while winter hike.  The investment happens at the community level, for which we all chip in via our local taxes.  At the same time an economy in manufacturing develops because less stuff needs to get made.  Moreover, access to such a library reduces the stuff you need to store and upkeep.  It is likely that you only use your hedge clippers or power drill a few times a year.  Why not borrow one from a tool library instead of buying a brand new expensive tool that sits idle most of the time, collects dust and takes up real estate in your garage?

            Along similar lines there are hour exchanges, where you get time, help and experience from others for services you need against time for your expertise, as well as babysitting services.  All neat ideas to explore sharing and meeting new people.

            

fidgeting is good for you

       I am not a very sporty person but because of all the noise about the importance of exercise I did some reading on the necessity of movement.  Our bodies are made to move in gravity, and the much-touted stand-up desk is not the cat's meow either if you stand still all the time.

            Our current computer based work culture condemns us to sit for long hours, yet our bodies thrive on perpetual motion.  Point in case - when your body aches you need to move more, not less.  As a matter of fact, as little as walking briskly half an hour each day increases your life span supposedly by about seven years.  The message of our overcompensating workout culture is to exercise vigorously at the gym.  But that is not necessarily the best answer, unless of course you just love it and thrive on it - everybody has a different need for type and intensity of movement.  Just don't sit for long hours without getting up and stretching often (long commutes are a killer...).  Kids fidget and want to move naturally.  Yet, we force them earlier and earlier to sit still.  Fidgeting is the body's natural way to signal its need for movement. 

            We contract lawn mowing, house cleaning and house maintenance work out, yet, this all makes for excellent exercise.  You don't need an expensive gym membership to move your body.  Joan Vernikos, who studied the effects of zero gravity on the body for NASA, concludes in her book Sitting Kills "Standing up often is what matters, not how long you remain standing," at least 32 times a day she recommends.  It is our interaction with gravity that's so important. The main message about movement is: continuously and gently, not seldomly but intensely. 

 

2016 resolutions

             Oh those fashionable New Year's resolutions.  Do you make them?  Do you keep them?  Do you drop them?  Yesterday, while in Manhattan, I was interviewed on the street by a Japanese TV station about New Year's resolutions.  I told them that I don't make them, and that the success rate of keeping to them isn't terribly encouraging.  According to the Statistic Brain Research Institute about half of Americans make them, and about half of those maintain them for the first half of the year; 39% of people in their twenties achieve them, while only 15% of people over 50 do. 

            All of that doesn't mean that I am without gumption and don't have goals.  It's just that I don't feel I need to wait until December rolls around to make a plan, although better December than never.  In order to stick to a resolution you have to make it a habit, and a habit builds after about a month of doing something regularly.  And the resolution has to have a deep and long-term meaning so it's still attractive come February or March.  Another piece to the success of any resolution is some kind of a contract with yourself so that you cannot back out so easily.  You might announce your plan out loud to some family members or friends.  That way it becomes more difficult to pull out than if you kept it to yourself.  Or reward yourself for sticking with it.  Earlier this year I absolutely wanted to finish the third-to-last chapter of my upcoming book and I love shoes.  The contract with myself was that I got to buy a new pair of shoes once I finished that chapter.  It got done pretty fast!

 

windy power

       While solar has been all the rage for a few years now wind power is following close behind.  The Paris Climate Summit was a clear success, even though it comes a bit late in the game.  So now we have to hustle.  We are putting more solar panels on our house in the spring so we can be net zero and the solar energy covers our entire energy consumption - our current array covers 45%.

            According to the Scientific American it was announced yesterday that the highly appealing 30% tax credit for solar and wind installations (on parts and labor!), that was supposed to run out at the end of 2016, has been extended through the end of the decade for now.  This is a huge incentive in combination with state tax credits and NYSERDA credits (for those who live in NY, as each state has different incentives).

            Wind power will now be following in solar's foot steps for homes, small businesses and farms.  The NY Times just reported that small rooftop wind turbines are being installed along the same model as residential rooftop solar panels, many of them in leased deals.

            Go for it, whether solar or wind! 

earth literacy

             I believe that earth literacy will come to us eventually in a different form than simply recycling or composting more, eating a bit less meat, using a bit less plastic, and perhaps even biking to work.  As long as we believe in a competitive paradigm, - you need to lose so I can win  -, we are proceeding along the lines of "same old same old."

            Earth literacy means opening up to a cooperative paradigm where not money is the highest value, but cooperation, compassion and the greater good of all. 

calm in the face of the storm

    Yesterday I surprised myself and learned a new emotion.  I had a very nice and relaxing yoga class that morning.  After class, though, as soon as I turned the ringer of my cellphone back on, I found several messages from my husband who was trying to track me down to tell me he had lost his wallet (oh no!) and to cancel all of his credit cards.  Ok, sooo - panic?  No, not this time.  I stayed supremely calm and quickly analyzed the situation.  My heart stayed the course, my mind remained clear.  Luckily, he doesn't carry much cash, nor debit cards, nor house keys in his wallet.  Phew.  Credit cards yes, a few, license and registration yes.   Since I was across from the bank I cancelled the first two cards in person, check, done.  Next I had some errands to do - which I decided to do nevertheless.   Back home I cancelled the last card.  Then I found out that you can reorder a replacement license online and that DMV issues a downloadable temporary license.   Check, done.  I was able to email my husband replacement documents and copies of registration and other necessary items within a few hours.  Thank you technology.

            I tend to panic easily and this is the first time I experienced absolute calm and composure in the face of a (minor) crisis, as well as complete confidence that there would be no major outfall.   It was a very good lesson and  I set myself a good example.  

when time stands still

Time is elastic.  This morning my daughter mentioned that this Sunday already marks the 3rd Advent Sunday before Christmas - time flew since Thanksgiving. 

            Yet, when we were children the time period between the 1st Advent Sunday and Christmas seemed to last forever.  And in the popular Astrid Lindgren series The Children of Noisy Village the boy Lasse, with all of his ten years of wisdom, exclaims that it's all that waiting on Christmas Eve until it finally gets dark and the festivities begin that makes your hair turn gray. But when you are sick in bed, or are in pain, or are anxiously awaiting exam or test results time stretches like gooey hard-to-pull taffy. Time becomes an issue when we think about it, when we try to will it along to a moment in the future. 

            Time molds itself around your mindset.  You have probably heard the saying "time flies when you are having fun."  When you are in the moment and completely immersed in an activity you love, dancing, spending time with friends, working on a craft, or anything else you truly enjoy doing, time is not an issue, it's as if it stood still.   Those are the moments we want to become aware, cultivate and create more of.