Become all you can become by raising yourself higher on the Tree of Life

I have something to say in the matter. But what do I say?

I have something to say in the matter… but what can I say?

Back in 1986 it was revolutionary. Closed circuit TV across the world.

Werner Erhard had his Saturday seminars. I lived in New Jersey at the time, but the audience was in many cities in the US, in Australia, and maybe in Europe…

I was green and my ‘est’ vocabulary was non-existent, so I probably only got 1% of what was available, but I did get something.

In one of the sessions Werner set up the question: I have something to say in the matter… and what the matter was I don’t remember, but I suspect, that he was doing what I am doing with my DNA adjusted students: Continue reading “I have something to say in the matter. But what do I say?”

Can you pinpoint your attitude with 100% certainty?

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How do you know, how can you tell what is your attitude?

I have always wondered where good acting comes from… acting that almost no American actor does well… almost, I said.

But where do the attitudes that give the foundation of a scene originate.

But this morning I got really lucky. I saw a few interviews with Larry Thomas who played the Soup Nazi in Seinfeld. Continue reading “Can you pinpoint your attitude with 100% certainty?”

How I learn and other stories you can learn from

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Let’s see if you have a sense of humor? If you don’t… stop here and go darken someone’s day

Money is better than poverty, if only for financial reasons. ~ Woody Allen

When I first came to the United States in late September of 1985, my trip was paid by a lawyer somewhere on the Palisades of NJ. I asked his secretary to type up my resume. She did it, on a computer.

There was something I wanted to change, so I asked for permission to go to the office and change that thing over the weekend. Continue reading “How I learn and other stories you can learn from”

What will it take to become a human being aka a Mensch?

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Where is the value in a workshop, or a consulting call? What are you really taking home? Where is the value in my paid podcast: the recording of my private conversations with selected individuals?

I am looking for that myself, I am looking for that for you… to identify what is the value.

As an aside: seeing value is surprisingly a gene… a capacity, that is on, meaning active only for about one percent of humanity.

Some genes need other genes active to stay on… I think foresight needs the seeing value capacity to be able to stay on. Continue reading “What will it take to become a human being aka a Mensch?”

The lost art of catching mice with what they want

It got suddenly cold in my area… and the troubles with it came…

I live in an area of Syracuse, the city, where my house is next to a wooded area… lately it has gotten a name…

There is wildlife. I can observe the white tail deer families, I can observe the badger taking its brood to a discovery tour, same with raccoons, skunks, millions of squirrels, birds of all kinds… and, of course, field mice.

I have lived in this two-family house for 18 years. And I have used hundreds of mouse traps during this time.

My favorite is the mice-cube…

It is one thing to put out a lot of traps, and it is quite another thing to observe what the mouse likes, and give it to them… inside the trap.

I know when I have a mouse, because I can smell it. I can smell the animal, I can smell its pee, I can smell its poop.

So when I do detect the smell, I start playing detective, and see what they have eaten…

It is fall, and it is getting cold, last night it was freezing. So the mice want fat… little volume, lots of body heat… Continue reading “The lost art of catching mice with what they want”

Grow something… maybe grow some balls? Anyone?

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Let me tell you a little story. A little story that delighted me more than a whole New York cheesecake and left me wanting more. And left me wanting to share it.

The story goes like this:

There was once a man, we could call him Harold, but you would think I am still talking about Harold from Harold and Maude… So let’s call him Matthew.

Matthew was old and rich. He lived alone in his beautiful house in a similarly beautiful and rich neighborhood. Continue reading “Grow something… maybe grow some balls? Anyone?”

This is how can you become sane in an insane world?

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Falling in step, do it my way, destroy everything in the process

There are two ways to live.

One is to force, complain about what you don’t have, suffer
The other is to work with what you have

Roughly 3,000 years ago humanity moved towards the ‘my way or the highway’ direction.

Judaism was a religion that required submission to Life
Christianity was a new religion that fosters the sword
Islam was a tradition that went one step further: if you are not with us you are against us

Christianity and Islam took it upon itself to declare itself and its god superior to Life, to Nature, to all-of-it. Continue reading “This is how can you become sane in an insane world?”

I am Harold to your Maude… said one of my students

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I am Harold to your Maude… said one of my students

I feel gratitude. I love that movie. And I loved Maude in that movie. I loved Cat Stevens’ music.

She says:

When I think of Maude I smile: I see you like that. And we, your students, are like clueless Harolds. But eventually even Harold turned his life around. Such a great movie.

Maude is 79 in that movie from 1971… and Harold is in his very early 20’s. Maude is ready to die, Harold is not ready to live.

Maude knows how to be happy, joyful: she lived full out, whatever the circumstances.
Harold hasn’t lived at all. Unless you call seeking attention from his mother living.

And that is a 90% accurate assessment of our relationship. 90%.

Continue reading “I am Harold to your Maude… said one of my students”

I thought I had the beginnings of Parkinson’s Disease

I wrote this article in 2016…

I intended to write a different article today, but this is too important to wait…

I had neurological issues this past few weeks. I started to be wobbly, words weren’t coming easily, easy words, and then to top it off, I was dropping an egg or two: they just slipped from my hand. Four eggs in one week… NEVER even one before, in 69 years. ¹

I started to muscletest myself to find out what was the cause of this sudden onset of neurological issues.

The problem with “diagnosing” issues, nearly any health issue, is this: the process is linear.

Linear means that you ask a question and depending on what you get, you continue on a single path.

But… but the question depends on your insights and on your knowledge. Continue reading “I thought I had the beginnings of Parkinson’s Disease”

About THAT picture and the pumpkin plan… get unstuck

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About WHAT picture and the pumpkin plan… isn’t it Halloween tonight? NOT Thanksgiving.

Oops, I am such a foreigner… I forgot Halloween pumpkins…

Well that is not what this article is about…

OK, stop yelling… settle down, something important in this article… promise.

It’s about YOU.

Continue reading “About THAT picture and the pumpkin plan… get unstuck”