Word of The Day: Selcouth

selcouth

adj. archaic - unusual, strange

From Middle English, from Old English seldcūth, from seldan seldom + cūth known.

Selcouth is a word that deserves revival. Simply saying that some action or object is "strange" or "unusual" lacks some richness. 

For example:

The strange behavior of the man hinted at a mysterious persona.

The selcouth behavior of the man hinted at a mysterious persona.

2014 The Year of the Yang Wood Horse

This is a well written article on the positivity of 2014 from Karen Abler Carrasco on the Western School of Feng Shui website.


2014 – The Year of the Yang Wood Horse



By Karen Abler Carrasco, WSFS Consultant, Mentor and Teacher 

There might not be a bigger shift of energies in the entire 60 year wheel of Chinese astrology than this one coming up–the shift from two Water years of deep introspection to the fast-paced spurt of extroverted forward propulsion that the Wood Horse brings.  Hold on to your hats, folks, and realize that you won’t be able to, nor will you want to, slow your horses in the New Year ahead! 

This will be a promethean year, the Beginning of all beginnings, arriving around January 31st to February 4th, 2014.  Full of uplift, optimism and compelling inspiration, we will be guided into purposeful action of the most elegantly simple and powerfully fruitful kind.  After two years of feeling every revelation of corruption in the dark as if it was scouring our subconscious insides and wringing us dry of watery emotion, we are READY for this change!  Light, hope and clarity of vision gallop in. Emerge from your cocoons, everybody, here we goooooo! 

Because this will be such a big change of energetic experience for us, it will help to review here how the cycle of the sacred Five Elements, or Phases, have set us up for this shift.  In that cycle, Wood feeds Fire, Fire’s ash creates Earth, Earth’s compression reveals gems of Metal, and Metal collects and holds Water, which nourishes the Wood to start the cycle all over again. The natural laws of these five elements are actually working in multiple ways throughout Nature, our bodies, our psychologies and the energetic movements of all things here on this planet.  In these movements, there are cycles within cycles, one of which is the cycle of birth, growth, disintegration and death, or the void that comes after old life and before new life.   

We have just been traveling through that void, in two Water years, which immersed us in a descending place of degeneration, dissolution and chaos, a time when our internal world of formless spirit and emotions held total sway over every attempt at external control or order.  For most of us, it was an unsettling time of letting go of many things, either voluntarily or forcefully, a time of deep soul searching, with gradual or sudden destabilization in many areas of family and livelihood.  There was a profound search for a return to a spiritual basis for daily living.  This all had the effect of highlighting an individual’s isolation and powerlessness within a seemingly random and careless society.  Not that outright rebellion and outcry didn’t happen, globally as well as internally.  The 2012 Yang Water Dragon year saw to that, with its critical promptings of social responsibility and heroism, and this Yin Water Snake year that followed delved even deeper into the most hidden caves of stagnant dysfunctionality and corruption on all levels.   

The good and great news is that we have completed 5 years of the degenerative part of the cycles–that of the harvested, decomposing Earth, compressing and eliminative Metal, and dissolving, settling out, cleansing Water.  We now emerge into the generative cycles–powerful, bursting buds of Wood’s new growth fueling the joyful outreach and passions of Fire and the beginnings of Earth’s fruitful harvests.   

So, that’s the Wood part of what’s coming.  Now to turn our gaze to the animal symbol of Horse. This sprouting upward rush of Wood energy will find its perfect release into the impulsive and passionate nature of the Yang Horse, whose native element is Fire.  The Horse energy inspires powerful INTUITION and an indomitable surge towards freedom in every aspect of life. This is a year to follow your inner voice like never before, for it will have a universal cosmic ch’i within it.  Higher guidance is with us every step of the way.  Reach for the sky, call up your vision, fuel your plans with vision boards and creativity, find a fresh path and pace yourself well.  This yang Horse year has the potential to channel the powerful new upthrust of Wood’s Ch’i through the Horse’s Heart energy of Fire and into every project we start, every desire we reach for.  It will keep our eager plans from being dominated by too much “head” and not enough “heart.”   

It may be quite challenging to trust that we have this absolutely new, purified and hopeful energy to build on now.  Our hearts have had to endure a gauntlet of deconstruction through two Metal and two Water years, but the fiery Horse is about to change all of that.  Within the extroverted “Green Horse” year, we will not only branch out with new growth, but we will be able to stoke the Fire element of love in every area of life.  Follow your intuition fearlessly, as it is both the horse’s main attribute which preserves its freedom and powerful health and it is Wood’s primary talent for stretching into the unknown future.  Reach out with irrepressible faith to a new level of social communion and mutual support.  Trust every impulse to embrace a revitalized and renewed sensitivity for the pleasures this earthly dimension has to offer.   

Step up and out of any old clutter, stored memories, should-have-dones or regrets.  The time to deal with that is over for now.  Untangle your thoughts quickly and get clear on what it is that you truly desire in this lifetime.  Your trusty steed is here, full of vibrant health and tremendous stamina.  It should be quite a fast ride, so grab a fistful of mane, hang on to the reins, cast your old cares to the wind and let out a whoop of delight–Yeeehaaw! Upward and onward we thrive!  May we all be blest abundantly as we hold each other closer in the circle of health and new life the Wood Horse year brings. 

- See more at: http://westernschooloffengshui.com


www.larengreyumphlett.com

Word of The Day: Apricate

The "Apes Gone Askew" word of the day....

Apricate

v. To bask in the sun.

Apricate is a beautiful defunct archaic word. It wasn't around for very long in written history, from about 1690 until the mid-1800s. It is very rarely used today. It's origin is from the Latin word apricari "to bask in the sun" from apricus "to expose", originating earlier from apericus and aperire "to open" (such as in the term aperture).

Lizards apricate in the sun.
Fruits apricate until ripened.

This word has been far too rare for its potential and deserves a resurgence.

Enjoy some aprication today.

The Wisdom of Henry Miller

Henry Miller was an American writer and unique personality who lived from 1891 to 1980. He is best known for intense classics such as "Tropic of Cancer" and a relationship with Anaïs Nin.
Here are some quotes:

“The aim of life is to live, and to live means to be aware, joyously, drunkenly, serenely, divinely aware.” 

“Develop an interest in life as you see it; the people, things, literature, music - the world is so rich, simply throbbing with rich treasures, beautiful souls and interesting people. Forget yourself.” 

“Serenity is when you get above all this, when it doesn't matter what they think, say or want, but when you do as you are, and see God and Devil as one.” 

“I have no money, no resources, no hopes. I am the happiest man alive.” 

“If there is to be any peace it will come through being, not having.” 

“We have two American flags always: one for the rich and one for the poor. When the rich fly it means that things are under control; when the poor fly it means danger, revolution, anarchy.”

“What holds the world together, as I have learned from bitter experience, is sexual intercourse.” 

“All growth is a leap in the dark, a spontaneous unpremeditated act without the benefit of experience.” 

“We should read to give our souls a chance to luxuriate.” 

“No one asks you to throw Mozart out of the window. Keep Mozart. Cherish him. Keep Moses too, and Buddha and Lao Tzu and Christ. Keep them in your heart. But make room for the others, the coming ones, the ones who are already scratching on the window-panes.” 

“Chaos is the score upon which reality is written.” 

“Every moment is a golden one for him who has the vision to recognize it as such.” 

“It is with the soul that we grasp the essence of another human being, not with the mind, nor even with the heart.” 

“Until we accept the fact that life itself is founded in mystery, we shall learn nothing.” 

“We do not talk - we bludgeon one another with facts and theories gleaned from cursory readings of newspapers, magazines and digests. ” 




Purchase "The Power of Perception" here.

Bertrand Russell on Teaching

Here is a list of quotes on teaching by Bertrand Russell from the Brain Pickings website.

Bertrand Russell's Ten Commandements on Teaching

1. Do not feel absolutely certain of anything.
2. Do not think it worth while to proceed by concealing evidence, for the evidence is sure to come to light.
3. Never try to discourage thinking for you are sure to succeed.
4. When you meet with opposition, even if it should be from your husband or your children, endeavor to overcome it by argument and not by authority, for a victory dependent upon authority is unreal and illusory.
5. Have no respect for the authority of others, for there are always contrary authorities to be found.
6. Do not use power to suppress opinions you think pernicious, for if you do the opinions will suppress you.
7. Do not fear to be eccentric in opinion, for every opinion now accepted was once eccentric.
8. Find more pleasure in intelligent dissent than in passive agreement, for, if you value intelligence as you should, the former implies a deeper agreement than the latter.
9. Be scrupulously truthful, even if the truth is inconvenient, for it is more inconvenient when you try to conceal it.
10. Do not feel envious of the happiness of those who live in a fool’s paradise, for only a fool will think that it is happiness.

The Power of Perception

"The Power of Perception" is a deep and fun book that explores the human experience.

Purchase your copy of "The Power of Perception"...

Amazon Kindle Version

Print Paperback Version

Word Of The Day: Confluence

Confluence

An important word for merging worlds.

5 Solutions to The Human Dilemma

The human dilemma injects a human flaw into otherwise sensible systems and circumstances. We taint everything from belief to politics to our food industry. Corruption and greed prey on ignorance and indifference. The battle can be won from person to person. You can't improve the world if you can't improve yourself. If everyone on Earth understood and practiced the following principles it would drastically alleviate human and world suffering. The world is ready to evolve. Why not live better?

1. The study of General Semantics and the expression and translation of thought and meaning.
We live in a very psychologically reactive society. This leads to violence and oppression. We think we are right and want to impose our will on others, instead of loosening our own walls to allow understanding and blending.

"The map is not the territory." -Alfred Korzybski

2. The regular practice of meditation. Settling the mind into its natural state.
This will alleviate the general anxiety and agitation the mind experiences daily. Meditation should be the single most important part of your day. A frazzled mind leads to a frazzled world. Humans have a deep habit of hanging on dearly to suffering. This causes more suffering.

"The flowering of love is meditation." -Jiddu Krishnamurti

3. Scientific literacy and elevated education. It's a big interesting world, be a part of it.
By remaining ignorant we can be taken advantage of by nefarious powers that are fueled by greed and power. Become wild and free by expanding the boundaries of your cage through knowledge and wisdom. Science explores the beauty of the nature we are a part of.

"Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former." -Albert Einstein

4. Dropping Aristotelian logic and western duality in favor of non-duality, such as found in Buddhism.
Letting go of certainty is liberating. There is no black and white, but plenty of gray. When you realize that you don't know, and that no one else really knows you will become free and immune to authority.

"In the sky, there is no distinction of east and west; people create distinctions out of their own minds and then believe them to be true." -The Buddha

5. Teach others. Teaching is the greatest way to learn and the greatest way to turn on a lightbulb in another mind.
We can always improve our weaknesses through teaching. We can also make new discoveries. Minds awaken and transform.

"We cannot teach people anything; we can only help them discover it within themselves."
-Galileo Galilei

It is time for the next step in human evolution.