I can't remember who my Soboba course leader was way back then -- musta been about 1974 - 76ish. Did Cobb Mountain about three times too.
Those were the days, er, daze. Speaking of the minds of bugs-n-such, at Soboba, once I opened up my bathroom door and BLAM there was some sort of opening in the drain of the shower and out of it had come all these flying ants that were doing their sex romp mid-flight -- thousands of them. I had quite an adventure getting most of them out safely through the bathroom window (cudda used some Joe Cocker music in reverse?) but I did rinse a lot of them down the drain despite their tantric jig -- and at the time in my life, this was a sin of some heft, but there were just too many and they were certain to find the crack under the bathroom door and infest the rest of my room, so I condemned them to death for my comfort. Not entirely unlike BushCo killing Arab children for oil, eh? -- I expect the War Monger to quote this story if I ever get on the stump again about his posting here, and I should, cuz the guy is still polluting our community mindset here. Sign.... We love Robert Frost's idealism, but practical life impacts us, and we swiftly compromise. Maybe Soboba burned down because of my having killed hundreds of sentient entities there. Then again, there was fires at Cobb Mt. too, so I guess I should be a major arson suspect. Geeze, it gets worse, Vaughn Abrams' first home was next to mine, and it burned down during the 7000 course. I gotta think hard about my part in all of this karma, eh? Edg In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "Marek Reavis" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Good story, Edg, and excellent Robert Frost. > > You mention the Soboba Academy -- when were you there? My former > spouse and I lead ATR courses there for about a year in '76 > and '77. It was a great place and during the time we were there > almost heaven on earth -- a great and fun staff, beautiful setting, > gardens and buildings, perfect weather, we were doing the work of > the divine, etc. > > Marek > > ** > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Duveyoung <no_reply@> wrote: > > > > At an ATR course at the San Jacinto (Soboba) Academy, this course > > participant and I were sitting on a low adobe fence in the twilight > > and I noticed a lumpishness next to him on the rail. I pointed it > out > > to him, asking, "What's that?" He took a more mindful look and > leaped > > up like he'd been electrocuted. > > > > It was a tarantula who got a bit freaked by his sudden leap, so the > > tarantula also took a leap down to the ground. > > > > Now here's where I got an education. > > > > As he was running away, I could HEAR him running....click, click, > > click, clickly, click. > > > > That was a first for me. > > > > I think Robert Frost said it best: > > > > A Considerable Speck > > > > (Microscopic) > > > > A speck that would have been beneath my sight > > On any but a paper sheet so white > > Set off across what I had written there. > > And I had idly poised my pen in air > > To stop it with a period of ink > > When something strange about it made me think, > > This was no dust speck by my breathing blown, > > But unmistakably a living mite > > With inclinations it could call its own. > > It paused as with suspicion of my pen, > > And then came racing wildly on again > > To where my manuscript was not yet dry; > > Then paused again and either drank or smelt-- > > With loathing, for again it turned to fly. > > Plainly with an intelligence I dealt. > > It seemed too tiny to have room for feet, > > Yet must have had a set of them complete > > To express how much it didn't want to die. > > It ran with terror and with cunning crept. > > It faltered: I could see it hesitate; > > Then in the middle of the open sheet > > Cower down in desperation to accept > > Whatever I accorded it of fate. > > I have none of the tenderer-than-thou > > Collectivistic regimenting love > > With which the modern world is being swept. > > But this poor microscopic item now! > > Since it was nothing I knew evil of > > I let it lie there till I hope it slept. > > > > I have a mind myself and recognize > > Mind when I meet with it in any guise > > No one can know how glad I am to find > > On any sheet the least display of mind. > > > > -- Robert Frost > > > > > > > > > > > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "Marek Reavis" > > <reavismarek@> wrote: > > > > > > Angela, Curtis, thanks for the anecdote and the website > > > information. Spiders are way cool, IMO. My son's tarantula, > > > Priscilla, a Mexican Redleg, died last year after 20 years of > just > > > hanging around. She was already a 3-inch across adult when he > got > > > her as a xmas present when he was 11 years old. > > > > > > Spiders had always freaked me out, but Priscilla's macro-ness > > > exposed all the beauty and complexity of her kind and I became > > > totally fascinated with her, and by extension, to spiders as a > > > whole. Plus I didn't want to pass on my own irrational fear of > > > spiders to my children. Never got super comfortable holding > > > Priscilla but was always happy to see that my son had no similar > > > hesitation. > > > > > > But jumping spiders, even pre-Priscilla, have always been > > > fascinating and for some reason, not as freaky as other spiders > even > > > though they're super predators and would probably be happy to > feast > > > on a large, hairless monkey if they could somehow manage the > > > takedown. When the kids were real young, we used to draw > different > > > jumping spider warriors that we'd equip with different weapons, > > > attributes and rank and then my son and his friend would use > them in > > > constructing imaginary battles. > > > > > > Even though I knew that jumping spiders had good eyesight, and > I've > > > played the types of "games" with them that Angela described, I > > > hadn't realized that their eyesight is as good as our own. > > > Wonderful stuff. Thanks. > > > > > > Marek > > > > > > ** > > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "curtisdeltablues" > > > <curtisdeltablues@> wrote: > > > > > > > > Later, I saw one on > > > > > a flower stem, and the thing actually played > > > > > peek-a-boo with me the way a child does, hiding and > > > > > then coming out to take a shy look and then hiding > > > > > again. > > > > > > > > Like a child who is afraid that a monstrously huge creature > will > > > eat > > > > him! The cute peek-a-boo of terror mixed with the > > > pugnaciousnesses of > > > > a predator. Probably going back and forth between, "i think I > can > > > > take this creature and eat it" to "holy shit is that thing > big! > > > > Feet's don't fail me now. Seriously, all of eight of them!) > > > > > > > > > > > > Here is some interesting info on their sight: > > > > http://www.xs4all.nl/~ednieuw/Spiders/InfoNed/sensoryleg.html > > > > > > > > The eyes of spider differ greatly between families. Spiders > who > > > hunt > > > > without a web like wolf spiders (Lycosidae), lynx spiders > > > (Oxyopidae) > > > > and jumping spiders (Salticidae) have a well-developed > eyesight. > > > > Jumping spiders can see nearly as well as humans. Experiments > have > > > > shown that they are even capable of seeing colors. Cave > spiders, > > > which > > > > live in the dark, have no or hardly any eyesight. They depend > > > > completely on sound and feeling. > > > > The structure of the eye is in basic similar to our eye; > behind a > > > > single cuticular lens lays a cellular vitreous body and the > visual > > > > cells. Together with pigment cell this forms the retina. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Angela Mailander > > > > <mailander111@> wrote: > > > > > > > > > > I agree. I remember how totally blown away I was when > > > > > I discovered that you can make eye contact with > > > > > jumping spiders. These are the cute little furry > > > > > critters that don't build webs but instead lurk at a > > > > > window's edge and then pounce, tiger-like, on any fly > > > > > that happens to land on that window pane. Amazing how > > > > > far they can jump. I watched them for a whole > > > > > afternoon once, and imagine my surprise when I saw > > > > > intelligence looking back at me. Later, I saw one on > > > > > a flower stem, and the thing actually played > > > > > peek-a-boo with me the way a child does, hiding and > > > > > then coming out to take a shy look and then hiding > > > > > again. Mind-bending. I thought, I'm imagining this. > > > > > But then, just recently, a friend confessed to the > > > > > same experience. Of course, we could both be > > > > > bonkers--prolly are. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > --- curtisdeltablues <curtisdeltablues@> > > > > > wrote: > > > > > > > > > > > Bird navigation is a fascinating phenomenon. I'm > > > > > > glad there are > > > > > > serious people in the world trying to figure this > > > > > > stuff out. I'll bet > > > > > > we are in for lots of surprises as we begin to > > > > > > understand what animals > > > > > > are up to with their Martian intelligence. The > > > > > > "lower" creatures that > > > > > > "God" gave us dominion over (I have it in writing) > > > > > > are gunna blow our > > > > > > minds. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Duveyoung > > > > > > <no_reply@> wrote: > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Now here's an article that could pave the way > > > > > > towards understanding > > > > > > > the ritam level of life. Though, to be sure, the > > > > > > researcher is not > > > > > > > too happy about this notion. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > But me, well, I buy into this concept close to > > > > > > 100%. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > So long Schroedinger's Cat, there's a birdie > > > > > > that's got my attention > > > > > > > now. Maybe God doesn't play dice. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Edg > > > > > > > > > > > > > > http://tinyurl.com/4es8y9 > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Quantum zeno effect explains bird navigation > > > > > > > April 18th, 2008 | by KFC | > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Magnetoreception > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Just how birds use the earth's magnetic field to > > > > > > navigate has puzzled > > > > > > > researchers for decades. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > But in recent years, a growing body of evidence > > > > > > points to the > > > > > > > possibility that a weak magnetic field can > > > > > > influence the outcome of a > > > > > > > certain type of chemical reaction in bird retinas > > > > > > involving radical > > > > > > > ion pairs. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > The idea is that the chemical outcome of the > > > > > > recombination of the ion > > > > > > > pairs depends on whether the radical electrons are > > > > > > in a singlet or > > > > > > > triplet state. A magnetic field creates a bias > > > > > > towards the triplet > > > > > > > state which in turn leads to a one chemical output > > > > > > being preferred > > > > > > > over another. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > To test the idea, various experimenters have > > > > > > successfully confused the > > > > > > > navigational abilities of birds such as robins by > > > > > > zapping them with > > > > > > > magnetic fields specifically designed to disrupt > > > > > > this reaction. Case > > > > > > > closed. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Not quite. The problem is that the ion > > > > > > recombination is known to > > > > > > > happen too quickly for the Earth's magnetic field > > > > > > to have any effect. > > > > > > > So how can this mechanism work? > > > > > > > > > > > > > > The claim made today by Iannis Kominis at the > > > > > > University of Crete is > > > > > > > that the quantum zeno effect explains all. This is > > > > > > the > > > > > > > watched-pot-never-boils effect on the qauntum > > > > > > scale. It states that > > > > > > > the act of observing a quantum system can alter > > > > > > its evolution in a way > > > > > > > that maintains the state for longer than expected. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > One well known example is that it is possible to > > > > > > slow down the rate at > > > > > > > which molecules convert from ortho to para isomers > > > > > > when they are > > > > > > > constantly involved in collisions. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Kominis says a similar thing happens in birds: the > > > > > > presence of a > > > > > > > geomagnetic field extends the lifetime of the > > > > > > singlet-triplet mixture > > > > > > > from which the ions recombine. This gives the > > > > > > magnetic field time to > > > > > > > bias the outcome of the recombination. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Interesting idea. But what's most impressive is > > > > > > that it accounts for a > > > > > > > number of unexplained observations about avian > > > > > > magnetoreception, such > > > > > > > as the heading error of about 30 degrees that > > > > > > often afflicts birds > > > > > > > (Kominis says a change in heading angle causes a > > > > > > change in the > > > > > > > coherence time) and that avian compasses appear > > > > > > sensitive to only a > > > > > > > certain window of magnetic field strength (Kominis > > > > > > says the window > > > > > > > depends on the hyperfine couplings of the atoms > > > > > > involved which have > > > > > > > been selected for by evolution). > > > > > > > > > > > > > > If Kominis is correct, this is extraordinary news: > > > > > > it means a quantum > > > > > > > sensor determines the macroscopic behaviour of > > > > > > magnetic sensitive birds. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Kominis says we may well see similar effects > > > > > > elsewhere, and mentions > > > > > > > that a similar mechanism might be at work in > > > > > > photosynthesis. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > But there's another system closer to home that is > > > > > > bound to come up. > > > > > > > Kominis is careful not to mention it but the > > > > > > quantum consciousness > > > > > > > people are going to be all over this like freshmen > > > > > > at a sorority party. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Ref: arxiv.org/abs/0804.2646: Quantum Zeno Effect > > > > > > Underpinning the > > > > > > > Radical-Ion-Pair Mechanism of Avian > > > > > > Magnetoreception > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Send instant messages to your online friends > > > > http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >
