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H2O Man

(73,533 posts)
Sat Apr 11, 2015, 01:02 PM Apr 2015

Cell Phones & Siblings

“What you think, you become.” -- Buddha; circa 500 bc.

“What you think, you become.” -- Gandhi; 1860-1948 ad.


I was talking with my normal brother the other day. He had just picked up a new cell phone, in preparation for a trip to the Old Sod to play golf and watch horse-races. Because my grasp of technology generally stopped with my mastering the abacus, he went into great detail to explain the advantages of his new toy.

When I “yawned” -- a polite attempt to communicate my lack of interest -- he immediately said he would provide details so simple, that even I might grasp them. No matter where he happens to be ( Oregon, Boston, or Ireland being his three favorites), if someone sends him a message, his phone will pick it up. The invisible vibrations of energy, if I recall what I wasn’t listening to, will be received by his toy. For that wave-length is sent out virtually everywhere.

Life is both curious and strange, at least in my opinion. In many, if not most ways, my brother and I are very much alike. That is, I assume, due to the combination of nature and nurture: we have similar DNA, and grew up in the same setting. Our daughters frequently respond to our feeble attempts at humor by saying “tell that to your brother, he’s the only one who will ‘get it’.”

He was the best trainer - corner man I ever had in the sport of boxing. I trusted him 100%. I appreciated that he had the opportunity to learn from two of the best ever in the sport: Angelo Dundee and Manny Steward. I respect that he has, in recent years, come to despise the sport, because of the long-term damage that it does to so many of the fellows who participate in it.

Yet there are areas where we disagree. Often quite strongly, as brothers are apt to do. For example, he often tells me that I have to tell my younger son that he is “not allowed” to box. Sure, I tell him, that worked out so well when our parents attempted to stop us. He orders me to have my boy visit our older brother, a once highly-intelligent, respected member of the community we grew up in. Today, he is a still-breathing corpse, who talks non-stop about UFOs. My children are all familiar with their uncle.

My normal brother is a science-based atheist, something that I respect and endorse. However, I enjoy telling him that we both believe in the same God. He insists that my beliefs are actually almost identical to our older brothers: that there is some higher entity that lives in the sky, keeping watch over the human race that is “God’s” ultimate creation. Yikes!

We were raised in what was known as an “Irish-Catholic” environment, at least until as teenagers, we discovered that skipping church was as easy as skipping school. When he moved to the west coast in the 1970s, he stayed briefly at one of our favorite uncle’s houses. He was disappointed to find that this uncle, who ranked rather highly in the ONI, was a strict Catholic. Since then, my brother has assumed that everyone who is religious/ spiritual is cut from the same general cloth -- be they believers in Santa God, Stained-Glass Jesus, or violence-prone, hateful worshippers of another mythology.

Thus, I took the opportunity provided by his fascination with his new cell phone, to talk about my thoughts about energy and vibrations. While some in our extended family subscribe to a theory popularly known as “reincarnation,” I prefer the miracle of DNA, a living energy force that I suspect better explains certain “mysteries.” I’m able to provide my brother with contact information of some distant cousins -- for they are from a branch of our family that either stayed in Ireland, or came here in the late 1800s and eventually returned to Ireland.

The two brothers that he’ll be meeting are about as ugly as we are. They love horse-racing and golf. One boxes. And they share our deformed sense of humor. That DNA stuff is pretty powerful. I don’t advocate worshipping DNA, but I do think it is a topic that most people can find worthy of consideration, and even study.

Likewise, I think that human beings are, at very least, as interesting as cell phones. I often find myself thinking about how our emotions -- including “love” and “hate” -- transmit energy, or vibrations, that are both visible and invisible. And I find myself thinking of them in the simple context of ripples on the surface of my pond, when I toss food in for the many fish that inhabit my pond. Unlike my brother, who gets to spend 40+ hours each week inside a large university, interacting with highly intelligent men and women, I spend most of my time alone ….and my favorite spot is out at my pond.

Thank goodness that the weather is finally changing. Spring is upon here on the east coast. I’m able to spend more time out at the pond, filling the bird-feeders, and watching my dog Kelly enjoy himself running about, tail a wagging, sniffing every bush and tree, digging holes for who knows what. It’s a nice break from the long winter, and the weird vibrations that bring the “news” to my television, or the often strangely hostile vibrations delivered on DU:GD.

Peace,
H2O Man

35 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Cell Phones & Siblings (Original Post) H2O Man Apr 2015 OP
Thanks for a thoughtful essay. nruthie Apr 2015 #1
Thanks. H2O Man Apr 2015 #3
Nice, thank you. science-based atheist is curious seveneyes Apr 2015 #2
Right. H2O Man Apr 2015 #4
Hawking thinks it has because nothing he has found has called for one Warpy Apr 2015 #30
Can't argue with that truth seveneyes Apr 2015 #31
Once upon a time, Chuang Chou dreamed that he was a butterfly, a butterfly flitting about happily Tierra_y_Libertad Apr 2015 #5
Very good! H2O Man Apr 2015 #6
Here's more about Chuang tzu and the butterfly dream. Tierra_y_Libertad Apr 2015 #8
Very much appreciated! H2O Man Apr 2015 #9
... Tierra_y_Libertad Apr 2015 #11
someyou thing said irisblue Apr 2015 #7
There is a curious H2O Man Apr 2015 #10
I saw the thread title very soon after it went up irisblue Apr 2015 #14
Good choice. H2O Man Apr 2015 #17
Richard Harris as English Bob Octafish Apr 2015 #12
I am confident that H2O Man Apr 2015 #16
Nonsense. If i could radiate hate as energy over the internet AtheistCrusader Apr 2015 #13
Maybe you are. H2O Man Apr 2015 #18
Hope springs eternal. AtheistCrusader Apr 2015 #22
Internal, as well! H2O Man Apr 2015 #24
You always give me a lot to think about. democrank Apr 2015 #15
Thank you! H2O Man Apr 2015 #19
As always, a thought provoking post... druidity33 Apr 2015 #20
Thanks! H2O Man Apr 2015 #21
You post such thoughtful brer cat Apr 2015 #23
Thank you, brer cat! H2O Man Apr 2015 #27
I love how your mind works WaterMan malaise Apr 2015 #25
Oh, thank you! H2O Man Apr 2015 #28
Irish Catholicism breeds some powerful sorts of anti-authoritarianism and heresy. hunter Apr 2015 #26
Thank you for this. H2O Man Apr 2015 #33
Beautiful written and sentiment AuntPatsy Apr 2015 #29
Thanks, Aunt Patsy! H2O Man Apr 2015 #34
Something to think about on a sunny Sunday morning... ms liberty Apr 2015 #32
Thank you! H2O Man Apr 2015 #35

nruthie

(466 posts)
1. Thanks for a thoughtful essay.
Sat Apr 11, 2015, 01:41 PM
Apr 2015

Strikes a chord with me and my pondering about DNA and family relationships which have been very much on my mind lately. I enjoy your writing style.

H2O Man

(73,533 posts)
3. Thanks.
Sat Apr 11, 2015, 02:03 PM
Apr 2015

One of my closest friends called me last night. His sister-in-law had just called him, to say that his brother had died a few hours earlier. (I had been in the same grade in high school as his brother.)

My friend's brother and his wife were busy making plans for an upcoming vacation, when he said that his shoulder hurt. She went to get him two aspirin. When she returned, 30 seconds later, he was dead.

It got me thinking about how fleeting life can be.

 

seveneyes

(4,631 posts)
2. Nice, thank you. science-based atheist is curious
Sat Apr 11, 2015, 01:58 PM
Apr 2015

I'm not quite sure science has proven or eliminated the superior being theory yet.

H2O Man

(73,533 posts)
4. Right.
Sat Apr 11, 2015, 02:05 PM
Apr 2015

At best, I suppose, it is how we interpret science that might influence our thinking on religion-spirituality. (My brother is an odd fellow. His whole family is, in my opinion.)

Warpy

(111,243 posts)
30. Hawking thinks it has because nothing he has found has called for one
Sat Apr 11, 2015, 08:28 PM
Apr 2015

Other scientific types aren't quite as sure and run the gamut from closet Deist to full blown atheist with enough wiggle room to believe in any god who actually turns up. A few have compartmentalized the faith they learned as children and identify that way.

There are over 7 billion of us crowding this small planet now and if you start asking questions, you'll get over 7 billion answers as to the nature of the universe and how it came to be. No two answers will likely be identical and a few of the more argumentative types will propose several different ideas.

The troublemakers are the bullies who want everybody to agree with them.

 

seveneyes

(4,631 posts)
31. Can't argue with that truth
Sat Apr 11, 2015, 08:36 PM
Apr 2015

Until the evidence is incontrovertible, we will remain inside our own Walls...



 

Tierra_y_Libertad

(50,414 posts)
5. Once upon a time, Chuang Chou dreamed that he was a butterfly, a butterfly flitting about happily
Sat Apr 11, 2015, 02:16 PM
Apr 2015
Once upon a time, Chuang Chou dreamed that he was a butterfly, a butterfly flitting about happily enjoying himself. He didn’t know that he was Chou. Suddenly he awoke and was palpably Chou. He didn’t know whether he were Chou who had dreamed of being a butterfly, or a butterfly who was dreaming that he was Chou. Chuang Chou c 369 bc - c 286 bc

(His name is also transliterated as Zhuang Zi, Zhuang Zhou, Chuang Tzu, Chuang Tse)

H2O Man

(73,533 posts)
6. Very good!
Sat Apr 11, 2015, 02:24 PM
Apr 2015

I've never heard that one before. I very much appreciate you sharing it here!

I hope that my lady friend stops over tonight. I can't wait to share this with her. She's a gifted artist, and I do believe that it will be something she will "translate" into a picture for me.

H2O Man

(73,533 posts)
9. Very much appreciated!
Sat Apr 11, 2015, 02:28 PM
Apr 2015

If/when my friend completes her artwork, I will share it with you.

You are The Best!

irisblue

(32,967 posts)
7. someyou thing said
Sat Apr 11, 2015, 02:25 PM
Apr 2015

this will give me a lot to think about this weekend..." I often find myself thinking about how our emotions -- including “love” and “hate” -- transmit energy, or vibrations, that are both visible and invisible."

H2O Man

(73,533 posts)
10. There is a curious
Sat Apr 11, 2015, 02:33 PM
Apr 2015

OP/thread here on DU:GD, that I've been reading through. It has to do with some of the things that Bill Maher says on his HBO show about Islam. It contains wonderful examples of the confusion so often found on this forum .....and the internet in general, I suppose.

I find myself wondering, sometimes, if people here really think about the things they say to one another? Are they really being the type of person that they want to be?

And thank you -- I'm glad that I'm not the only person that thinks about these things!

irisblue

(32,967 posts)
14. I saw the thread title very soon after it went up
Sat Apr 11, 2015, 03:32 PM
Apr 2015

and I decided not to read it, I just knew it would seethe quickly. I didn't need/want that energy this day.

Octafish

(55,745 posts)
12. Richard Harris as English Bob
Sat Apr 11, 2015, 02:59 PM
Apr 2015

Last edited Sat Apr 11, 2015, 03:43 PM - Edit history (1)

English Bob: (at the barber's, discussing the assassination of President Garfield) Well there's a dignity in royalty, a majesty that precludes the likelihood of assassination. If you were to point a pistol at a king or a queen your hands would shake as though palsied.

Barber: Oh I wouldn't point no pistol at nobody sir.

English Bob: Well that's a wise policy, a wise policy. But if you did. I can assure you, if you did, that the sight of royalty would cause you to dismiss all thoughts of bloodshed and you would stand... how shall I put it? In awe. Now, a president... well I mean... (chuckles)



English Bob: Why not shoot a president?

We are what we think, perhaps because ours is what Jacques Vallee describes as an Associative Universe, where our thoughts call into being our reality. This is old hat to you, brand spanking new to most:



Dr. Jacques Vallee says we may live in an "Associative Universe," one in which our minds act as a rudder, guiding us toward destinations we have pre-considered. An astronomer and computer scientist by training, he was among the first to apply computers to analyzing the UFO phenomenon when an assistant to the late Dr. J. Allen Hynek of Project BLUEBOOK fame and "swamp gas" notoriety.

Vallee describes the "Associative Universe" in detail in "Messengers of Deception," a study of UFO cults and people who manipulate followers and what it means to the greater society as a whole. He had been studying a contactee group called, iirc, "The Order of Melchizedek" for several months. On an unrelated matter, Vallee flew to L.A. for a conference and hopped aboard a cab. When he finally got to his room, he looked at his receipt for the cab ride and it was signed, iirc, John Melchizedek. Vallee looked in the phone book and he was the only Melchizedek in town.

The coincidence made him think that, perhaps the universe is organized along the lines of a series of information events. Time and space, rather than acting as a phonograph needle laid down at the beginning of track one and coursing through to the end of the side, may be a series of seemingly unconnected experiences woven together by our consciousness. Thus, our awareness serves to pick up the needle and put it down at different places on the album. A similar situation may exist in data storage systems, where key words help retrieve information faster than having to go through an entire pile of data to find the needle in the infohaystack. For us, our minds act as a sort of rudder, guiding us more often to the visualized destination.

http://web.archive.org/web/20120331033917/http://www.fiu.edu/~mizrachs/UFO-info-age.html

This is an amazing universe. Perhaps important thoughts are like the clouds moving across the clear blue sky of the Universal Mind. Whenever possible, it really does make sense to visualize peace, justice, understanding and love. It could hasten the day when this becomes the kind of universe good people deserve.

An example of the Associative Universe in regards to Us the Entertained:



...or, as I prefer, We the People.

Peace to you, H2O Man. Hope you are well, my Brother in Spirit and in Life.

H2O Man

(73,533 posts)
16. I am confident that
Sat Apr 11, 2015, 03:48 PM
Apr 2015

you would agree that Clint inhabits an alternative universe!

In the 1960s -- as we have discussed previously -- I was among literally hundreds of people who saw a "UFO" in the northeast. I remember it vividly. It was distinct from anything else that I've seen in my lifetime. I have thoughts about what is was, and what it was not, none of which fit comfortably in any of the "official" explanations of such things that I have heard or read.

In my own opinion, the universe is a living, energy force. Likewise, I believe that the Earth is a living entity. I remember fondly my many long discussions on exactly that with my friend Rubin. I recall how, when he underwent his transformation, the realization that Earth was not "just a lifeless rock, suspended in space," fascinated him to no end!

Rube was not "religious" -- I remember him telling a reporter that "I've got no problems with God, and God has no problem with me." If anything, he was most influenced by Islam, which resulted in his having a view of the historical Jesus that, while similar in many ways, was distinct from that of his father's, uncles', and other Baptist minister's in his extended family. By way of my maternal-side extended family, he became quite interested in Native belief systems. He ever did the Sun Dance; the Lakota Elders named him "Badger Star" -- quite fitting!

Anyhow, I babble. I was looking for your number recently, apparently misplaced it. But I've been meaning to give you a call. It's been too long!

AtheistCrusader

(33,982 posts)
13. Nonsense. If i could radiate hate as energy over the internet
Sat Apr 11, 2015, 03:20 PM
Apr 2015

I'd be in jail for electrocuting a whole lot of people.

democrank

(11,092 posts)
15. You always give me a lot to think about.
Sat Apr 11, 2015, 03:42 PM
Apr 2015

Please know I truly understand the connection between technology and yawning. I`m forward leaning when it comes to a new oatmeal/molasses bread recipe or the Audubon bird count, but these newfangled gadgets like the cell phone you mentioned, are beyond my simple universe. I don`t even wear a watch.

There was a lot of chatter about "good vibrations" back in the 60s-70s. I`m still a believer and tried to explain that very concept to my 6 year old grandson recently. I`ve thought a lot lately about what vibrations some people put out there. Like the bullies, the bigots, the racists, the war hawks. What damage they do on a daily basis. What awful, hateful damage. It needs to be counteracted.... weakened....with good vibrations, just like the ones you feel when you`re out at your pond with a tail-wagging dog.

~PEACE, H20 Man~

H2O Man

(73,533 posts)
19. Thank you!
Sat Apr 11, 2015, 03:59 PM
Apr 2015

You know, when I was writing the OP, I kept thinking, "You've reached your 'second childhood, old man! All this chatter about 'vibrations'." I wondered if anyone would make note of that common talking point from that era!

I have my Grandfather's railroad watch. It's what I think is known as a "pocket watch." It's about the size of a silver dollar (thicker, of course), and hangs on a nice chain. I've had a few people offer me money for it, as they value it for its railroad history, and for being gold. But it's worth something quite different than that, to me. I wear it sometimes (not often), when I also use my Grandfather's Grandfather's shillelagh. These are the types of objects that I value!

I likewise value being friends with you, and appreciate when we have the opportunity to talk! Thank you, very much.

druidity33

(6,446 posts)
20. As always, a thought provoking post...
Sat Apr 11, 2015, 04:37 PM
Apr 2015

I have been avoiding fancy phones for years, but recently was given an iPhone and am admittedly enjoying music at my fingertips and the access to the internet while in town. But i can see how it sucks time away from real things. Pros and Cons... yup. Looking forward to some woods walking this week, snow in the shade is finally melting...

K&R

H2O Man

(73,533 posts)
21. Thanks!
Sat Apr 11, 2015, 04:51 PM
Apr 2015

I've never had a cell phone, or a credit card, or many of the other things that my children take for granted. I'm certainly not opposed to them, or consider myself "purer" than those who do use such items. I just try to live a simple life.

I'm really glad that the snow is melting. With all of that, and the recent rain, there has been some flooding in our area. I hope that it's not going to be like the big floods we've had in the past decade .....although I live high up on a mountain, I am concerned for those who have had their lives devastated twice in recent times.

The amount of "green" that is peeking through the ground looks beautiful now! I really enjoy this time of year.

brer cat

(24,558 posts)
23. You post such thoughtful
Sat Apr 11, 2015, 06:53 PM
Apr 2015

and thought-provoking essays, H2O Man. We do transmit energy and vibrations, often unaware. I would like DU to embrace the good vibrations from the 60s...it would be a more pleasant and civil place.

I too am filled with joy and energy with the coming of spring. I spent today wearing out my old knees and back removing weeds from a large flower bed. Many would consider that tedious work, but I approach it with pleasure as I am freeing my plants to embrace the sun and rain, and I will be rewarded with beautiful blooms all summer. There was a lot of positive energy in that task. I will try to harness some of that energy to get me through the aches I feel now.

Thanks for taking the time to share this OP with us.

Peace.

H2O Man

(73,533 posts)
27. Thank you, brer cat!
Sat Apr 11, 2015, 08:17 PM
Apr 2015

I do appreciate that.

I try to contribute things that I hope people will both think about, and enjoy reading. So responses such as your's are encouraging.

A few years back, when I was becoming acquainted with my current lady friend, I remember her saying that she wondered if I ever engaged in simple conversation? At first, I didn't know how to take that, so I asked her to explain what she meant. She said that she had never met anyone who always looked for the deeper meaning of everything. It kind of made me laugh, because I don't seem that way to myself. But after thinking about it, I suppose that as a rule, I figure that we are all here for just a limited time, and I prefer not to waste it thinking or talking about unimportant things.

hunter

(38,310 posts)
26. Irish Catholicism breeds some powerful sorts of anti-authoritarianism and heresy.
Sat Apr 11, 2015, 08:16 PM
Apr 2015

Rather like the child of Evangelical Protestant Creationist Fundamentalist parents who grows up to be a Paleontologist. One of my favorite university professors was such.

Our family is still Catholic... more or less. My dad's ancestors largely jumped ship and swam and ran as fast as they could deep into the American Wild West to escape troubles back home with the English.

My mom's family is more complex. One of my ancestors was a mail order bride to Salt Lake City in the earliest days. She didn't like sharing a husband and ran off with a U.S. Government surveyor who was out West because he had his own troubles in proper WASP East Coast society. Lucky for the couple, greater U.S.A. and the Catholic Church did not recognize polygamous marriage or any other obligations my greater grandma may have felt toward the Mormons who had paid to bring her to Salt Lake City. The couple established a homestead outside of Utah. When the Mormons followed, my ancestors were established and the Mormons were the immigrants. My mom's older relatives and cousins became the traditional water masters and discreet sellers of alcoholic beverages, "French" postcards, condoms, and much more importantly, neutral arbiters of otherwise back-stabbing internal Mormon community politics.

My great grandfather maintained the phone lines. If he ever accidentally overheard anything, then he was the person in the community anyone could trust to remain silent.

I attribute my own genetic love of communication networks -- radio, telephone, and internet -- to him.

My great grandma was severely pissed off when her husband signed onto rural electrification in the 'thirties to support his radio habit. She was still complaining about her trivial electric bill into the 'sixties. My great grandma's house (she was the Lord Supreme Ruler there) had two forty watt light bulbs and my dead great grandfather's God Damned radios. Heh. I know she sometimes listened, after he was dead.

Later my great grandma went ape-shit crazy when my mom's cousin, her own grandchild, installed an electric river well pump and more-or-less ordinary indoor plumbing with a flush toilet INSIDE THE HOUSE (imagine that!) and a septic tank, after his new bride insisted. They ordered the entire system from the Sears Catalog and paid it off in installments.

When my mom's parent's moved to Southern California my mom tried to be a re-integrated lost wilderness Catholic, she even wanted to be a nun as a teen, but then she had a bad encounter with a leering, smoking, not-so-bright priest, and she married my dad instead. They had many children Catholic style before they decided maybe birth control was a good idea. It wasn't for financial reasons, my parents don't worry about money, ever, if there are more important concerns, but for concerns about my mom's health. She's the unfortunate sort who would have eventually died in childbirth, irregardless of mid-twentieth century medicine. Doctors told her "don't do this again." Twice. That's when my dad got a vasectomy. I still have a big Catholic mess of siblings.

My wife's family is American Indian, Mexican and Canadian Irish Catholic. Whenever the Catholics and American Indians among them were not feeling welcome in the U.S.A. they moved north or south of the border.

My own cell phone once belonged to my kid in middle school, who is 21+ now and living in Los Angeles with a significant other, both with very incredibly smart phones, smarter than my recycled computers, with jobs that require them.

I don't care about that stuff and I never want to.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorothy_Day

Many of my most treasured personal stories are Dorothy Day moments.



H2O Man

(73,533 posts)
33. Thank you for this.
Sun Apr 12, 2015, 09:13 AM
Apr 2015

Very interesting response.

My father's people came from Ireland in the late 1800s. Dad was a "first generation" American. On his side, there were numerous individuals involved in the struggles against the foreign occupation and exploitation of Ireland.

My mother's people include the rest of the world. Recent DNA tests documented a large amount of Irish, Scottish, and Viking. The family name is actually the Irish word for "mercenary." One of my aunts does "family tree" research, and has traced it back to, among others, the historical figure William Wallace, and the second president of Harvard.

The Irish-American role in the US labor union movement is an area where both sides of my family were very active.

H2O Man

(73,533 posts)
35. Thank you!
Sun Apr 12, 2015, 09:19 AM
Apr 2015

It's a bright, sunny morning here in the northeast. I think that I'll be going for a walk pretty soon. There is an old "woodland trail" that I think I'll go out on. Part of it was later made into a turnpike, just after the Revolutionary War (which includes my driveway). It's a location where I have enjoyed walking, since I was a youngster. I do some of my clearest thinking on that ancient trail.

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