Stepping Off

I did a wonderful thing. I quit my secure, well-paying job at a university with great insurance and a great retirement plan. I got to bike to work in a great town through beautiful neighborhoods. I got to be at the nexus of policy, research and education at state and national levels. I made friendly connections with interesting dynamic change agents and decisionmakers at state and local agencies and educational institutions across the state. I got to travel to Africa and Central America to help on watershed projects. I got to work with top scientists in aquatic ecology, hydrology, geochemistry, and climate science. I learned tons about those sciences, and about water sustainability, research, hydrologic databases, and academia.  I also learned that I am not meant for a desk job dealing more with computer files than people being asked to help groups of faculty that are not sure what they need to be helped because they are in a brittle system set up to function only if each person devotes a tiny amount of time and thought to each of their 100 projects/students/classes.

Going to work started to feel like a chore, and even punishment, because my passion was really in my social, arts and nature activities. I had projects in sewing, puppeting, organizing, and work just seemed to get in the way. I had no time for this "work!"

My spirit started struggling and rearing up. My higher self  decided I was done with this pretense of comfort, because in actuality, I was growing to be very uncomfortable on many levels. I found I was pretending that how we were doing things was fine with me. And I felt unseen, and I squashed my own expression more and more... first with a sense of frustration, and then peacefully, with a sense of acceptance with a deep knowledge that this was so temporary and so not my world,,, I used to think that this academia thing should be my world. Then it was clear that I was meant for other endeavors.   I could see this was a big machine working in ol dwell-worn ways with old worn out ideas at the institutional level. How incredibly boring and uninspiring. I could go on. But let's get back to me.

I found a part of myself rebelling against the comfort and security... something suddenly surprised me... a suggestion that I should quit  without finding another job... I needed a break from 'working.' It was my spirit that insisted on this. So I saw myself deciding to quit as soon as I had saved $12,000.  I would somehow go outside of my routine and out of my current society for a while to shake up my world in such a way that things would look different, like shaking a snow globe or a etch a sketch like blowing a Mandala away. e a hunch that things aren't really as they seem right now. There is a lot of illusion. Until I get out of my routine, my house, my comfort, I will have limited viewing.

So it is time for a retreat, a time to step back, zoom out, refresh, put on new glasses (or take off the glasses), climb out of the cave (I love the image of Plato's cave where people are enchanted by their own shadows and are comfortable in that safe warm cave and don't want to realize that their shadows are just shadows, and that the bigger truer world of life and expansion lay outside the cave itself.

So I plan to go to India on January 24 with my friend Kanika and her family. We are invited to her cousin's wedding and I am so honored that they will host me in their home! I go north from there to the base of the Himalayas for meditation retreat down the road from the Dalai Lama. I will travel south after that to do yoga and retreat in several other places, to meet a few friends, to experience elephants. Then I fly to Thailand. There I will explore more of the elephant world and conservation. More about that soon... 

People want to know the PLAN... I think they get confused and worried when the plan is very loose, and undefined... maybe I am too a little bit. My goal is to establish connections with people there, and learn about opportunities and then have those in my list of options once I am there... but I won't have everything planned out. I know I will be ok. I am trusting the world to catch me as I step off the edge into the  arms of love from people and animals. I will invite that love by sending love out And I have plenty of intellingence and travel savy to help me along.

Building 7? Learn about 9/11 please!

I feel it is important not to loose sight of the incredible evil acts of September 11, 2001, and to understand who created the situations in New York, Washington DC and Penssylvania that killed 1000's of innocent American people. 

Please watch this 2nd edition of Loose Change, that explains some science behind the airplane/building collisions, the collapses of 3 buildings in New York, the collision of a plane with the Pentagon, and the confusion of the records, planes and flights related to flight 93. It shows some of the original/uncensored media reports of what was happening on the ground during the 9/11/2001 'attacks' that were later cut, and not shown again. These reports show evidence that the final story we all believe about what happened on that day is not totally accurate and was probably created by a strong-arming government who coerced news outlets to conveniently forget aspects of the stories and present a common simplified version that supported the decision to invade Iraq. 

Very well-produced for understanding the explanations... I think some stuff is off the mark (flight 93?), but I believe the 3 buildings in Manhattan were demolished by preset explosives set by our government.  I am  saddened to think about the people in the buildings, seeing all those explosives going off, being so confused and frightened, and then smashed by tons of concrete and steel. 

They really got away with it despite the 1000s of engineers who have signed on to say, in public, they believe the buildings fell from demolition explosives and no evidence exists that the steel (made to withstand 3000 degrees) would have collapsed after less than an hour of of fire. Wouldn't the fuel mostly burn off in those big explosions? How could it "drip down" to seep into the building and melt metal with those huge initial igniting events? 

How can they explain the glowing embers weeks later, and the traces of a military grade compound that gets extremely how and doesn't cool for days? Why did they occlude so many people from the site who wanted to investigate and gather evidence?

See this site made by architects/engineers discussing the truth of the physics that makes the story we are led to believe, impossible.

I am encouraged that there are a lot of Americans that doubt Building 7 collapsed by accident. Like me, they may be a bit afraid to be seen as an idiotic "conspiracy theorist." This is a great term invented by the establishment to brainwash people into the duality pushing themselves at the other end of the spectrum of those "crazy conspiracy theorists" who actually have a lot of data to support the claims of the government doing unthinkable things.

Key to any plan the government carries out under the nose of the American people that we would  see as unthinkable or heinous, is to color anyone who points to them as responsible, as conspiracy theorists, yet their other explanation is so full of holes, but we Americans are so terrified of the truth, we won't even look in the direction of what actually happened, it's just too terrible to ponder. 

But I am confused as to where the international community is in this... how can we just keep walking along after having done these obvious crimes against humanity? Are we that powerful and influential that nobody would dare challenge us as to how we created the fallen buildings and staged a mock attack by foreign Islamist terrorists? 

Our government gives me shameful feelings because of the profiteering interests that control it.... many in my country believe that our troops are out there right now doing good things in the interest of others' well-being and that we have the best country; better than any other.  And sometimes people who are upset about our government policies talk to me as if I am one of the people that supports and aligns with this government, and then I feel frustrated and judged. 

When I talk about this with people and tell them about Building 7, they look perplexed and ask "What is Building 7?"  Then I know they can't refute a conspiracy theory because they haven't bothered to learn what happened on 9/11. They have allowed themselves to absorb the sensationalistic, nationalistic story of how we were attacked and needed to fight someone back.  

Find out about Building 7! It is the key to opening the door to your mind to start asking the hard questions.  

Elephant March

I stand for wise use of resources and protecting those who cannot help themselves, including the mighty gracious, sacred elephant.

I will be marching in the International March for Elephants in Washington DC on October 4.

Elephants are extremely social, emotional, intelligent beings, that depend on the teachings of the matriarch for herd success and happiness. They remember, and visit their dead. They ritualize events such as births, reunions and deaths in their family units.

They communicate to other elephants across miles of terrain and stay strongly connected to each other that way, and remember each other strongly after many years of being apart. They weep with tears and sobbing when they are frustrated or sad. 

They are being killed by the 1000s and are being DECIMATED towards extinction.

How can we re-invigoroate funding for US Fish and Wildlife to help protect them?

Better yet, how can we convince those that buy ivory goods that it is not worth the price of the lives of elephants?  see this 1 minute animation.

My niece and two nephews are coming with me to be in the march. What an amazing opportunity for all of us. We will make paper mache tusks a few days before and carry those with us. I might make a 3D puppet of an elephant out of Sweetwater coffeebags. That would be a great use for those.

I have never met an elephant. I will meet elephants next year when I go to India and Thailand. Elephants have definitely gotten into a core part of my heart... because they are special beings that are being attacked without much mercy, and I can't stand to think about it. So action must come next because I do love elephants.

My Old Ignorance of the Elephant Spirit

I read the book the Elephant Whisperer by Lawrence Anthony, and was so moved, awed and shocked by the interactions and society of the elephants including their long-distance communication and ESP-type perception. The book is an autobiography of Anthony's chapter in life of saving a unruly herd of elephants that required many sleepless nights camping by an enclosure (a boma) to

stay close to the distrustful group as they got accustomed to their new place and to him. He spoke to them often so they would feel his intentions after a time. He spared no expense to build a serious fence to protect them from poachers and from villagers whose fields, if trampled, would give them license to kill.  Once out of the boma, they tested the big fence, wanting to go back to their original home. They knew the direction to go and made a run for it once. A skilled helicopter pilot herded them back, and saved their lives doing it.

Over some years, he and the herd got to know each other. I could not put this book down, learning about the social lives of the elephants and for the connections he created with his soft patient presence with individual elephants as he would encounter them in their daily routines during his cruises through the property. The elephants finally recognized that place as home.

When Anthony died suddenly of a heart attack in Europe, the elephants traveled 12 hours to get to his house a day or 2 later in S. Africa. They had not been there  in three  years. They stayed there, near the fence around the house, for two days. Maybe they were saying goodbye... showing their appreciation and trust with Lawrence... or maybe they were performing a funeral rite. I cried for their sorrow, their unity in emotion, their acknowledgement of their friend and I cried for the beauty and realization of the magic of these beings. I felt almost betrayed, that this aspect of elephants - belonging to a level of beings with that type of consciousness was not in my ken, much less common knowledge as I felt it should be.

They stayed present with his spirit, his passing and their intention to honor him... and maybe with their own sadness. It seems that the elephant is more present and honoring of a death than we are. This event alone has put me on a path of creating change for elephants and learning more and more about them.

We all know dolphins communicate and in India they were recently declared dolphins to be non-human persons: “[Their] unusually high intelligence as compared to other animals means that dolphin should be seen as ‘non-human persons’ and as such should have their own specific rights and is morally unacceptable to keep them captive for entertainment purpose.”

I implore India to do the same for their own native Asian elephant. Can all nations do this for dolphins, elephants and  primates? Will that make a difference to all the killing that is happening for the sake of ivory in Chinese markets? Can we then move to respecting all animals and giving them respect and space to be? 

When will we see that we are not superior to other animals? When will we break free of our egos and superiority complex and realize we have become frail and ignorant of earth which is our source of life and connection to everything?

I am happy that elephants are still alive and that so many people are working hard to protect them from the killing that is rampant right now, as the demand for ivory is very high in China. I know we can change it.

source: http://www.beliefnet.com/Inspiration/Home-Page-News-and-Views/Wild-Elephants-Mourn-Death-of-famed-Elephant-Whisperer.aspx?p=1

Loving Bollywood & SRK

I am experiencing a fascination with Indian movies these last few months: the music, the movies, the culture displayed therein, and Shahruk Khan, the person. I am downloading soundtracks and dancing my workouts to them. I had a party the other night, and it was all Bollywood music for my guests. I showed them my favorite dance number Maurya Re song from Don the movie showing a devotional dance for Ganesh; I am floored by the percussion, SRK's amazing agility and dancing, the choreography, the devotional aspects of it all, and the group dancing in the surf, so moving!  I can't believe how much I am moved/awakened/inspired by so much Indian music in general.

The movies? There is a lot to say. Mostly I love how so many of them are hopeful, uncynical and innocent. Some people accuse them of being "cheesey" which to me is a complement because cynicism is the opposite of that. Cynicism is the opposite of open, vulnerable and willing to risk yourself. I notice many American movies and series leaning toward valuing the cynical, sarcastic, and competitive, and these movies offer a nice break.

The continual reminder of the color and richness of Indian culture with ritual and spiritual attention in their lives, is stimulating and beautiful. Welcoming people home, blessing the young, honoring the gods with lamps and offerings, spending days at a time in festivals with food, community, dancing and music make me long for more ritual and community celebration here.

Many of the movies show me how painful some of the traditions can be, like arranged marriages, the caste system, and keeping family honor at the cost of individual happiness or matters of the heart. Honoring a parent, no matter how wrong or unloving, sometimes comes above honoring a lover or friend, but can lead to lifelong internal pain for many involved. Keeping up appearances seems to be paramount sometimes, and I love that these movies highlight this as a way to help people see the pain it might be creating for people. 

One aspect that has annoyed me is the lack of a voice that I see in many of the female characters. In moments of high emotion they wait for another to make a decision or express feelings. A refreshing exception Paro express her anger and hurt in Devdas recounting exactly what her lover had done to create the painful situation that they now were in. I yelled "right on!" being so happy she spoke her mind instead of looking helpless and frozen not daring to speak her feelings or wishes but waiting for the whims of her man or family to blow the winds of her destiny.

Shahrukh Khan is a force of nature. His on-screen presence combined with his accessibility, openness, vulnerability, humor, intelligence, accepting-ness, daddy-ness and "yes" energy visible in interviews, has me fascinated and smitten.

Teach Science: Start in Nature

Science class. I think of e=mc2 (can't find superscript), the Krebs cycle, memorizing geologic time periods, dissecting fetal pigs, and electron transfer. So many amazing topics taught in isolation from the end-result where they are acting in nature around us. My schooling was very conventional. Looking back, I feel that chemistry was one of the most ridiculous classes ever devised. Memorizing a bunch of elements and how they interact and transform, all in a vaccuum away from the world in which they actually act. Why would I ever care about behaviors and qualities of Strontium or Lithium? Why learn about all chemistry, or all geology or all biology separate from the other topics which are indispensable to them?  It's like looking at a big beautiful painting with a magnifying class and taking little photos of each square cm. And after 12 years, it seems I sort of had to piece all the little photos together myself somehow, and I was not provided any index to order the photos, and I was not led in the order that would help me piece them together to allow me to see the big beautiful picture. I say, why didn't we look at the painting first, and then inspect the areas of the painting that contribute to the whole?  Why not go to a place in nature, for example, Ichetucknee Springs in North Central Florida.

Observe the springwater flowing from limestone rock that goes to the river that supports aquatic plants and animals while people swim and snorkel. What an amazing sciene laboratory we have right there. But not a laboratory in the classic sense, a laboratory as a place to observe the hundreds or thousands of interactions of everything we'd ever need to learn in science class. We can start with the water flowing. We can observe the water and measure the clarity, the flowrate and talk about it's chemical composition. We can ask why it's flowing at that rate with those chemicals and that clarity. This leads us to ask questions about the rocks we see when we snorkel down. We see limestone rock. We do a little research about limestone rock and we learn that for millions of years calcareous animals died to create 1000s of feet of dolomite etc. What geologic time period was that? Does that rock help explain the chemical make up of the water? How does that affect the plants and fish growing in the river? Does clarity play a role in what lives in the river? So many questions to drive our curiosity about this place to lead us to discover about the biology, chemistry, biology, hydrology and physics of this place and putting little parts of all those topics into context of a big picture that started with a small interesting directly experienced place.

So I say, if I ever teach science, I will take you outside and start with the end. Start with what is here now, visible and experience-able so questions and curiosity can drive us into the mysteries of how it all works and interacts. I think I would call it "Nature Class."

#teaching #science #scienceteaching

Non-Material Categories

Saturday morning of Memorial Day weekend, going through a long list of Ted talks to get podcasts for a 4.5 hour drive. So many of these talks were about science, engineering, technologies. I was seeing the main categories: technology, entertainment, design, business, science, global issues. I was in the mood for the non-material. Why weren't there categories like Nature, Spirituality, The Quantum, or Feelings? I wanted to hear talks about curiosity, playfulness, discovery, creativity, shifting paradigms or awe. There were some, and I was excited to download those.  It reminded me how I feel tired of the admiration of "being smart" and our obsession with the directly measurable and observable.  I chuckle when I hear  parents brag about how their kids can already read, or they can do addition, oh so young. I wonder how is the child relating to her environment and to others? Is she learning to love herself and all her own emotions and thoughts? Is she being encouraged to explore and express her emotions, ideas and  natural talents in a self-sourced inspired way that is not dictated by the connstructs of a book or a computer game? Are her/his emotions, desires, expressions, curiosites being acknowledged and reflected so she learns more deeply who s/he is?

Now I just looked at Ted Talks again and there are some amazing new talks listed: "The Surprising Need for Strangeness" (Can't Wait to Hear that!), How to Escape Education's Death Valley" (Could be Good), "The Why and How of Effective Altruism" (I heard it, I liked it!), "Every Kid Needs a Champion" (I need one too, I will watch it!).

I guess the categories they use are symbolic of a mindset and it it interesting that many of the talks they host don't actually fit into those categories they have created. Fascinating. The speakers are sort of ahead of the time... their time, Ted website's time. 

Here is a quote.

TED is a nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, Design. Since then its scope has become ever broader.

 

What does it say, that the categories are old 1984-oriented ideas, and not actually accomodating what the talks are actually about?  This may seem so minor and miniscule, but it is interesting to me to think about slow adoption of the accelerating changes in how people are thinking.  

Soil Landscape Art to Radiolab

I wrote a letter to Radiolab the other day... they wrote back saying the idea of patterns in nature is a good one and that the idea would be forwarded on. It was from a nice intern.  Here is my letter:

Hello RadioLab!

I am a spatial analyst, water science communicator, crafter, puppeteer and wetlands soils naturalist that has discovered amazing beauty in soil patterns at large spatial scales, by adding color and combining 2-dimensional layers of land descriptors in my computer system.

I can envision these beautiful images hanging in a big office lobby in San Francisco or Portland... or lined along a wall of my local organic-foods restaurant. I have made art with nature! But across many miles.

I realize: the mesmerizing patterns that I often notice in decaying leaves or on the tummies of turtles, are as beautiful across a watershed or several counties, knowable with color-coded aspects of soils; recognizable when looking at maps of patterns of characteristics of something that is under us all the time, though covered by lawn, pavement or forest. And the two must be related - patterns of the small with the patterns of the land. Is there a law about this, or just intuition?

It is fun to picture, the lone tawny soil scientist, who, maybe in the 1950s, worked days on end, traveling a region - auger in hand - to map what was under us: how fast it drained, the colors of the layers, the minerals and organics making up the soil. Who would have guessed that their interpolated curves and polygons would have yielded such colorable muralable art that speaks to my deep sense of natural harmony that I feel when I see so many patterns in life, that we emulate in on our socks, wallpapers and upholstery? Maybe my socks don’t have a river running through them as you see in these images attached.

I want to attract someone to the art of the image and when they are admiring the red-brown serpentine shapes, tell them about the ancient trace of a river that has disappeared.

I wrote to you because I think of you as someone who appreciates how science has so much art in it, especially in the form of patterns. Let me know if we can make a show about something like this. Or maybe you know of a site/community that would be into these kinds of images and linkages and the amazingness of patterns in nature at lots of scales.

Much admiration for your ideas and expression,

Kathleen McKee