Week 4 - Function of Gravity

The function of gravity could be to keep our planet alive and all it's inhabitants out of the universe. It is difficult to define the function of gravity when the properties of gravity are not entirely clear. Perhaps the function of gravity is to allow our Hun to take form and exist on earth for awhile. Maybe we aren't supposed to understand the function of gravity. I find it hard to believe that all this has come together simply to keep us from floating out into space. I think their is a great purpose, but not one I can explain through understanding the four forces.

Week 4 - Comparing the four forces

The Weak Force

Understanding the four forces was a challenge and I am not sure I really get it. I understand that the weak force is responsible for beta decay but how can it's messenger particles (W and Z bosons) be massive and sluggish if the messenger particles of the four forces are massless?

The Strong Force

The strong force makes sense to me because the inside of an atom makes sense to me (i think). It makes sense that this should be the strongest force. If it were not then all things in our universe would be much less stable.

Electromagnetic Force

This force is the one I played with as a kid when I slid magnets around on the floor, repelling and attracting them to each other. This one we can see and we can also see it's messenger particle (if it is a particle) the photon.

Gravity

Maybe gravity isn't a force, maybe what we think is gravity is electromagnetism or strong force and we are living inside an atom. This one stumps me. I don't know why we have not found gravitons and realizing how weak gravitational force is, makes me a little nervous. I think all these forces are attempts to try to explain how it is possible that we are on this perfect planet and everything has come into balance so precisely that we are able to exist here and now. My hope is that people start to appreciate earth more for what it is instead of trying to abuse, avoid, rape, kill and explain it away.

Week 4 - e=mc squared

I had to learn this equation in high school math and be tested on my ability to regurgitate what I had memorized, but that is about how much I really learned this until now. I wonder if this is what happened to many other Americans. Now that I have abetter understanding of the equation and how closely it relates to the Eastern philosophy behind Qi, I wonder how Westerner's are so able to detach themselves from all things. Meaning that perhaps if we really taught our children that everything is made from the same stuff, you, me, the plants, the mountains, this computer; maybe this would help better instill a feeling of connectivity.

I am also really impressed with how curious and unsettled Einstein was with the universe. I think it is a sign of intelligence to continually question the world around us. Many unknowns, that remain unknowns today, made Einstein uncomfortable. I am more comfortable knowing that Einstein did not think he understood the way everything worked. I don't need or want equations for the intuitive feelings and awareness I have.

It's a shame that such genius was turned into the most destructive weaponry ever used.

Connectivity and Synchronicity - Sand Pentland

I have attached a link to Sandy Pentland's website. He has a book out called Honest Signals. His studies are based on the premiss that humans have built in signal reading and pattern behavior that influences our state of being much more so than the content of the message communicated. 

It's more related to biology but it ties in perfectly with connectivity too. 

There are some good videos on youtube as well.

htp://web.media.mit.edu/~sandy/

Week 3 - Connectivity

I feel I could probably tell you better what connectivity is not, but I will try to explain what I think it is. I have an older sister who lives in New York. She and I are very close, but sometimes we go an entire week with out talking. It's these times when we are less focused on the physical things we are doing and more aware of each others presence that we feel more connected. I can tell you how she is feeling on any given day, whether I have spoken with her or not. This understanding comes from a place of stillness and calm, an awareness of a deeper connection.

The other day, I was practicing visual meditation and pictured myself snorkeling in St. Thomas. All of a sudden, my husband was next to me and in this moment of pure calm, he walked in the door. He had left work early and I was not expecting him for a few hours. It's a feeling I get also in nature. When hiking in the Sequoias, I can feel the connection from the trees to the sky and ground below. The connection is sometimes overwhelming. 

I believe that being aware of this connection is extremely important as a healer. In order to truly help another person, we have to do more than quantify their verbal complaints. we have to feel and sense from somewhere deeper and much more meaningful, what is the true state of this person?

Week 3 - evidence of synchronicity

At an atomic level, synchronicity can be observed through the electrons constant desire to exist on a level of lesser energy. At the most fundamental level (as far as we know) our universe is moving toward a synchronistic state. I can not explain the phenomenon of electrons synchronizing their rotation simultaneously, but I understand it on a more metaphysical level. Anytime I find myself saying how lucky I am, that is synchronicity. I don't believe in luck, but I don't believe in a predetermined universe either. When I feel that my life lines up in a way that makes everything seem clear and easier, this is synchronicity. Another example would be, if I go to a show and see a friend I haven't seen in ages or bump into some one at an airport half way around the world from where we both live. I got a flat tire this summer on a long bike ride and the gentleman riding past me just happened to own a bike shop. He hopped off his bike and fixed my tires in seconds. I could explain this as luck, but it happened to be my birthday and I felt that it wasn't just luck or coincidence. 

Jules had been trying to reach a friend whom she attended UC Berkeley with. She could not find any contact information for this friend and was getting frustrated trying to find her. She walked out of the break room at AIMC last week and who was in the hall but this very same friend. She was at the school deciding if she wanted to be an acupuncturist. Coincidence? Nope, synchronicity.

Week 2

Reflections on Uncertainty

I think that is is a shame so many people are so hard on Western physicists. Einstien and his contemporaries were fascinated by uncertainty. If the universe was layed out before us and made complete sense then there would be no reason for research. I believe physicists are driven by their by something unexplainable inside them, something that connects to the uncertainty and understands it in a way they can not express but are desperately seeking to express. I believe physicists are more accepting of uncertainty than most. 

Comments on Causality

Causality is important when treating patients, but it can also be a never-ending cycle constantly shifting and changing, like yin & yang. There can be many causes and one effect, one cause and many effects, many causes and many effects but is there ever one cause and one effect. Is cause always relative and therefore constantly changing?

Is the Universe weird?

Yes and no. Weird is completely subjective, what definition of weird do you want us to use? On one side I could say the universe is never weird, it is what it wants to be. We are weird for trying to make it seem not weird. On the other hand, we could say that everything in the universe is weird; weird in the sense that it is confusing and lacks consistency. 

Week 1

What attracts me to Chinese Medicine?

Growing up with unresolved health problems always forced my mother and myself to look beyond Western Medicine for a path toward a healthy life. Acupuncture and the Eastern philosophy of oneness played a huge role in my journey toward wholehealth. Along the way, I encouraged those around me, friends family, colleagues to give it a try. Their positive experiences and results were always so profound. I had always been a counselor and open ear for people, but felt I lacked the tools to make profound differences in peoples lives. I believe that this training and knowledge will contribute greatly to my ability to help others realize their true potential as healthy empowered beings. 

What do I honestly think of Physics, really?

I think that Physics helps explain and understand the relationship between all things in our universe. I think of gravity and inertia and then realize that I don't really know enough about it. I struggled with Physics in High School and always felt a lack of understanding that I am excited to fill-in a bit. 

Now that I think about it, have I ever experienced time"slowing down" or "speeding up"?

Absolutely! I used to often be surprised at how quickly the day had gone by. In reading Eckhart Tolles' A New Earth , I have become much more present and thru this awareness,  able to slow time. Meditation, Yoga, and riding my bike also help me to be present and aware. I suppose that when I get caught up or busy I feel that time goes quickly, but if I can bring consciousness to the present time seems to move more slowly and with greater purpose.

My reflections on The Meaning of Time

I believe that time is relative.  Our thoughts can be constantly in the past or future even though our body is here now in this present moment. Some people can live their whole lives and never be aware of the present moment. How does time affect them? The Western part of my brain would explain time as a linear progression that can only be experienced in one direction, but I believe that time can also be a feeling or a sense. Our thoughts have the ability to exist fully in the past or future, analyzing all the possible options. In this sense I believe that parallel universes exist within our own minds. I don't fully understand or know how to connect this idea to what happens to our physical selves. In other words, we have our essence and then we have a physical form and time can affect these two differently. I believe they can live in different time zones (does that make any sense?).

On a different note, the idea of black holes and white holes fascinates me. I also love what April said about our possible inability to see white holes. Again, the western part of my brain would like all these things to "make sense". If there are black holes then there must be white holes. However, this is also Yin and Yang, you can not have one without the other. So where are the white holes? If we were to enter a black hole would we come out of a white hole on the other side? Would this be a parallel universe but if parallel universes never meet then what would happen if we did? It's exciting to think about.