No Joke

The New CREW

Universal Consciousness

One of science’s most challenging problems is a question that can be stated easily: Where does consciousness come from? In his new book Galileo’s Error: Foundations for a New Science of Consciousness, philosopher Philip Goff considers a radical perspective: What if consciousness is not something special that the brain does but is instead a quality inherent to all matter? It is a theory known as “panpsychism,” and Goff guides readers through the history of the idea, answers common objections (such as “That’s just crazy!”) and explains why he believes panpsychism represents the best path forward. He answered questions from Mind Matters editor Gareth Cook.

In our standard view of things, consciousness exists only in the brains of highly evolved organisms, and hence consciousness exists only in a tiny part of the universe and only in very recent history. According to panpsychism, in contrast, consciousness pervades the universe and is a fundamental feature of it. This doesn’t mean that literally everything is conscious. The basic commitment is that the fundamental constituents of reality—perhaps electrons and quarks—have incredibly simple forms of experience. And the very complex experience of the human or animal brain is somehow derived from the experience of the brain’s most basic parts.

It might be important to clarify what I mean by “consciousness,” as that word is actually quite ambiguous. Some people use it to mean something quite sophisticated, such as self-awareness or the capacity to reflect on one’s own existence. This is something we might be reluctant to ascribe to many nonhuman animals, never mind fundamental particles. But when I use the word consciousness, I simply mean experience: pleasure, pain, visual or auditory experience, et cetera.

Human beings have a very rich and complex experience; horses less so; mice less so again. As we move to simpler and simpler forms of life, we find simpler and simpler forms of experience. Perhaps, at some point, the light switches off, and consciousness disappears. But it’s at least coherent to suppose that this continuum of consciousness fading while never quite turning off carries on into inorganic matter, with fundamental particles having almost unimaginably simple forms of experience to reflect their incredibly simple nature. That’s what panpsychists believe.  TO READ MORE ABOUT THIS, CLICK HERE...

Today's Debriefing

Today, was much like any other day, but was different in that I actually accomplished more than I had originally set out to do which does not happen too often, at least with me...  Yesterday, I had gone to the dentist for something that I thought was routine and ended up leaving with a root canal and a crown and knowledge that I had another tooth that would soon be needing a root canal and crown.

Fortunately, I used my stimulus money to pay for it...  thank goodness for the democrats...  without their desire to spend money like a drunken sailor I would have had to pay for this out of my own pocket and that would have sucked.

Anyway, after the numbness wore off, my mouth and jaw continued to hurt even after 12 hours so I took a couple of tylenol and was able to fall asleep.  this morning when I awoke the pain was gone and I am wondering if that had anything to do with my productivity.

Not only was I able to combine blogs today, but I posted several to my poetry blog,  wrote 7 pages on my work in progress novel, cooked some squash, zucchini, onions, peppers, and rice (enough for 3 meals) and make myself a ribeye steak, green onion, peppers, mushroom, tomatoes, and cheese omelette. (omelet)...  of which i ate half and will eat the other half tomorrow.

I was also able to make several postings of items I liked that I found online to one blog rather than spreading them around to several different blogs which was much more convenient as well as much more logical.

I have no more appointments until next wednesday and thursday when I have to go in for my monthly cancer treatments.  so far, the cancer treatments are working as i am in my 13th14th year, depending upon how the years are counted.  That is to say, counting each year separately or  increasing counting each time you move from one year to the next.

For example, the years 2019 and 2020 could either be counted as 2 years or as 1 year....  and my count would also depend upon when i actually started...   either january or june/july.

Most of my days are spent inside and i really need to start thinking about returning to or adding in an exercise routine into my schedule.

Closing the Border

 

Beauty and Muscle

Let's Stay Friends...

 

Cool...

 

Slaves to Government

 

Agree or Disagree?

Mainstream Media

Fun In The Sun

 

Smart People

What About COVID?

 

Ayn Rand says...

 

ATTENTION READERS

 BEGINNING MONDAY JULY 12, 2021...

I have decided to combine 3 blogs into one...  currently, I am posting daily to the following blogs:

• Journal for Daily Pages
• Bipolar Scorpion
• Cancer Pilgrimage

And...  I did this originally because I thought there would be a specific audience for each blog's focus...  and, while that is true up to a point, it has resulted in the dilution of my readers.

Therefore, beginning this Monday (the above date) I will only maintain two blogs instead of FOUR.  And... those articles that I would have published on Bipolar Scorpion and Cancer Pilgrimage will not be overlooked, they will simply be published here.

The Journal for Daily Pages blog will contain all of my postings except for the poetry that I will continue to publish on Reflections:  White Scorpion.

All additional pages that the reader was able to visit either on Bipolar Scorpion or Cancer Pilgrimage have already been transferred.

I am hopeful that this change will be more rewarding and enjoyable for all of us...  

Let me know what you think, if you would like...

Childhood Neglect

People who experienced neglect in childhood are more likely to struggle to maintain a stable and coherent sense of self, which in turn is associated with dysfunctional sexual behaviors, according to new research published in the International Journal of Sexual Health. The findings suggest that identity difficulties act as a mediator of the relationship between childhood neglect and sexuality in adulthood.

“Too few researchers are interested in more subtle types of child maltreatment that are as damaging, if not more, than more overt types of child maltreatment,” said study author Noémie Bigras, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Montreal.

“Whether or not the types of violence leave physical marks, they all are relational experiences that are likely to be prompted or reactivated in adulthood once in an intimate relationship or perhaps during sexual activities. Gaining a better understanding of how any type of child maltreatment is at play in adults’ intimate lives is crucial to enhance therapeutic interventions and making a real difference in these survivors’ lives if they ever consult a professional.”

The researchers recruited 374 adults from Canada and Europe, and had them complete an anonymous online survey that assessed childhood neglect, childhood sexual abuse, identity impairment, and sexual disturbances. The survey also collected sociodemographic information such as sex, age, relationship status, sexual orientation, education, occupation, and annual income.

Bigras and her colleagues found that childhood neglect was positively associated with identity impairment, which in turn was positively associated with dysfunctional sexual behaviors.

In other words, participants who reported that one or both of their parents ignored them, seemed not to love them, or did not provide them with basic needs as a child were more likely to also report following the orders of others indiscriminately and having greater difficulty in maintaining a sense of self that was stable across different situations. Those who reported this type of identity impairment, meanwhile, were more likely to report engaging in indiscriminate or potentially harmful sexual behaviors, such as unprotected sex.  TO READ ENTIRE ARTICLE, CLICK HERE...

There Is No Power in YES

Today, I was driving down to Knoxville for a medical appointment and like always when I am by myself, I listen to talk radio...  On the air was Dan Bongino and while listening to him, he shared a story about an event in Maryland several years ago when he was told by someone he knew and respected the following:

THERE IS NO POWER IN YES...

My first thought when I heard that was how often have females said NO to a male who wanted to have sex?  And, while some might have said it for power, others said it because they did not want to for a variety of reasons which is ok, but regardless, the outcome was ALWAYS POWER OVER THE MALE...

Who has told you NO?

• your parents
• your siblings
• your teachers
• your coaches
• your friends
• your bosses - supervisors
• your drill instructors
• your neighbors
• your local governments
• your local law enforcement
• your ministers - priests - pastors
• your spouses
• your grandchildren

R I P T I D E S

As a former surf lifesaver I constantly find myself when I'm at a beach automatically in patrol mode, and I'm always troubled seeing the amount of swimmers that enter the surf straight into a rip zone. This includes, and most worrying of all children. I know a lot of people are kind of aware of what to do if caught in a rip, but it has been brought to my attention recently that a lot of people aren't aware of what a rip actually looks like or where the safest place to swim at the beach is if there is no flagged area.



One person will drown every two to three days this summer... 90% of those fatalities will be rip-related. Here are a few things that will help you and your kids stay safe this summer. I have also put together a few images that show what to look for.



1. The easiest thing to remember is that often the safest/calmest most enticing looking area along a beach is usually a rip. A rip is usually the area devoid of wave activity and appears darker and deceptively calmer. It can sometimes appear milky or turbulent, but it is always pretty much void of wave activity. All that water coming in via waves has to go back out somehow, this is what a rip is. (see pics).



2. Always take 5-10 mins when you get to the beach to observe surf conditions and identify where these areas are.

3. If you are caught in a rip, DO NOT PANIC. Go into floating mode and raise one arm as a distress signal when possible. See which direction the rip is taking you, is it straight out or at an angle? once you have determined this, and if you have the energy, swim to the right or left of the direction of flow, never against. Some rips can move at 3 times the speed of an olympic swimmer, you won't win! If you cannot swim out to either side of the rip, just go with it. Most rips won't take you out very far, and will usually spit you out not long after they take you, so keep calm and save your energy for the swim back to shore.

4. If you have kids, show them these pictures, educate them and make them aware. You can't always be watching them, and it is only a matter of a few metres each way of the point of entry to the water that could mean them being safe, or instantly caught in a rip.

Obviously the safest place to swim is always between the flags on a patrolled beach, but this isn't always practical given the immensity of our coast line and number of beautiful beaches. Of course there are many other factors that can come into play when it comes to beach safety, but rips are the No.1 killer. They are not hard to identify, and 10 mins observation before entering the surf is much easier than body retrieval.

The darker/calmer areas in the pics are rips. The one with purple dye shows rip movement.

Becoming Old