Eight Versatile Knots

Learning to tie knots is a useful skill that transcends many activities, from outdoor adventures to crafts and household tasks. Starting with a foundational set allows you to cover most needs you might encounter. Here are some versatile knots, each with unique applications, that I recommend: Continue reading

Critique of Some Snapshots

Introduction

A few days ago a new button showed up on my ChatGPT menu “Explore GPTs”.  So far I have tried the Coloring Book GPT and today the Creative Writign Coach.

Below is my first exploration of this GPT.

Jumping Into It

Xxaxx:

Here is a snapshot I wrote a few days back: Ashes lay in piles. Mixtures of dust and lumps. Pale grey quiet in the windless sun. What was once a home, now road-side decoration in a desolate landscape. Nearby wisps of green emerge from the barren soil. Brave resolute life emerges ready to transform the landscape. Continue reading

Gratitude and Thankfulness

Introduction

Why did I set sail on this voyage into the nuanced differences between gratitude and thankfulness?

In working with the exercises in Gratefuling – A Stairway to Bliss, it came to my attention that focusing on memories of thankfulness were not very successful in evoking gratitude. Those memories just didn’t “get me there.”

I could feel a difference between gratitude and thankfulness. But, the exact nature of the difference eluded me.

So, I went on a short collaborative discourse with Vera da Muse – a.k.a. ChatGPT. Continue reading

Forgiveness: There and Back Again

Introduction

Below is a conversation on the topic of “forgiveness.”

It is tempting to edit the conversation to remove the various formulaic aspects inherent in chatbot communications. Perhaps even distill the whole thing into a few paragraphs of pithy verbiage packaged into a truthbit.

What are truthbits? They are like tidbits. But, instead of being bits of tid, they are bits of truth.

But, alas, I don’t expect that folks get much value from truthbits. They have gone stale offering little nutrient value.

One could say that the real value of a blog is in the work of following a path of unfolding that leads step-wise through a process of reasoning. That value of any conclusion pales in comparison to the benefit of having taken the journey.

Why? The answer to this is in the nature of distributed networks in the brain. Meta-cognitive functions are good. Meta-cognitive functions involve distributed networks. Distributed networks are strengthened through usage. Ergo, processes that exercise the meta-cognitive functions are good.

All by way of saying, I am more and more inclined to leave most (if not all) of a conversation in the blog.

So here it is: Continue reading

It Is The Journey

Introduction

This blog is a bit of a journey that brings us around to a fine view of the expression: “It is the journey not just reaching the destination.”

Please note that the above expression is a modified version of “It is the journey not the destination.” The reason for this modification of the original expression is because destination can be taken as the final end point in a journey. Or, destination can be a word used to indicate the compass needle of the journey. For me both the journey and journey’s compass needle have significant importance. More about that in another blog.

If you like, you can begin delving into that by pondering the dual use of the word “destination” as both the end point and the compass needle.

In any case, let’s dig  into this blog. Continue reading

A Few Outtakes

Outtake #1

What if there is only mud and rock? What if we drive through a mountain and find nothing? What if there is no spirit and spiritual is just a made up concept? What if dirt is dirt, and there is only body and no soul, no essence nor higher being?

If there is only body and no soul, then there is only this life. There is no great beyond. Nor, is there a so-so beyond or beyond of any sort. This is it. Continue reading

Four Guiding Principles

prin·ci·ple
noun
plural noun: principles
def: A foundational assumption or postulate that serves as a starting point for a system of thought, behavior, or chain of reasoning.

It’s worth noting that principles in science often stand until evidence challenges them and forces a reconsideration and refinement. In the realm of mathematics and physics, clarity and precision in definitions are crucial. By framing principles as “foundational assumptions” or “starting points,” it acknowledges the iterative and evolving nature of our understanding in these fields.

That said, I have sifted through my own beliefs, views, perspectives, and thoughts on the matter (whatever the matter may be) and have come up with four principles are integral to my working construct. These four principles reflect my guiding principles. Continue reading