Mental Puzzles and Present-ness

On this blog I have written much about large trends and movements in society itself, but not as much about very present, human-scale issues. Turning one's focus back to the here and now is exactly what this entry is about. You'll hear the wise talk about being present, that is: not fixating on the past and not fretting about the unknown future. That is the goal of the following method, but also being spatially present, as well. If there is something happening, or you believe it to be happening, right now but not in your immediate situation, then it is something to be avoided along with the past and future. If somewhere a deal for ten thousand shares in Google is taking place, but not where you are, it would be best your thoughts turned away from it.

Imagine your mental landscape as a maze. The dead-ends are the fears, delusions, obsessions, and insecurities which can derail and dominate our energies. In the middle are your values, ethical and aesthetic. We might cite our values when in a dead-end in some intellectual grooming to excuse our choices, but not until we dig our way out from the maze's depths can we be our mental identity.

Our journey for a healthy mental state doesn't end there. We can only be the maze center for a moment before we reflect, therefore we must choose quickly to re-focus our attention outward. In our model of the mental landscape the maze is two dimensional and can be seen superimposed upon our bodies. When we are focused internally the orientation is a plane that doesn't intersect the sense organs; imagine the maze starting in your frontal lobes and slanted down through the torso. When we get to, and become, the maze's center we can reorient the mental landscape to intersect the eyes, the skin, let it drift down to touch the nose and tongue, and experience the here and now. Sometimes we don't like where we are, but if that opinion is to mean something we have to live it.

Cyclic Pressures and Shipping

First, my apologies for the absence and thank-you for reading.

In this depression consumers are pulling back on the "extra." One example is the speed of items shipped. Many online ordering services offer a discounted, often free, shipping option which takes the most amount if time to arrive. This most modest option often employs the US Postal Service in the United States.

It would be interesting to know how the percent of online derived business for private porters has been effected. Likewise, how has the US Postal Services position as "shipper of last resort" effected the national revenue at a time of financial austerity.

Transportation Costs

The price of gasoline more than four dollars a gallon in the United States, we've seen this before, it fluctuates. What if four dollars a gallon wasn't an extreme high, but the average? I'm thinking right now about the suburbs and the exburbs, those in the most remote parts of the metropolitan zones. The people who own those houses will use a time share instead of buying the vacation home, will be using discount services like Priceline and air miles more frequently, generally looking for more opportunities to save without curtailing their lifestyles; they will succeed because the percentage of their expenses transportation costs comprise is small.

Those who don't own houses in the suburbs will have to take more drastic measures. Some of which I imagine being a popular strategy is reducing travelling distances and using public transportation. As most of these people don't live in the suburbs, and even less will with four dollars a gallon average prices, working in the suburbs will have high utility penalties. The restaurants, grocers, and hospitality services will need to pay more to maintain, while those small businesses, the non-chain versions in the urban centers, will be able to compete in the labor market at lower prices. There may be a rebirth of urban industry, one that will have to coexist with contemporary pollution and health standards.

The Beauty of Nothing

I've been noticing a strong commonality between Existentialism and Buddhism. In both systems of thought the present is held as the goal and the rest is how to get there and deal with it. One method Buddhism suggests is to be still, in body and mind, but especially mind.
Some have said that this act of not acting is alien to Western people, but I disagree. At least since the television has become a common appliance this has been true. It could be that television is so popular because of a desire for stillness, but television doesn't create a file environment for introspection, which can be intimidating. Stillness, then, can help us grow, so it is more productive than passively brainwashing ourselves. Something to consider the next time you want to relax.

Qualitative Survey of Motorists - Thursday, April 14, 2011

Vast majority, approximately over ninety percent, were single occupied vehicles.
Well over half were driven by women.
When passengers were present, all were women.
The number of drivers of Negro descent were approximately on par with cohort's ratio of the United States population.
The number of passengers of Negro descent were over par with cohort's ratio of United States population.

The survey was conducted on the Eastbound motor vehicles on Morse Road in Columbus, Ohio from 8:00 - 8:10 A.M.

(Sports) Philosophy of Mind

Most team games have the goal of taking the ball away, and keeping it, from the opposing players. This is an incentive to reduce the participation, thus the fun, of competitors. It encourages team work on one side, but doesn't foster inclusion and rapport across the field.
As a side note for all the traditional business network builders: Golf is passive-aggressive, the players engage through the turf.
For a cooperative competition look for games where everyone gets a turn, or at least there is an incentive to give other players an opportunity to participate. Examples include tennis and role playing.

April - Odds and Ends

In the United States April is National Poetry Month. A great opportunity to flex your creative organ, try to write everyday. This is a good excuse to put color and bold ideas in the workplace.

Speaking of bold ideas, the United States federal government has a website for contract opportunities: WWW.fbo.gov