Healthy Tip #65423: Meditation and Daily-Life

Meditation is not an uncommon term in our American daily lives. We are all familiar with the images of Buddhist monks sitting bald-headed and cross-legged on the mountain side, or the transcendental Jim Carrey floating above his body a la "Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls." <-----
 My healthy tip for this week is to forget all of the stereotypes or send-ups of the traditional idea of meditation. Instead allow yourself slip into the art of staying in the present moment.


Meditation is healthy way to consciously asses and understand all the demanding stimuli that is introduced to our bodies on a daily basis, and you don't need a mountain top to do it. Simple meditation is not primarily a physical act as it is a tool of the mind. It's a way to actively engage your actions, thoughts, feelings and emotions while taking a passive approach to acting upon them. And in my life (or anyone's life) a good dose of meditation is surely needed.

Personally I find time to sit back and think about my current situations when I'm out running the streets, or walking to class, or those last moments of the night before falling asleep. Sometimes it's subconscious, and sometimes I'm fully aware of it, but when I find myself out on the long runs or walking home late from the library, I try and take a step back from my mistakes in the past and my fears for the future to understand exactly where I am in the present. I am not trying to achieve any goals or standards I set for myself, I am just trying to become aware of them.  

So get out their and escape a bit; ride the bike, skip the bus, go grocery shopping... Do whatever you need to do to get a grip on that never-ending question:  
What makes you happy?

Coca-Cola and The Genius of And

Coca-Cola is not the first name you think of when coming up with sustainable companies, but as I listened to Dave Katz (Senior Vice President, Midwest Region, Coca-Cola) speak about his companies relationship to the community it inhabits, a new light shined on the classic coca-cola bottle I've become so accustomed to.

David Katz continually referred to the rhetoric of "The Genius of And." He held it in relation to turning "or" situations into "and" situations. In his case he was referring to thoughts that once held true such as you can either have a heavy, wasteful bottle and have it look good OR you can have a light-weight, post-recycled bottle that is jarring to the eye. Dave Katz applied his theory by stressing that Coca-Cola is no longer accepting "or," and introduced as evidence the 30% plant-based, 100% recyclable, Coca-Cola PlantBotlle. Proof that you can have a light-weight bottle AND have it look good.  

Coca-Cola's theory of "the genius of and" stretches far past their bottle materials. They want people to know that you can recycle AND not go out of your way, that you can use the Earth's resources AND ensure future use for all other generations, and of course you can be a global leader in business AND inspire moments of optimism on an individual level. Coca-Cola may not be the most sustainable company out there, but in terms of progress to a better world, they are among the leaders in the pack. So the next time you are standing at the vending machine or presented with an "or" decision, think of Coca-Cola and uphold The Genius of And. 

Any thoughts of comments are welcome. 

BDL

Writing About Meta-Reference

I have never struggled so hard coming up with content for a specific blog entry as I have done with this one. Meta-Reference (more specifically meta-fiction/film) is something that has long since intrigued me well before I even realized what it was. I had seen movies before that involved meta-reference, but the movie that really got me thinking about writing about meta-reference was Charlie Kaufman's "Adaptation".

As I stayed up late one night, completely pulled into the movie, I began twisting my brains around the idea of character realization and the devices we use to tell our stories. The quick (but confusing) run-down on Adaptation: Charlie Kaufman (character) plays himself (screenwriter) as he sits through the production of his latest screenplay (Being John Malkovich (also a crazy movie)). Charlie Kaufman is hired to adapt a real-life book (The Orchard Thief) into a screenplay. Charlie Kaufman (character/screenwriter) unintentionally includes himself in the screenplay (based on the real book) and what inevitably happens is that the movie (Adaptation) begins to be about Charlie Kaufman (whichever) writing the screenplay for the movie (no-longer based on the book) of which we are already, and have been, watching for an extended period of time. So in brief, Adaptation is a movie about watching itself being written (I think).

This warped my brain around so much that I dedicated time and patience to research and eventually blog about the whole ordeal, only to find that I could not formulate a reasonable way to present the information regarding meta-realization. I threw around "clever" ideas such as referring to myself writing the blog, and then referring to myself about referring to myself writing the blog, and then as a dramatic twist I would refer to myself about referring to myself about referring to myself writing the blog. But I decided that it would be way to confusing.

So finally I decided to perhaps give some solid definitions and examples of Meta-Reference (Fiction & Film). If you are familiar with the movies "Stranger Then Fiction" or "The Never-Ending Story" you are already familiar with Meta-Film. In both of these movies, the main character is simultaneously involved in two distinct plot lines that refer to each other in unity and self-consciously address the devices of story-telling being used. The main characters of the plot reveal that they are aware of their own story being told, thus share an odd similarity with the intended viewer.

Or perhaps either of Stephen King's "The Secret Window" or "The Dark Tower" series. Where in the first of the two, the main character becomes (or is) the main sinister character he himself is writing about, or the ladder where Stephen King himself is an essential plot character who (as a character in the story) needs to finish writing the story (of which he is in) so the main characters can continue on. Real Crazy Stuff.

I may have just confused myself further upon re-reading what I have wrote, but I hope the message gets across. For further insight onto Meta-Realization follow this link: Meta-Reference Articulated


BDL

Read a Book or Two, Or Twenty

"The Grapes of Wrath" is an American made epic that chronicles the Joad Family as they set their sights out west towards the land of opportunity. As one of John Steinbeck's most well-known, and debatably best works of fiction, "The Grapes of Wrath" stands on it's own as a masterpiece that depicts not only the lives of those awe-struck citizens that paved the way into the Great Depression, but also the culture and imminent peril that had swept across our Great Nation during those times.

After reading any work of fiction, once that last page has been turned and the narrative has come to some sort of conclusion, the reader should be left with something. It's not necessarily anything quantifiable, and it certainly has nothing to do with an absence of anything (time, energy, brain-cells, etc.), but it leaves you with something like a scar. Certain readings leave the skinned-knees scar, a little redness but for the most part it will subside, other books however, like "The Grapes of Wrath," leave you physically altered. This sounds terrible at first, but I assure you just the opposite. When I finished this book I was introduced to what it means to be hungry, to be desperate, and to cling onto nothing but hope, because no matter what you own or who you answer to, no one can take away your hope for a better life.

If you have not done so, I urge you to pick up "The Grapes of Wrath," (can be found at your local bookstore, online, or in every high-school and secondary education facility across the nation). Here's an interesting tidbit for your next trivia night: "The Grapes of Wrath" gets it title from the "The Battle Hymn of the Republic," and the title itself is mentioned in text in a later chapter:


"And in the eyes of the hungry there is a growing wrath. In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." - John Steinbeck

Convenience, Camping, and Recycling

While in route to a local cross country ski course, a friend told me the secret to recruiting folks for outdoor recreational pursuits. It largely involved a certain level of convenience provided. He brought up a fundamental truth regarding human consciousness. He talked about the difference between commitment and going, the dissonance in  following through with your beliefs, and basically the difference between “the walk” and “the talk.”

Specifically we talked about how easy it is to answer the question “do you want to go camping?" (or any recreational pursuit). Nine times out of ten, from those who find joy from these activities, the answer will be "yes, of course." The answer however, is completely different then the action. To actual take that step out the door is a much larger and real commitment then agreeing or talking about taking that step. That is where the issue of convenience comes in.

By the time we had made it to the ski course and were pulling on our boots, my buddy explained the process of providing convenience so no one can pull the "weary-of-work" alarm. He said you have to pull up on their doorstep, have the bags and equipment tucked neatly into the backseat, and breakfast in hand. Make it as easy as possible for people to comply. He made a good point, and I'm sure to this day he understands that the concept of convenience stretches well across the human paradigm.

The thought really occurred to me as I walked around the University of Iowa's campus for 40+ minutes with a read-over newspaper in hand and looking for a recycling bin. I eventually located one strategically located underneath a printer, but I wondered how many people (including myself on a tighter schedule) would take the time to seek out the proper reciprocal for their papers, plastics, metals, and cardboards?  It's another issue of convenience. Another issue of the taking the path of least resistance. Very few people (at least in Iowa City) are opposed to Recycling, yet the number of people that are "pro-recycling" don't translate into volume saved or post-consumer turnover. And of course it can be applied farther then properly  placed recycling bins. 

So the question that the environmental engineers, advocates, screwballs, and accountants should be asking is how can we make sustainability convenient for people? How can we make people want to drive less, to consume less, and to dispose less? New ideas are out there and progress is being made, single-stream recycling is making conserving more convenient, but the window is still wide-open for opportunity. And whether or not the climate is truly changing, it is clear to see the culture and mindset towards common-day practices are.

BDL

Life in a Day

In conjunction with Youtube, an editing team, and 80,000 potential director's; a remarkable movie has come into creation. "Life in a Day" is a movie that shows simply what it claims, life in day. July 24th, 2010 to be exact. The concept is that on this particular day thousands of people were instructed to video tape their daily lives while answering a few simple questions such as what are you doing, what is in your pockets, and what do you fear? Cameras were even shipped to third world countries to assure a fair representation of the entire world. And after editing over 4,500 hrs of video, a brilliant project emerged.

This kind of project represents two things: first it is a fantastic representation of the technologic culture we live in and secondly, that no matter who you are, what you are, or where you are; there are millions of people going through the exact same daily struggle as yourself. Never before have we been able to connect on such a global scale, to see the differences between cultures, and to simultaneously be united by them. 


Check it out for free...

A Technology Leap

Undoubtedly over the last 10 years we have made a severe leap in technology. Now more than ever can we share ideas, thoughts, and anything else that canvasses the art of civilization. As a blooming member of the Facebook generation and at the beginning of an era that forgoes home phones for cell phones, it is clear to see that the sails that once fostered the voices of our time have been taken down and replaced with motors. Nothing is more apparent in the matter then the current state of the music industry.

The linear progression of how music has been distributed can seem easy to distinguish. When radio towers first popped up, music as an industry really took off. Record sales and corporations devoted to providing records rose from the ground and over-shadowed nearly everything you listened to. Records were made, distribution was tracked, money was made, and the American public tapped their toes along to the tune. As the emergence of the world wide web came into play, the music industry suddenly got a new face lift.

Napster suddenly took advantage of the seemingly fire-like quality that the internet seems to inhabit, the ability it has to spread information quickly with a few thousands strokes of kindling generated from user interest, to suddenly upturn how we thought about music. Suddenly the listeners were in charge again, they didn't have to read the reviews or shop at the department stores for music, they could click and enjoy uninterrupted, unfiltered music with the click of a mouse. And although Record Industries and a handful of music makers (see Metallica vs. Napster 2001) hated the transition, it was a glorious step for the listener.

Somewhere along the way, or perhaps inherently intertwined from the beginning, a severe problem came along with the collision between art and profit-making. After board-meetings, audience testing, and mass production, certain musical performers started writing music for the charts, and when you begin to write for the #1 spot, you write for no one. An ability to please is different than an ability to communicate, to share ideas, and to paint a canvass that reflects personal meaning or self-sacrifice. It's not just the music industry either, you can see the paint-by-numbers effect in every sequel of a once original movie, in the seventh season of any long-running sitcom, or brain-washed authors writing mysteries without any true mystery behind them.

But back to music. In my opinion and with clear exceptions, the greatest albums produced by most any current band seem to be the ones most early in their career. The reason behind this I suppose is because at the time of recording, these blossoming instrumentalist were artist. They were wide-eyed and dreaming of the stars, they invested personal feeling and consciousness to every note, every lyric, and every single bit of ambition. They dreamed of the money and the fame, but hadn't gotten their first real taste of the forbidden fruit. And then they take off, propel among the stars, and begin writing for everyone (and no one in particular).

With the ability to now download, rip, zip and unzip music, the novelty of creating music is forced to return to the idealized innocence those young-songwriters once had. Suddenly they can begin to write music not for everyone, and especially not for the record companies dastardly intentions, but instead write songs for you and me, the fans, and more importantly while untainted by corporate greed, can write songs for themselves. This will surely crop out many song-writers who prefer to pay the checks and the ones who truly fantasize not about expressing themselves but instead about owning a hot-tub for every floor of their multi-story mansion, and what it will leave us, the listeners, will be truly in our greatest interest, it will leave us with artists.

-B.L.

Perhaps I have fantasized the man too much, but ideally what I want is music artists to embody the soul and power of Bill Withers. Through the rumored discrepancies he has had with his two record companies, the attention he received through popular culture, and most importantly the music he makes, I have concluded in my mind that Bill Withers is the man and he would surely be at the fore-front of the fight against record companies. So please enjoy...





"I write and sing about whatever I am able to understand or feel. I feel that it is healthier to look out at the world through a window than through a mirror. Otherwise all you'll see is yourself and whatever is behind you."
-B.W.