Ground Hog Day Updated--Again, and for the fourth time

This update is short, a short sentence.  The situation remains the same except she never goes out.  We move about the building but always inside. 

She's a warrior, going on to her fifth year since the fall.  Cannot say there's been improvement, but on the other hand there has been only a little decline.

As for me, the carers here allow me to go about my outside activities knowing she's in good hands.  This may be the last of the Ground Hog Day updates. If he sees his shadow, or not, let us hope for at least 6 more years of life.

Memento Mori

 Called a friend to talk about a new idea, and he said, for starters out of the blue, "I've got six months to live." A neighbor with liver cancer, has a year. Another friend, same floor down the hall, died today; "Eaten up with cancer." Carola is on borrowed time.   Any number of my friends and neighbors have already died.  I am the last of my generation on the Lina side.  There are several of the same generation on my mother's side because she had siblings who were younger and they had children.

Various...isms say to remember death, so that's what I am doing.  I wrote another blog post with my beliefs about it, On the Subject of Death, in March 2025.

As for me, I am 86 years old, in excellent health and condition. I should live a long time, genetically 100 years or more, barring any sort of accident.  That's less than fourteen more.  That many ago, would be 2012.  Thanks to my logs, history, and planning files, it can be reconstructed. It would be interesting, although it would be of no practical value.  The present is a good place to start.  Even that is an exercise in futility.

There are a few things of this body that could run amok: heart, lungs, bronchia, knees, feet.  The heart is genetic, the breathing apparatus from smoking, knees and feet from age, wear, and tear.  The only thing to do is continue treatments from appropriate doctors and maintain this healthy lifestyle.  There is no cause for alarm.

This one, the persona who is writing this, will cease to exist at death.  Core-being will continue and be a little better than he was when he came into this lifetime.  There will be some memories that we share that will be retained by him.  A lot of the good we did was important at the time but, even now, much of it has faded away.  The only things that haven't are the effects we've had on others, and, if that happened, those things may have passed along to others.  The most noticeable "others" being family.

Core-being is sufficiently apart from the rest of the being (us) that there's little or nothing known about him, his intentions, his aims.  There have been some hints, during this lifetime, of where he has been in the past, the kinds of activities in which he was involved.  I have identified some of them in past writings, but as to his job, his aim, his goals, we (the rest of the being) don't have a clue.

We can only hope that Core-being will share some knowledge of himself with us before the end of this lifetime.  We can only wonder if, and how, this will occur.  Will it be subtle familiarity as we have experienced in different locations? Will it be Voila! moments when we realize a heretofore unknown fact? Will it be memories, like watching a movie of this being doing what Core-being was doing, but on a more meaningful level of understanding?

We don't know any of this and we may not even trust it if we were to be given such information.  Core-being may pragmatically know all of this and say, "Why bother? when the body dies, it's over, for that one anyway."

Still, we would like to know, but somehow, I don't think we will.  That would imply an emotional level, which Core-being may not have.  The death of this body will be like the death of any other animal that has been a part of our living arrangement.  After a period of grieving, however long or short it may be, Core-being will move on.

If he is, as we suspect, a member of a spiritual hierarchy, he may be assigned to a new host.  There is so much we don't understand, and I'm OK with that.  It is like being outside a large office building and seeing an employee of that company.  There is no clue of the intricacies of that company by seeing one employee out of context.

I think I understand death, and I am emotionally prepared for it.  I'll defer it a long as I can, but when the time comes, I'll go, more or less, willingly.

Apprehending

 

The Genesis account of the creation of Adam and Eve may contain a hint of where it all started.  Earth, before we got to where we are today, is Eden.  It is/was a balanced eco-system with different species providing whatever to keep it that way.

Then something sparked one species, us, to move apart from the rest and do what we are doing.  Perhaps it was a visitor, maybe the influence of the spiritual world.  We continue to evolve, to where?  We don't know, but what we do is not necessarily natural.  Oh, we don't violate natural law, but we bend and twist those laws in ways that they may not have been meant to be.

Something tweaked our genome, and voila! we have become unnatural.  One cannot say supernatural, yet.  That may be coming with the development of Artificial Intelligence and whatever is next.

It is, however, a house of cards.  We are putting all of our eggs in a binary basket, which would disappear without electricity.  We have chosen this path, and one has to wonder if it is a dead-end road.  It all goes away without electricity.  All the knowledge we have accumulated and stored becomes inaccessible.  All the tools that support our lifestyle become useless.  The hand tools of yesteryear are gone.   The night is once again, dark.  The population would shrink drastically, and after disposing of billions of bodies, it would have to be restarted.

(I don't feel I'm doing justice to this idea but I'm mushing on.)

The amount of electricity it takes to accommodate the computer processors that produce comprehensible results is staggering.  And it is causing concern as this is being written.   Bottom line, it may all be unnecessary unless there is some extra-terrestrial goal to be achieved.

Earth doesn't need us to function effectively.  Much of what humans do is detrimental to Earth and all the other living organisms that cohabitate with humans.  So, all of this, that has been done until now and after, could be one big exercise in futility.  It's possible that we could do the same thing with the mental powers that we already have but have not developed.  Are we involved in the ultimate distraction?  Like the guy looking for his lost keys in the area lit by a streetlight.  He lost them elsewhere, in the dark, but was looking for them here because it was lighted.  He may find keys but they won't be his.

The human population continues to increase.  Diseases appear and we develop cures, vaccines, and treatments.  The population continues to increase and much of what we have developed, technically, is to support our artificial lifestyle.  We are all superfluous.  

Are we, have we all been, the cast of a scenario whose plot is unknown to us, and kept secret from us?  And what we think of as unscripted, is actually not?  The lines and blocking are made known to us as the present unfolds.  Setbacks and off script moments are resolved, and the play proceeds to an unknown conclusion.

The Way It Is

It cannot be said that I would be better off concentrating on one thing instead of juggling all of the activities in which I am involved (I refer to them as endeavors).  When I step back and evaluate, I am happy to keep on doing what I have been.  I am at an age when a variety of activities is enjoyable.

And I truly believe that what will be, will be.  So, I've chosen endeavors to keep busy and interested while it all plays out.  I may have said this in previous posts; it is what I believe.  It is what my life experiences have taught me, i.e., have the dream and then let it come true.  In a world of possibilities, we are guided by our dreams to make the choices to realize them, even when we aren't aware of it.

The realization of dreams is not a scientific pursuit, but rather allowing it to happen, recognizing opportunities as they arise, positioning, preparing, asking, negotiating, and making the effort.  It often seems like serendipity, as with acting contacts, but it could be more than that.  

Sometimes it seems like spiritual intervention.

Pithy Comments

 

During the year, from time to time, little sayings popped into my ken.  They may be of some value to others as well.

If it is meant to be, it is.

Thy will be done.

A motto: No more I was, only I am.

Don't let your last shot influence your next.

All of life is trial and error.

Who are you? Who am I? I am he who takes care of you and me.

Confidence is the levee that protects us from the flood of discouragement.

In what I believe is not important to you, but important to me.  So, don't ask.

In what I believe is altered with experience, improving with time.

I truly accept all of myself, right now.

If it can happen, it will.

Core-spirit, third person in this being, make your presence felt. Instill in us joie de vivre for all that we do.

Replace the questions that have a 'W' with a 'T': what-that. When-then. Where-there.

We do what we can to get along in life.

"Don't push me around," she to me.  "I never would," I told her.

"I accept, I trust, I let go, I thank you, good night." Karl Jung

When alone, focus inward (on me); when not, focus outward (on others).

Learning Explained

 I said I wouldn’t do this.  I wrote and published that I wouldn't, but the urge to share these thoughts with you is too great.  As I look back on my life, I see that there were certain times and places that were pivotal.  When certain people, places, and things resonated and could not be denied.  This happened recently when the book, Ultralearning by Scott Young, crossed my path.

As in most of the other instances of this sort, the magnitude of the crossing didn’t register at the time.  I began reading the book, and it is quite good.  It sparked in me some introspection on my learning experiences, which I am going to share.  These are personal and not from the book.  Important to me as I read and study the book, but not related to it, other than it is about learning, my pattern of learning.

Primary question: What is learning? Answer: The journey from ignorance to assimilation, and beyond.  It is a continuum that hardly has a defined beginning, because we are born with intelligence and imagination and begin learning immediately.  Once knowledge, the result of leaning, is assimilated, it has utility that requires only incrementally more learning, unless a conscious decision is made to become a savant in a particular subject or pursuit.

Answering the question, how do I learn, results in identification of 9 patterns:1) Memorization (rote) as in scripts, music, and movements.  2) Practice to hone skills.  3)Methods of finding answers already known by others, such as puzzles and math problems. 4) Reasoning for that for which there are no answers. This learning is in the extended use of reason. 5) Using essays to expound a line of reasoning. 6) Solving, as in resolving issues, problems, and situations that are undone.  7) Studying subject matter unknown to me but readily known and understood by others, such as language, mathematics, history, philosophical works.  8) Training on how to do something using methods, tools, and processes already established.  And 9) Trial and Error, by which a multitude of things are learned.

Thinking is an interesting item, and part of all in this group of 9.  Others involve work with subjects, areas, and endeavors that have not been previously encountered or attempted.  Thinking requires that work previously done be applied in ways that go beyond, extend, what was previously accomplished.

There may be more than 9, but as I look at these, they cover quite a few of the avenues of learning that I have followed.  I don’t intend to explore these in detail, other than to think about them.  It will be interesting to see if the book, Utlralearning, adds to, agrees with, or detracts from them.

Learning can be defined as adding to the store of knowledge one has, and uses, to pursue aim. Ultralearning, autodidactism, is one of several ways to do this, in addition to formal education, training, and thinking.

The bases, from which all learning proceeds in our collective culture are the alphabet, the digits, musical tones, and binary code. Learning, until and beyond now, extends them and allows answers to the basic questions: who, what, where, when, how, and how much.

Problem solving is the application of learning to an unresolved issue.  So, it isn’t learning per se.  I think this to be important. We use what we have already learned, what we already know, to solve problems and, in so doing, we may learn something new along the way.

Furthermore, preceding the basics above, are intelligence and imagination.  These are genetic and have been incrementally developing since their beginning, when the spark of awareness started enlightenment, to get to where we are now.  This development process will allow us to go on, to “infinity and beyond.” (Buzz Lightyear)

It may have all started with a similar eternal process in the timeless, spiritual world, which led to the question: what if a physical manifestation of this spiritual realm happened? Voila!  Here we are.

 

Core-spirit

 Now it is about a month later (8-28-2025).  Shortly after writing the Core-spirit piece, my understanding  of (me) seemed to resolve itself into a simpler one that is more easily understood.  There is a living body, a mind capable of abstract thinking, and reasoning,  a core-being who co-inhabits the body, and core-spirit that instills emotional energy; and all of these are symbiotically connected. 

Each of is a collective noun which, having been given a name, requires much inspirational thought to understand.  We are said to be made in the image and likeness of the spiritual world.  This being, me, has a name just as other hierarchal organizations have a name, Army, Navy, Exxon, NASA, Congress, FBI, ad infinitum.  We use these names to designate them but they are not a homogenous entity, they are comprised of many subordinate parts.  This same thing is true for this being and, furthermore, each of the four parts of this being, me, or you.  Understanding ourselves is as difficult as it is for any other collective noun.

There is still much more to be understood about this being.  The work of other philosophers, religions, and thinkers gives us some food for thought.  Even Gurdjieff said to use such sources as a basis for developing your own understanding of Life and Living.  My understanding is in a constant state of flux.  Some ideas are accepted, become part of my credo. A credo that is important to me, not necessarily to anyone else. C'est tout en ce moment. 

(7-24-2025) First a disclaimer, it is important to note that all of what is expressed is mine.  I have been influenced by two major more recent sources of philosophy, the Roman Catholic Church and The Fourth Way.  Then there is the influence of the myths and fables of the pre-christian religion and philosophy of the Romans and Greeks. And at the same time all of what is considered dogma by these is rejected, yet some of it is used as a reference point for what has become known to me as Life and Living.

In all of my mentation, I have intended to describe what makes the most sense to me.  As stated in one of my By John Lina blog posts, what I believe is not important to you. It is, however, important to me.  Whether or not anyone agrees with me is of no concern, yet I feel it important to express my thoughts in writing, sort of for the record.  

In previous posts, I have argued that there is more to this entity than the body that one can see.  There are links to a spiritual world that exist, recognized or not, links that allow the work of the spiritual world to be realized as it continues to pursue its aim(s).  There is the physical body, to which I refer as the brain-body because the brain is such a major part of it.  It is the only thing that can be seen, touched, felt.  The others are manifested by actions taken by the physical body. The second major component is Core-being, of  the spiritual world.  Both of these are collective nouns, because there is much more to each of them. As they are collective nouns, reference can be made to them, in all of their complexity, in the singular form, e.g., the body, the brain, the mind, Core-being, the soul.

There is now a third component that has only recently come into focus.  It is Core-spirit.  This entity provides the being with an active appreciation of life, the French call it, joie de vivre.  There are approximately 80 English synonyms for joie de vivre, not to be listed here.  

An animate physical body can go through any part of its lifetime without joie de vivre.  It isn't necessary for life.  It is, however, necessary for the enjoyment of it, and the inspiration of others.  The effect we have on other beings is important for mutual success.  Understanding that we can consciously invoke it brings us to a whole other level of expression and influence. 

Becoming aware of this third entity brings with it the possibility of invoking Core-spirit and developing the ability to strongly and constructively influence others.  The Apostles did it at Pentecost and some performers have done this effectively. How to invoke it is still not fully understood.  The first step seems to be to recognize it when it appears, then attempting to recreate the process.  Another is to ask that it manifest itself.

"In the beginning was the word..." This opens the Gospel of John, the Evangelist, and has some interpretations, one of which is literal.  We have The Lord's Prayer, in which we invite the Core-being to do for us. We could also have a prayer that invites Core-spirit to come into our lives.  Saying it aloud, a good idea for all of our prayers because in doing so they become physical expressions, causes us to focus physically on the expression of the invocation.

Such a prayer could be: 

Core-spirit, third person of this entity,  we are grateful to have you make your presence felt.  Instill in us the joie de vivre that will enable emotional and intellectual connection with whom, and to what, we are engaged, for the mutual benefit of all.  Amen.