Iona Updates for 2008

http://ionamiller2008.iwarp.com/

http://ionamillermenu.iwarp.com

http://ionatopia.50megs.com

MAY 2008

SCIENCE-ARTIFICER GUILD Int’l

http://science-artificer.iwarp.com/

Alchemy SuperPortal 2008 at

http://spiritualalchemy.iwarp.com

THE AGE OF INTELLIGENCE

http://ionamillermenu.iwarp.com/whats_new.html

MAKE ART, NOT WAR
"Cutting Edge Science;
Bleeding Edge Art"
We are imaginal beings; we view the world through our rich fantasy lives. The intrapersonal process of art and the products of art have different cultural meanings. However, the primary purpose of art as a culture is to externalize and concretize that ephemeral ever-morphing field of the image-scape. We merge subjective and objective through affective, aesthetic experience. Our cultivation of the soul restores the human dimension to experience, destigmatizing imagination as merely fantasy, illusion, dream, or delusory perception.

The untrained mind is a distorting lens, structured by beliefs, myths, and philosophies, even those of so-called rational science. This is so because the mind is in the Imagination, the Anima Mundi, rather than the reverse. We can’t think without images. Multisensory images constantly condition our meaningful perception of the world, inner and outer. They organize our beliefs, thoughts, feelings, and behavior, our responses.

Our images condition our perception and perspective, the way we see. As artists, it isn’t what we see and depict, but how we see it. Traditional art promotes conformity. Interesting art, as distinct from what we could call “sofa art”, has something to say, a unique perspective or point of view that speaks to the observer or participant.
IONASPHERE 2000 Homepage

REALITY GENERATORS

HEARTFUL HEALING
ARTFUL LIVING

I consider myself a SCIENCE-ARTIST:
I write about quantum theories of consciousness, but when we make a personal quantum leap the language of science fails, and we must use the contextual language of mysticism, or the graphic depictions of art. Often I am trying to embody and convey the visionary experience of my inner world through symbolic, impressionistic or abstract renderings that resemble my inner vision as much as possible.

This interface is the locus of the jump from the linear to the nonlinear, from the ego to psyche (spirit and soul), and from "knowing about" to "knowing by virtue of identity with" reality.

WE ARE THAT. Art is the objective embodiment of the subjective imaginal reality in which we are all immersed.

Inspiration should be a verb, not a noun; it is a complex dynamic, a force of Nature and our nature. When someone asks me what “inspires” me and my artwork, I can’t imagine naming any one thing, or list of “things”. It’s like asking my favorite color. I can’t help but answer, ALL, “all of the Above and Below”.

What doesn’t inspire the artistic eye that doesn’t merely “look at”, but “sees through” to the imaginal depth of any given perception or experience? Rather than the impressionistic senses informing the soul, the soul informs the multisensory experience of being. Inspiration means life, the opposite of death. It implies purpose, direction, meaning, ecstasy, creativity.

Any moment can be as inspirational as the next. Inspiration can come from an internal movement or sensation, a love affair with color and form, the awe of an incandescent moment, even the pain of a soul on fire struggling to express itself or the zeitgeist of the times. All ways of looking at reality are imaginative. When we see soul as the background of all phenomena, we become aware of the animating principle.

The soul in depth psychology is an empirical manifestation of imagination, fantasy, and creativity which is always in the process of becoming--images forming, and dissolving, and forming anew. Imagination is the essence of the life forces, both physical and psychic. It is the hidden ground behind symbol, archetype, metaphor, image. These fantasies always permeate our beliefs, ideas, emotions, and physical nature.

Our imagination is not something possessed by our minds, but the fundamental conscious/unconscious field of our psyche, our soul. The imaginal field is not derivative, but the very ground of our existence, conditioning all of our experience. Our psychophysical self embodies our unconscious. It is where the personal encounters the transpersonal and finds “I AM That”. Imagination is the primary irreducible activity of the soul.

The image-making psyche or soul is the primary creative capacity, not only in art. Yet, perhaps, this is what is meant when it is said an artist has ‘soul,’ the capacity to draw on the inspirational mythopoetic taproot to Source, the creative field. Imagination is the basis of soul. In fact, to live the artistic life is to live immersed consciously in that aesthetically-nuanced Reality, to find it virtually inescapable.
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EDGEWORK:

FINDING YOUR ZERO-POINT

http://myzeropoint.50megs.com

THE BIG PICTURE: Purpose, Values, Beliefs, Strategies, Decisions, Action.

All of Nature and our own nature arises from the omnipresent centerpoint of Zero-Point Energy or vacuum fluctuation, beyond energy/matter.  Our whole body flickers in and out of existence at an astounding rate, and each of those quantum recreations is an opportunity to transform utterly.  First we have to let go of the old outmoded self like a snake sheds a skin that is too constricting.  Re-creation emerges spontaneously in a new form as transformation and healing.

Emergent healing is the result of self-organizing criticality, inevitability of global change, restored organismic integrity. Our own personal Zero-Point is our core self which connects us directly with our subspace Source.  When we stray too far from our own core beliefs, self-image and self-expression, we feel like we aren't ourselves.  Once we reconnect with that core we feel that all is in alignment, including our physical, emotional, mental and spiritual domains.  We feel like ourselves, in our own rhythm, and aligned with Cosmos. This is the authentic life.

Change happens at the creative edge of order and chaos, the Known and the Unknown. Where are the boundaries of conscious experience and self, and why do these boundaries exist? What is beyond this mystic veil? How do boundaries, roles and pathology develop in interaction with parents, caregivers and others? In what ways are they conditioned by prevailing systems of belief, philosophy, sociocultural history, and environment?

Chaos Theory shows the more complex a system, the more stable and self-correcting it is. A dynamic system in the critical state produces chain reactions of all sizes and durations. Bifurcations are catastrophic state-changes that occur when the critical state is reached.

How is adult experience and sense of self altered by physical, psychological, social or spiritual development and challenge or crisis? How does subjective experience relate to intersubjectivity? How do changes in conscious experience affect one's sense of self, for example through meditation, mysticism, or in pathological states?

When Staying Safe means Staying Stuck your solution IS the problem, it is time for change. We create an internal map of reality so we can feel safe in our family and environment as children, but it is the viewpoint of a child which becomes outmoded or obsolete. Beliefs can come from the inside or outside. We filter sensory input and focus on certain details and delete others, uconsciously, missing the big picture that can challenge and foster our growth.

What is, IS as much as we may try to spin-doctor, edit or deny it. The old self must "die" for the new self to emerge from the pain and fear. We can focus on this natural filtering process and decide how to focus and what to delete to serve ourselves best. Make and apply the details to the Big Picture by chunking information (hierarchies of detail) consciously in your complex internal map of reality to make what you want.

BEGIN WITH YOUR BELIEFS

Values control and organize our beliefs associated with those values. They tell us what's important and help us create operational rules for our lives. Some are empowering and some are disempowering. Values determine what we spend our time on by creating what's important to motivating us to spend time on certain things.

How we evaluate that can lead to conflicting values. They arouse emotion. When you are totally motivated what feelings do you have? Notice how important it is and find its value. If something isn't on your list of values, you won't be motivated. If there is conflict, sometimes you do one thing while other times you do something totally opposite. You spend more time on the most important values whether they contribute or stand in your way of taking action.

Value hierarchies are created in youth (uncritical, unfiltered imprinting up to age 7; modelling and hero worship at ages 7-14; chosen socialization from society at large, 14-21) but the conflicts can be resolved by focusing on their order of importance. Safety is the biggest criteria for value choices. Parents, peers, media, church, local culture effect us. So do historical events and cultural differences.

The part of you that creates a sense of safety also resists positive change, consciously and unconsciously. Part of us wants to remain the same despite our conscious desires. There is a price to pay for changes because it involves moving through the fear and pain to create the results we want.

The main distinctions in hemispheric processing are between thinking and feeling; intellect and intuition; objective analysis and subjective insight. The two modes of conscious can each be the leader or the follower.  They may also conflict, one half trying to do what the other knows it can do "better." Each  has its own way of keeping knowledge from the other hemisphere, and this is especially true when it comes to memories and patterns locked in from trauma and abuse.

VIEW IT AND DO IT

Our way of storing, categorizing, and retrieving information can be changed. Outgrown maps disrupt the creative process through which we realize our values and beliefs. Changing beliefs, cognitively and behaviorally, is quite possible with a few simple techniques, such as being the Watcher, overwriting old patterns and behaviors. Focus on what you want, not what you don't want.

You can create the life you want as long as you aren't attached to the outcome. Your feelings don't need to be egotistically attached to or identified with the results. It doesn't affect your peace and happiness at the core level, though emotions still arise and fall away. 

Emotions are adaptations that help regulate metabolism and survival. They are inseparable from ideas of reward/punishment, pleasure/pain, approach/withdrawl, personal advantage/disadvantage, even good/evil. You can tell if you are moving away from or toward your values by your background emotions, such as tension/relaxation, fatigue/energy, well being/malaise, and anticipation/dread.

We all have an internal map of reality and our beliefs generate our reality. Our main agenda is to be right about our beliefs. Values are the source and desire for motivation. Motivation comes from values; sense of safety comes from beliefs. If you create a 1 minute movie internally about what you WANT it is more effective than obsessing on what you don't want. It is even more effective when you are in a meditative state.
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The tension between continuity and change is not simply an ancient philosophical conundrum. It is also at the root of the most pressing questions of our time. Scientific theories in physics and cosmology; in biology and evolution; in psychology, neuroscience, and studies of consciousness and personal identity are all informed by questions of change and continuity.

We wrestle with the tensions of tradition vs. innovation in the law, in religious thought, and political life. Culture itself is the expression of the tension between continuity and change. Our daily headlines announce it!

In addition, the pace of change in scientific discovery, religious thought and practice, technological advancement, environmental transformation, and globalized culture is accelerating at such a dizzying rate that our abilities to cope are tested to the limits. But the key to our thriving and flourishing as human beings, perhaps, to our very survival, depends on how we find continuity in the midst of such rapid change.


"There are no unnatural or supernatural phenomena, only very large gaps in our knowledge of what is natural... We should strive to fill those gaps of ignorance." -Astronaut, Edgar Mitchell

I/O
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EYE OH! Productions
SPOOKY MILLER
mIONArt
FRACTACALITY
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EDGEWORK HYP-GNOSIS
X-pertise
PSIONICS
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IO Web

___________________

DISCOVER THE WHOLE
IN YOUR SOUL

MODUS OPERANDI
What is YOUR M.O.?
Motives and Opportunity

In the process of investigation and self-investigation, it is necessary to figure out the M.O. or motivating factors that lead to behaviors. These are our basic life patterns. We all make decisions based on our internal map of reality and unconscious hierarchy of values. Values and beliefs drive our behavior.

If we make our own values and beliefs conscious and focus on them, we can direct our energy toward what we really want in life. Question WHY certain values are important to you, what situations you want and what you want to avoid at any cost. Have a friend prompt you with the comparisons to make it easier. List and relist them as you adjust their relative importance. Don't analyze it and don't overthink it or add any other strategy in this exercise.

THE WHOLE IN YOUR SOUL

1. WHAT IS IMPORTANT ABOUT LIFE?

2. Look again and add more values later; they may be more important than your first thoughts.

3. Think about when you were highly motivated and what values drove you.

4. Which values are most important? Rank them in order and re-compare them.

5. Compare each to all the others: If I could have this and not that...would it work for me?

6. IS THIS ME? What is the thing that generates what I ACTUALLY spend my time on, not what I think I should spend it on?

7. Identify conflicts in values. Am I moving away from any values? WHY is that important? Don't pretend or censor yourself.

8. Frame values positively.

What you FOCUS ON is THE secret of life.  You can EXPAND your internal map of reality. The most important variable is how you spend your time and EVALUATE what you've done.  You can feel bad or guilty if you act on others' values, not your own. Values tell you the deeper structure of how you create your life.  Ask yourself WHY each value is crucial and what you fear without it.  If a caring partner is important, have you had uncaring partners? If you crave financial security what would it mean to be poor? Would you rather be happy and poor or rich and unhappy? What do you want to avoid?  What are you with or without it?

How do you rank the values of happiness, guidance, learning, career, money, reknown, success, good relationships, mentoring, balance, integrity, novelty, excitement, comfort, service, compassion, IF those are some of your values? Is balance or success more important than family or communication? Is peace of mind more important than a partner? than personal growth? Can you have money and integrity at the same time; money and family; money and happiness; freedom and relationship simultaneously? Health, avoiding failure, or avoiding pain?

WHAT IS MOST IMPORTANT IN LIFE? If you could have balance but not family, or family without health or health without family, what would you choose?  Family or security; success or family? Which would you choose first?  Family but not love; fame but not family?  Family or financial security?  Family or social commeraderie?  How do you rank your values?  Is excitement, challenge or opportunity more important than balance, honesty, integrity, security?  Using your own values, make your own comparisons between them to determine your own ranking.  Are there any values you are trying to avoid? Dig deeply within yourself.

Is security more important than challenge, excitement more important than love? Accomplishment more important than romance? Personal fulfillment more important than family? What works for you? What two are in conflict and how do you resolve that dissonance?  Are security and excitement compatible for you?  Are spirituality and financial security incompatible for you?  Can you identify your conflicting values and the dissonance that creates in your mind/body and life?

We all have an M.O., a method of operating in the world at large.

How we act is governed by our motives and opportunities.

Beliefs and values direct our M.O. and WHY we do what we do.

Do you value excitement more than family, peace of mind more than truth or love or financial security; or balance, devotion, learning, honesty, integrity or friendship more than romantic love?  Pair them and ask yourself which you want more, to be loved or to be honest? Can you be dishonest to be loved? Can you be loving if you are dishonest?

Whether you think your top values SHOULD rank that way or not, for example, peace of mind over family, it motivates you anyway.  You need to know yourself, to know your M.O. in an accurate, considered way to achieve the life satisfaction you seek.  If a value leads to another value, it ranks higher. Examine WHY certain values are more important to you.

Are you living an authentic life, doing what you really want? What do you move toward, and what do you move away from?  Is that 90-10% or 50-50%? How much is what you move toward and how much away from?  What makes you depressed, restless, frustrated, anxious? Behind what's important can be something you want to avoid. What's holding you back?  Do you stand up for the values you hold?

If you focus on what you don't want, it's because you had a negative emotional experience, wounding, or trauma.  You watch out for it by focusing on what you don't want - a negative experience.  You focus harder on the path you don't want to go down.  You must heal the emotional trauma and root causes, initial events and neutralize the emotional charge.  This eliminates the emotional charge and you don't move away from it and you can focus on what you WANT.  Once you remove the charge, it seems like something that happened to someone else - you no longer identify with it and aren't motivated by decisions you made about yourself or the world in that root cause. Coping mechanisms (ego) can buffer us from true feelings, creating unwanted outcomes and feelings.

Once you clear these charges, your values list may change; some things may drop off and others change their order, through resolution of conflicts.

______________________________

YOU EMBODY YOUR THOUGHTS

Our bodies are the repository of all of our experiences, shaped and formed by the sum total of external and internal influences.  The body is literally the Unconscious.  We embody our beliefs, thoughts, emotions, experiences.

Clusters of metaphors describe experiences better than any single metaphor can.  Because of the ubiquitous nature of clustering in fractal systems, we suspect that complex dynamics are at work in our inherent experience of ourselves and our reality through epistemological metaphors - how we know what we know, and what it's like.    Thus metaphor is much more than a superficial phenomenon of language--not a means of expression as much as a means of apprehension, which shapes our thoughts and judgements, and structures our language.   

Our perceptual experience is rooted in a few key conceptual categories:  1)  Thought is embodied: it grows out of bodily experience and makes sense in terms of it; we are grounded in perception, body movement, and our physical and social character. 2)  Thought is imaginative: it unfolds spontaneously in terms of metaphor and psychophysical imagery, which is much more than literal.  This imaginal capacity is also embodied indirectly in metaphors and images based on experience, particularly bodily experience. 3)  Thought has gestalt properties:  this is neither a structuralist nor functionalist perspective, but one of radical nondualism.  Self-organization with emergent properties is a descriptor of dynamic processes with a fractal blueprint. 4)  Thought has an ecological structure:  nature follows the path of least resistance in its webwork of synergetic interaction, and the ecology of systems depends on the overall structure which is in constant dynamic motion. 

Thus thought is much more than the mechanical manipulation of abstract or abstracted symbols.  Symbols do not require interpretation, but arise as emergent properties with inherent “meaning.” Thought is strongly rooted in the neurology of the brain, in orientation-sensitive cells, and center-surround receptive fields, the interface of the part with the whole.  The sensory-motor system is fundamental in this orienting, as is metaphor which builds our neural maps.  This allows sensory-motor structures to play a role in even abstract reasoning.