I was reading about the mythic structure of "Hero's Journey" so that I could apply it to the "Hunt for the Chakra Jewels" DVD to try and make the story behind the treasure hunt more compelling. I got a good guide about how to apply the archtypes and motivations from a book called "The Writer's Journey" with tips about putting the stages of the journey into 3 Acts and how to put the high points of the stages into dramatic plot points to sustain interest throughout the 3 Acts. That is a better framework to making the story more cohesive throughout all the stages of the Hunt. Also making the puzzles and clues relate better to the story if they are put into parts of the journey. I figured I could use the archtype of the Herald as the representative of the Gamemaster and that would be a better name for character. So that the 1st Act would be the stage of "The Call to Adventure" and the hook to get the people that bought the DVD to identify with the cause of embarking on the quest and interested enough with the story to put some effort into solving the puzzles. I can use the Angel of Death in the Tarot Card as a archtype of The Shadow to show the fears and hestitations to the Hero would have to take up the challenges to clarify the stakes of trying to transcend Death. The hazards of leaving the Ordinary World and entering the Special World with all the rewards to be earned making the effort worthwhile. I could also use The Empress Tarot card as an archtype of the Ally to aid the Heroes that buy the DVD to impart gifts that help them on their quest and the Justice Tarot card as a Mentor to give them training in the rules of the Special World of the treasure hunt. That will help sustain the interest over the length of the hunt since it will maintain the dramatic tension over the 3 Acts because the hunt will include all the stages of the journey when I give all the characters and archtypes an arc of progress to follow I can put the stages of Act I on the DVD, Act II in the search for the Keys and Act III opening the locks and finding the prizes. The DVD will include the stage "The Call to Adventure" then the webpage with the chakras clues will include "The Refusal of the Call" stage and buying the stuff at CafePress will be the "Crossing of the First Threshold" stage with the Temperance as the Shapeshifter and the Star Tarot card as the Trickster archtypes providing the roles of the Threshold Guardian as tests to show commitment to the quest
The book goes into some detail about the origin, purpose and value of cathersis that is what I think is important to give the treasure hunt a more compelling purpose than just winning the prizes
With the current economic crisis finally showing the failure of the "greed is good" strategy of only focusing on the bottom line for short term profit while ignoring the responsibilities of more than selfish interests. Perhaps it is time for more people to embrace a more efficient ehtical system that includes more options in order to get the economy working again with a lot more long term stability.
Hopefully this will point out how inept and mistaken the strategies of being selfish are and the consequences of the disease of Boomeritis when people only focuse on one side of the situation and forget the balance of the other.
For example in the field of Health Care, when HMOs focus only on the profits of the business then services they are supposed to provide suffer from neglect in quality for their customers because they are only concerned with the least cost, not the value the the customers are getting.
The people on the business side get rich, but the customers undergo substandard service which impacts their health and so the HMO become parasites that feed off the host of their customers but ultimately kills them to move on to others.
In the practice of considering only one side of just Depth, The Borg are the ultimate facists since they oppress all holons below them and adapt them to serve their purposes. The Borg take pathological hierachies to an extreme because they are too arrogant to allow themselves to be part of another whole, they only want to be just a whole period. They don't consider anything to be larger than themselves or share in the communion with fellow holons in the hierachy, they just want to dominate them with their own agency. The Borg focus on only power replaces communion, domination replaces communication and oppression replaces reciprocity. Any attempt at balance that doesn't fit their narrow idea of perfection is considered irrelevant.
I think a good way to get people interested in the video game would be to highlight the benefits of applying the Integral Life Practices to everyday situations. By having exercises, puzzles and quests to motivate the players to explore the Basic Moral Intuition by figuring out how to implement different degrees of the Depth and Span of Holons, it will give the practice in going beyond the usual reality tunnels of black and white choices to give them experience in choosing between more options.
In the MMORPG they could start out as holons at low level of matter like atoms and develope their characters through each successive level of complexity making choices of the 4 drives of holons along the way then as instincts of life and different degrees of Depth and Span are developed they could make choices based on the Basic Moral Intuition to practice what they are like at each level of perspective. So that when the more inclusive levels of consiousness and greater depth are achived they have more and more options of Depth and Span to choose from.
Ken Wilber’s Twenty Tenets are:
1. Reality is not composed of things or processes, but of holons, which are wholes that are simultaneously parts. 2. Holons display four fundamental capacities: a. self-preservation (agency) b. self-adaptation (communion) c. self-transcendence d. self-dissolution 3. Holons emerge. 4. Holons emerge holarchically. 5. Each holon transcends and includes its predecessors. 6. The lower sets the possibilities of the higher; the higher sets the probabilities of the lower. 7. The number of levels which a hierarchy comprises determines whether it is ‘shallow’ or ‘deep;’ and the number of holons on any given level we shall call its ‘span.’ 8. Each successive level of evolution produces greater depth and less span. 9. Destroy any type of holon, and you will destroy all of the holons above it and none of the holons below it. 10. Holarchies co-evolve. The micro is always within the macro (all agency is agency in communion). 11. The micro is in relational exchange with macro at all levels of its depth. 12. Evolution has directionality: a. increasing complexity. b. increasing differentiation/integration. c. increasing organization/structuration. d. increasing relative autonomy. e. increasing telos.
According to Wilber, the Twenty Tenets are an attempt to summarize and draw some basic conclusions from dynamic systems theory and the contemporary evolutionary sciences. Calling them "tendencies of evolution" or "propensities of manifestation," the Twenty Tenets operate throughout the three great domains of evolution: the physiosphere, the biosphere, and the noosphere (or matter, life, and mind).
In his presentation, Leonard pointed out that what is both significant and striking about Wilber’s Twenty Tenets is that they describe regularities stretching from the big bang all the way up to exalted spiritual states of consciousness in humans. Here are some are some of the highlights:
Basic Terms
Wilber uses the terms "holons" and "holarchy" throughout the Twenty Tenets. The author of The Ghost in the Machine (1976) Arthur Koestler originally coined the term "holon" to refer to that which is a whole in one context but simultaneously a part in another. For example, the word "bark" is a whole because by itself it has a recognizable and independent meaning. However, in the sentence "the bark of a dog" the word "bark" has a context-specific meaning, which would be different in a separate context, such as "the bark on a tree." The word "bark" thus can be both a whole by itself and a part within the larger context of a sentence. "Holarchy" refers to the embedded nature of holons. For example, the whole sentence "the bark of a dog scared me" can simultaneously be part of a yet larger whole, such as a paragraph. And, in turn, the paragraph can be part of an essay, and so forth.
Tenet 1
Reality is not composed of things or processes, but of holons, which are wholes that are simultaneously parts of other wholes with no upward or downward limit. Since reality is not composed of wholes nor of parts, but of whole/parts, then this approach undercuts the old argument between atomism (all things are fundamentally isolated individual wholes that interact by chance) and wholism (all things are merely strands in a larger web). For Wilber, both of these views by themselves are incorrect. This approach also undercuts the argument the materialists and idealists. Reality is not composed of sub-atomic particles (materialism) nor is it composed of ideas, symbols, or thoughts (idealism). It is composed of holons. According to Wilber, holons can be expressed in material, spiritual, or purely abstract terms. Take mathematics, for example. The various paradoxes that have arisen in Gödel’s Incompleteness Theorem take us into an irreversible, ever-expanding, no upper limit mathematical universe. The totality of mathematical sets can’t be completely determined. If they could be, we could take that a set and continue to generate still larger sets from it. Sets are arranged in a transfinite hierarchy. In mathematics, what we see as today’s wholes may very well become tomorrow’s parts.
Tenets 2 a,b,c,d
2 a: Self-preservation (or agency). A hydrogen atom in a suitable context can keep on being a hydrogen atom. It displays self-preservation in the simple sense of maintaining identity or agency across time. And maybe that is quite remarkable when you think about it. A holon in a living context is an even more remarkable, sophisticated agency. The term autopoiesis refers to how a holon maintains its pattern or structure even as its material components are exchanged. It assimilates the environment to itself. In short, holons are defined not by the stuff of which they are made but by the pattern they display.
2 b: Self-adaptation (or communion). A holon functions not only as a self-preserving whole but also as a part of a larger whole. The partness aspect of a holon is displayed by its capacity to accommodate, to register other holons, to fit into its existing environment. Even electrons accommodate themselves, for example, to the number of other electrons in an orbital shell. This is not to imply that taboo word "intentionality." It is just the capacity to react to the surrounding environment. So, think of these two opposing tendencies—agency and communion: agency as the self-preserving, self-asserting tendency which expresses wholeness and relative autonomy; and communion as the participatory boding, joining tendency which expresses partness in relationship to something larger. An excess of either tendency can deform or kill a holon, whether the growth of a plant or of the patriarchy.
2 c: Self-transcendence. When an oxygen atom and two hydrogen atoms are brought together under suitable conditions, a new and in some way unprecedented holon emerges. This is not just a communion, adaptation, or association. It is a transformation resulting in something novel and emergent. This is what Whitehead calls creativity, the category necessary to describe any other category. This transcendence can result in small or quite large steps in organic evolution in what is called grade. Here, Darwinian gradualism is replaced by Simpson’s quantum evolution, Eldridge and Gould’s punctuated equilibrium, and Michael Murphy’s evolutionary transcendence. In any case, self-transcendence means nothing more or nothing less than that the universe has an intrinsic capacity to go beyond what came before.
2d: Self-dissolution. Holons that are built up through vertical self-transcendence can also break down. When holons dissolve or become unglued, they tend to so along the same vertical sequence along which they were built up.
Leonard pointed out that there is a constant tension among the above four tendencies. For example, helium may be called inert, but a different description is that helium does not want to join into communion (tenet 2b) with other elements.
Tenet 3
Holons emerge. Owing to the self-transcendent capacity of holons, new holons emerge. Sub-atomic particles, atoms, molecules, polymers, cells, and so on, the emergent holon is in some sense novel. They possess properties and qualities that can’t be strictly and totally deduced from their components, and therefore they and their descriptions can’t be reduced without remainder to their component parts. Emergence always means indeterminacy is sewn into the very fabric of the universe. Quoting from Sex, Ecology, Spirituality (p. 47) Leonard read,
Emergence is neither a rare nor an isolated phenomenon. As Varela, Thompson, and Rosch summarize the available evidence: "It is clear that emergent properties have been found across all domains—vortices and lasers, chemical oscillations, genetic networks, developmental patterns, population genetics, immune networks, ecology, and geophysics. What all these diverse phenomena have in common is that in each case a network gives rise to new properties. . . . The emergence of global patterns or configurations in systems of interacting elements is neither an oddity of isolated cases nor unique to [special] systems. In fact, it seems difficult for any densely connected aggregate to escape emergent properties." (Francisco Varela, et. al., The Embodied Mind, pp. 88-90.)
Tenet 4
Holons emerge holarchically. That is, hierarchically. That is, as a series of increasing whole/parts. Organisms contain cells but not vice versa. Cells contain molecules but not vice versa. Molecules contain atoms but not vice versa. That "not vice versa" at each stage is what constitutes unavoidable asymmetry and hierarchy/holarchy. Each deeper or higher holon embraces its junior predecessors and then adds its own new and more encompassing pattern or holon. This is Whitehead’s famous dictum, "the many become one and are increased by one." Quoting from Sex, Ecology, Spirituality (p. 49) Leonard read,
Bertalanffy put it very bluntly: "Reality, in the modern conception, appears as a tremendous hierarchical order of organized entities, leading, in a superposition of many levels, from physical and chemical to biological and sociological systems. Such hierarchical structure and combination into systems of ever higher order, is characteristic of reality as a whole and is of fundamental importance especially in biology, psychology and sociology." (Ludwig Bertalanffy, General Systems Theory, pp. 74, 87.)
It is this idea of hierarchy and holarchy that has put Wilber at odds with the deep ecologists and ecofeminists.
Tenet 5
Each emergent holon transcends but includes its predecessors. Each newly emergent holon preserves the previous holons themselves but negates their separateness or isolatedness. As Hegel said, "to supercede is at once to preserve and negate." In other words, all the lower is in the higher but not all the higher is in the lower. Hydrogen atoms are in the water molecule but the water molecule is not in the atom. We might say the water molecule pervades or permeates the atom but it isn’t actually in it. Just as all of the word is in the sentence but not all the sentence is in the word. The higher holon preserves the lower, but it does somehow limit freedom. Once in a sentence a word can’t take on alternative meaning. Once in a molecule the hydrogen atom can’t go flying around in space and become part of a proto-galaxy.
Tenet 6
The lower sets the possibilities of the higher; the higher sets the probabilities of the lower. Even though the higher goes beyond the lower level, it does not violate the law or pattern of the lower level. It can’t be reduced to the lower level or determined by the lower level, but neither can it ignore the lower level. Your body follows the laws of gravity. Your mind follows other laws, such as those of symbolic communication and linguistic syntax. But if your body falls off a cliff, your mind goes with it. Clearly, the lower sets the possibility of a large framework within which the higher has to operate, but to which it is not confined. As for the higher restricting the possibility of the lower, here is how Sheldrake puts it (Quoted from Sex, Ecology, Spirituality, p.55),
At every level, the fields of the holons are probabilistic, and the material processes within the holon are somewhat random or indeterminate. Higher-level fields may act upon the fields of lower level holons in such a way that their probability structures are modified. This can be thought of in terms of a restriction of their indeterminism: out of the many possible patterns of events that could have happened, some now become much more likely to happen as a result of the order imposed by the higher-level field. This field organizes and patterns the indeterminism that would be shown by the lower-level holons in isolation. (Rupert Sheldrake, The Presence of the Past, pp. 120-121.)
Tenet 7
The number of levels which a hierarchy comprises determines whether it is ‘shallow’ or ‘deep;’ and the number of holons on any given level we shall call its ‘span.’ Let us arbitrarily assign atoms a depth of 3 (since they contain components of at least 2 previous levels). Let us imagine a time in the early universe when there were only atoms and no molecules. In that case, we can say that atoms have a small depth but an enormous span stretching through the existent universe. Thus depth equals 3 and span equals zillions. When molecules first emerged, they had a depth of 4, but initially a very small span. When there is greater vertical dimension to the holon, then there is greater depth to that holon.
Tenet 8
Each successive level of evolution produces greater depth and less span. The greater the depth of a holon, the more precarious its situation. Since its existence depends on the existence of a series of other holons internal to it, and since the lower holons are components of the higher, there can’t be more number of the higher than there are number of components. The number of water molecules will always be less than the hydrogen and oxygen atoms in the universe. The number of cells in the universe will always be less than the number of molecules in the universe. Also, the span of mental holons is much less than the span of living holons. This is called the pyramid of development. Addition 1 to Tenet 8: The greater the depth of a holon, the greater its degree of consciousness. In the case of the simplest holons, Wilber is not referring to consciousness as humans experience it, but is following the lead of major theorists, such as Spinoza, Leibniz, Schopenhauer, Whitehead, Aurobindo, and Schelling, who explicitly recognize the "within" of the universe. Whithead’s prehension, for example, is a sort of rudimentary consciousness. This extends all the way up to high spiritual states, and this makes it an extremely ambitious scheme. One that can’t be proven by our present methods of science.
Tenet 9
Destroy any type of holon, and you will destroy all of the holons above it and none of the holons below it. This is an important tenet because it provides a simple test as to where in the holarchy any holon stands. Let’s again take our familiar holistic sequence, sub-atomic particles, atoms, molecules, cells, and so on. Here each member includes its predecessor(s) but not vice versa. And thus each successive number is indeed more encompassing or thus more holistic. If we destroyed, for example, all the molecules in the universe, we would also destroy all the cells in the universe—all the holons above molecules. But atoms and subatomic particles would or could still exist. None of the lower holons would have to cease existing. For this tenet, Wilber introduces two words representing two qualities that operate in an inverse relationship: fundamental and significant. The more fundamental a holon is, the less significant it is and vice versa. That is, the less depth a holon has, the more fundamental it is to the cosmos, because it serves as a component to so many other holons. Atoms, for example, are very fundamental because molecules, cells, organisms, life, and mind, and higher states, all depend on them. At the same time, the less depth a holon has the less significant it is to the cosmos because it embraces as its own component so little of the cosmos. Primates, as a counter example, are not very fundamental holons because neither atoms nor molecules depend upon them, but they are very significant because they represent and contain atoms, molecules, and cells. They signify more of the cosmos.
Tenet 10
Holarchies co-evolve. Holons don’t evolve alone, because there are no alone holons (there are only fields within fields within fields). This principle is often referred to as "co-evolution," which simply means that the "unit" of evolution is not an isolated holon but a holon plus its inseparable environment. Even though an individual holon exists inseparably within its social environment, its defining factor is its own particular form or pattern. To the degree that we can reasonably recognize that pattern, we will refer to an individual holon. Its environment we will call the social holon.
Tenet 11
The micro is in relational exchange with macro at all levels of its depth. Take a human being as an example using the three levels of matter, life, and mind. All these levels maintain their own existence through a network of relational exchanges with holons at the same depth in the environment. The physical body exists in a system of relational exchanges with other physical bodies in terms of gravitation, material forces, energies, light, water, and so on. The human race reproduces itself physically through food production and consumption. Humanity reproduces itself biologically through emotional-sexual relations organized by family and appropriate social environment and depends on a whole network of other biological systems. Finally, human beings reproduce themselves mentally through exchanges with cultural and symbolic environments, the very essence of which is the relational exchange of symbols with other symbol exchangers. In short, as holons evolve, each layer of depth continues to exist and depend upon a network of relationships with other holons at the same level of structure and organization.
Tenets 12 a,b,c,d,e
At this point in his presentation Leonard opened up the floor to the other participants for questions and conversation, and thus he did not cover the last five of the Twenty Tenets in detail. Briefly, those last five are:
Evolution has directionality: a. increasing complexity. b. increasing differentiation/integration. c. increasing organization/structuration. d. increasing relative autonomy. e. increasing telos.
I was reading a book on writing and the patterns of the basic plots they have endured throughout the recorded history of stortelling and I was thinking that a lot of them depend on the level of development of the characters. Especially in the plots of revenge like Medea and Fortunado went to extremes because they were consumed by an obsession for revenge, it was those flaws of extremes in their personalties that influenced their destinies. But what if they had been able to adapt to the flaws in their characters? Wouldn't that have changed their destiny? By evolving to a more inclusive center of gravity that would change their reactions to circumstances they experienced and altered the course they chose to avoid those extremes of obsession that lead to the extravagant methods of revenge. If they had done some breathing excercizes as part of a full time yoga practice then they might have found other ways to deal with the situations they were in that were better than killing her children or emtombing someone inside a brick wall.
Including state training in the plots of stories can also show how the characters adapt to the expanding of identity and tell the story from perspective of the ladder which desribes the different levels of development of consciousness, the climber which describes the stages of the personality and the worldview. For example the plot of the story could include a character arc that show someone starting at the sensoriphysical stage of the 1st Fulcrum with mostly survival and pleasure needs of naive hedonism and go through situations that make them adapt and evolve their destiny to go the vision logic stage of the 6th Fulcrum with self-actualization needs of individual principles.
If the Emotive interactive interface was added to the telling of the story then it could adapt to the mood of the audience and through state training what they identified with could evolve as the characters met the challenges in a more inclusive way from higher developmental levels. Also in stage training the Emotive interface could assist in the evolution of the growth through each fulcrum since it can interact with the stories and show different outcomes of the phases of each fulcrum to reflect those outcomes as different effects on the stories. A fulcrum is simply a crucial fork in the development road and the self has to deal with the choices at that fork. How it does so in each case decides its subsequent destiny. The self must step up to each rung in the basic ladder and that step is the fulcrum at that stage. At each rung in the ladder of the self's growth and development, it has four basic choices about which way to go in its development. Too much or too little of any of these four drives and the self gets into pathological trouble and the types of pathology depend on which of the nine basic rungs the trouble occurs at.
1. self-preservation (agency) 2. self-adaptation (communion) 3. self-transcendence 4. self-dissolution So that gives different reactions depending on the mixture of the four drives at any fulcrum to show the changes in the characters and the effects of those different mixtures have on the plot of the stories. Every fulcrum has a 1-2-3 structure. 1 is that the self evolves, developes or steps up to the new level of awareness and it identifies with that level becoming "one" with that level. 2 is that it then begins to move beyond that level, differentiate from it, dis-indentify with it or "transcend" it. And 3 is that it indentifies with the next higher level then centers itself there. The new rung is acutally resting on the previous rungs so they must be included and integrated into the overall expansion. That integration or inclusion is the third and final subphase of that particular fulcrum.
Fulcrum 1: Introduction of the physiosphere Phase 1=self identified with the physical world or fixation causing adualism through lack of body boundary Phase 2=Differentiates body with other objects or fails to establish a clean and clear boundary. Phase 3=Integrates the physical self or alienates, dissociates and represses parts of the self.
Fulcrum 2: Introduction of the biosphere Phase 1=emotions identified with those around them or is fixated in narcissism. Phase 2=differentiates emotions from others or lacks a sense of cohesive self. Phase 3=integrates the emotional self or alienates and represses parts of them.
Fulcrum 3: Introduction of the noosphere and linguistics Phase 1=the self identifies with images, symbols and concepts or fusion with the labile emotional self Phase 2= differentiates the mind and the ego from bodily feelings or dissociates impulses into nuerosis Phase 3= integrates the body or represses strong emotions into mental structures such as the superego
The best way to get people interested in the Hunt DVD is to use the theme of a quest like in Dungeon and Dragons and get them involved in the story to follow along while solving puzzles and gathering items they need. I can have a silver robot as a representative of the Game Master call for help to find the chakra jewels, but I need some motivations to get people invested in participating. I can tie in some of the background of The Writer’s Nightmare but it has to be adapted to fit in with the quest in the DVD so it needs some fresh goals.
The motivation should probably come from a developmental sequence like a rescue of someone like the damsel in distress or restoring artifacts to rightful places like Indiana Jones, saving the cosmos from danger like in Tomb Raider. The Illuminati always make great villains so thwarting their evil schemes would be a good incentive to take on the challenge. If it was something like preventing them from gathering objects to dominate the world like the boxes of Orden in the Legend of the Seeker that would be exciting to follow. I liked the way the plot for the National Treasure movies went with all the clues to advance the search so I should include a lot of that in there.
Then I need reasons that the chakras and the tarot fit together with the plot of the Illuminati plan of domination and why the jewels were hidden the way they were. I could have the jewels form a dimensional gateway and time portal when put together since they have the piezoelectric effect of photonic crystals that emit Čerenkov radiation. That would be why the Illuminati are after them since they would want access to the means of traveling with them. There is a rich history behind the tarot that I can use as a framework since it has a lot of symbolism and hidden meanings and I can use those symbols as the holders of the jewels they need to gather.
Crown Chakra Wheel of Fortune Third Eye The Star, The Moon Throat Chakra The Magician Heart Chakra Justice, Temperance Solar Plexus Chakra The Sun Sacral Plexus Chakra The Empress Root Chakra Death
The flag of Death, the scepter of the Empress, the sunflowers of the Sun, the sword of Justice, the wand of the Magician, the jugs of the Star are all put together in the Wheel of Fortune to open the portal.
Because the charkas represent energy the Illuminati would covet that energy to fuel their takeover bid and the clues to harnessing that energy could be hidden in the Tarot cards. Those clues could lead to the locations of the keys that unlock the secrets of where the jewels are to give them the power they crave.
It makes a good sequel to The Writer’s Nightmare since the Illuminati failed to get the gyrotwister so they found another way to get access to the Omniverse and all the other dimensions in order to carry out their plans to immanentize the eschaton and achieve total domination from it.
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In the DVD I could have clues related to the Tarot cards and the chakras with links to merchandise on Café Press that had images of those tarot cards with only one of them being the correct item that had both meaningful code words that followed the plot in the description so unless they bought that item among all the others on that page they wouldn’t get the coordinates for the place on the Universe Cube for the next clues to advance for the key.
On the other items I would only have one or the other code to make it harder to find the correct item. That makes it more challenging since the puzzles on the DVD will give codes that relate both to the symbolism of the Tarot cards and finding the right merchandise. Then the coordinates on the merchandise will fit in with the plot of thwarting the goals of the Illuminati and giving the clues to the locations of the keys by showing different stories in the plot summary and places on the Universe Cube. Plus giving the background embedding some of those clues in the comic book and DVD of the Nightmare.
I can also use the symbolism of relating the charkas to astrology, yoga and the glands in the body to give meaning to the clues. For example I can have the coordinates on one of the items of merchandise point to the story about Argon and Cyan meeting personifications of the signs of the Zodiac.
Aries is associated with the Manipura, or solar chakra. Located right under the ribs and traditionally visualized as being yellow, the solar chakra is the center of self-confidence, power and charisma. If those qualities sound familiar to the charming Ram, it's no surprise!
Sexy Taurus is all about the Swadisthana, or sexual chakra, which has to do with sociability and, of course, sexuality. Colored orange and located just behind the pelvic bone, this chakra helps make the Bull particularly good at the fine art of seduction.
Muladhara, or the root chakra, is Gemini's special spot. Located at the perineum, near the tailbone, the root chakra is red, and is a center for physical energy, control and stability. The Twins, of course, are always seeking stability.
Cancer's chakra is the Muladhara, the root chakra. This red-colored energy center, located at the perineum, near the tailbone, is all about physical energy, control and stability -- all issues sensitive Cancer is deeply concerned with.
Leo is always one sexy sign, with their fiery spirit and go-get-it attitude. So it's no surprise to anyone who's ever loved a Leo that the Swadisthana, or sexual chakra, is the chakra the Lion is associated with. Colored orange and located just behind the pelvic bone, the Swadisthana is the center for sociability and sexuality
Virgo's chakra is the Manipura, or solar chakra. Located right under the ribs and traditionally visualized as being yellow, the solar chakra is the center of self-confidence, power and charisma -- not too surprising for a grounded, powerful sign like Virgo.
Libra is associated with Anahata, the heart chakra. The center both for the receptivity to and the giving of love, the heart chakra is located at the center of the chest and is thought of as colored green. Balanced Libra is, naturally, deeply concerned with the processes of giving and receiving love.
Visshuda, the throat chakra, is the energy center most strongly associated with Scorpio. Responsible for intuition and contact with other worlds, this deeply mystical spot is colored blue and located at the throat. No wonder passionate Scorpio knows so much, thanks to these intuitive powers.
Sagittarius is all about Ajna, the forehead chakra, which is located, as its name suggests, at the forehead and is deep blue. Ajna, responsible for mental ability, logic, intellectual creativity and memory, helps the Archer with their amazing abilities to synthesize information and ideas
Capricorn's association is with Ajna, the forehead chakra, located at the forehead. A deep blue, color Ajna is the spot where logic, intellectual creativity and memory are centered, and influence Capricorn's strong mental abilities.
Intuitive, other worldly Aquarius is most closely associated with Visshuda, the throat chakra. Responsible for intuition and contact with other worlds, Visshuda is colored blue and located at the throat.
Loving Pisces is most closely bound to Anahata, the heart chakra, responsible both for receptivity to love and to the giving of love. The Fish's energy center is located at the center of the chest and is colored green.
I’m wondering if there is a recursive loop in a pattern of behavior starting in a different form. I burnt my arm from boiling water with spaghetti with some second degree burns and I got some déjà vu all over again since it reminded me of the burn I got from scalding hot spaghetti about this same time last year.
The more I thought about it, the signs seem to be pointing to a repeated pattern since I was feeling pretty good from January to April last year with the potential of the job at MP3D making my prospects look up then around the time I got that burn it seemed to send me into a downward spiral of suicidal depression in May that I didn’t pull out of until last November.
This year I had the lot less of the potential of the Affirmations DVD but it still was a sign that things were looking up and I got the burn again so I’m thinking that I better take some steps to avoid that downward spiral from happening again since I certainly do not want to go through that hellish nightmare this year.
I also had that idea for the treasure hunt DVD last year at this time but since I had too much pain from the headaches and no energy to put into trying to work out the creative details I put it off until I could troubleshoot the problems and find some solutions.
The Integral Troubleshooting I did last July did seem to work out since I am in much better shape this year and have better methods to make more progress and focus on achieving my goals that have been clarified from the confusion of alternatives I had last year.
I am making a lot more progress on the creative details of the treasure hunt DVD that I think I'll call "The Hunt for the Chakra Jewels" and I have a lot of the story to go with the challenge of gathering the items for the prizes.
I can tie in some of the background of "The Writer’s Nightmare" but it has to be adapted to fit in with the quest in the DVD so it needs some fresh goals. If it was something like preventing them from gathering objects to dominate the world. Then I need reasons that the chakras and the tarot fit together with the plot of the Illuminati plan of domination and why the jewels were hidden the way they were. I could have the jewels form a dimensional gateway and time portal when put together since they have the piezoelectric effect of photonic crystals that emit Čerenkov radiation. That would be why the Illuminati are after them since they would want access to the means of traveling with them.
Because the charkas represent energy the Illuminati would covet that energy to fuel their takeover bid and the clues to harnessing that energy could be hidden in the Tarot cards. Those clues could lead to the locations of the keys that unlock the secrets of where the jewels are to give them the power they crave.
It makes a good sequel to "The Writer’s Nightmare since the Illuminati failed to get the gyrotwister so they found another way to get access to the Omniverse and all the other dimensions in order to carry out their plans to immanentize the eschaton and achieve total domination from it.
So maybe I'm getting better at recognizing the signs of the recursive loop since last time it took me 3 times to see the pattern of worldlines repeating when I had that dream before I went to Toronto and then I only remembered scattered fragments that took a long time to put together to figure out what they meant. But still having to go to the extreme of the pain of getting my armed burned to grab my attention enough to show a pattern is still too much to get me to see the significance so I better keep practicing so I can figure out the patterns more quickly with less damage.
To start on gathering the practices I need for the video game I should go into the need for state training and stage training. The practices that help becoming fully aware during waking, dreaming, deep sleep and witnessing like meditation, yoga, lucid dreaming, and astral travel aided by methods like self-hypnosis tapes, subliminal persuasion, float tanks and psychedelic drugs to access the wide range of alternative states of consciousness.
Also practices for stage training like taking on more perspectives like role playing from different characters in each situation and practicing different relative measurements of supposed constants. Like seeing the how the sun sets on different sides from the West Coast over the ocean and from the East Coast over the land. How different cultures experience sexual morality differently, how even gravity is different with different masses, like 1/6 of the moon compared to the earth and 2 times more on Jupiter than the earth. Or even time is relative depending on the speed of the reference frame of the person observing it, like it takes a second and a half to send signals to the moon and it takes years, decades or millennia for the light of the stars to reach earth so the things we see happening took place far in the past.
Part of the role playing could be like taking the perspective you have now and comparing that to what you had at a different point in your life. What you would say to yourself at another time in the past to help with their situation or what you ask of yourself in the future to help with your situation now. It definitely depends a lot on the amount of knowledge, awareness and wisdom available to the person and the perspective they have at the point in time that they are, since it is gained over the course of a life then presumably the farther in the future the more you gain. So if you could go back and impart more to yourself you would have an advantage of having more knowledge and more time to use it.
Some more good practices to help with broadening the range of perspectives you can take is the ones in Robert Anton Wilson’s books “The New Inquisition, Quantum Psychology” and the DVD “Maybe Logic” about different reality tunnels and getting over the either/or duality and insisting on one static view of reality.
I just have to take those kind of practices and turn them into graphic illustrations and game type scenarios to make them come more alive and have greater impact on the people that play the game so they can absorb them more easily to live them as part of their experience.
I like the idea of recurring quests that different characters can try to fulfill and depending on the personality type, stage they are at and what part of the 4 quadrants they are try to do the quest from they could be tailored for that and be different for each part of the quest and they would have experience the quest from more than one stage, quadrant and type to be able to complete it and that would help broaden their perspective. I could also include situations that cover different aspects of the amounts of depth and span to help determine ethical decisions to find the correct path through the quests.
I uploaded some of the affirmations I was using to YouTube as an example of what animation I put behind them and the text flashing to mimic the subliminal persuasion tapes I used to have.
Then someone named SimoneGervais commented on the video saying "I love love this vidieo it is so creative" and also "I Love your vidieo I will listen to it every day thank you for posting it thanks" which I thought was nice of them and it was gratifying to know that some of my work was appreciated.
Since there seemed to be a demand for that kind of thing, I made anonther one and uploaded it to YouTube. Then I figured since I used a DVD to watch them that it would be a good idea to be able to sell them to others so I sent a message to SimoneGervais telling her "I have found it very helpful to put them on a full length DVD to play so that way the vocal sound of repeating the phrases add with the text of them flashing once a second goes to both the conscious and the subconscious mind at the same time. Then being able to have the animation play behind that keeps other parts of the mind interested visually so that the affirmations can be absorbed more easily.
If you wanted I could make the full length DVD available to you so that you could see all the other animation that I've done to go with the affirmations since it is much to long to just upload." She seemed agree with that idea since she replied, " I would like somthing to help me I am willing to buy the dvd from you just tell me a link I can go by and I would love to purches one" and was pretty enthusiastic about it also saying, "thank you for responding to my message I would I did love the newest vidieo I am saying these things every day trying to get them inside my spirit and I would love a vidieo" Since I had already done most of the animation for the DVD I was using myself it was easier to finish it up with a more professional DVD menu, cover and disc design. I told her "I will mail them the DVD master copy on Monday but still takes them at least a week to process it before it is ready so I will send you to link when it is available to buy. It is my pleasure to be able to help and I appreciate it very much that you enjoy what I've put into expressing my art." It is a good thing that they worked out the bugs in the system and I had gotten used to what the precautions were in making a DVD for them since it took almost 3 months for me to get all the problems with customer service for the Writer's Nightmare to become available for sale on DVD but this one went like clockwork through the mail and production in just a few days. I was impressed that I got the proof copy exactly a week after I mailed it to them and I fulfilled the promise I made to SimoneGervais about when I could provide the DVD to her. It does follow the affirmation I put on the DVD of "I keep my commitments to myself and others" so that seems to be helping with the follow through.I had some more trouble than that to get it to show up on Amazon but it finally straightened itself out, so now it has a wide range of distribution.
I made a commercial to promote the DVD and Uploaded it to YouTube to try and generate more interest in it. Hopefully there will be more of a demand for it than just SimoneGervais and also the DVD can get better word of mouth advertising since she can tell her friends about it and write a good review about it on Amazon. It might get better marketing for my other DVD as well. Every bit helps get the ball rolling.
Like I put in the description of the DVD As with the concept of the self-fulfilling prophecy, if you think something is going to happen then you go about finding ways to make it happen, although this is usually applied to self-destructive behavior it also is true for changing to a positive attitude and having that affect your behavior to make more choices and look for opportunities that lead to positive outcomes. It is helping with my focus and confidence to get things done. The thing that a lot of people misunderstand about affirmations is like what I put in the article on Current TVWhen someone says something is impossible for them to accomplish then they are correct since they will never even TRY to do it because that negative attitude stops them before they can even imagine a solution or put any effort into trying to find a method to make it work.
That is what affirmations are for to get past that first stumbling block by cancelling out the what holds you back in trying and enforces your limitations.
But it is only the start since all the positive attitudes in the world won't be effective if you don't also put the imagination into action.
I have found that to be true in my own experience and have tried to correct it by letting go of the limits that hold me back from attempting to find solutions. Selling 3 copies in a week of the DVD being available for sale is twice as good as I expected either SimoneGervais bought all 3 to give some as gifts, she got some friends to buy the other or the advertising I've been doing for it has been working and other people have seen it. Any of those reasons are good news to generate more demand to be able to sell more of them. It does follow the affirmation I put on the DVD "My life becomes a series of successes" so it helps a lot to get feedback and evidence that shows they are working because it re-enforces the belief and gives confidence that you're on the right track to continue. It gives more weigh to the affirmation I put on the DVD "I have the self-discipline to continue the effort." to have some evidence that the affirmations are paying off in a tangible way.
Especially since SimoneGervais did what she said she was going to do and bought the DVD when I waited a year for MarsDarinder to buy The Writer's Nightmare DVD and he never did. His excuse of not having any money to get it wasn't very good since you would think that you could find $25 to spare during a whole year.
So this does give me some substantial proof that the affirmations help to get my life back on a path that will accomplish my goals.
It is another Valentine’s Day that I’ve spent by myself but I’m more used to it than last year when I was in a downward spiral, it is also what would’ve been our sixth wedding anniversary but we didn’t make it that far. The nasal sprays the doctor gave me have helped with my mold allergies also the yoga techiques for headaches. While the affirmations have helped to counter the negative attitudes that I was sabotaging myself with.
Now that I have recovered enough to be able to make some of the choices of where my life is going I’ve made some progress on determining which of the 3 alternatives is worth the most to try for.
That brings me to the point of it does make a lot more sense to move onto the next phase since the alternative of just doing nothing is way too boring because there aren’t enough things to distract myself with to take up all of the time.
Having something to strive for like the treasure hunt DVD, the video game and movie illustrating the Integral Life Practice and going through those practices myself makes a lot more sense at this point.
I wasn’t able to get much help in getting an objective perspective from a therapist since the Butte County office had their funding cut and only had group therapy 1 day a week. Trying to get a different interpretation of the symbolism that I wanted with all the distractions and dilutions of other people in the group’s problems wasn’t worth the effort or all the time it would take.
What did help me make a decision was that I sent Krys a birthday card with a YouTube video attached to it of the Michael Jackson song Remember the Time. Krys sent me a reply with a Xena video that had the Dido song Hunter in it. Those 2 videos were a pretty clear example of symbolism that typified the different perspectives and stages of development that we were at and there hadn’t been any change in the past year.
Remember the Time is a song from the second person perspective that uses “we” 20 times and “us” 2 times in the lyrics. While Hunter is from the first person perspective and uses “I” 9 times and “me” 6 times in the lyrics so one is about sharing a possible relationship and the other is about seeking to untangle for a life of solitude.
With those fundamental differences it seems most likely that even if I did follow the symbolism in the Soulmates in Peril video that we would still have the same problems no matter where we lived so it wouldn’t be worth the effort since the Essential Ingredient wasn’t there.
So that pretty much answers the question I was trying to figure out about whether the odds of trying to recapture the Essential Ingredient that had once been established were better than the odds of starting fresh and getting the Essential Ingredient with someone that had never had it before. It seems that it would be easier to form a stronger new bond than repair one that had been broken.
That brings up the part about the law of attraction since like attracts like there has been a similarity in the kinds of gals that have been expressed an interest in me that is the myth of the hero in shining armor that needed to rescue them.
Even though that is an aspect of my character, maybe by connecting with gals at that level it sets up problems with trying to move beyond it to other stages that includes more aspects of my whole personality.
So then the question becomes is that the only type of gal that would be attracted to me are the ones with problems they need to be rescued from and all the baggage that goes with it? Or can I learn to grow out of that pattern of behavior to be able to attract gals at other stages that have more stable personalities?
Would those type of gals be interested in me and would they think it was worth the Essential Ingredient? If I was able to illustrate the concepts of the Integral Life Practice to be easily grasped and go the practices with them to have a solid foundation so that they would understand what was involved then they would be more likely to be attracted enough to build a strong bond that included the Essential Ingredient.
At least that is more progress in figuring out ways to bring the Impossible Dream that I was contemplating last year into the realm of the possible if the correct methods were used. That only makes it a matter of the odds of if I had enough skill and resources to be able to make those methods work. Which makes a substantial improvement since even though the odds at still high against it they are greatly reduced since there are feasible plans that make them at least workable.
I did have some more thoughts about how to get across the 4 quadrant presentation of the Naked Angel. I could do a movie about it and call it something along the lines of “Achieving Communion” and have it be sort of like a “My Fair Lady” story of an actress that gets hired to be the spoke person and narrator of the Naked Angel presentation and for demonstrating the practices in the video game. There are better odds for Life imitating Art in it because of the feedback of the movie being a docudrama with a lot of the script focusing on the journey of transformation the actress undergoes from the experience of demonstrating the practices for the video game.
There are a lot deeper issues since the theme of transformation in the story of “My Fair Lady” is an archetypal myth going back to the Greeks with Pygmalion and Galatea so it is firmly embedded in the collective unconscious that makes the odds very good that the the movie would appeal to a wide audience.
The movie could be shot on location at Esalen in Big Sur to lend more credibility and show some of the workshops used to learn the practices that illustrate how to follow the path.
I could have some scenes of going before the investors and venture capitalists and to get the money to produce the video game and the movie also. Then it would be a journey of the actress to learn the script and film the practices while following the path of development and growing in her awareness. That way she can use the motivation of money, fame and doing a job to get her into the practice and develop some other motivations for continuing when she grows through the stages.
Guru Yoga could be used to provide better motivations for evolving through the stages after the money and the fame then it could be by identifying with the role she is playing since it mirrors the experiences she experiences going through the practices she is demonstrating for the video game, then recognizing spirit in each other and coming to terms with what that entails.
One of the practices to show how to expand into more perspectives and how the true self is connected and anchored in I Amness is to show the Gamemaster’s Complex playing the Akashic Records as videos on the monitor screens. I could have the actress pick different points in her life to go back to and give the support and advice that she thought was most needed at that time to her younger self and have a future self come back to her to give the answers they thought she most needed.
I could do a composite of the actress playing the younger part then the older on the same shot so she could experience it from each side first as the younger getting what she needed then as the older giving the support needed and also watching the scene of both of them afterwards.
That way she could experience the process from the first, second and third person perspectives and see how they are all connected and how the self evolves through stages as everyone grows through experience.
Another of the examples to illustrate Integral Life Practice I could use is a representation of the story of how to gain wisdom. “After a long hard climb up the mountain, the spiritual seekers finally found themselves in front of the great teacher. Bowing deeply, they asked the question that had been burning inside them for so long ‘How do we become wise?’
There was a long pause until the teacher emerged from his meditation. Finally the reply came ‘Good choices’ ‘But teacher how do we make good choices?’ ‘From experience’ responded the wise one. ‘An how do we get experience?’ ‘Bad choices’
I could have some scenes with the actress and some of the other seekers showing the different choices they made to overcome the obstacles in getting up the mountain and the different motivations they had for getting to the top.
One of the problems with Integral Theory is that it is hard to grasp without a lengthy explanation and the stuff that has been written about it is not easily absorbed. Ken Wilber has done somewhat better in talking about it and in video interviews at getting the essential points across but it still has a need for more concentrated attention than is widely attempted.
That’s why I figured that it could benefit a lot from a more graphical representation since animated examples and motion graphic diagrams would be more easily grasped and more quickly understood than the ways it has been presented so far.
There has been research done on how to design video games to help accelerate growth through developmental stages and I could make a video game that helps present the AQAL Map in a more entertaining way that people would be more inclined to pay attention to since it would also be fun.
Since parts of the theory require practice to understand from direct experience of the principles and concepts involved then a video game would be the most efficient way to motivate people to attempt those practices.
In addition to a video game that shows the Integral Life Practices in a way similar to The Wild Divine with biofeedback. I could also have a integral role playing video game that shows the journey of holons from the first basic manifestation through every stage to the highest and have players take on the a role to guide them through the stages that evolve in different ways depending on how they play the game.
I should have the goals of the RPG show how each state awakens to make the subject of one stage becomes the object of the next stage so that what starts out as identity of the body goes to identifying with the mind and then to the spirit until it reaches ever present witness and also goals the go through the stages of perspective from egocentric, ethnocentric, worldcentric and cosmocentric.
In one part of the game I could have some practices of meditation and how to illustrate the breathing techniques that focus on extending concentration by being mindful of your inhalations and exhalations then every time you get distracted by other thoughts, feelings or fantasies bring your attention back to your breathing. It could accelerate the learning curve on how to help stay focused by pointing out the benefits and the main concept to keep bringing your attention back to your breathing.
The video game should include puzzles to pass each fulcrum and sub-phases that require successful tests of how to identify, differentiate and integrate each fulcrum.
If the video game catches on among the gaming community with anything near the level of Warcraft then that could make a substantial difference in the amount of the population that are going through further develpmental stages and change the dominant mode of discourse of the society to the more inclusive stages.
Just having a change of administrations in the goverment from the traditional values of Bush to the more pluralistic values of Obama raises the dominant mode and the people that play the video game could use the momentum that the change in the Dominant Mode which is already occuring to help accelerated the progress in their own transformation to make more headway in solving problems than in a generation.
That way when the technological singularity is achieved then the horse race of whether or not an ethnocentric or a more worldcentric society will use it will be won by the more worldcentric because more of the population will be at higher stages of development from playing the game so that the dominant mode of discourse of the society will be able to handle the technological advances for the benefit of all instead of just the profit of the few.
In order to reduce the average time of five years for transformation from one developmental stage to the next, it could help to combine the video game with other techniques like float tanks. It could help foster more intense form of deeper concentration and remove the distraction of the internal dialogue to make it easier to transcend the subject of one stage to make it the object of the next.
If I make some money on that treasure hunt DVD then I could invest it into hiring an actress to do some work in narrating and demonstrating the practices for the video game. Also to help in illustrating some examples of the concepts and principles in applying the AQAL Map
It would be very useful in having an actress in showing the methods necessary for an Integral Life Practice in order to have a demonstration as part of a business plan to show to investors since having a pretty face is always an advantage when attempting to sell something and that would go a long way to get the funds required to produce the video game.
It could also have a transformative effect on the actress that I hired to help produce the video game by her going through the practices in order to demonstrate them and illustrating the examples of the principles behind them it could train her into raising her center of gravity to more inclusive developmental stages. Since we both would be sharing the experiences by working on the demonstrations and illustrations that were contained in the video game then we both would have a foundation of understanding the concepts produced in the transformation to the higher stages of development and could produce a bond through the shared experiences for us to grow closer from it.
Since that bond was built at a higher stage of development if it included the Essential Ingredient then it would be stronger since it had a more solid foundation because it included more perspectives and more options in dealing with more states. That would give it a lot better odds of lasting longer.
When I went down to the beach my mom was watching episodes of the “Lost” TV series on DVD and the designs they had on the menus of the DVD were very inspiring. They had landscapes of the island and jungle with 3D text in different 2 point perspectives opposite to each other so that it looked like the text was nestled in to fit the image.
It looked very cool and I was thinking that I could use that as a concept to make a DVD menu for my portfolio.
Maybe a better DVD menu for my portfolio would be to do one of that idea I had about the contest for “The Writer’s Nightmare” that had a treasure hunt in it. It probably would be a lot better seller than the DVD I have there so it might be more popular on Create Space. It would be a way to get a practice with original marketable material in a different kind of DVD setup.
That way I could have a more professional DVD menu design to show in my portfolio but also a marketing idea that has more of a motivation for people to be interested in buying the DVD since they are more likely to go for the challenge and profit of a treasure hunt.
In keeping with one of the themes to story in “Nightmare” I could have the treasure hunt revolve around gathering parts to build the GyroTwister and have clues relating to where to find the parts that could be hidden on web pages, maps to locations even products on Café Press and Zazzle.
I could have the clues on the DVD be easier to lead to some of the parts and then have them get harder to lead to clues more complex in more places to be able to put the parts together and solve the riddle. Some of the clues on the DVD could be in that extreme typography with animated text made from Adobe After Affects like in those videos on You Tube and some could be screen caps of the word clouds from the Wordle web page.
Since it is a journey to find the parts and solve the puzzles maybe I should put it in a framework of growth through the stages also or at least a heroes struggle against impossible obstacles to make it challenging. Tying in the theme of the Gamemaster from the story would be a good way to give clues that relate to archetypes and the Akashic records so that the puzzles relate to overcoming selfish pleasure motivation and alpha pack dominance games.
I could have some clues relate to gyroscopes and roller coasters maybe even have one hidden at Great America and the Santa Cruz beach. Hiding keys to locks at different locations would help to making it more challenging and that way I could have clues in merchandise that can be unlocked to match the merchandise that was designed to be bought.
Since the theme is a hunt to gather items and a journey to reach a goal, I could also make it like the Fool’s journey through the Tarot with each item being a stage of consciousness along the way. I could use designs I did for The Naked Angel Tarot cards as symbols and clues for the different stages and put them on merchandise to find as part of the contest.
I could use the chakra system as a model for gathering items related to each chakra like jewels and lotus flowers and have practices that use motivations that go from egocentric, ethnocentric, worldcentric to cosmocentric in order to solve the puzzles.
For the clues on the DVD I could have them lead to web pages on my blog, Café Press, Zazzle, CreateSpace, Amazon, Lulu and Spreadshirt to merchandise that have clues to significant locations with items can be hidden.
The clues on the merchandise could be pictures of gyroscopes with coordinates from the Universe Cube on them hidden in the designs so that they point to stories in the plot summary that way I can have them relate to other clues in different places and follow the theme of building the gyrotwister and gathering parts of the Universe Cube.
I could do some storyboards to get the ideas for the clues and designs for the DVD together so it would be easier to collect so all it one place to keep track of it. I could use a flowchart with Smart Draw to keep track of all the clues and tie that to storyboards in Illustrator to give more details.
There has been 
