Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy!!!

I had the greatest experience today! That LOVE Symbol showed up for me once again. Just as I pulled up to my mailbox, the clock showed 1:01. You know what that means by now….soul mates…and I just KNEW there was something very SWEET in my mailbox. And sure enough! There was a CHECK for money I was not even expecting, at least not today. So this day got off to a great start as I was on the way to the bank.

What Do Fat Pigs Represent?

Wow, I have kinda gotten into these symbol things. I think it’s from reading Joe’s book. He did SAY it would change you if you read it. It is totally magical. I was on the way to the bank to get some cash, but since I got the check in the mail, that changed to going to the bank to deposit the check. And what did I see there? Pictures of fat snorky looking pigs and signs trying to convince people how great it is to START a SAVINGS Account with the Bank. So, naturally, I thought well perhaps things are changing….maybe they are offering interest on these saving accounts. Well, if you can call 0.5% to 1.0% interest that will put you out ahead, I guess you can call this a good deal. For myself, I just keep thinking about the 29.9% interest on credit cards and looking at those flags hanging from the ceiling in the bank with the images of the FAT PIGS.

It did not make me think of those cute little piggy banks at home where you can stash your change. Instead, it made me think how PIGGISH the BANKS and their overstuffed CEOS are these days. How dare they ask us PROLETARIATS to stuff them fatter while they gain and we lose? Especially after the $12.9 trillion Tarp bank bailout at the expense of US. I got that information from one of my favorite REBELS who knows “Why things are the way they are.” AND Joe talked about PIGS in at least THREE or MORE places in Knowledge and Critical Pedagogy: An Introduction. Your challenge is to find them and interpret what he was really talking about (and there will be multiple interpretations, of course). What I love so much about Joe’s book is that, while he does put things out there “like they are” he also puts things out there in a way that you do have to use your brain a little (well, actually a LOT). It’s good exercise. So, the next question is – is there a way to beat the FAT PIGS at their own games?

Drive to the Bank and MAIL Your Payments

Yes, there are ways to beat these fat pigs at their own games. Joe called it using your “creative imagination” and he does teach that in his BOOKS. Here is just one creative idea. Do you know how many jobs are being lost just because we are too lazy to get off our butts??? By the same token, do you know how many jobs we might CREATE if we refuse to do ONLINE BANKING or ONLINE PAYMENTS. Come on, folks, it does not take a ROCKET SCIENTIST to figure out that our sheer laziness is resulting in our own loss of jobs. How about for 2010 we all MAIL our payments? Get rid of those automatic payments (I have actually been stolen from with those and it took MONTHS to get my money back) and let’s all go down to the post office, buy stamps, and MAIL our payments. Just think; if enough people would do that, which is not that much money or effort, we would create more postal service jobs (which pay very well and have good benefits and health insurance) as well as more clerical positions because someone will have to open all the mail and post the payments….of course, they would probably send that job to India, but then people in India need work, too. So, I guess I don’t see an issue with that. We are all brothers and sisters and if people in India are working, it will help us get work too. Have you heard about the butterfly effect? Joe talks about it in Knowledge and Critical Pedagogy: An Introduction. Can you find what page that’s on? What else is he saying here? If you don’t know what the butterfly effect is, research it online….Hey, I wonder….since my name is Vanessa and that means butterfly…..I just wonder if I have a butterfly effect. That’s just a joke. Of course, we all have butterfly effects. We just need to start using this attribute more. Collectively, it becomes very powerful. Expand this notion of using the mail. What if a bunch of us started MAIL ORDER BUSINESSES and just stopped buying off the Internet for awhile. I mean think about it. Mail Order businesses can be very, very viable. I had one once, just a small one and was bringing in more money than from a job. And think about this: BIG BUSINESS IS TAKING OVER THE INTERNET. Do we really want to support that? Or how about just "setting up shop" in our own neighborhoods? How about opening up the lines of communication, share our resources, exchange goods and services and bypass the Big corporate businesses. If we all did that for just a short time, we would have regained our power. Open your minds to all of the possibilities. We only need to sever a few of the spider webs for a short time and suddenly we will find ourselves being able to call the shots. We must stop supporting our own demise just because we are lazy and prefer to have our consciousness constructed FOR us.

Do NOT Bitch and Moan, Whine and Cry

We are coming up to 2010. It is time to quit whining about the way things are (Joe talked about that, too, come to think of it – on the last page of his book – can you find it??? What was his remedy? ACTION. 2010 is a Revolutionary Year and it is just very exciting. I am hoping to see that PERPETUAL REVOLUTION that Joe said was in the works. No more whining, bitching, or moaning. It is ok to cry sometimes. Our feelings are very real and we must allow ourselves to feel them. I still cry about Joe.

2010 is truly the year to get up off your butt (me, too) and GO OUT IN THE WORLD AND MAKE IT BETTER! We are NOT helpless little DROIDS.  THE PEOPLE HAVE THE POWER. But, if you are just sitting around bitching and moaning, watching the BOOB TUBE, then you are not DREAMING, CREATING, and LOVING the way that needs to happen to totally turn the table on how this game on Earth is being played. The rules are changing! It is time to wake up to that fact! I am beginning to see that more and more people are “getting this.” 2010 is the “make it” or “break it” year. It is the year that you get on board – you go through all of those open gates, or you WILL be left behind. The table will flip almost instantaneously – as the Bible says, something to the effect of in a single blink of your eyes. All of a sudden it will be the NEW GAME with NEW RULES – LOVE RULES. Yours truly has some plans that will be going into action this year as well. Together, with LOVE, with that deep, COSMIC LOVE I have been talking about in the last few blogs -- that radical love Joe and Paulo modeled for us -- we will change the world. Now, doesn’t that feel better than wasting time whining, bitching, and moaning????

Onward and Upward With the Deep Blue Mariner Reaps the Soul Surprise Treasure Hunt!!!

Well! I have just learned that even I, alone, must have far more power than I realized. Wait – I forgot for a moment – I am NEVER alone. That’s really something for a country hick girl who has been poor all her life and who believed she was all alone in a big, bad world where darkness and evil lurked behind every corner. Sumptin’ tells me this new realization must be related to the Deep Blue Mariner Reaps the Soul Surprise Treasure Hunt somehow, in which one of my Master Teachers says he will have the last laugh – all because I laughed at him about the clues (and I have just learned that now I have MANY Master Teachers who all wanted to get on the “band wagon“ -- which Is very good, cuz you can dance on band wagons, too). Just as a review, here are the hints again to this treasure hunt that I first presented on December 27:

Listen, Babe, don’t get frustrated with the treasure hunt [The NEW Quest for the Golden Keys Treasure Hunt]. You are on the verge of a huge breakthrough and it will “shock and awe” people around the globe. Only another day or two, so keep plugging away with your blogs. You need to get the info out that you have deciphered so far and don’t forget those extra clues I gave you. You will soon see their significance. I would say another couple of days and then you’ll make a “slam-dunk” and then you will go on to an even bigger and better treasure hunt: Deep Blue Mariner Reaps the Soul Surprise (YOU LAUGH??!!!) We shall see who has the last laugh here.

Your True Blue Soul Mate

As I stated back then, I found this so hilariously funny, but I really don’t know why. I don’t which is the funniest – the “shock and awe,” the “slam dunk,” the title of the new treasure hunt, “Deep Blue Mariner Reaps the Soul Surprise,” or the sign-off, “Your True Blue Soul Mate.” It all cracked me up. Anyway, I did some prior analysis, before the treasure hunt actually got off the ground, which I will repeat for review:

First, I should probably talk about the titles of these treasure hunts, since this most recent one, “Deep Blue Mariner Reaps the Soul Surprise” not only strikes me as being very funny, but it can be interpreted in multiple ways. This almost always becomes apparent during the treasure hunts in relation to the titles given them and it’s a concept called polysemy by which words can mean different things – as well as due to hermeneutics by which we find different interpretations as has been demonstrated by the most recent treasure hunt where we are interpreting The House of the Rising Sun. I think it’s what makes treasure hunting so much fun. You never know how these things are supposed to be interpreted until you start treasure hunting and then there are all sorts of surprises!

Thus, with the Deep Blue Mariner Reaps the Soul Surprise – soul COULD mean SOLE; in other words, the mariner reaps the one and only BIG surprise. What is a Mariner? A baseball team? A Marine? Someone who guides a ship? Is it a boat on water or a space ship? And what does “deep blue” mean? The fact that the clues were signed off by “Your True Blue Soul Mate” provides a hint that perhaps we are not talking about the color blue necessarily. With research, we will find that “true blue” means many things including genuine, royalty, genealogical relationships, “blue bloods”, being depressed, etc. Is this mariner in a “deep depression?” Is deep blue about a movie? A song? The ocean? So, the treasure hunt titles are always like that….and they are “handed down” to me from my Master Teachers. I never know what the significant meanings are until I start getting clues and go out on the treasure hunts and start solving them. Sometimes this means I am instructed to travel somewhere -- those “epistemological road trips” Joe talks about in his book -- and/or I am instructed to particular pages in particular books or someone utilizes the fractal capabilities of the Internet and I am divinely directed to certain web pages (Remember, Joe explained in Knowledge and Critical Pedagogy: An Introduction that the Internet is a fractal and it works the same in all dimensions, p. 205).

I think I have figured out one of the solutions to the treasure hunt!!!….do ya think maybe a NEW CAR is in the works? I was searching the word mariner online and look what popped up: oooooh a STEEL BLUE 2010 fully decked out Mercury Mariner….I could go for that. Especially since it looks like I will be taking an exciting trip to New York in the future for some Treasure Hunting. Back on my New York! New York! Treasure Hunt, the question came up as to whether I would be driving a NEW car to New York OR taking the train….looks like my answer is being hinted at or I am being tantalized. Will this vehicle manifest?? I have no clue. I am not trying to buy a car right now and it would truly take a miracle for me to be able to buy a new car, but if my Master Teachers want me to have it, then they will magically manifest it – they have those kinds of skills; I don’t. During the No Ordinary Treasure Hunt, a car was magically manifested. I had applied for a loan and was turned down, as usual, and the next thing I knew all this stuff just happened and I ended up with a second car without even having to go car shopping. It was so great (I really do not like to go car shopping or haggling with dealers.) As it turned out, I bought the car for $1000 below blue book price and the car has been perfect.

It is interesting that the SONG that was provided for this treasure hunt also seems to hint at a vehicle, but then it also provides many other clues for the direction of this treasure hunt might take, so things could get quite interesting.

Beer Barrel Polka (Roll Out the Barrel) – the Swingcats



In My Father’s House There Are Many Mansions!!!
I love that expression; not sure what it means. I learned just yesterday that I now have many divine Master Teachers! Not only are they Master Teachers – they are Master Teachers of Master Teachers. In other words, they are supremely qualified. There is a lot of work they want me to do. That makes me happy because the work is a privilege and it has a supreme purpose. I am very relieved to know that there are many great minds helping me out. As Joe always said – and many others have said – “the sum of the parts is greater than the whole.” That goes back to that soul mate equation which works for other relationships as well: 1+1>2. 1+1+1+1…= INFINITY.  ALL of my Master Teachers are actually very excited about this new treasure hunt because they want to work together to make it extraordinary. I hope they all have the last laugh and I don’t even care if it is at my expense; they have worked hard to get where they are.  I wish I knew how to manifest things. I am hoping they will teach me. I know there are a lot of programs “out there” to teach these things and therein lies the problem: they are “out there.” They are so far out and such lies that the only thing they are good for is to make money for con artists. You really need the true blue thing. Wow. Joe even talked about that! You just HAVE to read Chapter Five in his book, CRITICAL CONSTRUCTIVISM….REALLY. It is called BLUE KNOWLEDGE and it is totally amazing! I will warn you though, for this one you will need to exercise your brain and when you do you will see the magic. I just wonder if Blue Knowledge is related to this Deep Blue Mariner Reaps the Soul Surprise Treasure Hunt.

Also, from what I understand, this treasure hunt is going to take some amazing twists and turns due to the infinite ways that the clues can be interpreted and the infinite wisdom involved in creating the treasure hunt. I did have one minor setback already, though. Like Joe said in his book, Knowledge and Critical Pedagogy, learning can be like a riding a rollercoaster – there are ups and downs. I do occasionally experience those downward pulls, so I asked my Master Teachers for some quick advice, and naturally, they advised me through music. Thus, the song for today -- and this figures! We all love to dance!!!

Hoping you get a chance to dance this New Year’s Eve,
Vanessa

"Dance My Dear" - Dreaming Bear

There is much work left to do on this NEW Quest for the Golden Keys Treasure Hunt, but I have received multiple messages from my Master Teachers that it is time to move on for now. I will come back to this treasure hunt in the future because there is much more to it. Readers need to do some of their own work. In addition, the new Deep Blue Mariner Reaps the Soul Surprise Treasure Hunt has gotten off to a very rapid start. Tomorrow I will cover that treasure hunt and where we are, and today, I will wrap up the NEW Quest for the Golden Keys Treasure Hunt so that people can continue to blaze their own trails. I was just thinking, too, about blazing trails. We do need to realize that we are not just blazing trails for ourselves. We are blazing them for the people who are coming up behind us, which makes our work even more important.

If some of us think we need to pass through gates to do this, so be it! It’s great that the LOVE gate (Gate 8) is open now and there is no excuse not to go through it. Also great is the opening of the ninth gate in 2010. With the eighth LOVE gate open, we have the foundation for the powerful ACTION to make changes in the world that we can now take together (many of us with our soul mates) as we go on down the road through the remaining gates. As Joe puts it, “As the great Brazilian educator Paulo Freire always reminded us, central to our work in critical pedagogy is the effort to end the grotesque reality of human suffering” (p. 21). We have a lot of work to do. There are many different roads we can take. But our actions and our journey should be based on love. I really do not see many people in education who exhibit that love. It is very sad. Of course there are some, but where are they? When the shit hits the fan they all disappear like a snowball in August.

Just like all jobs I have worked in all of my life, education seems to be another one that too often rewards incompetence and penalizes competence -- or it becomes who you know. Joe related to that intimately. In his book, Critical Constructivism, he stated, “Many a day as a student I was ridiculed by teachers and professors attempting to discredit my efforts to make personal sense of the lessons they were teaching. My inability to see the worlds of science, literature, history, or politics in the same way they presented them, often motivated my teachers to denigrate my intellectual ability” (p. 143). In his writing, I was offered even greater enlightenment on the issues he still faced working in what I have now come to view as a shadowy, secretive, and, at times, even hostile environment. It is no wonder his work is so special that it has touched my heart and soul.

In addition to the concept of "gateways" and energy vortexes there are many versions of what is happening to people today -- a mass awakening that is just beginning. I enjoy and learn so much from all of the different perspectives. Some people associate the gateways with the Chakras, some associate the transformative experience primarily with the opening of the "third eye" or the pineal gland, which many cultures, of course, recognize (except Western culture, where we have been brainwashed into viewing this as the “evil eye”). Numerology, astrology, metaphysics, indigenous knowledges, religions, philosophies, science, all have something very important to say about what is happening today. They are similar and they are different. It also appears that today there are many people communicating with those in other dimensions, including various entities from other planets. While many in the educational community would be highly skeptical of these things, I encourage reading these accounts – there are some very positive and beautiful messages. I have also mentioned the Pleiadians and after much reading, I find their messages very beautiful, very complex, and very "right on" in identifying the problems on earth and what we must do to solve them. The Cherokee had long identified with their brothers and sisters from the Pleiades through their legends. My beloved stepfather was Cherokee. An interesting thing is that there are myths and legends all around the world about these stars: Song of the Pleiades.

Elite educators need to get off their "high horses" (and get on Joe's great white horse)and open their minds to a vast wealth of knowledges and not discredit them for Fidurodian reasons. Education is screwed up, from preschool on up to the doctorate level where I was forced to change specializations and take extra classes (and spend thousands of extra dollars) just because someone did not like what I wanted to research. There is no doubt that education is BEYOND FIXING, it is past the point of no return, and it is highly arrogant that those who have been screwing it up the past 10-40 years think that they are the ones who can fix it….this is what Einstein defined as insanity – doing the same thing and expecting different results. And yet, these are the very people who do not want new and ingenius ideas to be promoted or someone new in the picture who might have fresh ideas – instead, these new people must play the game by the same old broken rules that never worked. And when it still doesn't work, they get their pay docked. What is the point of that?

And so, my heart and soul goes out to Joe. He is one person who had put his heart and soul into changing education. But there are always some people who still want to block or denigrate freedom of expression. Heaven help us if we make a difference. Have I alienated myself? Hardly. I was alienated from the beginning -- from my birth into the class of the proletariat. I totally understand Joe’s frustration and why he put the puzzles and riddles and FIDUROD in his book – they are all things that people such as myself, from the bottom of the ladder, can decipher and understand and maybe, just maybe, we can use his knowledge that he so graciously and generously left us to make the kinds of changes in the world that will move us toward greater love, peace, understanding, sharing, and a profound knowledge that can civilize the FIDURODian beast within (which Joe told me is in all of us and we just need to be "mindful" of that fact).

Other Kinds of Gates
Some accounts of this Gate phenomenon that have been discussed in the past few blogs apparently claim there are 13 gateways and that on January 10, 2010, all 13 gateways will be open. I find that idea exciting. Of course, these gates are only open for a short time, so it is now or you will be missing the boat. You can read about it here and here.

I cannot help but think of the gates that are closed and locked for so many of us when it comes to education, not to mention the gates and glass ceilings in the working world. It is very depressing when I think back to how many times I put forth my very best effort at my jobs, whatever work I was doing, and I have had many different types of jobs, and yet I was NOT EVER REWARDED FOR DOING A GOOD JOB. I finally figured out that most companies do not want competent people and so I try to stay out of those dysfunctional environments as much as possible. It is clear that they want DROIDS heading up the show because those are the very people who are not able to see that they are nothing more than puppets; that they have sold their souls. While our eyes were on George W. Bush as being a prime example of the types of puppets employed for FIDURODian dirty work, our eyes were diverted from our own working environments where the very same thing happens around many of us on a daily basis. Some of us are not blind. Some of us wonder what it is we have to lose. How can we fall from the ladder when we are already at the very bottom? It amazes me how some people with power use these sorts of threats to force those under them to bend to their wishes – but hey, wait a minute. We do not have anything from this relationship to begin with, not REALLY, not when we are not even allowed to be ourselves and express ourselves creatively. And then there are those really nasty and vicious people who use their power and money to really make people pay for not playing the game their way – been there, experienced that, too. Déjà vu.

The idea of gates also makes me think of Bill Gates and his monopoly on software that is leaving so many students behind. This represents another Gate that we must somehow pass through. Sadly, there are many, many people who would wish to further their education, but they cannot afford the computers or if they can afford the computers, they cannot afford to keep updating the software. The digital divide is alive and well and growing wider. I have students who have hoped they would be able to complete the courses with computers using Windows 95. Of course, their computers crashed trying to accomplish the various tasks the university requires, such as downloading their textbooks.

One final interpretation of the House of the Rising Sun
I came across another interpretation of The House of the Rising Sun that relates to astrology. It is actually very complex, so this is overly simplified and perhaps another time I will take it to a deeper level.

There's that time in the morning between sunrise and when we wake up, particularly in seasons besides winter. During this time of day, the world is stirring to life and the light has dawned, but we as individuals are usually sleeping -- and often having the more vivid dreams that we remember.
 

Or, sometimes, we have the dreams that we remember the feeling of, or some pieces of, but don't remember the real story -- even when we know it's important. This is one distinct feeling of the 12th, like this alternate reality; this side-room of the psyche; this dimension we enter, live in, and forget about, but sometimes take traces of the feeling with us. And then it follows us around, while we are dimly aware or completely unaware.
 

People who are aware of the 12th are poets, artists, musicians -- those who reach into the unconscious world, that strange space outside of time, on the borderline between love and fear, sanity and insanity, thought and emotion. No wonder that Vedic astrologers assign this house to the 'pleasures of the bed'.
 

I refer to the 12th house as the House of Dreams. But it is also the House of the Rising Sun -- that is, the region of the sky that the Sun crosses in the first hours of daylight, after day has begun. Think about both of those images for a moment.

http://planetwaves.net/cainer/archive/002960.php

This, perhaps, explains why some people have so quickly interpreted the song lyrics of the House of the Rising Sun to mean a house of prostitution. In this interpretation, we could also be referring to The Age of Aquarius. We are on the edge of change, on the cusp, at the tipping point and we are leaving Piscean Age of Duality. It is the darkest before dawn. This can be observed within education, even, with the ways paradigms are changing. The old paradigms are not working well and many people are shifting to new paradigms. And there are those who are still locked in the old. Reading educational literature quickly reveals this trend and it is easy to decipher any given author’s paradigm by reading their work. Either they are with the program and understand complexity and chaos theories which, of course, Joe synthesized into all of his work along with enactive theory, or they are totally frozen in time and lost in the confusion. Or they are totally FIDURODian. I find the positivistic accounts to be humorous at this point because their arguments have huge gaping cracks and where those cracks are located, they attempt to plug them with obfuscation.

Does Joe talk about the changing paradigms? Extensively and in multiple ways all through his work. I will leave it to you to read his works and find his discussions of paradigms. Also, if you take a close look at the bottom of page 21 and the top of page 22 in Knowledge and Critical Pedagogy: An Introduction, you will clearly see the correlations with this interpretation of the House of the Rising Sun as the dawn of a new era. He is using this as a metaphor, perhaps, to express the precarious state of education today.

More Keys and a Blissful Existence
There are many more keys to be found in the book, but I will leave behind the analysis of The House of the Rising Sun and the NEW Quest for the Golden Keys Treasure Hunt for now. There are many ways to interpret it that could lead to solutions for the dilemma the poor boy finds himself in. For example, perhaps he can go back and change The House of the Rising Sun – make it into something positive and uplifting and if he has no key for the door, he can blast open the windows. There are always multiple pathways, which is one of the advantages of pursuing multiple perspectives; the key is using hermeneutic analysis in the way Joe had outlined in order to help identify those potential actions that will best serve to alleviate human suffering. Hermeneutics, thus, is the key to getting into the House of the Rising Sun (and changing it to something better) as well as the key to getting out of it (we do not want to sit and spin our wheels). And with Joe’s theory, we have found ways in and out of the hermeneutic circle GRACEFULLY.

We must not forget, also, that we are the House of the Rising Sun and we can use the keys for those inward and outward explorations that will lead us to higher states of consciousness and greater understanding. Joe blazed a very wide trail and showed us the gates we need to go through for a blissful existence. All we have to do is find our own idiosyncratic pathway along that trail or blaze additional trails and venture through the gates. In my view, that is one of the greatest gifts he left for us because with this gift all things are possible. And as I will show, there is more. Joe left us many gifts. And so what is there left to say, except -- Thank you, Joe.

With eternal love and gratitude,
Vanessa

This song was handed down to me today for this blog (which is actually December 31 now as I finally post this):

True Love Never Runs Smooth – Gene Pitney

Last time, I indicated that there is another interpretation for The House of the Rising Sun. I have had to do a LOT of research on several aspects relating to this NEW Quest for the Golden Keys Treasure Hunt. As I had indicated right up front, there are multiple interpretations and pathways, and I have certainly found some of them. YOUR pathway may be an entirely different one, and what’s so wonderful about Joe’s theory is it encourages us each to find our own way. There is no roadmap. Not for teaching. Not for learning. Not for living. And not for passing through the open evolutionary gateways (one of the paths discovered on this treasure hunt). We are free.

Freedom and Love do not require precise directions, road maps, blueprints, detailed plans, or scripts. Don’t get me wrong here, of course teaching and other activities take some type of planning, but it’s a different sort of planning that is based on foundational knowledge and PROCESS (e.g., Joe’s advanced conceptualization of the bricolage) and does NOT depend on a FIDURODian precise list of “objectives” or linear pathway. How can you know what a particular student is going to feel passionate about before they are in the process of learning? And as their interests evolve and change, how are you going to evolve and change what you are teaching if you have a set, rigid plan?

Speaking of Freedom and Love, love is a compelling force from within and I agree with Joe's contention that it is a most important aspect of the mission to change the world. I know that Joe expressed in many places in his work that love is the most important foundation, and of course, he demonstrated his love abundantly, often pointing out how Paulo Freire influenced him with his notion of radical love (which I also like to call cosmic love). This love was related to key codes in the last blog, for example 1 1 representing soul mates and 3 representing their joint creation. This phenomenon - "the sum of the parts is greater than the whole" - occurs in other configurations as well.

In my last blog, I indicated that there are key codes in Joe’s work that signified gateways if we are so inclined to find them and interpret them as such. I did more research on this because it is all new to me (in my research, I found there have been movies about these things, such as the Ninth Gateway, but I so seldom watch movies – which is good because they always screw things up, anyway). What I found was that there are supposedly nine or more gateways that are opening up. In fact, eight of them are already open by one account, 13, by another account; the first opened January 11, 1992. In one account, the ninth gateway opens this year, and then on November 11, 2011, or perhaps some unpredictable date, the gateways close. If you have not passed through them by then, it will be too late to take advantage of this unique time in history during which the evolution of consciousness can occur rapidly, so the story goes. These gateways are like vortex’s of energy somehow. I don’t understand it totally but as each gateway opens, everyone has the opportunity to pass through them (in a metaphorical sense) to higher levels of consciousness. The weird thing about it, I see actual correlations in my life of having now passed through these gateways. It seems I have newly developed skills I did not have before; but, of course, they must be my “imagination” since FIDURODian positivistic science does not recognize them. Suddenly, I understand more intimately the issues the FIDURODians have with what Joe called “subjugated knowledges.”

In combination with the concpet of the gateways (which are represented by 11:11), there are other numbers that, if they come up for you, are significant:

11 = Birthing and anchoring the New.
22 = Building upon the New. Building New Lives and a New World.
33 = Universal Service through the quickening of our One Being.
44 = The balance between spiritual and physical, the reconfiguring of our evolutionary labyrinth. As Above, So Below. The creation of the foundation of our New Lives.
55 = Attaining personal freedom by being free of the past & totally real.
66 = Fulfilling our responsibilities in a joyful, creative manner.
77 = Profound insights and revelations. Honing ourselves to our Core Beings.
88 = Mastering of abundance and wholeness in all realms.
99 = The completion of a major evolutionary cycle. Time for another quantum leap. (Source: http://www.nvisible.com/)

Of course, there are other interpretations of these numbers, so if you are curious, do some more research, especially if they are popping up for you. Just as an interesting note, since, as I have expressed numerous times, my home was divinely found for me, my address is comprised of the numbers 11, 3, 99, AND 88. That seems significant (I explained in Part 10 of this treasure hunt, last Saturday, how 11 and 3 relate to soul mate love, union, and manifestation). Now it appears that in my new home, I will be mastering abundance (something totally new to me, and something that has been happening ever since I moved here to the extent that I do not worry (most of the time) if my bank account drops precipitously; I have written about this in my blogs) PLUS I will be living here until completion of this major evolutionary cycle – which is when the gates close -- and beyond. My phone number has 33, 55, and 88. Sounds like I get extra help with the mastering of abundance.

Also, abundance is not really what most people think. Abundance reminds me of the concept in manufacturing called “Just in Time (JIT)” in which what you need manifests just in time. It requires a great amount of faith to overcome the fear of not having what you need, but that is the whole point; we need to overcome that fear. Anything you do not need at the moment should be handed out to someone else because that is what sets up the cycle of return abundance.

I just now looked at the clock and it is currently 5:55 AM, LOL. There are different theories as to why so many people these days notice these configurations of numbers, such as pairs, triplets, and quadruplets of the same numbers. You can pick the theory you like the best, or you can just attribute this weird number stuff as one big huge fluke. Of course, you can also use it as an interesting way to teach mathematics....and it does not end here. If you want, you can go on and teach sacred geometry, the Golden ratio, etc. etc. It is actually quite fascinating and leads to the study of the ancient Egyptians. NONE of this is NEW Knowledge -- and calling it NEW AGE is actually a misrepresentation. There is much knowledge that has been hidden from the masses by religious figures and secret societies. It gets quite interesting to research.

My personal experience is that I have noticed certain times such as 11:11, 1:11, 7:11, and 9:11 even before I began reading about this phenomenon. And there was the curious dream I had about the number 7013 which adds up to 11. 11:11 represents twin flame soul mates matching up, divine intervention, and it also symbolizes the gateways.
 
If you are interested, you can do the research on gateways. The most recent one that opened was Gateway 8 which had two openings, one on February 11, 2007 and the other on June 5, 2009. Now, as it is told, no one must pass through the gateway (e.g. move up in consciousness), but it is open and waiting for whomever wishes to enter it. Gateway 8 is a very special gateway – it represents “true love.” The first opening is the awakening of the heart; becoming aware. The second opening, if you should enter it, is the experience of pure love, the likes of which there is no comparison. I only mention these because it seems (if there is any truth in these concepts) that I have passed through the eighth gate which may explain why I post so many love songs on this web site.

The ninth gate will be opening in 2010, according to one account, and it’s a great one to go through. It is the gate of Love-Based ACTION. Isn’t action (activism) what Joe called for throughout his work, throughout his rendition of critical theory? So, 2010 is the year that the people who are passing through these gates (i.e. raising their consciousnesses), will be taking some serious actions. This will be global. 2010 will see some very major changes in people uniting to make some long-needed positive changes in the world. More soul mates will be getting together, particularly twin flame soul mates. All of this will begin to really be noticed about April 3, 2010. This date was handed down to me a long time ago. In fact, I have had it posted on the front page of the website ever since it was given to me. It is important for several reasons, which I will explain later. Now that I am into this number stuff, the date translates to 4+3+2+1=10=1, thus representing Gateway 1 or 10, depending on which interpretation is referenced. This is correct, because there will be a lot of things happening to assist people through Gateway 1 and then to finding their way through the remaining gateways before we reach 2012. It may mean something else, too.  Note: Of course, the movie, The Ninth Gate Opening, ruins the meaning of the ninth gate and the 11 symbolism and reverses the meanings to hate, evil and destruction – so typical of our FIDURODian-controlled media and FIDURODian duality.

In relation to this, the 911 destruction of the TWIN towers is a crime that has never been solved (don’t you wonder why?); it was and still is used to instill fear in people. the most effective way to control them and keep them from an evolving consciousness. Some people claim that due to the configuration 11911 the incident was devised to keep us afraid to pass through gate 9. The first two ones represent the twin towers and the 911, the date on which the incident occurred. Again, we have the 11 11 which symbolizes the gates. Nevertheless, it is no doubt that this incident does instill enormous fear and continues to be used for exactly that purpose. Joe discussed this incident throughout Chapter 4 of Knowledge and Critical Pedagogy: An Introduction. And in case we begin to overcome that ingrained fear: there has now been another “terrorist” attack on an airliner to remind us, significantly, right during the Christmas holidays. I wonder how many people will turn away from the gate as a result – and their potential to develop their consciousness.

Last Sunday, I provided the following clue from Knowledge and Critical Pedagogy:

“To become a seeker of new knowledges and new ways of being we must be willing to sometimes be seen as the fools of the gods. In a Western culture that moves many of us to become obsessed with popularity and the approval of others, this becomes a lot to ask of a twenty-first century student or teacher. But a critical pedagogy must, nevertheless, ask it of such individuals. One must also be willing to take to the road, in much the same way Jack Kerouac did in the 1950s. Taking to the epistemological road in this critical pedagogical context may certainly take the form of geographical travel” (p. 19).

If you will notice, there is another key code, which I have highlighted. This key code, again adds up to 11:11 along with the sacred 3 of the soul mate union, thus it represents a gate which must be passed through…it is clear that we are supposed to be “on the road” here. How do I get this? a=1, 21 100 1 student OR 1 teacher and when you put them together you get 11:11 along with the 3. 1+3+1+1+1, which gives the gate 11:11 and the love trinity (which I wrote about previously), 3. Thus, this could be interpreted to mean that we need to be willing to pass through the ninth gate, which is a lot to ask, considering the “dark” interpretations of the gate the media has thrown at us along with what we have created with our collective consciousnesses. There is more to say about this gate in relation to education since Joe was talking about "a student or a teacher." We often hear about how difficult it is to get through the gates in relation to education. Now we know: this is true in more ways than one.

We don’t have to believe in “gates,” although I love the idea of gates, especially now that they are open for all. There are other perspectives on this and I will leave it to you to discover what those are. The point is, and Joe made this very, very clear. We must be willing to take that transformative journey inward and outward simultaneously -- and with love. It is the foundation of his theory. This relates back to the lyrics of the song, The House of the Rising Sun in that the boy has his foot on the platform AND on the train. At that very moment he is taking a look outward and a look inward.


As I continue these "treasure hunts" I will continue to post beautiful love songs to keep everyone in the mood for that powerful force that both Paulo Freire and Joe felt was essential. I strongly recommend reading Joe’s book, Knowledge and Critical Pedagogy: An Introduction. His book will take you on a long winding road – a delightful “epistemological road trip” that exposes fidurod's crumbling reality, along with some great scenery, and hilarious laughs along the way and a trek that will walk you right out of your FIDURODian mind (I was looking for an excuse to use that expression, lol) and into new "mind spaces." If you like the love music at the end of my blogs – send them to the person you love! It will make difference. Besides, as Joe said in relation to music, and which is probably why he included so many MUSIC Easter eggs in his books, we need that “pounding aesthetic to push us on down the road” (p. 20).

Happy Travelin’
Vanessa

P.S. I was told by my Master Teachers that during this journey and mission, we must learn to be “warrior lovers.” When I did a You Tube search, these are the songs that popped up:

Warrior is a Child – Gary Valenciano

This treasure hunt began in full force back on December 15, 2009, for those who wish to review what has happened so far.

I have talked about using the hermeneutic circle as a key to get into and out of The House of the Rising Sun. If you review previous blogs, the hermeneutic circle was one of the keys that Joe provided in his book. This type of analysis can and has resulted in some useful possibilities that might help the ”poor boy.” How does he awaken to his possibilities? How about another key? What does this do for him? There is another key from Joe’s book, Knowledge and Critical Pedagogy that relates to an “inward and outward” journey – the “critical complex epistemological road trip,” perhaps, that one experiences with treasure hunting. It does not require a soul mate to take this journey, although one may end up with a soul mate before the journey is over. This is good, because as discussed earlier, soul mates help each other and they unite in a common purpose that inevitably contributes to the mission in some major way for alleviating suffering, first for themselves and then for others. Here’s the new key that Joe provides to assist with this process:

I am profoundly excited by this trek into an evolving consciousness, the pluriverse, a world where dominant power is challenged, and education more exciting than any theme park ride, and a critical complex epistemology. The socio-pedagogical ride I’m describing involves more than an exploration of our consciousness – although this is a key part of it; it entails more than being involved in a political movement to end human oppression and suffering – although this is a central dimension of it. It involves both a journey inward and a journey outward. It cannot exist without the synergy of both tasks, as they are brought together conceptually by the critical complex epistemology and operationalized in an evolving critical pedagogy.

Thus, a critical complex epistemology blasts open the windows of awareness that had been nailed shut by FIDUROD and the positivist tradition. As we open the window, we might gain the ability to envision consciousness, for example, as a liquid concept that contains within it spatial and temporal features. Imagine that as we perceive something we bathe it with such a fluid that then flows to other entities connecting them to one another and to our minds. Indeed, such a liquid consciousness flows from one individual to another in both the contemporary world and through time to individuals long deceased and have left various artifacts including the objects they created, their writings, and audio and visual recordings. As the fluid of consciousness flows over these individuals and their artifacts, it contents grow richer, packed with ingredients that blend together like spices in a rare cuisine (pp. 209-210)

Thus, we have bypassed a key to the door and blasted through the window. Here, Joe is pointing out clearly that this does take work. This is work that we must do before we connect physically with our soul mates and work that really never ends. I wrote these two previous blogs that may be helpful:

It’s All Fast Forward From Here June 27, 2009  

Why Do I Have to Do YOUR Work? June 28, 2009  

I also recommend spending daily time reading perspectives outside the Westernized, obfuscated, and deceptive propaganda. Read widely and immerse yourself in other cultures outside of the white male western dominated scenario. Joe describes multiple ways he did these things in his book. I will provide a book list of very helpful books to read in the near future. I am compiling a list of multiple titles as recommended to me from several experts because I cannot recommend just one or a few books. The only way one can gain multiple perspectives from reading is by reading a wide variety of perspectives.

Then, it is helpful to come back and read some of the trash that students are given as textbooks because it becomes very easy to pinpoint exactly where the obfuscation, lies, deception, and misinformation are located in the books. It becomes ever more clear why it is painful to read textbooks, unless they are written with all of the Westernized, hidden agendas removed (such as Joe’s books!).

Now, with this latest key, of course, The House of the Rising Sun is beginning to look like something quite different from the literal translations that have been discussed so far. Next time, I will discuss the results of some additional research I did and how an esoteric interpretation of Joe’s work supports this new interpretation – or you can research to find additional interpretations of The House of the Rising Sun in the meantime.

Have a lovely day,
Vanessa

P.S. I searched YouTube on “have a lovely day,” which was the special message handed down to me today from one of my master teachers and the following song popped up in the results. It is significant and relevant for multiple reasons.
 
Home Alone Theme Song


Photo courtesy of Microsoft 

I admit it: I am beginning to get tired of the mundane parts of this NEW Quest for the Golden Keys Treasure Hunt, especially the literal translations of “The House of the Rising Sun” and evidently my “true blue soul mate” picked up on that cuz this is the message I got from him last night:

Listen, Babe, don’t get frustrated with the treasure hunt. You are on the verge of a huge breakthrough and it will “shock and awe” people around the globe. Only another day or two, so keep plugging away with your blogs. You need to get the info out that you have deciphered so far and don’t forget those extra clues I gave you. You will soon see their significance. I would say another couple of days and then you’ll make a “slam-dunk” and then you will go on to an even bigger and better treasure hunt: Deep Blue Mariner Reaps the Soul Surprise (YOU LAUGH??!!!) We shall see who has the last laugh here.

Your True Blue Soul Mate

I don’t know why, but I found this message extremely funny. Then, this morning, I was instructed to do a very quick review of just some of the “key events” of the Treasure Hunts I have enjoyed so far. There have been so many treasure hunts (they are all in my past blogs) that I think I will have to put together a book about them. They all continue – they never really end, so there will be more even better and more amazing things added to each of them.

First, I should probably talk about the titles of these treasure hunts, since this most recent one, “Deep Blue Mariner Reaps the Soul Surprise” not only strikes me as being very funny, but it can be interpreted in multiple ways. This almost always becomes apparent during the treasure hunts in relation to the titles given them and it’s a concept called polysemy by which words can mean different things – as well as due to hermeneutics by which we find different interpretations as has been demonstrated by this most recent treasure hunt where we are interpreting The House of the Rising Sun. I think it’s what makes treasure hunting so much fun. You never know how these things are supposed to be interpreted until you start treasure hunting and then there are all sorts of surprises!

Thus, with the Deep Blue Mariner Reaps the Soul Surprise – soul COULD mean SOLE; in other words, the mariner reaps the one and only BIG surprise. What is a Mariner? A baseball team? A Marine? Someone who guides a ship? Is it a boat on water or a space ship? And what does “deep blue” mean? The fact that the clues were signed off by “Your True Blue Soul Mate” provides a hint that perhaps we are not talking about the color blue necessarily. With research, we will find that “true blue” means many things including genuine, royalty, genealogical relationships, “blue bloods”, being depressed, etc. Is this mariner in a “deep depression?” Is deep blue about a movie? A song? The ocean? So, the treasure hunt titles are always like that….and they are “handed down” to me. I never know what the significant meanings are until I start getting clues and go out on the treasure hunts and start solving them. Sometimes this means I am instructed to travel somewhere -- those “epistemological road trips” Joe talks about in his book -- and/or I am instructed to particular pages in particular books or someone utilizes the fractal capabilities of the Internet and I am divinely directed to certain web pages (Remember, Joe explained in Knowledge and Critical Pedagogy: An Introduction that the Internet is a fractal and it works the same in all dimensions, p. 205).

One of my favorite treasure hunt titles was “The Pacific Coast Eager Beaver Treasure Hunt.” I thought it was so funny because it was handed down to me right after someone in the educational community told me I was laughed at for being an “Eager Beaver Critical Pedagogue.”  I wrote about this incident in my blog, "It's Just My Imagination." Next thing I know, up pops this funny treasure hunt!

And what did we end up finding on this Pacific Coast Eager Beaver Treasure Hunt? Nothing less than an Eager Beaver Second Hand Store! But this is not your standard second hand store – it’s really a great store and they sell both new and used items. Very interesting store and they even sell bumper stickers and t-shirts that say “I Love Eager Beaver.” (A message from my treasure hunting guide/teacher perhaps?) I love it!!!

I actually bought a t-shirt and bumper sticker!



Not only that, one of my clues from my treasure hunting guide was that he had “tricks up his sleeve.” So what do I find in the Eager Beaver Store, sitting right out in the open on a counter, but Ty Pennington’s book with the word “Tricks” at the top of his sleeve….I just had to spend the two bucks for this book!







And when I got the book home and opened it up, it was even funnier because inside was a quiz to determine whether you are an Eager Beaver Home Improvement Person.This was just too, too, funny….That experience was covered in Tricky Beavers: Pacific Coast Eager Beaver Treasure Hunt Take Two, Part Four


And then there was the Love Day Celebration in Kings Valley in Queen City – and the “Bad to the Bone BBQ.” And there are SO many stories about how “Bad to the Bone” keeps coming up in these treasure hunts…I have found it at multiple treasure hunting sites and have even taken pictures as shown here. I have also found them in song lyrics that are from MUSIC Easter eggs in Joe’s books, and I have even found them in an article Joe wrote, called “Home Alone and ‘Bad to the Bone’: The Advent of a Postmodern Childhood.”
Many coincidences. All of this started happening, quite coincidentally, after I “gave” Joe a birthday card on Memorial Day (which I had actually purchased for his 58th birthday, but, sadly I did not have the opportunity to give him) that says to be bad on your birthday, “very bad,” and it plays the song “Bad to the Bone.” I think he would have found it quite funny, given he had written an article with that song title in it. Perhaps, I subconsciously knew about the article he had written when I picked the card out for him, but it was definitely not a conscious move on my part. I just thought he would have found it funny.
 
Of course, then there was the amazing Yard Hunt in which I found the soul mate symbol – the amazing silver yin yang disk, truly a divine gift considering I was divinely asked to do the yard search as initiation and training -- and the diamond ring that I was supposed to find, but was delivered to my door. And then there was the Kings Valley Treasure Hunt where I have still more work to do to find the treasury notes and the gold, but what I did end up finding so far is a great friend who is a real treasure – the Gentle Lord of the Land and Trees, an 84-year-old man who lives alone in a decrepit house in Kings Valley. You can read a summary of some of the treasure hunting at Treasure Hunting: Where Are We Now? and the blogs that follow it….

There was also the No Ordinary Treasure Hunt that yielded my favorite word in Joe's book, "penache" and actually met up with the Pacific Coast Eager Beaver Treasure Hunt because of the restaurant there named Penache -- where I ended up going back to have a fine dinner. And then there was the manifestation of a car! And there was the NEW Treasure Hunt in which Joe's theory solved Einstein's Riddle. I have come to realize there are just too many things to summarize, so it really is time to assemble it all together to make it easier for people to read and comprehend all of the amazing things the treasure hunts have yielded just since last May.

...and so, these treasure hunts are addictive, productive and so much FUN!!! I have barely touched on all of the AMAZING things about them, and I know there will be much more as I am directed to continue them or embark on new treasure hunts. I am learning a LOT about applying Joe’s work in the process which I hope other people will be able to apply in their work, teaching, and their everyday lives. Life IS a treasure hunt if we just know how to look for the treasures handed to us each and every day. I do think I need to put all of these treasure hunts into a book (or books) and perhaps update them as the treasure hunts continue to evolve. I do pray and wish and ask that they continue. My life has never been so blissful.

Next time, I will work on finishing up the NEW Quest for the Golden Keys Treasure Hunt as I was advised by my "treasure hunting master teacher": You need to get the info out that you have deciphered so far and don’t forget those extra clues I gave you.

It may take a bit more than a couple of days unless I just throw it all out here in a couple of very long blogs or I am very selective in what I present and leave the rest for later – there is quite a bit of information and another interpretation to present yet…and the clues of course. There will be more keys and doors to find, but I will leave readers to continue that hunt on their own – and for those who do, there is the promise that they will be very surprised and enlightened – and some of them will even find their soul mates. Then, down that long, winding road a bit, I will update this particular treasure hunt with additional information.

I just LOVE “Treasure Hunting!” Joe called them “postformal treasure hunts” in an earlier book (Reading, Writing, and Thinking: The Postformal Basics); however, in Knowledge and Critical Pedagogy: An Introduction, he moved things up many levels with his critical complex epistemology and he called them “epistemological road trips,” stating,

“To become a seeker of new knowledges and new ways of being we must be willing to sometimes be seen as the fools of the gods. In a Western culture that moves many of us to become obsessed with popularity and the approval of others, this becomes a lot to ask of a twenty-first century student or teacher. But a critical pedagogy must, nevertheless, ask it of such individuals. One must also be willing to take to the road, in much the same way Jack Kerouac did in the 1950s. Taking to the epistemological road in this critical pedagogical context may certainly take the form of geographical travel” (p. 19).

Good thing I don’t care about being popular. Just so you are aware of it, the above quotation is also related to “The NEW Quest for the Golden Keys Treasure Hunt” and I will leave it to readers to interpret it in context with all of the other clues and quotations provided for this treasure hunt.

That’s it for today. I will finish off the “NEW Quest for the Golden Keys Treasure Hunt” (for the time being) in the next few blogs, and then we are off and rollin’ with a new bigger and better treasure hunt called The Deep Blue Mariner Reaps the Soul Surprise Treasure Hunt.

Beyond Wishin’ and Hopin’ for the MAGIC to Continue,
Vanessa

Oh, and the song "Roll Out the Barrel" was handed down to me to post along with this information about the new treasure hunt, I guess cuz we will be rollin’ out something new, bigger, and even better (Are those mariner’s outfits they are wearing in the video???). Just as Joe stated at the end of Knowledge and Critical Pedagogy: An Introduction in relation to his critical complex epistemology, “Engagement with subjugated knowledge and its production, and the notion that we are things-in-relationship not simply things-in-themselves jettisons us into new domains, new mindspaces, new modes of seeing, being, and acting. I hope you find this as exciting and exhilarating a process as I do” -- I am excited!!!

Beer Barrel Polka (Roll Out the Barrel) – the Swingcats

In the garden, what a garden
Only happy faces bloom there
And there's never any room there
For a worry or a gloom there

Oh there's music and there's dancing
And a lot of sweet romancing
When they play the polka
They all get in the swing

Every time they hear that oom-pa-pa
Everybody feels so tra-la-la
They want to throw their cares away
They all go lah-de-ah-de-ay

Then they hear a rumble on the floor, the floor
It's the big surprise they're waiting for
And all the couples form a ring
For miles around you'll hear them sing...

Roll out the barrel, we'll have a barrel of fun
Roll out the barrel, we've got the blues on the run
Zing boom tararrel, ring out a song of good cheer
Now's the time to roll the barrel, for the gang's all here

Da-da-da-da, da-da-da-da, da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da

Then they hear a rumble on the floor-or-or-or
It's the big surprise they're waiting for
And all the couples they form a ring
For miles around you'll hear them sing

So…once again, we left off yesterday with the idea for the comparison of Joe’s “cognitive handcuffs” with the “ball and chain” from the lyrics of the song, The House of the Rising Sun (p. 114 of Reading, Writing, Thinking). Many people, in my Internet research, have interpreted the ball and chain as meaning the boy was going to prison. But life on earth under fidurodian control is a prison in itself, albeit a different sort of prison. What kind of clues can “cognitive handcuffs” provide and what is Joe’s solution to being set free?

In this part of the book, he was talking about how our Imperialist-dictated education has us handcuffed and it has us shackled with balls and chains, too.

One consistent idea that he always holds onto is the idea that “we don’t throw out the baby with the bathwater.” You use the tools that work and you simply set aside the tools that don't work. In this case, we can hang onto old ways and use them when they serve a purpose, but what he refers to as a “cognitive insurrection” helps “individuals to disorient themselves from the amoeba like ways of seeing promoted by the pedagogical and political potentates of the empire” (p. 114). In other words, we only abide by the dictates if there is some compelling reason for us to do so. I can relate to that. So, we play the games we know we need to play, such as follow the academic writing rules or whatever when we need to but in our “real lives” we “learn diverse ways of seeing, find out where official information comes from and how it is validated as part of the canon, and study how minds have been shaped by such socio-political functions” (p. 114). This gives us a great advantage because now we no longer feel that we must live up to someone else’s expectations of who we should be or what we should do. And we can come to know the oppressors better than the oppressors know themselves. This is an important key for finding those doors to opportunity and freedom.

Joe clarifies: “I simply cannot fathom being someone that a group of power wielders have decided I should be, an entity who will efficiently serve their political and economic interests. I cannot be an academic who conforms to certain status quo perpetuating folkways, obsequiously bowing down to those above in the power/status hierarchy and demanding deference from those ‘below’ me” (p. 115). We are all equal here.

As Joe suggests, this act of removing the cognitive handcuffs or the ball and chain, moves us to make the familiar seem strange and the strange seem familiar, which he contends takes “cognitive guts, for we can never be the same people after such defamiliarization activities. The benefits, however, are so powerful…” (p. 115). They can set us free! I can never be the same person I was, and nor would I want to be. Once you get a taste of freedom, you never want to go back. I often ask myself, why did I choose education? It certainly is not for the purpose of patting people on the back for their work, no matter how damaging it is to my brothers and sisters so that I can have my work praised. I do know my purpose, and it is not what most of people may think.
How does all of this relate to the poor boy in the song? He needs more options. He is right in the middle of trying to decide whether he should go back to his “place” in society; he does not really want to. He needs to be set free; or, more appropriately, he needs to discover how he can set himself free. He needs Joe’s critical complex epistemology that will allow him to change things up radically so that he can be who he wants to be and not who the power wielders have told him he is. Perhaps it will take a trip back into that house, whether he likes the idea or not. How does this boy awaken to his possibilities?? Somewhere there are more keys in Joe’s books.

Christmas and Kwanzaa Update

I am SO EXCITED!!! A friend had an idea about a tree stand (which, unfortunately, did not work out yet), but nevertheless, I went downtown today to get a Christmas tree and I rescued one beautiful tree from the ensuing inferno (they were loading the trees onto a truck, getting ready to sell them as firewood). And LO and BEHOLD! The guys there gave me the nicest tree standing in the lot! Along with a lovely decorated wreath and a swag, which I hung out on my porch and front door. My angels are taking such good care of me! Like I have said, I get excited about the little things because they are so divinely orchestrated. Interestingly, I had the money ($100, in fact) in my hand to pay for the tree, and they still did not want payment. On top of that, right after I got the tree, I stopped by the grocery store and ran into someone who I had wanted to become friends with but we lost contact with each other … long story. But we were excited and we are going to get together and party during the holidays! So it was a fruitful trip into town and “serendipity” is alive and well.

We have decided we want to make Christmas last a bit this year, even though we are getting a late start. We are beginning our celebrations today and tomorrow and then we are going shopping to pick up sale items and celebrate Kwanzaa for the next entire week!!! Kwanzaa is extra special, although I have much to learn about it since I have never celebrated it before. I will post some information here – each day you reflect on a specific value, which makes a great holiday tradition. That will take us up to New Year’s -- and then we will do New Year’s up royally, including opening our “Christmas” gifts. I am hoping that some of my surprises from my angels will manifest by then….they always give me some extra special and amazing surprises for holidays and other special days. I have decided that next year is going to be even better! We will celebrate Hanukkah before Christmas and whatever other world holidays fall in December. I have always wanted an Earth on which every day was a holiday and we have parties and celebrations every day. That would be heaven on earth.

One more thing! Remember Mel – the Gentle Lord of the Land and Trees???? If not, or if you are new to my blogs, might want to review The Kings Valley Treasure Hunt and how I am so worried that Mel's house will not make it through winter. He is a pro with his land and trees and his name actually means the gentle lord of the land and trees, but his house is falling down around him. Well, when he starts getting anxious or overwhelmed about his house I hear from him in my dreams. He never asks for help, but I know that’s what he’s really doing. He just says “hello!” loudly and very clearly (and this happens when I am awake if he is taking a nap) or it awakens me if I am sleeping. The other night, he called for me again, awakening me in the middle of the night. I had sent him a Christmas gift, but it is on my agenda to go visit him very soon. I really hope by next summer we can get some community members together and fix up Mel’s house. If it stays standing through this winter, it will not make it another winter, for sure. I suspect he is having a very difficult time keeping warm. I hope he’s doing well. I will provide an update here in my blogs.

Well, that’s it. While I was out running around town, one of my angels sent me today’s Christmas song telepathically (this happens so often; I love it!). I hope all of you have many lovely and happy days filled with love.

Vanessa

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas – Bing Crosby

Yesterday, I brought up Joe’s belief in the power of love for getting us through tough situations, such as multiple realities and conflicting truths. In the tradition of Paulo Freire, he often referred to this love as “radical love.” Those words have somewhat lost their appeal to me simply because I wandered around the “critical world” a bit, where people talked about radical love, but quite frankly, the only person I observed who practiced this powerful love was Joe, (but, I admit, I was -- and I still am -- very biased) and of course, Joe had his own brand of complex critical pedagogy and radical love. So, I like to call it “spiritual love” because it goes so deep and reaches beyond the one dimensional reality so many people seem stuck in yet today, and there are many places in Joe’s work in which he references spirituality and love that transcends our FIDURODian ways. I wonder what Paulo would say today...

This is Sunday, and if you have been reading my blogs you know on Sundays I write “Public Service Outreach Announcements” (PSOAs) about various topics, which are really just launching points for people to do additional thinking and research. I never attempt to provide definitive answers. I prefer to present alternative viewpoints, sometimes very radical, with the idea that we can all think about these things and perhaps find better and more comfortable ways of being in the world. This week’s topic is the POWER OF LOVE and how we might use that love to change traditions – such as the way we celebrate Christmas. There are a lot of ideas out there. I will present a few to get people started thinking, and then you can research for more ideas and propose other ways we might change Christmas up. I know one thing. After spending several days now trying to find a Christmas tree stand with no luck, and looking at all of the stuff for sale and the expensive prices, our family has decided to celebrate for the New Year instead of Christmas. It should be great fun. We can go shopping after Christmas and get things we need and want, and then open gifts New Year’s morning instead of Christmas morning. We always did wait until the last minute to get a Christmas tree, anyway, and if we do decide to get one, we can keep it for our new New Year Celebration. This is our first year in our new house and we had to virtually start all over again, which is why we were out looking for a Christmas tree stand, and since every store seems to be out of them, we decided to bag Christmas this year and start a brand new tradition for us….still not sure we will have a tree. If we can find a stand, then we will probably pick up a small Christmas tree to celebrate our NEW New Year.

Now, in my dreams it is a whole different story! OMG we are doing Christmas royally. I wish I could find lights like we have on our gigantic Christmas tree in our parlor where we will be hosting a gala event for many super special guests, which is exciting in itself. The lights are the coolest lights I have ever seen! Imagine a tall tree almost to the ceiling (and we have 12 foot ceilings) and it almost appears that the entire tree sparkles with the most magnificent liquid glitter that changes colors – the entire tree! It looks like it’s covered completely in colored glitter that changes from red to green to blue to purple to gold to silver – but the glitter is really the tiniest lights you can imagine, hundreds of thousands of them. They are made with very fine fiber optics and each “bulb” is actually a spray of multiple very thin fiber optic tubings. The light flows through the tubing (but you cannot see the tubing or the light flowing through like happens with most fiber optic lights) and then it only glows out the very tiny square end and they all blink randomly so that the effect is as if the entire tree is covered with sparkling glitter that slowly changes colors. It is very, very beautiful. And then there are shiny silvery balls hanging on the tree as well that reflect the glittery lights. I was depressed about Christmas, especially since we cannot even seem to get a Christmas tree this year, and then to cheer me up I was given the privilege of peeking at that Christmas tree (It was a surprise). That made me very happy, and I think I can get through this FIDURODian Christmas with its one dimensionality. I have added a picture of a tree with fiber optic lights here for comparison to my real Christmas tree in my dream. In this picture you can see the light travel the length of the fiber and the lights are different colors. In the tree in my dream, you could only see the very tiny tip of the fibers as sparkles of lights, they were square like a pieces of glitter would be (why is most glitter square?), and they all blinked at different times to create a sparkle effect, and they all slowly shifted, evolving new colors in unison. (Just so you know, in my dreams we do not cut down trees for Christmas. We either use artificial trees that look real or we use potted trees and then plant them in our gardens after Christmas.)

Then to top it off, I was given this song to go with it. You will have to pardon me; I get the most pleasure out of the little things, I guess, although they do not seem like little things to me…my dreams are always so spectacular, which I am very grateful for.

You Me and this Christmas Tree

For some reason December's
got a lot warmer this year
and i think i know why
it's you it's your smile it's your style
everything you do just drives me wild and
all i see is Christmas lights here there everywhere
and it makes me wanna sing

la la la la la sing it like we mean it
just you and me we’re beaming brighter
than any light around this Christmas tree
(around this Christmas tree)

let’s make our own winter wonderland
just you and me baby tell me what you think of that
i can promise you if you hold my hand
i can be the best present that you ever had
and all i see is snow outside here there everywhere
and it makes me wanna sing

lets make this hoilday last
(lets make this hoilday last)
because next christmas day is too far for me
please make this hoilday last
(please make this hoilday last)
because next christmas day is too far for me
it's too far away

people singing bells ringing
and all i really wanna know is what you’re thinking
and all the reasons for the seasons and
all i wanna do is have you near me singing

la la la la la sing it like we mean it
just you and me we’re beaming brighter
than any light around this Christmas tree
(around this Christmas tree)
la la la la la sing it like we mean it
just you and me we’re beaming

So, how do we change up Christmas? I will start with a very interesting blog I happened to come across that describes one person’s idea for changing the meaning of Christmas. I think I like it; it is certainly original. Or do we take God, Christ, and religion out of Christmas as the Humanists propose, or at least be accepting of others who choose to do so? Or how about the ideas of the people in the music video at the end of this blog? There are infinite ways we could be celebrating - or not celebrating - Christmas! Why do we restrict ourselves so? Why do we restrict others? What are your ideas?

So This is Christmas and the Solstice Festival
a message from Celia Fenn

Friday, 18 December, 2009 

Well, two subjects that come up at the same time - the changing energy of Christmas and the resurgence of Light in the form of a huge Solar Wave that is reaching the Earth now and causing physical disorientation and discomfort for some people.

Well, first the topic of Christmas! I am not sure what Christmas is like for you where you are, but here in South Africa the energy of Christmas seems very diffent to previous years. It could be the economic recession, but the mad orgy of consumerist spending is just not happening this year. It is very quiet generally, and people are much more restrained. It could be the recession, but it could also be that the energy of Christmas has changed.

It feels to me that the reason for Christmas no longer really applies. The cycle is complete and we are emerging into the new. The birth of Christ as a child to redeem the world is now understood to be only part of the true story of the Christ energy. The Christ Light was born into Yeshua and Mariam, or Jesus and Mary Magdalene, and both of them were avatars of the Christ Consciousness.

With the activation of the Diamond Light Grid and the Sacred Rose grids, the full flow of the Christ Consciousness can be experienced on Earth. The seed that was planted two thousand years ago has flowered and become the Sacred Rose of Love. We should be celebrating the culmination of the work of Yeshua and Mariam, or Sananda and Lady Nada, as they are known among the Masters of Light. It truly is time to release the past, and to cease to hold Yeshua in the role of the "child" and Mary as the "virgin mother". Yeshua has ascended into Light with his Twin Flame partner, and they are welcoming us as we follow in their footsteps. The cycle is complete. The central mystery of the teachings of the Christ Light is the Union of Jesus and Mary as representatives of the Balance of the Divine Masculine and Feminine and their Sacred Union into Divine Light and Oneness. The mystery of their Oneness and their Individual essence. That they were One and yet they were each unique individuals who walked their own path on the Earth. And that they each brough the gift of the Christ Light to the Earth!

So, for me, this is about celebrating the Ascension of the Twin Flames who were the Christ Avatars, rather than the birth of a Child. The Ascension of two adult people who were committed to the path of Higher Consciousness and the service of Humanity in its Ascension into the Light. Now, that is something worth celebrating as we move towards 2012!

And, as we celebrate, we take on the energy of the Christ Light, we become the Sacred Rose, and we enter into a new cycle of spiritual evolution. For me, I keep seeing two symbols. The first is the Golden Chalice with a long stemmed rose inside. This is the symbol of Mary Magdalene, and it represents the human body as a chalice for the Light of Spirit and the opening of the Crown Chakra as the Rose of Light when the full Cosmic connection is made and the Being becomes multi-dimensional. The second symbol is one that was given to me in a dream.....it is simply a Red Rose with the word "Peace". This represents the energy of Peace that will come as the Rose Light of Ascended Christ Consciousness activates within the Global Grids.

For me, this will be a special year, as I will land in Israel on Christmas morning, after travelling on the night of the 24th. I will be spending the time with Jewish friends and have been invited to celebrate Shabat with them. What could be more fitting at this time when the cycles are ending and beginning. For, in this new cycle, the energies of all who live in the Holy Land will be united in this Rose of Peace. I am looking forward to visiting Sacred sites and meeting with Israelis and Palestinians in my journey. And, the Rose of Peace will be with me as I journey where the Christ Avatars first set foot on Planet Earth two thousand years ago! A Sacred Space indeed.

And so, before that, there is the Solstice celebration of the 21:12. Traditionally, in the North, the Midwinter Solstice celebrates the Return or Rebirth of the Light, and of course that was why Christianity decided to make it a perpetual celebration of the "birth" of Jesus when the "pagan" festivals were christianized by the Catholic Church. And, it is also interesting that at this time, the Sun, which has been in a cycle of solar inactivity, has burst into life with a new Sunspot and Solar activity. We are now experiencing the effects of solar waves entering the Planetary fields. Those of us who are sensitive can probably feel effects such as dizziness, head aches, nausea, insomnia etc. These effects will pass.

But, we can expect that the Solar Light will intensify around the 20th and 21st, as the energy of the New Cycle begins. At the 21:12 we will complete the integration of the energies that were activated on the 11:11. We will have activated our own Rose Grids and will have become fully multi-dimensional, although we may only be aware of this to the extent that we can cope with the mental and physical effects. We are stepping into Divine Light, and yes the Sun itself will seem to be brighter and more radiant as we discover our inner Light and Radiance. Until, one day, we will fully perceive that we are Light and that we Radiate Light like the Sun!

So, I wish you all a most wonderful Solstice Celebration on the 21st, and a Peaceful Christmas filled with Love and Beauty and Joy. Celebrate the "Christ Mass", which is the Ceremony of Love of the Ascended Christ Avatars, Jesus and Mary Magdalene. May the Rose of Light be with you and bring Peace to your Heart and to your Life. And May Peace Prevail on Earth - Now and Always!

Those of us who live in the Southern Hemisphere, are used to spending our Christmas Holidays in the heat and the sunshine. For me, a white Christmas means the white Agapanthus flowers, which are indigenous to the area in which I live and which grow in my garden and flower at this time of the year. These white and blue "Christmas Flowers" were photographed at the Star Garden in Johannesburg at the 12:12 Celebration. And this year, I hope that after I have enjoyed the white flowers here, I will also maybe enjoy some snow with my Christmas this year!

© 2006-8 Celia Fenn and Starchild Global http://www.starchildglobal.com - You are free to copy, distribute, display, and perform the work under the following conditions: You must give the author credit, you may not use this for commercial purposes, and you may not alter, transform or build upon this work. For any reuse or distribution, you must make clear to others the license terms of this work. Any of these conditions can be waived if you get permission from the copyright holder. Any other purpose of use must be granted permission by author.

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Does it make sense to attempt to arrive at both meaning AND truth? This was the great debate as discussed yesterday in relation to the video about the hermeneutic circle presented by Professor Fry, and it seems to have people divided. It’s no wonder people are spinning their wheels. How can we get to truth? What is truth? We use hermeneutics for interpretation to gain understanding of multiple perspectives; to expect a “truth” from multiple perspectives is to apply one dimensional rules on multiple dimensional conditions. I do not see the logic of it. All of the dimensions interact with each other and just as an interpretation can never be final and there can never be only one “correct” interpretation, there can be no final truth. Why are we on this futile search for truth? The reality is that we all have our own truths and they fluctuate with the changing, continuously interacting perspectives and dimensions. Can we respect that?

Haven’t you experienced this in a simple argument? For example, you and your spouse may be arguing over some issue. He is arguing one thing and you are arguing another point. You are not even “on the same page.” You have different perspectives. You defend your purchase of steak for dinner, for example, even though you cannot afford it, because you wanted to make him a special dinner. He did not appreciate it because his work was cut back right during the holidays. He argues that there is not enough money. You argue that you want to treat him to a special dinner. On another level, you were angry with him for going out last weekend with the guys (there was enough money for that!), leaving you home by yourself. You had had an argument then, you were a little ticked, but you wanted to make it up to him with the steak dinner and let it be water be under the bridge. The truth is you are still ticked, especially now that he’s ticked. The truth is you want to treat him to a special dinner. The truth is you want to make him feel guilty for going out last weekend. The truth is that you are fearful because you had a dream last night that he was cheating on you. The truth is that it wasn’t fair that he spent money and is now telling you that you shouldn’t. The truth is that he should be grateful. The truth is you wished you had not gone to so much trouble for someone who is so ungrateful. The real truth is you want to get him in the bedroom for a fun wild night, but now that’s blown, and you are really upset. Do you tell him the “truth?” Which truth do you pick, or do you tell him all of them (that would waste a lot of time and risk his reactions to some other reality that might pop up for him)….but wait, suddenly he gets over being angry. He is reacting to his own perceptions of multiple realities (many scenarios are going through his mind), but you do not have a clue what it’s about. Since his “reality” changed, your “reality” has to adjust. He gets very affectionate and that makes you happy….you skip telling him the “truth”; don’t need to, right? And what “truths” are going through his mind all of this time – do you waste this moment to find out which “truth” he is going to share with you?

The whole point of hermeneutical analysis, from what I can ascertain, is that our goal should be understanding, not truth per se. We can get to multiple truths in various contexts, but those truths may be untruths in other contexts relating to the very same conversation or phenomenon under study….so, I guess I just do not understand what the hang up is over “truth.” I must be missing something here….oh well; I will see what Joe says in Knowledge and Critical Pedagogy: An Introduction.

Believing that there is “one truth” is a characteristic of FIDURODian thinking, according to Joe. It makes up the OD in FIDUROD, that extreme form of destructive positivism that operates today and limits thinking. Thus, he defines “one dimensional” as being “shaped by the belief that there is one true reality that can be discovered and completely described by following correct research methods” (p. 23).

The other argument over hermeneutics is that by seeking understanding for ourselves, we are “instrumentalizing” other people for our own purposes, as was discussed in yesterday’s blog….what does Joe say about all of this? How did he handle it?

"Paulo Freire’s notion of radical love has permeated all dimensions of my understanding of critical pedagogy and the critical complex epistemology and politics of knowledge that we are addressing in Knowledge and Critical Pedagogy: An Introduction" (p. 178).

I'm with Joe! (to be continued)
Vanessa

The Power of Love – Celine Dion

It is not possible to enter the hermeneutic circle (begin or continue an analysis) objectively, according to Heidegger, and, of course, Joe would have agreed with this – it’s a major foundation of his theory. There is no way to factor out our own personal point of view and enter another place in time or the author’s mind who wrote the piece. Not only that, these "realities" are changing and interacting. However, according to Gadamer, who was guided by Heidegger's work, we can attempt to “bridge” horizons between realities through “horizon merging” or commonalities such as “traditions.” But then this can create serious problems.

The professor in yesterday's video about hermeneutics illustrated how commonalities can get us into the hermeneutic circle, but if we do not give up our notions of what meaning is, it can result in misunderstanding or not being able to understand the text at all, and worse. This is easily illustrated with common words used during the 1700s, for example and the different meanings associated with them today. We must adjust our preconceptions – and learn some history – so that we know that the word then had a different meaning and what that meaning is. This is a “positive” prejudice and a way to attempt a merging between historical horizons.

Unfortunately, it is not possible to merge horizons effectively – bad prejudice slips in, even when we are being “mindful” of it as Gadamer recommends. The previous blog I wrote about traditions exemplifies how complex traditions are and how they can permeate our lives. This comes crystal clear if we ever find ourselves immersed in different cultural surroundings. Dr. Fry gave the obvious example of slavery, which was tradition and very highly prejudiced.

Nevertheless, Gadamer’s contention was that it is possible, through a shared common ground, and that we can get to truth because there is an intimate relationship between understanding and truth. It takes more than historicality because if we simply attempt to reconstruct the historical horizon in order to understand, all we end up learning are factoids. According to Gadamer, we need to learn from the object (e.g., the person), not merely about the object, and attempting to do so “objectively” abandons the possibility of learning truth from the object. There is a great risk in this maneuver because relying on “traditions” or broad "commonalities" as Gadamer suggests, may insert gross prejudices into the equation. Being “mindful” may not, and often is not enough.

According to Hirsch, then, citing Kant, this form of interpretation becomes an act that is “instumentalizing” the “other” which presents a moral issue. You are appropriating other people for yourself, for your own purposes. Hirsch states, “you lose the soul of speech, which is to convey meaning and to understand what is intended to be conveyed” thus you cannot really get to meaning or truth. Hirsch believed it is possible to objectively and accurately interpret meaning.

Thus, Gadamer sacrifices meaning for truth, with the awareness that there is always something of us in the interpretation (it is not possible to be objective) and Hirsch claims it is possible to be objective, and we can get to meaning this way, but this says nothing about truth. Apparently, these two men engaged in lifelong “feuds” over this issue.

According to Professor Fry in yesterday’s video, we want to go in both directions; we want both meaning and truth, but this is impossible and so people choose sides (with Gadamer or Hirsch) – however, these differences are “irreconcilable.”

And then came the peacemaker. How did Joe reconcile these irreconcilable differences? And how can Joe’s reconciliation help us get in and out of the hermeneutic circle -- and the doors of The House of the Rising Sun?

Breaking Up Is Hard to Do – Neil Sedaka

I found this video a couple of days ago and it is helpful as an introduction to hermeneutics and the hermeneutic circle. Dr. Fry defines hermeneutics as the art or principles of interpretation. According to his account, there are two ways into the circle and each will yield different results.

Ways In and Out of the Hermeneutic Circle – Paul Fry – Literary Theory – Yale University

Sorry – I have been writing the blogs, but have not been timely in adding the images and getting them uploaded because I have not been feeling well at all -- dental problems….same as my twin flame soul mate had this time last year. I finally had to get antibiotics and will have to go in for treatment in a couple of weeks. I apologize for the delay getting the blogs posted.

Today’s topic is twin flame soul mates, but as you will see this will tie back into the hermeneutic discussion that has been going on the past few days. There is an interesting thing about these soul mates. Their lives correlate in many, many ways throughout the years even if they have been separated by many miles. This gives them an uncanny ability to understand each other’s lives, as well as to empathize with each other. They have been through the same sorts of trials and tribulations. When they do meet up and become conscious of each other, they connect on multiple levels and often communicate telepathically. Someday it would be interesting to write a history of my life and compare it with my twin flame because just from what I know so far, there are many incredible correlations and, in addition, so many quite amazing things that laid the groundwork, so to speak, for what is and what will be.  While most people are probably skeptical, those same people do not seek the knowledge that actually explains it.

Physics courses are still stuck in the Newtonian age. I find this amazing. I teach science online and so I am always changing up the predetermined, “canned” curriculum and getting students to research more timely and fascinating science topics. That is one advantage of online education. Information is right there at their fingertips and it is easy enough to encourage students to use it. Incredibly, the study of physics in the curriculum I am required to teach stops with Newton. The biology curriculum is just as bad, still presenting organisms as comprised of discrete, atomized objects and particles, barely touching on the symbiotic interrelationships that are critical to life. I can understand why Joe was so determined to get the word out about science and why he was so down on “Newtonian-Cartesian-Baconian” science (as he put it).

The way science is taught today obscures any real understanding of life itself, much less any comprehension of our entire cosmos. If you have read much of Joe’s work, you know that he was very much into quantum mechanics, complexity and chaos theory, enactive theory, fractals, and ecological sciences (and more). There are very important reasons for this. For example, he explained how scientists have discovered that “particles” can exist in more than one place at the same time and what one of those particles does, affects the others (which, incidentally do not exist as particles at all until we observe them, thus highlighting the contention that researchers can never be objective observers, because merely by observing, we are altering what exists).

This relates to the quantum leap….and same thing happens between twin flame soul mates. I think they even share fractals (repeating events, the timing of which can actually be calculated, by one author’s account). These soul mates are apart, but always together, always linked, always affecting each other in some way, whether they are conscious of it or not. When they do become conscious of each other, everything changes, miracles happen. I am not asking anyone to believe this, however. You can’t unless you have experienced it. So, anyway, tooth problems – right before Christmas. Of course, everybody's experiences are different, hence the many different "signs" that get noted. Joe had much to say about the many ways of experiencing things -- even something as simple as a sunset. It is no wonder that there are so many different interpretations -- we cannot all be the same or experience the same. We lose much when we pretend there is only one way to experience something and we get into a deep rut when we interpret the lyrics of a song, a poem, scripture, etc. in a literal sense only. This will be taken up again tomorrow in direct relation to The House of The Rising Sun. We get into a deep rut as well if we do not teach alternative views of science.

It’s ok if people do not wish to believe this soul mate stuff, but everyone should be learning science. Some of you have found your soul mate and can see the signs. (Search on “twin flame signs” if you would like to learn more.) Other people believe and are on the quest to find their soul mate.
 
Well, that’s it for today….just wanted to let people know that I am still around, but not feeling so great. Also, I have been somewhat down because it was Joe’s birthday on the 14th. I did celebrate, but there is always this sadness that never goes away, and I suppose on some level there always be. I do need to continue with my dissertation work that we were going to do together and so I am always reminded of what could have been. I was really looking forward to learning from the Master Teacher, himself. However, I also continue to be reminded in multiple ways on a daily basis that I am never alone.

Oh, one more thing. I never read the Bible anymore. I find it kind of depressing in many places, although Jesus was a true blessing. Also depressing is the way so many people today try to interpret the Bible literally, much like they have done with the lyrics for The House of the Rising Sun. I find this very ironic since the reason more formal approaches to hermeneutics developed in the first place was to interpret the Bible. Churches are no longer places to get education at all since we no longer get the training in this great and powerful tool, hermeneutics. Most churches have become just another source of painful indoctrination.

Related to this, in my dream last night, to my surprise I was pointed to the following verse out of the Bible. It is significant to this discussion of twin flame soul mates, Joe’s work with the bricolage research methodology, and hermeneutic interpretation. The reason this particular verse was brought to my attention was not presented to me, and appears to be another one of those mysterious puzzles.

They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar.”

Genesis 11:3 (NIV)

Tomorrow: More about hermeneutics.

Love & Peace,

Vanessa

Wish you were here - Bliss

This is really weird, because I have NEVER done hermeneutical analyses in my entire life. So, I guess what I am saying, with no training in hermeneutics, I am not really showing people how to “do hermeneutics” but rather it is more like I am showing people how to learn hermeneutics, since I will be learning as I go. Hermeneutics is simply a method of interpretation – thus, we are interpreting The House of the Rising Sun. While some people want to try to make it systematic, in my view, it seems like it is more of an art. This first go-through is going to be very basic because I will need to do some research on hermeneutics. All, I know is that Joe stated that it is a key to multilogical epistemology. By having this tool for interpretive uses, we can gain a greater understanding of different perspectives. If you want to review the song for this analysis, vist these links:

Well, I got one foot on the platform
The other foot on the train
I'm goin' back to New Orleans
To wear that ball and chain

In a way, it sounds like he has given up trying to make it in the world and he’s heading back to his home town where he will continue to be “imprisoned,” not in a literal sense, but in the sense that he is forever trapped in his position in society. He has accepted it; there is nowhere for him to go…perhaps he has always hit that “road to nowhere,” which is an Easter egg in Joe’s book. If you download “How to find the Easter eggs” free book I have made available on this site, it discusses this Easter egg.

Then, on other hand, maybe this poor boy has NOT given up. While he has one foot on the train to go back, he still has the other foot on the platform. He has not really made the final decision to go back. He is at that crossroads. He can change his mind. This is interesting because this treasure hunt is also a crossroads. You can choose to follow along and maybe learn something new, or abandon it and go back to the road you’ve been on all along. There is another crossroads – it relates to the hermeneutic circle and the two different ways you can go with it. There are “irreconcilable differences” when it comes to using hermeneutics. I will talk about that more, later. But Joe comes in with his work and solves these irreconcilable differences.

The simplest interpretation you can do is the literal one. When I researched using google, I found that more than 99% of the people interpret this song literally.  It seems that positivism or FIDUROD with its “objectivism” is alive and well. What does Joe say about this right in the title of his road trip subchapter? “Assumptions About Knowledge Insidiously Shape and Limit Our Realities” and if more than 90% can only see a literal interpretation, that says a lot about our society (our interpretations, if always so literal, could be -- and often are -- sinister). Anyway, these people believe the author is from New Orleans and he’s going back. Many even claim that The House of the Rising Sun is a House of prostitution, thus explaining why it’s been the ruin of “many a poor boy.” This is interesting in light of the fact that Joe mentioned, in relation to this “epistemological road,” It might not mean spending the night in a Mexican whorehouse as did Kerouac’s characters – although I wouldn’t want to rule it out” (p. 19). What I found most interesting was how these people wanted to “prove” that what they believed is correct: that the House of the Rising Sun is a house of prostitution. So they went through all sorts of maneuvers trying to prove that their PRECONCEIVED idea was correct by investigating whether or not there was a house of prostitution there with that name. The verdict is still out. But, what if there was – so what? Does that prove anything? This is scary in terms of interpretation and it shows clearly how our biases and preconceived notions can play into our interpretations.

One individual among the many posts I read about this song suggested that the house is a church and the “rising sun” refers to “rising son,” or Jesus. So, this guy in the song is going back to church to repent for his sins, thus the ball and chain represents his sins and repentance. This is a different and perfectly plausible interpretation. What if that’s what the song is referring to – yet, all of these people are assuming the former situation? Here’s a guy who sincerely wants to start over and all of these people are assuming he is going back to his old, bad ways…still others interpreted the reference to the “ball and chain” as meaning he was going to prison for the bad things he had done, another very literal interpretation. It is clear that we cannot easily get ourselves out of the hermeneutic circle – that is, our personal perspectives are wound up tight. How do we get around this, or can we?

A little more research reveals that the lyrics were originally written by a woman, not a man. Well, that changes things. And anyway, didn’t you wonder about the “poor girl” if the house was the house of prostitution, perhaps more than the “poor boy?” Another way to do hermeneutics is to compare the two texts. How are they different and why did the second author change them? This gets complicated because you will want to compare each author with their corresponding text, each author with the other author, each text with the other text, you with each text and each author, etc. All of a sudden we are into multiple perspectives and many possibilities.

Well, I know this will take some time and many twists and turns on the road to get this NEW Quest for the Golden Keys figured out, but that’s ok. There is no rush and we all need to find our own idiosyncratic pathways as we go about clearing brush. And besides, that long winding road is going nowhere at the moment, and there will always be someone waiting at the door for us.

The long and winding road
That leads to your door
Will never disappear
I've seen that road before
It always leads me here
Lead me to your door.

Right Here Waiting for You – Richard Marx

Traditions have their positive aspects for building unity whether it is among families, groups, religions, nations, etc.; however, perhaps we do not often consider the double-edged sword that many traditions may represent. Unfortunately, traditions can also serve to maintain the status quo and divide people on the basis of sex, race, class, religion, ethnicity, various affiliations, etc. etc., or as Joe would say, “ad infinitum” since there are endless ways we can and do divide people.

This is a short blog today just asking for the critical examination of traditions, whether they are family, holiday, or everyday traditions. Who is being left out of the tradition and why? How is the status quo reinforced by the various traditions that we or others often unthinkingly follow? How have you felt when you were left out of a tradition or special celebration? What might we change about our own traditions that will support love, acceptance, equal opportunity for participation, and egalitarianism? What do you wish that other groups would change about their traditions that currently leave you and others excluded? How might we maintain some of these traditions while at the same time extend open arms of love and acceptance to other people who might wish to learn more and participate in the tradition?

We can learn a lot from American Indian traditions in this regard. I do not claim to be an expert by any means and I have so much more I want to learn. I love attending pow wows, such as the Gathering of Nations Pow Wow, where “Everyone is Welcome.” I love experiencing the rich culture, exploring the various arts and crafts booths, eating the great food. I also especially love listening to the drumming music and watching the dancing. And there is an indescribable feeling of love and acceptance in the air when everyone is invited to the circle dance. It can only be felt if you attend and participate and once you experience it, you will be drawn back.

There is so much to learn that Western knowledge has left out of the equation, and continues to leave out, as Joe has stressed repeatedly in his work: there is much to learn about love, acceptance, egalitarianism, our earth, the cosmos, etc. – through diverse ontologies (worldviews) and epistemologies (knowledges). The future of the earth and humanity depends on this recognition, but Western epistemology continues to hide and deny the very things that can change the world for the better.

Tomorrow: The Hermeneutical Analysis of The House of the Rising Sun, Part 1.

Fiddler on the Roof - Tradition

First of all, are we really done defining quests – or more specifically, this quest? I was reviewing a blog I had written previously and came to realize that we have not explored the following:

I know you can figure this one out, or if you want you can look at the definitions for “hero quest,” “epic quest,” and “archetypal quest” before you make a final decision (and remember, too, that decisions never have to really be final…things change, more enlightenment sets in, etc.).

As I mentioned, one interpretation for quest is REquesting. We can always ask our Angels, Guides, Master Teachers, “Dream Friends,” Jesus, God, etc., for their divine guidance and protection. You can REquest guidance for treasure hunts or anything else. In fact, I am depending on my dream friends for assistance with this treasure hunt. None of it is planned. Each day, I am guided to what I need to write for that day, which is why it is becoming that “long and winding road.” Apparently, there is much distance to cover.

I find REquesting works well using the method Joe had suggested in a couple of his books: Before going to sleep, make your request known and then as soon as you awaken, write down what came to you in your dream. That’s how I have written a lot of poems, even though I am not a poet. But, you can also ask when you are awake once you clear your mind of fidurodian thoughts so that you are receptive to the answers you get.

That reminds me of the dream I had last night. It actually relates to a negative dream I had a few months back (and I very seldom have negative dreams of any sort). In that dream, I was walking through a forest and all of these wild animals were howling at me. I knew they could not get to me at all, but I still felt scared. I asked for a dream friend’s help. And there he was, instantly; he walked with me the rest of the way through the forest and I felt safe. Last night, he took me back to the forest to walk through it again and it was a very blissful experience. He wanted me to realize how sacred the forest is and that the energy there is positive and rejuvenating. We walked all the way through the forest together, I was never afraid, and there were no howling wild animals. So, even in your dreams, you can ask for help. It doesn’t matter if you are awake or asleep. It’s a great way to gain knowledge, overcome fears, discover ways around obstacles, and get guidance for every aspect of your life.

Now, what about hero quest, epic quest, and archetypal quest – what are these? It takes a google search, for sure. Here’s what I found and you might find something different, which is all good.

Hero Quest – a board game based on archetypes

Epic Quest – This brought up a bunch of online games like World of Warcraft, Final Fantasy, Everquest. I have never really figured out why people love to spend so much time on these games. I do know it’s programmed into the games to manipulate people into playing them hour after hour after hour. I do not see how this is in their best interests. I do not know much about them, however, because I have never liked computer games; I would rather be controlling what I learn. If anything is learned from these games, it is already predetermined for you. I prefer to choose what I learn about.

Archetypal quest – This is very interesting. It describes four myths and the archetypes for each myth and this is pertinent here; this is the real Hero Quest. I recommend reading it – be sure to click on the Next Button; there are several pages. I wonder if this might be relevant:

Percival, one of King Arthur's knights, searches for the Holy Grail.

What is the Holy Grail? This is not very helpful. Everyone seems to have their own idea as to what the Holy Grail is. Anything goes, apparently. Well, maybe in this particular quest it refers to the Golden Chalice since that was brought up in the last blog. I wanted to find out more about the Golden Chalice, but it is obfuscated by all of the companies and corporations that have stolen the name. It appears that Google caters to businesses because that’s what came up to the top. A particularly deviant use of the name is Golden Chalice Resources, Inc. Perhaps the owner has found the Golden Chalice, but it does not look good for most of us. Much like the Holy Grail, it looks like anything goes when it comes to the Golden Chalice, too. I wonder if Joe talked about these things anywhere in his books. If so, perhaps it would give us a better clue. I don’t remember him mentioning them specifically, but then he has hidden so many things in his books and we have not begun to identify even a fraction of them.

There is one last clue that has already been provided and is worth taking a closer look at because it seems relevant for this treasure hunt. Joe’s book is about knowledge, and the quest, as shown Thursday is a “Knowledge Stampede.” (See Chapter 8).

The quest described in the song below is a quest for the Tree of Knowledge – and this seems relevant and it might give some insight for this quest Joe has defined in Chapter 8 of his book.

That’s it for today. Tomorrow a PSOA about traditions; Monday, the Hermeneutical Analysis of The House of the Rising Sun (finally! Unless something more urgent comes up). Do you need a clue for the December 8 birthday boy or have you figured it out?

Following the quest, wherever it may go,
Vanessa

Quest For - Avantasia

TREE OF KNOWLEDGE

Coming from the wastelands
Full of reason, common sense
Where their principles are blocking minds
And you don't understand
Giving you belief,
You never touch, you never see
But if you dare to try to grip it
you're accused for heresy

[Gabriel:]

Here I stand to find the truth
and for ought I know
You're the one to show me
You can tell my spirit how to grow

No, the more I try
The more confusion on my mind
And no matter how I try
I feel my eyes seem to stay blind

[Tree of Knowledge:]

No use in analysing, forget about alchemy
Because the secret of all truth
Is the quest for - and you'll feel

When you knock right on the door
"Forever locked" they say
A little man will let you in,
For you have always tried - to get inside

You're in quest for more to find the call
Your journey still ain't over
Your quest is your purpose, go on
You're in quest for more to find the call
It will be - never- over
Your quest is your purpose, go on ...

You're in quest for more to find the call...

Lyrics Courtesy of sing365.com 
Images Courtesy of Microsoft

Here we go again: diverting away from the hermeneutical analysis of The House of the Rising Sun. This really is not my fault; I just try to follow divine orders as they are handed down to me the best that I can. This is in no way a violation of my free will, however. I follow these orders out of love and the knowledge that there must be a grander purpose behind them than you or I can imagine.

If you recall, early on in this Quest for the Golden Keys Treasure Hunt, we were warned that it would be a long and winding road to his door (the doors we are searching for in this treasure hunt that match the keys in Joe’s book). You can review that blog here:

The Long, Winding Road to His Door: First We Need the Golden Keys Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Please do use this intermission time to find out whose birthday it was on December 8 and how that ties into the clue for one of the doors for this treasure hunt. Also, since The House of the Rising Sun has multiple meanings and none of them will be right or wrong, but rather each contribute to a deep understanding of the knowledge that is to be imparted as a result of this treasure hunt, please go ahead and try your hand at interpreting what the song means. For your convenience, here is the link: The House of the Rising Sun (1965) – The Animals  Lyrics007

There is an important reason for this intervention and intermission from the treasure hunt. Apparently, certain Angels are worried about family break-ups, especially those that involve children. There have been serious disputes and violence among some of these families, which brought about the Public Service Outreach Announcement (PSOA) a couple of weeks ago: PSOA #7 – Family Feuds, Family Violence, and Rainy Sundays Sunday, November 29, 2009.

It is known that we are in tumultuous times and during this period we will be seeing a lot of break-ups. These break-ups relate to this treasure hunt, in that, as I had indicated, there are multiple pathways to traverse and some of them will lead some of you to your twin flame soul mate. This is all a part of the divine plan that is unfolding as we approach 2012 and it will continue to unfold for quite some time after that. It is too complex to get into great details at the moment, but the bottom line is that there will be more families breaking up than ever before because they are not comprised of twin flame soul mates.

Many of these soul mates who have agreed to work on a special mission during this important time in history will be freeing themselves from situations that constrain their divine mission. There is really nothing that can be done about this, but the message that needs to be put forth is that even if families split up, they should do so in love and remember that they are still a family. They must do this for the children. And so the following music video was provided to demonstrate that this, indeed, can be done in a way that is psychologically healthy for everyone involved.

Peace,
Vanessa

You and Me – Waybe Brady

I know I promised more for the NEW Quest for the Golden Keys Treasure Hunt today, and I actually have more already written, but I received such a beautiful message this morning, that I decided to share it instead. It is an important message and it literally made me cry when I found the music on You Tube that was provided along with the message. While this seems off topic, in reality, it is the epitome of Joe’s theory in action, perhaps even an exemplar.

I was expressing my concern to a member of, well, I guess you would call it a Critical Knowledge Network (similar to what Joe has defined in his book) over yonder about jumping from project-to-project and not finishing them. Of course, I am able to finish when it is necessary such as I had to do with my comp exam, but even when I worked on that, I flitted between the three questions, rather than focusing on one question at a time. I have dozens upon dozens of writing projects at various stages of development, and most of these projects, I feel are “handed down” to me and so I view them as being sacred and I take each project very seriously.

This morning in response to my concerns about what seems like a lack of focus, I received some beautiful advice that basically told me that I should work on whatever my heart guides me to work on at any given moment and that all of these projects will come together. “Working back and forth between projects,” I was told, “provides a richness you can’t get any other way and it builds continuity in your work.”  I was also told to “never feel bad about bouncing around on your projects. Go with the flow and always where your heart leads you. It will all come together eventually.” So there are definitely advantages to being able to multitask by shifting gears for various writing projects.

And so, I was reassured: “Please never worry about switching from project to project. You are a butterfly flapping your wings, flitting from one beautiful flower to the next, and with your proficiency in critical complex epistemology, you will no doubt have an impact on changing the world. So, my beautiful butterfly – what music shall we play today? Does a concert in the sky sound fitting? I thought so.”

Wherever do these messages come from? It does not matter. I find them so beautiful and reassuring. It is interesting that Joe mentioned the butterfly effect in his book, Knowledge and Critical Pedagogy: An Introduction. It is a very important concept interwoven into his theory and his idea of a perpetual revolution as opposed to a “continuous revolution” or the various “revolutionary actions” that many in the educational world speak about (more about this another time). And as Joe always does, he put his own creative twist on the depiction of the butterfly effect, stating, “Universal assumptions long held sacred by Western scholars crumble into ashes and blow away in the breeze created by a butterfly flapping its wings in a Mormon suburb of Las Vegas” (p. 197). And of course, this statement can be analyzed on multiple levels. Why is he mentioning a Mormon suburb in Las Vegas? Nevertheless, all of this is significant to me because, on another level, the meaning of my name is “butterfly.” And yes, my research has me flitting from beautiful flower to beautiful flower and I do believe it will all come together. In fact, much will come together in my dissertation.

Even this work I do here on the website will have a role somehow, even if minor in that my blogs often provide point of entry texts or “POETs,” which are merely launching points for employing the bricolage research methodology – which Joe wants everyone to understand and learn to do in the context of their work, education, and even their everyday lives. It is so important to gain greater understanding by exploring and interpreting multiple perspectives, comparing differences through his critical bricolage and critical complex epistemology (aka critical constructivism). In fact, in his book, Critical Constructivism, he stated, “There is no reason that scholars should be the only individuals with access to the power of difference. Practitioners such as teachers, social workers, journalists, nurses, business people and other individuals should most definitely make use of this power. To make critical constructivist scholarship the exclusive province of the elite is to perpetuate the same forms of power and privilege that have marred and scarred everyday life in Western societies for centuries” (p. 140).

Well, I of course know by now that nearly all of the messages I receive have music encoded in them. The  words I have highlighted instantly drew my attention and I assumed they were probably songs, especially since music was mentioned in the statement.

The Music in the Message

I have a daughter with “autism” and sometimes I really think that some of us just do not “fit” in this world. The FIDURODian World that Joe took such great effort to describe in its many multiple contexts so that we can thoroughly understand the harmful effects on humanity and our Earth for the purpose of changing it is not a world that I know or even wish to be a part of. In that sense, I found his description exceptionally enlightening. It is also not a world that people with autism know. Nor would those of us who do not “know” that world wish to really know it, in the sense of ascribing to it; but we do need to understand it so that we can change it. On the other hand, if you read Joe’s book, Knowledge and Critical Pedagogy: An Introduction, he takes you on a beautiful journey to the other side of FIDURODian reality, a world that I, personally, do want to learn to know more fully – a very, very beautiful place, indeed. He stated in many of his works and many places that critical complex epistemology (aka critical constructivism) will change the world. It is truly a PERPETUAL REVOLUTION and the revolution has already begun.

This was the sentence that contains the music that I am to present for today’s blog.

So, my beautiful butterfly – what music shall we play today? Does a concert in the sky sound fitting? I thought so.”

When I did a You Tube search on the suspected songs – I searched “beautiful butterfly” and “concert in the sky” and below are the videos that popped up for me. The first video literally made me cry due to my experiences with raising a child with autism. I also cried because it included the very first song that was divinely sent to me which started this whole website project for Joe. You can see my first blog here: You are so beautiful. Many children, and adults, too, feel alienated from the greater society, whether or not they have been diagnosed with autism. Thus, the first song, Beautiful Butterfly is about autism and it’s about all of us who feel like we must be from a different planet. The second video is an amazing fireworks Concert in the Sky, display at Disneyland – the “American Dreamland” that few children (or adults) will have the opportunity to visit, given that currently, more than 50% of the children in America alone live in poverty.

Yes, we need the beautiful butterflies – and they will change the world. In fact, my daughter once told me back when she was about 8 or 9 years old that the reason God has put children like her with autism in the world is so that “we can teach people how to be nice.”

Have a beautiful day,
Vanessa

God’s Beautiful Butterfly

OK, I get some weird messages from yonder.  I was told to find out whose birthday it is today and that I would get “a little treat” when I figured it out. So I googled it and it turned out that it is Mary Queen of Scots birthday. She was born in 1532. This is so significant (the treat? I’m not sure) because Mary Queen of Scots keeps coming up in various ways for me and it has been quite interesting….it is very personal, so I won’t get into the details. However, I will say this much: I do share a history with her as I am Scottish.

Mary was born on December 8, 1532, and in 1533, when she was nine months old, she was crowned Queen of Scots. She was matched up with the King of France’s, Prince Francois II when she was very young, about six years old (he was four years old), and was raised by his family. Mary and Francois loved each other very much and when he was 14 and she was 16, they were married and a year later they became King and Queen of France, after Francois’ father, King Henry II died. Tragically, Francois died when he was just sixteen from an ear infection that had spread to his brain. I am sure Queen Mary was devastated because she and Francois loved each other so much. In fact, it could probably be concluded that they were twin flame soul mates. That is just my interpretation based on the following:

Despite the fact that Mary Stuart was tall for her age and fluent in speech, while Francis was abnormally short and stuttered, Henry II commented that "from the very first day they met, my son and she got on as well together as if they had known each other for a long time".^[2]

1. ^ Rose, Hugh James, Henry John Rose and Thomas Wright, A new general biographical dictionary, Vol. 7, (London, 1857), 436.
2. ^ Guy, John, My Heart is my Own, London, Fourth Estate, 2004, ISBN 0–00–71930–8:47
3. ^ Farquhar, Michael (2001). A Treasure of Royal Scandals: The Shocking True Stories History's Wickedest, Weirdest, Most Wanton Kings, Queens, Tsars, Popes, and Emperors, p.81. Penguin Books, New York. ISBN 0739420259.
4. ^ Guy:102.
5. ^ Rose, 436.

NOTE ABOUT WIKIPEDIA: A lot of educators shun Wikipedia, claiming that anyone can write what goes into Wikipedia. This is not entirely true…it is monitored and it allows for socially-constructed knowledge. While I would not rely on it for a dissertation or a paper, it is a good launching point. It provides background information and I strongly urge the use of the sources and various links they provide in the reference section of their entries, rather than completely taking what is written in Wikipedia at face value and to obtain more in depth information. Just view Wikipedia as a starting point for topics you know little about and branch out from there.

Then sometime after Francois’ death, Mary Queen of Scots married a man named Henry Stewart, Lord Danley in 1566 and things went very bad for her.
This man was not your upstanding sort of individual and he caused many people grief.  It was quite a travesty that Queen Elizabeth had Mary Queen of Scots beheaded and really, Mary had done nothing at all wrong. Stories have it that Queen Elizabeth was not exactly the nicest person and Mary Queen of Scots was just born in the wrong place at the wrong time. But she did take it all in stride, and even joked at her execution about having to undress in front of “company.” While she was in prison she created a lot of embroidered tapestries and on one of them was a slogan to the effect of “The end is just the beginning.”

It was in 1586 that Queen Elizabeth had Mary tried for conspiring to murder her. And even though there was insufficient evidence, Queen Mary of Scots was beheaded. It was very political and centered on greed, arrogance, corruption, and power. It is not clear whether Queen Elizabeth truly wanted to be responsible for the final bad deed, the execution, but others took it upon themselves to go ahead and try and convict, and subsequently behead Mary Queen of Scots. What a terrible way to die.

This is a VERY interesting history story, so I encourage you to read more and research this further! Here are some good links (and be sure to look for more):

 

http://englishhistory.net/tudor/relative/maryqos.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_I_of_Scotland

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_I_of_England

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_II_of_France

(Photos Courtesy of Wikipedia)

WAIT A MINUTE! This is NOT right!!!

All of that was very interesting, and the soul mate match between Mary Queen of Scots and Francois relates to this treasure hunt in which there may be pathways for soul mates to meet up, but the clue I was given states the birthday is for a HE. This is a SHE. So, I am going to leave this search up to YOU. There was a famous HE born today, December 8 and this clue purportedly leads to one of the doors to The House of the Rising Sun. As you might recall, I stated that we must find all of the keys and all of the doors – and that there are TWO doors to the House of the Rising Sun (one that goes into the house and one that goes out)! Once you solve this birthday puzzle, you will need to interpret what that means. I will give you this much: I did find the birthday person and I discovered that it leads to an Easter Egg in Joe’s book, Knowledge and Critical Pedagogy: An Introduction….it is an easy one to find and in fact, it has already been identified. Your job is to tie all of this together somehow as it relates to this treasure hunt! (See how quickly things get complicated?)

The House of the Rising Sun: Beginning a Multidimensional Hermeneutic Analysis

First of all, what is hermeneutics? No wait, first of all, how do you even PRONOUNCE hermeneutics? It goes like this: There was an old man named Herman who was a hermit who lived in the forest. He wandered among the deer; they were his friends. Well, as we all know deer carry ticks and Herman always had to remove those pesty critters from his arms, legs and ankles. After he researched on the Internet (yes, he had satellite Internet service), he found that there were many different kinds of ticks. He learned about deer ticks, tick bites, clock ticks, different ways to tick people off, as well as all about tics in children, what causes them and how to help these children -- and so much more. Conclusion: Herman knew ticks!!! How did he learn about tics? Hermeneutics. LOL.

There is much more to this story, but I will save it for another time. The reason I tell this story is because I am an online DOCTORAL learner and I met my online colleagues at the three colloquia that we were required to attend. At one particular colloquium, we had discussions with the professors and a few of us did not know how to pronounce the jargon people in education use and we were corrected by our professors (yours truly, included, lol). Hermeneutics is a critical term, however, because it has a huge role in Joe’s critical complex epistemology as will be revealed in this treasure hunt. The story or something similar can actually be used to teach children about hermeneutics. They are NEVER too young to learn about this great tool for interpretation! Joe would have been all for teaching a child who can talk how to pronounce and use hermeneutics. I agree strongly with him that we far underestimate the intelligence and understanding of young children….so look for this story in the future in another form. If you are teaching children, don’t put off teaching them the power of interpretation through hermeneutics.

Here are a couple of links for dictionaries that include pronunciation which are very handy and there are probably other dictionaries as well:
http://www.howjsay.com/
http://www.cooldictionary.com/

What is hermeneutics?

I will have to say (in case you did not notice) I am very biased toward Joe’s work, and of course, the purpose of this website is to apply his work. So I LOVE his definitions and he does such a great job of defining the terms he uses. You never need to be lost in his work, because he does patiently and very thoroughly define the terms he uses. Although his writing is complex and his thinking even more so, he worked so hard at making his work accessible to everyone. And it is accessible, even for those who think that as they read through it, they are not understanding some of it. You will be surprised how much you understand! He had a very special ability to communicate to everyone with his multilevel writing that I have not seen in anyone else’s writing ever.  It was more important to him that we understand what he had to tell us and teach us, than it was to write in a stuffy formal academic style that only the elite academics would read. We have so much to be grateful for when it comes to Joe and how much love and dedication he put into his work!

How does Joe define hermeneutics?

In Knowledge and Critical Pedagogy: An Introduction, Joe provides a brief history of hermeneutics so that we gain a more thorough understanding of the context with which it was first used for analysis. It was developed to gain greater insight into social and cultural aspects that traditional research methods could not do for us. He states, “In the world of complex emergence, quantum physics, and superstring theory, critical complexity believes that hermeneutics has a role to play in all human knowledge production” and he continues by explaining, “As positivism and FIDUROD have produced explanations from which observation statements can be derived, a critical complex hermeneutics constructs understandings from which action can be developed” (p. 246). So, here, again, ACTION is emphasized when we do an analysis. I recommend reading pages 245-248 for more information about hermeneutics and more clues to this treasure hunt. He also defines hermeneutics in Teachers as Researchers: Qualitative Inquiry as a Path to Empowerment, pp. 245-247. Here, he states,

“ The hermeneutic act of interpretation involves in its most elementary articulation making sense of what has been observed in a way that communicates understanding. Not only is all knowledge production merely an act of interpretation, but hermeneutics contends, perception itself is an act of interpretation. The quest for understanding is a fundamental feature of human existence, as encounter with the unfamiliar always demands the attempt to make meaning, to make sense. The same, however, is also the case with the familiar. Indeed, as in the study of commonly known texts, we come to find that sometimes the familiar may be seen as the most strange” (p. 245).

For the first part of this treasure hunt, we will be taking a very basic, introductory approach to hermeneutics because that’s all I know right now, and it is all that is required for the moment. It will get more complex as the treasure hunts continue, I am sure. Also, please note that even in this earlier book, Joe was referring to the “quest” which, in this case is the human quest for understanding. That does apply to this treasure hunt.

OMG! I did not even get to the Hermeneutic Analysis of The House of the Rising Sun!

Oh well; I think this background information is important but this is long enough for today and I have other very important things on my agenda, so I will cover the hermeneutic analysis of The House of the Rising Sun tomorrow, I promise. In the meantime, now that you know what hermeneutics is, experiment with the lyrics of the song. What interpretations can you come up with? For your convenience here is the song, House of the Rising Sun, and here are the LYRICS. Have fun with it.

Also, don’t forget to search up the special person who has a birthday today. This will lead you to a special Easter egg in Joe’s book, Knowledge and Critical Pedagogy: An Introduction – and it is just one of the many doors we need for the keys that we find on this treasure hunt.

This is SO much fun! It’s just like Joe said, we do not know ahead of time what we will discover.

I wonder what my “little treat” will be for figuring out who’s birthday it is – btw, I was told to tell you all later whose birthday it is so that you have a chance to get a “little treat” too! I know you can figure this one out! Have a Great Day!

With Love,
Vanessa


P.S. I have no clue what I am doing, lol. I guess I needed reassurance, so this message came to me: "Just keep doing what you're doing and you'll be fine." And it DAWNED on me -- those are SONGS!!!  (Of course!)

Keep doing what you’re doing (1934)

The world we have created and are handing to our children to inherit is in a pathetic state. We need to start NOW to make changes to this mess – clean up the environment, take care of our world population (not just the elite at the top), get our economic system back in order, and work out of a foundation of love instead of greed and selfishness. If we do not begin now to make these changes, the children coming up today may very well be in “lock down” for life. I am talking about really getting in there and MAKING CHANGES. If everyone gave up television and went out into their neighborhoods and gave someone a helping hand, just think how much could be accomplished. The average family has the television on for 8 hours per day and watches it an average of 4.5 hours per day (Nielsen, 2006).

That is amazing. Just think how much could be accomplished if those hours were turned into something productive. The worst of it is those hours that people spend watching television to “unwind” are self-destructive because the media have absolutely nothing to contribute to our wellbeing, but would rather program our minds so that we cannot learn to think for ourselves. Between the “education” that is force fed to students and the indoctrination by television, people literally cannot think. I teach college students who, when given free choice of a topic to write about for a paper, they do not have a clue what to write about. They want to be given a topic. I usually ask these students what they feel passionate about. Passionate? For school work? But, once they realize I am serious, they quickly come up with their topic and the papers written from their hearts are the best papers I receive.

If people would give up 2 hours of their daily television time to devote to doing something constructive -- something enjoyable, even -- they would break free from the constraints on creativity, begin to more clearly think for themselves and we might be able to work our way out of this downward spiral. We could blaze a new trail for the children coming behind us. Just something to think about and here are some things to research or have your students research (please add to these questions, this is just a start):

How many hours do children spend watching television? How many violent scenes and commercials do they view? What is the effect of this programming? Why are they watching this much television? What might be done to change these circumstances?

Who owns the media? Does politics have anything to do with what is shown on television or in movies? How do you know?

Follow some of the links of the executives of the major media corporations. Google their names. Where do they lead? What kinds of connections do they have? How might this influence their decisions? How might media influence other aspects of our lives and why would the media moguls want to do this?

What is propaganda and/or indoctrination? Find some examples in the news, advertisements, magazines, books, etc. and analyze them. Are there examples of propaganda at school? How do you know when something presented in the media or even your textbook is the truth, a lie, or misinformation?

What are some productive things we could do to replace the hours watching television or going to movies?

In yesterday’s blog, a quotation from Joe’s book described our dilemma “loud and clear” and it explains why we continue to blindly go about our lives as slaves so that corporations can profit and then we come home and let those very same corporations program our minds with their indoctrination. We no longer fully comprehend the real world. We live in what Joe refers to as a “hyperreality.” He stated that ”Western peoples’ incapacity to emotionally appreciate the effects of what dominant and colonial power has done and continues to do to themselves, their less privileged brothers and sisters, and to the health of the planet is in many ways a form of large-scale social pathological behavior that in the long run will destroy the human species” (pp. 225-226).

There are some amazing, brilliant, and beautiful children coming up in the world today and they want to be free. I find it very sad that many teachers who are locked into their FIDURODian mindsets blame these children for classroom behavior issues. There are all sorts of guidelines, instructions, procedures, etc. for “classroom management,” and few of these work. Why? Because they are devised out of the very system that is being shaken off by the new, evolving paradigm. That old Newtonian-Cartesian based behaviorist model may have worked in the past to train up DROIDS, but it will not work within the new paradigm these very special children are born into today. I have written about this previously and how teachers are going to have to learn to teach differently. And really, it’s not that hard to do with these children. Just show them love and respect, be nice, listen to them, and treat them as the brilliant, special individuals they are….and help them learn something they don’t know as connected to what they do know, rather than trying to force feed bits and pieces of worthless information that connect to nothing. Here are some previous blogs for review:

Do You PLURRR? Teaching to Diversity June 24, 2009
Listening to Our Children  July 7, 2009  
Why Can’t People In Education Be Nice Like Joe Was? The Continuing Saga of the “No Ordinary Treasure Hunt” Saturday, August 15, 2009 
Raising the Epistebaby: We Don’t Need No More Chuckies! Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Introduction to Public Service Outreach Announcements (PSOAs) Sunday, October 11, 2009 

It is time to abandon your fear of CHANGE. Fear is False Energy Appearing Real. I have written about this previously as well:

Conquering F-E-A-R Before the Mission Begins: Part 1 June 8, 2009  
Conquering F-E-A-R Before the Mission Begins: Part 2 June 9, 2009  

It is time to get up and go out and celebrate the new way of being in the world as Joe has outlined in his book and as many other people are already beginning to do. It is time to start blazing new trails -- for the children coming up behind us.

And don’t worry about a thing!
Vanessa

Three Little Birds – Connie Talbot

This just in, and it is interesting: There is another clue about keys in this article that may have meaning for some of you out there (it’s toward the end of the article if you do not wish to read the entire article): Creating the Life of Our Dreams. I know there are many of you out there “looking” for your soul mates, but you really do not need to do that. Follow your heart, do what you love – that is what will ultimately lead you to your one true soul mate as you both have the very same dreams. All of the keys in Joe’s book are important for accomplishing this as well. Once all of the keys are found and all of the doors are unlocked it will become clear that true soul mates are matching up in higher numbers and they are working together in love on great projects that will move the world away from the production of negativity, destruction, and despair and instead, toward a world of love and peace.

There is no doubt that major changes are going on in the world today. We see polar opposites happening all at the same time: Wars, famine, destruction, economic collapses, murders, craziness, government corruption, and hate, the likes of which the world has never before witnessed. What is this all about? But then, on the other hand, we see miracles, fairy tales coming true, realized dreams, growing consciousness, and love, the likes of which the world has never before witnessed. What is going on here?

Joe recognized this and mentioned it in his book, and it has also come up in previous treasure hunts. It is something that I have left on the back burner, but perhaps it is time to begin researching this some more.

What Joe said was, “The old order is now at the beginning of its end. This may not seem the case as the U.S. wallows in a neo-conservative fundamentalist militaristic haze, but we all understand the cliché about the darkest hour” (p. 21).

Joe was so smart! He knew that things were going to change. Of course, he knew it would take a lot of work, which is why he left us his great book with its secrets to decode and put into action. He was talking about the Dawn of the Age of Aquarius, perhaps. The song Age of Aquarius actually appeared some time back when I was doing the NEW Treasure Hunt. It is about the 2012 prediction that the world is going to enter a “new age” -- as predicted by many religions and cultures, actually -- although the most accurately conveyed timeline is predicted by the Mayan calendar – NOT to be mistaken for that New Age Mumbo Jumbo that the elite use to obfuscate what is really happening. Oh, yes, and there was a corrupt movie made about all of the disaster and destruction that is supposed to happen….how bad can it get? Personally, I think we have already seen much of the depressing destruction. How much do people want to witness before they get off their butts and start taking some positive actions to turn things around in the other direction? Did watching the movie help? Probably not. I did not watch the movie, but I know that most media are devised to keep people trapped in their little FIDURODian consciousnesses so that they stay compliant. They literally cannot see a way out. I already wrote blogs about the fact that there is not going to be some massive cataclysmic earth shattering event as predicted by the movie; at least not much different from what we continue to experience around the world. For God’s sake, people have to eat dirt in Haiti, people are dying the world over from diseases that can be cured with inexpensive medical treatment -- why in the hell can’t we do something about this? How can we all go to our little slave jobs every day, give our souls away, come home and sit mesmerized in front of the television day after day as if everything is fine. How can this be fine? What kind of reality are we creating here?

What Joe said about this situation was, “A critical complex epistemology takes these emotional/affective dynamics very seriously. In this context an evolving critical pedagogy understands that contemporary Western peoples’ incapacity to emotionally appreciate the effects of what dominant and colonial power has done and continues to do to themselves, their less privileged brothers and sisters, and to the health of the planet is in many ways a form of large-scale social pathological behavior that in the long run will destroy the human species” (pp. 225-526).

A Review:
Imagine a Wonderful World June 15, 2009  
Ecological Thang Goin’ On: An Analogy June 16, 2009
Is It Really Dooms Day? (Saying It Is So Does Not Make It So) July 1, 2009
Good Guys, Bad Guys, and the New World Order Thursday, September 3, 2009
Things Look Brighter: The New World Is Coming Saturday, September 5, 2009 
The Myth of the Apocalypse: Rewrite the Science Texts! Wednesday, September 16, 2009 
We Must Listen: A Message from Our Hopi Elders Thursday, September 17, 2009 
Indigenous Native American Prophecy: Elders Speak, Part 1 Friday, September 18, 2009 

Since we are working on the NEW Quest for the Golden Keys Treasure Hunt, and we are going to be entering The House of the Rising Sun….we need keys to the house. I have been told there are clues in the song.

Can you identify them? What is the song saying? It is about a poor boy who can never break free from the bondage of his social standing, so he gives up, goes back to where he belongs, but he’s telling people to bring their children up differently. He’s got one foot on the train to go back and one foot on the platform – where he would like to stay, but obviously, it has not worked out for him…I know the feeling. I am not sure what key would help in this situation – a key to change what happens in the house of the rising sun, perhaps? Or a key to a new house? It is not known by the song what really goes on in that house, but it is not good. What is the key to making it better, if he must go back? It sounds like a call for change from the bottom of our social hierarchy. Is that what Joe calls for in his book? What is the key for doing that? I’ll just open his book right now and see what he has to say.

This is interesting  -- I opened it right up to a page that I had read long ago and had drawn two keys (literally) in the margin and underlined the sentences in the book the keys went with – this was done with a pink highlighter (pink represents love)….I do not remember my thinking about this except that I had thought that these were very important points somehow – that they were “keys”.  I guess I am supposed to share them now and they are probably the hardest keys in his book to find because he does not give any clues that they are, in fact keys. It was my inner voice or something that recognized when I was reading the passage that they are keys. So I will give them to you , and you can find all of the other keys in his book, which will be much easier to find than these.

These keys are on page 130. You will want to read them in context of his discussion about FIDUROD. I really recommend buying the book, Knowledge and Critical Pedagogy: An Introduction, and reading the passages -- plus, you can look for the MUSIC Easter eggs that are waiting to be found and help solve the past and future puzzles. Have you decoded the secret meaning of FIDUROD yet? At any rate, here are the keys which probably would have been very, very difficult to find had you been on your own: (btw, it is a lucky thing that I just happened to open up the book to them, because I was going to save them for the last keys I reveal, but someone must want them revealed as the FIRST keys for a particular reason, so I just go with the flow, wherever that leads me.)

Key # 1. “Historians and other researchers uncover more profound and more illuminating meanings of phenomena, as they expose previously unexamined interrelationships.”

Key #2. “…a critical complex epistemology supports a more rigorous mode of research that is more reliable – reliable in the sense of providing deeper understandings and a basis for social-political, psychological, and pedagogical action.”

I am not sure how this fits right now….hold onto these two keys. They will help us remodel the house of the rising sun and open a new door. It is also a very hopeful sign that the sun is rising at this house, even though bad things are still happening inside it. This correlates with the quote from Joe's book (above) where he states, “The old order is now at the beginning of its end. This may not seem the case as the U.S. wallows in a neo-conservative fundamentalist militaristic haze, but we all understand the cliché about the darkest hour” (p. 21). You know: When is it the darkest? "It is the darkest before dawn." Well in this house, the sun is rising, so we must be getting past the darkest of times. Where did this song even come from? I don't even remember; it was handed down to me as part of this treasure hunt. Maybe it is in Joe's book somewhere....I'll bet it's a MUSIC Easter egg! It would be fun to try and find it.

I will come back to these two keys later during this treasure hunt. Think about it. It is quite profound that I simply opened the book to the page with these two keys which Joe does not define in his book as such, but rather I had recognized them as keys and they are exactly the keys needed for people like Joe, who came out of an atmosphere of poverty, being a “hillbilly” from the Appalachians and for me, a country “hick” living in poverty my entire life – as well as for everyone else who is marginalized and can relate to The House of the Rising Sun. Having two keys really gives us options as well as great strength and power to overcome our positioning. Check back for this continuing treasure hunt and for more information about how these keys can change things.

I hope you enjoy this treasure hunt. For more information about the NEW Quest for the Golden Keys Treasure Hunt, read this past week's blogs. They review what has happened so far and will get you up to speed. Tomorrow: Another Public Service Outreach Announcement (PSOA). Monday: Two new keys.

Have a good Saturday.

Peace & Love,
Vanessa

The House of the Rising Sun (1965) – The Animals

One of the greatest rock songs of all time. The best known version of the song was done by the Animals in 1965. "Rising Sun" is an old british term for whore house. Whether or not that is the songs intended meaning is unknown.

Remember that scene in Casino where all the guys are getting killed and they play House of the Rising Sun. That was awesome Courtesy of Urban Dictionary

Lyrics

There is a house in New Orleans
They call the Rising Sun
And it's been the ruin of many a poor boy
And God I know I'm one

My mother was a tailor
She sewed my new bluejeans
My father was a gamblin' man
Down in New Orleans

Now the only thing a gambler needs
Is a suitcase and trunk
And the only time he's satisfied
Is when he's on a drunk

------ organ solo ------

Oh mother tell your children
Not to do what I have done
Spend your lives in sin and misery
In the House of the Rising Sun

Well, I got one foot on the platform
The other foot on the train
I'm goin' back to New Orleans
To wear that ball and chain

Well, there is a house in New Orleans
They call the Rising Sun
And it's been the ruin of many a poor boy
And God I know I'm one

Courtesy of Lyrics007

I was so focused on my comprehensive exam all last month that December slid in and I had forgotten that this is an especially special month for surprises and magic. My December 1 surprise also got me off track from the awareness of what this month means. I had been wondering what the great surprise was for Tuesday, December 1….and I really think I discovered it; in fact, there were several. They were little, but important surprises as I discussed in the last couple of blogs. Plus, it was a great feat of the Universe to alleviate my pain instantaneously such as had happened when I was in tears over somehow “losing” more than $400 from my checking account – and right at that moment, at that very instant, an email came in assuring me of more teaching work in January. That was very miraculous and impressive, in my book. You can read about it here: Saved by the School Bell Again – Along with DIVINE Intervention. Of course, such incidents of serendipity would not at all be surprising to Joe. He has mentioned this several times in his book and how helpful opening our consciousnesses to such experiences can be toward taking the actions needed to alleviate suffering in the world. This aspect is something that needs to be researched further. He had much to say about this.

Anyway, I do thank whoever was responsible, be it God or Angels or shared consciousness. Or maybe it was those Pleiadians that were mentioned in Wednesday’s blog – you know, the link to the other person’s blog where she talked about Pleiadians and how they are already here, but we just can’t see them – but they do things to help us. (See The LOVE PROJECT vs. the Education War Agenda). Well, all I know is, SOMEONE was responsible, so I am very, very grateful. It truly does feel like someone is helping me greatly with this Love Project for education and always assuring met there is nothing to worry about.

It was when yesterday’s blog brought up the fantastic NEW Quest for the Golden Keys Treasure Hunt, that it finally dawned on me: This is December!!! Months ago, I was speaking to a very special friend who has very special abilities and she told me that there would be some great surprises all through December. I just realized it is all beginning with the start up – or I should say REstart of this treasure hunt!

But this is just the tip of the iceberg! I have a feeling that there is much more in store for December – not for me, but for everyone.  I have a feeling that the surprises are going to escalate (get bigger and better) all the way through to the new year - 2010.

I did mention in some previous blogs that Joe's book is akin to the Golden Chalice and in his book he keeps no secrets (as I have also mentioned, even the book, The Secret keeps secrets, which is why it never works right) -- but in Joe's book, it is all there waiting to be found -- his keys are the key. We will all have to review yesterday's blogs and the links to the previous blogs about this treasure hunt, The New Quest (unlike the OLD quest) for the Golden Keys Treasure Hunt -- and do some research (treasure hunting).  

It is going to be a VERY exciting month; no doubt about it….stick around and you will see what I am talking about. Of course right now, I have no idea what I am talking about (it's that playing the "fool of the gods" that Joe wrote about) – I just know that a promise was made to me and promises are promises and they not made to be broken when you live from a very strong foundation of love.

It is all about love. Something tells me this is the start of something very good.

Have a Happy Day!
Vanessa

Something Tells Me I’m into Something Good - Hermans Hermits

Yesterday, I mentioned that I was supposed to receive some kind of surprise on Tuesday, but could not determine for sure what the surprise was, so I was merely speculating. Well, I forgot I had put in an application for a new credit card. This is not something I usually do because I already have too many credit cards and they all charge too much interest. It is truly baron robbery (remember those baron robbers in U.S. History? They’re BACK!!) But this credit card was different because the interest is very low (3 or 4% for several months) and I can transfer the balances from my other cards over and that way I can pay my credit card debt off faster.  So I applied for it, not really thinking much about it when they did not instantly approve it. I never seem to get accepted for those really good offers for low interest – I am always stuck paying the highest interest possible – but, lo and behold – this morning in my email (and if you recall, I was told to check my email) there was the approval. How sweet. Thank you!!! That is a boost for this holiday season and was definitely a good gift since it will help me move onward and upward. I do know the “Universe” always takes care of things, but it likes to keep us on the edge every so often so that we can build our faith stronger.

Also, in my email was a really good explanation of multidimensionality. I have a very poor understanding of it (this is all new to me) and since I have been alluding to it in previous blogs, I will post a link to an article that explains multidimensionality in everyday terms. It helps me understand it, so I am sure it will help other people. Of course, no one has to believe it in the manner as described here. Nevertheless, it is important to understand multidimensionality on many different levels  when it comes to understanding Joe’s work and how to apply it, especially as he has presented his theory in his last book – Knowledge and Critical Pedagogy: An Introduction (yes, even Joe’s concept of multidimensionality was multidimensional). We can apply his theory so many different ways and on so many different levels, but in my interpretation, he would wish for us to apply it in the most advanced ways possible as well as in ways that most people can learn to identify. Education is complex and multilayered no matter how you wish to view it. Joe’s work has opened many doors, and, as I have mentioned previously, I am running full speed through those doors, even though this is all new to me and I am learning as I go. I did love the dancing, though.  His work also provides the freedom to keep dancing – that sensual, dialogical, dialectical dance that he loved so much.

Of course, you can to try to use his theory and ideas for One Dimensional  purposes (the OD in FIDUROD), but it will never work and anyway, the whole point of his theory is for US to find and use the Golden Keys (Remember the NEW Quest for the Golden Keys Treasure Hunt?) to unlock and open the doors wide for total freedom. We must find those keys and doors! All of them!
Clue: They are in his book.

It sounds like the NEW Quest for the Golden Keys Treasure Hunt is in full swing. Can you find the keys? (I still have to find them, myself --- I will let you know what I discover). If you want to review where we are with this treasure hunt, here are the links:

I Wanna Roller Skate: HE’S Got the KEY! Monday, September 28, 2009 

The Long, Winding Road to His Door: First We Need the Golden Keys Tuesday, September 29, 2009 

The Quest for the Golden Keys: Do We Even Know What Quest Is? PLUS the End of the Line for the Surprise in September Wednesday, September 30, 2009 

Updates on the Treasure Hunts: Surprises in October, The Light Way is the Right Way, The NEW Quest for the Golden Keys -- and What Are PSOAs?  Saturday, October 3, 2009 

Vigilante Justice: I Totally Understand It Now, BUT as Joe put it: Girl, There’s A Better Life for Me and You PLUS the Greatest Key for the NEW Quest for the Golden Keys Treasure Hunt! Wednesday, October 21,2009.

There are several very important points to all of this, which in time will be discovered. It somehow relates to this song that was just handed down to me this morning, but I am reminded that we each have to discover our own significance for ourselves.

Happy Treasure Hunting,
Vanessa

Always and Forever - Lowrider

This morning I was like, you know, looking at my checkbook and comparing it with what the bank says I have and OMG somewhere I had LOST about $400. OH NO, not at Christmas right when I am on a forced unpaid holiday. (As I mentioned before, with online teaching you usually don’t know until the last minute whether you will be teaching classes). I was literally in tears because my expenses are so outrageous with two car payments and insurance for a teen son…now there is a total scam. It is highway robbery what they charge for insurance for teenage boys. Very sick, very slick.

So, here I am, wondering again, how in the hell am I going to cover everything this next month. Plastic, of course. But even my cards are all getting to their limits….this is so bad. I was begging the Universe, literally, please help me here---in tears even, all the time, knowing in my heart (and feeling guilty for being so upset) that the Universe will not fail me and at the same time, I was checking my email and in popped an email at that very instant from the director of the university I teach for requesting me to teach two courses beginning in January (which usually pay extra because they tend to have additional students). YES!!! Saved by the bell – the school bell. I can squeeze by once again.

I know I can’t keep going like this….never knowing if the bills will be all covered. I would be out on the street in less than a month if I did not have any teaching! So, I have been handed down a number of very special projects which are devised to get me out of this rat race  – all relating to Joe’s work of course --- that, is APPLICATION of his theory. I highlight that because, when I first began writing these blogs, I was given some great advice by certain members of our lovely and friendly educational community. I was told that Joe would want people to APPLY his theory. That is exactly what I am doing here on this website – applying his theory in the exact (ideosyncratic) radical manner he would have wished for -- it is a kind of dance that not many people in education dare break out of their strait jackets to engage in. Of course, he would have wished for other applications of his theory as well; I have always highlighted the fact that his book is written on multiple levels for multiple purposes….which leads me to the numerous other ways I will be applying his theory. I am very excited! I love variety; it is the spice of life and Joe Lyons Kincheloe made it ALL possible with his last book, Knoweldge and Critical Pedagogy: An Introduction. If you have not read it, I highly recommend it. It will send you off on a transformation that never stops and as a result, it will forever change the way you teach and learn (and we are ALL teachers and learners, even in our everyday lives, as Joe had pointed out multiple times). Therefore, the book is recommended reading for everyone.

I will elaborate on all of the ways I will be APPLYING Joe’s theory at another time – but it will become self-evident as time moves deceptively along. I say deceptively because science tells us (and we should all know this, anyway) that time is an artificial construct and everything happens at the same time. In other words, the past, present, and the future all happen simultaneously. I have been “handed down” some great ideas for researching and writing about this very topic in relation to education of course, and I will post more information about this soon.

Have a great day – oh and that’s right – the baby is two months old today (although, I guess that’s a future event that has been translated into today’s concept of time - Oh, wait -- that was a dream). Anyway, I am supposed to get some sort of amazing surprise sometime today in celebration (we LOVE parties and surprises). I wonder if the teaching job was it -- nah, the Universe can do even better than that. I will just have to play the waiting game and report back tomorrow.

Vanessa

Waiting Game – Swing Out Sister