Going Back (Just a Little)

Last night I didn't have time to write, so this morning I will be taking a few minutes to reflect on what happened yesterday related to my dreams of tomorrow. Yesterday was a busy day full of interesting encounters with colleagues and students. One student in particular that has been a joy to see him grow and mature gave me the opportunity of having lunch together. It was a true pleasure chatting with him and getting to know him a bit more, a confirmation of my dreams of a great future.
When I dream about the future I think I put a lot of responsibility (and pressure) on my students. My motto is: "I teach so I touch the future". Teaching is a way to change things now so they will become the future. The heaviness of this statement then relies in the fact that teaching is important in the molding of those who will determine the kind of future we'll have.

So what are the skills, and most important, the philosophy of a good teacher? what are the tools that a good coach that will transport the students from where they are to where they will be, must have?

Without getting in detail I can answer with a short list that I will analyze later on.
1. Planning
2. Listening
3. Communicating
4. Actualizing
5. Opening

Is there another one that I am missing?
 

Moving Forward

As I write about my dreams I am continuously reminded of bad dreams. I'm not talking about nightmares where one dreams about monsters, death, violence and other extremely unpleasant situations that as is explained in Wikipedia will cause strong emotional/mental response. No I am talking about those in which one finds oneself in a situation that is unpleasant but not extreme, in a situation that one may feel stuck or awkward like when I dream that I am still working where I used to work. For sure that can't be defined as nightmare as I used to like my place of work and still have friends there that I remember with warm feelings.

Why is that I have this dream that is recurrent? What unfinished business I have that makes me go back there in my dreams? Is it related to some kind of failure? Is there something that I would like to fix from my past?

Now, trying to fix something in the past is, I say by definition, a lack of forgiveness. In this case it might symbolize judgement by me on my performance then. Did I reach to my full potential? On the surface it looks like I did very well, as I reached a high level in the academic and structural environment of that time. As a scientist I was named "National Researcher" and received the stipends corresponding to that title. Participating in professional associations I was named "President" of the Mexican Geophysical Union which is a national organization; and other things as well.
So where is the motivation to revisit those times? It looks like deep inside me there was a limitation, a sense of emptiness, and a lack of accomplishment. As I think about it now, and looking back into the past I am discovering that superficial accomplishments are not what we really desire or that really gives us satisfaction.
It is about time that I pause and take time to assess what is that in the deepest corners of my heart gives me satisfaction. It is about time that I find what is the marrow that nurtures my life and my existence.

Questions that come to mind are based on what is my idea of purpose. This moment, this day, this time as the connection between past and future is what it is, so I have to think about what I am doing as this is the only time I have. And ... these questions are what make me dream!

Nightmares are not dreams

It is usual that one's dreams (when asleep) are a reflection of what is going on in our minds and hearts. Many times our dreams are relief valves for our anxiety and will subjectively have a meaning related to our subconscious world. Of course the interpretation of these dreams has been a source for millennia of speculation and more recently of hundreds of books. But I want to focus on the dreams we have when we are awake. Even though I could share some interesting dreams I have when I am asleep, like when I dream of flying, or the nightmare of seeing myself working where I used to work and having the feeling of being stuck; but that will have to wait for a future blog.
Going back to day dreaming, to think about having aspirations. I have to differentiate between aspirations that are possible, accessible, and desirable to those that even though they may be highly desirable they are -at least for the time being- out of reach.

Focusing on things that are possible and that I would like to see I happening during my lifetime I would have to rely on things that I have been doing lately. One thing that I have been doing is teaching. Currently I teach at a small college; a Christ-centered, liberal arts, urban college serving a diverse community. Like many liberal-arts college, our college is facing many challenges. Some of these challenges are related to the role of higher education in our society, the value of education as is evaluated based on the applicability of the degree to society. In some cases the applicability is related to the dollar amount that the graduate receives as yearly salary.

Thinking about my teaching I dream about an environment that is trusting and supportive. An environment that supports creativity at all levels and protects all academic activities of professorship. I dream of a society that has education as a high priority, a society that thinks of education as a great investment, that knows that the only way to have a healthy-democratic society is by having an educated citizenry. The society in my dream will reflect these values in the way in which we spend our tax dollars.

Is this dream truly possible? Is this dream possible by the action of one individual? What kind of steps do I have to take in order to make this dream a reality?

I dream of ...

... finding trust.

Yesterday I wrote about dreaming of having grandkids. The argument is that through my grandkids I would find legacy. Besides the fact that I would love to take my grandchildren for a ride on my motorcycle, grandkids for me are a continuation. The legacy of making a better world and contributing to society in a way that we would live in peace. I remembered Lenon and Garcia Marquez but forgot to mention others that have been strong guides not only like wind vanes showing me the direction of life at the time but coaching me in deep matters of the soul. One hero is Mahatma Gandhi who taught me the value of self confidence and to certain extent the meaning of basic humanity, where we all are connected and in the pursue of the same dreams. So here we go again, what do we mean by "same dreams"? Do we (humans) pursue the same dreams?

This is what I am finding out. It looks like no! If we define "dreams" in specific terms then: no, we don't have the same dreams. Even the fact that we all have dreams defined as expectations may be questioned. If one defines "having dreams" as aspirations I would be able to first enumerate which aspirations I have and then to explain why these aspirations are so important to me that I would call them dreams.

Trust is critical in one's life, we have to trust the people that surround us as well as the system on which our lives are sustained, but this is almost impossible as trust break-up by one will induce a mistrust of everything and everybody. There is a saying in Spanish that goes like this: "El que se quema con atole hasta al jokoque le sopla" (Who burns himself drinking hot milk, will blow to yogurt) Sorry for translation but as with jokes translating sayings is almost impossible due to the cultural nature of the phrase.

Here again I am bonding the present with the future as trust is needed now and becomes a dream for living tomorrow. The question then becomes how can I built it? how can I nurture and grow trust? trust on me, and for me?

Dreams Are About The Present

This time is about connecting one's dreams with the present. But first I have to ask what is a dream? Why do we dream? Are there different kinds of dreams? Are there dreams when you are awake? What is the purpose of night dreaming when you are asleep?

Ok, to many questions for the time being! Maybe more will come up later so I will start today with not answering these questions but writing about a dream. It is not one that I have had during my sleep it is one that I have developed as I think about my future.

I dream about having grandchildren.
When I was growing up and thinking (should say dreaming) about the future, I would see myself as an adventurous scientist someone like my hero of the time Jacques Ives Cousteau. Never imagining that I would marry and have children. Until it happened. In 1971 I got married to Maria Eugenia a wonderful girl from my home town; and after a few years we had our first child Jorge. Jorge came after a few years of marriage not because we didn't want to have kids it just happened that Jorge took his own time to arrive. Almost fourteen years later Bernice our second child was born. This was in 1989, so it's been quite a while and I feel is time for more kids in our family, that is why I dream of grandkids. I dream of having grandkids thinking about the joy of helping in the rising of young minds with a bright future, descendants that will serve and work to enhance the conditions of the planet, as we need more and better educated citizens to participate in this great human project. The education of citizens of the world that will continue our legacy and the legacy of other great thinkers. I am thinking of two of my contemporary heroes John Lennon and Gabriel Garcia Marquez (GGM). In one of his last songs "Imagine" John Lennon said: "You might think I am a dreamer...But I am not the only one...I hope some day you will join us... And the World will be as one". In this strophe Lennon sums up what I dream, one world where we all get along, and that is what I want my children and grandchildren to dream too!

Before I finish let me say a few words about why dreaming is connected to the present with the understanding that I will expand these ideas in coming posts. In the book "The Power of Now" Eckhart Tolle writes about how the present is what we have, the past is gone and the future will never be, as the brazilians say: Brazil is the country of the future and will always be!

Finally a quote from Gabo (GGM) that is self explanatory about why I dream. "You don't stop dreaming when you get old; you get old when you stop dreaming."

This time of year

The idea of time and its word is not the same in different cultures. And will not translate literarily from one language to another. For instance in English we can ask: What time is it? what hour is it in Spanish. One can start a story by saying: once upon a time.."Habia una vez" in Spanish. Or one can say: I have done this many times. Lo he hecho muchas veces in Spanish. In Spanish what time is it? refers to the weather and one could answer by saying: is doing a good time. Meaning the weather is fine. So the question about how real time is or how much time is an illusion of cultural origin remains current. In his book "Time Reborn" Lee Smolin writes extensively about it and is a highly recommended read. For more information visit http://leesmolin.com/writings/time-reborn/

Post on the other blog

Space time is here to stay but then why was that I posted in the other blog: Tlaltecuhtli
Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like bananas!
"It is been so long since my last post! Which doesn't mean that nothing at all has happened. Not at all, on the contrary, so many thing have happened that is why I haven't posted, so what now? Why is it that now I am posting? Is it because I don't have anything to do? I do! I have tons of things to do but somehow I feel this urge to write.
This is a very special moment, a moment that will stay for ever a moment that will be frozen in time as long as this site prevails, as long as I remember that this post is here so that means that it will be here as long as my conscience makes it to be.
The past is gone, the future will never arrive thus the only thing real is this precious moment in our lives.
So be it!"

As Time goes by

Almost the end of 2009 and what is the paradigm that is ruling our lives? Things are changing as always but we feel that all is the same. Talking with son this afternoon and eating a Carl's Jr hamburger we philosophize about what does it mean to be contemporary, as his friend said the future is past now. Some think that we are in the post-modern time but that time is way gone now we are in the post-post-modern time what I call the meta-post-modern time.
The traditional schemes that define the paradigm of our lives have changed we now live in the information age. The age where the world became flat and the future became past. The age where relativism is now more relative that even as more and more connections are found. Everything is connected so everything is related. The infra-relativism or the post-moder times had to give way to the über-relativism of subatomic entanglement.

Easter

What has the evolution of our society brought? So many things we can use and so many ideas can help us to rejoice. Today we are celebrating the rise of life over death, the triumph of happiness over suffering, the power of good over bad, the reign of light over darkness. It has been thousands of years since men started to walk upright and to use tools to harvest the product of his own seeding. Human nature has not changed that much but our culture for sure has been changing to the point that the driving values and principles have changed radically. As Doug Brown in his book Insatiable Is Not Sustainable mentions we have moved from a culture of "security" to the culture of "Be All You Can Be". This of course is the reason for having today some kind of worship for "greed" and "individual success".
Today we are facing a new challenge where confronted with the realities of new paradigms we need to adapt again to a changing world. Of course this leads us to anxiety and desperation as many in our world want things to stay as they are. Where wealth is concentrating and in many western nations a bigger gap between the "haves" and the "have not" is being created.
Now, as time only goes forward, we have to change for the better. We always say that "progress" is a change for the better and that any change is progress, maybe so! That is my view, my optimist's view of change in our society.
But if we are to change, what kind of changes should we give impulse? and which we should slow down? How can we move together as a world wide community at the same time that we are improving our sense of change in our individual realm and its family setting?
The answer is not simple and will not come in a single idea. But many thoughts have emerged in recent times, one for me is significant. It involves the use of technology to educated ourselves. The use of blogs, internet groups, forums, listservs, etc so to communicate and revolutionize in a similar path as the newspapers and books did when the print-press was developed in the middle ages, bringing the modern world.

Lobbying in politics

A major problem with the way that politics is runned is the influence of big money through lobbying. One good example of this is how McCain is controlled by big multinational corporations. Have a look at this video.

Friendship has no time limits.

A friend gave me the link to this video
Hope you find it enlightning and refreshing.

What is going on?

I found this video on youtube that show some of the horror of the Iraq occupation.

It is the worst we can think of and make us so sad that human are able to such harm.

Presidential Elections

Everybody is counting days, hours, minutes and seconds for the presidential elections of November 4, 2008.
Here is a link that you might find interesting: http://election.amerpundit.com/index.html

Learning about teacher's tube

This is a test to see how I can post a video in the teachertube iste and then copy it here!
I am looking forward to learning more about these technologies LOL

Steve Jobs Stanford Commencement Speech 2005

When thinking about commencement one is inspired by kind and wise words like these from Jobs!

This time is for all to be us

Winter solstice has been thought the ages a time for thinking and introspection. A time when the dark days bring the bright light of the stpirit shinning on communities and through our society. A time when families come together and friendships are strenghtened. For some of us followers of Christ His birth commemoration brings a deep sense of belonging and of peace.
But the peace that some of us feel is far away removed from those living in the middle of turmoil, near or far away. This is the time to come close together and make peace to be the central attraction force in and within our nations.
May this time of year bring happines and joy to all of you.
Merry Christmas and a very prosperous new year!

WWW.WANGARIMAATHAI.ORG

This a good example, very good example of how working for peace goes hand in hand with working for the environment!

WWW.WANGARIMAATHAI.ORG

Welcome to my webcam

Well here we are trying a new webcam and post it on this site

Hope you find this little video as an opportunity to see me moving as before all you have seen is photos.

Quick Change Artists on America's Got Talent

It takes time to change clothing when you don't know what to do or how to do it. But if you know how, if you really know how then it doesn't take any time at all!

Once a Week Hug Someone!

This is a cool site: http://www.hugnation.com/ The idea is that once a week we should stop and hug someone. At 1 PM West Coast Time (PST) we have to hug someone that is near us.
Can you hug someone this Tuesday? Don't forget.