Blog Archives

Bits and pieces

10/9/2015

Bits and pieces. Friday, October 9, 2015

…The patterned movement of molecular entities becomes a world of rolling stones and falling rain only after the entities have been named and qualified during inquiry. Some objective configurations are found in nature and others are ideally organized in order to control their movement and expedite human purposings when the idea is acted upon. …

From: A Transaction with Mr. Kahn: Benjamin Wolstein Source: The Journal of Philosophy, Vol. 44, No. 24 (Nov. 20, 1947), pp. 663-666

Cobbling bits and pieces
from random experiences
we write
the narrative of our life.
Each story never told
from inexorable chance
Bits and pieces.
- klk, 9 October 2015

Or, said another way, we configure our world through transACTIVE “purposings,” as opposed to circular interaction.

(Today just seemed to be about bits and pieces and somehow they fit together.)

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Words have an inward coloring of their own

10/8/2015

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Words have an inward coloring of their own. klk, Jacksonville, January, 2015

Today I am thinking about reading and writing, and, in fact, any use of language. Some people still today view language as unambiguous… a code that can be broken, learned and taught. In the last century, language-in-use was distinguished from an idealized language code that existed independently of people and could be studied and described on its own. (For example, Saussure’s parole and langue, or Chomsky’s performance and competence.) In the 20th century, revolutionary ideas caused important changes in European and American science and philosophy. We became less certain of such self-contained definitions and clear-cut ways of looking at the world. Within this zeitgeist, philosophers and researchers began to question the proposition that language and meaning could be considered as separate from its users, and theories such as Louise Rosenblatt’s theory of reading as “transaction” appeared in the middle decades of the 20th Century.

Rosenblatt proposed that meaning in a text does not exist independently on the page but develops out of a “transaction” the reader has with the text, with the context, and with their own knowledge. Even if the writer of a text has a purpose and intention in the moment of writing, their meaning does not automatically imprint itself on the mind of the reader/listener. The reader/listener also has a purpose and intention. In this transaction, between readers and writers, between purposes and intentions, meaning is created. Quoting William James and Lev Vygotsky, Rosenblatt reminds us

“…that not only the words referring to objects, but also the words naming the relationships among them carry ‘an inward coloring of their own’ in the stream of consciousness (1890, p. 245). This rich experiential aura of language is different for each of us. As L. S. Vygotsky pointed out, "the sense" of a word is ‘the sum of all the psychological events aroused in our consciousness by the word’ (1962, p. 146).” (Rosenblatt, 1988)

The reader brings all of his or her understandings of the world to the transaction of reading. These understandings include his or her background, culture, knowledge, emotions, feelings, and purposes. The meaning in a text is, therefore, dependent on the reader’s response within a certain context, at a certain time, and for a certain purpose.

What color are your words?

kate

Quote from: Technical Report No. 416 WRITING AND READING: THE TRANSACTIONAL THEORY Louise M. Rosenblatt

https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/bitstream/handle/2142/18044/ctrstreadtechrepv01988i00416_opt.pdf?s

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7 October... onward and upward!

10/7/2015

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White stair going up. Venice, October, 2014. klk

Mercoledi, 7 ottobre
I found out today that someone died a few days ago. She was 59. I knew her only a little… only as the always helpful, always willing office assistant where I was a going to school. She was patient, sunny, always in a good mood, calm, ready to help, knowledgeable, a gentle person… and two years younger than I am. One person… and I know everyday many people die, and not all of them have lived a full life. It just threw me for a loop. One person. Was she happy with her life? Fulfilled? Did she do all she wanted to do? Did she do what she came into this world to do?

Sitting down, trying to write about it words come to mind that don't quite capture the fear, the fragility… deep sadness…. the inescapability. Even going for a walk and “breathing in the green” didn’t help much. How precious the days are and how fast they go! Then the title of one of Bruce Chatwin’s books comes to mind, as it usually does at times like this: “What am I doing here?” Then I wonder what it will take to get me moving and actually do what I want to do while I can do it. Just keep moving...

At least today I did exactly what I want to get back to (the habit I’d like to have): sit down at any random moment and write through a powerful experience. I can’t say I got far, but at least I started and tried, which means I am moving and is a BIG success. I already feel lighter! Now I am asking myself about the two next steps:

5. Project the distance you want to travel.
6. What is realistic? What works for me? How can I weave the new habit (or piece of a habit) into my life as it is now to give myself the best chance for success?

Is anyone else working on building a habit this month? How's it going?

kate

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'Habit' or something else?

10/6/2015

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So I’ve been doing the most recent step I posted about a few days ago and “imagining myself fully into my new habit.” I tried to visualize myself sitting at my desk for a certain amount of time each day, or at a certain time each day, and couldn’t. I know that won’t work. I can’t see myself sitting down to write everyday for X hours (which is what was in the back of my mind). Since I hate routines and immediately break them, that just doesn’t seem doable. Even this self-challenge of writing everyday is already getting on my nerves. One of these days I know I will “forget” completely, promptly forgive myself and, just like expunging my sins by going to confession, go back to writing the next day. (At at the moment, my step #13 for habit-building.)

Instead, I imagine me sitting on the train writing, or stopping in the middle of the street and writing on the back of my shopping list… it’s that spontaneous “in the moment” writing that I would like to do again. I am not sure it’s even a habit… it’s more like a way of being in the world… a desire to be fully aware of a moment in time by writing it.

So my next step is to ask: “Do I really want this ‘habit’ (or way of being)?” Absolutely!

I realize that I am not even concerned with keeping my writing (although I do)… or even sharing it (even if I am). What attracts me is the evanescent moment, that instant when I manage to exactly re-create in words an idea or a feeling… or not and spend hours or days trying to get to just the right words. And when I find them… ZINGGO! that’s it… yes! It is that flash of elation and surprise when I “capture” the experience and I know immediately and deeply that I did it. It is complete connection. … Maybe it is similar to getting exactly the right framing, light and feeling in a photograph… or getting a “hole in one” in golf. Or coming up with just the right argument at exactly the right time in a debate. What is that moment for you?

kate

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What does it mean??

10/5/2015

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What does it mean to be a member of a society where we allow anyone who wants one to own a weapon that could take out a tank, but can be arrested for having a joint??? What does it say about us that a national organization can sustain that we convert ourselves in victims if we don’t have a gun (as reported in the Italian press)? What are “our” values? “Our” ethics? As individuals and as a nation? That the right to own a gun is more valuable than a human life??

On paper the USA is a democracy in which majority opinion makes the rules. Am I to believe, then, that I am in the minority to want my government to protect me, my family and friends against crazies with guns? Am I in a minority to think it is wrong to allow anyone who wants to, to possess a tool designed to take people’s lives because they disagree with a religious belief or are angry or crazy? I thought we lived in a society in which killing was wrong, at least that is what I was taught.

So what can we do when the current system does not work to protect the lives of citizens?? Someone please explain this logic to me. If indeed life is sacred, then why don’t our laws protect it? Was it not the mission of the USA to protect life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness? We aren’t doing a very good job!

I have heard many times the argument that the right to carry a gun is protected by the US constitution. Well that document has been amended 27 times! So why not now?? Seventeen times it has been amended since the first ten amendments were added on December 15, 1791, including amendment 2 which granted this right to each citizen to bear arms. Maybe that was a good idea in 1791 but surely times have changed and we have grown as a country in 224 years? We even passed an amendment to ban the sale of alcohol (even if we later changed our minds), possibly dangerous depending on your point of view, but its primary purpose is not to kill people! The point is, when circumstances warrant, and we, the people, want to make a change and a majority of us agree, there is a mechanism in place to do it. What is our government waiting for? I can’t believe that the majority of US citizens are happy living in a country where it is so easy to get a gun so they can kill people.

We went to war over suspected weapons of mass destruction. So what can we do about the mass destruction happening at home? We are required to have a license and training to drive a car. So why not for something infinitely more deadly?

I would like my government to protect my right to life and to liberty and the pursuit of happiness by keeping guns out of the wrong hands. I would like to live in the absence of fear that some crazy person with an issue to resolve will decide to murder me or my friends and family.

Kate

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Habit releasers??

10/4/2015

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Since the 1st of October, as you know, “habits” have been on my mind. In particular, I am thinking about what it would do for me to go back to my habit of writing regularly. This post is a perfect example of why I want it back. I started writing today’s post several times and each time erased it. Until I had erased several false starts, I had no idea that what I really wanted to write about tonight was the “habitual” (those things we do every day without even thinking about them... on “automatic pilot”). I adore that excitement of discovery! When words start appearing that you didn’t know you were thinking before they appeared on the page!

Earlier today I listened to an interview with Mark Williams, Emeritus Professor of Clinical Psychology at Oxford on the topic of mindfulness. As this was the first lecture in a month-long, online “Mindfulness Summit” (I shared the link on my Facebook page a few days ago), he was talking about the basics of mindfulness—where and how one can start to be more mindful through the day. Given my current musings about habits and how to build them, his idea of “habit releasers” grabbed my attention. A “habit releaser” is something we can do that “turns off” our automatic pilot—interrupts a habit we may not even realize we have. His idea is that we can make small, deliberate changes to daily habits with full awareness of our action in order to live more “mindfully”… in order to be more fully conscious of the present moment, and the choices we make throughout the day… or don’t make.

For example, who chooses which hand they use to brush their teeth? For most people, this is a pretty automatic routine. So what if one day you decide to use the other hand to brush your teeth? A “habit releaser” converts a habitual task into a conscious experience. Some other examples he gave were already familiar to me: If you find yourself walking along, lost in thought, looking at the ground. Stop! Look up at the sky or the trees… really look at them… take a few slow, deep breaths—pause and be fully present in and aware of your surroundings. Or what about deciding on the spur of the moment to go to the movies without checking first to see what is playing… just showing up and picking a movie that is about to start. Or deliberately turning off the TV when a program you chose to watch ends. Even if you turn it back on 30 minutes later to watch another program you decided to see. Here is part of his text:

Okay, so habit releasers are addressing one of the issues that much of our automaticity, our automatic pilot is shown in the fact that we do the same thing day in and day out in the same way. You know, we brush our teeth with the same hand and we put the other hand in the same place, wherever that is. I mean I don’t know if you know exactly what happens to your left hand when you’re brushing your teeth with your right. It’s amazing to know. But so it takes a very simple situation to say, But what if I deliberately just for a day or two do it differently. So for example sitting in a different chair at the table at home or in your lounge or sitting room or drawing room, or on the bus or on the cab you always sit on the left hand side or the right hand side, at the back or the front. Maybe just do something different. See what you notice about doing things different. So they can be as small as that.

If you are interested in knowing more about mindfulness, or listening to Professor Williams’ interview, you can find it here until the end of October: http://themindfulnesssummit.com/sessions/mark-williams/

I think I will go brush my teeth with my left hand and see what happens.

Going back to the question of building habits, here’s a next step:

IMAGINE yourself fully into your new habit. How is life different?

See you tomorrow!

kate

HABITS... all of those little "voices" that direct traffic in our heads. (Art by Daniele Ballerini, 2015)

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY BARB!

10/3/2015

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Along the “panoramica” 3 Oct 15

If you're not Barb, this might be a boring post... nothing about habits today. Today is dedicated to my "little" sister and I need more time to think about why I want a new habit, and what it will do for me. So, step #3 tomorrow.

Barb, today, the 3rd day of my writing self-challenge, is dedicated to you as you celebrate 60 years in the world and embark on 61! Happy Birthday! (or happy new year to use my new way of looking at it) I so wish I were there!!

Remembering our long walks in the fields (rain, snow or shine), I took the long way to the grocery store this morning… up over the “mountain” (really a large hill) so that I could get away from the cars and people and hear the birds, walking among the trees and blackberry brambles… If I don’t look towards the street, I can imagine walking with you and with the dogs…

I have so enjoyed this day, reminiscing to myself and reliving wonderful moments. I wonder how you remember them?? But then when I started writing, it seems there are just too many so only a few are here…

I wonder if our passion for walking in the fields connects to the wonderful “playground” we had when we were young? The miles and miles of woods and streams we could explore on foot or on bikes?

From about that same time, I can see as a photograph in my mind the two of us waiting for the bus on your first day of kindergarten. In identical uniforms, with our small leather satchels you setting off for the first time on a journey I had begun two years earlier. Holding your hand… anxious, excited…

Then there are the wonderful weekends when you lived on the farm. I loved visiting you throughout the years I lived in NYC and you would take me horseback riding. Thank you so much for showing me that amazing experience! You had three loops (or was it two) through woods and fields… that we could ride without seeing another person or animal… You told me you wished you could get lost but you knew the country so well it was impossible. I, on the other hand, could enjoy that delicious feeling of letting go… having no idea where I was, how far I was from home or how long it would take to get back, all the while knowing that you would find our way back. How rich that was!

The very best memories of all, though, began in November, 1985: only a few days after she was born, I came from California to NJ to meet Julie, and share the first three months of her life with you and Rich… and a few years later Robin, and then Jacquie. What beautiful, beautiful people you and Rich have brought up in the world! Do you remember the time I flew back for Jacquie’s birthday and hid inside a box while you asked her if she wanted to open her present or have dinner first. I thought I would die when she opted for dinner!

And the days in Sag Harbor when the girls were small? Playing “spider” in the hammock and cracking stones? Luaus on the beach… Or just on the beach with a book… I think that is really “your” place… on the beach with a book… or on a bike… or on a horse… or with a child in your arms...

What a gift it is to have you in the world! A smart, tough, sensitive, beautiful, athletic, thoughtful, loving and passionate mother, sister, wife, daughter... person who is also a good cook… We toast you! Happy Birthday!!

We toast you!

We ordered the pizza and I made the cookies to celebrate your birthday! (Of course we ate them for you. I also shared them with all the neighbors in your honor. The recipe said it made about 50... I counted at least 80 but I had already eaten a few by then... Dani too!). Dani says they're the best cookies he's ever had and wants them for Thanksgiving :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BARB!

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Art and Feeling and Seeing

10/2/2015

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Even if this is out of season, Easter morning is one of my favorites by Caspar David Friedrich

“If he sees nothing within, then he should stop painting what is in front of him.”

Caspar David Friedrich (German Romantic painter, 1774-1840)

Friedrich suggested that the artist’s mission was to combine knowledge and feeling . . . empirical observation and spirituality, and that “[a]rt occupies the role of mediator between nature and man.”: “The painter should paint not only what he has in front of him, but also what he sees inside himself.” (or perhaps hear… sense… inside oneself?)

Hence, if “he” sees nothing within… no feeling, no spirituality…, “he” should desist to paint, according to Friedrich. Is the “should” even necessary? How does an artist paint or a writer write if s/he “sees” (or hears or feels) nothing within?? Through the re-presentation of landscapes, Friedrich depicts landscapes of the soul, and of spirituality… his works are deliberate expressions of an affective or spiritual state.

Coincidentally, I read today in a friend’s blog about how she came to create photographs of the ocean that are also (in my opinion) evocative expressions of an affective or spiritual state more than a direct portrait of reality. She said: “…One day, it finally occurred to me that intimacy wasn’t just about physical closeness, but about emotional connectedness, as well. I decided to focus more on how the ocean made me feel, not just the way it looked…”

Later she says: “Seeing more deeply is a way of being more present in any moment, in any place.” Is this the way an artist joins knowledge and feeling in art? You can see her art here: http://leeannewhite.com/blog/2015/9/29/on-seeing-more-deeply
Thanks Lee Anne!

Since I am not a painter, Haiku is what comes to my mind when I ask myself how I can communicate a feeling or an affective state in art. Haiku is also about recreating a moment of experience by expressing the feeling it provokes, so that the reader/hearer, upon reading/hearing the words, can feel the same experience. However, different to Friedrich’s idea of “combining knowledge and feeling,” the goal of the Haiku master is to completely remove the ego, leaving pure experience. I have long pondered this challenge… how does one act as a conduit for an experience, a moment in time, and completely remove any trace of the perceiving/feeling being in order to leave a feeling that contains no trace of the feeler? In order to remove any visible trace of the artist’s “hand” (and mind) on the canvas.

Caspar David Friedrich – Evening, October, 1824

Can one really remove the presence of the writer in a Haiku? What do you think? What do you experience when you read this?

Leaves of the linden
Now pale green rimmed in yellow
Rustle in the wind.

Here’s today’s thought about creating new habits:

Articulate the habit. Why you want it? What will it do for you?

I haven’t fully decided yet if I even like the idea of “habits,” but for arguments sake, I’m off to spend 24 hours discussing with myself why I want it and what it will do for me. See you tomorrow!

kate

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My October challenge

10/1/2015

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October! My absolute BEST month of the year… my own personal “new year” … the real beginning of autumn… a bridge between summer and winter... mushroom season… time to harvest the grapes (I read that it will be an excellent vintage this year here in Italy… CHEERS!)… A few days ago it was in the 80’s. Today the rains started. By the end of the month, it will be seriously cold (my opinion formed over 35 years lived in Mediterranean and sub-tropical climes)… it will probably be in the 40’s, and I realize that if you live in the North, you might consider the 40’s warm!

I’ve been thinking a lot recently about habits and how one forms (or gets rid of) them. (Do they form themselves?) I feel like I have fallen imperceptibly into new habits as life progresses (sitting at my desk for too long glued to my computer, not exercising enough [can “not” doing something be a habit???], jumping from one thing to another without finishing the first thing). As I have fallen into new habits, I have fallen out of some old ones that I realize I miss. One habit I would like to recuperate is regular writing that is not related to my teaching work. It used to be that I would feel naked if I left the house without pen and paper! Now I can never find my pocket journal, when I want it. Today I found myself in Florence with nothing to write with (or on)! I used to love to write Haikus or other reflections on the world around me. Words would appear magically in my head that expressed the moment of the experience. I have books and drawers and computer files FILLED with that writing. Not many pieces have a recent date.

So, since I will shortly be starting the next year of my life, I am making a “new year’s resolution”… more like a “new year’s personal challenge” (even if I never make resolutions on January 1st, probably because I know I never keep them because I think that, deep down, I really hate routine and habits!… let’s see what happens this month!)

My challenge to myself is to write in my blog everyday for the month of October…. I’m very curious to see if I will do it! Maybe someone out there can complain to me if I miss a day (and if you enjoy what I write!). [I’ve read this is one strategy to make habits stick: public accountability. Or, since I don’t like the word “accountability,” I think if it as a social strategy—commit to others and invite collaborators… So I am inviting you to be my collaborators… to share any thoughts that come to mind as you read these lines this month.]

I thought I would also share my “steps” for building habits, one each day until I get to the end of the list. (I do have a list to start with but I suspect that I will (re)invent and rethink it as the month goes on.) I know there is a lot of writing already out there on the subject of habits, and I have read much of it! So I am sure these are ideas I have culled from multiple sources. My wondering is, how will this list work for me? Does it work for you? So here goes… my step # 1 for October 1:

Notice where you are and be fully there.

That’s it for today… I am off to think about where I really am right now. Will you join me? I’ll add another step tomorrow, and another on Saturday, and so on... I would love to hear your thoughts on habits… (on the subject of October, or anything else in the posts), so I invite you to add comments to this blog, or write to me at ktchr4kate@gmail.com or post on Facebook at Kate Kiss Coaching.

Happy October! Happy autumn! Happy habits! … HAPPY WRITING!!

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