Alex Iglecia

We grow up.
Batur mountain and volcano hike.
Kecak

The lesson and theme for today is about the meditation of the child who is the center of the universe. At this stage of life we have the opportunity to understand where we fit, or else we will live all of life not understanding where I fit in the universe. I know this plays out in my own life. America is also full of it.

The big event for the day was traveling with a few of our friends and to see the Batur mountain and climb one of its neighbors. We had two guides, Peter and Made, and were followed by a woman and her son and dog who planned to sell us coke and water at the top. She went all the way with us, even though we told her many times that we would not buy any. The Balinese are very persistant! We took many photos on the way up, some on the way down, and Peter pointed out the Baliaga on the way down. They are the original Balinese, they say, and live in one village on the lake near Batur. They are aggressive, meaning they ask for much more money than they should. They place their dead in protected areas above ground and wait for the flesh to clear from the bones. Much more than that I don’t know. They do sound serious!

We went to a kecak performance. Here in Bali, or at least in Ubud, each neighborhood or community puts on its own shows at its local palace/temple. The Kecak is the monkey dance or monkey chant and dance. Wild!

2-6 Rice, Bakur Volcano, Bambu, Kecak

Dreams.
Wedding planning.
Pedanda.
Temple.

I have had a dream Monday night and one last night. I won’t say much about them, but will say that they were more vivid than I normally would have. It seems that many others in our group are also having vivid dreams.

We’re getting married! Yes, that’s not exactly news then, is it? Bali had news for us today. We began the day with a purification ceremony. What will we do for our wedding? Where will we be? What will we wear? Beth and I began some conversations with David and Reba (the wonderful woman coordinating all our adventures) and it’s all magic from here on out.

Today is day two of thirteen on our tour with David Patten. He has arranged for one of the island’s few Pedandas to perform the ceremony. It was a beautiful, and new ceremony where we were literally bathed from the head down in water. Five of us went through the ritual at a time, which consisted of water, incense, and rice. Rice is enormously important here in Bali, so much so that the fact that they now are net importers of rice is actually a huge deal.

Now that we are purified we made our way to our first temple of the tour, Temple on the outskirts of Ubud. We wore temple costume, which for men consists of sarong, seput, udong, and sash. For women, they wear sarong and sash, and a shirt that covers armpits. Let me say just a little something about sarongs and sashes. They rock. Absolutely. The sash reprepresents the promise or commitment to remain (grounded) in the middle world. The Balinese hindu belief system says there is a upper world of the gods, lower world of demons, and middle world where humans reside. It’s infinitely more complicated than I could explain and certainly more than I understand now, but the commitment to stay in the middle world represented by the sash is beautifully full of intent and integrity.

2-5 Temple, Free Day, Three Monkeys, Dance

The pattern of David Patten.
We start with Reflexology.
A stab at our wedding vows.

Today we began our program with David Patten. He took us to meet a famous wood and mask artist, and then to meet a very well known painter whose wife is an equally known Batik artist. Nyoman, the painter, bore an uncanny resemblance to the chesire cat. He wore the biggest Balinese grin, spoke with wisdom, humor and over my head, and could point the way if only I promised to use my right brain.

Afterwards a large group of us climbed halfway to heaven to eat at a concrete picnic table for the cheapest food we’d seen so far. In fact it was a phenomenal lunch with coconut pie with real coconut. Later, Beth and I visited Kenko, a small site near Sri Blungalows where we are staying, for an hour reflexology treatment. We got up to go just as they brought out the most amazing ginger tea we have ever smelled or tasted. I asked for the magic recipe, which they whispered was simply boiled ginger with brown sugar. I cannot wait to try this myself! (note, since this day I have tried ginger tea nearly everywhere else we’ve sat down, but none have compared at all!)

2-4 Market, Batik, Wood, Rainy Dinner

Blue Lagoon
The new Nur Salon addiction

Carl, Luan, Susan, Maggie, Christian and Beth and I traveled to the Blue Lagoon an hour taxi ride away from Ubud. We hired a driver for the ride, a three hour stay (not tour), and the promise of a return ride. All together, we each paid $5. I won’t say too much more about money in these posts, because it’s all the same. Everything here in Bali is extremely inexpensive. This trip was an introduction to Balinese sales technique. We had been instructed that bargaining was an opportunity for Balinese to get to know us, that the negotiating process was in part to get to know one other. We certainly did! After a few purchased, a special custom design on a palm leaf with macadamia nut oil, a sandy massage, a little freediving and a wonderful lunch, we did know quite a few people!

In the evening, Beth and I went with Christian to Nur Salon for an hour and a half massage, scrub and rose petal bath treatment. I’ve never had such an experience before (and I’m sure I’ll be saying that a lot while we’re here!).

2-3 Sunday in Bali

Dinner at Cafe Wayan with Christian and Reba. They are just wonderful. We ate at Cafe Wayan and tried Brem. Brem is their local rice wine and it is ridiculously good.

2-2 We Arrive in Bali

Yes, we want coffee. There’s much to see in this airport, and it’s so big that perhaps we’ll get an hour of walking in. It has been 14 short hours. This is the first stop of our trip. The Taipei airport is clean, fresh, full of nice little sample snacks, and accomodating with these free internet sites. The security is very polite, politely asking us to dump our water. And I’ve never had such crisp, clear instructions as on the flight itself. I’m still dizzy with their speed and efficiency.

Our 14 hour flight on EVA Air was wonderful and smooth. Their drink glasses, plastic utensils and even coffee cups were fantastic. Is it possible to be impressed by such small things? Yes!

Beth and I slept most of the way in the deeply reclined seats all the way in the back, even though we had a plethora of movies to choose from.

Now, on to the coffee! And our next trip to Bali in just a few hours.

We’ve signed up with Flickr to prepare for our trip to Bali. Be on the lookout right here at iglecia.com for upcoming photo albums. Hopefully I’ll get it integrated on the site itself. For now, visit the photo albums here.

Michael Dowd has just released the new book trailer for Thank God for Evolution!, made possible by a generous grant from the Foundation for Global Community. Below Michael Dowd’s comments, I’ll post a few media links.

Watch the trailer!

From Michael Dowd:

As we enter 2008, I am overjoyed to report that we are in our second printing of Thank God for Evolution! The book is already attracting attention from major media worldwide including Newsweek, Wired, and the BBC, among many others. It’s introduction of Evolution Theology is inspiring thoughtful new conversations about the marriage of science and religion throughout the blogosphere. Connie and I are deeply grateful for your role in helping us realize our dream of sharing a sacred, meaningful view of evolution with as many people as possible, as soon as possible.

This April, our mobile ministry will enter its 7th year! As you know, Connie and I live on the road full-time, offering all of our programs and presentations for free to churches and other organizations across the continent. What you may not know is that 100% of the profits and royalties from Thank God for Evolution! will go toward furthering this movement and keeping us on the road sharing the good news, hopefully for the rest of our lives. We are grateful for the many gifts we’ve received, and this year we have a special request.

This one act alone, when taken together, may help us reach enough people to inspire an evolutionary revival in 2008.

Watch the trailer!

As news of global warming and global warring dominates the headlines, we believe that nothing matters more at this crucial crossroads in human history than accepting evolution as a fact of life. Reality is teaching us that it’s not just what we believe that matters, it’s how we choose to evolve. A sacred evolutionary worldview offers a way for people to make peace with themselves, each other, and the planet, and no gift could be greater than that right now.

So, thank you again for your support, and thank you in advance for helping us evangelize The Gospel of Evolution throughout 2008 and beyond!

Blessings,

Michael Dowd

Michael@ThankGodforEvolution.com

ThankGodforEvolution.com

P.S. Here’s a short note that you can cut and paste into a new email and send to your friends, which makes it easy for them to do the same:

If this book doesn’t end the science and religion war, it’s certainly a MAJOR step in the right direction!

http://www.ThankGodforEvolution.com/book-trailer.html

If you are so led, please pass this announcement on to others. Thanks!

Here are some media links:

• Wired Magazine: Former Evangelical Minister Has a New Message: Jesus Hearts Darwin

• BBC: There’s a new evangelist on the road in the bible belt of America, but whereas Michael Dowd once believed in creationism he’s now an evangelist for Darwin - and he’s not abandoned his Christian faith. Indeed his new book is entitled “Thank God for Evolution” and in it he claims that the marriage of science and religion will transform your life and our world. When Roger spoke to Mr Dowd he put it to him there was a time when he believed evolution was “of the devil”. What had happened?   Listen to the BBC radio interview

Using Science Magazine’s 125 Top Questions from 2005, the Mind Science Foundation put on this debate on the Neuronal Correlates of Consciousness. In very brief terms, here is the background:

Inquiry into what consciousness may or may not be has been ranging for over two thousand years, but it is only recently that science has allowed itself to explore consciousness. Yet it cannot, because though we know intimately that consciousness is there (I think, therefore I am) there is nothing to measure. The best science can yet do is to look at what happens in the brain during conscious and un/non conscious events such as sleeping, dreaming, waking, making love, watching television, driving cars, falling out of airplanes, etc. The activity they can measure are correlated to reports of subjective experience.

Here is the debate. It’s fast, so don’t blink or you’ll miss a whole lecture!

The MIND SCIENCE FOUNDATION
is pleased to announce that the October issue of Scientific American features MSF’s inaugural
“Distinguished Debates in Consciousness”
with a spirited debate between
Susan Greenfield, CBE, D. Phil. (Oxford) and
Christof Koch, Ph.D. (California Institute of Technology)
focused on one of the central issues of consciousness research – the search for the elusive NCC (Neuronal Correlates of Consciousness).

Moderator: Joseph Dial

For the 125 most compelling and puzzling questions today, visit the special anniversary issue of Science here.
Amazingly, the second question on their list is:

What is the Biological Basis of Consciousness?

An interesting note: the framing of the question above assumes (consciously or not) that there is a biological basis out there to find. This is something like asking, “What is the mechanical basis for driving?” or “What is the physical basis for exercise?” Though it is a valid question, it may only tell us what is happening biologically at the same time the organism is thinking, feeling, and behaving in a particular way. The answer to this question cannot tell us what consciousness is any more than knowing the mechanical interaction of parts of a car will tell you what driving is, let alone the experience of driving.

NCCs seem to be but a way in the door of understanding consciousness, though from science’s stance on generating falsifiable hypotheses and testing them, it seems to be the best possible. Here’s the rub: science tries to remove itself from the limitations of subjective, first person experience. Here, I don’t know how to get away from actual subjective experience, that is to say, consciousness itself. For example, let’s say that we take the perfect brain scan, which tells us exactly which neurons are firing, which other neurons they are connected with, in what order, with such and such timing, and so on. All the electrical, chemical, and mechanical aspects of the interchange are precisely described. We would still be left with having to ask the subject of the scan what he or she was thinking at the time of the scan.. What were being done? What was experienced? That’s exactly what we’re trying to correlate - experience - with brain (and perhaps body) activity.

What we’re left is this: consciousness trying to understand the activity in a system, dependent on using consciousness itself to correlate activity to, well, consciousness.

Is it any wonder it’s such a fascinating and challenging problem?

For a definition of what seems to be THE problem of consciousness, just google “hard problem of consciousness.“

An interesting bit of talk has broken out about science, religion, and the nature of faith.
The most recent addition to the conversation was a new NYTimes piece on the Laws of Nature.

Laws of Nature, Source Unknown
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/18/science/18law.html?ref=science

I agreed quite a lot with Davies’ original op-ed and was shocked to read the Reality Club’s discussion on the Edge.org site. I thought they misunderstood Davies’ paper and spoke mostly to points he did not make.
The misunderstanding, I believe, comes from these writers’ confusion between religion and the source or insight that seeds most religions. In fact, the media’s naive debate between religion and science is often in the context of this misunderstanding - that religion is the truth. A distinction helpful to me is this: religion is the rule-making structure that rises up around an individual’s insight. That’s it. The religion is not the truth any more than the map is not the territory. It’s this fundamental point that religion’s deny or don’t understand, and many critical of religion don’t tackle. If anything, the emotion and indignation one can read in the Reality Club’s responses points to some unacknowledged truth. Like most any psychologist will tell you, your shadow will sneak up and show itself underneath your own nose when it is unacknowledged.

On www.Edge.org:
a) GOD VS. SCIENCE
A Debate Between Natalie Angier and David Sloan Wilson
b) Taking Science on Faith, Paul Davies
c) The Reality Club tackles ‘Taking Science on Faith’

http://edge.org/documents/archive/edge229.html

The original NYTimes Op-Ed:
Taking Science on Faith
By PAUL DAVIES
Published: November 24, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/24/opinion/24davies.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

Paul Davies responds to edge.org:
http://www.edge.org/discourse/science_faith.html#davies

Paul Davies’ Website
http://cosmos.asu.edu/

Many of us are not scientists. What, then, can we hope to know and understand about the science of climatology so we can judge for ourselves what is happening across the Earth? Why do some people consider the current climate talks critical to humanity’s longevity on earth, while others view it as a waste of time, a hoax, among other dismissals?

I think there are many reasons. If we simply start where we actually are, it is not difficult to see that humans are making a mess of the world - just look at the pollution we can and cannot see, the number of species that are making it into the extinct list, and the consumer and often wasteful way of life so many of us lead. Imagine the amount of stuff you go through in a day, and multiply that by six billion. Who is supposed to do what with all of that waste? It’s not possible to do what we are doing forever in a planet of limited resources and limited renewability.

But some people don’t see it. They don’t get it. To them, climate change is not happening, is a far way off, or is just a democratic prank.

Others see the problems, but their actions don’t reflect the intellectual understanding. We throw away when we should recycle, drive cars that are bigger than we need, and eat convenient foods that support an unsustainable way of living.

Some leaders get it too, but some lack the political will to make action happen. Shortsightedness makes it look like change for our own good will cause economic suffering. This is only as true as asking an overweight man to change the eating and lifestyle habits that are killing him. It may seem like suffering, but that’s only from a perspective that has lost its perspective. Normal is not normal anymore.

That’s why Bali is so important. It’s the first time that such talks are given real credibility by the world, and it’s the first time that so many developing countries and nations have stood up collectively to one of the nations that is blocking the world’s progress. This country should be leading, not blocking.  But Bali has made progress and the US has joined, though it has done so in a way that is embarrassing to freethinking people.

We can do only what we can do.

In the news lately: 

“But at least we all seem to be headed in the same direction, if not at the same speed. “This is not an issue between the developed world and the developing world,” said Rona Ambrose, India’s environment minister. “This is a global issue. The challenges are huge. The task is huge.”

- TIME Magazine’s article

“The conference nearly broke down, but the U.S. dropped its last-minute demands and signed the new pact after an outpouring of outrage and disappointment from other delegations. Nations now have two years to craft a legally binding treaty.”

- NPR’s piece

What was actually achieved at the talks?

- See the list of achievements, thanks to Reuters here.
Where can I find informative blogs and links about climate change? 

http://blogs.reuters.com/environment/
http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_change

A “Surfer Dude” has discovered the Theory of Everything? Won’t Ken Wilber be upset? Probably not. This work, the math of which is far beyond my understanding, points to perspective as being fundamental to our understanding of the universe. The purpose of a TOE (Theory of Everything) is to unite the many fundamental particles, forces, and our understanding of them into a cohesive structure out of which one could predict, well, everything!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaQ0EjobZZ4&feature=related

As our physicists improve their math and models of reality, we’ll be able to understand more and more about who we are, why we’re here, and where we’re going. We’ll have better tools to work with, and hopefully a more accurate worldview through with to look. But is anything missing? Without going into much speculation about consciousness and science, and assumptions and whatnot, I’ll leave you with this question: can a theory be a Theory of Everything if it cannot predict consciousness, sentience, and life?

This couple’s dance is just plain fun. I don’t know that we’ll be that outrageous - not in the same sense, anyway. Though we think our announcement is pretty great.

http://www.aolvideoblog.com/2007/11/20/best-first-wedding-dance/ 

Yes, it’s true! You can find out more about it on our marriage page! Beth and I will be traveling to Bali, Indonesia in February 2008 to get married and spend time with shamans and the people of Bali along with our Conscious Evolution cohort.

When people ask me about my studies in Conscious Evolution, I tell them I’m hoping to save the world. Looking at an integrated view of philosophy, science, spiritual and wisdom traditions does give a more comprehensive view of what is happening and what is behind the problems in the world. Understanding development and evolution, and paradigms and worldviews, do help me understand so much more than I could have otherwise. A phenomenal site pointing to the positive changes that are happening, the fundamental changes we need to get past our notions of separation and causes of violence, is Global Mind Shift at www.globalmindshift.com

Yes, a reality check is always a good thing, if not a pleasant one. The major news outlets these days get away with peddling fear-based stories for the most part, or stories that reinforce the very thinking that ends of in expressions of fear and violence, but what’s the truth behind the stories? This interesting Global Incident Map focuses on the terrorist and suspicious happenings around the world. It’s quite an eye opener!

When you click on the website link below, a world Map comes up showing what strange & dangerous things are happening right now in every country in the entire world & is updated every few minutes. You can move the map around, zero in on any one area & actually up-load the story of what is going on. It is amazing when you can see the things that are happening right here in the U.S., sometimes right in your own state or even your city. Global Incident Map: There is a lot happening in our world every minute. This “map” updates every 300 seconds…constantly 24/7.

www.globalincidentmap.com

and before your hope descends to despair, visit

www.globalmindshift.com

I often make my own protein bars so that I know exactly what goes into them. It’s also less expensive this way! You can tailor it to nearly any protein/fat/carbohydrate combination you want, depending on your goals and how your body responds.

Mix up the following and cook for 10-20 minutes at 350 degrees. The pre-cooked bars should be thick and tough to mix. If it’s too wet, the final bars will be quiche-like, and if it’s too dry or you overcook, it can get hard or dry. Tailor al gusto!

The foundation:

• 3/4 cup nuts, blended
• 3/4 cups oatmeal, dry, blended
• 2-4 eggs or egg substitute
• vanilla protein powder

Now, for kicks, here are some ways to spice it up. Pick and choose, though I don’t recommend using all of these in the same batch:

• raisins, dried cranberries, or goji berries
• 3 tbs of peanut butter
• lots more peanut butter
• spirolina, just for some fun color
• chocolate chips
• meal replacement shake powder, for more calories

If you use this recipe for protein bars or meal replacement bars, let me know how it worked out.

Saul Williams has a new album, and an amazing way to purchase it for $5 online, or for absolutely nothing. It’s a great way to support musical artists. I just made my contribution and am looking forward to listening to it. I credit Williams with opening me up to many of the thoughts and experiences I’m nos pursuing! In fact, I realized that the three Ws in my life have been my un-met mentors - Saul Williams, Alan Watts, and Ken Wilber.

I just read through a few articles about Monsanto and their practice of suing farmers for “using” their GM crops. Perhaps some more research is in order, to be fair, but my sense of this is that it is not in everyone’s best interest.

Monsanto ”Seed Police” Scrutinize Farmers 
Another North Dakota farmer, Tom Wiley, explains the situation this way: “Farmers are being sued for having GMOs on their property that they did not buy, do not want, will not use and cannot sell.”

Farmer Loses to Monsanto Over GE Seed Patent
The case began last August when Monsanto took Schmeiser to court, claiming he illegally planted its canola. Unlike scores of similarly accused North American farmers who have reached out-of-court settlements with Monsanto, Schmeiser fought back. He claims Monsanto investigators trespassed on his land - and that company seed could easily have blown on to his soil from passing canola-laden trucks. The modified canola acted as an unwanted weed, he said, contaminating the rest of his crop.

Monsanto Charged With Using US Patent Laws to Control Staple Crop Seeds 

Trailer for The Future of Food

Monsanto

I watched King Corn last night at the Coolidge Corner Theater. This is a must see for individuals, but also very important for fitness professionals. After all, if we are in the business of helping people exercise their way of fitness, and they think they’re eating the right foods for their goals - what happens if we realize that any achievements and changes are thwarted because of the “good” food we eat.

The alarm is being sounded on corn. The King Corn website has some fantastic and scary statistics about it in their faq and farm bill section.

One thing that is clear is that not all corn is equal. The corn that is massively produced today is not the corn that was once eaten. Looking at a history of corn is different than looking at what the corn industry says about corn. Can you see the bias? It’s interesting to look at this list and at the same time question the assumptions that lead to this type of thinking.

Here are a few interesting links about the issues:

• How the feds make bad-for-you food cheaper than healthful fare
• Wikipedia’s History of Corn
• Corn, It’s What’s Bad for you (by a grass-fed-beef farmer, so it is biased, but valuable for it’s insight)
• Michael Pollen, author of The Omnivore’s Dilemma

There’s a lot more to research here, but this is a start.

In a recent Fast Company article, inspiring multi-fuel solutions to our current fuel problems are highlighted:

“Johnathan Goodwin can get 100 mpg out of a Lincoln Continental, cut emissions by 80%, and double the horsepower. Does the car business have the guts to follow him?”

Overall the story is amazing. You’d wonder, why isn’t the auto industry doing this already, especially when

“They could do all this stuff if they wanted to,” he tells me, slapping on a visor and hunching over an arc welder. “The technology has been there forever. They make 90% of the components I use.”

Later in an article, one line jumped out at me:

Boeckmann believes hydrogen is the true “silver bullet” for ending greenhouse gases but thinks it’ll take more than a decade to figure out how to create and distribute it cheaply.”

The problem is that this quote seems to assume that car fuel and driving is the source of carbon dioxide and thus, our main problem can be solved by changing fuels. He is leaving out the fuel and energy to manufacture the cars and trucks and every other manufacturable widget in existence, fuel to transport fuel, energy to run businesses and homes and construction and everything else. People driving cars is an issue and we need to address it, but it is a small drop in the bucket.