In the exhibition The Red Book of C.G. Jung, personalities from many different walks of life are paired on stage with a psychoanalyst and invited to respond to and interpret a folio from Jung's Red Book as a starting point for a wide-ranging conversation.
Video podcasts of selected Red Book Dialogues are available on line
This one below is available now and has a dialogue between the
DramatistJohn Patrick Shanley who wrote the screenplay for the Film Doubt + the analyst is Polly Young-Eisendrath.
CLICK HERE FOR PAGE LINK then scroll down until you see the list of names ----- the Patrick Shanley one is third on the list.
I have also put a link to a recent article ( although rather long at 10 pages) in The New York Times to accompany the publication of The Red Book.
It was on this dayin 1754 that the word "serendipity" was first coined. It's defined by Merriam-Webster as "the faculty or phenomenon of finding valuable or agreeable things not sought for."
It was recently listed by a U.K. translation company as one of the English language's 10 most difficult words to translate. Other words to make their list include plenipotentiary, gobbledegook, poppycock, whimsy, spam, and kitsch.
"Serendipity" was first used by parliament member Horace Walpole in a letter that he wrote to an English friend who was spending time in Italy. In the letter to his friend written on this day in 1754, Walpole wrote that he came up with the word after a fairy tale he once read, called "The Three Princes of Serendip," explaining, "as their Highnesses travelled, they were always making discoveries, by accidents and sagacity, of things which they were not in quest of." The three princes of Serendip hail from modern-day Sri Lanka. "Serendip" is the Persian word for the island nation off the southern tip of India, Sri Lanka.
The invention of many wonderful things have been attributed to "serendipity," including Kellogg's Corn Flakes, Charles Goodyear's vulcanization of rubber, inkjet printers, Silly Putty, the Slinky, and chocolate chip cookies.
Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin after he left for vacation without disinfecting some of his petri dishes filled with bacterial cultures; when he got back to his lab, he found that the Penicillium fungus had killed the bacteria.
Viagra had been developed to treat hypertension and angina pectoris; it didn't do such a good job at these things, researchers found during the first phase of clinical trials, but it was good for something else.
The principles of radioactivity, X-rays, and infrared radiation were all found when researchers were looking for something else.
Julius Comroe said, "Serendipity is looking in a haystack for a needle and discovering a farmer's daughter."
Wiktionary lists serendipity's antonyms as "Murphy's law" and "perfect storm."
This quote is a suitable accompaniment to the video from Carl Sagan
Look again at that dot. That's here. That's home. That's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every "superstar," every "supreme leader," every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there -- on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.
( Nod and Tip of the hat to Paul at People for Others blog for serendipitous posting !)
It is quite a while since I came across a book that I really wanted to read and this one by Sarah Bakewell that was reviewed on BBC Radio 4 this week seems to fit the bill nicely.
Michel Eyquem de Montaigne lived from 1533-92 and was perhaps "the first truly modern individual". ( Well that is what the author of the book says ...... mmmm...... debatable .......
Montaigne was a nobleman, public official and wine grower and wrote free roaming explorations of his thought and experience unlike anything written before : some might say he was a Renaissance blogger !!
He called them essays , meaning attempts or tries. Into them he put whatever was in his head: his tastes in wine and food, childhood memories, the way his dog's ears twitched when it was dreaming as well as the appalling events of the religious civil wars raging around him. The Essays was an instant bestseller and over four hundred years later, Montaigne's honesty and charm still draw people to him.
"Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a total mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe."
I am way behind on seeing the latest films and the one that seems to be the must see of the moment is Avatar. Even though it has been on release for a month or so the snow and bad weather has meant that many in the UK are only now managing to get to see it.
Today it was revealed that the film is the largest grossing film ever so it must have something about it. (1.85 billion dollars worldwide !!- Wow !! Just think what that sum could do for Haiti.
To be honest the small scenes that have flashed by on the TV are intriguing and many people say that the groundbreaking visual spectacle of the film alone is so brilliant it should be seen.
I read somewhere that some people have become depressed after seeing it because the real world seems so gray.Some people become low after dwelling on the damage that us humans have wreaked on our planet compared to the wonderful world inhabited by the blue Navi natives.
This is is a great graphic and there is a very good sermon too on the parable of the wedding feast at Cana with some thoughts on Haiti CLICK HERE for the whole sermon.
Anyone who had the chance to watch the Hope for Haiti telethon from New York the other night would have been able to listen to some great songs and this one was one of my favourites...........
Sheryl Crow, Keith Urban and Kid Rock team up to perform the soul standard "Lean On Me" at the "Hope For Haiti Now" benefit in Los Angeles.
St. Coca's Choir, from Kilcock, Co. Kildare, Ireland singing the Celtic Blessing. This is a traditional hymn based on the the ancient blessing bestowed upon friends and strangers alike down through the centuries.
The tin whistle is wonderful................
Three minutes of bliss........................
May the road rise up to meet you
May the wind be always on your back
May the sun shine warm upon your face
And the rain fall gently upon you
Until we meet again
May God hold you in the palm of his hand
A few years ago a pool lifeguard in Gran Canaria told Colin and myself this story and by chance I stumbled across it again tonight on the internet.
At a seminar the instructor pulled out a wide-mouth gallon jar.
The instructor placed the jar on the table next to some fist-sized rocks.
“How many of these rocks do you think we can get in the jar?” he asked.
The students made various guesses. The instructor then proceeded to fill the jar with the rocks. When the jar appeared to be full, he asked the class, “Is this jar full?” Everyone looked at the jar and agreed that it was indeed full.
The instructor then reached under the table and pulled out a bucket of gravel. He then dumped the gravel into the jar. The gravel went in between all the little places left by the big rocks.
The instructor grinned and once more asked, “Is the jar full?” By this time, the class was on to him. “Probably not,” several of the students said.
“Good!” he replied. The instructor reached under the table and brought out a bucket of sand. He poured it into the jar. It went into all the spaces left by the big rocks and the gravel. Again, he asked the class, “Is this jar full?”
“No,” the class shouted.
The instructor said, “Good!” He then grabbed a jug of water and poured almost a pint of water into the jar. Then he said, “What’s the point?”
Someone said, “If you really work at it, you can always squeeze more stuff into your life.”
“No,” the instructor responded. “That’s not the point.
The point is this: if you hadn’t put these big rocks in first, would you ever have gotten any of the others in?”
I would make an additional point.
The big rocks are a metaphor for the important stuff.
If you don’t make room for the important stuff, it will be overwhelmed by the less important stuff.
The story of how this song came to be sung is worth a listen and I like the words as they can also be applied to some of the remarkable heart lifting rescues that have come out of the misery in Haiti.
There is always hope despite the grim situation and as the words of the song say .... there are still greater things to be done in this city.
Please continue to give your support and aid to the people of Haiti.
This video is a wonderful celebration of our senses and the creator of this video is able to do so much imaginatively with typography it has refreshed me !!
Isabelle Jeanson has worked in communications with Medecins Sans Frontieres since 2003. She has visited several Medecins Sans Frontieres projects over the years, including working as an emergency press officer during the 2004 tsunami in Sri Lanka.
Her latest work with Medecins Sans Frontieres has taken her to Colombia, Russia, Nigeria and Papua New Guinea.
She joined the emergency team in Haiti 48 hours after the earthquake struck.
In this exclusive eyewitness account Isabelle blogs from Haiti's earthquake zone.
When I became a Christian I said, Lord, now fill me in,
Tell me what I’ll suffer in this world of shame and sin.
He said, your body may be killed, and left to rot and stink,
Do you still want to follow me? I said Amen - I think.
I think Amen, Amen I think, I think I say Amen,
I’m not completely sure, can you just run through that again?
You say my body may be killed and left to rot and stink,
Well, yes, that sounds terrific, Lord, I say Amen - I think.
But, Lord, there must be other ways to follow you, I said,
I really would prefer to end up dying in my bed.
Well, yes, he said, you could put up with the sneers and scorn and spit,
Do you still want to follow me? I said Amen - a bit.
A bit Amen, Amen a bit, a bit I say Amen,
I’m not entirely sure, can we just run through that again?
You say I could put up with sneers and also scorn and spit,
Well, yes, I’ve made my mind up, and I say, Amen - a bit.
Well I sat back and thought a while, then tried a different ploy,
Now, Lord, I said, the Good book says that Christians live in joy.
That’s true he said, you need the joy to bear the pain and sorrow,
So do you want to follow me, I said, Amen - tomorrow.
Tomorrow, Lord, I’ll say it then, that’s when I’ll say Amen,
I need to get it clear, can I just run through that again?
You say that I will need the joy, to bear the pain and sorrow,
Well, yes, I think I’ve got it straight, I’ll say Amen - tomorrow.
He said, Look, I’m not asking you to spend an hour with me
A quick salvation sandwich and a cup of sanctity,
The cost is you, not half of you, but every single bit,
Now tell me, will you follow me? I said Amen - I quit.
I’m very sorry Lord I said, I’d like to follow you,
But I don’t think religion is a manly thing to do.
He said forget religion then, and think about my Son,
And tell me if you’re man enough to do what he has done.
Are you man enough to see the need, and man enough to go,
Man enough to care for those whom no one wants to know,
Man enough to say the thing that people hate to hear,
To battle through Gethsemane in loneliness and fear.
And listen! Are you man enough to stand it at the end,
The moment of betrayal by the kisses of a friend,
Are you man enough to hold your tongue, and man enough to cry?
When nails break your body-are you man enough to die?
Man enough to take the pain, and wear it like a crown,
Man enough to love the world and turn it upside down,
Are you man enough to follow me, I ask you once again?
I said, Oh Lord, I’m frightened, but I also said Amen.
Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen; Amen, Amen, Amen,
I said, Oh Lord, I’m frightened, but I also said, Amen.
Words by Adrian Plass
This song and video by Westlife is dedicated to all the suffering people in Haiti including all Relief and Aid workers.
ShelterBox is an international disaster relief charity that delivers emergency shelter, warmth and dignity to people affected by disaster worldwide. It's headquarters are in Helston, Cornwall, UK, about twenty miles from where I live.
There are 10 international affiliates.
Emergency shelter provision for more than 30,000 people has now been pledged to the people of Haiti with more due to follow but the logistical nightmare in Haiti continues.
1,700 ShelterBoxes have already been dispatched and a further 1,600 will leave from the UK this week directly for Port au Prince, Haiti.
Warehouse volunteers in the UK have worked tirelessly packing the boxes. This is a total of 3,300 boxes with more to follow.
for more information and to see how you can help and FIND OUT WHAT THE SHELTER BOX CONTAINS HERE Below there is a short video from Cornish ShelterBox Response Team member Ian Neal who shares his thoughts before heading to Haiti to deliver emergency humanitarian aid. Another short video is here.
