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Messages - KarenH

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The Seven Goals / Re: Question to those with Goal of Growth
« on: July 20, 2011, 03:54:58 AM »
Wow...good question.  I've got a goal of Growth, and I think my basic focus is all learning is good.  This can be good, in that I am a quick learner and I like to learn.  The bad side is that it's easy for me to get distracted by all the lovely things I could learn and do and end up just being busy instead of going forward to a particular goal.

As for growing with no discretion...well, I don't think there's such a thing, really.  If you try to grow without any kind of direction, you learn from the consequences of doing this, and that's growth.  If you grow with a definite goal in mind, then you learn from the consequences of doing that.  So you end up growing regardless of what you do.

That said, if you know what your life task is, then it's easier to have a focus and grow toward whatever it is that you have set yourself out to do.

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Soul Age / Re: Soul Age of Jesse Woodson James
« on: April 25, 2011, 10:19:06 PM »
I agree with anyone else.  That guy's just...wrong.  If I were to see someone with that look, I'd leave, fast.  Not someone I'd want to relax around. 

I tend to find old souls relaxing.  Er, that is, I tend to feel relaxed when I see them.  Although, come to think of it, when I do encounter old souls, they usually are sitting around, relaxing.

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Artisan / Re: How to tell if I'm an Artisan?
« on: April 18, 2011, 09:22:27 PM »
He also really enjoys cooking and figuring out what ingredients go together well, having a real interest in recipes and then not always following them.

Bingo. I collect recipes, but once I got the system down for a particular type of food, the recipes became guidelines.  I almost never follow one to the letter, unless I find that I don't have a technique down pat yet.  I find this is typical of identified artisans I know.

Quote
I also asked him once what he generally thinks about during the day, and he said that he goes around mostly wondering how things are made... buildings, devices, structures, bikes, space, anything. Oh and he's quite into his bike and is constantly putting different/new parts on it at a bike shop downtown. He majored in photography in university, built his own computer from parts, 'knows' computers' structures, is interested in things like sacred geometry, politics, and yep, is 'crafty' (figuring out ways to beat the system) and pretty handy. He also worked in a butchery, and at an insurance firm inputting data and designing/organizing a system to hold all the information. Not very showy, but is a bit rough around the edges. One of those rugged silent artisans who's into his 'craft'. 

But I'm still pretty amazed at how geared-toward and conscious he is of 'systems'. Pretty evident. When I was having a hard time 'following the rules' of art school (which is where we met) he said I just had to play the system enough until I was done, and I realized how not good I am at doing that (in comparison).

Systems, exactly.  Structure.  I'm always wondering how things work. 

I looked at the coding for quoting in replies here in this forum and figured out it was some kind of modified HTML code.  So I decided to try it out, and voila!  I now have control over at least one aspect of quoting on this forum.  I don't know why, but doing stuff like that tickles me pink.  Possibly because I'm an artisan.   :D

So, what if I decided to manually bold or italicize something?  Cool!  Same process, except with square brackets!

What?  Use the buttons at the top of the editing window?  Where's the fun in that?

--Karen H.

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Soul Age / Re: Old Souls in a Young Soul World
« on: April 18, 2011, 08:13:05 PM »
As for navigating a young soul world, I think old souls just have to find their own niche with other older souls and/or the arts and get their spiritual sustenance there.

I wonder--and I'm speaking only as a 7th level mature artisan--whether old souls might be just fine blending in one way or another, just as long as they don't get pulled in by younger souls' fears.  Fear is infectious, after all.  Kind of like how a mother or father might get agitated when their toddler or teen starts throwing a tantrum.  You know their fears are baseless or short-sighted, but you're frustrated/agitated nevertheless because you care.

From what I can perceive, old souls in general have the advantage of versatility and long-distance perspective because of all the things they've learned over their many lifetimes.  So, let's say you're an old warrior.  You've been through thousands of campaigns in your past lives, you know how to think through strategies, pull in the resources, and get things done.  You're like a seasoned master sergeant or chief bosun's mate.  :-D  You know how to lay down the law, and people will hop to it.

As an old soul, you know how to do it better than anyone else, and not only that, make people feel safe and secure when you do.  You're going to be sensitive about when to walk and talk quietly and when to barrel through in a no-nonsense way.

In a young-soul world--say, in business or entrepreneurial efforts--these are invaluable skills.  Maybe you don't want to be a corporate CEO (unless you like that kind of thing, which some old souls might with the appropriate overleaves).  But as a mid-level manager in a mid-sized company, you might end up being well-loved and respected by your younger souled employees and proteges.  In retirement, you might even go into small business counseling and advise younger souls how to succeed in their enterprises in wise and enlightened ways.

An old-soul warrior's long-distance perspective in a young soul economy would do a great deal of good in helping people keep companies going in a healthy, sustainable, and deeply practical way, thereby employing more people.

That would be a great way of "fitting in."

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Soul Age / Re: Old Souls in a Young Soul World
« on: April 17, 2011, 04:20:45 PM »
I think, though, that sometimes we do need that young soul energy.  I'm thinking of Florence Nightingale (who was channeled by the Yarbro group as being young souled), who majorly upset the medical establishment by introducing sanitary practices and statistical analysis to the medical profession, as well as increasing the status of nursing and women in that field.  That brought great strides to the field of medicine in general, not to mention saving lives.

And then there is Joan of Arc, a young priest.  What is mind-blowing to me is that this young woman--in an era where women most definitely did NOT have the freedoms or rights we do now, and were pretty much not more than chattel--almost single-handedly solidified the concept of nationalism (instead of tribalism, which had been prevalent in Europe until that time), as well as military strategy via the use of artillery, thereby actually decreasing the number of casualties during war, and pushing France toward a more cohesive group identity.  Plus giving women in the future a feminist role model.  :-D

(Yes, Joan was my role model when I was a child.  When people would tell me girls "don't do that," I'd look at them and say, "but what about Joan of Arc?" which effectively stymied them.)

So young souls do have their function, because society does need to be jolted and institutions even torn down from time to time to bring in fresh ideas and new growth.

--Karen H.

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Artisan / Re: How to tell if I'm an Artisan?
« on: April 17, 2011, 03:58:48 PM »
You sound so cuddly, Dave. I think cuddly comes under the heading of "cute."

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Artisan / Re: How to tell if I'm an Artisan?
« on: April 16, 2011, 06:59:46 AM »
Gadgets.  We like gadgets.  Not just to have but to make lots of things with them.

My kitchen utensil drawer is full of kitchen gadgets.  For example, I have two different things that deal with garlic:  a garlic press and a garlic slicer.  I have two kinds of cheese graters.  I also picked up a cool nutmeg grater in the Netherlands that looks like a little doll, as well as a nifty silicone combination hot pepper crusher and dispenser that looks like a cute little chili pepper.  Also, I love kitchen appliances, although I've been careful not to get too many of them.  But hey, I do have a Kitchenaid mixer with all the different attachments (including pasta maker), crockpots (one large, one small, and one old in which I dye wool for spinning yarn), as well as a food processor, and a few other things.

I had a marvelous time today using my food processor and crockpot to experiment with a chicken chili recipe I haven't tried before.  Decided to puree dry roasted peanuts as well as cilantro and put that in as well.  Don't know what possessed me to put in the peanuts, but dang, I'm glad I did!  Gave it just the right earthiness to underscore the spice without overwhelming the chicken.

Also Artisans collect software if we're into computers at all.  For a long time, I downloaded a number of shareware and freeware graphics and web creation software to try them out before finding a bargain on the Adobe Creative Suite.  I think I have three different word processing/office suite programs (Microsoft, Apple, and Open Office), as well as two or three story-tracker/plotting software programs.  Maybe more.  

And then there are the hobbies.  I focus mostly on knitting and spinning yarn now, but in the past I've done watercolor painting, decoupage, macrame, photography (still do that, actually), silk flower making, making stuff with Sculpy, pottery, making cards using rubber stamps, and now I'm seriously thinking about designing fabric patterns.  But first, I think I'll take some classes and learn how to thoroughly exploit the capabilities of the Adobe Creative Suite software....

You see what I mean?    :D

Of course, some of that may arise from my goal of growth, but the general theme here is using all these tools to make or create something.  We're also good at making something out of raw materials, used materials, trash, and sometimes nothing at all.  The other day, I was cleaning my office and discovered an old 3.5" computer diskette carrying case, and realized it would be absolutely perfect to organize my circular knitting needles.  I think anyone else might have thrown it out, but now I have a nifty knitting needle and accessory case I can easily slip into my purse.

One of the best presents my husband ever gave me for Christmas was an iPad, yet another gadget.  I can now indulge in all my hobbies (yes, there are knitting apps) anywhere I go, as well as my main creative work, writing.  I can even finger paint with a nifty app I just downloaded last week.

On the negative side, artisans are also very good at making mountains out of molehills.    :P  I try not to dwell on that....

--Karen H.

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Soul Age / Re: Mature & Old Souls
« on: April 16, 2011, 05:56:56 AM »
Mature souls usually are involved in lots of relationship angst. Old souls tend not to angst over relationships anywhere near as much, although they aren't immune to relationship problems. Nobody is immune to them! One big difference is that a Mature soul will expect people to behave according to the current social norms, or else work on changing the norms. Old souls are a lot more liberal.

"Liberal," not in the political sense.  :-)  There sometimes is the tendency to associate an old soul liberality as also political.

However, I think this is more the case of an old soul pretty much accepting people where they are at any particular moment in time.

I'm thinking of my son, who is a first level old soul.  Right now, at the age of 24, he's still manifesting much of the mature soul relationship angst, although that is probably because of his physical age and inexperience in this life.  He is still learning about relationships in this time and place, and a first level old soul will slip back into mature soul attitudes every once in a while.

However, he does have a unique ability to assess who is trustworthy and who isn't, and this is not based on social norms or affiliation with any particular group, which is what I have often observed identified mature souls to base their sense of trustworthiness.

In other words, I have observed my husband--a 4th level mature soul--to tend to believe people who are part of a social group to be more trustworthy than others.  My son, on the other hand, will be approached by a homeless person on the street and he will immediately know whether that person is trying to scam him or sincerely asking for help, even though it's obvious that most people would find an approaching homeless person to be at least suspect if not someone to avoid.  He has a record of being suspicious of people who seem all right on the surface, only to be proven accurate in his suspicion, much to others' consternation.

I'm not saying that all old souls are that perceptive; I suspect that my mature-souled husband can be just as perceptive except that he lets his tendency toward group affiliation get in his way, whereas my son seems to be rather fluid about the groups he associates with.

I suppose that may be a key:  mature souls are concerned about personal/group associations, whereas old souls aren't particularly, unless it serves their purpose to be so.
 

--Karen H.

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